Politics

Boris Johnson has been urged to boost the government’s coronavirus test and trace scheme in order to safely reopen schools next month, with calls for teachers and students to be tested as often as once a week. The prime minister has declared it is a “national priority” to get all children back into the classroom

Former Labour MP Eric Joyce has been given a suspended sentence for making an indecent image of a child. Joyce, who represented Falkirk in parliament from 2000 to 2015, has been sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. He has also been ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Joyce had

One of the most popular faces in Whitehall, Palmerston the Foreign Office cat, is retiring for a quiet life in the countryside. The affectionately-nicknamed “Diplo Mogg” is meowing out after four years of service, having found “working from home” during the coronavirus outbreak a much more “relaxed, quieter and easier” life. In a letter penned

Britons preparing to visit France have been warned there is “always the risk of disruption to travel plans” amid speculation the country could be next on the UK’s quarantine list due to a spike in coronavirus cases. New COVID-19 infections in France have risen by more than 1,600 over a 24-hour period for a second

Dominic Cummings’ lockdown-busting trip to Durham and Barnard Castle damaged public trust in the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. Scientists from University College London (UCL) claim that confidence dropped after Boris Johnson‘s controversial adviser drove his wife and child 300 miles from London to Durham and then took a

Face coverings are to be made mandatory indoors in Northern Ireland after the R number – a crucial measure of how quickly coronavirus is spreading – jumped in the region. The reopening of pubs and bars which do not sell food has also been delayed. The devolved government’s health department said the R number rose

Tributes from Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama and Bono have been read at the funeral of John Hume, a key figure in Northern Ireland’s peace process. The former leader of the nationalist SDLP, widely regarded as the architect of the Good Friday Agreement, died on Monday, aged 83. With his family and a small number

Former government minister Douglas Ross has been confirmed as the new Scottish Conservative leader. The 37-year-old takes on the role after winning the leadership without a contest. The Moray MP was the only candidate to put their name forward to replace Jackson Carlaw, who quit as the Scottish Tories‘ leader last week. Image: The former

Ministers let up to 10,000 travellers with coronavirus spread it across the country at the start of the pandemic by failing to bring in quarantine rules early enough, senior MPs have said. The government was accused of making “critical errors” over how it treated those arriving in the UK in March, leading to COVID-19 taking

The council with the highest rate of coronavirus infections in England has launched its own contact-tracing scheme because the government’s national system isn’t fast enough, a local official has claimed. Dominic Harrison, the director of public health and wellbeing at Blackburn with Darwen Council, revealed the local authority is developing its own contact-tracing system as

Russian hackers stole secret trade deal papers from the email account of former cabinet minister Liam Fox, according to Reuters. The news agency said Mr Fox’s account was broken into multiple times between 12 July and 2 October 2019 – in the run up to last year’s general election. It said a “spear phishing” message

Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, “the architect of the Northern Ireland peace process”, has died. The former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had been ill for some time. Having committed his life to the pursuit of Irish unity by peaceful means, he was fiercely criticised for holding secret talks with

Government plans to delay COVID-19 testing for all residents and staff at care homes until early September have been described as “an absolute kick in the teeth”. A pledge to regularly test all people in care homes for coronavirus throughout the summer had been part of the so-called protective “ring of steel” promised to the

A Conservative MP arrested over allegations of rape will not be suspended from the party while police investigate. A spokesperson for the Conservative whips’ office said: “These are serious allegations and it is right that they are investigated fully. The whip has not been suspended. “This decision will be reviewed once the police investigation has

A former Tory minister has been arrested on suspicion of rape. Sky News understands the MP was accused by a young woman who used to work in parliament. He was arrested and taken to an east London police station on Saturday morning and was released on bail on Saturday night. A police statement said: “On

French officials have been urged to take a tougher stance on migrants, after a record week of Channel crossings. Some 96 people were intercepted in the Channel on Friday – a day after a record 202 migrants made the journey. The previous daily record for migrant crossings was on 13 July, when 180 successfully landed