Politics

MPs will be sent home for the Christmas holidays on Thursday – but could be recalled to Westminster as early as next week if a post-Brexit trade deal is agreed, Number 10 has said. “Time is now in short supply to reach an agreement with the EU and we expect discussions will continue over the

Boris Johnson has said all UK nations have reached a “unanimous agreement” to go ahead with planned Christmas bubble rules. But he added that people should “exercise a high degree of personal responsibility” if they do spend time with family over the festive period. It comes after a phone call between Westminster and the devolved

Boris Johnson is resisting demands to “cancel Christmas”, claiming it is too late to change plans to allow families to meet up during a five-day relaxation of COVID rules. He will face MPs in the Commons and later address Tory backbenchers and declare his opposition to dropping plans for three households to meet up from

Weekly rapid coronavirus tests will be available for secondary schools and colleges in England next month, the government has announced. As part of the initial rollout, all members of staff will eligible for weekly rapid COVID-19 tests. If students are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for the virus, they

Sadiq Khan has called on the government to rethink its relaxation of coronavirus rules over Christmas. “What I’d say to the government is I’m not sure you’ve got it right, in fact I’m sure you haven’t got it right in relation to the relaxations over Christmas,” the London mayor told Sky News. Live updates on

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has suggested the government will not stop households from meeting up over Christmas despite rising COVID-19 infection rates in some parts of the country. Speaking after he announced London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire are to be placed into the toughest coronavirus measures, Mr Hancock said the government did not

There has been some progress in one area of the Brexit talks but disagreements remain on other issues, EU negotiator Michel Barnier has reportedly said. A senior EU diplomat, cited by the Reuters news agency, said the bloc’s chief negotiator had told ambassadors there has been “limited” progress on agreeing an enforcement mechanism to ensure

Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and Brussels will continue into next week after negotiators were told to “go the extra mile”. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen released a brief joint statement following what they called a “useful” phone call on Sunday morning. They said they “discussed the

Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU could slip beyond tonight’s deadline, the foreign secretary has suggested. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Dominic Raab said “I can’t close the door” on that possibility but admitted “there is still a long way to go” before an agreement is possible. Prime Minister Boris

As negotiations on a UK-EU trade deal are set to continue overnight, a British government source has said that “as things stand the offer on the table from the EU remains unacceptable”. Both sides now concede that a no-deal outcome is more likely than not when the talks end on Sunday, and Royal Navy gunboats

Armed Royal Navy boats are being prepared to patrol the UK’s fishing waters in an apparent final warning shot to Brussels as negotiations enter the final 48 hours.  Four of the 80-metre vessels are on standby to guard British waters from EU fishermen in case no deal is agreed on fishing rights after the Brexit

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the UK and EU “remain apart on fundamental issues” ahead of Sunday’s deadline for a Brexit trade deal. Speaking at a Brussels summit of EU leaders, Ms von der Leyen set out continuing differences between EU and UK negotiators on so-called level playing field provisions and

Supermarkets and their shoppers could be hit with a £3.1bn annual bill on food and drink if there is no post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that, if there is no breakthrough in negotiations, 85% of food imported from the EU is expected to face tariffs of more than

There is a “strong possibility” no post-Brexit trade deal will be struck with the EU, Boris Johnson has warned. The prime minister told British citizens and businesses to “make proper preparations” for the scenario, which would come into effect on 1 January 2021. He added that Brussels’ current offer “isn’t right for the UK” and

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has told Sky News that Sunday will be a “point of finality” for Brexit trade talks if the EU does not “move substantially” in negotiations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday night shared a three-hour dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the hope of breaking months of

There is now a “smoother glidepath” towards a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU after the government ditched plans that could have seen the UK breach international law, Michael Gove has told Sky News. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heading to Brussels this afternoon in a last-ditch bid to make a breakthrough in trade negotiations