Politics

The new co-chair of the Corbyn-supporting campaign group Momentum has accused Labour of trying to “destroy” left-wing elements of the party. The comments by Gaya Sriskanthan are in response to an email from Labour‘s general secretary, in which he said debates aimed at rejecting an internationally agreed definition of antisemitism should not take place within

Travellers returning from France must now self-isolate for 14 days as new quarantine restrictions have come into force. Tens of thousands of British tourists in France joined a desperate scramble to return in time to avoid 14-day self-isolation rules which took effect from 4am today. People snapped up the last available tickets for planes, trains

Labour is demanding ministers ditch a controversial algorithm and use predicted grades from pupils’ teachers for A-level results in England. The party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner told Sky News that the algorithm was “flawed” and has “baked in inequalities”. Thousands of teenagers have voiced anger and disappointment after having their marks downgraded. A-Level results: The

Boris Johnson has said his government will be “absolutely ruthless” in deciding whether travellers from France must quarantine for 14 days on arrival in the UK. The prime minister said officials would be looking at the latest data later on Thursday amid mounting concern about the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. The

The government has launched trials of a second contact-tracing app using technology provided by Google and Apple, after its first attempt to build a homegrown app ended in failure. The new app will tell people whether they have been close to someone who has had coronavirus and send out alerts advising them to self-isolate. It

The prime minister has vowed to rebuild a “stronger than ever” economy and highlighted the need for co-operation between central and devolved government. Ahead of a visit to Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson acknowledged the close working relationship between Westminster and the power-sharing administration at Stormont. He will meet first minister Arlene Foster and deputy first

The education secretary says he won’t apologise for changing how exams are graded after he came under fire on the eve of A-level results being revealed. Gavin Williamson said by allowing pupils to use their best results from mock exams, or a moderated system or by taking exams in October, students would “benefit”. “I won’t

A-level students in England will be able to use grades in mock exams to progress to university and college courses and employment, the education secretary is set to announce. The change forms part of what Gavin Williamson has called a “triple lock” to give students confidence in the moderation system, which can see predicted results

Exam results in Scotland that were downgraded by a controversial moderation process will be withdrawn, the Scottish education secretary has announced. John Swinney told the Scottish parliament that the 124,564 results affected will revert to the grades estimated by the pupils’ teachers. He said he was directing the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to “reissue those

Universities have been urged by the UK Government to be flexible in their admissions ahead of A-level results day this week. The eleventh hour move is in response to claims that the university places of thousands of pupils in England are in peril amid exam chaos. Experts have warned that pupils whose marks are downgraded

The UK has to look at the “legal framework” for migrants crossing the English Channel, the prime minister has said. Boris Johnson said he wanted to work with France to stop the crossings and ensure that migrants “understand that this isn’t a good idea, this is a very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal

Boris Johnson knows that reopening England’s schools is a tricky political test he can’t afford to flunk. After June’s false start, the prime minister has now made it clear he will do everything he can to get children learning again and keep them learning. But that could involve trade-offs as other sectors are forced to

Boris Johnson says it is a “national priority” and a “moral duty” to get all pupils back in class next month, raising the prospect of closing shops, pubs and restaurants in local lockdowns to allow schools to stay open. In a newspaper article, the prime minister writes that “social justice demands” that classrooms are full

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