UK

More than 3.7 million people in England and Wales have been told that after today they no longer need to shield from the coronavirus. The extremely clinically vulnerable, including cancer patients having chemotherapy and stem cell transplant recipients, should now follow the same rules as the rest of the population. A letter sent to the

The UK has recorded 56 more COVID-19 deaths and 4,040 new cases in the latest 24-hour period. This compares with Monday’s figures of 23 deaths and 4,654 infections. There is typically an increase in reported deaths on Tuesdays as weekend updates are added in. A total of 126,670 people in the UK have died within

Up to 60 million doses of COVID vaccine will be manufactured at Barnard Castle in the North East, Boris Johnson has announced. The prime minister revealed that the Novavax jab – which has yet to be approved – will undergo its “fill and finish” stage at a GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) facility. Part of the vaccine is

Gangs in Manchester are increasingly using “horrendous” torture methods on kidnap victims involving blowtorches and waterboarding, a senior police officer has warned. Detective Sergeant Julie Connor from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) told Sky News that organised crime groups in the city see kidnaps as “a lucrative form of business”. Victims have been stabbed, waterboarded and

Boris Johnson says he hopes Monday’s relaxation of COVID rules in England kickstarts a “Great British summer of sport” – but has urged people to remain cautious and to stick to the rules. From Monday, groups of up to six, or two households, are able to reunite outdoors, and outdoor sport can resume. The stay

More than 30 million people in the UK have now had a first COVID vaccine dose. New government figures show 30,151,287 have had a first dose – around 57% of all UK adults. A total of 3,527,481 have now had two doses – 6% of the adult population. Ministers remain confident that all over-50s will

The UK has enough vaccine supplies to ensure that Britons can receive their second doses without disruption, NHS England’s medical director for primary care has said. Weeks after the health service warned that the country will face a “significant reduction” in the availability of coronavirus jabs next month, Dr Nikki Kanani said: “The supply over

The UK has reported 58 coronavirus deaths and 4,715 cases in the latest 24-hour period. The number of deaths marks a fall from last Saturday (March 20), when 96 were recorded. Cases have also fallen week-on-week – down from 5,587 reported last Saturday. Meanwhile, the number of first vaccine doses administered across the UK edged

Arrests have been made during a third “Kill The Bill” demonstration in Bristol after projectiles were thrown at police. More than 1,000 protesters had taken part in a peaceful protest in the city – third in less than a week – including a sit-down demonstration near Bridwell police station – the scene of Sunday’s violence.

A demonstration that took place outside a school after a teacher showed a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed in the classroom was “disturbing”, a cabinet minister has said. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said the protest was “not right” and that “we shouldn’t have teachers feeling intimidated”. “That is not a road we want to go

Two staff members at a South Devon care home have been arrested in connection with a coronavirus outbreak that is believed to have caused multiple deaths. Nine fatalities have been reported at Holmesley Care Home in Sidford over the past month, all of which are believed to be COVID-related. A 57-year-old woman from Sidmouth and

MPs have voted to extend the government’s emergency COVID legislation for another six months. Despite opposition from some Tory backbenchers, the Coronavirus Act 2020 was passed by 484 votes to 76, a majority of 408. MPs also approved the regulations underpinning the steps to ease restrictions from 29 March as laid out in Boris Johnson’s

NHS staff in Scotland are being offered a pay rise of at least 4%, the Scottish government has said. It said the increase would benefit 154,000 NHS Agenda for Change employees – including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, as well as domestic, healthcare support staff, porters and other frontline health workers. The move is in

Plans to overhaul the UK’s asylum system will seek to break the business model of people smugglers, the home secretary has said. Priti Patel told the Commons “while people are dying, we have a responsibility to act”. She added that the new plan for immigration “is driven by three fair but firm objectives”. Live UK

Home Office plans to make it much tougher for those who enter the UK illegally to claim asylum have been condemned as a “divisive policy”, which will “do nothing to stop illegal crossings”. Home Secretary Priti Patel said she would make “no apology” for ensuring those coming here illegally “will no longer have the same

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed the “courage, discipline and patience of the nation” one year after he first announced a lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, he said: “We suffered so many losses.” And he said we have at times been “fighting in the dark” against a