UK

A long awaited bailout package worth billions of pounds for homeowners affected by the cladding scandal is being announced by the government. Nearly four years after the Grenfell fire tragedy, in which 72 people died, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is unveiling a rescue plan which could benefit more than a million people. In a Commons

Princes Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have welcomed their first child – a son – Buckingham Palace has announced. The baby, weighing 8lbs 1oz, was born at 8.55am on Tuesday at The Portland Hospital in central London, the palace said. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York,

All travellers arriving in the UK are to face mandatory coronavirus tests from next week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is poised to announce to MPs. In a Commons statement, he will say that from next Monday, 15 February, all passengers arriving in the UK will be required take a test on days two and eight

The South African variant of COVID-19 is not expected to become the UK’s dominant strain in the next few months, England’s deputy chief medical officer has said. Professor Jonathan Van-Tam revealed only a “very small” number of cases of it have been discovered in the UK, trying to ease people’s fears given scientists think vaccines

GCSE and A-level students have been hardest hit by COVID-19, according to the UK’s biggest study into the impacts on young people. It found pupils due to sit exams this year were not engaged with their work, and have the lowest wellbeing scores. But the report, by education group ImpactEd, also says they are not

The vaccines minister has told Sky News he is “confident” the UK will hit its “tough target” of offering everybody over 50 a coronavirus jab by May. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said that at one point on Saturday, the UK was administering COVID-19 jabs at a rate of almost 1,000 per

Rapid tests will be offered to workplaces with more than 50 employees in an effort to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The lateral flow tests can produce results in less then 30 minutes but were previously only available to firms with more than 250 staff. Officials said the move is an effort to “normalise” testing in

A total of 11,465,210 people have received a first vaccine as the UK has reported another 828 deaths associated with the virus. The number of deaths is down from the 1,014 reported on Friday, and comes after another 18,262 cases were reported on Saturday, latest government figures show. The latest number of infections is less

One man has died and nine others have been injured in stabbings around Croydon, south London, on Friday night, police have said. Metropolitan Police were called to five separate incidents but they are still investigating whether any of them are linked. They have enacted additional stop and search powers across Croydon overnight. Two of the

The number of new coronavirus cases in the UK has fallen once again, with almost 11 million people having now received their first vaccine dose. There have been a further 19,114 confirmed cases of COVID, compared to 20,634 yesterday and 29,079 a week ago, according to the latest government data. Another 1,014 people have died

A butcher has been found guilty of the rape and murder of Hull student Libby Squire. Pawel Relowicz, 26, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of attacking and killing Libby after he prowled the streets around the university on the night of 31 January 2019. The verdict comes as a previous victim of the

Another 915 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, according to the latest government data. This compares to the 1,322 fatalities that were reported yesterday. It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the UK remained on track to complete the vaccination of the top four priority groups – 15 million people – by

The woman accused of killing Harry Dunn was employed by an intelligence agency in the US at the time of his death, a court has heard. Anne Sacoolas was leaving RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019 when she was involved in a crash with 19-year-old Harry, who was on his motorbike. She had been

Ten million people in the UK have now had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. “This is a hugely significant milestone in our national effort against this virus. Every jab makes us all a bit safer – I want to thank everyone playing their part,” Mr Hancock said.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine may have a “substantial effect” on transmission of coronavirus, and a three-month gap between doses does not lower protection, according to a report. Tests results by University of Oxford, published in a pre-print report with The Lancet, showed a 67% reduction in positive COVID-19 swabs among those vaccinated. Live COVID updates from

Police chiefs have warned they will “respond robustly” to anti-Chinese hate crimes amid concerns there could be a surge in offences once lockdown ends. The COVID-19 Anti-Racism Group (CARG) has told Sky News it is witnessing worrying levels of hate speech online linked to the pandemic – and it fears this will turn into violence