UK

The UK has welcomed in 2021, saying goodbye to a year that for many was the strangest, toughest or even worst in recent memory. It was ushered in by the chimes of Big Ben – an hour after the nation’s clock marked the end of the Brexit transition period – without any of the thousands

Nightingale hospitals across England are being “readied” for use if needed as COVID-19 patient numbers rise. The NHS in London has been asked to make sure the Excel centre site is “reactivated and ready to admit patients” as hospitals in the capital struggle. Other Nightingale hospital sites across England include Manchester, Bristol, Sunderland, Harrogate, Exeter

A further 20 million people are under tighter restrictions after the government announced an extension of Tier 4 rules in England in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus. On the day the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was approved to tackle COVID-19, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a new strain of the virus was “surging across

The toughest coronavirus restrictions could be expanded to more areas in England, as daily recorded cases continue to surge and hospitals report record numbers of patients being treated for the virus. Possible changes to COVID-19 tier areas were discussed as Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of ministers on Tuesday. Sky News understands that

Fresh warnings for snow and ice today and later this week have been issued by weather forecasters as the cold snap is expected to continue into 2021. Up to 15cm (six inches) of snow could fall in some areas, including southern England, on Wednesday and early on New Year’s Eve. It comes as drivers were

The military is being called in to help secondary schools and colleges with coronavirus testing at the start of the spring term. Some 1,500 personnel will give planning support, training and phone advice to English schools needing help with the testing process and setting up facilities. The government is pressing ahead with plans for primary

A medical expert has claimed that if the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca was rolled out “24/7” it could cut the time taken to immunise a large part of the UK population by half – from 50 weeks to 25 weeks. The jab, which unlike the Pfizer one does not have to be

Snow and ice warnings are in place for much of the UK heading into the bank holiday, including as far south as London, as vast swathes of the country are braced for a cold snap in the aftermath of Storm Bella. It comes as around 100 flood warnings remain in force in England, along with

The pharmaceutical boss behind the Oxford vaccine says researchers have found a “winning formula” to improve the jab’s efficacy. Trials of the vaccine, developed by the university along with AstraZeneca, showed an efficacy rate of 90% when people were given half a dose followed by a whole dose at least a month later. When two

Freight drivers waiting to cross into France have been told they can head back to Dover instead of waiting in an overflow lorry park. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that by 9am on Boxing Day, all hauliers had left Manston airfield – the site used to manage disruption in Kent caused by France’s travel and

Storm Bella is forecast to bring yet more strong gales and heavy rain to the UK after severe flooding in certain areas. The wet and stormy weather is expected to continue into the southeast of England on Sunday with showers in the West and North. A yellow warning for wind has been issued for the

Millions more people across the UK have been placed under tighter coronavirus restrictions from today. Another six million in England have been placed in Tier 4, while Scotland and Northern Ireland have also imposed harsher measures on their citizens on Boxing Day. The Tier 4 restrictions – effectively a regional lockdown – now also affect

Millions of people in the UK are spending a historic Christmas Day apart from loved ones as restrictions limit the number of people who can meet in a household. Families had originally hoped to be taking advantage of a five-day relaxation of measures from 23 to 27 December, but the emergence of a more transmissible

More than a thousand people have been forced to flee a caravan park in a “major incident” after it was flooded on Christmas Eve. Emergency services began moving people out of the Billing Aquadrome holiday park in Northamptonshire on Thursday afternoon after the county was hit by heavy rain. Image: Three adults in a car

Less than a week after the UK learned of a new COVID-19 variant that is up to 70% more infectious, a second one has been found. Here’s what we know so far: Where did the second coronavirus variant come from and how many cases have been found? Two cases have been detected in the UK

Two cases of a new, “more transmissible” COVID-19 variant linked to South Africa have been identified in the UK, the health secretary has said. Both cases are contacts of people who travelled from South Africa over the last few weeks, Matt Hancock said at a Downing Street news conference. Those with the new variant, and