UK

The number of drug deaths in Scotland has reached the worst level on record. Figures from the National Records of Scotland show that in 2019, 1,264 people died from drugs misuse – 77 more than in 2018, which is a 6% rise. It was the largest number ever recorded in Scotland, more than double that

London will move into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions imminently, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs from the capital. The move will see thousands of bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants close in the capital, except for takeaway, delivery and click and collect services. Under Tier 3 measures, people must not meet socially indoors,

Sadiq Khan is calling on the government to consider asking schools and colleges across London to close early and reopen later in January because of “significant” coronavirus outbreaks among 10 to 19-year-olds. In a letter to the prime minister, the mayor of London said “urgent consideration must… be given to closing secondary schools, sixth form

Another 18,447 coronavirus cases and 144 related deaths have been reported in the UK. Last Sunday, the figures were 17,272 cases and 231 deaths. Today’s deaths are made up of 138 in England, four in Northern Ireland and two in Scotland. All the latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world The official

Boris Johnson has been warned that a further relaxation of restrictions over Christmas could trigger another wave of coronavirus infections. NHS Providers, which represents health trusts in England, has told the prime minister in a letter to exercise “extreme caution” when making the decision to move any areas into a lower COVID-19 tier. The coronavirus

Police have issued an urgent appeal for information after a newborn baby was found dead in Somerset. The body of the baby boy was found by a member of the public in a private garden in Victoria Quadrant, in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Avon and Somerset Constabulary said they had been called at 8.50am

The first wave of Tier 3 areas in England to receive the government’s community testing have been announced. From Monday, a total of 67 local authorities can begin enhanced testing support programmes to drive down COVID-19 transmission rates. When combined with existing measures, the government hopes the testing initiative will lead to an easing of

Those who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus will have to self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14, starting from Monday. Those required to quarantine after returning from countries which are not on the travel corridor list will also see their isolation period reduced the same, in an approach

A three-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl have died following a fire at a house in Eynesbury, Cambridgeshire Police have said. The blaze broke out at a three-storey property in Buttercup Avenue at around 7am on Thursday. Both children were pronounced dead at the scene. A 35-year-old woman was taken to hospital with life-changing injuries while

Mass testing will be rolled out for secondary school children in coronavirus hotspots across London, Essex and Kent, the health secretary has announced. Matt Hancock said he was “concerned” that the number of COVID-19 cases in those three areas was “rising and in many areas already high” and that “by far the fastest rise” is

As COVID-19 cases in London rise, people in the capital have been warned to follow the rules to avoid being moved into Tier 3. Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “If we don’t all work together now, we may face tougher restrictions across the capital.” London was placed in Tier 2 when England came out of its

Shane Mays has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years for the “brutal” murder of 16-year-old Louise Smith. Mays was convicted at Winchester Crown Court on Tuesday over the killing in Havant, Hampshire, on 8 May. The “predatory” 30-year-old is believed to have lured the teenager to a secluded woodland spot

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has become the second coronavirus jab to be approved for UK use. It has been given the go-ahead by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The vaccine, codenamed AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, was developed at Oxford University with support from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Image: The Oxford vaccine is

They are the history makers – the first people in the UK and the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine outside a clinical trial. People aged over 80, as well as care home workers and NHS staff, have been given the first batches as the mass vaccination programme is rolled out nationwide. So who are

Margaret Keenan came into hospital last Wednesday for a routine appointment. She will be discharged later today after making history. At 6.31am the 90-year-old grandmother-of-four became the first patient in the world to receive Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccination outside of a trial. Mrs Keenan, who lives in Coventry but is originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, was

The fight against COVID-19 has taken a historic leap forward after the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine was given to someone outside a clinical trial for the first time. Grandmother-of-four Margaret Keenan, 90, has become the first person in the world to receive the jab as part of a vaccination programme. Mrs Keenan, who has lived in Coventry