Politics

MPs have approved England’s third coronavirus lockdown – but the government has been urged by leading Conservatives to allow further votes on the measures both this month and next month. Following a four-hour debate in the House of Commons, MPs approved the newest lockdown by 524 votes to 16, a majority of 508. Their approval

Boris Johnson says he had “no choice” but to implement another national lockdown in England as “the facts are changing” on coronavirus infections. The prime minister told MPs that the government will use “every available second” to place an “invisible shield” around elderly and vulnerable people through the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Follow live updates

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will challenge the government to ensure the UK is the first country to vaccinate its population against coronavirus. In a TV address to be aired on Tuesday evening, Sir Keir will call for a “massive, immediate, and round the clock” effort to vaccinate the public. Speaking on the first day

Boris Johnson will hold a news conference with England’s chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser later today, Downing Street has said. The prime minister will be joined by Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance from 5pm, on the first day of England’s third national lockdown. In a national address on Monday, Mr Johnson

Tougher measures are coming in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus, the prime minister has said. Boris Johnson said there were “tough, tough” weeks ahead in the UK’s fight against COVID-19. He added: “If you look at the numbers there’s no question we will have to take tougher measures and we will be

The health secretary has not ruled out the prospect of another national lockdown – and said whether Tier 4 restrictions work is “down to people’s behaviour”. Asked if the government could take further measures to try and curb the spread of COVID-19, Matt Hancock told Sky News: “We don’t rule anything out.” He said areas

The government must impose a national lockdown within 24 hours, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said. Sir Keir said the virus is “clearly out of control” and national restrictions have to be “the first step”. He said: “It’s no good the prime minister hinting that further restrictions are coming into place in a week

Boris Johnson has said “there is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe” in areas where they are open – as he warned of tighter restrictions in the coming weeks. As pressure mounted on the prime minister to keep all of England’s schools closed when the new term starts, Mr Johnson insisted education

Staff at schools have a legal right not to return to classrooms due to the spread of COVID, a leading union has said – while another has started legal proceedings against the Department for Education. The National Education Union (NEU) has said all primary schools should remain closed for at least two weeks following the

The smooth start to post-Brexit border operations may be the “calm before the storm”, industry bosses have warned. The first day of January marked the first day of a new trading relationship between the UK and the EU. There had been fears it would create chaotic scenes at ports, with outbound lorries now subject to

As the Pride of Kent eased its way towards the port in Calais, it was making history. The first ferry to have crossed the English Channel in 2021; the first to carry lorries that were travelling under the umbrella of new rules and regulations. What happened next was exactly as you might have predicted. Image:

Heralding the end of the transition phase and a new chapter of UK-EU relations, Boris Johnson told the country correctly that “this is the beginning.”  But tonight, despite 1,246 pages of legal agreement with the EU, plus annexes, nobody actually knows the destination of the journey that we start tonight. There are some certainties. From

The UK has begun a new relationship with the European Union with the Brexit transition period coming to an end. Despite leaving the EU on 31 January last year, the UK has remained subject to the bloc’s rules as a member of the single market and customs union. However, this ended at 11pm and the

The education secretary has told Sky News he is “absolutely confident” that secondary schools will be able to carry out mass testing with an extra week to prepare. Defending the decision to push back the return of pupils to secondary schools and colleges, Gavin Williamson told Sky News the move was about “rooting out coronavirus

MPs have overwhelmingly approved the Brexit trade deal to pave the way for the UK-EU agreement to come into force at 11pm tomorrow. The House of Commons backed the agreement, struck between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU on Christmas Eve, by 521 votes to 73. The deal, which stretches to 1,246 pages and

Boris Johnson has hailed the “astonishing speed” with which the UK-EU trade deal was agreed and says the agreement “demonstrates how Britain can be at once European and sovereign”. It comes as MPs debate the deal ahead of a vote which could see the agreement ratified by parliament by the end of the day. If approved,