UK

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

Kafilat Oduneye knows only too well the cost of wanting to be British. All of the Nigerian mother’s four children were born in the UK, but so far she has had to pay £6,000 to register three of them as UK citizens. The fourth is still too young. Currently, a child’s right to citizenship depends

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

COVID-19 vaccines could be airlifted to the UK next year if Brexit trade talks collapse and cause delays at Channel crossings. The government is hoping to receive millions of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the end of the year, with the first vaccinations due to begin this week. However, the NHS doesn’t expect to

Brexit negotiations are stuck on three critical issues and “further effort” is needed to break the deadlock, UK and European Union leaders have said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a joint statement following an hour-long discussion on Saturday. They said that while “progress has been achieved in

Brexit negotiations are stuck on three critical issues and “further effort” is needed to break the deadlock, UK and European Union leaders have said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a joint statement following an hour-long discussion on Saturday. They said that while “progress has been achieved in

Hospitals are preparing to begin the first phase of the “largest scale vaccination campaign” in the UK’s history. The first COVID-19 vaccines will arrive at hospitals by Monday ahead of the first jabs being given on Tuesday. GP surgeries in England have been told to start staffing COVID-19 vaccination centres by 14 December. Image: The