PM defends Cummings as report says adviser ‘made second Durham trip’ during lockdown May 23, 2020 Dominic Cummings reportedly made a second trip to Durham during lockdown, it has emerged this evening, as Boris Johnson resisted calls to sack his top adviser. Cummings drove 250 miles from London to Durham while his wife exhibited coronavirus symptoms in early April. Downing Street has stood by the Prime Minister’s top adviser, saying he [...]
Pressure on Dominic Cummings to quit after reports he broke lockdown rules to visit parents May 23, 2020 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s closest adviser, Dominic Cummings, travelled 250 miles from his London home after showing symptoms of coronavirus, breaking the government’s lockdown rules, the Guardian and Mirror newspapers reported on Friday. Cummings, a polarising figure in Britain since he masterminded the successful campaign to leave the European Union in 2016, travelled to [...]
UK arrivals face £1,000 fine if they break two-week quarantine rule May 22, 2020 People arriving in the UK will be fined £1,000 if they refuse to obey a new two-week quarantine rule that will be rolled out to help halt the spread of coronavirus. Home secretary Priti Patel today confirmed that from 8 June anyone arriving in the country will be told to self-isolate for 14 days. Passengers [...]
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 351 May 22, 2020 A further 351 people have died from coronavirus in the UK, taking the total to 36,393. As of 9am today, more than 2.1m people have been tested, of whom 254,195 tested positive, according to the latest official figures. The number is slightly higher than yesterday, when 338 new deaths were recorded. However, it continues the [...]
Boris Johnson plans to meet Trump in the US next month May 22, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson could travel to the US next month to meet President Donald Trump for the G7 summit. The plans were outlined in a Downing Street briefing earlier today, according to the Sun. Trump has already cancelled the summer G7 meeting but yesterday said he was considering changing the date so leaders can [...]
UK to get 10m coronavirus antibody tests in ‘coming months’ May 21, 2020 The government has ordered 10m coronavirus antibody tests as new figures show 17 per cent of Londoners have already caught Covid-19. The tests, from pharmaceutical companies Roche and Abbott’s, will first be administered to staff, residents and patients in healthcare or care home settings and will be available in the “coming months”. Announcing the order, [...]
Boris Johnson U-turns on NHS surcharge for migrant care and health workers May 21, 2020 Boris Johnson has told the health and home departments to remove the NHS immigrant surcharge for NHS and care workers, after defending the policy just 24 hours ago in parliament. The charge, which is £400 per year for adult migrants from non-European Economic Area countries, has been criticised for applying to frontline workers who have [...]
City calls for financial services not to be overlooked in Brexit trade deal May 21, 2020 City figures have this week called for the UK and EU not to overlook financial services in the final Brexit trade agreement. The UK published its draft Brexit trade agreement this week which called for the UK and EU for treatment “no less favourable than that it accords to its own like financial services and [...]
Boris Johnson will not face criminal investigation over Jennifer Arcuri relationship May 21, 2020 Boris Johnson will not face criminal charges over his relationship with US entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri. A probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the police watchdog, found there were no grounds to criminally investigate the Prime Minister. It had been alleged that Johnson had used his position of power to allow Arcuri to [...]
Minister: ‘No definitive timeline’ for UK coronavirus test and trace app May 21, 2020 Home Office minister James Brokenshire has warned there is still no set date for the rollout of the UK’s coronavirus tracing app as NHS leaders warn that time is running out to get a track and trace system in place to stop a second peak. Brokenshire said this morning that there was “no definitive timeline” [...]