Top scientists advising Boris Johnson’s government are set to unveil new guidance on extending the rollout of Covid booster shots to younger adults on Monday, a health minister has said. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has been asked to consider boosters for under-40s, as well as reducing the gap between second doses and boosters....
Britain could face “challenges” over the availability of presents this Christmas as a result of disruption to global supply chains, Downing Street has admitted. But minister Steve Barclay assured the cabinet this morning that concerns over supplies of festive food such as turkeys had now been “alleviated” by action on temporary visas. Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting in Downing...
British business chiefs have urged Boris Johnson’s government against suspending the Brexit agreement with the EU, warning it could launch a “devastating” trade war in the weeks ahead. Brexit minister Lord Frost said last week that the option to trigger Article 16 to suspend the Northern Ireland protocol remained on the table if “significant gaps” with the...
The government has confirmed it will make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for frontline NHS staff from 1 April next year. Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, health secretary Sajid Javid said after considering thousands of responses to a consultation launched in the summer, “I have concluded that all those working in the NHS and...
A number of new bird flu cases have been confirmed in both wild bird and poultry in North Wales. The birds were found at premises in Wrexham and temporary control zones have been imposed by the government around the site in an attempt to stop the disease from spreading. An investigation is also underway. Wales’ Chief Veterinary Officer Christianne...
Three refugees are arguing the UAE funded war crimes by ISIS terrorists in the Syrian civil war in a landmark case in British legal history. The men, who are from Syria but are now asylum seekers in the UK, claim Arab officials financed human rights abuses in the war-torn country in 2015. They said they saw severe...
Modelling shows Covid cases could fall before Christmas even if plan B restrictions are not introduced, a government adviser has said. Professor John Edmunds, a member of Sage and the sub-group SPI-M, said the numbers are likely to decline “some time in the autumn” but warned they could rise again in the spring. His comments came as the government came under...
Rotherham Labour councillor Denise Lelliott demanded that Boris Johnson “do something and do it now” for British steel now the country is in a post-Brexit world. She called on the prime minister to pump money into the quality steel produced in the UK and get behind British workers in the same way GFG Alliance, the owner of steel...
A surge in holiday bookings is expected after the government announced on Friday that international travel rules were being simplified in England. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the travel traffic light system was being replaced with a single red list. And fully vaccinated people will no longer need a pre-departure test before returning from non-red...
Cash-strapped schools in England have been forced to cut support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) after nearly a third of headteachers said they were forced to slash their budgets last year, a survey reveals. Nearly all the school leaders polled (97%) said that funding for Send pupils was insufficient, and 95%...