Holidaymakers should not pin their hopes on a slew of extra countries being added to the quarantine-free green list when it is updated later this month, government sources have warned. With ministers monitoring data daily on the spread of the Delta variant, after stage four of the reopening roadmap was postponed by a month to...
England is braced for a four-week extension of coronavirus restrictions to 19 July, after Boris Johnson said he will take a “cautious” approach to the final removal of lockdown. Hospitality chiefs told The Independent that the extra month of curbs will cost the sector £3bn and put 200,000 jobs at risk, and there were warnings...
Hundreds of women who were forced to give up babies for adoption in the 1950s, 60s and 70s are demanding a formal government apology. Many of the women were unmarried teenagers when they became pregnant, and gave birth in church-run “mother and baby homes” in the UK. An estimated quarter of a million women were...
The government has been urged to fund an extra year of study for college students who need it in light of the coronavirus pandemic. A cross-party group of MPs and peers have put forward suggestions to the education secretary on how to support colleges and its pupils affected by Covid-19. In a letter to Gavin Williamson, the group — which includes Tory...
Labour needs “total deconstruction and reconstruction” in order to revive as a party amid the “major setback” of last week’s poor electoral performance, former leader Tony Blair has warned. In a frank assessment of the party’s new leadership, Mr Blair also said that Sir Keir Starmer lacked a compelling economic message, was “struggling to break through with the public”, and...
A Metropolitan Police Service officer who was found to have racially profiled a Black driver during a stop-and-search last year will face no penalty for their actions. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation after a 27-year-old man was stopped after being observed by officers while driving in Old Kent Road in south London, in May...
Boris Johnson is insisting he is not personally in the frame for possible “offences” in the funding of his lavish flat makeover, after a watchdog launched an investigation. Downing Street said the prime minister would cooperate with the Electoral Commission’s inquiry, but added: “This is a specific matter for the Conservative Party.” The comment comes despite an expert warning...
Around 20 per cent of the value of Covid-19 contracts awarded – a total of £3.7bn – raises “red flags for possible corruption”, anti-sleaze investigators are warning. The detailed study of nearly 1,000 deals struck when the pandemic struck concludes they were “systemically biased” in favour of firms with political connections. Ministers are accused of undermining public confidence...
A 42-year-old man has been charged with drink-driving an e-scooter in Suffolk. Suffolk Police said that the man was spotted using the eclectic scooter on 5 April in Ipswich at around 1:50am. The police tailed the rider from Lindbergh Road into Hilton Road at which point he was stopped and breathalyzed, which he failed. As a result, Unal Gokbulut,...
The machinery of the British government spun into action to facilitate formal arrangements following the death of the Prince Philip, but a period of mourning will mean a major pause in politics at Westminster and beyond. All political campaigning for the Scottish, Welsh and English local elections in May has ceased, while ministers will no longer...