Boris Johnson has said he is “optimistic” ahead of his “roadmap” for easing England’s lockdown – and hinted at which industries will reopen first. The prime minister said his plan, which will be unveiled on 22 February, will prioritise the reopening of schools from 8 March. He added that non-essential retail will follow, then hospitality
Politics
Over-65s will begin receiving letters inviting them to get COVID vaccines from early next week as part of the next phase of the UK’s vaccination programme, Sky News understands. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously set a deadline of Monday 15 February for offering a first dose of a vaccine to 15 million people in
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A senior Conservative MP has warned the government against “backsliding” on the reopening of all schools in England on 8 March and suggested some younger children should return to classrooms this month. Robert Halfon, the chair of the House of Commons education committee, told Sky News of his concerns of an “epidemic of educational poverty”
A lack of planning could affect the next phase of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, MPs have warned. The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) praised the “world-beating” effort to get the jab to the most vulnerable, but said there is “much to be done” if the UK government is to hit its next target. Ministers are
Ministers will tomorrow discuss a Cabinet Office proposal to introduce vaccine and testing certificates for when international travel is allowed again, Sky News can reveal. Responsibilities have already been divided up between government departments to look at the idea. If approved, the Department for Transport will be told to draw up plans for a certificate
The EU has accused the UK government of “shortcomings” over implementing Northern Ireland protocol, ahead of a meeting between the government and the bloc in London. The protocol was the way in which a “hard border” was prevented on the island of Ireland following the agreement of a Brexit deal in December – but has
CNN’s Chris Cuomo reviews the video and audio evidence played during the second day of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, weighing the implications of a possible acquittal. #ChrisCuomo #CNN #CuomoPrimeTime
The prime minister has raised the prospect of people getting a coronavirus vaccine “booster” jab in the autumn. Boris Johnson said the move would likely be required as the UK battles the emergence of new variants of COVID-19. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world “I think we’re going to have to
From next week, new UK border measures will come into force as ministers act to prevent the possible import of COVID variants. The UK government has been taking advice from officials in Australia over the fresh restrictions – a country that has been widely praised for its response to the coronavirus pandemic. The new action
CNN’s Chris Cuomo takes a closer look at former President Trump’s legal team’s argument on the first day of his second impeachment trial. #CNN #ChrisCuomo #CuomoPrimeTime
CNN’s Jim Acosta and Jamie Gangel say their contacts close to former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party called the presentation by Trump’s defense team at the second impeachment trial a disaster. #TrumpImpeachement #JimAcosta #JamieGangel
A former Conservative minister attempted to influence judges over the case of an ex-Tory MP jailed for sexually assaulting two women, a parliamentary watchdog has found. Lord Freud breached the code of conduct for peers over his actions linked to the trial of Charlie Elphicke, the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards ruled. In November
All travellers arriving in the UK are to face mandatory coronavirus tests from next week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is poised to announce to MPs. In a Commons statement, he will say that from next Monday, 15 February, all passengers arriving in the UK will be required take a test on days two and eight
Boris Johnson has not ruled out a shake-up of the school calendar as part of a “flat out” bid to help pupils catch up from missed classroom time. The prime minister on Monday said the government’s “single biggest priority” now was to overcome the loss of learning suffered by children during the coronavirus pandemic. In
The government is “very concerned” about low uptake of the coronavirus jab among black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, the vaccines minister has told Sky News. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was “very high”, with data from the Office for National Statistics showing 85% of adults
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The vaccines minister has told Sky News he is “confident” the UK will hit its “tough target” of offering everybody over 50 a coronavirus jab by May. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said that at one point on Saturday, the UK was administering COVID-19 jabs at a rate of almost 1,000 per
Business leaders have welcomed changes to lockdown loans but say more support is needed to keep firms afloat over the coming months. On Friday night, Rishi Sunak announced that small businesses would be given more time to repay bounce-back loans under a “pay-as-you-grow” initiative. The chancellor said he was determined to give firms the “breathing
Details of a huge overhaul of how the NHS is run have been revealed in a leaked government document. The reforms would reverse controversial changes brought in by David Cameron’s coalition government in 2012 and slim down the role of private providers in the health service. The policy document, leaked to the website Health Policy