UK

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not announced further restrictions today – but said he is following the data “hour by hour” and warned the rules could still be tightened in the days to come. The PM said the data is “under constant review”, with the situation “extremely difficult” and the “arguments either way are very,

Dominic Raab says he cannot make “hard, fast guarantees” that more restrictions won’t be imposed in the run-up to Christmas. However the deputy prime minister said he believes Britons will have a “much better Christmas than last year”. Mr Raab told Kay Burley: “I think we will have a much better Christmas than last year

Number 10 has defended a photo which appears to show Boris Johnson and staff relaxing and drinking in the Downing Street garden at a time of tough social restrictions in May 2020. The picture, published by The Guardian, shows the prime minister, his wife Carrie, and colleagues with wine and cheese. Nineteen people were present

People should take lateral flow tests just before meeting up with others because Omicron can become infectious “within hours”, a public health expert has warned. Irene Petersen, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, said official advice should be updated as those infected with Omicron “may switch from being non-infectious to infectious within hours”.

Extra restrictions are needed within days to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by Omicron, according to senior government scientists. Sky News understands experts who produce advice for ministers believe there are now “hundreds of thousands” of infections every day, many more than the number of official cases recorded on the daily dashboard. Even if transmission

Officials are drawing up plans for a two-week circuit breaker lockdown after Christmas which would include a ban on indoor mixing, according to reports. Draft regulations are being prepared which would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes, and that pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor service only, according to The Times.

The UK has reported 93,045 cases of coronavirus in the latest 24-hour period – a record high for daily infections as the Omicron variant surges across the country. It comes after the UK recorded another 3,201 new cases of Omicron. It takes the total number of confirmed cases of the strain to 14,909 as it

Four children who are believed to be related have died in a house fire in south London. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were sent to Collingwood Road, Sutton, just before 7pm on Thursday. Crews faced an “intense blaze” throughout the whole of the ground floor of the

“Each six months will be better than the last six months”, England’s chief medical officer has said, as he predicted it could be “possibly 18 months” until a wide range of vaccines covers all variants of the coronavirus. Professor Chris Whitty said it is likely that COVID vaccines and anti-viral drugs will do “almost all of

People should “make a sensible choice” if their priority is to make it to the Christmas dinner table with their families, a health minister has said – while not ruling out the possibility of more restrictions being imposed. Gillian Keegan told Kay Burley that individuals should “take a different approach” if they want to “make

Large numbers of COVID patients ending up in hospital is a “nailed on prospect” as the Omicron variant spreads at an “absolutely phenomenal pace” across the country, England’s chief medical officer has warned. Professor Chris Whitty, speaking at a Downing Street news conference, warned the UK was facing “a really serious threat” from the new

Adults must now show a COVID pass to enter nightclubs and other large events in England. The new measures coming into force today require proof of double-vaccination or a negative PCR or lateral flow test result within the last 48 hours for those attending some venues. The rules apply to nightclubs, indoor unseated venues with

Boris Johnson has suffered the biggest Conservative rebellion since the 2019 general election as almost 100 Tory MPs opposed the introduction of COVID certificates for nightclubs and large events in England. In a House of Commons vote that immediately raised further questions over the prime minister’s leadership, more than a quarter of Tory MPs opposed

Boris Johnson is facing the biggest Tory rebellion since the 2019 general election in a bitter Commons showdown with many of his own MPs over his Plan B COVID rules. Nearly 80 Conservative backbenchers have signalled they are prepared to vote against new regulations on face masks, isolating, vaccine passports and compulsory vaccinations for NHS

The health secretary has said the Omicron variant now represents more than 20% of COVID cases in England. Sajid Javid said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates that the current number of daily infections is around 200,000. He also said Omicron, which is thought to be much more transmissible than previous variants, represents more

Sajid Javid has urged the British public to “play your part” and get a COVID booster vaccine – warning that the UK is “once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus”. The heath secretary told Kay Burley that cases of Omicron are growing at a “phenomenal rate”, which is why the government

Officers investigating the disappearance of nursing assistant Petra Srncova have found a body in a park in south London, the Metropolitan Police said. The force said a member of the public called the police to Brunswick Park in Camberwell at around 11.40am on Sunday. Formal identification has not yet taken place, but Ms Srncova’s family

People aged 30 and over in England are invited to book their COVID boosters from Monday, amid concerns Omicron cases will rise significantly over the next few months. There are around 7.5 million people aged 30 to 39, and 3.5 million of those are eligible for boosters from Monday, NHS England said. All eligible adults

Another 633 Omicron cases have been found in the UK – the biggest daily increase since the COVID-19 variant has been detected in the country. The latest figure brings the total number of confirmed Omicron cases to 1,898 across the country, the UK health security agency said. In England, another 618 confirmed cases of the

The UK will have more than one million Omicron cases by the end of this month if current trends continue unchanged – but booster jabs provide 70-75% protection against symptomatic infection, says the Health Security Agency. The UKHSA said in a statement: “It is projected that if current trends continue unchanged, the UK will exceed