Author: Sumon Admin

    Rishi Sunak is unveiling an emergency COVID rescue plan to protect jobs that is expected to include wage subsidies, VAT cuts and more cheap loans for struggling businesses. In a dramatic move, the chancellor has ruled out an autumn budget and instead will launch a "Winter Economy Plan" after MPs and unions warned of the risk of a "tsunami" of job losses. The aim is to help the economy cope with the new coronavirus restrictions announced by Boris Johnson this week, including a 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants and ordering office staff to work from home. And as the government prepared to launch its NHS COVID-19 App, the latest figures showed 6,178 new cases of coronavirus in the UK, taking the overall number to 409,729. The centrepiece of the multi-billion-pound...

    The Treasury is working on plans for a successor to the furlough scheme to fend off a wave of unemployment in the autumn. The fresh restrictions announced by Boris Johnson on Tuesday which could last as long as six months were greeted with shock by sectors like hospitality still dependent on the £47bn scheme due to the lack of details on future support. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has warned of a disaster if the scheme comes to an abrupt halt at the end of October while Mr Johnson has said Chancellor Rishi Sunak will show imagination and creativity in protecting jobs. But work in the Treasury is under way looking at the possibility of the state subsidising the wages of workers able to work 50-60pc of their normal hours, according to the Financial Times. No de...

    Boris Johnson has urged office workers to stay at home and slashed wedding parties to 15 people as part of his fresh battle plan to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases. The Prime Minister also announced that masks must be worn in restaurants and bars, except when seated at tables, and that the 'rule of six' exemption for indoor sports would be scrapped, as he confirmed a 10pm curfew for the hospitality sector. Mr Johnson, who will also give a televised address at 8pm, warned that the new restrictions could remain in place for “perhaps six months” as the UK attempts to curb a second wave of the virus . In a huge clampdown on potential flouters, fines for breaking the 'rule of six' for the first time have doubled to £200. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it is “...

    Boris Johnson will chair a Cobra meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the next steps in the UK's coronavirus response. Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister will phone the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while the Cabinet received a detailed briefing from the Government’s chief medical, scientific and economic advisers over the weekend, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said. In a briefing to the nation on Monday, chief medical officer Chris Whitty hinted at new social curbs to prevent an "exponential" rise in deaths as he called for Brits to "break unnecessary links between households", warning that the "vast majority" were still "susceptible" to Covid-19. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons people on low-incomes who ...

    Brits who fail to self-isolate will soon be hit with £10,000, Boris Johnson has announced amid rising concern at the spike in coronavirus infections. Another 4,422 new Covid-19 cases were recorded overnight, marking the highest daily rise in infections since May 8. It comes as Sadiq Khan warned that London should be placed under new lockdown restrictions as early as Monday to stop a surge in cases. Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the Government to entrust coronavirus testing to local authorities who have a comprehensive understanding of their communities.

    Priti Patel is planning to fly Channel migrants back to Italy, Germany and France on a weekly basis, it can be revealed. At least 1,000 people are set to be removed as part of a crackdown in order to deter the record numbers making the crossing from France in small boats. But officials at the Home Office warn that their efforts are being hampered by “activist lawyers” and migrants who abuse the law. The weekly targets and the attack on the legal profession have been condemned by campaigners and lawyers who accuse the Home Secretary of undermining the rule of law. In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Telegraph, officials at the Immigration Enforcement Secretariat described the Channel crossings as “thoroughly unacceptable” and said that the ...

    It is "increasingly likely" that lockdown restrictions will soon be needed to slow the spread of coronavirus in London, Sadiq Khan has warned. His comments come after Boris Johnson said the UK is “now seeing a second wave coming in”, and that it was “inevitable” that Covid-19 would hit the country again. The number of cases per 100,000 people over seven days is reported to have increased in London from 18.8 to around 25. Meanwhile Mr Khan, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Nicola Sturgeon are urging the Prime Minister to convene a Cobra meeting to discuss the spike in infections.

    Boris Johnson's readiness to tear up the UK's reputation for honest dealing by rewriting the EU withdrawal deal has grabbed the headlines. The news, though, is worse. Legislation to create a post-Brexit single market across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland shows equal contempt for the UK's constitutional settlement. By asserting unassailable English supremacy, the prime minister is inviting Scotland to leave the union. There is a burgeoning school of thought, in Whitehall and Westminster as well as Edinburgh, that says Brexit has made Scottish independence inevitable. The sweep of history, the story runs, will conclude that the matter was settled as soon as England voted to leave the EU and Scotland to remain. The frayed bonds of the union were cut beyon...

    Nearly every school in the country is struggling to access tests for students and staff, headteachers have warned the Prime Minister. School leaders have written to Boris Johnson to tell of their “mounting concern” about delays in accessing test results and advice from public health officials as they urge him to take personal control of the situation. They said that 96 per cent of schools experiencing difficulties and delays in accessing tests for students and staff, which is causing severe disruption for children’s education. The leaders of the country’s two largest headteacher unions and the national school governor association said that schools are left in an “impossible” position of “either leaving close contacts of the infected person in school while they wait...

    More than 57,500 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in the UK, the ONS has confirmed. Its latest figures, published this morning, show that 52,420 deaths involving Covid-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to September 4, and had been registered by September 12. It comes amid concerns over testing shortages in some of the country's virus hotspots, with people complaining of being unable to get swabs and others forced to travel hundreds of miles from their homes to visit drive-through facilities. Oxford University professor Sir John Bell, who has been advising the Government, said a “second wave” in Britain's outbreak had led to a surge in demand for tests. In other developments, Sir Keir Starmer is to call for new measures to protect millions of job...