United Kingdom

    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...

    Around 4.5 million people could be told to self-isolate due to a surge in Coronavirus cases, according to a new report. For the second day in a row, confirmed Covid-19 cases rose above 3,000 yesterday with the Government confirming that children will not be exempt from the "rule of six" restriction measures starting on Monday. A Whitehall source told the Sunday Telegraph that millions of the people including those with underlying health conditions, the old and the overweight could be contacted after a "risk model' was discussed at a virus meeting. It comes as the Government sent an alert to care providers urging them to “take the necessary action to prevent and limit outbreaks” after an increase in infections.

    Michael Gove has defended the government’s plan to override parts of its own Brexit deal with the EU, claiming the internal market bill was necessary to protect the territorial integrity of the UK. He also insisted that the government is acting within the rule of law and was behaving in a constructive and pragmatic way, despite the Northern Ireland secretary admitting the new legislation would breach international law. The Cabinet Office minister, who was doing the rounds of TV and radio programmes on Saturday morning, told BBC Breakfast the EU could put the integrity of the UK at threat without the controversial legislation the government is trying to push through in the face of outrage even within the Tory party. We’re doing our part generously to help protect th...

    Birmingham is being put in a local lockdown with a ban on households mixing after a worrying spike in coronavirus cases. New restrictions will come into effect on Tuesday in Birmingham and the neighbouring boroughs of Sandwell and Solihull, affecting more than 1.5 million people. They were confirmed after UK Government and regional health and council leaders held discussions over two days. The Health Secretary has said guidance that residents cannot socialise outside of their households in the city will become law. Birmingham's local lockdown restrictions were announced on Friday as new figures revealed the city has the highest rate of Covid-19 infection in England behind Bolton. According to the latest data, the city seven-day infection rate was 85.4 cases per 10...

    Boris Johnson is to plead with fractious Tory MPs to back him in his bust-up with Brussels, amid Downing Street fears of a backbench rebellion against measures which ministers admit break international law. In a Friday evening video conference call, the prime minister will try to answer deep anxieties over provisions in his UK Internal Market Bill which have been condemned by three former prime ministers and provoked Brussels to threaten legal action. Senior and normally loyal Tories have vowed to vote against the government when the bill is rushed through the Commons next week, and while privately some were doubtful of mustering the 40 or more rebels needed to block the legislation it then faces likely defeat in the House of Lords. Mr Johnson decision to give UK m...

    Ambitious mass coronavirus testing plans which could keep hopes of Christmas parties alive would cost as much as £100 billion, according to reports. Leaked documents seen by the BMJ suggest that the "Operation Moonshot" project, which would see millions of UK-wide tests carried out daily, could have a price tag close to that of the £114 billion budget given to NHS England in 2018. It comes as the plans were also criticised by top doctors. Boris Johnson believes the scheme could help sport and entertainment venues reopen fully and allow people to socially mix in large groups again with on-the-day tests. The Department of Health said it was investing £500 million in "next generation tests like saliva tests and rapid turnaround tests that can deliver results in just 20...

    Three people have died in California as a wildfire spreads, causing thousands to evacuate. Thousands of buildings have been damaged by the blaze northeast of San Francisco, fire officials said. One victim was found in a car after attempting to flee the fires, California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Draper told reporters. Since the middle of August, fires in California have killed 11 people, The US Forest Service, has ordered all 18 of its forests in the state to close on Wednesday for public safety. The fire has also threatened Paradise, a town devastated just two years ago by the deadliest blaze in state history that prompted a traffic jam as panicked residents tried to escape. Other wildfires charred huge areas of the west of the US amid gusty, dry conditions, with...