United Kingdom

    Boris Johnson has escaped unhurt after a security vehicle collided with the back of the car he was travelling in as he left parliament after prime minister’s questions. Video of the incident on Wednesday showed the grey Jaguar carrying Johnson pull out of the main gates of parliament as part of a convoy, including police motorcycles. As they left, a man believed to be part of a protest by Kurdish activists ran towards the prime minister’s car. Even though the man was pulled back by a police officer on foot, the car stopped suddenly, and a black Range Rover that was next in the convoy failed to stop in time. No 10 confirmed Johnson had been in the damaged car. A spokesman said: Yes, that was the PM’s car. I think the video speaks for itself as to what happened. No r...

    Age is a known risk factor for coronavirus complications. In the 10 weeks from 28 March to 5 June, six people aged 14 or under died with the infection in England and Wales. This is compared to 24,511 in those between 75 and 90 years old. Concerns have been raised that while the vast majority of youngsters recover from the coronavirus, they may still be capable to passing it to vulnerable adults, hence why officials stressed grandparents should not be called upon to provide childcare. This has been up for debate, however, with some research suggesting children are less likely to catch the coronavirus in the first place, let alone become seriously ill. Early research suggests the coronavirus is mild in four out of five cases, however, it can trigger a respiratory dis...

    High street stores were advised to close back in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, and now three months later have been given the go ahead to reopen on June 15 by the government. Some brands kept their websites open for shoppers to continue shopping online, while others were forced to close entirely. Popular shopping destinations and department stores across the UK, had been deserted during lockdown, but scenes now look very different. The reopening of stores has seen customers flock to their much-loved retailers, such as Primark, Nike and Selfridges. But with social distancing measures still in place there have been reports of queues spanning hundreds of metres long, as well as stock not being replenished on the shop floor for a number of days for customer and...

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest data for the number of deaths involving coronavirus in England and Wales. Here are five things the figures tell us about the situation across the whole of the UK. There have been more than 64,400 excess deaths in the UK since the outbreak began The number of excess deaths in the UK since the coronavirus outbreak began has passed 64,000. Tuesday’s figures from the ONS show there were 58,693 excess deaths in England and Wales between March 21 and June 5 2020. Data published last week by the National Records of Scotland found there were 4,769 excess deaths in Scotland between March 23 and June 7, while the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency put the figure for Northern Ireland at 940 exc...

    England’s coronavirus lockdown should not be further lifted until the government’s contact-tracing system has proven to be “robust and effective”, the World Health Organization has said after widespread criticism of the first results of the new tracking operation. As shops across England prepared to reopen, and people were encouraged by the government to come out of their homes and on to the high street, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s director for Europe, cautioned that the UK remained in a “very active phase of the pandemic”. His remarks came as ministers confirmed a review of the 2-metre distancing rule, with the government coming under pressure from business leaders, Tory backbenchers and rightwing media to further ease the lockdown. Boris Johnson said on Sunday that t...

    The UK's official coronavirus death toll has increased to 41,698 after just 36 more fatalities were reported in 24 hours the lowest daily rise during the lockdown. However, the low figure should be treated with some caution as many deaths on Saturdays and Sundays are not counted until Tuesday at the earliest due to a weekend reporting lag. The previous lockdown low of 55 was announced last Monday. The daily increase of 36 is the lowest on a Sunday since 35 deaths were reported on March 22, two days before the lockdown began. On recent Sundays, the toll climbed by 77 on June 7, 115 on May 31, 441 on May 24, 170 on May 17 and 269 on May 10. The highest rise on a Sunday came on April 12, when 686 deaths were announced at the peak of the outbreak. The Department of ...

    The two-metre social distancing rule can be abandoned by businesses reopening after lockdown if they introduce other measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus, Government scientists have told ministers. Following a political backlash against the two-metre rule, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) published a paper on Friday which set out protocols such as regular breaks, and getting workers to sit side by side that would make it much safer for people to be within one metre of each other. Over the past few days, officials have begun discreetly contacting business groups to ask whether they would object to it being watered down, The Telegraph understands. Downing Street is preparing to make a public announcement formally dropping the blanket two-m...

    School pupils will undergo a massive catch-up operation over the summer and beyond, the prime minister has announced as critics rounded on the government's handling of the impact of COVID-19 on education. Boris Johnson has said he wants all pupils back in classrooms by September - with reports suggesting he is willing to relax the two-metre rule to make this happen. It comes after the government abandoned plans to get more primary school children back in class before England's summer break. At the Downing Street news briefing on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said the government had been forced to move slower than we would have liked in some areas, including in reopening schools. We're going to get all schools back in September if we possibly can... but it's going to be a ...

    A further 245 people have died from coronavirus in the UK, the Department of Health has announced. As of 9am 10 June, there have been 6,042,622 tests, with 170,379 tests on 9 June. 290,143 people have tested positive. As of 5pm on 9 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 41,128 have sadly died.

    Carers, key workers and good neighbours will all be celebrated on the 72nd birthday of the NHS. Celebrities, health chiefs, trade unions and religious leaders will mark a national moment in the fight against the pandemic. The public can light a candle in their window during a minute’s silence for all those killed by Covid-19. The next day will feature a “clap of thanks” before neighbours raise a glass or cuppa outside their homes. It is backed by figures including astronaut Tim Peake, NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens and ex-England footballer Gary Lineker. In a joint letter published today dozens of individuals and groups have backed making Sunday July 5 a day to bring people together. The idea comes from the newly founded Together coalition, which includes the CBI, trad...