Politics

Boris Johnson will today urge MPs to approve England’s new lockdown – but the prime minister is continuing to face a backlash from his own Conservative MPs over the fresh shutdown. Following a 90-minute debate on the new national measures, the House of Commons will on Wednesday afternoon vote on whether to give a second

Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack. There are five different threat levels, with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) responsible for deciding at which level the UK should sit. Image: JTAC is based at MI5’s headquarters in London The five terror threat levels are: Low

Nicola Sturgeon has called for clarity over whether the furlough scheme will be extended beyond 2 December in Scotland if needed. Scotland’s first minister made the call after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News’ Kay Burley it would be a decision for the chancellor to take after the nationwide lockdown in England ends at

National lockdown number two. It was a policy that two weeks ago, the prime minister not only rejected on the floor of the House of Commons but lambasted Sir Keir Starmer for supporting. So to come to the House Commons on Monday to ask parliament to back a four-week lockdown was always going to be

Rishi Sunak has said the new lockdown restrictions in England will expire on 2 December “as a matter of law”. The chancellor stressed these rules are time limited – and told the BBC the government’s “expectation and firm hope is that the measures put in place will be sufficient to do the job we need”.

Boris Johnson will tomorrow insist the national lockdown in England will end on 2 December, despite a member of his cabinet indicating the new measures could be extended beyond that date. Growing numbers of senior Conservative backbenchers have signalled their opposition to the measures due to come into effect on Thursday, while Labour have said

England is to enter a second national lockdown from Thursday, Boris Johnson has announced, as a second wave of coronavirus cases continues to grow. In a speech on Saturday the prime minister detailed new the new rules which will be in place from 5 November until 2 December. Here is that speech in full: Thank

England is to be placed under stricter nationwide restrictions from Thursday in an attempt to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new measures just after confirmed COVID-19 cases passed the one million mark across the UK. The new restrictions will initially be imposed from 0001 on 5 November until

A second national lockdown. It was something that the prime minister said would be a “disaster” for this country and something he vowed to do “everything in his power” to avoid. But now Mr Johnson is poised to announce exactly that. The measures are still under discussion – with a cabinet meeting planned this afternoon

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News he was “disappointed” in his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s response to a damning antisemitism report – but has insisted there is “no reason for a civil war” in the party. Mr Corbyn was suspended from Labour on Thursday – a move he condemned as “political intervention” –

Days after being involved in a minor road accident which left his car dented and scratched and a Deliveroo cyclist with an injured arm, Sir Keir Starmer is on collision course with the Labour left. But while his car can be repaired and the cyclist’s arm will hopefully heal speedily, the Labour leader is now

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the party and has had the whip removed. A party spokesman said: “In light of his comments made today and his failure to retract them subsequently, the Labour Party has suspended Jeremy Corbyn pending investigation. He has also had the whip removed from the Parliamentary Labour

The Labour Party broke the law in its failure to handle antisemitism complaints and there were “serious failings” by its leadership, the equalities watchdog has concluded. An investigation into anti-Semitism in the party by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found it responsible for “unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination” and said there was

The government is in danger of leaving it “too late” for a short national lockdown to be effective in driving down the rate of coronavirus infections, a member of its scientific advisory group has warned. Professor Andrew Hayward, from UCL’s institute of epidemiology and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told Sky News

The prime minister is under mounting pressure to bring in tougher coronavirus rules after UK deaths hit their highest level for five months. There were 367 deaths linked to the virus recorded on Tuesday, and nearly 23,000 more cases. Downing Street has not rebuffed an internal projection from its SAGE experts that this winter could

The Tory MP husband of embattled coronavirus Test and Trace boss Dido Harding has been condemned by Labour after criticising “chaotic parents” in the row over Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign. Former minister John Penrose, a millionaire publisher, made the comment in a letter to a constituent who asked him why he voted in