Politics

More than 400,000 police records have accidentally been deleted from a national database, prompting warnings that criminal investigations could be compromised, Sky News understands. The fingerprint, DNA and arrest history records were wiped due to “human error” and “defective code”, policing minister Kit Malthouse said yesterday. It was initially reported by The Times that 150,000

Closing schools has been one of the most painful consequences of the pandemic – the action Boris Johnson described as his “last resort”. Charities have warned that it could wipe out a decade of progress closing the gap between less privileged pupils and their peers. New research from the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) has found

Home Secretary Priti Patel must “take responsibility” for the wiping of 150,000 arrest records from police databases, the Labour Party says. The records were accidentally wiped last week and they included fingerprint, DNA and arrest histories, according to The Times. The newspaper says the technological blunder could allow offenders to go free, as evidence from

The prime minister has a “sort of language which he’s quite rightly nervous using in front of women”, according to one of his former ministers. Amber Rudd, who briefly served as work and pensions secretary under Boris Johnson after he came to power in July 2019, accused him of going “backwards” on promoting women. She

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has resigned with immediate effect, just months before the next set of Scottish Parliament elections. In a statement, he said it was “not an easy decision” but the “right one for me and for the party”. Mr Leonard, who had been party leader since 2017 and is an MSP for

The prime minister has acknowledged there are “teething problems” with trade between Britain and Northern Ireland in the wake of the Brexit transition period coming to an end. Britain’s new trading relationship with Brussels came into effect at 11pm on December 31, following an 11-month Brexit transition period. There have been empty shelves on some

Boris Johnson has told MPs that recent coronavirus restrictions “are starting to show signs of some effect” – but he refused to rule out even tougher measures. The prime minister came under fresh pressure from Labour on Wednesday to tighten COVID rules in order to drive down infections. Live COVID updates from UK and around

Pressure on the NHS will not start to reduce until March, ministers have been warned – amid fears that new infections could be running at more than 250,000 a day. Downing Street has been told by government scientists that the rollout of the vaccines is unlikely to cause the mortality rate to decline until later

People who break coronavirus rules are “increasingly likely” to face fines as cases and deaths continue to soar, Britain’s most senior police officer has warned. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said it is “preposterous that anyone could be unaware of our duty to do all we can to stop the spread of the virus”.

The health secretary has suggested the prime minister was operating within the rules when he went cycling seven miles from Downing Street during lockdown. Boris Johnson was spotted at the Olympic Park in east London with members of his security detail on Sunday, according to the Evening Standard. Live COVID updates from UK and around

Lockdown rules are “not boundaries to be pushed against”, a government minister has warned – as he admitted there was concern at non-compliance with social distancing measures in supermarkets. As the second week of England’s third national lockdown begins, ministers are considering how to achieve greater enforcement of social distancing and mask-wearing in supermarkets. Vaccines

Demand for hospital services caused by the rampant coronavirus has put ambulance staff under “unprecedented pressure”, with handover delays on a scale not seen before, a paramedic boss has told Sky News. Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Tracy Nicholls, chief executive of the College of Paramedics, said some crews had reported waiting

Teachers could be next in line for the second wave of COVID-19 jabs, a member of the group advising on the vaccine rollout has suggested. Professor Adam Finn told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme that while no decisions had been taken on future prioritisation of the coronavirus injections, the “critical role” played by

More than nine in 10 headteachers say they don’t have confidence in the Department for Education’s decision-making, after schools were closed and exams cancelled due to the pandemic. Millions of children are being taught remotely and students will no longer sit their 2021 exams because of sharp rises in COVID-19 cases. Now a survey of

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused by her predecessor Alex Salmond of submitting evidence to a parliamentary inquiry that is “simply untrue”. A spokesperson for the first minister has said she “entirely rejects” the claims and accused Mr Salmond of “spinning false conspiracy theories”. Mr Salmond claims she attended a meeting at which

Wales its continuing its lockdown and will be toughening up some restrictions as the nation struggles to manage the spread of the new highly infectious coronavirus variant. People in Wales are already being told to stay at home and not mix with other households, but the lockdown measures had been due for a review. After