Your morning briefing: What you should know for Thursday, July 29

 (ES Composite)
(ES Composite)

Lack of quarantine at borders ‘risks importing new variants’

Boris Johnson risks allowing a new Covid variant to “run rampant” through the country by further easing restrictions for EU and US travellers, Labour has claimed.

England is to allow people visiting from the US and the EU who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus to enter without the need to quarantine.

The new rules will be in place from 4am on Monday, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps expressing hopes that the US will become more relaxed about allowing Britons to visit “in time”.

Liverpool fan dies 32 years after life-changing injuries at Hillsborough

A Liverpool fan who suffered life-changing injuries in the Hillsborough disaster has died.

The family of Andrew Devine, 55, said he died on Tuesday, 32 years after he was badly hurt in the tragedy at the FA Cup semi-final on April 15 1989.

Mr Devine was described as a “much-loved son, brother and uncle” who had been supported by his family and a team of dedicated carers.

Three in four schools sign up for summer provision

Nearly three in four eligible secondary schools across England have signed up to host summer provision for pupils who experienced the most disruption to their learning during the pandemic.

The Department for Education (DfE) has released figures showing that 2,820 mainstream secondary schools have signed up for the summer school scheme, which is equivalent to 74% of those eligible.

Secondary schools were encouraged to bid for a share of a £200 million Government fund for summer schools this year, which is predominantly being targeted towards incoming Year 7 students.

The figures come after some heads expressed reluctance to run catch-up provision over the summer amid concerns about pupil and staff wellbeing.

Sunak told to apologise for ‘prematurely’ withdrawing furlough scheme

The Chancellor should use his visit to Scotland to apologise for “prematurely withdrawing furlough and risking thousands of unnecessary redundancies”, the SNP has demanded.

Rishi Sunak will visit Edinburgh Glasgow and Fife on Thursday to meet people supported by the UK Government’s “plan for jobs” scheme, which he said has supported one in three jobs in Scotland and tens of thousands of Scottish businesses.

Mr Sunak hailed the strength of the Union and Scotland’s “innovation and ingenuity” ahead of the visit, saying: “We’ve come through this pandemic as one United Kingdom.”

‘No current plans’ for another series of X Factor

ITV has said there are "no current plans" for another series of The X Factor.

The statement came following reports in The Sun that creator Simon Cowell has axed the programme after 17 years.

The newspaper said the programme is being rested for at least five years.

The X Factor last aired in 2018 when Dalton Harris was crowned the winner.

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Your morning briefing: What you should know for Wednesday, July 28

Your morning briefing: What you should know for Tuesday, July 27

Your morning briefing: What you should know for Friday, July 23