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Priti Patel warns police moving to issue more fines

Home Secretary Priti Patel warns the police are moving more quickly to issue fines for those breaking coronavirus restrictions. .

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  • Mike Pence is homeless after leaving office and ‘couch-surfing’ with Indiana politicians, report says

    Mike Pence has been residing in public housing for the past eight years

  • EU demands AstraZeneca diverts 75m Covid jabs made in UK factories

    Brussels on Wednesday demanded that tens of millions of British-made coronavirus vaccines be diverted from the UK to make up a supply shortfall in the jabs in the EU. The European Commission said it was contractually entitled to doses from two UK plants making the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine as its row with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant deepened. The British Government said it had a deal with AstraZeneca to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine with agreed delivery schedules. British sources said that, once the UK factories had fulfilled their commitment to Britain, AstraZeneca would be free to supply other countries – something the firm's CEO, Pascal Soriot, confirmed in an interview on Tuesday. But Stella Kyriakides, the EU's health commissioner, said: "We reject the logic of first come, first served. That might work at the neighbourhood butchers, but not on our contracts and not in our advanced purchase agreements." She said there was " no priority clause" in the EU contract between the four production plants in the agreement, two factories in the EU and the two in the UK. "In our contract it is not specified that any country or the UK has priority... This needs to be absolutely clear," Ms Kyriakides said.

  • Lockdown restrictions to stay in place until 8 March at the earliest, Boris Johnson announces

    The PM said schools won’t reopen and 'other economic and social restrictions' won’t be eased until then.

  • Weather warnings in place with seven inches of snow set to fall in parts of UK

    But parts of southern England and Wales could see ‘spring-like’ temperatures, according to the Met Office.

  • COVID-19: Breakthrough treatment claims to stop 100% of symptomatic infections

    The makers of an experimental drug, now being trialled by the NHS, say it is 100 per cent effective in protecting against symptomatic cases of the virus. US-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals says its two-antibody cocktail called REGEN-COV also reduces overall coronavirus infection rates by about 50 per cent. The claims are based on interim results and the "confirmatory stage" of the trial will not be complete until the second quarter of this year, but the company has said it is hopeful it may "break the chain" of rising infections.

  • ‘Dead on arrival’: Trump supporting senators celebrate vote that sets course for impeachment to fail

    ‘Just do the math’, said Susan Collins as colleagues hailed trial against Donald Trump being ‘over’ before it begun

  • Britons required to declare 'valid reason' for travel or face fines

    UK quarantine hotels: how would they work? Our blueprint for getting holidays back to normal Will vaccine passports open up our holidays? 'We can't control the virus with a travel ban' Sign up to the Telegraph Travel newsletter Anyone departing from the UK will be required to declare their reasons for travelling, as the Government today announces tighter border restrictions – including 'quarantine hotels' for arrivals from selected countries. Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, Home Secretary Priti Patel said that it "is clear that there are still too many people coming in and out of our country each day," and set out new measures to "reduce passenger flow so that only a small number of people for whom it is absolutely essential to travel are doing so." Transport providers will check passengers' reasons for travel on departure, police presence will be increased at ports and airports, and people will be directed to return home if they do not have a valid reason – and may face a fine. Patel added that police will carry out more checks at physical addresses, to ensure compliance with the restrictions. A new 'quarantine hotel' policy will also see arriving travellers being forced to self-isolate in hotels. The rule will apply to those returning from countries where international travel bans have already been imposed, including Portugal. "They will be required to isolate for 10 days, without exemption, and the Department of Health will set out further details on this approach next week," Patel said. "Despite the stay-at-home regulations, we are still seeing people not complying with these rules. The rules are clear – people should be staying at home, unless they have a valid reason to leave." Scroll down for more on this story, and other breaking travel news.

  • Piers Morgan apologises to Elizabeth Hurley after she reveals her mum took THOSE snow pictures

    He made sure to say sorry on Good Morning Britain

  • Elizabeth Hurley hits back at critics of snow photoshoot after Piers Morgan’s ‘creepy’ comment

    The 55-year-old hit back at suggestions her teenage son Damian had taken the photos.

  • Good Morning Britain's Kate Garraway told her husband Derek might never come out of coma

    Piers Morgan speaks about Derek Draper's "heartbreaking" condition.

  • Biden press secretary says she will not talk ‘further’ about Marjorie Taylor Greene in White House

    Republican congresswoman reportedly endorsed execution of leading Democrats in old Facebook posts

  • Republicans lose vote to stop Trump impeachment trial as Mitch McConnell joins GOP declaring it unconstitutional

    Only five Senate Republicans join Democrats to reject effort to declare trial is unconstitutional

  • AstraZeneca boss speaks out as Boris Johnson appeals to EU not to restrict vaccine movements in supply row

    Company chief confirms UK will have first claim on jabs, as it got order in three months earlier than Brussels

  • ‘This was absolutely avoidable’: How the UK lost 100,000 lives to Covid-19

    A catalogue of costly errors, the refusal to heed scientific advice at crucial pinch-points and the absence of any real strategy set the UK on a collision course with tragedy, writes Samuel Lovett

  • Oxford vaccine factory evacuated after 'suspicious package' was sent to site

    A bomb disposal team has been called to the factory in which the Oxford vaccine is made after a suspicious package was reported. The Wockhardt factory on the Wrexham Industrial Estate was evacuated this morning after the package was sent to the site. It is here where the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is packaged into vials. In a statement, Wockhardt said: "Wockhardt UK in Wrexham this morning received a suspicious package to site. "All relevant authorities were immediately notified and engaged. Upon expert advice we have partially evacuated the site pending a full investigation. "The safety of our employees and business continuity remain of paramount importance." Downing Street is being kept up to date on developments, a Number 10 spokesman said. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford tweeted: "We are working with local police and the military to find out more about this incident. "Thank you to the security personnel who are on-site to protect lives and ensure the safety of our vaccine supply. This highlights the vital role they play in keeping us all safe. Diolch." Last week, emergency teams were called out to protect supplies of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following flooding at the industrial estate. All "necessary precautions" were taken to prevent disruption to the manufacture of the jab, a Wockhardt spokeswoman said at the time. North Wales Police said on Wednesday afternoon: "We are currently dealing with an ongoing incident on the Wrexham Industrial Estate. "The roads are currently closed and we would ask the public to avoid the area until further notice." What we know so far Suspicious package delivered this morning to Wockhardt factory, where vaccine is bottled into vials Factory partially evacuated Bomb disposal team called Police asking people to avoid area The 'ongoing incident', in pictures

  • Alister Jack: Independent Scotland would have largest deficit in EU

    The Scottish Secretary faced down SNP questions over the granting of a second independence referendum.

  • Trump Plaza near Mar-a-Lago in Florida will be renamed following riots at US Capitol

    While physical ‘Trump’ signs have been gone since last year, the latest move would fully remove the ex-president’s name from the condo’s official title

  • Icelanders get Covid vaccine 'passports' opening up possible quarantine-free travel within EU

    Iceland has issued its first vaccination certificates to ease international travel for those inoculated against Covid-19, authorities told AFP on Tuesday, with EU countries still haggling over using such documents. All the 4,800 Icelanders who have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine are eligible for the digital certificates, said the health ministry, which has set up a website to handle their distribution. "The aim to facilitate the movement of people between countries so that the individuals can show a vaccination certificate during border checks and be exempt from border restrictions," the ministry said. However, the documents have yet to be recognised internationally. Iceland, which is not an EU member but is part of the bloc's Schengen open travel zone, intends to allow most Europeans bearing similar certificates to enter the country. But Brussels is still trying to find a consensus between member states about the certificates. Greece backs the idea to boost its suffering tourism industry.

  • AstraZeneca vaccine may not go to older people, EU medicines chief suggests

    AstraZeneca vaccine may not go to older people, EU medicines chief suggestsEuropean Medicines Agency approval could stipulate age range, says Emer CookeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Emer Cooke of the EMA, who is Irish, said the regulatory body is examining the ‘totality of the data’. Photograph: AP

  • Boris Johnson rejects Labour demand to vaccinate all teachers during half-term

    Keir Starmer demands explanation for UK’s death rate, accusing PM of being ‘slow… slow… slow’