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Sunak says Johnson has acted devisively to new strain

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reacted decisively in response to data on rising Covid cases.

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  • Government 'looking very carefully' at Pfizer vaccine after 'real world effectiveness' claims

    Israel has warned that the vaccine could drop to 33% effectiveness after the first dose, while the UK continues to wait weeks before providing the booster jab.

  • Ethnic minorities are four times more likely to die: vaccinate them first

    As Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, often says, we are engaged in “a race against death”. By the time it convened on December 30, it was reasonably clear that ethnicity itself (in the genetic sense) was not the cause of the higher death rates, which were, instead, the consequence of the disadvantages and deprivations that minority groups routinely confront: high-risk occupations, cramped housing, poverty and the illnesses it fosters, and unequal access to healthcare.

  • 'Palace Four' to reveal whether Meghan Markle gave private information to the authors of Finding Freedom

    The “Palace Four” will reveal whether the Duchess of Sussex gave private information to the authors of Finding Freedom, indirectly or otherwise, they have confirmed. The four, who were among the Duchess’s closest and most senior aides, insisted they would remain “strictly neutral” and had no interest in helping either side in her legal action against the Mail on Sunday. In a letter lodged with the High Court on their behalf, Samantha Cohen, her former private secretary, Christian Jones, former deputy communications secretary, Jason Knauf, former Kensington Palace communications secretary and Sara Latham, former communications director, said they would also provide evidence about the creation of the letter Meghan sent to her father, as well as the draft, and whether she anticipated that it might be made public. Antony White QC, for Associated Newspapers, owner of the Mail on Sunday, said the group could clearly “shed light” on the issues at stake, noting that the case “cried out” for further investigation at trial. The Duchess is suing Associated for breach of privacy and copyright relating to the publication of five articles, three in the MailOnline and two in the Mail on Sunday, in February 2019. She has applied for summary judgment, a legal step that would negate the need for a trial.

  • Biden seen for first time on inauguration day, after letting Trump finish his goodbye

    President-elect will be inaugurated at noon on Wednesday

  • Storm Christoph: Major incident declared in Greater Manchester as torrential rain threatens flooding

    Weather system expected to bring deluge to northern and central England

  • Exclusive: Free-for-all as councils offer Covid jabs to staff before elderly

    Council workers and nursery teachers have been offered Covid vaccinations ahead of the over-70s as the unequal supply of jabs appeared to be fuelling a free-for-all. Two Conservative-controlled councils secured vaccinations for their staff this week and offered jabs to thousands of nursery workers in defiance of the Government's priority list, The Telegraph can disclose. It comes amid concern that the rollout of the vaccination programme has slowed since the weekend. The latest daily figures show 204,076 jabs administered across Britain, compared with 324,000 on Friday. Ministers have been accused of presiding over a postcode lottery after it emerged that Sandwich in Kent is among a number of areas not to have received a single vial of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines. NHS data revealed that fewer than one in 20 people have been vaccinated in London, compared with one in 12 in the North-East and Yorkshire and the South-West.

  • Talking can spread Covid as much as coughing, says research

    Talking can spread Covid as much as coughing, says research. Tiny aerosols of the virus emitted when speaking linger in air for longer than larger droplets from a cough

  • Exclusive: Prince William's closest aide quits

    The Duke of Cambridge is set to lose a second key aide in a year. Christian Jones, who replaced Simon Case as William’s private secretary last March after he was poached by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is leaving the royal household to join the private equity group Bridgepoint as a partner. The 31-year-old, who was previously William and Kate’s communications secretary, will head up corporate affairs for the £18 billion company. It is understood he will remain an advisor to the royal couple, whom he is credited with protecting from the fallout from “Megxit”, helping them to maintain a visible presence throughout the coronavirus crisis. A royal source said: “Whereas Simon was credited with making the Duke a statesman - Christian has really helped them to steer them through their public-facing role during the pandemic. He’s helped them to grow in confidence by gently pushing them out of their comfort zone.”

  • In pictures: Storm Christoph causes flooding chaos across UK

    The UK is bracing itself as Storm Christoph continues to cause chaos across large parts of the country.Major incidents have already been declared in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire amid amber and yellow weather warnings for the storm, which could also bring snow to northern areas.More than 120mm of rain has already fallen in parts of the country, with 123.4mm at Honister Pass in Cumbria in the 24 hours up to 6am on Wednesday.Nearby Seathwaite saw the second-highest total, with 107.2mm, and some isolated spots could see up to 200mm, the Met Office said.Almost the whole of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are subject to yellow weather warnings for rain until midday on Thursday, with a more serious amber warning stretching from the East Midlands to the Lake District.The amber alert warns of the risk of flooding and deep floodwaters which could pose a risk to life, and there are further yellow warnings for snow and ice in Scotland.Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge described Christoph as “quite a slow-moving system” which is bringing “a variety of weather” to the UK.Fifty flood warnings have been issued across England, with 175 less severe flood alerts.

  • Trump leaves note for Biden at White House

    President declines to call or meet with his successor, though he reportedly leaves him a note in the West Wing

  • Scottish GPs 'cancelling vaccine appointments' in supply hold-up despite 400,000 'unused' doses

    Frustrated GPs are being forced to cancel patients' Covid vaccination appointments thanks to lack of supply despite hundreds of thousands of doses lying unused, Nicola Sturgeon has been warned. Declaring the roll-out was going to plan, the First Minister said around 100,000 people per week were now being vaccinated in Scotland and all over-80s would be reached by the start of February. Between 15 and 20 per cent of Scots aged over 80 have been vaccinated so far, compared to more than half in England, but Ms Sturgeon said care homes had nearly been completed and the roll-out would now accelerate. But she was forced to deny her government is failing to distribute the vaccine to GPs quickly enough after it emerged only 284,582 doses out of Scotland's allocation of 717,000 had been administered. Challenged repeatedly to explain why GPs were running out when more than 400,000 doses were unused, she hit out at the UK Government for leaking the figure and accused it of having a "hissy fit" over her administration publishing confidential supply statistics last week. However, Dr Andrew Buist, who chairs the British Medical Association's Scottish GP committee, said family doctors were frustrated by the "bumpy" supply and they were being kept in the dark over why they had not received shipments. He said: "The workforce is there and that's why it's so incredibly frustrating when the patients want the vaccine, we're very keen to give it to our patients but we just don't have the vaccine in our fridge." Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said GPs in his Fife constituency had been forced to cancel vaccination appointments because they had not been provided with the necessary supply.

  • Coronavirus deaths hit grim new daily high, as expert warns it will be weeks before they fall significantly

    UK has ‘one of the worst coronavirus problems in the world at the moment’, warns scientist

  • Coronavirus latest news: Record daily deaths as Sir Patrick Vallance warns hospitals are like 'war zones'

    Public against rush to reopen after lockdown, say ministers UK to 'look carefully' at claims vaccine efficacy has dropped to 33 per cent with one dose in Israel Exclusive: Free-for-all as councils offer jabs to staff before elderly The town where residents wonder if they'll ever get a vaccine Herd immunity 'needs at least 70 per cent of population to be protected from Covid' Subscribe to The Telegraph for a month-long free trial Britain has suffered its highest daily death toll since the pandemic began with the virus claiming 1,820 lives and surpassing yesterday's record of 1,610. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a sombre response to the latest figures warning "there will be more to come". It comes after the Government's chief scientific adviser said that several hospitals in the UK now resemble a "war zone" due to the influx of Covid-19 patients in the second wave of the virus. A more infectious variant of the virus has exacerbated the crisis in hospitals with health workers and bed occupancy stretched to breaking point. "When you go into a hospital, this is very, very bad at the moment with enormous pressure and in some cases it looks like a war zone in terms of the things that people are having to deal with," Sir Patrick Vallance told Sky News. Latest figures reveal that the total number of people given their first doses in Great Britain stands at nearly 4.5 million. However, Vallance cautioned that vaccines are not doing enough "heavy lifting" at the moment and case rates need to drop further before the Government can think of easing restrictions. Follow the latest updates below.

  • Have your say: Will lockdown be 'significantly lifted' by Easter?

    Boris Johnson has reportedly started drawing up plans to end restrictions in April.

  • Huge Saltwater Crocodile Moseys Across Road in Australian Park

    A saltwater crocodile with an unlucky prey animal in its mouth walked across the road before a park ranger at Northern Territory’s Kakadu National Park, footage from January 14 shows.According to the post from the park, crocodile traps were placed around the swamp after the crocodile was seen near the Mudjinbardi Outstation Causeway, close to a popular fishing area. Signs were placed around the causeway for fishermen and visitors to be aware of the reptiles.There are roughly 10,000 crocodiles in Kakadu, making up 10 percent of all the crocodiles in Northern Territory, according to the park. Credit: Kakadu National Park via Storyful

  • Trump bows out with fake news boasts about his achievements and smallest crowd of presidency

    ‘A fitting end to the Trump presidency. A speech full of puffery and lies’, said CNN anchor on president’s farewell

  • Oxford scientists preparing to design new versions of Covid vaccine in response to variants

    Exclusive: Oxford team adopting ‘at-risk’ approach and intend to begin synthesising new versions of vaccine without waiting to find out if they will be needed

  • Diversity's Jordan Banjo says hardest part of losing 10 stone was asking for help

    The Diversity star's weight has fluctuated between 12 stone and 22 stone since he was 13.

  • Michael Douglas meets his month-old grandson for the first time

    The US actor shared a picture of him taking a break from feeding his grandchild.

  • Border officers will get powers to force migrants to give fingerprints in France

    Border Force officers are to get powers to make migrants give their fingerprints in France to make it easier to deport them from the UK. On Tuesday, the Home Office laid regulations in Parliament that will give officers powers to use "reasonable force" to get fingerprints in Calais and Dunkirk if migrants caught trying get to Britain from the ports refuse to do so. Such biometric data is critical if migrants subsequently manage to reach Britain either hidden in lorries or by using small boats to cross the Channel. Immigration officials can use the fingerprints to prove that the migrants passed through "safe" countries, including France, before coming to the UK – which means those countries are then legally obliged to take them back. Under the agreements, migrants are expected to apply for asylum in the first safe country they enter, and those countries are required to consider their applications. The move will help border force officers to enforce new laws, introduced after the Brexit transition period, which make any asylum claim inadmissible if the migrant has travelled through a safe third country before arriving in Britain. Ministers are also banning migrants from making UK asylum claims at sea after Brexit under a new law that paves the way for border force vessels to intercept them and return them immediately to France. The law removes the current right of migrants to claim asylum when they are rescued at sea by Border Force or Navy vessels. The immigration minister Chris Philp said: "Today's move builds on steps we have already taken to reform the asylum system, to strengthen border controls and reduce illegal migration. "It builds on the inadmissibility rules laid before Parliament last month, with fingerprints collected by Border Force at the juxtaposed controls expected to form an important part of the evidence base in determining inadmissible cases. "These measures will help reduce the strain on asylum staff, allowing them to focus on processing genuine claims from those in need of help. This Government is fixing our broken asylum system to deliver a firmer and fairer system." A record 8,410 migrants were intercepted making the treacherous Channel crossing by small boat last year, more than four times the 1,850 who made the journey in 2019. Tougher measures to combat sea crossings have seen the numbers attempting to get into Britain in lorries increase. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is also preparing a Sovereign Borders Bill to reform asylum, including curbing "litigious" human rights claimants who seek to delay their deportation from Britain after their cases are refused. Under the proposed changes, judges will be expected to place more weight on asylum seekers' criminal records when considering their appeals against deportation. Currently, serious criminals including killers and rapists trump deportation orders in the courts by claiming their human rights will be infringed if they are sent back to their home countries. Ms Patel is also planning to tighten the appeals system for non-criminal claimants. They will have to lodge all their arguments at the beginning of a case so they cannot make a series of legal claims to delay deportation.