‘New tier system is not continuing the lockdown’, says PM

The Prime Minister has insisted that it is important for the public to understand that England’s new stricter tier system is “not continuing the lockdown”.

Latest stories

  • Teenager in hiding after reporting own father for involvement in Capitol riots

    ‘I put my emotions behind me to do what I thought was right,’ Jackson Reffitt says

  • Boris Johnson fights to reopen schools before Easter

    Boris Johnson is fighting to get schools open before Easter amid growing concerns over the damage being done to a generation of children by the third coronavirus lockdown. Government sources said on Monday night that mid-March is now viewed by ministers as the target deadline by which to reopen schools. Confirmation is expected this week that hopes of children returning to the classroom after the February half-term break will not be met. Labour will table an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday to demand answers on the Government's plan. Public Health England said there was a “strong case” for primary schools to restart after half-term if cases continue to fall. During the autumn term, outbreaks were detected in just 3 per cent of primary schools, with most cases recorded in teachers, not pupils, PHE found. It comes as a further six Tory MPs on Monday joined the campaign group UsforThem, which calls for schools to fully reopen or for ministers to quantify the harms and benefits of the schools shutdown, taking the total number of Conservatives opposing the prolonged closures to 17. Jonathan Gullis, a former teacher who was among the new additions, said: "The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers will undo the hard work of the past 10 years and widen it yet further, and set the levelling-up agenda back." Meanwhile, Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the Commons education committee, has written to the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI), urging it to consider teachers as a top priority for jabs in a bid to get schools open. The letter, seen by The Telegraph, has been signed by 10 other MPs, including the former health minister Steve Brine. The latest Covid figures show that case rates are down in every region, with most now at their lowest since before the start of the year. Some regions, such as London, are at a lower rate than in December, when schools were open. The daily case number on Monday was 22,195 – a significant fall on recent days.

  • EU threatens to block exports of Pfizer Covid vaccine

    Britain's Covid vaccine supply is in jeopardy after the EU threatened to block exports of the Belgian-made Pfizer jabs amid a row with UK-based AstraZeneca. Brussels decided to impose tighter controls on exports after reacting with fury to the news that AstraZeneca will deliver 50 million fewer doses to the EU than it had expected. Ministers now fear deliveries of the Pfizer jabs will – at best – be delayed by extra paperwork and that the EU could try to stop doses being sent to non-EU countries after saying it will "take any action required to protect its citizens". In March, the bloc imposed export restrictions on personal protective equipment after it struggled with supply to its member states. On Monday night, MPs accused the EU of acting out of "spite" and trying to deflect blame for its own mistakes in getting vaccination programmes off the ground.

  • 'I had to leave': Therese Coffey explains why she 'walked off' Good Morning Britain interview

    The work and pensions secretary called a halt to an interview with the ITV show on Monday.

  • Biden fires controversial Trump doctor accused of misleading public about former president’s condition amid Covid-19 diagnosis

    New White House physician is a longtime primary care doctor to President Joe Biden, and will now oversee his medical care for the next four years

  • ‘My sister is pathetic’: Laura Ingraham’s brother slams her criticism of Dr Fauci on Twitter

    Self-described ‘sibling fact checker’ has criticised his sister many times before for her political views

  • 9 Neighbours spoilers for next week

    What's next on Ramsay Street?

  • WandaVision creator admits Disney+ series ‘will need to start answering some questions’

    Creator Jac Schaeffer also said Marvel spin-off will explore characters’ ‘trauma’

  • 'Traitors get shot': Texas man arrested over Capitol riots after his son tipped off FBI

    A Texan teenager who tipped off the FBI about his father's alleged involvement in the Capitol riots said he would "do it again", despite claiming his father threatened to shoot him for being a "traitor". Jackson Reffitt, 18, said he felt a moral obligation to report his father to the authorities after watching him participate in the violent riots on live TV. His father, Guy, 48, was arrested at his home in Wylie, Texas on January 16 and faces charges of obstruction of justice and knowingly entering a restricted building. According to court documents, Mr Reffitt had allegedly threatened his wife and children, saying: “If you turn me in, you’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors … traitors get shot”. The younger Mr Reffitt said he was "afraid" of what his father might think of him, but told local station Fox 4 that he had acted according to his "moral compass".

  • Air passengers coming into Britain will be sent to quarantine in hotels, confirms Boris Johnson

    At the very least, the measure will apply to Britons returning from countries such as Brazil and South Africa, which are known to have dangerous new mutations of the coronavirus. The dramatic move to defend the UK from more deadly mutations of Covid-19 is by far the toughest border measure yet. The key question to be settled by ministers, who are in meetings with scientists today, is whether to target the measure only at passengers who have visited countries such as Brazil and South Africa or whether to target passengers from other countries.

  • Putin denies owning £1bn Black Sea palace after Navalny exposé

    Navalny’s report has already racked up more than 85 million views

  • Hollyoaks spoiler pictures show Sid and Ollie's drugs drama continue

    The teens are still in danger.From Digital Spy

  • AstraZeneca rejects reports of Covid vaccine 'failures' among the elderly

    Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has defended the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine after media reports said the German government had doubts about the effectiveness of the treatment among those over 65. The Handelsblatt economic daily reported Monday that Berlin had estimated the efficacy of the jab among over-65s was just 8 percent, citing sources.The tabloid paper Bild reported that Berlin did not expect the vaccine -- developed with Oxford University and set to get the green light from the EU this week -- would receive a license for use among the elderly, presenting a significant challenge to distribution and vaccination plans in many countries."Reports that the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine efficacy is as low as 8 percent in adults over 65 years are completely incorrect," the firm said in a statement late Monday."In November, we published data in The Lancet demonstrating that older adults showed strong immune responses to the vaccine, with 100 percent of older adults generating spike-specific antibodies after the second dose," it added. European Union warns AstraZeneca over delay in delivering Covid-19 vaccineThe European Union issued an angry warning to AstraZeneca Monday over its unexpected delay in delivering millions of doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to the bloc.Last Friday, the pharmaceutical multinational said it would not meet its contractual delivery commitments to the European Union because of unexplained "reduced yields" in its European supply chain.The European Union has currently authorised two vaccines for widespread distribution, manufactured by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna.The EU is set to add the AstraZeneca vaccine to that list this week, on the understanding that the treatment would be already on hand and available for immediate distribution.

  • Emily Jones killing: Woman who slit girl's throat in park has minimum term increased

    A woman who slit the throat of a seven-year-old girl has had her minimum term increased after the judge said it had been "calculated in error". Last month, paranoid schizophrenic Eltiona Skana, 30, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of Emily Jones in a park in Bolton. Mr Justice Wall explained in a brief hearing at Teesside Crown Court, where he is currently sitting, that he had arrived at the original figure by halving the notional determinate sentence of 16 years.

  • Trump opens his ‘Office of the Former President’ in Florida

    45th president sets up headquarters in Florida

  • Boris Johnson intends to ease lockdown restrictions 'where he can' in three weeks' time

    Boris Johnson intends to start easing some coronavirus lockdown restrictions 'where he can' on 15 February, his spokesman has confirmed.

  • Davina McCall responds as troll calls her 'old' woman who 'should cover up'

    Davina McCall has responded to an online troll who described her as an "old, over sun-kissed woman" who "should cover up". Twitter user Sue made the comment as she retweeted a post of McCall in her outfit for The Masked Singer, for which the TV presenter is one of the judges, at the weekend. "Stunning dress but not for the wrinkly crinkly," the social media user also wrote.

  • Katie Price hailed as an 'incredible mum' by Harvey and Me viewers

    Katie and Harvey's strong bond was displayed on last night's BBC documentary

  • Latest weekly Covid-19 rates for local authority areas in England

    Around one in 10 local areas are continuing to see a rise in rates.

  • EU threatens to block Covid vaccine exports amid AstraZeneca shortfall

    EU threatens to block Covid vaccine exports amid AstraZeneca shortfallBloc may receive only half of purchased 100m doses in first quarter of the year * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage