Top 5 cars of 2020

We take a look at the vehicles that topped the new car sales chart in 2020. The question is though, with the car industry so heavily impacted by coronavirus last year, has that affected the top of the sales table?

Latest stories

  • Government quietly changes law to give councils lockdown powers until July 17 this year

    The Government has quietly extended lockdown laws to give councils the power to close pubs, restaurants, shops and public spaces until July 17 this year. The news will be a major setback for those hoping that life might have returned to normal by early summer once more people are vaccinated against coronavirus. It comes after Boris Johnson admitted late last week that "it's too early to say when we'll be able to lift some of the restrictions". The Government had pledged to review the lockdown measures in the middle of next month. The changes to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No.3) Regulations 2020 were made as part of a review of the third lockdown by Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, earlier this month. This law (originally introduced on July 18 last year) allows a local authority to close or limit access to premises or outdoor spaces in its area to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including stopping events. The regulation, which applies to England only, was due to expire last week but has now been extended until July 17, around the date when school summer holidays begin, as part of a slew of other measures. Mark Harper, the chairman of the Coronavirus Recovery Group of Tory MPs which is campaigning against unnecessary restrictions, said: “The extension of councils’ Covid powers until July will be of great concern to those worried about their jobs and businesses. “Given the limited time allowed for debate this change in the law was little noticed. “Once the top four risk groups have been vaccinated and fully protected by March 8, assuming the Government hits the February 15 deadline, the Government must start easing the restrictions. “Vaccinations will of course bring immunity from Covid, but they must bring immunity from lockdowns and restrictions too.”

  • Vaccinated people could still spread virus, warns Van-Tam

    The number receiving the first dose of the vaccine across the UK has passed 5.8 million.

  • Scientist advising Government urges tougher lockdown

    Professor Susan Michie said current lockdown measures are ‘the problem’ and not people who aren’t sticking to the rules.

  • Biden on collision course with Saudi Arabia that could upset Trump's alliance against Iran

    The Biden administration has already set itself on a collision course with Saudi Arabia after its director of National Intelligence vowed to declassify a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The push to release the intelligence community’s assessment of the murder of the dissident journalist, which is believed to implicate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has the potential to trigger a major fallout with the kingdom. Avril Haines, who was confirmed in her new role on Thursday, told Congress “we will follow the law” regarding the report, referring to the Trump administration’s refusal to release the full version for US House representatives. The CIA is said to have concluded with a high degree of confidence that Prince Mohammed, or MBS - a close ally of the previous government - ordered the Washington Post columnist’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. However, its contents have not been made public. MBS, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, has denied he ordered the murder and the Trump administration publicly stood by him despite international condemnation.

  • Overseas travellers returning to the UK face paying for 10 extra days at a hotel

    British families returning from foreign holidays will have to pay for an extra 10 days in an airport hotel under heavy guard, in plans backed by the Home Office. Senior Cabinet ministers are likely to approve a plan to force people returning from overseas to quarantine in a hotel to ensure that they cannot bring variants of Covid-19 back into the UK. The chief dispute at Cabinet level is whether the hotel quarantine rules apply to all visitors or just to those returning from coronavirus hotspots. Downing Street sources confirmed that hotel quarantining was likely to form part of the “next steps”, after Boris Johnson made clear at his press conference on Friday that more would have to be done on securing the borders. The plans will be thrashed out at a meeting of the Government’s Covid-Operational committee, chaired by Mr Johnson, the Prime Minister, on Tuesday. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Matt Hancock are understood to back tougher measures while Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak support a more targeted approach. Ms Patel is understood to be pushing for all returning travellers, including Britons, to spend 10 days in a designated hotel near an airport or port on returning. Talks are already underway with hotel chains including Holiday Inn-owner IHG. Taxpayers would cover the cost of security guards to ensure they did not attempt to leave the hotel or go home. One Home Office source said: “You have to do it for everything or it makes it pointless.” One source said: “Officials are sounding out which chains would be interested. They are empty. It makes sense for a lot of them. “It is working out what it looks like in practice, that is what is happening over the weekend.” The hope is that the current numbers of arrivals (around 10,000 a day) will slow to a trickle of several thousand visitors a day once the measures are adopted. The quarantine plan is favoured to Australian-style border closures which could leave Britons stranded and force the Government to fund an airlift operation to bring them home.

  • Businessman jailed for assaults on female patients acting as first aid 'bodies'

    Kevin McCarthy, 67, devised an elaborate plan to facilitate assaults on a total of four victims.

  • The Masked Singer: Full list of odds for the celebrities behind each costume

    *Spoilers for the latest episode of The Masked Singer below*

  • Prisoners will not jump jab queue as ‘Levi Bellfield offered vaccine’

    Those aged over 70, health and social care workers and clinically extremely vulnerable people are highest in the priority list.

  • Boris Johnson first European leader to get call from President Biden

    Boris Johnson told Joe Biden his arrival in the White House was a "moment of hope in a dark time" as he became the first leader outside North America to speak to the US President. The Prime Minister is believed to be the third world leader to speak to Mr Biden after his scheduled call was brought forward by two days in what will be seen as a major boost for the special relationship between the UK and US. Mr Johnson spoke to Mr Biden in a 35 minute phone call from his office at 10 Downing Street. The pair discussed "a very wide range of subjects", sources said, describing the conversation as "very warm, friendly and wide ranging with agreement on key issues". One source said Mr Johnson welcomed the “fantastic initial announcements from the Biden administration and ‘moment of hope’ in a dark time”. Announcing the phone call on Twitter, Mr Johnson said it was "great to speak to President Joe Biden".

  • Rishi Sunak doubles one-off payment offer for universal credit claimants to £1,000

    Rishi Sunak has doubled his offer of a one-off payment to millions of universal credit claimants to £1,000 to replace the weekly £20 uplift, and stave off a growing rebellion among Tory MPs. The Chancellor is hoping that paying an upfront sum could trigger a spending spree to help the economy, The Telegraph understands. Businesses are set to be hit with a double whammy of tax rises in March's budget, however, as Mr Sunak is lining up a gradual reintroduction of business rates and a rise in corporation tax. Writing in The Telegraph, Andrew Griffith MP, a former business adviser to Boris Johnson in 10 Downing Street, backed an increase in corporation tax. He writes: “Today the UK has the lowest corporation tax rate in the G7. Increasing corporation tax rates towards the £1 in every £4 of business profits rate, last seen as recently as 2013, would still see the UK be one of the most internationally competitive economies, particularly if accompanied by modernisation of R&D tax credits and the Government’s ambitious investment in skills.” The £20 a week uplift in universal credit during the pandemic is due to end on March 31 and Mr Sunak is under pressure from Tory MPs in traditionally Labour areas to extend it. However, the Chancellor is said to be loath to continue it, fearing that it would then become a permanent increase costing £6 billion a year. Instead, he is offering to pay the uplift for a year in one £1,000 payment, twice as much as the £500 one-off sum previously reported. A Treasury source declined to comment on the specifics but confirmed that a one off payment was on the table.

  • Jesy Nelson's cousin Jamie Leigh appears as contestant on The Voice UK

    "If she can do it, then I can do it. "

  • The Masked Singer: Bush Baby’s identity revealed in latest episode

    *Spoiler warning* Latest episode of the hit ITV reality show featured all the usual intrigue

  • 'Coronation Street' actor Malcolm Hebden quietly retires from the cobbles

    The actor's character is alive and living in a care home in the soap.

  • Dr Fauci says pressure from Trump had 'chilling' effect on White House coronavirus scientists

    The doctor said he expects more transparency under the Joe Biden administration

  • Covid news - live: Biden and Boris Johnson discuss ‘green and sustainable’ coronavirus recovery in first call

    All the day’s events as they happened

  • Former MI6 chief says he was 'shocked' not to be consulted over decision to use Huawei technology in Britain's 5G

    A former MI6 chief says he was “shocked” not to be consulted over the decision to use Huawei technology in British infrastructure. Sir Richard Dearlove said he had been “militant” at the time the original decision was taken as he felt the government was “going in the wrong direction”. Speaking to the Danube Institute, a think tank, Sir Richard, head of the Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, from 1999 to 2004, said he never believed assurances that allowing the Chinese technology giant into Britain's 5G infrastructure was safe. “The problem is I’ve been trained as a poacher, not as a gamekeeper,” he said. “If you’re a poacher you know what you can achieve.” “I was Chief when the original deal was signed with Huawei and at the time we were not consulted. “The government let this go through and some of us, when we heard about it, were intensely shocked. “We were becoming partially dependent on Chinese technology and I think there’s no question now with 5G this is something we need to scale back and we need to be wary of. “We need now to encourage replacements [and] have an industrial policy which makes sure that our dependence on Huawei is reduced.”

  • Minister: Government following ‘clear advice’ over vaccines

    Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has insisted that the government is "following the very clear advice" from medical leaders when questioned on the decision administer the second Pfizer-BioNTech jab 12 weeks after the first.

  • The Masked Singer: Who is Bush Baby?

    Viewers are guessing who Bush Baby could be

  • UK weather: Snow and ice to disrupt travel

    Temperatures to plunge to as low as -10C overnight

  • Covid-19: Senior doctors urge medical chiefs to halve the wait between doses of Covid-19 vaccine

    But Robert Jenrick says the government’s strategy is based on ‘clear advice’