Wednesday evening news briefing: 'Hundreds' demand Covid-19 test after pub outbreak

'Hundreds' demand Covid-19 tests after pub outbreak

"Hundreds" of people have turned up to a town's Covid-19 walk-in centre after pub-goers were urged to get tested following the confirmation of 10 positive cases. Health chiefs asked people who had been working or drinking at the Crown & Anchor in Stone, Staffordshire, on July 16, 17, and 18 to get tested, after an outbreak linked to the premises. One individual who tested positive from the pub then attended a private social gathering, further spreading the virus, Staffordshire County Council said. The pub said on Facebook that it had since taken the decision to temporarily close "due to the overwhelming amount of people visiting". Our liveblog has the latest on the situation.

It comes as an analysis by The Telegraph suggests two countries are at risk of having quarantine reimposed by the Government as their coronavirus rates rise. Meanwhile it appears the quarantine of Britons travelling to Spain is encouraging Germans to flock to the country. Travel website Trivago revealed booking enquiries increased by 50pc in the days after the restrictions were announced. Read which other countries seem keen to avoid Brits. With all the uncertainty about going away, our writers debate the best bet for your summer holiday.

Troops heading for UN's most dangerous battlefield

"Two gunshot injuries with sucking chest wounds!" yells Captain Bobbie Buchan, as the casualties are rushed to the medics. The insurgents had fired a "shoot and scoot"; racing past the British base on quad bikes with machine guns blazing, hoping to hit anyone inside. As an exercise it was very realistic. Even more so given the surreal appearance of three cyclists pedalling over Salisbury Plain (most parts are open to the public) and through the middle of the firefight. Read why the men and women of the British Army's Long Range Reconnaissance Group (Mali), based around the Light Dragoons Regiment, are preparing to deploy to the West African country to join the 15,000 UN peacekeepers already there.

Meghan's friends should stay anonymous, court hears

The identities of five friends of the Duchess of Sussex should remain secret to protect them from press intrusion under human rights laws, a court has heard. The High Court was told today the friends had given briefings to People magazine to lend support to Meghan at a time when she was heavily pregnant. The true identities of the friends - named only as A to E - are contained in a confidential schedule submitted to the court as part of the Duchess's legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited, publishers of the Mail on Sunday. Read on for the latest.

At a glance: Latest coronavirus headlines

• Covid-19 vaccine | Russia says it is close to world's first approval

• Supply deal | Britain signs up for 60m doses of a possible vaccine

• Rail reality | Counting the cost of the missing commuter billions

• Tourist trap | Why Santorini locals have loved lockdown

• A postcard from Japan | The other country that had no lockdown

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

Government 'punished' Today programme | The Government "puts its feet on the windpipe" of Radio 4's Today programme in a bid to diminish the power of the BBC and punish it for interviewing pro-Remain Tory MPs, its outgoing editor has claimed. Sarah Sands said Downing Street's boycott was an attempt to exert control. Read more.

• Breaking news | Richard Moore named as new MI6 spy chief

• Most polluted | Picturesque Dorset village beats Sheffield taxi rank

• Anti-Semitism | Twitter apologises for slow action as Wiley banned

• Is there life on Mars? | Ancient microbes raise hope of life Red Planet

• Prince William | 'Sniper' helped fend off schoolboy football rival

Around the world: Local councillor who stopped Covid

Stephan Pusch may be the man who saved Germany from Covid-19. The local council leader in a small rural district on the Dutch border, Mr Pusch is not exactly a household name. But it was he who ordered the lockdown that successfully contained the first outbreak of the virus in Germany — arguably saving thousands of lives. Read how the town — at the epicentre of Germany's first coronavirus outbreak — has fared since.

Wednesday interview

Juliet Stevenson - Being woke should be 'about doors opening, not rearranging prejudice'

The acclaimed actress tells Dominic Cavendish about the dangers of identity politics to her profession, and how she still 'hears' Alan Rickman

Read the full interview

Comment and analysis

• Jeremy Warner | Whisper it, but here comes a 1920s-style boom

• Stephen Pollard | Boycott won't fix Twitter's anti-Semitism blindspot

• Kat Brown | What the black and white selfie challenge is really about

• Mary Miers | Nothing rivals civilised joy of travelling by sleeper train

• Michael Vaughan | Foundations of great England Test side being built

Editor's choice

1. Could women run faster than men? | How ultra running is challenging convention

2. Live rock returns, at a distance | Inside Frank Turner’s 'government-endorsed' pilot concert

3. Behind the scenes with Princess Anne | 'I followed her for a year – it was hard to keep up'

Business and money briefing

Aston Martin | Sales collapsed in the first half of 2020 as the Covid pandemic destroyed demand for its luxury cars. The Warwickshire-based car maker reported a 64pc slump in revenues to £146m in the six months to the end of June, with losses ballooning to £227m compared with £80m a year earlier. Read how its boss is hitting the reset button.

• City of London | The many reasons why it has become a ghost town

• No mood to spend | Cautious consumers keep hoarding cash

• On top of markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day

Sport briefing

Laura Kenny interview | This week Laura Kenny should have been whizzing around the Izu Velodrome in Tokyo at her third Olympic Games. Instead, Britain's most successful female track cyclist is at home in Cheshire, counting her lucky stars. Read on to find out why.

• AFC Bournemouth | How Nathan Ake could leave for cut-price fee

• Last moment | Brentford fans long for proper goodbye to Griffin Park

• Bristol City | Talks with Chris Hughton end in failure

Tonight's TV

Anne: The Princess Royal at 70, ITV, 9pm | This special documentary marks the 70th birthday – and half-a-century of public service – of a royal trailblazer, tireless charity worker, world-class horse-rider. Read on for more.

And finally... for this evening's downtime

Dark story of Taylor Swift's mansion | The last time Taylor Swift held one of her Instagram-tastic Fourth of July parties at her Rhode Island mansion, it was during the Tom Hiddleston summer of 2016. Swift has ensured that her home, Holiday House – which she bought for $17m in 2013 – is immortalised, like many of her past flames, in the way she does best: in song. The Rhode Island property, once owned by an eccentric socialite, is now visited by Swift's "squad" - and there are homes for sale nearby. Read its elaborate history.