Sir Keir Starmer has led criticism of Boris Johnson after he said Margaret Thatcher gave the UK a “big early start” in its battle against climate change when she closed coal mines in the 1980s. The prime minister made the comment during a visit to Scotland, when he was asked if he would set a
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People will be able to go on holiday “without looking over their shoulders the whole time”, Grant Shapps has said, as he promised that the next set of travel changes will not come “for another three weeks”. The transport secretary told Kay Burley on Sky News that while ministers must “always keep an eye on
Fully vaccinated travellers and under 18s arriving in England from France will no longer need to isolate, while India is coming off the red list. The Department for Transport has set out the government’s latest COVID-19 travel update, with all of the changes taking effect from 4am on Sunday. In a surprise move, the cost
The government is expected to announce the offering of a coronavirus vaccine to some 1.4 million teenagers “imminently”, a minister has confirmed. Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, universities minister Michelle Donelan said Number 10 was awaiting advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is assessing whether all 16 and
Boris Johnson has declined Nicola Sturgeon’s invitation to meet for talks while he is in Scotland this week. The first minister had invited the prime minister to her official Edinburgh residence, Bute House, to discuss their plans for recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world But in
Nicola Sturgeon will announce this afternoon whether Scotland will lift its coronavirus restrictions next week. If the Scottish first minister decides the easing will go ahead, then the country will move beyond the current Level 0 rules on Monday 9 August. The last time rules changed was 19 July, when the number of people who
There is no prospect of an amber watchlist being introduced at the latest travel review this week, Sky News understands. Government sources have confirmed that Boris Johnson has rejected the idea. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ‘We have to have
Fully vaccinated travellers from the US and EU can now arrive in the UK without having to isolate. The new rules came into effect at 4am on Monday but they have not yet been met by a reciprocal easing of restrictions for travellers from the UK. The new rule applies to England, Scotland, Wales and
The UK and US have blamed Iran for an attack on an oil tanker in which two crew members, including a British national, were killed. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Iran of carrying out a “deliberate, targeted” assault which he says constituted “a clear violation of international law”. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken
Only five children have ever been born to a sitting prime minister, with the sixth now expected this Christmas. Boris and Carrie Johnson have revealed her second Downing Street pregnancy, with Mrs Johnson saying she feels “incredibly blessed to be pregnant again” but also “like a bag of nerves” following a miscarriage earlier this year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie are expecting their second baby, she has announced. In an Instagram post Carrie Johnson also said she had a miscarriage earlier this year. She wrote: “Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas. “At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken. I
The Conservatives could be in danger of losing more than a dozen seats in their so-called “blue wall” heartlands, a new poll suggests. YouGov found that voting intention in 53 such constituencies in the south and east of England currently held by the party stood at 44% for the Conservatives, 24% for Labour, 18% for
The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for parliament to be recalled from summer recess to debate proposals to introduce the use of vaccine passports. The party’s leader Sir Ed Davey has written a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson accusing his government of “committing to vaccine passports by stealth” which he warned was “a recipe for
Grant Shapps has defended France’s position on the UK’s ‘amber plus’ travel list, saying the decision was made due to cases of the Beta coronavirus variant in the north of the country. On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the move was made because of the “prevalence of the so-called Beta variant, in particular in
A number of Conservative MPs have told Sky News they do not think the government will follow through and actually introduce domestic vaccine passports. The prospect of people having to prove their COVID-19 status to access a range of venues has been raised in recent weeks. Boris Johnson has already said that individuals will need
The government is “increasingly confident” that more countries will soon be added to the amber and green travel lists, Dominic Raab has told Sky News. The foreign secretary said he believes opportunities for international travel can in the near future be opened up further as “the momentum forward is positive”. Mr Raab also did not