Millions of people across southeast England will no longer be able to mix with other households at Christmas, with a new Tier 4 level of COVID restrictions – equivalent to a full lockdown – to come into force tomorrow. In a dramatic move, prompted by fears over a new strain of coronavirus, all those areas
Politics
The government has left it “very, very late” for a post-Brexit business plan, according to Brexit select committee chair Hilary Benn. It comes after the House of Commons released a report warning ministers about the “overall state of readiness” for the end of the transition period in less than two weeks. Speaking to Sky News,
Scientific advisers have warned ministers they believe the new variant of COVID-19 spreads more quickly than previous strains, Sky News understands. It is expected the SAGE advisory group will be convened on Monday to work up a series of recommendations for how Tier 3 restrictions could be strengthened in light of the increased transmissibility of
“Just a few hours” remain for London and Brussels to strike a Brexit trade deal, the EU’s chief negotiator has said. Speaking to the European Parliament, Michel Barnier said it was the “moment of truth” for the two sides coming to an agreement. “We have very little time remaining, just a few hours to work
Boris Johnson will speak to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tonight as negotiations continue over a post-Brexit trade deal. The prime minister will hold a phone call with Ms von der Leyen at 7pm UK time, with the two leaders to take stock of the current state of trade talks. Discussions over the
The health secretary will today outline which, if any, regions in England will change tiers before the relaxation of COVID rules over the festive period. Matt Hancock will also explain plans to extend mass community testing to Tier 2 areas with high rates of coronavirus. Currently, only Tier 3 areas are eligible for the localised
Boris Johnson has warned “a smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas” as he urged people to see festive bubbles of three households as “maximums” and not “targets to aim for”. The prime minister confirmed that Christmas COVID rules would not be changing in law, but he admitted that the “overall situation” is
Boris Johnson is resisting demands to “cancel Christmas”, claiming it is too late to change plans to allow families to meet up during a five-day relaxation of COVID rules. He will face MPs in the Commons and later address Tory backbenchers and declare his opposition to dropping plans for three households to meet up from
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove will speak with the devolved nations later this afternoon about next week’s relaxation of coronavirus rules over Christmas, Sky News understands. The call is expected to take place at around 5pm, it is believed. Sky News understands that potential alternative options that could emerge include: Keeping the rules as they
Sadiq Khan has called on the government to rethink its relaxation of coronavirus rules over Christmas. “What I’d say to the government is I’m not sure you’ve got it right, in fact I’m sure you haven’t got it right in relation to the relaxations over Christmas,” the London mayor told Sky News. Live updates on
London will move into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions imminently, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs from the capital. The move will see thousands of bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants close in the capital, except for takeaway, delivery and click and collect services. Under Tier 3 measures, people must not meet socially indoors,
There has been some progress in one area of the Brexit talks but disagreements remain on other issues, EU negotiator Michel Barnier has reportedly said. A senior EU diplomat, cited by the Reuters news agency, said the bloc’s chief negotiator had told ambassadors there has been “limited” progress on agreeing an enforcement mechanism to ensure
Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and Brussels will continue into next week after negotiators were told to “go the extra mile”. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen released a brief joint statement following what they called a “useful” phone call on Sunday morning. They said they “discussed the
Post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU could slip beyond tonight’s deadline, the foreign secretary has suggested. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday, Dominic Raab said “I can’t close the door” on that possibility but admitted “there is still a long way to go” before an agreement is possible. Prime Minister Boris
As negotiations on a UK-EU trade deal are set to continue overnight, a British government source has said that “as things stand the offer on the table from the EU remains unacceptable”. Both sides now concede that a no-deal outcome is more likely than not when the talks end on Sunday, and Royal Navy gunboats
Armed Royal Navy boats are being prepared to patrol the UK’s fishing waters in an apparent final warning shot to Brussels as negotiations enter the final 48 hours. Four of the 80-metre vessels are on standby to guard British waters from EU fishermen in case no deal is agreed on fishing rights after the Brexit