Politics

Nicola Sturgeon has accused Boris Johnson of being “frightened of democracy” and said she will seek a “legal referendum” on Scottish independence. Scotland’s first minister claimed the prime minister “fears the verdict and the will of the Scottish people” over his refusal to agree to another independence vote. It comes after the Scottish National Party

The introduction of “COVID hotels” and other curbs on international travel are to be discussed by senior ministers on Monday. It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson hinted that further border restrictions were needed to stop dangerous new coronavirus variants entering the country. Government sources say while completely closing the border is not the likely

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives has resigned after he drank alcohol on the Senedd estate days after a pub alcohol ban came into force. Paul Davies said the controversy over the events of last month had become a “distraction” and that he is standing down with “immediate effect” despite appeals from colleagues to continue.

The coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa could reduce the efficacy of vaccines by half, the health secretary has said. Matt Hancock made the remark during a webinar with business leaders and travel agents on Tuesday. First reported by Mail Online, a recording of the meeting has also been passed to Sky News. Please

The government has “considered” the full closure of the UK’s borders amid concerns about new COVID variants being imported from abroad, a cabinet minister has revealed. This week, the government closed all UK travel corridors – which had allowed arrivals from some countries to avoid having to quarantine – until at least 15 February. People

Everyone who tests positive for coronavirus could soon receive a one-off payment of £500, in a government move to persuade more people to get a test and self-isolate after a positive result. The dramatic plan being considered by ministers follows research that suggested only 17% of people with COVID-19 symptoms come forward to get a

Almost two-thirds of elderly care home residents have had a COVID-19 vaccine – with vaccinations among all groups occurring at 200 jabs per minute, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs. “I’m delighted to say 63% of residents in elderly care homes have now received a vaccination, that is a really significant increase over the

Boris Johnson has been accused of “overruling” Home Secretary Priti Patel – after she claimed she argued for the shutting of the UK’s borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In video footage of her comments to Tory supporters, Ms Patel suggested she privately pushed for tougher border measures during the UK’s first national

An online system for booking COVID vaccine appointments has been criticised after claims ineligible people have been using it to “queue-jump” and receive the jab. The Swiftqueue website is being used by numerous NHS trusts to allow health and social care workers and over-70s to sign up for coronavirus vaccinations. Live COVID news from UK

Theresa May has launched an unusually fierce attack on Boris Johnson, accusing him of “abandoning” Britain’s “moral leadership”. The former prime minister used Donald Trump’s departure from the White House on Wednesday to warn that her successor has not “raised our credibility in the eyes of the world” with some policy decisions. Targeting his threat

A media enquiry by Sky News has led to questions over what Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon knew of bullying concerns surrounding the office of her predecessor Alex Salmond. When we asked the Scottish Government for copies of its grievance procedure, officials mistakenly sent out their internal emails which detailed their handling of the request.

The health secretary has said there are “brighter times ahead” as the coronavirus vaccine rollout continues, but warned the public: “Don’t blow it now.” “We are on the route out. We are protecting the most vulnerable. We are getting the virus under control,” Matt Hancock told a Downing Street news conference. Live COVID news from

Four million people have now received a coronavirus jab, the prime minister has revealed, as he warned the public there will be no “open sesame” of lockdown easing. Speaking during a visit to the manufacturing facility for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, Boris Johnson said the UK was rolling out COVID-19 vaccines “as fast as we can”.

Replacing the £20-a-week increase in Universal Credit with a one-off payment of £500 is a “terrible” idea, Labour has said. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reported to be considering giving almost six million benefit claimants the cash payment instead of keeping the £1,000 yearly uplift in Universal Credit. The Universal Credit increase was introduced last year

All UK adults will be offered the first dose of a COVID vaccine by September, Dominic Raab has told Sky News. Speaking on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the foreign secretary said: “Our target is that by September to have offered all the adult population a first dose, if we can do it faster than that

Boris Johnson will host this year’s G7 summit in the tiny seaside resort of Carbis Bay in Cornwall, where he will urge world leaders to unite in “building back better” from the pandemic. Joe Biden, who will be US president by then, is expected to attend the event starting on 11 June, alongside the other