Politics

Signs have emerged a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU is still possible – with just nine days to go until the deadline. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a secret call on Monday evening, according to Reuters. The news agency cited sources who said the two leaders

England has been put on notice for a New Year lockdown after the government’s chief scientific adviser demanded a massive extension of Tier 4 restrictions. With the new variant now surging across the UK, an announcement that large areas of England will join London and parts of southeast England in Tier 4 is expected on

Britons have been told to continue shopping normally, despite France banning freight hauliers from crossing the English Channel over fears surrounding a new strain of coronavirus. Addressing a Downing Street news conference, Boris Johnson said the “vast majority” of food and medical supplies are unaffected by the move. “These delays only apply to a very

Delivery of the coronavirus vaccine will not be disrupted as a result of France’s ban on freight and travel from the UK, the transport secretary has told Sky News. Grant Shapps said containers unaccompanied by hauliers are still allowed through the port of Dover, which is how most of the jabs arrive from Belgium, so

Four days ago, Boris Johnson declared: “I want to be clear, we don’t want to ban Christmas, to cancel it. “I think that would be frankly inhuman and against the instincts of many people in this country. “Nor do we want to criminalise plans people may have made for some time.” Live updates on coronavirus

People need to behave as if they already have COVID-19, especially in the new Tier 4 areas of England, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned. He said the new strain of coronavirus was “out of control” and “we need to get it under control by reducing social contact”. The five-day Christmas bubble period has been

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

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