Nicola Sturgeon has called for clarity over whether the furlough scheme will be extended beyond 2 December in Scotland if needed. Scotland’s first minister made the call after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News’ Kay Burley it would be a decision for the chancellor to take after the nationwide lockdown in England ends at
In his cricketing heyday, when the larger-than-life all-rounder Ian “Beefy” Botham came out to bat at Lord’s, he emptied the bars. But in his debut at another Lords, for his maiden speech in parliament’s upper house, the newly-ennobled Baron Botham had to make do with a video-link. And to make matters worse for a cricketing
Senior cabinet ministers have sown confusion over the new lockdown rules for England, which are due to come into force on Thursday. Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, issued an apology for wrongly suggesting people in England might be able to continue playing tennis or golf. Downing Street has also been forced
Boris Johnson is facing the wrath of religious leaders of all faiths over his decision to ban church services and other forms of worship during the national lockdown. In an angry and emotional letter to the prime minister and all MPs, nearly 1,200 church ministers of all Christian denominations say they are “baffled”, “dismayed” and
Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack. There are five different threat levels, with the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) responsible for deciding at which level the UK should sit. Image: JTAC is based at MI5’s headquarters in London The five terror threat levels are: Low
The UK’s terror threat level has been raised from “substantial” to “severe”, meaning an attack is now judged to be “highly likely”. The move follows Monday night’s attack in Austrian capital Vienna, in which four people were killed. Last week, three people died after a knife attack in Nice, France, while teacher Samuel Paty was
The foreign secretary has told Sky News the UK’s relationship with the United States will go from “strength to strength” whatever the outcome of the election. Dominic Raab said the election is still “too close to call” but that he is totally confident the American system “will give us a definitive result”. US election 2020
Boris Johnson will today urge MPs to approve England’s new lockdown – but the prime minister is continuing to face a backlash from his own Conservative MPs over the fresh shutdown. Following a 90-minute debate on the new national measures, the House of Commons will on Wednesday afternoon vote on whether to give a second
Boris Johnson has warned of deaths “on a grievous scale” without further action to stem the spread of coronavirus infections. As he opened a House of Commons debate on England’s new lockdown, the prime minister urged MPs to vote in favour of a second national shutdown later on Wednesday. Mr Johnson said he was “not
Primark’s inability to trade online during coronavirus lockdowns has prompted a 40% slump in its parent firm’s annual profits. Associated British Foods (ABF) said enforced closures of the discount fashion retailer’s stores lost it an estimated £2bn in revenue and outweighed increases to its bottom line from its sugar, grocery, agriculture and ingredients divisions in
China has pulled the plug on plans for a record-breaking $34.5bn stock market float by online finance giant Ant Group just two days before it was due to take place. It came after the company’s bosses – including billionaire founder Jack Ma – were summoned to a meeting with regulators. The Shanghai stock exchange cited
The one thing financial markets want from the US presidential election is a clear result. The worst possible outcome would be a contested result, as in 2000, when it took 38 days for the US Supreme Court to confirm George W Bush’s victory over Al Gore. Donald Trump’s frequent hints during the election campaign that
A leading private equity investor is close to clinching a takeover of Hovis that will return the bread-maker to British ownership. Sky News has learnt that Endless is in advanced talks to buy Hovis after a bidding war against Newlat Food, an Italian food producer. Sources said that a deal could be confirmed as soon
The first arrests have been made over alleged fraud linked to the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme, as well as coronavirus bounceback loans. Officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) arrested three men in London on suspicion of cheating the public revenue and fraud by false representation. The men are aged 43, 48
Marks & Spencer has recorded a financial loss for the first time in its 94 years as a public company after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shutter stores. Half-year results to the 26 September showed clothing and home sales were hammered by the closure of non-essential retail during the first COVID-19 lockdown that began
Global stock markets are retreating from recent rallies – with the result of the US election too close to call. Futures had showed New York’s Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices all set to climb sharply at Wednesday’s open – building on gains seen on both Monday and Tuesday – but the gains started