Category Archives: UK news

Scotland may enter full Covid lockdown, says Sturgeon

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First minister tells MSPs tough restrictions were ‘essential’ to suppress new strain of virus

Nicola Sturgeon has warned MSPs she may have to introduce full lockdown measures across Scotland in the coming days to contain the faster-spreading Covid variant, which has already led to Wales bringing forward a countrywide lockdown from last Sunday and Northern Ireland announcing a six-week lockdown from Boxing Day.

Sturgeon used her weekly coronavirus statement to the Scottish parliament to tighten level 4 measures – the strictest of Scotland’s five-tier system of Covid controls and which all of mainland Scotland will enter from 26 December.

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Plans for 30-minute Covid testing in England halted amid accuracy fears

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Exclusive: government shelves Christmas rollout of lateral flow test centres

The government has shelved plans to open rapid-turnaround coronavirus test centres across England over Christmas amid concerns from public health experts about the accuracy of their results, the Guardian has learned.

Ministers had planned to convert a number of existing testing sites into centres for lateral flow tests, which provide results in 30 minutes, to help cope with an anticipated surge in demand.

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Covid: France to reopen UK border for French and lorry drivers, reports say

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Professionals and French nationals will have to provide negative Covid test before crossing

France is expected to reopen its border with the UK but only to its own nationals, French residents and professionals such as truck drivers, all of whom will have to provide a recent negative test, France’s public broadcaster has reported.

Britons or other non-French nationals with a permanent residence in France will be able to return, but the border is set to remain closed to all other non-French citizens in the UK, France Info said. It was not yet clear how long the measures would be in place.

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Microplastics revealed in the placentas of unborn babies

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Health impact is unknown but scientists say particles may cause long-term damage to foetuses

Microplastic particles have been revealed in the placentas of unborn babies for the first time, which the researchers said was “a matter of great concern”.

The health impact of microplastics in the body is as yet unknown. But the scientists said they could carry chemicals that could cause long-term damage or upset the foetus’s developing immune system. The particles are likely to have been consumed or breathed in by the mothers.

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Brexit deadlock: EU members asked by Brussels to think again on fishing offer

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France and Denmark thought to be most cautious about budging from current demands on fish caught in British waters

EU member states with the largest fishing fleets are being asked by Ursula von der Leyen’s senior team to rethink their “final offer” after Downing Street made a significant move to break the Brexit deadlock.

France and Denmark are understood to be the most cautious about making a counter-proposal, budging from their current demand that their vessels lose only 25% by value of the fish they catch in British waters.

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Von der Leyen takes control of Brexit talks in attempt to strike deal

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European commission president said to be in constant contact with Boris Johnson as fishing remains key issue

Ursula von der Leyen took personal control of Brexit negotiations in an attempt to strike a deal before Christmas as talks went to the wire over tens of millions of pounds worth of fish.

The European commission president is understood to be in constant contact through a series of unscheduled phone calls with Boris Johnson and the EU capitals as she battles to find a compromise.

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UK reports another 691 Covid deaths – as it happened

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Anthony Fauci ‘extremely confident’ in vaccine; BioNTech’s CEO says tests being run on mutant strain. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below

Coronavirus live updates

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Related: Coronavirus live news: US cases increase 14% in one week, France to reopen UK border

Tesco has introduced buying limits on items including toilet roll, eggs, rice, soap and handwash. Customers at the supermarket are now limited to one item per person of toilet roll, and up to three products of eggs, rice, soap and handwash.

It is understood the extra limits are pre-emptive measures to help smooth demand in the coming weeks, rather than a reaction to shortages or a change in buying behaviour. They are on top of a three-item limit on essential items such as flour, dried pasta and anti-bacterial wipes which has been in place for several months.

Related: Tesco limits purchases of toilet roll, eggs, rice, soap and handwash

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Grace Millane murderer raped another British tourist months earlier

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Killer, whose name can now be reported as Jesse Kempson, also terrorised his girlfriend for months

The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane in New Zealand raped another British tourist just months earlier, it can be revealed, after the convicted killer lost his appeal for his name to be suppressed.

On Tuesday, New Zealand’s supreme court removed an order keeping hidden the name of Millane’s killer, Jesse Kempson.

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Patrick Vallance: Covid measures will need to be increased, not relaxed – video

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The UK government’s chief scientific adviser has suggested that coronavirus restrictions across the country could be tightened in the coming weeks. This follows a surge in cases of a new variant of the virus that is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible than the old strain. ‘I think it is likely that this will grow in numbers of the variant across the country and I think it’s likely, therefore, that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced,’ Sir Patrick Vallance told a Downing Street press conference.

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No 10 fishing offer to EU raises hopes of Brexit deal before Christmas

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UK negotiators reduce demand for EU catch reduction, potentially unlocking sticking point in talks

Downing Street has made a major counter-offer on fishing access for EU fleets in British waters to break the Brexit trade talks deadlock, raising hopes of a deal before Christmas.

After a difficult period of negotiations, with both sides seemingly entrenched, the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, is understood to have tabled a proposal that could unlock the troubled talks.

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New Covid variant in UK: spreading Christmas fear?

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B117 is more transmissible than original virus, but there is no evidence it makes people sicker

If a new virus sounds scary, a new mutating virus sounds scarier still. In Kent in September, scientists now believe, somebody with Covid was the unlucky first person to pass on a variant form of the coronavirus that is maybe as much as 70% more transmissible than the version we have been used to.

The exponential recent rise in cases now blamed on that incident and the UK government response have sparked alarm around the world, with other countries banning flights into the UK for at least 48 hours while everyone figures out what is going on.

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Global food industry on course to drive rapid habitat loss – research

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World faces huge wildlife losses by 2050 unless what and how food is produced changes

The global food system is on course to drive rapid and widespread ecological damage with almost 90% of land animals likely to lose some of their habitat by 2050, research has found.

A study published in the journal Nature Sustainability shows that unless the food industry is rapidly transformed, changing what people eat and how it is produced, the world faces widespread biodiversity loss in the coming decades.

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Hong Kong activist Nathan Law applies for asylum in Britain

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Exclusive: Law said he chose UK in hope of ‘sounding an alarm’ over threats to democracy in Europe from China

Opinion: I left for London so I could tell Britain truth about China

The Hong Kong activist Nathan Law has applied for asylum in the UK, six months after fleeing his home on the eve of the national security law coming into force.

Law revealed in an opinion article for the Guardian on Monday that he had submitted a refugee claim to the UK government. He said he had chosen Britain in the hope he could “sound an alarm” over threats to democracy in Europe from the Chinese Communist party.

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Coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson to hold crisis meeting as India joins countries banning flights from UK

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India joins France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria in flight bans over new strain; US aid bill should have votes to pass

That’s all from me, Caroline Davies. Thank you for your time. Handing over now to my colleague Aamna Mohdin.

The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, has said there is “no way” officers will be knocking on the doors of “normal” households in London to check coronavirus restrictions were being followed now the city is in Tier 4.

“We won’t be knocking on people’s doors at all, unless there is a large group and noise, ie a party or something like that.

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‘The coughing would not stop’: MP talks of ‘unbearable pain’ of Covid

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Labour shadow minister Yasmin Qureshi talks about the shock of being hospitalised and her slow recovery since

A shadow minister who became the first female MP to be hospitalised by Covid-19 has described the “unbearable pain” caused by coughing fits and pneumonia as the disease took hold.

Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East and a shadow minister for international development, said she was left “anxious and concerned” after being rushed by ambulance to her local hospital in October.

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France travel ban will not have major impact food imports in short term, says Grant Shapps – video

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France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain came as a surprise, the UK transport secretary has admitted, amid expected chaos at British ports. But Grant Shapps said the disruption would not cause food and medicine shortages in the short term because other freight routes remain available

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France’s ban on UK transport came as surprise, says Grant Shapps

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Transport secretary says UK aims to resolve issue ‘as soon as possible’ amid fears over new Covid strain

France’s 48-hour ban on freight hauliers from Britain was “surprising”, the UK transport secretary has said, amid expected chaos at British ports.

Although Grant Shapps said the disruption was not a “specific problem” in regards to food and medicine shortages in the short term, the government’s aim was to “get this resolved as soon as possible”.

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Firm with mystery investors wins £200m of PPE contracts via ‘high-priority lane’

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Exclusive: It’s unclear how PPE Medpro’s bids were processed through channel for firms referred by MPs and senior officials

A company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal protective equipment (PPE) after it was placed in a “high-priority lane” for well-connected firms, the Guardian can reveal.

PPE Medpro has not revealed the identities of the financiers and businessmen behind the venture, and it remains unclear how its offer to supply PPE came to be processed through a channel created for companies referred by politicians and senior officials.

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