Month: May 2021

Baby Arthur is just five months old. He has no way of knowing the treatment he is receiving in his right arm is the world’s most costly medicine. He has a devastating progressive disorder that causes loss of muscle control – but has become one of the first patients to be treated on the NHS

PA Media There are signs the UK is in the early stages of a third wave of coronavirus infections, a scientist advising the government has said. Prof Ravi Gupta, from the University of Cambridge, said although new cases were “relatively low” the Indian variant had fuelled “exponential growth”. He said ending Covid restrictions in England

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that a proposed new unity government would be “a danger for the security” of the country. He urged right-wing politicians not to support a deal after ultra-nationalist leader Naftali Bennett said he would join talks with centrist Yair Lapid. Mr Lapid has until Wednesday to form a new

Getty Images The head of NHS Providers has said “very, very few” Covid patients in hospital in England have received two coronavirus jabs – showing the vaccines provide “very high” levels of protection. Chris Hopson said patients tended now to be younger – meaning there was a lower need for critical care. But he said

Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time with a fully deserved victory over Manchester City in an all-Premier League confrontation in Porto. Thomas Tuchel got the better of his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola for the third time since succeeding sacked Frank Lampard in January to bring European club football’s biggest prize back

Julia Quenzler A man has appeared in court charged over the shooting of black equal rights activist Sasha Johnson. Ms Johnson, a 27-year-old mother of two, remains in a critical condition after the attack at a house party in Peckham, south London, in the early hours of Sunday. Cameron Deriggs, 18, of Bromley Hill, Lewisham,

Getty Images US President Joe Biden has released his first annual budget – a $6tn (£4.2tn) spending plan that includes steep tax increases for wealthier Americans. The bumper proposal would include huge new social programmes and investment in the fight against climate change. But it needs approval from Congress, where Republican Senator Lindsey Graham condemned

Met Police Failings by state agencies contributed to the deaths of two graduates who were killed by a convicted terrorist at a prisoner rehabilitation event, a jury has found. Saskia Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, were stabbed to death by Usman Khan at Fishmongers’ Hall in November 2019. Khan had been released from prison

Up to three quarters of new UK Covid cases could be of the Indian variant, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. Public Health England data shows cases of the variant have risen by 3,535 to 6,959 since last week. Mr Hancock told a Downing Street briefing that the government had always expected cases to rise

Matt Hancock is due to face MPs a day after his handling of the pandemic was fiercely attacked by the prime minister’s former senior aide. Dominic Cummings described the health secretary as “completely incapable of doing the job” and said he “should have been fired” for lying. He criticised Mr Hancock over PPE shortages and

Thousands of people died needlessly as a result of government mistakes in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Dominic Cummings has said. The PM’s former top aide said Boris Johnson was “unfit for the job”, claiming he had ignored scientific advice and wrongly delayed lockdowns. He also claimed Matt Hancock should have been fired for

PA Media Two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor accused of altering police statements after the Hillsborough disaster have been acquitted. Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf had denied perverting the course of justice. Mr Justice William Davis ruled they had no case to answer.

Reuters Local councils worst-hit by the Indian Covid-19 variant have insisted there are no restrictions on travel in their areas and “no local lockdowns”. There were complaints of confusion after the government updated guidance for Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside. The guidance asked people not to meet indoors or travel