Technology

Reuters The vaccine producer AstraZeneca must “catch up” on its promised deliveries to the EU before exporting doses elsewhere, the bloc’s chief has said. “The company… has to honour the contract it has with member states,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. She spoke after EU leaders held a summit to

PA Media Pub goers could be asked to provide a vaccine certificate, Boris Johnson has told MPs, saying it “may be up to individual publicans”. A review is looking into whether people should have to prove they have been vaccinated, as lockdown measures ease. A government source told the BBC that the option of allowing

EPA The European Commission has proposed tougher controls on Covid vaccine exports after it accused UK-Swedish firm AstraZeneca of failing to honour its contract to supply EU countries. The plans, to go before EU leaders on Thursday, stop short of a ban but could enflame tensions with the UK. Any shipment would be assessed on

Reuters The government has promised to allow all “genuine” asylum seekers to remain in the UK indefinitely, while removing people “with no right to be here”. Home Secretary Priti Patel also pledged to bring in “rigorous” age checks to stop adults entering the country by pretending to be children. And she said convicted people smugglers

PA Media The country has endured a year-long “epic of endurance and privation” since the first coronavirus lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. But “step by step, jab by jab”, the nation is on the path to “reclaiming our freedoms”, he told a news briefing. Speaking a year after tough Covid restrictions were introduced,

Getty Images The UK is marking one year since the first coronavirus lockdown was announced. On 23 March 2020 Boris Johnson outlined measures to stop the spread of Covid-19. Since then, the UK’s official death toll has risen from 364 to 126,172. With the lockdown have come tough restrictions on socialising, closures of schools, pubs

Nicola Sturgeon has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her involvement in the Alex Salmond saga. An independent inquiry by senior Irish lawyer James Hamilton had been examining whether the first minister misled the Scottish Parliament over what she knew and when. His report said Ms Sturgeon had given an “incomplete narrative of

Getty Images Boris Johnson is expected to speak to his EU counterparts this week as a row over Covid vaccine supplies continues. EU leaders will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss a ban on Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine exports to the UK – but the PM aims to put the UK’s case in one-on-one phone

Protesters have attacked police after thousands of people turned up to a demonstration that officers had “strongly advised” against attending. Officers suffered broken bones and police vans were set alight as angry scenes unfolded in Bristol city centre. Crowds had gathered for the Kill the Bill demonstration in opposition to the Police and Crime Bill.

PA Media A new Royal Navy surveillance ship is to be built to protect “critical” undersea cables. The Ministry of Defence said the cables, which are “vital to the global economy and communications between governments”, are at “risk of sabotage” due to “submarine warfare”. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the new ship will protect critical

PA Media Friday was a record day for Covid vaccinations in the UK, with a combined 711,156 first and second doses given to members of the public. It means that half of all UK adults – some 26,853,407 people – have now received a first dose of a vaccine. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the

EPA France and Poland have reintroduced partial lockdowns as both countries battle a sharp rise in Covid infections in recent weeks. Some 21 million people in 16 areas of France, including the capital Paris, are affected as the country fears a third wave. In Poland, shops, hotels, cultural and sporting facilities are closed across the

EPA Coronavirus cases are rising exponentially in Germany, officials warn, as continental Europe braces for a third wave of infections. Germany’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, said that highly contagious virus variants could force the country back into lockdown. France, Poland and other nations are reintroducing restrictions. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has

PA Media The prime minister is to receive his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after reassuring the public it was “safe”. Boris Johnson, 56, has urged people to get inoculated and said England’s roadmap out of lockdown was “on track”. He said there was “no change” to the plan despite a drop in

PA Media A majority of MSPs on the Alex Salmond committee have said Nicola Sturgeon misled their inquiry, sources have told the BBC. It is understood MSPs on the committee voted by five to four that Ms Sturgeon gave them an inaccurate account. The committee’s final report is expected to be published next Tuesday. Ms

Getty Images The UK government is facing questions over coronavirus vaccine supply after warnings of a significant reduction. It is understood a delivery of millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, produced by the Serum Institute of India, has been held up by four weeks. The NHS warned of a reduction in supply in England