Politics

Throughout his life and political career, Boris Johnson has believed the rules don’t apply to him. And as he marks his second anniversary as prime minister this weekend, it seems nothing’s changed. It was a claim first made by one of his masters at Eton. And the view was reinforced as recently as last Sunday

Boris Johnson is facing growing pressure to allow fully vaccinated people who have been identified as close contacts of coronavirus cases to be exempt from isolation. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has joined business leaders in calling for more workers to be allowed to skip quarantine if they are alerted by the NHS COVID-19 app to

The government has released more details about which fully-vaccinated workers may be exempt from isolation if they are told to quarantine after coming into contact with a positive COVID case. On Thursday evening, the government published a list of 16 sectors which the new guidance of completing daily coronavirus tests rather than quarantining would apply

Five Tory MPs breached the code of conduct by trying to influence the trial of former MP Charlie Elphicke, the Commons Standards Committee has ruled. The MPs include Elphicke’s former wife Natalie Elphicke, Sir Roger Gale, Theresa Villiers, Adam Holloway and Bob Stewart. Three of them – Ms Elphicke, Sir Roger and Ms Villiers –

It is “crucial” that people isolate when identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, Downing Street has said. A Number 10 spokeswoman said quarantining at home “remains the most important action people can take to stop the spread of the virus”. Live COVID updates from the UK and around

Bill Clinton turned down an invitation to have tea with the Queen because he “wanted to be a tourist” in London, newly released official papers show. The US president was visiting the UK in 1997 – four weeks after Tony Blair came to power – and said he wanted to hit the shops and eat

A minister has not explicitly ruled out the prospect of the government requiring vaccine passports for people to go to pubs. Business minister Paul Scully told Kay Burley that ministers are “not saying crowded pubs at all” in addition to plans to require people to prove their COVID-19 vaccine status to enter nightclubs and other

A parliamentary committee looking into the Greensill saga has found that lobbying rules were “insufficient” and need to be strengthened The Commons Treasury committee, which looked into David Cameron’s involvement in trying to secure finance firm Greensill Capital access to a government coronavirus support scheme, said the rules should be tightened to prevent any more

The timing could hardly be worse. A little more than 24 hours before what he used to call Freedom Day, Boris Johnson is under pressure to self-isolate. The reason: a face-to-face meeting the prime minister held with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has now tested positive for COVID-19, in 10 Downing Street on Friday morning.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has tested positive for coronavirus and has mild symptoms, he has said. In a tweet, he wrote: “This morning I tested positive for Covid. “I’m waiting for my PCR result, but thankfully I have had my jabs and symptoms are mild. “Please make sure you come forward for your vaccine if

People arriving in England from France will still have to quarantine for 10 days on their return – even if they have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, the government has announced. From Monday, those who have had two COVID vaccine doses will no longer have to isolate after travelling back from countries on

Boris Johnson has claimed it is “highly probable” the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is over – on the day the UK recorded its highest number of daily cases for six months. The prime minister urged people not to “throw caution to the winds” when most legal restrictions in England end on Monday, as he

MPs have enjoyed more than £60,000 worth of freebies to COVID-19 test events this summer – including tickets to England’s games at Euro 2020. According to parliament’s latest register of interests, MPs have been given free tickets to football matches at Wembley, Wimbledon tennis, Royal Ascot and the Brit Awards. All have been part of

Boris Johnson will argue his “levelling-up” project is a “win-win” and will not mean “robbing Peter to pay Paul” as he sets out his post-pandemic vision for the UK. In a speech in the West Midlands on Thursday, the prime minister will indicate his flagship programme will benefit the whole country, not just the Conservatives’

It couldn’t have gone less to plan. On Sunday the prime minister was hoping to enjoy some reflected glory of England’s success. Boris Johnson was looking forward to having drinks with the European champions in Downing Street. But rather than football coming home, it’s questions about him and his party over racism that have arrived

Boris Johnson will make a speech on Thursday on his plans to “level up and unite the country”, something the prime minister has previously described as “the central purpose of his premiership”. In the Conservatives’ 2019 general election-winning manifesto, the party said its focus would be “levelling up every part of the UK” and the

Football banning orders will be changed to cover online racism, Boris Johnson has told MPs. The prime minister said the government is “taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning order regime is changed”. “So that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers then you will not be going to the

The government has announced it is effectively ending all prosecutions related to crimes committed during the Northern Ireland Troubles. Described as a de facto amnesty for former British soldiers and former paramilitaries, the new statute of limitations will apply to incidents prior to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It was confirmed in parliament on Wednesday

More than 100 government-issued mobile phones had all their data wiped last year after their users entered the wrong PIN. The Treasury’s IT desk managed to reset 117 of its approximately 2,100 mobile phones in 2020 – including the device belonging to the department’s boss – a response to a Freedom of Information request from

An eight-week interval between vaccine doses provides “much better” protection from coronavirus, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said, as he dismissed reports that the gap is due to be reduced from eight weeks to four. Mr Zahawi also told Sky News he is “confident” that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce on Monday that COVID