Coronavirus exit strategy ‘in limbo as Boris Johnson recovers’

Ministers are failing to take decisions on the lockdown ‘exit strategy’ because Boris Johnson is off work, Keir Starmer has claimed. The Labour leader said the government had not acted ‘quickly enough’ throughout the crisis as he insisted it need to show the public how normal life might start to return.  He accused Foreign Secretary … Read more

Coronavirus exit strategy ‘in limbo as Boris Johnson recovers’

Ministers are failing to take decisions on the lockdown ‘exit strategy’ because Boris Johnson is off work, Keir Starmer has claimed. The Labour leader said the government had not acted ‘quickly enough’ throughout the crisis as he insisted it need to show the public how normal life might start to return.  He accused Foreign Secretary … Read more

Dominic Raab takes his seat at the (virtual) G7 table as he stands in for Boris Johnson

Dominic Raab takes his seat at the (virtual) G7 table as he stands in for Boris Johnson at Donald Trump-organised meeting at which leaders pledge to help the global economy ‘rebound’ from coronavirus He joined Trump and other leaders to discuss the economic impact of pandemic  No10 pictures showed him in briefing room with world … Read more

Dominic Raab takes his seat at the (virtual) G7 table as he stands in for Boris Johnson

Dominic Raab takes his seat at the (virtual) G7 table as he stands in for Boris Johnson at Donald Trump-organised meeting at which leaders pledge to help the global economy ‘rebound’ from coronavirus He joined Trump and other leaders to discuss the economic impact of pandemic  No10 pictures showed him in briefing room with world … Read more

Relaxing coronavirus lockdown measures too soon would have ‘catastrophic’ consequences

Coming out of lockdown too soon could be catastrophic and lead to an explosion of new coronavirus cases according to a study modelling the spread of the virus.  Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a model showing the spread of the deadly virus using publicly available data. The authors say that any … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Lockdown extended for three more weeks

Dominic Raab tonight declared that coronavirus lockdown will stay for another three weeks despite growing alarm at the economic consequences. The Foreign Secretary confirmed the public’s ‘efforts are starting to pay off’ but draconian curbs cannot yet be lifted after he chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee.  He said transmission in the community … Read more

China ‘concealed coronavirus and trying to evade blame’, says ex-MI6 chief John Sawers

China concealed coronavirus from the West and is ‘evading’ blame for the pandemic, a former head of MI6 said today. Sir John Sawers said Beijing was not honest when the disease first surfaced and faced ‘anger’ from the international community.  He also insisted the World Health Organisation (WHO) faced ‘serious questions’ for failing to scrutinise … Read more

HENRY DEEDES watches baffled boffins at the Downing Street briefing 

Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, looked mildly blank when the thorny issue of care homes was raised at yesterday’s Downing Street press briefing. Someone had made the not unreasonable point that NHS Nightingale hospital was largely empty, so why couldn’t it be used to provide support for elderly patients from care homes? … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Rishi Sunak warns of ‘tough times to come’

Rishi Sunak tonight warned of ‘more tough times to come’ amid warnings the economy faces shrinking by more than a third this quarter with two million people made jobless. The Chancellor said people should brace for ‘hardship’ as he insisted the hit from the lockdown measures designed to combat the deadly coronavirus would be ‘temporary’. … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Rishi Sunak warns of ‘tough times to come’

Rishi Sunak tonight warned of ‘more tough times to come’ amid warnings the economy faces shrinking by more than a third this quarter with two million people made jobless. The Chancellor said people should brace for ‘hardship’ as he insisted the hit from the lockdown measures designed to combat the deadly coronavirus would be ‘temporary’. … Read more