News and Opinion

The Good Morning Britain host has been a force for good during the coronavirus crisis, says ANTHONY CLAVANE. Piers Morgan – Credit: Archant If Ian Hislop is short of an idea for Private Eye’s next ‘Apology’ column he should bury the hatchet with his arch-enemy Piers Morgan and feature the Good Morning Britain host. The […]

The number of people who think the government didn’t act fast enough in dealing with the coronavirus is increasing, a poll reveals. Two-thirds of adults think ministers brought in strict measures to deal with the emergency too late, a rise from 57% two weeks ago, the Ipsos Mori survey found. The snapshot poll said people […]

A chance lockdown discovery leads CHARLIE CONNELLY down memory lane to the Danish castle that inspired the Bard. We all have little jobs around the house that we’ve planning to get around to – for years in some cases. One of mine was going through a big box of old DVDs that needed sorting out […]

The pandemic is the perfect storm in which to test the controversial proposal, argues Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan, who says the benefits could be more than just economic. Prime minister Boris Johnson will meet with cabinet to discuss easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions. Photograph: Matt Dunham/PA. – Credit: PA Perhaps 2020 will mark the point at which […]

The government has rejected a request for an EU customs office in Belfast and asked officials to fly in regularly instead. The UK insists the office will sow political divisions in the nation while Europe says it will be essential in upholding terms in the Withdrawal Agreement and other trade deals. Brussels suggested the move […]

Nigel Farage has insisted he was not flouting coronavirus rules by travelling more than 100 miles during the coronavirus lockdown to film a rant about migrants. Nigel Farage appears in a video ranting about migrants on social media. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant The Brexit Party leader travelled from his Kent home to a beach […]

Michael Gove told a Commons public administration committee that the UK was not prepared for an epidemic like the coronavirus. The chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster told MPs that disaster preparation plans did not factor in a highly contagious respiratory disease like Covid-19. Gove said that the government’s previous epidemic planning – known as […]

Boris Johnson is expected to take paternity leave later in the year, answering questions about whether he would take any during the coronvirus crisis. Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds gave birth in a London hospital on Wednesday morning, and a spokeswoman for the couple said both mother and baby were doing well. It is understood Johnson […]

A former US ambassador to the United Nations has claimed Boris Johnson’s response to the coronavirus has been just as bad as Donald Trump’s. Speaking about Johnson’s leadership Samantha Power said the UK’s reaction to Covid-19 was poor, and that it missed a series of opportunities to get it under control. She told LBC’s Tom […]

A group of prominent Conservative MPs have launched a campaign group to pressure Boris Johnson to act over the UK’s relationship with China following allegations it had tried to cover up the coronavirus outbreak. The China Research Group, based on the influential European Research Group of Tory Brexiteer MPs, seeks to restrict Beijing’s growing influence […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has ruled out an extension to the EU settlement scheme, despite the coronavirus lockdown. Facing questions from the Commons Home Affairs Committee, Patel said she saw ‘no reason why’ the Home Office should extend the deadline applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). There had been calls from opposition MPs to […]

STEVE ANGLESEY on why focusing on football as part of the government’s ‘Project Restart’ proposals is another own-goal for Boris Johnson’s team. Brighton defender Dan Burn battles with Southampton forward Che Adams during the Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton. (Photo by Jon Bromley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images) – Credit: NurPhoto […]

Matt Hancock was harpooned on social media after tweeting support for a private initiative to supply the NHS with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from China. The health secretary praised a Daily Mail fundraiser that will supply the NHS with more than £1 million in protective kit from China on Twitter. The tweet, accompanied by a […]

Boris Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds has given birth to a baby boy, the couple have announced. Boris Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds has given birth to a baby boy, the couple have announced. A spokeswoman for the prime minister and his partner said both mother and baby are ‘doing very well’ after the birth in a […]

Labour has called for the inquiry into allegations that home secretary Priti Patel bullied officials to be made public ‘as soon as possible’, amid reports she has been cleared. A Cabinet Office investigation was launched over claims that she belittled colleagues and clashed with senior officials in three different departments. There has been no official […]

Boris Johnson’s top advisor, Dominic Cummings, has been accused of swaying Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) debates during coronavirus meetings. Cummings reportedly pressured the independent scientific body to enforce a lockdown sooner and to shut pubs and restaurants down within two days of a meeting on March 18th. SAGE insiders told Bloomberg that the […]

Despite being ‘raring to go’ on Monday, the prime minister’s aides do not feel Boris Johnson is well enough to attend Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) up against his Labour counterpart Sir Keir Starmer. Dominic Raab is once again expected to deputise for Boris Johnson at the despatch box as he takes on the Labour leader […]

With new dad Boris Johnson away again, Dominic Raab once again deputised at this week’s semi-virtual prime minister’s questions Boris Johnson was missing from this week’s PMQs, his fiancée Carrie Symonds having given birth to a baby boy this morning. Congratulations to both, but – and I’m just saying here – if my father managed […]

The government has been accused misusing mailing lists to urge people to get a coronavirus test to help hit their target. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock arrives in Downing Street. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire – Credit: PA The email – circulating on Twitter – was sent out to a Conservative party mailing list on […]

Dominic Raab has claimed that the UK is working ‘very closely’ with its EU partners during the coronavirus outbreak. The foreign secretary was asked by Labour’s Geraint Davies why the UK opted out of joint procurement schemes for ventilators and medical equipment. Referencing a top civil servant’s comments that it was a ‘political decision’ not […]

A Brexit-backing businessman has branded the coronavirus lockdown ‘Project Fear Mark II’ and labelled Britain a ‘failing society’. Luke Johnson, a former owner of The Ivy and boss of Gail’s artisan bakery, said the coronavirus lockdown was threatening the fabric of British society and called for its speedy end. The Vote Leave supporter told TalkRADIO […]

The UK could claim billions from a new EU coronavirus recovery fund created by the bloc to help with each country’s medical needs. The fund – first set up for natural disasters but now a coronavirus assistance pot totalling £700 million – will help the UK pay for urgent medical supplies and vaccines trials. In […]

A cabinet minister has downplayed business concerns that thousands of companies could fold if hit with the economic repercussions of a hard Brexit during the coronavirus crisis. Cabinet office minister Lord Nicolas Edward True told a virtual session of the House of Lords that the prime minister was powering ahead with plans to exit the […]

Around 50,000 people in the UK responded to the government’s appeal to replace Eastern Europeans in fruit and vegetable picking – but just 112 turned up. The Alliance of Ethical Labour received 50,000 applications expressing interest in helping pick crops during the coronavirus lockdown after the government launched its ‘Pick for Britain’ initiative. But the […]

Health minister Matt Hancock admitted the NHS was unprepared for the coronavirus outbreak after a tense exchange with a national radio host. Nick Ferrari confronted the Tory minister who insisted his department took ‘appropriate action’ following warnings in a 2016 pandemic report that the country’s health service lacked Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Operation Cygnus was […]

A veteran Labour MP has stepped down from the Labour frontbench to focus on his recovery from coronavirus. Tony Lloyd had served as shadow Northern Ireland secretary for two years but will now be replaced by shadow policing minister Louise Haigh, who had been covering in his absence. The 70-year-old was discharged from intensive care […]

A group of campaigners have filed a court case with the General Court of the European Union that argues EU citizenship is permanent status regardless of Brexit. The pro-EU activists believe legally all 66 million continue to hold the status, even when the transition period ends, allowing them to freely move and work in all […]

Health minister Matt Hancock has refused to apologise for his handling of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supply, despite pleas from a son of a dead NHS doctor. The caller, known as Intisar, said his father confronted the Tory MP on LBC’s Nick Ferrari breakfast programme. His father had written to the department of health calling […]