News and Opinion

The public will be able to conduct coronavirus antibody tests at home within a matter of days, rather than weeks and months, MPs have heard. Professor Sharon Peacock, director of the National Infection Service, Public Health England (PHE) told the Science and Technology Committee that it could be ready for the public in Boots stores […]

The chamber was as empty as Boris Johnson’s rhetoric as MPs convened for the final PMQs for a potentially long time – and Jeremy Corbyn’s last ever Only a small proportion of MPs had bothered, sensibly, to trek to London for the last session before the parliamentary break, and those who were in the chamber […]

Boris Johnson’s address to the nation on Monday evening was one of the most watched British television moments ever broadcast. Despite being pre-recorded, Johnson’s announcement about the tightening of coronavirus measures recorded 27.1 million viewers on linear television – putting it in line with viewing figures for the 1966 World Cup final and the funeral […]

Despite insisting Brexit was ‘done’ and now being able to get on with other things, the government now admits the workload will prevent them pressing ahead with boundary reforms. The idea to cut MPs by 50 was first proposed by David Cameron when he was prime minister but now is set to be dropped by […]

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has received abuse on Twitter after claiming she has mild symptoms of Covid-19 after a European trip. On social media the teenager called on young people to protect groups at greater risk from the disease. She said her mild symptoms are ‘what makes it so much more dangerous’ due to […]

Outspoken television presenter Piers Morgan has warned that the government’s messaging will cost lives. The Good Morning Britain presenter was responding to a debate on whether construction workers should still continue working or not, as the government sent the UK into lockdown. Voices from across the political spectrum have argued for more stringent rules so […]

Wetherspoon’s workers have branded the attitude of their boss ‘absolutely outrageous’ after it was revealed the company will not contribute to wages while the pubs are closed. Tim Martin told staff on Monday night he will pay employees until the pubs last opened, but there will be no further payments until the government fulfils its […]

Sports Direct has hiked prices by more than 50% on some sports equipment in the wake of a coronavirus lockdown, leading to accusations boss Mike Ashley is profiteering. The firm has sent a document to staff showing a number of products that can be used in the home for exercise should have price rises applied. […]

Flood-affected residents could spend weeks in lockdown in caravans and hotel rooms as the coronavirus lockdown delays their return home. Around 100 homes in Snaith and East Cowick in East Yorkshire were inundated after the River Aire burst its banks and spilled out of its normal washlands at the end of February. And families who […]

Struggling self-employed people will have to wait for the government to find the right coronavirus support package, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said. Sunak told MPs it is ‘incredibly complicated’ to design a system to support the self-employed but insisted that intensive work is going on in Whitehall. He said ministers are ‘in dialogue with all […]

Satellite images have revealed that air pollution is falling as the UK goes into lockdown, mirroring what has happened in other parts of the world. Satellite images have already revealed dramatic reductions in concentrations of pollutant nitrogen dioxide in China and northern Italy, coinciding with lockdowns to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. And as daily life […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL says it’s time for Boris Johnson to get serious. He has 20 steps the prime minister needs to take ahead of his next coronavirus update. A few weeks ago, when the only Corona we had ever heard of was a beer or a cigar, I was out walking the dog with my daughter, […]

It is not always possible to predict when a pandemic is going to happen but, as NEIL PYPER argues, we can be better prepared for such events. As much of the world gets used to social distancing, school closures and restrictions in movement in response to the coronavirus pandemic, obvious questions are being asked about […]

Senior cabinet minister Michael Gove caused confusion about the government’s coronavirus restrictions after suggesting children with parents living apart should not travel between them. Gove was forced to correct his remarks to confirm that children under 18 were permitted to move between their parents’ homes. The official government guidance states: ‘Where parents do not live […]

Sports Direct has said it will close its stores in a major U-turn after initially calling for its workers to continue selling sports and fitness equipment in the face of coronavirus. Chris Wootton, chief finance officer of owner Frasers Group, said its Sports Direct and Evans Cycles stores will now not open on Tuesday. He […]

Wetherspoon pub chain boss Tim Martin has told his staff to consider working at Tesco during the coronavirus lockdown as he is not likely to be able to pay them until the end of April. Boris Johnson during a visit to Wetherspoons Metropolitan Bar in London with Tim Martin, chair of JD Wetherspoon. Picture: Henry […]

A comedian who had a bread roll thrown at him during a charity gig said the person responsible needs to attend an anger management course. Comedian Nish Kumar was performing a stand-up set for free when some of the crowd took exception to his anti-Brexit political jokes. A bread roll was thrown and The Mash […]

While the chancellor’s measures to help workers are welcome, they do not go far enough to protect all during the coronavirus. ALEX DE RUYTER and DAVID HEARNE argue a basic income for all is now needed. The outbreak of coronavirus has exposed the fragility of a labour market characterised by the growing gig economy, zero-hours […]

A Brexiteer MP has suggested that the Tories may have got it wrong over its approach to immigrants following the coronavirus outbreak. Brexiteer MP Steve Double in the House of Commons. Photograph: Parliament TV. – Credit: Archant Steve Double, a Brexit backer in the 2016 referendum, has called on home secretary Priti Patel to review […]

The coronavirus pandemic has moved the arts out of theatres and concert halls and into the online space. Will performers manage to make it work for both themselves and their audiences? There’s still a great deal of uncertainty as to what impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on the UK’s cultural life. More and more […]

A Brexiteer politician has called for pubs and restaurants to re-open because he claims a ‘majority don’t care about the coronavirus’. Paul Bullen’s tweet about the coronavirus which provoked a backlash. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant Paul Bullen, the former UKIP leader on Cambridgeshire County Council and Brexit Party candidate, disappeared off Twitter shortly after […]

Former Conservative Party adviser BARNABY TOWNS says it is Emmanuel Macron showing real leadership during the coronavirus epidemic. From history and heritage to population and per-person income, France and the United Kingdom stand out as peer nations. Bloody and then peaceful rivalry define a millennium of war and invasion and two centuries as allies following […]

A rationing scheme is needed to see the country through the coronavirus pandemic, food policy experts have warned. Professor Tim Lang has written to the prime minister ‘out of immediate concern about the emerging food crisis’ and in the letter described public messaging about food supply as ‘weak and unconvincing’. He also criticised the government […]

Britain might have ran out of many things, but it hasn’t lost its sense of humour. With supermarkets unable to cope with the demand for toilet rolls during the coronavirus pandemics it has been left for bosses to come up with alternatives measures to fill the shelves. While some stores have left the space empty, […]

Every EU country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that each are sovereign. Some Brexiters are gloating over the EU27’s lack of coordination in dealing with the coronavirus crisis and a few European nations even closing their borders. First, it must be said that most European nations have opted for similar policies. But […]

Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to order a widespread lockdown to slow the coronavirus pandemic after thousands ignored his advice. There are growing fears that Britain is on a similar trajectory to Italy – scene of the world’s worst outbreak – where the death toll passed 5,000 over the weekend. The Italian government was […]

A flash study of the psychological and social impacts of the coronavirus epidemic will produce preliminary results ‘within days’. Academics from the University of Sheffield and Ulster University are trying to understand the mental health impacts of the current crisis amid predictions of a rise in depression, anxiety, paranoia and authoritarian views. The researchers involved […]

The Chinese government has exonerated a doctor who was officially reprimanded for warning about the coronavirus outbreak and later died of the disease. Police in December reprimanded eight doctors, including Dr Li Wenliang, for warning friends on social media about the emerging threat. China’s supreme court later criticised the police, but the ruling party continued […]

Dominic Raab has been named ‘designated survivor’ by Downing Street if Boris Johnson is taken ill during the coronavirus. Defence secretary Ben Wallace, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab with home secretary Priti Patel, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove. Photograph: Matt Dunham/PA. – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images The foreign secretary and former […]

Boris Johnson’s father Stanley is applying for a French passport to allow him to work and move freely throughout Europe after Brexit. Johnson, a former Remainer who went on to back Brexit, has applied to become a French citizen because his mother was born in the country. The revelation came in the new book of […]

A newspaper report which claimed Dominic Cummings initially argued against stricter measures to protect the vulnerable during the coronavirus outbreak has been described as ‘defamatory’ by Downing Street, who angrily denied the story. The Sunday Times reported that as Boris Johnson and his advisers met to discuss the outbreak at a private event at the […]

Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he is ‘not disappearing’ from politics after he steps down as Labour leader. Corbyn was asked to reflect on his time as Labour leader since 2015 during an interview for Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News when he appeared to drop hints over a desire to become shadow foreign secretary […]