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Coronavirus UK

Coronavirus UK
Latest news and updates on the impact of a new strain of coronavirus on the United Kingdom. The virus causes the disease Covid-19 and the World Health Organisation has declared the spread of the infection a pandemic.
Then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives a news conference about the ongoing situation with the coronavirus outbreak inside 10 Downing Street in London in 2020. Photo: AP
Britain

UK ex-PM Johnson hits back at ‘incoherent’ Covid inquiry report

Boris Johnson defends his Covid-19 pandemic response, saying he regrets errors but insists his government acted to save lives.

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

‘Too little, too late’: former UK government slammed for initial Covid response

Britain

UK’s new Conservative Party leader to name shadow cabinet in days

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Britain

UK PM Starmer’s chief of staff quits over reports about salary

Sue Gray’s resignation came after recent BBC report that her annual salary was US$223,000, about US$3,933 more than the PM’s.

Downing Street Chief of Staff Sue Gray. Photo: AFP
Britain

BBC cancels interview with Boris Johnson after ‘embarrassing’ mistake

A BBC presenter accidentally sent Johnson the notes prepared for her questions, in a message meant for her team.

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International Property

Homebuyers flock to city centres as demand wanes for flats close to nature

That shift has become evident in metropolises across the UK and Australia, as well as in compact cities like Singapore and Hong Kong.

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Britain

Covid-19 inquiry finds UK ‘ill-prepared’ for pandemic, failed its citizens

The inquiry found an outdated 2011 pandemic strategy for flu wasn’t flexible enough to adapt to a crisis nearly a decade later, and was abandoned almost immediately.

A sign alerts pedestrians that Covid-19 cases are very high in central London in December 2020. Photo: AFP
Britain

Longest doctors’ strike in NHS history adds to England’s health service woes

Junior doctors are walking out for six days as part of a long-running dispute over pay that saw them take 28 days of industrial action last year.

Britain

UK’s pub culture faces ‘last orders’ due to rising costs, changing tastes

Close to 400 pubs in England and Wales closed in 2022, continuing a trend that has seen about 15,000 establishment shut their doors across the UK over the last two decades.

Britain

Did working from home in the pandemic stop people from quitting smoking in UK?

Researchers in the UK suggested less affluent people may have felt more urgency to quit, while those who were wealthier and in managerial roles may have continued due to pandemic stress.

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A UK study found that, before the pandemic, smoking prevalence fell by 5.2% per year, but the rate of decline slowed to 0.3% per year during the pandemic. Photo: Shutterstock
Britain

UK Covid inquiry: ‘deeply sorry’ Sunak hopes lessons learned from pandemic

The inquiry is examining the UK’s pandemic response and has heard testimony about often chaotic scenes in the government of then-PM Boris Johnson, marked by incompetence, back-stabbing and misogyny.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gives evidence at the COVID-19 Inquiry, in London on Monday. Photo: UK Covid-19 Inquiry/Handout via Reuters
Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson hits out at ‘version’ of Partygate which prompted his downfall

The former British PM said portrayals of partying in Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic were ‘absolutely absurd’ as he faced a second day of questioning at a public inquiry.

Britain

Johnson sorry for ‘pain and loss’ of UK Covid families, defends pandemic record

The former PM resigned in disgrace after a series of scandals including reports that he had been present at alcohol-fuelled gatherings in Downing Street when most people in the UK were forced to stay at home.

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Britain

Record migration to UK piles pressure on PM Rishi Sunak

Despite the British leader’s vow to reduce arrivals, official figures showed net migration last year hit new levels.

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during the opening session of the Global Food Security Summit in London on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK unveils voter-friendly budget with election on horizon

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced a huge package of 110 measures aimed at reinvigorating the ailing economy and boosting business investment.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt gives his Autumn Statement at the House of Commons in London on Wednesday. Photo: UK Parliament via Reuters
Britain

Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science, UK Covid-19 inquiry told

Patrick Vallance, Boris Johnson’s chief scientific adviser said that the former UK prime minister struggled to come to grips with much of the science during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Wellness

Covid-19 lockdowns had ‘lasting impact’ on brains of over-50s, study finds

Covid-19 restrictions speeded up brain deterioration in people over 50, a long-term study of over 3,000 subjects has found, raising ‘important questions’ about their increased risk of dementia.

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Britain

UK opposition leader hit by glitter before key Labour speech

The protester shouted “true democracy is citizen-led” and “politics needs an update” before scattering glitter over Keir Starmer’s head.

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A protester throws glitter at Britain’s Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer in Liverpool, Britain on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Home from Home | I avoided Covid in Hong Kong. Now back in the UK, my luck finally ran out

After three years avoiding Covid-19 in Hong Kong and then not catching it in over a year back in the UK, Cliff Buddle began to believe he was immune. Now, reality has dawned.

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Britain

‘Tough decisions’: Sunak axes part of high-speed rail line, vows to raise smoking age

Sunak cancelled a rail link to Manchester ending weeks of uncertainty and provoking anger in his own Conservative Party.

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China-UK relations

Britain may designate genomics sector as critical infrastructure: deputy PM

Oliver Dowden raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions on Monday, amid pressure from MPs concerned at China’s activity in the field.

Britain’s deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden at Prime Minister’s Questions in London on Monday. Photo: UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor / Handout via Reuters
Britain

Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries quits Britain’s Parliament

Conservative MP Dorries announced she would resign more than two months ago in the wake of former PM Johnson’s resignation. She accuses PM Rishi Sunak of helping to ‘whip up a public frenzy’ against her.

Nadine Dorries, Britain’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media stepped down from Parliament on Saturday. Photo: AP
Britain

New ‘high mutation’ Covid variant found in UK, ‘community transmission’ likely

The BA.2.86 mutation was identified in someone with no recent travel history, which means there could already be “significant community transmission” the British Health Security Agency said.

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Coronavirus pandemic

Police reopen investigation into lockdown breaches at Conservative Party HQ

The reopened investigation concerns a Christmas party held in December 2020 in the headquarters of the governing Conservative Party which was organised by staff working on a mayoral election campaign.

Britain

UK MPs vote to remove Boris Johnson parliamentary pass over Partygate

British lawmakers approved a damning report that found the ex-prime minister had lied about gatherings that broke UK pandemic rules.

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Former British prime minister Boris Johnson running near his home. Photo: Reuters
Britain

Britain’s ex-PM Cameron admits ‘mistake’ in pandemic preparation

He is the first politician to give evidence at an inquiry that seeks to lay bare mistakes made and lessons to be learned from the UK’s handling of Covid.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron departs the Covid-19 Inquiry hearing in London. Photo: EPA-EFE
Britain

Boris Johnson deliberately misled parliament, UK report concludes

The privileges committee – the main disciplinary body for lawmakers – said he should now be stripped of having automatic access to parliament.

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Britain

Covid-19 inquiry told Brexit hit UK’s preparations; victims’ relatives lash out

The first phase of the inquiry is due to focus on the UK’s resilience and preparedness in the face of the global health emergency.

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