Dominic Cummings’s lockdown trip to Barnard Castle was “deeply unfortunate”, and undermined the government’s public health messages, one of Boris Johnson’s senior ministers has admitted. Justice secretary Robert Buckland was asked on the BBC if he thought the prime minister’s former chief adviser had broken the coronavirus
Ursula von der Leyen has dismissed Boris Johnson’s likening EU demands in Brexit trade talks to being forced to buy a new handbag on threat of “punishment”. The prime minister said on Thursday night that the bloc’s proposed “level playing field” for regulations amounted
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said her government will propose the timescale and question for a second referendum on Scottish independence by next spring. Ms Sturgeon claimed challenges of the coronavirus pandemic will act as an accelerant rather than as a brake on the
The government’s test-and-trace programme to combat Covid-19 in England has repeatedly failed to meet targets for delivering test results and contacting infected people despite costs escalating to £22bn, a damning official report has revealed. The National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the centralised
It has become an article of faith when discussing Manchester United that whenever Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs a result, he gets one. And strangely enough, that result often comes against Manchester City. This time last year, a thrilling backs-to-the-wall victory at the Etihad decided by United’s ability on
Valtteri Bottas says he is paying no attention to the rumours suggesting he could be replaced by George Russell at Mercedes for 2021 but is aware that he can do “much better” than he has in recent races. Although seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was absent for
A Sudanese singer whose television appearance on The Voice brought him threats from security officers is facing deportation from the Netherlands, where he has lived for two years. Mohamed al-Tayeb, 30, who appeared on the Arabic version of the show in 2015, has
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked for more evidence before it will be willing to open an investigation into claims of genocide against Uighur people by China, but has said it will keep the file open for such further evidence to be
Lawmakers in Argentina’s lower house have passed a bill that would legalise abortion in most cases, responding to long-sought demands from women’s rights activists. The bill, which needs approval from the country’s Senate in a debate expected before the end of the
YouTube users will be able to opt out of most gambling and alcohol adverts if they don’t want to see them, using tools set to be rolled out by Google in the UK next year. Google told the Guardian that it was
