UK

Contacts of people infected with coronavirus may have to self-isolate for as little as seven days amid concerns in Whitehall about the levels of public compliance with the NHS Test and Trace system. Officials on the government’s COVID-19 taskforce are understood to be examining the case for reducing the current fortnight period of isolation to

Restrictions on hospital visitors because of COVID-19 have hit maternity services hard. According to NHS England, “NHS guidance was issued on 8 September so that partners and visitors can attend maternity units. This builds on the determined effort throughout the pandemic to ensure partners were able to be present during labour”. Try telling that to

Eighteen people have been arrested and three police officers injured after anti-lockdown protests in central London. Demonstrators made their way through the city with banners and placards, calling for “freedom” and an end to COVID-19 restrictions. At least two people were led away in handcuffs from Trafalgar Square, while there was also some disruption on

A “talented escape artist” snake that had been missing for two months has been rescued after it was found curled up in a car door. The milk snake had escaped its home and had slithered its way to a residential care home in Dorking, Surrey, where it was spotted in the car park. RSPCA animal

Boris Johnson failed to reply to a “personal” letter sent by Marcus Rashford in which the footballer asked the prime minister to join a task force he created to help tackle child food poverty. Sky News understands that the letter was sent privately in September alongside a public letter that thanked the government for the

Pressure is building on Boris Johnson to extend free school meals for vulnerable children. More than 2,000 paediatricians have signed a letter telling the prime minister that childhood hunger should “transcend politics”. The Labour Party has also threatened to bring the issue back to the House of Commons if Mr Johnson does not relent. Members

People in Scotland are being told to “stay at home” for Halloween and not be “tempted” to hold Bonfire Night parties. Advice issued by Deputy First Minister John Swinney says guising brings an “additional and avoidable risk of spreading the virus” and families should “avoid it”. Guising is a Scottish form of trick-or-treating, in which

Nineteen people have been arrested in the past fortnight in connection with people smuggling across the English Channel. The announcement was made as the Home Office revealed that French law enforcement has stopped more than 650 people from crossing the world’s busiest shipping lane in the past week. The UK’s border force agency revealed that

The UK has reported another 174 coronavirus deaths and 23,012 more cases in the latest 24-hour period. The number of positive tests is higher than the 20,530 infections confirmed on Friday, government data showed. The number of fatalities – within 28 days of a diagnosis – is fewer than yesterday’s total of 224, while 44,745

All shops selling non-essential items have been ordered to close in Wales after the country entered a 17-day “firebreak” lockdown on Friday. The measures mean stores such as supermarkets and newsagents can remain open, but can only sell products the government deems to be essential. Welsh shoppers have been left confused by the measures –

A 17-year-old boy has died after being found with a stab wound in northeast London. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to a road in Walthamstow at 9.20pm on Friday. Paramedics treated the teenager, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are now working to establish the boy’s identity and inform his

Scammers are pretending to be COVID marshals and medical professionals so they can gain access to people’s homes. Genuine COVID marshals don’t have the power to enforce social distancing, issue fines or enter private properties, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has warned. The organisation said this scam is a version of one seen over

The Welsh government has said it will review its ban on supermarkets selling non-essential items following a widespread backlash. The news came just hours before a man was charged with criminal damage and contravention of coronavirus regulations after an incident at a Tesco store in Bangor. Gwilym Owen, 28, from Anglesey, will appear before magistrates

Shoppers in Wales have criticised government measures which mean “non-essential items” have been put behind metal barriers or covered with plastic sheeting in supermarkets. Photos on social media show products such as pillows and bedsheets under a plastic covering at a Tesco store, while a photo from a Morrisons supermarket shows children’s clothes behind a

The Welsh government is to review how the ban on supermarkets selling non-essential items is working to make sure “common sense is applied”, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said. More than 34,000 people had signed a petition calling on politicians to reverse the ban on Saturday, which it described as “disproportionate and cruel”. As Wales

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman’s body was found at a National Trust estate. The woman’s body was found by Thames Valley Police in woodland on the Watlington Hill estate on Friday evening. She is believed to be aged in her 60s and officers are linking her murder to