UK

The chancellor is set to announce the Budget on Wednesday nearly a year after the country was placed under a national lockdown. Huge parts of the the economy remain closed and families are feeling the strain as at least 150,000 jobs have been lost to the pandemic. The specific details of the Budget remain unclear

Anyone living with school-aged children in England will be entitled to two rapid coronavirus tests a week when pupils return to the classroom, the government has said. All secondary school and college students will be tested twice a week when they go back on 8 March, according to the prime minister’s roadmap out of lockdown.

As Captain Sir Tom Moore is laid to rest at a small family ceremony in his home county, Sky News’ Enda Brady describes his impact on the world. This was the most perfect spring day in Bedfordshire for the final journey of a man who did so much to lift the nation’s morale during the

The UK has reported another 290 coronavirus deaths and 7,434 new cases, while 19.6 million people have now had their first vaccine dose. This compares to the 345 deaths and 8,523 cases recorded on Friday. Another 504,493 had their first dose of the COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total to 19,682,048. The total number of people

A former chief scientific adviser says rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine by age rather than prioritising professions “makes sense”. Professor Sir Mark Walport, who advised the government from 2013-2017, defended the decision to not prioritise frontline professions after teacher and police unions voiced their disappointment. On Friday, the government announced who would be the next

A Second World War plane soared over the funeral of Captain Sir Tom Moore in a military flypast as his family paid tribute to the 100-year-old veteran whose “message and spirit lives on”. The C-47 Dakota flew over Bedford Crematorium to mark the death of Captain Sir Tom, who raised more than £33 million for

Glasgow MSP Anas Sarwar has been elected as Scottish Labour’s new leader – just 10 weeks before the Holyrood elections. The party was forced to vote for a new leader after Richard Leonard’s shock resignation in January, claiming his decision was in the “best interests” of the party. Mr Sarwar, who lost against Mr Leonard

A Second World War bomb has been detonated in a controlled explosion following the evacuation of 2,600 people in Exeter. People took to Twitter to talk about the size of the blast, which happened just after 6.10pm, which reportedly could be heard for miles. Royal Navy bomb disposal teams were sent to Glenthorne Road near

Bomb disposal experts have evacuated 2,600 homes after a suspected unexploded Second World War bomb was found in Exeter. Royal Navy bomb disposal teams were sent to Glenthorne Road near the University of Exeter at 9am on Friday. They found a “possible unexploded World War Two device” on a building site to the west of

A man who died after being restrained face-down by public transport workers was unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled. Jack Barnes, 29, repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” as he was held by Metrolink-contracted staff in Manchester in October 2016, the city’s coroner’s court was told. The man, from Hull, had been apprehended and restrained by

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that Britain’s public finances will face “enormous strains” in the wake of the latest national lockdown. Ahead of Wednesday’s Budget announcement, Mr Sunak told the Financial Times a bill for the government’s £280bn investment in coronavirus support will eventually have to be paid, with low interest rates leaving the nation’s

Wales manager and former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs has had his bail extended after he was arrested on suspicion of assault. The 47-year-old was arrested and later bailed in November after a reported row with his “on-off girlfriend” Kate Greville. In a statement on Friday, a Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “A 46-year-old man

The son of a British businessman detained in a notorious Indian prison has told Sky News he hopes that Boris Johnson will act to save his father. Christian Michel, 59, was jailed in 2018 in the fallout of one India’s biggest defence deal scandals. His lawyers claim he was extradited from the UAE to India

Rising coronavirus cases in a small number of areas in England has led the deputy chief medical officer to warn: “Don’t wreck this now.” Jonathan Van-Tam was speaking at Friday’s Downing Street briefing on the fight against coronavirus. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world As the UK’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues

Lewis Hamilton has urged people who supported the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement for racial equality to “keep pushing” for “true change”. The seven-time F1 champion asked his social media followers “what’s next?” and said “inequities within our sport and within the world persist”. Hamilton has been one of the UK’s most high-profile supporters of

Let’s start with the good news. COVID cases are gradually slowing down; they’ve become just another part of a shift for the paramedics in North Wales and the rest of the UK. The Welsh Ambulance Service still has 89 soldiers helping them through the end of the winter peak but the COVID calls are usually