AT A GLANCE: HOW VALLANCE AND WHITTY DEFENDED THE LOCKDOWN SATURDAY’S GLOOMY SLIDES Sir Patrick: ‘I would always like to get things simpler than they were and clearer than they were. ‘I mean, you know, that would always be an aim and clearly some of those slides were quite complicated, and it is a very … Read more
Fears England may have jumped the gun with a second national lockdown grew today after top scientists claimed the R rate has already dropped to the crucial level of one and that Covid-19 cases are actually ‘flatlining’. King’s College London academics, who have been tracking the size of the coronavirus outbreak since the summer, argued … Read more
A graph showed during the Prime Minister’s address saying Britain will have 4,000 deaths a day by December was ‘proven to be incorrect’ and ‘four weeks out of date’, an Oxford University scientist has warned. Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Carl Heneghan said mathematically the document should not have been used to justify the … Read more
I’m A Celebrity contestants are reportedly self-isolating with their partners and children for two weeks before the show. The show, which usually takes place in Australia, kicks off on November 15 at Gwyrch Castle in North Wales this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. In previous years, celebrities haven’t had any contact with their families once … Read more
Timeline of the PM’s lockdown decision Friday, 7am: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab begins a round of broadcast interviews defending the government’s ‘Tiered’ system of local lockdowns. Friday 2.30pm: Sir Patrick Vallance underlines SAGE’s support for a national lockdown at a briefing with reporters, suggesting it was getting late to arrest the spike in cases before Christmas. … Read more
Boris Johnson was today roasted by Keir Starmer for wasting weeks refusing to lock down England while the death toll spiralled – before performing an embarrassing U-turn. In a statement to the Commons, the PM insisted cases were now surging so high there was ‘no alternative’ to the month-long blanket restrictions across England. He warned … Read more
Timeline of the PM’s lockdown decision Friday, 7am: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab begins a round of broadcast interviews defending the government’s ‘Tiered’ system of local lockdowns. Friday 2.30pm: Sir Patrick Vallance underlines SAGE’s call for a national lockdown at a briefing with reporters, saying it is ‘not too late to save Christmas’. Friday 3pm: Papers are … Read more
Timeline of the PM’s lockdown decision Friday, 7am: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab begins a round of broadcast interviews defending the government’s ‘Tiered’ system of local lockdowns. Friday 2.30pm: Sir Patrick Vallance underlines SAGE’s call for a national lockdown at a briefing with reporters, saying it is ‘not too late to save Christmas’. Friday 3pm: Papers are … Read more
Boris Johnson will today try to head off a mounting Tory revolt against his nationwide lockdown by warning coronavirus deaths this winter could double the amount of the first wave. The Prime Minister is set to use a statement to the Commons this afternoon to say there is ‘no alternative’ but to impose four weeks … Read more
Boris Johnson was facing a Tory rebellion last night over his new national lockdown. Many of his own MPs were outraged by the revelation that the restrictions could last much longer than the planned four weeks – and potentially even run into spring with a brief easing over Christmas. Some indicated they would oppose the measures … Read more