Politics

The UK has blamed Iran for an attack on an oil tanker in which two crew members, including a British national, were killed. In a statement published on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Iran of carrying out a “deliberate, targeted” assault which he says constituted “a clear violation of international law”. The incident occurred

Something strange seems to be going on in the Conservative government. Recent weeks have seen ministers announce mandatory vaccination to enter nightclubs, speak supportively of businesses that demand workers are jabbed and moot the idea of barring students from university who’ve not been inoculated. Novel developments for members of the self-professed “freedom-loving” party. Please use

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie are expecting their second baby, she has announced. In an Instagram post Carrie Johnson also said she had a miscarriage earlier this year. She wrote: “Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas. “At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken. I

The Conservatives could be in danger of losing more than a dozen seats in their so-called “blue wall” heartlands, a new poll suggests. YouGov found that voting intention in 53 such constituencies in the south and east of England currently held by the party stood at 44% for the Conservatives, 24% for Labour, 18% for

The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for parliament to be recalled from summer recess to debate proposals to introduce the use of vaccine passports. The party’s leader Sir Ed Davey has written a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson accusing his government of “committing to vaccine passports by stealth” which he warned was “a recipe for

A number of Conservative MPs have told Sky News they do not think the government will follow through and actually introduce domestic vaccine passports. The prospect of people having to prove their COVID-19 status to access a range of venues has been raised in recent weeks. Boris Johnson has already said that individuals will need

The government is “increasingly confident” that more countries will soon be added to the amber and green travel lists, Dominic Raab has told Sky News. The foreign secretary said he believes opportunities for international travel can in the near future be opened up further as “the momentum forward is positive”. Mr Raab also did not

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said “no one really knows” how many COVID-19 cases there might be during the rest of the summer as he failed to stick to his previous prediction of 100,000 daily infections. According to government figures, there were more than 54,000 COVID cases reported on 17 July – the current highest

Fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and the US will be able to avoid quarantining when they arrive in England from next Monday, the government has confirmed. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has also announced the resumption of international cruises. The change regarding US and EU arrivals come into force from 4am on 2 August. Live

The government has published a new national strategy on disability which it says will deliver more accessible housing, easier commuting and better job prospects for UK’s 14 million disabled people. The strategy, which includes 100 pledges and £1.6 million of funding, was informed by a survey of more than 14,000 individuals, but disability campaigners and

A senior minister has dropped the strongest hint yet that vaccine passports will be introduced for football matches by the government later this year. Michael Gove said it was his view that “some form of certification is the right way to go” and that “selfish” individuals who refuse to get a COVID-19 jab face being

Boris Johnson has pledged to ensure “less crime, fewer victims and a safer society” as the country recovers from the pandemic. The government will unveil its new Beating Crime Plan on Tuesday which will see the creation of league tables for 101 and 999 call answering times so the public can see how quickly their

University students could need to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus to attend lectures and stay in halls this coming academic year. “We aren’t ruling it out,” a senior government source told Sky News about the prospect of mandating COVID-19 vaccination passports for universities. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world Please use

The health secretary has apologised for saying people should no longer “cower from” coronavirus. Sajid Javid said he had deleted the tweet, which he posted on Saturday to say he had made a “full recovery” a week after testing positive for COVID-19. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world I’ve deleted a

The UK’s former cyber security chief has raised the alarm over the sale of a Welsh microchip manufacturer to a Chinese-backed company. Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of the Chinese company Wingtech, poses a greater

Sajid Javid has been criticised for saying people should no longer “cower from” coronavirus. The health secretary made the comment on Saturday while tweeting that he had made a “full recovery” a week after testing positive for the virus on 17 July. Mr Javid has had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine and praised the