Markus Andrews

The legal requirement for people who test positive with Covid to self-isolate will be scrapped on Thursday, the prime minister announced Monday evening.Boris Johnson unveiled his “Living with Covid” strategy during a speech in the Commons, which also included details on the scrapping of free coronavirus tests for most people from April.The PM also announced the scrapping of routine contact tracing, the £500 self-isolation payment and changes to statutory sick pay and employment support allowance which were implemented to help those impacted by the pandemic, would come into effect from 24 March.People will still be advised to self-isolate if they test positive, but there will be no legal requirement to isolate, and there will be no legal requirement for those who test positive to inform their employer of their need to isolate.From 1 April, only the most vulnerable will be eligible for free testing under the new rules and asymptomatic testing will continue for social care staff, however, the Department of Health and Social Care will receive no extra money to deliver the testing.Outlining his “Living with Covid” plan in the Commons, the PM said testing had become “much less valuable” in restricting the spread of Covid and that the £2bn-a-month cost of the system meant the government had to “scale back” what it could offer.A fourth vaccine dose, or second booster, will be offered to those 75 and older, the immunosuppressed and care home residents in the Spring.Mr Johnson warned the Commons that the “pandemic is not over”, with the Queen’s positive test a “reminder this virus has not gone away”.But he told MPs there is “sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition” from laws to relying on vaccines and treatments and individuals making the right choices.He said: “It is time that we got our confidence back. We don’t need laws to compel people to be considerate to others.“We can rely on that sense of responsibility towards one another.“So let us learn to live with this virus and continue protecting ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms.”The cabinet gave the PM’s plan “unanimous backing” despite the meeting being delayed earlier today following a disagreement over funding.However, Labour leader Keir Starmer criticised the plan saying it was “half-baked”.He said: “As a nation there is no doubt we need to move on from Covid.“People need to know their liberties are returning and returning for good.“But this is a half-baked announcement from a government paralysed by chaos and incompetence. It is not a plan to live well with Covid.”Groups advocating for clinically vulnerable people have also criticised the strategy, particularly the end of self-isolation, while trade unions have criticised the decision to end Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) entitlements on the first day of illness.Helen Rowntree, director of research, services and engagement for Blood Cancer UK, said: “The government is lifting restrictions without a plan to protect immunocompromised people, for who the vaccines are proving less effective.“The Prime Minister may want the country to get its confidence back, but this will cause huge anxiety among immunocompromised people and leave many of them feeling abandoned.“This will lead to people finding it more difficult to live their daily lives and, sadly, some people dying from Covid.”TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “The government is creating needless hardship and taking a sledgehammer to public health.“The failure to provide decent sick pay to all, from the first day of illness, is reckless and self-defeating.“If people can’t afford to stay home when they’re sick, they will take their infections into work.“Ministers’ inability to grasp this fact will leave the UK vulnerable to future variants and pandemics.” More

The UK is ready to launch cyber attacks on Russia if Moscow targets Britain’s computer networks after a Ukraine invasion, the defence secretary has threatened.In a Commons statement, Ben Wallace pointed to the “offensive cyber capability” the UK is already developing from a base in the north west of England.“I’m a soldier – I was always taught the best part of defence is offence,” he told an MP who urged him to “give as good as we get back to Russia” if necessary.Mr Wallace also stepped up UK threats by saying sanctions will be imposed for aggression that stops short of crossing the Ukraine border – amid criticism they have not yet been used.Russian companies with links to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin’s regime will be targeted if, for example, a no-fly zone is imposed in Ukraine, or ports blockaded“Many of these aggressive moves – like a no-fly zone, a blockade to free trade – would absolutely warrant a response ranging from sanctions and others,” the defence secretary said.“Russia should be under no illusion that threatening the integrity of a sovereign nation, whether that is in the air or on the sea, is exactly the same as threatening it on the land.”Sanctions have not yet been imposed in order to coordinate with the European Union, which has yet to announce what its package will be, Mr Wallace suggested.He also argued President Putin is losing the war of words, ahead of any invasion – with Nato strengthening its eastern flank and Moscow all-but isolated internationally.“Belarus is their only ally. If you want to be on your own and stuff everyone else, you end up like North Korea,” the defence secretary taunted.Last March, Mr Wallace unveiled a new defence command paper, which promised a “National Cyber Force will lie at the heart of defence and GCHQ’s offensive cyber capability”.In his statement on the current crisis, he said: “It has already been established and has started to grow. I cannot comment on the operations it will undertake.”Mr Wallace said there is still a “strong cause for concern” that Russia is “still committed to invasion” – one that would lead to a “humanitarian crisis and widespread suffering”.And he turned on Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, who called for a “reduction in the Nato presence on the border” if Russia pulls back in return.“We didn’t put 165,000 combat troops on the edge of a sovereign country and hold a gun to the head of a democratically elected government,” Mr Wallace told him.“We didn’t do that. Russia did that. We have nothing to deescalate from – Russia does.”Mr Corbyn should “condemn the Stop The War Coalition”, he said, adding: “Maybe he’d like to go and ask the people of Ukraine who the aggressor is?” More

The legal requirement to self-isolate after testing positive for Covid and £500 quarantine support payments will end in England on Thursday, Boris Johnson has announced.The prime minister also confirmed that free Covid testing for the public will be scrapped in England from 1 April, as he set out his “living with Covid” plan in the Commons.Mr Johnson said testing had become “much less valuable” in restricting the spread of Covid, and said the £2bn-a-month cost of the system meant the government had to “scale back” what it could offer.The prime minister also told MPs the success of the UK’s vaccination programme meant the government could “lift our restrictions earlier than comparable countries”.He said: “It’s time we got our confidence back – we can rely on that sense of responsibility to one another. Let us learn to live with this virus, and continue protecting ourselves and others, without restricting freedoms.”Routine contact tracing will end on Thursday, as will the legal obligation for individuals to tell employers about their requirement to isolate.The government is also stripping back sick pay from next month. From 24 March, the £96.35 a-week Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will go back to being available on the fourth day of any illness, rather than on day one.Read more: Boris Johnson ends isolation for positive cases – follow LIVEMr Johnson also said that from 1 April the use of voluntarily Covid status certification will no longer be recommended – though the NHS app “will continue to allow people to indicate their vaccination status for international travel”.Sir Keir Starmer condemned the PM’s “half-baked announcement” – criticising the end of self-isolation support payments and weakening sick pay, and questioning the decision to scale back free testing. “We can’t turn off Britain’s radar before the war is won.”Mr Johnson said the evidence for ending all curbs in England was “amply there in the scientific evidence”, before claiming that Sir Keir had shown a “ferocious grip of the wrong end of the stick”.Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said it would be “premature and reckless” to wind back the programme, while Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be “inexcusable negligence given ongoing risks”.The cabinet was due to sign off the prime minister’s plan, which includes a significant reduction in the NHS Test and Trace system, on Monday morning.But the green lighting was pushed back – with the unexpected delay thought to centre on a row with health secretary Sajid Javid and chancellor Rishi Sunak over how to fund the continuation of some free testing.An ally of Mr Sunak insisted the delay was “no one’s fault” but it was “just cabinet-level discussions as you’d expect”.Free testing will be massively scaled back from 1 April, and will instead be focused on the most vulnerable, with the UK Health Security Agency set to determine the details, while a degree of asymptomatic testing will continue in settings such as in social care.Downing Street sources said that no price was being set for a box of lateral flow tests after free supplies end on 1 April, and it will be down to the market to decide how much to charge.However ministers expect the price to settle at a “low single figure” for each individual test, suggesting a price of £15-30 for a pack of seven.Free tests will still be made available to some of the most vulnerable groups – likely to include the over-80s and those with immuno-suppressing conditions – in response to symptoms.And there will be asymptomatic testing free of charge for care home residents. However, NHS staff and patients and care system workers will receive free tests only if they develop symptoms of Covid-19 or if there is an outbreak which requires asymptomatic testing to be conducted.Mr Johnson said: “We will continue to provide free symptomatic tests to the oldest age groups and those most vulnerable to Covid … we’re working with retailers to ensure that everyone who wants to can buy a test.”Senior Tory backbencher Mark Harper welcome the PM’s announcement and invited him to join the group of lockdown sceptics, joking: “I will take the prime minister’s statement .. as his application to join the Covid recovery group. He’s very welcome indeed. I only wish it had been sooner.”Mr Javid lost his battle with the chancellor for additional funding to cover future testing programmes, which will be paid for entirely from existing Department of Health budgets. However, it is not expected that money will be taken from the budget for clearing the NHS treatment backlog.A new 72-hour delay between ordering boxes of tests has been introduced to prevent individuals from trying to build up stockpiles at home before the 1 April deadline and to stop a blackmarket developing in lateral flow kits.The government’s scientific advisers have made clear that the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, and the disease has not yet settled into a predictable endemic pattern.Ministers were told that there could be significant future mutations and that new variants could be more severe and more transmissible than the currently dominant Omicron strain.The Sage scientific advisory committee, which met last week, made clear that the UK would need a strong domestic surveillance capacity to maintain public health protection.The Office for National Statistics will continue its infection survey, alongside the Vivaldi study in care homes and the Siren study into reinfections, to monitor the development of new variants.Meanwhile, UK Health Security Agency will maintain a level of PCR lab infrastructure and a stockpile of lateral flow tests to be able to respond in the case of a new variant of concern or a spike in cases. 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Boris Johnson will give a statement to MPs in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon as he sets out his government’s plan for “living with Covid”.The prime minister is scheduled to speak in the chamber at around 3.30pm when he is expected to scrap all remaining virus restrictions.At a Downing Street press conference expected at about 7pm, he will address the nation and confirm the changes, which are likely to include the scrapping of self-isolation for people who test positive and a scaling back of testing to focus on vaccination, particularly among the elderly and vulnerable. Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, will join the prime minister at the briefing.Earlier on Monday, a cabinet meeting due at 10am where the PM was scheduled to present ministers with the plan was delayed. The surprise move came after ministers had been photographed arriving in Downing Street for the discussions.The PM was forced to introduce fresh social restrictions to combat the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as it sent cases spiralling towards the end of last year.He brought back mandatory mask-wearing on public transport and in shops, cinemas, theatres and places of worship in December, asked citizens to work from home where possible and made an NHS Covid Pass or negative lateral flow test a necessary requirement for entry to crowded venues and events involving mass gatherings.However, Mr Johnson stuck to his guns and refused to impose tighter restrictions in England despite pressure from his scientific advisers to do so in response to the record-breaking rate of infection we saw in the first days of 2022, insisting on 3 January that the “Plan B” measures in place remained the “right” course of action, adding: “The way forward for the country as a whole is to continue with the path that we’re on.“We’ll keep everything on the review course we keep all measures under review, but the mixture of things that we’re doing at the moment is I think, the right one.”The PM reiterated his hope that Britain would be able to “ride out” the assault from Omicron without further measures in a press conference from Downing Street the following Tuesday evening.That strategy, backed by senior Cabinet ministers keen to safeguard the economy, appears to have paid off, given that the high case numbers failed to translate into the feared wave of mass hospitalisations that could have overwhelmed the NHS.That said, at least 24 hospital trusts did report suffering “critical incidents” of staff shortages, leading to non-urgent treatments having to be postponed to cope with the crisis.But overall, the Omicron strain, though highly transmissable, has proven to have a less severe impact on individuals than earlier variants of the virus, with the government’s tactic, of encouraging adults to get vaccine booster jabs as a matter of urgency, paying off. More

Russia’s ambassador to the UK has criticised British diplomatic efforts in the Ukraine crisis, claiming Boris Johnson’s government had offered nothing to resolve the dispute.Andrei Kelin stepped up Moscow’s attacks on Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and suggested Mr Johnson was being eclipsed on the diplomatic front by counterparts from France and Germany.His comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron brokered a potential summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in an attempt to avert a war in eastern Europe.Mr Kelin suggested the UK had offered no constructive solutions, contrasting Mr Johnson’s efforts with Mr  Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who are both perceived to have a softer position towards Russia than the UK or US.Discussing the British efforts, he told the PA news agency: “Of course, we see all the diplomatic telephone calls, visits to each other, endless visits to each other, endless conversations.”But he could see “no UK role in search of constructive solutions”.While the French and Germans were seeking to find a solution, “as for the UK, I’m seeing nothing”.He criticised Ms Truss following her occasionally testy visit to Moscow for talks with counterpart Sergei Lavrov.“She didn’t listen to the arguments, she tried to be deaf to the arguments,” he said, accusing her of responding to Moscow’s position with “a small number of slogans”.The visit of Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was “much more diplomatic”, he said.Ms Truss has defended her visit, insisting she delivered a “clear message” to the Kremlin and “of course, the Russians didn’t like what I had to say but I say it nevertheless”.Mr Kelin suggested the UK was more interested in building up international alliances in favour of sanctions than finding a peaceful outcome.“Britain, with its history of diplomacy, and that with its experience in diplomacy” should play a role beyond “wanting to create, to build up sanctions”.He suggested it was a “huge overreaction to the unusual circumstances” and vowed that Moscow would retaliate if sanctions were imposed.“We will, of course, find, ways to respond,” he said.Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough have been raised by the prospect of direct talks between US President Mr Biden and Russian President Mr Putin following the intervention by Mr Macron.But Mr Kelin suggested any such summit could only take place if Russia’s fundamental concerns could be addressed.“I do believe that it’s a bit early now to say what’s going to happen,” he said in an interview in Russia’s embassy in London.It would be a “good result” if sufficient progress were made in talks to allow the summit to go ahead.But he said the West is “not very interested in resolving the core question, the issue of the enlargement of Nato, the open door policy”.Mr Kelin said: “Ukraine does not exist in a vacuum, it exists in Europe. It has its history and its neighbours.“And, of course, any country which has neighbours should take into account (the) opinion of neighbours.”Ukraine joining Nato would “ruin European security and it will ruin the relationship with Russia”. More

Boris Johnson is to be joined by chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance at a press conference late this afternoon to discuss the government’s plan for “living with Covid”, Downing Street has said.The presence of the “three amigos” at the Downing Street briefing will be seen as confirmation that Whitty and Vallance have signed off on the controversial plan, which will bring forward by a month the lifting of the legal requirement to isolate after a positive test for coronavirus.The announcement was thrown into chaos today as wrangling between the Treasury and Department of Health over funding force the last-minute cancellation of a cabinet meeting intended to rubber-stamp Mr Johnson’s plan.It is understood that some ministers arrived at No 10 for the scheduled in-person meeting at 10am only to find it had been delayed as further talks took place to thrash out funding for future testing and monitoring regimes.Cabinet is now expected to convene by video conference early in the afternoon, ahead of a statement to the House of Commons by Mr Johnson at around 4.30pm and the press conference at 6.30-7pm. More

The Queen is expected to hold a telephone audience with the prime minister and conduct virtual audiences this week as she carries on with light duties despite catching Covid.The 95-year-old monarch, who is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms, is self-isolating at Windsor Castle, where a number of her team have also been hit by the virus.Concerns for the nation’s longest reigning sovereign have been heightened given her age and recent health scare.But Buckingham Palace has said the monarch expects to be at her desk continuing light duties over the coming days.The Queen holds an audience with Boris Johnson most Wednesdays, either in person or by telephone, and has recently been holding one or two diplomatic audiences a week with ambassadors by video-link, and is likely to do so this week if well enough.She is following all Covid self-isolating guidelines after testing positive on Sunday, but her diagnosis comes as Mr Johnson prepares on Monday to bring an end to the legal duty to self-isolate from next week.Downing Street said the Prime Minister intends to repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England when he lays out his “living with Covid” plan.The Queen will also be working from her red boxes, sent to her every day and containing policy papers, Foreign Office telegrams, letters and other state papers from Government ministers and Commonwealth representatives that have to be read and, where necessary, approved and signed.For company, she has her dogs – her elderly dorgi Candy, corgi puppy Muick and another young corgi.The monarch, if she feels well enough, is also likely to study the Racing Post.She had a win on Sunday when her horse Kincardine won the Federation Of Bloodstock Agents Maiden Hurdle at Newbury.She will also be given a digest of the day’s news from the early-morning radio and television bulletins, and a selection of papers, with her photo gracing most of the front pages after the announcement that she has Covid.Her diagnosis follows a string of cases among the royal family, with the Prince of Wales meeting his mother in the week he tested positive, and the Duchess of Cornwall also isolating after contracting the virus.The Queen has only just reached her historic Platinum Jubilee of 70 years on the throne, on February 6.The Royal Household has its own physicians and the Queen’s doctors will be on hand to take care of and monitor the head of state, with Professor Sir Huw Thomas, head of the Medical Household and Physician to the Queen, expected to be in charge.The Queen has a number of major engagements coming up next month.She is set to host the Diplomatic Reception on March 2, where she will meet hundreds of members of the Diplomatic Corps at Windsor.She is also due to attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14 and then the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service, also at the Abbey, on March 29.The Queen is believed to be triple vaccinated but until recently had been on doctors’ orders to rest since mid-October, after cancelling a run of engagements and spending a night in hospital undergoing preliminary tests.Just a few weeks ago, she had begun to resume her normal duties, hosting at Sandringham her largest reception in months, on the eve of her Platinum Jubilee anniversary, and a few days later she held her first in-person audience with the Prime Minister in many weeks.She now regularly uses a stick and recently commented about her mobility issues, telling two senior military officers during a Windsor Castle reception “Well, as you can see, I can’t move,” when asked how she was.On Sunday, the Queen sent a message of congratulations to Team GB women’s curling team who became Winter Olympic champions after the men’s team won silver, but it is not known if she had tested positive at the time the words were signed off.The Queen, whose husband, Philip, died 10 months ago, spent much of the pandemic in the safety of Windsor Castle, protected in “HMS Bubble”, the nickname given to her reduced household of dedicated staff.The monarch, who for almost two years avoided contracting Covid, has served as a symbol of national stability during the pandemic, delivering two rare televised addresses to the nation weeks apart. More

The elections watchdog has made a last-gasp plea to the government to drop a planned power-grab, warning it has “no precedent” in Western democracies.The shake-up – enabling ministers to set the Electoral Commission’s “strategy” – would see ministers able to “influence the operational functions and decision-making”, it has protested.The plan, in the Elections Bill, has “no precedent in the accountability arrangements of electoral commissions in other comparable democracies”, a letter states.The legislation – which goes to the Lords this week – will give ministers the power to set the remit of the Commission and decide which organisations and activities are permitted in election campaigns.It comes after the watchdog angered No 10 by investigating the funding of the lavish refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat, by a Tory donorThe Commission has been threatened with curbs ever since it embarrassed senior Tory figures by fining Vote Leave for busting spending limits for the Brexit referendum.The organisation has also raised the alarm over the way it will be stripped of prosecution powers, warning of the risk that lawbreakers will escape punishment.In its letter, sent to the levelling up secretary Michael Gove, the Commission warns the Elections Bill flouts the good practice code of the Venice Commission, of which the UK is a member.It states: “Only transparency, impartiality and independence from political motivated manipulation will ensure proper administration of the election process.”The letter reads: “The Commission’s accountability is direct to the UK’s parliaments and should remain so, rather than being subject to government influence.”And it adds: “The Commission’s independent role in the electoral system must be clear for voters and campaigners to see, and preserved in electoral law.”The Cabinet Office insists the changes are a “necessary and a proportionate approach to reforming the Electoral Commission while respecting its independence”.But critics have warned ministers will, at a stroke, be able to ban trade unions and certain charities from taking part in elections by campaigning or donating.The Bill sailed through the Commons – with its huge Conservative majority – but faces a buffeting in the Lords, where independent peers share the Commission’s fears.In its letter, ministers are warned the Bill is “ inconsistent with the role that an independent electoral commission plays in a healthy democracy”.“This independence is fundamental to maintaining confidence and legitimacy in our electoral system,” it states.In December, John Pullinger, the Commission’s head, criticised the refusal to beef up the level of fines it can impose for wrongdoing from just £20,000 to a recommended £500,000.And, on the plan to remove the power of criminal investigation and prosecution, the Commission chair asked: “The key to me is, well, who is going to have it?” More