Boris Johnson 'will not hesitate' on further covid rules - what we learned from the 5pm press conference

hereThe R rate would be growing faster in the UK if it wasn't for the restrictions in place, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said.The R rate - the number of transmission rate - in the UK is currently between 1.3 and 1.5.Explaining a series of slides, Sir Patrick said: “What you can see is that the R hasn’t gone back to where it was and where it would be in an unmitigated epidemic of this disease which would be at about three.“So it has gone up, the epidemic is growing, probably

Boris Johnson ignored the advice of his own top scientists to impose a Nicola Sturgeon-style two week circuit breaker lockdown on parts of England where coronavirus is running out of control. Papers from the UK government’s SAGE advisory group show that scientific advisors officially recommended an urgent two-week ‘circuit break’ lockdown three weeks ago.

Boris Johnson has pledged to help more young people in the UK to get on the property ladder for the first time.At present, many youngsters struggle to buy their own home - as a result of high deposits and high interest rates on mortgages.But now the PM has said he wants to see an end to this, and has pledged to turn “generation rent into generation buy” with long-term, fixed-rate mortgages of up to 95% of the value of a home for first-time buyers.The Prime Minister said the policy could lead to

1. It won’t be over by ChristmasThe Prime Minister warned there could be “a very tough winter for all of us”, adding: “I tell you in all candour, it will continue to be bumpy through to Christmas and may even be bumpy beyond.”Previously Johnson boasted the virus would be under control by November and that the country would be back to normal for Christmas.The PM said people should behave “fearlessly” but with common sense as the UK struggles to both contain the virus and keep the economy going.2.

Douglas Ross of defeatism over independence.  The Prime Minister once again turned down the prospect of a second referendum after Ross, who quit the UK Government over the Dominic Cummings scandal, said that some people who run the country treat the Union as an afterthought.

interview with Andrew Marr on this BBC this morning, the prime minister said the UK could still be in for a 'tough winter'.

Boris Johnson in a hilarious spoof of one of the Prime Minister's Downing Street coronairus daily brieifings. The Little Britain comedian nailed the Prime Minister's floppy blond hair and stuttering delivery in a special prelude to tonight's Great British Bake Off series opener - Lucas' first as presenter.

coronavirus cases.Today Boris Johnson admitted that like other countries, the UK is now at a "perilous turning point" when it comes to a second wave of the virus.New cases have quadrupled in a month, with the possibility of tens of thousands of new cases each day in November.While he was keen to insist that the country will not face a total lockdown like the one that was imposed in March, he made it clear that intervention needs to be taken to suppress the disease.He has also warned that if

hereBolton still has the worst infection rate in the country where strict measures, similar to what the PM may set out for England today, are already in place.Earlier, the PM said: "No British Government would wish to stifle our freedoms in the ways that we have found necessary this year."Yet even now we can draw some comfort from the fact schools, universities, and places of worship are staying open, shops can serve their customers, construction workers can go to building sites and the vast

coronavirus pandemic - he criticised the UK for having "one of the highest death rates in the world" from coronavirus. Sir Keir said a second national lockdown would be a “sign of government failure, not an act of God” that would take an “immense toll” on public health and the economy.Speaking from Doncaster, the Labour leader said: “The warnings yesterday from the government’s advisers were stark.

08.30am - Boris Johnson chairs UK cabinet to sign off new lockdown measures which could be a mild as making pubs close at 10pm in England from Thursday and limiting pubs to table service only.09.00am - Keir Starmer makes a speech in Doncaster to the online Labour conference, before rushing back to the Commons.

Nicola Sturgeon to discuss ways of curbing the alarming rise in Covid-19 cases. The UK Prime Minister had reaffirmed his commitment to taking a ‘united approach, as much as possible’ in tackling the killer virus.