UK

The health secretary has said it is going to be a “great Christmas” as he defended not imposing stricter restrictions to combat the new COVID variant. Sajid Javid told Trevor Phillips On Sunday it would be “irresponsible to make guarantees” but the measures announced this week in reaction to the Omicron variant will “buy us

Boris Johnson has said that people who come into close contact with anyone who tests positive for coronavirus with the new Omicron variant will have to self-isolate, regardless of their jab status, as he delivered a press conference in Downing Street. The prime minister warned the Omicron variant could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, as

So the new variant has a name, but we’ve no idea about its reputation. On paper at least the Omicron variant looks terrifying. It has more mutations than any previously observed strain of COVID. And the mutations aren’t just a random jumble of genetic changes. A worrying number of them are in parts of the

No cases of the new COVID variant have been detected in the UK, but it is highly likely it has now spread beyond southern Africa, the health secretary has said. Sajid Javid warned the new strain could be more transmissible than the Delta variant and there is a “possibility it might have a different impact

A rare red “danger to life” weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for Storm Arwen – with winds so strong they could destroy homes and buildings, disrupt travel and bring down power lines and trees, it says. The Met Office issued its highest alert, warning that gusts in excess of 80mph are

Britain is bringing in travel restrictions for six African countries due to a new COVID variant that UK experts have called the “worst one we’ve seen so far”. Health Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: “UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) is investigating a new variant. More data is needed but we’re taking precautions now. “Six African countries

An alleged victim of a Hull grooming gang has told how she was bitten, beaten and burned during a violent rape – and that police and her school had concerns she was being abused but failed to stop it. Warning: This article includes graphic content The teenage girl’s mother was so worried after her daughter

Boris Johnson may have been voted in as prime minister by the British people but he relies on the continued support of his Conservative backbench MPs to remain in position. But after a series of scandals over lobbying, a Peppa Pig World speech, the Downing Street flat refurbishment and reports of Christmas parties during last

Bulb, Britain’s seventh biggest energy supplier, has formally entered into administration – becoming the biggest victim so far of the crisis in the industry. The collapse – confirmed by the government on Wednesday night – comes after the company, which was launched in 2015 and has 1.7 million customers, confirmed earlier this week that it

Police searching for an 18-year-old who has been missing for three days have found a body, and two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Teenager Bobbi-Anne McLeod left her home in the Leigham area of Plymouth at about 6pm on Saturday evening. She had been due to catch a bus into the city

Police have been urged to “declare war” on a child grooming gang after several women told Sky News they were abused by a group of men operating in Hull. A police probe into the alleged crimes has gone dormant, but the UK’s former top child abuse investigator has called for detectives to “double down” on

The government is advising people to take a COVID-19 test before they spend time in “crowded and enclosed spaces” this winter. The Cabinet Office had previously advised people to take two lateral flow tests a week, especially if they have school-age children or are meeting clinically vulnerable people. Now the public is being told to take rapid

A man is facing life in jail for murdering a vulnerable woman after following her off a bus in east London. Maria Rawlings, 45, suffered multiple injuries in the attack by 21-year-old Valentin Lazar who then left her in undergrowth in Romford. Ms Rawlings was killed after she visited accident and emergency following a fall.

A minister has failed to guarantee people will not have to sell their homes to pay for social care ahead of a possible Tory rebellion over the issue. Paul Scully, the small business minister, told Sky News Boris Johnson’s 2019 manifesto promise was a “single headline” and it is not possible to tackle the problem

The taxi driver who survived the Liverpool terror attack has said it is a “miracle that I’m alive” in his first statement since the explosion on Remembrance Sunday. David Perry and his wife Rachel have thanked the public for their “amazing generosity” in the wake of the attack outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital one week ago.

Manchester United have sacked manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The “difficult decision” was taken “with regret”, the club said, adding that the former striker will “always be a legend” at Old Trafford. Former United midfielder and current club coach Michael Carrick will take charge of “forthcoming games” until bosses appoint an “interim manager to the end

Spiking coronavirus infections across Europe show the “critical” need for people in the UK get vaccinated, a government scientific adviser has told Sky News. Soaring cases on the continent underlined “how quickly things can go wrong”, said Professor John Edmunds, who pointed out there were still “many millions” across Britain, who were still not fully

Double child killer Colin Pitchfork has been arrested and recalled to prison, the Ministry of Justice has said. It comes two months after he was released from jail. Pitchfork was returned to custody on Friday over a breach of his licence conditions, and his re-release will be a matter for the Parole Board, it is

London is on track for the worst year of teenage murders on record. “The people who are in the gangs don’t seem to have any care for life in the way the general public do. They just don’t care,” says PC Jim Hare. He is part of a Metropolitan Police unit specifically tasked with targeting

Proof of booster jabs and third doses are being added to the NHS COVID Pass for international travel from today. It comes after some countries – including Israel, Croatia, and Austria – introduced a time limit for COVID vaccination status to be valid for quarantine-free travel. The booster is not being added to the domestic