UK

Newcastle city centre has a strangely subdued atmosphere for a Friday night. This is a party city with a night-time economy worth an estimated £340m, but as the new local lockdown restrictions bite, the pickings are slim. In the Bigg Market, the destination of choice for generations of late night drinkers, the 10pm curfew imposed

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not ruled out a second national lockdown, telling Sky News: “We’ll do what is necessary to keep people safe.” It has been reported that scientists advising the government have proposed a two-week national lockdown in October to try to tackle the rising number of coronavirus cases. Live coverage of the

Boris Johnson has said he does not want to put the country in another national lockdown but warned the government may need to “intensify things to help bring the rate of infections down”. He added: “We’re now seeing a second wave coming… clearly we are going to keep everything under review. “As the disease progresses

In scenes of “absolute pandemonium” and “chaos”, drivers queued for hours as they tried to get a coronavirus test only to be turned away – as the system struggled to cope with soaring demand. At a site in Lewisham, south London, lots of “very angry” people were shouting at each other to move, and also

A government minister has dismissed suggestions the UK could be heading for a two-week national lockdown. Edward Argar, a minister in the Department of Health and Social Care, rubbished claims that Boris Johnson is being advised to take the action due to a rise in coronavirus infections. It came after claims from a former World

Large parts of the North East are set to be subjected to tighter lockdown restrictions that will be announced tomorrow, Sky News understands. The restrictions are expected to come into force on Friday. An MP present at the meeting told Sky News that the areas affected are likely to be Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South

A man who had a pint of sulphuric acid thrown in his face has told Sky News he is “sickened” after learning his attacker has been moved to an open prison – less than six years after the assault took place. Andreas Christopheros was left blind in one eye and is scarred for life following

Peers have been warned by the government not to block its controversial bid to override the Brexit deal, as an ally of Angela Merkel branded the UK a “despot” like North Korea. Downing Street turned the heat up on the House of Lords ahead of it debating and voting on the legislation that passed a

Just one in 10 of the world’s population is likely to be protected against COVID-19 in the first year of a vaccine being made available, experts have told Sky News. Analysis of global manufacturing capacity shows just two billion doses could be made in 2021, even if a vaccine was given the green light by

NHS services are being put at risk because a lack of coronavirus testing is forcing many staff to self-isolate when they could be at work. NHS Providers, which represents NHS trust leaders says the recovery of services was being put in jeopardy while preparations for the winter pressures of COVID-19 and seasonal flu were being

Another 2,621 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the UK in the latest daily government figures, taking the total to 371,125. The number of deaths increased by nine, bringing the overall count to 41,637. Monday’s cases figure compares with 3,330 confirmed on Sunday – which marked the first time since May that cases had

Social gatherings of more than six people are now illegal in England as the coronavirus “rule of six” comes into force. From today, people face fines of up to £3,200 if they do not abide by the new measure which aims to curb an increase in COVID-19 cases. A total of 3,330 confirmed coronavirus cases

Coronavirus cases in Bolton are continuing to increase, with the equivalent of 192 new cases per 100,000 people recorded in the week to 10 September. That’s a substantial rise from the 126.2 cases per 100,000 people seen in the seven days to 3 September – a figure that was already the highest rate in England.

A teenager has been fined £10,000 after hosting 50 people at his home – as a senior police figure warned the public against having a “party weekend” before stricter coronavirus restrictions come into force. Nottinghamshire Police said it had issued the hefty fine to a “reckless” 19-year-old man who staged the house party at his

Another 3,497 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, government figures show. The number of new cases is a 36% increase on last Saturday, when 2,594 new infections were confirmed nationwide. A further nine people have died within 28 days of returning a positive test – all of them in England. This brings

Downing Street is calling for “more realism” from the EU in trade negotiations but believes a post-Brexit trade deal is still possible despite a tumultuous week. Relations between Brussels and London soured dramatically as Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to back down over plans to override the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement. The EU had threatened legal