Chief medical officer Sir Michael McBride was speaking after the first three confirmed cases of the variant were announced.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks hopes to reconnect all those affected later on Wednesday.

Women, carers and people with disabilities are among the ‘under-pensioned’ groups.

The holiday company reported an annual group loss of 2.47bn euros (£2.1bn), against losses of 3.15bn euros (£2.7bn) the previous year.

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Boris Johnson will face the opposition and his own backbenchers in the Commons on Wednesday.

Sajid Javid withdraws from interview with no replacement offered

Margaret Keenan, 91, said vaccination is the ‘best Christmas present’.

Dr Annette Plaut is to be awarded compensation after an employment tribunal concluded she was dismissed unfairly

The cabinet minister joked about potential police investigations to crowd at think thank

Latest political developments as they happen

A leaked video that shows staff members in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office joking about holding a lockdown-breaching Christmas party last year is adding fuel to allegations that government officials flouted coronavirus rules they impo...

Andrew Devine died in July, more than 32 years after he suffered serious injuries at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.

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Some schools in areas that saw the worst damage from the storm remain closed

Professor Neil Ferguson said Omicron is likely to overtake the Delta variant before Christmas.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the PM to ‘come clean and apologise’.

Dr David Nelson said it had been a ‘real labour of love’ to work with the new variety, which looks like a clownfish due to its unusual markings.

Olaf Scholz is set to take office as Germany’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, succeeding Angela Merkel after her heralded 16-year tenure

The department said it accepts ‘it would have been better not to have gathered in this way’

Spokesperson joked that party could be passed off as ‘business meeting’

Experienced broadcaster who also has impeccable Tory connections

The father-of-three wrote that he was afraid his children would be taken from him and his wife

The firm said the changes would ensure all passengers can ‘plan their journey confidently and independently every time they travel’.

Two ceremonies will take place at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

Tougher travel rules have been introduced for UK arrivals due to concern over the coronavirus variant.

The front pages lead on “party clowns” and more from Downing Street.

Senior aides are seen joking in footage about a ‘cheese and wine’ event last December that was ‘not socially distanced’.

Flood warnings have been issued across the UK by the Environment Agency

Researchers say over-diagnosing cow’s milk allergy is ‘unhelpful’ as real cases could be overlooked

‘What the government once called teething problems have now become a chronic condition’

There is a small minority of antivaxxers who are ‘very difficult to reach’, according to one expert.

It is a year since the first coronavirus vaccine was administered in the UK and now people over 40 can book their booster.

New research suggests patients would prefer to talk to a chatbot about some conditions which have a perceived stigma.

SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin said many people are “struggling” with the current cost of energy bills.

Humza Yousaf said Scotland’s vaccination campaign ‘has provided us all with hope for the future’ one year to the day since it began.

Attempt to rein in punitive approach of Priti Patel’s crackdown fails in Commons votes

Boris Johnson spoke with Joe Biden after the US President had met Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Maxwell denies luring young girls to Epstein’s massage rooms between 1994 and 2004.

Inspectors warn of lack of knowledge around youngsters particularly vulnerable to abuse and neglect

The letter to Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing from the PM’s aide was produced by MP Chris Bryant

The DUP leader said that he had spoken to Lord Frost about the latest on the ongoing discussions between the UK and the EU.

Exclusive: ‘They need just not a new home but they need a new home where they can continue to be a team,’ says Human Rights Watch

MPs said there was a ‘lack of leadership’ at the top of the department following whistleblower allegations about the handling of the mission.

Three cases have been recorded in total, the Department of Health said.

Campaigner claims Nowzad charity ‘forced the PM’s arm’ to get cats and dogs out

MP Johnny Mercer wants immigration fees waived for foreign and Commonwealth military personnel and their families who want to stay in the country.

University of East Anglia Professor Alastair Grant has projected the reproduction rate of the new variant based on UKHSA figures.

A further 101 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been confirmed in the UK.

Officials ‘should have done more to take on board recommendations triggered by other fires’

The countess gave a keynote speech at the Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation & Abuse event in Brussels.

A proposed Bill to ban hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland was defeated on Monday in the Stormont Assembly.

The event allegedly took place at a time when parties were banned under lockdown rules.

Appeal judges earlier this year said Natalia Potanina could make a claim for money in an English court after her marriage to Vladimir Potanin ended.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin listed Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and instability in the Balkans as sources of concern.

Dodi Fayed’s younger half brother Omar Fayed has spoken to Tatler magazine for its January issue.

Segregated spaces for cycling are one of the reasons drivers will lose an average of 148 hours stuck in jams across 2021, according to new analysis

Torridge, Ashford and Reigate and Banstead are recording the highest rates.

Harman entered the House of Commons in 1982 and was twice acting Labour leader

Places in northern England have now got electricity after Northern Powergrid’s ‘final push’ to restore power after Storm Arwen as Storm Barra starts.

GMB workers will be balloted on December 20

The Christmas Market at Belfast City Hall was also forced to close for a time during high winds and rain.

Conor Murphy said eleven other buildings that had other types of cladding that might also be unsafe could be in line for remedial works.

It is too soon to link the rise directly with the spread of the Omicron variant.

Amelia Collins-Patel was only 22 when it was announced she was being made an MBE for her voluntary work.

The duchess said she had ‘severe withdrawal symptoms’ after the radio soap ‘all but disappeared’ during lockdown.

Some ‘lifestyle users’ of class A substances at Westminster, says policing minister after cocaine found

A family in Northumberland left without mains power for 11 days said they had had to be creative with the way they entertained themselves.

Images on CDs found at Epstein’s New York home showed the defendant massage his feet.

US president Joe Biden will update the Prime Minister and other allies following talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

He was paid by several men to torture and remove their genitals, a court heard

Humza Yousaf said he was having weekly meetings to discuss the issue.

As the Caribbean island becomes a republic, there’s one topic of conversation. Nadine White finds out the view on the streets – and the beaches – about this historic step

The First Minister was urged to intervene by campaigners.

Peter Betts spoke after receiving a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for his services to international climate change agreements.

The First Minister said the issue had not been discussed by her cabinet.

Mother brands decision ‘a joke’ because girls are allowed to wear their locks tied up

The now-backbench Conservative MP said he was ‘proud to be dyslexic’, something which was diagnosed when he was at university in Oxford.

At a ‘welcome day’ for new recruits at City Gateway - the second traineeship provider funded by our £1m campaign to skill up jobless youth - we meet three young people seeking help

‘I cannot stress enough how much difference we think this could make’, says first minister

Teaching unions gave evidence to the Stormont Education Committee on Tuesday.

Doctors treating the woman at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge say she has deteriorated in the past four months.

Some drivers choose macho names including Mean Machine, while others take inspiration from TV and film characters such as Homer and Mickey.

ACC Tim Mairs is taking on the role on an interim basis as another senior officer is currently suspended.

The Prime Minister instead insisted no coronavirus rules were broken.

It is too early to know if the rise can be linked to the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Jay Flynn, 39, has received an MBE for his services to charity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The public has been urged to remains cautious with Defece Forces set to be drafted in for ‘extensive recovery operations’.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists Scotland said the latest waiting times figures were ‘damning’.

All eligible adults in Wales are being offered a booster vaccine in response to the Omicron variant, but new measures might still be imposed.