UK Covid live: pre-departure tests for travellers to England to be scrapped; 194,747 new cases reported

From 4am on Friday pre-departure tests no longer required for people arriving in England as UK records second highest number of daily casesAlmost 200,000 new Covid cases reported in UKFollow-up PCRs after positive LFT to be suspended in EnglandTravel s…

Queen calls on Scottish parliament to tackle climate change

Monarch urges MSPs to build ‘fairer and greener future’ as she opens parliament ahead of Cop26The Queen has urged Scotland’s MSPs to tackle climate change and “help create a better, healthier future” in a speech ahead of the Cop26 climate conference.Th…

UK Covid live: jabbing 12- to 15-year-olds will reduce impact of school disruption on children’s mental health – Whitty

Chris Whitty says disruption ‘extraordinarily difficult for children’ and informed decision to recommend vaccinating 12- to 15-year oldsUK children aged 12 to 15 to be offered Covid jabFully vaccinated people account for 1.2% of England’s Covid-19 deat…

Nicola Sturgeon urges SNP to resist Brexit arguments against independence

Scottish first minister warns in conference speech that Westminster will use EU exit fallout as reason why it is unworkableWestminster will use the damage inflicted by Brexit to argue that Scottish independence is unworkable, Nicola Sturgeon has said, …

Nicola Sturgeon starts work on a new push for Scottish independence

First minister unveils legislative programme including referendum and policies agreed with GreensNicola Sturgeon has told civil servants to start making a new case for independence, which offers people “an informed choice on Scotland’s future” in the S…