Omicron cases have now been found in hospital, a minister has revealed, as he said the UK is in a "race" against the variant to give out as many booster jabs as possible.
Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, warned of the danger of tens of thousands of hospitalisations with omicron even if it were to prove "half as severe" as delta because it is so infectious.
"I can confirm to you this morning [there are] cases in hospital with omicron," Mr Zahawi told Sky News. "We've been able to test people who are in hospital over the past two weeks, and there is a lag to hospitalisation.
“It is a race between the booster and the protection and the omicron barrier. It is now a race to get all adults who are eligible for their booster jabs to be boosted as quickly as possible. And the Prime Minister will be saying more about this later today.”
It comes amid concerns that further restrictions could be imposed to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed. The Telegraph revealed today that senior ministers would "resist" a so-called "Plan C" of further restrictions in the absence of data about the impact of omicron and hospitalisations.
The package of Plan B measures, including working from home and Covid certification, is expected to see at least 65 Conservative MPs refuse to support the Government in the Commons on Tuesday.
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The leader of the Scottish Tories has refused four times to name a single one of Boris Johnson's attributes, as he told of his "anger" at Number 10 over Downing Street parties, writes Daniel Sanderson.
Douglas Ross was pressed repeatedly to name one of his party leader's "qualities", but the senior Conservative failed to do so, instead answering by describing him as the "Prime Minister" and the "leader of the main party in the United Kingdom".
While Cabinet ministers on Sunday morning sought to downplay a picture published by the Sunday Mirror, which appears to show Mr Johnson presiding over a festive online quiz for staff last Christmas, Mr Ross said the image raised "many serious questions that we need answers to".
He demanded "serious answers" to questions over what went on at Number 10 last year and said he shared public fury at alleged rule-breaking. Asked whether he was angry with the Prime Minister, he said: "I'm angry with everyone. I mean just look at these pictures, look at people laughing about parties in Downing Street and how they would cover it up."
Speaking on BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show, he was asked four times to list one of the Prime Minister's attributes but failed to do so. After being asked for a fourth time, Mr Ross replied: "Obviously good enough qualities to have an 80 seat majority but that 80 seat majority does not allow you to do whatever you want with your officials in number 10."
Will Wragg, the Conservative MP for Hazel Grove who shouted "resign" at Sajid Javid in the Commons this week over vaccine passports, has expressed his "immense frustration" at the policy.
"What I think is the wrong route for us to take is this coercive work which will not yield the results the Government hopes for," he said on Times Radio this morning.
"The overall package is a jumping of the gun in terms of the new variant. On this occasion [the Government] is going too fast. Working from home has very much been the preserve of the middle classes, it's not something everyone can do. It's really an appeal to take a slower response and see where this is going."
He added that his demand for Mr Javid's resignation was shouted "in the heat of the moment".
He went on to accuse Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, of pursuing an "unwanted conversation" with him in the Commons tearoom about unvaccinated hospital patients after sending a late-night tweet about a "haranguing" earlier in the week.
Police work and military operations could face fewer restrictions under plans to remove the legal obligation on judges to “take into account” European human rights rulings.
An overhaul of the Human Rights Act being prepared by Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, includes ending the duty on British courts to adhere to precedents set by the European Court of Human Rights. The plan, due in a consultation document this week, would go further than earlier proposals by amending Section 2 of the Human Rights Act.
This is likely to prove controversial. Last week, Joanna Cherry, the QC and Scottish National Party MP, told Mr Raab that such a move would “take the guts out” of the Act, which allows courts to apply the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The proposals have been drawn up after the Armed Forces warned that troops were being put “in harm’s way” due to a fear of facing legal action under European human rights laws, and the Metropolitan Police said that judgments meant officers’ time had been wasted investigating cases that will “never reach the threshold for prosecution” in case victims later made a complaint.
Edward Malnick has the full story
Boris Johnson is facing his first major cabinet revolt, with senior ministers pledging to “resist” a “Plan C” of further Covid-19 restrictions, the Telegraph can disclose.
A Cabinet source warned that, in the absence of data showing the impact of omicron on hospitalisation and death rates, a series of concerned members of Boris Johnson’s top team will block the “slippery slope” of further curbs.
At least six cabinet members are understood to have concerns about the Government’s movement towards more draconian measures.
The warning came as senior sources said that Downing Street had been “spooked” by data on the effectiveness of vaccines against the omicron variant prompting fears that Mr Johnson could back more stringent restrictions as soon as this week.
Two moderate former senior ministers are considering joining more than 60 Conservative MPs in voting against Boris Johnson’s new coronavirus restrictions this week. Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, and Tobias Ellwood, a former defence minister, have voiced their concern about the new Covid certification measures that come into force on Wednesday.
Edward Malnick has the full story here
Asked about speculative raft of tougher 'Plan C' measures, Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary and former vaccines minister, said: "We have to keep everything under review."
He told Times Radio that the priority should be the booster campaign as part of a "national endeavour, especially the most vulnerable but all adults who are eligible".
On large gatherings, which the Scottish Government and World Health Organisation are advising people to stay away from, Mr Zahawi called for a "proportionate approach".
"If you’re double vaccinated it does protect you against severe infection," he said. If you have had a lateral flow test and you’re negative, that is also a great protection against the spread of omicron in that particular gathering.
"Let’s be proportionate about this, let’s protect people, deal with omicron but let’s protect the economy as well.”
Boris Johnson has lost his authority in the wake of recent reports around Christmas parties and social occasions in Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Sir Keir insisted in an interview with the Andrew Marr Show that Labour will support the Government's Plan B measures in the Commons on Tuesday to "provide the leadership that the Prime Minister can't".
The Labour leader said: "This is very important because he’s damaged his authority, he’s now so weak his party is so divided. He’s the worst possible leader at the worst possible time.
"He has so damaged his authority that without Labour votes on Tuesday he is unable to discharge the basic function of Government, keeping the public safe.”
Sir Keir said Labour was against mandatory vaccination measures, although there "may be a case in the NHS", while he said negative tests were "important, if not more important" than vaccination status with regards to attending mass events.
The Education Secretary could not confirm this morning that all schools would be open everywhere in January.
Nadhim Zahawi told the Andrew Marr Show: "We are absolutely working to make sure that all schools are open, that they're protected.
"I will do everything in my power. We are still learning about this variant. We know that a booster works. Get boosted, protect yourself, protect your community and let's get through this and transition this from pandemic to endemic."
Asked about whether masks would be introduced in classrooms, Mr Zahawi pledged to keep the measure "under review" but said he had correspondence from MPs and the National Deaf Society "that it does impede learning in the classroom".
Steve Baker has called on Boris Johnson to "save the soul of the Conservative Party" as he plans to relaunch his Conservative Way Forward group in the New Year.
Mr Baker said ministers must pivot to dealing with the pandemic by "counting the cost of remote bans and restrictions... rather than having this endless tunnel vision just on the disease. We actually can't go on like this."
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Baker predicted at least 60 Tory MPs would actively vote against the Government's vaccine certification measures in the Commons on Tuesday.
"Let me be clear, I've been down this road once before viewers will know and I have absolutely no intention this time round of trying to remove a Prime Minister," he said. "I want to see Boris turn this situation around, I want him to rescue this, but he's not going to do it by paying lip service to rules and being incautious about how his staff behave.
"Now that we're vaccinated, what kind of society we want to live in? In the future I want one which is free, which is prosperous, which is joyful in which young people can have a hope of a better future."
Nadhim Zahawi used his broadcast round this morning to defend Boris Johnson after a picture emerged of him taking part in an online Downing Street quiz surrounded by colleagues.
Labour criticised the Prime Minister over the reported event, which the Sunday Mirror claims happened on December 15. Downing Street said the Conservative Party leader had "briefly" taken part "virtually" in the quiz.
Mr Zahawi told Sky News: “What do we see in that picture? We see a Prime Minister on a virtual quiz night for 10 to 15 minutes to thank his staff who, by the way, had no choice but to come in every single day, sitting in his office with the two people who are closest working with him. Many people would have had similar Zoom quiz nights around the country.
"The Prime Minister said to the best of his knowledge, there were no parties, any parties. He also said that the rules were followed, and you saw that in the picture today it's a virtual Zoom call not anything else. I think the nation will understand that now because the hype around it was these parties here where people were mixing and lots of drinks was were flowing."
Mr Zahawi went on to double down on his defence of the Prime Minister in an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, as he added: “On a virtual call, on a Zoom meeting, thanking his team... There’s no drink here, I don’t think there’s a rule against recognising Christmas with tinsel or a hat.
"Ten or 15 minutes to thank his team, who were working all hours, on a screen in a virtual pub quiz. I think people can make their own minds up.”
Omicron cases have now been found in hospital, a minister has revealed, as he said the UK is in a "race" against the variant to give out as many booster jabs as possible.
Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, warned of the danger of tens of thousands of hospitalisations with omicron even if it were to prove "half as severe" as delta because it is so infectious.
"I can confirm to you this morning [there are] cases in hospital with omicron," Mr Zahawi told Sky News. "We've been able to test people who are in hospital over the past two weeks, and there is a lag to hospitalisation.
“It is a race between the booster and the protection and the omicron barrier. It is now a race to get all adults who are eligible for their booster jabs to be boosted as quickly as possible. And the Prime Minister will be saying more about this later today.”
Omicron cases have now been found in hospital, a minister has revealed, as he said the UK is in a "race" against the variant to give out as many booster jabs as possible.
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