The coronavirus variant first discovered in Kent may be up to twice as deadly as previous variants, new research suggests.
The more infectious variant, which swept across the UK at the end of last year before spreading across the world, is between 30% and 100% more deadly, a new study has found.
Epidemiologists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol said the data suggested the variant was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate among adults diagnosed in the community, compared with previously circulating variants.
Robert Challen, from the University of Exeter, lead author of the study, said: "In the community, death from Covid-19 is still a rare event, but the B117 variant raises the risk.
"Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly, this makes B117 a threat that should be taken seriously."
Researchers looked at death rates among people infected with the new variant and those infected with other variants.
When the discovery of the Kent variant was first announced in December last year, officials said there was no evidence to suggest it caused a higher mortality rate.
In January, Prime Minister Boris Johnson referred to early research suggesting the variant was in fact associated with greater mortality - but this was then downplayed by scientists.
The uncle of missing Sarah Everard has told Sky News the family is "distraught" following the arrest of a police officer over her disappearance.
Nick Everard said "things are utterly dire", but they were hoping and "waiting for positive news from the police".
The Metropolitan Police said officers are searching a number of locations in Kent but have not revealed where.
Sky News understands a police search is taking place in woodland near Ashford, Kent, but it has not been confirmed if this is linked to the case.
A property in Deal is also reportedly being searched and a car was seen being taken away from the property. A neighbour told the Press Association police were also digging up the garden.
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Mr Everard's comments come after Scotland Yard said investigators "really hope" the 33-year-old is still alive.
A serving Metropolitan Police officer was arrested last night in connection with Ms Everard's disappearance.
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The officer, who was not on duty at the time of Ms Everard's disappearance, was arrested at an address in Kent.
A woman was also taken into custody and is being held at a London police station on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Image:Police officers search woodland near to Great Chart Golf and Leisure country club and course in Ashford, Kent
The force has not said what the officer was arrested for, and Mr Ephgrave would not say whether the person knows Ms Everard.
Earlier, Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: "This is a serious and significant development in our search for Sarah and the fact that the man who has been arrested is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing."
He told reporters that detectives are working "at all speed" to find out what has happened to Ms Everard, and repeated appeals for members of the public to come forward with information.
He added: "As a father myself of four young women I can only imagine the anguish that Sarah's family are feeling at this very very difficult time."
Image:Police activity outside a house in Freemens Way in Deal, Kent
Image:A forensic officer inside the house
Ms Everard's family and her friends have issued desperate appeals for help via social media.
On Monday, Mr Everard said her phone was not ringing and WhatsApp messages were not getting through.
He said his brother and sister-in-law are "beside themselves with worry" and pleaded with anyone who may be holding his niece to "just be human and to let her come home".
"Let her talk to us, give us a ring or text to let us know she is OK," Mr Everard added.
Ms Everard's parents and brother and sister have joined the search for her in Clapham, south London, and have been walking her last known journey, he told The Sun.
Image:Sarah Everard wearing the same coat as on the night she went missing
She went missing while walking to her home in Brixton from the nearby Clapham Junction area on Wednesday evening.
Ms Everard had been at a friend's house when she left the property in Leathwaite Road around 9pm.
The marketing executive has not been seen or heard from since.
Anyone who has seen Ms Everard or who has information that may assist the investigation should call the Incident Room on 0208 785 8244
Step back from the scrum around Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and one thing is clear: the rift between Britain’s royal family and two of its most charismatic and crowd-pleasing members represents a vast missed opportunity.
The 2018 marriage of Harry and Meghan seemed to signal a renewal of the family’s mindset, its front-line representatives, and its broader popularity, not least among black Britons. Many of them saw the prince’s union with a mixed-race bride as a signal of hope and change. Together with Prince William, next in line to the throne after the heir Prince Charles, and William’s wife Kate, the newly-wed couple fleetingly formed a united quartet of fresh thinkers from a new generation.
For that spirit of renewal to disintegrate within three years into a “she-said, Royal-we-said” dispute over the inflammatory issues of racism and mental health — the latter recalling the agonies of William and Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana — is a personal and family tragedy. Yet this is an institutional, not constitutional, crisis. It is not too late to heed the warning and change how “the firm” functions.
Such crises have shaken the monarchy before, most recently after Diana’s death in 1997. Without action, they will do so again. Simmering concerns over Prince Andrew, tainted by association with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, could boil up anew. The tabloid press, which hyped the Meghan-and-Harry romance then poisoned it with careless bigotry, has an insatiable appetite for royal targets.
The doleful recurrence of scandal every few years suggests a structural problem. Repairing the fault lines is increasingly urgent. At a time of unsettling change in UK politics, the monarch still has a role to play as an anchor of national stability. But Queen Elizabeth, who turns 95 next month and almost single-handedly holds the firm together, is not immortal. While there is a solid base of traditionalist backers, support is split on generational lines. YouGov surveys show younger people tend to side with Harry and Meghan, their elders with the royal family.
The feudal nature of the monarchy, for all its weaknesses, contains the seeds of regeneration. As William and Kate’s children grow up they should supply new ideas and new faces for the press to obsess over. Meanwhile, the Queen’s gradualist strategy of evolution needs to accelerate, ignited by Markle’s allegations of ugly and inexcusable racism among family members. A carefully worded statement from Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night said it was taking “very seriously” the “concerning” race issues raised, but noted that “recollections may vary”.
With Harry and Meghan living a new life in California, the challenge of leading renewal now falls to Prince Charles, William and Kate. They will continue to form the core of working royals, which should be tightly defined. By committing himself and his successors to a set age of abdication, Charles could prevent the institution from ossifying. More minor royals should be allowed to pursue a different existence, as Harry and Meghan, slightly clumsily, attempted to do.
However dysfunctional the family, moreover, the officials, press advisers, human resources staff and others who make up the wider institution should be capable of bringing in new blood, applying pragmatic business knowhow, and rooting out unacceptable attitudes. If the firm fails to adapt, it will be condemned to repeat the same sad plotline of the Meghan-Harry fairy tale — messy defeat snatched from the jaws of victory — potentially with an even unhappier ending.
A Metropolitan Police officer arrested in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard was "not on duty" when she went missing.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave described the arrest as a "serious and significant" development in the search for the 33-year-old.
Speaking to reporters outside Scotland Yard on Wednesday, a week on since Ms Everard was last seen or heard from, he said: "Our inquiries suggest that this officer was not on duty at the time of Sarah's disappearance."
Asked if he believed she might still be alive, the officer replied: "We are searching as hard as we can to find Sarah so we really hope that is the case, of course."
He said the fact a serving police officer had been detained was both "shocking and deeply disturbing", and the force was working at "speed" to find Ms Everard.
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The force appealed again for the public's help, with Mr Ephgrave saying "every piece of information is important to us".
An extensive search involving police, relatives and volunteers has been under way to find the marketing executive who disappeared after leaving a friend's house in Clapham, southwest London, at about 9pm last Wednesday (3 March).
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Ms Everard went missing while walking to her home in nearby Brixton - a journey that was expected to take her around 50 minutes. She has not been seen or heard from since.
Image:A CCTV image of Sarah Everard on the night she went missing
She is described as 5ft 4in (162cm) tall with a slim build and blonde hair.
Ms Everard was wearing a green rain jacket, navy blue trousers with a white diamond pattern, and turquoise and orange trainers - and is thought to have been wearing green earphones and a white beanie hat too.
Her family described her disappearance as being "totally out of character" and said her phone was not ringing and WhatsApp messages were not getting through.
Last night, a serving Metropolitan Police officer was arrested at an address in Kent in connection with her disappearance.
A woman was arrested at the same address on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Both remain in custody at a London police station.
Image:Ms Everard disappeared while walking to her home in Brixton, south London
On Tuesday two new photographs of Ms Everard were released by police.
One of the new images showed her wearing the same coat as on the night she went missing.
The image, a CCTV still taken from a doorbell camera, showed Ms Everard walking along the A205 Poynders Road at about 9.30pm.
The footage captured her walking alone from the junction at Cavendish Road, toward Tulse Hill, which lies south of Brixton.
The image appears to suggest she walked through Clapham Common and was heading towards her home, although police have said it is unclear if she made it there.
A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard.
The 33-year-old marketing executive went missing after leaving a friend's house in Clapham, southwest London at about 9pm on 3 March.
In a statement the Metropolitan Police said the man was arrested at an address in Kent and is being held at a London police station.
A woman was arrested at the same address on suspicion of assisting an offender and has also been taken into custody at a London police station.
Image:CCTV image of Sarah Everard on the night she went missing
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said: "This is a significant development in our inquiry. This is a fast moving investigation and we are doing everything we can to find Sarah.
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"We have seen an overwhelming response from the public and I repeat my request for anyone with information that may be relevant to come forward, no matter how insignificant it may seem."
Image:Ms Everard's family said her disappearance was 'totally out of character'
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: "The arrest this evening is a serious and significant development. We will continue to work with all speed on this investigation but the fact that the arrested man is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing.
More from Sarah Everard
"I understand there will be significant public concern but it is essential that the investigative team are given the time and space to continue their work."
The Directorate of Professional Standards has been made aware of the arrests and Sarah's family has been informed of the latest developments.
Ms Everard has not been seen or heard from since leaving a friend's flat in Leathwaite Road, Clapham, southwest London, to head home to Brixton, at around 9pm last Wednesday.
Her family have said it is "totally out of character" for her to disappear.
She was last seen wearing a green rain jacket, navy blue trousers with a white diamond pattern, and turquoise and orange trainers. She is thought to have been wearing green earphones and a white beanie hat.
Image:Sarah Everard wearing the same coat as on the night she went missing
On Tuesday two new photographs of the 33-year-old were released by police.
One of the new images shows Ms Everard wearing the same coat as on the night she went missing.
Officers continue to ask people who live in the Clapham Junction area, or who were there from 9.30pm on Wednesday 3 March, to check any CCTV or dashcams they may have and to come forward with any information.
A cordon has been put in place on the A205, near the Poynders Court housing complex in the Clapham area.
Footage from a doorbell camera shows Ms Everard walking along the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill at around 9.30pm on the night she vanished.
Anyone who has seen Sarah or who has information that may assist the investigation should call the Incident Room on 0208 785 8244.
A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard.
The 33-year-old marketing executive went missing after leaving a friend's house in Clapham, southwest London at about 9pm on 3 March.
In a statement the Metropolitan Police said the man was arrested at an address in Kent and is being held at a London police station.
A woman was arrested at the same address on suspicion of assisting an offender and has also been taken into custody at a London police station.
Image:CCTV image of Sarah Everard on the night she went missing
Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said: "This is a significant development in our inquiry. This is a fast moving investigation and we are doing everything we can to find Sarah.
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"We have seen an overwhelming response from the public and I repeat my request for anyone with information that may be relevant to come forward, no matter how insignificant it may seem."
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said: "The arrest this evening is a serious and significant development. We will continue to work with all speed on this investigation but the fact that the arrested man is a serving Metropolitan Police officer is both shocking and deeply disturbing.
More from Sarah Everard
"I understand there will be significant public concern but it is essential that the investigative team are given the time and space to continue their work."
The Directorate of Professional Standards has been made aware of the arrests and Sarah's family has been informed of the latest developments.
Ms Everard has not been seen or heard from since leaving a friend's flat in Leathwaite Road, Clapham, southwest London, to head home to Brixton, at around 9pm last Wednesday.
Her family have said it is "totally out of character" for her to disappear.
She was last seen wearing a green rain jacket, navy blue trousers with a white diamond pattern, and turquoise and orange trainers. She is thought to have been wearing green earphones and a white beanie hat.
Image:Sarah Everard wearing the same coat as on the night she went missing
On Tuesday two new photographs of the 33-year-old were released by police.
One of the new images shows Ms Everard wearing the same coat as on the night she went missing.
Officers continue to ask people who live in the Clapham Junction area, or who were there from 9.30pm on Wednesday 3 March, to check any CCTV or dashcams they may have and to come forward with any information.
A cordon has been put in place on the A205, near the Poynders Court housing complex in the Clapham area.
Footage from a doorbell camera shows Ms Everard walking along the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill at around 9.30pm on the night she vanished.
Anyone who has seen Sarah or who has information that may assist the investigation should call the Incident Room on 0208 785 8244.
