Greta Thunberg has denounced the COP26 summit in Glasgow for being the ‘most excluding COP ever’ and called the international conference a ‘greenwash festival’.
The 18-year-old climate change activist, who arrived in Glasgow by train on Sunday, slammed world leaders attending COP26 and said it was instead ‘a two week celebration of business as usual’.
The Swede walked out of a panel discussion with former governor of the Bank of England and UN climate envoy Mark Carney.
Greta shouted “this is greenwashing” as she left early.
In a post on Twitter yesterday the young campaigner wrote: “#COP26 has been named the must excluding COP ever. This is no longer a climate conference. This is a Global North greenwash festival. A two week celebration of business as usual and blah blah blah.”
The climate change activist denounced the summit in Glasgow (Image: REUTERS)
Her comments come just days after she criticised world leaders for ‘whatever the f*** they are doing in there’ during a demonstration at Festival Park in Glasgow.
On Monday Greta said heads of government were not doing enough to save the planet from disaster at a demonstration on the first day of the Cop26 summit.
She said: “No more blah blah blah, no more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there.
“Inside Cop, there are just politicians and people in power pretending to take our future seriously, pretending to take the present seriously.
“Change is not going to come from inside there, that is not leadership - this is leadership... We say no more blah blah blah, no more exploitation of people and the planet.”
She then led a chant of: ‘You can shove your climate crisis up your a***’.
On Monday morning, Greta along with fellow campaigner Vanessa Nakate, from Uganda, met with Nicola Sturgeon.
The First Minister tweeted: ‘The voices of young people like @GretaThunberg and @vanessa-vash must be heard loudly and clearly at Cop26 - the next few days should not be comfortable for leaders, the responsibility to act must be felt.’
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Greta has previously been critical of the Scottish Government’s climate policy, saying the country was ‘not a leader on climate change’, as the First Minister had previously stated.
Announcing her pledge to her five million followers on Twitter, the 18-year-old said: “I am pleased to announce that I’ve decided to go net-zero on swear words and bad language.
“In the event that I should say something inappropriate, I pledge to compensate that by saying something nice.”
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Talks to resolve the fishing row between the UK and France were "useful and positive", the French Europe minister has said.
But there was no breakthrough and there will be more talks next week.
Tensions flared last month after the UK and Jersey denied fishing permits to several French boats.
France has threatened to stop British trawlers from landing their catches at French ports unless more permits are granted in return covering UK waters.
France's Clement Beaune said his meeting in Paris with Brexit minister Lord Frost had been useful and positive, but significant differences remained.
"All options are still on the table," Mr Beaune said, adding that "as long as dialogue seems possible... we are giving it a chance".
"There is still a lot of work to do," he said, claiming that France should be entitled to about 200 more fishing licences.
The UK government has insisted the overwhelming majority of applications for licences have been granted.
Boris Johnson's official spokesman said the French government had given assurances that while the talks continued it would not immediately restore their threats.
"They've made it clear to us they're not planning to introduce them in the short-term. Both sides are keen to have further discussions," he said.
Clement Beaune
Lord Frost will meet European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Friday.
On Wednesday, a British trawler, detained last week after French authorities said it did not have a licence, was released.
The Scottish-registered scallop dredger Cornelis Gert Jan arrived back in the UK in the early hours of Thursday morning, after leaving Le Havre the previous evening.
What is the fishing row about?
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In short, it's about how many French fishing boats can catch fish in UK waters.
Under the Brexit trade deal, the EU and UK agreed they would give licences to boats if they can show they have fished in each other's waters for years.
But there have been disagreements about how much evidence is needed.
Big trawlers will routinely collect this information automatically.
But smaller vessels that come from French harbours to fish around the Channel Islands, for example, can find it harder to provide the proof needed.
Boris Johnson on Wednesday marched his Conservative MPs up to an exposed political hilltop to fight a battle few relished: to scrap Westminster’s anti-sleaze rules and help a colleague who had “egregiously” lobbied ministers for £100,000 a year.
At shortly after 10.30am on Thursday, Johnson marched his defeated ragged force back down the hill, harried by a hostile media and an opposition in full cry. A mood of despair among Tory MPs quickly crystallised into hard anger.
When Johnson led almost 250 Tory MPs into the House of Commons division lobbies on Wednesday, he will have noted the sullen looks, but one Tory MP said it was worse than that: “There were MPs in tears going through the lobby.”
More than 100 Tory MPs failed to vote with the prime minister, even though — according to one backbencher — some were told “they would lose funding for their constituency” if they failed to toe the line.
Those MPs who followed the Downing Street edict — enforced by a three-line whip — are now in the crosshairs of Labour as the Tories who “voted for sleaze”. Peter Bone, one Tory MP, said his constituency office was vandalised overnight.
Meanwhile Owen Paterson, the former minister whose paid lobbying activities were described as “egregious” by the Commons standards committee, was left to face his fate by Downing Street.
Within hours of Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the Commons, announcing the U-turn over the reform of the standards regime, Paterson declared he was quitting “the cruel world” of politics.
As the dust settled on a shambolic 24 hours, many seething Conservative MPs were asking how Johnson and his chief whip, Mark Spencer, had contrived such a spectacular defeat.
The plan to overhaul the standards regime, introducing an appeals process and thereby offering Paterson a reprieve, was disclosed to the Daily Telegraph, Johnson’s former employer, on Tuesday night.
The newspaper, and in particular its columnist and former editor Charles Moore, were passionate supporters of Paterson. Last week Moore wrote of the “hounding” of the former environment secretary, a high-profile Brexiter.
Johnson controversially flew back from the COP26 summit in Glasgow to London to attend a Telegraph journalists’ reunion at the Garrick that evening, and was pictured by the Mirror leaving the club with Moore.
Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former chief aide, said in July this year that the prime minister always referred to the Telegraph as “my real boss” and the plan was approvingly splashed across the paper’s front page.
It took the shape of an amendment, tabled by former minister Dame Andrea Leadsom, which aimed to replace the standards system with a new one — drawn up by a committee with a Tory majority and chaired by John Whittingdale, the former boss of the prime minister’s wife Carrie.
Rees-Mogg and David Davis, former minister and friend of Paterson, were involved. Then Mark Spencer, chief whip, took the unusual step of ordering Tory MPs to support it, effectively turning the issue of MPs’ standards from a cross-party House of Commons matter into government policy.
Government members were told to back the amendment or face the sack. Angela Richardson, a parliamentary aide to Michael Gove, resigned rather than vote for the proposal, but on Thursday she was reinstated.
One Tory MP said: “People are apoplectic with the chief. He was threatening to sack people, but in the case of Angela, he didn’t even follow through on the threat. His authority is shot.”
Others blamed Paterson for putting his colleagues in such an invidious position in the first place. “Why he could not have resigned 24 hours ago, I’ve no idea,” said one backbencher.
Another longstanding friend of Paterson, said: “He should have just taken the punishment and moved on. Now the whole thing has blown up into something much bigger.”
Some senior Tories believe the shambolic episode was less about Paterson — who was in a supermarket when Rees-Mogg pulled the rug from under his feet — and more about Johnson himself.
The prime minister has been investigated by Kathryn Stone, the independent standards commissioner, on three occasions in the past three years. He now faces the prospect of a fourth investigation into donations he received for the lavish refurbishment of his Downing Street residence.
Stone could consider whether a donation to Conservative party funds, intended to pay for the revamp of Johnson’s flat, should have been declared by the prime minister.
Lord Christopher Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, cleared him of breaching the ministerial code in May. However, MPs have speculated that Johnson is fearful of a further probe by Stone.
Writing in a series of tweets, Cummings claimed the amendment “was really about the PM and his own lies” about donations and not Paterson.
Cummings claimed Johnson was keen to oust Stone. “Part of the point of yesterday is the removal of K Stone,” he tweeted. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also suggested on Thursday morning she should resign.
Johnson’s personal financial arrangements have come under scrutiny in recent months and on Thursday he declared he had received a free holiday at a luxurious Spanish villa linked to Lord Zac Goldsmith, a former MP whom Johnson ennobled.
The latest update to the register of ministerial interests revealed that Johnson’s near week-long stay in the Marbella property in October was funded by the Goldsmith family.
Stone cleared Johnson of breaking the ministerial code of conduct earlier this year after launching an investigation into claims he may have broken rules in the way he declared a new-year holiday in the Caribbean.
However, in 2019 she found Johnson had failed to register a 20 per cent share in a property in Somerset within the 28-day time limit, noting the “over-casual attitude” of the prime minister towards obeying the rules.
Just months before, Johnson had been forced to make a “full and unreserved apology” in the Commons over the late declaration of more than £52,000 of income mostly relating to book royalty payments.
Thursday’s Commons U-turn has left Johnson and Rees-Mogg looking to rebuild cross-party consensus to reshape the standards regime. But one ally of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “laughable” that the Tories were now proposing cross-party talks.
“They didn’t want them yesterday, they have just been caught red-handed trying to corrupt politics,” the ally said.
Some Tory MPs hope the storm will quickly pass, but one party strategist said: “We need to watch the ‘one rule for us, one rule for them’ narrative. There’s a risk we fall into sleaze and complacency.”
Mark Harper, former Tory chief whip, was blunt: “This is one of the most unedifying episodes I have seen in my 16 years as an MP.” He added: “This must not happen again.”
Additional reporting by Jim Pickard and Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe
A leading Labour MP has called for Claudia Webbe to resign from parliament after she was handed a suspended jail sentence for threatening to throw acid at her partner's female friend.
Former Labour MP Webbe, 56, was found guilty last month of harassing Michelle Merritt after also threatening to send naked pictures of her to her family and making threatening phone calls to her under the guise of lockdown having to be "adhered to strictly".
The independent Leicester East MP, who was suspended by the Labour Party after she was charged, was accused of threatening to send naked pictures of Ms Merritt, 59, because she was jealous of her friendship with Webbe's partner Lester Thomas.
Webbe was handed a 10-week custodial sentence suspended for two years on Thursday.
She must also complete 200 hours of community service, pay £2,000 in costs and £1,000 compensation, but an application for a restraining order was not granted.
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Image:Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East, was found guilty of harassment
The Labour Party confirmed it has expelled her following her sentencing, and the party's national campaign co-ordinator Shabana Mahmood called for her to resign as an MP.
She said Labour would push for a recall petition to force a by-election if Webbe did not quit the Commons, however the petition can only be opened once all appeals have been extinguished and the conviction is not overturned.
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Ms Mahmood said: "It's an incredibly serious offence and we called on her to resign as soon as she was convicted."
She called on Webbe to "do the right thing by the people of Leicester East" and said Labour would be fielding its own candidate to offer constituents "a fresh choice".
But Webbe claims she is innocent and said she is "very disappointed" by the sentence, for which she is lodging an appeal and expects it to be granted and "ultimately it will be successful".
The MP said since she was charged she has received "numerous threats to my life and vile racist abuse", but said the "cowards responsible for these attacks will not deter me from clearing my name".
Her actions were described as "callous and intimidatory" by the chief magistrate, who added that she would have been jailed immediately were it not for her previous good character.
Webbe remains as an MP because her sentence is below a year, but as she is appealing her sentence, she cannot be recalled by her constituents during that process.
However, if all appeal avenues are exhausted and unsuccessful she can be recalled as long as 10% of her constituents sign a petition for her removal, which would then prompt a by-election.
Webbe made a series of short and silent phone calls to Ms Merritt, called her a "slag", and threatened her with acid between 1 September 2018 and 26 April last year.
The MP denied the allegation and said she only called Ms Merritt as a "courtesy" because she was annoyed she had been breaching lockdown rules with Mr Thomas.
Some phone calls had their number withheld, but some did not as Webbe had dialled "121" before Ms Merritt's number instead of "141", which withholds the caller's number.
In a victim impact statement ahead of sentencing, Ms Merritt said she was "very scared" of Webbe, she feels "unsafe" in her home, and has had "sleepless nights" because of the harassment she endured.
Image:Webbe remains in a relationship with Lester Thomas
She said the harassment has "cast a huge shadow over all areas" of her life and fears the "repercussions" of what Webbe will do next.
In an emotional statement behind a curtain at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Ms Merritt added: "No woman should be threatened or harassed the way Miss Webbe has done to me over the years, let alone a politician."
Sentencing Webbe, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said Webbe launched a "campaign of harassment" because she was jealous of Ms Merritt, adding that her behaviour had meant to "cause real harm and distress".
He said she showed "little remorse or contrition" and threatening Ms Merritt with acid amounted "to a threat of very serious violence".
While finding her guilty last month, Mr Goldspring said he believed some things Webbe said in court were "made up in the spur of the moment".
"Her explanation was frankly incredible, and I do not believe it," he added.
Following the guilty verdict, Webbe said she was "deeply shocked", insisted she was innocent and that a recording of one of the calls during lockdown had "been taken out of context".
Webbe vowed to continue to represent her constituents in Leicester East and said she would appeal the verdict.
During her trial, Webbe told the court Ms Merritt "was committing a crime" by breaking lockdown with Mr Thomas and as an MP she felt her household "should not be breaking lockdown".
"I was pointing this out, I am the victim," she said.
Image:Webbe insisted she was innocent
She said she did not report them to the police because she "gave up because they continued to meet up long after April".
During one phone call, Mr Thomas could be heard asking Webbe: "Are you mad?"
But Webbe said: "I'm not mad, I'm a member of parliament."
The MP also told the court she felt like a "victim" due to the amount of abuse she received on social media.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell provided character statements to the court in which they respectively said she was a "person of good character" and an "honest, responsible and an extremely caring person".
Webbe entered the Commons in December 2019, winning the seat formerly held by Keith Vaz, the married Labour veteran who did not stand again after being suspended from parliament for "expressing willingness to buy cocaine for male prostitutes".
Webbe was a political adviser to then-London mayor Ken Livingstone, worked as a councillor in Islington between 2010 and 2018, and was a member of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb directed the jury to find him guilty on both counts of murder, after he was rearraigned.
Warning: this article contains information some people may find distressing.
The charges in relation to the mortuary offences included counts of sexual penetration of a corpse, sexual abuse in relation to corpses, indecent images of children, extreme pornography, and voyeurism.
Kent Police
Investigators said the case came together following recent advances in DNA testing - and a huge police operation costing £2.5m - which linked Fuller to the double killings, dubbed the "the Bedsit Murders".
His saliva and other DNA was found on Ms Knell's bedding, towel and intimate samples.
His semen was also found on Ms Pierce's tights, the only item of clothing she was wearing when her body was found in a water-filled dyke three weeks after her abduction.
Kent Police
Following his arrest for the murders, a search of Fuller's home revealed he had hoarded millions of indecent images and videos of children and extreme pornography on hard drives, floppy discs, DVDs and memory cards in his loft and spare room.
Two of the drives were hidden in a box, which was screwed to the back of a chest of drawers and placed inside a wardrobe. On these drives officers found footage Fuller had recorded of himself abusing corpses in the morgues.
Kent Police
Folders, some labelled with the names of the victims, contained images and videos of him molesting female bodies, including three children, between 2008 and November 2020.
Police have been unable to identify 20 of the victims, and Det Ch Supt Paul Fotheringham said it "may never be possible to identify these women with complete certainty".
Fuller worked in electrical maintenance at hospitals since 1989 and was at the Kent and Sussex Hospital, until it closed in September 2011.
He was transferred to the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, where the offences continued until his arrest.
Investigators said Fuller would work late shifts and go into the morgue when other staff had left, often "visiting the same bodies repeatedly".
A bespoke £1.5m victim support programme
Fuller's offending in the mortuaries is not something Kent Police, or any other force in the country, has ever had to deal with before.
Over the past nine months a bespoke package of care has been created with Victim Support, specially designed for this case.
It has cost £1.5m and involved drafting in 150 police family liaison officers, who were put through specialist training.
The families of the identified victims were visited for the force to break the news, and their assigned liaison officers will continue to support them going forward.
Kent Police
There is evidence Ms Knell was raped during or after her death, the court heard.
Ms Knell was killed in her home in Guildford Road on 23 June 1987. She was found in her bed by her boyfriend the following day, after concerns were raised when she failed to turn up to work.
What happened to Ms Pierce after she was abducted from outside her home in Grosvenor Park on 24 November is less clear.
Kent Police
Neighbours reporting hearing screaming, but it took three weeks for her body to be spotted by a farm worker, more than 40 miles away in Romney Marsh.
Police said it was very likely Fuller met both women before he killed them.
Fuller was a customer of Supanaps, the photo development chain on Camden Road where Ms Knell worked.
Photos and diary entries found in Fuller's home also show he went to Buster Browns restaurant, on the same road, where Ms Pierce was a manager.
Kent Police
Fuller kept a record of having carried out at least 30 burglaries, dubbed by police as "creeper-style", during the 70s.
But he never served time in prison, and the offending preceded the police DNA database.
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Owen Paterson will resign as the MP for North Shropshire in order to escape "the cruel world of politics" following a furious row over his proposed ban from the House of Commons.
The Conservative former cabinet minister has been at the centre of a scandal after it was recommended he be suspended for 30 days.
Mr Paterson, who has been an MP for 24 years, was found by parliament's independent sleaze investigator to have broken lobbying rules during his £110,000-a-year private sector work.
Image:Prime Minister Boris Johnson had encouraged MPs to save Mr Paterson from immediate suspension
On Wednesday, Conservative MPs - with the encouragement of Prime Minister Boris Johnson - passed a motion in favour of ignoring Mr Paterson's month-long Commons suspension.
As part of the backlash, the government was accused of "corruption" in seeking to overhaul parliament's standards rules in an alleged effort to protect the Tory MP.
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In the face of a huge outcry, the government performed a U-turn in the row on Thursday with the promise of a new vote on Mr Paterson's suspension.
But, just hours later, the 65-year-old announced his intention to resign from the House of Commons.
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"I have today, after consultation with my family, and with much sadness decided to resign as the MP for North Shropshire," he said.
Analysis by Jon Craig, chief political correspondent
Owen Paterson has jumped before he was pushed. Or was he pushed?
After the government's spectacular U-turn following a furious backlash from MPs of all parties, it was almost inevitable that next week's Commons vote on his suspension would go against him.
With that would have come the humiliating prospect of a recall petition and likely by-election, which even though he could have stood again he would almost certainly have lost.
His North Shropshire constituency is a blue chip Tory seat where he had a majority of just under 23,000 at the last election.
But under the rules on the recall of MPs it only requires 10% of the electorate in a constituency to trigger a by-election. In the case of Shropshire North that means 10% of 77,673: fewer than 8,000.
On reflection, Mr Paterson may be regretting the defiant, unapologetic tone of his Sky News interview after his Commons reprieve 24 hours earlier, when he brazenly declared he would not hesitate to do the same again.
He appears to have jumped before he was pushed, but it's entirely possible that he has been ordered to go by the Number 10 machine or the chief whip, Mark Spencer.
Despite his protestations of innocence, he has brought disgrace on the Conservative Party and the prime minister and, one way or another, he had to go.
"The last two years have been an indescribable nightmare for my family and me. My integrity, which I hold very dear, has been repeatedly and publicly questioned.
"I maintain that I am totally innocent of what I have been accused of."
Mr Paterson was last month found by a Commons watchdog to have "repeatedly used his privileged position" to benefit Randox, a clinical diagnostics company, and Lynn's Country Foods, a meat processor and distributor.
He has continually declared himself "not guilty" and strongly criticised the investigation into his private sector work, which he said saw him raise serious issues about food contamination during his contact with officials.
Mr Paterson has also said the investigation into him "undoubtedly played a major role" in his wife, Rose Paterson, taking her own life in June last year.
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Paterson: 'I wouldn't hesitate to do it again'
In his resignation statement, he maintained that he "acted at all times in the interests of public health and safety" and claimed the current standards system in parliament would leave him "unable to clear my name".
"Far, far worse than having my honesty questioned was, of course, the suicide of my beloved and wonderful wife, Rose," he added.
"She was everything to my children and me. We miss her everyday and the world will always be grey, sad and ultimately meaningless without her. The last few days have been intolerable for us.
"Worst of all was seeing people, including MPs, publicly mock and deride Rose's death and belittle our pain. My children have therefore asked me to leave politics altogether, for my sake as well as theirs.
"I agree with them. I do not want my wife's memory and reputation to become a political football. Above all, I always put my family first."
Mr Paterson admitted his decision to resign was "painful" but "the right one". His resignation will trigger a by-election in North Shropshire, a seat he won with a near-23,000 majority at the 2019 general election.
Image:The 65-year-old is a former cabinet minister and has been an MP for 24 years
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded an apology from the prime minister following the Westminster row over Mr Paterson's suspension.
"This has been an unbelievable 24 hours even by this government's chaotic standards," he said.
"Only yesterday Boris Johnson was forcing his MPs to rip up the rules on standards in public life is a truly damning indictment of this prime minister and the corrupt government he leads.
"Boris Johnson must now apologise to the entire country for this grubby attempt to cover up for the misdemeanour of his friend.
"This isn't the first time he's done this but it must be the last. And Boris Johnson must explain how he intends to fix the immense harm he has done to confidence in the probity of him and his MPs."
Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said Mr Paterson's resignation was "a direct consequence of this Conservative government choosing to involve itself in standards business as it did yesterday... but it clearly had not been thought through in terms of the consequences".
Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell described Mr Paterson's resignation as a "sad day" and said his fellow Tory politician would be "a huge loss to parliament and to politics in our country".
"A man of integrity and principle who deserved better than this," he added on Twitter.
"I regret the way he has been treated. I wish him and his family peace and happier times ahead."
Fellow Tory backbencher Michael Fabricant expressed his hope that "all the major political parties can now work together to reform the broken system which investigated Paterson's case".
"Justice must always be seen to be done and it was not in this case with a one woman judge and jury," he added.
Minette Batters, the president of the National Farmer's Union, told Mr Paterson, a former environment secretary, that he had been "an outstanding supporter of British agriculture".
"I don't have words to express my extreme sadness at your decision to step down," she tweeted.
"Thank you so much for all that you have done."
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
The UK has become the first country to approve a "game-changing" anti-viral pill that can be taken at home to treat COVID-19.
Molnupiravir can be taken by those who have tested positive and have at least one risk factor for developing severe illness, such as obesity, being over 60, diabetes or heart disease.
After promising trial results, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said it is safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospital admission and death in people with mild to moderate COVID who are at extra risk from the virus.
Developed by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), the drug works by interfering with the virus's replication.
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It inhibits COVID-19 from multiplying, keeping levels low in the body and ultimately reducing the severity of the disease.
The drug should be taken as soon as possible following a positive test and within the first five days, the MHRA advises.
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Last month, the government announced it had secured 480,000 courses of molnupiravir after a study showed it reduced the rate of hospital admissions and deaths by 50% in patients with mild to moderate symptoms.
The tablet was given twice a day to recently diagnosed patients, and the trial results made it one of the most promising drug developments of the pandemic so far.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an anti-viral that can be taken at home for COVID-19.
"This will be a gamechanger for the most vulnerable and the immunosuppressed, who will soon be able to receive the ground-breaking treatment."
He added: "We are working at pace across the government and with the NHS to set out plans to deploy molnupiravir to patients through a national study as soon as possible."
Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said the body is "satisfied" with molnupiravir being declared safe and effective for those at risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease and has granted its approval.
"Lagevrio (molnupiravir) is another therapeutic to add to our armoury against COVID-19," she said.
Analysis by Laura Bundock, health correspondent
The approval of this pill could be a significant moment.
It’s easy to take and can be done at home.
If the findings of the trial are right, it could dramatically cut the number of people with covid who end up in hospital.
As we head into a challenging winter this could really help pressure on the NHS.
There are though some unanswered questions. We don’t yet know when and how the drug will be given to patients.
The UK has already bought 480 thousand courses, but with daily infection numbers currently over 30 thousand, how long will it take before that supply runs out?
Another issue is cost. We don’t know how much the government has paid for the drug, but it is expensive, and many lower-income countries might not be able to afford its steep price tag.
"It is also the world's first approved anti-viral for this disease that can be taken by mouth rather than administered intravenously.
"This is important, because it means it can be administered outside of a hospital setting, before COVID-19 has progressed to a severe stage."
It comes as an estimated 1.2 million people in private households in the UK reported experiencing long COVID in the four weeks to 2 October, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
