PM to hold press conference amid warnings Omicron 'biggest threat' of pandemic - ITV News

The Omicron variant of Covid presents "probably the most significant threat" of the pandemic so far, according to the head of the UK Health Security Agency, and it could place the NHS in "serious peril".

Dr Jenny Harries said the variant is spreading at a "staggering" rate and ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston has been told by government sources the previous record of daily cases could be smashed as soon as today.

It comes ahead of a Downing Street press conference set to be led by the PM at 5pm this evening - he will be joined by Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Dr Nikki Kanani, a medical director at NHS England.

Top government adviser Dr Harries said the Omicron variant's main threat is it "runs the risk of evading our natural and/or vaccine immunity" due to its vast number of mutations.

Even if the strain causes "milder" disease, as has been reported, it "could have very significant impact on our health services" because of its extremely fast transmissibility, she said.

"We can foresee a very large wave of Omicron coming through," she said, "and our health services potentially being in serious peril".

Robert Peston has been told Covid cases could hit a record of 75,000 daily cases "today or tomorrow".

It comes ahead of a Cobra meeting between governments in Westminster, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland this afternoon.

Nicola Sturgeon issued fresh guidance on Tuesday for Scots to have a "small" Christmas Day celebration and urged them to only socialise with two other households before and after December 25.

Last week's meeting was held to discuss how nations of the UK could coordinate their response to Omicron and news of today's has led people to speculate about new restrictions being brought in.

But the transport secretary told ITV News there will be no more coronavirus restrictions will be enforced in England before Christmas, despite the risks presented by Omicron.

Grant Shapps said "that's it for now" when asked if the government could go any further than the Plan B measures that were approved by MPs on Tuesday night.

The senior minister said Parliament would be recalled and asked to approve any emergency measures if they became necessary, but "we're not planning any further changes, we've already said that people can enjoy their Christmas".

Face masks, self-isolation rules, Covid passports and mandatory vaccines for NHS staff have all become law in England, despite Boris Johnson suffering a huge and highly damaging rebellion from almost 100 of his backbench MPs.

The embattled prime minister has been in the trenches over coronavirus restrictions after allegations he broke his own Covid rules during last winter's lockdown, but he managed to get his proposals through after relying on Labour votes.

His contentious Plan B means large venues will require all customers to provide proof of their Covid status, either with an NHS vaccine pass or a negative test result, while health workers will need to double jabbed to remain in their jobs.

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Will there be more Covid restrictions before Christmas?

Both Mr Shapps and Dr Harries urged people to get their booster jabs in order to protect themselves against the variant.

She said the chances of double-jabbed patients fighting off infection is "much reduced" by Omicron but "we do know that the booster dose will push [immunity] right back up".

Mr Shapps said getting a booster jab, along with regular testing, will mean people can "enjoy their Christmas and get together with family and friends".

Despite advice on lateral flow tests, people wanting home deliveries have been unable to do so for the past three days.

Government websites reported that rapid lateral flow tests were "not available right now", the third day of problems, as demand surged.

People trying to book walk-in PCR tests also encountered problems, being told they were "not available right now".

Dr Harries said demands for lateral flow tests "have been absolutely astounding".

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2021-12-15 13:49:10Z
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Star Hobson: Mother and partner to be sentenced over death of toddler - Sky News

A woman who killed 16-month-old Star Hobson after inflicting 'utterly catastrophic' injuries on the toddler will be sentenced today as questions surround the response of social services following concerns raised over her safety.

Bouncer and security guard Savannah Brockhill, 28, was found guilty on Tuesday of murdering Star and has been branded as "pure evil" by the little girl's family.

The court heard that Star endured months of assaults and psychological harm before suffering the injuries at her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire. She died in September last year.

Star's mother Frankie Smith, 20, was cleared of murder at Bradford Crown Court, but was convicted of causing or allowing the toddler's death.

Warning: This story contains distressing details about the treatment and subsequent death of a child.

Image: Savannah Brockhill and Frankie Smith will be sentenced on Wednesday. Pic:West Yorkshire Police

Jurors heard that social services and police did not act despite five different family members and friends raising concerns with authorities.

The little girl's great-grandfather, David Fawcett, described Brockhill as "just pure evil".

More on Star Hobson

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He said: "It's disgusting because there were five referrals. Not one of them did anything.

"It's just beyond belief, really."

The Bradford Partnership, which includes agencies in contact with Star during her short life, said a review into the case will be published next year, and added that it "deeply regrets" that "not all the warning signs" were spotted.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore said Bradford Council leaders should "hang their heads in shame" and resign.

Star was taken to hospital from the flat where she lived with her mother on 22 September, 2020, but her injuries were "unsurvivable", prosecutors told the two-month trial.

The court was told that Smith's family and friends had growing concerns over bruising on the little girl in the months before she died.

But Brockhill and Smith were able to convince care workers the marks were accidental or that complaints were made maliciously by people who did not accept their relationship.

Prosecutors described how the injuries that caused Star's death involved extensive damage to her abdominal cavity "caused by a severe and forceful blow or blows, either in the form of punching, stamping or kicking to the abdomen".

The jury was also shown a series of CCTV clips - filmed at a recycling plant where Brockhill worked as a security guard, which prosecutors said showed Brockhill delivering a total of 21 blows to Star in a car over a three-hour period, including some as the toddler sat in a car seat.

Following the convictions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "What happened to Star Hobson is shocking and heartbreaking.

"We must protect children from these barbaric crimes and ensure lessons are learned."

Brockhill and Smith will be sentenced later by judge Mrs Justice Lambert.

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2021-12-15 03:31:03Z
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MPs back Covid passes for large venues in England as PM suffers huge rebellion - ITV News

Political Editor Robert Peston reports on the Tory rebellion that was even bigger than the PM and Tory whips feared

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Covid passports have come into effect after MPs backed the government's plans to introduce them from Wednesday as part of its Plan B coronavirus restrictions, despite the prime minister suffering a huge Tory rebellion.

Boris Johnson had to rely on Labour votes to get his proposals - to show proof of Covid vaccination or a negative lateral flow test - approved, with 96 Conservative MPs voting against the plans.

The government won the contentious vote on Covid passports amid opposition from dozens of Tory backbenchers, with a majority of 369 to 126.

This marks the largest rebellion of Mr Johnson's premiership so far, with Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown warning he has has until the summer to "turn the ship round" or risk a leadership challenge.

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'We want to see a result certainly before the summer': Geoffrey Clifton-Brown tells ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston the government must avoid 'own goals'

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The vote means that from Wednesday, large venues must require customers to prove their Covid status before entry.

Covid passports will be required for:

• Access to nightclubs

• Access to indoor events with more than 500 attendees, such as music venues

• Access to outdoor settings with more than 4,000 people, such as music festivals

• Access to all settings with more than 10,000 attendees, for example, sports stadiums.

The PM also suffered the second-biggest rebellion of his leadership when MPs later voted on mandatory Covid vaccination for frontline NHS workers in England in order for them to remain in their jobs by April 2022.

Again, a Labour backing ensured the vote passed, by 385 votes to 100 - including a rebellion of 61 Tory MPs.

MPs also approved the compulsory wearing of face coverings in most indoor locations.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the vote was a “very significant blow to the already damaged authority of the Prime Minister”.

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'This is a very significant blow for him': Keir Starmer said the prime minister 'needs to take a long, hard look at himself'

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Politicians also approved regulations to drop the requirement to isolate and instead do daily Covid tests for fully vaccinated people who are contacts of a positive coronavirus case.

Ahead of the vote, Labour had given its backing to the measures, meaning there was little doubt they would not clear the Commons, but having to rely on the Opposition is not a good look for a prime minister with a huge majority of 80 seats.

Several Tories vocal about their opposition to strict Covid measures attacked the government over the plans.

Former minister Desmond Swayne said the government has been "absolutely complicit" in developing a "ministry of fear" during the pandemic by continually introducing restrictions.

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Listen to our coronavirus podcast:

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Ahead of the vote, former Tory chief whip Mark Harper urged MPs to not back plans for Covid passes, saying it would send a "clear signal" to the government to "rethink its approach".

Another Tory MP, Marcus Fysh, previously compared the introduction of Covid passes to Hitler's Nazi regime.

"We are not a 'papers please' society. This is not Nazi Germany," the MP said on Monday.

Labour decided it would not take its chance to severely damage the PM by inflicting what would have been his first Commons loss since the landslide 2019 general election victory, with Keir Starmer it was a "patriotic duty" to vote through the measures.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the measures were "necessary".

"We can't be sure about the severity of the Omicron variant, but we can be certain that it's spreading and spreading fast, faster than any other variant and even if a smaller proportion of Omicron victims are hospitalised, the rapid advance of the virus through the population could see large numbers of people admitted to hospital during the months in which the NHS is under greatest pressure."

Also on Tuesday, Downing Street continued to insist no further coronavirus restrictions will be introduced beyond the Plan B measures brought in this week, but according to Robert Peston, Mr Johnson gave a commitment to Tory MPs that if he feels more restrictions are needed while Parliament is on its winter break, then he will recall it.

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2021-12-15 07:19:21Z
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Star Hobson trial: woman guilty of murdering girlfriend's toddler - The Times

A 16-month-old baby girl was murdered by her mother’s girlfriend despite five referrals to social services in the months before her death.

Star Hobson had “catastrophic” injuries inflicted by Savannah Brockhill, 28, who was convicted at Bradford crown court. The girl’s mother, Frankie Smith, 20, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child but was cleared of murder and manslaughter.

Anita Smith, Star’s great-grandmother, recalled asking social workers as she reported concerns: “Is she going to end up like a Baby P?” But Star remained in the care of Brockhill and her mother in Keighley, West Yorkshire, despite the reports being made by worried family members and friends over a period of eight months.

Savannah Brockhill, left, and Frankie Smith

After the verdict, Anita Smith’s partner,

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2021-12-14 23:10:00Z
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Covid: Call for volunteers as 500k book boosters in a day - BBC News

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More than half a million people booked their Covid booster jabs on Monday - despite the NHS website crashing as thousands sought top-up doses.

Boris Johnson revealed the figure a day after pledging that boosters would be offered to all over-18s by 31 December.

Long queues formed at walk-in vaccination sites on Monday, with some people waiting five hours to get jabs.

The PM and the NHS are now appealing for volunteers to help get jabs into arms and run vaccination centres.

No 10 said hundreds more sites, mobile units and pop-ups would be set up across the country including at football stadiums, shopping centres and racecourses in the next week, as the UK bids to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told BBC Breakfast he accepted there had been "teething problems" in the bid to offer a jab to all adults before the new year, but he hoped they would diminish over the course of the week.

"It does take a few days just to make sure we get to a steady state," he said, adding: "We'll keep straining every sinew to make sure we can reach that target."

One doctor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there had been an "incredibly rapid reaction" from GPs to assist with the booster rollout at "incredibly short notice".

But Dr Jess Harvey, from Shropshire, urged people frustrated with long queues both at clinics and on booking websites to be patient as "there is increased capacity that's going to be created" in the coming days.

More than half a million people booked their booster jab today – an incredible feat.

We're doing everything we can to deliver millions more boosters in the coming weeks.

Thank you to everyone who has answered the call – please tell your friends and family to Get Boosted Now.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 13, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Meanwhile, fully-vaccinated people in England who come into contact with any Covid case should now take daily lateral flow tests for seven days.

Until now, contacts of Omicron cases had to isolate for 10 days. Most unvaccinated adults will still have to isolate if they are contacts of any Covid cases, Omicron or not.

On Monday, ordering lateral flow kits from the government website was temporarily suspended amid high demand.

By the early hours of Tuesday morning, it appeared the tests could once more be ordered from the government website.

• Do I need to self-isolate if someone I know has Covid?
• Why do boosters work if two doses struggle?
• PM faces big rebellion in Commons Covid vote

Monday saw online booster jab bookings open for people aged 30 and over - a day after the prime minister announced an expansion to the rollout amid the "Omicron emergency".

People aged 18 to 29 will be able to book their booster jabs online from Wednesday.

Senior health sources have said the end-of-year target is highly ambitious and delivery may take longer, BBC health editor Hugh Pym said.

The prime minister and NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard are appealing for "tens of thousands" of volunteers - from trained vaccinators to stewards - to join the "national mission" and help achieve the accelerated booster rollout.

Mr Johnson said: "Many thousands have already given their time but we need you to come forward again, to work alongside our brilliant GPs, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, to deliver jabs and save lives.

"So please come forward if you can."

At the moment there are nearly 3,000 vaccine sites across the country run by more than 90,000 volunteers.

After last week's NHS recruitment drive for 10,000 paid vaccinators, 4,500 people have registered their interest while 13,000 have come forward as volunteer stewards.

Modelling by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates the current number of daily Omicron infections is around 200,000, according to Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid.

Omicron has risen to more than 44% of cases in London and is expected to become the dominant variant in the city in the next 48 hours, he said.

There are 4,713 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, with 10 people, aged between 18 and 85, hospitalised with the variant in England, according to UKHSA.

Mr Raab, however, caused confusion on Tuesday when he told Sky News there were 250 Omicron cases in hospital, then immediately afterwards told the BBC there were nine cases. When contacted by the BBC, the UKHSA said neither answer was right, and the actual number was still 10.

The UKHSA added all were diagnosed on or before admission to hospital and the majority had received two doses of a vaccine.

At least one person in the UK has died with Omicron, Mr Johnson confirmed on Monday.

The UK confirmed 54,661 new coronavirus cases on Monday, as well as 38 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

In other developments:

• Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said schools across the country are seeing "very severe low attendance" from both pupils and staff as the Omicron variant spreads
• Scottish ministers will discuss new Covid-19 restrictions later - but will not consider closing schools early, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said

Have you booked a booster? How have your plans changed due to the Omicron coronavirus variant? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

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If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your comment or send it via email to HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any comment you send in.

• How many Covid cases are there in the UK?
• How do I book my vaccine booster?
• What are the new Covid rules across the UK?
• UK alert level raised to four - what does that mean?
• What are the new working from home rules?

• WILL FUTURE WARS BE FOUGHT ENTIRELY BY MACHINES? Stuart Russell discusses the role of AI in conflicts
• THE WEDDING DETECTIVES: Just two photos lead to a story of infidelity and murder

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2021-12-14 09:54:55Z
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UK has 10 people in hospital with Omicron, deputy PM Raab says - Reuters UK

LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - (This story has been officially corrected to show that British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab misspoke when he said 250 people were in hospital with Omicron. He later said that 10 people were in hospital and that he had misheard the question.)

British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday that there were 10 people in hospital with Omicron.

Earlier, Raab had told Sky News that there were at least 250 people with Omicron in hospital. He then told the BBC that nine people with Omicron were in hospital.

"I misheard one of the questions," Raab told ITV when asked about the range of figures. "The figures are one dead from Omicron, 10 in hospital."

When asked to clarify the figures, a spokesman for the justice ministry told Reuters to call the health ministry. The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kate Holton anad Alison Williams

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2021-12-14 09:32:00Z
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'Phenomenal' Omicron spread accounts for 40% of London infections - Reuters UK

• New COVID variant doubling every 2-3 days, minister says
• Get a booster as two vaccines not enough, Britain says
• PM Johnson's difficulties mount, sterling currency falls

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday that the Omicron coronavirus variant was spreading at a "phenomenal rate" and now accounted for about 40% of infections in London, so people should get a booster shot because the double-vaccinated are still vulnerable.

Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and told the nation on Sunday that a "tidal wave" of Omicron was coming. read more

Britain says that unless action is taken there could be a million people infected with Omicron by the end of the month.

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"It's spreading at a phenomenal rate, something that we've never seen before, it's doubling every two to three days in infections," Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News.

"That means we're facing a tidal wave of infection, we're once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus."

The pound fell 0.4% to $1.3225, while it was broadly steady against the euro at 85.29 pence. read more

Johnson, who is grappling with a rebellion in his party over measures to curb Omicron and an outcry over alleged parties at his Downing Street office during last year's lockdowns, said people should rush to get booster vaccines to protect "our freedoms and our way of life".

After COVID-19 was first detected in China in late 2019, he faced criticism for initially resisting lockdown.

He has also faced criticism for overseeing mistakes in transferring patients into care homes, and for building a costly test-and-trace system that failed to stop a deadly second wave.

Across the world, COVID has killed 5.3 million people, wiped out trillions of dollars in economic output and turned normal life upside down for many.

TWO VACCINES NOT ENOUGH

Data released on Friday showed that vaccine efficacy against symptomatic infection was substantially reduced against Omicron with just two doses, but a third shot boosted protection up to over 70%. read more

Javid said there had been no deaths yet confirmed in England and just 10 people hospitalised in England with the variant, but Omicron was probably behind around 40% of infections in London.

He said that while symptoms might be milder, the variant's swift spread meant that unless the government acted then the health service could be overwhelmed.

"Even when a virus is mild, a small percentage of people from a very large number still can equal a high number of hospitalizations," Javid said.

"Two doses are not enough, but three doses still provide excellent protection against symptomatic infection."

The government wants to offer all adults a booster by New Year, an ambitious target given the Christmas holiday and that vaccinating 1 million people per day is around double the current 530,000 per day.

New vaccination sites will be set up to work seven days, the military will help, and some routine health appointments will have to be postponed.

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Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

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2021-12-13 09:25:00Z
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