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WhatsApp messages from Boris Johnson’s old mobile phone have still not been handed over to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry because he has reportedly forgotten the passcode. The former prime minister stopped using the device in May 2021 due to security concerns but it likely contains crucial correspondence about the Government’s early pandemic response. Mr Johnson’s spokesman did not deny that he cannot remember the code to unlock the iPhone, as first

It comes following recommendations from pay review bodies Rishi Sunak has urged unions to call off strike action after accepting recommendations for pay rises for millions of public sector workers. The Prime Minister accepted the recommendations from pay review bodies, including 6.5% increases for teachers in England for 2023-24, which education unions said could allow them to call off strike action. Junior doctors, who began their longest walkout yet in

Angela Rayner has acknowledged that Labour’s proposed overhaul of the standards system would still involve “a role for the prime minister” of the day but promised greater powers for an independent ethics watchdog. The party’s deputy leader accepted that the process would not be entirely separate from politics but said improved transparency under the plans would ensure action is taken against rule-breaking. Labour has pledged to create a new Ethics and

Chinese state intelligence targets the UK “prolifically and aggressively” in a way that poses a “challenge” for British intelligence agencies, Parliament’s spy agency watchdog has said. A new and wide-ranging report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is critical of the UK Government’s response to the threat posed by China, questioning the trade-off between economic interest and security concerns. It also raises concerns about Chinese influence in UK universities

England manager Sarina Wiegman insisted she has not waded into a rumoured row surrounding World Cup bonuses. Wiegman’s side open their campaign in earnest on July 22 when they face Haiti in Brisbane, but they will first take on FIFA world number-seven ranked Olympic champions Canada behind closed doors on Friday at Queensland’s Sunshine Coast stadium. Some reports ahead of England’s arrival Down Under claimed the Lionesses were unhappy with the Football Association about

Junior doctors have launched a five-day strike in what is being described as the longest walkout of its kind in the NHS’s history amid ongoing protests over pay in the health service. Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) in England mounted picket lines outside hospitals from 7am at the start of the walkout, which will cause huge disruption, affecting operations and consultations. Members of the union Unite at Guy’s

Eleven on-duty ambulance staff were assaulted over an “unprecedented” six-hour period on the eve before and in the early hours of the Twelfth of July. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said that the assaults took place at four different locations, when crews were responding to calls to provide medical treatment to patients requiring assistance. It said that five staff members were punched, kicked, bitten and spat at at a

The defence case in the sex offences trial of Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is set to begin Prosecutors concluded their evidence against the Hollywood star on Wednesday, after a jury panel heard accounts from his four alleged victims. The defendant, standing trial under his full name Kevin Spacey Fowler, was labelled a “sexual bully” when proceedings began last month. The 63-year-old denies charges including sexual assault and indecent assault, which