The total death toll as a result of coronavirus now stands at 44,650, an increase of 48 as of today. 

The UK is to turn down the chance to a multibillion-euro EU plan secure supplies for potential coronavirus vaccines. John Bell, the regius professor of medicine at Oxford university working with development of a Covid-19 vaccine has said that he thought that the UK’s decision was a sensible one. In an interview with the Financial Times Bell stated that the UK has a “very, very good and coherent vaccine plan.”

England faces a serious risk of running out of water within 20 years. In a report the public accounts committee has said that the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, the financial regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency had failed to insure that privatised water agencies invested adequately in infrastructure. More than three billion litres, or one fifth of treated water, is lost leakage everyday. 

The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, gave a statement today on the government’s plans to create and protect jobs as well as setting out the government’s initiatives to protect the property market. 

In his statement in the House of Commons the chancellor stated that he would never accept “unemployment as a necessary outcome.” In order to support jobs, the government will implement a jobs retention bonus to reward and incentivise bringing back furloughed staff. The bonus of £1,000 per employee will be paid out to employers that keep furloughed workers in employment until January. In order for employers to be eligible for the scheme employees must be paid at least £520 a month between November, when the furlough scheme will end, and January. 

The government will directly pay employers to create new jobs for young people between the ages of 16 and 25. The scheme will require newly created jobs to provide at minimum of 25 hours a week of work and to pay at least the national minimum wage and will last for up to six months. 

The government will also cut stamp duty on all houses below £500,000. This means that nearly 9 out of 10 people will pay no stamp duty on purchases this year. 

To protect the hospitality sector the government will cut VAT from 20% to 5% for business including cinemas, B&Bs, and other leisure attractions. The government will also launch an “eat out to help out” scheme which will provide a 50% discount on dining out between Monday and Wednesday up to £10 per head. 

The death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 44,391, an increase of 155 in the last 24 hours. 

Thousands of headteachers across the country have called for exams to be cut back next year, amid fears of a mental health crisis among pupils who have already lost months of their education because of Coronavirus. 

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 44,236, an increase of 16 as of today. 

One fifth of Coronavirus test issued were wasted, according to official figures. Despite the government’s claims that 10.5 million tests have been made available only 8 million of these were used properly and processed. 

The Royal Society, Britain’s’ national academy of sciences, issued reports that emphasise the importance of wearing face masks. Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the society, said that “The UK is way behind many countries in terms of wearing masks and issuing clear policies and guidelines about mask wearing for the public.” Only 25% of Britons wear facemasks in public places, compared to 83% in Italy and 66% in the US. 

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 44,220, an increase of 516 as of Sunday 5 July.

Pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopened on Saturday as part of the Government’s plans to ease the lockdown. Saturday night saw large crowds outside of pubs across the country. The chair of the police federation has said that it is “crystal clear” that drunk people are unable to socially distance. 

Concerns have been raised about the workplace practices of the company Boohoo, whose factories are located in Leicester, after the companies’ exploitative work practices were linked to the increase of local cases of Coronavirus. Authorities including the National Crime Agency are investigating Leicester’s garment industry, which has for a long time been accused of paying illegal wages and pushing staff to work throughout the lockdown. On Sunday Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, told the press that the government was “not just asking nicely” and said that authorities could fine and shut down premises that were failing to abide by health and safety standards. This comes as The Sunday Times’ investigation found that Boohoo offered £3.50 an hour to its workers. 

The EU and the UK have failed to meet the 30 June deadline for completing assessments of each other’s financial services regulation. Completing these assessments are a prerequisite for mutual market access 

The Government has laid out guidelines for a return of all school children in September. Limits on student group sizes will be dropped but pupils will be organised into bubbles of class or year group to limit the spread of the virus. The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, stated that children would not face a “watered down curriculum”. The general secretary of the National Education Union has criticised the government for putting too much emphasis on a return to school, rather than a combination of blended learning and rotating year groups. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association for Headteachers, has urged the government to provide a Plan B in the likely event of a second wave. 

Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested today in connection with alleged sex crimes involving Jeffrey Epstein. Acting US attorney Audrey Strauss told reporters that Prince Andrew, a friend of both Epstein and Maxwell, is “welcome” to come in and speak with the prosecution about the ongoing investigation.

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stand at 43,995, an increase of 89 as of today. 

In Prime Minister’s questions today Keir Starmer, the leader of the Opposition, attacked Boris Johnson for his handling of Leicester’s lockdown. Starmer claimed that Leicester’s local authority had only known about 80 new positive cases in the two-week period leading up the lockdown, when the real figure was 944. The Leader of the Labour Party stated that Leicester’s local authority had not received the test data that would have allowed them to act sooner. 

Bradford, Barnsley, and Rochdale have been revealed as the places with the highest Coronavirus infections after Leicester. Leicester has 140 cases per 100,000 indviduals whilst Bradford, Barnsley, Rochdale have 69, 55, and 54 respectively. 

Trade talks between the UK and the EU are still ongoing and in the most recent development Michel Barnier has stated that Britain cannot retain freedom of movement rights for financial services. 

An 18-year-old man has been arrested today on suspicion of murdering 27-year-old Nicole Smallman and 46 year old Bibaa Henry. The friends were murdered in in Fryent Garden’s Park in Wembley on 5 June after celebrating Ms Henry’s birthday.