LONDON (Reuters) – Notting Hill Carnival, a highlight of the British summer, may have been cancelled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a couple of colourful individuals on Monday were determined to bring some festival spirit to west London’s quie... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain on Monday urged elderly people and volunteers from Black and Asian minority groups to sign up to a COVID-19 vaccine trial registry to boost efforts to find a working vaccine against the disease that offers protection against higher r... More »
(Reuters) – British Trade Secretary Liz Truss pledged to fight U.S tariffs on Scotch whisky, calling them “unacceptable and unfair” in an op-ed in the Telegraph on Sunday. “I will fight to consign these unfair tariffs to the bin of history”, she wrote (AIR.PA)... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – This year’s Notting Hill Carnival will swap the streets of West London for computer screens around the world, as the event turns online-only due to the coronavirus pandemic, streaming hours of music and performance. Held at the end of August... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Four bones found on a beach on the Isle of Wight, off England’s south coast, belong to a new species of theropod dinosaur, the group that includes Tyrannosaurus rex, researchers at the University of Southampton said on Wednesday. The new din... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Exhibits showcasing humanity’s battle with infectious disease will greet visitors recently emerged from coronavirus lockdowns when London’s Science Museum re-opens its doors next week after its longest closure since World War II. “Medicine: ... More »
(Reuters) – The UK’s official COVID-19 daily death count could be scrapped following an investigation into Public Health England’s method of counting the toll, The Telegraph newspaper reported. The conclusions of the investigation, which was ordered by Health ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British broadcaster ITV will this year hold its reality TV show “I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here” in a ruined English castle in winter instead of the heat of the Australian jungle, as COVID-19 restrictions make global travel all but imp... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Palmerston, the cat who has lived at the Foreign Office for four and a half years, will trade in his London residence for retirement in the countryside, where his mouse-catching duties for the diplomats will come to an end. Writing to the mo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Misan Harriman hopes to encourage employers to cast the recruitment net more widely with his Vogue cover portrait of influential Black activists in place of the usual pouting stars. Footballer Marcus Rashford, who helped force a UK governmen... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The location of TikTok owner ByteDance’s headquarters is a commercial decision for the company to make, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, responding to a report that the firm could move to London. “It would... More »
BELFAST (Reuters) – John Hume, a key Roman Catholic architect of Northern Ireland’s 1998 Good Friday peace agreement who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending 30 years of sectarian violence, died on Monday at the age of 83, his SDLP party said. Hume... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Irish peacemaker John Hume was a “political giant” who did so much to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. Hume, a key Roman Catholic architect of Northern Ireland’s 1998... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors in property funds should wait up to 180 days before they can get their money back to avoid widespread suspensions in rocky markets, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority proposed on Monday. UK-regulated open-ended property funds of... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British filmmaker Alan Parker, director of movies ranging from “Bugsy Malone”, a gangster comedy featuring children armed with machineguns that fired cream, to the tense prison drama “Midnight Express”, died on Friday aged 76. Parker, who al... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A 9-tonne sculpture of a giant swirl of whipped cream with a cherry on top, as well as a fly and a drone, was unveiled on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth in London on Thursday. The sculpture by Heather Phillipson, entitled “THE END”, is the... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Madame Tussauds’ most famous figures led by example and formed a socially distanced queue outside the soon-to-be reopened wax museum on Thursday, with Queen Elizabeth leading the way followed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson then musi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is closely watching rises in coronavirus cases in other European destinations such as France and Germany after slapping a 14-day quarantine on travellers from Spain at the height of the summer vacation season. The imposition of a Bri... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will drop its policy of requiring people returning from the Spanish Canary Islands or Balearics to quarantine for two weeks, the Sun newspaper said on Monday. On Saturday, Britain announced a 14-day quarantine on travellers from Spai... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Johnny Depp was a drug addict prone to violent rages and a misogynist who assaulted his wife and used abusive language about women, a London court was told on Monday as the actor’s libel trial against a British tabloid neared its ending. The... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Johnny Depp is suing the publisher of Britain’s Sun newspaper and its executive editor Dan Wootton for libel over an article that described the movie star as a “wife beater”. The Sun’s lawyers told the court they would show the allegation in... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British rap artist Wiley is facing a police investigation after a string of anti-Semitic comments appeared on his social media accounts, prompting his management to drop him. The rapper’s Twitter account, which has half a million followers, ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A man strolled down central London’s most popular shopping street on Friday with only a mask to cover his nudity, leaving passerbys astounded, amused and shocked. As the man walked nonchalantly along Oxford Street, naked except for the light... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The British government has asked Japan to help build its 5G wireless networks without Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], the Nikkei said on Sunday, a further step in a global technology and security war between the United States and China. Britain... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Monday urged Britain to avoid making further steps down wrong path after reports that it was poised to suspend an extradition treaty for Chinese-ruled Hong Kong. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remark during a daily... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Actress Amber Heard will be questioned about her allegations that she suffered domestic abuse at the hands of ex-husband Johnny Depp when she begins giving evidence on Monday as part of the Hollywood star’s libel case against a British tablo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Johnny Depp is suing the publisher of Britain’s Sun newspaper and its executive editor Dan Wootton for libel over an article that described the movie star as a “wife beater”. Depp has given five days of testimony. This week, London’s High Co... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Actress and #MeToo campaigner Katherine Kendall said on Friday Britain’s Sun newspaper had deliberately misused her quotes in an article which labelled Hollywood star Johnny Depp a “wife beater”. Depp, 57, is suing the publisher of that news... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government will ban Huawei from Britain’s 5G network by ordering telecoms companies to remove its equipment by 2027, Media Secretary Oliver Dowden said on Tuesday. Operators will not be able to purchase 5G comp... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to ban Huawei from Britain’s 5G network in a landmark decision that will anger Beijing but win plaudits from President Donald Trump as the United States grapples with China’s rising economic and technologi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British minister Oliver Dowden will make a statement to parliament on Huawei some time after 1130 GMT on Tuesday, the opposition Labour Party said on Twitter. Britain is set to ban Huawei from Britain’s 5G network in a landmark decision that... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Movie star Johnny Depp on Monday concluded giving evidence in his libel action against Britain’s Sun newspaper after five days in the witness box, again rejecting accusations he had hit his ex-wife Amber Heard and accusing her of using viole... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will place a “huge priority” on national security when considering Chinese telecoms firm Huawei’s role in the country’s 5G network, justice minister Robert Buckland said on Monday. “National security comes first … and I know that the... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – UK Sport said it does not fund research projects aimed at giving athletes a performance advantage at the expense of their health, after the Mail on Sunday reported that it backed an experimental nutritional programme at the 2012 London Olymp... More »
(Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies has requested a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to work out a deal to delay its potential removal from the country’s 5G phone network, the Sunday Times newspaper reported on Sunday. The Chinese telecoms equi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – With Britain’s coronavirus lockdown eased, sculptor Anish Kapoor can finally exhibit his work at Houghton Hall, one of the country’s best-known stately homes. Kapoor’s exhibition of 24 sculptures was due go on show thoughout the grounds and ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY should ring fence auditing in Britain as a separate business by June 2024, their regulator said on Monday in one of the most sweeping changes to the sector globally to improve audit quality. Corporate failures at b... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British new car registrations fell by an annual 35% in June, the smallest drop since February, as many dealerships reopened after coronavirus lockdown measures were lifted. A total of 145,377 new cars were registered in June, leaving year-to... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s decision to allow China’s Huawei to play a limited role in building its 5G network is not “fixed in stone” and is being reviewed following the imposition of U.S. sanctions, culture minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday. Britain gra... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Rishi Sunak will try to restart the country’s economy by giving homebuyers a tax break and cutting value-added tax for pubs, restaurants and other hospitality firms, The Times newspaper reported. Sunak is due to anno... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will invest nearly $2 billion in the arts and hopes to allow outdoor and socially distanced performances at cultural venues as it tries to help a high-profile sector hit hard by the coronavirus. Spanning theatres in London’s West End... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain hopes to permit outdoor and socially distanced performances at cultural venues, minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday, after announcing a nearly $2 billion investment in the arts. “I want all our cultural institutions to return to no... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei has clear conditions to meet for Britain to continue to allow its involvement in the development of 5G telecoms infrastructure, Britain’s health minister said on Sunday, after a report that the firm would be banned from the pr... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain urgently needs to see the legislation China passed regarding Hong Kong to determine whether it has breached the joint declaration and then will set out its next steps, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday. “De... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people in Britain buying cryptoassets like bitcoin BTC=BTSP and ether has more than doubled over the past year, but many are still unaware they have no protection against mis-selling, the Financial Conduct Authority said on Tue... More »
LEICESTER, England (Reuters) – Britain has imposed a stringent lockdown on the English city of Leicester following a local flare-up of the novel coronavirus, overshadowing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempts to nudge the country back to normality. The Unit... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that Britain needed to protect its critical national infrastructure from “hostile state vendors” when deciding what role China’s Huawei should play in the country’s 5G network. Britain is taking a... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Nikhil Rathi, head of the London Stock Exchange’s UK division, has been appointed chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s finance ministry said on Monday. Rathi, a former finance ministry official, will play a key... More »
READING, England (Reuters) – The English town of Reading held a minute’s silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack. Three people were also hospitalised after a man wield... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British industrial output recorded its biggest quarterly fall on record during the three months to June as COVID-19 heavily disrupted operations, and a further decline is likely in the months to come, a survey showed on Monday. The Confedera... More »
READING, England (Reuters) – The man who went on a stabbing spree in the British town of Reading was acting alone, interior minister Priti Patel said on Monday. “This is a tragic, tragic event,” Patel said. She did not comment on whether the arrested man was L... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Long queues of shoppers snaked around stores in England on Monday, with discount fashion retailer Primark proving a particular draw as shops reopened their doors after 83 days of lockdown. Queues formed from early morning outside several bra... More »
LISBON (Reuters) – Negotiations between Portugal and Britain on an “air bridge” that would allow British tourists to dodge a mandatory COVID-19 quarantine upon returning home are still in progress and going well, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday. Po... More »
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – Leaders from Britain and the European Union agreed on Monday that talks on their future relationship should be stepped up to clinch a deal, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggesting an agreement could be reached in July with “a b... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British coastguards have located the wreckage of a U.S. fighter plane that crashed into the North Sea off the coast of northeast England on Monday but the pilot is still missing, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement. The F-15C Eagle from t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British businesses have borrowed nearly 35 billion pounds ($44 billion) under three emergency credit programmes for companies hit by the coronavirus crisis with demand strongest for a 100% state-backed scheme for the smallest firms. After a ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom’s COVID-19 death toll neared 52,000 on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally of official data sources that highlighted the country’s place as one of the worst hit in the world. New data for England and Wales brought the to... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan and the United Kingdom agreed to start negotiations for a swift agreement on an economic partnership to secure business continuity for both nations, Japan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi welcomed i... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – About 64,000 more people than usual have died in the United Kingdom during this year’s coronavirus pandemic, an expert from the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Epidemiologists say excess mortality – deaths from all causes tha... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – London’s world-famous Abbey Road Studios reopened on Thursday after closing its doors during the coronavirus lockdown for the first time in its 90-year history. Celebrated for recording the likes of Edward Elgar, The Beatles and Lady Gaga, t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom’s COVID-19 official death toll has reached nearly 43,000, underlining the country’s status as the worst-hit in Europe and raising more questions about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the crisis. New official fig... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A consortium of British aerospace, automotive and medical companies said they were ramping up ventilator production to make sure there were enough available should there be a second spike in the novel coronavirus outbreak. “We are continuing... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy shrank by a record 5.8% in March as the coronavirus crisis escalated and the government shut down much of the country, according to official data that point towards an even bigger hit to come. The monthly drop in gross dome... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government should extend a costly job support programme until the end of the year for retail and hospitality workers hit hardest by the coronavirus, a think tank said on Tuesday, ahead of an expected government announcement. The Re... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will on Tuesday announce changes to programme that is paying the wages of more than 6 million workers at businesses affected by the coronavirus, its health minister said. Britain’s finance minister, Rishi Sunak, will make a statement... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins will stream a concert from an empty Royal Albert Hall on Friday evening, as locked-down Britain marks the 75th anniversary of “Victory in Europe” Day. Millions of people held a two-minute silence while m... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Londoners locked out of galleries can find an alternative art fix on a wall under under some railway arches after street artist Lionel Stanhope painted a Caravaggio classic, updated for the coronavirus age. The Italian baroque master’s “Supp... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Protesters blocked construction sites along the route of a planned high-speed rail link on Monday, aiming to stop swathes of British woodlands being felled for a project that has also faced criticism over spiralling costs. Prime Minister Bor... More »
(Reuters) – Some of Britain’s top comedians are joining forces to raise money for pubs shut down by the coronavirus, by hosting an online virtual pub quiz with a plan to set a new world record. Russell Howard, Nish Kumar, Jon Richardson, Joel Dommett, Marcus B... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A London bus stop has been transformed into a children’s art gallery by a local resident who wanted to brighten the drudgery of lockdown life, creating a colourful community hub amid the anxiety and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. A hand... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to work on Monday to the biggest dilemma of his premiership: how to lift the coronavirus lockdown that is destroying swathes of the British economy without triggering a deadly second wave of the outbreak.... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s airlines want the government’s coronavirus wage support scheme to be extended beyond June, maintaining the assistance for longer with a only slow recovery in air travel expected. Airlines UK, the industry’s representative body, wro... More »
CAPEL, England (Reuters) – The daily lockdown walk has been brightened by the addition of scarecrows dressed as key workers in a village in southern England, as the community pays tribute to doctors, nurses, shop assistants and waste collectors in its own quir... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is continuing to test whether antibody tests can be used in the fight against the novel coronavirus and is hopeful they will work, junior health minister Edward Argar said on Monday. “Tests continue to be tested, the sign at the mome... More »
MILTON KEYNES, England (Reuters) – A fleet of robots on wheels that deliver shopping in the English town of Milton Keynes have seen their popularity surge as residents are stuck indoors due to the coronavirus lockdown. The robots, which come up roughly to an a... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The number of people in jobs in Britain grew more slowly in March than in February, official figures showed on Tuesday in an early sign of the impact of the coronavirus shutdown which is expected to hammer the jobs market. Growth in the numb... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s finance minister has told colleagues the economy could shrink by up to 30% this quarter because of the coronavirus lockdown, a newspaper reported, as the soaring death toll gave little hope restrictions would soon be lifted. The nu... More »
(Reuters) – The technology arm of Britain’s National Health Service has been working on a mobile phone app with Alphabet Inc’s Google and iPhone maker Apple that the government hopes will help in ending the coronavirus lockdown, the Sunday Times newspaper repo... More »
CHIPPING CAMDEN, England (Reuters) – Costume makers in Britain who normally dress actors in shows from Downton Abbey to Game of Thrones and Batman have joined forces to make scrubs for medics fighting the coronavirus outbreak. Working from kitchens, sheds and ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s construction sector saw the sharpest fall in activity since the financial crisis last month, a survey showed on Monday, despite facing much less pressure than other industries to shut down operations due to the coronavirus. The fig... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Monday it had approved a 50 billion pound ($61.5 billion) British “umbrella” scheme to support companies affected by coronavirus outbreak. The approval is in line with modified EU rules allowing a temporary ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A group representing Britain’s car industry cut its sales forecast for this year by 23% to 1.73 million vehicles because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The figure represented a 25% fall from the number of new car registrations in 2... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A conspiracy theory that links 5G mobile telecommunications masts to the spread of the novel coronavirus is dangerous fake news and completely false, Britain said on Saturday after masts in several parts of the country were torched. When ask... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – It will take a week or two before Britain’s social distancing measures start to translate into lower hospitalization rates but there has been a bit of a plateauing in London in recent days, NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis said. “T... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom death toll from the coronavirus rose by 684 to 3,605 as of 1600 GMT on April 2, up 23% on the previous day. As of 9am 3 April, a total of 173,784 people have been tested of which 38,168 were positive. Stephen Powis, the na... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s car sector needs immediate cash and the government should introduce measures to support suppliers, some of which only have enough money to handle the coronavirus crisis for weeks not months, the head of the main trade body told Reu... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The coronavirus epidemic in the United Kingdom is showing signs of slowing and antibody tests could be ready in days, Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, said on Monday. “We think the epidemic is ju... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has ordered more than 10,000 ventilators from a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing teams which have met an urgent government plea for help with production due to start this week. The group, including ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A new version of a breathing aid that can help coronavirus patients has been developed in less a week by a team involving Mercedes Formula One, and is being trialed at London hospitals. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices have... More »
Britain’s big telecoms providers have agreed to remove all data caps on fixed-line broadband services that have become a lifeline for people isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, the government said on Sunday. The companies, which include BT (BT.L), ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Five guns which were used in “James Bond” movies, including the last weapon brandished by actor Roger Moore while playing 007, have been stolen from a house in north London by suspects with Eastern European accents, British police said on Fr... More »
(Reuters) – A British vicar got more than he expected from his first attempt at an online sermon when he leaned too close to a candle on a cross and his sweater caught fire. Stephen Beach of St Budeaux Parish Church in Plymouth, southwest England, was getting ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England canceled this year’s stress test of major banks on Friday and said it may be hard to implement new global capital rules on time given the focus now on supporting lending to customers hit by the coronavirus epidemic. The d... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has asked 65,000 former nurses and doctors to return to work and will deploy final-year medical students to fight the coronavirus health crisis, the health ministry said. As the coronavirus outbreak sweeps across the world, governmen... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will ask manufacturers to retool production to start making specialist health equipment including ventilators and will look at using hotels as emergency hospitals to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Br... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A series of six paintings by the Venetian master Titian, commissioned by King Philip II of Spain and inspired by the works of the Roman poet Ovid, have been reunited for the first time in four centuries in an exhibition at London’s National ... More »
MIDDLESBROUGH, England (Reuters) – Looming over the skyline of Teesside in northeast England stands the rusting hulk of what used to be Europe’s largest blast furnace, which shut in 2015 with the loss of more than 2,200 jobs. Attempts to bring investment and e... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain must not exclude its huge services industry from a planned trade deal with the European Union as the price for reclaiming control over its economy, a group representing British employers said on Monday. The Confederation of British I... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s new finance minister Rishi Sunak will have to raise taxes rather than rely on tweaks to budget rules if he wants to really ramp up spending in a first post-Brexit budget next month, the Resolution Foundation, a think-tank, said. Su... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Hundreds of people including Roger Waters, co-founder of the Pink Floyd rock group, and designer Vivienne Westwood, marched through central London on Saturday demanding that jailed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange be released. A London court... More »
