Latest updates: Nicola Sturgeon suggests PM’s visit doesn’t set good example amid Covid restrictions; Asda hosts first vaccine dose administered at a supermarket in England
- Covid cases in England ‘must fall faster to ease NHS pressure’
- Leading Paralympian says lockdown needs of disabled people ignored
- Coronavirus – latest updates
- See all our coronavirus coverage
10.06am GMT
Some more on the Sir Desmond Swayne’s story (see earlier post). PA media have managed to get hold of the New Forest West MP for an interview.
They report that he is refusing to apologise for telling vaccine sceptics to “persist” with their campaign against lockdown restrictions, arguing he was unaware of their position on jabs. He has insisted, though, that any such sceptic should stick to the rules.
I have always had a great deal of respect for Michael but I’m not sure precisely what I’m being asked to apologise for. I’m evangelical in my support for the vaccination programme. As for my complaints for masking and the use of data, I’m on the record, I’ve said all of those things in the House of Commons. My remarks to them on those subjects mirror what I’ve said in the House of Commons. I was completely unaware that any of them had any traction on anti-vaxx and no anti-vaxx entered into the conversation I had with them.
9.56am GMT
Asda has hosted the first dose of vaccine to be administered at a supermarket in England, as a 78-year-old woman was given the jab by in-store pharmacy staff.
We are incredibly proud to provide this service and are keen to do all we can to help the NHS and Government accelerate the rollout of the vaccination programme.
9.42am GMT
Senior Tory Sir Desmond Swayne has been condemned as “completely out of order” by cabinet minister Michael Gove after claiming that Covid statistics have been “manipulated”.
Sir Desmond, who represents New Forest West, was interviewed by a US anti-vaccine campaigner and urged an anti-lockdown group to persist with their efforts, suggesting official data should not be trusted, according to PA media.
It seems to be a manageable risk, particularly as figures have been manipulated… We’re told there is a deathly, deadly pandemic proceeding at the moment. That is difficult to reconcile with ICUs (intensive care units) actually operating at typical occupation levels for the time of year and us bouncing round at the typical level of deaths for the time of year.
“Just saying that he’s wrong is nowhere near enough”.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner says Sir Desmond Swayne has “undermined the government’s message” after he told anti-vaxxers to ‘persist’ against #COVID19 restrictions.
More on this #exclusive https://t.co/K2nIdR0l24 pic.twitter.com/lXpkAkFoje
9.35am GMT
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a Sage member, has warned that Covid vaccines must be made available around the world in an effort to keep cases down and prevent new mutations which could escape the effects of the jabs.
He says that “vaccine nationalism” is a reality that “we have to avoid”.
Vaccine nationalism is a reality that we have to avoid, the Wellcome Trust’s Sir Jeremy Farrar tells @MishalHusain
He argues that getting vaccines to the world is the “moral and ethical” thing to do. #R4Today
https://t.co/Nh56mCA0YJ pic.twitter.com/57Y0b8S2uo
9.28am GMT
Cabinet minister Michael Gove has said there “will be no interruption” to UK vaccine supplies from AstraZeneca after the European Union demanded doses from British plants during a row over supply shortages.
Related: Why the EU and AstraZeneca are stuck in a Covid vaccines row
9.22am GMT
Here is the latest on Keir Starmer’s reaction to the quarantine proposals from LBC’s political editor Theo Usherwood:
Who should pay for the £1,500 stay in a quarantine hotel?
Sir Keir says “it’s a lot of money but the cost of not doing it is massive”.
Should it be means tested?
“I don’t know to be honest with you… but I don’t want to introduce bureaucracy that means it doesn’t work.”
9.18am GMT
Covid cases may be rising in the East Midlands despite the lockdown, and infections could be merely plateauing in some other regions, the director of the React study has warned.
PA media reports:
Prof Paul Elliott said there does “seem to be a little bit of a downturn in the prevalence but not the large reductions we’d like to see”, with a “sharper decline in the South, in the South West in particular, and also fortunately in London from very, very high rates and also the South East”.
“But things are pretty flat or even increasing in some of the other regions, so it’s a bit of a mixed picture,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Related: Covid-19 cases in England ‘must fall to ease NHS pressure’
9.14am GMT
The cabinet office minister, Michael Gove, has said a list of nations from which travellers must quarantine in hotels on arrival in the UK is to be reviewed.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
We will be reviewing today how extensive that list of countries needs to be and we will be guided by advice from our scientific advisers and we will be reporting back later on where the line will be drawn.
There has been a lively debate about what we should or should not have done then. I don’t intend to add my voice to that debate. I think there will be an appropriate moment to review all the decisions this Government and others have taken during the pandemic.
9.03am GMT
Good morning everyone. I will be running the blog today, so feel free to send me a message on Twitter with any coverage suggestions or story tips.
Yesterday, Boris Johnson confirmed that UK travellers will be interrogated at the border on their reasons for going abroad, as he said that British citizens returning from high-risk countries must quarantine in hotels at their own expense.
Related: UK travellers to be questioned at border on reasons for going abroad
He’s the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it’s absolutely essential that the Prime Minister is there to see how on the front line we are progressing in our vaccine delivery and rollout programme. It’s critically important that the Scottish Government and the UK Government are working together to do everything we can to support the rollout and see what we can do to improve it.
