Image source, House of Commons

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting says Labour welcomes the announcement the health secretary has made on the reduction of the Covid isolation period to five days, on the condition two negative tests are produced.

But he urges Javid to “sort out testing” after problems with workers accessing lateral flow kits over Christmas. He says “workforce shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS and the wider economy” during the current wave of the Omicron variant.

He says he believes the new measure will help people to get back to work “faster and safely”.

What's behind the change to the isolation period?published at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2022

12:29 GMT 13 January 2022

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

As always with Covid, this move is about balancing harms caused by the virus with those from our response to the virus.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency suggests two-thirds of people are no longer infectious after five days of isolation.

That is a huge number of people who are required to stay at home for no reason, disrupting education, the economy and people’s personal freedoms.

Rapid tests ahead of release should capture most of those who are infectious, but not all.

The current policy of release at seven days with two negative tests means around two in five infectious cases are missed, according to the data.

What we don’t know is just how infectious they are – for most people infectiousness will be declining at this stage.

That clearly means there is the potential for more spread of the virus.

But as the risks from Covid are reducing so does the need to reassess the trade-offs.

Javid finishes his statement by saying the country is "better protected than ever before" against Covid but "this virus is not going away".

"There will be more variants and no one can be sure what threat they might pose," he says.

Vaccines, testing and anti-virals are "the best way to protect our health and freedoms as we learn to live with Covid," he adds.

Javid says the change aims to "maximise activity in the economy and education" while also minimising the risk of infection from people leaving isolation.

He says data from the UK Health Security Agency shows about two-thirds of positive cases are no longer infectious by end of day five.

Image source, PA Media

The length of time people who have tested positive for Covid must isolate for is being cut to five full days in England from Monday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announces.

Currently people have to self-isolate for at least seven days but are able to stop isolating if they return two negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven.

From Monday with two negative tests people can leave isolation at the start of day six, he says.

Ministers have said cutting the isolation period would ease staff pressures in some sectors, such as the NHS, transport and education.

Javid says 79% of eligible adults have now had a booster, with the figure at more than 91% for over-50s.

Per capita, he says the UK is the most boosted large country in the world.

Javid says there are still "likely to be difficult weeks ahead" but there are encouraging signs infections are falling in London and the east of England.

He stresses infections are still are rising in other parts of the country and the data does not yet reflect the impact of people returning to work and school.

"We must proceed with caution," he says, adding the NHS will remain under significant pressure over next few weeks.

Image source, House of Commons

Sajid Javid begins his statement by paying tribute to Jonathan Van-Tam, who has resigned from his role as England's deputy chief medical officer to return to his role at the University of Nottingham.

The health secretary praises his “unique and straightforward approach to communication", which he says "has seen him rapidly become a national hero".

Using a Van-Tam-style football metaphor, Javid describes him as “a top signing" who has "blown the whistle on time”.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid is getting to his feet in the Commons for a statement on Covid.

Stick with us for all the latest updates.

Image source, UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Health Secretary Sajid Javid is due to make a statement to MPs on Covid shortly.

It comes after a government source told the BBC a decision on reducing the isolation period for people who have tested positive from seven days to five is "imminent".

Currently people must self-isolate for up to 10 days, but can be released on day seven if they test negative twice, 24 hours apart on days six and seven.

We'll bring you all the latest updates here.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier French authorities announced that from tomorrow it is relaxing travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers from the UK.

In a statement the Channel Tunnel train operator Eurostar welcomes the changes and says it will "allow customers to travel more freely between the UK and France".

It also says: "We are ready to welcome more passengers on board and will continue to increase the frequency of our services in the coming weeks to offer passengers more flexibility and choice.”

Just before Christmas France tightened travel rules, due to the spread of the Omicron variant, which reduced cross-channel passenger numbers.

Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested the lockdown rules may have been too tough when a drinks event took place in the Downing Street garden in May 2020.

He says he had been contacted by a friend who was unable to go to the funeral of his two-year old granddaughter, adding: "We must consider, as this goes to an inquiry and we look into what happened with Covid, whether all those regulations were proportionate or whether it was too hard on people".

He continues his criticism of the Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, whom he called a "lightweight" after Ross called for the prime minister's resignation.

Rees-Mogg tells the Commons: "The honourable gentleman has office within the Conservative Party and it seems to me that people who hold office ought to support the leader of the party, that is the honourable and proper thing to do."

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has just been defending the prime minister, saying he has "consistently made the right decisions on Covid".

The Commons leader was responding to a question from SNP MP Pete Wishart, who called on Boris Johnson to resign after he admitted attending a Downing Street drinks party during lockdown.

Wishart also criticised Rees-Mogg for calling Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross a "lightweight figure" in interviews yesterday, after Ross called for Johnson to step down.

In response, Rees-Mogg said Johnson won an election and that is the way democracy works in this country.

"If we look at the whole panoply of decisions made with regard to Covid the prime minister has consistently got them right," he told the Commons, citing the vaccine rollout, the furlough scheme, ending lockdown last summer and refusing to impose new restrictions before Christmas.

You can see a clip of of Rees-Mogg speaking about Ross below. Former Scottish Conservative MSP and constitutional lawyer Prof Adam Tomkins in turn told BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that Ross "is a man of steel and a man of principle".

Boris Johnson has thanked Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam for his "invaluable" advice during the pandemic.

The prime minister says he's made an “extraordinary contribution to our country” and wished him “the very best for the future".

Prof Van-Tam has announced he is leaving his role as England's deputy chief medical officer, but will continue to work for the government until the end of March.

At the end of last year Prof Van-Tam presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures about Covid, which can still be seen here.

Supportive Sunak or reluctant Rishi?published at 11:18 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2022

11:18 GMT 13 January 2022

Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The chancellor tweeted his support for Boris Johnson eight hours after the PM's apology at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

And unlike other senior ministers, Rishi Sunak was not at Johnson's side in the Commons.

Some newspapers have interpreted the timing and content of his message of support as lukewarm backing for his boss and neighbour in Downing Street.

Sources close to the chancellor point out the language he used about waiting for the report into lockdown-busting parties in Whitehall is almost identical to the messages posted by other cabinet ministers.

A peek at his diary also reveals a man with a genuinely busy day, which included a trip to Devon in the morning and a meeting with the prime minister in the evening, then more meetings with MPs worried about energy bills.

But Sunak is seen as one of the favourites to succeed Johnson, if and when he goes, even though the chancellor himself has said he is not interested in the top job.

The chancellor's colleagues may be frustrated with the media's obsession with this, but they'll just have to live with the fact a leadership contender always attracts more rune-reading than a lower profile cabinet minister.

And supporters of the prime minister have started gently putting the pressure on the chancellor to speak out on other big issues facing the country.

"Problems with the cost of living? I'd have thought that was one for your finance minister, wouldn't you?," said one advisor to a Johnson ally.

Boris Johnson is facing calls from senior Tories to resign after he admitted attending a drinks party during lockdown.

The prime minister has apologised for the way he handled the event in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 and says he understands the public's "rage" over it.

Since his confirmation that he was there, four Tory MPs have publicly called for him to go.

• Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said the prime minister's position was "no longer tenable".
• William Wragg, a backbench MP who chairs an influential select committee, said the same
• Former minister Sir Roger Gale tweeted to say he had already submitted a formal letter to the Conservatives' 1922 Committee calling for a leadership election
• Caroline Nokes told ITV’s Robert Peston: “He is damaging us now, he’s damaging the entire Conservative brand”

A minimum of 54 Conservative MPs must send letters to the committee in order to trigger a leadership challenge.

Image source, PA Media

Frontline health and social care staff in England will continue to get free Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), as the government extends an initiative for another year.

Health minister Edward Argar says this will help to "relieve pressure" on the health system.

The government also says buying up the equipment centrally before distributing it helps to ensure access to high quality material.

Health and social care providers were asked about this when a public consultation was launched in October 2021 – and the vast majority, 95%, of respondents wanted to see the government continue to supply free PPE.

We've heard that France is to relax their restrictions for vaccinated travellers from the UK, but what about unvaccinated travellers?

Here's what has been announced by the French authorities:

• All travellers, vaccinated or not, will have to present a negative test taken within 24 hours of departure
• Unvaccinated travellers, travelling from or to the UK, will still need a "compelling reason" to justify their trip
• Unvaccinated travellers must continue to register online, before their departure, the address of their stay in France
• On arrival, they must observe a strict quarantine period of 10 days at this address
• The quarantine will be controlled by French security forces

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, the prime minister has cancelled a planned visit to Lancashire because a family member has tested positive for Covid.

He had been due to visit a vaccination centre this morning.

On visits such as this politicians often do a short interview with one broadcaster on behalf of the media - and the prime minister would most likely have faced some difficult questions about the lockdown drinks party at Downing Street.

More now on the news that England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam is to leave his role at the end of March.

Sir Jonathan is to take up a new role as the Pro-Vice Chancellor for the faculty of medicine and health sciences at University of Nottingham.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid says it’s been an "honour" to work with him and tweets that he's "hugely grateful for his advice & the vital role he has played in our vaccination programme”.

Javid adds in a statement: "JVT's one-of-a-kind approach to communicating science over the past two years has no doubt played a vital role in protecting and reassuring the nation, and made him a national treasure."

England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty says he’s “profoundly thankful for [Jonathan Van-Tam’s] steadfast support, advice, leadership and commitment”, adding his “communication of public health advice and science has been remarkable”.