Vaccine rush as Twickenham Stadium throws open its doors to all over-18s

04:33 PM

Covid news in brief

Here's a summary of today's headlines...

• As part of a major Bank Holiday Monday vaccination drive Twickenham Stadium has opened its doors to all over 18s - as long as they arrive before 7.30pm.

• The unlocking of coronavirus restrictions on June 21 should be delayed "by a few weeks" due to the rise of the Indian variant, a Government adviser has said (see 4:22pm post).

• France has restricted travel from the UK requiring passengers to provide “compelling reasons” for entering the country from Monday to combat the spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19.

• Plans to make Covid-19 passports a legal requirement for large events are set to be dropped, The Telegraph understands.

• Wealthy Asians are escaping vaccine shortages and flying thousands of miles to the US to get their life-saving jabs.

• A British scientist who took part in a World Health Organisation mission to investigate whether Covid leaked from a Wuhan laboratory has suggested that China had been "misunderstood" over its refusal to address growing suspicions about the origins of the disease.

• Ministers are in a race to offer all over-50s a second coronavirus vaccine dose before the planned end of restrictions on June 21, the vaccines minister has said.

• Delaying the June 21 reopening date in England would be "astonishing", the chair of a major business group has warned, telling the Government “the time is now” to ease restrictions.

04:20 PM

New daily coronavirus figures for May 31

The #COVID19 Dashboard has been updated: https://t.co/XhspoyTG79

On 31 May, 3,383 new cases and 1 death within 28 days of a positive test were reported across the UK.

39,379,411 people have now received the first dose of a #vaccine and 25,537,133 have received a 2nd dose. pic.twitter.com/iYlEcvbwoY

— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) May 31, 2021

04:09 PM

'Ministerial incompetence' is 'biggest threat' to reopening, says Labour

Labour said "ministerial incompetence" was the "biggest threat" to plans for exiting lockdown.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "The decision to continue easing restrictions on June 21 must be taken based on data to keep people safe and prevent overwhelming the NHS.

"The single biggest threat to that is ministerial incompetence.

"Today ministers remain engulfed and distracted by internal rows and blame-shifting at just the moment we need a laser-like focus on this variant.

"Weak, slow decisions on border policy let this variant in, continued lack of sufficient self-isolation support and a stand-off with local public health directors over vaccination policy failed to contain it.

"For June 21 to go ahead, ministers must learn from their earlier mistakes."

03:51 PM

Syrian medical workers protest against Government's seat on WHO executive board

Medical workers in rebel-held northwest Syria have protested a decision to grant President Bashar Assad's government a seat on the executive board of the World Health Organization, writes Colin Freeman.

The selection of Syria at a little-noticed session Saturday of the WHO's annual assembly comes despite the Assad regime being accused of bombing hospitals and clinics during the country's devastating 10-year civil war.

Rifaat Farhat, a senior health official in rebel-held Idlib, said the move "contradicts all international and humanitarian laws."

03:48 PM

First Bank Holiday Monday without travel restrictions is UK's hottest day of year so far

The first Bank Holiday Monday without coronavirus travel restrictions is the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures expected to continue to climb in parts of the UK.

People flocked to parks and beaches to enjoy the balmy conditions as 24.6C was recorded in Kinloss in Scotland on Monday, according to the Met Office.

03:35 PM

Experts warn jabs giving 'false sense of security' amid calls to delay unlocking

The UK's vaccination programme is offering a "false sense of security" amid a mounting third wave of infections, according to Government advisers who have called for next month's unlocking to be delayed.

Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said that with the UK in the grip of an "early" third wave of Covid-19 infections, ministers should consider pushing back their target of scrapping all Covid measures on June 21 "by a few weeks".

The University of Cambridge academic said there had been an "exponential growth" in the number of cases, fuelled by the more transmissible Indian variant, but that the "explosive" impact it could have was currently being masked by the high vaccination rate.

03:22 PM

Delay unlocking by a few weeks to allow vaccines to contain Indian variant, says government adviser

The unlocking of coronavirus restrictions on June 21 should be delayed "by a few weeks" due to the rise of the Indian variant, a Government adviser has said.

Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) said the freedom date should be pushed back to enable the vaccination drive to contain the rise.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think the problem is we are not too far from reaching the sort of levels of vaccination that would help us contain the virus and I think that people are not saying we should abandon the June 21 date altogether but just to delay it by a few weeks while we gather more intelligence and we can look at the trajectory in a clearer way.

"If you look at the costs and benefits of getting it wrong, I think it is heavily in favour of delay, so I think that's the key thing.”

02:27 PM

Watch: England's biggest vaccination centre aims to jab 15,000 at Twickenham Stadium

02:03 PM

Hungarian vaccine plant to be fitted for production of Chinese doses, says minister

Hungary's planned vaccine plant will be fitted out for production of Chinese shots against COVID-19 as well as a local dose, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in China on Monday, according to state news agency MTI.

Szijjarto made the announcement after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and added that the agreement would mean a "great strategic advantage" for Hungary.

01:47 PM

Malaysia to roll out new $9.7 billion stimulus package, says PM

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday announced an additional 40 billion ringgit ($9.70 billion) stimulus package, ahead of the imposition of stricter lockdown measures this week to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The package include a 5 billion ringgit fiscal injection, Muhyiddin said in a televised address.

Malaysia's tighter curbs come into force on Tuesday.

01:34 PM

Watch: Duchess of Cambridge speaks to 'Stockport's Spider-man' who dressed up for kids throughout lockdown

Jason Baird, who runs Jason Baird's Black Belt Academy in Stockport, and his friend Andrew Baldock, became known as the "Stockport Spider-Men", as they entertained children and family alike by dressing up as the character on their walks to cheer-up children self isolating at home.

01:16 PM

Curevac plans to seek EMA approval after June trial data

German pharma company Curevac said it planned to submit an approval application to the European Medicines Agency for its Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible after receiving trial data that it expects in June.

01:01 PM

EU executive urges reopening in summer to vaccinated tourists

The European Commission proposed on Monday that fully vaccinated people should be exempt from testing or quarantines when travelling from one EU country to another, and urged a gradual easing of travel measures as Covid-19 vaccinations accelerate.

The bloc reached a deal earlier this month on Covid-19 certificates that will show, via a QR code, whether a person has received a vaccine, had a recent negative test or has immunity based on recovery from an infection. The scheme should be ready by July 1.

The European Union executive, which is seeking to harmonise a current patchwork of travel measures across the bloc, said on Monday that - according to its recommendation - testing or quarantines should not apply to people who have been fully vaccinated 14 days prior to travel.

About half of EU adults have received a first vaccine dose.

12:40 PM

Pictured: People enjoying the sun on first Bank Holiday Monday with eased Covid restrictions

12:20 PM

Kate praises 'amazingly captured' image of lockdown Spider-Man

The Duchess of Cambridge has praised an "amazingly captured" image of a martial arts teacher dressed as Spider-Man during lockdown.

Jason Baird, who runs Jason Baird's Black Belt Academy in Stockport, and his friend Andrew Baldock, became known as the "Stockport Spider-Men", as they entertained children and family alike by dressing up as the character on their walks.

The image shows Mr Baird in mid-air in a front garden as children look on from inside the house, and is among 100 photographs chosen for Kate's Hold Still exhibition and book, which encouraged the public to document life during the pandemic.

Speaking on the phone to Mr Baird, Kate said: "Thank you for sending in your photograph because there are some really emotive and really sad images and stories that we had.

"But this brought, you know, particularly to the judging panel, it was such a wonderful positive image of community spirit.

"And I hadn't appreciated at the time that you are a martial arts teacher so that gives it a lot of context as well."

12:06 PM

Converting Twickenham Stadium to major walk-in vaccine centre took 'less than a week'

Pippa Nightingale, the chief nurse for north-west London, encouraged people "to take some time out of your day and come and see" Twickenham Rugby Stadium's major walk-in vaccine drive during the fine bank holiday weather.

Kelly O'Neill, Hounslow Council's director of public health, said: "Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against Covid-19 and we encourage all our local community to have their vaccine as soon as they are eligible."

Twickenham Stadium venue director Mark Lynch said: "We are proud to have supported the NHS for over a year during the pandemic, first with a test centre in Twickenham Stadium car park and now to set up this mass vaccination facility in record time.

"It's taken less than a week to turn around and I'd like to thank all 600 stadium and NHS employees involved for their hard work to make this happen.

"Like rugby clubs across the country, we feel it's important for us to do our bit to support our local communities."

11:40 AM

Twickenham Stadium hosts biggest walk-in vaccination event on Bank Holiday Monday

Twickenham Rugby Stadium has been turned into a major walk-in vaccine centre in a drive to try to boost vaccinations against coronavirus as cases of the Indian variant surge.

Up to 15,000 first dose jabs are being made available for those in the local area who have not yet been vaccinated.

The event - called Let's Tackle Covid - aims to increase the number of vaccinations as cases of the Indian coronavirus variant surge in Hounslow, west London.

A spokesman for Twickenham Stadium said it was "proud" the venue would be supporting one of "the biggest walk-in vaccination events" in England.

Anyone who is eligible for their first dose can walk in without an appointment.

The event has been organised by the local NHS trust in partnership with Hounslow Council and supported by England's Rugby Football Union (RFU).

10:58 AM

EU says reduction in Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries only temporary

The European Commission said on Monday that the reduction in deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson to EU member states was only temporary, and the company was still due to meet its contract for total doses by the end of this year.

"Member states were informed of certain delays when it comes to the delivery of Johnson & Johnson shots, and they expressed their concern," a spokesman for the European Union executive told a news conference.

"The way we understand it is that this is a temporary reduction in deliveries and we can expect to see an increase in deliveries of doses soon. We're still working on the basis of the hypothesis that we're going to have the number of doses agreed on the whole, the second and third quarters."

10:40 AM

South Korea reports first case of blood clots linked to AstraZeneca vaccine

South Korea on Monday reported its first case of rare blood clotting linked to AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine.

The patient is a man in his 30s who got the shot on April 27 because of his job at a medical facility, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.

He felt a headache on May 9 and sought medical treatment before being hospitalized on May 12 as it continued and he suffered muscle cramps, Jeong said.

"His condition has improved since then and we understand there is no big problem though he still needs monitoring," she said.

Jeong said the symptoms are curable if detected early and treated properly.

Around 3.27 million people in South Korea have received at least one does of the AstraZeneca vaccine so far.

10:21 AM

Singapore PM says social curbs can be relaxed if virus situation improves

Singapore should be able to relax recently imposed restrictions on social gatherings after two weeks if the local Covid-19 situation continues to improve, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday.

"The number of daily cases has come down. Barring another super-spreader or big cluster, we should be on track to bring this outbreak under control," Lee said in a speech.

The current restrictions are to last until June 13.

Lee also said he expected two-thirds of residents to have received at least one dose of a vaccine by early July and that contact tracing and testing would be increased and expedited. He said he had received confirmation of faster deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines over the next two months.

10:02 AM

WHO agrees to study major reforms and meet again on pandemic treaty

The World Health Organization, battling to coordinate the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, agreed on Monday to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the agency.

Under the resolution put forward by the European Union, and adopted by consensus, member states are to be firmly in the driver's seat of the reforms, which follow criticisms of the global handling of the crisis.

Coronavirus has infected more than 170 million people and killed nearly 3.7 million, according to a Reuters tally of official national figures.

Health ministers from WHO's 194 member states will also meet from Nov. 29 to decide whether to launch negotiations on an international treaty aimed at boosting defences against any future pandemic.

09:41 AM

China and Taiwan spar over vaccines

China and Taiwan traded more accusations on Monday about Covid-19 vaccines, with Beijing saying they should not be a political tool while Taiwan's ruling party said China was the "black hand" preventing it accessing shots internationally.

The two have sparred repeatedly since the pandemic started, over everything from China's transparency about the virus' spread to Taiwan's lack of full access to the World Health Organization, worsening already bad ties.

Japan said on Friday it would consider sharing Covid-19 vaccines with other countries as a ruling party panel urged that part of its stock of AstraZeneca Plc doses be provided to Chinese-claimed Taiwan, which welcomed the news.

Taiwan is battling a spike in domestic infections and has vaccinated less than 2 per cent of its people, while Japan has secured more than 400 million doses, or double what its adult population needs.

09:25 AM

Judgment about delaying unlocking the country has to be made 'a couple of weeks before'

Asked whether businesses should prepare for a delay to the unlocking, environment secretary George Eustice replied: "I've said all along, as has Matt Hancock and the Prime Minister, we can't rule anything out because we know this has been a difficult pandemic, a dynamic situation.

"We have to make that judgment a couple of weeks before. It will only be by then that we will see the full impact of the latest easements we made on May 17, so I know everyone wants to know what is going to happen but we can't actually make that judgment until we see the impact of the easements just made."

09:12 AM

Cabinet minister says Government cannot 'rule anything out' for June 21 unlocking

Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Government "couldn't rule anything out" when asked whether the June 21 target for scrapping all coronavirus restrictions could be delayed.

The Cabinet minister told BBC Radio 4's Today: "The Prime Minister has said all along that he is going to take this one step at a time and will only make the judgment on the next step, on June 21, about a week before that.

"I think he is excepted to say something in a couple of weeks' time on June 14.

"The rates are going up again slightly but from a low base and probably to be expected, given there are a significant number of younger people who are now out and mixing but haven't had the vaccine - I suppose that is to be expected.

"But the right thing to do in a couple of weeks' time is to assess that data before deciding what we can do."

08:50 AM

Hong Kong dangles two days of paid leave for civil servants to boost vaccine rate

Hong Kong will offer civil servants who get vaccinated against Covid-19 a day off for each dose, the government said on Monday, as authorities struggle to boost a sluggish inoculation rate among the city's 7.5 million population.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip, speaking at a press conference, also said the government was in talks with financial institutions, tertiary schools and theme parks to set up inoculation centres for staff to ramp up the vaccination rate.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said at the briefing she had already sent letters to more than 100 firms urging them to follow in the footsteps of the government's measures.

"From now until the end of August is a crucial time for pandemic prevention," Lam said. "We're kicking off the 'Early Vaccination for All' campaign today to boost the vaccination rate, in order to achieve herd immunity."

08:35 AM

France tightens restrictions on travel from UK due to Indian variant

Travellers from the UK will have to provide "compelling reasons" to enter France from Monday as French authorities tighten restrictions to prevent the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus.

Travel to France from the UK will only be permitted for EU nationals, French residents, or those travelling for essential reasons.

Those who are allowed to make the journey must take a pre-departure Covid test and quarantine for seven days on arrival.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the new French rules apply to all air, car, ferry and train passengers.

France is currently listed as an "amber" destination by the UK Government which advises against travel there, with British authorities requiring people to self-isolate for 10 days and take two Covid tests on return.

08:19 AM

JCVI member has urged caution over Government's approach to June 21 reopening

A leading scientific adviser to the Government has urged caution over the approach to the June 21 easing of Covid-19 restrictions, saying authorities ought to have a clear picture of the pandemic before such moves are made.

Professor Adam Finn, from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said while the country's vaccination programme "will ultimately give us ... protection" against the Indian coronavirus variant, key markers in the community should be taken into account before the next phase of reopening.

"I think it's unfortunate that everyone's got this particular date in their head, because really what we need to do is understand how things are going and adjust accordingly," Prof Finn told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

While encouraging data has emerged in recent weeks over Covid hospital admissions in Britain, Prof Finn said any impact on admissions brought by the easing of restrictions in May would not be known for many days yet - "around about June 21 or just before that".

08:04 AM

Today's front page

Here is your Daily Telegraph on Monday, May 31.

07:55 AM

Covid cases 'slowing' in Bolton

Dr Helen Wall, senior responsible officer for the Covid vaccine programme in Bolton, said the rise in cases is slowing but that there is no room for complacency.

She told BBC Breakfast: "I'm pleased to report that things are starting to slow in terms of the rise here in Covid cases, but we really can't rest on that.

"It's only been a few days of the rates slowing down so we really are keen to keep pushing forwards and get the rates down further."

Dr Wall said there are very young populations in many of the areas that have seen the highest rises in Bolton, and each time the age comes down for vaccine eligibility thousands more people are able to come forward for the jab.

"I think the age of eligibility going down every few days has really helped, and will really help us, if we can get those people through the doors to be vaccinated asap," she said.

07:34 AM

We need to do 'everything' we can to minimise risk of cases climbing, says JCVI member

Professor Adam Finn, from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said there is a question mark over how fast the rise in Covid cases is going to be and how high numbers will go.

"And in those circumstances we'd all be better off doing everything we can to minimise that risk so that we don't get to a position where we have to really go backwards in terms of the restrictions that we're all having to endure," he told Times Radio.

Prof Finn said the JCVI will give advice to the Government on vaccinating children but said more evidence is needed before it can give clear advice.

07:12 AM

First case on remote Pacific state

The remote Pacific nation of Palau has reported its first confirmed case, but authorities said it was historical and posed no transmission risk.

The tiny island state of 21,000 has so far managed to avoid Covid-19 after closing its borders early in the pandemic.

The health ministry said a traveller who arrived in Palau earlier this month was found to have the virus, even though they tested negative once before departing for the island and twice during a two-week quarantine.

"Further tests revealed that this is a historical - past infection - case of Covid-19, and it is not infectious," it said in a statement. The ministry estimated the person contracted the virus in January this year.

07:02 AM

Delay unlocking restrictions by a few weeks, says government adviser

Government adviser and microbiologist Professor Ravi Gupta said the unlocking of coronavirus restrictions next month should be delayed by a few weeks because of signs the UK is in a new wave of Covid-19 infections.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I think the problem is we are not too far from reaching the sort of levels of vaccination that would help us contain the virus and I think that people are not saying we should abandon the June 21 date altogether but just to delay it by a few weeks while we gather more intelligence and we can look at the trajectory in a clearer way.

"If you look at the costs and benefits of getting it wrong, I think it is heavily in favour of delay, so I think that's the key thing.

"Yes, we will learn to live with it but this date that was set did not take into account the fact we would have a new variant on the horizon, with properties that allow it to evade antibodies to some extent and a virus which is more transmissible."

06:42 AM

We need to vaccinate the world by 2022, says PM

06:36 AM

Exclusive: UK vaccine passport plans to be scrapped

Plans to make Covid-19 passports a legal requirement for large events are set to be dropped, The Telegraph understands.

Officials working on the review into Covid-19 status certification believe there is no chance the law will be changed to mandate their use within the UK.

“It’s not a case of ‘it’s finely balanced’. It’s not going to happen,” said one well-placed government source close to the review.

“Everyone says it’s dead.”

Read the full story here.

05:56 AM

Wealthy Asians fly to US for 'vaccine tourism' trips

Wealthy Asians are escaping vaccine shortages and flying thousands of miles to the US to get their life-saving injections.

As American states entice their citizens with lottery tickets and doughnuts in exchange for a jab in their arms, travel agencies are popping up in Asian nations offering tailored packages for vaccine tourism.

The promise of vaccination in the US has recently been advertised in Thailand, Vietnam, India and Taiwan - all nations that initially performed well during the first year of the pandemic only to have their defences breached by more infectious variants that bounced back as the virus ran rampant globally.

Read the full story by Nicola Smith here.

04:56 AM

25 million second doses administered

More than 25 million people in the UK are now fully vaccinated.

As of May 31, a total of 25,332,851 people have received both doses of a coronavirus jab.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock took to social media to thank those who had contributed to the success of the vaccination programme.

04:28 AM

Army medics help fight pandemic in Northern Ireland

Army medics administered an estimated 100,000 doses of vaccine in Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.

About 100 combat medical technicians worked at the vaccination centre at the SSE Arena in Belfast in recent months.

As they prepared to leave at the weekend, Health Minister Robin Swann sent a video message of thanks for their work: "You have been a welcome addition and provided much-needed relief and support at a time when our workforce faced huge challenges.

"I want to put on record our thanks and my thanks for your efforts in supporting Northern Ireland's response to Covid-19 and the help that you have supplied by doing what you have done."

It was the latest contribution by the armed forces in the pandemic in Northern Ireland in what has been described as the first public-facing, intimate assistance to the civil authorities since the end of Operation Banner in 2007.

Lance Corporal Leah Clayton-Smith, 22, from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, was among the CMTs who worked at the SSE vaccination centre. She previously helped at the Royal London hospital in a Covid ward as a nursing assistant.

Corporal Paul Grimmitt, 28, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said: "It's been great working alongside the NHS, helping out and getting as many vaccinations in the public as we can."

04:08 AM

Pandemic surge in volunteers a 'positive legacy'

The thousands of NHS volunteers who supported others during the Covid-19 pandemic should provide a "positive legacy" for the health service's future, England's top nurse has said.

According to NHS England, new data shows that 436,000 people from the NHS Volunteer Responders programme have carried out nearly two million tasks for those who had to stay home during the coronavirus crisis.

This included phone calls to the isolated, delivering medicines, and stewarding vaccination sites.

The figures are released as the NHS converts Twickenham rugby stadium in south-west London into the "biggest vaccination centre in England" - staffed with the help of volunteers.

03:00 AM

Upskirting crime still an issue despite pandemic restrictions

Scores of people reported being victims of upskirting last year, despite coronavirus restrictions limiting the amount of time people could spend outside their homes, figures show.

Data from police forces in England and Wales shows girls as young as 14 were routinely among those targeted by people attempting to take a sexual image of them without consent.

The overwhelming majority of incidents involved female victims, although a 16-year-old boy was among the handful of male victims.

Figures from 33 police forces found there were 196 allegations of upskirting during 2020, with offences reported to have taken place in a range of public places such as supermarkets, parks and on public transport.

This was despite restrictions during the early days of the pandemic last year effectively forcing people to stay at home, avoid public transport and shops, and reduce social contact.

02:55 AM

More cases recorded in locked-down Victoria

Australia's state of Victoria reported five new local Covid cases today.

The infections raise the total to 45 in the latest cluster, including in a worker at a Melbourne aged-care facility where not all of the residents have been vaccinated.

Victoria is half way through a seven-day lockdown to fight the latest outbreak.

02:15 AM

Blackburn overtakes Bolton with case rates

Blackburn with Darwen has replaced Bolton as the area of the UK with the highest rate of new cases of Covid-19.

A total of 584 confirmed cases were recorded in Blackburn with Darwen in the seven days to May 26, Public Health England said.

This is the equivalent of 390.1 cases per 100,000 people - the highest seven-day rate for the area since the start of February, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

By contrast, the seven-day rate in Bolton currently stands at 386.7 cases per 100,000.

This is down from 452.8 on May 21, and suggests the recent surge in cases in the town, driven by the spread of the Indian variant of coronavirus, may have peaked.

01:46 AM

Local cases in China blamed on Indian variant

China reported a sudden surge of Covid-19 in the country's south today, with 20 new local cases.

The new cases were recorded as authorities locked down areas of Guangdong province's capital city.

Of the 27 new cases reported by the national health authority in its daily updates, only seven infections were imported, with the remainder originating in Guangdong province.

On Saturday, authorities placed a neighbourhood in the capital city of Guangzhou under lockdown as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the virus.

State media reports have suggested that the the recent outbreak is linked to the Indian variant.

01:37 AM

UK travellers restricted from entering France

France has restricted travel from the UK requiring passengers to provide “compelling reasons” for entering the country from today to combat the spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19.

Those who are allowed to make the journey must take a pre-departure Covid test and quarantine for seven days on arrival.

Travel to France from Britain will only be permitted for EU nationals, French residents, or those travelling for essential reasons.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the new French rules apply to all air, car, ferry and train passengers.

Read the full story here.

12:42 AM

Today's top stories

• Exclusive: Plans to make Covid-19 passports a legal requirement for large events are set to be dropped, The Telegraph understands.
• A British scientist who took part in a World Health Organisation mission to investigate whether Covid leaked from a Wuhan laboratory has suggested that China had been “misunderstood” over its refusal to address growing suspicions about the origins of the disease.
• France has restricted travel from the UK requiring passengers to provide “compelling reasons” for entering the country from Monday to combat the spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19.
• Matt Hancock was "completely mischaracterised" by Dominic Cummings, the UK’s vaccine minister has said, as he defended his colleague over the accusation he lied about testing patients who were being discharged from hospitals into care homes.
• A family returning to the UK have said staying in a quarantine hotel was their "worst ever experience" after a mother and baby were left needing hospital treatment.
• Delaying the June 21 reopening date in England would be “astonishing”, the chair of a major business group has warned, telling the Government “the time is now” to ease restrictions.
• Ministers are in a race to offer all over-50s a second coronavirus vaccine dose before the planned end of restrictions on June 21, the vaccines minister has said.