Wednesday evening UK news briefing: Covid surge testing expanded after more South African variant cases found in London

Hundreds of thousands of people are being urged to get tested to try and stamp out the "concerning" South African variant of Covid-19.

Rapid surge testing has been deployed in four London boroughs - with people living in an area of Barnet now also being asked to take a test after a case of the variant was detected.

Additional testing has also been set up by NHS Test and Trace in Southwark, where the Department of Health said a case linked to the cluster in Wandsworth and Lambeth has been identified and is self-isolating.

There are concerns vaccines are not as effective against the South African variant.

Paul Nuki analyses how worried we should be about London's cluster of variant cases.

Meanwhile, the boss of easyJet has said most European countries should be on the Government's "green list" for foreign summer holidays if the travel ban is lifted as planned on May 17.

Johan Lundgren's comments come as Greece said it will open its borders to vaccinated travellers from the UK from next week, as well as those who test negative for Covid-19.

Here are the European islands most likely to welcome Britons this summer but if you would rather stay on home soil, see Britain's holiday hotspots – and the crowd-free alternatives you should visit instead.

David Cameron hung out to dry but Tories close ranks

Conservative MPs were quick to criticise David Cameron during a debate on lobbying and sleaze - but closed ranks over Labour's call to launch a new Parliament-led inquiry into the Greensill scandal. Earlier, Boris Johnson had suggested some of the "boundaries" between civil servants and business have not been "properly understood" during a fiery clash in PMQs over lobbying. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a senior adviser to Mr Cameron in Downing Street encouraged an organisation for small businesses to promote the "supply chain finance guru" Lex Greensill to its members. Read this exclusive extract from our Refresher newsletter explaining what the Cameron-Greensill lobbying scandal is all about.

Princess Eugenie promises to look after 'Granny'

Princess Eugenie has issued a heartfelt tribute to her "dearest Grandpa", promising to look after "Granny" in his absence. The Queen's granddaughter posted the touching eulogy on Instagram, remembering how the Duke of Edinburgh had taught her to cook and paint. The tribute from the 31-year-old came as hundreds of military personnel took part in rehearsals for the Duke's funeral on Saturday. Earlier the Princess Royal reminisced about sailing in her younger years as she made her first in-person appearance at an official event since her father's death.

At a glance: Coronavirus evening briefing

• Care home workers | Staff face compulsory Covid vaccinations

• Next phase | High-risk workers 'now a priority for jab rollout'

• New cases surge | Swedish region declares 'personal lockdown'

• Un-appy | Older drinkers without smartphones 'risk discrimination'

• Search tool | See how many Covid cases there have been in your area

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

Bernie Madoff dies | Financier Bernie Madoff, who was sentenced to 150 years in jail after pleading guilty to organising the world's biggest investing scam, has died in prison aged 82. Madoff died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina from natural causes. Read how the star stock-picker orchestrated the world's largest "Ponzi" scheme.

• Fishmongers' Hall attack | Survivor 'played dead' after being stabbed

• Machete attack | Teenager's hand 'completely severed'

• Daunte Wright shooting | Third night of clashes as officer resigns

• Scotland vote | Sturgeon 'should thank PM' over EU jab scheme

• Songbirds stay put | No migration as gardens are stuffed with food

Around the world: British soldiers to exit Afghanistan

Nato members have pledged to leave Afghanistan "together" as 750 British soldiers are set to leave the country along with American troops on September 11. After months of deliberation with no good choices, Joe Biden has decided to end America's longest war and conduct an unconditional troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in the face of a resurgent Taliban. Yet Ben Farmer analyses how Afghanistan's battle continues despite the US president ending America's "forever war".

Wednesday big-read

How Liverpool can pull off another Champions League miracle

Rafael Benítez knows a thing or two about a European comeback – here he outlines how Liverpool should approach their second leg against Real Madrid at Anfield tonight

Read his full column

Comment and analysis

• Ross Clark | We're being enslaved by phones that once liberated us

• Jonathan Saxty | Working from home domino effect could be disaster

• Karol Sikora | Cancer patients have been disastrously let down

• Simon Heffer | The BBC has no respect for history or older viewers

• Neil McCormick | Mick Jagger's pandemic punk song is pitiful

Editor's choice: Features and arts

1. Prince Philip enjoyed life in the fast lane | What the Duke's choice of car proved

2. Yvonne Romain reveals all | 'Liz Taylor said I was too pretty to play her handmaiden'

3. Ageless glamour | Catherine Zeta-Jones shows why there are no rules for her style

Business and money briefing

'Fat finger' error | Shares in Barclays plunged by a tenth this morning due to a suspected "fat finger" error that caused trading in the stock to be halted for five minutes. Our business liveblog has the latest.

• Development grounded | F-35 jets face more delay as tests put back

• Property market | Make stamp duty cut permanent, says OECD

• On top of markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day

Sport briefing

Champions League row | Chelsea have denied that head coach Thomas Tuchel told Porto manager Sergio Conceicao to "f--- off" at the end of their quarter-final victory and have been left shocked by the behaviour of the Portuguese club. Read details of the X-rated Porto dirty tricks.

• Lions tour | Sir Ian McGeechan picks his squad to tackle South Africa

• Football Focus | Why Alex Scott deserves to be the new face of show

• Heath Streak | Zimbabwe's finest ever bowler handed eight-year ban

Three things for tonight

• Watch | Bent Coppers: Crossing the Line of Duty, BBC Two, 9pm

• Groom | 12 of the best shaving creams for midlife men

• Drink | 50 of the best British pubs with beer gardens to book now

And finally... for this evening's downtime

Bryony Gordon's Mad World podcast | In the latest episode, author Douglas Stuart, who won the Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain, reveals what it is like to win such an award with a story drawing on the experience of his alcoholic mother.