Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Boris Johnson news - live: UK facing lockdown due to PM's 'failure,' says Rayner as Starmer says he must apologise

Follow the latest updates

Conrad Duncan
Sunday 20 September 2020 12:02 EDT
Comments
Matt Hancock: I would report my neighbour

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The UK is facing the possibility of a second national lockdown due to Boris Johnson’s “failure and incompetence” on coronavirus, Labour’s deputy leader has warned.

Angela Rayner told her party’s virtual conference that there had never been a prime minister “more out of his depth and ill-equipped to the task” than Mr Johnson.

Her comments came after Labour’s leader Sir Keir Starmer said the PM should apologise over the chaotic testing system in the UK in recent weeks.

Boris Johnson’s appearance at the Battle of Britain anniversary service at Westminster Abbey today has raised some eyebrows due to the Bible passage he was asked to read.

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” is not a sentiment which is typically associated with this prime minister…

Conrad Duncan20 September 2020 16:09

Our reporter, Clea Skopeliti, has more details below on Labour peer and journalist Joan Bakewell’s claim that she was sexually assaulted by a junior government minister early in her career:

Joan Bakewell tells of being assaulted by a government minister

The Labour Party peer describes being the ‘victim of unwanted attention’ in the 1950s and 1960s

Conrad Duncan20 September 2020 16:40

Illegal evictions up by 50 per cent since start of pandemic, with ‘massive increase’ expected

Housing experts have warned of a surge in tenants being illegally removed from their homes by criminal landlords as the government’s eviction ban comes to an end on Monday.

It is thought that a combination of a second wave of infections and the end of the furlough scheme, alongside hundreds of thousands of households already in rent arrears, could lead to a major spike in illegal evictions in the coming weeks and months.

The warning followed reports that illegal evictions have already surged by 50 per cent in some areas since the start of the pandemic.

Our reporter, Ben Chapman, has the full story below:

Illegal evictions up 50 per cent since pandemic began

As hundreds of thousands of tenants fall into arrears and new rules mean landlords must give six months notice to evict, campaigners warn some property owners are taking law into their own hands

Conrad Duncan20 September 2020 16:58

That’s all from our live coverage of UK politics today - we will be back with more updates tomorrow.

Conrad Duncan20 September 2020 17:00

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in