Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were happy to let people die from covid, inquiry hears

Boris Johnson has lashed out at some of the “absolutely absurd” characterisations of the partygate debacle as he completed two days of at-times combative and emotional evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson fought back tears as he recalled his time in hospital with Covid-19. He also dismissed accusations that he was indifferent to the country's suffering during the crisis.

Boris Johnson has claimed he "got on very well" with Nicola Sturgeon when they worked together.

The UK Government’s Rwanda plans are a “real dark day” for the country, Humza Yousaf has said.

British TV vet Samir Shah has been unveiled as the new BBC Chair, coming with a major decision on the licence fee imminent.

Rod Stewart - who recently collaborated with Jools Holland on a new album - has called out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak regarding MRI scans.

The Scottish Covid Bereaved expect Boris Johnson to give "a grotesque distortion of the truth" when he appears at the UK Covid Inquiry this week.

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has denied deleting WhatsApp messages from February to June 2020. It comes after it was revealed that he had been unable to provide his communications to the Covid-19 inquiry due to a 'technical issue'.

Rishi Sunak has refuted claims that he said it was "OK" to let people die from coronavirus. The allegations surfaced from a diary entry by Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK Government's chief scientific adviser during the pandemic, which was shared with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

The love pairing of flirty, late-era Millennial Harry (Paul Mescal) and the shy, fringe Gen X-er Adam (Andrew Scott) isn’t what you’d necessarily expect in most contemporary gay love affairs, let alone in Andrew Haigh’s sublime new drama, “All of Us Strangers.” But, lonely living in a barely occupied London apartment tower can make for unexpected and literal bedfellows. In the context of the film, it also leads to several intimate cinematic scenes that are both emotionally moving and, well, quite erotic.

NME following the city’s inaugural Beyond the Music conference about how he hopes it will “galvanise” the music industry as issues affecting the industry fall on “deaf ears” at Westminster.Last month’s Beyond the Music explored multiple crises the music industry is currently facing, such as the future of grassroots venues and the continuing impact of Brexit on UK musicians struggling to tour Europe.On the latter, Burnham said “it’s just wrong” that the careers of young musicians are still suffering as they continue to face difficulties touring Europe post-Brexit.At the conference in October, Burnham discussed the “ridiculous” Brexit rules for artists travelling around Europe. Back in 2021, the UK music industry spoke out on how they had essentially been handed a “No Deal Brexit” when the government failed to negotiate visa-free travel and Europe-wide work permits for musicians and crew.Despite trying to raise these issues with ministers, Burnham told NME it’s still falling on “deaf ears” as the government continues to ignore the chaos Brexit has caused as artists struggle to navigate “all kinds of hidden obstacles” to performing in Europe.“It’s so frustrating, particularly given that Europe offered a better arrangement and in the rhetoric of Brexit, it got turned down,” he explained, referring to Boris Johnson’s rejection of a deal for artists proposed by Europe.

UK agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates has hired Sara Johnson and Julie Fernandez, co-founders of Bridge06. 

A string of high-profile figures from the entertainment world attended a march against antisemitism on the streets of London yesterday, in what is thought to be the biggest rally of its kind for nearly 90 years.

Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith hopes Scotland will “lead the way” by passing new laws on assisted dying.

First Dates star Fred Sirieix started a rumble in the I’m A Celebrity jungle when he attacked Nigel Farage over Brexit and branded his campaign as "shameful".

The Covid-19 Inquiry has heard that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was "bamboozled" by the graphs and data presented to him by scientists during the pandemic. Diary entries by former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance were shown to the inquiry on Monday as Sir Patrick described dealing with the former prime minister.

UK Music Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl has urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to respond to the music industry’s concerns around artificial intelligence (AI) by introducing some form of legal protection around the developing technology.Kiehl and UK Music have suggested that AI could be a form of “music laundering,” opening up a potential means for creatives to not receive compensation for their work.Sunak recently insisted that “the UK’s answer is not to rush to regulate” the use of artificial intelligence.In a letter to the PM, Kiehl urged copyright protection on music and emphasises that AI firms consent to use artists’ copyright-protected work.“Machine learning involves numerous rights, including copyright, which in most countries are not subject to an exception that restricts creators and rightsholders’ abilities to exercise their rights,” he wrote. “As a general principle, the use of music during the ingestion process (in the past, present and future) should always require permission from the creator and the rightsholder.”He adds: “Failure to ensure this basic human right will jeopardise thousands of UK jobs and threaten the fragile talent pipeline on which the music industry relies to nurture the music professionals who are the envy of the world.”He also emphasised the importance of transparency elsewhere in the letter.

“Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival” — out Nov. 28 — detailed how Harry and William, the heir to the throne, feuded as their late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was taking her final breaths.Palace insiders tore into Scobie’s claims that William “ignored” his brother’s desperate calls as he raced to be at the Queen’s bedside in Balmoral last September.“It appears no matter what happens behind closed doors, even in a time of such pain and grief, that where the royal family are concerned it will one day emerge,” a royal insider told the Mirror.“Nothing is off limits with William and Kate appearing to be this author’s number one target.

Madame Web” is debuting its first trailer, showcasing a little bit of what’s to come next year. The film, starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney teases a lot in a few minutes, including the women debuting their Spider-Man-like super powers and abilities. Stella Banderas wishes happy birthday to dad Antonio Banderas and mom Melanie GriffithRiley Keough opens up about her teen friendship with Dakota Johnson“Madame Web” appears to be a thriller of sorts, following Johnson’s characters as she gets acquainted with some new spider-like abilities and tries to solve a mystery.

Madame Web, and and are the latest additions to the ever-growing MCU-adjacent crew.Their upcoming film, Madame Web, is Sony's first female-centric Marvel superhero film. The project (directed by Jessica Jones alum S.J.