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Around 90 percent of coronavirus patients in intensive care units have not had a booster jab, prime minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday (December 29) - defending his decision not to tighten virus curbs in England. Speaking at a vaccination centre, Johnson urged people to get "vital" booster jabs, saying "the overwhelming majority" of those currently going into intensive care in our hospitals have not had the booster jab. "I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90 percent of people in intensive care who are not boosted," the prime minister added in Milton Keynes in Hertfordshire. Those who have not been vaccinated are "eight times more likely to get into hospital," he warned. The UK has been hit by a huge surge of the new Omicron variant, with England and Wales reporting record case numbers on Tuesday. The UK has been one of Europe's worst hit with a death toll of 148,021.

Prime minister Boris Johnson has said he is cautious about rising cases of Covid in Europe, warning of gathering "storm clouds" of a new wave of coronavirus infections. He made the statement during a visit today (November 12) to a vaccination centre at a community pharmacy in Sidcup, London while encouraging people to come forward for Covid-19 boosters. The UK has had much higher rates of Covid-19 than the rest of Western Europe since the summer when Johnson scrapped coronavirus restrictions in England. However, rates in Britain are now coming down just as they are rising sharply in countries such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Parts of Eastern Europe have also seen a sharp rise in cases.

Prime minister Boris Johnson received his Covid-19 booster shot on Thursday (December 2) and urged others to follow suit to help the country fend off the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Wearing a mask, Johnson briefly chatted to staff and others queuing for their shots at the vaccination centre in central London, asking them if they were there to receive a booster dose and thanking them for attending. Johnson, who said it could "have gone either way" when he was treated in hospital for Covid last year, was later filmed rolling up his shirt sleeve and receiving his shot. "Fantastic. Thank you so much," he said to the nurse, before receiving a badge that said "I've boosted my immunity".

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak on Monday (October 24) won the battle for leader of Britain's Conservative party and will become the country's first prime minister of colour. Penny Mordaunt, the last rival left after Boris Johnson dramatically pulled out, failed to secure the necessary 100 nominations from her fellow MPs. "Rishi Sunak is therefore elected as leader of the Conservative party," senior backbencher Graham Brady said, as Mordaunt pledged her "full support" for Sunak. Sunak's triumph came after Johnson's decision late Sunday to abandon his political comeback bid. Just weeks after he lost out to Liz Truss to lead the ruling Tories, Sunak therefore pulled off a stunning reversal in fortunes. The contest, triggered by outgoing leader Truss's resignation on Thursday, had required candidates to secure the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Monday.