Latest updates: infections rise in secondary school-age children and over 50s in England, with increases in Wales and Scotland too
- Wales to require NHS Covid passes to attend nightclubs and events
- UK scientist warns over relaxation of Covid travel rules
- Johnson’s revamped cabinet cram into office – with no masks
- Michael Gove set to pause contentious planning shake-up
- Coronavirus global updates – live
At his news conference the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, rejected the idea that his plan to make Covid passes compulsory for some venues (see 12.14pm) was a vaccination passport in all but name, pointing out it was possible to get a pass by taking a lateral flow test. He said:
They are clearly not vaccine passports, you can get a Covid pass without being vaccinated. It avoids those difficult ethical issues of people who cannot be vaccinated.
We will consider over the next few days whether to introduce a special offence of knowingly and deliberately falsifying a Covid pass.
At cabinet this morning Boris Johnson told his ministers they had “a record of getting things done”, Downing Street said. Summing up what happened at cabinet, the prime minister’s spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened cabinet by congratulating members on their appointments, saying he was delighted to have such a strong team in place to build back better from the pandemic and deliver on the priorities of the public.
He set out that this government has a record of getting things done, including delivering on Brexit and taking on one of the most difficult questions that has bedevilled British governments for decades through the health and care levy which will fix the social care system and enable our NHS to bounce back from the pandemic.
