The former prime minister seems determined to drag the Tories down with him when the public hearings into Britain’s handling of the pandemic begin

It is almost a year to the day since it finally dawned on most Conservatives that Boris Johnson would ultimately have to go. And yet, a whole two prime ministers later, it’s almost as if he never left.

This time last May, he was trying to bluster his way out of trouble following the publication of Sue Gray’s report describing how cleaners found wine stains up the walls after lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street. Fast forward a year and here he is again, cornered at an airport, harrumphing that it’s “absurd” to think he might have done something wrong just because Cabinet Office lawyers working on his defence at the Covid inquiry identified from his own diaries several new potential breaches of Covid regulations requiring investigation. (If this is the defence, imagine the case for the prosecution.) Back to the drawing board for the cross-party Commons privileges committee, then, which had almost finished its report on whether he lied to parliament about lockdown parties and must now be wondering whether this will ever end.

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Broadcaster’s ‘talented and kind’ health and science editor had been recently diagnosed with lung cancer

Tributes have been paid to Emily Morgan, ITV News’ health and science editor, who has died aged 45, the broadcaster announced.

Morgan, whose career with the channel spanned more than two decades, was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and died on Friday night surrounded by her family.

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Former prime minister says Cabinet Office gave entries to the Met police without checking their contents

Boris Johnson has insisted the idea that evidence in diaries given to police might suggest further lockdown rule-breaking during the Covid pandemic is “absolute nonsense”.

The former prime minister said a Cabinet Office decision to give entries from his official diary to the police without checking their contents with him was “ridiculous”.

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The Yale professor and long Covid expert on why the virus is causing ongoing illness for so many, and the challenges she faces as a woman of colour in science

According to the most recent estimates, more than 65 million people worldwide may be living with some form of long Covid, a startling number that will only continue to increase, given the lack of available treatment options.

One of the scientists leading the race to try to unravel the complexities of long Covid is Akiko Iwasaki , an immunology professor at Yale School of Medicine. Iwasaki has been at the forefront of numerous research breakthroughs throughout the course of the pandemic, from understanding why men were more vulnerable to the Sars-CoV-2 virus , the autoimmunity that made some people unexpectedly susceptible, and why a small minority have experienced heart inflammation in response to the Covid-19 vaccines. Most recently, Iwasaki has been awarded the prestigious Else Kröner Fresenius Prize for Medical Research , worth €2.5m (£2.2m), in part due to her ongoing work on long Covid.

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Banks Bourne, sole owner of Tanner Pharma in North Carolina, took sum from Tanner’s UK arm, records show

An American banker was paid a £73m dividend in 2021 after his firm won hundreds of millions in Covid contracts, figures show.

Banks Bourne, the sole owner of the medical company Tanner Pharma, took the sum from Tanner’s UK division, Companies House records show.

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Findings prompt concerns about long-term impact of cost-of-living crisis on poorer students’ life chances

Pupils whose families turned to food banks during the pandemic fared worse at GCSE than expected, losing half a grade per subject on average, according to a study.

Researchers said pupils’ grades were lower, even after taking into account their prior attainment and some aspects of household finances.

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Nearly 1,000 students attempt group action against UCL, accusing it of breaking promises

Lawyers representing almost 1,000 current and former students, whose studies were affected by Covid and strike action, told the high court in London their clients felt “cheated” by their educational experience and should be entitled to seek compensation through the courts.

They are seeking to bring a claim against University College London (UCL), accusing it of breaking its “promises”, after tuition was moved online and access to libraries and laboratories restricted during the pandemic, with no discount to their “eye-watering” tuition fees.

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Spokesperson says Rishi Sunak not involved in decision to hand over evidence of Chequers gatherings to police

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Downing Street has denied Boris Johnson is the victim of a politically motivated stitch-up, as Rishi Sunak sought to distance himself from a fresh police investigation into further Partygate claims.

To quell fury from the former prime minister’s allies, No 10 stressed Sunak had no involvement in the decision to hand over Johnson’s pandemic diaries, which were said to reveal more rule-breaking events at Chequers.

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Records of visits were allegedly found in official diary by lawyers as they were preparing for Covid public inquiry

Boris Johnson has been referred to police by the Cabinet Office over claims he broke lockdown rules by hosting family and friends at Chequers during the pandemic.

The visits to the former prime minister’s grace-and-favour residence were found in his official diary by his government-funded lawyers as they were preparing for the public inquiry into the Covid pandemic.

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