Scott Challinor

The initial findings from senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report into Downing Street parties taking place while coronavirus restrictions were in place have been released.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said this week that the government will not go back on plans to increase National Insurance amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Following the conclusion of Sue Gray's inquiry into Downing Street lockdown gatherings, it is understood that the Metropolitan Police force has asked for “minimal reference” to be made in her final report to events it is looking into as part of its own probe.

US president Joe Biden has said that there is a “distinct possibility” that Russia will invade Ukraine in February, during a telephone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that he is not “ignoring” or “writing off” taxpayer’s money lost to fraud through the Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan scheme.

Sellafield Ltd has invested £1.8 million into improving mental health service provision in West Cumbria through its Social Impact, Multiplied programme.

At Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that he is “getting on with the job” of leading the country and will stay in post, despite Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer calling on him to resign.

The International Monetary Fund [IMF] has said that the UK economy is set to grow more slowly in 2022 than previous forecasts had suggested.

The Metropolitan Police has said that it will launch its own investigation into parties that were held in Downing Street during the Covid-19 pandemic, when social restrictions in place at the time prohibited such gatherings.

Hospitality business Becketts, a hotel and restaurant based in Southsea, Portsmouth, has been honoured with a Bronze Award of the Armed Forces Covenant.

Prime minister Boris Johnson has said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a “disastrous step”, after the Foreign Office withdrew part of its embassy staff workforce from the country.

Lord Agnew has resigned from his role as a minister for the Treasury after criticising the government’s handling of fraudulent applications for Covid Bounce Back Loan fraud.

Applications for the Royal College of Podiatry’s [RCPod] annual Leadership Programme are currently open, with a deadline of February 4 set to register one’s interest for the 2022 course.

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that it has been “worth it” to impose harsher social restrictions in the country over the festive period to curb coronavirus transmission, despite the “very adverse” effects these have had on the hospitality sector and other businesses.

As we look to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic as a country, Gillian Sewell, CEO of YMCA Derbyshire, is optimistic that the general public will now look at social inequalities such as poverty in a new light, paving the way for positive change that will elevate the social status of many.