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An eight-week interval between vaccine doses provides “much better” protection from coronavirus, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said, as he dismissed reports that the gap is due to be reduced from eight weeks to four.

Mr Zahawi also told Sky News he is “confident” that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce on Monday that COVID restrictions will be lifted on 19 July despite the surge in cases.

But he said new guidance issued by the PM will say people are “expected” to continue to wear face masks in crowded indoor settings, despite the legal requirement to do so ending from step four of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.

“I think it is important that we remain cautious and careful and the guidelines that we will set out tomorrow will demonstrate that – including guidelines that people are expected to wear masks in indoor, enclosed spaces,” Mr Zahawi said.

Earlier this week, when setting out the details of his planned unlocking for the fourth and final step of his roadmap on 19 July, the PM said from this point there will be no more legal requirement on wearing face masks in shops or on public transport.

However, Mr Zahawi’s comments on Sunday suggested more caution over lifting the policy of wearing face masks altogether.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green told Sky News the changing positions from government ministers is a “recipe for confusion” and said it could lead to “more confrontations”.

A final decision on England’s path out of restrictions is expected to be taken on Monday.

Wales has already deviated from the UK Government’s position on mask wearing, announcing that face masks will remain mandatory there in some public places until COVID-19 is no longer a public health threat.

Masks must still be worn in taxis, on trains and buses, as well as health and social care settings when coronavirus restrictions are eased, the Welsh government said.

Meanwhile, on vaccines, Mr Zahawi dismissed a story in The Sunday Times which suggested the gap between receiving the two doses of the COVID jab could be cut to four weeks.

“The real-world data, the clinical data suggests that actually the eight-week interval offers that additional fortification in terms of protection with the two doses, at much better than having the interval shortened any further,” he told Sky News.

Labour’s Ms Green said her party would support reducing the time interval between two jabs if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended it.

“The priority, of course now, is also to make sure that people who have not been vaccinated at all get the vaccine, and it is concerning that the rate of vaccinations is slowing and that some groups are still not being able to come forward and be vaccinated,” she told Sky News.

All over 18s are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in England.

Earlier this week, the government announced that from 16 August, double jabbed individuals and all children will no longer need to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19.

And Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also confirmed that fully vaccinated adults and all children will no longer have to quarantine on their return from amber list countries from 19 July.

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112 crypto companies urge Senate to protect developers in market structure bill

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112 crypto companies urge Senate to protect developers in market structure bill

112 crypto companies urge Senate to protect developers in market structure bill

Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, a16z and others pressed the Senate to add explicit protections for developers and non-custodial services in the market structure bill.

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After six months of planning, Reform’s immigration policy is as clear as mud

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After six months of planning, Reform's immigration policy is as clear as mud

Reform’s plan was meant to be detailed. Instead, there’s more confusion.

The party had grown weary of the longstanding criticism that their tough talk on immigration did not come with a full proposal for what they would do to tackle small boats if they came to power.

So, after six months of planning, yesterday they attempted to put flesh on to the bones of their flagship policy.

Politics latest: Farage rows back on pledge to deport illegal migrant women and girls

At an expensive press conference in a vast airhanger in Oxford, the headline news was clear: Reform UK would deport anyone who comes here by small boat, arresting, detaining and then deporting up to 600,000 people in the first five years of governing.

They would leave international treaties and repeal the Human Rights Act to do it

But, one day later, that policy is clear as mud when it comes to who this would apply to.

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Nigel Farage launched an airport-style departures board to illustrate how many illegal migrants have arrived in the UK. Pic: PA
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Nigel Farage launched an airport-style departures board to illustrate how many illegal migrants have arrived in the UK. Pic: PA

I asked Farage at the time of the announcement whether this would apply to women and girls – an important question – as the basis for their extreme policy seemed to hinge on the safety of women and girls in the UK.

He was unequivocal: “Yes, women and children, everybody on arrival will be detained.

“And I’ve accepted already that how we deal with children is a much more complicated and difficult issue.”

But a day later, he appeared to row back on this stance at a press conference in Scotland, saying Reform is “not even discussing women and children at this stage”.

Read more:
Farage has a new ‘leave’ campaign – here’s how it could work

He later clarified that if a single woman came by boat, then they could fall under the policy, but if “a woman comes with children, we will work out the best thing to do”.

A third clarification in the space of 24 hours on a flagship policy they worked on over six months seems like a pretty big gaffe, and it only feeds into the Labour criticism that these plans aren’t yet credible.

If they had hoped to pivot from rhetoric to rigour, this announcement showed serious pitfalls.

But party strategists probably will not be tearing out too much hair over this, with polling showing Reform UK still as the most trusted party on the issue of immigration overall.

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Crypto trader ups MEXC ‘bounty’ to $2.5M after in-person KYC request

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Crypto trader ups MEXC ‘bounty’ to .5M after in-person KYC request

Crypto trader ups MEXC ‘bounty’ to .5M after in-person KYC request

The “White Whale” increased his social media pressure campaign to $2.5 million after claiming that MEXC requested an in-person KYC verification in Malaysia.

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