A historian suggested that the government can only "hold the present" by "twisting history".

Shoppers said basic fruit and vegetables were missing in supermarkets across the country.

Thornberry said the government's response to the party crisis was "pathetic", in a withering broadcast round.

The foreign secretary belatedly threw her weight behind Johnson as the Partygate scandal rolls on.

Government advice suggested that Londoners should avoid physical activity because of poor air quality.

Scotland Yard indicated it would wait until Sue Gray concludes her report before deciding whether to launch a criminal probe.

“As fellow believers in liberty and democracy, we should be capable of reaching an agreement that delivers for Northern Ireland and allows us to unleash the full potential of our relationship,” Truss claimed.

Despite the seemingly tiny benefit, Tory secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan promised New Delhi “everything is on the table”, including loosening access for Indian citizens to come to the UK.

Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard said anyone who has ever been to one of his parties is “free to disagree”, but “however bad they have been”, he hopes “no one has actually left one thinking they’d been at work”.