A husband with terminal bowel cancer fears the coronavirus outbreak means he'll never hug his wife again – and has begged the British public to respect the lockdown so he might get to live a normal life for a short time before he dies. Simon Cowls and his wife Ali bought a humble campervan to create some final memories together. This month, they were due to set off from their Devon house on their dream roadtrip through the British countryside. Instead, Mr Cowls spends each night alone in the van, parked in their backyard, in an effort to shield his vulnerable immune system from the threat of coronavirus. Image: Simon Cowls sleeps in the pullout tent of his campervan to sheild himself from society He kisses his wife goodnight via Skype. The 51-year-old is on antibody treatment that puts him in what the NHS has classified as the highest risk group, forcing him to self-isolate – even from his own wife – for 23 hours a day. Advertisement When he does see her for one hour, he..

Boris Johnson revealed 20,000 ex-NHS staff have returned to the service to help fight coronavirus – as he used a video message from quarantine to contradict Margaret Thatcher. Mr Johnson, who is holed up in Number 11 after being diagnosed with COVID-19, made reference in his Sunday evening video to the former Tory prime minister's infamous "no such thing as society" quote. "One thing I think the coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society," said Mr Johnson. In the two-and-a-half minute message, the prime minister paid tribute to former NHS staff who were returning during the coronavirus outbreak. "Just this evening I can tell you we have 20,000 NHS staff coming back to the colours – doctors and nurses – it's a most amazing thing," he said. Advertisement Mr Johnson also thanked the 750,000 civilian volunteers who have come forward to help during the crisis, and pharmacists for "not only dispensing vital medicines but also, very..

The NHS has enlisted easyJet and Virgin Atlantic to help staff the new Nightingale hospitals being built to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. First-aid trained cabin crew of both airlines have been invited to volunteer at the new Nightingale Hospital, a 4,000-bed field hospital, being prepared at the ExCel centre in east London, and those planned in Birmingham and Manchester. Those who join up will be given expert training and will then perform support roles such as changing beds under the guidance of trained nurses. Their salaries will continue to be paid by the airlines. EasyJet has already written to its 9,000 UK-based staff including 4,000 cabin crew trained in CPR to invite them to give their time to the NHS. Image: NHS Nightingale in London is just days away from opening at the Excel centre Virgin Atlantic will begin writing to 4,000 of its employees on Monday and will prioritise getting in touch with those who already have the required skills. Advertisement Ashley Ja..

EasyJet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Monday, the no-frills carrier said it completed its final rescue flight on Sunday and was now about to place its cabin crew on a two-month leave of absence. The airline said: "As a result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of national lockdowns across many European countries, easyJet has, today, fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft. Cabin crew support medics at 'crucial time' "Over recent days easyJet has been helping to repatriate customers, having operated more than 650 rescue flights to date, returning home more than 45,000 customers. "The last of these rescue flights were operated on Sunday March 29. We will continue to work with government bodies to operate additional rescue flights as requested. Advertisement "At this stage there can b..

Mercedes and McLaren are among a host of British Formula One teams helping a project to make breathing aids for coronavirus patients in the UK. Haas F1, Red Bull Racing, Renault Sport Racing, Williams and Racing Point are also involved in the project to create thousands of the device, known as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), to help keep those diagnosed with COVID-19 out of intensive care. The teams are part of a wider consortium of UK-based industrial, technology and engineering businesses that have joined forces to produce medical ventilators, with the government placing an order for more than 10,000. Production is due to begin in earnest as the group, named the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium, has spent the past week evaluating how best to design, manufacture, assemble and test all the needed components. The group says it has agreed a new design, assembled from materials and parts already in production, and that it anticipates swift approval as regulators have bee..

Emergency legislation to stop convicted terrorists being released early could be introduced as soon as this week, a senior minister has told Sky News. Michael Gove said the government wants to change the law "as early as possible" in the wake of the Streatham attack. Sudesh Amman, 20, stabbed two people a week after being released halfway through his sentence for spreading extremist material. Image: Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman and London Bridge attacker Usman Khan were both let out early Police have said the attack in south London on Sunday is believed to have been "Islamist-inspired". Usman Khan, who killed two people in the London Bridge attack last year, was also released early. Advertisement Under the plans, terror prisoners – including ones currently in jail – would not be allowed out until they have served two thirds of their sentence and until the Parole Board has agreed. The current maximum penalties for offenders will also be reviewed. More from Streatham Terr..

By Inzamam Rashid, news correspondent, and Sunita Patel-Carstairs, news reporter The father of Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman has told Sky News he spoke to his son a day before the attack and told him "not to be naughty". Faraz Khan, who left the UK three months ago, said he learned about his son's death from a cousin who messaged him. Amman was under police surveillance when he stabbed two people in south London while wearing a fake suicide vest before he was shot dead by officers. Tracking terror suspects explained "I spoke to Sudesh one day before he passed away. I didn't know he had become radicalised," said Mr Khan. He said his son spoke to him about religion and Islam: "He was reciting the Quran to me and he was translating that to me. Advertisement "He's never spoken to me about these kind of things. He would never talk to me about naughty things. "I heard they found a lot of things and I saw them on the news, but I never thought he would go this fa..

John Bercow has said accusations he "brutalised" parliamentary staff and politicians are "total and utter rubbish". In an interview with Sky News, the former speaker of the House of Commons called former Black Rod David Leakey, who made the accusations in late January, "completely and utterly ignorant". Mr Leakey, who was Black Rod until February 2018, accused Mr Bercow of bullying him over the years and said several highly-ranked parliamentary staff and politicians told him privately they were bullied by Mr Bercow. Image: David Leakey has filed a complaint against John Bercow In his first broadcast interview since the accusations were made, Mr Bercow told Sky News that the claims were "total and utter rubbish from start to finish". He said: "First point is that David Leakey didn't work for me, he wasn't employed by me, he wasn't employed by the House of Commons. Advertisement "He worked in and was protocol officer of the House of Lords. He is in absolutely no ..

FTSE 100 index closes 113 points up Commodity stocks drive the index higher US indices up 5.05pm: FTSE 100 firmly higher FTSE 100 index joined global equity markets to close higher on Tuesday as traders picked up on a more positive vibe from China and Europe. The UK's premier index of shares closed up over 113 points at 7,439. The FTSE 250 gained over 279 points at 21,439. Wall Street too was surging with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up over 475 points at 28,875. The S&P 500 gained over 52 points. "The Dow Jones as well as the S&P 500 are higher on the session as the rebound in equities continues," noted analyst David Madden, at CMC Markets. "The S&P 500 has now recovered all the losses that were posted on Friday, which is a positive sign. US factory orders jumped by 1.8% in December, which was a sharp rebound from the 1.2% registered in November," he added. Top risers on Footsie were the resource giants like Evraz (LON:EVR), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and BP (LON:BP.). Over i..

Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) shares jumped by 7% at the open on Tuesday, after the company revealed it has completed initial due diligence at the Alamo project in Arizona. The Alamo project shows evidence of possible epithermal mineralisation related to a deep-seated porphyry intrusion. Evidence of intrusive dykes and structural conduits also support the prospectivity of the project. Greatland Gold PLC (LON:GGP) has intersected high-grade gold mineralisation from its maiden diamond drilling programme at Derby North, a prospect within the Company's 100% owned Warrentinna project in Tasmania, Australia. Among the highlights was a 21.7 metre intercept grading 3.3 grams per tonne gold from a depth of 9.3 metres. Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP) is expecting to finalise its drill schedule later this month for the NJOM-3 well, offshore Cameroon. The explorer, in a statement, told investors that Geoquip Marines survey vessel MV Investigator is presently in the anticipated NJOM-3 ar..