“The inquiry must have the strongest possible powers given the shocking failures on protective equipment for staff and the slow response of the Government."

Dominic Raab will stand in for Boris Johnson, with up to 50 MPs permitted to attend in person.

Osborne's austerity cuts were blamed for the first stall in UK life expectancy in 100 years.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock praised the ‘rapid progress’ being made into vaccines by scientists at Oxford and Imperial College London.

It was previously claimed that a communication problem had resulted in the UK not participating in the scheme.

The Magpies are reportedly on the verge of being sold to a Saudi-backed consortium which involves Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for around £300m.

Ephraim Mirvis, who strongly criticised Jeremy Corbyn, said the new Labour leader’s efforts to rebuild trust were ‘heartening’.

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said the industry was the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for the British economy.

Northumbria Police released footage of the ‘appalling’ incident, in which Charlene Merrifield coughed at an officer in the back of a police van.