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12.17pm GMT
The race for a coronavirus vaccine has received another shot in the arm with the US biotech firm Moderna becoming the latest to reveal impressive results from phase 3 trials of its jab, my colleague Ian Sample reports.
Related: Moderna Covid vaccine candidate almost 95% effective, trials show
12.15pm GMT
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has failed to deny a report saying the Treasury is considering charging people to use roads to compensate for the loss of revenue as people switch to electric vehicles, which do not require people to pay fuel duty.
According to a story in today’s Times (paywall), in the long run the replacement of diesel and petrol vehicles could cost the government up to £40bn a year. Sunak is said to be “very interested” in road pricing (ie, charging drivers to use the roads) as an alternative.
Mr Sunak is said to be “very interested” in the idea of a national road pricing scheme despite concerns in the Treasury about the cost of the green agenda, including that revenues from fuel duty, one of the government’s largest revenue earners, are set to vanish.
A government source said that the issue was “increasingly pressing”, adding that the Treasury had drawn up an analysis outlining potential options for a national road pricing scheme. The source said that a scheme was not “imminent” but that plans were being developed as the government considered how to hit its target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050.
Continue reading…Latest updates: more MPs in self-isolation after meeting with PM and Lee Anderson, who later tested positive for Covid Second vaccine candidate almost 95% effective, trials showWhat does the Moderna vaccine mean for fight against Covid?Boris Johnson ‘bursting with antibodies’ as he is told to self-isolateHow did it happen? PM’s meeting with Covid-positive MPGlobal coronavirus updates – live 12.17pm GMTThe race for a coronavirus vaccine has received another shot in the arm with the US biotech firm Moderna becoming the latest to reveal impressive results from phase 3 trials of its jab, my colleague Ian Sample reports. Related: Moderna Covid vaccine candidate almost 95% effective, trials show 12.15pm GMTRishi Sunak, the chancellor, has failed to deny a report saying the Treasury is considering charging people to use roads to compensate for the loss of revenue as people switch to electric vehicles, which do not require people to pay fuel duty.According to a story in today’s Times (paywall), in the long run the replacement of diesel and petrol vehicles could cost the government up to £40bn a year. Sunak is said to be “very interested” in road pricing (ie, charging drivers to use the roads) as an alternative.Mr Sunak is said to be “very interested” in the idea of a national road pricing scheme despite concerns in the Treasury about the cost of the green agenda, including that revenues from fuel duty, one of the government’s largest revenue earners, are set to vanish.A government source said that the issue was “increasingly pressing”, adding that the Treasury had drawn up an analysis outlining potential options for a national road pricing scheme. The source said that a scheme was not “imminent” but that plans were being developed as the government considered how to hit its target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050. Continue reading…