Members of Parliament will vote later Tuesday on the proposed tier system as the country prepares to come out of lockdown. Critics say the measures will devastate businesses, especially pubs, which face some of the tightest restrictions. Johnson urged legislators to back the measures, saying the country must “hold our nerve” until vaccines are approved and distributed. But pubs and restaurants face strict limits in Tier 2 and closure in the topmost Tier 3. Other parts of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are all following their own local restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.

LONDON The British government announced Saturday that it will no longer allow fracking because of new scientific analysis that casts doubts on the safety of the controversial practice, but some critics called the action an election stunt and demanded a permanent ban. "For this reason, I have concluded that we should put a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect," she said. The government's new position was announced at the start of what is expected to be a hard-fought campaign ahead of a Dec. 12 national election. Activist Maureen Mills from the Halsall Against Fracking group, said the decision was welcome because fracking had taken an "immeasurable" toll on her region of northwestern England. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called the move "an election stunt" that would likely be reversed the day after the vote if Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still in power.

The United Kingdom has urged the return of an American diplomat's spouse who left the country while a suspect in a fatal traffic collision. Northamptonshire Police Superintendent Sarah Johnson said in a statement on Saturday that a 42-year-old American woman "being treated as a suspect in our investigation into a fatal road traffic collision... has left the country." Harry Dunn, 19, died in the accident while riding his motorbike, according to a statement from his family. Unfortunately, we were latterly advised that the waiver had been declined and that the suspect had left the UK." She added that the suspect "must return to the UK to face justice."