Telegraph Media Group has reached a record 522,000 paying subscribers to its digital and print journalism, the company said on Thursday. 

Digital subscription growth increased dramatically during the first eight months of the year, driven by strong interest in coronavirus coverage, according to a trading update from the company that publishes the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk.

The milestone of 500,000 paying subscribers was passed in May and the total as of 8 September was 522,000 - a 23.4pc growth rate for the year to date.

Subscribers increased by 60,000 (16.4pc) from 363,000 in December 2018 to 423,000 by December last year. The company now has 6.8m registered users, up from 3.6m in December 2018.

Nick Hugh, chief executive of Telegraph Media Group, said: "2019 represented another successful year for TMG as we continued our transformation to a...

Coronavirus has begun spreading through care homes and infecting vulnerable patients again, the Government has admitted in a nationwide alert issued to providers and local authorities.

A letter, seen by The Telegraph, was issued late on Friday urging bosses to "take necessary action to prevent and limit outbreaks" amid rising infection rates among the elderly.

The letter, written by Stuart Miller, the director of adult social care delivery at the Department of Health and Social Care, warns all care providers, local authority chief executives and directors of adult social care that there are the "first signs" of rising infections being "reflected in care homes".

He writes: "Over the past three days, Public Health England has reported an increase in notifications of Covid-19 cases in care homes. Testing data has also shown an increase in the number of positive results.

"Currently, the infections are mainly affecting the workforce, but clearly there...

A Tory MP who called for the abolition of the energy and broadcasting watchdogs has been appointed to lead a review of Britain's competition laws.

John Penrose, a former minister who described Ofcom and Ofgem's powers as "as out of date as the horse and cart", is understood to have been asked to draw up proposals to address the problem in time for Rishi Sunak's autumn Budget.

The move suggests senior ministers are mulling an overhaul of the country's competition laws and regulators, which Mr Penrose claimed have allowed consumers to increasingly "end up paying more than they used to for the same things" and make the economy "less efficient and productive".

In a 2018 pamphlet, Mr Penrose proposed scrapping the current communications, energy and water industry watchdogs and replacing them with a single body that would  also cover tech giants such as Google and Facebook.

It comes after Chancellor Mr Sunak – who...

Up to 4.5 million people deemed to be at risk of serious illness from Covid-19 will be asked to stay at home or given tailored advice on protecting themselves if cases of the virus return to dangerous levels, The Telegraph can reveal.

Letters containing specific advice for the recipient will be targeted at individuals identified using a new "risk model" based on factors such as their underlying health conditions, age, sex and weight.

Initially, the shielding programme is due to operate in local areas experiencing sufficiently severe levels of infections, but a Whitehall source said: "If the rate is so concerning across the whole of England, we are prepared to do it on a blanket basis." (Use the graphic below to find out about coronavirus cases in your local area)

Rishi Sunak is considering a multi-billion pound tax cut to encourage big companies to invest in machinery and factories as part of his bid to jump-start the economy after the damage wrought by Covid-19.

The Chancellor is understood to be studying plans to give firms a full tax break on capital investment, such as technology, machinery and industrial premises, allowing them to immediately deduct the costs from their bills.

Senior Tories believe such a move could encourage investment among firms otherwise reluctant to do so as a result of the financial hit from coronavirus and rising debt. Mr Sunak is understood to be concerned about current levels of investment by UK firms.

Research in the US has shown that such a tax break, known as "full expensing", could increase investment by 17.5 per cent and wages by 2.5 per cent. Earlier this year, the Centre for Policy Studies think tank claimed the scheme "would mean...

Britain is preparing to opt out of major parts of European human rights laws, risking an explosive new row with the EU.

Boris Johnson's aides and ministers are drawing up proposals to severely curb the use of human rights laws in areas in which judges have "overreached".

The plans under discussion include opt-outs from the Human Rights Act, which could prevent many migrants and asylum seekers from using the legislation to avoid deportation and protect British soldiers against claims relating to overseas operations. The Act allows British courts to apply the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The move sets up a major new confrontation with the EU, which has been demanding that the UK commits to remaining signed up to the ECHR and keep the Human Rights Act in place as the price of future "law enforcement co-operation" between the bloc and Britain.

As Boris Johnson faced a major revolt over his decision to...

Extinction Rebellion could be treated as an organised crime group as part of a major crackdown on its activities that may also include new protections for MPs, judges and the press, The Telegraph can disclose.

Whitehall sources said Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have asked officials to take a "fresh look" at how the group is classified under the law, after the Prime Minister described its blockading of major printing presses as "completely unacceptable". 

On Saturday, police were criticised for failing to act more quickly after the blockade began on Friday evening.

Hertfordshire police faced anger for stating that officers were “working to facilitate the rights of both the protesters and those affected by their presence” but protesters were not cooperating.  

"It's clear they're not your normal protest group, so you have to look at them in a different way," said one Whitehall source.

Ministers are also considering new powers...