With the prime minister facing damaging claims about his conduct, he is expected to urge ministers to focus on everyday concerns when he chairs a cabinet meeting later. Boris Johnson has described as "total rubbish" reports he said he would rather see "bodies pile high" than approve a third lockdown. Meanwhile, No 10 faces scrutiny over the funding of decorations for the prime minister's Downing Street flat, after former aide Dominic Cummings alleged there had been plans to have donors "secretly pay".

No 10 says Mr Johnson personally met the "costs of wider refurbishment", and the UK's top civil servant Simon Case told MPs Mr Johnson had asked him to review how it was funded. A senior government source told the Telegraph ministers "must stay totally focused on the public's priorities", such as fighting Covid, delivering vaccines and creating jobs. However, our political editor Laura Kuenssberg says Labour believes the furore is starting to be noticed by voters and that one cabinet minister told her "there's nothing we can do to control it".
 

• Five questions for the PM - and why the answers matter

Among concerns about the effects of lockdown have been fears children's development stalled. Now data from 50,000 pupils and a survey of schools across England reveals 20-25% more children who started in September needed help with language than in the previous year. The Education Endowment Foundation research suggests the youngest children have been deprived of social contact and experiences essential for increasing vocabulary. It's worrying because evidence indicates poor speech development can have long-term effects on learning. The government says it's investing £18m in early-years catch-up. Concerned about your child's language skills? We have five tips to boost vocab.

With US regulators yet to approve use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, Washington has come under fire for hoarding doses. Now, the White House says it will share enough for up to 60 million jabs with other countries. It expects about 10 million doses to be released when the federal Food and Drug Administration finishes its review in the coming weeks. Another 50 million are in production and will undergo quality checks by officials ahead of export, it says. The Biden administration had already said it would send raw materials to vaccine manufacturers in India, amid pressure to act over the devastating surge in cases there.

More uncomfortable headlines for the prime minister lead the front pages. The i says half those questioned in an opinion poll said there was a "culture of sleaze" within government. "Slurry of sleaze" is the Metro's take, as it uses a picture of Boris Johnson visiting a farm, with the caption "talking bull?" And while the PM insists claims he said he would rather "bodies pile high" than enter a third lockdown are "total rubbish", the Daily Mail describes Mr Johnson as "on the ropes". The Times alleges he initially told aides he would rather let Covid "rip" before imposing the second lockdown. The paper quotes No 10 calling it a "gross distortion of his position".

Read about the newly crowned Mastermind champion - at 24, the youngest in the quiz programme's history - who sealed victory thanks to his flawless knowledge of the comedy song-writing duo Flanders and Swann. And Sir Tom Jones might be pop royalty but - ahead of the release of a very personal album - he tells us he's never been considered "cool". Plus, his battles with US censors, missing out on first dibs at a Beatles classic written for him by Paul McCartney and how he's kept his voice "young".

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