Bomb disposal experts have been called to the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant to help dispose of chemicals stored at the site that were discovered to have "changed state" during a routine inspection, the British government said on Friday.

Britain will buy potential COVID-19 vaccines from U.S. drugmakers Johnson & Johnson and Novavax Inc , the companies said on Friday, boosting the number of deals it has with drugmakers as the global vaccine race rages on.

The European Union has agreed to buy at least 300 million doses of AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine in its first such advance purchase deal, which could weaken plans led by the World Health Organization (WHO) for a global approach.

Britons rushed home from summer holidays in France on Friday after their government said it would soon impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers from across the Channel due to rising coronavirus infections there.

Two migrant workers from Myanmar on death row in Thailand for the 2014 murder of two British backpackers had their sentences commuted to life in prison on Friday thanks to a royal decree, their lawyer said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday ordered the reopening of the economy in England to resume as data showed a recent rise in COVID-19 infections had now levelled off.

Britain extended lockdown restrictions on regions of northwest England on Friday, saying there was no evidence that the COVID-19 infection rate in the area had fallen.

COVID-19 infections in England have levelled off after increasing in July, the Office for National Statistics' Infection Survey showed on Friday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson resumes the easing of lockdown.

This year's Notting Hill Carnival will swap the streets of West London for computer screens around the world, as the event turns online-only due to the coronavirus pandemic, streaming hours of music and performance.

British transport minister Grant Shapps on Friday rejected the idea that travellers should receive compensation for having to quarantine on their return, even if it affected their ability to work, saying people knew the risks of travel.