UK PM gives reading at Battle of Britain service

British officials attended a memorial service at Westminster Abbey on Sunday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a major air campaign against Nazi Germany during World War II.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the service, which was attended by under 100 guests - a much smaller audience compared to the 2,000 people usually invited to the annual event - to allow for social distancing.

The Battle of Britain in 1940 saw 630 Royal Air Force fighters repel some 1,120 Luftwaffe aircraft sent to attack London, and led to Hitler postponing his plans to invade Britain.

Westminster Abbey has held a service to remember the 1,497 pilots and crew killed or mortally wounded in the battle every year since 1944.

On the coronavirus front, Britain has the worst death toll in Europe with over 41,800 confirmed virus deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Johnson's Conservative government has been criticized for its often-confusing handling of the outbreak.