Media mogul Rupert Murdoch received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday night, it has been confirmed.

The 89-year-old - born in Australia and a US resident - has been isolating at his home in Henley, Oxfordshire since the summer and received a call from his local GP to inform him that he was eligible for vaccination.

The two-injection vaccine became available in the UK earlier this month and is first being offered to people aged 80 and over, as well as key health workers.

In a statement, Murdoch - owner of titles such as The Sun - said: "I would like to thank the key workers and the NHS staff who have worked so hard throughout the pandemic, and the amazing scientists who have made this vaccine possible.

"I strongly encourage people around the world to get the vaccine as it becomes available."

Almost 140,000 received the vaccine in its first week but the government hopes to vaccinate at least 1 million people every week by next Spring.