Keir Starmer calls for full national lockdown within 24 hours
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to announce a full national lockdown in the next 24 hours.
The leader of the opposition said the Covid-19 pandemic was “clearly out of control” and urged the prime minister to act immediately.
“There’s no good the PM hinting that further restrictions are coming in a week or two or three,” he told reporters.
“That delay has been the source of so many problems, so I say bring in those national restrictions now, within the next 24 hours.”
It comes after Johnson hinted that the UK could be hit with tougher lockdown restrictions in the coming months.
The prime minister said this morning that he was “entirely reconciled to doing what it takes to get the virus down” and that this “may involve tougher measures in the weeks ahead”.
With much of the country already under strict tier 4 restrictions, a toughening of measures could mean a return to the national lockdown measures introduced last March.
It comes as Covid-19 cases in Britain have risen to record levels, with 57,725 new cases and a further 445 deaths recorded yesterday.
With millions of children set to return from their Christmas holidays this week, debate is growing over whether schools should be allowed to reopen.
Currently primary schools are set to go back across most of the country, while secondary schools will remain closed until at least 18 January, except for vulnerable children and children of frontline essential workers.
In addition to blanket school closures, tighter measures could include a ban on household mixing in all forms.