Fury at Boris’s last-minute Christmas’ u-turn as Britons complain it’s ‘just in time for everyone to have spent money on presents, food and booze’
- Prime Minister summons press conference after holding crisis talks with Cabinet
- Extraordinary U-turn has caused outrage among families across the south east
- Many have already made plans, booked travel and bought food for reunions
Britons have been left furious by Boris Johnson’s plans to cancel Christmas for millions in London and the South East with just a few days’ notice.
The PM has summoned an emergency press conference this afternoon after holding crisis talks with Cabinet – with signs that swathes of the home counties, including London, will be shifted up to a new ‘Tier 4’.
That bracket will potentially include closing non-essential shops and travel restrictions including ‘stay at home’ order for Christmas Day itself, even though Mr Johnson insisted just days ago that five-day festive ‘bubbles’ would go ahead.
The extraordinary U-turn has caused outrage among families that have already made plans, booked travel and bought food for reunions, with many taking to social media to vent their fury.
One devastated user said: ‘I’m sorry but my family have spent money on food for my family who are all coming in the next few days. I see my family twice a year and I am absolutely devastated like I cannot explain how upsetting and disheartening this is.’
A defiant tweeter said: ‘Already made plans and spent money to visit family, not gonna stay home alone for Christmas on 4 days notice.’
Another added: ‘If you lock us all over over Christmas – meaning families who have spent hundreds of pounds preparing to see loved ones – then you have proven what an utterly incompetent leader you and your cabinet are. Shame on you.’
A fourth said: ‘Strangely just in time for everyone to have spent on presents for their bubbles, food and booze orders.’
Another said: ‘After job loss, emergency international move, illness, breakdown, and everything else, I just desperately needed something to look forward to. Honeymoon fitted the bill, but was cancelled three times. Christmas was the next best thing. I spent weeks working on menus, precautions.’
One devastated user said: ‘I’m sorry but my family have spent money on food for my family who are all coming in the next few days. I see my family twice a year and I am absolutely devastated like I cannot explain how upsetting and disheartening this is.’
A defiant tweeter said: ‘Already made plans and spent money to visit family, not gonna stay home alone for Christmas on 4 days notice.’
Another added: ‘If you lock us all over over Christmas – meaning families who have spent hundreds of pounds preparing to see loved ones – then you have proven what an utterly incompetent leader you and your cabinet are. Shame on you.’
A fourth said: ‘Strangely just in time for everyone to have spent on presents for their bubbles, food and booze orders.’
Another said: ‘After job loss, emergency international move, illness, breakdown, and everything else, I just desperately needed something to look forward to. Honeymoon fitted the bill, but was cancelled three times. Christmas was the next best thing. I spent weeks working on menus, precautions.’
Speculation had already been mounting that England will have to follow Wales and Northern Ireland in announcing a draconian crackdown for after Christmas.
The Welsh government broke ranks with the rest of the UK by scaling back Christmas bubbles, in effect from December 23 to 27, from three to two households. It is thought bubbles will still be permitted in Tiers 1-3 in England.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty this afternoon confirmed that the new variant is more contagious than previous strains.
He said: ‘As announced on Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s genomic surveillance.
‘As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East, the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly.
‘We have alerted the World Health Organisation and are continuing to analyse the available data to improve our understanding.
‘There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments although urgent work is underway to confirm this.
‘Given this latest development it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.’