London goes into Tier 3: Matt Hancock confirms city will go into toughest lockdown from Wednesday

Matt Hancock today plunged around 10million people in the South East into a Tier 3 shutdown with just 30 hours’ notice – as he warned a new strain of coronavirus could be driving a surge in cases.

The Health Secretary told the Commons that the tough new rules will come into effect in London just after midnight on Wednesday morning, sparking fury that he is sending thousands of businesses to the wall.

Large areas of Hertfordshire and Essex will also go into Tier 3 after seeing ‘sharp and exponential’ growth.

It means around 60 per cent of the population of England will be under the highest level of restrictions – although extraordinarily No10 has insisted that all the curbs will still be relaxed on December 23 as part of the Christmas ‘bubbles’ plan.

Britain today recorded a further 20,263 coronavirus cases, in a rise of more than a third on last Monday’s total.

Official figures released today also revealed 232 people died after testing positive for the virus – in a 22.8 per cent spike on the 189 deaths seen last Monday.

Addressing the nation at a televised press conference, Mr Hancock added: ‘We know from experience that the best thing to do in the face of this virus is to act fast, not to wait to see its growth continue – and we do not rule out further action.’

But he faced down questions over the wisdom of relaxing some restrictions on family gatherings at Christmas.

In response he said: ‘If you want to see elderly relatives at Christmas the best thing to do is be extremely careful now about who you see.’

Professor Chris Whitty reiterated that people need to be cautious at Christmas and should not meet just because they can.

‘The point of this (relaxation of rules) is for, under certain circumstances, families who wish to, to get together, but they really have to be very, very careful.

‘And in particular, incredibly careful if they’re around people who are vulnerable, who are at very high risk of this virus.’

In another bombshell announcement Mr Hancock said that scientists had identified a ‘new variant’ of the virus that appeared to be influencing the spread in the south of England.

He said initial evidence was that it is growing much faster than the previous strains, although he tried to cool fears by stressing that it did not seem to be more deadly, and there was low risk that it will not respond to vaccines.

‘We have identified a new variant of coronavirus, which may be associated with the fastest spread in the south-east of England,’ Mr Hancock told MPs this afternoon.

‘Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants. We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant, predominantly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas, and numbers are increasing rapidly.’

Mr Hancock said the strain had also been identified in other countries and the World Health Organisation had been notified, with tests still being carried out at the government’s Porton Down lab.

The Tier 3 move drew a furious reaction from local MPs and firms who warned it will devastate businesses. London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey branded it a ‘mistake’ and said individual boroughs should be treated differently. Pubs, restaurants and culture venues will be closed, while shoppers from Tier 2 zones will be barred from shopping in major retail hubs like Oxford Street.

West End theatres are also readying themselves to close after tomorrow night’s performances.

Meanwhile there is anxiety that Kent, already in Tier 3, could face a further tightening of restrictions with a surge in cases that has yet to fall.

In an apparent attempt to assuage anger, Mr Hancock indicated that the next review will be on December 23 – rather than December 30 as had been expected.

However, in a grim statement to the House on the epidemiological situation he said: ‘Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants.

‘We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the South of England although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas.

‘And numbers are increasing rapidly.’

The Government agreed to review the tier levels every two weeks at the latest after they were introduced on December 2, in order to pass the legislation needed in the face of a backbench rebellion.

But the decision was brought forward from Wednesday to today because of the spike in numbers, with a key cabinet committee having met this morning.

It comes as:

• Millions of London parents faced an anxious wait to see if schools are shut early after Labour’s Greenwich Council asked headteachers to shut their gates at the end of today. 
• Islington Council has today advised schools to move to online learning from the end of Tuesday because of a rise in coronavirus cases across the capital. 
• Tens of thousands of residents in low-infection towns and villages had their hopes of ‘decoupling’ from the tiers of surrounding coronavirus hotspots dashed. 
• GP surgeries in England will begin offering coronavirus vaccinations from today, with practices in more than 100 locations having the approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine delivered.

Introducing the restrictions sooner means they have more time to take effect before the nationwide loosening of restrictions from December 23 – 27, with up to three families allowed to meet without social distancing.

Earlier, London mayor Sadiq Khan warned Tier 3 would be ‘catastrophic’ without extra help for the city’s businesses, coming in what should be a ‘golden quarter’ of the year before Christmas.

He told Sky News: ‘If the government decides to do that they must provide additional support over and above what has been offered to make sure these businesses go bust,’ he told Sky News.

‘If they go bust not only will it lead to hundreds of thousands of Londoners being made unemployed, but our ability to recover from this pandemic will be made much harder. It is in nobody’s interest for these businesses to go bust, December is a crucial month for many of these business.’

In his statement this afternoon Mr Hancock said: ‘I must stress at this point that there is currently nothing to suggest that this variant is more likely to cause serious disease and the latest clinical advice is that it’s highly unlikely that this mutation would fail to respond to a vaccine, but it shows we’ve got to be vigilant and follow the rules and everyone needs to take personal responsibility not to spread this virus.’

He added: ‘I need to tell the House that over the last week, we’ve seen very sharp, exponential rises in the virus across London, Kent, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire.

‘We do not know the extent to which this is because of the new variant but no matter its cause we have to take swift and decisive action which unfortunately is absolutely essential to control this deadly disease while the vaccine is rolled out.’

Mr Hancock listed the areas that will be moving into Tier 3 from midnight on Wednesday morning.

The parts of Essex are: Basildon, Brentwood, Harlow Epping Forest, Castle Point, Rochford, Malden, Braintree and Chelmsford, Thurrock and Southend on Sea.

In Hertfordshire the areas being upgraded are: Broxbourne, Hertsmere, Watford and the Three Rivers.

‘This means that people can only see friends and family they don’t live with, or are in a support bubble with, in outdoor public places,’ he said.

‘And of course, in line, with the rule of six, hospitality settings must close, except takeaway delivery. And people should avoid travelling outside their area and reduce the number of journeys they make wherever possible.’

The Health Secretary made clear that people should not be coming to London for Christmas shopping as a result of the new restrictions.

But his Labour shadow Jon Ashworth said the government’s slow response was partly to blame for the severity of the situation.

‘Across London health cases have increased 30 per cent, across the east of England 36 per cent, so none of us are surprised at the action he is taking today,’ Mr Ashworth said.

‘Indeed, he was warned Tier 2 would not be enough to contain the spread of the virus in many places.

‘Indeed it looks like in some areas, such as Kent, tier 3 isn’t enough to contain the spread either.’

Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for Public Health England, said now is a ‘pivotal moment’ for London and the South East.

He told the Downing Street briefing tonight: ‘As we’ve heard from the chief medical officer numbers and rates of infection are now increasing exponentially in parts of the South East.

‘And this means that quick and decisive action is needed.

‘There is a strong connection between increases that we’re seeing in London with parts of the south of Essex, as well as the South East region and it really is important that we are working together, coordinating carefully across the regions to ensure that we act to control the infection now.’

He said Londoners should expect to see more messaging about coronavirus in the coming days urging people to ‘take heed, to follow the rules, and to follow the guidance for Tier 3 and to prepare for the holiday season ahead.’

Mr Khan said the Government’s decision to impose Tier 3 restrictions on the capital was ‘incredibly disappointing’ for businesses.

But, in a statement, the Labour mayor urged Londoners to follow the measures to ‘avoid even tougher restrictions, for longer, further down the road’.

‘This is incredibly disappointing for our businesses who have suffered so much already this year,’ he said.

‘The worst thing for London’s businesses and our economy would be yet another full lockdown in the new year. That’s why I urge Londoners to follow the Tier 3 rules that the Government is putting in place very closely so that we can drive down infection rates as much as possible.

‘We now urgently need much more Government support for the sectors of our economy that are being hit the hardest, including hospitality, culture and leisure.’

Eddie Curzon, London director of the CBI warned many firms now face disaster, having been allowed to open for just two weeks after the blanket lockdown ended.

‘Businesses – particularly those in sectors like retail and hospitality – will have been counting on a festive fillip to help mitigate months of hardship, and further restrictions now will come as a devastating blow,’ he said.

‘Thousands of jobs and livelihoods could be at risk. It’s vital that any tightening of measures anywhere across England is shaped by clear evidence, consistently applied, and accompanied by increased support for businesses in the worst-hit sectors.

‘Vaccinations are now under way and offer tangible reasons for optimism in 2021 – the government must do everything possible to help businesses survive until risks recede and trade returns.’

The British Beer & Pub Association said in London alone the restrictions will force 1,250 pubs that remained open in Tier 2 to close, putting nearly 8,000 more jobs at risk.

In total, 56,000 jobs in the sector are now at risk with all of the capital’s 3,680 pubs forced to close except for takeaways, according to the trade association, which is calling for more financial support for pubs and brewers across the country.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: ‘Moving into Tier 3 is another nail in the coffin for London’s pubs, as well as those affected in parts of Hertfordshire and Essex.

‘It could completely destroy many pubs in London and parts of Hertfordshire and Essex who have taken bookings for the lead-up to Christmas and New Year’s Eve if the tiers don’t change before then.

‘It is cruel on hardworking publicans doing all they can to support their communities and invest in implementing all the required safety measures. Especially as the Government’s own evidence shows pubs are safe.

‘It is also cruel in stopping friends, families and loved-ones from using their local this Christmas as a safe space to socialise in, with all the evidence showing that pubs are ranked amongst the lowest places for transmission.’

UKHospitality called the Tier 3 move ‘illogical’ and said the Government’s system puts an unfair burden on hospitality businesses without effectively tackling Covid-19.

The trade association’s chief executive Kate Nicholls said: ‘The Government is cracking down on hospitality for an increase in the infection rates that occurred during a period when hospitality was forcibly closed. It makes no sense.’

Will Bowlby, who runs the Kricket Indian restaurant chain in London, was also critical of the Government’s handling of the crisis.

‘I understand that things change but I feel like there’s just been mixed messages,’ he said.

‘Whether it’s applied to businesses or to people in general, it’s made it a lot more difficult to adapt.

‘You would have thought over time their messaging might have got a bit clearer but it hasn’t.’

Clover Eziashi, who has run Lounge Brixton, in south London for around 20 years, said her ‘heart bleeds’ at having to shut down again after preparing for Christmas.

‘The lockdown of this last month and then opening up, people just went into a frenzy,’ she said.

‘It’s just not working, obviously it hasn’t worked shutting us down again when we’ve already put so much money into restocking, that’s where my heart bleeds a little bit.

‘We’ve geared up for Christmas, what are we going to do with all of this stock?’

The director of the Theatres Trust, Jon Morgan, branded the move announced on Monday a ‘disaster’ for London’s theatres, adding: ‘Theatres have worked incredibly hard to create safe environments for audiences and through no fault of their own will now face enormous financial losses.’

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive at New West End Company, said: ‘However well telegraphed, today’s announcement comes as a hammer blow to the West End’s restaurants and hotels.

‘Advising against travel will heap further pressure on retailers that have invested millions in enhanced safety measures and staff training to support trade.’

In the Commons, Mr Hancock was asked whether it would be against the rules for people to come into the capital to do Christmas shopping.

Jeremy Hunt, Conservative chairman of the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: ‘From Wednesday, if you live outside London will it be against the regulations to come into Oxford Street to do your Christmas shopping?

‘If you live inside London, will it be against the regulations to do your Christmas shopping and is the only way to do your Christmas shopping legally now to go online?’

Mr Hancock replied: ‘The question he asks about Christmas shopping is important.

‘It is recommended that people should minimise travel unless it is necessary in a Tier 3 area and should minimise travel where it is necessary to a Tier 3 area.

‘And so we have taken this action to try to protect people and to try to slow the spread of this virus and that is absolutely the right thing to do.’

Under Tier 3 restrictions, non-essential shops will remain open – though the guidance on travel could deprive many of the capital’s retailers of much-needed custom ahead of Christmas.

After a call with Mr Hancock earlier, Ealing Central Labour MP Rupa Huq tweeted: ‘Worst kept secret ever confirmed London and Essex (except Tendring) and Herts (Watford/ Hertsmere/ Broxbourne) from 1 min past midnight Weds.

‘London and bits of Essex and Hertfordshire to enter ”standard tier 3” from Wednesday confirmed by Matt Hancock on call for MPs from London and South East Next review on 23rd Dec – to be weekly.’

The mayor told Sky News: ‘My understanding is that Covid-O is meeting as we speak – that’s the sub-committee of the Cabinet that makes the recommendations.

‘We will have to wait and see what the Government decides – it’s a Government decision, not my decision or London leaders’ decision.’

He said ‘it’s possible’ that a decision will be made today ‘because we have seen over the last few days a big increase in the virus’.

But he added: ‘It’s worth looking where the virus is spreading faster and it’s worth looking at the areas where we have seen the biggest increase.

‘It’s worth them asking themself the question whether a move to Tier 3 is a blunt instrument that doesn’t really address in a laser-like fashion where we are seeing the biggest problems.’

Downing Street said this afternoon there are no plans to shorten the period over Christmas in which social distancing will be relaxed nationwide amid concerns over increasing coronavirus rates.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘No. We’ve set out the details of the Christmas guidelines.

‘There are no plans to review the Christmas guidance. What we’ve said alongside that is that the public should continue to be cautious.

‘I think the Prime Minister said it’s the season to be jolly careful and we would emphasise that we should continue to do that.

‘We’ve been clear that it’s a limited easement to allow families to bubble over the Christmas period after what has been a very difficult year for many people.

‘But it remains important for the public to follow the guidance.’

It came as millions of London parents faced an anxious wait to see if schools are shut early after a Labour council backed by Sadiq Khan asked headteachers to shut their gates at the end of today because of rising coronavirus cases in the capital.

Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe has been accused of ‘an appalling lack of leadership’ after announcing his decision on Twitter last night amid fears London’s 20 other Labour councils could follow suit.

But Cllr Thorpe, a former teacher supported by Britain’s teaching unions, did not specify on what scientific basis officials had reached the decision, leading to accusations he was putting scoring political points above the education of children.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wants all London secondary schools and colleges to shut before the end of term on Friday – in defiance of the government’s instruction to keep them open – blaming rising Covid-19 cases.  But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer came out against Mr Khan this morning and told LBC: ‘I am very reluctant to close our schools’.

London Tory MPs in the briefing with health minister Helen Whately this morning urged the PM to avoid a blanket Tier 3 move for the city.

Harrow East Tory Bob Blackman said that the only people who would benefit from the move would be Amazon and other online retailers, with shoppers from Tier 2 areas effectively barred from entering the capital.

He and other Tory MPs wrote to Boris Johnson at the weekend urging him not to inflict ‘untold damage’ on the capital by moving it into Tier 3.

They warned many London Tory MPs could vote against the Government’s Covid approach when it is reviewed next month if the city is plunged into tier 3.

Mr Blackman told MailOnline today that the briefing today involved ‘lots of questions and not many answers’.

‘They are in the position I think of softening everyone up to say ”not only are you going to go into tier 3 but we are going to have to strengthen tier 3 and possibly have a tier 4 doing something else”, which none of us know yet,’ he said.

He suggested that closing secondary schools – one of the main sources of growth in cases – may help to act as a fire-break before restrictions are lifted for five days across Christmas.

Labour’s Bermondsey MP Neil Coyle added: ‘Very grim figures. So angry at repeat failures to properly test and trace, a year after WHO sounded the pandemic alarm. People, especially children, and businesses have been let down so badly.’

Another MP in the capital said there was a ‘lot of frustration’ with no real answers to their questions.

 It was the ‘same gloomy outlook as last week’s meeting except all the data is even worse, almost back to the levels pre-lockdown’.

The MP suggested that the message over Christmas would be ‘do not mix if you don’t need to’.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, which was jointly signed by London Councils chairwoman Georgia Gould, Mr Khan said the seven-day case rate had risen in 32 local authority areas in the capital compared to the previous week.

There were also 17 boroughs where the seven-day rate exceeded 200 cases per 100,000 people.

According to the latest figures, the borough of Havering has the highest coronavirus rate in London, with 1,314 new cases recorded in the seven days to December 9 – the equivalent of 506.3 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up from a rate of 321.3 in the seven days to December 2.

The figures have been calculated by the PA news agency, based on Public Health England data published on December 13 on the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

How England’s North-South divide REVERSED: Tier Three and lockdown forced coronavirus cases down in the North West but infection rates have rocketed in new hotspots in London and the South East

England’s North-South divide of coronavirus cases has reversed in the past month, with outbreaks in the North brought under control by Tier Three rules and lockdown while cases spiralled out of control in the South.

London is expected to go into Tier Three today amid surging infections a week before Christmas, while a fortnightly review could see the already-tough rules in the North relaxed later this week.

Official figures reveal that there are now only two parts of the North of England that rank among the country’s worst-affected areas, after the list was almost entirely populated by the North and Midlands just weeks ago.

Data shows that the local lockdown rules do appear to work – and Government decisions to go easy on the South has led to a devastating spike in infections just a week before Christmas.

On October 14 only four days before the old tiers came into force, 29 of England’s 50 most infected councils were in the North West, and 16 in the North East and Yorkshire.

But two months later the tables had turned with the latest data from Public Health England for the seven days to December 9 revealing London has the highest number of councils in the list, at 14, followed by the South East and East of England with 13 councils each.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will speak in the House of Commons at 3.30pm this afternoon before a TV briefing later, when he is expected to announce that the capital must go into shutdown this week.

The city is beginning to close itself, piece by piece, with schools now planning to shut early for Christmas and mayor Sadiq Khan saying pupils should stay home until mid-January in a bid to stop the virus in its tracks.

MPs were warned this morning that there was ‘exponential growth’ in cases in London’s boroughs and some of the major commuter areas like Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Meanwhile Kent, already in Tier 3, could face a further tightening of restrictions with a surge in cases that has yet to fall.

Burnley and South Tyneside are the only northern councils still among the worst affected areas. Former hotspots Liverpool, Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton have dropped out of the most infected areas.

Hospitalisations with Covid-19 also reveals the second wave has shifted decidedly south, with admissions rising in the East of England, London, the Midlands and South East comparing December 6 to last week. Although they were declining in the North, the most recent data from the NHS shows they are rising again.

The upending of England’s outbreak comes after the capital was declared the nation’s outbreak hotspot last week with the highest number of infections per 100,000 residents.

Greenwich, in the south east of the city, became the first council to switch its schools to online learning only in the final week of term yesterday, with others expected to follow suit after the Health Secretary’s announcement today.

Official data reveals that London’s outbreak over lockdown – when cases actually rose – has been largely driven by infections in schools which were not bolted shut like in March 2020.

There are fears of a ‘third wave’ of infections after Christmas, when up to three households are allowed to mix between December 23 and 27.

Boris Johnson warned last night that grandparents should think hard about whether to visit their families over Christmas, especially as their vaccination against Covid-19 could be barely months away.

The latest infections data from a week after the second lockdown ended shows Kent, Essex and London were seeing the highest numbers of infections.

Swale, in Kent, was the Covid-19 hotspot after recording 633.7 cases per 100,000. It was followed by Medway, also in Kent, at 613.9, and Basildon, in Essex, at 613.8.

Havering was the capital’s most infected borough at 506.3 per 100,000, although many other boroughs also registered high on the infection charts.

Of the two councils in the North of England Burnley was 33rd in the list, after recording 287.9 per 100,000, and South Tyneside was 38th, after testers identified 272.2 per 100,000.

It is a stark switch from when the old tier system was introduced, when Nottingham in the Midlands had the highest infection rate per 100,000 residents at 880.4.

It was followed by the Liverpool borough of Knowsley, in the North West, at 667.5 per 100,000, and Liverpool city centre, at 635.3 per 100,000.

There were no southern councils in the top 50 most infected councils list.

The highest infection rate in London was in Ealing, which was 83 out of 315 local areas in the country at 127.3 per 100,000. And in the South – including the South East, South West and East of England – it was recorded in Bristol at 120 per 100,000.

Millions in the North have been forced to endure tough restrictions for months to drive down the number of coronavirus cases.

Large swathes were forced into Tier Three under the old system – forcing restaurants and pubs to ask customers to have a ‘substantial meal’ with any drinks they are ordering.

England was then shoved into a four-week lockdown from November 5, with shops, restaurants and pubs forced to pull down the shutters, after Boris Johnson hit the panic button.

And when the draconian restrictions were lifted most of the North of England was placed into a tightened Tier Three – which saw restaurants and pubs still forced to still only offer takeaway only.

Public Health England data has revealed infections were already falling in the region before lockdown, and have continued to fall under the suped up Tier Three measures imposed afterwards.