BORIS JOHNSON will announce emergency new lockdown restrictions in a televised statement at 8pm tonight, Downing Street has confirmed.
In a sombre address to the nation, Boris Johnson is expected to announce the closure of schools, the banning of team games in parks and the introduction of Tier 4 restrictions across the whole of England. The new rules will be the toughest implemented in England since the first lockdown at the start of the pandemic last March.
MPs will also be recalled to Parliament on Wednesday to vote on the new measures.
The Commons was not originally due to sit until next Monday having already been forced to hold an emergency sitting last week to vote on the Brexit trade deal with the EU before the end of the transition period on December 31.
A No10 spokesman said: “The spread of the new variant of COVID-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country.
“The Prime Minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives.
AC