Fifteen million people will tonight go into the strictest local lockdown of the pandemic so far, Boris Johnson has announced.
The PM hurriedly created a new Tier 4 in response to a new mutant strain of the virus - which experts say is far more infectious than those seen previously.
He also made sweeping changes to Christmas rules for people in all Tiers 1, 2 and 3. Mr Johnson said: "Yes Christmas this year will be different, very different. "We're sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones this Christmas so that we have a better chance of protecting their loves, so that we can see them at future Christmases. "And as sure as night follows day we will beat this virus, we'll defeat it and reclaim our lives." London and the South East