Nurses have warned that relaxing the rules over Christmas could lead to an "unrelenting tsunami" of cases. The Royal College of Nursing appealed to ministers to be straight with the public over the risks of easing the restrictions over the festive period - or face a grim surge of the virus in the New Year.
The warning came after Boris Johnson resisted pressure to scale back Christmas rules allowing up to three households to mix indoors between December 23-27.
Leaders from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales agreed to press ahead with the five-day exemption after crisis talks with Michael Gove - but with tougher warnings about the coronavirus risks in each nation.