The British government has been accused of ignoring its own scientists after documents showed that a "circuit-breaker" lockdown was recommended for England by expert advisers three weeks ago.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggested immediately introducing a national lockdown lasting between two and three weeks to halt the rapid spread of the virus, with the Government's failure to act on the advice branded "alarming" by Labour.
The Sage document, dated 21 September and released just hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his three-tier system of alert levels for England, said a package of interventions was needed to reverse the "exponential" rise in cases.