Cold comfort: Boris uses national address to warn swingeing fines and more police will enforce loss of freedoms, despite backlash from Tory MPs and business, and holds out hope of vaccine and testing 'moonshot' but not until SPRING

'Six months' of curbs at a glance

Boris Johnson warned Britons tonight they faced a long hard winter of police-enforced curbs on their freedom to see off coronavirus, saying the alternative was 'many more families losing loved ones before their time'.

In a televised address to the nation the Prime Minister, flanked by a Union Jack, said he was 'deeply, spiritually reluctant' to make new 'impositions, or infringe anyone's freedom' after unveiling new measures in Parliament today.

But he said it was necessary to reintroduce working from home rules and a swathe of social measures in order to avoid a dramatic surge in deaths, overwhelming the NHS and spark a second, economically devastating total lockdown.

The beleaguered premier faced fire from all sides as he U-turned on his push to reopen workplaces after just a few weeks.

He also faced barbs for introducing other swingeing new measures including a 10pm pub curfew and £200 fines for mask rule-breakers in England in the face of a surge of new coronavirus infections sweeping the country.

But speaking from Downing Street tonight he warned that 'iron laws of geometrical progression are shouting at us from the graphs that we risk many more deaths, many more families losing loved ones before their time'.

And he hit out at his critics - including Tory MPs and business leaders who warned of the economic impact of what he is doing, adding: 'To those who say we don't need this stuff, and we should leave people to take their own risks, I say these risks are not our own.

'The tragic reality of having Covid is that your mild cough can be someone else's death knell.

'And as for the suggestion that we should simply lock up the elderly and the vulnerable – with all the suffering that would entail – I must tell you that this is just not realistic.

'Because if you let the virus rip through the rest of the population it would inevitably find its way through to the elderly as well, and in much greater numbers.'

The PM has already warned that the new curbs could last well into 2021, and tonight he warned it could take until then to get mass testing up and running fully and a new vaccine widely available.

He said: 'Though our doctors and our medical advisers are rightly worried about the data now, and the risks over winter, they are unanimous that things will be far better by the spring, when we have not only the hope of a vaccine, but one day soon – and I must stress that we are not there yet - of mass testing so efficient that people will be able to be tested in minutes so they can do more of the things they love.

'That's the hope; that's the dream. It's hard, but it's attainable, and we are working as hard as we can to get there.'

He continued: 'Never in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour.

In a televised address to the nation the Prime Minister said he was 'deeply, spiritually reluctant' to make the changes he unveiled in Parliament today

Police blast PM's 'absurd' new rules

Police blasted Boris Johnson's new coronavirus rules as 'absurd' and 'a nonsense' tonight as small business owners warned they will go bust if workers stay home again.

The beleaguered Prime Minister faced fire from all sides as he U-turned on his push to reopen workplaces after just a few weeks to tell office staff to work from home if they can.

He also faced barbs for introducing new measures including a 10pm pub curfew and £200 fines for mask rule-breakers among new restrictions on social settings in England.

Mr Johnson warned the curbs may have to be left in place for six months, potentially ruining Christmas and New Year's Eve, and taking the total time spent under coronavirus restrictions of some kind up to a calendar year.

Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation Ken Marsh slammed the move as 'a nonsense'.

He told MailOnline: 'If someone snitches and says Mr Big has got 20 people in his house, then what are we going to do? Sit outside his house all evening and wait for people to come out and count them or something?

'That's one address. We're talking about millions of addresses. It's just a nonsense. It's absolutely absurd.

National chairmanr of the Police Federation of England and Wales John Apter added: 'More funding for policing this pandemic is much needed. The service needs all the help it can get, as financial pressures on Forces are increasing day-by-day - but today's announcement lacked any detail. We will wait for that before we celebrate too much.'

'If we follow these simple rules together, we will get through this winter together. There are unquestionably difficult months to come. And the fight against Covid is by no means over.

'I have no doubt, however, that there are great days ahead. But now is the time for us all to summon the discipline, and the resolve, and the spirit of togetherness that will carry us through.'

But Mr Johnson immediately faced criticism from his own backbenches.

Telford MP Lucy Allan question on Twitter whether the UK's 'collective health' was at risk.

'Measures to tackle #covid must be proportionate to the risk,' she wrote.

'The virus is a serious threat to certain vulnerable groups. We must protect these groups with targeted measures. Shutting down society causes massive damage to health, lives, and livelihoods of the whole population.'

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: 'We all want nothing more than to beat this dreadful virus and get back to normal.

'Sadly, today's statement from the Prime Minister confirms this is a long way off and there will be difficult times ahead.

'The Prime Minister must take responsibility for what has gone wrong, and apologise for the chaotic failure of his ''world beating'' test and trace system. It is inexcusable that this vital test and trace operation has been totally overwhelmed in recent weeks.

'Ministers must outline details of the practical steps they are taking to fix the test and trace system as quickly as possible. This is the only way to avoid yet more restrictions.

'With millions of people worried about their jobs, businesses and livelihoods, the Prime Minister must also urgently set out a new economic plan, including the extension of furlough and more help for the self-employed and small business.'

Britain today recorded another 4,926 cases of coronavirus, taking the country's total above 400,000 confirmed infections as the outbreak continues to spiral.

Department of Health figures show 4,189 new Covid-19 infections are now being recorded each day, on average — up 35 per cent from the figure of 3,096 last Tuesday.

But it is impossible to compare cases recorded now to levels seen during the first wave because the government's lacklustre swabbing policy at the time meant the true scale of the crisis was a mystery. Top experts believe more than 100,000 cases were truly occurring each day during March and April.

Another 37 people have died across the UK, officials announced today, which is more than on any other day for two months. The 44 announced on July 14 was the last highest figure.

Mr Johnson had warned the Commons this afternoon that that the curbs may have to be left in place for six months, potentially ruining families Christmases and New Year celebrations, and taking the total time spent under coronavirus restrictions of some kind up to a calendar year.

The 10pm curfew on the hospitality sector sparked an immediate industry backlash as the UKHospitality group said it was 'another crushing blow'

Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: 'It is hard to understand how these measures are the solution to fighting the disease when Government data shows that just five per cent of infections out of the home are related to hospitality.'

At the same time Tory MPs warned there must not be another 'major lockdown'. They said the decision to ditch the back to work drive will cause widespread 'dismay' among workers who live in 'cramped, overcrowded accommodation'.

Tory Telford MP Lucy Allan question on Twitter whether the UK's 'collective health' was at risk

Prohibition for Wales as First Minister closes off-licences

All off-licences in Wales, including supermarkets, are to close to try to cut coronavirus cases, its First Minister revealed tonight.

Mark Drakeford said they would be stopped from selling alcohol as part of measures which come into force at 6pm on Thursday.

In line with England and Scotland, pubs, cafes, restaurants and casinos in Wales must operate as table service only and close from 10pm.

Mr Drakeford confirmed the measures as part of a televised address on Tuesday evening.

Earlier on Tuesday, he told the Welsh Parliament that he would be encouraging people in Wales to only make essential journeys.

He said reducing the amount of journeys and meetings with others resulted in 'less danger' being posed to people.

In the televised address, Mr Drakeford said rising cases of coronavirus infections were being seen in different parts of Wales, with people being admitted to hospital with 'serious illnesses because of this deadly virus'.

On Tuesday, Public Health Wales said a further 281 positive cases of Covid-19 were recorded - the highest daily figure since April 17.

'In the weeks and months ahead of us, there is a very real possibility that we could see the virus regain a foothold in our local communities, towns and cities,' Mr Drakeford said.

'Now none of us wants to see that happen again. 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year. We have all sacrificed so much.

'Families have lost loved ones. People have lost jobs and livelihoods. This is a highly infectious virus. We cannot let it take a hold of our lives again. We have come too far to let that happen.'

They also warned their constituents would be furious at the new crackdown after they followed the Government's rules only to have seen 'people at protests, at street parties, not having action taken against them'.

Meanwhile Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned Mr Johnson that his actions did not go far enough as she banned her countrymen from visiting each other in their own homes in a bid to slash to Covid-19 R rate in Scotland.

Mr Johnson outlined to the public the measures unveiled to MPs this afternoon.

'And of course I am deeply, spiritually reluctant to make any of these impositions, or infringe anyone's freedom, but unless we take action the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later, when the deaths have already mounted and we have a huge caseload of infection such as we had in the spring,' he added.

'If we let this virus get out of control now, it would mean that our NHS had no space – once again – to deal with cancer patients and millions of other non-covid medical needs.

'And if we were forced into a new national lockdown, that would threaten not just jobs and livelihoods but the loving human contact on which we all depend.

'It would mean renewed loneliness and confinement for the elderly and vulnerable, and ultimately it would threaten once again the education of our children. We must do all we can to avoid going down that road again.

'But if people don't follow the rules we have set out, then we must reserve the right to go further. We must take action now because a stitch in time saves nine; and this way we can keep people in work, we can keep our shops and our schools open, and we can keep our country moving forward while we work together to suppress the virus.'

Mr Johnson imposed a 10pm curfew on all restaurants, bars and pubs across England from Thursday with the hospitality sector also being restricted to table service only.

A requirement to wear face coverings will be extended to include retail workers and customers in indoor hospitality settings, except for when they are seated at a table to eat or drink.

He also announced the end of the Government's back to work drive as he said he is now 'asking office workers who can work from home to do so'.

The Government has been actively encouraging workers to ditch working from home and today's U-turn represents a humiliating climbdown for the PM who earlier this month had told his Cabinet that 'people are going back to the office in huge numbers across our country and quite right too'.

New mask rules in pubs 'impossible' to police

Pub bosses and punters grappling with new coronavirus rules which make masks compulsory have warned Boris Johnson that enforcement will be tough.

The Prime Minister today tightened restrictions on the hospitality sector for six months by imposing a 10pm curfew across England from Thursday and limiting business solely to table service.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he also said face coverings will be mandatory for all staff and customers unless they are seated.

The raft of measures was met with an instant backlash from the pub trade which said the 'devastating' curbs would torpedo sales and sink some firms.

Greg Mulholland, campaign director for the Campaign for Pubs, said: 'It seems questionable asking people to wear face masks yet not at the table, and there is a fear that the need to have a mask will put people off going to pubs which could see levels of trade drop even further.'

Calling on the Government to provide financial support for pubs, he added: 'The confirmation of a curfew of 10pm and other restrictions for up to six months is devastating for many pubs and publicans.

'As it is, most pubs were only getting back on their feet and many were not yet trading profitably and this latest news will make it impossible for some publicans to carry on.'

The decision to urge workers to work from home sparked dire warnings about the future of struggling town and city centres as business groups immediately demanded the Government extend its furlough scheme which is due to close at the end of October.

Mel Stride, the Tory chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, told the PM that lockdowns 'destroy jobs and also personal wellbeing' as he urged the Government to pay attention to the concerns of businesses.

Mr Johnson did not announce a ban on households mixing indoors in England but Nicola Sturgeon this afternoon followed Northern Ireland as she said that from tomorrow Scots will not be able to meet in other people's homes, prompting questions over which of the home nations has adopted the correct approach.

Some experts have already warned the PM's curfew does not go far enough after Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said yesterday the UK could hit 50,000 cases a day by mid-October and 200 plus daily deaths by November unless Britain changes course.

Calum Semple, a professor of Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool and a member of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies , said there are 'several sectors of society which will need to increase their restrictions unfortunately'.

It was claimed overnight that Mr Johnson had initially backed a total shutdown of the hospitality and leisure sectors before Chancellor Rishi Sunak persuaded him to take a less severe course after warning of economic carnage.

The unveiling of the new restrictions immediately prompted business concerns amid fears they will inevitably lead to more job losses.

CBI director general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn told the BBC: 'It is now desperately urgent to have a successor scheme to the furlough scheme.

'It has been a huge success. It has saved thousands and thousands of jobs but there is a cliff-edge looming. And, now, with today's announcement that is more urgent than ever.

'We are calling for the Treasury to announce a successor scheme very quickly. It should be more targeted. It doesn't need to be quite as generous. But, if we are going to protect jobs… in the medium-term it needs to be brought in within days or weeks. This is now desperately urgent.'

Ms Fairbairn also said 'there can be no avoiding the crushing blow' the new proposals on working from home will bring for firms, particularly those in city centres.

Boris Johnson's televised address in full

Good evening,

The struggle against Covid is the single biggest crisis the world has faced in my lifetime.

In less than a year this disease has killed almost a million people, and caused havoc to economies everywhere.

Here in the UK we mourn every person we have lost, and we grieve with their families.

And yet I am more certain than ever that this is a struggle that humanity will win, and we in this country will win – and to achieve what we must I want to talk to you directly tonight about the choices that we face – none of them easy – and why we must take action now.

I know that we can succeed because we have succeeded before.

When the sickness took hold in this country in March, we pulled together in a spirit of national sacrifice and community. We followed the guidance to the letter. We stayed at home, protected the NHS, and saved thousands of lives.

And for months with those disciplines of social distancing we have kept that virus at bay.

But we have to acknowledge this this is a great and freedom-loving country; and while the vast majority have complied with the rules there have been too many breaches – too many opportunities for our invisible enemy to slip through undetected.

The virus has started to spread again in an exponential way. Infections are up, hospital admissions are climbing.

We can see what is happening in France and Spain, and we know, alas, that this virus is no less fatal than it was in the spring, and that the vast majority of our people are no less susceptible, and the iron laws of geometrical progression are shouting at us from the graphs that we risk many more deaths, many more families losing loved ones before their time; and I know that faced with that risk the British people will want their government to continue to fight to protect them, you, and that is what we are doing, night and day. And yet the single greatest weapon we bring to this fight is the common sense of the people themselves – the joint resolve of this country to work together to suppress covid now.

So today I set out a package of tougher measures in England – early closing for pubs, bars; table service only; closing businesses that are not Covid secure; expanding the use of face coverings, and new fines for those that fail to comply; and once again asking office workers to work from home if they can while enforcing the rule of six indoors and outdoors – a tougher package of national measures combined with the potential for tougher local restrictions for areas already in lockdown.

I know that this approach – robust but proportionate – already carries the support of all the main parties in parliament.

After discussion with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations, I believe this broad approach is shared across the whole UK. And to those who say we don't need this stuff, and we should leave people to take their own risks, I say these risks are not our own.

The tragic reality of having Covid is that your mild cough can be someone else's death knell.

And as for the suggestion that we should simply lock up the elderly and the vulnerable – with all the suffering that would entail – I must tell you that this is just not realistic, because if you let the virus rip through the rest of the population it would inevitably find its way through to the elderly as well, and in much greater numbers.

That's why we need to suppress the virus now, and as for that minority who may continue to flout the rules, we will enforce those rules with tougher penalties and fines of up to £10,000. We will put more police out on the streets and use the army to back-fill if necessary.

And of course I am deeply, spiritually reluctant to make any of these impositions, or infringe anyone's freedom, but unless we take action the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later, when the deaths have already mounted and we have a huge caseload of infection such as we had in the spring.

If we let this virus get out of control now, it would mean that our NHS had no space – once again – to deal with cancer patients and millions of other non-Covid medical needs.

And if we were forced into a new national lockdown, that would threaten not just jobs and livelihoods but the loving human contact on which we all depend.

It would mean renewed loneliness and confinement for the elderly and vulnerable, and ultimately it would threaten once again the education of our children. We must do all we can to avoid going down that road again.

But if people don't follow the rules we have set out, then we must reserve the right to go further. We must take action now because a stitch in time saves nine; and this way we can keep people in work, we can keep our shops and our schools open, and we can keep our country moving forward while we work together to suppress the virus.

That is our strategy, and if we can follow this package together, then I know we can succeed because in so many ways we are better prepared than before.

We have the PPE, we have the beds, we have the Nightingales, we have new medicines – pioneered in this country – that can help save lives.

And though our doctors and our medical advisers are rightly worried about the data now, and the risks over winter, they are unanimous that things will be far better by the spring, when we have not only the hope of a vaccine, but one day soon – and I must stress that we are not there yet - of mass testing so efficient that people will be able to be tested in minutes so they can do more of the things they love. That's the hope; that's the dream. It's hard, but it's attainable, and we are working as hard as we can to get there.

But until we do, we must rely on our willingness to look out for each other, to protect each other. Never in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour.

If we follow these simple rules together, we will get through this winter together. There are unquestionably difficult months to come.

And the fight against Covid is by no means over. I have no doubt, however, that there are great days ahead.

But now is the time for us all to summon the discipline, and the resolve, and the spirit of togetherness that will carry us through.

Boris Johnson apologetically took a hammer to Britons' social lives today as he reintroduced lockdown measures in England to last possibly six months to see off a second wave of coronavirus.

Pubs and other leisure and hospitality businesses like restaurants will face a 10pm curfew from Thursday.

People working in retail, those travelling in taxis, and staff and customers in indoor hospitality will also have to wear face coverings - except while seated at a table to eat or drink.

And in a dramatic reversal of the Government's recent drive to get people back to workplaces, all office workers will be advised to work from home where they can as soon as possible.

In a grave Commons statement the Prime Minister warned that the new curbs could last for six months - taking them well beyond Christmas - 'unless we palpably make progress'.

Here we look at the new rules that have been unveiled today:

ENGLAND —

From this Thursday, pubs and restaurants will have to close at 10pm. This means last orders will have to take place some time after 9pm.

Customers will not be allowed to order drinks at the bar. All pubs and bars must become table service only, like restaurants.

This is a change from the current rules, where standing at the bar for a pint was allowed as long as there was social distancing in place.

It also applies to takeaway services, many of which sustained businesses through the worst of the original lockdown.

But food (and drink) deliveries are allowed to continue after 10am because it is easier to limit human contact.

In a grave Commons statement the Prime Minister warned that the new curbs could last for six months - taking them well beyond Christmas - 'unless we palpably make progress'

The five days of panic which paved the way for Boris Johnson to impose a curfew on pubs

Thursday: The latest official data presented to ministers showed that coronavirus cases were on the rise in all age groups while hospitalisations were also increasing across the board. The numbers are said to have prompted Michael Gove to call for decisive action to be taken.

By the end of the day a 'consensus' had reportedly emerged around a plan for a total shutdown of the hospitality and leisure sectors, with Mr Gove and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said to be the leading advocates.

Advisers on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies also backed the plans on the grounds that it was not possible to predict the impact of a less severe curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants.

Mr Johnson was reportedly initially in favour of the total shutdown.

Friday: The prospect of a total shutdown spooked ministers and officials in the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who were afraid of the damage such a move would do to the economy.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is said to have asked to see the Prime Minister and the pair then met on Friday afternoon. Mr Sunak spelled out his fears in person and Mr Johnson was apparently sympathetic to the message from the Chancellor, asking officials to look at other options.

Saturday and Sunday: Mr Johnson held further talks with senior ministers as well as with Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty as the premier tried to hammer out an agreed way forward. Mr Johnson eventually decided to go ahead with a curfew plan instead of a total shutdown as the 'hawks' in the Cabinet appeared to win the battle with the 'doves'.

Monday: The PM's latest lockdown plans were formally decided upon by senior ministers ahead of a formal announcement today.

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