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Conservative backbenchers are disgruntled over legislation giving the government power to maintain controls until 31 March, despite the prime minister’s previous suggestion that they would be needed only until mid-February.But any rebellion when the bill comes to a vote in the House of Commons later today is likely to be muted, as MPs fell in behind the PM in response to chilling figures showing more than 1m Britons are now infected by the fast-spreading coronavirus.In contrast to the loud howls of protest seen at the time of the second lockdown in November, Tory critics raised concerns not about the imposition of restrictions but their duration.When former minister Sir Desmond Swayne described measures such as the closure of golf clubs as “pervaded by a pettifogging malice”, Mr Johnson responded: “Pettifogging, yes. Malicious, no. The intention – and I’m going to have to take the hit here – the intention is to stop the virus, to protect the NHS and to save lives.”In a statement to the Commons, Mr Johnson sought to damp down expectations of a swift return to normal life, warning that the government will be “extremely cautious” about winding down restrictions “brick by brick” after a review planned for 15 February.He said that “significant opportunities” to ease controls would come only if the programme of vaccinations was successful in curbing spread and if people obey lockdown rules.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayBut senior Tory Sir Graham Brady, chair of the influential backbench 1922 Committee sought to force the pace on the lifting of lockdown by demanding a Commons vote at the end of both January and February.Sir Graham said: “Many of us are concerned that we  are being asked to approve a lockdown, which could continue until 31 March.”Calling on the PM to “reconsider”, the Altrincham and Sale MP demanded “a vote at the end of January and at the end of February as well, not on whether to lift restrictions, but on whether to continue them or not”. And former Cabinet minister Chris Grayling called on Mr Johnson to “personally lead a debate before February half-term on progress towards reducing restrictions and … not wait until the end of March to do so, if it is possible to to so without overwhelming the NHS?”Boris Johnson on restrictions: “Pettifogging yes, malice no”Mr Johnson said MPs would have an opportunity to debate lockdown “before the end of March and I hope substantially before the end of March”.But he refused to commit to an early vote, telling Sir Graham: “I can’t believe it will be until the end of March that the House has to wait before having a new vote and a new discussion of the measures we have to take.”And he told Kensington MP Felicity Buchan that it was no more than a “cautious presumption” that restrictions would be eased at the planned 15 February review.”
Ms Buchan told the PM: “I understand there cannot be a cast-iron guarantee, we’re in a moving situation, but my constituents would like there to be a presumption, especially when it comes to schools.”Mr Johnson said he “shares her constituents’ instincts”, but said he would advise them to make no more than a “cautious presumption” on the issue.Conservative MP Mark Harper, who chairs the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) of lockdown sceptics, has called for a “substantial relaxation” of restrictions as soon as the four top priority groups have been vaccinated.And fellow CRG member Steve Baker said: “Once the most vulnerable have been vaccinated, draconian restrictions must be substantially removed.” More

Crucial mayoral and local elections in May are set to be delayed, Boris Johnson has hinted – meaning voters will not have gone to the polls for more than two years.“Obviously, we will have to keep it under review,” the prime minister told MPs, ahead of a vote to confirm the fresh lockdown until the end of March.
It is believed that ministers are pushing for the polls to be delayed until the spring or early summer – when Covid-19 infections  will be lower – but some local leaders fear they will have to be even later.
The option of holding the elections with postal votes only has already been ruled out, it is thought.
As well as local and mayoral elections in England – axed 12 months ago, when the pandemic broke out – the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are meant to go to the polls.In the Commons, the prime minister was asked only about the likelihood of elections in England going ahead in four months’ time.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“That’s what the law provides for,” he replied, before adding “though, obviously, we will have to keep it under review.”Sadiq Khan is expected to triumph for Labour in London, if the City Hall election goes ahead, but some of the eight other metro-mayor posts around England are held by Conservatives.
Keir Starmer – having pushed Labour back to level-pegging in the polls, a year after the party’s general election drubbing – would hope to win several hundred local council seats.
The UK did go to the polls in December 2019, when Mr Johnson won a big Commons majority, but no local elections have taken place since May 2019.
The new threat to elections came as the prime minister admitted the escape from the fresh lockdown was hugely uncertain and may be delayed until the end of March.
“Our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping,” he told MPs.
“That is why the legislation this House will vote on later today runs until March 31 –
not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis.”
He said there would be “continuous review” of the measures, with a statutory requirement to look at them every fortnight, but rejected a Tory call for regular votes in the Commons.
“After the marathon of last year we are indeed now in a sprint, a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them,” MPs were told. More

Arlene Foster on the Irish sea borderThe Brexit trade deal is “very unstable” and could easily be brought crashing down, a legal expert has warned MPs as importers run into difficulty transporting goods across the Irish sea under new customs checks.Several questions on tariffs and trade go unanswered in the deal, specialist EU legal scholar Professor Catherine Barnard said, warning that companies may be put off investing in the UK.Prof Barnard’s warning comes as a customs official with 40 years of experience in the field complained that the post-Brexit Irish sea border is “cumbersome” and hugely complex.Warning of a “huge shortage” of customs agents, Robert Hardy, director of one of four companies tasked with handling new customs forms for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, said pressure will build at the border as exports begin to ramp up.A small grocer in Northern Ireland has already been forced to close after discovering new customs rules meant he could have to pay double the price for each item imported from Great Britain. Jonathan Owens, who runs grocer Causeway Organic, said he suspended trading after learning of “an extra layer of red tape” in imports despite Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis’s insistence “there is no Irish Sea border”.Meanwhile, UK nationals have been blocked from entering Sweden after Ryanair staff reportedly refused to accept a negative coronavirus test from the NHS. Travellers had already faced trouble attempting to reach Spain and the Netherlands after the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1609944276Raab denounces Hong Kong arrestsAmid all the kerfuffle in the Commons today, the foreign secretary has put out a statement denouncing the arrest of dozens of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong.Dominic Raab said: “The mass arrest of politicians and activists in Hong Kong is a grievous attack on Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms as protected under the Joint Declaration.”These arrests demonstrate that the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities deliberately misled the world about the true purpose of the National Security Law, which is being used to crush dissent and opposing political views.“The UK will not turn our backs on the people of Hong Kong and will continue to offer BNOs the right to live and work in the UK.”This is far from the first time Mr Raab has spoken out over Beijing’s crackdown on dissenters in the territory.He references the BNOs (British National Overseas) visa scheme, which is a route to UK citizenship that will be available to millions of Hong Kongers at the end of the month.Liam James6 January 2021 14:441609943536Government urged to revive lockdown eviction banHomeless charity Shelter and private renter’s association Generation Rent have called on the government to reinstate the ban on evictions to protect renters during the new lockdown.The eviction ban was introduced last March to protect renters as the pandemic overhauled ordinary life, and similar protections were put in place at the beginning of the November lockdown.Alicia Kennedy, director of Generation Rent said: “During the first lockdown, renters who had received an eviction notice still felt pressure to move out, which is why we’re calling on the government to do all it can to prevent unnecessary house moves by suspending evictions,” adding that landlords should be stopped from issuing eviction notices in the first place.Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “We are now back in the same, if not worse, situation as last March. It is just too dangerous to start evicting people from their homes with Covid case numbers so high.
“You cannot follow the order to stay at home if you are evicted and facing homelessness. It’s not safe for people to attend court, nor is it safe for bailiffs to enter people’s homes and forcibly remove them. “There aren’t enough genuinely affordable homes for people to move elsewhere, and councils will not be able to cope with an even longer queue of homeless households.”Liam James6 January 2021 14:321609942242Labour accuses Williamson of ‘chronic incompetence’ Shadow education secretary Kate Green has accused her counterpart Gavin Williamson of “chronic incompetence”, suggesting he sows “chaos and confusion” wherever he goes. Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Ms Green lambasted the education secretary for yet another U-turn, which saw primary schools close one day after they opened for the start of term.  Ms Green said: “It was disappointing (Gavin Williamson) did not make a new year’s resolution to avoid U-turns or chronic incompetence. “Once again where the Secretary of State goes, chaos and confusion follows and it’s children, families and education staff across the country who pay the price for his incompetence.” The Labour MP also said that the government had treated young people as an “afterthought” throughout the pandemic. Rory Sullivan6 January 2021 14:101609941836Brexit deal ‘an unmitigated disaster’, DUP says The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said that the Brexit deal has been an “unmitigated disaster” for Northern Ireland.Speaking on Wednesday, Ian Paisley Jr, the party’s communities spokesperson, said: “They’ve basically told us that the protocol and its workings, on day six, is an unmitigated disaster.”That’s one of the reasons I was against it, because I think a blind man on a galloping horse could have told you it was going to be an unmitigated disaster.”At a committee hearing on Wednesday, Northern Irish MPs were told about the problems hauliers and retailers face as a result of the new trade arrangements. The Independent’s policy correspondent Jon Stone reports: Rory Sullivan6 January 2021 14:031609940564School exams to be replaced by teacher-assessed gradesGCSE, AS and A-level exams in England will be replaced by teacher assessments, education secretary Gavin Williamson has announced.The move comes after schools were shuttered this week in England as part of the country’s third national lockdown. Our Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin has the story: Rory Sullivan6 January 2021 13:421609940144SNP urges government to close UK borders to ‘all but essential travel’ The government must close the UK’s borders to “all but essential travel” to stem the spread of the new coronavirus variants, the SNP has said. Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, warned Boris Johnson to “act in a timely manner”, adding that the prime minister had so far been slow to respond “to the threats that we all face”. “On travel, is the prime minister prepared to learn from his Government’s past mistakes?” he added. Mr Johnson said: “As I said just now, we will make sure that we protect our borders from the readmission of the virus and he has seen what we did already in the case of the South African strain.”And we’ll bring forward further measures to stop the readmission of the virus.”Rory Sullivan6 January 2021 13:351609939404Lib Dems call for furlough scheme to be extended to ‘at least’ summer Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has urged the government to extend its furlough scheme until “at least” summer. Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Davey said: “We must leave no-one behind as we tackle this terrible virus. Employers and workers need support and certainty and they need it now.”“So will the Prime Minister instruct the Chancellor to publish an emergency budget to include a business rates holiday next year, an extension to furlough at least until the summer?” he added.The Liberal Democrat leader also called on the prime minister to help those self-employed people who have “unfairly” not received any financial support to date.  In response, Boris Johnson said a budget will be set out “in the course of the next few weeks and months”. Rory Sullivan6 January 2021 13:231609938335Stephen Crabb asks for Universal Credit riseTory former work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb asked Boris Johnson not to go ahead with cuts to Universal Credit, recommending that he instead extends support.He said: “Without question, one of the most important things this government did in the first lockdown was to strengthen Universal Credit.“And that’s been a lifeline, not just for people who’ve lost their jobs, but also for people who’ve kept going out to work during this pandemic, people on low wages in retail, delivery jobs, people doing cleaning jobs.
“Now our plan is still to cut that support back by £20 per week in less than three months time.
“I know the prime minister understands this issue, but does he agree with me that now is really not the moment to weaken our welfare safety net and that giving families on low incomes greater security for the year ahead by extending, rather than cutting, support is the right thing to do?”The prime minister responded: “I fully understand the point that my honourable friend makes and all I’ll say is that we’ll of course keep this under review.”Liam James6 January 2021 13:051609937301PM hints local and mayoral elections set for delayBoris Johnson hinted local and mayoral elections in May could be delayed.Responding to a question from Labour’s Bambos Charalambous, the prime minister said the elections are scheduled to go ahead but the government will keep the situation under review.Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick is following up the prime minister’s remark:Liam James6 January 2021 12:481609936090Corbyn asks PM to increase sick pay and ensure Universal Credit not cutBack to the Commons now where former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has asked Boris Johnson to improve financial support measures during the new lockdown, among other things.“For many, this third lockdown is one of devastating fear,” Mr Corbyn said before asking for an increase in statutory sick pay to £320 a week, assurance that Universal Credit will not be cut,  continuation of protection for private tenants and the provision of laptops for schoolchildren in need.He ended on a call for universal broadband, a call that was famously ill-received when he made it in the 2019 General Election campaign. That was a pandemic ago, however. More

Prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the end of lockdown may be delayed beyond mid-February, telling MPs the government will be “extremely cautious” about lifting restrictions and reopening schools.His comments came as anti-lockdown backbenchers raised concern about lockdown regulations published last night which set a date of 31 March for them to remain in force.Announcing England’s third national lockdown on Monday, Mr Johnson said that the vaccination could progress fast enough to allow restrictions to be eased “by the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails”.But he attempted to damp down expectations in a statement to the House of Commons today, stressing that the shutdown could continue beyond that point if coronavirus remains a threat.Mr Johnson told MPs that schools would be “the very first things to reopen” when the country moves out of lockdown, and said that this “may” happen when the planned half-term ends on 22 February.But he added:  “We should remain extremely cautious about the timetable ahead. “As was the case last week, our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a  gradual unwrapping. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday”That is why the legislation this House will vote on later today runs until 31 March –  not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then, but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis.“Carefully brick-by-brick breaking free of our confinement, but without risking the hard won gains that our protections have given us.”Mr Johnson said that if vaccinations proceed as planned and people observe lockdown rules, there would be “substantial opportunities” for relaxation of restrictions at the review planned for 15 February, which he described as “an important moment”. He promised that all restrictions will be subject to review every two weeks and told Tory former minister Chris Grayling that MPs would have an opportunity to debate the lockdown package again before the end of March.But he came under attack from some Tory backbenchers, including former minister Sir Desmond Swayne, who said that the lockdown package, which shut down golf clubs as well as indoor gatherings, was “pervaded by pettifogging malice”.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told MPs that the need for the current lockdown was “not just bad luck, it’s not inevitable, it follows a pattern”.The government had been “repeatedly too slow to act” and had failed to respond quickly enough to scientists’ warnings of the need to prepare for a second wave this winter, he said.“We had a tiered system that didn’t work and then we had the debacle of the delayed decision to change the rules on mixing at Christmas,” Starmer told MPs.“The most recent advice about the situation we’re now in was given on 22 December but no action was taken for two weeks until Monday of this week. “These are the decisions that have led us to the position we’re now in – and the vaccine is now the only way out and we must all support the national effort to get it rolled out as quickly as possible.”Sir Keir Starmer said it was “totally unforgivable” that millions of self-employed people have not received “any meaningful support” from the government during the pandemic.And he called for ministers to step up the supply of laptops to children to allow online learning while schools are closed, warning that up to 1.8 million don’t have access to a home computer and 900,000 live in households that rely on mobile internet connections.Mr Johnson insisted that 560,000 laptops and tablets had already been provided last year, with 100,000 more being delivered this week.The prime minister said he had “no choice” but to plunge England into lockdown on Monday due to figures showing that the new variant of Covid-19 was driving up infections, with one in 50 now infected nationwide. He said: “We are in a tough final stretch made only tougher by the new variant, but this country will come together and the miracle of scientific endeavour, much of it right here in the UK, has given us not only the sight of the finish line, but a clear route to get there.“After the marathon of last year, we are indeed now in a sprint – a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them and every needle in every arm makes a difference.” More

The government has been accused of ignoring offers from the UK’s “army” of pharmacies to provide much-needed help with its coronavirus vaccination drive. Boris Johnson told the nation on Tuesday evening he hopes everyone in the top four priority groups – care home residents and staff, health workers, the over-70s and the clinically vulnerable – will have received their first jab by mid February, amounting to some 13 million people.According to vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, 1.3 million people have received a jab since the rollout began on 8 December.While the government has so far largely been reliant on GPs, nurses and retired volunteers, it is estimated that the nation’s 11,000 pharmacies could feasibly dole out 1.3 million doses per week and could often be more accessible than many current centres.But their offers of help have been met with “a de facto silence”, according to Simon Dukes, chief of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, who has been representing high street pharmacies during talks with the government.“Rather than scrabbling around trying to find retired GPs and nurses and anyone who has possibly dated skills, you’ve got an army of thousands of pharmacists up and down the country who administer the flu jab every winter,” he told The Daily Telegraph.“We’ve been telling the NHS that we’re ready, willing and desperate to help. But we’ve been met by a de facto silence.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayOn Wednesday morning, Mr Zahawi insisted on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “community pharmacies are already very much involved”.But minutes earlier, Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Sandra Gidley told the programme that while some larger pharmacies were indeed involved in the government’s plans, they had to be able to guarantee they could deliver at least 950 doses per day to qualify. While that was necessary for the Pfizer vaccine – which is more complex to handle, store and transport – Ms Gidley said the arrival of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab meant it could be administered by much smaller units.“We are already used to delivering the flu vaccine. You have got an army of trained vaccinators who are ready, willing and able to play their part,” Ms Gidley said.“With the AstraZeneca vaccine there is no reason why that could not be delivered through community pharmacies.“There are over 11,000 pharmacies. If each of those does 20 a day that is 1.3 million a week extra vaccines that can be provided, very often to those who are hardest to reach.“Why would any government not want to do that?”Mr Dukes added: “I think if you ask Mrs Jones or Mrs Patel, who has to catch perhaps two buses to get there to have her jab and then come back again, risking catching this disease on the way, I think she’d much rather go to her local Boots or an independent pharmacy to get it done there. It’s the ability to walk in from the street, as opposed to travelling many miles.”Speaking on Today, Mr Zahawi appeared to pledge to involve community pharmacies, but did not commit to a timeframe or say whether the full network would be called upon.
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The Brexit trade deal is “very unstable” and could easily be brought crashing down, a legal expert has warned.
The shaky foundations of the agreement – which can be terminated for numerous reasons – is a huge problem for companies deciding whether to invest in the UK, Professor Catherine Barnard said.
“If you are a car manufacturer and you’re thinking of investing in a new plant – a serious multi million, perhaps billion, pounds worth of investment – you don’t know whether tariffs are going to be imposed,” she told MPs.
That could be “because the deal is brought to an end” or “because there could be cross-retaliation” if the UK decided to set its own competition rules.
“This deal is actually very unstable,” the professor of European law at the University of Cambridge told a parliamentary inquiry.
“I think this is actually a much more fundamental concern about this deal than anything else.”
Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayProfessor Barnard also urged MPs to be on their guard for key decisions – made behind closed doors in Brussels – in the new ‘Partnership Council’ that will fill in the huge gaps.They include unanswered questions about future fishing rights, access for financial services, checks on food goods, recognition of professional qualifications and climate emergency commitments, and much more.
She told the Commons Brexit committee that some working groups could also be granted delegated powers to decide what the UK is signing up to.
“There is a whole swathe of new governance, to use the jargon which you, as parliamentarians, might want to look at how you are going to scrutinise,” Professor Barnard said.
The mechanism is similar to the joint committee to settle details on the Northern Ireland Protocol, which, for example, later agreed that EU officials would carry out checks at Irish Sea ports.
On terminating the deal, Professor Barnard said that could be done for “dramatic” reasons – including breaches of agreements on human rights, climate change and even weapons of mass destruction.
Less eye-catching, but crucial in winning the backing of hard Brexit-backing Tories, was the ability to pull the plug after just one year, with a full review after five years.
Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform, warned of a difficult task ahead for the UK to achieve its aims, now it was “a third country”.
“It’s not very nice negotiating with the EU from the outside, even if you’re nearby – just look at Switzerland, just look at Turkey’s experience.
“It’s going to be rough for the UK in terms of its relationship with the EU, although I do agree with Catherine that it will evolve over time as it should.” More

The mother of a nine-year-old boy in the UK says she fears for his life after his access to medical cannabis drugs was cut off because of Brexit.Alfie Dingley suffers from a severe form of epilepsy that used to lead to 150 seizures a week, and his mother campaigned successfully for British doctors to be allowed to prescribe medical cannabis in 2017.But in a letter dated 15 December, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that “dispensing finished cannabis oil (Bedrocan products) in the Netherlands against prescriptions from UK prescribers is no longer an option from 1 January 2021”.  Hannah Deacon, the mother of nine-year-old Alfie, told the Guardian she is furious that the government only gave two weeks’ notice of the change, and called the termination of supply “terrifying”.“They [the DHSC] said they understand our concern but they can’t do anything. Well, let me tell them, it is not concerning, it is terrifying,” she said.IMs Deacon says medical cannabis products saved her son’s life, and he is now seizure-free.She rushed to secure about two months’ worth of medicine before the end of the Brexit transition period, but adds that this “is not long”.She said she was “really angry” about the lack of time they were given and “lack of empathy” by the authorities, saying that being told simply to swap to another medicine was “grossly unacceptable”.“It’s very, very dangerous and I’m really frightened about what is going to happen,” she said.Campaigners have also raised concerns over the termination of medical cannabis supplies from the Netherlands to the UK, calling it a “matter of life and death” for at least 40 children with similar conditions to Alfie.Neurologist Mike Barnes told the Guardian that the urgency of the situation is not being exaggerated, and one in two of these children “will die” if the medication is cut.A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We sympathise with patients dealing with challenging conditions and there is a range of alternative cannabis-based medicines available to UK patients.” More

MPs have been recalled to parliament to vote on England’s new national lockdown restrictions as the measures came into force overnight amid spiralling coronavirus cases.  The Christmas recess has been cut short to allow MPs to debate and vote retrospectively on the rules after they were announced by the prime minister on Monday night.  Boris Johnson will update MPs on the new controls – which include the closure of schools to most pupils and a return to the “stay at home” order – before they vote in the evening.  What time will MPs vote and debate?  The prime minister is due to give a statement in the House of Commons at about 11.30am, although parliament is expected to sit largely remotely.  This will be followed by a debate at 2pm.  
MPs will then vote on the new measures at about 7pm.  Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayAre the measures likely to pass?  The measures are expected to pass with ease, with Labour set to support the motion.  In a televised response to a statement by the prime minister on Tuesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed he would back the new restrictions in the Commons vote.  Why has England entered another national lockdown?  The current lockdown, which began on 6 January and will last until at least mid-February, was announced amid spiralling cases in England as the country moved to Covid alert Level 5 – the highest level.  Dr Kevin Fong, national clinical adviser to NHS England’s emergency preparedness resilience and response team for Covid-19, said Level 5 means “there is a risk in the next 21 days of [health] services being overwhelmed”.  He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the next four to six weeks will be “the most dangerous of the whole pandemic”.  A new, more contagious variant of coronavirus has been spreading across the UK, with figures suggesting one in 50 people had Covid-19 last week.  Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested 1.1 million people in private households in England had Covid-19 between 27 December and 2 January.  The number of daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK topped 60,000 for the first time on Tuesday, while a further 830 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.  Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, has said people must take the “stay at home” rules seriously as he warned the country is facing a “really serious emergency”.  Additional reporting by PA  More