Boris Johnson has urged Britons to “have yourself a merry little Christmas" but keep celebrations small and brief, adding: “I’m afraid this year I do mean little.”
The prime minister told MPs that the four UK nations have agreed to continue "in principle" with the easing of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas, allowing up to three households to mix for five days.
However, the Welsh and Scottish leaders appeared to have undermined the prime minister’s claim of an agreement, with Mark Drakeford saying only two households should come together in Wales and Nicola Sturgeon saying Scots should only meet for one day.
And opposition leader Keir Starmer accused Mr Johnson of ignoring medical advice over the Christmas plan.
The PM said he did not want to “criminalise people’s long-made plans” for the festive season, but urged people to “exercise a high degree of personal responsibility”.
The World Health Organisation has warned Europeans to have a quiet Christmas or risk a renewed surge of the disease.
Earlier, the communities secretary admitted the Covid-19 infection rate would rise as people mix together over Christmas.
"This is a virus that thrives on social interaction, so bringing more people together, even over this short period of time, is not cost-free. It will have consequences in terms of increasing the rate. It will rise," Robert Jenrick said.
Meanwhile, it was announced that nearly 138,000 people in the UK received a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine over the last week.
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