FTSE 100 Live: Alarm over new Covid-19 variant sends shares, oil prices lower

Shares have tumbled and oil prices are sharply lower following the detection of a new and more transmissible variant of Covid-19.

The FTSE 100 index slumped more than 3%, with British Airways owner IAG losing more than a fifth of its value.

Alarm over the variant known as B.1.1.529 prompted a flight to the US dollar, with Brent crude futures down more than 4% at $78 a barrel.