Keir Starmer will address the nation tonight at 7pm in response to Boris Johnson ’s statement on Covid.
The Labour leader will make a rare statement via a pre-recorded message on BBC One reacting to the Prime Minister and speaking directly to the British people.
It comes after Mr Johnson made a rare “ministerial broadcast” instead of a press conference to ramp up England’s booster vaccines.
The PM announced a target for all eligible adults to be able to get a booster jab by December 31 - forcing the NHS to give around a million doses a day.
But the format of his announcement meant the press were not able to ask questions, including on the Mirror's revelations that he hosted a No10 quiz during lockdown.
The BBC can be required to give airtime for ministerial broadcasts “in exceptional circumstances, such as a decision to go to war,” according to the Corporation’s guidelines.
The rules add: “In such circumstances, it may also be necessary for the BBC to consider whether responses from other political parties are appropriate.
Sir Keir has previously spoken to the nation in reaction to a broadcast by Boris Johnson.
Labour’s leader yesterday said it “looks as though” the Prime Minister broke lockdown law by hosting a virtual No10 Christmas quiz with two colleagues by his side on 15 December 2020.
But Sir Keir said he would support a Tuesday vote on Plan B measures - crushing a Tory rebellion.
More than 60 Conservatives could refuse to back making Covid passports compulsory from Wednesday at nightclubs and other large venues in England.
But Labour’s leader said he would back the measures. He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I’m not supporting the government on Tuesday, I’m supporting the NHS and the public.
“And if you look at the science in relation to Omicron, the new variant, there is a real concern that we could be in a situation where the number of cases is doubling in as short a period as two days.
“Now, I understand people say, well that hasn’t led to higher hospitalisations and deaths yet, but the sheer volume of cases is very, very worrying, and that’s uppermost in my mind.
“So I’m not supporting the prime minister on Tuesday, I’m supporting our NHS and I’m supporting the public in relation to this pandemic.”
