Summary of Whitty/Johnson press conference
Here are the main points from the press conference. It was dominated by Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, whose public health advice went way beyond what No 10 has been saying in recent days. Boris Johnson did not fully endorse his comments, but he made little effort to contradict his adviser either. It probably suits No 10 for people to hear warnings that cause them to reduce their social mixing over the coming weeks. Critics of the approach call it “lockdown by stealth”.
- Whitty said that people would be getting infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus in “very, very, very large numbers” quite soon. It was spreading at “an absolutely phenomenal pace”, he said. He said:
This is a really serious threat at the moment. How big a threat? There are several things we don’t know. But all the things that we do know are bad and the principal one being the speed at which this is moving, it is moving at an absolutely phenomenal pace.
Therefore between the time that it first starts to really take off in a way people will be able to see and the point when we get to very, very, very large numbers will be quite a short one, and that, I think, is part of the issue in trying to deal with this.
Referring to today’s figures showing recorded Covid cases at a record level (see 4.11pm), he said:
I’m afraid we have to be realistic that records will be broken a lot over the next few weeks as the rates continue to go up.
- He said the UK has two epidemics running one on top of the other. He said:
What we’ve got is two epidemics on top of one another – an existing Delta epidemic, roughly flat, and a very rapidly growing Omicron epidemic on top of it.
- He said he was fairly certain Omicron would lead to a large increase in the number of people going to hospital. He said:
I am afraid there will be an increasing number of Omicron patients going into the NHS, going into hospital, going into intensive cares, and exact ratios we don’t yet know but there will be substantial numbers. That will begin to become apparent, in my view, fairly soon after Christmas.
It’ll start before then but in terms of the big numbers, I think that’s a reasonably, I’m afraid, a reasonably nailed-on prospect.
But he did not put figures on how high hospital cases might rise, or how many people were likely to die, stressing that there was still not enough data available to predict exactly what the impact would be in the UK.
- He said that the NHS would be hit by serious staff shortages after Christmas because of people contracting Omicron over the holidays. Talking about the health service in particular, he said:
We may end up with quite substantial gaps in rotas at short notice.
Given how much difficulty my health and social care colleagues have had over the last two years, saying that is pretty depressing, because they have really, really had to stand up and go back again and again.
The reality is this speed of onset is going to lead to lots of people getting ill simultaneously and we have to be realistic about that.
- Whitty advised people to limit their socialising to people that “really matter”. Asked what people should do over Christmas, he said:
I really think people should be prioritising those things, and only those things, that really matter to them. Because otherwise the risk of someone getting infected at something that doesn’t really matter to them, and then not being able to do the things that do matter to them, obviously goes up ...
The point I’m making is, don’t mix with people you don’t have to ... [Focus on] things that really matter to you.
This was in stark contrast to the message No 10 has been giving out in recent days, when it has been saying it does not want people to cancel parties. Boris Johnson was less gung-ho than he has been before about carrying on as normal. He said people should be cautious. But he would not go as far as echoing what Whitty said, in terms of urging people to restrict their contacts quite significantly, and he said “we’re not cancelling people’s parties”.
- Whitty said there should be “really serious caution” over reports that a reduction in hospitalisations was being seen in cases of Omicron in South Africa. He explained:
The first caution on this is simply a numerical one - if the rate of hospitalisation were to halve but you’re doubling every two days, in two days you’re back to where you were before you actually had the hospitalisation.
If the peak of this is twice as great, then halving of the size of the hospitalisation rate, you still end up in the same place. And this peak is going very fast.
The second point I wanted to make, which I’m not sure it’s fully been absorbed by everybody, is that the amount of immunity in South Africa for this wave - because of a prior Delta wave and vaccination - is far higher than it was for their last wave. And therefore the fact that there is a lower hospitalisation rate is unsurprising.
- Whitty said people feel “angry” about “unfairness”, in an apparent dig at No 10 over partygate. Asked about it, he said:
I think it’s a statement of fact that when people think there’s unfairness, and particularly if they think there’s unfairness in high places, they, of course, get angry.
I’m not commenting on individual cases or commenting on the rights or wrongs of anything, to be honest, I never have throughout this and I don’t intend to start now.
- Johnson claimed he had always followed the rules.
- He claimed the partygate controversy had not stopped people following public health message from government. He said:
If I may say so, I think that the public can readily ... as I think colleagues have said ... the public can readily distinguish between these types of reports and these types of accounts, and the overwhelming imperative that we have now together to tackle this disease in the two-pronged way that we are. I think those are the messages that I’m seeing the public understand very, very loud and clear, and really responding magnificently.
That is all from me for today. But our Covid coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.
Updated
Here is Sky’s Sam Coates on the Boris Johnson/Chris Whitty press conference.
'It was like watching two different events in parallel'.@SamCoatesSky responds to the PM's news conference on the Omicron variant, describing Prof. Chris Whitty and Dr Nikki Kanani's advice as "cautious" whilst Boris Johnson's response was "boosterish".https://t.co/DpWeuOGHDR pic.twitter.com/mopo7xa8tx
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 15, 2021
Another 100 military personnel have been deployed to join the expanded vaccination campaign in Scotland, ministers in Edinburgh have confirmed.
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary, said they were being trained to supplement 121 military personnel, including 15 army nurses, already involved in vaccination clinics and logistical support. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, promised extra military help in his broadcast on Sunday evening.
Earlier this week Yousaf said that hitting the revised target of providing boosters for adults by 31 December would be “extremely challenging” and that Scottish ministers had been asking for extra help from the Ministry of Defence for several weeks.
Yousaf said:
The emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is adding to the winter pressures usually faced by the NHS which is why we have again requested military support to complement our existing resources and ensure we can get vaccinations into arms as quickly as possible.
Demand for boosters may mean you may have to wait in a queue at drop-in centres but we urge everyone to be patient.
Earlier I joked about whether the press conference would an opportunity for Boris Johnson to announce plan C. But there may be no need for plan C at all. After listening to Chris Whitty for an hour, many people will be scaling back, cancelling bookings or invitations or reverting to their own version of bubbles or the rule of six without parliament having to do a thing!
I will post a summary shortly.
Christmas will lead to staff shortages in NHS because of people getting ill, Whitty says
Q: If you have families meeting over Christmas, with multiple generations there, and not much ventilation, is that really sensible? And what are you own Christmas plans?
Whitty says he thinks his own Christmas plans will be interrupted.
And he says he is worried about hospital doctors getting Covid at the same time. This could lead to “quite substantial gaps in rotas”. He implies this will affect his own decisions.
Saying this is quite depressing.
The speed of the onset will lead to “lots of people getting ill simultaneously, and we have to be realistic about that”.
Kanani says she has already scaled back her Christmas plans. If her children are listening, she is sorry about that, she tells them.
Johnson says his plans for Christmas are “pretty modest”. He will be working.
Q: Are you confident you are the right person to be telling people what to do while the partygate investigations are still ongoing?
Johnson says he follows the rules. Everyone in politics should follow the rules, he says.
But he says people are getting the message. They are coming forward and getting jabbed. It is vital, he says.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
Whitty says it is not clear how often boosters will be needed.
You need them either because they have waned over time, or because a new variant has come in requiring a top-up.
He says they do not know how long it will take for the vaccines to wane after the booster. They expect the booster will delay the waning, but they do not know.
In the long run vaccines will be available that can tackle multiple variants.
Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England, says once the NHS knows how it will have to respond in future, it will put the infrastructure in place to allow those jabs to be delivered.
Updated
PM urges cautious approach to parties, while Whitty advise people to meet 'only those that really matter'
Q: Should people limit their social contacts over Christmas? Should parties go ahead?
Whitty says people should prioritise “only those things that really matter to them”. That is because there is a risk, if they do other things, they might not be able to do the things that do really matter.
Johnson says he agrees that people have an instinct to be cautious.
The government is not cancelling parties, he says.
But people should think carefully. Will they meet lots of people they don’t know? People should get a test before they go. And use ventilation.
Updated
Q: Will you change as a result of the vote last night?
Johnson says he will not change the policies that have led to the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, and 500,000 new jobs.
Whitty says big increase in hospitalisations due to Omicron is fairly certain
Q: Was Jenny Harries right to say Omicron poses the biggest threat we have faced since the pandemic started?
Whitty says it is a very serious threat. But he says he is not sure you can make comparisons. We have some advantages now.
But he says he thinks the prediction that people will soon start ending up in hospital because of Omicron in “big numbers” is a “reasonably nailed-on prospect”.
Whitty says people feel angry about 'unfairness' in apparent dig at No 10 over partygate
Q: How did you feel about the partygate photos?
Whitty says of course people feel angry about unfairness. But he says he is not commenting on specific cases. He has not done that through this pandemic, he says.
He also says he thinks people can differentiate the need to follow health advice from stories like thiss.
Q: Would you welcome a police inquiry into the No 10 parties?
Johnson claims the questioner (ITV’s Robert Peston) mischaracterised what happened. People have been working hard in the building. He says if the police want to look into something, they will.
But he claims the public can differentiate between specific cases and the overall health message.
Updated
Whitty urges people to cut back on social contacts that matter less to them
Whitty says they do not have data on hospitalisation and mortality rates for people with two doses of vacccines, and for people with boosters.
There is some data available, but it is not yet strong enough to make policy recommendations on.
He says people should decide what social contacts matter to them, and cut back on the ones that matter “much less” to them.
Johnson says he is implementing a double strategy. They are rolling out plan B, with measures to stop people catching the virus. But the government is also using a tool that was not available last year, the vaccines and the booster jabs.
The booster jab provides an excellent level of protection.
He says they think this is the right approach.
The booster numbers are extraordinary, he says.
Whitty say they are trying to avoid vulnerable people having to shield again because of all the downsides.
Johnson says isolation rules eased for close contacts of positive cases to avoid 'pingdemic'
Q: Why is the government rolling back on isolation. It is allowing people to test instead if they have been a close contact of a confirmed case.
Johnson says he thinks this policy will produce the same result. He says they want to avoid a “pingdemic”. He says a “pingdemic” would make things much worse.
Updated
Whitty says he wants to advise people to be very cautious about figures coming out of South Africa suggesting Omicron is leading to fewer people ending up in hospital.
First, he says, if Omicron is doubling every two days, even with a fewer proportion of cases ending up in hospital, it does not take very long to catch up with where you would have been if hospitalisations had been at the same rate as with Delta.
And, second, he says South Africa has had a Delta wave and vaccination, building up immunity.
Updated
Whitty turns to a slide showing how much more likely unvaccinated people are to end up in hospital.
And he shows the figures for Covid cases with the S-gene target failure - which is a very good indicator for Omicron.
Updated
Whitty says UK has 'two epidemics on top of one another'
Prof Chris Whitty is showing the slides.
He starts with cases, and the latest record figure - on the right.
He says we have “two epidemics on top of one another” - Omicron, which is rapidly rising, and Delta, which is roughly flat.
Hospital rates have been flat, but they are starting to increase, especially in London, he says.
He says deaths have been flat.
And this chart shows the booster rollout (in red).
Updated
Johnson urges people to get tested if they are going somewhere where they will meet a lot of people, or if they are meeting elderly relatives.
He says there will be mass jabathons as football stadiums.
They are throwing everything at it, he says.
Updated
Johnson says the devolved administrations are making similar efforts. There is a Cobra meeting with them this evening.
The UK has a whole has twice as many boosters per head as the EU, and more than twice as many as the US, he says.
Johnson says 33,000 people have signed up as jab stewards.
He urges people to visit this website if they want to volunteer.
Johnson says yesterday was the biggest day for boosters yet.
Those teams will keep going through Christmas and beyond.
He refers to some medics by name who have been working on this programme, including a team in Plymouth who regularly keep going until 2am. They keep going as long as people are there, he says.
Updated
Boris Johnson has arrived for the press conference.
He urges people to get a booster.
Omicron is rolling into the UK. Covid cases are at their highest recorded rate, and hospitalisations are up by 10%, he says.
The Independent Sage group of experts is calling for a 10-day “circuit breaker” before Christmas to stem the rapid rise of the Omicron variant, noting between now at 25 December there could be five doublings of cases at its current growth rate, meaning the situation could potentially be 32 times worse by then.
Among the measures they call for are the closure of indoor hospitality and entertainment, no indoor gatherings between households of any size unless households are in bubbles, and 10-day isolation of all close contacts of new cases, with financial and practical support to do so.
The group add there could be limited mixing allowed over Christmas, followed by a review of the situation. They say:
The opportunity for early action has been lost and the time for further delay is over. The situation is so urgent we must take emergency action now and that means it is imperative to reduce contacts. Advice is no longer enough since it does not convey the urgency of the situation.
Updated
Boris Johnson's press conference
Boris Johnson will be holding his press conference at 5pm. He will be appearing with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England.
The number of people coming forward to get their first dose of a Covid vaccine in the UK increased by more than 34,000 in the last 24 hours.
Official government figures show a total of 51,332,920 first doses had been delivered in the UK by 14 December. This represents a rise of 34,082 on the previous day, the highest daily increase since 12 November. It follows repeated calls in recent days for people to get vaccinated in order to better protect themselves and others against the new Omicron variant.
Some 46,842,497 second doses have also now been delivered, an increase of 37,888 on the previous day.
A record 656,711 booster and third doses of Covid-19 vaccine were reported in the UK. A total of 24.7 million booster and third doses have been delivered, with 3.4m in the past seven days.
Updated
When Boris Johnson dismissed as “fake news” a claim at PMQs that Foreign Office staffing was going to be cut by 10% across the board (see 12.37pm), he was not telling the truth, a Foreign Office email suggests. This is from the i’s Paul Waugh.
Except, it wasn't fake news.
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) December 15, 2021
Here's the email to staff.
Will @BorisJohnson come to the Commons to correct the record this afternoon..? pic.twitter.com/GZMIWFHNxK
Confirmed Omicron cases in UK now at 10,017, UKHSA says
The UK Health Security Agency says the number of confirmed Omicron cases in the UK has gone up by 4,671 from yesterday to 10,017.
That is an 87% increase. In recent days confirmed cases have been rising at more like a rate of 50% per day, but today’s extra large increase is partly explained by some “old” cases being added to the total, and partly by the definition of confirmed cases being changed.
#OmicronVariant latest information
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 15, 2021
4,671 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across the UK. Confirmed Omicron cases in the UK now total 10,017.
NOTE: Important information about case data in thread below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gXoellwtPa
▶️ The 4,237 confirmed cases in England (below) includes some additional cases from 14 December – this occurred due to a data issue that is now resolved
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 15, 2021
▶️ A change to the case definition also contributes to the rise in Omicron cases we see today
4,237 additional cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across England.
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 15, 2021
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in England is 9,243.
265 additional cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across Scotland.
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 15, 2021
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in Scotland is 561.
30 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across Wales.
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 15, 2021
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in Wales is 62.
139 additional confirmed cases of the #Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported across Northern Ireland.
— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) December 15, 2021
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 Omicron cases in Northern Ireland is 151.
The UK dashboard also shows that new Covid cases over the past week are up 19.1% on the week before, and hospital admissions are up 10.4% on the previous week (although the hospital admission figures only go up to last Saturday).
But deaths are down 5% week on week. Today 165 further deaths have been recorded.
Updated
UK records 78,610 new Covid cases - highest ever daily total since pandemic started
The UK has recorded 78,610 new Covid cases, the government’s dashboard reveals. That is a huge increase on the total for yesterday (59,610), or the total for a week ago today (51,342). It is the highest daily total every on this measure (by date reported, not by specimen date) - although comparisons with the first wave of the pandemic are not valid, because so little testing was taking place then.
Updated
Omicron cases in Scotland up 140% from yesterday to 265
The number of Omicron cases reported in Scotland jumped by 140% overnight, climbing from 110 new cases disclosed on Tuesday to 265 new cases on Wednesday, nearly doubling Scotland’s cumulative total of confirmed Omicron infections to 561 overnight.
The data from Public Health Scotland shows the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board and Lanarkshire health board areas remain the worst affected, with 220 and 142 total cases respectively.
As yet, hospitalisations rates involving confirmed Omicron cases remain very low in Scotland, with two reported on Tuesday, a tiny fraction of the 544 people in hospital with Covid, including 38 people in intensive care.
Meanwhile, National Records of Scotland, the official statistics agency, said that overall weekly deaths in Scotland where Covid was confirmed or suspected fell by seven to 84 in the week ending Sunday 12 December.
That data reflects a continuing fall in deaths from the still-dominant Delta variant. NRS added that monthly figures show the age-standardised rate for Covid-related deaths in Scotland had fallen down to 95 per 100,000 people in November 2021 from 126 per 100,000 in October.
Updated
As Omicron continues its rapid spread, the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed it will double the availability of home delivery of Covid test kits to 900,000 a day by Saturday (see 10.50am) so that more people can get lateral flow or PCR tests delivered to their door.
Test availability will also expand at pharmacies, PCR testing sites and local authorities, the UKHSA said. “Pharmacies are now be able to access 10.5m lateral flow tests per week, an increase of 5.5m tests per week,” the agency stated, adding booking slots for PCR tests will also increase.
However, while the UKHSA said they are working to “secure a further hundreds of millions of lateral flow tests and an increase in PCR laboratory testing capacity of up to 150,000 tests per day”, others have warned the system will not hold up against Omicron. Dr Jeffrey Barrett who is leading the Covid-19 genomics initiative at the Sanger Institute tweeted that testing capacity will almost certainly fail to keep up with the variant.
Testing capacity will almost certainly fail to keep up with #Omicron: even with best efforts we can scale supply linearly, but demand will grow exponentially. This will happen everywhere at (almost) the same time, so global supply chains of reagents, plastics, etc will struggle.
— Jeffrey Barrett (@jcbarret) December 15, 2021
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group has welcomed the appointment of a chair for the Covid inquiry (see 3.13pm), but says the announcement has come “far too late”. It has posted a Twitter thread on this starting here.
Covid-19 Bereaved Families on announcement of Chair of UK wide inquiry into the pandemic.
— Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK (@CovidJusticeUK) December 15, 2021
“The inquiry should be a historic and positive process from which the terrible suffering and loss of the past 18 months are learned from, to ensure these tragedies are not repeated.
1/6 pic.twitter.com/fwYQ6sLZjS
Former appeal court judge Lady Hallett to chair Covid inquiry - but terms of reference not out until next year
Downing Street has now published the formal announcement about the appointment of the former appeal court judge, Lady Hallett, as chair of the Covid inquiry.
But No 10 has not announced who will sit on the panel alongside her, or what her terms of reference will be. Boris Johnson will consult with Hallett and the devolved administrations before draft terms of reference are published in the new year. There will then be a public consultation before they are finalised.
In a comment to mark her appointment, Hallett said:
I am honoured to be appointed to chair the Covid-19 inquiry. The pandemic has affected us all, some much worse than others. I am acutely conscious of the suffering it has caused to so many.
In the new year I shall be seeking views from those who have lost loved ones and all other affected groups about the inquiry’s terms of reference.
I want to assure the British public that, once the terms of reference are finalised, I shall do my utmost to ensure the inquiry answers as many questions as possible about the UK’s response to the pandemic so that we can all learn lessons for the future.
Updated
Photograph: WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
Tory MP Robert Halfon says government not doing enough to prevent 'de facto school closures'
Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP who chairs the education select committee, has accused the government of allowing “de facto school closures” in England.
Granted an urgent parliamentary question on preparations for schools reopening in January, Halfon said the government was failing to take the steps needed to stop widespread closures. He said:
The government has stated they want to keep schools open but what is the plan in order to do so? What measures are being taken to ensure that, should education staff be required to isolate, there’s a network of supply teachers ready to step in?
There’s a nationwide campaign for an army of NHS volunteers, but not for education. Why is a similar army of retired teachers or Ofsted inspectors not being recruited to support schools struggling to cope with staffing requirements?
Can we not have the same vision, the same passion, the same resource provision, for the education service as we do for the National Health Service?
Despite the government’s assurances, it seems to me we are moving, sadly, towards de facto school closures. I urge ministers to prove otherwise.
In response Alex Burghart, the education minister, said “a range of work” was under way, including secondary schools testing pupils at the start of the new term before returning to school.
“I can assure the house that schools will have all the testing facilities that they require,” Burghart said, in a reference to lateral flow testing kit shortages.
Stephen Morgan, a shadow education minister, accused the government of failing to act on expert advice from Sage to improve ventilation in classrooms going back to May 2020. “This is literally a problem the government could have solved when the sun was shining,” Morgan said.
Updated
UK to delay introduction of post-Brexit checks on goods entering Britain from Ireland
The government is to delay new controls on goods moving from the island of Ireland to Great Britain while negotiations with Brussels on the Northern Ireland Protocol continue, PA Media reports. PA says:
The checks on incoming goods from the EU - covering mainly food and agricultural products - are due to come into force on 1 January, bringing post-Brexit customs arrangements with the bloc in line with those with the rest of world.
However, Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, said the existing arrangements would continue on a temporary basis for goods crossing the Irish Sea for as long as the discussions on the protocol are ongoing.
“The government believes that this pragmatic act of good will can help to maintain space for continued negotiations on the protocol,” Lord Frost said in a written ministerial statement.
“It also ensures that traders in both Ireland and Northern Ireland are not faced with further uncertainty while the protocol arrangements themselves are still under discussion.”
NHS England says it delivered 611,976 jabs yesterday, including a record 548,039 booster injections. The previous daily high for boosters was on Saturday, when 483,361 were delivered.
NHS England also says 630,000 booster jabs were booked through the online booking service yesterday, the highest number for a Tuesday.
But to meet the target set by Boris Johnson for all adults to get their booster by the end of the month, jabs would have to be running at around 1m per day.
Labour denies having informal deal with Lib Dems to minimise campaigning in North Shropshire byelection
At its post-PMQs briefing Labour denied having an informal agreement with the Lib Dems to minimise campaigning in the North Shropshire byelection, where the Lib Dems now have the best chance of beating the Conservatives. A party spokesman said:
You had Angela Rayner there yesterday, you’ve got two members of the shadow cabinet there, at least, today that I’ve already seen on social media are there, they’re campaigning.
We’ve got a brilliant local candidate in Ben Wood and we’ve run a focused campaign there, and I think what’s clear is that Boris Johnson’s incompetence and broken promises is what’s coming up repeatedly on the doorstep.
Asked if he was able to deny there had been a “gentleman’s agreement” between Labour and the Lib Dems, he said: “Yes, I am.”
The party also confirmed that Rachael Maskell and Mick Whitley have left their respective posts as shadow arts minister and PPS to Ed Miliband after they defied the party whip in the vote last night on mandatory vaccination for NHS staff.
Ric Holden (Con) asks if the Department of Health and Social Care held any parties last Christmas.
Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the department, says DHSC has had its issues with social distancing. He is talking about Matt Hancock. But, says Wormald, he is not aware of any parties last Christmas.
NHS only warned about PM's new booster jabs target at weekend, MPs told
Q: When did you find out about the PM’s plan (announced on Sunday) to bring forward the target for giving all adults a booster jab?
Pritchard said they had discussions about it with government over the weekend.
NHS England chief executive says Omicron could lead to as many Covid hospitalisations as last winter
The public accounts committee has just started hearing evidence from Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, about the impact Covid will have on NHS waiting lists. Pritchard is appearing with Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care and other senior officials.
Meg Hillier (Lab), the chair, starts the questioning.
Q: Are people being offered a booster vaccine before the end of the month, or just the chance to book one?
Pritchard says it must be a “credible offer”. She says some people will not be able to get jabbed before the end of the month because they are recovering from Covid.
She says the programme is already being ramped up. Yesterday 548,000 booster jabs were delivered. She says that is 70% up on the previous Tuesday.
She says the NHS is doing this while it prepares for a significant wave of hospitalisations. She goes on:
At the moment the indications are it could be as big or even bigger than the previous wave this time last year.
Updated
A Conservative councillor and former political director for the party attended a Christmas party for Shaun Bailey’s mayoral campaign at CCHQ when Tier 2 restrictions were in place in London.
Adam Wildman, a councillor in the London borough of Bexley, was identified by the Guardian as one of those in a picture published by the Daily Mirror yesterday of the event last December.
On Wednesday afternoon a statement on behalf of Bexley’s Conservative councillors expressed “shock and disappointment” at the picture. The statement added: “Following our selection process earlier this year, Councillor Wildman took the decision not to stand for the Conservatives again at the election in May 2022.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Wildman was political director of the Conservative party until May this year when he joined the PR and consultancy firm Teneo as an associate director.
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
No 10 says it has no plans for further Covid restrictions
At the post-PMQs lobby briefing the PM’s official spokesman said that “there are no plans to go beyond what we have set out” in terms of Covid restrictions. But he went on:
We would encourage anyone meeting up with friends and family to get themselves tested, to take heed of ventilation and other advice that we have put out.
It’s vitally important that people don’t forget the basic steps that we have been talking about for some time now and don’t simply just rely on vaccination or their boosters. There’s other mitigations that you can put in place that are very important.
The spokesman also said that mass vaccination centres will open at football grounds, including Wembley and Stamford Bridge.
Johnson too weak to lead UK through Omicron crisis, says Starmer
Here is my colleague Peter Walker’s story about PMQs.
Lady Hallett, a retired appeal court judge who oversaw the inquest into the 7/7 bombings, will chair the Covid public inquiry, the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar reports,
BREAKING: Sources say that ex-appeal court judge Baroness Heather Hallett, who oversaw the 7/7 inquest, will chair the official public inquiry into the Government's handling of the Covid pandemic.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) December 15, 2021
Sounds like she's a good choice who will have the confidence of bereaved - very experienced and has record of engaging with victims/ families.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) December 15, 2021
In September Boris Johnson promised the chair of the inquiry would be appointed before Christmas.
PMQs - snap verdict
Technically, Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer both won the key vote last night, on Covid passes. But of course it did not feel like a win for Johnson, and today’s PMQs was primarily a victory lap by the Labour leader. He performed it very well, but perhaps without the fizz that might have made this a particularly exciting or memorable encounter. As it was the last PMQs before recess, taking his cue perhaps from TV scheduling, the Speaker staged it as a Christmas special and ran it at extended length. But the festive telly is full of repeats, and there was a lot of that today.
Starmer’s repeats are the better ones. He is not always brilliant at message discipline, but today it felt like he got a full house on the keyword scorecard, and they all worked. Johnson was “so weak” he could not win the vote on his own; he was the “worst possible prime minister at the worst possible time”. And, not for the first time, Starmer boasted about his leadership, Blair-style: “If further votes are needed to save lives and protect the NHS, Labour MPs will follow my leadership.”
Starmer also tried to get Johnson to admit that Covid passes were only approved last night because of Labour votes, although trying to get Johnson to concede a negative proved as futile today as it normally does. One of his best moments came when Johnson heckled “not true” as Starmer said the vote would have been lost without Labour. Starmer replied:
He’s so socially distanced from the truth, he thinks that’s not true. I don’t know where to start.
Starmer also linked last night’s vote to trust, and to his general charge - a feature of almost all Starmer’s PMQs performances at the moment - of how Johnson repeatedly fails to deliver on promises. (See 12.11am.) These attack lines are both plausible and relevant, and they seem to be having some effect.
Johnson was reprising his greatest hits too, but some of them are getting a little stale. He repeatedly stressed the success of Britain’s vaccine, and booster, rollout programmes, and resurrected the false claim that this would not have happened under Labour because of its fondness for remaining in the European Medicines Agency. And he ended with a quip he has used many timess before:
They vacillate, we vaccinate. They jabber, we jab. They play party politics and we get on with the job.
It was very panto season. People probably do believe the vaccine rollout has been a success, and with little else to boast about at the moment, this was probably the best messaging available. But I’ve yet to see any evidence that the whole EMA argument has any cut-through outside Westminster, and it is hard to see it as much of a runner by the time of the next election.
UPDATE: I have amended the post above to described Johnson’s EMA claim as false, rather than extremely tenuous. It is the related, but slightly wider, claim that Labour’s pro-Europeanism would have led to a slower vaccine rollout that is extremely tenuous. See here for a more detailed explanation.
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Johnson to hold press conference with Chris Whitty at 5pm
Boris Johnson is holding another press conference tonight. Perhaps plan C is closer than we think?
Watch this evening's COVID-19 press conference live on our channels from 5pm. pic.twitter.com/H0cDRrueNo
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) December 15, 2021
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Robbie Moore (Con) asks about the Star Hobson murder. He claims political correctness at Bradford council was a factor in its safeguarding failings.
Johnson says a commissioner is being appointed to report on what Bradford did. He says, if necessary, the government, will remove service control from the council.
Carolyn Harris (Lab) says, unlike the PM, she knows what her staff are doing this Christmas. They are delivering Christmas hampers. Will the PM congratulate them?
Johnson does that.
Paul Howell (Con) says jobs, jobs, jobs matter to his Sedgefield constituents. He asks the PM to back a rail project in the constituency.
Johnson congratulates those who made the business case for this scheme. It is part of the biggest ever rail investment, he says.
Ruth Cadbury (Lab) says emergency funding for Transport for London ends this week. But its financial problems are solely caused by the pandemic. He says Sadiq Khan has been improving TfL’s finances after Johnson, as mayor, bargained away its grant. Will the PM instruct Grant Shapps to meet the mayor immediately so TfL can keep buses moving?
Johnson says he probably knows more about this than any other MP. When he left the mayoralty, Crossrail was in surplus. But Khan recklessly cut fares, leaving a huge hole in TfL’s finances. He says the blame lies with City Hall.
Tom Tugendhat (Con), chair of the foreign affairs committee, says the Foreign Office is implementing a 10% staff cut across the board. How is that compatible with global Britain?
Johnson says the foreign secretary has told him this claim is “fake news”.
Asked why the health service was not consulted on whether his booster pledge was deliverable, Johnson says he is confident they can do it.
Johnson says he told President Putin on Monday that, if Russia invaded Ukraine, it would face an extremely tough set of sanctions. Any such action would be catastrophic for Russia, Ukraine and the world, he says.
Maria Eagle (Lab) asks why the government is not backing her bill to give the bereaved funded legal representation at public inquiries.
Johnson says the government thinks this might be right in some circumstances. He promises Eagle a meeting on the issue.
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Kieran Mullan (Con) says the HQ of Great British Rail should be in Crewe.
Johnson says an application from Crewe will be welcome.
Laura Farris (Con) says West Berkshire council have cut rough sleeeping in the Newbury area to zero. What is the government doing about the link between rough sleeping and drug use?
Johnson says this is an absolute priority for the government. He says rough sleeping has gone done 43% since 2017, although he admits as we come out of the pandemic that might change.
Johnson claims that the UK’s freedom from EU rules enabled it to have the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe.
Peter Aldous (Con) says the government has not fully recognised the potential of East Anglia.
Johnson says there is a massive opportunity in those coastal communities. He says new town deals will help.
Colum Eastwood (SDLP) says the PM should resign.
Johnson says he will carry on getting the country through the pandemic.
Bob Neill (Con) asks if the PM will introduce a national stroke strategy.
Johnson says wants to expand dedicated stroke networks.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says Tory MPs are in denial about public health. He says the government yesterday said there would be new money to help firms, but last night the Treasury said there would not be any new money. Which is it?
Johnson says there is new money through Barnett consequentials. And the Scottish government can raise more money if it wants to.
Blackford says that was just smoke and mirrors. There is no new money. He says the PM strugged to get measures through that Scotland has had for months. “A prime minister who can’t do what is needed to protect the public is no prime minister at all,” he says.
Johnson says Blackford will need a bigger waistcoat to contain his “synethetic indignation”. He says he is actually quite cordial with Blackford behind the scenes. The UK government will work with the Scottish government on Covid, he says.
Liam Fox asks if the government will help get his Down’s syndrome bill on the statute book before international Down’s syndrome day.
Johnson says the government will try to get the bill on the statute book speedily.
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Starmer says they have the worst possible prime minister at the worse possible time. As Tory MPs jeer, he asks where they were in the lobbies last night. He says Labour showed leadership last night. The PM is so weak that, without Labour votes, the measures would not have got through. As someone (Johnson) says “not true”, Starmer says they are socially distanced from the truth.
Johnson says the measure was passed with Tory votes. He lists tough decisions he says he has taken: on the ventilator scheme; on the vaccine rollout; and on lifting lockdown. He says the Tories have created jobs. And he ends with a familiar riff: They vacillate, we vaccinate, they jabber, we jab.
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Starmer says the PM claims he does not know what happened in his own house last Christmas. His MPs don’t believe that, and the public don’t. This Christmas people will have to isolate. Can the PM not see that he will not have the authority to tell people that?
Johnson says Simon Case is investigating. He says Starmer should explain why there are pictures of him quaffing beer. He says 45% of over-18s have now had a vaccine. He says Labour would not vote for investment in the NHS. And they are speeding things up by getting rid of the post-jab 15-minute wait.
Starmer asks why people should trust the PM.
Johnson says the evidence is there in the fastest rollout in Europe. The UK has done almost double the number of boosters than any other European country has done. That is what matters, not the “partisan trivia” that Starmer is raising.
Starmer says the government only won last night because of Labour votes. But he can understand why Tory MPs are angry with him. Only last week the government was saying plan B was not required. As with rail for the north, or taxes, the government is over-promising. Can the PM understand why his MPs don’t trust him?
Johnson says Starmer claims to be above party politics but engages in it. He says the government has delivered the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe. And it has delivered 500,000 more jobs than when the pandemic began.
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Starmer say they all hope plan B will be enough. The PM has rightly ruled nothing out. He says if further measures are needed “Labour MPs will follow my leadership and put the national interest first”. Can the PM says the same?
Johnson says Labour wibble-wobbled over Covid, and under Labour we would not have had the vaccine rollout, because Labour would have remained in the EMA.
Keir Starmer also wishes everyone a merry Christmas, and he congratulates the PM and his wife on the birth of their daughter.
There were 200,000 Omicron infections on Monday, and it is doubling every two or three days. He encourages people to get their boosters. Does the PM agree that the 100 or so MPs who voted against the government last night were voting against measures to protect lives.
Johnson says the measure was passed with Tory votes. Yesterday was the second biggest day for vaccinations, he says.
Nick Smith (Lab) congratulates the PM and his wife on the birth of their daughter. Last week was crime week. “Was it a success for you, prime minister?”
Johnson claims it was. He says the Tories are putting in the resources to fight crime, and getting tough on drugs, particularly on middle class drugs use.
Boris Johnson starts by wishing all members of staff, and the Speaker, a happy Christmas. And to all MPs too, and members of the armed force, and health workers, he says.
There is loud cheering as Boris Johnson enters the chamber.
From Labour’s Chris Bryant
Govt whips will go overboard at #PMQs to show Boris Johnson is more popular than ABBA and will live forever in their hearts. It’s always a bit counterproductive, as it smacks of desperation. They’ll use the same hands to applaud and sign the no confidence letters
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) December 15, 2021
PMQs
PMQs is starting soon. It is the last one scheduled for this year.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Omicron now dominant Covid variant in London, analysis suggests
Omicron is now the dominant Covid-19 variant in London, a PA Media analysis suggests. PA says:
Some 51.8% of a sample of new coronavirus cases in London with specimen dates for December 11 and 12 were found to have S gene target failure (SGTF) - a way of detecting the likely presence of Omicron.
Most samples of Omicron that have been sequenced in a laboratory have been found to contain a slight but identifiable difference from other Covid-19 variants such as Delta.
This difference - a deletion in the S gene - shows up in certain laboratory PCR tests and can be used as way of estimating the spread of Omicron.
Of the 1,391 Covid-19 cases in London recorded on December 11 and 12 where the S gene status could be determined, 721 were classed as SGTF.
The figures, which have been published by the UK Health Security Agency, also show that 26.9% of a sample of detectable cases in eastern England from December 11 and 12 were classed as SGTF, along with 25.4% in south-east England and 20.8% in north-west England.
Levels were lower in all other regions, with north-east England having the lowest estimate of 6.2%.
The level for the whole of England was estimated at 24.0%.
Michael Gove, who is minister for intergovernmental relations as well as levelling up secretary, is expected to chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee to discuss Covid with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg reports.
Govt source expects Cobra meeting this afternoon with the devolved administrations - Scottish, Welsh and NI govts
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 15, 2021
Meeting is btw Michael Gove and Holyrood, Cardiff and Belfast, not wider event with PM
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 15, 2021
Here are three of the more interesting columns around this morning on the consequences of last night’s votes.
- Daniel Finkelstein in the Times (paywall) says the rebellion was effectively a vote of no confidence. He says:
Taking advice from officials and medical experts, ministers have determined that further measures are still needed.
Any MP who judges that this is wrong, and a sufficiently grave mistake to demand they vote against it, is saying that they haven’t confidence in the government to select its advisers, listen to and understand their advice and act upon it. They are trying to prevent the government from taking action that ministers believe is essential to the prevention of mass deaths. They are saying that they know better what ought to be done.
This is a legitimate position but it is not compatible with believing that the government should remain in office. For they are saying that it must not be permitted to introduce measures it thinks vital. And that this permission must be withheld because its judgment is faulty on a central question.
- Rafael Behr in the Guardian says Labour was right to support the government. He says:
For nearly two years, government has been synonymous with pandemic management. For so many Tory MPs to withdraw their endorsement from Johnson on this of all issues is fatal to his authority. But to do so under the banner of libertarian insurgency against public health precautions – a cause that exercises only a tiny minority of voters – suggests a party in danger of dislocation from reality. It is an affliction to which the Conservative right is historically prone, and to which Brexit has added a hubristic streak. Victory in the crusade against the mythic Brussels Empire has cultivated in some MPs a tendency to hallucinate liberation struggles where really there are just practical choices between imperfect options.
That is a good enough reason for Labour not to side with the rebels. It would be satisfying in the moment to force Johnson to the brink of defeat, but propping him up contains a different, more lingering humiliation. No prime minister wants to rely on the opposition to get business done, still less on a question of urgent public safety.
- Paul Goodman at ConservativeHome says Boris Johnson may soon face a choice between party and country. He says:
In short, the prime minister may well soon have to choose between what he sees as his duty to the country and the view of his party, or at least a majority of it on the backbenches. The easiest course to take would be the path of least resistance: in other words, for Johnson to drop his planned new measures.
But what happens then if Omicron does turn out temporarily to overwhelm the NHS? Or, perhaps more credibly, if there’s an “NHS crisis” anyway next month, as flu, the backlog of treatments and operations, and Covid all combine to force one, and Labour simply blames it on Omicron – and the government?
There will be two urgent questions and two statements in the Commons today after PMQs. Here is the schedule, with approximate timings.
12.30pm: An education minister responds to a UQ from Robert Halfon, chair of the education select committee, about school opening in January.
Around 1.45pm: A Home Office minister responds a UQ from Roger Gale about the accommodation of asylum seekers at RAF Manston.
Around 1pm: Jeremy Quin, a defence minister, makes a statement about the Ajax noise and vibration reviw.
Around 2pm: Paul Scully, the business minister, makes a statement about the settlement with postmasters wrongly accused of theft.
Almost 900,000 lateral flow tests to be available by post daily as capacity doubles, MPs told
Back at the transport committee Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, says sufficient PCR and lateral flow tests are available.
But she says the system has been under acute pressure recently.
She says yesterday demand for lateral flow tests was up 83% on the same day the previous week.
And she says, between 6am and 8am this morning, 200,000 packs of lateral flow tests were ordered.
She says postal capacity has been a problem.
But she says Royal Mail has been “brilliant” and she says from Friday it will almost double the number of lateral flow tests it can send out per day, from 400,000 to almost 900,000.
Prof Graham Medley, professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and chair of SPI-M (the Scientific Pandemic Influenza group on Modelling), told the Today programme this morning that hospital admissions could reach 2,000 a day. He explained:
Most of the infections at the moment are in young adults, so these are people who are far less likely to need hospital treatment in any case.
But in the past, in previous waves, we’ve seen that move out into more older and more vulnerable generations and there’s no reason to suspect that won’t happen during this wave.
And then the numbers of people who end up in hospital is some combination of when people get infected, their vaccination status, as well as what Omicron is doing.
I think it is a very real possibility that if the numbers of infections increasing continues in the way that it has done and it spills out into older age groups than we could see the number of people being omitted to hospital getting very large and certainly going over the thousand, maybe up to 2,000 a day.
Meaghan Kall, an epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, has posted an interesting thread on Twitter this morning about the consequences of the Delta and Omicron variants being in circulation at the same time. It starts here.
Think I must be getting the hang of this epidemiology thing. This Tweet aged well in a week ⤵️
— Meaghan Kall (@kallmemeg) December 15, 2021
Folks: we have co-circulation of Delta and Omicron
So what does this mean? https://t.co/RXqFWvltKF
Prof Tim Spector, who helped found the Covid Zoe app, which tracks the spread of the virus by getting people to report symptoms, told the Today programme this morning that the “majority of symptoms” of the Omicron variant are like a common cold, including headaches, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and sneezing. He said:
In London, where Covid is increasing rapidly, its far more likely to be Covid than it is to be a cold.
We’re seeing doubling in the numbers equivalent to what’s being seen elsewhere, every two-and-a-half days, and that really means numbers are going up.
If we look at our regional charts we see London accelerating more than we’ve seen it since the very first wave and this now means that Omicron is the predominant variant already.
We’ll be at 100% very soon, so that’s happened in just a matter of days - that’s is why so many people are going down with infections.
McCartney puts it to Harries that what she is saying about the doubling time implies that everyone have Omicron by 29 December.
Harries says she is not saying that. She says eventually cases peak. And she says, as people see cases going up, their behaviour changes.
Q: If ministers ignore your advice, will you go on the Today programme to say what you think should happen? Or will you accept cabinet responsibility?
Harries says she is both second permanent secretary at the Department of Health and a medical practictioner, with a responsibility to protect life. She says she tries to follow her obligations in both roles.
This question, from McCartney, reflects Tory anger about the Today programme interview Harries gave last month saying people should cut back on unnecessary socialising.
Karl McCartney (Con) is asking the questions now. He says decisions taken by ministers have been devastating for the aviation industry.
Q: How often do you advise ministers to go further than they actually do?
Harries says normally it is more a matter of providing evidence than advice.
Q: How many people in quarantine hotels are testing positive?
Mogford says the figures for people testing positive have been “unprecedently high” in the latest round of hotel quarantine. When pressed, he says that amounts to 5% of people. At least 1% have had Omicron, but he says the figure could be higher.
McCartney says they have seen pictures of the food provided to people in hotel quarantine. He says it is inadequate.
Mogford says the number of complaints received has been very low.
Ben Bradshaw asks what is happening to people still in quarantine hotels, now that the countries they arrived from have been taken off the red list.
Jonathan Mogford, the official in charge of borders policy at the UK Health Security Agency, says in the past people how started a period of quarantine had to complete it.
Now, because Omicron has spread so quickly, they want to release people from quarantine. He says they are expecting to confirm that today.
In the meantime people are being asked to remain in their quarantine hotels, Mogford says.
Bradshaw says there are reports that people are just leaving, even though they are theoretically at risk of a £10,000 fine for doing so.
Q: Are you satisfied that ministers always take logical decisions based on your advice?
Harries says she understands how changes to travel rules can impact on people. Her son is studying abroad, she says. But she says changing the rules abruptly is appropriate when the situation changes quickly.
Ben Bradshaw (Lab) is asking the questions now.
Q: Was the decision to scrap the red list yesterday based on your advice?
Harries says UKHSA’s position is that countries should not stay on the red list when it is no longer needed.
Q: So why keep testing requirements too?
Harries says, from a total population perspective, it is important to manage the total number of infections. If we know cases are coming into the country, it is prudent to stop them spreading it.
Bradshaw says Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, told him in the voting lobbies yesterday the testing rules were pointless. He asks why they are in place.
Harries says they give advice to ministers, but ministers make decisions.
He says Omicron cases will rise significantly, and this is likely to put the NHS under significant pressure.
Q: But why keep the testing rules for arrivals when Omicron is so prevalent here?
Harries says a new variant could pop up at any time. She says PCR tests allow cases to be genomically sequenced, so that variants can be monitord. This is crucial for the nation’s health security, she says.
Harries says travel restrictions can play a role as a delaying tactic, in slowing the spread of a new variant.
But given the spread of Omicron now in the UK, the value of restrictions is reduced, she says.
She says UKHSA advises ministers on health issues in relation to travel. Ministers have to take account of economic factors too, she says.
UKHSA chief executive tells MPs to expect 'quite staggering' figures on Omicron growth in next few days
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, is giving evidence to the Commons transport committee about Covid and aviation.
Q: What is your role in making policy?
Harries says UKHSA provides ministers with a risk assessment. They use that to make policy.
Q: How significant is the threat from Omicron?
Harries says it is “probably the most significant threat we’ve had since the start of the pandemic”.
She says she thinks the data we will see on its growth in the next few days will be “quite staggering compared to the rate of growth that we’ve seen from previous variants”.
But we still have to learn a lot about its severity, she says.
She says originally it had a doubling rate of four to five days. But now, in most regions of the UK it is under two days, she says.
She mentions London and Manchester as areas where it is growing particularly quickly.
In most areas the growth rate is now around 1.9 days, she says.
UPDATE: Here is the quote from Harries.
I’m sure for example, the numbers that we see on data over the next few days will be quite staggering compared to the rate of growth that we’ve seen in cases for previous variants.
The real potential risk here - and I would underline that because we are still learning a lot about the variant - is in relation to its severity, clinical severity, and therefore whether those cases turn into severe disease, hospitalisations and deaths.
We’re still at too early stage for that, in fact the world probably is still at too early stage to be clear.
The difficulty is that the growth of this virus, it has a doubling time which is shortening - ie it’s doubling faster, growing faster.
In most regions in the UK it is now under two days. When it started we were estimating about four or five.
So if you think of that growth rate right across the UK, and we’re starting to see it and feel it now in London particularly, but yesterday particularly around Manchester, and we’re very sure there are levels growing across most communities in the UK now, although there is quite a lot of regional variation still.
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Shapps says he feels 'some confidence' no further restrictions will be needed over Christmas
Here are some more lines from Grant Shapps’ interview round this morning.
- Shapps, the transport secretary, said a party held by Shaun Bailey, the then Tory candidate for London mayor, and his aides last December, in breach of Covid rules, was “absolutely unacceptable”. Asked about the Daily Mirror’s scoop, and its bang-to-rights, incriminating photo from the party, Shapps said:
That scene is absolutely unacceptable. It is unacceptable for people to be breaking the rules. That was not authorised by the Conservative party. Those Conservatives who were on secondment from the party have already been disciplined and whatever further action needs to be taken will be taken.
Here is our story about the revelation, which has forced Bailey to resign as chair of the police and crime committee at the London assembly.
- Shapps said he felt “some confidence” that no further Covid restrictions will be needed over Christmas. He said:
I think that, with some confidence, that we can say that people are going to be able to enjoy their Christmas get-together with their friends and families with only what has already been [announced, in terms of restrictions].
- He rejected claims that Boris Johnson is losing authority. He said:
In terms of his authority, I saw prime minister on Sunday night asking the country to get the booster jab and yesterday walked past huge queues around the block of people responding to the prime minister’s plea.
Having been the person to get this country first of all jabbed ahead of every other major economy and now booster jabbed ahead of every other country, comes down personally to the authority of the prime minister.
UK inflation soars to 10-year high of 5.1% as cost of living squeeze tightens
Inflation jumped to 5.1% in November, its highest level for more than 10 years, the ONS reported this morning. Compared to other issues that Boris Johnson has to worry about at the moment, this might seem marginal. But when people start feeling poorer, the government of the day often tends to get the blame.
My colleage Graeme Wearden has more details on his business live blog here.
‘Hammer blow’: what the papers say about the Tory revolt over Covid passes
My colleague Samantha Lock has a summary of how the papers are covering last night’s votes.
Parliament to be recalled if further Covid restrictions needed over Christmas, Shapps promises
Good morning. It is one of those ‘morning after the night before’ moments at Westminster, when the politico-media establishment is still trying to quantify exactly how significant or damaging last night’s votes were. Clearly they have implications for the government’s ability to legislate for further Covid regulations, and for Boris Johnson’s leadership. But it might not be quite the defining moment that it seemed last night. Until yesterday, Johnson’s previous biggest rebellion came last December on tiering arrangements for England (remember them?). That was also seen as evidence that he was pushing the Conservative party as far as it would go on Covid regulations. But then came the Alpha variant and another surge, and a few weeks later a second lockdown happened without much protest from the Conservative party.
Still, no-one can pretend it doesn’t matter, and one of the interesting things about the Tory rebellion is that it was fuelled by a blend of different motives. Mostly it was driven by libertarian lockdown-scepticism, but some of the MPs were voting against Covid passes just because they thought they would not work (several quoted a paper by the SNP government in Scotland to support their case) and general dissatisfaction with Johnson’s leadership (heightened by the Owen Paterson debacle and partygate) was a factor too.
Sheer ineptitude may have played a part too. Many Tory MPs made it clear in the debate that they wanted an assurance that, if further Covid restrictions are needed over Christmas, parliament will be recalled. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, could not give this promise during the debate, and Johnson himself was ambiguous on this point when he addressed the Conservative 1922 Committee, shortly before the debate.
But now the government is explicity making this promise - about 12 hours after it might have helped win over a few votes. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has been making that clear in his morning broadcast round. He told BBC Breakfast:
We have got in place now the measures that we believe will see us through to the new year.
If we did need to do anything else, parliament would be recalled too in order to vote on doing that, so it won’t just be an automated thing.
Here is our overnight story on last night’s vote.
And here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The UK Health Security Agency gives evidence to the Commons transport committee on the airline industry and Covid; at 10.45am Robert Courts, the aviation minister, gives evidence.
12pm: Boris Johnson faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
2pm: Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, and Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, and other senior health officials give evidence to the public accounts committee about NHS waiting lists.
I will be largely focusing on UK Covid-related issues today, but there is much more coverage on our global Covid live blog. It’s here.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com
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