BORIS GIVES UK BOTH BARRELS
BRITAIN will face a second national lockdown if tough new Covid curbs are flouted, Boris Johnson warned last night.
In a dramatic TV address to the nation, he appealed to the public to find ‘the discipline, resolve and spirit of togetherness’ needed to ‘get through this winter together’.
He unveiled a draconian package of restrictions on normal life that will last six months – wrecking hopes of a traditional Christmas.
The rules will be backed up by the threat of £200 fines with the Army potentially drafted in to help police.
The Prime Minister admitted the clampdown, which includes curfews on pubs and restaurants, greater use of face masks and an edict for office staff to work from home until spring, would mean ‘unquestionably difficult months’ for millions of people.
But he said there had been too many breaches of current rules and
warned that failure to act decisively now would mean ‘many more families losing loved ones before their time’.
And he said he ‘reserved the right’ to impose even tougher measures within weeks if people flout the new rules – directly raising the prospect of a second national lockdown.
The Prime Minister also flatly rejected calls to try to cocoon the elderly and vulnerable from the virus while letting it ‘let rip’ through the wider population.
The new measures prompted a furious backlash from business chiefs, the hospitality industry and Tory MPs. The CBI described them as a ‘crushing blow’ to hopes of an economic recovery.
The organisation’s chief, Carolyn Fairbairn, said the restrictions would have ‘a devastating impact on people and businesses’.
Mel Stride, Tory chairman of the Commons Treasury committee, warned the rules would lead to a smaller economy that would ‘probably have serious impacts on the health of millions of people’.
But Cabinet sources said there was relief among ministers that Mr Johnson had not gone further and ordered a ‘circuit breaker’ that would have plunged the country back into a full lockdown for at least a fortnight.
Sources said the Prime Minister blocked the proposal from chief medical officer Chris Whitty after being warned by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Business Secretary Alok Sharma and Home Secretary Priti Patel that it risked economic devastation. On another dramatic day: Pubs, restaurants and takeaways
‘These risks are not our own’
were hit with a 10pm curfew starting tomorrow;
Shop workers, waiters and bar staff were told they will have to wear masks at work. Drinkers and diners will also have to don face coverings whenever they leave the table;
Fines for flouting rules on face masks and gatherings of more than six people were doubled to £200, with troops put on standby to release police to step up enforcement;
In an extraordinary U-turn, Mr Johnson dropped a ‘back to work’ push and told millions of office staff they should now work from home until the spring;
A Government drive to get Whitehall civil servants back to their desks was also scrapped less than three weeks after it was launched;
The PM’s hopes of a united UK approach were dashed after Nicola Sturgeon announced an even tougher clampdown in Scotland;
It emerged that the Chancellor was working on measures to help support the economy as Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey led calls for a ‘rethink’ on the ending of furlough;
Daily cases of Covid rose again to 4,926 – the highest level in four months – with hospitalisations also up;
The limit on wedding guests will be slashed from 30 to 15 from Monday.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden held crisis talks with sports bodies after plans to trial the return of fans to stadiums next month were shelved;
The PM tried to head off a growing Tory revolt over the measures by promising MPs more say in the Government’s handling of the crisis;
Andrew Lloyd Webber warned theatres could not survive without a bailout;
The PM suggested the UK was having more trouble with Covid than Germany and Italy because it was hard to persuade ‘freedom-loving’ Brits to stick to restrictions.
Mr Johnson told MPs the UK faced ‘a perilous turning point’ in the battle to prevent a second wave of coronavirus.
He said the new package would be onerous for many but insisted it was ‘ by no means a return to the full lockdown of March’.
Addressing the nation last night, the Prime Minister said he was ‘deeply, spiritually reluctant to make any of these impositions, or infringe anyone’s freedom’.
But he added: ‘ Unless we take action the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later, when the deaths have already mounted.
‘If we let this virus get out of control now, it would mean that our NHS had no space – once again – to deal with cancer patients and millions of other non- Covid medical needs. And if we were forced into a new national lockdown, that would threaten not just jobs and livelihoods but the loving human contact on which we all depend.
‘We must do all we can to avoid going down that road again. But if people don’t follow the rules we have set out, then we must reserve the right to go further.’
Mr Johnson rounded on his critics, saying: ‘To those who say we don’t need this stuff, and we should leave people to take their own risks, I say these risks are not our own. The tragic reality of having Covid is that your mild cough can be someone else’s death knell.’
Caroline Abrahams of the charity Age UK said she was ‘deeply disappointed’ that the new restrictions might last until spring.
She added: ‘Many older people look forward to Christmas as the one time in the year when their family gets together, including those living far away.’
UNVEILING another package of draconian restrictions on our freedoms in a bid to stop a second deadly wave of coronavirus, the Prime Minister made clear who he thought the real culprit was: The British public.
Not enough people had obeyed the rules, said Boris Johnson. Instructions were ignored. Too many had acted irresponsibly. Consequently, the disease was on the rise.
Speaking from a wood-panelled office in Downing Street, he told the nation: ‘The tragic reality is that your mild cough can be someone else’s death knell.’
Yes, that’s true. But isn’t one major reason we remain entrapped in the swirling misery of this pandemic the Government’s wretched failure to build a ‘world-beating’ testing regime?
Promised months ago, we were told it would allow individuals to distinguish, rapidly and reliably, between a contagious cough and a harmless tickle at the back of the throat.
But because of the shameful ineptitude of Health Secretary Matt Hancock and his hapless testing czar Baroness Dido Harding, we are still waiting. Countless thousands are unaware whether or not they have the iniquitous illness – and if they pose a risk.
Mr Johnson has therefore imposed tough new controls to stem the virus’s spread – which the Mail accepts grudgingly.
He has torn up ‘back to work’ orders for the white-collar classes. Shop workers must wear face masks. Weddings will be limited to 15 guests. And pubs, bars and restaurants will close at 10pm (meaning we have gone from the recovery-stoking ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ to ‘Kick Out To Help Out’).
Meanwhile, police will slap anyone flouting the rules with swingeing £200 onthe-spot fines. In extreme circumstances, the military could move in.
Depressingly, this authoritarian nightmare is likely to drag on for another six months – until the eve of the one-year anniversary of lockdown. Perhaps the pantheon of ancient Greek gods so beloved of Mr Johnson are having a cruel joke at his expense?
The PM is now walking a tightrope. He desperately wants to suppress the pandemic. But that can only be temporarily.
And he wants to protect the economy. Yet these measures will deal it a painful blow, triggering business closures and job losses. And what is his end game? Boris believes we will be in much better shape to cope with Covid come the spring. But without a vaccine, which may never materialise, the microbe is here to stay.
Does the PM really want Britain to oscillate interminably in and out of semilockdown to try to avoid even a single casualty? Or do we accept the contagion in our midst, protect the vulnerable and get on with the business of living?