No evidence to suggest Christmas lockdown 'on the cards' according to Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson told reporters that there is currently no need to activate the Plan B, which could include mandatory face masks and the return to widespread working from home. .

Mr Johnson, who is in Rome for the G20 meeting of world leaders, was asked if he could guarantee that the country would have a good Christmas, and said: “I see no evidence whatever to think that any kind of lockdown is on the cards.”

His comments came on the eve of the one-year anniversary of him announcing the second national lockdown for England, which was confirmed at a Downing Street press conference on October 31 2020.

There have been calls by the NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association, as well as a number of prominent scientists, for the Government to take steps to ease the growing pressures on the health service or turn to Plan B.

“We’re watching the numbers every day. Yes it’s true that cases are high. But they do not currently constitute any reason to go to Plan B,” the Prime Minister said.

“I think it’s agreed among absolutely everybody, apart from possibly the Labour Party, so we’re sticking with the plan.”

Coronavirus infection levels have risen across the UK, with the most recent estimates from the Office for National Statistics showing the same proportion of people in England have Covid-19 as at the peak of the second wave.

Despite the prevalence of the virus across the four nations, hospital admissions and deaths remain well below levels seen during the second wave in January, with the vaccine rollout credited as being the reason why.

However, there are concerns over the speed of the vaccine roll out among teenagers .

Health teams are preparing to visit more than 800 schools across the country this week to offer children aged 12-15 a jab.