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Covid: Boris Johnson warns of tougher measures if new rules are flouted Covid: Raab defends 'targeted' new coronavirus measures
(about 2 hours later)
The government has warned of "tougher measures" if people do not follow the latest coronavirus restrictions. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has defended the "balanced, targeted and proportionate" new coronavirus measures amid criticism from some scientists.
In a television broadcast on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "we must reserve the right to go further" if cases continue to rise.
Tighter restrictions were announced in all four UK nations. Mr Johnson warned they could last up to six months.
In England, people are being told to work from home if they can and rules on face coverings have been expanded.In England, people are being told to work from home if they can and rules on face coverings have been expanded.
Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues will have to close by 22:00 BST, and the number of people allowed at weddings has been halved. The measures have exposed a split among scientists. Prof John Edmunds, who advises the government, said they did not go "anywhere near far enough".
Meanwhile, the fines for breaking the rules will also increase to £200 on the first offence. But other scientists say they hope they are a shift towards a coherent policy.
On Tuesday, tighter restrictions were announced in all four UK nations.
Other measures introduced in England include a 10pm closing time for pubs and restaurants and the number of people allowed at weddings has been halved. The fines for breaking the rules are set to increase to £200 on the first offence.
Hospitality venues will also have to close early in Scotland and Wales - but Scotland has gone further, banning people from visiting other people's homes from Wednesday. Northern Ireland has also already banned households mixing indoors.Hospitality venues will also have to close early in Scotland and Wales - but Scotland has gone further, banning people from visiting other people's homes from Wednesday. Northern Ireland has also already banned households mixing indoors.
In a television broadcast on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "we must reserve the right to go further" if cases continue to rise.
He said he was "spiritually reluctant" to infringe on people's freedoms, "but unless we take action, the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later, when the deaths have already mounted".
In an interview on the Today programme, Prof Edmunds said the lockdown in March which closed schools, the hospitality sector and businesses, had involved a combination of many different measures which brought the R number - which measures how quickly the virus is spreading - down from 2.7 to 0.7.
To stop the epidemic from growing any further, a large range of measures was needed, he said, and cast doubt on the R number being below 1 by Christmas. "I suspect not. There's a chance, of course there's a chance," he said.
"To slow the epidemic down will mean putting the brakes on very hard. I suspect we will see very stringent measures coming in through the UK but it will be too late," he warned.
Another scientist, Prof Carl Heneghan, from Oxford University, wrote to the government on Monday saying there should be targeted measures to protect the vulnerable because suppression of the virus was increasingly unfeasible.
Speaking to the BBC's Today, he said the measures seemed to show the emphasis of public policy was moving towards personal responsibility, similar to Sweden.
"There's a clearer aim that's happening," he said. "We're starting to understand that we're trying to control the spread of infection as opposed to suppress it."
He added it was important to give these new measures time to work, maintain a clear and consistent public message and not to panic.
The government's chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, is understood to believe it is inevitable England will to have to follow Scotland's latest move, according to the Times.The government's chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, is understood to believe it is inevitable England will to have to follow Scotland's latest move, according to the Times.
Conservative MPs also expect limits on visits to households to be "the next step", according to Nicholas Watt, political editor of the BBC's Newsnight. Mr Raab defended the government's strategy, saying there would always be the "Goldilocks criticism - too much or too little".
"They don't like it but they could probably live with it," he said, though he added that if the government went further with restrictions on the hospitality sector "that would really create insurrection on the Tory benches". He struck a more optimistic tone, saying if people followed all the measures - and no one thinks they are immune - "we will get through this and we will get to Christmas not in a national lockdown".
Mr Johnson will face further scrutiny from MPs in the House of Commons later during Prime Minister's Questions.
Defending the latest strategy, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said there was no "one silver bullet" but the range of measures introduced in England were "balanced, proportionate and targeted".
"Overwhelmingly the public have responded every time but increasingly there's been a small minority where compliance has frayed," he added."Overwhelmingly the public have responded every time but increasingly there's been a small minority where compliance has frayed," he added.
He told BBC's Breakfast that if people follow all the measures - and no one thinks they are immune - "we will get through this and we will get to Christmas not in a national lockdown". "We know that in bars and restaurants, particularly after people have had a few drinks, as you go into the later hours of the evening, that there's a risk that the compliance with the guidance ebbs a little bit," he added, defending the move to close pubs at 10pm.
Mr Johnson's warning that stricter measures could follow comes six months after the UK's coronavirus lockdown - first announced on the 23 March - which saw strict curbs on life to tackle the spread of the virus. He added that the effectiveness of the measures would be monitored but there was no fixed time to them. In his address, the prime minister warned they could last up to six months.
People were told to only leave home for one of four reasons, including shopping for food and medicine, exercise, medical needs, and travelling to and from work "where absolutely necessary". Mr Johnson will face further scrutiny from MPs in the House of Commons later during Prime Minister's Questions.
'Too many breaches' The devolved nations have their own powers over coronavirus restrictions.
In his pre-recorded address from Downing Street, Mr Johnson said he was "spiritually reluctant" to infringe on people's freedoms, "but unless we take action the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later, when the deaths have already mounted".
He added that while the vast majority have complied with the measures so far, "there have been too many breaches".
Former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson has since criticised the prime minister for suggesting the public is to blame for rising cases.
People have been "extremely compliant and obedient" but the message hasn't always been clear, he said.
Meanwhile, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for more "unifying messages" from the UK's four nations.
"Wherever possible it is much better to stick together, because simplicity of messaging is one of the things that will make the biggest difference in terms of complying with the rules," he said.
The devolved nations have their own powers over coronavirus restrictions, and their leaders made separate televised addresses on Tuesday evening.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney acknowledged the new rules banning people from visiting other people's homes were "difficult and disruptive" and said they would be reviewed every three weeks.Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney acknowledged the new rules banning people from visiting other people's homes were "difficult and disruptive" and said they would be reviewed every three weeks.
"No one wants to have this in place a moment longer. The more public compliance, the more successful we will be," he told BBC's Breakfast."No one wants to have this in place a moment longer. The more public compliance, the more successful we will be," he told BBC's Breakfast.
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford urged people not to let the virus "take a hold of our lives again", and Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster said tougher restrictions should act as a "wake-up call" that "we are not out of the woods".Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford urged people not to let the virus "take a hold of our lives again", and Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster said tougher restrictions should act as a "wake-up call" that "we are not out of the woods".
A televised address from the prime minister is not the rarity it once was, but it's still a big moment.
The gravity of the situation is such that, Boris Johnson's argument goes, a renewed national effort is required to bring the virus back under control.
Behind the echoes of wartime rhetoric and Johnsonian linguistic flourishes was a simple message; stick with it for six months and we'll get through this.
But as he acknowledged, there are some who say he's taking the wrong decisions and the public's patience for further restrictions may not be what it was six months ago.
There was optimism that better days lay ahead but a vaccine and mass testing were "hopes and dreams" not the reality, not now.
Scotland's First Minister had gone further so comparisons will be inevitable; which tactics will work?
While England and the UK's nerve is being tested again, so too is the prime minister and the government's leadership and its strategy.
The prime minister told MPs on Tuesday that the new rules were "carefully judged" to achieve the maximum reduction in the R number - which measures how quickly the virus is spreading - while causing "the minimum damage to lives and livelihoods".
The latest R estimate for the whole of the UK is between 1.1 and 1.4.The latest R estimate for the whole of the UK is between 1.1 and 1.4.
And the number of UK cases rose by 4,926 on Tuesday, government figures showed, with deaths increasing by 37.And the number of UK cases rose by 4,926 on Tuesday, government figures showed, with deaths increasing by 37.
What are the new rules?What are the new rules?
In England:In England:
In Scotland:In Scotland:
In Wales:In Wales:
In Northern Ireland:In Northern Ireland:
How will the new rules affect you? Tell us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.How will the new rules affect you? Tell us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: