Patrick Vallance warned the new strain is spreading rapidly and more restrictions may be on the way. During the Prime Minister’s live briefing this afternoon, he said: “The new variant is around the country. We are trying to get ahead of it. “A lot more work has been done. More data will come out.”

Mr Johson a live conference to update the nation on the latest covid measure in the UK. 

The Prime Minister said: “Last night at 11pm, the French Government imposed restrictions on UK freight crossing to France when accompanied by a driver.

“And, so today, I chaired a meeting of the Government’s emergency COBR committee in order to co-ordinate a UK-wide response.

“And it is vital first to stress that these delays – which are only occurring at Dover – only affect human-handled freight, and that is only 20 percent of the total arriving from or departing to the European continent, which means the vast majority of food, medicines and other supplies are coming and going as normal.”

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