New, tougher virus restrictions to be applied in London

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, announced on Thursday that the British capital will move from Tier 1 to Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions, to be effective from Saturday, and warned that the virus was “spreading rapidly in every corner" of the city.

The government announced earlier this week a new three-tier system for coronavirus restrictions. London will now be in the middle tier, known as “High”.

The restrictions mean that Londoners will be banned from meeting people from other households indoors, either at home or in a pub. They will also be advised to reduce travel via public transport where possible.

Khan said: “Nobody wants to see more restrictions, but this is deemed to be necessary in order to protect Londoners by myself, London council leaders and ministers.”

He added that action on a “national scale” was needed, and backed the call for a “short national circuit breaker”.

This mini-lockdown was proposed earlier in the week by his party leader Sir Keir Starmer, the national UK opposition Labour leader.