UK coronavirus LIVE: Boris Johnson sorry for 'misspeaking' over north east Covid rules as Williamson says students can go home for Christmas

The Prime Minister has apologised after he failed to clarify the new local lockdown measures for large parts of the north east, which come into effect from midnight.

Boris Johnson said he “misspoke” when he was asked to explain whether people could meet in a pub garden under the restrictions. Labour said the Government needed to "get a grip" and accused the PM of failing to understand the regulations, which stop households for mixing in indoor settings.

It came as the Education Secretary said that university students will be able to go home for Christmas , amid an ongoing row about the spike in higher education coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, the number of people dying with coronavirus in the UK increased to its highest weekly figure in six weeks , according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. The figures are still a fraction of the 9,495 deaths seen in a week at the peak of the pandemic in mid-April.

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