UK coronavirus LIVE: Boris Johnson unveils new lockdown for England as schools closed until mid-February

Boris Johnson has announced new coronavirus lockdown measures for England as he warned the weeks ahead would be the “hardest yet”.

The Prime Minister said people in England would once again be asked to "stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives" until around mid-February as he unveiled a raft of restrictions, including the closure of all schools.

Mr Johnson said the move was unavoidable as the number of Covid-19 infections “rapidly escalated" following the emergence of new variants of the disease.

It came after the UK’s Covid alert was raised to Level 5 meaning “transmission is high or rising exponentially” and “there is a material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed”, and another 58,784 cases were confirmed overnight – Britain’s highest daily figure to date.