Boris Johnson: Christmas cancelled by surging mutant coronavirus

Millions face lockdown until spring and police have been deployed to railway stations to stop people visiting their families for Christmas after tougher restrictions were introduced to contain a more infectious strain of coronavirus.

Last night Boris Johnson unveiled tier 4 restrictions for London, the southeast and parts of eastern England that will prevent 16.4 million people from mixing indoors over the festive period.

This morning Matt Hancock, the health secretary, suggested the rules would not be lifted until after the vaccination of vulnerable groups, warning of a “difficult few months between now and then”.

Passengers at Paddington last night

RICK FINDLER

Asked if people would remain in tier 4 until then, he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “Given how much faster this new variant spreads, it is going to