Surrey, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Berkshire plunged into Tier 3, Matt Hancock announces

All of Surrey except Waverley, the whole of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and part of Hampshire are affected. Hastings and Rother, which are close to the Kent border, are also included, as are Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant.

Peterborough also moves into Tier 3, affecting long-haul commuters.

The grim news was announced in the Commons by Health Secretary Matt Hancock after steep rises in Covid-19 in commuter towns.

“As we enter the coldest months we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control,” he said.

There was good news for Bristol and North Somerset, which will move into Tier 2 from Tier 3, and Herefordshire will move from Tier 2 to the very lowest restrictions, in Tier 1.

There was disappointment for northern cities and county towns elsewhere, which were pleading to be put into a lower tier. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham complained there was a “clear case” for his region to go down to Tier 2.  

He accused ministers of planning to “overcompensate” for the decision to allow the Christmas easing of restrictions, despite fears of a spike in infections, by keeping tight curbs on the North.

The Tier 3 rules mean pubs, restaurants and cafés have to close along with theatres, indoor play centres, casinos, bingo halls and cinemas. There is also a ban on socialising in private gardens, while hotels and guest houses must close except for essential purposes.

The new curbs will come into force on Saturday. 

Southern parts of Hertfordshire and Essex were put into Tier 3 on Wednesday, and Kent was already in Tier 3.

Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, stays in Tier 2.  Its rate has almost doubled from 55 to 97 but is still regarded as low.

In Guildford, the rise is from a modest 101 per 100,000 on November 30 to a level of 158.  

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In his statement, the Health Secretary was emphasising the importance of taking precautions over Christmas to limit the spread of the disease, given that January and February are the health service’s most pressured time of year. He stressed that with the vaccine now rolling out, it made sense for people not to take unnecessary risks and to maintain basic hygiene.

Home Secretary Priti Patel told Sky News that ministers have to be “very, very conscientious” over changes to the tiering and described the assessments of the situation as “sobering”.  

Mr Burnham claimed the Government had made a clear “mistake” over Christmas, in easing the law to allow three households to come together between December 23 and 27. “My worry is they’re now about to overcompensate with the decisions on the tiers,” he told BBC Breakfast. “We will see but it will be very hard on people here who’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get into a much better position, and actually I think the time has come to allow at least part of Greater Manchester to be released from those (Tier 3) restrictions.  

“My appeal to the Government is: please look at the evidence, please give us the same fair consideration that was given to London, in particular.”  

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Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, on the other hand, was set to change the law in Wales to limit mixing to just two households before a fresh lockdown is imposed.

It came as discussions were under way about how pupils will return to school at the start of January, a senior official at the Department for Education said.

Susan Acland-Hood, permanent secretary at the Department for Education, suggested that a written statement today could announce how children will go back to class after the Christmas holidays.

Speaking to MPs on the Public Accounts Committee, Ms Acland-Hood said: “There are conversations going on about exactly how parents and pupils will go back at the beginning of January, but I’m afraid I can’t speak to the committee about that this morning.”

Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, said it was “ludicrous” that on the last day of term for many schools in England that parents and school leaders do not know what is happening in the first week of January.