Covid: Johnson’s U-turn puts England under tough new lockdown

Rules will shut pubs, cafes and non-vital shops, while local reviews will take place after a four-week period

Boris Johnson performed an extraordinary U-turn on Saturday as he unveiled new month-long national lockdown measures across England, amid accusations that government indecision and delay will cost lives and livelihoods across the country.

With immediate warnings of the grave economic fallout and a mounting backlash among Tory MPs, the prime minister announced that a series of measures would come into force on Thursday to combat growing Covid infections. They will remain in place until 2 December.