A third of the population of England will be barred from spending Christmas with other households after Boris Johnson ripped up his plans to allow five-day festive bubbles of up to three different households.
Mr Johnson announced at a press conference on Saturday afternoon that he had made the dramatic U-turn after a rapid spike in coronavirus cases in London, caused in part by a more infectious new strain of the virus.
An estimated 18m people living in the new tier 4 areas, which include London and much of the surrounding region, will be ordered to stay at home for a fortnight starting on Sunday morning.
They will be barred from socialising with more than one person even outdoors — meaning no Christmas gatherings of entire families — while shops, leisure facilities, gyms and hairdressers will be closed.
People living elsewhere in England in tiers 1-3 will still be allowed family gatherings over the festive period, but only for Christmas Day itself, rather than…