Christmas ‘heartbreak’ because Boris Johnson offering ‘confusion not certainty’, says Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson has been accused of causing “heartbreak” for millions of families through his indecision over Christmas Covid rules.

The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said the prime minister had offered “confusion where [we] need certainty” and had on Wednesday brushed aside scientists’ concerns about his plans for festive get-togethers, only to tear them up three days later.

And there were appeals for help from businesses suddenly forced to close during the crucial run-up to Christmas, when they had hoped to recoup some of the massive losses caused by lockdown restrictions in 2020.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said tier 4 controls in London and the southeast would be “a real kick in the teeth for many businesses already struggling badly”, while the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry called for immediate cash and grant aid and the suspension of taxes and rates for any companies forced to close their doors.

But Labour MP Wes Streeting said MPs were told in a call with the health secretary, Matt Hancock, that no additional help would be offered beyond schemes already in operation.

In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson of “ignoring the medical advice” after the prime minister confirmed plans for a five-day partial amnesty from coronavirus restrictions over Christmas in the teeth of mounting scientific concern that it would cause a deadly spike in coronavirus infections in January.

His warning earned a retort from the prime minister that Sir Keir wanted to “cancel Christmas”.

The Labour leader said that families across the country had made plans on the basis of Mr Johnson’s advice to “have a merry little Christmas”, only to see the guidance overturned within days.

Sir Keir said Labour would support Mr Johnson’s new restrictions, but added: “The British public is entitled to more decisive leadership than that. They're getting confusion where they need certainty.

“I think the heartbreak of millions of families will be made much greater by the fact that the prime minister only three days ago was saying, ‘Have a merry little Christmas,’ when we were challenging him on this, and now says, ‘I’m going to rip up your plans.’”

The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, accused Mr Johnson of acting too late.

“The writing was on the wall last week when we asked Boris Johnson to listen to the scientists,” said Sir Ed. “He was warned that if he had to cancel Christmas, he mustn’t leave it to the last minute. Yet Johnson ignored our warnings and refused to take the tough decisions he is paid to take.

“Boris Johnson is truly a hopeless prime minister. He and his party have totally failed our country when all people wanted was strong leadership through this crisis.”

But Downing Street insisted that crucial data proving the high transmissibility of the new strain of Covid was not available at the time of Mr Johnson’s decision on Wednesday to go ahead with the easing of rules at Christmas. The new evidence was provided to him only on Friday afternoon, when he immediately notified the World Health Organisation and called an emergency meeting to discuss possible changes to restrictions.

Scientist Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said the prime minister should not have needed the data on the mutant Covid strain to know that his Christmas plans were too risky.

“It has been obvious for some time that mixing of multiple households over the Christmas period will lead to a very difficult January,” said Dr Head. “Therefore, this level of restrictions is what should have been implemented at the time of the previous Christmas announcements, regardless of the impact of this new variant.”

Ravindra Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, welcomed the new controls.

 “The news, although disappointing for many, is the most appropriate given the speed at which the new variant has spread,” said Prof Gupta. 

“The variant has a number of concerning mutations that mean we should control transmission through social restrictions whilst we work to learn more about the impact of these mutations on how the virus behaves.  We should seriously consider regional targeting of the vaccine to control spread.”

The CBI’s chief UK policy director, Matthew Fell, said that the changes would require additional help for businesses.

“Wherever infections rise, it’s right that the government takes the necessary steps to protect public health,” he said.

“But news that large swathes of the southeast will come under new tier 4 restrictions will be a real kick in the teeth for many businesses already struggling badly.

“There’s no doubt a fresh look will be needed in January as to how the government can support UK businesses through to the spring.”

And Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, said the sector had “lost all confidence in government strategy against Covid”, as its “erratic” decision-making was destroying the ability of businesses to bounce back from the pandemic.

“There is disbelief and anger amongst the sector that the government did not foresee the impact of transmissions by keeping retail, education and other sectors open during such a delicate period within the crisis,” said Mr Kill.

“If the prime minister wants the hardest-hit sectors to continue to support the government in its public health strategy against Covid, then he must compensate the businesses fully for their losses, and deliver a robust exit strategy to regain industry confidence.”

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also called for improvement to the “woefully insufficient” support offered to businesses forced to close their doors.

He called for an urgent increase in the mass-testing programme, and mandatory face coverings in all busy outdoor public places. And he said government should provide compensation for all lost income over the festive period and full pay for those required to self-isolate. 

“London and the country are paying the price for the government’s continued failure to get a handle on the pandemic,” said Mr Khan. “This continued chaos and confusion could all have been avoided had the government not made irresponsible promises to the public and raised expectations about the Christmas period.”