Confusion over whether family Christmas gatherings will be allowed as Cabinet ministers clash

Cabinet ministers have sparked confusion about Christmas get-togethers after one urged families to abandon their hopes – while another insisted gatherings are still likely.

Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, said it was time for people to come to terms with the bleak prospects, as lockdown measures are extended across the country and Covid infections surge.

If that trend continued then “Christmas in its perhaps fullest sense won't be achievable for any of us this year,” he warned, adding: “Perhaps coming to terms with that now is probably the right approach that we need to take.”

But he was quickly contradicted by Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary, who said: “We obviously want to ensure that families can gather for Christmas. I want to be with my own family for Christmas.”

The split will fuel criticism of indecision at the heart of government, as ministers reject their own scientists’ call for a new national lockdown – while not ruling it out entirely.

There is pressure for all four UK nations to agree a common stance for the festive season – with some travel across borders “inevitable” – so families can begin to plan.

But No 10 has rejected the call, with Boris Johnson’s team torn between the need for restrictions and the fear that people desperate to host their relatives on Christmas Day simply will not comply.

The prime minister is also accused of making a traditional Christmas less likely by refusing to introduce a fresh lockdown earlier – making one in mid-winter more likely.

Mr Buckland told ITV’s Peston programme: “Perhaps those extended gatherings which draw people from different parts of the country, you know I've got family in Wales for example, that may not be possible given the information that is emerging.”

But Mr Jenrick told Sky News a normal Christmas was “extremely important”, adding: “What we have to do now is to take decisive action now against the virus to give us every possible chance to achieve that – and that is what we are trying to do.”

He continued to hold the line that the government opposed a ‘circuit break’ shutdown – despite Germany and France joining Wales and Northern Ireland announcing similar harsh new restrictions.

There was “simplicity and clarity of message” from such an approach, Mr Jenrick conceded, but insisted the economic damage would be too great from a “one size fits all approach”.

"The approach of trying to bear down on it where it is most concentrated I think continues to be the best way forward because, despite the fact the virus is rising across the country, it is very concentrated in some places nonetheless,” he said.

However, Mr Jenrick admitted: “You can never be entirely certain because you have got to keep things under review and listening to the advice that we are receiving.”