Michael Gove to hold Covid Christmas talks with devolved nations over ‘rethink’

Talks over the plans to relax coronavirus restrictions over the Christmas period will continue today amid concerns that doing so could lead to a surge in cases of the disease.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove will continue to lead negotiations with representatives from the UK’s devolved administrations, having failed to reach agreement yesterday.

Under the current plans, three households will be able to meet and form a “bubble” between 23 and 27 December.

But with cases on the rise, especially in London and the southeast, ministers have been warned that going ahead with the plans could further exacerbate the spread of the disease.

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC the legal framework would “continue” but insisted that it was “incumbent on each and every family” to discuss whether they really needed to meet up. 

Jenrick added that the government would issue stronger guidance to reflect the “rising number of Covid cases”, but stop short of changing the rules.

It is understood that Number 10 is concerned that a cancellation of Christmas plans could lead to lower compliance with the rules in January and later in the winter.

However, ministers are said to be considering slashing the number of days the rules are relaxed for, along with placing a limit on the distance people can travel over the Christmas period to stop the virus spreading across the country.

An information campaign providing guidance for the period is expected to be released later this week.

It comes after the UK’s two leading science journals yesterday issued their first joint editorial for more than 100 years slamming the Christmas relaxation of rules.

The British Medical Journal and Health Service Journal said the government should U-turn on its “rash decision to allow household mixing and instead extend the tiers over the five-day Christmas period in order to bring the numbers down in the advance of a likely third wave”.

“We believe the government is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives”, they added. “If our political leaders fail to take swift and decisive action, they can no longer claim to be ‘protecting the NHS.”

A poll conducted yesterday showed that more people in Britain oppose the government’s plans to relax coronavirus restrictions around Christmas than support them.

Around 50 per cent of respondents in the poll, which was conducted by Kantar, said they opposed or strongly opposed the planned relaxation, while 40 per cent backed it.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the government “haven’t got it right”, and urged ministers to rethink the decision.

“If they don’t change the rules, my message is we’re under no obligation to do all that’s allowed, there’s no reason you have to kiss or hug an older relation,” he added.

Ministers are understood to favour a cross-UK approach to the measures, rather than having different rules for different regions.