UK PM: Christmas COVID-19 relaxations will go ahead as ‘inhuman’ to cancel plans

LONDON -- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the planned festive relaxation of coronavirus rules will go ahead but has asked people to have as small a Christmas as possible.

He told a Downing Street press conference people were being asked to "reduce contact to the lowest possible number" of people in the five days before Christmas and to avoid travel from "high prevalence" areas to those with lower rates.

The Prime Minister earlier locked horns with the Labour leader Kier Starmer at the final PMQs of the year, at which he told MPs that the four UK nations have agreed "in principle" to proceed with the easing of measures between December 23 and 27.

Johnson was also criticised over England’s tiered Covid-19 measures, as a formal review of the nationwide system takes place as London and swathes of Essex and Hertfordshire adapt to life in Tier 3.