HOME SECRETARY Priti Patel was roundly mocked today for insisting that the government has been “ahead of the curve” in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Her comments followed the government’s latest last-minute U-turn, in which plans to relax Covid-19 rules for five days over Christmas were abandoned at the weekend.

Announcing the change of heart on Saturday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that a new fourth tier of restrictions was to be created for London and parts of south-east England, coming into force just a few hours later.