FEARS of more businesses collapsing and jobs being lost have been raised by today’s announcement that London and some other parts of south-east England will move into highest tier of coronavirus restrictions from tomorrow.

Speaking in the Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that every London borough will enter Tier 3, along with south and west Essex and the south of Hertfordshire.

Mr Hancock also revealed that a “new variant” of Covid-19 has been identified over the last few days, which may be associated with the faster spread of the virus in the region.