FAILING to introduce Covid restrictions earlier was an “act of gross negligence,” Labour charged today after the PM sprung new measures on millions days before Christmas. 

Tough new coronavirus controls were placed on London, the south-east and east of England from midnight on Sunday sparking anger over the government’s handling of the crisis. 

The additional measures, which ban household mixing over the festive period, could remain in place for the “next couple of months,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today.