Today the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is set to meet with London’s council leaders to discuss the possibility of local lockdowns in the capital.
The meeting is being held in response to a worrying rise in coronavirus cases in the city over the past few weeks.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Mr Khan have not ruled out introducing stricter measures as early as this week.
A spokesperson for the mayor said: “The situation is clearly worsening,”
“The mayor wants fast action as we cannot risk a delay, as happened in March. It is better for both health and business to move too early than too late.”
The UK’s scientific experts leading the effort to tackle coronavirus are to give a live TV briefing today outlining the seriousness of a second wave this winter.
The mayor is now urging ministers to extend the latest regional restrictions – including ordering bars and restaurants to close at 10pm – to cover the capital as well.
On Friday khan was on LBC radio, he said: ‘Unfortunately, and it gives me no pleasure to say this, we’ve all been catastrophically let down by the Government.’
‘If ministers had risen to this moment, as the British public have, then the loss of many lives and much of the economic hardship could have been avoided.
‘These times called for a government that could put ideology, dogma and ego aside, and calmly and competently do whatever it takes to save lives and jobs.
‘Unfortunately, we got the exact opposite. Just when we required a steady, capable hand on the tiller, we’ve had a hapless government that keeps on steering us onto the rocks.’
Mr Hancock was asked on Sky News about comments from Mr Khan that restrictions in the capital were increasingly likely.
He said: ‘I’ve had discussions this week with the Mayor of London, and the teams are meeting today to discuss further what might be needed.’
The government’s chief medical officer and chief scientific officer for England are expected to warn that Britain is at “critical point” in the pandemic, as the number of new cases continues to rise.
Professor Chris Whitty lead a televised briefing alongside Sir Patrick Vallance where they warned that the UK could see up to 49,000 cases per day by mid-october and which would lead to 200-plus deaths per day by middle of November they day.
