Border Chaos Continues Peter Schrank's cartoon in yesterday's Times The list of countries restricting or banning travel from the UK today grew to over 40, including much of continental Europe. The international responses to the new 'variant' of the virus range from outright bans to new self-isolation requirements regardless of a negative PCR test (as in the case of Greece). The border closures are not all limited to UK travellers either. Sweden has banned visitors from Denmark as well as the UK, and Saudi Arabia has slammed its borders shut completely. The knee-jerk actions are reminiscent of the early phase of the pandemic, where country after country copied each other's panicky lockdowns. It deals yet another blow to the ailing travel and airline industries, as cancelled flights out of the UK number in the hundreds and climbing. Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a press conference yesterday and scarcely mentioned the unfolding travel bans. Instead, he focused on the ongoing issues at the Dover-Calais crossing, insisting that the blockade would be resolved in a matter of hours after a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes in today's Telegraph, closing the UK-France border is just another exercise in closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Emmanuel Macron’s ban on lorries entering France wins the prize for the...

London Threatened with Tier 3 Bob Moran's cartoon in Sunday's Telegraph While the news cycle is dominated by last-minute Brexit negotiations, The Telegraph reports that a "worrying" rise in cases in London may lead to the city being "plunged" into Tier 3 restrictions: The Government must consider placing London in Tier 3 restrictions, scientists have said, after 21 out of the 32 boroughs showed worrying rises in cases.The capital is now the second worst region in the country, just behind the West Midlands, with more than 15,000 people testing positive in the past week, a rate of 169.6 per 100,000 people, up from 150.9 a month ago.It means London is now higher than many of the Tier 3 areas, such as the North East where case rates have halved from 330.2 per 100,000 to 160.4 since the beginning of November. The case rate in the capital is higher than all but five of the current Tier 3 regions with the borough of Haringey seeing rises of 46% since last week, Bromley 40% and Kingston 33%. Those "very worried" include Professor Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia who said: ...it was “very worrying” that cases had continued to increase during the national lockdown and said a rise from Tier 2 must now be considered.“There were more cases at the end of lockdown...

Government Agrees Plan to 'Save Christmas' Unpublished sketch by Telegraph cartoonist Bob Moran At a COBR meeting yesterday afternoon chaired by Michael Gove, the UK Government agreed plans with the First Ministers of the devolved nations to allow up to three households to gather over the five-day period between the 23rd and 27th of December. People will be able to travel freely across all areas of the UK, with an extra day of leeway at either end afforded to anyone wishing to travel in and out of Northern Ireland, to allow for the added journey time. The announcement comes after days of speculation in the media about the fate of the Christmas festivities. The temporary relaxation of restrictions came with several caveats, as the Times reports: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, agreed the exemption with the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at a COBR meeting this afternoon, saying the Christmas rules “will offer hope for families and friends who have made many sacrifices over this difficult year”.Mr Gove conceded that “the Christmas period this year will not be normal” but said that “families and friends will now have the option to meet up in a limited and cautious way across the UK should they wish".Family meetings will be limited to private homes and outdoor spaces, with...