The NHS will face significant pressure in the coming weeks from the nationwide spread of the Omicron variant, Boris Johnson has said, while rejecting the idea that England’s relatively limited Covid restrictions amounted to a gamble.

There was, Johnson said, “no question Omicron continues to surge through the country”. He added: “I think we’ve got to recognise that the pressure on our NHS, on our hospitals, is going to be considerable in the course the next couple of weeks, and maybe more.”