Millions of people across southeast England will no longer be able to mix with other households at Christmas, with a new Tier 4 level of COVID restrictions - equivalent to a full lockdown - to come into force tomorrow.

In a dramatic move, prompted by fears over a new strain of coronavirus, all those areas currently in Tier 3 in the South East - including London - will move to the new Tier 4 on Sunday.

And Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was with a 'heavy heart' that the planned five-day easing of restrictions over the festive period will now be limited to a single day.

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