The Prime Minister has his finger on the Plan B panic button. Vaccine passports and new work-from-home guidance are set to be announced today as the Government speeds up plans for tougher measures to counter the omicron Covid variant. 

Follow live updates as Boris Johnson is set to address the public from 6pm after ministers discussed the new rules this afternoon. 

Political Editor Ben Riley-Smith says it would be the biggest increase in Covid restrictions in England since January, when the country went into full lockdown. Read what it could mean for your daily life. 

On a turbulent day in Westminster dominated by leaked footage of Number 10 officials laughing about a Christmas party, the pound slumped to its lowest level in a year, while travel stocks went into reverse. See how sterling tumbled against the dollar.

Looming new restrictions in the approach to Christmas bring an unwelcome sense of déjà vu. Ross Clark writes that the Government is clunking its way towards what threatens to become an annual Christmas tradition: the festive lockdown.

 And Dr Stephen Davies, from the Institute of Economic Affairs, argues that some previous measures have had a catastrophic impact that cannot be ignored this time round.

Stratton’s tearful apology

The Plan B talks were suddenly pulled forward at the same time as Downing Street was fire-fighting a fierce row about a Christmas party last year. Allegra Stratton this afternoon quit her role as a government spokesman after leaked footage showed her joking and giggling about claims the gathering broke lockdown rules. Fighting back tears outside her north London home, she offered her “profound apologies” and said she would “regret those remarks for the rest of my days”. Watch her emotional statement in full below.