Piers Morgan says Boris Johnson faces ‘huge pressure’ to follow Nicola Sturgeon’s lockdown announcement for Scotland

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces “huge pressure” to follow Scotland’s lead and announce fresh lockdown measures across England, according to Piers Morgan.

This afternoon the First Minister announced that, from midnight, Scots will be required by law to remain in their homes throughout January except for essential purposes only.

As Ms Sturgeon spoke in the Scottish Parliament, Downing Street announced the Prime Minister would hold a previously unscheduled press conference at 8pm this evening.

A No. 10 spokesman said: ‘The spread of the new variant of COVID-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country.

‘The Prime Minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives.’

‘He will set those out this evening.’

Mr Morgan said the First Minister’s decision had piled “huge pressure” on Mr Johnson to announce similar measures south of the border.

“Scotland going into new full national lockdown from midnight until end of January,” the Good Morning Britain host wrote.

This afternoon the First Minister announced that, from midnight, Scots will be required by law to remain in their homes throughout January except for essential purposes only. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

“Huge pressure now on @BorisJohnson to do the same in England,” he finished.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also urged the Prime Minister to follow Scotland’s lead.

Responding to the announcement of the Prime Minister’s statement and the recall of Parliament, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “I hope the Prime Minister has been listening to the clear calls for tough national restrictions.”

It remains unclear how severe any new measures in England set to be announced by Mr Johnson will be.

In Scotland, schools, which had been scheduled to reopen later this month, will instead remain closed until February.

The new March-style lockdown will also mean all those who are able to work from home must do so.

Places of worship will also close except to conduct weddings and funerals.

Ms Sturgeon said the new rules are designed to help stem the flow of coronavirus cases in Scotland, as health chiefs warn that the NHS could be overwhelmed in a matter of weeks without action.

Ms Sturgeon told her colleagues that it was “no exaggeration” to say that she was “more concerned about the situation we face now than I have been at any time since March last year.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.