BORIS Johnson will be making a televised address at 8pm tonight, with even stricter lockdown measures likely to be announced in England.

And Scotland is being put under another Covid-19 lockdown.

As coronavirus cases surge across the country, particularly the new variant of Covid-19, a 10 Downing Street spokesman said further steps must be taken to address it and “protect the NHS and save lives”.

The statement will be followed by the recall of Parliament on Wednesday so MPs can debate the measures.

The move comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland will go into lockdown for the rest of January, with a legal requirement to stay at home and schools closed to most pupils until February.

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Earlier, during a visit to a vaccination centre in north London, Mr Johnson acknowledged there is “no question” the further measures will be necessary, as cases continue to surge across the country.

The PM will set out plans for England, as the UK's devolved nations have the power to set their own coronavirus regulations.

Restrictions in Wales are to be reviewed on Wednesday ahead of an announcement on Friday, but First Minister Mark Drakeford has said it is “very hard to see room for manoeuvre” given the pressures on Wales’ hospitals.

It means Wales' current restrictions are likely to continue through to at least the end of January, when another review is due.

On Sunday, the UK recorded more than 50,000 new confirmed Covid cases for the sixth day in a row and an additional 454 deaths within 28 days of a positive test result were reported.

Today, the number of people in Gwent alone confirmed as having died of coronavirus since the pandemic began, topped 700 according to Public Health Wales.