Boris Johnson to address nation at 5pm TODAY amid fears of new Covid restrictions as Omicron rips through Britain

BORIS Johnson will hold a Downing St press conference tonight amid fears Omicron will wreck Christmas for millions and spark a January lockdown.

The PM will appear in No 10 alongside chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty at 5pm to give the nation a grim update on the spread of the variant.

He is set to issue a fresh pledge for even more Brits to come forward for their boosters to help avoid the need for tougher curbs on daily life.

At the same time Michael Gove will lead an emergency Cobra meeting with top ministers from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The PM's address will come after scientists gave a "bleak" update to Cabinet yesterday about the spread of Omicron across the country.

There have been over 4,700 confirmed cases of Omicron but experts say the super variant may be infecting as many as 200,000 people a day.

And that means over a million Brits could have to spend Christmas Day in isolation after catching the virus.

Schools are already drawing up plans to stay shut after the Christmas holidays due to the spread of Omicron.

And there are reports ministers are fleshing out draconian Plan C restrictions to come into force in January.

They could include the reintroduction of social "bubbles" and further indoor mask rules.

Government officials are said to have been "spooked" into looking at further restrictions as fears over Omicron continues to grip the nation.

Pubs, shops and restaurants could even be forced to shut in January because so many workers will be off sick with Omicron.

But No 10 could struggle to get any new measures through Parliament after suffering a crushing rebellion on vaccine passports last night.

A whopping 99 Tory MPs opposed their imposition, leaving the PM relying on Labour's support to win the vote.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps today declared with "confidence" that there won't be any more Covid restrictions before January.

But he also ominously hinted at the possibility of a January lockdown by saying current Plan B curbs will only "see us through to the New Year".

The senior cabinet minister insisted Brits will be able to enjoy a "good deal happier" festive period than last year thanks to testing and vaccines.

And he insisted the UK is "certainly in a better position than we were this time last year" in the fight against Covid.

He added: "We want people to be sensible but to enjoy their Christmas.

"We're not saying to people to cancel their Christmases or their Christmas parties or getting together with their friends and families.

"But please take the lateral flow test, don't go if you feel ill, get your third jab and you're good to go.

"I think this Christmas will be a good deal happier than last year."

Social restrictions fears

Pressed on the possibility of new restrictions before December 25, he appeared to rule them out.

He said: "I hope not. We've got in place now the measures we believe will see us through to the New Year. I don't think that's going to need to happen this year.

"With some confidence we can say people are going to be able to enjoy their Christmas get-together with their friends and families with only what has already been announced."

"If we did need to do anything else, Parliament would be recalled too in order to vote on doing that, so it won't just be an automated thing.

"It's always wise to be cautious with Coronavirus. We've learned that lesson in the last year or two."

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He later added Plan B plus boosters can prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed and "we believe that is enough to bend the curve" of infections".

Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon told Scots to restrict socialising to just three households over the Christmas period to fight Omicron.

She's slapping the country with the toughest measures in months - piling pressure on Boris Johnson to also tighten mixing curbs in England.

The First Minister said the advice wouldn't apply to main celebrations with friends and family on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing day.