New tier system: Boris promises your tiers are ‘not your destiny’ and Brits may escape harsh measures before Xmas

BORIS Johnson promised tonight there was "hope" for all to escape their Tiers - and vowed to review them before Christmas.

But he warned of a possible new national lockdown in January if Brits don't follow the strict new rules he introduced today.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

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Ninety-nine per cent of England will be plunged into the harshest Tiers 2 and 3 next week, it was revealed this morning.

Just 700,000 people - or 1.27 per cent of the population - will escape strict rules on socialising and going to the pub when the lockdown ends next Wednesday.

Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are in the lowest Tier 1 - which will face very little restrictions.

Some 32 million people in England (just over 56 per cent of the population) will be in Tier 2 - including Liverpool and London.

And nearly 42 per cent (23 million people) will be in the top level - featuring large swathes of the North East, North West, parts of the Midlands, and Kent.

But already furious MPs have vowed to vote the new rules down when it comes to the House of Commons next week.

Boris Johnson told the nation at a press conference this evening that "your tier is not your destiny - every area has the means of escape".

He promised that "together we can get through this winter, suppress the virus, and reclaim our lives and all the things we love".

The news comes as:

• The Government's crashed this morning as thousands of people tried to see what their new tiers would be.
• The new system is expected to be in place until the spring - with a limited relaxing of rules at Christmas
• Tiers areas will be reviewed after two weeks - but furious MPs already vowed to try and vote it down next week
• These are all the first football matches which will take place when fans come back in stadiums next week
• Manchester United will be banned from fan return in Tier 3 but Arsenal and Chelsea can have 2,000 in next week for first time in 9 months
• The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in England has fallen week on week for the first time since the summer

The strict area rules will be reviewed at least every 14 days - with the possibility of slipping down a Tier if the rate of infection drops.

The PM admitted the tougher restrictions would "bring a great deal of heartache and frustration" and admitted that pubs and restaurants had born a "disproportionate share of the burden".

But if schools were to remain open, other things had to close.

The only way to protect everyone was to roll out mass testing to as many people as possible, he stressed, pointing to the success of Liverpool and Warrington from having gone down a tier.

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Boris said he was "convinced" that in just a few months the nation would have a vaccine and "by April things will genuinely be much, much better."

But he began with a warning that the dangers of coronavirus "have not gone away" and "we risk losing control of this virus all over again and forcing us back into a new year national lockdown - with all the damage that would mean".

Yet Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said it would be a "mistake to make too many judgements too early".

He said that "hopefully in some weeks to come, more areas can go into tier one" but that it would be an error to do that just before Christmas.

And he urged the nation to "be sensible" and "don't do stupid things" for their best shot at getting out of strict rules in the New Year.

In a stark address he told the public: "If anybody thinks as a result of these two things you can relax now that would be wrong."

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Matt Hancock unveiled the new tiers this morning in the House of Commons - confirming the 'stay at home' order will end, and shops, gyms and personal care will reopen from next week.

But he warned: "We cannot simply flick a switch and try to return to life straight back to normal.

"If we did this we would undo the hard work of so many and see the NHS overwhelmed."

And he stressed that the capital faces "a lot of work" to keep it in Tier 2 and not being put into the next level up.

The Rule of Six and 10pm curfew will return across England, too, he confirmed.

The new toughened up lockdown tiers are due to come into effect next Wednesday, when England's month-long national lockdown ends.

Liverpool is being hailed as a success story after mass testing by the Army helped bring infection rates down to 162 per 100,000 people from 700 five weeks ago.

It will go down from Tier 3 into Tier 2 and provide a model for others to get their cases down.

Mr Hancock heaped praise on the city, saying they showed "impressive leadership" locally.

In a direct swipe at Manchester's Mayor Mr Burnham, he added: "This shows what we can do when we work together."

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REBEL REBELS

Already fuming MPs have insisted they can't support the measures and blasted them as "authoritarianism at work".

Steve Baker of the Covid Recovery Group said today ministers must publish the impact assessment of the tiers as soon as possible so they can decide whether the system is fair or not.

He stressed: "I am open to supporting measures where it can clearly be demonstrated that the government intervention will save more lives than it costs - as long as this data and analysis is published in full and in time ahead of any votes in Parliament, so that MPs and the public have a chance to scrutinise it."

But he attacked the Government's use of dodgy data with models which "wrong time and time again".

"How much longer can we go on with this rubbish determining the course of all our lives?" he added.

Richard Drax MP added: "With only 80 cases for every 100,000 people in South Dorset, I’m astounded that we’ve been put into Tier 2. 

"We were at Tier 1 before, so how can we possibly need even more severe restrictions than before the lockdown?"

Shipley MP Philip Davies said he was "furious" at the measured being imposed on Bradford.

He told his local paper, “I don’t think destroying the economy is the right solution to it.

“I will be voting against this next Tuesday."

Mark Haper raged that the impact assessments wouldn't be coming until early next week.

He blasted: "Gov must provide this evidence in full and in time.

";Government must already have the information to hand, given they have announced what the restrictions are.

"Why not release the evidence now & give MPs time to assess all the data?"

Damian Green, whose Kent constituency has been slammed into Tier 3, raged: "Before lockdown we were in Tier 1 so what has lockdown achieved? We need the full analysis made public. #RoadToRecovery".

Tobias Ellwood, whose been plunged into Tier 2 added: "I’m puzzled to see us placed in this tier which will cause further hardship for our hospitality industry.

"I will NOT be supporting the Gov’s motion to introduce this next week."

William Wragg of Stockport said Stockport's rates were on the way down.

He said: "We should be considered for tiering on a Local Authority basis. As we have not been, I cannot support these proposals."

Dido Harding's husband John Penrose MP is also said to be upset about the new rules.

DATA DASHBOARD

It appears the threshold for an area going into Tier 3 is a combination of a higher pressure on the NHS, alongside a rate of more than 200 cases per 100,000 for the over 60s and overall.

The Government said Manchester's rate, although it had improved, was still too high.

Weekly cases for those over 60 are still 260 per 100,000, and there is still pressure on the main city hospitals.

The Mayor Andy Burnham said he was "not surprised" the region would be placed into Tier 3, but said he would be making the "strongest possible arguments" for it to be moved down to Tier 2 in a fortnight if good progress continues.

He added: "What we believe is completely wrong is the Government’s decision to provide no additional business support to areas in Tier 3 than those in Tiers 1 and 2.

"This will cause real hardship for people whose jobs will be affected and risk the loss of many businesses."

All areas in Tier 3 - including South Yorkshire, the Humber, West Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire - are seeing high pressures on the NHS and rates of over 200 cases per 100,000.

Some of the areas which have been pushed into Tier 3 have seen a sharp increase in cases too.

ECONOMIC HIT

Ministers tried to reassure concerned MPs last night restrictions could be eased in time for Christmas when tiers are reviewed after two weeks - on December 16.

And they could get another weekly review before Christmas too.

MPs have demanded a cost-benefit analsysis of the Tiers system - and a clear strategy for how to get out of it - but No10 said that won't be published until next week.

A vote will come to the House of Commons on Tuesday.

TIER FEAR

The newly toughened Tier 3 means pubs, restaurants and cafes have to shut - along with indoor entertainment.

People can't mix between households, either.

Areas in the top level of rules will get access to new rapid-result tests for everyone which give tests in under an hour, a strategy which has seen Liverpool's cases drop drastically.

Tier 2 allows pubs and restaurants to remain open, but they must serve a substantial meal and different households can only mix outside.

HOW IS IT DECIDED?

Mr Johnson has said the allocation is based on "common sense" with a number of metrics used to decide how strongly to restrict areas.

These include case detection rates in the over 60s, the rate at which cases are falling or rising, pressure on the NHS and case detection rates in all age groups.

The number of positive cases found in a percentage of tests taken in certain areas will also come into consideration.

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Tories are already rounding on ministers to demand their areas stay out of the top level of restrictions.

They are demanding a cost benefit analysis and reams of data to back up the theory that the stricter rules will help bring down infections.

On Wednesday, the PM promised he would fulfil their wishes and give them information on why the Tiers system was working.

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The rules will be relaxed for Christmas - with people in the UK allowed to form a bubble of up to three households.

They won't have to social distance, and will be able to travel between tiers.

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