There is deep doubt among Govt scientists that Tier 3s will work because cases now so high in them. Plans are being actively worked up by Chris Whitty for local 3 week circuit breaker lockdowns in Tier 2 as well as Tier 3 areas across England next month, @TimesRadio has learned.

A big push under way to sure up local testing data, as its seen as less accurate than ONS weekly survey, to work out exactly which Tier 2/3 areas should shut down to satisfy a very sceptical Treasury. Many Tier 2s seen as just a few weeks behind Tier 3s.

A big hint towards this from Jonathan Van Tam at the No10 press conference last night. Asked about local circuit breaks: “We can't take the break off on this, and we may have to push on the pedal a little harder to get it under control”. More on @TimesRadio in a few minutes.