EXCLUSIVE with @elliotttimes

Boris Johnson is preparing to introduce national lockdown restrictions from next Wednesday

The restrictions could see everything except nurseries, schools, universities and non-essential shops close until Dec 1

PM presser on Monday https://twitter.com/timespictures/status/1322293759585980416

Boris Johnson held a meeting this afternoon with Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove & Matt Hancock

They discussed new NHS data which shows hospitals are being overwhelmed

Ministers left feeling they have no choice but to implement national restrictions

PM said to be very reluctant to move to national lockdown restrictions but data has left him and other ministers feeling like there’s no choice

Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy chief medical officer, told ministers on Thursday morning that coronavirus is 'out of control'

I’m told that some projections circulating in Whitehall suggest that without significant interventions there will be a big spike in deaths around Christmas Eve

Ministers hope the national lockdown measures, expected to last just under a month, will help suppress the spread

Read The Times splash on the new national lockdown restrictions here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/national-lockdown-looms-8mphnk5h9