The prime minister addressed the nation tonight (Picture: 10 Dowing Street)

Boris Johnson has ordered a lockdown of the UK for three weeks, telling people they must ‘stay at home’ or face a fine.

People will only be able to leave their home for shopping, one form of exercise a day for example a run, walk or cycle, any medical need, to provide care or help a vulnerable person, or to go to work.

Updating the nation following a Cobra meeting with cabinet ministers, he said: ‘You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.

‘You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine – and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can.


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‘If you don’t follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.’



To enforce the new measures, he said shops selling non-essential goods would be closed, as well as libraries, playgrounds and places of worship.

Gatherings of more than two people in public would be banned, excluding people that are in the same household.



Weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies would be stopped, but excluding funerals.

Parks will remain open for exercise but gatherings will be dispersed.

Mr Johnson said: ‘To put it simply, if too many people become unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to handle it. It’s vital to slow the spread of the disease because that is the way we reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment at any one time.’

Passengers squeeze on to a busy Central Line train at Stratford station, east London, despite government warnings to stay two metres apart (Picture: AFP )

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the measures, saying: ‘The Prime Minister is right to call for people to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.



‘This is the right response to the coronavirus pandemic, and one we have been calling for.



‘There now needs to be clear guidance to employers and workers about which workplaces should close – and the Government must close the loopholes to give security to all workers, including the self-employed, as well as renters and mortgage holders.



‘We welcome these moves and will be working to ensure everybody has the protection and security they need.’

The prime minister speaking tonight (Picture: 10 Downing Street)

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents officers in the capital, warned enforcement will be ‘very, very challenging’ with ‘large amounts of sickness’ already seen in the force.

‘We will be dealing with it, but I’m not sure we will have the resources to be able to see it through,’ he told Sky News.

It comes after the Foreign Office urged all British people travelling abroad to return home immediately while commercial flights were still available.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said more and more airlines were suspending flights and it would soon become even more difficult to come home.

Also today, MPs had urged the government to go further following images of people gathering in parks and on beaches over the weekend.

My statement on the Prime Minister’s urgent announcement. These rules are not optional. You must stay at home. pic.twitter.com/xjNLQuPax7 — Mayor of London (gov.uk/coronavirus) (@MayorofLondon) March 23, 2020

Mark Pritchard, Tory MP for the the Wrekin, told Matt Hancock: ‘It’s right that people should have exercise – physical, mental health and wellbeing, but social distancing is not being followed by many and whether it be The Wrekin, whether it be in Holland Park or Hyde Park or St James’s Park or in counties around this House today, can I ask what behavioural changes he expects?

‘Is it not the case that we will have lockdown and isn’t it better to have it today rather than next week?’

Mr Hancock replied: ‘My honourable friend makes an important point and we’re absolutely clear that we’re prepared to take the action that is necessary.’

Greggs announced it would close all stores today (Picture: Getty)

Yesterday, the prime minister warned that he was prepared to take tougher measures if people didn’t follow advice on social distancing.

At his daily press conference, he said: ‘I don’t think you need to use your imagination very much to see where we might have to go, and we will think about this very very actively in the next 24 hours.



‘We need to think about the kind of measures we’ve seen elsewhere – other countries that have been forced to bring in restrictions on people’s movements altogether, now as I say I don’t want to do that.’

Earlier today, it was also revealed that Boris Johnson had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the most effective public health methods to tackle coronavirus.

A No 10 spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister spoke to Chinese President Xi today about the coronavirus pandemic.

My message to British people travelling abroad: As borders around the world close and international travel becomes more difficult, you are strongly advised to return to the UK now, where & while there are still commercial travel options available. Keep up to date with @FCOtravel — Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) March 23, 2020

‘The two leaders resolved to work to ensure knowledge about the most effective public health measures is shared between countries.

‘The Prime Minister and President agreed on the wider need for ongoing international cooperation, particularly through the G20, to share expertise, support the global economic system and strengthen the ability of vulnerable countries to tackle the virus.

‘The Prime Minister stressed the need to support the WHO’s (World Health Organisation) appeal and support vaccine development through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.’

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