Hopes that Britain can achieve widespread coronavirus immunity by the end of the lockdown have been dealt a devastating blow after research suggested that only a small proportion may have acquired resistance to the disease.

Drawing on the research, Professor Anthony Costello, a former British director of the World Health Organisation, warned that the UK faces eight to 10 waves of coronavirus before the population achieves herd immunity.

In such a scenario, both the death toll and the economic consequences would be catastrophic.

In the middle of March, before the lockdown was introduced, Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, said about 40 million people in the UK could need to catch coronavirus to build up "herd immunity" and prevent the disease coming back in the future.

Sir Patrick was defending Boris Johnson's decision at the time not to follow other European countries by closing schools and banning mass gatherings.

But on Friday Prof Costello, the chair of global health at University College London, will heavily criticise the Government's strategy in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in evidence to the health and social care select committee.