Boris Johnson must self-isolate after being in touch with someone who has tested positive for Covid 

Boris Johnson is set to make history with the first ‘virtual’ PMQs after going into self-isolation due to a meeting with a coronavirus infected Tory – throwing his hopes of a post-Cummings ‘reset’ into chaos.

Mr Johnson will take the regular session via Zoom on Wednesday as he fends off criticism of the mask-free gathering in No10 last week. The PM posed for pictures with Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, who later tested positive for the disease.

A gang of Tories who were also at the meeting – Lia Nici, Andy Carter, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Katherine Fletcher and Jacob Young – have also signalled they are in quarantine. 

In a video posted from his Downing Street flat this morning, the PM said he was ‘fit as a butcher’s dog’ and ‘bursting with antibodies’ but was following Test Trace rules.

The dramatic development has thrown the government into fresh chaos, with infighting still raging after the ousting of maverick chief aide Dominic Cummings and communications director Lee Cain on Friday following a power struggle with Carrie Symonds.

Mr Johnson had hoped to launch a ‘reset’ of his premiership to claw back support from mutinous Tory MPs, furious about the handling of the coronavirus response and clumsy, damaging U-turns on issues such as free school meals during school holidays.

Crucially this afternoon the PM had been due to meet Tories representing the northern ‘Red Wall’ of former Labour seats that delivered his historic election majority, but will now have to do the session via video link.

He is also due to unveil a long-awaited ten-point environment plan later this week, an agenda that has been championed by his fiancee Ms Symonds, including banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 instead of 2040. 

Meanwhile, the Brexit trade negotiations are at a critical stage, with just days to reach an agreement in time for the end of the transition period and fears the UK is about to cave in to EU demands on fishing and state aid rules. 

The ‘virtual’ PMQs could open the floodgates for remote voting and participation despite Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg resisting the idea for months.  

On Thursday, the Prime Minister held a 35-minute meeting with a group of MPs including Mr Anderson who later tested positive for the virus. Pictured: The PM and Mr Anderson at Thursday’s meeting

In the message, said to have been circulating on a Whatsapp Group for Tory MPs, Boris Johnson explains the situation and says he ‘feels better than ever’

In a rallying cry, Boris ends the message, said to have been circulating on a Whatsapp group for Tory MPs, by urging: ‘Let’s follow the rules and beat it together. All best, Boris’

Critics have questioned how the PM got to be in contact with an infected person – who was not in his own household – during the country’s nation-wide second lockdown

Mr Johnson took to Twitter to confirm that he has no symptoms of Covid-19 and will continue working while sequestered in No. 10

The pair stood a safe distance apart in the picture which was captioned: ‘Breakfast with the PM. This morning I met with the PM at Number 10. I was there with my wish list for Ashfield and Eastwood. Investment is coming, you have my word on that’

Ashfield MP Mr Anderson (pictured with Mr Johnson in a file image)- part of Mr Johnson’s Red Wall who helped him win the 2019 general election – wrote on Facebook that he was isolating

Boris Johnson’s video message from Downing Street quarantine

‘Hi folks, the good news is that NHS Test and Trace is working ever-more efficiently, but the bad news is that they’ve pinged me and I’ve got to self isolate because someone I was in contact with a few days ago has developed Covid.

‘It doesn’t matter that we were all doing social distancing, it doesn’t matter that I’m fit as a butcher’s dog, feel great – so many people do in my circumstances. 

‘And actually it doesn’t matter that I’ve had the disease and I’m bursting with antibodies. 

‘We’ve got to interrupt the spread of the disease and one of the ways we can do that now is by self isolating for 14 days when you get contacted by NHS Test Trace.’

‘I do it with a high heart full of optimism and confidence, because don;t forget we not only have this technique for interrupting the transmission of Covid, but we also now have two gigantic boxing gloves with which to wallop our foe into submission.

‘Mass lateral flow testing, rapid turnaround testing… and of course the prospect of a vaccine which I hope we will be able to start distributing to those who really need it, perhaps even before Christmas.

‘So that;s the way forwards… don’t forget hands face, space, get a test if you have symptoms.

‘And if NHS Test Trace contact you and say you got to self isolate then follow the rules. That is what I’m going to do.’  

He added: ‘I will have plenty more to say by Zoom of course and by other forms of electronic communication. But for now, over and out.’  

In the video posted to Twitter this morning, Mr Johnson said: ‘Hi folks, the good news is that NHS Test and Trace is working ever-more efficiently, but the bad news is that they’ve pinged me and I’ve got to self isolate because someone I was in contact with a few days ago has developed Covid.

‘It doesn’t matter that we were all doing social distancing, it doesn’t matter that I’m fit as a butcher’s dog, feel great – so many people do in my circumstances. And actually it doesn’t matter that I’ve had the disease and I’m bursting with antibodies. We’ve got to interrupt the spread of the disease and one of the ways we can do that now is by self isolating for 14 days when contacted by Test and Trace.’ 

Mr Johnson said he was self-isolating with a ‘high heart’ that the country was getting on top of the virus, with rapid speed testing and hopes of having a vaccine roll-out before Christmas providing reasons for encouragement. 

He added: ‘I will have plenty more to say by Zoom of course and by other forms of electronic communication. But for now, over and out.’ 

It is not clear whether Mr Johnson knows he still has antibodies, or is merely speculating. There have been very few confirmed cases of people being infected with the disease twice.

Before being told to self-isolate, Mr Johnson was due to meet the Northern Research Group (NRG) today, before unveiling his ten-point point plan to tackle climate change later in the week, and then finalising details of the Spending Review that will be announced by the Chancellor next Wednesday. 

On Thursday, the Prime Minister held a 35-minute meeting with a group of MPs including Mr Anderson who later tested positive for the virus. The pair didn’t wear masks.

Mr Johnson first took to Twitter on Sunday night to confirm that he has no symptoms of Covid-19 and will continue working while sequestered in No. 10. 

Ashfield MP Mr Anderson – part of Mr Johnson’s Red Wall who helped him win the 2019 general election – shared an image of himself and Mr Johnson to Facebook after the meeting this week.

The pair were not wearing masks as they stood apart in the picture which was captioned: ‘Breakfast with the PM.’

Conservative MP Lia Nici said she was also self-isolating after attending the meeting.

The Great Grimsby MP tweeted: ‘I have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace following a work meeting last week with Lee Anderson MP and the Prime Minister.

‘As a result I will be self-isolating in line with the rules. I currently have no symptoms and will be working from home.’

And Warrington South MP Andy Carter said: ‘I had a call from test and trace yesterday following a work meeting at 10 Downing Street last Thursday. In line with the rules I am self isolating.’ 

Bassetlaw MP Mr Clarke-Smith retweeted the PM’s message, adding: ‘In the words of Patrick Swayze… ”Ditto”.’ 

South Ribble MP Ms Fletcher also highlighted the premier’s statement, using a finger-on-the-button emoji, and is reportedly self-isolating. Mr Young is also in quarantine, according to the Guido Fawkes website. 

The PM’s spokesman insisted at a briefing that social distancing measures were ‘observed’ at the 35-minute meeting on Thursday morning, and said No 10 was a ‘Covid-secure workplace’.

‘We take every possible step to ensure that hand sanitiser is made available to people as soon as they arrive at the building and it is available throughout the building as you travel through it,’ he said.

‘But as I say, factors such as the length of the meeting meant that it was the advice of Test and Trace that the Prime Minister should self-isolate, and he of course will follow that instruction.’

Asked about a photograph showing Mr Johnson and Mr Anderson standing less than two metres apart at the meeting, the spokesman said: ‘They are stood side by side, rather than face to face.’

The spokesman also defended the Prime Minister’s decision to hold the meeting in person, saying such meetings are allowed under the current coronavirus restrictions.  

Conservative MP Lia Nici said she was also self-isolating after attending the meeting

Mr Clarke-Smith tweeted to declare that he too was going into quarantine after the meeting in No10 last week

Conservative MPs lined up to announced that they were in the same boat as Mr Johnson today

Tory MP Andy Carter confirmed that he is self-isolating after the gathering with Mr Johnson last week

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock batted away criticism about the lack of social distancing and precautions in a round of interviews this morning.

Asked if Mr Johnson and Lee Anderson were two metres apart during their meeting, including during a photocall, he said: ‘Well there is social distancing and there are rules around Downing Street being a Covid-secure workplace but the central point is that it doesn’t matter who you are, if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace and told to self-isolate that is what you must do.

‘You could be the Prime Minister, you can be anybody in this country – we have the same rules and we all abide by them.’

Mr Hancock said he personally didn’t ‘always’ wear a mask in Downing Street,’ telling Sky News: ‘The Covid secure guidelines in that building don’t require it at all times.’   

However, news of Mr Johnson’s isolation sparked a backlash.

Labour MP Chris Bryant questioning how the PM got to be in contact with an infected person during the country’s nation-wide second lockdown.

The Rhondda MP wrote on Twitter: ‘I don’t understand. I thought England was in lockdown. What was the PM doing not maintaining a social distance with another MP? Have I missed something?’ 

Scientists says it is unlikely people who recover from Covid will get infected within a year

Virologists have yet to get their head around the Covid-19 immunity puzzle because the disease has only existed in the world of science since January.

With some common illnesses such as chickenpox, the body remembers how to fight it and becomes able to fend it off before it takes hold.  

But experts don’t yet know for certain how the body reacts to Covid-19, and believe people will catch it repeatedly like the common cold. 

Only a handful of confirmed Covid re-infections have been recorded across the world, sparking hope survivors will be protected for at least six months.

Most scientists investigating the topic agree that it’s unlikely survivors will be struck down again within a year. And those who do are likely to be protected from developing a severe bout of the disease, they say.  

Tests have shown many people who recover from the coronavirus have antibodies, disease-fighting proteins trained to fight off the disease.

Mounting evidence shows antibodies disappear in as little as eight weeks — but the proteins are only one type of substance that can produce immunity. 

The immune system is a huge web of proteins that have different functions to protect the body against different infections. 

T cells and B cells can also help the body to fight off disease but are more difficult to discover using currently available tests.

T cells – white blood cells which target and destroy cells already infected with the virus – are ‘durable’ and can last up to 17 years, studies have suggested. 

On Sunday evening, Mr Johnson – who has no symptoms so therefore cannot get an NHS test – is thought to have messaged fellow Conservative MPs to say that he will stick to the rules as ‘it doesn’t matter that I feel fine — better than ever — or that my body is bursting with antibodies because I have already had the damn thing.’  

In the message, he insisted that he was abiding by the rules during Thursday’s meeting – and would continue to do so during his 14-day isolation period. 

The PM was taken seriously ill after testing positive for coronavirus in March and spent three nights in the Intensive Care Unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London. 

Doctors plied Mr Johnson with ‘litres and litres’ of oxygen as his chances of survival balanced on a knife-edge.

It is possible to contract Covid-19 twice, with five confirmed cases of reinfection reported globally as of last month, however it is extremely rare, scientists say. 

Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said the rules that mean Boris Johnson has to self-isolate ‘probably are sensible’.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there have been more than 25 confirmed cases of Covid-19 reinfection globally, but added: ‘I think most of us think the rate of reinfection is quite a lot higher than that, but not enormous.’

Prof Altmann said: ‘I think my bottom line is not to be alarmist because whatever the risk is, it is low. My sense from some of our data and other people’s data is that it’s the people who’ve made the poorest and most negligible antibody response the first time round who are most at risk of reinfection.

‘So that’s maybe 10 per cent of everybody out there who’s been infected in the first wave.’

After his enforce quarantine emerged last night, the PM circulated a message to Tory MPs on WhatsAppjoking: ‘The good news is that NHS test and trace continues to improve. The bad news is that I have been pinged!’

He went on: ‘Will this slow me down or in anyway impede my work in the next few days? Of course not.

‘Yes we have the spending review and the integrated security review and the small matter of the EU talks. But we also have Zoom and other miracles.  

‘I am more confident than ever that we will end these exceptional measures on December 2 and continue to pummel Covid into submission.

‘We have two new scientific weapons – mass lateral flow testing and the real prospect of beginning a vaccination programme before Christmas.

‘And by the way, it is thanks to Kate Bingham and the vaccine task force that we have not only secured supplies but also laid on capacity to make vaccine in this country.

‘In the meantime I thank my honourable friend for Ashfield for being so punctilious and effective in identifying his contacts, even if it means my temporary incarceration.’

The message ended: ‘Let’s follow the rules and beat it together. All best, Boris.’  

Tests have shown that many people who recover from Covid-19 do have antibodies which can which can produce future immunity.

But not enough is known about whether protection is long-term as the virus has only been known to science for less than a year.

Even if a patient is a-symptomatic, they may still be able to pass on the virus to people they are in close contact with.

Mr Johnson lives in the flat above No 11 Downing Street with his fiancée Carrie Symonds and their six-month old baby boy Wilfred.

Under the rules, as Mr Johnson does not have symptoms they can stay at the residence without the need to self-isolate. 

Aides said Mr Johnson is able to get out into the Downing Street garden through his office at No10. 

Mr Johnson’s Tweet last night read: ‘Today I was notified by NHS Test and Trace that I must self-isolate as I have been in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. 

‘I have no symptoms, but am following the rules and will be working from No10 as I continue to lead the government’s pandemic response.’  

His decision to self-isolate comes exactly six days after  he was photographed taking a potentially ‘revolutionary’ test that experts hope could return results in under an hour and allow for students to return home for Christmas.  

Mr Johnson had been hoping to ‘reset’ his premiership this week after the bombshell departure of Dominic Cummings (pictured at his London home today)

Johnson was shown around the testing facility where the university is piloting Lateral Flow antigen tests which can test high proportions of asymptomatic people

MPs put PM on notice amid claims 1922 chair Graham Brady has been ‘shut out’ for months 

MPs have put Boris Johnson on notice that change must be made soon after the departure of Dominic Cummings – with Rishi Sunak waiting in the wings as a prospective PM.  

A senior Tory told MailOnline that bungling and U-turns on issues like free school meals had caused huge anger on the backbenches.

‘I think people are now looking to see if there is going to be a change,’ the MP said. 

‘There has been a lot of smarting by MPs about that kind of mismanagement. 

‘We are looking for real change in in comms and direction. We need to see something different now. It’s got to be more on the front foot and looking at unintended consequences.’

The MP also complained that 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady was being denied access to the PM. 

‘Under the ”ancien regime” there has been a real problem with getting access to the PM. In the past it was always a regular thing,’ the MP said. 

‘Even under Theresa May she might have ignored what she was told but at least she was told it to her face.

‘What we want is the PM to at least be open to the conversation.’

Last Monday, the Prime Minister spoke with staff at the testing centre in De Montfort university in Leicester which is trialling the tests that can turn out results in under an hour.

He was pictured administering the swab himself while staff looked on in the city that was one of the first to go into a local lockdown earlier in the year.

The result of that test were not widely reported, but it is presumed he tested negative, as he continued his Prime Ministerial duties.

News of Mr Johnson’s second stint in isolation came ahead of the Government’s big relaunch after the last few days brought political chaos to Downing Street.

Events culminated in the PM’s Svengali Dominic Cummings dramatically carrying his belongings out the front door of No10 in a cardboard box following a brutal reckoning that saw his closest ally Lee Cain fall on his sword, having failed to secure the key role of Mr Johnson’s chief of staff.

Yesterday, details were released of plans for ‘critical announcements’ that would set a ‘clear signal of his ongoing ambitions for the United Kingdom’. 

Downing Street said the measures ahead would include plans to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, moves for ‘levelling up’ across the country, and education and environmental investment initiatives. 

But MPs have put Mr Johnson on notice that change must be made soon – with Rishi Sunak waiting in the wings.  

A senior Tory told MailOnline that bungling and U-turns on issues like free school meals had caused huge anger on the backbenches.

‘I think people are now looking to see if there is going to be a change,’ the MP said. 

‘There has been a lot of smarting by MPs about that kind of mismanagement. 

‘We are looking for real change in in comms and direction. We need to see something different now. It’s got to be more on the front foot and looking at unintended consequences.’

The MP also complained that 1922 chair Sir Graham Brady was being denied access to the PM. 

‘Under the ”ancien regime” there has been a real problem with getting access to the PM. In the past it was always a regular thing,’ the MP said. 

‘Even under Theresa May she might have ignored what she was told but at least she was told it to her face.

‘What we want is the PM to at least be open to the conversation.’

The Tory added: ‘For him to rebuff the 22, not have a regularly fortnightly meeting with the chairman, is completely wrong… it’s not clever.’

Under Government guidelines, those who come in to contact with people who test positive must isolate for 14 days.

The Government’s official website states a ‘contact is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19’.

Being ‘close’ to an infected person includes being within two metres from them for more than 15 minutes, having face-to-face contact of less than one metre, or being within one metre of someone for more than one minute without face-to-face contact.

CAN YOU CATCH COVID-19 TWICE? 

Early on in the pandemic, scientists were baffled as to whether or not you could catch Covid-19 twice. Now the evidence is more convincing, following a string of reports of re-infections all over the world. 

With some illnesses such as chickenpox, the immune system can remember exactly how to destroy it and becomes able to fend it off if it ever tries to enter the body again. 

Tests have shown that many people who recover from Covid-19 have antibodies – which can produce future immunity – but it is not known whether there are enough of them.  

However, antibodies are only one type of substance that can produce immunity. The immune system is a huge web of proteins that have different functions to protect the body against infection.

Others, including white blood cells called T cells and B cells, can also help the body to fight off disease but are more difficult to discover using currently available tests. 

Evidence is beginning to suggest that antibodies disappear in as little as eight weeks after infection with the coronavirus, scientifically called SARS-Cov-2.

On the other hand, T cells – which target and destroy cells already infected with the virus – are ‘durable’.

A promising study done on monkeys found that they were unable to catch Covid-19 a second time after recovering from it, which led scientists to believe the same may apply to humans.

The rhesus monkeys were deliberately reinfected by scientists in China to test how their bodies reacted.

Because the coronavirus has only been known to scientists for less than a year there has not been enough time to study whether people develop long-term immunity. 

 Last month, a 25-year-old man became the first person in the US to contract coronavirus for a second time – which struck him harder than his first bout of the disease.  

The unidentified patient first tested positive in April after showing mild symptoms of a sore throat, cough, headache, nausea and diarrhea. But, after recovering and receiving two negative tests, he began experiencing similar warning signs in May.

He tested positive – 48 days after the first negative test – and suffered a more severe infection. He was hospitalized, required oxygen, and endured coughs, muscle aches and shortness of breath. An X-ray also suggested viral pneumonia, which can be deadly. 

Genetic sequencing reveals the patient, of Washoe County in Nevada, was infected by two different strains of coronavirus. He is the world’s fifth known cases of COVID-19 re-infection.

In September, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britain has seen the first ‘credible’ cases of coronavirus reinfections – but all are asymptomatic.

He told the Health and Social Care Committee that the first ‘credible’ cases of coronavirus reinfection were starting to be seen.

‘We have also just started to see the first credible cases of reinfection and, through genomic analysis, you can see it is a different disease to the one the person got the first time around.

‘But in all the cases that I have seen it has been an asymptomatic second infection that has been picked up through asymptomatic testing.’ 

On Monday, the Prime Minister was expected to meet Tory MPs from the newly formed Northern Research Group (NRG), which was set up to press the case for ‘levelling up’ northern England.

It is also an important week in the Brexit negotations as key players revealed a new deadline of next Thursday to make a deal before a virtual summit of EU leaders.  

On Sunday, Dublin’s foreign minister Simon Coveney warned it was ‘move week’ and there needs to be a settlement on the Ireland issue at least in ‘principle’. 

He said a deal was ‘doable’ but cautioned that there was still a major standoff over fishing, with the EU demanding 50 per cent of the catch in British waters and the UK saying it should only be 20 per cent. 

Environment Secretary George Eustice said the UK cannot be the ‘only country in the world that doesn’t control its own waters’.

But he said there did need to be ‘headlines’ of a trade agreement this week. ‘There does come a point frankly where businesses need to know what they are preparing for,’ Mr Eustice told Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday.

Mr Johnson’s self-isolation period means he will also miss facing Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday. 

Following the news of the PM’s self isolation, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg wrote on Twitter that he was ‘urgently exploring’ how to got more MPs participating in the chamber virtually.

Last week, Tory MP Tracey Crouch urged Mr Rees-Mogg to allow members to contribute to Parliament more often using modern technology. The Chatham and Aylesford MP, who has been working remotely during the pandemic, expressed her disappointment at not being able to take part in a Westminster Hall debate on the future of breast cancer services and the impact of Covid-19 on breast cancer diagnosis.

Mr Rees-Mogg replied that there is a ‘careful balance’ to be struck, insisting that scrutiny of legislation is best done in person.

On Twitter on Sunday night, he wrote: ‘Who cannot be moved by  Tracey Crouch among others making her brave appeal to contribute more to the Commons through virtual participation?

‘While the Government is advising the clinically extremely vulnerable not to go into work, we must and will work with House authorities to find a solution.

‘Whilst there are House resourcing issues for Westminster Hall, we can do something about the Chamber. 

‘I have been urgently exploring how we can support additional virtual participation in the Commons despite capacity constraints and hope to bring forward a motion soon.’

Ms Crouch said Mr Rees-Mogg’s plans were ‘very much pre-PM self isolation news’, writing on Twitter: ‘The @CommonsLeader rang me yesterday morning to advise he would change rules for clinically extremely vulnerable to participate in debates in the Commons but in true Jacob Rees-Mogg style wanted to announce to House not press.

‘This was very much pre-PM self isolation news.’ 

Mr Johnson is this week set to tackle how England’s second national lockdown will come to a close at the start of December. 

The PM is ironically also getting ready to reveal a reduction in the necessary isolation period for people who come into contact with an infected person to just 10 days – rather than the current 14, a source told The Times.

Furthermore – in a bid to reset his premiership – Mr Johnson will this week pledge to northern Tory MPs that he will not abandon them in favour of a more metropolitan agenda. 

Mr Johnson will tell MPs who helped propel him to victory in last year’s election that he will ‘never veer off the course’ that won him an 80-strong majority. 

Allies of the Prime Minister last night said he will assure the northern MPs that levelling up the country is his ‘personal’ ambition and they will not be abandoned.

The group of more than 50 MPs wrote to Mr Johnson last month to demand that he does ‘not forget’ the commitments made at the election when he won a swathe of ‘red wall’ seats from Labour.

One of the ringleaders last night said there was concern within the group that the change in personnel in Downing Street will lead to the Prime Minister ‘forgetting the North and following a more metropolitan agenda’.

‘Northern working-class people are hard to win over and we have to deliver for them,’ the source added. ‘We want levelling-up to be put on the Government’s agenda.’

Mr Johnson is also rumoured to be planning a Cabinet reshuffle in the coming weeks which could see Health Secretary Matt Hancock (left) and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson (right) on the chopping block

Another MP in the group said there needed to be ‘more flat caps and less top hats’ in Mr Johnson’s inner circle, adding: ‘Why not make his chief-of-staff from the North? There are only two MPs from northern seats in the Cabinet.’

The MP said that ‘if cultivated correctly’, northern backbenchers would ‘form a Praetorian Guard around the PM’.

But a Government source rejected as ‘utter rubbish’ suggestions Miss Symonds was trying to change the direction of No 10.

The source added: ‘There will be a change in approach in listening to MPs, and much more engagement. Dom didn’t do any of that, but that will change. No 10 will be a much more accessible building.’

Who is Lee Anderson? The MP who tested positive for Covid after PM meeting 

Ashfield MP Lee Anderson has tested positive for Covid-19 just days after a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The 53-year-old former coal miner said on Facebook that he began experiencing coronavirus symptoms on Friday and, after being tested on Saturday, received a positive result on Sunday morning.

He met with Mr Johnson and a small group of MPs in Downing Street on Thursday morning, which means the Prime Minister is now self-isolating.

Mr Anderson was a long-time Labour Party member and served as a councillor in the Huthwaite and Brierly ward of Ashfield in Nottinghamshire where he was elected in 2015.

A vocal Brexiteer, having supported the Vote Leave campaign, Mr Anderson subsequently defected to the Conservatives in 2018 and was later elected as a Tory councillor for the Oakham ward in Mansfield.

He became the MP for Ashfield following the 2019 general election, succeeding Gloria De Piero – who stood down.

As a candidate, he said ‘nuisance’ council house tenants should be forced to live in tents and pick vegetables for 12 hours a day from 6am as punishment.

Mr Anderson was among three Tory MPs investigated over allegations of anti-Semitism in December 2019, and was said to be an active member of a Facebook group where George Soros conspiracies were promoted.

In September 2020, Mr Anderson spoke out about other MPs labelling each other ‘fat old racists’ if they supported Brexit.

He also accused Gary Lineker of ‘virtue signalling’ after the Match Of The Day host housed a refugee in his home, saying he should look after ‘the next boat of illegal immigrants’.

 

A No 10 spokesman said: ‘This Government is determined to improve opportunities for people across the country, regardless of their background or where they live. We were elected on an ambitious manifesto to deliver this agenda, investing in education, skills and our NHS, tackling crime and introducing tougher sentencing for those who commit the most heinous crimes, as well as concluding our trade negotiations with the EU.’  

Mr Johnson is also rumoured to be planning a Cabinet reshuffle in the coming weeks which could see Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on the chopping block.

The two cabinet ministers suffered huge embarrassment this year amid the A Level results debacle and massive test and trace failures.

A source told the Mirror: ‘The PM is desperate to move on from internal warfare and show he’s got a firm grip on things. 

‘He thinks one way of doing that is to shake up his top team.’

Some insiders have claimed Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove could be drafted into take over either Mr Williamson’s or Mr Hancock’s current role.

Shortly after the Prime Minister announced that he had contracted coronavirus in March, Miss Symonds took to Twitter to say she too was exhibiting symptoms. 

She wrote: ‘I’ve spent the past week in bed with the main symptoms of Coronavirus. I haven’t needed to be tested and, after seven days of rest, I feel stronger and I’m on the mend.’

During an interview in May, the PM revealed just how serious his condition became.

Doctors were prepared to announce his death in case he lost his coronavirus battle, the PM said, admitting he was ‘a lucky man’.

Mr Johnson confirmed he was ‘not in particularly brilliant shape’ while battling the disease at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London and he was given ‘litres and litres’ of oxygen as medics fought to keep him alive in intensive care. 

He recalled his frustration that he could not seem to shake the virus and described how the sobering experience allowed him to see the ‘fantastic’ care offered by the NHS.

‘I realised it was getting pretty serious’, he told the Sun on Sunday, 

‘And I remember saying to myself, ”How am I going to get out of this?”’ 

He added: ‘To be honest, the doctors had all sorts of plans for what to do if things went badly wrong.

‘I was not in particularly brilliant shape because the oxygen levels in my blood kept going down.

‘But it was thanks to some wonderful, wonderful nursing that I made it. They really did it and they made a huge difference.’

The Prime Minister said staff nurse Luis Pitarma, 29, and ward sister Jenny McGee, 35, watched over him for 48 hours, giving him the vital care he needed. 

In a video recorded shortly after he was discharged, Mr Johnson thanked the ‘utterly brilliant’ doctors, and praised the nurses for their ‘astonishing’ care. 

He said: ‘I want to thank the many nurses, men and women, whose care has been so astonishing. I am going to forget some names, so forgive me, but I want to thank Po Ling and Shannon and Emily and Angel and Connie and Becky and Rachael and Nicky and Ann.’

Mr Johnson reserved special acclaim for two more, who he described as ‘Jenny from New Zealand, Invercargill on the South Island to be exact, and Luis from Portugal, near Porto’. 

He continued: ‘The reason in the end my body did start to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night they were watching and they were thinking and they were caring and making the interventions I needed.’ 

Ms McGee has been in the UK for eight years after studying here then moving to St Thomas’ in central London.She previously worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for six years where she did her intensive care training.

Mr Pitarma, 29, was born in Aveiro, just 30 miles from Porto,  and is thought to have moved to London in 2014 after completing his medical qualifications in Lisbon. 

News of the PM’s isolation came as the UK reported a further 168 Covid deaths and 24,962 new cases. 

Sunday’s death toll is a rise of just 7.7 per cent on the 156 deaths reported last Sunday in a hopeful sign that fatalities may be flattening out.   

Ward sister Jenny McGee, left, and staff nurse Luis Pitarma, right, were singled out for praise by Prime Minister Boris Johnson after treating him during his stay in intensive care 

Mr Pitarma, from Aveiro, Portgual, circled in red, with colleagues. The nurse helped save Mr Johnson’s life and was praised by Portugal’s President

Mr Johnson’s video message from inside no 10, after he was discharged from hospital

The total number of cases reported on Sunday is 21 per cent higher than the figure recorded last Sunday. 

However, Sunday’s case load is one of the lower numbers seen this week after the Government recorded 26,860 positive tests yesterday, 27,301 on Friday and a massive 33,470 on Thursday.

Furthermore, ONS figures released this week showed that while daily case totals have been increasing recently, they are doing so at a slower rate than previous weeks.

Figures are usually lower on Sunday and Monday due to reporting delays over the weekend. 

This weekend the head of the ONS said that growth in infections is ‘slowing’. 

Professor Sir Ian Diamond says that while there remains an increase in the number of Covid cases, the data shows a ‘slowdown in the rate of growth’, providing a small ray of hope for an end to harsh countrywide restrictions. 

He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that Britain is in the grip of a second wave spurred on by teenagers and young adults – who are also starting to see a drop in the rate of infections.

Sir Ian said: ‘The good news is – yes – we are seeing a slow down in the rate of growth.

‘That means we’re still increasing and we are now in England at 1.25 per 1,000. That means that one in 85 people in England, we believe, have the virus.

‘In Wales, a little less at one in 100, in Scotland one in 135 and Northern Ireland one in 105. So yes we are continuing to increase the numbers, but the rate of growth is slowing.’   

England recorded 21,998 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, while Wales reported 1,333. Scotland recorded 1,159 and Northern Ireland reported 472 new cases.

People gather outside St George’s Hall in Liverpool during an anti-lockdown rally protest against government restrictions during the second lockdown

Anti lockdown protestors march through Bristol city centre today. It comes despite Priti Patel banning demonstrations duration of the second lockdown

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It comes as a weekly report from the Office for National Statistics found that England’s outbreak had stayed relatively flat in the first week of November, with only a four per cent rise in daily infections, indicating a potential slow down in the virus’ spread.

NUMBER OF PATIENTS IN LIVERPOOL HOSPITALS DROPPED 15% BEFORE LOCKDOWN

The number of coronavirus patients being treated in hospitals in Liverpool fell by 15 per cent in the week before the second national lockdown, according to official NHS data that further calls into question whether the autumn shutdown was justified. 

Ministers abandoned the three-tier scheme, which only came into force on October 14, last month and went with the crude national intervention, claiming that beds would soon be overrun.

Yet NHS England figures show there were 413 people with Covid-19 at Liverpool University Hospitals, the city’s biggest trust, on November 5, the day the country went into the second lockdown. This marked a 13 per cent drop from the 475 who were being treated the week prior, on October 30.

Liverpool – the country’s former Covid hotspot – was one of the areas in England living under the strictest Tier Three restrictions, which prohibited residents from meeting people they didn’t live with and saw pubs forced to close.

NHS England figures show there were 413 people with Covid-19 at Liverpool University Hospitals on November 5, down from the 475 who were being treated on October 30

It offers more proof the tiered system was starting to work in controlling the epidemic – experts say interventions take about three weeks to have a statistically-noticeable effect – and casts doubt about whether the economically-crippling lockdown was needed.

However, it is true the trust is treating more Covid-19 patients than at the peak of the first wave – for comparison, there were 346 people with the virus in Liverpool’s hospitals on April 12. But the trust is thought to have at least 1,600 total beds, and, as of November 5, 1,268 were occupied by patients of all conditions. It suggests the trust, which cancelled scores of non-urgent operations to make room, is currently operating at 80 per cent occupancy – making it quieter than it was last December.

Major trusts in other Tier Three areas also saw declines in the number of Covid-19 patients in their hospitals before the second lockdown, suggesting the most stringent local measures were not given enough time to work.

For example, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in Merseyside was treating 105 people with the disease on November 5 compared to 118 the week before. A similar story is playing out in Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where beds occupied by Covid-19 fell from 188 to 142 in the same time period.

But other Tier Three areas like Manchester and Lancashire have not seen a fall in Covid-19 hospital admissions – yet. Though the measures were not enforced until late October in these areas, which means the benefits could take another week or so to translate into the hospital data. This is because of the lag in time it takes for Covid-19 patients to fall seriously ill enough to need treatment. 

Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve got no doubts that Tier Three was working, personally I think the data is very clear that Tier Three was sufficient to bring down cases and I think most local authorities in Tier Two were working as well.’

A graph from the Office for National Statistics shows that while the number of infections in England has increased in recent weeks, the rate of increase is slower than previous weeks.

And another graph shows that positive cases are increasing most in the south east, south west, east Midlands and the north east of the country. 

SAGE scientists have warned Christmas is still in jeopardy unless social distancing rules are toughened up after England’s second lockdown.

Professor Susan Michie, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), urged the public to resist breaking current rules, to ‘be in a position’ to spend the festive period with loved ones.

She also suggested that the announcement of a potential Covid-19 vaccine could lead to complacency with the measures, adding that the jab will make ‘no difference’ to the current wave. 

In other coronavirus news this weekend:

• One of the scientists behind the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine says he’s confident that normal life will return by next winter;
• Tens of millions of British-made Covid-19 vaccines could be rolled out by December, it has been claimed; 
• The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has vowed to ring-fence a supply of coronavirus swabs for family visitors in the run-up to Christmas; 
• Police yesterday scuffled with anti-lockdown and antivaxxer protestors and made dozens of arrests in Bristol and Liverpool city centres; 
• Healthcare providers will be able to source products from manufacturers to sell to customers, but any such orders will be put at the ‘back of the queue’, according to government sources.

It comes after documents released by Sage on Friday warned that a return to the tiered system of coronavirus restrictions will see infections rise again.

When asked what should replace current restrictions when lockdown ends, Prof Michie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘It’s too early to know. I think the next two weeks is going to be absolutely crucial.

‘They’re going to be a very challenging two weeks, partly because of the weather, partly because, I think, the promise of a vaccine may be making people feel complacent.

‘But the vaccine is very unlikely to come in until the end of the year or beginning of next year and that’s going to make no difference to the current second wave.

‘So I think for the next two weeks, everybody has to really get all their resolve together.’

Prof Michie, a behavioural scientist at University College London, advised the public to ‘really pay attention to resisting any urges to break the rules’ on social distancing and visiting other households.

‘Because that will maximise the chance that in two weeks’ time, on December 2, we’re in a position where actually we don’t have to continue the lockdown,’ she added.

‘And better still, what everybody wants, is to be in a position where they can spend the Christmas and winter holiday times with loved ones.’

When asked if this meant the gains during lockdown would be lost, Prof Michie said she was ‘quite hopeful’ after tough measures in Wales and Northern Ireland brought transmission rates down.

Newly-released documents, written the day before the second national lockdown was imposed, show a consensus statement prepared by a modelling subgroup of Sage raised concerns about returning to the tier system.

Modelling found that if the lockdown is ‘well-adhered to’, it is likely to reduce the reproduction number to less than 1, with hospital admissions and deaths expected to fall until at least the second week of December.

But the document, dated November 4, added: ‘If England returns to the same application of the tiering system in place before November 5, then transmission will return to the same rate of increase as today.’

Other documents from late October state that any hopes of families gathering at Christmas will also be dependent on the R value staying below 1 for ‘some time’. 

Meanwhile, confusion is emerging over how well the three-tiered system worked, as a senior Government adviser yesterday admitted that Tier Three does work and had been ‘having the effect it needed to have’ before England’s second lockdown started.

SAGE insisted, however, that it still isn’t clear whether the Tier Three rules are strong enough to keep the R rate below one in the longer term. R, which measures how many people each Covid-infected person passes the virus on to, must stay lower than one for an outbreak to shrink.

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Promising figures published Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – behind a surveillance scheme that randomly swabs tens of thousands of people to track the size of the outbreak – suggested the country’s coronavirus outbreak had slowed down. While the number of infections in England has increased in recent weeks, the rate of increase is slower that previous weeks

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An Office for National Statistics graph shows that positive cases are increasing most in the south east, south west, east Midlands and the north east of the country

Boris Johnson and his advisers have already confirmed England will return to a tiered local lockdown system in December, but exactly how it will look is not yet clear – SAGE advisers say it must be able to tighten the screw even more than in the past.

However, real-world data suggests that Tier Three rules already work well enough to bring the R at least to one, if not lower. 

COVID TEST POSITIVE RATE DROPS FOR FIRST TIME IN THREE MONTHS 

The percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive has dropped for the first time in England in almost three months, according to official data. 

It raises further hopes that the country is getting a better grip on its second wave and may already be through the thick of it.

Experts say one of the most accurate and fair ways to track the virus’ trajectory is to look at test positivity rates – the proportion of swabs that come back positive.  

If a country has a high positivity rate it means the centralised system is struggling to keep up with the outbreak. But a low rate means only a small amount of the population actually have the disease.

A weekly Public Health England report published yesterday found 9.7 per cent of Pillar 2 tests carried out in the week up to November 8 yielded a positive result. This was down from 10.2 per cent the seven days prior.

It marks the first time the Pillar 2 test positivity rate has dropped since the week ending August 2. Pillar 2 are those done in testing centres, drive-through clinics and in people’s homes – which account for the vast majority of all tests. 

Pillar 1 tests – those done in hospitals – were also down week-on-week, dropping from 4.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent. It was the first time this figure had fallen since the week up to August 23.  

It comes as Britain announced another 33,470 positive cases on Thursday – 39 per cent more than last Thursday – despite indicators showing the outbreak is slowing down.

The case count is the highest since the Covid-19 outbreak began and comes a week after England’s second national lockdown started. It is an increase from 22,950 on Thursday.

Unofficial statistics, however, suggest that the country’s outbreak had already started to slow down and shrink before the lockdown began on November 5, and it is expected to continue shrinking throughout November during the stringent rules.

SAGE’s official estimate yesterday put the R rate in the North West – based on data from before the national lockdown and from during Tier Three – at between 0.9 and 1.1. This was down from a high of between 1.3 and 1.5 in mid-October, before Tier Three.

Department of Health testing data also shows that infection rates plummeted in Liverpool under the local lockdown rules, from a rate of 681 cases per 100,000 people to just 274 per 100,000 last week. 

Yesterday, the UK confirmed another 27,301 positive coronavirus tests and 376 deaths from Covid-19. Two more reports have added to the wealth of data showing England’s second wave started to level off last week.

SAGE’s own estimate of the R rate, based on data from before the national lockdown, saw it fall for the third time in a month to somewhere between 1.0 and 1.2 across the UK, down from 1.1 to 1.3 last week. This is the first time the advisers have thought R could be down to one since early September.

And in a weekly update from the Office for National Statistics, mass testing revealed that there were 47,700 new infections per day in England in the week up to November 6, up only marginally from the 45,700 the week before. It said infections ‘remains at about 50,000 new cases per day’.  

In a paper dated November 4 SPI-M, a group of scientists who crunch numbers for SAGE, warned that there still isn’t strong evidence that Tier Three lockdowns are tough enough to keep R below one.

The rules, which included the closure of pubs and bans on households mixing, were put in place over much of the North of England before a national shutdown was called. 

SPI-M said: ‘If England returns to the same application of the tiering system in place before 5th November then transmission will return to the same rate of increase as today.’ 

The experts added: ‘It is not yet clear whether tier 3 measures alone are sufficient to reduce the reproduction number below one.’ 

Released today by SAGE, the paper comes – confusingly – as a senior Government adviser admitted this afternoon that Tier Three was working well. The source added that Tier Two was also having the desired effect in some areas, though not as much as in Tier Three areas.

In the harshest tier, residents were prohibited from meeting people they didn’t live with and saw pubs were forced to close – but gyms, non-essential shops and restaurants could stay open.

In Tier Two, people were banned from mingling with anyone outside their own homes as well, but pubs could stay open. All three tiers had to abide by the national rules that were in place at the time including the 10pm curfew and rule of six.

But the expert, who wished to remain anonymous, suggested the scheme was not driving down infections quick enough because they came too late. SAGE had been warning for weeks that a ‘circuit-breaker’ would be needed to reset the epidemic and get it under control after a spike in cases in early autumn.  

Leader of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca-backed trial, Professor Andrew Pollard, says the team is ‘optimistic’ about getting the go-ahead for the ‘miracle’ vaccine by Christmas time

They said ministers were keen to let families meet up during the festive period and not cancel Christmas – and under the tiered strategy that was not going to be possible.   

A separate paper, dated October 28, warned that social distancing could be loosened for a ‘limited time’ over Christmas if transmission gets low enough for NHS Test and Trace to keep on top of the outbreak. 

Creator of Covid vaccine is ‘confident’ life will return to normal by next winter 

One of the scientists behind the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine says he’s confident that normal life will return by next winter.

Professor Ugur Sahin, chief executive of BioNTech, said it was ‘absolutely essential’ to have a high vaccination rate before autumn next year to ensure success.

He acknowledged that the next few months will be ‘hard’ and that the promising preliminary results on the vaccine, created in partnership with Pfizer, will not have an impact on infection numbers in the current wave.

Interim results from the jab were found to be more than 90% effective, the two firms announced last week, but safety and additional efficacy data continue to be collected. 

‘If everything continues to go well, we will start to deliver the vaccine end of this year, beginning next year,’ Prof Sahin told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

‘Our goal is to deliver more than 300 million of vaccine doses until April next year, which could allow us to already start to make an impact.

‘The bigger impact will happen until summer, the summer will help us anyway because the infection rate will go down in summer.’

He added: ‘What is absolutely essential is that we get a high vaccination rate before autumn/winter next year, so that means all the immunisation, vaccination approaches must be accomplished before next autumn.

‘I’m confident that this will happen, because a number of vaccine companies have been asked to increase the supply, and so that we could have a normal winter next year.’ 

For this to happen, they said interventions must push R well below one and ‘maintain that for some time’. However, the scientists noted that the only time this has happened so far was during the March/April lockdown.

In a different ‘high and controlled’ cases scenario, which experts believe the UK is in at the moment but with potential for cases to drop, there would be ‘little to no scope for loosening of social distancing rules over Christmas’. 

A third scenario predicts a much worse outcome but is when Government interventions ‘are not sufficient to stop epidemic growth’, SPI-M said.

But SPI-M said stricter controls will then be needed than the three-tier system that was in place before lockdown.

It said: ‘The longer-term outlook depends on both the nature of non-pharmaceutical interventions that are implemented in England after December 2 and policies over the festive period.

‘If England returns to the same application of the tiering system in place before November 5, then transmission will return to the same rate of increase as today.’ 

It is hoped that R will drop in more places next week and the week after, as people remain under lockdown restrictions.

Professor Chris Whitty said in October the tiered system on its own was ‘not enough to get on top’ of the autumn epidemic, adding to SPI-M’s newly revealed concern that it may not be enough to surpress the virus in future, either. 

The expert who spoke yesterday said some form of the tiered system would need to remain in place in December to keep driving infections down further when the country re-emerges from the shutdown. 

‘On Tier Three, evidence looks like Tier Three in most places gets the R to one or below. That does have the effect needed to have,’ they said.

‘Tier Two in some places does the same depending on the place and how much it’s adhered to. Tier One doesn’t look like it does it. This gives you idea sorts of measures needed in future after lockdown to keep it under control.’  

When pressed, they would not give his opinion on relaxing measures at Christmas to let families spend the holidays together and said it was purely a ‘policy decision, not one for science’. 

SAGE fought tooth and nail for the second lockdown, presenting the Government with increasingly gloomy models that predicted thousands of daily deaths and hospitals being overwhelmed by December.

It is hard to judge the effects of the three-tier system because it was only used properly for a fortnight before the national lockdown was announced.

But there have been a number of signs to suggest the darkest forecasts would never have come true.  

SAGE’s estimate of the R rate declining is cause for optimism because it is based on back-dated information taken from before the national lockdown began. 

A health care worker injects the a syringe of the phase 3 trial of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, in Turkey last month

This means any changes that can be seen in it happened without the strictest nationwide measures in place – they may well have been driven by the tiered system. 

The group, which is led by the UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, said yesterday: ‘SAGE is confident that the epidemic has continued to grow in England over recent weeks. 

‘Although there is some evidence that the rate of growth in some parts of the country may be slowing, levels of disease are very high in these areas; significant levels of healthcare demand and mortality will persist until R is reduced to and remains well below 1 for an extended period of time.’ 

SAGE said the R rate is highest in the South West, where it is likely between 1.2 and 1.4 and in the East, at between 1.1 and 1.4. And it is lowest in the North West at between 0.9 and 1.1 and in London and the North East and Yorkshire, at between 1.0 and 1.2.  

Scientist leading Oxford University’s AstraZeneca backed trial says tens of millions of doses are ready to be rolled out by the end of the year 

Tens of millions of British-made Covid-19 vaccines could be rolled out by December, it has been claimed.  

Leader of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca-backed trial, Professor Andrew Pollard, says the team is ‘optimistic’ about getting the go-ahead for the ‘miracle’ vaccine by Christmas time.

The academic says their anti-viral would be ten times cheaper than Pfizer‘s product – which requires two injections several weeks apart and has to be stored at -78C. 

He told the Sun their vaccine is stored at ‘fridge temperature’ and is very close to demonstrating ‘efficacy’ – which Pfizer proved on its own version on Monday.  

Professor Pollard said: ‘We have been working tirelessly all year and can’t wait to see the results in the months ahead.

‘We are a small academic team in Oxford. It is a miracle that we have been able to conduct large scale trials in record speed.

‘Our partner AZ will deliver the vaccine on a not-for-profit basis.’

It comes after the Government said a further 462 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday.

As of 9am on Saturday, there had been a further 26,860 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, slightly down from 27,301 on Friday.

And British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has raised hopes of another Covid vaccine being made available early next year after revealing that it has already manufactured ‘millions of doses’.

Roger Connor, its president of global vaccines, told The Mail on Sunday that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had launched mass production and was now set to move into the final stage of trials.

‘We’re already getting into the millions of doses manufactured,’ he added. ‘We’re fully resourced and moving – in fact, we were celebrating starting up our Belgium facility the week before last.

British drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has raised hopes of another Covid vaccine being made available early next year after revealing that it has already manufactured ‘millions of doses’. Pictured: Headquarters in west London 

 

People wearing face coverings queue for a coronavirus test at a centre in Liverpool

‘You can imagine the sense of pride that creates in people working on it. They are completely buzzing because they know they’re going to make a difference.’

It comes after American giant Pfizer last week revealed its Covid vaccine is 90 per cent effective and could be available before Christmas.

GSK has committed to producing a billion doses of its jab next year and has previously said it was aiming for safety approval in the ‘first half of 2021’.

However, news of the ramp-up in manufacturing and progression of the trials will raise hopes the company can gain approval even earlier, opening up the possibility that its vaccine could be available by the spring.

Healthcare providers will be able to source products from manufacturers like BioNTech/Pfizer and Astrazeneca/Oxford to sell to customers, but any such orders will be put at the ‘back of the queue’, according to government sources

GSK has committed to producing a billion doses of its jab next year (stock image) and has previously said it was aiming for safety approval in the ‘first half of 2021’

The results of trials by UK giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University – which are working together on a vaccine – could come as early as this week or next week. Meanwhile, America’s Johnson Johnson and Moderna are also thought to be nearing announcements.

GSK is working in three international tie-ups to develop an effective injection, all of which are set to move to the final stages of testing.

GSK is producing a so-called adjuvant – an ingredient used to create a strong immune response – which will be combined with antigens produced by French drugs firm Sanofi, Canada’s Medicago and China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals, to create a vaccine. The vaccine is being made at sites across the UK, Europe, Canada and the US.

The GSK-Medicago trial of a plant-based vaccine is moving towards its final stages, with 30,000 volunteers across North America, Latin America and potentially Europe included in the tests.

The vaccine being produced by US pharma giant Pfizer (pictured, facility in Puurs, Belgium) and Germany’s BioNTech is based on newer technology than GSK is using

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Mr Connor said trials for the GSK-Clover link-up will begin ‘in a couple of weeks’ and the GSK-Sanofi partnership could move into mass human testing ‘in the next few weeks’ after receiving encouraging results. He added: ‘We’re looking for approval of our vaccines in that first half of 2021 – the world’s going to need them.’

The vaccine being produced by US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech is based on newer technology than GSK is using.

As a result, Pfizer’s vaccine will need to be stored below minus 70C. The vaccines being developed by GSK, AstraZeneca and Johnson Johnson can all be stored at normal fridge temperature.

But news of the potential breakthrough comes as a leading expert warned that a limited supply of the raw ingredients needed for Covid vaccines such as Pfizer’s risks leaving much of the world’s population unprotected. 

Andrey Zarur, chief executive of GreenLight Biosciences, said that because the jabs are based on new technology, suppliers of the materials needed to make them do not yet have the capacity to churn out the vast quantities required.

‘The supply chain is just not mature enough. They have existed for laboratory-scale processes, which need nanograms, but they have to go from nanogram scale, to kilogram scale,’ he added.