Boris Johnson announcement: what the PM said in his speech to the nation

The Prime Minister addressed the nation in a televised speech tonight, explaining the reasoning behind the government's new restrictions to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Acknowledging that "this is a great and freedom-loving country", Boris Johnson said there had been "too many breaches" and that the virus is "no less fatal than it was in the spring".

"We risk many more deaths, many more families losing their loved ones, before their time," he warned.

Reinforcing the message that anyone breaking the rules would meet stricter punishments, Mr Johnson said: "We need to suppress this virus now."

Despite differences in the rules across the four nations, Mr Johnson maintained: "I believe this broad approach is shared across the UK."

In an attempt to seek out a positive, the PM said that doctors are "unanimous that things will be better by the spring", promising that mass testing is "hard but attainable".

"We will get through this winter together," he said, adding: "There are great days ahead, but now is the time for us all to summon the discipline, and the resolve, and the spirit of togetherness that will carry us through."

The measures announced earlier for England include:

• Asking office workers who can, to work from home, although construction workers, retail staff and people performing essential services should continue to attend their workplaces.

• From Thursday, pubs, bars and restaurants will be table-service only and hospitality, leisure and entertainment venues will be subject to a 10pm closing time. Takeaways will also close from 10pm to 5am, although they will be allowed to deliver.

• Face coverings will be required for taxi passengers from Wednesday and for retail staff and hospitality customers, except when sitting down eating or drinking, from Thursday.

• Covid-secure guidelines will become legal obligations for retail, leisure and tourism firms, with businesses facing the risk of fines or closure for failing to comply.

• From Monday, a maximum of 15 people will be allowed to attend wedding ceremonies and receptions.

• From Thursday the rule of six will be extended to cover indoor team sports, such as five-a-side football games.

• Plans to allow business conferences and crowds at sporting events from October 1 have been shelved.

Boris Johnson's speech in full:

Good evening, the struggle against Covid is the single biggest crisis the world has faced in my lifetime.

In less than a year this disease has killed almost a million people, and caused havoc to economies everywhere.

Here in the UK we mourn every person we have lost, and we grieve with their families.

And yet I am more certain than ever that this is a struggle that humanity will win, and we in this country will win, and to achieve what we must, I want to talk to you directly tonight about the choices that we face, none of them easy, and why we must take action now.

I know that we can succeed because we have succeeded before.

When the sickness took hold in this country in March, we pulled together in a spirit of national sacrifice and community. We followed the guidance to the letter. We stayed at home, protected the NHS, and saved thousands of lives.

And for months with those disciplines of social distancing, we have kept that virus at bay.

But we have to acknowledge this is a great and freedom-loving country; and while the vast majority have complied with the rules there have been too many breaches – too many opportunities for our invisible enemy to slip through undetected.

The virus has started to spread again in an exponential way. Infections are up, hospital admissions are climbing.

We can see what is happening in France and Spain, and we know, alas, that this virus is no less fatal than it was in the spring, and that the vast majority of our people are no less susceptible, and the iron laws of geometrical progression are shouting at us from the graphs that we risk many more deaths, many more families losing loved ones before their time.

And I know that faced with that risk, the British people will want their government to continue to fight to protect them, you, and that is what we are doing, night and day. And yet the single greatest weapon we bring to this fight is the common sense of the people themselves – the joint resolve of this country to work together to suppress Covid now.

So today I set out a package of tougher measures in England – early closing for pubs, bars; table service only; closing businesses that are not Covid secure; expanding the use of face coverings, and new fines for those that fail to comply.