Keir Starmer: why we need a two week lockdown

In a press conference this evening, Keir Starmer has called for a two week ‘circuit break’ lockdown. Below is a transcript of his remarks.

Good afternoon. We’re at a decisive moment in the fight against coronavirus. The figures are stark and I’m afraid they’re all heading in the wrong direction.

The number of Covid cases has quadrupled in the last three weeks. Cases may be doubling as quickly as every seven to eight days. There are now more people in hospital with Covid than on 23 March when we went into national lockdown. And while the number of cases is rising more sharply in some areas it is increasing across all regions of the UK and in all age groups.

We know from bitter experience and great personal loss where all this leads. Three things are now clear: the Government has not got a credible plan to slow infections. It has lost control of the virus.