Measures are being tightened in the face of rising coronavirus infections, with Boris Johnson warning the UK has reached a “perilous turning point” in its fight against the disease.

Tougher restrictions are being brought in across all four nations, but vary – here, we take a look at the new rules in each country.

– England

Working from home is once again being encouraged, with anyone who can being asked to do so.

People who cannot, such as those working in construction or retail, are being advised they should continue to go to their workplaces.

From Thursday pubs, bars and restaurants must offer table service only and hospitality, leisure, entertainment and tourism businesses all have to close between 10pm and 5am.

People working in retail, travelling in taxis, and staff and customers in indoor hospitality, except while seated at a table to eat or drink, must wear face coverings.

From Monday, a maximum of 15 people will be allowed to attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, but the limit remains at 30 for funerals.

The rule of six, introduced last weekend, that any social gatherings of more than six people are against the law, is being extended to all adult indoor team sports.

Large sporting events, business conferences and exhibitions will not reopen as had been planned from October 1.

The penalties for disobeying the rules are also greater – failing to wear a mask or breaking the rule of six sees fines doubling to £200 for a first offence.

Businesses which break the rules could be fined up to £10,000 and closed.

Fines of up to £10,000 for people who fail to self-isolate have already been announced.

Downing Street said military support was an option to free up police so they can focus on enforcing the tougher rules.

For people in the shielding category, Mr Johnson said the guidance remains that shielding is not currently needed, unless they are in a local lockdown area.

In a televised address on Tuesday evening, he said he was “spiritually reluctant” to impinge on people’s freedoms, but warned: “Unless we take action the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later.”

– Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has the highest infection rate across the UK and Ireland, and fresh Covid-19 restrictions were extended from some specific postcodes to the whole country from 6pm on Tuesday.

Households will no longer be allowed to mix indoors, except for single-person bubbles and certain other exemptions.

No more than six people from two households can meet in a garden.

But pubs which do not serve food, known as wet pubs, were able to open once again on Wednesday, despite the latest restrictions.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said whether to introduce an early closing time for pubs is something ministers would consider, describing replicating the 10pm curfew being introduced in England as “fair enough”.

First Minister Arlene Foster said a two-week period of lockdown to try to halt the spread of the virus, a so-called circuit breaker, could not be ruled out.

Discussing the latest measures, she said: “We need to act, but I do want to reassure you that despite all of the headlines this is not a second lockdown.

“This is a wake-up call, a reminder that we are not out of the woods.”

– Scotland

Household mixing indoors will no longer be allowed, with exemptions for those living alone, couples not living together, childcare and tradespeople.

Regulations come into force on Friday but people are being asked to comply from Wednesday.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said children under 12 will be exempt from the current limit of six people from two households when meeting outside, and those between 12 and 18 will be able to meet a limit of six others from six households outdoors.

From Friday pubs, bars and restaurants must close at 10pm and further resources will be given to environmental health officials to step up enforcement and inspections, to check that social distancing and other hygiene guidance is being adhered to.

People in Scotland are also being advised against car-sharing, with Ms Sturgeon saying that according to Test and Protect data there is a “significant risk of transmission” in such settings.

She said no decision has been taken yet on a so-called circuit-break in October, and the Scottish Government is “keeping it under review”.

She asked people not to book any overseas travel for the half-term break unless it is essential, and to use it as an opportunity to “further limit social interaction”.

She said people who were shielding earlier in the year are not at this stage being asked to do so again, but that they should follow the steps outlined for the general population.

In an address to the nation, the First Minister acknowledged the measures might feel like “a step backwards”, but added: “We know what we need to do to protect ourselves and others – and all of us have a part to play.”

– Wales

Pubs, cafes, restaurants and casinos in Wales must operate as table service only and close from 10pm on Thursday.

Off-licences including supermarkets will also be stopped from selling alcohol at the same time each day as part of the measures.

Only six people are able to meet indoors and must be part of a single extended household.

Face coverings must be worn on public transport, in shops and in enclosed public spaces across Wales.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said in a televised address: ““Families have lost loved ones. People have lost jobs and livelihoods. This is a highly infectious virus.

“We cannot let it take a hold of our lives again. We have come too far to let that happen.”

Additional measures across much of South Wales are due to come into force from 6pm on Tuesday.

The measures, which are already in force across Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly county borough, will apply in Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent.

Under the new rules people must not enter or leave the areas without a reasonable excuse and are only able to meet with other households outdoors, including members of their extended household.

All licensed premises such as pubs have to close at 11pm.

– How long will these new measures last?

Mr Johnson said that “unless we palpably make progress”, we should assume the restrictions he announced on Tuesday will remain in place for “perhaps six months”.

Meanwhile, Ms Sturgeon said she hoped the measures in Scotland would not have to be in place for that long, saying that while the absence of a game-changer vaccine means the virus will impact people’s lives “that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the new restrictions I am announcing today will be in place for six months”.

On Monday, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty suggested that science would eventually “ride to our rescue”, but “in this period of the next six months, I think we have to realise that we have to take this, collectively, very seriously”.

What time will people have to leave pubs under the new rules?

In Wales, Mr Drakeford said pubs and restaurants would finish serving alcohol at 10pm, but people would be allowed to “drink up, to eat up, to bring their evening to an orderly close and then make their way home” beyond that point.

In England, officials said they had decided on a simple 10pm deadline which would be easier to enforce, meaning that venues would have to be closed to the public by that time.

Will cafes and fast-food restaurants have to give table service?

Not in England. While all restaurants and pubs will have to become table service-only, cafes and chains such as McDonald’s will continue to take orders at the counter.

Downing Street said the law will only apply to licensed premises, so those selling alcohol.

There will also be a “small number of exemptions” to the rule such as cinemas which serve alcohol, meaning table service would not be necessary in those circumstances either.

Does the “rule of six” apply to christenings?

Typically baptisms are carried out during Sunday services, which are exempted from the rule.

But “standalone life events” including christenings outside normal services will, from Monday, be subject to the six-person limit.

The Church of England has sought clarity from the Government, but it is understood the limit would include the baby.

How about “fledgling romances” during the pandemic?

During the early days of the lockdown, couples were told to move in together or stay apart.

But Government guidance has been updated to say that those in “an established relationship” do not need to socially distance from each other.

What exactly an established relationship means has not been clarified, but the guidance has sparked concerns that casual sex remains against the rules.

Find out more about the appeal by British Charities to fight Covid-19 in the world’s poorest countries.

Boris Johnson has pledged to establish a cross-government commission to examine “all aspects” of racial inequality in Britain.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister acknowledged that Britain had much more to do to deal with the issue.

He said the commission on race and ethnic disparities would look at “all aspects of inequality – in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and all other walks of life”.

Mr Johnson told broadcasters: “What I really want to do as Prime Minister is change the narrative so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination.

“We stamp out racism and we start to have a real sense of expectation of success.

“That’s where I want to get to but it won’t be easy.”

The announcement follows two weeks of protest across the country by the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing in the US of George Floyd who died as a white police office knelt on his neck.

However the announcement, which included little detail, was sharply criticised by opposition parties.

For Labour, shadow equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova said: “We are in the midst of a global health pandemic that has sharply exposed deep structural inequalities which have long since needed urgently addressing.

“That the Prime Minister now says he wants to ‘change the narrative… so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination’ is condescending and designed to let himself and his Government off the hook.

Liberal Democrat equalities spokeswoman Christine Jardine said the commission was a “welcome first step” but said the Government must go further.

“Too many people’s lives are blighted by discrimination, inequality and injustice. The Government must move further and faster to redress institutional racism in the criminal justice system and many other parts of our society,” she said.

The Telegraph reported that the new commission will report directly to Mr Johnson and also be overseen by Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch.

The paper said that an independent chairman or woman would be appointed to oversee the body which would comprised of people “with a mix of ethnic, social and professional backgrounds”.

The Prime Minister also used his article to defend the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, which some protesters want pulled down, and to warn against attempts to “photoshop” Britain’s cultural landscape.

He lauded Churchill as “one of the country’s greatest ever leaders”, saying it was the “height of lunacy” to accuse him of racism.

“I will resist with every breath in my body any attempt to remove that statue from Parliament Square, and the sooner his protective shielding comes off the better,” he wrote.

He went on: “It is not just that it is wrong to destroy public property by violence.

“I am also extremely dubious about the growing campaign to edit or photoshop the entire cultural landscape.

“If we start purging the record and removing the images of all but those whose attitudes conform to our own, we are engaged in a great lie, a distortion of our history, like some public figure furtively trying to make themselves look better by editing their own Wikipedia entry.”

Mr Johnson also condemned the counter protesters who clashed with police in London on Saturday as “far-right thugs and bovver boys”.

“It was right that a good number should have been arrested. They were violent.

“They were aggressive towards the police. They were patently racist.

“There is nothing that can excuse their behaviour,” he said.

A prison inmate has admitted sending a threatening letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Rakeem Malik also pleaded guilty to making threats to kill against MPs Jess Phillips and Rosie Cooper, and sending threatening letters with the intention of causing “distress or anxiety” to both Theresa May and Ms Phillips.

The 53-year-old admitted eight offences in total during a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

Malik, who the court heard is currently a serving prisoner at HMP Birmingham on an indeterminate sentence, spoke only to confirm his name and enter pleas to the charges.

He admitted to sending a letter “which conveyed a message which was a threat and your purpose in sending it was it could cause distress or anxiety” to Mr Johnson on or about December 6, 2019.

Malik also pleaded guilty to sending similar letters to Birmingham Yardley MP Ms Phillips in December 2019, and to former prime minister Mrs May in September 2019, and when she was still in office in December 2018.

He also admitted three counts of making threats to kill West Lancashire MP Ms Cooper in May 2019 and a similar charge of making threats to kill against Ms Phillips in November 2019.

Simon Davis, prosecuting, asked for a short adjournment to allow the Crown to speak with the victims about the impact of Malik’s communications.

“The main reason is that we’ve had insufficient time in order to canvas the views, if I can put it in very general terms, of the victims, in this case,” he said.

“Also we’ve not been able to get ourselves in a position to formulate an appropriate (court) order to address any future offending.”

Granting the prosecution’s application for an adjournment, Judge Melbourne Inman QC, the Recorder of Birmingham, said: “It’s obviously necessary for the case to be put off for a short time to enable the Crown to deal with matters outstanding.

“Mr Malik has now pleaded guilty and sentence will be passed on June 11.

“There’s no requirement for Mr Malik to be brought to court, the case can be dealt with as a remote video hearing.”

Malik, who appeared over a video-link for the 30-minute hearing, was remanded back into custody until next month.

After the hearing, Ms Phillips tweeted: “Today I hope will be some way towards a conclusion in this case in court.

“Sending massive thanks to the police and also to my staff and other parliamentary staff who are often the first to receive gruesome threats and frightening aggression.”

Boris Johnson has said he will announce plans on Monday for “fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences” following the terror-related incident in south London.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said: “My thoughts are with the injured victims and their loved ones following today’s horrific attack in Streatham.

“I want to pay tribute to the speed and bravery of the police who responded and confronted the attacker – preventing further injuries and violence – and all of the emergency services who came to the aid of others.

“An investigation is taking place at pace to establish the full facts of what happened, and the Government will provide all necessary support to the police and security services as this work goes on.

“Following the awful events at Fishmonger’s Hall in December, we have moved quickly to introduce a package of measures to strengthen every element of our response to terrorism – including longer prison sentences and more money for the police.

“Tomorrow, we will announce further plans for fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences.”

The Conservative Government led by PM Boris Johnson with a majority of 80 have set out their legislative plan for the year in the Queen’s Speech. Amongst some of the most pressing matters the Government is expected to deal with, it is no surprise that terrorism is prominently featured.

With the recent London Bridge terrorist attack by Usman Khan, both the public and the authorities are rightly gathering their thoughts about how we deal with terrorists. The Queen sets out the Government’s position in this regard: “New sentencing laws will ensure the most serious violent offenders, including terrorists, serve longer in custody.”

Prima facie, it appears the Government are legislating in response to one event, rather than taking a long term and considered approach to terrorists. However, it is probably worth looking at what the proposals and implications are, before arriving at a conclusion as to how strong this move forward is.

The foundational thesis of the Counter Terrorism (Sentencing and Release) Bill (p, 64) is that the most serious terrorist offenders will stay in prison for longer. This is, of course, a move that will win a lot of public support, particularly from those that see it as the Government’s business to do whatever is needed to keep the public safe. However, there will be those that oppose this as a draconian measure, which infringes the human rights of terrorists in our system.

In an article about terrorists in prison I wrote for Kootneeti, I made the point that although we have policy measures in place to deal with terrorists in prison, neither of them are the most ideal; this is in reference to Usman Khan et al gaming the system. I further advance my argument that, unless we have qualified individuals with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to deal with radical terrorists, then our efforts may be fruitless.

Containing terrorist prisoners from the public may eliminate a direct threat by them because it reduces a very real physical threat they pose, but it doesn’t prevent copy cat or lone actors from carrying out their own or revenge attacks. In fact, it doesn’t eliminate terrorism at all.

The implication of this legislation, though well-intentioned, is that we may move towards a system of indeterminate sentences with little to no chance of release because we have no way out. This is a worrying aspect that needs to be considered. Prisons currently do not enjoy the luxury of unlimited prison spaces, this is backed by a report from the Howard League for Penal Reform in which it claims that 18,000 prisoners are living in cells designed for much fewer numbers.

The Prison Reform Trust, in their report Prison: the facts; reveal an alarming statistic in regards to safety in prisons. For example, over the last seven years from 2018, the deterioration of safety has declined rapidly. Of the 317 deaths that occurred in prison, 87 of them were self-inflicted, with men counting as 83 and women 4. The manner of deaths includes self-inflicted, natural causes and others.

In addition, the Prison Reform Trust also looked at rehabilitation and resettlement. In their analysis, they found that re-offending rates remained high and that short prison sentences were less effective. Less than half of those prisoners involved, 43%, received a positive rating for purposeful activities, such as education and work. This, of course, sends the message that whilst prisons are doing a lot to manage inmates, positive results are unfortunately not yielded and something the Government must look at in tandem with longer prison sentences.

Where does all this leave us with longer sentences for the most serious crimes? It leaves us nowhere closer to managing the problem of foreign and homegrown terrorists. Prison is a tool to be used once someone has been convicted and sentenced, therefore on the most basic level, it doesn’t serve as a deterrent. More effort, funding and resources must be put into preventing such crimes from even taking place. It is inevitable that some will slip through the net, but this shouldn’t be our reason not to focus our attention on that.

This latest measure the Government have proposed appears to be nothing but a message of reassurance for the public. With safety concerns heightened in the current climate, the Government are rightfully looking at ways to ensure the public have confidence in them dealing with the most serious offenders. But, terrorism cannot be locked away. It is a recurring phenomenon and one in which we need to deal with more intelligently. With this in mind, I am reminded of the cliche of “prevention is better than cure.” However, a prison in and of itself is no cure, at least not for many given that re-offending rates remain high. So our efforts should not only be on how we prevent crimes from taking place but also how we rehabilitate those in our prisons from not re-offending again- especially if the Government push through with this Bill.

The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Faith Matters. The author of the article, Wasiq, can be found on Twitter @WasiqUK

Prime Minister Theresa May has scolded her former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, for saying that Muslim women who wear burqas look like letter boxes or bank robbers.

Johnson, who resigned last month over the way May is negotiating Brexit, wrote in The Daily Telegraph this week that Denmark was wrong to ban the burqa, a head-to-toe cloak which conceals the face with a mesh or is worn in conjunction with the niqab – a face veil that leaves only the eyes exposed.

But Johnson also said the robe was oppressive, ridiculous and made women look like letter boxes and bank robbers, prompting an outcry from other politicians and British Muslim groups.

“I think Boris Johnson used language in describing people’s appearance that has obviously caused offence. It was the wrong language to use. He should not have used it,” May said.

She added that women should be free to wear the burqa if they chose to do so.

Full-face coverings such as niqabs and burqas are a polarising issue across Europe, with some arguing that they symbolise discrimination against women and should be outlawed. The clothing has already been banned in France.