A "new variant" of coronavirus has been identified in the UK, which is believed to be responsible for quickly spreading the killer virus across parts of England.
Despite last week's rollout of the Pfizer BionNTech vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament they’ve detected more than 1000 cases – predominantly in the south of England.
Cases have also been identified in 60 different local authority areas and the "numbers are increasing rapidly".
"I must stress at this point that there is currently nothing to suggest that this variant is more likely to cause serious disease," Hancock said.
"The latest clinical advice is that it is highly unlikely that this mutation would fail to respond to the vaccine."
Hancock’s startling revelation came as he confirmed that London will be placed into the toughest Tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions from Wednesday amid a surge in cases.
South and west of Essex and south of Hertfordshire will also move into to Tier 3 in attempts to stabilise the virus just weeks out from Christmas.
The announcement comes after data revealed the number of new coronavirus cases rose in every single London borough in the week to December 10. Under Tier 3, pubs and restaurants must close except for takeaway and delivery services.
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