"We’re hoping very much we'll be able to avoid anything like that but the reality is that the rate of infections has increased very much in the last few weeks," Johnson said, asked whether England will join Union fellows Wales and Northern Ireland in announcing a lockdown after Christmas.

The UK’s largest constituent country, England, had recently come out of a month-long lockdown over the course of November, with the rate of infections promptly beginning to rise.

Johnson went on to place a priority on returning pupils to schools following the holiday season with a widespread COVID-testing system in place.

Just shy of two million people have been infected with the coronavirus in the UK, with over 66,000 people dying as a result.