all right, jonathan ashworth come in that case we will be talking again.oughts of sir david king. sir david king was chief scientific advisor to the government from 2000—2007, and now chairs the group independent sage — a group of scientists who have sometimes been critical of the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. sir david, good afternoon. good afternoon. do you think there was clarity from the prime minister? what did you make of it?|j clarity from the prime minister? what did you make of it? i was actually feeling rather sad at the end of listening to it, really for some of the reasons you have just heard. i mean, for example, christmas, what does christmas mean to most families? first of all, it isa to most families? first of all, it is a multi—generational gathering, it isa is a multi—generational gathering, it is a gathering of grandparents, pa rents, it is a gathering of grandparents, parents, of children, it is an age spread. it's also, if ijust can refer for example to a child's christmas in wales, the dylan thomas piece, it is ar

we can speak now to the shadow health secretary jonathan ashworth.s year. it'sjust brilliant, isn't it, absolutely fabulous and what wonderful pictures of margaret getting the jab earlier. this is a really important day and i wa nt to this is a really important day and i want to thank all the nhs staff who will be working so hard to administer these jabs today and over the coming weeks and months. we still have a long way to go but there is now light at the end of this coronavirus tunnel. it's a really good day and let's applaud all the medical scientists, the clinical researchers, the trial participants, the regulators, eve ryo ne participants, the regulators, everyone who's been involved in making today happen, it really is remarkable. there was some criticism of the role of kate bingham and yet, she and her team and all the others involved, have delivered this vaccine, the first place in the west to be given this pfizer biontech vaccine. that is a remarkable achievement, surely? when you think about it, 12 months ago there were patients in hospita

inside our westminster studio is jonathan ashworth, the labour shadow health secretary.ed saying, we act in the national interest and will not vote against these restriction but what is the point in saying you support them but abstain? first of all, we know this virus truly spreads through human interaction so we do support public health restrictions, we think they are health restrictions, we think they a re necessary to health restrictions, we think they are necessary to save lives but they need to be backed up by economic support. the government is asking families to make sacrifices, small businesses in the hospitality and entertainment sector to make sacrifices. that could lead to ba n kru ptcy sacrifices. that could lead to bankruptcy and job losses. i remember unemployment in the 80s, going to the dole office with my dad in the 80s and queueing up. unemployment is devastating. what we are saying to the government is yes, introduce public health restrictions in order to save lives but also recompense those families and small businesses whose livelihoods are going to

jonathan ashworth for labour.ent nick triggle gave some more background to the new restrictions and explained why people shouldn't be too alarmed about the new variant. we have seen mutations before. there was one that emerged in spain over the summer. but it doesn't necessarily mean it will cause more serious disease or impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine. in fa ct, effectiveness of the vaccine. in fact, mr hancock did say his medical advisers said it is highly unlikely to affect or disrupt the vaccine. but we do need to know more. the scientists at the porton down government laboratory are having a look at this new variant. he did say that it may be associated with faster spread in the south east, but that's not the same as saying it is causing it. and all these things have to be explored more. but i would caution about being too alarmed at the moment because we do see the sort of thing with viruses. and in terms of the new tier 3 restrictions for london and elsewhere, as we have mentioned, the government

everybody is trying not to make sure that none of their families are affected by this and jonathan ashworthhe right place because people will feel so guilty if they meet up and then one of their family members succumbs to covid—19. and they will blend themselves because a lot of people are a cinematic full so they feel they are finding it in the car christmas morning or christmas eve and they think it's great and they think they feel well and yet somebody at the end of that holiday season is going to maybe be in hospital. that is what terrifies every body, especially everybody was young. busy looking at their parents and saying is it worth it for a couple of days being together for one of you to catch covid? and that's a very hard, narrow line to ta ke that's a very hard, narrow line to take but it's frightening people. and i dare not pronounce a because i would never pronounce as well as in the film, but bedfordshire, buckinghamshire, all these places that are now going into tier 3. and you've got places like herefordshire which has dropped down into tier1 and they are next to wales which

his labour opposite number, jonathan ashworth, urged ministers to empahsise how important it was forand it is also incumbent upon all of us across this house to reinforce the case that vaccination saves lives, and if it helps, i will stand alongside the secretary of state, socially distance, of course, on any platform or in any tv studio to show that we are united, cross party, in promoting vaccination. now, mr speaker, our constituents will have legitimate questions, and they shouldn't be ridiculed for asking legitimate questions, so will he launch a large—scale public information campaign to answer questions and encourage uptake? will he consider sending a pamphlet, perhaps, to every household? now we know that dangerous myths circulate and social media and we again repeat our offer to work with ministers to curb online harms and i hope we can work together and take something forward on that front. mr speaker, ifi forward on that front. mr speaker, if i may, the honourable gentleman has worked supportively and constructively with the government throughout this pandemic, and i've pa

we're joined now by shadow health secretary jonathan ashworth. good morning. we would support it. sadly, this virus is spreading with ferocity. yesterday, over 600 people died. absolutely awful. the worst death toll since may, i think. 18,000 people in hospital. we are getting close to the april peak. this variant has been found in the south—east, it is the epicentre but it is radiating out and spreading. we have found examples in other parts of the country. we are really worried that the tier system is not going to be tough enough to contain this virus, so we are saying to the prime minister, last time you received advice from the scientists for tougher restrictions you sat on it, you dithered and delayed. when we call for you to act, you mocked us we call for you to act, you mocked us and ridiculed us and in the end you were forced to act, so do not sit on the advice because we know delaying has devastating consequence. if you are advised to ta ke consequence. if you are advised to take tougher action, take it, act with speed. do not be behind the curve agai

shadow secretary of state jonathan ashworth. surprised that the action he is taking today. indeed, he was warned that tier 2 wouldn't be enough to contain the spread of the virus in many places, and indeed it looks like in some areas, such as kent, tier 3 isn't enough to contain the spread either. elsewhere in the country, tier 3 does appear to be allowing —— forcing the virus to flatline and indeed the north west is trending down, but overall the increasing areas are rising faster than the decreasing areas are falling. and as things stand, we are heading into the christmas easing with diminishing headroom. the buffer zone these tiers were supposed to provide is getting much thinner, so what is his plan to keep people safe through christmas and avoid huge pressures on the nhs in january? what is his plan to support an exhausted, underfunded, understaffed nhs through an exhausted, underfunded, understaffed nhs throuthanuary an exhausted, underfunded, understaffed nhs through january to deliver the care patients will need, and is