Government under pressure to bring in tougher measures as Birmingham braces for tier 3
- Coronavirus – latest updates
- See all our coronavirus coverage
The home secretary, Priti Patel, has refused to rule out another national lockdown as Birmingham, the UK’s second biggest city, was braced to enter the strictest tier of curbs and a series of other areas were placed in tier 2.
With 58% of England’s population now certain to be under localised restrictions, Downing Street is under mounting pressure to implement tougher or countrywide measures amid concern that the patchwork approach is failing. Research warned on Thursday that the pandemic had reached a “critical” stage across the country.
