Christmas guidance to be tightened as cases rise across UK

The safest Christmas this year will be one spent in your own home, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned.

She was speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing, after holding talks with UK leaders about tightening Christmas bubble rules they agreed only a month ago.

The UK nations have “unanimously” agreed to keep those rules in place, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

That means people will still be able to form a Christmas bubble of up to three households, up to eight people, between Wednesday 23rd and Sunday 27th December.

But Ms Sturgeon said her government would advise people to keep their bubbles as “small as possible”, or postpone their plans altogether if they were not essential.

She added: “If you believe your plans are essential, I understand that.

“But I am asking you to follow all the advice.”

Ms Sturgeon said that she hated “with every fibre of my being standing here trying to regulate how you spend Christmas.”

She added that this Christmas “simply can’t be normal”, however.