BORIS Johnson will address the nation tonight outlining the steps to tackle the rise in Covid cases which could see could a national lockdown imposed on millions across England.

The Prime Minister will speak to the nation at 8pm this evening, after a meeting of the government's “Covid-O” committee which is due today and decides on changes to the coronavirus response.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The spread of the new variant of Covid-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country.

“The Prime Minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives.

“He will set those out this evening.”

Parliament is set to be recalled to sit on Wednesday, Downing Street has said.

It comes after mounting pressure by scientific advisors and ministers for a third, national lockdown, to curb the new strain of Covid. 

Responding to the announcement of the Prime Minister’s statement and the recall of Parliament, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “I hope the Prime Minister has been listening to the clear calls for tough national restrictions.”

He said new measures were needed to “get the virus under control, protect the NHS and create the space for the vaccine to be rolled out as quickly as humanly possible”.

This morning, Matt Hancock refused to rule out a national lockdown as Mr Johnson said tougher measures will be needed.

The Health Secretary hinted at the potential for a new national lockdown, saying the Government is prepared to act “rapidly” where necessary.

With a third national lockdown looming in efforts to curb the spread of the mutant Covid strain, clues about what tougher restrictions will look like come from the government's scientific advisors.

While Tier 4 heavily restricts free movement and mixing of households, it is not known whether a national lockdown would see the return of the once-daily exercise rule where you are only allowed one form of outdoor exercise a day. 

Sage says a further reduction contact between people "likely to be necessary", which could include changing how school and universities operate.

There could also be stricter controls on travelling around the country and internationally. While residents have long been encouraged to 'stay local', in the Republic of Ireland, for example, a person cannot venture further than 5km from their home. 

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a lockdown for January with a legal requirement to stay at home.

Schools in Scotland will remain closed to most pupils until February at the earliest to help contain the spread of coronavirus while people who are shielding have been told not to go into work.