6 January 2021 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Thank you very much Mr Speaker and can I share your gratitude to the House of Commons staff for all their efforts, their hard work to allow us to meet today in the way that we are.
And before I begin my statement, I know the thoughts of the whole House are with the Hon Member for Cardiff Central who is currently in hospital with Covid, and we wish her a full and speedy recovery.
With permission, I shall make a statement about the measures we are taking to defeat this new variant of Covid-19,