amount of data coming in. but it is a real concern we will be heading into something which has the risk of overrunning the health service. testing for the virus is also crucial. the vaccines minister was at a royal mail depot in derbyshire this morning. deliveries of pcr and lateral flow kits are being ramped up to 900,000 a day to make sure everyone who needs a test can get one. lateral flow devices are very effective at picking up the 0micron variant, as well as other variants. and it s the best way to make sure that they are free of the virus before they do visit friends and family this christmas or go to large events. the government at westminster has said current plan b measures in england are appropriate, but would go further if new data suggests that s needed. wales and scotland have already tightened some restrictions. representatives from all uk nations are expected to gather for an emergency cobra meeting this weekend. katharine da costa, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent
but instead it s another damaging step for the prime minister after a bruising couple of weeks. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardley, reports. westminster has packed up for christmas, but it s events from this time last year that are continuing to cause controversy. simon case is the man the prime minister asked to look at allegations of rule breaking at parties. but yesterday it emerged there had been an event at his own private office. emails that invited people to a christmas party, which it emerged yesterday was a quiz. the cabinet secretary didn t attend, but he did speak to staff as he left and last night it was announced he would stand back from the enquiry. another top civil servant, sue grey, would complete the probe. it s incredibly hard to believe nobody in government knew these parties were happening, and there s a huge amount of evidence now, so i do believe that the investigation sue grey is going to be leading up,
as well as other variants. and it s the best way to make sure that they are free of the virus before they do visit friends and family this christmas or go to large events. the government at westminster has said current plan b measures in england are appropriate, but would go further if new data suggests that s needed. wales and scotland have already tightened some restrictions. representatives from all uk nations are expected to gather for an emergency cobra meeting this weekend. katharine da costa, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake, is here. concerns from the scientific advisers. any sign of a change of direction from the government? flat direction from the government? iirrt immediately, no. the cabinet minister today have been briefed on the latest data as far as coronavirus cases go. the immediate upshot of that it seems is that there is not necessarily going to be any major change of approach or
of 1000 2000 a day by the end of the year and a possible peak of around 3000 a day, similar to levels in january. my view is that a short, sharp two week rate right now would be useful and making sure people are socially distancing, limiting contacts and going back to see some of the rejections we had earlier in the year. testing for the virus is also crucial. the vaccines minister was at a royal mail depot in derbyshire this morning. deliveries of pcr and lateral flow kits are being ramped up to 900,000 a day to make sure everyone who needs a test can get one. lateral flow devices are very effective at picking up the 0micron variant, as well as other variants, and it s the best way to make sure that they are free of the virus before they do visit friends and family this christmas or go to large events. the government at westminster has said current plan b measures in england are appropriate,
then we have to be able to show that we deserve that support. the past few weeks have led to questions over borisjohnson s authority and his politicalfuture. many conservatives think things need to change in here if he is going to steady the ship. nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. i ve been speaking to hannah white from the institute for government who s been giving her reaction to simon case s departure. i think it is the right thing to do at this stage. it is really important that the process commands public confidence and that the outcome of it, the outcome of the enquiry, is seen to be accurate and that it comes swiftly. the question is why he didn t recognise that it was not appropriate for him to conduct the enquiry in the first conduct the enquiry in the first place, and why it has had to come to those that the person running this has had