The Prime Minister has refused to rule out a third national lockdown as cases continue to surge across the country. Boris Johnson faced criticism this week as health chiefs have warned of the potential risk as lockdown rules are relaxed over the festive period. And Mr Johnson said rates of infection have increased “very much in the last few weeks”, as pressure grows on the Government to do more to tackle the rise. Northern Ireland and Wales are bracing for lockdowns in the days after Christmas, and a senior emergency medicine doctor said the rest of the UK must do “whatever it takes” to get infections under control.