First hint of London lockdown as borough asks households to stop mixing in homes

People living in a London borough have been asked not to visit other households amid signs the capital may soon be hit with tightened coronavirus restrictions similar to those seen across the north, the Midlands and swathes of Wales and Northern Ireland.

Residents in Tower Hamlets have been advised by the local council to avoid seeing friends and families in private homes.

In an open letter, the borough’s mayor John Biggs asked people to avoid such visits “unless absolutely necessary” due to a rise in Covid-19 cases there.

He called the situation a “matter of life and death”.