‘Consider cancelling Christmas’: Priti Patel tells Britons to play it safe as pandemic rages

UK home secretary Priti Patel on Thursday urged Britons to consider cancelling plans for Christmas if it means travelling long distances to meet friends and family, given the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases and the prospect that the festive period could lead to a spike in January.

Patel sounded the note of caution to moderate Christmas celebrations after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday evening that “a smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas”.

Rules have been relaxed to enable families to meet for Christmas between December 23 and 27, amid growing calls by experts to cancel the relaxations. London is among cities in the highest Tier 3 of the three-level alert system, with the toughest restrictions.

Speaking to the BBC and other news organisations, Patel said, “I would urge people to change. I won’t be seeing my parents this Christmas. My parents live in a different part of the country and I will not travel to see them.

“I want to protect them, I don’t want to be spreading the virus. I feel I will take that responsibility and others will make that judgement too. We would urge everyone to be conscientious and to make the appropriate plans and the appropriate changes to their plans as well, hence the point about having a smaller and shorter Christmas.”

“I think the British public are smart enough to make their own decisions and judgements and they don’t want to put themselves at risk, they won’t put their friends and families at risk,” she added.

Johnson and other ministers have been repeatedly calling for caution over the Christmas period, urging people not to travel long distances to meet families.

As of Wednesday evening, 25,161 new cases and 612 were recorded in the UK.