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Bank of England policymakers have voted to raise interest rates to 0.25% from the record low level of 0.1%.

The Bank has been caught between a surge in the cost of living - which is a reason to raise rates - and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant - which is an argument to keep them low.

Investors had been betting there was a 66% chance that the Bank would raise rates on Thursday, up from less than 50% before the inflation numbers for November came out on Wednesday.

The cost of living figures showed prices rising at their fastest rate for a decade.

France restrictions will see many plans cancelledpublished at 11:57 Greenwich Mean Time 16 December 2021

11:57 GMT 16 December 2021

Hugh Schofield
BBC News, Paris

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A lot of people will be urgently consulting the French government’s list of what constitutes a compelling reason for coming to France. And a lot of people are going to be disappointed.

If you have booked a skiing holiday, for example, you will not be able to come. That’s clear - all holidaying is out.

If you are a UK citizen wishing to spend Christmas with your retired parents who live in France, it doesn’t look good either. The list appears to state that the only Britons allowed in are those with registered homes in France, plus transport workers and some students.

Without question, the end-of-year plans of many families will be badly affected, and travel companies are predicting a wave of cancellations.

In fact, Alpine resorts say a lot of British skiers have already cancelled, because they foresaw there would be difficulties.

With travel to the UK from France already hit by tough restrictions decreed from London (self-isolation till results of compulsory PCR test), the two countries feel more apart than ever.

There are more details here on the new French rules , external(The link is in French - we'll let you know when we find it in English.)

We've been hearing a lot recently about the need to get boosters.

But it's worth remembering there are still some people who've not even got a first jab. That's about 5-10% of the population, the committee hears.

Prof Whitty says there's a very small number of people who believe "weird conspiracy theories" and won't get their jab. He says apart from those who have to work with vulnerable people, the general government view is that's just got to be accepted.

But most of the unvaccinated just haven't got around to it, he says. It's important to give them the information they need - which is that the virus is an actual threat and the vaccine actually works.

There also needs to be clear information about side effects, because there are a lot of myths around this, and vaccination needs to be convenient, he says.

Finally, Prof Whitty says he hopes the booster campaign also gives people a nudge to get their first or second dose.

The health committee has now ended its session.

Prof Whitty is being asked now about the take-up rate of vaccines for pregnant women.

He agrees the uptake is "depressingly low" and significant numbers of women have come to "serious harm" because of this.

Vaccines protect during pregnancy and pregnancy is a period of vulnerability he says and "I think we really should have made that point even clearer earlier on".

There have been "a lot of myths around this" - and we need to say it's not true there are increased risks linked to the vaccine, says Prof Whitty.

"What is true is that Covid and pregnancy is a dangerous combination," he adds.

He also says it's really important that pregnant women in ethnic minority groups get the message to be vaccinated.

The vaccination committee is looking at prioritising pregnant women for jabs, he confirms.

He's been asked about children too - initially it was thought there could be a slight increase in the number of children catching Omicron, compared to other waves. But it doesn't look like that is the case.

The pre-Christmas family lunch will not be going ahead.

The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead, the BBC has been told.

While there is regret that it is cancelled, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all concerned.

Also in Westminster, this morning Treasury Minister John Glen says the chancellor will speak to representatives from the hospitality sector this afternoon. They'll talk about the sector's concerns.

He's away in the US "on government business" at the moment.

He was replying to a question from Labour's Pat McFadden about what government support will be offered to businesses given Prof Chris Whitty’s advice to “de-prioritise social contacts”.

Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, says the Chancellor’s "silence is deafening" in light of the loss of income due to cancellations.

In response to a question from Conservative former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers on how people should plan for Christmas "in terms of their social contacts", Mr Glen confirmed he will be taking his team out on Monday for Christmas lunch in Salisbury.

We have been advised to choose carefully when putting dates in our diary in the run-up to Christmas - but will we have to live with reduced social contacts for years to come?

That's what Prof Whitty is being asked. He says he looks at it over a five-year time frame.

He thinks in about 18 months' time, there'll be a wide range of vaccines as well as treatments like antiviral drugs. At that time, most "heavy lifting" when there's a new variant will be met by medicine, rather than restrictions being put in place.

We've come from a place when we had "absolutely nothing" so we had to rely on measures like social distancing, he says.

We're now in a transition period where a lot can be done with things like boosters but we are stil "not quite in the safer haven" we will be in in future.

Risks will "gradually decrease over time" with each six months better than the previous six months, he says.

Image source, UK Parliament

Whitty is asked about reports of hotels being turned into temporary care facilities in Devon and is asked whether he believes people can be cared for safely in hotels.

He says "as with all emergencies" you have to do the least bad thing you can do.

He says there are things "we would never want to do" but "they are less bad to the alternative".

There are some people who can be cared for in a hotel setting, he says, adding that it is a difficult period and we will end up with some compromises.

Whitty says there are "key bits of information we do not yet have" about Omicron but the government "has a clear plan of action".

He says there are two strands to the plan - around working from home and "really critically", the booster programme.

"If it becomes clearer things are going to head the wrong way ministers are going to take a view," Whitty says.

For example, if the vaccines are less effective than expected, that would be a material change to how ministers view things.

Whitty warns that because of the steepness of the rise "even if the boosters do hold" a lot of people will fall ill simultaneously or have to care for others at the same time across the whole economy.

He says that pressure must be taken seriously.

Prof Whitty is asked if the previous maximum daily number of people admitted to hospital - 4,500, seen in January - could be exceeded.

There are "huge uncertainties" says Whitty, and a "range of possibilities".

This time, things are going to be "very concentrated". So even if Omicron is milder, if cases are concentrated over a short period of time, there could be more people admitted to hospital in a single day than that.

The number could be lower though, he says.

But what's also important - in terms of pressures on the NHS - is how long people stay in hospital. So if they're in for less time, if they're protected by vaccinations and less seriously ill for example, the total number in hospital could still be lower than it was previously. That's even if the peak admitted per day is higher.

Whitty expects the number of cases, driven by Omicron, to peak quite fast, adding that the "rate of increase is going to be fairly impressive" over the next few weeks.

But he says we don't know at what level it is going to peak.

He adds there is still debate about whether Omicron could inflict a milder version of the illness.

Prof Whitty has been stressing again how important it is to get a booster.

He points out that a lot of people are being reinfected with coronavirus via this Omicron variant when they have been vaccinated or have natural immunity (from having coronavirus before).

More clinical studies are still needed on the level of protection jabs give against hospitalisation and death if you catch Omicron - he points out to Jeremy Hunt, chair of the committee and former health secretary, that there is still information we don't know.

There are multiple reasons to get a booster, he says. lt reduces the risk of severe infection and will almost certainly reduce the risk of getting symptomatic disease, he says.

Chief Medical Advisor Dr Susan Hopkins from the UK Health Security Agency tells the committee there are 15 people in hospital with Omicron, but new numbers will be released later.

The real number will be higher than that, Whitty adds, as those are only the proven cases.

Professor Whitty tells the MPs the route to getting back on a normal track is through the booster programme - and stresses that message to people to get theirs.

Pressed on what people should do at the moment, he advises people to prioritise their social events and the things that matter to them.

On whether to attend Christmas parties, he says it is up to people to make their own choice. He's keen not to be prescriptive, but acknowledges that for some, the Christmas party might be the most important thing.

Prof Chris Whitty is up in front of MPs right now, speaking at the Health Select Committee.

Asked about Christmas plans first, he says everyone can see the Omicron variant is moving really fast and is highly transmissible.

This time of year, people have things on that really matter to them, including family events - and Prof Whitty advises people again to choose what is most important to them.

In practice it's "sensible" to cut down on work or other interactions, like social events, that might be "less important" to you.

Prof Whitty says he doesn't want to tell people to "do this or that" but to prioritise.

And the best route out of all this is boosters, he stresses, asking people to get them when they can.

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Yesterday we heard from Prof Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, as he spoke alongside the PM at a Downing Street news conference.

He appeared downbeat as he warned worse was to come with Omicron. The record for the daily number of tests was broken yesterday in the UK - and he said numbers would get even higher over the coming weeks.

We're now expecting to hear more from him this morning.

He's going to be giving evidence to MPs on the Health Select Committee about the spread of Omicron.

And he'll be joined by Interim Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Dr Thomas Waite and Chief Medical Advisor Dr Susan Hopkins, of the UK Health Security Agency.

We'll bring you news as we get it...

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As we've been hearing this morning, tourism will be soon be banned for UK travellers going to France as it tightens its rules over Britain's soaring Omicron cases.

From 23:00 GMT Friday, UK travellers will have to have a "compelling reason" for entry to France and show a fresh negative Covid test.

Read our explainer piece on all travel rules, for wherever you were hoping to be off to, here.

We now have now a full statement from the French prime minister's office, external, about the new restrictions being placed on travellers from the UK.

It says as Omicron spreads "extremely quickly" in the UK, the French government has decided to reimplement compelling reasons for travel between the countries and reinforce mandatory tests at departures and arrivals.

It says: "According to the British government’s own words, the United Kingdom is about to face a 'landslide' linked to the Omicron variant in the upcoming days.

"Therefore, starting from this Saturday morning (00:00), the following rules will be established for travel between the United Kingdom and France:

• A compelling reason will be mandatory for travellers leaving or going to the United Kingdom, for both unvaccinated and vaccinated people. (See list of compelling reasons below*). These compelling reasons do not include professional and tourist trips. However, these compelling reasons will not apply to French citizens, their partners and children, who will still be able to come to France
• Before their departure, vaccinated people will have to show a negative test (PCR or antigen) taken less than 24h ago, which falls into line with the measures that were already in place for unvaccinated people
• Every traveller coming from the United Kingdom will have to register, prior to their trip, on a digital platform to indicate their destination address in France. This platform will generate prefectural decrees ordering the mandatory isolation of every unvaccinated and vaccinated traveller in the location of their choice. This mandatory quarantine can be lifted after 48h, under the conditions of showing the proof of a new negative test (PCR or antigen)

As we've mentioned, the UK reported a record number of Covid cases yesterday - 78,610, the highest number of daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

The previous record was 68,053 on 8 January - when the UK was in lockdown.

We'll let you know today's daily figures later, but for now here are the UK's latest statistics in graphs.

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Only about half - or even fewer - of people who get Covid are ever tested, a scientific expert is warning.

Prof Andrew Hayward, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the UK government was speaking to BBC Breakfast in a personal capacity this morning.

As other experts agree, he says the doubling rate of Omicron is going to lead to an "extraordinary number of cases" and "a huge wave of infection".

The concern is that this wave "is going to cause lots of people to be off work having to isolate, which is going to cause disruption, and it's going to spill over into people going into hospital".

"The rate at which it spills over is uncertain because we don't know exactly how severe it is yet, but we've no particular reason to think that it's less severe than previous strains," he says.

Prof Hayward says people need to get boosted and also to reduce the number of people they are in contact with.

He also says the communication in Scotland has been "much clearer" than in England - they've been saying there is a "big problem".