Covid: Keir Starmer in 'back to March' lockdown call
- Published
Sir Keir Starmer: Government is "delaying the inevitable"
Boris Johnson must bring back "the spirit of March" to get control of coronavirus in England, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Sir Keir said the virus was "out of control" and a second "national lockdown" - including the closure of all schools - was needed.
The PM had to give a firm "stay at home message", Sir Keir told the BBC.
Mr Johnson will make a televised address at 20:00 GMT to set out further restrictions amid surging cases.
It comes as Scotland announced a legal requirement to stay at home from midnight.
Sir Keir said Labour would support any move towards tighter restrictions in England, but urged the prime minister to "stop dithering" and take action.
The Labour leader said it was "inevitable" that schools would need to close.
"There is complete chaos, with parents not knowing what is going on. We need to create space for the vaccine now, to be rolled out safely.
"The virus is out of control. We have got to get it back under control. The more we delay, the worse it will be. The more we delay, the longer schools will be closed."
In March last year, Boris Johnson told people in England they could only leave home to exercise once a day, travel to and from work when it is "absolutely necessary", shop for essential items and fulfil any medical or care needs.
Currently, shops selling non-essential goods have been told to shut and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together are prohibited in tier four areas.
Sir Keir said the government's message needed to be firmer and backed by law, if necessary, to encourage people to comply.
In an interview with the BBC's deputy political editor Vicki Young, he urged the country to get back to "the spirit of March, where there was a very strong stay at home message".
"You only need to go out on the streets now and you see lots of people out and about, you see trains that are half full," said the Labour leader.
"We need to go back to where we were in March with very very strong messaging about staying at home.
"And I'm afraid that the closure of schools is now inevitable, and therefore that needs to be part of that plan, as part of the national plan for further restriction.
"And that means that we need to have measures in place to protect working parents, most in place to enable children to learn at home, and a plan to get schools safely reopened again and that goes back to vaccination. It must be mission critical now."