Health Secretary Sajid Javid has refused to rule out the introduction of tougher Covid restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron variant and has warned everything remains “under review”.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, he said it was “time to be more cautious”.

“We are assessing the situation, it’s very fast-moving. We’ve seen with Omicron there’s a lot that we still don’t know about Omicron,” he said.

“That’s the truth of the matter. The reality is there’s a lot of uncertainty.”

Mr Javid added: “We know this thing is spreading rapidly. We know already now that in London, it’s around 80 per cent of infections, in England it’s around 60 per cent of infections.”

When pressed on whether new restrictions could be brought in before Christmas, such as a circuit-breaker lockdown, he said: “There are no guarantees in this pandemic, at this point, we just have to keep everything under review.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Health Secretary confirmed Parliament will be recalled over the Christmas recess if new Covid restrictions are needed.

He told Sky News ministers are discussing the latest coronavirus data almost hourly and insisted the Government will “do what is necessary” to limit the spread of the new variant.

Pressed further on whether there could be more restrictions, he said: “We will do what is necessary but it’s got to be backed up by the data.”

He added: “We are watching the data and discussing it with our scientists and our best advisors almost on an hourly basis.

“And we will monitor that very carefully. We will keep the situation under review.”

But the Health Secretary insisted the situation this December is not the same as last year, and said: “We are entering this phase in a very strong position.”

He said various factors including vaccinations, antiviral medication and other treatments for Covid-19 mean “the situation today in terms of our defences is very different”.

Mr Javid did confirm however that if new restrictions are needed, MPs will be called back to Parliament to vote on the measures.

“If, and it’s an if… there was a need to take any further action we would recall Parliament and it would have to be a decision for Parliament,” he said. “That is only right and proper.”

The Health Secretary’s confirmation that MPs could be recalled over Christmas comes as threats of new restrictions have emerged over the weekend.

Omicron cases continue to soar, with 10,059 new infections recorded on Saturday, taking the UK’s total up to 24,968.

Scientists have claimed cases of the Omicron variant are doubling every one and a half days in some of the most populated regions of England.

London is a particular hotbed for the new variant, and o Saturday n the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan declared a “major incident” in response to the “hugely concerning” Omicron spike.

As the variant continues to rip through the country, scientists have told the Government tougher measures are needed imminently.

Minutes from the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) revealed the top medics believe new restrictions need to be brought in “very soon”.

Advisers recommended moving to restrictions seen towards the end of the spring 2021 lockdown, which included a ban on indoor mixing and indoor hospitality, with a warning against delaying further interventions until 2022.

They said modelling indicates that hospital admissions could peak at at least 3,000 a day without intervention measures beyond the Plan B rules currently in place.

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said the Government needs to ensure families can continue to meet safely over Christmas.

He told Times Radio: “No one wants to be the Grinch that stole Christmas. We want people to enjoy Christmas, we want people to enjoy Christmas safely. And I hope the Government will be able to take action that ensures that that is still the case.

“The Sage report makes clear that action sooner rather than later will be more effective. I.e. the longer we delay the worse it will be and the less effective it will be.”

Reports have emerged that ministers are drawing up plans for a circuit breaker lockdown in England, with a definite start and end date as seen in November 2020, to start immediately after Christmas.

The restrictions would ban meeting others indoors except for work purposes and limit hospitality settings, such as pubs and restaurants, to only serving customers outside, The Times reports.

Schools and shops would remain open and there would be no formal “stay at home”. Limits would also be placed on those attending funerals and weddings, to a maximum of 30 people.

The draft plans are for a two-week circuit breaker after Christmas and the newspaper suggests the announcement could come before New Years Eve.

A source told The Sun: “A set of proposals is being worked on that would let people celebrate Christmas, but then the handbrake would be pulled.”

Boris Johnson is said to be determined not to cancel Christmas this year but immediate restrictions have not been completely ruled out.

On Friday, the Prime Minister is understood to have been presented with a number of options under a so-called Plan C, which ranged from “mild guidance to nudge people, right through to lockdown”, according to the Financial Times.

The newspaper quoted allies of the Prime Minister who claimed Mr Johnson still wanted to go down the guidance route, but that he also had to be realistic about the threat of Omicron.

Mr Johnson will hold a Cobra meeting with the devolved administrations today about a response to the new variant and the possibility of new financial support for hard-hit industries.

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