Sage warns that Tier 1 and 2 are not effective and alert level 3 is the most appropriate for after 2 dec

A post-lockdown return to the lowest alert level, Level 1, would be "very imprudent"

Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies ( Sage ), said it was "too early to judge" whether December 2 would be too early to safely suspend the current measures and replace them with the three-tier regional system.