Mass exodus likened to the 'last train from Saigon' sees desperate families flee London ahead of Tier 4 misery – as PM's critics mockingly congratulate him for causing the city's 'first evacuation since 1939'
Families were last night fleeing areas of England that have been plunged into the tightest restrictions in what one leading expert described as a 'mini exodus'.
Edmund King, president of the AA, said that within 90 minutes of Boris Johnson's bombshell announcement, there were reports of people jumping into cars and taxis and even hiring vehicles to escape London before draconian new rules were imposed at midnight.
'There are certainly elements of an exodus of some people from tier 4,' he told The Mail on Sunday.
'I have heard of people actually hiring cars to get out of London to get to Liverpool because a lot of the trains are either restricted or booked.
'We have even heard of taxi drivers taking people longer distances – people calling minicab offices and saying, 'I need to get to Nottingham'.
'It is almost like a wall is coming down around London and the South East and some people are scrambling to get away to save their Christmas before midnight.' Last night footage emerged of a large crowd queuing on a packed platform at London's St Pancras Station to board the last train to Leeds before restrictions were introduced at midnight.
An announcement warned passengers that it would not be possible to maintain social distancing on the train.
People wait on the concourse at Paddington Station in London on Saturday as people scramble to get out of London before Tier 4 rules come into power at midnight
People go through barriers to catch trains at Paddington Station in London. The introduction of the new tier seeks to curb a new more infectious strain of the virus, Boris Johnson explained during a press briefing on Saturday
Branding it the 'last train out of Saigon' – a reference to the evacuation of US personnel during the Vietnam War – journalist Harriet Clugston wrote: 'Every person on this train including myself has made what is probably a very silly and irresponsible decision to travel albeit within the law.
'But that's what people were always going to do to be together at Christmas.'
Travel into and out of the new tier 4 zone, which includes London and large swathes of the South East of England, has been banned in a desperate bid to contain a mutant strain of the coronavirus.
International travel for the 16.4 million people who live in tier 4 is also prohibited unless it is for work purposes, while Mr Johnson urged families in the rest of the country to 'carefully consider' whether they needed to go abroad.
The Prime Minister's announcement shattered the plans of millions of families who were set to embark on the traditional Christmas getaway in the coming days to see friends and family.
Last year around 17 million people hit Britain's roads between December 22 and 28, but Mr King believes that number will now plummet to around two million.
Poppy Wood, 25, rushed to King's Cross station last night to board a 7.30pm train before the tier 4 restrictions were imposed. She said: 'What a disaster. I'm so angry at the Government – the whole thing has been shockingly handled.'
Miss Wood, who was travelling to her parents' home in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, with her brother and her boyfriend, said the station was 'surprisingly socially distanced but very sombre'. 'Everyone is just looking up at the screens quite longingly,' she added.
'It's not panicked at all – it's very calm. I think the threat has become very real and people are actually quite nervous, which hasn't been the case for a while in London.
Pictured: Grabs from the Trainline app showing train tickets leaving London either sold out or limited for Sunday
By 7pm on Saturday evening, there were no trains available online from several London stations including Paddington, Kings Cross and Euston (pictured)
Traffic seen on London's A40 ahead of new coronavirus 'Tier 4' restrictions being imposed from midnight
Cars on the M4 motorway leaving London, following the announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, that London will move into Tier 4 Covid-19 restrictions from midnight on Saturday
'I was meant to be doing all my Christmas shopping today but with everything going on I hadn't got anything done. I have just ransacked every shop in the station to get both my boyfriend and my brother a Christmas present.'
Social media sites were flooded with people voicing their anger at having their Christmas travel arrangements torpedoed.
'I'm beyond furious,' said Londoner Michael Wood, 25, who has had to cancel Christmas with his parents in Norfolk.
'The Government should have provided more forward guidance, rather than cancelling Christmas with four days to go.
'It's easy to say we'll get through it but not when you're on your own in a shoebox apartment.'
Rose Wilford, who also lives on her own in London, has been isolating for the last seven days and was planning on travelling back to her parents in Worcestershire for Christmas.
'Now that the tier 4 has come into place I'm not able to travel and will have to spend Christmas on my own,' she said.
'This year has been particularly hard on my mental health and to find out that I have to spend Christmas on my own is devastating.'
Meanwhile, thousands of families were yesterday forced to scrap plans to spend Christmas abroad, while passengers already at Heathrow faced the dilemma of whether they should get on board flights. The airport told passengers it was waiting for government guidance regarding flights and advised them to contact their airline.
Meanwhile, the restrictions raise the prospect of checkpoints being used to prevent families entering or leaving the new tier 4 zone.
Police forces across Britain were last night waiting for the Government to publish regulations on how they are to enforce the new rules.
Christmas travellers at a busy Heathrow airport as many people have made preparations to leave prior to the Government's announcement on Tier 4 restrictions
Christmas travellers waiting in line beside a large illuminated Christmas tree at Heathrow airport as many people have made preparations to leave prior to the Government's Tier 4 announcement
Christmas travellers at a busy Heathrow airport as many people have made preparations to leave prior to the Government's announcement on Tier 4 restrictions
Martin Hewitt, National Police Chiefs' Council chairman, said: 'We urge everyone to follow the rules in their area, and as throughout the pandemic, we are confident that the majority of people will continue to do their best to adapt and do the right thing.'
Meanwhile, there were questions last night about how the new rules would be enforced on train services travelling between tier 4 areas and the rest of the country.
Yesterday's announcement was another devastating blow for airlines, airports and holiday firms whose businesses have been ravaged by the pandemic.
There are also fears that countries could close their borders to British travellers in a desperate bid to prevent the mutant strain from spreading around the world.
Aviation expert Alex Macheras said that restrictions imposed by one country could precipitate a domino effect, resulting in the UK becoming cut off from the world in the same way that the area around Wuhan in China was at the beginning of the pandemic.
People under Tier 4 have been banned from international travel, with Heathrow Airport tweeting that it was awaiting further guidance from the UK Government. People under Tier 3 restrictions are also being discouraged from travelling without a reasonable excuse.
'If you are in Tier 4, you should not be travelling abroad unless it is permitted. In addition, you should consider the public health advice in the country you are visiting,' updated Government advice said on gov.uk.
Airlines warned that it would be down to Border Force to determine whether or not passengers' international travel is deemed 'essential'. Airports experienced their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Last night a spokesman for Heathrow Airport said: 'While we support steps to contain this new strain, the decision to restrict international travel again will further damage the national economy and jeopardise jobs.'
Speaking during the press briefing after Tier 4 was announced, Professor Chris Whitty - Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government - told anyone who was packing their bag to get out of London to 'please unpack it'.
'The reason for that is [...] In the South East, 43 percent of the virus is now this new variant, in East of England it's 59 percent, and in London it's 62 percent,' he said.
Areas that are experiencing higher numbers of the new variant are seeing higher numbers of hospitalisations when compared with other areas in the North of England, he explained,
For the 18 million people in London and the South East who will be living under Tier 4 restrictions from midnight on Saturday, travel into and out of areas in other tiers has been prohibited.
'It is with a very heavy heart I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,' Johnson told a news conference. 'I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me.'
London and southeast England - about a third of the English population - are currently in the highest level of a three-tier system of rules but will now be placed in a new Tier 4 level.
People in that tier will be required to stay at home except for essential reasons such as work, and non-essential retail will close, as will indoor leisure and entertainment. Social mixing will be limited to meeting one other person in an outdoor space.
High streets also descended into chaos on Saturday as shoppers were left with just hours to buy their Christmas gifts before shops close at midnight tonight in London and South East.
Pictures from Oxford Street in London showed huge crowds of shoppers flooding the streets to get their last minute purchases in before the introduction of the Tier 4 measures.
Johnson had said on Friday he hoped England would not need a third lockdown after Christmas.
Pictured: People shopping on Oxford Street in central London on the last Saturday shopping day before Christmas. Boris Johnson has cancelled Christmas for millions of people across London and south-east England after scientists said that a new coronavirus variant is spreading more rapidly
Pictured: Shoppers queue outside a shop in Oxford Street on Saturday night ahead of the introduction of Tier 4, announced by Boris Johnson on Saturday evening in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus
Pictured: Long queues of cars were seen waiting to get to Bluewater shopping centre in Kent ahead of the Tier 4 introduction
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a news conference on Saturday during which he announced Tier 4 for London and the South East of England, throwing Christmas plans for millions into chaos
Reacting to the announcement, Nigel Farage mockingly tweeted: 'Congratulations Prime Minister and your experts, you have caused the first evacuation of London since 1939'
He had also resisted calls to change plans to ease restrictions for five days over the festive period and allow three separate households to meet indoors. He said on Wednesday it would be 'frankly inhuman' to ban Christmas.
However, those now in Tier 4 will not be allowed to mix with others over Christmas. And all others will now only be allowed to see friends and family for one day.
Like other countries in Europe, Britain is battling to contain the virus. Johnson's action comes after concern about a surge in cases, sparked by the new infectious strain of the virus - VUI202012/01.
It is the rate of infection that is worrying the government and its advisors.
'There's no evidence to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness,' Johnson said. 'Equally, there's no evidence to suggest the vaccine will be any less effective against the new variant.'
Professor Whitty said authorities had alerted the World Health Organization and were continuing to analyse the available data to improve their understanding of the new strain.
Britain reported 27,052 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 534 deaths. The reproduction 'R' number is estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2, meaning the number of cases is rapidly increasing.
'Failing to act decisively now, will mean further suffering,' Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said on Twitter.
Britain has been one of the worst hit European countries - with more than 67,000 deaths linked to coronavirus and more than 2 million cases reported.
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