No 10 accused of sowing confusion over Leicester lockdown

Downing Street has been accused of sowing confusion and anxiety in Leicester after imposing the first local lockdown to combat a surge in Covid-19 cases in the city, amid growing concern about how the measures will work. As part of hardened restrictions, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced on Monday night that schools would shut to most children and reopened non-essential shops would be forced to close for at least two weeks in Leicester. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats backed the lockdown, but criticised the government’s handling of it and called for clarity over the details.