BORIS Johnson and his Cabinet are “paralysed by their internal divisions” in the face of the Omicron surge, according to Wales's First Minister.

Mark Drakeford has criticised what he has called the UK Government’s inaction over rising cases of the variant.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that Scotland's Hogmanay celebrations will be cancelled and live sports will be "effectively spectator-free" for three weeks from Boxing Day as part of new Covid-19 restrictions.

She also introduced new curbs on hospitality and urged people to "stay at home as much as possible" until at least the first week of January.

In Wales, more Covid restrictions were announced on Wednesday after the country saw Omicron cases “rise sharply” in the last week.

The new rules from Boxing Day include the closure of night clubs, two-metre social distancing in all premises open to the public and in workplaces and the re-introduction of table service in pubs.

Asked why Scotland and Wales have decided to introduce further restrictions while Johnson has not, Drakeford said: “I believe the UK Government sees all the data we see and gets all the advice that we get about the need to act and act urgently in the light of the Omicron wave coming our way.

READ MORE: YouGov poll shows boost for SNP as Tory and Labour support dips

“I think the UK Government is in a state of paralysis about all of this. We’ve seen the reports of in-fighting within the Cabinet.

“There are, as I would see it, sensible voices urging the Prime Minister to act to protect the NHS and protect people’s lives as he has in previous waves.

"There are others who, I think, simply take a different view of the balance of risk here and are prepared to allow those risks to run.

“They are paralysed by their internal divisions and are unable to act on it.”

He added: “I heard the Prime Minister earlier this week in an interview say the position had never been more urgent.

"And asked what he was going to do about it, he said that he was doing nothing. Well, that would not be acceptable to me.”

The National:

Johnson has refused to introduce any new Covid restrictions in England despite warnings that an Omicron surge may overwhelm the NHS.

His Cabinet are split on the re-introduction of more measures with the Health Secretary Sajid Javid said to support more curbs while others, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, are opposed. Lord Frost resigned from Cabinet at the weekend citing concerns over Covid restrictions.

Last week 100 Tory MPs voted against Johnson's "Plan B" which reintroduced the compulsory wearing of face masks in shops and on public transport as well as bringing in vaccine passports for some settings.

The measures got through the Commons after backing from Labour.

Today he was urged to outline a post-Christmas Covid strategy, as a health minister warned there is "uncertainty" around people making New Year's eve plans.

The Prime Minister has ruled out further restrictions before December 25 saying there is not enough evidence on the severity of the Omicron variant and hospital admission to justify stricter measures.

READ MORE: Covid in Scotland: NHS to offer new treatments to high-risk patients

But with the situation constantly being reviewed, Conservative frontbencher Gillian Keegan urged caution over the days ahead.

Asked on LBC about going ahead with a gathering or party on December 31, the health minister said: "There is uncertainty. We can't predict what the data is going to tell us before we've got the data.

"We are trying to take a balanced and proportionate approach so that people can see their families over Christmas to try and plan some stuff.
"But of course it is difficult to anticipate."

She said the uncertainty in the data is "particularly" around severity.

Labour has pressed for decisions to be made as soon as possible.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Jon Ashworth told Sky News: "People are anticipating that some form of restrictions will come in post-Christmas, and I think we just need to give people certainty.

"People need to know where they stand. Businesses have got to make decisions about what stock to get in in the run-up to new year's eve, so I think it would be reasonable for the Government to produce a road map, if you like, a plan of what they think may well be anticipated in terms of further restrictions post-Christmas so people know where we stand.

"We've still got confusion at the moment."

Figures from NHS England show that 1904 people were in hospital in London with Covid-19 as of December 21, the highest number since March 2 and is up 41% from a week earlier.

Across England, 6902 patients were in hospital with Covid-19 on December 21 - the highest number since November 10 and up 7% week-on-week.