The Liberal Democrat Layla Moran urged the Government to ramp up efforts to decrease the rapid spread of coronavirus this Christmas while holding up a graph that showed the variant's frightening trajectory in Denmark compared to Delta. Omicron is expected to become the dominant coronavirus variant in Denmark this week, with new daily cases reaching around 10,000, the country's Serum Institute said on Monday. The institute has detected 3,437 Omicron cases since it was first detected in Denmark on November 22.

       Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Moran said: "The other thing that we see from Denmark is just the sheer shape of the curves.

       "I know this is hard to show when we talk but the blue line here is Delta and the red line is Omicron.

       "The blue line looks like a gentle slope and the red line looks like a hockey stick.

       "That is deeply, deeply alarming."

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       Professor Chris Whitty has warned a "significant increase in hospitalisations" is coming from Omicron, with Boris Johnson telling ministers to expect a "huge spike" in infections.

       The stark messages delivered to the Cabinet came as almost 60,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported, the highest total since January 9, driven by the surge in the highly-transmissible variant.

       Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs there was a "very real risk" that the exponential rise of Omicron cases could translate into a rise in hospital admissions that "threatens to overwhelm the NHS".

       England's chief medical officer Prof Whitty told a virtual Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that it is "too early to say how severe" the strain is after early suggestions from South Africa that it could be relatively mild.

       Mr Javid told MPs that even if Omicron did turn out to be less severe than the Delta variant, the fact it was so easily spread meant "it still has the potential to overwhelm the NHS".

       Downing Street did not reject a suggestion that new Omicron cases could hit a million per day next week based on a "valid" estimate from the UK Health Security Agency that daily infections are currently around 200,000.

       Ministers hope the Plan B measures on masks and Covid passes announced for England will slow the spread of Omicron long enough to substantially increase the number of people who have received booster jabs.

       The latest daily figures showed 513,722 booster or third doses were reported on December 13 - below the rate of around a million jabs a day required to meet the Government's target of offering another shot to all eligible adults by the end of the year.

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       MPs were voting on the Plan B regulations in the Commons on Tuesday, with the measures expected to pass despite the expectation there will be a revolt on the Tory benches.

       Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab insisted the restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing and the use of Covid health certificates for large venues, will be sufficient over Christmas, meaning families can "spend it with loved ones".

       But Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people across Scotland to limit their mixing by socialising with only up to two other households indoors either side of Christmas.

       And the downbeat assessment from Prof Whitty delivered to the first Cabinet meeting not to take place in person for months will raise concerns that additional measures may be needed in England in the new year.