Major incident declared in London amid ‘hugely concerning’ Omicron spread

A major incident has been declared in London due to Covid-19 (Ian West/PA)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a "major incident" to help the city's hospitals cope with a surge in Covid-19 cases caused by the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant.

It comes after MR Khan said he was “incredibly worried” about staff absences in vital public services including the NHS, fire service and police due to rapidly rising cases.