The ‘Test and Trace’ system has been heavily criticised after a series of high-profile failures since its launch earlier this year, and ministers concede it has not performed as well as they had hoped.

Deputy chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) Dr David Wrigley raised concerns that some medicines with short shelf lives such as insulin cannot be stockpiled.

The series of missile launches comes less than two months before the New START US-Russian arms control treaty expires in early February. Moscow and Washington have discussed the possibility of its extension, but so far have failed to overcome their differences.

“Whether it be the A-levels fiasco, the masses of student lockdowns or the financial exploitation students are facing, we are fed up."

The Prime Minister and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have both warned that a no-deal outcome looks more likely than an agreement.

“The Government’s approach undermines the much-vaunted trust it once said it had for leaders and governors in their communities to make the right decisions on behalf of their pupils, parents and staff.”

“From a public health perspective, I have to be perfectly honest, I think this is a mistake."

The series of executions under Mr Trump since Election Day is also the first time in more than 130 years that federal executions have occurred during a lame-duck period

"Covid is horrendous – but it is temporary, Brexit is not."