The move to a Tier 2 lockdown in London is welcome but may not go far enough, according to Enfield’s council leader.

Cllr Nesil Caliskan backed a so-called circuit-breaker lockdown across the whole of England to stop the spread of coronavirus, after warning the new restrictions may have come too late.

Tier 2 lockdown measures, set to take effect across London from midnight on Friday, mean separate households will be banned from mixing indoors unless they are part of a support bubble.

Cllr Caliskan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service council officials had been asking the Government for additional steps to try to stop the spread of the virus for a number of weeks.

She added that the restrictions being introduced in London had been in place for five to six weeks in some northern towns but “had not really worked”.

“At this point, the danger is the virus is now out of control,” the council leader said. “We already know this is probably not going to be enough for London.

“My position is to support a national circuit-breaker – a two-week lockdown that coincides with half-term. That minimises the impact on schooling, so now is the time to do it.”

On Tuesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged the Government to bring in a circuit-breaker lockdown after it was revealed the measure had previously been recommended by the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

On the Tier 2 restrictions, Cllr Caliskan said: “It is going to be incredibly difficult, households not mixing and people not being able to support each other. I recognise that, but we need to stop it escalating to a more severe state where there need to be more restrictions.”

The leader said the distribution service that was set up by the council to supply food and medicines to vulnerable people during the first lockdown could be brought back at short notice if even tougher restrictions were introduced.