Britain has reported 27,334 new cases of Covid-19, government data showed, meaning the rise in cases between June 29 and July 5 stood at just over 53 per cent compared with the previous seven days.

A further nine people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for Covid-19.

A total of 45.3 million people had received a first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus by July 4 and 33.7m people had received a second dose.