The prime minister insisted people shouldn’t rethink their Christmas plans as he was given his Covid booster vaccine today.

Boris Johnson, 57, told Brits ‘we cannot give this virus a second chance’ after visiting St Thomas’ Hospital in London this afternoon.

‘When your turn comes, please get this lifesaving jab’, he said after a trip to the hospital that saved his life last year.

But the Tory leader was plagued by questions after clashing with his top team on coronavirus advice following concerns from scientists about the Omicron variant.

Business minister George Freeman earlier suggested festive parties may depend on how many people are attending.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘For many small businesses, four or five staff, who are working together every day anyway, gathering to have a drink isn’t a big step up in risk.

‘But some companies might normally bring hundreds of people in from around the world to a big party, and they may decide, this year, is that sensible given the pandemic and given where we are?’

His remarks come after Jenny Harries, head of the UK Health Security Agency and Test and Trace, said people should not be ‘socialising when we don’t particularly need to’.

But, speaking to broadcasters at the hospital on Thursday, Mr Johnson said he ‘doesn’t think there’s any need to stop that at all’.

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He said: ‘I want to repeat the guidance is there and I’m very, very keen that people understand this, we don’t want people to feel that they need to start cancelling things, to start… you talk about kids in nativity plays and that kind of thing. I don’t think there’s any need to stop that at all.

‘I think we’re taking a balanced and proportionate approach to the risk, but I want and I believe that Christmas this year will be considerably better than Christmas last year.’

Asked whether he will be holding a Christmas party himself, Mr Johnson said events take place in Downing Street ‘the whole time’.

He added: ‘We had events for Hanukkah, we turned the Christmas lights on, and all sorts of things in Number 10, and in accordance with the rules as you would expect.’

No 10 denied there is any confusion after the most recent pronouncement from ministers on Christmas party etiquette.

But hospitality firms have accused the Government of being ‘inconsistent’.

Patrick Dardis, the boss of pub group Young’s, claimed the messaging had been ‘terribly confusing’.

He said: ‘One moment you have Jenny Harries (chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency) telling people to avoid socialising and an hour later you have (Health Secretary) Sajid Javid saying the opposite.

‘I think the messaging started as a complete over-reaction and, unsurprisingly, it has concerned some people.’

In a joint statement, UKHospitality, the British Institute of Innkeeping and the British Beer & Pub Association urged those with plans ‘not to cancel’, with bookings down on previous years.

‘The full range of hospitality venues across the UK would usually be experiencing their annual bookings bonanza at this time of year, but it hadn’t materialised even before Omicron was first detected’, the organisations said.

‘The WHO (World Health Organisation) announcement that Omicron infections are generally mild, plus Government promptings for festive gatherings to go ahead as planned, offer a crumb of comfort and could at least slow the slew of cancellations the sector has experienced in the week since Omicron was discovered.

‘We’d therefore urge those with bookings not to cancel them but to carry on and enjoy their festive season parties, safe in the knowledge that hospitality venues are doing everything they can to ensure people have a safe and fun Christmas and new year.’

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