LONDONERS who fled the capital before lockdown last night were today slammed as “totally irresponsible” by a fuming Matt Hancock.
The city’s stations were described as “war zones” as locals skipped town before the tough new Tier 4 lockdown came into effect at midnight.
Boris Johnson begged Brits to “stay local” this Christmas in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus as a new, more infectious strain of the deadly bug emerged.
Cancelling the festive season for millions, the PM warned the tough restrictions in London and the South East were needed to stop the new variant – which is believed to be about 70% more infectious than the initial strain.
Professor Chris Whitty last night begged people to stay at home yesterday evening as the rules were unveiled, warning: “If you have packed a bag, unpack it.”
Yet within hours there were long queues of traffic on roads out of London and chaotic crushes at railway terminals as people fled to avoid the brutal new restrictions.
And Health Secretary Matt Hancock today slammed the scenes – sighing as he was shown footage of the busy travel terminals.
He told Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “This was clearly totally irresponsible behaviour.”
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And then appearing on the The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, he added: “We have all got a responsibility.
“We in Government of course have a responsibility, but so does every single person.
“The plea that I have is that people will play their part, because it is only by acting, all of us, that we can get this under control.”
British Transport Police are now expected to deploy additional officers to ensure only essential journeys are taking place.
Last night in St Pancras station, hundreds of people were filmed rushing towards barriers to board the trains leaving the capital.
Similar frantic scenes were pictured at Paddington station and King’s Cross.
Traffic on the A40 leaving London was jammed in the hours after Mr Johnson’s bombshell announcement.
Commmuter Harriet Clugston, who filmed the scenes at St Pancras, compared it to Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War when people were desperate to flee before the Viet Cong invaded.
She tweeted: “Last train out of Saigon. Queue at St Pancras as we wait to board the Leeds-bound train.”
“As expected, train is crammed,” she later wrote.
Harriet said that officials announced that “social distancing will not be possible” in the packed train.
Another Twitter user posted: “Mate St Pancras looked like a war zone tonight. Euston very tame in comparison.”
Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy added: “The message is clear – to combat this virus, you must follow the guidance and stay at home.
“At stations we will be deploying extra staff, announcements will make the law clear and additional BTP officers are in place to ensure that only essential journeys take place.”
A British Transport Police spokesperson said: “As has been the case throughout the pandemic our officers will continue to be highly-visible, patrolling services and stations on the rail network in tier 4 locations and nationwide throughout the Christmas period.
“Officers will continue supporting rail staff in engaging with passengers and reminding those who do need to travel to wear face coverings.
“We hope that the public will continue to act responsibly and play their part in helping to protect themselves, and each other, by following the guidance and restrictions set out by the Government, as well as complying with the requirement to wear face coverings.”
