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The extraordinary U-turn has caused outrage among families that have already made plans, booked travel and bought food for reunions, with many taking to social media to vent their fury and devastation (pictured top-left, top-right, bottom-right, bottom-left). One user said: 'I'm sorry but my family have spent money on food for my family who are all coming in the next few days. I see my family twice a year and I am absolutely devastated like I cannot explain how upsetting and disheartening this is.'

Scotland Yard issued an open letter ahead of the event, urging people not to attend large gatherings over the last weekend before Christmas. Extra officers have been placed on London's streets to  encourage compliance with strict Tier 3 Covid-19 regulations and to 'swiftly clamp down on those wilfully and dangerously ignoring them'. However, the demonstration went ahead as planned in Parliament Square (pictured bottom-left and bottom-right), along with others around the country, including in Newcastle. Violence once again erupted, with some activists being tackled to the floor by officers (pictured top-right). One of those who was arrested was Andreas Michli, the owner of a gym in Wood Green that refused to shut its door during the second national lockdown. 'I'm going to keep doing this until we're free,' he said as he was led to a police van (pictured top-left).

Strictly Come Dancing's Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse earned the first perfect 30 of the night as the 2020 final brought the series to a close on Saturday.   The comedian wowed the judges with the fiery dance to Queen's The Show Must Go On, and later said the song was a fitting statement after much of London and South East England was plunged into Tier 4 of COVID-19 restrictions.  This year's Strictly had been thrown into doubt by restrictions introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and celebrities were forced to move out of their homes to form 'bubbles' with their professional partners to ensure the show could go ahead.

Prince Andrew was spotted leaving Windsor Castle today (pictured left and right), after enjoying a horse ride around the grounds. His outing comes after Jeffrey Epstein's friend French fashion agent Jean-Luc Brunel (pictured in the top inset) was charged with the 'rape of minors' and 'sexual harassment'. Brunel, 74, was indicted late on Friday night amid allegations including those of a woman who separately claims she was also trafficked as a teenager to the Duke of York. Virginia Roberts Giuffre (pictured with Prince Andrew bottom inset), an American, has told lawyers she was employed as a 'sex slave' and forced to sleep with the Duke after being trafficked to him in London at least three times when she was 17. Ms Roberts Giuffre has also said she had 'sexual relations with Brunel on several occasions', between the ages of 16 and 19, according to legal papers filed in America and France. Both Prince Andrew and Brunel vehemently deny these claims, with the royal considered a key witness who both the Americans and the French want to interview in person.

The billionaire (pictured left), who is chairman of the channel's Fox Corp and also owns News Corp, was whisked to a dedicated vaccine centre in Henley, Oxfordshire earlier this week. Mr Murdoch said he would 'strongly encourage' people around the world to get the vaccine (pictured bottom-right) as it becomes available. However, his willingness to receive the jab is at odds with many of the views broadcast on the Murdoch-owned Fox News in recent weeks. Tucker Carlson, host of one of the highest rated programmes on US cable news, opened his show on Thursday night (pictured top-right) by highlighting the case of a health worker in Alaska who suffered an adverse reaction to the vaccine and warning viewers to be sceptical of the 'glitzy' public campaign.

Eamonn Holmes has said he and wife Ruth Langsford are 'going to get on with their lives' after their final Friday hosting This Morning. It was revealed last month that the couple, who fill in for Holly and Phillip on Fridays, had been cut from their weekly slot to be replaced with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.

SUSANNAH CONSTANTINE: Hundreds of people in village halls and meeting rooms around the country have heard me say these nine words a thousand times over the past seven years, because AA has been a sanctuary for me in my recovery. Hello, my name is Susannah and I'm an alcoholic. And here I am saying it outside those four walls, in detail, for the first time. My alcoholism is not a secret, but it is private - that is why I have not discussed it publicly before now. So why now? Hearing statistics about alcoholism and the pandemic made me realise that now is a time when my story could be of real benefit to others. Alcohol Change UK saw a 242 per cent rise in visits to its advice and support pages between March and June compared to the same period last year. (Pictured: Susannah; left, with husband Sten.)

A mob of online conspiracy theorists - some claiming to be NHS staff - used Facebook to spread slurs about the 91-year-old British grandmother Margaret Keenan (top) and her family. Calling her a 'guinea pig' and an 'actress', the anti-vaxxers accused her of making a Masonic sign (bottom left) and of having been given a placebo as a marketing ploy. More than 137,000 Britons were vaccinated against coronavirus in the first week of the jab being available. But on the first day, former care worker Louise Hampton (bottom right) posted a link to a report about Mrs Keenan to her 18,000 Facebook followers with the comment: 'Shame on Margaret's Family for allowing this!!!! Using Granny as a guinea pig! Maggie's jab is merely a MARKETING PLOY!!'

After everything she's been through, if anyone deserves a happy Christmas it is Leona Harris (left). As a frontline nurse on a Covid ward in Lancashire since the start of the pandemic, she has spent the past year working gruelling 14-hour shifts, tightly swaddled in a stifling gown, mask and visor (right). After a year of such unbridled success, you could be forgiven for thinking that Leona will look back on this year as a job well done. However, it is far more likely that Leona will spend the final weeks of 2020 torturing herself over whether her 24-year career is about to come to a ruinous end. For in an act that she feels is vindictive, her previous employer, the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, has referred her for investigation by nursing's professional watchdog, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), claiming that she is 'not fit to practise'. Inset is the moment she found out she was facing disciplinary action.

Ciara the Cow (pictured right) - so called because she arrived during Storm Ciara in February - would rather spend the festive period indoors, with the family, thank you very much. 'She was fed by hand as a calf because her mother didn't have any milk, so she thinks she's a human,' says Amanda Owen (pictured main), aka the Yorkshire Shepherdess and the woman who is possibly the most famous (not to mention glamorous) farmer in Britain. 'If a door is left open in the house - and with nine children (pictured left) there is always a door left open - she just comes in. She doesn't like the rain. It's a problem, actually. I'll be doing something and I'll shout "why do I smell cow?" and she will be in the living room.'

She welcomed her first child with fiancé Ben Richardson on June 24. And Sarah-Jane Mee was seen stepping out for a stroll with her beau and their daughter Rae Brenda, who they pushed along in her stroller. The Sky presenter, 42, was the picture of a doting mother as she smiled down at her little one while the trio walked through London on Saturday (left and top right). Sarah-Jane (bottom right, returning from South Africa last night) swapped slots with Kay Burley - now ordered off-air for six months by furious bosses after flouting Covid rules for her 60th birthday party - last year.

Extreme wealth could solve immediate problems - like paying off the mortgage and credit cards - but it could present a lot more new issues too, Adele Parks tells Femail. During the research for her book Just My Look she spoke to many Lottery winners, with some claiming that their prizes ruined their lives. She says that some prize winners mishandle their newfound wealth. Pictured: Lottery winners Roger and Lara Griffiths from West Yorkshire (top right), Jane Park from Edinburgh (bottom middle) and Callie Rogers from Cumbria (bottom right).

It was announced last month that he'd be stepping down from his Saturday morning radio slot after 10 years. And Graham Norton cut a sombre figure on Saturday as he left London's Wogan House after broadcasting his last Radio 2 show. The presenter, 57, bundled up in a warm navy coat as he made his way home, after earlier bidding an emotional goodbye to his loyal listeners. 

Bridie Gallagher (pictured top inset), 30, and Jordan, 27, from Carlisle, Cumbria, saved £23,500 by opting to construct their own DIY fitted wardrobe rather than hire professionals to install one. Using YouTube tutorials, Jordan constructed an interior shell and then fitted MDF panels on the front for the doors. Wardrobe paint was then applied to give the final product (pictured centre) a sleek finish. Pictured bottom inset: The space before the makeover build.

The death of James Le Mesurier (left and lower right with his wife Emma Winberg), 48, made headlines worldwide. The former British Army officer was the driving force behind the legendary White Helmets, the civilian rescue teams who risk life and limb to save others in Syria's bloody civil war. Top right: Brave White Helmets rescue a boy from rubble in war-torn Syria.

Avenue Road has been named as the most expensive street in Britain, with an average house price of £30.5m. Avenue Road replaces last year's top spot, Ilchester Place in London's Holland Park, where homebuyers last year could pay around £17m for the luxury address. All of the top 10 most expensive places to live are in London, with the prestigious areas of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster dominating the list.

This is the wonderful moment 97-year-old Margo Lawson go to see her great grand-daughter Cecille from behind a glass partition at the CHD Living care home in Surbiton, London. Until recently, Margot had been unable to receive visits from her family due to coronavirus restrictions, however her care home is now able to welcome visitors. Margot said: 'It was overwhelming - I was so surprised. I didn't even know Claire was visiting today, so that was a wonderful surprise in itself, and then I saw Cecilie on her arm and it was just marvellous. It's made my year.'

The last Friday before Christmas is normally the biggest night for office parties, bringing a rush of revellers to Britain's nightlife hotspots. But with coronavirus restrictions forcing venues to close their doors, the normally-busting streets of Swansea (bottom left), Newcastle (right) and Birmingham (top left) were nearly deserted with locals forced to stay indoors. Both Birmingham and Newcastle are under Tier 3, which bans people from meeting socially indoors. This includes venues such as pubs, bars and restaurants which have all been forced to shut - except for takeaways. All of Wales is under Alert Level 3 of the Welsh four-level system, meaning means hospitality venues in Cardiff close at 6pm and nightclubs are shut entirely.

Born into a poor family in Jamaica, Kirtland Gill, 40, (pictured left and inset) will be the first black soldier to lead the Queen's elite Coldstream Guards. He has been chosen to be its next Regimental Sergeant Major - one of the most senior Army roles. The son of a fisherman, he flew to Britain to visit relatives aged 20 and ended up joining the Army. Currently a Warrant Officer Class 2, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan (pictured right) with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, and has already met the Queen twice. He visited his family in Tooting, south London, in 2001, and became a British citizen in 2008. He now lives in Windsor with his wife Sashagay, 31, and daughter Hayley, four.

A 23-year-old Australian banker has shared how she plans to retire by the age of 35 with one million dollars in the bank by investing regularly and budgeting throughout her twenties. Despite her young age, Mon Kumar, from Melbourne, is already financially savvy and has an impressive net worth of $219,000 - which is calculated by her total number of assets minus any liabilities that may decrease the total value. Over the past five years, Mon has been budgeting and working tirelessly but started learning how to invest when she was 20. 'I realised that investing can allow you to be financially independent and give you the freedom to do whatever you want in life,' Mon told FEMAIL.

Capella Space's Capella-2 satellite is capable of 50cm x 50cm resolution imaging due to its Spotlight mode that allows for long exposures up to 60 seconds over an area of interest to snap 'crystal clear' imagery. The satellite's radio signals are capable of penetrating through walls of buildings. The main image shows skyscrapers in Tokyo that look transparent, The satellite is designed with cutting-edge cameras, sensors and uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that operates regardless of air visibility, cloud covering or time of day - technology NASA has been using since the 1970s. The satellite can identify boats docked at ports like those at ExxonMobil's Singapore Chemical plant (top right). and monitor planes at an airport (bottom right image is a shot of the Roswell Air Center in new Mexico).

Melania, 50, shared the festive snap on her Twitter account on Friday afternoon, revealing that it was taken on December 10 on the grand staircase in the White House. In the photo, the President and First Lady are seen posing side-by-side in coordinating tuxedoes, with Donald, 74, opting for a traditional design, while Melania put a feminine spin on the style. 'Merry Christmas from President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump,' the tweet read. Throughout his time as President, Donald has made a point of saying 'Merry Christmas' on his festive cards rather than 'Happy Holidays', as the Obamas did. The couple did not share a Christmas portrait last year, but they did pose for them in 2017 and 2018. In each image, Donald and Melania are seen posing in front of different areas of the White House.

The Obamas had a guest during the early days of the pandemic: Malia's boyfriend, Rory Farquharson (at left with Malia and inset). In comments made on The Bill Simmons Podcast on Thursday, Barack Obama noted that Farquharson was part of the family's early quarantining - and ate enough to cause his grocery bills to increase.

The Mardi Gras cruise liner (centre), owned by Carnival Cruise Line, will set sail on its maiden voyage in 2021 from Florida after it was delayed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cruise line took delivery of Mardis Gras from the Meyer Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland, where she was constructed. The company's now-largest vessel wights 180,000 tonnes and is 1,130 ft (340m) long, and features a roller coaster that loops around a water park - and six on-board zones, including a French quarter.

Bhutanese royals King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (pictured right) , 40, and Queen Jetsun Pema (pictured left), 30, visited Bhutan's largest city of Thimphu on the nations 113th National Day. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there was no mass public gathering this year, but the pair were joined by their sons four-year-old Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck (pictured inset), known as the Dragon Prince, and his little brother, eight-month-old Prince Jigme Ugyen (pictured left) .

The two men drove into an industrial estate in Aston, Birmingham yesterday afternoon before trying to load a specialist pallet into the back of their van when one of them fell over. The driver helps his friend to the back of the van, while a third person in the passenger seat shouts a warning that workers in the industrial estate are approaching.

Elizabeth Introvigne, 23, from Canberra, Australia, purchased the £10 paddling pool to give her seven-year-old dog, Arrow, somewhere to cool off as the country enters a heatwave. She set up the pool in her backyard as temperatures reached 27 degrees - and the adorable pup has now captured hearts on the internet with his lovely reaction.

Chris Payn, 25, had just finished a gig in Poole, Dorset, on December 11 when he returned to his purple MG MGF soft top to find an unwanted visitor on his car. Walking into the car park, the 25-year-old rock front man thought a ginger cat was curled up on his vehicle, however he was shocked to find it was actually a sleeping fox.