The second vaccine doses for the over-50s and clinically vulnerable in the UK will be accelerated amid concerns over the coronavirus variant first identified in India, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.

There will be only eight weeks between doses, rather than 12 weeks, Johnson told reporters at a press conference.

If the variant first identified in India was found to be “significantly” more transmissible “we are likely to face some hard choices”, the BBC quoted the prime minister as saying.

It could pose “significant disruption” to lockdown easing on June 21, he said.