Newspaper headlines: Confusion at Christmas and Covid curbs deadlock

"Rejoice! Christmas is looking safe" exclaims the Daily Mail - as it praises ministers for defying "gloomy scientists" by refusing to back "punitive" new lockdown measures in England which it says would have "ruined Christmas".

But the Sun is not so confident. It says anxious families and businesses have been left in "crimbo limbo" after Boris Johnson warned he could slap Covid restrictions on Christmas at any moment.

A poll of Daily Express readers suggests that even if curbs on festive gatherings were to be introduced just over half of people would ignore them.

The i understands that the chancellor and the foreign secretary led the calls at Monday's cabinet meeting for more data to be made available before agreeing on fresh restrictions.

In the eyes of the Sun, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are the "santas" of the situation, whereas ministers believed to have called for tougher measures - such as Sajid Javid and Michael Gove - are the "scrooges".

The Daily Telegraph highlights demands for clarity over possible new Covid rules - including from Conservative MPs. The Tory backbencher, Dehenna Davison, told the paper pubs and restaurants have been asking her if they should place orders, and people have been questioning whether they should postpone their wedding for the fifth time.

According to the Financial Times, Mr Sunak is willing to provide more help to the hospitality sector if the data supports the case for new restrictions after Christmas.

Government sources have told the Times it is now highly unlikely that extra measures will be introduced before Christmas - but that a two-week ban on household mixing from the 28 December is being considered.

The Guardian explains that the parliamentary authorities are preparing for the possibility of MPs being recalled on the same date for a vote on any new rules.

The Scottish version of the Times leads on Nicola Sturgeon's confirmation that Scotland will see no further restrictions before the 25th.

But the paper points out that the rules may still be tightened before Hogmanay. The Scottish Daly Mail reports that more than 2.5 million Scots have now had their Covid booster jab as part of a huge national effort to prevent another lockdown.

Many of the front pages feature photographs of the Queen, after she cancelled her traditional Christmas plans at Sandringham. The Daily Mirror says her "decisive move" is in "sharp contrast" to what it calls Mr Johnson's "dithering".

The Guardian reports that a Cabinet Office inquiry into alleged government parties in breach of Covid rules could be expanded after it published a photo showing Boris Johnson and his staff in the Downing Street garden with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard during the first lockdown.

The Metro describes the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab's, insistence that it was not a social gathering because people were in suits as a "tailor made excuse".

The Daily Star cheekily offers its readers a "game-changing" "cut-out-and-keep work meeting cheeseboard", which it says is guaranteed to help you bend future lockdown rules.

And, the Matt cartoon on the front of the Telegraph makes light of England losing the second Ashes test by 275 runs. It depicts a meeting of scientists on the SAGE advisory committee - with the caption "We did some modelling on possible outcomes in the Test cricket. The result was even worse than we predicted".