The Government has confirmed all London primary schools will remain shut next week due to high rates of Covid-19 infection.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed today (January 1) the decision to close all London primary schools had been a "last resort".

Greenwich leader Danny Thorpe said he was "absolutely delighted" to hear Williamson had "finally climbed down and reversed his decision".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also welcomed the U-turn after previously expressing dismay at the "ridiculous" Government decision to order some pupils in the capital to return to their classrooms next week despite the city being in the grip of a fresh wave of Covid transmissions.

Mr Khan said: "It is good news that the Government has finally seen sense and announced this U-turn.

"The Government's original decision was ridiculous and has been causing immense confusion for parents, teachers and staff across the capital.

"It is right that all schools in London are treated the same, and that no primary schools in London will be forced to open on Monday.

Surrey Comet: Dan Thorpe was elected as leader of the Labour group last night (May 9)

Greenwich leader Danny Thorpe welcomed the U-turn

"I would like to thank Nick Gibb, the education minister, for engaging with me in constructive conversations over the past two days.

"No one wants our children out of schools longer than necessary. Everybody must now focus on bearing down on the virus so that our schools can reopen safely as soon as possible."

From Monday January 4, London primary schools will be required to provide remote learning for two weeks to all children except vulnerable and critical worker children, who will be permitted to continue to attend.

Under the Government's initial plan, secondary schools and colleges were set to be closed to most pupils for the first two weeks of January, while primary schools within 50 local authorities in London and the south of England were also told to keep their doors shut until January 18.

But in a reversal of those primary school proposals, Cabinet minister Mr Williamson said: "Moving further parts of London to remote education really is a last resort and a temporary solution.

Surrey Comet:

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has faced criticism for the last-minute U-turn

"As infection rates rise across the country, and particularly in London, we must make this move to protect our country and the NHS.

"We will continue keep the list of local authorities under review, and reopen classrooms as soon as we possibly can."

Leaders of eight London boroughs had written to the Education Secretary formally asking him to reverse the decision to reopen primary schools in selected areas.

They pointed out that some local authority areas on the closure list had lower infection rates than those where schools had been told to reopen.

According to Covid rates compiled by the PA news agency, Greenwich - which was not on the closure list - had 2,176 new cases recorded in the seven days to December 26 compared to list-featuring Kensington and Chelsea's 768 new cases in the same period.

The leaders of the boroughs of Islington, Camden, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich, Haringey and Harrow all signed the letter.

On December 15, Greenwich was forced to withdraw advice asking schools to switch to online learning amid rising coronavirus rates following threats of legal action by the Education Secretary.

Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green said the last-minute nature of the London schools decision had caused "huge stress" for pupils, families and staff, with only a matter of days to go before the new term was due to commence.