Boris Johnson will hold an emergency meeting later today after countries made the decision to shut their borders to Britain following the emergence of a super-infectious strain of COVID-19. The Prime Minister has been warned of "significant disruption" around the Channel ports in Kent – with freight from Europe via France being blocked.
Severe travel restrictions have also been imposed on Britons hoping to travel to a number of European destinations, including Germany, The Netherlands and Ireland.
The shock news has unsettled investors with Sterling on course for its worst performance in almost three months.
As of 8am this morning, the Pound was down 1.8 percent against the US dollar and 1.3 percent versus the euro.
Sterling was being exchanged at £1-$1.3277 compared to £1-$1.3510 at the previous close.
Meanwhile, against Europe’s single currency, Sterling was trading at 0.9171 pounds compared to 0.9057 pounds at the previous close.
The London Stock Exchange has also taken a huge hit this morning with more than £33billion wiped off the value of shares.
The FTSE 100 opened at 6529.18 - down more than two percent over fears of the new strain of the virus and the increased threat of a no deal Brexit on December 31.
Rodrigo Catril, National Australia Bank's senior currency strategist in Sydney, said: "The lockdown news and the stalemate on Brexit is keeping the market nervous
"Dollar strength is largely being driven by the move lower in the pound."
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