The UK's week in pictures: Storm Barra, pressure mounts on Boris, and Plan B restrictions

'The National' selects the most striking pictures from around the UK over the past week

Early on Monday morning British Prime Minister Boris Johnson observed a Merseyside Police raid on a home in Liverpool, as part of 'Operation Toxic' to infiltrate County Lines drug dealings. AFP

Eliza Homer, 4, runs through a section of the outdoor light trail at Winter Glow, at Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire, on Monday. PA

On Tuesday morning an Amnesty International campaigner, wearing a Priti Patel mask, tore up a 'I Welcome Refugees' placard opposite parliament in London as the Nationality and Borders Bill was debated. PA

Visitors interact with clock lighting on the 'Palace of Stardust' light trail held for the Christmas season at Hampton Court Palace in south-west London on Tuesday. AP

Waves batter the seafront at New Brighton in Merseyside on Wednesday, as Storm Barra hit the UK and Ireland with winds, heavy rain and snow. AP

Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons were reunited at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire on Wednesday, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine. PA

Audience members wear lamb masks ahead of the 'Lamb' Gala Screening on Wednesday evening in London. Getty Images

Boris Johnson gives a press conference at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday evening. Pressure was piling on the prime minister over a lockdown-breaking Christmas Party at Downing Street. AFP

A commuter wearing a face mask walks past a sign in the city of London during the Thursday morning rush hour. The night before, Mr Johnson announced the introduction of 'Plan B' guidance to curb the spread of Covid-19 and the new Omicron variant. Getty Images

On Thursday Salisbury Cathedral held rehearsals for its Christmas Eve Service, with Bactrian camels led around the Cathedral. PA

'HMS Queen Elizabeth' returned to Portsmouth Naval Base on Thursday afternoon, following her deployment to Asia. PA

A Julian Assange supporter reacts outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Friday morning. Assange is one step closer to being sent from the UK to the US after the American government won its bid to overturn a judge’s decision not to extradite him. Reuters

In the week that Storm Barra hit the UK, bringing ice, wind and rain, pressure mounted on Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson over a lockdown-breaking Christmas Party at Downing Street, and the government introduced Covid-19 Plan B guidance.