It is the highest number in nearly six months. The last deadliest day was on March 9 when 231 deaths were reported.

As of Wednesday, the total death toll in the UK stands at 132,742.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 157,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The government figures also revealed the UK has reported 35,693 new infections.

Vaccines continue to be successfully rolled out in the UK with a total of 90,994,627 Covid jabs given.

Of the vaccines, 48,086,605 were first doses and 42,908,022 were second doses.

It comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been monitoring a new coronavirus strain, known as Mu.

Mu, or B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia in January and cases have been recorded in South America and Europe.

Also vaccine passports could be rolled out for entry into nightclubs and large-scale events in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon announced.

The First Minister explained vaccine passports will be needed for indoor live events with more than 500 unseated people, outdoor live events with more than 4,000 unseated people and any event with over 10,000 attendees – if approved by parliament.

She said: “The Scottish Government has made it clear that we do not believe that vaccination certification should ever be a requirement for any key services or in settings where people have no choice over attendance – for example, public transport, education, access to medical services or shops. We continue to hold to that position.

“But we do consider that a limited use of vaccine certification could help to control the spread of the virus, as we head into the autumn and winter.

“For any decision of this nature to have an impact before winter, we would have to take and implement it quickly.”