Boris Johnson has said Britain can look forward to "brighter days ahead" as the country celebrates Easter.

In his Easter message, the Prime Minister acknowledged it had been a "very tough" year, but said the holiday brought fresh optimism.

"This has been a very tough 12 months. But, as ever, the arrival of Easter brings with it new hope," he said.

"And, this year more than ever, it brings the promise of brighter days ahead for us all."

His optimism was echoed by the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who wrote in The Sun: "The old has gone, the new is here. Renewal begins now."

Mr Johnson acknowledged coronavirus restrictions meant many Christians would again be unable to celebrate their most important festival in the way they would wish.

However, he paid tribute to the way in which they had shown the teachings of Christ and the message of his death and resurrection "permeate through every aspect of daily life".

"That's why I've lost count of the number of church leaders and congregations that have stepped up to support us all in these very challenging times," he said.

"Millions of Good Samaritans, each of them showing what loving thy neighbour as thyself really looks like in 21st century Britain.

"And having done all that during the darkest days of the pandemic, churches across the UK are now helping us light the path out of it by opening their doors as vaccination centres. It's really, very moving to see it."