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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson ditches 2-metre rule for '1-metre-plus' in England
UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson ditches 2m social distancing rule for '1m-plus' in England
(32 minutes later)
Members of two households in England will be able to meet from 4 July; English pubs, restaurants and hairdressers to open from same date. Gyms to stay closed. English schools to fully reopen in September
English pubs, restaurants and hairdressers to open from 4 July; gyms to stay closed. English schools to fully reopen in September
Johnson is responding to Starmer.
Labour’s Dame Diana Johnson asks why pubs are opening ahead of the full opening of schools.
He says the scientists think this will not cause a second wave.
Boris Johnson says he wants the economy to open in a Covid-secure way. He claims school reopening in schools is ahead of what is happening in some other European countries. He says Johnson should encourage her Labour colleagues to encourage pupils to go back.
On local government, he says his government will support them and give them what they need.
Labour’s Ben Bradshaw asks why it is taking two weeks to scrap the disastrous quarantine policy.
He says he does not think any other country in the world has done as much to support business.
Johnson says the government does not want to see infection brought in from abroad.
On track and trace (as Johnson calls it - it is now officially called test and trace), he claims that no country has a properly-functioning app.
Sir Graham Brady, the Conservative chair of the 1922 Committee, asks for an assurance that air bridges will be in place by 4 July.
(That is not a claim that countries using test and trace apps would accept.)
Johnson confirms that this is being looked at.
And Johnson suggests that Starmer has now performed a U-turn, because Starmer is now saying it is safe for children to return to school.
Johnson says two theories have been advanced to him as to why there are so many outbreaks in meat processing plants. One says the cold is responsible. Another says it is staff congregating together.
Starmer can be seen shaking his head. (He has never accepted the Johnson characterisation that he was against children returning to school.)
Miriam Cates, a Conservative, asks if this announcement means people can ask friends and family help with childcare.
Starmer asks for assurances that Johnson has the support of Sage.
Johnson says it does mean that.
He asks for assurances about test and trace.
Gary Streeter, a Conservative, asks if the government will support the tourism sector through the winter.
Labour wants more detail and more clarity. But it welcomes this, he says.
Johnson says he is looking at what can be done. He urges tourism areas to roll out the welcome sign for visitors.
Sir Keir Starmer is responding to Johnson.
Anna McMorrin, the Labour MP, says cooperation between the four nations has ended. Cobra has not met for weeks. She says Johnson should follow the example of the Labour government in Wales.
He says, when he became Labour leader, he said he would support the government if it was doing the right thing.
Johnson repeats his call for the Welsh government to rethink the five-mile rule.
He says, although Labour will look at the details, overall it supports what Johnson has announced. He says he thinks the government is trying to do the right thing.
Richard Graham, a Conservative, asks if schools and FE colleges will be able to go back normally in September.
Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story on the announcement from Johnson.
Johnson agrees. He says that is what he wants.
Johnson says there are bound to be flare-ups, as we have seen in other countries.
Johnson says the government wants to get the prevalence of coronavirus down so much that shielding is no longer needed.
The government will crack down on them locally, and will not hesitate to reintroduced national measures if necessary, he says.
Andrea Leadsom, the Conservative former business secretary, says there has been a national outpouring of support for the elderly. But the young have not had the same help. What is being done for people with babies, like himself?
A new optimism is palpable, he says.
Johnson says he is doing fine.
But it would be too easy for coronavirus to return. That is why the government is trusting the people to be careful.
He says wraparound childcare is coming back in the summer.
Johnson says schools in England will reopen in September for primary and secondary school pupils in full.
Here is the Downing Street press release about the PM’s announcement.
He says, after the toughest restrictions in peacetime history, the government is now making it easier for people to see friends and family, and to go to work.
The SNP’s Ronnie Cowan asks Johnson to condemn firms abusing the furlough scheme.
Johnson says pubs and hairdressers will be allowed to open up in England from 4 July.
Johnson says he will look at this issue. But he says the furlough scheme has been a success. There is nothing like it around the world, he claims.
Some other services, like nail bars, will be allowed to open if they can do so in a safe way, he says.
(That’s not true according to the IFS, which has said the UK’s coronavirus economic bailout is not exceptional by G7 standards.)
He says people from one household will be able to stay overnight at another.
Gareth Johnson, a Conservative, asks Johnson to encourage people to “do their patriotic best for Britain” and go to the pub.
And he says campsites will be allowed to open, provided washing facilities and toilets can be kept clean.
Boris Johnson says people understand the risks. He wants to see people in shops and enjoying hospitality. But they must do it in a responsible way.
But indoors facilities, like gyms, bowling alleys and waterparks, will have to stay closed, he says.
Labour’s Tracy Brabin asks for an assurance that councils will get all the money they need to keep their areas safe. And why are meat processing plants presenting such a risk?
But the government will work with the sector to look at how they can open up.
Johnson says the government is looking at the meat processing plant issue.
It will work with orchestras and choirs to look at how they can start performing again.
The Conservative Damian Green asks Johnson to ensure that messages in future are as clear as possible.
And he says places of worship will be allowed to reopen for prayer and services and even weddings for a maximum of 30 people, subject to social distancing.
Johnson says the British people have shown massive common sense so far. He is sure that will continue.
Johnson says the government cannot lift all restrictions at once.
Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says people crave competence. Yet this government wasted money on a failed app. What assessment has been made of the risks of these measures provoking a second peak that the NHS cannot handle.
He says it is making balanced judgement.
Johnson says he has his doubts about the five-mile rule in Wales.
But it is also trusting people.
But he says he agrees on the need to protect against a second outbreak. He says he thinks the government can now use “local whack-a-mole” to deal with local outbreaks.
From now on, people will be asked to follow guidance, instead of law.
Sara Britcliffe, a Conservative, asks what can be done to allow pubs to use outdoor space. And she invites Johnson to visit one of her local pubs.
From 4 July two households will be able to meet up inside in England, Johnson says.
Johnson jokes there is not an area of the country that he does not intend to visit.
But he says the government is recommending that multiple households don’t meet up indoors.
Greg Clark, the Conservative chair of the science committees, asks if the ban on cricket is coming to an end. It is our most socially distanced sport, he says.
Johnson says the virus’s only interest is in recapturing ground vacated by people.
Johnson says the problem with cricket is that “the ball is a natural vector of disease”. He says he has discussed this with his advisers, and they are looking at how the game can be made covid-secure.
So the only certainty is, the fewer contacts, the better, he says.
Johnson says the expert say that the risk from “one metre plus” is broadly similar to the risk from two metres once the mitigating factors are taken into account.
Johnson says he can now ease the lockdown further in England.
At every stage caution will be his watchword, he says.
Johnson says two-metre social distancing rule to go from 4 July.
He says he ordered a review of this. He will publish it this week.
The government is now recommending a “one metre plus” rule.
That means staying at least one metre apart, and taking other mitigating measures too.
Guidance will be issued to firms as to what these measures should be.
Johnson says the Covid-19 alert level has been downgraded from four to three.
The administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will respond to this in their own way, he says.
But all parts of the UK are moving in the same direction.
Johnson says the pandemic has inflicted lasting damage.
But yesterday the rolling average of daily deaths stood at 130.
He says the government does not believe there is currently a risk of a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS.
Johnson says from the outset the government has trusted “in the common sense and perseverance of the British people”. That trust has been rewarded, he says.
The number of new infections is falling by between 2% and 4% every day.
A month ago, one in 400 people had coronavirus. Now it is one in 1,700.
He says the public threw a human shield around the NHS, and the NHS has protected us.
Boris Johnson is making his Commons statement now.
He starts with condolences to the family and friends of the three men killed in the Reading park attack.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, has now given what is effectively a three-minute warning ahead of the PM’s statement.
(He has to suspend business for a short period to allow MPs to leave the chamber in a socially distanced way and new MPs to come in.)
