PM set to rule out early easing of lockdown as Javid wants out ‘as soon as possible’
Boris Johnson is expected to tell MPs today that there will be no early easing of coronavirus restrictions, as ministers discuss the last stage of the roadmap and Sajid Javid makes his first appearance in the commons.
MPs are to hear the decision in a statement, which may be delivered by the new health secretary, who said in his first comment to broadcasters on Sunday that his top priority was a return to “normal” “as quickly as possible.”
Javid has long been an advocate for the easing of lockdown restrictions, will be “be extremely reluctant to support an extension… He’ll be looking and seeking to justify ending it as soon as possible,” a source told The Telegraph.
A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed last week that a decision on whether the easing of coronavirus restrictions would be brought forward from July 19 would be made today, and said: “We will set out very clearly to the public the rationale for the decision we’ve made.”
The debate in the commons is likely to be heated, after Labour criticised Boris Johnson’s handling of Matt Hancock’s exposed breaking of social distancing guidelines and affair with an aide, revealed in leaked CCTV last week.
Sajid Javid was appointed by Boris Johnson on Saturday evening, shortly after Matt Hancock resigned from his post as health secretary.
The government decided to extend the fourth and final stage of its roadmap out of lockdown by four weeks from June 20 to July 19, in order to give the NHS more time to vaccinate the UK population.
According to the latest NHS data, more than 4.4m people in the UK have now received their first dose of the vaccine – 84 per cent of the adult population.
Over 3.2m people, or 62 per cent of the adult population, have now received their first dose in the UK.
This figure is likely to increase significantly later today as vaccine numbers from the weekend are counted.
All over-18s in the UK were able to get a Covid-19 vaccine without an appointment at hundreds of walk-in centres across the country on Saturday and Sunday.
234,441 people received their first dose on Saturday, according to the latest government data.