Johnson hopes to be back next week
Boris Johnson is planning to return to No 10 as early as Monday to take back control of the coronavirus crisis amid Cabinet concerns the lockdown has gone too far. The Prime Minister has told aides to schedule catch-up meetings with individual Cabinet ministers next week to get him fully up to speed. He will return at a critical time, with the country more than a month into lockdown, and ministers are relying on him to inject fresh impetus into plans for an exit strategy. Senior
Cabinet ministers are concerned that a prolonged shutdown will inflict irreparable damage to the economy. There are clear signs that businesses and the public are growing tired of the lockdown, with increasing numbers of firms reopening and car use on the rise. The pressure to set out the route out of lockdown grew this week as Nicola
Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, revealed
Scotland’s plans for dealing with the virus, having said politicians should treat the public like grown-ups. Sturgeon said Scottish people must prepare for multiple lockdowns ‘‘with little notice’’ being reimposed for at least the rest of this year. She said the ‘‘horrendous reality’’ was that British people must brace themselves for repeated cycles of infection. So far, all four parts of the UK have acted in tandem, and Sturgeon – who attends coronavirus response meetings of the Cobra emergency committee – has frequently announced UK-wide policies before Westminster confirms them. –