Latest restrictions in England ‘could stay in place until Easter’

LOCKDOWN in England could last until the spring, according to detailed regulations published at Westminster yesterday.

The restictions could remain in place until March 31 – six weeks beyond the mid-February date suggested by Boris Johnson on Monday.

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock insisted Covid vaccines would eventually allow Britain to ‘have a great summer’.

MPs, who were recalled to Parliament to debate the latest lockdown last night backed the restrictions by 524 to 16, with most Tory lockdown critics falling into line.

Mr Johnson claimed Britain was in the ‘tough final stretch’ of the battle against coronavirus. He added: ‘After the marathon of last year we are indeed now in a sprint, a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them. Every needle in every arm makes a difference.’

The Prime Minister acknowledged that lockdown powers would stretch until the end of March but said he hoped to start lifting restrictions before then.

He warned there would be no quick end to the draconian restrictions even if the plan to vaccinate the 13million most vulnerable runs to time.

Schools will be reopened first with other aspects of life taking weeks or possibly months to return to normal.

‘Our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping,’ Mr Johnson said.

In a conference call with business leaders last night, the PM acknowledged it was still difficult to get the government machine to respond quickly to the crisis, saying: ‘The British state as a whole, or in parts, in places does have a problem and inability to act and make decisions as fast as I would like.’

But he predicted that the economy would bounce back quickly when the virus cleared – with office workers wanting to get back to their desks after months of working from home.

In an interview with the Spectator magazine, Mr Hancock last night said Britain was now in the final stages of the battle against Covid. ‘We’ve got the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s getting brighter,’ he said.

‘Of course, we’ve got a difficult time between now and then but the vaccine is going to get us out of it... we are going to have a great summer’.

Mr Hancock predicted that some Covid habits, such as wearing masks on public transport, could endure for years – but insisted it would not be mandatory.

However, there was anger among some MPs about a warning from Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty that Covid restrictions may have to return next winter.

Former cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom described Professor Whitty’s comments as ‘very unhelpful’. Mrs Leadsom told the BBC’s Politics Live show: ‘Speculating so far forward without any knowledge about what will happen next Christmas is very unhelpful to the public.’

But Sage committee member Graham Medley said Professor Whitty was right to level with people about the long-term challenge – and said restrictions might be needed ‘next winter or even the winter after’. ‘We’re in for the long haul,’ he said.