Hugging family and friends allowed from next week, PM to say

HUGGING friends and relatives will be allowed from next week as long as people use their common sense, Boris Johnson will say tomorrow.

The Prime Minister is due to set out the next stage of lifting restrictions from May 17 at a Downing Street press conference.

Mr Johnson is likely to say that everyone should use their “personal judgment” and their “common sense” when it comes to hugging friends and family after May 17, Number 10 sources said.

The news will be a relief for millions of people who have not hugged anyone for months due to lockdown measures.

The Prime Minister will also confirm changes set out last week that care home residents in England can now go on low-risk trips – such as to relatives’ gardens or a local park – without having to self-isolate for 14 days when they return.

Mr Johnson will confirm that while funerals can take place from May 17 for up to 30 mourners – a month earlier than planned – the rules for weddings and “other life or commemorative events” will remain unchanged.

This means that couples will still only be able to invite up to 30 people to a wedding and indoor reception from May 17 until June 21 when the rules are due to be lifted altogether.

There is concern in Whitehall about a large backlog of weddings that have been unable to take place during the pandemic. In Worcestershire alone more than 2,000 couples are now waiting to tie the knot.

Ministers discussed the problems at a meeting with industry leaders last month. One idea is for an army of temporary registrars to be hired to carry out the weddings and stop couples having to wait for months to get married.

There are also concerns that some families will get round the rules by asking people to gather in pubs, as long as they are socially distanced.

The UK Weddings Taskforce – which speaks for the weddings industry – said that it had “become increasingly aware of couples being unable to book registrars over the summer period due to local authorities not having capacity”.

It added: “Although we appreciate that there is an obvious backlog of people waiting to get legally married which has a direct impact on the Registration Service nationwide, it is also critical to acknowledge that the repercussions of not being able to take any more bookings for the industry as a whole will be far-reaching.

“We have sent details and solutions directly to the Cabinet and request they give local authorities the structure and support to allow couples to get legally married.”

The Local Government Association denied there was a backlog insisting there was simply “a high demand but this is different to people waiting for a service”. It called for a requirement that two registrars should be present at ceremonies to be relaxed.