Raab: ‘Transition needs to happen’

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said it is a “sensitive moment” as Britain eases lockdown measures – but the country has to transition.

From today, groups of up to six people will be able to meet outside in England as long as they observe social distancing as part of efforts to fight coronavirus.

Mr Raab said: “This is a sensitive moment.

“We can’t just stay in lockdown forever. We have got to transition.”

Asked whether the lockdown will be tightened again if infection rates increase, Mr Raab told Sky News’s Ridge On Sunday: “We will target, if there is any uptick, and it could be in a locality... we will target very carefully measures that would apply to it so that we can take these steps butalsokeepcontrolofthe virus.”

Referring to a government adviser, Mr Raab said: “As Jonathan Van-Tam... has said, with a precarious moment we can ease up, we can protect life, but also livelihoods, get life back to something resembling normal, but we must monitor it very carefully.

“If there is any up-tick in the number of cases, if we stop making the progress I described, we will have to take further measures again and target the virus.”

Chairman of the foreign affairs committee and Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said he understands the public’s frustrations over the Dominic Cummings situation.

Mr Cummings, the PM’s key adviser, travelled from London to Durham with his wife and child during lockdown.

Asked about Mr Cummings, Mr Tugendhat said: “Of course I’m sidestepping it, the reason I’m sidestepping it is because I’m not in government... I’m not going to defend the government.

“The prime minister has made his decision. You know, you can see the effect of it, you don’t need me to tell you, you can see how people have reacted to it and I’ve written to the people I’m privileged enough to represent to give them my views.”

Asked what he told his constituents, Mr Tugendhat said: “I said I can understand the frustration but it is fundamentally up to the prime minister.”

A poll for The Observer by Opinium found support for the Conservatives had fallen to leave them just four points ahead of Labour, and the paper said the Tory lead has fallen by eight points in the past week alone.

The poll also found 81% of voters thought Mr Cummings broke the lockdown rules.

Dominic Raab