Boris: Our Route To Freedom ... In Baby Steps

PM reveals cautious three-stage lockdown exit plan ● Go back to work if you can ● Partial school return from June ● Exercise all you like and green light for driving distances

- Macer Hall

Boris Johnson unveiled a three-stage strategy to ease Britain out of lockdown last night.

In a televised address to the nation, the Prime Minister set out a “slow and gradual” plan with tentative steps towards returning society to normal over the next three months.

His road map will see businesses reopen, workers back to their jobs and children heading into schools. But he insisted his plan was conditional and could be delayed if a new national Covid Alert System showed any sign of the infection rate soaring again.

In the first stage of his game plan, Britons will be permitted to take unlimited outdoor exercise, sunbathe in parks and drive to the countryside or beaches from this Wednesday.

Golf courses and tennis courts will also be allowed to reopen for members of households to play together and anglers will be allowed to return to riverbanks.

In the next two stages to his plan, schools and shops could begin reopening next month, followed by restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining spaces in July.

But Mr Johnson warned that social distancing measures will remain in force for the foreseeable future with increased fines for those who flout the rules.

The PM said: “Thanks to you we have protected our NHS and saved many thousands of lives. And so I know, you know, that it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike.

“We must stay alert. We must continue to control the virus and save lives.”