Boris Johnson has set out a three-stage plan to get Britain back to work, abandoning his “stay at home” message and holding out the prospect that schools and parts of the economy could start to reopen before the summer.
In a sharp change of tone, Mr Johnson said in a televised address that, while people should continue to work at home if possible, he wanted those in jobs such as construction and manufacturing to go back to work this week.
Mr Johnson’s shift to a new slogan “stay alert” was strongly criticised by leaders in Scotland and Wales, who complained they had not been consulted. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said she did not know what the slogan meant.