Boris Johnson reasserts authority as PM as he rebukes Nicola Sturgeon

Boris Johnson tries to reassert his authority as Prime Minister of the entire United Kingdom as he sets out lockdown exit plan and rebukes Nicola Sturgeon for repeated criticism of government strategy

• Boris Johnson tonight unveiled lockdown exit strategy in address to the nation
• PM set out plan to reopen UK economy in phases – but only if virus battle allows  
• The PM confirmed ‘stay at home’ mantra is being ditched for ‘stay alert’ slogan
• Nicola Sturgeon condemned the move saying old advice will remain in Scotland 
• Tories have accused SNP of trying to exploit the crisis to fuel separatist desires
• PM rebuked Ms Sturgeon and said he is ‘Prime Minister of the United Kingdom’
• Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Boris Johnson tonight tried to reassert his authority as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as he set out his lockdown exit strategy and rebuked Nicola Sturgeon. 

The First Minister of Scotland had earlier launched a furious attack on Mr Johnson for dropping the ‘stay at home’ lockdown mantra as she insisted she will keep using it for Scotland.

She complained she had not been informed the slogan was being replaced with ‘stay alert’ before it was briefed out to the media. 

Addressing a briefing in Edinburgh after attending Cobra, she said she had demanded that the Westminster government does not deploy the new guidance in Scotland.

But Mr Johnson tonight made clear in his address to the nation that ultimately it is his decision how the four home nations respond to the crisis as he formally announced the new slogan. 

He said: ‘I have consulted across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK, and though different parts of the country are experiencing the pandemic at different rates and though it is right to be flexible in our response I believe that as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, there is a strong resolve to defeat this together.

‘And today a general consensus on what we could do. And I stress could. Because although we have a plan, it is a conditional plan.’    

Ms Sturgeon had delivered a brutal swipe at the PM earlier as she warned ‘people will die unnecessarily’ if progress against the disease is ‘squandered’ by ‘easing up too soon or by sending mixed messages that result in people thinking it is OK to ease up now’. 

She said the message north of the border was ‘stay at home, full stop’. 

Meanwhile, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said he would be telling people that ‘if you are not out of your house for an essential purpose… staying at home remains the best way you can protect yourself and others’. Northern Ireland will also not use the new Westminster information campaign. 

But Mr Johnson made specific reference to the UK as he ended his address to the nation by saying: ‘And though the UK will be changed by this experience, I believe we can be stronger and better than ever before.

‘More resilient, more innovative, more economically dynamic, but also more generous and more sharing. But for now we must stay alert, control the virus and save lives.’ 

The open row came as senior Tories accused the SNP of exploiting the crisis in a ‘tasteless’ bid to fuel its independence campaign.   

Boris Johnson this evening set out his lockdown exit strategy as he delivered a rebuke to Nicola Sturgeon 

After almost two months of lockdown, Boris Johnson has set out what he called ‘the first sketch of a road map for reopening society’.

Here are the key points: 

From Monday, people who cannot work from home are being actively encouraged to go to work instead of being told to only go if they must.

But they should avoid public transport if at all possible.

From Wednesday, people are being encouraged to take unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise and even play sports, but only with members of their household.

Visiting and sunbathing in local parks will also be allowed as will driving to other destinations.

But social distancing rules will still have to be obeyed with bigger fines for those who break them.

Primary schools may begin to reopen by June 1 at the earliest along with the phased reopening of shops.

But secondary schools are not expected to reopen before the summer holidays. 

Some pubs, restaurants, hotels and other public places could begin to reopen in July at the earliest ‘if and only if the numbers support it’.

A new Covid Alert System is being set up determined mainly by the reinfection rate and the number of cases.

The alert levels will be one to five and the higher the level, the tougher social distancing measures will have to be. 

The PM said the UK had been in Level Four but ‘we are now in a position to begin to move in steps to Level Three’.

Level one would mean coronavirus is no longer around while Level Five would be the NHS being overwhelmed by a fresh outbreak. 

Ms Sturgeon said Scots will now be free to exercise outdoors more than once a day. 

But she insisted the next steps in lockdown must be ‘very cautious and very careful’.

‘We mustn’t squander our progress by easing up too soon or by sending mixed messages that result in people thinking it is OK to ease up now,’ she said.

‘Let me be very blunt about the consequences if we were to do that. People will die unnecessarily. And instead of being able to loosen restrictions hopeful in the near future we will be faced instead with having to tighten them.’

Earlier, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday it was the right time to ‘update and broaden’ the message to the public. 

‘I think that’s what the public want and that they will be able to understand this message, which is that we should be staying home as much as possible but when we do go to work and go about our business we need to remain vigilant, we need to stay alert,’ he said. 

‘And that means things like respecting others, remaining two meters apart, washing your hands, following the social distancing guidelines because the virus continues to be prevalent, too many people are still dying of this and we’re going to have to live with it for a long time.’ 

Pressed if there is a danger the message is too woolly, Mr Jenrick said: ‘Well I hope not. ‘We need to have a broader message because we want to slowly and cautiously restart the economy and the country.’ 

Mr Jenrick went on: ‘We’re not going to take risks with the public. I understand people are anxious about the future but we want now to have a message which encourages people to go to work. 

‘Staying home will still be an important part of the message but you will be able to go to work and you will in time be able to do some other activities that you’re not able to do today.’ 

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said today that the advice will ‘broaden out’ but ‘stay at home’ will continue to be a key element

Scots can exercise more than once a day 

Scots will be allowed to take exercise more than once a day from tomorrow, Nicola Sturgeon has announced – but they still cannot sunbathe. 

The First Minister revealed the move as she took the daily briefing in Edinburgh this afternoon. 

‘From tomorrow, that once a day limit will be removed,’ she said. 

‘If you want to go for a walk more often, or to go for a run and also a walk later on in the day then you can now do so.’ 

The First Minister added that the extension did not apply to those who have symptoms or are living with someone who is showing symptoms, or those who are in the shielding group. 

Ms Sturgeon said it was to be used for exercise only and should not be used for ‘sunbathing, picnics or barbecues’. 

She added: ‘The fact that you’re allowed to exercise more than once is definitely not a license to start meeting up in groups at the park or at the beach. 

‘Doing that really does risk spreading this virus.’ 

There were signs early last week that the government was putting together major moves towards easing the lockdown. 

However, the ambitions have been scaled back, with Mr Johnson his most senior ministers – Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock – having thrashed out a limited strategy on Wednesday night, fearing that the country’s infection rate is still too high.

Even so, the tweaks unveiled by Mr Johnson are set to provoke splits in the UK’s approach, with each nation having devolved powers.    

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she had ‘no idea’ what the new guidance meant. 

‘That is not a change that we would agree with. I think the First Minister was really clear last week that the ”stay at home” message was the right message and if I’m perfectly frank, I have no idea what ‘stay alert’ actually means,’ she told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland. 

She added: ‘We’re asking the public to do a very great deal here and the least we can do is be consistent and clear in the message that we’re sending and stay at home is the right message.’  

Vaughan Gething, health minister for Wales, said there had not been any agreement or discussion of the UK Government’s new ‘stay alert’ slogan with the other nations. 

‘I’ve seen the media briefings and changed message for England. There has not been a 4 nations agreement or discussion on this,’ Mr Gething tweeted. 

‘The @WelshGovernment message has not changed. Stay at home and if you do go out observe the social distancing rules. #StayHomeSaveLives’. 

Along with the new mantra, Mr Johnson used the TV address to the nation at 7pm to announce a DefCon-style five stage alert system to describe the country’s outbreak condition.

The UK is currently at the second most serious rating of four – meaning most of the lockdown must be maintained. 

With evidence increasingly suggesting the virus spreads far less readily in the open air, the once-a-day limit on outdoor exercise has been dropped.

The focus has now shifted to getting businesses up and running where possible, with detailed guidance for firms on how they should operate, and garden centres allowed to open from Wednesday where two-metre ‘social distancing’ rules can be put in place.  

Breaches of the more nuanced rules will be enforced with harsher fines, amid complaints from police that the enforcement so far has been ‘wishy washy’. 

Boris Johnson is scrambling to defend the decision to ditch the blanket ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’ slogan, amid furious opposition from Nicola Sturgeon

Mr Johnson (pictured in Westminster last week) will use a TV address to the nation at 7pm to announce a DefCon-style five stage alert system to describe the country’s outbreak condition

Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said the SNP was using the ‘most inappropriate of circumstances’ to debate Scottish independence while Covid-19 continues to claim lives. 

Mr Carlaw said: ‘There will always be the odd Nationalist willing to push the independence argument even under the most inappropriate of circumstances. 

‘A considerable number of very senior SNP politicians are using the Covid-19 crisis to push their selfish separatist agenda.

‘It’s tasteless, inconsiderate and extremely ill-judged.

‘Nicola Sturgeon must be embarrassed by these interventions. She should order a stop to them right away.’   

The Tories said the SNP’s Joanna Cherry, MP for Edinburgh South West, said last week that the virus could provide the opportunity for a ‘major rethink’ on independence strategy.  

They also highlighted Stirling MP Alyn Smith, who told The National newspaper that SNP members should establish ‘what the Covid-19 outbreak means for independence’, adding that ‘the case for independence in Europe is stronger than ever’. 

MP Pete Wishart tweeted that ‘indy will take off again’, while his colleague Angus MacNeil stated it would be ‘naïve’ for the SNP to stop campaigning on separation.

At Holyrood, SNP backbencher James Dornan said ‘imagine what we could achieve’ if Scotland was independent by the next time a global health emergency occurs.  

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