Boris Johnson to host press conference tonight about ‘freedom day’

Boris Johnson will hold a press conference at 6pm tonight where he will reveal his plans to either go ahead with or delay the famed ‘freedom day.’

Rumours of the country’s official ‘reopening’ on June 21st have been rife for days after it was claimed the Prime Minister was in talks to delay the final easing of restrictions by up to four weeks.

The Times broke the story last week, reporting that the Prime Minister was considering pushing back the lockdown easing by as much as four weeks, with Rishi Sunak reportedly accepting a delay in the roadmap.

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This came after a spike in cases across the country fuelled by the Delta variant which accounted for 91% of all new cases, health secretary Matt Hancock claimed. 

During tonight’s press conference, the Prime Minister is set to announce extending support like furlough for businesses that can’t reopen, such as nightclubs.

He is also expected to lift the current restrictions on wedding guests – which currently stands at thirty – regardless of his decision to push back the June 21st easing.

Johnson is also expected to allow more seated outdoor sporting and cultural events to take place with large crowds, in what is thought to be an attempt to avoid more criticism.

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For the lockdown easing to go ahead as normal on June 21st, four key tests have to passed, as outlined by the government in March.

The four tests are: if the vaccine deployment programme is continuing successfully; whether vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospital admissions and deaths in those vaccinated; if infection rates risk a surge in hospital admissions which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS; and whether the government’s assessment of the risks is fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern.

By Step 4, which will take place no earlier than June 21st, the government hopes to be in a position to remove all legal limits on social contact.

No10 is planning to hold the press conference at 6pm this evening, though that time could change.