Boris Johnson addressed a disheartened nation this evening to lay out the four-week delay to the final lifting of lockdown restrictions. 

“Now is the time to ease off the accelerator”, said the PM, as he postponed the 21 June freedom date, meaning capacity limits will remain in venues including pubs and cinemas and nightclub doors will stay firmly shut.

More than 70 per cent of adults in the UK have already had their first vaccine, while just over 50 per cent have had both jabs. But according to Johnson, the NHS needs “a few more crucial weeks to get the jabs into the arms of the people who need them.” By 19 July, our new unlocking date, the government is aiming to vaccinate the entire adult population, and to give double doses to two thirds.