Boris Johnson news: No ‘perfect way’ to end lockdown, Whitty warns as Scottish and Welsh leaders attack ‘shambolic government’

PM says he would not take the knee: ‘I don’t believe in gestures’

Boris Johnson has said he would not take the knee, a symbol of support for Black Lives Matter protests, saying he does not believe in such “gestures”.

Speaking on LBC on Friday morning, the prime minister said, “I do not believe in gestures, I believe in substance.”

“I don’t want people to be bullied into doing things that they don’t want to do,” he added – saying police officers had been pressured into doing it.”

Extend furlough scheme, says Anneliese Dodds 

Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called on the chancellor to extend furlough arrangements to areas forced into local lockdowns and offer targeted support for businesses and sectors threatened with mass redundancies as his job retention scheme winds down

“Today we call on government to lay out plans to extend support schemes for business and people in areas like Leicester that are forced into local lockdown,” she said.

She said extended schemes could as a “economic sandbags” to make sure a second wave of coronavirus doesn’t “wash away” jobs.

Calling for a “back to work” budget, Dodds said the government must abandon its “one size fits all” approach to the withdrawal of business support schemes like the furlough.

“What we have now is an exit, not a strategy.”

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds (The Labour Party)

PM refuses to comment on father breaking travel advice

Boris Johnson – asked on LBC if he was disappointed in his father Stanley for jetting off to Greece during lockdown – the PM said: “You should ask him [Stanley]. I’m not going to get into family conversations.”

“I’m not going into any details ... I’m very pleased that the overwhelming majority of the nation have understood what needs to be done.”

Gyms to reopen in ‘couple of weeks’, says PM

Boris Johnson has revealed gyms will be able to reopen in a “couple of weeks”.

Speaking on LBC, the prime minister said: “We are going to reopen gyms as soon as we can do it in a Covid-secure way and I think that the date for reopening gyms at the moment, if we can do it, is in just a couple of weeks’ time.”

He also vowed to try to get theatres going “as fast as we possibly can”.

|Johnson told host Nick Ferrari he’s got a Florence Nightingale face mask that he wears when he has to, saying it made him look like “Hannibal the Cannibal” and looks “pretty scary”.

‘I love China’ says PM – but promises to ‘stick up for our friends in Hong Kong’

Boris Johnson has vowed to “stick up” for Hong Kong citizens’ “right to freedoms” during his LBC interview.

“I’m not a Sinophobe. I love China – I’ve been to China several times … It’s a great rising power. China is going to be part of our lives for the rest of our lives. So let’s not get things out of proportion.”

He added: “But there are serious issues. Hong Kong is a very special place … We have to stick up for our friends in Hong Kong. We have to stick up for their right to freedoms, their rights to association, to free speech.”

Describing his path to citizenship offer for those with British national (overseas) status as a “powerful signal of our loyalty and our support” – but said he couldn’t say how many Hong Kongers may come to Britain. “I can’t give you a figure.”

He added: “They’ve proved to be fantastic contributors to society. They’re brilliant, highly educated.”

Boris Johnson speaking to Nick Ferrari (LBC)

White House-style press briefings on the way

Boris Johnson has confirmed plans for Downing Street to televise daily press briefings with Westminster journalists.

The PM told LBC: “People have liked a more direct, detailed information from the government about what is going on - and I think that they’ve actually particularly liked our brilliant scientific and medical advisers, possibly more than the politicians to be frank.

“We do think that people want direct engagement and want stuff from us, and so we’re going to have a go at that.”

XR should be ‘jumping for joy’ at our climate policies, says PM

Boris Johnson said Extinction Rebellion (XR) should be “jumping for joy” at his government’s climate change policies.

“Look at our plans for a green recovery, look at the amazing things we're going to do to get this country making wind turbines, making batteries, the ambition I announced for a ‘jet zero’ - to be the first country to produce a zero-emission long-haul passenger jet,” said the prime minister on LBC.

“I mean, Extinction Rebellion should look at some of the things this government is doing to tackle climate change and support us.”

‘Huge relief’ for travel sector following quarantine easing

The travel sector has largely welcomed the government’s plan to lift quarantine restrictions for people returning to or visiting England from destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and Germany from July 10.

Travel trade organisation Abta said: “The government announcement today that lifts quarantine restrictions for returning passengers from 10 July in England will be greeted with huge relief by the travel industry, which can now plan ahead and take summer holiday bookings.”

Huw Merriman, who chairs the Commons’ transport select committee, said: “The aviation sector, tourism industry and UK economy will be relieved by this news and we welcome it.”

PM will ‘inevitably face public inquiry, says Starmer

Labour leader Keir Starmer said that an inquiry into Boris Johnson’s government's handling of the coronavirus crisis was inevitable.

“I think an inquiry is inevitable,” Starmer told Sky News. “There will be an inquiry in due course.”

“At the moment, I think it is important that we focus on the job in hand,” he said when asked why he was not calling for an immediate inquiry.

Asked about his assessment of the government’s handling, he said: “Too slow, asleep at the wheel and they really need to up their game.”

On Johnson, he said the prime minister was good at rhetoric but poor at governing. 

The PM said during his LBC interview this morning that it wasn’t the right time for an inquiry.

PM does like some gestures, suggests David Lammy

After Johnson indicated he wouldn’t take the knee for Black Lives Matter as he didn’t believe in “gestures”, Labour MP David Lammy responded: “Says the man who brandished a smoked kipper on stage in the Tory leadership hustings which led to him becoming Prime Minister.”