Boris Johnson has said that the government will have a clearer idea of the threat posed by the Covid variant originating in India “in a few days’ time”. He said there was not enough evidence available to justify changing policy now. But that was the position “at the moment”, he said, and his comments implied that there could be an announcement in the near future about a revision to the current plan to lift all Covid restrictions in England on 21 June. (See 12.54pm.) The return of local lockdowns in England would trigger a huge public backlash and inflame community tensions, MPs have warned, as ministers said restrictions could remain in Covid hotspots next month. A nurse who cared for Boris Johnson when he was gravely ill with Covid-19 says she has handed in her resignation, such is her disillusionment with the “lack of respect” shown by the government for the NHS and healthcare workers. Dominic Cummings has said he will release a key document on Covid decision-making in government when he appears in front of MPs next week as part of their inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. UK employers who were getting ready for the easing of lockdown started hiring again in March, driving down unemployment for a third consecutive month, according to official figures. Labour has accused ministers and advisers of treating “the public purse as a personal cashpoint”, saying a spate of recent reports about alleged conflicts of interest highlighted the need for a truly independent arbiter of the ministerial code. Equality campaigners, politicians and scientists have warned that ministers could end up stoking divisions by suggesting that the increases in Covid cases in Bolton, Blackburn, and Erewash are due to vaccine hesitancy in certain communities. Britain is expected to be put on a “white list” of countries from where tourists will be accepted into the EU, but holidaymakers may still be required by cautious governments to quarantine and take Covid-19 tests. The UK will have stepped back from its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty if it goes ahead with plans to increase its nuclear arsenal, the civil servant who was in charge of the Foreign Office until last autumn has warned. Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, has told a Lords committee that the UK wants the EU to agree to a New Zealand-style equivalence deal on food standards to reduce the needs for checks on goods going from Britain to Northern Ireland. This is from my colleague Lisa O’Carroll.
That’s all from me for today. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.