Sajid Javid has said that seeking to ensure that life can return to normal after the pandemic “as quickly as possible” will be his most immediate priority as the new health secretary. (See 10.58am and 2.33pm.) Given some of his previous comments, there is speculation that Javid will be more comfortable easing Covid restrictions than his predecessor, Matt Hancock, who was seen as more cautious on this front than some of his cabinet colleagues. (See 12pm.) Boris Johnson has been criticised for allowing Hancock to wait until Saturday evening before resigning, instead of sacking him on Friday morning, when the Sun revealed he had broken Covid restrictions by kissing an aide in his office. (See 8.21am and 9.16am.) Labour’s Lucy Powell said that Johnson had “a very dangerous blind spot when it comes to issues of integrity and conduct in public life”. Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, has said that Hancock made the right decision by putting the national interest first and resigning. But Labour has criticised Lewis for saying that Hancock deserved “credit” for the move. (See 11.22am.) The government will be launching an internal investigation into how CCTV footage of Hancock was leaked, Lewis has said. (See 8.46am.) Labour has demanded an investigation into reports that Hancock used a private Gmail account to conduct government business. (See 12.20pm.) Brandon Lewis has said that the EU must back up its words about showing flexibility on the Northern Ireland protocol with actions. He told the Andrew Marr show: We’ve got to make sure that we are delivering for people in Northern Ireland, that we get the flexibility so that people in Northern Ireland have the same experience as they would anywhere else in the United Kingdom in terms of being able to receive products and goods. Now that’s a two-way thing and the EU needs to show the flexibility that they keep talking about. Prof Sir Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), has said that it would be a mistake for the government to lift all remaining restrictions for England on Monday 5 July (a week tomorrow). The government has held open the option of going ahead with full lockdown easing on 5 July, but it has said that 19 July is the most realistic date. A final decision is due to be announced tomorrow. Asked if he would back full re-opening on 5 July, Horby told the Marr show: No, I wouldn’t do that. I think it was a very sensible move to put it back by four weeks and I don’t think we should rush into anything. Andrew Marr, the BBC presenter, has revealed that he got a “nasty” bout of Covid after attending the G7 summit, despite being fully vaccinated. The Independent has the full story. That’s all from me for today. Thanks for the comments.