Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Boris Johnson could speed up lockdown easing to ‘save the summer’

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They say history is written by the winners. But if the fate of slave trader Edward Colston’s statue is anything to go by – torn down and pushed into Bristol Harbour – then history gets rewritten by each generation. Boris Johnson will surely never have to worry about a Boris Johnson statue going up or coming down again. How will history remember his handling of the coronavirus crisis? There is renewed scrutiny over whether the PM moved the nation into lockdown too slowly in March, and reports suggesting he is keen to move us out of lockdown as quickly as possible. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the pandemic.

Inside the bubble

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick on what to look out for today:

The row over Jacob Rees-Mogg’s attempt to bar older and shielding MPs from contributing in parliament – sorry, to restore physical voting and speeches – will resurface when the Lib Dems lead an emergency debate. Before that, the lesser-spotted Priti Patel faces her first Home Office questions since the U-turn over the surcharge paid by NHS and care workers, but with fears remaining for those with visas running out.

Daily briefing

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID THIS SUMMER: Today sees the government’s 14-day quarantine rules for new arrivals come into effect. While it may shut off some international tourism, Boris Johnson appears eager to re-open more of the domestic economy. According to The Sunday Times, the PM is considering cutting social distancing to one metre to allow more businesses to trade again. The newspaper claimed the PM said “Christ” when told 3.5 million jobs could be lost if pubs and restaurants weren’t open for summer. A group of ministers dubbed the ‘Save Summer Six’ has apparently been tasked with getting the economy up and running by July. According to the FT, pubs and restaurants could reopen as soon as 22 June. Elsewhere, one of the Sage scientists, Prof John Edmunds, said the delayed lockdown in March “cost a lot of lives” – but also claimed “poor” data made the decision harder.

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER: Places of worship are set to be allowed to re-open for “private individual prayer” from 15 June. But senior Imam Qari Asim has advised mosques to stay closed. The chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board said the plan “lacks clarity” and reopening mosques next week would “cause more challenges”. Meanwhile, Matt Hancock has claimed every care home in England has received coronavirus tests. But Labour claimed the health secretary had rowed back on a promise for all residents and all staff to be tested by 6 June. Elsewhere, England’s Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has warned children in care are at greater risk during the pandemic because of rules stripping back inspections. She told The Independent the pandemic rules, in place until September, “should be revoked now – I don’t think they are necessary or justified”.

SUBVERSIVE MATERIAL: Home secretary Priti Patel said the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue was “utterly disgraceful”, while Johnson said on Twitter he thought the Black Lives Matter protests had been “subverted by thuggery”. Hancock warned that protesting “risks lives” since it increases the likelihood of virus transmission. The health secretary received more criticism for refusing to acknowledge racism as a British problem: “Thankfully, this is all based in response to events in America rather than here.” Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said Hancock’s remarks showed “real ignorance”. Meanwhile shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said she was “very proud of those young people who are coming out and speaking up” – but suggested demonstrators should try to follow social distancing guidelines.

RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN: A majority of Minneapolis City Council has decided the city’s police department would be dismantled. Nine of the 13 councillors issued a statement saying a “new model of public safety” would be set up in the city where George Floyd was killed. With Donald Trump having a relatively quiet weekend, it was left to Republican senator Rick Scott to cause a stir. He accused China of attempting to thwart the development of a coronavirus vaccine in the West. Scott said there was evidence of sabotage from “our intelligence community”, but offered no details. Beijing issued a new statement defending its response to the outbreak, claiming Chinese officials had briefed US counterparts about it as early on 4 January.

CRY DANGER: Pope Francis has warned Italians to not let their guard down against coronavirus now that infection rates have fallen, urging them to obey government rules on social distancing and wearing masks. “Be careful. Don’t cry victory too soon,” he said during his St. Peter’s Square address, departing from his prepared text. “Thank God, we are leaving the worst part, but always by obeying the rules that the authorities have stipulated.” Italy has moved into the final phase in lockdown restrictions, but some Italians have been seen flouting rules on social distancing and wearing masks in public places – leading to warnings of a second wave.

JIG OF JOY: New Zealand has eliminated transmission of the coronavirus and will now lift all lockdown measures except for border controls, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said. Public and private events, retail and hospitality and all public transport could resume without social distancing norms still in place across much of the world, she said. The prime minister said she “did a little dance” when told the last person suffering from coronavirus had made a full recovery. “While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone ... Thank you, New Zealand,” Ardern told reporters.

On the record

“I think it requires you to take an active stance – you cannot be silent in the face of racism and police brutality.”

Labour’s Lisa Nandy on the Black Lives Matter protests.

From the Twitterati

“This is Robert Clive’s statue off Whitehall. Clive was described by historian William Dalrymple as “unstable sociopath” who conquered much of India.”

Owen Jones points out other colonial-era statues…

“Think this is incitement for criminal damage, @metpoliceuk? Suggest you pop round to his place pronto.”

…prompting former UKIP politician Suzanne Evans to report him to the police.

Essential reading

Rachel Shabi, The Independent: Keir Starmer, it’s time to stop playing Captain Sensible

Alastair Campbell, The Independent: Albania beats the UK’s coronavirus response – just ask my barber

Andrew Rawnsley, The Guardian: The coronavirus crisis won’t give Boris Johnson an alibi for a calamitous Brexit

Zak Cheney-Rice, New York Magazine: Two weeks in George Floyd’s America

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