Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Boris Johnson set to drop ‘stay home’ advice

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A new Banksy artwork showing a boy playing with a new favourite action hero, an NHS nurse, has been hung at Southampton General Hospital. The artist left a note saying he hoped it “brightens the place up a bit, even if it’s only black and white”. Boris Johnson is hoping to brighten the mood of the nation by setting out soon – in black and white – how the lockdown will be eased. The PM may have hoped it would be more of a science than an art, but he faces some tricky choices as he finalises which rules can be lifted from Monday. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson assembles his cabinet this morning, with plans on easing Britain out of lockdown to be discussed by ministers. The prime minister will also find time to speak to Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer and other opposition leaders about the coronavirus response. There should be some new ONS analysis on virus-related deaths by occupation and ethnicity, and MPs the home affairs committee will ask Serco and other companies about the treatment of asylum seekers during the crisis.

Daily briefing

HERE COMES THE FIVE-STEPPER: Boris Johnson told the Commons he hoped to “get going” on some easing measures on Monday after he reveals his route map out lockdown on Sunday. Reports this morning suggest the government’s “stay home” slogan will be scrapped, with advice on outdoor activities among the first things to change. According to The Mirror, the PM has a five-step plan to be staggered over the next six months. Step one will see unlimited trips outside for exercise and employees encouraged to return to workplaces which have technically stayed open. Step two (said to be scheduled for the end of May) could see the return of primary schools – and sanctioned meet-ups with an expanded “bubble”. Which is exciting. Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, called on construction work “to begin again wherever it is safe to do so”.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: The PM also pledged to double coronavirus testing capacity to reach 200,000-a-day by the end of May. But the government is under pressure to explain why testing has fallen back: Wednesday marked the fourth consecutive day the 100,000-a-day target was missed. Keir Starmer grilled Johnson on this and much else during their first PMQs together. The PM admitted he “bitterly regrets” the crisis in care homes and was “enraged” by struggles to get PPE to the frontline. But it was the Labour leader’s question on the UK surpassing Italy to reach Europe’s highest death toll – “How on earth did it come to this?” – which stung. Elsewhere, unions have warned Rishi Sunak against winding down the furlough scheme. The Lib Dems have suggested a “tapered” end to the scheme, with the Treasury paying 50 per cent of salaries for the first month once people return to work before the proportion is gradually reduced over four months.

SANCTIONED FOR SPEAKING: The 23-year-old Labour MP Nadia Whittome – who returned to work as a carer during the crisis – said she has been “effectively sacked” for speaking out about the lack of PPE. Whittome, working at Lark Hill retirement village in Nottingham for the past month, claimed operator ExtraCare emailed about her public complaints on protective kit problems and reduced her shifts to zero. The MP said she was “appalled” and said it was her “duty to be honest about the lack of PPE and testing”. Meanwhile, former government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson won’t face any police action for breaching social distancing rules by allowing a visit from his love. Scotland Yard said his behaviour was “plainly disappointing” but ruled out issuing a fine. This despite health secretary Matt Hancock’s rather puritanical suggestion it was “a matter for the police”.

HARD TASK MASTER: Donald Trump has described the coronavirus pandemic as “the worst attack we’ve ever had on our country”. He said it surpassed Pearl Harbour and 9/11 and pointed a finger at China. “It should have never happened. Could’ve been stopped in China … And it wasn’t.” The president also said his White House coronavirus task force will be kept alive. “I had no idea how popular the task force is until yesterday when I started talking about winding down.” US secretary of state Mike Pompeo continued to speculate mischievously on the possibility the virus was man made. “We don’t have certainty, and there is significant evidence that it came from a laboratory,” he said. “Those statements can both be true. I’ve made them both.”

GREEN LIGHT ENVY: The Bundesliga is set to restart in the second half of May after the German authorities gave football matches the green light. Premier League fans can only look on with envy, with clubs in Germany’s top two tiers already back in training. Germany’s federal government and individual states have agreed all shops and some sports can restart under certain conditions, schools will gradually open, and people in two different households are allowed to meet up. States will decide on reopening restaurants, hotels and gymns. “I think we can safely state that the very first phase of the pandemic is behind us,” said chancellor Angela Merkel.

BACK TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE: The Russian defence ministry said it is bringing back army medical workers home from Italy. Moscow had sent about 100 personnel to the stricken country in March – a mission dubbed “From Russia With Love” – but Russia’s own outbreak has got significantly worse in recent days. There were another 369 coronavirus deaths announced on Wednesday, the highest for a week. The minister of culture Olga Lyubimova also tested positive for the virus, becoming the third Russian cabinet member infected. A Levada poll found Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has fallen to 59 per cent, compared with 69 per cent before the pandemic began.

On the record

“This is worse than Pearl Harbour, this is worse than the World Trade Centre. There’s never been an attack like this.”

Donald Trump on the war against the ‘invisible enemy’.

From the Twitterati

“@Keir_Starmer both forensic and courteous. That feels the right combination. #PMQs.”

Robert Peston is among the many pundits calling the Labour leader ‘forensic’...

“Please, I’m begging you, hit up a thesaurus every now and again. Incisive, thorough, methodical, penetrating … ANY ONE OF THESE WILL DO LADS.”

…and Ash Sarkar is among the many lefties getting sick of the word ‘forensic’.

Essential reading

Layla Moran, The Independent: Coronavirus is taking its toll on our mental health – it’s time politics took our well-being seriously

Tom Peck, The Independent: PMQs doesn’t need Keir Starmer to point out Boris Johnson’s stunning inadequacy, but it helps

Helen Lewis, The Atlantic: The pandemic has revealed the weakness of strongmen

Harry Lambert, New Statesman: Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings are trapped with few stories left to sell

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