As long as the definition of a ‘key worker’ is this vague, the UK won’t go back to work until it’s too late

As confusion spreads, even businesses designated ‘essential’ are having problems enticing people back to work, writes Janet Street-Porter

Supermarkets can be open – but if we go to the hardware shop and buy a can of paint, will Plod stop us on our way home? (Getty)

It’s clear the government seems determined to treat the public like children, to keep us in the dark about when and how lockdown might end. I’m amazed that (to date) public reaction has been so docile.

In some polls, up to 80 per cent of those questioned say they would not feel safe going back to normal life at the present time, while half of respondents accept restrictions might be in place well into June.

We’ve become cowed and fearful. If there’s a “light at the end of the tunnel” (according to Sir Patrick Vallance, chief scientific advisor), then please can we be shown the way out of the darkness? One group of people who do not want the current situation of gloom, despair and darkness to continue a day more than necessary is the business community.