Boris Johnson’s mixed messages mar ‘independence day’

Editorial: It is unfortunate that the guidance from ministers has been confusing, which has not been helped by the prime minister appearing to endorse the bending of the rules by his chief adviser and his father

At least our prime minister seems to take coronavirus seriously – and indeed he has some personal experience of how serious it can be

You might be tempted to think that Boris Johnson has a cunning plan. That the government is deliberately trying to confuse people as it eases the lockdown, so that most people will decide that it is not worth the trouble of exercising their restored freedoms because they cannot be sure what the rules are.

That way, Mr Johnson ensures the most gradual shift to more and more economic activity while claiming that the government has done its bit to save jobs and livelihoods. At his news conference yesterday, the prime minister seemed to be running scared of his decision to allow the reopening of pubs and restaurants, and warned people not to overdo it.

Welcome to 4 July, Independence Day in the United States, a country that stands as a warning to the world. If we think Mr Johnson is confused, we should be grateful that he is not as similar to Donald Trump as is sometimes claimed. At least our prime minister seems to take the coronavirus seriously – and indeed he has some personal experience of how serious it can be – whereas President Trump, with his anti-science, free-association monologues, does not seem to have a beginner’s grasp of the situation. The US is a huge country, and the states have considerable autonomy on matters of public health, but even so the quality of leadership from the White House has been lamentable.