Is Boris Johnson’s authority on the line over ‘freedom day’ gamble?

With Covid hospitalisations set to soar, Adam Forrest asks whether the public will keep on listening to the prime minister’s public health messages after lockdown ends in England on 19 July

The PM’s promise of an ‘irreversible’ opening up will be tested (PA)

Boris Johnson had hoped that announcing the end of England’s Covid curbs would be a moment of triumph; a chance to herald the glorious day lockdown is lifted forever and life can get back to normal.

But instead, our usually care-free prime minister appears fretful. Officials at Downing Street are anxious about the risks which lie ahead once controls end on 19 July. There is no talk of “freedom day” inside No 10.

The prime minister claimed only last week that the link between coronavirus infections and hospitalisations had been “severed”. But the government’s modelling shows the number of seriously ill people in hospital from Covid is set to soar again this summer.