Coronavirus: What are the views among ministers on lifting the lockdown?

Decision about when to ease restrictions will prove critical to the UK’s recovery, Lizzy Buchan says

Ghost town: a nearly deserted Oxford Street in London (Getty)

The UK has entered its fourth week of lockdown with no end in sight for the sweeping restrictions imposed on the nation to combat the coronavirus.

Boris Johnson originally promised a three-week review of the measures but the deadline expired on Monday without a clear sign of the government’s next move.

Behind the scenes, officials and ministers are trying to come up with a plan to allow the UK to return to a semblance of normality once the peak of the pandemic passes.