There are grounds for cautious optimism about lifting the last vestiges of lockdown

Editorial: Until we have more information about new variants, we remain in a state of limbo

Boris Johnson sees optimism; his scientific advisers demand caution (PA)

It seemed strange that the prime minister and Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, held a Downing Street news briefing to warn about the India variant of coronavirus just before last week’s opening up of indoor pubs and restaurants.

However, the early signs are that they took the right decision to go ahead with the easing of the lockdown. Although that variant does seem to be more transmissible, the latest evidence is that vaccines continue to be effective against it. That means the race to vaccinate the entire adult population remains the overriding priority, and it is possible that the further lifting of restrictions will go ahead on 21 June as planned.

If there were tensions between Prof Whitty and Boris Johnson, then, it may be that the compromise position – if that is what it was – was the right one. This is an instance of a situation in which greater openness might have been beneficial, as has been suggested by Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s former chief adviser. It was notable, however, that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) published the minutes of its discussion about the India variant almost immediately. If that was an attempt to force Mr Johnson to come to the lectern in the Downing Street media centre to sound a note of caution, it was successful. It may be that it will turn out to have been unnecessary, but given the previous pattern of being too slow to respond to new threats there was no harm in erring briefly on the side of timeliness and caution.