Related video: Boris Johnson announces he is self-isolating
Boris Johnson has urged the public to strictly adhere to the Covid rules despite having attempted to dodge self-isolation through a new testing pilot scheme offered to ministers.
The prime minister and Rishi Sunak have now agreed to self-isolate after coming into contact with Sajid Javid, amid outrage that government officials were given the choice to to avoid quarantine. Both men initially said they planned to take daily tests instead of self-isolating.
“I really do urge everybody to stick with the programme and take the appropriate course of action when you’re asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace,” the prime minister, who will be isolating at Chequers, said.
The chancellor said he recognised “that even the sense that the rules aren’t the same for everyone is wrong” and said he would be quarantining.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of political events on Sunday as senior members of government wait to hear whether they will spend their self-described “Freedom Day” tomorrow behind closed doors.
PM could be hit by ‘pingdemic’ as Javid tests positive for Covid
Boris Johnson could join the hundreds of thousands caught by the “pingdemic” and told to self-isolate, after health secretary Sajid Javid revealed he has tested positive for coronavirus.
It is understood that Mr Javid held a lengthy meeting with the prime minister in 10 Downing Street on Friday, just hours before “feeling groggy” in the evening.
He underwent a rapid-turnaround lateral flow test on Saturday morning, which said he was suffering from Covid-19 infection, despite having received two vaccine jabs. The health secretary later said on Saturday evening the results had been confirmed by a PCR test.
The positive result sparked a new Covid scare at the heart of government.
But as our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports, face-to-face meetings inside Downing Street are routinely conducted in accordance with social distancing guidelines, so it is possible that the PM may avoid being identified as a contact.
Here is the story:
Lib Dems say Javid infection boosts case to delay unlocking
The Liberal Democrats are arguing that Sajid Javid’s positive test underlines the case for the government to rethink its plans to unlock fully from Monday.
The party’s health spokeswoman, Munira Wilson, said: “This shows no-one is safe from this deadly virus.
“By easing all restrictions with cases surging, they are experimenting with people’s lives.
“Right now, they are pursuing a strategy of survival of the fittest, where the young and clinically vulnerable will be left defenceless.”
Boris Johnson pinged after contact with Covid-positive Sajid Javid – but exempt from self-isolation
Boris Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak have both been contacted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of health secretary Sajid Javid after he tested positive for Covid – but the pair will avoid self-isolation under a “daily contact testing” pilot scheme.
Here is the breaking story:
Nigel Farage to host new GB News show
Nigel Farage is to front a new primetime show on GB News as the right-wing TV start-up struggles to pull in viewers.
The former Ukip leader will present an hour-long programme simply called Farage from Monday to Thursday.
He currently presents a Sunday morning show on the channel but will receive a more high profile slot which producers hope will plug a gap in ratings.
Here is more on the story:
Jenrick defends testing pilot scheme offered to PM to avoid isolation
Robert Jenrick has defended the Covid testing pilot that has allowed Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to avoid self-isolating.
The housing secretary told Sky News the scheme offered to senior members of the government was also available to 20 organisations, including Border Force and Transport for London, and would allow them to continue carrying out “important government business”.
He said a special testing centre had been set up in Downing Street and added that it was still a relatively restrictive regime since the PM and chancellor would need to avoid social gatherings and stay at home when they were not carrying out government meetings.
Government considers extending vaccines to children
Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick has said the government is considering extending the Covid vaccine rollout to children.
Speaking about the issue on Sky News, he said: “We will be taking advice from the JCVI [Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation], we haven’t yet received their final advice, on whether to extend the vaccine rollout to children.
“That seems like a sensible thing to do and so we will be looking carefully at their advice when we receive it, we expect it very soon, on whether or not we should open the vaccine programme, in the first instance, to those children who are just short of their 18th birthday, to those children who have particular vulnerabilities, and those children who are in households where there are people who are particularly vulnerable.
“That seems like a sensible way for us to proceed but ministers will need to make that decision when they are armed with the final advice from the JCVI.”
Government treating public with contempt over PM’s ‘pinging’ – Rayner
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has criticised the government after it was announced that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak do not have to self-isolate despite being contacted by NHS Test and Trace after Sajid Javid tested positive for Covid-19.
She wrote on Twitter: “Sorry for the unparliamentary language but this just takes the p***.
“Not following the rules that they created and which they expect my constituents to follow.
“This government treats the public with contempt and think they are above the law and that the rules don’t apply to them.”
Ashworth criticises ‘VIP lane’ for PM who escaped self-isolation
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, has criticised what he said was a “special rule, an exclusive rule” for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, who do not need to self-isolate despite being pinged by the Covid Test and Trace service.
The Labour MP said the public “will be saying to themselves that this looks like one rule for them, and something else for the rest of us”.
Speaking to Sky News, he continued: “Nobody understands how you can get access to this special treatment, this special VIP lane where you don’t have to isolate yourself.
“If it is a pilot, why can’t employers apply for their workforce to be members of this pilot.
“Why can’t schools be part of this pilot test?
“I really do think a lot of people are going to be looking at this and thinking, what on earth is going on?”
PM right to unlock on Monday despite rising infections, says former deputy PM
Damian Green, the former deputy prime minister, has said the government is right to push ahead with unlocking fully tomorrow despite rising infections.
Speaking to Sky News, the Tory MP for Ashford in Kent said: “We’re not out of the woods yet, infections are rising.”
But he added: “It is a good idea to continue with Monday’s unlocking, because as Chris Whitty said, if not now, when. This is the best time of the year to do that. But nobody should think we’re on a one way path to unlocking if we don’t all behave sensibly.”
