Portrait of the week: Boris does press-ups, pubs reopen and Leicester locks down

Home

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said he was ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’ and did press-ups to prove it, as he announced infrastructure initiatives to counter the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. With a slogan ‘Build, build, build’, he made a speech in Dudley promising £1.5 billion for hospital improvements and planning changes to make loft extensions easier. Pubs were allowed to open from 4 July, after a fashion, with table service, as were restaurants. Churches could hold services without singing and newlyweds were told to wash their hands after exchanging rings. The government was poised to announce that from 6 July British travellers to France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Greece would not have to be quarantined on their return; but Greece refused to allow direct flights from Britain until at least 15 July.

After Leicester saw a rise in cases of Covid-19, schools and non-essential shops there were closed by order of the Secretary of State for Health, and pubs and restaurants prohibited from reopening. At the beginning of the week, Sunday 28 June, total deaths from Covid-19 stood at 43,514; a week earlier the total had been 42,589. Police dispersed hundreds at parties on Clapham Common and Tooting Bec Common. Earlier, 15 had been arrested as crowds celebrated for a second night the victory of Liverpool in the Premier League; part of the Liver Building was set on fire. Mary Catterall, aged 102, recovered from Covid-19 at a care home in Warrington.

Sir Mark Sedwill agreed to relinquish in September his posts as cabinet secretary, head of the civil service and national security adviser. The general secretary of the senior civil servants’ union, the FDA, said: ‘No. 10, or those around it, has sought to undermine Sir Mark and the leadership of the civil service, with a series of anonymous briefings.’