UK coronavirus live: pubs and hair salons reopen in England as lockdown eases – latest updates

The Prime Minister’s father, Stanley Johnson, has defended his decision to travel to Greece during the coronavirus pandemic.

Stanley Johnson posted a picture on social media of himself arriving in the country wearing a face mask, and said he was visiting on “essential business” because he needed to “Covid-proof my property” ahead of the letting season.

He was widely criticised for travelling via Bulgaria to avoid travel bans on direct flights from the UK.

Asked about social media posts, Johnson senior told reporters on Saturday: “I didn’t put them up… in a spirit of defiance, or anything like that.”

Asked if he had put his son, the Prime Minister, in a difficult position by travelling to Greece, Mr Johnson senior said: “I have read his answers and he is absolutely right to say… that, you know what… and I think… I am not going to talk about private conversations between family members… and, I am absolutely not going to talk about that.”

Referring to airbridges between the UK and other countries, the PM’s father said: “Let’s open this airbridge as quick as we can. People are longing to get here and this is a country which has everything.”

He added: “I am not going to say whether my actions were correct or not, but in any case what happened, happened. How wonderful it would be if, quite quickly, if the two governments could come to some arrangement?”

Boris Johnson has refused to condemn his father for flying to Greece in apparent breach of Foreign Office guidance to avoid non-essential travel.

“I think you really ought to raise that with him. I am not going to get into details of family conversations,” he said on LBC.

Hi everyone, I’m Molly Blackall, taking over the blog for a while.

If you spot something we should be reporting on in this blog, you can drop me a message on Twitter. Thanks in advance!

And here’s our story on Farage’s behaviour:

There has been some dispute on social media (not for the first time) over a tweet posted by Nigel Farage.

The Brexit party leader shared this image of himself with a pint earlier, alongside a boast that he was the first drinker into his local.

Is was subsequently observed, however, that Farage should have been in quarantine, after recently returning from the US having been part of Donald Trump’s sparsely attended rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Farage, perhaps recognising he was in a pickle, hit back:

That didn’t stand up for long, given that Trump’s rally was on the evening of 20 June 20, exactly two weeks ago.

In the latest instalment, all taking place on Twitter, the Lib Dem leadership candidate Ed Davey has announced he’s reporting Farage to the police.

“I’ve written to Kent police asking them to investigate whether Nigel Farage has broken quarantine rules. He was in the USA on the evening of 20 June but was out and about earlier today. Millions of people have had to abide by the rules, and he should as well,” Davey wrote.

Roads in south-west England were “very, very busy” as lockdown restrictions eased on Saturday, with holidaymakers flocking to the region, PA Media reports.

Traffic cameras and pictures posted on social media showed busy service station car parks, congested motorway carriageways and caravans making their way towards the coast.

Travellers were urged to avoid peak times, while police asked caravan owners to check their vehicles before setting off to prevent hold-ups.

As well as roads in the South West, a broken-down vehicle at junction 25 of the M25 caused traffic to build as Londoners tried to make their way out of the capital.

Devon and Cornwall police and Dorset police’s roads policing teams tweeted:

The roads are wet and very, very busy heading in to Devon and Cornwall.

We’re out in force trying to keep things moving but please keep a safe distance.

Theme parks including Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures have begun a phased reopening as lockdown was eased significantly in England today.

In many cases, to allow for social distancing, theme parks are asking guests to pre-book a ticket online to guarantee entry, so as they can restrict the number of visitors each day. Hygiene and safety measures are in place.

Guests will have their temperature checked on arrival, empty rows and seats will be left on rollercoasters and enhanced cleaning will be carried out throughout the day, including to ride seats and restraints.

Guests at Chessington are also encouraged to bring and wear a suitable face covering, with securely fitted face masks mandatory on some rides. At Thorpe Park, you will need to bring one, and everyone over the age of six must wear one on certain rides. For water rides they recommend you remove them “in case they get wet”.

Here’s a report from Sky News.

Our Jason Rodrigues is in Soho, which looks quite lively with many bars, cafes and restaurants open for business.