Alok Sharma, who has recovered from his illness and his negative coronavirus test which caused a scare last week, took the 5pm press conference.
He wanted to speak about shops in England, but messed it up
Sharma made the common error of Downing Street press conferences - forgetting he was talking to the whole of the UK.
So, when he spoke about “High Streets up and down the country springing back to life” from next Monday he actually meant only in England.
In Scotland and Wales most retail shops are still shut, they are opening on Friday in Northern Ireland.
The Minister used the stuck needle tactic under questioning
Whenever confronted on why the government would not relax the two metre distance rule, considered essential for pubs and restaurants to re-open and operate profitably, the Business Secretary gave a repeated, wooden reply.
He said: “We will keep this under review and it will only change when it is safe to do so.”
He would not move one centimetre on his two metre line
Even when told the difference between a one metre distance rule, as is common in European countries, and two metres is one million jobs in hospitality, he stuck to the line.
“When it is safe to do so we will see if it safe to move to a shorter distance. Other countries have moved to shorter distances of course they are further along the road map. We keep all of these things under review.”
How do we change the two metre rule?
Pressed on what the science Health and Safety Executive chief executive Sarah Albon said reducing the number of infections as well as the rate of transmission is key to altering the two-metre rule.
She gave the complicated version: “It requires a view both of the chance of the infection being passed on but also the prevalence in society, because that mix of how many people in the population have got this illness combined with what’s a safe distance gives you the probability of something being passed on.”
What did Alok Sharma have say about that?
“We do keep this issue under review and will make any changes when it is safe to do so.”
And, that was it. Tuesday’s news conference was one of the shortest yet.
