People in England can keep going to the beach, No10 declared today - despite fears crowds risk a new coronavirus outbreak.
Heaving scenes on Bournemouth Beach yesterday prompted the council to declare a major incident - and warn people not to travel to Sandbanks.
But No10 said today that in general, as long as social distancing rules are followed, people do not need to stop going to the beach in England.
And Downing Street passed the buck to councils, not the government, to issue any direct orders to close popular spots.
Matt Hancock claimed last night "we have that power" to shut beaches entirely.
Yet today Downing Street rowed back on his comments. A No10 spokesman said: "I believe Matt Hancock, when he spoke, was referring to the powers to impose localised lockdowns.
"We have been clear throughout [they] may need to be the case if we see case numbers rise in a particular area."
When it comes to directly shutting beaches, he added: "Local authorities are best-placed to make these decisions on a case-by-case basis."
Any local lockdowns could close schools, shops and public spaces like beaches - but crucially, they would likely only come after a spike in the number of cases.
Asked if beaches should be closed pre-emptively, the spokesman repeatedly said it was for "local authorities" to decide.
Boris Johnson today warned people against "taking liberties" with social distancing rules, saying it could lead to a "serious spike" in infections.
Speaking during a visit to a restaurant in east London ahead of an easing of lockdown on July 4, the Prime Minister said: "If you look at what's happening elsewhere in the world where people have been coming out of lockdown.
"I'm afraid what you're also seeing is people taking too many liberties with the guidance, mingling too much, not observing social distancing.
"So in some parts of the world - I won't name them - you have got spikes, really serious spikes, in the instance of the disease.
"So it is crucial that people understand that on July 4 we get this right, we do this in a balanced way."
No10 also stood by Boris Johnson's claims this week that coastal resorts should "show some guts" and "roll out the welcome mat."
"The PM's words speak for themselves," the spokesman said.
"We want people to be able to enjoy the open space that we have in this country and take exercise where they need it.
“But we also at the same time need to ensure that we’re following the social distancing guidelines that e have set out on a number of occasions.”
Asked if the Tory leader took any responsibility at all for the scenes in Bournemouth, the spokesman said: "We published the roadmap in May that set out the government’s plan for the easement of lockdown.
“As the PM and other ministers have said repeatedly, we want people to be able to enjoy outside spaces and we want them to be able to go to and enjoy leisure facilities such as the beach.
“But we’ve also been clear we need to ensure we don’t see case numbers start to rise again, and therefore we continue to ask people to abide by the social distancing guidelines."
Thousands travelled to the coast and packed out the beach, flouting social distancing guidelines as they squeezed together in the 33C temperatures.
The overcrowded beaches caused chaos along England's coastline - despite authorities pleas to stay away as the UK's official coronavirus death toll tops 43,000.
Environment Secretary George Eustice warned there is “clearly an increased risk” for people packing Bournemouth Beach and it was of "concern".
But he said the government is "very reluctant" to shut beaches - saying it would only happen if absolutely necessary.
And he predicted the hordes of people would reduce once this week's hot weather begins to cool down.
Local MP Tobias Ellwood, speaking from Bournemouth beach, said: "This place was deluged and social distancing went out the window and that's why a major incident was declared, because the local authority and indeed the police couldn't cope."
He told BBC Breakfast: "The beach should have been closed down, or at least shut down to prevent further people from entering it.
"We need to learn from this and recognise that if we're going to be serious about tackling this pandemic then we need to be swifter in being able to provide support to local authorities who are unable to cope."
