Matt Hancock today insisted people understand England's lockdown changes and "things are fine" despite a wave of confusion.
The rattled Health Secretary said the exact way the message was put out was "second order" to controlling the threat of coronavirus itself.
And he hit out at BBC Radio 4's Today programme for raising the fact that workers had not known when they should return to work.
But Mr Hancock's response comes despite complaints across the political divide about "mixed messaging" over the roadmap to ease the lockdown.
From tomorrow people in England will be able to take unlimited exercise, drive to beauty spots, sit in the park with one person from another household and play golf, tennis and angling - all while staying two metres away.
A roadmap also lays out how schools and non-essential shops can begin to reopen from June 1, folllowed by some in the hospitality industry from July 4.
But the launch of the roadmap has been hit by a string of rows over confused messaging.
They include:
- England now has different restrictions to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after national leaders disagreed with Mr Johnson.
- The government replaced its "stay at home" slogan with "stay alert", then later explained staying alert includes staying at home as much as possible.
- Dominic Raab said you could meet both parents in a public place from two metres away - but he was incorrect. Only two people, one from each household, may meet in a public place in a socially distanced way.
- Boris Johnson told the Commons last week that changes would be made on Monday, but in fact they are coming into force on Wednesday.
- Boris Johnson said those who can't work from home should return to work "this week". After alarm from unions, it emerged he meant Wednesday - but that only became clear on Monday morning.
- The government said childminders could return to work in England from this week, only to later clarify they will only return from June.
A live event held by the Mirror yesterday was bombarded with hundreds of questions about how the restrictions will be eased.
And a member of the public, Pooja from Solihull, blasted the Prime Minister last night over the "vague" instructions to the public.
While explaining why the instructions were perfectly clear, Mr Johnson briefly switched to speaking French.
Even the former Tory leader William Hague today said Boris Johnson should consider changing his approach.
Lord Hague said the approach of delivering a "straightforward and direct" message paid off in the early day of the battle against coronavirus - but more nuance and detail was needed now.
The Prime Minister has told the country "stay alert, control the virus and save lives" in new messaging, but the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have stuck with the "stay home" message.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hague said Mr Johnson's team deserved credit for their prowess in coining slogans like "Get Brexit Done" and "Take Back Control".
But he added: "Such slogans also have their limitations, particularly when the simplicities of campaigning are succeeded by the complexities of governing.
"Slogans don't work if you have to change them repeatedly, endlessly explain them, or if different versions are employed at the same time."
Mr Hancock clashed over the subject with BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
When told workers were left confused after thinking they had to go back on Monday, only to be told belatedly it was Wednesday, he said: “Well I think if that’s the biggest complaint the Today programme has, then I think things are fine."
He added: "The truth is that people really understand the message, people understand what ‘Stay Alert’ means, it means… er, and people understand that together we need to control the virus, and make sure people follow the social distancing rules.
“But we are able to make some small adjustments that will just make life easier for people, for instance being able to go out and exercise more than once a day is a really important change for a lot of people.”
Part of the complaint was that Boris Johnson made a lengthy TV announcement on Sunday night - but full details only followed on Monday lunchtime.
But Mr Hancock said: "I’m afraid that what matters is the substance of the changes.
"Whether the announcement’s made to the nation on TV or to Parliament, these things are all completely second order when we’re dealing with the biggest public health emergency in a generation."
Labour leader Keir Starmer said yesterday: "There's not consensus either on messaging now or on policy between the UK Government and those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, not something I know he (Boris Johnson) wanted to see.
"But now we're in that position, raises serious concerns, with a real danger of divergence."
