The Chair of a Tory lockdown-sceptic group has urged ministers to lift all Covid-19 restrictions by the end of May. Mark Harper, who chairs the Covid Recovery Group (CRG), which is made up of lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs, aid he thought the Government could "get rid of restrictions completely" by the end of May.
But it comes amid fears the virus could still go through some communities "like wildfire" - as take-up of vaccinations in some hotspots was as little as 50%.
And while Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said last night that the UK was probably past the peak of infections, he said they remain "incredibly high" - and could rise quickly - plunging the NHS "back into trouble extraordinarily fast".