Rishi Sunak has heaped pressure on Boris Johnson to ease the two-metre social distancing rule amid a major Tory revolt.
The Chancellor indicated his support for loosening the guidelines as he answered questions from Conservative MPs last night.
Mr Sunak highlighted warnings from business about the dire consequences of the limit, and pointed out dozens of countries have already relaxed it to one metre. He said he was ‘sympathetic’ to concerns that sectors of the economy cannot get up and running until the situation changes.
The intervention came amid signs that the PM is preparing to shift on the crucial issue, with Downing Street sources saying he ‘instinctively’ wants to free up business but fears a second peak. It is understood several other Cabinet ministers are pushing for an overhaul soon.
MPs and businesses warn that keeping the restriction in place could sink tens of thousands of businesses. Campaigners say it stops schools reopening properly while pubs and restaurants fear going bust.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured visiting a John Lewis store in London yesterday) indicated his support for loosening the guidelines as he answered questions from Conservative MPs
The World Health Organisation recommends a one-metre restriction – guidance followed by countries such as France, Denmark and Singapore.
However, most of the government’s scientific advisers are thought to want to stick to two metres until infections fall further.
Mr Sunak held a 90 minute session with the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers yesterday where he is said to have backed calls to slash the two-metre rule. He warned that 3.5million jobs could be lost unless people start going back to shops.
Former Tory Cabinet minister Damian Green insisted other countries had managed safely with one metre.
‘I would combine it with much greater mask-wearing,’ he said. ‘If we don’t do this it will be the end for many pubs and restaurants.’
Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said: ‘The number one and single most important priority to unlock the economy is getting the distance down to one metre.
‘The difference between one and two metres is the difference between opening the economy properly and seeing it bump along at the bottom without being able to bounce back. The hospitality sector simply can’t make a living at two metres.
‘It’s restrictive at one metre but at least they can come close to making it work. And it’s impossible to run public transport properly at two metres.’
Anger has been growing on the Conservative benches at Mr Johnson, with one MP branding his leadership ‘pitiful’.
A Tory source told MailOnline gloomily: ”’Oh dear” is pretty much our approach to government at the moment.’
In a round of interviews this morning, Local government minister Simon Clarke admitted the social distancing decisions were ‘challenging’.
‘We are at the two-metre point now. That’s what the best available guidance supports,’ he said.
‘Obviously, we continue to keep this under active review.
‘We all recognise how limiting two metres is. We are not blind to the very severe challenges it poses. Not just for schools, but for the wider economy.’
He added: ‘We are trying to act on the basis of the best available guidance that we get, and that this is intrinsically a very challenging decision for us to make.
‘We do need to be confident before we make any such announcement that it is the right thing at the right time.’
The British Retail Consortium said many shops would be unable to make money under a two-metre rule, while the British Coffee Association said one metre would make operations for coffee shops ‘more manageable’.
The intervention came amid signs Boris Johnson is preparing to shift on the crucial issue, with Downing Street sources saying he ‘instinctively’ wants to free up business but fears a second peak
Professor Robert Dingwall, a leading member of the Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, said: ‘I have been arguing for several weeks in support of reducing the physical distancing requirements from two metres to one metre.
‘There is good evidence from the physical sciences that any difference in risk between these distances is minimal – and that one metre still leaves a safety margin.
‘Indeed there are situations in which it could probably safely be reduced if contacts are relatively brief or indirect.
‘Moving to one metre would allow four times as many people into any given space, contributing greatly to the re-opening of schools and the general revival of economic activity.’
Campaigners have warned that delay in relaxing the limit could thwart Mr Johnson’s drive to reopen schools fully by September.
The more schools that open, the more parents would be able to go out to work.