The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has rejected fresh calls for an early easing of the UK's coronavirus lockdown, saying the outbreak was still at a “delicate and dangerous” stage.
The government is coming under intense pressure from senior Tories to relax the strict social-distancing measures, amid concern at the damage they are doing to the economy.
But Mr Raab, who has been standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he recovers from the disease, maintained the government would proceed “cautiously” in order to avoid a second peak in the outbreak.
He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: "We are at a delicate and dangerous stage. “We need to make sure that the next steps are sure-footed, which is why we are proceeding