Chancellor: Two-metre review to be announced next week

The review into whether the two-metre social distancing rule in England will be relaxed will be announced this week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said.

Boris Johnson is expected to make an announcement next week on pubs, cafes, restaurants and hotels – with their reopening in England an ambition from July 4 to start reviving the economy.

He is under pressure from leaders of the hospitality sector and his own MPs to lessen the two-metre rule, which aims to slow the spread of Covid-19 but places major constraints on businesses.