England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty has denied ever telling Boris Johnson that life will return to normal by Easter.
At this evenings Downing Street press conference Professor Whitty was asked by a reporter about the claim, often repeated by the Prime Minister, and he said “I don’t recall I ever personally said it was by Easter.”
In an interview with ITV News Mr Johnson claimed in December that: “Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, set a sort of terminus of 5th April – Easter – when he thought things would be much, much, much better.”
Explaining the time frame he did give for when coronavirus restrictions could be lifted he said “I always said that I thought there was a reasonable chance things would be a lot better in the spring.
“I don’t recall ever personally saying it was by Easter, in public, but the PM may have quoted me saying that rather generously.”
After warning that even though he expects life to be “substantially better than they are at the moment” lockdown restrictions would not be fully lifted by then.
Spring is defined by the Met Office as March, April and May
