Nicola Sturgeon swipes at government secrecy as ministers admit coronavirus 'exit plan' won't be unveiled for TWO WEEKS

Ministers admitted their lockdown 'exit strategy' will not be unveiled for at least two weeks today amid claims they are dodging decisions because Boris Johnson is off work.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps gave the extraordinary timescale despite mounting pressure to show how the country can get out of the crisis threatening to tear the economy to shreds.    

Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab of being 'reluctant' to sign off a plan while the PM is still recuperating from his own infection at Chequers.  

Nicola Sturgeon fueled the row this morning by insisting she will 'treat the public like grown ups' by unveiling her own 'framework' next week for how lockdown could be phased out. 

But Mr Shapps suggested there might not be clarity from the UK government for another fortnight, saying that was when medical and scientific advisers have been asked to present their options.  

He told LBC radio: 'We've said now that this three-week period will contain a review by the scientists at the end of this month, so that's actually only two weeks away, whilst they'll be reviewing this.

 

'And I hope we'll be in a position to provide, well I know we'll be in a position to provide, greater clarity.'

Announcing in Downing Street last night that the draconian curbs will stay for at least another three weeks, Mr Raab said there was 'light at the end of the tunnel' and the outbreak was coming under control.

But he rejected calls for an 'exit strategy' to be unveiled now, amid fears that the public would assume the restrictions are about to be lifted. 'We are being as open as we responsibly can at this stage,' he said.  

Speaking on the BBC's Coronavirus Newscast podcast last night, Sir Keir said: 'I think that throughout this they've struggled with taking decisions quickly enough...  

'It feels as though they've been in a position probably for a week or 10 days now where it's been difficult for the Government to make big decisions. And I think there's a bit of that lying behind this as well. 

'I suspect, although I don't know, that Dominic Raab is just reluctant - he probably does know that it's time for an exit strategy - but he's probably reluctant to sign it off without the Prime Minister and I think there's a bit of that in the mix.'  

On another helter-skelter day in the coronavirus crisis: 

• China has revised its coronavirus death toll in Wuhan province upwards by 50 per cent, fuelling suspicions it has covered up the scale of the outbreak; 
• London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Londoners to wear facemasks despite doctors warning that they can actually make people more likely to get infected; 
• A survey of thousands of care homes for ITV has revealed that 42 per cent report coronavirus cases, amid fury at shambolic testing and a lack of PPE for staff; 
• A think-tank has warned the government's watchdog might have underplayed the potential hit to the economy from lockdown, as it assumed there would not be permanent damage to capacity; 
• The UK announced 861 more deaths from the coronavirus, taking the total number of victims to 13,729.  But the rising number of cases remains stable, with just 4,618 positive tests in the past 24 hours resulting in a total case count of 103,093.  

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