Government ‘absolutely open’ to delaying England's June 21 unlocking – Hancock

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in London for his appearance on The Andrew Marr Show (Victoria Jones/PA)

Ministers are “absolutely open” to delaying the June 21 unlocking in England if the Delta variant - sometimes called the Indian variant - worsens the country’s coronavirus recovery prospects, the UK Health Secretary has said.

Matt Hancock, in what will be viewed as the clearest indication yet that the target date for lifting all restrictions could slip, stressed that June 21 was a “not before” date and that it was only “pencilled in” as the next step out of lockdown.