National Chair John Apter has appeared on ITV’s flagship programme Good Morning Britain and Sky News (Monday 29 March) to emphasise the need for clearer guidance from the Prime Minister and devolved Governments after lockdown restrictions in England began to ease today.

The Chair was on Good Morning Britain as part of a discussion group which included Susan Michie, a professor of health psychology at UCL and part of SAGE, and Dr John Lee, a former pathologist and critic of lockdown. 

Mr Apter said: “There are obviously differences between the English rules and those from the Scottish and Welsh governments, so there is some confusion, and there will be, and we’re used to that. The problem is that this causes frustrations and my colleagues bear the brunt of that out on the streets.” 

On Sky News, Mr. Apter highlighted the need for clear guidance and said: “There’s been an awful lot of confusion about what’s happening, and that is why I am calling on the Prime Minister and the devolved governments to be crystal clear on the guidance.” 

Mr Apter also renewed his call for police officers and other frontline workers to be prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine, saying: “We have some large scale events coming up in the coming months where hundreds, if not thousands, of police officers will be deployed around the country and yet none of them are being prioritised for the vaccine. It’s a real betrayal by the government.”  

From today, the lockdown restrictions are: 

• You can meet outdoors either in a group of 6 (from any number of households), or in a group of any size from up to 2 households (a household can include an existing support bubble, if eligible) 

• You can take part in formally organised outdoor sports with any number of people (outdoor sports venues and facilities will be able to reopen) 
• Childcare and supervised activities are allowed outdoors for all children 
• Formally organised parent and child groups can take place outdoors for up to 15 attendees. Children under 5 will not be counted in this number 

Watch the full interviews below