The way Boris Johnson has eased lockdown sends all the wrong messages | Stephen Reicher

The reduction of the 2-metre rule in England tells people we're out of the woods, and they'll behave accordingly

• Stephen Reicher is a member of SPI-B, the Sage subcommittee advising on behaviour

At the last daily press conference on Covid-19, Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, pleaded with the public: If people don't take mitigation seriously, if people hear a distorted version of what's been said - that says this is all fine now, it's gone away' - and start behaving in ways that they normally would have before this virus happened, yes we will get an uptick for sure. So it is absolutely critical that people stick to the guidance that has been given."

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