Groups of up to six people can meet outside from Monday, June 1, Boris Johnson has said.

Speaking at the Downing Street press conference today (May 28) the Prime Minister said the gatherings would be permitted in gardens and other private outdoor spaces, as long as those from different households continued to stay two metres apart.

He said this meant families would be able to see both sets of parents or grandparents at once.

But people should continue to minimise contact with others and to avoid mixing with several different households in quick succession.

Also on Monday, outdoor retail and car showrooms could reopen, and a fortnight later on June 15, other non-essential retail outlets could open, a long as the much touted ‘five tests’ were met and shops were ‘Covid-secure’.

People should not be inside the homes of their friends and families, unless it is to access the garden, he added.

The Prime Minister said it was hoped to do more to return to a more normal way of life in the coming weeks, based on the scientific data saying this was safe.

But he warned there will be ‘further local outbreaks’ and said the brakes will be put on as required and measures reimposed.