Political commentator Tom Harwood said “whatever” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during his coronavirus lockdown speech on Sunday, the left were “ready to spin it as uncaring, unscientific, incomprehensible, or a curious mix of all three”. He said the “partisan politics that was suspended” at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak had now “returned in full force”.

Mr Harwood accused Labour MPs of expressing “faux outrage” and said it was “back to politics as usual”.

He wrote in the Telegraph: “The same Labour MPs who pretended their 2019 Brexit policy was the most straightforward thing in the world to understand are now expressing faux outrage over government communications.

“Perhaps they genuinely feel that the concept of the rate of infection helping determine how much of the economy can open up is somehow wildly incomprehensible.

“Perhaps they are just going along with the crowd. Either way it is back to politics as usual.”

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Mr Harwood also accused Labour leader Keir Starmer of “shifting” his opinions after he criticised Mr Johnson’s roadmap out of the UK.

He said: “The Labour Party have now curiously clearly positioned themselves as the pro-lockdown party, seemingly ready to resist changes in messaging and shifts to any state of affairs that do not resemble house arrest.

“Ironically, Sir Keir Starmer was among the initial few voices to demand a route out of the lockdown in the first place. Now that the Government is doing exactly that, however, Labour’s mood music has shifted.

“The political games were clear to see. Whatever Boris had said on Sunday evening, the Left wing parties were ready to spin it as uncaring, unscientific, incomprehensible, or a curious mix of all three.

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“This became the moment that the lockdown divides truly became partisan.”

It comes after Mr Johnson’s attempts to graudally lift the coronavirus lockdown prompted confusion.

Sir Keir said the government had been issuing conflicting guidance that did not answer the public’s practical questions about going back to work.

He said: “What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance, but at the moment both are in pretty short supply.

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“The Prime Minister said he was setting out a road map, but if we’re to complete the journey safely a road map needs clear directions. So many of us have questions that need answering.

“For as long as this crisis persists I’ll keep demanding answers to these questions because that’s how we get better decisions and better outcomes.

“I remain committed to working constructively with the Government in the national interest.”

Having refused for several weeks to give any indication of how it planned to start relaxing the lockdown, the government opted for a gradual release of information over 24 hours, starting with a televised address by Mr Johnson on Sunday.

On Monday, the government published a 51-page document entitled “Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy”, followed by a series of sector-by-sector documents offering guidance to employers and workers.

The plan includes a staged undertaking to allow businesses to reopen, advice on avoiding public transport and wearing face coverings as well as a 14-day quarantine for most international arrivals.

But a wide range of critics said the details were nebulous and did not help people to know whether they should go back to work, how they would get there and how they could stay safe in the workplace.

Adding to the confusion, the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland made clear they did not share Mr Johnson’s approach and rejected his new core message, “stay alert”, instead sticking to the previous “stay at home” slogan.

Sir Keir asked: “Why are some parts of the United Kingdom now on a different path to other?” in a TV message to the public.

Mr Johnson appeared twice, first in parliament and later at a televised news briefing where he took questions from members of the public, one of whom bluntly told him that his statements had raised more questions than they had answered.

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