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When quizzed over his assessement of the Prime Minister’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, the Labour Party leader said: “Too slow, asleep at the wheel and they really need to up their game.” Mr Starmer said Boris Johnson was good at rhetoric but poor at governing. 

He told Sky News an inquiry was inevitable.

Mr Starmer said: “I think an inquiry is inevitable. There will be an inquiry in due course.”

When asked why he was not calling for an immediate inquiry, he replied: “At the moment, I think it is important that we focus on the job in hand.” 

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7.33am update: Grant Shapps offers hope for holidaymakers 

Grant Shapps has said travellers to England from around 60 countries and overseas territories will no longer have to quarantine when they arrive in the UK.

The Transport Secretary said the Government will be publishing a full list of countries that will be exempt later on Friday.

He told Sky News: “There will be a list of 50-plus countries. If you add in the overseas territories (there will be) 60-something-or-other that will be announced later today.

“France, Germany, Italy and Spain will be on that list. It is really important that we have done this in a very careful and cautious way. The most important thing is to maintain the gains that we have had.”

7.24am update: Mexico records record daily – overtakes Iran 

Mexico posted a record daily tally of coronavirus infections on Thursday, as 6,741 cases carried the overall figure to 238,511, according to the health ministry.

The new figure pushed Mexico past Iran to 10th place among nations with the largest number of cases, a Reuters tally showed.

Mexico also recorded 679 more deaths, for a toll of 29,189 since the pandemic reached the country in late February.

7.18am update: Business leaders draw up plans to aid COVID-19 recovery 

Leading business figures have come together to develop proposals to ensure the UK emerges from the coronavirus crisis with a “stronger and fairer” economy.

The COVID-19 Recovery Commission will aim to produce “bold and practical policy ideas” to support higher productivity and to encourage business investment across the country.

The move comes as a series of major employers have been announcing heavy job losses with the Government’s furlough scheme starting to unwind from the beginning of August.

The commission – which has been put together by the WPI Strategy consultancy – will be chaired by John Allan, chairman of Tesco, Barratt Developments and the Council of Imperial College London.

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