Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the two-metre social distancing rule is under “urgent” review by the government.

Speaking on Sky News, he told Sophy Ridge on Sunday that “everything is kept under review” with scientists and economists as the coronavirus pandemic evolves.

He said: “The Prime Minister has put in place a comprehensive review of the two-metre rule.

“Now we have made good progress in suppressing the virus, we’re at a different stage of the epidemic than we were at the beginning, and that enables us to take a fresh look at this.

“It is important we look at it comprehensively in the round and that is what we will do urgently.”

Mr Sunak said he recognised the importance of reducing the rule ahead of non-essential businesses reopening their doors for the first time in three months next week.

He added: “I can very much understand the positive impact it will have on businesses’ ability to open and thereby maintain the jobs that they have, and make sure all the people that work for them can come back to those jobs.

“That’s really important to me.”

But he warned that it must be “safe to do so” as the virus is still continuing to move through the country.

It comes after The Mail On Sunday said Boris Johnson had ordered a comprehensive review of the two-metre rule amid calls for it to be scrapped.

Easing the restriction is seen as vital if businesses such a restaurants and pubs are to be able to reopen sustainably.

Mr Sunak added it was safe to go shopping next week as the five tests, which is the government’s measure to see if restrictions can be eased, had been met.

The five tests involve making sure the NHS can cope with the demand, to see a sustained and consistent fall in daily death rates, having reliable data from SAGE which shows the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels, being “confident” that challenges such as testing capacity and PPE are in hand and making sure that the adjustment will not lead to a second peak of the virus.

“People will see tomorrow it’s a slightly different experience,” he said. “Obviously there’s social distancing, a new process for returns.

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