London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025

Boris tries to show shopping is safe by visiting empty shopping centre

The prime minister insisted that the public should be able to ‘shop with confidence’ as he had a solo tour of an east London mall, ahead of thousands of stores reopening tomorrow.
Speaking in the middle of an empty Westfield shopping centre, Boris Johnson offered the public a first look at how shopping will change for the public in England.

Walking around the deserted shopping centre, the PM demonstrated how social distancing and hygiene measures will be implemented across non-essential stores from Monday. The PM obediently utilised hand sanitiser stations and followed stickers on the floor instructing him to adhere to distancing rules despite no one being around.

The PM said on Sunday he was ‘optimistic’ about shops opening their doors to customers for the first time since March and hoped to see a ‘gradual’ build-up of people returning to the high street and large department stores.

Mr Johnson said: ‘I am very optimistic about the opening up that is going to happen tomorrow.

‘I think people should shop and shop with confidence, but they should of course observe the rules on social distancing and do it as safely as possible.’

He added that decreasing numbers of coronavirus cases in the country have given the government ‘more margin for manoeuvre’ in potentially easing the two-metre social distancing rule.

The PM claimed that ‘probably’ fewer than one-in-a-thousand people were now infected with coronavirus.

He said: ‘As we get the numbers down, so it becomes one-in-a-thousand, one-in-sixteen hundred, maybe fewer, your chances of being, two metres one metre or even a foot away from somebody who has the virus are obviously going down statistically.

‘So you start to build some more margin for manoeuvre, and we’ll be looking at that and keeping it under constant review’.

Mr Johnson’s comments come after Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that the PM has ordered an ‘urgent’ and ‘comprehensive review’ of the two-metre rule in England, as the government continues to lift lockdown restrictions.

Ministers, who are set to make the final decision, are under intense pressure from Conservative MPs to ease the rule, but the government’s scientific advisers have been deeply reluctant to approve the relaxation of social distancing regulations.

The review comes amid fears of a wave of job losses as the government starts to wind down the furlough scheme with employers paying a portion of staff’s wages from August.

Ministers, who are set to make the final decision, are under intense pressure from Conservative MPs to ease the rule.

But the government’s scientific advisers have been deeply reluctant to approve the relaxation of any distancing measures.

Mr Sunak said on Sunday: ‘The Prime Minister has put in place a comprehensive review of the two-metre rule. That review will involve the scientists, the economists and others so that we can look at it in the round.

‘You are right to highlight the impact it has on business – it is the difference between maybe three-quarters and a third of pubs opening, for example, so it is important the we look at it.

‘It is important that we look at it comprehensively, in the round, and that is what we will do urgently.’
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
×