PM TO EASE VIRUS LAWS

Vaccines will be main defence this winter as Boris vows to ‘get rid of’ intrusive Covid powers. PM TO AXE COVID AWS AFTER VACCINES VICTORY BUT MPS L DEMAND MORE ACTION

- David Maddox

BORIS Johnson is to axe a raft of “intrusive” Covid laws, thanks to the incredible success of the vaccine rollout.

The PM will spell out his plan this week, in what has been dubbed a “bonfire of the Covid regulations”.

The Government also has a scheme in place to begin vaccine boosters this month, subject to approval from experts.

This will increase immunity for many over winter and should also prevent “unsustainable pressure on the NHS”.

A No 10 insider said the intention is that there will be no more lockdowns but Mr John son has been warned by critics in his own party that his pledges do not go far enough.

They are worried that there are no changes to the Public Health Act, which provided the basis for many of the tough restrictions over the past 18 months.

Other experts warned that as long as the NHS is stretched, lockdowns remain a possibility.

Speaking ahead of his announcement on the Coronavirus Act, Mr Johnson said: “Thanks to the efforts of the public, the NHS and our phenomenal vaccination programme, we reached Step 4 in our roadmap and life has returned to a sense of normality.

“These extraordinary times required necessary but intrusive measures. But I’m determined to get rid of any powers we no longer need because of our vaccine defences. I will set out the next phase in our response shortly.”