Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Does Matt Hancock really think banning all exercise is a good idea?

Matt Hancock has threatened that the government will ban all forms of outdoor exercise if a ‘minority’ of people continue to ignore social distancing rules.

Ministers had been worrying that this weekend, which is sunny and warm, would see people trying to get around the lockdown by congregating in parks. Yesterday there were reports – not all of them hugely reliable or conclusive – of large numbers of people turning up to their local parks, with police forces dispersing groups and stopping people from sunbathing. Lambeth Council has announced Brockwell Park in London will be closed today after too many people converged on it.

Hancock’s threat looked inevitable before the weekend had begun, but given today’s weather is going to be even lovelier, he issued this warning on Marr:

One of the problems in Britain is that while the rules themselves are relatively simple, everyone is offering slightly different interpretations of them.

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