UK set for milder 53F today as parks brace for an onslaught of visitors at start of Easter break

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Boris Johnson has warned Britons they must not meet indoors or stay overnight with family or friends this Easter – even if they’ve been vaccinated.

The Prime Minister addressed the issue in a Q&A session with social media users on Twitter this morning as millions of people make plans to see loved ones for the first time since before Christmas.

Asked if two people having received the jab would enable indoor gatherings, he said: ‘I’m afraid the answer is no, because we’re not yet at this stage. We’re very much in a world where you can meet friends and family outdoors under the rule of six or two households. 

‘And even though friends and family members may be vaccinated, the vaccines are not giving 100 per cent protection and that’s why we just need to be cautious. We don’t think they entirely reduce or remove the risk of transmission.’

The PM’s plea for caution comes despite Britain’s world-leading vaccine rollout continuing at pace, and falling cases and deaths.

The policy has not been enforced across the Atlantic, with guidelines from the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealing that fully-vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing. 

Meanwhile, parks, beaches and beauty spots across the UK are bracing themselves for another onslaught of visitors, despite police appealing for calm at the start of the four-day Easter break.

Britain is set for mild temperatures of around 53F (12C) today and tomorrow, as many will be looking to take advantage of the relaxing of Covid restrictions earlier this week.

Monday saw gatherings of up to six people allowed outside, including in parks or gardens, for the first time in months.

And lockdown-weary Britons certainly made the most of the rule change, with thousands flocking to enjoy the sunshine during a mini-heatwave.

Police will be hoping there is no repeat of some of the scenes witnessed this week, however, after drunk revellers clashed with officers in Cardiff, 100 youths ran riot in Liverpool and a brawl erupted in London’s Primrose Hill after a knifeman charged at crowds.

While temperatures are not expected to hit the heights of 75F (24C) seen on Tuesday, clear skies and outbreaks of sunshine are likely to draw crowds to outdoor beauty spots, while many families will be looking to meet in gardens over Easter, having missed out on seeing loved ones for the entirety of this year.

The Metropolitan Police has called for calm ahead of the long weekend, insisting officers ‘make no apology for our tough stance on shutting down those large gatherings which pose a serious risk to public health’.

It comes as the Met Office warns that, despite the almost record-setting March conditions earlier this week, temperatures would decline steadily and by Monday would struggle to reach double digits, with snow warnings even forecast in some areas.

The long weekend follows another hectic few days in which: 

• Boris Johnson has faced a backlash over his vaccine passport plan, with MPs vowing to vote against the idea;
• Industry bosses have warned 60% of pubs will not welcome back customers on April 12 as they won’t have enough space;
• A public health expert insists Britain won’t suffer a devastating third wave because so many have been vaccinated and warmer weather is coming;
• A chief constable argued the ‘Stay Local’ advice is too ‘vague’, with police telling people to report rule-breakers; 
• Police seized booze and shut parks while Britons left beaches and beauty spots covered in litter;  
• The UK regulator found 25 new cases of rare blood clots among British AstraZeneca jab recipients, taking the total to 30 cases; 

Relieved Britons took to social media today to share their joy at being able to meet up with loved ones they haven’t seen at all this year.

One wrote: ‘Today I get to go and see my mum and dad for the first time in 4 months. We will be socially distanced in their garden and no hugs yet but just to be with them will give me such a lift. FaceTime is just not the same and I have missed them so much. Feeling very thankful.’

Another added: ‘I’m seeing my mum today – whooo. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s not to be complacent about spending time with those that you love and are still here. Hopefully, I will get to see my dad soon, it’s been months.’ 

However, some suggested the PM’s warning will fall in deaf ears, with one claiming: ‘We’ve been meeting indoors for over a year, Boris.’

Another defiantly wrote: ‘Going to see my mum and not outdoors.’

And frustrations will be exacerbated by the fact rules have been relaxed in the US, where indoor meetings between people who have received a jab are now allowed. 

The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can visit unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe illness such as vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy young children and grandchildren.

The guidance is designed to address a growing demand, as more adults have been getting vaccinated and wondering if it gives them greater freedom to visit family members, travel, or do other things like they did before the pandemic swept the world last year.

However, the agency still recommends that Americans avoid travel, even if they are fully vaccinated.

About 30.7 million Americans – or only about 9.2 percent of the U.S. population – have been fully vaccinated with a federally authorised vaccine so far, according to the CDC. 

Officials say a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine, either two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shot or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson jab.

It came as the Met Office said that no part of the country would be ‘immune’ from snowfall on Easter Monday as the temperatures continue to drop.

The colder weather coincides with the easing of coronavirus restrictions across the country and police have urged people to continue to respect the rules.

Parts of Scotland including Fife, Strathclyde and Highlands are due to see gale-force winds and snow showers that could cause travel disruption.

There could be as much as 15cm of snow in higher areas and temperatures may drop as low as minus 5C (23F) on Easter Monday morning.

The Met Office’s yellow warnings are in place from 6pm on Sunday until midnight on Monday.

It comes as the stay-at-home order was lifted across Scotland on Friday, allowing people to travel locally for non-essential purposes.

Craig Snell, forecaster for the Met Office, said: ‘After a taste of summer for a lot of the UK we will see things turn much colder as we go through the second half of the Easter weekend.

‘A lot of the UK will be prone to seeing some wintry showers as we go through the course of Monday but northern Scotland is where we’ll see the heaviest and most frequent snow.

‘That’s where there’s most concern that we might see some disruption.’

Mr Snell said although it was not unusual to see snow at this time of year, it would be a ‘shock to the system’ for many, following the almost record-breaking March temperatures felt earlier in the week.

Parts of the UK saw temperatures reach nearly 75.2F (24C) on Wednesday, with Weybourne, north Norfolk, leading the way at a peak of 75F (23.9C).

But the figure fell just shy of the nation’s hottest ever March temperature of 78F (25.6C), which was recorded in 1968 at Mepal in Cambridgeshire. 

According to Sky News, it is possible that Britain could this week see a rare ‘thunderstorm’ which sees stormy weather combined with wintry showers.

The storm could see lightning appear brighter as the light reflects off falling snowflakes, while the sound of the thunder can be quieter.  

For thundersnow to occur there needs to be a precise set of circumstances – the air layer closer to the ground has to be warmer than the layers above, but still cold enough to create snow.

Yesterday Ladbrokes cut its odds of snowfall on Easter. The bookies now make it just 5/4 that snow falls anywhere in the UK on Sunday with temperatures set to take another dip.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: ‘The odds are tumbling with the temperatures and while it once looked like this Easter might be a scorcher, it could well be quite the opposite on the weather front with snow on the way over the coming days.’  

Sunny skies are still expected across large parts of the country today, with highs of 57F (14C) in the south east and London.

Tomorrow, temperatures in the south east and London are expected to be about 53.6F (12C) and, further north, Manchester and Leeds could see highs of 55.4F (13C) and 50F (10C) respectively.

But, by Monday, London may drop to 46.4F (8C), Manchester 44.6F (7C) and Leeds a chilly 41F (5C).

The Met Office said the warmer temperatures were more unusual than the cold temperatures for the end of March. 

While groups of six, or two households, are allowed to meet outside, the Metropolitan Police said larger gatherings, including house parties and illegal raves, will be shut down.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors said: ‘We cannot allow the selfish actions of a small minority of people to jeopardise the efforts of this city.

‘We will continue to shut down house parties or dangerous raves quickly, taking enforcement action by handing out fines.

‘We make no apology for our tough stance on shutting down those large gatherings which pose a serious risk to public health.’ 

The Met is expecting more protests in the capital over the weekend, which are now lawful providing organisers submit a risk assessment and take steps to ensure the gathering is safe.

But the force said: ‘Enforcement action will be taken, if needed, in the interests of public health.’

Among the planned demonstrations is a Kill the Bill rally against the Government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill due to take place in Finsbury Park on Friday afternoon, with similar events planned elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police sought to avoid a repeat of scenes played out across the country this week by introducing a 48-hour dispersal order for the city centre, to last until 3pm on Saturday.

It means officers can direct anyone acting anti-socially to leave the area.

Elsewhere today, Mr Johnson faces the biggest challenge of his premiership to date if he tries to ram through controversial plans for vaccine passports that have incensed MPs across parties. 

The Prime Minister is on a collision course with 72 backbenchers who have signed a pledge railing against the ‘divisive and discriminatory’ certification scheme.

Forty-one Tory MPs – enough to wipe out the Government’s majority – have joined forces with 22 Labour MPs and 10 Lib Dems to oppose the measures on grounds it infringes civil liberties.

It means any future Commons vote likely hinges on Sir Keir Starmer, who this week said vaccine passports went against the ‘British instinct’ but refused to commit to whipping his MPs either way.

Downing Street insists no plans for domestic vaccine passports have been confirmed, but ministers have been seen to be pitch-rolling for their use in recent weeks and the scheme is reportedly a ‘done deal’.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said such documents could be a way of getting people back to ‘doing the things they love’.  

But this morning Mr Johnson also stressed that vaccinated people are not allowed to meet indoors because ‘the vaccines are not giving 100 per cent protection and that’s why we just need to be cautious’.

Some companies are already pressing ahead, and the managing director of Royal Caribbean today said the cruise liner would be requiring guests to show documentation they have had their two doses.  

Pub landlords blasted vaccine passports as another ‘burden’ that could scupper their reopening, which many struggling venues warn is already looking unlikely.  

Last night it emerged trials for vaccine passports could begin as soon as next month, with theatres, and stadiums are being lined up to pilot the controversial scheme under plans discussed by ministers.

Pilot schemes will begin after work is completed on an updated version of the NHS Covid app which will let users prove they have been vaccinated.

Covid passports are being planned for events which could include the FA Cup final and other sporting events in May, according to the Telegraph.

The plan is a sign Mr Johnson will give vaccine passports the go-ahead on Monday, when he is due to report the interim results of a study led by Michael Gove. 

Mr Dowden told BBC News this morning: ‘Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is conducting a review, which I am of course participating in, as to whether we could make Covid status certification work.

‘This is not about a vaccine passport, this is about looking at ways of proving that you are Covid secure, whether you have had a test or had the vaccine.

‘Clearly, no decisions have been made on that, because we have to weigh up different factors, the ethical considerations and so on, but it may be a way of ensuring we can get more people back doing the things they love.’ 

If it is put to a vote, it could set the stage for a spectacular Commons showdown that pits the Government against powerful Tory figures such as Sir Iain Duncan Smith as well as Labour backbenchers including John McDonnell and the party’s former leader Jeremy Corbyn. 

The cross-party pledge states: ‘We oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of Covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs.’  

Tory MP Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee and is also a signatory to the pledge, insisted the aim should be to return to normal life.

He said: ‘Covid-Status Certification would be divisive and discriminatory. With high levels of vaccination protecting the vulnerable and making transmission less likely, we should aim to return to normal life, not to put permanent restrictions in place.’

Former Tory ministers Esther McVey, Nus Ghani, Mark Harper and Harriett Baldwin are also threatening to join a Commons revolt. 

The Conservative rebels have unlikely bedfellows in the Labour left including Mr Corbyn, John McDonnell and Baroness Chakrabarti, who branded the scheme a ‘tool of discrimination, oppression and bullying’ that would bring about ‘Checkpoint Britain’.

She told BBC Radio 4 this morning: ‘It’s dangerous, it’s discriminatory, it’s counter-productive. It seems to me, and many others, that on the one hand, if this level of intrusion into our lives were to be proportionate, then probably it’s not safe to open up the economy.

‘On the other hand, if it is safe to open up the economy, to come out of this lockdown and this crisis that we have been living under, if it is safe to do that, why create this tool of discrimination, oppression and bullying?’