Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported description by Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organisation’s emergencies programme, of the policy of relaxing COVID-19 restrictions on 19 July as “epidemiological stupidity”.

The Government made a full assessment of the epidemiological and other relevant data ahead of taking the decision to move to Step 4 of the roadmap on 19 July. The Government is clear that the pandemic is not over and that the public should continue to behave cautiously.