Johnson: More on summer hols in 22 February roadmap

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg asked the PM whether people should be booking summer holidays or not, at home or abroad, at the government’s coronavirus briefing on Wednesday (10 February).

It comes after transport secretary Grant Shapps said holidays would likely be dependent on the progress of the UK’s vaccination programme by the summer, and efforts overseas too.

"Should members of the public be booking summer holidays or not? Whether at home or abroad? The transport secretary this morning warned people against booking anything at all," said Kuenessberg.

Johnson responded: "As everyone knows, it’s currently illegal to go on holiday. That’s the state of play at the moment. We’re looking at the data every day.

"On Monday (15 February), we’ll be able to say a little bit more about where we are in terms of the JCVI [Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] groups 1-4.

"And in the week of the 22nd [of February], we’ll be setting out the roadmap, and that is the best I can give.

"There’s not an awful long delay now before the 22nd, but I hope we will be able to give some more clarity to people then."

The Mirror’s Mikey Smith pressed Johnson for more on holidays, to which the prime minister replied: "It is just too early for people to be certain about what they will be able to do this summer.

"We hope to be able to say more in the week of the 22nd when more crucial data about the roll-out of the vaccine programme and how it’s working on us all [is available].

"I understand why people want to make plans now, but we are just going to have to be a little bit more patient."

Johnson was also asked if he had been consulted about Iata’s plan for a travel passport app, which both Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have committed to, but did not answer directly.

"We are looking at all sorts of things that we may wish to do in the months ahead and you would expect us to be talking to travel firms about the kinds of options, but our top priority now is to drive forward the vaccination programme," said Johnson.

"When we are in that different world, then all kinds of apps will be open to us."