UK PM under rising pressure to lift all COVID-19 lockdown restrictions by end of April

In a letter to the prime minister, leaders of the Covid Recovery Group said the "tremendous pace" of the vaccination rollout means restrictions in England should begin easing from early March.

The letter was sent to the prime minister at a time when a government scientific advisor warned that Britain could face another coronavirus wave as big as the current one if lockdown restrictions were all lifted.

LONDON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to lift all COVID-19 lockdowns in two and a half months as lockdown-sceptic Tories called on him to commit to a timetable for easing the restrictions with a complete end to controls by the end of April.

In a letter to the prime minister, leaders of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) said the "tremendous pace" of the vaccination rollout means restrictions in England should begin easing from early March, the London-based Evening Standard newspaper reported on Sunday.

They said ministers must produce a cost-benefit analysis to justify any controls that remain in place after that date, with a "road-map" stating when they would be removed.

The letter was organized by the CRG chair and deputy chair, Mark Harper and Steve Baker, and was said to have the backing of 63 Conservative Party lawmakers in all.