Boris Johnson could lift parts of the lockdown every two weeks under plans being discussed by ministers, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
The Cabinet will meet on Sunday to agree a roadmap for lifting the lockdown which will be revealed by the Prime Minister in a televised address to the nation later that evening.
He will also set out a rough timetable for when key measures will be lifted, such as schools and shops reopening, but will describe tough “milestones” that must be reached before he can give them the green light.
It means it is likely to be several months before the lockdown is lifted in full, with bars, restaurants and indoor events among the last things on the list.
He told Cabinet ministers on Thursday he wants to be able to show the nation “the light at the end of the tunnel” after more than six weeks of sacrifice under lockdown, and ordered them to come up with approximate dates for when they expect to be able to lift measures that come under their departmental remits.
But he stressed to ministers that he will “advance with maximum caution” and that any decision to lift restrictions will be subject to “maximum conditionality” and must be backed by scientific evidence that suggests it is safe to do so.
Mr Johnson is also considering publishing the latest “R” value, which measures the rate of infection, at the same time as he announces any changes to the lockdown, in order to reassure the public that it is safe to relax measures.
One of the Government’s own scientific advisers said yesterday that ministers had “effectively terrorised” the public into believing “that this is a disease that is going to kill you” and suggested the two metre rule on social distancing should be reduced to 1.5m to make it easier to get the economy going again.
Mr Johnson wants to assess the effect of each intervention on the rate of infection of coronavirus before risking any further easing, and experts say it will take a fortnight to produce reliable data.