UK coronavirus LIVE: Hopes for summer staycations as nursing leaders slam ‘pitiful’ pay offer

Health Secretary Matt Hancock today raised hopes for a “great British summer” as he praised the speed and effectiveness of the UK’s vaccination programme.

During a visit to Glasgow Lighthouse Lab, Mr Hancock told reporters: “I’ve said before that I’m optimistic for a great British summer and I’m now more optimistic about having a great British summer than I have been at any time, thanks to the speed and the effectiveness of the vaccine rollout.”

It comes as researchers urged Britons to keep following the lockdown restrictions after the latest data from a study showed the rate of decline in coronavirus infections in England is slowing.

Meanwhile, a massive row is brewing as the Royal College of Nursing slammed a proposed 1% pay offer to hard-pressed NHS staff in 2021/22 as “pitiful”.