Boris Johnson has insisted he can prevent imposing an additional England-broad lockdown this winter, describing it as a “nuclear deterrent” that he hopes hardly ever to use.

Irrespective of chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance saying “national measures” might be vital if there were fresh waves of the virus in the coming months, the prime minister mentioned he “certainly” did not want to have to order the public to “stay at home” once more.

“I can’t abandon that resource any extra than I would abandon a nuclear deterrent. But it is like a nuclear deterrent, I unquestionably never want to use it. And nor do I consider we will be in that situation again,” he instructed the Sunday Telegraph.

“It’s not just that we’re having a lot better at spotting the disorder and isolating it regionally, but we comprehend much a lot more which groups it has an effect on, how it functions, how it is transmitted, so the risk of diverse forms of segmentation, of enhanced shielding for distinct groups, is now there.”

The Section of Wellness and Social Care established out additional particulars on Friday of how community lockdowns would operate, including powers for local authorities to shut personal businesses and out of doors areas – with ministers able to stage in and impose additional draconian actions, including journey limits and “stay at home” orders.

The prime minister’s self confidence appeared to distinction with careful remarks from Vallance in an proof session with friends on Friday.

“As you launch actions it is unavoidable as you get additional contacts that you will see more instances … Arrive wintertime, the problems will be very significantly higher and of system there is a threat that this could want nationwide actions,” Vallance stated.

He was was supplying proof at a House of Lords committee on Friday, alongside the chief health care officer for England, Chris Whitty, after the primary minister lifted the prospect of a “significant return to normality” by Christmas.

Vallance warned: “Everyone that I have spoken to thinks it is extremely most likely that this illness will go on to flow into and will appear back again in waves. And for that reason the measures of reducing get hold of to lessen distribute, the types of social distancing steps that we have talked about, and the cleanliness measures that go along with that, will be important.”

Dominic Raab, the international secretary, denied on Sunday there was any change involving Johnson and Vallance, telling Sophy Ridge on SkyNews: “National steps and nationwide lockdown are the very same thing.”

He defended the primary minister’s upbeat message on Friday, expressing it was significant to give organizations and their personnel “a sense of a focus on, and a feeling of hope”.

The UK’s countrywide statistician, ProfSir Ian Diamond, stated on Sunday he experienced not discovered any rise in coronavirus cases since the lockdown measures ended up eased.

When asked if he experienced predicted to see an boost in the selection of infections as lockdown was lifted,he informed Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday it depended on “how the inhabitants works”.

He added: “The information has been very constant in that we need to be notify and we should be socially distanced and if we are genuinely super-careful and if we are capable to follow all the procedures it does appear to be to me that we need to hope there to be a relative flatline at the instant … Obviously around the autumn we will want to be at any time vigilant.”

In his Sunday Telegraph job interview, the prime minister also criticised the civil provider, declaring he desired to see far more “confidence and belief” from Whitehall.

Amid controversy in excess of the shakeup getting spearheaded by his main adviser, Dominic Cummings, Johnson claimed: “I believe the probability of alter seriously is there.”

The primary minister also confirmed he is scheduling an anti-obesity crackdown, but appeared to rule out raises in the sugar tax as element of the package deal of measures, anticipated to be announced this week.

“On putting up selling prices of foods for persons who might not be on large incomes, I’m not instinctively in favour of that. There are other approaches of carrying out it,” Johnson explained, also expressing he wanted to steer clear of “nannying” the public.

“I feel what people today need to have to remember is that if you shed pounds, you truly feel better, you truly do sense improved. It is a psychological matter. It’s a mental boon, as well as drastically minimizing your threat of all kinds of conditions, Covid remaining a person of them,” he claimed.