Scientist warns it's not safe to have barbecues despite Boris Johnson's green light

Inviting friends over for barbecues is still not safe, a leading expert has warned - despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement that people in England can do so from next week.

Professor Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has warned that garden gatherings remain "dangerous".

The scientist's statement comes less than 24 hours after the under-fire PM said that outdoor gatherings of up to six people will be permitted from Monday.

He said this includes barbecues - as long as people from different households stay two metres apart and do not go indoors unless it's to access a garden or use the bathroom.

But it is too soon for this to be safe, Prof Bloomfield said.

She told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "The thing that really worries me is people are starting to say to me, oh, can I have a barbecue?

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"That is the really dangerous thing because then we are really starting handling things backwards and forwards to each other - plates, glasses, cups and so forth.

"So if you really want to have a social gathering and a meal, and the more time we spend outdoors the better, then it should be a picnic where we each bring our own food and knives and forks and plates and everything and keep them to ourselves and take them away with us.

"Then we can have a really nice social gathering. But barbecues, please no, at the moment."

Yesterday Mr Johnson said the "limited" easing of lockdown restrictions means hugging, going indoors and staying away from home overnight are still banned.

Speaking at the daily briefing he said: "It's very, very important that people understand the really limited nature of what we're saying.

"We do want people to be able to see their friends and family, we do want people to see two grandparents at once but it's got to be socially distanced, there's got to be a maximum of six people."

He added: "We don't want people to stay overnight, we don't want people to go to other households and stay there, I'm just afraid we're not at that stage.

"What you certainly can imagine is there could be meetings of families in a garden, you could even have a barbecue provided you did it in a socially-distanced way, provided everyone washes their hands, provided everybody exercises common sense."

However he warned that if infection rates rise, local areas will have lockdown measures reimposed.