Kerry McCarthy MP, Labour’s Green Transport Minister, commenting after the Government daily press conference, said:

“Labour welcomes the acknowledgement that we cannot go back to business as usual on our streets, but work on this should have started much sooner. Instead, it’s once again been left to local councils to take the lead and make our roads safer for cyclists.

“No one wants a return to the levels of pollution and congestion we saw before the lockdown began, particularly as emerging evidence indicates exposure to air pollution increases the severity of coronavirus symptoms but, if we fail to make our roads safe enough to cycle, people will revert back to taking the car.

“We need a comprehensive transport plan to get our public transport moving again once we come out of lockdown especially for those that can’t cycle to work. Simply saying things will be different on our trains and buses is not a plan for the future.”