What a mess. First they leaked the idea change was coming leading to people ignoring the stay at home advice over a sunny bank holiday. Now they’ve dropped “stay at home” in favour of a woolly “stay alert” message. I know precision doesn’t come easily to Boris Johnson but we are dealing with a public health crisis and we need absolute clarity from government. This is no time for nuance. And of course the announcement has come by televised address, not in Parliament, to avoid scrutiny from MPs. My email box is already filling up with people who are confused about what to do and scared they will be forced back to work without proper protections. We need a grown up conversation with parliament, scientists and the trade unions fully engaged, not meaningless sloganising from a prime minister who is out of his depth.