PUBS, restaurants and hairdressers will be allowed to reopen in England today despite warnings that to do so would bring danger and chaos.

In an interview with LBC Radio, PM Boris Johnson was asked whether he only “hoped” it would be safe to ease the coronavirus restrictions.

He replied: “It’s not on hope, it’s based on a clear understanding of the statistical risks that we now face as a country.”

He said that the chance of catching the coronavirus was around one in 400 a few weeks ago, and is now one in 2,200.

Unite the union warned this week that its NHS ambulance and A&E members were braced “with a great deal of trepidation” for the chaos that could ensue from mass opening of pubs.

The union said it would blame the “gung-ho and mixed messaging” from Mr Johnson for not putting enough emphasis on the need to continue following social-distancing rules.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds backed the return to pubs as a boost for the economy, but said that people needed to ensure “we are following those guidelines at all times.”