Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was bullish about the longer date in a round of interviews this morning – and he also struck an optimistic tone about the prospects of easing lockdown from early March.

He said the restrictions could be taken away ‚gradually‘ from ‚two to three weeks after the middle of February, after we‘ve protected the top four cohorts‘.

Mr Zahawi also insisted that second doses of vaccines will be given within 12 weeks of the first – after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refused to confirm yesterday that would be the case.