Queues around the region as stores reopen for first time since March lockdown
Queues have formed at stores across the region as non-essential shops pulled up their shutters for the first time since March.
Customers in England are being encouraged to go out and spend but to "be sensible" in their approach, as the Government seeks to begin reopening the economy "gradually and carefully".
Long lines were seen atPrimark storesaround the region, with dozens of keen shoppers waiting outside branches of the budget clothes store in Liverpool and Burnley.
Small business minister Paul Scully insisted it is safe to shop, noting the new looks many stores will have as they attempt to ensure social distancing and good hygiene among staff and customers.
He told BBC Breakfast: "The high street is going to be a different place to what it was before, with the one-way systems, with the hand sanitisers, and with people not trying clothes on in the same way.
"But, nonetheless, it is safe to shop. I would encourage people to be sensible, work with the people in the shop but do go out and shop, and start opening our economy gradually and carefully."
Customers react to the new shopping experience
The reopening comes as a survey suggested less than half of people feel comfortable returning to clothes shops.
Results of YouGov polling carried out earlier this month suggested just 40% of people were comfortable to go back into such stores, and only 48% think they would be able to stay the required two metres away from other shoppers.
Some 41% of people said they believe it is about the right time for the shops to reopen, but 39% said it was too soon.
Oliver Rowe, director of reputation research at YouGov - which carried out four surveys between June 2 and 11 on between 1,700 and 4,000 people, said the results show "there is a lot of work to be done yet to convince shoppers that it's business as usual".
Shoppers queue outside Primark in Liverpool
With official figures showing the economy shrank by a fifth in April, ministers are desperate to get businesses going again to stave off another wave of job losses.
Boris Johnson said he did not know whether to expect "a flood or a trickle" when the shops reopened but that he hoped people would return in "sensible" numbers.
Visiting Westfield shopping centre in east London on Sunday, the Prime Minister acknowledged some people may be nervous about returning to the high street after so long away but insisted they "should shop and shop with confidence".
Chancellor Rishi Sunak - who is reported to be considering a VAT cut to stimulate spending - acknowledged further redundancies were inevitable as the Government's furlough scheme begins to unwind.
"There is going to be hardship ahead. People are going to lose their jobs," he said.
Ministers are under intense pressure from Conservative MPs to go further by easing the two-metre social distancing rule so the hard-pressed hospitality sector can also reopen.
Mr Johnson confirmed at the weekend that he had ordered a "comprehensive" Downing Street review of the regulation.
The Prime Minister said the falling numbers of Covid-19 cases meant there was a greater "margin for manoeuvre" as the chances of coming into contact with someone with the disease diminished.
Mr Sunak said it would be an "all round" survey of the issue drawing on advice from economists as well as the scientific and medical experts who have been advising ministers on the pandemic.
He said it would be ministers, not scientists, who would make the decisions on any easing, fuelling the belief at Westminster that the relationship between ministers and the advisers is becoming increasingly strained.
The review is reported to be scheduled to be completed by July 4, the date slated by the Government for the hospitality sector to start welcoming back customers.
Many pubs and restaurants have warned that it will simply not be viable for them to reopen unless the social distancing rule is cut to no more than one metre.
The chief executive of trade union UKHospitality welcomed the review, saying the current two-metre restriction could put one million jobs at risk in the sector.
Labour has joined Tory MPs in urging ministers to set out a clear plan for the hospitality sector to return, with shadow business minister Lucy Powell calling on the Government to provide guidance on how it can restart.
The Government has faced criticism that it has not done more to get schools reopened, with some children facing the prospect of having been out of the classroom for almost six months by the time they return in September.
A No 10 source said Mr Johnson was "acutely aware" of the impact the extended closure was having on pupils and was working with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on a major "catch-up" plan.