The government has denied creating confusion over the wearing of masks in shops and public transport, with the communities secretary saying it was right to let people use “personal judgement”.
New guidance says the government still “expects” shoppers to wear masks when curbs in England end on July 19, despite no longer being required by law – a policy criticised as a “real mess” by businesses and unions.
It comes as regional mayors urged ministers to keep masks compulsory across all public transport services in England to avoid a “ridiculous mismatch” of rules from Monday.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick praised Sadiq Khan for the insisting on mandatory mask-wearing on the Transport for London (TfL) services – despite previously saying he personally would no longer wear a mask when the legal requirement ended.
“You can already see TFL, that manages the Tube in London, have come to, in my opinion, a perfectly sensible judgement that in the confines of the Tube you should be using a mask,” he told Sky News on Thursday.
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He later told GB News: “If I’m asked to wear a mask … for example if I was catching the tram in Wolverhampton, and that was the rules, I would certainly wear a mask.”
Asked earlier this month if he would stop wearing a mask from 19 July, Mr Jenrick said: “I will. I don’t particularly want to wear a mask. I don’t think a lot of people enjoy doing it.”
The latest guidance document for businesses says the government “expects and recommends” masks to be worn by workers and customers in enclosed spaces. Table service is recommended to continue in bars, while hospitality industry is encouraged to check vaccine and testing status.
Paddy Lillis, the general secretary of the shop union Usdaw, said the policy was a “real mess” while Dr Roger Barker, policy director at the Institute of Directors, said businesses bosses are “understandably confused" over “a series of mixed messages and patchwork requirements".
But Mr Jenrick denied the policy amounted to a “total shambles” when he appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, arguing businesses would get to choose what was right “for their setting”.
Asked on Sky News if the government had created uncertainty for businesses, Mr Jenrick said: “There might be situations where businesses might choose to pursue these policies based on their best judgement … this is the sort of discretion they want.”
After Sainsbury’s said it would ask customers to keep wearing masks, Mr Jenrick said “some supermarkets” were coming to the decision that it was sensible to keep face coverings rules in place.
“Waterstones, who I understand will be asking their customers to wear masks … that seems a logical decision,” he said, adding: “We trust businesses just as we trust the public to come to sensible, reasonable positions.”
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said masks would be mandatory on the region’s tram services. It follows Mr Khan’s move to require masks on the Tube and buses in the capital.
Labour metro mayors for West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North of Tyne, West of England and South Yorkshire warned that without a continued national mandate there would be a “ridiculous mismatch” of rules across the country.