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“Rather than red listing this variant, we essentially gave it the red carpet treatment as 20,000 people were allowed to arrive from India over a number of weeks in April, even though the warning signs were there,” he said.

“That essentially seeded this Delta variant across the country.

“Nobody wanted to be in this place and we could have avoided this if it was not for the Delta variant, and I’m afraid this is on Boris Johnson for his puny weak border policy, which was secure as a sieve.”

He added that Labour would “collapse” the traffic light travel system, adding: “Essentially all those nations on the amber list we wouldn’t move to a red list. We would want to see more nations move on to the green list when it is safe to do so.

“But we would ask those returning from those red list countries to properly quarantine themselves at the borders – I understand this is an immense inconvenience for people, and I don’t want to put people in this situation, but we’ve got to protect ourselves from this very dangerous virus.”

Michael Gove said ministers cannot make decisions with “perfect knowledge” when asked whether he wished more had been done in Government to stop the spread of the Delta variant at the border.

He told Times Radio: “We can always look back and wish that we’d done things differently but we operated on the basis of facts that we had at the time, and India was placed on the red list before the Delta variant was a variant under investigation, or a variant of concern.

“And again, you know, the decisions that ministers, that doctors, that scientists have to take can never be made with perfect knowledge.

“Hindsight, 2020 vision gives all of us an opportunity to look back and to say ‘if only’, but we’ve got to make the decision at the time, on the basis of the evidence that we have.”

Professor Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) advising the Government, warned that it is still possible that the nation could return to seeing hundreds of deaths a day.

“Although the numbers of deaths are low at the moment, everyone expects that they will rise. The question is really as to what level they will rise,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“And at the moment there is a lot of uncertainty in what’s going to happen over the next couple of months.”

Asked whether the nation could have returned to hundreds of deaths a day again had restrictions had been lifted, Prof Medley said: “Oh easily. I think we still might at some point.

“Remember the Government risks are not the same as individual personal risks. My kind of risks are about whether or not I get ill or whether or not I die, Government risks are primarily based upon the healthcare, and whether the healthcare can continue to function.

“And so they’re really focused very much on how many people end up in hospital, how many people end up in high dependency in hospital, and it’s really that is the focus of their risk and thinking about what should the Government do to prevent those bad things happening.

“So it’s really an uncertainty at the moment, it’s too early to say for sure what will happen at the peak of this next epidemic.”

Pressed on the notion that the nation could return to seeing hundreds of deaths each day, he added: “I think that’s quite possible it’s not a certainty. There is a lot of uncertainty, but I think that’s quite possible.”

What will stay the same and what will change?

Limits on numbers for sports events, pubs and cinemas will therefore remain in place, nightclubs will stay shuttered and people will be asked to continue working from home where possible.

Downing Street left open the option of ending restrictions on July 5 if the data proves drastically better than expected but conceded this is “unlikely”.

Mr Johnson did, however, announce a limited easing of restrictions to take place from June 21 as he faces the prospect of a rebellion from Conservative MPs who are furious about the delay.

The 30-person cap for wedding ceremonies and receptions, as well as wakes, will be lifted, with limits to be set by venues based on social distancing requirements.

Care home residents will also no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days after leaving for visits in most cases.

Fans were expected to be able to attend the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final in Wembley as the pilots on attendance of large events continue.

Mr Johnson felt he had to delay the relaxation after at least one of his four tests to easing restrictions – that the risks are not fundamentally changed by new variants – had been failed.

Boris Johnson has been forced to delay the end of England’s coronavirus restrictions by up to four weeks after being warned the move could lead to thousands of deaths and unbearable pressure on the NHS.

The Prime Minister announced the setback to the final phase of his plan to end the lockdown on Monday due to concerns over the rapidly-spreading Delta variant first identified in India.

Experts feared going ahead with Step 4 on June 21 as planned could lead to hospital admissions on the scale of the first wave of Covid-19 heaping unsustainable pressure on the health service.

To avert this, Mr Johnson said during a Downing Street press conference that the end of all legal limits on social contact would be put back to July 19.

Johnson told a Downing Street press conference that the spread of the Delta variant meant “we have obviously faced a very difficult choice”.

“We can simply keep going with all of Step 4 on June 21, even though there is a real possibility that the virus will outrun the vaccines and that thousands more deaths would ensue which could otherwise have been avoided.

“Or else we can give the NHS a few more crucial weeks to get those remaining jabs into the arms of those who need them.

“And since today I cannot say that that we have met all our four tests for proceeding with Step 4 on June 21, I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer.”

He said: “Today’s news of a four-week delay to Step 4 of the reopening road map is wholly understandable, given the rise in the infection numbers and the Delta variant.

“However, it will be difficult for theatres, who were depending on being able to reopen at full capacity and will already have committed considerable resources in preparation without the safety net of a theatre sector insurance scheme.

“Although many theatres have temporarily reopened with reduced audiences, continuing to operate at significantly reduced capacity is economically unsustainable.

“Other venues that were planning to reopen when full audiences were permitted may be forced to cancel shows.

“It is vital that the additional £408 million allocated to the Culture Recovery Fund in the Budget is distributed quickly and targeted to those organisations most impacted by this setback.”

The Labour leader made the comments in response to threats from composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to open his theatres to a full house on June 21 regardless of lockdown rules.

Speaking to LBC, Sir Keir said: “June 21 was supposed to be ‘Freedom Day’, and why are we not going to hit it? It looks like we’re not because of the Government’s pathetic borders policy.”

Sir Keir criticised the Government for delays to introducing hotel quarantine, the confusing traffic light system for foreign travel, and the decision to delay putting India on the red list until late April.

“The net result of (the Prime Minister’s) pathetic approach is that we’re going to have four weeks more of this.”

When pressed on Lord Lloyd Webber’s claims he is ready to be arrested, Sir Keir said: “I have to tell him to obey the rules and obey the law, of course I do. But I do understand the frustration.”