THE SNP's Westminster leader has demanded Boris Johnson comes to the Commons to be scrutinised over plans to ditch Covid restrictions in England.

Ian Blackford last night issued a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, saying that it was “not acceptable” for details on plans to move south of the border out of lockdown to be released through the media.

His comments came as BBC journalist Chris Mason reported that Mr Johnson is set to tell people in England today that it will be left to their “judgment” to manage coronavirus risks as he prepares to restore freedoms on July 19.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson announcement: What time is Boris Johnson's Covid press conference today?

He will lead a Downing Street press conference on Monday where he will tell the public that the country must “begin to learn to live with this virus” in the clearest indication yet that he is preparing to do away with a swathe of restrictions on daily life.

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The Ross, Skye and Lochaber said: “Why is Boris Johnson not coming to Parliament to announce this as he should.

“He must as the Prime Minister accept his responsibilities to be scrutinised in the house.”

Other updates being raised south of the border in the press conference include the future of the one metre-plus rule in hospitality venues, the use of face coverings and work from home guidance, with multiple reports suggesting they will all be scrapped.

It has been suggested that from so-called “freedom day” on July 19 mask wearing will become voluntary in England, while social distancing in pubs and bars will end – along with needing to use a QR code to check-in – meaning a return to drinking at the bar without the requirement for table service.

Mass events, including festivals, will also reportedly be allowed under the proposals for the final stage of the road map out of lockdown.

The dates in Scotland are slightly different, with the First Minister previously outlining plans for Scotland to move to lockdown Level 0 on July 19.

That will be confirmed next Monday.

Then, the remaining restrictions that still apply would be lifted on August 9.

The First Minister said that if the timetable could be accelerated it would be but equally if it had to be slowed down that would also happen.

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s decision to announce the changes in press conference and not in parliament, Mr Blackford continued: “This is not acceptable and he should be told as such.

“The details should also not be pre released like this.”

That view was shared by Alastair Campbell, former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s press secretary, who retweeted Mr Blackford’s comments, adding: “This is 100 percent right. [Speaker] Lindsay Hoyle should demand his presence in the House.”

However, Mr Blackford’s SNP are also being put under pressure to recall parliament in Scotland to face further scrutiny over rising cases north of the border.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has urged MSPs to return to Holyrood, claiming the government has lost its grip on the virus with Scotland’s rate of new cases now the highest of all four UK nations.

The Scottish Government is now considering recruiting more contact tracers due to the surge in cases, as the system struggles to cope.

Mr Sarwar has accused the SNP of being “too slow” in rolling out walk-in vaccination clinics for Scots, and along with a parliamentary recall he is also demanding that the length of time between jags be halved to four weeks.

He said: “Five weeks ago, before this recent spike took hold, Scottish Labour called for walk-in vaccination centres to become the norm - but ministers dawdled and now our exit from the pandemic rests on a knife edge.

“Right now we should be ramping up efforts to contain the virus, but instead the SNP cut corners on Test and Protect and let the vaccine roll-out stall.

“Parliament needs to be recalled urgently so Ministers can answer questions on this growing crisis.”

The Scottish Conservatives have also previously insisted Holyrood should be recalled over the summer recess for any coronavirus statements by Nicola Sturgeon.

Chief Whip Stephen Kerr submitted a proposal to the Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone, to recall the Scottish Parliament at three week intervals on July 12, August 2 and August 23.

The Tories said the move would mean the First Minister delivered Covid statements to the Scottish Parliament first, "not to TV cameras".

Mr Kerr said: "Nicola Sturgeon must respect the Scottish Parliament and deliver any Covid statements to MSPs, not only to TV cameras.

"The First Minister should face scrutiny when making important decisions with huge consequences for people’s lives.

"I have asked the Presiding Officer to intervene and prevent the SNP Government from choosing when and how they face questions from the opposition.

"Our proposal would recall the Scottish Parliament for just a few days over the two-month recess, which is not a big inconvenience over an issue of such magnitude."

Responding to Mr Sarwar’s comments, a spokesman for health secretary Humza Yousaf MSP accused the Scottish Labour leader of hypocrisy and said the parliament will be recalled on July 13 and August 3 virtually "to allow updates related to COVID-19 to be made in Parliament, and for MSPs to scrutinise the Scottish Government."

He added: "There seems to be an element of hypocrisy in Labour’s statement - only last month Mr Sarwar was demanding restrictions were eased and now wants to recall Parliament with cases rising.

“The number of new cases is still a cause for concern and we are closely monitoring the situation.

"It was anticipated cases would rise as, with the agreement of Parliament, we moved out of lockdown restrictions and we are continuing to closely monitor hospitalisation data."

The spokesman acknowledged the Delta variant was "helping to drive the steep rise in cases" as it is "significantly more transmissible".

He continued: "From [today] all mainland health boards will offer drop-in coronavirus vaccination clinics as the programme nears completion of first doses for all adults in Scotland.

“JCVI advice on the gap between first and second doses is clear that eight weeks is optimal and reducing that below eight weeks would compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine and how long that effect lasts."

The spokesman added that "constraints on supply" of vaccines and the fact Pfizer can only be given to younger people were affecting the rollout but the government was "progressing the final stages...as quickly as we can. "

He said: "The number of infections and hospitalisation will be considered as part of the next review of restrictions in a couple of weeks and, as we work hard to get even more people vaccinated, we would ask everyone to continue to follow vital health advice on social distancing, wearing masks and washing their hands.

“At a time when we are facing a record high number of positive cases, our Test and Protect system has continued to operate well, meeting our closest proxy measure to the World Health Organisation criteria of closing 80% of close contacts within 72 hours.”