BORIS Johnson has claimed he only “briefly” considered skipping out of quarantining over a Covid contact after being forced into a U-turn by a political backlash.

The Prime Minister, who had been accused of outrageous hypocrisy given 500,000 people are currently self-isolating, said it was “important that everybody sticks to the same rules”.

He will now self-isolate at his official country residence of Chequers until July 26, a week after social distancing measures end tomorrow in England on ‘Freedom Day’.

Amid worries the change in the system could cause chaos and upward of 100,000 infections a day, the PM also begged people to “please, please, please be cautious”. 

Nicola Sturgeon said talk of Freedom Day was “not sensible” given the case numbers.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says Boris' 'freedom day' calls 'not sensible'

Social distancing measures will also be relaxed to a lesser degree in Scotland tomorrow.

In an apparently self-shot mobile phone video posted on Twitter, Mr Johnson explained why he decided to self-isolate instead of taking part in a Government-run pilot scheme.

In his video, Mr Johnson said: “Like so many hundreds of thousands of people across the country I've been pinged, I've been asked to self-isolate by the test trace and isolate system after I've been in contact with somebody who has Covid, In this case of course, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

“We did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allows people to test daily, but I think it's far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules and that's why I'm going to be self isolating until Monday, the 26th of July.

“I know how frustrating it all is, but I really do urge everybody to stick with the programme, and take the appropriate course of action when you're asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.”

After Mr Javid visited Downing Street on Friday and had a positive PCR test on Saturday, NHS Test and Trace pinged Mr Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak as close contacts.

Under the Government’s rules, even the double-jabbed must self-isolate for 10 days after such a contact, a requirement due to stay in place until Augustt 16.

However Downing Street initially said that the PM and Chancellor would not self-isolate.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak u-turn on self-isolation after Test and Trace contact row

Instead they were due to take part in a Government-run pilot system that would have let take daily tests so they could return to work for essential business.

The proposal caused an outcry across Westminster, given so many people are self-isolating and businesses say they are struggling to cope with a lack of staff.

Mr Johnson, who previously said he would be guided by “data not dates”, also defended the Government’s decision to have a “big opening up” on July 19, despite Covid cases surging.

He said: “If we don't do it now, then we'll be opening up in the autumn, the winter months, when the virus has the advantage of the cold weather.

“We lose the precious firebreak that we get with the school holidays.

“If we don't do it now we've got to ask ourselves, when will we ever do it? So this is the right moment." 

READ MORE: Covid Scotland - Scottish Government confirms a further 1,735 new cases

However he went on: “But we've got to do it cautiously, we've got to remember that this viruses, sadly still out there. Cases are rising.

“We can see the extreme contagiousness of the of the Delta variant.

“But we have this immense consolation and satisfaction that there is no doubt at all that the the massive vaccination programme has very severely weakened the link between infection and hospitalisation, and between infection and serious illness and death, and that is the vital thing. So please, please, please be cautious. 

“Go forward tomorrow into the next step with all the right prudence and respect for other people and the risks that the disease continues to present.

“And above all, please, please, please, when you're asked to get that second jab and get your jab, please come forward and do it.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of “double standards” and being “contemptuous of the British public” over the Prime Minister’s abandoned plans to avoid quarantine.

READ MORE: Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson 'genuinely astonished' Boris Johnson backed her peerage

Speaking to the media in north London, Sir Keir said: “Yet again, it’s double standards from the Government.

“The Prime Minister is causing utter chaos with his reckless decision making and that means infection rates are going through the roof, hundreds of thousands of people are having to self-isolate, and they’re doing the right thing.

“What happens when the rules apply to the Prime Minister? He tries to wriggle out of them and to pretend that he’s on some pilot scheme that exempts him.

“So I’m afraid yet again, we see it’s one rule for them and another rule for everybody else.”

Sir Keir added of the Prime Minister: “The only reason that he’s U-turned on this is because he’s been busted.

“It’s like bank robbers who’ve got caught and now they’re offering the money back.

“One rule for them, another rule for everybody else. It’s contemptuous of the British public.”