Boris Johnson urges people to ‘maintain discipline’ during lockdown easing as he shows off new haircut

The Prime Minister today urged people in England to "maintain discipline" during lockdown easing as it emerged he had a haircut and went to the pub over the weekend.

Boris Johnson had his unruly locks chopped off after lockdown restrictions were lifted to allow hairdressers and barbers to start working again.

In an exclusive interview with the Standard last week, Mr Johnson revealed he was "starting to get dreadlocks at the back". His official spokesman was unable to say where the Prime Minister had his hair cut or how much it cost.

He added: “I don’t know that detail and don’t plan to ask such questions but the PM has definitely had a haircut and he also went for a drink on Saturday evening.”

The spokesman said the PM had a drink in a pub near his country residence Chequers.

Some commentators poked fun at the PM's hair after it grew long during the coronavirus pandemic. GMB host Piers Morgan compared his appearance to classic children’s TV character Worzel Gummidge.

He said: “I know it may seem very trivial, but the rest of us – our wives, our partners, the people we’re with – have bothered to get the old scissors out and given us a little trim. [But] having the Prime Minister coming out like Worzel Gummidge.”

Mr Johnson’s new haircut was on show as he visited Goole in East Yorkshire to promote the Government’s efforts to protect the economy from the impact of a coronavirus recession.

He urged people not to “stuff this up” after lockdown restrictions were eased, but said he was not shocked by some of the scenes over the weekend because “I understand what human nature is”.

“There is a risk that some people will not obey the guidelines, that’s always going to be there,” he said. “But the overwhelming majority of people have and so far we think that the measures and the package is working.

“But we cannot be complacent, we really can’t afford to stuff this up, to blow it now. We have got to keep going in the prudent way that we are.”

He urged people to “maintain discipline” in order to “get back to life as close to normal as possible as fast as possible”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said police forces reported being “quieter than expected” despite a “small number of individual incidents” around England.