More than 1,500 of the country’s leading child health specialists have urged the Prime Minister to explain his plan to get children back to school in England – warning that continued absence from class “risks scarring the life chances of a generation”.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson blamed Labour councils for being reluctant to allow pupils to return. Schools in Wales will bring back no more than a third of pupils at a time from next week.

Scottish pupils will come back for a mix of school and home-based learning from August – the same month that some years in Northern Ireland will go back to school. Fatima Manji reports.

Paediatricians urge Johnson to explain plan to get children back to school in England