Groups of six people can meet outside in England from Monday

Groups of six people will be able to meet outside in England from Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

From Monday groups of up to six people can meet in private gardens "provided those from different households continue to stick to social distancing rules" by staying two metres apart.

Mr Johnson was speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference. where he set out how his five tests for easing the lockdown had been met.

He said the "heroic efforts" of NHS workers and the public mean that the first test of protecting the NHS's ability to cope has been met, with 475 admissions in Covid-19 in England on May 26.

A "sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rate" has been witnessed, meaning the second test has been met, he said.

The Government is satisfied the third test has been met because the rate of infection is "decreasing to manageable levels across the board" with an average of 2,312 new cases being confirmed in the last seven days, he said.

Test four has been met by signing new contracts for protective equipment and boosting testing capacity to 161,214 a day, he said.

On the final test, the PM said that the adjustments have been crafted to not risk a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS.

"This package has been carefully designed so we can ease the burdens of the lockdown while expecting to keep that R below one," he said.