There will be a "significant return to normality" by Christmas, Boris Johnson has said.

In his latest coronavirus lockdown easing measures, the Prime Minister said that it will be up to employers to decide whether it is safe for workers to return to offices from August 1, whilst trials will begin on whether sports stadiums can reopen to fans from October.

Local authorities will have new powers to control public gatherings in their areas to help control the spread of the virus, he continued.

Additionally, Mr Johnson scrapped the advice to avoid public transport, whilst most leisure settings not already allowed to reopen will be given the green light from the start of next month.

“It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November, at the earliest, possibly in time for Christmas,” he told the press conference this morning.

“It is not for government to decide how employers should run their companies and whether they want their workforces in the office or not – that is for companies.”

In response to a question from the public, the PM said it “may conceivably be possible” to depart from social distancing measures “by November at the earliest”.

The R rate is between 0.7 and 0.9, according to SAGE, and the number of new cases of the virus is consistently below 1,000 a day.

"It is now the case, and has been for some time, that anyone, anywhere in the UK, with symptoms can get a test without delay," he continued.

"As we approach Winter, we will need to go further, not least because many more people will show Covid-like symptoms as a result of seasonal illnesses, and therefore require a test.

"We will further increase testing capacity to at least half a million antigen tests a day by the end of October.

"It is possible that the virus will be more virulent in the winter months, and it is certain that the NHS will face the usual winter pressures."

He added that the government has increased the amount of PPE and ventilators available, and the "biggest ever" flu vaccination programme will be launched in the autumn.

An extra £3 billion funding for the NHS in England, and extra cash for the devolved nations, will allow Nightingale hospitals to remain open and for private hospital capacity to be used until the end of March.

Ministers hope this will mean hospitals have sufficient capacity to deal with a possible spike in Covid-19 cases during the already trying winter season while allowing routine treatments and procedures to continue.

His pledges come after a report commissioned by Sir Patrick Vallance, his top scientific adviser, warned there could be 120,000 hospital deaths in a “reasonable worst-case scenario”.

London mayor Sadiq Khan quickly raised concerns over the move to encourage staff back to workplaces, warning Tubes in the capital cannot be allowed to become “packed” again.

“It’s really important that we don’t have a return to work that leads to a second wave,” he told the PA news agency. “That would be catastrophic for our economy and could overrun the NHS and lead to more lives being lost.”

The PM’s latest easing of the lockdown came as Government figures showed the growth rate of coronavirus transmission increased slightly in the last week.