Use 'discretion' when deciding to attend funerals during lockdown, urges Boris Johnson

Families should use their "discretion" when deciding who constitutes as "immediate family" when organising funerals after the PM announced strict new social distancing measures to battle Covid-19.

In a conference call with journalists, the PM's official spokesman said: "I think we would expect families to exercise their own discretion in relation to the issue of funerals.

"I think they will be best placed to judge what constitutes the people who were closest to the deceased and who they would view as immediate family."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people to consider whether they need to attend funerals during lockdown. Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Asked whether the Government wanted to see small numbers of mourners at funerals, the Downing Street spokesman said: "Yes, but it is a sensitive issue and I think families would be best placed to exercise their own discretion in the full understanding of the potential risk of bigger gatherings."