Dan Wootton: Enough of lockdown, give us back our freedom, Boris

June 14 was due to be one of the most important days in recent British history. Finally, freedom. Granted to a country that was told it would take just three weeks to flatten the curve and protect the NHS 15 months ago.

A return of our God given civil liberties as the government finally stepped back from controlling every damn aspect of our lives and learned to trust us again. A chance for businesses to make up for the untold damage of this past year, which will lead to spiralling poverty. For children and teenagers to start catching up on a catastrophic loss of development, both educationally and personally.

And for all of us to live a life that matters again. To sing together, dance together and, yes, watch football together. But if the government insiders are to be believed, Boris Johnson has bottled it. Freedom Day won’t take place next Monday. Britain will not be open for business again. Instead, we remain haunted by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite having the world’s best vaccine rollout.

Lockdowns are a crude measure. Mark my words, in the years to come we will discover they have caused far more deaths and devastation than the government has ever admitted. They should be wiped from the public health playbook forever more. But, tragically, the doomsday scientists and public health officials have taken control.

They’re addicted to the power and the government are satisfied its 15-month-long never-ending scare campaign has suitably terrified the public into supporting lockdowns. But if we don’t fight back against this madness, some of the damage will be irreversible.

No No No! Tomorrow night in an address to the nation, Boris will likely try and tell us it will be just another four weeks. As if! There’ll be the next variant, the next scare story, more intense lobbying by paranoid public health officials repeated ad nauseum by the BBC and ITV unchallenged.

Why don’t they report on the good news? The fact 95% of over-65s – the vulnerable age group – now have Covid antibodies. The fact that while infections are fast rising, deaths are not. Because the vaccine programme has worked. Why not look to Florida or Texas or Sweden, where a different approach that doesn’t keep large parts of the economy locked down, has worked?

If we can’t get freedom back in the middle of summer, then I struggle to maintain hope. It’s increasingly clear now that there is a move among some public health officials and politicians to create an ultra-cautious biosecurity state, copying the likes of China. Well I say hell no to that and I hope you do too. Theresa May was the wrong Prime Minister to deliver Brexit.

She came so close to botching the whole thing. But she’s right on the current inertia damning the UK. I want to keep faith with the swashbuckling Brexit hero Boris Johnson. The only political leader who was able to fight the establishment and deliver on the biggest democratic vote in our history.

But he must now tap into his soul and realise creating a semi-authoritarian state blighted by constant lockdowns is not the legacy he wants. More than 50,000 weddings have been booked in the next month alone. Nightclubs have rehired staff and paid for supplies. Theatre productions are ready to open. Set us free tomorrow, Boris, without dither or delay.