Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Boris Johnson confirms isolation laws will be scrapped later this month

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Photo / Jessica Taylor, UK Parliament via AP

Covid isolation laws in the United Kingdom will be scrapped this month after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he expects to end the remaining Covid-19 restrictions a "full month early".

This will include an end to the legal requirement to self-isolate, Johnson told MPs, as he set out his ambition to confirm an end to remaining rules on February 21.

Speaking in the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions, he said: "It is my intention to return on the first day after the half-term recess to present our strategy for living with Covid.

"Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions - including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive - a full month early."

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Photo / Jessica Taylor, UK Parliament via AP

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said: "We are the freest country in Europe thanks to the strong defences we have built. We're learning to live with Covid."

Johnson praised the vaccine rollout and the decision to "keep our economy moving" during a lively Prime Minister's Questions, in which he cited Labour's opposition to opening up the economy back in July.

Johnson faced off with Keir Starmer for the first time since the Labour leader was mobbed by protesters in Whitehall on Monday night, with the PM branding the group "thugs and yobs".

For his part, Starmer said he had his mind firmly focussed on issues that threaten to pose further headaches for the government in the long term - including April's rise in National Insurance and soaring energy bills.

But after a tumultuous few weeks, Johnson's hope will be that an end to Covid restrictions after two long years will help him to reboot his premiership and win back the support of wavering backbenchers.