Boris Johnson could take over again from Dominic Raab as soon as Monday

When Boris Johnson returns to work in Downing Street next week he will have to make a series of decisions that will define both his premiership and the nation’s future.

Less than three weeks after leaving the intensive care unit of St Thomas’ Hospital, the prime minister will decide when, and how, to ease the lockdown restrictions that he imposed 33 days ago. “It’s the political calculus of life and death,” one cabinet minister said. “The work is going on about how we transition from pandemic to epidemic. The question is how many cases of coronavirus — and deaths — are you willing to live with in exchange for reopening the economy?”

Mr Johnson’s recovery at Chequers has been a success. Over the past week