The government has dropped its strongest hints yet that it could overrule the concerns of some scientific advisers and reduce the 2-metre physical distancing guidelines, with Boris Johnson saying there was now “more margin for manoeuvre” over coronavirus. With many thousands of non-essential shops permitted to open on Monday, the prime minister visited the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre in east London to urge consumers to bring some life back to the slumping economy. Speaking after his chancellor, Rishi Sunak, had promised that the government would “actively review” the 2-metre rule, which many shops, restaurants and other outlets have warned would make their businesses unviable, Johnson said people should be able to “shop with confidence” amid reduced Covid-19 infection rates. “As we get the numbers down, so it becomes one in a thousand, one in 1,600, maybe fewer, your chances of being 2 metres, 1 metre or even a foot away from somebody who has the virus are obviously going down statistically, so you start to build some more margin for manoeuvre, and we’ll be looking at that,” he said. Speaking earlier in the day, Sunak indicated the government could reduce the 2-metre rule in the near future, saying the measure was being urgently looked at. “It will be a comprehensive review. It will be conducted very soon,” Sunak told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, while stressing that the economic benefits of a reduced distance would need to be gauged against the health impact. Pressure has been building on the government to reconsider the rule, given the implications it has for the hospitality sector and for shops, many of which are reopening on Monday, particularly after figures showing that the UK economy shrank by 20.4% in April. Some scientific advisers, including Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, have indicated they would be wary about changing the recommended distance with the so-called R rate of infection for coronavirus perilously close to one in several regions. Sunak said a possible health trade-off involving a smaller distance but greater use of masks in public places would be part of the review, and stressed that it would be up to politicians to decide, based on scientific advice. “Ultimately, it is for ministers,” he said. “We are the people who are elected to make decisions in this country. People should hold us responsible and accountable for making those decisions. I think that people are comforted and have confidence in those decisions if they know that we are taking advice from our scientists.” In an earlier interview on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Sunak acknowledged the pressure on businesses if the 2-metre distance remained, particularly when parts of the hospitality industry are allowed to reopen, a process that could begin early next month. “I can very much understand the positive impact it will have on businesses’ ability to open and thereby maintain the jobs that they have, and make sure all the people that work for them can come back to those jobs and remain employed, and that’s really important to me,” he said. “But at the same time, we must make sure that it’s safe to do so.” But Sunak indicated that a change was possible: “Now that we have made good progress in suppressing the virus, we’re at a different stage of this epidemic than we were at the beginning, and that enables us to take a fresh look at this. “Obviously, many other countries around the world use a different rule and indeed, we’ve seen a couple of countries recently – I think Norway and Denmark, from memory – have moved from 2 metres to something less as well. But it’s important that we look at it comprehensively in the round and that’s what we will do urgently.” The reopening of more shops is a key moment in the government’s attempt to balance the potentially competing demands of restarting the economy and keeping infection rates down. In video footage released by Downing Street, Johnson was shown meeting staff at the Westfield Stratford City who were preparing for more shops to reopen. “We don’t know what will happen exactly, whether the people will come in a flood or in a trickle,” he said. “I hope they will come in sensible numbers.” People should “stick to the basic public health rules”, such as observing distances of 2 metres, he added.