London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken out to warn the capital's residents not to use public transport for "any unnecessary journeys".

The warning came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation in a pre-recorded message in which he set out a phased approach to easing the coronavirus lockdown.

In his televised address, Mr Johnson encouraged people to start returning to work if they were currently unable to work from home.

But in a strongly worded message from Mr Khan, the London Mayor emphasised that lockdown hasn't been lifted and urged people to avoid public transport.

He said: "I want to be as clear as possible: social distancing measures are still in place. Lockdown hasn't been lifted and we all still need to play our part in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

"You must still stay at home as much as possible and keep a safe two-metre distance from other people at all times when you are out. Everyone must continue to work from home if they possibly can.

Your Local Guardian:

"You must not use public transport for any unnecessary journeys. If you really have to travel, please avoid rush hour.

"We still have a long way to go to defeat this virus and we have not returned to life as it was before.

"The Government has set out a gradual approach to bring the UK out of the current lockdown, carefully monitoring the impact at each stage. This is essential for avoiding a disastrous second peak that could overwhelm our NHS."

The Prime Minister's address provoked a mixed reaction, with many criticising it for being vague and contradictory.

The chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA), Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said the Government had created confusion in its messaging, adding that there was still "a considerable amount of community circulation of the virus going on".

He added: "If we now allow the public to go to local parks in an unlimited sense, and to go outdoors... what we've not heard is how the Government will enforce social distancing and how it will avoid a whole neighbourhood playing in a park, with footballs moving from one group to another, and spreading the disease.

"So, I'm really concerned that there is no clarity."