This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. The uk government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules. Its because one of its top scientific advisers has resigned after admitting breaking the guidelines on social distancing. Professor ferguson has obviously set out that he should have abided by the rules, it was a lapse, an error of judgment. And those rules on social distancing are very firmly still required. The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions today including the return of bundesliga football. President trump is to scrap the Task Force Co ordinating americas response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. You have people that are not going to stand for this,
and i understand them very well. And we are going to put out little embers and little fires and maybe some big fires, but we still have to go back to work. Climate experts say this year will see the biggest decline in Carbon Emissions ever recorded, because of the pandemic. And from russia with love the veteran sergeant inspired to fundraise for doctors families after seeing captain tom moores fundraising success. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. First, a uk goverment minister has urged people to continue following the guidance on social distancing, after one
of the countrys top scientific experts, professor Neil Ferguson, resigned as an adviser because a woman described by the telegraph newspaper as his married lover visited him at his home during lockdown, twice. Security Ministerjames Brokenshire said the rules are still very much required, and that professor ferguson was right to accept hed made a mistake by not following them. In a statement professor ferguson said i accept i made an error of judgement and took the wrong course of action, adding i deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing. In germany, Angela Merkel is expected to announce more easing of the countrys lockdown restrictions, as the infection rate continues to fall. While in the us, President Trump has confirmed the White House Coronavirus task force will be disbanded, in spite of the persistently high number of cases. Meanwhile tens of thousands of students are returning to school
in the chinese province of hubei, where the coronavirus pandemic began last december. Lets get more from our Political Correspondent nick eardley, whos at westminster. Good morning. Ithink good morning. I think that issue of the death toll now being the highest in europe is bound to be one we hear more about today. Boris johnson in europe is bound to be one we hear more about today. Borisjohnson will be back in the house of commons for Prime Ministers questions in a couple of hours time and it will be the first time he has been up against new labour leader keir starmer. Labour have over the last few days being kind of increasing their questioning of the Government Strategy and talking about ministers being too slow on things like bringing in the lockdown, too slow on testing and ppe. 0ne bringing in the lockdown, too slow on testing and ppe. One of the questions that is being asked increasingly is why the uk has got to the point where the death toll is so to the point where the death toll is so high. Ministers dispute the way
some of the figures are being collated in Different Countries and say it is hard at the moment to compare the uk with those other countries. This is what security Ministerjames Brokenshire had to say this morning about the death toll. It is an absolute tragedy for anyone to lose a loved one and, you know, there will be im sure plenty of reflection and time, once we are through this terrible virus, to be able to look at actions that have been taken and to see what lessons can be learned, what mistakes have been made. And every government i think will need to do that and we are no exception to that. James brokenshire, security minister there. One other thing to look out for in the politics of this today, perhaps more questions on what the next steps might be. We know Boris Johnson will talk about potentially lifting restrictions to the lockdown, or certainly the strategy for that at end of the week on
sunday. Thats something labour have been pushing for and might bring up at Prime Ministers questions in a couple of hours. Thank you, nick ea rdley couple of hours. Thank you, nick eardley in westminster. Germany is expected to announce a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions today when chancellor Angela Merkel meets state leaders. The country has been in lockdown for six weeks, but theres growing pressure to reopen the economy as the infection rate continues to fall. The bundesliga is expected to get the green light to restart behind closed doors in may. It comes after weeks of shutdown imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus. The number of confirmed virus cases in germany now stands at more than 164,000. Meanwhile the total number of people who have died because of the virus has risen to almost 7,000. 0ur berlin correspondentjenny hill explained what measures are likely to be announced today. I think you can expect to see a fairly significant lifting of restrictions which have for now
governed german life for so long. Thinking of building, there is a bit ofa thinking of building, there is a bit of a sense of excitement here now. Small shops have been allowed to reopen for a couple of weeks and some children have gone back to school. There is good rates on the infection rate front, steadily declining and they dont appear to be impacted by some of the relaxations we have seen put in place, one of the reasons Angela Merkel wanted to wait until today to go ahead with further easing of restriction, she wanted to make sure there wasnt an impact on the infection rates. She is meeting with leaders of those 16 german states and they are champing at the bit to further get back to a kind of normality. They are worried about local economies. Some of them are so impatient they have already published their plans on what they wa nt to published their plans on what they want to do. She will have this meeting and by and large we expect the result to be that most shops will now be allowed to reopen and most children will go back to school before the Summer Holidays and there will be a gradual easing of
restrictions around hospitality, hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes will also start to reopen. The hospitality sector has been really climbing the walls in desperation because it hasnt yet been allowed to reopen. She is under a lot of pressure. I think she would have preferred a more cautious and unified approach to a timetable back to ordinary daily life. People will still have to wear face masks when they go on Public Transport and into shops. There will still be a ban on large gatherings, as well as a warning against International Travel for at least another month. The spanish Prime Minister, pedro sanchez, has told the countrys parliament that lifting the state of emergency now would be a big mistake. Hes asking parliament to extend it for another 15 days, but he doesnt have the majority to push it through. The measures have given ministers extraordinary powers. The government believes that easing the rules could risk a second wave of the virus. In america, President Trump has confirmed the White House Coronavirus task force is to be disbanded within weeks. Thats despite the number of new infections continuing to rise
and 70,000 deaths. Mr trump says a Different Group will replace it, focussing on reopening the us safely. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. A rare trip out of washington for donald trump. After being holed up at the white house during the pandemic, the president toured a factory in phoenix thats making medical grade face masks. Like the executives he met, he chose not to wear one, only safety goggles. According to a sign in the facility, staff there are required to wear face masks. During his visit to arizona, a state which will be a key Battle Ground in novembers president ial election, mr trump confirmed that the Coronavirus Task force was winding down. The group has been co ordinating the us response to covid i9. Our country has to go back to being our country again. You have people that are not going to stand for this, and i understand them very well, and we are going to put out little embers and little fires,
and maybe some big fires, but we still have to go back to work. The coronavirus pandemic is farfrom being over in the us with about 25,000 new infections every day. A Trump Administration agency says that number could rise to 200,000 by the end of the month, with the daily death toll reaching 3,000. The sobering projection comes as more states are beginning to ease their stay at home orders, with people going back to work at some shops and nonessential businesses in about half the country. In an interview with abc news, mr trump acknowledged that more lives could be lost as a result of relaxing the guidelines. Its possible there will be some because you wont be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is, but at the same time, were going to practise social distancing, were going to be washing hands, were going to be
doing a lot of the things that weve learned to do over the last period of time, and we have to get our country back. Mr trump also noted that some people were dying because of the economic stress of the shutdown by abusing drugs or committing suicide. Horns toot. He said reopening the economy would not be perfect, thered be new outbreaks of the virus, but america had to get back to work. Peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. The first groups of students are returning to school in chinas hubei province, the epicentre of the global pandemic. Students who have exams coming up in the summer are the first to head back to school. Theyve all had to take a coronavirus test before returning, and there will be measures to ensure social distancing, including partitions in the school canteen. 0ur correspondent robin brant in shanghai has the details. A lot of it is about the University Entrance exam here. The much feared gaokao. That has been pushed back until early on in july and so the First Tranche of pupils
that are being allowed to return to schools in hubei and the city of wuhan, the epicentre of this outbreak, the First Tranche going back today are high school pupils, so they have another couple of months to prepare for that exam. Its hugely important. It determines the future of millions of teenagers here in china, so the focus is very much on them. There are around about 121 schools in wuhan that have reopened today. Its part of a staggered return in that city, in that province and, frankly, across all of china as well. No one is rushing back. We are seeing oldest students returning first, younger ones possibly later. I think those under ten might not go back at all this year, so they face the prospect maybe of six months of no face to face learning before they can go back to classrooms, possibly august or september. In a few months, demand for energy across the world has fallen off a cliff, which means a big drop in the emissions which cause Climate Change. Skies without planes,
roads without cars should lead to lower carbon levels. So will coronavirus inspire action on Global Warming or delay it . Here in the uk the committee on Climate Change has written to the british Prime Minister warning that the country must avoid lurching from the pandemic into a deeper crisis. Well speak to their boss in a minute, first Michael Cowan has this. A recent global poll of 20,000 people, including brits, found over 70 of adults think Climate Change is as serious as coronavirus. Over half of britons would support a green economic recovery as the uk emerges from this pandemic. With 41 of respondents saying they would avoid things like flying in the next year to limit their contribution to emissions. So, could you continue with some lockdown measures like not driving as much and stopping flying if it was to help Climate Change . But change is hard for us to commit to without concrete reasoning. If we need to pop out and walk to the shop round the corner and
support local business instead of driving to main supermarkets. Im more relaxed sitting here and doing nothing than jumping around more relaxed sitting here and doing nothing thanjumping around in airports. I dont think we will be going abroad for a long time, if we ever go going abroad for a long time, if we evergo again, to going abroad for a long time, if we ever go again, to be fair. Ive got family in United States and family in australia and in israel. I like keeping up with my family and friends and there is a certain amount of flying, of course. But i will have to think twice about how to do it. I was supposed to be flying on two separate occasions during this lockdown. Both of them i cant do, and because i cant do them, i feel like cant do, and because i cant do them, ifeel like i want to cant do, and because i cant do them, i feel like i want to go to these places more. But change is ha rd to these places more. But change is hard to commit to without concrete reasoning. I would love to be able to say of course people would carry on. Its so obvious its a good thing. Sarah lewis is a behavioural psychologist. If we think about the coronavirus
at the moment, that is really interesting because the motivation is very strong. The consequence is pretty immediate. You know, if you catch this you are in trouble. Motivation to avoid it is very strong and that is one of the reasons people have complied with the guidance so readily, is because we can really see the benefits. There is a real difference between compliance and commitment. And what you are talking about is will people be committed to this behaviour afterwards. At the moment, why would they be . No one has made it clear why they should continue this behaviour when they dont have to. One reason to continue is the impact we are already having on emissions. According to professor Cameron Hepburn at the university of oxford. Behaviour change has got us the biggest drop in emissions probably on record, between 5 and 10 at current estimates. But we have got to get emissions down to zero, so we need 100 reduction. And its likely that there
will be a lot of people who have lost theirjobs, or who are short on income. Building up the rest of the Renewable Energy infrastructure, the storage infrastructure, upgrading our electricity grids, putting in Electric Vehicle charging points, building e bike lanes, etc, all of these things that we know we are going to have to do. And if we have got to do this anyway, do it now. Change on this scale would be difficult and would require buy in from us as a society as well as a strong hand from government. But if we did manage to implement these measures, this devastating pandemic might, albeit unwittingly, create a pathway to a greener planet. Michael cowan, bbc news. If youre watching in the uk, we will be answering your questions on the Pandemic Impact on Climate Change. Thats at 3 30 this afternoon. Send us your questions to hashtag bbcyourquestions or email yourquestions bbc. Co. Uk the headlines on bbc news. The government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules after one of its main scientific advisers resigns after admitting breaking the rules on social distancing. The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions later today after she meets the leaders of 16 german states. President trump is to scrap the Task Force Co ordinating americas response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. A major Conservation Charity has warned that the 30 years of progress they have made in africa could be undone very quickly by covid i9. The chief executive of tusk, an organisation supported by prince william, has told the bbc that the pandemic has seen a rise in animal poaching. Heres our environment correspondent, claire marshall. Scouring the vast plains of north west province, south africa. I think were out on a call for a rhino that was poached. Nico runs Nonprofit Organisation rhino 911. And we hope the calf is still alive so that we can rescue it and take it to the orphanage. The calf is two months old. Her mother was found dead with her horn hacked off. Shes sedated, her eyes bandaged to make the journey less traumatic. Shes the fourth orphan theyve rescued in the last month. The pressure on africas wildlife is relentless and its getting much worse. The Tourism Industry has collapsed. Vast numbers of people are losing theirjobs and many are now starting to poach for food. People are desperate. People living on the breadline are battling to survive just with basics. You know, ive seen it go up, i would say tenfold on reserves, parks. Its an income and living for them. Its staying alive. In the foothills of mount kenya, field rangers head out on patrol. This footage was filmed exclusively for the bbc. Its lewa a jewel in the crown of the tusk trust. Theyre protecting some of the worlds most endangered species. Prince william, a passionate supporter of the charity, proposed to Kate Middleton here. But the trust is now set to lose almost £2 million this year. This is definitely the biggest threat that weve seen to the conservation world in the 30 years that ive been working in it. Weve had the real pressure from the illegal wildlife trade, and that is ongoing. Its a constant battle. The pandemic hasnt stopped the International Criminal gangs. They have a motive. Rhino horn is more valuable than gold or heroin, tempting for someone now out of a job. The way that covid is making the situation worse is once these guys. I know they dont have a job, they want an income, then they want to try other things like maybe, poaching a rhino, poaching an elephant, and selling those trophies for their living. Here in the uk, with fewer planes in the sky and cars on the roads, wildlife has been given a bit of a break. But the emerging situation around the world is a lot more bleak. It costs a lot of money to protect these creatures from humans. That money is now drying up. Claire marshall, bbc news. Lets speak to two people from the World Wildlife fund about the increasing problem of poaching. Tanya steele leads the uk office and rohit singh is the zero poaching lead and is in singapore. Thank you for speaking to us. Do you
agree with the Charity Representative in that film that the illegal wildlife trade is facing its biggest threat in terms of comfort mac and the impact on protected areas and species in 30 years. |j would agree that we are facing some incredibly concerning reports of poaching and illegal wildlife trade both growing quite considerably in a whole range of places around the world. Ultimately, this is wildlife thatis world. Ultimately, this is wildlife that is incredibly precious. Its much smaller in number. But its also important for us in terms of biodiversity and the very habitats that it seeks to protect. So we are very concerned about the reports, but there is actually a wider issue at hand here in terms of the sheer scale of habitat destruction we have faced and is also giving rise to future pandemics. Thats also an issue we need to address alongside the growing poaching challenge. Rohit, you worked as a ranger for 14 yea rs. Rohit, you worked as a ranger for 14 years. I wonder what you think of the people who are turning to killing rhinos to use tusks to make money because they have nothing else, no other way of surviving. Thanks for asking. I think we need to understand that the poaching pressure, as tanya said, is increasing, but the people who are responsible for protecting these animals are also workers whose job has been made much more difficult with covid, and it has always been difficult. These rangers worked under extremely difficult conditions will stop many rangers have been used by Government Agencies to tackle the Health Crisis they are facing. The pressure is increasing,
rangers are not in a situation to address this problem. At this point i would also like to mention, we have all heard about the term of self isolation. Here we have rangers who have been living in self isolation for so long because rangers stations are too remote. They stay away from their families with very little facilities and under extremely difficult conditions. Rangers are not at this point ina conditions. Rangers are not at this point in a situation where they can handle this pressure. So if rangers are not the ones to be protecting the species, whose job are not the ones to be protecting the species, whosejob is it right now . It is definitely the job of the rangers. Rangers and communities living around the park have to Work Together to protect these wildlife species. We are seeing good examples of rangers and communities working together. For example, in a province
of rajasthan in india, 11,000 rangers donated one day of their salaries to coffee relief efforts. In covid relief efforts. We have also seen rangers helping out locally in brazil and pakistan. Rangers and communities together can prevent poaching. As a result of the pandemic, how is the work your organisation does going to have to change to better protect species and their Natural Habitats . Ultimately i think its fair to say we feel quite overwhelmed by the demands on our work. We have heard today about the illegal wildlife trade and poaching, but actually what we do know is that at the heart of all pandemics, there isa at the heart of all pandemics, there is a real issue relating to habitat loss. We have seen large scale habitat loss through deforestation, we saw terrible fires in the amazon
last year and we expect something potentially similar this year. Also the intensification of agriculture and livestock production. 70 of emerging Infectious Diseases come from animals, wild animals and livestock. If we want to play our pa rt livestock. If we want to play our part in helping to prevent future pandemics then we need a plan that addresses absolutely first and foremost human health, but it also has to address the environmental and planetary health. To do that, we have to stop some of this widescale habitat loss overall. How do you respond when you hear people say that one of the ways we can prevent a future pandemic is to ban wet markets, for example . There is no doubt that the exploitation of wildlife as part of the issue. What we have seen in this case, or certainly has been reported in this case, a virus that has passed ha rmlessly case, a virus that has passed harmlessly between bats is transferred to humans. As in this
case it appears it happened on a wet market. We know diseases can pass through lots of other settings as well, as i said in terms of agricultural intensification we are seeing, lots of habitat loss and write their way through to some of the histories we have seen in other Infectious Diseases like sars and mers where it has jumped from livestock. We cant just look mers where it has jumped from livestock. We cantjust look at mers where it has jumped from livestock. We cant just look at wet markets and one set of wildlife trade. This is about a much bigger plan that goes to the heart of the issue where we start to balance human health and Wildlife Health overall and how we ensure we protect both for the future. The longer we leave it, the longer we face challenges ahead. Ultimately, business as usual is not going to work. It effectively set the timer for the next pandemic breaking again. Rohit, would you agree with
that . Absolutely. We have to make sure we protect nature. We balance, we stop the unsustainable harvesting of nature and Natural Resources. If we dont do that, then nature will retaliate again. And we will be in the same crisis again. What will you do about these increased levels of poaching, tanya . There is no doubt we are utterly committed to ensuring we are utterly committed to ensuring we protect what precious biodiversity we have left. We have talked today, the reports of rhino poaching. There are fewer than 4000 tigers left in the wild as well. We are committed to those issues. But ultimately the biggest threat facing Wildlife State isntjust poaching, it is the sheer habitat loss from the way we are exploiting Natural Resources , the way we are exploiting Natural Resources, primarily food but also
mining and logging. When we look at these issues, we have to look at human relationships and the use of precious resources across the planet. Ultimately we are not facing up planet. Ultimately we are not facing up to the threats that face us. Thank you to tanya steele, ceo of wwf uk, and rohit singh, the wwfs zero poaching lead. The Fundraising Efforts of the british war veteran captain tom moore have now inspired a 97 year old former russian army sergeant, zinaida korneva, who served in world war ii, to raise money for russian medics. 0ur moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg spoke to her. A message to captain tom. From sergeant zina. When 97 year old russian war veteran zina korneva saw these images of tom moore doing his sponsored walk for the nhs, she realised her country needed her. Zina couldnt do 100 laps of her garden. Last year, she broke her hip. Instead, she has been sharing wartime memories online and asking for donations. It is to help the families of russian doctors who have died in the pandemic. Zina is a real russian hero. She served in an anti aircraft brigade and fought in the battle of stalingrad. These days, when she is not fundraising, she is knitting and she hasjust finished a pair of socks for captain tom. Zinas socks are now winging their way to britain, express delivery. So if captain tom ever wants to do more charity walking, at least his feet will be warm. Steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. Hello. This is bbc news with victoria derbyshire. The headlines. The uk government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules. Its because one of its top scientific advisers has resigned after admitting breaking the guidelines on social distancing. Professor ferguson has obviously set out that he should have abided by the rules, it was a lapse, an error of judgment. And those rules on social distancing are very firmly still required. The german chancellor is expected
to announce the further relaxation of restrictions today, including the return of bundesliga football. President trump is to scrap the Task Force Co ordinating americas response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. Climate experts say this year will see the biggest decline in Carbon Emissions ever recorded, because of the pandemic. Here in the uk, the chancellor of the exchequer rishi sunak is preparing to wean businesses and employees off of the governments furlough scheme amid fears that the nation has become addicted. Thats according to a report today from the times newspaper. The chancellor is due to announce plans next week to wind down the scheme from july as part of an attempt to get people back to work as lockdown restrictions are eased. The furlough scheme supports firms by helping to temporarily pay
the wages of people who cant work due to the pandemic. Companies can claim 80 of an employees wages, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month before tax. The scheme, which has been backdated to march ist is due to run until at least the end ofjune. Lets discuss this with pauljohnson, director of the institute for fiscal studies. Hello, mrjohnson. Weve spoken to a number of firms who say if itjust stops at the end ofjune then youve got this cliff edge and people will then be made redundant. Well, thats clearly going to be true in some sectors. If you just stop this, the hospitality sector, people working in bars and restaurants and cinemas and so on and they are still not allowed to open, then clearly, those firms will simply sack everybody because they will absolutely have no choice. So its a real dilemma for the chancellor because there will
also be sectors where it will be time to encourage firms and people to get back to work. We presume at least at that point. And yet, this is something which will be very difficult i think to do differently for different parts of the economy, not least because different firms, sometimes work in different sectors, cross hospitality and retail and food retail and what have you. But thatis food retail and what have you. But that is the biggest issue, what might be appropriate for one part of the economy might not be appropriate for another bit of the economy. Firms have told us they feel if there was a tapering off of the furlough scheme rather than it suddenly ending at the end ofjune, that might be helpful. Is that a possibility or is it going to cost too much money to keep doing that . Well, this thing has cost a huge amount of money. As the chancellor said yesterday, we are spending as much on it as we are on the entire
national Health Service which is quite extraordinary given that we spend more on that than anything else we do. Yes, it is costing an awful lot of money. Its another issue that really matters what sector you are in. Even if you are taking this off gradually, so maybe providing 50 rather than 80 of wages, thats going to be possibly fine for those companies that can gradually bring people back into work, but if you are working in hospitality sector, you are either going to be, as an individual left very much worse off or as a firm, being asked to pay half the of people who arent doing anything. Clearly, some kind of tapering is going to be necessary for some areas. You might want to look out for those sectors that arent being closed entirely, some kind of cost sharing, so there is some cost to the employer of keeping people
furloughed. At the moment, there is no cost, so to use the chancellor might s words, if you want to gradually wean Industry Office you wa nt to gradually wean Industry Office you want to do that at a time, but again, much better if you can do it differentially by sector. When it comes to paying off the deficit, this crisis, when you take everything into account is going to cost billions of pounds in the country may end up with a deficit of around £270 billion, which is way more than the financial crisis of ten yea rs more than the financial crisis of ten years ago, but when it comes to paying it off, do you think there is a different attitude in this country now to paying off debt than ten yea rs now to paying off debt than ten years ago . We know borisjohnson. Sorry, go on. The big question is not how big the deficit as this year, yes, we will spend and borrow 250 300 year, yes, we will spend and borrow 250 300 billion, but year, yes, we will spend and borrow 250 300 billion, but if year, yes, we will spend and borrow 250 300 billion, but if that was just a one off, if the economy bounced back next year to wear it otherwise would have been, then we
can cope as it wear with a one off thing like that but the real problem is the economy isnt certainly going to bounce back to where it would have been. We will be poorerfor the next many years possibly, certainly the next few years, and that will mean if we are going to keep the sorts of Public Services we had, let alone the fact we want to spend more on things Like Health CareGoing Forward , on things Like Health CareGoing Forward, we will end up not with just a bigger debt but with a deficit each year which means the debt is rising. Thats not possible in the long run and i think the government will probably allow it to rise for a while but eventually will have to come back most likely i suspect with tax rises because there is so limited scope for big spending cuts beyond where wed already got two after a decade of austerity. Borisjohnson said recently two after a decade of austerity. Boris johnson said recently there would be no return to austerity and said he didnt even like the word. Im sure he doesnt like the word. Im sure he doesnt like the word. Im not sure how much different it makes what word you use, but in a way, hes right, because we have had across local government, social care, across local government, social ca re, across across local government, social care, across the justice system, prisons, large parts of social welfare, big cuts over the last ten yea rs welfare, big cuts over the last ten years and i generally think its ha rd to years and i generally think its hard to see more big cuts there. The areas where weve seen big increases like the Health Service, weve seen big increases in spending on Health Service, there is clearly neither scope nor public appetite for cutting spending on the Health Service. The other area where weve seen an increase in spending is on pensions and pensioners, theres not much political appetite for cutting spending there. Where the government often spending there. Where the government ofte n loo ks spending there. Where the government often looks first for cuts when they needed, its actually on infrastructure investments, investment spending, and if theres one thing government knows, it did wa nt to one thing government knows, it did want to increase spending on exactly that, so if you look at the last two
recessions, what happened immediately was a huge cut in Infrastructure Spending and i suspect that wont happen either and that really does in the medium, leave you with one option, which means we will end up paying between us more taxes because we want it seems politically better Public Services and we will end up having less money in total, so the government willjust less money in total, so the government will just have less money in total, so the government willjust have to take more money from us to pay for those things that we want. Thank you very much, mrjohnson. Could coronavirus mutate to become weaker, or more contagious . Or is it too soon to tell . Research is taking place in the uk and in the United States. Our Health CorrespondentPhilippa Roxby is here. What has the research shown . Yes, this is interesting, theres been research from the usa published in the la times, warning of a mutation in the spikes on the coronavirus, which give coronavirus its name and they allow it to get into the respiratory cells and the
lungs and they are warning of a mutation in the cells in saying that could make the virus more contagious and a bit more dangerous. However, british researchers have also done their own analysis of the genome of their own analysis of the genome of the virus, and they say they have discovered mutations too but mutations are natural and happen all the time in viruses and its not necessarily bad news. We dont yet know if it means the virus is dangerous or becoming more contagious because theres so much about the virus we still dont know. 0k, about the virus we still dont know. Ok, so more Research Needs to be done . Yes, the important thing is not to get too fascinated by these mutations because they are quite natural, and not necessarily bad news for them they will certainly be followed up, research will be done into these mutations because as an interesting way of attacking the spread of the virus around the world and even within the uk, for example, one study in the uk has discovered there wasnt just one one study in the uk has discovered there wasntjust one entry point for the virus into the uk, it came
at lots of entry points and they we re at lots of entry points and they were able to find that out by tracking the different mutations. It doesnt mean the virus is more dangerous or even more lethal, but it could have ramifications for vaccine research, drug treatments because they do find a way around these mutations to make it work in people. 0k, which means it could ta ke people. 0k, which means it could take longer to find a vaccine potentially . Potentially. It already seems a long time at the moment but you may need various different vaccines to target different bits of the virus. At the moment, it seems as if some bits of the virus dont mutate at all so it would make sense for vaccines to target those best to find their way around the mutations. 0k, thank you very much. Thank you. The British Government has now missed its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day for three days in a row. The target, set by the Health Secretary matt hancock, is important for working out how many people are infected. 0ur reality check correspondent chris morris reports on how testing works and why it matters. To beat the coronavirus we have to know how many people are becoming infected. Where . When . How . Thats why testing for the virus is one of the most important things we can do. It can tell us who might be infected with the virus. Who might have been infected in the past. And who might need to be in strict isolation to stop the virus spreading. There are two types of tests, the first type are usually a nasal swab tests for the presence of the virus. To find out if you are infected right now evenif out if you are infected right now even if youre not displaying any symptoms, and you are feeling perfectly well. If you are infected, you can be isolated and treated if necessary. And people you have been in contact with can be traced and tested as well. That way we can stop covid 19 from spreading so fast. Countries like south korea and germany tested lots of people early on in the pandemic and they seem to have been the most successful in keeping their death rates are relatively low. 0ther keeping their death rates are relatively low. Other countries including the uk are scrambling to catch up. But you need to be able to
get hold of the right chemicals and the right expertise and make sure you have enough laboratories to be able to process tens of thousands of tests every day. The second type of tests every day. The second type of test looks at whether you have been infected in the past and whether you might now have some immunity. It does this by searching for antibodies in the blood. They are used by your immune system to fight off bacteria and viruses. Sadly, reliable Antibody Tests are not widely available. While they are being trialled in various places and there are some pretty ineffective products on the market, scientists are cautious. Not having a test is better than having a bad test which gives false results. It will be a huge help if a reliable Antibody Test that can be mass produced can be developed soon. If we know someone has some immunity, it should be easierfor them to someone has some immunity, it should be easier for them to get back to work. If we know that lots of people have some immunity, it should be easierfor us to start have some immunity, it should be easier for us to start lifting
lockdown is in a safer and more Sustainable Way but there is a problem. The presence of antibodies may provide some immunity, but not necessarily complete immunity. And it is still unclear how long any immunity might last. So testing can help us put other data like the number of confirmed cases or the number of confirmed cases or the number of confirmed cases or the number of deaths into contest, but we are going to have to wait some time before a vaccine for covid 19 provides immunity. Until scientists crack about, testing is key to help us deal with this pandemic. Many people who contract covid 19 are still suffering serious symptoms many weeks later. The virus is often viewed in its extremes, either mild and short lived or deadly. But for many, the impact lies somewhere in between. Dominic hughes reports. I have suspected coronavirus. What i was not prepared for wasjust excruciating leg pains. It has been seven weeks now. That feeling of being
so diminished and so weak. It came back on week four. In the fifth week of being ill, my partner had to call out a e. Week seven i relapsed again and had my third wave. For six weeks now, felicity, aged 49 and from london, has been living with suspected coronavirus. David, 42, and living in bristol, has also spent almost two months suffering relapses. This is where i have all my stuff. I make sure i am keeping cutlery and bowls separate. Davids world has shrunk to this room, self isolating to protect his wife and baby daughter. Eating and sleeping here, separate from my wife for the last seven weeks. Its hard work. Butjust when he thought he was Getting Better, hed relapse and hes not alone. Just knowing that people like me, i guess, who have experienced these waves on and off, because when i first relapsed, when it first got worse, it was quite a scary experience,
because i thought that you dont know whether that means you are going down, down, down, so it is quite scary to get worse after you thought you were Getting Better. When i was really ill, i was going on my hands and knees, up and down the stairs. Felicity has also struggled to shake off covid type symptons and the weeks of illness have taken their toll. This entire experience of being sick and trying to recover has been mentally overwhelming. The hardest part was, having got through the first ten days of being very sick and thinking i was Getting Better, things later getting much, much worse. I was experiencing such horrific abdominal pains that i wasjust calling out injust extreme agony. Neither felicity nor david have been tested, but both were told by doctors they probably had the virus. Theyve also been reassured
they are no longer infectious, but recovery has been slow. Even the slightest uphill slope is a real struggle since being ill. So much about the coronavirus is unknown, including why some experience relatively mild symptoms, lasting a few days, while otherwise Healthy People are left struggling for weeks. In many patients with other diseases who are recovering from an acute illness, you do tend to see this kind of waxing and waning effect as you are slowly Getting Better and you have good days and bad days. Theres some evidence to suggest that the prolonged features are the bodys response to infection rather than the infection itself persisting in their bodies. The first week i started to keep a diary of the symptoms i was experiencing. David and felicity hope they are now finally recovering. A return to normalfamily life. My wife would bring my daughter to the window. It was lovely. Im going to give you a squidgie soon dominic hughes, bbc news. The headlines on bbc news. The uk government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules after one of its main scientific advisers resigns after admitting breaking the rules on social distancing. The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions later today after she meets the leaders of 16 german states. President trump is to scrap the Task Force Co ordinating americas response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. Here in the uk, thousands of people have attended the funeral of a 15 Year Old Girl from peterborough in the east of england. Entire communities would usually turn out for a muslim funeral with hundreds of people wanting to pay their respects. But how do you manage
that in lockdown . Well, in peterborough, funerals are being live streamed to mourners, bringing some comfort to grieving families as Mousumi Bakshi reports. At the age of 15, Halima Hussein had dreams. Dreams of helping the less able, the under privileged, the less fortunate. But it was halima who needed help. Six weeks after being diagnosed with cancer, she was buried, away from most of her family. All the kids, they are lost without her. They dont want to do anything. They keep thinking shes going to come back home. Itsjust a horrible nightmare. A few of our kids, they have seen a star up in the sky and they think its halima. They are calling for her. Little things like this are hard, very hard. In ordinary times, halimas death would have been mourned by thousands at this mosque. Today it stands empty, as another body is prepared for burial. A victim of coronavirus. Normally when a funeral happens it happens at the mosque. We have about 500 1000 people attending funerals. Since everything has happened with covid 19, mosques are closed for funerals. Its not happening any more so we are now doing funerals at the cemetery. Islamic traditions state the body be cleaned and buried soon after death, the family close by at all times. But even here, covid 19 has had a most brutal effect. The hall here is used for family and friends to give their condolences. But not today . Not today unfortunately. That has been the most difficult part because the body is brought from the mortuary, and in the hospital, the Current Situation is isolation, so family members cant even go to the hospital to see their loved one, so its a very emotional and tough time and we have to tell
them, unfortunately we have to take these measures. So Funeral Directors have begun Live Streaming services online. More than 4000 people watched haleema being laid to rest. It was good for the community to see her finaljourney. Because my mum was at home, she is disabled, the nieces and nephews and everyone could sit at home to see her finaljourney. And shes got so many friends, school friends, community friends, she was known over peterborough, she was so known. Livestreaming funerals has given peterboroughs Muslim Community a chance to grieve together, supporting the family of a 15 Year Old Girl when they needed it the most. Mousumi bakshi, bbc look east, peterborough. A bbc investigation has found some barbers and hairdressers in the uk are flouting the lockdown and serving customers behind closed doors. Some shops in kent and sussex, in southern england,
were found to be offering appointments and even doubling their prices, as Colin Campbell reports. Barbers, like many businesses, they have been banned from opening, to stop the spread of covid 19. But we have discovered not all are adhering to the lockdown laws. Hi, im trying to find somebody to get my haircut. Five oclock, is ok . Five oclock, to the shop, yeah . Yeah. We have to sit down in the kitchen because i want to be private, i dont want anybody to see you because it will be a problem for me. Just phoning to see if you would be willing to cut my hair . Well, today . Yes, please. I am busy till saturday, only sunday. I am busy today, tomorrow. Sunday, im free. So, obviously they are seeing quite a few clients. That is interaction with quite a few different people who also may
therefore be interacting with other people, and this alljust gives any person who may be infected and asymptomatic the option to spread the virus quite rapidly. Only a few of the barbers i spoke to showed any real concern for the dangers posed by the virus. Do you want me to wear a mask or take any other safety precautions . I dont care. For me, i dont believe in this coronavirus or whatever. For me, it doesnt matter. Responding to our investigation, celebrity hairdresser nicky clarke told me he was disappointed but not surprised. Well, i think its wrong. The fact of the matter is that they are not putting into place anything that could even justify their behaviour. In total, i phoned 50 barbers. 19 agreed to cut my hair. 12 declined. 19 didnt answer my call, but many who did admitted they had increased their prices, seemingly cashing in on the crisis. For those responsible barbers abiding by the law, now financially suffering, there is understandable frustration. Itjust makes me angry. The fact that people are still profiting from this. Yeah, itjust makes me really angry. Really angry. Controlling the virus has taken the hardware and sacrifice of many. It is the irresponsible actions of a few that could jeopardise that. Colin campbell, bbc news. Back in february, bbc news brought you the story of a group of people with multiple sclerosis who were working with the royal ballet, here in the uk, on a special production about what it means to live with the condition. Like many events its been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic but rehearsals are continuing online. Tim muffett reports. It was already a remarkable project. 15 people with multiple sclerosis, creating a ballet to be performed at londons royal opera house. It would convey the realities of the neurological condition that can make walking, talking and movement difficult. But then came the pandemic, lockdown, and an end to the project. I was absolutely bereft. I was i had put so much energy into the rehearsals. But choreographer Bim Malcolmson had other ideas. I think everythings possible, i dont believe in no. And i think particularly because we are all a bit in our homes and it all can get a little bit shrunk, whats great about ballet is its about expanding and reaching and finding geometry and space. Rehearsals are continuing online every saturday. So, what are some advantages to rehearsing this way . 0n zoom you start seeing different choreographic possibilities. So we started playing around with actually making and choreographing, and the relationships between all the Little People in the boxes, and thats been really fun. 0k, and contract your torso im on my own here, and i can film it. And its weird. Even though i know it is being recorded on zoom, no ones watching me. So i can explore with my movements, and it doesnt matter if my leg doesnt work or if i kind of miss it or it doesnt look right. And ifeel like im understanding dance more this way. Now, move your arms while twisting your torso back. What impact has this had on you . Its certainly given me a reason to get up in the morning. Itsjust a wonderful way to express ourselves and to be connected and to be moving. Ive now had the opportunity to put on a performance, which i wouldnt have been able to have done. About 130,000 people
are living with ms in the uk. It is a lifelong condition. Symptoms can vary hugely from person to person. Were so thrilled that the ballet project has continued through lockdown. There is loneliness and isolation that people with ms experience every day, but that is amplified during a time like this. The ms society has launched a keep in Touch Service for those struggling with isolation. For this group, the rehearsals continue. Its hoped an online performance will happen in the coming weeks. Tim muffett, bbc news. A couple of messages before the weather. This is about the resignation of professor Neil Ferguson. Uk scientific adviser to the government. He was until last night. A number of people say hes a dad cat to distract from the thousands of deaths in the uk. Suzanne says she is very angry and i
hope hes never asked to give advice again. Avril says that ferguson sound uniquely qualified to help the country to the crisis and somehow we desperately need him i dont see how breaking rules affect his expertise. Youre watching bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. Hello there. Big temperature swings arent desperately unusual at this time of year, but certainly some big changes ahead later this week. Over the next few days, the warmth builds and by ve day, friday, we could see temperatures widely into the high teens, low 20s, maybe 25 in the south east corner. Through the weekend, though, a surge of arctic air returns and some of you will struggle to get into double figures, and even a few snow showers across the north and east of scotland. Thats a few days away. 0ut there at the moment its a case of blue skies for the vast majority from dawn to dusk. Sunshine streaming through many a window. A few exceptions, maybe a bit more cloud at times in cornwall, but even here a brighter day than yesterday, one or two showers are possible in the afternoon. A lot more cloud through 0rkney and shetland in places
meaning a misty afternoon. But for most, strong sunshine overhead and lighter wind than yesterday. Its going to feel a bit warmer, western areas, 19 or 20 degrees. Still a slight onshore breeze towards the east to keep things a bit cooler here. Going into this evening and overnight, we start to see a bit more cloud pushing up the western fringes of the uk. Always a chance of one or two showers. Most places will be dry. The air turning more humid in the west, whereas further east its going to be another chilly night with temperatures low enough for a touch of frost once more. But we start with sunshine in the east once again, High Pressure in charge here. As it shrinks away a little bit towards the east we start to bring more humid air more widely. In the west, with it, a bit more cloud. Misty around some coasts and hills. We will see a few showers around during the day particularly across scotland and Northern Ireland during the afternoon. One or two isolated ones in england and wales. Where we do see the showers on thursday, do not be surprised if it comes with the odd rumble of thunder too. The vast majority, though, dry, and sunniest across eastern parts of wales, england and eastern scotland. Highest of the temperatures here, 19 23. A slightly milder night to come to take us into friday. Should be frost free. A bit more cloud through scotland, Northern Ireland. Scotland will see some showers across the northern half of the mainland. A few showers breaking out with the sunny spells elsewhere. The odd thunderstorm cant be ruled out, but most will be dry and the peak of the heat, particularly for england and wales, widely into the 20s. 25 celsius is possible. This weekend, the change comes, rain spreading from the north will bring a drop in temperature, and in the south we dropp by 12 or 13 degrees as we go from saturday afternoon to sunday afternoon. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. The uk government urges the public to continue following lockdown rules, after a top scientific adviser resigned after admitting breaking social distancing guidelines professor ferguson has set out that he should have abided by the rules, it was a lapse and air ofjudgment. Those rules on social distancing i very firmly still required. Borisjohnson will be at his dispatch box for the first primer just questions and six weeks. The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions today including the return of bundesliga football. President trump is to scrap
the Task Force Co ordinating americas response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. You have people that will not stand for this and i understand them a very well and we are going to put out little embers and little fires and maybe some big fires but we still have to go back to work. Climate experts say this year will see the biggest decline in Carbon Emissions ever recorded, because of the pandemic. And from russia with love the veteran sergeant inspired to fundraise for doctors families after seeing captain tom moores success. Hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. First, a uk goverment minister has urged people to continue following the guidance on social distancing, after one of the countrys top scientific experts, professor Neil Ferguson, resigned as an adviser because a woman, described by the telegraph newspaper as his married lover, visited him twice at his home during lockdown. Security Ministerjames Brokenshire said the rules are still very much required, and that professor ferguson was right to accept hed made a mistake by not following them. In a statement professor ferguson said i accept i made an error of judgement and took the wrong course of action adding i deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing. In germany, Angela Merkel is expected to announce more easing of the countrys lockdown restrictions, as the infection rate continues to fall. While in the us, President Trump has confirmed the white house
Coronavirus Task force will be disbanded, in spite of the persistently high number of cases. Meanwhile tens of thousands of students are returning to school in the chinese province of hubei, where the coronavirus pandemic began last december. Lets go tojo coburn whos at westminster. It is the first time that Prime Minister borisjohnson it is the first time that Prime MinisterBoris Johnson is it is the first time that Prime Minister borisjohnson is going to ta ke minister borisjohnson is going to take Prime Ministers questions just behind me in the houses of Parliament Since he returned to work. Here is anotherfirst, it will be the first time he faces the labour opposition leader, keir starmer, who will be questioning him on the governments record. It is also Boris Johnsons first appearance since the uk had and recorded by official measures in all settings, the highest death toll of people who have died after contracting covid 19. Let us talk to
the bbcs clinical correspondence. As borisjohnson the bbcs clinical correspondence. As Boris Johnson faces the bbcs clinical correspondence. As borisjohnson faces a keir starmer across the dispatch box, he will be defending the governments record, how hard will it be . There are a couple of big issues of the day which, as you have outlined, will be things on which i am sure the Prime Minister will face questions on full stop most likely from sir keir starmer, the labour leader, as he faces him across the dispatch box in the house of commons for the first time at this premise just questions, which is also the first borisjohnson has undertaken for some time and it is happening just a day after the uk passed that grim milestone of becoming the country with the most deaths from coronavirus in europe. The daily total as of yesterday was 29,427 which pitted just ahead of italy. There are a couple of caveats around that figure, not least the fact that
the uk is population is some 10 bigger than italy and also the two countries have been testing people in different ways. Nevertheless, it is not something which the uk government will want to have to answer questions on and will want to have achieved and i am sure it will lead to questions about the governments overall strategy and this morning the communities secretary has given his response to those latest death figures. It is an absolute tragedy for anyone to lose a loved one and there will be, im sure, plenty of reflection and time, once the eye through this terrible virus, to be able to look at actions that have been taken and to see what lessons can be learned, what the mistakes have been made. Every government, i think, will need to do that and we are no exception to do that and we are no exception
to that. Theres also the matter of professor Neil Ferguson, the high profile scientist who was one of the most influential figures advising the government on its response to the coronavirus and the fa ct response to the coronavirus and the fact he has had to step back from the Strategic Advisory group on emergencies, that main group of scientists which presents the government with advice and has been doing so throughout this crisis, for breaking the social distancing guidelines. It was reported that somebody he was in a relationship with visited his house on a more than one occasion. Professor ferguson has apologised for what he described as his error ofjudgment and also undermining the message to the public. Ithink and also undermining the message to the public. I think the fact he has had to resign and has been cut add like this will be hugely embarrassing for the government, especially as it was on his advice at the Prime Minister took the
decision all those weeks ago to e nforce decision all those weeks ago to enforce the strict social distancing measures that we have been dealing with since then. The Health Secretary was asked about this in interview with sky news just a short time ago and was clearly somewhat shocked at the revelations. The first i heard about this was when i read it in the newspapers. It is not a story i have been close to but clearly the social distancing rules are there for everyone and they are incredibly important and they are incredibly important and they are incredibly important and they are deadly serious and the reason is because they are the means by which we have managed to get in control of the stars. Should he be prosecuted . You can imagine what my views are it is a matter for the police, i am views are it is a matter for the police, lam not views are it is a matter for the police, i am not allowed to get involved in the operational decisions of Police Matters but i think that the social distancing reels are very important and people should follow them. So, undoubtedly an embarrassing day for professor ferguson but i think a significant one because it will be a loss to the government, not only to not have his advice, which was considered crucial throughout the uk is response to this crisis, but also the fact that he has behaved as he has cannot help but in some peoples eyes to undermine the advice that the government has been trying to press him to people at every turn, to stay at home. This is the week, tomorrow is going to mark the end of this current phase of lockdown. All sorts of momentous decisions will have to be made, even if it is planning for the future. What can we expect in terms of easing any of the restrictions that are in place . Well, we have a legal review of the restrictions which will take place tomorrow. The government has today that everything makes and then we will hear more from the prime
minister, we expect, on sunday about how the government plan to change, adapt and perhaps ease some of the restrictions in place. Everything we have been talking about over the la st have been talking about over the last few days in terms of encouraging more people to go back to work but in requiring businesses to work but in requiring businesses to keep social distancing measures in place, keeping canteens closed, stopping hot decking and that sort of thing, perhaps opening up Public Transport a bit more than we have seenin transport a bit more than we have seen in the last few weeks as well, and then reopening skills in a phased and gradual way. These are the sorts of things we will hear about but we wont get a strict timetable for when these things are going to happen so i think people will have to be patient for some time yet as we continue to live with the measures that are in place and shouldnt expect them to be lifted any time soon. Ive course there will be questions no doubt from keir starmer and other
mps about the strategy towards testing, that target the government said it exceeded but then a row, if you like, about whether tests were counted that had been carried out rather than just capacity all test kits that have been sent out to thousands of people and of course whether that level of testing can be sustained as the government has failed to meet that 100,000 target in subsequent days. Germany is expected to announce a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions today when chancellor Angela Merkel meets state leaders. The country has been in lockdown for six weeks, but theres growing pressure to reopen the economy as the infection rate continues to fall. The bundesliga is expected to get the green light to restart behind closed doors in may. It comes after weeks of shutdown imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus. The number of confirmed virus cases in germany now stands at more than 164,000. Meanwhile the total number of people who have
died because of the virus has risen to almost 7,000. 0ur berlin correspondentjenny hill explained what measures are likely to be announced. I think you can expect to see early significant lifting of restrictions which have for so long governed much of german life. In berlin there is a bit of a sense of excitement. Small shops have been allowed to reopen, some children have been going back to school and there is good news on the infection rates a front, they have been steadily declining and dont appear to have been impacted by some of the relaxations we have seen that in place. That is one of the reasons Angela Merkel wanted to wait until today to go ahead with further easing of restrictions. She wa nted further easing of restrictions. She wanted to make sure that there was no impact on the infection rates here. She is meeting with the leaders of those 16 german states and they are chomping at the bet to further get back to a kind of
normality. They are worried about the local economies and are so impatient that some of them have already published their plans for what they want to do. She will have this meeting by and large we expect the results to be that most shops will now be allowed to reopen, that most children will go back to score before the Summer Holidays and there will be a graduating of restrictions around hospitality so hotels, restau ra nts a nd bars around hospitality so hotels, restaurants and bars will also start to reopen. The hospitality sector has been really climbing the walls in desperation because it is not yet been allowed to reopen. She is under a lot of pressure and i think she would have preferred a more cautious, uniformed approach to a timetable back to ordinary daily life. People will still have to wear facemasks when they go on Public Transport and enter shops and they will still be a ban on large gatherings as well as a warning against International Travel for at least another month. The spanish Prime Minister, pedro sanchez, has told the countrys parliament that lifting the state of emergency now would be a big mistake. Hes asking parliament to extend it for another 15 days but he doesnt have the majority to push it through. The measures have given ministers extraordinary powers. The government believes that easing the rules could risk a second wave of the virus. It comes as the number of daily fatalities from the coronavirus in spain has picked up on wednesday as Health Authorities registered 244 deaths, up from below 200 on each of the three previous days. Back now tojo coburn at westminster. Prime ministers questions will take place in 45 minutes time with Boris Johnson taking to the dispatch box for the first time in several weeks. There was an exchange yesterday in parliament between the labour mp and a e doctor when she was questioning the Health Secretary about the governments record on testing. The
testing strategy has been nonexistent. Community testing was scrapped. Most testing was slow to roll out and testing figures are now being ina roll out and testing figures are now being in a belated. Does the secretary of state commit to a minimum of100,000 secretary of state commit to a minimum of 100,000 tests each day Going Forward . And does the secretary of state acknowledge that many front line workers feel that the governments lack of testing has cost lives and is responsible for many families being unnecessarily torn apart any grief . No, i dont, torn apart any grief . No, idont, mr speaker. Torn apart any grief . No, idont, mrspeaker. I torn apart any grief . No, idont, mr speaker. Iwelcome the honourable lady to her post. I think she might do well to take a leaf out of the shadow secretary of states book in terms of tone. That response has caused some fury, particular amongst labour mps. Did
you feel patronised, did you feel at the comment was sexist . To be honest, the only priority i had yesterday when asking that question was to be the voice of those working so hard on our nhs and care sectors on the front line. To be honest, we have had to break peoples hearts, we have had to break peoples hearts, we have seen families torn apart, we have seen families torn apart, we have had to deliver the most better avenues, shatter peoples worlds over the phone and i felt as though my commitment yesterday was to asking questions that needed asking and quite frankly, i think the Health Secretary found the content of my question difficult and that obviously caused the reaction that it did in him. It is disappointing, i would have liked an answer to my question, i acknowledgement to what people are genuinely feeling on the front line, which is that many deaths could have been avoided but ultimately, i wasjust deaths could have been avoided but ultimately, i was just there to deliver a message much to ask the
question in my capacity as a doctor and a parliamentarian. But it wasnt the content he talked about, he ticked you offer your tongue, how did you feel . Look, i dont need an apology. He wants to make it up to me and anyway, he can give our nhs workers a pay rise. Ijust felt disappointment that he didnt answer my question. That took about testing, do you agree with government ministers have said it is too early to make International Comparisons. When we look at the grass everyday and yesterday the uk, in terms of its textual figures from covid 19, became the highest in europe. I dont think it is too early, but ive always said that we shouldnt be looking at comparing ourselves to the west, we should be looking at comparing ourselves to the best. We need to be asking, why have we had so many more deaths than
in countries such as germany . Why did we pull out our testing and tracing and march . Why did we miss opportunities to upscale testing . These are the questions that we need to be asking. Ultimately when all is said and done and become at the other side of this, they will be an inquiry into what went wrong but i think getting into arguments about who really has the worst dental isnt helping those who currently are fighting for their lives in hospitals. It doesnt help those whose hearts are as their wells have been shattered and it certainly doesnt help us getting to the end of this crisis. Many of the scientific experts have said that a better indicator in terms of the numbers of deaths would be to look at excess mortality rates in the uk and other countries, do you think thatis and other countries, do you think that is a better way to measure it . Fundamentally there are many things that come into play here. Firstly, the numberof that come into play here. Firstly, the number of people that died directly as a result of covid 19
infections but also we must look at the fact that there are people right now they are not getting their cancer treatment, there are people not coming to the Emergency Department with heart attacks and strokes and ultimately, we will have to take all of this into consideration but i would just use this opportunity, if i may, as an a e doctor, to play to the public, if you are experiencing chest pain, symptoms of a stroke, if your children are unwell, use the nhs, we are here for you. Professor Neil Ferguson has quit about what he calls an error of judgment ferguson has quit about what he calls an error ofjudgment in terms of these social distancing reels during lockdown but he has been instrumental in terms of the governments response of a coronavirus, are you disappointed he has resigned or was it the right decision . It was the right decision to resign. There are people who are
not able to attend lifeline meetings for them. For example, people not able to attend lifeline meetings forthem. For example, people with eating disorders, people with Serious Mental Health conditions, they are not able to go to the lifeline meetings everyday. It is not simply 0k lifeline meetings everyday. It is not simply ok for someone to flout the rules for their own personal benefit when people are making such incredible sacrifices to keep their Community Safe and so ultimately, yes of course, we thank him for the work he has done, progressing as a through this crisis but he did the right thing and resigning. Thank you very much forjoining me. Prime religious questions will be starting injust over 30 minutes religious questions will be starting in just over 30 minutes or so and we are expecting some answers, sorry, questions about the easing of the lockdown. The legal review is tomorrow. Italys Prime Minister has today said that italians could start going on holiday this summer. The country eased its lockdown measures earlier this week, but Giuseppe Conte said in an article in an italian newspaper that a further lifting of the restrictions might come earlier than expected. Lets talk now to irene dominioni, a journalist in milan. Thank you very much forjoining us. What might it look like, what are the prospects for tourism . The evening the lockdown started, at the beginning of this week, and further openings are foreseen for my 18th and then after that on first gen. Indeed, the tone of the Prime Minister is quite optimistic but we have to be still cautious because it is not to be taken for granted that the opening will need to possibly an increase and a new spike in cases. We currently have over 200,000 cases
of coronavirus and about 29,000 deaths and these are serious numbers that should not be underestimated. Is this about international or Domestic Tourism . We dont still have all the information that we need. Apparently the Prime Minister is optimistic that people will be able to go on holidays, more likely in italy, people will be encouraged to spend their holiday in italy in order to help the economic recovery. It is not clear yet whether people from abroad will be allowed to come to italy to spend their summer time. Has there been much discussion about what socially distanced holidays might look like . For example,
beaches that could get crowded, how will that be managed . Yes, there has been a lot of debate. Italians hold very much their Summer Holidays especially at the beach. There have been initiatives of potential solutions on how to maintain a social distancing on italian coasts, using apps to take turns and avoid especially fragile people like the elderly so that they can be really separate from others. It is still not entirely clear how this is all going to play out but there is the optimism of the prime minster and the government which is supposedly a good sign that the situation is under control and that everything will be managed correctly. |j under control and that everything will be managed correctly. I have seen that sicily for instance is offering discounts and incentives
for people at a holiday there. How important is tourism to the Italian Economy and to the different regions . Certainly, tourism plays a huge part, a huge role in the Italian Economy and it would be absolutely horrifying if tourism couldnt start and couldnt go back to its normal rate. Even with all the necessary precautions. I believe that beach owners and regular citizens are very much willing to cooperate in order to find solutions that work for everyone in the government is very well aware of that and i think they are working in that and i think they are working in that direction. Thank you for joining us. The uk chancellor, rishi sunak, is looking at reviewing the British Governments furlough scheme which is supporting workers staying at home during the pandemic. More than six million people
are having up to 80 of their salaries paid by the treasury at a cost of £8 billion. The chancellor has said that its not sustainable, and is looking at different options to scale it back as restrictions on businesses are lifted. Britains construction sector saw a drop in activity of historic proportions last month according to a new report. Ihs markit said the construction purchasing Managers Index plunged to a record low of 8. 2 in april. Anything below 50 indicates a contraction. Its the lowest since records began in 1997. Climate experts say the pandemic will result in the biggest decline in Carbon Emissions ever recorded. They say the drop in the use of fossil fuels could be six times bigger than that recorded during the financial crisis in 2008. 0ur chief environment correspondent Justin Rowlatt has been exploring what could change once lockdown is lifted. How about you, lauren . I know you are working on marks announcement this morning. Just doing lots of announcement things. We are all getting used to new ways of living and working. Lockdown has led to the fastest reduction in Carbon Emissions the world has ever seen. Borisjohnsons advisers on Climate Change urged him to make home working easier. They are saying any attempt to kick start the economy has to help us all move towards lower carbon lifestyles. This is the moment to unfreeze what was previously a set of things that were set in stone. So, we are going to have to re examine our priorities across the whole of the economy, and the government will have to lead us through the recovery phase. Lets make sure that we think about the Climate Priorities as we do that. These are sensible steps that will make the economy more resilient in the future, and that is something we should be thinking about right now. The committee on Climate Change says the government needs to invest to make homes more energy efficient, to decarbonise our transport and energy systems, and to retrain
workers for a low carbon world. Lockdown has given us a glimpse of a cleaner, greener world, but we need to get the economy going again. The challenge will be doing that in a way that locks in some of the low carbon habits weve all been learning. Justin rowlatt, bbc news, london. Laurence tubiana was a key architect of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and is chief executive of the European Climate Foundation an independent organisation which aims to help europe push the development of a low carbon society. Thank you forjoining us. A very real question about whether the Short Term Impact that we are seeing in terms of the reduction of emissions cannot last. What are your thoughts on how much of an opportunity this potentially gives us . I think the main opportunity is
that people would fail that some behaviours can change and when we see clean skies and clean air, something they would not experience their whole life, so there is a chance their way we can perceive there are some benefits and these differences in behaviour, in particular taking the car to travel something else. So i think the important thing is, they feel the relationship with nature is different, particularly for clean air. The second aspect is, for most people, as i see in most cases in europe, they make in between an ecological crisis and a Health Crisis and that is linked to the way we push on nature, not only because ofair
we push on nature, not only because of air pollution but again on biodiversity and some other elements. So, there is a concern about ecology is important because thatis about ecology is important because that is our lives. It is not a distant future, it is our lives now, soi distant future, it is our lives now, so i think that offers a discussion on how much we can restart the economy without falling back to the previous ways. Soi so i think the opportunity we have to seize and of course there is a lot of tension around that, should we go for a quick recovery, in a way, supporting the industries as it is, as it was before the crisis, or can we go again now for a new tracks and having a real rendition of the economy where we will have massive,
massive public investment, massive fiscal opportunities for the economy and that of course is a lifetime opportunity in my the. For that to work, does it need all countries to come together and be following the same gender . I think it is important to have some kind of coordination. After the crisis in 2009, there was of course the g20 gathering where we had to relaunch the economy and it was a strong effort of coordination there, at least on the economic side, but i think we need something much, much bigger, which is to envisage each country and specific cities, what looks like a recovery most from china, south korea, japan or france or germany and across europe as a whole, and i think that is very important because we have to
recognise that we can of course protect the different nations a little bit from ecological crisis but most of it is about global problems. And Global Concerns and we have to provide together, so if for example china decides to ramp up its investment in a cool, that of course will return every aspect to go to zero emissions in europe so that i think is why we need to go for an effort of thinking afresh of where the recovery should point to. It is a moment very similar in a way as big idea because a crisis will be huge, defining moment for the system where we where in 1944 and after. So we need cooperation. That is why i am arguing that we should go from Climate Policy to a fuller recovery. What are the indicators as to what is supported Going Forward . As you said investment needs put into different areas for things to turn round and up until now very much the pressures of globalisation has been the driver of individual economies in terms of their growth. You look at america, at its heavily subsidising the aviation industry, 50 billion which gives an indication as to what is being protected in terms of what role it can on the other side. You cannot shift overnight but we can do and the government has to do in the drivers seat, previously they were not that active and that the economy
but know they will be the owners of Many Companies so i think the idea which i think is beginning to be implemented in france is really to say we support you and will bail out the company, be one to maintain employment and industry structure but it has to move to a net zero future. It is a discussion of contract between the state and the company that the state as a shareholder once these company to have a clear plan on how they will be innate zero by 2050 even and a very complicated sector. That means investigating and alternative fuels and switching from being an Airline Company to using rail when possible
for shots distance so there are many ways. But that out tech to make sectors where it is already there, big in vectors and we have a technology of traditional so this is a way to shift radically to electricity. The central piece is employment because we have to see how these jobs are in the sector la ke how these jobs are in the sector lake in traditional one can shift to a new one and have training workers to the other elements in the value chain that will have to be changed, infrastructure that is not the same as building a normal car. Farming for example and agriculture, we see the value of organic production,
healthy food. It is the same with buildings, we need a massive programme so that as many opportunities of investment to restart the economy that is a strong contract between the companies and the government who will be in the driver seat. Thank you. The uk government urges the public to continue following lockdown rules, after a top scientific adviser resigned after admitting breaking social distancing guidelines professor ferguson has set out that he should have abided by the rules, it was a lapse and error of judgment. Those rules on social distancing are very firmly still required. The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions today including the return of bundesliga football. President trump is to scrap the Task Force Co ordinating americas response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase
in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. And from russia with love the veteran sergeant inspired to fundraise for doctors families after seeing captain tom moores success. In around half an hour borisjohnson will face the labour leader sir keir starmer for the first time. Lets get all the latest from westminster withjo coburn iam in i am in central lobby in the heart of westminster and the houses of parliament between the two chambers, normally this area would be heaving with members of parliament and staff and visitors and tourists but all of
that has changed since the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. There are no very few people here and there is a semi virtual parliament. We like everyone and observing the two metre rule i guidelines and not long ago the speaker of the house of commons made his position to take his place and say the chamber before payment is thus questions. He has criticised borisjohnson for thus questions. He has criticised Boris Johnson for not thus questions. He has criticised borisjohnson for not coming to Parliament First to talk about his plans for the next phase in dealing with economic this pandemic and any easing of restrictions that may come from the doughnut the line. He will be adjudicating today but lets first of all. Lets speak to the conservative mp claire coutinho. Do you think borisjohnson should be speaking to parliament before addressing the nation . We are in an
unprecedented situation and it is important that the government communicates at the right time and so we have seen press briefings and state m e nts so we have seen press briefings and statements but i can put the understand why the speaker wants to come to parliament and it is good we can see parliament scrutinised properly. Should he have done that first, Boris Johnson . Properly. Should he have done that first, borisjohnson . That is what the speaker wanted to happen that mps would have the chance to question the government plans. We have seen a number of statements and the last week put a chance to question the government, a business statement when mps are allowed to question the government so i think the question of timing are sometimes an issue of where government can go to release information but we should a lwa ys to release information but we should always be going to parliament we can and talking to mps being properly scrutinised which they have made every effort to do. One of the biggest considerations will be how
britain starts to get back to work and do it safely and observing social distancing. Would you like to see more openness and the economy when borisjohnson see more openness and the economy when Boris Johnson mixes announcement . I dont speculate what he will say but that has been a huge amount of work with the business secretary and Industry Leaders and we want back to work. We have lots of people with businesses but you need to make should be doing it in but you need to make should be doing itina but you need to make should be doing it in a safe way and all that work is ongoing at the moment and we will hear more on sunday. Yes, would you like to see the furlough scheme be extended beyond june. They are looking at options of how we can move through that but i think on the
whole that programme has been due to a successful and i know i have had a lot of messages from constituents that has been a real lifeline. Thank you. Watching premises question even as she cannot be here. How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting the environment . India has been on lockdown for more than a month and a half and in that time, pollution levels have dropped in cities that were trapped by smog. As the restrictions are slowly lifted, there are fears that the bad air could return, as the bbcs divya arya reports from delhi for our series our planet matters. A blanket of smog so thick, it was hiding delhis iconic landmarks. One of the worlds most polluted cities, it is breathing easy now. The horrifying pictures from the current winter months, fading away to post lockdown summer skies. For some, this has been a precious breath of fresh air, and rena has been taking medication for allergic bronchitis for five years now. When i step out these days, i really feel that freshness and i really feel that, you know, the air inside my lungs. And i can say that, yes, i can breathe properly. And the difficulty of coughing and difficulty of sneezing has just gone. Apart from an odd pedi cab or essential Services Like the police, delhi has seen almost no traffic, as schools, offices, shops and industries were shut. Ive lived in delhi for most of my life. Now, the summer here is dusty, the sky is white, but its definitely less polluted than winter. But this, this is something else. Its like weve had a deep cleanse. Air quality experts say the delhi summer has never been cleaner. For residents in some northern indian cities, it was like rediscovering their neighbourhood, as one morning, they woke up to the view of the himalayan peaks. During the lockdown, emergency admissions for respiratory ailments have almost halved, but as it has eased now, doctors fear this could change very quickly. If everything returns to business as usual, and we have as many vehicles and everything on roads, this pollution levels, which will deteriorate very rapidly, pollution damages lungs, thats proved beyond doubt. Damaged lungs are more prone to get covid and more prone to dying when covid happens,
thats also proved. Its notjust the air that has benefited from the lockdown, rivers too are running cleaner than ever, but this may change soon, and International Studies have suggested that high levels of air pollution could raise the risk of dying from covid 19. As the country restarts, it may have to pause to prepare for this challenge too. Divya arya, bbc news, delhi. At least two cities milan in italy and Greater Manchester, here in the uk hope that they can maintain a level of traffic and pollution free city life. They want to seize this moment to transform the way people move around their cities after restrictions are eased. We can talk now to Pierfrancesco Maran deputy mayor of milan for city planning. And from the wirral in north west england, werejoined by chris boardman, former professional cyclist who is the cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester. Welcome, first of all, tell us the impact of the lockdown on milan in terms of pollution and how the city has changed. Pollution has reduced probably not as much as in other european areas because we do not have just a problem european areas because we do not havejust a problem of production european areas because we do not have just a problem of production of pollution but because of a low wind zone because of the alps have a problem to move the air so we still have even with lockdown not perfect but of course better than usual. We we re but of course better than usual. We were working for years to reduce traffic and other forms of pollution and improve air quality and every year the results are better and better but still not sufficient to better but still not sufficient to
be back under the authorised level. What is the city doing now to make it greener and socially distancing Going Forward . Our main strategy for sustainability was Public Transport and know the main problem every city is facing as the factory will have to reduce the number of people using Public Transport. From monday people are authorised to go out front many jobs, to go back to parks and actually moving slowly to normality so be have some traffic, Public Transport is working 0k even with low capability and we are making a system of pop up bike lanes to convince people to make a few kilometres everyday and the adding good health to move by a bicycle instead of car and Public Transport
because if you come from far you should go on using Public Transport and the best way is the fact people making 45 subway stops should go on bicycle and that is why we are preparing these lanes. Do you think attitudes have changed, but people do that . We never know because not only an x ray but many cities move by count. In milan it was different because we produced two Public Transport, not car bikes, mini scooters. The number of people using bicycles as increasing and social the season helps because it is sunny days and we hope many people decide to do that and we are confident. We
do not know because many people are scared to stay in contact with other people and view the car is much safer but bike two is safer. How much of a chance to thank the pandemic gives us for change and the long term . Pandemic gives us for change and the longterm . We have effectively turned off car use globally for several weeks and unload people to try moving differently from those essential journeys and we try moving differently from those essentialjourneys and we are now getting to a point after six weeks when people are ready to start looking for what i think about the future i consider what they want to keep. I have statistics for Greater Manchester i work and i know it is reflected broadly and only country and its sews like it is in italy as well. We have seen a 60 drop in karius, 90 drop in Public Transport but a 22 increase that is taking to
account people to not have any real to go on bicycle use. We also know to go on bicycle use. We also know to thuds of the commuting journeys and geta to thuds of the commuting journeys and get a manchester and less than five, tells which is an easy 20 minute bicycle ride for the majority of people. The weather has certainly helped, it has given people the opportunity to try Something Different in ideal conditions so we now like many cities like milan arent planning emergency measures to make sure that as we go back to what we protect space for people to continue travelling like this which to be blunt if you are interested in protecting the nhs this is how you do it long term. Protecting the nhs this is how you do it longterm. You talk about ideal conditions currently for people to cycle and not back into old habits so what sort of enter structure needs to change . In the
crudest sense it as a safe space, thats why people would not do it. The thing for all of us as we have weeks to make this decision because once we turn it back on and people are going to be avoiding Public Transport they have access to a car they will use it and so we could be in an even what situation than we we re in an even what situation than we were before and it will be incurred by difficult to unpick. We have to rememberthe by difficult to unpick. We have to remember the Climate Crisis and the background is bigger than the one were facing now, be not even talking about it so we have weeks to act if we do not want to actually go from this immediate crisis to a systemic one. Thank you. If youre watching in the uk we will be answering your questions on the Pandemic Impact on Climate Change. Thats at three thirty this afternoon. Send us your questions to hashtag
bbcyourquestions or email yourquestions at bbc dot co dot uk a major Conservation Charity has warned that the 30 years of progress they have made in africa could be undone very quickly by covid 19. The chief executive of tusk, an organisation supported by prince william, has told the bbc that the pandemic has seen a rise in animal poaching. Heres our environment correspondent, claire marshall. Scouring the vast plains of north west province, south africa. I think were out on a call for a rhino that was poached. Nico runs Nonprofit Organisation rhino 911. And we hope the calf is still alive so that we can rescue it and take it to the orphanage. The calf is two months old. Her mother was found dead with her horn hacked off. Shes sedated, her eyes bandaged to make the journey less traumatic. Shes the fourth orphan theyve rescued in the last month. The pressure on africas wildlife is relentless and its getting much worse. The Tourism Industry has collapsed. Vast numbers of people are losing theirjobs and many are now starting to poach for food. People are desperate. People living on the breadline are battling to survive just with basics. You know, ive seen it go up, i would say tenfold on reserves, parks. Its an income and living for them. Its staying alive. In the foothills of mount kenya, field rangers head out on patrol. This footage was filmed exclusively for the bbc. Its lewa a jewel in the crown of the tusk trust. Theyre protecting some of the worlds most endangered species. Prince william, a passionate supporter of the charity, proposed to Kate Middleton here. But the trust is now set lose almost £2 million this year. This is definitely the biggest threat that weve seen to the conservation world in the 30
years that ive been working in it. Weve had the real pressure from the illegal wildlife trade, and that is ongoing. Its a constant battle. The pandemic hasnt stopped the International Criminal gangs. They have a motive. Rhino horn is more valuable than gold or heroin, tempting for someone now out of a job. The way that covid is making the situation worse is once these guys. I know they dont have a job, they want an income, then they want to try other things like maybe, poaching a rhino, poaching an elephant, and selling those trophies for their living. Here in the uk, with fewer planes in the sky and cars on the roads, wildlife has been given a bit of a break. But the emerging situation around the world is a lot more bleak. It costs a lot of money to protect these creatures from humans. That money is now drying up. Claire marshall, bbc news. Many people who contract covid 19 are still suffering serious symptoms many weeks later. The virus is often viewed in its extremes either mild and short lived or deadly. But for many, the impact lies somewhere in between. Dominic hughes reports. I have suspected coronavirus. What i was not prepared for wasjust excruciating leg pains. It has been seven weeks now. That feeling of being so diminished and so weak. It came back on week four. In the fifth week of being ill, my partner had to call out a e. Week seven i relapsed again and had my third wave. For six weeks now, felicity, aged 49 and from london, has been living with suspected coronavirus. David, 42, and living in bristol, has also spent almost two months suffering relapses. This is where i have all my stuff. I make sure i am keeping cutlery and bowls separate. Davids world has shrunk to this room, self isolating to protect his wife and baby daughter. Eating and sleeping here, separate from my wife for the last seven weeks. Its hard work. Butjust when he thought he was Getting Better, hed relapse and hes not alone. Just knowing that people like me, i guess, who have experienced these waves on and off, because when i first relapsed, when it first got worse, it was quite a scary experience, because i thought that you dont know whether that means you are going down, down, down, so it is quite scary to get worse after you thought you were Getting Better. When i was really ill, i was going on my hands and knees, up and down the stairs. Felicity has also struggled to shake off covid type symptons and the weeks of illness have taken their toll. This entire experience of being sick and trying to recover has been mentally overwhelming. The hardest part was, having got through the first ten days of being very sick and thinking i was Getting Better, things later getting much, much worse. I was experiencing such horrific abdominal pains that i wasjust calling out injust extreme agony. Neither felicity nor david have been tested, but both were told by doctors they probably had the virus. Theyve also been reassured they are no longer infectious, but recovery has been slow. Even the slightest uphill slope is a real struggle since being ill. So much about the coronavirus is unknown, including why some experience relatively mild symptoms, lasting a few days, while otherwise Healthy People are left struggling for weeks. In many patients with other diseases who are recovering from an acute illness,
you do tend to see this kind of waxing and waning effect as you are slowly Getting Better and you have good days and bad days. Theres some evidence to suggest that the prolonged features are the bodys response to infection rather than the infection itself persisting in their bodies. The first week i started to keep a diary of the symptoms i was experiencing. David and felicity hope they are now finally recovering. A return to normalfamily life. My wife would bring my daughter to the window. It was lovely. Im going to give you a squidgie soon dominic hughes, bbc news. We will hear from the Prime Minister shortly for questions, keir starmer on the opposite bench, no sign of
borisjohnson but on the opposite bench, no sign of Boris Johnson but most on the opposite bench, no sign of borisjohnson but most of the questions are going to be asked by video link as has become the case in recent weeks, this is the first time they have faced each other over the ventures live coverage at the top of the hour. Now its time for a look at the weather. It is going to be starting and a couple of minutes, the first four borisjohnson at couple of minutes, the first four Boris Johnson at the dispatch couple of minutes, the first four borisjohnson at the dispatch box and selling questions and selling questions. And the death toll figures are people who have died and the testing
strategy adopted by the government will be asked about, the target this government said they hit and the plans for the next phase. There is a legal review of the current lockdown restrictions undermined to some extent by the news reports of professor Neal Ferguson of the top adviser to the government who resigned over what he called an error ofjudgment in terms of the social distancing guidelines. Parliament is operating in this new reality of social distancing, the speaker who entered through the chamber here into the house of commons to take his seat has also approved remote voting starting from next week. We have had questions and state m e nts next week. We have had questions and statements and settings and as you will see but no remote voting which has been controversial and not every mpi
has been controversial and not every mp i have spoken to is completely satisfied with how it will work. We shall see but another new first. Now its time for a look at the weather. Blue skies from blue skies from dawn to dusk, the chance of showers for some, misty and grey and raw clay but blue skies and temperatures on the rise, 1922 once in the west. A little less chilly on the coasts but through this evening and overnight more and more cloud developing across western fringes, the chance ofa across western fringes, the chance of a few showers rest, most dry, more humid and the west and relative
still cold enough in the east in touch of frost and 2000 and then. Sunshine for most of the day, workload in the west with a few showers was and the odd isolated thunderstorm across angered and wheels but dry and turning. Thunderstorms across england and wales. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. The uk government urges the public to continue following lockdown rules, after a top scientific adviser resigned after admitting breaking social distancing guidelines. The rules are there for everyone and they are deadly serious. The reason is, they are the means by which we have managed to get control of this virus. Boris johnson faces his first Prime Ministers questions since recovering from coronavirus and his first against labours new leader. The german chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions today including the return of bundesliga football. Italys Prime Minister has said that italians could start going on holiday this summer, after the country eased its lockdown
measures earlier this week. Lets cross live to the house of commons now for Prime Ministers questions. We can see inside the chamber behind you that the Prime Minister is not there yet. We are waiting for him to ta ke there yet. We are waiting for him to take his place because this is his first Prime Ministers questions in six weeks. The chamber, as it has looked over the past few weeks, is empty looked over the past few weeks, is e m pty really looked over the past few weeks, is empty really bar a few mps who are there physically so they can observe those social distancing guidelines. Ican those social distancing guidelines. I can see into the chamber myself. There are still virtual questions from the session that is just finishing. It will be the first clash between the new labour leader keir starmer and the Prime Minister and no doubt the questions will be around the governments testing strategy. They will also want to ask about those death toll figures when the uk by official measures became the uk by official measures became the highest with a number of deaths of people with covid 19 in europe. There are caveats around that about how much testing has been done in other settings outside of hospitals but i am sure that the labour leader wa nt to but i am sure that the labour leader want to ask some appointed questions from the Prime Minister. Then of course there will be a debate about the next phase because tomorrow is the next phase because tomorrow is the legal review of the current restrictions. We are not really expecting anything major to change in the near future. Expecting anything major to change in the nearfuture. There may not even be a timeline about when some
of the restrictions it can be eased but people want to know what the thoughts are, the broad principles about how workplaces for example could be made safe for some people to return to work but the focus has been very much on work rather than on play. The Prime Minister is going to address the nation, he has been criticised by the speaker for not talking to Parliament First about what his broad plans are and instead he will talk to the nation at the weekend. We also just heard that the speaker has proved remote voting to ta ke speaker has proved remote voting to take place for the first time next week. The primers has arrived so let us week. The primers has arrived so let us might listen in. It is good to be back even though i have been away for longer than i had intended. I would like to pay
tribute today to the 107 nhs and 29 ca re tribute today to the 107 nhs and 29 care workers and all those who have sadly died for coronavirus. I knew the sympathies of the house i was there family and friends and if i may, i would like to place on the record in this house my own thanks for the body and care i received. This morning i had meetings with ministry colleagues and others and i will have further such meetings later today. Firstly, iwould like to welcome the Prime Minister back to welcome the Prime Minister back to their he belongs and i am sure the whole house willjoin me in congratulating him and his fiancee on the birth of their son, wilford. 0n coronavirus, tourism is absolutely crucial to the economy of the south west. While i am currently asking visitors to come back later once the lockdown has ended, i want to make sure our vital tourism
industry survives so we can be open for business at the earliest opportunity. Can the prime minster assured me, my constituents and the Tourism Industry that further and flexible Financial Support is coming to protect this crucial industry . Yes indeed, mr speaker, i can, and i thank my honourable friend for what he is doing to campaign for tourism is to devon and i can tell him we are adding another1. 3 is to devon and i can tell him we are adding another 1. 3 million to help the Tourism Industry in that area. Clearly the priority of the government and i believe of the whole house is now to suppress this disease further as we do that to get our economy going again and to encourage tourism across our whole country and of course is devon in particular. I know, the leader of the opposition, keir starmer. Cani the opposition, keir starmer. Can i welcome the premise trip back to his pace and say it is good to see him back and parliament, i am
sure i stay for all of us when i say that. Can i congratulate him publicly on the birth of his son. When the Prime Minister returned to work a week ago monday, he said that many people were looking at the apparent success of the governments approach. But yesterday we learned, tragically, that at least 29,000 have lost their lives to this dreadful virus. That is now the highest number in europe. It is the second highest in the world. That is not success or apparent success, so can the promise to tell us how on earth did it come to this . Mr speaker, every death is a tragedy and he is right to draw attention to the appalling statistics, notjust in this country, but of course
around the world. I would echo what we have heard from professor david and others that at this stage, i dont think that International Comparisons and the data is yet there to draw on the conclusions that we want. What i can tell him is that we want. What i can tell him is that at every stage is which of the decisions that we did, we were governed by one overriding principle and end and that was to save lives and end and that was to save lives and to protect our nhs. I believe that of course there will be a time to look at what decisions we took and whether we could have taken different decisions, but i have absolutely no doubt that what the people of this country want us to do now is, as i said just now, to suppress this disease, to keep suppressing this disease and to begin the work of getting our countries economy back on its feet. I look forward to working with him and colleagues around the house to dojust and colleagues around the house to do just that. The argument that International Comparisons cant be made when the government has been using slides like this for weeks to the International Comparison does not hold water. I am afraid that many people are concluding that the a nswer to people are concluding that the answer to my question is that the uk we re answer to my question is that the uk were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on tracing and slow on the supply of ppe. I want to go to yesterdays figures that show that whilst happily in hospitals looks as though deaths are following, deaths and care homes continue to go up. At the press conference last night, deputy chiefs scientific adviser said, what this shows us is that there is a real issue that we need to get to grips with in relation to what is happening in care homes. I couldnt agree more. But 12 weeks after the Health Secretary declared that we are in a Health Crisis, i have to ask the Prime Minister, why
hasnt the government got to grips with this already . Well, actually, mr speaker, i mean, he is quite right of course to look at the crisis in care homes and he is absolutely right to say there is an epidemic going on in care homes which is something i bitterly regret and weve been working very hard for weeks to get it done. The huge amount of effort that has been gone into by literally tens of thousands of people to get the right ppe to ca re of people to get the right ppe to care homes, to encourage workers there to understand what is needed andi there to understand what is needed and i can tell him actually that he is not right in what he just said about the state of the epidemic in ca re about the state of the epidemic in care homes. If he looks at the figures, in the last few days, there has been a palpable improvement. We must hope that that continues and we will ensure that it does continue. Mr speaker, i
will ensure that it does continue. Mrspeaker, iam will ensure that it does continue. Mr speaker, i am gratefulfor that. I was using the slide the government put up at its press conference last night which shows sadly, and i accept there is a like to the 24th of april because of the reporting position, that sadly, deaths and ca re position, that sadly, deaths and care homes have been rising every time they have been reported. I have heard before from the first secretary that numbers were falling. He said that a week ago but that is not borne out by these slides. We wa nt not borne out by these slides. We want which to see what the next slides bring. On the 30th of april, the government claims success admitting its 100,000 tests a day target. Since then as the prime minster knows, the number has fallen back. On monday there were just 84,000 tests and that meant 24,000 available tests were not used. What is the prime minster think was so special about the 30th of april that meant testing that day was so high . Actually i think the right honourable gentleman was right last
week when he paid tribute to the amazing work of the nhs, the logistics team, everybody involved in getting up from 2000 tests a day march to 120,000 by the end of april. Yes, he is right that capacity currently exceeds demand. We are working on that, running at about 100,000 a day but the ambition clearly is to get up to 200,000 today by the end of this month and then to go even higher. As he knows, testing, a fantastic testing regime will be absolutely critical to our long Term Economic recovery. Mr speaker, i did paycheque did last week and i am glad the Prime Minister has now said that the target now is to hundred thousand tests a day by the end of this month. But of course just having a
target isnt a strategy. What is needed is testing, tracing and isolation. That is the strategy. Contact tracing was happening in the uk but it was abandoned in mid march. We were told at the time that this was because it was an appropriate mechanism. But yesterday the deputy to medical officer said it was to do with Testing Capacity, so can the Prime Ministerjust clarify the position for us, why was Contact Tracing abandoned in mid march and not we started sooner . It is readily apparent to everybody who has studied the situation and i think is the scientists would confirm, the difficulty in mid march was that the tracing capacity that we had, that had been useful, as he rightly says, in the containment
phase of the epidemic, that capacity was no longer useful or relevant since the transmission from individuals within the uk meant that it exceeded our capacity then. The value of the tester, tracking and tracing operation we are setting up now is that as we come out the epidemic and as we get the new cases down, we will have a team that will genuinely be able to track and trace hundreds of thousands of people across the country and thereby to drive down the epidemic. In a nutshell, it is easier to do now that we have built up the team on the way out than it was as the epidemic took off and i think most people with common sense can see those particular difficulties that we had at the time. I think the primers to has confirmed it was a capacity problem. Can i wish the government well on the
tracing and the app that has been trialled in the isle of wight. We wa nt trialled in the isle of wight. We want that to succeed and we will support that and hopefully succeeding. Can i turn to protective equipment . Clearly there are ongoing problems. Just this week, the bma survey said that 48 of doctors had to bite their protective equipment for themselves or rely on donations. That is clearly unacceptable. It is obvious that this problem is going to get even more acute if and when the government ask people to return to work. We are killing going to need a very Robust National plan for protective equipment. Can the Prime Minister reassure the public that they want to be asked to return to work until that plan is in place . Yes, mr speaker, i certainly can. Work until that plan is in place . Yes, mr speaker, icertainly can. I share his frustration about ppe and the frustration that i think people have felt across the house and across the country. It has been enraging to see the difficulties we
had in supplying ppe to those who need it. But i do pay tribute again to the work of hundreds of thousands of people involved in the logistics of people involved in the logistics of supplying literally billions of items across the country in a timely way. There have been no National Stock of any ppe item and we are now engaged in a massive plan to ramp up domestic supply and he will be familiar with what lord titan is now at work so to get to his final question, we are able, in the long term, and it may be the long term, and it may be the long term, to satisfy the domestic needs of this country. Will be a setting of the details of that plan on sunday. Mr speaker, i was going to come to the plan and i am grateful to the Prime Ministerfor that the plan and i am grateful to the Prime Minister for that indication. There are millions of people on,
millions with children at home, struggling with carrying response abilities. If they are to return to work and if their children are to return to school, they need reassurance. I think we can all feel that, the assurance that it will be safe to do so and that means they need to know what the governments plan is for the next stage. So when the Prime Minister given that reassurance by setting out his plan as he says he will and will it come to this house on monday to present that plan and have questions across the house . Mr speaker, i will of course undertake that there will be a statement to the house as you would expect about what we propose. Want to explain as a courtesy why it is happening on a sunday. The reason for that is very simple, but we have to be sure that the data is going to support our ability to do this. But that data is coming in continuously
over the next few days. We want to, as far as we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on monday. I think it would be a good thing, mr speaker, if people had an idea of what is coming the following day. That is why i think sunday is the best time to do it but of course the best time to do it but of course the house will be fully informed and have the dullest opportunity to debate and interrogate me or the government on that matter. Lockdown rules permit people to travel to work if theirjobs are not ones that can be done from home. But some have faced criticism and pressure not to do that including from announcements on London Underground wrongly saying that they shouldnt be on the system unless they are key workers. When the Prime Minister asked the mayor to restore Public Transport capacity in london so my constituents can travel safely
and we can keep as much of the economy going as possible . I think my write on a boyfriend and she is absolutely right that a crucial part of our success now and getting transport to run safely will be running a bigger and more expensive tube service so people can observe social distancing. There must be, and will come to this on a sunday and next week as well, there must be mitigations to help people who for those reasons cannot use mass transit and there will be a huge amount of planning going into helping people get to work other than by mass transit and this will be, i hope, i know my right honourable friend will agree, this should be a new golden age for cycling. Thank you, mr speaker, and i would like to start by welcoming the Prime Minister back to parliament and congratulating him and his fiancee on the birth of their son, wilford andi on the birth of their son, wilford and i wish him every health and happiness. Mr speaker, the uks confirmed dead total now stands close to 30,000. It is officially the highest in europe and the second highest in the world and indeed, there are some estimates putting the figure even higher. In my own community, we have faced our own devastating outbreak of covid 19 over the last few days. I do agree with the Prime Minister when he says the worst thing we could do now is is up lockdown to certain and allow for a second pick of this deadly virus. To protect our citizens, the lockdown must remain in place for as long as is needed. Many people might wa nt to long as is needed. Many people might want to travel for example to the tourist areas the Better Weather but will hejoin with
tourist areas the Better Weather but will he join with me and tourist areas the Better Weather but will hejoin with me and reminding eve ryo ne will hejoin with me and reminding everyone that nonessential travel is not permitted and does he agree with me that the first minister of scotla nd me that the first minister of scotland should only be led by the best medical and scientific advice, not the politics of posturing . Yes, indeed, mr speaker, and actually i think that the last few weeks have shown the ability of the governments of all four nations to come together to deliver a very clear message for our people and i think it has been extremely helpful andi think it has been extremely helpful and i can say to the leader of the snp that we will certainly be working with the government in scotla nd working with the government in scotland as we will be working with the opposition, with unions, with business, to make sure that we get the lockdown plan can pity right. What he says is absolute common sense, it would be an Economic Disaster this country if we were to pursue a relaxation of these
measures now in such a way as to trigger a second wave and on that point, iam trigger a second wave and on that point, i am in complete agreement with him. Iam very with him. I am very grateful for the Prime Ministers answer and i commit myself and my party and my government colleagues in edinburgh and working with him on that shared agenda. However, some of his own government ministers are not following his own advice. Instead of working with the Scottish Government, the scottish secretary estate has been making political arguments about the constitution rather than a scientific one is about saving lives. He is not the only one. This is not the time for opportunistic politicking, this is the time when we all must Work Together to protect our nhs and to save lives. We anticipate the Prime Minister will be making a televised address on sunday concerning the easing of lockdown. This cannot be undertaken without the full input and cooperation of all our devolved governments. We must end this period of mixed messaging from the uk
government. When the Prime Minister commit today that the substance of his address will be fully agreed to with the devolved nations so that all of our governments continue with this vitally important work of saving lives . Yes, mr speaker, and iforgot to thank the right honourable gentleman for his kind words about wilford and i want to thank him for that, i forgot to say that. I will be budget down for that so, thank you. I share the right honourable gentlemans aims, we will do our level best to make sure that the outlines of this are attracting the widest possible consensus. I think they can and ought to i am delighted by his call for a probation ontological arguments about the constitution, and i think that will bea constitution, and i think that will be a warmly welcomed across this
country. Thank you, your speaker, and can i add my welcome to the Prime Minister, graciously him back and my congratulations to himself and his fiancee on the birth of wilford. Mr speaker, my right honourable friend will know that the oil and gas industry is suffering from a perfect storm in the present time, buffeted as it is by the Global Oil Price crash and the lockdown. This is a moment of real danger for the industry but the prospect of tens of thousands of job losses. Industry but the prospect of tens of thousands ofjob losses. More action is needed now to protectjobs to ensure Energy Security and ensure a future for this industry which is katie ensuring it. Let the uk government invest in uk transition ensuring a future for thousands of
workers. I thank my writable friend very much for his excellent question, for all his company for the oil and gas industry. I can assure him that i right honourable colleague, the secretary of state for Business Energy and clean growth is actively engaged right now in pursuing this with the sector trade association andi with the sector trade association and i am sure he will be wanting to ta ke and i am sure he will be wanting to take up progress with him. Thank you, mr speaker, and i welcome the Prime Minister back to his place on my birthday the councils covering my constituency have stepped up to the National Challenge providing essential services to vulnerable residents and businesses during this crisis. The government promised to do whatever it takes and
fully compensate those councils and councils across the country yet both are millions of pounds short of the costs of far. Billions, nationally. How will the Prime Minister fulfil that commerce and now reach into the dark days of austerity . Mr speaker, i can certainly tell him that the government has absolutely no intention of returning to the a word, which i will not coach, that is not going to be our approach, we dont think that will be the case. We have put another 3. 2 billion into supporting local authorities and supporting local authorities and supporting some of the most vulnerable throughout this difficult time and we will continue to make sure that funding gets through to those who need it but the crucial thing, as those who need it but the crucial thing, as i think colleagues across the house will understand. You have been watching the british Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, you have been watching the british Prime Minister, borisjohnson, being questioned by mps in this virtual
setting of the hazard commons in london. Coverage continues on bbc news. Right now, we will say goodbye to you if youre watching from around the world. Like other colleagues, i am delighted to see the Prime Minister back at the dispatch box and i congratulate him on the right of the child. My constituents recently lost her husband who were 64. The family would like to bury him with a small church service, applying social distancing. If he were to be committed, this would happen. Under current guidelines, that is not possible. Can this anomaly between burials and commissions be urgently addressed to the families of all faiths who want to bury their loved ones and apply social distancing are able to do so . Yes, indeed, mr speaker, and i thank my right honourable friend, and i extend my sympathies to the friends and family of his constituent, ashley. We are asking councils to do exactly that to help people to attend without breaching the rules on social distancing. I am sure he would appreciate that is the right balance to strike. Thank you, mr speaker, undoubtedly follow scheme has prevented mass unemployment but when Companies LikeBritish Airways use millions of pounds of public money to fill their own staff at the same time as handing out redundancy notices, it isa handing out redundancy notices, it is a kick in the teeth for both those workers and the taxpayer. This concerning the reports today suggest the fellow scheme may be wound down average and so, Prime Minister, wouldnt it be an obscenity, i therefore employer decisions or government inaction, if those people whose jobs we have been trying to
save and redundant anyway . Cani save and redundant anyway . Can ijust save and redundant anyway . Can i just say, save and redundant anyway . Can ijust say, please will members ensure they dont have the political slogans behind them when speaking . Mr speaker, i think the fellow scheme has been one of the outstanding provisions that this government has been able to put in. It has given huge numbers of people, more than 6 million in this country, the security that they need and obviously, what we wanted to make sure people continue to feel security but at the same time, what we also want is to enable people safely and securely to go back to work and to earn their pay packets as they want today. Mr speaker, can i add my welcome and congratulations and ask him if and suggestions have a role to play in building our economy, in supporting
and retraining those who have lost jobs, has he considered how we might incentivise them to offer support particular for businesses and entrepreneurs . I thank entrepreneurs . Ithank him entrepreneurs . I thank him very much. For all the work he does to champion further education. As he knows, the agenda of this government remains unchanged. Within the structure, technology, education above all, and that includes our world leading nearby cities which are now formulating vaccines against this disease and of course further education, the skills that our economy is going to need so badly for a sustained economic recovery. Thank you, mr speaker. Since the government are refusing to discuss universal basic income, i was glad to see them at least recognises the need for an increase in universal
credit entitlement. However there has been no such increase on support allowa nce has been no such increase on support allowance so i want to as ask the Prime Ministerfor allowance so i want to as ask the Prime Minister for plans for a similar increase and if not, can he explain why he feels people who are sick or have a disability require less support at this time . We have removed the seven day waiting time for esa and diane glad that she pays tribute to the big increase in universal credit of £1040 benefiting 4 million families across this country, in total investment of £7 billion. What eve ryo ne investment of £7 billion. What Everyone Wants to see is notjust people taking universal credit but several times as i have said they wa nt to several times as i have said they want to see a careful and sensible programme attracting the widest possible support to continue to suppress the disease writes down but
allow our economy to start up again. I have been very impressed by how businesses and individuals in my constituency have been buying devices so children can learn at home. This will be enhanced by the 100 million given by the education secretary recently but that should have the education Site Committee has suggested that when schools do go back a catch up premium should be brought into close a gap between those most disadvantaged in life behind and their ps2 are better off. This will make all the difference in constituencies like mine, we commit to such a scheme. I congratulate them on the way he is representing his constituency, he is exactly correct and that is why we are ensuring that our extra computers and laptops for disadvantaged communities, making should be supply them with more 4g routers,
invaluable at this time and more to come because this is a government thatis come because this is a government that is going to pursue our agenda of uniting and levelling up across the whole of the uk. Since the government lowered the benefit cap threshold in 2015 it has been frozen which is essentially a cut every year. Some voices are calling on the government to remove the cap is part of the can of either sponsor and we know that 93 of those households affected by the cap have children and it is them who are losing out from this policy. Well the play most of do the correct thing and scrap the cap . As i told the house i think he asked to lift the cap on benefits and as he asked to lift the cap on benefits and as i havejust he asked to lift the cap on benefits and as i have just told the house there is already a total of 7 billion extra gone into universal credit alone. These are a very dark
and difficult days but can i highlight the amazing work being done by volunteers across the country to help others. In my own constituency that are dedicated groups delivering groceries and prescriptions and i wonder he would join me in thanking them all but is perhaps especially congratulating the organisers of burny the bus which collects food from the food bank and plays a part in music bringing a note ofjoy and happiness to the committee as it performs a valuable public service. |j to the committee as it performs a valuable public service. I thank him asa valuable public service. I thank him as a great believer in buses and i agree very as a great believer in buses and i agree very strongly with him about the good work done by the bus and
all who supported and travel therein. The final question. The communities secretary has rightly recognised that Council Workers are the Unsung Heroes of this crisis and promised to give rock authorities the discourses they need but my city faces a gap of up to £55 million as it is out of extra coasts and lost income. Our communities bore the brunt of austerity and they cannot carry the burden of can a virus. Wealthy give all councils a cast iron guarantee that they will not be asked to do so. Thank you, she is absolutely right as anybody knows to draw attention to the difficulties the straitened circumstances that local councils have been under and that is why be put the extra 3. 2 billion in immediately to help them cope and she should know that nottingham hunt
own city has had an extra 19 million to help deal with the pressures of coronavirus and certainly that is by no means the last of the support given to a fantastic front line Council Workers who as she lightly says have borne so much over the brunt in this crisis. We come to the urgent questions. Just finishing there and the play most of out of there and the play most of out of the chamber followed by keir starmer lets go tojoe who was listening. It was fascinating to see them both at play ministers questions, a
series of forensic questioning by keir starmer not surprisingly is a former director of public prosecutions, he is a lawyer and he did ask on all the areas that you would expect in terms of the testing strategy, the death figures and the lockdown measures and when they might be eased. We did actually learn some quite important things in that Prime Ministers question because it was borisjohnson answering from the first time and perhaps the most revealing was his response to the question about why Contact Tracing the track and trace strategy was abandoned in mid march and Boris Johnson gave strategy was abandoned in mid march and borisjohnson gave actually quite a long answer but if you listen very carefully you deal it does admit the capacity to pursue that and give it value. We have helped hence and owned it from advisers at the briefings but he really pretty belt came as close to
saying it was not possible to pursue because of a lack of capacity and now they are reintroducing it as a number of infections comes down. He also seemed to set a new testing target of 200,000 a. D. By the end of may and that despite the fight that asked questions being asked about the existing strategy of 100,000 tests today and whether they were actually carried out on whether it was more a case of tests being sent out to people. On this issue of the lockdown measures has plans for the next phase, he had been criticised by the speaker for not coming to Parliament First to explain to mps what is thoughts would be and whether any restrictions would be eased, instead he is making an address to the nation on sunday and borisjohnson explained the reason that he was going to talk about his plans to people a sunday is because some of the measures that he wants
to come into place the following day on monday and he will give a statement and answer questions from mps about that strategy so despite the fact were very much expecting there would only be some tweaks it sews like the bill be some measures that welcome interplay in terms of easing the detail of which we do not know. That will not get much notice for changes to commence a presumably cannot be significant measures that require foresight and planning. And one of them would be around transport systems, one of the key issues has been about encouraging people to think about going back to what cafe can do so safely work if they can do so safely. A former cabinet minister one of the first questions to borisjohnson was how a few are going to announce anything
about people attending to what, how will they get the analyst that has a watmore capacity on transport systems. Boris johnson watmore capacity on transport systems. Borisjohnson city watmore capacity on transport systems. Boris johnson city will watmore capacity on transport systems. Borisjohnson city will be talking to the mayor of london about that and that has already been a bit ofa that and that has already been a bit of a dispute about whether it be safe to really upgrade and increase the numbers of tube trains but Boris Johnson talked about other measures that might be put in place to encourage people to get to work without using the main transit systems so well have to wait and see what he says but that will be a keyissue see what he says but that will be a key issue about how people will to work. Thank you. In the last few minutes, the Scottish First minister Nicola Sturgeon has been answering first ministers questions in holyrood lets have a listen to what she has to say. At 9am this morning that have been 12700 and main positive cases, an increase of 270 2 cents yesterday
and a total of 1632 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed or suspected cases of covid 19, a decrease of 24 from yesterday. A total of 88 people last eight but an intensive gear with confirmed or suspected cases, a decrease of 15 on yesterday and any of us 24 hours 83 deaths have been registered of patients had been confirmed having covid 19 which takes the total number of deaths in scotland under that measurement to 1703. The figures are the most accurate we can provide daily, they record all registered deaths when the individual had been tested and confirmed as having the virus. Each wednesday the National Deck as a scot produced a more detailed weekly report including notjust those with a confirmed diagnosis but also cases where covid 19 is entered on a death certificate as a suspected or
contributory cause of death. The latest report has just been published and covers the period up to sunday the 3rd of may and at that point if i can remain members according to our daily figures 1576 deaths had been registered of people who had tested positive. Todays report shows that by sending the total number of registered deaths linked to divide this confirmed and presumed was 20001095. 2795. Effect is important to note this is the first weekly reduction in covid 19 deaths we have seen since the first death related to divide this way is registered. 48 of all registered deaths account in hospital, 43 in key homes and 8 at home on in other settings. In the most home on in other settings. In the m ost rece nt home on in other settings. In the most recent week 59 of all deaths linked to divide this happened and ca re linked to divide this happened and care homes and wealth that is a
deeply distressing figure it is never the to note that the number of deaths in care homes also produced last week compared to the week before and finally the total number of deaths whilst starting evidently higher than average also fail which means what we do fear to excess deaths when one last week than the big before. It percent of excess deaths had 83 of excess deaths had covid 19 as an underlining cause and my thoughts are with all those who are but heaved and i acutely aware that trains and statistics in no be easy is the pain of losing a loved one but then the product fight against divide is the figures give us some hope. The number of deaths has reduced overall as has excess deaths and related to the virus both in general and in care homes. The Scottish Government tomorrow must consider whether to continue the current restrictions for three more
weeks and as i have indicated house progress whilst real as still too fragile but we are no planning for these traditional as soon as possible and more detail sit down in the paper published yesterday for top the message is clear, stay at home possible, stated metres away do not meet people from other households, with a Face Covering in a shop Public Transport and isolate com pletely a shop Public Transport and isolate completely if you are someone else has symptoms. Every all stick with it for a bit longer we will i am sure see more progress and going for the moment with some of these restrictions can start to be eased. Jackson carlaw. We have all learned in recent weeks about the r number,
the reproduction rate and the Scottish Government suggested that to start ending lockdown the number would have to be less than 140 sustained period. Less than one for a sustained period. This edit could be justified by for a sustained period. This edit could bejustified by a meaningfully different number, could that be with the list of the uk figure or originally say the north of england . Does it refer to a statistical difference is more ofjudgment by ministers . Can i ask to confirm what exact as a meaningfully different art number look like . This is not the most help will be a starting to a nswer the most help will be a starting to answer this question but it could be answer this question but it could be a mix of all those things. Yesterday be published are best assessment of where that the r number as, between 0. 7 and one and we said that as an indication it may be slightly higher in scotland than other parts of the uk there is a significant degree of uncertainty in that. If that was the
case that would be some common sense attached to that, first confirmed cases related submit be maybe slightly behind the cover by these. The data used to make those assessments comes from the kind of statistics i have just reported and what the experts tell me is that there are no particular sets numbers we need to get to but need to have more confidence than we do now that it is significant liberal one so as we start to ease instructions it doesnt very quickly go above one. What i said yesterday as have to be driven by the evidence and that is entirely what i will stick to throughout this and applyjudgment to that evidence and if that tells us it is too soon to lift any restrictions then we must follow that and if there are definite sing experiences and impacts of the new kiosk can be have to Pay Attention to that. There is one to things and i want consistency, not least
because it makes the messaging a what some pot but we either accept there may be Different Cases dictated by the different stage of the infection all we accept within scotla nd the infection all we accept within scotland and within the uk that to some five this we all go at the pace of the slowest. I hope everyone will agree is that no area of the uk for ste nt to agree is that no area of the uk for stent to a position where they are lifting restrictions before the evidence says it is safest of the evidence says it is safest of the evidence had been aided by that and applying best judgment is evidence had been aided by that and applying bestjudgment is what i will continue to seek to do. |j applying bestjudgment is what i will continue to seek to do. I will come back to clarity of messaging but i do have considerable degree of sympathy of the point that she concluded on there. Yesterday the Scottish Government paper was clear that getting the r number down was the priority and that relies as we go forward on testing and tracing. However testing numbers are still
falling short of last weeks target so we are understandably at least to put sceptical of the promise to recruit 2000 contact tracers in the next four weeks. Can she tell so many contact tracers that are commonly, how the 2000 will be recruited and trained and moshi give this parliament a cast iron guarantee that this target will be met . Can i pick up on a couple of things to be clear, getting the item are number down and does not depend on testing and Contact Tracing, getting the right and are number down depends on a sole behaving in a way that we suppress divide this by sticking to the rules and guidance. Keeping the viruses are placed at the r number down well partly depend on social distancing and our ability to quickly identify outbreaks and thatis to quickly identify outbreaks and that is without testing and Contact Tracing comes in. In terms of
testing be deported on the capacity last week and over the weekend and yesterday Glasgow University capacity will be slightly law that is going to be because of a change to the shift pattern, over 4006 and a test in total carried out in scotla nd a test in total carried out in scotland yesterday and that will continue to increase as capacity gets back to normal and then increases beyond that. In terms of how many there are now, Contact Tracing is not currently a discreet professional categorisation, there will be many different people working within Health Protection teams who when required fulfil that function. We have to scale up that capacity and therefore that 2000 additional rate no Health Boards are looking at where the can use existing staff to do this job but we will then from that be able to say
with more certainty how many additionally we will require to pick it but 2000 is our best estimate rate no of the additional requirement that we will need and we will have to increase Testing Capacity to do the numbers of tests. That will depend on the prevalence of the vilest in the community, the assessments we are making now require probably a minimum capacity for around 15,500 per day but clearly these estimates will never be fixed in stone because they will depend on how the virus is operating. We will Keep Parliament updated is that progresses, this is what both myself and the Health Secretary are scrutinising closely as we go through this month because as we go through this month because asi as we go through this month because as i said to be intent to have the capacity for an enhanced Contact Tracing to be in place by the end of may. I appreciate the complexities but both on the r number and contact
trace on target the point is that for the Public Perception and progress being made as much comity as possible is essential because as the first minister said this morning balancing risks is difficult, the public have to be clear that what is happening and why. The keys stay at home has been effective because it has been delivered simply and consistency, it has not mattered if you are watching stv on ten oclock bbc news on the reading the scottish sun on the guardian you receive the same advice and message. Some positives lives. Just does the first minister and agree that to ensure the maximum effectiveness future gains should be equally simple and consistent across the uk within a framework of an agreed plan by all administrations. In broad terms yes ido administrations. In broad terms yes i do agree but as one of the people that has to do this message daily you do not know but it is to convince me about the importance of clarity and some positi and to
dollar that message and have the public response is beneficent as they have has been incredible helpful. I want as much consistency of messaging as possible, i have what very hard to achieve that. I have worked very has to achieve that. A formations approach has to be meaningful and one that all four nations have been involved in formulating and one that takes account of the evidence in each part of the uk notjust the evidence and some parts of the uk so that is the way we have to continue to proceed and progress. Iwill enter this way we have to continue to proceed and progress. I will enter this and sat with a point i have made before, if we are to have, we can have a formations approach that is coordinated at acceptable be some differences of pace depending on evidence, that especially legitimate on we can decide that doing the same thing at the same time is what matters most. Either of those is what it. If it is the latter then this point i have made before is
really important, be must go at the pace of the part of the uk that is farthest behind in the infection because because not to do that would lead to parts of the uk potentially lifting restrictions before it was safe traditional. That is the worry i would have and what am not prepared to countenance. i would have and what am not prepared to countenance. I agree with that, if we are going to have a formation approach we either have to agree within the overall plan that is agree that there will be differences in different parts of the uk all of that we go at the pace of the slowest. What i think is important is within an overall agreed plan that is a clear messaging because the point is that mixed messages will not help and our priority here as in saving lives. I think the first man estimate underestimate the potential for model that comes from mixed messaging. Construction firms are asking by firms in england and wales and Northern Ireland are been able to work safely but not here. If a building site in the carlisle can
keep going but operating safely still in lockdown without spreading the virus, why cannot one in dumfries . The Scottish Government risks that kind of confusion that is not a consistent message about how different types of workplace should operate across the uk against some positi save lives. This is not about politics but about keeping things clear that had a genuine question, why not just what to achieve the same guidance across the whole uk on how to work safely. If any given business can work safely anywhere and can do it without spreading the virus then why not in scotland. think some people seem to have a lot more tanks about this uk wide approach than i do. A lot more ta nks approach than i do. A lot more tanks to. If somebody says it has to be you
kuate i see that as long starting point and fess it has to be settled in scotland i will say that is wrong, my starting point is what is the evidence tell us to suppress divide this and save lives, that is the only thing i am interested in. I ta ke the only thing i am interested in. I take on good faith this is not about politics because it is settling not about me but when we have differences now i could say maybe the problem as others are not following scotlands gains just as others are saying is, not following gains elsewhere. It is a big assumption and the question which is that it assumption and the question which is thatitis assumption and the question which is that it is safe construction to be operating normally in other parts of the uk, but something as fast minister of scotland i am not yet absolutely satisfied about and i suppose my central proposition here is at the start of this outbreak s0 ourjudgment is at the start of this outbreak s0 our judgment and my judgment is at the start of this outbreak s0 ourjudgment and myjudgment was that construction apart from four essential projects was not safe to
operate what has changed between now and then, has enough changed for me to change that judgment. And then, has enough changed for me to change thatjudgment. My answer to change thatjudgment. My answer to that is not yet because we had at such a critical stage, the evidence iam such a critical stage, the evidence i am looking at tells me it would not take very much at all to send progress into devious so we need to persevere 40 bit longer to get that progress more solid if id. We are working with it with a ship for them and a phase restart which we are talking to them about and that is a lot of common sense and that until i get to a point where i am satisfied that whether it is to construction or anyone else you can ease up a bit without risking this by this going out of control than i think this once more thing to do is to stick with the gains we have until we get toa with the gains we have until we get to a position will be and what confident and that is the risk based
and careful judgment that confident and that is the risk based and carefuljudgment that i have a sponsor party to a player that is what i will continue to do. A responsibility to apply. This week we welcomed the plans to reintroduce a test trace and isolate strategy although we know have to build up capacity after this approach was abandoned in march. The first minster has confirmed today that a test trace and i switch strategy. Ss first minister is a question that hollywood, all the latest news coming up in a few moments at 1pm, note for the weather. Hello there. Big temperature swings arent desperately unusual at this time of year, but certainly some big changes ahead later this week. Over the next few days, the warmth builds and by ve day, friday, we could see temperatures widely into the high teens, low 20s, maybe 25 in the south east corner. Through the weekend, though,
a surge of arctic air returns and some of you will struggle to get into double figures, and even a few snow showers across the north and east of scotland. Thats a few days away. Out there at the moment its a case of blue skies for the vast majority from dawn to dusk. Sunshine streaming through many a window. A few exceptions, maybe a bit more cloud at times in cornwall, but even here a brighter day than yesterday, one or two showers are possible in the afternoon. A lot more cloud through orkney and shetland in places meaning a misty afternoon. But for most, strong sunshine overhead and lighter wind than yesterday. Its going to feel a bit warmer, western areas, 19 or 20 degrees. Still a slight onshore breeze towards the east to keep things a bit cooler here. Going into this evening and overnight, we start to see a bit more cloud pushing up the western fringes of the uk. Always a chance of one or two showers. Most places will be dry. The air turning more humid in the west, whereas further east its going to be another chilly night with temperatures low enough for a touch of frost once more. But we start with sunshine in the east once again, High Pressure in charge here. As it shrinks away a little bit towards the east we start to bring more humid air more widely. In the west, with it, a bit more cloud. Misty around some coasts and hills. We will see a few showers around during the day particularly across scotland and Northern Ireland during the afternoon. One or two isolated ones in england and wales. Where we do see the showers on thursday, do not be surprised if it comes with the odd rumble of thunder too. The vast majority, though, dry, and sunniest across eastern parts of wales, england and eastern scotland. Highest of the temperatures here, 19 23. A slightly milder night to come to take us into friday. Should be frost free. A bit more cloud through scotland, Northern Ireland. Scotland will see some showers across the northern half of the mainland. A few showers breaking out with the sunny spells elsewhere. The odd thunderstorm cant be ruled out, but most will be dry and the peak of the heat, particularly for england and wales, widely into the 20s. 25 celsius is possible. This weekend, the change comes, rain spreading from the north will bring a drop in temperature, and in the south we drop by 12
or 13 degrees as we go from saturday afternoon to sunday afternoon. The Prime Minister says he bitterly regrets the coronavirus epidemic in care homes. Borisjohnson was challenged by the new labour leader at their first meeting in Prime Ministers questions about the situation facing the care sector. I have to ask the Prime Minister, why hasnt the government got to grips with this already . Theres an epidemic going on in care homes, which is something i bitterly regret. The prime minster also said some lockdown measures could begin to be eased next week. Well have the latest from westminster. Also this luncthime. The Health Secretary matt hancock again defends the governments testing strategy. Good news on Climate Change, as lockdown results in the fastest