Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News At Six 20200511

As you want and with one person from another household. We are encouraged to wear Face Coverings in enclosed spaces where social distancing is difficult, such as public transport. But in wales, scotland and Northern Ireland, the advice remains largely unchanged to stay at home. And coming up on bbc news, no professional sport in england even behind closed doors until the 1st ofjune at the earliest. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. The government has laid out in more detail the plan to ease seven weeks of lockdown in a 50 page document published this afternoon. The three phases, aimed at gradually restoring a kind of normality, apply only to england as scotland, wales and Northern Ireland are largely maintaining the advice to stay at home. From wednesday, people in england can go outdoors as often as they want. That can be for exercise or to sit in a park for instance. You can meet with one person outside your household provided you keep two metres apart. Youre asked to work from home if possible. But, if you cant, you can go to work in certain sectors from wednesday though preferably not on public transport. This doesnt apply to hairdressers or non essential retail. You are advised to wear Face Coverings in enclosed spaces where the two metre rule cant be applied, like in shops or public transport. From the 1st ofjune, a phased return for schools and nurseries in england will begin, with the ambition of all Primary School pupils returning for a month before the summer break. More shops will also be able to open. And some sporting events will be able to take place behind closed doors. From july, the Prime Minister says hairdressers, some bars and restaurants and Leisure Facilities could then open. This timetable for releasing the lockdown is dependent on the number of new coronavirus cases continuing to fall. In the latest 24 hour period, 210 people have died from coronavirus across the uk. The figure is usually lower straight after the weekend. Heres our political editor, laura kuenssberg. Was the day any different . There was anxiety on the yorkshire coast that people will cry towards their area. Iam very people will cry towards their area. I am very scared of what will happen when everyone comes to the beaches, i think it will open up a can of worms. Manchester is still airy and quiet, but plummer is heading back to work. I didnt have a choice, i need to earn money. You can go to a park and see people two metre distance but you cant see your family, so it is very confusing. And more commuters back on theirjourney to work on londons train lines, but the decisions for the government and all of us are not always that clear cut. All of us are not always that clearcut. Its my first day back, i got a family, so i wasnt unsure but eve ryo ne got a family, so i wasnt unsure but everyone has been keeping it pretty well. Lockdown is not over but there area well. Lockdown is not over but there are a lot of small changes in england. You will be encouraged to cover your face england. You will be encouraged to cover yourface in england. You will be encouraged to cover your face in enclosed spaces where it is hard to keep your distance. You should go back to work if you cant work at home and your workplace is open. Traffic queues this morning suggested some people had heeded that advice. And, from this week, you can be outdoors as much as you like. But while primaries and some firms may start reopening next month, for secondary schools and so many other parts of the economy, its going to take a lot longer. So the Prime Minister, no surprise, faced a long list of questions, too. This is a supremely difficult balance to strike. They can be no greater mistake than to jeopardise everything we have striven to achieve by proceeding too farand striven to achieve by proceeding too far and too fast. The government is today submitting to the house and a plan that is conditional and dependent as always on the common sense and observance of the british people, but on continual reassessment of the data. This belief from labour, though, that, after last night, even after the publication of a fuller plan today, some vital guidelines are still not ready. What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance and, at the moment, both are in pretty short supply. And at the heart of the problem, it seems, is the Prime Minister made a statement la st the Prime Minister made a Statement Last night before the plan was written or at least finalised and that has caused considerable confusion. And whether it is near empty parks in cardiff or deserted beaches of aberdeen, the administrations in scotland, wales and Northern Ireland are taking a different path, sticking to the stay at home message with sharp political disagreement. It is obvious that the last 2a hours has fared confusion, but the public desperately needs today to be given some clarity. Mr speaker, lives are at risk so politicaljudgments speaker, lives are at risk so political judgments and verdicts speaker, lives are at risk so politicaljudgments and verdicts on this weekends chaos will have to wait for another day. There is now a three nations approach, wales, scotland and Northern Ireland all agree on policy and message and i mean this with no malice, but for the sake of clarity. Can he confirm that almost everything he has announced today, the Prime Minister is acting as the Prime Minister of england. No, i reject that completely. It is very good advice for the entire population of the united kingdom, though i perfectly respect the inflections and variations that may be necessary both locally, regionally and nationally. The elastic bonds between westminster, belfast, edinburgh and cardiff are certainly being stretched and, in private, frustration among tory mps is bubbling up to. One cabinet minister confided the situation is so complicated, they feel like they almost cant win. But, no question, unease about the governments handling of the crisis is certainly starting to spread. This emergency is on such a scale, it is impossible for the course to be smooth. But when lives and livelihoods are both at stake, political anxiety is running high, too. Laura joins us from westminster now. More details today from the Prime Minister but people and politicians, as we have seen, still have a lot of questions. Thats right, and remember we are talking about the guidelines for england, not the whole of the uk but there is certainly a sense that the government has been scrambling to try to keep up with the question that emerged by the dozen, by the hundreds, as soon as borisjohnson finished his big Statement Last night. We are about to be hit by that mountain of taping, new guidelines for business that we will hear about in guidelines for business that we will hearabout ina guidelines for business that we will hear about in a moment mountain of paper. And for education coming along too. But all of those rules and regulations are coming out into the Public Domain after Boris Johnsons big Statement Last night, in the state dining room in downing street and that allowed it to have this big gap, this period where people, eagerfor information, found they couldnt get their hands on it and that has created a bit of confusion today and the government has been trying and not always succeeding to clamp down on it. It is all also fair to say that in a situation like this, however much paper the government managed to produce and however many rules and regulations they came up with, they could probably never hope, actually, to give clear answers on every single tiny aspect on all of our lives because this picture is very, very complicated. It is a huge thing that they are grappling with but, after the last 48 hours, there really is a definite sense here that the a political consensus that this crisis began with is really quite wretched now. Laura, thank you. The government is encouraging you to continue to work from home if you can. Workers in industries such as construction and manufacturing who cannot work from home should go to work this week and preferably not on public transport. Here is our business editor, simon jack. Wa ke wake up time for the economy. Here at this bed and Mattress Factory in cambridgeshire, activity is staring slowly back into life. 68 workers out of the normal 300 have volunteered to come back to work. Sue is one of the team leaders. Volunteered to come back to work. Sue is one of the team leadersm is important to me because it feels normal, it feels like life is getting back to normality for what it should be. It isjust getting back to normality for what it should be. It is just good getting back to normality for what it should be. It isjust good being back at work. Seeing friends, collea g u es back at work. Seeing friends, colleagues and that and the day goes quicker than being at home, doing nothing. Working with a Skeleton Crew like this means it is mostly possible to keep your social distance, but not all the time. Some workers need protective equipment and the Operations Manager says that getting back to full swing will require more radical changes. They have no other option, if demand continues to grow and we have a need to get back to full or close to full capacity, but to introduce shift work, because we cannot work, as we we re work, because we cannot work, as we were in the past, with a full shift, everybody working close together. We cant maintain social distancing, we are going to need to look at shift or perhaps other ways of working. Construction is also on the list of industries being encouraged to get workers back on the job, and industries being encouraged to get workers back on thejob, and many sites like this one in bristol have been back at work for weeks. But the boss of this bedfordshire based company said if workers and subcontractors didnt obey the rules, consequences could be swift and severe. Everyone has to adhere to it otherwise they will be asked to it otherwise they will be asked to leave the site and may not be asked to return. So peoples livelihoods depend on them working in construction. If you dont work, you dont earn. No one isjust pppin9 you dont earn. No one isjust popping the champagne corks and saying we are all coming back on monday. Everybody is being very, very sensible about it here and putting together their own protocols to adhere to ours. Both mark and katy admit there are times the two metre rule will be broken. It is a rule, not a law and workplace guidelines are expected to require additional measures to mitigate risk when it is not possible. The last 24 out have arguably place more responsibility and discretion in the hands of employers and that concerns unions. We are saying that they shouldnt be pressured into going back to work and should refuse, and we will obviously defend them. High street shops currently shut may be reopening in the second phase in june. Those wanting to drink in the local pub or get their hair done will have to wait for the first week ofjuly at the very earliest. Will have to wait for the first week ofjuly at the very earliest. We cant work from home, this is where we have to be to do ourjob. This is ourfamily business, we have to be to do ourjob. This is our family business, this we have to be to do ourjob. This is ourfamily business, this is our livelihood and i think there are so many . Sand livelihood and i think there are so many . S and so it feels like it is very much up in the airfor us. Many . S and so it feels like it is very much up in the air for us. So very much up in the air for us. So many question marks. It is a tentative go for sony part of the economy but with a warning that if infection is a search, the warning lights are back on. The government has announced it hopes all primary age pupils in england can go back to school for a month before the summer break, and is again urging Vulnerable Children and those of essential workers to head back now. It is aiming for children to restart nursery, reception, year one and year six classes on june first if the risk level of coronavirus permits. Theres no return planned for englands secondary School Children before the summer holidays. But teachers are being asked to prepare for face to face time before then with those who have with key exams next year. In scotland and wales, theres no change, with no planned return dates with scotlands first minister saying next month would be too soon for Primary Schools classes to start. And in Northern Ireland, the Education Minister said it will be september when pupils are likely to begin going back to school. Teaching unions have expressed serious concerns about government plans to restart primary education in england. Elaine dunkley has been gauging the reaction of parents and teachers in cheshire. Even with just a few children, it is difficult. Soon, pupils at Hartford Manor primary will have to learn a new skill, how to keep their distance. Classes will reopen to all children in reception, year one and year six. How on earth do we get 30 children in the classroom and make them socially distance . You cant do it. I would like to see the children wearing facial coverings because if they then cough, it wont go onto they then cough, it wont go onto the desk they are working at all to the desk they are working at all to the surface. I would like to see teachers wearing it, where possible. Schools have remained open for children of key workers and those deemed as vulnerable. So why are certain age groups being prioritised to return first . For nurseries, reception and year one, it is a critical time in early years development. For those in year six, it is about preparing them for secondary school. But parents here are worried about safety. A lot of pa rents a re are worried about safety. A lot of parents are scared that bringing children back will increase the spread. One of our concerns is keeping in keeping the girls in school is that we would potentially come from the hospital, acquire covid, bring it back, pass it on unknown to our children and then bring it in and spread it further in the communities. I dont know how you can open the school is when you cant guarantee peoples safety. It is unfair. My daughters are coping fine at home, they are quite happy and bubbly at home but they are really desperate to come back to school and see their friends. That isa school and see their friends. That is a big part for them, school and see their friends. That is a big part forthem, to school and see their friends. That is a big part for them, to come and see their friends and play with their friends and i dont see how thatis their friends and i dont see how that is going to be possible, because you cant enforce social distancing very well with children, i wouldnt have thought. Schools are key in ending the coronavirus lockdown. Reopening them is as much about the economy as it is education. In orderfor the about the economy as it is education. In order for the country to go back to work, children need to go back to school. We understand the need for the lockdown and School Closure in the beginning, but it has now been eight weeks. My husband and i both run small businesses, so trying to keep both of those businesses viable and having both children at home and doing some home schooling has created a really High Pressure environment for both of us as parents, which obviously then reflects on the children well. The government says this is about small steps. More guidance will be issued, but will parents and teachers have enough confidence for children to return to classroom discussion mark elaine dunkley, bbc news, cheshire. The leaders of all the devolved nations say theyre keeping the stay at home, save lives advice meaning there are now clear differences in how lockdown restrictions will apply in the different areas of the uk. So what does the new guidance mean if you live in wales, for example, but work in england . Or if you live in england but want to visit wales . Our wales correspondent, hywel griffith, has been looking into what the changes mean. The Prime Minister has given us his road map. But are the borders clearly marked . For the people in chepstow, it should be straightforward. They live in wales under welsh lockdown laws. The message here remains stay at home. But what about the 100,000 welsh workers, like steve, whosejobs are in england . What if he gets called in to a meeting . The claritys not there. I believe that im right, you know, that the welsh rules apply to me, and that i must stay at home. Butam i right . Im not entirely sure. In normal times, the border between england and wales is crossed more than 2. 5 million times a week. Its notjust people going to work. Its travelling to their nearest supermarket or visiting their gp. Inevitably, having different lockdown laws either side of the divide is now causing confusion. Driving to exercise isnt allowed in wales, only essential journeys are permitted. Anything else breaks the law. For helena and her mum, there are more questions than answers today. They live on the english side of the divide but helena studies in wales. Are we allowed to come and pick stuff up . Over just the Little Bridge and come for a walk . Ive got to get get my uni staff from cardiff. Is that essential . Am i allowed to go and get that . Peter has a different dilemma. His Estate Agency straddles both sides of the border. Today has brought a flurry of calls. He is having to tell people not to drive in to wales. We just dont really know what to do. We are taking enquiries but im saying to clients, look, i know as much as you do. We are trying to, obviously, interpret what both the Welsh Government and english government are saying, and it is all a bit confusing. Not only to us but to the general public. The virus, of course, doesnt recognise borders, and this pandemic is now really testing how well the uks nations can stick together. Hywel griffith, bbc news, chepstow. Lets get the view from scotland. Our scotland editor sarah smith joins us from glasgow. Nicola sturgeon hasjust given a special address she clearly feels the need to remind people what the rules are there. She has just been on television here and its clear that her principal concern is to make sure people in scotla nd concern is to make sure people in scotland understand the easing of restrictions that the Prime Minister has been talking about do not apply in scotland. The lockdown is not being significantly lifted here, she is not encouraging people to go to work and people are not allowed to start sunbathing if the weather were to improve. They are not supposed to travel for outdoor activities. Nicola sturgeon has been pretty sharply critical of borisjohnson for not making it abundantly clear that the changes he is discussing apply to england only. Every time you hear Nicola Sturgeon explaining why she cant ease restrictions more here when she says she dare not risk acting rationally or prematurely because lives are at risk, you can hear the unspoken criticism of boris johnson. She has not attacked him directly but its clear she would prefer the uk move together in this but not at the pace the Prime Minister is setting. Sarah smith in glasgow, thank you. The government has extended plans to impose a 14 day quarantine on people flying into the uk to other means of transport too. But theres no date yet for when that will start. Passengers arriving from france and the republic of ireland will be exempt. The head of iag which runs British Airways has warned the quarantine measures mean flights wont be able to resume in any meaningful way. Our transport correspondent, tom burridge, reports from sta nsted airport. Flying is changing. This is the new norm at stansted and manchester airports. Thermal cameras which check your temperature will become more common too. These people arrived on a flight from berlin today, which was half full. Soon anyone arriving in the uk from anywhere apart from ireland and france will have to self isolate for two weeks. I think its necessary. I think we should all have a quarantine because they are doing it also in germany. Its a really nice idea but they are late again. Normally stansted would have 500 flights in a day. Today there were just 16. It is hard to think forward to the summer and imagine this busy. But Airlines Warned many people simply wont want to travel if they have to self isolate when they get home. With their planes stacked up and static, British Airways, like other airlines, is haemorrhaging cash. The boss of its Parent Company today said a quarantine was a further kick in the teeth. We had been planning to resume on a pretty significant basis of flying injuly. I think we will have to review that based on what the Prime Minister said yesterday. Around 100,000 people have arrived in the uk since the lockdown began seven weeks ago. Opposition mps say the government failed to prevent more cases getting in. There were cases conceded all across the country over a period of months by not taking measures at the border and quarantining earlier. The government says the relatively small numbers of flights and passengers means the number of cases of the virus which could have come in would have had a minimal impact on the overall prevalence of covid i9 in the uk. The travel quarantine is expected to take effect at the end of this month. If people cannot provide an address when they arrive then they will have to self isolate in government accommodation. Tom burridge, bbc news, stansted airport. People in lower skilled jobs such as security guards, care workers and bus drivers are among those most likely to die from coronavirus, according to new data. The office for National Statistics has been analysing mortality figures for england and wales up until april 20th. It found that people working in lower paid occupations are more likely to die with the virus compared to those doing other, usually higher paid jobs. With the government encouraging people in england to go to work if they can, how can workers make sure they stay safe when they do . Heres our science editor, david shukman. Two metres apart, please, thank you in the commuter crush this morning, a flurry of new policies. First, the London Transport Authority is urging people to cover their faces. Then the National Government doing the same. All this amid concerns about safety. So how much do we know about which jobs are most at risk from the virus . Well, security guards suffer the highest rates of death from covid i9. Thats according to early analysis by the office for National Statistics. And the World Health Organization says that the more direct contact there is, the greater the risk of dying. Ra njith chandra pala was a bus driver. His route took him to Ealing Hospital in west london. He died of covid i9 earlier this month and his daughter, leshie, says his colleagues are now nervous. They are really scared. They are scared to go to work. But they are decent human beings and they are professionals, you know . And they will keep doing theirjobs, they will keep putting their lives at risk to keep this city moving. So what are the best ways to stay safe at work . This animation shows how a cough can spread the virus in a supermarket. The most obvious option is trying to stay apart. Many places are now marking out the two metre distance. But where that isnt possible, wearing a Face Covering might be the answer. The busier the place, the greater the risk. With any individual contact, there will be a risk of exposure and risk of transmission. Each individual contact, that risk will be fairly low. But if you add enough contact together, there is enough risk there to facilitate some form of transmission. So the closer you are together at work, the more contact you have with people, the more likely you are to transmit the virus. And all the time, the disease is still spreading. Less rapidly than before, but it is out there. So is it the right time to relax the lockdown as many are hoping . The numbers being admitted to hospital are down and the rate of infection has fallen, whats called the r number. But inside care homes the epidemic is declining much more slowly and across the uk its a complicated picture. In aberdeen, things were still very quiet today. In scotland, wales and Northern Ireland, the infection rates are higher than in england, so getting back to Something Like normal will not happen at the same speed or in the same way. David shukman, bbc news. If you want more information about the changes to the lockdown in england, you can find it on the bbc news website. Ill be back at seven oclock tonight to bring you coverage of the Prime Ministers press conference and well be trying to fill you in on more of the details and answer some of your questions straight after it. But, first, lets take a look at the weather with ben rich. A cold day today, particularly where it has been windy. We have had gusts of 50 mph off the coast of kent. Those wins will slowly ease as we go through tonight with a lot of dry weather and clear spells. But some showers working in across scotland, some wintry over high ground. Temperatures overnight dipping close to freezing or a touch below in a few spots so if you have been doing gardening over the last few days bearin gardening over the last few days bear in mind they could be a frost for some into tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, england, wales and Northern Ireland, dry weather in the forecast but increasing amounts of cloud during the day and the odd shower. But for northern scotland, a band of rain working its way in. And behind this, some even colder air will be digging back in so the rain is likely to turn to snow not only of the highest mountains, even relatively low levels, around 100 metres above sea level you could see snow. 5 degrees in aberdeen at 4pm. Not as cold in the south across northern england, Northern Ireland and wales. Some showers but temperatures ending at 12 or 13. The frontal system in the north will push southeast on tuesday night, clearing the south east corner on wednesday, then a lot of dry weather around with a fair amount of cloud developing through the day with temperatures still not in great shakes, 7 15. Temperatures will then begin to climb with an area of High Pressure starting to build its way in towards the british isles, cutting off the feed of cold northerly winds weve had and we start to bring in some slightly less cold airfrom start to bring in some slightly less cold air from the atlantic. This will not be a heatwave by any stretch, not initially, temperatures are slowly climbing to the end of the week. They could be rain at times in the north west of the uk. Getting into the weekend, some parts of the south could get up to 22. It should start to feel a bit more spring again. A reminder of our top story. The government has published a 50 page document setting out details of how it plans to get people back to work and children back to school in england. Thats all from the bbc news at six so its goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. Hello there. Im jane dougall with your latest sports news. The government has outlined new guidelines on both elite and amatuer sport with no professional events taking place, even behind closed doors, in england until the 1st ofjune at the earliest. However, from wednesday, people in england can exercise outside as much as they like. Lets take a look at some of the details. Borisjohnson said there would be. Joining us now is shadow sports minister ally mcgovern. Welcome to the programme. First of all, do you welcome this news in terms of professional sport potentially returning from the 1st ofjune, potentially returning from the 1st of june, especially football . think we all want sport back. What worries me about this is that i dont think weve got enough information yet about how it is going to happen and we need to make sure that Health Concerns are paramount in this. But, yes, i think we are all missing sport a great deal and i personally very much looking forward to sport coming back. I would assume also, minister, that smaller clubs facing financial difficulties, this will be a welcome sort of hope for them . difficulties, this will be a welcome sort of hope for them . I think the problem is that theres been a lot of focus on the premier league, theres been a lot