Available for hospital patients across the uk. More than a thousand flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled, as fears grow of a fresh coronavirus outbreak. Eds the day football fans have been waiting for. The premier league restarts after three months away. Waiting for. The premier league restarts after three months awaylj am live at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City prepared to take on arsenal, albeit from behind closed doors. Sleepwalking into a Cashless Society. As a new scheme launches, well hear the concerns of the woman in charge of making access to cash easier for communities that struggle to get money in the palm of their hands. Good morning. Weve had a lot of low cloud, mist, and fog roll in from the north sea overnight. It will burn back to the coast where it will lingerfor burn back to the coast where it will linger for some burn back to the coast where it will lingerfor some bring the burn back to the coast where it will linger for some bring the day. Burn back to the coast where it will lingerfor some bring the day. For most it is a dry, bright, sunny start during the day. As temperatures rise those thunderstorms will get going once again. I will have all the details at 27 minutes past. Good morning. Busy programme for you this morning. Its wednesday the 17th ofjune. Our top story the footballer Marcus Rashford has vowed to continue speaking up for disadvantaged families after he successfully campaigned for children in england to continue receiving Free School Meals over the summer. The Manchester United and england star said he was shocked and grateful that his campaign, which he talked about exclusively on breakfast, prompted a government u turn. John mcmanus reports. The premier leagues about to resume but Marcus Rashford has already scored a major goal thats got more than just football fans are setting up than just football fans are setting up and taking notice. Hes open letter calling for Free School Meal vouchers in england to be continued over the Summer Holidays was a skilful piece of footwork that forced the government to concede. More than1 forced the government to concede. More than 1 million children will benefit. At the man united player was characteristically modest as he spoke exclusively to bbc breakfast. That must make you feel like you have achieved an incredible thing . Yes, yes, its a nice feeling. But imjust yes, yes, its a nice feeling. But im just not happy that, you know, peoples lives and peoples summers, especially, will be changed for the better. That was the important thing that id try to change going into it. Last week, the Prime Minister was still insisting he wouldnt change his mind over the meal vouchers. But by yesterday Boris Johnson appeared to have thought again. I talked to Marcus Rashford today and congratulated him on his campaign which, to be honest, they only became aware of very recently, today. And i thank you for what is done. Why do think its right that we should be looking after families of the most vulnerable, the neediest, right now. Labours welcomed the change of heart. Neediest, right now. Labours welcomed the change of heartm neediest, right now. Labours welcomed the change of heart. It was obvious that there was a need for this Free School Meals. They should never have put that in jeopardy. We had to push them all the way. But Marcus Rashford played a really important part in that. So far, Marcus Rashford seems to have avoided all the usual criticism that sportsday should stay out politics, mainly by insisting that this wasnt about politics. Among those lending in the support, gary lineker, who said it was great to see Manchester Uniteds number 10 changing policy at numberio, uniteds number 10 changing policy at number 10, Extraordinary Campaign and went for the brilliant Marcus Rashford. Rival city congratulated rashford. Rival city congratulated rashford. And olympic gold medallist denise lewis told him he had accomplished so much, but this was a beautiful thing. This doesnt appear to be the end of his campaign though. You achieve this incredible thing in such a short space of time. You have a platform. Whats next . I think, obviously, this is only going to be successful throughout the summer to be successful throughout the summer period and then, you know, weve bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time there to figure out whats next and how we keep taking steps forward, because they dont wa nt steps forward, because they dont want it to be, dont want this to be the end of it, you know, because there are definitely more steps that need to be taken and so we just need to analyse the response. John mcmanus, bbc news. Three things a pickup that, just that little chat, sally was chatting to marcus last night and we will talk to later in the programme stop one, great slippers. Ithought talk to later in the programme stop one, great slippers. I thought you might like the slippers. Ive approved greatly. They are co mforta ble. Approved greatly. They are comfortable. Two, he is so humble, so comfortable. Two, he is so humble, so understated. Any support he has got across the board, from rivals is about being a good guy. |j got across the board, from rivals is about being a good guy. I think he is shocked by the response. And his mum is so proud of him. Three, thunder was coming down, cats and dogs when sally was doing that interview, the sun was shining on Marcus Rashford. I am that slippers we re Marcus Rashford. I am that slippers were your number one. Our Political Correspondent nick eardleyjoins us now from westminster. Nick, im sure you appreciate the slippers as well. What was interesting was the press conference yesterday, borisjohnson came in talking about dexamethasone. This is the transformative drug, but you look at the front pages this morning, Marcus Rashford is on there and this u turn. Morning, Marcus Rashford is on there and this uturn. Yeah, absolutely. And it looks like sallys original interview with Marcus Rashford was pretty important in the Prime Ministers decision making. I hear that he watched it yesterday morning before the big meeting he has with his inner team where they discuss the coronavirus response. Then he had cabinet and it was early afternoon that we political journalists were told there had been theirs u turn and they were now going to find these Free School Meals for kids in england over the summer meals for kids in england over the Summer Holidays. The Prime Minister also brought up that interview in his call with Marcus Rashford last night. So it has clearly had a big impact on Boris Johnson. Night. So it has clearly had a big impact on borisjohnson. What happens now is if you are an eligible child in england you will get a six week voucher which will last you the Summer Holidays. There will be similar schemes in scotland and wales and we think there will be one in Northern Ireland as well. There are trying to figure out where the money comes from at the moment. Using different pages morning, obviously Marcus Rashford had a really big impact in this. Yesterday, things started to change as well, because labour were really on the front foot on this with the government. There are a lot of conservative politicians who were really u nco mforta ble conservative politicians who were really uncomfortable with the way the government was trying to defend the government was trying to defend the policy of not funding these Free School Meals. It has raised a few questions about the Prime Ministers judgement and why they didnt get on top of this earlier. But absolutely a big win for Marcus Rashford. Ive got to say, as well as is slippers i was jealous of his garden, so well kept. It was mine like that. You know what, all you have done now is cast aspersions on your own gardening abilities and the state of your garden. It is later. Thanks very much, nick. I love the way we are getting into the meaty issues this morning, slippers, gardening. Well be speaking to the Health Secretary, matt hancock, at 7 30. Iam not i am not sure slippers will come up. Obviously mentioning the Marcus Rashford news, but Something Else were talking about this morning. A breakthrough drug which has been proven to help the most severely affected coronavirus patients is being dispensed across the uk. The steroid, called dexamethasone, is cheap, widely available, and has been used in britain since the 1960s. Research led by Oxford University found that it cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. This is a result that can save lives tomorrow, during the course of the next week, immediately in all parts of the world. The second thing is, from a sort of science point of view and giving us hope for the future, which is its the first time weve had a treatment that improves survival. And that offers the hope that there will be other drugs that will produce further improvements beyond that to. Will produce further improvements beyond that to. More than 1000 flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled by chinese officials as they try to contain a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in the city. Schools have been ordered to close and residents have been urged not to leave the capital, which had previously gone 50 days without any local transmission of covid i9. The latest cases are linked to a wholesale food market. Brazil has reported a Record Number of new coronavirus cases over the past 2a hours nearly 35,000. The country, second only to the us in the number of infections and deaths, is on course to register a million cases by the end of the week. More than 16,000 people in brazil have died with the disease. The met office has issued further yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms this afternoon, after heavy rain and lightning struck parts of the uk yesterday. These pictures show heavy rain in manchester last night and lightening near birmingham. Warnings are in place from midday today until nine this evening, with the possibility of further flooding and disruption to road networks. Carol will have more on that later. I loved the thunderstorms last night. You are one of those. Stand out in the rain type person. Three children, two love it. How about the dog . She is ok. A bit too dopey to realise. Its been exactly 100 days since premier League Football was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic and today its back, but it will look and feel very different. How are you feeling, dan . It will be strange. Im glad they will finish it. Hopefully it is all safe and that side is taken care of. So long as that is fine its ok. Premier League Football is was suspended because of the pandemic. It will look and feel very different. No supporters will be allowed inside stadiums and all 92 matches are being broadcast live on television. Janes at Manchester Citys Etihad Stadium for us this morning to look ahead to the restart. Good morning to you, jane. Good morning. It has been such a long wait, hasnt it . Imagine the logistics that have been involved in ensuring the premier leagues project restart gets off without a hitch and, of course, safely. Here at the etihad Manchester City will host arsenal later on tonight. The earlier kick off is that villa park we re earlier kick off is that villa park were aston villa will take on Sheffield United. Those matches, as you mentioned, are going to have a very, very different look and feel to them in orderfor very, very different look and feel to them in order for them to very, very different look and feel to them in orderfor them to go ahead. Just imagine the logistics of enduring this stadium is a safer two different teams to play when social distancing isnt going to be able to actually happen on the pitch. Here at the etihad it has been deep cleaned inside and pitch side and since training resumed, under the premier leagues protocol, players have been tested twice a week for coronavirus. At the Training Ground there has even been a testing station for players to undergo as they arrive. And when they have arrived for training they have been seen arrived for training they have been seen by the club doc for temperature checks and a Health Questionnaire while in their cars and when they have left they have to put on gloves and masks as well while walking around, there are sprayed instructions on the ground saying you must go this way, you cannot go this way, so they can familiarise themselves with where they can and cannot go. So dont forget, though, that both managers are acutely aware of how m porten Safety Measures are. Mikel arteta was diagnosed with having coronavirus at the start of the pandemic in britain how important. And Pep Guardiolas mother very sadly passed away after being diagnosed with coronavirus as well. As you mentioned, there itself, no fans there, it means that when there are celebrations plays cant celebrate with each other but there will be a specific camera they can celebrate into to try and interact with the fans. So very different but i think everyone is relieved that football is back in some form or other. Indeed, jane, thank you so much. What im thinking now is how do they practise the faces when they do their celebrations to the camera . That is the most important thing. Slippers and faces. The most important things. We can talk to sally now. Sally, its been a rather eventful two days since your interview with Marcus Rashford was broadcast. He is changing policy at number 10. What a remarkable days it has been for him. A few days it has been for him. And you spoke again to him last night. Yes. My feel a bit shellshocked by the way can only imagine how Marcus Rashford this morning was not well, they know how he feels because we were around at his house last night to get his reaction to the u turn. Wasnt it an Interesting Development of events . Niggardly was taking you through it a short time ago. We were very, very to speak to Marcus Rashford many months ago when he got involved in a Literacy Campaign that we were working on and again when he wanted to talk about the situation with Free School Meals, was with him late on sunday night. Just put it into a little bit of conscience, is less than week since he tweeted the words does anybody know how to talk to somebody about Free School Meals . So to be the place where we are now is really rather incredible. As i said, i went to catch up with him last night. This is what he had to say. When you heard the news, how surprised were you . When you heard the news, how surprised were you . |j when you heard the news, how surprised were you . I was obviously, obviously shocked. Its a big decision for someone to make and im just grateful that the Prime Minister did change his decision and, you know, he understood and i spoke to him earlier on today and thanked him for that and, yeah, it was a nice conversation to have with him and we understood each other. How did that chat go . And does he phone up and say, hi, marcus, its boris . No, he wasjust obviously saying thank you for using what ive sort of built in a positive manner and, you know, sort ofjust thanking each other really, because he didnt have to do what he did and neither did i. So he wasjust grateful that someone did i. So he wasjust grateful that someone had basically had an opinion and shared it with people and, you know, just been that voice for people that didnt really have the platform to speak out as much as they would have liked to. Are you aware that the way borisjohnson was informed about your campaign was he was actually played the interview that we did the other night . Yeah, he mentioned that on the phone. And he mentioned that on the phone. And he just he mentioned that on the phone. And hejust said he mentioned that on the phone. And he just said thats what sort of moved him, really, because he probably understood it a little bit more, hearing it from someone, rather than just reading it or hearing about it. So i think that was obviously a key factor to in his decision. That must make you feel like youve achieved an incredible thing. Its a nice feeling, but im just more happy that peoples lives and peoples summers are going to be changed for the better. That was the important thing that i try to change going into it. And, you know, coming at the end of it now its something that its obviously a proud moment. Your mum, obviously, we talked at length about your mum the other night. What has she said to you about the decision . Shes rang me about the decision . Shes rang me about ten times today. No, is just very happy. And, you know, if someone, very happy. And, you know, if someone, when she was going through it, if someone had spoke out about it, if someone had spoke out about it then maybe the situation would have been different and i think sisters happy that now people who are going through it, people are aware of that now and they are going to try and help them as much as they can. So shes happy that, you know, we are taking steps in the right direction. And when you started this campaign, think it was only five days ago, who were you thinking of . Were you thinking of your family or were just were you thinking of your family or werejust thinking of were you thinking of your family or were just thinking of the families of fans . Who was it in your mind . Just, obviously the area is a drop in, inu a lot of different people and a lot of different families would still be going through it now a no. Its not so much about my family anymore, because obviously this situation has changed. An eye just dont want people to go through the same thing. So its just important to understand the place that ive come from and my background and its quite simple, really, that the reason why i would try to help people who are in that situation. You now have a really powerful voice. Youve achieved this incredible thing in such a short space of time. You have a platform, a lot of attention focused on you. What is your next focus . Now youve done this, whats next . what is your next focus . Now youve done this, whats next . I think it, obviously, this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period. You know, we bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time there to sort of plan and figure out whats next and how we keep taking steps forward because they dont wa nt steps forward because they dont want it to be, i dont want this to be the end of it, you know, because there are definitely more steps that need to be taken. So we just need to analyse the response and things like data and these types of topics are very important and, like i said before, something that i wasnt aware of beforehand and now that i am aware of that will definitely be watching that closely and just seeing the response and how people cope with the situation, how it changes their lives for the better all the problems they might face with the system. So theres a lot of things that could change in the future and beyond this campaign. But, you know, we will have to just see how it affects everyone. Watching the news today, i know there has been a political storm about what Marcus Rashford has been talking about but last night, and his house, with his family, it was a really simple, simple story. Marcus is one of five, and they alljust wa nted is one of five, and they alljust wanted to do something to help kids who have been in similar situations to them all those years ago. They have set up a website, people can e mail them with their stories, perhaps the kids going hungry, having problems at school. I know they are overwhelmed with the response they have had already and they really, really care about what they really, really care about what they are doing and you had marcus mention data and i think that is something we will hear more about. Getting everybodys stories and doing something with that, something positive. An incredible, incredible 22 year old foot taller and he was wearing slippers and i asked if he wa nted wearing slippers and i asked if he wanted to change and he said, no, it doesnt matter. He is comfortable in his sleep is and he has received a lot of praise for the campaign and the way he has kept going with them. Slippers. And the praise that means the most to him is the praise from his mum. He is a good boy, and obviously rose very well. His mum, mel, is a huge part of his life. If you go around to his house, she is that a lot of the time. She is a hugely influential and the person he most hugely influential and the person he m ost wa nted hugely influential and the person he most wanted to impress. Interesting matt hancock asking foot dollars to do their part. Footballers. We shall be speaking to him later on. And the full interview at ten past eight this morning. The interesting point about marcus has said, if you are hungry, you cannot concentrate, you cannot get on with anything. Kids going to School Without food in their bellies, of course, they are not going to get things done. He was that kid ten years ago. Lets take a look at todays front pages the metro celebrates what it calls an extra time u turn for Marcus Rashford, after the government said it would now provide School Meal Vouchers for children in england during the summer break. Back of the net, declares the daily mirror as it celebrates both victory for Marcus Rashfords campaign, and the return of premier League Football. The back page of the times leads with another campaign by a high profile footballer. Manchester citys Raheem Sterling is calling for the government to ensure there is more black representation on the boards of sports governing bodies, including the fa. Bbc sport and on the bbc sport website you can find out all you need to know about the premier league returning today, including what time the matches start and how you can watch them. I asked you if you were excited about the football. Ian has been in touch and he said that i have been pleased that we have had no football. There are people who feel that way. Also, during the lockdown, i was speaking to lots of managers and footballers and many were raising legitimate concerns about Health Issues around the nation and forfamilies. I Health Issues around the nation and for families. I spoke to an arsenal manager who contracted coronavirus and was ill with it and for him he said, when the government made a decision about football coming back, thatis decision about football coming back, that is fine but for him the priority was keeping his family safe, making sure the players were doing what they needed to do and he said, looking back now, that have been huge benefits for him spending time with his family, doing the homeschooling and he has really enjoyed. Yesterday, we spoke to Patrick Hutchinson and i asked him the question, we had him and his lovely daughters, and asked him if the man he carried out had been in touch . I look at the papers at. This is the man, a millwall fan. He was carried away from the melee by patrick. This is the photograph that went around everyone. We spoke to patrick and his two lovely daughters yesterday on the programme and they have not spoken to the man himself but they did speak to his son and his son said, he has a black eye and askedif his son said, he has a black eye and asked if his dad would want to thank patrick, he probably would, who wouldnt. Somebody else said hopefully he should grow up and act his age. They have not spoken to the man himself but that is him. youre watching, i hope you are, and youre watching, i hope you are, and you are recovering getting well and if you want to talk to us, get in contact. Good morning timing people. We are talking to sean this morning about cash. I have some cash in my purse. I have barely used. Are you excited about football . Because i know you are a big fan of wolves. |j am excited about them. I go to my football with mum and it is just exciting to get back to her house and watching the football. Not being in the grounds is not quite the same. Her shout the loudest . I am nice and quiet. Cash, sean, cash. That awkward moment you may have experienced, you may be placing cash down, taking a step back, it feels like it has all been changed but actually, when we look at the trend and the amount of cash were using, even coronavirus, we were moving towards this idea of contact less payment. Just under a quarter of all payments were made using cash and that has been getting lower. Fast forward to lockdown, cash withdrawals from atms down by 60 and, of course, lots of reasons for that. People being stuck at home, getting other people to do their shopping and businesses have changed haswell. As well. Shopping and businesses have changed haswell. As well. Anything that is passed between customers and our team and back out to customers causes a risk and it is something we wanted removed. Ithink causes a risk and it is something we wanted removed. I think customers find more convenient, the click and collect service. There is no queue, ido collect service. There is no queue, i do not have to go to the bank for change. My books at the end of the week are simple as well. And no chance of theft or robbery. We took £2 ten last week because we did not wa nt £2 ten last week because we did not want to see someone go hungry but would not handling cash. An example, andrew looking to go contact less cash but still there are people who do need to use that money and so there is an access for cash review and it has been ongoing looking at those communities around the uk, particularly, struggling to axis cash. 8 Million People still need to use that cash and the consumer group, which . , use that cash and the consumer group, which . , have use that cash and the consumer group, which . , have been looking at the number of people who have been using cash throughout lockdown and they found one in ten people could only use cash trying to buy essential items in shops and were refuse. That is showing how some businesses, predominantly for safety reasons, have gone contact less, but people are still relying on it. Some worry this might speed up the process of us becoming a Cashless Society. Without doubt, the covid19 pandemic has put the cash structure at greater risk than even before. It costs money to run atms and Branch Branches and if people are not using a lot of cash, the economics did not work. If you less than 10,000 pounds a year, you are 15 times more likely to use cash. Cash is still better to budget with. We know lots of people who rely on friends, carers or volunteers who do not want to hand over a volunteers who do not want to hand overa card. I volunteers who do not want to hand over a card. I think fast asleep walking into becoming a Cashless Society the challenge is, how do we bring everyone with us . A few pilots lodging around the country in eight different locations, bespoke for communities improving Internet Connections in certain areas, having new atms, and maybe places where you can deposit your cash, whether you area can deposit your cash, whether you are a business or a member of a household and everybody can do that at the same place and you do not need your specific bank branch stop and also digital scales, getting people to feel more confident about going on line and banking. There is a bit ofa going on line and banking. There is a bit of a battle going on between those who want to get towards contact less and those who still need to use their money in the palm of their hands. Were late for carol now. But thank you very much. You so cannot blame that on sean the timing people are getting us down. And now everybody is going to get upset with everybody. Do you see the theme, carol . You showed it to me this morning. Lizzie is having a nightmare. This morning, we have a cloudy start to the day and for the next few days will have that cloud rolling in from the north sea through the course of the night and will do so for the next few days. Study spells, afternoon thunderstorm, some of which will be important. Still that sticky field. Show was already in the west. Low cloud that rolled in from the north sea across scotland and eastern parts of england, that will move towards closed later the afternoon. The stash the coast. Northern ireland, a fairly cloudy day. Showers across wales, south west england, the south east and down towards kent. Some of those will be torrential, some will have thunder and hail embedded in them. If you catch on, you will know all about it as you have done in the last few days. As we head through the evening and overnight, eventually we will start to lose a lot of the showers. One or two start to lose a lot of the showers. One ortwo hanging start to lose a lot of the showers. One or two hanging around. Low cloud coming in from the north sea and at the same time a weather front bringing him some rain across east anglia, the midlands and also lincolnshire. It is not going to be a cold night but a humid one. Tomorrow, we start off with this rain. Slowly moving northwards. All the cloud around as well which will start to burn back towards the coast. Scotland, one or two showers, same for Northern Ireland. As you go for the afternoon, look at all the showers developing across the midlands, wales, east anglia and southern counties of england. They will be slow moving, hardly any wind around and were looking at torrential downpours. We could have 4050 torrential downpours. We could have 40 50 millimetres in just torrential downpours. We could have 40 50 millimetres injust three hours, up to two inches in three hours. A yellow warning out and it could lead to some localised flooding. If youre doing anything outdoors tomorrow, do bear that in mind. Temperature was, similarto what we have had. 15 21 but we could hit 2a in the sunshine in western scotland. Back to you and, of course, i was teasing about being incandescent, not at all. I will never recover. That is absolutely your angry face. Hands on hips, i love it. Only carol smiles when she is angry. Let us sell you what is coming up on the programme this morning. Tell you. Well bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment, but also on breakfast this morning the premier League Season re starts today. Well be live at Manchester City in a few minutes, but its Manchester Uniteds Marcus Rashford who has scored a victory in his campaign to make sure that hungry children are fed throughout the summer. He launched that campaign here on breakfast on monday and you can hear his full reaction to the governments u turn at 8 10. Its cheap, readily available and has been in use since the 1960s. Now the steroid dexamethasone is being hailed as the biggest breakthrough yet in the treatment of coronavirus. Well talk to a covid patient who believes the drug saved her life. And if youve gained a few pounds during the lockdown, you might be wondering how to start shedding them. Weve sentjohn maguire to meet a personal trainer and to learn how a trip to the gym might look when theyre finally allowed to re open. Do you ever get that nervous point where you wonder if im going to ask your question about the last thing we spoke about . No, what you want to know . How has your gym workout been going throughout lockdown . Can you not tell . laughter i could hardly get into this suit with the size of these guns. Are you fit or less fit . There are two ca m ps are you fit or less fit . There are two camps now. I am as i was, i think. As perfect as ever. You said that, not me. The footballer Marcus Rashford has said he is shocked and grateful after his campaign prompted the government to extend Free School Meal vouchers over the Summer Holidays. The Prime Minister made a u turn on the scheme after watching brea kfasts exclusive interview with the Manchester United and england striker. Around 1. 3 million children in england will be eligible for the vouchers, which are worth £15 per week. A breakthrough drug which has been proven to help the most severely affected coronavirus patients is being dispensed in hospitals across the uk. The steroid, called dexamethasone, is cheap, widely available, and has been used in britain since the 1960s. Research led by Oxford University found that it cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. More than 1,000 flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled by chinese officials as they try to contain a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in the city. Schools have been ordered to close and residents have been urged not to leave the capital, which had previously gone 50 days without any local transmission of covid 19. The latest cases are linked to a wholesale food market. 6 35. Is that time when we have the surgery 6 35. Is that time when we have the surgery open. Im ready we wont be examining your guns. Which way is the beach, by the way. Oh dear im joking it is 6 30am. He is not. As weve been hearing, theres been a major break through in the treatment of people with severe coronavirus symptoms. We can get more on that now as we check in with one of our breakfast gps. Today were joined by dr fari ahmad, who is in cheshire. It was really interesting when we saw the press conference yesterday, borisjohnson was hosting night and he was very enthusiastic. He spoke with his medical advisors about what this means for patients who are in hospital on ventilators. How does it work . I think everybody is very excited about it. Since we have had coronavirus, the pandemic happening, people have been trying lots of drugs to see what is effective and some that we thought were great, but it has not worked out. So this is i think one of the first ones where people who are more severely affected by coronavirus, so people who need to be on ventilators or people who need oxygen, when they are given this drug they seem to recover. So there are more people who survive. So they gave this drug toa group who survive. So they gave this drug to a group of people and competitive people who didnt have the drug and they saw a definite difference and thats what prompted them to then roll it out to everybody. Sorry to interrupt. What does it actually do to the body . What is it of the body do . So dexamethasone is a steroid. We have been using steroids for a long time and this is one of those old drugs. We know it helps reduce inflammation and the idea about how people think it could be working is that when people are severely affected by coronavirus your own immune system is very activated. There is a huge inflammatory response and there is some suggestion that this is helping dampening down to allow people to recover quicker. You will have spoken to lots of people who have concerns at the moment and one group of those people are those who are shielding because they have Underlying Health conditions are deemed more vulnerable while we are suffering with this outbreak of this pandemic. There has been some relaxation when it comes to shielding and those who are shielding and those who are shielding are allowed to exercise now, once a day. There are reports and speculation about when that will be further in for those who are shielding. What evidence do they need to feel comfortable that they are not as vulnerable, say, in a couple of weeks as they are today . Yeah, thats a very good question. We are hoping we would get some guidance from the government and hoping when they give the guidance they will give us reasons why they are dropping, you know, the shielding advice. So i think shielding advice. So i think shielding covers a group of people with a variety of conditions. It doesnt really come you know, have the sensitivity to say you know, if you have this and this you shouldnt be doing this. Some shielding people, when they heard that they could have one hour of exercise, that was great. Some of them were getting in touch saying that menai can go back to work as mac there we re can go back to work as mac there were others who were very worried saying they still do not feel its safe to go out. So we have had to deal with some of that. And i think would be really useful to know, the government are going to update us about this, but it would be useful to hear why they have decided to reduce, as the levels of coronavirus are dropping, that would probably make it a bit safer. But it needs to bea make it a bit safer. But it needs to be a little bit, it needs to have some substance to it. Substance is important. We are speaking to matt hancock, the Health Secretary, later this morning was not made with that in. You will be aware about Marcus Rashford bothma campaign to make sure that School Meal Vouchers over the Summer Holidays are provided and the Summer Holidays are provided and the government does make you turn on this yesterday. It brings up the question, that if you are hungry you cant concentrate, if you cant concentrate you cant concentrate in school. We know that as adults doing ourjobs. In terms of Mental Health for those who have been struggling financially, just generally worried about their families, how important is this . Because you are interacting all the time with people with these concerns. It certainly helps address one element of it. So there are some families were, you know, because the children managed to get a good meal at school, that is the one good meal they have. And we have known for a long time that over the summer these families, these people do struggle when that is not available, so this is good news. The pandemic has caused lots of stress for lots of people, so people who are on low incomes, who are struggling, there are some people who have lost their jobs and now suddenly have to deal with a whole new reality, while in lockdown, how they will get a different job, lockdown, how they will get a differentjob, how they lockdown, how they will get a different job, how they will function, you know, people have been struggle with ugly paying their rent or their mortgages. It has caused a little bit of a wave of Mental Health, almost as an army of Mental Health, almost as an army of Mental Health, almost as an army of mental Health Issues that we are now encountering in our daily conversations with people. And sometimes is quite how to deal with because the usual places we would ask people to get help from arent quite ready or up and running or available for face to face interaction. So it is a struggle at the moment. What is your day involved today . We would like to us because you talk to us before you begina because you talk to us before you begin a days work. Yes, so, today im managing, begin a days work. Yes, so, today im managing, im doing a few things. Im not having to go in until later into the surgery, so im here. Then i started be later on. So most of our days are spent, we do a lot of telephone, we do a lot of video consultations. Then we see people, when we need to we bring them in. We also spending time reorganising how we will work, making sure we have got the two metre distancing in our waiting rooms and having to think about things like how are we going to manage to give everyone the flu vaccination this year. And with all this talk of coronavirus, that is something we havent spoken about. Next time we speak we will speak about how you have figured that out. Have a good day. Thank you so much for talking to us, dr fari ahmad. Have a good day. Thank you so much for talking to us, dr fari ahmadlj do enjoy our gp appointment at 6 30 every morning. It is hard to get them these days. The premier league should be done and dusted by now. Instead its just about to re start after 100 days off. Janes at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City will host arsenal behind closed doors. Its been a long time coming, jane. As naga has been saying this morning, people are feeling slightly different lee about the return of football today. Yeah, hasnt it been such a long week especially for football fans . Differently. Everyone will have felt things being very strange in these times are strange. But tonight the premier league will resume after 100 days since we last saw much action. Two games, as you mentioned, from behind closed doors, Manchester City will ta ke closed doors, Manchester City will take on arsenal in the later match at the etihad. A few hours earlier aston villa host Sheffield United at villa park. Those matches will look very different from the norm. The biggest difference is no fans will be watching in these stadiums. Joe lyns key looks be watching in these stadiums. Joe lynskey looks ahead to these matters. Matches. Lynskey looks ahead to these matters. Matches. It wont sound all look the same but this is footballs silver lining. Tonight the premier league restarting empty grounds. In aston villa, some fans will be projected on a screen. Those watching at home, its not footballs full experience, but for sport in a pandemic its the only way. For those of us who do regularly go to matches does feel strange, because, as they said, its such a social thing. You know, you go to the match, you meet up with your mates. People know who havent missed games in 30 years. Think for the likes of them is going to be really strange. Its100 days since englands last top flight match. The season shut down at speed as covid took hold. It took clubs more than two months to agree how to finish it, but now teams will travel for home and away games. And this sport remains cautious. The players are not fully, fully fit. But we have to start, we have to finish the season. You asked me how the team . I dont know. We will see. How is the level of the team . Know. We will see. How is the level of the team . After the waiting things could happen quickly. If a city lose tonight, liverpool could win the league on saturday. Whether its winning the title or fighting relegation, the premier league still has much to resolve in this much quite a new world. Joe lynskey, bbc news. It has been deep cleaned inside in preparation for this first match back for Manchester City. Place have had to be tested twice a week and they have set up a testing station to the Training Ground opposite the stadium and every morning they have been seeing the club doctor to make sure they are not showing any symptoms. They have had to wear masks when they get out of cars. In the players have had an 11 aside practice match so they can familiarise themselves with where they can and cannot go, following science, one way systems and, of course, social distancing changing room. Dont forget also both managers will be acutely aware how important managers will be acutely aware how im porta nt safety managers will be acutely aware how important safety managers are, the arsenal manager had coronavirus and Pep Guardiola very sadly his mother passed away after testing positive for covid 19 in spain so they are going to ensure that every safety measure that has to be taken will be taken. For the measure that has to be taken will be ta ken. For the match measure that has to be taken will be taken. For the match itself, no fans watching from inside the stadium but there have been discussions as to when that will be allowed to happen sometime in the future, of course. There will also be big screens with fa ns there will also be big screens with fans zooming in so i feel for when a goal is god but if it is god, none of the players will be allowed to celebrate together, it will be a social distance celebration. Goal. But players will not be allowed to crowd around any decisions for any infringements. For the first 12 matches, players will not have their names on the back of their shirts but they will have black lives matter s in a tribute to george floyd. An any player who chooses to take on before any matches will be supported. Football is back if in a different way. Matches will be supported. Football is back if in a different waylj matches will be supported. Football is back if in a different way. I do not think some of those things are bad things. I certainly will not miss look at you laughing miss the players creating around the referees. Good, they are not allowed. Good, it will be back. Maybe this will be a good learning experience. Maybe. The players names will also be notably absent from their shirts. For the first 12 matches, all players names will be replaced by the slogan black lives matter in a show of support for the global protests sparked by the death in Police Custody of george floyd. It is one of the things that will be different. Breakfasts Graham Satchell has been talking to three players about their experiences of racism, both on and off the pitch. Evenif even if the area i live in, you do get looked at differently. The whole team was upset. It is not the greatest but we have learned to deal with that and at times you dont even notice it. Three watford place, one in the first team, one in the ladies and one in the academy and their experience of racism in this country today. As a young black boy, i have grown up to adapt. People shouting racial slurs down the street, it happens every day but it is the racial bias, getting pulled over by the police for no reason, being followed around the shop, all sorts of things that happen on a day to day basis, it is not a cce pta ble day to day basis, it is not acceptable but i havejust learned to adapt in somebody elses world. Acceptable but i havejust learned to adapt in somebody elses worldlj was brought here from england and i thought i was as much a part of this country as anyone else but i get treated differently. Automatically i am profiled because of my name. It is not an english name but i am english. But i will be put on a different title. We told the ref about something that happened but he seemed to dismiss it. We felt vulnerable. I still feel frustrated and upset that someone could go out of their way to be spiteful. The struggle against racism has been ongoing. From top to bottom, things need to change. I feel like finally we might actually have something to really go and push for a really push for change. The push for change has seen for change. The push for change has seen protests around the world and went to the premier League Starts again today, players will wear shirts with black lives matter on the back. They will also take the knee. It is a solemn protest against all forms of racism. As Marcus Rashford has shown in recent days, football has a unique power in this country to influence and affect change. What marcus and people like troy are doing, having that lives matter on the back of your shirt, the more you see something, the more you the more you see something, the more you pay the more you see something, the more you Pay Attention to it and the more you Pay Attention to it and the more you spark an interest and i think thatis you spark an interest and i think that is what needs to be done, to spark an interest. It is notjust in america there is a problem happens, it is in this country and we cannot be blind to it. Watford they have worked hard, planning changes to the curriculum and if this is a moment of change, then football is playing its part. Graham satchell, bbc news. Really interesting. It is not an issue that will be ignored and it is great that people are speaking as well. If youve gained a bit of weight in the last three month, perhaps developed a pair of lockdown love handles, then john maguire might have some tips for you. Have you . I willjust check, no, have you . Iwilljust check, no, i havent. Hes in bristol to see how the Fitness Industry is adapting to the new rules on covid safety. You are looking in amazing shape. What someone called me awry note the other day and i have not forgotten that. Reflecting the city skyline here but it is also an outdoor gym. A couple of exercise groups. Going through their paces because they have not been able to go to the gym. Different rules across the uk but the first chance probably not until july four and that is what many of them are preparing for. They have covid secure action plans in place. Fitness is big business and gymnasiums and Fitness Centres are desperate to hope. Some in europe have already reopened after creating covid a safe blueprint. We have been developing new hygiene and disinfection protocols, the same level as nhs, nonclinical settings. We have done work with air conditioning and the separation of people to make sure that the risks are absolutely minimal from working inside one of our dreams. Call it an opportunity, a curse or a blessing but physical and Mental Health may now prove more important than ever. Let doctor marcus jones. Let doctor marcusjones. Keep working you guys. Lets talk to. You were employed by a gym but what has been happening with you . you were employed by a gym but what has been happening with you . I only started with personal training with everything started going downhill so it has forced me to do things like on line training and, personally, i have been using instagram very much every day. I host and stream live every day. I host and stream live every day. I host and stream live every day and it has forced most pt to see how you can work. I also think it has shown how important the gym is a two people notjust for the exercising but so they have somewhere to go. Some people really use them as therapy, a bit of community so, obviously, although we wa nt community so, obviously, although we want everything to be safe, i am looking forward to things opening again. But things have been going well, it has been manageable so far. Let me go and interrupt verity, shes doing some press up. Marcuss wife. Has roped you in. You have miss going to the gym . wife. Has roped you in. You have miss going to the gym . I usually go toa miss going to the gym . I usually go to a three times a week. Sorry, i am out of breath. It isnt really that habit. Leaving work and going straight to the gym knowing a will get that exercise but actually this has been a good substitute for that andl has been a good substitute for that and i do not feel like i have lost any fitness during lockdown which is fantastic. What about motivation . A lot of people have found it difficult to get out and about especially because they are most confident within a gym environment. I think routine is more important than activation. 20 30 40 minutes is more important. When it is something this easy, we are not using any equipment, we can do it in a space this big. It could be achievable for everybody. Thank you very much, good to see you working ha rd very much, good to see you working hard this morning. Verity mentioned equipment and thinking about the dumbbells, 15 kg each. I tried to pick one of those up and i almost put my back out so maybe you have to know your limitations. Maybe start with five kilograms and woke your way up, john. Stretching it. Get the big 20s out, mr mcguire. Look at him, he is an animal. I did some filming ina him, he is an animal. I did some filming in a rugby gym and they had 70 kg dumbbells. Absolutely enormous. That is ridiculous. Good for them. There have been some incredible pictures of last nights lightning. This is from David Johnson in ely and look at this dramatic image from laura in the west midlands. That scares me when it is near electricity. And this one is from stephen in stoke i bet there is no technical term for that one. But i will ask carol. Tha nkfully that one. But i will ask carol. Thankfully we have the experts. Did you like the technical description . It got the message across so well done to you both. Not all of us saw the lightning but if you did it was accompanied by rain which was torrential. We will see more of that but first thing this morning, a lot of fog around, low cloud and mist as well. He had to we have fog and it will be with us for a wee while yet. This is east yorkshire. Today, the mist and fog will burn away to the coast and then it is sunshine and heavy thundery downpours that you can expect. A fairly cloudy start this morning, again that low cloud, mist and fog, but there is some sunshine, as we saw withjohn in the store. Already show was in the west and, ifanything, store. Already show was in the west and, if anything, we will see more as we go through the day. Eastern and Central Scotland seen some sunshine. Northern ireland, north west england, one or two showers. The midlands, is languor, down towards kent it is south coast those could be torrential showers. If you catch run, you will know all about it. But they are showers so not all of us will see them. Through this evening and overnight, we hang onto that showers for a time and eventually they start to fade and cloud, mist and fog ross mcewan from the north sea and a weather front coming in bringing rain across istanbul, the midlands stop it is not going to be a cold night. Across east anglia. Tomorrow we start off with this rain. Cloud coming on short through the course of the night, pushing back towards the north sea coastline. Sunny skies in scotland and Northern Ireland. Here, still a lot of heavy, thundery, slow moving downpours. To give you an idea, the met office has a weather warning out. 40 50 millimetres of rain could fall in the just three hours. Millimetres of rain could fall in thejust three hours. That millimetres of rain could fall in the just three hours. That is up to two inches so a lot of surface wash which could lead to localised flooding. Temperature wise, similar to today, 15 22. The headlines are next. Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with dan walker and naga munchetty. Our headlines today a mothers pride. Manchester united and england star Marcus Rashford on the Family Support that changed government policy on Free School Meals shes rang me about ten times a day. No, shes just just very happy. And, you know, if someone, when she was going through it, if someone had spoke out then maybe this situation would have been different. In an exclusive interview with breakfast, he says the fight isnt over and he wants the policy changed permanently. The biggest breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus so far, a steroid drug is now available for hospital patients across the uk. More than a thousand flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled, as fears grow of a fresh coronavirus outbreak. Ands the day football fans have been waiting for. The premier league restarts after hundred days away. I am live as Manchester City prepared to ta ke am live as Manchester City prepared to take on arsenal, albeit from behind closed doors. Good morning. Its wednesday the 17th ofjune. Our top story the footballer Marcus Rashford says he wants to do more to help those in need after winning a battle to extend Free School Meals for children in england, so they wont go hungry during the Summer Holidays. It wasnt just a battle. It wasntjust a battle. It it wasnt just a battle. It was a monumentalfight it wasnt just a battle. It was a monumental fight and he won. The Manchester United and england star said he was shocked and grateful that his campaign, which he talked about exclusively on breakfast, prompted a government u turn. John mcmanus reports. The premier leagues about to resume, but Marcus Rashford has already scored a major goal thats got more than just football fans sitting up and taking notice. His open letter calling for Free School Meal vouchers in england to be continued over the Summer Holidays was a skilful piece of footwork that forced the government to concede. More than 1 million children will benefit. But the man united player was characteristically modest as he spoke exclusively to bbc breakfast. That must make you feel like youve achieved an incredible thing . Yeah, its a nice feeling. But im just more happy that, you know, peoples lives and peoples summers, especially, will be changed for the better. That was the important thing that i tried to change going into it. Last week, the Prime Minister was still insisting he wouldnt change his mind over the meal vouchers. But by yesterday Boris Johnson appeared to have thought again. I talked to Marcus Rashford today and congratulated him on his campaign which, to be honest, is only became aware of very recently, today. And i thank you for what hes done. Why do think its right that we should be looking after families of the most vulnerable, the neediest, right now. Labours welcomed the change of heart. It was obvious that there was a need for these Free School Meals. They should never have put that in jeopardy. We had to push them all the way. And Marcus Rashford played a really important part in that. So far, Marcus Rashford seems to have any all the usual criticism that sports stars should stay out politics, mainly by insisting that this wasnt about politics. Among those lending in the support, gary lineker, who said rival city congratulated rashford. And olympic gold medallist denise lewis told him this doesnt appear to be the end of his campaign though. Youve achieved this incredible thing in such a short space of time. You have a platform. Whats next . I think it, obviously, this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period and then, you know, weve bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time there to sort of plan and figure out whats next and how we keep taking steps forward, because i dont want it to be, i dont want this to be the end of it, you know, because there are definitely more steps that need to be taken and so we just need to analyse the response. John mcmanus, bbc news. Theres a lot more of that interview with Marcus Rashford and sally at ten minutes past eight this morning. Our Political Correspondent nick eardleyjoins us now from westminster. Good morning to you. It is an Interesting Development, Prime Minister speaking to League Football on the phone and government policy being changed on the back of Marcus Rashford bothma campaign. And on the back of the original breakfast interview. They hear that the Prime Minister finally watch the interview yesterday morning before his meeting with his inner circle about the coronavirus response. He then went to cabinet and number 10 said, just afterwards, that they were going to change their mind on the policy. So whats going to happen now is there will be a six week voucher for eligible kids in england to get them through the Summer Holidays, to make sure that they have meals. Theres a course for england, there are similar schemes in scotland and wales and we think Northern Ireland will announce one wants they figure out where the moneys coming from. Obviously a massive victory for Marcus Rashford. You had with his interview with sally just Marcus Rashford. You had with his interview with sallyjust how delighted he is. Heard. There is some politics at play here as well. Some are worried that it took Boris Johnson so long to get on top of this issue, and has been one that has been bubbling around for about a week or so. There was some conservative mps really worried about the response from the government and yesterday, after hearing from mr rashford, they were increasingly concerned that the government was getting this wrong. Lo and behold borisjohnson changed his mind and there will be Free School Meals for kids in england. Nick, thank you very much for that. On the back of the Marcus Rashford interview, well be speaking to the Health Secretary, matt hancock, at 7 30. And the other big development, this new drug, the steroid drug, is not new, that will have a big impact on people suffering in hospital with coronavirus. We will be seeking to matt hancock about that. Especially those on ventilators. Saving one in eight lives, they were saying yesterday. More than 1,000 flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled by chinese officials as they try to contain a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in the city. Schools have been ordered to close and residents have been urged not to leave the capital. Our china correspondent Stephen Mcdonell is in beijing. Stephen, what more can you tell us about this outbreak . Good to see you. What is so interesting about being in the uk, looking at whats going on in china, as all the talk here about a second peak, another wave, and what would happen after it has been contained, and this is the advantage we have, looking at what is happening over there where you are in china. Yeah, well, we thought we were through it. 50 plus days without a single infection and now, bam, beijing has been dragged back into what is, effectively, a coronavirus retention bubble. Practically speaking, it is very difficult to leave this city right now. You need to have done a test, a coronavirus test, within seven test, a coronavirus test, within seven days, but the Testing Capacity is limited, and, understandably, is being prioritised for those in high risk groups. However, the high risk groups are not allowed to leave the city under any circumstances stop when is a high risk groups, im mean anybody who has been inside this giant inviting wholesale market or if you live near the market. Shin fardy. The allies have cancelled over a thousand flights today. All schools are closed again. And People Living in the neighbourhoods around that market where this cluster appeared those people are not even allowed to leave their residential compounds. You can see the authorities are taking this very seriously. They are hoping what is officially a tally of 137 cases, i think, wont turn into a full blown second wave, which would warrant locking down the city of 20 Million People. You know, stephen, iwas looking at what might ride from the emergencies programme, the world health organization, is said and he said what we like to see is an Immediate Response to new clusters and a comprehensive set of measures. Do you think, considering chinas in terms of the pandemic, china has led the way in terms of progressive progressing, is china setting markers and how to deal with this and shut this down quickly . Beijings approach is whenever there isa beijings approach is whenever there is a little cluster you squash it at the source. What theyre doing is treating parts of beijing as cities within the city, hoping they can sort of cauterise it, control the problem in that part of the city and the difference now, compared to february, is that businesses havent closed, manufacturing is continuing, Government Departments are still open. And i think this is giving many people, i dont know, sort of confidence about the authorities will be able to control this because they will be able to identify those who are sick, to isolate them, to put them into quarantine and it wont take off throughout the city and throughout the country. But we will just have and throughout the country. But we willjust have to wait and see. This isa willjust have to wait and see. This is a sort of homegrown outbreak, as opposed to these cases we have seen from overseas arrivals. They dont know how it got into that market in the first place. Which is also worrying people. Like i say, we will have to see how well they are able to control its spread this time around. We will be keeping a close eye on it as well. Steve mcdonell, to talk to you. Thanks for that. Good to talk to you. Brazil has reported a Record Number of new coronavirus cases over the past 2a hours nearly 35,000. The country, second only to the us in the number of infections and deaths, is on course to register one million cases by the end of the week. More than 115,000 people in brazil have died with the disease. India says Chinese Forces have killed 20 of its soldiers in a disputed himalayan border area. The battle was fought with clubs and rocks, but no shots were fired. The Indian Army Said both sides suffered casualties but china is yet to confirm any numbers. Both sides are blaming each other for the fighting. The met office has issued further yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms this afternoon, after heavy rain and lightning struck parts of the uk yesterday. These pictures show heavy rain in manchester last night. Warnings are in place from midday today until nine this evening, with the possibility of further flooding and disruption to road networks. Carol will be with us at 27 minutes past seven if dan doesnt go over. They will try my best. The chief medical officer for england called it the most important result so far in the fight against coronavirus. The Prime Minister hailed a remarkable british scientific achievement. And some of those who took it have called it a life saver. Were talking about dexamethasone a cheap and widely available drug which has been approved for use in the most severely affected covid 19 patients across the uk. It isa it is a word that will come to roll off the lips. Lets take a look at the difference it could make. In a trial led by a team at Oxford University, a sample of 2000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone. It found that one in every eight patients on a ventilator could be saved by the drug. It could also save one in every 25 patients treated with oxygen. If it had been used from the beginning of the pandemic, researchers say the drug could have saved between four and 5,000 lives in the uk. Evenif even if it was one. Even if it was one. Thats the thing. Marium zumeer was given the drug as part of the trial run by dr Dinesh Saralaya at bradford royal infirmary. We can speak to both of them now. Good morning to you both. Thank you for talking to us today. Marium, 18 yea rs for talking to us today. Marium, 18 years old, you can correct me if im wrong, the youngest person on this trial but you contracted coronavirus and then you were given this drug stop tell us what happened. Yeah, i did, unfortunately contract coronavirus. Ideye was taken to the hospital ten days after being really poorly to find out it was corona andi poorly to find out it was corona and i was. And dr Dinesh Saralaya did come visit me on the second or third day i was that he told me bit about this drug. I didnt really understand what it was about, but once he explained it and read this leaflet he gave me, he spoke to my dad as well, and a signed it and they had that medicine every day i was in the hospital i signed it. Ican was in the hospital i signed it. I can say it was a lifesaver as it did help me. The doctor said to me ina week did help me. The doctor said to me in a week hopefully you will be home and a week later i did come home. That is a remarkable recovery. What i will say, although this is almost a celebration of the strong, what i will say to you, marium, is a know that your grandfather also battled coronavirus, unrelated, in terms of contracting it, in terms of your contraction, and he didnt survive. For that i am sorry. It must hurt quite greatly to know that you benefited from this and you could benefited from this and you could benefit but he wasnt put on a trial. Yeah, it does. And its sad that he wasnt here. But he was old and he struggled with the ventilator. He is at peace now so that makes me feel a bit more co mforta ble. That makes me feel a bit more comfortable. But, you know, its not nice that any life is lost, to a virus, especially. Let us bring in dr saralaya, who was listening in this morning and was heavily involved in all of this. When you look at some of the figures involved in this, research is saying 5000 lives could have been saved, it makes you realise what a breakthrough this is and why it was so breakthrough this is and why it was so celebrated yesterday at the Daily Briefing. How important is it for you . It is tremendous news. We have been taking part in the trial seems much and i still remember the day when i saw marion to take part in the trial. We opted an approach that very brightly every patient receiving treatment for covid 19 should be part for a Clinical Trial to find a cure for this dreadful disease. I still remember the day vividly when i approached marion for consent for being part of the trial. Being as young as she is, i was convinced i needed to get a father involved. I must say, we saw some early results in some of the patients. It was an openly randomised trial. And when i knew that marion was on dexamethasone, i did go back to her and said i am confident this would work on you and quite rightly she improved within a week because she was on a boardroom, she was on the highest flow of oxyge n she was on the highest flow of oxygen and she was actually resisting which she would go on to see back but luckily the treatment helped. How significant is it that marion is 18 and a young and i am not sure of any underlying conditions but how significant is that to how the body was ready to use the drug to fight off coronavirus . We were told this was a disease that was going to affect elderly people, people with other conditions but that is not the result we saw. We have seen a lot of young patients. Of course, marion was the youngest patient retreated our unit. There are children much younger who got this disease as well. We have seen patients in their 30s or 40s who are otherwise really well, with no other conditions, who we re well, with no other conditions, who were affected severely by covid 19. Within our unit and across the country, we saw a wide age range for this disease. Though it affects and kills a lot more people who are elderly and with multiple medical conditions, it has affected other people who are very young with no pre existing medical conditions so thatis pre existing medical conditions so that is why we need to be careful Going Forward we are controlling this disease. I think there would be lots of people watching the Daily Briefing who heard about the excitement around this drug and yet this morning they are watching this programme and have questions about family and friends. What would you say to people this morning who are asking that question, could it work for me and how it would it be rolled out . You are living proof it is a game changer. Out . You are living proof it is a gamechanger. Of course, there have been lots of research and, of course, the way the doctor spoke to me about it and he maybe understand what it was, and what it meant. There is no reason for me to say no. It was just a trial. But that trial has proved to be a life saver and i was delighted to be chosen. And we are delighted to get to talk to you. How are you today . When we talk to people who have come out of hospital, they say they still feel wea k hospital, they say they still feel weak and having trouble breathing. How are you today . It is been a month on and i will not say i am 100 , iam month on and i will not say i am 100 , i am still on the road to recovery, i still get aches and paintandi recovery, i still get aches and paint and i do struggle after a bit of exertion and a movement but apart from that i am a lot better than before. I am delighted to hear it. It is great to have this positive news. Thank you so much and glad you are on the way to recovery. Thank you, doctor, for being part of the trial and help us bring this news to us this morning. Thank you. We will be speaking to matt hancock in about ten minutes time and will be talking about the story we have been following because on monday we had an interview with Marcus Rashford talking about Free School Meals. Particularly in england and over the summer particularly in england and over the summer holiday. He was worried about some children going hungry over the summer and he wanted to get them some extra help. We interviewed a minister on tuesday and pushed and pushed but the government said we were not doing anything and then, sally, what did your interview help transpire . Not my interview, it is all about Marcus Rashford and if the power that young man has at the moment and the influence. At the start of this, we rain the interview on monday morning. I was at his house sunday night recording the interview and i have to tell you, to be honest, we did talk about the possibility of there being some negativity when he gets involved in campaigns like this. Lots of footballers previously would have been frightened to get involved in anything like this or speaking out in any way, even though this is not political, they do not wa nt to this is not political, they do not want to be seeing is getting involved in politics, but hejust shrugged and said, lets do it. It isa shrugged and said, lets do it. It is a cause which is so, so important to him and yesterday, when we got the news of the government u turn that, in fact, the news of the government u turn that, infact, children the news of the government u turn that, in fact, children will continue to get free meals, we went back to this house and this happened. It gets to a stage where they are not thinking about themselves anymore and that is the bit that gets to me, really. Lack of sleep and you cannot follow what they have been dreaming of doing. That is what affected me and made me wa nt that is what affected me and made me want to help. When you started this campaign, ithink want to help. When you started this campaign, i think it was only five days ago stop who were you thinking of . Were you thinking of your family or were just of . Were you thinking of your family or werejust thinking of of . Were you thinking of your family or were just thinking of the families of fans . Who was it in your mind . Obviously the areas i grew up m, mind . Obviously the areas i grew up in, and a lot of different people and families who are still going through it now. It is not so much about my family anymore because, obviously, the situation has changed andl obviously, the situation has changed and ijust obviously, the situation has changed and i just do obviously, the situation has changed and ijust do not want people to go through the same thing. It isjust important to understand the place where i come from, my background and that it where i come from, my background and thatitis where i come from, my background and that it is quite simple, really, the reason why would try and help people get the message. As ever, these powerful messages are quite simple. He talks about his akron, where from. As a kid he is to go around the corner to his friend s house, jamie, because jamie had a mum and dad who were both working and had more food on the table. A couple of times a weekjamies family would give marcus his dinner. He is coming to this with Real Authority because this is what his childhood was like. Another powerful thing he has done is help remove the stigma of Free School Meals because sometimes children and family find it hard to accept them but he has been so open and honest about it, that is another thing he has succeeded in doing. Everything came together. He has lived that life, had the experience, he has a huge platform and following and he would not give up and pulled all those things together. You spoken to marcus again and, as you saw earlier on, Manchester Uniteds number 10 has changed downing street number 10 has changed downing street number10. He is number 10 has changed downing street number 10. He is due to play for Manchester United on friday night. He lived through lockdown, he had been training, had a phone call with the Prime Minister, and he could have almost had enough of it by yesterday and just been really drained and exhausted but he was not. He was completely engaged, wa nted not. He was completely engaged, wanted to get his point across, wa nted wanted to get his point across, wanted to get his point across, wanted to tell everybody what it was so wanted to tell everybody what it was so important and we went on and had that chat. The full chat is coming up that chat. The full chat is coming up later in the programmejust that chat. The full chat is coming up later in the programme just after eight oclock and it is really interesting what he talks about, his childhood and his mum stop wait until you hear what he says about his mum, mel. The key word is this is important. One of the parents who will welcome this is jane. Jane keen smith. She joins us now from worcester, along with lindsay boswell, who is from the food charity fare share. You would have seen the comment Marcus Rashford has made and his interview with sally. How did you feel . It was yesterday afternoon just before one oclock that the announcement came through. What did it mean to you . It was amazing. First of all i want to thank Marcus Rashford because it has made a massive difference to a lot of families, including myself. As a mum of four, single parent, but i do work, i am self employed, i cannot currently work because i am a hairdresser and i currently work because i am a hairdresserand i am currently work because i am a hairdresser and i am in a currently work because i am a hairdresserand i am in a bit currently work because i am a hairdresser and i am in a bit of a sticky situation really so it has made a difference to us because i am on zero income at the moment so it meant through the summer i could ta ke meant through the summer i could take a meant through the summer i could takea sigh meant through the summer i could take a sigh of relief that my children will have a meal so it is amazing. Over the last few days, lots of people praising Marcus Rashford but also many people have been talking about how he has helped to re m ove been talking about how he has helped to remove the stigma of saying, i cannot afford meals for my children. How do you feel about that . I have many of my friends that come to me and say they are embarrassed and they do not want to talk about it andi they do not want to talk about it and i say, dont be embarrassed because sometimes you put in a situation that you cannot help. And especially with covid we can have this situation many families need it more than ever so this situation many families need it more than ever so we this situation many families need it more than ever so we should not be embarrassed and we should all talk about it and we should all help each other. You should not be embarrassed andi other. You should not be embarrassed and i tell you why, people who watch and i tell you why, people who watch and people who do not have an idea of what it is like to have to resort to School Meal Vouchers or ask for help. You say you are a hairdresser, your sons medical conditions include cerebral palsy, epilepsy and visual impairmentand cerebral palsy, epilepsy and visual impairment and you are also caring for your father and your children because of the Vulnerable People in your life and usually what you have would have lived on, i am not breaking any confidentiality here but i want people to understand the situation that people like you who are trying their best and bringing up are trying their best and bringing up children and looking after family are going through. You are living on £30 when after bills, petrol and council tax and at the moment you do not have the extra income. Thats right. £30 a week and relied on other charities to help us. I have been to a food bank. It was a position last year i was put in and i was position last year i was put in and iwasa position last year i was put in and i was a little embarrassed myself but now that i have spoken to my friends about it, we started to realise we should not be embarrassed. I have had friends got fed off at my doorjust to help me because they understand sometimes you cannot help the position you are in. You try your best to get out of your position. I woke, i try my very best but unfortunately, my sons Health Conditions means a limited to what i can do. He has to come first because i do not have the extra help so because i do not have the extra help soi because i do not have the extra help so i think we need to make people realise that there are many different situations why people are in this position and why we rely on a Free School Meals and at the extra help. Yesterday it sang the praises of Marcus Rashford. Put that to one side, i want to pick up on this point that jane has side, i want to pick up on this point thatjane has made in the sense that there should not be any stigma that it comes to this and foodbank are a fact of life, a necessary pa rt foodbank are a fact of life, a necessary part of life in order to support society for those vulnerable and struggling . Absolutely and jane, thank you so, so much for what you have said because there are lots and lots of jains out have said because there are lots and lots ofjains out there and the juggling. Lots ofjains out there and the juggling, that you go through, is absolutely extraordinary and, as you point out so eloquently, it is not of your making and that is the thing will need to understand. This pandemic isa will need to understand. This pandemic is a different and there is so pandemic is a different and there is so much more that we can and should do. We are so relieved that over the summer we do. We are so relieved that over the summer we hopefully are going to have fewer people turning around to the 11,000 amazing frontline charity and Community Groups who are using food to connect people up with the other services that they need to be able to support them and, fingers crossed, fewer people will need those services, fewer people will need to go to a foodbank because they have the money to be able to go and do the shops themselves. A real pleasure to speak to you today is on the trot. And jane, thank you for being so honest about life are you at the moment. A privilege to have you on the programme. We talk about impressive people, that is one powerful woman and there are many around the country who are dealing with that nonsense and that difficulty and they need the support and that is what Marcus Rashford has made sure has helped happen. We will be talking to matt hackford. And here is another powerful one carol. Dont mess with carol, she controls the weather good morning, today is a repeat performance of what we had yesterday, sunshine and heavy, thundery, slow moving downpours. Low mist and fog, most of it in eastern areas but some of it over towards the west and poor visibility. That will push back towards the north sea coastline and if you are stuck under it, it will peg back the temperatures. Showers in scotland, north west england, wales and southern counties, for the midlands, east anglia and kent. If you catch one of the showers, they will be heavy, in fact, torrential, thundery with hail and because they are slow moving we could have an issue with surface water flooding. Still feeling quite humid. This evening and overnight, eventually the showers ease and we see the low cloud rolling in from the north sea and, at the same time, whether front coming in bringing rain to east anglia, the midlands and also into lincolnshire. It will not be a cold night, in fact, lincolnshire. It will not be a cold night, infact, it lincolnshire. It will not be a cold night, in fact, it is going to be a muqqy night, in fact, it is going to be a muggy one. Tomorrow then, we start off with the rain in east anglia, the midlands, lincolnshire, moving northwards. The cloud pushing back towards the coast. Through the afternoon, we will see the show is getting going. They will be slow moving again. We could have torrential downpours, hail and thunder. The met office has a yellow weather warning between 30 a0 50 millimetres of rain injust weather warning between 30 a0 50 millimetres of rain in just three hours. Tomorrow it will feel quite humid. As we move on into friday, and whether front continues to move northwards. Still some showers and also some sunshine around as well with pictures similar to what we are looking at or a degree or two down. Some showers still heavy and thundery. And onto the weekend, a ridge of High Pressure keeping things essential, however, we have low pressure not too far away with attending front bringing in some rain but we think this will be later on in the day on saturday so that will initially get into Northern Ireland and for the later part of the evening and overnight it will push steadily eastwards and on sunday something drier is coming our way once again. Back to you sooner. Look at the big blob of sunshine down south. That is the technical term, carole, you should know that. You should be a meteorologist. They say that to you all the time and you just kind of smile at me through your gritted teeth i see. Just kind of smile at me through your gritted teeth i see. You are not wrong. We saw the lightning from la st not wrong. We saw the lightning from last night and there were concerns about the Road Conditions later on today for anyone who is concerned about that. Thats right. If you get caught in one of these torrential downpours they come right down and it is almost like stairs, can lead to flash flooding. Its not nice at all. It is certainly concerning. Thank you very much. It is 7 33. One story we have embraced the swedish, is Marcus Rashford campaigning to get summer School Meal Vouchers to children in england and the u turn by the government yesterday to say yes, it will supply the money for them. We can now speak to the Health Secretary, matt hancock. Really keen to talk to you, you properly are as well, to talk about the medical breakthrough with dexamethasone. We will come to that. We wanted to start with the Free School Meals. This time yesterday we had a government minister on the programme explaining why there wouldnt be Free School Meals in england. So talk us through what prompted the u turn. Talk us through what prompted the uturn. I think we have come to the right decision. I wasnt involved in thejudgement that the right decision. I wasnt involved in the judgement that the Prime Minister made. They understand that until yesterday he hadnt seen the video, the interview that you made with Marcus Rashford. I think the way that Marcus Rashford has conduct this campaign and made his argument has just been so impressive, such dignity and emotion and how he has done that. But i think we have come to the right decision. The thing is, Marcus Rashford and many others, as you mentioned, a very happy you made that change. We have spoken to somebody who will benefit from that, a lady called jane. A lot of people are intrigued about the way this came about. That letter was with the education secretary on sunday. It was published very early monday morning. It has been front page news for two days and yet the Prime Minister only knew it yesterday. How is that possible . Well, he knew about the issue, because he announced support for local authorities last week in this area. He knew about the issue. But he hadnt had the chance to see the interview that was done on bbc brea kfast interview that was done on bbc breakfast and i thought and absolutely fantastic interview and really brought out the messages. And so really brought out the messages. And so he engaged with that and made the judgement that he did. I think what matters is the substance and also the way that Marcus Rashford has made his case using his personal story, but telling it in such a dignified and compelling way. Congratulate him. I know he spoke to the Prime Minister yesterday and it was really great to be able to make this change. Because, particularly with coronavirus, you know, there are families who are really struggling and will continue to do over the summer and, so, im struggling and will continue to do overthe summerand, so, im really glad we been able to make the change. I just glad we been able to make the change. Ijust want brissie won glad we been able to make the change. I just want brissie won that a little bit. I think people watching this morning will think about the fact that there was a Small Business minister on this programme on monday, paul scully, document the fact that he had read the letter. Yesterday naga spoke to grant shapps who said why you would be giving a Free School Meals over the summer coming at the Prime Minister wasnt across that story. I know you said he understood about the campaign, but not about Marcus Rashford part in that, which everybody was talking about. I think some people, mr hancock, will be thinking that plays into a vision that some have that the Prime Minister is out of touch. that some have that the Prime Minister is out of touch. I dont think thats reasonable at all. There are so many things going on. We are dealing with coronavirus, of course, and the great medical breakthrough that we will no doubt come onto. He has also made a very significant announcement yesterday in terms of how we bring our foreign aid budget and Foreign Policy closer together. And, you know, thats why you have lots of different people in the government. To give him his credit, grant yesterday was explaining the policy as it has been four years and the Prime Minister took a fresh look at this and made thejudgement that he took a fresh look at this and made the judgement that he did. Took a fresh look at this and made thejudgement that he did. In government if you cant change a decision then you never make any progress. Im not dragging over the calls this morning for the of decision, its not that at all. Its just the way things happen in the element ofjudgement just the way things happen in the element of judgement and just the way things happen in the element ofjudgement and authority and credibility, because sometimes your own mps are questioning this. One was quoted last night saying that this issue was visible from outer space. A former minister is talking about a bad political antenna at number 10 and can be put into a corner by a 22 year old premier League Footballer when you could have been out in front on this issue, when you could have been on the front foot. Well, look, there is a difference between the westminster, you know, discussion and the substance of the change that this will bring for 1. 3 Million People over the summer. And that, as Health Secretary, what they care about, especially with coronavirus about, especially with coronavirus about and the impact that having, is that people can get the very best help they can and for kids that does involve being able to have access to this sort of thing over the summer, especially this year with coronavirus. So ive been focused on the substance. Obviously yesterday i was focused on the fantastic news on the dexamethasone. But it is also totally reasonable, i will say, government to listen to arguments and to make judgements government to listen to arguments and to makejudgements on government to listen to arguments and to make judgements on that basis. In fact, you criticise a government if they didnt listen to the debate that is going on in public and make judgements on that basis. So i think, you know, you can see this both ways. Totally reasonable. I think the right decision. And talking about, sort of, changes. Would you want to readd ress of, changes. Would you want to readdress what is that a few weeks ago about premier League Bowlers not playing the part . Oh, what a dude was as a premier League Footballer s should play their part. Was as a premier League Footballer s should play their part. Youre not claiming credit are you . No, no, no. What im saying is Marcus Rashford as peter speight. Exactly this sort of thing. Notjust this interview and this campaign, but actually he has been volunteering throughout the crisis. I think hes wonderful. Thats exactly the sort of thing. Why was making an ability eve ryo ne of thing. Why was making an ability everyone should play their part, including premiership League Football players. That was interpreted various different ways by people. Premier league. I think he is a young man who has obviously got enormous talent on the pitch, but he has also got great integrity. You can see that. And it really shines through. So im very proud of him, actually. Lets talk about this drug. Its a significant breakthrough. We have already spoken toa breakthrough. We have already spoken to a young 18 year old whose life was saved by the drug dexamethasone. She is talking about how it made such an impact on her. What sort of difference you think it will make two people who are able to use it now . Is just two people who are able to use it now . Isjust a wonderful breakthrough in british science and its, you know, this is the first drug that has been clinically proven to save lives from covid 19. So its a testa m e nt to save lives from covid 19. So its a testament to british science and the way that we do science properly in this country. It will make a massive difference in terms of the likelihood of surviving, once you are already in hospital and on oxygen. It works for those who are the worst effect that. And if you are on a ventilator then it increases, sorry, decreases the chance of mortality, of dying, by 35 . So its a very significant improvement. Now, its not a cure and there is still work ongoing on a whole series other treatments that we hope will be able to be used alongside dexamethasone, both earlier in the disease, to stop people ending up on oxygen, on ventilators, and also hopefully to increase the chance of surviving a bit further. So it really is the single biggest scientific rate through that the world has yet made. An ip tribute to the researchers at Oxford University and all those who they work with, my deputy chief whip medical officer who has really led thejudge within medical officer who has really led the judge within government, has been a proper team effort i pay tribute. As you say, it is a uk lead trial that will hopefully have wider global applications as well. There is an issue of shielding as well to talk to about today, mr hancock. Shielding rules will be lifted for more than 2 Million People at the end ofjuly. Can you confirm that this morning, is it true . We will set up more details very soon. The shielding programme is formally due to end at the end of this month. We need to set out for the just over 2 Million People who are shielding because they are clinically extremely vulnerable to covid what happens next. And we will write to each and every one of them, because it. You know, they have sacrificed an awful lot and it has been buried for some spending over three months at home. And we want to make sure they are safe. It will be based on clinical advice. The reason im not directly answering is because we wa nt to directly answering is because we want to do this properly, based on the clinical advice, we will write to each person. So why would you say to each person. So why would you say to your viewers, if you are in the shielded category then we will announce very soon shielded category then we will announce very soon what the plans are and we will write to you personally, through the nhs, so that you get the direct clinical advice because it is just so important to the group of people at the most vulnerable. On that point, rob has contacted us this morning. Is that there has been very Little Development and a lack of information on the roadmap to easing. He asked what would you say to reassure those that they will be safe. Yes. This is exactly why am answering this so carefully. Because what they say directly impacts on over 2 million of the people who are most vulnerable to covid. What icesave. We will set out the full details very, very soon, publicly. My details very, very soon, publicly. My colleague, robertjenrick, will do that, and then we will write individually to each of the 2. 2 Million People who are in the shielded category and that will be clinical advice based on the judgement of the clinicians in terms of what is safe. Just to reassure rob and everybody else in this category, the changes we make are entirely based on the Clinical Evidence of what it is safe for you to do. But the good news is that because the virus is coming right under control in this country, theres only a500 new infections a day, far, far lower, then it means that it day, far, far lower, then it means thatitis day, far, far lower, then it means that it is much safer to do more things than during the peak and we will be setting that out in detail. Bank you very much for talking to us this morning. Before we let you go, yourjobis this morning. Before we let you go, yourjob is a difficult want to come on this morning and do all these live interviews, im sure you are aware that Marcus Rashford daniil rashford is trending on social media. I think i said it rashford is trending on social media. I think said it once rashford is trending on social media. I think i said it once and then several other times i said. I have no idea. I just then several other times i said. I have no idea. Ijust completely misspoke. Is that one of those moments where you slap yourself on the head and then. Too early in the head and then. Too early in the morning ok. Thank you for talking about Marcus Rashford with us this morning and everything else. But hank, it has been good to talk to you. Thank you very much. That is the Health Secretary. He is properly getting a bit of grief for it. It is early. If there is getting names wrong and he will be slapping himself on the head forgetting that name wrong. I get names wrong all the time and kick yourself but then, in that position, it is all for the world to see. Here is roger with the spot sorry, we are talking to you probably did not hear the joke. Ignore what we say in the studio because you have loads to talk about because you have loads to talk about because football is coming back but not as we want you it. The premier league makes its return tonight. With the eyes on the world on the premier league, just imagine that logistics and the pressure as well to get it right and to make sure that those Safety Measures are adhered to stop someone who knows a lot about that is the Manchester CityOperation Manager director, danny wilson. I can imagine you have been busy over the last few weeks. It has been a busy time, particularly the last four or five weeks, preparing with the premier league with all the protocols, the team, the players, the managers and making sure we have the preparations in place. It would be a different experience for the players arriving at the stadium. Different zones and the axis is governed by the people who need to be in those areas. Safety is of the priority. When the players move into the studies, the change rooms have been expanded so they can be socially distance. They will come together priorjust for the final briefing. The players an movement of the two teams will be handle differently so they are not heading out at the same time and respect social distancing. There will be no cluster oddity ventures but more spread out. Safety is our big focus. We know there will be no fans, it is behind closed doors stop how will you replicate the atmosphere . A lot of it is gone into it. We have created a commemorative book for those who cannot make it, city square live will be paid out to supporters with former players and special guests, interacting with supporters up and down the country. And you have been helping the nhs as well . For close to three months we have been helping the nhs, testing in car parks, training, click and collect activity and this will continue as we play the games as well. The football itself, Manchester City have two matches. Crucial they went if they want to stop liveable. They need to keep going and stay positive. Liverpool. Thank you very much. Villa park will be the first de kock and then at the stadium will play Manchester City against arsenal is the premier league makes its long awaited return. The first game and then the stadium here will host Manchester City against arsenal. You can listen to commentary on both of tonights matches on bbc radio five live. Back in april here on breakfast we told you about a nurse, mary agyapong, who died from coronavirus. She was 35 weeks pregnant at the time and doctors managed to safely deliver her daughter by caesarean section. In his first interview, marys husband ernest has been paying tribute to her. Hes been speaking to our reporter, sima kotecha. Take yourtime, take your time, come over. A year ago, mary encouraging herson take your time, come over. A year ago, mary encouraging her son to walk. Sometimes she would wake you up walk. Sometimes she would wake you up in the middle of the night and tell you, i want mum but at that point in time there is nothing i can say to him. She wasjust 28 and leaves behind a son and daughter by emergency cesareanjust leaves behind a son and daughter by emergency cesarean just days before she died. She was very kind. Her heart was pure. And she was very genuine. We know. Men are not perfect, but mary was. Hi, look. Mary was a nurse in bedfordshire. She was diagnosed with coronavirus in early april and died a week later. Her husband says she should not have been working at the hospital because she was heavily pregnant. This was before the government had issued guidance for expecting mums. When mary passed, had a call from one of thejunior reps and confidently told me, you know what, i actually met mary on the board and i told her, mary, it is not safe for you, you need to get out of here but she said she could not help it, she was hopeless. The nhs trust responsible for the hospital said the first patient to test positive coronavirus was not admitted onto her board until after mary had gone on sick leave with pregnancy related problems. While holding his newborn, ernest says he does not believe that was the case. We find it a bit difficult to comprehend because, even at the time, mary was off sick, some of her collea g u es time, mary was off sick, some of her colleagues were self isolating. Time, mary was off sick, some of her colleagues were self isolatingm time, mary was off sick, some of her colleagues were selfisolating. In a statement of the trust says. It also says. Do you think that your anger that you are feeling at the moment, that you are perhaps taking that out on the trust . For me, ithink taking that out on the trust . For me, i think mary was not treated fairly. Herfamily me, i think mary was not treated fairly. Her family has me, i think mary was not treated fairly. Herfamily has not been treated fairly and, for that matter, i believe my voice is what i have now. Mary and her sons second birthday last year, dancing with her father who died from suspected coronavirus five days before she did. Painful memories for ernest as he tries to contemplate a life without what he calls his first true love. There are no ways to really explain how i am feeling within. Sometimes, you know, ijust love and smile about the precious moments we had together for the past three and a half years. At times i could just be walking and just crying and. So that there are a lot of emotions just in between. That is the reality, he will never forget her and keeping her memory alive bringing up his daughter. Thank you for mary agyapongs husband, ernest, for talking to us. Wear a mask and do not set less than two metres apart. They are the same guidelines you will face if you fa ncy guidelines you will face if you fancy going on a rollercoaster this summer. Fancy going on a rollercoaster this summer. An estimated 400,000 jobs under threat, the leisure and cultural attractions are working ha rd to cultural attractions are working hard to be covid secure for when they reopen. Blackpool, the pleasure beach, a place that should be, at this time of year a cacophony of shouts and screams. It is a very strange atmosphere here because the only thing you can hear is birdsong and if this should be a place that is, at this time of year, teasing with people. They are hoping they will soon people. They are hoping they will soon get the chance to open the gates but the question is, how do you do socially distanced fun . This is the First Time Since 1886 that this park has ever close. We were open throughout both was so this is just an extraordinary time for us and, being a Family Business is particularly difficult because you have to look after so many families as well that work out for you. And to make it work, they are even socially distancing the rollercoaster. Are you going to be able to fill the train . We are not, to enable distance between people. As you can see with your measuring tape. That is only a metre so you have to go. That is exactly two metres. We leave this row empty and maintaina metres. We leave this row empty and maintain a safe distance. It is a very different experience, you have to wear a face mask, no one behind me, they have to be to set behind, everything is going to be, well, a lot slower, that is, apart from the ride itself. And if you do not wa nt to ride itself. And if you do not want to be terrified alone, bring someone want to be terrified alone, bring someone from want to be terrified alone, bring someone from your own want to be terrified alone, bring someone from your own household. Britains Visitor Attractions and cultural venues have seen income plumbers and even when things do reopen, it will be gradual. London zoo for instance is outdoor only with viewing points and one way systems. Our Creative Industries are losing more than £1 billion a week in revenue. Here at the design museum, i was shown how they are adapting the forthcoming exhibition on the music industry. There is a one way flow into the main exhibition. Time limited, and a half. Of course oneway systems work for museums but not other cultural venues. It is interesting that the exhibition deals with an aspect of music and Live Performance in club culture because that part of the Cultural Landscape is really severely head at the moment, even more than museums. The opening trajectory for live venues and Music Performance is a lot further down the line. Even the museums are going to be quieter than normal. We need to be quieter than normal. We need to start carefully. It is small steps. Small steps, keep moving, no dawdling. Hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on places like this but it is going to be tougher businesses that rely on mingling, crowds and people feeling comfortable being close to one another. We have had a message in this morning from a mother who said ethan has started crawling and every he you come on the television, he crawls up and stares at you. Do you know what he does next . Get the remote and turns it off . Is that what he does with you . Laughter. It has to be done. I love you, really. Good morning everybody and hello, ethan, if you are at the television. Heavy foundry downpours, slow moving. Low cloud, mist and fog rolling in of the north sea, back towards the coastline and if you are stuck under that, that will depress the temperatures. Show is continuing across western scotland, some in Northern Ireland, while of land, heading across north west england, wales, the southwest, the midlands, east anglia and kent. They will be slow moving because there is hardly a breath of wind today. Torrential as well. You could see heel storms as well. So once again, it will be humid. Overnight, eventually the show was ease. Low cloud mist and fog rolling in from the north sea. At the same timea in from the north sea. At the same time a weather front coming and it will introduce rain across east anglia, the midlands and lincolnshire. We are in for another humid night with loads of about 91a. Humid night with loads of about 9 1a. Tomorrow we set off with low cloud, mist and fog. With lowes. A weather front moving slowly. A lot of heavy thundery showers, slow moving and you can have as much as two inches of rainfall in three hours. The headlines are next. Good morning, welcome to breakfast with dan walker and naga munchetty. Our headlines today a mothers pride Manchester United and england star Marcus Rashford on the Family Support that changed government policy on Free School Meals. She has rang me about ten times today. She is very happy. If someone, today. She is very happy. If someone, when she was going through it, if someone would have spoke out about it then, the situation could have been different. In an exclusive interview with breakfast he says the fight isnt over, and he wants the policy changed permanently. The biggest breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus so far, a steroid drug is now available for hospital patients across the uk. More than a thousand flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled, as fears grow of a fresh coronavirus outbreak. Iamat i am at the etihad, where Manchester City host arsenal behind closed doors. Its wednesday the 17th ofjune. Our top story. The footballer Marcus Rashford says he wants to do more to help those in need after winning a battle to extend Free School Meals for children in england, so they wont go hungry during the Summer Holidays. The Manchester United and england star said he was shocked and grateful that his campaign, which he talked about exclusively on breakfast, prompted a government u turn and now hes ready to consider his next move. This is only going to be successful throughout the summer period and then weve bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time now to sort of plan and figure out whats next and how we keep taking steps forward. Because i dont want this to be the end of it, because theres definitely more steps that need to be taken taken so we just need to analyse the response. Speaking in the last half hour, the Health Secretary matt hancock denied the government had been slow to respond to the premier league stars campaign. Its also totally reasonable i would say for a government to listen to arguments and to make judgments on that basis. In fact, you would criticise the government if they didnt listen to the debate that is going on in public and make judgments on that basis. So i think you can see this both ways, totally reasonable and i think the right decision. Lets get a view from our Political Correspondent nick eardley. We are trying to figure out when you look at the timetable when the interview took place, sally spoke to Marcus Rashford, we were reporting it and how the government was reacting . Absolutely. We know the Prime Minister said yesterday he only became aware of Marcus Rashfords campaign yesterday. He watched the interview in the morning and it was after that the government made the decision to change its mind and to u turn on its Free School Meals policy. But there are some tory mps who are quite worried this wasnt on the Prime Ministers radar earlier, we were all talking about it. The issue of Free School Meals has been going on for a couple of weeks now and there are some in parliament that thinks the government was a bit slow off the mark by waiting for so long. It looks like they were false into a u turn rather than making a decision based on the arguments they were hearing. But they have done it and as matt hancock was saying, he thinks they have arrived at the right decision. A quick reminder of what will happen, if you are in england and a liberalfor what will happen, if you are in england and a liberal for Free School Meals you will get a six week voucher to cover the Summer Holidays. That is england only. There are similar schemes in scotla nd there are similar schemes in scotland and wales that will work slightly differently, but broadly similar. We think there will be one in Northern Ireland eventually. But the big question is now whether the government sees the political fallout from this continuum. You have got Prime Ministers questions today and i wouldnt be surprised if you heard labour putting more pressure on Boris Johnson you heard labour putting more pressure on borisjohnson as to why some of these decisions at the moment are quite slow. It has been interesting, stuff to talk about. The chief medical officer for england called it the most important result so far in the fight against coronavirus. And some of those who took it have called it a life saver. Were talking about dexamethasone a cheap and widely available drug which has been approved for use in the most severely affected covid 19 patients across the uk. Were joined by our medical correspondent fergus walsh to find out more. We have just heard matt hancock talking about this breakthrough, tell us more about this drug and why it is so effective. Good morning to you. Morning. It is so nice to have something positive to report about. Dexamethasone is a steroid licensed in 1961 dexamethasone is a steroid licensed in1961 and dexamethasone is a steroid licensed in 1961 and has been around for decades, it is cheap. It costs pennies and a course of treatment in the uk on the nhs is about £5, up to ten days. It is remarkable because for the sickest patients in hospital, for those on ventilators, it cuts the risk of death from covid 19 by a third and for those on oxygen it cuts the risk of death by a fifth. So it is the first drug thatis a fifth. So it is the first drug that is proven, proven to save lives. Fergus, how does it save lives. Fergus, how does it save lives and this has come about because we have had these trials. We we re because we have had these trials. We were talking about how many lives it could have saved if the tries were earlier, but you couldnt do that but how does it actually work . What is happening in the body that the steroid does to help at that stage when you are at ventilation in hospital . There are two stages of the disease. This is something you would not want to use in the early stages of the disease because it dampens the immune response. In patients who get seriously ill, after about seven days after the infection, their immune system goes haywire and starts to attack the body and cause inflammation. What the steroid does, it is an anti inflammatory and it dampens down the immune response, giving the lungs a chance to recover. There has been a lot of debate about it because back at the time of sars, the drug was used and some said it helped with sars, which is another form of coronavirus, but some said it was harmful. So the team at Oxford University running the biggest trial of coronavirus treatments, they put this drug into their trial and they said, lets see whether it will work. A huge number of doctors and experts were very doubtful, why are you trying this old steroid, surely it wont work . They were quite surprised that the first drug proven to save lives and cut deaths from coronavirus is not some shiny, new high tech drug which costs thousands of pounds, but an old steroid which every Hospital Pharmacy in the world will have access to. Fergus, didnt you say it was as cheap as chips . It has been a while we have been able to say something, and as you said at the start, it is affordable and it is doable . It is, and where the estimations, had we known right at the beginning of the pandemic that it could potentially in the uk alone have saved up to 5000 lives, but if you look at brazil who have had the biggest cases so far, and other parts of the world where the epidemic is rising, there is a chance for it to have an impact now. If we get a second wave in the uk, then this drug will be there. It is not a cure, this is still a terrible disease but it is proof that medicine can intervene and it will give encouragement and that the mechanism used by dexamethasone can be exploited further and will we will get better medicines in the future. Fergus walsh, thank you very much. Talking about this breakthrough and what it will mean for lots of patients. More than 1,000 flights in and out of beijing have been cancelled by chinese officials as they try to contain a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in the city. Schools have been ordered to close and residents have been urged not to leave the capital, which had previously gone 50 days without any local transmission of covid 19. The latest cases are linked to a wholesale food market. Theres more evidence this morning of the effect the coronavirus lockdown has had on the economy. Prices have risen at their slowest rate for four years. Falling petrol prices and cheaper clothes and footwear saw the official inflation rate drop to 0. 5 . Food prices have gone up though, as supermarkets were among the few shops allowed to stay open. Its the story thats dominating most of the front pages today, as well as breakfast and many other news programmes. The Manchester United and england footballer Marcus Rashford has prompted a government u turn over free meals for children in england during the Summer Holidays. And it was an issue he spoke to sally about on monday. Everybody has been talking about this for the last few days and now, this for the last few days and now, this is the opportunity to hear from the man himself. We are about to leave the interview, i was round at his house yesterday to get his reaction after he had spoken to borisjohnson on the phone and after he had the campaign he started a little less than a week ago had been successful. While we were setting up to do this interview, we have spoken to marcus at more than once and when you go to his house, the rest of his family are generally there. I was chatting to one of his brothers and he said, when they were kids, there was five siblings, when they were kids they all knew marcus had a good chance of being a successful football and they said to each other, if he makes it, if he gets to be famous and play for Manchester United and england, we are going to use his fame as a positive force, do something good with this. That is what they decided together with his mum years ago. So here we have Marcus Rashford using his platform for good and i spoke to him last night, as i said and this is his reaction to the news that Boris Johnson and the is his reaction to the news that borisjohnson and the government had changed their policy. When you heard the news, how surprised where you . when you heard the news, how surprised where you . I was obviously shocked, it is a big decision for someone shocked, it is a big decision for someone to make. You know, i am just grateful the Prime Minister did change his decision and he understood. I spoke to him earlier on today and i thanked him for that. It was a nice conversation to have with him and we understood each other. How did that chap go . Did he phone up and say hello, marcus, it is boris . He was saying thank you for using what i have built in a positive manner. We were thanking each other because he didnt have to do that, and neither did i. He was just grateful that someone had an opinion and shared it with people and just had been the voice of the people that didnt have the platform to speak out as much as they would like to. Are you aware that the way that Boris Johnson like to. Are you aware that the way that borisjohnson was informed by yourcampaign, he was that borisjohnson was informed by your campaign, he was actually played the interview we did the other night . Yes, he mentioned that on the phone. He said that is what moved him really, because he understood it a little bit more, hearing it from someone rather than just reading it or hearing about it. That was obviously a key factor in him changing his decision. That must make you feel like you have achieved an incredible thing . Yes, it is a nice feeling but i am just happy that peoples lives, peoples summers will be changed for the better. That was the important thing that i try to change going into that. Coming at the end of it now it is obviously a proud, proud moment. You must have been contacted by so many people, which of those stories stick in your mind and what are the things you remember most . M stick in your mind and what are the things you remember most . It isjust some of the after effects it can lead to. Some people are not sleeping, they cant do the normal things they do day to day. Probably because they are thinking about where the next meal is going to come from for their kids. Get to the stage where they are not about themselves any more, and that is the bit that gets to me. You know, lack of sleep and they cannot follow what they have been dreaming of doing, work related or whatever it may be, thatis work related or whatever it may be, that is what affected me and made me wa nt to that is what affected me and made me want to help. So, you heard the news just after you came off the training pitch. What have your colleagues at Manchester United been saying, your team mates, have they said anything to you about the campaign . They have been interested and asking questions about it. I mentioned before, people wa nt to about it. I mentioned before, people want to make change and sometimes, like i was, you dont know the ins and outs of certain situations and the amount of people it is actually effective. They were just asking general questions like that and gain an understanding of it, which is definitely positive because that is what you need to do, you need to raise awareness to people who do not know. Do you think you might be able to lead other people in your position where they can speak out about things they believe in . position where they can speak out about things they believe in . I have touched on that, especially our generation of players in my sport. It is becoming more normal that people speak out on topics that they believe in and i think its just positive for the future. We look at the generations after us and hopefully it becomes a normal thing and people actually want to do that and people actually want to do that and put themselves forward to do that. That is your teammates, what support have you had from the wider world, the Wider Community . I know lots of people, also very high profile people have been in touch and been supporting you, who have you heard from . There has been loads of people, but the thing that surprises me the most is people that in you dont really get to connect with. I have had all types of different people getting in contact and thats what makes it feel like it is real and that connection between people is what makes the world go round. It is definitely a positive thing. It is not only football fa ns positive thing. It is not only football fans reading and learning about it, everybody is. You have had huge messages of support from people like liverpool Football Club, from Manchester CityFootball Club, people who would be your rivals on the pitch, but the campaign you started seems to transcend all of that. You must feel incredibly proud of what you have done . that. You must feel incredibly proud of what you have done . I am just happy that people understand, in the world we live in, in our sport it has always been football, football, football. Sometimes there are situations that come up and it puts football aside for a moment and this was one of those situations. That is the type of support you want, for the type of support you want, for the country to be a better place and it is definitely positive that those names have come forward and said congratulations. Never mind the big names, your mum, obviously, we talked at length about your mum the other night, what has she said to you about the decision . She has rang me about ten times today. She is just very happy. If someone, when she was going through it, if someone had spoke out about it then may be the situation would have been different. She is just the situation would have been different. She isjust happy the situation would have been different. She is just happy now that people going through it, people are aware of that now and people will help them as much as they can. She is happy we are taking steps in the right direction. When you started this campaign, i think it was only five days ago, who were you thinking of . Were you thinking of yourfamily or where thinking of . Were you thinking of your family or where you just thinking of, you know, the families of fans, who was it in your mind . The areas i have grown up in, i know a lot of different people and families that would still be going through it now. Its not so much about my family any more because obviously the situation has changed andi obviously the situation has changed and ijust obviously the situation has changed and i just dont want obviously the situation has changed and ijust dont want people to go through the same things. It is just important to understand the place i have come from and my background, it is quite simple the reason why i would try and help people in that situation. You now have a really powerful voice, you have achieved this incredible thing in such a short space of time, you have a platform, a lot of attention focused on you, what is your next focus . Now you have done this, what is next . Obviously, this is only going to be successful throughout the summer period and then we have bought ourselves an extra six weeks of time now to sort of plan and figure out whats next and how we keep taking steps forward. Because i dont want this to be the end of it, because there is definitely more steps that need to be taken. We just need to analyse the response and these types of topics are very important. Like i said before, it wasnt something i was aware of beforehand, now i am aware and i will be watching that closely and see the response and how people cope with the situation and how it changes their lives for the better. The problems they might face with the system, so there is a lot of things that could change in the future and beyond this campaign. But we will have to see how it affects everyone. I am guessing then you would like this to continue, not just for this summer . Definitely, summer just for this summer . Definitely, summer isa just for this summer . Definitely, summer is a period where people struggle, but other people are struggling all year round. We are starting to learn more about the situation people are in and how we can help them best and that is what is important. What is the best message you have received today . Probably the calls from my mum, to be honest. Those are the ones that are most important to me and it is nice to see her smiling. Marcus rashford, thank you very much. No problem, thank you. rashford, thank you very much. No problem, thank you. I think his mum will be one proud mum this money. Marcus rashford is very much engaged in the Free School Meals over the summer in the Free School Meals over the summerand is in the Free School Meals over the summer and is engaging with it at every level. He is interested in perhaps broadening the type of supermarket that vouchers go to. He says perhaps that isnt a wide enough range of supermarket you can use the vouchers that, perhaps changing the type of food given out in schools, make it a little bit healthier and he is engaged at every level on this. Expect a little bit more from him and there has been a huge reaction on social media, with many people praising marcus. On instagram, David Beckham posted this picture of rashford with the caption, congratulations, what an amazing achievement to win this fight. You should be so proud i will have inspired many others to use their voices. John bishop, big liverpool fan, he put football rivalry aside to congratulate marcus. Congratulations, he said you intrinsically know the right thing to do. Carol vorderman shared her own experience. She wrote, i was a Free School Meal child through the 605. I remember being hungry and my mum crying with exhaustion working every hour 5he could. And one of the most powerful things marcu5 ra5hford has done over the last few days, he has managed to ta ke the last few days, he has managed to take away the elements, i think, of 5hame take away the elements, i think, of shame and embarrassment that families and kids that had about having to use the Free School Meal 5y5tem. Having to use the Free School Meal system. Some familie5 didnt want their kids to be on the list for it because they felt it was embarrassing. I think he has com pletely embarrassing. I think he has completely blown that apart now. I am really looking forward to whatever marcu5 ra5hford decides to do next. If anyone was watching this morning, that was the point made of a mum of fourin that was the point made of a mum of four in this programme, jane. She 5aid four in this programme, jane. She said what she feels has been di5cussed said what she feels has been discussed this week and pushed through by marcus ra5hford and others has really changed the conversation. Carol vorderman talking about her mum. He is laughing about the fact his mum rang him ten times yesterday. All the praise, i5 him ten times yesterday. All the praise, is the fact that his mum is proud of him . Someone 5aid proud of him . Someone said to me, my teen mums make mighty men. Isnt that true . There you go, im going to write that down. Stick a ha5htag on that. Thank you very much. Lets take a look now at who will be affected by the governments decision to extend the free meal5 Voucher Scheme. Children in england are eligible for Free School Meals if they come from hou5ehold5 earning a maximum of £7,a00 a year and thats after tax and not including any benefits. There are different rules in wales, scotland and Northern Ireland. Around 1. 3 million children in england qualify for Free School Meals and demand is greatest in parts of london, the north and the midlands. The summer vouchers will be worth around £15 a week, per child. That will cost the taxpayer an extra £120 million, but the Prime Minister has said the scheme will not be repeated next summer. Thi5 this is a reality and people are living with these facts and figures which means they are trying to make end5 which means they are trying to make ends meet. Breakfasts Jayne Mccubbin has been meeting up again with some parents who rely on free school5 meal5 for their children. Marcu5 ra5hford put out a tweet. Anyone know who i can talk to in government about the food Voucher Scheme . Do you remember being hungry . Yeah, of course. Its taken a campaign by a 22 year old footballer to force you into action on Free School Meals. Have you lost touch . One tweet, an open letter to governments, an interview on bbc breakfast and five days later. Prime minister, will children go hungry this summer . Government policy changed, along with the lives of 1. 3 million young people this summer. Thats why weve got the covid summer food plan, which weve announced today. Yesterday, wed spoken to the families whod struggled through lockdown. Oh yeah, this is definitely real life. And dreaded struggling through a summer without Free School Meal vouchers. At the moment, i have £50 a month to live on and without these vouchers, iju5t couldnt do it. Im terrified. I really am, im so frightened. And i feel ashamed, really, that i am in the situation that i cannot support my family. This was a shame Marcus Rashford wanted to dispel by saying, i understand because ive been there. I wanted to speak to you because theres been an announcement. The government has made a u turn. Theyre doing it . They are doing it. They are going to. They are going to give us vouchers over the summer holiday. Wow thats magnificent. Wow you have no idea how many people thats going to help. After news broke rashford who wrote in a tweet to mp5, was it tough for you to talk yesterday . Yes. Yes, its been very difficult. Mainly because i didnt want any. Any repercussions for the family and its actually been even worse today because ive seen some really terrible, terrible tweets about people in my situation, absolutely vile. And i kind of think, am i doing the right thing speaking about this . And i hope it makes a few people think. If we have up to 8 Million People made redundant injuly, as predicted, many will find themselves in the same position as me. They are as proud of their Humble Beginnings as Marcus Rashford is of his. Youve all been in his shoes . There is a stigma attached to that but for me i kind of own the label because theres nothing wrong with trying to navigate your way through such a difficult world, which it can be sometimes. So thats why im not afraid to say i do get Free School Meals and i used it so that instead of focusing on what is not going to be on the table, i can focus on trying to better my life and others. All of us have had this additional layer of support and that in no way reflects on the type of people we are. No one should feel the stigma. From their Free School Meal start in life, these friends are flying. Scholarships to eton, a level studies in the London Academy of excellence, they are training to be barristers, entrepreneurs, the of game changers. What do you guys make of Marcus Rashford . Hes great. Hes an absolute legend. Such a role model, hes been able to share his own experiences of growing up as a working class kid with a single mum taking care of him and his siblings. He did a really good thing. 22, 22 years old how old are you guys . 17. 19. Same. 0h, Marcus Rashford. Just 22 and inspired by his own mum, he spent his lockdown channelling £20 million through a charity to feed a00,000 children and trying to break the stigma around food poverty. Its not easy talking about the struggle to put food on your kids table . Its not. Its not easy to bare your soul to a whole load of people who dont know me, who mightjudge me. Weve won, we won today. Its a little miracle, but we won. Brea kfasts Jayne Mccubbin with that report. Thank you to everyone for talking to Jane Mccubbin as well. Bringing us your story. Whose fault is it we are late today . Carols. She is in a mood today. I stand here patiently everyday waiting and wondering when iam going everyday waiting and wondering when i am going to get on. There is a lot of fog around and low cloud as well. This is yorkshire and in middlesbrough it is quite dense. As we go through the course of the day we go through the course of the day we do have all that low cloud which has come in overnight from the north sea, pushing back towards the coastline. For many of us it will be sunshine and for some of us heavy and thundery, slow moving downpours. First thing this morning we do have all this low cloud that has drifted in and some of that has gone over towards the west, in cheshire for example. We have got showers in Western Areas and some of them have been thundery. We will continue with them as we go through the course of them as we go through the course of the day. In Northern Ireland quite a cloudy day for you with bright spells and showers. In wales, south west england, the midlands, east anglia, down towards the south coast and kent there are showers. We will not all see one, but if you catch one and it is slow moving, it is likely to be torrential with thunder and lightning and hail and it could well lead to issues with surface water flooding. Temperatures 1a22, still surface water flooding. Temperatures 1a 22, still feeling quite humid. This evening and overnight we carry on with the showers for a time and they start to ease. Once again the low cloud, mist and fog comes in from the north sea and we have got a weather front coming from the north sea and we have got a weatherfront coming in, bringing rain into east anglia, in the midlands and lincolnshire. It is going to be a mild night, but it will also be a humid one. Tomorrow we have got this band of rain slowly moving northwards. We have had the low cloud, mist and fog pushing back towards the north sea coastline. Scotla nd towards the north sea coastline. Scotland and Northern Ireland will have not a bad day, drier and fewer showers. But as we come south we will see some showers and, like today, they will be slow moving, heavy and thundery, some with some hail. The met office has put out a weather warning for this. Up to two inches of rainfall in just two hours. There could be issues with surface water flooding. Like today it will be muggy, but for some temperatures down a degree on what we are looking at today. On friday the weather front drifts northwards and there will still be some showers around and cloud coming in from the north sea coastline. It burns back through the day. Temperature wise we are looking at 1a 22 once again. If you are sick of this humidity, as we head into the weekend it will turn a little bit fresher. It has been an enjoyable morning locking horns with you. It has been good fun. Very enjoyable. And down as well. Its all right, i forgot i was here. You fill in the bits in between the weather. You go off to do whatever you do now, see you later. Hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and naga munchetty. And carol. Weve been hearing about a drug called dexamethasone this morning and how it could save the lives of those most seriously affected by coronavirus. Clinical trials found that it cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators and a fifth for those on oxygen. Professor tom solomon is the director of the uks emerging infections unit at the university of liverpool. Hejoins us now. Good morning. We heard from Boris Johnson. He could not be more positive about this yesterday at the press co nfe re nce. Positive about this yesterday at the press conference. Was he right to be . He was absolutely right to be. This is fantastic news. We are very pleased in the medical community that at last we have a drug which will work in this terrible disease and which will save lives. Tell us how it works. It is a steroid, so if you scratch your arm it goes red and angry and that is inflammation and thatis angry and that is inflammation and that is what is happening inside the lungs with people with severe covid19. This lungs with people with severe covid 19. This drug, which has been used for decades for all sorts of information, it controls information and damps it down and that is making and damps it down and that is making a big difference to patients with severe covid 19. A big difference to patients with severe covid19. What happens with the patient who is battling with covid19, the body the patient who is battling with covid 19, the body fights, doesnt it . This looks at the level of how aggressively it fights . What happens is if you are infected with the virus and the body fights the virus to try and get rid of it, this is the inflammatory response. In fighting the virus it can also cause damage, it is like a friendly fire incident. So basically the body is trying so hard to fight the virus it is damaging itself. What it does is it calms it down and damps it down so it calms it down and damps it down so that people are surviving who otherwise would not survive. One of the other things we need to talk about, before we talk about the trial, this is not a cure, this is when people are still seriously ill and it has got to the point where they are being ventilated, that is where this will be most needed. They are being ventilated, that is where this will be most neededm the trial it was given to all the people in hospital with covid 19 and what the study has shown is it is effective with those who need oxygen or those who are so severely ill and in intensive care. With the milder patients the drug did not seem to make a difference. It is not going to stop people getting covid 19, so all the precautionary measures people have been taking for months, which are now easing, need to continue. People should not be going out partying and saying we should not worry about this disease. But what it means is if you do get the disease and you are admitted to hospital we have a drug which will reduce the death rate. What is amazing, and you have had several people come on over the years and talk about medical breakthroughs and you ask when it will make a difference, and they say we have to do five years of studies. They have done an experiment in a lab and they have shown it works in a laboratory animal, but this has shown it works in humans and it has been used as of last night. That is what is truly amazing. The advantage is that it has already been used, it is just in the context it is being used. The implication in terms of the global effect, people are concerned about a second wave and about how that will be coped with in terms of the nhs and the mortality rate as well. So we have this now and it is cheap and affordable, isnt it . Globally this will be used . Affordable, isnt it . Globally this will be used . It will be used globally. I was at a who meeting yesterday when the results of the trial were announced and there was a gobsmacked silence. It is important for people to understand how rare it is we have a drug like this that show such a big difference and it will be available in the interim. In this country it cost about £5 for a dose or £a0 for a cause. It will be much cheaper in lower and middle Income Countries because this is a drug that is available generically and is not controlled by a drug company and controlling the prices. At the end of the court yesterday people said they would use it. It is a really good example of british science leading the world and we should be proud as a country. It is also really important to thank all those families and patients who are willing to go in the study. It is important people go into Research Studies because it is only collectively we can work out what the best treatments are and the inevitable benefits. Thank you very much for talking to me. I now have a vision of that call with gasps of iy vision of that call with gasps of joy and all the scientists running out and just cheering. You have got it. Tom sullivan, thank you very much. Can wejust much. Can we just see the liverpool shirt in the corner . This is also good news at the weekend, so things are looking up. We are talking about that because the premier League Returns today and liverpool play in a few days time. We can go back to jane, whos at the Etihad Stadium in manchester. Good morning. Yes, the premier league is back after such a long wait, but there are lots of logistics that have had to be handled and lots of pressure to make sure this is right. The early kick off is at villa park where they host Sheffield United. After that Manchester City will host arsenal here at the Etihad Stadium and there will be many differences to this match. First and foremost, there will not be any fans in the stadium because it has to be from behind closed doors. It will be a strange atmosphere and those of us who have been watching the bundesliga and la liga have got used to that a bit. There have been discussions about when they can bring fans in, but for now they will have screens where you can see fans zooming in. So they can sort of celebrate when and if the players score goals. If they do score a goal, the players will not be allowed to celebrate with each other, they will have to have socially distanced celebrations. If there is any controversy on the pitch, they will not be allowed to crowd around the officials and remonstrate with the referees. The other noticeable difference is that for the first 12 matches of the restarted season the players will not have their names on the back of their shirts, they will have black lives matter on the back of their shirts, following the death of george floyd. The premier league say they will be supporting any player that wishes to take on knee even during and after the match. Quite a few differences there. Thank you very much. It is going to be very different in terms of like what we are going to see in terms of fans as well. Yes, of course. As we mentioned, the fans will not be in the stadium, but a lot of them can zoom the stadium, but a lot of them can zoom in and they will be able to watch the matches because they will all be broadcast, all 92 of the remaining matches will be broadcast. But the reason that they cannot go into the stadium, of course they cannot be socially distancing, what has happened is the Etihad Stadium has happened is the Etihad Stadium has been deep clean, both inside and pitch side as well. Only 300 people will be allowed in any of the premier League Stadium as well. Players have been tested twice a week as well. At the Training Ground there has been a testing station and they have been consulting with the clu b they have been consulting with the club doctors every morning for temperature checks. Both the arsenal manager and Pep Guardiola, and mikel arteta, have had brushes with coronavirus and they will be ensuring that Safety Measures are enforced. Thank you very much. You have set that up very well for us. You have set that up very well for us. Two fans wholl have a keen eye on the etihad tonightjoin us now. Arsenal fan amanda schiavi who hosts the highbury squad podcast is in romford, and rose adebiyi is a Manchester City fan in london. Good to talk to the peer review. Rose, it has been a long time waiting. What are you feeling as football returns to the premier League Tonight . I amjust football returns to the premier League Tonight . I am just really, really excited. Honestly, it has been such a long awaited time. I have been so bored over the weekends. Especially the fact there has been no football. I know the bundesliga has been on, but it is not the same watching your actual football clu b not the same watching your actual Football Club play. I am excited to see what happens tonight, definitely with the fact we have got arsenal and it is a massive game. I am really looking forward to it. It will be magical tonight. Amanda, what about you . Will be magical tonight. Amanda, what about you . I imagine you would have travelled to see the game if it was allowed, but it will be different in terms of a spectator sport . It will be totally different andl sport . It will be totally different and i have been to the Etihad Stadium a couple of times and i would have loved to have gone, but it is what it is and thank god we have got back a bit of normality with our football today. How do you think it will affect your experience of the game . We know the players are not allowed to hassle the referee or shout at the referee with any decisions they disagree with. There will not be any big hugs in terms of celebration and they have not got the roar of the crowds. celebration and they have not got the roar of the crowds. I know, it will be interesting to see how players adapt to playing in an empty stadium. Asi players adapt to playing in an empty stadium. As i was discussing yesterday, form goes out the window, there is no momentum, there is no form at the moment, we have not played for months. It will be totally different. I watched the bundesliga last week and it was odd, to be honest, but again it was not my team, so maybe tonight it will be a different experience. It will be quieter. Rose, iam a different experience. It will be quieter. Rose, i am sure you have been keeping an eye what has been happening in germany as well and fans will be thinking we have got to get used to a different way of watching football. I remember i watched a brescia document match and it was so weird. Even though dortmund scored four goals, i felt there was not really like and atmosphere. I think it is going to be so weird tonight. I am so used to us celebrating a lot and fans together. I dont know, it is going together. I dont know, it is going to be so awkward, but i do know there will be an option where we can do something on tv, so maybe that will help. I dont know how it will affect the footballers if they cant hear the fans cheering, it will be quite odd. I have a suggestion. Thank you both so much. You might like this. There is a concern about the atmosphere. Do a big skype or zoom the atmosphere. Do a big skype or zoom call with all your friends who are fans in the same team so that when the team scores, you can all cheer at the same time. You can make noise yourself. We have agreed on something. The other game is aston villa against Sheffield United and there is commentary on both those matches on bbc radio 5 live. Some sad news to report this morning the snooker player Willie Thorne has died. Hes been undergoing treatment for leukaemia in spain and a go fund me page to raise money for his medical care has reported his death. He reached two World Championship quarter finals and won his only ranking title in 1982. He became a host in the corporate circuit as well. You will have seen it early on the news today. I cant believe he was so young, he was only 66. There was a time when snooker was pa rt there was a time when snooker was part of your everyday life and you turned in and watched it for hours and hours. Our condolences to his family and friends. Iam sure family and friends. I am sure that comes as sad news to many of our viewers this morning as well. Its notjust the crowds that will be missing from Tonights Premier League games. The players names will also be notably absent from their shirts. For the first 12 matches, all players names will be replaced by the slogan black lives matter in a show of support for the global protests sparked by the death in Police Custody of george floyd. Breakfasts Graham Satchell has been talking to three players about their experiences of racism, both on and off the pitch. Even in the area i live in, a white dominant area, you do get looked at differently. My team mate was upset, i was upset, the whole team was upset. You do feel it every day and its not the greatest, but you learn to deal with it and at times you dont even notice it. Three watford players, one in the first team, one in the ladies team and one in the academy and their experience of racism in this country today. As a young black boy ive grown up to adapt. Its not having bananas thrown at me and people shouting racial slurs down the street that happens every day, its the racial the racial bias that happens. Getting pulled over by the police for no reason, from being followed around the shop and those sorts of things that happen on a day to day basis. Its not acceptable that ive just learned to adapt in someone elses world. I was born here, im from england and i feeljust as much a part of this country as anyone else but i get treated differently because if they see my name on a cv that i give in to go and get a job, automatically i am profiled because its not an english name. That doesnt mean im not english myself, but because ive got an african name its like put that to the side see someone an african name its like put that to the side and see someone elses cv first. It started on the pitch and one of them must have called my team mate the n word and we told the ref straightaway but he just seemed to like dismiss it and we felt vulnerable. To be honest i still felt frustrated and quite upset and shocked that someone could go out of their way to be that spiteful. The struggle against racism has been a long one. Andre gray has used his body as a canvas to pay tribute to past heroes, mandela, malcolm x, marcus garvey, rosa parks. From top to bottom things need to change. I feel like finally we might actually have something to push forward and push for change. The push for change has seen protests around the world and win and when the premier league stars again tonight players will wear shirts with black lives matter on the back. They will also take the knee. It is a solemn protest against all forms of racism. As Marcus Rashford has shown in recent days, football has a unique power in this country to influence and effect change. What marcus and people like andre and troy are doing i think its amazing, having black lives matter on the back of football shirts. The more you see something, the more you Pay Attention to it and the more you kind of spark and interest and i think thats what needs to be done here, to spark an interest. It is notjust in america, that this probably happens, its here as well in this country and we cant be blind to it any more. Here at watford they have worked hard to be inclusive and break down barriers. They are planning changes to the curriculum talk to children in their academy. If this is a of change, then football is playing its part. That will resonate as well. Quite a bit to think about. If you dont like football, you might as well turn off your telly for a few weeks. Really . Yes. Perhaps if you are watching, it will give you more inspiration to get fit during lockdown. Some people have been motivated to get out because the weather has been good. Some have developed lockdown love handles. That is a new phrase. Dan was educating me about them earlier. John maguire does not have them. He is as buff as ever and he is in bristol, talking about how the industry is in adapting. Good morning. It has been such a strange time of course. For people who were into fitness, when lockdown started you were always able to go for a run, to cycle or to walk and then it has increased over the couple of weeks. You can see the clifton suspension bridge in the background and parks right across the uk will now have this sort of thing, an outdoor gym if you like. Social distancing, of course. With james being closed, the earliest they will openin being closed, the earliest they will open in england may be the ath of july, which is the point where organised fitness gets back into full swing. Marcusjones, you have had a strange time yourself. You just got a newjob in a gym and all ofa just got a newjob in a gym and all of a sudden you have had to adapt and improvise and overcome. Of a sudden you have had to adapt and improvise and overcomem of a sudden you have had to adapt and improvise and overcome. It has been the same for everyone in the Fitness Industry. We have had to look at other ways to do ourjobs and usually that takes the form of online workouts. I host instagram work out everyday. It is day 87 in a row today. It forces people to look at how they are working and find new ways to motivate people. It has really shown how much people value gyms as not just really shown how much people value gyms as notjust an exercise space, but as a community space, somewhere they can go for a bit of therapy. Things are going well right now, but we are looking forward to them being open. There is the social aspect of a gym, but exercise is so important for Mental Health. Obesity could be a real ticking time bomb for the future. With lockdown it is easy to sit down and not do very much and that has a circular effect where you end up feeding into a negative loop. The good thing about exercise is that anything is truly better than nothing. Just because thejim ishaq and you cannot work out seven days a week does not mean you need to stop completely. Any amount of exercise is good, even if it is just 20 minutes a day, a few days a week. That will be beneficial for your mental and physical health and make you better and make this whole thing goa you better and make this whole thing go a lot quicker. Thank you very much indeed and thank you to the quys much indeed and thank you to the guys exercising here this morning so early. A little bit is better than nothing, as marcus says. We will put a video of markers on social media as well so you can get an idea of what to do at home to kick start a routine. We are not seeing you working out, john . I have got this poll, check this out. Very heavy. Weve had plenty of Football Talk today, so heres a treat for rugby fans. Particularly welsh rugby fans. Warren gatland was the head coach who guided wales to four six nations titles, including three grand slams and two world cup semi finals. He will be talking to us in a moment. He will be talking to us in a moment. Now hes back home in new zealand and has just released his autobiography. Warren joins us now from the city of hamilton, on the north island. Good morning. Iam good morning. I am sure it is a different time, good evening to you. Thank you for being with us. Good to talk to you. Rugby fans will know that you are back working, back playing, with fans in the stadium, and your own son scored winning points against you at the weekend. Good morning. Yes, we got ourselves in front and then unfortunately turned the ball over in the last couple of minutes and he kicked the winning drop goal. Delighted for him, but disappointed for us to lose in the last minute. But a lot of excitement back in new zealand, we are kind of back to normal and there was a big crowd on saturday and a big crowd in auckland on sunday and we expect to be playing the blues on sunday and we are expecting over 20,000, so really excited about that. I am interested about the game in terms of how people felt about conflict because it was the first big sporting event and there was a responsibility in terms of not putting this pandemic completely behind you because so many people have succumbed, but moving forward with life and that integration that sport brings to so many. with life and that integration that sport brings to so many. I think in fairness to the government we have been through different stages in terms of the lockdown and we have had a couple of cases today, but we have not had any cases for 20 odd days, so we have been very lucky. We shut down the borders, so we have been pretty much back to normalfor the last three or four weeks. We thought initially the first four games would be games played in empty stadiums, but we were lucky enough to get back to level one and that means to get back to level one and that m ea ns pretty to get back to level one and that means pretty much back to normal apart from the borders being closed. That means bars and restaurants and nig htclu bs that means bars and restaurants and nightclubs and social gatherings and Music Festivals and luckily sport being pretty much back to normal. We are incredibly lucky here in new zealand and we are very aware of what is happening elsewhere in the world and how other countries at the moment are not anywhere near as fortu nate moment are not anywhere near as fortunate as we are. We dont have much time on the programme today. It is lovely to have you on. What comes across in the book is how close and how much you enjoyed your time at wales and how close you came to success at world cup finals. Also, i love the fact that you have always been a prickly interviewee and if i ask you a stupid question, you called me out on the stupid question. I loved my time there and it was 12 fantastic years. The people were brilliant. If it wasnt for the welsh public and the fans and just how hospitable they were i wouldnt have lasted that long. It was challenging because there was a huge amount of expectation and i made some great friends and there will always be a special place in my heart for wales and the time that i spent there and the people that i met. I think you are playing down your prickly nurse. I quite like it personally. Your book, pride and passion, you are a man who wanted to be the best and your book is going up be the best and your book is going up against eddie james be the best and your book is going up against eddiejames book. Which one is going to win the telegraph book of the year . It is just a game. No, this is the book, yours is up against his. We will wait and see. I have been lucky enough to get a couple of wins against him in the past, so if one of us is lucky enough to get the accolade, the other will have to give the either a couple of drinks and a meal. Good luck in the future and thank you for talking to us. Warrens book is called pride and passion my autobiography. Thats all from breakfast today. Have a good day. This is bbc news with the latest headlines. A steroid drug shown to be able to save the lives of coronavirus patients is now available for hospital patients across the uk. It is the single biggest scientific breakthrough the world has yet made and i pay tribute to the researchers at Oxford University