The british Prime Minister, borisjohnson, has said the government will proceed with maximum caution when coronavirus restrictions are eased. Boris johnson is due to announce his plans for england in a speech on sunday. Ministers have insisted any short term changes to lockdown measures will be modest. Theres been another big jump in the number of americans applying for unemployment benefits, as the us grapples with how to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. A further 3. 2 Million People filed claims this week. The numbers identifying as homeless have also reached record levels. The french government has announced more details of how it will ease one of the harshest lockdowns in europe. Authorities have issued a colour coded map of the country, outlining areas that can lift their restrictions depending on the rate of infection. That is it from me and the team. Coming up next now, the week in parliament. Hello again, and welcome to the week in parliament, a week when the uks pandemic death toll became the highest in europe. A returning Prime Minister admitted the scale of the crisis. Theres an epidemic going on in care homes which is something i bitterly regret. A labour mp fresh from the hospital ward shared her own experience. Front line workers like me have had to watch families break into pieces as we deliver the very worst of news to them. And how much will the pandemic cost professional sport . If you dont want to know the score, look away now. We are heading for a financial hole of about £200 million by the end of september, a cash hole. All that to come and more, but first, we may be past the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, but no country outside the United States has a higher death toll than the uk. As the overall figure continued to climb, the government continued to miss its own target of 100,000 tests a day. Borisjohnson told mps he bitterly regretted the epidemic in care homes and found shortages of Personal Protective Equipment enraging. In his first appearance in the commons for six weeks, the Prime Minister also signalled plans to ease some of the lockdown measures in england from monday. Since he last faced mps, borisjohnson has been seriously ill with coronavirus and become a father again. The speaker was pleased to see him. I would like to welcome the Prime Minister back to his rightful place in the chamber. The whole house and the whole country is delighted at his recovery and welcome back to his elected house. I now call the Prime Minister to answer his engagement question. Mr speaker, thank you for your kind words and it is good to be back even though ive been away for longer than i had intended. It was the first time borisjohnson had faced sir keir starmer at question time. There were congratulations on the babys birth, but the pleasantries were soon over. Mr speaker, when the Prime Minister returned to work a week ago monday, he said that many people were looking at the apparent success of the governments approach. But yesterday we learned, tragically, that at least 29,427 people in the uk have now lost their lives to this dreadful virus. Thats now the highest number in europe. Its the second highest in the world. Thats not success or apparent success, so can the Prime Minister tell us how on earth
did it come to this . Mr speaker, first of all, of course every death is a tragedy and he is right to draw attention to the appalling statistics notjust in this country, but of course around the world. And i think i would echo, really, in answer to his question what weve heard from professor david spiegelhouser and others that at this stage, at this stage, i dont think that International Comparisons and the data is yet there to draw the conclusions that we want. Mr speaker, the argument that International Comparisons cant really be made when the governments been using slides like this for weeks to do International Comparisons just really doesnt hold water. Im afraid that many people are concluding that the answer to my question is the uk were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on tracing and slow on the supply
of protective equipment. I want to go to yesterdays figures that show that whilst, happily, in hospitals it looks as though deaths are falling, deaths in care homes continue to go up. At the press covered last night, the deputy chief medical officer said, and i quote, what this shows us is that there is a real issue that we need to get to grips with in relation to whats happening in care homes. I couldnt agree more. But 12 weeks after the Health Secretary declared that were in a health crisis, i have to ask the Prime Minister why hasnt the government got to grips with this already . Actually, mr speaker, he is quite right, of course, to look at the crisis in care homes and he is right to say that there is an epidemic going on in care homes, which is something i bitterly regret and weve been working very hard for weeks to get it down. The Prime Minister said that in the last few days, there had been an improvement in care homes. Mr speaker, on the 30th of april, the government claimed success in meeting its 100,000 test a day target. Since then, as the Prime Minister knows, the number has fallen back. On monday, there were just 84,000 tests and that meant 24,000 available tests were not used. What does the Prime Minister think was so special about the 30th of april that meant that testing that day was so high . Yes, hes right that capacity currently exceeds demand. Were working on that. Were running at about 100,000 a day. But the ambition clearly is to get up to 200,000 a day by the end of this month and then to go even higher. Keir starmer welcomed the new target but said it was no replacement for a strategy. He turned to shortages of personal productive equipment, or ppe. Were clearly going to need a very Robust National plan for protective equipment. Can the Prime Minister reassure the public that they wont be asked to return to work until that plan is in place . Yes, mr speaker, i certainly can. And i share his frustration about ppe and the frustration that i think people have felt across the house and across the country. Its been enraging to see the difficulties that we have had in supplying ppe to those who need it. Earlier in the week, the speaker sir Lindsay Hoyle had rebuked the Prime Minister for planning to announce changes to the lockdown on sunday not to mps, but to the tv cameras. Borisjohnson explained why. Well want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on monday. I think it will be a good thing, mr speaker, if people had an idea of whats coming the following day. Thats why i think sunday, the weekend, is the best time to do it. And the speaker said hopefully in the future, he comes to mps first. The snps leaderfrom his home on skype also fired a warning shot. We anticipate the Prime Minister will be making a televised address on sunday concerning the easing of lockdown. This cannot be undertaken without the full input and cooperation of all our devolved governments. We must end this period of mixed messaging from the uk government. Will the Prime Minister commit today that the substance of his address will be fully agreed to with the devolved nations so that all of our governments continue with this vitally important work of saving lives . Borisjohnson told him hed do his level best to ensure the outlines of the plan attracted the widest possible consensus. But there was little consensus across the chamber earlier in the week, when labours new Shadow Health minister, whos a doctor, swapped the hospital a e ward for the front bench. Front line workers like me have had to watch families break into pieces as we deliver the very worst
of news to them. That the ones they love most in this world have died. The testing strategy has been nonexistent. Community testing was scrapped, mass testing was slow to roll out and testing figures are now being manipulated. Does the secretary of state commit to a minimum of 100,000 tests each day Going Forward . And does the secretary of state acknowledge that many front line workers feel that the governments lack of testing has cost lives and is responsible for many families being unnecessarily torn apart in grief . No, idont, mr speaker. I welcome the honourable lady to her post as part of the Shadow Health team. I think she might do well to take her leaf out of the shadow secretary of states
book in terms of tone. Im afraid what she said is not true. Theres been a rapid acceleration in testing across, over the last few months in this country, including getting to 100,000 tests a day. Weve been entirely transparent on the way that that has been measured throughout. And i have confidence that the rate will continue to rise. Currently, capacity is 108,000 a day and we are working to build that higher. Matt hancock. The greatest pressure on borisjohnson to ease the lockdown has come from his own mps. Several used a debate on the regulations to warn ministers about the Economic Impact of the stay home, protect the nhs, save lives message. The eerily silent streets of our major cities may be a key part of keeping us all safe. But at what cost to our long Term Financial Health and our sense of well being . Ministers say the lockdown measures have been proportionate and appropriate. But one senior conservative said
the public may have been a little too willing to comply with what he said were arbitrary rules and limitations on freedom. We have today the healthiest, most active elderly generation of all time, and it would be tragic if government threatened this by trying to extend a so called lockdown for those judged to be most at risk based on age. Why dont we just give them the best information and advice and let them limit their risk for themselves . We need to have a frank, open and honest debate about the ethics of trading lives tomorrow to save lives today. The chief medical officer has made it perfectly clear that there are people who are going to die of cancer who otherwise wouldnt have died of cancer because of this lockdown. Now, it may well be after that debate, we do decide that this is a terrible trade we want to make. But we need to have that discussion both as a parliament and a country. Another tory believed that the rules were absurd, dystopian and tyrannical. There have been very severe, absurd problems arising because the police have sought to enforce rules which are not actually law. For example, the law in england does not specify that people may not drive to exercise. And there are people i know who have stayed at home because they need to drive a short distance from a place where they cant exercise to one where they can. People have been accused, for example, of not sweating adequately when cycling. Theyve been accused, when performing yoga, of not exercising. These things are absurd and wrong and worrying to law abiding people. Steve baker last of a trio of english conservative mps there. But, of course, scotland, wales, and Northern Ireland
have their own policies although up to now, theres been a four nations approach to the crisis. Now, a little bit of history has been made in cardiff bay. We are meeting for the first time as members of the senedd cymru in the welsh parliament, a name now reflecting our role as our nations democratic parliament. But whilst our name may have formally changed today, our priority remains the same as it has done all over the past weeks responding to the coronavirus crisis. Now more than ever, our citizens expect a Strong NationalParliament Working in the interests of the people of wales. After 21 years of devolution, the National Assembly of wales is now known as senedd cymru or the welsh parliament. Assembly members are now members of the senedd or mss. But, as in other parliaments, the pandemic dominates question time. It is clear that the virus is having the greatest impact on those with the fewest resources. It will deepen the inequalities already entrenched by a decade of austerity. And this impact may be more intense in wales due to the age profile of our population and the higher level of deprivation in some of our communities. The first minister was questioned over plans to extend testing and care homes. Now, last week, you told us there was no clinical value in extending the tests further and yet clearly that clinical value has now been found. You know that ive raised this issue with the chief medical officer but the people of wales deserve to know what new Clinical Evidence the Welsh Government has actually received . Plaid cymru want to test for residents of smaller care homes too. Isnt it the reason why youre not applying that policy to smaller care homes is because you dont have the available testing which means you dont have the capacity for testing every home . Adam price in the parliament formally known as
adam price in the parliament formerly known as the welsh assembly. In edinburgh, the first minister warned that the progress in reducing deaths was still too fragile to lift the lockdown in any significant way. For the moment, the message remains clear. Please stay at home except for essential purposes, stay more than two metres from other people when you are out, dont meet up with people from other households, wear a Face Covering if you are in a shop or public transport, and isolate completely if you or someone else in your household has symptoms. If we all stick with it for a bit longer, we will, i am sure, see more progress and we will bring forward the moment when some of these restrictions can start to be eased. The conservatives questioned plans to reduce the rate of infection. Yesterdays Scottish Government paper was clear that getting the r number down was the priority and that relies, as we go forward, on testing and tracing. However, testing numbers are still falling short of last weeks target. So, were understandably at least a little bit sceptical about the governments promise
to recruit 2,000 contact tracers in the next four weeks. More than half of the latest scottish coronavirus deaths were in care homes. In just the last week, the covid 19 outbreak at the home farm care home on the isle of skye has tragically demonstrated how rapidly and widely this virus can spread in care homes. It has also brought home the importance of testing all care home residents and all care home staff, not just those who are symptomatic. Richard leonard. At stormont, Northern Irelands economy minister told mlas that she had warned uk government ministers that mass redundancies could happen if theirjob retention scheme was ended suddenly. Under the scheme, which is due to finish at the end ofjune, the state pays 80 of the wages of workers whove been furloughed or temporarily laid off. We cannot and should not expect government to continue to intervene in the way that it currently is,
but neither can we have the cliff edge and therefore mass redundancies that that might bring if thejob retention scheme is suddenly cut at a particular point. I am comforted, i think is the word, by some of the words from the chancellor. I think they recognise the particular issue. But certainly from the conversations i have had with local companies, i think it would be very difficult to have a very stark cut off date for that scheme. A former Northern Ireland secretary has called for elections to the Stormont Assembly to be postponed for a year because of the coronavirus crisis. Power sharing was only restored injanuary after a deal was reached to end three years of deadlock. Elections are due in may 2022. Julian smith, who was sacked during a Cabinet Reshuffle in february, was appearing before the Northern Ireland committee. I do think as a result of the covid crisis, there is an argument that should be carefully considered to extending the mandate of this assembly by a year. The elections currently are due in less than a couple of years, and i do think its in everybodys interest that we get all the parties, all the parties that took part in this deal, to Work Together for a good three years, to deliverfor the people of Northern Ireland and then lay out their stall at the next election. Im just wondering how you would say, apart from allowing politicians in the assembly and leaderships to try and bond a little bit more and try to get more accustomed to each others nuances and gain confidences, apart from that, what would you see an extra year is offering in terms
of people wanting to see delivery from stormont . The thing that gave me confidence during this period was listening to voters and listening to what people were saying and what you and other politicians were hearing in december before the election, that people wanted services to work and Northern Ireland to be working better. And i genuinely think that now weve had this crisis, we do need to provide time to get those things improved, the overarching improvements in health care, the need to start delivering on the city deals and the infrastructure projects, the need to look at education and the education inequalities that still remain, the housing deficit and many more areas. I think if voters can feel at the end of a decent length of this assembly that these issues are now on track, that allows a more meaningful election. What is your assessment fear of the impact on the long term viability of stormont in a no deal brexit delivery . I probably have blotted my copy book sufficiently about making the point last year that no deal is not in the interests of Northern Ireland. I dont think its in the interest of the United Kingdom or of the eu. That comes from having had National Security responsibility for Northern Ireland and seeing how, even though theres been huge improvements in security, there are still major challenges particularly around the border. But it also comes from
a strong belief in my mind that relationship with ireland, the uk as a whole, and the relationship with the eu that has to evolve as a result of a practical approach to concluding brexit and that is in the best interests of everybody. Julian smith. The jaw dropping cost of the pandemic to professional sport in the uk was revealed to mps. Its almost two months since football was suspended and for clubs in the English Football League outside the premier league, the bill could be £200 million. Mps on the digital, Culture Media and Sport Committee discovered that the cost of cricket could be almost twice that, with rugby also facing losses of more than £100 million. They heard first from the boss of the efl. Worst Case Scenario after, say, the next 12 months, as we come out of this covid 19 situation, how many football clubs in the efl could we lose as a result . Worst Case Scenario. Thats a very difficult question to answer. Clearly, our objective
is to try to make sure we lose none. Our aim is to emerge stronger, leaner, more efficient to have a proper reset post covid. We are heading for a financial hole of about £200 million by the end of september, a cash hole which we will need to fill. And clubs are stacking up creditors. We have a great deal of uncertainty around next season, of course, the great undetermined matter being when we will be playing in front of crowds, which for the efl is absolutely critical. Were much more dependent on revenue and indeed were much more dependent on the atmosphere generated by crowds potentially than the premier league. Cricket is also facing a shortfall of £380 million, with no matches scheduled before july at the earliest. If i tell you that a fast
bowler, for example, will need 6 7 weeks from now, having been in lockdown at home for a period of time, its six or seven weeks before that bowler is fit and ready to take the field in an international match. Thats just the training elements. Obviously, youve got all the other logistical elements, including bringing overseas teams over and providing the same level of preparation for overseas teams. Its a very complex scenario but with a flowing wind, we hope to play a significant number of test matches this summer, which will help us mitigate those financial losses that we; re facing at the moment. And it could take rugby yea rs to recover. Well have a reduction of revenue to 50 million through to the end of our financial year, which ends injune, and were
looking at three scenarios to the end of our financials year in 21. If the autumn internationals go ahead, which are key revenue generators for us, but were assuming certain declines in spectator attendance. But if the autumn internationals go ahead, we will still lose Something Like 32 million in revenue through the end of the next year. If the internationals go ahead behind closed doors, that would be a negative impact of 85 million. If the games are cancelled entirely, it will be 107 million on top of the 15 million weve already lost. Its a big loss in revenue. And redoing what we can to mitigate it. And mps were told that uk sport is also asking the government for money to help with the cost of the postponed olympic and paralympic games. Now, could members of the house of lords be forced to retire when they reach the age of 65 . The sunday times reported that the government was considering the idea. The house of lords currently has 811 members with an average age of 70. The papers report led to an urgent question from a conservative peer,
who coincidentally turned 65 at the end of last year. What has been done by the government to rebut the sunday times report that ministers are examining whether they could retire every member of this house over the age of 65 and that we are all so old that there is no prospect of us doing ourjob . And will the government name the whitehall source responsible for this false and malicious briefing . And if not known, invite the cabinet secretary to investigate and, if identified by him, ensure that they are summarily dismissed . There is no substance in this story. And i repeat that to the house. It is not the intent of the government to introduce such a policy. A firm rebuttal from lord true, who happens to be 68. Now, as we saw there, the advent of the Virtual Parliament has given voters a chance to look through the keyhole of the homes of mps and peers. Who would live in a house like this . Probably sir desmond swayne. The right honourable gentleman, with probably the most spectacular backdrop to any question in this session. Laughter and sirjohn hayes, who not only has his own bat but a large collection of cricket balls. Pete wishart composed a platinum disc or two from his musical career. Many mps chose book shelves as their backdrop, where michael gove did prompt some book shaming on social media for owning a book by a controversial historian. Some politicians have even been accused of opting for the bookshelvie just to show off not something we would ever do on the week in parliament. Thank you for watching. Ill be back on Bbc Parliament on monday night at 11pm with the latest from the commons and the lords. Until then, bye for now. Hello there. Friday marks the 75th anniversary of ve day and its going to be another very warm and a sunny day across much of the country. The sunshine a little bit hazy at times. And into the afternoon, the high temperatures could spark off a few heavy, maybe thundery, showers pretty much anywhere. Now, the pressure chart reveals High Pressure dominating the scene through friday. Weve got this weather front pushing in to the north of scotland. Thatll introduce more cloud here with showery bursts of rain throughout the day. Well also start the day with some showery bursts of rain across southwest england. Its moving northwards and tending to ease down, but it will be rather grey to start across irish sea coasts. Most of that cloud should run back to the coast. Most places across the country should be dry with sunny spells, but a few heavy, thundery downpours developing into the afternoon. Temperatures range from 18 to 24 degrees across the south. These temperatures more likejuly than may. Now, the showers and thunderstorms continue to rumble on into the evening, and then it will tend to fizzle out. It should be dry for most areas but more low cloud returning
across irish sea coasts and it stays quite wet across the far north of scotland. But a milder night to come for many of us. Into saturday, this is when we start to see some changes. That cold front begins to move southwards across northern scotland, but further south, you notice the orange and yellow colours still in abundance. So, another warm day, in fact, for many of us on saturday. Again, in response to the high temperatures into the afternoon, we could see some showers or thunderstorms developing. It will be turning windier and colder across the north of scotland with outbreaks of rain. So, a big temperature difference on saturday 7 to 10 degrees in the north of scotland, 18 to 24 or 25 further south. But the cold air wins out saturday night into sunday. That arctic plunge spreads south across the country, with a band of cloud, a few showery bursts of rain on it, which will eventually clear southwards. And then its a brighter afternoon, but much colder, with a very brisk, cold north northeasterly wind. Thats blowing a few wintry showers, in fact, into the north and east of scotland. And look at these values. Weve been experiencing temperatures closer to what wed expect injuly. These are more like
march temperatures. Factor in the wind, itll feel even colder than that. And farmers and gardeners, beware. Some will see a widespread frost in places through sunday night. Stays chilly as well into the start of next week with chilly nights, but then temperatures start to return to normal as we move deeper on into the week. And with High Pressure nearby, its going to stay bright and dry