To a church and appearing in a photo op near the white house was a mistake. Mark milley, the chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, said the event created a perception of the military being involved in domestic politics. Us stock markets have fallen sharply as investors became less optimistic about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the american economy. The dow jones index closed down by almost 7 . Losses in other indices were almost as great. Stocks suffered their worst day since march. Activists in rios copacabana beach have dug 100 graves as a protest against the governments handling of the pandemic. Brazil has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. Its also expected to overtake the uk to have the second highest death rate. Now on bbc news,
the week in parliament. Hello there and welcome to the week in parliament. Coming up the government reveals it wont be sending all primary children in england back to school before the summer after all. Labour says the plans lie in tatters. Its no good the Prime Minister flailing around trying to blame others. But the Prime Minister reckons its the labour leader but the Prime Minister reckons its who cant make up his mind. He still cant work out whether hes saying schools are not safe enough or whether we should be going back more quickly. The government insists the housing secretary acted properly over his approval of a billion pound property scheme in east london. And after the anti racism protests, a call for action. Does the home secretary recognised that theres structural inequality,
discrimination, and racism in our country . The education secretary has confirmed hes dropping plans for all Primary School years in england to go back to the classroom before the end of term. Ministers were aiming for them to spend four weeks in school before the summer break, but the idea is no longer thought feasible and instead heads will be given flexibility over whether or not to admit more children. While we are not able to welcome all primary children back for a full month before the summer, we continue to work with the sector on the next steps. We would like to see schools who have the capacity to bring back more children, in those smaller class sizes. To do so, if they are able to do, before the summer holidays. I know students who are due to take exams in 2021 will have experienced considerable disruption to their education this year. We are committed to doing all we can to minimise the effects of this. Exams will take place next year, and we are working with quual and the exam boards on our approach to this. For weeks, head teachers, education unions, school staff and many parents have warned that the plan to open all Primary Schools before the summer was simply impractical while implementing social distancing safely. So i welcome the secretarys decision to roll back from that today. However, i must state my dismay at the way this has been handled. If the government had brought together everyone involved in implementing these plans from the outset, and really taken on board what they had to say, they would not be in the situation of having to rollback at all. Why is it that we can turn a blind eye to thousands of demonstrators, campaign for pubs and Garden Centres to open, yet it is so hard to reopen our schools . We know that around 700,000
disadvantaged children are not doing school homework, and 700,000 dont have proper access to computers for the internet. So what is the government doing to help these disadvantaged children learn again and avoid an epidemic of educational poverty . We are already in the process of rolling out it equipment right across the school estate, as well as to those children who are most vulnerable. 100,000 of those laptops have already been distributed to children who are most vulnerable and most disadvantaged. Many people in the bame Community Living in multi generational households are not planning to send their children to school because they are afraid of them bringing the virus home to their grandparents. How is the secretary of state going to persuade parents from disadvantaged backgrounds and from the black and Minority Ethnic Community to send their children to school . Secretary of state. Of course, the best answer as to why your children should be going back to school is when we see
those incredible powerful images of children returning to school for the first time. The absolute joy you see across their faces, their passion for learning. The fact that they are so pleased to see their teachers and their friends once more. Gavin williamson there. Next day at Prime Ministers questions the labour leader attacked the Prime Minister over the English Schools u turn. Sir keir starmer said Boris Johnson was flailing around and had failed to come up with a robust plan to allow the majority of pupils back into the classroom. The current arrangements lie in tatters. Parents have lost confidence in the governments approach. Millions of children will miss six months worth of schooling, and inequality will now go up. Last week, he was telling the house that it was not yet safe for kids to go back to school, this week, he is saying that not enough kids are going back to school. I think, i really think he needs
to make up his mind. 97 of the schools that have submitted data are now seeing kids come back to school, and i think what we would all like to hear from the right honourable gentleman is a bit of supports for that and a bit of encouragement to pupils, and perhaps even encouragement to some of his friends in the left wing trades unions to help get our schools ready. It is no good the Prime Minister flailing around trying to blame others. A month ago today, a month ago today, he made the announcement about schools without consulting relevant parties, without warning about the dates, and without any Scientific Backing for his proposal. Its time he took responsibility for his own failures. The labour leader said one way the government could help children would be to extend a Voucher Scheme which has been providing Free School Meals during the coronavirus outbreak. Because Child Poverty numbers are so high in this country, 1. 3 million children in low income families rely on these vouchers. They mean children who cant go to school because of coronavirus
restrictions still get free meals. The Labour Government in wales has said it will continue to fund these meals through the summer. Yesterday, the education secretary said that wont be the case in england. Thats just wrong. It will lead to further inequality, so can i urge the Prime Minister to reconsider on this point . We dont normally continue with Free School Meals over the summer holidays, but we are also, of course, and im sure that is right, we are also aware of the particular difficulties faced by vulnerable families, and that is why we are announcing a further £63 million of local welfare assistance to be used by local authorities at their discretion to help the most honourable families. Mr speaker, this government has put its arms around the people of this country throughout this crisis, and has done its absolute best, has done its absolute best to help. Has done its absolute best to help. And i may say it is not helped by the wobbling of the labour party,
the gentleman opposite. Borisjohnson said hed announce further easing of the lockdown later. The snps westminster leader wondered if that meant relaxing the two metre social distancing rule. Sage reported that being exposed to the virus for six seconds at one metre is the same as being exposed for one minute at two metres. That, mr speaker, is a significant increase of risk. Will the Prime Minister continue to ignore the experts . Or will he start following the advice of those who have actually read the scientific papers . Clearly, as the incidents of the disease comes down, as i think members of sage would confirm, the statistical likelihood of being infected, no matter how close or far you are from somebody who may or may not have coronavirus goes down. Borisjohnson. The government says 100,000 anti racism demonstrators took
to the streets in more than 200 protests across the uk, following the death of African American george floyd who was killed by us police. One of the biggest gatherings was in london where police said that following a predominantly peaceful protest, officers faced scenes of violence and disorder which were entirely unacceptable. In bristol, a statue of Edward Colston a prominent 17th century slave trader was ripped down by protesters and thrown into the docks. The tearing down of the memorial and the attacks on police were strongly condemned by the home secretary in the commons. Some protesters regrettably turned to violence and abusive behaviour at the weekend. This hooliganism is utterly indefensible. There is no justification for it. There is no excuse for pelting flares at brave officers, throwing bikes at police horses, attempting to disrespect the cenotaph or vandalising
the statue of winston churchill. One of the greatest protectors of our freedoms who has ever lived. Does the home secretary actually understand the anger and frustration felt by so many people . Does the home secretary recognise that this protest has been led by young people . Does the home secretary recognise that there is structural inequality, discrimination and racism in our country . Does the home secretary recognise that people want to see action from this government . My son turned three yesterday. I do not want to have to wait until he is a teenager before we see changes in this country. The home secretary gave a graphic account of some of racism shed faced. Im really saddened that the honourable lady has effectively said that this government doesnt understand racial inequality. On that basis, madam Deputy Speaker, it mustve been a very different
home secretary who as a child who is frequently called a paki on the playground. A very different home secretary who was racially abused in the streets, or even advised to drop her surname and use her husbands in order to advance her career. A different home secretary recently characterised, if madam Deputy Speaker i can say so, in the Guardian Newspaper as, a fat cow with a ring through its nose. Something that was not only racist but offensive both culturally and religiously. This is hardly an example of respect, equality, tolerance or fairness. So when it comes to racism, sexism, tolerance or social justice, i will not take lectures from the other side of the house. Meanwhile in the lords, peers asked if the government was looking at its policies following George Floyds death. So when it comes to racism, sexism, tolerance or social justice, my lords no one needs to tell me that black lives matter. This is an everyday occurrence
and its part of our lives. What will her majestys government do to make sure that black life matters in the same policies Going Forward in the uk . 50 years ago, i was stopped in my car and aggressively questioned by the police. My three brothers have all been stopped and searched aggressively. 20 years ago my 16 year old nephew was stopped and brutally beaten up in the back of a police van and then falsely charged. Shockingly in 2020 during lockdown, we saw Excessive Force being used when a black man was tasered in front of his toddler. Today, protests have shown we are at a tipping point. So, what action is the government planning especially through education to reassure the black community including children that their lives matter . We have set up the governments race disparity unit which is a world first for publishing data on ethnicity and they are working across whitehall and with local authorities to ensure that all of our interventions are properly considered to ensure that black lives matter in everything we do. Lady sugg. Meanwhile, the first minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said
the government there was working with local authorities to see if there were things on display in the country which should be removed and put in a museum. Speaking in welsh, plaid cymrus leader, adam price argued that what was commemorated from the past reflected societys values today so would there be a wales wide review . In order to ensure that we do not in any way celebrates slavery, colonialism or racism in our National Monuments are our local monuments, i think adam price once again for raising this important point. We want to educate and remember but not celebrates, and thats why we are working with local authorities and others in wales in order. To consider whether there are things that are still being displayed at the moment, which would be
better placed in a museum. Mark drakeford. In the Northern Ireland assembly the chair of the Justice Committee argued the credibility of lockdown regulations had been undermined by inaction over anti racism protests. A mass gathering, debbie speaker, was facilitated by the Police Service on the 3rd ofjune with follow up comments that it was proportionate. Deputy speaker. Any wonder that there were then a further protest on the saturday in belfast. These regulations, by not being enforced and not being policed, have undermined their credibility and the public are then left to take decisions by exercising their own best judgement, which is going to be the way forward in the future. Naomi long said many of the exceptions that had been applied to the coronavirus regulations had been requested and pre emptively announced by one of paul girvans dup colleagues, edwin poots. Esper therefore, it would be fair to say that having requested that the people have more freedom to move, more freedom to travel, more exceptions to the reasons not to, it therefore was always going to become more difficult for the police to enforce those regulations. If he chooses to liaise with his executive colleagues, they will make him well aware that i raise those concerns at that time, and i have continued to raise them since. Naomi long. Thejustice secretary has confirmed that the probation system in england and wales is to be returned to a state run service. In 2014, private companies were brought in to oversee low and medium risk offenders. Under changes set out last year, the private sector would have had a further role, running rehabilitation programmes. But the justice secretary said he . D reassessed the plans following the coronavirus outbreak and decided the National Probation service,
a state run body, should control both the supervision of offenders and their rehabilitation. The opposition welcomed the change, but wondered why it had taken so long. Let this momentous u turn be the end of the assumption that the private sector always knows best. The government outsourced School Dinners and we ended up with obesity and turkey twizzlers. The government outsourced the cleaning of hospital beds and we ended up with the highest rates of the superbug. The government outsourced probation and we ended up with higher reoffending rates. The private sector is not the answer for everything. In some of his remarks, i felt as if the years had fallen away and we were back in the 1980s in some sort of ideological death struggle. Public, good. Private, bad. Let me reassure him that i take no ideological view about what works, and i will follow the evidence, and when the facts change, i will change my mind. I make no apology
for doing that today. Does he think it is morally right to make private profit out of incarceration and rehabilitation, because i dont . I do not accept this suggestion that somehow there is a moral difference here between the mixed approach that i want to take and one that rigidly sticks too, shall we say, an ideological position that i dont really think he believes in. Robert buckland. Labour has accused the conservative party of accepting cash for favours following the the housing secretarys approval of a one billion pound property scheme, which he later accepted was unlawful by reason of apparent bias. Robertjenrick granted planning permission for a Company Owned by conservative party donor Richard Desmond to build on the Westferry Printworks site on east londons isle of dogs. He gave his consent to the scheme on the 14th of january in the teeth of opposition from Tower Hamlets counsel and his own planning inspector who both considered
the scheme oversized and lacking affordable housing. When Tower Hamlets took out a judicial review to challenge the secretary of state, he took the extraordinary step of admitting his decision was unlawful because of apparent bias. That meant he avoided publishing all correspondence revealing the true reasons behind his decision in open court. By an astonishing coincidence, just two weeks after the secretary of state took his decision, mr desmond made a generous donation of £12,000 to the conservative party. The sequence of events raises grave concerns about cash for favours. If he wants to restore trust, the secretary of state Must Immediately publish all documents and all correspondence relating to this decision. The public needs reassurance that the integrity of the planning process cannot be auctioned off at conservative Party Fundraising dinners. The junior minister who answered
the question said robertjenrick acted with propriety and he had no relationship with Richard Desmond. As to the decision on the 14th ofjanuary, which is outlined publicly, which the honourable gentleman and honourable members can see online. That decision is all very clear, there were no discussions about the sales issue between my right honourable friend and the applicant. Hes been very clear about his involvement with the applicant. I dont think there is anything further that needs to be added. Christopher pincher. Now, lets take a look at some news from around westminster in brief. Following the row over mps having to queue up to vote in what became known as the mogg conga. Ministers made further concessions to members who cant travel to westminster in person. Mps who are shielding themselves or members of their household will continue to be allowed to take part in most commons business by video link and will
now vote by proxy. A bill to ensure the most serious offenders spend longer in prison cleared its first commons hurdle. Ministers had promised tougher action following terror attacks in london. One in streatham at the start of this year where two peope were stabbed and the other at fishmongers hall in november 2019 where two people were killed. In both cases, the attack was committed by a known terrorist offender whod been automatically released from custody halfway through their sentence. The Commons Science Committee was told that starting lockdown a week earlier could have cut coronavirus related deaths in the uk by half. The epidemic was doubling every 3 4 days before lockdown interventions were introduced. So had we introduced lockdown measures a week earlier, we would have reduced the final death toll by at least a half. The level of coronavirus testing in care homes in scotland has been a persistent theme of questions from the conservative leader to the first minister. At fmqs, he once more demanded faster action. Why are we still hearing about problems with testing three weeks after the Health Secretary promised it would be sorted . Why is the story we hear in the Daily Press Conferences in edinburgh so different to what we are picking up on the ground where it matters . I ask if the first ministers confidant about this, then she should set out a clear timetable clear deadline for the first round of care home tests to be completed. This is her chance, will she now take it . Im not sure how much Jackson Carlo knows or bothers to find out about how these things actually work on the ground. But when we say that 50,000 staff of care homes have to be tested, of course, there has to be a programme of work overtime to make that happen. The processes have to be put in place and the resources,
which are in place, have to be put in place, that is what is ongoing. A bill introducing no fault divorces in england and wales cleared its first commons hurdle but was opposed by a dozen conservative mps. Currently, in order to start Divorce Proceedings immediately, one spouse has to allege adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion. Under the proposed new law, they will only have to state that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. I think it is our responsibility to, in the legal process, try and reduce conflict, because conflict leads to emotional difficulty, it can lead to damage, it can lead to really serious consequences, not just for the adults in the relationship but, lets face it, the children too. The acid test is, as a result of this legislation, will there be more divorces or fewer . It is my contention, if you make something easier, people are more likely to do it. As someone who is very tragically
going through the divorce process, and as someone who has had to put blame on my partner when actually i wouldve preferred to have had a no fault divorce. Labour welcomes this bill that offers a common sense approach that continues to respect the institution of marriage and civil partnerships but avoids unnecessary antagonism and costs for people dealing with and often incredibly difficult time in their lives. The bill passed by 231 votes to 16 and is expected to clear parliament in the next week. The agriculture bill sets out the future of farming after brexit. Some people are pleased to see the back of the eus Common Agricultural policy and welcome the governments focus on paying farmers for productivity and protecting the environment. But there are fears that future
trade deals could mean food produced under lower standards being sold in the uk, with particular concern about chlorinated chicken and hormone treated beef both illegal under eu law. The minister tried to put those concerns to rest. I can confirm that all food and, again, i emphasise all food coming into the country will continue to have to meet existing import requirements as the withdrawal act transfers eu standards onto the uk statute book. That specifically means, my lords, that the import of chlorine washed chicken and hormone fed beef, for example, is prohibited. Amendments introducing legal obligations on food standards were rejected by the commons last month but opposition parties intend to resurrect them. Dealing with the issue of standards is one of our top priorities. Domestic standards of production are a clear commitment and all imported produce must comply with food, environmental and Animal Welfare standards that domestic production
has to adhere to. This has been the key concern of every submission, letter and e mail i have received on the bill. Existing uk agriculture policy, agreed as members of the European Union, has been pivotal in guaranteeing consumers the safety of their food and respecting the welfare of livestock. Its kept out pork from pigs confined in sow stalls, beef from cattle injected with hormones to enhance their growth and chlorinated chicken to wash away the shame of poor husbandry. The government says its sincere in its commitments to maintaining those standards, so why not put it on the face of the bill . If there is to be one standard for imports and another for home produced food, it is vital that labelling regulations are updated to give transparent and full information to the shopper, who tends to buy primarily on price considerations. On the issue of standards, my lords, the government has rightly committed to maintaining them. And a lot of the amendments in this name are driven by protectionism disguised as Animal Welfare. Free trade is a huge export opportunity for agriculture. A Green Party Peer wasnt impressed with the legislation. What we have is a shell, a statement of a few principles. Not so bad on their selves, sometimes even admirable, and some have improved since earlier iterations of this legislation. But there are few commitments to action. This is a grade d effort. Lady bennett. Which brings us to the end of this edition of the programme, but dojoin David Cornock on Bbc Parliament on monday night at 11pm for a round up of the best of the day at westminster. But for now from me, Alicia Mccarthy goodbye. Hello. A lot going on with our weather the next few days, and its all being driven by an area of low pressure this beautiful swirl of cloud here on the satellite picture. And rather than moving through quickly, this area of low pressure is just going to sit around, its going to spin areas of rain up in our direction. Brisk winds for a time, as well. And with the flow of air around this area of low pressure, were going to tap into something rather warm and potentially quite humid. So, to sum up the next few days, there will be some heavy, thundery downpours, with some sunny spells in between, and that warm and humid feel across most parts of the uk. Now over recent hours, weve had a lot of rain across northeast england. That rain continues here, pushing into northwest england, Northern Ireland, eventually up into southern and eastern scotland. And across the south of england, another pulse of very heavy rain working in through the afternoon. Some flashes of lightning, some rumbles of thunder are likely. This rain starting to get up into the southeast of wales, and the south midlands. The odd heavy shower
following on behind. The temperatures a little bit higher than they have been, 21 celsius there in london. Sunshine and showers to the north midlands into wales. A lot of cloud with some outbreaks in rain for Northern England, and Northern Ireland. Some of that rain eventually pushing up towards the southeast of scotland. But towards the northwest of scotland, well, here probably the best of the dry and sunny weather, although for some coasts in the northeast, its likely to stay more murky. And its going to be quite a breezy day, as well. Now as we move through friday night and into saturday, you can see further pulses of wet weather pushing across the map. Some clear spells, as well. Its going to be a very mild night. Weve got quite a few mild nights to come, actually. Temperatures as we start saturday in double digits for most. Now potentially another area of rain to push across Northern England into Northern Ireland, parts of southern scotland. To the south of that, sunshine and really heavy showers breaking out they will be quite well scattered. Not everyone will get a shower but, if you do, it could bring some thunder, some lightning, some large hail and certainly a lot of rain in a short space of time. But look at the temperatures, 25 degrees in norwich, 20 there in glasgow. A bit cooler for some of these northern and eastern coasts where we keep a lot of cloud, some mist and fog. It could be quite grey and murky again for northeastern coasts on sunday. For most, its another day of sunny spells and torrential, thundery downpours. And once again, it will feel warm temperatures of 17 degrees in aberdeen, 2a celsius in london. Welcome to bbc news, im Lewis Vaughan jones. Our top stories americas top general apologises for appearing alongside President Trump at the height of the anti racism protests. As many of you saw, the results of the photograph of me at Lafayette Square last week sparked a National Debate about the role of the military in civil society. I should not have been there. Us stock markets suffer their deepest one day falls since equity markets crashed in march. Is it a brexit u turn . The uk abandons plans to introduce full border checks with the European Union in january. Spanish football is back behind closed doors but with the sound of cheering