Improvements with being able to view the night skies, it looks like High Pressure will be building and for the Bank Holiday weekend. That is pretty good news after such a wet and cloudy and Cool Month Of May so far. Temperatures will be closer to the seasonal norm. This afternoon, we have got a ridge of High Pressure bringing plenty of sunshine and some Cloud Building Up which could just bring the odd Shower To Eastern Scotland and eastern england. But they will be isolated. Most places will stay dry. Finally, temperatures will stay dry. Finally, temperatures will be getting up to 20 21 across southern areas. But cloud will be thickening out west, with a new Weather Front coming into thickening out west, with a new weatherfront coming into Northern Ireland. Overnight it will be pushing eastwards. Generally drier the further east you are. But there will be more Cloud Around, so it should be a bit milder across the board. This Weather Front affecting the western half of The Uk on friday, but High Pressure is building in, which means we are going to continue to see plenty of Cloud Around. This Weather Front will slowly fizzle out as it pushes into the area of High Pressure, but a disappointingly cloudy day i think for much of the country on friday. Outbreaks of Rain Out West will ease down. Temperatures, mid to high teens, not quite as warm as today because of the cloud. Over the Bank Holiday weekend, High Pressure dominates. But notice this Weather Front which starts to come into the North West of Scotland Furbank or day monday. That will bring a bit of a disappointing day there. On saturday, high Pressure Building on, there will be variable amounts of cloud and some good sunny spells. Maybe just the odd shower around but most places should stay dry. That is saturday. Sunday is looking even better, High Pressure is a bit stronger across the country, more sunshine around. And it is going to feel warmer. The winds will be like. Just signs of that Weather Front coming into the far North West later on. These temperatures, something we havent seen for some time. Heading into the first week ofjune, it stays very pleasant, with High Pressure continuing to dominate, very warm across the south, a bit more cloud further north and west, but these temperatures are a bit closer to the seasonal average, may be a bit above, but because it has been so cool and wet, it is going to feel like a heatwave for the first week ofjune. A reminder of our top story. Borisjohnson denies allegations made by his former top adviser that his handling of the pandemic led to the deaths of Tens Of Thousands of people. That is it. Now on bbc one, letsjoin our News Teams where you are. Have a very good afternoon. Good afternoon. Its 1 30pm and heres your latest sports news. Tottenham are in talks with former manager Mauricio Pochettino over a sensational return to The Club. He was sacked in November 2019 despite leading them to the Champions League final six months earlier. Jose mourinho replaced him but left following a slump in results. Pochettinos only spent a season in charge of Paris Saint germain, The Club missed out on the french League Title to lille. Its believed theres been no official contact between psg and spurs. Theres been a big managerial departure in Spain Zinedine Zidane has left real madrid. They won the title last season but lost out to rivals atletico this time, its the first time in 11 years hes failed to win a trophy. Real said zidane was one of The Clubs great icons and thanked him for his service but said they must now respect his decision. The Department For Education are looking into claims one of the racist messages received by Marcus Rashford after last nights defeat to villareal in the Europa League final came from a teacher. The forward posted on twitter, at least 70 racial slurs on my social accounts counted so far. For those working, to make me feel any worse than i already do, good luck trying. Manchester united have condemned the abuse and in a stament again urged Social Media Platforms and authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this disgusting behaviour. The great britain womens squad for the Tokyo Olympics has been named and 11 Manchester City players are included. Among them, England Captain Steph houghton, who was part of the side at london 2012. Wales Skipper Sophie Ingle is also in the line up, one of only three non English Players in a squad of 18. After seven months away, englands Manu Tuilagi could return to a Rugby Pitch Tomorrow night. Hes been named on the bench for Sales Match against premiership leaders bristol. Tuilagi hasnt played since tearing his Achilles Tendon last october. Former england full back Mike Brown has played his last game for harlequins, after losing his appeal against a six week ban. He was sent off against wasps for stamping on the head of Hooker Tommy Taylor on nine may. It was the first Red Card of his 16 Year Career but hell now miss the rest of the season, including potential play offs, before he heads to newcastle falcons. A busy Summer Schedule for englands cricketers is just around the corner, starting with a two Match Test Series against new zealand, which gets under way on wednesday at lords. The second test is at edgbaston and could see around 18,000 fans in the Stadium Something englands managing director, ashley giles, is looking forward to. Its going to be a really welcome sight for all of us and the players particularly. Some of the players will not have played in front of crowds at home for a couple of years now. So we are looking forward to that atmosphere at edgbaston, which is always electric and i suppose its just another step towards normality for all of us which is great for everyone. And Tennis Star Naomi Osaka says she wont be taking questions from the media at the upcoming French Open because of the impact on the Mental Health of players. The four time Grand Slam champion, says expecting them to talk after a defeat amounted to kicking a person while theyre down and added, were asked questions, that bring doubt into our minds and im just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me. She said she expected to receive a considerable fine, which she hopes will go to a Mental Health charity. Thats all the sport for now. You can find more on all those stories on the Bbc Sport website. Thats bbc. Co. Uk sport. Borisjohnson has denied allegations made by his former top advisor, Dominic Cummings, that poor handling of the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, led to the deaths of Tens Of Thousands of people. Lets listen to what the Prime Minister said earlier. Did Tens Of Thousands of people die who need not have died because of your Action Or Inaction . No, i dont think so, but, of course, this has been an incredibly difficult series of decisions, none of which we have taken lightly. And youve got to recognise, and i hope people do understand this, that when you go into a lockdown, its a very, very painful, traumatic thing for people, for peoples Mental Health, their lives and their livelihoods, and, of course, youve got to set that against the horrors of the pandemic and of covid. And at every stage, we have been governed by a determination to protect life, to save life, ensure that our nhs is not overwhelmed, and we have followed, to the best we can, the data and the guidance that weve had. And what were doing now is still following the data, still looking very carefully at where were going, insofar as its. Some say not taken quickly enough and thats what led to thousands of deaths in the first place. We take decisions as fast as we can, but we have to weigh the data and thats whats happening now. Were pretty satisfied that the steps we have taken so far on the road have been right. Im afraid we just have to wait a little longer to see whats happening Post Step three on may 17, we have to see exactly whats happening. We are seeing some signs of the increase in cases, particularly of the so called indian variant be 1. 617. 2. The variant which originated in india. We always did expect to see an increase in cases. That was always going to happen. What we need to understand is to what extent the Vaccine Programme is starting to make a real difference in interrupting the link between Infection And Hospitalisation and serious illness and death. Clearly the vaccines are having a big impact already. The question is, how big . How reliable are the Vaccine Fortifications and what we do know with the B617 Variant is that the vaccines are working against it, particularly with two doses. Particularly with two doses. So the real campaign right now is to get everybody to come forward and get their second dose. Did Dominic Cummings Tell The Truth in his Evidence Yesterday and, specifically, did you say you would rather see bodies piled high in the streets rather than order a third lockdown . Ive already made my position very clear on that point, and im getting on with thejob of delivering the Road Map that i think is the sensible way forward. Did mr cummings tell the Truth Yesterday . Im getting on with delivering the Road Map that is the sensible way forward for this country. Youre not arguing with what he said . I make no comment on that. The question i think people want to answer is, have we got enough of the protection that we want from the vaccines . To what extent is our Vaccine Shield now going to be enough to allow us to go ahead onjune the 21st with the unlocking . As ive said many times, i dont see anything currently in the data to suggest that we have to deviate from the Road Map. We may need to wait. Dont forget the important point about the intervals between the steps of the Road Map. We put that five weeks between those steps to give us time to see what effect the unlockings are having. We did everything we could to protect the nhs and protect Care Homes as well. Did you test anyone. We did everything we could to protect Care Homes and protect, i think 1. 4 billion extra into Infection Control within Care Homes, we established a Care Homes action plan, i remember very clearly, to ensure that we try to stop infection between Care Homes and we remain very vigilant. Dominic cummings says that you are not the right person to be leading the country at this time. Can you tell people why is he wrong . I think that its important for us to focus on what really matters to the people of this country and i think, if i may say so, some of the commentary ive heard doesnt bear any relation to reality and what people want us to get on with is delivering the Road Map and trying cautiously to take our country forward through what has been one of the most difficult periods i think anybody can remember. Most people want to know what were doing to accelerate treatments for cancer, for backlogs, to take the nhs forward. That is 100 focus, thats ourjob now make sure we deliver the Road Map and make sure we bounce forward out of covid. The House Of Commons has approved a motion to suspend Delyn Mp Rob roberts for six weeks after he breached Sexual Misconduct rules. An independent panel found mr roberts sexually harassed a member of his staff. The background is that mr roberts was found to have sexually harassed his former employee and an independent panel that was set up for reasons like this recommended he be handed a six Week Suspension from parliament. That has just been approved in the house of Commons Today but he is now facing significant calls to resign because even though the six Week Suspension has been approved, he doesnt face a Recall Petition which could then lead to a By Election and thats because sanctions handed out by this independent Expert Panel are separate from those handed out by parliament was my own Standards Committee who tend to deal with cases like expenses abuses. Hes not just facing calls to resign from Opposition Parties but also from senior conservative politicians as well. Just now in House Of Commons, the leader of the House Of Commons Jacob Rees Mogg said it would be the honourable thing to do, for him to stand down, something the chair of the Standards Committee Chris Bryant has also said anJacob Rees Mogg also said he thought it was frankly ridiculous that we currently have a higher sanction in place for people who misuse parliamentary envelopes than we do for Sexual Misconduct cases. Significant calls now for him to resign. I understand the Uk Government are looking at ways that the law could be changed so that in future suspensions like this, it could lead to a Recall Petition automatically. I also understand the Labour Party have been seeking advice from parliamentary council, lawyers here, about whether Theres Anything that can be to push for a petition in the specific case. Regarding his constituents in delyn you wont currently get a say on whether he remains their mp, to read you a couple of examples of messages ive had from some constituents there today, calling it totally unacceptable, wrong, unsafe, not fit. Just some E Mails from constituents in delyn about how they feel they wont have a say in a Recall Petition about the future of him being their mp. As it stands he has apologised for his conduct earlier this week but he hasnt responded to any claims or any calls for him to resign today. Its been a year since George Floyd was killed in minneapolis while in police custody. It prompted black Lives Matter protests around the world and sparked conversations in the home about racism, bringing people together but also creating division in some families. Our reporter, ashleyjohn baptiste, has been speaking to people across The Uk about how the movement has affected their relationship with loved ones. The black Lives Matter protests that took place across the globe following the death of George Floyd last year rippled around The Uk. This is adam and his jamaican grandmother, catherine. Adam joined the march in stafford last summer. By going to the street and letting them know, the police and government, that we are not going to put up with it any more. Despite Adams Support of blm, the topic has been a divisive one in his family. My uncles still say they Cant Support black Lives Matter. The audience in stafford was 90 white. They probably didnt experience that kind of support growing up and so they are kind of looking that anything that comes in with suspicion. We all have our own opinion. The first time we actually met in person was at the first protest in manchester. This is Tom Malonejr with his family who you may recognise from the tv show gogglebox. He is currently in an interracial relationship with his girlfriend, briony brisco. It was comforting to know he values black peoples lives. Their Vocal Stance against racism has led to online abuse. A lot of people try to use it to divide us. Someone in a comment referred to briony as my slave. It was disgusting. Its not the first time ive heard it, unfortunately. When youve got people saying the same things that were said 50, 100 years ago, you think we would be further along. Anna and jeff live in carlisle with their two children in a mainly white area and were surprised to see protests take place. The fact that someone had organised a black Lives Matter movement in carlisle was amazing and i went, not expecting to see 200 people there. You have a white husband. How has race played out in that relationship . Its something ive never admitted to anyone before, but im quite disappointed ifell in love with a white man i thought thatd would be another way of claiming my heritage. I wanted children to have a similar experience as me, of being a blend. They are now more open about race. There is definitely an awareness from the other side, being a white person, and i dont want to feel like the colonialist, exploiting in some way. Black Lives Matter has really united our family. Im realising its not about who i marry and the colour of their skin, its about how we work together for us to totally explore and engage with both of our cultural heritages. A year on since Tom And Briony met at a demonstration, they are back in manchester for another march. The fact we still have to be here protesting, we are a lot further away than we need to be. At the same time, its nice that people are so passionate about wanting change. I think this is going to be a big part of who we are as a couple because its something were both passionate about. Another story were covering today, is about the pledges made by companies to tackle racism and improve diversity, following George Floyds death. A year on, what progress have they made . Lets get more from victoria fritz, our business presenter. Hello, victoria. Hi, clive. A year after the hello, victoria. Hi, clive. A year after the murder hello, victoria. Hi, clive. A year after the murder of hello, victoria. Hi, clive. A year after the murder of george hello, victoria. Hi, clive. A year. After the murder of George Floyd, its unbelievable what has happened in the corporate world. At the time and days and weeks that followed there was a string of public pledges from businesses who were outraged at what they had seen and outraged at what they had seen and outraged at what was going on under their own nosesin what was going on under their own noses in their own firms. To that end, a letter was signed by 28 big businesses at the time including the likes of sky, itv, john lewis, wpp, the advertising company, were all signed up to make real and proper and very public steps forward in terms of representation and listening to their own employees. A year on, we went back to those companies, the first 28 that came out and said they would do more to support their own ethnic minority communities. 23 did get back to us with all the various things they were doing and it was quite a range of different ideas. One of which was Listening Sessions which seem to be quite popular, so lots of companies have said that we need to get to grips with whats going on, we need to hear from grips with whats going on, we need to hearfrom our grips with whats going on, we need to hear from our own grips with whats going on, we need to hearfrom our own people and work out whats the problem and why people do not feel heard within these companies. Nine have gone so far as to publish their own ethnic Pay Gap. That is not a legal requirement, nine companies say they will be doing that from here on in. Since that first letter, 18 more companies have signed up to it with different steps, but its very difficult. When you talk to people who are in these big companies, there is change, steps are being made. The proof is always in terms of progress in notjust The Word that people are prepared to stand by about the actions they are prepared to take. To that end we can speak to gertrude who is the founder. Oh, we cant. Hopefully we will speak to her later on. Shes the founder of the women in Business Award and hopefully well be able to hear from her and hear experiences and she felt moved to set up the award. Its interesting that separate awards ceremonies are still felt that they are needed so that the voices and faces can be heard on a very public arena because one criticism that is often heard is that there is just not enough visibility of black success in the wider world. I think we can speak to gertrude. We got her. Thank you forjoining us. We had technical problems. Why did you feel you need to start these awards . I started the Awards Way back in 2018~ i started the Awards Way back in 2018. Priorto i started the Awards Way back in 2018. Prior to that, i started the Awards Way back in 2018. Priorto that, i i started the Awards Way back in 2018. Prior to that, i wanted to be able tom 2018. Prior to that, i wanted to be able tom i 2018. Prior to that, i wanted to be able to. I was setting up a business able to. I was setting up a business and i needed support from Individuals Business and i needed support from individuals and organisations available to be able to provide the surwports available to be able to provide the supports for black businesses. However. Supports for black businesses. However, at that time there wasnt anything however, at that time there wasnt anything so the award is really the Pinnacle Anything so the award is really the pinnacie of anything so the award is really the pinnacle of what we do so i decided that I Pinnacle of what we do so i decided that i would go ahead and set something for these women to offer them something for these women to offer them support, which you usually need in your them support, which you usually need in your Business Life and after that we need in your Business Life and after that we need to in your Business Life and after that we need to be able to celebrate successes. There wasnt any representation at that particular time representation at that particular time so representation at that particular time so we had to create something for our time so we had to create something for our own time so we had to create something for our own for our own. Talk to me about the success of for our own. Talk to me about the success of people for our own. Talk to me about the success of people in for our own. Talk to me about the success of people in the for our own. Talk to me about the success of people in the black success of people in the black community, black women in particular. Do you think theres enough visibility when it comes to black success and its portrayal within the media . Black success and its portrayal within the media . ,. Within the media . More we can do and the georae within the media . More we can do and the George Floyd within the media . More we can do and the George Floyd situation within the media . More we can do and the George Floyd situation a within the media . More we can do and the George Floyd situation a year the George Floyd situation a year ago. The George Floyd situation a year ago. There the George Floyd situation a year ago, there is more we can do. There isnt ago, there is more we can do. There isnt much ago, there is more we can do. There isnt much at ago, there is more we can do. There isnt much at the moment because theres isnt much at the moment because theres still isnt much at the moment because theres still conversations being had, theres still conversations being had, businesses are more proactive and intentional about having these conversations. We havent had the opportunity to address those issues. Hearing opportunity to address those issues. Hearing from black people in terms of how hearing from black people in terms of how they feel in the Business World of how they feel in the Business World. But since the George Floyd situation, world. But since the George Floyd situation, we have been able to have a conversation and are heading into the right a conversation and are heading into the right direction but i think theres the right direction but i think theres more we can do because there isnt any theres more we can do because there isnt any success at the moment. Some isnt any success at the moment. Some businesses have taken it on and prioritising some businesses have taken it on and prioritising recruitment and hiring the right prioritising recruitment and hiring the right people to be able to address the right people to be able to address their Hr Policies which is a key area address their Hr Policies which is a key area as address their Hr Policies which is a key area as well because if that area key area as well because if that Area Isnt key area as well because if that Area Isnt addressed theres no way we can Area Isnt addressed theres no way we can move forward so conversations are happening, ithink we can move forward so conversations are happening, i think we can move onto the are happening, i think we can move onto the next stage. Gne are happening, i think we can move onto the next stage. Onto the next stage. One comment last earl onto the next stage. One comment last year i want onto the next stage. One comment last year i want to onto the next stage. One comment last year i want to bring onto the next stage. One comment last year i want to bring up onto the next stage. One comment last year i want to bring up with last year i want to bring up with you is something from Simon Woolley who was the former senior Government Adviser on Race Disparity and he said there is a strong sense that black people are paid less. There is no legal requirement to publish publicly and ethnicity Pay Gap within companies. Is that something you would support . I within companies. Is that something you would swoon . You would support . I would definitely you would support . I would definitely support you would support . I would definitely support it you would support . I would | definitely support it because you would support . I would definitely support it because we are talking definitely support it because we are talking about those who are racially affected talking about those who are racially affected. There is inequality when it comes affected. There is inequality when it comes to the gender Pay Gap which has now it comes to the gender Pay Gap which has now been mandatory for companies with over has now been mandatory for companies with over 250 employees to public, publish with over 250 employees to public, publish so with over 250 employees to public, publish so if we can call for an ethnicity publish so if we can call for an ethnicity gap, it is transparent. Are we ethnicity gap, it is transparent. Are we taking care of black employees, promoting them, giving them Career Progression as they should them Career Progression as they should be . Are we creating room to be able should be . Are we creating room to be able to should be . Are we creating room to be able to recruit more black people on senior be able to recruit more black people on senior Level Management roles . There on senior Level Management roles . There is on senior Level Management roles . There is room for Discussion But Itsjust there is room for discussion but its just too there is room for Discussion But Itsjust too short there is room for discussion but its just too short notice to be able its just too short notice to be able to its just too short notice to be able to measure success because there able to measure success because there is able to measure success because there is more we can do and in the longer there is more we can do and in the longer term there is more we can do and in the longer term we would be able to tell if these longer term we would be able to tell if these measures would be successful in our businesses. There are certainly successful in our businesses. There are certainly more successful in our businesses. There are certainly more we successful in our businesses. There are certainly more we can successful in our businesses. There are certainly more we can do. Successful in our businesses. Ii ii are certainly more we can do. Thank you forjoining us, gertrude. I know we had problems at the beginning of the interview so thank you. Clive, 80 signatures and counting in terms of public pledges that can be done to improve the visibility of the black community within the Business World. Steps are being taken but theres a lot more that can be done. Now its time for a look at the weather with stav. We could see the Cloud Building Up across parts of Scotland And England but the shoppers will be isolated and most places dry. There will be thick cloud in Northern Ireland but temperatures responding without the sunshine, 20 or 21 celsius across south, warmer further north. Through this evening and overnight, the weatherfront starts to push eastwards so it will be quite damp across Northern Ireland, Western Parts Of Britain and the irish Sea Coast during the course of the night. Further east it should stay dry but we will see Cloud Building Up so with more Cloud Around it will be a milder night for many of us. For Friday Weve got this Weather Front pushing into many of us. For Friday Weve got this weatherfront pushing into High Pressure so it will continue to fizzle out through the day but it will bring a much cloudier day than what weve got today with patchy rain for western scotland, Northern Ireland and western england towards wales, easing throughout the day. The best of the drier and brighter where there will be across northern and eastern areas but where we get sunshine it is likely to spark the odd heavy shower. Temperatures a degree or so down because of more cloud than what weve head through this afternoon. For the Bank Holiday weekend, High Pressure dominates so weekend, High Pressure dominates so we will see quite a bit of sunshine and it will feel much warmer. Saturday will be variable amounts of cloud, sunny spells, mainly the odd shower but many places will be light as High Pressure continues to build. Temperatures a little bit higher on friday. 20, 20 one celsius in the south, high teens further north. Into sunday, its even better, less cloud and we should see more sunshine, light winds so it will feel warmer and you can see the breeze building up across the northwest of scotland into parts of Northern Ireland later on in the day but for those temperatures, 20 celsius across parts of scotland, 21, 22, may be 23 across parts of england and wales. We could see more cloud and the odd shower on Bank Holiday monday across scotland and Northern Ireland but further south it is warm and sunny and fog the first week ofjune. This is bbc news. The headlines. Borisjohnson denies claims made by Dominic Cummings, that the poor handing of the coronavirus pandemic, led to the deaths of Tens Of Thousands of people. At every stage, weve been governed by a determination to protect life, to save life, to ensure that our nhs is not overwhelmed. The Health Secretary has also robustly defended claims against him from mr cummings, who said he is a liar, and should have been sacked. These unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true, and that ive been straight with people in public and in private throughout. The Prime Minister says that he will be examining the data on easing of restrictions in england onjune 21st