Now its time for a look back at the day in parliament. Hello again and welcome to Monday In Parliament. Ministers are to scrap most Covid Rules in england, but they warn well have to learn to live with the virus. The situation can change and it can change quickly. But we cannot put our lives on hold forever. Mps from all Parties Line up to condemn a new law to limit demonstrations. The struggles and protests being demonised by this Bill Today are actually seen as the milestones of progress in our society. Like the suffragette movement, which faced considerable State Repression and police brutality. Also in this programme can mps save the hedgehog . There can be little doubt that some modern Farming Practices have made survival more difficult for this countrys favourite prickly mammal. But first, most Covid Rules in england are to be scrapped onjuly 19th, a week next monday. Youll no longer be told to work from home or wear a facemask in shops and the social Distancing Rule will go. The rule of six in private homes will also be removed. The Prime Minister made the announcement at a downing street news conference. Simultaneously, the Health Secretary updated mps. Despite the unlocking, Sajid Javid warned that covid cases were rising and would continue to rise significantly. We can reasonably expect that by the 19th ofjuly, the number of daily cases will be far higher than today. Against this backdrop, i know that many people will be understandably cautious about easing restrictions. After many months of uncertainty, this is entirely natural. But we can now protect nhs without having to go to to extraordinary lengths that weve had to do so in the past. That is not to say that this is going to be easy, mr speaker. Of course, the pandemic is not over. The virus is still with us. It hasnt gone away. And the risk of a dangerous new variant that evades vaccines remains real. We know that with Covid 19, the situation can change and it can change quickly. But we cannot put our lives on hold forever. In essence, our national response to Covid 19 will change from one of rules and regulations, to one of guidance and good sense. We will revoke all social distancing guidance, including the two metre rule. Hallelujah except, for specific settings such as ports of entry and medical settings where of course it would continue to make sense. It will no longer be a legal requirement to wearface coverings in any setting, including Public Transport. Although we will advise this as a voluntary measure for crowded and enclosed spaces. Labour wanted to know more about the strategy of learning to live with covid. How many deaths does he consider is acceptable when we are living with covid . How many cases of long Covid 19 does he consider acceptable when we are living with Covid 19 and given what we know that when the Covid 19 rates are circulating that high rates of the virus can escape and evolve, what Risk Assessment has he done of the possibilities of a new variant emerging and will he publish it . The Secretary Of State says that this carries risks and that is why we need to learn to live with Covid 19. But we should not have to take a high risk approach, we should be pushing down risks and indeed, we mitigate against risks across society all the time. We just do not accept other diseases, we take interventions to try and prevent other diseases. So, why is he collapsing all mitigations completely when he knows that the Covid 19 rates will continue to rise . Now, its important to remember that this announcement affects only england. Northern ireland is due to review its rules in the next few days, with the welsh government looking to announce its plans next week. The Snp Run Scottish Government hopes to end most restrictions on the 9th of august, and its record prompted some fierce exchanges at westminster. The Uk Governments failure To Lock Down Last September allowed the Alpha Variant to emerge in the southeast of England And Spread across the uk and indeed the rest of the world. So, if the Health Secretary is going tojust let it rip, how does he plan to avoid generating yet another Uk Variant with even greater Vaccine Resistance . With over 150,000 people dead, why has he returned to the false narrative that Covid 19 isjust like flu . Using phrases like let it rip, if anything, mr speaker, the only part of the uk where cases could be described as ripping would be in scotland where the Case Rate is higher than any other part of the uk. In fact, i think they have seven of the ten highest hotspots in the number of cases throughout europe and the honourable lady should reflect on that. And then she claimed that i suggested that somehow that Covid I9 is like the flu. I have never said that, theyll be complete nonsense for anyone to suggest that Covid I9 was like the flu. Failing to Mandate Mass wearing and stuffy crowded places like Public Transport and often people have been pressed together for longer than 15 minutes risks high costs. Allowing people rather to choose whether or not to put others at risk is both reckless and unfair. If the freedom to pelt down the motorway at 100 mph is restricted because it poses risks to others, why with millions still unvaccinated with some immune and some suppressed with the risks of long Covid 19 rising, why does the Health Secretary not apply the same logic to mask wear . Madam deputy speaker, to the honourable lady that i do understand where shes coming from but the important thing is that we do have to learn to live with Covid 19 and that does mean that these restrictions that have been necessary up until now, that we have to at some point confront them and start removing them. And now is the best time to do that because of the defence that is being built by the vaccine. Conservative lockdown sceptics were noticeably less critical than before. We will never again sacrifice free enterprise, Freedom Of Association and indeed, Freedom Of Worship in order to manage hospital admissions everagain, will we . Madam deputy speaker, i take it from that that my right honourable friend is pleased with todays announcements. There were few details on what this all means for international travel, for Self Isolation or for schools. But with many pupils absent for covid related reasons, Sajid Javid promised more information within days. Onjuly the 19th, it is our plan to remove bubbles and to end a requirement for early years setting schools and colleges to routinely carry out Contact Tracing and i will have more to say on how we intend to exempt under 18s to close contacts from the requirement to self isolate. Sajid javid. That update on coronavirus restrictions interrupted consideration of the mammoth police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. The commons only had one day to debate a large number of changes suggested by mps across all the various parts of the bill. One of the main points of contention was a measure to limit public protest, including the setting of Noise Limits and making it an offence to cause a public nuisance. Critics say it would pit demonstrators against the police. Mps from across the commons spoke out against it. The new measures in the Bill Target protesters for being too noisy and causing serious unease or serious annoyance. The vague terminology creates a very low threshold for a police involved imposed conditions and essentially rules out entirely potentially peaceful protests. The government must have the power to arrest people who cause serious annoyance or serious inconvenience. These are incredibly vague terms, frankly. It was clearly a breach of the normal reasoning behind a demonstration when somebody glues themselves to a train with direct intention of inconveniencing everybody else. But demonstrations do lead to inconvenience. Incongruent between a government that says it wants to defend free speech in the universities, but is effectively attacking Freedom Of Expression on our streets by criminalising activities that will cause serious unease. The risk is that it serves only to pit the police against the protesters because it wont be the Home Secretary who makes the decision about what is noisy and causes serious annoyance, it will be Police Officers and very often Police Officers actually on the ground at any given moment in time and that again risks undermining the very fundamental principle of policing by consent. We can be under no illusion that this is another authoritarian clampdown on our civil liberties, the right to peaceful Assembly And Protest are fundamental principles of any democracy and the rich tradition of dissent in this country shows us that they can literally change the course of history. They are the reasons why someone of my race, and of my class and of my gender has the rights that i do and why i can even stand here as a member of this house. We cannot forget the struggles and protests being demonised by this Bill Today are not actually seen as milestones of progress in our society. Like the suffragette movement, which faced considerable State Repression and police brutality. But the government did have some support. A local labour councillor, teresa norton, sat in the middle of The Street, in the middle of scarborough, on the first weekend when many of our hard pressed Tourist Businesses were team to make up some of the Money Theyd lost during the pandemic. Sat in the middle of The Street and caused a massive traffic jam, supposedly demonstrating in the cause of extinction rebellion. That is the sort of behaviour that should not take place because it disrupts peoples lives and i believe actually antagonizes people against those issues. Several Labour Mps felt the bill fell short, especially on the issue of protection for women and girls. Sexually predatory men who feel they can harass and intimidate young girls and young women when theyre on The Street, especially if its After Dark, especially if they are on their own. We just simply have to decide, are we going to and support the rights of men to do that or are we going to say no, we support the rights of women and girls to be able to walk down our streets at night, on their own, After Dark in the winter, Coming Home from school without being subject to this sort of intimidation, Menace And Harassment . The minister gave her response to the issues raised. This bill balances the rights of protesters to demonstrate with the rights of residents to access hospitals, to go to work, to let their children sleep at night. And despite some of the claims opposite, this bill includes measures that will help protect women and girls but indeed go further than that and protect the whole of society from some of the most dangerous offenders. In a series of votes, none of the changes suggested by mps was approved and the bill now moves on to The Lords, where No Doubt peers will suggest more amendments. Youre watching Monday In Parliament with me, david cornock. The government has been pressed over its response to the seizure by the taliban in recent weeks of more territory in afghanistan. The militant group has launched attacks coinciding with the withdrawal of nato troops after a 20 Year Mission in the country, with most troops having already pulled out ahead of a september deadline. At question time, a senior conservative said afghanistan now faced a high risk of civil war. With the taliban advancing and securing more districts by the day, mr speaker, i repeat my call for a formal inquiry so we can understand how this nato mission, endorsed by the un, lasting two decades, has now ended in failure. Were now abandoning the country to the very insurgent organisation that we went in to defeat in the first place. This cannot be what we expected when we went in there. Its not the Exit Strategy that we anticipated. Our presence gave legitimacy to the afghan authorities and our exodus will be seen as a victory for the taliban. Please, lets have the inquiry. Can ijust remind people, front benchers as well. And chairs of select committees . If you want a long question, go in questions earlier. Theyre short and punchy. Weve got to keep it that way to get the rest in. L Secretary Of State. Mr speaker, two things. First of all, the right honourable friend, as ive said earlier, has means of his own salvation. He does chair the select committee, and if the select committee wishes to have an inquiry, i will be happy to make sure the department services it. This is a profound moment for more than 150,000 Uk Men and women who have served in afghanistan. I pay tribute to their service and their sacrifice, especially the a57 that lost their lives. Where does this withdrawal leave the Uk Strategy of forward deployment in a region that sits between russia, china and iran, three of the main State Based Threats identified in the integrated review . And how will the government ensure that afghanistan does not again become an Operating Base for terrorism directed against the west . The leaving by the united states left us in a very difficult position to continue that mission. It left many of us unable to continue that without a significant international uplift. That has not been forthcoming, and therefore we are in a position where we too are in that path of withdrawal, with all the risks that that may leave in the near future, in the next ten, 20 years, and therefore we have to do our very best with what we have now. That means we will continue to work with the afghan government and we continue to focus on the threats that emanate from afghanistan and may grow to emanate towards the united kingdom and our allies, and we will do whatever we can. What conclusions have our ministers and strategists drawn from our use of Military Force from outside the borders of states like Syria And Iraq which might help prevent. The Re Emergence of afghanistan as a base and as a Launch Pad for international terrorism campaigns, like those of daesh and alqaeda, following the withdrawal of Nato L troops from afghanistan . The minister pointed to the operations conducted in syria against the so called islamic state or is. We absolutely reserve the right to counter terrorist threats to the united kingdom that may re emerge in afghanistan. And hes absolutely right to point us towards an outside in model, such as that prosecuted from cyprus in support of operation shader. I know that that is very much in the thoughts of those who are planning for that eventuality in afghanistan. The session also saw questions about the proposed new £200 million yacht, a successor to the Royal Yacht britannia. But does the Secretary Of State believe its the woeful lack of investment in our personnel which is driving the current recruitment challenges in the Armed Forces, or is it the chronic accommodation that he expects our Service Personnel to live in thats to blame . Because, soon, the size of the army will be at its lowest since 1714, so how does the mod splashing £200 million on a new royal Yacht Help with these challenges in our Armed Forces . Given that the national Audit Office have judged the Defence Equipment Plan as unaffordable for the fourth year in a row, the continuing well publicized disasters and rising costs of the Ajax Project and, of course, the cancellation of warrior, could the minister explain why this Vanity Project has become a Spending Priority for the Minister Of Defence . Were delighted to be playing our part in delivering this first rate asset. And he said its cost would be a tiny fraction of the defence budget. Over four years, youre talking around the region of 0. 1 of that kind of impact on the overall defence budget, so id like to put that into perspective for him. Jeremy quin. To The Lords now, where Highways England has been accused of vandalism for filling in the arches of disused historic railway arches with tonnes of concrete. Campaigners have criticised in particular the infilling of the Scenic Victorian Bridge at Great Musgrave in cumbria. A Labour Peer noted that Highways England seemed to have rowed back on some other works. Can she confirm that Highways England have now reduced their Hit List of 134 structures to be destroyed to 69 . And will she instruct them to consult with notjust local authorities, but cycling and walking groups and Heritage Railways, before they go ahead with any more of the cultural vandalism which weve already seen . Im really happy to reassure the noble lord that Highways England already does exactly what he asked me to make sure that they do. They do consult with local authorities, with parish councils, with those people who run active Travel Schemes and, of course, with Heritage Railway providers, whether or not the railway is actually built or not. It is the case that of the 3,250 railway properties, there will be some that will require works which is in excess of maintenance. That may include infilling. But, of course, my lords, infilling can be reversed. Some peers were concerned that Highways England could use what are known as Permitted Development Rights to fill in arches without Planning Permission. Can the Minister Comment on whether Highways England, who manage the historical railways estate, should be excluded from using Permitted Development Rights to Infill Bridges or other structures in the estate, so as to ensure they actively engage with local authorities and other organisations on the future of assets which run through an area, so that these can be considered for cycling or other schemes . Well, my noble Friend Hasjust once again raised the issue of the permitted Development Orders, and id just like to restate that they are only used in Emergency Circumstances. And id just like to remind Noble Lords that, actually, a couple of decades ago, on the Clifton Hall black Harry Tunnel in salford, the shaft collapsed, a house was demolished and the residents were killed in their beds. This is a serious issue were talking about here. Sometimes there are Emergency Circumstances when permitted Development Orders are required, but as i said, in the majority of the cases, they are not required and Planning Permission is sought and given. Lady vere. Now, the plight of the british hedgehog has been troubling campaigners, who created a petition to call for more protections for the prickly creatures. During a debate on their appeal in westminster hall, mps of all stripes had stories to tell about their love of hedgehogs with one appearing to catch the heart of a nation. As some of my twitter followers may have seen, we recently welcomed a new tenant to the halfon household. Horace the hedgehog moved into our garden earlier this year and hes very much made himself at home. And given these modern times, although we have called him horace, he clearly is a he him or she her hedgehog. Hes even been brave enough to approach the Back Door to try and watch netflix through the window, particularly sons of anarchy, and hes risen to dizzying heights of fame on our social media page. And ive had individuals write to my office, whether horace will be making an appearance in upcoming zoom meetings. But while horace may be well looked after, the shocking reality of the declining number of his species focused minds. Before this debate, i had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from the british hedgehog preservation society, and they told me that since 2000, weve lost half of all of our rural hedgehogs and a third of our urban ones. Sadly, they were recently added to the Iucn Red List for britain as vulnerable. That is having appreciable risk of extinction in the next ten years. A number of factors are thought to be to blame. According to the rspca, the main reasons for the decline is destruction of their shelters and habitats, increased levels of traffic and poorly planned roads and the use of pesticides. These are all things that we can and should work to prevent. There can be little doubt that some modern Farming Practices have made survival more difficult for this countrys favourite prickly mammal, so the Elm Schemes which will replace the European Unions Common Agricultural Policy should aim to secure and Restore Hedgerows and habitats, to give our hedgehogs a bit of a brexit dividend. Every time that farm fields are built over, j hedgerows go, headlands go, i the fields themselves that have crops in them go, and those are the Habitats Notjust for hedgehogs but for thousands literally thousands of birds, mammals, i butterflies, insects the insects upon which hedgehogs feed. And its because of that loss of habitat that weve lost. So many hedgehogs. But some were also concerned that the regular review of the Wildlife And Countryside act taking place this year would cause more grief for the animal. I am extremely concerned to hear that the terms of this Years Review have been changed and that, contrary to what a reasonable person might expect given the well documented decline in biodiversity across the board, this is likely to result in fewer species under protection, not more. The new standards would mean that an animal or plant species would only be protected if in imminent danger of extinction, with the result that dozens of species face losing vital safeguards. It also means that action to protect a species would only come when it was in crisis, when it already might be too late. This cannot be right. There were more suggestions from mps on how to help the species thrive. And one of the things i hope to see come out of the government in the next few months is a plan to turn the current system into one of holistic analysis of what wildlife is on a site and what needs to be protected, so you dont simply bulldoze a roadside or cut down a hedgerow with no regard at all for what animals are inside it. And all too often, its the hedgehogs who are inside it. That is a change that is urgently needed. We absolutely need | biodiversity targets, and they should be ambitious. We shouldntjust halt. The decline of hedgehogs and other nature. We should reverse it. But the minister pledged that hedgehogs were at the heart of her remit. This government is absolutely committed to ensuring that our native species thrive, as we take action to address the declines that were all so sad about. Rebecca pow. Britains newest mp has taken her seat in the house of commons. Kim leadbeater is the sister ofjo cox, the former mp for Batley And Spen who was murdered five years ago. Kim leadbeater held her sisters old seat for labour at last thursdays by election. I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that i will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her majesty queen elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law. Hear, hear the new mp was in such a hurry, she forgot to sign in. Youve just got to sign in. Dont worry, well have a chat in a minute laughter kim leadbeater. And that was Monday In Parliament. Thank you for watching. I hope you canjoin me at the same time tomorrow for tuesday in parliament. Until then, from me, david cornock, bye for now. Hello there. Monday was drierfor a while across england and wales, but we certainly saw the weather going down hill from the south. This rain here is marching its way northwards across the uk up into Northern England and scotland, where already in the past few days in edinburgh, we have had a Months Worth of rain. Now that early rain is moving away, but this area of low pressure is taking a band of Rain Heavy At Times Northwards Up Towards Scotland and Northern England with blustery showers following to the south. For a while, we will have some unseasonably windy weather along the coast of england all the way from dorset across to suffolk, gusts of 50 mph in the morning. It wont be as windy in the afternoon, but there will be some heavy showers around, and we have still got this more persistent rain, never really clearing away from Northern England, pushing into eastern scotland. Elsewhere, some brightness and maybe some sunshine. The showers are never too far away, and they may well be heavy as well. Generally, temperatures a bit lower on tuesday, 18 19 typically, could be chillier than that where it stays wet in Northern England and eastern scotland. And as we have seen, there are some showers around, they could well affect wimbledon once again. Its going to be another day where we may well have the covers on and off. Those showers will probably tend to ease off though during the evening and into the night. More places become dry, still got some wetter weather towards the North East of scotland. The breeze tends to ease down a little bit, and we will find temperatures typically again around 12 13 degrees. Now, its low pressure thats brought all the rain over recent days, in the centre of the low pressure, by the time we get to wednesday, its close to the North East of scotland. So theres more Cloud Rolling in here and some patchy rain around too. Elsewhere, there may well be some sunshine, but we are going to find showers breaking out, and those could turn heavy and thundery come the afternoon, particularly across wales, the midlands, across to lincolnshire as well. Temperatures may be a notch higher on friday, still no better than 20 21 celsius. Lets end with a glimmer of hope, because the low pressure is trying to move away. This is where high pressure is, dry weather, and this is trying to nudge up from the South West across the uk. So during thursday and friday, the winds wont be as strong, and for more places, it will be dry. Some sunshine, although still rather cloudy for scotland and northern ireland. Temperatures should be a little bit higher. Welcome to bbc news. Im david eades. Our top stories the taliban Take Advantage with us troops pulling out of afghanistan, they seize more districts while A Thousand afghan soldiers are said to have fled the country. In england, the Prime Minister confirms plans to scrap most remaining covid restrictions, despite a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. A russian gang behind a huge global cyber attack demands 70 Million in ransom. And the british Teenager Emma Raducanus wimbledon journey ends abruptly as she pulls out on medical grounds in the fourth round