who had the, the virus including my adviser isolated for 14 days, people stayed at home. prime minister you say this, we have been contacted by many people who haven't been living in difficult terms and condition circumstances who didn't know they would do what he did, if that the level of clarity of the message, aren't you concerned that going forward this will cause a real problem, as you expect the economy to get back up and running. the most important thing now is for everybody to focus on the next steps, and, for everybody to look at the test and trace scheme, probably it won't affect you, you probably won't be contacted but if you are contacted, and you are told that you have been in contact with someone. prime minister, that is a different thing to my question, so it is not really answering my question. back to chair. meg, if you are saying that the message was so unclear or is so unclear, i really dispute that. i am looking at the figures everyday, we are seeing continual compliance, of are seeing continual compliance, of a fantastic level by the british public, they understand, we all understand that defeating this virus requires common—sense and it is working and it was thanks to the british public, working together, that we prevented the overwhelming of the nhs, and rib, iwas looking back on my notes for early march, we we re back on my notes for early march, we were terrified we were going to run out of ventilator, the nhs would collapse, that didn't happen because people followed the advise. my question with was about the clarity of message going forward. thank you. cani, of message going forward. thank you. can i, yvette, if you have one sentence, i will forgive you. very quick follow up to the question from hugh merriman about the decision not to have quarantine at the borders. in the early stages of the crisis prime minister. we were, we heard from patrick valance who said many cases came in from italy and spain during that period. and won one,000 and 10,000 people came in during that period with coronavirus. you haven't published the scientific advice that you were given for that decision, will you publish that advice please? yes, and i think what patrick has said is that all the advice from sage is going to be published, including the sage minutes yvette. i go back to what i said in answer to hugh about the decisions going into to the virus, mine, the epidemic, on, on quarantine, on closing borders, don't forget italy closed its border com pletely don't forget italy closed its border completely to china and yet had an appalling outbreak, our advice was that this was, all it would achieve, very little by way of people logical protection, it could only delay and there were other reasons why it was... yvette, sorry, prime minister, can you finish that point? ant there were reasons for instance for repatriating uk nationals, for making sure we had access to to medical supplies from overseas, we needed to keep aviation going, but, you know, yvette, people will study all these decisions, i am sure they will, and maybe they will find fault with them but i can tell you they we re with them but i can tell you they were taken in good faith, in, with the intention to defeat the virus, and save live, and on the best possible scientific advice. prime minister, may ijust ask, how will quarantining not minister, may ijust ask, how will quara ntining not regard minister, may ijust ask, how will quarantining not regard the recovery of the economy? well, i hope it will be not regard the recovery of the economy by preventing a helping to prevent reinfection which could lead toa prevent reinfection which could lead to a second outbreak, and the r going over one again, in such a way as to do serious economic damage to necessitate another lockdown. that is the logic. but you understand the conflict. may i raise two points from absent colleagues, obviously we have had far more demand to be in this meeting than we could accommodate. julian knight, the chairman of the dcs committee, concerned about the hospitality industry and charities. and what? charities. charity, yes. what can you say to, about the hospitality industries and charities? well, on the hospitality, julian should know that we are really trying to go as fast as we can, it is very difficult to bring forward hospitality measures in a way that is socially, also social distancing, but, i am much more optimistic about that than i was, much more optimistic about that than iwas, and much more optimistic about that than i was, and i think that we may be able to do things faster than i had previously thought, charities i think we put very, £750 million if my memory supports me to support the charitable sector during what is a tough time and we will be trying to help them. and the chair of the defence committee lamb meants the sense there is a capable hq for this crisis, where, iwould there is a capable hq for this crisis, where, i would suggest, there needs to be constant reviewing and learning on a comprehensive scale, it seems to take a long time for lessons to be learned and things to be changed, because such an hq does not exist. what would you say to that? i don't agree with that. i think that actually, what we have now got in hearing, in number ten, is a, an operation covid—19 response led by a distinguished civil servant, he is looking notjust as the health aspect but the economic recovery aspects as well, bringing it together across whitehall, and, obviously, we have a, we have a structure that you will understand, the various ministerial groups, that work towards the decisions that we take, when we take these decisions, every morning, there is a meeting, here at, chaired by me, we have all the key players, we look at the data for the day, we work out where we are and what needs to be done, that day, we share it with cabinet collea g u es day, we share it with cabinet colleagues when, when we need to get toa colleagues when, when we need to get to a decision, if cabinet approves, that goes to, to the devolved assemblies, to devolved administration, to the opposition parties who, with whom we have been working very closely, and, we then, once we have got to a place where we are confident we are in the right place we go public with it and so tomorrow, i am place we go public with it and so tomorrow, lam hoping place we go public with it and so tomorrow, i am hoping that i will get to a state where we can announce further steps forward, further measures in step two of the road map, and you have heard a bit, already, about retail, about schools, we hope there will be a little bit more to come as well, but it all depends on fighting that virus, following our common—sense, and, and making sure that we stay alert, and everybody knows what the critical things are, we can't take these steps forward, if the, if there is, if the infection rates start to go up again, and if the a goes up. everybody has got that. thank you prime minister, and thank you for taking so many economy, we have covered a nice broadwater front. your trace and trace proposal, the sail gent points i i would take away about speeding up testing, educational... the unequal effect of the crisis on women, particularly women with children, the dividends point race bitted i the dividends point race bitted i the chancellor, which seems to be a will kuna in the business support package, —— lacuna. will kuna in the business support package, -- lacuna. raised by mel. did i say somebody else? i apologise. you promoted him to chancellor! lam chancellor! i am sorry! but i mean, this all underlines how much i think this has been of great benefit for the public to understand what is going on and the for the public to see parliament hold jog to account on these matter, i really 0 —— holding you to account. i think it would be of benefit if we could see you before the summer. knew you would say that. i could see you working yourself way up i could see you working yourself way up to see that. i will repeat the a nswer up to see that. i will repeat the answer i gave at the beginning which is we are working flat out to defeat coronavirus, to get the country back on its feet, i think it is very important, i have enjoyed this session. it is very important for us to try to, it has been difficult, some of the question, it is very important for us as parliamentarians to share ideas and to discussing things together in the way we have, in the last 0 minutes or so. the trouble is it does take a huge amount of sherpa time, of preparation time, 0 minutes. the questions where you hesitated and decided to deb way and think are some of the most positive answers you have given. that is where we wa nt to you have given. that is where we want to help and i hope you will come back soon. 0k, want to help and i hope you will come back soon. ok, that is, i thank you very much. so helpful in this session. thank you. order, order. thank you. studio: so that session of the liaison committee grilling the prime minister over a whole host of things, being brought to an end and it ended as it started with the committee chair reminding the prime minister that this is his first appearance since becoming prime minister last summer and asking him to please return before the end of the summer to please return before the end of the summer recess. to please return before the end of the summer recess. let us run through some of the key points from his first appearance before that committee. the prime minister rejected calls for dominic cummings, his senior adviser to face an inquiry over his travel to county durham during the lockdown, saying i am not certain right now that is an inquiry isa am not certain right now that is an inquiry is a very good use official time. borisjohnson inquiry is a very good use official time. boris johnson confirmed inquiry is a very good use official time. borisjohnson confirmed a new test and trace system for england will launch tomorrow. when asked whether it will be compulsory for someone whether it will be compulsory for someone to stay at home if they have come into contact with an infected person he said if people don't follow the advice they will consider what sanctions may be necessary. 0n testing pervert the course of justice was asked why it took to april to introduce 100,000 test target. he said the country didn't learn the lessons of previous outbreak and didn't have a testing operation ready to go. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth is at westminster, she has of course been listening to everything that was said, alex, what did you take away from that? there was a lot in that rita. 90 minutes and extra they tried to squeeze in there, there we re tried to squeeze in there, there were two key themes, a lot that came out but the big ones were dominic cummings, we expected that to come up, further questions about the actions of the prime minister's senior adviser, and as you say, despite the fact he was put under significant pressure on this point, but one of his own mp, the conservative mp simon haul but yvette cooper for labour and pete wishart from the snp. the point they we re wishart from the snp. the point they were trying to get across was the anger some were trying to get across was the anger some constituents have expressed to them. we heard yvette cooper asking about the public messaging, whether it is confusing for pa rents of messaging, whether it is confusing for parents of children about what they should do if they get symptom, we heard simon hall saying is it on his radar about how this is going down publicly? the same from pete wishart. the prime minister said what we have heard from him, really, which was this sense he is sorry for further and anguish people have gone through during the lockdown but no direct apology about this dominic cummings situation, he kept saying he wanted to move on, and that is very clearly the view in government, they have thought throughout this, that they hope that things go on to something else, and we heard that again from the prime minister who repeated that phrase several time, he said he thought the public message would be helped if the discussion about dominic cummings ended now and went on the something else, but it was clear some mps weren't prepared to let that point 90, weren't prepared to let that point go, and in fact another conservative mp was watching that liaison committee appearance, and he tweeted during it, giles watling, he has been listening to the prime minister. he applauds him by sticking by his man but he said dominic cummings should stand down. i'm not sure the prime minister succeeded in what he was trying to do which was draw a line under. the big moment was the announcement about the test and trace system which will be introduced from tomorrow. this is the next big stage of the government's approach to handling this panned. the idea but hind this is from tomorrow in england anybody who tests positives will be contacted by nhs clinician, they will ask them for details of anyone they have been in close contact with, and by close contact thatis contact with, and by close contact that is more than two metres away from somebody and not having protective equipment and those people will be asked to isolate in their home for a period of 1a day, they will be asked to isolate whether or not they have symptoms. the prime minister in that committee recognised that is a pretty big ask of people, he said in the first insta nce of people, he said in the first instance hoped that people would do this as matter of course, that people would respond to the public health messaging and they would be willing to go by this, but he didn't rule out the possibility that sanctions, possibly fines could be introduced down the line, the big ta ke introduced down the line, the big take away is that is starting from tomorrow, so a big shift in where we are going from this lockdown, which has been cross—country to what the government hopes we are going straight over to the downing street briefing. alex, we're going straight to the briefing. i am joined by alex, we're going straight to the briefing. i amjoined by the deputy chief medical officer and the chair of nhs improvement, baroness dido harding, and chairof of nhs improvement, baroness dido harding, and chair of the test and trace programme. to date we formally launch nhs test and trace, and incredibly important milestone for the country, and i know people will wa nt to the country, and i know people will want to hear about it. before i do, i will update you on the latest coronavirus data. 3,798,490 tests have been carried out in the uk, including 117,013 tests yesterday. 267,240 people have tested positive, an increase of 2013 cases, yesterday. of those who tested positive for coronavirus across all settings, 37,460 people have, sadly, died. since yesterday for hundred and 12 deaths have been recorded. we mourn and 12 deaths have been recorded. we mourn them and we will not forget them. as i said yesterday, thanks to your effort and sacrifice, we are passed to the peak. we have flatten the curve. we have protected the nhs. the big question we are all working to answer is this, until an effective treatment or vaccine comes through, how can we get back to doing more of the things that make life worth living without risking safety or putting lives at risk? nhs test and trace is a big heart, not the only part, but a big part of the a nswer to the only part, but a big part of the answer to that question. nhs test and trace means we can start you replace the national lockdown with individual isolation for those who have been in contact with the virus and local action where necessary to respond to a flare—up. the concept is simple, first through testing we hunted down the virus, finding out who is infected right now. and i use we very deliberately, because we all have our party to play. this is a national effort, we all have a role. if you have symptoms, you must isolate immediately and get yourself a test. yesterday, 2013 people tested positive and the next step is that, through contact tracing, like detectives, the nhs clinician from nhs test and trace and the person who has tested positive work together to identify the possible movements of the virus where it has been and who else it might have infected. then we isolate those contacts who might have been infected so the virus is unable to spread, and we break the chain of transmission. think of it like this, the virus exists only to reproduce. that is it sold biological purpose, to make as many copies of itself as possible. if we can thwart that purpose, we can control the virus and ultimately defeat it. we must all follow the nhs test and trace instructions, because this is how we control the virus and protect the nhs and save lives. some people have asked why now? why not launch this earlier in the course of the pandemic? the answer is because we needed to flatten the curve. right at the start of the epidemic we had at the start of the epidemic we had a co nta ct at the start of the epidemic we had a contact tracing system in place, but as the virus raged towards its peak the number of infections grew so large that we needed a national lockdown, that was the only way to get it under control. effectively eve ryo ne get it under control. effectively everyone in the country was contacted and told to stay at home. now we have the number of new infections each day right down, the number of contacts of those who had tested positive is small enough that we can be in touch with everyone who we can be in touch with everyone who we need to. and, of course, testing capacity is critical to making this work. we now have the capacity for 161,000 tests a day, and because of that increased capacity i can announce we are that increased capacity i can announce we are expanding eligibility yet further. from tomorrow, we are expanding eligibility for testing to include the under fives so that now every single person who has symptoms of coronavirus can get a test. no matter bauge. and what's more, to make nhs test and trace as effective as possible it is very important that everyone with symptoms must isolate immediately and go and get a test. i want to thank and pay tribute to everyone involved in making this big project happen. dido harding, who has led the work, the technicians in the labs who have been making maths testing a relative, the contact traits is manning the phones, the health care staff and the companies who have helped us put it together at a record scale and pace —— technicians in the labs who have made mass testing a reality. what really matters is this, to protect your friends and family, testing and chasing must become a new way of life. this is being launched today in england, northern ireland already has a system in place and my collea g u es has a system in place and my colleagues in the scottish and welsh governments are working to bring in a system as they can. all four nations have been working together to make sure we have systems coordinated across the country, and the instructions to people are clear. if you get symptoms, isolate immediately and get a test. if you are contacted by nhs test and trace, instructing you to isolate, you must. it is your civic duty. so you avoid unknowingly spreading the virus and you help to break the chain of transmission. this will be volu nta ry chain of transmission. this will be voluntary at first because we trust eve ryo ne voluntary at first because we trust everyone to do the right thing. but we can quickly make it mandatory if thatis we can quickly make it mandatory if that is what it takes. because if we don't collectively make this work, the only way forward is to keep the lockdown. it better, the more people follow the instructions, the safer we will be and the faster we can safely lift the lockdown —— to put it better. so do it for the people you love, do it for go community, do it for the nhs and do it for all those front line workers who have done so much and gone out everyday to put themselves at risk to keep you and your family safe. and to put themselves at risk to keep you and yourfamily safe. and in return for following those instructions, you will have the knowledge that, when the call came, you did your bit at a time when it really mattered. when the whole country were desperate to see their families, they were counting on you to do the right thing. you did your bit to bring us all closer together, and closer to the day when we can be reunited. this system will start tomorrow morning at 9am, and the first people who will be contacted will be the people who received a positive result today. this is a very distinct change in our approach and! very distinct change in our approach and ijust very distinct change in our approach and i just wanted very distinct change in our approach and ijust wanted to take a moment to recap the extent of the change. before today we said isolate to anyone with coronavirus symptoms in the household, this remains vital. from 9am tomorrow, in addition, if you are contacted by an nhs test and trace advisor advising you that you must isolate, then you must do that whether you have symptoms or not. now, i also know that for those without symptoms who receive that call, i fully acknowledge that this isa call, i fully acknowledge that this is a big ask. and that you will make a sacrifice. but it is for a purpose, and the purpose is the safety of everyone. because we know that you can have the virus and spread it to other people without ever spread it to other people without ever having symptoms at all. it is not just the safety of all but the liberty of all that is at stake, here. we are only in a position to be able to reopen primary schools and outdoor markets if they are covid secure this coming monday because we have flatten the curve and have the system in place, and in the coming weeks we will gradually and very carefully move away from a lockdown that is national in scope, bla nkets lockdown that is national in scope, blankets and application and start moving towards a system much more targeted in scope and focuses local action on targeting local flare—ups. this will help restore some of the basic freedoms that happen so much to people and doing some of the things that people i gaining to do, like seeing friends and family, booking a holiday and getting a haircut, all the while controlling the virus and keeping people safe. it isa the virus and keeping people safe. it is a brand—new virus on a scale never seen it is a brand—new virus on a scale never seen before, there will be bumps in the road but we will co nsta ntly im prove bumps in the road but we will constantly improve it and in the weeks ahead we will ramp up the service further and once the system is better did we will roll at the nhs contact tracing app being piloted in the isle of wight. and nhs test and trace is only one part of the answer, not the whole answer. all the action we are taking to get r down and keep r down, it all requires us to keep doing the right thing. testing and tracing will require us to hunt down this virus, it is one of the tools with which we can finish the job, and we all need to play our part. so, please, stay alert, control the virus and stabilise. i will now ask baroness harding to set out some more of the details of nhs test and trace and then the professor to take us through the daily statistics. thank you, secretary of state. this is a brand—new you, secretary of state. this is a brand— new service launched you, secretary of state. this is a brand—new service launched at scale ina very brand—new service launched at scale in a very short space of time. as the secretary of state has said, we all have a part to play and it will only succeed if we each do our bit. i want you to feel safe and confident in playing an active part in nhs test and trace for you, your loved ones in our country. we need you to follow the following three steps. step one, if you have one or more of the symptoms of coronavirus, a lever, a new continuous cough or a loss of your sense of taste or smell, you must immediately self—isolate. step two, you should then book a test on the nhs uk coronavirus site, or if you do not have internetworks, by dialling 119. do not leave home for any other reason. if you test positive you will be contacted by the nhs test and trace service within 24 hours. all contact tracers have been undergoing training and induction before the beginning of this week and before they start work. step three, nhs test and trace will help you establish your you have been in close contact with and so who you might have infected and will gather your contact details. this could include members of your household or someone you have include members of your household or someone you have been within two metres or four more than 15 minutes. you will be given clinical advice and support for dealing with the disease herself —— within two metres of the more than 15 minutes. nhs te st of the more than 15 minutes. nhs test and trace will get in touch with those contacts, so if you have been exposed to an infected person they will contact you, you will then be instructed by the nhs to self—isolate for 14 days. even if you do not have symptoms or you feel perfectly well. you still need to follow these instructions. this individual and collective effort is vital if we are to keep the rate of infection down and carefully lift the lockdown. we are working hand—in—hand with communities and local authorities to make sure that you have the support you need to cope when you are self isolating. this is why the government announced la st this is why the government announced last week it is giving £300 million to local government to support this on the ground, tailoring support in response to your local needs. studio: this is where we will leave today's downing street briefing on bbc one. if you want to continue watching, switch to the bbc news channel right now. the nhs test and trace is one of the most ambitious and complex projects that any of us have ever worked on. it has brought together so many people from all walks of life to work together on this common ground. we already employ over 40,000 people, both directly and through trusted partners, who are working heroically to deliver both testing and contact tracing for the country. sol to deliver both testing and contact tracing for the country. so i would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to public health england, all our nhs colleagues, localauthorities public health england, all our nhs colleagues, local authorities and their directors of public health and their directors of public health and theirteams, their directors of public health and their teams, all their directors of public health and theirteams, all our their directors of public health and their teams, all our partners in both the public and the private sector who have helped create the largest network of diagnostic testing, and to everyone that is signed up to become a contact tracer. i would also like to thank you. we will be constantly developing and improving as we go, together we can help contain the virus, stop it spreading further, and return to a more normal way of life. now, the professor will take us through the daily statistics. thank you, good afternoon. next slide, please. the first update i am going to give you this afternoon is at one relating to transport use in great britain and you can see on this slide there are six data sets. the top three art for small motor vehicles, individual motor vehicles, ca rs vehicles, individual motor vehicles, cars and heavy goods vehicles. the data are arrayed from the left of the side, 16th of march