Boris Johnson held talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in an attempt to revive negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal. No 10 said the prime minister urged the EU to reach an agreement “by the end of the summer”.
It came as Mr Johnson announced he would set up a commission to consider “all aspects” of racial inequality. The review will also consider wider disparities such as issues facing “working class white boys at schools”, Downing Street has said.
Labour’s shadow justice secretary David Lammy claimed the idea was “written on the back of a fag packet” and said it was time for action. Meanwhile, No 10 indicated the review of the two-metre rule may not be finished in time for the proposed reopening of pubs and restaurants on 4 July.
Boris Johnson has said people should “shop with confidence” when non-essential stores reopen in England today.
Rishi Sunak echoed the idea. “My message is simple – get out there, get shopping,” said the chancellor Rishi Sunak, praising the “extraordinary steps” retailers have taken to allow us back inside (fitting rooms will be closed, and some book shops will put browsed, unbought books in quarantine).
The PM has set up a review into the two-metre social distancing rule as he comes under huge pressure from Tory backbenchers to cut it to boost retail and the hospitality sector (returning next month).
The government could overrule its scientific and medical advisers to relax the two-metre coronavirus social distancing rule, the chancellor suggested – despite reports the government’s senior advisers Sir Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty are unhappy about any potential change.
Sunak said on Sunday that “advisers advise ministers, who are elected to make decisions”.
Government says it could relax two-metre rule as Boris Johnson urges people to return to shops
‘Shop, and shop with confidence’ urges prime ministerBoris Johnson has announced he will establish a cross-government commission to examine “all aspects” of racial inequality in the UK.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the prime minister acknowledged that Britain had much more to do to tackle racism.
He said the commission on race and ethnic disparities would look at “all aspects of inequality – in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and all other walks of life”.
In separate comments to broadcasters, the PM added: “What I really want to do as prime minister is change the narrative so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination.
“We stamp out racism and we start to have a real sense of expectation of success. That’s where I want to get to but it won’t be easy.”
Boris Johnson announces commission to investigate 'all aspects' of racial inequality in UK
PM’s follows widespread Black Lives Matter protests but is criticised by opposition as ‘condescending and designed to let himself and his government off the hook’Senior police figures have urged home secretary Priti Patel to impose an emergency ban on all protests during the pandemic, warning officers were being put at risk by wave of a mass demonstrations.
The head of the body representing rank-and-file police in England and Wales, called on Patel to implement tougher restrictions after dozens of officers were injured in violent clashes over the weekend.
John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation, said officers and the public were in danger of Covid-19 spreading between crowds.
Apter said: “In normal times, the principle of having the right to peaceful protests is an important one. However, we are not in normal times, we are tackling a deadly virus which is indiscriminate in who it can affect.”
Police call for protests ban during pandemic after weekend of violent rallies
‘We cannot allow our police officers and members of the public to be put at risk of contracting the virus,’ says head of Police FederationLabour’s shadow justice secretary David Lammy is not impressed with Boris Johnson’s plan for a new racial inequality commission, claiming it was “written on the back of a fag packet” to assuage the anger of Black Lives Matter protesters.
Labour said it was “immature” for the UK to still be holding discussions about whether racism exists and condemned the prime minister for announcing another review rather than taking action.
Lammy also questioned why the prime minister announced plans for a new commission in a lengthy Telegraph article which focused mostly on the ongoing row over statues to controversial historical figures.
“If he was serious, why are there no details about how it will be staffed, its remit, its terms of reference, its timetable? That’s the question.
“It’s because this was written on the back of a fag packet yesterday to assuage the Black Lives Matter protest. Get on with the action, legislate, move – you’re in government. Do something.”
It follows Lammy’s claim Johnson appeared to be diverting attention away from wider issues. “Boris Johnson sent out eight tweets … on Winston Churchill and statues.
“He’s never tweeted eight times in a day on coronavirus, he’s never tweeted eight times in a day on the Windrush review or what he’s going to do about it.”
Boris Johnson's racial equality review is 'written on back of fag packet,' says David Lammy
'Black people aren’t playing victim, as Boris indicated, they are protesting precisely because the time for review is over'Small business minister Paul Scully has said it will take a “matter of weeks” to review the two-metre social distancing rule.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It will take a matter of weeks to do but we want to make sure we get the best scientific advice and we can look at the international comparisons.
“Clearly you have the likes of Germany, it’s one-and-a-half metres, America it is one-metre, and see how those differences land in terms of health guidance.”
Scully said the government did not want to be “rushed into decisions as we gradually open up the economy”.
Dr Michael Tildesley, infectious disease scientist at the University of Warwick, said reducing the social distancing restriction from two metres to one “will result in an increase in risk”.
The government’s two-metre rule is currently under review.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Monday, Dr Tildesley said: “The evidence is still slightly unclear - depending upon the studies it could be anything from about twice the risk to 10 times the risk.
“So there is an increase in risk with going down to one metre. But I have to stress this is purely based upon public health, and the government has to consider economic factors before taking a decision.”
If it hadn’t been for coronavirus, today would have seen Boris Johnson heading to Brussels to meet the EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Instead, the pair will hold their Brexit “stock-take” by videoconference, during which they will discuss how trade talks are going so far.
Johnson is expected to say that the talks need to be “swiftly concluded”, providing the public and business with certainty on the way forward by the autumn at the latest.
While he will insist the UK still wants to strike an “ambitious” free trade agreement, he is expected to make clear that it is ready to start trading on World Trade Organisation rules from 1 January if a deal cannot be reached.
Von der Leyen will be joined on the conference call by European Council president Charles Michel and the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli.
The Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove and the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost will be with Johnson.
The UK’s two-metre social distancing restriction could put one million jobs at risk in the hospitality sector, according to the chief executive of trade union UK Hospitality.
Katie Nicholls warned the rule means many smaller businesses are unable to meet the criteria for safe opening and one third of hospitality businesses may not survive the pandemic.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday, she said: “We very much welcome the government’s decision to conduct a review on this because it is a matter of survival or business failure as far as hospitality is concerned.”
“If businesses are opening at two-metre social distance, then they’re operating at 30% of their normal revenues and for a quarter of our small hospitality businesses they won’t be able to open at all.
“If they open at one metre with additional protections to make sure staff and customers are safe, then they can reach 60 per cent to 70 per cent of their normal revenues, and that puts them at break-even.”
Nicholls also said the government has not provided enough guidance for businesses in the hospitality sector to prepare for reopening.
England’s coronavirus lockdown should not be further lifted until the government’s test and trace system has proven to be “robust and effective”, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official has warned.
Speaking ahead of the reopening of non-essential shops on Monday, the WHO’s regional European director Hans Kluge cautioned against rushing into restarting the economy while the country remains in a “very active phase of the pandemic”.
“We know that early lockdowns saved lives and bought some time for the health system to be ready,” he said. “The question of lifting the lockdown is as important as going to the lockdown. The key words here are to do it gradually.”
WHO warns England's lockdown should not be lifted further without improved test and trace system
Nation remains in 'very active phase of the pandemic', official warnsAn SNP MP has undergone emergency surgery after suffering a brain haemorrhage last week.
Amy Callaghan, the MP for East Dunbartonshire, was found collapsed at home by her partner after suffering a stroke, and was rushed to hospital for treatment. The 28-year-old is now in a stable condition in hospital, according to her office.
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has called on the government to help families struggling with food poverty and continue free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays.
“Political affiliations aside, can we not all agree that no child should be going to be hungry?”
He told BBC Breakfast: “This is all going on at a time where kids should be concentrating on school work and stuff like that.
“I’m just hoping the government make a U-turn on the decision. To stop the free meal vouchers and I’m they do it as soon as possible.”
The NHS Test and Trace system will be “extremely crucial” to prevent a second wave of coronavirus, according to infectious disease scientist Dr Michael Tildesley.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Dr Tildesley, from the University of Warwick, said that, if the system is working properly, the government will be able to relax social distancing measures such as the two-metre rule.
“There has been a lot of talk about fear of a second wave, and one of the ways to hopefully prevent that is for testing and tracing to be working effectively,” he said.
“If it does, then, as people start to report infection, we can rapidly detect those individuals, trace their contacts and hopefully put in local isolation measures so that we isolate these clusters and prevent larger scale spread.
“If that works effectively, then I would hope that we can relax a whole host of measures, which may hopefully include a reduction in that distance.
“But, that should be done with other measures in place - good hygiene practices and taking precautions wherever possible is really crucial.”
Statue row risks potentially damaging argument about race, Tory London mayoral candidate says
Shaun Bailey, the Tory London mayoral candidate, said the row over statues risks a potentially damaging argument over race.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is very easy to remove the statue of a slaver, that we could all agree on.
"But what are you going to do when you get to someone who is a hero to some and a villain to others?
"It's just going to make our entire conversations about race.
"We don't want to have a conversation about race, what we want to have a conversation about is how we move forward.
"Black people want change, they don't want an argument."
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched a commission to review the capital's monuments, but Mr Bailey accused him of seeking to "rewrite British history".
'Urgent action' needed on racial inequality, chairman of Equality and Human Rights Commission says
David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said there had already been "countless reports" on the issues surrounding racial inequality and "urgent action" was needed.
He said: "We know the scale of the problems we face to tackle the entrenched racial inequality in our country. It is not new.
"There have been countless reports and the data exists exposing all the issues.
"Now is the time for urgent action. We need to see a clear and comprehensive race strategy with clear targets and timescales from Government.
"We hope this new commission will help deliver that and we stand ready to work with it."
US fighter jet crashes off coast of Middlesbrough
A US Air Force F15C fighter aircraft has crashed off the coast near Middlesbrough and the status of the pilot is not known.
Home Office cuts off support for modern slavery victims during pandemic
Modern slavery victims are being left unable to feed themselves and are at risk of being re-exploited because the Home Office is cutting their financial and welfare support during the coronavirus crisis, social affairs correspondent May Bulman reports.
Lawyers and charities say thousands of vulnerable people are facing a “cliff edge” in support only months after being identified as victims, leaving many to navigate their emotional recovery while struggling to afford basic essentials and maintain contact with support networks.
In one case, an Ethiopian woman who was identified as a trafficking victim earlier this year had her support stopped during lockdown, meaning she has been unable to afford essentials and could not self-isolate when she had suspected Covid-19 symptoms.
Sean O'Grady: The far right is on the streets – and deep inside our Tory government
A legitimate proud patriotism in the generation and its leaders who fought for freedom in the last war – including many people of colour from what was then the British Empire – is being perverted and stolen in front of our very eyes, Sean O'Grady writes.
What the new agriculture bill really means for the food on our plates
Tougher penalties for damaging protected marine areas demanded by MSP
A Labour MSP is pushing for tougher penalties to be brought in for those who damage protected areas at sea.
Claudia Beamish wants to change the law so those caught illegally damaging marine protected areas are sentenced to up to a year behind bars - in addition to fines of up to £50,000 that were introduced in 2010.
The changes she is proposing to the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill would mean that, for the first time, offences against marine wildlife would be dealt with in the same way as similar wildlife crime on land.
There have been 112 reports of suspected incursions into Scotland's protected seas between 2015 and 2019 - with Marine Scotland having in some cases gathered sufficient evidence to charge vessels operating illegally and proceeded to issue fixed penalty notices.
In recent years, no fine has exceeded £10,000 for illegal fishing in a closed area in Scotland - with penalties usually less than this.
Campaigners have backed her amendments, which will be debated by MSPs at Holyrood on Wednesday.
