Top story: officials raise ‘urgent’ concerns over results
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this morning.
Leaked emails have revealed “urgent” concerns about the accuracy of rapid coronavirus testing, with the most pessimistic estimate indicating that as few as 2% of positive results could be accurate in places with low Covid rates. After Boris Johnson urged everyone in England to take two rapid-turnaround tests a week, the leaks show the government is considering scaling back the widespread testing of people without symptoms because of the problem of false positives. One official warned that on 9 April, the first day everyone was able to order twice-weekly lateral flow device (LFD) tests, the best chance of a true positive was 25%. With self-reported tests it could drop to between 2% and 10%. Check out our explainer on LFD tests and their accuracy. Another potential post-lockdown setback was the detection in the UK of the Covid variant first reported in India. Seventy-seven cases of B.1.617, which has potentially worrying mutations, were reported in England and Scotland. Workers on zero-hours contracts and other insecure jobs are twice as likely to have died of Covid-19 as those in other jobs, research for the TUC says.
The head of Germany’s disease control agency says “drastic measures” are needed to cope with a new surge in cases, while Médecins Sans Frontières has described Brazil’s Covid response as the world’s worst. The US is nearing the landmark of 200m vaccinations but the White House says people who have had the Pfizer vaccine will need a third booster shot after nine to 12 months. Follow all the latest developments on our live blog.
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A-level ‘failure’ – A-levels are too narrow and should be replaced with a three-year “baccalaureate” that would require all students to study English and maths up to the age of 18, according to a report by the thinktank EDSK. Under the proposals, A-levels, BTecs, T-levels and apprenticeships would be combined into the single baccalaureate in an attempt to reverse the decline of more vocational courses. Tom Richmond, EDSK director, said A-levels were created to prevent pupils specialising too early but “never fulfilled this mission and might have made the situation even worse”.
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Chicago anger – Tensions were running high in Chicago last night after the release of body camera video footage appearing to show a police officer fatally shooting Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old, as he raised his hands into the air. Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, stood alongside Latino community leaders and called for calm as the video ignited fresh outrage in the city where Toledo was shot last month. “We failed Adam,” she said. In Minneapolis the policeman accused of killing George Floyd declined to take the stand, and footage showed a black man being shot by police in Ohio.
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Whitehall woe – The Greensill lobbying scandal continued to widen when it emerged that a second Cabinet Office adviser was hired by the now defunct finance firm while he was still working in Whitehall. David Brierwood, a former Morgan Stanley banker, was brought into David Cameron’s administration in 2014 and was recruited to join Greensill Capital’s board as a director two months later. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Greensill’s hires but Nick Davies, programme director at the Institute for Government, said the revelation about Brierwood raised further questions about the inadequacy of impartiality rules at the heart of government. Cameron, who denies any wrongdoing, faces several inquiries into his work as an adviser for the firm, which also employed a top civil servant, Bill Crothers, while he worked at the Treasury. Crothers also denies breaking any rules.
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Russia sanctions – Joe Biden has stepped up sanctions against Russia by expelling 10 diplomats and taking broad action against officials and companies in retaliation for Moscow’s interference in elections and cyber-espionage campaigns such as the SolarWinds hack. The sanctions, which were the Biden administration’s largest punitive action against the Kremlin yet, also targeted six Russian cybersecurity companies deemed to be involved in SolarWinds.
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Hong Kong crackdown – Sentencing is under way in Hong Kong for 10 leading pro-democracy activists accused of organising or attending “unauthorised assemblies” during mass protests that rocked the city in 2019. Among them is the media tycoon Jimmy Lai who faces five years in prison as the city’s government continues its crackdown on dissent.
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Royal rites – Princes William and Harry will not walk together at the funeral of their grandfather Prince Philip tomorrow in a decision that appears to highlight a rift between the pair. The brothers will instead be separated by their cousin, Peter Phillips, as they walk behind the specially designed Land Rover that will carry the coffin of the Duke of Edinburgh at the ceremony in Windsor. The Queen will be driven at the rear of the procession and, with social distancing and mask-wearing enforced in St George’s Chapel, she will sit alone.
Today in Focus podcast
Tobias Menzies played Prince Philip in Netflix hit The Crown. On the eve of the royal’s funeral, Menzies discusses the unique challenge of trying to get inside the mind of a person seen by so many but known by so few.
Lunchtime read: AJ Tracey: ‘I was angry, I was poor’
The British rapper AJ Tracey is up for two Brit nominations and is hoping for a No 1 album. He talks to Tara Joshi about fame and success, his childhood insecurities and impoverished past (“I was chubby, short and misunderstood”) – and not forgetting the goats.
Sport
Mikel Arteta revealed that a group of senior Arsenal players asked him whether they could take a knee prior to their resounding Europa League quarter-final win at Slavia Prague, which sets up a semi-final against Villarreal. Manchester United eased to a 2-0 home win over Granada, sealing a 4-0 victory on aggregate and booking their place in a final-four clash against Roma. Dan Evans pulled off the best victory of his career so far under the unlikeliest of circumstances as he produced a nerveless performance to upset Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 at the Monte Carlo Masters. Anne Keothavong, the captain of Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team, believes her players face a “must-win tie” against Mexico in this weekend’s play-offs as they attempt to remain in the top tier for another year. A new 8,000-seat show court will be part of Wimbledon’s expansion into neighbouring parkland.
Zak Hardaker was influential as Wigan continued their perfect start to the Super League season with a 19-6 win at Leeds. Dom Sibley has emerged as England’s latest injury concern after suffering a suspected broken finger while fielding for Warwickshire. And Lewis Hamilton has acknowledged his battles with Sebastian Vettel for the Formula One world championship as the greatest so far in his career.
Business
China’s economy grew a record 18.3% in the first quarter compared with the same time last year when the country was plunged into lockdown. But the official data still showed strong growth across key sectors such as manufacturing and retail. Amazon needs to “do a better job” for its employees, Jeff Bezos told shareholders in his final letter as chief executive of the online giant. The Dow Jones average closed at a record high last night but the FTSE100 is set for a flat start today. The pound is on $1.376 and €1.151.
The papers
The royal funeral arrangements provide the lead in several papers. “One last look of love”, says the Mirror of arrangements where the Queen is expected to pause at the coffin of Prince Philip as she passes. The Express also likes the poignancy of that moment – “Queen’s silent moment to say farewell” – and the Telegraph says “Duke planned funeral with military precision”. The Mail has a picture of Prince Charles with the line “Agony of Charles, a picture of grief”, over its main story on his sons: “Brothers apart”. The Sun goes with “Brothers at arms length”.
The Guardian leads with the exclusive “Urgent concerns over rapid tests as false positives soar”, while the Times has “West condemns ‘malign’ Russia”. The FT splash concerns shareholder activism at Glaxo – “Elliott’s multibillion-pound GSK stake sets up battle over direction” – and the i’s lead is “Part-human, part-monkey embryo is created by scientists”.
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