Top story: Minister reproached over ‘wrong’ science slur
Good morning – it’s Thursday and I’m Warren Murray, here to help you track and trace the big stories.
A top US scientist has said governments should not count on a Covid-19 vaccine being developed anytime soon, as global infections were set to pass five million after surges in Latin American countries including Brazil. The cancer, HIV/Aids and human genome projects researcher William Haseltine has said the best approach to the pandemic is to manage the disease through careful tracing of infections and strict isolation measures whenever it starts spreading. While a vaccine could be developed, “I wouldn’t count on it”, and people should wear masks, wash hands, clean surfaces and keep a distance. He said the United States and other countries had not done enough to “forcibly isolate” people exposed to the virus, but praised China, South Korea and Taiwan’s efforts to curb infections.
Surgical or everyday face masks can produce “leakage jets” that have the potential to propel virus particles several metres when the wearers exhale, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found. All face masks without a valve, including cloth masks, reduced the distance exhaled air travelled in a forward direction by more than 90% but unless tightly worn they could send jets downwards and backwards. At present the UK government recommends the public wear face coverings in crowded places where social distancing is not feasible.
Scientists must be allowed to take independent decisions without fear of recriminations, the head of the Royal Society has warned after a cabinet minister appeared to blame “wrong” science for mistakes in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. The government has disowned the remarks by Thérèse Coffey, the work and pensions secretary.
Ministers responding to the pandemic have on 11 occasions ordered departments to override formal objections from their most senior civil servant, the permanent secretary, the National Audit Office (NAO) reports. Permanent secretaries challenged extraordinary spending pledges because they were made quickly and without full “value for money” checks, the NAO said. Because of the urgency, secretaries of state forced the spending pledges through and made themselves solely accountable. There are thought to have been only 75 such directions in the past 30 years.
Stay alert to our global live blog as your day proceeds – here is a quick flick through overnight developments.
There’s more in our Coronavirus Extra section further down … and here’s where you can find all our coverage of the outbreak – from breaking news to factchecks and advice.
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‘Chronic threat’ – Preparing for a no-deal Brexit later this year would overwhelm emergency response teams already burnt out from dealing with Covid-19, a leaked Whitehall report warns. Its authors say the government’s refusal to seek an extension to Brexit negotiations beyond 31 December threatens to “compound Covid-19 with a second UK societal-wide, economic and social, chronic threat”. The 76-page report marked “official/sensitive” was drawn up by the C-19 Foresight group, a cross-government team supporting the 42 local resilience forums (LRFs) in England and Wales that are tasked with planning and responding to major incidents and catastrophes.
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Capital gains pour in for richest – The highest paid 1% in Britain received nearly 17% of all the country’s income ahead of the Covid-19 crisis, according to a study that takes into account the concentration of taxable capital gains among the better off. It is a growing and much bigger slice of the national income than previously thought. In 2017-18 there were £55bn of taxable capital gains recorded, with £34bn of that divided between 9,000 individuals. The report questions whether capital gains should still be taxed at a much lower rate than other income, given they mainly flow to the rich, while the government faces a pressing need for raise revenue. Anneliese Dodds, the Labour shadow chancellor, said: “We must have a fairer settlement after this crisis – with those with the broadest shoulders making more of a contribution.”
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Cohen on furlough – Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, is expected to be released from federal prison today on furlough (not that kind) to serve the remainder of his sentence at home. Cohen was sent to jail last May after pleading guilty to numerous charges including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. He was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021. Separately the US supreme court has temporarily blocked the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation. The Trump administration is battling to put off the release of any materials until after election day on 3 November.
Coronavirus Extra
A combination of good weather, treacherous surf, an absence of lifeguards and the easing of travel restrictions in England is causing the RNLI and coastguard deep concern leading up to the bank holiday weekend. With beaches unpatrolled because of coronavirus, they are urging parents to protect their families – while chaotic scenes involving day-tripper traffic have prompted police to warn road users to drive safely and park legally.
Video calls have become part of daily life since the pandemic hit, helping the locked-down, especially elderly and disabled people, keep in touch. But there are downsides, writes Ammar Kalia – like the self-judgment that comes with constantly seeing your own face, or a boss who keeps the webcam running all day to fire work instructions at staff. Animal calls, though, are booming – a goat can earn £5 for a 10-minute appearance, and there’s an alpaca option too, with bronze, silver or gold packages on offer. Just don’t get fleeced …
Today in Focus podcast: The fraught return to school
Oliver de Botton is a headteacher of a large state school in Newham, east London. Like many teachers across the country, he is tackling the daunting task of getting ready for the return of some of his students in early June. Sally Weale, the Guardian education correspondent, looks at the backlash against this drive to return some year groups to school.
Lunchtime read: Beginning John Malkovich
“I had a lot of violence growing up, but so what?” The actor lost four close family members in five years, and his life savings to Bernie Madoff – so why does he still think he is the luckiest man around?
Sport
Amar Virdi, Surrey’s title-winning off-spinner, and the promising Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson are among the 18 bowlers who will begin individual training sessions from today in anticipation of England staging an international cricket summer. For the first time, Wimbledon’s annual payments to the Lawn Tennis Association have scaled £50m as the LTA announced a strong financial standing. Fans have been given encouragement that some Premier League matches will be televised free-to-air after “productive discussions” between the government and English football authorities.
Britain’s first Paralympics gold medallist, Margaret Maughan, has died at the age of 91. An NFL player is suing United Airlines, claiming he was sexually harassed, assaulted, abused and violated by a female passenger on a February flight from Los Angeles to Newark and the airline failed to properly respond to complaints. And Los Angeles police say a body found on Venice Beach is that of Shad Gaspard, the former WWE wrestler who was caught in a rip tide while swimming with his son last weekend.
Business
Japan’s exports plunged nearly 22% in April, the country’s worst drop in more than a decade as the coronavirus pandemic hit global demand. The finance ministry says imports fell 7%. The drop in exports is the worst since the 2008 financial crisis, as Japan struggles through a technical recession, juggling the health risks of Covid-19 with the need to keep the economy going. Some good news, though, with the government poised to lift a state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo while keeping it in place in Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures as well as Hokkaido.
Asian stock markets have been mixed overall, with investors looking ahead to Friday’s meeting of China’s legislature for details of possible new stimulus measures. Benchmarks in Shanghai and Seoul have risen, while Tokyo retreated. Hong Kong and Australia were little changed. The pound is worth $1.21 and €1.112 while the FTSE is trending lower before the open.
The papers
It’s beginning to look a lot unlike lockdown – sorry that’s not a Sun headline but the Briefing’s own summation of front-page pictures today showing people flocking to beaches in the sun. The i parlays the visuals into a theme for its lead story: “Summer holiday plan for Britain” – the Guardian reports that holiday homes, campsites and hotels might reopen from July if there is no second wave.
“NHS and care staff to be offered virus antibody test within days” – the Guardian front page says ministers will make the announcement today. The Mirror will be watching closely, calling it a “Trace against time” with “pressure piling on the government” to deliver. The Telegraph and the Mail are neutral sounding: “PM promises tracing by June to help open schools” says the former; “Boris plan to relax lockdown in 10 days” the latter. The Times says hospital admissions have fallen “to lowest level of crisis”, which could be taken a couple of ways.
“BoE ponders using negative rates for the first time to spur recovery” – imagine having to pay to lend money, which the FT says is in prospect. Our own duo of Inman and Elliott explain it here. “Shamed by this hospital cleaner” – the Metro takes up the story of a Syrian refugee working on the Covid frontline. All of that may be going on, but the Sun has found its true villain: “leftie Coogan”, the Alan Partridge comic who, it says, has put staff of his “country pile” on the government furlough scheme. The headline: “Knowing me, furloughing you … AHA!” The Express does its bit for government messaging: “We must win obesity war for sake of the NHS” with the health secretary promising to act after “shocking figures showed a link to Covid-19 deaths”.
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