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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Amy Walker

UK death toll rises by 77 but no new deaths in Scotland or Northern Ireland – as it happened

Street art in Glasgow.
Street art in Glasgow. Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer

Evening summary

Here’s a roundup of today’s key UK coronavirus updates.

  • The UK’s coronavirus death toll has risen by 77 – the lowest daily figure since the lockdown began. The official death toll of people who tested positive for Covid-19 across all settings now stands at 40,542, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland have reported no new coronavirus deaths. However, the Scottish health secretary warned people that it was “very likely” that more deaths would be recorded in the coming days, reiterating that there is often a lag in the registration of deaths over the weekend.
  • Thousands of people have continued to attend anti-racism protests across the UK. In London, demonstrators gathered outside the US embassy before marching towards Downing Street. Protests also took place in cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Nottingham. The Met police confirmed that 29 people had been arrested at protest in the capital yesterday.
  • Protesters in Bristol have pulled down a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it in the River Avon. It happened after at least 5,000 people packed into the College Green area to hear from speakers and hold an eight-minute silence in memory of George Floyd, who was killed by police in the US.
  • The nationwide lockdown “should have started earlier”, according to a Sage expert. The epidemiologist professor John Edmunds said he believed the government’s “situational awareness” in March would have made it difficult to impose measures sooner, but that the delay had “cost a lot of lives”.
  • In response, Matt Hancock said he was “sure” the decision to impose lockdown on 23 March had not cost lives. Hancock said the government had “made the right decisions at the right time”, but said lockdowns could be reimposed locally or nationally if infections rose significantly.

Updated

Thousands of protesters in London, who earlier gathered outside the US embassy, are now marching towards Downing Street.

My colleague, Jason Rodrigues, captured the density of crowds outside the embassy in Battersea earlier.

In case you missed it, health secretary Matt Hancock repeated calls this morning for people not to attend protests if physical distancing could not be observed.

Updated

The statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston, which was pulled down by anti-racism protestors in Bristol earlier, has been dumped in the River Avon.

It had been situated in the city’s centre since 1895, and was subject to an 11,000-strong petition to have it removed.

Videos of the event, which took place minutes ago, are now circulating on social media.

Although many protestors are wearing masks and gloves, few are adhering to social distancing measures.

Updated

Potential regional lockdowns are cause for “serious concern” as some council leaders fear they would be unenforceable, two city mayors have said.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram have called for government assistance after new data suggested the coronavirus reproductive rate was around 1 in the north-west of England.

In a joint statement on Sunday, they said the rise of the R value – the number of people an infected person passes the virus onto – was a “significant development” and that a “much more considered response” to the pandemic was now needed.

“At present, there is very little information available to local authorities on the Government’s policy of ‘local lockdowns’,” they said.

“But what we do know gives us cause for serious concern and in the view of some our local council leaders it is simply unenforceable.”

They added that if the Government was determined to proceed with the policy, it would be “imperative” that significant support was put in place for those affected.

Updated

UK death toll rises by 77

A further 77 people have died in the UK after contracting Covid-19, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.

The official death toll across all settings – including hospitals – now stands at 40,542.

Although there is usually a delay in the reporting of deaths over weekends, the latest figure is one of the lowest since the lockdown began.

As of 9am today, 286,194 people in the country have tested positive for coronavirus.

Updated

A total of 29 people were arrested during yesterday’s anti-racism protests in London.

The Metropolitan police said that “while the majority of demonstrators were peaceful and left central London after the planned event” a number had remained in Whitehall and became violent towards officers.

The 29 arrests were for offences including violent public disorder, public order offences and assault on emergency service workers.

A total of 14 officers were injured – two seriously. A female police officer who fell off her horse after hitting a traffic light remains in hospital in a stable condition after undergoing surgery.

Supt Jo Edwards said: “The violent and hostile scenes officers faced yesterday were completely unacceptable. It is shocking that a number were attacked and injured.

“Today, officers are out across the capital preparing for another day of demonstrations. I want to be clear that violence towards them will not be tolerated.”

Updated

NHS England have announced that a further 72 people have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of hospital deaths in England to 27,430.

Those who died included six people aged between 40 and 59, while 18 were between 60 and 79 and the remaining 48 people were aged 80 or above.

The anti-racism protest in the capital, which started at 2pm outside the US embassy in Battersea, is on the move with demonstrators heading towards central London.

My colleague, Mattha Busby, is live-tweeting from the scene.

Crowds have also gathered in Manchester’s St Peter’s Square for a second day of protest. Earlier, many knelt in silence as a mark of respect for George Floyd, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck on 25 May.

Updated

More than half of pregnant women recently admitted to UK hospital with coronavirus were from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, a new study has found.

Peer-reviewed research, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at data for pregnant women admitted to 194 obstetric units in the UK who had tested positive for Covid-19 between March 1 and April 14.

It found that of the 427 pregnant women in hospital during that period, 233 (56%) were from BAME backgrounds, of which 103 were Asian and 90 were black.

The high proportion of pregnant women from BAME groups remained after excluding major urban centres from the analysis.

Researchers, led by Professor Marian Knight from the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, said the findings now require “urgent investigation and explanation”.

In Bristol, where thousands of people have marched through the city centre to protest against racism, protestors have pulled down a statue of the 17th century slave trader Edward Colston.

A crowd of at least 5,000 people had earlier packed into the College Green are to hear from speakers and hold an eight-minute silence to represent the time George Floyd was filmed on the ground during an arrest in which a policeman knelt on his neck in Minneapolis.

Although many protestors are wearing masks and gloves, the majority have been unable to adhere to the 2 metre social distancing guidance amid huge crowds in the city’s narrow streets.

Updated

Five more people have died after contracting Covid-19 in Wales, taking the country’s total death toll to 1,398.

Figures from Public Health Wales also showed there were 40 new recorded cases of the virus, taking the total number of infections to 14,396.

The true number of coronavirus cases is likely to be higher as not everyone in Wales is tested, while most of the recorded deaths took place in hospitals.

The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has warned that “we can’t read too much into a single day’s figures” after Scotland reported no deaths for the first time since lockdown began.

“We know registration of deaths are relatively low at weekends,” said Sturgeon.

During the Scottish government’s daily press conference, health secretary Jeane Freeman said it was “very likely” that more deaths would be recorded in the next few days.

The latest figures, released by the Scottish government on Sunday afternoon, show that a total of 2,415 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, no change on Saturday’s figure.

A further 18 people have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the country’s total infections to 15,621.

Updated

A major teachers’ union is warning local authorities in the north-west of England not to open schools in their areas without taking further precautions, after reports suggest the Covid-19 reproduction R rate in the region has risen above one and authorities in greater Manchester and Lancashire advised their schools not to reopen on Monday.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said he has written to local authorities and mayors in Manchester, Oldham, Salford, St Helens, Stockport and Warrington to warn that the increase in the R rate “poses unacceptable risks” to the health and safety of staff and pupils.

“Employers have statutory responsibilities to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work and to minimise the risks to which employees are exposed. Given the reports that the R rate has now risen above one in the north-west, meaning that the virus may be growing again, the NASUWT believes these local authorities must fulfil their duty of care to staff and pupils by rethinking plans for the wider reopening of schools in their region.

“Some local authorities and employers in the region have already suggested that schools in their borough postpone the wider reopening of schools in response to the increase in the R rate. The NASUWT believes their neighbours should now do likewise,” Roach said.

“In the absence of new risk assessments being provided to the NASUWT and in the light of the increase in the R rate, the union must insist that these local authorities demonstrate how they intend to keep pupils and staff safe and if they cannot, they must pause their plans for the wider reopening of schools.”

Blackburn with Darwen council emailed schools on Friday evening, advising them not to reopen on Monday, while officials in Tameside, greater Manchester, advised schools to delay reopening until 22 June other than for vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers .

Steve Rotherham, the Liverpool city mayor, tweetedon Sundaythat the rise of the R rate “is a worrying development. It is a warning sign that must be taken seriously.”

No new coronavirus deaths reported in Northern Ireland

Similarly, no new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland.

Total deaths of those who tested positive for the virus in the country stands at 537, according to the Department of Health.

There have been another six confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the total recorded since the outbreak began to 4,796.

Updated

No new coronavirus deaths in Scotland for first time since lockdown

No new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Scotland for the first time since lockdown began, Scottish government figures show.

Updated

A huge gathering is taking place outside the US embassy in South London as anti-racism protests continue across the UK.

Peaceful demonstrators – the majority of whom are wearing face coverings – are taking part in chants including “no justice, no peace” while the road leading to the embassy in Nine Elms has been closed off.

In Bristol, Black Lives Matter protestors have covered the city’s controversial statue of slave trader Edward Colston with black fabric.

Updated

Police officers patrol as protesters wearing protective face masks stand with their placards ahead of a demonstration outside the US Embassy in London on Sunday afternoon.
Police officers patrol as protesters wearing protective face masks stand with their placards ahead of a demonstration outside the US Embassy in London on Sunday afternoon. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

British Airways has started legal proceedings against the government in its bid to overturn quarantine rules due to take effect in the UK from Monday.

BA’s owner IAG has sent a pre-action protocol letter setting out why it believes the moves, which will force air passengers arriving from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days, are illogical and unfair.

Airlines and travel firms have protested in vain against the new Home Office-led regulations, which they have said come months late to stop the transmission of coronavirus and will kill off any nascent recovery in their industries.

You can read the full report from our transport correspondent Gwyn Topham here:

The government have announced a new support package for British overseas territories during the pandemic.

It includes repurposed military oxygen machines and funding for testing facilities and will be available across 14 overseas territories.

A 24/7 hotline to connect medics in the territories with global health experts will also be established.

“In times of crisis, the UK family always stands together and our package of support for the overseas territories not only benefits communities in the fight against coronavirus, but also in the long term,” said overseas territories minister Baroness Sugg.

“Whether that is helping them test for viruses, such as Zika and dengue, or supplying critical medical equipment to provide life-saving support to British people who live in some of the most remote locations in the world.”

Previously, tests had to be shipped overseas from territories including the Falkland Islands and Anguilla to be processed, including to the UK.

It is hoped the new testing machines and extra medical equipment will enable health services to receive same-day results.

Updated

The method of voting in the House of Commons last week resembled a “Gilbert and Sullivan farce rather than serious Westminster processes”, Dame Margaret Hodge has said.

Her comments come after MPs joined a 90-minute queue on Tuesday to vote to prevent the resumption of virtual voting.

The senior Labour backbencher told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday:

I think watching last week, it was a Gilbert and Sullivan farce rather than serious Westminster processes that were taking place. What’s happening this week, which makes me so angry, [is] I’m now allowed a vote but I can’t take part in debates around legislation.

“So tomorrow there is a debate on virtual access and I would like to virtually take part in that debate. I’ve been told I can’t do that so I am being disenfranchised and discriminated against in a debate which is discussing my disenfranchisement and my discrimination. It’s just a nonsense.”

The Barking MP, 75, is currently shielding as she is in the age group that is most at risk from Covid-19.

Thousands of people have also gathered for an anti-racism protest under Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.

Our Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, is on the scene speaking to demonstrators.

Continued demonstrations are underway after the health secretary Matt Hancock said there is undoubtedly a risk there will be an increase in coronavirus cases as a result of the mass gatherings.

I’m Amy Walker, back from lunch, and ready to guide you through the afternoon’s UK coronavirus updates.

Updated

There are more Black Lives Matter protests today and at least one is already under way in Nottingham.

Updated

Lunchtime summary

Here’s a roundup of the key UK coronavirus developments from this morning.

  • The nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 “should have happened earlier”, according to a Sage expert. Epidemiologist professor John Edmunds said he thought the government’s “situational awareness” would have made it difficult to impose the measures sooner, but that the delay “has cost a lot of lives”.
  • In response, Matt Hancock said he was “sure” the decision to lock down on 23 March had not cost lives. Speaking on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, Hancock said the government had “made the right decisions at the right time” but said lockdowns could be reimposed locally or nationally if infections rise significantly.
  • Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, has said she was “shocked” that a minority of people at an anti-racism protest in the capital had been violent towards officers yesterday. Shortly afterwards, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, urged those gathering at today’s demonstration to “do so safely” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • The failure to consider air pollution as a factor in the higher rates of coronavirus deaths among minority ethnic groups has been deemed “astonishing” by critics of a Public Health England review. The comments came after a PHE report confirmed the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities but did not mention air pollution.

That’s it from me, Amy Walker, for a short while. I’ll be handing over to my colleague Haroon Siddique during lunchtime.

Updated

The failure to consider air pollution as a factor in the higher rates of coronavirus deaths among minority ethnic groups is “astonishing” and “wholly irresponsible”, according to critics of a Public Health England review.

The PHE report released on Tuesday confirmed the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on people from ethnic minorities but did not mention air pollution.

Urban smog seen shrouding Canary Wharf from a residential estate in London.
Urban smog seen shrouding Canary Wharf from a residential estate in London. Photograph: Paul Lawrenson/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

Minorities in the UK, US and elsewhere are known to generally experience higher levels of air pollution, and there is growing evidence around the world linking exposure to dirty air exposure to increased coronavirus infections and deaths.

Scientists said air pollution should “absolutely” be considered and that it could have a double effect, with long-term exposure weakening lungs and hearts and short-term exposure potentially making viral infection more likely.

You can read the full report from our environment editor, Damian Carrington, here:

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has cautioned that “Covid-19 is still a very real threat” and asked people to “consider ways of making your voice heard that doesn’t put yourself and others at risk” ahead of an anti-racism protest in the capital this afternoon.

In a Twitter post, Khan said:

Londoners of all ages, races and backgrounds joined millions of people around the world yesterday to come together peacefully. I stand with you. George Floyd’s brutal killing must lead to immediate and lasting change everywhere.

“The vast majority of protesters in London were peaceful. But this vital cause was badly let down by a tiny minority who turned violent. This is simply not acceptable, will not be tolerated and will not win the lasting and necessary change we desperately need to see.”

He urged those planning to protest today to “do so safely, peacefully and within the law” as well as to use hand-sanitiser, wear a face covering and to keep 2 metres apart from others.

Updated

The Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, and the Liverpool city region mayor, Steve Rotheram are holding a joint press conference following a report that suggested the R value had tipped above 1 in the north-west of England.

Burnham has said the mayors were not “conducting a blame exercise” but believed the new data was linked to the loosening of lockdown measures.

He also reemphasised his call for a regional mayor to sit on Cobra meetings, and said Greater Manchester was not in support of potential localised lockdowns because of the detrimental economic effects.

On Friday, the report from scientists at Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge put R at 1.01 for the north-west and 1 for the south-west.

The north-west – including Liverpool and Manchester – is viewed as particularly concerning due to higher numbers of infections there, which would be projected to continue at the current rate.

Manchester Evening News’ politics and investigations editor, Jennifer Williams, is posting live updates from the conference. You can follow her here:

Updated

Single parents and workers from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups have experienced the worst financial shocks as a result of the pandemic, analysis has revealed.

Research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex shows that the earnings of households across the UK have fallen, with lowest earners suffering disproportionately.

Approaching half – 44% - of non-BAME individuals whose working hours have declined during the crisis have been furloughed, while 7% have found themselves unemployed.

By contrast, only 31% of BAME workers who have experienced a drop in the hours they are working have been furloughed, while more than 20% have lost their jobs.

You can read the full report from Observer reporter Jamie Doward here:

Updated

Protests against racial inequality in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd are to continue in the UK today, despite warnings that the mass gatherings posed “some risk” of new coronavirus infections.

Demonstrators are set to gather at the US embassy at 2pm in London, while thousands of people are also expected at a Black Lives Matter march in Bristol at the same time.

Events are also scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Nottingham this afternoon.

Protesters hold placards at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Parliament Square in central London on Saturday.
Protesters hold placards at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Parliament Square in central London on Saturday. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images
Later in the day, police officers in riot gear shout to protestors in central London after flares were thrown at a police line near Downing Street.
Later in the day, police officers in riot gear shout to protestors in central London after flares were thrown at a police line near Downing Street. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Earlier, health secretary Matt Hancock said British police were “not like” their American counterparts after thousands of people protested in London yesterday.

He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I think the police did a fantastic job, and I’m very proud of the British police for their professionalism, their restraint in the face of the tiny amount of violence – and I would stress it was a very small amount of violence – later on in the day.

“And I think that we can all be proud that the British police are not like the American police in this way and I think that’s a very good thing.”

Updated

Health secretary Matt Hancock donating plasma as part of a trial to see if antibodies from survivors of Covid-19 can be used to treat those currently battling to recover from the virus.
Health secretary Matt Hancock donating plasma as part of a trial to see if antibodies from survivors of Covid-19 can be used to treat those currently battling to recover from the virus. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/EPA

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has said the government cannot remain silent on police brutality in the United States.

Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, Nandy said she had “no idea whether Donald Trump is a racist or not a racist”, but believed his response to mass protests after the police killing of George Floyd was an “election strategy”.

“In the run-up to the American elections, this is one of the ways that politicians try to activate their base,” said Nandy. “They divide people in order to try to advance their own cause and that’s actually one of the things that is so damaging about it.

“That’s crept into our politics in Britain in the last few years and we’re seeing under the cover of Covid; other countries trying to do something similar – rowing back on people’s freedoms, human rights, the rule of law, democracy.”

She added that she supported peaceful protesters against racism and police brutality in the UK, saying that demonstrations were “one of the most important things about living in a free society”.

“You cannot be silent in the face of racism and police brutality, and I think those young people are right to raise their voices and to demand change,” said Nandy.

Updated

Matt Hancock has said he is sure that the government “made the right decisions at the right time” on implementing the coronavirus lockdown.

In response to Andrew Marr, who asked if the health secretary was “sure locking down when you did and not earlier did not cost lives”, he said “I’m sure”.

“As I keep looking back on that period I’m sure that taking into account everything that we knew at that moment, my view is that we made the right decisions at the right time,” said Hancock.

“There’s a broad range on SAGE of scientific opinion and we were guided by the science which means guided by the balance of that opinion as expressed to ministers through the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser. That’s the right way for it to have been done.”

He added that the government would reimpose a lockdown nationally or locally if the rate of new infections increased significantly. “But we don’t want to do that, and that’s why we’re taking a cautious approach and a safety first approach.”

Although Hancock said the government had finished delivering coronavirus tests to all care homes yesterday, he admitted that this didn’t mean all residents and carers had been tested.

It comes as a new analysis suggests that care home residents are on course to make up more than half the deaths caused directly or indirectly by the coronavirus crisis in England.

Hancock also dismissed as “not true” comments by the UK statistics authority chairman Sir David Norgrove that testing figures are designed to show the largest possible number of tests.

Updated

Sage expert: lockdown 'should have happened earlier'

Epidemiologist professor John Edmunds, who is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), has said there is “some risk” of new infections of coronavirus as a result of anti-racism protests in the UK.

Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, Edmunds said that because around one in a thousand people were infectious, “it is a risk to have thousands of people congregating together”.

He added that the fact that they were being staged outdoors, and many people were wearing face coverings, did reduce the risk of infection.

Edmunds also said that the nationwide coronavirus lockdown “should have happened earlier” to avoid the loss of many lives.

I think it would have been hard to do it, I think the data that we were dealing with in the early part of March and our kind of situational awareness was really quite poor,” he said.

“And so I think it would have been very hard to pull the trigger at that point but I wish we had - I wish we had gone into lockdown earlier. I think that has cost a lot of lives unfortunately.”

He added that the epidemic “will end via herd immunity”.

“Via vaccination is how we want it to be achieved, but that’s how all epidemics come to an end. We’ll be under these restrictions in some way until levels of immunity are such in the population that we don’t have to take extra precautions to stop chains of transmission,” he said.

Updated

More from health secretary Matt Hancock, ahead of his appearance on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show this morning.

He told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the UK was “winning the battle” against coronavirus, as more lockdown restrictions are set to be eased.

“Sadly there are still people dying but the number of people dying each day is also falling, the number of people admitted to hospital is falling, the number of people in hospital is falling,” said Hancock.

“We are winning the battle against this disease and that allows us to release more of the restrictions – including putting in place this local action supported by the test and trace system.

Seeking to push back on reports of a conflict between the government’s need to get the recharge the economy and public health, Hancock said the “worst thing” for the economy would be a second spike in infections.

He added: “I care deeply about getting the economy going, and the best way to get the economy going is to ensure that we get the number of new infections right down.”

Updated

Here’s a look at some of today’s newspapers, many of which lead with images from yesterday’s huge protests against racism and police brutality.

The Observer splashes on senior NHS figures urging the prime minister Boris Johnson to plan for a second wave of coronavirus infections. It also features a photograph of champion boxer Anthony Joshua joining Black Lives Matter protesters in his hometown of Watford.

The Sunday Times leads on the prime minister signing off the continued easing of the coronavirus lockdown in order to avoid the possible loss of three million jobs.

There’s also a stark warning from the former chancellor Sajid Javid that rich Britons are more concerned with preserving their own advantages than with “justice and humanity”.

The Sunday Telegraph leads with a report on Boris Johnson ordering ministers to speed up the construction of new hospitals in order to rebuild the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday splashes with an image of a policewoman who was knocked off her horse by a traffic light as officers charged at protesters in London yesterday.

Updated

The government has reportedly warned parents that exams for secondary school pupils may be delayed again next summer.

Exam regulator Ofqual has begun making contingency plans for next summer’s exams as pupils attempt to regain months of lost learning, according to the Sunday Times.

It is considering pushing exams from May to as late as July and continuing this year’s emergency marking system.

An Ofqual spokeswoman told PA Media that the regulator recognised pupils, parents and teachers were concerned about disruptions caused by the pandemic.

She said: “Our overriding aim is to ensure exams and assessments are as fair as possible and we are working closely with the Department for Education, exam boards and groups representing teachers, schools and colleges, to carefully consider a range of possible measures.

“We will provide further information in the coming weeks.”

The report comes as more schools shelve plans to reopen on Monday after new data suggested coronavirus could still be spreading in the north-west of England.

Updated

The commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Cressida Dick, has issued a statement in response to yesterday’s anti-racism demonstration in London, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Dick said she was “deeply saddened” that a “minority of protesters” had been violent towards officers. The day’s protests were mostly peaceful but there were disturbances – including fireworks being thrown at a police line – in the evening after many demonstrators had left.

She said:

I am deeply saddened and depressed that a minority of protesters became violent towards officers in central London yesterday evening. This led to 14 officers being injured, in addition to 13 hurt in earlier protests this week. We have made a number of arrests and justice will follow. The number of assaults is shocking and completely unacceptable.

“I know many who were seeking to make their voices heard will be as appalled as I am by those scenes. There is no place for violence in our city. Officers displayed extreme patience and professionalism throughout a long and difficult day, and I thank them for that.

“I would urge protesters to please find another way to make your views heard which does not involve coming out on the streets of London, risking yourself, your families and officers as we continue to face this deadly virus.”

Updated

On the government continuing to ease lockdown measures despite studies suggesting the UK’s coronavirus infection rate has grown to above 1 in some regions, Hancock said they took into account several models on infections through Sage.

“What you shouldn’t do is look at one particular report, and say that is the answer right across the board.

“There are some areas where we think the R rate is a bit higher than elsewhere, including the north-west of England, and we’ve got to make sure wherever our localised outbreaks are we absolutely tackle those working with local directors of public health,” he said.

He added that the government’s coronavirus alert level remained at four– the second highest level – ahead of shops reopening on 15 June.

“We proceed with caution, we proceed with safety first, making sure that as those shops do reopen that it is safe to do so.”

Updated

Hancock also urged people not to gather in more than groups of more than six people to prevent the further spread of Covid-19, after thousands of people gathered for demonstrations in cities including London and Manchester yesterday.

“I support very strongly the argument is being made by those who are protesting for more equality and against discrimination,” he said. “But the virus itself doesn’t discriminate and gathering in large groups is temporarily against the rules, precisely because it increases the risk of the spread of this virus.

“So I would urge people to make their argument, and I will, I will support you in making that argument. But please don’t spread the virus, which has already done so much damage, and which we’re starting to get under control.”

Updated

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, is on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday speaking about anti-racism demonstrations in the UK sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in the US.

He starts of by saying he does not think Britain is racist, but that “there is injustice that needs to be tackled.”

“I’ve spent my political life fighting for equality and diversity and I think that we’re one of the most tolerant and open societies in the world,” said Hancock.

“Thankfully, this is all based in response to events in America, rather than here, but we also must continue to drive here for tolerance and genuine quality of opportunity.”

When asked how many people in the cabinet are black, Hancock said there was “a whole series of people from a BAME background” and named the chancellor Rishi Sunak and home secretary Priti Patel.

Updated

Good Morning. The prime minister has been urged to plan for a second wave of coronavirus infections by senior NHS figures, amid a drop in public confidence over his handling of the pandemic.

Health chiefs have said there should be no further easing of lockdown measures before a comprehensive test and trace system has been proved to work, as they accuse the government of lacking a strategy and dodging an “honest and open” debate about Britain’s plight.

The latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care show that another 204 people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus as of 5pm on Friday, taking the official death toll to 40,465.

This number does not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which is thought to have passed 50,000.

As suggestions emerge that the infection rate is increasing in some areas, including north-west England, health secretary Matt Hancock is likely to face difficult questions about the easing of lockdown when he appears on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday at 8.30am.

Meanwhile, protests against police violence and systemic racism sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in the US are set to continue in cities including London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Nottingham today.

Yesterday, thousands of people joined the anti-racism demonstrations across the country despite officials advising against mass gatherings due to Covid-19.

I’m Amy Walker, here to steer you through this morning’s UK coronavirus updates. Please feel free to get in touch throughout the day.

Email: amy.walker@theguardian.com
Twitter: @amyrwalker

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The Devil Wears Prada 2 Cast Finally Commented On Miranda Priestly Forgetting Andy, And Now I Have A Theory
Look who T.J. Maxx dragged in!
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Kelly Osbourne Branded 'Cadaverous' by Critics as Pals Fear Her Weight Loss Goes 'Beyond Grief'
Kelly Osbourne's recent public appearances have raised alarm due to her dramatic weight loss, with friends and industry insiders expressing concern over her health.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Will Connor Storrie Join 'Heated Rivalry' Co-Star Hudson Williams on the 2026 Oscars Red Carpet?
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie reunited at CAA's pre-Oscars party in Los Angeles, sparking speculation that the 'Heated Rivalry' co-stars could appear together at the 2026 Oscars.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
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