Evening summary
- Wearing face masks is to be made compulsory on public transport in England from 15 June. The move was welcomed by the unions, with Unite saying this should become the “new normal”, though Labour said this should have been done two months ago and the government had been far too slow to act.
- Grant Shapps said he expected the devolved administrations to introduce a similar face covering rule. Earlier today, Nicola Sturgeon said she was considering making the wearing of face masks mandatory on public transport and in shops in Scotland and reminded Scots that this is already advised.
- The government’s coronavirus economic measures are set to cost £132.5bn, according to the OBR. That is a rise of 7.5% on estimates made last month on the expected cost of measures including the furlough scheme and grants for the self-employed.
- The business secretary Alok Sharma received a negative test result for Covid-19.
- The R number in Scotland has dropped to between 0.7 and 0.9. It was previously between 0.7 and 1. Sturgeon said however that it was “fragile” and stressed the need for caution with easing lockdown measures as new cases continue to be recorded every day.
- The UK death toll approaches 40,000 as a further 176 fatalities were recorded, bringing the total to 39,904.
That’s it from us here in the UK. If you would like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.
UK death toll nears 40,000 with 176 more fatalities
The UK death toll has risen to 39,904, the DHSC said. That is a rise of 176, and just 86 off the 40,000 milestone.
As of 9am 4 June, there have been 5,005,565 tests, with 220,057 tests on 3 June.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 4, 2020
281,661 people have tested positive.
As of 5pm on 3 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 39,904 have sadly died.
More info:
▶️https://t.co/xXnL3FU15k pic.twitter.com/OGXFfkqgDu
There were no new cases of Covid-19 confirmed among prisoners in the most recent 24-hour period, the first time figures have flatlined since the lockdown was announced.
As at 5pm on Wednesday, 479 prisoners had tested positive across 79 prisons, marking no change in the previous 24 hours, Ministry of Justice figures show, while the number of infected workers increased by four to 944 across 105 prisons, a rise of less than 0.5%.
The figures are not live cases and include those who have recovered.
There are around 80,000 prisoners across 117 prisons in England and Wales, and around 33,000 staff working in public sector prisons.
At least 23 prisoners and nine staff are known to have died, as well as one prison escort driver and one NHS trust employee working in a secure training centre.
The current regime, under which family visits are banned, time spent out of cells reduced to about 30 minutes a day, prison transfers suspended and new arrivals quarantined for 14 days, has been hailed a success by ministers, as deaths and infection rates behind bars have been significantly lower than expected.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Justice unveiled its plan for recovery within the prison estate, with the potential to restart prison visits in July.
Updated
Labour says face coverings rule should have been introduced earlier
Labour says the face coverings rule should have been introduced earlier. This is from Jim McMahon, the shadow transport secretary.
This is just another example of the government being slow to act. Two months ago, Labour immediately backed the mayor of London’s call for face coverings on public transport to be compulsory. Yet only now Tory ministers are acting.
Two months after first raising this with government we are still yet to hear whether drivers will be issued with gloves, masks, and other PPE items as standard, what specification this PPE should be and, if there isn’t sufficient PPE, whether buses should still run.
We can’t go on like this. We need a comprehensive transport plan to get our public transport moving, to protect staff and to protect passengers.
And this is from Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London.
I’m pleased that our lobbying has paid off and the government has finally seen sense and made it mandatory for people to wear face coverings on public transport. This is something I and others have been calling on ministers to do for some time, and is in line with a large body of evidence that they can help stop the spread of coronavirus.
I encourage anyone travelling on public transport, or anywhere you can’t keep a safe two metre distance, to wear a face covering, but from Monday 15 June, everyone must wear a covering over their nose and mouth for the entirety of any journeys made using the public transport network. This will be mandatory and will help everyone be safer.
Business secretary Alok Sharma tests negative for Covid-19
Alok Sharma has received a negative result after being tested for coronavirus, his spokeswoman said.
She said:
Business secretary Alok Sharma has received a negative result after being tested for coronavirus yesterday.
Mr Sharma would like to thank the parliamentary authorities and Speaker and also for the kind words from parliamentary colleagues and others who have expressed their well wishes over the last 24 hours.
Huge thanks to everyone for their really kind messages over the last 24 hours and my grateful thanks also to the parliamentary authorities and Speaker for their support yesterday. Just had results in and my test for #COVIDー19 was negative.
— Alok Sharma (@AlokSharma_RDG) June 4, 2020
Updated
Whilst others raise concerns about potential confusion over face covering guidance in different parts of the UK, Nicola Sturgeon is reminding Scots that the Scottish government already strongly advises their use on public transport and in shops (whereas, the Shapps announcement for England only applies to public transport).
A reminder that @scotgov already strongly advises the use of face coverings in shops and public transport. As I said earlier today, we are considering making it mandatory. However, no need to wait for that - please do it now (unless you have, eg, asthma)
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 4, 2020
There is still some uncertainty about passengers on cross-border trains and buses but in reality the difference between the Scottish and English regimes is a fine. It remains to be seen what difference that extra push makes to commuters, many of whom, anecdotal evidence suggests, remain unwilling to wear face coverings for travel.
Updated
The unions favour face coverings being made compulsory because ONS figures show that transport workers who have regular contact with members of the public are at particularly high risk of dying from coronavirus. This chart, from this ONS report, shows that bus drivers are more than twice as likely to die from coronavirus as average working-age men.
Face coverings on public transport should become 'new normal', says Unite
And the Unite union, which represents 80,000 bus workers, has also welcomed the announcement. This is from Bobby Norton, its national officer for public transport.
This is the right move from the government. The wearing of face coverings has been shown to reduce transmission of Covid-19. It will improve safety for both drivers and passengers.
With no imminent cure for Covid-19 or a vaccine becoming available, the wearing of face coverings on public transport should become the new normal.
In the short-term, the government should follow the lead of various parts of Yorkshire and London and impose a reduced maximum capacity on all buses to further reduce the danger of infection.
Unite is committed to working with the government and bus operators to ensure that, as infection rates fall and the lockdown further eases and bus usage increases, passengers and drivers are not placed at risk.
Rail unions all welcome face coverings announcement
Trade unions have welcomed the government’s announcement about making the wearing of face coverings compulsory on public transport from 15 June.
All three major rail unions are in favour. This is from Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
The RMT has been campaigning for compulsory wearing of masks on public transport and this is long overdue, but we fear this announcement is being driven not by safety concerns but by the premature easing of the lockdown which is swelling passenger numbers and making social distancing on transport increasingly impossible
By themselves, face masks are nowhere near enough to protect passengers and worker safety on public transport. They need to be combined with preventing non-essential travel and compulsory enforcement of two-metre social distancing.
This is from Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, which represents train drivers.
This is a sensible step by the secretary of state for transport. We have been working closely with the government to ensure that agreed increases in services on Britain’s train, and tube, network is done in a safe and controlled manner - to help spread the loading, and maintain social distancing - for the safety of passengers and staff. The instruction to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus will ease the concerns of people travelling, and working, on the transport network.
And this is from Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of the TSSA transport union.
This is a welcome step by the government which will lower the transmission of this deadly virus among those using public transport in the weeks and months to come.
However, it’s also important to stress that people must not interpret the use of a face covering as a licence to breach social distancing measures as lockdown eases. A physical distance of at least two metres between passengers and/or staff must be maintained at all times as this remains the most effective measure to control the spread of Covid-19.
TSSA General Secretary, Manuel Cortes, has backed the announcement from Government that face coverings will be mandatory across public #transport from Monday 15th June in England. #COVIDー19 https://t.co/ZVbCycU7ZM pic.twitter.com/NpobdIpAQB
— TSSA (@TSSAunion) June 4, 2020
Updated
Scottish ministers are paving the way for cuts in the size and number of Scotland’s universities and colleges after announcing a review of “future provision and sustainability” due to the coronavirus crisis.
Richard Lochhead, the Scottish education minister, said he had commissioned the Scottish Funding Council to review the funding, provision and delivery of teaching and research across the higher and further education sectors.
He said the SFC, the government agency that funds and polices the country’s colleges and universities, had forecast operating deficits of between £383m and £651m in the next academic year due to the lost income from overseas students, rental and research income and the costs of providing socially-distanced teaching.
University executives had already expected the SFC to review of the affordability and size of Scotland’s higher and further education sectors, before the pandemic shattered their funding model, with guarantees free tuition for Scottish and EU citizens.
The SFC does not fully fund the costs of Scottish and EU places, and expects universities and colleges to cross-subsidise those costs by attracting increasing numbers of overseas and rest of the UK students who are charged full tuition.
That overseas market is expected to collapse because of the coronavirus, while the UK government has announced it plans to cap the number of English students allowed to go to Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish universities. UK ministers have also rejected pleas for a multi-billion pound bail-out of universities, intensifying their financial problems.
Lochhead said:
Our colleges and universities are showing tremendous adaptability and ingenuity in meeting the challenges of Covid-19, yet we know the financial impact could run to hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income.
[I] am clear we will need to shift to meet those challenges, so the Scottish Funding Council will look at how its existing models of funding, governance and delivery can exploit new opportunities and continue to support our world class further and higher education systems.
Q: Are tourist locations at particular risk from coronavirus when lockdown is relaxed?
Shapps says that to answer that question we need to know how the virus will continue to spread. There is a danger of people getting complacent, he says. But the virus is still very much with us.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
Updated
Q: Why were care home patients discharged from hospitals only tested from mid-April? And why won’t the government release detailed figures for patients going back into care homes?
Shapps says a lot of decisions were taken early on. He says a majority of care homes nationwide do not have any cases of covid. In some areas that has not been the case, he says. That will have to be reviewed, he says.
He says, overall, the number of care home deaths has been lower than in Europe.
Updated
Q: What message would you give to people thinking of going to the coast this weekend? And what help are you providing for the hospitality industry?
Shapps says the cooler weather will help. But the message remains the same: stay alert means keep 2 metres away from people, he says.
As for the hospitality industry, Shapps says the government has stood behind companies. But the best way to help them is by defeating the virus, he says.
Updated
Shapps says he expects Scotland and Wales to introduce similar face coverings rule for rail passengers
Q: Has Scotland agreed the use of masks on public transport? Or will passengers have to put them on as they cross the border?
Shapps says this is a measure for England. He says it is up to the devolved administrations to decide what they do. He says normally countries decide to move together, so he does not think we will end up with a confusing situation for passengers.
Hendy says he would expect passengers to be wearing masks when they get on a train, and again when they get off.
- Shapps says he expects Scotland and Wales to introduce similar face coverings rule for rail passengers.
Updated
Shapps says he has spoken to Alok Sharma, the business secretary, this afternoon. He says Sharma has been working from home, and sounded fine.
The PM always kept 2 metres away from him, he says.
He says Sharma is still waiting for the results of his coronavirus test.
And Shapps defends the decision to bring MPs back to the Commons. There is a lot of secondary legislation they need to work on, he says.
Updated
Terms of reference for next Covid-19 disparities review published
Q: Bangladeshis in Bradford have been telling us that they are most at risk of dying from coronavirus. What is the specific advice for BME people at risk from Covid-19?
Shapps says Public Health England published a report on this yesterday. Kemi Badenoch is leading a review to turn that report into recommendations for action. He says the terms of reference for that have just been published.
They are here.
Updated
Q: Will people be fined if they do not wear face coverings?
Shapps says it will be a condition of travel. But other powers will be available. Ultimately people could be fined, he says. But he says he expects fines won’t really be needed.
Hendy says the same applied with the alcohol ban on TfL.
Asked about quarantine, Shapps says, now that the death numbers have fallen, no one wants to see them go up again.
Q: Will rail workers have to police this new face coverings rule? And will people be fined if they don’t comply?
Shapps says it will be a condition of travel. The government has worked closely with the unions, he says. He says it is in everyone’s interests to make this work.
Hendy says he was transport commissioner for London in 2008 when the ban on alcohol was introduced. The same question was asked. But in fact people complied. He says he expects the same thing to happen here.
Shapps says face coverings will be available at stations for people who have forgotten. And volunteers will be there to remind people.
Charlotte asks about travel companies refusing to give people refunds for cancelled trips.
Shapps says travel companies do have a responsibility to pay the money back. Trading standards can look into breaches, he says. He says he will be encouraging them to pay people back. It is not acceptable for them to just hold on to people’s money, he says.
Updated
Alex from Canterbury asks what will be done to protect renters from being evicted once the current ban on evictions runs out.
Shapps says the government has tried to protect jobs. It wants to get people back into work, he says.
He says schemes like the furlough one have some time to run.
Updated
Shapps says history shows how quickly we can adapt, as we did when trains, cars and planes became available for transport.
Now we stand on the verge of a new transport revolution - a green transport revolution, he says.
Shapps says a £50 fix-your-bike voucher will be introduced to encourage more people to start using bikes.
Updated
Shapps says people will be refused travel if they do not comply.
But he says he expects most passengers will be happy to comply.
Wearing face coverings to be made compulsory on public transport in England from 15 June, Shapps says
Face coverings on public transport will be compulsory from 15 June in England to help stop the transmission of coronavirus as more people go back to work, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has said.
The government will require people to wear face coverings on buses, trains, tubes and other modes of public transport from that date, when non-essential shops are likely to reopen.
However, it will not apply to people entering shops, despite the current guidance saying face coverings should be worn in enclosed public places.
Ministers are bringing in the policy due to concerns about the difficulties of physical distancing on crowded public transport, despite people being asked to use other ways of travelling, to space out, face away from each other and travel at staggered times.
A senior government source said it would help stop asymptomatic people passing the virus on to others and also “act as a visible reminder” of the need for distancing and measures like handwashing.
Under the conditions of carriage, fines may be imposed for anyone who flouts the new rules.
First, if you can work from home, you should do so, Shapps says.
If you can’t, you should try to avoid the rush hour, he says.
Second, he says from 15 June face coverings will be mandatory on public transport.
Many other countries have done this, he says.
He says this will apply to buses, trains, aircraft and ferries.
Face coverings help protect fellow passengers, he says.
Shapps says the road to recovery must be cautiously managed. They must avoid a second spike, he says.
He says the government is also encouraging people to use other forms of transport, apart from public transport.
But the next easing of restrictions will occur (in England) on Monday 15 June. That will put more pressure on public transport, he says.
So today he says he will announce measures to keep people safe.
Shapps is here.
He starts with the latest slides.
Here are the transport use figures. Shapps says he is pleased to see cycling is up.
Here are the death figures.
He says these figures show that the fight against coronavirus still goes on.
Grant Shapps' press conference
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is taking the UK government’s afternoon press conference. It is due to start very soon. He will be appearing with Sir Peter Hendy, chair of Network Rail.
All the media questions today will come from regional journalists, not national ones.
More and more people are making living wills in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, a charity has said.
Compassion in Dying, which helps people prepare for the end of life, says it has seen a “dramatic surge” in the number of people who want to let relatives know what should happen if they become critically ill.
Officials urged people to make sure that living wills were signed, witnessed and copies given to relatives and doctors.
Davina Hehir, director of policy and legal strategy at Compassion in Dying, said:
Since the coronavirus outbreak, there has been a dramatic surge in people making living wills to refuse certain life-sustaining treatments should they become critically ill with Covid-19 or another illness.
We urge those who are sensibly taking the time to consider what they do and do not want at the end of life to ensure that their living will is signed, witnessed and that copies are shared with their loved ones and GP.
Charlie Falconer, a former Labour lord chancellor, says that if Suella Braverman, the attorney general, can’t see what was wrong with her pro Dominic Cummings tweet (see 10.34am), she does not understand her job.
If she thinks tweeting out in favour of a law breaker in mid police investigation at the request of the Tory Whips doesn’t undermine legal process she hasn’t grasped the basics of her job. https://t.co/SoVpOvbIVl
— Charlie Falconer (@LordCFalconer) June 4, 2020
Updated
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has also published its latest estimate of R, the reproduction number, for Northern Ireland. It is between 0.7 and 0.9 - the same as in Scotland. (See 2pm.)
The Department of Health now publishes the current #COVID19 reproduction number (R) on Thursday each week.
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) June 4, 2020
The current estimate of R is 0.7 – 0.9
➡️https://t.co/OejxiFaY6F pic.twitter.com/yCKLIgPr0X
On 12 May, in its plan (pdf) for relaxing the lockdown, the Northern Ireland executive said it then estimated that R was at 0.8. Not much seems to have changed, except that it is now stating the figure with a bit more uncertainty ...
Starmer tells PM UK should be supporting Americans protesting against George Floyd killing
Sir Keir Starmer has written an open letter to Boris Johnson challenging him to explain what the UK government is doing to support those Americans protesting against the killing of George Floyd. He asks for information about what concerns have been raised with Washington about the way peaceful protests are being suppressed, as well as for an assurance that exported British riot equipment is not being used by the US authorities in this way.
Starmer says:
The death of George Floyd has justifiably prompted anger and a burning desire for fundamental change. The UK must be clear in showing that we understand this frustration and that we are ready to stand together with those who seek to tackle the injustice and inequality that remains within all our societies.
I have written to the Prime Minister calling on him to urge the United States and President Trump to respect human rights and the fundamental democratic right to peaceful protest. pic.twitter.com/skuTHRMgHD
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 4, 2020
Black Lives Matter UK has announced a protest in response to Public Health England’s report which confirmed black Britons are up to four times more likely to die from Covid-19 than their white counterparts.
Among other causes, the report (pdf) points to socioeconomic deprivation within ethnic minority communities and barriers to accessing healthcare.
With many returning to work in the phased reopening of the economy, the campaigners want to know how those most affected, especially black key workers, will be protected.
They are demanding that the government investigates the root causes of disparities in health for black people and people of colour and provides a roadmap with individual, community and structural interventions.
The campaigners are calling for a doorstep protest, so people who don’t feel comfortable protesting outside due to the pandemic can take part. People will be urged to play Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come at 7pm this evening, with the time slot a reference to the “clap for carers” campaign, since BAME people are overrepresented in the NHS and other essential services.
Dr Rochelle Burgess, a PhD lecturer in global health at UCL, said:
The findings of the PHE report are not really a surprise to anyone who is a person of colour in this country, or the world. It is painfully clear that none of this data will change without action at an individual level and structural change. Our governments need to do both, and they need to do it now.
Updated
Birmingham city council has urged demonstrators to keep 2 metres apart during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the city centre this afternoon.
Hundreds have indicated they will attend the rally in Victoria Square from 4pm, including the Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings.
It comes after pockets of protesters clashed with police as thousands of people gathered in central London on Wednesday, and abandoned social distancing, for a BLM demonstration in response to the death of George Floyd in the US.
The West Midlands police assistant chief constable, Matt Ward, said:
Our aim is to allow and facilitate peaceful protest, and therefore we are not going to stop people coming out on to the streets if they’ve got legitimate concerns they want to share.
You can still protest while maintaining social distancing.
Birmingham city council said it supports the BLM movement but urged protesters to keep 2 metres apart and stay in groups of six or fewer.
Updated
Hundreds of on-street parking bays in Glasgow city centre will be suspended to allow 25km of extra space for pedestrians to maintain physical distance.
The council has announced the short-term suspension of one-third of the city’s 2,000 on-street parking spaces in order to widen footways, which will be done with funding administered by Sustrans Scotland.
Plans are also being drawn up to create park-and-stride and park-and-cycle facilities at satellite car parks in different parts of the city, but there will be no reduction in the number of disabled parking bays in the city centre.
The council leader, Susan Aitken, said:
The easing of the pandemic lockdown means that repurposing our streets is not just an ambition but a matter of urgency. People need the safe space and confidence to observe physical distancing, get on with their lives and accelerate our recovery.
Updated
The lives of security guards, cleaners and maintenance workers are being put at risk by the premature reopening of parliament, the prime minister has been told.
A union representing more than 800 parliamentary staff has written to Boris Johnson voicing their safety concerns following this week’s return to physical voting and attendance by MPs.
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said the nature of their members’ jobs meant they were more likely to be at risk from Covid-19.
The letter said many members had been expected to continue working throughout the crisis without adequate access to PPE and without proper consultation with their employers over their rights at work.
The self-isolation of the business secretary, Alok Sharma, after he become unwell in parliament on Wednesday showed how the risk to MPs and all staff remained very high, the PCS said.
The general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said in the letter that social distancing and the observing of pathways broke down during voting by MPs earlier this week.
Staff believe they (and MPs) are now at increased risk of contracting Covid-19 and this, in turn, is impacting on the mental wellbeing of our members working on the estate.
Many people can work from home, but those working as security guards, cleaners, catering staff, do not have the ability to do this.
These dedicated workers are on the frontline in parliament and across government departments, putting their lives at risk.
We believe parliament has opened too soon and the lives of PCS members, and those of our sister unions, are being put at risk unnecessarily.
We would therefore be grateful for your urgent intervention in this matter; the safety of our members and all of those working on and attending the parliamentary estate is paramount.
Updated
One more person with coronavirus has died in Northern Ireland, taking the total recorded by the Department of Health - a toll primarily accounting for hospital deaths - to 535.
There have been another 33 confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 4,773.
UPDATE on coronavirus (#COVID19) in NI.https://t.co/YN16dmGzhv pic.twitter.com/WX0Z9hWwmC
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) June 4, 2020
NHS England has announced 115 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 27,159. The full figures are here.
Of the 115 new deaths announced on Thursday:
- 24 occurred on 3 June
- 49 occurred on 2 June
- nine occurred on 1 June
The figures also show 25 of the new deaths took place in May, seven occurred in April, and the remaining one death took place on 20 March.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for postmortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published on Thursday by NHS England show 8 April continues to have the highest number of hospital deaths on a single day, with a current total of 899.
Updated
Government coronavirus measures set to cost £132.5bn, says OBR
The government is expected to spend £132.5bn on coronavirus policy interventions, up 7.5% on previous estimates last month, according to the fiscal watchdog.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said it expects spending on furlough schemes and grants to the self-employed will cost an estimated £132.5bn in this financial year, rising from £123.2bn at the last update on 14 May.
Officials have previously said the extra spending was helping to partially offset the plunging GDP used to measure growth.
The OBR also estimated last month that the deficit could hit £300bn this year, with a scenario of a three-month lockdown and three months of restrictions being eased.
But there are now fears that once the money dries up the UK could face unemployment levels not seen since the 1980s.
The OBR said:
The government’s economic policy response to the coronavirus crisis ... will have substantial direct budgetary costs. But the measures are designed specifically to support the economy through this temporary shock, and so they should help prevent greater economic and fiscal damage in the long term.
It added that the new numbers have been calculated as more data and spending information becomes available, but warns that further updates may be needed.
The OBR said it will focus its forecasts on the cash impacts from policies, for example the grants scheme for self-employed workers affected by the lockdown.
Longer-term costs to the economy will be factored in at a later date, the OBR said, adding:
How the impacts are recorded in the public finances is a matter for the ONS, and that is a further source of uncertainty until those classification decisions are made.
Breaking out some of the costing estimates, it said the furlough scheme bill is expected to increase by £4bn compared with last month’s estimates.
The gross costs for the furlough scheme is cut from £63bn to £60bn, once the new arrangements are brought in from August under which employers must contribute to furloughed staff bills.
But tax receipts from the scheme have been revised down, bringing a net cost of £54bn, compared with £50bn in the previous estimates.
A final self-employment grant due to launch in August is also included, bringing the estimated total cost for the payments to £15bn, up from £10.5bn.
Other added costs include £100m for removing import duties on medical products and a further £100m on bringing VAT for PPE to 0%.
All other estimates were left unchanged from the 14 May update.
Updated
MP claims Sharma's illness shows folly of abandoning virtual Commons as emergency debate on decision granted
In the Commons the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has approved an emergency debate on how the House of Commons operates during the coronavirus pandemic. It will take place on Monday.
The request for the debate was submitted by the Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael, who represents Orkney and Shetland. In the debate on the new arrangements on Tuesday, he explained why expecting MPs to attend the Commons in person was so unreasonable for someone with a constituency like his. He said:
In order for me to get here today, it required a journey of 18 hours, starting with an aeroplane, a taxi, a normal train and four hours in Edinburgh waiting for a sleeper train that I picked up at 1 o’clock this morning to arrive at Euston at 8am. I cannot and will not do that every week. Apart from anything else, the return journey will be 26 hours long and would require me then to go into self-isolation for 14 days – the only responsible way to live in a community such as mine. Having come here, I am here for the duration, because I cannot go back until it is safe to my family and my community for me to do so.
And, in tweets this afternoon, Carmichael says the illness of Alok Sharma (the SoS in the second tweet below) makes the case for a rethink even stronger.
The Deputy Speaker has granted my application for a debate on Monday. I want to note my appreciation for everything that the Speaker and all staff have done to ensure the safety of members and employees of the House during this most difficult time. /1
— Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) June 4, 2020
The implications of the government's insistence on our return to physical attendance should be clear to everyone by now. We risk the safety of people across the country. It is my earnest prayer that the SoS does not test positive for COVID-19 but this should be a wake up call. /2
— Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) June 4, 2020
He illustrated perfectly the way in which we are all subject to pressures to carry on when we should not. Doing so, when we are physically present in Westminster, exposes ourselves, our families and our constituents to risk. We owe our communities better. /3
— Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) June 4, 2020
The Leader of the House told us on Tuesday that he would bring forward a motion to allow members who are shielding to participate remotely. All the communities of the UK deserve full representation and I am concerned about the limits the government is trying to place on this. /4
— Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) June 4, 2020
One of the first rules of politics is that when you are in a hole then you should stop digging. I am glad that the Deputy Speaker granted the debate for Monday. This will allow the government to explain to the world why they refuse to put down their spade. /ENDS
— Alistair Carmichael (@amcarmichaelMP) June 4, 2020
Updated
Public Health Wales said a further eight people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,379.
And another 35 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there to 14,238.
The latest number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Wales has been updated.
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) June 4, 2020
Data dashboard:
💻https://t.co/RwgHDufHE7
📱https://t.co/P6UF1MTOwc
Find out how we are responding to the spread of the virus in our daily statement here: https://t.co/1Lza9meaTL pic.twitter.com/E8UwGZi8Yy
Sturgeon says wearing face coverings could become compulsory in buses, trains and shops in Scotland
At her daily press briefing on Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that she is considering making the wearing of face coverings mandatory.
She said that, while the scientific advice was “not overwhelming”, she wanted to strongly encourage people to wear face coverings in situations where physical distancing was difficult like in shops and on public transport. The first minister said:
Particularly in the future when more people are back at work and using public transport we will want to see people, where they can, wearing a face covering. If we have to change the status of the advice to make that happen then that has clearly got to be something that we are prepared to keep under consideration.
She added:
I understand why some people may not want to wear face coverings, it’s not the most comfortable thing to do. I’ve been open all along that the scientific advice on this is not overwhelming, but there is a benefit to be had if you wear a face covering in an enclosed space where physical distancing is a bit more difficult that there is some evidence that you wearing a face covering can protect someone else if you have the virus and you are not symptomatic ... [I] really want to strongly encourage people to please consider this very carefully.
Updated
Sturgeon says reproduction number in Scotland, R, now between 0.7 and 0.9
At her press briefing in Edinburgh Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, said that the reproduction number in Scotland, R, has dropped to between 0.7 and 0.9. Previously R (a measure of how widely the virus spreads from an individual) was between 0.7 and 1. Ministers say it is essential that it remains below 1 because above 1 every person infected spreads the virus to more than one other person (to two people if R is at 2 etc).
For the UK as a whole the most recent estimate, issued last Friday, is between 0.7 and 0.9.
The new Scottish estimate does not take into account the impact of the modest relaxation of lockdown in Scotland, and Sturgeon stressed it was important to remain cautious. She said:
I can’t stress enough how fragile it still remains because we are seeing new cases in most health board areas every day. It remains relatively steady which underlines our caution and care which we need to take.
Updated
Boris Johnson has opened the virtual Gavi global vaccine alliance summit being hosted by the UK. In his speech, he said he hoped it would provide a “moment when the world comes together - uniting humanity in the fight against disease”. He went on:
To defeat the coronavirus we must focus our collective ingenuity on the search for a vaccine and ensure that countries, pharmaceutical companies and international partners - like the World Health Organisation - co-operate on a scale beyond anything we have seen before.
We must use the collective purchasing power of Gavi, the vaccine alliance, to make that future vaccine affordable and available to all who need it.
If we are to make this the beginning of a new era of global health collaboration, we must also replenish the funding for the vaccines we already have - strengthening the routine immunisation against preventable diseases in the poorest countries.
Turning back to Suella Braverman’s comment about her tweet in defence of Dominic Cummings earlier (see 10.34am), these are from Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project.
Here's what @SuellaBraverman says: "to suggest that that was somehow a legal opinion is simply absurd." pic.twitter.com/ckpgug6CE1
— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) June 4, 2020
Here's what the Telegraph reported at the time: "No laws have been broken" @SuellaBraverman told Ministers. pic.twitter.com/90eJnY5Ez1
— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) June 4, 2020
Assuming the Telegraph is right, hers is *plainly* a legal opinion - and one given, it is reasonable to assume, with the intention of influencing Cabinet discussions about whether Dominic Cummings should be sacked.
— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) June 4, 2020
Preserving the integrity of the legal process is something we at @GoodLawProject care very much about.
— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) June 4, 2020
In light of the important role played by @SuellaBraverman we have written this letter to her office. We *will not* let the matter go. https://t.co/MRCUtKinQJ
No 10 does not rule out PM having to self-isolate if Alok Sharma tests positive for Covid-19
The Downing Street lobby briefing has finished. Here are the main points.
- Alok Sharma, the business secretary, has not yet received the results of his coronavirus test, the PM’s spokesman said. Sharma was tested after falling ill while delivering a speech to MPs from the dispatch box in the Commons yesterday. The spokesman said that, if Sharma did test positive, he would work with the government’s new test and trace system.
- The spokesman played down the likelihood of Boris Johnson being asked to self-isolate if Sharma does test positive - even though the two men attended a meeting together yesterday - but did not rule it out. The 45-minute meeting, which was also attended by Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, took place in the cabinet room at No 10. The spokesman said that the meeting, like all meetings at No 10, was “properly socially distanced” and that the participants stayed more than 2 metres apart. The spokesman said that the test and trace guidance was “not as simple as saying if you have been in a room with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus you are required to self-isolate”. People have to self-isolate if they have had face-to-face contact, at a distance of less than 1 metre, with someone who tests positive, or if they have spent more than 15 minutes within two metres of that person. But the spokesman did not go as far as saying that he was confident that Johnson would not be asked to self-isolate if Sharma tested positive. Asked if Johnson would comply if he were asked to self-isolate, the spokesman said: “We would follow the advice given by the medical experts.” The spokesman also said that the cabinet room was “vigorously cleaned” yesterday, but that that was usual practice and happened every day.
- Downing Street is not reconsidering the government’s move to abandon virtual sittings of the House of Commons in the light of Sharma’s illness, the spokesman said.
- The spokesman refused to deny a report on Channel 4’s Dispatches last night saying Johnson told his Italian counterpart on 13 March that he wanted “herd immunity”. Asked about the report, the spokesman said:
The position of the government is that herd immunity has never been its policy.
But the spokesman did not deny that Johnson had said the words attributed to him in the programme and, when asked if he was willing to clarify this directly with the PM, he suggested there was no need because he had made the position clear.
- The spokesman said 171,829 tests were carried out in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday. But the government had the capacity to carry out 220,213, he said.
- The spokesman confirmed the Telegraph story (paywall) saying that tens of thousands of coronavirus tests were returned void after being sent to a US laboratory for analysis. He said 67,000 tests had been sent to the US, and 29,500 were returned void. The laboratory was not being used again, he said. He said in total 4.2m tests had been carried out.
- The spokesman denied a Telegraph report (paywall) claiming hairdressers in England could be allowed to open as early as 15 June. He said the ambition was to reopen them from July at the earliest.
- The spokesman did not challenge a Guardian report saying that in some areas up to 90% of primary schools remained closed this week, even though schools in England are meant to be reopening for some year groups. One survey suggests 44% of English primaries remained closed. The spokesman said that what happened this week was “broadly ... in line with expectations” and that “we expect that attendance will grow over time”. He said official attendance figures would be published next week.
- The spokesman said the government has ruled out running the school meal voucher system in England over the summer holidays. But there will be a £9m programme offering some pupils activities and meals, said the spokesman, who also hinted it might be expanded.
- The spokesman said the government did not agree with the suggestion from Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, that the Covid-19 virus was man-made. Dearlove made the claim in an interview with the Telegraph. “We have seen no evidence that the virus is man-made,” the spokesman said. But the spokesman did not rule out Dearlove’s theory that the virus escaped from a laboratory. He said an independent inquiry was needed to establish where it came from.
- Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, will take the afternoon press conference, the spokesman said. The questions will come from regional media, not national media.
Updated
In case you missed it ... In this week’s episode of the Bafta-nominated Anywhere But Westminster series, the team return to Middlesbrough, which has had one of the highest infection rates in the UK.
Far away from ministerial briefings and political intrigue, Covid-19 has worsened already ingrained problems: biting hardship, precarious work and the feeling that government has left people to sink or swim. There is hope and energy at the grassroots but can things really change?
Updated
Beginning her daily briefing, the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announces that there have been nine deaths from coronavirus registered in Scotland over the past 24 hours – the first time since 27 March that the number of daily deaths has been in single figures – bringing the total there to 2,395.
As of 9am this morning there were 15,553 positive cases confirmed, an increase of 49 since yesterday, but a decrease of six in intensive care and a decrease of 21 confirmed cases in hospital.
Sturgeon also emphasised that, ahead of a weekend of “more traditionally Scottish weather”, it was still imperative not to go into other people’s houses, and to continue to meet only outdoors and at a two metre distance.
Updated
A scientific adviser to the government has cast doubt over the effectiveness of a blanket quarantine for visitors to the UK.
Prof Robert Dingwall, a member of a sub-group of Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies), made the comments after the home secretary, Priti Patel, came under pressure from MPs over the plans which come into force in England on Monday legally requiring most people arriving in the UK to self-isolate for 14 days.
She insisted the idea was “backed by science”, was “essential” to save lives and crucial to make sure gains made in fighting the virus were not lost.
But Prof Dingwall told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
We are not seeing new clusters that are taking off from people who have been travelling abroad. I think we would really need to get the level in this country significantly further down before quarantine started to become a useful measure.
Even then, we would have to see something that is targeted on countries with a significantly higher level of community transmission than ourselves - and there aren’t too many of those around, I’m afraid.
Prof Dingwall, a Nottingham Trent University academic who is a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) which reports to Sage, added:
If you’re a holiday destination in Europe in a country that has worked really hard to get its levels of community transmission down and you’re perhaps looking forward to seeing the end of the virus circulating, apart from in isolated outbreaks, then you have to wonder would they really want to welcome a load of British tourists from a country which hasn’t fully got this virus under control yet?
Updated
Extra work by firefighters in response to the Covid-19 crisis, including helping to deliver health supplies, has been extended until July and could last until the end of August, it has been announced.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said an agreement reached in March allowing firefighters to assist ambulance services, deliver vital supplies to the elderly and vulnerable and move the bodies of the deceased would continue.
A number of other activities have been agreed, including assembling personal protective equipment and training care home staff in infection, prevention and control.
Updated
The government’s track and trace programme could be illegal, privacy campaigners say. The Open Rights Group has filed a legal complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office over the programme, which it says breaches GDPR.
The complaint notes that, almost a week after it was launched, the government has still not filed a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for the programme with the ICO. The document, legally required before “high risk” data processing can begin, would explain the government’s view of the risks it faces, and explain how it hopes to mitigate them.
“Given the system is experimental and the sensitive nature and scale of the data being processed, a DPIA was required before processing commenced,” the ORG said in a statement. “[Public Health England] and the NHS confirmed that a DPIA has not been conducted, in breach of those GDPR requirements.”
Jim Killock, the ORG’s executive director, said:
The ICO must act to enforce the law. The government is moving too fast, and breaking things as a result. If they carry on in this manner, public confidence will be undermined, and people will refuse to engage with the track and trace programme. Public health objectives are being undermined by failures to get privacy and data protection basics in place.
When the government began trialling the Covid contact tracing app in the Isle of Wight, it was similarly late in filing the DPIA, which drew criticism from the Information Commissioner.
When eventually published, the impact assessment drew further criticism for what many perceived as a lax approach to the risks inherent in such a scheme. When judging the severity of being wrongly forced to quarantine for two weeks, for example, the impact assessment claims it is merely a “moderate” harm.
NHSX state that malicious or hyperchondriac self-reporting, with the consequence of causing self-isolation of a target, is of 'medium' impact and is 'possible'. Personally, I think it's hard to imagine risks to rights or freedoms of higher impact than quarantine. pic.twitter.com/qO1acrDXVz
— Michael Veale (@mikarv) May 12, 2020
Updated
Those who can, should go back to work, Boris Johnson has said. But how will people get to work safely? If we take public transport, will there be enough space to physically distance? If we take the car, will the roads cope with all the extra traffic?
In this Guardian explainer, Josh Toussaint-Strauss tries to figure out some answers to the UK’s transport problem in the time of coronavirus, with the help of Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor.
Updated
Tens of thousands of aerospace and aviation workers are set to lose their jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis, industry experts have warned.
Paul Everitt, chief executive of the ADS Group, said redundancies will be made in the coming weeks and months because of the collapse in demand for flights.
He told the business, energy and industrial strategy committee it was “very difficult” to see demand return quickly, so airlines and other companies will be forced to restructure or “resize”.
Everitt said the government’s controversial decision to press ahead with its quarantine plans for people arriving in the UK would lead to a further period of uncertainty for the sectors his group represents.
Summer is incredibly important for airlines, so the fact that they are not able to sell tickets with confidence in July and August is a clear worry and will only mean the recovery will take longer and be more painful.
The industry believed the right approach would be to put in place measures to minimise the risk of anyone getting on to an aircraft who might be affected by the virus, he added.
Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, also told MPs that one in four manufacturers were planning to make redundancies in the next few months.
He voiced fears about the loss of skills in the industry, saying he had spoken to the education secretary about the need to tackle the issue.
And Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, told the committee that the steel industry was in a “difficult position” before the current crisis, with falling prices for its products and rising costs for raw materials.
UK steel companies also faced higher electricity charges and business rates than competitors in other countries such as Germany, he said, adding:
The government needs to build a bridge to help us through this crisis. There is no point in the government saving the steel sector from going out of business now, if it is not going to work with us and trade unions to develop a brighter and sustainable future. It is totally within the government’s gift to do that.
When Suella Braverman, the attorney general, posted her tweet on Saturday 23 May (see 10.34am), she was one of several senior ministers using the platform to defend Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser. At that point the Guardian and the Daily Mirror had published a story saying Cummings and his family travelled to Durham to self-isolate during the lockdown, and No 10 had only given a limited explanation for his conduct.
Subsequently the Guardian and the Daily Mirror revealed that Cummings and his family went to Barnard Castle while they were in Durham. Durham police subsequently said that, if they had stopped him at the time, they would have treated this as a breach of the law.
Although Tory whips were asking ministers to tweet in support of Cummings, several refused to do so, including Robert Buckland, the lord chancellor and justice secretary. In an email to constituents sent out on Thursday 28 May, after Durham police gave their view, he adopted a tone that was very different from the one taken by Braverman a few days earlier. He said that, given his constitutional role, it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the merits of an individual case. He said:
After the revelations emerged over the weekend, I was glad to see Mr Cummings give an explanation as to why he acted as he did, and this has been rightly questioned by the media.
Durham police have investigated the situation and have concluded that whilst there might have been a minor breach, they will take no further action. You will appreciate that owing to the operational independence of the police and my constitutional duty as lord chancellor to uphold the rule of law, it would not be appropriate for me to give a view on the merits of an individual case.
I am, however, acutely conscious as to the strength of feeling on this issue, which I completely understand. This has left a deep impression on both me and colleagues in parliament and the government.
The urgent question on Covid-19 disparities is now over. That’s it from me (Aamna). I’ll be handing the blog over to Andrew and Lucy.
When asked why the Public Health Review failed to factor in the occupational discrimination faced by BAME staff, Badenoch says: “Public Health England didn’t necessarily have the data ... That was something I really wanted to see because it goes somewhere to explain the gaps.”
Updated
Badenoch says: “We’re not rushing to take into account what one specific report saying, we’re looking at what all the different reports have said like the one from Public Health Scotland to make sure we find out exactly what is going on.”
Updated
Good morning! I’m Lucy Campbell, joining the blog for the rest of the day. As always, please feel free to get in touch with news tips, stories, comments and suggestions.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
Labour MP Zarah Sultana asks whether the government will commit to a race equality strategy covering all Whitehall departments.
Badenoch says the government is doing everything it can to eliminate disparities. She says there are many other groups that have been impacted, based on age and gender.
“I’m not going to take any lessons from the honourable lady on race based and what I should be doing on that. I think this government has a record to be proud of,” she adds.
Updated
UK 'one of best countries in world to be black person', says Badenoch
Labour MP Rupa Huq asks when there will be a detailed plan on how to tackle inequalities following the moving Black Lives Matter protests outside parliament yesterday. She said she was struck by a placard that said: “Being black shouldn’t be a death sentence.”
Badenoch said we shouldn’t accept statements like being black shouldn’t be a death sentence in this country.
It is not true. It is true that there are disparities. It is true there are other factors that can make outcomes worse. Let’s look at that.
But let us not in this house use statements like being black is a death sentence, which young people out here don’t understand the context and then continue to believe that they live in a society that is against them when actually this is one of the best countries in the world to be a black person.
Updated
Suella Braverman’s claim that her tweet in defence of Dominic Cummings did not amount to any undue interference in the potential legal process (see 10.34am) has been firmly rejected by two of the most prominent legal commentators on social media.
This is from David Allen Green, the FT’s legal commentator.
No, it as absurd that @SuellaBraverman even thought about tweeting it
— david allen green (@davidallengreen) June 4, 2020
As @attorneygeneral she superintends the @cpsuk
She should apologise, or resign https://t.co/fLf5EJkcOP
And this is from the Secret Barrister, the name used by a barrister who anonymously published a book exposing flaws in the legal system (which is brilliant, by the way).
The Attorney General is a liar. Her tweet was clear, as was its meaning. If a barrister acted with such dishonesty in court, they would likely be reported to the Bar Standards Board. https://t.co/UP47tq4yTG
— The Secret Barrister (@BarristerSecret) June 4, 2020
Labour MP Helen Hayes raises the case of Belly Mujinga, who died from coronavirus after she was spat at by a man. Following “extensive inquiries” British Transport Police decided the attack did not led to her death.
Badenoch says she is “extremely saddened and shocked” by her death, but reiterated that the BTP were not taking further action in Belly’s case because senior detectives are confident that the incident at Victoria station did not “lead to her contracting covid”.
Updated
When asked whether the government would pause the easing of the lockdown until the there is a mitigation plan in place to address inequalities with how Covid-19 has impacted certain communities, Badenoch said any easement plan was being made in conjunction with scientists. “The government has reviewed and explained guidance extensively across all sorts of occupational areas.”
Updated
The SNP’s Joanne Cherry asks what the government will do about the current policy on no recourse to public funds. It is a condition placed on some people who enter the UK from other countries and have a temporary immigration status, which means you can’t claim most benefits
Badenoch said the government had taken extensive action to support families impacted by the policy.
Updated
Labour MP Gill Furniss said the review fails to make a single recommendation on how to reduce the inequalities, which has meant the coronavirus pandemic has taken a bigger toll on the BAME community
She said the coronavirus thrives on inequality and it is up to the government to take action and “show black lives matter”.
Updated
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch answers urgent Commons question on BAME coronavirus review
Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, is making a statement in the Commons during an urgent question on the BAME coronavirus review.
Badenoch said: “As a black woman and the equalities minister, It would be odd if I did not comment on the events in the US and protests in London yesterday. Like all right minded people, regardless of their race, I was profoundly disturbed by the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police.”
She said the government must not pander to those who seek to inflame current tensions. “We must work together to improve the lives on BAME communities.”
Updated
Crime in Scotland fell by nearly a fifth in first full month of lockdown, official figures show
There was a sharp fall in the number of crimes reported during the first full month of the lockdown in Scotland, with nearly a fifth fewer crimes and 29% fewer offences recorded by the police.
Scotland’s chief statistician said the number of crimes fell by 18% in April compared with April 2019, down by 3,823 to 17,171, while there were 6,215 fewer offences such as common assault or breach of the peace, compared with April last year, down from 21,644 to 15,449.
Sexual crimes reported to the police fell by 26%, down to 781, with violent crimes down 14% and crimes of dishonesty falling by 24%. The data excludes new offences for breaching lockdown or social distancing rules linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Only fraud cases showed a notable increase, up by 38%, from 791 to 1,089 cases. The statisticians said it was not clear that was entirely due to criminals exploiting people’s vulnerabilities during the crisis because procedures for recording fraud changed in April 2020, to include frauds committed outside the UK on victims within the UK.
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish justice secretary, said that even so, the coronavirus crisis had contributed to the increase. He also urged women and children who had experienced domestic violence to report incidents to the police; experts fear there has been a surge in unrecorded domestic abuse cases during the lockdown. He said:
While many types of crime have fallen in recent months, we know that some people have been using lockdown as a chance to commit offences, notably fraud – including targeting some of our most vulnerable citizens and exploiting businesses.
We must remain vigilant to such criminals, and also to the risks of harm against those who may be living in fear of abuse and violence within their own homes. I would urge anyone who has experienced or witnessed crime to continue to report it.
Some women and children may feel very isolated now, and need our help more than ever. My message to anyone experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence is absolutely clear: while you may feel vulnerable and unseen, you are not alone. Help from police and support services is still available round the clock.
Updated
Attorney general says it's 'absurd' to claim her pro-Cummings tweet undermined legal process
In the Commons Suella Braverman, the attorney general, is taking questions. Labour’s Ellie Reeves, the shadow solicitor general, asked her about the tweet she sent out defending Dominic Cummings after the Guardian and the Daily Mirror revealed that he had travelled to Durham from London during the lockdown, in apparent breach of lockdown rules.
Protecting one’s family is what any good parent does. The @10DowningStreet statement clarifies the situation and it is wholly inappropriate to politicise it. https://t.co/SdI5A1Dn2z
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) May 23, 2020
Reeves said that by sending this tweet Braverman “undermined the impartiality of her role and the rule of law”.
Braverman did not accept this. She replied:
It’s plain for any reasonable observer to see that there was no question whatsoever of my having provided any public legal view on the matter ... and to suggest that that was somehow a legal opinion is simply absurd.
[Reeves] should know that I have no role whatsoever to play in the day to day decisions of individual cases. I respect and have full confidence in the operational independence of the CPS and the police and I would gently encourage [Reeves] to share my support and share my confidence in them.
UPDATE: Here is video from the exchange.
Updated
The chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), Marc Crothall, has written to the Scottish government asking ministers to consider changing social distancing guidance to keeping 1 metre apart. Current guidelines advise people stay 2 metres apart.
In a plea on behalf of tourism businesses across Scotland, the STA cites the Lancet and the WHO on the relative safety of maintaining 1 metre distance and warns that the majority of its members do not believe that it will economically viable to reopen at 2 metres and would have to remain closed until guidance changed. “Many may not be able to hold out until then and the difference could mean many tens of thousands of jobs being saved or lost.”
The letter also notes the numbers of day-trippers to countryside locations over the weekend and suggests that some tourism sectors like self-catering and static caravan holiday parks should be allowed to open soon, which “could potentially act as a ‘safety valve’, offering permitted holiday travel”.
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson said he was considering reducing the 2-metre rule for physical distancing despite the government’s chief medical officer saying it would need to stay in place for the whole epidemic.
Rowena Mason, the Guardian’s deputy political editor, reports:
The prime minister struck an optimistic note about easing the lockdown further after demands from Tory MPs for a review of the 2-metre rule to help pubs, restaurants, cafes and other venues to reopen profitably.
“We are seeing continuous falls in this disease, in deaths, in incidents,” he told the daily press conference in Downing Street. “That’s why we’ve been able to take the very cautious steps that we have.
“We want to take some more steps to unlock our society and try to get back to as normal as possible. Eventually I would like to do such things as reducing the 2-metre rule, for instance.”
However, Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, and Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical adviser, took a much more cautious tone, stressing that the UK needed to move very slowly given the current infection rate.
Updated
Starmer to host regular monthly LBC phone-in
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is going to host a regular monthly phone-in on LBC. It will last half an hour and the first one will go out on Monday, at 9am. It will be called Call Keir and Nick Ferrari will be presenting for LBC.
In doing the programme Starmer will be following in the footsteps of Boris Johnson, who held a monthly phone-in on the station when he was London mayor, and Nick Clegg, who did a weekly one when he was deputy PM.
In a statement Starmer said:
I’m very conscious that one of my first jobs is to rebuild trust in the Labour party with the public. The best way of doing that is to listen to the public and to LBC’s listeners and hear what they’ve got to say. What I always get from these phone-ins is a real sense of what matters to people. Having people on, telling me what they think, is the only way to gauge what people think and to hear what their real concerns are. I’m looking forward to it.
Updated
Prince Charles says he hopes Covid-19 crisis will jolt world into seeing need for green recovery
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, joining the blog for the day.
As Philip Inman reports, in a speech yesterday Prince Charles said that the coronavirus crisis could provide “a golden opportunity” for the world to rethink the way the economy is run and prioritise sustainable development. Charles said:
We have a golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis. Its unprecedented shockwaves may well make people more receptive to big visions of change.
The Prince of Wales has said more on this in an interview with Sky News that is out this morning. Here are the key points.
- Charles said that a green recovery should be at the centre of efforts to rebuild the world economy after the pandemic.
- He said he hoped the crisis might make people take environmental issues seriously. He said:
It’s only catastrophes which concentrate the mind, which means, that for once, there might be some real, real impetus to tackle all these things that have been pushed to one side because everyone said: ‘oh it’s irrelevant’.
For instance, you could never get the G20 to concentrate very much on agriculture, forestry or fishery because it wasn’t considered very sexy. But these are crucial things.
- He suggested that disasters like the coronavirus pandemic were linked to the loss of biodiversity. He said:
The more we erode the natural world, the more we destroy what’s called biodiversity, which is the immense diversity of life, plant life, tree life, everything else. Marine life. The more we expose ourselves to this kind of danger. We’ve had these other disasters with Sars and Ebola and goodness knows what else, all of these things are related to the loss of biodiversity.
- He said that getting coronavirus himself made him “more determined to push and shout and prod” on issues he cared about.
One of the things that is interesting about Charles’ intervention is that, in suggesting that the coronavirus crisis should be used as a catalyst for wide-ranging economic reform, the prince is going way beyond what most politicians have been saying. That may be because some politicians are calculating that what the public really wants most at the end of all this is not change, but something approximating to what life was like before. Boris Johnson has said nothing at all about how the crisis could be a catalyst for progressive change. Sir Keir Starmer said, in the speech he gave on the day he became Labour leader, that “we cannot go back to business as usual” after the pandemic, but he has not elaborated on what that might mean. One of the few political documents providing a hint as to what this new world might look like is the Welsh government’s plan for relaxing the lockdown (pdf), which says:
The world we are moving towards is not the pre-Covid world. We must adapt to a future with the virus in it. In doing so, we should embed some of the more positive consequences of coping with the disease such as: more sustainable ways of working and travelling, flexibilities for using IT in businesses, services and education, and a stronger emphasis on voluntary and community action.
Updated
Sharma's illness could be hayfever, not Covid-19, says cabinet colleague Brandon Lewis
The business secretary, Alok Sharma, might have had a bout of “severe hayfever” when he appeared ill in the House of Commons on Wednesday, according to the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lewis said: “I don’t want to be premature because Alok, who I wish well and hope he recovers quickly, may well have had severe hayfever, we’re not sure yet.”
He denied that Sharma’s case supported the argument for virtual voting in the Commons to be resumed. He said:
It is important for parliamentarians to be able to properly scrutinise legislation, not just for Covid but for the wider legislative agenda we have to continue with for people across the country, but to do so within proper guidelines.
That’s what the house authorities have set up, that’s what’s been working over the last few days and that’s a very good thing.
It highlights Alok’s situation, if he has got coronavirus, why it is so important that if you are in a work environment, you have got to follow the guidelines.
Updated
Lisa McNally, public health director at Sandwell council in the West Midlands, said she was surprised the lockdown had been eased before the test and trace system was “at full speed”. She told the Today programme:
This system is certainly up but I’m not sure about running.
I don’t think I’m particularly surprised, to be honest, that this system isn’t running effectively in a few short days - it was never going to be, it is an enormous task.
What surprises me, I guess, is that we are moving ahead so quickly with easing lockdown before the system is at full speed.
We need to allow time to assess how things are going, get this system up to speed.
To be honest with you, I’m concerned that by the time we realise we need to hit the brakes, we will have spun off the road and be over the cliff-edge.
McNally predicted the UK could be “going back to a place we really don’t want to be, which is where we were at the end of April” in terms of the number of coronavirus-related infections and deaths if test and trace did not prove effective.
Updated
Dominic Cummings should have resigned, says Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw
In his first interview since the resignation of Douglas Ross over Dominic Cummings last week, the Scottish Conservative leader, Jackson Carlaw, has told BBC Radio Scotland that the prime minister’s adviser had left people “perplexed and angry”, that his explanation for his trip to Durham during lockdown was “wholly unconvincing” and that “I do believe that he should have gone”.
After Ross, the Scotland Office minister resigned, Carlaw’s initial statement was considered to be fairly non-committal about Cummings’ behaviour, though he firmed up his position later in the day. Carlaw was pressed on whether he had made his views clear to Boris Johnson, and whether he had as much influence on Downing Street as his predecessor Ruth Davidson, he said that “who is employed by the prime minister is a matter for the prime minister”.
Asked about the promotion of Milton Keynes MP Iain Stewart to the Scotland Office to replace Ross, he refused to agree it was a point of principle that Scottish MPs should represent their country.
Updated
Tens of thousands of Britons have had to be retested for coronavirus following a controversial decision to send swabs to a US laboratory.
Almost 30,000 Britons will have to be retested for coronavirus costing taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds, the Telegraph reports.
Ministers admitted that 67,000 Covid-19 tests were sent to a lab in the US over 10 days at the beginning of last month, after capacity at a lab in Northern Ireland suddenly stopped processing samples.
The newspaper reveals that when these tests were returned to the UK, more than four in 10 — nearly 30,000 — were “voided” because of the way they had been processed. The cost to the taxpayer is likely to have run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Updated
Government’s push to reopen primary schools in England falls flat
Morning and welcome to the UK liveblog on the coronavirus. I’ll be helming the blog until Andrew and Lucy join us later this morning.
The government’s desperate push to reopen primary schools in England to kickstart the economy has fallen flat, reports the Guardian’s Josh Halliday and Sally Weale.
Figures obtained by the Guardian showed that in large parts of the north-east not a single primary school opened to more pupils on Monday, the government’s target date for reopening after the 10-week lockdown.
Data from 11 of the 12 biggest local authorities in the region, which has the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the UK, showed just 12% of their 856 primary schools admitted additional pupils on Monday.
Across England, a National Education Union poll of members suggested, more than two in five schools (44%) decided against admitting more pupils on Monday, contrary to government expectations.
In the north-west, the proportion of schools opening to more pupils was even lower, at just 8%, according to a survey by the country’s biggest education union.
The figures come as Priti Patel faces mounting calls to publish the scientific advice behind the 14-day quarantine period for new arrivals to the UK, after the government’s chief scientific adviser declined to fully endorse such a blanket policy.
Finally, the business secretary, Alok Sharma, has been tested for coronavirus after feeling unwell while delivering a statement in the House of Commons. Sharma has gone home to self-isolate following his appearance at the dispatch box earlier on Wednesday.
His suspected illness is likely to cause concern about the government’s decision to bring back parliament in its physical form, after weeks of allowing MPs to attend remotely via video link.
Updated
