Summary
Here’s a round-up of today’s news
- The R number is above 1 in England, according to latest estimates, with London and the north west where the virus is spreading fastest.
- ONS data on infections in the community shows a big jump in cases in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
- Glasgow will remain in level 3 amid a high case rate in the city. First minister Nicola Sturgeon said case rate figures were troubling, as they rose from from 112 per 100,000 people to 146 per 100,000, with a test positivity rate of around 4%.
- A summit of the UK’s four nations could be held next week, after it postponed yesterday following protests from the Welsh and Scottish governments.
- The single-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in the UK.
- Ministers are under pressure to push back the 21 June relaxation of rules, amid growing case rates in the UK driven by the India variant.
- Covid cases in the UK rose by 4,184 – the largest rise since 1 April.
- A report has found that a Tory donor did fund the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat, and the prime minister acted “unwisely” in his lack of concern over how it was being paid for.
- Health secretary Matt Hancock was found to have broken the ministerial code over part-ownership of a family firm which won an NHS contract, but he was “unaware” and acted with “integrity throughout”, according to report author Lord Geidt.
- New Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader Edwin Poots denied he was “pushing out” first minister Arlene Foster, saying she can stand down at a time of her choosing – as unhappiness grows in the party.
That’s it from me for today. For more coronavirus news, you can head to our global blog, which has updates from around the world:
Professor who urged March 2020 lockdown warns against rules relaxation amid India variant
The Cambridge professor whose argument against a herd immunity strategy helped trigger England’s first lockdown has voiced concerns about the risks of easing restrictions next month.
Prof Sir Tim Gowers sent Dominic Cummings a five-page document warning of the need to “move urgently to extreme containment measures” in March last year. Boris Johnson’s former chief aide told MPs this week it had influenced a critical change in the government’s early thinking, with lockdown announced two days later.
In an interview with the Guardian, Gowers said “things will get bad very, very quickly” after 21 June – the fourth and final lockdown-lifting step – if the government had misjudged factors such as the spread of new Covid variants.
As UK Covid cases rose by 4,184 on Friday – the highest increase since 1 April – Gowers added: “The downside of being a bit more cautious is quite a lot smaller than the downside of getting it wrong.”
Business leaders have accused the Scottish and UK government of failing to properly support businesses in Glasgow hit by a further week of tough lockdown restrictions.
Speaking after Nicola Sturgeon confirmed Glasgow would remain in level 3, the second-toughest level of restrictions, at least until Saturday 5 June, the Federation of Small Businesses and Scottish Chambers of Commerce said the compensation available to the retailers and bars which were shut was inadequate.
Sturgeon said she understood the impact continuing restrictions would have on the city’s businesses, so the Scottish government had given extra money to Glasgow city council to allow it to provide support grants of £250 to £750 a week.
By 5 June, the city will have been under level 3 restrictions for nearly 280 days.
Colin Borland, director of devolved nations with the FSB, said: “While it’s unlikely any level of government support could cover all losses, the latest grants on offer are far from adequate.
“This is especially the case for some businesses who are struggling with staff costs. For example, some employers, whose previously furloughed staff have moved on to other jobs, have hired new staff in readiness for re-opening.
“This leaves employer and employee in a horrible position – if they can’t find a way to pay the salaries while little or no money is coming in, employers have no choice but to let newly-hired employees go.”
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “The impact of this extended closure will be even more devastating for crisis hit businesses in Glasgow, as many were looking forward to opening their doors to take advantage of the upcoming bank holiday on Monday.
“We need government at both Holyrood and Westminster to now step in to provide a level of meaningful financial support if we are to save jobs and livelihoods.”
Covid cases rise by 4,184 in a day, highest increase since 1 April
Back on Covid, cases rose by 4,182, the highest rise since 1 April. That is also a rise of 1,353 on Friday last week.
Another 10 people have died in the UK from the virus within four weeks of a positive test.
The UK death toll now stands at 127,768, with the Office for National Statistics showing that 153,000 people have died in the UK where the virus is mentioned on the death certificate.
Meanwhile the vaccination drive continues, with 256,517 first doses and 434,096 second doses given yesterday. A total of 24,478,052 people have been fully vaccinated, with 38,871,200 having had at least the first jab.
Updated
The prime minister told health secretary Matt Hanccok he won’t face any further action, after Lord Geidt found he had breached the ministerial code when he didn’t declare a family firm, which he had a 20% stake in, won an NHS contract.
Lord Geidt says Hancock was unaware and acted with “integrity throughout”. In response to a letter from the health secretary, Boris Johnson said he won’t face any further action.
Boris Johnson has written to Matt Hancock to say he won't face any further action over 'technical' breach of ministerial code pic.twitter.com/Hbn5KYy1c0
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) May 28, 2021
Lord Geidt also says the prime minister was “ill-served” by officials over the refurbishment, when it became clear a trust-system would not fund the work.
Geidt also criticises officials. pic.twitter.com/XugCPxlxqf
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 28, 2021
Updated
The Times’ Steven Swinford points out the report says Johnson only found out that a donor paid for the refurbishment from media reports in late February.
Boris Johnson learned that a Tory donor had funded the refurbishment of the Number 11 flat from media reports in late February, it is claimed
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 28, 2021
Lord Geidt says Boris Johnson was not aware David Brownlow had settled bill - said to be £200,000 - directly with the supplier on Oct 22
The report itself can be found here.
The Conservative peer and party donor David Brownlow paid for refurbishment works to Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat last year, a long-delayed report into ministers’ financial interests has said, but the prime minister was not initially told.
This involved “a significant failing”, and Johnson himself was unwise in not paying proper attention to how the works were paid for, the new independent adviser on ministers’ interests, Christopher Geidt, has said.
However, Geidt said in a report annexed to the regular list of ministers’ interests, given factors such as the ongoing Covid pandemic, and Brownlow’s status as an existing party supporter, he was happy that “no conflict (or reasonably perceived conflict) arises as a result of these interests”.
My colleague on the Observer, Michael Savage, adds this interesting detail:
So we now know that the original invoices for the No11 flat refurbishment were made by the cabinet office... pic.twitter.com/fJP95qNMvK
— Michael Savage (@michaelsavage) May 28, 2021
Tory donor did fund Boris Johnson's flat refurbishment – but prime minister cleared
Lord Geidt, who was asked to investigate Boris Johnson’s plans to fund the refurbishment of his private flat, has concluded that money was put up by a Tory donor – but that there has been no breach of the ministerial code.
Big news: After months of delay, the latest register of ministers' interests has been published.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 28, 2021
It's been keenly-anticipated because of unanswered questions about how Boris Johnson funded renovations to his Downing Street flat.
Lord Geidt, the new adviser on ministerial standards, in his latest report says it's "disproportionate" to "assume that any proven breach of the Ministerial Code should lead to a
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 28, 2021
Minister's resignation or dismissal".
BREAKING: Lord Geidt finds the Trust Boris Johnson wanted to set up to pay for Downing Street refurb "was not subjected to a scheme of rigorous project management by officials".
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 28, 2021
He says this was a "significant failing" and the PM "unwisely" proceeded with the refurb.
Lord Geidt says Tory donor Lord Brownlow and chair of the Trust thought he would be "capable of generating sufficient revenue to repay the refurbishment costs that he himself had covered".
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 28, 2021
Lord Geidt says Boris Johnson didn't break the ministerial code.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) May 28, 2021
He admits financial "support" was given by Lord Brownload CCHQ - but he doesn't think this would "put the PM under any different obligation to the relationship he already has as leader of the party".
A total of 53,286,560 vaccinations have taken place in England between 8 December and 27 May, according to NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 597,552 on the previous day. NHS England said 32,509,194 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 223,510 on the previous day, while 20,777,366 were a second dose, an increase of 374,042.
NHS England data shows a total of 6,738,865 jabs were given to people in London in the same period, including 4,254,710 first doses and 2,484,155 second doses. This compares with 6,125,936 first doses and 4,005,671 second doses given to people in the Midlands, a total of 10,131,607. The breakdown for the other regions is:
- East of England: 3,886,911 first doses and 2,485,284 second doses, making 6,372,195 in total
- North-east and Yorkshire: 5,080,512 first and 3,273,243 second doses (8,353,755)
- North-west: 4,140,296 first and 2,710,947 second doses (6,851,243)
- South-east: 5,303,637 first and 3,370,380 second doses (8,674,017)
- South-west: 3,457,430 first and 2,381,149 second doses (5,838,579)
Updated
Northern Ireland’s first minister, Arlene Foster, can step aside at a time of her choosing, her successor as DUP leader has said.
Edwin Poots was speaking after Foster indicated that, if he names his ministerial team next Tuesday as expected, she will step down immediately.
She had previously said she would remain as first minister until the end of June. She left her role as party leader on Friday.
Poots is set to be the first DUP leader not to take the position of first minister. He has said he will nominate a colleague in order to allow himself to focus on leading the party. Speaking to the media in Belfast on Friday afternoon, he reiterated that he has no plans to push Foster out.
I have said Arlene will leave at a time of Arlene’s choosing, I am not pushing Arlene out.
That’s my position and that remains my position. I am not going to be rushed into doing anything or pushed into doing anything, nor am I going to be denied doing something that I am ready to do.
We will look at all of these issues and take a decision at a time that is appropriate for us.
I’ll reveal the ministerial line-up whenever I am ready to reveal my ministerial line-up, and that’s after I have continued my consultation process with my colleagues.
Updated
UK nations Covid summit could take place next week
A Covid recovery summit involving the leaders of all four UK and devolved governments could take place next week, after yesterday’s mooted event was cancelled at short notice following protests from the Scottish and Welsh governments.
The summit was proposed by Boris Johnson, the prime minister, on 6 May after the Scottish National party came within one seat of winning an overall majority in the Holyrood elections and Welsh Labour won 50% of the seats in the Welsh Senedd.
Seen as the opening gambit in a much more conciliatory approach by the Tories in London following an upsurge in support for independence in both nations, the summit had been due to be held on Thursday 27 May.
But, amid recriminations from Downing Street, the event was cancelled after Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, and her Welsh counterpart, Mark Drakeford, said the agenda for the event was far too woolly.
Sturgeon said on Friday officials in the UK, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish administrations were now working on a much more “meaningful, substantive” agenda for a rearranged event, which she hoped would put a heavy emphasis on economic recovery and future spending.
“We want the focus of the summit, not exclusively, but as a priority to be on these areas where there’s an intersection between devolved and reserved responsibilities where there’s a real need for as far as possible to cooperate.
“And the economy and the economic recovery is the absolute heart of that. Within that there’s what’s going to happen with furlough; what’s going to happen with public spending over the short to medium term.
“[And] while nothing has been confirmed yet, we are all hopeful that there will be a date next week where this summit will actually take place.”
Updated
R number above 1 in England, estimates show
The Covid-19 R number, which reflects how many people an infected person passes the virus to, has risen slightly from between 0.9 to 1.1 last week, to 1.0 to 1.1 this week, according to Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Sage estimates for England.
It shows that cases are growing fastest in London and the north-west, at between 0% to 3% and 0% to 4% every day respectively. Both areas have been hit by the India variant.
The overall English growth rate range is between 0% to 3%, another adjustment upwards from -2% to 1% last week.
Updated
We’ve got more on the situation in Glasgow from our Scotland editor, Severin Carrell (see 12:35) after the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the city would remain in level 3 amid a rise in Covid case rates.
The latest Office for National Statistics report also found a jump in cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as Nicola Davis has more information on (see 12.14).
Updated
Live performances can take place in hospitality venues in Wales from Friday but will still be subject to public health restrictions.
Groups are limited to six people from six households while two metres social distancing is required for audiences, as well as performers if it’s practical.
PA Media reports that Welsh government guidance says there must be “effective ventilation”, one-way systems and people should continue to wear masks indoors.
Updated
Johnson & Johnson jab approved for UK
A single-shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been approved for use in the UK.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, welcomed the news. He said: “This is a further boost to the UK’s hugely successful vaccination programme, which has already saved over 13,000 lives, and means that we now have four safe and effective vaccines approved to help protect people from this awful virus.
“As Janssen is a single-dose vaccine, it will play an important role in the months to come as we redouble our efforts to encourage everyone to get their jabs and potentially begin a booster programme later this year.”
Glasgow to remain in level 3 amid high case rate
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed Glasgow will remain in Scotland’s second toughest lockdown regime for at least another week, and warned Scotland as a whole may not move down a tier, after Covid cases continued to rise.
The first minister said the latest infection and hospitalisation figures in Greater Glasgow and Clyde showed cases continued to rise, so it would be unwise to move the city down from tier 3 to 2 this weekend, or face an upsurge in cases.
Glasgow’s case rates had jumped from 112 per 100,000 people to 146 per 100,000, with a test positivity rate of around 4%, she said. However there were signs a surge in testing and extending vaccinations to younger residents suggested the surge was subsiding. That meant the city could move down a level on 5 June.
“It would be premature to move Glasgow out of tier 3 immediately while the situation remains so fragile. However, if the incidents continue to stabilise and assuming levels of hospitalisations remain reasonably stable, the incident management team would support moving to tier 2 at the end of next week,” she said.
She told a media briefing that Scotland’s R number, the rate at which cases are increasing or falling, could as high as 1.3, which showed infections were multiplying. That was largely driven by the growth of cases in Glasgow. At least 50% of cases in Scotland are from the April 2.0 variant from India.
Case numbers had jumped by more than a quarter in the past week, with the 641 cases in the last 24 hours the highest daily figure since 25 March. That meant the Scottish government could decide not to move Scotland as a whole down to tier 1 on 7 June, as currently planned, she said.
Sturgeon said the number of people in Scottish hospitals had risen to 90 overnight, up by seven; the number in intensive care up two to six, and there had been two deaths of people with confirmed infections.
She said the growth in vaccinations, with nearly 2m people now having their second doses, and 3.2m with their first dose. That gave her “cause for real hope” that vaccinations would greatly reduce the impact and lethality of the virus, which would suppress hospitalisations. That would, in time, allow more relaxing of current lockdown restrictions.
Sturgeon added that she had heard vociferous complaints from business people and opposition leaders about the very short notice previously given for changes to Glasgow’s lockdown level. She would announce on Wednesday whether the city would be moving down or remain in tier 3 on Saturday.
Updated
Sturgeon says the outbreak is concentrated among younger age groups, giving hope that the vaccination process is being effective in protecting older people.
“We are monitoring very carefully, whether and to what extent, the vaccine is breaking or weakening the link between case numbers and cases of serious illness and death,” she said.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon gives Covid press conference
Scotland’s first minister is giving a briefing on the latest situation in Scotland with Covid.
She says that 3,196,051 have had their first dose and 1,971,006 have had both jabs. Case numbers are on the rise, with Friday having the highest figures since 25 March and the R number being as high as 1.3.
Sturgeon goes on to add that there is “cause for concern” with outbreaks in Glasgow and that Scotland is entering a “transition phase” that allows the country to deal with the virus which people have a much greater sense of normality.
Updated
Big rise in cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland, ONS survey suggests
Covid infection levels are showing signs of a substantial uptick in Scotland, likely driven by the variant of concern first detected in India, new data reveals.
According to data published on Friday from the Office for National Statistics, which conducts a survey based on swabs from randomly selected households,an estimated 8,300 people in Scotland are thought to have had Covid in the week ending 22 May, equating to around 1 in 630 people.
The team warn that the small number of tests and a low number of positives mean there is uncertainty about the figure, giving a likely range of between 1 in 1,180 and 1 in 380 people having had Covid in the week ending 22 May.
However this marked shift compared with the week before when around around 1 in 1,960 people were thought to have had Covid in Scotland, with the likely range from 1 in 5,160 to 1 in 1,010 people.
The data came as government figures for cases of Covid in Scotland reached levels not seen since the end of March, with 546 new cases reported on Wednesday and 464 on Thursday.
Hospitalisations have also been rising – although far less dramatically than would have been expected before the vaccination programme began – with 98 patients in hospital with Covid on 26 May, up from 58 on 6 May.
While the estimates of infection levels appear fairly steady in England – an estimated 1 in 1,120 people in the community were estimated to have had Covid in the week ending 22 May compared with 1 in 1,110 in the week before – experts say there are still signs of a rise over the past two weeks.
Crucially, because the ONS data is based on a survey of randomly selected households across the country, it may not pick up a rise in cases linked to outbreaks located in hotspots.
The ONS suggests the upticks in the latest data could be linked to outbreaks of the variant of concern first detected in India, B.1.617.2. Glasgow is one of the areas in Scotland that has been hard-hit by this variant, although the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said the number of new cases is now falling in some parts of the city that were affected.
Sarah Crofts, head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 Infection Survey, said the team would continue to closely monitor infection rates as restrictions ease.
“Today’s figures show that while infections remain low across the UK at around 4% of the levels seen at the start of the year, there are signs of recent increases in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland,” she said. “We have seen a rise in cases that are not compatible with the UK variant, suggesting that we may be seeing the first signs of variant B.1.617.2 in our data.”
Updated
Relations between Boris Johnson and Simon Case, the head of the civil service, have plunged into mistrust after former top aide Dominic Cummings’ evidence to two select committees on Wednesday, the Financial Times reports.
Cummings told the hearing that he had brought in Case to be permanent secretary as he believed the prime minister was no longer listening to him on Covid-19.
Five well-placed figures in the civil service said relations between Johnson and Case were precarious, in part due to his ties to the former Downing Street adviser. One government insider said: “Number 10 are deeply suspicious that he’s not on side.”
On Thursday, two officials said there were concerns across Whitehall over Case’s links to Cummings. One government insider said “the mood in the cabinet secretary’s camp is very low” following the hearing. Another added that “he [Case] is clearly worried about what Dom might say next”.
But one senior Number 10 official said they “absolutely did not recognise that characterisation”, adding “the cabinet secretary and the prime minister have an excellent working relationship”.
More from Kwasi Kwarteng’s morning broadcast round here, as he said care home residents were sufficiently protected.
The UK business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has defended Matt Hancock against criticism that he failed to protect people in care homes at the outset of the Covid pandemic, saying residents “were protected as far as we could”.
The health secretary is under mounting pressure after Dominic Cummings accused him of promising ministers that all care residents in England were tested before being discharged back to their homes and then lying about this.
On Thursday, Hancock denied the allegation but his explanation that it “wasn’t possible” to test all care home residents before they were discharged from hospital last March because the testing capacity was not yet available, has been called into question.
Kwarteng said it was “very easy with hindsight” to say where things could have been improved.
“I completely understand the anger and frustration about care homes, because a large number of people died, and it was a terrible situation,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I think what Mr Hancock said was very clear. He’s always maintained that he wanted to build up the testing capacity. I think he was largely successful in that.”
In Northern Ireland, new Ulster Unionist party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie has called for disillusioned Democratic Unionist party (DUP) members to join his party amid a potential schism after Edwin Poots was confirmed as its new leader.
Beattie said they had an “awful lot to offer as politicians” and he would welcome them if they decided to defect. He added that no MLAs had approached him, according to PA Media, but conversations had been had with a few individuals.
It comes as Poots was confirmed as the DUP’s new leader on Thursday, after Arlene Foster was ousted earlier this year. One member told the BBC that the meeting where Poots was ratified was the worst he had attended in 40 years as a member. Several leading DUP politicians left after the vote, before Poots made his speech.
Beattie said: “Our door is always open to people who want to come to the Ulster Unionist Party, but if they want to do so they come understanding the Ulster Unionist Party values and I will talk to them and anyone who wants to come to make sure they understand that before I offer them the ability to join.
“If we bring anyone in, and we are a welcoming party, it must be going in our direction, seeing Northern Ireland through our eyes.”
Surgical hubs should be created across England and the government should spend £1bn annually for the next five years to reduce the “colossal” backlog in non-urgent procedures, the Royal College of Surgeons has said.
The recommendations are two of a dozen suggestions made by the RCS designed to ensure planned surgery can continue safely if the country is hit again by another wave of coronavirus, a new variant or a severe winter/flu outbreak.
All elective or planned surgery, such as for knee and hip replacements, was cancelled in the first wave of the pandemic. The latest figures show that in March, 4.95 million people were waiting for hospital treatment in England – the largest figure on record – including 436,127 people waiting more than a year a year.
Away from Covid, ex-MP George Galloway announced yesterday that he is set to run in the Batley and Spen byelection on 1 July.
Galloway, whose party All For Unity got 0.9% of the vote in the recent Scottish parliament elections, said he was standing in protest against Labour leader Keir Starmer.
Labour has selected Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Jo Cox who was MP for the seat when she was murdered in 2016, as it hopes to avoid a repeat of their defeat in Hartlepool in May. Leeds councillor Ryan Stephenson has been chosen as the Conservative party candidate.
Pressure is growing on the government to begin the public inquiry into its handling of the Covid pandemic, days after the prime minister’s former top adviser Dominic Cummings said any delay was “completely terrible”.
Our social affairs correspondent, Robert Booth has more:
Boris Johnson is facing a growing clamour to bring forward the start of the coronavirus public inquiry after Dominic Cummings’ allegations triggered a “political pantomime” that disrespects the victims of the pandemic, their relatives said.
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which represents thousands of grieving people, called for an urgent start to the inquiry, which is due to begin in spring 2022.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) joined the call, alongside Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service under David Cameron, Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, and Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Government under pressure to delay 21 June reopening in England
Welcome to today’s UK coronavirus liveblog, as Boris Johnson faces calls to push back the relaxing of rules on 21 June in England over fears about a third wave from the India variant.
Both Independent Sage member Christina Pagel and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng were cautious when they spoke to breakfast programmes this morning. Pagel told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning: “So far we’ve kind of been crossing our fingers a little bit, Sage and Public Health England both say it’s a more transmissible variant, we know it has some levels of vaccine escape.
“So we’re in a situation where, compared to two months ago, we now have a dominant variant, it transmits faster, and our vaccines are less effective against it.”
Speaking to Sky News, Kwarteng said the number of cases was a “matter of concern”.
He added: “We don’t want to proceed with the roadmap without considering all the information that we have. Today’s the 28th of May. It’s impossible for anyone to know what the situation will be like in a week or two weeks time.”
If you have any comments, tips or suggestions - drop me an email to harry.taylor.casual@theguardian.com or via Twitter @HarryTaylr.
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