That’s brought the debate to a close. That’s it from me, thank you for following our coverage this evening – as Boris Johnson announced a four week delay to the relaxation of rules in England.
Our Covid-19 coverage will continue on our global live blog. It’s here:
The Green party’s MP, Caroline Lucas, asks whether the government will adopt a “jab matching policy” where for each jab that’s given out in the UK, one is donated to the global Covax effort.
“The UK’s pledge of 100m doses includes just 5m by September. That’s too little, too late,” she says.
In response, Hancock says: “When we have access supplies, we will donate 100m doses around the world. I’m not going to do that before we have access supplies because we want to make sure we do all we can to vaccinate people here at home.
“She shakes her head, but my duty is to protect people here in this country while making sure at the same time people have access around the world.”
Updated
Conservative MP Steve Baker said “alarming numbers of people increasingly believe they are never going to see true freedom again from these restrictions”.
He asks for more information on how the country will reach step four.
Hancock replies: “He will have noticed the link that we have made and explicitly made is the rate of the vaccination getting them done over the next four weeks.
“It’s my duty to recommend measures to the prime minister that are necessary to keep people safe. I am a parliamentarian who represents constituents who want these restrictions removed as soon and as safely as possible.
“That is our goal, it’s a difficult balance, but I think we’ve got the balance right today.”
Birmingham Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne asks how many vaccines will be sent to Birmingham before 19 July after a rise in infections but “rock bottom” vaccination rates in some parts of his ward.
He said that one GP told him that they had run out of the Pfizer/BioNtech jab.
In response Hancock says: “The fact that the fridges ran out of Pfizer demonstrates we’re getting through this as fast as we can.
“Supply is the rate limiting factor on vaccination, and on that, the team have done an amazing job and I support them in going as fast as they can.
Updated
Conservative MP Mark Harper, who is chair of the Covid Recovery Group, asks Hancock to rule out bringing back restrictions in the autumn and winter in the face of an “inevitable” rise in cases.
Hancock replies: “Well, it isn’t inevitable, I don’t think it’s inevitable. It may happen but it’s not inevitable because we also have the planned booster programme to strengthen further the vaccination response.
“It’s clear that a goal of eradication of this virus is impossible. Therefore we must learn to live with it and how we can live our normal lives with this virus.”
He said the government’s goal is to get as much vaccination done as possible before 19 July and protect people.
Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson asks why there was a 17 day delay between Hancock telling the Commons on 19 April the Delta variant was a variant of concern and there would be surge testing, but it wasn’t officially designated a variant of concern until 6 May.
Hancock says he took action to tackle the variant before it was under investigation. “We acted before it was recommended.”
Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, says that Boris Johnson should be giving the statement rather than Matt Hancock.
He said he agrees with the delay but is unhappy about the use of the word “irreversible” and urges caution.
Hunt says: “If there is a vaccine busting variant that threatens another 100,000 lives then these measures will not be irreversible and we have a duty to be completely honest about the bumpiness of the road ahead.”
In response Hancock says it’s the government’s “goal” that the road map is irreversible. “It’s also important to try to take steps when we can have a good degree of confidence in that route.”
Hancock comes back to respond to Ashworth’s points.
“The answer he just gave and the questions he just raised gave a logic towards a position of never escaping the restrictions but I want us to escape the restrictions and the vaccines enables us to escape these restrictions.”
He says that we will have to learn to live with Covid-19, like we do with flu. Hancock said as soon as the government saw the data on the variant in India, it acted. On 2 April, neither the original India strain or the Delta strain had been defined as a variant of concern, he says. He accuses Ashworth of being “captain hindsight”.
“We will put the interests of the British public first, we will take a cautious and irreversible approach, we will take difficult decisions if they’re necessary but we will get this country back on the road to recovery,” he says.
Ashworth says Labour will support the delay but calls for people to get more financial support for people to self isolate.
He goes on to ask whether surge vaccination has been abandoned in certain parts of the country.
He ends: “The chief medical officer said we would be lifting restrictions if it were not for this Delta variant. The prime minister should have moved at lightening speed to prevent it from reaching our shores.
“Instead he dithered and he’s responsible for this delay.”
Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth is now responding.
He blames Boris Johnson’s complacency over the Delta variant for it taking hold in the UK. He refers to the delay between it being identified as a variant of concern and travel restrictions being placed on India.
“Our borders were secure as a sieve and all because the prime minister wanted a photo call with prime minister [Narendra] Modi.
“It’s astonishing that these ministers promised to take control of our borders and conspicuously failed to control our borders when it mattered most.”
Hancock ends: “This race between the vaccines and the virus isn’t over yet, these difficult restrictions challenge our lives in so many ways but they play a vital role in holding the virus back, protecting these people while we get the jabs done.
“So let us all play our part to keep us safe from this dreadful disease.”
Hancock says that the government’s targeted approach has seen cases fall by a third in the last three weeks in Bolton, and said that new enhanced support has been introduced in Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
Birmingham, Blackpool, Cheshire, Warrington and the Liverpool city region will get more testing and extra vaccine resources among concern about infection rates.
Hancock repeats the changes to weddings, which will lift limits as long as venues still follow social distancing guidelines.
He says that another pilot will take place at the Wimbledon tennis tournament later this summer. Schools will be able to organise residential trips again in bubbles of up to 30 children.
“Even though we haven’t been able to take the full step as we’d have wanted, I know that these cautious changes will mean a lot to many people and move us a little bit closer to normal life.”
MPs are told that there are 1.3m people over the age of 50 and 4.5m people over the age of 40 who have just had one jab but not yet their second.
Hancock says the pause will save thousands of lives, and the time between first and second dose is being cut from 12 weeks to 8 weeks.
“Our aim is two-thirds of all adults will have had both doses by 19 July,” he adds.
Updated
Hancock says that there’s a chance the vaccines may even protect better against the Delta variant than the original Alpha one. He urges people to get both doses to ensure the best protection.
He says: “I know that people have been planning and arranging important moments and businesses have been gearing up to reopen.
“So it is with a heavy heart I am faced with this reality, we have made the difficult decision not to follow through with step four next week.”
Hancock tells MPs that the risk of hospitalisation with the Delta variant is higher than the previous Alpha variant. Cases are up 64% on last week, and hospitalisations are up 50%.
“The whole purpose of vaccination is to break the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths. That link is clearly weaker than it once was, however over the last week, we have seen hospitalisations start to rise. Thankfully the number of deaths has not risen and remains low.
“Sadly before the vaccine we saw a rise in hospitalisations inevitably led to a rise in deaths a couple of weeks later. The vaccine is changing that but it’s too early to know how effectively the link to deaths has been broken.”
Updated
Hancock addresses the Commons
Health secretary Matt Hancock is on his feet.
He says that the country has been involved in a race between the vaccine and the virus for the last six months.
Hancock adds that the vaccine roll-out means that the UK is one of the most open economies in Europe.
Lindsay Hoyle precedes Matt Hancock’s statement to say it was “entirely unacceptable [and] disrespectful” that parliament was not told before the media about the four-week delay.
“The government’s own ministerial code says that when parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance in parliament.
“The prime minister wrote the foreword to the ministerial code. He must now lead from the top and follow the guidance in it.
“I do not find it acceptable at all. The members of this house are elected to serve their constituents, not to serve them via Sky or the BBC.”
Updated
The health secretary Matt Hancock is due to address the House of Commons shortly on Boris Johnson’s announcement about a four-week delay to the relaxation of Covid rules in England.
Johnson was earlier rebuked by Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for misleading him about the timing of the government’s decision to delay the final phase of lockdown easing for England.
If you’re just joining our coverage, here’s what we know so far:
Updated
Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber has said he is “pleased and surprised” by Boris Johnson’s comments at the press conference earlier, when he said the government was in talks to see how his production of Cinderella could go ahead.
The prime minister said he hoped some pilot events would still take place.
Lloyd-Webber told PA Media: “My goal is, and will always be, to fight for the full and safe reopening of theatre and live music venues up and down the country.
“I was pleased and surprised to hear the prime minister mention Cinderella as part of his announcement today, but I can’t comment further on the proposed pilot until I know more about the scheme.”
Updated
Another group facing uncertainty is people who had weddings planned for after “freedom day” later this month.
While the limit of 30 people at weddings is being lifted, social distancing will still have to be followed, limiting the capacity of venues.
Some brides and grooms to be are still unsure what the pause will mean for them, as my colleagues Jedidajah Otte, Alfie Packham and Rachel Hall have heard.
After months of having to choose just 30 close relatives and friends to celebrate their nuptials with, couples in England will in theory be allowed to invite their full guest list from 21 June.
But the rules are not so straightforward: commercial venues will need to carry out a risk assessment beforehand, and the maximum number of guests will be dictated by how many socially distanced tables of six they have the space to seat. Dancing and singing are banned, unless you are in a private garden, and no more than six guests are permitted in private homes.
The news brings to an end an anxious few days for many couples planning weddings, even if for many the rule change will not enable them to throw the parties they had hoped for.
Business groups have warned that pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs face significant hardship or collapse after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in England was postponed for four weeks without new financial support from the government.
Full reopening without measures such as social distancing will not be allowed until 19 July, Boris Johnson said on Monday, with a review in two weeks’ time “unlikely” to result in an earlier relaxation.
But the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, shied away from offering any fresh funding package to prop up hard-pressed businesses that cannot trade profitably, or at all, under the restrictions.
One piece of good news for people who have relatives in care homes is a relaxation in visiting restrictions from 21 June.
Residents will be able to spend more time with family and friends, including overnight stays. Currently they can only leave their care home for a visit if it’s outdoors or for dental or medical appointments.
They will no longer have to isolate for 14 days, unless the visit is deemed “high risk” or after an overnight stay in hospital.
Care minister Helen Whatley said: “I have heard first-hand from those living and working in care homes how difficult the restrictions around visiting have been and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone working in the sector who has helped reunite families safely.
“Thanks to the continued success of the vaccine rollout, I am pleased we can now take another step towards normality, helping more people enjoy visits out of the care home while protecting them from the continued risk of Covid-19.”
Updated
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said the decision will cost pubs £400m which could have long-term consequences, according to PA Media.
Pubs and licensees are struggling to recover with the current restrictions they face and debts are accumulating.
Every week the current restrictions stay and uncertainty continues, the likelihood of pubs being lost forever increases.
A full package of government support is now critical for our sector until it is guaranteed to open fully without any restrictions.
Nick Mackenzie, who is the chief executive of brewer and pub group Greene King said it was a “huge blow” amid missing out on the extra business from Euro 2020.
We risk losing out on the substantial amount of trade that comes with the Euros, a disappointment for us and for our customers that were looking forward getting that matchday atmosphere back.
The business rates holiday ends on 30 June, dramatically increasing our outgoing costs by £250,000 a day at a time when we will be losing millions every day in trade due to capacity constraints.
Updated
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is among those who have said the delay must be followed with more support for businesses affected by the four-week pause.
It’s frankly staggering that the Prime Minister has today announced an extension of restrictions without a single mention of extending financial support to business.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 14, 2021
The Government must now act urgently to extend economic support to all businesses who need it. pic.twitter.com/q9tF2dLo3z
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Frances O’Grady has echoed the call and said furlough should be extended.
The government must step up and provide urgent targeted support for these industries. We cannot afford for more companies to go to the wall, taking good jobs with them.
The chancellor also needs to announce now that he will extend furlough for as long as is needed, rather than cutting it off abruptly in three months’ time. Working people need this certainty now – not a rollercoaster approach to protecting livelihoods.
Updated
Figures from the theatres across England have condemned the delay and said it will prove costly for venues who had pinned their hopes on the relaxation going ahead next month.
Julian Bird, chief executive of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre said it will have “serious implications for theatres and performing companies around the country”.
He told PA Media:
This delay not only impacts productions and theatres preparing to open in the next few weeks, but also shows currently running socially distanced, which had planned to increase their capacity - and producers making the difficult decision whether to start rehearsals for shows due to open in late July or August, with thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.
Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire of Trafalgar Entertainment said it was “another bungle from a government that wouldn’t be given a single star in a review of its performance. The confusion and muddled messages are reminiscent of a West End farce.”
They added:
During the pandemic this government has been fond of three-word slogans. Hands, face, space. Build back better. Today we ask them to consider a few more. Open our theatres. Enough is enough. Let audiences in.
Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth, who will be in the Commons from 8:30pm to respond to Matt Hancock’s statement, has done a broadcast round in response to the delay.
He’s blamed it on the Conservative party’s failure to close the country’s borders, allowing the Delta variant, originally identified in India, to come into the country.
The only reason this delay is being introduced is because the Conservatives failed to secure the country’s borders and a new variant from overseas was allowed to take hold; and failed to put in measures like proper sick pay support and surge vaccinations when needed.
I’m Harry Taylor and I’ll be bringing you more of the reaction to the prime minister’s announcement. If you’ve got anything you would like to share, you can reach me by email or by Twitter.
And here is an extract from the minutes of the Sage meeting (pdf) on Wednesday last week. Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said if further lockdown easing had gone ahead in England as planned on 21 June, it could not guarantee the NHS would not be overwhelmed by a third wave.
The minutes record:
Taking step 4 of the roadmap on the 21st June carries significant uncertainty and risk. It is not possible at this point to determine whether this would result in unsustainable pressure on the NHS. The level of uncertainty is such that it is not possible to know if step 4 were taken on this date, whether the resurgence would be considerably smaller or larger than previous waves.
Currently, most people who are admitted to hospital are not fully vaccinated, though this proportion will decrease over time as the number of unvaccinated people reduces. It should be expected that the proportion of hospital admissions that are vaccinated people will rise as more vaccines are administered. The potential impact of waning immunity and the possible role of revaccination remain unclear.
That is all from me for tonight. My colleague Harry Taylor is now taking over.
Sage, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, has published a large tranche of reports that helped to inform today’s decision, including modelling for what might happen if step four had gone ahead on 21 June as originally planned.
The reports are all available here, on the page with Sage documents for June 2021.
Public Health England had released new figures for vaccine effectiveness this afternoon that are a bit more positive than the data from Scotland published by the Lancet. (See 3.51pm and 5.56pm.)
Earlier work by the Public Health England suggested Covid vaccines were somewhat less effective against the Delta variant than the Alpha variant for symptomatic disease. However the new research from PHE has found the jabs appear to offer similar protection against hospitalisation.
Analysis by PHE of 14,019 symptomatic cases with the Delta variant, 166 of whom were hospitalised, found the Pfizer/BioNTech jab is linked to a 94% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation after one dose and 96% after two doses, once adjusted for factors such as age, clinically extremely vulnerable groups, and ethnicity, while the figures for the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were 71% and 92% respectively.
The figures are similar to those for vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation with the Alpha variant for which the Pfizer figures were 83% and 95% after the first and second jabs respectively, and 76% and 86% respectively for the AstraZeneca jab.
Updated
Here is the full text of Boris Johnson’s opening statement.
Here are the slides (pdf) presented by Chris Whitty.
Q: Would you be relaxed if infections went back to January levels?
Vallance says vaccines are effective, but not 100% effective. If there are large numbers of infections, people will go to hospital and die.
Getting young people vaccinated is important because that will reduce infections.
Q: Only 36% of people in London have had two doses. That is below other regions. What can you do about that?
Whitty says Londoners have shown great enthusiasm for vaccines. Other countries would like London’s rates. But they are about 10% lower than other places.
Partly that is because people move around a lot. Vaccination rates are always lower in London.
Johnson says he is concerned about London too.
Q: Will 19 July be the date when nightclubs can be opened, and face masks can go?
Johnson says many businesses need to move beyond social distancing; it is not just nightclubs. People are “yearning” to get back to normal, and he is personally.
He says he is confident that they will get there.
But you have to be cautious, he says. To achieve an irreversible roadmap, you have to be cautious.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
Q: Is there any prospect of people having foreign holidays?
Johnson says people should follow the red, amber, green guidance given. That is regularly reviewed, he says.
Q: Can you rule out another delay?
Johnson says he can only speak on the basis of what he can see now. But on the basis of what he says, he is confident 19 July will a terminal date, not a “not before” date.
Whitty agrees.
Q: What do you say to Andrew Lloyd Webber when he says this will be terrible for the theatre sector?
Johnson says he has great respect for Lloyd Webber.
He says the government is in talks with Lloyd Webber about allowing in Cinderella production to go ahead.
Vallance says the vaccines are “spectacularly more effective” than people hoped.
Johnson confirms booster jab programme planned for autumn
Q: What is the plan for booster jabs in the autumn?
Johnson says there will be a plan for this. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, will announce details very soon.
Whitty says four-week delay does not eliminate risk of third wave
Q: Why is support for businesses being reduced?
Johnson says they are not going backwards. None of the scientists is calling for reversal, he says.
He says the current business-support measures last until September.
He says businesses being asked to wait four weeks - it may be two weeks, but “let’s be realistic” and say four weeks - should consider that 19 July will be a “terminus date”.
Q: What did the modelling say would happen if 21 June went ahead without a delay?
Whitty says whatever increase there would be, it would be faster if reopening had gone ahead.
And he says the four-week delay does not mean the risk has gone.
It is a matter of balance, he says.
Vallance says this a virus that “will be with us forever”.
He says, without vaccines, the government would be considering more lockdowns.
He says they are in a race with the variants. In a race, you do not give your opponent an advantage.
He says the four-week delay should reduce the peak by between 30% and 50%.
Q: What will life be like after 19 July?
Johnson says that is the crucial question. At some point we will have to learn to live with the virus, he says.
He says by 19 July we will have built up “a very considerable wall of immunity” around the population.
That is why is he confident full opening will be able to go ahead.
But he says we must not exclude the possibility that some new variant that is more dangerous and that kills more people emerges.
Q: When will all adults have had the vaccine?
Sir Patrick Vallance says by the week of 19 July all over-18s will have had one dose.
He says two doses are very effective.
And giving over-18s one dose will reduce the spread?
Q: Will you vaccinate children?
Whitty says you might want to vaccinate children at high risk of Covid. He says the JCVI will produce recommendations on this.
And he says there is also an argument for vaccinating children to stop their education being disrupted, because of the potential impact of that.
He says that decision will have to be taken.
Extract from Johnson's opening statement
Here is an extract from Boris Johnson’s opening statement.
Since today I cannot say that we have met all four tests for proceeding with step four, I do think it is sensible to wait just a little longer.
By Monday 19 July we will aim to have double jabbed around two thirds of the adult population including everyone over 50, all the vulnerable, all the frontline health and care workers and everyone over 40 who received their first dose by mid-May.
And to do this we will now accelerate the second jabs for those over 40 – just as we did for the vulnerable groups – so they get maximum protection as fast as possible.
And we will bring forward our target to give every adult in this country a first dose by 19 July that is including young people over the age of 18 with 23 and 24 year olds invited to book jabs from tomorrow - so we reduce the risk of transmission among groups that mix the most. And to give the NHS that extra time we will hold off step 4 openings until July 19 except for weddings that can still go ahead with more than 30 guests provided social distancing remains in place and the same will apply to wakes. And we will continue the pilot events – such as Euro2020 and some theatrical performances. We will monitor the position every day and if after 2 weeks we have concluded that the risk has diminished then we reserve the possibility of proceeding to Step 4 and full opening sooner.
As things stand – and on the basis of the evidence I can see right now – I am confident we will not need any more than 4 weeks and we won’t need to go beyond July 19. It is unmistakably clear the vaccines are working and the sheer scale of the vaccine roll-out has made our position incomparably better than in previous waves.
But now is the time to ease off the accelerator because by being cautious now we have the chance – in the next four weeks – to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people. And once the adults of this country have been overwhelmingly vaccinated, which is what we can achieve in a short space of time, we will be in a far stronger position to keep hospitalisations down, to live with this disease, and to complete our cautious but irreversible roadmap to freedom.
Whitty turns to the fourth test, which is about the threat posed by new variants. He says as a result of the Delta variant, the “assessment of risk has fundamentally shifted”.
Whitty then turns to test three for lockdown easing, which is is about the risk of the NHS being overwhelmed.
He says the increase in hospital numbers in some areas is a concern, especially if numbers continue to increase exponentially.
Prof Chris Whitty is presenting the slides now.
He says the first test for lockdown easing has been met. Here is the slide.
And here is one of the slides for the second test.
Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story about the four-week delay to lockdown easing in England.
Johnson says he is confident one-month delay to lifting restrictions will be all that's needed
Boris Johnson starts by saying they knew that opening up wojuld lead to more infection
We cannot simply eliminate Covid. We must learn to live with it.
But he says they are worried by the Delta variantr.
He says case are growing by 64% per week.
And hospital cases are increasing by 50% per week. In the north-west cases are increasing by 61% per week, which may be the shape of things to come.
Johnson says they could accept this. Or they could give the NHS a few more weeks to get more people vaccinated.
He says that is why he is delaying.
He says by Monday 19 July two thirds of adults will have had two doses. He says all over-50s will be double-vaccinated, and all over-40s who had their first jab by mid May.
He says second jabs for over-40s are being accelerated.
He is confident that he will not need to delay for another four weeks.
He also says he reserves the right to speed up the lifting of remaining restrictions if after the two weeks the data has improved.
But weddings will be allowed to go ahead with more than 30 guests from 21 June, as originally planned.
Boris Johnson's press conference
Boris Johnson is due to start his press conference in the next few minutes. He will be at Downing Street with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser.
Last week Public Health England report published data comparing the effectiveness of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. (See 10.41am.) But it was based largely on how they perform against the Alpha variant, not the Delta one which is now dominant and more harmful.
The new research published today in the Lancet (see 3.51pm) does compare the effectiveness of the two vaccines against the Delta variant.
Here are the figures for effectiveness against infection at least 14 days after the second dose.
Pfizer
79% effective against Delta variant
92% effective against Alpha variant
AstraZeneca
60% effective against Delta variant
73% effective against Alpha variant
say how the two vaccines
Hoyle accuses No 10 of misleading him about when lockdown easing delay finally decided
In the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, also accused No 10 of misleading him about the timing of the government’s decision to delay the final phase of lockdown easing for England.
He said that it was “totally unacceptable” that MPs were not told about this first. (See 4.10pm.) But the Conservative MP Peter Bone told him that the media had been given an embargoed copy this afternoon of the announcement, and that infuriated Hoyle even further. Hoyle replied:
I was told no decisions have been taken. That’s why I’m more shocked to know there is an embargoed list of what’s going to happen to this country without this house knowing.
I was told no decisions had been taken, that no decisions will be taken until the cabinet meets.
The fact is, I am being misled, this house is being misled, and I would welcome them coming here before they make the press statement as the press have already got [an embargoed copy].
Knowingly misleading the Commons is a sackable offence under the ministerial code, although that refers to comments made by ministers at the despatch box. Hoyle was referring to comments made to him in private. He did not say who told him that no decisions had yet been taken, but this message may have come from officials working for No 10 or for the chief whip.
Hoyle’s key allegation was that he was told the final decision about the next stage of lockdown would only be taken at cabinet (a meeting of some sort was planned for this afternoon) when in fact the decision had already been taken. By asserting this, No 10 would have been able to that it was unreasonable to expect a Commons statement at 3.30pm (the usual time for one on a Monday) before the cabinet meeting had taken place.
But in practice, under this prime minister, decisions of this kind are only rubber-stamped by cabinet, after being taken earlier by a smaller group. And, as Hoyle told MPs, if Johnson had wanted to make a statement to the Commons a bit later this afternoon or this evening, that could easily have been arranged.
Updated
More support for surge testing is being deployed in six further areas in England in response to increases in the Delta variant.
According to PA Media, the areas covered are: Birmingham, Blackpool, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Liverpool city region and Warrington.
In these places there will be more support for surge testing, tracing, isolation and maximising vaccine uptake. The support package, which is the same as was announced for Greater Manchester and Lancashire last week, is being provided after a number of cases of the Delta variant were detected in the areas, a spokesman told PM Media.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said:
We know this approach has made a real impact in south London and in Bolton where we have seen it stall rising cases.
I urge people living these areas to get tested, come forward for your vaccine as soon as you are eligible and make sure to get the all-important second jab - that is how we will beat this virus.
UK records 7,742 new coronavirus cases, and three further deaths
The UK has recorded 7,742 new coronavirus cases, according to the latest update to the government’s dashboard. And the total number of new cases of the past week is 45.5% up on the previous week.
Three further deaths have been recorded, and the latest weekly death total is 11.9% up on the previous week.
Hospital admissions are up 15.2% week on week according to the latest figure - although this is based on data that is almost a week old.
And 79.2% of adults in the UK have now had their first dose of vaccine, while 56.9% have had both doses.
Updated
The Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski has apologised for bullying Commons staff, after being ordered to do so by the independent expert panel. (See 12.24pm.) He told MPs:
I did not swear nor raise my voice but my behaviour led to two complaints. I have reflected on my behaviour, I accept it constituted bullying and as such was highly inexcusable.
The circumstances were stressful for the staff who were assisting the committee and for me.
I’ve apologised to them before and I apologise to them again and to the House unreservedly. I will never repeat such behaviour.
Yesterday’s Covid figures from the government’s dashboard were published a moment ago by mistake, not today’s. I apologise for that. They have now been taken down.
Commons Speaker says sidelining of parliament by No 10 for Covid announcements 'totally unacceptable'
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, has said it is “totally unacceptable” that Downing Street has sidelined parliament, again, when announcing changes to the lockdown regulations.
In a statement to MPs Hoyle said that No 10 originally wanted the Commons statement about the announcement to be made tomorrow, a day after the PM’s press conference. That would have been “totally unacceptable”, he said. He said he insisted on a Commons statement this evening, and Matt Hancock, the health secretary, will now make one at 8.30pm (not 9pm, as originally reported).
Hoyle went on:
I find it totally unacceptable that, once again, we see Downing Street running roughshod over members of parliament. We’re not accepting it, and I’m at the stage where I’m beginning to look for other avenues, if they’re not going to treat this house seriously.
Hoyle also said he thought it was time for him to have a meeting with the prime minister to discuss this issue so that he could “actually put on the record, here and now, that this house matters”.
For many years there has been a convention in the House of Commons that major government announcements are made to MPs in the chamber first. It is even in the ministerial code (pdf), which says:
When parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance, in parliament.
For many years also successive government have ignored this, normally by briefing announcements to the newspapers first. However, Boris Johnson has been unusual in making some of his Covid announcements first at press conferences and not at the dispatch box when the Commons has been sitting.
"This House needs to know first. I find it totally unacceptable that once again, we see Downing Street running roughshod over members of parliament"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 14, 2021
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle criticises government for informing media before MPs about latest restrictionshttps://t.co/r1G7KD6Gx6 pic.twitter.com/QZI4yD16is
Updated
Risk of hospital admission twice as high from Delta variant as from Alpha variant, research says
The risk of hospital admission from the Delta variant (first identified in India) is twice as high as it is from the Alpha variant (first identified in Kent), according to research published in the Lancet.
The research, based on data from Scotland, also shows that two doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca are effective against the Delta variant, which is now the dominant one in the UK, although not as effective as they were against the Alpha variant.
NEW—Research letter reports preliminary observational data suggesting two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech #COVID19 vaccines are effective against #Delta variant—but effects on infection appear diminished when compared with Alpha #variant. https://t.co/FAkJUVu3uk
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) June 14, 2021
Authors, @DrAzizSheikh et al, also report the risk of #COVID19 hospital admission with #Delta variant was twice that of Alpha #variant—underscoring the importance of uptake of two vaccine doses, which confer stronger protection than one dose.
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) June 14, 2021
Here is an extract from the report.
In summary, we show that the Delta VOC [variant of concern] in Scotland was found mainly in younger, more affluent groups. Risk of Covid-19 hospital admission was approximately doubled in those with the Delta VOC when compared to the Alpha VOC, with risk of admission particularly increased in those with five or more relevant comorbidities.
Both the Oxford–AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines were effective in reducing the risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19 hospitalisation in people with the Delta VOC, but these effects on infection appeared to be diminished when compared to those with the Alpha VOC.
Updated
All eligible adults in Wales have been offered first dose of vaccine, minister says
All eligible adults in Wales have been offered their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Vaughan Gething, the Welsh government’s economy minister, said today.
Speaking at a press conference in Cardiff, he said the incidence rate in Wales was now 18.1 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people - the lowest rate of the UK nations.
He also said 1.4 million people in Wales - 54.9% of the adult population have now had both doses. He went on:
Over recent weeks, as restrictions have gradually been lifted, we have been able to reconnect and enjoy more aspects of life before Covid in a safe way. That progress is obviously good news for the economy.
However, we do know that despite our success in controlling rates of Covid-19 and rolling out the vaccine programme, the Delta variant continues to present real challenges.
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
NHS England has now administered more than 60m vaccine doses, it has announced. Dr Emily Lawson, the organisation’s lead for NHS vaccination, said:
Hitting 60 million vaccinations is an incredible achievement ... The biggest vaccination drive in history, fastest in Europe and most precise in the world has entered the home straight, as we last week opened up bookings to people aged 25 to 29, and it was fantastic to see the offer was received with record-breaking levels of enthusiasm.
More than 60 million doses of the #NHSCOVIDVaccine have been administered across England!
— NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) June 14, 2021
Thanks to all our NHS colleagues, volunteers and everyone involved in rolling out the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history. 💉 pic.twitter.com/bgrGxAsSuF
Rishi Sunak rejects calls by businesses for furlough extension
Rishi Sunak has rejected business demands for an extension of the furlough scheme despite expectations that the government will delay the easing of Covid-19 restrictions currently set for 21 June, my colleague Richard Partington reports.
Scotland has recorded 761 new coronavirus cases, and no new deaths, according to the Scottish government’s latest daily update. The positivity rate for tests is 5.2%. This chart, from the Scottish government’s dashboard, shows how cases have been rising from early May.
And 128 people were in hospital in Scotland yesterday with coronavirus. This chart from the dashboard shows how daily hospital admissions rose in May.
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Postponing lifting of restrictions could lead to 'one-way traffic towards further lockdowns', Tory MP claims
Sir Charles Walker, a vice-chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee and one of the Tory MPs most opposed to the government’s lockdown policy, told Radio 4’s The World at One that he was worried that the PM’s decision to postpone the further relaxation of restrictions for England meant that the country would start going backwards, and that later this year rules would tighten again. He explained:
I just have an overwhelming sense of pessimism now that, if you can’t lift restrictions at the height of summer, then you are almost certainly looking at these restrictions persisting and tightening into the autumn and winter ... I’m afraid this is one-way traffic towards further lockdowns.
He also argued that the current rules were intolerable for some people. He said:
There are huge strains that this is putting on many people. Many people’s mental health. It’s leading to an epidemic of eating disorders, we have many young people chained to their small bedrooms and kitchens, so the new dark satanic mills are now people’s flats ...
The government made the argument that we have to live with Covid-19. Existing is not living. I’m asking the government to explain to me and the millions of people who are facing losing their jobs ... to explain what living looks like.
Updated
The Delta coronavirus variant is continuing to spread across England, with new hotspots cropping up around the country, data has revealed.
Data from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which tracks the variants detected in Covid-positive samples through genome sequencing, has revealed high numbers of samples containing the variant in Birmingham and Leicester – as well as large areas in the north-west, where the early hotspots emerged.
The figures show that in the two weeks to 5 June, 360 genomes of the Delta variant were detected per week in Birmingham compared with 228 in Leicester. By contrast, in the same time period, 196.5 genomes of the Delta variant were detected per week in Bedford, 500.5 in Blackburn with Darwen and 630.5 in Bolton.
Numbers have also risen in other areas, with 70.5 genomes of the Delta variant detected per week in the city of Bristol in the two weeks to 5 June, 56.5 in North Tyneside and 80.5 in Tower Hamlets in London.
This data includes Covid-positive samples analysed for general surveillance and surge testing, but not those related to travel.
While in many other parts of England the number of samples containing the variant were low, the data reveals the Delta variant is geographically widespread, having been found in samples from Cornwall to Carlisle.
What’s more, the Delta variant appears to dominate in the majority of areas, chiming with a recent report from Public Health England that suggested more than 90% of new Covid cases in the UK now involve the variant.
Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protesters have been staging a demonstration at Westminster this morning.
Arlene Foster steps down as NI's first minister urging DUP not to give up on power-sharing
Arlene Foster, the former DUP leader, tendered her resignation at Northern Ireland’s first minister this morning, effective from 1pm.
In a speech to the Northern Ireland assembly confirming her departure, Foster urged her colleagues to ensure that power-sharing continues. Referring to what happened when power-sharing was suspended between 2017 and 2020, she said that led to “lost years for Northern Ireland and a period when public services inevitably slumped backwards”.
The assembly now has seven days to form a new administration, but Sinn Féin has said it will only share power with the DUP if the DUP agrees to legislation on the Irish language. As my colleague Rory Carroll reports, Edwin Poots, the new DUP leader, has not yet committed to this.
In her speech Foster urged her party to support the deal on culture, including language legislation, agreed by the DUP and Sinn Féin when power-shoring was restored in January 2020. She said:
Too often a demand to advance Irish identity in the language of equality saw simultaneous calls to reduce or denigrate other forms of expression. This was always a destabilising approach in a society seeking healing, and risked simply creating a new dispossessed community. This cycle needed to be broken.
This is why my team and I sought and secured a cultural package that would see a range of measures to advance identities and protect them for future generations. This is the only model for success - not one step forward for some and one step back for others.
This will be the basis for sharing this place we all cherish and take pride in. And, yes, it also includes a commissioner for the Irish language.
Foster also stressed the need for both communities in Northern Ireland to live together. She said:
We can poke each other in the eye and have a competition of ‘my identity is better than yours’, but it is only by respecting each other’s identity that we will move forward ...
Our Lord taught the parable of the Good Samaritan. I’m sure we have all heard it, but remember two people passed by. They closed their eyes to the injured Jewish man.
I haven’t always made the right calls. None of us are perfect but at the end of the parable our Lord asks ‘Who is your neighbour?’ - the one who stopped to offer help.
Remember - stopping meant the Samaritan reaching out across a religious divide. It also meant him reaching into his own pocket and paying a price to provide shelter for the injured man.
Let’s be good neighbours.
Photograph: NI Assembly/PA
Updated
England’s rate of new cases of Covid-19 has climbed to its highest level for more than three months, with around one in 10 local areas now recording rates above 100 cases per 100,000 people, PA Media reports. PA says:
A total of 37,729 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in England in the seven days to 9 June, according to Public Health England.
This is the equivalent of 67.0 cases per 100,000 people: the highest level since 2 March, when the rate stood at 69.6.
It is still well below the peak of the second wave of the virus, when the figure rose as high as 680.6.
But rates are now showing a clear upwards trend, suggesting the third wave of the virus is under way.
Some 35 of the 315 local authority areas in England - 11% - are currently recording rates above the symbolic threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 people, according to analysis by PA Media.
This is also the highest number since early March.
The majority of these areas are in north-west England, with the highest rates concentrated in parts of Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
And these are from PA Media’s Ian Jones with more on this data.
The third wave of Covid-19 cases is now spreading to more parts of the UK.
— Ian Jones (@ian_a_jones) June 14, 2021
Here's the month-on-month change in local case rates. pic.twitter.com/ngonWeO7Pk
More local areas outside NW England are now recording rates above 100 cases per 100,000.
— Ian Jones (@ian_a_jones) June 14, 2021
This includes two boroughs of London (Lambeth on 114.7 and Wandsworth on 108.0); the cities of Leicester (130.1), Leeds (127.6) & Newcastle (107.3); plus Bedford (163.9) & Luton (120.2).
In Scotland, the cities of Dundee (279.9), Edinburgh (189.4) and Glasgow (164.1) are all above 100 cases per 100,000 people, along with areas such as South Ayrshire (213.1), Clackmannanshire (209.5) and Midlothian (187.1).
— Ian Jones (@ian_a_jones) June 14, 2021
Scotland's overall rate of new cases continues to be the highest of the four UK nations, though England's rate is now tracking a similar upwards curve. pic.twitter.com/MXUFOFjk7k
— Ian Jones (@ian_a_jones) June 14, 2021
The Commons equalities committee has warned that ministers risk being seen as creating a “hostile environment” for LGBT people after the Government Equalities Office (GEO) declined to give evidence to the committee’s inquiry into transgender issues.
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said she was “frustrated and bewildered” that the GEO had said it would not appear before its last evidence session about reform of the Gender Recognition Act, on Wednesday.
Kemi Badenoch, who is minister for equalities as well as being a Treasury minister, wrote to the committee to say the government had not changed its views on the issue, “and so I would not be able to impart any additional information”.
In a statement Nokes said:
In recent months the GEO has made a number of policy announcements that will significantly affect the lives of trans people in the UK, and this refusal is another example of GEO ministers evading essential parliamentary scrutiny of crucial policy issues.
Britons going abroad starting to face tougher rules as other nations respond to rising Delta cases in UK
British travellers will face tougher restrictions and forced quarantine in more destinations because of mounting international alarm about the spread of the Delta virus in the UK.
Several countries have either imposed extra restrictions on travellers from the UK or are considering doing so.
From Tuesday anyone travelling to the Netherlands from the UK will have to quarantine for up to 10 days after the Dutch government added the UK to its list of 27 countries considered “very-high” risk of infection. The health ministry said: “This is because of the worrying Delta variant of the coronavirus variant that is circulating there.”
The United Arab Emirates has also removed the UK from its green list of countries that until now had exempted British travellers from quarantine requirements.
And Italy and Ireland, two of the most popular holiday destinations, are considering imposing further restrictions on those arriving from the UK. Speaking to reporters at the G7 in Cornwall, Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, said: “If the number of cases increases, we will have to reimpose quarantine for those who arrive from Britain.” A month ago Italy scrapped mandatory quarantine for arrivals from the UK and the EU.
The Irish cabinet is considering plans to extend self-quarantine from five to 10 days for UK travellers who have not had two vaccine doses, according to the Irish Times.
Meanwhile, two world leaders who travelled to Cornwall for the G7 summit are facing calls for them to quarantine. They are Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau (see here) and Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison (see here).
Updated
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski ordered to apologise for bullying Commons staff
The Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski has been ordered to make a public apology in the House of Commons for bullying parliamentary committee staff. In a report (pdf), the independent expert panel (IEP), which adjudicated on the case, said that although Kawczynski was stressed at the time, his behaviour was unacceptable.
Two members of staff at the Commons complained about Kawczynski’s behaviour on 27 April last year, when the MP was unable to attend a virtual meeting of a parliamentary committee due to technical problems. Describing what happened, the report said:
[Kawczynski] was repeatedly rude, aggressive and impatient with the complainants and other staff before, during and after the meeting; he made critical and untruthful comments on a WhatsApp group shared with other committee members; he threatened formal complaint.
Sir Stephen Irwin, chair of the IEP, said:
We accept that the circumstances which arose on 27 April 2020 were difficult. But they were difficult for everyone. Whilst we fully grasp that the life of an MP can be highly pressurised, these responsibilities and stresses do not justify a loss of courtesy, an exaggerated sense of importance or entitlement, or bullying.
For years behaviour of the sort described in the report was not unusual in the House of Commons, but staff felt it was hard to complain and offenders were almost never disciplined. Today’s ruling illustrates how the situation has changed following reforms introduced in the light of the MeToo movement. Decisions about the punishments that should be apply to MPs who break the rules on bullying or sexual misconduct are now taken by the independent panel, and no longer by a committee of fellow MPs.
Updated
Last week the Times reported (paywall) that, even if the lifting of all lockdown restrictions for England were delayed beyond 21 June, Boris Johnson would still lift the 30-person limit on people attending weddings from that point.
In interviews this morning Edward Argar, the health minister, all but confirmed that there will be an exception for weddings. Asked about the topic, he said:
I’m not going to pre-empt what the prime minister will say later, but I know that weddings and people in that particular situation will be very much in his mind at the moment, it’s one of the things he has been looking at.
Updated
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, told the Today programme this morning that the former prime minister Gordon Brown was “absolutely right” to brand the gap in vaccinations between rich and poor nations a “moral failure” following the G7 summit. Ramaphosa said:
I think I should say that there has been great assistance but we need more. We need more assistance, but we also need more demonstration of solidarity. Those who are more well-endowed, who are more capable, should help those who are less capable.
Downing Street has confirmed that Boris Johnson’s press conference will take place at 6pm. He will be joined by Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser.
Ian Paisley rebuked by DUP leader for calling NI's health minister 'dangerous'
The DUP MP Ian Paisley has apologised to Northern Ireland’s health minister, Robin Swann, for calling him “dangerous” on stage alongside Sir Van Morrison, PA Media reports. PA says:
The DUP leader Edwin Poots said Paisley’s actions at the Europa hotel were wrong and should never have happened.
The row erupted after four gigs by the musician at the Belfast hotel were cancelled at the last minute last Thursday because live music is still not permitted under coronavirus regulations. Following the cancellation, Morrison an outspoken critic of Covid-19 restrictions, took to the stage and addressed the audience of 140, chanting: “Robin Swann is very dangerous!”
Video footage then showed him inviting Paisley on to the stage, where they continued the chant.
Poots told the BBC that he had seen the video and that Paisley had got himself into an “awkward situation”. Poots said that this should not have happened, that he had spoken to Paisley, and that Paisley had apologised to Swann, a member of the Ulster Unionist party.
Ulster Unionist MLA [member the legislative assembly] Mike Nesbitt said: “Ian Paisley will know that Robin Swann has faced death threats during the course of this pandemic. I think the party leader and the incoming first minister [Paul Givan] need to take action against Ian Paisley, because what he did was a disgrace.”
Following the incident, Paisley released a statement in which he said he does not believe Swann is dangerous.
He added: “I was put on the spot and called to the stage and tried to bring matters to a close by referencing some of Van’s music. What was parody, comedy, banter and sarcasm should not be blown out of all proportion.”
Updated
Sir Howard Panter, the theatre impresario, has said the industry will suffer “significant damage” if, as expected, the final lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England is put on hold. Panter, the co-founder of theatre operator Trafalgar Entertainment said theatre producers had “mobilised a whole industry” on the condition they would be able to reopen on 21 June. He told PA Media:
The reality is we have marched the troops up the hill. We have mobilised a whole industry in order to get going because we have been keeping the industry going for the last 15 months. It costs money. We haven’t had government help. We have kept it going. And now, surprise, surprise, the industry needs some income.
Updated
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is due to make a statement to MPs on coronavirus at 9pm. This will be the formal confirmation to the Commons of what Boris Johnson will be announcing in his press conference, which is scheduled for 6pm.
In the past, when Johnson has announced new lockdown rules at a press conference, he has made the Commons statement himself the following day. But there have been complaints about MPs getting their statement a day late, and on Tuesday Johnson will probably be making a Commons statement about the G7 anyway, and so it will suit him for Hancock to deal with that tonight.
🚨 At 9pm
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) June 14, 2021
Statement - Covid-19 update (@MattHancock / @JonAshworth)
In his Today interview this morning Edward Argar, the health minister, quoted figures showing that two doses of vaccine are much more effective against the Delta variant than a single dose. (See 8.59am.) He was referring to these figures from a Public Health England report (pdf) on the impact of vaccines published last week.
The chart gives figures for the effectiveness against symptomatic disease of one and two doses of vaccine with B.1.1.7 (originally known as the Kent variant, and now called Alpha) and and with B.1.617.2 (the Delta variant). The Delta variant is now the overwhelmingly dominant one in the UK, so the effectiveness figures in the Delta column are the ones that count.
This data does not differentiate between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine, the two main ones being used in the UK. But another chart in the report does supply this data. However, as the report says, that data in this table relates to a period when the Alpha variant was dominant, not the Delta variant.
Johnson arrives at Nato summit saying no one wants new cold war with China
Boris Johnson has arrived in Brussels for today’s Nato summit. Speaking to reporters on his arrival, he was asked if he agreed with President Biden that Nato has not taken the threat posed by China seriously enough.
As my colleague Patrick Wintour reports in his G7 analysis, what to do about China was one of the key issues at the summit in Cornwall, and the US were briefing that Johnson supported the relatively forceful line taken by Biden. But in reality, Patrick points out, Johnson is less confrontational, and that was borne out by his answer this morning.
In response to the reporter’s question about the threat posed by China, Johnson said:
I think China is, as I have said many times, a gigantic fact in our lives and a new strategic consideration for Nato which has spent so much of its time in the last 72 years thinking about the Soviet Union, then of course the former Soviet Union, the various security threats posed from that area.
But I think, when it comes to China, I don’t think anybody around the table today wants to descend into a new cold war with China. I don’t think that’s where people are.
But I think people see challenges. They see things that we have to manage together. But they also see opportunities, and I think that what we need to do is do it together.
Updated
Ministers could be banned from lobbying for up to five years after leaving office and face possible penalties if they break the rules, the committee on standards in public life has said. My colleague Rajeev Syal has the story here.
Starmer refuses to describe himself as 'woke', saying it's a 'good thing' the term is meaningless to most people
Q: What should happen about the Northern Ireland protocol?
Starmer says Boris Johnson signed this. Now he is complaining about it.
But he accepts that that is not an answer to the problem. He says there will have to be flexibility on both sides.
Q: Are you woke?
Starmer says that 90% of people do not know what that term means, and that that’s “a good thing too”. He says he will make arguments about the issues as he sees them.
And that’s it. The phone-in is over.
Updated
Q: What do you feel about Oxford dons boycotting Oriel College because of the Rhodes statue?
Starmer says he does not know about this story, but he thinks people should get on and teach students. They have had a very difficult time, he says.
Q: What did you feel about the G7?
Starmer says it was right to allow the G7 leaders to meet in person.
But he says the “optics” of the barbecue at Carbis Bay (which was criticised as an apparent breach of social distancing rules) were bad. He says he expects the PM to say “alas” again tonight as he postpones the final lifting of lockdown restrictions.
Q: Did the party break the rules?
Starmer says he is not sure, but it does not look good, he says.
Updated
Q: What do you and Labour stand for?
Starmer says he stands for coming out of this pandemic and building a much better Britain.
Q: Your personal rating is -29, which is where Jeremy Corbyn was after 14 months in the job. Labour is more than 10 points behind the Tories in one poll. And you personally are behind with Muslim voters, even though your party is ahead. Why?
Starmer says poll ratings go up and down.
Q: Yours are just going down.
Starmer says there is a “pretty strong headwind” behind the government. The vaccine rollout has been successful. And he says the government is still paying people’s wages.
Q: Are you glad you recorded the interview with Piers Morgan?
Starmer says he is glad he did it. But it was hard. He says they recorded for three and a half hours (even though the programme only last 50 minutes).
Starmer says the government’s “pathetic borders policy” is to blame for the final lifting of lockdown restrictions for England having to be delayed.
The government was wrong to delay putting India on the red list, he says.
He says he hopes that, when the announcement comes tonight, there will be an exemption for weddings.
Q: Will Labour vote for the new measures?
Starmer says he will wait until he knows what the vote is actually on.
But he says he has a meeting later this morning with Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser. He says he is grateful to the PM for allowing them to brief him. They will have an hour to tell him what the situation is.
Starmer urges justice secretary to review decision to approve Colin Pitchfork for parole
Q: What do you think of the Parole Board’s decision to approve the release of Colin Pitchfork?
Starmer says he understands how people feel about this.
But he says Pitchfork has served a long sentence. He has served the decision he was given.
The caller says Pitchfork raped and killed two girls. She does not think he should be released.
Q: Does he deserve parole?
Starmer says he is entitled to parole.
Q: But should he get it?
Starmer says “possibly” Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, should call it in.
Q: Yes or no?
Starmer says Buckland should have “another look at it”. He should call it in.
Q: What do you think of the decision by Oxford students to take down a picture of the Queen?
Starmer says he would not have voted for this. He says it was “the wrong thing to do”. But it is a common room for students. He says he also feels it is up to the students to decide how they decorate their own room.
Starmer says ECB were right to take action against Ollie Robinson over racist tweets
Sir Keir Starmer and the presenter, Nick Ferrari, start by talking about the football.
Starmer says it was awful watching Christian Eriksen’s collapse on Saturday. He says the broadcasters should have cut away from the filming earlier, and they certainly should not have shown the distress of his partner.
The first call is another sports question
Q: As a black man, I was disappointed that the ECD suspended Ollie Robinson.
Starmer says this is the sort of stuff that cannot be tolerated. He understands that Robinson posted these comments a long time ago. He goes on:
When things are that offensive and racist, I think action has to be taken.
He says the ECB was right to take action.
But Starmer says it would have been different if Robinson had been under-18 when these comments were posted.
Q: You stood by your Hartlepool candidate who had had talked about Tory milfs on Twitter.
Starmer says the ECB had to take a decision, and did so.
Updated
Minister says four-week delay in England lockdown easing could let extra 10m people get second jab
Good morning. One of the important aims of government communication is to ensure that, if there is bad news to announce, it does not come as a shock or a surprise. Early this evening Boris Johnson is due to tell the nation, from a press conference at No 10, that although all final lockdown restrictions for England were meant to be released from 21 June under step 4 of his roadmap, that is being delayed, probably for a month.
Downing Street has not officially confirmed any of this yet. But over the last week or two the prospect has been floated in the media repeatedly, and in recent days there has been no attempt from government to deny that this is the plan. We don’t have the full details, but the broad outline of what is coming is known. Here is our overnight preview story.
Edward Argar, the health minister, has been giving interviews. He has been sticking to the line that it will be for the PM to make the announcement, but he has also effectively confirmed that a four-week delay is planned, telling the Today programme that this would allow an extra 10 million people to get a second dose of vaccine.
Argar said this was important because a first dose of vaccine is only 31% effective against the Delta variant, which originated in India and now accounts for more than 90% of cases in the UK. But after two doses vaccines are 81% effective, he said. He went on:
Now, were the prime minister to to delay things, those four weeks or say that we’re talking about, at a run rate which we’ve got at the moment of about, at the weekend it was about 275,000 second doses a day - that increases during the week - that would mean you would close that gap in that time between the [41m people who have have had a first dose and 29m who have had a second]. You’d get that extra 10m done, therefore [getting them up to the 81% protection].
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Sir Keir Starmer holds his regular LBC phone-in.
12.30pm: Vaughan Gething, the Welsh government’s economy minister, holds a press conference.
3pm: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing.
Around 6pm: Boris Johnson is expected to hold a press conference confirming that the final lifting of lockdown restrictions for England has been delayed.
Earlier Johnson will be at the Nato summit in Brussels.
Politics Live has been a mix of Covid and non-Covid news recently and that will be the case today, although we will be focusing mostly on the PM’s announcement. For global Covid developments, do read our global live blog.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
UPDATE: After this was posted, No 10 said the lobby briefing would be at 3pm, and so that listing has been changed.
Updated
