"(thing madeleine, moment. the other thing madeleine, the idea that we didn't have enough chemicals that are necessary for the tests a nd chemicals that are necessary for the tests and parts of the chemical industry saying, we asked if we could help out and we heard nothing back. we heard it with the ventilators as well. it does seem there are lots of people who would like to be involved and would like to help who are running into... public health england... the future trajectory... mad lent, we are struggling again, it was ok at the binning —— madeline, i'm so sorry, we still can't to you. it is not your fault.

we still can't to you. it is not yourfault. one we still can't to you. it is not your fault. one medic we still can't to you. it is not yourfault. one medic has said, the kit i have got would only equip me for making sandwiches, in terms of the ppe. classic black humour, but this is not a laughing matter. these people are heroes, i know that journalists over use that word but tonight in the streets, everybody was out applauding, i had a tear in my eye, it is really quite moving, the fact that we are not giving those heroes adequate protection is an absolute scandal. i was reading that one hospital in wales were saying that allegedly if a patient is dying of covid—i9, nurses with insufficient protection mustjust step back, they don't have enough protection to shield them from the virus so they cannot intervene to help someone who was dying, isn't that shocking, in the fifth largest economy in the world, that that is

happening. also, advance warning that this was heading our way, this is not like it originated here, we have had weeks to see what is going on in other countries and the kind of equipment that is going to be necessary. yes, what is bitterly ironic is that china is now doing the right thing and providing lots of countries, i know they have shipped lots of ppe to italy and spain, i wouldn't be surprised if we we re spain, i wouldn't be surprised if we were going with a begging bowl to them as well, they really cracks down hard on that, some people may say that they have an advantage that they have an authoritarian government on a strict military that people listen to, however, they did ta ke people listen to, however, they did take those precautions, after an initial bit of favouring pretty firmly and, now other countries are overtaking china in the number of deaths and that very quick severe crackdown is what was needed and what we, unfortunately, have headed dictated too long to bring in and

oui’ dictated too long to bring in and our rates now is how higher and that is extremely worrying for the uk. yes, some people have questioned whether the figures that china have provided are actually accurate, similarly rush of course as well. there is a fashion designer in london who can't really do anything at the moment, she was on the news yesterday say she's received a request from the british fashion council saying, who can help us with this coronavirus effort? who can help make garments that are necessary for ppe, a lot of people a nswered necessary for ppe, a lot of people answered the call and then the trail went cold. that now seems to be gearing up again and an effort is going to be coordinated, probably by her. she is a very dynamic person, isn't she? one thing that i think it's quite moving is that i have seen this described as a little

boats effort, it is like dunkirk, people are throwing everything at it, one thing that the brits have is a sense of ingenuity, we have heard about british american tobacco, perhaps not always the most popular company in the world, but they are helping to possibly develop a vaccine for this virus which is extraordinary, growing antigens in tobacco plants to potentially produce a vaccine and you hear, as you say, fashion designers and all sorts of different factories, formula i, sorts of different factories, formula 1, car manufacturers, turning their hands at producing both ppe and ventilators and that is really heartening, that fact that we are all in this together and people are all in this together and people are pulling together. ifind are all in this together and people are pulling together. i find that extremely affecting, it is one of the, obviously i wish this crisis hadn't happened but one of the great things is the way people have rallied round and i helping each other. that is extremely heartening.

it is. it is moving as you say. let's look at the metro. it is all i knew james, we have lost madeline. uk death toll racing ahead, you mention that this rise of 569 people who died in this country and 24—hour is one of the things that has galvanised the government to do the testing, but the intention was, of course, with all the self isolating and the social distancing that we we re and the social distancing that we were trying to avoid this increase, this race towards a peak. yes, the other statistic that shocks me on that piece was that the death toll has quadrupled in just one week and asi has quadrupled in just one week and as i said, an equivalent period, spain and indeed france were behind where we were in terms of the numbers of people who have sadly passed away. that is severely alarming, if you look at the tragic numbers of people that are losing their lives in those countries, if we are behind them, but on a steeper

curve of fatalities, that is highly alarming and all the more incentive for people to get into gear and find a way of speeding up the testing, a p pa re ntly a way of speeding up the testing, apparently one fifth of the nhs workers, 1 million people work there, one fifth of them are self isolating because they don't know whether their symptoms or their families symptoms are coronavirus, if they could be tested and get back to work, it would save thousands of lives, it is so essential that that happens i'm very very quickly. let us happens i'm very very quickly. let us look at the financial times. more people in this country, for certain, registering for benefits than in the 2008 financial crash, which shows you the sheer scale of the problem and the number of people who have

been affected. absolutely, you look at the usjob been affected. absolutely, you look at the us job figures that have just come out as well, nearly 10 million people have registered for unemployment benefit in that country, to make a comparison that really raises the eyebrows, during the whole three years of the great depression, only 12 million people registered for unemployment benefit. that is a catastrophe for the economy. the other thing that we have to bear in mind is experts say that if gdp in america drops by 6%, thousands of people will die because they will fall into poverty and statistics show that people in poverty are four more likely to die young than those with more money. so, the fall in the global economy will have cataclysmic consequences for the world and also, sadly, the death. so, these are huge problems, it is one of those moments where you think, iam it is one of those moments where you think, i am quite glad i'm not a politician, because those decisions, we sometimes rightly say, that is a

life—and—death decision, these really are life—and—death decisions and they are things that have consequences for, not years, but probably decades to come. yes, i read one analysis that was that you are, in effect, creating a public health crisis to solve a different public health crisis. it is all those hidden issues that you see of people who are already struggling financially and now they are being pushed to the edge. yes, there are shocking instances of heart disease and diabetes which are more common among poor people. if gdp drops, our index has dropped in the last four months, gdp drops like a stone, more people will die from those conditions and you are absolutely right, iam not conditions and you are absolutely right, i am not going with trump's idea that the cure is worse than the disease but i do think those factors

have to be brought onto the table and taken into account and that is why testing is vital to get people back to work you have had the disease and are therefore immune, and can start to fire up the economy again. the final one i want to talk about is the times, the times front page and it is a number of well—known faces, so paul mccartney, kylie minogue, holding up their signs thanking the nhs, because without them, we are all really in a deep, deep mess. that is what is so offensive to so many people, they are the ones on the front line and they are not getting the basic equipment that they need. yes, what i've also found offensive as many tory mps saying, how wonderful the nhs is, when many of them applauded when nurses were turned down for a pay rise a couple of years ago. however, i absolutely applaud the celebrities, celebrities are often derided, probably quite rightly, but

in this case they are using their profile to a really good end. they are championing the nhs and i would not be at all surprised if in the next queens honours list, the majority of people who get honours are from the nhs, notjust doctors and nurses who certainly deserve it, but also porters and cleaners and drivers and all those people that we don't often celebrate, who are keeping the whole system going and are, asi keeping the whole system going and are, as i said earlier, absolute heroes. i stood outside at eight o'clock tonight and applauded with my neighbours in the street and there was, all you need is love, the beatle song was playing on a speaker, so it was very very moving. james, don't go anywhere, i would be com pletely james, don't go anywhere, i would be completely on my own if we can't reach madeline. that is it for the papers this hour, but we will be backed at 1130.

good evening. in the short term, it will remain on the chilly side and nippy in the north, widespread frost on the way. but a different story over the weekend with a warming up saturday, then come sunday, temperatures in the south of the country with warmth of the late breezes could get up to about 20 degrees. this is what the satellite picture looks like at the moment. you can see the motion of the cloud, and that's cold air seeping in from the arctic regions. reaching scotland, that means it is already a chilly evening across the north. temperatures before midnight a few degrees above freezing, whereas in the south, still just about into double figures — for example, in the capital. the skies continue to clear through the night, but however, occasionally there will be some wintry showers they are

across parts of highland. but across the west and the south, it will be cloudy through the night, so not quite so chilly here and in fact early on friday morning in birmingham, around 4 degrees and six in london, and around freezing or below in the lowlands of scotland. that is in glasgow and edinburgh. starts off cold, sunny, frosty in the north and east, but then the clouds tend to build up through the morning into the afternoon. and there will be a few showers around as well and mostly passing and brief. so for most of us, a cloudy and cool day with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees. friday night into saturday, we start to see some big changes in the air with high—pressure building and also the winds blowing in from the south so that is a warmer direction. and already plenty of sunshine on the cards. i think in the very far north the possibility of thicker cloud and rain, but take a look at the two bridges across many parts of england — the mid—teens as far north as yorkshire. and then saturday night into sunday, we really start to see that plume

of very warm air from the south. so by sunday, it is a case of sunny skies. unfortunately, most of us will not be able to make the most of the good weather, as we are just out in the garden if we are lucky or looking to the window. some fine weather there, look at that — 20 in london, i7 expected in newcastle, but always a chance of some showers with thicker cloud there across western areas. and also worth mentioning the pollen levels will be moderate—to—high come sunday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. there are now more than a million confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world. 50,000 people have died. ten million americans have lost theirjobs in two weeks, as the economy shuts down to slow the spread of coronavirus. in the spread of coronavirus. recent weeks, as the vir spread in recent weeks, as the virus has spread and economic hardship has followed, we've seen americans unite with incredible selflessness and compassion. after days of criticism, the uk government announces plans to significantly increase coronavirus testing.