good morning, it's wednesday, i'm victoria derbyshire, with you until 11. here are the headlines: three days after it was promised, an raf planeload of protective equipment, for frontline workers, arrives from turkey. the care minister explains why it was delayed. you're in a situation where there is the global shortage and factories around the world are making ppe as fast as they can. what we've seen, whether it's with this delivery or previous deliveries, is sometimes they get delayed — sometimes they don't turn up. the government faces fresh questions over the time it took tojoin an eu scheme, to source medical equipment for front line staff. there are real worries about vulnerable children in england during the lockdown, as official figures reveal only a tiny fraction of them have been going to school.

cancer research uk says number of urgent referral checks for cancer has dropped by 75% since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. some travel firms and airlines are breaking the law over holiday refunds, according to which — we'll talk to them and hear some of your experiences at 9:15. good morning. also this morning, we're going to talk to british companies who say they can help with sourcing and distributing ppe — that's at 10:15. that is on bbc two.

and after 9:30 here in bbc one — we'll talk live to cancer research uk — if you are one of those who'se avoided going ot your gp or hopsital when yo uthink you may have cancer suymptons, plse do get in touch with your own pertinent experinces — yuo can email victoria@bbc.co.uk or message me on twitter @vicderbyshire. first this morning, an raf plane carrying personal protective equipment has arrived at brize norton in oxfordshire. the shipment from turkey, including 400,000 surgical gowns, arrived in the early hours of the morning. it had orginally been due to arrive on sunday but suffered a series of delays. meanwhile, the government is facing more questions over the amount of time it took to join an eu scheme to bulk buy potentially life—saving medical equipment. ministers have insisted the delay was due to communication problems — and wasn't a political decision. and in westminster, the new labour leader sir keir starmer will get his first chance to challenge the government at prime minister's questions. only a limited number of mps will be allowed in the commons because of social distancing, and others will dial in via video link.

andy moore reports. here at last, the raf plane loaded with personal protective equipment that's so desperately needed in the uk. it's part of an 80—tonne shipment that's said to include 400,000 gowns, one of the items in shortest supply. ministers said this flight was due to arrive on sunday. nobody has been able to give a clear reason as to why it was delayed. just some of the thousands of people who have died with coronavirus. in fact, figures from the office for national statistics revealed deaths in england and wales at a 20—year high. the daily figures for hospital deaths showed 823 fatalities reported yesterday, bringing the total to 17,337. it's now believed a peak of hospital deaths was on april the 8th. so, the worst of the first wave may be over but vaccines will be needed to stop the virus spreading again. there's hope on the horizon from two trials in this country.

the vaccine from the oxford project will be trialled in people from this thursday. in normal times, reaching this stage would take years. and i'm very proud of the work taken so far. at the same time, we'll invest in manufacturing capability so that if either of these vaccines safely works, then we can make it available for the british people as soon as humanly possible. but the uk is still struggling to source personal protective equipment made here. this car parts maker in nottinghamshire is reopening today, producing equipment for ireland. i don't understand why it's so difficult for people to be getting in touch with companies like ours to make the products here in the uk. the ppe loaded in istanbul should be on its way to its various destinations as soon as possible. it will no doubt be much appreciated but more, much more, is desperately needed.

andy moore, bbc news. helen whateley is the care minister, she explained why the delivery of ppe from turkey has been delayed i think the reality of importing ppe at the moment is that you're in a situation where there is a global shortage and factories around the world are making ppe as fast as they can. what we've seen, whether it's with this delivery or previous deliveries, is sometimes they get delayed. sometimes they don't turn up. one reason why we have faced a shortage — some deliveries that haven't arrived. one of the important things therefore is we're working to secure an excess of supply, to make sure that we do still have more than we need and at least what we need, because it's so important, to come back to health and care workers, to make sure that they have the equipment they need, for their own safety and also for the safety of people they look after. the shadow health secretary jonathan ashworth also spoke about the need for the government

to engage with british companies who are able to make ppe for nhs front line staff and care workers. i really want us to mobilise those british firms, let's get our production lines running in british firms, who can make this ppe. it may well be that some of these firms can only make small quantities of it, but that doesn't matter because we need everybody — we need everybody doing what they can as part of this national effort. let's speak to our assistant political editor norman smith. good morning, norman. so where are we on ppe and whether front line staff are going to get the stuff they need? well, i suspect we are not much further forward than we were yesterday, in that some kit has arrived now from turkey. it's been checked and gone through at raf brize norton. there have been previous deliveries from china, when

china have been meant to deliver around 200,000 bits of kit and when they went through it there was only 20,000. these have to be checked to make sure they are there in sufficient quantities and up to standard. elsewhere, we are told the government is expecting quote millions of additional face masks from china this week. again, we will have to wait and see when and how thatis have to wait and see when and how that is delivered. more broadly, the government is still under real pressure to explain why it's not making greater use of british companies. the health secretary matt hancock said they had been contacted by around 8000 yesterday, so they have been inundated by companies saying yes, we can do it. the issue seems to be the government wants to rely on established wide providers, many of whom are in china. china is on the other side of the world and you therefore have logistical issues about getting the kit from chinese producers to the uk. labour argue

it's much easier to rely on companies here, where the kit can be distributed to hospitals much more quickly and effectively. so i think we will see continuing pressure on the government over this, particularly because a number of companies have been pretty aghast at the response they have had their initial offers, where frankly they have said, look, we can do this. the response has been, thanks very much and that's pretty much it. i think the view in government is it simply a question that the number of offers of help they have been getting from firms, many of whom will be fairly small scale, some of whom this won't be their traditional field, they will just have be their traditional field, they willjust have set up. i suspect the civil service have just been overwhelmed and trying to manage all the different offers of help they've been receiving and have resorted on relying on established big scale companies in china. we will talk to two companies on bbc two at 10:15am

who had said they can help. let me ask you about the senior civil servant that said the uk government's decision to stay out of the eu scheme was a political decision but retracted that after challenge by matt hancock. did he just make a mistake was their pressure on him as critics are suggesting, to that statement? imean suggesting, to that statement? i mean the short answer is we don't know. the only one who genuinely knows that is sir simon mcdonald himself is the only way you look at it, it was an extraordinary sequence of events. first he made explosive claims, in effect accusing the government of putting brexit ideology and purity before taking advantage of an eu scheme to get those desperately needed bits of ppe kit. we then had an extraordinary equally astonishing retract and where he renounced everything he said. what makes it extraordinary as this is the top man in the foreign 0ffice this is the top man in the foreign office and diplomats are normally

ever so precise in the language they use. so the idea he blundered into a select committee and blurted out stuff he didn't really mean to say seems odd. i put it no stronger than that. indeed, many members of the committee were surprised he even gave direct answers to those questions because everyone knew this was a hugely controversial political issue. it had been in the papers in january. be that as it may come at the end result is we have not been able to take advantage of this eu scheme and although ministers say it hasn't delivered any kit yet, the eu say well actually, we have placed around £1 billion worth of orders for ppe kit and we do expect it to provide us with gowns, gloves and garments in the nearfuture. for whatever reason, we have missed out on that. finally, at pmqs today, said keir starmer as leader of the labour party will be taking part in his first pmqs with many mps on zoom.

extraordinary moment, really. said keir starmer‘s first pmqs. normally he wouldn't be doing it because dominic raab is doing it for the government because boris johnson dominic raab is doing it for the government because borisjohnson is recuperating but he has decided such as the moment and the importance of where we are now with coronavirus, he does want to ask the questions. as you say, most of it done on video conferencing on zoom. i was looking at the questions to dominic raab, all but one, i think, will be a virtual question. so the question will appear on one of the screens around the commons chamber. the other big difference, there won't be any barracking or noise because eve ryo ne any barracking or noise because everyone is not involved in answering the question, the individual will be muted so we won't get the normal hullabaloo. it will bea get the normal hullabaloo. it will be a very restrained pmqs. also important to say, immediately after pmqs we are told we will get a statement from matt hancock, the health secretary, which of course will be the first chance mps have had to tackle him over all these

emerging problems, notjust on ppe but also on testing and, of course, on an exit strategy. we will be watching, thank you very much, norman. concerns are being raised about whether children who need extra support are being kept safe. the children's commissioner for england says she's concerned some of them may drop off the radar under lockdown, as they're not attending school in term time or seeing as many people as they usually would. 0ur education correspondent frankie mccamley reports. some are struggling. some are really, really struggling. jade — not her real name — has a child who's classed as vulnerable. they have been attending school for the last four weeks. if she didn't come to school, we'd be clashing, arguing all the time, constantly. there wouldn't really be much of a relationship there, if i'm honest. it's structured, she's got a routine, she knows she's got support here. she's safe here. jade struggles to make ends meet, so school is a relief. when your kid comes to school, they get lunch every day.

so you know you haven't got to worry about that meal. i know it sounds silly, but you haven't. from a monday to a friday, you haven't got to worry about that meal. now, you've got to worry about that every day. there are all sorts of reasons that a child will be on a list classed as vulnerable. some may have been allocated a social worker. for others, there could have been violence or abuse at home. so it's essential for schools and support services to stay in touch with these children — ultimately, to make sure they're safe. but children and families are falling off the radar. this school has lost contact with a handful of children, despite phoning home and knocking on doors. to be honest, it gives me sleepless nights, worrying about those particular children. we are trying to work really hard with children's services and with kind of the other schools in our locality to try and find out where those children are, to see who has been in contact with them, when was the last time they have been seen? government data shows as many as 95% of the most vulnerable children

have not been attending school during the coronavirus crisis. some may be self—isolating or living with vulnerable people, but others should be attending. most of the vulnerable children in this country are not going into school, despite the fact that schools are open for them. and what that means is they're at home with potentially this kind of cocktail of secondary risks. now, government needs to do everything they can to ensure they reduce the dangers that these families are facing during this time of crisis. the government says it's providing extra funding to councils and children's charities to offer support to vulnerable youngsters. but for children who rely on schools to keep them safe, some stuck at home could be facing a greater risk, hidden from those who are trying to protect them. frankie mccamley, bbc news. in the last half hour,

spain's prime minister pedro sanchez has said his government plans to begin winding down their lockdown measures in the second half of may. 0ur correspondent guy hedgecoe is in madrid for us. presumably this will be a gradual easing, will it? yes, that's exactly what pedro sanchez said this morning in parliament, that as of the 10th of may, when the next, this extension to the lockdown ends, he hopes to start what he calls a de—escalation of the lockdown which has been in place since the middle of march. a de—escalation will be the lifting of restrictions but we don't know what those lifting of restrictions would be exactly. first of all, he has to get approvalfrom be exactly. first of all, he has to get approval from parliament today ina get approval from parliament today in a vote for this extension of the lockdown. another two weeks until the middle of may. we believe he will get that. also, we have seen one or two lifting, incidents of

lifting of restrictions already. as of sunday, children will be allowed to go out onto the street and take short walks with their parents. something which they haven't been able to do for the last five and a half weeks. lastly, we saw some industries return to work. so, that's been the beginning of the lifting of restrictions but we are likely to see a lot more of that in the second half of may. thank you very much, guy, thank you. good morning. it's 9:15am. here are the headlines. three days after it was promised — an raf planeload of protective equipment, for front line workers, arrives from turkey. the government faces fresh questions over the time it took tojoin an eu scheme, to source medical equipment for health workers. there are real worries about vulnerable children in england during the lockdown, as official figures reveal only a tiny fraction of them have been going to school. all of the uk's biggest airlines and most big holiday companies are systematically

breaking the law by denying timely refunds to customers for travel cancelled during the pandemic, researchers have found. consumer group, which, which warns that the sector risks permanently losing public confidence in booking travel. they say 20 of the uk's largest operators are illegally withholding refunds that should be paid within14 days. let's talk to rory boland who is the travel editor at which and by lucie spencer, who had her £1900 holiday to egypt cancelled. she was told by tui she'd have her holiday refunded by march 16th. when that date passed she was told she'd have it in four weeks from the 16th. and elaine dennis—skuce who had her £1600 holiday cancelled. she's called 13 different numbers to try to claim refund. welcome all of you. let me start with rory. you say they are breaking

the law, how so? in many ways. there are different better and worse companies, i would say. some are saying we need a little bit more time and holiday makers may be sympathetic to that if they are talking about a couple of weeks will stop some are saying you won't get your money back until 2021 and you have to accept a credit note instead, which isn't true. in the worst situations, some are simply flatly saying no, no refunds, you must accept a credit note only and rebook with us. of course, there is huge sympathy for the travel industry at the moment. they are under incredible financial strain and that is why which is asking for the government to step in. but i also have huge sympathy for the guests on your show. the family of four who are going to florida contacted me and they are thousands of pounds under pocket. the person and that household has lost their job and they have been told to wait a yearfor their money

job and they have been told to wait a year for their money back. it can't be right that the government or the industry says that consumers have to effectively extend a loan to holiday companies, they help must come from the government. to be absolutely clear, if your holiday has been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, you are legally entitled to full refund and it should be paid within14 days, those are your legal rights? that is correct. if you have a package holiday, 1a days from the cancellation. if it is an airline only booking, seven days. as our investigation shows, or the uk's airlines and all the holiday providers are in breach of those legal requirements. that is quite extraordinary but as you say, they are undera extraordinary but as you say, they are under a lot of pressure themselves. dealing with thousands if not hundreds of thousands of customers. let me bring in lucie and elaine. how did you find out your holiday was cancelled ?|j elaine. how did you find out your holiday was cancelled? i was booking from home. at the 16th of march i had the news on in the background. i

had the news on in the background. i had already been checking because holidays to egypt and spain... to spain and italy had already been cancelled. i saw on the news that egypt had closed its airspace. so therefore i was like, yeah, it's obviously cancelled. i looked on the tui website and it confirmed all holidays to egypt were cancelled. so that's howl holidays to egypt were cancelled. so that's how i found out. elaine, you also had your holiday to egypt cancelled but he won't hold either, is that right? i was in the same position as lucie, actually. i had to wait until i heard it on the news. it was also on social media that egypt had shut their borders. so, obviously, i knew then that my hotel and my flight would not go ahead. lucie, how long have you been waiting for a refund ?|j ahead. lucie, how long have you been waiting for a refund? i contacted them on the 16th of march. they sent me an e—mail saying yes, we will refund you straightaway because i saidi refund you straightaway because i said i didn't want to rebook for

next year. the 16th of march obviously didn't get the money then, ithen obviously didn't get the money then, i then contacted them again on the 5th of april. as i hadn't heard anything. they sent me another e—mail saying it will be within four weeks of cancellation which was easter monday. i checked again and i still haven't had a refund from them. sol still haven't had a refund from them. so i am still waiting. do you think they are being difficult or are theyjust trying to find a way of dealing with so many cancellations from so many customers? for me, it is the lack of communication. the only time i have heard from them is when i called them on the 16th of march and the 5th of april. if they e—mailed me, even this time last week and said look, lucie, it's taken longer than we thought, we will have your refund by this date. at the communication, i've heard nothing from them at all.

i contacted my credit card provider and travel insurance company and they won't refund me because tui have already promised me the refund. but you are covered in three ways of their holiday company, as we just heard from rory has to pay you back legally. you paid for it on credit ca rd legally. you paid for it on credit card and you have insurance. so fingers crossed, at some point, i understand you want the money now but at some point you should get this. elaine, you have been trying to get your refund, how have you found the process? i waited, because they said not to contact the company until about the 16th of april, because they were dealing with all the marked cases initially. so i held off and then i started to call them. i had a certain numberto call started to call them. i had a certain number to call them on. unfortunately, this was always... i was always cut off on that call. i found some other telephone numbers from facebook and social media. i

use those two, there were about 13 of them, i tried all of them but every single time i was either... the call was dropped or i didn't get through. i found the call was dropped or i didn't get through. ifound my the call was dropped or i didn't get through. i found my —— the call was dropped or i didn't get through. ifound my —— so the call was dropped or i didn't get through. i found my —— so my insurance company who said unfortunately they couldn't help me because in the first instance i would have to speak to tui. i was due to fly yesterday to egypt and i finally got an e—mail from tui at 3:30pm yesterday afternoon and my flight 3:30pm yesterday afternoon and my flight was at 2:20pm yesterday afternoon. as you can see, i've been quite worried. we have a statement from tui, the same company for both of you. they said they have contacted all 170,000 holiday bookings impacted until the 15th of may. they say their initial approach of calling all customers was taking too long so they have introduced a refu nd too long so they have introduced a refund credit system, which includes an additional 20% booking incentive,

so customers can manage any changes online to save time and the refund credit is valid until the 31st of 0ctober credit is valid until the 31st of october 2021. what do you think of that, elaine? the credit is ok if you have no other problems. the person i was travelling with is my father and he has underlying health conditions. sol father and he has underlying health conditions. so i can't see when i'm going to be able to book the next holiday, as i don't know when he's going to be coming out of lockdown. the 20% is ok but all the holidays have increased in price anyway. if i wanted exactly the same holiday next year as wanted exactly the same holiday next yearasl wanted exactly the same holiday next year as i had this year, i would be paying around about 600—800 pounds more. so the 20% is negated. understood. let me go back to rory. you would have thought that holidays for next year would be cheaper, wouldn't you ? why for next year would be cheaper, wouldn't you? why are they putting the prices up?

no, the travel companies are in a difficult situation at the moment of knowing what the prices will be. we don't know whether there will be as many companies around, which if there are not, there will be less competition, which may see an increase in prices. that really is why government action is needed now, on this issue, because if the travel sector doesn't get help from the government, we are likely to see a lot of bankruptcies. also, consumers, you know, lucie and elaine, those stories are completely typical of thousands we have heard at which of people who are being driven up the wall by travel companies who have completely mishandled communications by telling people things that are not true in law, as well and i'm not really listening to people in very, very difficult situations. that is why we are proposing a sort of carrot and stick solution from government, that it does extend a travel guarantee fund, so it allows those companies

that would ordinarily be fine, have a good standing in normal times, gives them a bit of a chance to sort themselves out. but it also needs to stamp out this behaviour of airlines and holiday companies not issuing refunds. at the moment, there is no way for these consumers to get their money back and it needs really, really urgent government action. it is not just really urgent government action. it is notjust that consumers are being left out of pocket, there is a real danger here is that confidence in the travel sector as a whole will dip, because people are getting very, very angry about this situation. sure. they need a quick solution. rachel has e-mailed this isa solution. rachel has e-mailed this is a question a lot of people have. i have paid a £700 deposit for a summer holiday for my family. the balance of... god, it's a lot, £8,200 is due in three weeks. should i pay £8,200 is due in three weeks. should i pay the remainder and hope i get it all about if it's cancelled or shall i forfeit the deposit now?

these are probably the most difficult questions we are getting at the moment. it will come down to an individual decision. i can give you will be information to make that decision, though. you will lose the deposit if you don't pay the balance does that then there is no way to get that money back because that is what the law states. if you pay the 8000, that money will still be protected, so it's in the atoll scheme. if the company was to go bust, for example, you would get that money back from the government. but you do have to go into it at the moment with your eyes open that even though the law says you will get a refu nd though the law says you will get a refund if the holiday didn't go ahead, it's very likely the company would make it very difficult to get that money back. so you won't lose the money... what about if you paid them balance on your credit card, is a extra protection? it is extra protection but it's important to be upfront about credit cards as well. some people have been successfully making claims through their credit card, others haven't. it is not a solution in every eventuality but do

book with a credit card to make sure you have travel insurance, as well. 0k, you have travel insurance, as well. ok, i hope that helps rachel and all the other people who have asked a similar question. elaine and lucie, thank you for coming on, which she all the best and thank you, rory, from which. the department of health says online rumours implying the government was behind a network of twitter accounts posing as nhs staff is ‘categorically false'. also twitter has said it has not seen evidence linking the government to a network of fake accounts — and the independent fact checking charity, full fact, says there is no evidence supporting those claims either. 0ur specialist disinformation reporter, marianna spring, joins me. hello. tell us more. so, i guess it's a question of what we do know about this are what we don't know about this. as full fact say there is currently no verifiable evidence to back up these rumours,

which focused on an alleged network of fa ke which focused on an alleged network of fake twitter accounts that were posing as nhs staff. we don't have any evidence of this network currently, except for a screen shot ofa currently, except for a screen shot of a twitter account that was called nhs susan and a cache of tweets we can see, where the account was deleted, we can look at some of the tweets from that account for as you say, the department of health and twitter have come out and said there seems to be no link between the uk... no link between the uk government and this and any allegedly network of fake twitter accounts. it is important that everything kind of went may go viral yesterday. everyone was talking about this and implying that there was a lot of speculation about who was a lot of speculation about who was behind this. however, the person who made that twitter threat refuses to hand over any evidence at all. there are a lot of red flags that we

can interrogate about the information in front of us, which teaches us a lot about the misleading information we have seen in this pandemic. those tweets were shared many, many times. people responded to the many, many times. how do we, what is the best way of going about whether to check out if an account is likely to be true or fake? so, i mean in this case it's a case of just looking at the so, i mean in this case it's a case ofjust looking at the screenshots we have of nhs susan and the cache of tweets. from that, we can gauge... if you look at the bio, the description on the twitter account, it describes, its posing as a junior doctor who is supposedly death and transitioning in 2020 and is fighting covid for the lgbt community and people who are non—binary. a lot of the language there almost seems as though it's a parody account. for me, that combined with the tweets had a lot of hallmarks inaudible

in the election there were people posting on borisjohnson's facebook page pretending to be boris potts, writing fake comments and saying go, boris. this felt a lot like that. it seems like some kind of satire or parody but because again we don't really have any of verifiable evidence other than that single account, it's incredibly difficult to even interrogate these claims and it is crucial that when you see these kinds of rumours online, you look for the evidence can you ask for it and try and find it. you don't re—share claims until you are 100% sure there is evidence to back up 100% sure there is evidence to back up what is being said. if you look at what is in front of you, particularly information that can make is emotional or evoke a reaction, whether that is the claims themselves or the fact the twitter account we did have evidence of, it's evoking a strong reaction that can often... you need to be careful to think before re—sharing anything

that you are not sure is true. forgive me, very briefly, did you mention the photo of nhs susan? presumably, we would be able to find out if that was really nhs susan or a photo being used of someone else? yes, that image was a photo of a different nhs member of staff... a junior doctor called susan... that account... but we do not know whether it is part of network fake accounts, that account is definitely fake. there is very unclear, there is no evidence suggesting that the rumours are true. just in case you could not hear that, the profile in the screenshot was using a photo of an actual nhs nurse of the different name, suggesting it was fake.

hello again. we are hanging on to dry and sunny weather over the next few days, even into the weekend for some of us. today, high cloud in most areas, turning the such and hazy, but most of staying dry, the wind is not as gutsy as yesterday so not quite as cold on the north sea coastline. 0vernight tonight, the low cloud will form over southern and eastern scotland, it will be cold enough in sheltered lens for a touch of frost. temperatures three degrees in aberdeen and newcastle to 8 degrees in london, cardiff and plymouth. that low cloud will burn away quite quickly in the strong april sunshine. another dry day, a lot of sunshine, lighter winds, with some sea breezes developing along the south coast through the afternoon. highs tomorrow in central and southern england of 25 degrees.

hello, this is bbc news with victoria derbyshire. the headlines. three days after it was promised, an raf planeload of protective equipment for front line workers arrives from turkey. the care minister explains why it was delayed. you're in a situation where there is the global shortage and factories around the world are making ppe as fast as they can. what we've seen, whether it's with this delivery or previous deliveries, is sometimes they get delayed — sometimes they don't turn up. the government faces fresh questions over the time it took tojoin an eu scheme, to source medical equipment for staff. there are real worries about vulnerable children in england during the lockdown as official figures reveal only a tiny fraction of them have been going to school. the national childbirth trust say

it's had an increase in calls since covid—19 began with new parents and expectant mums and dads contacting them with concerns about anxiety and isolation. face—to—face classes and groups are no longer happening, and campaigners and charities say they are worried about the impact of the lockdown on the mental health of mums and dads. rosey adams has experienced antenatal and post natal depression, and runs a maternal mental health community group on twitter. she's in perth and olivia hatt who is expecting herfirst baby in three weeks. 0livia, where are you in the country? i'm in north london, good morning. thank you for talking to us. i think it would be really helpful, rosey, to just us. i think it would be really helpful, rosey, tojust explain us. i think it would be really helpful, rosey, to just explain what antenatal and postnatal depression are. they are similar, more than other depressions, but it's quite focused on anxiety, sometimes towards childbirth, and general

anxiety of pregnancy and the unknown and that is obviously quite high at the moment. with the unknown of what is going on, the lack of antenatal classes and stuff like that. some of the main concerns that you are hearing from expectant mums and new mums, tell us about those?|j hearing from expectant mums and new mums, tell us about those? i would say the lack of communication and support that they are getting, because obviously health visitors are not able to maybe do face—to—face visits, and i think that's really important for mums. i know expectant mums are feeling really worried about just going to hospital for scans on the fact that they cannot have partners with them when they are having scans. olivia, what has been the most challenging bit of being pregnant during this pandemic? i would say it is the unknown elements. so the information kind of changes almost on a daily basis in terms of what to expect when we get to hospital and i'm in labour, my partner has not been able to come to any maternity

appointments for six weeks so i have been doing them alone. they have moved from my gp surgery to the hospital, so it is the anxiety of going into a big hospital where eve ryo ne going into a big hospital where everyone is covered in masks and gloves, and it becomes very, very clinical whereas before the process was quite human and face—to—face and friendly. and have you had clear guidance as to what will a chilly happen when you come to give birth? yes, the hospital wear giving that has sent text updates, i still see my midwife every two weeks, get information from her but i get different information every time i go so it's difficult to plan for anything because i just go so it's difficult to plan for anything because ijust don't know what will happen. we have been doing entity classes which have moved online, they have been a real lifeline —— in ct classes. we have had a community of parents, we only met once before we moved online but

it's been really helpful. it'll be helpful for your mental health as well, in terms of practicality. yes, it just well, in terms of practicality. yes, itjust means we have someone to talk to. both of our parents are quite far away and we already have the anxiety that they are not going to be able to meet our may be for some time so it's useful —— our baby for some time so it's useful to have other people going to the same thing. i know you experienced antenatal and postnatal depression, rosey, with all three of your children. can you tell us what you think it would have been like experiencing that during this time? i experienced a lot of isolation because of where i was living, so i can empathise with the isolation women are feeling right now. having that lack of face—to—face support, even from normal mum and baby groups, would be really scary. they say it takes a village to raise a child, and i think it's really important that women make use of the

online village they have now, facebook groups and things popping up, and the support, maternal health groups are offering that online and it's important that women access it. what can happen to mums who might be suffering in silence? i think that's it, they suffer in silence. they are worried what people think, that certainly was my experience, and it can cause issues with bonding is on things like that. generally, you wa nt things like that. generally, you want to enjoy having a baby. if you're unwell, you can't necessarily do it as well as you could if you are well. so it's really important that if a woman is not feeling right, you know if you are not feeling right within yourself, to speak to a midwife, gp, feeling right within yourself, to speakto a midwife, gp, health assistant, anyone who can give you extra support because these are difficult times to be pregnant and have a new baby. olivia, after the birth, you will not be able to do the kind of stuff you would be able to do normally including introducing your new baby to family members. how

are you getting your head around that? i'm trying to look at it as positively as i can. it's obviously very disappointing but i'm trying to look at it like it's a real opportunity for us to relish being in ourown opportunity for us to relish being in our own little bubble and working out what to do with this new baby, we have no idea what to do with it, before we have the opportunity to introduce him to other people. it a scary time but the online communities that are available, and with facetime and things like that, they will still be able to meet him, but is not in the way that we would have hoped. jeremy vine on radio two yesterday it was getting grandparents to read out messages for their new grandchildren they haven't met, it was really emotional. finally, rosey, tell us where people who are watching can go to get help help online. where people who are watching can go to get help help onlinelj where people who are watching can go to get help help online. i have been

running an online stream between apm and 9pm every weekend —— every wednesday, pnd and me on twitter, and use the hashtag, you will find support. thank you for talking to us. anyone who's had cancer will tell you that a swift diagnosis is key. the quicker you're seen, the quicker you're treated, the higher your chances of surviving. today cancer research uk has revealed that the number of urgent checks for cancer has dropped by 75% since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. professor charles swanton is cancer research uk's chief clinician. good morning to you. how alarming are these figures to you?” good morning to you. how alarming are these figures to you? i think they are very alarming, i'm afraid. we are very worried at cancer research uk, as you rightly said, the number of two—week weight has dropped 75%, which translates to

approximately 2000 fewer cancer diagnoses per week. and that combined with the drop—off in cancer screening, we are seeing approximately 200,000 fewer cancer screening procedures every week, might equate to an additional 400 fewer cancer diagnoses per week. combined with looking at a total of between 2000 and 2400 fewer cancer diagnoses every week. early diagnosis is key in cancer, we need to intervene early, operate early, to intervene early, operate early, to reset the primary tumour to improve survival outcomes and achieve cure, so it's critical to get patients back through the system again. 2300 cancers could be being missed every week? that's what we think. i thought that covid free cancer hubs were meant to be set up during this time, is that happening or not? in some areas this is

definitely happening, patients who are coming in for surgery are receiving covid screening 48 hours prior to an inpatient stay. what isn't happening right now is the routine screening of all health care worker staff. that is presently focused on the asymptomatic group which have not until now focused on. it's becoming increasingly apparent that anywhere between 20 and 80% of coronavirus infections can be asymptomatic. and we are concerned at cancer research uk about the risk of asymptomatic coronavirus transmission within a hospital environment, to other health care workers and patients that we serve. so to provide patients with the confidence to come into hospital and seek medical care for their new symptoms which could be suspicious of cancer, we need to provide patients with coronavirus free cancer units which are assessing patients at risk of coronavirus to make sure they are free of it, or to

minimise the risk of coronavirus infection, and also to make sure that the health care workers who we re that the health care workers who were looking after them are also coronavirus free. to minimise that risk of hospital transmission that we have seen in china and italy and elsewhere. that's the reason why people are not going for screening or going to their gp to get symptoms checked out, because they are worried about catching coronavirus, or could it also be that they know the nhs is under pressure so they don't want to overburden local services? very good questions, we don't know, only time will tell what the reasons are. i think the government's self isolation strategy, which is incredibly important, obviously, has got unintended consequences for one reason or another. certainly i know patients are fearful of coming into hospital, but what we need to do is provide them with coronavirus free units, to minimise that risk of transmission, to boost their

confidence that when they come to hospital, they will be at no greater risk than any other patient in the health care system. let me read a couple of messages, there are quite a number coming in on this. gail says, i went to see my gp at the beginning of march because i thought i had cancer symptoms. he examined me and referred me for a two—week hospital appointment. i got that for the 18th of march, that was cancelled, because of coronavirus. and i was told by my gp that if i was younger and it was a first—time cancer scare i would have been seen, but because i had breast cancer ten yea rs but because i had breast cancer ten years ago, i am but because i had breast cancer ten years ago, i am now but because i had breast cancer ten years ago, i am now 73 are not classed as urgent, i was told to come back when this coronavirus emergency was over. and emma is e—mailing to say, i have had a bad smear results come back and i should have been having a biopsy yesterday. but the appointment was cancelled, it's now on the 6th ofjuly. for both gail and emma, they are

it's now on the 6th ofjuly. for both gailand emma, they are in it's now on the 6th ofjuly. for both gail and emma, they are in a really worrying scenarios, what should they do? by sympathies to both those patients. of course we are very concerned both those patients. of course we are very concerned at cancer research uk about this problem. we have heard this repeatedly from patients in the community we are fighting their corner and we are here for them. i would say they need to get back into contact with their gp urgently, and we need to ask their gps to put pressure on the health care system to get them back into the diagnostic pathway so that appropriate treatments can be initiated. i would urge them to do that. talking to primary care physicians and health care workers, working in cancer hubs, there is renewed effort now to get patients back into the system urgently, and to catch up with those missed diagnoses and the work that under normal circumstances we would have been carrying out, had it not been for this coronavirus pandemic. thank you very much for talking to us here on bbc one. cancer research uk's

website, where you can get so much information, accurate information, is cancer research uk dot org. new figures show the rate of inflation, which measures the rate at which prices for goods and services increase, has slowed in march, because of falling prices for clothes and motor fuel. as measured by the consumer prices index, the rate was 1.5%, compared with 1.7% in february. the office for national statistics said some retailers had offered discounts in march because fewer people were going shopping. london mayor sadiq khan says the city's transport network will run out of money by the end of the month and may have to cut services unless the government steps in. a slump in passenger numbers has seen income from bus and tube fares plummet. he told the bbc that transport for london has been eating into cash reserves to keep running. the un's world food programme has warned of famines

of biblical proportions because of the coronavirus outbreak. the agency estimates the number of people going hungry could double to more than 250 million. even before the pandemic hit, parts of east africa and south asia were already facing severe food shortages caused by drought and the worst locust infestations for decades. here's our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet. queues in a kabul lockdown. not for medicine to fight the virus, four sacks of wheat to fight hunger. the poorest now deprived of daily wages to survive. no one would help you if you say home, this woman says. i cried for the last two to three days. whoever talks to me, it makes me cry. i don't know what to say. millions more people around the world now need food aid fast. the wfp is warning of

a global hunger pandemic. this airdrop is for the starving in south sudan. there is social distancing here. but few other defences in poor countries torn by war. the un security council met virtually to hear how bad it could get. when it ended, the head of the wfp told us of his worst fears. if we lose our funding, or lose supply chain access, we are talking about 30 million people, literally over a few months could die. that's without putting the new numbers of covid on top of that. so we are literally looking at biblical proportions of famine, a possibility in anywhere from ten to 36 countries. what do you say to donors who say, they would want to help the world's poor but there are hungry people in our own countries so we cannot help you now?

you know, i haven't had a donor yet say, we are turning our back on these vulnerable people. they all say, we're going to do everything we can. of course, they've got to stimulate their economies, do what they can and will see what happens. understand that in many places, if we have chaos and destabilisation, you could have migration by necessity, you could have destabilisation by extremist groups, you'll end up paying for it one way or another. in yemen, no lockdown yet. millions here already a step away from starvation. to reach them, the un also says it needs a ceasefire. for all sides to fight the common enemy. in syria, too, war takes its toll. in this poor neighbourhood, they queue for wfp aid. like millions around the world, if they don't receive this daily bread, there is nothing to eat. lyse doucet, bbc news. we may be staying home and heeding government advice on social distancing but in some ways we've

been getting closer. an online study has found that there's been a surge in neighbourliness, with people looking out for the vulnerable and talking to those next door more than ever before. we're joined by anthony 0'shaughnessy, a chef currently based in newcastle, who has been cooking meals for an elderly neighbour since the lockdown started. hello, anthony. good morning. you have been helping out peter, how has that been happening? how did it start? really, he's our next-door neighbour, it started when they announced the lockdown. my mum had given him call because she has his number in her favour, given him call because she has his number in herfavour, he had had health problems, so we called to see if he needed anything doing, we imagined he needed to shield himself. he told as he had ordered shopping online and it had delayed

twice, and when he received only half his order was there. so we said, we are doing a sunday roast, would you like some? so we plated it up would you like some? so we plated it up nice and hot, and we have some pudding leftover as well so we gave him some of that. we just put it on a nice clean tray, put it on his doorstep, knocked on his door and then went to his front gate and waited until he answered and asked him how he was. and just as i have been cooking each day, i said, i'll cook something for peter. we rang him and asked him if he fancied something to eat, and it has turned into a habit, really. i've had loads of food left over that i have been cooking, because i've been cooking from home myself. i've had loads of food left over, lots of spicy things which my family don't really like very much but peter absolutely loves it. he's travelled all over the world, in his youth he was in the navy. so he likes different spices and really eclectic things. so we have that in common, so it's nice to

share that with him. how old is he, anthony? he's in his 70s, but he lives on his own, he's been on his own for a while, his wife passed away when they were quite young. he's been on his own for a while but he keeps himself busy playing golf, thatis he keeps himself busy playing golf, that is normal thing. he's quite active in the garden and things. but the way things are at the minute, he is having to stay in. i bet he really appreciates the contact with you, and the delicious variety of food that you make on a daily basis, and are taking their next door. he's been very complimentary, which is a lwa ys been very complimentary, which is always really good. i'm finding myself trying to impress him now, i'm nervous when i tell him what i've made, i'm like, will he like it? he seems to love it, he likes all the weird dishes i make and he lapped it all up. so i'm determined to impress him a bit and push the boat out. it's nice, it feels like a nice expense for him, he says, i feel like i'm eating in a rest on

every night. it's nice to give that to somebody, it's a nice feeling. what kind of stuff are you making for him? all kinds of stuff, i tend to cook from all over the place, i've done a lot of travelling myself, especially because we can't travel at the moment, it's good way to travel. things like pasta dishes from italy, tagines, it is all sorts of things, it keeps things exciting at the minute. i understand that peta has lived next door to you for 40 yea rs, peta has lived next door to you for 40 years, and your grandma lived in that house before you, and peter used to do her shopping and do her garden when she wasn't up to it, is that right? that's right, and towards the end of her life, when she was struggling to keep on top of things, he used to bring the shopping into her garden, just nice little gestures and to be honest, it's like repaying the favour doing

this. my mum has always shared food with him when she's had too much, when she has made two big roast, she will take a plate of food. but it's now needed more than ever so we're very happy to step in and help as much as we can. has this lockdown changed your view of your community, community, do you think he will carry on doing stuff like this? definitely. i think particularly i know i have got that in common with my neighbour now, it's something i have always been aware of, social isolation, because it's part of my regular work. i teach at a cookery school in leeds normally and it is nonprofit, so all the proceeds go to local charities. and they focus on social isolation, trying to soothe it if anything. that's quite typical at the moment. so i'm used to teaching people who are isolated, who probably only leave the house to

come to the cookery class or events, something like that. and i say all the time how does having a meal with somebody being involved in the process and then sitting down to eat it it's massively rewarding and it really changes a lot of peoples lives. it's something i say we can and week out. it's really humbling. this compared to all of that is just a very small favour but there's lots of people stepping in and it's great to see community taking responsibility. lovely to talk to you, keep up the brilliant work, thank you. anthony 0'shaughnessy, a chef in newcastle. get in touch on twitter or via e—mail. the weather. hello again. there is a lot of dry weather in the forecast for most of us over the next few days, even into the weekend, and were hanging on to a bit of sunshine as well. today dry and sunny, feeling warmer than

yesterday because the wind is not yesterday. but you still notice it. we have high clouds drifting across south—west england, wales, northern ireland, north—west england into southern and western scotland, and thatis southern and western scotland, and that is turning the sunshine hazy. but not spoiling it. more cloud developing across the northern isles, particularly shetland, later on and we have also got not as gusty winds coming in across the north sea. so not feeling as cool along the north sea coastline. temperatures are between 12 and 16. higher temperatures further west, so cardiff seeing 21, liverpool, 20. this evening and overnight, looking ata this evening and overnight, looking at a low cloud forming across parts of wales, the pennines, southern and eastern scotland, and it will be cold enough in some sheltered glenns for a touch of frost. three in aberdeen, six in liverpool, eight in london and nine in st helier. the low cloud will burn away quickly in the strong april sunshine tomorrow morning, and tomorrow for all of us,

we are looking at another dry day, and a sunny one. the wind won't be as strong, in fact it willjust be a breeze, really, and a sea developeds along the coast. it could be the warmest day of the week, around west london it will get up to 25 degrees. thursday into friday, high—pressure dominating our weather starts to weaken, and we can see the spacing and the isoba rs, weaken, and we can see the spacing and the isobars, not much in the way ofa and the isobars, not much in the way of a breeze either. 0n and the isobars, not much in the way of a breeze either. on friday, we start off with a low cloud and mist and fog across eastern areas, that will burn away. then we are looking at the dry weather, a lot of sunshine, more cloud coming in with drizzle across the northern isles and here it will feel cooler. top temperatures in lerwick of nine. still want to cross the rest of the uk with top temperatures of 22. saturday, more cloud in the east will burn back towards the north sea coastline, allowing a lot of dry

weather and sunshine. temperatures are slowly starting to slip, the top will be 19.

hello, how are you? this is victoria derbyshire with you on bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. three days after it was promised, an raf planeload of protective equipment, for frontline workers, arrives in the uk from turkey. the uk's care minister explains why it was delayed. you're in a situation where there is the global shortage and factories around the world are making ppe as fast as they can. what we've seen, whether it's with this delivery or previous deliveries, is sometimes they get delayed — sometimes they don't turn up. it comes as the uk government faces fresh questions over an eu scheme, to source medical equipment for staff. spain's prime minister asks parliament to extend the country's state of emergency until may, and warns that easing restrictions must be done extremely carefully.