britain's prime minister boris johnson is back at work after recovering from coronavirus. he says there are "real signs" that the country is passing through the peak of the pandemic. he warned that lifting the restrictions too soon could lead to a new wave of deaths. president trump has said china could have stopped the coronavirus from spreading around the world, and that serious investigations are under way into beijing's actions. mr trump was speaking outside the white house in his first briefing since friday. he also announced plans to increase testing. el salvador‘s president has ordered officials to adopt tough new measure as criminal gangs seek to take advantage of the pandemic. more than 50 people have been killed in three days of violence in the tiny central american country. nearly half of the deaths were reported on friday.

now on bbc news, monday in parliament. hello there and welcome to monday in parliament. on this programme, the chancellor announces new loans to help small firms cope with the coronavirus. for most firms, loans should arrive within 2a hours of approval. mps ask if the brexit trade talks should be extended because of the pandemic. you are saying to us that the covid—19 crisis does not change the timing. and there's a call for the government to do more to help stop the spread of covid—19 in jails. will the government consider urgently ending overcrowding by releasing prisoners who are on short sentences and suspending any new short sentences?

mps are still adapting to their hybrid chamber, with some of the comments in person and others appearing via video link. but there were plenty who had questions when the chancellor set out a new scheme to give them access for taxpayer backed loans to help them through the coronavirus crisis. rishi sunak told the commons that the new system would start next week, offering loans of up to 50 thousand pounds. he began by telling in peace that no one should have any doubt about the seriousness of the situation. the office for budget responsibility have published a scenario showing that the coronavirus will have very significant impacts, both at home and in the global economy. more than one and a half million new claims have been made to universal credit. over 4 millionjobs have now been furloughed and survey evidence suggests that a quarter of businesses have stopped trading. these are already tough times and there will be more to come.

setting out the details of his so—called bounce back loans, he said firms would be able to apply forup to £50,000. there would be no capital or interest repayments for one year with the government paying the interest for the first 12 months. my right honourable friend, the secretary and i have been in close talks of the banks and i am pleased to say that these loans will be available for 9am next monday. there will be no forward—looking tests of business viability, no complex eligibility criteria, just a simple quick, standard form for businesses to fill in. loans should arrive within 2a hours of approval. i've heard from small business owners to put their life and soul into their firms but they have less than two weeks of cash flow left and they are devastated.

we all need to work together to get the different support schemes working for our country. we must fix this. switzerland has a population of under nine million and yet it approved four times as many loans within its first week than the uk has done and the month. we are running out of time so can i ask the chancellor how he will ensure the bounce back loans get to those businesses that need it, how will they get out of the door and what plans does he have to ensure the capacity will be there in banks to provide those loans? rishi sunak addressed the switzerland comparison head on. it is very clear that, for them, the loan guarantee scheme is the privacy of their direct fiscal support to businesses and in this country, we have done tens of billions of pounds in direct cash support through tax cuts, through reducing business rates, through cash grants of ten or £25,000, to paying people statutory sick pay bills and these very direct cash impacts are more generous than asking companies take on a loan. he announces it is good

and deferring can be useful, but many small businesses feel that this to stores up debt for the future and understandably, they may not want to take on more debt and will you look at overdrafts and helping businesses to the current difficulties. the lib dems asked about the self employed to a job such as taxi driving or cleaning. i know the treasurers weren't about fraud, but i wrote to the chancellor on the 8th of april with the lib dem proposal to help these people in the taxpayer, so will he please help these self—employed people depending on dividends before it is too late? mr speaker, we have designed these schemes at pace in order to get as many people as we can in the time we have available.

the decisions we've taken enable that and at this point, complicated changes to those schemes would just mean that we would be able to delay getting support to millions of people who are either in receipt of it or are about to receive it. in the last ten years, there's been an active debate about those relatively few companies who have aggressively avoided paying tax in this country. many of those same companies that are now relying on the generosity of taxpayers to remain solvent in these difficult times. will you take this time to have conversations with those companies to make sure that when we do recover, they play a much fuller part in our economy going forward. let's aim for not business as normal when we get back after this crisis, let's aim for business as better. i thank the honourable member for that comment and i like his phrase at the end.

which we'll see if it shows up in a future speech or not. but he is absolutely right, we are all in this together and we have gone through this as a collective endeavour as a country, whether business, government, individuals and it is right that during this process that people act responsibly. as he thinks about how he is going to balance the black hole that is his budget at the end of this, may he consider not only ending the fair fuel stabilizer now that oil prices have fallen so much, but also looking at a windfall tax on those hedge fund managers who are currently selling short the very businesses that he is trying to support. can the chancellor not repeat the socially divisive policy of austerity. coming into this crisis, the last thing any of us meet is another round of austerity. rishi sunak said the government was trying to preserve as much of the economy as possible so the uk economy could bounce back. now the cabinet officer has told mps that the coronavirus crisis should concentrate minds in brussels over trade talks with the uk. mr gove rejected suggestions that the pandemic should delay the transition period during which the uk follows eu rules beyond the end of the year. appearing before the brexit committee mr gove was reminded that the eu chief negotiator michel barnier has

described the progress so far as disappointing. you are right that michel barnier gave a very downbeat assessment of progress, limited progress has made in the talks but we do believe that it is still entirely possible to conclude negotiations on the timetable that has been outlined. is it still the government's position that if insuffient progress is made byjune, the uk will walk away from the talks? both the uk and the eu will take stock at the end ofjune. there are two more negotiating rounds, one in mid may and one at the beginning ofjune, so i wouldn't want to anticipate what will happen but i think it is the case that both the uk and the eu will want to ensure that talks progress. hilary then asked about the impact of the covid—i9 pandemic. the talks have not made

progress on the key issues and there were just two more rounds to go and british businesses have no idea what they're planning for apart from the prospect of a major economic shock to the globe and is the government asking itself whether the timetable it's set out for this processare still realistic in the light of that fundamental threat that you last give evidence to? i think it is important to bear in mind that what the government is putting forward is a set of arrangements which are based on existing precedence. we are not asking for anything bespoke or new or tailor—made, we are asking simply for a series of off the peg arrangements which replicate what the eu has other countries. in a word, you're saying that the covert crisis does not change the timing. is that the case? i think the covid crisis should concentrate the minds of eu negotiators in enforcing the vital importance of coming to a conclusion.

has the government done any work on the liabilities that the uk would face on extending the transition period and how much that would cost the uk taxpayers? it would cost billions if we were to extend. if it is the case that from the eu's point of view, it is actually sensible for us to leave at the end of the transition period because it means we do not get involved in the multi—annual financial framework, the process by which the eu allocates all its expenditure. but the thing we do know is that remaining in the transition period would mean that we be paying the eu money which many of us might consider to be better spent on the nhs are supporting our economy. snp mp wanted to make sure that scotland's voice was heard in the trade talks. given that measures have been put

in place to allow these negotiations to proceed across the european union, notwithstanding this terrible health crisis with which we find ourselves. and the issues being discussed in the negotiations, such as for example fisheries which are of high importance to the devolved nations, can you tell us why the joint ministerial committee of the british government and the devolved governments has not met for three months? i have been meeting daily with ministers from all of the devolved administrations. it has not been the case in any one of those meetings, but ministers from devolved administrations have said that the number one priority, for me, is to meet with thejmc and we are going to do so. a conservative mp asked the minister to assess the chances of the uk getting a deal. last time you told me a deal

with the eu was odds on, which we agreed to be 51% and 99% chance and have you've narrowed that range a bit now? i would put it at and it is very difficult, i'm not very good at predictions. i once wrote a book called the future of the right and the author of that tone would suggest that i'm not very good at making political predictions. but i would think that the odds were definitely better than two to one. an optimistic michael gove there. your watching monday in parliament and do not forget you can watch the commons, full, live and uninterrupted on bbc parliament. mps have challenged the gambling commission over its effectiveness in reducing the incidence of problem gambling. earlier this year, the spending watchdog the national audit office said more needed to be done to protect consumers, and urged ministers to look at how the commission was funded. it gets around £19 million a year to oversee an industry worth £11 billion. appearing before the public accounts committee, the commission's head was challenged by a conservative mp.

we're talking 340,000 adult problem gamblers, an at—risk group of almost two million adults and children in the uk. you know, if this was anything else, it would be considered an absolute scandal. we want to see gambling—related harm reduced, but it's a complex question. the fundamental challenge that we face, that any regulator of gambling faces, is how do you balance the risks of harm to some people against the fact that the vast majority of people can gamble and not get into difficulties? so 24 million adults in the uk gamble, and 340,000 — based on the data we have — seem to be experiencing problem gambling. and that's unacceptable, we must work to drive that down. we haven't set a target for how far

— because i don't think you can. what you want is for the target to be as low as it possibly can be. he said regulation needed to evolve as the industry changed. and when necessary, we've taken enforcement action. so we suspended, for example, some licenses of operators on the day after the requirement — self— exclusion scheme took effect. in addition to that, we're constantly keeping under review whether there are measures that we should introduce that would address the specific risk. but at the minute, the focus around affordability and knowing your customer and keeping them safe our things we are pushing the industry very hard to address. also giving evidence was the head of the department for digital, culture, media and sport, who was also pressed by richard holden. will you even commit the department to saying we should see a reduction in problem gambling? so obviously, we'd would like to see a reduction in problem gambling, that goes without saying. exactly how you decide to measure

that and what is the most effective way of driving performance in measuring that is a different matter. but i think the government has been very clear it wishes to see a reduction in problem gambling. ok, but you're not prepared to commit in any way to show how that could be? obviously, we've seen an increase in the last 10—12 years in people concerned about gambling, but there's no... in the last ten years, there's been an active debate yes, we've seen relatively stable numbers of problem gamblers, and also, i'm afraid it's really not for me to make a decision that is probably for ministers to decide what the right performance is as a government. may i suggest that actually, you're being a little complacent over whole thing, and ask you whether the consultation between the gambling commission and the dcms making a change in the law is pretty chunky? after all, the recommendation to reduce the maximum stake on fixed online betting terminals took from 2013 to 2018 to actually change the law.

i do think we should reflect — the gambling commission have a degree of flexibility in being able to adjust licence conditions to react to circumstances, and indeed, they've shown they're prepared to do so quite quickly. the adjustments they've made to age verification, which we talked about earlier, also to do with advertising and their expectations of operating on how they advertise — all of these are changes that have been made pretty rapidly and effectively. just before the session started, the uk's largest gambling firms said they would remove all tv and radio advertising for at least six weeks. if that's being done in order to protect vulnerable clients during this period — isn't that an admission that at least some of those ads previously were a detriment to those same clients? advertising is not a matter solely for the gambling commission in isolation. we played our part, we welcomed the steps that have been taken to reduce it. i think i said previously

before the house of lords select committee that, to an extent, advertising is a bit of it the prisoner's dilemma — because a lot of the operators will tell you they'd like to do less advertising, but none of them will do it if no one else is likely to do likewise. but ultimately, these are policy matters, not matters solely for the gambling commission. thejustice secretary has revealed that 33 prisoners out of an eligible 4,000 have been released early as part of a scheme to help tackle coronavirus injails. robert buckland announced earlier this month that inmates who were due to be freed within the next two months would be considered for the programme in england and wales. but the scheme was later suspended after sex offenders were freed by mistake. making his debut as shadowjustice secretary, david lammy wanted answers. can he update the house on how many prisoners have been released?

and sadly, how many prison officers and staff have lost their lives, and how many prisoners have lost their lives? the minister said five members of prison staff and 15 prisoners had lost their lives as a result of the virus. as to the figures on early release... i admit progress has been careful and slow. but we have reached a position now where, also taking into account the release of pregnant women, a total of 33 prisoners have been released. and of course, it's coupled with the reduction that we've seen in prison places and capacity of about 3,000 which, to myjudgement and the judgement of those who advise me, is already making a big difference in creating the space that we need to increase compartmentalization and to reduce the spread of the virus. just 33 out of a figure of up to 4,000? he will recognise too that, with the restrictive regime that he talked about earlier, we cannot keep prisoners in their cells for 23 hours a day. it puts prison staff at risk, never mind potentially breaching

very serious human rights. what's his exit strategy in terms of tracing, upping testing, and moving back to a degree of order in our prisons? or we could be seeing, of course, rising tensions across the country. i view this strategy as a long—term one. as the conditions change in the community, so pressure will be on the prison estate to do similar. i think prisoners so far have understood and have been brought with us in terms of the need to isolate. will the government consider urgently ending overcrowding by releasing prisoners who are on short sentences, and suspending any new short sentences to slow the spread of covid—19? we have a many—pronged approach to ensuring that we reduce

the headroom in the estate. we're doing that by a variety of means, which include release, include the natural reduction in the population, and include additional accommodation on our prison estate. several mps asked about the supply and quality of personal protective equipment — or ppe — for prison staff. prison officers were telling me they were concerned about both those issues, together with having the facilities for putting their uniform on at the beginning of the day and off at the end, in order to keep themselves safe. as the secretary of state has already identified, we are confident in our supplies of ppe, except for coveralls, where we have a flight coming in from china this week. the snp asked about another area. the suspension of prison visits during the current crisis affects not just the welfare of prisoners, but also their families and loved ones who, of course,

have been guilty of no criminality. the scottish government has committed to providing every prisoner in scotland with a mobile phone, which will be locked so as to enable outgoing calls to approved numbers only. will the ministry ofjustice be able to match that commitment for every prisoner in england and wales? wherever possible, we have — with controls, of course — issued telephones in—cell, or phones very close to the cell that can be safely used by the prisoners. and we've provided £5 free pin credit per week per prisoner, allowing for approximately 60 minutes of free calls. robert buckland. the head of england's school's watchdog, ofstead, has told mps that the attainmemt gap between the most deprived peoples and their peers is set to widen during the coronavirus lockdown. amanda spielman said the pandemic would affect the poorest, the lowest achieving,

and the least—motivated children the most. but it was in every people's interest for schools to reopen. there is no expectation from government that children should reach any particular point while schools are not open for normal education. and there is nobody — there are no online resources that have been put out that even purport to cover the full range of availability of all subjects or age groups, nor are there likely to be. and as we know, there are many limitations on access to devices and internet. we have to accept that what can be done while schools are substantially closed is a very poor substitute forfull, normal education, and it would be unrealistic for anyone, including me, expect the vast majority of children to have made the same progress that they would have had they been in school. which is why i truly believe it is in children's interest to be back in school as early as possible.

i'm also aware that children's interests alone don't dictate the decision. there are decisions about adult health and infection, there are decisions around medical profession. clearly this is a balance that is not mine or, indeed, the department for education's to make. —— clearly this is a balance that is not mine or, indeed, the department for education's to make. but schools, in my view, planning ahead for what they're going to do, how they're going to approach getting children back into a sort of normal teaching and education as early as possible, and making children feel that normality, giving them the space for those who'll bounce back to bounce back, and for those who need extra help to get it as quickly as possible. those are what we should all be concentrating on. now back in the commons chamber, there was another first. order, order. welcome to the first substancive proceedings of the house of commons in hybrid format.

mps in the chamber and their colleagues — dotted around the country — joined in remotely to debate the finance bill, which puts into law the measures set out in the budget on 11 march. that seemed like a long time ago to the treasury minister, jesse norman. it is deeply sobering to reflect that that 11 march moment may be the last great parliamentary occasion we have in this chamber for some time to come. truly, we know better now. we live in a disenchanted world, a world of self—isolation, of social distancing, of shielding, of lockdown. but i would ask you this, mr speaker — can we not also gain from this great virtual experience, through new forms of questioning and calmer, more dispassionate cross—examination of government? may we not find glimmers of new possibility amidst the present gloom?

the shadow chancellor argued there needed to be a different approach to dealing with the economic recovery. there is, of course, already a lively debate about how we should deal with costs incurred by the coronavirus. the academic consensus is that decisions taken to load and the cost of debt onto spending cuts in the 20105 made our recovery slower than it would've been otherwise. so it was not only the slowest in a generation, but in eight generations, and slower than in many other countries. i'm not saying that, mr speaker, to castigate the government. i am saying it because we will need to adopt a radically different approach to future finance bills than we've seen over the last ten years. the snp urged a rethink on benefits and an end to the two—child cap on benefits. the welfare caps in the budget are surely now set to be reached, and intead of setting up a new cap,

the chancellor may want to consider whether it's a useful tool in the first place. people who have never had to rely on benefits to put food on the table and meet their rent are suddenly finding outjust how pitiful the uk's social security system is. certainly no parent could have had foresight of covid—19 and planned their family size accordingly. and i urge the chancellor and the financial secretary of the treasury to bring forward measures to reduce the two—child limit and end the unfairness to families in need. allison thewliss is taking part in the debate on the finance bill, putting rishi sunak‘s budget into law. and that's it for me for now. i'll be back at the same time tomorrow for another round up of the day here at westminster. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello. april thus far, for the most part, has been marked by dry, warm, and sunny days but the forthcoming week brings

something completely different as we close out the month. significant spells of rain — it will generally speaking feel a wee bit cooler, too. but at least the pollen levels will be reduced from the sort of levels we've seen of late. eventually we will be looking towards the atlantic for our weather but in the short term it is coming at us from the near continent and across the channel. certainly as we start the new day on tuesday, there will already be cloud and ran across the southern counties of england and wales, relatively mild her underneath clearer skies across the north—east of scotland, maybe with a touch of frost with temperatures below zero. up to dry and bright to start with across the northern half of the british isles, showers developing across scotland and northern ireland and the north of england but further south, notice how dark some of those blues are. it will be quite a wet day and the temperature suffering as a consequence, eight, nine or ten

underneath all that rain. and it will be really quite wet — ten, 15, possibly 20 mm of rain which eventually will drag its way away from the eastern side of the british isles but come wednesday, we will be looking towards the atlantic to see another belt of rain after a dry enough to start, the rain eventually moving through the south west of england, wales, into northern ireland, on towards the midlands to the south—east of england. in fact, many areas seeing rain before the day is done except perhaps the central and northern parts of scotland, maybe a parting shower here but essentially it is much drier. come thursday another pulse of rain will be working its way in on the southern flank of that low. the position of the low itself open to a little bit of interpretation just at the moment but if it comes a little bit further north, there's some really quite strong winds that will push in across southern parts of both england and wales and down towards the channel islands. another fairly unsettled day for england and wales. for scotland and northern ireland, it is much drier with some sunshine until later on where we push

the rain into the northern isles. by friday, that low pressure is moved away but again there is the chance of pretty hefty showers coming into northern ireland, wales, the south west of england, some rain further north in scotland and perhaps something drier through central and eastern areas with the temperatures just trying to recover. by next weekend it will stay showering and pretty cool, too.

welcome to bbc news, i'm mike embley. our top stories: the uk's prime minister boris johnson is back in downing street after his own fight against coronavirus to tell the country now is the moment of maximum risk. i refuse to throw away all of the effort, and the sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the nhs. president trump used his first coronavirus news conference since friday to accuse china of failing to stop the spread of the illness. as the number of confirmed global cases passes three million, we compare how different countries are tackling the pandemic. and, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease across a number of us states

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