this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm mike embley. the uk records the highest number of deaths, linked to coronavirus, of any european country. ministers say it's too early to compare.

one of the british government's senior scientific advisers, stands down, after breaking social distancing rules. president trump confirms the white house is planning to wind down its coronavirus task force, despite the high number of cases in the us. and, we meet the choir that comes together online to fight isolation, and support each other. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. first, faily figures out of the uk, show that it now, has the highest official death toll from coronavirus in europe, and the second highest in the world after the united states. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, said 29,427 people had now died

during the outbreak, 112 people more than the latest figures out of italy. a leading scientist in britain has resigned from his government role after it was reported that he broke the lockdown rules that he had argued for. a newspaper reported that a woman who doesn't live with professor neil ferguson visited his home twice during lockdown. as the us death toll surpasses 70,000, president trump said the white house coronavirus task force would be wound down as the country moves into the second phase of dealing with the outbreak. and in england and wales, new figures from the office for national statistics show that care home deaths, involving the virus, increased by more than a third in the week ending 24th april, meaning a total of nearly 6000 care home deaths up to that date. our first report is from, our science editor, david shukman which looks at how the number of deaths in the uk compares with other countries. every so often, there are grim

national milestones. this time, as the uk's death toll rises above that of italy, making it second only to the united states, and with every figure a story of loss and grief. the virus never loses the power to shock, killing three members of one family within days of each other. first, keith dunnington, a nurse from south shields, then, a week later, his father maurice and his mother lillian, leaving the family stand. i'm still in disbelief a little bit. keith's children are...erm, absolutely devastated. and then, to lose their nanny and grandad, they're really devastated. my children are both absolutely heartbroken. at today's government briefing, the latest graph shows how the death tolls are rising in different countries. the official numbers confirm that italy has lost 29,315 people,

and the uk now slightly more, at 29,427. if it does turn out that we are the country that's hardest hit in europe, what's your reaction to that? there are different ways of counting deaths, as we know, we've had that debate in this country. we now publish data that includes all deaths in all settings, and not all countries do that, so i'm not sure that the international comparison works unless you reliably know that all countries are measuring in the same way. and it also depends on how good, frankly, countries are in gathering their statistics. and our own office for national statistics is widely acknowledged to be a world leader. there are important differences between the two countries. the uk has more people than italy, and london is far bigger than any italian city. 0n the other hand, the population of italy is older and more generations live together, which increases the risk

to grandparents. it's a complicated picture, that's still evolving. everybody knows that making international comparisons in such statistics can be difficult, and it may be that that will take some time to sort out, and this isn't over yet. but all this raises questions about the uk's handling of the outbreak. the nhs has avoided being overwhelmed — a real success, unlike in northern italy. but it emerged today that fewer than 300 people were put into quarantine earlier this year, at a time when 18 million arrived without any kind of screening. and testing for the virus got off to a slower start than in other countries, and that's now been officially acknowledged. in the early phases, and i've said this before, i think if we'd managed to ramp testing capacity quicker, it would have been beneficial, and... you know, for all sorts of reasons, that didn't happen, and i think it's clear you need lots of

testing for this. the numbers dying everyday are now falling, the lockdown is working. but this comes as tens of thousands of people across the uk are now grieving. david shukman, bbc news. the prominent uk scientist, whose work was a key factor in the government's decision to implement the lockdown, has stepped aside tonight from the advisory committee called sage. professor neil ferguson said he'd acted in a way that undermined the rules on social distancing. it follows reports in the uk's daily telegraph that a woman had visited his home in breach of the restrictions. 0ur correspondentjessica parker is at westminster. as you say, professor neil ferguson, a member of the scientific committee known as sage which advises ministers on the approach to coronavirus stepped back from that committee this evening following reports on the telegraph that he had breached

social distancing rules after a woman visited his home. i will bring you some of professor neil ferguson's statement. he said, except they made an error ofjudgement, i acted said, except they made an error ofjudgement, iacted in said, except they made an error ofjudgement, i acted in the belief that i was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and isolated myself. says he deeply regrets any undermining of the clear m essa 9 es any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing to control this epidemic. it was professor ferguson's worked along with the team at imperial couege along with the team at imperial college london about how devastating this epidemic could be that was seen as a key driver behind the uk government's decision to go into lockdown, so it is worth saying his work was hugely influential then and remains hugely influential now as well. you might also remember a similar case about a month ago where doctor catherine calderwood resigned from her post after she was found to have breached the rules after visiting her second home, so tonight perhaps a reminder that those who are involved in

setting the regulations are also under pressure to keep to them. president trump has confirmed that the white house is looking at winding down its coronavirus task force, despite the high number of cases in the us. vice president mike pence has suggested that it could be brought to a close within weeks. it comes as a draft government report warns the us deathtoll could reach 3000 a day injune, more than double the current rate. president trump spoke to reporters as he left washington to go to arizona earlier, this is what he had to say. so, i think that as far as the task force, mike pence and the task force have done a greatjob, but we are now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening. and we will have a different group probably set up for that. it was created with a lot of other very talented people, and the people of our country, the greatest economy in the history of the world. the greatest that we've ever had, the greatest employment numbers, the best numbers we've ever had, the best stock markets, i think we 144 days of record stock markets, and then one day they said,

we have to close our country. well, now it's time to open it up. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, joins us. not for the first time, there isa not for the first time, there is a distant hair. the president says one thing, the figures for cases and depth say another. when he encourages states to open up, to lift restrictions when he dispensed the white house task force, these must be economic and political decisions, they can't be based on medical advice? the president was asked earlier whether this signalled mission accomplished and he said no, it won't be over until it is over, but it is very clear that the president's main focus now is reopening the country, and we heard him say that the focus of this new group of people, the task force won't exist in its present form but there will be a group looking at the country's response to coronavirus and the main focus

will be safety and opening the reopening of america, and as you say, the number of deaths has actually just gone you say, the number of deaths has actuallyjust gone over 70,000, there are forecasts that the number could increase dramatically over the next few weeks, yet the president believes that this is the right way forward, and it is interesting that within the last few hours he has given an interview to the abc network here in the states and he was asked about that, and he acknowledged that the very reopening of the country may well result in more people dying, because they won't be isolating at home, they will be out with their colleagues at work or their social circles, and he said the country will continue to have two put out the embers or the fires, the big fires, as he put it, there would be hotspots in terms of problems caused because of the reopening of the country. very much for

that, peter. let's get some of the day's other news. a new smartphone app released by nhs england with the aim of tracing the spread of coronavirus has been made available on the isle of wight off the coast of southern england. it's part of a trial for easing the lockdown. aianb is cutting nearly 1900 jobs, as it battles with the downturn in the global travel industry. that's about one—quarter of the company's workforce. the firm, which connects home—owners with renters, says revenues this year will be about half what they were in 2019. virgin atlantic is cutting three thousand jobs in the uk and ending its operations at london's gatwick airport, as the travel industry battles with the coronavirus fallout. the compa ny‘s founder, sir richard branson, has warned that the airline will collapse unless it receives government support. the biggest broadcaster in the philippines has gone off—air, after it was ordered by the country's media

abs—cbn, said it had been told it could continue broadcasting while it waited for congress to renew its licence, but the regulator said, it must stop today. this is the moment it stopped broadcasting: signing off. applause that is inside the broadcaster's headquarters in manilla. the channel has in the past angered president duterte. that fact may not be unconnected with the present situation. steve butler is the asia program coordinator for committee to protect journalists, hejoins me from washington. thank you for your time, what do you make of this? the president said in december that he was determined to shut down the network and while he claims that he had nothing to do with the decision today, it is plain that this is a political decision that stems ultimately from the president's desire to shut this down. and frankly, it

isa shut this down. and frankly, it is a tragedy stopping here you are in the middle of this pandemic which is hitting the philippines like everywhere else, and suddenly millions of people are losing their principal source of news. you think it is a final decision, 01’ think it is a final decision, or is it more of a gesture? it is not a final decision, congress has the authority, they have their 11 bills that are sitting in congress right now, they need to pass those bills to reauthorise the license for the station. the reason it was shut off is because technically their license had expired, congress had informed the broadcast regulator that they wished for the station to continue until they settled the licensing question, but the regulator overrode that desire from the legislators. the president has had other conflicts with the press since taking office, what does the media landscape look like and what will it look like with this channel off air? it is very difficult, much of the media, the television in the print media has been cowed

by the pressure from the government. the independent news website rappler have been in all kinds of legal troubles that are obviously politically motivated, including charging the president of the website with a cyber libel case. there is tremendous pressure and organisations that step out of line are in the crosshairs both financially and legally and in all kinds of different ways. what is the president's thinking here, why is he doing a?i thinking here, why is he doing a? i think he thinks a bit like president trump, he doesn't like criticism. he hates for people to say bad things about him and he has the power, he has discovered he has the power to do something about at. i think it is as simple as that. thank you very much. stay with us on bbc news,

still to come: the climate experts predicting the global lockdown will see the the biggest decline in carbon emissions ever recorded. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. but the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now, the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in underfour minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes

in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the uk records the highest number of deaths, linked to coronavirus, of any european country. ministers say, it's too early to compare. one of the british government's senior scientific advisers, stands down, after breaking social distancing rules. climate experts say this year will see the biggest decline in carbon emissions ever recorded, because of the pandemic. emissions from the use of fossil fuels are expected to fall by up to 8%, a drop which could be six times bigger than that recorded during the financial crisis in 2008. this is because of the

unprecedented reduction in air and road traffic because of lockdowns around the world. joining me now from california is peter gleick. he's president emeritus and co—founder of the pacific institute. good to talk to you. thanks for your time. what are the chances, so many people who do not think about climate change have commented on how good it is to have quite a streets. we'll any lessons? we have seen some remarkable improvements during this terrible pandemic and the environment. in china, air quality improved, in india, the united states, all over the world we have seen some of these temporary improvements in air—quality as our economies have suffered but the point is they are temporary and, as the pandemic winds down, as our economy ramps up, unless we are smart, we will go back

to the same polluting economy we have had. it is likely that people willjump again into cars, onto planes and governments will feel the need to let them do that? i do think there will be a reluctance on some people's part, certainly on my part to jump part, certainly on my part to jump on anotherair part, certainly on my part to jump on another air pretty quickly. there is a chance, if governments are smart, that the new economy, after we ramp up the economy, could be a better economy for the environment but we have to be in tension about that. the use of fossil fuel has gone down. what does it tell you and governments about green technology? the good news is that even before the pandemic, there was a growing awareness that climate change costs was a real thing, that fossil fuels were responsible for this and that we need to mmp for this and that we need to ramp up energy use in the renewable world, we need more

solar, more wind, less coal and oil. the pandemic has made that even more clear. we see a big drop in greenhouse gas emissions, this year, and if we are smart, when we ramp up the economy, it will not be with coal, oil and national gas that would help the environment and the climate. we're talking generally and optimistic. some areas will face greater challenges more immediately than others? that is certainly true. the richer economy are moving more aggressively to try and get rid of fossilfuel. europe has made great progress in this, the uk as well. but we need to invest the right money in the right places. if we do not make the smart investments now and go back to the old economies than the lessons we have learned during the pandemic will not have been taken to

heart. thank you. thank you. over the past couple of months the pandemic has created immense difficulties for people with learning disabilities and those with underlying health issues who find themselves having to self—isolate. but a choir in oxford has shown that music can be one means of challenging the isolation. the soundabout inclusive choir has harnessed technology to support its members, as fergal keane reports. # amazing grace... how sweet the sound. ..# a voice from a deep confinement. music helps make isolation bearable for sam pittick, aged 37. he has a vulnerable immune system and can't leave home. # i once was lost, but now i'm

found # was blind...# and when you're all singing together, what is the feeling? i feel more powerful when i'm singing. i open my own voice to the power of music. now it's got to this fifth week, it's very difficult for him. sam's mum, ann, keeps a video diary, here filming his daily exercise. that's lovely. good lad. she's in her 70s, her husband in his 80s, both with severe underlying health conditions. the carers who once visited sam every day can't come any more. we're sort of struggling along with it, and the carer usually does it through the phone for him. "come on, sam, you've got to get in the bath, you've got to get washed". and things like that.

it means no more face—to—face sessions with his beloved choir. founded last year by the charity soundabout, and at the centre of life for dozens of special needs people in oxford. for different families, different challenges. choir drummer, matthew nicholls, was born blind and unable to speak. he cherishes the human touch of his brother, c], of his parents. but matthew lives in supported accommodation and, because of the virus, can't have visits. his mum, sophia and father, nigel bring freshly—baked bread which they leave at the entrance for their child. you know, he likes to give you a big hug and a squeeze and a kiss. we miss him quite a lot. i must be honest and say that i do miss him. i miss him, because also not knowing this how long this lockdown is going to be for, you think, if it's only a few weeks, which is what i thought it was originally, we'd at least be able to see him, but now, you know, we don't know how

long it's going to be. but in a time of general anxiety, what's striking about the choir families is their optimism and good humour. 1a years ago, edward shryane was too weak to cry. listen to him now. # whoa—oh—oh, on the radio...# what does the sound of the choir mean to you? incredible. it's changed my life, and i think... i'm just lost for words. can i ask you a very fundamental question? what does he mean to you? you mean everything, don't you, eds? oh, my god! thank you! that's the right answer. i mean, thanks. drives me insane. thank you, that is the right answer. but there is another reason for laughter. using a video conference, the choir overcomes isolation and reunites.

and matthew hears the sound of his mother's laughter. # matthew, hope you have a really good week # lily bartlett, blind, with special educational needs, taught herself piano and leads in the choir‘s version of an anthem for our times. # when you got what you want but not what you need # # lights will guide you home # # and ignite your bones...# # i will try to fix you #. applause

fergal keane, bbc news, 0xford. now, something else to make you smile, dame judi dench has become the oldest person ever to be on the front cover of british vogue. she's also been entertaining her legions of fans across the world by discovering tik tok, and has been making videos with her grandson. she's the cover star on next month's edition and at the age of 85 is the oldest in the magazine's 104 year history. earlier she spoke to the bbc. i was completely bowled over to be asked to do it because vogue is something that i have seen for many, many years, with all those models and beautiful people and i am amazed to be on the front. very, very flat. i have not seen it properly and i probably will not look for a bit. a five—year—old boy

took the family car out for a drive, heading for california when he was stopped by police. police are surprised he was behind the wheel. he was on his way to buy a lamborghini, as you do. he left home because his mother had refused to buy it for him. he had $3 in his pocket. he had his credit card, presumably. more on our bbc website and twitter. thank you very much for watching. hello there. there's a real shock in store for this weekend, but, before we get there, it is getting warmer. it will turn very warm in many places. mind you, early wednesday morning,

it's not going to feel very warm, maybe a pinch of frost in some rural parts in eastern areas underneath the clear skies and lighter winds. with the lighter winds, it will feel warmer in the sunshine on wednesday. and, for many of us, there will be a lot more of that to come. one or two exceptions, a bit more cloud threatening one or two showers in the far southwest of england and wales. and there is more cloud coming in across the northern isles of scotland. but with later winds, it will feel warm in the sunshine. temperatures are likely to be higher on wednesday, probably peaking at around 19—20d. now, during the evening and overnight, we will start to see more of this cloud running its way northwards, up through the irish sea in towards northern ireland, threatening a few more showers for these western parts of the uk. further east though, we will have clearer skies and light winds. again, another chilly but because it's a bit warmer by day, it may not get quite as chilly by the end of the night and into thursday morning. we have still got high pressure in charge. it will shrink away towards the southeast, and that is where we will see the heat for longer. further north and west,

these weather fronts encroaching, threatening some showers and a bit more cloud. and we will certainly see more of that coming in on thursday across northern ireland, up into scotland, a few sharp showers here, and perhaps the chance of a shower across more western parts of england and wales. head further east though, a good chance it will stay dry. still a fair bit of sunshine around, and those temperatures are continuing to rise, up to 22—23 celsius. probably the peak of the warmth is going to be on friday, and that's for the southeast of the uk. it may be a bit more cloud across england and wales, northern ireland, maybe one or two showers breaking out as well. but we have got this band of rain across northern scotland, and, here, those temperatures are dropping away quite markedly. further south, where we will see those temperatures 24—25d, a very warm day. that band of rain is on that weather front there, and that will be significant, because it's that that's going to sweep its way southwards during this weekend, and, behind it, a stronger northerly wind will push down much colder air across all areas. now, on saturday, it will be cooler across the northern half of the uk, perhaps some rain. further south, still largely dry and warm, with some sunshine, but, even here, it gets much colder

on sunday, with temperatures dropping as much as 10—11d.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the united kingdom has now recorded more deaths related to covid—19 than any other country in europe. it's overtaken italy's total of more than 29,000 as the death rate in britain's care homes continue to rise. only the united states has lost more lives during the pandemic. one of the british government's senior scientific advisers has resigned, after he admitted breaking social distancing rules. professor neil ferguson's advice led to the prime minister implementing

a uk lockdown, at the end of march. in a statement, he said he accepts he made an error ofjudgement. president trump has confirmed that the white house is planning to wind down the coronavirus task force, despite the continuing high number of cases. he has suggested it could be brought to a close within weeks. us health officials are warning the virus may spread again as businesses reopen. it is about half past one in the morning, you are up to date on the headlines. now on bbc news, it's time for click. this week: surveillance satellites... ..medical drones... ..and gaming for all the family.