good morning, welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire, here are the headlines... the government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules. it's becasue one of its top scientific advisers has resigned after admitting breaking the guidelines on social distancing. professor ferguson has obviously set out that he should have abided by the rules, it was a lapse, an error of judgment. and those rules on social distancing are very firmly still required. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions later today after she meets the leaders

of 16 german states. president trump is to scrap the task force co—ordinating america's response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. you have people that are not going to stand for this, and i understand them very well. and we are going to put out little embers and little fires and may be some big fires, but we still have to go back to work. climate experts say this year will see the biggest decline in carbon emissions ever recorded, because of the pandemic. and a bbc investigation finds some hairdressers and barbers are flouting lockdown rules by staying open and cuttnig hair. by staying open and cutting hair.

good morning. a goverment minister has urged us to continue following the guidance on social distancing, after a top scientific expert, professor neil ferguson, resigned as an adviser because a woman — described by the telegraph as his married lover — visited him at his home during lockdown, twice. security ministerjames brokenshire said the rules are still very much required, and that professor ferguson was right to accept he'd made a mistake by not following them. in a statement professor ferguson said "i accept i made an error ofjudgement and took the wrong course of action", adding "i deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing." in germany, angela merkel is expected to announce more easing of the country's lockdown restrictions, as the infection rate continues to fall. while in the us, president trump has confirmed the white house coronavirus task force will be disbanded, in spite

of the persistently high number of cases. meanwhile, tens of thousands of students are returning to school in the chinese province of hubei, where the coronavirus pandemic began last december. our first report this morning is from jon donnison. applause. the peak of this crisis may be passing, but those on the front line are still dying. in bury, hundreds came out to pay their respects to dr saad al—dubbaisi. the 59—year—old local gp, originally from iraq, described as a loving and compassionate father and husband, had worked in the town for 20 years. he died at the weekend after contracting the virus. meanwhile, in a new online video, the government is urging people to stick to the lockdown. but now one of borisjohnson‘s key scientific advisers has stepped down from his government role.

the daily telegraph reported that professor neil ferguson had flouted social distancing rules when his married lover visited his home on two occasions. in a statement, the professor said he had made an error ofjudgment. it was his mathematical modelling that showed the scale of the epidemic in the uk, which led to the government transforming its policy and the way we live our lives. in terms of numbers, another 693 coronavirus deaths have been reported in the last 2a hours in all settings. there have now been a total of 29,427 fatalities in the uk. that is higher than anywhere else in europe, overtaking italy. but italy has a slightly smaller overall population, and the government here says it could be months before full global comparisons can be made. in terms of the comparison that you are suggesting,

as the scientists have all said — i can remember patrick vallance and chris whitty talking about this — i don't think we will get a real verdict on how well countries have done until the pandemic is over, and particularly until we have got comprehensive international data on all—cause mortality. applause. and amid all the grim news, some remarkable tales of survival. a round of applause for 98—year—old alice atkins, discharged from king george hospital in east london after beating covid—i9. jon donnison, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. today, boris johnson today, borisjohnson will face keir starmer as labour leader for the first time and it's likely the labour leader will ask mrjohnson why the figure of excess deaths in the uk is 11,500 at the moment and why the uk is on course to have one of the highest death tolls in

europe. those sobering figures from yesterday which showed the uk has 110w yesterday which showed the uk has now surpassed italy in terms of the number of deaths. labour has consistently said the government has been too slow to act on things like lockdown and testing and ppe equipment for those on the medical front line. i suspect keir starmer will want to hammer home some of those points again today. we know the government is arguing that at the government is arguing that at the moment it's too early to make those international comparisons for a number of reasons, some to do with demographics, the uk population is higher than italy, different rates of elderly people in different countries in europe. also the fact different countries are collating figures in different ways. but the question of why the uk's death toll is as high as it is, irrespective of those international comparisons, is one that the government is going to face lot in the next few weeks. it is higher than they wanted and

higher than some expected. a point that was put to the security ministerjames brokenshire earlier this morning. it is an absolute tragedy for anyone to lose a loved one and, you know, there will be i'm sure plenty of reflection and time, once we are through this terrible virus, to be able to look at actions that have been taken and to see what lessons can be learned, what mistakes have been made. and every government i think will need to do that and we are no exception to that. every death is a personal tragedy, but the questions of strategy and how the government has approached this, i think, how the government has approached this, ithink, are how the government has approached this, i think, are starting to increase and become a bit louder. the resignation of professor ferguson, who had to step down because it looked like he was advising all of us to do one thing and he thought he was able to do something else. deeply embarrassing on one level, the fact one of the

men responsible for the advice that led to the lockdown we are all living in wasn't following the rules as stringently as he should have. he has admitted that, he says he thought he had immunity and that's one of the reasons he allowed someone one of the reasons he allowed someone to come one of the reasons he allowed someone to come over one of the reasons he allowed someone to come over to his house, but accepting that it broke the rules and it was clearly not following the government's advice. it's also a bit of a blow, frankly, to the government because professor ferguson, although he has made this error, he is someone who is quite well—respected when it comes to these issues, he has been advising governments on what to do in crises for some time. i suspect there will bea for some time. i suspect there will be a feeling of less than happiness that he is no longer on the advisory group. james brokenshire talked about whether he made the right decision by quitting. professor ferguson has obviously set out that he should have

abided by the rules, that it was a lapse, an error of judgment. those rules on social distancing are very firmly still required. i think he has taken the right course of action in that context. clearly, the work of the government scientific advisory group continues. we have a range of experts that will continue to support ministers in making those right decisions, but i'm obviously sad to see this development, but ultimately, professor ferguson i think has very firmly taken the right course of action. james brokenshire they're making clear that the government thinks that professor ferguson did the right thing in standing down. it's not the first time this has happened. scotland's chief medical 0fficer happened. scotland's chief medical officer had to quit after she wasn't following her own advice either. nick eardley, thank you. the chancellor, rishi sunak, is looking at reviewing the government's furlough scheme which is supporting workers staying at home during the pandemic. more than six million people are having up to 80 per cent of their salaries paid

by the treasury at a cost of £8 billion. the chancellor has said that it's not sustainable, and is looking at different options to scale it back as restrictions on businesses are lifted. that's £8 billion per month. germany is expected to announce a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions today when chancellor angela merkel meets state leaders. the country has been in lockdown for six weeks, but there's growing pressure to reopen the economy as the infection rate continues to fall. 0ur correspondent jenny hill is in berlin. if the infection rate continues to fall then that's the reason presumably why state leaders might open up things a little more. yes, the authorities here look at a number of reasons when they consider what they will do about reopening a society. the infection rate, the reproduction rate of the virus, and also the capacity in the country's hospitals and in intensive care units. the infection rates have been falling for some weeks now steadily. a couple of weeks ago the authorities did start to relax some

restrictions with small shops reopening and some children going back to school, including those taking exams. angela merkel was pretty keen to wait until today before making further decisions because she wanted to see whether there was impact on infection rates orany of there was impact on infection rates or any of the other measures by which they arejudging or any of the other measures by which they are judging the situation. it looks like the situation. it looks like the situation is now pretty good. so today she will meet with the 16 state prime ministers who are really impatient to get their local economies restarted. so impatient in fa ct economies restarted. so impatient in fact that many of them have already announced their plans. we have a pretty good idea of what to expect after the meeting. it looks like hotels, restaurants, pubs and cafes who have been champing at the bit to be allowed to reopen will be allowed to do so, possibly within weeks. most children are expected to be allowed to go back to school before the summer holidays. there will be other gradual easing of restrictions. germany's professional football league, the bundesliga,

will probably start up again, although games will be played behind closed doors. it's important to point out all of this comes with a huge caveat. people will still have to wear face masks on huge caveat. people will still have to wearface masks on public transport or into those newly reopened shops. there is still a ban on large public gatherings and a warning against international travel is likely to stay in place until probably at least the middle of june, although tourism leaders cr are starting to sound rather optimistic about the possibility germans might be able to take a summer germans might be able to take a summer holiday within europe at some point. from angela merkel‘s point of view, who would have probably preferred a more cautious approach to getting back to something vaguely approaching normal life, there will still be a great deal of anxiety. experts here will keep an eye on infection rates, the reproduction rate of the virus and so on. importantly, rate of the virus and so on. importa ntly, angela rate of the virus and so on. importantly, angela merkel is saying to the regional powers, who have the power to decide out and when they

wa nt to power to decide out and when they want to implement relaxations, she is saying, fine, but if there is an outbreak in a locality, it's your responsibility to contain it as quickly as possible. jenny hill, thank you. in america, president trump has confirmed the white house coronavirus task force is to be disbanded within weeks. that's despite the number of new infections continuing to rise and 70,000 deaths. mr trump says a different group will replace it focussing on reopening the us safely. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. a rare trip out of washington for donald trump. after being holed up at the white house during the pandemic, the president toured a factory in phoenix that's making medical—grade face masks. like the executives he met, he chose not to wear one, only safety goggles. according to a sign in the facility, staff there are required to wear face masks. during his visit to arizona, a state which will be a key battle ground in november's presidential election, mr trump confirmed that the coronavirus task

force was winding down. the group has been co—ordinating the us response to covid—19. our country has to go back to being our country again. you have people that are not going to stand for this, and i understand them very well, and we are going to put out little embers and little fires, and maybe some big fires, but we still have to go back to work. the coronavirus pandemic is farfrom being over in the us with about 25,000 new infections every day. a trump administration agency says that number could rise to 200,000 by the end of the month, with the daily death toll reaching 3,000. the sobering projection comes as more states are beginning to ease their stay—at—home orders, with people going back to work at some shops and nonessential businesses in about half the country. in an interview with abc news, mr trump acknowledged that more

lives could be lost as a result of relaxing the guidelines. it's possible there will be some because you won't be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is, but at the same time, we're going to practise social distancing, we're going to be washing hands, we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've learned to do over the last period of time, and we have to get our country back. mr trump also noted that some people were dying because of the economic stress of the shutdown by abusing drugs or committing suicide. horns toot. he said reopening the economy would not be perfect, there'd be new outbreaks of the virus, but america had to get back to work. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. the first groups of students are returning to school in china's hubei province, the epicentre of the global pandemic.

students who have exams coming up in the summer are the first to head back to school. they've all had to take a coronavirus test before returning, and there will be measures to ensure social distancing, including partitions in the school canteen. the headlines on bbc news... the government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules after one of its main scientific advisers resigns after admitting breaking the rules on social distancing. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions later today after she meets the leaders of 16 german states. president trump is to scrap the task force co—ordinating america's response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. in a few months, demand for energy across the world has fallen off a cliff, which means a big drop in the emissions which cause climate change. skies without planes, roads without cars should lead to lower carbon levels. so will coronavirus inspire action on global warming or delay it?

the committee on climate change has written to the prime minister warning that the uk must avoid lurching from the pandemic into a deeper crisis. we'll speak to their boss in a minute, first michael cowan has this. a recent global poll of 20,000 people, including brits, found over 70% of adults think climate change is as serious as coronavirus. over half of britons would support a green economic recovery as the uk emerges from this pandemic. with a1% of respondents saying they would avoid things like flying in the next year to limit their contribution to emissions. so, could you continue with some lockdown measures like not driving as much and stopping flying if it was to help climate change? but change is hard for us to commit to without concrete reasoning. i would love to be able to say of course people would carry on. it's so obvious it's a good thing. if we think about the coronavirus at the moment, that is really interesting because the motivation is very strong. the consequence is pretty immediate.

you know, if you catch this you are in trouble. motivation to avoid it is very strong and that is one of the reasons people have complied with the guidance so readily, is because we can really see the benefits. there is a real difference between compliance and commitment. and what you are talking about is will people be committed to this behaviour afterwards? at the moment, why would they be? no one has made it clear why they should continue this behaviour when they don't have to. one reason to continue is the impact we are already having on emissions. behaviour change has got us the biggest drop in emissions probably on record, between 5% and 10% at current estimates. but we have got to get emissions down to zero, so we need 100% reduction. and it's likely that there will be a lot of people who have lost theirjobs, or who are short on income. building up the rest of the renewable energy

infrastructure, the storage infrastructure, upgrading our electricity grids, putting in electric vehicle charging points, building e—bike lanes, etc, all of these things that we know we are going to have to do. and if we have got to do this anyway, do it now. change on this scale would be difficult and would require buy—in from us as a society as well as a strong hand from government. if we did manage to implement these measures, this devastating pandemic might, albeit unwittingly, create a pathway to a greener planet. michael cowan, bbc news. let's speak now to chris stark — chief executive of the committee on climate change. good morning. remind ouraudience what your committee is therefore. we we re what your committee is therefore. we were set up in 2008 when the westminster parliament passed the climate change act, the piece of legislation that has within it the

long term goals the uk is trying to meet on climate change. the crucial one is the one to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that we have in the uk. we were set up alongside that piece of legislation to monitor progress and give advice to the government, as we have done today. in this letter today to the prime minister, you say effectively that there is an opportunity arising from this pandemic. we can invest in a green economy and green infrastructure as a way of coming out of the recession that will follow. we are in the midst of what is clearly a health crisis at the moment but underneath that is an economic crisis. it looks like it will be a very deep recession. as thoughts turn to the recovery, so too will thoughts turn to what the government can do to get the economy going. the central message in our letter to the prime minister today is when the government makes plans for the recovery, there was very necessary plans, let's think about climate change as well and think about the ways the government can invest in those green assets and

things that will help us to address climate change as a means to get the economy going and create newjobs. do you think we have the political will to do that, and to use it as an opportunity to invest in green jobs? i think we do. it remains to be seen as we come out of this whether the government sticks to its guns on climate change, but before we entered the coronavirus crisis, there was a real momentum towards investing in climate change. last year, on the basis of the advice we offer to the government, the uk set a new target for what's called net zero emissions, the objective to get to by the middle of the century, zero emissions in the uk. that such an important goal. coronavirus has come along and knocked us, not the focus off that. but there is a way to do both, is what we are saying today, to get the economy back on track and tackle climate change. i think the additional message in this

is how to prepare for these shocks and how resilient we are as a country. climate change will bring a lot more of that in the future and now is a really good time to sit and think and plan ahead for those big shocks and precious we will feel in the future. the temptation might be when we get through this, whenever there is a treatment or vaccine, to absolutely go back to our old ways of driving petrol and diesel cars and flying as much as we used to. would you urged us not to be tempted to do that? no, i wouldn't urge anyone not to be tempted. we are all feeling cooped up right now, but we have had a glimpse of what it is like to have a world without those greenhouse gas emissions. in particular, cleaner air greenhouse gas emissions. in particular, cleanerairwe greenhouse gas emissions. in particular, cleaner air we have seen in cities across the uk has been remarkable. i think we are also starting to appreciate the things we have around us, like green spaces. what we have said to the government today in our letter to the prime minister, let's emphasise the positives we can from the lockdown

and to make it easierfor positives we can from the lockdown and to make it easier for people to hold onto some of that, in particular remote working we have all been doing, and i am doing right now, perhaps we can feel we can do more of that in the future. we will be greatly enhanced in the air quality around us if we can cycle and walk more so the government can make provision for that kind of thing. changing priorities is a key message. maybe we don't need to spend so much on roads in britain and instead spend more on broadband infrastructure to allow this remote working to be easier in the future. there were plans to improve the broadband structure, but also to spend money on roads as a way of borisjohnson spend money on roads as a way of boris johnson fulfilling his spend money on roads as a way of borisjohnson fulfilling his promise to level up different regions across the uk. that was before coronavirus hit of course. and that levelling up agenda is so important. it will get even more important as we come out of this. the crisis we are in at the

moment will not have an even impact on every region in the uk and some areas will be far more impacted than others. think about the impact they will be on the oil and gas sector if oil prices stay as low as it is in places like aberdeen. we need to think about levelling up. we know the kind of economy we have to get to in the future and we know we have to in the future and we know we have to put the right policies in place to put the right policies in place to get there, and part of that is about addressing climate change and also partly about addressing the covid crisis. we need to introduce fairness and equality as one of the primary goals of policy as we come out of this and make sure those regions most impacted are those that benefit from investments the government can make.|j benefit from investments the government can make. i was going to ask aboutjobs. government can make. i was going to ask about jobs. a government can make. i was going to ask aboutjobs. a lot of people are going to lose theirjobs, sadly, during this crisis. are you able to say to people watching now, that there could be millions ofjobs if we invest in a green infrastructure

for the future? yes, i think we can say that. it does take planning are not all of that will be achieved in the next 12 months, but we have a strong sense of what needs to happen to get emissions down and be more resilient in the future. that involves a lot of investment. think about things like improving the energy efficiency of homes across the uk. we can get newjobs and the economy going in local areas whilst also getting homes more energy efficient and warmer and less draughty. that can spread across the whole of britain. new industries like hydrogen, fuel is you can burn without causing greenhouse gases. we need to think about where those industries will be relocated. carbon ca ptu re industries will be relocated. carbon capture and storage, electronic vehicles. these are things we can use as a means to grow the economy and use as a means use as a means to grow the economy and use 3s a means to use as a means to grow the economy and use as a means to level up, as boris would say. thank you very much for speaking to us, chris stark, ceo

of the committee on climate change. and we will be answering your questions on the pandemic impact on climate change. that's at 3:30pm this afternoon. send us your questions to hashtag bbcyourquestions or email yourquestions@bbc. co. uk. captain tom moore has met singer michael ball for the first time after their version of you'll never walk alone topped the uk singles charts. this is the moment the pair sat down for a chat while adhering to social distancing rules, of course. they recorded the song from their homes after michael heard about captain tom's fundraising efforts for the nhs. it is so lovely to see you. thank you. it really is. and, michael, it is an absolute surprise. i never expected to see you out of the blue, and you just appeared from nowhere. thank you very much for coming. it really is my greatest pleasure. aw! i never, ever expected to see you.

and the honours keep on coming for captain tom, who has been awarded a prestigious gold blue peter badge. the badge is the show‘s highest accolade and the queen, sir david attenborough and mary berry have all got one. only a handful are presented each year to outstanding individuals who are considered to be role models, inspiring british children. and make sure you watch captain tom: we salute you on bbc 0ne tonight at 7.30. the heroic exploits of captain tom moore have now inspired a 97—year—old former russian army sergeant, zinaida korneva, who served in wwii, to raise money for russian medics. 0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg spoke to her. a message to captain tom... ..from sergeant zina. when 97—year—old russian war veteran zina korneva saw these images of tom moore doing his sponsored walk for the nhs, she realised

her country needed her. zina couldn't do 100 laps of her garden. last year, she broke her hip. instead, she has been sharing wartime memories online and asking for donations. it is to help the families of russian doctors who have died in the pandemic. zina is a real russian hero. she served in an anti—aircraft brigade and fought in the battle of stalingrad. these days, when she is not fundraising, she is knitting and she hasjust finished a pair of socks for captain tom.

zina's socks are now winging their way to britain, express delivery. so if captain tom ever wants to do more charity walking, at least his feet will be warm. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. a couple of messages from you. suzanne has e—mailed about the resignation of professor neil ferguson saying, to say i am outraged by his behaviour is an understatement was not how is it ok for him to ignore his own advice on locking down the country while he continues to pursue his love life? a lot of people questioning the timing of the story about neil ferguson with anthony costello tweeting, late last night, he is a former who

officials top neil ferguson is a independent and fine model. he transgressed social independent and fine model. he tra nsgressed social distancing rules a month ago so why has this news been released on the day our death toll overta kes been released on the day our death toll overtakes italy? who else will be scapegoated ? you toll overtakes italy? who else will be scapegoated? you are welcome to get in touch. time for the weather. it is getting warmer. here is matt. good morning, blue skies from dawn to dusk across many parts of the country, few exceptions. in shetland, a bit grey and misty today and more cloud across cornwall with and more cloud across cornwall with a chance of a shower but even here brighter and less breezy than it was yesterday. with more sunshine around, lighter winds, temperatures up around, lighter winds, temperatures up by around, lighter winds, temperatures up bya around, lighter winds, temperatures up by a few degrees, 1920 cooler on the eastern coast. into this evening and overnight, whilst mostly dry

under starry skies, we will see more low cloud developed in the west. a chance of a shower. turning more humid here but in the east, temperatures dropping low for a touch of frost tomorrow morning but here we will see sunshine again through much of the day, a bit more cloud at times across the west pushing through northern ireland into scotland bringing the odd shower but also the odd thunderstorm across england and wales later as temperatures climb more widely into the high teens. this weekend, big temperature drop and i will have more details on that later. hello. this is bbc news with victoria derbyshire. the headlines. the government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules. it's because one of its top scientific advisers has resigned after admitting breaking the guidelines on social distancing. professor ferguson has obviously set out that he should have abided by the rules, that it was a lapse, an error of judgment. those rules on social distancing

are very firmly still required. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions later today after she meets the leaders of 16 german states. president trump is to scrap the task force co—ordinating america's response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. climate experts say this year will see the biggest decline in carbon emissions ever recorded, because of the pandemic. and a bbc investigation finds some hairdressers and barbers are flouting lockdown rules by staying open and cutting hair. right, let's bring you the sport. sally nugent is in salford. big discussions about when football could return a mother it's going to be safe or not. that's right, victoria. we now know that the government is right behind the return of sport. at the daily briefing, the foreign secretary dominic raab

said that a re—start would "lift the spirits of the nation". they're in talks with the premier league at the moment, and we're learning more about the risks of a return and how clubs will manage them. take crystal palace for example. their manager roy hodgson is the oldest in the league at 72, so he's currently classified as high risk, and that's something the club will have tojuggle. premier league players have also spoken about their concerns over a return, and the crystal palace chairman steve parish says they won't force anyone to play. we live in a society where nobody can force anybody to do anything. certainly under those circumstances, you wouldn't want to do that, but i think people need the whole situation explained to them. they need to understand the risks and, of course, after the public health crisis, which is the most important thing, it would be a dereliction of duty if we weren't planning to try to get our business up and running, but absolutely the player safety has to come first and indeed the staff, as well. so what's it like for players who are back in training?

arsenal were one of the first premier league teams to go back to their training ground. they've been working individually, and manager mikel arteta, who has recovered from the disease himself, says that their rules are very strict. the players have to arrive five minutes before the session in their own car, with their own clothes, with their own water, with their own ball, with their own boots, with their own protein bar for afterwards. they hit the pitch, it is one player per pitch, nothing else. they don't touch each other, they don't even look at each other. they don't have any fitness coaches, they have their programme. they hit the ground running, they finish after one hour. they have to go to their car and their house. we just want to look after our players and to be safe. as for the football that we're going to see on the telly first, get ready to become a fan of the german top flight. chancellor angela merkel‘s expected to approve the return of the bundesliga when she announces a relaxation of the lockdown rules in germany later today.

the clubs have been back in training since early april and could be back playing later this month. rafa nadal says he's already written off the whole of the 2020 tennis season. we know that wimbledon's already been cancelled, but tennis bosses still plan to hold the us open and the french 0pen later this year. nadal‘s told a paper back home in spain that he's more concerned about the australian open which starts injanuary next year. and before i go, let's have a look at how you keep yourself fit at home if you're a professional mountain bike rider. this is a guy called fabio wibmer at his home in austria. helping out with the washing. getting in the way of breakfast. and interrupting his partner's quiet yoga session.

that apparently took 700 attempts. we are seeing the successful one. i'm going to say it. don't try that at home, especially that one where hejumped at home, especially that one where he jumped through the window and looked like you did rather hurt himself. yes, that looks painful. thank you, sally, cheers. thank you. refugee charities are calling on the government to protect refugees and people seeing asylum who are at risk due to the coronavirus pandemic. there are concerns for people who aren't able to get safe accommodation, those surviving on very little money and for people in shared accommodation who may be unable to self—isolate. we can speak now to ahmad, who is an 18—year—old asylum seeker from afghanistan who is currently studying towards his gcses. ahmad is living in shared home office accommodation in london. also i'm joined by stephen hale, who is ceo of the charity refugee action. good morning.

tell us what it's like trying to study at the moment in your accommodation. of course, it's very difficult to manage my life with little money and not a nice place in a shared home. we spent £35 a week andi a shared home. we spent £35 a week and i in addition have to fight coronavirus. and protect myself. it's very difficult and hard. so you have £35 a week to live on? yes. it's very difficult, very hard to manage my life with £35 a week. it's very difficult, very hard to manage my life with £35 a weeklj can imagine. tell us how you are managing so, we need a lot of things, so we cannot buy what we need and it's very difficult to find

a lot of stuff. to buy from supermarkets. to manage our life. it's very difficult. very hard. tell our audience why you decided to come to the uk when you did. so, with the uk, we've got human rights and we will have a nice life and everything isa will have a nice life and everything is a normal person. so we don't find those things. we are now in a very bad situation and difficult situation. we should protect ourselves and stay at home and we cannot manage with £35 because it's very difficult, very hard. so i don't know how to manage with that money, my life. let me bring in steven, the ceo of refugee action.

have you been trying to help you people like this? absolutely. charities like refugee action are providing direct practical support to many other people. we are supporting around 1000 people who are in the asylum system in lots of practical ways and we are making payments to people, cash payments, supermarket vouchers, to try to keep them going and the work of charities, like in every walk of life, is incredibly important, but its action by government which ultimately will help people to get safe which is critical to help people to stay safe in this crisis, so people to stay safe in this crisis, so charities alone can't support people. he's living on £5 30 a day is incredibly difficult but virtually impossible in this crisis, so we virtually impossible in this crisis, so we need to see action, rapid action, by government. what does

that mean in practical terms? action, by government. what does that mean in practicalterms? early on in this crisis of the government rightly took the decision to increase levels of universal credit by £20 a week and we think that recognition that this crisis produces additional challenges for people in need needs to apply to everyone in the uk, that's why we are making this call. just so i'm clear, and additional cash grants to refugees or them having permission to apply for universal credit? an additional payment of £20 a week in line with universal credit to be given to each person in the asylum system. those people living at the moment, on £5 39 a day, food, clothes, travel, medicine, essential needs, and, as i said, we are not asking to bring people into the benefit system, they live on significantly lower levels benefit system, they live on significa ntly lower levels of income

at the moment, but we think, in line with the decision of universal credit, we need an increase in our £20 a week. if that doesn't happen, what could be the consequences? well, people are really finding it hard, as you can imagine, to live through this crisis. people face so many challenges, lack of information, about what is happening. 0ne information, about what is happening. one of the things i know ahmed is doing is spending £10 a week of his very limited allowance on data so he can get information, get connection. so we are acutely concerned that there will be greater levels of hardship as this crisis goes on and refugee action, we are making payments, we are a relatively small charity, and we used to make payments around £15,000 a year to people in hardship. at the moment we are spending £2000 a week on supermarket vouchers and on making

payments where we can into peoples bank accounts because of course we can't see them face—to—face. charities are responding, are stepping up, the public is helping us stepping up, the public is helping us to do that, but it's only action by government that is going to enable people to live safely through this crisis. ahmed, i understand the home office doesn't allow you to work, but would you like to work? right now i am studying, so i'm doing gcses. we are not allowed to work. it's more difficult to learn, to work, study and work at the same time, very difficult. it's not impossible, work and study. if they allowed us, we will do, but they

don't allow us to work. that's more difficult. what do you want to do eventually? do you want to do a—levels? what about after that?|j like a—levels? what about after that?” like to do electrics. i like electrics. so maybe in the future i will do mechanics. 0k, thank you very much for talking to us in coming on the programme. we asked the home office for a response to ahmad's claims. they have said "we are unable to comment further specifically as the bbc refused to provide us with more information about this individual‘s situation. these are unprecedented times and the government is adjusting how we support asylum seekers when it is necessary and appropriate to do so, including ensuring social distancing in accommodation." to clarify, the home 0ffice asked our team

for ahmad's full address which we were not able to provide. lots of us are struggling with our "lockdown hair" sorry, this will seem quite parochial up that last item without the revenues rose at some time. lots of us are struggling with our "lockdown hair"... after hairdressers and barbers closed for business, but a bbc investigation has found some are flouting the rules. some shops in kent and sussex were offering appointments and even doubling their prices, as colin campbell reports. barbers, like many businesses, they have been banned from opening, to stop the spread of covid—19. but we have discovered not all are adhering to the lockdown laws. hi, i'm trying to find somebody to get my haircut. five o'clock, is ok? five o'clock, to the shop, yeah? yeah. we have to sit down in the kitchen because i want to be private, i don't want anybody to see you because it will

be a problem for me. just phoning to see if you would be willing to cut my hair? well, today? yes, please. i am busy till saturday, only sunday. i am busy today, tomorrow. sunday, i'm free. so, obviously they are seeing quite a few clients. that is interaction with quite a few different people who also may therefore be interacting with other people, and this alljust gives any person who may be infected and asymptomatic the option to spread the virus quite rapidly. only a few of the barbers i spoke to showed any real concern for the dangers posed by the virus. do you want me to wear a mask or take any other safety precautions? i don't care. for me, i don't believe in this coronavirus or whatever. for me, it doesn't matter. responding to our investigation, celebrity hairdresser nicky clarke told me he was disappointed but not surprised. well, i think it's wrong.

the fact of the matter is that they are not putting into place anything that could even justify their behaviour. in total, i phoned 50 barbers. 19 agreed to cut my hair. 12 declined. 19 didn't answer my call, but many who did admitted they had increased their prices, seemingly cashing in on the crisis. for those responsible barbers abiding by the law, now financially suffering, there is understandable frustration. itjust makes me angry. the fact that people are still profiting from this. yeah, itjust makes me really angry. really angry. controlling the virus has taken the hardware and sacrifice of many. it is the irresponsible actions of a few that could jeopardise that. colin campbell, bbc news.

the headlines on bbc news. the construction sector in this country, it is suffered by far its biggest contraction since the launch of the survey of the industry, 23 yea rs of the survey of the industry, 23 years ago. the purchasing managers index, pmi, published in the last few seconds, and it says britain's construction sector has suffered its biggest contraction in 23 years since they started recording us. the previous low was 27.8 recording during financial crisis of 2009, but it has slumped to 8.2 in april, so the lowest contraction for 23 years since they started to record this data. that is in britain's construction centre. the headlines on bbc news. the government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules after one

of its main scientific advisers resigns after admitting breaking the rules on social distancing. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions later today after she meets the leaders of sixteen german states. president trump is to scrap the task force co—ordinating america's response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70—thousand deaths. a couple of people got in touch with us a couple of people got in touch with us after we came off air yesterday. about this time yesterday we were talking to three young carers, and they were talking about the responsibilities they had and how they changed and lockdown looking after their mothers, brothers and sisters, administering medicine that kind of thing two viewers wanted to give them a treat and so david myers

co—and another gentleman who wants to remain anonymous contacted us to say they would like to give £250 to each of them. ijust say they would like to give £250 to each of them. i just wanted say they would like to give £250 to each of them. ijust wanted to say thank you very much for your absolutely wonderful generosity. fiona hamilton—fairley and her son tristan run the kids cookery school — a charity in west london that works with children who have physical and emotional needs to build their confidence and culinary skills. for weeks now they've been preparing 50 meals a day for two care homes in acton, west london to show their appreciation for everything staff there are doing during the coronavirus crisis. founder of the school fiona hamilton—fairley and her son tristan join us from their kitchen in west london. hello, both of you. tell us what kinds of things you have been making. we have been trying to keep it nice and healthy. lots of energy, so it nice and healthy. lots of energy, so things like stuffed jacket

potatoes, mini pizzas, macaroni cheese, the odd suite as well, so we've done an apple crumble, and some muffins. yeah, we try to deliver every single day to keep everybody fit and healthy. trust, what was the motivation? the motivation was we had to close the school following the guidelines of the government and the owner and i thought what can we do with this incredible facility we have here, so we thought why not help out the staff and medical team at the care homes and try to lift their spirits by bringing them some fresh healthy food every day. how can you make 50 meals a day? just the two of you? just the two of us. we are pretty good, we've been teaching children for the last 20 years, normally we would have children in the kitchen and they would be cooking their own dishes, and they would make three

dishes, and they would make three dishes, starter, main course and is so we are dishes, starter, main course and is so we are pretty well rehearsed. we have got great facilities. yes, we just crack on. stay there both of you. also i'm joined by karima ghulam, an activities coordinator at the acton care centre in west london, where the kids cookery school provide meals to. i wonder what you think of this generosity? hello, everyone. it's amazing. the staff here have enjoyed their food. they all say it's delicious. to tell you the truth, we are looking forward to them coming every day now. and how would you have managed if it wasn't for system and his mum? what would you have been doing for food? most of the staff ring their own lunches in.

their staff have said they are so relaxed knowing that there was going to be food here at work. and not having to rush home and prepare their meals for the next day. so what system and fiona have done is brought relaxation to a very, very hectic environment. that's good to hear. the owner, i know you are funded by the john hear. the owner, i know you are funded by thejohn lion charity. how has it helped to make this happen? gosh, it's been amazing. they've been helping us ever since we started 20 yea rs been helping us ever since we started 20 years ago. they are just wonderful people, very generous, very understanding, and if you go to them and say this is a crisis, can you help us? they are just amazing and very willing and we have a fantastic relationship, so thank

you. thank you all very much for coming on to talk to us this morning and good luck. thank you for having us. and good luck. thank you for having us. goodbye. finally one non—coronavirus related story — a 5 year old boy from utah has been caught behind the wheel of his family car in a quest to buy a luxury sports car. his big dream came to an end when he was pulled over by the police and before anyone was hurt. freya cole has the details. a swift manoeuvre across not one, but two lanes. the police officers trailing behind get an inkling something isn't quite right. they assume a medical emergency, but it was a much smaller problem. you are five years old. wow! i was not expecting to find what i found. young aidan told the officer he had taken the keys to his mums car to drive from utah to california

to buy a lamborghini. but, withjust $3 in his pocket, and his feet barely touching the pedals, he managed just five minutes of his journey. luckily, no one was hurt, but a few serious lessons have been learned. oh, yeah, a lot, to never leave the keys out. for now, aidan must sit tight and wait another 12 years at least before gaining his full drivers licence. freya cole, bbc news. after ten o'clock we are going to talk to the boss of wwf, uk, who is really concerned that the pandemic is having a disastrous effect on protected areas and species worldwide, particularly rhinoceroses, there have been increased poaching of them in botswa na increased poaching of them in botswana since the lockdown was

imposed so we will talk to tanya steele, ceo of wwf uk. also we will get more reaction to the numbers released yesterday, the fact that the uk now has one of the highest death tolls in europe. some are expecting at some point it will be the highest in europe as we know, many difficulties with comparing that kind of data and one or two politicians calling on us to wait until we get to the crisis and the best thing that we can do then is to compare data, much more accurate, we have to figure from the 0ns yesterday, over 11 and a half thousand more than the average for the week up to april 24. a reminder of the breaking news from a moment ago. britain's construction sector saw a drop in activity of "historic proportions" last month

according to a new report. the ihs markit cips uk construction purchasing managers' index plunged to a record low of 8.2 in april — the lowest since records began in 1997. it compares with a reading of 39.3 in march. theresa may has criticised the response of world leaders to the coronavirus pandemic. the former prime minister said the outbreak was being "treated as a national issue for countries to deal with alone", and there was "little evidence" of nations co—operating. the latest news headlines from around the world at 10am. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello there. big temperature swings, not desperately unusual at this time of year but big changes ahead later this week. for the next few days, the warmth of bills and buy ve day on friday, 10% of the low 20s, may be 25 in the south—east corner. through the weekend, arctic air returns and some of you will struggle to get into double figures,

and even a few snow showers in the north and east of scotland. 0ut there at the moment, it's a case of blue skies for the vast majority, from dawn to dusk, with sunshine streaming through many a window. a few exceptions, may be more cloud towards cornwall but one or two summers possible through the afternoon. a lot more cloud through 0rkney and shetland in places, with a misty afternoon but for most, strong sunshine overhead. lighter winter than yesterday, feeling warm, 19-20, a winter than yesterday, feeling warm, 19—20, a slight onshore breeze towards the east to keeping things cooler. as we go into the overnight day, always a chance of one or two showers. most places will be dry but the airturning showers. most places will be dry but the air turning more humid showers. most places will be dry but the airturning more humid in showers. most places will be dry but the air turning more humid in the west, whereas fervour is this going to bea west, whereas fervour is this going to be a chilly night with temperatures low enough for a touch of frost. we start the sunshine in the east once again, high pressure in charge. as it shrinks away towards the east, this is when we bring in the more humid air, more

widely, but in the west, a bit more cloud, misty around the coast and hills, and we will see a few showers around during the day. particularly across scotland and northern ireland during the afternoon. where you do super showers during the afternoon. where you do super showers on during the afternoon. where you do super showers on thursday, do not be surprised if it comes with the odd rumble of thunder too. the vast majority dry, sunny throughout eastern wales, england and eastern scotland, with high temperatures here 19—20. a slightly milder night to ta ke here 19—20. a slightly milder night to take us into friday. should be frost free with a bit more cloud to scotland, northern ireland. scotland will seek showers on the northern half of the mainland and a few showers breaking up with sunny spells elsewhere. the odd thunderstorm can't be ruled out but most will be dry and the peak of the heatin most will be dry and the peak of the heat in particularfor most will be dry and the peak of the heat in particular for england and wales widely into the 20s, 25 possible. this weekend, the change comes, rain spreading from the north, a drop in temperature, and in the south, we dropped by 13 degrees as we go from saturday afternoon to sunday afternoon.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government urges members of the public to continue following lockdown rules. it's because one of its top scientific advisers has resigned after admitting breaking the guidelines on social distancing. professor ferguson has obviously set out that he should have abided by the rules, it was a lapse, an error of judgment. and those rules on social distancing are very firmly still required. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is expected to announce the further relaxation of restrictions today — including the return of bundesliga football. president trump is to scrap the task force co—ordinating america's response to coronavirus, despite a steady increase in infections and more than 70,000 deaths. you have people that are not going to stand for this,