this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines... bringing devastation tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record the government and the bank of england have put in place a very big package of measures, and we will go on utterly focused on that and doing the things that we need to do to support the people of this country. the cabinet meets to discuss

easing the lockdown — but we'll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. no easing of the lockdown in scotland for now — the first minister says to do so would be "very, very risky indeed". i will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before i am as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. protecting. . . nothing. the shipment of 400,000 ppe gowns from turkey, which was flown here by the raf, is impounded in a warehouse after failing uk standards. not the celebration they'd planned — but, under lockdown, britain prepares to mark tomorrow's 75th anniversary of ve day.

good afternoon. the bank of england is warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk economy into its deepest recession on record. unemployment could more than double, and analysts say the economy will shrink 14% this year, even if the lockdown is relaxed injune. that's the sharpest annual contraction for 300 years. but there is some cause for hope — the bank says the uk economy will bounce back. meanwhile, the prime minister has told the cabinet the government will "advance with maximum caution" when deciding about any easing of lockdown measures. we will have to wait until sunday evening for borisjohnson to set out his plans, having signalled some measures may be relaxed from next week. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon has said she won't be easing the country's lockdown measures for now, and to do so would be "very, very risky indeed". and, new data from the office for national statistics says ethnic minority groups are far more likely to die from covid—i9 than people of white ethnicity. our first report is from our economics correspondent andy verity. unsold cars lined up at a former military

airfield in upper heyford, 0xfordshire, just one image from what is now expected to be the biggest recession since 1706. since the shutdown began over six weeks ago, the evidence suggests household spending is down 30%, company sales are down 45% and business investment has halved. modelling the impact of covid—i9, the bank of england's working assumption is that the economy will shrink in the first—half of this year by 30%. what it really means is obviously the very sharp sort of downturn we have had is a product of the situation we have been in since march, and the restrictions that are in place, which obviously affect economic activity very severely. the interesting question then is of course, what is the path from here onwards going to look like? it is really only until next summer and thereafter that activity comes fully back. waiting for a recovery next year may

be too late for companies who only have enough cash to last weeks not months. in bristol's empty streets a successful small business, a language school founded 32 years ago employing 64 staff, is trying to adapt its work online. but there's crippling uncertainty. most of its business is done in the summer teaching foreign students english before they go to college. this year its owner has no idea if they'll come or not. as you can imagine, we are entirely empty, our buildings are closed up. and as many staff as can be have been furloughed. we are trying to teach online to fulfil contractual commitments. but once those are done, we are unlikely to generate very much income and certainly not enough income to keep staff going or keep the buildings open.

what's extraordinary about the recession we're going through is notjust the speed and its scale, but that governments around the world ordered it. the big question, though, is that when they want the economy to bounce back, will it be as easy as they expect to get what they wished for? the bank of england's modelling assumes that unemployment willjump to 9% in spite of government support for businesses, but will come right down again as the economy recovers and grows back by 15%. is that realistic? there are quite a few reasons why that may not pan out. we are going to have to have social distancing measures and other restrictions in the economy for some time and of course it is the uncertainty that you referred to in your news report. so i think the bank is probably erring on the optimistic side in terms of how quickly the economy will rebound. the bank of england is at pains to emphasise it can't forecast the economy right now — there's too much uncertainty.

but it can be much surer of predicting the biggest recession on record than it can of predicting an extraordinarily rapid recovery. andy verity, bbc news. earlier i heard from our economics editor faisal islam. it is just simply extraordinary to see a chart like this never seen in the 300 year history of the entire institution because it does answer sharply. that is a very sharp fall, but as andy just said, sharply. that is a very sharp fall, but as andyjust said, a sharp rebound too. the thing is, we know the downturn has mostly happened already, that is in some of the data that they are looking at. it is a bit more hopeful this sharp rebound, and it depends notjust on economics, simon, it depends of course on epidemiology, it depends on politics and the response and the interesting thing is that despite this economic damage you are not getting a suggestion from the bank of england from economists to lift the lockdown immediately because actually that second wave of the pandemic, as deadly as it would be, would also be the sort of thing that would also be the sort of thing that would interrupt the rebound that every one helps for.

i'm joined by rain newton—smith, chief economist at the cbi. thank you forjoining us. just picking at the point i was making there, given that the economy was shut down completely, this can't be a huge shock, the grimness of this proposition? no, i don't think it is a surprise to anyone and looking at the bank of england's forecast it is very much in line with some of the challenges we know that businesses are facing. i think, first and foremost, we are facing a health crisis but as we have had to put in measures to protect the health of the nation that has had an impact on oui’ the nation that has had an impact on our economy the nation that has had an impact on our economy notjust here but around the world. i think what is important is that we know that from our own surveys that four out of ten businesses have had to close their doors but we are now starting to move to move to the phase where we can start to think about how we can reopen some of these businesses

safely and i think that is what everyone. . . safely and i think that is what everyone... 0h, safely and i think that is what everyone... oh, i think safely and i think that is what everyone... 0h, ithink we safely and i think that is what everyone... oh, i think we may have lost the line, you are still there? yes, ican lost the line, you are still there? yes, i can hear you. wejust lost the line, you are still there? yes, i can hear you. we just got that and sinful so that is good. i just want to pick up on the pressure from the prime minister —— that a nswer from the prime minister —— that answer in full. what are the cabinet going to do, they have done their best to pay people while they are not working, they need to change the emphasis now to get them back to work? it is all about a phased return and it has to be advised by the best scientific advice, the best health advice, but it also absolutely has got to be what they had been doing, which is talking to businesses about how they can reopen safely, how they can make sure that we can have social distancing on our construction sites, and our manufacturing lines, that is where

the real focus has been and of course how we can start to increase the numberof course how we can start to increase the number of shops that can open safely, i think that is where the conversations are happening. that is about, you know, equipment and testing, it is also about how everyone travels to work as well, it is important to get the phasing light and to also think about how we can open school safely because that makes it easier for so many working parents. —— important to get the phasing right. it is about having those conversations, talking to unions, talking to businesses, so we can do this safely together to get oui’ can do this safely together to get our economy can do this safely together to get our economy back on its feet. and the difficulty with any focus like the difficulty with any focus like the one we have heard from the bank of england as you really can't tell how the public are going to behave, how the public are going to behave, how safe they are going to feel. shops may be open, but the public may not want to go into them. that is one of the big uncertainties, will consumers have the confidence to spend, will businesses have the confidence to invest and reopen. i

think we do know that many households have already seen an impact on their incomes already over three quarters of households have seen their incomes fall, so that undoubtedly will lead to lower spending, so the dash or —— but the bank also talks about because we have gone out savings are gone out for some households, do we feel confident to see people, do we feel confident to see people, do we feel confident to see people, do we feel confident to go to shops and restaurants when they open or are we more cautious? i think that is about getting the phasing right but also about getting the support from government right and that is where the job retention scheme has been a real lifeline for businesses to make sure that we have the right lines in place so that businesses can do the very difficult pressures that they are facing around their cash flow. we need all of these things working together for us to be able to open the economy safely but also so that we can see that recovery that the

bank of england talks about where we will see growth in return over the course of this year. that was somebody from the cbi, thank you very much a talking to us. the prime minister has discussed the coronavirus lockdown with his cabinet today. he told them the government were not going to do anything that risked a second peak when deciding on easing existing measures and that any changes would be made with "maximum caution". borisjohnson will set out his plans at 7pm on sunday — he's already signalled that some restrictions could be relaxed next week — with speculation that the government's "stay at home" message is set to be modified. while it's likely more outdoor activities will be permitted, most of the current lockdown measures are expected to remain in place. wales, northern ireland and scotland have their own powers to lift or keep restrictions, and today, scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has said that any easing of lockdown restrictions there would be of lockdown restrictions there would be "very, very risky". here's our political correspondent iain watson. is the tide turning on the lockdown? six weeks in and the government

is finding that it was easier to impose restrictions than to lift them. there's been strong compliance with the measures but some people are wary about going back to work while the virus remains active. secretary of state, when will you start easing the lockdown measures? although the lockdown in england has been formally reviewed by ministers today, we will have to wait until sunday for the prime minister to set out a direction of travel. this is a message from the government... but one familiar feature of lockdown will change this weekend. the government will modify it straightforward and successful stay home slogan. to help save lives, stay home. but ministers are stressing that any move to lift the lockdown will be gradual. i'd really urge caution, the safest thing to do, at the moment, with this virus and the way it spreads, is wherever you can to stay home. yes, get out and get that daily exercise, and if you can't work from home and can work in safe circumstances then the guidelines are there for that very purpose but we have got to continue in the process that we have had

that we are doing everything that we can to ensure people's safety. i hope you understand and indeed i hope you agree that i must make judgments informed by the evidence that are right and safe for scotland. i will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before i am as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. stay two metres apart, otherwise your new found freedom could be short lived. the devolved governments of scotland, wales, and northern ireland can decide for themselves the pace at which the lockdown was lifted and scotland's first minister is concerned that the prime minister might not be cautious enough. i will not be pressured into lifting the restrictions prematurely before iron as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. i particularly strongly believe that for us to drop the clear, well understood stay at home message right now

could be a catastrophic —— potentially catastrophic —— potentially catastrophic mistake. moving away from lockdown even gradually brings big logistical challenges such as how to ensure social distancing on public transport while running in of services to get people back to work and making workplaces safer. labour says the governments have more work to do to get beat... the guidelines need to be clear... there needs to bea need to be clear... there needs to be a process for dealing with any problems look as if workers and consumers don't have confidence that they'll be safe at work and interacting with different businesses that is really going to hold back our economy. so in england, one small step in lifting the lockdown could happen within days but if there is any leap in infections we could still be facing the loss restrictions for months to

come. let's get more from our political correspondent helen catt, who joins me from westminster. huge pressure on the government to get this fight but if they get it wrong the risks couldn't be greater. yes,... nicola sturgeon has already said that scotland will extend its lockdown measures, in the reason we're talking about this today is that this is the so in the next legal deadline to review the lockdown measures... in their existing form in place until at least the end of the bank holiday weekend, borisjohnson least the end of the bank holiday weekend, boris johnson is least the end of the bank holiday weekend, borisjohnson is going to give this statement on sunday evening at 11pm to set out what he calls a road map on how lockdown restrictions could be eased and that is the underlying thing here, the idea of a gradual easement of lockdown restrictions and of course it is important to say it is

not just a one—way street, the government has also made clear that actually if infection surge then it could and wouldn't hesitate to tighten restrictions again so it is the start of a long process. boris johnson did say in the comments earlier this week though that there we re earlier this week though that there were some changes that he intended to bring in from monday morning so thatis to bring in from monday morning so that is why we have seen a lot of speculation about what that might be said expectation is that there are only going to be minimal tweaks and the strong speculation is that that might be around areas like outdoor exercise, the fact that you can only leave your home to exercise was a day at the moment, that might be relaxed, and in fact that is the one thing that nicola sturgeon said she may consider other list is not in place at the moment, senior ministers talking to tv cameras were very keen to stress that for now the message remain stay at home until the end of the bank holiday weekend that least. 0ur scotland correspondent james shaw is in glasgow. nicola sturgeon does not want things

to change at the moment, does he? no, she was very clear indeed in her briefing just about an hour ago where she said that she didn't think anything should change at least for anything should change at least for a week. she did give herself the option of coming back a week today and reviewing the situation but she said that as things stand, there are some encouraging signs, so for example the weekly death rate in scotland has gone down, last week it was 523 people who died with coronavirus, the week before it was 368 and there are other positive signs as well but before that she said that they weren't strong enough that there wasn't another strong enough indication that they wouldn't be another resurgence of the virus. —— the week before it was 568. there was only one small concession which was only one small concession which was where she said that she did feel it would just possible that in terms of people going out to exercise that they might be allowed to do that

more than once a day and she felt that that was something that could happen relatively soon, but if the readings of what boris johnson happen relatively soon, but if the readings of what borisjohnson is going to do on sunday are correct, and we don't know that's the show at the moment, but that lockdown might start in england, might start to be eased on monday, then it would be the case that scotland and england would be on at least slightly different trajectories, if nicola sturgeon wants to stay where things are for the moment at least for the next seven days and possibly longer, and england is going on a different direction than we could see a small divergence to start with between how these changes bringing an end to the lockdown in different parts of the uk, how they are affected in scotland as compared to england. thank you very

much. john redwood has been among conservative mps who've raised concerns about the impact of the lockdown on the economy — and the overall wellbeing of the country. we can speak to him now. lam... iam...| lam... i have been making the i am... i have been making the case that we need to get as many people back to work as quickly as possible because i am very concerned about the economic damage, there will be a sharp contraction in the economy at the bank of england has confirmed that today, we don't want all the jobs to be lost, simply get people back to work, the sinewy rescue of those jobs because in end jobs to rely on companies earning money from their customers to earn their wages. denied that it was i going to say to that because of this can go back to early as we are not and talking about lost job you're early as we are not and talking about lostjob you're talking about lost lives. j back yes and we are all talking about crossing the dash

the rate, i think there have been encouraging signs because we see that the number of new admissions to hospitalfor covid—i9 is that the number of new admissions to hospital for covid—i9 is well down, we see that the capacity of the nhs is massively expanded so that the nhs can now cope with the flow of covid—i9 pace since and now has a lots of spare capacity we hope they don't need to use. i think if we observe social distancing and take any at —— every action on hygiene we can and protective clothing for those who need it i think we can continue this while getting back to work. i think the message needs to go out that if you can work safely we should work because we need to generate the income and provide the business services to each other that the economy needs. do you accept an introduction back to work would have to be phased one way or another? new line yes, that is what i'm saying it would have to be done safely in the biggest constraint on it all

is that there would have to be... the public transport system where there would be the risks... use modern technology, had many more people working from home, dual much more on video conferences as i am doing now with other mps, we read together on video conferences and participate in a virtual parliament. we are making out a virtual parliament. we are making ourjobs workbook because normally mps are people who create the clouds and want to create the crowds and wa nt and want to create the crowds and want to go out and meet as many people as possible and now we are meeting everybody electronically which is what we need to do. there are ways of adapting your working life style are ways of adapting your working lifestyle but it is very important that the jobs carry on. but anybody who needs to do that has done that, everybody knows about working from home and if they can it that they already are. it is things like sport, it is large groups of people gathering together once again. you see it happening in the foreseeable future? no, i don't think we are suddenly going to have large crowds going to things in public transport

and being close together, much as i would like to go and watch a cricket gamel would like to go and watch a cricket game i don't think that is going to happen, buti game i don't think that is going to happen, but i don't think it is right that all of this is happening automatically on what i am saying is that for a company to be able to service its customers and make its products may be able to have three quarters of its workforce at any given time away from the main office or factory but it may need quite a few people suitably segregated in the operating base in order to make the operating base in order to make the thing work and that isn't happening at the moment, a very large numberof happening at the moment, a very large number of companies are stood down altogether, and we're not making any cars at the moment in this country and we are not selling any cars at the moment, that is something that could be tackled, there could be more electronic sales of cars in some ways of handling the issue of how you get to see the product without it being dangerous and they need to be smart and easier ways and the factories and one of the advantages of modern factories is very high use of robotics that we need to protect the limited number of people who need to be on the shop flare so that they can turn up

products again. john redwood, conservative mp, it is good for you to give us your time, thank you for joining us. people from black backgrounds in england and wales are nearly twice as likely to die from coronavirus than people from white backgrounds — that's according to new research by the office for national statistics. people from indian, bangladeshi and pakistani communities also had a significantly higher risk of dying. the government has launched a review in to the issue. let's speak now to dr nicole andrews, a lecturer in health and social care at newman university in birmingham. thank you forjoining us. this raises questions that have been raised before but i'll be anywhere near to finding out why this has been happening? thank you for having me on the programme, i think if we are talking about understanding the reasons why this is happening it is important to take a step back... issues around health inequalities are not new to the uk and if we look at the inequalities and the

disproportionate health outcomes for black and ethnic minority communities we will see that there isa communities we will see that there is a long legacy of poor health outcomes for our community so with regard to covid and its current situation, while it is completely devastating for those who understand the nature of health outcomes in a society as it is not necessarily surprising. i think if we are going to start thinking about how we move forward it is important to understand the dynamics of how we... there's dynamics are really at the heart of this and do we think we fully understand what they are, even though we have got these figures, doing ovale why? i think if we actually look at an honest look at the society that we have created and we continue to live in the answers are we continue to live in the answers a re pretty clear we continue to live in the answers are pretty clear really. it is very easy for us to point at individuals and try to look at individual outcomes and individual responses but if we look at society collectively and if we look at the risk factors that make some people may be more predisposed to cut picking up covid and

having poor outcomes, we can see that it is those who may be working key worker positions, front line, forward facing jobs, those who maybe have roles injobs facing jobs, those who maybe have roles in jobs where they are in close contact to covid, taxi drivers, and those who work in the ca re drivers, and those who work in the care industry, people who work in shops, those who are the social workers are going to peoples homes, the nursery nurses, all of those forward facing jobs that lightly done by black and minority ethnic community so if we start to look at the structure of society and the roles that people have with and it it does give us some insight into why we may be more exposed to this virus. many people will be watching us virus. many people will be watching us and saying it is about time that we had a serious discussion about this and this has been a problem for an awful long time that hasn't been addressed. could there be a silver lining to the absolute tragedy of this pandemic that we are now asking those questions? i think we have to be careful about how we choose a language, i don't think we can talk

about covid and these figures and describe it as any sort of silver lining, now that it is a short and sharp frauds to encourage people to talk about the issues of... in this country. it is very easy to talk about individual issues as i said but rather it is a structural problem and the longer we try to dismiss it and may be hope push it aside and may be talking about race in hushed tones are not speaking about the differences in the realities of people in this country and we can't address the situation as it has occurred at the moment. of course, no one would belittle the fa ct course, no one would belittle the fact that people are dying because ofa fact that people are dying because of a pandemic, those hushed tones that we talk about, we are talking about death in a way that perhaps we haven't for long time as well and is it about time that we all... i mean what can the black community do itself to try to get everybody to realise the extent of this problem? well, i think when we are talking about the situation, i don't think we need to get the black community to realise the extent of this

problem because we know. even as we speak a family member is actually having her funeral today and an extended family member of my own is currently talking to —— currently fighting for his life in hospital at the moment, so i don't think it is the moment, so i don't think it is the black community that need to have this discussion on how serious theissueis have this discussion on how serious the issue is whether it needs to go beyond the black community and to have these discussions and other spaces on how to improve the lives of those people who are the key workers who do all the jobs that have long been dismissed, as if were our contracts, that play dough might pay precarious wages, those jobs that do not meet minimum wage or indeed a living wage so i don't think it is necessarily a wake—up call to the black community because we are definitely wide awake, this isa we are definitely wide awake, this is a issue that is devastating bame communities so it is an issue that needs to happen above and beyond where we are. is that something government can do of a wider

group? i think it is definitely a collective, i think it is definitely something that needs to happen as a community, i think when we are talking about structural change it is important for government and communities to understand the dynamics of the structure and to be honest about how they have resulted in the situation so it does have to be top—down but also grassroots lead as well, bottom up, and i think with as well, bottom up, and i think with a mutual understanding and a mutual working together and an honest discussion about this issue there as may potential for change. very good to talk to you, doctor nickell andrews from the university. thank you for having us. a massive gas leak at a chemical plant in eastern india has killed at least 13 people with thousands more being taken taken ill. residents near the plant in visakhapatnam in the state of andhra pradesh complained of a burning sensation in their eyes and breathing difficulties. the gas is reported to have spread

up to two miles from the plant — with owners saying they're investigating what caused the leak. there are some distressing images in this report fom our india correspondent yogita limaye. sirens woken up by toxic gas in the air. people stumbled out onto the streets in panic. some waited for help to arrive, some rushed theh seriously ill to hospital any way they could. a police patrol team responded within ten minutes. then they saw this smoke around and they were able to quickly ascertain what is the details. and with the help of that loudspeaker, which is fitted on the vehicle, they started announcing and asking the people to come out and move out of this location. among those affected, children. more than 1,000 families live near the factory where the leak occurred in the dead of the night. hundreds are in hospital, some in critical condition. a local resident said she brought three children to the hospital

but one girl died on the way. hundreds are still being treated, some in critical condition. the gas they've inhaled, styrene. it causes nausea, headache and dizziness. but severe exposure can even lead to coma. rescue personnel went door to door looking for anyone who had fallen unconscious at home. authorities also work to contain the leak. as of now, things are under control. i would say the leakage situation is much better now in the sense that the silo that was leaking is now down to minimal and there is hardly any leakage left. but as i say that, i also underlined we will be there until that leakage is completely plugged. south korea's lg chem says it's looking into how the leak occurred. its factory was just opening up after the lockdown for the coronavirus crisis. the immediate effect of the gas, clearly visible.

the long—term impact, still to be assessed. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. we are once again guessing the latest figures for covid—i9 deaths in english hospitals, nhs england announced 383, bringing the total number of deaths in english hospitals to 22,232. figures also show 29 of the new deaths took place between may the ist and made the third, an hundred and 31 talk place in april while the remaining hundred and i6 in april while the remaining hundred and 16 took place in march. details of every covid of a later date that took place

in hospitals often include previous leon county deaths that took place before because of the time it takes to be confirmed as deaths there as deaths being tested positive for covid—i9 it is not often on the death certificate. —— previously uncounted deaths. but that is 300 and 83 new deaths. but that is 300 and 83 new deaths of purple —— 383 new deaths of people with covid—i9 in hospitals from nhs england. we will have more details on that later. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. the people of this country. 0ne one day and evening for many of us, but from sunday a big change, it will turn cooler. there are some showers for the forecast for today and tomorrow, as we head into the evening hours temperatures to be in the low 20s to high teens across the vast majority of the country, a bit

fresher in the north and in one or two areas a couple of showers, some could be heavy. for this evening, for many of us, overnight it will be clear but towards the end of the night of the possibility of rain. mild in liverpool will match that in glasgow. 0n mild in liverpool will match that in glasgow. on friday, another one day, most of the sunny weather will be across eastern and southern areas but notice that is a possibility of them showers developing across some south—western and western areas of the uk and temperatures could get up to as high as 2a degrees on friday. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines: bringing devastation tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record. the cabinet meets to discuss easing the lockdown — but we'll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. no, easing of the lockdown in scotland — the first minister

says to do so would be ‘very, very risky indeed'. protecting nothing. the shipment of 400,000 ppe gowns from turkey which was flown here by the raf — is impounded in a warehouse after failing uk standards. not the celebration they'd planned — but, under lockdown, britain prepares to mark tomorrow's 75th anniversary of ve day. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. from the bbc sport centre, good afternoon. from the bbc sport centre, a from the bbc sport centre, glimmer of hope from football in europe is returning next weekend. it's been confirmed that the bundesliga in germany will restart on saturday 16th — the first european league to resume since the coronavirus outbreak. borussia dortmund are among the first teams to play, in a local derby with schalke — that's one of eight games over the weekend — all behind closed doors, of course. there will be strict health protocols in place, including covid—i9 testing for all players.

around 300 people in total will be in or around the stadiums during matchdays. the english football league will meet next wednesday to discuss ending leagues one and two. around 1,400 players are out of contract next month across all 71 efl teams — and some who would normally have deals renewed are being told they'll be left without a club due to the financial impact caused by the pandemic. i would have loved to have stayed, but, listen, the circumstances will be a lot different this summer with football suffering a big hit. regarding wages and what people are able to offer, its going to be a lot tougher. there are 1400 other people who are in the same boat as myself, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks, football is able to continue in our leagues and we will get a bit

more of an idea and a picture as to what will happen. meanwhile, league two club macclesfield town have been handed a seven point deduction — with a further two points suspended. it's after they failed to play their match against plymouth argyle in december and didn't pay players in february. it's the second time they've been docked points this season. they're down to second from bottom in the league with 25 points — just three clear of stevenage who escape punishment for postponing a game in november due to three international call ups. now to the row that's dominated scottish football. rangers have released evidence to the other 41 clubs which they claim proves a "lack of fair play" during the voting process to end the lower league season. but today the spfl have hit back, saying there's no proof of any wrong—doing in the dossier. 0ur scotland sports news correspondant chris mclaughlin has more. scottish football has been holding

its collective breath for weeks over this dossier, it is fairly complicated but essentially rangers we re complicated but essentially rangers were alleging wrongdoing, evidence they say brought to them by a whistle—blower at the sp fl board, they were bullying other clubs in relation to a vote to end the lower league campaign. they say they have looked at the dossier, 19 pages worth and they say it doesn't present one single shred of evidence. rangers have really something on social media simply saying the club will not be bullied into silence. there is a meeting next week to discuss the possibility ofan next week to discuss the possibility of an independent investigation. it is now up to the rest of the clubs in scottish football to determine whether or not this dossier has enough to make them vote for that independent investigation. several athletes were in the final stages of preperations for tokyo 2020 before the pandemic led to the games postponement.

one of those medal hopefuls was british paralympic table tennis player kim daybell. with training now on hold — he's now helping others as a junior doctor and revealed what it's like working on the front line. but of a shock for me because i am working part—time, 3—4 days a week and now it is working the standard week with own calls on top. it has been a tough transition but everyone has their head down and managed it. i think has their head down and managed it. ithinka has their head down and managed it. i think a lot of doctors have been off sick, a lot of nurses have been off sick, a lot of nurses have been off sick, a lot of nurses have been off sick, so i think managing that has been really difficult. that's all the sport for now. as we've been hearing, the coronavirus pandemic is having a devestating impact on the economy — with the worst recession in 300 years predicted by the bank of england. many businesses are concerned about their future and for some the way they work will have

to change dramatically. joining me to discuss this are lesley blair, chair of british association of beauty therapy & cosmetology and salon owner fiona fowley, who may potentially have to close her business. the owner, i should perhaps talk to you first. potentially, when will you first. potentially, when will you have to make that decision? we are hoping it doesn't come to that, i have 27 employees and i've had the business now for 21 years, we are fighting hard to make sure we get some government support. we are just in quite an unfortunate situation of being one of the many small businesses that are falling between the cracks, that aren't getting any government support at all. nothing in terms of grants or ease of loans or the furlough situation? yes, so i am very grateful and i am getting support through the furlough situation so my staff are on furlough and i am gratefulfor getting the government support, however with the two silence i have in the city centre being closed

there are certain overheads i have in place —— the salons. basically, . .. in place —— the salons. basically,... i am going to let you ta ke basically,... i am going to let you take that call. i will come back to you any moment. can you give me the idea of the impact this has had on the beauty industry? it has been crippling to the entire sector. in the uk the hair and crippling to the entire sector. in the uk the hairand beauty crippling to the entire sector. in the uk the hair and beauty sector for treatment only is estimated to be about {6.6 billion and that is only for treatments, that is something we carried out last year. i think there is many people in fiona's position who are deemed as smaller businesses that are going to be massively affected. i think it would be important to note that beauty is one of the last standing industries that are on the high street, so the potential fallout, if

it affects beauty on the high street, isjust going to be massive. there are a couple of issues, one is the safety issue because the beauty business, you need to be close to people by definition, but also people by definition, but also people are going to have to have the confidence to go into a beauty salon and wejust confidence to go into a beauty salon and we just don't know at the moment, do we? we don't, we have just put together some very robust lines were members and the industry, however we have got to be realistic. we are a contact industry and we can't social distance the way that has been deemed as a social distancing just now. we need to minimise the risk and i think, i was just ina minimise the risk and i think, i was just in a call with government, what everyone is calling out for is some robust guidelines rather than advice. we would rather know what we have to do rather than what we advise you to do. so we are all on a level playing field, and i think thatis level playing field, and i think that is a way we can reassure our customers that we are doing

everything we can to minimise that potential spread of the virus. that is the point, to get people back into the salons, they have got to have the confidence. does that mean you think you will be wearing masks orfull ppe if you think you will be wearing masks or full ppe if that is a must? we need to have guidelines set out so we know what the future holds. for the beauty salon, because it is such a co nta ct the beauty salon, because it is such a contact industry, for us to do our treatments and keep that to metre distance is really difficult. it is going to mean for a lot of businesses in the beauty industry, that we are not going to be able to have the same footfall we had before, which is going to have a massive impact on the amount of clients and money we can take in. just going back to the bit before, theissue just going back to the bit before, the issue i was saying with the gra nts the issue i was saying with the grants was because of the quite arbitrary way the government has gone about doing the

grants scheme for the 25,000 four business premises, it means that some people are falling out within the rate of value with the higher one being 50,000 in the lower one being 18 and a half. as a business owner, i have one at the higher end and one at the lower end and therefore i am missing out on £50,000 of government grant and there has been really hard to keep cash flow going. how are the banks? obviously you're able to apply to get some sort of business loa n apply to get some sort of business loan which is guaranteed hundred percent, it is interest—free for the first year. at this stage it is not something that i am keen on doing, taking out a big loan to try and keep the business going, with not in good faith knowing if the footfall has fallen by 50% and money you are taking in is a lot less, then how am i going to be sure

you can pay that loa n i going to be sure you can pay that loan back? when i say footfall is falling, i mean the social distancing requirements that need to be put in place to make your staff and clients feel they are in a safe environment. you are nodding at that, leslie. iam environment. you are nodding at that, leslie. i am wondering environment. you are nodding at that, leslie. iam wondering how environment. you are nodding at that, leslie. i am wondering how you felt seeing that germany and other countries seem to be allowing hairdressing at this stage very early on as the lockdown is eased. is there frustration or are you aghast? i am surprised, to be honest. in my personal opinion i think it is going to be a bit later and probably rightly so in the uk and probably rightly so in the uk and if you look at southern ireland's guidelines, they are looking at hairdressers at stage four and five, we are a contact profession. i think at the end of the day we are alljust wanting to promote safety and standards. beauty and hair, beauty especially, we are and hair, beauty especially, we are a very hygienic industry anyway. i think that is a definite plus point for us. but

as fiona said, it is the social distancing of how many people we have in our salons and how many people we can have in any one place any one time, that is going to have any one time, that is going to have a massive effect on revenue for salons. that is the big worry. we are wanting to maintain as much safety as possible, business are properly going to close because of that. seven o'clock sunday night, i suspect he may be watching the television. what would you like him to say? you're not going to hear we are everything tomorrow, but is it just getting an idea of where you think we are looking.|j just getting an idea of where you think we are looking. i think the business owners, we need to have a clear plan of what is going to happen, when it is going to happen so we can start to put things in place. other countries such as denmark and germany have opened salons quite early on whereas conversely, ireland and a saint was the end ofjuly. we really don't know where we are when it comes to

organising cash flow, ppe, distancing. —— ireland are staying towards the end ofjuly. we need to know in advance and we can put these things in place and have a plan when it comes to routers, we can't do that overnight. we need something to work towards, and we needed be clear. this would be the toughest decision anyone would have to make because livelihoods are at stake but thenit because livelihoods are at stake but then it lives are at stake.|j totally appreciate that, our members are very frustrated, we are speaking to people on a daily basis and it is just trying to assure them that we will get back to work. i think we are going to have a new normal, ppe is going to be a big headache. as an organisation we encouraged our members to donate as much ppe to the nhs because they were in dire need of it. it isjust about being kind of it. it isjust about being kind of mindful when everyone is ordering ppe as well that we don't make

it short for the nhs in most aspley need it, but conversely for beauty salons and hair salons, make sure we have enough supply and not at exorbitant prices so everyone can purchase that. thank you, i wish you well. mobile operator 02 and broadband giant virgin media are to merge, creating one of the uk's largest entertainment and telecoms firms and a major rival to bt. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones gave us this update. let's have a look at the figures, how the two prepare post—merger. virgin with its many broadband customers, many fast broadband customers, many fast broadband customers, and 02 with all those mobile customers. they have about 29

million overall. that compares with the slightly bigger bt group. bt, phone lines, broadband customers, it has ee which is a very big mobile phone player and plus net, another broadband player. 0verall they have 32 million. quite a fight shaping up. will it be good for customers? which the consumer group is not convinced, it is taking another player out of the market overall, thatis player out of the market overall, that is not normally good for prices, which is pointing out that neither of those firms have the best reputation for customer service so they want the competition regulators to have a close look at this. bt was allowed to buy ee a couple of years back but there will be a close investigation, they need to spend a lot of money rolling out 5g and fibre broadband to every home. they will be under the spotlight with regulators for years to come. the headlines on bbc news... bringing devastation

tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record. the cabinet meets to discuss easing the lockdown — but we'll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. but no easing of the lockdown in scotland — the first minister says to do so would be ‘very, very risky indeed'. the death rate from the coronavirus may be falling but the pandemic is by no means over. for many doctors and nurses, talk of lifting the lockdown raises fear about a second wave of covid—19. james cook spent a day at university hospital monklands in north lanarkshire, near glasgow. in intensive care, the lights burn brightly day and night. i can't breathe. but for the patients, this is the twilight world. the place where the darkness deepens. no—one wants to be here,

far less to return, butjohn houston has no choice. four days ago, he left this unit, but his kidneys can't cope with covid—19. is it the breathing that's the hardest thing? aye. sometimes the medication they put me on kind of makes me hallucitate... that's not even a word. hallucinate. 0n you go. hallucinate. and it's... it's a bit scary. so, while we've been in this intensive care unit, we've discovered that it is a lot quieter than it was a few days ago, quite a few of the beds are empty. but actually, there has been a lot going on. a patient was admitted while we were here and unfortunately, we've also learnt that the patient has died in here today. his wife was here, we managed

to let his wife in. so that was... it was very important, because they had spent their whole life together. you've got these wee hearts. people in the community have knitted these. i got his wife to give his wee heart a kiss and one heart goes with the patient and the other heart will be sent out to the patient's family. jothohnston is still here, though. covid and a lung infection left him needing a ventilator to help him breathe. it's day three forjohn in icu, day 22 in monklands hospital. he's a coach driver who loves hisjob. what do you want to say to these people here? if you could write one word? you can't do it in one word? there are too many words to say to them. we'll get a wee chat when you come out maybe, then? you're definitely

getting better, all right? the public health advice may have worked, but the first wave of this virus is still washing ashore. 0n the day we filmed here, seven coronavirus patients died. so, this is where you were initially, irene. irene norwood, though, is a survivor. she's back in intensive care, but only to say thank you. i'm trying to hold it together. it's. . . it's hard. i remember everything was happening really quickly and they said, we need to get her to call her family. i spoke to my husband and my sons. you can only say what's in your heart and it's one of those things, if you don't say it, you might never, ever get the chance. they do not say stay at home for no reason. a short and simple message from a survivor... good luck with your

recovery, irene. ..this isn't over, so stay at home and stay safe. everyone living on the isle of wight is being encouraged to download a new smartphone app designed to limit the spread of the virus. the nhs covid—19 app is being trialled on the island despite privacy concerns about centralised sharing of data. this morning, thejoint committee on human rights published a report which raises significant concerns regarding surveillance and the impact on other human rights, which it believes must be addressed before the app is rolled out. here's the chair of that committee, labour mp harriet harman. this is an unprecedented gathering of people's personal data and its necessary to have this information so the lockdown can be eased safely. but people won't sign up to this app unless they are confident that their data is being protected. that confidence can be given if parliament passes a new law to actually,

say what will be the purpose of the data gathering, to restrict any other use of the data, to define who can have access to the data and prohibit anyone else having access, and providing for it to be deleted at the end of the covid crisis. we gave the government new powers on an emergency basis to deal with the covid crisis. now parliament needs to pass a law to make new protections for people in the face of this unprecedented data gathering. you're watching bbc news. with no flights and the world in lockdown getting home to the uk seemed an impossible mission for lee brook — who was stranded in the caribbean after working in antigua. he's just got back — after a very unconventionaljourney. lucy vladev takes up the story. 22 days aboard a boat in a bid to get home. lee brook has only sailed once before. this is how we do it.

life on deck! but when lockdown hit antigua and tourists couldn't get much information about flights, lee was offered a place on a 12—man racing boat called telefonica black. the airport closed. a lot of people couldn't afford the flights. so it then turned into a, right, how are we getting out of here, kind of situation. i felt really lucky to be part of the crew and be accepted. the 3000—mile journey west to east across the atlantic is one of the most challenging. there were moments of quiet calm for the crew. day number five. but they also saw nine metre waves and had to struggle on with ripped sails. we were hanging on to the wheel, trying to control the boat, and then one of the lines, the ropes, the lazy sheet, it forked, tightened and hit me straight across the face.

it bloodied my nose, actually it knocked me straight off the helm onto the deck. fortunately, the skipper is lance shepherd, a clipper round—the—world yacht racer and professional trainer for sailors, which came in handy when faced with a difficult decision. we had to get the boat back into european waters by the 1st of may because of insurance restrictions with the hurricane season. the clients that we had booked to fly out to antigua to sail back with us couldn't get out because of the cancellation of flights, so we put a shout—out for people and every day was a teaching day, all about sail training, sail handling and everything else. and we developed the crew all the way across. by the time we got to bad weather, they were well shaped into quite a formidable crew, to be honest. and all that sea water has given lee a taste for a new life. i think it's created a sailing monster out of me because i want to become a sailor now because of it! i really do.

now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz shafernaker. hello. for most of us so far it's been a nice day out there today, and that's how it's going to stay for the rest of the day and into the evening hours. there's the chance of a few showers developing, though, in one or two places but the vast majority of us will miss them. in fact, we've had a little bit of rain already to the west and southwest, with clouds spiralling into this area of low pressure that is parked just to the west of us. the vast majority of the country, a fine, bright, if not sunny day. temperatures, 22 this afternoon in london, and a pleasant 17 in the lowlands of scotland. here's the evening weather. watch out for the blobs of blue, showers developing here, maybe across parts of the midlands, a few showers there out towards scotland, maybe northern ireland, and then towards the end of the night, the possibility of some rain reaching the far southwest of the country. but for most of us, it's a mild

night with clear spells but perhaps turning murky and cloudy out towards the west. friday, the best of the sunshine will be out towards the east of england, east anglia, the south east and along the south coast. but here, cornwall, devon and parts of wales, eventually the midlands and maybe the north, again, a few showers developing. very warm day on friday. these are june, july temperatures. 24 in london. a very pleasant 18 in glasgow. through the weekend, we are going to see some big changes going on in the air especially across northern parts of the uk, at least initially. a cold front stretching from norway across the sea into northern scotland and out into the atlantic, the cold, northerly winds blowing out of the norwegian sea, spreading across scotland. this cold arctic air. look how chilly it will be on saturday afternoon in central and northern scotland, whereas in the south we still have thosejune, july type temperatures. during the course of saturday night and into sunday, that cold, dense, arctic air spreads slowly across the country like dense honey, all the way down to the south, and then come sunday afternoon

we are all in that cold air mass. you can see the wind is blowing and it will be blowing hard, gusting 30, maybe even 40 mph, so it will feel very chilly in the shade, especially with the drop in the temperature. by day, we are talking about only 13 in london and single figures there along the north sea coast.

this is bbc news. the headlines... bringing devastation tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record both the government and the bank of england have put in place a very big package of measures, and we will go on utterly focused

on that and doing the things that we need to do to support the people of this country. the cabinet meets to discuss easing the lockdown — but we'll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. no easing of the lockdown in scotland for now — the first minister says to do so would be "very, very risky indeed". i will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before i am as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. protecting. . . nothing. the shipment of 400,000 ppe gowns from turkey, which was flown here by the raf, is impounded in a warehouse after failing uk standards. not the celebration they'd planned — but, under lockdown, britain prepares to mark tomorrow's 75th anniversary of ve day.

hello, good afternoon. the bank of england is warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk economy into its deepest recession on record. unemployment could more than double, and analysts say the economy will shrink 14% this year even if the lockdown is relaxed injune. that's the sharpest annual contraction for 300 years. but there is some cause for hope — the bank says the uk economy will bounce back. meanwhile, the prime minister has told the cabinet the government will "advance with maximum caution" when deciding about any easing of lockdown measures. we'll have to wait until sunday evening for borisjohnson to set out his plans, having signalled some measures may be relaxed from next week. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon has said she won't be easing the country's lockdown measures for now, and to do so would be "very, very risky indeed". this afternoon, nhs england has announced a further 383 people have died in hospitals in england after testing positive for covid—19. in scotland another 59 people have died. another 18 deaths were recorded in wales. and 14 people died in hospital

in northern ireland. our first report is from our economics correspondent andy verity. unsold cars lined up at a former military airfield in upper heyford, 0xfordshire, just one image from what is now expected to be the biggest recession since 1706. since the shutdown began over six weeks ago, the evidence suggests household spending is down 30%, company sales are down 45% modelling the impact of covid—19, the bank of england's working assumption is that the economy will shrink in the first—half of this year by 30%. what it really means is obviously the very sharp sort of downturn we have had is a product of the situation we have been in now since march, and the restrictions that are in place, which affect obviously economic activity very severely. the interesting question then is of course, what is the path

from here onwards going to look like? it is really only through until next summer and thereafter that activity comes fully back. waiting for a recovery next year, though, may be too late for companies who only have enough cash to last weeks not months. in bristol's empty streets a successful small business, a language school founded 32 years ago employing 64 staff, is trying to adapt its work online. but there's crippling uncertainty. most of its business is done in the summer teaching foreign students english before they go to college. this year, its owner has no idea if they'll come or not. as you can imagine, we are entirely empty, our buildings are closed up, and as many staff as can be have been furloughed. we are trying to teach online to fulfil contractual commitments, but once those are done, we are unlikely to generate very much income and certainly not enough income to keep staff going or keep staff going or to keep the

buildings open. what's extraordinary about the recession we're going through is notjust the speed and its scale, but that governments around the world ordered it. the big question, though, is that when they want their economies to bounce back, will it be as easy to get what they wished for? the bank of england's modelling assumes that unemployment willjump to 9% in spite of government support for businesses, but will come right down again as the economy recovers and grows back by 15%. but is that realistic? there's quite a few reasons why that may not pan out. we are going to have to have social distancing measures and other restrictions in the economy for some time and of course it is the uncertainty that you referred to in your news report. so i think the bank is probably erring on the optimistic side in terms of how quickly the economy will rebound. the bank of england is at pains to emphasise it can't forecast the economy right now — there's too much uncertainty. but it can be much surer of predicting the biggest recession

on record than it can of predicting an extraordinarily rapid recovery. andy verity, bbc news. a little earlier i heard from our economics editor faisal islam. it is just simply extraordinary to see a chart like this, never seen in the 300—year history of the entire institution. it goes down so sharply. that is a very sharp fall, but as andy just said, a sharp rebound too. the thing is, we know the downturn has mostly happened already, that is in some of the data that they are looking at. it is a bit more hopeful this sharp rebound, and it depends notjust on economics, simon, it depends of course on epidemiology, it depends on politics and the response and i think the interesting thing is that despite this economic damage you're not getting a suggestion from the bank of england or from economists that you need

to lift the lockdown immediately because actually that second wave of the pandemic, as deadly as it would be, would also be the sort of thing that would interrupt the rebound that every one hopes for. tony yates is a former advisor on monetary policy at the bank of england — he's also a research associate for independent think—tank the resolution foundation. hejoins me now. they are grim figures, but should we be surprised given that we pretty much switched the economy off in one day? i don't think we should because as your other contributor has pointed out it is a feature not a bug and we needed to turn the economy off in order to stop us running into each other and passing on the virus. the main question is what is the bank doing to facilitate the government's support policies andl the government's support policies and i think it is doing a reasonable job at the moment. doesn't have the tools? given that we have got interest rates as they are, what actually can they do? its main role is not to get in

the way... its conventional monetary policy, interest rates perhaps they are as low as they can be and they are buying gilts, government debt as fa st buying gilts, government debt as fast as the government is issuing it to finance its economic support measures and that is its main role now. on the financial stability side banks are really not functioning like private institutions any more, which is good, they are not being used as sources quasi nationalised entities to ensure that they supply of credit does not dry up to firms that are getting into difficulty. ...the that are getting into difficulty. the government acted fairly quickly, do you think that they are have got it about right?|j quickly, do you think that they are have got it about right? i think they could be more generous, personally. this is not something anybody could have been expected to have prepared for and insured for and in an ideal world you will try to replace all the income that people lose through it, i mean that may not be financially feasible, but getting as close as possible to

that, i think, getting as close as possible to that, ithink, would have been best, but still they have been very quick, surprisingly generous, and, you know, administratively i think many of the schemes have worked very, very well. the fellow scheme particularly is highlighted as something that has helped many people in this country. we come out of lockdown as we inevitably ill, does the emphasis of that need to change? and the moment it is paying people not to work, how do you change the emphasis to get people back to work? i think the important thing is we don'tjump back to work? i think the important thing is we don't jump the back to work? i think the important thing is we don'tjump the gun back to work? i think the important thing is we don't jump the gun and we make people understand that the scheme will be in place as long a social distancing is in place which is what ultimately is stopping the firm is operating, so to start talking about withdrawing it, which ultimately it will have to be withdrawn, too soon could make people worry that you know, they are not going to have money to survive the lockdown and ultimately then maybe they wouldn't comply with it.

and when the bank of england has its meeting, reaches the forecast it has done, the one thing you can't second guess is how people respond in the street, where a shop that is open will attract football well people are still nervous to go inside. —— attract football when the people are still too nervous to go inside. at absolutely, you have got to remember we have government regulation stopping all sorts of activities even stopping all sorts of activities evenif stopping all sorts of activities even if they were to be open it is possible that he would not behave as they had done previously and the government have got to be really open and honest about what they understand about the progress of the epidemic and what they are doing to stop it. looking at newspapers this morning you get the sense that there was a sense of euphoria almost at the lockdown could be coming to an end. we are now getting the sense that the government is now going back very very sharply on that.|j think back very very sharply on that.” think it should do because what we really need is realism about how quickly the caseload of infections is coming down, how quickly

we can transfer from regulated social distancing to a strategy of, you know, test, chase, and isolate which is ultimately going to have to be what the places they struck down in order to get the economy going again. tony yates, thank you very much for your time. the prime minister has discussed the lockdown with his cabinet today. he told them the government were not going to do anything that risked a second peak when deciding on easing existing measures and that any changes would be made with "maximum caution". borisjohnson will set out his plans at 7pm on sunday — he's already signalled that some restrictions could be relaxed next week — with speculation that the government's "stay at home" message is set to be modified. while it's likely more outdoor activities will be permitted, most of the current lockdown measures are expected to remain in place. wales, northern ireland and scotland have their own powers to lift or keep restrictions, and today, scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon said that any easing of lockdown restrictions there would be "very, very risky".

here's our political correspondent iain watson. is the tide turning on the lockdown? six weeks in and the government's finding that it was easier to impose restrictions than to lift them. there's been strong compliance with the measures, and some people are wary about going back to work while the virus remains active. secretary of state, when will you start easing the lockdown measures? although the lockdown in england has been formally reviewed by ministers today, we'll have to wait until sunday for the prime minister to set out a direction of travel. this is a message from the government... but one familiar feature of lockdown will change this weekend. the government will modify it straightforward and successful stay home slogan. to help save lives, stay home. but ministers are stressing that any move to lift the lockdown will be gradual. i'd really urge caution, the safest thing to do, at the moment, with this virus and the way it spreads, is wherever you can to stay home. yes, get out and get that daily exercise,

and if you can't work from home and can work in safe circumstances then the guidelines are there for that very purpose but we have got to continue in the process that we have had that we are doing everything that we can to ensure people's safety. the prime minister called the comments that they could be some alteration to the restrictions for monday, and one of the most likely is altering the restrictions on exercising, servicing of simply exercising, servicing of simply exercising you might be able to lounge around in the sunshine, but the key message is to keep your distance, stay two metres apart, otherwise your new found freedom might be short lived. i will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before i am as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates.

the devolved governments of scotland, wales, and northern ireland can decide for themselves the pace at which the lockdown was lifted and scotland's first minister is concerned that the prime minister might not be cautious enough. i particularly strongly believe that for us to drop the clear, well understood stay at home message right now could be a catastrophic , potentially catastrophic mistake. moving away from lockdown, even gradually, brings big logistical challenges such as how to ensure social distancing on public transport while running in of services to get people back to work and making workplaces safer. labour says the governments have more work to do to convince people to return. the guidelines for different workplaces really need to be watertight, clear... there needs to be a process for dealing with any problems look as if workers and consumers don't have confidence that they'll be safe at work and interacting with different businesses that is really going to hold back our economy. so in england, one small step in lifting the lockdown could happen

within days but if there is any leap in infections we could still be facing robust restrictions for months to come. now, for months to come. a couple if you have tweeted that now, a couple if you have tweeted that i got the figure for northern ireland fertility is one of the top of the programme. the graphic was right, it is four, four people have died in northern ireland according to the latest figures. in scotland it is 59. the graphic was right and asi it is 59. the graphic was right and as i say it is 59. the graphic was right and asisayi it is 59. the graphic was right and as i say i was wrong, so apologies for that, the figure for northern ireland is for.

it seems like the government is trying to row back. yes, certainly the message that is coming out of the message that is coming out of the government is called shen, there isa the government is called shen, there is a sense of not wanting to move to fasting when it comes to easing lockdown restrictions which could result in another outbreak of... of another peak... this isn't a one—way street, they will monitor commonly government will monitor any impact of any social distancing easing to see what impact it has and that they wouldn't hesitate to actually tighten rules again if necessary. now, over the last few weeks that is something that the government has said would be the very worst outcome, if we were to have a second peak and another lockdown both for health and for the economy so there isa health and for the economy so there is a huge amount of caution in the way that they are moving forward now for some of that speculation has come about because borisjohnson said earlier in the week that there we re

said earlier in the week that there were some said earlier in the week that there were some changes said earlier in the week that there were some changes that he would be looking to make from monday to lockdown restrictions now the understanding is that many changes will be very small to make next week and the strong hint is that it would be about the sort of things like the restrictions on outdoor exercising so that is the sort of thing that they are looking at. any sense that there is going to be wholesale of restrictions that we would be returning very quickly to where we we re returning very quickly to where we were before certainly seems out of the question and on sunday night we will get borisjohnson's the question and on sunday night we will get boris johnson's mohd the question and on sunday night we will get borisjohnson's mohd mack as he has put it which he has built previously as a menu options —— road mac her which he is billed as a love of options for schools and things like that. what you have said on sunday night only directly applied in england because scotland, wales, and northern ireland set their own lockdown rules, having said that so

far all four nations have largely followed their own bills and they do seem to be some sort of keenness to try and keep in step if they can. but the problem here is that when the prime minister says he is going on television at sunday night with an announcement at seven o'clock the public expect to hear something on what we seem to be hearing is that i'm going to be very cautious and there won't be anything dramatic. the risk is of mixed messaging. yes, andl the risk is of mixed messaging. yes, and i think that is something the government is very cautious of and you are right you don't confuse people. i think that the sunday evening announcement, what we are expecting actually is a bit more of the detail, it is this long—term plan, so why you're not going to see some sort of massive, overnight lifting of restrictions, hopefully what you see on sunday is at least some sense of how in the long term the government has a plan to get us out of long—term lockdown restrictions. sol out of long—term lockdown restrictions. so i think that is what we are expecting to hear more of, perhaps for what order they might do these things and, maybe just not yet the definite time, and thatis

just not yet the definite time, and that is because to some extent it is still being formulated, the government says it is being led by the signs at each step so it is taking ona the signs at each step so it is taking on a lot more data as it formulates policies as it goes forward. scotland's coronavirus lockdown is to be extended, with nicola sturgeon warning it would be "very risky" to make changes too quickly. earlier our scotland correspondent james shaw explained that while there are positive signs, ms sturgeon has said the restrictions should remain for at least a week. she said that she didn't think anything should change at least for a week. she did give herself the option of coming back a week today and reviewing the situation but she said that as things stand, there are some encouraging signs, so for example the weekly death rate in scotland has gone down, last week it was 523 people who died with coronavirus, the week before it was 658. and there are other positive signs as well but before that she said point of view she said

that they weren't strong enough that there wasn't another strong enough indication that they wouldn't be another resurgence of the virus. there was only one small concession, a small concession, i think your probably referred to it briefly earlier on, which was where she said that she did feel it would just possible that in terms of people going out to exercise that they might be allowed to do that more than once a day and she felt that that was something that could happen relatively soon, but if the readings of what borisjohnson is going to do on sunday are correct, and we don't know that for sure at the moment, but that lockdown might start in england, might start to be eased on monday, then it would be the case that scotland and england would be on at least slightly different trajectories, if nicola sturgeon wants to stay where things are for the moment at least for the next seven days and possibly longer, and england is going on a different direction than we could see a small divergence to start with between how

these changes bringing an end to the lockdown in different parts of the uk, how they are affected in scotland as compared to england. let's look to france, an announcement from the french prime minister indicating that the lockdown will start to be listed for monday, kindergartens and primary schools will be as part of a standard easing process to move on may the 11th, despite concerns that the government is moving too fast on reopening schools as well as doubts over the availability of facemasks, something that the government has faced criticism for infants, also the government of france has said that they will remain very vigilant particularly in paris has lockdown procedures begin to ease lesser that is just confirmation that is coming on in the last

few minutes. it's emerged that a shipment of surgical gowns from turkey has not been given to front line nhs staff — because it failed british safety standards. the cargo, which was flown into the country by the raf, was delayed several times. the turkish company which supplied the consignment says it hasn't received any complaint about the goods. i'm joined by our international correspondent 0rla guerin who is in istanbul. these souls shipment has been shrouded in controversy, what is going on? well, it is turned into a fiasco i think from both sides... no confirmation... to suggest that there is any problem at all with that he had supplied, he sent 250,000 gowns which arrived on the

22ndin 250,000 gowns which arrived on the 22nd in the uk, you remember that they were picked up by the raf. now he said that he stands behind those goods, that everything was inviting, that he has certificates about the production standards and also about the fabric composition. —— everything was in writing. and that what was surprised was up to scratch and also conform to the eu safety standards. he said that he was in shock that officials in the uk had made statements in public saying that there were problems with the consignment when nobody had been in touch with him he said that even yesterday the nhs was in contact with him and in fact he said that he had been expecting an e—mail today in relation to the remaining part of the shipment which was due to be sent and that is additional 150,000 gowns. they should also add that the turkish government has now rode in on this and a spokesman said that this was a private deal, a commercial deal between a the british government and a supplier

here, that the government in turkey was not involved in any way and that there was no issue between the british and turkish governments about this. any company involved is still expecting to be paid, is it? well, the company spokesman said that they had received the initial deposit, as would be standard, and that according to the usual contract they would get full payment at the end of the contract when everything was delivered. now there were reports today which apparently came from the prime minister's spokesman in the uk saying that the nhs was in discussions with the supplier hear about replacement goods of about is getting a refund. that was flatly contradicted by the company here, they said no one has been in touch, however they said they stand behind their gods, if there are any issues, if there are many faults and m ista kes if there are many faults and mistakes than they would like to hear about that and come to a remedy. —— stand behind their goods. but they said the normal way of doing this if you receive their consignment and there is any problem is you have an inspection report and

you send that to the supply and the two sides then reach a resolution and the emphasise that they have received nothing. if this wasn't such a serious moment and this wasn't dealing with such a serious moment this would be a farce. well asa moment this would be a farce. well as a player he kept making the point that this was a very serious business, but it was about human health, he said that was why they had got involved because they wanted to help out. the he described, i have to say, sounds like he was pretty chaotic, he said several times there was panic to try and get the shipment arranged, he was initially contacted, he agreed that he could provide the gods, the gods, the audio wasn't actually finalised until 4pm on a friday evening, that's right he could provide the goods, the order was not actually finalised... that meant he had to get back to his working likely the weekend during a curfew period here which required him to sing letters for workers so that they could get three checkpoints he said everybody pulls out the stops, all of the

factories, all of the workers, he said they put in 100% effort to get this done and they got the shipment on its way on the 22nd and he said from then until now there had been absolutely no suggestion to him that there had been anything wrong with these goods and he said even as of now and i have spoken to him several times today to see if there was any update from the british side, if anyone had reached out and been in contact, as recently as half an hour ago he still hadn't heard from anybody and he said that right to the manufacturing process he had beenin the manufacturing process he had been in touch with the embassy and indeed the ambassador every five minutes so there is certainly a sense on his part that he has fulfilled what he was asked to do and that he hasn't been, if you like, that hit hasn't been handled ina like, that hit hasn't been handled in a professional manner. he caps dressing that the professional way to deal with this would be to come back to him and give him a chance to put things right and provide an inspection report that he emphasise that none of that has actually

happened. thank you very much, i would turkey correspond and then. —— ala would turkey correspond and then. —— a la turkey correspond there. people from black backgrounds in england and wales are nearly twice as likely to die from coronavirus than people from white backgrounds — that's according to new research by the office for national statistics. people from indian, bangladeshi and pakistani communities also had a significantly higher risk of dying. the government has launched a review into the issue. our community affairs correspondent rianna croxford has the latest. the owner study today is really comprehensive on the findings of early start. what they have done is stripped out the factors of age, health, economic conditions, stripped out these factors and try to find out if bame people are still more likely to die, and the answer is yes, black men and women are more than twice as likely to die from coronavirus than their white counterparts, it is a similar

trend we see from people from pakistani and bangladeshi background when it is nearly 1.5 times more likely, and although the patterns we see the reflected in stats for women from those backgrounds. this study is significant for a few reasons, it includes both community deaths as well as hospital deaths, and also it is the most detailed breakdown that we have seen of ethnicity so far but we have seen of ethnicity so far but we need to bear in mind that there are limits of the state, it is based on the 2011 census which is nearly ten yea rs on the 2011 census which is nearly ten years old now, secondly death certificates in the quad ethnicity in england and wales so there isn't an accurate picture and also it doesn't account for occupations and we know that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to work in industries like health and transport. fundamentally you are right, there are more no answers here, if this is adding two weeks and weeks of data that we have seen, the us is stressing —— the 0ns is stressing that economic factors are significant but that is not the full picture, the review is under way and

findings will be out by the end of may so hopefully there will be some a nswe rs may so hopefully there will be some answers by then. a massive gas leak at a chemical plant in eastern india has killed at least 13 people with thousands more being taken taken ill. residents near the plant in visakhapatnam in the state of andhra pradesh complained of a burning sensation in their eyes and breathing difficulties. the gas is reported to have spread up to two miles from the plant — with owners saying they're investigating what caused the leak. there are some distressing images in this report fom our india correspondent yogita limaye. sirens woken up by toxic gas in the air. people stumbled out onto the streets in panic. some waited for help to arrive, some rushed those seriously ill to hospital any way they could. a police patrol team had responded to the scene and was with there within ten minutes. and then they saw this smoggy smoke

around and they were able to quickly ascertain what is the details. and with the help of that loudspeaker, which is fitted on the vehicle, they started announcing and asking the people to come out and move out of this location. among those affected, children. more than 1,000 families live near the factory where the leak occurred in the dead of the night. hundreds are in hospital, some in critical condition. a local resident said she brought three children to the hospital but one girl died on the way. hundreds are still being treated, some in critical condition. the gas they've inhaled is styrene. it causes nausea, headache and dizziness. but severe exposure can even lead to coma. rescue personnel went door to door looking for anyone who had fallen unconscious at home. authorities also work to contain the leak. as of now,

things are under control. i would say the leakage situation is much better now, in the sense that the silo that was leaking is now down to minimal and there is hardly any leakage left. but as i say that, i also underlined that we will be there until that leakage is completely plugged. south korea's lg chem says it's looking into how the leak occurred. its factory was just opening up after the lockdown for the coronavirus crisis. the immediate effect of the gas, clearly visible. the long—term impact, still to be assessed. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz shafernaker. hello, warm day and evening for many of us today, pretty much the same tomorrow but from sunday a big change on the way, it is going to turn cooler. there are also some showers in the forecast for today

and tomorrow. here is the picture as we head into the evening hours, temperatures will be around the low 20s and high teens across the vast majority of the country, a bit fresher in the north but in one or two areas some showers, some could be heavy. for this evening it will be heavy. for this evening it will be clear but the possibility of some rain in the far south—west of the country and mild, in liverpool 10 degrees overnight, it will match that in glasgow. friday, another warm day, most of the sunny weather will be across eastern and southern areas but notice that is a possibility of some showers developing across some south—west and western areas of the uk, and temperatures could get up to as high as 24 degrees on friday in london. hello, this is bbc news with

simon mccoy. the headlines: news with simon mccoy. bringing devastation tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record. the cabinet meets to discuss easing the lockdown — but we'll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. no easing of the lockdown in scotland — the first minister says to do so would be ‘very, very risky indeed'. protecting nothing. the shipment of 400,000 ppe gowns from turkey which was flown here by the raf — is impounded in a warehouse after failing uk standards. not the celebration they‘d planned — but, under lockdown, britain prepares to mark tomorrow‘s 75th anniversary of ve day.

the coronavirus contact tracing app being trialled on the isle of wight has gone live to the general public there today. the mobile phone app anonymously warns users if they have been near to another person with the app who reports having covid—19 symptoms. much hope is being placed in the technology‘s ability to help bring the country out of lockdown — but island residents have some mixed feelings towards it — as duncan kennedy reports. from the moment you leave the ferry, pass through the towns and countryside that make up the isle of wight, you can see why its self—contained cross—section of life makes it the ideal place to test the nhs covid—19 app. and derek sandy is one of the first members of the general public to download it. derek is a singer by profession, but has also become a cultural ambassador for the island. he says it takes just a few seconds to put the app onto your

smartphone and that it will be vital in tracing the virus across the community. it is really, really important for everyone who has access, you know, to download the app. again, it could save your life, your father‘s life, your brother, your sister, your mother‘s life. the new app is being offered to the 80,000 households on the island from today. it works by collecting random identities of other nearby app users and the time and distance they are from each other. if one of those is feeling ill they upload their symptoms and data to the nhs server. the data is analysed and any one of those people at risk is sent a message advising them to self—isolate. trisha and graham are neighbours. both have now downloaded the app and intend to use it. what have you got to lose? you carry your phone around with you 24 hours a day,

most people anyway. so it takes three or four seconds to download it. what is the problem with that? it looks good, it is simple to download. if it prevents deaths, then download it and use it and use the isle of wight as a testing ground. the release of this app today is all about testing the technology, does it work? can it log the smartphones of tens of thousands of users? crucially, can it trace them across entire communities? there is still concerns about data protection for users. today, a cross—party group of mps and peers said the public must be satisfied their privacy is guaranteed. people will not sign up to this app unless they are confident that their data is being protected and that confidence can be given if parliament passes a new law to actually say what is going to be the purpose of this data gathering?

the island is a test—bed for a new app by linking smartphones to a digital handshake. the government hopes it will be a key part of a programme of measures against covid—19. duncan kennedy, bbc news, on the isle of wight. just hearing the notting hill carnival has been cancelled, a statement said, like all events around the world, the pandemic has meant the carnival has faced many challenges and after lengthy consultations, the board has taken the decision the carnival will not ta ke the decision the carnival will not take place on the streets of notting hill as it has done for the last 50 yea rs. hill as it has done for the last 50 years. the annual steel band competition will also not take place. they say it has not been an easy decision to make but everyone‘s health must come first. they also don‘t want to place extra strain on the ambulance and nhs. they say we

will work very closely and want to express our utmost respect, admiration and gratitude for their work and we are still at the early stages of planning fort hill carnival 2020 in its temporary form. not necessarily cancelled but a much reduced notting hill carnival being looked at over the august bank holiday weekend. any more from them, we will let you know. the number of people held in immigration detention centres has dropped by two thirds during the coronavirus lockdown, leaving some facilities practically empty. figures shared with the bbc show that 738 foreign nationals were released between march 16th and april 21st as the government rushed to answer concerns about the spread of infection. around 50 people are believed to have been deported over the same period. jon ironmonger reports. yarl‘s wood, 2018, without warning guards arrived to deport a vulnerable woman who fled

abuse in nigeria. she panics and is pinned to the floor for several minutes. for years the treatment of foreign nationals facing removalfrom the uk has prompted calls for detention centres like yarl‘s wood to close. now, many are nearly empty. hello. are you 0k? yes. the threat of coronavirus has cleared them out. we are 13 girls, i think two or three are in quarantine. how long are they going to keep me here in this situation? that was one ofjust a few women left inside the centre after a case of covid—19 in march sparked panic, protest and the release of dozens of detainees in the space of a few weeks. 0ccupancy of the uk‘s nine immigration removal centres has steadily declined in recent years to around 1,300 by the start of 2020,

but in five weeks from march the 16th it fell sharply to 368. now charities are urging the government to go further. immigration removal centres are known to be harmful, there are cases of inhuman and degrading treatment, medical mistreatment is high. and there is an alternative in the community, 95% of the people comply with monitoring. why then would you continue with immigration removal centres? they have already released hundreds of people, they have shown that is possible. they should get on and release the rest. it is believed most of those released have been returned to existing homes or found new ones. however some claim to have left without any support. 0ne detainee who was released from brook house near gatwick last month said there are others on bail who are being prevented from leaving the centre.

the home office said the vast majority of those left in detention were foreign international offenders and that it was right to protect the public from dangerous criminals. but with so few detainees, these draughty buildings will get harder to defend. some of england‘s urgent dental centres — set up to offer emergency treatment during the lockdown — still don‘t have the right protective equipment to allow them to see patients. that admission has come from the health minister jo churchill as patients say they‘re still struggling to get treatment, and some have resorted to taking their own teeth out. dan johnson reports. i was in so much pain. i would have gone through birth rather than that pain, it was horrendous. by the third week it was getting that ijust couldn't cope with the pain any more. it's literally immoral. like, how can you do that?

patients who are in pain are facing some very limited options. it would just be removing the front tooth. so it would be living until, i don‘t know, the end ofjuly, august, without a tooth, which isn‘t great. i've been told more antibiotics or tooth out — and both those options aren't feasible for me. because i don't want to lose my front tooth. you know, and it's like — i feel like we're just going back in time with dentistry. protective equipment‘s vital, working up—close with procedures that create airborne particles. the health minister has now admitted there were delays in some centres still have issues more than six weeks after regular dentistry was put on hold. we‘re here. a fortnight ago we met mike, who was at work, but only giving telephone advice. things have barely improved. the problem is there is a lot of non—urgent problems now that are being left and can become urgent because of, basically, neglect. to say to the nhs "essential

service", and it's oral health, which obviously impacts on your mental health, your physical health, and it'sjust being left by this — it'sjust beyond belief. nhs england says 400 urgent care centres are open, but there are now huge questions about how practices can start seeing their own patients once again. dan johnson, bbc news. mobile operator 02 and broadband giant virgin media are to merge, creating one of the uk‘s largest entertainment and telecoms firms and a major rival to bt. our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones gave us this update. let‘s have a look at the figures, how the two prepare post—merger. virgin with its many broadband

customers, many fast broadband customers, and 02 with all those mobile customers. they have about 29 million overall. that compares with the slightly bigger bt group. bt, phone lines, broadband customers, it has ee which is a very big mobile phone player and plus net, another broadband player. 0verall they have 32 million. quite a fight shaping up. will it be good for customers? which the consumer group is not convinced, it is taking another player out of the market overall, that is not normally good for prices, which is pointing out that neither of those firms have the best reputation for customer service so they want the competition regulators to have a close look at this. looks likely to be approved. bt was allowed to buy ee a couple of years back but there will be a close investigation, they need to spend a lot of money rolling out 5g and fibre broadband to every home. they will be under the spotlight with regulators for years to come. the headlines on bbc news...

bringing devastation tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record. the cabinet meets to discuss easing the lockdown — but we‘ll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. but no easing of the lockdown in scotland — the first minister says to do so would be ‘very, very risky indeed‘. one of the sectors that has been hardest hit by the lockdown is tourism and an uncertain summer season lies ahead for many. adam mcclean has been to blackpool to see how businesses there are coping. here in blackpool, the beaches are almost empty. for the very first time, spring didn‘t come with a wave of visitors. for businesses like this bed and breakfast, the timing couldn‘t have been worse. you‘ve refurbished, you‘ve refreshed, you‘ve redecorated, you‘ve got your property ready for the coming season. and just when you‘re pushing the boundaries of your overdraft

limit is when easter lands and ordinarily — and the weather we‘ve had this easter — blackpool would have been absolutely chockablock. and that would have given us our first financial burst, if you will. for these businesses every day in season count. days lost in spring and summer will hit hardest later in the year. so we‘ve come through the winter. if we don‘t come out of this until toward the end of the season — when we‘ll have not had any money coming in for a full season — and then we hit another winter, that‘s going to be so desperate. and i fear that many businesses won‘t survive. on a sunny day, blackpool‘s beaches would normally be full of visitors. today, there are just a few locals walking up and down the seafront. many of them depend on tourism for their livelihoods. you‘ve spent the last 20 years of your life trying to persuade people to come here, and now you‘ve spent the last sort of six or seven weeks trying to persuade people not to come here. it‘s quite a change. about 50% of our gdp is

tourism. so if even if you‘re not directly in tourism in blackpool, then, you know, you‘re either in the supply chain or you benefit from it in some way. so, yeah, it‘s a big hit on blackpool, but obviously everybody‘s suffering in these difficult times. at wartime blackpool today, munition—makers and other war workers on a brief holiday. blackpool was open for business during the second world war. it was a haven from a global crisis, with many here hoping our seaside towns can do the same again. it‘s about making people feel, you know, comfortable and safe coming to blackpool — that‘s where we‘ve got to put all our energies at the moment and hope that we come... we ease out of this before the end of the season. that would be my greatest hope, really. 0ur beaches will be there to be enjoyed long after this pandemic. those who‘ve built livelihoods around them hope their businesses will be, too.

with no flights and the world in lockdown, getting home to the uk seemed an impossible mission for lee brook — who was stranded in the caribbean after working in antigua. he‘s just got back — after a very unconventionaljourney. lucy vladev takes up the story. 22 days aboard a boat in a bid to get home. lee brook has only sailed once before. this is how we do it. life on deck! but when lockdown hit antigua and tourists couldn‘t get much information about flights, lee was offered a place on a 12—man racing boat called telefonica black. the airport closed. a lot of people couldn‘t afford the flights. so it then turned into a, right, how are we getting out of here, kind of situation. i felt really lucky to be part of the crew and be accepted. the 3000—mile journey west to east across the atlantic is one of the most challenging. there were moments of quiet calm for the crew.

day number five. but they also saw nine metre waves and had to struggle on with ripped sails. we were hanging on to the wheel, trying to control the boat, and then one of the lines, the ropes, the lazy sheet, it forked, tightened and hit me straight across the face. it bloodied my nose, actually it knocked me straight off the helm onto the deck. fortunately, the skipper is lance shepherd, a clipper round—the—world yacht racer and professional trainer for sailors, which came in handy when faced with a difficult decision. we had to get the boat back into european waters by the 1st of may because of insurance restrictions with the hurricane season. the clients that we had booked to fly out to antigua to sail back with us couldn't get out because of the cancellation of flights, so we put a shout—out for people and every day was a teaching day, all about sail training, sail handling and everything else.

and we developed the crew all the way across. by the time we got to bad weather, they were well shaped into quite a formidable crew, to be honest. and all that sea water has given lee a taste for a new life. i think it‘s created a sailing monster out of me because i want to become a sailor now because of it! i really do. tomorrow marks 75 years since ve day, the day victory in europe was secured. john maguire has been to meet 97—year—old audrey gerrans who worked in munitions factories and married her sweetheartjoe, a soldier, during the war. "darling, please be careful of those flying bombs. i‘m so worried about you. everything is ok with me, dear, and there is nothing i want you to send me. unless you could get mum to wrap you up in a neat little parcel, label it with ‘utmost care‘ and send it to me, urgent." "my dearestjoe, i heard one of your songs on the radio at lunchtime.

i remember when you used to sing it to me and sometimes play it on the gramophone at home and we'd dance together, darling. i would love to be dancing with you just now. " the words of lovestruck newlyweds, married in 1944 and kept apart by conflict. but through more than 700 letters, joe and audrey gerrans were never far from each other‘s thoughts. and i wrote everything in those letters. i mean, people would say, "what the hell do you write about every day?" because some of them were 17 and 18 pages long! and joe used to say it was as if i was in the next room, he never, ever thought he was apart from me. joe was a talented footballer who once met the king while playing for barnet. during the war, he served with the royal medical army corps while his young wife worked in a munitions factory. when you say munitions, it makes you feel you were brave. we made 3.7, and they were the big guns on the coast, you know. yep.

"big bertha", we called our one that was on our kent coast. by all accounts, if they got scratched at all they wouldn't fire. every time i was night work, i did everybody's hair for them. i washed it and rolled it up when i went in, and i combed it out before they went home. and of course, the supervisor couldn't grumble because she was the first one to have hers done. audrey was next tasked with helping to manufacture aircraft fuel tanks, just one of the two women in the factory small enough to crawl into the tank and by torchlight finish off its interior. and then they pulled us out by our feet. withjoe now in northern germany, news came through on the radio at home that hitler was dead and the war, in europe at least, was over. people were dancing in the street so we joined them. all the lights were on, you know.

and fairy lights and everything! i thought that was the end of the war, and so did everybody else. joe died in 1997. their romance, born in war, had lasted more than half a century. "now i‘m happy, dearwife, that our love will remain as strong as yesterday." "i hope you're not worrying about me too much, sweetheart, for you know i will be all right." now it‘s time for a look at the weather with thomas shafernaker. hello. for most of us so far it‘s been a nice day out there today, and that‘s how it‘s going to stay for the rest of the day and into the evening hours. there‘s the chance of a few showers developing, though, in one or two places but the vast majority of us will miss them. in fact, we‘ve had a little bit of rain already to the west and southwest, with clouds spiralling into this area of low pressure that is parked

just to the west of us. the vast majority of the country, a fine, bright, if not sunny day. temperatures, 22 this afternoon in london, and a pleasant 17 in the lowlands of scotland. here‘s the evening weather. watch out for the blobs of blue, showers developing here, maybe across parts of the midlands, a few showers there out towards scotland, maybe northern ireland, and then towards the end of the night, the possibility of some rain reaching the far southwest of the country. but for most of us, it‘s a mild night with clear spells but perhaps turning murky and cloudy out towards the west. friday, the best of the sunshine will be out towards the east of england, east anglia, the south east and along the south coast. but here, cornwall, devon and parts of wales, eventually the midlands and maybe the north, again, a few showers developing. very warm day on friday. these are june, july temperatures. 24 in london. a very pleasant 18 in glasgow. through the weekend, we are going to see some big changes going on in the air especially

across northern parts of the uk, at least initially. a cold front stretching from norway across the sea into northern scotland and out into the atlantic, the cold, northerly winds blowing out of the norwegian sea, spreading across scotland. this cold arctic air. look how chilly it will be on saturday afternoon in central and northern scotland, whereas in the south we still have thosejune, july type temperatures. during the course of saturday night and into sunday, that cold, dense, arctic air spreads slowly across the country like dense honey, all the way down to the south, and then come sunday afternoon we are all in that cold air mass. you can see the wind is blowing and it will be blowing hard, gusting 30, maybe even 40 mph, so it will feel very chilly in the shade, especially with the drop in the temperature. by day, we are talking about only 13 in london and single figures there along the north sea coast.

this is bbc news. the headlines... bringing devastation tojobs and incomes — the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record. the government and the bank of england have put in place a very big package of measures. and we will go on utterly focused on that and doing the things that we need to do to

support the people of this country. the cabinet meets to discuss easing the lockdown, but we‘ll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. no easing of the lockdown in scotland for now — the first minister says to do so would be ‘very, very risky indeed‘. i will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely before i am as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. protecting. . . nothing. the shipment of 400,000 ppe gowns from turkey which was flown here by the raf is impounded in a warehouse after failing uk standards not the celebration they‘d planned, but, under lockdown, britain prepares to mark tomorrow‘s 75th anniversary of ve day.

the bank of england is warning that the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk economy into its deepest recession on record. unemployment could more than double, and analysts say the economy will shrink 14% this year, even if the lockdown is relaxed injune. that‘s the sharpest annual contraction for 300 years. but there is some cause for hope — the bank says the uk economy will bounce back. meanwhile, the prime minister has told the cabinet the government will "advance with maximum caution" when deciding about any easing of lockdown measures. we will have to wait until sunday evening for borisjohnson to set out his plans having signalled some measures may be relaxed from next week. scotland‘s first minister nicola sturgeon has said she won‘t be easing the country‘s lockdown measures for now, and to do so would be ‘very, very risky indeed‘. this afternoon, nhs england has announced a further 383 people have died in hospitals in england

after testing positive for covid—19. in scotland, another 59 people have died. another 18 deaths were recorded in wales. and 4 people have died in hospital in northern ireland. at five o‘clock, we will bring you the daily coronavirus briefing from downing street, with the foreign secretary, dominic raab leading proceedings. first, this report from our economics correspondent andy verity. unsold cars lined up at a former military airfield in upper heyford, 0xfordshire, just one image from what is now expected to be the biggest recession since 1706. since the shutdown began over six weeks ago, the evidence suggests household spending is down 30%, company sales are down 45% and business investment has halved. modelling the impact of covid—19, the bank of england‘s working assumption is that the economy will shrink in the first half of this year by 30%. what it really means is obviously the very sharp sort of downturn

we have had is a product of the situation we have been in since march, and the restrictions that are in place, which obviously affect economic activity very severely. the interesting question then is of course, what is the path from here onwards going to look like? it is really only until next summer and thereafter that activity comes fully back. waiting for a recovery next year, though, may be too late for companies who only have enough cash to last weeks, not months. in bristol‘s empty streets a successful small business, a language school founded 32 years ago employing 64 staff, is trying to adapt its work online. but there‘s crippling uncertainty. most of its business is done in the summer teaching foreign students english before they go to college. this year, its owner has no idea if they‘ll come or not. as you can imagine, we are entirely empty, our buildings are closed up, and as many staff as can be have been furloughed. we are trying to teach online to fulfil contractual commitments, but once those are done,

we are unlikely to generate very much income and certainly not enough income to keep staff going or keep the buildings open. what‘s extraordinary about the recession we‘re going through is notjust the speed and its scale, but that governments around the world ordered it. the big question, though, is that when they want the economy to bounce back, will it be as easy as they expect to get what they wished for? the bank of england‘s modelling assumes that unemployment willjump to 9% in spite of government support for businesses, but will come right down again as the economy recovers and grows back by 15%. but is that realistic? there are quite a few reasons why that may not pan out. we are going to have to have social distancing measures and other restrictions in the economy for some time and of course it is the uncertainty that you referred to in your news report. so i think the bank is probably erring on the optimistic side

in terms of how quickly the economy will rebound. the bank of england is at pains to emphasise it can‘t forecast the economy right now — there‘s too much uncertainty. but it can be much surer of predicting the biggest recession on record than it can of predicting an extraordinarily rapid recovery. andy verity, bbc news. let‘s get more from our business correspondent ben thompson who‘s in west london. such startlingly grim figures, maybe not surprising given the way the economy has had to be shutdown. it presents a dilemma for government. how did they get the economy going again without risking a second spike? you heard there in the peace that this is not a forecast from the bank of england but one possible way that they see the uk economy coming out of this. there are all sorts of forecasts therefore perhaps what

might happen next. in their words, many other scenarios are plausible. all bets are off about what actually happens. they suggest that unemployment could rise, almost getting to 9% by the end of the year. economic growth in the second quarter following. 0ver year. economic growth in the second quarter following. over the year as a whole, the economy could be 12% smaller. but, and we heard a lot about it just a smaller. but, and we heard a lot about itjust a few smaller. but, and we heard a lot about it just a few weeks smaller. but, and we heard a lot about itjust a few weeks ago, they talked about a shaped recovery, a sharp fall off and then a bounce back when consumers can get back out and spend and we can resume something that resembles normal life. what is clear from the announcements today is that this could take much longer than perhaps many have thought, even some economists and those at the bank of england were hoping that perhaps it could be a bit quicker. we are likely to feel the effects of this, especially in spending because many of us are nervous. nervous about

where our next paycheque will come from and the security of ourjobs. big and small employers have been announcing plans to lay off staff. with the uncertainty, it is unlikely we will feel confident to go out and spend and that will ricochet in the economy and all sorts of ways. whilst the bank of england have said recovery may come sooner rather than later, he has also said that compared to the financial crisis, that crash of 2008 which is still making its presence felt today, recovery could be much quicker, but nonetheless do not expect it to happen overnight. just briefly, where is the reason for optimism, according to the governor of the bank of england? many businesses might expect to have to remain shut for quite awhile still, and some

of them might not open up at all? you are absolutely right, and i think businesses, when they do reopen, will find that it is a very different economy and a very different economy and a very different market. their consumers might be doing very different things and they will have to change and adapt. i think what the bank of england is saying is that there are some industries that can reopen as a whole as normal. industries that are not particularly affected by changes in demand, but it is more of those discretionary purchasers they are worried about. many consumers are not wanting to go out and spend money when we are worried about where our next paycheque will come from. we might see it where some businesses can resume something that resembles normal life and there are others that may be rely on that discretionary extra spending which find things much tougher. some businesses have already tried to change how they operate to cut costs to ride out the most of this.

that is where the financial intervention from the bank of england is so important, these loans that might tight businesses over for a little while, the furlough money that will help keep staff employed until things start to pick up again. but from a bank of england point of view, they have cut interest rates toa view, they have cut interest rates to a record low. they are 0.1%. they didn‘t cut them today, but they are ata didn‘t cut them today, but they are at a historic low. that is one of the things that would normally be changed to try to pep up demand in the economy. it would be very interesting to see what happens next. it will become a story about spending and taxation, because all the money that has been spent propping up business and providing money for workers will have to be paid back at some point further down the line. some breaking news to bring you now from the united states following a story from cnn of somebody who works quite closely with the president, they

have tested positive for covid—19. somebody who works as the president‘s valet has tested positive for covid—19. the white house is saying they were notified by the white house medical unit. the president and the vice president have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health. that they‘re a confirmation from the white house, that story from cnn, the man working asa that story from cnn, the man working as a valet to the president has tested positive. borisjohnson will set out his plans at 7pm on sunday — he‘s already signalled that some restrictions could be relaxed next week — with speculation that the government‘s "stay at home" message is set to be modified. while it‘s likely more outdoor activities will be permitted,

most of the current lockdown measures are expected to remain in place. wales, northern ireland and scotland have their own powers to lift or keep restrictions. and today, scotland‘s first minister nicola sturgeon has said that any easing of lockdown restrictions there would be ‘very, very risky‘. here‘s our political correspondent iain watson. is the tide turning on the lockdown? six weeks in, and the government‘s finding that it was easier to impose restrictions than to lift them. there‘s been strong compliance with the measures, and some people are wary about going back to work while the virus remains active. secretary of state, when will you start easing the lockdown measures? although the lockdown in england has been formally reviewed by ministers today, we‘ll have to wait until sunday for the prime minister to set out the direction of travel. this is a message from the government... but one familiar feature of the lockdown will change this weekend. the government will modify it straightforward and successful "stay home" slogan. to help save lives, stay home. but ministers are stressing that any move to lift the lockdown will be gradual. i'd really urge caution.

the safest thing to do, at the moment, with this virus and the way it spreads, is wherever you can to stay home. yes, get out and get that daily exercise, and if you can't work from home and can work in safe circumstances then the guidelines are there for that very purpose, but we have got to continue on the process that we have had that we are doing everything that we can to ensure people's safety. the prime minister told the commons that there could be some changes to the restrictions in england from monday, and one of the most likely alterations is to expand the range of outdoor activities that are allowed, so instead of simply exercising, you might be able to lounge around in the sunshine, but the key message from the government is this — keep your distance, stay two metres apart, otherwise your new—found freedom could be short lived. the devolved governments of scotland, wales, and northern ireland can decide for themselves the pace at which the lockdown is lifted,, and scotland‘s first minister is concerned that the prime minister might not be cautious enough. i will not be pressured into lifting

restrictions prematurely before i am as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. i particularly strongly believe that for us to drop the clear, well—understood stay at home message right now could be a potentially catastrophic mistake. moving away from lockdown, even gradually, brings big logistical challenges, such as how to ensure social distancing on public transport while running enough services to get people back to work, and making workplaces safer. labour says the government has more work to do to convince people to return. the guidelines for different workplaces, they really need to be watertight, clear, and well—understood, and there needs to be a process for dealing with any problems, because if workers don't have confidence that they'll be safe at work, and if consumers don't have confidence that they'll be safe when they interact with different businesses,

that's really going to hold back our recovery. so in england, one small step in lifting the lockdown could happen within days, but if there‘s any leap in infections, we could still be facing robust restrictions for months to come. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. let‘s speak to our political correspondentjess parker who‘s in westminster. there is a bit of confusion here. will the government loosen that message or not because the prime minister tweeted a couple of hours ago with the stay home, save lives hashtag. there is a sense there has been mixed messages and that is something the welsh government has pointed to as they look whether to extend the lockdown measures. their cabinet has met this morning, set to meet again and will announce the decision later on. the first minister of scotland said that she is extending the lockdown and says it would be potentially catastrophic to abandon the message. but senior

cabinet ministers last night were suggesting it could be revised over the weekend. it is on sunday that the weekend. it is on sunday that the prime minister is going to make his televised address to the nation. that is one of the issues here. for example, here in westminster, if the government decides it wants to move on with the messaging to encourage people who can go to work safely back to work, to gently start nudging the economy back to action, but in scotland they do not want to abandon that message, that could create some confusion in the messaging. then you have the the thing with open borders and people work and travel across borders, that could create confusion as well. one of the things that will be discussed at length today, because it is cross— party at length today, because it is cross—party discussion going on, there was a call between boris johnson, opposition leaders, but there is also a call with the

leaders of the devolved nations as they try and reached some sort of joined up position. she will do which he thinks is right for scotland. quite a lot of talking going on today to see if a position can be reached and if there isn‘t that mix messaging ahead of the address. although the public message is that the four nations want to do things in lockstep, do you detect any politics going on? there is a lwa ys any politics going on? there is always politics going on to some extent, i think. always politics going on to some extent, ithink. ministers always politics going on to some extent, i think. ministers in all areas, whether it is in westminster, stormont, cardiff, holyrood, the number one priority is to keep people safe. this risk of a second peak, the politicians are very serious when they talk about that risk. the lockdown and stay at home u nless risk. the lockdown and stay at home unless it has been seen as pretty successful but perhaps, if you

look at, for example, the use of car usage and how that is creeping up on how people anecdotally are saying they see more people outdoors, by and large downing street have thanked the british public for largely adhering to the stay at home message and being very disciplined in their approach to that. but going forward , in their approach to that. but going forward, i think there is going to be clearly some debate as to whether the messaging needs to stay on that state at home focus or, as i mentioned before, starts to look at ways of trying to encourage people to go back towards the workplace if they can do so safely. 0ne to go back towards the workplace if they can do so safely. one thing that boris johnson they can do so safely. one thing that borisjohnson has talked about previously as face coverings. there has been a different approach between scotland and england on face coverings, but borisjohnson recently said that they could be useful in actually helping people have a bit of confidence in going back to work if they could do so and keep a bit of social distance as well. face coverings seem to

be, the evidence around them, fairly weak but they can stop people transmitting the virus to a certain extent, but scientists say not particularly helpful in preventing people from contracting it. the main concern remains trying to keep people safe and, of course, as ian watson was reporting, the word coming out of downing street this afternoon is caution, perhaps particularly because of the reports we have seen this morning. they do not want to send the wrong message or get people ahead of themselves that as of monday things are about to significantly change. if there are changes in the data comes in, the process will be very slow and very gradual. many thanks. we will be hearing more as we come up to the daily briefing from downing street. people from black backgrounds in england and wales are nearly twice as likely to die

from coronavirus than people from white backgrounds. that‘s according to new research by the office for national statistics. people from indian, bangladeshi and pakistani communities also had a significantly higher risk of dying. the government has launched a review in to the issue. i‘m joined now by dr ramesh mehta from the british association of physicians of indian 0rigin. thank you so much forjoining us. how do you interpret this very worrying finding? it is very worrying. particularly worrying for the hospital staff. and you know all of our doctors who are very proud to be working in the service, they are concerned. what they want and what they need is proper equipment. they are more than happy to work on the front line to do the best for their patients provided they get proper

equipment. you represent physicians of indian origin. what is the mood amongst your members about working within the nhs at this time? although it is the indian name in the organisation, we look after all staff. the mood is good and bad. the goodis staff. the mood is good and bad. the good is that there is some implement of equipment, but bad because you know it is the bme who are passing away, bme nurses who are facing the brunt of the covid—19. away, bme nurses who are facing the brunt of the covid-19. that is why i ask you about the mood of the people that you represent, because although the reasons for this big disparity are still pretty unclear, the disparity is there, and your members must feel very concerned. do they

feel that they should be particularly looked after, that perhaps the priority should be made when it comes to looking after their health? no. i feel almost when it comes to looking after their health? no. ifeel almost all of when it comes to looking after their health? no. i feel almost all of our members are keen to work on the front line provided there is proper risk assessment. the doctors who are a bit older, the doctors with conditions and so on, but you know most of our doctors on the front line orjunior doctors. most of our doctors on the front line or junior doctors. they most of our doctors on the front line orjunior doctors. they are very happy to work provided the environment is safe and there is proper equipment provided. that is a very potent points you make there. perhaps older doctors or doctors who themselves have underlying issues, they should maybe be allowed to take a step backwards they could be deployed in other areas of the hospital. all other areas

of the hospital. all other areas of the hospital are working. staff is required there as well. there is no reason why they could not be deployed in areas which are not covid—19 areas. deployed in areas which are not covid-19 areas. we are going to have to leave it there. very good to talk to leave it there. very good to talk to you. thank you very much. many european countries are taking steps to ease lockdown measures. today the french prime minister announced — what he called — a progressive unwinding of the lockdown. the gradual lifting of the lockdown can commence. . . the gradual lifting of the lockdown can commence... it is good news for france and the french people. from monday, we will introduce a highly progressive process lasting for several weeks at least which will allow the country to exit smoothly and with certainty from the lockdown which we have experienced along with large parts of the world. lets get

more on this. just run us through what the french people can expect when this lockdown is eased next week. monday is the key day. we knew that was coming, but there was a theoretical possibility that the government would say they were not ready for it and they would defer it. that is not happening because sufficient progress has been made, the numbers have been going down. of course, the situation remains critical and on monday everything will change. we will be able to move around, transport will gradually return to levels of pre—crisis and people will, in the main, expects to start working again. cafe is, cinemas will remain shut and there is another change which is that the country will be divided into two zones, a country will be divided into two zones, a green zone and a country will be divided into two zones, a green zone and a red zone.

the red zone will be an area where there is still concern about the levels of virus circulating in the capacity of the hospital to cope. but we shouldn‘t overstate this difference between the red and green. it is not as though on one side you are confined and you are not on the other side. it comes down to whether parkes and guidance can be open, whether middle schools can be open, whether middle schools can be opened on the 18th of may. the big picture is that monday is going to be the key date. it is one that people are approaching with a certain degree of anxiety and apprehension. they want details about what it is going to be like, and the government has filled in some of that today, but it is not until we are actually in it that we really get a sense what‘s travelling around paris will be like, the metro. notices, everyone wearing masks. is everyone going to be fine to travel at the same time of day?

what happens then? will stations be shutdown respect will there be queues outside stations to stop to many people going? in terms of people returning to work, are people who can return —— work from home, can they still work from home? people in the red zone had been asked to stay working at home for as long as possible. the key area next week is going to be the paris region. in most of the rest of the country, things are under control. in paris, the prime minister has said that the number of cases has not come down as much as the government would have hoped. paris, of course, is also the place where you are going to see these big potential concentrations of people at rush—hour, on the metro, on buses

and in workplaces. that is where i think there will be particular attention paid in the week or two ahead to see that the number of cases does not start climbing again. many thanks. prison and probation staff in england and wales who work extra hours during the pandemic are being given bonuses of up to 1700 pounds on top of overtime pay. prison governors and managers are being paid an additional 1500 pounds. 0rganisers of the notting hill carnival have taken the decision to cancel this year‘s carnival. they said it had not been an easy decision,

but the reality of the covid—19 pandemic meant that this is the only safe option. everyone‘s health has to come first. the board also said they had no wish to place extra strain on stjohn ambulance and the nhs. the carnival usually takes place over the august bank holiday weekend. a warm day to day. it will turn quite a bit cooler. also showers in the forecast for today and tomorrow. here is the picture as we head into evening hours. temperatures around the low 20s and high teens across the low 20s and high teens across the vast majority of the country. also, in one or two areas, a couple of showers. some could be heavy. in the evening and overnight, clear, but towards the end of the night, the possibility of some rain. mild in liverpool. 10 degrees overnight, and we will match that in glasgow as well. on friday, another very warm day. the sunny weather will be across eastern and southern areas, but notice that there is a

possibility of showers developing across south—western and western areas of the uk. temperatures could get as high as 24 degrees.

this is bbc news, i‘m reeta chakrabarti. the headlines at 4.30pm. bringing devastation to jobs and incomes. the bank of england warns the coronavirus pandemic will push the uk towards its deepest recession on record. the government and the bank of england have put in place a very big package of measures. and we will go on utterly focused on that and doing the things that we need to do to support the people of this country. the cabinet meets to discuss easing

the lockdown but we‘ll have to wait until sunday to find out how the prime minister intends to do it. no easing of the lockdown in scotland for now. the first minister says to do so would be "very, very risky indeed". i will not be pressured into lifting restrictions prematurely, before i can be as certain as i can be that we will not be risking a resurgence of infection rates. analysis of deaths from coronavirus in the uk reveals that the risk of dying from covid—19 among some ethnic groups is significantly higher. and the coronavirus contact tracing app, being trialled on the isle of wight, goes live to the general public today.