tonight at ten: the chancellor's sombre warning about the prospects for the economy, in the wake of the pandemic. the number of people claiming benefits for being out of work soared in april to its highest level for over 20 years. there's no offices open, there's no interviews being taken at the moment. it's a struggle to try and find something. but there's no guarantee of a swift recovery after the lockdown is eased more fully, according to the chancellor. it is not obvious that there will be an immediate bounceback. it takes time for people to get back to the habits that they had. we'll also be looking at the latest number of deaths over and above what might be expected at this time of year.

and in care homes, the latest figures show more than 11,500 deaths linked to the virus since the beginning of march. in the us: president trump repeats his claim that he's taking an anti—malaria drug to ward off coronavirus, despite the opposition of health officials. and a very rare upside of the past few months — the world has seen a dramatic improvement in air quality. and in the sport on bbc news: there's been six positive tests for coronavirus from three premier league clubs, as the top flight prepares to resume in june. good evening. we start tonight with the chancellor's sombre warning about the prospects for the uk economy, in the wake of the pandemic. rishi sunak says it's ‘not obvious there will be an immediate bounceback‘ once lockdown restrictions are eased more fully,

and it could take some time ‘for the economy to get back to normal‘. his warning came as the latest figures showed the number of people claiming benefits for being out of work had soared in april — the first full month of the lockdown — to its highest level since the 1990s. the office for national statistics says 2.1 million people claimed benefits last month — that's up by more than 856,000. and it's a rise of almost 70%, and the clearest sign yet of the continuing economic cost of the pandemic. the total number of registered deaths linked to coronavirus in the last 24—hour period was 545. and it means that the official total across the uk is now 35,341. now, in a moment, we'll have more on the loss of life, especially in care homes. but first, our economics editor, faisal islam, looks at the rather mixed picture for the economy. they aren't cutting jobs at this

west midlands fittings factory for shops and libraries, just like the officialjobs numbers, but only 12 workers — a third of employees — are manufacturing the now in—demand protective screens. the other 26 workers remain on the payroll — officially employed, but at home, with wages paid by the taxpayer. when you look at the alternatives, which is like redundancy or being laid off, then being furloughed is, erm, is a really good thing. it gives business an opportunity to carry on with its workforce. the boss is grateful, and unemployment has been kept down. the furlough scheme has really worked well for us. and if it wasn't for that, i don't know where we would be. the government's crisis job schemes have concentrated tens of billions into controlling unemployment, but officialjobs numbers will soon catch up with the pandemic crisis reality all around us. and other figures today did show how hard thejobs market has been hit.

the 865,000 extra people claiming jobless benefits in april was a record monthly increase, taking the claimant count forjobseeker‘s allowance and universal credit to 2.1 million — the highest for 2h years. in some regions, nearly doubling. emma had been furloughed, but last week was told she'd lost herjob as an office worker at an essex construction firm and is finding getting a new one difficult. to be receiving a letter to say that i've been selected to be redundant, erm, is awful. petrifying. .. sorry, i can't help but get emotional about that, thinking about it. the number ofjob vacancies tumbled by a quarterly record to 637,000, so it will be harder to get a job too. i tried searching forjobs. i've applied for tens, if not hundreds, of positions online, but due to being an office worker, there's no offices open, there's no interviews being taken at the moment.

it's... it's a struggle to try and find something. across the economy, thousands of jobs that were furloughed — for example, at the cafe rouge restaurant chain — are now under threat. hundreds have been lost at retailer debenhams, and also in the transport sector, at british airways and at the ferry company p&0. benefit numbers are surging and vacancies are tumbling. just how far unemployment will shoot up is, for now, being limited by the government paying the wages of one in three workers. that is a bridge for the livelihoods of ten million people that will not last. and now, the chancellor whose schemes are built around the idea of a rapid bounceback in the economy says that it's not obvious that that will occur. so, a significant rise in unemployment can't now be avoided, says the government. i certainly won't be able to protect everyjob and every business. we're already seeing that in the data.

and no doubt, there will be more hardship to come. this lockdown is having a very significant impact on our economy. we're likely to face a severe recession, the likes of which we haven't seen. but the opposition said more is needed, especially for younger workers. we still have to be aware that the costs tend to fall on younger people, notjust because people who have lost theirjobs, but because they haven't been able to move into the workforce to begin with. the pandemic has caused a globaljobs catastrophe. even when lockdowns are lifted, it's when the support is withdrawn that the real picture will emerge. faisal islam, bbc news. well, as we've heard, part of the economic impact of the pandemic is a sharp rise in the number of those claiming universal credit — that's the relatively new benefit for working—age people in the uk. for some who are now looking for work, it's the first time

that they have had to make a claim and to experience this new system, as our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, reports. can ijust confirm... what was your first job? anotherjob loss, another person in need. you would have been asked for two security questions... over the past few weeks, leslie piercy has spoken to just about everyone. uber drivers, lots of restaurants, lots of businesses, shopkeepers, and cafes, and... a lot of taxi drivers. some have lost minimum—wagejobs. 0thers, six—figure salaries. a lot of the people — like, the stockbrokers and that — want to go back into stockbroking, because it is specifically... well, it's quite a high—paid job. but some of those people are having to rethink their careers as well. one particular gentleman that i had, he had a very, very well—paid job — so did his wife — and he went to become a night porter at a hotel. leslie works at a job centre in hertfordshire. normally, they'd process 60 benefit claims a week. recently, they've been dealing with several thousand. so, that's me found

you on our systems... helen collier has only worked here for three months — forced immediately to help the unfamiliar navigate the benefits system. i definitely think the people that have been made redundant, and they've been long—standing employees, are often confused. they've never made a claim to anything before. so, they're always the hardest. but i feel like they're the ones that you know that you're doing something good to help them. there are usually around 50,000 claims a week for universal credit, but look at the impact of the lockdown. for two weeks, claims were running at ten times normal levels, 1.5 million applications in total injust one month. my mindset has never been to go on benefits. i've just struggled and worked my way through it. carl elliston is a boxing coach who has no—one to train. unable to earn, the 50 year old turned to universal credit for help — the first time he's been on benefits in decades. to me, there was no option, and so i don't feel guilty about it.

ifeel like i'm eligible for it. and, you know, i'm working my way out sincerely how to get out of it, when everything's over. today's data revealed the largest rise in applications have been in the south—west of england, where the area's crucial tourist industry has been badly hit. an all—hands—on—deck approach has allowed universal credit to cope with the surge in demand. most claimants have been thankful, hoping the welfare system is a helping hand in a time of need, not a permanent, harder way of living. michael buchanan, bbc news. let's speak to our economics editor, faisal islam. going back to what the cancer saying today, faisal, in yourview going back to what the cancer saying today, faisal, in your view come up today, faisal, in your view come up to what extent has he changed his tune on the prospects for the lockdown is relaxed more fully? his language has strengthened since last week, the word severe recession was what used today and he said it was not obvious there would be a sharp

bounceback and he said he wouldn't speculate on that. and what you get is perhaps what is obvious to many people that things have changed hugely in the economy. essentially, you have two unprecedented forces at work here. you have the pandemic, the shutdowns, the global recession and globaljobs the shutdowns, the global recession and global jobs catastrophe the shutdowns, the global recession and globaljobs catastrophe on the one hand and then these unprecedented for britain moves by the government to pay people's wages, tens of billions of pounds, 10 million wages being paid right 110w 10 million wages being paid right now by the government. it is quite difficult to work out how those two forces s ha ke difficult to work out how those two forces shake out, but what you can ta ke forces shake out, but what you can take away from what the chancellor said and from the figures today is that expectations of that sharp bounceback which had to be assumed at the beginning are beginning to diminish, and certainly in some industries, when the lockdown is lifted, the recovery won't be in days a week, for some industry, it will be months or years. thanks very much, faisal. faisal

islam, our economics editor. two and a half months have passed since the first registered death from coronavirus in the uk. and in a usual ten—week period, there would be, on average, around 100,000 deaths in the uk, but the latest figures from the office for national statistics suggest there've been an additional 55,000 deaths in the uk during that period, all of them directly or indirectly related to the pandemic. it's known thatjust over 41,000 deaths were directly related to the virus, as recorded on death certificates. the latest figures also show more than 11,500 people in care homes have died from coronavirus since the beginning of march. 0ur correspondent alex forsyth reports from a care home in rugby. the scale of this pandemic is becoming increasingly clear. the number of deaths still growing, although the rate at least now slowing. behind every figure, a face, every statistic, a human story. of those who've died so far, more

than a quarter were in care homes. this family—run home in warwickshire had an outbreak last month. 0ne resident did die, but staff were able to control the spread of the virus, although managers say they had little government guidance or support. at that point, the measures weren't in place to protect the residents and the staff. the testing wasn't there. and we were very lucky, from management and staff, that it wasn't a lot worse. what about now, have things improved? i haven't seen much of a difference at the moment. we've really made our own decisions, and we still really haven't had much more from the government. here, they're still waiting for all staff and residents to be tested, still saying the system's too slow — concerns reflected by care leaders this morning. in a meeting with mps, they were critical of ppe supply, testing facilities, the national strategy. our focus at the start of this pandemic was clearly the nhs, and there was not a recognition

in either the planning process that happened in 2016 or, indeed, in this current pandemic at the very start of it, that the most vulnerable people were in care homes. some of our problems around transmission, no doubt, are relating to ppe and, very sadly, some of the deaths too. this has been a health pandemic, and what we haven't felt in the care sector is that we've had a health response. the health secretary again today defended the government's approach. despite the claims to the contrary, he said again they'd put a protective ring around care homes. from the start, we've worked hard to protect those in social care. in early march, we put £3.2 billion into social care, half through the nhs and half through local authorities, and we've repeatedly set out and strengthened guidance for infection control and support. across the country, the care system is complex, made up of local, national, public and private elements. the government has put more money and measures in place in recent weeks, but the criticism is still the support isn't always getting

where it's needed quickly, and now some care providers say they‘ re under financial pressure. this care home in north yorkshire is one of four in a group where extra costs from coronavirus, and empty beds, is making money tight, according to the owner, who also speaks for the sector. we've calculated that we're going to be around £100,000 short in income, and that is the difference between us surviving as a business and not surviving. the issue is, we've got the nhs run nationally, local authorities running locally, that's why we've got a problem with ppe, testing and finances, it's all a mess, basically. we need to make sure we plan and have it centrally, in my view, centrally organised. this crisis has exposed issues in a sector that's long been under strain. the calls now are notjust for continued short—term support, but a longer term solution too. alex forsyth, bbc news. let's turn to testing, and the number of covid—19 tests carried out since the beginning of the outbreak has been inadequate, according to a parliamentary committee at westminster. the commons science and technology committee has

criticised the government forfailing to deliver a much more efficient testing system, much sooner. but ministers defended their strategy, saying it was right during the early period to prioritise those in hospital over community cases — as our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, reports. a new mobile testing centre in cornwall to help deliver the government's promise to test everyone over the age of five with symptoms of covid—19. but mps on the science and technology committee say testing capacity has not been increased early or boldly enough. back in march, this was the message from the world health organisation. we have a simple message for all countries. test, test, test. but three days before the uk announced it had stopped testing all suspected cases in the community. we will pivot all of the testing capacity to identifying people

in hospitals who have got symptoms so we can pick them up early. in a letter to the prime minister mps said that they believed a lack of testing capacity had driven the government's strategy. they criticised public health england for failing to provide the scientific evidence used when deciding not to bring in mass testing. they said the cost of the ongoing lockdown was vastly greater then the cost of rolling out large—scale testing and that by not regularly testing hospital staff and care workers, vulnerable people had been put at risk. many care homes say that they're still struggling to get all the tests they need to ensure that staff aren't infectious. the problems with the lack of testing was obvious as the national picture shows. it's not safe and how they say that they're going to start rolling it out to five—year—olds and everybody in the country, ijust don't think they've got the capacity there and i think we'd rather have honesty from the government really.

and one prominent public health expert said the uk's testing strategy had been badly handled. we have we have an incoherent and chaotic strategy towards both testing, apps and also the contact tracing. it's all centralised and top down. at today's briefing, the environment secretary defended the government's testing strategy. the strategy has been based on capacity rather than the science. we were building it very rapidly from a very early stage and we have now got to the point, as matt hancock pointed out this week, that we can offer tests to anybody over the age of five with symptoms, and that's going to be pretty critical in terms of developing that track and trace capability. ministers say they've recruited more than 20,000 contact tracers to identify infections and hotspots of the virus, but one has told the bbc the tracker app wasn't working yet and won't go live until thursday. there are clearly ongoing

challenges to the government's testing strategy. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. let's go live to westminster and our chief political correspondent, vicki young. yet more severe criticism of the government, notjust on testing but on care homes as well, what has the response been? they are facing real scrutiny over this and it is, of course, partly about blame. there is a sense of tension today between minister saying we listen to the scientists and the scientist saying on things like testing there was no point in recommending a mass testing programme if the system wasn't there to deal with it. it is notjust about blame, it is learning from m ista kes about blame, it is learning from mistakes and we had that loud and clear from the care sector. you could hear their frustration and anger and they have thought for some time there has been too much focus on hospitals and the nhs and care homes are a bit of an afterthought. he thought they needed to be further

integrated. that is nothing new, we have heard ministers talk about that for years, but it has never happened. this epidemic has exposed serious flaws in the system and that long—term aspiration to integrate health and social care, that is really becoming a very urgent priority. vicki young, many thanks again, from westminster. 0ne rare positive effect of the past few months has been on the environment. the biggest ever reduction in the volume of carbon dioxide released into the world's atmosphere has been recorded since march. at the height of the lockdown, scientists discovered that daily emissions around the world dropped by more than 17%. the biggest fall was in china, which saw a drop in emissions of 24%. here in the uk, the reduction was 13%. but scientists are warning that this "extreme" reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is likely to be temporary — as our science editor, david shukman, explains. all over the world, some

stunning transformations — from choked streets in india becoming calmer and easier to breathe in, to the most famous landmark in china suddenly looking clearer. to the centre of paris, often polluted, now quieter and cleaner. the fight against the virus has slowed down many economies, at huge cost. but it's also done wonders for the air and for the carbon emissions that are heating up the planet. the drop in traffic is a major part of that, here in the uk and globally. lower demand for electricity has also made a difference. along with the grounding of planes. fewer flights means less carbon released into the air. it's a pattern seen around the world. the lighter the shade here, the bigger the decline in emissions — in some countries, up again, but still a huge change. the fall in emissions we're seeing, 17% per day, is enoprmous.

we haven't experienced something like this before, as far as we can tell. it's driven by changes in road transport. now that china's out of lockdown, traffic there is building up, so emissions are rising once again. the carbon cut is not permanent. on some key roads, the traffic is starting to come back a bit as the lockdown is eased, but the impact of the different restrictions on the environment has been really striking. not only are those carbon emissions down, the quality of the air has got a lot better. different types of pollution have fallen dramatically. so, as the economy recovers, will we see a return to the toxic haze hanging over our cities? experts in air pollution hope the crisis has shown what's possible. a very unfortunate natural experiment, but it does really show us that by changing the vehicles on our road, or reducing the vehicles on our road, and changing over to electric vehicles, we can immediately reduce

air pollution — which is a very, very important message. many cities are now trying to encourage more cycling and walking, to help keep people safe from the disease and also to reduce pollution. their hope is that amid the nightmare of the virus, a greener future can be created. david shukman, bbc news. leaders of birmingham city council have sent a letter to parents and school staff saying they will only support schools opening to more pupils when it is safe to do so. it follows on from the city councils, including liverpool who voiced similar concerns. earlier this month, the government said plans of schools potentially reopening to more pupils at the start ofjune. cambridge university has announced it will move all of its lectures online until summer 2021 as a result of the pandemic. it said smaller teaching groups may continue in person, provided social distancing

can be maintained. the university stressed it will keep the situation under review, and in line with official advice. in the us, president trump has been widely criticised by health experts, after stating that he was taking an anti—malarial drug to protect himself against the virus. regulators have warned there's no evidence that it provides any protection from covid—19 and may indeed cause heart problems. the president has continued his attacks on the world health organization, calling it a "puppet

of beijing", which failed to hold china to account for the original outbreak. 0ur correspondent nick bryant has the latest. the white house is one of the most heavily protected buildings on the planet. guarded by secret service agents ready to take a bullet for the president. but in the midst of this viral onslaught, can they protect donald trump from himself? last night, he happily made a stunning admission that to fend off the coronavirus, he is taking an anti—malaria drug hydroxychloroquine that his own government has warned against using for covid—19 out of fear of the fatal consequences. i happen to be taking it. hydroxychloroquine? i'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine. when? right now, yeah. a couple of weeks ago, i started taking it. why, sir? because i think it's good, i've heard a lot of good stories. and if it's not good, i'll tell you right, i'm not going to get hurt by it. it's been around for 40 years... this was the astonished

response of fox news, a network that is ordinarily the president's cheerleader channel. if you are in a risky population here and you are taking this as a preventative treatment to ward off the virus, or worse case scenario you are dealing with the virus and you are in this vulnerable population, it will kill you. i cannot stress enough, this will kill you. but even after being deluged by an acid shower of criticism, tonight on capitol hill, donald trump continued to prescribe the drug. i think it gives you an additional level of safety, but you can ask many doctors are in favour of it. many front line workers won't go there unless they have the hydroxychloroquine. had a great reputation and if it was somebody else other than me people would say, gee, isn't that smart? he is also double down on his threat to halt us funding

of the world health organization, which has been meeting, mostly virtually, in geneva. the us president has bemoaned its repeated missteps, but its director—general defended the global body. for all our differences we are one human race. and we are stronger together. many medical experts say it's not just the damage donald trump could cause himself by taking this antimalarial drug, it's the example he setting to others. in the midst of a crisis that has already claimed more than 90,000 american lives, they fear the president is dispensing dangerous and potentially fatal advice. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. in spain, the daily death toll from coronavirus has remained below 100 for a third day in a row, according to figures from the spanish health ministry. but the government in madrid is looking to extend the state of emergency in the country by another fortnight, despite a fall in the number of new cases.

in italy, deaths from the epidemic have risen by 162, with the number of new cases rising sharply too. the country eased its restrictions last week — opening up restaurants, shops and hairdressers after a two—month lockdown. france has revised its total death toll from coronavirus downwards, by 217. it takes the total number of deaths in the country to 28,022, making it the fourth highest worldwide, after the united states, the uk and italy. a teenager who was murdered after a shooting in blackburn has been described as the "perfect 19—year—old" and a "role model" for other students. aya hachem, who was 19, was walking to a supermarket on sunday afternoon when shots were fired from a passing car. lancashire police are continuing to question three men. our correspondentjudith moritz has more details. aya hachem came to blackburn as a child seeking asylum.

she came for a better future and seized every chance that she was given. we were really, really proud of her, because, arriving with little english, she in her year group made the most progress in the whole year, and we celebrated that, not only within our school community, but within blackburn with darwen, and we used her as an example of what was possible. aya saw blackburn as a place of promise and safety, but she was killed on its streets. the teenager was walking to the shops on sunday afternoon when a gun was fired from a car driving past. aya was not the intended target but she was in the bullet‘s path and she stood no chance. she died soon afterwards. in herfew years in blackburn, aya made a big impact, giving back to the community which had helped her. she volunteered for charities which support children and those working with asylum seekers and refugees. and every part of this town

took her to its heart, she has been praised by the catholic, methodist and muslim communities and described as a role model. aya made her most remarkable progress at school, starting with nothing and working her way up to study law at university. she was kind, she was caring, she was compassionate. she was a friend to everybody. and as a school community, blackburn central high school are absolutely devastated by the loss of one of ourfamily members. three men in their 30s have been arrested on suspicion of murder. aya's parents say they're devastated and determined to bring those responsible to justice. judith moritz, bbc news, blackburn. four years after it was scrapped as a traditional television channel, and changed into an online service, bbc three could be brought back. the bbc says the success of programmes such as fleabag, killing eve and normal people has

led it to consider the case for reviewing how bbc three served its younger viewers. in a normal year in the uk, local authorities will step in and arrange some 4,000 funerals in cases where there are no family or friends, or if there's no money to pay for one. they're called public health funerals and undertakers are warning that the number will be significantly higher this year because of the pandemic. our correspondent angus crawford was given permission to attend a service in east sussex, and this is his report. a finaljourney... there is a very visceral fear i think in everyone about ending up alone. ..for albert roy sadler. links to family and friends, long broken, so no—one to follow the hearse. it causes you to look back and think, "well, why,