good morning, welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire. here are the headlines this wednesday morning: the aircraft engine maker rolls—royce has announced it's cutting at least 9,000 jobs worldwide due to the impact of coronavirus. most of the company's civil aerospace staff are employed in the uk. well, it is deeply concerning, notjust for the government but for all the workers and families who will be affected by this. it's clear that the aviation industry is going through unprecedented change. we'll talk to the boss of rolls royce in a few minutes. also this morning, marks &

spencer reports a 21% fall in annual profits. the government says it's "in listening mode" as at least 11 english councils say they have serious concerns about the phased reopening of schools from the 1st ofjune. if you're diabetic you're going to be offered more help from the nhs in england, after clinicians found that those with the condition have a greater risk of dying from covid—19. and captain tom moore — who raised almost £40 million for the nhs — is awarded a knighthood, to be bestowed by the queen. i'm looking forward to that. i hope she's not very heavy—handed with the sword... laughter ..because by then i might be a rather poor old weak soul.

good morning. rolls—royce has announced this morning that it's cutting at least 9,000 jobs around the world because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis on its business. most of the company's civil aerospace staff are employed in britain. it comes as the uk's rate of inflation has fallen to its lowest level for nearly four years, driven by a slump in fuel costs and energy prices. data from the 0ns showed inflation was 0.8% for april, compared with 1.5% for march. ministers are under pressure to delay plans to reopen some schools in england on the first ofjune, after at least 11 local councils expressed safety concerns or warnings that they will not be ready. the british medical association — the doctors‘ union — has said schools should reopen "as soon as it is safe to do so", adding that "a zero—risk approach is not possible." and people with diabetes will be offered more help from the nhs in england, after clinicians found that people with the condition are at greater

risk of dying with coronavirus. we'll bring you more on all those stories. first, let's talk first to the rolls—royce chief executive warren east. good morning. thank you for talking to s. good morning. thank you for talking tos.i good morning. thank you for talking to s. i wonder if you can give a steer of how many job to s. i wonder if you can give a steer of how manyjob cuts there are in the uk. i can't be specific about the uk, actually. across our worldwide workforce we have announced this morning we are looking to reduce by at least 9000 jobs. most of those will be in our civil aerospace business, approximately 8000, and roughly two thirds of our civil aerospace workforce are here in the uk. 0k, civil aerospace workforce are here in the uk. ok, so civil aerospace workforce are here in the uk. 0k, sojust under 3000 in civil aerospace in the uk — not

cuts, the total out of the 8000. of those 3000, how many may go? approximately two thirds of our total civil aerospace workforce is in the uk, so that's a good first proxy for the number of people who will be, unfortunately, losing their jobs in the uk. 0k, will be, unfortunately, losing their jobs in the uk. ok, but it is thousands of job losses. it is thousands of job losses. it is thousands of job losses. it is thousands ofjob losses. there is nothing we can do about that. the scale of this is terrible. the covid—i9 pandemic is affecting the whole of the global commercial aerospace sector, and whilst ourselves and other companies have

taken ourselves and other companies have ta ke n swift ourselves and other companies have taken swift action to deal with the immediate trough we are seeing at the moment then it is now clear that it is going to take years for the industry as a whole to recover to the sort of levels we saw in 2019. and that means that we, like others, have to match our capacity to meet that future expected demand, and u nfortu nately that future expected demand, and unfortunately that means we are going to have to reduce our headcount significantly. you set it may take years to recover. do you have an idea of how many yea rs ? do you have an idea of how many years? —— you say that it may take yea rs. years? —— you say that it may take years. we are plugged into big aeroplane manufacturers and hundreds of airlines around the world, and the consensus is emerging amongst that ecosystem that, you know, it's going to be 3—5 years. so we don't

actually know, nobody knows exactly, how long that's going to be, but, you know, it's going to be of that order that we can be reasonably certain, and obviously our capacity, just a few months ago we were looking at a much, much larger market than we are now going to face over the next several years. what do you say to your workers here in the uk about the prospect of you having to cut theirjob? well, this is a terrible time for anybody in that position, and it's going to be a very difficult day to day for our employees because we can't tell them exactly today, we have to consult with representatives and union representatives and so on about the granular detail of these job cuts. what we can say is that we are doing

this of course because it's important that we protect the future of our business. we employ 50,000 people roughly worldwide. we are going to have to lose about 9000 people, and that is about protecting the future of our business and therefore protecting the remaining 40,000 plusjobs or so. u nfortu nately, 40,000 plusjobs or so. unfortunately, that's just the reality of the consequence of the virus disruption for our industry as a whole. we will also be appointing employees in the future and, you know, why do we want to protect those jobs for the future? we want to protect them so just as has happened many times in the past, you know, this company has been through tough times, it has emerged, it has grown, and we provided morejobs as

the company has grown. —— we have provided morejobs as the company has grown. —— we have provided more jobs as the company has grown. we think this business has grown. we think this business has relatively unique expertise, it's an asset for the uk, and we need to protect that asset. did you ask the government for help? yeah, i mean, we have been very grateful for the help government has been providing to us and some of our supply chain in the face of the immediate disruption caused by covid, so we have nearly 4000 people in the uk on furlough at the moment, for instance, and those schemes are great to help businesses get through this trough we have at the moment. however, the announcement this morning isn't about that short term 12, it's about the medium term demand, and no government can replace demand that simply isn't there. 0bviously replace demand that simply isn't there. obviously we are talking to

there. obviously we are talking to the uk government about the future of our sector, and we are talking to them about the importance of getting aviation flying again, because that's what governments can do right now best to address that medium term. but i stress it is a medium—term issue, not short term issue. you are right about demand, governments can't do anything about a drop in demand for air travel, but the point of furlough, mr east, was to prevent redundancies, that's what the chancellor told us. well, the furlough has been very useful for companies like ourselves to get through a short period where demand has literally dried up. so, you know, you only have to look in the newspapers. there are airlines flying with 90% of their fleets

grounded. that is what the furlough scheme is all about, ensuring that companies like rolls—royce can survive to get through this pandemic. what we are looking at todayis pandemic. what we are looking at today is when we get to the other side of this pandemic how can we make sure that our business is the right size to service the demand that we see for our product for many yea rs that we see for our product for many years to come, and we need to be a sustainable business in order to operate in that environment further down the road. sure. on your point about government can't replace demand, i wonder what that means, then, from your point of view, when you hear airlines asking for state bailout from governments? airlines of course also need to get through this very short—term patch, and

approximately 50% of our business is exposed to commercial aerospace. if we we re exposed to commercial aerospace. if we were an airline we would be 100% exposed to it, and this is a sector which has all but stopped during this pandemic. you said it will take years for the industry to recover, but would you expect it to be very different when it does recover? i mean, can we have social distancing on planes? yeah, obviously there is a lot of debate about that at the moment. i think the crucial change we are going to see, if i go backjust six months to the end of 2019, it was a lot more discussion about sustainable air travel and a journey to carbon free. what we are keen on doing here is protecting the jobs that we can protecting the jobs that we can protect so that we can bring our technologies to bear on thatjourney

to carbon free sustainable air travel. we believe that air travel isa travel. we believe that air travel is a great thing both for the economy and for society, but we need to do that in a sustainable way. that's the journey we were on before this pandemic, that's thejourney that we think is necessary after the pandemic. right now we need to take some measures to ensure that we can be here with the jobs that we will have to be part of that future. ok, and briefly and finally, mr east, when will staff know how manyjob cuts there will be? 0bviously when will staff know how manyjob cuts there will be? obviously you have the consultation, as you said, but can you give a timescale? because it's just very anxiety inducing, isn't it? it's a terrible thing to be told that he might not have a job. and obviously we want to minimise that period of uncertainty as much as we possibly can, so the a nswer as much as we possibly can, so the answer is as soon as possible, and

that's going to be not weeks, it's going to be months, but it's not going to be months, but it's not going to be many months. thank you very much for talking to us, warren east, the chief executive of rolls—royce. with me now is our business presenter ben thompson. 0bviously obviously the aviation industry is changing and this is one of the outcomes? yeah, you're absolutely right. as you heard there from warren east. 0ne right. as you heard there from warren east. one of many businesses i'iow warren east. one of many businesses now having to adjust to a new level of demand from customers, as he put it, which means they are simply selling fewer of their engines around the world, and that is because we know big airlines as we we re because we know big airlines as we were saying are flying fewer flights, having to readjust their fleets, retiring aircraft and trying to slimline their business to save oi'i to slimline their business to save on cost because we're not travelling, they are not making money, yet they still have massive overheads. for a company like rolls—royce, clearly, overheads. for a company like rolls— royce, clearly, with overheads. for a company like rolls—royce, clearly, with a big

global footprint it is very exposed to what happens in the global aviation market and it says it needs to save about {1.3 billion to try to make ends meet, but the boss they are not giving too many details away about where the axe may fall in whichjobs will be about where the axe may fall in which jobs will be particularly affected, but as you said the large pa rt of affected, but as you said the large part of them expected in the uk. worrying times for those staff. we have heard from the government this morning, the justice secretary robert bucklin, telling us the government have been stepping in to help people in this position but without the clarity from rolls—royce yet is very difficult to see what can be done. this is what he said —— robert buckland. it is deeply concerning, not just for the government but for all the workers and families who will be affected by this. it's clear that the aviation industry is going through unprecedented change. we see in the short—term impact of the virus, and that may well have a lasting longer term impact too. i think it reinforces the chancellor's message that their way out of this crisis economically will be a complicated one, it won't be necessarily a straightforward bounce back.

and that's why the government is committed to doing everything it can and everything it should do to support people in employment to make sure that our economy is as resilient as possible in the months and years ahead. and what about marks & spencer? news this morning from then regarding annual profits? yeah, so they have put out their figures this morning, the figures up until the end of march, so they don't give the entire picture of what has happened so far but they start to give a sense of how the retailer responded to what happened, that lockdown at the end of march, telling us profits are down by more than 20%. 20 —— 21% lower. their home section, understandably with stores closed, falling, and clothing, but food, in the stores that were able to stay

open, they have helped to prop up these numbers and they would have been much worse otherwise. what is really interesting, if you read the report from marks & spencer, the outline a plan they have called never the same again, and outline a plan they have called neverthe same again, and i outline a plan they have called never the same again, and i think thatis never the same again, and i think that is something other retailers will look at very closely this morning because amidst all of the trouble, change and problems that the covid pandemic has raised four retailers marks & spencer are really keen to point out there were quite a lot of things they have learned from this, learned ways of doing things differently that they hope will stick around for quite a while, not least because of subdued demand in the business over the months and years to come, particularly if as is expected the uk economy tipped into recession, but they also talk about things like colleagues, their staff, improvising their routines at lower cost, they say with no detriment to trading standards. 0ne cost, they say with no detriment to trading standards. one way may of saving a bit of money without affecting the service. they talk about colleagues being redeployed, valuable lessons being learned about multitasking and increasing the pace of work, again asking staff to do a

bit more without really changing the business. 0ne bit more without really changing the business. one of the key areas for them, remember, this is the year they bought half of the online supermarket delivery firm avocado, and they say they are really struggling because their online offering hasn't been as good as some offering hasn't been as good as some of their rivals so that is something they really focus on this year because as social distancing rules continue it is harder to get to the supermarket and they are very keen to exploit that relationship they have with the online route retailer —— online retailer. have with the online route retailer -- online retailer. thanks, ben. the uk's rate of inflation has fallen to its lowest level for nearly four years, due to a slump in fuel costs and energy prices. data from the office for national statistics showed inflation at 0.8% for april, compared with 1.5% for march. the justice secretary, robert buckland, says the government is in "listening mode" over when schools will reopen. 11 councils have said they either oppose going back at the beginning of next month or won't be

ready in time. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in westminsterfor us. is the government softening on this data, during the first?” is the government softening on this data, during the first? i think they are data, during the first? i think they a re pretty data, during the first? i think they are pretty much resigned now to the fa ct are pretty much resigned now to the fact that all primary schools in england are not going to open on june the 1st because they are facing not just the opposition june the 1st because they are facing notjust the opposition of june the 1st because they are facing not just the opposition of the teachers‘ unions but now have a growing revolt from local authorities, and when it comes to primary local authorities are pretty much the key players because around two thirds of primary schools are local authority schools. everything we are hearing now from the government is they know they can‘t force schools to open, they‘re not really in the market of trying to browbeat them into reopening because i think if they were to do that it would probably backfire, entrenched opposition of the teachers‘ unions, it would probably alienate public opinion, and more than that i don‘t think they actually have the leavers to force local authorities to open their schools. so what we now seem to be edging towards from the government was my point of view is

an acknowledgement that some schools, yes, may be prepared to open onto the first and others may wa nt open onto the first and others may want a bit of time —— the government‘s point of view. the key factor in the government‘s calculations i think it‘s confidence. even where you to insist on edge in the first deadline, if pa rents on edge in the first deadline, if parents don‘t have confidence, if they think local authorities and the unions are unhappy, they are not going to send their children into the schools, so you have to win the argument around public opinion. all the indications are that ministers are now going to adopt a much more softly, softly approach, talk of listening to teachers unions, two councils, and i think this is going to bea councils, and i think this is going to be a much more gradual, incremental process, where schools will start to be reopened from june the 1st but actually many may still remain closed for a week, fortnight beyond that. let's talk to the leader of a conservative run council. solihull council.

ian courtsjoins me now. will your primary schools be opening on during the first? indeed, some of them will be opening injune the 1st. listening to that, i think the key word is confidence, and as a local authority we have been trying to support all our schools with risk assessments to create the conditions and that confidence to enable children to come back. fundamentally, education is key to a child‘s life and future, and we want to support that, and the sooner children can come back the better. but it has to be done in the right way and with the right support. so when borisjohnson said "from june the 1st at the earliest, reception, year1 and year numerics six will be

going back", what do you think?|j going back", what do you think?” agree with him, to be honest —— year 6. but it won't be possible for all of them... 6. but it won't be possible for all of them. .. they want to encourage schools to receive more children as and when they are able to. the reality is most of our schools have stayed open, it is how many children they can accept and that will depend on many things such as staffing availability, the actual physical layout of the school and so on, and what we want to do is help schools and parents make that decision and get education going again. do you have any concerns about the track and trace system and whether that will be in place from june the 1st? i don‘t know if you saw the professor at the downing street briefing last night, and she said "changes to lockdown need a highly effective track and trace system to be in place". well, i'm not going to comment on the detail of that,...

why not? well, i don't know the detail of the track and trace. some of that work is going on at the moment. all i of that work is going on at the moment. alll am of that work is going on at the moment. all i am asking you, do you need that to be in place before your schools in solihull bring those pupils back? that will depend on risk assessment and individual cases. what we‘re doing and local government is to support all these taking place. the r rate in the midlands is i am told around 0.68. is that he is well or not? well, i think that will depend again on the localities. —— is that important as well, or not? we will watch that very quickly. —— very carefully. thank you very much for your time this evening —— this morning. the leader of solihull council. the institute of cancer research has warned that delaying surgery for certain cancers by a matter

of months could risk thousands of additional deaths. it says that having to wait for a diagnosis could be the difference between having a normal life expectancy and developing an incurable disease. nhs england says urgent cancer treatment has continued during lockdown. but researchers are warning that many people haven‘t visited their doctors with what could be symptoms of cancer. why have so manyjewish people died from coronavirus in the uk? figures from the board of deputies of britishjews say 458 jewish peoplehave lost their lives to the virus since the pandemic began. some of the reasons for that are demographic, many dues are older, and often live in big urban areas. but has the often—social nature ofjudaism also played a role? in a moment we‘ll talk to the president of the board of deputies of british dues, firstjohn mcmanus reports from the heart of thejewish community in stamford hill in north london. yy was very special

to us in ourfamily. remembering a dearly loved brother, another victim of the covid—19 virus which has hit britain‘sjewish community particularly hard. yanki rothschild shared a love of singing with his brother yechiel yosef, known as yy. the 20—year—old lived independently in the ultraorthodox haredi jewish community of stamford hill in north london. then one evening on the phone, yy told yanki he was feeling unwell. it was to be their last conversation before he was rushed to hospital. my parents were crying. their hands were tied, they couldn‘t do anything. their son, they couldn‘t even go into hospital to hug him to say goodbye properly. yy is one of hundreds of deaths amongst all denominations ofjudaism which appear to be out of proportion to the community‘s small size. this cemetery in hertfordshire just north of london has been here for more than 70 years. thousands of britain‘s jewish community have been laid to rest here.

but staff say that over the weeks of march, they saw a sudden and unexpected spike in the number of funerals, many of them the result of covid—19. at the moment it‘s quiet, but in the busy period we were having around ten to 15 a day for six days a week. this is a tube or mask. other parts of the community have also raced to adapt. the ezra umarpeh charity in stamford hill has been supporting the health needs of the community for decades. from hospital beds, if they need it, to crutches. in the last few months, it has bought dozens of oxygen machines to lend to recovering coronavirus patients when they‘re discharged from hospital. but there have been accusations that somejewish people have been slow to change their lifestyles in the face of virus warnings. i don‘t know anyone who doesn‘t know someone who has died. yehudis fletcher is a community advocate and activist. she says that some influential jewish leaders failed to set a good example,

but insists a much larger blame lies with the authorities. there are health inequalities that are known to public health england about individual bame communities, and none of that was news. it should have been obvious that our communities were going to be affected in a different way and nobody took the step to say that these communities should be warned in advance. nobody took control of the situation. there are still people in the community, families who are still mourning. the message of this pandemic has been to keep healthy by staying apart. but one organisation says that for traditionally large haredi families who often live in cramped conditions, that was impossible. there are families who have every age group in the house, and that means we have little children all the way from one year old going to somebody in the house who is possibly 60 years old or above that age.

that did contribute towards the virus being more aggressive in some parts of the community, unfortunately. meanwhile, even as he continues to mourn his brother, yanki says yy‘s life was a gift. he brought light, he was a beacon of light in the whole community, not just in our family. he brought light to people. marie van der zyl is the president of the board of deputies of british jews and joins me now. what factors do you think of because this to spread so much in thejewish community? the jewish community is a big community and have been adversely impacted. jews very social and we had a festivaljust before lockdown and it may have been many people were attending that and that may have enabled the virus to spread

much more. we do have accurate figures for burialfrom much more. we do have accurate figures for burial from the board, so as you have said the current figure is 458, approximately double what would be expected compared to the rest of the deaths. and what do you feel about that figure, that number ofjewish you feel about that figure, that number of jewish people who you feel about that figure, that number ofjewish people who have died from this? i think every death isa died from this? i think every death is a tragedy. i think it‘s extremely sad. as has been said before i went on air, i think everybody knows somebody who has either died or who has been really ill. it has been a very difficult time for the community. they have come together to provide huge help and support to each other. the word has been spread, i want to say, in all parts of the community, about the need for social distancing, and in the main all synagogues, and people have observed this, but some people do live with very large families in the

haredi community and that may well have impacted, but we don‘t have any accurate figures at the moment as to whether any particular section of the jewish community was whether any particular section of thejewish community was impacted more than others. that may follow in time. sure. i know the jewish chronicle and the independent have had reports that some members of the haredi committee weren‘t following the restriction measures. people delete my police called to large members of the haredi community in sta mford members of the haredi community in stamford hill and officers arrived, reminding people of their responsibilities. has the message got through to everyone?” responsibilities. has the message got through to everyone? i can say that the synagogues in the haredi community were closed down straightaway, and messages have gone out very firmly from the rabbis in the community. of course any digression is to be very regret it but the vast majority like the

majority of the population are observing the rules of social distancing. thank you very much for talking to us this morning. we appreciate your time. marie van der zyl, president of the board of deputies of britishjews. captain tom moore is to be knighted for his fundraising efforts for nhs charities. the second world war veteran walked a hundred laps of his garden before his 100th birthday last month, raising more than £30 million. when you take in giftaid it is actually nearer to £40 million. the prime minister — who nominated him — said captain tom had provided "a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus". he gave his reaction to my colleagues louise minchin and dan walker. to give me this honour is so outstanding that i can‘t say how i feel, but i certainly feel that i have been given a very outstanding

honour by the queen and the prime minister, and i thank them all very much. i am certainly delighted. i am overawed by the fact that this has happened to me. i understand that you knew because a letter arrived at home. when you first saw that letter, what did you think?” thought, this can‘t be true! i a lwa ys thought, this can‘t be true! i always said, this won‘t happen, and now it appears it actually has. but i was never anticipating that that letter would arrive for me.” i was never anticipating that that letter would arrive for me. ijust wa nted letter would arrive for me. ijust wanted an insight into family life, hannah, because we were speaking earlier to georgie and benji, your grand children. and they were saying they still call you grandad, but they still call you grandad, but they might have a joke about saluting you now and then now that you are siras saluting you now and then now that you are sir as well. they were talking to benjamin and jointure earlier and joking that they would

have to call you sir damper now. what do you think? —— sir grandpa. that would be the day, went to? i don‘t think that is what they will be doing. it‘s a nice thought, but i am sure they won‘t do that. be doing. it‘s a nice thought, but i am sure they won't do that.” be doing. it‘s a nice thought, but i am sure they won't do that. i know the money that is raised is going to help lots of people and we will talk about that, but you are also setting up about that, but you are also setting upa about that, but you are also setting up a foundation. tell us about it. 0ne up a foundation. tell us about it. one of the things that strikes me thatis one of the things that strikes me that is really necessary at the moment is for so many people throughout the world who are feeling lonely. i think they are feeling very much on their own, which is rather a shame because there is certainly a bright future for everyone. but i think loneliness is something we have got to look at very carefully.

he is so right. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. yesterday london reached 26 celsius, making it the warmest day of the year so far. it will be warmer than that for some of us today. a lot of sunshine, still some patchy mist and fog close to the coastlines of northern ireland and western scotland, an outside chance you could see a shower in east anglia this afternoon. but apart from the rain in shetland we are all in for a sunny day, temperatures responding. somewhere in eastern england down towards the south—east, we could get 28 or 29 degrees. through this evening and overnight, it remains clear in the east, where weatherfront coming in from the west introducing thicker cloud and some rain. through shetland, a lot of low cloud and mist left in its wake. it‘s going to be a mild night. tomorrow that rain moves from the

west to the east, and the heaviest will be in the northern half of the country, some thundery showers for a time in the south—eastern quarter and they will clear and behind all of that it will be drier and brighter, not quite as warm as it‘s going to be today. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the aircraft engine maker rolls—royce has announced it‘s cutting at least 9,000 jobs worldwide due to the impact of coronavirus. most of the company‘s civil aerospace staff are employed in the uk. civil aerospace staff it civil aerospace staff is deeply concerning notjust fl the it is deeply concerning notjust for the government, but for all the workers and families who will be affected by this. it is clear that the aviation industry is going through unprecedented change. that was the justice secretary through unprecedented change. that was thejustice secretary robert buckland. the govenment says it‘s "in listening mode" as at least 11 english councils say they have serious concerns about the phased reopening of schools from the 1st ofjune.

if you‘re diabetic, you‘re going to be offered more help from the nhs in england, after clinicians found that those with the condition have a greater risk of dying from covid—19. captain tom moore — who raised almost £40 million for the nhs — is awarded a knighthood, to be bestowed by the queen. iam i am looking forward to that. i hope she is not very heavy—handed with the sword! the lives of prisoners with serious health conditions are being put at risk during the coronavirus outbreak, according to their families. more than 4,000 inmates were identified as eligible for "temporary release" — many who were coming towards the end of their sentence, but some on health grounds. so far, less than 100 have been released from prison — and only seven have been released on the grounds of being medically extremely vulnerable. rachel stonehouse reports. release my son to protect his life,

that is what i am asking for. who‘s not going to ask for that? angela is a mum who desperately wants to be allowed to care for her son. but 35—year—old dwight monfries—jones is currently serving a 12—year sentence for drug—related offences at guys marsh, a low—risk prison. he has sickle cell anaemia, a blood disorder which means he is classed as medically vulnerable. but his application for temporary release was rejected on the basis that he hasn‘t served enough of his sentence. some people would say that he is in prison and he should serve his sentence. why should he be released? i‘m not asking for dwight to be released permanently, do you understand? we have a pandemic going on that everybody is scared of. and dwight has an illness to deal with, and i‘m asking for him to be temporarily released to me, to keep him safe until it is over. and then he can go back and finish his sentence. angela says the conditions in prison make it impossible for him to shield safely,

and he is appealing the decision on health grounds. it is life—threatening because the conditions that he is under now without having much exercise means that his circulation is reduced. the stress levels now, mentally and physically, will affect his body. so he might have not severe crises, but more frequent crises. more than 4.000 prisoners have been identified as eligible for temporary release because of the coronavirus outbreak. but only seven have been, on the grounds that they are extremely vulnerable. i‘ve spoken to a number of other families of prisoners who have applied for temporary release on health grounds. many of them say they haven‘t even had a response yet, and their families are concerned that every extra day they spend in prison puts their lives at risk. i think that it‘s even more important that these initial decisions, whether it‘s a yes or no, the initial determination is given within a matter of weeks

because the appeal process thereafter has to be followed as well, doesn‘t it? for people who are vulnerable, we‘re notjust talking release of prisoners, we‘re talking about people with serious conditions. in response, the ministry ofjustice is protecting the general public is its first priority and it makes no apology for doing so. it also says the measures in place in prisons are working. but for angela, every day that goes by, the worry for her son consumes her life. it‘s just not fair. he‘s not an animal, you know? he‘s a human being trying to protect himself and save his own life, and i am going to help him to do that. joining me now is laura 0rger, solicitor for the prisoners‘ advice service. she says the service is in touch with hundreds of inmates who believe they are eligible release — but says applications are being processed very slowly.

tell us more about the kind of issues that families are coming across. at the prisoners advice service, we receive hundreds of phone calls a week from prisoners with severe health conditions who are in custody. we have had phone calls from their family members who are distressed. they have been making applications in some cases since early april to be considered for temporary release on special purpose licence because they have life—threatening health conditions, respiratory conditions, terminal illnesses. and in many cases they are not getting any response. we are often not getting any response when we write letters or e—mails or ring the prisons. and when there are responses, they have been universally negative. in the white's case, his application was rejected on the grounds that he hadn‘t served enough of his sentence —— in dwight‘s case. is that fair enough? ican dwight‘s case. is that fair enough? i can understand the concerns of people on long sentences, and that is why those people are not eligible

for release. they are not eligible for release. they are not eligible for early release. this isjust for release. they are not eligible for early release. this is just a temporary release on licence. in dwight‘s case, he is in a closed prison, but we have been in contact with lots of prisoners who are in open conditions, going to work and visiting family members, on the cusp of release. some are due to be released in a couple of months. so they obviously cannot be high—risk, or they would not be mixing with the public. but now all their temporary release has been suspended. they have had negative decisions for the covid early release scheme and it just seems something of a farce. why have a policy and then not apply it? so if it is for temporary release, that justification if he so if it is for temporary release, thatjustification if he hasn‘t served enough of his sentence, does that make sense to you? not really. if it were permanent release, i would think absolutely, a person must serve the punishment imposed by the courts. but if it is temporary release being monitored by probation and the person has a serious medical

condition, it is hard to see that public protection is a justification for that. but that is what they say and the ministry ofjustice says that protecting the public is the number one priority and we are not going to apologise for that, irrespective of health grounds. where i am also a member of the public and obviously, public protection should be the primary consideration, but but it should not be the only consideration. a prison sentence should not be a death sentence. thank you very much, laura. laura 0rger is a solicitor for the prisoners advice service. almost a third of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in english hospitals had diabetes, new nhs england research suggests. diabetics are to be offered more help from the nhs in england, after clinicians found higher blood sugar levels and obesity increase the risk of dying from covid—19. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. living with diabetes is hard at the best of times, but forjanet carroll, who has type 2 diabetes, coping with the fear of covid—19

is adding in extra level of stress. not sleeping on a night, restless, and just dare not go out. it‘s like being in a stephen king novel at the moment. it‘s frightening, it really, really is. janet‘s concerns are reflected in a new study indicating diabetics are at increased risk of death from covid—19. this applies to type 1, which most often develops in childhood, and type 2, which affects mostly older people and is associated with weight gain, a poor diet and lack of exercise. but while high blood—sugar levels and obesity add to the risk, age is far and away the biggest risk factor. older people are more likely to die of the infection. as this lockdown eases, more people moving back to work, it's important that the government looks at this data and continues to use this evidence to drive its guidance and drive its policies

around how people with diabetes can stay safe, whether that's at work or at home. and equally, what's important is that people continue to get all the advice and support they need. the nhs in england is encouraging diabetics to stay on top of their condition using video consultations with medics, a new nhs helpline and weight—loss programmes. meanwhile, medical experts are looking at whether the risks for those who have diabetes are so great, they should consider shielding themselves like other vulnerable groups, but the isolation that would cause could lead to more harm than good. dominic hughes, bbc news. in china, a couple have been reunited with their son years later. catherine armstrong has the story.

this was the moment these parents we re this was the moment these parents were able to hug their son for the first time in 32 years. he was just two when he was taken from his province in north—west china. thousands of children go missing in china every year, but his parents never gave up hope. his mother devoted her life to finding her son, giving up herjob, crossing the country and handing out flyers and joining teams of volunteers investigating other abduction cases. in her search for her own son, she helped other families find their missing children. then earlier this year, police got a tip—off about a man in south—west china and a suspicious adoption in the late 80s. it led them to a man named mr gu. they used dna testing to prove that mrgu was in they used dna testing to prove that mr gu was in fact their son. and

what the signs verified, too many can be seen byjust looking. the family resemblance is almost unmistakable. a commonwealth—born british army veteran says he feels "hurt" and "let down" after learning that he faces a bill of around £30,000 for nhs surgery. taitusi ratucaucau served ten years in the army, including tours in iraq and afghanistan. he was discharged from the army over nine years ago, and still hasn‘t been granted indefinite leave to remain in the uk. so when he recently underwent an emergency operation to have a brain tumour removed, he was told he‘d have to pay for his recent operation. the story was first highlighted in the guardian newspaper this week. taitusi is going to talk to us now on the phone from st pancras hospital. he wants you to hear his story — he‘s still recovering and will speak slowly.

he‘s being supported by esita tuimanu, co—founder of the commonwealth neglected veterans group, whojoins us via webcam. thank you for talking to us. how are you? i am fine, thank you. i want to ask you about this bill that you are facing. why do you face a bill of £32,000 for your surgery? well, it is going up now. i have been told it is going up now. i have been told it is 27,000. i think each day you are in hospital, my understanding is that it does go up about £1500? ok, yeah. the reason i was charged a lot of money for my surgery is that i do not have the right to live in the uk. yet you served ten years in the

british army? yeah. i am currently considered as a member of the army. i have served for ten years. so you are currently considered to be an illegal immigrant, did you say? yes. i served in the royal logistics corps for ten years. i was in afghanistan. why haven't you been able to successfully apply for indefinite leave to remain? i can‘t because i don‘t have the funds to help me stop you don‘t have the funds to pay for visas, or the application? to pay for the visa. and how do you feel about the

situation you are in? i have been let down. i am not happy about what is happening with me. it is not only me, buta is happening with me. it is not only me, but a lot of good friends facing the situation i am in. so i am looking forward if something can be done. let's see what esita tuimanu says about that. what do you think of the situation that taitusi finds himself in? hi, victoria. to be honest, i find himself in? hi, victoria. to be honest, ifind it himself in? hi, victoria. to be honest, i find it utterly disgraceful. not only is taitusi a commonwealth veteran, but he is also a father of three young children who are aged between 13, 11 and ten. the ten—year—old daughter spoke out in

the early hours of this morning. she was interviewed by amelia gentleman yesterday from the guardian on her views, and how she felt and how this had affected the family. she mentioned that she was embarrassed because she is often the victim of criticism from her friends in school because she isn't able to go on overseas trips, planned school trips and she feels embarrassed about the situation. sorry, esita. the reason she can‘t go on those overseas trips is presumably because she won‘t necessarily be able to get back into britain? exactly. as a consequence, she is penalised for not going on these important school trips because of their status in the uk. now the family is suffering, including taitusi, because of the extortionate

bill that he has no choice but to pay to the nhs. and this is something i have spoken to the overseas team about, that they are following procedures. they looked after taitusi very well at the hospital and they knew from the beginning that he was an illegal immigrant because we never hid it from them. we told them about it and they did an excellent job looking after him. had it not been for the hospital, taitusi would not have been here today. what i don't understand is how, if you have served for a decade in the british army, including tours of iraq and afghanistan, as taitusi was explaining, why there isn‘t some kind of automatic leave to remain in the uk. what went wrong when taitusi was discharged? from what we have gathered from taitusi since we took on his case, then point were

stationed in germany and prior to returning to the uk, getting posted back to the uk, he wasn't aware that he was going to be coming out of the forces. when he came into the uk, they were only given a few weeks to sort themselves out. so he didn't have the financial means to pay for himself, his wife and his two children the visa costs at the time that would have cost him well over 5000 because he wasn't compensated. he was discharged on a compulsory basis. are there other former commonwealth soldiers in similar positions? yes, there are other commonwealth veterans out there who are in the same position as he is. this is something that has been happening for years. there have been campaigns out there, asking for the

mod to revisit their policies on armed forces personnel who are recruited from commonwealth countries because as you rightly asked, if these men and women sacrificed their lives on the front line for queen and country and had to serve alongside their british—born brothers and sisters as a united front, then why is it that they are not good enough to be citizens of this country? if they have served for at least four years or more, i would think it would be fair that they would be given the right to remain in the uk as a citizen or as a permanent resident. cani citizen or as a permanent resident. can i read you this statement from the ministry of defence. they say, we can‘t comment on this case because of ongoing legal proceedings, but we take this issue seriously and we work closely with our foreign & commonwealth office treats to make sure they and their families are aware of how they can attain settlement in the uk and the costs involved. what do you say to

that? if they take commonwealth veteran seriously, we wouldn't be here today. this is an issue that has been ongoing since 2003, when the visa fees were introduced by the home office. as a consequence, not only are these veterans suffering, but their families as well. the only solution to this is the policy is changing and therefore, them having to scrap the visa fees for these commonwealth soldiers and veterans who have sacrificed their lives. they are members of the united kingdom armed forces. and presumably, to scrap this nhs bill for taitusi as well. taitusi, can you still hear me? yeah. i have no idea if anybody from the government is watching right now, but if they were, what would you say to them?”

never thought in a million years that the country i have proudly sacrificed my life for turnaround and leave vulnerable soldiers. i would plead with them to do the right thing and look after us. this is what me, my family and my veteran brothers are asking for. this needs to stop. thank you. thank you for talking to us. we wish you continued success with your recovery. an esita tuimanu, thank you as well. you heard from taitusi, who are urged the british government to look after him and the other, wrath veterans who might find themselves in similar positions. —— the other commonwealth vetera ns. positions. —— the other commonwealth

veterans. it would be interesting to hear your views on this. send us a message. brazil has registered a daily death toll of over 1,000, for the first time. nearly 18,000 people have died in the country, and the total number of infections isjust over 271,000, the fourth highest in the world. katy watson in sao paulo has more details. brazil passed two grim milestones. not only was it the highest number of deaths in the past 24 hours, but he also posted the highest number of confirmed infections, more than 17,000 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours. tuesday is often a peak because of the collecting of data over the weekend, but nevertheless, this shows what a lot of people have been faring in brazil, that the numbers of deaths from the virus is not under control here in brazil.

the pharmaceutical company, johnson &johnson, has said it will stop selling its baby talcum powder in the us and canada. thousands of customers have taken the company to court over allegations that the talc powder it uses contains cancer—causing asbestos. johnson &johnson insists its talc is safe and will remain on shop shelves in other markets around the world. a tour group off laguna beach in california has seen a "super—pod" of dolphins this past weekend — there were at least 1,000 of the creatures. dolphins form the large group to avoid predators such as sharks. usually, dolphins form pods of a few dozen, but occasionally you see one with hundreds or even thousands of the mammals. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. hello again. if you‘re looking for rain in today‘s forecast, there‘s not much around. in fact, the only place really where we‘re likely to see it is in the far north of scotland. for most of us it will be dry,

sunny, and also very warm. high pressure firmly in charge of our weather at the moment, keeping front at bay. this is a front that will make progress later on, but not through daylight hours. we‘ve also seen some mist and fog through the morning, but most of that is gone now. and we‘re also going to hang on to a little sea fog across parts of the irish sea coastline and parts of scotland. that aside, a lot of dry weather. there‘s the chance you might see an shower in east anglia through the afternoon but consider yourself unlucky if you do, depending on your point of view, of course. the highest temperatures from yorkshire down this east coast towards the wash, east anglia and the south—east, where we could hit 28 or 29 degrees today, making it the warmest day of the year so far. through this evening and overnight, we say goodbye to the rain in shetland. we‘re left with a lot of cloud, and here‘s our weather front coming in from the west, introducing thicker cloud and also some rain. it‘s not going to be a cold night. most of us staying in double figures.

tomorrow, then, this weatherfront moves with this cloud and rain from the west and east. the heaviest rain in its northern flank, and the southern flank producing some heavy, thundery showers for a time across the south—eastern quarter before they clear away, and then behind it back into some sunshine, but not quite as warm as it‘s going to be today. towards the west, we start to see the signs of the next system coming our way in the shape of some cloud. here it is, an area of low pressure. as it comes in, it‘s going to bring rain from west to east. again, the heaviest will be on the western edge of it. it on the western edge of it. is going to be windy for ireland, it is going to be windy for northern ireland, wales and scotland, gusting up ireland, wales and scotland, gusting up to 60 mile an hour, more than that in the hills. it could cause some issues because the trees are in full leaf at the moment. as you come further south, it is drier, brighter, sunnier and also warmer. for saturday, we still have some wet and windy conditions in the northern half the country. in drier and blustery as we can further south with the odd shower stops and

temperature —wise, we are looking at from 11 in lerwick to 19 in london.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the boss of the aircraft engine maker rolls—royce has told us that thousands ofjobs are being cut here worldwide due to the effect of the coronavirus crisis. it's now clear that it's going to take years for the industry as a whole to recover to the sort of levels that we saw in 2019. unfortunately, that means we're going to have to reduce headcount significa ntly. brazil‘s daily death toll passes 1,000 — it‘s now the third worst hit country for infections in the world.