tonight at 10pm... borisjohnson backs his most senior advisor over allegations he ignored government restrictions on the coronavirus lockdown. did you leave the family home in durham? dominic cummings, the prime minister said, was "following instinct" in travelling over 250 miles for childcare when his wife showed coronavirus symptoms. i believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity. this was a huge test of the prime minister and he has just failed that test. he hasn't sacked dominic cummings, he hasn't called for an investigation and he is treating the british public with contempt. in the teeth of anger from some of his own backbenchers, how much of a political gamble is it for borisjohnson to

stick with mr cummings? also tonight... the government confirms primary schools will begin to open for certain pupils in england from june 1st. with deaths from coronavirus in care homes set to reach 10,000 this week, are government promises to protect staff and residents being met? and the dorset village where residents in the age of coronavirus have discovered a new neighbourliness. good evening. the prime minister has publicly backed his most senior and influential advisor, dominic cummings, in the face of calls for his sacking after it emerged he'd driven more than 250 miles from his home in london to county durham

when the government had introduced its coronavirus lockdown. it happened during the period mr cummings' wife had contracted the virus. some conservative backbenchers have accused him of arrogance while labour has called for mr cummings to resign. however, borisjohnson says his advisor had acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity." it comes as 118 more deaths were announced in the past 2a hours. that's the lowest figure since the lockdown began, though there's usually a lag in recording deaths at the weekend. that brings the total number of people who've died in the uk to 36,793. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. why did you not stay in your primary residence, mr cummings, as the government guidelines stated? why did you go 260 miles across the country? dominic cummings‘s family travelled 250 miles away from his london home to isolate in durham when his wife already had coronavirus symptoms, citing concerns over childcare.

though he faced something of a scrum here, the bbc maintained social distancing but the prime minister held him close and faced down calls for him to go. i think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent. and i do not mark him down for that. i believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly, and legally, and with integrity. conservative mps have got in touch with us today, prime minister, because they say lots of their constituents are angry. they feel that allowing somebody who was already ill to travel 250 miles across the country breaches at least the spirit of your guidance. hand on heart, can you really say this didn't breach the spirit of your guidance? what i can tell you is that i think when you look at the guidance, when you look at the particular child care needs that mr cummings faced at the time, it was reasonable of him to self—isolate as he did

for 14 days or more, with his family where he did. some conservative mps are saying, prime minister, that this defence that dominic cummings behaved responsibly, many of their constituents are angry about that because they feel it was irresponsible in breaching the guidelines and going to work close to their family in this lockdown? they feel insulted by that. i can totally get why people might feel so confused and, as you say, so offended by the idea that it was one thing for people here and another thing for others. but really, having looked at what happened, having looked at his intentions and what he was trying to do for the good of his family, i really think most people will understand what he was doing. the uk was placed into lockdown with strict limitations on travel on march the 23rd. the last time dominic cummings

was seen before developing covid symptoms was in downing street on the 27th of march. durham police were made aware of reports that an individual had travelled from london to durham on the 31st of march and the following day, a police officer spoke to mr cummings' father at his father's request. dominic cummings then returned to work in london for the 14th. government ministers say dominic cummings and his immediate family were hunkered down at a property adjacent to his parents‘ home in durham but the mirror and observer newspapers and the bbc have spoken to a member of the public who claims he saw mr cummings in the town of barnard castle, 30 miles away, on easter sunday, when the message was stay at home. he has now formally complained to the police. i am content that at all times, throughout his period in isolation, actually on both sides of that period, he behaved responsibly and correctly. i'm told some government ministers are hugely frustrated that coherent messages on controlling the virus

have been made more confusing to keep dominic cummings at number 10. so do voters in county durham have clear views? i think when someone like him, who is obviously giving advice to the prime minister, does not adhere to the rules, it makes it even more confusing for the average person. other people have been in the same situation and they have managed so why shouldn't he manage? we are all told to keep in, right. ten weeks of us in and he's out, he's flouting the rules. it's all wrong. they should sack him. and the labour leader seems to share those views. this was a huge test of the prime minister and he has just failed that test. he has not sacked dominic cummings, he hasn't called for an investigation, and he is treating the british public with contempt. if i were prime minister, i would have sacked cummings. why are you guys not social distancing? dominic cummings seems secure in his job for now but many mps

are worried that faith in the government's guidelines is far more shaky. iain watson, bbc news. laura kuenssberg, our political editor, is at westminster. how much of a political gamble is this for boris johnson, how much of a political gamble is this for borisjohnson, sticking by mrcummings? this for borisjohnson, sticking by mr cummings? it is a risk. normally it is the advisers who throw themselves in front of politicians to soak up the damage and today we saw the prime minister chucking himself out there to defend his key aide and those close to him say that was partly because he was convinced by what mrcummings was partly because he was convinced by what mr cummings explained to him about the reasons for his behaviour but more importantly it is because borisjohnson has but more importantly it is because boris johnson has come but more importantly it is because borisjohnson has come to really, really rely on dominic cummings. he is absolutely at the centre of the operation in downing street and around here he is either seen as admirably ruthless or by many of his enemies as relentlessly and somehow foolishly antagonistic. but for the prime minister, whether back during

the brexit referendum or the general election and now in his time in office, he is core to what happens in downing street and he has therefore made the calculation that therefore made the calculation that the loss of losing him would be greater than the political damage of trying to keep him. that means the prime minister himself has very personally today doubled down on what many see as a double standard. and what has a general reaction been? pretty negative in terms of that group of tory mps who have been publicly, some before the press conference and some after, joining the chorus of criticism of mr cummings and some government scientists who have been involved in advising ministers on the strategy have gone on the record online to say they are worried this undermines the advice they have been putting together. and among government ministers there is absolute frustration amongst some of them, some of them privately furious but not at this stage willing to go public and some of them concerned

that they will end up getting a kicking for the clarity of the message being confused by what happened when one of the prime minister's close team was doing this when tens of millions were told day after day to stay at home. and tomorrow, the daily mail, normally a newspaper firmly tomorrow, the daily mail, normally a newspaperfirmly behind tomorrow, the daily mail, normally a newspaper firmly behind the conservatives, splashing, questioning what planet mr cummings and mrjohnson are on and calling for him to sack his key aide if he is not willing to resign. and this is not willing to resign. and this is important to remember, politics moves is important to remember, politics m oves very is important to remember, politics moves very fast and there have been many occasions in the past when borisjohnson has many occasions in the past when boris johnson has brazen many occasions in the past when borisjohnson has brazen and out difficult situations but this is not a standard crisis because it is happening at a time of national crisis that has been going on for many months and many people are angry and upset. laura kuenssberg, thank you. though boris johnson spent most of today's briefing

defending his chief advisor, the prime minister did reaffirm his determination for a phased reopening of schools in england before the summer holidays. they were closed on the 20th of march to all except key workers' children and vulnerable students. primary schools will reopen onjune ist to early years pupils, reception, yeari and year 6, though that may not be possible in all cases. he added that from isthjune, secondary schools would provide "some contact" to year 10 and i2 students to allow them to begin preparations for exams next year. 0ur education correspondent, danjohnson, is with me. a reaffirmation that some schools will reopen but there is still a lot to aaron out? yes and teaching unions have again expressed safety concerns saying unions have again expressed safety concerns saying parents and teachers need further reassurance and they need further reassurance and they need to see more of the scientific evidence behind this decision. the advice published on friday said the risk is low if the right measures

are in place and the prime minister did recognise today that it won't be possible for every school to reopen next monday, even to the limited numbers of children they are aiming to get back. that has been welcomed because a number of councils said they are not ready, the schools will not reopen. the decision to delay the return of some older pupils, 15 and i7—year—olds who will be facing their gcses and a—levels next summer, that has been well received and they won't go back for at least another fortnight and on social distancing the government issued guidance today to nurseries and play skills recognising it will essentially be impossible to keep those younger preschool kids apart. what about primary schools? there will be smaller class sizes, there will be smaller class sizes, there will be smaller class sizes, there will be staggered at break times and different times for children being dropped off and picked up in an attempt to spread people and stop them mixing and try to reduce the transmission of the virus. there are still big questions about the

practicalities and that is just england, we don't have a date for kids to go back to school in wales, in scotland it is not expected until august and northern ireland looks more likely to be september. ultimately, this will be a decision that faces each family, when the time is right for them. but at least in one week, some parents will face the prospect of sending the kids to school and it is time to dig out the school and it is time to dig out the school uniform and see if those shoes still fit! thank you very much, dan johnson. this week the official number of deaths in care homes in england and wales from covid—19 is expected to pass 10,000 and that number won't include residents who died in hospital. care leaders say two months into the pandemic, government support remains patchy and inconsistent. in the last week, the bbc has spoken to more than 100 residential and nursing homes and nearly a third still have no staff tested for the virus. ministers say they threw a "protective ring" around care homes from the start and that the majority are coronavirus—free.

0ur social affairs correspondent, alison holt, has returned to one home we've been following throughout the crisis to get their view. out of mind for too long, the strain on care staff is so close to the surface. it's like an emotion, you know? you're up and down and up and down. you're caring for people under the hardest conditions. to see people get so sick and so poorly and only be able to hold their hand, not be able to give them a cuddle, not be able to do myjob, it makes me feel frustrated inside. 0ne home, but their experience here tells the story of so many. we've followed care staff at st ives lodge in chingford as they've struggled with covid—19. six residents have died. now, eight weeks on, they hope they've got the better of the virus. so, right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective

ring around our care homes. this wasn't what the home manager remembers, struggling to get testing, protective equipment and health support, she felt ignored. we've made sure that care homes have the resources they need to control the spread of infection. well, that makes me really angry to watch that, because it's rubbish. going back to that time, and even now, we still feel like we're on our own. we have no one. you know, we were making decisions. we were using google. it was a nightmare. but we did it. staff locked the home down in early march, then official advice in england said it was unlikely people in residential and nursing homes would be infected by the virus. that advice changed on march the 13th, when care homes were told they should ask no one to visit who had suspected covid—19 or is generally unwell. three days later, st ives lodge had its first case, a resident who visited hospital regularly.

the virus spread to others he sat with at mealtimes. 0n the 17th, the nhs told hospitals they should urgently discharge all hospital inpatients who were medically fit to leave. there is increasing evidence that some patients took the virus into homes. 0n the 21st, the government said the medically vulnerable should shield, including those in care homes. three days later, lockdown began for everyone. at this point, the representatives of key care organisations believe that their voice was not really being heard at the heart of government. the focus was on preventing hospitals being overwhelmed. i think it's just something about how value people in the care system. vic rayner, who represents not—for—profit care homes, says in march some residents were receiving blanket letters from gps saying they might not be taken to hospital. we will be signing forms to say if your heart and breathing stop, the carers will not try to resuscitate you. there will not be ambulances available to come and continue any

resuscitation or take you to hospital. the home that received this letter refused to pass it on to its residents. it's not thinking about people, it's not thinking about individuals, it's thinking about a process and a system. it's saying, the system can't help you. three weeks into lockdown, with the pandemic at its peak, council directors of social care wrote to the government describing protective equipment distribution as shambolic, guidance as contradictory, and saying social care appeared an afterthought. four days later, the health and care secretary set out his action plan. the government insists it's provided the care sector with protective equipment, testing and extra money, and in a system that was already underfunded and under pressure, there is talk of the longer term reform that's needed. i'm hopeful that this crisis will mean that the government realises it can't afford not

to reform social care. i think too often in the past the focus has been on the cost of reform without thinking about the human and financial consequences of not reforming. for residents and care staff, getting this right for the future couldn't be more important. alison holt, bbc news. police investigating the fatal shooting of a 19—year—old law student in blackburn a week ago have charged a sixth person. aya hachem died after being hit by a bullet fired from a passing car. ayaz hussain, who's 3a, will appear in court tomorrow accused of her murder and attempting to murder another person. police in hong kong have fired tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators protesting china's plans to impose a new security law. police say 120 people have been arrested after the first mass protests since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the territory. beijing says the legislation will improve people's lives but campaigners warn fundamental

freedoms are being eroded. 0ur china correspondent, stephen mcdonnell, reports. activists in their thousands are back on the streets of hong kong, ending the quiet of coronavirus. beijing has introduced new security legislation for the city. they are attempting to resist it. protesters say it elevates acts of dissent and government opposition to treason and sedition, potentially meaning serious jail time if you, for example, call for hong kong independence. we are worried that china's communist party will make use of the evil law to further suppress hong kong people. following last year's summer of rebellion, more than 7000 protesters have been charged with public assembly and rioting crimes. before the end of the year, they could be accused of trying to overthrow the communist party.

china's leaders say the law will mean a better atmosphere for business and that it should be applauded rather than feared. translation: this targets a very narrow category of acts that seriously jeopardise national security. it has no impact on hong kong's high degree of autonomy or on the rights and freedoms of residents. here in beijing, the national people's congress is underway. it is the most important annual political gathering for the chinese communist party. and this time round, china's leaders do feel like they've got a pretty good story to tell with the handling of the coronavirus, and perhaps they thought this would give them cover to almost sneak through new security legislation and that it wouldn't attract much attention. well, it's certainly attracting a lot of attention in hong kong. hong kong protesters know that in the coming days the legislation will pass through china's rubber stamp congress. then there is little they can do

to prevent it becoming law. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. after a ramadan marked by lockdowns and social distancing, muslims around the world have begun celebrating eid al—fitr. the "festival of the breaking of the fast" is one of islam's two major celebrations. traditionally, whole communities turn out to attend eid prayers at their local mosques. but with many countries still under coronavirus restrictions, eid is very different this year — including here in the uk, where some mosques are streaming their services live on social media. turkey, which had one of the fastest growing coronavirus outbreaks in the world, says it's turning the tide. the rate of infection is slowing to its lowest level, since the first recorded case back in march. the authorities say a nationwide contact tracing system, involving almost 6,000 teams, has been key. from istanbul, our international correspondent, 0rla guerin reports.

how do you track a virus that sweeps unseen through a city? in istanbul, home to more than 16 million, the answer is — you don't waste a minute. right from the very beginning we were ready for the covid—19. this is where we pick up the calls. they've been contact tracing since day one, when turkey's first case was diagnosed in march. the system is well developed from decades of tracking measles. it relies on tireless work by doctors and nurses. we as a team feel as if we are in a war. because people forget to go home. they don't, you know, they don't know the timeframes that they're working in. we say ok, eight hours is completed, but they don't even care going home because they know this is a duty they have to complete and before it spreads to anyone else. so 1200 tracing teams fan out across the city.

wejoined them in fatih in the heart of old istanbul. step—by—step they track the virus, here checking on two flatmates whose friend is covid positive. both in their 20s, they are tested on their doorstep. just a day after developing mild symptoms. translation: we follow foreign news and when we first heard about the virus, we were really scared. but turkey has rallied faster than we thought, much faster than europe and the united states. the doctors are out of their ppe now and everything has been bagged up and it is going to be disposed of safely. they have taken the swabs and they will be sent off to the lab and the results will be back within 2a hours.

and even if they test negative, they will have to remain home for another 1a days. we are keeping the virus out of the streets, that is very important for us. once we isolate them, you know, the virus stops spreading to their friends, to their relatives, to their co—workers. that seems to be working so far. along with widespread testing and partial lockdowns. the official death toll here is relatively low — around 4,300. international experts say turkey has managed to shield its people from a greater disaster. 0rla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. in the last few weeks we've seen how communities across the uk, have been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. and it's been a particular challenge in rural areas, where the population is often older and poorer, with limited public transport and broadband.

but in the village of piddlehinton in dorset, a huge volunteer effort has brought unexpected benefits for its 500 residents, as jon kay reports. it might look idyllic... ..but even here, lockdown is tough. people are scared and people are lonely, and we are in chaos. vicky is delivering food and medication to her elderly neighbours. waita minute,jim. jim is 87 and lives alone. morning, my lovely. without you, i couldn't manage. you are marvellous. every day, the most vulnerable people get a visit. the community's been so good with me, to me, and that's what's kept me going. because it's been a hard, hard time. i think we're doing the things that we've been put off doing for a long time, which is get friendly with your neighbours

and look out for each other. and it is an opportunity to right a few wrongs. there are elements within our village, within our societies, that have been left out. now is a chance to actually look after them, look out for them. with no village shop, they've had to find other ways of getting food to the most vulnerable. there is now a hardship fund. so, eight kilos of bananas... and this farming family has started delivering to those who can't get to the shops. you all right, luke? yeah, you? including the gypsy and travellers camp, where romany families like luke's have sometimes felt cut off in the past. how have the last few weeks improved the sense of community here? well, it's helped a lot. show them respect, they show you respect. help them out, they help you out, so to speak, like favour for favour. does it feel like it's a happier place to live these days? yeah, it is. there is an unexpected

sense of renewal here, of connections being made. the ladies who normally decorate the church now make posies, delivered by local teenagers... we are thinking of you and thanking you for all you do. love, the village. ..to key workers like abby, a covid nurse. it's lush. i love it. every week i get one, and it just means... yeah, itjust lifts me up, makes me feel good, and just that i'm not on my own in this. we are all together. we are all doing this together. what have you learned as a community? we are alljust looking out for each other. i think it's that sense of being covered and cared for and loved. by sharing their talents and working together, this village has managed to turn a threat into a fresh start. # nothing in the world

will ever be the same #. jon kay, bbc news, piddlehinton, in dorset. that's it. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. widespread gales across the country and because of excess of 50 miles an hour and for some it was pretty wet as well. this is the weather watch a picture from royal bridge highland where it was fairly dismal on saturday, and in fact the rain was pretty relentless from thursday through to saturday. because the smells of wet weather pushing in of the atlantic and that brought some significant rainfall accumulations. in fact we saw just shy significant rainfall accumulations. in fact we sawjust shy of significant rainfall accumulations. in fact we saw just shy of 145 significant rainfall accumulations. in fact we sawjust shy of 145 mm of

rain. your monthly average is 90, sets well in excess. compare that to the gardens where we probably see just shy of two mm and some parts have had no measurable rainfall so far this month. more on that injust a moment. we closed out sunday on a relatively quiet note with lighter winds and some sunny spells as you can see by this weather watch a picture from dorsett. a bank holiday monday looks set to be very quiet indeed. as i pressure builds out of sunday into monday from the south, the heights of bars continue to open a very light winds with one or two weather fronts waiting in the wings for later on. we start white quiets the patching mist and fog through south wales and southwest england, but lots of sunshine from the word go to but lots of sunshine from the word gotoa but lots of sunshine from the word go to a light winds and pleasant out there. as we go through the afternoon we will see the clouds gather across the far north of norther ireland and western fringes of scotla nd norther ireland and western fringes of scotland by the end of the day as a potential for of scotland by the end of the day as a potentialfor some of scotland by the end of the day as a potential for some light of scotland by the end of the day as a potentialfor some light rain of scotland by the end of the day as a potential for some light rain to arrive. should not spoil your day and temperatures will peek into the

mid to high teens and possibly 20 degrees, but we will see highest values in the south of 25 celsius, that's 77 fahrenheit. into tuesday this weather fronts toppling across the high but weakening all the time comes that basically translates into an area of cloud that moving out of scotla nd an area of cloud that moving out of scotland into the northern england across northern ireland and perhaps wales as well. writer following him behind, the best of the words in the sunshine likely on tuesday afternoon through east anglia and the southeast. 25 not out of the question, maybe 26. at into the high 70s, behind it may be mid to high teens possibly low 20s. that high—pressure is not really moving very far very fast, weather fronts will try to push and from time to time ini will try to push and from time to time in i went state the level of uncertainty as to whether we will see any rain from this front. need to keep an eye on it and could bring a brakes of sharper showers into western scotland. certainly more in the way of cloud in the best of the

ascension for england and wales, more widespread want to the middle pa rt more widespread want to the middle part of the day, 25 or 26 across the country. this theme is going to continue over the next few days. high—pressurejust continue over the next few days. high—pressure just drifting off the scandinavia a little but we still have this southerly feed dragging in this warm airand have this southerly feed dragging in this warm air and potentially high—pressure keeping all those out in the atlantic. not much change as we move out of one week into the next, so you can we move out of one week into the next, so you can see we move out of one week into the next, so you can see thursday into friday claudia skies at times but still seeing ready warm with that. it does mean is the close of the month of may this going to be little significant change into the weather story. and so that means we will continue light winds, largely dry and warm for all. many places across the southeast could see very little if any rainfall or may at all. take care.