good morning. this is bbc news with the latest headlines. boris johnson sticks by his top aide — over claims dominic cummings broke the lockdown rules by travelling hundreds of miles. i think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and i do not mark him down for that. but mounting calls for mrcummings to resign will overshadow today's cabinet discussions on lifting coronavirus restrictions. parents and teachers are told to prepare for the return of more pupils to schools in england from next monday — as planned. away from uk politics — police and protestors in hong kong clash over china's plans to impose a new security law on the territory.

good morning and welcome to your bank holiday monday news. i'm annita mcveigh. there's mounting pressure on the prime minister to fire his key adviser dominic cummings for travelling across the country during the coronavirus lockdown. conservative backbenchers, the labour party and some scientists have condemned mr cummings‘ apparent flouting of the government guidance — with many accusing him of seriously undermining public confidence in measures to halt the spread of covid—19. borisjohnson says his adviser acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity". our correspondent, simonjones, reports. reporter: have you undermined the message, mr cummings? leaving downing street with

the backing of the prime minister, but there are growing calls for dominic cummings to quit or be fired. he's accused of breaking lockdown rules by travelling to durham when his wife had coronavirus symptoms, so they could be close to other family members in case they needed help caring for their young son. 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. the uk was placed into lockdown on 23rd march, with strict limitations on travel. the government guidelines stated you should not be visiting family members who do not live in your home. the last time dominic cummings was seen before developing coronavirus symptoms was in london on 27th march. four days later, durham police said it was made aware of reports that an individual had travelled

from london to durham. on 12th april, newspaper reports suggested mr cummings was spotted in the town of barnard castle, 30 miles from his parents‘ home. two days later, he was photographed back in downing street. but on 19th april, it's alleged mr cummings again travelled to the north—east. number 10 this says this is false. number 10 says this is false. labour wants an enquiry. labourwants an inquiry. this was a huge test of the prime minister and he's just failed that test. he hasn't sacked dominic cummings, he hasn't called for an investigation, and he's treating the british public with contempt. the former conservative minister, paul maynard, tweeted: the concern is shared by one scientist who's been advising the government. if we undermine the unity between the population and the government, if people lose trust and lose adherence, if they stop complying with the measures which have contained the infection, then all of us will lose out

because the infection will spike again and many more people will die. hypocrite! resign! dominic cummings was heckled as he returned home, but as the cabinet meets today to discuss plans to further ease the lockdown, ministers are facing the accusation that it's one rule for downing street and one for the rest of us. simon jones, bbc news. let's go to downing street now, our political correspondentjessica parkeris political correspondentjessica parker is there. good morning to you, jessica. there is due to be a virtual cabinet meeting at some point today to talk about those lockdown restrictions and possibly easing them further. but isn't it the case that that's going to be com pletely the case that that's going to be completely overshadowed by this continuing row over dominic cummings? that does seem quite likely at the moment, as you say the cabinet is due to meet earlier no later today virtually and will discuss some important things, like what will happen with schools, the

plan for a phased reopening of primary schools from earlyjune and what might happen with social contact, so how people might be able to interact more going forward as the lockdown is eased and how more nonessential retail might start to open up as well. but i think there are still quite a lot of unanswered questions following last night's press c0 nfe re nce . questions following last night's press conference. borisjohnson obviously hoped with a full throated defence, as we have been hearing of his chief aide dominic cummings, to close the matter down but there are still questions about what happened, did the family go on a day trip to barnard castle while in durham? did they stop at a petrol station en route from london to durham whilst one of them was showing covid symptoms? where there are other options for childcare support in london rather than having to go to the family home in county durham? those questions still being asked of this morning and put to ministers like the education secretary gavin williamson. the guidance is incredibly extensive and at the heart of that guidance is always the issue

of safeguarding children. and making sure that children are always absolutely protected. and my understanding is, from what the prime minister said yesterday, and you saw it as i did, is that at every stage dominic cummings and his family followed the guidance. at no stage did dominic cummings or his family break the law. now, among those criticising boris johnson's message last night, include a few government scientists, warning that they felt that he had trashed the messaging that is coming from the government in terms of how to keep safe during the coronavirus crisis. one of the things that is going to happen as the lockdown is potentially eased is that message could get more complicated and we really will require the public to engage, use their common sense, as the british prime minister has repeatedly said. a number of bishops also came out last night criticising the government as well. and the

first minister, the snp leader, nicola sturgeon. i think he's come to the wrong judgment. the reason why i think that matters is that the consequences are potentially so serious. as we go into the next phases of dealing with this crisis, as we start to lift lockdown restrictions and rely less on the letter of the law and more on guidance and appeal to people's good judgment, then trust in the advice we are giving and the reasons why we are giving that advice is really important. and people, if they get any sense that it is one rule for them and another rule for people in positions of authority, then that will become very difficult. the sacrifices people have made over these last few weeks are immense. now of course, nicola sturgeon did have an experience of this kind of matter herself when her chief medical officer doctor catherine calderwood was found to have visited her second home twice, initially the first minister criticised the chief medical officer at the time for

making that move but decided to keep her on saying she was very important but the pressure became too much and doctor catherine calderwood did eventually resign after that. it isn't just eventually resign after that. it isn'tjust opposition parties criticising the government over this, there are conservative mps who have come out, handful and it is not a universal view within the conservative party, but saying that they think dominic cummings should go because the message around coronavirus has been undermined and tory mps talking about how their post bags, their inboxes, are full of people talking about the kinds of sacrifices they have had to make and feeling that it is unjustified that dominic cummings, for example, travelled to the family home in cou nty travelled to the family home in county durham towards the end of march. but as borisjohnson said last night, he has had extensive face—to—face conversations with his chief aide and he was satisfied with what he was told and believes dominic cummings acted legally, responsibly and with integrity. 0k,

jessica, thank you very much. jessica, thank you very much. jessica parker in downing street. let's talk now to the conservative mp simon hoare whojoins me from north dorset. very good morning to you, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. is your inbox full of the sorts of e—mailsjessica was talking about? yesterday, you said dominic cummings ought to consider his position and he was wounding the prime minister's and government's reputation. given the prime minister backed him yesterday, have you changed your mind at all on dominic cummings? i haven't, i respectfully disagree with the prime minister on this issue. in answer to the first pa rt this issue. in answer to the first part of your question, my inbox is absolutely bloated with white anger, with real fury from constituents across the political spectrum, from across the political spectrum, from across the political spectrum, from across the different professions and jobs in north dorset, absolutely furious that they have abided by the rules and the regulations, as i urged them to do, as the government told them to do, to save the nhs and

save lives and keep people safe, and they feel that they have been played for fools. there has they feel that they have been played forfools. there has to be a they feel that they have been played for fools. there has to be a worry long—term on that that if the r rate sta rts long—term on that that if the r rate starts to pick up and we have to resurrect a further response to lockdown, my real fear is an awful lot of people will say there is one rule for one and one rule for the other, my instinct is to do this and instinct now trumps everything, i'm going to ignore whatever it is the government says and that could have very serious ramifications. people who are in positions of authority, in power, and influence should be like cesar‘s wife, above reproach. they can't duck around narrowly drawn, a widely drawn code source of guidance, they should adhere to it. we all received a letter from no 10 which said you must stay—at—home, no ifs, no buts. i guess many people would say there is a simple principle at stake here, which is

leading by example. in the early days of this lockdown, chiefly the period we are talking about, the prime minister and members of the cabinet praised members of the public for listening to the instruction. the word was instruction. the word was instruction. from government. the vast majority of people who listen to that instruction, who didn't travel to family if they were worried, for example, about themselves becoming ill and being unable to look after children, who didn't travel because they desperately, even though they desperately, even though they desperately wanted to see dying relatives, where they all wrong? was there instinct and common sense all wrong? or does dominic cummings have some special instinct and common sense that the rest of us don't? no, the instincts and the common—sense of british people in adhering to the instructions of government were and continue to be absolutely right. as i say, my anxiety is that this do as

i say, my anxiety is that this do as i say not as i do approach, which my colleague paul maynard referenced yesterday in a tweet, is absolutely right. these rules were uniform. they apply to all of us irrespective of who we were, what we did, where we lived and what our needs happened to be. there are scores, millions of families who have made huge sacrifice, they haven't gone to see granny and grandpa, they haven't celebrated birthdays, they haven't seen celebrated birthdays, they haven't seen ill, dying elderly relatives, they have coped with difficult childcare, demanding needs, often in small properties without access to a garden or open space and they have risen to that challenge magnificently and we all loathe them a huge, huge gratitude for doing what the government said. journalists were asking the prime minister about details at the news briefing yesterday, questions he

didn't answer about when he knew about dominic cummings‘s travel plans, details about the barnard castle issue, have you been made privy to any of those details? no, and what we were all hoping for was and what we were all hoping for was a very detailed chronology, which would have set clear facts, some tone of contrition of mr cummings, may be an error ofjudgment had been entered into, and may be some humility and that may have helped in drawing a line under it. but the slightly cavalier attitude, the apparent are not taking this issue as seriously as i think most people in this country are taking it, is i think deeply damaging and distracting, which is why i think many of us, and i heard jessica parker at the top of the programme refer to us as a handful of mps, well, it is a very big hand because well, it is a very big hand because we are up well, it is a very big hand because we are up to 16 or 17 colleagues who have made exactly the same request. but if mrcummings have made exactly the same request. but if mr cummings is loyal and

faithful to the prime minister, which i have no doubt that he is and if mrcummings which which i have no doubt that he is and if mr cummings which is the prime minister well, and if mr if mr cummings which is the prime ministerwell, and if mr cummings wishes the government... on that point, is mrjohnson too dependent on dominic cummings? is relationship clouding hisjudgment on dominic cummings? is relationship clouding his judgment and on dominic cummings? is relationship clouding hisjudgment and ultimately calling hisjudgment clouding hisjudgment and ultimately calling his judgment as clouding hisjudgment and ultimately calling hisjudgment as prime minister into question?|j calling hisjudgment as prime minister into question? i don't think so. there is a wide body of advisory people in no 10. when you are prime minister you have access to the finest brains in the country to the finest brains in the country to advise on things. but nobody is indispensable and nobody is ever relied upon that match, whether it is mrcummings or relied upon that match, whether it is mr cummings or someone else. anybody can be replaced and there are plenty of other people who could step in and do the job. ok, simon hoare, thank you very much for your time this morning, conservative mp for north dorset. away from the uk. police in hong kong have fired tear

gas and water cannon at protesters rallying against china's plans to impose a new security law on the territory. danny vincent is our correspondent in hong kong. tell us more about what has been happening first of all on the streets. on the streets of hong kong yesterday was thousands of protesters young and old, they gathered in a central shopping district area. they planned to march across the city to show their opposition to a national security law that beijing has proposed. very quickly the police sprung into action. they were there and waiting. they raised flags and later they fired tear gas into the crowd. they confronted the crowd. and after that we saw somewhat of a cat and mouse game where the protesters would run down many of the narrow alleys in the centre of hong kong and protest

and then the police would chase after them. now, there have been many protests in hong kong over the last year. i'd say this is probably the biggest one we have seen this year. it is certainly the biggest we have seen since the outbreak of the coronavirus. this proposed law has managed to unite hong kong people willing to break the law, essentially. many were arrested, up to 118 the police say. people were also willing to break the social distancing measures that the government had into place to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. and it has been a relatively quiet few months. i use the word advisedly, after a year of pro—democracy protests. is there a feeling there that china wants this to be the final showdown, if you like, to impose its authority to get rid of what is known as one country, two syste ms ? rid of what is known as one country, two systems? the official line from beijing is that one country, two

systems is still very strong, it's a very important part of hong kong's basic law. if you talk to the protesters here, especially the younger protesters, they feel what they are experiencing is perhaps the last fight for hong kong's way of life. people, for many years, have said that hong kong, the freedoms that hong kongers were guaranteed when the city was handed back to china, they have seen somewhat of a slow motion erosion of some of those rights. but the announcement that this proposal which came from beijing, it happened so quickly, it caught many people by surprise, and most hong kongers now are quite fea rful most hong kongers now are quite fearful about what happens next. ok, danny vincent, thank you very much. the time is 9:17am. the headlines on bbc news. boris johnson sticks by his top aide — over claims dominic cummings broke

the lockdown rules by travelling hundreds of miles. but mounting calls for mrcummings to resign will overshadow today's cabinet discussions on lifting coronavirus restrictions. parents and teachers are told to prepare for the return of more pupils to schools in england from next monday — as planned. police in north ayrshire are searching for a gunman after a man was shot dead. detectives say the suspect opened fire at a property in the town of ardrossan yesterday evening. a 42—year—old man was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. a 46—year—old woman was also in the house, but was not injured in the incident. 50 firefighters were needed to tackle a ‘significant‘ blaze at the bombardier factory in belfast. it took over two hours for fire crews to bring the flames under control after they were alerted last night. nobody was injured in the blaze, which is believed to have been an accident, though investigations are ongoing. the aerospace company is one of northern ireland's largest employers.

one of the key questions being asked by medical professionals right now is why some of us have more severe coronavirus symptoms than others. it's hoped some of the answers may lie in research being carried out by a team of scientists, clinicians and volunteers in cambridge. here's our science correspondent richard westcott. why does covid—19 put some people, like george gilbert here, in hospital, yet others get no symptoms at all? how are you doing? lovely. oh, that's good. well, he's helped volunteered to help find out. because part of the answer might lie in his blood. you take all that lot?! yeah, we're like vultures, aren't we? i shan't have any left. no! once it's sealed up, the blood's passed to volunteer ben. his medical research and to go on hold because of the virus, so he's set up a team that every day carries covid samples

to be analysed. so, ben, it's quite an odd way to interview someone. it is, yes. how did you get involved in this? so i'd normally be working in the lab on pulmonary hypertension, a rare lung disease. and it's quite frustrating because i can't do that. so ijust e—mailed my colleagues and asked — how can i get involved, how can i help? and it's been excellent, to be honest, because you do feel you're making a difference in these difficult times. samples are taken to a brand—new lab just around the corner on the cambridge biomedical campus. your blood contains cells that play a key role in fighting off the coronavirus. some of them make antibodies, others directly kill infected cells, but to analyse them first you have to separate them off. so at the very bottom we have the red blood cells, they're the heaviest and go to the bottom of the tube. at the top, the yellow part, is the plasma, it's kind of the solution that your blood floats in normally. and then we're looking at this white small band here — these are the white blood cells that are fighting off your infection.

then it gets more complex. there are lots of different types of white blood cells all playing different roles. so next door a machine uses lasers to count how many you've got of each key type. it can then separate millions of them off for more tests. incredibly, each blob here is a droplet of salty water with one cell inside. i think we'll find that the pattern of white blood cell numbers is going to give us an answer to why some people recover and some people don't. so basically the very ill people might have different cell structures or cells to the people who don't get very ill? very ill people may start off with a different balance of white blood cells, or they may end up with a different pattern that doesn't help the recovery. 265 addenbrooke's patients and staff are giving 260 addenbrooke's patients and staff are giving their blood for this research. some got very sick, some didn't.

the key question for scientists — can you see the difference in their blood? we've found a number of severe abnormalities in patients with advanced covid disease, and some of those point very clearly to the potential therapeutics that might impact on the disease. we're also finding that a lot of those abnormalities are visible early in disease, and perhaps much earlier than we expected. so that's interesting — you might be able to tell much sooner who is going to get very, very sick? exactly. what we're hoping is that when people develop symptoms that make them suspect they might have covid and get their very first test, when tests become more readily available, at that point we might be able to predict who's going to go on to get severe disease, which should allow us to intervene earlier. by understanding the science of the disease it's easier to find drugs to fight it. richard westcott, bbc news, cambridge. western australia has been battered by a huge storm — ripping roofs off houses, downing trees, and leaving

more than 60,000 homes without power. most of the affected properties were in the city of perth. the state's south was particularly hard hit, with dust storms and torrential rain as well as huge waves along the coast. officials said no injuries were reported. authorities had warned residents to prepare for a "once—in—a—decade" storm. new zealand has been rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake — while the country's prime minister was in the middle of a live television interview. the tremor struck 30 kilometres off the coast of the country's north island and, although no damage was reported, it lasted for more than 30 seconds. jacinda ardern, who was in the country's parliament building — known as the beehive — when the quake hit, was remarkably calm under pressure. we arejust we are just having a bit of an earthquake here, ryan. quite a decent shake here, if you see things moving behind me, the beehive moves a little more than most! quite a

decent shake, she said. what a cool customer. coronavirus has seen concerts and music festivals cancelled around the world. now there's a drive—in revival as musicians find new — socially distant — ways of performing live to music fans. denmark is kicking of a season of 70 shows, from various artists, performing to audiences as big as 2,500 people. adrrenne murray reports. these cars are packing up at copenhagen airport, but no one here is taking a flight. they've come to watch a socially distanced live concert. it's the same principle as a drive—in cinema. you simply tune into a radio frequency and then sit back and watch the show from the safety of your car. cheering singer/songwriter is taking to the

stage. his european tour was cancelled when denmark's lockdown came in. now he's playing a sell—out drive in show to 600 cars and an audience of 2500 people. vehicles parked two metres apart, windows can only be opened on the left—hand side. it's a new experience for everyone. now that the country is opening up its a good reminder that it is still here and you can still do things at a distance. there is not that much going on for the moment and this isjust not that much going on for the moment and this is just a not that much going on for the moment and this isjust a good opportunity to be together. # your halo illuminates the room... # the coronavirus pandemic has seen concerts and music festivals cancelled around the world. drive—ins is one way music is making a comeback. we knew we had to be creative and the drive—in, according to the government guidelines and restrictions, that was the only

opportunity we had together a lot of people in one place to see their favourite artists. video platform zoom is used for an extra human connection. so what's it like performing to this unusual crowd?m is kind of strange to play a drive—in concert, honestly, but it feels great to be part of a new thing. i could tell from the atmosphere and the cars that people are atmosphere and the cars that people a re really atmosphere and the cars that people are really excited to get out. smaller drive—in concerts have taken place in the us and australia. we are likely to see the formatting in other countries too.

now let's see how the weather for the day is set. if you like your weather that bit warmer, temperatures are on the rise in the latter pa rt temperatures are on the rise in the latter part of the week. particularly the latter part of the week, temperatures are on the rise. today for many of us it's dry, there is a lot of sunshine around, but we've got weather fronts coming in from the west introducing thicker cloud and also some patchy rain and drizzle across northern ireland and western scotland, and gusty winds with this as well. temperatures ranging from 13 in lerwick to 25 in london. through this evening and overnight, that weather front sinks south bumping into high—pressure, so weakening, leaving us with their bank of cloud and some spots of rain. but on either side of it we will have clear skies. but nonetheless it's not going to be a cold night, temperatures falling between about 9—13d. so tomorrow we start with some spots of rain from the weather front. but they will soon dry up and as the cloud sinks southwards it will turn the sunshine hazy. behind it for northern england, northern ireland and scotland we see a return to sunshine with temperatures around average and highs of around 26.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. boris johnson sticks by his top aide — over claims dominic cummings broke the lockdown rules by travelling hundreds of miles. but mounting calls for mrcummings to resign will overshadow today's cabinet discussions on lifting coronavirus restrictions. parents and teachers are told to prepare for the return of more pupils to schools in england from next monday as planned. police and protesters in hong kong clash over china's plans to impose a new security law on the territory. more now on our main

story this hour — the continuing row over dominic cummings and we have received these images of mrcummings cummings and we have received these images of mr cummings outside his home a short while ago. journalists and cameras there to ask him questions. he did not respond specifically to any questions, i understand. this follows the prime minister backing his chief adviser yesterday, saying he had acted responsibly, legally and integrity in travelling to the north—east during the lockdown. it is a continuing row. numbers of people not happy with what the prime minister had to say yesterday and a number of church of england bishops have taken to twitter to accuse the prime minister of treating people as

mugs. one bishop said... in manchester the bishop david walker said... the bishop of leeds nick baines said... in sheffield, the bishop pete wilcox tweeted. .. the bishop of reading olivia graham said...

and the bishop of truro philip mountstephen said... i'm joined now by the bishop of liverpool — the right reverend paul bayes. thank you forjoining us this morning. i think i am right in saying i can barely recall, and i am sure most people can barely recall listening to colleagues of yours, their statements on this row, hearing such strong words from clergy about the action of a prime

minister. what are your views on what dominic cummings has done and on what the prime minister said yesterday, how he is handling this? thank you, i agree with colleagues. the focus is not necessarily on mr cummings. here is a guy, of course he has children, family, he is not well. he may have made a mistake and in that case if the government said we are so sorry, our guy has in that case if the government said we are so sorry, our guy has made a mistake he is sorry about that, that is not what we are hearing. we hear the prime minister blustering to say there is nothing wrong, nothing illegal, nothing irresponsible. there is complete integrity in behaving in ways that completely contradict at the time it was done was the advice, stay at home. it was so was the advice, stay at home. it was so simple and now we are told with integrity you can break it. it is not right. you say and you choose to look at a point other people have picked up on that there has been no

expression of feeling sorry for any of this, irrespective of the government arguing that what dominic cummings did was legally correct. he has not said sorry and mrjohnson has not said sorry and mrjohnson has not said sorry and mrjohnson has not said sorry for any upset people are feeling. is that as damaging as the fact dominic cummings went to durham? the main thing it seems to me is not that one member went against the advice given, the thing is do we trust the advice? at the time, most people trusted the advice, even though that made life very difficult. lots of people with small children stayed at home. people with the virus stayed at home. they found ways to cope. because they were advised to stay at home to help everybody else. and now they are told they could have gone off with integrity and should have follow their instinct. that is what is deeply distressing as we look

forward because we are trying to see how we can best lift the lockdown and if the government gives us new advice, how can we trust them to keep themselves? that message of staying at home, that is one that you delivered to your congregation, presumably? indeed, and we said do not go to church, we will not the churches. not even the clergy should be in the church saying their prayers. that has changed now because advice change but we did our best to keep in line with advice because we trusted the government and trusted the scientific advice they received and did our best to save lives. that is what we should all be doing and i deeply regret the trust in the government seems to be eroding today. presumably you read the advice very closely and you are telling us, i take it, you did not interpret it in the way the prime minister and dominic cummings are interpreting it? i am a simple man, ican interpreting it? i am a simple man, i can read four letter words and

they were stay home. we did our best to advise people to do that. not go to advise people to do that. not go to your second home up in the north, but stay home. when that was the advice, we stuck to it. now it is less clear what the advices but we are doing our best. all credibility depends on trust. can we trust the government going forward so they don't suddenly turn around and saying stay at home did not mean it, with integrity you can break it. i do not think that is right. the bishop of liverpool, thank you. joeyjones is a former adviser to theresa may. hejoins me now. good morning. clearly politicians do not always want to answer questions put to them the same as the rest of us put to them the same as the rest of us but were you surprised how boris johnson handled the daily briefing, given the reaction to what his chief adviser had done? in some ways i was

not surprised. i do not think it was well handled but it was handled in a way that reflects the importance of dominic cummings to borisjohnson and the fact he will stick with him through thick and thin. if it had been anybody other than dominic cummings, ithink been anybody other than dominic cummings, i think they would have gone by now, right up to senior cabinet ministers, in the current situation. one of the dangers for downing street is the criticism he is getting from all sides now, i am not sure he would have anticipated the church of england being part of that as well, only seems to reinforce a bunker mentality. it is basically reinforcing a dynamic where because of the criticism led by dominic cummings' enemies, it is viewed is not legitimate and they are not answering questions that i am sure people are scratching their heads and asking up and down the country. how much as a problem has

it been in that dominic cummings does not seem contrite, not offered an apology, has not said, i think i acted within the guidelines but i appreciate people are angry about this and i am sorry they feel upset. there has been nothing like that.|j there has been nothing like that.” think that is reflective of the paranoia that seems to be infecting downing street, the fact it was driven by two hostile newspapers, the mirror and guardian has blinded them to the legitimate questions and them to the legitimate questions and the scepticism about whether or not this was appropriate behaviour that is shared far more widely. it was a legitimate journalistic enquiry. is shared far more widely. it was a legitimatejournalistic enquiry. if dominic cummings had such a straightforward a nswer to dominic cummings had such a straightforward answer to it, that he felt would stand up in the court of public opinion, he could have a nswered of public opinion, he could have answered the questions many weeks ago when first presented. the fact

he didn't, it surely reflects a degree of unease. dominic cummings, he does not do contrition and i think it is too late in the day for him to change his tone and for the government to change tack in that regard. they stuck on the course they mapped out. the thing that will concern downing street is the headline on the daily mail. is what tory mps are feeding in from the battle ground seats, from their own constituents. dominic cummings has been really good at seeing over the head of the westminster village, reading the mood of the british people. but that quality seems to have deserted him because this is not just a bubble have deserted him because this is notjust a bubble issue. do you think the prime minister is too dependent on mr cummings. peter bone said when the adviser becomes the story the adviser has to go. do you think he is too dependent on the

relationship. chief adviser to a prime minister elected on a pledge to deliver brexit. if you were advising borisjohnson, to deliver brexit. if you were advising boris johnson, would to deliver brexit. if you were advising borisjohnson, would you say you need to sack him and be seen to sack him rather than allowing him to sack him rather than allowing him to resign, where he minded to do so? i would say borisjohnson has become if you like dangerously dependent on dominic cummings because in good times, when dominic cummings is proving his worth and he is an asset like nobody else in downing street and in government, but because he is so and in government, but because he is so closely bound to him, when things go wrong, as they have done over the past few weeks, the prime minister is equally tarred by that. that is the problem. i have mixed feelings about this episode as i did in the same way neil ferguson the scientist departed a few weeks ago. we need capable people at the heart of

government. dominic cummings' recent behaviour doesn't reflect the fact i think he is the most capable adviser in downing street and if he does go, and he is on borrowed time, it will bea and he is on borrowed time, it will be a los for borisjohnson and for us asa be a los for borisjohnson and for us as a country. he cannot blame that on everybody else, on his enemies. he needs to look in the mirror right at the moment. thank you. the international office of migration has warned that the current situation in the mediterranean could mean many people are disappearing at sea without a trace. the number of migrant boats leaving libya for europe has increased four times on last year, and at the same time there are fewer search and rescue missions. four times on last year, and at the same time there are fewer search and rescue missions. aid boats are struggling to get out due to coronavirus restrictions, while europe has shifted responsibility for rescues to the libyan coastguard. the bbc‘s population reporter stephanie hegarty investigated what happened to one boat that left libya in early february when it

called for help that never came. we were in carlos's kitchen, i think it was about three o'clock. hello, can you hear me? we are calling from a boat. we are migrants. please, we are in danger. we are in the middle of the sea. we are in the mediterranean sea. right, tell me information, how many people are you in the boat? we are 90 people, 91 people. usually, they call us and the boat is still working and moving and in this case it wasn't. carlos and jacinta volunteer for a helpline that answers calls from boats in distress in the mediterranean. the process is simple. they call in and then we ask where is their position, and then we will contact the coastguard. that is our role. we don't do anything else. but, that night, those that were

supposed to coordinate the rescue were not answering. the boat was in libyan waters. they tried six different numbers for the libyan coastguard but there was no answer. then they called the rescue coordination centre in rome. it just became more and more clear as the night went on that no one was coming. these people are going to die. there was no chance that they are going to be rescued because nobody is picking up. i did ask where they were from, and i asked that partly for that thing of being able to match up later, but also because i was really worried for them and i didn't want them to be anonymous people. i wanted to know a bit more about them. wow. this man knew ten people on board.

muzammil was his 18—year—old nephew. i remember saying to them, "you are doing really well," because i just wanted to say something positive. is there a lot of water inside the boat? yeah, water, water. it's going to be full now, yes. of course you cannot tell them everything is going to be fine, because you know that everything may not be fine. and we were speaking to them, we were speaking to the man and he was shouting and he was saying there are people in the water. then we couldn't hear him any more. we tried to contact the italian search and

rescue centre to find out what happened to this boat but the only thing they could tell us is that the exchanged information with other rescue centres, as required by current international legislation. alarm phones say that the libyan coastguard told them that a boat was sent out seven hours after the initial call. we tried to get more information from libya but the coastguard didn't respond to any attempts to contact them. stephanie hegarty, bbc news. greece will today reopen its islands to domestic tourists — the latest in a series of measures, ending lockdown restrictions. the country has had just 170 deaths from coronavirus, and its tourist industry has been badly hit by the pandemic. ferries to the islands will be operating for citizens at a 50% capacity. well, let's get more on how european governments are coping the bbc‘s bethany bell is in vienna for us.

tell us details of what greece is saying, initially for domestic tourists, but any mention when tourists, but any mention when tourists can come from abroad to greece? greece says it is working ha rd to greece? greece says it is working hard to try to save the summer holiday. at the moment it is domestic tourists who are allowed to travel back to the islands, which have been pretty much closed off for most people for the past two months. people who have holiday homes, from the mainland, are able to go back and people on the islands are pairing for the summer holidays. the plan is, says greece, to have a number of international flights for tourists operating by mid june. that will not be from every country. countries with higher infection rates will have to wait a while and that for the moment includes the uk,

united states and russia. but the government says it will look again at the situation every week, looking at the situation every week, looking at numbers to see how they can change things and they hope to be able to offer people summer holidays certainly byjuly. this, of course, for a country heavily dependent on tourism for its economy, so they are trying to do their best to maintain social distancing on beaches and in hotels. let's talk about austria. an embarrassing situation for the austrian president. who was found to be flouting, breaking the country's rules about how people can behave in terms of going out and eating at restau ra nts. terms of going out and eating at restaurants. yes, in austria at the moment, the restaurants and cafe is our open and have been since mid may but they are only allowed to stay open until 11pm and the police were

walking through central vienna on sunday and saw four people sitting out at a table on a restaurant terrace and discovered it was austria's president, the ceremonial head of state, his wife and two friends, who were sitting over a final glass of wine. the restaurant was shot, they had paid the bill. but the president had lingered there and he said he apologised on twitter and he said he apologised on twitter and said he was sincerely sorry and said it was the first time he had been out to a restaurant since the lockdown rules were eased and that he and his companions had lost track of the time. he also said if the restau ra nt of the time. he also said if the restaurant owner were to face a fine, he would take responsibility for that. and q. -- thank you. at the daily briefing yesterday,

borisjohnson confirmed that schools in england will start to reopen in a week, on 1st ofjune, as planned. the prime minister said the government intended to reopen next monday for early years pupils, reception, year1 and year 6. let's speak to christopher king, ceo of the independent association of prep schools. we have heard a lot about state schools and perhaps less so about prep schools. we heard from the prime minister and education secretary that they understood if pa rents were nervous secretary that they understood if parents were nervous about sending pupils back on the 1st ofjune. what are parents saying to you in terms of prep schools and whether they are willing to get children back to school at that point. prep school pa rents a re school at that point. prep school parents are no different to any other parent. at this moment, they are no doubt apprehensive and

concerned about the situation. but the message we are receiving is that the message we are receiving is that the larger majority of parents intend to send their children back. i think part of the reason might be that in many parts of the country, prep schools have a good track record through the lockdown period of being open for significant numbers of pupils, notjust those on their role but also looking after children and educating children of vulnerable backgrounds and of key workers. some schools have been open for 100, hundred and 70 children and learned the necessary safety protocol to give more confidence. learned the necessary safety protocol to give more confidencem addition, what are the preparations you have been able to make for returning more pupils and what further reassurances have you been able to give to parents?”

further reassurances have you been able to give to parents? i think that social distancing for the youngest children is something of a nonsense. their natural instinct is to gravitate towards one another. for the youngest children it has been about stressing the need to hand wash and putting into place a really strict cleaning regime within the school. and demonstrating that the school. and demonstrating that the school. and demonstrating that the school is going to be cleaned carefully a nd the school is going to be cleaned carefully and frequently. with older children, you can move on to a much more different protocol that involves genuine social distancing. such things as having your own pencils and rulers and kit generally and working with desk somewhat apart. prep school traditionally has the benefit of smaller class sizes, so the benefit of smaller class sizes, so it is not unusual to be working in an environment, where there is

room to socially distance. many people expect because of the nature of prep schools that they have been able to offer a high standard of online lessons during lockdown. nonetheless, would you say that does not substitute for getting children back to school? are you confident it is the right thing to do at this stage? i think people have been surprised about how effective online learning has been. there were a couple of weeks where things had to settle but yes, the experience has been better than anyone could imagine. but we have all underlined there is nothing like being at school with your teachers and fellow pupils. it is far better for your mental health and that is where children need to be, even if some form of online learning still continues. christopher king, thank

you. the united states is edging closer to the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths with coronavirus. there's a growing divide in the country about when and how to ease lockdown restrictions. but after a sunny memorial day weekend, many people took matters into their own hands. our reporter freya cole has the story. a packed pool party in ozarks, missouri. this video was shared on social media at the weekend and has now been viewed millions of times. it has triggered fears of a second virus wave. it was a sunny memorial day weekend across the united states and many people flocked to beaches which have officially reopened. but not everyone followed the advice to keep a safe distance. you walk around here and i mean with the crowds on the beach, you wouldn't think anything was different. our travel ban was just lifted so i felt like i was safe to leave and i was following the rules.

no one's really doing the social distancing, the masks. in new york, residents flocked to central park and took advantage of the sunshine to exercise. professional sports teams have also been given the go—ahead to resume training. i believe that sports that can come back without having people in the stadium, without having people in the arena, do it. president trump marked his weekend with a round of golf, which triggered outrage from his critics. they say it wasn't the right sentiment when the country's death toll nears 100,000 people. freya cole, bbc news. muslims around the world have celebrated the first day of eid ul—fitr. traditionally the three—day holiday is spent with family and friends. but with many countries still under coronavirus restrictions, it looks very different this year. islam's most secret

shrine normally packed shrine — normally packed with worshippers, but not today. it's a different kind of eid — marked by lockdown and social distancing. imams across the world reciting the call to prayer, but not inviting people to the mosque. instead, urging them to stay at home and follow virtually. playgrounds normally crowded with cheerful children, but no one in sight. some normality, though, in countries like bangladesh, temporarily easing the lockdown in the capital to allow workers to travel home. and in afghanistan, a three—day truce between the militant group taliban and the government to enable people to celebrate in peace. others marking the event in their own way.

in france, muslims released balloons, hoping that, next year, it will all be different. iremind i remind her that at 10am we will be joined by viewers on bbc world and we'll talk more about the row over dominic cummings and the prime minister's handling of that situation and one of the guests will bea situation and one of the guests will be a professor of health psychology at university college london who is one of a number of scientists who say there must be a greater distance between scientists and politician at briefing. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. some parts of the uk have not seen much rain during the course of may and as we enter the last week of may, the situation will not change drastically. today is mostly warm and sunny. a couple of weather

fronts out to the west that introduce thicker cloud and rain and drizzle in northern ireland and western scotland. with high pressure in charge, most of england and wales will be fine and settled. a lot of sunshine through the afternoon. more cloud from the west across scotland in the afternoon as the weather front brings rain approaches. gusty this afternoon. the western isles gusts of a0 mph. further south, a gentle breeze and high temperature of 25 degrees. overnight, the weather front continues to move slowly southwards and eastwards, bumping into high pressure and weakening. more likely to be a band of cloud with spots of rain with clear skies ahead and behind and not a cold night. we pick up the weather front tomorrow moving into high pressure and continuing to weaken. although we might start with rain across northern england and possibly

into the midlands, south west, it will dry and as the cloud move south, it turns the sunshine hazy. behind it, sunshine in northern ireland, northern england and scotland. average temperatures for scotla nd scotland. average temperatures for scotland and northern ireland and high temperatures in the south up to 26. tuesday into wednesday, high pressure establishes itself. a front across northern ireland and western scotla nd across northern ireland and western scotland introducing cloud, rain and drizzle, and an onshore breeze along the north sea, but that aside, warm or very warm sunshine. as we head towards the end of the week, high pressure m oves towards the end of the week, high pressure moves further east, allowing a flow of warm or very warm air across our shores. as we head through thursday and into friday, temperatures will continue to rise.

by temperatures will continue to rise. by saturday, into the high 20s for some.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk prime minister, boris johnson, sticks by his top aide, over claims dominic cummings broke the lockdown rules by travelling hundreds of kilometres. i think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and i do not mark him down for that. but mounting calls for mrcummings to resign will overshadow today's cabinet discussions on lifting coronavirus restrictions. parents and teachers are told to prepare for the return of more pupils to schools in england from next monday, as planned. away from uk politics, police and protestors in hong kong