this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines... borisjohnson‘s top adviser dominic cummings will make a statement this afternoon as the prime minister comes under increasing pressure to sack him following allegations he broke lockdown rules. borisjohnson is putting his political interest ahead of the public interest, and when trust in a public health message and public health advice is as important as it is right now, the consequences of that could be very serious. with more conservative mps calling on dominic cummings to resign, he will answer questions in a dramatic attempt to save his job. the price some children pay in lockdown as social services warn of an increase in abuse, neglect or harm going on behind closed doors. and, getting training back on track. the government gives the go—ahead

to some contact sport preparations — but with restrictions. good afternoon. borisjohnson‘s senior adviser dominic cummings will be making a public statement and taking questions later this afternoon, we will bring you that live here on bbc news. it comes amid growing calls for his resignation over claims he broke the government's own lockdown guidelines. the prime minister is holding a cabinet meeting in downing street right now, it's scheduled to be looking at further ways of easing the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, but borisjohnson is facing a revolt from mps within his own party, as well as criticism from across the political spectrum — following his decision to back his most senior and most trusted aide. our political correspondent jessica parker reports.

the questions keep coming. did you go to barnard castle, mrcummings? and cannot easily be waved away. boris johnson strongly backed his chief aide last night, saying dominic cummings had acted legally and with integrity. the prime minister appearing to consider the matter closed. very serious allegations have been levelled at dominic cummings and his family in terms of his breaking of the rules and therefore breaking the law. dominic cummings has set out absolutely clearly, and absolutely categorically that he did not break the rules and he didn't break the law. this is... the prime minister is right to be asking those questions, right to be asking for those assurances. amid lockdown, mr cummings travelled in late march from london to county durham with his wife, who had covid symptoms and their young son, to self—isolate on the family farm in case they needed help with childcare. then, was there later

a day out, 30 miles down the road at barnard castle? durham's acting police and crime commissioner has requested the facts be investigated. coming out last night to back his adviser... i think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent and i do not mark him down for that. but a number of conservative mps now want for an investigation, others for dominic cummings to go. my inbox is absolutely bloated with white anger, real fury from constituents from across the political spectrum, from across the different professions and jobs in north dorset. absolutely furious. waiting for developments, it is now understood mr cummings will make a public statement later, take questions. but opposition parties have been calling on the prime minister to sack him. borisjohnson is putting his political interests ahead of the public interest. and when trust in a public health

message and public health advice is as important as it is right now, the consequences of that could be very serious. michael carter from surrey, staying home for health reasons, didn't get to see his mother before she died, and says he feels insulted. it looks as if it is the old boys' club looking after each other now. that is what it feels like. and to make rules for the british public to follow and then to break them, orto deceive people, which is moreso what he has done, is unacceptable. at a virtual meeting today, the cabinet is looking at the next steps out of lockdown. as decisions are made behind this door, public trust, a crucial commodity. jessica parker, bbc news. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in downing street. so it is come today's, and advisers giving a press conference. that is right, dominic cummings will give a

statement at four o'clock, he will ta ke statement at four o'clock, he will take questions from journalists who will be there and socially distancing. it is extraordinary the lengths that the prime minister is now going to protect his adviser. you can imagine at a cabinet minister would not get this kind of backing in some circumstances, but it is an acknowledgement that yesterday, the prime minister coming out and defending his adviser really didn't work and in some ways made it worse. and there were a lot of concern mps watching that press conference expecting some kind of inquiry to be launched, or even for him to be sacked, not didn't happen, and they feel that that is a prime minister's own judgement which is being questioned, as well as what dominic cummings dead. a territory mps, dominic cummings dead. a territory mp5, 20 dominic cummings dead. a territory mps, 20 of them now, saying that mr cummings should resign. they are hearing from their constituents that are furious, they feel that people we re are furious, they feel that people were where aware of what they we due, to stay at home except to make

essential journeys, due, to stay at home except to make essentialjourneys, they feel due, to stay at home except to make essential journeys, they feel that dominic cummings did not follow accordance of those rules. do you think he is going to go?|j accordance of those rules. do you think he is going to go? i don't think he is going to go? i don't think he is going to go? i don't think he would take a press conference if you were going to resign, but it's pretty unpredictable, he doesn't do things in the way that previous advisers have done, he is openly disdainful of westminster, journalist, of mps, even of cabinet members, that it's another thing here, it's about his tone. it is notjust about if he will answer questions, but where he went and how long he went for, i think a lot of tory mps want to hear some humility and some recognition that even if he didn't break the role, that it went against the spirit of the guidelines and it risks undermining the government's advice had a very crucial time. and this is a problem, here we are in a pandemic, people are still very worried that all the bases undermining the public health message. yes, we have had some of the behavioural scientists on those

advisory committees thing exactly that, that if you are asking people to ta ke that, that if you are asking people to take the absolutely unprecedented steps, then everyone needs to be doing that. i think politically the most damaging thing for the prime minister that some people are looking for nice and saying that they stopped by the rule for they some and then there seems to be one rule for us and another roll for what you might call the westminster elite, something that dominic cummings always rails against. i think for the prime minister this is a very dangerous time, and i think thatis a very dangerous time, and i think that is a concern amongst conservative mps. some of them have been fans of him, other people have been fans of him, other people have been very critical of him, partly because his role in brexit, this goes beyond all of that. i think that everything a presidents country has been affected by coronavirus and those restrictions, that means that eve ryo ne those restrictions, that means that everyone has an opinion on all of this, and someone who is in this kind of position as a very senior

adviser to the prime minister, a lot of people would think he has a duty to make sure that they do follow the rules and follow them very carefully. there has been a virtual cabinet meeting this afternoon, are there cabinet members who are not sitting around that table today, but who would have the ability to tell borisjohnson who would have the ability to tell boris johnson what they think about this? i think privately some of them we re very this? i think privately some of them were very aghast at what was going on, andi were very aghast at what was going on, and i think the fact that before the cabinet meeting it was announced that dominic cummings was going to publicly appear was quite epic and, because what was interesting was that because borisjohnson did the press c0 nfe re nce that because borisjohnson did the press conference yesterday, admitted that cabinet ministers today, when they were quasi—about it, they knew they were quasi—about it, they knew they would be, they would say that they would be, they would say that they hadn't spoken to dominic cummings, but he had not assured the prime minister, so therefore it is a prime minister, so therefore it is a prime minister's call on all of this. i think it was getting to the point where they cabinet ministers did not want to go out there and defend the situation, so now that is being left up to dominic cummings to do for himself. so what is a time?

we have dominic coming speaking at four o'clock. we think that things are still happening after that, but we do not know what time and we do not know who is going to be doing it, so we have to and see on that. this is all highly regular, that is an understatement, we have never seen this before, have we? know, there have been times where advisers have taken headlines themselves, alastair campbell who was in charge of human occasions under tony blair, he was quite often in the headlines come i think he himself may have held some kind of press briefing after the hutton inquiry, but of course advisers do attract attention, but on this occasion i think because dominic cummings is so unconventional and seemingly does not care about the normal protocols and the rules, he has never tried to

befriend mps or cabinet minister, thenit befriend mps or cabinet minister, then it is more unusual, but he actually does like the limelight, i don't think you come out of your house and say some of the things that he has set over the last year without knowing that that is going to attract a lot of attention. so we will see how he approaches the eighth particular press conference, but of course he has to do it —— how he approaches they rest conference, although in the garden is unusual. you mention the attention, but the attention has been visceral outside of his home as he got home yesterday, will that form part of his defence of his actions? it is ha rd to his defence of his actions? it is hard to know, because we have journalist to see him behind the scenes, he does not do much publicly in that sense, forcing out a very leading role during the brexit campaign, but again, it was his

behind—the—scenes adviser and strategists and someone comes up with slogans, he was an effective campaigner. it is about him, his wife, his accent of family, it is more personal, it is different, it is not about policy, but he has recognise it he asked questions that he needs to answer, and although he is not an elected politician, he has responsibility and he is a public figure in that sense. so i think the calculation being made today to decide that he is going to speak for himself and give his side of the story. thank you very much. the first minister of scotland has given her daily briefing on the coronavirus. a total of 2,273 people have died in scotland after testing positive, up by three on yesterday. nicola sturgeon outlined how the next week will look as restrictions are set to be eased. our current expectation

is that we will be able to announce a relaxation of some of those restrictions. initially, any relaxation will focus mainly on outdoor activities and i would expect any new rules to start to come into force from friday of this week. tomorrow, we will also set out more detailed information about how our test and protect system will work. that is test, trace and isolate. and tomorrow we will also publish our transport transition plan, which will provide detail about how public transport can operate safely while the virus is still in circulation. and that will include a clear expectation that people using public transport will wear face coverings. both of those areas are, of course, very important and increasingly crucial, as we start to ease some of the lockdown restrictions. throughout the week,

we will also be publishing guidance which is currently being finalised with industry bodies, trade unions and public health experts for different sectors of our economy. and, of course, in advance of the rules on social interactions changing in any way, we will publish clear guidance and what that means for you and how you interact with each other from, of course, a safe physical distance. there's concern that demand on children's social services in england will increase, as vulnerable children come out of lockdown. social workers have tried to keep in contact with those already known to them, but limited access to some children during the pandemic could mean abuse, neglect or harm behind closed doors. our education and family correspondent frankie mccamley reports. this homeless youth shelter in yorkshire is looking after some of the area's most vulnerable people. young people who'd otherwise be on the streets during lockdown. now, all living under

one roof together. including this teenager, who we are calling jen. my mum, she was a big alcoholic, she was a big druggie. she had kind of like a meltdown about it and, like, didn't want anything to do with us. jen moved to her gran‘s, but couldn't stay during the pandemic. desperate for somewhere to live, her social workers brought her here, where she met 18—year—old amelia. she became homeless in lockdown following a family breakdown. amelia says any support young people can get to leave a bad situation at this time can make a huge difference. i was having moments where i would completely break down. i would be in tears on the floor. i didn't think that was fair for my younger brother to have to walk into my room and find his sister on the floor crying her eyes out. i was so torn up about the breakdown that had happened with my family. the hostel is working closely with social services to make sure these young people are safe. they got a safe bed here and can be a lot better off

than some other people. without connections to the outside world or connections to social workers, you probably fear for those people more. it's a fear shared by many. in east london, social workers are video calling the vulnerable children they know about. hey, it's dan, the social worker. some, making home visits where they can. i've just spoken to your mum and she said she is feeling a bit anxious at the moment. so i'm going to sit outside. trying to get a full of a picture as possible, talking through windows from gardens, or behind closed doors. it's difficult, without face—to—face contact, social workers must pick up on the smallest signs. i've been working with a child where we've been doing a lot of video calls. normally he's quite happy, upbeat and engaged but there were a lot of i—word answers and glancing off screen. so i'm here today to do a surprised unannounced visit. there are concerns some may be using isolation to stop contact altogether. we did have some families

who were quick to tell us they were isolating with a cough or a temperature, and sometimes we weren't100% sure that the children really had symptoms, or rather where they trying to avoid a social worker coming to the home. social workers like maryanne are going out across the country trying to find creative ways to stay in touch with children. but there are concerns about what is happening to those young people who are not in touch with social services. abuse and harm will still be going on, as well as for young people, exploitation and county lines in gangs. so that will re—emerge and we need to be prepared for the increase in pressure of work, which we think will come. but worryingly for now, referrals to child social services are much lower than usual, as children's needs are hidden. the concern is, when normality does begin to emerge, so will the pressure on already squeezed services. frankie mccamley, bbc news.

the government is considering plans to step in and support some large british businesses that are struggling financially with the impact of coronavirus. earlier i spoke to our business correspondent katie prescott who says the treasury is refusing to be drawn on exactly what they might do. what they are saying is, if businesses get to a stage where they have explored other avenues and they cannot find any other source of funding, and crucially, if they are considered to be economically vital, then the government could step in to help them. now, if you look at previous precedents, the financial crisis, that involved the government taking a stake in the bank, so there is a possibility that they could take a stake in the company, ora larger loan might be on the table. it is reported that the scheme has the support of the chancellor, but how would it be managed? well, that is, again, something that would need to be bottomed out. if you look at, say, what is happened rbs and lloyds, there may well be something put in place so that a branch of

government would essentially look after equity stakes in these companies. and who would qualify for it? the idea of economic significance is interesting, isn't it? i think what we would be looking at would be businesses that, if we lost them, it would be a massive loss ofjobs, so it will be a big problem for the country. or, perhaps, they would have other businesses in their supply chain, which again would lead to a massive job loss. what has really been thrown up by the coronavirus pandemic is, what do we need in this country if this happens again? so i think it could also count businesses that, perhaps, we need their businesses and services in the uk. we have already reported on businesses that needs help, and perhaps going to the government, it is that sort of size company that we are looking at some sort of size company that we are looking at some... exactly, jaguar, land rover, and others have been exploring with a government whether they could get some sort of bespoke support package because the government might be thinking, actually, we do not want to lose steel manufacturing in this country, and that is the sort of issue that they may be considering

when they are looking at who to give support to. brazil, the world's sixth—largest country, has been declared the latest coronavirus hotspot with more than 360,000 reported cases, that puts it second only to the united states. despite the crisis, presidentjair bolsonaro has played down the threat from the virus and repeatedly argued that lockdown measures are unnecessary and harmful to the economy. from sao paulo, our correspondent katy watson sent this report. singing sunday's sermon was a lesson in love. evangelical pastor luiz reminding the congregation, which is mostly online nowadays, that they need to care for people both near and far. a fitting message at a time of socially—distanced devotion. translation: we can't bring politics into church. outside, we can talk about it, but here we talk about the soul. on this day of worship, though, brazil's president was devoted to another cause, protesting against isolation

measures with his flock. and once again, not wearing a mask. the pandemic took a back—seat over the weekend. on friday, the supreme court released a dynamite video recorded last month. it's being used as evidence in an investigation into allegations mr bolsonaro tried to replace senior members of the federal police to protect his family. but his foul—mouthed ranting was wide ranging, attacking politicians, the press, and laying bare his belligerent attitude. translation: i want everybody to be armed, because armed people will never be enslaved. but perhaps most surprising of all, in the two hour video, the cabinet barely mentioned the all—consuming coronavirus. these past few days have revealed some ugly truths here in brazil. not only has it become the latest epicentre of the coronavirus crisis, but bolsonaro's government has shown itself to be unable, even unwilling, to lead the country through it.

meanwhile, more and more are struggling to get by. this kitchen run by the church used to have 50 people turning up a day, now it's closer to 2,500. each and every one of them, their hands sprayed before they can pick up their meal. i was working, but i got laid off, this man tells me. what will happen to us in sao paulo? how are we going to live? there's fear that bolsonaro's constant calls to reopen the economy will be responsible for more deaths in the coming weeks. translation: people have the right to health and a dignified way of life. it's irresponsible, it's genocide making people decide, marginalised and excluded people, do they get contaminated by the virus or go hungry? brazil, too, is becoming more and more marginalised. the world watching as its president seems unwilling to take this pandemic seriously. katie watson, bbc

news, in sao paulo. forty percent of british drivers have said they would use their cars less frequently after lockdown to maintain the cleaner air experienced during the pandemic. 20,000 people were questioned for the aa, with many promising to cycle and walk more, and take fewer flights. the president of the aa edmund king says the findings are very interesting. we actually commented that the air was better, there was less congestion and did people want to do anything after lockdown to continue with that cleaner air? and 82% said yes, they would take positive action. i think some of the action they say they would take is a lesson from lockdown, people are staying more locally, they are walking in their local vicinity, they are cycling more and they are using their car less. some of them have indicated that they would continue doing

that after lockdown. there are also broader things that they talked about, some 26% said they would actually fly less and also, a substantial i think it will be difficult, one of the things in terms of working from home is better investment in broadband because for everyone, people would need that. but also, in towns and cities, if you can't use public transport, 0ne one of the things that we talked about walking from home is better impressment and broadband, people would need that, but also in our towns and cities, if you cannot use public transport, if your journey is too long to walk or cycle, you will certainly have to drive at least pa rt certainly have to drive at least part of that journey. certainly have to drive at least part of thatjourney. so we have called for emergency park and cycle facilities on the edge of towns and cities so people could drive a certain distance, park, and then

walk or cycle. the transport secretary did mention that in his briefing on saturday night, so we will need things like that, and we have seen more towns and cities booking in more cycle lanes, that will increase the confidence in terms of the cyclist out there. so it isa terms of the cyclist out there. so it is a combination of things, but i think the main thing i'm of the behavioural one is that people have learned to live with her car, and certainly —— have learned to live without their car, and for shorter journeys, they can continue doing that. every week we gather to applaud key workers from all sectors who have kept the country going through the coronavirus pandemic. among them are national grid employees, who have been spending six weeks at a time locked into power stations in order to keep the uk's electricity supply flowing. our correspondent phil mackie has been speaking to one of them.

six weeks is a long time for your dad to be away from home. life is just starting to get back to normal for this family. it was hard work, ifiam for this family. it was hard work, if i am honest. we did a video call every day, didn't we? just to see each other‘s faces and stay in touch. pass on virtual hugs. this is chris at work, filmed by one of his colleagues. this is an important sacrifice, but i think it is one that all of us have been willing to make to keep things going. this is the part where he slept. this is my bed, and has everything i have needed to survive, so i have a shower and everything. three teams of six people have been locked away inside the power station for six

weeks at a time, it is a bit like being on and on shore oil rig. there isa being on and on shore oil rig. there is a canteen and tv land —— lounge, and when there is downtime, they can even go outside and play cricket. and when there is downtime, they can even go outside and play cricketlj even go outside and play cricket.” have been here for six weeks, i am looking forward to going home and seeing my family... after one month and a half, he was ready to come home and his family were delighted to see him. quite emotional, makes you realise what you have got. daddy! they were just stuck to him like glue, piled on top of him, cuddles all around, quite emotional. they never thought they would ever be separated for this long, he has a few weeks off to relax before preparing for another possible stint

inside. ben brown's here at 3:30 for a bbc news special, first a full round up of the day's sport with gavin ramjaun. let's bring some breaking football news, the women's super league has been ended immediately, with the outcome of the title — and promotion and relegation still to be decided. the football association has also confirmed that the second tier women's championship campaign comes to a close too. let's get some more on this with our sports reporter tom garry. what's the feeling around this decision among the clubs? it isa it is a club decision that they have been anticipating for a while now, there will be general disappointment and sadness, but it will not be a great surprise, most people agree that it great surprise, most people agree thatitis great surprise, most people agree that it is the right and sensible decision, they say that this comes after overwhelming feedback from clu bs after overwhelming feedback from clubs who are almost completely united that they could not really continue. at least 35 men's and 46

women's games will be left unplayed, but it is still to decide now where the clubs will finish in the table, that decision is still to be made by the main fa board regarding matters of relegation, promotion, and how to decide the final league posting for those that had games in hand. there are some big decisions that are coming, but we do know is that the clu bs coming, but we do know is that the clubs will not play any more games this season. and as you say, the solution there to the title, chelsea is just solution there to the title, chelsea isjust a point solution there to the title, chelsea is just a point behind manchester city there is a lot at stake. yes, it is complex, a very tight title race, but i suppose the most anxious right now is at the bottom, liverpool, the club that occupy the only renovation spot, but they are still not sure whether or not they will actually be regulated, that will actually be regulated, that will be decided by the board, but liverpool will remain in that spot, but it depends on whether they feel it is fairto

but it depends on whether they feel it is fair to regulate that with a large portion of the season remaining, whether that would be a fair sporting thing to do, but there will be an anxious wait for the rest. thank you very much, tom. it would have been the championship play—off final today, but those clubs are just starting their return to training. most are in favour of restarting their season, with leeds and west brom currently on course for promotion. but one league chairman says with no coronavirus vaccine and therefore no crowds expected until perhaps next year, up to 60 clubs could go bust. the discussion now has to be, in tandem with completing the season, which should happen when safe, what is football going to do to ensure that the entire pyramid survives this? because they've got no income. you're going to have no season ticket sales, no match day income, sponsors, and there is a real

problem about whether or not we will continue that. premier league clubs will vote on proposals for a return to contact training on wednesday.the government's given permission for elite players from all sports to have some contact in training, which sees the return of things like tackling. so far players have been restricted to small groups and have had to keep well apart. and there was another charity golf event in the states overnight. tiger woods and phil mickelson paired up with nfl stars peyton manning and tom brady. and being shownjust how its done too. this is bradyjust casually making an eagle on a parfive. now he might be one of the most talented sportspeople on the planet — but could be in need a new pair of trousers after a malfunction shall we say? that's all the sport for now.