good morning, welcome to bbc news, i'm victoria derbyshire, here are the headlines. government ministers rally to support the prime minister's top adviser — they say they understand public concern but insist dominic cummings acted reasonably. on the whole, as a man of integrity, he thinks that he did do the right thing. but he also recognises, as a fair—minded man, that there are many other people who may take a different view, and i understand that. almost all retailers in england will be able to reopen from 15thjune, as part of plans to further ease the lockdown. the world health organization halts trials of an anti—malarial drug as a potential treatment for covid—19 — as it's found it could cause heart problems. hong kong's leader, carrie lam,

has rejected suggestions that china's proposed new security laws could erode freedoms in the territory. a man and a teenage girl died in separate incidents along the cornish coastline on bank holiday monday. they are on their way home, home from the hell that is dunkirk. and we remember the heroes of dunkirk — 80 years on. good morning. government ministers are trying today to shift attention from the pm's top adviser dominic cummings, as they focus attention on plans to further ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions in england. nonessential shops will open

in the middle of next month, while car showrooms and outdoor markets can open from next monday. the prime minister said he understood the "confusion and anger" caused by the row but is standing by mr cummings. mrjohnson said "people will make up their own minds" about dominc cummings‘ explanation — so do tell us this morning what your verdict is. email victoria@bbc.co.uk or on twitter @vicderbyshire. this report is from our political correspondent iain watson. something you don't see every day. government advisers usually defend their political masters. this one had come to defend himself. dominic cummings took his family 250 miles from london to durham during lockdown, when his wife was already ill. yesterday, he was asked if he now regretted his actions. no, i don't regret what i did. as i said, i think reasonable people may well disagree about how i thought about what to do in the circumstances but i think that...

i think what i did was reasonable in. . . in these circumstances. at the socially distanced impromptu press conference, he insisted that isolating close to his extended family was the best option in case he needed childcare. but why had he then also gone on a 30—mile trip from durham to barnard castle on easter sunday? apparently he was giving himself an unconventional eye test. my wife was very worried, particularly given my eyesight seemed to have been affected by the disease. she did not want to risk a nearly 300—mile drive with our child, given how ill i had been. we agreed that we should go for a short drive to see if i could drive safely. at his press conference last night, the prime minister sounded a bit more contrite than his advisor. i do regret the confusion and the anger and pain that people feel. i really did want people to understand exactly what had happened. but he wasn't going to sack his

advisor, and he insisted that no—one at number 10 had undermined the government's message on health. and a range of cabinet ministers have taken to social media with a remarkably similar message — time to move on. opposition parties will meet today, and are pressing for an enquiry into dominic cummings‘ actions. many of the papers are less ready to move on than government ministers, and some conservative mps are waiting to see if angry constituents have been soothed or riled by dominic cummings before deciding whether to renew calls for him to go. iain watson, bbc news. our political correspondent nick eardley is at downing street. is dominic cummings keeping hisjob, then? it looks like it at the moment, victoria. ithink then? it looks like it at the moment, victoria. i think some of the anger you saw in the conservative party over the weekend and into yesterday has been calmed a little. some of those mps who were

not coming out publicly but were really worried about the number of e—mails they were getting from angry constituents, who thought that this was rank hypocrisy, they seem to have been slightly soothed by mr cummings' appearance yesterday. certainly, the hope in there, is that this story starts to move on and that boris johnson that this story starts to move on and that borisjohnson and his ministers can start talking about other issues, but i suppose the one thing that we still need to watch out for is, does the public by it? do people out there think that mr cummings was right, that he was just acting in the best interests of his family, or, as many seem to think, that this is hypocrisy, and if that anger continues, and tory mps and others continue to get this pressure, this might not be done. it certainly seems to be the case that people in government think he has probably done enough to keep his

job. he isa he is a man of honour and integrity. people will know from his own account yesterday that he was acting ina way account yesterday that he was acting in a way which sought to safeguard his family and sought to limit, indeed reduce the risk of infection, to anyone else, and which took account of a range of circumstances. people make their own mind up. and as dominic himself said there will be many people who think his actions we re wi’oi'ig be many people who think his actions were wrong or mistaken but looking at it in the round, i think his actions were reasonable. people are making their own minds up, i will read some messages from viewers in a moment. does any of this undermined the government and their public health message? there is little doubt that this has done damage to borisjohnson over the past doubt that this has done damage to boris johnson over the past few days. one of the worries you hear from some of his allies is that he

is using political capital, that term that he is using the trust he has with the public and his own mps to keep mrcummings has with the public and his own mps to keep mr cummings in hisjob and there is no doubt over what has happened over the last 48 hours, that boris johnson happened over the last 48 hours, that borisjohnson thinks mr cummings is absolutely central to the downing street operation not least because there are still those trade talks going on with europe, and mrcummings was trade talks going on with europe, and mr cummings was such a key part of the brexit campaign back in 2016, but i suppose the bigger damage, that potentially could have been done and that some are warning about todayis done and that some are warning about today is the damage to public messaging. over the next few days, mrjohnson will try to persuade us all that it is time to ease the lockdown, but also to be sensible, and there are some who are worried that mixed messaging, as they see it, the hypocrisy of some —— as some of mrjohnson‘s political opponents see it, mean that his authority to persuade us all to follow the rules but use ourjudgment has been

damaged, and the government's ability to basically take control of this issue has been lessened by what has happened over the past few days. briefly, the plans for the rest of the week from the government? we know mrjohnson told us yesterday about the plans for nonessential shops to open mid june, or outdoor markets and car showrooms to open at the start of next month, a week yesterday. i think those announcements might have been brought forward ever so slightly by the row over the weekend in an attempt to move things on. we will hear more from the next few days from ministers about how they want to start reopening the economy, to edge us out of lockdown, to try to get something close to a new normal back, in england, that is. i would expect more announcements over the next few days, as the government tries to move on. thank you for your messages, john says i self isolated for a week, an entire household

including an elderly grandmother for a fortnight, barely been over the door, but a a fortnight, barely been over the door, buta mug, a? another a fortnight, barely been over the door, but a mug, a? another viewer says the media has blown this out of proportion. susan e—mail, i watched the press conference with my mouth hanging open in disbelief. he has clearly flouted the rules the rest of the country was expected to abide by. simon says, this happened to me, soi by. simon says, this happened to me, so i packed the family on a private jet to monaco to stay on the yacht. teresa says that she became ill early on in the crisis, she is a single parent with two children, i didn't go and help other i wanted to. she looked after those kids on her own. i am furious. helen drummond says i would have done exactly the same thing as mr cummings. thank you, keep the m essa 9 es cummings. thank you, keep the messages coming, on twitter or by e—mail. all nonessential retailers

in england will be able to reopen from 15thjune, as part of plans to further ease the lockdown. retailers will have to adhere to new guidelines around social distancing and hygiene standards, in order to protect shoppers and staff. outdoor markets and car showrooms in england will also be able to reopen from firstjune. a man and a teenage girl died in separate incidents along the cornish coastline on bank holiday monday. the girl had become trapped beneath a capsized boat while the man was pulled out of the sea. despite warnings not to go into the water, volunteer and off—duty lifeguards rescued dozens of people in a spate of incidents yesterday. police said it had been "a very tough day for local emergency services". countries across europe are continuing to ease lockdown restrictions, as infection rates on the continent continue to fall. greece has taken another major step. its islands have opened to domestic tourists for the first time in months. a team of doctors from mainland

greece were among the first visitors to the remote island of sikinos, in the aegean sea, and our correspondent quentin sommerville accompanied them on theirjourney. on a 100—mile—plus journey, these athens doctors are the first visitors to sikinos in months. the greek islands are accepting visitors again. the mayor of the island welcomes them ashore. we're greeted with elbow bumps instead of handshakes. there are enough coronavirus tests for whoever wants them. we do know that, so far, there haven't been any cases on the remote islands, but there hasn't been any testing also. there are only 250 people on this island, and none of them have been tested for covid—19 until today. the village was built on a hilltop to safeguard it from pirates. they're hoping its isolation continues to offer protection.

greece has only had 172 deaths from covid—19, and is leaving lockdown faster than expected. foreign tourists still have to undergo quarantine. terry harris has been living here for 40 years. i came here and i isolated myself for two weeks in my house and the lady from the supermarket — flora — she delivers everything, so they brought up, on a donkey, water and any supplies i wanted. at the temporary test centre, father theodorus leads the way. these tests are essential as greece prepares to welcome back foreign tourists in the coming months. today is the first day that everything comes back to normal, including restaurants and all the borders and ships, so we are concerned about everything being planned in the best possible way. greece is emerging from the pandemic

earlier than others — not unscathed, but in better shape than most. isolation is a way of life here, but so, too, is tourism. the health of the islanders depends on both. and quentinjoins me now, from greece. greece has done phenomenally well in tackling this virus, haven't they? there is a great sense of relief here, some trepidation as things start reopening. yesterday the first tourists arrive at this pair. the ferry was not super busy. about 50% capacity, because they are still maintaining social distancing. it is all about getting the balance right. of course, health really matters and greece feels that it has handled this very well, but there is also concerned that they need to restart the tourist season. have a look down

here. this little lane is normally bustling, full of tavernas and cafe is, they are they are, but there is no tourists because the foreign tourists cannot start coming here untiljune 15. tourists cannot start coming here untiljune15. one restaurant owner said they used our 500 customers a day, right now they are only getting everything ready in time for when the foreign start coming. greek tourists are finally allowed to visit the islands. —— the foreign tourists start coming. tourism is absolutely massive to greece, it is the truth, they need the economy to open up. there are various estimates, in terms of how important it is to the greek economy, that may bea it is to the greek economy, that may be a fifth of gdp. some estimates say about half of the people in greece are somehow associated with tourism. those producing milk which is turned into cheese which are sold

to hotels. these islands see their populations increase 100 fold during those critical summer months ofjuly and august, those are really the peak tourist seasons, and greece really wa nts peak tourist seasons, and greece really wants to make sure that countries around the world will be able to come here. not everyone will be able to come here from the very start. countries with high infection rates as including britain, the united states and russia will have to wait a bit longer until the decibels —— the disease dissipates somewhat before they are welcomed here in greece, but the greek authorities expect everyone to be able to come to greece, by the end ofjuly. it is a tough job, quinton, but someone has got to do it! the headlines on bbc news... government ministers rally to support the prime minister's top adviser — they say they understand public concern but insist dominic cummings acted reasonably. almost all shops in england will be

able to reopen from 15thjune, as part of plans to further ease the lockdown. the world health organization halts trials of an anti—malarial drug as a potential treatment for covid—19 — as it's found it could cause heart problems. the world health organisation has temporarily halted the testing of the drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for covid—19 because of safety concerns. the drug, traditionally used to treat malaria, has been described by president donald trump as a "game changer" in the battle against the virus. imogen foulkes reports from geneva. fox there are so far no known treatments or vaccines for covid—19, but there are many clinical trials of many different drugs to try to find them. one drug — hydroxychloroquine — is already in use as a treatment for malaria.

some — among them, president donald trump — think it could work against covid—19, too. he's even taking it himself. i'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine. when? right now, yeah. couple of weeks ago, i started taking it. why, sir? because i think it's good. i've heard a lot of good stories. the world health organization has repeatedly said there is no scientific evidence so far that hydroxychloroquine can treat covid—19, let alone prevent infection with it. the who had been running clinical trials to test anecdotal reports that it might be beneficial. now those trials have been stopped after a study suggested the drug could cause heart problems, and might even increase deaths among covid—19 patients. the executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the solidarity trial

while the data — the safety data — is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board. the who said the decision to suspend trials was a precautionary measure. now it will gather more data on safety before deciding whether to continue testing. however, it said patients taking hydroxychloroquine for established reasons — such as malaria — should continue to do so. imogen foulkes, bbc news, geneva. the prime minister said ‘people will make up their own minds' about dominc cummings' explanation — so what is your verdict? is it time to move on? does it undermine the government's public health message? will you trust the pm's advice in the future? thank you for your messages. elizabeth and said my son is in supported living 200 miles away and has had a number of mental health

crises and covid—19 and i have not been able to see him. dominic cummings should be fired. pauline e—mails, please move on and start talking about other things as this is now becoming a witch hunt, and i'm beginning to wonder if there is something else behind this. k said i would do anything needed to protect my child, i'm amazed so many wouldn't. pete says six weeks ago my brother had a heart attack. he is 0k. brother had a heart attack. he is ok. two days ago we heard that my father—in—law has prostate cancer. we have stayed home, both times. we are shielding our 17—year—old who had lymphoma last year. the arrogance of this do as i say, don't do as arrogance of this do as i say, don't doasi arrogance of this do as i say, don't do as i do, government, hurts. let's speak now to sir roger gale — the conservative mp for north thanet. are you satisfied with the explanation from mr cummings? are you satisfied with the explanation from mr cumming57m are you satisfied with the explanation from mr cummings? in the

sense that he had a sick wife and a child that he needed to look after, i understand that. we will redial you, because the skype is too annoying. dan hodges is a columnist with the mail on sunday newspaper and a former member of the labour party. good morning to you. was the explanation good enough for you? yes. i thought dominic cummings put ona yes. i thought dominic cummings put on a very thorough and accomplished performance. it was quite clear that he stayed within the law. secondly, he stayed within the law. secondly, he stayed within the law. secondly, he stayed within the letter of the guidelines. and i think also stayed within the spirit of the guidelines because it was clear that everything he did from the start of the end of the process was done to protect the health of his family and to protect the health of his son in particular, soi the health of his son in particular,

so i think, assuming there are no further additional revelations, to pick up on your point, it is probably time to move on now. there are so many messages like this. this is from banda coach, we did like eve ryo ne is from banda coach, we did like everyone else in the country was advised to do, we stayed at home. but we are working class peasants, so we did what we were told. can you see why parents like that are angry, are see why parents like that are angry, a re really see why parents like that are angry, are really upset? i can, to an extent, because of how the issue has been framed. but frankly, when it comes to the welfare of dominic cummings' family and in particular the welfare of dominic cummings' child, the only people that matter in those circumstances are dominic cummings and his wife. i have sympathy for everybody. we all know that we have all been through as a result of this, but ultimately, the

decisions relating to dominic cummings' child are not a matterfor anyone else. they are not a matter for this abstract group that has suddenly emerged over the last 48 hours, which we described as other pa rents, hours, which we described as other parents, public opinion. they are ultimately a matter for him and his wife, and they alone have to make the decision is like any other pa rent the decision is like any other parent would. he said that his circumstances were exceptional. but they were not even as exceptional as thousands of other families up and down the country, you didn't do what he did. but that is a decision for those of other families. that is not a decision for dominic cummings or for me for you. that is fair, but if the rules allowed forjudgment, as mrcummings claimed, why the rules allowed forjudgment, as mr cummings claimed, why did almost nobody else knew what he did, do you think? how do we know that nobody else did ‘s

think? how do we know that nobody else did 'sjudging from the thousands of messages that we are receiving here at bbc news. why did almost nobody else knew what he did? you would have to ask the people who took the decisions they took. it seems to me in this instance, you can come at it from two ways. you can come at it from two ways. you can make decisions on the welfare of your child, based on the government guidelines, but if you do that, then you have to ensure that you understand the detail of what the government guidelines are, or you can take the alternative view which is, within the law and the general spirit of the guidelines, you will ta ke spirit of the guidelines, you will take decisions that you believe are in the best interests of your own child, and if you do that, if you ta ke child, and if you do that, if you take that latter approach, in my view, you are perfectly entitled to do that, whether you are dumb cummings or anyone else, and to do so based on your ownjudgment, not asi so based on your ownjudgment, not as i say based on thejudgment

so based on your ownjudgment, not as i say based on the judgment of this amorphous group that we now describe, the other parents, or public opinion. but people didn't do what they did —— didn't do what he did because the government told us, if you have symptoms, stay—at—home. we were told not to leave our house if we had symptoms and most people follow those rules. backed the government also, i saw the press conference on saturday, i don't know if you did. what matter i did. you will see thatjenny harries was specifically asked about this. she said if there was an extreme risk to life. she also said if you have a situation where you have two parents who are incapacitated. but they were not. one was unwell, one was well, worried about becoming unwell, and there was one for your child. absolutely, one was unwell, the other suspected that he was in the

position of developing symptoms, which is precisely... he was worried he might become unwell. that was because of the circumstances he was m, because of the circumstances he was in, and he was right, wasn't he, to make that assumption, and had he waited and been in a situation where both he and his wife had been com pletely both he and his wife had been completely incapacitated, what would the child care arrangements have beenin the child care arrangements have been in the circumstances? they went to durham i didn't have any extra childcare. they looked after their child, 260 miles away! he went to durham and you come to an interesting point. they went to durham, because that is where they had arranged to have childcare support available. and what i haven't heard from anybody throughout this whole sort of cummingsgate saga, what is the rationale, he felt he was going to

become more suspected he could become more suspected he could become sick, what was the rationale for their making such a lengthy trip? the early rationale, surely, was because they were attempting to protect their child. i haven't heard anyone explain any other reason for why they have made the journey. they looked after their child in durham instead of in their primary residence which we were told to stay m, residence which we were told to stay in, if we had symptoms, in london. asi in, if we had symptoms, in london. as i have said, and asjenny harries said, in exceptional circumstances, this would count as exceptional circumstances, then you can go to another residence, and i can repeat, you are right, they did decide to go to durham, and they say they did it in the best interests of the child, it seems to me obvious they did it in the best interests of the child, i can't for the life of me understand why they made the journey otherwise. i'm not sure if you have

another explanation as to why they made such a lengthyjourney, except that was where they thought the best interests of the child were served. even though the rule said people must remain in their primary residence, not take additional steps that will put under strain services that will put under strain services that are already at risk. at his downing street briefing in march, the prime minister said everyone, everyone, must follow the advice to protect themselves and their families but also more importantly to protect the wider public so stay—at—home for seven days, if you think you have the symptoms. 22nd of march guidance. leaving your home, the place you live, to stay at another home, is not allowed. you saw the same press conference that i saw the same press conference that i saw on saturday. i am questioning whether there was an extreme risk to life in those circumstances in the cummings family. go on. i am

life in those circumstances in the cummings family. go on. iam not going to cut you off. i was going to say thatjenny harries went beyond saying using the "extreme risk to life" caveat and specifically said if there was a vulnerable child, and as she made clear, in those circumstances, that caveat would be applicable. thank you very much, dan hodges, columnist with the mail on sunday. let's talk to roger gale, we cannot guarantee the line might be better but here he is. sorry about the technical problems, sir roger. i hope you can hear me. the technical problems, sir roger. i hope you can hear melj the technical problems, sir roger. i hope you can hear me. i can hear you beautifully. what matter we are going to persist, i suspect we might only get every other word. did dominic cummings do enough to satisfy you? i have great sympathy with the views he expressed and the views that dan hodges expressed...

sound problems. let's talk to nicola wass, a behavioural scientist in cheshire, have you heard anything that could undermine the government's public health message. a message as powerful when it is simple, and the people giving those messages are seen as trustworthy and credible. if the people at the top do not fear to —— appearto the people at the top do not fear to —— appear to follow their own rules they not only lose personal credibility but it diminishes the credibility but it diminishes the credibility of the things they say so for example we may begin to see redefining of the messaging around social distancing. to put it into plain terms, people might say i don't need to follow the rules because the pm's top adviser didn't. one of the things coming out of it is that dominic cummings certainly acted within the letter of the law

but there is a big question over whether he was acting within the spirit of the law and that undermines and contradicts the message that we are all in this together which has been central to government messaging and the presentation of the collective response. in terms of uncertainty, what people will tend to do is they will look around and take their cue of what other people are doing, and if they think that most people are adhering to such rules, they are far more likely to do likewise, responding to an established social norm, as we see it. the recent intense focus on the actions of dominic cummings combined with a sense that people are starting to relax their vigilance, that social distancing is beginning to be modelled a little bit may lead to a shifting of that social norm and lead people to behave in ways not appropriate to the current levels of risk. that is the risk that this presents. 0k. ok. there are a number of people who believe dominic cummings did the

right thing for his family, that they were exceptional circumstances, and also feel they will continue to follow the rules. will that be enough? within any given situation like this, where it's not entirely clear cut, people will hold different viewpoints. what we have to look at, i think you mentioned what will happen in the future, is asi what will happen in the future, is as i said before, when the people who have been involved in devising and delivering the message are not considered by some portion of the population to have been honest, transparent and consistent, it not only undermines the credibility of the government advice now, it may undermine anything they say in the future because the public will not now know if what they are being told is trustworthy and we will only see the full impact of this when the government tries to achieve compliance with a new set of rules and try to take us out of lockdown, or potentially in the event of a second wave it may prove more difficult to get people to comply with lockdown measures. difficult to get people to comply with lockdown measureslj difficult to get people to comply with lockdown measures. i will pause you to bring you breaking news. i

apologise. this is a tweet from douglas ross, conservative mp. he is under—secretary of state for scotla nd under—secretary of state for scotland and he hasjust under—secretary of state for scotland and he has just resigned from his position. he says, i haven't commented publicly on the situation with dominic cummings as i have waited hear the full details. i welcome the statement to clarifying the matter but there are aspects i have trouble with. as a result i have trouble with. as a result i have examined —— resigned as a government minister. fill us in with the details of mr ross' let it. we are saying only half an hour ago that downing street were hoping they we re that downing street were hoping they were now on top of it and they could start to move on but there clearly isa start to move on but there clearly is a lot of anger within the conservative party about the perception that dominic cummings has followed different rules to everybody else. douglas ross, a junior minister in the scotland office, an mp elected back in 2017. let me take you through a bit of his

letter because there is some of it which is pretty painful reading, actually, for number 10. he says, while the intentions of dominic cummings may have been well meaning, the reaction to this news shows mr cummings' interpretation of the government advice was not shared by the vast majority of people who have done as the government asked. i have constituents who didn't get to say goodbye to loved ones, families who couldn't mourn together. i cannot in good faith tell them that they were wrong, and one senior adviser in the government was right. now, that is a pretty damning analysis of what mr cummings has said. it is a person who was, until half an hour ago, a member of boris johnson's government, saying that essentially boris johnson's government, saying that essentially borisjohnson's chief government, saying that essentially boris johnson's chief adviser is following different rules to the rest of us, and that is exactly what the conservatives and the number 10

operation are worried about. that people see this as hypocrisy. the whole reason dominic cummings was put out to speak to the media yesterday was to try to persuade us that he was acting in the best interests of his family. clearly some conservative mps are not buying it, and this morning we have the first resignation from government of somebody who just doesn't believe that they can stick up for mr cummings any more. the question is, will there be any more? good question. i don't know the answer. there are certainly some tory mps who are uncomfortable. there were some who are deeply uncomfortable over the weekend who are slightly put at ease by mr cummings” press conference yesterday but there are others who still have issues with this, who are deeply concerned about that issue of hypocrisy. and as you say the question now is, is mr ross the only person who thinks this is a resignation issue or i'd ever potentially others who feel so uncomfortable with what has gone on that they feel they need to do the

same? it is worth pointing out that mr ross is a scottish mp, and the scottish conservative party have come under quite a lot of pressure over this because back when the scottish chief medical officer visited her second home, they were very quick to call for her to resign, saying it had undermined public confidence. that message has not been coming from the scottish conservatives en masse in public, but there are some in private he feel deeply concerned. i wonder if we might hear from feel deeply concerned. i wonder if we might hearfrom a few more of them. stay with us. let's tell viewers who arejoining them. stay with us. let's tell viewers who are joining us about this breaking news. conservative mp douglas ross has just tweeted that he is resigning from hisjunior position. his position as under—secretary of state for scotland. in his letter, which he includes in

his tweet, he says, as a father myself, my instinct is to always do what is best for my son and wife. we have been fortunate not to have caught this awful virus, but if we did we are prepared to follow the government advice and stay at home to contain this virus. while the intentions may have been well—meaning, the reaction to this news shows mr cummings' interpretation of the government advice was not shared by the vast majority of people who have done as the government asked. i have constituents who didn't get to say goodbye to loved ones, families who got not one together, people who didn't visit sick relatives because they followed the guidance of the government. i cannot in good faith tell them they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right. it's not a decision i have reached quickly, i have waited to hear all of the information and thought long and hard over this. i realise both the immediate and long—term implications of my decision to resign from the government. our political correspondent dominic adler, michael gove was doing the breakfast

interview rounds this morning. —— nick eardley. they were probably hoping this was the last they will adhere because they wanted to move attention on but it has not worked so far it. absolutely. when mr gove said he wanted people to move on, he didn't expect it to be a minister resigning within an hour or so. it is important to also understand that douglas ross is not somebody who would be seen as potentially hostile to mrcummings and would be seen as potentially hostile to mr cummings and his politics. mr ross backed borisjohnson to be conservative leader. there is a reason he got a junior ministerial job in the scotland office, and that is because he was seen as loyal to the prime minister. so for him to release this letter, which is pretty scathing. it is basically saying that he cannot lock his constituents in the eye and say we are all following the same rules. that it appears mrcummings is following the same rules. that it appears mr cummings is following different rules to his constituents, who have missed serious events like

funerals, like other family tragedies, and he clearly thinks that he has got to a stage where it is impossible to defend stop also really interesting that he is not one of those tory mps we have been hearing from over the last few days who had concerns. he waited to hear mrcummings' who had concerns. he waited to hear mr cummings' account yesterday. and while that account seems to have persuaded some tory mps that he can stay in hisjob for persuaded some tory mps that he can stay in his job for now, clearly it has angered others and mr ross is one of them who has made what is a pretty big political sacrifice and decided to resign over it. yeah. i am looking under his twitter handle, some of the messages. one says, wrong person resigned. honestly, i wish you well. this is ridiculous. jonathan says, good to see some integrity here. george's son says, thanks for doing the right thing. david king says, sorry to hear you

have resigned, thank you for showing integrity while there is little shown across government. and so on. in terms of messages from viewers reviewing the macro regarding the circumstances mr cummings found himself in. helen says, my husband was very himself in. helen says, my husband was very poorly with covid—19. managed at home but spent a week in bed. it was terrifying. i have mild symptoms. during this time i home—schooled, fed us all, had shopping delivered by the shop and friends. one thing we didn't do was leave the house. gary chapman says, journalists have had their girl. keeping on about it won't change anything and is of no benefit —— had their girl. it is all unsavoury and cummings, without ever being contrite, has said he understands the anger. london caps 1990 says, you don't get in a car, drive 260 miles to all live together. may as well stay where you are. the child was not being looked after by the rest of the family, he was still with dominic cummings. sarah says, my husband was ill, we have two

young children, three and six. i stayed at home and looked after them. the in—laws added food to their click and collect and dropped it off. simples. no need to drive 250 miles. i don't know if there is any more reaction to the political —— from the political class to the resignation of douglas ross. you are not that i have seen is the honest answer. the question that will be being asked at number 10 now is whether this is the end of it and whether this is the end of it and whether this is a somebody who was considering going who has finally taken that decision, or whether this points to a wider discomfort within the conservative party about mr cummings' account of his actions which he gave yesterday, and about the government's why don't reaction to this story. it is all in a really important week for boris johnson, because he is trying to persuade us all to use our common sense, basically, as he tries to ease the

lockdown restrictions by opening some schools, by opening nonessential shops, by getting the economy moving again. he wants us all to think that there are a broad set of principles that we have to follow, and the danger for the government is that what has happened over the last few days, and the idea that mrcummings over the last few days, and the idea that mr cummings was allowed to use hisjudgment to that mr cummings was allowed to use his judgment to make the decision to drive 260 miles up the road to durham to self—isolate, that that has damaged the authority of the government when it comes to its public health message. it is pretty clear from douglas ross' public health message. it is pretty clearfrom douglas ross' resignation letter as a minister in the scotland office that he thinks it has done damage because he cannot look his constituents in the face and say in all good faith that they are following the same rules as people ina ten following the same rules as people in a ten so the next few hours can be quite crucial, whether or not others decide to follow suit. thank you very much. we will continue to get reaction. i am hopeful to get sir roger gale on the phone at some

point. in the next few minutes we will talk to dame louise casey, the chair of the covid—19 rough sleeping task force and will tell you about her plan to make sure all of those people who have been brought into accommodation, all of those who were sleeping rough on the streets and we re sleeping rough on the streets and were brought into accommodation during this crisis do not end up going back on the streets. that is her ambition anyway. in hong kong, carrie lam, the chief executive, has been defending china's new security law — calling it a safeguard against violent political protests. and she criticised international leaders who've supported protesters resisting the legislation. translation: national security legislation is a matterfor a country. it is the case in any country. it doesn't matter if the country has a unitary system or multiparty system or a federal system. now legislation on national security is always a matter for the central authorities.

so for overseas politicians making such comments, they probably, you know, practising double standard. now i think there is no one country that will allow an important matter like national security to be flawed in any way or to have a void in any way. let's get more on this from hong kong with our correspondent danny vincent. what will this message do when it comes to any future protests? well, carrie lam this morning has been attempting to reassure at the hong kong public that the city will remain free and open society, regardless of when this law is enacted. in some ways, carrie lam has lost the trust of at least a portion of society, definitely the protesters. the protesters took to the streets last year fought back to

back protests that lasted for many months. they were calling for carrie lam to resign simply because they felt that she no longer held the interests of the hong kong people and said she was simply relaying the message from beijing. i think today she technically almost is doing that this time because this law actually was proposed by beijing, not by carrie lam herself. so some protesters i have spoken to, they feel the message from carrie lam is now somewhat irrelevant because they now somewhat irrelevant because they now want that pro testing in showing their anger towards the central government. protesters have planned more protests over the next few days. we are expecting protests tomorrow. it will be a real test to see how many hong kong people actually go to the streets. of course they will be breaking not only the law, there is a law here that says that if more than four

people because a public nuisance thatis people because a public nuisance that is technically illegal, but also they will be breaking the social distancing rules that were put into place to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. so i think hong kong is bracing for more protests a nd think hong kong is bracing for more protests and i think it will be interesting to see what happens in the next 24 hours. we will get a better sense of how hong kong residents respond to beijing and the hong kong government recent messages about this law. thank you, danny. coming up to 9:45am. you are with bbc news. back in march the government instructed councils in england to find emergency accommodation for all those who were sleeping rough on the streets. it now says nearly 15,000 of them have been given a roof over their heads. what will happen to those people when the corona crisis is over? the chair of the covid—19 rough sleeping task force dame louise casey is in charge of trying to ensure they don't go back on the streets, with a plan for 3,300 beds in the next year and more to come.

let's talk to her now in her first interview on this, she's a former deputy director of shelter and formerly the antisocial behaviour tsar and troubled families tsar. good morning to you. good morning. you see this as an opportunity. what is youraim? you see this as an opportunity. what is your aim? basically, as you said, because of covid—19, essentially what we had to do was, using charities, but particular people in local councils and the voluntary sector organisations in london like that since mangoes, which was to get as many people in the street as we possibly could —— st mungo's. it would disproportionately affect rough sleepers, people on the streets and people in communal night shelters where the spread would be much faster than anywhere else. the job was to literally unrelentingly get any accommodation we could opened up using commercial hotels, universities, anything. this used

buildings that could be brought back into use. so far we have managed to bring 15,000 people both in off the streets and also people who were at risk of homelessness during that time and! risk of homelessness during that time and i think what i don't want to happen is that those people, particularly the vulnerable rough sleepers, some of whom have come off the streets for the first time, that those people then end up going back to the streets. so i want a national effort, everyone wants a national effort, everyone wants a national effort about everything at the moment, i accept that. but that is possibly a tiny silver lining in an otherwise absolutely horrific period in the country, where actually some goodis in the country, where actually some good is going on to try to help some very vulnerable people and i don't wa nt very vulnerable people and i don't want them to go back to the streets. initially we had figures from local authorities that 5400 people who had been sleeping rough had been brought into this emergency accommodation. you now say it is 15,000. are you sure about that number? can you break it down for us? yes.

essentially this was all done very much on the hoof. easter, we were pretty sure of doing an analysis of every local authority in the country, and in london where the volu nta ry country, and in london where the voluntary sector, the charities have been running many of the hotels. not just st mungo's, but others. we are pretty sure there are about 5500 people. and now in mid—may, as we are, or it mid—to—late may, we are now at numbers around 15,000. i think its 14,600 at the last census of that. those numbers are not all people that were long—term rough sleepers and had been out on the streets for a long time. that is between five and seven. there is over 2000 people that have come in from communal night shelters where actually they were living in dormitories and on the floor and things like that. again, not the right place to be during this covid—19 crisis. then there have been local authorities, like many organisations, they have been trying

to keep the show on the road during this period. actually i think one of the things they have done is actually taken in people who were at risk of rough sleeping and during covid—19, that is completely the right thing to do. why i have asked the princes trust and business in the princes trust and business in the community backed by comic relief and act by cardinal nichols, justin welby, the archbishop of canterbury, is that i think although the government has made a good start by putting... bringing forward money and adding some money to it to bring 6000 new homes in 3300 of which will be in this financial year, that is a great start. but i think the government needs to do more. i think we all need to do more and we need to do it in partnership. the government cannot do it on its own. so is the government promising to find permanent homes for all the people who have been sleeping rough in england? no, i don't think they are. because essentially the

government is trying to provide the right solutions to the people who have come in off the streets. but 5000 plus of those, victoria, will be people who are known long—term rough sleepers, and this 3300 beds and units and homes that are coming in the next six to 12 months will be targeted at those vulnerable at the rough sleepers. i don't think it can, at the moment, say that it will house every single person at risk of rough sleeping, when actually we have families that i also care about who are living in extremely difficult conditions, particularly at the moment during covid—19. some of the accommodation homeless families are in leaves an awful lot to be desired, where they also have a really difficult personal situations and they are cramped and living in those situations. i think of course we need to make sure that we make sure that very vulnerable rough sleepers don't go back to the streets. this is a moment in history

where we could change rough sleeping completely, but i would say to the government, and i will say to the government, and i will say to the government, i am saying it to you on a live tv... something has to be done for rough sleeping, yes, but it has to be balanced against other people that i also suffering in this crisis. you mentioned two points. there will be some families watching right now who are classed as homeless but they have a roof over their head, statutory homeless, as you know it is known as. temporary accommodation like b and bs, children all in one room, sharing a communal bathroom and kitchen, and what about? why can't we also be helped? the second point is, this plan is not preventative, it will not stop future people being made homeless and living on the streets, will it? well, look, there are two things to say here. first of all, i think those families have every right to think about what will happen to them. many of them have been really struggling during covid—19. i think they have obeyed

the rules, they have done the best they can. people are using food banks, people are in real difficulties and i think, you know, their voice needs to be heard. but in relation to rough sleeping, in relation to people on the streets, they were on the streets, there are no toilets. all the day centres had to close down. there were no facilities out there. i personally think one of the things that might come out of the covid—19 is that we don't go back to a situation where people are literally on the street and have absolutely nothing. 0k. people are literally on the street and have absolutely nothing. ok. so during this time, a woman who was pregnant has been brought in off the streets. we should never have had that in the first place and we have to use covid—19 and the opportunity of all of these people being in to make sure they never go back out again. since the conservatives came to power in 2010 the numbers of people sleeping rough has more than doubled. latest figures suggest about 4200 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on a typical night

last year although bbc research suggested the true figure was five times higher. this funding will pay for about 6000 housing units in total. obviously you know that is not enough. look, it's a fantastic start. i mean, you know, since this whole thing happened i made it really clear to the secretary of state for housing and to number 10 that my involvement is predicated on them doing the right thing. right now, they have brought forward and added extra money. so for the first time ina added extra money. so for the first time in a long time we have got housing with support for a very vulnerable people. it's not the end, victoria, it is the beginning. 0k. in terms of that money, just to be clear, the chancellor i think has agreed that 160 million of 381 million he had already announced backin million he had already announced back in the budget for such homes can be spent now. but you will get some new money, about 53 million, for support services like drug and

alcohol services. yes, there was 381 million announced by rishi sunak before i was involved in this in february. at the weekend that was added to the tune of about 53, which ta kes added to the tune of about 53, which takes it to about 433 million. the really important thing here is that i asked them to pull forward as much as that —— as much of that money as we could. we could get 3000 plus proper housing homes with support. ie drug, alcohol, mental health support for vulnerable rough sleepers. it is a start and a really good start white are you independent of government? well... i think so, andi of government? well... i think so, and i feel pretty, of government? well... i think so, and ifeel pretty, pretty independent of government, it has to be said. i quote the secretary of state last week, he said, we all know you are no stewed, louise, so i think they know what they have let themselves in for. this is an awful

time in the country and i am devastated to see the pain that it is inflicting upon people and particularly people who are poor who will be disproportionately and are disproportionately affected. so for me, as an independent person, i am not affiliated with any political party, if we can come out of this with nobody on the streets, children are not going hungry any more, and perhaps we do a betterjob of looking after our old people, particularly in care homes, then i am up to trying to roll up my sleeves and do something about one of those things. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you. dame louise casey, chair of the covid—19 rough sleeping task force. thank you for your thousands of messages about political events over the last 204! was. mike says, 66 million on a lockdown stuck indoors, a few public serva nts lockdown stuck indoors, a few public servants think there are different rules for them. michael says, there

is much more to worry about than dominic cummings. people need to get over it, it's not that bad. angie says, my husband, with symptoms, locked himself in the bedroom. i slept on the sofa and kept myself and my child away from him. my community left us food on the doorstep, we isolated for 14 days. it was scary, especially when i became symptomatic. we survived. richard, i was unwell, but myself in a room and didn't leave it for seven days. my partner had to look after three kids solo and sleep on the damn sofa. we will bring more reaction to the news that a government minister has resigned. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. if you're hoping for some rain in the forecast today, there isn't much to offer at all, and in fact for the next few days that's going to be the case. it will remain dry for most of us. it's going to be sunny and warm and by the weekend, for some, it will be very warm as temperatures climb from the mid to

the high 20s in celsius. today, high pressure's in charge, we've got a weak weather front sinking south, producing all of this cloud. so the sunshine across parts of england and wales today will be hazier than it has been, but it won't make it down towards the south, so we'll hang on to brighter skies here. now behind this weather front it will brighten up in north wales, northern england, northern ireland and scotland. still quite breezy across the north west of scotland, and temperatures here 12 to 14 degrees, 20 in newcastle, 25 as we move down towards london. now through this evening and overnight, our weather front will continue its descent southwards, getting into southern england. there'll be some fog patches forming across south wales and south—west england. a lot of clear skies, and then by the end of the night for northern ireland and also scotland, we'll see cloud building as a weather front comes our way, and it's also going to bring some patchy rain into parts of northern ireland by the end of the night. cooler in the north than the nightjust gone. tomorrow, then, we pick up this weather front. still coming in across northern ireland — we could see some spots of rain getting into western

scotland, as well. the fog in south wales and south—west england lifting, and a lot of sunshine. but at times there'll be a bit more cloud just hugging the coastline in parts of eastern england. temperatures 12 in the north to 25 in the south. wednesday into thursday, we see that weather front cross us and then clear off into the north sea. high pressure still very much in charge of our weather, so things still very settled. so a lot of dry weather, a lot of sunshine, the weather front moves towards the east, taking its cloud with it. we could see the odd spot of rain in southern scotland, north—east england, but there won't be much to talk of. and temperatures — 11 in the north, 21 in glasgow, 26 in cardiff. on friday, there will be a lot of dry weather. we're starting to pull in all this warm air from the near continent across the board. gentle breezes and temperatures by then — well, we're looking at 25 in london and liverpool, 24 in glasgow.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a junior minister has resigned over the handling of borisjohnson top adviser‘s travels during lockdown. it comes as other uk government ministers rally to support dominic cummings — they say they understand public concern but insist he acted reasonably when making trips during lockdown. on the whole, as a man of integrity, he thinks that he did do the right thing. but he also recognises, as a fair—minded man, that there are many other people who may take a different view, and i understand that. almost all shops in england will be able to reopen from 15thjune, as part of plans to further ease the lockdown. the world health organization halts trials of an anti—malarial drug as a potential treatment for covid—19, as it's found it