good evening. the government insists that it continues to be led by science, over the next stages of the easing of lockdown measures, after concerns were raised by some leading scientists. the deputy chief medical officer for england warned today that we're at a dangerous moment, but he also said that officials are confident the new measures won't lead to a surge of infections. it comes after several members of the sage advisory group spoke out against the pace at which changes to the lockdown are

coming into effect. from monday in england, up to six people from different households can meet outside, including in private gardens. 215 deaths have been recorded in the uk in the last 2a hours. it brings the total number of deaths to 38,376. our political correspondent, chris mason, has this report. york in the sunshine has always proved popular, a socially distant queue, a spot of refreshment. in scotla nd queue, a spot of refreshment. in scotland and northern ireland, groups who were already allowed to get outside, and england and wales will follow on monday, but the number of coronavirus cases is now falling and so ministers say the time is right but some of those advising the government have concerns. if we make multiple releases of the lockdown at the same time we won't know what is causing the inevitable jump in time we won't know what is causing the inevitablejump in cases. and we don't have an established test,

track and isolate process to follow these people up so we are at a very risky point where we could take the lid off a part which is still bubbling in places. it risks overflowing in these places. he is one of several members of the —— several members of sage to speak out, and also the mayors of london and greater manchester also worried the loosening of the rules has come too soon, so at the government use conference i asked... what do you say to those scientists and others who say you are easing the lockdown in england too quickly? we haven't got that much headroom and that is why the prime minister has been clear that we need to proceed in a very cautious way so we have set out a road map but at each stage we are saying we are not going to proceed with that unless we are confident that we can do so in a safe way.” believe and you will recall i was at

the podium when the disease activity was very high in the uk, and i said it isa was very high in the uk, and i said it is a very dangerous moment, and i believe this is also a very dangerous moment. we have to get this right. the public in general to actually follow the guidance, don't tear the pants out of it, and don't go further than the guidance actually says. the professor knows how to turn a phrase and make a point, and he was also asked directly about dominic cummings, the prime minister's most senior adviser who amongst other things drove 50 miles to test his eyesight during the lockdown. the rules are clear and they have always been clear. in my opinion they are for the benefit of everyone and in my opinion they apply to everyone. questions about dominic cummings keep coming, questions about using the lockdown will, as well. chris mason, bbc news. our health correspondent

catherine burnsjoins me now. we will stay with the health rather than the politics, but the government insisting they are being led by the science. i spent the day trying to take a snapshot of the scientists advising the government to see how they feel, either by phoning them or checking their social media, so sage, the group advising the government, about 50 people on that, and seven have come out today saying they are not happy with the way the lockdown is being eased but there are a smaller subcommittee which feeds into this and a further four people we have spoken to again say they feel this is too much to seen. one of them said, there seems to be a very risky strategy and it doesn't seem to be informed by the scientific advice. we did speak to one who said actually they are ok with the way the government is doing this but let's not forget, as we heard in that report, the professor said the scientific consensus is that this isn't going to push the all—important r

isn't going to push the all—importa nt r rate isn't going to push the all—important r rate above one, which is very important, but he did say, though, that this is a dangerous moment. and he said it needs two things, the government to get track and trace working properly and the public to be sensible. the government say they are taking baby steps, very slowly, very carefully. thanks forjoining us. in that press conference this afternoon, the government formally approved the return of domestic competitive sport from monday after a three month shutdown. events will be held behind closed doors, with a host of sporting action returning to our tv screens. our correspondent laura scott has the details. and they are off and racing, from monday, after nearly three months of no live—action, elite sport has been given the green light to return in england behind closed doors. what's racing will be first out of the stalls, starting at newcastle, training guards have been full of fit horses with nowhere to go so the move has brought a sense of relief. it will be a funny year but it is so

important for careers and livelihoods and stallions, pedigrees, and we can't do without them, so thank god we are back. the premier league plans to return on the 17th ofjune but some sports like rugby are taking longer. snookehsjoe like rugby are taking longer. snooker‘s joe perry like rugby are taking longer. snooker‘sjoe perry is reassured by the safety measures that have been put in place. we won't know it is the right time until we go back and hopefully there are no repercussions from it but i'm on a commission committee for snooker and i know a lot of work has gone on behind—the—scenes and i'm pretty confident that they have done everything they can. getting live sport back on screens will give the country a lift, a much—needed one. the stands will remain empty for some time and jockeys in berks is a reminder that this is far from what people are used to, but with the return of sporting action to our screens, return of sporting action to our screens, saturday afternoons may

soon feel a little bit normal. —— jockeys in masks. laura scott, bbc news. there have been more clashes between police and protesters, in cities across the united states, following the death of an african—american man in minneapolis. local leaders have pleaded with protesters to end the violence. a police officer has been sacked and one charged with the murder of george floyd — but protestors are calling for three others who were also there to be arrested. our correspondent barbara plett usher is in minneapolis, and her report contains some distressing images. america is rising up in anger over the killing of another black man in police custody. in minneapolis protesters defied a curfew, taking over the streets for the fourth night ina over the streets for the fourth night in a row, turning them into a smoky battle ground. security forces we re smoky battle ground. security forces were overwhelmed, the governor has now announced the largest mobilisation of the national guard in the history of the state. he blames outsiders for spearheading the violence. the situation in minneapolis is no longer in any way

about the murder of george floyd, it is about attacking civil society and instilling fear and disrupting our great cities. this is the damage after another night of chaos. authorities thought they had calmed things down after they moved swiftly to charge a police officer for the death of george flight and they were shocked when the violence escalated instead. —— george flight. a widely publicised audio shows the police officer kneeling on floyd's neck as he cried out for air. the protests have broken out across the country. as protests have broken out across the country. pandemic and the worst with the pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the great depression. in seattle demonstrators hurled a rock at an amazon store, and they chanted, i can't breathe

and they chanted, i can't breathe and black lives matter. in charlotte, north carolina police fired tear gas, and a city council member was one of several people arrested. in atlanta, georgia, protesters threw rocks and smoke grenades at police, trashed cars and windows. the governor ordered a state of emergency and the mayor pleaded for the riots to stop. you are disgracing our city and disgracing the life of george floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country. we are better than this! we are better than this as a city and we are better than this is a country. i'm duty— bound to hear the than this is a country. i'm duty-bound to hear the bleep -- i'm duty-bound here to say that you should not burn your house down

for this. the lack of accountability so many times before has stoked the smouldering anger which is rising again. barbara plett usher, bbc news, minneapolis. from monday many primary schools in england will welcome back pupils from some year groups. teaching unions and some local authorities have been concerned about the risks of spreading coronavirus but the government says it is safe for children to go to school. it's used denmark as an example as the first country in europe to reopen schools and day care centres. elaine dunkley reports. can schools in england mirror what has happened in denmark? six—year—old hanna has been back in her class in the danish capital, copenhagen, since mid—april. hanna now learns and plays with just a small group of children. meet hanna's parents, jens—christen and louise. and, in england... hello, i'm kate. i'm in liverpool. i have two boys. hi, my name is marvin harrison. i'm based in london and i have two children.

can the danish experience convince these parents who are sceptical about schools in england partially reopening from monday? so, every monday, they start their work by reminding them, ok, remember distancing, remember washing your hands, and even the six—year—olds are pretty good at "self—policing" these things, because they also want to do the right thing. if the death rate was higher in your country, would that have changed your approach and how you felt about going back to school at that time? i think we had the sense that a lot of the efforts that were made had an effect. although they sound really, really basic, but some of the simple guidance in terms of washing hands and keeping distance and so on had actually really worked. my 11—year—old is shielding, so he is in the extremely vulnerable category, so he will not be returning to school, but then i have my other little boy, who is in year one, he's nearly six, and i have a real concern that, unless the school can

guarantee us that he could maintain strict social distancing, he places his brother at risk by bringing something into the house. have you heard anything from denmark that would reassure you, or is there anything that you think we could learn from denmark? my personal concerns are that we have seen more black people die from covid—19. at this point, the risks are way too great, and so we're just going to have to take a view stronger than what's being said and reallyjust protect our families. schools in wales will not reopen on the ist ofjune, and schools in scotland and northern ireland are due to start in august. elaine dunkley, bbc news. we're back with the late news at 10 pm. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. having spoken someone, a key worker who had a test

hello. this is bbc news. now on bbc news it's time for your questions answered. while the world races to find a vaccine for covid—i9, many countries are using contact tracing to help reduce the spread of the virus. it involves tracking down anyone that somebody with an infection may have had contact with in the days before they became ill. it is being used extensively by countries including singapore and germany and the uk is planning to roll out its contact tracing app later this month. and to answer your questions on this topic saturday we arejoined by dr linda bauld. linda is professor of public health at the university of edinburgh. and dr zoe williams, who is a gp with the uk's national health service. very warm welcome to both of you, pleasure to have you both with us to talk to us again. we are going to go straight in with the questions.

first question here, linda from richard barnett. how can we be sure that phone calls instructions to isolate are genuinely from track and trace staff, what about malicious information that might lead to somebody, you know, gets hold of my number and tells me this, i go into isolation and there wasn't anything wrong with me? i think there is a lot of public anxiety about this whole system. people haven't encountered it before. we have been doing contact tracing in public health for many, many years for other things like tuberculosis, sexual health. but i understand the anxiety, so the schemes do vary across the uk. just focusing on england where i guess most of the questions are coming from, it will come from a verified number. it's notjust anybody off the street ringing up richard. i looked up the number and it is 0300 013 500. so people need to check that it's coming from a genuine source. and also, the website people will be asked to use will be a bit

like when we all have to, or those of us that drive, renew, for example, ourcartax, or indeed apply for a new passport. it's a government website, it's an nhs website. but clearly people need to check it's coming from a genuine source and ask questions. but it's a specific number and people should be hesitant and not respond to people who they think are asking strange questions. for example, things like passwords won't be asked for over the phone, any banking details and that sort of thing. that is a red flag. but certainly the government seems to be, from what i understand, working hard to try and give the public confidence in this. ok, let me put a couple of questions to you, zoe. i don't know how you feel about these because one of them is quite specific. neil says, can you please explain why patients are being asked to verify their identity with an american credit rating agency? i will put the second one to you as well while we are on it. david says, i have spent the last three years of my retirement fending off cold callers, how will i be certain that the call is genuine, which i think picks up

linda's point. you might want to take on some of that, zoe? i really, just to add to linda's point, anybody, and rightly so, people should be alerted to this. there is a website where you can find all of this information, so on the gov.uk website you can have a look at test and trace and the number that linda just mentioned is on there. a5 are a list of questions you can expect to be asked and a list of questions you can expect not to be asked. and if you are asked anything you feel is suspicious, then you are well within your right to say, actually, do you know what, i am going to take a minute, i am not sure about this, can you call me back. get that website up, have a look. there is the option as well if people don't feel comfortable discussing this stuff over the telephone, there is a web—based option as well. so if you would rather communicate with somebody by text or e—mail, they will give you instructions

how to access the web—based interaction. there is that option as well, so i think the government are trying to do everything they can to make people feel comfortable and safe and secure, because of course, that is of the utmost importance. mick mccarthy asked, just on that, he describes it as sort of a dad's army approach to tracking and tracing. he says, why aren't they using the largest platforms like apple and google, why all this, in his view, obsession with what he calls misguided privacy issues? zoe again? at the moment, of course the app is something that is coming, hopefully within the next few weeks. but at the moment, they have these 25,000 people that are actual real people who have been trained to contact trace and as was said just before, this is not something that is new and actually, at this moment in time that is probably the most useful and appropriate way of doing this, having a conversation with somebody. if you do test positive, that person can help you identify who would be classed as a close contact. because it's not that straightforward, people have probably heard that to be classed

as a close contact, that means... zoe? i'm going to stop you there just for a moment while our international viewers leave us. you are watching bbc news. and zoe, just to pick up on what you were saying, this thing about a close contact? yes, a close contact is defined as somebody as somebody you've been in close proximity to, so less than two metres for 15 minutes or more. so it could be a car journey, for example. but it also anyone you've had actual contact with, so if you shook somebody's hand, or you have given somebody a hug or something like that, or if you live in a house with somebody. so it can be quite difficult for us as individuals to work out who close contacts are. at the moment, having a conversation with somebody who has been trained

and at the moment as well, we are likely to know who we have been in contact with, that's likely to change in the coming months because we are not going to know everybody who was on the bus with us, for example. so at the moment this trained army is the best and most appropriate way of doing it, but moving forward, the app is going to come into its own when we reach a point when we are not necessarily going to know all the people that we've been in touch with. yes, and hopefully that will kick in at that point, that is the act that is being trialled at the moment on the isle of wight. linda, this is a question from hanley de la porte, and i am assuming that hanley is expecting somebody special to come and see them because it says, would i have to self—isolate together with a visitor if someone arrived from the united states chooses to be quarantined in my house to follow the government instructions that you have to give an address and you will stay there for a couple of weeks? would you as the resident also be affected by that? i think we are all looking forward to, in the future relatives coming to visit and anxious about the quarantine. so, to be very clear if somebody chooses to reside with you and is quarantined with a family member,

the other members of that household only need to follow that advice if the person, the index case, the person who is travelling develops symptoms. that is consistent with the advice we are all trying to follow now, which is if somebody in the household develop symptoms the whole household has to isolate. but if somebody is just coming off a plane to comply with the quarantine, that doesn't mean the whole building has to cut themselves off. so i think that is quite clear. no, that is a good practical one. on that as well, michael matthews, he asks, what criteria are used in germany and south korea when track and trace asks for contacts of people who have been close to you? in other words, i think he is trying to establish whether we are doing something differently from the international examples? so there has been very rapid, open science in the last few months to look at how this virus travels and what the risks are and in what proximity. so in all countries, and of course south korea was one of the pioneers in this particular coronavirus, by using the same kinds of examples or definitions that zoe just mentioned. within two metres for more than 15 minutes, somebody he's been in an even closer contact with. somebody, for example,

that you might have been sitting on a plane with when we start to contact trace for planes, the row in front and the row behind. very specific definitions and these are not unique to the uk, these definitions being provided that are being applied internationally. good. zoe, this is one from margaret. margaret says, i am over 70, live alone and don't try. live alone and don't drive. what would i do if i was contacted and told i needed to take a test? ok, i think the first thing to mention on this is anyone who has symptoms, anyone with symptoms should request a test, there are two ways to do that, on the nhs website which is nhs. uk/coronavirus, or for people who don't have the internet they can dial 119. so that's anyone with symptoms. in this particular case, if she was contacted by a contact tracer she would, if she'd been in contact with someone who tested positive then she would be being asked to stay at home to self—isolate for 14 days. she wouldn't necessarily be asked, well, she wouldn't be asked to do a test. if she developed symptoms then

that's the time to do a test. and some people find that a bit confusing. some of the reasons for that are, even if he were to do a test as a close contact and it was negative, you would still be required to self—isolate for the 14 days. and part of the reason for that is you could be carrying the virus but not have developed symptoms yet and in that scenario, a test is quite likely to be negative even though you are still at risk from transmitting it to others. so if you are contacted by a contact tracer, you would be asked to stay at home and self—isolate for 14 days, but only if she developed symptoms would you apply for a test and she can do that by dialling 119 if she develops symptoms and a test

could be delivered to her home, for her to do at home. having spoken someone, a key worker who had a test at home, a colleague said she did it, it was all very straightforward and a dispatch rider was arranged to come and pick it up and she got the results in a couple of days even though it was a weekend. so it worked very well. it is a good point you make, a test is not a get out ofjail free card? that's right. good. that was margaret's case. let me put this one to linda from geoff. so, i've just gone back to work and i get the call i have to isolate for 14 days, i comply. a short time later i get another call from my employer saying he or she isn't happy, can't go on sanctioning this is my employer under any legal obligation to comply with the instruction for me to self—isolate or could i be sacked? so the government has issued guidance for employers. again, zoe mentioned the gov.uk website so he should have a look and there. a couple of things i would say, the first one is that employers are going to recognise that in order to continue to release lockdown, employers have to comply with this as well. the government is definitely expecting that. so geoff will not be dismissed and that is unacceptable for employers to do that. the second thing is,

if geoff tests positive or alternatively he is advised to self—isolate because he is a contact, there will be verification of that. he will have proof that he will be able to forward to his employer by e—mail or other means, text message, to show them that if he is concerned. the third and i think really important point, i am sure zoe would agree with me here, is that one of the things we need to do, all of us, it's possible we might be asked more than once to self—isolate if we are a contact. but if we can maintain that social distancing and follow the other public health guidance we have been given about coronavirus, we can protect ourselves from becoming a contact. employers, crucially, need to make the workplace as safe as possible so their staff can also avoid that scenario. zoe was nodding. i completely agree with that, because at the moment, you know, all of us really should be maintaining two metres distance from other people primarily to protect ourselves and then from getting the virus. but of course some people out there are a bit complacent but yeah, this added incentive now that if you haven't spent15 minutes within two metres of another person outside your household,

then it is impossible really you could be contacted and asked to self—isolate as a close contact, so it is another reason to maintain social distancing. you know that old song, i haven't heard it enough so please keep your distance, you know my resistance is low. linda, zoe, thank you both very much. real pleasure to speak to you. thank you very much for your questions answered. time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good afternoon, it is another sunny weekend out there to close out the month of may. we still have this area of high pressure across scandinavia, which is influencing the weather story right across western europe. a good deal of dry weather and warm weather. the yellow and orange tones denoting temperatures are slightly above the average for the time of year. yes, wherever you are or whatever you are doing, i can guarantee you will see scenes like this.

from cornwall all the way to the north—east of scotland, there is blue sky and sunshine for stop a bit of a difference with the feel of the weather, particularly on the east. you can see from the satellite picture, hardly a cloud in the sky. there is aberdeenshire, right into cornwall where we saw those weather watchers. just a little bit of fair weather cloud in the north—west, but really it is a settled story. we keep that quiet theme through the evening, that easterly breeze just driving in little more cloud across eastern and north—east england but it will allow the temperatures to fall back to comfortable images for sleeping. we start tomorrow morning with any murkiness quickly leaving and we are back to doing it all again, lots of blue sky and sunshine for top temperatures again are quite promising for that easterly breeze, keeping it at perhaps more of a comfortable level, 17 to 19 degrees.

not as warm into west of scotland as a few days ago, bitterly warmest and best of the weather is likely to be through the midlands. tomorrow is the final day of may of what is now going to be the sunniest spring on record. so, beginning ofjune, beginning of meteorological summer. could be a bit of a change as well as this weather front will introduce the potential for some it showered for some it showers through the middle part of the week and something a little bit colourful fox through the middle part of the week and something a little bit cooler so we could pick up some showers coming from the no continent as well. the yellow and orange tones pushing back into the near continent as a northerly wind starts to pick up and drag the cooler air across the country. all of that basically translates into the beginning of the week will be warm, settled and sunny and somewhat cooler with the rest of the welcome

showers by the end of the week.

we need to proceed in a very cautious way. so we have set out a road map, but at each stage we are saying we are not going to proceed with that unless we are confident that we can do so in a safe way. appeals for calm after a fourth night of violence in the us city of minneapolis — following the death of george floyd