the terrible toll of the coronavirus on the uk. now more than 40,000 people have died. some of the faces of the vicitms. britain is second only to america in reaching the milestone. each of these deaths is not a statistic but the loss of a loved one for so many families. but there is some good news. latest figures suggest infections are falling dramatically. so what is the government's strategy now going forward, as lockdowns begin to ease? also on the programme...

the suspect in the madeleine mccann case is now being investigated over a missing five—year—old girl in germany. shouting. a pensioner is assaulted by police in new york state, as america's protests over the death of george floyd continue. a new boss in the house. tim davie promises accelerated change when he takes over as the bbc‘s new director general. and prepping for the return of the premier league, but the terraces will remain silent. and in sport on bbc news, chelsea deserve the women's super league title, according to their manager emma hayes. the decision was made on a points per game basis.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the terrible toll of covid—19 on the uk has been starkly highlighted in the passing of a grim milestone. the number of people who've died after testing positive for the coronavirus has passed 40,000. britain is now the second country in the world to reach that number, after the united states. 357 deaths were recorded in the latest 24—hour period, bringing the total across the uk to a0,261. it comes amid falling numbers for new infections in the community. an office for national statistics study of adults and children in private households estimates one in 1,000 people in england tested positive for the coronavirus in the last week of may, not counting those staying in hospitals or care homes. this is down from last week's estimate of one in 400. we'll have more on the rate of infection in a moment, but first, with the very latest, here's our health editor,

hugh pym. she was my best friend. she was kind, funny. this isjust the worst pain in the world. i feel like without the proper protection, then more things like this and more families will lose a loved one. since the first uk death in early march, a total of 40,000 have now died after testing positive for coronavirus. the government's chief scientific adviser said keeping the death total to 20,000 or below would bea death total to 20,000 or below would be a good outcome. it is now above 40,000. how do you assess that outcome, given where we are now? the day that the number of deaths from coronavirus has gone over 40,000 is a time of sorrow for us all. we have

got to remember that each one of these is... is an impact on a family that will never be the same again. and my heart goes out to them all. and my heart goes out to them all. and it makes me redouble my determination to deal with this virus. so how did we get here? on march the 11th, the world health organization formally declared a pandemic. that day, spanish football fa ns were pandemic. that day, spanish football fans were in liverpool for a champions league fixture. the next day, testing and tracking of new community cases was stopped, with resources focusing on hospitals. the four day cheltenham racing festival was in full swing. on the 16th of march, people were told to avoid pubs and other social venues and work from home as possible. the next day, the chief scientific adviser made this prediction. if we can get this down to numbers, 20000 and below, that is a good outcome. on march the 23rd, lockdown began

across the uk. on the 21st of april, the daily death toll hit a peak, with more than 1000 deaths. since then, the overall total has climbed and now stands atjust over 40,000 deaths, though this does not include those in all settings where there was not a test. some experts argue that government should have reacted more quickly after seeing what was happening in italy. we had two to three weeks more time to get ready for this. but i think we just took it too easy, to be very frank. i think we assumed that we were different, that somehow, we were going to respond in a different way, that we could cope. and then, by the time they realised they had the problem, it was too late. the uk covid—19 death toll, at around 40,000, is ahead of other european countries, with italy next on the latest reported figure atjust over 33,500, followed by france, spain

and belgium. but adjusted for the size of the population, belgium has the highest death rate, at around 84 per 100,000 people, with the uk at 60, a little above spain, italy and france. there are slight differences in the way each country calculates its figures. this virus has hit lots of very developed nations with robust health care systems, robust health infrastructures, and it has taken a lot of people by surprise andi taken a lot of people by surprise and i don't think the uk is alone in having been taken by surprise. i think we need to essentially wait until the end of the pandemic and then have a section of what happened and learn lessons from it. for now, the authorities will focus on testing as many people as possible and then tracing their contacts, seen as the best way to suppress the virus. hugh pym, bbc news. the deaths of more than 40,000 people diagnosed with covid—19 is a stark reminder of the effect coronavirus has had on the uk, with the first case confirmed back

injanuary, and the first death in march. our special correspondent allan little looks at the lives lived of some of those who've died. behind the statistics, the government charts, the number crunching, are the lives lost. ricardo bonsato, known as ricky, was 54. he worked in a care home in lancashire. the residents knew him for his kindness, compassion and sense of fun. he leaves a wife and two children. ina beaton was 103. she lived through the 1919 spanish flu pandemic, and the clydebank blitz. she died in her care home on the isle of skye. her family said she was known throughout the island, and loved its language and culture. jamshed ahmed siddiqui was a florist from hodge hill, near birmingham. he fell ill on the day lockdown began, and died in intensive care. the consultant sat us down and said "look, i don't think he's going to make it," and then my — ijust gave the opportunity to my older brother to, you know, to hold his hands

in his last moments. um, yeah. and then i think he spent, like, three to five minutes, and then my father sadly passed away. earl fuller, known as sam, joined the prison service after a 20—year career in the army. he was a physically fit 60—year—old. his family said he was hugely popular, always the barbecue man at parties. christina poll was from hornchurch in east london. during the second world war, she worked on breaking the enigma code at bletchley park. she kept her work secret for 40 years — she was 97. clive futter from mold in north wales had worked as an airbus inspector. he was 78. his family said he had "an amazing sense of fun and an immeasurable lust for life." liz spooner worked as a nurse at the same hospital in swansea for 41 years.

she was 62. "devastated is an understatement," one of her friends there said. "another dear colleague lost." gordon reid, known as gogs, was an edinburgh taxi driver. he was 68. his friends, unable to attend his funeral, paid tribute outside his local pub. he was cautious, stopping work to stay at home, days before the lockdown began. only one gogs. my dad was funny, we just had a huge amount of fun with my dad. he absolutely doted on his grandkids, and my kidsjust adored him. we just had such a lot of fun. he had a huge group of friends. everyone that knew him just loved him really. he was a fit and healthy guy, liked going out and playing golf. and just socialising with his friends. we just... it was always about fun with my dad, really. poornima nair was a 56—year—old gp from county durham.

a wife and mother. "it's unbelievable," her practice manager said. "her heart was with the nhs and what she could do to help. she will be so missed." steve lynham from burnham—on—sea was 44. he and his wife denise would have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary next year. she was also in hospital with covid—19, and recovered. "steve was loving, caring and fun," she said. "please take this seriously. stick to the rules. don't go through our heartache." alan little, bbc news. new figures suggest coronavirus infections in the community are falling substantially. the office for national statistics says the number of cases in england is down to 5,600 a day, from 8,000 a day last week. however, one study suggests that in the north west and south west of england, the rate at which the virus is reproducing could be near 1, suggesting infections may rise.

with more, here's our science editor david shukman. with people out and about across the uk over the past week or so, what do we know about the virus and whether it is under control? well, despite the scale of the death toll, there are some signs that things may now be going in the right direction, at least for the moment. the latest survey shows how the percentage of the population testing positive for covid—19 as fallen in each of the last five weeks, which is of course good news. but bear in mind that there is a very wide margin of error with this study and also that the swa b tests with this study and also that the swab tests were carried out by people themselves. because that is not easy, the results may not be that accurate. i think it is incredibly important for us not to lose sight of the fact this is a virus which is incredibly contagious, can transmit very easily and efficiently between people, and still, most of the population have

not seen this virus and are susceptible which allows it to spread very rapidly if we let our guard down. is a big worry is that more contact will mean more infections. —— is a big worry. so what is the latest assessment about the speed with which the virus is being spread? at the height of the outbreak, the infection rate, the r number, was running at about three, meaning anyone infected was on average passing it on to three others. the key was to get it down below one because below that number, the disease does not escalate, and the disease does not escalate, and the latest estimate is that we are for the whole uk running at about 0.7 up to 0.9. below one, but not falling rapidly. and if we break that down across the uk, the picture varies. one computer model shows that in most areas of england, the rate is thought to be below one exceptin rate is thought to be below one except in the north—west and south—west, where it is estimated to be right on one. a different study

suggests that scotland, wales and northern ireland are on 0.8. so for the moment, the advice is still to keep at least two metres apart, and barriers and signs have been springing up to remind people. the lockdown has suppressed the virus but it hasn't killed it off. david shukman, bbc news. the parent company of british airways, iag, is considering a legal challenge to quarantine rules which are due to come into effect from monday. the uk's biggest airline opposes travellers entering the country having to isolate for two weeks. iag argues it wasn't consulted over the plans, but government officials say they were "disappointed" at ba's absence from a meeting yesterday to discuss the proposals. from monday, dentists will be allowed back at work, but a survey suggests two—thirds of practices in england are not planning to reopen their doors. many have also told the british dental association they won't be able to offer a full range of services. some say they haven't had time to make necessary adjustments,

including fitting perspex screens. people living in the republic of ireland will be able travel anywhere inside their own county from monday, instead of being limited to a range of 20 kilometres from home. the irish cabinet is accelerating the easing of the country's lockdown, allowing groups of up to six people to meet indoors or outside, provided social distancing is maintained. let's speak to our health editor, hugh pym, who's here. more than 40,000 people have died, an unthinkable number, really, at the beginning of this pandemic, for the beginning of this pandemic, for the uk. and the infection rate is patchy across the uk the moment. yes, clive, 40,000 is a devastating distal and very few would have predicted it a couple of months ago. the new daily reported death total, the trend for that, the seven day rolling average, is moving downwards. that said, there are one

01’ downwards. that said, there are one or two slightly worrying signs. hospital admissions in england and wales have gone up for the last couple of days. there is no data from scotland and northern ireland, they have fallen. as we have been hearing, the regional r number is a bit worrying in the south—west and north—west of england because it is at one which is the very maximum it can be before the epidemic starts picking up again. so there is concern there. and matt hancock, the health secretary, made clear at the briefing that people should be very careful at mass demonstrations this weekend. he said he was appalled by the death of george floyd, and he could understand why people were deeply upset, but he said coronaviruses is still a health crisis and a real threat and people should still try to avoid large gatherings of more than six people. many thanks. and if you want to know how many coronavirus cases there have been in your area, just go to the bbc news website. enter your postcode or location and you can look up the numbers. that's at bbc.co.uk/news

more details are emerging of the new suspect in the madeleine mccann case, who, according to german media, is now also being investigated over the disappearance of a five—year—old girl in germany. it's reported the suspect is being named as christian b, a 43—year—old man who's believed to have been in the same area of southern portugal, where three—year—old madeleine went missing while on holiday in 2007. our correspondent gavin lee has more details. this is christian b. the man suspected of the murder of madeleine mccann. she disappeared in 2007. ten yea rs later mccann. she disappeared in 2007. ten years later the suspect became the focus of a europe—wide police investigation, when german police received a tip—off from an associate of the subject who says he made disturbing comments as they watched tv news coverage in a bar on 10th anniversary of madeleine's disappearance. here in praia da luz we are told police have been making house to house inquiries since then.

this person works close to one of the properties used by christian blj think i have seen this man, at some point i saw him not here but in the town. he says the police have come back several times after the first search for her body. two years before madeleine mccann went missing from this hotel apartment a woman was raped in praia da luz. christian bis was raped in praia da luz. christian b is remanded in germany charged in connection with that case. she is charged with other crimes, locals are questioning while portuguese police hadn't picked up this man with an extensive criminal past before that. in the years after madeleine mccann's disappearance the suspect is said to have moved several times between germany and portugal. in 2015 he owned this run down property in the east of germany. it emerged he has also also been invested over

this german girl who went missing from a family party. that has now been re—opened. the search for madeleine mccann has been unpress denned with numerous suspects and several false hopes. we have been told this joint operation depends on new information from the public if they are to find clear evidence in this case. the european union's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has accused the uk of "backtracking" on its commitments over a future trade deal. however, the government's chief negotiator, david frost, says the latest round of talks had been "positive in tone," and the uk remained "committed to a successful outcome". time is running out, with just six months to go to reach an agreement before the end of the uk's transitional arrangements with brussels. here's our poltical correspondent alex forsyth. remember this? it was the end of january when we left the eu. since that moment, the clock has been ticking towards the end of this year — the current time frame to agree

a new future relationship. earlier this year, negotiators from both sides held talks face to face, but it doesn't look like this any more. coronavirus means it is all online, and today, the eu said there is no significant progress, claiming the uk's backtracking on commitments made so far. round after round, our british counterparts seek to distance themselves from this common basis. we cannot and we will not accept this backtracking on the political declaration. among the key sticking points, the so—called level playing field. measures to ensure businesses on one side don't have an unfair advantage over competitors on the other. fisheries, access to markets and waters, and governance, including how any agreement will be enforced. number ten's chief negotiator agreed today progress has been limited. but the government's still adamant it won't extend the process beyond the end of december.

given the time that's passed, it's time for both sides to work together, and we are willing to accelerate that work, to get that final agreement, based on a vision that has been agreed, and then we can progress. borisjohnson is due to meet senior eu figures this month, which some hope will give a fresh push to these talks, but uk officials have warned they don't want them to drag on to the autumn, because at some point, they say, businesses will have to prepare for no deal at the end of year. with the economic turmoil already caused by coronavirus, some businesses have warned that could be deeply damaging. the uk and the eu say they want to avoid that, and a deal is still possible, but that will take some serious compromise on both sides — and quickly. alex forsyth. bbc news, westminster. the bbc has appointed a new director general, who'll take over from tony hall in september. tim davie is currently the head of bbc studios,

one of the corporation's commercial subsidiaries. among his priorities for the corporation, will be funding and the future of the licence fee. our media editor amol rajan is here. cedented with what more do we know about it? he was briefly acting director onbefore tony hall took over. he ran the boo's radio services and he came from a commercial back ground. he is popular with staff, he likes to run a marathon but whereas the last three director—generals came from bbc news, he has come from a commercial background where he has been cutting deals round the world with distributors and that matters, because as you say his first and foremost task is making a deal with number ten, foremost task is making a deal with numberten, in foremost task is making a deal with number ten, in 2022 hen the bbc celebrates its centenary there will bea celebrates its centenary there will be a tense negotiation with downing street over the future of the license fee. that will be nasty, brutish and long, that is top of his intray. after that it's the

commercial needs, so the world's most powerful companies, are all competing with the bbc now for attention, he has to come up with a funding models that coll pets with them but make young people think it is worth paying for, aside from that he has to make sure the bbc reflects britain and that it is trusted and thatis britain and that it is trusted and that is hard in an age of social media when your accuracy are under enormous scrutiny. most director—generals as you know are remembered not for how they implement the strategy but how they respond to crisis they couldn't foresee, like the saville scandal or over equal pay, while tony hall probably had the hardestjob tim davey‘s is going to be harder. he will need that luck. as the protests about the death in police custody of george floyd continue, president trump has said that every american must receive equal treatment from law enforcement,

regardless of race, gender, or creed. it comes as a new video emerges of a 75—year—old man being pushed to the ground by police in new york state as the protests across the united states continued. aleem maqbool‘s report contains some content that some may find distressting. we're not leaving. and there's no sign they are. not here outside the white house, in spite of driving rain. and not around the country, including chicago, where kanye west took to the streets with protestors. but there continue to be staggering and disturbing incidents involving police. in buffalo, new york, a 75—year—old protestor was shoved to the ground by an officer. he is seen motionless and bleeding from his skull, as police file past without coming to his aid. two officers have been suspended. but it is just the latest in a torrent of apparently

unjustified use of force at these protests. an assault from behind in seattle. what is that really doing? the arrest in charleston of a man peacefully trying to reason with officers. and police in la, driving into protestors, to name but a few examples. particularly troubling, given the incident that sparked awe of this. three officers have now appeared in court charged with aiding and abetting murder, in addition to the one already charmed with murdering george floyd. the president of the us. the president's called for authorities to continue to be tough on the streets, but has also talked of equality for black people. they have to receive fair treatment from law enforcement. they have to receive it. we all saw what happened last week. we can't let that happen. hopefully george is looking down right now and saying, "this is a great thing that's happening for our country." it is a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody.

nobody‘s ever done for the black community, what president trump has done. think of it. well, it is easy to say there should be fair treatment for african—americans, but given the deep—rooted issues with racism in this country, and, as we are seeing almost daily with police culture, that is of course far harder to achieve in practise. aleem maqbool, bbc news in washington. throughout the coronavirus crisis, we've seen the poorest communities hit the hardest. the death rates in the most deprived areas of england, are more than double those in the most affluent. now public health england says the pandemic has in some areas, deepened existing health inequalities. our special correspondent, ed thomas, has been hearing from families, on merseyside. it is an uncomfortable truth. coronavirus is more likely to kill the vulnerable and most deprived.

and these are people who feel forgotten during this crisis. it's like they've closed up on us, and they've just forgot about us. it's like being on death row. obviously if i go out, it could kill me. nobody's rung, nobody's knocked, nobody. this is just one street on merseyside, in one of the uk's most deprived areas. and along this short cul—de—sac, three people have died recently. two linked to coronavirus. he was loved to death. everyone loved joe. and then the test come back, he was covid—19. joe had cerebral palsy. in april, he started struggling to breathe. he was 26 when he died. if it would have been a different time, he would have went right into intensive care, he would have, but there was no treatments available, whatsoever.

and then he phoned me back, the doctor, who was explaining to me, said there was no hope whatsoever. joe couldn't speak and tell you what was going on, so he would have been petrified. just a few doors down, another man died. what's left behind is a shared grief and anger. i was close tojoe. joe round the corner. is there a sense of being forgotten in this area? totally has, yeah. this area always gets forgotten, whether it's about crime, health, wealth, whatever, it always gets forgotten, doesn't it? we're the forgotten street. merseyside has some of the highest rates of health deprivation in the country. for some, during this pandemic, it is a challenge to access treatments. i have cancer that's incurable. my husband, he's got severe copd. my children have been in since 23rd march. no—one has left the home

in more than two months. it's a prison behind our doors. a family that desperately needs help. how am i supposed to get my bloods done, going back in march, and i'm still waiting on the waiting list for someone to come to my home address? we're not noticed. we are not recognised. for those struggling financially, the anxiety is not knowing when this will all end. so my income's been halved and the pressure is immense. louise is a single parent who's just lot herjob as a dementia carer, now on benefits for the first time. i feel terrible. as a mum, sometimes i feel like i'm not good enough, i can't provide the way i should be. universal credit is covering the bills. charity for everything else. i shouldn't be struggling the way

i am, and my mental health and anxiety through the roof, worrying if i can afford my rent. ifeel at the moment a little bit lost, isolated. ifeel like a failure because i'm not in work. and what of those young witnesses to this crisis? for children living through this hardship, obstacles will remain long into the future. ed thomas, bbc news, liverpool. chelsea have been named the winners of the women's football super league, after the season was abandoned. but in england the men's premier league is gearing up to re—start in 12 days' time, with 92 games still to play. natalie pirks has more from brighton. solly march, first—time cross. murray! for fans craving that match—day rush, the premier league's return can't come soon enough. but this won't be football as we know it. yes, it will be rather lonely in these stands but at least fans will be able to watch more than 30

of the remaining 92 games on free to air channels. broadcasters will let you decide whether to watch with or without crowd noise, and clubs will pump in music at key moments to enhance the action. here at brighton, they will fill the top tiers with cardboard cutouts of fans. but players say it is nothing like the real thing. i think it will be good to try to generate atmosphere but deep down, we know it is fake. ijust look forward to the day that the fans can return because i think this has shown, more than anything ever has in the past, how sport is basically the fans, and without fans, it's nothing. around 300 people will need access to the stadium for every game, with teams of 20 players and 12 coaches and medics. stadiums will be split into three distinct zones, red, amber and green zone. now, the tunnel and the pitch will form part of the red zone, and only a maximum of 105 people will be allowed here, after temperature checks.

that is considerably fewer than usual and means there won't even be ball boys or girls.