this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. thousands of demonstrators are gathering across the uk to protest against racism after the police killing of george floyd in the us. this is the scene live outside the us embassy in central london — we'll bring you the latest from there in a moment. several thousands of protesters are still outside that building in nine elms on the south bank. we'll be there in a few minutes‘ time. in bristol protestors have pulled down the statue of the 17th century slavetrader edward colston huge protests over the death of george floyd have continued in cities across america — all of them peaceful.

in washington, thousands gathered in the biggest demonstrations there in 12 days. the number of people worldwide who have died from coronavirus has passed 400,000. no new coronavirus deaths have been reported in scotland in the past 2a hours, for the first time since lockdown began. also northern ireland. a member of the scientific group advising the uk government says he wishes the country had gone into lockdown earlier. i wish we had gone into lockdown earlier. i think that has cost a lot of lives, unfortunately. i'm sure that taking into account everything we knew at that moment, my view is that we made the right decisions at the right time. and in a week's time, places of worship in england will be opened for individual prayer.

hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. thousands of protestors are gathered in central london outside the american embassy for an anti—racism demonstration. 0ther protests are also being held around the uk, with 10,000 demonstrating in bristol. this is what the area looks like around the embassy on the south side of the river thames in london. several thousand protesters are still there. just to show you the geography, this is on the south bank at nine elms, vauxhall bridgejust a little further down the embankment there. earlier the uk health secretary matt hancock repeated his call for people not to take part because of the risk

of spreading coronavirus. 0nly only six people are officially allowed to gather. here in london, the demonstration began at 2pm with protestors kneeling in a tribute to george floyd. yesterday's demonstrations in london saw 14 people arrested after clashes with police and 14 officers were injured. 27 in total last week. police chief cressida dick urged protesters to "find another way" of making their views heard, which does not involve coming out on the streets of london. 0ur correspondent, chi chi izundu, gave me the latest from central london. it is indeed. i don't know if you can see the people behind me, they have taken be me in a peaceful protest a nd have taken be me in a peaceful protest and they are chanting that the uk is not innocent. they actually, when we have spoken to protesters here, which hasjust

literally started officially, they said that racism is a pandemic enough, and they are aware about the dangers of spreading coronavirus, but they are going to try to keep it to metre distance and organisers have been handing out gloves and masks and reminding people to try to keep that to me to distance. whilst they can, they have the ear and the eyes of officials... and they will use the opportunity to get their voices heard. chi chi izundu, you are breaking up a little bit with your sound, but we will continue. just looking from the air because the helicopter is up, just looking from the helicopter... we are talking about several thousand people, it would appear, there? there are several thousands of people and they started to congregate more than an hour and a half before the protest officially started. and the police allowed them to spill out onto the roads because there are so many people wanting to ta ke there are so many people wanting to take part in this match and we must remember this is not just

take part in this match and we must remember this is notjust a london issue. —— march. there are marches taking place in nottingham, and all over the country. there has been such an emphasis from organisers on maintaining a peaceful protest and thatis maintaining a peaceful protest and that is what people here are trying to do. they are trying to make their voices heard. they have been chanting that silence is violence, and also that the uk is not innocent, so yes, whilst they are in line with the protests in america over the death of george floyd of more than a week ago, what they want to highlight that there are racial tensions and racial issues that go on in the uk and go largely ignored. this is their opportunity to get their voices heard. that us embassy only built four orfive their voices heard. that us embassy only built four or five years ago andi only built four or five years ago and i have been inside, it is like a fortress there. there is a moat and very high—tech surveillance equipment there as well. is there a marked increase in security there? equipment there as well. is there a marked increase in security there ?|j mean what i can tell you is that just behind the camera is a hedge, quite a large hedge and behind that

hedge is a stationary lot of police officers, and then the moat. and yes, you are right. this is one at the most high—tech security buildings in london. as part of today's protest because there were 14 officers injured during last night's protests, toward the end, we might add, there has been what we perceive to be an increased number of police officers in and around this area, but i must say the police have been very cordial with protesters and making sure that protesters and making sure that protesters are protesting safely in terms of making sure they are not blocking traffic or getting in the way of traffic, but they are allowing them to have their point and make their protest heard. but yes, there is an increased large amount of people in this area when it comes to police. i must apologise for any of the foul language that you might be hearing from protesters behind us, but that is the main nature of coming live, i'm afraid. it is. i can't quite make it out myself, so let's carry on because we

have a cute sound problems with you. are there any specific —— eight t sound problems. are there any demands from the protesters at about the black lives matter case here? it isa the black lives matter case here? it is a specific thing what is happening in the states, but are there any specific demands for the uk? 50 there any specific demands for the uk? so there are still questions about what happened with the windrush scandal and why people still haven't received compensation, as promised from the government. there is a lot of demand for the organisers and people marching today that they want to stuff like that looked at. they want specifics, dates, times and when people who we re dates, times and when people who were promised compensation are going to get it. they still believe that justice for a railway worker belly mujinga, who was working at victoria station and was spat at at work and was tested positive for covid—i9 and passed away. thatjustice still has not come. they are pleased that the cps has decided to start looking at the evidence and review that case,

but they still feel that justice hasn't been done. they want to talk about the other people that have, as far as they are calling it, been under police brutality in custody but haven't gone recognise. so there area number of but haven't gone recognise. so there are a number of different issues that they are raising, but largely they want their voice to be heard in conjunction with the protest in america because the pain that is being felt in america over the death of george floyd is definitely being felt by protesters here. that was chi chi izundu about an hour ago. this is the scene just about a mile from the us embassy now, over victoria. the main demonstration outside the us embassy is breaking up and the crowds are now moving back into central london, across vauxhall bridge. it is not clear if they are actually heading anywhere else specifically because the main demonstration, as you have

been hearing, was scheduled for 2p and local time, outside the us embassy. actually, let's just and local time, outside the us embassy. actually, let'sjust stay with this shot because we are pulling back now, as i say, just along and then back over vauxhall bridge. you arejust along and then back over vauxhall bridge. you are just getting a sense there is how many thousands of people. we haven't had a official police estimate of the numbers, but it certainly looks several thousand, 5000-6000 it certainly looks several thousand, 5000—6000 people on the streets, flouting those social distancing guidelines, but quite if you people wearing face masks. —— quite a few people. we will be back there with any developments. police say 10,000 people are taking part in anti—racism protests in bristol. protesters in the city centre pulled down a statue of the 17th century slave trader edward colston a number of landmarks in bristol

are named after him. the number of people confirmed to have been killed by the coronavirus around the world has now passed a00,000, just five months after china reported the first known fatality. more than a quarter of the deaths have been in the united states, with brazil and several european countries also reporting high death rates. here, a senior scientist, and a member of the group who advises the uk government on their coronavirus strategy, has said he wishes britain had locked down sooner, and the failure to do so "cost a lot of lives." britain's health secretary, matt hancock, denied that the timing of the lockdown had led to more deaths, and insisted the government made the "right decisions at the right time, "guided by the science." richard galpin reports. the beautiful weather of recent weeks brought thousands to the beaches. social distancing often difficult or simply not followed. so, it's no surprise the so—called r—number, the rate at which coronavirus spreads, has now increased,

according to some reports. 0ne computer model shows that in most areas of england the rate is thought to be just below the figure of one, except in the south west, where it's estimated to be right on one, and in the north west, it's just above one, which means increasing infections. also today, there's been an admission of mistakes made back in march, on a decision when the country should have locked down. we should have gone into lockdown earlier. i think it would have been hard to do it. i think the data that we were dealing with in the early part of march and our kind of situational awareness was really quite poor. i wish we had gone into lockdown earlier. i think that has cost a lot of lives, unfortunately. but this morning, the health secretary flatly denied the lockdown had come too late. i think we took the right decisions

at the right time and there's a broad range on sage, of scientific opinion, and we followed... we were guided by the science, which means guided by the balance of that opinion, as expressed to ministers through the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser. that's the right way for it to have been done. on top of all this, it's become clear that there's disquiet in the key cities and towns of north—west england about the handling of the pandemic. that they need much more local information on the spread of the virus and questioning the government's decision on lifting the lockdown. you've been saying that the lockdown was lifted too early in the north—west, do you think that actually having different measures in different parts of the country is the best way or perhaps the only way to go forward now? i'm not calling for the north—west to break away and challenge government policy and do our own thing. what we're saying today is we want to get back to a sense of greater national unity. essentially, what we want

is a national approach that can be flexed to respond to local needs. so, the first thing is localised information, which basically allows some differential messaging from public health directors where that's necessary. so, the localised information helps. and the second thing is greater flexibility. the mayor of greater manchester is also questioning whether it's wise for the government to allow many shops to open onjune 15th. richard galpin, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent, helen catt, explained the contest to me earlier. about the difficult choices the government has got to make here. yes, some really fine judgments for the uk government and the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland about where to go next with lockdown. in the coming days, borisjohnson will set out some of the plans he has for changes to come

into effect on june 15th, a week tomorrow. now, of course that isn't getting us into the third phase of that road map that he set out at all in england. that is still injuly, so what we would expect to hear over the next few days are perhaps small changes, like we have heard this morning already about places of worship starting to open for individual prayer. that is the sort of adjustment we would expect to hear about in the next few days. we are also getting a sense though about downing street may be looking further beyond the immediate crisis. the prime minister plans to make a speech later in the summer about how the uk can be cut that some coronavirus. about how the uk can recover from coronavirus. he has previously said that it is unlikely to be around austerity and he has got a lot of voters who lent their votes to the conservatives this time that he needs to talk to there as well. there is a sense they are starting to look a bit further, but any of that macro stuff

is all going to depend on keeping that infection rate down and being able to continue with this. there is some disagreement with this about where the r number is at the moment. 0n the future of economy, hospitality, it is a massive driver for the economy and unless that social distancing rule is changed or reduced a lot of places are going to go under, aren't they? that is one of the fine judgments that the government is going to have to look at. of course, sectors like aviation, and the tourism industry have been particularly and the longer lockdown goes on the longer they will be hit because of course you get a lot of summer trade. those are exactly the sort ofjudgments the government is currently having to weigh against, notjust the economy, but also the health risks of people staying in lockdown, against the health risks of coronavirus and where the r raters. coronavirus and where the r rate is. the official estimates of the r rate, that come from sage to put it between 0.7 and 0.9. that is still not very thigh

from one, so it doesn't give them a huge amount of movement. no new coronavirus deaths have been reported in scotland for the first time since lockdown began. scottish government figures also show a total of 2,415 patients have died in the country after testing positive for covid—19 — this is no change on saturday's figure and the first time the death total has remained the same since 20th march. scotland's health secretary jeane freeman cautioned that fewer deaths tend to be recorded over the weekend. she also emphasised her government's lockdown advice is different to that in england. the message remains stay at home. do not meet other people outdoors. there are now of course a few reasons to leave home, but because the chances of the virus being transmitted to other people is far higher if you are indoors, our message is do not meet people indoors. when you do meet people outside, do not meet with more than one household at a time, don't meet more than one household

a day and keep to a maximum of eight people in a group. please stay two metres apart when you meet, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly and avoid touching hard surfaces that other households will then touch themselves, and clean any surfaces you are touching. don't travel more than five miles from your home. and please do not crowd beauty spots, rural locations, or small villages. car parks in these locations remain closed. they are closed for a reason. to stop crowding. so please don't ignore that, don't park on verges or at the side of the road as an alternative. that is unsafe and if where you go is crowded, change your plans and go elsewhere. genie three men, the health secretary in scotland. —— the headlines on bbc news. thousands of demonstrators are gathering across the uk to protest against racism

after the police killing of george floyd in the us. in bristol — protestors have pulled down the statue of the 17th century slavetrader, edward colston. the number of people worldwide who have died from coronavirus has passed 400,000. in the united states, huge protests have continued in cities across the country at the killing in police custody of the black american, george floyd. crowds once again converged on the white house in washington dc. 0ur north america correspondent aleem maqbool has more. no racist! police! nojustice! no peace! it was the biggest demonstration washington has seen since the killing of george floyd. but with none of the confrontation with security forces that we had seen previously. they sent in the national guard, the national guard here on the streets, they were tear—gassing people,

shooting them with rubber bullets, you know, really perpetuating police brutality and violence on the streets of washington dc. we're still getting arrested, we're still getting pulled over, we're still getting discriminated in everything in american life, so we got to fight, not for now, but for the future. we may be just outside the white house, but the sense we get through speaking to people here is that this has now gone beyond just getting the message across to donald trump. what people are telling us is that they have now really given up on him doing the right thing. instead, the focus has become changing the system, individuals and police departments. i have cried every day since i have been seeing the protest, out of just sheer joy that finally, finally, the voices are being heard. at the same time as the demonstration in washington,

there was a memorial service for george floyd in north carolina, close to where he was born. these images associated with this will affect all of our lives for the rest of our lives. george floyd's body will now continue its finaljourney, but the reverberations of his death will be felt long beyond his funeral in texas on tuesday. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington. in the past few minutes, donald trump has just tweeted, in the past few minutes, donald trump hasjust tweeted, saying in the past few minutes, donald trump has just tweeted, saying that,

the national guard is withdrawing from washington, dc there. the government has announced that places of worship in england can open for private prayer from a week tomorrow. number ten said the move would give individuals the chance to reflect. the new rules are not expected to include weddings of any size, orfull services, which will come at a later date. however, one of the most senior british imams, imam qari asim, has advised mosques to remain shut. the imam of the nasir mosque in gillingham, safeer , joins us live. do you agree with imam qari asim that masks should remain shut?|j think we should welcome the news of masks opening from the government. my masks opening from the government. my thinking is that it is not a problem opening for prayers

individually, so if mosques open and follow the government guidance than they should be no problem. follow the government guidance than they should be no problemlj follow the government guidance than they should be no problem. i suppose they should be no problem. i suppose the other imam qari asim's point is that your faith is one of collective worship, more perhaps than on an individual basis. yes, collective worship is very important in islam, but all of the five daily prayers that muslims perform during the day can be done individually as well, so there is no problem in altering those prayers at the mosque if the government allows it, with obviously respecting the social distancing and all of the important aspects that keep us safe. so as far as you are concerned, this can happen, commit, with social distancing of two metres? yes, if the government allows us then that is something we do, yes. how difficult has it been for the your community? because of course this lockdown coincided with

ramadan and eid, times of mass gathering and celebration. yes, it has been hard for members to stay away from the mask because it is so important in our lives, especially in this holy month of ramadan, but these are difficult and exceptional circumstances and in the circumstances and in the circumstances prayers at home, that has been difficult, but it is also shown us that it is possible because faith is between, religion is between you and god. you can worship and have that connection with god and have that connection with god and through your faith worship at home as well, so it hasn't been a problem, as such, although it isn't the same as having worship in the mosque. 0k, safeer khan, thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. some airlines have begun a legal challenge to plans to introduce a two—week quarantine for air passengers entering the uk from tomorrow. the channel tunnel also

says its operations are at serious risk because of the way ministers have rushed through the restrictions. the home office insists the measures are needed to control the virus. our business correspondent is katy austin. she spoke to me earlier about it. even though british airways and those other two airlines have begun the very first step of their legal challenge to this 14 day quarantine, it won't stop that quarantine coming into effect from tomorrow. from tomorrow, anybody coming into the uk apart from a few exemptions, will have to self—isolate for 14 days, and provide contact details and the home office has said there will be spot checks on that. these three airlines are not the only people who have objected to the idea of a quarantine, saying it would effectively cripple the aviation industry as it tries to recover from lockdown restrictions we have seen. however, it is an indication of how seriously these businesses

are taking the impact and the fact they want the government to listen. and it won't be reviewed for three weeks, so once it starts that will be in place for three weeks with no changes, no tweaks? it certainly seems as if they wouldn't be any changes for three weeks. the home office has said all along it will keep is under review, but that won't be done for a three week period. the only thing it is being looked at that could change in future, but we don't know when, is this idea of air bridges, international travel corridors that would allow the uk to form a link with some countries where the infection rate was low enough and a quarantine procedure wouldn't have to apply in the same way, but it doesn't look like there is any sign of that happening within the first three weeks. i am not clear because when the prime minister was asked a few days ago about whether brits could be thinking about having their summer holidays abroad, he sort of dodged that question. matt hancock, the health secretary, suggested today that he hoped that would be the case. it isn't that clear, is it? it is not clear at the moment, but the important thing the government has stressed is their advice at the moment has been not to travel.

they are saying until that changes you shouldn't be thinking about booking holidays. some of the airlines had been hoping to start up flights again for next month, so the quarantine make that idea redundant for now, but it is a confusing situation for people. what is clear at the moment is this quarantine is going to happen from tomorrow, so people should have to expect to have to isolate for 14 days. 0ur correspondence. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. after the warmth and sunshine of last weekend, this week and has been very different, cool, windy, we have had some outbreaks of rain. but the winds have been easing and will continue to do so as we head into tonight. some showery rain across eastern england will tend to fade and as the skies clear through scotland down into north—east england it's going to turn into a decidedly cool night, some spots in scotland could see a touch of frost. not as cold down towards the south of england or the south of wales because here we will keep more cloud

and the odd shower through the night. tomorrow, though, a lot of dry weather around, a mixture of patchy cloud and sunny spells. still one or two showers drifting across eastern scotland come across eastern counties of england. maybe a shower for northern ireland and a heavy downpour or a thunderstorm is possible across wales or the south—west. some sunny spells for most as we close out the day with temperatures between 11 and 17 degrees. another fine day for most on tuesday but from mid—week onwards it turns more unsettled with some rain at times, increasingly windy for the end of the week and quite humid by friday as well. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. thousands of demonstrators are gathering across the uk to protest against racism after the police killing of george floyd in the us. this is the scene live outside the us embassy in central london —

we'll bring you the latest in central london. that has now broken up as people are making their way across the bridges and back into central london. no new coronavirus deaths have been reported in scotland in the past 24 hours — for the first time since lockdown began. police say 10,000 people are taking part in anti—racism protests in bristol. cheering protesters in the city centre pulled down a statue of the 17th century slave trader and mp edward colston — a number of landmarks in bristol are named after him. the statue was designed byjohn cassidy and erected in 1895.

in the past few years there have been repeated calls to remove it as colston is a controversial figure who made his fortune in the slave trade. joining me now is the author and historian, professor david 0lusoga. he has been targeted for several yea rs, he has been targeted for several years, controversialfigure he has been targeted for several years, controversial figure as a slave trader. also at the same time in his era, a big philanthropist. as you said the statue was put up in 1895, he died in 1721, so the statue is almost two centuries after his death, and what it shows is not only that 17th—century london and bristol we re that 17th—century london and bristol were involved in the slave trade but that the 19th—century still didn't ca re that the 19th—century still didn't care he was honouring a man involved in the slave trade. this is a city that's about 14% bame with a statue of somebody who was not just a slave trader, he was involved in the royal africa company, the company trafficked more people into slavery

than any in british history, the fa ct than any in british history, the fact it has not been seen as a problem for such a long time, that so problem for such a long time, that so many people are confused as to why the statue offence and upset so many people. aren't people mature to realise that the statue is of a man who in his era did things which are apparent to any right—thinking person today, but that is the historical context and we don't need to erase history to understand that. removing statues is not erasing history and this is the constant accusation made of people who have been taken to this history, trying to make the city more aware of who he was, doing everything they can to raise the profile of the atlantic slave trade, and what has happened here as people have asked for the statue to be put in a museum, people have attempted to put plaques on the statue, explaining this wealth bequeathed to the city was born from the atlantic slave trade and all of those temps have been thwarted were

dismissed and patronised, and i'm afraid that i've it should never have happened because the statute should have been