hi, good morning, welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire. here are the headlines: plans are dropped to get every primary school pupil in england back into the classroom before the end of term, because of social distancing concerns. read to know it would be good to get children back in school as and when we can, but it is not easily done and we must of course listen to the teachers and head teachers doing this in practice. boris johnson acknowledges the depth of emotion of anti—racism protesters, but warns that those breaking the law will face justice.

we are all right to say black lives matter, and to all those who have chosen to protest peacefully and who have insisted on social distancing, i say, yes, have insisted on social distancing, isay, yes, of course, i hear you, have insisted on social distancing, isay, yes, of course, i hearyou, i understand. prince andrew is accused by a us prosecutor of trying to falsely portray himself as eager to co—operate with the investigation into the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. britain is about to pass a significant landmark in energy production — at midnight it'll be two months since any coal was burned to generate electricity. we'll be looking at the future of the fuel. coming up in the next hour, if you have a child who was due to go back before the summer holidays, tell us your reaction to the news the government's now dropped that plan. do you back their decision or not? and after the home secretary revealed she was often called the p—word at school and advised to drop her surname to advance her career, have you had experiences that are similar?

email me at victoria@bbc.co.uk, or message me on twitter, @vicderbyshire. the plan for all primary school pupils in england to go back to school before the end of term has been dropped by the government. the education secretary gavin williamson is expected to confirm the decision to mps later today. pupils who don't go back until the autumn will have missed more than a third of an academic year. our education correspondent sean coughlan has more. pupils in reception, year one and year six began returning to schools in england from june one. —— during the first. there have been differences in what schools have been able to offer and figures published later today will show how many families

took up places. since the proposal was announced to bring back all primary pupils for four weeks before the end of term, head teachers have challenged the practicalities of accommodating them while expecting children to stay in small groups that would require twice as many classrooms. whatever the ambition, school has said they simply do not have the space to fit everyone in at the same time. ministers said plans to open to all years would only go ahead if it were feasible and they have now accepted that it is not. it means that many pupils already out of school for 11 weeks, will now be missing lessons until september. the head teachers‘ union, the association of school and college leaders, welcomed the change saying the government had promised something that was undeliverable. ministers are expected to say that

schools will now have flexibility over how many pupils they can teach and that in the year groups that have returned, increasing numbers of parents are confident about sending back their children. but there will be concerns, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, about the long—term costs of being so long out of school. our education correspondent elaine dunkley is at a school in barnton in cheshire. what is the reaction from parents? it has been a very difficult time forfamilies, parents it has been a very difficult time for families, parents wanting to know what is best for their children, should they send them to school or not, it has been a difficult time for families to know what to do and lots of parents are saying they are at home trying to work and they also had children, the big thing is how long it will go on for, many parents did not expect this long. this has been a sticking issue for the government. when they announced children from reception, get 196 would be going back there

was opposition from teaching unions and some local authorities about safety concerns. students at the school and barton were due to be coming back this week but the head teacher had to call parents on friday because there were concerns about the r number, the rate of infections, in cheshire. the government says they are now allowing head teachers to lead the way forward but it means lots of children will not have been in school since march 20 and may not be going back until september, that is a lot of time out of the classroom. teaching unions had said this would never be something they could deliver. coronavirus has radically changed how classrooms operate, no more than 15 children in a class, staggered breaks and lunchtimes and the government has had to accept that for all children in primary school to come back for a month before the end of the summer term is unrealistic. the plan for schools in

scotla nd unrealistic. the plan for schools in scotland and northern ireland is to reopen in august, schools in wales are due to reopen onjune the 29th. thank you, elaine dunkley in cheshire. conservative mp robert halfon is a former education minister and is now chair of the house of commons education select committee. we will speak to a union leader in a moment. good morning, robert halfon, what has happened to the government doing things based on science?m what has happened to the government doing things based on science? it is a strange country when the government turned a blind eye to demonstrations in cities across the country, we are campaigning for pubs and garden centres to be open and yet we say that our schools can't open until september despite evidence from the world health organization, many other european union countries, our own chief medical officer, that it is safe to do so, that was conferred to me by the prime minister and the schools minister when they appeared before committee. we worry about the

coronavirus, absolutely, we need to do everything we can to be safe, but there could be an epidemic of educational poverty, a growing digital divide and a safeguarding crisis with vulnerable children being affected by mental health, possibly exposed to online harm, possibly exposed to online harm, possibly joining possibly exposed to online harm, possiblyjoining county possibly exposed to online harm, possibly joining county gangs, possibly exposed to online harm, possiblyjoining county gangs, and these vulnerable children of which we know roughly 700,000 are not doing any school homework at all may have their life chances damaged hugely by being away from school for 40% of the school year. hugely by being away from school for 4096 of the school year. so what has happened to your government doing things based on the science? let me ask again. i don't know the answer, iam not ask again. i don't know the answer, i am not in the government. what do you think? i suspect it has been the opposition from some local authorities and some but not all trade unions, it may be difficult for some schools to reopen butjust because some schools can't reopen does not mean that no schools should

reopen. as i say, we face huge problems with potential educational poverty, the government needs to set out a national plan of what they will do for education, a proper timetable of reopening, a programme of catch up, notjust for education but well—being, proper online support not just for yet ten but well—being, proper online support notjust for yet ten and children in care in terms of the 700,000 children who don't have access to proper computers at home, they seriously need to look at opening summer schools with charities and volunteers and graduates, former teachers, to help these children with pastoral care, mental health issues and catch—up in education, particularly maths and english. we have loads of messages from parents saying this is the right decision, i am pleased, from parents saying this is the right decision, iam pleased, i from parents saying this is the right decision, i am pleased, i will read some of those any moment but let me read you this from john on twitter, the government shows leadership, they are following the

public media opinion, not the science. maureen says the public are running this pandemic because of a lack of any government. is there some truth to those messages do you think? i think a lot of attention has been paid to the health issue, there is a national army of health volunteers, i think we need a long—term plan for education, i think the government needs to set out a clear timetable for teachers and parents of what will happen, they need to set out a catch—up programme, they need to set out whether we will have summer schools 01’ whether we will have summer schools or not and they need to be clear what we will do to look after the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children really suffering in this pandemic and who might have their life chances destroyed if they don't get back to school soon. provides 0k. get back to school soon. provides ok. i have looked at the figures, we had a statistician on yesterday who was really clear in the way he explained that the risk of people

dying from covid—19, if you are over 90, it is 10,000 times the risk to schoolchildren. we have also been told the risk to schoolchildren of spreading covid is likely to be low. what would you say to the government? do you urge them to change their minds? guest: the evidence is clear there is very minimal risk, the prime minister has told my committee, the schools minister has told my committee at its safe to go back to school. please don't let the life chances of hundreds of thousands of children be damaged, the attainment gap could grow by 75%, according to the dfe figures, between disadvantaged pupils and their better off peers, please do not let that happen, letter to schools opened sooner rather than later. of course with all the relevant safety measures necessary. could we be in a

similar position come september? this is why i am saying the government needs to set out a national plan for education, what the timetable will be, what they will do to help the left behind children catch up, we must have a national volunteer army, ofsted inspectors, all the incredible educational charities that could help the schools, work with schools and social workers to help these children catch up so they are able to claim that important educational ladder of opportunity in the future. before i talk to doctor mary bousted from the national education union, i have found a quote from gavin williamson, education secretary, who said ata williamson, education secretary, who said at a recent number ten briefing, i know a lot of you will be worried about sending your children to school, everyone of us wa nt children to school, everyone of us want the best for our children and i know how stressful this time has been. i want to reassure you this approach is based on the best scientific advice, with children at the very heart of everything we do.

well, the government needs to set out in the house of commons today that they are still following the scientific advice. they are obviously not, this is a political decision, and that may be fine but they need to be honest. we need to what they have to say in the house of commons and we need a national plan. —— we need to hear what they have to say. many trade unions, not all, are opposed to it, and some local authorities have been. it has not been easy. but that does not mean, asi not been easy. but that does not mean, as i say, if schools cannot open everywhere it does not mean they should not open anywhere and we need to get kids back—to—school, learning and socialising, we have to help them with a mental health issues, well—being and pastoral care, the sooner the better. robert halfon, conservative mp and chair of the educational select committee. dr mary bousted is the joint general secretary of the national education union. good morning, you must be very pleased with this u—turn?|j

good morning, you must be very pleased with this u-turn? i think it was inevitable, i am not pleased because i think schools are very important, we want schools to open, to open two more children, to open safely. but not yet? they had been open throughout the pandemic. they are open to more children now. but given government guidelines which schools need to follow and the procedures and social distancing, deep cleaning of schools, all the guidance schools had to follow, it was never the case that schools on their current sites, because we have small schools for the number of peoples in them, it was never the case, given the scale of the pandemic, that they would be able to accommodate all pupils with the current guidelines in place, the guidelines the government has instituted. come september, what will be the difference? we are hoping in september that the r rate will be lower. it is below one now.

not throughout the country. in the north—west and south—east it is hovering at about one or one, we do not know the effects of the recent relaxation in lockdown. it is also the case that many parents whose children could go back to school at the moment don't feel safe or secure that they can go back. so we need to help that the pandemic will subside, the rate of infection will subside, the rate of infection will subside, the number of new cases will subside, that the measures were, that we get contact testing and chasing in place properly, because it is not now, so we do not know when we have local outbreaks breaking out, we do not know where they will be. it is hoped they will be in place by september. and if not? then i absolutely agree with robert halfon and we need a national plan along the lines developed in scotland. so you look at the scottish government's pam spurr schooling and they say we will have covid with us for many months so we

110w covid with us for many months so we now need a plan for learning in school for part of the time, learning at home for part of the time, a national plan for distance learning, a national plan for online learning, a national plan for online learning and a national plan for ensuring that the most vulnerable children are in school more and have access to the internet and access to the learning. we need vulnerable children to be fed over the summer and the scottish government its requisitioning public spaces, libint, community hall so that schools can spread out, so there are a few students in school buildings but they are learning in buildings when by schools. —— so there are fewer students. they have a new plan for online learning. we now need to see a national plan, because if there is a second spike we can't just stop education in schools as we have had to do in the first wave of this pandemic, we now need to throw at education the resources and the time and the planning that was

thrown up the job retention scheme. children's commissioner for england's anne longfield said this morning on the radio that children are in danger of being forgotten. robert halfon talked about an epidemic of educational poverty and the fact that some children's life chances will be damaged by missing this much normal, conventional school. do you agree? yes, and ifi we re school. do you agree? yes, and ifi were the prime minister on a maid attem pts were the prime minister on a maid attempts i would not have said i will get these particular gay groups back —— if i were the prime minister on the 10th of may. i would have said let's get disadvantaged and vulnerable children by, let's make the 700,000 children a priority, those who do not have internet access. every school knows which children are not on any register but are on vulnerable situations at home. i would are on vulnerable situations at home. iwould have are on vulnerable situations at home. i would have said to get them back into school first, gap and safeguarded in a safe place and learning. that is what the government should have. let me pizza messages. one viewer on twitter says

fantastic decision, let's keep our children safe, allen says it is the right decision, they can open up from september, we need a planjust 110w from september, we need a planjust now to make them safer places for people. patrick says there is not much the government has got right, i lost faith in the government and scientist some time ago, pull on twitter says it looks like making policy on the hoof, all the need to do is drop this ludicrous travel quarantine plan. another person says what about the kids who have gone back? this is crazy. they need to close all schools until september except for the children of essential workers. you can find your own adjective, but does it seem bizarre to you that we can get most people who were sleeping on the street into accommodation, 90% of people who we re accommodation, 90% of people who were sleeping rough into accommodation during this pandemic, we can build a thousand bed hospital injust over a week, we can build a thousand bed hospital in just over a week, alton towers will potentially be opening up soon,

nonessential parts of the economy such as barbers and hairdressers will be opening up injuly and we can't get schools open? there are 19,000 schools... 23,000 schools in england if you include secondary schools, it is a complex system. we can get education up and running but it may not be education as we know it, but we need real government leadership to do this. we will play oui’ leadership to do this. we will play our part. the profession will do as it has done, educating pupils at home and at school, but it needs investment and leadership. we can't just rely on dilapidated school buildings packed full of peoples, which parents will not send their children back to that scenario, we need real national cohesion, thought and planning and we will play our pa rt and planning and we will play our part in that —— buildings packed full of pupils. thank you very much, doctor mary bousted, joint head of the national education union.

with most pubs and restaurants across the uk closed since march the 20th, the hospitality sector has been deeply hit by the coronavirus pandemic. pubs and restaurants in england have been preparing to reopen from the 4th ofjuly, but it's now being suggested ministers won't publish new guidance today, and number ten is distancing itself from reports venues could possibly open sooner. so far across the uk, hospitality businesses have experienced a dramatic loss in business, with many closed altogether and others only offering takeaways or home deliveries. there is no firm date yet for when scotland, wales and northern ireland will allow the reopening of pubs and restaurants. the cabinet is due to meet shortly. our assistant political editor norman smith joins me from westminster. hello, norman. obviously pubs, restau ra nts a nd cafes hello, norman. obviously pubs, restaurants and cafes are desperate to be open, they say they can do social distancing like an cafes in paris, what is the delay? it is

twofold, one is the two metre social distancing rule which we have in the uk, but frankly most other european countries don't have, i think it france they have one metre social distance will, in germany and holland it is 1.5 metres, we have to metres. for many pubs and restau ra nts metres. for many pubs and restaurants that metres. for many pubs and restau ra nts that ma kes metres. for many pubs and restaurants that makes opening a nonstarter, it is not viable because it reduces the number of people you can get into pubs and restaurants and it is simply not profitable, so that will have to be addressed. sage has been looking at that since may, the prime minister, we understand, is keen to try to reduce the limit but sofa he has not got the scientific thumbs up to go down that road. the other inhibiting factor, i guess, is trying to do things outdoors. it is clear from what we have learned from scientists that the transmission rate for coronavirus is dramatically reduced if you are outdoors, so can we do

more of our leisure activities, shopping, eating, drinking etc outdoors? in turn that will require looking at planning rules, if you wa nt looking at planning rules, if you want shops and pubs to be able to operate more outdoors, so i think shops had to get a licence from the local authority, they want to start setting out stalls on the pavement, if pubs want to set out marquees in the garden to guard against rain and dodgy weather i think they too need a licence for longer periods to have those marquees, so there are a whole load of hurdles which still had to be overcome which means as things stand, the earliest we are told officially that there can be any go—ahead for the hospitality sector is stilljuly. and this decision on schools, they announced it saying it is safe, we act on the guidance of

scientists, so what has changed?” think there will be an inquest on this, because the local authorities and schools have been warning almost from the off that this will be incredibly difficult to do. we have already heard from the likes of robert halfon, the children's commissioner and others saying the government did not provide enough focus on trying to enable schools to cope with the social distancing rule. that may be you provide mobile classrooms to provide the extra space for children, it could mean you go down the japanese route and provide the ppe, the facemasks, for children so you can get around the social distancing issues, or it could mean you dramatically beef up online learning and the provision of la pto ps to online learning and the provision of laptops to enable children to distance learning. frankly, little of that seems to have happen so the

end result is we are in a situation where schools have basically had to say we can't do this and the government has had to accept that thatis government has had to accept that that is a target that they will not be able to meet, the big question 110w be able to meet, the big question now is can we be in a place to ensure that at the end of the summer holidays in september, schools can accept all peoples? thank you very much, norman. send me your reaction about the fact that primary schools in england will not now be going back until september, the government had changed their mind, let me know on twitter or send me an e—mail. a private funeral service will be held today for george floyd — the man whose killing by police officers in the us sparked anti—racism protests across the world. thousands of people have paid their respects at a memorial service in the city of houston, where mr floyd grew up.

the protests at george floyd's death spread to many cities across the uk this weekend. you may have taken part in some yourself. last night, in a video and article for the voice, boris johnson acknowledged the undeniable feeling of injustice motivating anti—racism protesters — but insisted law—brea kers will face justice.

well, earlier yesterday, the home secretary, priti patel, was challenged by a labour mp, florence eshalomi, who asked her whether she recognised the "structural inequality, discrimination and racism" in the uk and called on her to act. priti patel responded by saying she said she would "not take lectures" from others about racism. in this clip, ms patel uses a term that's offensive. i'm really saddened that the honourable lady has effectively said that this government doesn't understand racial inequality. well, on that basis, madam deputy speaker, it must have been a very different home secretary who as a child was frequently called a paki in the playground. it must have been a very different home secretary who was racially abused in the streets, or who was advised to drop her surname and use her husband's in order to advance her career.

yes, exactly. a different home secretary recently characterised, if, madam deputy speaker, i can say so, in the guardian newspaper as a fat cow with a ring through its nose, something that was not only racist but offensive, both culturally and religiously. this is hardly an example of respect, equality, tolerance or fairness, so when it comes to racism, sexism, tolerance or social justice, i will not take lectures from the other side of the house. i have already said repeatedly there is no place for racism in our country or in society. you heard priti patel talking about the cartoon there. here it is — this was published in the guardian in march this year, it was by the cartoonist steve bell. i have a comment from the guardian, i asked what they wanted to say, brendan from comms has said the guardian's readers editor, who is

independent, looked at the cutting up independent, looked at the cutting up the tyne and concluded that the imagery where both borisjohnson and priti patel were depicted together as r, not her alone, refer to bullying allegations of the senior civil servant and they pointed out that politicians from all parties are that politicians from all parties a re often that politicians from all parties are often caricatured as animals. i'm joined by jamelia now. she is a musician, a presenter, she has acted and she has her own experiences of racism. good morning. good morning, how are you? very well, thank you. i want to ask you about boris johnson in well, thank you. i want to ask you about borisjohnson in that video, recalling the horrors of the national front recalling the horrors of the nationalfront in recalling the horrors of the national front in the 70s, he said i truly believe we are in much, much less racist society than we were. is he right? i don't think it is as black—and—white as that, forgive the term. to say something it's less racist does not mean it is not still racist, and i think that needs to be

understood. lots of what boris johnson said in that speech was so inflammatory and so aggravating, particularly to black people, and i think it is because he is using a lot of words and terminology that is just so archaic, and as you mentioned that line in itself, to say we are less racist and so we are all happier. dear boris, we're not all happier. dear boris, we're not all happier, we are every single day, playing with our lives. he has a pile of black bodies as evidence to say that we are not happy and not better. it may not be as overt as it once was but it does not mean that it is not still continuing to this day and affecting every single black person in western society. provide he didn't say we were happy, he did say we are much, much less racist as

a society than we were. how racist you believe the uk is?” a society than we were. how racist you believe the uk is? i think it is very ha rd to you believe the uk is? i think it is very hard to quantify, but as a black person who lives in the uk, i can tell you that we have a serious race issue that goes far beyond the overt, it is the covert racism that is so damaging and it is insidious. it is literally woven into the fabric of society, and the ignorance and indifference of white people is actually... allows a level of complexity. so you contribute by not being aware, and it actually serves the racial bias. this country has issues at the heart of its education system, its health care system, in thejudicial system, its health care system, in the judicial system, when system, its health care system, in thejudicial system, when it comes to loans and insurance, home ownership, opening a small business, there are so many things that affect

black people on a daily basis that i guess i don't know if it is ignorance or indifference, but i need to speak and i need to say these things so that white people become aware that your privilege... your privilege allows you to benefit from a system that chronically affects and damages black people, and now you are aware of that it is not enough to say i am not racist because you are not a purveyor of overt racism. if you benefit from the system, knowing people are being oppressed and affected by it, then you are racist. to be antiracist you had to be actively being a part of dismantling the systems that surround you and the systems you benefit from. i will ask you more about what action you want to see any moment, and the prime minister said there is so much more to do in

eradicating prejudice, creating opportunity and he said the government i lead is committed to that effort. the home secretary talked about her own experiences of racism yesterday. i cannot recall her talking about that before, saying she was increasingly called the p—word. what do you think of what she had to say? asa do you think of what she had to say? as a black woman, i am not surprised by her retelling of her experience. i think they should be shocked by it asa i think they should be shocked by it as a society but as i said, having my own experience in the uk, i am not shocked by it at all. i do think we should not be focusing so much on these experiences and the retelling of these experiences. the reason for thatis of these experiences. the reason for that is there are so many stories

out there, we had told our stories, we had been screaming from the rooftops and she should not have to say that for anyone to understand that racism exists. that being said, priti patel, in my opinion, is also used as a weapon between black and minority ethnic people because while she may have had these experiences, she may have had these experiences, she also supports the systemic racism that exists and that is also a possibility. you are capable of having racism... perpetrated against you, yeah. and still being part of the system. that is what priti patel is. it shows problems are incredibly deep. she also said, we will not tolerate racism in this country and our society. yes stop well... i mean, to be a purveyor of it...

borisjohnson also said that black lives matter but clearly the systems that we exist in and we experience and he benefits from does not reflect what he is saying, so just because someone says a set of words it does not necessarily mean that is out of the pool. these people are in positions of bringing about and changing legislation and systemic racism from the core. they are literally in a position to do that and they do not. therefore, it is not true. so what could they do? what should they do today, tomorrow, there week after, the week after that? there is so much to do. from the parliamentary level, i would first of all insist on everyone in every sector receiving an education on racism, on systemic racism, and racial bias. i think there is a lot

of work that needs to be done on eradicating racial biases that exist, particularly in the health ca re system. exist, particularly in the health care system. people literally die because of racial biases that are helpful to black women are thought to be more resilient and stronger and therefore not needing as much ca re and therefore not needing as much care and medication. those things start from bias, it is the mindset that needs to change that i can be changed through medication and i am sure someone can put together a curricular aim to do that. speaking of education commended decolonisation of the curriculum, not just teaching black decolonisation of the curriculum, notjust teaching black history but being aware of confronting your own biases, of being aware of your own privileges and that is going to start from the teacher notjust a case of teaching their children. as pa rents case of teaching their children. as parents there is a lot of work that can be done in ensuring you have diverse books and diverse experiences and even diverse social

circles. the prime minister could absolutely do something about the judicial system. it is incredibly racist. the racial disparities in particular that exist are horrific and nothing gets done about that because even at a judicial level we don't have any representation and implementing representation in the systems and institutions that they come into contact with is again incredibly important. there is so much that can be done. your parents came to the uk from jamaica. they are part of the windrush generation. you said, i don't think it helps to keep recounting these experiences of racism because we know it is there. yes. i want to ask about something in particular. fine if you do not wa nt to in particular. fine if you do not want to talk about it but how often have you been pulled over by police

for driving while black? this is the importance of speaking about it publicly. until i spoke about it publicly, i would get pulled over at least once a week, it interrupted my children's school run, to the point he got ridiculous and i ended up changing my car. i had spoken out about it. i think that is the important aspect of any situation. it is using your voice, all of us are capable of using our voices. we have twitter platforms, instagram, not even just have twitter platforms, instagram, not evenjust on have twitter platforms, instagram, not even just on a public scale. when you see something happening in an institution or environment you exist in, your voice can make a difference. our voices are so incredibly powerful. they can bring about lasting change. it is so important that white people are allies to black people in every environment that we exist in. when you say change your car, you mean from a what? a decent car to a less

decent car? yes. from what to what? i know it sounds trivial but it is an indictment, isn't it? that is not an indictment, isn't it? that is not an important part of the conversation. that is because you are used to it. some people will be like, does this really happen in this country? and it does. what i will say to that, it is very u nfortu nate will say to that, it is very unfortunate that these stories... i had been telling these stories for yea rs. had been telling these stories for years. i have missed and sacrifice my career to tell these stories because i had three daughters and a son, who will all go out into this world and i cannot sit by and know that i did nothing about it. yes, it is important to tell these stories but what are we going to do about it now you know it has happened? the make up my car is not important.

what is important is it happened and it has happened to hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of black people all over the world every single day. i cannot even imagine what that must feel like in america. ididn't what that must feel like in america. ididn‘tfear what that must feel like in america. i didn't fear for my life when i was being pulled over but it does not meani being pulled over but it does not mean i should be grateful. do not pull me overjust because you think ido pull me overjust because you think i do not own my car. it is racist. thank you, thank you very much for talking to us. really appreciate your time. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. high pressure is still dominating the weather but after today low pressure takes over and things will turn more unsettled. a lot of dry weather today. large amounts of plaid with sunny skies developing. some showers likely. —— cloud. these will be fairly isolated. pick a cloud and rain pushes in across parts of northern ireland and

western scotland. —— thicker cloud. one or two showers headed it back tonight a lot of cloud with a few clear spells. temperatures falling to seven in the south. there will be some heavy bursts as it moves across scotla nd some heavy bursts as it moves across scotland into northern england, wales and eventually their south—west. we are looking at some sharp showers, some of which could be thundery. a lot of pals around with some sunshine. —— ploughed around.

a couple of bits are breaking news. this from the office for national statistics. they said there had been 46 , 421 statistics. they said there had been 46,421 deaths in england and wales, this is with coronavirus, up to the

week of may the 29th. 46,421 coronavirus deaths in england and wales up to may the 29th, that is in all settings. let me just bring you this as well. specifically in care homes, up to may the 29th again, according to the lns, 13,460 deaths happened in care homes in england and wales up to may the 29th because of coronavirus. —— ons. really grim and shocking figures. we were speaking about those figures later. —— we will speak about. places of worship in england will be able to reopen their doors for the first time next monday. churches, temples, synagogues and mosques will be able to accommodate private prayer only. full services and group worship will start later after a consultation. one of the largest sikh temples or gurdwaras in the country has responded to the lockdown by reinventing itself

as an emergency food operation, delivering thousands of meals a day to nhs staff and those most in need. this film is by our reporterjim reed. in the kitchen of a sikh temple, or gurdwara, volunteers are preparing hot meals. this part of life hasn't changed. chick peas and rice, and kidney beans and rice is what we are making at the moment. but places of worship are still shut to the public, so the volunteers here have had to reinvent the langar, or community kitchen. one thing that is phenomenal about langar is that it has never stopped. in 550 years, it has never stopped. pandemics, no pandemics. so for us, we have had the opportunity, instead of people not being able to come in to us, that we can take the food out to them. the temple is now working with councils to send food out to the local community, trying to reach the people most affected by lockdown. my husband is a 90—year—old, he is terminally ill. i feel nervous to go out there and stand in the queue, not knowing who in front or behind me

has actually got the virus. i haven't been out of this gate since the lockdown, march. but what started in one small room has grown quickly, now reaching 6,000 hot meals and hundreds of food parcels every day. this is what would be going out to one household — bags of tea — 20 to 25 bags of tea. from the day that we began, the demand grew. either people, incomes being affected or more people in isolation. that is why the project is now seven days a week, 24 hours a day. meals are also delivered to nhs hospitals and homeless projects like this one. the government says it has taken action to protect those affected by the virus, including an increase in universal credit. but demand for food banks hit a record high in april and their worry is as emergency

support is wound down, the situation could get worse. i would not say i would be relieved or happy when the food programme is over. i would be relieved and happy people do not need food any more from us. until that time comes and our resources are completely finished, we are going to carry on. in england, the doors of gurdwaras like this will reopen to the public next week but for private prayer only. the consultation on full reopening is now taking place but that is unlikely to happen before july at the earliest. the prime minister is expected to update the cabinet on plans to reopen places of worship at a meeting later today. we arejoined by sukhjeevan singh kandola, spokesperson for the sikh council uk. and to find out the impact this will have for other religious communities, we can speak to daniel singleton. he's national executive director of faithaction and a member of the government taskforce developing a plan to reopen places

of worship. good morning, both of you. thank you very much. i wonder if you can explain to everybody what role gurdwaras play for the sikh community and the impact of them being closed? good morning. the expression in ourfaith is unique to every religion. two sikhs, the gurdwara is more than a place of worship, it is central to our lives, it still is. with the doors being closed for public access, it has affected people mental, spiritual well—being. for that reason, affected people mental, spiritual well—being. forthat reason, it affected people mental, spiritual well—being. for that reason, it is really important and it comes as a breath of fresh air that places of worship will be for private prayer, on the 15th ofjune. what do you think private prayer means? when it comes to social distancing, what are

you planning for your temple? we have lots of stringent and vigorous measures, much more detailed and stricter than even supermarkets. we presented the government with guidance in early may. that guidance included very pragmatic measures. for example, the community kitchen will not be served from people who come in. it will be an activity, transitory brief activity when people will come inside, be able to queue, socially distancing themselves. daniel, hello, thank you for talking to us. in terms of allowing for private prayer, will that have more of a positive impact for some baits than others? that is a real issue we will face. proportionately some fates will be able to operate more rituals and

activities than others. —— faiths. we want to see how we can utilise freedoms relating to outside of different things so faiths can express themselves and come together as communities, even in the small groupings are allowed at the moment. a survey found one in 20 adults have started praying for the first time during lockdown. what do you think of that? i do not think it surprising. at a time of difficulty, people turn to faith. it was already active throughout our communities, serving in food banks. we had about the langar today. it just serving in food banks. we had about the langar today. itjust has come to the forefront. we are facing a terrible amount of deaths. our own mortality makes us think a little bit beyond the normal run of life.

absolutely. thank you for talking to us. thank you, gentlemen. britain is about to pass a significant landmark in energy production tonight — it will be two full months without burning coal to generate power. just a decade ago, more than 40% of the country's electricity came from coal. our chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt reports. this is why britain can survive so long without coal. last year, the world's biggest wind farm was completed off the yorkshire coast. a single rotation of this giant turbine can power the average home for an entire day. the falling price of renewables is part of a fundamental shift in the economics of energy. what we have seen is essentially a halving of costs in a very short timescale, like, in the last five years or so. just four uk power station still use coal.

britain's biggest, drax in yorkshire, plans to stop burning the stuff completely by next march. these days, most of the electricity the plant produces comes from these — compressed wood pellets imported from america. because trees take up carbon dioxide when they grow, and because new trees are planted when the forests are harvested, it means drax's net emissions had been reduced dramatically. —— have been. we here at drax decided that coal is no longer the future. we get about three ships a week that bring wood pellets into the uk. the use about 7 million tonnes of wood pellets a year. it's been a massive undertaking. the result of all of that is we have reduced our co2 emissions from more than 20 million tonnes a year to almost zero. the coal era is not yet over, mind you. elsewhere in the world, particularly in china and some other developing nations, governments actively support the industry.

but here in britain, the last coal plants are expected to close within five years. a mum is bringing a legal challenge at the high court against rules which stopped her getting legal aid when she sought a court order against her former partner. the case highlights the position of victims of domestic violence who are on benefits but don't receive legal aid because they own equity in the home they shared with a former partner. our legal correspondent clive coleman has been talking to her and hejoins me now. what did she tell you, clive? we are calling her claire. she lives with her two children in a home she jointly owns with her ex partner. she claimed he subjected her to

physical, emotional and psychological abuse. she wanted to get a non—molestation order to stop the abuse and an occupation order to get him removed from the home. even though she is on universal credit, she could not get legal aid because she could not get legal aid because she owns some of the equity in their home. i didn't get legal aid because there is equity in my house. my ex partner has all the money and he controlled all the money. he has to agree to everything because the mortgage isjoint. he wouldn't agree to anything and we were being made homeless because we were being forced to sell our house to get any legal support and advice. now claire could not sell the home because if she did that she would make herself and her children homeless. she cannot borrow against the equity because she would need the equity because she would need the consent of her ex partner. she was ina the consent of her ex partner. she was in a very difficult position. she took the only option she had, she went to court and represented

herself. she did so against a barrister, her ex partner was able to afford a barrister, and she succeeded in getting both the orders, the non—molestation order and the occupation order but it was and the occupation order but it was a daunting experience for her. on the second hearing she came face—to—face with her ex partner. it was the first time i saw him after he had been removed from the home. when i heard his voice, i was so scared and so terrified and it made me physically sick, physically vomit in court. i cried so much i made myself sick. it is astonishing that she succeeded while representing herself. the domestic abuse bill is going to come ifi domestic abuse bill is going to come if i recall correctly, going to stop that kind of thing happening. what is the basis of her legal challenge? family lawyers tell me one in five women on benefits and victims of domestic abuse will not get legal

aid because of what is effectively trapped capital. in 2012—13 a huge amount of legal aid was taken out of the system. legal aid for a vast number of family cases and civil cases simply disappeared. the only way you can get it in a private family law matter, a family case between two people not involving the estate and care proceedings, the only way you can get that is if you area only way you can get that is if you are a victim of domestic violence. even then it is means tested both as to your income and your capital. that is what she is challenging. those rules which take into account trapped or, they would say dead, dormant capital. that is what the high court is going to be considering today. lawyers are anxiously awaiting the outcome of this because many lawyers say there should be no means testing at all for victims of domestic violence who had trapped capital they cannot get my hands on. thank you very much.

clive coleman with that exclusive story. thank you for your many m essa g es story. thank you for your many messages about the government's decision this week to say that all primary school pupils will not now be going back injuly. it looks like it is going to be september. last week they said that was going to happen. paul has tweeted to say this, the decision to open a school is left to a vote ta ken by this, the decision to open a school is left to a vote taken by the head teacher and parent governors. i dent think any impartiality can be practised because most parent governors in our primary school are key workers. central government should be making this decision and not biased parents. susie says the government should be focusing on getting broadband into all homes so children can learn on the internet at home.. jeremy corbyn was right, says susie. peter says, at home.. jeremy corbyn was right, says susie. petersays, ifeel for the kids but this is the correct course of action at the moment for them. the fact the government was

trying to open up schools completely shows one thing though, boris johnson could not run a bath. this viewer, oj champion, says they look like they do not know what they are doing. guidance for schools changes daily. many primary schools have no spare daily. many primary schools have no spa re classrooms, daily. many primary schools have no spare classrooms, they are overcrowded, so any distancing is impossible. a number of parents say they feel really sorry for children looking forward to going back but it is the right decision. headlines on the way at ten o'clock when we switch over to bbc two. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. if you have an allergy to grass pollen, it is worth mentioning today across most of england and wales today the levels are high or very high. today we are looking at a lot of cloud, large amounts of cloud floating around at times. there will be some sunny skies developing and we've also got rain coming into the north—west, courtesy of a clutch of weather fronts. high pressure is still clinging

on by the skin of its teeth today but that will change from tomorrow as low pressure starts to take over. this afternoon a chance you can start to see an isolated showers across southern scotland, northern england, through the midlands and down towards central southern england but it will be isolated. temperatures today, ten in the north and 19 in the south. this evening and overnight, weather fronts continue to push eastwards and southwards, taking the rain with them in doing so. there will still be a lot of cloud around, some clear spells and temperature wise, falling to between 7 and the north and 13 in the south. so tomorrow, once again we pick up that weather front. some of the rain on it will be heavy as it continues its descent, pushing south eastwards. one moves east, the second south—east.

tomorrow, like today, there will be a lot of cloud around and some sunny breaks perky showers in the south east quarter, some of which will be heavy and thundery. disappointing for this stage injune, 11 to 16 degrees. wednesday into thursday, we have low pressure dominating the weather and it is intensifying as it sinks that bit further south. you can see from the isobars it will be windier than the next couple of days. as we move through thursday there goes the weather front with low pressure pushing steadily southwards, taking its rain with it. showers follow one behind. some rain getting into the north of england, southern scotland, eventually northern ireland. it's the far north that will hang on to the brighter conditions with some sunshine and highs up to 14. by friday we still have the same area of low pressure weather front. remember it went south, well, it's coming north again. we also had the weather front draped across the north of england and southern scotland and northern ireland with

some rain. driest in the north—east.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. plans are dropped to get every primary school pupil in england back into the classroom before the end of term — because of social distancing concerns. we know it would be good to get children back in school as and when we can, but it is not easily done and we must be listening to the teachers and head teachers having to do this in practice. there's been a fall in the weekly number of deaths in england and wales — but there have still been 64,000 more deaths than would normally be expected during the time of the coronavirus epidemic.

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