then something this traumatic happens. it was hard. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm victoria derbyshire. the uk prime minister borisjohnson will announce more plans to ease the lockdown, with zoos, safari parks and drive—in cinemas in england allowed

to re—open from monday. the announcement comes a day after the government abandoned plans for all primary schools to return before the summer. the same voices that last week were basically supporting, you know, people who were saying, do not open up the schools, are this week criticising us for saying, well, we'll take it deliberately carefully. a warning from national health service leaders in england — ten million people could end up on hospital waiting lists by the end of the year. more than 30 years after the assassination of swedish prime minsiter olof palme, police identify the main suspect as a man who died 20 years ago. after another slave trader statue is removed, labour councils in the uk plan a review into public monuments. and there's a warning that almost 300,000 children in india could die, due to severe malnutrition and a lack of essential services, amid the coronavirus lockdown. after another slave trader statue

is removed, labour councils in the uk plan a review into public monuments. one of the top ranking officers in the london metropolitan police urges the force to "stand up to racists", as anti—racism protests continue. 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. the uk prime minister is expected to announce more plans to ease lockdown retrictions in england at the daily briefing at his offices in downing street later today. 0utdoor attractions including zoos, safari parks and drive—in cinemas across england will be allowed to reopen from monday — as long as they follow social distancing rules. in a boost to the high street, nonessential shops will also reopen from the 15th june. but a bitter blow for pubs, restaurants and hairdressers who have been told that they wont be able to reopen

until the 4th ofjuly at the earliest. it comes the day after the government admitted most primary schoolchildren in england would not go back before the end of term. let's talk to our assistant political editor norman smith. norman, tell us about what people are saying regarding the decision on schools? well i think there is a good deal of incredulity and amazement that zoos are reopening but schools are not. and a broader sense that the government has failed to give schools the priority and there's been a lack of oomph and can do, a lack of a there's been a lack of oomph and can do, a lack ofa plan there's been a lack of oomph and can do, a lack of a plan to enable schools to overcome the problems about the lack of classrooms to accommodate the social distancing rules. it is not entirely clear how the situation is going to change between now and september because it seems individual schools have pretty much been left to manage it themselves when many mps, including prominent tory mps are saying, it is

the government that needs to get a grip, they need to come up with the same sort of urgency they came up with the nhs. they need to provide nightingale classrooms, they need to look at, for example, requisitioning nearby office space or council space oi’ nearby office space or council space or library buildings or gymnasiums, to provide the additional classes which schools need. and if there is a problem because there is not enough teachers to teach in all these different classes, well, as with the nhs, ask former teachers, former inspectors, graduate trainee teachers to come on board. there is just a feeling that schools have not been gripped as an issue and they should have been gripped, albeit of the business minister, nadhim zahawi, was the business minister, nadhim za hawi, was insisting the business minister, nadhim zahawi, was insisting the government was in control of the situation. the same voices that last week were basically supporting, you know, people who were saying, do not open up the schools, are this week criticising us for saying, well,

we'll take it deliberately carefully and we will make sure that we don't compel all primaries to open every classroom and every year group. we're doing it... the way we're doing it is by consulting, by working with teachers to make sure we do this properly. it was a couple of weeks ago that the prime minister said the two metre rule was under review. the who, the world health organization gardens, is for social distancing to be one metre. could that be scrapped to ease things for places like schools? it's a tricky one. the problem is basically the scientists do not seem convinced it is a good idea to reduce the two metre rule. chris whitty, the chief scientific officer, i think, chris whitty, the chief scientific officer, ithink, the chris whitty, the chief scientific officer, i think, the chief medical 0fficer, sorry, he said of the two metre rule will be with us for as long as the epidemic. he isjust metre rule will be with us for as long as the epidemic. he is just one voice. but more broadly, the view of

the scientists seems to be you are an awful lot safer at two metres distance than one metre distance. that said, we know other european countries seem to have managed by opting for shorter distances. and i suppose it's not a sort of black—and—white issue in the sense that if you are sitting alongside someone, that if you are sitting alongside someone, then can you be closer than two metres if you have got your back to someone in a restaurant, do you really have to be two metres away from them? if you are only spending less tha n from them? if you are only spending less than 30 seconds closer than two metres, is it really so dangerous? if the level of infection in the community is down significantly, are you in such —— at such a risk if you go below two metres? there are ways of, if not forging the science, reaching a more nuanced position. i suspect that may be where we end up. where the official advice is to stick to two metres but there are circumstances where it may not be necessary to comply with two metres. thank you very

much, norman. charlotte andrews says, please can someone charlotte andrews says, please can someone ask why we are not thinking outside the box? getting children back to school in denmark they have used theatres etc, where there is plenty of space for social distancing. these buildings not in use here and our children would still get an education. susan and glastonbury, the interview with conservative mp tom hunt was biased. it's obvious the reason for the failure to open the goals lies with the teaching unions. i'm increasingly at odds with the bbc over their bias in many areas and find the best way to get balanced news is to watch al—jazeera. jill is a teacher. you the conservative mp the questions teachers wanted to ask. thanks. and this primary school teacher says, i would like to say as a teacher who is shielding, i have worked my socks off during these three months to provide the best lessons, planning and delivering exciting lessons from scratch. i

have found it immensely stressful working 2a hours and seven days a week to work my best and constantly messaging children and parents to engage, but share my sincerest concern about their education. thank you for those. you can tweet me or e—mail. prosecutors in sweden have decided to discontinue the investigation into the murder of former prime minister 0lof palme. the politician was shot dead in stockholm in 1986 on his way home from the cinema. officials say the main suspect in the case in now dead, meaning they can't go on with their inquiry. as part of the investigation over 10,000 people were interviewed. let's hear more from the chief prosecutor, krister petersen, about the chief suspect in the case who is no longer alive. translation: mr stig engstrom, who in the press has been called the skandia man, and stig engstrom is deceased, and therefore i am not able to start proceedings or even interview him,

which is why my decision is to discontinue this investigation since the subject is deceased. 0ur correspondent maddy savage is in sweden and following developments. after yea rs of after years of waiting, and of the swedish prime minister was certainly describing it as an open wound in society that there have been no further conclusions, we now have information from the squid dish prosecution authority who have held their conference online, that they do have a key suspect. it's somebody they have talked about previously, a man named stig engstrom. he is known here in sweden as skandia man because he worked for an insurance company called skandia on the street where 0lof palme was killed. he is known to have left the building at around that time and returned a little bit later. he killed himself in the year 2000, which is the

reason that he can't be brought to trial. but he is not somebody that was questioned earlier on in detail. he was questioned as a witness at the beginning of the case. what are the beginning of the case. what are the prosecutors are doing right now as we speak is starting to go through what evidence has led them to now have this conclusion that they believe he is the man that would have been put on trial had he been alive. they say it's not to do with any new forensic evidence, they have not found a weapon. they suggest that even if they did at this stage, so far on and because of various technicalities, it would be difficult to leave a weapon from the time. they have gone through witness state m e nts time. they have gone through witness statements from the night of 0lof palme's murder and suggesting that some discrepancies have led them to the idea that it could be stig engstrom. details about that are still coming through. maddie savage.

there's a warning this morning that up to 10 million people could be on a waiting list for medical treatment in england by the end of the year — that's double the current figure. the nhs confederation, which represents key parts of the health service, including hospitals and ambulance trusts, says it's due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nhs. 0ur health correspondent, richard galpin, has more. the report paints a bleak picture of nhs england struggling to manage as health workers continued to look after thousands of patients infected by coronavirus, while at the same time reopening services for cancer and stroke patients, as well as those for heart disease. according to the report, the need for social distancing and other measures to prevent the virus spreading also significantly limits the capacity of the health service. the nhs confederation has written to the prime minister, warning it won't be possible to simply switch on all nhs services immediately and the government will need to manage the expectations of people needing treatments.

i think the greatest fear among nhs leaders at the moment is expectations. the fact is that we are trying to rebuild services as covid—i9 is still around within our hospitals and within communities, and it will take time and it will take patience to try and build up services to where they were before the outbreak and it will take even longer to try and deal with the huge backlog that has built up during this crisis. the confederation also wants extra funding, particularly for rehabilitation and recovery services for the many people who have been hit by the virus. richard galpin, bbc news. there's growing evidence that a second wave of coronavirus has hit iran, which was one of the earliest epicentres of the virus. but, despite the increase in cases, there is no new lockdown in place yet for the 80 million people living there. some cities have already been announced as red zones for infection.

the bbc persian's rana rahimpour reports. could this be iran's second wave of coronavirus? the country was opened up from lockdown just about a month ago, and this is how it looks like now in one city. buses are being used to transfer covid—i9 patients to the capital of this province. it is one of at least nine provinces where infections are rising rapidly. according to iran's ministry of health, this province in the south—east is now a red zone. the hospitals are full. their staff are overwhelmed. last week, iran recorded the highest daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases since the first were reported four months ago.

many local officials say this is a second wave of infections, but iran's president insists that the term "second wave" creates too much fear among people. there are no signs of social distancing here. shoppers and street vendors don't seem too worried. the authorities say this is the reason behind the recent spike — that people have ignored public health advice and travelled to other cities. translation: in the last 2a hours, we learned that about 60—70% of the new patients in tehran hospitals have travelled to other cities recently. this has happened during eid al—fitr holidays, as we were expecting. as life begins to look relatively normal in large parts of iran, most schools remain closed. but year 12 exams had to go ahead, which according to this student

didn't feel safe. translation: they've taken our body temperature, but when we asked them about the results, we were told nothing. but they sent all the students to the exam zone. none of the desks were disinfected. when i wiped my desk with alcohol, the wipe went completely black. iran's official number of confirmed cases is around 176,000 cases, with over 8,000 deaths. yet many, including the iranian parliament, believe the correct number of infections is eight to ten times more, and the deaths are at least twice as much. the president has warned that, if people don't follow social distancing, the restrictions may be reimposed. but the economy, already badly hit by us sanctions and corruption, is on its knees. many say that iran can't

afford another lockdown, even if the government wants to. rana rahimpour, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the uk prime minister borisjohnson will announce more plans to ease the lockdown, with zoos, safari parks and drive—in cinemas in england allowed to re—open from monday. the announcement comes a day after the government abandoned plans for all primary schools to return before the summer. a warning from national health service leaders in england — 10 million people could end up on hospital waiting lists by the end of the year. more than 30 years after the assassination of swedish prime minsiter 0lof palme, police identify the main suspect as a man who died 20 years ago. the most senior ethnic minority police officer in the uk, neil basu, assistant commissioner of the metropolitan police,

has issued what he calls a personal message in the wake of the killing of george floyd and the protests that follows. in it, he urged all his policing colleagues across the uk to stand up to racism. in the letter, he says: earlier i spoke to leroy logan. he is a former superintendent in the metropolitan police, where he worked for 30 years, and the former chair of the black police association charitable trust.

i asked him what he made of that letter from senior police officer, neil basu. i know neil basu from my time in the med. and, you know, he is a thinking person. he really thinks these things through. it's quite clear that he wants to acknowledge that there are issues and don't undermine people's intelligence and say everything in the grass, everything in the garden is fine and, you know, try to whitewash things and say, thatis try to whitewash things and say, that is a us problem, another uk problem. i think it is being honest and he is talking from a personal point of view, as well as bringing in his vast experience as the most senior black minority ethnic officer. have you ever heard language like this from such a senior officer before? no, not recently. i know in the past mike

fuller, who was the first black and only chief counts to, neil basu is equivalent to a chief constable, but mike fuller spoke about these issues before he left the police service ten or so years before he left the police service ten or so years ago. before he left the police service ten or so years ago. so, you know, it's nothing absolutely new but it's good and refreshing to hear it from him because he is learning from history. what has happened in the past when you don't acknowledge that there are issues and how, if you ta ke there are issues and how, if you take on board working with the community and build those relationships, it makes for a more effective organisation and a more reflective organisation, to reflect the communities we serve, and you will get more people from minority ethnic groupsjoining will get more people from minority ethnic groups joining the organisation like him, even though hejoined at the organisation like him, even though he joined at the most hostile of times during the stephen lawrence enquiry etc, and, you know, it's quite clear that he is a person who is willing to step up and say it as it is. i am just

is willing to step up and say it as it is. i amjust reading is willing to step up and say it as it is. i am just reading the letter again. i will read a few more quotes. "each setback is heartbreaking and despite how far we have come in this country we must confront the fact that with many of our communities, especially the black community, we still have a long way to go." he goes on, "this disparity is seen in education, health, in the workplace, it's everywhere, they daily lived experience for many." what else do police officers in this country need to do to make sure more people trust them? i think it's simple, to do to make sure more people trust them? ithink it's simple, really. you've got to treat people with respect and dignity on every single encounter, whether it is a stop and search, a drug search, a section 60 royal blood, whatever it is, especially when it is a volatile situation, when you can get caught up situation, when you can get caught up in seeing things in a distorted fashion. you gotta understand that

especially now, can record you and you should have your body, anyway, so you should have your body, anyway, so it's a question of understanding that you treat people with the dignity they deserve and understand that one encounter could go horribly wrong, just like we have seen with the george floyd issue. now 20 years ago, i gave evidence at the stephen lawrence enquiry, the macpherson enquiry, to say the police service was institutionally racist. we had to acknowledge it. we had the reform of the culture change required. and here we are 20 years later and things have gone backwards. so it's just a question of getting a grip of this, getting the supervision and leadership at street level to make sure the offices are fit for the zist sure the offices are fit for the 21st century. the chief executive of crossfit has quit after causing offence with remarks about the death of george floyd and the resulting protests. greg glassman stepped down after athletes, gyms and sportswear firms cut ties with his £3

billion brand. mr glassman acknowledged having caused a "rift" in the crossfit community. oscar—winning film gone with the wind has been removed from hbo after the company reassessed its policy following the protest against racism. the network said the film would return with a discussion of its historical context and the announcement of those defections. anti—racism demonstrations in the uk have turned their focus on calling for the removal of public memorials which have links to slavery. in 0xford last night, protestors demanded a statue of the colonialist cecil rhodes be taken down. in london, a monument to the noted slaveholder robert milligan has been removed from outside the museum of london docklands. nick beake reports. the governor of new york has poured scorn on president trump's tweeting of an unfounded conspiracy theory about a protestor injured by police in the city

of buffalo last week. mr trump questioned the incident, suggesting that the elderly protestor was an anti—fascist provocateur who faked his fall, even though the video clearly showed him being pushed by police. this is how new york governor andrew cuomo reacted. what did you think it was, it was staged? do you think the blood coming out of his head was stage? is that what you are saying? you saw his head hit the pavement. you see blood on the pavement. maybe he fell harder than he was pushed. how reckless, how irresponsible, how mean, how crude. i mean, if there was ever a reprehensible dumb comment, and from the president of the united states.

a short while ago we spoke to cbs reporter michael george from new york about the political response to this tweet. it's a pretty horrific video that people across the nation, across the world even have seen, of a protester being pushed to the ground by a police officer. it's very graphic. you see blood pooling from the head of this protester. that protest there is in the hospital right now in serious condition. he is 75 years old. the president tweeted yesterday a conspiracy theory with no evidence that this person was an antifa leader who staged the entire incident, even suggesting the 75—year—old man somehow hacked police radios. so governor cuomo and many others have called reprehensible and irresponsible, even dom, to use their language. republicans have stayed mostly silence, as they often have when the president say something that is difficult for them to defend. most republicans are saying they have not seen republicans are saying they have not seen the tweet. almost 300,000 children in india could die due to severe malnutrition and lack of access to essential lifesaving services by the end of the year, according to a study byjohn hopkins university.

the rise in hunger has been made worse by the coronavirus lockdown with the country's daily wage earners suffering the most. in a moment we'll be talking to anindit roy chowdhury from save the children, who says unless the government act many people could die. but first divya arya reports on the devastating reality for millions of indian workers. too much hunger, too little food. with jobs too much hunger, too little food. withjobs gone, it's too much hunger, too little food. with jobs gone, it's a fight for survival. hunger was always an issue here. but this desperation is new. for these children just outside of the capital delhi, even one meal a day now feels like a triumph. shiva is just day now feels like a triumph. shiva isjust one—month—old. day now feels like a triumph. shiva is just one—month—old. his day now feels like a triumph. shiva isjust one—month—old. his parents

rely on daily wages to buy food and like millions of others they lost work after the government announced a lockdown in march. translation: used to cook rice and vegeta bles translation: used to cook rice and vegetables before the lockdown. 0ur children ate well. now there remain hungry because we have no money and no work. the children are too young to understand why this is happening. children underfive to understand why this is happening. children under five are vulnerable to malnutrition. india is the worst in the world, with one in five children affected. and that might have become much worse. so this is almost a perfect storm for this region, with a very vulnerable population, a declining quality and quantity of diets and without the access to the essential services the children need. for

children who were already malnourished, these months have been even harder. this woman has lost weight during the lockdown. and her condition could worsen as now they have very little government food support. for more than 45 years the indian government has run a child development scheme to provide essential vitamins and nutrients to children up to the age of six. but during the coronavirus lockdown, most of the more than 1 million centres such as this were shut down. some of them are trying to home deliver a much smaller quantity of food supplements at a time when they are most critical for young children's development. now it is ordinary citizens who have stepped up, like this man who has been distributing one hot meal a day for

500 children for the past two months. but that is hardly enough. translation: i can provide one or two meals per children eat brea kfast, two meals per children eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. they're not getting the nutrition they need. despite a surge in coronavirus cases, the lockdown is easing. the government has a huge dilemma. how to stop the deadly spread of the disease and protect the most vulnerable, particularly children, from hunger and even starvation. they haven't yet found all the a nswe i’s. we can now speak to the director of save the children india, anindit roy—chowdhury. hello to you. thank you for talking to us. we know that india is one of the highest rates of child malnourishment in the world. how is the pandemic made this worse?

frankly speaking, i believe that hunger is going to kill children faster than the covid virus. that is the reality. simply because at this point in time there are millions of families who do not have a job, who do not have any burning, or they probably had very little savings, which they have already eaten up. we are ina which they have already eaten up. we are in a situation where we know that children are not getting the regular diets they were used to getting, which in any case was not at the optimal level. the other thing which is also very important is that of the centres, the drop—in centres, the learning centres, they we re centres, the learning centres, they were providing daily meals for these children. for some children that was the only one nutritious meal they we re the only one nutritious meal they were getting in the entire day. now even that has stopped. so the worry frankly is that there is the possibility of many more children going into malnourishment and probably succumbing to it. and is

the government doing anything about that? i must start by saying that the situation is so unique and the challenge is so huge that it is not an easy answer for any government. particularly with the large population that we have. but still there are a few important things that are being done. 0ne there are a few important things that are being done. one of course is the mid—day meals that were being provided at these very centres are now being home delivered to a certain proportion, which u nfortu nately certain proportion, which unfortunately is not the same as it used to be, but is being sent home to some of these children. i think a lot more focus needs to be put into that. the other is that citizens groups have come together. this is exactly the time when government, non—governmental organisations and citizens individually, must come together to make sure that food security is being dealt with. if you don't have food, everything else in terms of protecting yourself, wearing a mask, not going

out, you know, physical distance and, all of thatis know, physical distance and, all of that is going to fall apart. and i think that needs to be focus. and presumably time is of the essence because these children are hungry now, today, yesterday, the day before. absolutely right. we use the phrase that children are our future but the children is children are now and the hunger is now and they are not getting the food. even save the children, an organisation working in 12 states across the country, the project areas we cover which is around 60 districts we are working on, even there we have realised that we have limitations in our own approach and being able to ensure that nobody goes hungry. we are not particularly choosing children but looking at entire communities and families. but a lot more needs to be done. it is time

that everybody needs to step up their game especially in regard to food security and work closely with the government and the government needs to connect to these families, the most marginalised families with the most marginalised families with the social protection schemes the government has to make sure that food is being delivered and children are being covered. thank you very much for talking to us, the director of save the children india they are. thank you for your many messages and i will try and read as many as i can. most of the e—mails and tweets are to do with the interview with the conservative mp earlier who was talking about the reasons why the government is not now asking most primary schools to reopen before the summer holidays. brian says why you're not asking the same searching questions of the teaching unions about them playing politics with the situation. asked why the government show leadership but why can't the teaching profession show some leadership and come up with ideas about how to get the kids back rather than waiting to be spoon

fed guidance. phil says more interviews like this from the bbc, please. david says, how many beds are in the newly constructed hospitals? could they be used as schools? debbie is a teacher. the government has responsibility to provide the resources needed to open schools. they hold the purse strings and wrote the rules on distancing, bubbles and plant —— class sizes. as always, blame the teachers. suzanne isa always, blame the teachers. suzanne is a supply teacher in the north of england. why are retired teachers and graduates being considered to plug and graduates being considered to plus gaps and graduates being considered to plug gaps before supply teachers questioned by thousands of supply teachers have suffered 12 weeks without pay or financial support and this will now continue for another 12 weeks until september at the earliest. schools need extra staff and supply teachers need financial support. some of the country's top drama schools have apologised for not doing enough to combat racism on their campuses after being accused of hypocrisy over social media posts in support of the

black lives matter movement. this is in the uk, by the way. among them is the "royal central school of speech and drama" in north london, which is today meeting a group of bame actors who studied there. they believe an action plan for reform is needed to end the racist abuse and discrimination they experienced. here's our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. danny — danny and i, we're mates. we videophoned. shaniqua okwok has just been in an itv hit, van der valk, but she was left angry last week when the royal central school of speech and drama in north london, where she studied, posted online support for black lives matter. for shaniqua, the school was a place she had experienced racism for the first time, it started during a movement lesson. you're meant to comment what you think you see from the body, and you're meant to get a movie title. and his response was "chain gang". and that...was something i

felt the teacher would stop. however, the teacher decided to... overanalyse why the student hadcome to that conclusion. that really diminished me. reice weathers was appearing on stage with david mitchell in the olivier—nominated upstart crow when lockdown began. his experience at central was similar. at that particular moment in time there wasn't any proper guidance available at central, for whatever reason, and the person directing that sort of scene, their reaction was, 'well, i'm sure you know how to source those, don't you?‘ and i sort of looked at them with a deadpan face and that turned into an awkward laugh. what happened this month to stop the payments? elliot barnes—worrell, who worked with stephen spielberg in ready player one and was also

in van der valk graduated from central in 2012. i'm trying to edge away from anecdotes of black trauma, and black pain, because i don't think what is about, but there's a culture of racism and bullying currently at central, where they assume you don't know things. now former students have worked together to write a reform plan, which they have delivered to the drama school. they have a meeting today with staff to discuss their proposals. we want to hold central accountable, and that means that we think there should be an external body that can regulate and really see if the school is matching the requirements of this document and ensuring that these students who are coming in, are safe within their learning. since people have been speaking out, it has become apparent that it is a universal problem within the institution. so i guess those changes need to be implemented top—down. i just want everyone to feel like they can go to drama school. and currently, drama school is in a safe place for a person

of colour to be at. central have apologised for institutional, systemic and overt racism, and say they will learn from shared experiences and act upon them to effect transformational change. colin paterson, bbc news. let's get more reaction to this and to the huge cultural reaction we've seen to the death of george floyd. i'm joined by lawyer and political and women's rights activist dr shola mos—shogbamimu. hello and thank you for talking to us. hello and thank you for talking to us. first of all, the bringing down of statues, the removal of certain tv shows and the removal of certain classic films, what do you think?|j think classic films, what do you think?” think what we are seeing and hearing is the genesis of a cultural revolution. it's not full blown revolution. it's not full blown revolution yet, but it's what is required for us as a country to review, culturally, practices, behaviour, language that have historical derogatory implications for black people, and listening to

what is happening in terms of the drama schools, i welcome that because it has to be a safe space for people, for black people to be able to engage in, grow, and be able to practice their own craft knowing fully well that they will be appreciated for their skills. i must point out that i applaud every black person that is doing that within this space, like those who called out l'orealfor this space, like those who called out l'oreal for hypocrisy providing support for black lives matter when they denied her the support she needed at the time when they cancelled her contract. every black person feels the same, and we need to be willing and learn to grow from this, and that is the right thing to do. we can only grow together by listening, by hearing and then executing better practices. so, for me, from the statues that are

falling down to the statue of edward colston and all of the others pull down, i see this as representing as breaking the symbolic shackles of racism, what they represent. i don't think any statues or monuments that have or embody or immortalise british imperialism, british history in transatlantic slavery should be celebrated or put up. all of those should come down. what is it about now that this is happening?” should come down. what is it about now that this is happening? i would say this is a watershed moment. if i was going to give it an analogy, i would compare it to the birth of a child. you have the labour pains in the labour plains of black lives matter existed before the words black lives matter were formed and they existed during the time of martin luther king and mandela, and what you have now is a watershed moment. the waters had broken because the labour pains have been intense. what is reflected now, if

you look at it, especially with the death of george floyd, is the global impact of it. the global impact of it speaks to the outcry from the depths of our souls to say, enough is enough. you do this to one of us, you do this to all of us. the symbolic representation of how george floyd died is representative of that need, and that need —— is representative of that knee, and that need represents the suffocation of black people, and represented so much about what is institutionally racist in the uk and the united states and that is why now is such a pivotal moment for black people to speak up and a pivotal moment for white allies tojoin speak up and a pivotal moment for white allies to join us in speaking out. it is also a pivotal moment not to be silent any more, to expect better from our government and institutions, to say that we see you and we do not accept what you represent any more. you have to change. you praise to the

drama stu d e nts change. you praise to the drama students for talking about their experiences and you just said that calling out hypocrisy is one thing and that is absolutely one thing, but the talking of pupils every day racist experiences but yesterday i interviewed jamelia on air and she said she was tired of telling people this. it's my life, almost every day isa this. it's my life, almost every day is a protest for her. do you recognise that as well? oh, my god. it resonates every single day with me, with people even accusing me that if you don't like it here, you should go away. this is a new splash. this is my country, my country of birth and it is my country. it is my history, the shameful history of the transatlantic trade and its imperialism but i have a responsibility to make the better country. for people like me and for people of all races and all faiths and all backgrounds. it is my responsibility and i'm not going to keep quiet about it. and jamelia

is absolutely right. we are saying what our parents and grandparents said, what has been said for decades and centuries, and it seems it is an incremental change with white society. this is why i say all time -- all society. this is why i say all time —— all the time about the eradication of racism and institutional racism will start when white people progress. white people, all white people, those who are allies on those who are not, as a society must progress on the issue of racism and stop projecting their inferiority and fear onto us. if you wa nt to inferiority and fear onto us. if you want to be part of something that is great, something that speaks to humanity, something that ensures and demands that your black siblings no longer suffer at the hands of oppression and suppression, then join us. use your white privilege for our benefit. but to those who are enraged by our audacity to speak out about it, they will continue to point fingers at us and

continue to whitewash our oppression as their own so whitewash our oppression as their own so they can accuse us of an anti—white agenda, which is not true. the fact that i speak out on racism doesn't make me anti—white. the fact that i applaud black makes me not anti—white. somebody must speak out, we must all speak out and i applaud and i am thankfulfor our white allies who are getting it now and saying, oh, my goodness, what cani and saying, oh, my goodness, what can i do? i didn't realise it was this bad. i welcome them and i say, yes, we need your voice and we need you to stand by us and use your privilege and whatever platform you have to make a difference. and if you ask me, victoria, we might still be having this conversation in ten yea rs be having this conversation in ten years time because until racism is eradicated from top to bottom in every institution and people understand how white supremacy is enabled on a daily basis, i'm afraid that we will still be having this

conversation and black people are still going to keep fighting this and calling it out and we are going to keep pushing against injustice because i was not born to be oppressed, and i refuse for my identity as a black woman to be defined by a system that is created to only benefit one set of people stop it is wrong, and it's time to change now. the time for a revolution, cultural or otherwise, is right now. thank you so much. thanks for talking to us. let's get more now on that warnng that the coronavirus crisis and lockdown could see the number of people waiting for nhs treatment double to 10 million by the end of the year. the nhs confederation said challenges include a backlog of cases, maintaining social distancing, and staffing. let's talk to senior oncologist professor karol sikora, who has previously expressed his concern about the impact of lockdow on treatment for other illnesses. first of all your reaction to the

fa ct first of all your reaction to the fact that waiting times could double to 10 million? it is quite shocking. we've never had this sort of crisis in my whole 50 years on the nhs. there is no doubt we've never seen it before. what does it mean? there are three diseases that are absolutely critical now to get the nhs back on its feet and number one is my specialty, which is cancer which doesn't wait for anything. cancer spreads, grows, it which doesn't wait for anything. cancerspreads, grows, it goes which doesn't wait for anything. cancer spreads, grows, it goes from one stage to the next and becomes more difficult to treat and of course, the outcome gets poorer the further advanced it is. the second diseases heart disease, again, it doesn't stop, it doesn't take easter off. in the third one is mental health and psychiatry. again, all three are there and obviously cancer is the most difficult to deal with and is the most common and if there are 10 million people in a waiting list by christmas, probably a third of those people will have some sort of those people will have some sort of serious medical problem that

needs sorting out, and some of them will have cancer and it will be delayed and that is really the problem, victoria. some weeks ago the health secretary, matt hancock, said quite pointedly that the nhs is still open for you, and he urged people to go and seek help for checking out symptoms or treatment. that is clearly not happening, is it? it's not happening for a variety of reasons. we know that, because you count the number of biopsies and samples ta ken you count the number of biopsies and samples taken and diagnosed as being cancer, they have dropped right off between 10% in april and 15% in may. so something has gone wrong. what are the problems? first of all, patients themselves are too frightened and secondly the medical system, the diagnostic pathway as we call it, going to your gp, getting a referral, having a scan, going and having a biopsy, has not been in existence in many places for at least eight weeks now. and it's

beginning to come back, and we have to really accelerate that. we have done so well with covid—19, no doubt, bang the spoons, all the usual things, it's been great, but we've not done so well as steering the good ship nhs back on course to do what it should be doing. covid—19 i think is behind us. there is a lwa ys i think is behind us. there is always this worry about a second wave, winter pressures, all sorts of things that could happen but if we don't deal with cancer and heart disease and mental health now, we will have far more problems than covid—19 ever because of this year. so who is that a message to? two leaders in the nhs, politicians?” think it's leaders in the nhs. we have to look at everything. we had a big meeting on the wonderful medium of virtual reality and we talked about how we could deal with the crisis and come up with a five—point plan for cancer and using all resources , plan for cancer and using all resources, working, if necessary, 24—hour is a day to deal with

radiotherapy and chemotherapy when it comes to a climax. we got to do something that is pretty much like what we did for covid—19 eight weeks ago. we've got to do the same for cancer and also heart disease. are the resources there to do that? there are. the real problem is not buildings or facilities, there are. the real problem is not buildings orfacilities, it there are. the real problem is not buildings or facilities, it is staff, and it is still staff. but integrating the independent sector units with public sector units, we could have a plan and we are talking, and we have got to get going, and people have got to not be frightened about going to their gp or calling up their gp. the whole clinical landscape has changed dramatically now, and it will continue to do so and investment in it, virtual consultation, that is the future. younger people are on their smartphones and they understand it. older people, my generation, a bit more difficult. they like the tradition of going to see the gp, shaking hands, all the

rest of it. well, that's probably gone, and probably a lot of it forever. the most important thing is not the niceties, it's actuallyjust getting going down the diagnostic pathways for cancer. they are beginning, but painfully slowly and we have to accelerate them somehow. thank you very much for talking to us. we've been talking this morning about the decision to drop plans for all of england's primary children to go back to school for a month before the summer break. earlier i asked tom hunt, a conservative member of the parliamentary education select committee, about the problem. yes, covid—19 continues to pose a risk and continues to pose a threat but they should have been more of a can—do attitude in terms of getting children back to school and i think what we've seen from the labour party as they have almost welcomed the fact that we are not going to have most children back at school by september and i think that's incredibly strange bearing in mind it isa incredibly strange bearing in mind it is a party supposedly set up and

support the most disadvantaged, welcoming something that could be a very big hammer blow for many children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. what is strange is that your government tells us regularly that it your government tells us regularly thatitis your government tells us regularly that it is following the science, and it told us on may the 16th, gavin williamson told us on may the 16th, i want to reassure you that this approach is based on the best scientific advice with children at the heart of everything we do. the science hasn't changed so why has your education secretary and prime minister failed your education secretary and prime ministerfailed to your education secretary and prime minister failed to persuade those unions that were cautious? ultimately, as the education secretary made clear yesterday, the five tests have been met and he does believe that he can continue to encourage as many scores to be open and getting some kids back for face—to—face contact before september, but ultimately, the reality is that the government cannot snap its fingers and all children get back to school. of course not. nobody watching thinks

it's a click of the fingers, of course, but your government has failed to persuade people that it is safe, even though it tells people that they are following the science. that is a failure, yes? it isn't a failure. i think the government has done everything it can to try and convince as many partners as possible that it is safe to go back, and also of the risks and dangers of more children not going back to school by september. this is from a year ten student in a state grammar school in england who says good day, miss victoria, i have not been in school for two months without any means of face to face teaching and with minimal face—to—face contact planned, so i'm apprehensive as to how the gcse year will be able to cover so much missed content with schools not completely opening until later. best regards. yesterday's. .. yesterday's service for george floyd in houston hosted a huge array of empassioned

eulogies, tributes and messages of solidarity. music also played a central role at the fountain of praise church, with mournersjoining in song during the emotional occasion. we caught up with church's director of worship nakitta foxx about her key message and moments from the service. #we # we lift our voices to say thank you. the tone that i was trying to send today, first of all to the family, just to comfort them and let them know that they are loved, not only by the people, but by our god and to give them some sense of hope. when my mare spoke to us, sylvester turner, i was proud to be a a0 stoney and —— from houston, just to hear about the laws he is trying to get past, even in our city, with

police brutality, and just to make sure that shooting is the last method of, you know, apprehending anyone. another part that stood out to me was at the end of the service when they were carrying him out in his gold casket, and him, being from where he came from and the song, i shall where a, crown. his purpose was there through his life. # we shall overcome # we shall overcome # we shall overcome # some day. # oh, deepin we shall overcome # some day. # oh, deep in

my heart # i do believe # that we shall overcome # some day. # some day. beautiful. zoos, safari parks and drive—in cinemas are set to reopen in england from monday, as part of the latest steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown. the prime minister is expected to give more details later today. chester zoo is among those expecting to reopen and says it's "overjoyed" at the news. there were concerns its future could be in doubt if visitors were not allowed back. the duke of edinburgh is celebrating his 99th birthday today. to mark the occasion, buckingham palace has released this photo of prince phillip and queen elizabeth. the duke is expected to spend the day at windsor castle — where he and the queen have

been isolating during the pandemic. thank you for your many messages. this is about schools in england. jay harris in norfolk says, teachers, pupils, support staff and all who work in school should not be forced to return until it is safe forced to return until it is safe for them all to do so. teachers have done a magnificentjob in keeping most pupils are engaged. people who work in the education sector are professional to their core. another one who is similar, this is from andy graham, a teacher. teachers are doing a fantasticjob not helped by a government to keep chopping and changing the rules and regulations. would it not be possible, says valerie, a retired head teacher, to use porta kabins valerie, a retired head teacher, to use portakabins or, as we had at my secondary school, demountable is, to provide extra space to allow smaller class sizes. these temp restructures would be suitable for schools with large outdoor spaces. stopping them could be done by using the many

supply stuff, and we had an e—mail from a supply teacher who is without work at the moment, under the guidance of the teacher whose class they are supporting. travelling to empty buildings prevents —— presents many problems but these could be on site and the solution could easily beat up and running by september or before but would obviously need to before but would obviously need to be funded by the government, but the education of children and young people matters. thank you very much for all of those messages. you can e—mail at for all of those messages. you can e—mailatany for all of those messages. you can e—mail at any time. and you can send mea e—mail at any time. and you can send me a message on twitter. we will bring you the latest news headlines at 11 o'clock from the uk and around the world withjoanna gosling, who has just walked into the studio. she is just getting ready. has just walked into the studio. she isjust getting ready. you has just walked into the studio. she is just getting ready. you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. high pressure has been dominating the weather quite a while but today

for the next five days at low pressure will take over, so the weather is turning more unsettled and it will be cloudy and wet and not just today either. what we have at the moment is a fair bit of cloud across the british isles. later, it will brighten up in the northern isles, and northern ireland will see a mixture of sunshine and showers today but for the rest of us, sunshine is going to be fairly limited. in fact what we do have are two distinctive bands of rain heading east and here is the first, and here is the second. the second producing heavy rain this afternoon across parts of south—west scotland, north—west england, wales and also the south—west. that could be torrential rain and also have some thunder and lightning embedded in it. temperatures between 11 and 16 degrees but the wind is picking up across the north of scotland later. the wind will continue to pick up as we go through the evening and overnight and what you will find is low pressure dominating the weather today which starts to slide southwards, taking its weather fronts with it, so it will be a wet night across wales but particularly south—west england where it could remain wet

all night. more torrential downpours and thunder and lightning. it is through tomorrow that the low pressure eventually sinks towards the bay of biscay and in its wake we will see heavy showers coming in across parts of england and wales. as we move further north, something drier and brighter with fewer showers but most showers coming in across eastern parts of england. temperatures between 12 and 18 degrees. by the time we get to friday, the low pressure in the bay of biscay will start to move a little bit further north and you can also see a good weather front draped across southern scotland, northern england and northern ireland. that is going to bring in some rain and it will push north through the day, weakening as it does so. you can see all the rain coming in across the channel islands and southern england and also parts of wales. that could be heavy. in between, well, there will be cloud around and it will feel cool along the north sea coastline with the onshore wind and generally it will be

windier everywhere. on saturday, we have showers and here is the weather front moving north across scotland, showers across england and wales, some brighter skies, still quite windy and the wind is coming from the near continent, the east, so it will feel warm and humid.

this is bbc news.

boris johnson will announce more plans to ease the lockdown in england later, a day after plans were abandoned for all primary schools to return before the summer. the same voices that, last week, were basically supporting people who were saying, "do not open up the schools," are this week criticising us for saying that we will take it deliberately carefully. zoos, safari parks, and drive—in cinemas will be among the businesses and venues allowed to re—open in england from monday. a warning from nhs leaders in england that 10 million people could end up on hospital waiting lists by the end of the year. more than 30 yea rs the end of the year. more than 30 years after the assassination of the swedish prime minister, police identified the main suspect as a man who died 20 years ago. after another slave trader statue is removed, labour councils in england and wales plan a review into public monuments. one of the top ranking officers in

the london metropolitan police urge urges the force to stand up to racists as antiracism protests continue. and there is a warning that almost 300,000 children in india could die due to severe malnutrition and a lack of essential services amid the covid—19lockdown. 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. the uk prime minister borisjohnson is expected to announce more plans to ease lockdown retrictions in england at the daily briefing later today. outdoor attractions including zoos, safari parks, and drive—in cinemas across england will be allowed to reopen from monday — as long as they follow social distancing rules.

in a boost to the high street, nonessential shops will also reopen from the 15th june. but a bitter blow for pubs, restaurants, and hairdressers who have been told that they wont be able to reopen until the fourth of july at the earliest. it comes the day after the government admitted most primary schoolchildren in england would not go back before the end of term. let's talk to norman smith — our assistant political editor. obviously our assistant political editor. businesses are despe to obviously businesses are desperate to reopen, frustration continuing around schools. huge pressure of the retreat over primary schools yesterday, and i think some incredulity that at the same time,

we have had the announcement from the government that zoos are going to open, people questioning how can it be right that you can... it is not... when it came to the nhs, we had nhs nightingale hospitals up and running within two weeks, but we can't get the equivalent nightingale classrooms up and running, even though that does seem to be the sticking point, the fact that many schools can't comply with the social distancing rules because they don't have enough classrooms. tory mps asking, "if that is the problem, why not come up with a problem that might involve using portakabins and playgrounds or possibly requisitioning nearby office space or council space or libraries or as they do in denmark, where i think some schools have used local theatres? " there is a general sense that there is a lack of umph and a lack of grip...

and a lack of grip... the same voices that last week were basically supporting, you know, people who were saying, do not open up the schools, are this week criticising us for saying, well, we'll take it deliberately carefully and we will make sure that we don't compel all primaries to open every classroom and every year group. we're doing it... the way we're doing it is by consulting, by working with teachers to make sure we do this properly. so zoos of the latest part of the economy to open up. we may get more announcements from the prime minister when he addresses the downing street news conference this afternoon, because quite often on these occasions when the prime minister addresses a news conference, lo and behold a rabbit appears from the heart. we shall see. in the meantime, of course we have the announcement that most shops... this morning, the chancellor was out and about seeking to reassure shoppers that it was

safe to return to shops. i would say people should have the confidence to note that it is safe. if you look around the store like john lewis today, they have taken extraordinary steps to make sure that experience is going to be safe for people. a limited number of people can be in the store at any one time. one—way systems. lots of signings. distancing. a new process for returns. all of that creates a new shopping environment, it won't be the same as we are all used to, and it is an environment which means you can shop in confidence, knowing it is going to be safe, it is going to keep you and your family safe from a health perspective. so the one area where we are still waiting for some clarity is the hospitality industry, bars, restau ra nt, hospitality industry, bars, restaurant, cafe is, when will they be able to open? the sticking point there seems to be that two metre social distance rule which many bars save social distance rule which many bars save makes opening a nonstarter. it is just not viable. we know there is a review under way by the scientists into the two metre rule, but so far they seem decidedly iffy to take the

view that two metres is a lot safer than1.5 or one view that two metres is a lot safer than 1.5 or one metre. i guess the question is whether you can, as it were, have a slightly more nuanced position when it comes to two metres, could you relax the rule a bit if you were sitting side by side with someone? or if you are in a restau ra nt with someone? or if you are in a restaurant and they were sitting behind you? could you relax if you spent only a minute or so in a shorter distance than two metres? could you relax it if the level of infections came down a lot further? but that is what people are really waiting and watching to see whether there is any easing in the two metre rule. thank you very much, norman. thank you very much, norman. the nhs confederation, which represents part the nhs confederation, which represents pa rt of the nhs confederation, which represents part of the health service including amulet is on hospital trust says it is due to the impact of the covid—19 pandemic on

the nhs. our health correspondent has more. the report paints a bleak picture of nhs england struggling to manage as health workers continued to look after thousands of patients infected by coronavirus, while at the same time reopening services for cancer and stroke patients, as well as those for heart disease. according to the report, the need for social distancing and other measures to prevent the virus spreading also significantly limits the capacity of the health service. the nhs confederation has written to the prime minister, warning it won't be possible to simply switch on all nhs services immediately and the government will need to manage the expectations of people needing treatments. i think the greatest fear among nhs leaders at the moment is expectations. the fact is that we are trying to rebuild services as covid—19 is still around within our hospitals and within communities, and it will take time and it will take patience to try and build

up services to where they were before the outbreak and it will take even longer to try and deal with the huge backlog that has built up during this crisis. the confederation also wants extra funding, particularly for rehabilitation and recovery services for the many people who have been hit by the virus. richard galpin, bbc news. prosecutors in sweden have decided to discontinue the investigation into the matter of the former prime minister 0lof palme. the politician was shot dead in stockholm in 1986 on his way home from the cinema. officials say the main suspect in the case is now dead. it means they cannot now go on with their enquiry. as pa rt of cannot now go on with their enquiry. as part of the investigation, more than 10,000 people were interviewed. let's hear more from the chief prosecutor about the chief suspect in the case, who is no longer alive.

translation: mr stig engstrom, who in the press has been called the skandia man, and stig engstrom is deceased, and therefore, i am not able to start proceedings or even interview him, which is why my decision is to discontinue this investigation since the subject is deceased. our correspondent maddy savage is in sweden and following developments. after years of waiting, and of the swedish prime minister recently describing it as an open wound in society, that there have been no further conclusions, we now have information from the swedish prosecution authority, who held their conference online, that they do have a key suspect. it's somebody they have talked about previously, a man named stig engstrom. he is known here in sweden as skandia man because he worked for an insurance company called skandia on the street where 0lof palme was killed. he is known to have left

the building at around that time and returned a little bit later. he killed himself in the year 2000, which is the reason that he can't be brought to trial. but he is not somebody that was questioned earlier on in detail. he was questioned as a witness at the beginning of the case. what the prosecutors are doing right now as we speak, is starting to go through what evidence has led them to now have this conclusion that they believe he is the man that would have been put on trial had he been alive. they say it's not to do with any new forensic evidence, they have not found a weapon. they suggest that even if they did at this stage, so far on and because of various technicalities, it would be difficult to leave a weapon from the time. they have gone through witness statements from the night of 0lof palme's murder and suggested that some discrepancies have led them to the idea that it could be stig engstrom. details about that are still coming through.

the funeral of george floyd, whose death at the hands of a white police officer sparked global protests, has heard pleas for systemic change to prevent future acts of police brutality. there were powerful calls for racial justice during the service at a church in houston, which was attended by mr floyd's family, friends, civil rights leaders and celebrities. peter bowes reports. a final goodbye to a man whose death sparked protests around the world, a black man loved by his family, killed by the police, whose death may have changed the world. george floyd was a regular guy from a rough neighbourhood, a father, a champion basketball and football player, a gentle man. his funeral was passionate, political, but above all personal. i just want to say to him, i love you, and i thank god for giving me

my own personal superman. amongst the tears and the family's grief, there was anger, reflecting the outrage seen on the streets over the past two weeks. no more hate crimes, please. someone said make america great again, but when has america ever been great? i want justice for my brother, my big brother. that's big floyd. everybody know who big floyd is now. he died lying on a minneapolis street, with the knee of a police officer bearing down on his neck. some of the mourners wore "i can't breathe" badges, a reference to george floyd's final words, gasping as his life slipped away. the democratic presidential candidate, joe biden, addressed the funeral in a recorded video message. no child should have to ask questions that too many black children have had to ask for generations.

why? why is daddy gone? looking through your eyes, we should also be asking ourselves why the answer is so often too cruel and painful. why, in this nation, do too many black americans wake up knowing that they could lose their life in the course ofjust living their life? george floyd's finaljourney was by horse—drawn carriage, with people lining the streets. his coffin was taken to a cemetery south of houston, where he was laid to rest next to his mother, for whom he cried out as he lay dying. a private ceremony, after a very public farewell. saying goodbye to george floyd his death has had such an impact around the world. we say goodbye to viewers watching us on bbc two. goodbye. the headlines on bbc news... boris johnson will announce more plans to ease the lockdown

in england later, a day after plans were abandoned for all primary schools to return before the summer. zoos, safari—parks and drive—in cinemas will be among the businesses and venues allowed to re—open in england from monday. more than 30 years after the assassination of swedish prime minsiter 0lof palme, police identify the main suspect as a man who died 20 years ago. let's get more now on the news that outdoor attractions, including zoos and safari parks are to be allowed to reopen from monday, so long as they observe social distancing measures. let's go live to knowsley safari, where i'm joined by the managing director, edward perry. welcome, thank you forjoining us. i think you have got meerkats behind you, we might get a glimpse of some of them while we talk to you. there is one. it is obviously news that you have been looking forward

to. just tell us what the impact of the closure has been on the safari park. we closed on the 23rd of march, literally overnight. we furloughed about 70% of our staff, and we a lwa ys about 70% of our staff, and we always hoped we could open fairly early because intrinsically the safari park is safe because guests arrive in their own car, normally in family groups. if you go around safari drive, there is no contact with staff or other guests. on the financial side, it cost us around £400,000 a month to run the safari park, even in lockdown. by this stage, we are probably about £3 million behind where we were this time last year. what does that mean for the viability of your business? thankfully, we were able to take advantage of the business interruption alone, and our bank was

very understanding of our needs. we looked at our cash burn rate and we could have survived until christmas. we had in our minds 4th ofjuly, so it isa we had in our minds 4th ofjuly, so it is a real bonus, an absolute delight for us to be open on 15th june. obviously, the hope is for you and other businesses that are opening on monday that people will come. there has been so much comment though about the fact that zoos and safari parks are opening before schools. do have any thoughts on what that might feel like for children who will be coming through your doors when they will be unable to come to school? i think it is slightly typical of the illogicality in many ways, and the inconsistencies of the strategy at the moment. we are delighted to be open while the schools are still off, and it brings an important dimension to zoos which is the educational side. dimension to zoos which is the educationalside. certainly the support we have had on social media and beyond, we have a lot of people

itching to get out of their homes. we will certainly be pushing the educational side as well. we are ready and raring to go. so you are talking about real life education, rather than education in the classroom. how will you be delivering that? we very much describe it as the social and emotional aspects of learning. it is actually learning through fun, and we have a number of guides that children interact with. we have a number of staff around the safari who are constantly interacting and pushing fact across in a fun way, in afun, family pushing fact across in a fun way, in a fun, family way. finally, a mere cat is standing up behind you in that typical way that we see. teach us that typical way that we see. teach us something about meerkats. well, they are not an endangered species as such, but some of the lessons they give us about living in communities, the fact that they rely on each other. the one you can probably see is the look out. there is always one looking out for

predators. they are a great symbol of community. just going back to the difficulties for all of you running the safari park there, how stressful has it been for you? it hasjust been the frustration, to be honest. it is just not knowing. unable to grab the facts, it is the uncertainty. in life, we want certainty. we find it frustrating when we are asking government, why can't we open, and there were no response is coming back. as i mentioned, a parallel is being drawn between the fact that businesses like yours are back in operation from monday, but schools are not. but a key fact it is the fact that you are outside. you are absolutely right, and all of our indoor facilities will remain closed. the restau ra nt facilities will remain closed. the restaurant will be closed. but actually, we would hope that from around 4th ofjuly we might be able to open those as well. for the time

being, all bookings are online, we are reducing the number of guests that can come at any time. they will be no cash payments, no contact with any of our staff, or any other guests. so we are taking it very carefully, cautiously, and very safely. thank you, we wish you all the very best. thank you. anti—racism demonstrations in the uk have turned their focus on calling for the removal of public memorials which have links to slavery. in oxford last night, protestors demanded a statue of the colonialist, cecil rhodes be taken down. in london, a monument to the noted slaveholder robert milligan has been removed from outside the museum of london docklands. nick beake reports. cheering. they have taken pride of place in our communities for decades, sometimes centuries, but in 2020, it is a shame not pride which is driving us to look again at who we celebrate. it was the ripping down of 17th—century slaver edward colston's statute in bristol at the weekend which sparked this reflection

of the way we mark the past. the rippled sent out as it was dumped in the docks are being felt far and wide. a statue of robert milligan, in london, an 18th century merchant who owned more than 500 slaves injamaica, the latest to be removed but this time by authorities, not angry protesters. it was an insult to people of colour, black people, and so today, finally, to find that this statue has been pulled down is symbolic, is a victory. chant: take it down, take it down... in oxford, thousands gathered at one of the university buildings demanding the statue of cecil rhodes be removed. they say the 19th—century imperialist in africa represented white supremacy. oriel college, which refused to take it down four years ago, says it abhors racism and discrimination in all its forms.

labour's leader, keir starmer, and his deputy, anglea rayner, more than 130 labour councils across the country are now reviewing all controversial public monuments. in cardiff, this statue of thomas picton, the former governor of trinidad, and a slave holder, may not be at city hall for much longer. and it is notjust in the uk where the debate is taking place. in antwerp, in belgium, this figure of king leopold ii was defaced. he's blamed for the genocide of ten million people in the congo in the late 19th century. transferred to a removal van, another controversial public memorial consigned to history. nick beake, bbc news. mora kallay, an organiser of the rhodes must fall campaign, was at the demonstration in oxford. we do plan to continue, depending on what the response is from the university, and in particular oriel

couege university, and in particular oriel college and the statue. as we have emphasised throughout this movement, we are putting democratic principles at the centre of our approach. we would like to have a discussion with all the relevant stakeholders, with the colleges of the university, with the colleges of the university, with the game and it is in oxford about what should happen to the statue, and so that is a communal discussion that we believe should be had, and the reason for the protest was to be able to start that democratic discussion. staying in the uk, every thursday for ten weeks millions of people stood in their gardens, balconies and on street corners to ‘clap for carers' to show their appreciation for key—workers. now there is a call for everyone to come together one last time on sunday 5thjuly for a nationwide clap to mark the birthday of the national health service. ria lakhani is a sales executive from harrow who spent more than a week on a covid—19 ward at the end of march. as her way of saying thank you to the nhs and the team that saved her life she

has written a poem, shejoins me now. thank you forjoining us. you came on before, not long after you have been out of hospital, and you are still struggling. i was. the day i first came onto the bbc was just the day after i was discharged, so i was still very weak. i am pleased to say that i am doing a lot better now. i continue to have some issues going on, soi continue to have some issues going on, so i have got a very inflamed throat, getting a lot of fatigue and not being able to eat as well as i would like to. but i am getting there, and everything is moving in there, and everything is moving in the right way. you have called the medical staff true heroes for the way that they cared for you through what was obviously a very difficult time for you. how ill were you in hospital? there was a point in the hospital? there was a point in the hospital where we were not sure if i would be put on a ventilator.

i was in intensive care unit in case things changed quickly. i have other health conditions as well, which prevented me from eating, so i was already quite a week before getting coronavirus and had had an operation. so there was a point where i wasn't sure if i would be going home. so frightening. yes. what got you through? obviously, you needed really close medical care. what about the humanity around you at that time? yes, absolutely. it was something that i hope i never forget. well, iwill was something that i hope i never forget. well, i will never forget the positivity that came about from all the staff in the hospital. my family and friends were great support, but the only people in the hospital with me were the nurses and doctors, and they were just incredible. they treated me as though i was a member of their family. iam

though i was a member of their family. i am just so eternally grateful, and i'm hoping that when all of this is done i can share my favourite indian snacks with them, sit with them, and just celebrate all the great work that they have done over these past few months. i am sure they would like that. in the meantime, you have written a poem. would you read it out for us? yes, absolutely. this is a thank you poem to team nhs, especially at ucla to where i was treated. how do you think the team of medics who actually saved your life? who have given me a second chance to be a daughter, a sister and a wife? i don't know how to thank you, my words are not enough. you also helped my family when things were really rough. i tried to be brave, but you know i was scared through and through. so you stayed by my bed, comforted me, knowing the next victim could have been you. you are the heroes of our country, and the backbone of our nation, and i hope

that we continue to celebrate you on every single station. you put my life before your own, and you do this every day. you have been doing this every day. you have been doing this long before corona got in the way. you treated me like family, looked after my every whim. nursed me and held me when things were pretty grim. i want you to know that we are so pretty grim. i want you to know that we are so grateful for fighting to keep us alive, and in your honour, i will never take for granted this beautiful thing called life. beautiful. thank you for reading that. it is very moving, and i'm sure it has moved everybody watching at home. how has this changed your life? it has just taught me that there are so many things that we worry about and stress about on a daily basis that actually don't even matter. what matters first is your family and friends and your health. the rest comes second. so just live each day like it's your last, make the most of everything, and be

thankfulfor the most of everything, and be thankful for the nhs. it the most of everything, and be thankfulfor the nhs. it is such the most of everything, and be thankful for the nhs. it is such a great system we have in the uk. i am so great system we have in the uk. i am so grateful for it. and so, for ten weeks we stood on our doorsteps, and our windows, and clapped to say thank you. that weekly celebration of thanks has now come to an end, but there is now a call for it to be replicated on july the 5th but there is now a call for it to be replicated onjuly the 5th on the anniversary of the nhs. it must be particularly poignant for you each time you have done that. it is, it is very emotional. every thursday has been very emotional, notjust for me, but also for my family. on the 5th ofjuly, we plan to be making a lot of noise, to be really thankful in a safe way, to the nhs. i will be bringing the drums, tooting a horn, doing whatever i can. just say those amazing heroes

know how lucky we are, and how thankful we are to have them. know how lucky we are, and how thankful we are to have themm know how lucky we are, and how thankful we are to have them. it has been really good to talk to you. thank you. thank you for having me. thank you. thank you for having me. thank you. hello this is bbc news. boris johnson will announce more plans to ease the lockdown in england later, a day after plans were abandoned for all primary schools to return before the summer. zoos, safari—parks and drive—in cinemas will be among the businesses and venues allowed to re—open in england from monday. a warning from national health service leaders in england — 10 million people could end up on hospital waiting lists by the end of the year. more than 30 years after the assassination of swedish prime minister 0lof palme, police identify the main suspect as a man who died 20 years ago. after another slave trader statue is removed, labour councils in england and wales plan a review into public monuments.

and there's a warning that almost 300,000 children in india could die due to severe malnutrition and a lack of essential services amid the coronavirus lockdown. there's a warning that the coronavirus lockdown in india could mean nearly 300,000 children will die from severe malnutrition over the next six months. that's according to a new study by thejohns hopkins university. millions of people are struggling to feed their families. divya arya reports from delhi, where malnutrition levels in children were already some of the highest in the world. too much hunger, too little food. withjobs gone, it's a fight for survival. hunger was always an issue here. but this desperation is new. for these children just outside of the capital delhi,

even one meal a day now feels like a triumph. shiva is just one—month—old. his parents rely on daily wages to buy food, and like millions of others, they lost work after the government announced a lockdown in march. translation: we used to cook rice, rotis and vegetables before the lockdown. our children ate well. now they remain hungry because we have no money and no work. the children are too young to understand why this is happening. children underfive are vulnerable to malnutrition. india is the worst in the world, with one in five children affected. and that might have become much worse. so this is almost a perfect

storm for this region, with a very vulnerable population, a declining quality and quantity of diets and without the access to the essential services the children need. for children who were already malnourished, these months have been even harder. this woman's baby has lost weight during the lockdown. and her condition could worsen as now they have very little government food support. for more than 45 years, the indian government has run a child development scheme to provide essential vitamins and nutrients to children up to the age of six. but during the coronavirus lockdown, most of the more than 1 million centres such as this were shut down. some of them are trying to home deliver a much smaller quantity of food supplements at a time when they are most critical

for young child ren's development. now it is ordinary citizens who have stepped up, like this man who has been distributing one hot meal a day for 500 children for the past two months. but that is hardly enough. translation: i can provide one or two meals per children, but they need breakfast, lunch and dinner. they're not getting the nutrition they need. despite a surge in coronavirus cases, the lockdown is easing. the government has a huge dilemma. how to stop the deadly spread of the disease and protect the most vulnerable, particularly children, from hunger and even starvation? they haven't yet found all the answers. divya arya, bbc news.

prosecutors in sweden have decided to discontinue the investigation into the murder of former prime minister 0lof palme. the politician was shot dead in stockholm in 1986 on his way home from the cinema. officials say the main suspect in the case in now dead, meaning they can't go on with their inquiry. as part of the investigation over 10,000 people were interviewed. let's hear more from the chief prosecutor, krister petersen about the chief suspect in the case who is no longer alive. translation: mr stig engstrom, who in the press has been called the skandia man, and stig engstrom is deceased, and therefore, i am not able to start proceedings or even interview him, which is why my decision is to discontinue this investigation since the subject is deceased. let's speak to the swedish diplomat pierre schori. he was an assistant to former swedish prime minister 0lof palme. hejoins me from

dalaro in stockholm county. thank you very much forjoining us. what is your reaction to this news? iam not what is your reaction to this news? i am not too surprised. i think the prosecutor has made a good job. he isa prosecutor has made a good job. he is a serious person. i have been interviewed myself by his team, and he is also extremely critical of his predecessors who spent over 30 years ignoring important witnesses and evident information. so i think this is as good as it gets, and when it comes to how to prosecute anybody or not and who is the most likely suspect. secondly i would say that i think that even today, it is important to highlight all of his life and what he stood for

and achieved more than his death. and we will definitely talk about that. before we move on to that, i want to pick up on what you said about being critical of the prosecutors who spent 30 years ignoring important witnesses. do you believe this is something that could have been, should have been solved in the lifetime of the suspect, who died 20 yea rs lifetime of the suspect, who died 20 years ago? it happened on a very busy street, didn't it, with lots of witnesses? given what the prosecutor said today, he said this should have been done in the same month at least, because there was enough implications them that would have led to, according to him as a prosecutor, probably one of the best in sweden, that then he would have gone to court with this and he would have done this now. he also says

it is not for him, there is no use for continuing because even if you spend another 34 years, it would come down to the same conclusion as to the main suspect from the indications. there is nothing here to say left. especially highlighting the witnesses he has taken up again, the table of witnesses that were important and ignored in the previous investigations. it is extraordinary, because it is not like people were not interviewed. 10,000 people were interviewed. there is so much evidence amassed that apparently it would take nine —— one person nine years to read through it. do you think there should be recriminations now for this failure? are there people that should be brought to account for that? i do not think that would help anything, but it would certainly show that police investigations

cannot be driven with a focus which is personal obsession, which was the case here. absolutely obsessed by the kurdish national organisation, they thought they were in it, and they thought they were in it, and they ignored everything else. we had a deputy minister at the time of the murder, and we got several tips from south africa, spain, chile and others. we made a list, which we handed over to the prosecutors at the time, or the investigators at the time, or the investigators at the time, or the investigators at the time, and they completely ignored it. they were things you needed to do professionally. you needed to do professionally. you needed to do professionally. you needed to look into it at least, and they just ignored it needed to look into it at least, and theyjust ignored it and said it was pkk, so that delayed and distorted the whole investigation for years. the man that you knew, you said it is important to focus on him and

his life. what would you like to say about him? we need people like him now today also, because he gave voice to the oppressed and voiceless. he condemned the superpowers atrocities in vietnam and afghanistan, the us and soviet union at the time, he stood up against apartheid, against the franco is of our time, and he did it ina way franco is of our time, and he did it in a way that was heard, and you heard it all over the world. he used his voice, his freedom of speech, because he was not bound by nato, we we re because he was not bound by nato, we were not aligned militarily, so we could speak out more freely. he used that privilege of having to speak, being able to speak freely, but also doing it on behalf of the oppressed and the prosecuted, and at home

here, also not to forget the series of reforms which changed sweden, modernised it, made it more equal. he spoke up for women's rates and the children's he spoke up for women's rates and the child ren's rights, he spoke up for women's rates and the children's rights, the child convention, for instance, which he supported to get through. i was with him at the first international conference in mexico in 1975, which he organised, so he really stood for something that people need today in this world, with trump and others. he works with him for 20 years, thank you forjoining us. when schools first closed back in march, it wasn't clear how long parents would be home—schooling their children for. but since plans to get all primary school pupils in england back to the classroom before the summer holidays have been dropped, it looks like lessons at home will continue for the forseeable future. tim muffett has been speaking to parents to see how they feel

about the prospect of more lessons in lockdown. a promising start, full marks for trying, but for this family, home schooling has become a struggle. we started this home schooling journey very positively. we went for it. however, since half term, that enthusiasm has dwindled somewhat. we feel a bit fatigued with each other and, with more workbooks, more of the same, we are very much missing the teacher interaction, which i think is what inspires the children to do better. we continue to work with the sector... yesterday the government scrapped land for all primary—aged pupil in england to return to school before the summer holiday. while we are not able to welcome primary school children back for a full month before the summer, we continue to work with a sector on the next steps.

we would like to see schools who have the capacity to bring back more children in those smaller class sizes, to do so, if they are able to do. we will be working to bring all children back to school in september. what was your reaction to the announcement by the education secretary? the fact that this make continue into and beyond september is completely disheartening and really, really quite concerning. i know from parents whose children have gone back to school, their fieldwork as it is incredibly well organised and managed, and i don't understand why it can't happen sooner understand why it can't happen soonerfor understand why it can't happen sooner for other children. —— feedback. at this london primary school, the prospect of managing more children well social distancing had been a major concern.” more children well social distancing had been a major concern. i think our reaction to the announcement

is a relief, to be honest. it is lovely to have children back in the school. you can probably hear their voices on the playground, but equally we we re on the playground, but equally we were unable to figure out how we we re were unable to figure out how we were going to get everybody back into the building. it felt and feels like a sort of impossible mathematical problem that even as primary school teachers, we were just not able to solve.” primary school teachers, we were just not able to solve. i think it is definitely the individual parents prerogative, and i think it might actually be a good idea, yeah, with how things are at the moment. actually be a good idea, yeah, with how things are at the momentm actually be a good idea, yeah, with how things are at the moment. it is not a surprise, i think. i think it is very hard, all the work teachers are doing, trying to place all the kids with much less space, social distancing. family members want their kids back at school, but if their kids back at school, but if the kids are going to be crowded in school, it is going to bring another wave of covid—19. school, it is going to bring another wave of covid-19. for rebecca and her daughter, home—schooling has done well. she welcomes the

announcement of the delay to return all pupils in england. it is going to ta ke all pupils in england. it is going to take a lot of pressure off a lot of pa rents. to take a lot of pressure off a lot of parents. in it sounds like you have had a good experience. what advice would you have four other pa rents ? advice would you have four other parents? and mike don't stress yourself, some days are going to be hard, and we will all have those days where we are just not in the mood or our children are not in the mood. if it's not going right for you, do not stress about it. it is better to have a hobby done happy home life than to be stressed about home—schooling. home life than to be stressed about home-schooling. an educational experiment forced upon the whole country with no end in sight. lets speak now to the former education secretary, justine greening. thank you forjoining us. yesterday the children's commissioner said it was clear education is not one of the government's priorities. do you agree with her? net i think we need to see the government now bring forward a proper strategy

for how children and young people's education is going to get started again. they have now been out of school for months and this simply cannot continue without a plan to make sure they can kick their education. and the reality for boris johnson's government is there is a real risk now. if he is not able to bring forward a plan on how we get education kick—started again, then it won't be a levelling up government, it will be one that presides over levelling down, and that —— what people want to see is the same national effort that we had on the nhs. they want it brought to bear on on the nhs. they want it brought to bearona on the nhs. they want it brought to bear on a national effort in schools, and in terms of whether the government —— where the government has been on the economy and the furlough scheme, the huge amount of resourcing that was put into the nhs to be able to cope, rishi sunak the chancellor said he would do whatever it takes to help

steer families and businesses through this coronavirus a crisis, but we now need to do whatever it takes to make sure that kids can get back into school, and if we are not able to do that, then we will see a really long term impact of coronavirus on not only their futures but our country's more broadly, because in the end kids being out of school isn'tjust bad for them and their education and their future, it is for them and their education and theirfuture, it is bad for all of us. theirfuture, it is bad for all of us. is there any conclusion to draw other than that until now, education has not been one of the government's priorities? i think... i accept has not been one of the government's priorities? ithink... i accept and understand obviously how difficult this has been for ministers, but i think different departments have different roles, and clearly the role of the department for education and the ministers there was to firstly make sure home—schooling and education can continue as far as that was possible during the lockdown, but then to have a plan,

a twofold plan actually, to help young people most disadvantaged by the school shutdown to be able to catch up school shutdown to be able to catch up and prioritise them, and secondly to make sure that our education system could reopen with this new normal of social distancing. at the moment, neither of those strategies are in place, and i think it is unrealistic to expect schools and teachers to try and work their way through that. i myself was a governorfor a through that. i myself was a governor for a many years through that. i myself was a governorfor a many years in through that. i myself was a governor for a many years in a school in london, a victorian building, and there was no way we could double the number of classrooms if our class sizes had halved. this really does need strategic oversight by ministers, and we cannot afford to wait until the summer to put plans in place. they need to be brought forward now. what will those plans look like, putting up temporary buildings and schools, requisitioning buildings for use by schools? weeks ago in april, i said that if

the issue is not enough space, we need to find space, there are plenty of offices and community centres that are lying unused at the moment, libraries. if theissueis unused at the moment, libraries. if the issue is also making sure we have the teaching support, there are lots of trained teachers who are outside the profession at the moment you could be asked to come back. there are private tutors who could be asked to support those children and young people most disadvantaged by the lockdown. that is the kind of national effort we need, but actually what we have not seen is any of that kick—started in the way that we had seen for the nhs, and for health care. that is the kind of ambition we now need to bring for this, and it is a turning point for this, and it is a turning point for this government on levelling down or a levelling up. if we can get our education system back up and running with class sizes of 15, this can actually be the moment when the sort of personalised learning that children in private schools get, when that actually comes our reality for children and young people in our

state school systems. this could be the moment where we improve our education system, but actually at the moment there is no plan at all for how we progress this, and as we saw in the people that you interviewed before, this has had a really uneven impact across families, across communities, and thatis families, across communities, and that is what the research done through my social mobility pledge campaign has shown. so there is no time to waste now, and it is time that ministers brought forward a proper bolted down a practical plan to get education started again in the uk. you have said about levelling up or levelling down. because of everything that is going on in the moment right now, this is a time in particular when there is a really close look at equality and where we go forward from here. what would you say to schoolkids who might be thinking right now, is the government's priority to let us go

to zoos rather than get back to school right now? how it would kids feel about that message from the government? i think they need to be told that they are at the centre of this government's focus on helping to get britain back to normal, and schools in england reopening again, and they need to be told that whether or not they can succeed in life is inextricably part of whether or not this country succeeds in the future. i think they also need to be told that we are finally in britain going to be building a country where there is equality of opportunity. we have a huge cost of coronavirus. the best way of being a version of britain that cannot only bear that but thrive in the future is to be a country where it is about competence not connections, where there is access to opportunity for every single young person, but right now we are as far away from that as it is possible to be, because schools,

which can be the great leveller, are closed, and it is incumbent on ministers to bring forward a proper strategy for getting them open and forgetting young people and children back to their education. do you have any thoughts on what should happen for those kids who will be taking gcses and a—levels next year, because of course they are out the window. they have gone. but there will be kids at home who do not have access to technology, who are unable to work properly right now, he did not have the support of their school, who will be really worried about the prospect of doing those exams. the result will be with them for life, this time next year. indeed, and that means planning ahead to have a sense of what the scenarios might be for those exams next year and what it then means for those young people, but it also means working closely with businesses so that they understand the context in which they are looking at candidates in the years to come, and i think there needs

to bea to come, and i think there needs to be a wholesale change of attitude within the education system to understand that anyhow, the focus on academics has been important but it has to be married up more effectively with a focus on young people being able to develop the skills that businesses are looking forfour skills that businesses are looking for four people skills that businesses are looking forfour people coming skills that businesses are looking for four people coming into the workplace. so there is a broader discussion here on how we can improve social mobility, but in the meantime, children and young people need some more certainty around how they are going to make sure they get their education over the coming months and years. at the moment, they do not have that. and it is absolutely crucial that ministers now pull theirfinger out absolutely crucial that ministers now pull their finger out and bring forward a plan. justine greening, former education minister, thank you very much. a medical assistant from california blinded in one eye after police allegedly shot her with a rubber bullet at a black lives matter protest, has told us exclusively she has no regrets aboutjoining the rally. 29 year old shantania love, a medical assistant and mum of two

says she's been told by her surgeon it's 99.9% certain she'll lose her sight in one eye. she's now suing the sacramento police department — her lawyer says if they win the case, compensation could reach ‘millions of dollars'. it was the first protest ms love has ever taken part in and says it's ironic that on a protest against police brutality — sparked by the killing of geroge floyd — she had become ‘a victim of police brutality‘. she spoke to victoria derbyshire about her experience. it‘s hard to describe. ijust keep using the term that it felt like i was a shot with a cannon. it was really, really bad. it‘s excruciating pain. and what do you think about what‘s happened to you? i think it is extremely ironic that a protest for police brutality, i am now a

victim of that. i am devastated. you know, it‘s life altering. i have to change my whole life around now because of this injury. so my surgeon told me that there is a 99% chance that i will be blind in that eye, so i have another surgery next week. and how did you react when the surgeon said that to you, about the likelihood of you losing the sight in your eye? oh, i was devastated. that is hard news to hear after having vision for 29 years and then something this traumatic happens. it was hard.

wow. when you look in the mirror, what do you think? i just feel a lot of sadness. there are times when ijust sit in my room and just cry because it‘s... it‘s a lot. the most senior ethnic minority member of the police in the uk,... in the letter, he urged all of his police and colleagues across the uk to stand up to racism. in the letter, he says what we are seeing in america and here in the uk is anger directed not just at in america and here in the uk is anger directed notjust at police brutality but the racial bias built into the very fabric of

our institutions and society. we need to listen to our communities and our people and focus on what we in the uk can do better. taking many was and isa uk can do better. taking many was and is a powerful symbol of challenge and hope, and i was moved to see some of our officers do so. but personally, i see this as a time to stand up, stand up to racists, to inequality and injustice. we can be better than this, we must be better than this. just before we go, time to tell you... the duke of edinburgh is celebrating his 99th birthday today. to mark the occasion, buckingham palace has released this photo of prince phillip and queen elizabeth. the duke is expected to spend the day at windsor castle, where he and the queen have been isolating during the pandemic. hgppy happy birthday to you. we‘ll be heading over the house of commons at 12 o‘clock for prime minister‘s questions. right now, we say goodbye if you are watching on bbc world.

let‘s talk to our assistant poltical editor norman smith about what we can expect. school, school, school, ithink school, school, school, i think it will be very surprising that sir keir starmer did not pick up on the disarray over the u—turn on primary schools, and if you look at how he has approached by minister‘s questions during the covid—19 crisis, the basic argument he has made again and again is that boris johnson has been too slow to respond and has lacked a clear strategy, and iam and has lacked a clear strategy, and i am absolutely sure he will pick up the current disarray on schools as further evidence of that, saying there is no clear plan over how to get schools to reopen in september, and he will be held by the fact that frankly there is a lot of disquiet on the tory benches as well. we were just hearing from justine greening, former education secretary, but there doesn‘t seem to be a strategy

or plans in place to ensure there is extra 5 pa ce or plans in place to ensure there is extra space for classes, whether it is putting in place a portakabin or using empty council offices or office spaces or libraries, or as they do in denmark, theatres. that will be the thrust of circular starmer‘s attack. what will be interesting is borisjohnson‘s response, because he slightly blew his top last week. why are you launching these extra attacks, you are undermining public confidence and misjudging the public mood, that is what he said. i think it is a delicate line that he has to tread beyond saying all this is just negative and obstructive when clearly many of his own mps do have significant concerns about the failure to get schools back, so it will be interesting to see his response. the other thing to say is that today is boris johnson response. the other thing to say is that today is borisjohnson day, the one day in the week when we see the prime minister. we see him in prime minister‘s questions and also at the

press co nfe re nce minister‘s questions and also at the press conference later today. another issue, the two metre distancing role. there is a suggestion, according to one reporter in a newspaper that it is not in guidance that is being given to the leisure industry —— leisure industry and getting back to business. what is the latest on that? short answer, we do not know. we know that mrjohnson is likely to announce further easing measures at his downing street news conference. iam not his downing street news conference. i am not sure we will get the same detail that many in the hospitality industry want, but it has been a feature in his press conferences that very often when he does them, mrjohnson has an announcement to make, headline to get, so it is quite possible that he will look to have something to say at his afternoon news conference, if only to kind of knocked off all the bad headlines about schools, particularly with people comparing

him and contrasting to the fact that zoos are going to reopen but primary schools are not going to reopen. i would expect that he would have an announcement of sorts to make at his news co nfe re nce announcement of sorts to make at his news conference this afternoon. in terms of political collaboration or not, keir starmer went quite strongly on that last week, saying he had written to the prime minister and wanted to work with him. is that now off the table? it does not seem to be happening, certainly not in the way that purse don‘t keir starmer wants. he wants one—to—one briefings. what he has been getting is sort of telephone conversations with all the opposition party leaders, so he has not been getting that direct conversation he wants, but i think we can cross to the commons now.

as we approach the third anniversary this coming sunday of the grenfell tragedy, i know the whole house will wa nt to tragedy, i know the whole house will want tojoin tragedy, i know the whole house will want to join me tragedy, i know the whole house will want tojoin me in sending our thoughts to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and to the survivors. across government we remain committed to ensuring that such a tragedy can never happen again. mr speaker, members from across the house will want to join me in offering our very best wishes to his royal highness the duke of edinburgh on his 99th birthday. i am sure the whole house will also want tojoin me in wishing you, mr speaker, a very happy birthday. this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others in relation to my duties in this

house. i shall have further such meetings later today. we are going to vicky for will stop thank you, mr speaker. asa for will stop thank you, mr speaker. as a shielded person, i am grateful to once again contribute to parliament. many shielded people have contacted me, worried about government guidance on going for walks. they want a safe hour walk for shielded people, similarto that adopted in many other countries. will he do that? they also want more transparency on the shielding list with each category named and risks published. will he provide that? finally, will he agree to review the fellow scheme so shielded people in the future are not penalised?” fellow scheme so shielded people in the future are not penalised? i can tell the honourable lady that we certainly will be doing as much as we can in the near future to ensure that shielded people get guidance about how they can come out of their

shielded environment safely, in a way that is secure, and on her point about furlough, it is an important one and clearly, newly shielded people will be asking themselves whether they are entitled to furlough fans. i‘ve been made aware ofan furlough fans. i‘ve been made aware of an issue recently and i assure her i will be addressing it forthwith. the threat of the breach of the declaration for hong kong is the latest evidence of china 's overt rejection of international rules of fair play. they express derision for lack of unity. let's prove them wrong. would my right honourable friend consider publishing a consultation paper for the development of a long—term strategy for our national and pan— national engagement with china? mr speaker, it would be helpful in advance of any consultation paper if ijust advance of any consultation paper if i just set out my own

advance of any consultation paper if ijust set out my own broader position, and stress that i am a sino file, and i believe we must continue to work with this great and rising power, but when we have on climate change or trade, or whatever it happens to be, when we have serious concerns as a country, we must, whether it is over the origins of covid—19 or the protection of our critical national infrastructure, or indeed over what is happening in hong kong, then we must feel absolutely free to raise those issues loud and clear with beijing, and that is what we will continue to do. leader of the opposition, keir starmer. can i join do. leader of the opposition, keir starmer. can ijoin the prime minister in his comments on grenfell. and his comment on the duke of edinburgh, and of course his best wishes to you, mr speaker. i listened carefully to what the prime minister said on furlough for those newly shielding, and i welcome that. it has been something we have been concerned about. we will look at the

proposal when it is on the table, andl proposal when it is on the table, and i am grateful he has listened to that. the prime minister on monday said that feelings of black and minority ethnic groups about discrimination are founded on a cold reality. i agree. discrimination are founded on a cold reality. iagree. they discrimination are founded on a cold reality. i agree. they have been at least seven reports into racial inequality in the last three years alone, but precious little action. for example, most of the recommendations in one report into inequality in the criminaljustice syste m inequality in the criminaljustice system have yet to be implemented, three years after the report was published. similarly, the long delayed and damning report by wendy williams into the windrush scandal has yet to be implemented. i spoke la st has yet to be implemented. i spoke last night to black community leaders and they had a very clear message for the prime minister. implement the reports you have already got. so, could the prime minister now turbo—charge the response of the government and tell us response of the government and tell us when he will implement in full the lambie report and the windrush

recommendations? i am grateful to the right honourable gentleman, and of course i understand, as i said, i understand the very strong and legitimate feelings of people in this country at the death of george floyd, and of course i agree that black lives matter, and we are getting on with the implementation, not just of the getting on with the implementation, notjust of the lambie report, but also the report into windrush. the report was one that this government commissioned, and i thank the honourable member for tottenham. we are increasing already the number of black and minority ethnic groups in the prison service, as david lammy recommended. we are increasing the use of cameras, and we are trying to ensure amongst other things that young people are not immediately prosecuted as a result of the trouble they find themselves in. we try to make sure that we give people a chance. but i must stress that on

the lammy report and on all these matters, it is vital at the same time that we keep our streets safe, and that we back our police, and thatis and that we back our police, and that is what we are going to do. mr speaker, i welcome what the prime minister says about implementing the reports, and obviously we will hold him to it. he will appreciate it that people do notice when recommendations are made and then not implemented, so it is important that they are implemented in accordance with those reports. mr speaker, the latest report is the public health england report on the disproportionate impact of covid—19. that report concluded that death rates are highest amongst black and asian ethnic groups, and it went on to say, and this was the important bit, that it is already clear that releva nt bit, that it is already clear that relevant guidance and key policies should be adapted to mitigate the risk. if it is already clear that guidance and policy need to be changed, why has the government not already acted? we

are already acting, andi already acted? we are already acting, and i can tell him that what we are doing as a result of the report by professor fenton, which again we commissioned, we are looking at the particular exposure of black and minority ethnic groups to coronavirus, and be no doubt, they have been at the forefront of they have been at the forefront of the struggle against coronavirus, whether it is at the nhs or in public transport. 44% of the nhs in the workforce is black or minority ethnic workers. and that is why what we are doing first and most directly is to make sure that those high contact professions get expanded and targeted testing now, and that‘s what i have agreed with dido harding from nhs test and trays. that‘s the first and most practical step we can ta ke first and most practical step we can take as a result of this report. keir starmer. thank you, mr speaker.

the prime minister i know understand the frustration of those most at risk when they see a report like that and they know action is needed. action is needed now, not in a few weeks. can i ask the prime minister to indicate whether that is all of the action, or if this is more of the action, or if this is more of the action. this is a serious issue, we can make progress together, but is it important that it is carried out swiftly. i want to turn over to the numbers of those who have died from covid—19 because those numbers haunt us. since last question is, the daily total figure from the government of those that have died from coronavirus has gone past 40,000. the ons figure, which records cases where coronavirus is on the death certificate, stands at just over 50,000, and the number of excess deaths, which is an awful phrase, stands at over 63,000. these are amongst the highest numbers

anywhere in the world. last week, the prime minister said he was proud of the government 's record. but there is no pride in those figures. mr speaker, let me just say that on the death figures for this country, we mourn every one, and we grieve for them and for their relatives and theirfriends. for them and for their relatives and their friends. but for them and for their relatives and theirfriends. but i must also for them and for their relatives and their friends. but i must also tell him, and he has raised this point repeatedly across the dispatch box, the best scientific evidence and advice is that we must wait until the epidemic has been through its whole cycle in order to draw the releva nt whole cycle in order to draw the relevant international comparisons, and i‘m afraid i simply must repeat that point to him. as for what this country did to fight the epidemic, i strongly disagree with the way he characterises it. i think it was an astonishing achievement of the nhs to build the nightingale hospitals.

i think it was an astonishing thing that this country came together to drive down, to follow the social distancing rules, in spite of all the doubt that was cast on the advice, to follow those rules, to get the number of deaths down, to get the number of deaths down, to get the number of deaths down, to get the epidemic under control in the way that we have, and this government has announced a plan on the 11th of may to get our country back onto its feet, and that is what we are going to do. we have a plan, we are going to do. we have a plan, we are going to do. we have a plan, we are following it, and we are going to stick to it. mr speaker, it just doesn't wash to say that we can't compare these figures to other countries. everybody can see those figures and see the disparity, and we need to learn from those other countries. what do they do more quickly than us? what did they do differently to us? because we could learn those lessons and make sure that the numbers come down. it is little solace to the families that have lost someone to simply be told, this is too early to compare and to learn from other countries. of

course, there will be long—term consequences as a result of the governments approach. i want to turn out to another aspect of government policy, and that is school reopening. we all want as many children back into school as soon as it is possible and as soon as it is safe. what that required for that to happen was a robust national plan, consensus among all key stakeholders, and strong leadership from the top. all three are missing. the current arrangements lie in tatters, parents have lost confidence in the approach from the government, millions of children will miss six months worth of schooling, and inequality will now go up. several weeks ago, i suggested to the prime minister that we set up a national task force so everybody could put their shoulder to the wheel. it is not too late. will the prime minister take me up on this? mr speaker, as i told the house before, i have been in

contact with the right honourable gentleman bya with the right honourable gentleman by a modern device called the telephone in which we have tried to agree a way forward, which he has then seemed to deviate from later on. last week, he was telling the house that it was not yet safe for kids to go back to school. this week, he is saying that not enough kids are going back to school. i really think he needs to make up his mind. since he is so fond of these international comparisons, he should know that there are some countries in the eu, in europe, where no primary school kids are going back to school. we are being extremely cautious in our approach. we are following the plan that we set out, andi following the plan that we set out, and i think that the people of this country will want to follow it, and all the evidence, 97% of the schools that have submitted data, are now seeing kids come back to school. what i would like to hear from the right on the gentleman is a bit of support for that, and a

bit of encouragement to pupils, and perhaps encouragement to pupils, and perhaps encouragement to pupils, and perhaps encouragement to some of his friends in the left—wing trade unions to help get our schools ready. the prime minister and help get our schools ready. the prime ministerandl help get our schools ready. the prime ministerand i have help get our schools ready. the prime minister and i have never discussed in any phone call our letter. the tussles has never been the subject of a conversation between him and me under any circumstance and he knows it, so please drop back. secondly, he mentions other countries. plenty of other comparable countries are getting their children back to school. wales is an example and across europe there are other examples. it is no good, mr speaker. the prime minister is flailing around, trying to others. order, order. we need to get through with lots of other members, so we will listen to the question, and i certainly want to hear the answers. keir starmer. certainly want to hear the answers. keirstarmer. i certainly want to hear the answers. keir starmer. i was saying it is no good, the prime minister flailing around trying to blame others. a month ago

today he made the announcement about schools without consulting the relevant parties, without warning about the dates, and without warning about the dates, and without any scientific backing for his proposal. it is time he took responsibility for his own failures. this mess was completely avoidable. the consequences are stark. the children's commissioner has warned ofa children's commissioner has warned of a deepening educational disadvantage gap, and she spoke yesterday, her words, disadvantage gap, and she spoke yesterday, herwords, "an emerging picture which doesn't give confidence that there is a strategic plan". she called for the government to scale up their response. it must have occurred to the government that space would be a problem and there would be a need for temporary classrooms. they built the nightingale hospitals, why are they only starting on schools now? mr speaker, he still can‘t work out whether he is saying schools are not safe enough, or whether we should be going back more quickly.

he can‘t haveit going back more quickly. he can‘t have it both ways. it is one brief one day and another brief another day. i understand how the legal profession works, but what the public want to have is some consistency, mr speaker. whati public want to have is some consistency, mr speaker. what i hope that he will agree with me is that it isa that he will agree with me is that it is a good thing that we have now got 37% of kids in year six in our primary schools coming back, and thatis primary schools coming back, and that is increasing the whole time. what i think the message that teachers want to hear across the country is that all parliamentarians in this house of commons support the return of kids to school, and furthermore, that they are encouraging kids to come back to school because it is safe. will he now say that? i want as many children to go back to school as possible as soon as possible, as quickly as possible when it is safe. i have been saying that like a broken record for weeks on end. i know the prime minister has got

rehearsed attack lines, but he should look at what i wrote in this letter, and what i have been saying consistently. mr speaker, one way in which the government could help those worst affected would be to extend the national voucher scheme stop child poverty numbers are so high in this country, 1.6 million children in low income families rely these vouchers and they mean children who can't go to school because of coronavirus restrictions still get free meals. the labour government in wales has said it will continue to fund these meals through the summer. yesterday, the education secretary said that won't be the case in england. that isjust wrong, and it will lead to further inequality. can i urge the prime minister to reconsider on this point? what i can tell the right honourable gentleman is of course we don‘t normally continue with free school meals over the summer holidays, but we are also, of

course, and i‘m sure that is right, we are also aware of the difficulties faced by vulnerable families, and that‘s why we are announcing a further £63 million of local welfare assistance to be used by local authorities at their discretion to help the most vulnerable families. this government has put its arms around the people of this country throughout this crisis, and have done is absolute best to help. i may say, it is not helped by the wobbling of the labour party and the gentleman opposite. last week he said it is not safe, this week he says we are not going fast enough. we protected the nhs, mr speaker. we prayed provided huge numbers of ventilated beds. we are now getting the disease under control, but we will do it in a cautious and contingent way. today, i will be announcing further

measures to open up our society and to unlock our society, but only because of the huge efforts and the sacrifice that this country has made. we are sticking to our plan of the 11th of may, and we are sticking toa the 11th of may, and we are sticking to a plan. it is a plan that is working and will continue to work, with or without the assistance of the right honourable gentleman opposite. britain 's new advanced research project agency is vital in securing our status as a science and technology superpower, critically as we re cover technology superpower, critically as we recover from coronavirus. can my right arm or friend commit to protecting its funding so that no obstacles to delivering transformational breakthroughs will happen? yes, and i thank my honourable friend and he is right, we will be having advanced research projects agency the tune of £800 million, and it will be tasked with supporting revolutionary breakthroughs in this country.

it was the uk from splitting the atom to the jet was the uk from splitting the atom to thejet engine, was the uk from splitting the atom to the jet engine, to the internets, that has led the world in scientific research and we intend to continue. we are now heading up into scotland, the leader of the snp. thank you, mr speaker. can i associate myself with the remarks of the prime minister on grenfell, and on the birthday of the duke of edinburgh and yourself. mr speaker, the prime minister told the liaison committee "i do not actually read the scientific papers". it is no wonder then, the scientific papers". it is no wonderthen, mr the scientific papers". it is no wonder then, mr speaker, that the scientific papers". it is no wonderthen, mr speaker, that it took the uk so long to act on quality measures. the scientific advisory group were not even asked for advice on the significant policy. this has been a complete shambles. too little, too late. we cannot risk ignoring the experts once again. can the prime minister confirm what scientific papers he has read on the two

metre social distance rule? mr speaker, i must say i disagree with this, i have read a huge amount about a disease that affects our entire nation. i have read many papers actually on the social distancing rule. it is an interesting point. ithink the social distancing rule. it is an interesting point. i think members across the house of commons will wa nt to across the house of commons will want to understand that i believe that the two metre rule needs to be kept under review. as we drive this disease down, as we get incidents down, working together, i want to make sure we keep that to me to rule under constant review because, as the right on the gentleman i think indicates, there are all sorts of scientific advice about that particular matter. thank you, and of course we know that the cabinet has discussed reducing the two metre social distancing rule, but that is not the expert advice right now. it is reported that being the lee

mack are exposed to the virus for six seconds at one metre is the same as being exposed for one minute at two metres. that, mr speaker, is a significant increased risk. and the la st significant increased risk. and the last time that professor whitty was allowed to attend the daily press briefing he stressed that the two metre rule was going to be necessary for as long as the pandemic continues. people are losing confidence in this government. a u—turn on schools, the shambolic roll—out of quality measures, and now looking to reduce the to me to rule far too soon. we'll be priming us rule far too soon. we'll be priming us to continue to ignore the experts, or will he start following the advice of those who have actually read the scientific papers? —— prime minister. actually, the people of this country are overwhelmingly following the guidance that this government gives, and tomorrow the house will hear a bit more about what is happening with nhs test and trace, and they

will find an extraordinary degree of natural compliance and natural understanding by the british people. in spite of all the myth—making that we have heard from the party opposite. i can tell the right honourable gentleman that there are all sorts of views about the two metre rule. he is correct in what he says about the advice from the advisory group, but as incidents of the disease come down, the statistical likelihood of being infected, no matter how close or far you are from somebody who may or may not have coronavirus, goes down. allowing zoos to reopen from the 15th ofjune allowing zoos to reopen from the 15th of june is allowing zoos to reopen from the 15th ofjune is very good news as it provides them with a realistic chance of survival. with the prime minister give full consideration to allowing beer gardens to also reopen from the 15th ofjune as the feedback which i am receiving is that many pubs are

now facing the unpalatable and unwanted prospect of having to make staff redundant.” thank my honourable friend because he is right, we want to reopen hospitality as quickly as we can. the house will remember that according to the road map, we were going to open outdoor hospitality no earlier than 4th ofjuly, and that is still the plan. we are sticking to our plan. so guidance is now being developed for such hospitality. what we don‘t want to see is a mass of people that can spread the disease, so it is important that people understand the continuing risks that this country faces. the prime minister will be aware that the secretary of state for northern ireland has today published the guidelines for the special payment scheme fought severely injured victims linked to the troubles in northern ireland. the prime minister will also know

that this house passed legislation which excludes those injured by their own which excludes those injured by theirown hand. which excludes those injured by their own hand. but the innocent fit in is have not yet been able to benefit from this scheme, not least because of the actions of sinn fein, who are blocking the next steps to implementation. will the prime ministerand implementation. will the prime minister and his government now commit to do all that they can to move this matter forward so that our most vulnerable of innocent figure is can receive this pension? yes, indeed. i think this scheme that provides a fair, balanced and proportionate way of helping all those who suffered most during the troubles, and it is important that sinn fein, along with all other parties, allow this scheme to go forward as soon as possible. mr speaker, many peaceful protests have been held across the country against racism, following the appalling events in the us, including in my own constituency yesterday. can i commend my right honourable friend the prime minister

for recognising the significance of these events, and as well as scrutinising the health impact of covid—19 on ethnic minority groups, can he look again using the race disparity audit for any persistent systemic racism in all government departments, from the treatment of black and ethnic minority people in the judiciary system, through to how we teach children about these issues in the education system?” com pletely in the education system?” completely agree with the need for all political leaders to promote these issues, to recognise how important they are, and we will continue, i am important they are, and we will continue, iam proud important they are, and we will continue, i am proud of what i did as mayor to encourage the promotion of young bme officers in our metropolitan police. we had a system to move them up and i want to see that kind of activity across the government of this country, it is the right way forward for the

uk. returning to scotland. kirsty blackman. mr speaker, the response from the us president to the death of george floyd and the black lives matter movement has been horrendous. can the prime minister confirmed to me if he still believes trump has many good qualities, and if so, what are they? mr speaker, i renew what i have said many times and it is important for the house to hear it again, yes, black lives matter and the death of george floyd was absolutely appalling. as for the equalities, —— qualities of mr trump, he is president of the us, which is our most important ally in the world today, and whatever people may say about it, the united states isa may say about it, the united states is a bastion of peace and freedom, and has been for most of my

lifetime. so peter bottomley. mr speaker, i hope you will allow me to welcome the birthday of the prime minister of england, the 2007, with words that we can share the glory struggles, joys and pains of this country. it was a critical advisor to the stephen lawrence enquiry. if an clay—macro in eight years there are eight interrogations of a bishop, we have got more to learn about making the colour of someone‘s skin as important as the colour of someone‘s eyes or hair, grow well, i join him warmly in paying tribute to the archbishop of york as he lays

down his crazier, he and i correspond very often.” down his crazier, he and i correspond very often. i take his advice very sincerely. i had no idea that delay was such a distinguished birthday. under stop and search powers, which this government is expanding, a black person is 47 times more likely to be stopped and searched than a white person. 47 times. on too many occasions, stop and search seems to mean being black is enough to be suspected of being a criminal. so, will the is enough to be suspected of being a criminal. so, willthe prime minister abolish suspicion less stop and search powers, and end the pain and search powers, and end the pain and injustice they reek of so many people in the black and minority communities in britain? mr speaker, it is important that stop and search is carried out sensitively and in accordance with the law. it has made accordance with the law. it has made a great difference to the way it

happens, that we now have body worn cameras, but i do think it can be a very important power in fighting violent crime, and i‘m afraid that what has been happening in london with knife crime has been completely unacceptable, and i do believe that stop and search, amongst many other things, can be a very important utensil of fighting knife crime. it does work. it works for us when i was running london, and it must work now. i‘m not saying it is the whole answer, but it is part of the mix. hospitality and tourism businesses on the foil coast are concerned about their long—term recovery and infrastructure needed to support that. the m25 link road, a project which was fully funded, had some

issues with funding allocations. can the prime minister put his weight behind this and help me secure the 5.7 million needed to secure the shovel ready project? we will unite and level up the infrastructure projects across the country, and i congratulate him in his lobbying for this particular scheme, and i can tell him that last year we put £31 million to the distributor scheme for a new carriageway that will reduce congestion in preston and directly to the creation of 3000 houses and over 500 jobs, and as a further expansion of the m 55, he will have to wait, but there will be further enhancements in due course. scotland with stewart malcolm macdonald. thank you very much. even before the pandemic began, it was clear that the uk has one of the most manifestly inadequate systems

of statutory sick pay in the world. second from the bottom in european terms, and it continues to shun millions of workers who are lower earners, working in the gig economy orare earners, working in the gig economy or are self—employed, so as we head back from the economic crisis, can the prime minister agreed to work with members of the opposition to make sure it is fit for the 21st century and can make domecq meet people‘s needs? century and can make domecq meet people's needs? yes, and we will make sure that those who do not have... yes, of course statutory sick pay is an important part of the way we tackle the issues of self isolation and those who are facing coronavirus, but people also receive additionalfunds will coronavirus, but people also receive additional funds will stop anybody looking impartially at what we are

doing to support the people of this country throughout this epidemic will concede that the uk has done more than virtually any other country on earth to look after the people of this country, whether through the following scheme or the bounce back loans or anything else. listening to him just now, i also pledge that we are going to put in gigabit broadband across the whole of the uk so that he can be heard more clearly in future. manchester and lancashire with mark logan. prime minister, we have seen much disinformation about the r value in bolton and the north—west. if we have increasingly up—to—date local data, with their prime minister then agreed with me that correspondingly greater confidence will be given to bolt only and is in reopening our businesses, schools and places of worship. yes, and that is why i am

encouraged by nhs test and tries to add to the progress it is making with the help of the joint bio—security centre, we are able to identify hotspots to do a whack at the mall and just about outbreaks of the mall and just about outbreaks of the epidemic where they occur. east lothian prides itself in its food and drink sector which is gravely threatened by reduced standards in animal welfare and production. the government failed to enshrine protections in agricultural bills. earlier this week, ministers dallied on this issue was not with the prime minister take this opportunity to say that high standards will be protected, acid standards commission will be established and that we will not face chlorinated chicken on our table, allowed with kentucky fried medicine in our hospitals? not only will be protected animal welfare standards, but we will be

able, on leaving the eu, as we have, we will be able to increase our animal welfare standards. we will be able to ban treatment of farrowing cells which is currently legal in the eu. we will be able to ban the shipment of live animals which we currently cannot ban in the uk. we will be able to go further, and i hope by the way he supports it and he will tell all of his friends in the snp. but that is one of the reasons why their plan to take scotland back into the eu will be completely contrary to the instincts of the british people. due to covid-19, we are facing a unique economic challenge for top can i is the prime minister to respond with a major package of infrastructure investment to create jobs and level up the whole country, including turbo—charging the roll out of gigabit broadband, increasing the manchester to sheffield line and finally building the full trim bypass? the people have been promised this for over 50 years by

politicians. we will even let him collect the boris bypass. please get it built. and he can use his bike. my it built. and he can use his bike. my right honourable friend, i can confirm that we are committed under the strategy published last year to building a bypass around loch firm, andi building a bypass around loch firm, and i look forward to being there to see it done. my constituents tell me that they have lost trust in the government as they are confused by mixed messaging around public health measures and i agree that dominic cummings seem to have been left off the hook, but they are particularly worried about local jobs and the hook, but they are particularly worried about localjobs and that is due to inadequate support schemes, lack of funding for the council, quarantine affecting luton airport. all of it has been on your watch, prime minister. how can my constituents feel confident on the next steps for easing lockdown when the government has fallen short so far? because i think the

british public with their overwhelming common sense have ignored some of the propaganda that we have been hearing from the party opposite about our advice. they have ignored the negativity and the attempts to confuse, and they are overwhelmingly following advice, and indeed they are compliant with nhs test and trace, which is the way forward, which will enable us to defeat this virus, both locally and nationally. pre—covid—19, the prime minister has made a firm commitment to reaching to some of the most deprived areas and levelling up the country. this is needed now more than ever. will he make a firm commitment to recommit to the rest of wolverhampton so that they will not just survive, but they will thrive? yes, i certainly will. i congratulate my honourable friend in the way he represents wolverhampton and the many campaigns he fights for that great city, and i can tell

him that great city, and i can tell him that justice for starters that wolverhampton will benefit from growth dealfunding wolverhampton will benefit from growth deal funding across the black country, which aims to create 5000 jobs, 1400 new homes and a lot of public investment, just for starters. many happy returns, mr speaker. today, they say that we are free only to be chained in poverty. not my words, the words of bob marley and 1973. figures from the trussell trust show an 89% increase in emergency soup parcels across the uk in april compared to the same month last year. people are struggling and they need help now. will the prime minister meet with the chancellor, charities and local government leaders to discuss a much needed funding boost for local where a fella assistance schemes in england? ——

welfare. a fella assistance schemes in england? -- welfare. the honourable lady is absolutely right, this country is going through a very difficult crisis, a public health crisis, an economic crisis and of course it is a bitter many families to great hardship. i think the government has done a huge amount to look afterfamilies government has done a huge amount to look after families across the country. we put £3.2 billion more into local government, and i announced earlier on today, just now, that we are also bidding another £63 million into extra welfare support for particularly disadvantaged families to help with meals throughout the summer period, but she is entirely right. we face a huge economic problem. that is why we need to get moving, get this country going forward together, and work as parliamentarians and politicians to communicate to the publicjointly politicians to communicate to the public jointly what we are politicians to communicate to the publicjointly what we are doing. politicians to communicate to the publicjointly what we are doingm order to allow the safe exit of vulnerable members participating in this item of business and

the safe arrival of those participating in the next, i am arrival of those participating in the next, lam now suspending arrival of those participating in the next, i am now suspending the house for three minutes. thank you. that was prime minister‘s questions. as they file out, trying to observe the social distancing guidelines. borisjohnson is the social distancing guidelines. boris johnson is going the social distancing guidelines. borisjohnson is going to be back in action later with the news conference at five o‘clock. right now, at the same time, the first minister in scotland nicola sturgeon has been making a statement to the scottish government. she has been answering prayer minister —— first ministers question. as of last night, 18 people were in intensive ca re night, 18 people were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected covid—19, which is a decrease of three since yesterday. i am afraid that in the past 24 hours, 12 deaths have been registered of patients that had confirmed coronavirus, that ta kes that had confirmed coronavirus, that takes in total number of deaths under that measurement to 2434.

national records in scotland have just published its more detailed weekly report, and these figures say what had been confirmed by a lab test, and those added on the death certificate as a contributory cause of death. this covers the period to sunday, three days ago. that point, according to our daily figures, 2415 deaths of people who had tested positive for the virus had been registered, however today‘s report shows that by sunday the 7th of june, the total number of registered debts with either a confirmed or presumed link to the virus was 4000. 89 of those deaths were registered in the 70s up to sunday, and that is a decrease of 42 from the week before, and it is the six week in a row that the number of deaths from the virus has fallen. it is the lowest number of covered deaths since late march. the total number of excess deaths, the number above the five year average for the same

year, it had decreased from 111... to just 37 year, it had decreased from 111... tojust 37 in year, it had decreased from 111... to just 37 in the most recent week. deaths in care homes made up 47% of all deaths linked to the virus last week, which is down from 53% in the previous week, and the number of covid—19 deaths in care homes also register again from 69 to 42. all of those figures, especially that total of 4000, are far higher than any of us of 4000, are far higher than any of us would wish, and i know that a downward trend in numbers does not control those who have lost a loved one to the virus, and my thoughts and some of these are with all of them. the weekly number of covered deaths has now fallen for six weeks ina row, deaths has now fallen for six weeks in a row, and today‘s figures are less tha n in a row, and today‘s figures are less than one seventh of the peak level, and excess deaths are at less than one 20th of the peak level, and deaths in care homes are also now falling. that progress is significance, but we must take great ca re significance, but we must take great care to ensure it is sustained. if it is, i hope that next week we

will be able to announce some further, albeit careful, changes to lockdown measures. health protection scotland have also published some initial data today, the presiding officer on the test and trace system. that will become much more detailed in the weeks ahead, however the figures today show that between the 28th of may and the 7th ofjune, 681 cases we re may and the 7th ofjune, 681 cases were reported where the individual tested positive for coronavirus. contact tracing will. .. tested positive for coronavirus. contact tracing will... i would remind everyone watching that if you have symptoms of covid—19, you should book a test immediately and follow the advice on self isolation. let me close presiding officer by emphasising the other key elements of our guidance. we should all be staying at home most of the time and as much as possible. life should not feel normal at present. we must not meet more than one household at a time or more than one a day, and we

must keep to a maximum of eight people in a group. when we do meet people in a group. when we do meet people from another household, we must stay outdoors and two metres apart. we should all wash our hands often and wear face coverings when out in public, and we should remember the decisions we take as individuals affect all of us. i think everybody across scotland for continuing to do the right thing because it is making a difference and we are all saving lives. thank you very much, first minister. before returning to first ministers questions, ijust before returning to first ministers questions, i just encourage before returning to first ministers questions, ijust encourage all members that wish to ask a supplementary today press at their request buttons and take all the supplementary after question seven. question number one, jackson carlaw. later this afternoon, the first minister is excited to publish figures on current testing, and today‘s figures again confirm that with a majority of lives still being lost in our care homes how important it is. we know testing is vital, thatis it is. we know testing is vital, that is what the world health organization has said for months and it is also what we have all said

repeatedly in this chamber. we also know that many care home workers and residents are still waiting for a test, never mind a routine one. the promise to test them all was now made three weeks ago, and i wonder how much longer the first minister thinks they will have to wait until they receive it. we will publish figures later on today. they will be very initial data, and again it is data that will become more detailed over the weeks to come. even the initial data that we publish today will be broken down by the health board and the figures will be published in detail later, but cumulatively to the 7th ofjune, these figures will show that more than 11,000 members of staff have been tested, more than 15,000 residents in care homes. this work is under way, and the health secretary and i have been very clear that we want to see health boards accelerate the progress, and that is why publishing data health board by health board will allow us to track the progress and for the public to scrutinise that process. it is important, and this is a key point,

that we do establish this testing on a very sound and sustainable basis. i certainly want to see progress accelerate, but more than anything, i want to make sure that it is happening in a way that is sustainable over a period of time because this is testing that will happen regularly. it is not, as i understand the position still is, although i will be corrected if i am wrong, in other parts of the uk, one off testing. it is testing that will happen on an ongoing basis, so it is right that health boards make sure they carry it out quickly but also carry out sustainably and that is the work under way. it may be a commitment to routine testing, but is that first test still to take place, and with over 50,000 care home staff, 11,000 while welcom is still well short of the promise made three weeks ago. the fact is that ministers need to get a grip of the situation and need to do it now. the time for promising is over, it is long past time to fully deliver. a simple question, will the first minister today commits to setting a

ha rd minister today commits to setting a hard deadline for delivering those initial tests for both residents and staff in ca re initial tests for both residents and staff in care homes? we will certainly consider doing that. some of the data that we are receiving from health boards still has to be validated and it is important that we publish data that is robust and validated, and then we will look to see whether that is appropriate. i would make the point again that this will be ongoing testing that has to be done week in and week out for as long as we are continuing to live with this virus, and we are not doing it, again, this is not a point of criticism, it is an observation. we are not simply doing it by putting out testing kits to care homes. we are doing it in a way that is robust and sustainable and can be supported on that ongoing basis. i would also say that in relation to the comments about get a grip, we are now seeing, albeit in a situation that has been incredibly challenging and continues to be challenging, we are seeing the numbers of care homes

with an active outbreak of covid—19 reducing. we are seeing the number of cases, new cases reducing, and as i havejust reported, we are seeing the number of people dying in care homes because of this virus now reducing rapidly and on a sustained basis. what that says to me is that the actions that are being taken in care homes to protect older residents are having the effect that we want them to have, but of course as we move through the exit from lockdown more generally, it is important we have the right measures in place on an ongoing basis, and testing is not the only one of these measures. i have already said before in this chamber that we must be careful that we do not put all of the focus on testing, particularly when talking about testing asymptomatic people. but it is a key measure and that is why doing it quickly but also sustainably is important. this is about people on the front line, and without a vaccine, care homes full of the vulnerable will always be at

the heart of the proactive strategy that we need to pursue on coronavirus. to take one example, we learned yesterday that nhs borders is now telling the scottish government it does not have the capacity to carry out tests in care homes within its area. care home owners in towns like castle douglas say none of their staff have been tested, unlike those in england a few miles across the border. we learned yesterday from scottish borders council that locally they have only received 480 testing kits to cover all 1200 staff in their local care homes. can the first minister explain how it would be possible to test all care home staff when health boards are given half, fewer than half the number of test kits they actually need? care homes through protection teams and health boards will have the resources they need, whether that is a human resources in the form of testing kits. the health secretary, she said this publicly already this week, had a conversation as she does

regularly with health chief executives on friday of last week, and no concerns we re friday of last week, and no concerns were reported then about lack of resources to do so, so the resources are in place, both in terms of the kits that are needed for testing, the resources that are needed to ta ke the resources that are needed to take the samples and, crucially, of course, the laboratory resources needed to possess example. it is a work we have been doing in recent weeks, to build up that capacity so the resources are there. it is now a case of making sure that the job is done quickly but also done in a way thatis done quickly but also done in a way that is sustainable. it is not simply about reporting numbers of test kits posted out, it is about making sure the tests are done and not just making sure the tests are done and notjust on a one—off basis, but ongoing week in week out. this promise three weeks ago was not one that was likely given. why are we still hearing about problems with testing three weeks after the health secretary promised it would be sorted? why secretary promised it would be sorted ? why is secretary promised it would be sorted? why is the story we hear in the daily press conferences in

edinburgh so different to what we are picking up on the ground where it matters? why did the scottish government say it would test all ca re government say it would test all care home workers repeatedly on may the 18th and then take untiljune the 18th and then take untiljune the 7th to write to nhs board is asking for it to be sorted. why are letters being sent out not testing kits? i ask if the first minister is confident about this, then she should set out a clear timetable and a clear deadline for the first round of care home tests to be completed. this is her chance, we‘ll see now to get? what certainly happens reliably week in and week out is that jackson ca rlaw week in and week out is that jackson carlaw makes week in and week out is that jackson ca rlaw makes unsubstantiated week in and week out is that jackson carlaw makes unsubstantiated claims about the handling of the covid—19 outbreak. what happens week in and week out is that i, the health secretary and the entire scottish government gets on with the job of tackling this outbreak, which is partly together with the collective effo rts partly together with the collective efforts the length and breadth of the country, that we are now seeing

cases decline, numbers of people in hospital decline, number of people in i see you decline, the number of people dying, including in care homes, decline. that‘s progress we‘re making. i am homes, decline. that‘s progress we‘re making. iam not sure homes, decline. that‘s progress we‘re making. i am not sure how much jackson carlo knows or bothers to find out about how these things actually work on the ground. but when we say that 50,000 staff of ca re when we say that 50,000 staff of care homes have to be tested, of course there has to be a programme of work overtime to make that happen. the processes have to be put in place and the resources, which are in place, have to be put in place. that is work that is ongoing. we will see that in the data published later today and then we will see the progress on that weekend, week out as we publish that, and that will show that this government is getting on with the job of tackling this virus which is exactly what people across country wa nt to exactly what people across country want to see happen. what i do not think they want to see happen is politicians engaging simply in party

politics, which is whatjackson ca rlaw politics, which is whatjackson carlaw does. thank you. question numbertwo, carlaw does. thank you. question number two, richard leonard. thank you, presiding officer. the marked decline in the number of deaths to covid—19 gives us hope, but we should never forget the lives lost and the families left grieving because of this pandemic. as we look to the future, safely restarting nhs services is a national priority, but our nhs is stuck. the restart of services cannot begin without being sure that our hospitals are safe. we now know that there have been almost 1800 cases of hospital—acquired covid—19, which again raises questions about ppe and testing. families and nhs staff need answers.

we understand that a scottish government review group is examining the data. but families who lost loved ones as far back as march and aprilfeel loved ones as far back as march and april feel that this process has been too slow and too secretive. so for the sake of public confidence, ahead of the reopening of our nhs, will the first minister agree to publish details of this group‘s work, including its minutes, all of its recommendations and will you agree to appoint an independent chair to urgently review that work? cani chair to urgently review that work? can i say first of all in relation to richard leonard was my first comment that i absolutely agree with, we should neverforget comment that i absolutely agree with, we should never forget the human lives lost behind the statistics that we report on every day, and i speak personally never will. every of these numbers i have had to read out on a daily basis will be engraved on my heart

forever, and i think that will be true of all of us. i would also say our nhs is not stuck, to use his word, our nhs is currently preparing re—mobilisation plans so that it can safely but as quickly as possible resume services that had to be postponed during the covid—19 crisis for reasons which i think every body understands. turning now to the issue of infection that may be acquired in hospital, let me be clear the health secretary has been clear the health secretary has been clear about this. we have published and validated data, and we did that in an attempt to be open and transparent about the data. let me say as an aside, no equivalent data has been published yet for any of the other uk nations. but it is very important that we understand the limitations of that data before it is validated. it would be wrong, and i note that fact and welcome the fa ct i note that fact and welcome the fact that richard leonard says

suspected, because it would be wrong to say that these are all infections which we know where acquired in hospital. many of these infections, it may well have been acquired in hospital, but it is also possible given the incubation period of this virus that some of these were required acquired in the community but only diagnosed when a patient or member of staff was in hospital, so it is very important to understand that. there is a process now under way to validate that information. nhs scotland works to apply the european centre for disease prevention and control international case definitions for hospital associated covid—19, and when that work is complete and that information is validated, it will be published in validated form, as the health secretary said, we hope that will be by the end of this month, and it will be published. on the issue of the nose of camille review group, that was established in the early pa rt group, that was established in the early part of may. it is an expert group currently chaired by professor jackie riley, the nurse director...

we will leave nicola sturgeon at first minister‘s questions. all of the latest news coming up on the bbc news at one with simon mccoy. i will say goodbye and leave you with louise lear with a weather update. it isa it is a pretty messy weather story to get your head around. apologies in advance, i will try and pinpoint the areas of interest was a bid has been cloudy today and went with one band of rain drifting east, with showers following behind. some of these showers turning quite heavy, and could be thundering through the rest of the day. this maximum temperature of 11 or 16 degrees could be better, and as we go through the evening, through wales and south—west england, larger spells of rain and the winds are strengthening, a couple of inches or maybe more of rain fell overnight. that is welcome but it is a lot in a short space of time and could have an impact. overnight lows with the cloud around 7—12d. tomorrow has

scattered showers, driven in by a strengthening north easterly breeze, making it feel pretty cool on those exposed coasts, and by the end of the afternoon, we will see more heavy and persistent rain pitching in to eastern england. gusty reigns as we go through the day. that said, it is going to be a bit warmerfrom that east coast, with top temperatures of 20 degrees. this area of low pressure influencing the weather story, it kind of reverts back into the south—west as we move into friday, is that it‘s going to bea into friday, is that it‘s going to be a bit ofa into friday, is that it‘s going to be a bit of a nuisance was that it will bring a spell of wet weather across the channel coast and in the south—west england. still a weak weather front drifting into south—west england. still a weak weatherfront drifting into northern england and southern scotland, and in between there will be some sunny spells. still a blustery winter. noticeable if you are going to be out and about, but something else that will be noticeable is the temperature is starting to climb, dragging upa temperature is starting to climb, dragging up a bit of humid airfrom the near continent, so we could see highs of 21 degrees. that low pressure as we move into the weekend, finally it pushes its

way northwards, easing offjust a touch. it could bring some showers with it but it is allowing high pressure to build, so eventually things are going to start to quiet down. on saturday, there is going to be the potential for some showers around, some of the heavy rain in places, but if you dodge the showers and keep the sunshine and you are to see friends and family, you could actually see 24 degrees, and that is the mid—70s. that is the mid—70s. the week ahead looks to be quieter than the weekjust gone. for some of us, drierand a than the weekjust gone. for some of us, drier and a little warmer. take care.

anger in the commons as the prime minister is accused of a lack of leadership in easing the coronavirus lockdown borisjohnson is accused of failing to take responsibilty

for his failures in getting children back to school. it‘s no good the prime minister flailing around trying to blame others. he can't have it both ways, mr speaker. it's one brief one day, another brief the next. we‘ll have reaction from westminster. also this lunchtime: councils under pressure to act as other controversial statues are targeted by protestors. a dire forecast for the global economy — the biggest downturn in peacetime in a century — with the uk hardest hit of developed countries. escape from lockdown — human beings will be allowed out to visit zoos and safari parks from next week. and calls to celebrate the nhs‘s 72nd birthday and thank key workers for their support during the pandemic — with a nationwide clap next month. and coming up in sport on bbc news: the merseyside derby a week on sunday — which could see liverpool win their first premier league title —

will take place at everton‘s