the first data from the new nhs test and trace programme in england shows two thirds of people who tested positive provided details of who they had been close to. major disruption to cancer care in england during the coronavirus pandemic — figures for april show urgent referrals by gps fell 60% on the same period the year before. 60% is a very significant drop, and that's because partly people are too frightened to come forward to go to their gps. and secondly, the diagnostic service has collapsed. pressure on the government to relax

the two—metre distancing rule — some conservative mps say it's causing too much damage to the economy. calls increase in the us to take down confederate statues because of their connnections to slavery. jk rowling reveals she has experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault, in an essay explaining her views about gender. and, even her majesty now video calls — the queen thanks carers for their work during the coronavirus pandemic, to mark carers week. it's interesting listening to all your tales and stories and i'm very impressed by what you have achieved already, so i'm very glad to have been able to join you today.

the first figures from the new nhs test and trace programme in england have been released. they show that two thirds of 8,000 people who've tested positive for covid—19 have provided details of who they had been close to. as a result, nearly 27,000 people were told to self—isolate. the head of the programme, baroness harding said the service isn't yet at the "gold standard", but was working well. well let's get more on this , with me is our health correspondent, anna collinson. we have only had these figures within the last half hour or so and the point is this is within the last half hour or so and the point is this is the within the last half hour or so and the point is this is the first within the last half hour or so and the point is this is the first set of data we have had, isn't it? absolutely, it has been a full 90

minutes or so for those of us on a health team. it means that those who have come into contact with someone who has been infected with coronavirus at being told to isolate for m days. the department of health and social care has published these figures which cover the first seven days... starting from may. of nearly 8000 people 5407 5&07 people agree to be involved, around 2700 did not. we are told there were a variety of reasons for this happening for why people were not getting involved. contact details not being available are not being correct, not being responsive when the traitors try to contact them, and those who refuse to provide information about their own contacts. provide information about their own co nta cts. i provide information about their own contacts. i have just listened provide information about their own contacts. i havejust listened to provide information about their own contacts. i have just listened to a media briefing about baroness

harding. she is very defensive of the public. she says the public are taking this extremely seriously and no system expects complete compliance so it does not need to be 100% but the higher the better the system will work. that is the point, isn't it? in reality, whether or not, hoping for a slightly higher percentage than that? yes, exactly. they are saying that in their first week they are very defensive of how they have done, how they have performed so far. another important piece of detail that we can go through, we touched on the number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus and then reached out. there are also these figures that show more than 31,000 close contacts we re show more than 31,000 close contacts were identified during the first week... that is around 85%. so for 1596 week... that is around 85%. so for 15% of those that were not reached, they were simply saying that they we re they were simply saying that they were taking action independently or that they simply refuse to comply.

the test and trace system only covers england. in scotland the system is called nhs test and protect and they have so far chased 741 protect and they have so far chased 7111 contacts. northern ireland was the first part of the uk to be in contact tracing and contact racing started in wales onjune the 1st end is called test, trace, and protect, then so there are quite a lot of different names. it is quite hard to keep up on what it is depending on where you are in the uk. a final thought because the government talked about an aspiration for this to be gold standard and that is... at what point do we reach a gold standard? at what point do we reach a gold standard 7 i at what point do we reach a gold standard? i guess they are saying we are not there yet? absolutely. there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the system before it even got going. it is with technical problems. claims that traces were watching netflix when they should have been trying to find those who had been affected. there has also been criticism from the scientific community claiming that the system is not fit for purpose but baroness

harding insists that while they are not at this goal standard yet they are on the right path. another issue that was mentioned during this briefing was the fact that the test and trace system, the contact tracing app is not yet available, that app can provide information that app can provide information that human contact faces are not able to, for example if you sit next to someone on a able to, for example if you sit next to someone on a bus able to, for example if you sit next to someone on a bus for a long period of time you might not know the name. baroness harding is not able to give as a launch date for that at but she says the app is what she calls the chevy on the cake, not the cake itself. she says that today is the first break and she thinks it has gone pretty well. we can now speak to dr peter drobac, who is is a global health physician and an expert in infectious diseases. so, we have got the first set of data. what do these figures say to you? it is nice to finally see the

data we have all waiting for and it is good to see that the system has been... process and it requires a lot of trust and cooperation by the public so it is to be expected that it is not going to be perfect and it is going to take some time to get it right. my concern is that we're figuring this out now quite late in the game when we are already opening up the game when we are already opening up society and i think that, i wish that we were much further along than we are now. we lost a slight element of some of your answer there but i think you are making the point that this is early days in terms of the data. to pick up on what i think are saying there, i mean, one of our focus is and has been for a while as will be be facing a second spike later in the year? assuming this system is a really vital come opponent of trying to avoid one? absolutely. we need to remember that there is still a fair amount of transmission happening in this country. we had about 6000 new cases perweek and it

country. we had about 6000 new cases per week and it is still about 1000 deaths per week so this is not what i would consider a low level of transmission. if you think about every one of those new cases is a little fire that needs to be extinguished before it spreads, testing, tracing, and isolation is the mechanism to put out all of those little fires, so unless we have the system in place and working well we will be at this for a second wave. and have we been learning lessons from other countries that have been doing things well in this regard? i hope so. you see glimmers of it here and there. what is clear is that this works in countries that have invested in this kind of infrastructure early and much better off. new zealand has effectively eliminated covid—19 from the country and they are able to get back to normal, largely, with some vigilance, so it is possible actually to fully suppress or to crush this virus and i hope that we can upper level of ambition in trying to have the same tactic. i

have to say it is not entirely clear what our strategy is in the uk, whether our strategy is to really try to fully suppress or eradicate the virus, whether we are continuing tojust try the virus, whether we are continuing to just try and have a bit of control is red, but i'm concerned that there seems to be a bit of complacency and even opening up while we still have 1000 deaths per week in this country, we should not be numb to that. so that is interesting, forgive me, i'm just checking again because of the quality of the line, do you think there is easing a little bit too early? is that the point you're making? absolutely. i think most of the countries that have opened back up the countries that have opened back up and been able to do so effectively did so at a lower level of transmission and we have now. we have 6000 new cases per week. we are only diagnosing about one in four of those. so even if the new tracing programme is working well, if three quarters of the cases of actually going undiagnosed it is not going to make that much of a different so thatis make that much of a different so that is why we have to actually be doing better case identification, faster testing, and get this tracing

programme up and running. really interesting to talk to you. a global health physician at the business school in oxford there. just to tell you some breaking news that the uk death toll has just come through as it often does around this time in the afternoon. we are hearing that the afternoon. we are hearing that the death toll for confirmed cases has risen to 41,279, so 41,279, an increase of, i believe, 151 on the previous 2041 was. that is the latest figure they are just few in the last few moments. the dramatic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on cancer care has been revealed, with new figures showing a huge fall in the number of people in england being assessed by a specialist after being referred by their gp. numbers fell by 60% in april compared with the same period last year — and the number of patients starting treatment fell by 20% in that period.

nhs england and cancer charities are worried that people with concerns aren't contacting their doctor because of fears about coronavirus, and are urging anyone with possible symptoms to seek help. here's our health correspondent lauren moss: yeah, this is the first time i've had chemotherapy. pauline is 75 and has lung cancer. at first, she was apprehensive about having treatment during the pandemic. i've got to take the chance, haven't i? the hospital situation is far too crowded, as far as i'm... i mean, not in radiotherapy, it's very clear there. we've only got chemotherapy patients coming in and going out. pauline's on board the chemo bus at north middlesex hospital. this is one of the ways the nhs is mobilising care after the initial surge of covid patients hit the hospital hard. it was like a tsunami. i don't think we ever thought it would hit us at the fast rate of knots that it actually did. we are definitely are at reduced

capacity from what we were doing, sort of, pre—covid, but we've had to do that in order to be able to treat as many people as possible. but figures released this morning have revealed for the first time just how severely cancer services have been affected in england. 79,500 urgent referrals were made by gps in april, 60% lower than the year before. urgent breast cancer referrals had an even larger drop, down by 78% to 3700. and the number of people waiting no more than two months from gp referral to first cancer treatment was down to under 11,000, 20% lower. well, i have a scan every three months, and... and it has notjust impacted new patients. 54—year—old joanne from stockport has been taking medication for three years to stabilise her incurable cancer, but it was paused in april to minimise her risk of catching covid. i've got a family, i got a new husband, and i didn't want to be in a situation

where my life is shortened any more than it should be. i need to get on top of the pain that i've got, which i believe that if i go back on the treatment, that pain will diminish and i willjust get my quality of life back. remote chemo, a precise high—dose form of radiotherapy, and surgical hubs are among the ways the nhs is restarting services. consultations are done by telephone or video call. patients have their blood taken in a separate building, and then receive chemotherapy in these mobile units here, everything taking place away from the main hospital. coronavirus is going to be with us for months if not years to come, and so the nhs is going to need to retain the ability to surge capacity, to look after local flare—ups, and throughout this, staff have pulled out all the stops, but they've also innovated in the way in which care is being provided. but there's a warning that cancer must not become the forgotten c of the pandemic.

i think to anybody watching this i'd say, if you've got any lumps or bumps, any pains that can't be explained and haven't gone away, or anything at all that's worrying you, get in touch with your gp today. the rest of the uk will publish waiting times in the coming weeks. it is likely to be a long road to recovery for cancer care. lauren moss, bbc news. the government is facing increasing pressure from within its own party to relax the two metre distancing rule in england, to help businesses and schools re—open. the former conservative leader sir iain duncan smith has warned that the uk faces "shattering" consequences if it doesn't soon change the guidance to one metre, which is recommended by the world health organization. boris johnson's previously said he hopes the distance can be reduced, as virus rates go down — with ministers saying the issue is under "active review". here's our political correspondentjessica parker. cheers! remember this?

when people could crowd into pubs and restaurants? you won't see that again anytime soon, but with more shops opening from next week, and measuring up hopes for hospitality in july, there's a question. that's two metres. how distant does social distancing need to be? for our businesses, it is the difference between survival and failure. with a two metre social distancing rule, a third of our premises simply will not be able to reopen. that's a million jobs at risk, and it means that businesses will be reopening at an average revenue of 30% of their normal revenue, whereas at one metre, they are opening at 70% of normal revenue. the uk has the same two metre rule at spain and canada. that drops to 1.5 metres if you are in australia, italy, and germany. and then further reduces to one metre if you are in china, france, or singapore. meanwhile, official guidance from the world health organization is to leave at least a metre between yourself and others to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

it's all a numbers game. we know that you need to get what's called an infectious dose to pick up the virus. that infectious dose for this new coronavirus is pretty low, perhaps as low as 20 virus particles in order to guarantee that a person is going to get infected, so the further you are away from someone, or the more fleeting your contact with them, the lower the likelihood that you are going to pick up the infection. there's the priority of bearing down on the virus, but also fears that the two metre rule could clog up efforts to get the economy going. scientists will give their assessment of the risks, but ultimately, it's a political decision. a devolved matter, scotland, wales and northern ireland can do different things. for england, boris johnson said that, as infection rates are driven down, it'll need to be kept under constant review. there's clearly discussions going on on this, but at the same time, there's nothing which we can say at this point which changes the advice that we are offering the public.

i'm not seeking to evade that question, we all recognise that there is of course an important discussion to be had about it, but we are not changing the advice that we are offering the public. but bars and shops will need enough customers, and some tory mps are arguing for a shift in the balance. our economy is facing a complete crash. the debts we're racking up on how we're supporting people, the fact that no work or very little work is taking place. if we don't get the economy moving, we will be unable to afford any of the things that we need to support public services, so getting the balance right is important. and also schooling, by the way. if we had had a one or 1.5 metre rule for schools, it would have made it much easier for them to have opened. two metres remains the marker for now, but it's possible the rule could be rewritten. jessica parker, bbc news. with me is professor sir chris ham,

who is a health policy academic. he is, among many things, the non executive chair of the coventry and warwirckshire health and care partnership. good afternoon. do you have some sympathy with the iain duncan smith's view that this is crippling the economy and needs to be reduced? i have sympathy with the view that we need to be restarting the economy are seen as we need to be restarting the economy are seen as it is safe to do so, and the scientist will argue alongside their politicians about what the effect of distances, but much more important is having a system of testing in tracing and isolating people who have been in contact with those who are infected because if we don't do that, then easing the lockdown risks bringing back covid—19 after all the amazing work that we have seen going on particularly in the nhs to deal with the first wave and my concern at the

moment is that we do not yet have a fully effective system of testing and tracing in place and that is far more important than the debate about the one metre or to meet social distancing. lights, because, 0k there are several things there, hopefully we can talk about the new figures on test tracing just a moment because you are clearly making a point that that is absolutely vital but the issue of under two metre is... it is notjust economics, is it, claiming they had the example there, it actually would have made life hugely better for schools. had it just have made life hugely better for schools. had itjust been reduced to one and a half we might have got many more of our children back into education and surely that is a positive? are we saying that even that shouldn't be considered that? know, that is a positive and it is vital that we get our children back into education as soon as it is safe to do so but it is the safety issue that i am most concerned about to make the judgment about restarting the economy, getting kids back in school in a way that does not this

gave a resurgence of covid—19 because the worst of all worlds would be to go back to square one, to the of february or beginning of march, the scene army of pressure that was placed on the nhs at the time, and we have successfully cope with that pressure to be in a much better position now, but we are not yet out of the woods. i think it was the deputy chief medical officer that said we are still in a dangerous moment because of the level of new cases remains a very high, around about 5000 a day according to the 0ns statistics and thatis according to the 0ns statistics and that is still at a level where we are facing these ever present risks and dangers so managing that over the next few weeks and months, at a local level in particular, is critically important. 0k, local level in particular, is critically important. ok, so test and traces got to be... i am not trying to put words in your mouth, acing it has got to be bedded in, it has got to be better than it is right now? we have only had this first set of figures that you are saying i think that it has to be

much more than and much more bedded in? absolutely. we need fully effective testing and tracing system. start effective testing and tracing system. sta rt has effective testing and tracing system. start has been made but no more than a start. the key element of this is what happens at a local level because the position we in now, covid—19 will come back in some shape orform now, covid—19 will come back in some shape or form most likely through local outbreaks and local flare—ups, and that is where you have to have the staff and the expertise in place in every council around the country, the leadership of our directors of public health are being trained to do this work, the other staff in our councils and our environmental health and trading standards who can work with them, and we need absolutely a very clear, direct relationship between those who are doing the testing on the one hand, to get the results very quickly into the hands of the public health directors in the councils, plenty follow u p directors in the councils, plenty follow up with the contact traces

and to isolate people, to support them where that is appropriate. that sounds relatively straightforward to do but it is a huge landing exercise and every council through public health directors is currently developing a local outbreak plan which sets out what it will do with the staff it has to respond to these local outbreaks as and when they occur. if that is fully in place i would be much more confident that we could go forward to ease the lockdown but it is not yet in place because councils have only been involved recently, and there is more work yet to be done to give us that are servants. i'm really interested that you keep talking about localism though. -- that assurance. do you feel that public health directors are being used, are being spoken to, asa are being used, are being spoken to, as a part of the process that you would like to see? they are now but they were not at the beginning and frankly the government made a serious mistake back in march when the lockdown was introduced in not

immediately, then, speaking to council leaders and public health directors, because they are the people who have got the experience. that is where the staff rest. instead, in those early weeks, the government chose to do that as a national programme, it hired private companies like serco who in turn hired people to do telephone —based contact tracing, and that national element is more or less in place now, but it was only about four or five weeks ago that the government was persuaded that public health directors should now play every major part. i'm pleased about that but they have frankly not had enough time to do all the hard work around the local planning, making sure they had the staff to do the local contact tracing, and then, importantly, to support people who are isolating. it is coming together but if the government had started earlier we would be in a much better place now. very interesting to hear

your perspective. thank you very much professor chris ham. in a further easing of the lockdown rules in england, people living alone will, from saturday, be able to form what the prime minister has called a ‘support bubble' with one other household. borisjohnson says the measure is aimed at those who've been particularly lonely during lockdown. jon donnison examines now what the change in guidance means in practice. for many, life under lockdown has been a lonely one. people finding company where they can. as the government continues to ease restrictions, the talk now is of support bubbles. from this weekend, we will allow single adult households, so adults living alone, or single parents with children under 18, to form a support bubble, a support bubble with one other household. so how will it work? from saturday in england, people living alone or single parents will be able to form a support bubble with one other household and behave

as if they lived together. the especially vulnerable or shielded won't be included. there is no need to register. the government says it will trust people to act responsibly. it's aimed at lone grandparents, couples living apart and single parents. but it's going to leave people facing some difficult decisions. i've got three options. my biggest, my toughest problem is my mother, who is 92, an amazing lady, who lives in sussex, which is a long, long way from me. so if i choose to have my bubble with her, the logistics of getting up to see her and back down to dorset really don't make sense. so then i've got my son and my daughter, who both live locally and both have children, so that's a hard choice as well. and for people like chris beck, whose son barnaby has downs syndrome and is in a residential care home, support bubbles won't be allowed, so he's having to find other ways. 12 weeks without seeing him, and we went for a walk

in the park yesterday, at distance, so he has done his bit. and we had a laugh and he was talking about, we are going to meet for father's day, we are going to have a distant picnic somewhere between here and brighton. and as long as you meet outside, the lockdown rules say you can gather in groups of up to six people, if you stay two metres apart. jon donnison, bbc news. in the united states, there are increasing calls to remove confederate statues and monuments because of their connections to slavery. it's part of the anti—racism movement triggered by the police killing of george floyd in minnesota — but president trump is insisting that army bases named after officers who fought for the confederacy during the civil war won't be changed because they're part of america's heritage. 0ur correspondent david

willis sent this report. they are potent symbols of a racist past, erected in honour of those who sought to keep african—america ns enslaved. now the statues of confederate generals are being cut down and carried away, as a nation incensed by the death of george floyd seeks to turn its back on the past. the monument to the former president of the confederacy, jefferson davis, was taken away by police after being toppled in richmond, virginia. but the memory of slavery and segregation lives on through army bases which bear the name of confederate officers, such as braxton bragg. there are ten of them in total and calls are now growing for those bases to be renamed. retired us army general david petraeus, who served at fort bragg, is among those in favour of renaming the bases.

in an essay published in the atlantic magazine, he wrote... authorisation for a name change would have to come from the military, and senior officials have indicated they might favour such a move. but all ten bases are in southern and former confederate states, many of which supported donald trump in 2016, and the president is radically opposed to the idea. but symbols of the confederacy are under growing threat.

the confederate battle flag, otherwise known as the stars and bars, has now been banned by nascar, the organisation that runs stock car racing in this country, and the leader of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, is calling for statues representing confederate leaders to be removed from the capitol building in washington, dc. the landscape is changing here in the wake of george floyd in all manner of ways, as america grapples with a grim legacy of its past. david willis, bbc news. the queen has been seen for the first time taking part in a video conference call. she joined princess anne and four carers on a conference call to mark the start of this year's carers week. her majesty and the princess royal heard about the carers' experiences, and the pressures they've faced looking after loved ones during the pandemic.

there are 7 million unpaid carers in the uk, and during the call, the queen paid tribute to them. it's interesting listening to all your tales and stories and i'm very impressed by what you have achieved already, so i'm very glad to have been able to join you today. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willets. hello there. even despite the increased winter day, very gusty wind, particularly across england and wales, it is quite warm and the humidity will increase, notably so i think over the coming few nights. with it, though, we do have moisture, we do have what rain, and that will keep piling in, to the south of that some heavy thundery downpours and in that wet weather sitting on the channel so the driest

will continue in the north bow to the rest of the day and overnight. the showers between the vane bands tend to ease but that then spills its way across northern ireland and the midlands and look at the temperatures overnight. it really is going to be quite mild across england and wales are misty and murky as well. we will kiss pick up some missed in murk across scotland. still warm on friday. more of the weather online. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the first data from the new nhs test and trace programme in england shows two thirds of people who tested positive provided details of who they had been close to. major disruption to cancer care in england during the coronavirus pandemic. figures for april show urgent referrals by gps fell 60%

on the same period the year before. it's just the thought that because of coronavirus, my life might be shortened through, not through the cancer, but as i direct impact of the coronavirus. pressure on the government to relax the 2 metre distancing rule — some conservative mps say it's causing too much damage to the economy. calls increase in the us to take down confederate statues — because of their connnections to slavery. jk rowling reveals she has experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault, in an essay explaining her views about gender. and even her majesty now video calls — the queen thanks carers for their work during the coronavirus pandemic, to mark carers week.

interesting listening to all your tales and stories and i'm very impressed by what you have achieved already. i'm very glad to have been able tojoin already. i'm very glad to have been able to join you today. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. good afternoon. tottenham midfielder dele alli will miss their first match back against manchester united next friday. he's been given a one match ban by the fa. he was charged with misconduct in february after posting a video on social media about coronavirus in which he made fun of an asian man. he's also been fined £50,000 and must undertake a face—to—face education course. he's apologised for what's called an extremely poorly judged joke but is grateful that the fa didn't deem his actions to be racist. premier league have rubber stamped the return to play protocols next week, signing off on the matchday operations plans.

the three month lockdown has cost the division £1 billion in revenue. the finance firm deloitte, who have come up with the figure, say that £500 million of that is in rebates to broadcasters and a loss of matchday revenue which will be permanently lost. the rest will be deferred to next season if the remaining 92 matches are completed. the 20 clubs made a combined £5 billion last season. jill scott has signed a new two year deal at manchester city — that will also see her take up a coaching role at the club. the 33—year—old — who's been capped 149 times for england — has scored 24 goals for city since joining in january 2014. she says she'll still be focusing on playing — but will work alongside new head coach gareth taylor. spain's top division, la liga returns tonight as third place sevilla take on city rivals real betis.

leaders barcelona and rael madrid get going at the weekend. the former arsenal midfielder francis coquelin — who's valencia team took the knee during training to support anti racism protests — says players and clubs will show their support to those making a stand against inequality. it doesn't matter what colour you are. iam it doesn't matter what colour you are. i am sure it doesn't matter what colour you are. i am sure everyone has it doesn't matter what colour you are. i am sure everyone has been affected by what has been happening. asa affected by what has been happening. as a coloured person, obviously it hurt and as a coloured person, obviously it hurtand i'm as a coloured person, obviously it hurt and i'm sure some people will have stuff under their shirt and show support and show we had to stand up against that. tributes will also be paid to george floyd when professional golf, returns in the usa. rory mcilroy will be in the field at fort worth in texas. he says he wants more

diversity in the sport. mcilroy believes having more role models, from different backgrounds is crucial — having grown up watching tiger woods. he was my hero growing up and it didn't matter what colour his skin was, what his beliefs were. tiger was, what his beliefs were. tiger was my hero and he's been a lot of kids's hero over the years that have grown up kids's hero over the years that have grown up playing golf. we have had him, we've been lucky to have him in our game. an agreement in principle is in place for the heavyweight bout that everyone wants to see. a two fight deal between anthony joshua v tyson fury next year — but it won't take place if either of them lose their respective title defences. joshua will put his three titles on the line against bulgarian kubrat pulev while wbc champion fury faces a third bout against deontay wilder. win those and the unification

fight will be on. joshua's promoter eddie hearn says he's had offers to stage the fights china, the middle east, us and uk. if welder was to beat fury, which i can't see happening, if he was, we would turn our focus on deontay wilder because anthony wants to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. a fight we would love to see is fury against ajay. two brits, two fighters who have been up and down, back from adversity and a huge moment for sport in general but of course british sport. test cricket returns next month with england playing the west indies in a three match series at bio secure venues. the first test is at hampshires ageas bowl, with the remainder of the series at old trafford. the windies arrived in the country this week and england paceman james anderson has praised them for making the trip. it's brilliant that we are closing

in on getting some test cricket played. after a decent lay—off. yeah, certainly from our point of view we are great for the west indies are coming over here. with what is going on in the world, i imagine it can be a scary decision for a lot of them, for all of them to make the journey over, so we are hugely grateful. sport to look forward to coming up next month and the football next week as well. the owner of british gas, centrica, has announced the loss of 5,000 jobs at the energy giant this year. more than half of the job losses will come from the business' leadership roles, as the company revealed it would strip out three layers of middle managers, in an effort to cut bureaucracy and cope with the impact of coronavirus. well, let's get more on this — our business correspondent, simon gompertz, is in west london. it's a big number, simon. is it

reg retta bly to it's a big number, simon. is it regrettably to be expected? what is your take on this? it is a big number, it comes on top of thousands of morejob losses number, it comes on top of thousands of more job losses that centrica has had in recent years. it is not a surprise that even before the coronavirus crisis they had plans for redundancies and that is because they lost a lot of money last year. they were hit by the cap the government has put on gas and electricity prices, but also by intense competition in the energy market. they lost hundreds of thousands of customers, so costs had to be cut, they are looking at cutting something like £2 billion worth of costs a year. something was coming along but the impact of the virus has been to accelerate that process and also it has brought difficulties of its own. the well price has dropped, that has made it harderfor price has dropped, that has made it harder for them price has dropped, that has made it harderfor them to price has dropped, that has made it harder for them to make price has dropped, that has made it harderfor them to make money by selling gas. what will send a shiver down the spines of people who work in offices around the uk is that

chris 0'shea, the chief executive of centrica, has said the lesson he has learned from the crisis is that he can bea learned from the crisis is that he can be a much more agile, his staff can be a much more agile, his staff can be a much more agile, his staff can be in these difficult times and this is when thousands of them are on furlough, most office—based staff are working from home. the lesson he has learned that he can cut back and as you said, the majority of these job losses are going to be office—based staff. you could be the consequence in other working places across the uk. and yet another reminder, you have and i have talked about it so many times, another sector hit so very hard by the times we're living through. another sector and of course this is across the economy, and we have had other announcements of job cuts economy, and we have had other announcements ofjob cuts today. a big one in germany, live cancer is cutting 22,000 jobs but more in the uk, particularly bombardier and

belfast. they make wings for airbus aircraft and they have said 600 jobs are going to go, very significant. they employ 3500 so another serious blow and i'm afraid to say one fears there will be more of these in the coming months. simon gompers, thank you very much for now. jk rowling has revealed how she experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault, in an essay defending her comments on transgender issues. it comes after she was accused of transphobia, following a series of controversial tweets. in a blog post, the harry potter author said incidents in her past had shaped her opinions on the need to protect girls. nick beake's report contains some flashing images. apart from the occasional premiers for herfilms, jk apart from the occasional premiers for her films, jk rowling apart from the occasional premiers for herfilms, jk rowling prefers apart from the occasional premiers for her films, jk rowling prefers to stay out of the limelight. but now

after being accused of transfer a ter belng accused o trans er. she says she has to speak up beer, she says she has to speak up and has revealed beer, she says she has to speak up and has reve ind personal. beer, she says she has to speak up and has reve in a personal. beer, she says she has to speak up and has reve in a long personal. beer, she says she has to speak up and has reve in a long essay-canal. beer, she says she has to speak up and has reve in a long essay she, experiences. in a long essay she describes her first marriage as violent. and says she suffered a very serious sexual assault in her 20s. she doesn't identify her attacker. i am 20s. she doesn't identify her attacker. iam mentioning 20s. she doesn't identify her attacker. i am mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, she writes, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine. who have been slowed as bigots for having concerns around single sex spaces. it is a reference to what she calls the relentless attacks on social media she has received after tweeting about the importance of biological sex. actor daniel radcliffe who made his name in the harry potter films spoke out saying, transgender women are women. and hoping thatjk rowling's comments would not taint the harry potter series for fans. and comments would not taint the harry potter series forfans. and eddie redmayne who stars in the harry

potter spin off fantastic beasts also disagreed with her. jk rowling hopes people will see why her own experience compels her to speak out on sex and gender issues. nigel farage's phone—in radio show has come to an end, with lbc confirming they will not be renewing the brexit party leader's contract. in a statement released on social media, lbc said: "nigel farage's contract with lbc is up very shortly and, following discussions with him, nigel is stepping down from lbc with immediate effect. "we thank nigel for the enormous contribution he has made to lbc and wish him well." scotland has recorded an a further five deaths due to coronavirus. but the r number — which shows the rate at which the virus is reproducing — has fallen. this is what the scotland first minister, nicola sturgeon, said a short while ago. as you will recall, the r number

shows the rate at which this virus is reproducing. in summary, if r is above one the virus will infect more than one other person and the virus will spread exponentially. if the r number is below one the number of people with the virus will fall. we estimate that the r number in scotland as of friday 5thjune was between 0.6 and 0.8. that is a lower estimate than for two weeks ago when we calculated that the number was likely to be between 0.7 and 0.9. under that estimate, we expect that the virus will continue to decline. in addition, we estimate that last friday 4,500 people in scotland had the virus and were infectious. our previous estimate for 29th may had been that 11,500 people were likely to be infectious. that sounds like a very big decline.

so it is worth me stressing that we don't actually think that the number of infectious people has more than halved injust one week. what has been happening is that we have been reassessing our estimates for previous weeks based on the latest figures available to us. in short, it is likely that the 11,500 was an overestimate, not that the number has halved in a single week. a major hotel chain has warned that up to 1,800 jobs could go, because there is little prospect of the industry returning to normal any time soon. mcdonald hotels has 31 properties across the uk, including in aviemore and close to the holyrood parliament. they closed at the start of lockdown, and most of its 2,200 staff were put on furlough. the headlines on bbc news:

the first data from the new nhs test and trace programme in england shows two thirds of people who tested positive provided details of who they had been close to. major disruption to cancer care in england during the coronavirus pandemic — figures for april show urgent referrals by gps fell 60% on the same period the year before. pressure on the government to relax the 2 metre distancing rule — some conservative mps say it's causing too much damage to the economy. many of us have missed seeing family since lockdown, but imagine being separated from your child before you've even met. from your child before 71 days after their son was born to a surrogate mother 8,000 miles away, an argentinian couple have finally made it to ukraine to bring home their baby. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher was at the family's first meeting.

cheering it's the final leg on the long journey to parenthood forjose and flavia. they've come all the way from argentina to ukraine to meet their baby son for the very first time. manu was born ten weeks ago to a surrogate mother, and he's been staying in a kyiv hotel room with dozens of other babies, all of them left stranded after the coronavirus closed international borders, stopping their parents from reaching them. thanks to a businessman laying on a special flight, jose and flavia are finally ready to see manu. she cries

jose and flavia chose ukraine because it's one of the few places in the world where commercial surrogacy is legal. a baby here costs about $50,000. congratulations. this may sound like a silly question, but has it all been worth it? but the surrogacy industry in ukraine is largely unregulated, and happy endings aren't guaranteed. four—year—old bridget was conceived through the same agency as manu. nobody is coming to get her. born prematurely, and with serious health problems, bridget‘s american parents rejected her,

and she's now in an orphanage. translation: it shouldn't be a case of, if i like the child, i take them. if i don't, i abandon them. it's utterly wrong. i really hope bridget will find a family who will love her and take care of her. two surrogacies with very different results. forced into the spotlight by the coronavirus crisis, ukraine's baby business brings both smiles and sadness. jonah fisher, bbc news, in kyiv. so much has ground to a halt during lockdown and that includes the making of films and tv programmes. but this week, the country's most watched soap, coronation street, has been getting back to some sort of normality. the producers say coronavirus will be mentioned in the soap, but won't dominate. and just as so many of us have had to become tech—savvy in order to speak to friends and loved—ones, so have actors — with video calls

featuring in storylines. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson reports. it's corrie in the covid era. after a gap of almost three months, the nation's most watched soap is back filming. emma brooker walking into a wall in front of sally webster. ow! 0h, anna! and corrie celebrated with a first ever broadcast press conference on zoom. there was rob. that's me looking awkward, top row, second from the left. can you spot the two corrie stars? the head of itv in the north explained the new safety procedures they have put in place. we are maintaining the two metre distance. we've got people with poles going around and actually i saw some rather fearsome footage of dave, the security guard, wielding his pole this morning. you wouldn't want to mess with that guy and his pole. the average numbers on set have been reduced from 40 to 15,

all filming on location has been suspended and older characters will only appear on the show when they facetime their friends. and roy's rolls will only serve take aways, although planned plot lines have not changed much. i don't think people tune into coronation street wanting to see more people banging on about the pandemic actually, and we were very keen that what we wanted to do was carry on telling as many of the same stories that we were planning to tell as possible. the actors who have already filmed this week have enjoyed it. we were nervous, relief. we've done it, we did it in plenty of time, it's possible. let's move on and the amount of actors that were asking me, texting me, "how did it go? how did you get on?" and just really... we are back. lovely. really lovely. press conference over, i was given one on one time with jane danson who plays leanne batters by. how do you think leanne battersby would have coped in lockdown?

that's a really good question. she is stroppy at the best of times so i think she would have found this quite difficult. i appreciate for a lot of people being locked in with young children, it's hard to occupy them at the best of times, isn't it? i think she probably would have... she's got a lot on her plate at the minute but i think had that not been going on, i think she probably wouldn't have coped very well. but yeah, i think i have coped a little bit better than she would. we will find out exactly how corrie has coped when these episodes start being shown onjuly 24th. colin patterson, bbc news. scott bryan is a tv critic and co—host of bbc 5live's must watch podcast — hejoins me now. hello, scott. does it gladden your heart to see filming under way now? i think so. there hasn't been any

filming for ten weeks on a lot of shows that haven't been used. we have seen a lot of creativity with a lot of entertainment show is trying to find their own way trying to get around social distancing but people arejust around social distancing but people are just craving a sense of normality and shows are keen to resume production because nobody expects them to go away. until now they have been very much rationed but now they are slowly being able to make them back up to date. people will be relieved. it will be quite some time until we see the changes across other tv programmes. shows in the autumn and shows at christmas, we don't know what will happen to them. i thought it was interesting with this that they producers are making the point that of course we have 202 coronavirus in our story but we don't want it to be all about

that. it is a reminder that if we are watching a soap, we think, oh, god, not more coronavirus. totally. at the end of the day, so to rely on sex, scandal, people being in fights. lots of salacious stuff happening and you can't have that if nobody is able to look directly at each other and essentially there is no one able to be in the same bed. of course they are having to find a way to get around it and at the end of the day, viewers are going to be incredibly understanding about the circumstances that are currently happening and it will be the subtle approach to explain to viewers why things are not looking the normal way that they are. you mention other programmes. we all have our favourites. massive line of duty fan iam. we favourites. massive line of duty fan i am. we can all think of something we would like to see back but you are making the point it is a long way off being able to make a

programme like that, for complex dramas? scott always has something to say. i doubt that is reflective that frieze screened their of what he really thinks. that's a shame but we might be able to... know, we can't get him back. scott brian there, the co—host of the podcast must watch. filming resumed this week on coronation street so a slight hint of normality. let's see if we can squeeze in one more story. the duchess of cambridge is urging people to document their lockdown experiences. it is part of a project with the national portrait gallery. 100 of the best will feature on an online exhibition on the gallery's

website. not being able to touch those you love is shown here in an entry called glass kisses. and celebrations and commemorations have been marked at a distance. there is still a week to submit your entries to the hold still exhibition with a bit of encouragement from the patron of the national portrait gallery. bit of encouragement from the patron of the national portrait gallerym isn't too late to take part so please take a moment to capture what life is like for you because together i hope we can build a lasting illustration ofjust how our country pulled together during the pandemic. i can't wait to share the final images with you. the photo submitted so far reflect the hope, fear and mood of a nation. the final 100 portraits shortlisted will be a snapshot, a gallery of the people of

the uk in trying times. with many familiar scenes, this is simply called working from home. daniela relph, bbc news. that is quite tidy really, isn't it? now the weather. an ominous —looking skyline earlier in the day in scarborough. the rain clouds gathering and they gathered in the north and east. we have thunder clouds are gathering elsewhere and turn increasingly humid and that is because we have low pressure sat in the bay of biscay and it will feed in that humid air. the risk of further thundery downpours through the rest of today. it will feel quite warm between them with some brightness but quite a lot of rain to come from the north and east. for scotland, northern ireland, we find the best of the dry weather throughout the remainder of daylight but overnight, that rain spills westwards to northern ireland, the midlands. the thunderstorms ease for a time but it stays wet for the channel islands

and it is humid. lots of moisture around so mist and fog quite widely over the hills in the rain but also across lower levels. that clears and the north sea is the best of the dry weather tomorrow but everything tends to move further northwards tomorrow. the wet weather we have got currently over the channel islands will make its way across southern england tomorrow, giving way to brighter skies but thundery downpours as well. perhaps heavy showers as well and gusty wind. good brea ks showers as well and gusty wind. good breaks in the cloud potentially for north west england but highland scotland, north—western area seem decent spells of sunshine because for northern ireland and the rest of scotla nd for northern ireland and the rest of scotland tomorrow it is looking cloudy with some rain. temperatures are up and that is because the air is humid. the winds have been a feature throughout the day to day, they will be a feature tonight and tomorrow but they will ease in the south later on. that is because the area of low pressure will move northwards so without the risk of

bringing that increasing humidity and low pressure, making the air on sta ble and low pressure, making the air on stable so more prone to further heavy showers but it is those winds which will increase the humidity not just by day by night. some uncomfortable nights coming up and some heavy and torrential downpours. very hit and miss rain but when you do catch one of their showers through the weekend, it will come down. some hail and some thunder, some torrential downpours around both saturday and sunday with that low pressure close by but temperatures getting up into the low to mid 20s. a little bit more where they should be at this time of year.

this is bbc news. the headlines... england's test and trace system for coronavirus identifies 31,000 contacts, but one in three who tested positive couldn't be reached. major disruption to cancer care in england during the coronavirus pandemic — figures for april show urgent referrals by gps fell 60% on the same period the year before. it is just the thought that because of coronavirus my life might be shortened. not through the cancer but because of coronavirus. pressure on the government to relax the 2 metre distancing rule —

some conservative mps say it's causing too much damage to the economy. calls increase in the us to take down confederate statues because of their connnections to slavery. residents in poole vow to protect a statue of scouts founder, robert baden—powell, who was accused being a hitler supporter, amid plans to take it down. jk rowling reveals she has experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault, in an essay explaining her views about gender. and, one zooms with the times — the queen uses the video conferencing app to thank carers for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. it's interesting listening to all your tales and stories and i'm very impressed by what you have achieved already, so i'm very glad to have been able to join you today.

the first figures from the new nhs test and trace programme in england have been released. they show that two thirds of 8,000 people who've tested positive for covid—19 have provided details of who they had been close to. as a result, nearly 27,000 people have been told to self—isolate. the head of the programme, baroness harding said the service was not yet at the ‘gold standard' , but was working well. let us try to unpick these initial figures with our health cover is abundant. crucially, this is the first batch of figures, it is the first batch of figures, it is the first information. what is the key

element to all of this, what should we be looking at? as you say, two weeks since the test and taste scheme was launched in england and it means that someone who has been coming to contact someone who has been infected with covered will be traced and asked to isolate for 14 days. how the system works is important because it will impact on when and how we can ease out of lockdown and how quickly. these nhs figures cover the first seven days of operation and it has found that more than 8000 people tested positive for the coronavirus, and out of that 8000, around 5400 provided details of their recent contacts, so that is around two thirds of that 8000 people who were originally contacted contributing. that means that there is a third thatis that means that there is a third that is not being reached and that is said to be down to several factors which include incorrect information being provided to the

contact races, no response when the contact races, no response when the contact traitors are calling them and they have been told to call these contacts ten times in 24 hours, and some refusing to provide information about their contacts, so there is obviously some issues in place but the boss of the test and taste scheme baroness dido harding is very defensive of the public. she says that they have been doing their bit and this is just the start of the system, it is very early days and she has got a lot of hopes for the future. and when we get to the point about some people who have been contacted either don't provide information, can't provide information, can't provide information, i don't know what that tells us, but we know that public willingness to be about with this is an important element of this and i don't know whether these figures tell us what their people and helping the person who has phoned them up because you just can't remember, they don't really know who they were submitted last tuesday, whether they actively don't want to be part of the system?” whether they actively don't want to be part of the system? i think we will get more answers on that as the weeks, but there is some positivity and is figures that you can see. the

system and is figures that you can see. the syste m d oes and is figures that you can see. the system does seem to be picked, pretty good at reaching out to the contacts pretty good at reaching out to the co nta cts of pretty good at reaching out to the contacts of people who have been tested and getting them to engage through this shows that more than 31,000 contacts were in identified during the first week and out of that just over 26 thousand during the first week and out of thatjust over 26 thousand —— just under 27,000 were reached, some said they were taking action independently of the system while others of course did refuse to take part. it is important to point out that the system only covers people in england. in scotland the system is called nhs test and protect and so is called nhs test and protect and so far they have had more than 700 contacts. the test, trace, protect scheme is in wales and started from jean the first in northern ireland was the first part of the uk to put the system in place. the government is facing increasing pressure from within its own party to relax the two metre distancing rule in england, to help businesses and schools re—open.

the former conservative leader sir iain duncan smith has warned that the uk faces ‘shattering' consequences if it doesn't soon change the guidance to 1 metre, which is recommended by the world health organization. boris johnson's previously said he hopes the distance can be reduced, as virus rates go down — with ministers saying the issue is under "active review". here's our political correspondentjessica parker. cheers! remember this? when people could crowd into pubs and restaurants? you won't see that again anytime soon, but with more shops opening from next week, and measuring up hopes for hospitality in july, there's a question. that's two metres. how distant does social distancing need to be? for our businesses, it is the difference between survival and failure. with a two metre social distancing rule, a third of our premises simply will not be able to reopen. that's a million jobs at risk, and it means that businesses will be reopening at an average revenue

of 30% of their normal revenue, whereas at one metre, they are opening at 70% of normal revenue. the uk has the same two metre rule at spain and canada. that drops to 1.5 metres if you are in australia, italy, and germany. and then further reduces to one metre if you are in china, france, or singapore. meanwhile, official guidance from the world health organization is to leave at least a metre between yourself and others to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. it's all a numbers game. we know that you need to get what's called an infectious dose to pick up the virus. that infectious dose for this new coronavirus is pretty low, perhaps as low as 20 virus particles in order to guarantee that a person is going to get infected, so the further you are away from someone, or the more fleeting your contact with them, the lower the likelihood that you are going to pick up the infection. there's the priority of bearing down on the virus, but also fears that the two metre

rule could clog up efforts to get the economy going. scientists will give their assessment of the risks, but ultimately, it's a political decision. a devolved matter, scotland, wales and northern ireland can do different things. for england, boris johnson said that, as infection rates are driven down, it'll need to be kept under constant review. there's clearly discussions going on on this, but at the same time, there's nothing which we can say at this point which changes the advice that we are offering the public. i'm not seeking to evade that question, we all recognise that there is of course an important discussion to be had about it, but we are not changing the advice that we are offering the public. but bars and shops will need enough customers, and some tory mps are arguing for a shift in the balance. our economy is facing a complete crash. the debts we're racking up on how we're supporting people, the fact that no work or very little work is taking place. if we don't get the economy moving,

we will be unable to afford any of the things that we need to support public services, so getting the balance right is important. and also schooling, by the way. if we had had a one or 1.5 metre rule for schools, it would have made it much easier for them to have opened. two metres remains the marker for now, but it's possible the rule could be rewritten. jessica parker, bbc news. i'm joined now by former conservative chancellor of the exchequer lord lamont. good afternoon tea. what do you think of two metres? is it time to change it? well, i think there is a very strong argument for it, as different countries have different distances. they are all advised by experts and scientists. i'm not saying there is no difference between one metre and two metres but

the question is is it significant enough to justify the enormous damage that two metres is going to do to employment in this country. it is notjust the hospitality industry. there are other services, public transport, hospitality which cove rs bars, public transport, hospitality which covers bars, restaurants, that employs over 3.2 million people and 2.7 million of those people are already furloughed, and we know that these outlets, many of which are small businesses, cannot make money at two metres. possibly some could survive at 1.5 but definitely quite a lot could survive at 70%. now, the longer this goes on, the more difficult the choice, and we are getting to the point where the damage to the economy can outweigh the health benefits of i think there was a strong the health benefits of i think there was a strong case the health benefits of i think there was a strong case for altering this and altering it quite soon. they will be lots of people listening to

you who say that they absolutely understand the economic arguments you are making. the difficulty is by the same token that if i can give even just the last two academics i have interviewed this afternoon with a lot of experience of public health and making the point that they understand there economic arguments but health—wise it is too soon, we just, scientifically, the argument is not there yet, and surely the health risks have to be taken into account above the state of the hospitality industry, for example? well, of course health risks are paramount but the question is not is two metres more effective than one metre but how much more effective, and many, many scientists that i have heard, i and many, many scientists that i have heard, lam not an and many, many scientists that i have heard, i am not an expert, and many, many scientists that i have heard, lam not an expert, i follow the science, many have said that the difference is not that significance and it only alters the chance of infection by a few percentage points out of a hundred, so percentage points out of a hundred,

so if that is the case, i would say that a very small additional health risk would be worth taking in order to avoid massive, massive economic damage. you have been involved in so many vital, key decisions on your timing cabinets. i wonder what you feel when you look at today's cabinet and today's prime minister and the decisions they have to take because what you have said has just illustrated how finely balanced this decision is. i've ease some of the toughest decisions that any politicians have had to make in recent memory? yes, i think they are. of course, it is not quite like fighting a war. we felt the falklands war, that was a very difficult series of decisions to be made, was a practical, could we fight a made, was a practical, could we fighta war made, was a practical, could we fight a war in another part of the world. these are very, very difficult, agonisingly difficult decisions to make, but, unfortunately, the longer this lockdown goes on, the greater the

economic damage. that is where the damages altering every minute as we speak. lord norman lamont, former conservative chancellor of course. very good to have you with us this week. apologies for the slightly difficult audio on that line but i think we understood the point that he was making. the dramatic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on cancer care has been revealed, with new figures showing a huge fall in the number of people in england being assessed by a specialist after being referred by their gp. numbers fell by 60% in april compared with the same period last year — and the number of patients starting treatment fell by 20% in that period. nhs england and cancer charities are worried that people with concerns aren't contacting their doctor because of fears about coronavirus, and are urging anyone with possible symptoms to seek help. here's our health correspondent lauren moss: yeah, this is the first time

i've had chemotherapy. pauline is 75 and has lung cancer. at first, she was apprehensive about having treatment during the pandemic. i've got to take the chance, haven't i? the hospital situation is far too crowded, as far as i'm... i mean, not in radiotherapy, it's very clear there. we've only got chemotherapy patients coming in and going out. pauline's on board the chemo bus at north middlesex hospital. this is one of the ways the nhs is mobilising care after the initial surge of covid patients hit the hospital hard. it was like a tsunami. i don't think we ever thought it would hit us at the fast rate of knots that it actually did. we are definitely are at reduced capacity from what we were doing, sort of, pre—covid, but we've had to do that in order to be able to treat as many people as possible. but figures released this morning have revealed for the first time just how severely cancer services have been affected in england. 79,500 urgent referrals were made by gps in april, 60% lower than the year before.

urgent breast cancer referrals had an even larger drop, down by 78% to 3700. and the number of people waiting no more than two months from gp referral to first cancer treatment was down to under 11,000, 20% lower. well, i have a scan every three months, and... and it has notjust impacted new patients. 54—year—old joanne from stockport has been taking medication for three years to stabilise her incurable cancer, but it was paused in april to minimise her risk of catching covid. i've got a family, i got a new husband, and i didn't want to be in a situation where my life is shortened any more than it should be. i need to get on top of the pain that i've got, which i believe that if i go back on the treatment, that pain will diminish and i willjust

get my quality of life back. remote chemo, a precise high—dose form of radiotherapy, and surgical hubs are among the ways the nhs is restarting services. consultations are done by telephone or video call. patients have their blood taken in a separate building, and then receive chemotherapy in these mobile units here, everything taking place away from the main hospital. coronavirus is going to be with us for months if not years to come, and so the nhs is going to need to retain the ability to surge capacity, to look after local flare—ups, and throughout this, staff have pulled out all the stops, but they've also innovated in the way in which care is being provided. but there's a warning that cancer must not become the forgotten c of the pandemic. i think to anybody watching this i'd say, if you've got any lumps or bumps, any pains that can't be explained and haven't gone away, or anything at all that's worrying you, get in touch with your gp today. the rest of the uk will publish waiting times in the coming weeks. it is likely to be a long road to recovery for cancer care.

lauren moss, bbc news. lets speak now to the oncologist and president of the royal college of radiologists, drjeanette dickson. good afternoon. hello. how concerned are you by these figures? i'm very concerned that people are not accessing health care via their gp when they have symptoms that are worrying because that means that they are potentially delaying not just the diagnosis of cancer but other serious, life—threatening illnesses. and it is still happening because what people feel, there is an assumption, i guess understandably, that the nhs is so focused on coronavirus that it could not possibly deal with other conditions? i think there is a mixture of things and these figures are from april which was the height of the pandemic when we were in full

look down and people were most worried about catching the virus. i think times have moved on, we are beginning to ease lockdown, we are beginning to ease lockdown, we are beginning to ease lockdown, we are beginning to move a bit more freely, we know that deaths and patients catching coronavirus are reducing. we also know that the hospitals are trying to make pay laces as safe as they can be. nothing can become blea kly they can be. nothing can become bleakly 100% safe they can be. nothing can become bleakly100% safe but hospitals have changed the way they work, they changed the way they work, they change the way they put people in waiting rooms, they changed the flow toa waiting rooms, they changed the flow to a department so that people are as safe as they can be when they come to access ca re as safe as they can be when they come to access care and there is no crowding and that should hopefully encourage people to go to their doctor and to access services and to come through the system. so that is very much the message in terms of someone very much the message in terms of someone who was perhaps worried about symptoms right now and for whatever reason has not made the call. we have also got the really

heartbreaking stories and we had just one day of people who are in the midst of treatment and for whatever reason it has been paused. imean, whatever reason it has been paused. i mean, that psychologically must be extraordinarily difficult to deal with. i think it is really difficult for patients who have often been told that they have an incurable illness and have been started on a treatment that has kept them well, i think then coming in saying welcome actually the risk of something else that has just happened is so high that has just happened is so high that we want to stop your treatment, posit for a while, i think is a really difficult thing for patients and asa really difficult thing for patients and as a clinician who has been having that conversation with patient it is difficult for clinicians as well. we have got people who we know are helping with the treatment and we are trying to say, well, what are the risks of you having the treatment, what are the risks of you having the treatment if you get coronavirus and i think it isa you get coronavirus and i think it is a very difficult balancing act for everybody but especially for the patients. i use starting to see a slight shift in that now? those

patients, those conversations that you have had, are they at the point where you can start to think about bringing them back onto the path of treatment? some patients we never stop during treatment because they we re stop during treatment because they were keen to continue and they felt the risk to them. it was too high, and some patients are still not keen to restart treatment. a growing number of patients are beginning to wa nt to number of patients are beginning to want to have their treatment to be started and we, fortunately, because staff sickness levels have reduced we are able to offer those treatments as we would normally do. are you at all anxious that some people, sadly, will die before their time because of some of these delays? i think i'm not anxious, i think it is almost inevitable given what has happened with the population, with people delaying presenting with their symptoms, with us presenting with their symptoms, with us being unable to put them through

the pathways as rapidly as we want, and for us, maybe, not to be offering the treatments we know help people. that will impact some people and take them away before their time, but not everybody. and someone who, perhaps, has found something, felt something but they have not contacted their gp for whatever reason, if they are watching you right now, what would you say to them? i would say go to your gp. contact your gp, access health care, find out what it is. we know from the two week wait that very few people get the and an urgent suspected cancer pathway actually have cancer, so probably you don't have cancer, so probably you don't have cancer, so probably you don't have cancer, but make sure you don't, because actually the sooner we catch it, the better we can treat it. thank you very much for your time this afternoon. the president of the royal college of radiologists there. in a further easing

of the lockdown rules in england, people living alone will, from saturday, be able to form what the prime minister has called a ‘support bubble' with one other household. borisjohnson says the measure is aimed at those who've been particularly lonely during lockdown. jon donnison examines now what the change in guidance means in practice. for many, life under lockdown has been a lonely one. people finding company where they can. as the government continues to ease restrictions, the talk now is of support bubbles. from this weekend, we will allow single adult households, so adults living alone, or single parents with children under 18, to form a support bubble, a support bubble with one other household. so how will it work? from saturday in england, people living alone or single parents will be able to form a support bubble with one other household and behave as if they lived together. the especially vulnerable or shielded won't be included. there is no need to register.

the government says it will trust people to act responsibly. it's aimed at lone grandparents, couples living apart and single parents. but it's going to leave people facing some difficult decisions. i've got three options. my biggest, my toughest problem is my mother, who is 92, an amazing lady, who lives in sussex, which is a long, long way from me. so if i choose to have my bubble with her, the logistics of getting up to see her and back down to dorset really don't make sense. so then i've got my son and my daughter, who both live locally and both have children, so that's a hard choice as well. and for people like chris beck, whose son barnaby has downs syndrome and is in a residential care home, support bubbles won't be allowed, so he's having to find other ways. 12 weeks without seeing him, and we went for a walk in the park yesterday, at distance, so he has done his bit. and we had a laugh and

he was talking about, we are going to meet for father's day, we are going to have a distant picnic somewhere between here and brighton. and as long as you meet outside, the lockdown rules say you can gather in groups of up to six people, if you stay two metres apart. jon donnison, bbc news. in the united states, there are increasing calls to remove confederate statues and monuments, because of their connections to slavery. it's part of the anti—racism movement triggered by the police killing of george floyd in minnesota — but president trump is insisting that army bases named after officers who fought for the confederacy during the civil war won't be changed because they're part of america's heritage. our correspondent david willis sent this report. they are potent symbols of a racist past, erected in honour of those who sought to keep african—america ns enslaved.

now the statues of confederate generals are being cut down and carried away, as a nation incensed by the death of george floyd seeks to turn its back on the past. the monument to the former president of the confederacy, jefferson davis, was taken away by police after being toppled in richmond, virginia. but the memory of slavery and segregation lives on through army bases which bear the name of confederate officers, such as braxton bragg. there are ten of them in total and calls are now growing for those bases to be renamed. retired us army general david petraeus, who served at fort bragg, is among those in favour of renaming the bases. in an essay published in the atlantic magazine, he wrote...

authorisation for a name change would have to come from the military, and senior officials have indicated they might favour such a move. but all ten bases are in southern and former confederate states, many of which supported donald trump in 2016, and the president is radically opposed to the idea. "the united states of america trained and deployed our heroes "on these hallowed grounds and won two world wars," he tweeted. "therefore my administration will not even consider the renaming "of these magnificent and fabled military installations." but symbols of the confederacy are under growing threat. the confederate battle flag, otherwise known as the stars and bars, has now been banned

by nascar, the organisation that runs stock car racing in this country, and the leader of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, is calling for statues representing confederate leaders to be removed from the capitol building in washington, dc. the landscape is changing here in the wake of george floyd in all manner of ways, as america grapples with a grim legacy of its past. david willis, bbc news. a statue of the man who founded the scouts movement is to be removed from poole quay in dorset because of fears it could be targetted by demonstrators. the local council says the 12—year—old statue of robert baden—powell is being removed on police advice. baden—powell has been criticised by campaigners who have accused him of racism, homophobia and support for adolf hitler. duncan kennedy reports not going to happen. one man's view of the keep it or leave it argument over the statue

of robert baden powell. he is the latest figure of prominence to be slid under the microscope of historical reinspection. nobody is perfect, but this man has done more good for the world than virtually anybody else i can think of. in fact, it was hard to find local people against baden powell's statue being present opposite the island where he founded the scouts in 1907. they are going to think we are absolutely mad. that is part of scouting. that is a history we should be keeping, and it should be here for always. some people do find him offensive with his past. no! everybody has got a skeleton in the cupboard, haven't they? shouldn't we react to that, shouldn't we be sensitive to that? look, what about paintings and books and that? do we rip them up? what about nelson's column? do we rip that down? i think we should keep them there.

the scout movement is the greatest influence on... robert baden powell was a 19th century army man he specialised in map—making before moving to create the scouts, but campaigners have accused him of racism, homophobia, and support for adolf hitler. i think that it is very easy to just remember the positive from somebody's life, but those are not values that we should be commemorating with a statue or anything else in our town. if we are seeking to have an inclusive society and to be welcoming to visitors, i think we can do much better. the council say they would prefer to keep baden powell's statue that we should be commemorating with a statue or anything else in our town. if we are seeking to have an inclusive society and to be welcoming to visitors, i think we can do much better. the council say they would prefer to keep baden powell's statue because of his local connections and accomplishments, but say, given the sensitivity of the moment,

they will move it temporarily. more than 3500 people have now signed a local petition calling for baden powell to remain where he is. but in what has become the week of statues, it is a kind of monument that has divided opinion, between those who say things like this still have relevant historical meaning, and those who say it is an insensitive reminder of a shameful past. in bristol this morning, the statue of the slave trader edward colston was hauled by the council from the harbour waters, four days after being dumped there by antiracist protesters. the council says they're now considering how to preserve it. back in poole, the future of robert baden powell's figure is also under discussion. inspirational leader for young people, or tainted pheasants inspirational leader for young people, or tainted presence from a past that can bear no redemption? duncan kennedy, bbc news, in poole. even despite the increased and very gusty wind today it is quite warm

and the humidity will increase, notably so i think over the coming few nights. with that though we do have moisture, we have rain and that will just keep have moisture, we have rain and that willjust keep piling into northern and eastern parts of england, to the south that some heavy bundle exa m ples south that some heavy bundle examples and then that wet weather sitting on the channel. the driest weather will continue in the north both through the rest of the day and they the night. the romance to ease but that main then spills its way... look at the temperatures overnight, it really is going to be quite mild across england and wales, and we will pick up some mist and murk because parts of scotland, that band of maine meanders north and so does that wet weather sitting in the channel islands turning heavy and thundery, but still warm on friday. more on the weekend online. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: england's test and trace system for coronavirus

identifies 31,000 contacts, but one in three who tested positive couldn't be reached. major disruption to cancer care in england during the pandemic — urgent referrals by gps in april fell 60%, on the same period the year before. it's just the thought that because of coronavirus, my life might be shortened through, not through the cancer, but as a impact of the coronavirus. pressure on the government to relax the 2 metre distancing rule — some conservative mps say it's causing too much damage to the economy. calls increase in the us to take down confederate statues — because of their connnections to slavery. residents in poole vow to protect a statue of scouts founder, robert baden—powell, who was accused being a hitler supporter, amid plans to take it down.

the police have advised the local council to take it down because it could be a target for protesters. jk rowling reveals she has experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault, in an essay explaining her views about gender. and, one zooms with the times — the queen uses the video conferencing app to thank carers for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's olly foster. good afternoon. the tottenham midfielder dele alli will miss their first game back against manchester united next friday. he's been given a one match ban by the fa. he was charged with misconduct in february after posting a video on social media about coronavirus in which he made fun of an asian man. he's also been fined £50,000 and must undertake a face—to—face education course.

he's apologised for what he described as a poorlyjudged joke. the premier league clubs met today and voted unanimously in favour of the return to play protocols for next week, signing off on the matchday operations behind closed doors. the three month lockdown has cost the division £1 billion in revenue. the finance firm deloitte, who have come up with the figure, say that £500 million of that is in rebates to broadcasters and a loss of matchday revenue which will be permanently lost. the rest will be deferred to next season if the remaining 92 matches are completed. the 20 clubs made a combined £5 billion last season. jill scott has signed a new two year deal at manchester city that will also see her take up a coaching role at the club. the 33—year—old — who's been capped 149 times for england — has scored 24 goals for city since joining in january 2014.

she says she'll still be focussing on playing, but will work alongside new head coach gareth taylor. spain's top division, la liga returns tonight as third place sevilla take on city rivals real betis. leaders barcelona and real madrid get going at the weekend. the former arsenal midfielder francis coquelin — whose valencia team took the knee during training to support anti racism protests — says players and clubs will show their support to those making a stand against inequality it doesn't matter what colour you are. i'm sure everyone has been affected by what's been happening. and as a coloured person i'm obviously hurt, you know? and some people will have stuff under their shirt to obviously show support and show that you have

to stand against that. professional golf has returned returned in the usa. they also showed their support for the black lives matter protests taking place around the world. 846 being eight minutes 46 seconds, the time the police officer knelt on george floyd's neck that led to his death. rory mcilroy is in the field there and he says diversity in the game can improve. he was my hero growing up and it didn't matter what colour his skin was, what his beliefs were, tiger was my hero and he's been a lot of kids' heroes over the years that

have grown up playing golf. we have been very lucky to have him in our game. an agreement in principle is in place for the heavyweight bout that everyone wants to see. a two—fight deal between anthony joshua v tyson fury next year — but it won't take place if either of them lose their respective title defences. joshua will put his three titles on the line against bulgarian kubrat pulev while wbc champion fury faces a third bout against deontay wilder. win those and the unification fight will be on.