this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the uk economy shrank by more than a fifth in april — the first full month of lockdown and the biggest fall since monthly records began. the government says the fall was in line with many other economies. all sectors were affected,

making the economy around a quarter smaller than it was in february. what we now need to do is get the economy starting up again, start reopening businesses, which we will see from next week. but doing that in a way that doesn't risk a damaging second wave. global stock markets fall after an increase in coronavirus cases in the us fuels fears about the economic impact. the government's expected to drop its plans for full border controls immediately after brexit — with far less rigorous checks on goods coming into the uk from the eu than planned. president trump renews his threat to intervene in seattle, after anti—racist protesters occupy the city centre. a group of a50 bereaved families are calling for an urgent inquiry into the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis. and, as high street stores and shopping centres re—open in northern ireland this morning

and are due to open in england on monday, we'll be answering your questions on hitting the shops with two retail analysts at 9:30am in your questions answered. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. official figures have revealed the scale of the economic shock caused by the coronavirus lockdown. in april, the first full month of the restrictions the uk economy shrank by 20.4% — the largest monthly contraction since records began in 1997. the fall is three times greater than the decline seen during the whole of the 2008 to 2009 economic downturn. reacting to the figures,

the chanchellor rishi sunak said the drop was in line with many other economies suffering the impact of coronavirus. he said, "the lifelines we've provided with our furlough scheme, grants, loans and tax cuts have protected thousands of businesses and millions ofjobs — giving us the best chance of recovering quickly as the economy reopens." global stock markets have fallen overnight after an increase in coronavirus cases in the united states fuelled fears about the economic impact of a potential second wave of infections. shares in asia were sharply down. and the government here is expected to apply far less rigorous checks on goods coming into the uk from the european union when the brexit transition period finishes at the end of this year. the financial times reports ministers have dropped plans to introduce full border controls — because of pressure from businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

ben thompson our business correspondent is here. good morning to you. let's talk about the economy shrinking by 20.4%. clearly people knew it would be bad but is this bigger than a lot of the predictions? yes, an astonishing fall, more than 20% down in terms of economic activity and the growth in our economy. the biggest of all the uk has ever seen. on the one hand it's not hugely surprising. this is what happens when an economy shuts down overnight, construction sites, factories, businesses, offices and shops simply couldn't operate. to give you a sense of what we are looking at, that tells us the 20% fall and it puts it into context. you might notice other red blobs around 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. then from peak to trough, from pre—level to the worst of the crisis, the economy shrank

7%. we have seen today that the economy injust 7%. we have seen today that the economy in just the month of april shrank 20.4%. that is a backward —looking indicator and clearly it tells us what has already happened. i think attention will now clearly turn to what happens next. how long will the recovery take, what will it mean forjobs will the recovery take, what will it mean for jobs and will the recovery take, what will it mean forjobs and our income? clearly when we getjobs figures on tuesday that will give us a sense of what employers are thinking about the future and i think that will be the future and i think that will be the real issue. we have talked a lot about whether the recovery when it comes will be v shaped, a quick return or whether it is u shaped where the return is more gradual. what do the figures tell us about how the economy might look? because it is significant and greater than we expected with most economists

expecting a 15% fall, so this is much deeper, but it clearly comes down to how we feel about ourjobs and income. are we prepared to put oui’ and income. are we prepared to put our hands in our pockets and spend again. maybe if you are worried about yourjob or again. maybe if you are worried about your job or where again. maybe if you are worried about yourjob or where your next paycheque will come from you will exercise more restraint so that will have an effect. many businesses can't simply just reopen. have an effect. many businesses can't simplyjust reopen. i have spoke to many businesses in the last few weeks who have been given permission to reopen but because they have to put social distancing measures in place, extra health and safety protocols and they might have to reduce production, they are operating but not at full capacity so operating but not at full capacity so they are not creating the wealth they were before so that could be one of the biggest issues, not least for the hospitality sector as well, and for the hospitality sector as well, a nd restau ra nts for the hospitality sector as well, and restaurants and bars might not be able to reopen fully if the two meet a social distance rule stays in place. we will talk about about that as we speak of shops reopening. does this mean we are heading for recession? potentially, yes. the chancellor has said it is very

likely. technically we could be in it already. we get the official figures at the end of this month because the technical definition is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. we have had one and will get the latest figures at the end of this month for the last three months could so that will tell us whether we are in a recession and it's safe to say we are in one already. let's get more from our political correspondent nick eardley. rishi sunak, the chancellor, saying this morning that the drop was in line with many other economies suffering the impact of coronavirus. some assessments have said the uk will actually suffer much worse conditions economically than other countries. tell us more broadly about the political reaction so far today. it's another example of the big challenges the government is going to face in trying to get the economy moving in the next few months. and the balance i suppose that ministers think they have to

strike between ensuring that the number of cases of the virus remains low and getting the economy open again ina low and getting the economy open again in a safe way. we have heard this morning from the health minister edward agar. this is what he had to say about how the government would approach the next few weeks. the chancellor said that we would do whatever while the lockdown was in place to support businesses. i think a million or so people have ta ken advantage of the furlough scheme. 47,000, ithink, the business interruption loan scheme, and 2.5 million roughly for the self—employed income support scheme. so those measures are in place to support people at the moment and to continue to support them into the summer. but it's right that what we now need to do is get the economy started up again, start reopening businesses, which we will see from next week.

but doing that in a way that doesn't risk a damaging second wave, which would be economically devastating if we experienced a significant second wave. so we are doing it in a measured way, protecting public health, and at the same time, step—by—step opening up different sectors of the economy to start getting the economy moving again. i think there are bound to be questions about whether that is happening quickly enough. we know some tory mps are desperate for the government to reduce the two metre rule in line with world health organization guidance, which would bring it down to one metre. i'm sure they will point to the devastating impact the lockdown has had on the hospitality industry to say that if you want to get these industries moving quickly again, you need to give them as much space as possible, literally as well as politically, to do that. on the other side of the equation, there are those who say the government needs to be prepared to put more money in, to extend things like the furlough scheme to help those sectors that are maybe

going to struggle to get up and running over the next few weeks. this is the shadow chancellor of labour, anneliese dodds. we have to get that test, track and isolate system working properly. if we don't have it functioning as well as in other nations then we risk seeing additional lockdowns and much slower reopening than would otherwise occur. and of course we risk seeing far lower consumer confidence and that is critically important now we push demand up. so really the government needs to get a grip on that system. it's holding us back economically as well as in health terms. secondly, with those economic packages, we have seen different parts of our economy suffering so much more than others. obviously hospitality, tourism, personal services. we have seen the removal of those economic packages occurring at the same time for every sector. i have called on the chancellor to look at that again. if we have a one size fits all approach to these different sectors, bundling all the economy in together, then we are likely

to see unemployment be even worse than it already is and that will have a long term scarring impact on our economy that we have got to avoid. lets talk about brexit, it seems like it's a while since we focused on that but it links to today's economic news. the government says it is not a u—turn but it has dropped plans to introduce full border controls on goods coming into the uk from the eu at the end of the year. how much is this to do with pressure from business who are clearly incredibly worried about the impactand clearly incredibly worried about the impact and ongoing impact of coronavirus? i think it is definitely linked to the economic impact on the figures we are seeing today. there are businesses who are concerned that just as today. there are businesses who are concerned thatjust as they might be starting to recover, they could face a whole new set of rules when the uk transition period ends and we have to change the rules that we followed for so many years as members of the european union. so what the

government will announce today is that there will be fairly light checks on products coming into the uk from the european union from january one. that's whether there is a fully comprehensive trade deal or not, that's the approach the uk intends to take. but i have to say, it might be of limited benefit to some businesses because we still expect that the european union will wa nt to expect that the european union will want to introduce full checks for products coming from the uk to the eu. so potentially still some barriers there for british companies, and on top of that there is the uncertainty still on whether we will get that full trade deal, thatis we will get that full trade deal, that is still being discussed behind—the—scenes. we know boris johnson will meet his eu cou nterpa rts johnson will meet his eu counterparts at the start of next week to try to get some life back into this process, but still big stumbling blocks and still businesses are concerned that on top of the huge economic hit they have taken from coronavirus, there may be

more changes to come at the end of the year when the transition period ends. nick eardley, thank you from westminster this morning. as coronavirus restrictions start to ease, northern ireland has become the first of the uk nations to re—open high street stores and shopping centres. in england non—essential shops will be allowed to re—open on monday. no date has been set for scotland or wales. our correspondent chris page is in belfast. i wonder how many of the shops in the street behind you are actually open. quite a few of them are. plenty of the shops that are opening today are staggering their opening hours to try to manage the flow of customers through their doors. it's a major moment for the economy here in northern ireland. one in sixjobs here are in the retail sector so we will have shops opening throughout the course of the morning, including

shopping centres. up until yesterday it was just shops with a door onto the street that were going to be allowed to open. yesterday the stormont executive announced all retailers in northern ireland can get back to business today with shopping centres opening as well. in south belfast we are outside an independent book store that has just reopened. they are restricting the numbers that can come in to three customers at a time. they already have a full complement of customers in there already. like so many small shops they have redesigned their premises. they have made it easier for people to stay two metres apart and have put perspex up on the counter. they have a hand sanitising station on the way in. it's very much a new way of doing things for retailers. they have had to put a lot of work in in the last few days. but now ahead of the rest of the uk, north and irish retailers are returning to trading here. they are not expecting a bumper day, they expect it will be some time before

people feel the confidence to come out and shop again, but none they are looking forward to getting customers back onto their shop floors. that book shop was one of my favourite haunts when i lived in belfast. picking up on what you said about customer confidence, how strong is confidence among people about coming out. everybody has got so used to lockdown and restrictions and being very cautious about what they are doing and how they behave. do you think enough people will feel the need and impetus to get out there and hit the shops again?“ you talk to people in the retail trade, they have said it's very hard to say what today will bring. they are certainly prepared to have a good number through their doors. but they have said they are not 100% sure how many they can expect. big retail here opens on monday, for example there is an ikea store on

the outskirts of belfast and there we re the outskirts of belfast and there were huge queues outside when they opened on monday. people want to enjoy the experience of going shopping again it seems. the experience in northern ireland it seems, over the last few weeks there has been a steady decrease over the cases of coronavirus and in the last week the average number of daily confirmed cases has been eight. the stormont executive, business leaders and health authorities believe this pa rt and health authorities believe this part of the uk is in relative terms much better in terms of keeping the virus under control and in another measure of that, in the statistics that have been released this week by the stormont department of health, just one death linked to covid—i9 has been recorded. it seems things are generally moving in the right direction. that said, their message from those groups i have mentioned, business leaders and politicians and medics, is that the virus is still

in circulation in the community so if you do come out then do make that extra effort to keep yourself safe and in particular stick to the social distancing regulations. that is something shop owners are very much bearing in mind and vocally telling their customers today it seems whenever they arrive. chris pagein seems whenever they arrive. chris page in belfast, thank you. many retailers across the uk will be hoping for a boost when shops are allowed to reopen onjune 15th as part of the government's three—stage plan to ease lockdown measures. so how will "going shopping" be different and what are the covid—i9 guidelines in high street stores? we'll be putting your concersn to two retail analysts at 9:30am. you can send your questions by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or you can use the hashtag bbcyourquestions — and we will answer your questions at 9:30am.

london fashion week will be a virtual affair this year. the three day event, beginning today, is being held digitally with no live catwalk shows or collections for buyers to see. instead it will be the first digital fashion week with online galleries and discussions. in an hour's time we'll be hearing from ceo of the british fashion council, caroline rush. the headlines on bbc news... the uk economy shrank by more than a fifth in april — the first full month of lockdown and the biggest fall since monthly records began. the government says the fall was in line with many other economies. all sectors were affected making the economy around a quarter smaller than it was in february. global stock markets fall after an increase in coronavirus cases in the us fuels fears about the economic impact.

barriers have been put up around a number of monuments in london — including the cenotaph and a statue of winston churchill — to try and protect them ahead of further planned anti—racism protests this weekend. meanwhile, 24—hour security has been placed on a statue of scouts founder robert baden—powell in dorset until it can be safely taken down. nick beake reports. a show of strength for the first chief scout. in poole, admirers of robert baden—powell stop the temporary removal of his statue from the quayside. when anti—racism campaigners put it on a target list, the council had wanted to take it away, fearing it would be attacked. i think whatever baden—powell's beliefs were in the past, he has also done a lot of good

and we cannot obliterate history. it is really important we learn from mistakes of the past. by pulling down history, by destroying our history, no—one can learn from that. that is a sentiment shared by one government minister. you cannot escape history and i think it would be fundamentally dishonest of us to, through removing statues and airbrushing out history, to then pretend that all was well. you know, totalitarian regimes do that. the statue of slave trader edward colston is expected to end up in a museum, after it was retrieved from bristol docks, where it had been dumped by protesters at the weekend. but in a city where his name has loomed large for so long, times are changing, and campaigners say more controversial symbols also need to disappear from public view across the uk. i'm totally for a lot of the other statues in this country being removed and perhaps re—contextualised in museums or somewhere where we actually understand what role they played in society, in a wider sense. the city of edinburgh is now proposing to dedicate

the henry dundas monument to those enslaved because of his actions. a new sign would explain that the 18th—century politician helped delay the abolition of slavery by 15 years. at westminster, where churchill's statue was defaced in recent protests, new barriers have been brought in, as debate rages over britain's past, present and future. nick beake, bbc news. british airways, easyjet and ryanair have begun legal action against the government's new quarantine measures. in a statement the airlines said they have asked for a judicial review to be heard as soon as possible into the ‘flawed scheme' which requires international arrivals into the uk to self—isolate for 14 days. a50 families who lost a relative to coronavirus are demanding an immediate public inquiry into how the government managed parts of the pandemic. ministers insist the priority right

now is responding to the crisis. michael buchanan has been to meet the family of tony brown, who died in march. tony brown became ill in mid—march. the 65—year—old father of two took advice from the nhs iii service who told him to treat his high—pressure service who told him to treat his high temperature with paracetamol. his condition fluctuated but one morning he woke up with chest pains. within minutes of him getting to hospital, he had a cardiac arrest and died shortly afterwards. he tested positive for coronavirus after his death. when you have gotten ill, when is the appropriate time to go to hospital? it wasn't clear. no—one knew that. we were trying to wait it out, everyone was trying to wait it out, he was trying to wait it out. and if you wait too long, it turns out it kills you really quickly. the covid—i9 bereaved families forjustice group say an immediate public enquiry will prevent more deaths. decisions on everything from easing the lockdown to a possible second spike will be improved, say the group, if they are exposed

to external scrutiny, given they are likely to be subject to scientific disagreement and unreliable data. one of the real problems is that the government has lost the trust of the public and what that means is people are not really following the lockdown rules even if they understand them and what that means is more transmission and more deaths that can be avoided. the families highlight the taylor review, following the hillsborough disaster, as an example of what can be done. it prompted immediate improvements into safety at football grounds, while broader questions were answered later. a similar approach to the pandemic, they argue would prevent immediate mistakes. michael buchanan, bbc news. with me is lawyer elkan abrahamson and jo goodman, one of the two co—founders of the covid—i9 bereaved families forjustice uk group. jo lost her father stuart

to covid in april. our condolences on the loss of your father. tell us more about his story, what happened to him? my dad was 72. he had health issues. he was undergoing diagnosis for cancer. so he was vulnerable and we knew that, and he started to self—isolate. but u nfortu nately and he started to self—isolate. but unfortunately he was invited to a hospital appointment on the 18th of march, in the week before lockdown. there was no ppe provided, no social distancing, and the appointment did not need to be in person. we are reasonably sure that's where he contracted covid. given his health issues, he went downhill very quickly and passed away on the 2nd of april. he was someone who was never given the opportunity to fight the cancer he had. he never had the chance to see if he would get better. it just swooped chance to see if he would get better. itjust swooped in and took

him when none of us were ready. do you think if the lockdown had been introduced sooner, your dad would still be with you? yes, absolutely. he was only at the beginning of his cancer treatment. we have heard in recent days that around half lives could have been saved if we locked down a week earlier and that would absolutely put him in that category. ido absolutely put him in that category. i do feel there has to be some learning from what happened there. what has led to them to set up this campaign group as one of the co—founders? —— mike watt has led to you then? more than 41,000 families have been affected by the death of a loved one so far. what led you to ta ke loved one so far. what led you to take the step to be one of those people who wanted to campaign on this issue? i felt really strongly that my dad's death had been preve nta ble that my dad's death had been preventable and if the uk had taken some of the actions we had seen in

other countries, locking down much quicker and more decisively, ifelt things could be different and i felt strongly there needed to be a voice for bereaved families. obviously we can't bring our loved ones back, which is all we would want to do, but what we can do is raise our voices to try to speak out for vulnerable people who are at risk in the future and try to make sure that what can be learned from the loss of our loved ones can be used to prevent other people having to go through what we are going through. you have worked with bereaved families before, including families who have lost loved ones at hillsborough. you know the grief that people are going through when a loved one is taken away from them in the most horrendous circumstances. what needs to happen for this immediate public enquiry to take place? this is the focus of the campaign group, that it must be immediate. good morning. what we are

asking the government to do is set up asking the government to do is set up an immediate enquiry. we recognise that there are a lot of issues that have happened so far that need to be explored, but that has to wait. but the point of an immediate enquiry is so it can be used to examine government decisions that are being taken now and will be taken in the future, and i'm thinking in particular of a second spike, but there are other issues as well. and it can either say government is doing the right thing and explain that to the satisfaction of the public, which will bring the public back on board with what the government is doing. 0r say to the government, we have a couple of issues where you need to think again. have you considered these points and have another look. what do you think when the government responds and says we need to focus on dealing with the pandemic now rather than launching an enquiry question below what i say is, let's sit down and talk about how we can bring this forward. i agree they

need to focus on the pandemic, but if by devoting a bit of time to an enquiry they can improve what they are doing and equally importantly bring the public back on board because they have lost public confidence, that will ultimately save lives. because you are all concerned about a potential second spike and learning lessons from what has happened so far to prevent more deaths. i was looking out for the institute for government says about a public enquiry and it says the only justification a public enquiry and it says the onlyjustification required is the existence of a public concern that the government considers preventing recurrence to be the primary purpose ofa recurrence to be the primary purpose of a public enquiry. based on that primary definition, what you are asking for absolutely fits that.“ does absolutely. the only issue is the use of resources. i think there are sufficient resources and they can be utilised to have a small enquiry at this stage with a larger

enquiry at this stage with a larger enquiry waiting for later to look at immediate issues of concern. we are talking life and death situations here. we believe we can save lives if proper exploration of what the government is doing takes place. how many people are now in your campaign group? we are above 500 people now andi group? we are above 500 people now and i think we might be at around 550 and it is growing quite quickly today as the news comes out. so it will be growing over time. so you will be growing over time. so you will put more pressure on the government everywhere you can presumably through social media and interviews like this, to actually get to your desired point and get this public enquiry? yes, we hope so, but we would also like to get around the table with the government and have a dialogue because it feels like there has been no dialogue to date with bereaved families and there are tens of thousands of us across the uk. we will be pressurising but we also want to have the door is open to have a

conversation. thank you for sharing your story with us. talking about a call for a public enquiry into the government's handling so far of the coronavirus pandemic. some breaking news coming into us. uber will make face coverings mandatory for customers and passengers across the uk from monday. the minicab app's firm's regional general manager has said that for months they have been urging people to stay home for the safety of passengers and drivers. now as things start to reopen we are taking measures to help everyone stay safe and healthy every time they use uber. they have introduced measures to make sure every driver can measures to make sure every driver ca n a ccess measures to make sure every driver can access the ppe they need for free to help keep them safe when driving. uber announcing it will make face coverings mandatory for drivers and passengers across the uk from monday.

the study by ffrr will find that navigating complex issues surrounding death and bereavement had been heightened during the pandemic. i'm joined by had been heightened during the pandemic. i'mjoined by the had been heightened during the pandemic. i'm joined by the former professional rugby player gareth thomas, who lost a family member at the beginning of the pandemic. and although they didn't die as a direct result of covid, he is supporting the study, calling for the processes to be made simpler. garethjoins me now. thank you very much for talking to us. i believe it was your uncle who passed away. yeah. i'm so sorry for the loss of your uncle, gareth. or you for the loss of your uncle, gareth. oryou are able for the loss of your uncle, gareth. or you are able to attend his funeral? no, because it was at the very start of the pandemic. as things changed, nobody was allowed

to go to hospital and at the funeral there were only four people. as you said, the research shows us that eve ryo ne said, the research shows us that everyone who suffered a loss is being impacted. after that, trying to arrange a funeral, trying to arrange things as simple as flowers, people being furloughed and not being able to get food to anybody, makes a grieving process a lot more difficult when you are unable as a family to celebrate the life of a family to celebrate the life of a family member. it's such a difficult process to go through anyway. but everything was just tightened and made worse by the fact that a pandemic put restrictions on a process that you feel you have to go through when sadly you lose somebody. absolutely. when someone dies there are these rituals that we go through that help us to say goodbye. and much more difficult has

that made things for you and your family, not being able to mourn your uncle properly? well, i think celebrate his life really is how we would put it. here in wales restrictions are different to england. we are still restricted here. so we still really haven't been able as a family to kind of get together yet again. things are difficult as they are. it just heightens and it just difficult as they are. it just heightens and itjust adds to everything. it's a process any way to go through. it's a kind of an archaic process. i think what we have learned is as if anything can change it is the process of making death, making people able to deal with death a lot easier, because even without the pandemic it's a difficult process. you add the pandemic to it and it becomes an impossibility. and tell us more

about why you are speaking about this. you have this in common with so many people who have lost family members in this pandemic, not being able to perhaps visit them in hospital, see them before they passed away, go to funerals. so why are you speaking out about this at this time? i want to try to make this time? i want to try to make this process easier for people. what it's done now is we are in an environment now where a conversation about death, a conversation about possible death, is brought up, is something people are talking about. having had a family member die, you realise actually the process is very archaic. at the end of this pandemic we are all trying to hope we move into a better society, an easier way of living. and i think what the charity is trying to do is to enable people to deal with grief, or

prepare for grief. at 4051 never thought about death. but now i realise that actually i need to prepare for my death. —— at 4051 never thought about that. when we come out of this, hopefully, so many things have changed for the better. and help and support will be out there. gareth, thank you so much for talking to us today. gareth thomas. he was mike bushell with the sports news. thank you. in the last half hour, it's been confirmed that three more formula one races have been cancelled. the grands prix in azerbaijan, singapore and japan have all now been scratched from the new season because of the coronavirus pandemic. it means that the first ten of the original 22 races on the calendar have been cancelled. after three months away, professional golf is back. rory mcilroy and justin rose were amongst the field, at the pga tour event in texas.

and alongside all the measures to keep everyone safe from coronavirus, the players also showed their support for the black lives matter movement. alex gulrajani reports. testing, temperature checks and masks — a new process for the world's best golfers to get back into competitive action. no crowds too. and some special guest tee announcers. back on the tee, from northern ireland, the number one player in the world, rory mcilroy. for this event, there will also be a moment of reflection each morning. the 8:46 tee—time now a time to pause and support the black lives matter movement. with the top five players in the world present in texas, the gesture will be seen. world number one, rory mcilroy opening his round with a birdie on the third. justin rose, the 2013 us open champion, showed three months off hasn't affected him,

as he sets the early pace. a good sign with three majors and possibly the ryder cup to come later this year. alex gulrajani, bbc news. there's a call for greater representation of black people on the boards of major sports in the uk. it comes from wheelchair racer anne wafula strike. she's on the board of uk athletics, and is the only black board member across britain's 12 biggest sports. how come i'm the only black person on one of these big, you know, boards? i think itjust really shows that we really need to be doing something, you know, as a sporting community. it is wrong. can you imagine all the black young people who represent this country, when they look around these big boards they cannot see any versions of themselves? this season's fa cup final is going to be renamed the heads up fa cup final. it's to support

the season—long mental health campaign, that's been led by the duke of cambridge, who is president of the fa. the final is currently, due to be played on 1st august, and the duke says it's an opportunity to promote positive mental health for everyone. he also tried to do a bit of transfer business for the team he supports, when talking about the campaign with some of the arsenal squad. i just want to say to pierre, i hope you are at aston villa next year, pierre. laughter i've got to put that in there just in case. mikel and i will have some words later! i can't see it happening, can you? that's all from the bbc sport centre for now. we'll be back on the bbc news channel at 1:30. mike, thank you. latest figures looking at the rate of infection of covid—19 in the community have just been released. the office for national statistics have carried out a study of 20,000 households across england. we can speak now

to the ons deputy national statistician, iain bell. good morning. iam good morning. i am glancing at your twitter account to see the headlines you are putting out what i will let you are putting out what i will let you tell our viewers, what are the key findings? the findings for the fortnight up to the 7th ofjune show that a number of people with covid—19 continued to decline throughout may and earlyjune. the latest estimate is that a 33,000 people in the community in england have covid—19. so that equates to about one in every 1700 of us. that's down, when you look at the period to may, the equivalent was one in every 370. so a downward trend. that's obviously a positive trend. that's obviously a positive trend. how accurate though can it be if perhaps some people don't

actually know whether they have had coronavirus or not, perhaps have had no symptoms? so our test is based on people who have previously taken pa rt people who have previously taken part in awareness research and we got in contact with and asked to ta ke got in contact with and asked to take part in this study. therefore, it's a random set of people across the country. that means we test people whether or not they have symptoms. so if you look over the entire period of the study so far, then what we are finding is around one third of people are showing symptoms around the time when they tested positive for covid—19. however, that means around two thirds of people are showing no symptoms around that time. that's very very interesting. a third versus two thirds not showing any symptoms at all, which, when we consider how to track this virus, how to test for it and tries, very useful and important information. you have also, i believe in looking

at socio— data to see who has been worst affected by covid—19, i believe? yeah, we put out our mortality data right through to the end of may, for the impact of covid—19 right across the country. what we are showing there is overall london had the highest mortality rate, around 137. 6 london had the highest mortality rate, around 137.6 deaths per 100,000 people over the entire period. but when we look over the time periods we see that every region in the country fell between april and bang. and that meant that london felt most and felt sharpest, and that meant the highest rates in may were actually in the north—east and the north west. but when we looked at it by deprivation areas, what we saw is that despite the changing geographic nature, it remained the case the most deprived areas would impacted mouse. so in both england and wales people living

in the most deprived areas were twice as likely to die from covid—19 than in the least deprived areas. 0k, than in the least deprived areas. ok, ian. thank you very much for bringing us that latest data. ian bell from the office of national statistics. now it's time for your questions answered. many of you have been getting in touch with questions about what shopping will look like as restrictions ease. high street shops open today in northern ireland and from monday in england. here to help answer your questions is andrew goodacre, ceo of the british independent retailers association which represents 4000 independent shops of all sizes across the uk. we're also joined by cathy parker, professor of marketing and retail enterprise at manchester metropolitan university. a very good morning to both of you.

thank you forjoining us to answer questions. we begin with this one from deborah. she asks, do small shops receive instructions for covid—19 or safety? our local shop is very small, but wearing face masks we are made to feel awkward. andrew, what are your thoughts on that? well certainly we've done our best, as many associations have come to communicate everything that a small business needs to know. we have encouraged nonmembers to check our website and check the guidance available to them. so yes, i believe small businesses are prepared and ready. in terms of the face coverings at the end of the day face coverings at the end of the day face coverings are not mandatory in shops. each business has to make an assessment about what they feel co mforta ble assessment about what they feel comfortable with, both for employees and consumers. we have seen plenty of exa m ples and consumers. we have seen plenty of examples now through lockdown.

the general public are used to what to expect in shops these days. so i guess we shouldn't feel awkward about wearing those masks, but perhaps you think it should be mandatory? i'm not saying it should be mandatory. i think people shouldn't feel awkward. whether they are shoppers, employees or business owners, people need to do what they feel is best for them. i think there is an ongoing review of face coverings and face masks in terms of their effectiveness. and we know on monday, importantly, people were using public transport to the high street and the towns. face covering will be required. guidance is fluid on this issue. we need to keep people informed as to what the best practice on monday —— unmanned rotary inc requirements are. we have just heard uber making the use of facemasks mandatory for drivers and passengers. let's move on to this

question from amy, for you, cathy. as all the non—retail shops open on monday, i think nonessential is what amy means perhaps, can you tell me when shielded people like myself can actually go into shops for essential food? well, we don't know. robert jenrick, the secretary of state for housing, who looks after this issue, made an announcement on the 315t of may to say it would be reviewed next week. so i think we are still waiting for that, amy, to here in england anyway. so amy, u nfortu nately, england anyway. so amy, unfortunately, no news for you yet. i will ask you this question as well, cathy. it is similar to the first one from deborah. this is from melody. shops are now opening but why are masks not mandatory? staff and visitors should be protected. why is the uk always a step behind? we have heard andrew's thoughts on that. it will be interesting to hear yours. yeah, again, just to make the

point that the rules and the advice are different across england, scotland and wales, soak right strong message —— so quite a strong message in scotland about facemasks. in england as well. the guidance, when it was released in may, suggested that people perhaps should wear face masks in busy shops. it is about risk, managing risk. everyone has got to share this risk together. as your first question from deborah said, if people want to wear masks because they feel safer, they should because they feel safer, they should be doing that. we know there is more ofa be doing that. we know there is more of a risk of transmission with time. it's not all about being near to people in terms of proximity. there is also more risk when you spend more time with people. so shop workers may well feel more protected if they were facemasks. 0k, andrew, a question for you. shops are opening next week but many tube

stations are not open yet. when will they open? i don't know if you are privy to that precise information? it is good timing, actually, because i was talking to transport for london yesterday about plans to help retail businesses reopening next week and beyond, in the london boroughs. the information they sent me was that they expect to have 90% of tube stations operational by the beginning of next week and more to follow on from there. they are obviously making sure and her working hard to make sure the stations are safe to use. the trains are safe to use. it will be fully operational but they will be working ha rd to operational but they will be working hard to get 100% in the not—too—distant hard to get 100% in the not—too—dista nt future. hard to get 100% in the not-too-distant future. yes, because if people want to go shopping they need a means of getting there. gillian asks cathy, i am still washing my grocery shopping before putting in away at home, is this absolutely necessary? this is a question we have returned to many times in recent months. yes, again

it is up to people to understand the risks of doing what they feel is going to minimise them. there is a risk of transmission of the virus from harder surfaces and packaging. it is small compared to being next to somebody who has got the virus, who is coughing and sneezing, but if there is still a risk. people should act accordingly. i am still wiping down my shopping, if that makes gillian feel better! as asks, when beauty salons and hairdressing shops opening and how will they operate, as even a one metre distance row cannot be followed there? yeah. that isa cannot be followed there? yeah. that is a really good question. we expect service retailers along with hospitality to be open from the 4th ofjuly. that date is not confirmed yet. that is the date that is being talked about at the moment. i think

in those businesses there will be a very different approach to the ppe used. and i would expect, and i have not got any definite insight into this, but i would expect the workers to definitely wear face coverings and maybe even faced —— face visors. certainly the consumer would be required to wear face coverings and facemasks. it will be a different experience. it is impossible to cut her or do beauty from a distance, so the risk assessments are being done in those areas and they need to take that into full account. and will involve, obviously, as we track the progress of this virus. —— evolve. rachel wants to know, what happens when you try clothes on? will they be cleaned ? i when you try clothes on? will they be cleaned? i have a feeling that you're not actually allowed to try clothes on in the shop? well, it's

sort of discretionary. selfridge's, for instance, is intending... this is quite a big operation. not all stores are going to have the staff or the business model to sort of accommodate that sort of cleaning up clothes. some might try to do what the book stores are doing. waterstones say if you handle a book we are going to put it in storage for three days and bring it out again. by that time any virus should have died. that's another option. the clothing stores and other stores, where people are touching goods. it will be a very different experience. tanya asks, why should i go shopping when it must be com pletely go shopping when it must be completely safe to shop online? andrew, i am sure many of the shops of the businesses that you

represent, have an online presence. perhaps some don't. but it is a very good question from tanya. why should people return to the high street? funnily enough, a very good question. yeah, it's understandable why people are thinking that. we have seen a shift in consumer behaviour. latest statistics suggest that non—food items, in excess of 43% have been bought online throughout may. so yeah, that is more than double what the trend was before covid—19. there has been a significant shift online. that is likely to maintain. the reality is some things are better bought online. it is a very functional experience. you know what you want, you search, you pay, there is no interaction. shopping is really a broader experience. and i think what will happen going forward is that if a business has not got an online

presence now, it will need one. certainly we are seeing many of our members moving into that area very well over the last few weeks. and there is no doubt that shopping still has a role to play, especially as the hospitality sector opens as well. and a visit to the town becomes much more thanjust well. and a visit to the town becomes much more than just a visit to shops. we have only got a minute left. i will try to squeeze into questions. melody asks, what safety measures are in place when it comes to trying on shoes? i'll pass that we nt to trying on shoes? i'll pass that went to andrew! shoes are hard surfaces generally speaking on the outside, so easy to wipe down. many retailers will provide temporary socks, temporary tight stockings to try on, or even encourage customers to ta ke try on, or even encourage customers to take them home, try them on and ta ke to take them home, try them on and take them back. finally from alison,

will i have to wear gloves to be able to touch books and clothes? cathy, do you want to deal with that one? no. i mean, individuals may feel more protected, but no, that is not going to be an expectation. and if retailers feel that that is in their interest, i presume there will be providing disposable gloves. i think you will see different approaches in different stores. we all have to get back to the high street, be kind to each other and just get through this. yes, be kind to each other, give each other space, observe the social measures. thank you so much, cathy barker and manchester metropolitan university, and andrew goodacre. thanks to viewers for sending in questions. trooping the colour is one

of the biggest events in the royal calendar, but coronavirus means tomorrow's ceremony will be much smaller than usual. the king's troop royal horse artillery would usually be involved in the parade as the group who fire the salutes. the lockdown meant they gave their horses an extended holiday, but they are now starting to retrain in readiness for a return to ceremonial duties. sarah campbell reports. preparing to get back on parade. for the equine stars of trooping the colour, training is under way once again. when the horses come back from grass, it's a bit like they've been sat on the beach for a few months eating lots of pizza — they're generally a lot fatter. trooping the colour is an important fixture in the regiment calendar. it's the epitome of precision, pomp and pageantry in front of huge crowds. the horses love it. they love their work, they love the attention they get as well from it all.

so you'll all miss it this year? yeah! everyone is going to be upset this year. tomorrow there'll be none of this, no royal family photo opportunity on the palace balcony and no 41—gun salute. guns fire for the last few months, most of the king's troop 140 horses have been enjoying the quiet life in the leicestershire countryside. the decision has now been taken to get them back to the barracks. one of the first to return is 10—year—old equinox. and, in common with many of us, he needs a haircut. we take their manes off for safety reasons because when they're in harness, it could all get detached and tangled up. units like the king's troop, royal horse artillery exist to take the lead in big ceremonial and state occasions. all of which have been cancelled

since march due to coronavirus. in normal times, trooping the colour would be one of the high points of the year. we march past her majesty the queen first. out of all the mounted regiments, who is our captain general, so it's a huge honour, the opportunity to present not only our own guns but the guns of the entire royal regiment of artillery not only to her majesty is a great privilege. a great privilege which new recruits like emma will miss out on this year at least. she has spent lockdown on site, looking after the small number of horses who've been stabled here throughout. i'm looking forward to going to the parades and just getting out there in front of the public eye. i think it's really important to show off what we can do, and i want to be a part of that. here at the barracks, they are champing at the bit to get back out on parade with humans and horses ready to resume their official duties as soon as it's deemed safe to do so. sarah campbell, bbc news,

woolwich barracks. a week on from the murder of two sisters in a wembley park, detectives are now confident nicole smallman and beeba henry were killed by someone who was a stranger to them. police have said nicole smallman and beeba henry had been celebrating a birthday with a group of about 10 people on june 5th. they were both reported missing the next day when they did not return home, and the were found dead two days later. just to let you know a little bit about what is coming in the next hour, we will be talking more about the economic figures out this morning. we will also be talking to the ceo of an independent department store in norwich about how shopping will look when the nonessential shops reopen in england on monday. also, some world news from tanzania. and we've got some stories on

statues and the controversy around statues and the controversy around statues currently in the wake of protests. right now it is time for the weather. here is matt taylor. hello there. northern ireland —— northern scotla nd northern ireland —— northern scotland favoured to diverse tanks only. there will be some heavy rain around. today the worst of the rain is in the channel islands. that is spreading to southern england, south wales and the south—west. the rain we have seen today so far will ease. for all a windy day. you will notice thatis for all a windy day. you will notice that is the heaviest downpours push through the southwest and west wales. something brighter this afternoon for west wales and the midlands. cloudy through northern england, particularly east of the pennines and they do south of northern ireland. rain also affecting parts of the borders. most of the north—west of northern ireland and orkney and shetland

drive. low cloud and rain pushes him towards the east of scotland this evening and overnight. rain then spreads its way north. we are going to see some more in the way of thundery downpours developing through this weekend. when the sunshine comes out it will feel humid.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk economy shrank by more than a fifth in april — the first full month of lockdown — and the biggest fall since monthly records began. the government says the fall was in line with many other economies. all sectors were affected making the economy around a quarter smaller than it was in february. what we now need to do is get the economy starting up again, start reopening businesses, which we will see from next week. but doing that in a way that doesn't risk a damaging second wave. markets in europe and asia start to buck the downward trend sparked in the us overfears about the economic impact of coronavirus.