payroll fell by more than 600,000 in two months. the number of people claiming unemployment—related benefits more than doubled to 2.8 million. by the summer there's every chance we'll have 3 million people unemployed and it'll be the top, top priority for government to be setting out how it can restart hiring, can support more employers to keep people on. we'll be analysing the figures. also this lunchtime... testing their defence — footballer marcus rashford calls for a government u—turn over the provision of free meals over the school summer holidays. hope for coronavirus patients on a ventilator — the drug which reduces the risk of death by a third. new zealand no longer free from coronavirus — after two women who flew from london

to see a dying parent are tested positive. and, not so royal ascot — the horses are there, and the jockeys are wearing masks but there's no queen. and coming up on bbc news... the premier league returns tomorrow without fans at grounds — there are fears racial abuse may increase in social media. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. when the jobs figures came in they were, perhaps, not as bad as feared, but the warning is that they will be. with more than nine million workers currently furloughed because of coronavirus there's concern many of them won't have jobs to come back to. the office for national statistics says while the overall unemployment

rate remains stable. other data suggests the jobs market is in turmoil, the number of people claiming work—related benefits in the uk more than doubled to 2.8 million between march and may and the total number of paid employees in the economy fell by more than 600,000. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. no sector is immune from this economic emergency, but hospitality is one of the biggest casualties, with more job losses to come. if we didn't close one of our three sites, the whole business would collapse as soon as we... literally as soon as we open, we reckon within three to four weeks, cash would drain out. after 12 weeks in lockdown, restaurant owners peter and elaine now have a quarter of a million pounds of unpaid bills, so they are closing their manchester branch permanently. 31 people are losing theirjobs. you're telling them a big part of their life has gone or is about to go,

and, yeah, nothing prepares you. no. we've got really close relationships with the staff, the staff are notjust names, you know? they are people we've grown really close to. i'm sure there have been tears, haven't there? yeah. loads. the restaurant's manager, isaac, knows thejob hunt will be incredibly tough. the reality we are facing now here has been replicated already in other places, with other talented managers. and we need to understand the competition will be quite fierce. today's figures show the most challenging jobs market for decades. between march and may, payroll data reveals more than 600,000 uk workers lost theirjobs. and just look at the dramatic fall in job vacancies, plummeting around 60% in the last quarter. by the summer there's every chance we'll have 3 million people unemployed,

and it'll be the top, top priority for government to be setting out how it can restart hiring, can support employers to keep more people on. the to keep more people on. outlook would be much b it the outlook would be much bleaker if it wasn't for the furlough scheme, subsidising the wages of around 9 million workers but the fear is it could simply be delaying redundancies and the figures suggest the young are likely to be the ha rd est the young are likely to be the hardest hit. you just think, why couldn't we get help, why wouldn't anybody help us. when shearings holidays in wigan went bust in may, holly and 2500 others lost their jobs over night. she said she was at the start of her dream career.|j think i cried for the rest of the day. it was just devastating. think i cried for the rest of the day. it wasjust devastating. ifelt gutted, i am getting upset now because it was a bit more light, this has actually happened. numerous

things went through my mind, financial support, being able to help my mum, me and my boyfriend we re help my mum, me and my boyfriend were saving for a house. it was like starting all over again. the hospitality and travel industries will take years to recover. the number of people claiming work—related benefits has hit 2.8 million, 27 year high and is predicted to rise further in months ahead. sarah corker, bbc news. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity joins us now. we were expecting the figures to be worse but there is quite a warning? yes, that expectation is also for the next few months, that unemployment may get above 3 million. that is ince that —— widely expected despite the government support. we have 11 million people on the support scheme, the furlough scheme of the self employed income support scheme. that is people not working at the moment and are being paid not to work but don't count in

the unemployment total. a lot of the firms they work for will not be viable. some estimates are one in six firms don't think they will be viable when the shutdown lifts because of ongoing social distancing. it is masking the true picture of how many people are suffering. when you look at the claimant count, that is alarming. it shows a rise of 1.6 million people in people claiming out of work benefits. that is a record rise. it is difficult to compare it to the past because more people are eligible and it is more generous. but the number of people claiming unemployment —related benefits shooting up and more than doubling, which is something we have not seen in decades, and it is higher than it has been since 1983. it is more than the 2.7 million peak, at the worst of the aftermath of the global financial crisis. as more people leave school and college, u nfortu nately leave school and college, unfortunately they probably will add to this total. thank you very much.

in the last few minutes, the government has announced it is backing down on its decision to deny free school meal vouchers in england during the summer school holiday. it comes during the summer school holiday. it co m es after during the summer school holiday. it comes after increasing pressure from celebrities including marcus rashford. the manchester united star had criticised government policy saying he had relied on the benefit himself as a youngster. jonathan blake reports on the pressure leading to this u—turn. the england and manchester united striker focus now fighting child poverty, a trophy he says is bigger than in football. marcus rashford is using his experience to urge the government to continue funding free school meals for children in england throughout the summer holidays. you know, my mum, she did the best she could and we'd sort of schedule out the week, so we'd get seven yoghurt, and you can have one yoghurt a day. this is all going on at a time where kids should be concentrating on schoolwork and it's just crazy to think that this is still going on. we are in 2020 now and it's

just something that i don't believe should be happening. this morning, marcus rashford posted a series of tweets highlighting the hardship families are facing, prompting this response from a cabinet minister. the work and pensions secretary therese coffeey took issue with his suggestion that people could have their water disconnected, although later said she shared the footballer‘s passion for supporting children. the government argues it is helping those most in need. we have actually, unusually in this case, along with all the other billions, multi—billion pound package that we've put in place to help families, also provided £63 million exceptionally to help local authorities, help children over this period as well, so there has been additional support and, of course, no one would want otherwise. unlike in normal times, some children in scotland and wales will continue to get meal vouchers during the summer holidays. labour is piling pressure on the government to do the same in england. it's not about politics.

this is about humanity. and there will be many conservatives mps today watching this and having read marcus' letter who will be agonising about whether they support the government or not in this. because they will want what is best for children. so i'm asking all politicians, whichever party they are in, this is not about party politics. many conservative mps are uneasy and fear that when schools close again for the summer, so children could go hungry. jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. in the last minute, marcus rashford has taken to twitter and he has said, we don't know what to say, just look at what we can do when we come together. he says, this is england in 2020. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster. this is very embarrassing for the government? it was becoming

increasingly inevitable. but we have the u—turn announced in the past few minutes that the government will set up minutes that the government will set upa code minutes that the government will set up a code red summer school fund, a one—off six week voucher for those entitled to free school meals. because of political relations and a political harry kane was howling to downing street this morning, not because of the labour or disquiet from tory mps, but bluntly because of one man, marcus rashford. it is not just because he of one man, marcus rashford. it is notjust because he is a huge celebrity, a megastar on the field, who has a massive following, it is primarily, i think, who has a massive following, it is primarily, ithink, because who has a massive following, it is primarily, i think, because of the very calm, reasoned and genuine way he has articulated his case. in contrast to that of the work and pensions secretary, blundered into a twitter row with him this morning, in which she came off the worse because of the tone she adopted. so we have the u—turn, it is possible

because actually it only costs around £120 million. it is the third such u—turn in as many weeks. we had the u—turn over the nhs surcharge, u—turn over the nhs bereavement fund and the u—turn over primary schools. there is an old adage in politics, when ina there is an old adage in politics, when in a hole stop digging and when you up against someone like marcus rashford, beware because you have a very articulate and persuasive opponent. norman, thank you very much. coronavirus—related deaths in the uk have fallen to their lowest number since the week that lockdown was announced. that's according to the latest weekly data from the office for national statistics. taken together with similar data from scotland and northern ireland — the figures also show that there have now been more than 64,000 extra deaths than would normally be expected in the uk since the coronavirus outbreak began. for the first time a drug has been shown to cut the risk of dying from covid—19. trials showed dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available

steroid, reduced the risk of death by a third among patients on a ventilator. our medical correspondent fergus walsh is here. just how significant could this be? it is hugely significant and it is not often i would use the term breakthrough, but i think it is one of those. it cut the risk of death in patients on a ventilator with covid—19 by a third and it cut the risk of death for patients on oxygen in hospital by a fifth. those numbers are really important and they are important, notjust for the lives that would save, but globally. because dexamethasone has been around since the 60s. it is cheap and widely available and is in every hospital pharmacy. so if patients are treated with this today, it will begin saving lives tomorrow. advice will go out to the nhs overnight

saying that all covid patients receiving oxygen or on a ventilator should now be considered for this. it should now be the standard of care. so a really, really important moment. some good news, fergus, thank you very much. a report by public health england has confirmed that factors such as racism and social inequality may have contributed to increased risks of black, asian and minority communities catching and dying from covid—19. this follows an earlier review by phe which confirmed that the risk of death from covid—19 is higher for ethnic minorities. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghoshjoins me now.q2: exactly what does this new report say? the report talks about racism asa say? the report talks about racism as a root cause. he says it affects health and exposure to risk and the progression of the disease. it talks about a lack of trust by minority groups in nhs services which may

have resulted in a reluctance to seek care. at the heart of its recommendations, they need to tackle racism in the health and care system and it talks about better data collection, talks about risk assessments for ethnic minority workers. but the question still is, why are ethnic minorities more vulnerable, more susceptible to this virus? the report looked at all the available scientific evidence and it found it to be sparse and at times contradictory. it may be due to the fa ct contradictory. it may be due to the fact that some minority groups are more prone to conditions that make them vulnerable to coronavirus, such as diabetes. it might be that they are more likely to havejobs as diabetes. it might be that they are more likely to have jobs that bring them more into contact with infected people, so the health care system. it might be genetic. more research will be needed to get to the bottom of these questions to find answers and that research is in the process of being commission, not just in the uk but across the world.

thank you very much. our top story this lunchtime. after pressure from footballer marcus rashford, the government u—turn on free school meals over the summer holidays. and still to come — with increasing calls for us police forces to be disbanded, we'll hear from one city that did exactly that and how it worked. coming up on bbc news, criket‘s twenty20 world cup is unlikely to go ahead due to the pandemic, according to australia, who were set to host the tournament in october. new zealand, which hadn't recorded any coronavirus cases for nearly a month, has confirmed new infections in two people who'd recently arrived from the uk. both women, who are from the same family, had travelled from the uk and were given special permission to leave quarantine to visit a dying parent. charlotte rose reports.

these new cases will come as a blow to the country which has been held up as a beacon on fighting covid, with just 22 deaths from the virus. it had gone 2a days with no new infections, the result of an early lockdown and strict border controls which remain in place, with only citizens and essential workers allowed in. the two women, one in her 30s, another in her 40s, had travelled to new zealand from the uk, stopping at doha and then brisbane en route, but it's not clear where they picked up the virus. they didn't have any unwell family members orfriends in london that they can think might have had an infection that they could have been infected by, so it's possible they picked up the infection either in the uk or at the airport or potentially on one of the flights. they were a week into the mandatory fortnight quarantine in an isolation facility in auckland but were allowed to leave on compassionate grounds to visit a dying parent in wellington, 400 miles away. they travelled in a private vehicle driven by another

family member, who is now at risk of infection, as well as all the passengers and crew on board the flight they took. they are all being chased and contacted. in a video update the prime minister says that although the women followed all the rules, the testing regime had failed. there is already an expectation that no one leaves quarantine until they have completed their two weeks and been tested. of course, that was our expectation already, so there has been a failure in this case. as a result, the country is pausing all compassionate leave and introducing compulsory testing every three days for those returning home. new zealand became the latest country to lift all restrictions on its citizens, seeing the return of sport and even black lives matter protests over the weekend. but as things start to return to normality, it knows the fight against covid is a marathon, not a sprint.

charlotte rose, bbc news. more borders across the continent are opening up as countries ease their restrictions. yesterday belgium, france, germany and greece lifted border checks and today austria has lifted restrictions at its border with italy, and is ending quarantine requirements for more than 20 european countries — though restrictions remain in place for travellers from the uk. bethany bell is at the brenner pass on the border between austria and italy and sent this report. austria's border with italy is open again. there is still a partial travel warning the lombardy, the region with italy's worst outbreak of coronavirus. but freedom of movement is returning. border checks at the brenner pass are gone for the first time in three months. european governments are keen to get business and tourism moving again. but the summer holiday season is still looking uncertain.

austria has ended quarantine requirements for more than 30 european countries, but not for britain. the government here is worried about infection rates in the uk. france and the netherlands also insist on quarantine for travellers arriving from britain and now there are signs that spain may do the same when it reopens its borders inafew days' time. yesterday afternoon, the british embassy in madrid tweeted that people travelling from the uk wouldn't have to self—isolate in spain. but last night, that advice appear to have changed. we will be checking what the uk will be doing and we will be in a dialogue with the uk to see whether or not we should be introducing reciprocity as they have different measures than the rest of the european union. applause. hundreds of german visitors arrived in majorca yesterday, the first

tourists allowed into spain since the borders were shot in march. british tourists may be able to join them if london and madrid can resolve the quarantine issue. but for now, the uk are still warning against all nonessential travel abroad. bethany bell, bbc news. president trump is expected to sign an executive order on police reform today during a ceremony at the white house rose garden. the move follows a nationwide call for changes to the use of force, and even the dismantling of police departments accused of corruption. it sounds like a radical idea to some — but it's exactly what happened in camden, newjersey, and it worked. nada tawfik reports. this is what cracking down on crime looks like in camden, newjersey. all right! here we go! police officers patrol a neighbourhood once known as heroin highway... i like the way y'all, you know, doing y'alljob. ..guided by the mantra that they are guardians

of the community, not warriors. here i feel safer with my cousins and my kids coming out, man. halfway between new york city and washington dc, camden was infamous as america's poorest and most crime ridden city. now it's gaining national attention for the way it's rethinking policing. in 2013, the city's police department was disbanded. one of the officials that led the county takeover was lou cappelli. he said it took bipartisan cooperation, perseverance and a willingness to go to battle with the police unions. oh, it was a big fight. and we were told all along, until the day this happened, "you're not going to be able to do this, we are going to stop you in court." they had political... trying to get political support, people coming to our meetings, death threats. camden has rejected the tough on crime law and order approach that has disproportionately affected black americans, changing

not just its policies but its culture too. and as a result, the city is experiencing its lowest crime rate in 50 years. i try to, you know, get through this uniform... captain zsakhiem james was hired back onto the new force. as a black man, he says he's had negative interactions with the police. it's one of the reasons he became an officer in the first place. we train in de—escalation, and that's the key. de—escalation in conversation, it's the focus of our department. building partnerships with the community and other agencies, we realise that we couldn't arrest our way out of the problem so we had to change our tactics. during the recent march and the aftermath of george floyd's death, camden officers, including the chief of police, stood in solidarity with protesters. while community block parties and policing alone can't solve racial inequality, camden's officers are seeing the value in redefining theirjob description. nada tawfik, bbc news, camden, newjersey. parents of severely disabled children say they feel

forgotten during lockdown. new figures from the disabled children's partnership suggest that in 76% of cases, disabled children and their families have been surviving since march without any of their normal care and support. ellie costello reports. this is spike. at nine days old, he had a heart attack and a stroke. he suffered severe brain damage. he has cerebral palsy, is epileptic and is deaf, so has very limited communication. since the start of lockdown, spike's mum has cared for him alone. she is just one of the many parents in the uk in this difficult position. the disabled children's partnership has surveyed more than 4000 parents of kids with complex needs. more than three quarters of those families say that all care and support has been withdrawn since lockdown began. the majority of these parents report worsening mental and physical health of not only themselves

but their children. we've kind of had to just wing it and make it up as we're going along, really. i received this letter saying that he's been identified as vulnerable, you need to shield him, there was no guidance in that at all. so i then get to a point, eight weeks later, that i'm absolutely on my knees, and just begging for help. aside from the emotional strain, one in five families said they would go into debt as a result of caring for a disabled child during the pandemic. yay! rachel wright made the decision to pay for a private carer to move in with her family during lockdown. her 14—year—old son sam has severe cerebral palsy and is blind. he can't walk, he can't talk, he can just about scratch his nose. prior to lockdown, ten people helped to care for sam. rachel managed alone for two weeks but it became too much. there are safeguarding issues.

as a nurse, i go to work and i can't work more than 1a hours, i can't work more than 12 hours, without legislation and regulation saying i can't. i certainly can't work 1a days in a row and be deemed safe in my practice, yet as a parent of a child with complex needs, i'm making decisions about medications, i'm making clinical decisions about seizures. in response to claims that some parents are working hours that would be officially deemed unsafe, the government told us that they are... ellie costello, bbc news. scientists have decoded sounds made by queen honeybees. they found that two distinct noises — toots and quacks — alerted worker bees to the queen's intention to swarm. the researchers hope their work will help beekeepers predict

how their colonies will behave. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill has been listening to the toots and quacks. bees buzz. busy and vital pollinators. the buzz of honeybee activity is, despite the insect‘s ongoing decline, a very familiar sound. these sounds, though, might be less familiar. tooting and quacking. they're the toots and quacks of queen honeybees... tooting and quacking. ..duets detected during the late spring swarming system. by recording them and observing how the colony behaved, researchers revealed their crucial role in bee society. scientists used vibration detecting devices in the honeycomb to record and decode the signals. so rather than talking to other queens, the researchers found

that a tooting queen was moving around the colony, announcing her presence to the workers. the responding quacks were from queens that were still wax sealed inside their special cells, but were ready to emerge. the life of a queen bee depends on the workers' response to those signals. they'll keep all the captive queens sealed away until an existing one has left with a swarm. if two queens are released at the same time, they'll fight to the death. and it's also warning beekeepers to be careful when they inspect the colonies and this tooting and quacking is taking place. be careful not to disrupt the sophisticated mechanism that is taking place at that very special time in the year for a colony of honeybees. the researchers hope their eavesdropping exercise will help those beekeepers to tune in to the health of their own hives. victoria gill, bbc news. well, the queen should have been at royal ascot today,

but for the first time in 68 years she isn't — because of coronavirus. there are no crowds and all the jockeys are wearing face masks. the first race has just finished and our sports correspondent laura scott is there. yes, i'm outside one of the main gates at ascot and it would typically be a hive of activity. the champagne would already be flowing and people would have gathered on to the parade ring steps behind me to watch the royal procession. but not this year. we are not allowed inside the racecourse today because of the strict limits on numbers but we took a look inside yesterday to see how different this year's meeting will be. first race... nothing epitomises the sport of kings quite like royal ascot. traditionally, one of the society events of the summer, it blends high—class racing, glamour and of course, royalty. but behind closed doors, the 2020 version will be like no other, even down to what people wear.

there isn't actually going to be a formal dress code this year. with no actual royal enclosure taking place, it wouldn't be appropriate to ask people to dress in top hat and tails.