this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. we'll be going live to downing street in half an hour for the latest government briefing. first, the headlines. a major breathrough in the fight against coronavirus — a cheap and easily available drug is shown to reduce the risk of death by a third among patients on a ventilator. this is a drug that very affordable, it's widely available and we've shown that it can have a good impact on improving survival in quite a large proportion of hospitalised patients. a government u—turn — children in england will now get free school meals over the summer holidays. it follows pressure from footballer marcus rashford and senior politicians. if i had the power to do so, i would put marcus rashford in numberten, running policy, because he's a pretty

incredible guy. the cost of lockdown — the number of uk workers on company payroll fell by more than 600,000 in two months. the number of people claiming unemployment—related benefits more than doubles. borisjohnson says plans to merge the department for international development and the foreign office will unite aid with diplomacy. but three former prime ministers say it's a mistake. and new zealand records two new cases of coronavirus. both had come from the uk, ending 2a days of no new infections. good afternoon. in half an hour, we'll bring you today's coronavirus press briefing from downing street,

which will be led by the prime minister. first — a look at today's developments. coronavirus—related deaths in the uk have fallen to their lowest number since the week that lockdown was announced, 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 around 64,500 more deaths than would normally be expected in the uk since the coronavirus outbreak began. a further 233 people across all settings in the uk have died in the past 2a hours after testing positive for coronavirus. that takes the total number of covid—i9 deaths in the uk to 41,969. in what scientists are describing as a major breakthrough, a cheap and widely available steroid has been found to save the lives of seriously ill coronavirus patients. the government says the uk has now stockpiled 200,000 courses of dexamethasone.

will now be able to claim free school meal vouchers during the holidays, after a campaign by footballer marcus rashford. the government had previously insisted it would not award free school meals vouchers in england outside of term time. the number of workers on uk payrolls plunged by more than 600,000 between march and may, according to offical figures. meanwhile, the number of people claiming work—related benefits — which includes the unemployed — was up a record 126% to 2.8 million. we'll bring you more on all those developments shortly. first, let's get more on that reported breakthrough in the treatment of people who are seriously ill with covid—i9. peter horby is professor of emerging infectious diseases in the nuffield department of medicine at oxford university, which conducted the research into dexamethasone, and he spoke to us as he made his way to downing street for this afternoon's briefing.

i am as delighted as anybody, it's fantastic. we've been running this trial for quite some time, for three months, and it's fantastic to have some good news. this is a drug that very affordable, it is widely available and we've shown that it can have a good impact on improving survival in quite a large proportion of hospitalised patients. we showed a benefit in patients who required oxygen on the ward, with about a 20% reduction in the risk of dying, as well as a reduction in the rate of death in those on mechanical ventilation. and that was an even bigger reduction, that was a 35% reduction in the risk of death. we were surprised by the result. we were obviously hopeful that the drug would have benefits, that's why we trialled it, but we were quite staggered by the size of the benefits, so it's really fantastic news. lead's talk more about that fantastic news as the professor described it with our health

correspondent michelle roberts. it really is quite a breakthrough but let's be clear, it's a very old drug, it's been around for decades. it has and that is good news as well, it has been used for a long time and we know it can be used safely. also, it is very cheap so there is no big one pharmaceutical company that owns it and will make more money out of it, in that respect. experts are saying it costs about £5 in the uk for a course of this treatment for a patient, and a dollar elsewhere around the world, so dollar elsewhere around the world, so really accessible. there is lots of stock of it and it can be made quite easily as well, so this is really positive news. and why is it so really positive news. and why is it so effective in treating people who are seriously ill with covid—i9? most people who catch coronavirus recover well on their own. some people need to go to hospital and those who get very sick may need help with their breathing, with oxygen or on a ventilator, and it is those patients that this drug can help. sometimes, when the body is trying to fight off the infection,

it goes into overdrive and it causes damage to the body as it tries to fated off and fails in this drug is a steroid and dampens down the inflammatory response —— tries to fight it off. that is what is helping these patients who are really sacred coronavirus. and as the search goes on for a vaccine, which everybody hopes will be successful, in the meantime, this could be really key in reducing the number of deaths. it could. they estimate in the uk alone, so far, we have had nearly 42,000 deaths and up to 5,000 of those might have been avoidable if we knew this at the time. i mean, it is lovely to have high inside but it is positive news and could really make a difference so and could really make a difference so for every eight patients you treat with this drug, you may save an extra life, which is really quite dramatic. and listening to the professor who is part of these trials, they are really quite surprised, staggered, in fact, trials, they are really quite surprised, staggered, infact, by how effective this drug has been. they are. normally, you would wait

for more trial results, put it in a peer—reviewed journal, get other people to pour over the research but, obviously, we are working at breakneck speed with coronavirus trying to find treatments and, it was clear, from the results they had, it was effective, and that is why they have put this information out quite early, so people can act out quite early, so people can act out on it and it is an exciting development. and we will hear more at the downing street briefing at 5pm from the professor we just heard from and from the prime minister. thank you, michelle. borisjohnson has confirmed that the government will now fund school meals for eligible children in england over the summer holidays. it comes after pressure from footballer marcus rashford, who was himself a recipent of free school meals when growing up. those eligible will get a six—week voucher to cover summer break. number ten says the one—off decision is based on "unprecedented situation" and said the prime minister welcomed marcus rashford's contribution to the debate around poverty. labour leader, sir keir starmer, said it was, in his words,

"another welcome u—turn from borisjohnson." after hearing the news, marcus rashford tweeted... "i don't even know what to say. "just look at what we can do when we come together, "this is england in 2020." and in a later statement, he said... "this was never about you or me. "this was never about politics. "this was a cry out for help from vulnerable parents "all over the country, and i simply provided a platform "for their voices to be heard. "i stand proud today knowing that we have listened, "and we have done what is right. "there is still a long way to go but i am thankful "to you all that we have given these families just one less thing "to worry about tonight. "the wellbeing of our children should always be a priority." so that statement in from marcus rashford himself.

jane keen—smith is a self—employed hairdresser in worcestershire, she has four children who are all eligible for school meal vouchers. what is your reaction to this u—turn by the government? over the moon that they have decided that it would bea that they have decided that it would be a worthwhile thing to do. wonderful that marcus rashford could put his point forward and because he has been there, he has lifted. it is very different when you have got plenty of money, but if your children come to you and ask you for food and you can't give them something, it is the worst feeling, asa something, it is the worst feeling, as a parent, in the world, that you can't offer them a meal. so, just over the moon. unfortunately, this is only going to help us in the shortfall, but hopefully then we can move forward with some other things. just give us an idea, for your family in particular, what kind of difference is this going to make in the common months? -- coming months?

i have four boys, three of them teenage. they just i have four boys, three of them teenage. theyjust basically ready to be out of house and home, so it is going to help me massively. we have been relying on friends and family as well and we are really lucky that our school is part of their share, so they help us a little too, but this means i now have some money, because i am on a zero income at the moment, we are a shielding family so, even though as a hairdresser, i can go back to work on the 4th ofjuly, i can't do that because we are shielding poorly people in the family, so it hasjust taken a little bit of pressure off. are you surprised... you know, there was so are you surprised... you know, there was so much pressure on the government to change tack on this, are you surprised it has taken them are you surprised it has taken them a while to change the policy? yes, but i suppose they have to look at it always, really, because it is to do with finance and other things but

i have spoken to people who run some clu bs for i have spoken to people who run some clubs for the children and they are unable to do that —— summer clubs. so with no provisions at all available for an alternative, i don't think they had a choice. they we re don't think they had a choice. they were ina don't think they had a choice. they were in a position where they had to do something, so i am just grateful that they did decide to change their minds. and, as you say, marcus rashford, when he was campaigning on this, he really spoke from the heart because he had been there as a schoolboy. yes and i hope that, in a way, my children can look at him and realise that there is a way out of these things. it is not always going to be like this. so hopefully he is also someone to look up to for all of these children that are in this situation and that receive free school meals, and they can see that you can get out of this situation with a little bit of help. really good to talk to you. many thanks. and just before number ten made that

announcement before that's free school vouchers would be continued in england... scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, announced an extra £i2.6 million for councils in scotland to fund free school meals through the summer holidays. free school meals are currently being made available to around 175,000 children across scotland, either within local authority and early years premises which are still open, or more often through direct cash payments, supermarket vouchers, or the direct supply of food or meals. i can confirm today that this provision will be extended right throughout the summer holiday period. we know families are under considerable financial pressure just now and free school meals are a vital help to many. but they are also really important to the health and well—being of children. so we will provide £i2.6 million in funding to local authorities to enable the continuation of free school meals during the period from the end ofjune to the start of the new term in august. the funding will be allocated

in a way that allows councils, as many of them currently do, to coordinate school meal provision with wider support that they make available to families. in addition to that, we are making £15 million available to councils to maintain some of that wider support, in particular the support for food which is currently available for people in severe poverty, people who face other barriers to getting food, and people who are being asked to isolate under the new test and protect system. our support for those who are shielding, which i should say comes from a different budget, is also of course being maintained. but at a time when, as these employment figures today show, many families will be finding it much harder than normal to make ends meet, i hope that these announcements provide some reassurance during an extremely difficult time. nicola sturgeon there. the number of workers on uk payrolls fell by more than 600,000

between march and may this year. meanwhile, the number of people claiming work—related benefits — which includes the unemployed — more than doubled to 2.8 million. the early estimates reflect the impact of around six weeks of lockdown in which large parts of the uk were shut. but economists say the full effect on employment will not be felt until wage support schemes end in october. 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 not just 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. this graph shows payroll data, including redundancies, retirement and those whose contracts have entered. look at the drop between march and may. 600,000 people lost theirjobs and there was a dramatic fall in job vacancies,

plummeting around 60%. i think 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 outlook would be much bleaker if it wasn't for the government's furlough scheme subsidising the wages of around 9 million workers, but the fear is it could simply be delaying redundancies and today's figures suggest 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 suddenly went bust in may, holly and 2500 others lost their jobs overnight. she said she was at the start of her dream career. i think i cried for the rest of the day. it was just devastating. i felt gutted, i am getting upset now because it was a bit more like,

oh, my god, this has actually happened. numerous things went through my mind, financial support, being able to help my mum, me and my boyfriend were saving for a house. it's like starting all over again. the hospitality and travel industries will take yea rs to recover. the number of people claiming work—related benefits has hit 2.8 million, a 27 year high, and is predicted to rise further in months ahead. sarah corker, bbc news. the office for international development is to merge with the foreign office. borisjohnson said the foreign, commonwealth and development office would enable britain to make the most efficient use of the uk aid budget, which is the third biggest in the world. the former prime minister, david cameron said merging the two departments was a mistake. speaking in the commons, mrjohnson said ambassadors will lead the work of their individual country. we must now strengthen our position

in an intensely competitive world by making sensible changes. and so i have decided to merge dfid with the foreign and commonwealth office to create a new department, the foreign, commonwealth and development office. and this will unite our aid with our diplomacy and bring them together in our international effort. dfid has amassed world—class expertise and all its people can take pride in how they have helped to transform the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the world. to select but a few examples, they have striven to protect millions of children across the world from polio, which is now on the verge of global eradication. they've paved the way for millions of girls to attend school for the first time in countries such as pakistan, as i've seen for myself. they've done their utmost to ease the suffering

in syria and in sierra leone they were central to the defeat of an outbreak of the ebola virus. and all of this amounts to the finest demonstration of british values, following in the great tradition of the country that ended the slave trade and resisted totalitarianism. and it's precisely that ambition, vision and expertise that will now be at the heart of a new department, taking forward the work of uk aid to reduce poverty and that will remain central to our mission. the foreign secretary will be empowered to decide which countries receive or cease to receive british aid while delivering a single uk strategy for each country, overseen by the national security council which i chair. those strategies will be implemented on the ground by the relevant ambassador, the relevant uk ambassador, who will lead all of the government's work in host country.

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 for 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 in a few 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 shut in march. british tourists may be able to join them if london and madrid can resolve the quarantine issue. but for now, the uk is still warning against all nonessential travel abroad. bethany bell, bbc news. 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 24 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 in 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 traced 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 that is where there is 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. throughout lockdown many of us have been inspired to pick up a tennis racket, as it was one of the first sports to have restrictions lifted and be deemed safe to play.

welljoining me now to discuss how to capitalise on that is tennis coach and former international player, judy murray. thank you for being with us. i've enjoyed playing a lot of tennis during lockdown, not very well it has to be said but has there been a boom in tennis playing in the last few weeks? i think there has, it was one of the first sports allowed to open up and we are a bit behind england appear so you're able to do more doubles and group activities than we are at the minute. but it is a huge opportunity to get people into the game or get back into the game because people are desperate to get out do something in the fresh air. how important is it notjust to play tennis but to get exercise, really good exercise to match every day during this difficult time?|j think day during this difficult time?” think it is incredibly important for

your mental health and of course in keeping active and i think particularly for families they've got used to learning together and doing things together during lockdown and i think that tennis is a number—one family support and so it the perfect opportunity for courts to welcome families into the game. is it your impression that enough courts are open, that council run chords as well as private ones are being opened up?” run chords as well as private ones are being opened up? i could not tell you much about park chords, in scotla nd tell you much about park chords, in scotland they will be opening up in phase two, i think england may be a bit ahead of us. i guess it depends on policing and so forth. some courts will not be open if there are

no facilities to wash your hands or get a no facilities to wash your hands or geta drink no facilities to wash your hands or get a drink so there are still some challenges. but playing singles has become a bit of a thing of the past and it was much more doubles at recreational level so to see people playing singles and latter competitions and things has been wonderful. what about the professional game, sadly no wimbledon but the us open is still planning to go ahead this summer. is that the right decision?” planning to go ahead this summer. is that the right decision? i think they're waiting for government approval but i think you have to ta ke approval but i think you have to take your hat off to the usa, they've taken into account every possible scenario to try to get the event running because of course it isa event running because of course it is a massive revenue earner for the us tennis association and that is where most of their revenue comes from so it is important to them but i think for me every country is at a different stage of this virus and

with different restrictions and quarantines with different restrictions and quara ntines and with with different restrictions and quarantines and with international travel etc and of course still the vaccine. for me itjust feels it is a bit risky but it is still a couple of months away and a lot can happen for the better or further west in that time. we just have to wait and see. judy, thank you so much for talking to us. borisjohnson is due to lead today's daily briefing inside downing street shortly. that is starting just a couple of minutes. to look ahead, i'm joined by our political correspondent, chris mason. they have plenty to talk about in terms of that drug we have been discussing that will be a big help in treating people who are seriously ill with coronavirus but first let's talk about that u—turn by the

government on school meal vouchers, prompted by marcus rashford in that campaign. just bring us up—to—date on what has been said? lots of news around today, a lot of the focus of the news conference i think will be on this drug is breakthrough, one of the professors involved is amongst the professors involved is amongst the cast list alongside the prime minister and then we have the news of the scrapping of the department for international development and then this change of heart from the government in england on providing vouchers to government in england on providing vouchers to ensure government in england on providing vouchers to ensure poor children are properly fed over the summer holidays which are not that far around the corner. that follows that campaign from marcus rashford, he spoke to sally nugent yesterday on bbc breakfast. we just had this reaction from sir keir starmer. i think the government has got it completely wrong. it was obvious that there was a need for these free school meals. they should never have put that injeopardy. we have had to push them all the way and marcus rashford played

a really important part in that, but i welcome the fact there is a u—turn, that's the right thing to do and so, now, 1.3 million children who need free school meals will get them. i sense there of the scale of this, the number of children that will benefit —— i sense. a significant numberare benefit —— i sense. a significant number are now able to be sure that they will be able to have these vouchers over the summer, it adds up to around £15 per week. these vouchers will be redeemable throughout the six weeks summer holiday period and we have seen similar announcements from the scottish and welsh governments as well. in the last couple of minutes, gavin williamson, the education secretary in england, praising marcus rashford, describing him as the best of britain in leading this campaign. it was becoming increasingly inevitable, to be honest, as this morning trundled on that... chris, thank you, the downing street briefing is beginning and here is the prime minister, borisjohnson. good evening, i am delighted to be

joined today by the chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance and by professor peter horby from oxford university's centre for tropical medicine and global health. today, i'm going to let them do most of the talking as they have some news to share on a new treatment for coronavirus but i will start by updating you briefly on the latest data. the first slide, please. we have had 6,981,493 tests carried out or posted in the uk, this includes 113,107 yesterday. of those, 298,136 have tested positive. the second slide show is the latest data from hospitals. 410 people were admitted

to hospitalfor hospitals. 410 people were admitted to hospital for coronavirus hospitals. 410 people were admitted to hospitalfor coronavirus in england and wales and northern ireland on the 13th ofjune, down from 438 a week earlier and from the peak on the 1st of april. 385 coronavirus patients are currently in mechanical ventilation beds in the uk, down from 513 a week ago and down from a peak of 3301 on the 12th of april. the third slide shows what is happening in hospitals across the country. there are no 5254 people in hospital with coronavirus in the uk. down 16% from 6282 a week ago and down from a peak of 20,698 on the 12th of april. the fourth slide shows the daily figures for those

who have sadly lost their lives after testing positive for coronavirus and, across all settings, the total number of deaths now stands at 41,969, and that is an increase of 233 fatalities since yesterday. and although those figures are still very sad, they do show that we are making good progress in controlling the spread of the virus. the tests are up and cases are down, hospital admissions are down, the number of patients overall in hospital and specifically those on mechanical ventilation beds, both down. and, of course, while each death is one too many, deaths, to repeat, are coming down, too, and that process has any been possible because of the dedication of the british people as we work together to beat this virus, by observing the lockdown, sacrificing contact with friends and families.

everybody has played their part in bringing the virus under control, so it is critical now that we hold our nerve and don't throw away the progress that we have made. on the 11th of may, i set out the plan to help our country to recover and, step—by—step, we are working through it, carefully and deliberately and, at each stage, we have only proceeded when the evidence suggests it is safe to do so, ensuring that our five tests for adjusting the lockdown continue to be met and, yesterday, it was great to see our shops open their doors again, our retail sector, i think, shops open their doors again, our retailsector, ithink, has shops open their doors again, our retail sector, i think, has done a fantastic job making sure retail sector, i think, has done a fantasticjob making sure they are covid secure, meaning they can open ina way covid secure, meaning they can open in a way that is safe for both full staff and customers and it was great to see so many people out shopping,

whilst observing social distancing, quite a lot of them, and that is so important for stopping the spread of the virus. it has also been very good to see more and more children coming back to school this week, some secondary pupils now returning for face—to—face contact with their teachers ahead of the exams next year, but i want to say to all pa rents year, but i want to say to all parents whose children are eligible to return in primary school, and there are loads of them, i want to assure you it is safe and there is no need for your kids to miss out on their education. i hope they will go to school. i know that people want us to go further with our changes to the social distancing measures and i am all too aware that the two metre rule has big implications for schools and for many other sectors and, you know, iwant schools and for many other sectors and, you know, i want you to know i

absolutely hear those concerns and will do everything in my power to get us back to normal as soon as possible, but we must proceed carefully a nd possible, but we must proceed carefully and according to our plan andi carefully and according to our plan and i am still committed to that a central goal, to get back to life as close as normal as possible for as many people as possible, as fast and as fairly as possible, in a way that minimises the risk of a new epidemic, minimises the risk to life and maximises our chances of a strong economic and social recovery. so, our plan sets out the next step for adjusting lockdown. you may remember, for personal care, for hospitality and leisure sectors, for gatherings in places of worship, other public places, a lot more to come and that, as you know, will

happen no earlier than july come and that, as you know, will happen no earlier thanjuly the 4th and we remain absolutely committed to that plan and we will say more about how we are going to be taking it forward. but, today, there is other news because the global effo rts other news because the global efforts to find a long—term solution to the pandemic continue. whether thatis to the pandemic continue. whether that is through a vaccine or treatment. and i am absolutely delighted that the biggest breakthrough yet has been made by a fantastic team of scientists right here in the uk, and i'm not really qualified to pronounce on this drug and its effects, but i'm going to ask sir patrick and professor peter horby to say more in a moment, but i am proud of these british scientists, backed by uk government funding, who have led the first robust clinical trial anywhere in

the world to find a coronavirus treatment proven to reduce the risk of death and i am very grateful to the thousands of patients in this country who volunteered for the trials. thank you. this drug, dexamethasone, can now be made available across the nhs, and we have taken available across the nhs, and we have ta ken steps to available across the nhs, and we have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies even in the event of a second peak. of course, while the chances of dying from covid—19 have been greatly reduced by this treatment, or significantly reduced by this treatment, they are still far too by this treatment, they are still fartoo high, so by this treatment, they are still far too high, so we must redouble our research efforts and we certainly will. but, today, ithink there is genuine because to celebrate a remarkable british scientific achievement, and the

benefits it will bring, notjust in this country, but around the world andi this country, but around the world and i will now hand over to sir patrick. thank you, prime minister. so, the way in which we find out whether drugs work is through clinical trials and i think this is an extremely good example of a clinical trial that has been very well conducted, it has had large numbers of patients enrolled across the uk and peter horby, who has led the uk and peter horby, who has led the study, will say more about it in just a minute. it is called the recovery study and i just want to to spend a few moments to thank some people involved. i want to thank the investigators who have put this together and lead it so effectively, all of the people in the nhs who have been part of actually making this happen. 0f have been part of actually making this happen. of course, the funders who allow this to happen, the mrc and the national institute of research and nhra and some of the other people involved behind the scenes, such asjonathan van tam and, most importantly, the patient is that in makkah deletes quality to

be part of this study —— nhr. it rather than hear me talk about it, it is important to hearfrom peter, who has really driven this through. thank you, i am co—chief investigator of the recovery trial with sir bradley to professor martin landry and we have been supported by an absolutely fantastic team in oxford and the entire nhs —— with professor martin landry. it has been trialled across all countries in the united kingdom, more than 175 hospitals, with tremendous effort from nhs staff who are under pressure to talk to patients, telling them about the benefits to get good clinical trial evidence to make sure we have the best treatment and getting them into the trial. and i think we have broken some records. in three months, we have enrolled over 11,500 patients, which makes it by far the biggest clinical trial in the world, and we have been testing six different drugs. a couple of weeks ago, we declared an answer on hydroxychloroquine saying that in

most cases in hospital patients, it doesn't work and this week, we have news on dexamethasone, which as we have heard is a steroid drug. it is an old drug, some would say a very boring drug, it has been around for 60 odd years, it is very cheap, it costs pounds and, overseas, it costs pennies, so we closed that arm of the trial on monday the 8th ofjune because we had enrolled more than 2,000 patients on dexamethasone and we compared them to 4,000 patients who had standard of care, and what we saw was really quite remarkable. so we have looked at different treatment groups and the drug has a different treatment effect in different treatment effect in different treatment effect in different treatment groups. so, in ventilated patients with covid—19, the drug dexamethasone, ten days of treatment with that, which is a tablet or an injection, reduces the risk of death by about 35%. in patients on the ward who require oxyge n patients on the ward who require oxygen and have covid, it reduces the risk of death by about 20%. that

cove rs the risk of death by about 20%. that covers about 75% of patients in the hospital who will receive a mortality benefit from using this drug. there are another group of patients who don't require oxygen but have covid and we didn't see a benefit in those patients, so it is not a drug you would use in the community or in outpatients or patients on the ward who didn't have breathing difficulties, but in patients who have breathing difficulties who require oxygen or ventilation, it really is shown quite a significant effect. and it really is important, because the drug itself is very widely available, it is on almost every pharmacy shelf in every hospital, it is available throughout the world and it is extremely cheap. so we have looked at the numbers and, if we treat eight patients in intensive ca re we treat eight patients in intensive care with this drug, we will save one life. and the total cost of treating all eight patients is only about £40, so this is really remarkable and we are extremely pleased with this result. we are continuing with the trial because we have four other drugs in the trial

and we hope we can build on this very strong foundation, with adding additional drugs, and continue to bring down the case mortality rate. sol bring down the case mortality rate. so i think this is really good news, that we have now got a treatment that we have now got a treatment that almost every patient can take and they will get benefit from it. cani and they will get benefit from it. can ijust and they will get benefit from it. can i just add and they will get benefit from it. can ijust add a couple of things to that? the important thing is that this is the first medicine that has been shown to reduce death in any group with covid, and that is the start of something. so it shows that this is possible to do and, as other drugs get looked at, the hope is they will add on top of that and add beyond the 25 or 35% change that peter is talking about, so this is the start of something important. it shows it is possible to reduce the inflammation and the outcome in patients with lung disease in hospital, and it is the start of other drugs which might be added on top of it to make an even bigger effect in due course, we hope. thanks very much, peter and patrick and we are going to go now to

questions from the public, can we go pleased to trevor from northamptonshire? with the world health organisation and other countries opting to have a social distance of one metre, when will the government move from two metres down to want to be in line with these countries question mark thanks very much, trevor and i think that is the question i am being asked the whole time. -- thanks very much, trevor. as you know, the advice is that two metres is more effective at reducing the risk of transmission of the virus between us and that is why we have been going for two metres. lots of countries go for two metres and thatis of countries go for two metres and that is the advice we have had from our scientists, but it is also my view, and i think an increasingly widespread view, that, as we get the numbers down, we get the rate of infection down in the country, then the statistical likelihood, trevor, of any of us actually being next to somebody, whether two metres, one

metre or whatever distance, who has coronavirus, is going down the whole time. so we are keeping it under co nsta nt time. so we are keeping it under constant review and as we depress the numbers, as we reduce the incidents, i think we will also have a strong case for reviewing those measures as well and i hope to be able to do that, but i'm afraid to say we can't do it yet. we need to continue to make progress. patrick, anything you want to say? that is right, two metres is safer than one metre but it is not an absolute, it is a relative and the closer you get the more at risk you are so it is a risk assessment. as we said in the evidence we have given scientifically there are things that you can do to reduce risk on top of that including in side by side and still faced by —— of face—to—face and the risk is

lower outside or in a ventilated space and face coverings can help in a crowded space where you cannot avoid being close to someone. there are times at which this can be changed and then of course that evidence can be the basis of a policy decision what the right distance should be mandated or put forward as the rule to follow. i do not think that two metres is some absolute cut—off that never changes and as the prime minister said when you look at the incidents, the number of people getting the infection every day of the prevalence, the number of people with the disease at any one time which currently is something like six out of 10,000 people according to ons six out of 10,000 people according to 0ns figures, you can see that the probability gets quite low and so you can start to think about ways in which you can manage the distance in sudden summer taxes in different ways. absolutely. good. the answer is that we are getting there and

please, i know people are very patient but we are making as much progress on that as we can just watch this space because we absolutely hear you. let's go to terry from horley. he says the latest funeral advice recommendations were provided on may the 18th, can you provide an update on these and is there any more relaxation for mourners? well terry what i can say is that we do think that people should be able to attend funerals provided they observe social distancing and follow the basic rules. i think we totally understand on compassionate grounds why people need to attend funerals and we will be saying more about what we can do more generally to

relax social distancing rules as we come tojuly relax social distancing rules as we come to july the relax social distancing rules as we come tojuly the 4th. patrick, anything more you want to say? thank you, terry. let's go to vicki young of the bbc. prime minister you've talked a lot about levelling up and tackling inequalities in britain but it has taken a complaint by 22—year—old footballer to force you into action on free school meals, have lost touch with those you promised to help? and also question to sir patrick vallance about dexamethasone, could this treatment mean that in future if there were to bea mean that in future if there were to be a second wave that you might not need to take such extreme lockdown measures? thank you, vicki young. i talked to marcus rashford today and congratulated him on his campaign wish to be honest i became aware of very recently or today. and i thank

him for what is done i think is right to draw attention to the issue. basically we have large numbers of kids who have not been able to get back into school and we have a problem about getting kids back into school in the way we would wa nt back into school in the way we would want for the reasons that people understand that actually there are many kids who could go back to school now who are not going back andi school now who are not going back and i would like to see that happen. but i do think it is right that we should be looking after families of the vulnerable and the neediest right now and that is why we have got the summer food plan which we announce today and i hope that that will make a big difference to those kids and those families. peter may wa nt kids and those families. peter may want to come in on this butjust remembered this drug does not stop you catching the disease or stop you

going to hospital with the disease. it reduces the death for those who are in hospital who require oxygen or in intensive care and require oxyge n or in intensive care and require oxygen and it is a very important fa ct oxygen and it is a very important fact but as peter said it is roughly one in eight who survive as a result of this. a very important effect but not of the level you would say you do not need to worry about the other measures to reduce the spread of the infection. i would add to that, it is great to have an effective treatment but we need to build on that, i think we still have some room to improve the survival rates quite markedly. but it is just part of the measures to control the disease we also need good vaccines and if need be to reintroduce social distancing measures if we see transmission increasing again. let's go to dan hewitt from itv. thank you, prime minister. the first

question, we were in smethwick today filming with families who rely on the free school meal voucher scheme you set up and three of his family said to us that they remember you specifically saying that you would do whatever it takes to help them get through the crisis and you've just said it is the right thing to do to help the neediest families to introduce the scheme over the summer but why did it take 22—year—old footballer to embarrass you into changing your policy and second if i may how can you changing your policy and second if i may now can you reassure changing your policy and second if i may how can you reassure your old friend david cameron that merging the foreign office and dfid will not as he says because less respect for the uk overseas? first of all on the summit food support scheme as i say i think it is the right thing to do andi i think it is the right thing to do and i do congratulate marcus rashford on his campaign. and we set out a voucher scheme for the first couple of holidays and clearly free school meals should generally apply

in term time, that is what they are therefore but we have to understand therefore but we have to understand the pressures that families are under right now. and that is what we have responded as we have and as i say i think it is the right thing to do and will help kids from families that really needed. on your second question about what we are doing with dfid, this is a fantastic opportunity for this country to make the most of our enormous influence abroad and maximise the uk projection by merging dfid and the fco and frankly i think it is extraordinary that we have not done it earlier. we had 28 of 29 oecd countries doing it this way and it is far more coherent and means that the sums that we spent on aid are

used not just to the sums that we spent on aid are used notjust to tackle poverty and deprivation around the world but they are far better in line with uk government policy. the priorities of the british people. and i'm absolutely certain it is the right thing for our country right now. think of things like the coronavirus vaccine summit that we held just the other day, a fantastic example of the uk leading in helping to raise £8.8 billion, sorry, doris, to come up £8.8 billion, sorry, doris, to come up with a vaccine notjust for coronavirus but to help vaccinate kids around the world and solve all kinds of problems. so what we are trying to do is put that idealism and that mission to improve the world, to save kids, to encourage female education, at the heart of uk

foreign policy. and we are creating a new vital super department that i think will actually enable us to express our views much more powerfully around the world and be good for development aid and good for the uk. it is the right time to do it. some codes, please, from sky. sir patrick vallance and peter hornby, on the new treatment, how quickly can people in the nhs who are suffering breathing problems expect to get this treatment, is there an expectation that it will be available pretty much now for anyone who needs it in the uk and prime minister, we understand that this drug had been put on the government export ban list which means that countries cannot provide up to export to other countries but in

your speech about global britain that does not seem much like global britain. and you seem to signal a big shift in foreign policy with this proposed merger taking away aid money from zambia and tanzania and giving it to relatively rich countries like the ukraine. can you set out more of your thinking behind that surprise decision and why it came now. firstly on what you're saying about dexamethasone and the ban on exports, i'm not aware of that. patrick, are you aware? we will have to come back to you on that one but on... i understand that dexamethasone is a drug produced round the world. perhaps peter may like to comment but it is produced cheaply in india, in thailand and i think it was first identified in

1957. it has been around for a long time. i will have to come back to you on your suggestion that we ban the export of dexamethasone because it sounds peculiar to me but we will certainly look into it. on your question about the re—prioritisation of the aid budget, that is not what is happening, what we want to do is make sure we get better bang for our buck, the british taxpayer expense a huge amount on eight and quite frankly in my opinion as someone who observe things very close up i'm a huge fan of what dfid has done in the massive admirer of the dedication, idealism of our aid professionals. but what i want to see is greater integration of that passion and that commitment without overall foreign policy objectives. and we can do that and we can make much more difference among the world if we act as one global britain with one focal point in the countries

where we are represented. we are of the representative around the world. with the ambassador in the country leading and really conveying a single message from the united kingdom about our priorities, whether that is female education or human rights or whatever it happens to be. that is the way to get more bang for your back and i passionately believe it is the right thing to do and this is the right time to do it. all the other countries are going this way even if they previously had separate aid departments, they've been folding them on and now is the time for us to create this really powerful unified voice for international policy. i think there was a question for you, patrick. iwill bring in peter as well but dexamethasone is inexpensive and very widely available and the really exciting thing about this study is not only that it works but it can work across the world. this is a change of

practice and does not require complex manufacturing owned by one company that cannot produce it to scale. this is a drug which can immediately be used across the world for this condition and that is such an important thing. your question was what we're doing here and the female will issue guidance to say that this should be used for clinical practice and that is what i expect to happen shortly as he releases his guidance. so the idea is to get on with this and said need to try and make this as available as possible everywhere in the world which is part of the excitement. of all the drugs and i study it is the one that i'm most excited about a most pleased that we have this positive result because it is very stable, we know it extremely well as it has been used for 60 years and it is in the cupboards now, doctors can walk across in five minutes to the pharmacy cupboard and prescribe it. they know how it works and now it will help and it can be done this

evening. jason rhodes, the daily mail. 12 weeks ago i so you stood in that room and said he had sent the coronavirus parking 12 weeks and for many people it does not feel like that. people cannot send their kids to school, even you cannot get a haircut! are we going to have cracked it in another 12 weeks and ona cracked it in another 12 weeks and on a personal note, as how wilful it is getting on, has he seen his grandparents yet, is he keeping your awake at night? first of all what i said as we would turn the tide within 12 weeks, i do not hesitate to correct an illustrious correspondence such as yourself but isaid correspondence such as yourself but i said that we would turn the tide andi i said that we would turn the tide and i think that we did within 12 weeks if you look at where the disease is now. we went through the peak we have now flattened the

sombrero or whatever i said we were going to do, we did that and i think asa going to do, we did that and i think as a result of the actions the british people took we saved many tens of thousands of lives at the least. and we are coming through this in, of course it is a very difficult time for this country but we are coming through it and yes, i do think that we are now starting to see with drugs like dexamethasone, the idea that perhaps you could combine that with other things, we are seeing the first chink of light which i was perhaps a bit dubious about, the first chink of light in the hope that there will be preparations and treatments that can make a big difference to mortality rates and as you know we are making big investments in vaccines. none of

that negates the importance of continuing to follow the rules, to control the virus and save lives and i think people to understand that. we've turned the tide on it, we have not yet finally defeated it. and thatis not yet finally defeated it. and that is the reality that we have to face and i think people to accept that but i also think that people are resolved to defeat it and i can assure you , are resolved to defeat it and i can assure you, jason, that we will and assure you, jason, that we will and as for your other question about milford, i never normally comment on these sort of things. but all fine so far, thank you. all doing well. that was jason's only question, was it? let's go to the evening standard. thank you, prime minister. my first question is for the

scientists. the evening standard understands there is a huge demand for data for tissue samples from coronavirus victims. would you encourage more postmortem research and encourage families to give their consent? and my second question is for the prime minister. consent? and my second question is forthe prime minister. spain consent? and my second question is for the prime minister. spain says it is considering imposing quarantine restrictions on uk visitors, unless the british government lifts its own two—week isolation rule. what is your response to spain today and, secondly, will you be talking about a travel corridor with france when you see president macron later this week? thanks very much. sorry, do you want to address the scientific question first? clinical research in all its forms is incredibly important for this disease, it is a new disease which we are trying to learn about. i think the example of the recovery study which peter and martin landry have led so effectively is an absolute landmark in understanding where something can make a difference, and clinical

research, in all its forms, can involve taking blood samples, it can involve taking blood samples, it can involve taking blood samples, it can involve taking tissues in order to understand what's happened to the tissues to pick up a virus. it can involve x—rays and scans and other things to look at it, and it also involves the use of postmortem tissue sometimes in order to understand more about the causes of death and the way in which the virus can death and the way in which the virus ca n affect death and the way in which the virus can affect different organ systems. and so that is an important part of understanding this disease and has a lwa ys understanding this disease and has always been an important part of understanding new diseases, understanding new diseases, understanding all diseases better, and trying to make sure that the treatments are therefore targeted in the right way, so postmortem research is a part, an important part, of the research system, but there are many, many other parts as well. peter, did you want to add to that? i completely echo that. this isa that? i completely echo that. this is a brand—new disease and we are learning every day but there is still so much we don't know. we don't know how it affects the blood

vessels, the heart muscle, the nervous system. we really need to understand that properly to really make progress and i think, you know, there are many contributions that people can make and agreeing to postmortems is one small way they can make a contribution to other patients. thanks very much. just to say, obviously, iwill patients. thanks very much. just to say, obviously, i will be talking to emmanuel macron about all sorts of ways in which we can bring our countries together, making sure that, you know, we eventually will be able to travel freely to and from each other‘s countries and the same obviously goes for spain, as soon as we can. the reason for having the quarantine system is very simple. you know, we don't want to reimport the disease just at the moment when we have really got it under control in this country, but we are certainly looking at air bridge and ways to ensure people can safely go on holiday eventually. daniel barnes from the south wales argus. thanks

prime minister. yesterday, welsh first minister mark drakeford said in his briefing that he had not spoken to you for three weeks. does this lack of communication explained why you have been unable to maintain a consistent four nation approach during this pandemic? well, daniel, actually we have done a huge amount of collaboration and conversation with mark and with leaders in all of the nations of the uk and, actually, i think, as i have said many times before, there is far more that unites us than divides us. welsh and ministers, a ministerfrom scotland, northern ireland, they have been in all the cobra meetings and are talking continuously to the chancellor of the duchy of lancaster andi chancellor of the duchy of lancaster and i look forward to talking to mark as soon as possible, but while

you are on, daniel, i mightjust say, from the south wales argus, i mightjust say say, from the south wales argus, i might just say that the people of cardiff were amongst those who really volu nteered cardiff were amongst those who really volunteered in large numbers for the trial that enabled the dexamethasone trial to be successfully completed, so a big, big shout out and a big thank you to the people of cardiff for their volunteering. would that be right, peter? yes, i mean, the whole trial has been a huge effort across all four nations, with fantastic recruitment. our top hospitals in leicester but we had fantastic recruitment from wales and scotland and northern ireland, it has been a huge national effort. good, thanks very much, everybody. thank you, daniel, thanks, all. studio: so the end of the latest

coronavirus downing street briefing, led the prime minister. let's remind ourselves of the main points from today's downing street briefing with the prime minister. he announced "the biggest breakthrough" in finding a coronavirus treatment proven to reduce the risk of death. the treatment is that steroid called dexamethasone. it cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators, and for those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. mrjohnson said they have enough supplies even in the event of a second wave. this comes as a further 233 people died in the uk from covid—19 — taking the total death toll to 41,969. let's speak to our political correspondent, chris mason, who's in westminster. you were watching and listening to all of that. good news on

dexamethasone but let's just talk about the politics of school meal vouchers in england and the prime minister pressed a couple of times on why the government had changed policy on this because of a 22—year—old footballer. policy on this because of a 22-year-old footballer. yes, and we learned, didn't we, that the prime minister hasjust come learned, didn't we, that the prime minister has just come off the phone to marcus rashford, it's understood they spoke as the prime minister travelled back from downing street, where he was talking about white reorganisation and the scrapping for the department for international development, heading back to downing street for the news conference and at some point between those two events, misterjohnson spoke to rashford. intriguingly, i noticed the prime minister said that he had talked to marcus rashford today, he congratulated him on his campaign which, to be honest, he said, i'd only become aware of very recently, today, and i thank him for what he's done. marcus rashford has been talking about this for some time, he published that open letter yesterday morning, gave an interview to sally nugent on bbc breakfast yesterday

and downing street actually said to adjust the day that the prime minister would respond to marcus rashford's letter. that is something we we re rashford's letter. that is something we were told yesterday and yet at the prime minister saying today he only became aware of the campaign today. nonetheless, this government about turn and this decision that there will be vouchers provided for children in england who are recipients of free school meals over the summer, to match what happened during the whitsun half term break and also at easter. a couple of other news lines that i spotted at that news conference. i thought that sir patrick vallance, the chief scientific adviser, offered potentially a little bit more for what we expect be a switch at some stage around the two metre rule, acknowledging there are mitigating ways to manage the risk assessment, as he described it, around getting closer to one another than two metres, including, for instance, sitting back to back, whether that be on public transport or in a work

environment. then the news, as you say, about dexamethasone. so, yeah, when the prime minister turns up at these news conferences, always a greater likelihood of news and i think it was quite striking that there was quite a bit tonight. worth emphasising, i thought, there was quite a bit tonight. worth emphasising, ithought, that professor peter horby saying this drug breakthrough is not a panacea because, ultimately, it is only going to help you if you are pretty seriously ill with covid—19, it wouldn't reduce the number of people who end up in hospital if there is a second wave, it would only treat those and potentially only some of those and potentially only some of those successfully, who are pretty seriously ill and require assistance with breathing. and so it wouldn't necessarily restrict the extent of any future lockdown if there was a significant second peak. and just on the two metre rule, i also thought the two metre rule, i also thought the prime minister, just reading between the lines a little bit on that, as you say, perhaps paving the way for a reduction of the two metre

rule to a one metre rule, he said watch this space and he also said there is a strong case for reviewing there is a strong case for reviewing the measures. yes, i think what you saw from the prime minister is genuine conflict at the heart of government, because they are desperate to avoid a second wave, for all of the obvious medical and economic reasons that would be the consequences of a big second peak, but, at the same time, they are very alive, particularly those in the hospitality sector looking forward to opening restaurants and cafe is in bars at the beginning of next month, saying that at two metres, we are not financially viable and at one metre, we can make it work and make money, so i think the government is very alive to both of those realities. conflicted between the two, given what the medical evidence suggests and therefore taking a look at both sides of the ledger, the economic and medical side of this, and hoping that if the reproduction rate of the virus

remains below one, in other words it is shrinking and the number of cases are shrinking, that you can make a more plausible case for reducing it to one metre because the likelihood of any of us encountering somebody who has the virus in that instance is shrinking. chris, many thanks, lots of talking points. chris mason, our political correspondent. cornwall is being hit hard by this pandemic because of its reliance on tourism and hospitality. the county council fears that more than a quarter ofjobs in cornwall are now at risk. newquay is particularly vulnerable. two hotels have already permanently closed their doors. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan reports. it belonged to shearings holidays, but actually it didn't, it belonged to us. we cared for it, it was all of our lives. welcome to the beresford hotel. but in lockdown britain, these are not staff and guests, but former employees laid off

when the company went under last month. life was lived here, busy and bustling. no more. receptionist caroline tansley would often lead the entertainment. everywhere would be packed and it'sjust dead, really. and to see the hoteljust standing empty is just heartbreaking. in the abandoned kitchen, chefs philip and andrew are among the 50 staff made redundant when the company behind shearings holidays called in administrators. they loved it all, their guests, their colleagues, theirjobs. to actually have no security now and no jobs actually in the area as well is very hard to swallow. you feel your pride has been taken away. i am a reasonably confident person but this definitely has knocked a bit of the stuffing out of me.

cornwall fears an economic crisis because of coronavirus. a council report says over 70,000 jobs could be at risk. that is more than a quarter of alljobs in the county. everything is affected, fishermen cannot sell to restaurants that don't have visitors, who are not filling hotels. i'm not sure i would employ me at my age. the beresford general manager, 63—year—old jackie cunliffe, says thatjob—hunting at this time is daunting. our assistant manager applied to aldi and they said after 500 applications they were not looking any more. so everyone is going to have their pick of the perfect candidates. there is some hope that a new owner might emerge but for newly unemployed sisters diana and catherine, life has more immediate concerns. we've got a few savings but i've just found out my husband has

just been made redundant so that is going to hit us big time. staff here thought themselves a close, supportive family, but the pandemic is shredding those bonds. they are individuals now, facing a harsh economic climate. michael buchanan, bbc news, newquay. 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 14 hours, i can't work more than 12 hours, without legislation and regulation saying i can't. i certainly can't work 14 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. all schools have been ordered to close again in the chinese capital, beijing, as the city tries to contain a new coronavirus outbreak. an official has described the situation as ‘extremely severe'. our correspondent stepen mcdonnell is in beijing, he described the situation on the ground. i mean, on the one hand you've got the raw numbers and they are saying that over the last five days there are just over 100 cases from this outbreak of people who have been confirmed with the coronavirus and have symptoms. yet you have this official saying that the situation is extremely severe. now, in other countries people would be thinking, that doesn't sound very severe to me, just over 100 cases. the point is in beijing there were no cases for more than 50 days and now there is this local

outbreak that has happened. unlike these other examples of people who have been infected who have come back from overseas into the country, this is like a domestic outbreak of infection. and so either the numbers are not reflecting what is really happening on the ground, or officials here havejust decided they are going to crack down very hard on this and make sure that they have stamped out the coronavirus before it can really take hold here and they have to shut down beijing. so they are taking this very seriously and i think the fact that it started as a market, at a wholesale market which has such wide exposure throughout the whole of the city is one of the main reasons why they are concerned about this outbreak. south korea has strongly condemned the destruction by the north of a liaison office built to facilitate peace talks.

the office was set up two years ago —— at south korean expense —— in the north korean border city of kaesong. the move comes just hours after the north renewed threats of military action at the korean border. our seoul correspondent laura bicker, reports. this building was a symbol of hope. within seconds, it was reduced to rubble. in the north, viewers were told that it was a terrific explosion. in the south, the mood was more sombre. translation: sternly warn we will respond strongly if north korea continues to ta ke strongly if north korea continues to take measures to aggravate the situation. two years ago, in a wave of optimism, the leaders of north and south korea met. they agreed to work together to find a path towards peace. they opened a newly refurbished

liaison office to aid talks. but relations soured after kim jong—un met donald trump in hanoi. the two couldn't come to a deal to dismantle the north's weapons. there was no triumphant return to pyongyang for mr kim and no sanctions relief for his impoverished state. the north is also angry that defectors in the south continue to send anti—regime propaganda in balloons over the border. but it's likely that current tensions are part of a bigger plan to pressure seoul. the north korean military is now threatening to head back into parts of the heavily fortified border. the south korean army is once again on alert. president moon had hoped holding hands with kim jong—un would lead to irreversible peace on the peninsula. pyongyang appears ready

to prove him wrong. laura bicker, bbc news. president trump has signed an executive order, aimed at reforming some police procedures. the move follows a wave of protests which have swept the us, since the death of george floyd three weeks ago. he said that police will be banned from using choke holds in future, unless their lives are under threat. what is needed now is not more stoping of fear and division, we need to bring law enforcement and communities closer together, not drive them apart. under the executive order that i am signing to date we will prioritise federal gra nts date we will prioritise federal grants from the department of justice to police departments that seek independent credentialling, certifying that they meet high standards and in fact in certain cases the highest standard. on the

use of force and de—escalation training. for example many believe that proper training might have prevented the tragic deaths of antoine rose. as part of this new credentialling process choke holds will be banned except if an officer's life is at risk. there's a new warning that the coronavirus pandemic has severely affected some young people's mental health. research from the university of oxford says primary school children have been most badly impacted. hannah gray reports.

these are examples of the kind of calls helen has been hearing since march. she works for childline and she's really concerned about child ren's well—being. i think children are the hidden victims of this coronavirus and for many children home isn't a safe place. and, you know, we haven't got community eyes and ears, schools, health services, looking out for children, so that is a real worry. people are dying, people are getting ill, and you can't see your friends, your relatives. sara is 11 years old. during lockdown she's done a survey asking 16 children in south yorkshire how they've been coping. lots of people are actually worried, scared, and concerned about coronavirus. that was 82%. it was a very big thing to go through as a child. and, yeah, it affected me quite

a lot because i was worried what it could do to my family. her dad is a doctor at the local hospital and he inspired her to talk to others about their feelings. it's very important that we, as children, get our voices heard so that we feel calm and we know that it's safe, because when you are very young you can get very worried about things that completely change your life. a new survey from the university of oxford asked 10,000 families across england to report on their child's mental health. secondary school aged children say they're less stressed and behave better out of school, but primary school aged children seem to be finding it more difficult. parents are reporting that over the course of lockdown children's emotional difficulties, so being clingy or worried or unhappy and behaviour problems, so having tantrums, getting into arguments, or maybe not doing what their parents are asking them to over that month, those things have actually got worse. even before the pandemic, the children's commissioners said that the current system is far away

from meeting the needs of all the children who have mental health conditions. psychologists now suspect there will be an even greater number of children who will need support after being isolated for so long. it's ourjob as professionals, government, schools to make sure that there is enough support available. you know, these effects don't have to be lifelong and it's important that we all take account of what children and young people are telling us, believe them, and give them the right support to emerge from this intact and able to go on and enjoy their childhood and adult lives. in the meantime, children like sara try to find their own ways of coping as they watch the adults around them deal with the biggest change to our world in a generation. hannah gray, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello, there. our weather is going to stay in an unsettled showery kind of mood for the next few days, and that means you are going to see

a mixture of sunshine and heavy afternoon thunderstorms capable of bringing some localised surface water flooding. aside from that, it will be quite warm and, often, it will feel quite humid as well. now, today is no exception, we have seen lots of warm june sunshine already for sure, but we are seeing lines of thunderstorms break out. some nasty ones working across south—west england, some fairly slow moving downpours towards the brecon beacons. manchester again has been hit with some fairly lively weather earlier on today, with some thunderstorm activity and storms as well expected across parts of western scotland. these heavy showers capable of bringing 25—35 millimetres of rain in the space ofjust one hour, so there is the risk of some localised surface water flooding and spray on the roads. now, many of those showers do fade away overnight but, again, it's going to turn rather cloudy and grey across parts of the north—east, with mist and fog patches particularly across coastal areas, and it will continue to feel a little on the humid side as well as we head into wednesday. wednesday is another day where, for the most part, it is a largely dry start to the day, perhaps a few showers, though, for the north—west.

as we head into the afternoon, that's when the showers really get going and, this time, they will be quite widespread, i think, across wales, the midlands, and areas of southern england. again, the heaviest downpours could bring us some localised surface water flooding issues but then, on thursday, it could get quite nasty, i think. the winds are going to look something like this on thursday. hopefully, you can see there is a line roughly around here where we are going to see the winds bashing together, a convergence zone, and where that happens, we'll get a line of thunderstorms that will be particularly slow—moving and along that line of storms, we could see quite large amounts of rain, may be 40 or 50 millimetres, for some, falling in the space ofjust two or three hours although the amount of rain you get from place to place is going to vary. this is a day where we could see some localised surface water flooding problems building in once again. so, showers and thunderstorms to watch out for, there will be some rain pushing northwards elsewhere. temperatures still generally into the low 20s and it continues to feel rather humid as well. but, as we head into the weekend, there is no sign of the weather settling down but it probably will turn a little bit fresher. rain at times moving

into the north—west, perhaps the driest and brightest weather towards the south—east of the uk. that's your weather.

a major breakthrough — for the first time, a drug has been found that significantly reduces the risk of dying from coronavirus. it's a cheap steroid that has been around since the 1960s. dexamethasone works on the most seriously ill, and could save thousands of lives. it isa it is a treatment that is cheap, widely available, i don't think anybody expected a result like this. tonight, the prime minister said britain has enough of the drug to deal with a second peak of infections if it comes.