this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines... the government is scrapping the covid tracing app it's been testing on the isle of wight in favour of a system being used in other countries, in what's seen as a major u—turn. it comes as new data reveals contact tracers have been unable to contact more than a quarter of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in england. a further 135 people have died in the uk with coronavirus, taking the total to 42,288. good news for the high street in scotland, as the first minister nicola sturgeon announces some shops can reopen from the 29th june. and northern ireland reduces social distancing for school children to one metre.

# we'll meet again # don't know where, don't know when...# and our other main headline this afternoon. tributes are paid to the forces‘ sweetheart, dame vera lynn, who has died at the age of 103. welcome to viewers on bbc one. in around half an hour we'll bring you today's coronavirus press briefing from downing street, being led today by the health secretary matt hancock. first though, a look at today's developments because there's been a u—turn from the government, after it abandoned the coronavirus—tracing app,

which was being piloted on the isle of wight. instead, it's switching to a model based on technology provided by google and apple. the apple—google design has been promoted as being more privacy—focused, but does also mean that epidemiologists will have access to less data. meanwhile, it's been revealed in new figures today that one—in—four people who test positive for coronavirus haven't been reached by contact—tracers in england. in northern ireland, ministers have agreed that social distancing of one metre is "safe and appropriate" for children and young people at school. august the 24th is the expected date for schools to reopen there. in scotland, first minister nicola sturgeon announced that the country has moved to the second phase of its four—phase "route map" aimed at ending the lockdown. those shielding will be allowed to meet up with friends or family outdoors, and most shops will reopen on june 29th. across the uk, a further 135 people with coronavirus have died, taking the total to 42,288.

testing those with symptoms of coronavirus and, if they're positive, tracing all the people they've been in close contact recently is regarded as one of the key ways of slowing the spread of the virus. according to the latest figures for england for the past week, almost 6,000 people who tested positive had their details passed on to the test and trace system. but around a quarter of them could not be reached. of those who were reached, almost 16,000 were asked to self—isolate, an increase of around 12,000 from the previous week. if you test positive, nhs test and trace will contact you to trace people you might have infected... the fact that a quarter of the people with the virus are not being traced will add to the concerns that the government's programme

is not working well. the test and trace system that has been set up through the government procedures is really falling short of capability. it is falling far short of where it needs to be to allow the lockdown to proceed, the undoing of the lockdown to proceed. meanwhile, on the isle of wight, more problems for the test and trace system. the app, which was trialled here for many weeks and should have been launched already, is facing further delays into the winter. this apparently due to more technical problems. and this afternoon a u—turn by the government on the app. it's now switching to a model based on technology provided by google and apple. injapan today, in sharp contrast with all this, a government minister announced the launching of their test and trace app. it will, the minister said, quickly warn those who are using the app

if they've been in close contact with someone infected by the virus. and, he said, this would save lives. back here in the uk, the infection rate continues to fall. but ensuring there aren't further outbreaks depends on the contact tracing system working well. it was, after all, supposed to be up and running before the government started lifting the lockdown. richard galpin, bbc news. 0ur health correspondent cath burns is here. clearly big problems with this app. are we ever going to have one? that is the million dollar question here, so is the million dollar question here, so it could possibly not happen. initially, right from the beginning, we said we would have a world beating system and the app would be a vital part of it. slowly over time

that has trickled down to this will be the cherry on top of the cake on the cake is what is important. but now the talks seem to be about a companion app, which wouldn't necessarily be contact tracing, it would be an app which you could be tested on and if you had to go to isolation it would give you guidance and information on this all comes down to the technology. the technology is really new. if you think what a contact tracing app needs to do, it needs to see who you are with and how close you are to them. and you have the two different platforms, the nhs app, apparently, is not that great at finding out who you are with, especially if you are using an apple phone, and it only picks up about 4% of the contact because the way that apple works, it pushes the technology to the background. 0n the other hand, the google app is very good at this but

not so good, it seems, at picking up how close you are to someone and obviously this is absolutely key, because there is no point telling someone because there is no point telling someone you've got to self—isolate for two weeks because you've been in contact with someone when they haven't necessarily been within two or three metres. there are no promises being made now. all we hear is that the technology is not there yet. maybe it will be, may it won't. really interesting. many thanks. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. the words u—turn are being splashed everywhere and it must be embarrassing to the government, given that this is the latest u—turn in several weeks. given that this is the latest u—turn in severalweeks. it is given that this is the latest u—turn in several weeks. it is interesting they are saying no promises being made and it would be interesting to hear from matt hancock, made and it would be interesting to hearfrom matt hancock, the health secretary later, on he predicts will happen with the app because part of the problem has been the government really overpromising and boris johnson, just a month ago, saying this was going to be a world beating system and that it would be in place by the ist ofjune. i think people

listening to that at the time did wonder whether the uk was suddenly going to be able to be beating a system that has been in, for example, south korea for a very long time and thatjust makes it worse when reality doesn't happen. that's been a huge problem and lots of people were saying at the time, and then watching what happened in germany, that they switched to the other system on the fact that the uk thought it could do something others weren't doing maybe wasn't, with hindsight, the best thing to do. some conservative mps say it is good to aim high and good to try and get the best system in place and you have to accept it when things go wrong. but as you say, other u—turns, the promise to get all primary school children backed by the end of term, something the government had to go back on and this is becoming a bit of a theme and worrying for lots of mps and

lots of people watching and they wa nt to lots of people watching and they want to trust a government that when they say something is going to happen that they can follow through and deliver on it. ok, we will talk to you againjust and deliver on it. ok, we will talk to you again just before the press conference starts, but for the moment, thank you very much. as we mentioned, more than one in four people who have tested positive for coronavirus cannot be reached by the test and trace system in england. the latest figures show that the details ofjust over 14 thousand people with positive tests were passed on to the nhs track and trace service during its first two weeks. of those, contact tracers successfully reached 10,192 people and asked them to provide details of people they had mixed with. but the track and trace service in england was unable to contact 3,853 people. that's just over a quarter of people with positive tests. with me is professor sir chris ham, who is a health policy academic. he is the non—executive chair of the coventry and warwirckshire health and care partnership and also the non—executive director of royal free hospitals. hello, and thank you so much for

joining us on bbc news. what do you make of these figures? they sound initially worrying? on the face of it, there is some progress compared with the update we had last week but to put this in context, the test and trace service has picked up a minority of the new covid—19 cases, around 10,000 over the last two weeks. if you look at the 0ns surveillance research, there have probably been between 50 and 70,000 new cases in that period, so generously, test and trace is picking up only 20% of people newly diagnosed with covid—19. that's more important in some ways than the other data in today's report, also important is the national aspect of test and trace, people who are working on telephones, out of call centres and from home. they have reached around 10,000 contacts of those who have been tested positive,

but there are another 77,000 people who have been contacted by public health england or by local public health teams who have been brought into this process late in the day. and why does that matter? well, 25,000 contact tracers are working on this national telephone —based scheme, and in the last two weeks, they have only been in touch with 10,000 contacts. i would have thought that that suggests we have hired too many and we had an emphasis on this national element and not enough on the critical, local contributions who councils and a public health teams - up. m iii—i—zgggfigg interestin. i wonder 2222272 :\.,n,.l “hm": \ mm \ ., mg. fin _ that's interesting. i wonder what you think the centralised system is not picking up more people. is it because there are people who have got the virus but are not displaying symptoms? that is part of it, certainly, but if you look at the experience in other countries and your report mentioned south korea, and germany and new zealand, they would be further examples, they have

relied on any national system with people working from call centres or working on telephones from home to do the contact tracing. they have relied on regional or local public health teams, people who have been trained to do this work, who are in touch with their local communities and who are much better place because of that local knowledge to follow u p because of that local knowledge to follow up with the contact tracing and to support people where it is appropriate to isolate at home, and then to provide the wherewithal to enable them to do that successfully. this is yet another example, i'm afraid to say, of english exceptionalism and the government trying to do it differently based on their own understanding on what the priority should be, rather than learning from best practice internationally and rather than, and this is the critical point, using the local experience which our councils and public health directors can bring. that is now happening on a small scale and is ramping up, but

it is not yet at a point where we can be confident that we have the capability we need to safeguard the population as the lockdown is being eased. so do you think the government should be directing more of its energy to the more localised, decentralised system? of its energy to the more localised, decentralised system ? yes, of its energy to the more localised, decentralised system? yes, i do. that is the fundamental flaw in the design of the system. the chief executive of leeds city council was hired by the government about five or six weeks ago to come in and work with baroness harding and her team to do precisely that. he is making some progress and gave evidence to a parliamentary select committee earlier this week setting out the progress. he has got a toughjob earlier this week setting out the progress. he has got a tough job to do, because the government spent two months or so before baroness harding and tom reading —— tom riordan was brought in to develop a national system and outsource the contact tracing to the private sector and believing that was the best way to

go forward when all the international evidence suggests a regional, localapproach international evidence suggests a regional, local approach is much more preferable. so things have moved in a more positive direction, but far too late in the day, i'm afraid. it's another example of the missteps and mistakes the government has made in its handling of the crisis. one other brief question. do you think that the current system is strong enough for lockdown measures to be eased further in the next review? not yet. we need to allow our councils, their public health teams, more time. they've been asked to produce a local outbreak plans by the end ofjune in anticipation there will be local flare—ups and outbreaks in different communities rather than a national second wave. they are still doing that, i'm still identifying people locally, environmental health, trading standards, health service staff who are still doing contact tracing who need to be in place, and critically, to make sure we all understand what they will be doing alongside the

public health england regional teams who are quite expert in some of this, and the 25,000 people working on telephones nationally. there is a lot on this to go wrong unless it's executed in a professional and competent way and so far the government's track record in doing thatis government's track record in doing that is not good. we will have leave it there. thank you so much. scotland is moving to the next phase of its plan to ease the lockdown. nicola sturgeon has been outlining the details in the last hour. 0ur correspondent, lorna gordon, is in glasgow. yes, the first minister said that ca re yes, the first minister said that care and caution still needed to be exercised but because of people's actions over the last three months, some restrictions, further restrictions, can now be lifted. but those restrictions which were set out in phase two of the scottish route map will be lifted in a

staggered way, she said. some highlights for you because there is a lot to unpack, but highlights are that from today those who are shielding can exercise outside, and from tomorrow they can meet outdoors with people from one of the household but in groups of no more than eight. there will also be a further easing on the restrictions on the economy. more construction from monday, face masks also mandatory on public transport on that day. then a week on monday, in 11 days, factories and warehouses can reopen in scotland but with strict physical distancing measures in place. and shops of all sizes with outdoor entrances can reopen, but no shopping malls. 0ne element that wasn't set out today but was originally in the phase two eating was outdoor hospitality such as beer gardens. there is no reopening of

that. it is getting complicated in scotla nd that. it is getting complicated in scotland and that means there will bea scotland and that means there will be a change in the government's message too. in the next phase, instead of asking you to stay home, protect the nhs and save lives, we will be asking you to stay safe, protect others and save lives. this advice recognises that although the virus is being suppressed, it has not gone away. it is still highly infectious, it is still deadly to some, and it is dangerous to many. the leader of the scottish conservatives said that nicola sturgeon does not understand the depth of the economic and education crisis caused by the extended lockdown. but nicola sturgeon's argument is that patients she said will reap the biggest rewards. she said the prize for going more slowly is that any recovery will be more

sustainable in the long run. ok, lorna, many thanks. lorna gordon in glasgow. tributes have been pouring in to dame vera lynn, the wartime singer who has died at the age of 103. known as the forces sweetheart, dame vera's music came to symbolise britain's spirit during the second world war, conveying hope during the bleakest days of the conflict. songs including ‘we'll meet again' and ‘the white cliffs of dover‘ united soldiers with their families on the home front. the prime minister said her voice lifted the country in its darkest hours, and will live on for generations to come. robert hall looks back at her life. # there'll be bluebirds over...# it is a voice that has spanned the decades. the voice of an ordinary london girl born at the end of the first world war, who became an iconic symbol of the second. vera welch, daughter of a plumber and a dressmaker, began singing as a child. she took her grandmother's surname, lynn, as a stage name, made her first record aged 19,

and sold 1 million records in the next three years. this little girl from east ham would never have had the opportunity if she hadn't have been singing. if my mother hadn't put me on the stage! this letter of mine is getting to be a sort of rendezvous, where husbands and wives, torn apart by war, can be brought together by music. when war broke out again, vera began broadcasting with the bbc. through a forces request programme, "sincerely yours," she became the girl that thousands of fighting men hoped they'd meet when they returned home, although some accused the programme of damaging the war effort. "too sentimental, making the boys home sick." and i said, "that's rubbish, a lot of rubbish, because the letters are so thankful for the programmes." vera was a star, but her desire to do more took her to meet fans

halfway around the world. they said, "well, where do you want to go?" i said, "well, if i'm going in, i know europe are getting well supplied — i want to go somewhere where there isn't any entertainers." so they said, "well, burma is the only place!" you know. she kept a record of herjungle adventures in a secret diary. i took my little diary and my little pencil, and you just about see it. tiny little writing. "slept on stretcher. oh, yes. balanced on two kitchen chairs. a rotten night." i should think so! it's not been awarded. you earned it. it was another a0 years before vera lynn received her own burma star. by then, she was dame vera lynn and as busy as ever. am i allowed to kiss you? yes! in 1995, vera led veterans in song

outside buckingham palace to mark the 50th anniversary of ve day. and in 2010, aged 94, she topped the charts once again. it was a shock. i thought, "oh, 70 years ago, the same song was number one." and little did i think that i would even still be around, let alone have a number—one hit! 0n dame vera's 100th birthday, she listened to the children of her old school and remembered the singing coach she ignored. # don't know where, don't know when...# when she heard me sing, she says, "no, i can't train that voice. it's not a natural voice."

so i said, "well, thank you very much, madam," and left! # keep smiling through, just like you always do # till the blue skies chase those dark clouds far away...# but vera lynn's national presence was more than a voice. it was a spirit carried forward across the decades and still resonating during the current pandemic. a spirit reflected by the queen during her recent very personal message. we should take comfort that, while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. we will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again. # we'll meet again # don't know

where, don't know when...# vera lynn's strongest bonds were always with the veterans she still referred to as "my boys". the words she sang will endure long after the last of them has left us. # but i know we'll meet again some sunny day #. dane vera lynn who has died at the age of 103. dame vera lynn who has died at the age of 103. we can talk now to the singer, actress and entertainer anita harris, who featured in the royal variety show line up

alongside dame vera lynn in 1990 and performed at her 100th birthday celebration show at the london palladium in 2017. thanks so much forjoining us this afternoon. i'm going to ask about what it was like to perform with her then, but ijust wanted to ask first of all, i don't know if you could hear the piece that was broadcast, her enduring appeal and importance in british life was so evident. hello, reeta. just hearing that, it's a sad day but you cannot listen to that and not smile. she gifted the world and great britain with so much. i said the world and great britain with so much. isaid in the world and great britain with so much. i said in my message that she absolutely, when she sent those m essa g es absolutely, when she sent those messages home from the troops to theirfamilies, they messages home from the troops to their families, they were golden nuggets. she was a golden light in a very dark time. to use the word gift

is exactly what she gave to us all. there wonderful clips you just played, that is her lifetime of work. how wonderful, her light is shining everywhere today, bless her. yes, it spanned so many decades, and i'm just very struck, you performed with her in 1990 and at her 100th birthday celebrations in 2017, that's 27 years apart, but tell us, what was she like? a proper lady in the true british sense. she was so natural in her manner that everything else that surrounded her... i met herfirst of all everything else that surrounded her... i met her first of all with harry secombe for the royal variety, because i had been on tour with the combined services with harry and the army benevolent fund. i had done a lot of tours. i followed much later

in her footsteps to borneo and germany, and when you meet the forces and you meet what treasures they are, you can see in their eyes. when dame vera lynn is mentioned, their eyes light up, they are so grateful. i think that is what eve ryo ne grateful. i think that is what everyone is thinking today. to work with her, to be on the stage, especially the palladium stage, was a joy. she treated everyone the same, she knew her position was centre stage, but with that she gifted us to be in her little world, focused in that spotlight. and of course when the queen turned up, it was a magical, magical evening, and i'm so proud and very privileged to feel that i was sharing the stage with her. did you get a sense of how she viewed her central place in

british history and culture? the forces‘ sweetheart, that is a big role to carry. a huge role to carry, but she was of the time, and the most important time for this country. i met her dear husband, harry, and of course thejunior, her daughter. she was very grounded, very down—to—earth. she loved her home and the people. she loved to be just herself. if you are in that position, and every time a song like we‘ll meet again is broadcast, for her to be we‘ll meet again is broadcast, for herto be in we‘ll meet again is broadcast, for her to be in that bubble, it must give you a wonderful feeling that you are reaching out to the general public, to people you meet in the street, and i think she was blessed with both sides... a bit of show

business but also to be part of the british public, which she was. yes, lovely. lovely lady. it is so lovely to talk to you. thank you, i harris, for sharing those memories of dame vera lynn. —— anita harris. i‘m honoured, goodbye. if you want to get more on the life and times and influence of dame vera lynn, there is a special programme being broadcast on bbc one tonight at 7:30pm, and viewers in wales can see that at the same time on bbc two. the french president,

emmanuel macron, is visiting london to mark the 80th anniversary of general de gaulle‘s famous call for wartime resistance. the radio address — delivered from here at broadcasting house — urged people in france not to give up the fight against hitler. president macron is currently meeting the prime minister. this is the scene of the men watching a joint fly—past. this is the british red arrows, and their french counterparts. there we go, celebrating and remembering of course the anniversary of that call to resista nce anniversary of that call to resistance by general de gaulle. flying side by side at the moment. absolutely spectacular formation.

hard to tell from here who is ahead. i think it may be the red arrows leading it. marvellous blue skies so we can see so well. it‘s been very wet in london during the day, but it‘s all cleared up now. so the red planes we can see closest to us are the red arrows, not surprisingly.

right, | right, i think that that maybe it. that fly past was due to pass over buckingham palace at 5pm precisely and we are one minute past five. they flew in from 0xfordshire, which is where i think that they will eventually return. from ana from an a red arrow fly past to our chief correspondent. that‘s a good introduction. what do we expect this afternoon? what sort of question is will we get for matt hancock?” think there will inevitably be a lot of question about this taste and trace app, the one they have decided

to switch to a different one and no promises on when it will be ready even when borisjohnson talked about having a world beating system in june, there‘s clearly been huge problems with it and clearly the focus instead will be on the human contact tracers and every week we have got figures about how many people have been been contacted, how many figures they‘ve been given, how many figures they‘ve been given, how many they have traced, and an update on that as matt hancock will be alongside baroness harding who has beenin alongside baroness harding who has been in charge of that. the government said the was going to be a central part of this, and now it hasn‘t worked out and they are going to rely on the tried and tested technique has been used for a very long time, but it does involve contacting people directly and they have to hand over contacts that they have to hand over contacts that they have had, and then the idea is eve ryo ne have had, and then the idea is everyone is told they must quarantine or going to self isolation and the government say that there would be thousands of

people not wandering around inadvertently passing the virus around and! inadvertently passing the virus around and i hope that that will be enough to make sure there is no second wave of infection. while you we re second wave of infection. while you were speaking, and here we are again, viewers are watching president macron, i think, probably in the process of saying goodbye to borisjohnson after in the process of saying goodbye to boris johnson after their talks earlier in the day when they came out to watch that fly past that happened. we were speaking earlier about it, and you mentioned how the government in a way has made life difficult for itself by promising a world beating app. those were boris johnson‘s own words, i think. and they may come back to haunt him.” think even when he said that and that was only a month ago, lots of people watching the thinking that was quite a big claim given there are many countries including south korea who are much more used to dealing with coronaviruses and have the systems up and running and have done for awhile and to say that ours would world beating inevitably lead

to some raised eyebrows and then of course the fact that now the pilot that has been going on on the isle of wight, and i was talking to people a couple of weeks ago who felt they were ready to go to the next stage of that, but that has now moved away and they have decided they have to move to a different system which is not as centralised. it's system which is not as centralised. it‘s the same as problems of the countries had a switch to well go to a different system so for many people thought it was a bit inevitable at talking to people in downing street in the last couple of weeks they were definitely moving away and saying that the app would be nice to have and if it is working, that‘s a great thing on the cherry on the cake, but knowing, i think, that we will have to rely on this much more manual, if you like, system that has been working on today there are more figures showing that more than 70% of those who tested positive for coronaviruses we re tested positive for coronaviruses were contacted, and they then hand over their contacts and they have to all be traced and told that they have been within two metres of somebody who has tested positive.

that is the idea behind the system. you are told that it‘s happened and you are expected to do the right thing and to go into isolation and thatis thing and to go into isolation and that is what they are banking on, with lots of this, that people do the right thing to protect others. we are waiting for the downing street briefing to start. we were looking at pictures there, as you are speaking, taken earlier in downing street, borisjohnson and president macron posing for the cameras, chatting. quite a lot for them to discuss, isn‘t there? there is quarantine and also brexit. yes, the word brexit which we haven‘t thought about much, but it is slowly coming back on the agenda and the british government have made it clear... i will stop you there as we can speak to matt hancock. iamjoined i am joined today by baroness harding, the executive chair of nhs test and trace and before we start, i want to recognise the sad loss of

dame vera lynn. she united us in the worst crisis that this country faced and ever since, she has inspired us all with the words that she will a lwa ys all with the words that she will always be associated with, we‘ll meet again. we send our condolences to herfamily meet again. we send our condolences to her family and meet again. we send our condolences to herfamily and we meet again. we send our condolences to her family and we will all remember her warmly. the first thing i want to do is take you through the latest data, and then talk about progress with nhs test and trace and vaccines. can we go to the first slide? the first slide shows that yesterday there were 136,516 tests, taking the total to over 7.25 million in total and that there are 1218 positive test results. if we go to the next slide... this slide shows the estimated average number

of people who had covid—19 in england. this is according to the ons england. this is according to the 0ns survey, and as you can see, the number has been coming down over time, and this same survey sees a rise of around 4500 new cases per day. the next slide, please. data from hospitals also shows a broad downward direction. there were 490 admissions with covid—19 on the 15th ofjune, and as we can see, the number of people on mechanical ventilator beds is now 360. the next slide, please. the number of people in hospital continues to come down in almost every region. you can see a very small uptick in the east of england, but as you can see from the other charts, there is some movement in the variation, in each of of the

lines. and the overall movement continues to be down. and overall, down to 5193 from 5863 this time last week. and the final slide of this group, please. when it comes to the number of people who have sadly died with coronaviruses, yesterday, the number of deaths reported was 135, bringing the total to 42,288. and again, we can see a downward trajectory, thankfully, that number. the number, 135, is lower than this time last week but there is still some way to go. there is one additional report that is worth looking at, that public health

england today have published their weekly surveillance report which shows that last week, for the first week since mid—march, the number of people who died in this country in total from coronaviruses and anything else was no higher than is normal at this time normal at anything else was no higher than is normal at this time of year. so that demonstrates that the number of deaths is coming right down, but the battle against this virus is not over. and it is a battle on many fronts and there are two areas i wa nt to fronts and there are two areas i want to update you on today. the first is vaccines, and before i want to talk, ijust first is vaccines, and before i want to talk, i just wanted first is vaccines, and before i want to talk, ijust wanted say first is vaccines, and before i want to talk, i just wanted say about a very important reminder about other vaccines that are there protect you. throughout the crisis we try to keep the vaccination programmes for children going and it‘s been largely successful, but if you or your child is invited for a vaccination, like mmr, please make sure you attend. it's mmr, please make sure you attend. it‘s very important we don‘t fall

behind on the vaccinations for other diseases because of this crisis. during the pandemic, we have put stringent measures in place to protect people who are getting vaccinations, and in the long run, the best way to defeat this virus is, of course, the discovery of a vaccine. and since the start, we have been supporting the most promising projects. as of this week, the imperial vaccine is in the first phase of human clinical trials and astrazeneca has struck a deal for the manufacture of another vaccine. they are starting manufacturing now, even ahead of approval, so we can build upa even ahead of approval, so we can build up a stockpile and be ready should it be clinically approved. just like with dexamethasone, the treatment that we stockpile before we had prove it was clinically effective. so we are starting the manufacturer of the oxford vaccine now so it will be ready, and should

the science come off. today, we have also published the way in which we propose to prioritise people for access to a vaccine as soon as one becomes available. just as we did for testing, we will be guided by the clinical science, prioritising those in most need. i‘m very grateful to the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation which has published its interim advice today. they recommend priority vaccination for two groups, front line health and social care workers and those at increased risk of serious disease and death from coronaviruses. including, for example, adults over the age of 50 and those with heart and kidney disease. as we learn more about the virus, we will continue to take into account which groups may be particularly vulnerable, including, for example, those from ethnic minority backgrounds. so we can protect the most at risk first

should have vaccine become available and get this country back on its feet as soon as we possibly can. with vaccines, we will throw everything at it, as fast as we can, and rigorously to test and make sure that they are safe before deployment. this is our approach across the board, in fact, including on test and trace as well, and that‘s the second area i want to focus on today. baroness harding will talk you through the figures from the nhs test and trace programme shortly. today‘s data shows a system that is working well and shows a system that is working well a nd co nsta ntly shows a system that is working well and constantly improving. and remember, that each one of the thousands of people who are now isolating because of the nhs test and trace programme and all of the work of those involved is someone who would have been innocently going about their daily lives not knowing that they were a risk to their community. and as you may remember, our plan is to complement this human contact tracing with a contact tracing app. like other governments

around the world, we have been working hard on this, and i want to be upfront and open about the challenges that we and other countries are facing. 0ver challenges that we and other countries are facing. over the past few weeks, we have rigorously tested our prototype app in the isle of wight and our prototype app in the isle of wightand in our prototype app in the isle of wight and in field trials. i want to thank everyone who has been involved and all of the islanders of the isle of wight, the council have been brilliant, the local nhs, and bob sealey, the mp, who has played a real leadership role. thank you. because of this testing, we have discovered a technical barrier at every other country building their own app has also now hit. we found that our app works well on android devices but apple software prevents iphones being used effectively for contract —— contact tracing unless you use apple‘s own tech. after we started the work on our app, google and apple started working on their

own product and as soon as they did this, we began working on both. we kept our options open in the same way that we do with other areas. and i personally feel, in this fight, more than any other, that we must leave no stone unturned. so i asked dido and the nhs team to make sure that they worked on both products. of course, we have been testing google and apple‘s product too. as we did this, we found it does not estimate distance well enough. the measure of distance is mission—critical to any contact tracing app, so as it stands, our app won‘t work because apple won‘t change their system, but it can measure distance, and their app cannot measure distance well enough toa cannot measure distance well enough to a standard we are satisfied with. throughout this, for me, what matters is what works. because what works will save lives. and i will

works will save lives. and i will work with anyone, public or private sector, here or overseas, to gain any inch of ground against this disease. so we‘ve agreed to join forces with google and apple to bring the best bits of both systems together. we will share our algorithm and the work we have done on distance calculation, and combine that with their work to deliver a new solution. i‘ve always been optimistic about the contribution that technology can make in this battle against coronaviruses, and coming together in this way will bring together some of the best minds to find a solution to this global challenge and help to save lives. in the meantime, the nhs test and trace system, based on good old fashion human contact tracing is working well, identifying local outbreaks and helping to control this virus. and i want to ask you all once more, if you get a call, or all once more, if you get a call, or a message from nhs test and trace,

the most important thing is please, do your bit to protect your community, to protect your loved ones and to protect the nhs. and follow those instructions. i‘d now like to hand over to baroness harding to take us through the test and trace stats. thank you. in the figures, in the second week of the programme 5949 people who had tested positive for coronavirus had their details transferred to the system. of those people, 4366, 70 3% of the total, we re people, 4366, 70 3% of the total, were reached and asked to provide details of their recent close contacts. that is a small increase from 72% in the first week of operation. similar to what we saw last week, it is very encouraging that 78% gave us this information within 24 hours of being asked to do

so. we really appreciate and recognise everyone‘s swift response. using that information, as you can see on the next slide, we were able to identify 44,895 people who had beenin to identify 44,895 people who had been in close contact with someone who tested positive. of those, 40,690 people were advised to self—isolate, which is 91% of all the contacts identified. this is similarto the contacts identified. this is similar to what we saw in the first week of operation, and again this was done in good time. these statistics are encouraging, they demonstrate we are making progress against a good starting point we outlined last week. last time i spoke to you, i made a commitment that nhs test and trace would keep refining to become a high—quality service we can all depend on. in partnership with local government, we are right now protecting local communities from outbreaks. i would

also like to outline some of the steps we have ta ken also like to outline some of the steps we have taken that set us on the journey of continuous improvement. firstly we have changed the process of requesting tests and taking out the need to copy a 16 digit code between websites when a testis digit code between websites when a test is booked to make it easier for all of us. secondly, we are changing how our labs operate, changing shift patterns so some labs are working overnight and some are working weekends to match when samples arrive for testing. thirdly, we have connected people‘s test results to theirgp connected people‘s test results to their gp records. these improvements will continue. we will continue to work towards an app which forms part of the end to end service of nhs test and trace and allows people to engage with every aspect of the service. i would like to reiterate everything the secretary of state said in thanking everyone who was involved in trialling the app to

date, especially those on the isle of wight. we are truly grateful for your support. i would like to take a step back and show you what nhs test and trace should mean to you if you ever use it. i cannot do this any better than by reading the words of one of our brilliant contact traces who shared their experience of contacting a lady who had tested positive for coronavirus, and was nervous about what it meant for her and her family. nervous about what it meant for her and herfamily. in theirwords, "she needed to hear a professional, calm and caring voice who was there to listen, advise and support. she needed to be reassured and here that she was doing a greatjob caring for her daughter. after we had finished, she told me i had made her burden feel lighter and that she wished we could speak every day. " i have said before nhs test and trace is a service for the public that works best as a partnership with the public. to me the work of our

contact traces shows what a true partnership looks like. i want them to know it will be there when they needed, and i want to reiterate that if you have symptoms, fever, a new continuous cough or a los or changing your sense of smell or taste, testing is available. you can and must book yourself a test. if one of your children has a fever, stay at home and order a test. if nhs test and trace gets in touch with you to say you had tested positive, you should go online or call us on 119 and provide us with accurate, up—to—date information about your recent close contacts. if you are one of those contacts it‘s vitally important that you do what tens of thousands of others are already doing and self—isolate, because in doing so you will be taking the virus out of circulation. you will be protecting your friends, yourfamily and you will be protecting your friends,

your family and why you will be protecting your friends, yourfamily and why —— wider community from infection. thank you. thank you baroness harding. we will now go to members of the public. the first question is from luke in cardiff by video. good evening. every year thousands of students from different areas of the country come together in one place to start their university year. how is the government supporting universities and local councils to ensure the influx of students in one town does not result in a local outbreak of the virus? thank you, that is a great question, and of course the work is ongoing now, led by the department for education, to make sure that we can do as much as we can to ensure a safe restart of universities in the same way that we are working towards the safe restart

of schools in the autumn. that is incredibly important work, both in terms of what happens inside the institution, but also exactly as you say, when people go to university they usually travel and places like cardiff, which has a brilliant university with many students going there, it is a really important point and something the department for education is working hard on. thank you for your question, luke. the next question is from stuart in birmingham, and he asks... the number one thing i would say is that working from home is absolutely recommended wherever it is possible.

of course there are some industries in which it is not possible, but wherever possible we recommend working from home. one of the big things people have learned from this crisis is the opportunity of working from home and how it can be effective, and thank goodness the technology is now readily available to make that so. it is certainly something i think will stay with us a long time after the crisis, those zoom a long time after the crisis, those zoom calls... 0ther a long time after the crisis, those zoom calls... other technologies are available! i‘m very happy to talk to the business department to ask whether there is laws that need to change, given that big change in how people are using technology. i think we should take that away and look at it, but the best thing is in the first instance, of course people can work from home, where people can work from home, where people can work from home, they should do so. and businesses and employers should

facilitate that. thank you, great question. the next question is from hugh pym of the bbc. thank you very much. you had said the smartphone app would play a central role in testing and tracing. it‘s now been delayed. when do you think the app will be involved in testing and tracing contacts? we are working on it is the answer. we are not going to put a date on it because i‘m absolutely determined that whilst this technology can help, it‘s got to be working effectively. the central point of test and trace is actually the fact that when you are identified as at risk, you then isolate, and asking people to isolate, and asking people to isolate for two weeks is a big thing. so! isolate for two weeks is a big thing. so i would not recommend a nap unless i‘m confident in it. i have explained,, i hope, why the

best parts of the two systems we have been working on can be brought together, but i am confident we will get there. we will put the cherry on dido‘s cake. get there. we will put the cherry on dido's cake. a quick follow up on another subject if i may. more than 2 million people are shielding and there have been reports in the last few days about the scheme coming to end ofjuly, based it seems on briefings to charities. can you end the uncertainty and give people in that situation a proper indication of what is going to happen?” that situation a proper indication of what is going to happen? i know how sensitive this is to the 2.2 million people who are shielding and theirfamilies, million people who are shielding and their families, and we million people who are shielding and theirfamilies, and we have asked them to do something which is really, really big over the last three months which is to stay at home almost entirely until recently, and we put forward the clinical advice it is ok to go out very carefully to exercise. we will be

bringing forward the next steps very soon, but i don‘t want to go into any more detail because i want that to be done properly and i want it to be done with the support of the charities who do so much to support those 2.2 million people. so there will be a formal government publication, and we will write to every single member of that group to make sure they know what it means for them. in the meantime, the advice remains to keep shielding and the current programme and the end date of the programme is of course the end of this month, but before then everybody will get an individualised letter from the then everybody will get an individualised letterfrom the nhs to explain what they need to do next. thanks very much. the next question is from tom clarke of itv. hello, thank you. first question for baroness harding if i may about test and trace. we just heard from the

secretary of state about 4500 people a day are estimated to be getting coronavirus in the community. a rough calculation suggests about 10,000 symptomatic people a week could be out there in the population, yet you are testing just a fraction of that. if you are missing so many people who are symptomatic for covid getting tested, how can we be sure test and trace can stay on top of outbreaks? thank you. there are two things we need to do and one of those things is for all of us. we are missing some people who have symptoms, who are not getting tested, so all of us have got to learn this new behaviour that if we have a temperature, if we have a continuous cough or we lose our sense of taste and smell, the first thing we should do is stay at home and the second thing is order a

test. that's why you have heard me say this from this podium, it is something for all of us to do. young children get temperatures all the time and it's a new behaviour. if your child has a fever overnight, your child has a fever overnight, you stay at home, look after the family and ordera you stay at home, look after the family and order a test. secondly we have to get better at hunting out the virus. 70% also of people who have the virus won't show any symptoms, or will have such mild symptoms, or will have such mild symptoms they might not spot it, and that's why we are doing targeted testing for people in high contact professions such as health and social care but also other roles we are looking to expand to. there is more work for test and trace to do. perversely i'm one of the few people in government who wants to see the numberof in government who wants to see the number of people testing positive going up each day because it means we will have a more proficient testing system, but it also means more people will get the virus, so

i'm not pretending it is perfect. we all have work to do to keep improving it. thanks very much. can i follow—up with a question for you, secretary of state. the system isn‘t perfect, we have just secretary of state. the system isn‘t perfect, we havejust heard secretary of state. the system isn‘t perfect, we have just heard that from baroness harding. we have continued to ease lockdown measures. could that explain why we are seeing in that data you mentioned earlier an increase in outbreaks in schools, hospitals and other settings compared to during the lockdown period? the good thing is we are seeing a reduction in the number of people dying from coronavirus, and indeed a reduction in the number of people dying overall so that there are now actuallyjust people dying overall so that there are now actually just slightly fewer people dying in the last week‘s data than ina people dying in the last week‘s data than in a normaljune week in a normal year. it is statistically

equivalent, those two data points. we are doing much more to be able to trace these individual outbreaks. for instance, there is an outbreak right now in parts of leicester that we are working very hard to track down and we are putting in a mobile testing unit and working hard on that. there is another in kirklees in yorkshire. again we have sent in a mobile testing unit, we are working with the local council in both cases and the director of public health is doing a magnificent job working with the nhs test and trace scheme and the joint bio—security centre as our eyes and ears. so there are these local outbreaks. we have seen them all the way through, and we now have the system in place to be able to spot them as best we can, and then take them as best we can, and then take the local action.

it is natural as the lockdown live slightly, we always said, that the next movie is to see more localised action in order to tackle outbreaks where we find them. —— the next move. anything to add on that? we have a large scale test tracing service running now and if you look at the scale of the national service in terms of tests conducted per 100,000 population, in terms of contact tracers per 100,000, it stands comparison with anyone in the world, so we have a service that is fit for purpose but as we stand now, and it will get better and better with each passing week. thanks, tom. the next question is from andy bell of channel five news. thank you. a question for both of you. the app has been described as the cherry on the cake as there seems to be more and more problems developing with it. it's more than that, isn't it,

if we want to get back to normal because it's all very well for people to have contact tracing and they can remember the people they knew they were in touch with, but if we want to get back to normal of people standing in bus queues are getting on trains, they are not going to know who those people are, so going to know who those people are, so when app is absolutely vital to get back to any kind of normality? the thing that is vital to get back to the sort of normality you describe is to get the number of infections right down and to have the treatments and vaccine available and to have a world—class test and trace and to have a world—class test and tra ce syste m and to have a world—class test and trace system on the whole. in one of the things we have learned from the isle of wight is the importance of the human contact tracing, and that the human contact tracing, and that the app is an important addition, as you describe, somebody sitting on the busk that she would not know and be able to pass on their contact, but the core is the human contact tracing element, so we still want the app to work, and that is why we

backed both horses and we will keep working with all the technologists to get one that does.” working with all the technologists to get one that does. i would just add that this is a global challenge. that what we have done in rigorously testing both our own covid—19 app and the google and apple version is to demonstrate that none of them are working sufficiently well enough to actually be reliable to determine whether any of us should self—isolate for two weeks. that is true across the world. and yet, a number of countries, including ourselves, have got scaled and effective test and trace services. i think, clearly, having an app that can help identify people you don‘t know would be a hugely helpful addition to those of us who commute but there are other things we can all do. good hand hygiene, being really aware of social distancing, wearing a face mask on public transport. all of those things are well within our abilities now and i

think what we are building is, fundamentally, a human, local community service that will be digitally assisted. technology on its own will not solve this, it‘s all of us in the way that we behave that will. a follow up on that. but if you don't have a date and you can't tell us when the app will be ready and there has been discussion on it being autumn or winter until an app is up and running in the way it needs to be, that basically means, can we get back to normal life in terms of people getting on commuter trains before autumn or winter? that's an awful long way away. i would simply say, andy, that the core of the nhs test and trace programme is to ask people who are at high risk to isolate, and as we‘ve seen in the statistic that dido hasjust shown, that we‘ve seen in the statistic that dido has just shown, that comes up as 87,000 people, so there is a very significant operation in place. of course, it can be enhanced and the

human side will continue to improve, as we always said, and having the technology, but i absolutely do not put the direct link that you do between the two. but we will get the app up between the two. but we will get the app up and running as soon as we can, but! app up and running as soon as we can, but i will not recommend people to download the app until i am confident that that is the right thing to do, because i would be asking people to download the app and then to self—isolate, and that isa and then to self—isolate, and that is a big thing to ask of people, so you will understand why rather than just putting out this app, even though there are problems with it, i would far rather get it right. thanks very much, andy. the next question comes from heather stewart of the guardian. how are you?” question comes from heather stewart of the guardian. how are you? i am very well. with reports of problems with the app, the nhs app, for weeks and australia announced in may it would switch to a google and apple

approach when they realised it wasn't working to develop a bespoke app: wasn't working to develop a bespoke app, have you taken too long to realise that this is not something we can do ourselves? where be too fixated on being a world beating? no, quite the contrary. i‘m from newmarket and we backed both horses. we took the decision in may to start building the google and apple version as well, and then because we have been able to build both, we could test both, and the best way to get new technology going is to test different approaches, and this often happens as a standard approach in the commercial world, for instance, and it‘s far better to go with both versions. and we now have problems with both versions, but there are parts of each that can come together to build something that is stronger than either version there is. the

reality is, if we hadn't backed both horses, we wouldn't have a way forward precisely because we've developed our own. we have developed some really sophisticated distance calculations and we think we can enhance the google app or platform that it will work. if we hadn‘t backed both we wouldn‘t be able to do it. thanks, heather. and the next question comes from matt at the sun. we have seen more evidence this week about disabled children and their families and those with learning difficulties have been left behind in lockdown. it was found around three quarters of disabled children had had all of their support withdrawn, such as respite care and equipment and this leaves a huge strain on theirfamily equipment and this leaves a huge strain on their family and siblings and parents. parents with learning difficulties in their children, like

my sister beth, they want much clearer guidance to help them adjust to the new normal and they want to know whether they will be able to see family again. so what measures can the government take going forward to make sure people with disabilities are no longer forgotten during this pandemic.” disabilities are no longer forgotten during this pandemic. i think it's an incredibly important question, and i‘ve seen the report, and i saw the report in the sun newspaper on this earlier this week and in its incredibly important question. i think the first thing to say is that even whilst all those children were not going to school during the lockdown, we kept 80% of schools open for those with special needs. we have put more support in from central government, including, for instance, the 10 million pounds family fund trust, but it is vital that that local authority support you refer to is also there, and getting that into place as services

recover a cross getting that into place as services recover across the board is incredibly important. one thing that might help with this is may be following the northern irish lead as we heard schools will be reducing social distancing to one metre. why is it so different here? why can't schools reduce social distancing to one metre when they reopen in september? we are working on what is needed to get schools open in september, all schools open in september, all schools open in september, and there is a review as you know into the current to me to rule. but the two metre rule is itself a social distancing measure and removing it has an impact in terms of the transmission of the disease, so we have to make sure in that review that we have the space within, and the viruses under control enough, to be able to make the change and to replace the

two—metre rule, if that‘s the conclusion of the rule —— review, with something that is making things easier to do, like having more people together at school. i get the interaction between the two—metre rule and getting people back to school and we are working hard now and the department for education is leading on the work in order to have all pupils back in school as all people want to see from the start of september. you didn't quite answer when we might be able to actually visit family and stay overnight. it's father's day on sunday. can you give us any hope of when we might be able to see our parents and stay overnight? that is another one of the social distancing measures that we are looking at, and of course, we are looking at it. it‘s important is are looking at it. it‘s important is a consideration, not least because i wa nt a consideration, not least because i want people also to have a holiday, if at all possible, this summer. and the rules currently prevent people from staying elsewhere overnight u nless from staying elsewhere overnight unless they have exceptional

circumstances. so that is something we are looking at and will work on it and we are looking at and will work on itandi we are looking at and will work on it and i will make sure that you know about the outcome of that as soon as we possibly can. final question is from jerry scott from the yorkshire post. i would like to ask how local leaders are supposed to be ready for these local lockdown is we have heard about. we have directors of public health saying that they do not know what the term means and we have mayors and council leaders saying they don't have the power to enact them and that the security centre won't be fully operational until later in the summer, so what happens in the meantime? 0rare summer, so what happens in the meantime? or are you summer, so what happens in the meantime? 0rare you moving summer, so what happens in the meantime? or are you moving away from this? you spoke about the —— outbreak in yorkshire and will to still be on the table? the system is already up and running and i chaired already up and running and i chaired a meeting this morning of our local action committee, which is the

formal process through which we make these decisions. working with local leaders, for example, in kirklees, and the local director of public health and the council are heavily involved in the response. there are actions and powers that people have ata actions and powers that people have at a local level in local councils, and then there are powers that i have a secretary of state from the coronavirus act and we have a process that if on the ground people need powers that i have, they can put that request up and we can look at that and similarly, if we spot a problem, we can go down to the council and ask what they are doing about it. so that process is in place. and it is up and running, and working, and dido was sat around a table for an hour this morning working on exactly that, including discussing kirklees.” working on exactly that, including discussing kirklees. i would add that as a good yorkshireman, tom riordan, the chief executive of leeds city council who is leading the work for the secretary of state

and i, making sure the government has allocated an additional £300 million to local authorities to build and enhance their local action plans, and what we are seeing is that communities are doing this as we speak in a number of places across the country where we see experts from public health england, the health protection teams alongside local authorities, we from nhs test and trace are able to allocate out a long mobile testing units when they needed to use our contact tracing capacity to do extra contact tracing capacity to do extra contact tracing capacity to do extra contact tracing and then to work with employers and individuals so that they can take the necessary social distancing, deep cleaning, health protection measures. so there isa health protection measures. so there is a lot of work for everyone to do as we all get used to living with covid—19, but i really firmly believe that the way to do this is to local communities working together, and that is what tom and his team are doing. thanks very much indeed. can i have a follow-up? yes,

of course. it doesn't change the fa ct of course. it doesn't change the fact that mayors and council leaders across the country are saying that they don't actually understand what this is and they do not feel they have powers, even if you say they do, so do you feel like you have communicated that well enough to them? the local directors of public health who have statutory responsibility locally in the area are the ones who we directly engage with. of are the ones who we directly engage with. of course, where there is a local outbreak, the whole counsel, including the chief executive and the leader of the council, will inevitably get involved and it is significant, but i do think that led by tom gordon, who himself is a chief executive of a yorkshire council in leeds, we are getting better and better engagement with each local area and as i said, you can see it on the ground from the example in kirklees right now. but,

of course, there are more and more councils that we need to engage, but thankfully, in most areas, this is not necessary and where it is necessary is where the outbreaks are, and thankfully, at the moment, they are relatively few, but of course we are working intensively. thanks very much indeed. that brings to the end our daily coronavirus briefing. anki. the health secretary bringing to an end the coronavirus press conference at downing street. the health secretary explained the test and trace secretary explained the test and tra ce syste m secretary explained the test and trace system is working well but that the app has been delayed due to technical issues, and that there is no date set for its release in england as yet. he went on to talk about the vaccine that when its ready adults over 50 and those with heart and kidney disease will be prioritised. he said there were no

excess deaths in england last week which meant the overall number of deaths were in line with the seasonal average. he also said this is the first time this has happened since mid—march. there were 135 deaths recorded with a positive coronavirus test in the last day bringing the total number to 42,288. 0ur correspondent kath burns is here. if we can start first of all on the issue of the app, lots of questions about it, no surprise really. yes, if you think what the app has to do, it needs to be good at two things. it needs to know who you are with and how close you are to them. the government wanted its own nhs app but it turns out it‘s not good at knowing who you are with, and they are blaming apple for this. then you come onto the google

apple app and they say it‘s better at this but it‘s not good at seeing how close you are to someone. so neither of them are fit for purpose right now, which then asks if we are going to get an app. the health secretary said he could not say when the technology will be ready. the interesting thing is that dialling back from having an app. there is more talk now of a companion app, so it would be one where you can order your test and then over the time you are in self isolation get guidance and tips. this is not what we were expecting at the beginning of may. we heard the health secretary talking about vaccines and where we are with developing vaccines. yes, he talked about the vaccine coming from imperial college saying they have started human trials, and also

the oxford vaccine from oxford university. astrazeneca has started to make that vaccine, even though it has not been approved, so they can build upa has not been approved, so they can build up a stockpile for when and if it is approved. they also talked about who would get vaccines, the priority order. health and social ca re priority order. health and social care workers will be top of the list, and also they said adults over 50. it wasn‘t 60 or 70, 50, which is pretty young really. they also said they would look at other factors like ethnic minority backgrounds. matt hancock said the best way to defeat this is to get a vaccine. even now, weeks into this when we are talking about relatively successful figures, 135 deaths were recorded and the youngest of those was a 13—day—old baby. it shows how vital this is. very sad. thank was a 13—day—old baby. it shows how vitalthis is. very sad. thank you.

0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster and was also listening to that briefing. so many questions about the app, and matt hancock saying the government backed both horses, the nhs app and the apple google app, but neither of them is ready. yes, it is an uncomfortable time for matt hancock. he has talked about this as being a central part of the test and trace system. borisjohnson too just a month ago talking about a world beating system that would be yes in place by the 1st ofjune. we have gone from that to what they are now describing as basically a human tracing system which will be digitally assisted. so all sorts of questions here. also there were questions here. also there were questions raised from the beginning of may or maybe earlier, issues about how this would work. the government say this is the point of

trialling this, they did it on the isle of wight to make sure it works, but the fact there is now no date, partly because they know you are just setting yourself up each time to bejudged against just setting yourself up each time to be judged against something which might not be so easy to deliver, but i think probably the broader issue is people watching will have heard the promises and now they are not being delivered. there could be good reason for that but it doesn‘t help with people‘s confidence, particularly as we are coming out of lockdown, and this was seen as one of the ways he would be able to safely lift those restrictions because you would have this world beating system in place which meant you could trace people with coronavirus and those they had contacted very quickly and easily in order to have local lockdowns. contacted very quickly and easily in order to have local lockdownsm contacted very quickly and easily in order to have local lockdowns. it is a very difficult situation and an unprecedented one, but given the setbacks, and this is the latest in a series of u—turns the government has had to make, how would you assess the mood amongst conservative backbenchers? i think they are

concerned about this. lots of mps will be accepting this as an unprecedented time. ministers and departments across whitehall are dealing with an awful lot, and we have got used to this over the months, but we shouldn‘t forget a lot of this is unprecedented, the economic crisis as well, so all of thatis economic crisis as well, so all of that is very difficult. the point is sometimes ministers haven‘t helped themselves by using rhetoric which even at the time i think lots of us watching would have thought that is quite a big ask, then not being able to fulfil it, that may be being a bit more modest about what they could deliver would be a better idea. because other countries are having similar problems, but maybe they should learn from some of that rather than suggesting they could come up with something that others haven‘t managed to do. come up with something that others haven't managed to do. many thanks. vicki young at westminster.

ministers in the northern ireland executive have agreed social distancing of 1m is "safe and appropriate" for children and young people at school. new guidance outlines how schools may operate when they fully reopen. it‘s understood the re—opening date is 24th august. speaking at the country‘s daily briefing, the first minister of northern ireland arlene foster outlined the latest steps to easing the lockdown in the country. we have been advised today the rate is between 0.6 and 0.9. the virus continues to be controlled and the number of new cases remains small. this has allowed the executive to ta ke this has allowed the executive to take a this has allowed the executive to takea number of this has allowed the executive to take a number of further decisions today. we have agreed places of worship should plan on the basis of reopening from the week beginning 29th ofjune. the executive will confirm this date next thursday dependent on the virus remaining under control. we can also announce, based on the scientific and medical advice, that hairdressers and nail bars can aim to open provisionally

from monday 6th ofjuly. executive has also agreed a proposal from the health minister that those who are shielding ad to be advised they can pause shielding from the 31st of july. the pub chain greene king and lloyd‘s of london insurers have apologised for past links to the slave trade. they have both said they will donate to charities representing black and minority ethnic groups. lloyds once ensured slave ships and one of greene king‘s founders and plantations in the caribbean. we heard dame vera lynn touching on her visits to burma to entertain troops in our report before the news conference began. let‘s hear more from her now. she

began her own radio programme in the early 1940s and talks about her impromptu concerts using the back of a lorry to form a stage.” impromptu concerts using the back of a lorry to form a stage. i had a station wagon, a drive, a pianist, a wagon and a microphone and off we would go. 0ur impromptu concerts we re would go. 0ur impromptu concerts were just put up anywhere, may be in a casualty clearing station orjust ona a casualty clearing station orjust on a spot of grass that happened to be empty at the time that will take a few aeroplane engine cases that would make a stage or the back of a lorry. the amount will vary from 2000 to 6000. how many songs deducing that one concert? we didn't limit ourselves. we stopped when we couldn‘t do any more. there was a

lot of visiting hospitals too. this came into it as much as singing. they just like to see came into it as much as singing. theyjust like to see you and like to know that you came out all that way just to see to know that you came out all that wayjust to see them. ina wayjust to see them. in a moment we will have the whether with helen, but before we go let‘s turn to events in central london this afternoon where the french president emmanuel macron was welcomed to the uk with a ceremony of pomp and pageantry as he marked the 80th anniversary of general charles de gaulle‘s famous wartime podcast. the president laid a wreath in carlton gardens before emmanuel macron wasjoined by in carlton gardens before emmanuel macron was joined by borisjohnson for a fly—past in central london by the red arrows and their french counterparts. we will leave you with those images.

some parts of south—east england have had their months worth of rain through the night in the first half of today. the rain will start to clear away from the south—east but across scotland and northern ireland we have far fewer showers around and more sunshine as you saw there. it is brightening across the eastern side of england, the midlands up

into east anglia, but that will produce some intense thunderstorms in this part of the world as well. they are slow moving and giving a lot of rain. but this is producing a lot of rain. but this is producing a lot of rain as well, and it could produce thunder into the south—west, into wales. perhaps producing some thunderstorms in northern ireland and towards the end of the day across southern scotland. but for much of scotland, away from the east coast, there is plenty of sunshine and it is warm at 23 degrees. the low cloud comes back on overnight, the thundery rain potentially comes into northern ireland and southern scotland. we have the rain hanging around across southern and western areas so a warm night again and a murky one as we head towards dawn on friday. quite a lot of cloud mixed around on friday, with the outbreaks of rain turning more thundery as we go through the day and push that june sunshine into the mix. probably more likely across northern england,

northern ireland and scotland compared with today but they could break out just about anywhere. there should be more sunshine in between. it's should be more sunshine in between. it‘s all change for the weekend. we still have low pressure, there is still have low pressure, there is still more rain but it‘s coming off the atlantic so it is a fresher wind. it will be a windier spell this weekend but we lose the humidity. instead we will still have temperatures around about average feeling pleasant in the sunshine, with fewer showers on saturday. it looks like the rain will hold off for most until later in the day. 18 to 20 is not too far shy of what we have seen this week but it will feel fresher. through the night on saturday, that rain pushes its way across many areas so a good dose of rainfor across many areas so a good dose of rain for the garden for many, then showers following on into sunday. again some places in the south and east escape, pretty warm here, but blustery and showery in the

north—west.

dame vera lynn — the singer who became known as the forces‘ sweetheart during world war two — has died at the age of 103. # we‘ll meet again # don‘t know where # don‘t know when...# her song we‘ll meet again symbolised hope and resilience, lifting spirit of the nation during the dark wartime years. my my strongest memories of burma was going around the hospital tents, holding their hands, you know? they didn‘t always want me to sing to them, just to sit there and talk to them. more recently, dame vera‘s

words have become