this is bbc news with the latest headlines boris johnson makes his first visit to scotland since last borisjohnson says the uk's response to the coronavirus pandemic shows the "sheer might" of the union — as the prime minister makes his first visit to scotland since last year's general election. the snp say borisjohnson‘s message about scotland's dependence on the union during coronavirus will not be well received during the visit. and at half past nine, we'll be speaking to one of the country foremost political scientists — professor sirjohn curtice. please do get in touch — i'm on twitter @annita—mcveigh or you can email at #bbcyourquestions. also this hour. . .. wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets becomes

compulsory from midnight tonight in england — but there's criticism that the new rules are unclear. if you are going into a takeaway and aiding in somewhere that has a takeaway, that's like hospitality. you're eating, it is not practical to wear a face mask, we recognise that but if you're going in and taking a product, you are leaving again, you should be wearing a face mask. the government pledges to boost northern england's rail network — alongside the establishment of an new organisation to accelerate transport investment in the region. a sharp increase in the number of women who've suffered domestic abuse trying to find places at refuges this month — as lockdown restrictions were eased. president trump says he's sending a "surge" of federal officers into more us cities — to fight what he's described as a "shocking explosion" of violent crime. china launches its first rover mission to mars — the spacecraft will take seven months to reach the red planet.

the biggest lift for liverpool! and after 30 years of waiting — liverpool finally get their hands on the league trophy — in a ceremony in front of an empty stadium. hello, good morning and welcome to bbc news. i am annita mcveigh. boris johnson will tell people in scotland today uk treasury support has kept the wolves at bay for tens of thousands of scottish businesses on his first visit to the country since the general election last year. he will also say being part of the uk

has saved nearly 900,000 jobs in scotla nd has saved nearly 900,000 jobs in scotland during the coronavirus pandemic. the prime minister will set out details of a £50 million funding package for 0rkney, shetland and the western isles and the scottish government has also pledged the same amount as part of the islands growth deal, targeting sectors including tourism, energy and skills. the trip comes after recent opinion polls suggest increasing support for independence. let's get more from our scotland correspondent james shaw who's in glasgow. good morning to you, james, i want to begin this morning by looking at something the first minister nicola sturgeon has retweeted in the past hour. it's the time is cartoon from this morning, viewers can see the image, chose running towards nicola sturgeon across a crumbling union. james, the snp really believe this visit today is going to work for their benefit and increase support

for independence. that's what they are saying, isn't it? ifi may say so, that is a very clever cartoon by the cartoonist for the times newspaper because what it sums up is that idea that in coming to scotland, boris johnson that idea that in coming to scotland, borisjohnson is actually helping the independence because, he thinks he's helping to shore up the union but from the snp point of view, they help the fact that boris johnson is not popular in scotland is not perceived in scotland to have done a good job in coping with the coronavirus pandemic, they hope that will actually help their cause and that cartoon really sums that up extremely well. but, on the other side, there is the case that was made by the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis earlier on bbc breakfast, he argued that scotla nd bbc breakfast, he argued that scotland is part of the united kingdom, is better served, scotland is part of the united kingdom, is betterserved, gets scotland is part of the united kingdom, is better served, gets more money from the uk treasury,

essentially, the union works, in his argument, for scotland. we, as a uk we re argument, for scotland. we, as a uk were able to put in place the unprecedented support that the chancellor was able to put in place for businesses, individuals, was because we are part of an entire united kingdom. if you take scotland for example, you will know as well as anybody their trade and sales to the rest of the uk are more than the re st of the rest of the uk are more than the rest of the world put together, we are an important part of the economy of each other, that's why we are united kingdom. very different perspective from ian blackford of the snp, the scottish national party, on breakfast this morning. acknowledging that there has been support from the uk government, the furlough scheme, which has given income to hundreds of thousands of people in scotland during the course of the crisis saying scotland needs more power to be able to continue to cope with coronavirus. all of us

wa nt cope with coronavirus. all of us want to see the furlough scheme come to an end, all of us want to see people back at work but we have to recognise the unique circumstances we have in many of those areas and we have in many of those areas and we simply said the borisjohnson, if he's not prepared to put that support in place, give the borrowing powers which would be normal for any government to have to put in place an orderwe government to have to put in place an order we can't support people ourselves. we are told we have a powerhouse parliament, the strongest parliament in the world in a devolved setting, give us the power so we can devolved setting, give us the power so we can do it because quite simply, the uk government is not providing the full support that is going to be necessary for us to come out of this. it's true, james, devolution in various parts of the uk has really been in the spotlight during the pandemic as the various nations have rolled out their individual plans for public health and dealing with the virus and so on. but in terms of scotland, what is the evidence in terms of pulling for independence? that is really

interesting and i think the argument, the case you could make is because there is a perception, whether it is right or wrong, the fa ct whether it is right or wrong, the fact there is a perception in scotla nd fact there is a perception in scotland that nicola sturgeon has coped with the crisis better than borisjohnson, that has improved her popularity ratings, his have fallen in scotland. and it seems it has followed on from that as well as other factors like the unpopularity of brexit in scotland, it has followed on from that that support for independence has increased so that over the last few months, you can see that to some extent they are consistently suggesting that support for independence is more than 50%. not hugely more, but it seems consistently more. and that, perhaps, is another one of the reasons as we discussed earlier, white borisjohnson has come to scotla nd white borisjohnson has come to scotland at this moment. james, thank you for that. we will have much more on the visit of the prime minister through the day.

the new regulations offer else they are required will only be published today. less than 2a hours before they come into effect. the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis explain some of the changes we can expect including how the measures will work for takeaway. the position has been. we are advising people particularly on public transport to wear face masks. but actually, what changes from tomorrow is we are saying from tomorrow, you should wear face masks notjust on public transport but if you are in shops or supermarkets. the difference that people may not have been aware of and what will be outlined in regulations today is if you are going into a takeaway and you are eating in somewhere that has got a takeaway, that is like hospitality, you are eating, it's not practical to wear a face mask, we recognise that but if you are going in to buy a product and leaving again, you are treating it like a shop and you should be wearing a face mask.

we will have more on that story shortly with the chief executive of the association of convenience stores. the number of women trying to seek emergency accommodation after fleeing domestic abuse rose sharply in the first week ofjuly compared to the end ofjune — as lockdown restrictions were eased. the charity refuge also says it's had more than 40,000 calls and online appeals for help during the first three months of lockdown. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly reports. lockdown has affected my whole life and made the abuse more obvious than ever before. as lockdown eases, we're learning what life has been like for domestic abuse victims. some have finally managed to break free. others are continuing to be tormented by their abusers. claire says her ex—partner has

exploited the delay in court cases during the lockdown to breach custody arrangements. at one point refusing to hand over their five—year—old daughter. lockdown has opened the door for him to control me more than he did when we were together. i'm a nervous wreck. i hand her overand i'm thinking "am i going to see her again?" she's one of thousands who have contacted the national domestic abuse helpline, run by the charity refuge. staff have been working from home, offering round—the—clock support. and as the lockdown reduces, the demand for refuge places is on the rise. if we have learned anything from covid i hope that it is that domestic abuse is a huge issue. we anticipate that as lockdown lifts, demand will increase yet further and women will need emergency accommodation so that they can escape abuse. for so many, home hasn't been a place for safety under lockdown. the government came up with around £30 million during the pandemic to help victims.

refuge and other domestic abuse charities are now calling for a long—term funding plan. june kelly, bbc news. nicole jacobs is the domestic abuse commissioner for england and wales and joins me now. thank you very much for your time this morning. i'm presuming these figures aren't a huge surprise to you, given that the clear dangers posed by the abused and their abusers being put together even more during lockdown? that's right, they are during lockdown? that's right, they a re really during lockdown? that's right, they are really not. we've been meeting every week since the beginning of lockdown and what refuge has given us lockdown and what refuge has given us today is what the helpline figures from wales, all sorts of other helplines, lg bt figures from wales, all sorts of other helplines, lgbt helplines in relation to domestic abuse in this, our national english helpline, is definitely telling us we get in and out, increases in help are seeking.

at one of the things that's really interesting about this today is in addition, what refuge is trying to tell us is now, into earlyjuly, there is more demand for actual refuge service so during lockdown, there's less opportunity for action stop so a lot of help seeking, seeking of advice, and we are seeing now, a shift to more, i needed to go toa now, a shift to more, i needed to go to a refuge, i would like to access services, we are seeing a slight increase in police calls nationally. tell me about the provision gap, what sort of gap is there between demand for refuge places in the actual availability of those places? even before lockdown, we would have refuge places are always oversubscribed. women's aid, for example, will tell us that their members often, there is a huge number of people who are turned away

from refuge every year. because of lack of space. this is a perfect storm in some ways. in terms of not having really sustainable provision across england and wales. and now, thinking about much greater increase in demand and also, adding to that, importantly, i kind of slowing down of move on from refuge. there will be people living in refuge who are ready for settled accommodation and we need housing providers and local authorities to help unlock this move on capability so people who are ready for more settled accommodation can't move and start their lives in a more settled way, and allow for more space in refuge for people who needed right now. 0k, needs to happen for those steps to take place, for people who are ready for more settled accommodation to move into that sort of setting, freeing up into that sort of setting, freeing up more spaces in the refugees themselves? what is the government doing currently and what more needs

to be done? there's several things that need to happen. 0ne to be done? there's several things that need to happen. one is about funding for refuges. funding for these charities who need to be able to be working at their optimum right now. and the government has put in place some funding but that funding goes through to the end of october and my concern is we need to have a plan in place for post—0ctober. this surge will be happening over a period of months, we don't know what lies ahead, as you know, in terms of the virus and so we really need to have something much more robust in place longer term but we also need housing providers and local authorities to really appreciate that this is the time to be contacting the refuges locally and offering move on accommodation so they can free up spaces and offer accommodation to those in refuges. we need to address our issue of no

recourse to public funds, there will be people who are suffering domestic abuse who are not able to access refuges because of their immigration status, maybe they are a student here or came here as a student, have started a relationship, are now in need of something like refuge or support and are no recourse rules are getting in the way of that. so there's a lot of things that need to happen. we need to really support refuges to have the ppe, the support they need to really be able to be fully staffed and offering all of what they can offer. we've heard from refuge that were victims of domestic abuse have not been able to pick upa domestic abuse have not been able to pick up a phone during lockdown, they've been using the live chat facility to communicate in a more su btle facility to communicate in a more subtle way, if someone is watching who is in this position and he hasn't made that call yet, what would you say to them this morning? i would say absolutely, don't hesitate to make the call. so many

people think is this bad enough? is there help out there? and please, rest assured, services are awaiting and able to help and definitely, make the call. you may be concerned about a friend, neighbour, co—worker, again, make the call. there are helplines nationally, if you are concerned about your own behaviour, respect is an organisation that runs advice services for people concerned about their own behaviour so there is any number of ways that we can encourage people to get help. nicole thank you very much again for your time. details of organisations offering support and information about domestic abuse are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. the headlines on bbc news...

borisjohnson boris johnson says borisjohnson says the uk is response to the coronavirus pandemic shows the sheer amount of the union as the prime minister makes his first visit to scotland since last year ‘s general election. wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets becomes compulsory from midnight tonight in england. but there is criticism that the new rules are unclear. and the government pledges to boost northern england ‘s rail network alongside the establishment of a new organisation to accelerate transport investment in the region. let's return to the news that time tomorrow, wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets will be compulsory in england, with anyone failing to cover their nose and mouth facing a fine of up to one hundred pounds. james lowman is the chief executive of the association of convenience stores — an organisation that provides support and advice to over 33,500

local shops in the uk. hejoins me now. good morning and thank you for joining us. lots of people already choosing to wear face coverings when they visit local shops and supermarkets and so on. first, on that criticism that the advice being given isn't clear enough. do you agree? well, the formal guidance hasn't been published yet, we cannot really critique that in detail but what is really clear is the advice we've been giving for a week now, retailers should be communicating the advice and the key advice where a face covering in store but we are saying retailers and colleagues should not be challenging people if they are not wearing a face covering. last year in the uk there we re covering. last year in the uk there were 50,000 incidents of violence in convenience stores, against collea g u es convenience stores, against colleagues and retailers, we are not going to create another flash point through this, not going to put those collea g u es through this, not going to put those colleagues and retailers in a position where they are challenging people who may then react and create

a very serious incident. sorry, has not become worse during lockdown, incidents of verbal and physical abuse on shop workers? yes, there has been an increase. i think it's worth saying most people are really supportive of the local shop, most people are found the local shop has been a lifeline during this period, offering services and food especially early in the crisis, we we re especially early in the crisis, we were struggling to get home delivery slots and those sorts of things so i think that relationship between our members and their communities has got stronger but of course, sadly, there are those who see us in a different way and take out their frustrations may be people working in shops so this mustn't be another flash point. how are you advising members to communicate the message to shoppers that they should from midnight tonight, be wearing a face covering? we have posters, we say three things, firstly, thank you for wearing a face covering, second, taking customers aware that there

may be colleagues and other customers who might not be wearing a face covering for a particular reason, they might have hidden disability, so to raise awareness of that are dirty, specific issue, around age related sales. if someone comes to buy alcohol or a lottery ticket, clearly you cannot as a member of staff then be satisfied that person ‘s proof of age as them if they are wearing a face covering so we can as customers then to remove a face covering so we can attempt to use that to prove age so thatis attempt to use that to prove age so that is the core communication. also worth saying many retailers have a much deeper relationship with their customer base and aren'tjust going and buying things. they know them, they are a social touch point for many people so that's part of how we communicate. lots of informal conversations. don't you think there isa conversations. don't you think there is a danger if you are giving advice to shop workers not to politely ask those who aren't following guidance to put on a face mask, for example,

isn't there a danger that you are putting off those customers who would quite happily wear a face mask and who are concerned about going into a shop, if not everyone is following the guidance? that's a judgement that retailers will make about how they store those informal conversations but we are saying don't get into a situation it's a challenge, a flash point, could lead to other incidents in store. it's up to other incidents in store. it's up to their own discretion? if they think they can have a conversation with someone about wearing a face covering, then they should do that? there will be many thousands of conversations going on between retailers, customers, colleagues, about this and that's fine, it all helps to ingrain this policy. but the key thing is, to see that as communication rather than as a challenge which might create a flash point, we desperately want to avoid that. briefly, can you think of any reason at all by the government should be waiting until today to publish the official advice when this is coming into force in england from midnight tonight? if it had

come in sooner, you know, they will be working through lots of details in terms of regulations and the advice alongside that towards the police along how they implement this. we are not really worried about that, we are focused on helping members to implement this and communicate the policy but not to challenge. james. thank you. ministers are pledging to commit almost £600 million to the rail network in the north of england. much of the £589 million will be used to electrify the transpennine main line between manchester and leeds. and looking to the future a new "acceleration council" is being set up to speed up investment in transport. 0ur correspondent nina warhurst is at manchester station for us.

looking really quiet behind you, nina, at the moment. the occasions when i've been through manchester piccadilly, it has been absolutely jam—packed. a sign of the times but do you think that will make a difference to these plans, are the plant is now going to be out of step with the new normal? that will be really interesting, wanted, waiting to see whether or not more people work from home long term and the congestion that we talk about, all too often, will be reduced. this money, 589 million, will begin by accelerating plans to electrify the route, the trans— pennine route, the infamous one between leeds and manchester, we see so many commuter woes. 0n manchester, we see so many commuter woes. on top of that, they will double the number of tracks at pinch points, those horrible times your fast train gets caught behind a slow one, no more, it will be able to work its way round. they will set up, as you mentioned, this northern transport acceleration council, what that means a senior minister from

the department for transport will be in regular contact with northern leaders to make sure these improvements happen and happen in the right places and happen quickly. the problem is commuters across the north have heard all this before and that's something i put to grant shapps earlier when we spoke to him. yes, the principle is we want connectivity in the north to be every bit as good as if you happen to live in london, you've got the convenient underground service, transport for london, we want the nurse to enjoy the same benefits and thatis nurse to enjoy the same benefits and that is why i am setting up the northern council today, really getting on with it. i've spoken to every single northern leader in the la st every single northern leader in the last few weeks, myself and my team, and we are getting on with their priorities. if you compare the transport system appeared to the london integrated system is a fair treasury figures released last year showed two and a half times the money spent per head on londoners than northerners. will be see that change? i think it's too easy, if you've got money to spend, go we put

that into london of the south—east and what i want to make it, the argument is what we've got to do is improve transport in the north. so people can travel around easily, make the region much more productive asa make the region much more productive as a result and give people the advantages. investment numbers will change and become more balance? you can see that today, over £600 million announcing today, with much more to come. it's interesting, we spoke with the labour mayor andy burnham earlier who confirmed what grant shapps has said, they had been in regular text conversations about what the right thing to do is and i said to andy burnham, we've stood here with chris grayling, philip hammond, ed balls way back when, talking about these improvements and they still haven't happened so i said to him, do you trust at this time, do you, someone who represents greater manchester think change is afoot and he seemed reasonably optimistic.

it's groundhog day, isn't it? but i'm going to give this transport secretary the benefit of the doubt. i've been on your programme criticising transport secretaries who have not done the right thing, but when one comes along and says there is new money, a fully—electrified, modern, 30—minute journey between manchester and leeds, it has got to be a good thing. and anything that has northern transport and acceleration in the same sentence is something that i'm just going to welcome. i've always said this, if the government does the wrong thing, i will call it out really loudly, and i have done that on the railways. but when they do the right thing i think the public would expect me to say, "0k, fairdos, this is a good thing." today this is a good announcement and we are very much giving him the benefit of the doubt, he is bringing a bit of energy and drive to northern transport and that's what it needs. it is what it needs but there is some frustration in the north that the big cities, leeds, greater manchester, they don't represent all of the not so right up into the humber, across to merseyside, they

sometimes feel left out of these big announcements. there was scant detail on what would happen to those areas in the announcement today, they will have to be patient but for many commuters, that patience has run out. nina, thank you. joining me now is daniel cochlin — head of external affairs for the northern powerhouse partnership — a group that works to boost the local economy in the north of england through investment in skills, innovation, transport and culture. thank you forjoining us. i hope you we re thank you forjoining us. i hope you were able to hear nina at manchester piccadilly and as she explained, she talked about various proposals over the years that haven't come to fruition. how confident are you that this proposal, this plan, with the money behind it, will?” this proposal, this plan, with the money behind it, will? i think anyone who has battled across the pennines from manchester to leeds or tried to get to manchester airport from yorkshire would welcome the news today. it's a step in the right

direction towards a fully integrated, world—class rail service in the north which we've been crying out forfor so long, in the north which we've been crying out for for so long, as you point out. there have been false dawns, missed opportunities, there have been delays which have been unacceptable been delays which have been u na cce pta ble to been delays which have been unacceptable to the businesses and commuters in the north. but let's give this a go, let's hope it results in something being done in good time and if we have improvements to that line within four years, that is a real win for the north of england. we've got this new group, the northern transport acceleration counsel, transport for the north, yourselves in the northern powerhouse partnership, too many cooks, how will decisions be made? i think transport for the north has demonstrated they had been a real value to the north, the strategic transport plan they brought out was very detailed and gave full indications of how improvements could be made right across the north, notjust in leeds and manchester but up to the north—east, cumbria, liverpool etc.

they will still have an important role to play but i think creating this kind of hotline, if you like, for northern leaders, northern civic leaders, northern mayors and businesses, it's important businesses, it's important businesses have a real say, straight through to the transport secretary and his team, i think can only be a real improvement on where we are now. we were chatting, my colleagues and i, chatting about this this morning and looking at how people can move around the region. would some of this money be better spent on buses rather than trends? well, i think there was a large amount of money announced last year for buses andi money announced last year for buses and i don't think more money! well, we have that money from government and we need to make sure local authorities in the north put to good use in terms of improving bus services, andy burnham made the point quite rightly that a bus journey in london costs £1.50, appear it can cost £3 to go a couple of miles so we need to address light

rail, buses, it's not either or, it's both, we need local solutions and also can northern solutions and we need transformational schemes like hs2 and northern powerhouse rail which will kick—start the northern economy. daniel, thank you very much for your time. when was the last time you saw a dramatic thunder and lightning storm? this was the scene in new york last night — the huge bolt appears to almost strike the statue of liberty. more storms are forecast in the city until the early hours of friday. that was so dramatic. let's go to the weather forecast. matt taylor will give us the details. any thunder and lightning?

there could be. it will be stormy across the south tomorrow and saturday. it is on hold for many. some sunshine and warmth in the south, east anglia and the channel islands. in scotland and northern ireland as well. but it will be down in northern england, wales and the north and west midlands. still mild enough under the cloud and rain, but temperatures peaking at 25 in the south—east corner. there will be patchy, light rain in the east midlands and east anglia overnight, but that will clear through, leaving a humid night. coolerand but that will clear through, leaving a humid night. cooler and fresher further north. 0ne weather system has gone out of the way and another is approaching, but in between most will be dry with sunny spells in the east and isolated showers in the south of england. in the far north of scotla nd south of england. in the far north of scotland it will feel warmer.

this week and it is turning warmer, cooler and with heavy and thundery showers to come as well. you're watching bbc news.... borisjohnson boris johnson says borisjohnson says the uk's response to the coronavirus shows the share might of the union, as he makes his first visit to scotland since the last general election. wearing face mask becomes compulsory in england from midnight tonight, but people say the rules are unclear. an attempt to accelerate transport investment in the northern region. there has been a sharp increase in the number of women facing domestic abuse trying to find places in refuges. president trump says he is sending a surge of federal officers into more cities to fight what he

describes as a shocking explosion of violent crime. china launches its first rover mission to mars, the spacecraft will take seven months to reach the red planet. despite pleas for supporters to stay away, hundreds of people gathered around anfield last night as liverpool lifted the premier league trophy. let's get more from mike bushell. what a moment for the team. yes, thanks, it was a moment in history really. the class of 2020 emulating those of 1990, 30 years ago. thousands outside anfield trying to join in with the celebrations inside as the players finally got their hands on the premier league trophy. they had waited so long, 30 years to be champions once more. captain jordan henderson who had the honour

was not even born last time it happened in spring 1990. the families, after being tested were allowed into the ground. the biggest lift for liverpool. the trophy hosted a love for henderson, who says they will have a propers party once the coronavirus risk has passed. let's have the thoughts of juergen klopp. 0utstanding. i was a bit afraid. i thought if the game is not that good, then i'm not that good in losing, so sometimes i'd carry it around a little bit. but the boys were generous tonight. they gave me an exciting game, they gave all of us an exciting game. in a situation like that, when probably half the world thinks we're already on the beach, playing like this against a team the quality of chelsea, that's exceptional. that makes them so much worthy

champions, i can't believe. 0utside outside the ground some fans even climbed the gates and the police issued a dispersal order to clear the fans, which will remain in place for 48 hours to vent a potential disorder. it cleared the crowds away after the party had got going with the fireworks. the team promising they will have a proper party and they will have a proper party and they will have a proper party and they will do it all again once the risk of the coronavirus has passed. let's ta ke risk of the coronavirus has passed. let's take you to scenes across the pennines in leeds united, outside the elland road stadium. hundreds of fa ns the elland road stadium. hundreds of fans also turned out to celebrate the team's promotion to the premier league and winning the championship trophy. the club defended their decision for the players to stand on an open top bus. they made a brief appearance with a championship trophy and they hoped it would send an end to the proceedings and hoped it would send the fans home safely.

but i thought for the chelsea fans leaving elland road means they are relegated to league 1 once more. some very happy people and some pretty gloomy people. thank you very much. the response to the coronavirus pandemic has shown the "sheer might" of the uk union, borisjohnson has said as he travels to scotland today. during his first visit since last year's general election, the prime minister will meet business leaders and military personel to thank them for their response to the crisis. the snp says the visit shows mrjohnson is "in a panic" about rising support for scottish independence. let's get the thoughts now of professor sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at strathclyde university. always good to have you with us, thank you forjoining us to talk about this story. let's examine that statement from boris johnson first of all, that this shows the might of the union, the response to the pandemic. what do you make of that? i think pandemic. what do you make of that? ithink in pandemic. what do you make of that?

i think in truth this is pretty much the argument one would expect the uk government to make. after all, handling the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences has been a two— pa rt and its consequences has been a two—pa rt story. and its consequences has been a two—part story. the more visible pa rt two—part story. the more visible part of this story so far has been the scottish government's handling of the health and the public health aspects of the crisis, because that was a devolved responsibility, but of course all of the firepower has been put in the labour market, the furlough scheme, the sport for businesses, and that has become out of the treasury, a uk wide policy. we should not be surprised that when the prime minister comes north of the prime minister comes north of the border and is trying to persuade people that maybe scotland is better off as part of the union and indeed the coronavirus provides evidence in support of that argument, that he should point to the support he has provided for the economy. that does imply, i think, provided for the economy. that does imply, ithink, that provided for the economy. that does imply, i think, that the prime minister is trusting that indeed the economic damage of the coronavirus will not be so severe let in six

months' time when a lot of the measures will have tailed off, that people are still of the view that these are proving to be effective measures. quite a big bet in that sense on the success of those measures. the pandemic has seen devolution become much more visible, the various nations, governments, dealing with protecting public health, the running of the health service and so on. is that the counter to what borisjohnson is saying? scotland is saying we have handled it this way and polls suggest that nicola sturgeon's handling of the pandemic has got more approval than boris johnson's handling of it, so is this an opportunity for the independence side of the argument to say, if we can handle this well, we can handle other aspects of governing ourselves well also. it is true. the coronavirus pandemic of the last three months has made devolution more visible, frankly, across the

whole of the united kingdom. but obviously it does mean that within scotla nd obviously it does mean that within scotland crucial decisions about the nation's health and public health, life and death decisions that affected everybody‘s lives, it circumscribed what they could and could not do, these have come out of edinburgh more than london as far as the people in scotland are concerned. it happens to be the case, despite the fact that in many respects the statistical record looks rather similar as far as deaths and prevalence is concerned, that the scottish government's handling of coronavirus is rated much more highly than is boris johnson's. that is to south of the border as well. it looks as though at least that alongside that there has been a further movement. there have been signs for 12 months for increased support for independence, but it looks perhaps in the wake of the perception that borisjohnson has not handled things terribly well and nicola sturgeon has, that support for independence has edged

up support for independence has edged up further, so we are now getting polls on average on 52% and 53%, and it is the first time we have had support for independence ahead of the union on a consistent basis in the union on a consistent basis in the polls. it probably helps to explain why the prime minister is coming north of the border, and why he needs to have these arguments, and also why he is facing a more difficult challenge to persuade people in scotland that it should remain part of the union than any previous prime minister has had. we are going to show our viewers the times cartoon from today, which we showed earlier. nicola sturgeon has been retreating this, which is of borisjohnson been retreating this, which is of boris johnson running towards been retreating this, which is of borisjohnson running towards her over a crumbling union, the word carved out of granite, the scottish nationalists would say. boris johnson is saying, i am here to help and nicola sturgeon is saying, you

are helping. the snp believes every time borisjohnson are helping. the snp believes every time boris johnson appears are helping. the snp believes every time borisjohnson appears in scotla nd time borisjohnson appears in scotland it does more for their cause. is there consistent evidence of the sort of polling you were talking about a moment ago that is moving towards support for an independent scotland ? moving towards support for an independent scotland? yes, it is a consistent pattern and it is now at least a year old. up until last year on average the polls were still saying yes to independence, 45%, no, 55% . saying yes to independence, 45%, no, 55%. largely replicating the result of the 2014 election, despite the outcome of the brexit referendum, where support for remain was virtually two to one against leave. the issue for nationalists is scotla nd the issue for nationalists is scotland is being forced to leave the european union. however, the polls last year began to pick up a consistent trend where those who voted remain were swinging towards independence. there is now a clear

majority who voted remain who now think scotland should become independent. what we have seen during the course of this year is support for independence increasing further, but as we already implied, not simply as a resort result of attitudes towards brexit, but because of the diverging perception of how coronavirus has been handled. does any of that make a difference when the decision about when to have another independence referendum is within the gift of westminster? the challenge we are facing is the other things the polls are telling us at the moment is we have an election in scotla nd the moment is we have an election in scotland next year for a devolved scottish parliament and the polls are putting the snp at 50% and above, which means if that were to persist, the snp are going to get an overall majority in the scottish parliament. that would take us back to exactly the same position as we we re

to exactly the same position as we were in 2011. in 2011, the snp got an overall majority and david cameron, the conservative prime minister, accepted as a result of that that scotland had the moral right to hold a referendum and that is what the snp were campaigning on. if the snp campaigned next may for another referendum, the question that will face the prime minister is why is the decision, the principles set down by david cameron, not an adequate one to be repeated if indeed the snp get a hollywood majority? thank you very much for your thoughts on all of this today. we will be keeping a close eye on the prime minister's visit to scotla nd the prime minister's visit to scotland for you. president trump has used his latest coronavirus press president trump is sending federal deployments. local officials in portland, oregon say they have

raised tensions there. here is our north america correspondent david willis. amidst the chaotic demonstrations against police brutality that have been taking place in portland, are federal agents in military fatigues, sent in on a mission to protect federal property. critics say their presence here has only served to exacerbate tensions. president trump, however, defends their deployment and is now planning to send federal law enforcement officers to other american cities to combat what he calls "a rampage of violent crime". we want to make law enforcement stronger, not weaker. what cities are doing is absolute insanity. many of the same politicians who want to slash resources for law enforcement have also declared that their cities are sanctuaries for criminal illegal aliens. the next city on the list, chicago, where 15 people were shot outside a funeral parlour on tuesday night. as in portland, president trump

blames the violence on the failure of local democratic leadership and while chicago's mayor is cautiously welcoming the deployment of federal officers, the leaders of some other major cities are saying no way. so what we see in portland is that the federal presence is actually making the situation worse. and we cannot allow that here in new york city nor anywhere else in the country. i want to be very, very clear that we will not allow this to happen in our city. in the wake of george floyd's death at the hands of white police officers back in may, some have called for the defunding of the police. in response, donald trump has sought to depict himself as a law and order president and the democrats as weak on crime. my vision for america's cities could not be more different from the lawlessness being pushed by the extreme radical left. while others want to defund, defame, and abolish the police,

i want to support and honour our great police. for a president who once saw the booming economy as his ticket to second term, the protests over police racism represent an opportunity to fashion a new political strategy, as well as the chance to boost his standing in the opinion polls. recent polls show him trailing his democratic rival joe biden by a substantial margin. much could hinge on the president's assertion that the deployment of federal agents will help diffuse tension in america's major cities, rather than fuel it. david willis, bbc news. the uk is in danger of becoming a "cultural wasteland" because the government failed to act quickly enough to help the arts and entertainment industry survive the lockdown. a report by mps says many organisations, including theatres and museums, are facing a threat to their survival. jon donnison reports. for four months, theatres and

performance venues have laid empty. now a report from a panel of cross—party mps is warning our cultural landscape is facing its biggest threat in a generation. it says the government was too slow to provide support for the arts industry and that without more help many parts of britain could become cultural wastelands. theatres in england will be allowed to reopen it next month, but only with limited audiences. but this week, lord andrew lloyd webber told the bbc theyjust won't be financially viable with social distancing rules in place. what i can't understand is why is it that it's safe to go on an aeroplane and that you come into a theatre such as this, where the air is pure, you'll be required to wear a mask when you come in and you go through all of the measures we're putting in place, why is it unsafe to go to the theatre? i just simply don't get it.

many in the arts have been calling for greater support. today's report says there needs to be more financial help for the many freelancers who work in the sector who have not been eligible for existing government schemes. it also raised the prospect of cash—strapped museums being forced to sell off their collections. and mps have warned the pandemic has left many sports vulnerable, saying the financial model forfootball, in particular, might need to be reset. the government department for culture, media and sport says it doesn't agree with the committee's findings. it argues it has worked with urgency providing support for its sectors and has saved hundreds of thousands of jobs with furloughing and loan schemes. jon donnison, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... borisjohnson says the uk's response to the coronavirus pandemic shows the "sheer might" of the union as the prime minister makes his first visit to scotland since last year's general election.

wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets becomes compulsory from midnight tonight in england, but there's criticism that the new rules are unclear. the government pledges to boost northern england's rail network, alongside the establishment of an new organisation to accelerate transport investment in the region. ventilators have been a crucial asset during the coronavirus pandemic and now experts in cambridge have come together to design a new model that helps two people instead of one. designed by royal papworth hospital and the university of cambridge, the machine is still being tested, but could eventually be used around the world. 0ur science correspondent richard westcott reports. when covid—19 first bit, many countries, including the uk, were worried they'd run out of hospital ventilators. they're the life—saving machines that breathe for you. a second covid wave could still

leave hospitals short. which is where this new device comes in. it's one ventilator but for two people. you can see clearly here what makes this device unique. so imagine these bellows are human lungs. now, the one closest to me isn't going up very much at all, so that represents a smaller person with a smaller lung capacity. the far one is going up far more. that's a bigger person with a bigger lung capacity. so one ventilator able to cope with two very different people with very different needs. it's been designed by doctors from royal papworth hospital and engineers from the university of cambridge. this device allows us to instantaneously double the capacity of the ventilators. in an international humanitarian disaster situation or a mass casualty situation, we are fortunate that we've got enough ventilators. but there are other parts of the world, in developing

countries, where they might struggle with resources, as well as infections like covid at the same time, you could see the potential for a device like this to be used to save lives. well, we made it as simple as possible. we wanted it to be something that you could very quickly connect an emergency situation, or disconnect...as we're doing here. now, all of the parts are things that you can source around the hospital or very easily around the country. then we also made it very portable. working with cambridge design partnership, we came up with ways of making it easy to move around and deliver to wherever it's wanted. we don't often get a chance to do something like this where you have a real problem that's going to help you straightaway, and you have the world's experts there to tell you what's needed right now. and, of course, as with everyone, you just want to help, so everyone immediately focused

on it and delivered. it still needs two years of testing before it can be used in britain, but they've put the design online so that other countries can also make it. richard westcott, bbc news, cambridge. the swedish government's decision to keep much of society working ‘as normal‘ during the pandemic raised plenty of eyebrows, especially when they were suffering one of the highest death tolls in relation to their population in europe. but a sharp drop in both deaths and serious cases this month has forced some critics to rethink the country's unusual strategy. maddy savage has more. while many european cities are adjusting to life after lockdown, little has changed here in sweden's capital. markets, shops and bars have stayed open throughout the pandemic. the strategy here is focused on a ban on large gatherings and social distancing guidelines. we in sweden trust the authorities,

and if the authorities they stay we in sweden trust the authorities, and if the authorities they say at home please and work from home, we do that. so they didn't need to say, "you have to go on a lockdown." i do think the natural thing would be to shut things down a bit more. i don't understand why we're not being more careful. i don't understand. for months, sweden's had one of the most highest death tolls in europe in relation to its population size. but there are signs things are improving despite its controversial approach. the swedish public health agency has reported a sharp drop in fatalities with daily admissions to intensive care units down to single figures. i mean, of course it feels good. i mean, finally we are where we hoped we would be much earlier on. but now we can see this rapid decline that is really hopeful. what about herd immunity? it wasn't the point of the swedish strategy, but something that you thought would be an outcome, spoke very strongly about. but studies suggest only about 6% of people in sweden are known to have antibodies.

actually, immunity is definitely a lot higher than 6%. exactly how high has proven to be surprisingly difficult to measure. protecting the economy wasn't a formal part of sweden's strategy, but there were also hopes avoiding a lockdown would help. forecasters think sweden is on track to do better than other hard—hit countries like italy and the uk, but that is not the whole story. well, compared to our scandinavian neighbours, we are not doing very much better. sweden, like the other nordic countries, is a small open economy, very dependent on trade, so the swedish economy tends to do poorly when the rest of the world is doing poorly. public confidence in sweden's government has fallen, and prime minister stefan lofven recently announced a commission to look into the country's response to covid—19 after increased national debate about the death rate, especially in care homes. the swedish model is really put under pressure right now.

but also, our strong trust in expertise agencies advising the government rather than the government being able to lead the expertise. and as domestic discussions continue, there are worries about how all this affects sweden's global image too. although it may still be years before we know which governments had the best strategies for handling covid—19, sweden's unusual approach is testing its reputation. maddy savage, bbc news, stockholm. china has launched its first ever solo mission to mars at the start of what will be a busy time for exploration of the red planet. here's the tianwen—1 rover being blasted off from a launch pad on the southern island of wenchang. if all goes well then seven months from now it will land on mars. it's the second of three separate missions to mars. the united arab emirates launched an orbiter earlier this

week, and nasa is due to send its own rover, called perseverance, a week from now. it's all because the earth and mars are aligned, making the journey shorter. here's beijing's animation of what the mission will look like, as it makes its way to the martian surface. a safe landing has proved to be one of the trickier aspects of the project. the plan is to use a combination of parachute, and then thrusters, before the legs absorb the rest of the impact. tianwen—1 is about the size of a small car, and will use solar power to get around. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. summer remains otherwise engaged over the next few days. but there will be glimpses of sunshine and warmth at times. that will be in east anglia and the south east and brighter skies will develop in scotla nd brighter skies will develop in scotland and northern ireland. in

between, damp in the midlands, wales and the south—west with rain and drizzle coming and going. through the channel islands, east anglia and the channel islands, east anglia and the south is, quite humid at 24, 25. even in wet spots we could see temperatures around 20. the isle of man, northern ireland and scotland, most man, northern ireland and scotland, m ost pla ces man, northern ireland and scotland, most places dry with the odd, isolated shower. winds are generally on the light side and it should feel warm enough with the sun on your back. 0vernight, patchy rain and drizzle in the midlands and southern england, east anglia and the south—east. quite humid overnight, with temperatures at 15 or 16. patchy mist and fog further north. in rural areas sports will drop down to single figures. but if you have plans for the outdoors on friday, it is the day to do it. between two weather systems and most will be dry. cloud amounts will vary, not

huge amounts of sunshine everywhere. the odd shower in the south of england, the far north of scotland, and turning water in northern ireland. we will have more sunshine around on friday and temperatures should creep up a little bit. just as there weekend sets in, this is not what you want to see on a summer saturday. an area of low pressure pushing into the uk, which means cloudy, wet and windy. we will have all of those first thing in the morning, brightening up in northern ireland. elsewhere, the showers keep going and in the south they could be heavy and thundery in places. wet in the far north—east of scotland. temperatures down on what we will see on friday. we continue that slightly cooler theme on a sunday. in the south and east this is where you will see some sunshine. but it will feel like autumn at times in

scotla nd will feel like autumn at times in scotland and temperatures for some sit in the mid—teens.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. borisjohnson says uk is response to their coronavirus pandemic shows the sheer amount of the union is the pie ministry makes his first visit to scotland since last year ‘s general election. the snp say boris johnson last year ‘s general election. the snp say borisjohnson ‘s message about scotland's dependence on the union during coronavirus will not be well received. wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets becomes compulsory from midnight tonight in england. there is criticism of the new rules are unclear. if you are going into a takeaway and eating in somewhere that has a takeaway, that's like hospitality. you're eating, it is not practical to wear a face mask, we recognise