this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at nine. new guidance for people showing symptoms of covid. officials are expected to extend the isolation period from seven to ten days in england over fears of rising case numbers in parts of europe. we are looking at what happens in all other countries around the world and then we are taking the best decisions that we possibly can to keep people here safe. at 9.30, we'll get new data from the uk's official statistics body comparing mortality figures across europe. and before 10, we'll answer your questions about travel restrictions and quarantine. tou can contact me on twitter at annita—mcveigh or use the hashtag bbcyourquestions. also this hour...

australia suffers its worst day since the pandemic began, with rising numbers of both cases and fatalities. hospital trusts reveal up to three—quarters of patients discharged into care homes in england during march and april were not tested for coronavirus. prosecutors respond to a record low in convictions for rape cases in england and wales, saying they want them to increase. a quarter of britain's native mammals, including red squirrels and hedgehogs, are now at risk of extinction, with an urgent call for action to prevent their loss. and a multi—billion—dollar, decade—long project to bring rock samples from mars to earth prepares to blast off, in an attempt to answer whether there has ever been life on mars.

good morning. welcome to bbc news. i'm anita mcveigh. people with coronavirus symptoms in england are expected to be told to self—isolate for ten days, rather than seven, as the government tries to avoid a second outbreak of the virus in the uk. currently, people with a new continous cough, high temperature or loss of taste or smell, have to self—isolate for seven days. others in the household are told to self—isolate for m days. this is set to increase to 10 days for several reasons:first, there is lots of evidence that people continue to shed the virus after their symptoms have gone away. second, widespread testing means positive cases are being picked up

earlier, for example when they are asymptomatic. and finally, increasing the length of time needed to self—isolate sends a message that the threat from coronavirus isn't over, and we should continue to take it seriously. health secretary matt hancock said the full details will be announced later. well, the chief medical officer is going to set out more details later today on the question of, for those who test positive, how long they need to self—isolate for. as the science on this has been developing, and also because we want to take a precautionary approach to make sure that we can keep people in this country as safe as possible. we can see, sadly, a second wave of coronavirus that is starting to roll across europe. there's many european countries whose cases, number of cases is going up again. we want to do everything we possibly can to protect people here and protect people from that

wave reaching our shores. we have been constantly learning throughout this crisis. you know, there has not been a pandemic like this before and this disease, we didn't even know about it until the end of december, and we didn't identify it as a coronavirus untiljanuary. so we are constantly learning all the way through this. and as we see things change, so we will change what the country needs to do. this is true, for instance, of the data that we are seeing in europe, where we are seeing, you know, countries that did have a very, very low rate of new cases, that rate is starting to rise and in some cases, quite sharply. and so i think that, you know, people, i know for a fact that the vast majority of people understand that we are dealing with a virus that is completely new and that we are doing a huge amount of scientific research into it. we are looking at what happens

in all other countries around the world and then we are taking the best decisions that we possibly can to keep people here safe. that is how we approach it. we are much less interested in the, you know, "who did what, when" sorts questions. we are much more interested in what can we do to keep people safe. in a moment will talk to our assistant political editor norman smith but first, to health correspondent nick triggle. good morning. we have been used to the seven—day isolation period for quite some time now, nick, so why the change and why now? what is the science behind it? yes, that has been the advice since pretty much the start of the pandemic but it was a lwa ys the start of the pandemic but it was always on the low side. other countries, as the health secretary said, have longer isolation periods after a positive test, some have ten

days, some have even longer. the thing is, coronavirus is a new virus and there is a lack of certainty over just how long people and there is a lack of certainty overjust how long people are infectious for. research shows you can pass on the virus two days before symptoms develop and you are at your most infectious during the period when you have symptoms. for many people, that will be no longer than seven days, although if you have symptoms for longer than seven days, you are already asked to continue isolating. but there is plenty of evidence also to show that you can shed the virus for longer, once the symptoms disappear. shedding the virus does not mean you are infectious but it could mean you might be, or might be a little bit infectious. i think what has prompted this is more research and knowledge on that period, so they are extending it as a precaution. i think there are other reasons,

though, why they are doing this. we have widespread testing in place now which means we are beginning to pick up which means we are beginning to pick up people in the presymptomatic stage. that means the period in which they can pass on the infection, may be a little longer. the other factor is that this sends out an important signal. we are seeing low rates of infection in the uk but it tells everyone we must not be complacent and we must adhere to the guidance. 0k cominit, thank you. norman, we heard nick mention that other countries have had this ten day self isolation period for some time so politically wise the uk doing it now. we have heard about the scientific reasons but politically, what is that thinking. it is pretty clear, isn't it? we have heard from the prime minister and other ministers of a genuine concern there is a second surge in the virus beginning to build up in parts of europe and the concern is it is going to pick up in britain,

too. i think it is a simple as that. the trick, i think, that ministers have tried to pull off is put in place further precautionary measures, while at the same time not provoking a panic that we are suddenly going to be hit by a huge upturn in the number of infections. imean, it upturn in the number of infections. i mean, it is clear that for some weeks now, health officials have been pointing to a steady rise in the numberof been pointing to a steady rise in the number of new infections. we had 763, i think, the number of new infections. we had 763, ithink, yesterday, which is quite a bit up on the all—time low of around 400. but more broadly, i think, you know, it reflects that kind of scientific advice which the chief medical officer and the chief scientific advisor have repeatedly given, which is that this virus will come at us in given, which is that this virus will come at us in waves. given, which is that this virus will come at us in waves. clearly, there isa come at us in waves. clearly, there is a concern within government that we could be on the cusp of another wave, hence we saw the quarantine for travellers returning from spain,

probably also, soon, for luxembourg and they are looking at belgium and hence, also, what seems likely, the decision to increase the self isolation period to ten days. norman, for the moment, thank you very much. norman smith and nick trickle, thank you both forjoining us. joining me now is dr mike tildesley, professor in infectious disease modelling at the university of warwick. thank you forjoining us. to what extent is their growing evidence that people can be infectious for quite a long period of time with coronavirus, perhaps longer than initially thought. certainly, we are starting to see increased evidence of this being the case but we know, as has already been said by your previous interviewee that people can be infectious with the virus, may be about 1—3 days before symptoms start to emerge. this policy of going up

to emerge. this policy of going up to ten days is not necessarily going to ten days is not necessarily going to do much to mitigate that problem but perhaps more seriously, there is evidence that possibly people are most infectious within that period of seven days around when they start to show symptoms but people may be infectious even for a few days after they start showing symptoms. so this 10—day period from the point where you start to show symptoms will hopefully capture some of those people, particularly people who have slightly stronger symptoms, it will ca ptu re slightly stronger symptoms, it will capture those people and potentially reduce their risk of passing on further infection. it sounds as though you think seven days was the bare minimum that is isolation period should be and perhaps not enough. i think the problem is, and you know, if you are talking to me and my advice as an infectious disease expert, then if the only thing you are considering is minimising the risk to public health, then of course, you have is long and isolation period as possible because that would be the

thing that would minimise the risk of transmission of disease. i accept of transmission of disease. i accept of course that there are practical considerations that have to be made when a time limit is put in place as to which somebody needs to isolate. i would say seven days is slightly on the low side and this has already been discussed, there are other countries that are already using the ten day window and that is the who recommendation. i think ten days provides a reasonable balance, whereby we should hopefully cover within that period, capture the vast majority of people, so that by the time they are released from isolation, they are no longer infectious. i am not going to ask you a political question about whether the uk should have done this sooner whether the uk should have done this sooner but given where we are at with the virus now in the uk, and cases of the virus, does introducing ten days at this point... is that going to be effective in hopefully stopping more spikes? we have already had a few in various parts of england. well, we are in a very

delicate face of the epidemic and of course, it has been widely reported over the last few days that there is a severe risk of a large second wave of gathering. and of course, we are seeing evidence of that in spain and rising cases in france and germany and belgium. the danger is that obviously, in the uk, cases have plateaued and there is a suggestion, there is evidence in the data they may be slightly starting to rise in some areas. if we want to prevent a large second wave occurring, then of course, testing and tracing is going to play a role and local measures to try to contain the spread of disease if we have outbreaks will play a role. and this increase to ten days will play a role because what we don't want, of course, is to have to go intoa don't want, of course, is to have to go into a large—scale lockdown again like we saw in march. is that whether we call it a second wave or one big wave or localised spikes, you are a person who sees how disease is spread and travel and move through populations. what would your message be to everybody

watching this, who might be feeling, "0h, watching this, who might be feeling, "oh, we have been ok so far, it is the summer, let's relax a bit, we are coming back from somewhere where there have been more cases than the uk but we don't need to quarantine", for example, anyone who is feeling the slightest bit relaxed or even complacent about this, what is your message? well, i think the key thing is that, you know, when we went into lockdown back in march, i think many of the scientific community were amazed by the overwhelming sort of way that the public embraced... well, actually adhered to lockdown. i think this was something we were all extremely surprised about that people were able to sustain that for a very long period of time. that is the reason we were able to suppress the reason we were able to suppress the first wave in the way we did. i think the key message really is we are not out of the woods yet. we don't want to have to go international lockdown again. the way we do that is to keep adhering to those measures. if local controls are put in place, we abide by those.

if somebody is developing symptoms, they rapidly get tested and allow for their contacts to be traced. we need to follow these rules so that we don't go into a larger scale lockdown later in the. 0k stop thank you forjoining us. -- later in the year. and coming up at 9.30am this morning... the office for national statistics is set to release a comparison of deaths in the uk against other european countries. it's likely to show the uk has had one of the worst coronavirus death rates so far in europe, and it's the first time the ons has conducted international comparisons of death rates during the pandemic. that promises to be a really interesting study. stay with us for those details at 9:30am. also coming up before 10, we'll answer any questions you have on quarantine and travel restrictions. i'll be joined by helen coffey, deputy travel editor at the independent, and jasmine birtles, founder of money magpie. australia has recorded its deadliest

day of the coronavirus pandemic. the state of victoria had more than 700 new infections and 13 deaths in 24 hours, raising the number who have died with covid—i9 across the country to 189. victoria's six—week lockdown, which started onjuly the 7th, looks likely to be extended. shaimaa khalil is in sydney. it is hitting australia pretty hard, and remember, a little over a month ago we were talking about single—digit numbers, both in new south wales, where i am, and victoria as well. now it is 723 cases in the last 24 hours, that is the state record and a national record of daily increase since the pandemic began. only at the beginning of the week on monday, victoria recorded about 523 cases and at the time, that was the record high, and at the time, health authorities were saying, or were hoping this was going to be the peak and they were hoping to see lower

numbers. well, they did see a couple of days of lower numbers but now, this is the highest spike. very concerning as well because a lot of the cases have hit age care facilities but also, one of the worrying trends is that there are cases that are popping up in regional victoria, so outside of metropolitan melbourne and into regional victoria. from midnight tonight, there are some areas in regional victoria that are now not allowed visitors, and now all of victoria, people are going to be required to wear masks when leaving their house so that is from midnight local time on sunday. the headlines on bbc news. officials are expected to extend the isolation period for people showing symptoms of covid from seven to ten days in england, over fears of rising cases numbers in parts of europe. australia has suffered its worst day since the pandemic began,

with rising numbers of both cases and the number of fatalities. hospital trusts have revealed up to three—quarters of patients discharged into care homes in england during march and april were not tested for coronavirus. staying with care homes, as you've been hearing, some hospital trusts in england have told the bbc‘s panorama programme that 75% of the patients they discharged into care homes from early march to mid—april weren't tested for coronavirus. in all, 25,000 people were moved at the height of the pandemic, a policy described by some mps as reckless. alison holt has more. this is eachstep blackley, a specialist dementia home on the outskirts of manchester. and i'll just check your temperature. through the height of the pandemic, panorama followed staff, residents and families here. it only takes one minor slip, like,

to get covid in the next room or for someone to have contact. nearly half of the home's 55 residents showed signs of the virus, and nine died. as in many care homes, they felt the government saw them as an afterthought. it makes me feel angry, because they should have protected us. they should have, you know? from day one. the nhs, yeah, rightly they get protected, but so should all the care homes. every care home. most of the care providers that panorama has contacted felt pressurised to take untested patients from hospitals, and that it was difficult to get health support in homes. i love that one. where he's in the garden, bith with their wellies on. brian was one of blackley's residents who died with the virus. his death was difficult and his family would have liked the home to have more medical support in his final hours. i know they were very busy in the hospitals,

but they should have had someone to be there in the homes to help them, even if it's only to go and give them advice. local authorities pay the fees of most of the residence here, and the boss of the charity that runs blackley says coronavirus has made the need for reform of the whole care system crystal clear. you can't have a disconnected health and social care system. it has to change. it cannot be left to local authorities whose budgets are being cut. and they then have to think about who gets care and who doesn't, and they haven't got the money to pay what takes. we have to decide how important our elderly and our vulnerable people are. the government says social care was not an afterthought, that homes have had extra funding and extensive help as well as access to comprehensive health services. alison holt, bbc news. bbc panorama: the forgotten frontline is on bbc one at 9pm tonight.

the number of rape convictions in england and wales has fallen to a record low, according to figures seen by bbc news. the national police chiefs' council says it's getting harder to achieve the standard of evidence required to take cases to court. the crown prosecution service said it is "working hard to reverse the trend". zoe conway reports. courtney, not her real name, alleges she was the victim of a violent sexual assault. she reported it to the police in 2016. she says her case was not taken seriously enough by prosecutors. we'vejust had, you know, almost a decade of austerity and they cannot afford to prosecute crime any more. my case... there were witnesses on the night of the assault, there was a potential second victim and none of that mattered. prosecutors asked for access to years' worth of her social media accounts. courtney refused. she said it would have been

dehumanising, and she says she had no choice but to drop her case. latest figures seen by the bbc show that in the last year 1,439 rape suspects were convicted of rape or another crime. that's half the number of three years ago. they also show that the police referred 2,747 cases to the crown prosecution service for a charging decision. that is 40% fewer cases over the same time period. the cps says the drop in prosecutions is a major focus for them. they've launched a new strategy which is being piloted in the south—east of england to boost the number of rape and sexual offences that make it to court. and prosecutors deny they've been weeding out the weaker cases. we scrutinise the cases very carefully, but you will see that certainly, our charging rate has improved considerably. we are not being risk—averse.

the national police chiefs' council says that it's very concerned by these new figures. it says police officers have told them it's become harder to meet standard of evidence required by the cps in order to charge a suspect and get a case into court. zoe conway, bbc news. i will be talking to the director of public prosecutions just after half past nine about these latest statistics. a watchdog has criticised the prime ministerfor his misuse of official figures on the number of children living in poverty. the office of statistics regulations found that borisjohnson used the wrong figures on three separate occasions, twice at prime minister's questions in the house of commons and once on the andrew marr show. a group called the end child poverty coalition had complained about statistics used by mrjohnson. the number of cars built in the uk over the past six months has slumped to the lowest since 1954. the society of motor manufacturers

and traders says just under 381,500 cars were built in the year tojune, a decline of 42% on the same months last year. it estimates that nearly 11,500 jobs were lost at car—makers and parts suppliers during the same period. injune, manufacturing for the uk market was down by 63%, while exports were 45% lower. there's a warning that a quarter of britain's native mammals are now at risk of extinction. they've been added to the uk's first official red list, a review of species including hedgehogs, red squirrels and water voles. the report, put together by the charity the mammal society, calls for urgent action. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. familiar characters that are becoming increasingly rare sights. while the uk is a natural home for dozens of mammals, including red squirrels, dormice and hedgehogs,

many of those species are now in danger of disappearing. this first red list of threatened species put together by the conservation charity the mammal society has shown that a quarter of all of the uk's native mammals were under threat of extinction. so, what we've done is a really comprehensive review of all the evidence we have available on things like how big the populations are or how isolated those populations are. we've drawn all that together and it's come up with this list of 11 of our 47 native species being classified as threatened imminently. and what this is clearly saying is we need to be acting right now. we don't, we can't carry on with the current trajectory. different animals face different threats. the now critically endangered scottish wildcat population has not recovered from decades of persecution. for the red squirrel, disease and competition from the introduced grey squirrels

have driven it decline. but something conservation scientists agree on is that we need to leave more wild space for these species to recover. there are pockets of good habitat, like this red squirrel reserve in formby, but that's exactly what this is. this is an isolated pocket of good, natural habitat for red squirrels. and what conservationists say we need is for that to be a connected network of wild space across the landscape. here's my little foxy loxy. during lockdown, many people shared pictures and video on social media of animal encounters in quite urban settings. now scientists say we need to find sustainable ways to share our environment with nature. victoria gill, bbc news. we can learn more on this now from professor fiona mathews, the chair of the mammal society, which compiled the list of endagered mammals. of endangered mammals. thank you forjoining us. over the

course of this pandemic so far, we have all been out in nature more, whether in our towns and cities come in ourgardens, in whether in our towns and cities come in our gardens, in the countryside. we have been appreciating what nature can bring to us. what do we need to do to try to reverse the fate of some of these endangered animals? i think that is right, i think the pandemic has really brought home to people how important nature is to them. we all love to see animals in their natural environment, and they are also good for us, they are providing lots of services we actually need to keep our world healthy. ithink services we actually need to keep our world healthy. i think what we all need to start doing is just creating space for wildlife. whether thatis creating space for wildlife. whether that is in your own back garden, whether you let parts of it go wild or perhaps around the edges of sports pitches or every school in the country, why does the grass a lwa ys the country, why does the grass always need to be mown so flat? let's give places for these animals

to live. we are not talking about try to accommodate rhinos and tigers. and yet somehow, we are failing to even provide homes for things as innocuous as a hedgehog. you know, it really is a massive problem, something we need to get a grip on. looking at the most critically engage it, including the wildcat and the greater mouse eared bat, the red squirrel is on the endangered list, the next category down. how close are we to losing these creatures on the uk forever was yellow i think we are very close, all of the species listed as threat and have a realistic probability of going extinct in the near future. obviously, it probability of going extinct in the nearfuture. obviously, it is difficult to put a precise year on that, in the same way as it is difficult to say exactly when tigers will go extinct. but what it is saying to us is we have probably got ten, maximum 30—40 years to really turn this around. if we don't take

action now, we are going to be the nation that manages to send even things like the waterfall, which breeds are readily and should be in all of our waterways, canals and rivers —— the water voles. they used to be such a pest that airedale terriers were specifically bred to hunt them and yet we have so denuded their habitat and failed to get a grip on the american import which is predating on them that we are managing to lose animals like that. we heard in the report there are different reasons for different species being endangered but i noticed in all of the threatened categories, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable and near threatened, they all include types of bats. what is going on with the bat population? they do. bats are having a hard time particularly those that are specialist moss eaters, some of the ones on the list really depend on things like species rich meadows. we have lost 97% of

species rich meadows since the war. basically, we lack the food for them to eat. we have also got a real problem with ancient woodland. again, we have some specialists in ancient woodland and that is not a habitat that is easy to replace. it really waves the flag of we need to be concerned with every patch of ancient woodland that we have. —— we need to be conserving every patch. thank you forjoining us. i hope that as a society, we really get a grip on this. thank you. thank you. nasa is planning to launch its latest mission at lunchtime, with the aim of finding life on mars. the rover, named perseverance, is part of a multi—billion—pound, decade—long effort to bring rock samples from the red planet back to earth. it will arrive in february, landing on an ancient lake bed that scientists believe could hold traces of past microbial life. that is going to be fascinating to follow that.

now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. that is going to be so fascinating, isn't it, what perseverance does? it is, always great to find out new things about the planet around us. new things weather—wise will be a first real spike of heat this month, coming tomorrow, not there today across the northern half of the country, where the rain has been falling in the last three hours, pretty wet across northern england, parts of scotland and another burst of heavy rain into northern ireland now, working north and eastwards into scotland this afternoon. the rain we have will fizzle out, maybe still hitting some of those areas in around the england, scotland border but from lancashire, yorkshire southwards, sunshine out this afternoon, one, 20 5—28, compared to the mid to high teens across scotla nd the mid to high teens across scotland and northern ireland. the rain will push its way northwards and become confined to shetland through the night. most bases become dry with southerly wind developing and it is going to be a malls night with temperatures in double figures, maybe 16 or 17 in the south—east corner. what we will have tomorrow isa corner. what we will have tomorrow

is a pretty warm day, except northern ireland, few rainstorms there, temperatures peaking into the 34 england and wales, 33—34 in the south—east corner, 26 in glasgow, inverness and aviemore and for the the cooler is back, as is sunshine and showers. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcvegh. the headlines: officials are expected to extend the isolation period for people showing symptoms of covid from seven to ten days in england, over fears of rising cases numbers in parts of europe. we wa nt we want to take a precautionary approach to make sure that we can keep people in this country as safe as possible. australia has suffered its worst day since the pandemic began, with rising numbers of both cases and the number of fatalities hospital trusts have revealed up to three—quarters of patients

discharged into care homes in england during march and april were not tested for coronavirus. the number of rape convictions in england and wales has fallen to a record low. some breaking news now — the office for national statistics has for the first time conducted international comparisons of death rates during the coronavirus pandemic, and those figures are just out on how the uk compares to other european countries. let's get the details from ben humberstone, from the office for national statistics. i have been keeping an eye on your twitter account. i haven't seen the figures on there yet. so you can tell us first, what are the key headlines? what we have published todayis headlines? what we have published today is our first international

comparisons of all—cause mortality, excess mortality, over the period of the pandemic. at some for the first six months of this year. we have looked at it week by week and we have compared what we would normally expect to see in a week based on the previous five year average, with what we have actually observed as a result of covid—19, but also other deaths that might be related to that. that really shows the tragic impact of covid—19. what the figures show is that the uk had the second—highest peak of excess deaths, excess mortality, during the pandemic period after spain. and within that, england had the highest rate followed by scotland and then wales and northern ireland, which had relatively low rates of excess deaths over that period. the pattern is really complex. so what we have seen, for example, in italy and

spain, the other countries really heavily affected by covid—19, they had a very localised pandemic, so the impact in the regions of northern italy and central spain we re northern italy and central spain were much higher than anything we saw in the uk. but in the uk it was what mother —— where it was what much wider spread. we saw excess deaths from settlement to cornwall and in between. if i give you some examples. the province of bergamo, which is in the northern italian region of lombardi, saw excess deaths, about 9.5 times what we would normally expect to see during the peak of the pandemic. the closest uk region would be the london borough of brent, which is broadly equivalent, which saw rates at about 4.5 times what we would normally expect to see. and the pattern follows for the major cities

of europe, so madrid, for example, saw excess deaths about 5.5 times what we would normally expect to see, about 3.5 times that of birmingham. england had the second—highest peak after spain. you have studied the period january to june this year. over those months, which country, therefore, had the greatest number of excess deaths, a horrible term, due to covid—19? greatest number of excess deaths, a horrible term, due to covid-19? so, in terms of cumulative excess deaths, which we have looked at in this report, it would be the uk. however, it is important to note the pandemic is not over yet and we will continue doing this analysis to see what happens. what we have seen in the uk, for example, over the last few weeks are rates of deaths below what we would normally see in these weeks of the year. and so that will

have an impact and will bring figures into line. the other important point to note is that, although the uk at the peak of the pandemic didn't see the highest rates of death, the pandemic and the effect on excess deaths did last slightly longer in the uk, which pushed up that total number of deaths. sorry to interrupt, ben, we're just seeing a breakdown of some of the detail. we are getting a lot of data. your study has shown that england has had the highest levels of excess mortality in europe for the weeks from the 24th of february, all the way through to the 14th ofjune. so, that was before lockdown began, of course? so what we have done is look that excess mortality. that is all calls. it is not just covid—19. mortality. that is all calls. it is notjust covid—19. it is also the

effect of covid—19, for example, in changes in the health and social cases them, and that has enabled us to give a comparable right right across europe, right down to regional levels. and i think that one of the really important things to look at when you get into the detail of what we publish today, at the regional impact a few, particularly northern italy, central spain, compared to how the pandemic has presented in the uk, which has been much more evenly, not evenly spread, but spread across all areas of the uk. 0k, head of health analysis at the office for national statistics, thank you for that. lots of data coming out of that study further than the ons. we will be talking to our head of statistics, robert cuffe, after ten o'clock. he is looking at the data now and will tell us more about the details when hejoins mejust after ten tell us more about the details when he joins me just after ten o'clock. figures seen by bbc news show

that the number of suspects convicted in cases where there's been an allegation of rape in england and wales, has fallen to a new record low. the national police chiefs' council said it was getting harder to achieve the evidential standard required to take cases to court. joining us now is the director of the cps, max hill. thank you very much for your time this morning. if we look at all of the detail here, and referrals to the detail here, and referrals to the cps from the police dropped by 40% in the period we are looking at as well, but police chiefs are saying that is because police didn't feel that if they to you, that they would lead to prosecution. so what is your take on this relationship between the police and yourselves, and why that has led to a drop in the number of rape convictions in england and wales? well, the data we have released this morning shows a number of pictures. it is absolutely

right to say that if you compare year—on—year in —— year the total volume, the total number of cases has been falling. those are completed cases, but bear in mind a rape case takes one, even two years to make its journey rape case takes one, even two years to make itsjourney through rape case takes one, even two years to make its journey through the criminal justice system. to make its journey through the criminaljustice system. the data also shows, it is released this morning, that over three successive quarters, the proportion of cases that the police to bring to us, which we then charge, is rising. and over the last two years that proportion has risen from below 50% to more than 60%. so on that basis we need to do, and ourfive year strategy we published this morning, that will make good on this, is to work with our partners in the police, area by area, force by force, to make sure that we built a strong relationship at the start of these very serious criminal investigations, build strong cases

together, and together drive the numbers up. let me come back to that plan ina numbers up. let me come back to that plan in a moment because i want to hear more about it, but isn't it the case that police are not bringing forward cases to you that previously they might have otherwise done? perhaps the case is more complex, but they think that, for whatever reason, there's less chance of it being successfully prosecuted, and therefore they are not those cases over to you. isn't that coming from the cps down to the police, that is the cps down to the police, that is the direction of travel in terms of the direction of travel in terms of the messaging here? do you need to change your messaging to the police on that to drive up the overall conviction right? we have the same goal in mind, let's be clear about that, but i have been going around the country, physically, before lockdown, and virtually during lockdown, and virtually during lockdown, sitting with police collea g u es lockdown, sitting with police colleagues and our dedicated specialist rape prosecutors, looking at what more we can do. let me give

you one example. if we look at the kent police force area, i would suggest that recently, over recent months, at least 100 cases that have been worked on together at an early stage of investigation, have been brought forward for charging. maybe we wouldn't have seen that if we hadn't come together to work on what we are calling a rape improvement plan, in some other areas we call it a rape implementation plan. that is what is vital, partnership at earlier stages. tell us more about this five year plan and what about eight would, what would you say to someone who has been raped, what reassurance could you give to someone who has been raped that if they approach the police, and by extension yourselves, thatjustice will be done? what about this new plan will give them that reassurance? the rape and serious sexual offences strategy 2025, which is what we are calling it, is

designed to start by training our people even more than before, applying the context behind these cases and putting victims and survivors in a better position to understand the journey they will be going through, for us to help them ta ke going through, for us to help them take that journey. going through, for us to help them take thatjourney. and when you look across the whole system, to apply that necessary balance between the duties, the obligations of criminal investigation, and the right of privacy when it comes to victims and survivors, as well as balancing the rights of suspects and defendants in these cases. we have to get all of that right in order to improve on the situation today. maksel, director of public prosecutions, thank you for your time. you've been sending us your questions on changes to travel advice and quarantine rules and what this means for your holiday plans. now let's have a look at those, it's time for your questions answered.

to answer them, i'm joined by helen coffey, deputy travel editor at the independent. good morning. and jasmine birtles, founder of the website moneymagpie. good morning to you as well. let us get on with those questions. lynn helen asks, i havejust get on with those questions. lynn helen asks, i have just returned from my locker to check on property and i'm due to fly back on monday, less tha n and i'm due to fly back on monday, less than a week in the uk. can i still fly back or do i have to wait the 14 days? helen? yes, absolutely you can still fly back. this is something people are getting really confused about because it is a confusing situation, but essentially 14 days advised if you are in the uk. spain has no such stipulation about quarantine for british people.

you will not need to quarantine while you are in my locker. the important thing to remember is firstly, spain has been taken off the quarantine exempt list and off the quarantine exempt list and off the safe travel list, so that means your insurance will probably be invalidated, unless you have got some kind of war insurance, which i'm sure you don't. also, if you do come back a second time to my locker, you have to start the quarantine all over again. you can't discount the days you spend in the uk before. a very important. jasmine, a question from will metcalfe who says he was due to travel to spain on friday but his family have decided not to travel. they were due to stay at a campsite. they were due to stay at a campsite. they were due to stay at a campsite. they were unable to get a refund as the company needed at least 21 days notice. can i claim on my travel insurance or credit card to get the money back? that would be good, wouldn't it? i have spoken to visa and certainly if your actual

contract says you have to give a certain amount of days notice, and then you can't give that notice, sadly you can't use chargeback. if they'd said something like, you have to give a 48—hours notice and you have given a week's notice, they won't give you money back, certainly you could use chargeback and that would be easy. in this case it sounds like, in their contract, if thatis sounds like, in their contract, if that is in their contract, that you have to give 21 days notice, then yeah, probably even your insurance, i'm afraid, wouldn't help there. but it's always worth and ask, because all insurances have different aspects in their policies. it's worth asking. but i suspect that if the actual contract has said you have to give 21 days notice and they can have to give 21 days notice and they ca n prove have to give 21 days notice and they can prove this, then it sounds like you may have two wave goodbye to that money, i'm afraid. always worth asking the question. aidan asks, what is the likelihood of turkey

being added to the quarantine list? he and his family go away in two weeks. helen, what do you know that the situation in turkey? well, it's really difficult because things are changing at such a pace at the moment that there is no way to look ina moment that there is no way to look in a crystal ball and be like, it's going to be absolutely fine, as we saw with spine. that changed so fast. now the department for transport have gone from reviewing that every two weeks. i cannot guarantee but they seem to be basing it on the idea of how many new cases per 100,000 people they have had in the past two weeks. turkey's is currently at between 15 and 16, which doesn't for me wave massive red flags. the uk is currently at 14. spain is more than 30. at the moment i would say there is a good chance turkey will still be on that quarantine exempt based and you don't have to worry. but it is something changing very quickly. it

is with a big caveat of, who knows? it's looking good at the moment. and keep a close eye on the news, obviously. hopefully you will be able to go. a question from keith forjasmine. i booked and paid for a holiday to the port of ventura park in spain, scheduled to depart last monday. we notify the operator we wish to cancel the operator is the hotel and theme parks are closed during the day and the flights were cancelled. the tour company are trying to take 90% of the holiday cost. i've cancelled my credit card, which was stored with the booking. the tour company are now pursuing elsewhere in the region of £3000 whilst accepting there is no alternative hotel available. where doi alternative hotel available. where do i stand? this one is overly complicated, jasmine? well, i'm assuming it is a package holiday. and the good thing about buying a package holiday is that under the package holiday is that under the package travel regulations, you are

actually rather nicely covered and you should be allowed a refund because the rules state that if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur, which significantly affect the performance of the package, then you can have a full refund. frankly, the fco saying we can't go to these places or we shouldn't go, and various cancellations that you mentioned, honestly, that sounds like an entirely reasonable way to ask for a refund and say no, we can't pay for that. so long as it is a package holiday, you are covered all over. evenif holiday, you are covered all over. even if it isn't, frankly, i think you have a very good case to say that it's not possible to have this holiday that we originally booked, so holiday that we originally booked, so of course we need to have a refund, or of course we shouldn't be paying for that. i would personally stick to your guns, stand your ground and say no. helen, a question

from natalie. can my daughter and two young children from belgian visit us? —— belgium. they will travel by train. this is a difficult one because at the moment the answer is yes. if you come over you don't have to quarantine. it's all good. but there has been varies strong speculation that luxembourg and belgium are going to be removed from that quarantine exempt list, possibly tomorrow, possibly this weekend, because of the number of cases per 100,000. and in belgium that has rocketed up to 29.3, i think is the greatest number. and so i would say to her, i mean, let's wait and see what happens this weekend. in all likelihood it will be taken off that list. that means her daughter would be able to come over but would have to spend two weeks away from her mother. i don't think that is a good holiday. so worth waiting a few days before that

decision is made, natalie. rachel bates asked, i was due to go on holiday to spain injune, which couldn't happen, and my friends and i accepted a rebooking for next year. my travel insurance as part of my bank account, for which i pay a monthly fee. i want to switch my bank account but then will have no travel insurance. i can't purchase travel insurance. i can't purchase travel insurance. i can't purchase travel insurance is the holiday is already booked. what can i do? it is already booked. what can i do? it is a very good question because you are right, you would be covered by your insurance, assuming you took it out before booking your holiday. it sounds as if you did. now the thing is, nextjune, sounds as if you did. now the thing is, next june, 12 sounds as if you did. now the thing is, nextjune, 12 months away nearly, i would have thought that by next year you could have then take out travel insurance again for something you have already booked. you know, one would hope. you know, the thing is that if it were in a few months' time, i would say, no,

keep with your current bank account, even though you would prefer to move, but by next year all sorts of things could happen, we hope that this situation would have finished before the end of this year. we can't now, but, you know, if you really wa nt can't now, but, you know, if you really want to change your bank account, then i would say, you know, you could potentially risk it because it's quite a long way away next year and it's highly likely, i would have thought, that you could get proper travel insurance that would cover you by next year. i know it's a bit of a risk and it's up to you depending on how much of a risk you depending on how much of a risk you want to take, but personally, i would have thought that it is far enough away to mitigate some of that risk. i certainly hope so. elaine asks helen, my housemate is due to go to spain in two weeks, if she still goes, is she the only one required to isolate when she returns, else to myself and other members of the household you don't

travel also have to isolate? the good news is that no, you and your housemate should not have to isolate, just her. and she should spend the next two weeks basically not really having much to do with you, spending as much time in her room as possible, the government guidance says avoid common areas in the house. you could do things like do her shopping but keep contact to an absolute minimum. and if she brea ks an absolute minimum. and if she breaks that she could be fined up to £1000. it's quite serious. the one situation in which that no longer is the case is if she develops coronavirus symptoms. in that case eve ryo ne coronavirus symptoms. in that case everyone in the household should quarantine, just as you would have to do under normal circumstances. but if she doesn't develop any symptoms you should be fun to go about your business. very clear advice, thank you. this question is from james. my family and i were due to travel to malacca next week. the

flight to travel to malacca next week. the flight and hotel were booked separately. we wish to cancel the holiday as the hotel is closed until the middle of august. am i entitled toa the middle of august. am i entitled to a cash refund for the total cost of the holiday, given that the flight of the holiday, given that the flight may not be cancelled? well, no, because if something is booked separately, booking the hotel and flights separately, then the flight, for example, they would say, well, you can go to another hotel. if the flight you can go to another hotel. if the flight is still going, then you're not necessarily entitled to a refund from that. just because your hotel isn't going. you could maybe move hotels. however, you could ask the flight hotels. however, you could ask the flight company. it's a question of phoning them up, probably waiting for hours admittedly, on the phone and asking them what their policy is. they might be willing to move your flight, they might possibly give you vouchers. but they don't have to come i'm afraid. if it were

a package holiday, yes, you would be cove red, a package holiday, yes, you would be covered, but as you bought the two separately, i'm afraid you are not. definitely worth that phone call. how safe is it to travel to greece at the moment and in the future, asks kerry powell? helen, your thoughts? the great news is for kerry i would say greece is one of the safest places to go on holidays right now. again, i can't say for definite in the future because i don't have my crystal ball, but at the moment, again going back to that really good indicator, number of cases per 100,000 people, it's only a about four in greece at the moment, one of the lowest levels. i would feel, there is always a risk, but i would feel very safe booking a holiday to greece in the next month. jasmine, from janet, we have a holiday home in spain and would like to go there in the next few weeks. i understand my travel insurance won't cover my family for coronavirus, but are we covered for everything else? no, you're not. this is a bit of an

oddity. if you are going to spain, if you are going to a country that the who suggest you don't, not only are you not covered for possible coronavirus, but you are not covered for anything else. for example, coronavirus, but you are not covered foranything else. for example, if you had an accident, you lost your luggage, whatever, you would not be cove red. luggage, whatever, you would not be covered. having said that, there are some policies that might cover you. it is one of those things where you ought to ask your insurance provider or boringly look at the terms and conditions. who does that? but at the moment people are. and make sure you have got an ea card as well. we have got less than a minute but i'm going to try to squeeze one in. it isa going to try to squeeze one in. it is a question from philip who says, is a question from philip who says, is it possible to do a euro driving holiday mixed in with others, campsites, going for walks in the opening north france, north germany and north poland, with masks and

sanitising? he is trying to be as independent as possible as he moves around. does that present difficulties? no, i think around. does that present difficulties? no, ithink that sounds absolutely fine. at the moment if you are worried about getting coronavirus, a self drive holiday is one of the safest bets because you are not spending time in a cramped train, plane or whatever else. so yes, iwould a cramped train, plane or whatever else. so yes, i would say go for it. we are out of time. thank you so much for those answers. thank you for your questions. we are going to get a little burst of heat, some of us anyway. matt taylor has the details. hello. for most of you holidaying at home so far this month, it has been an underwhelming month so far. it has been cooler than normal, certainly

cooler than recent years. a little bit wet for north—east england and wales, not so much sunshine. that will change temporarily for tomorrow. temperatures above 40 degrees to a southend west in france. that he'd brought towards us ona france. that he'd brought towards us on a developing so that he went for friday. not quite there yet. north— south split today. brightening up in northern england this afternoon. another set of rain pushing into northern ireland into mainland scotland, working authors. driest of all across the far north—east. temperatures across scotland and northern ireland sitting in the teens. from the end 62 southwards, temperatures in the high to mid 20s. that warmth will eventually work its way northwards through tonight with drier weather. the rain clearing away from all but shetland as we go into tomorrow morning. and temperatures will be falling away as much as i have done. just about all of us staying in double figures and some in mid—teens. 16 to 7 degrees

in -- 17 some in mid—teens. 16 to 7 degrees in —— 17 degrees and is london. cloud will move into northern ireland during the day. isolated thunderstorms in england and wales later. most will be dry and sunny for the bulk of the day and we will see the peak of that one day heatwave, could call it that. 34 in the south—east of bingen. glasgow, inverness up to 36. —— 26. as we finish the day the greater chance of thunderstorms breaking out in central england. torrential in places. many will stay dry. into saturday these weak weather fronts will push away east. they will introduce the air back off the atlantic. a fresher day on saturday. heavy overnight rain in the north—east of scotland will clear through and it is a day of sunshine and showers. showers are mainly in the north—west, a few towards the north—east. warm in the sunshine, 25, 20 six celsius. in many western

areas temperatures back to below where we should be at this time of the year. into sunday, sunshine and showers once again, but more of you will stay dry and cooler.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. england recorded the highest levels of excess deaths in europe across the first half of the year, according to new figures showing the impact of the coronavirus. new guidance for people showing symptoms of covid. officials are expected to extend the isolation period from seven to ten days in england, over fears of rising cases numbers in parts of europe. australia suffers its worst day since the pandemic began, with rising numbers of both cases and fatalities.