local authorities in england hardest hit by the indian variant say they weren't consulted about new covid restrictions in their areas advice appeared on a government website last week urging people not to travel in and out of the areas, and to avoid meeting indoors. local leaders say they were not informed. actually i was watching the news and i heard it on the news so there was no forewarning about what was going to happen, apparently it was on the website on friday evening, of all times. it's caused a lot of confusion, we were only alerted to it byjournalists last night, late last night. but downing street insists they were warned — we'll have all the latest. also this lunchtime. a report into how the tory party handles claims of discrimination criticises borisjohnson

over his comments — when a journalist — about women wearing the burqa after images are released of the belarusian dissident arrested after his plane was diverted — the eu bans belarusian airlines from european skies events to mark the first anniversary of the death of george floyd — including members of his family meeting president biden and gareth southgate announces his provisional squad for the european championships. and coming up on the bbc news channel, japan has been assured by the united states that a no—travel advisory will not affect american olympians going to the games. good afternoon and welcome

to the bbc news at one. council leaders and local officials in eight areas of england hardest hit by the indian coronavirus variant have strongly criticised the way the government issued new guidance for people living there. some local authorities say they were only informed about the advice — which relates to travel and indoor gatherings — several days after it was published on a government website. downing street has denied the changes amount to "local lockdowns by stealth". in the past half an hour, the vaccines minister nadhim zahawi has told the commons the government wants people in the affected areas to be "careful and cautious." labour says the way the guidance was put out �*insulting' and called on the government to �*withdraw it.�* our health correspondent katharine da costa reports. an extra push to vaccinate here in bedford, one of the hotspots in england receiving additional support to target the fastest spreading variant first detected in india. several councils were surprised to

learn of new guidance advising people against nonessential travel in and out of the worst affected areas. , , ' ~ in and out of the worst affected areas. , , , . ., ~ ., areas. this is in effect a lockdown by stealth. _ areas. this is in effect a lockdown by stealth. i _ areas. this is in effect a lockdown by stealth, i don't _ areas. this is in effect a lockdown by stealth, i don't agree - areas. this is in effect a lockdown by stealth, i don't agree with - areas. this is in effect a lockdown by stealth, i don't agree with the | by stealth, i don't agree with the government assessment, this is clearly telling people they should not be doing things they had been legally permitted to do. there was no forewarning _ legally permitted to do. there was no forewarning of _ legally permitted to do. there was no forewarning of what _ legally permitted to do. there was no forewarning of what was - legally permitted to do. there was no forewarning of what was going l legally permitted to do. there was i no forewarning of what was going to happen, _ no forewarning of what was going to happen, apparently it was on the website — happen, apparently it was on the website on friday evening of all times — website on friday evening of all times so — website on friday evening of all times. so there was nothing officiab _ times. so there was nothing official. �* , times. so there was nothing official. �*, ., ., , ., ., official. it's unfortunately another examle official. it's unfortunately another example of— official. it's unfortunately another example of the _ official. it's unfortunately another example of the government - official. it's unfortunately anotheri example of the government doing official. it's unfortunately another i example of the government doing to us without_ example of the government doing to us without working _ example of the government doing to us without working with _ example of the government doing to us without working with us. - example of the government doing to us without working with us. so - example of the government doing to us without working with us. so it's . us without working with us. so it's caused _ us without working with us. so it's caused a _ us without working with us. so it's caused a lot— us without working with us. so it's caused a lot of— us without working with us. so it's caused a lot of confusion, - us without working with us. so it's caused a lot of confusion, we - us without working with us. so it's| caused a lot of confusion, we were only alerted — caused a lot of confusion, we were only alerted to _ caused a lot of confusion, we were only alerted to it _ caused a lot of confusion, we were only alerted to it by _ caused a lot of confusion, we were only alerted to it byjournalists - only alerted to it byjournalists last night, _ only alerted to it byjournalists last night, late _ only alerted to it byjournalists last night, late last— only alerted to it byjournalists last night, late last night. - only alerted to it byjournalists last night, late last night. on. last night, late last night. on frida , last night, late last night. friday, government last night, late last nightm friday, government guidance last night, late last night.“ friday, government guidance was updated on its website for eight council areas for the indian variant is spreading fastest. it advises them to meet outside rather than inside for a possible. to keep two metres apart from people outside of their household or support bubble. and to avoid travelling in and out of affected areas unless for

essential reasons such as worker education. downing street denies it amounts to local lockdown is, ministers say the guidance serves as extra caution on top of search testing and vaccinations. but the labour party says the failure to alert local leaders were shameful and in the commons this lunchtime, called for an urgent update. figs and in the commons this lunchtime, called for an urgent update.- called for an urgent update. as the prime minister _ called for an urgent update. as the prime minister said, _ called for an urgent update. as the prime minister said, mr _ called for an urgent update. as the prime minister said, mr speaker, | called for an urgent update. as the i prime minister said, mr speaker, we prime ministersaid, mr speaker, we want the whole country to move out of these restrictions together and we are trusting, trusting people to be responsible and act with caution and common sense as they have done throughout this pandemic and to make decisions about how best to protect themselves and their loved ones, informed by the risks. can themselves and their loved ones, informed by the risks.— informed by the risks. can the minister understand _ informed by the risks. can the minister understand how - informed by the risks. can the - minister understand how upsetting it is, can— minister understand how upsetting it is, can he _ minister understand how upsetting it is, can he understand how insulting it is to _ is, can he understand how insulting it is to have — is, can he understand how insulting it is to have new restrictions imposed _ it is to have new restrictions imposed upon us, local lockdown is by stealth, — imposed upon us, local lockdown is by stealth, by the back door and the secretary— by stealth, by the back door and the secretary of state does not even had the courtesy to come and tell us.

nightclubs and other businesses are still waiting to hear whether or restrictions will be lifted as planned on the 21st ofjune. ministers have said they are increasingly confident they will but the decision will depend on how much faster the indian variant is spreading and how well the vaccines stop it causing serious illness and putting pressure on hospitals. katharine da costa, bbc news. let's to speak to our correspondent sharon barbour who's in whitley bay — one of the affected areas. sharon, in this round, there are conflicting accounts of who knew what and when?— conflicting accounts of who knew what and when? yes, here in north t neside, what and when? yes, here in north tyneside, whitley _ what and when? yes, here in north tyneside, whitley bay, _ what and when? yes, here in north tyneside, whitley bay, absolute . tyneside, whitley bay, absolute shock and confusion, the directorate for public health for north tyneside wendy burke, told me she only found out late last night and only through the media, i have to say, many journalists, health correspondence, we only found out last night, we were sharing it with as many people as we knew but in a statement, she

said this has not been accompanied by any communications to the local authorities, local residents, orto businesses. the mayor here, norma redfern, has echoed those comments and said the implications for people across north tyneside and the wider region, they are great, it's essential for the government to explain what this advice means in practice and says they have been working really hard on rolling out the vaccination and getting people tested and this advice is disproportionate. many of the people we have spoken to are confused, they don't know whether they can travel for instance to newcastle. north tyneside is a small borough interlaced with newcastle and northumberland and they are saying it doesn't just affect the residence here, but the people who are travelling in and out of north tyneside all the time. we heard there from the mp, she said this advice is causing unnecessary panic.

health officials and council bosses were left completely in the dark, and of course we heard a short time ago from the government that they are going to work harder and communicating with local authorities. that will be very welcome here. sharon, thank you. an independent report into allegations of islamophobia within the conservative party has found �*anti—muslim sentiment remains a problem'. it also concluded that comments by borisjohnson about women wearing the burqa gave the impression the party is �*insensitive' to muslim communities. the independent review said it did find evidence of discrimination in the party and that while the problem was not systemic — there must be action to root it out.�* our political correspondent chris masonjoins me now. tell us more about what is in the report. tell us more about what is in the re ort, tell us more about what is in the re ort. ,., ., ., ., ., , report. good afternoon, here is the re ort report. good afternoon, here is the report from — report. good afternoon, here is the report from the _ report. good afternoon, here is the report from the professor, - report. good afternoon, here is the report from the professor, 99 - report. good afternoon, here is the| report from the professor, 99 pages long, i have spent the morning reading through the detail. it talks around over the last six years, 1500 complaints, roughly, relating to

around 700 incidents of alleged discrimination, two thirds of those relate to suggestions of an anti—muslim prejudice, the majority are on social media. and it is very direct, the report, it says the current system for dealing with complaints simply is not up to the job, it needs an overhaul, there is a lack of transparency, lack of training for party members particularly at a local level and it says the party �*s reactions to allegations up to now has been far too reactive, driven by the media, finding stories and presenting them to the party, rather than the party reacting based on the alleged seriousness of the allegations. and it addresses specifically, as you say, an article written by boris johnson three years ago, before he was prime minister. in which he referred to women who wear the burqa is looking like or bank robbers. the prime minister told the inquiry that injournalism, you should be able

prime minister told the inquiry that in journalism, you should be able to use language freely, but it's not language he would now use as prime minister. ~ ., ., ., , minister. what reaction has there been to the _ minister. what reaction has there been to the report _ minister. what reaction has there been to the report 's _ minister. what reaction has there been to the report 's findings? i been to the report �*s findings? striking bits of reaction so far, we've heard from sajid javid, the former chancellor, his role in all of this is absolutely crucial, it was a suggestion during the leadership race for the conservative party that boris johnson won leadership race for the conservative party that borisjohnson won a couple of years ago that there should be this independent inquiry which led to it happening because all of the other candidates felt obliged to say the same thing. and ensure that this happened. he has said that there are distressing examples in this report of anti—muslim sentiment at a local level within the party and its absolutely incumbent on the conservative party to accept the recommendations of this report without caveat and info. we have also heard from the former party chairman baroness sayeeda warsi, she has been a long—standing critic of this issue, there report pointedly says there isn't evidence she has

alleged of institutional racism within the party. she says, though, this lunchtime, that it points to evidence that the party is at best unable and at worst unwilling to deal with the issue of racism. we expect a response from the conservatives formally this afternoon. conservatives formally this afternoon-— conservatives formally this afternoon. , ., ,, , ., the eu has imposed sanctions on belarus after it forced a ryanair passenger plane to land in minsk over a supposed bomb threat — a dissidentjournalist onboard was then arrested. friends of roman protasevich say he's been beaten and forced to make a televised confession. the prime minister said the video of the captured journalist was �*deeply distressing' and called for his release. mr protasevich had been heading to lithuania before his plane was diverted. steve rosenberg reports. the first image of roman protasevich in custody. it is taken from a video we are not showing. it is believed to have been filmed under duress. the opposition activist was arrested after this ryanair flight from greece to lithuania was forced

to land in belarus. western governments have called it air piracy and state terrorism. in protest, last night eu leaders decided to ban belarusian airlines from european skies, and eu airlines will stop flying over belarus. this outrageous behaviour needs a strong answer, therefore the european council decided that there will be additional sanctions on individuals that are involved in the hijacking, but this time also on businesses and economic entities that are financing this regime. but will alexander lukashenko care? belarus's authoritarian president is feeling emboldened after surviving huge anti—government protests last year. mr lukashenko was accused of stealing an election. previous sanctions failed to stop

what has become a brutal crackdown on opponents. vladimir putin has stuck by him. it's support from the kremlin that has helped keep mr lukashenko in power. alexander lukashenko doesn't have too many friends left. he is a pariah in the west. that means having to rely more and more on the kremlin for support, and that suits president putin just fine, as moscow pushes for closer ties with belarus and greater influence there. the two men are due to meet in russia later this week. criticised by the west, this is one place the leader of belarus can still expect a warm welcome. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. police in london investigating the shooting of a prominent black lives matter activist say there's no information to suggest she was the victim of a targeted attack.

commander alison heydari is from the metropolitan police gave this update earlier. we are aware of sasha's involvement in the black lives matter movement in the uk, and i understand the concern that this will cause some communities. however, i wish to stress that at this time there is nothing to suggest that sasha was a victim of a targeted attack. we are also not aware of any reports of threats made against her prior to this incident. let's speak to our news correspondent chi chi izundu. what more did we learn? the only other detail of note we learned from the metropolitan police today as he possibly could have been involved in this attack. they say that for black men dressed in dark clothing entered the garden of the party that sasha johnson was attending in peckham in south london and started shooting. they say there is no indication that sasha new or these men knew of sasha. the only other thing that is

of interest is that the campaign group that sasha johnson as part of, the taking the initiative party, have hit back strongly against the police saying they do believe that this was a targeted attack. in a statement, on their website they ask several questions including how had the police come to this conclusion without being able to speak to sasha johnson regarding the death threats and investigate? do the police know who the target of the attack was? in order to conclude that sasha was not. it is you heard in that clip, by the metropolitan police, they are adamant they did not know of any threats against sasha johnson before she was shot on sunday morning and they say they had no evidence that this was a targeted attack against her. sasha remains in a critical condition in hospital. chi chi, thank you. the director—general of the bbc, tim davie, says the findings of an investigation into how the journalist martin bashir was rehired by the corporation

will be published next week. an inquiry by a former seniorjudge last week found the bbc covered up "deceitful behaviour" used by martin bashir to secure an interview with princess diana in 1995. let's talk to our media and arts correspondent, david sillito. david come up more questions about more recent management decisions are still to be answered?— still to be answered? absolutely, last week was — still to be answered? absolutely, last week was all _ still to be answered? absolutely, last week was all about _ still to be answered? absolutely, last week was all about the - still to be answered? absolutely, | last week was all about the dyson report, revealing the deceit behind the martin bashir interview of princess diana. this week it has all been about how as the bbc going to respond? it's already said it will look at its editorial and whistle—blowing policy is because people at the time did raise concerns but also, other questions of who knew what and when and also, the question about why was martin bashir given that there had been concerns raised about him, rehired in 2016 as the religious affairs correspondent? and gemma two, the director—general of the bbc today announced on the today programme there would be another bbc

investigation into that matter. —— tim davie. we are in the course of a quick investigation led by an independent within the bbc by kenny macquarrie, who's not part of news management. we are interviewing people, getting the documents, and we should be able to publish something next week. relatively short, sharp sweet investigation and i think mps and the media select committee will also be interested because they have been raising those concerns as well about rehiring him in 2016. david, thank you. it is just after a quarter past one. our top story this lunchtime: local authorities in england hardest hit by the indian variant say they weren't consulted about new covid restrictions in their areas. and coming up, a charity encouraging more muslim women to cycle says it is fighting stereotypes. and coming up on the bbc news channel, the pga of america has apologised after spectators overwhelmed security officials and swarmed around phil mickelson and brooks koepka on the final hole

of the pga championship on sunday. today is the first anniversary of the murder of george floyd, the african american killed by a white policeman in minneapolis. his death sparked global protests against racism and police brutality, after mobile phone footage emerged, showing him saying, "i can't breathe. " to mark the anniversary, some members of george floyd's family will meet presidentjoe biden, while others willjoin campaigners and activists in minneapolis, as the campaign for racial justice continues. barbara plett usher reports. in the year since george floyd died, rituals have helped to build and shape a movement. the standard—bearers drawn by a mix of the political and personal, like cortez rice — a symbolic pallbearer in a never—ending funeral. it's my beloved friend, man. he was like an uncle to me, like i say, i loved him

and i miss him dearly. he was a role model to me. let me see all the hands. floyd's violent arrest and death over a minor crime was replayed at the recent trial of his killer — a white police officer convicted of murder. activists believe that pressure on the streets helped secure the guilty verdict. now cortez is focusing on using the law to change the way policing is done. that's why i recentlyjoined the naacp minneapolis chapter so i can be familiarised with the bills that's going on, and to help our people out. so it sounds to me like you're kind of giving yourself, like, a legal education. yeah, definitely. that's quite a change, no? yeah, definitely. that's a big change. many lives have changed, even if wider reforms have been slow to follow. it activated me. it activated me in ways i didn't know i could be activated. butchy austin lives in the neighbourhood where george floyd was killed. i saw an opportunity

to have a deeper community with my neighbours, to have tougher conversations about systemic racism and police brutality. every sunday, he joins this service on the corner of the square where floyd died. faith gives them confidence, but the debate in the city over how to handle policing is messy, and officers say they're under such scrutiny they don't feel free to do theirjobs. it's long overdue that an officer thinks twice before engaging. and i know some people are frustrated about how many officers are leaving the force, and they feel like police are being oppressed. again, if you're doing yourjob right, this shouldn't be happening. so this anniversary is a chance to reflect on a life lost, on battles won and struggles yet to be overcome. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher is in minneapolis.

barbara, one of the key events of the day is the floyd family being invited to the white house? yes. invited to the white house? yes, the are invited to the white house? yes, they are invited _ invited to the white house? yes, they are invited to _ invited to the white house? yes, they are invited to a _ invited to the white house? yes they are invited to a private meeting with president biden, and the meeting itself is a sign of what has changed. when i was here a year ago, something like that would never have crossed my mind, but of course we have had the election since then under president biden has a focus on racheljustice and equality and there is a political movement keeping the issue in the public eye. —— racialjustice and equality. there have been much less changes on theissue there have been much less changes on the issue of policing, president biden supports a package of police reform proposals he was hoping to have passed before the anniversary but it is stuck in congo so it has not happened. some new rules have been imposed at state level in many places, especially banning the macro strange used on george floyd, but not the root and branch reform that

activists have been asking for. barbara plett usher in minneapolis, thank you. official figures show the chancellor, rishi sunak, borrowed £300 billion to plug the gap between government income and spending in the year to the end of march. it's the highest public sector borrowing since records began in 1916. i'm joined now by our economics correspondent, andy verity. and he, how do these figures look compared to what we expected? titer;r compared to what we expected? they are an compared to what we expected? tie: are an improvement compared to what we expected? t'ts: are an improvement on compared to what we expected? tteg are an improvement on what we expected as recently as a couple of months ago. the figures for april, you have borrowing of £32 billion, huge by any normal standards, but we are in a pandemic, it is not normal and has not been since the start of the pandemic. that is what the government was predicted to borrow, before the pandemic, over the whole of the last financial year, but it has come in 7 billion lower than the obr has come in 7 billion lower than the 0br predicted in the budget. it is

£300 billion for the year, it sounds fast and frightening and it is a very large sum, the highest in peacetime, but you look at the fact that that it has come down a lot since the last official predictions in november, £91; billion lower than the obr in november, £91; billion lower than the 0br forecasted in november. then you have to stay back and ask how manageable it is. —— you have to step back. most of that borrowing, 92%, is owed to the bank of england, so you have a very patient creditor who will not be banging on your door any time soon to collect that data, and interest rates are super low so there is no economic urgency to cut spending or raise taxes. andy verity, thank you. nearly half of all dentists in england are considering leaving their practice if covid restrictions remain in place, a survey by the british dental association suggests. over the past year, most non—urgent medical appointments have been postponed or cancelled. they say staff morale has

been severely damaged by long waiting lists, frustrated patients, and the stress of having to use ppe. tomos morgan reports. over the last year, routine medical appointments, nonurgent treatment and operations have been plagued by restrictions, with dentistry also left in a hole. a study released today by the british dental association, seen exclusively by the bbc, suggests that almost half of all dentists surveyed are considering changing career all seeking early retirement if covid restrictions remain in place over the next 12 months in england. long hours working with ppe, coupled with a strained workload, has been chipping away at morale. people in the profession are quite disillusioned, and they are suffering from a lot of mental health problems. they have been exposed to an unprecedented level of abuse from patients who are directing their anger and frustration at the staff on the front line because they are unable to get a dental

appointment or are in pain. clinical staff have to wear masks that are difficult to breathe in, eight, nine hours a day. phone rings, answerphone message plays. dentists say patients have become increasingly frustrated, with fewer available appointments a side—effect of restrictions, and the report estimates that potentially almost 30 million appointments have been missed in england since the pandemic started. claire has been waiting more than two years already. i'm very, very self—conscious and i kind of really, you know, desperately want to have the work done and feel more confident in myself again. it has knocked my confidence as well. really, working in the current situation with the arrangements for the pandemic with our standard operating procedures that we are working to the moment, made delivering dentistry a very difficultjob to do. the association wants the government to set out a clear route map for reform and relaxation

of covid restrictions. in response, a spokesperson for the department of health said they were continuing to support the dental sector, working closely with the nhs to supply affordable health care whilst protecting staff and patients. tomos morgan, bbc news. conservative mp rob roberts faces being suspended from the commons for six weeks after a complaints panel found he broke parliament's sexual misconduct policy. the independent expert panel found that mr roberts, mp for delyn in north wales, made repeated and unwanted sexual advances towards a male parliamentary staff member. mr roberts has been asked for a comment but has yet to respond. british travellers to austria will from today need an essential reason to enter the country, because of concern about the indian variant. direct flights from the uk to austria will be banned for three weeks, from 1stjune. a charity encouraging more muslim women to cycle says

it is fighting stereotypes. cycle sisters says some women from minority backgrounds experience many barriers to cycling and are less likely to see it as an option for themselves and theirfamilies. anisa kadri reports. what is the route today? getting ready for a six mile ride through tower hamlets. whether it is organising bike ride timings around prayers or advice on how to cycle in modest clothing, cycle sisters say their aim is to get more muslim women biking. it's been phenomenal in terms of what it has kind of given me. health, fitness, mental well—being. generally, when you see any kind of representation of anyone on a bicycle it's so far away from the norm of a muslim woman on a bicycle, so we're trying to break that and encourage more muslim women to be on bicycles. so you are wearing things very typical of cyclists, the yellow viz jacket, high vizjacket, but you are also in an abaya, traditional islamic clothing.

how easy is it to cycle in an abaya? it is ok, although it is not ok if it's not the right type. so if it has got too much fabric and it's too flowy. it is required to have an abaya which isn't too narrow or too flowy. i feel like there was a bit of a taboo and a stigma to see muslim women on a bike. it's not really customly seen, and even within the community i get stares a lot, you know? i would definitely encourage all women, muslim women, to get out there. there is nothing restricting you. your clothing, your attire. and that's another thing, actually, is that a lot of people thought that they couldn't cycle in an abaya, they can't cycle in loose clothing, but it is possible and we are breaking those stigmas, breaking those taboos, we are changing the narrative, ultimately. cycle sisters recently appeared on a podcast from the environmental charity hubbub called down to earth, which shows different communities doing things to help the environment.

sometimes something that is good for the planet is also good for people, and making sure that we bring as many communities, as many different voices into the conversation as possible is so important to mean that everyone feels involved, it doesn't feel like it is something that is only something that a few can do. it is definitely nice to get away from cars, and i think london is so smoggy and the air quality is so poor, i think we need to encourage more and more people to get on bicycles. and just create a better environment for all of us to live in. cycle sisters say they welcome people from all faiths and backgrounds interested in cycling to join their free rides. anisa kadri, bbc news. in the past few minutes, gareth southgate has announced his provisional squad for the european championships. let's speak to our sports editor dan roan, who's at england's training camp, st george's park. who is in the squad? gareth

southgate — who is in the squad? gareth southgate has _ who is in the squad? gareth southgate has announced i who is in the squad? gareth southgate has announced a| southgate has announced a provisional 33 man squad in the last few minutes. he will have to whittle that ten to 26 by this time next week. he intended to name his final 26 man squad today but because of injury concerns and the fact that 11 of his players are potentially involved in the champions league final at the europa league final this week. he does have a few questions, then. a33 man squad which will be cut down, four uncapped players including the defensive duo of ben white of brighton and ben godfrey of everton, effectively coverfor godfrey of everton, effectively cover for the manchester united captain harry maguire, who has struggled with an ankle injury. liverpool captain jordan struggled with an ankle injury. liverpool captainjordan henderson liverpool captain jordan henderson and liverpool captainjordan henderson and southgate's vice captain has not played since february with a groin issue, kalvin phillips of leeds united is a worry, but the likes of 17—year—old jude bellingham is in

midfield, jesse lingard, aston villa striker ollie watkins. trent alexander—arnold of liverpool makes it, he was controversially left out of the last squad. whether he makes the final cut remains to be seen. eric dier, one of england's heroes in 2018 when they made the world cup semifinal in russia does not make it, nor doesjames semifinal in russia does not make it, nor does james maddison of leicester city, so some big calls by southgate as he tries to look ahead to the opening england game against croatia in earlyjune at wembley as they try to emulate the side of 2018 which went almost all the way in russia. time for a look at the weather. threatening skies once again in devon, hardly surprising, it has rained every single day in may so far. eastern parts. a contrast to may last year, the sunniest record