this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 8pm: the prime minister rejects claims by his former adviser dominic cummings that government mistakes led to thousands of extra deaths from covid. the health secretary, matt hancock, is under pressure — over accusations that he falsely claimed that hospital patients were being tested for covid before being discharged back into care homes. there will be a time when we go back over all this in great detail, but my recollection of events is that i committed to delivering that testing for people going from hospital into care homes when we could do it. with england's planned final lifting of lockdown said to be "in the balance", the health secretary says up to three quarters of new uk covid cases could be of the indian variant.

police, police! more than 1,000 arrests after a week—long operation to crack down on gangs who use children to transport and sell drugs across britain. and — pop — out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar... and eric carle has died — the man who wrote and illustrated the very hungry caterpillar, adored by millions of children over the decades. hello, a very good evening to you and welcome if you justjoined us. i'm shaun ley.

the health secretary matt hancock has denied lying to his colleagues and to the public about dealing with covid in care homes, saying he's been "straight with people" throughout the pandemic. yesterday, the prime minister's former special adviser dominic cummings said mr hancock should have been sacked for lying on multiple occasions, but he has hit back, saying the allegations are unsubstantiated and untrue. tonight, he came under more pressure over accusations that he falsely claimed hospital patients were being tested for covid before they were discharged back into care homes. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. the accusations were grave... tens of thousands of people died who didn't need to die. ..delivered with vicious candour. when the public needed us most, the government failed. the adviser who used to stalk the corridors of number 10 now has it in his sights. fundamentally, i regarded him as unfit for thejob. what was his response to his former right—hand man? i think, if i may say so, that some of the commentary i have

heard doesn't bear any relation to reality. we did everything we could to protect the nhs, and to protect care homes as well. did you test anyone being put into a care home? we did everything we could... i mean, you didn't, did you? we did everything we could. but mr cummings�* claims have made him a temporary friend of the labour leader. we know we've got one of the highest death tolls in europe, _ and the families who have lost. someone are entitled to answers in relation to this, - because bad decisions have consequences, and in this case the consequence, i'm afraid, . are unnecessary deaths. but the minister who stepped into the most trouble is the health secretary. then i will be going to the house of commons and i will answer questions there. thanks very much. after his profile was under heavy attack, seeming to wind down the window for a better snap. the barbs at matt hancock came again and again. the secretary of state

for health should have been fired for at least 15, 20 things, including lying to everybody. 0r, specifically, on what happened in care homes, where thousands died. the government rhetoric was, "ww put a shield around care homes and blah—blah—blah" — it was complete nonsense. listen to whether the denials were quite so complete today. these unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true, and that i've been straight with people, in public and in private, throughout. is he ashamed that he promised a protective shield around care i homes, and over 30,000 care home residents have died? _ why were 25,000 elderly people discharged from hospitals - into care homes without any tests? questions will continue, though, whether in the commons, or here, at the department of health, especially around what happened in our care homes, behind closed doors. because, from early on, there were public calls, from care home managers and mps, for a harder look at what was going wrong,

or to get more tests to them, and at the beginning of may, there was acute concern expressed in number 10. an urgent meeting brought together to get to the bottom of what was going on. it was common knowledge last year that there were terrible problems in care homes. can you still stand there today and say it's true that you protected care homes from the start? we worked as hard as we could to protect people who lived in care homes. we committed to building the testing capacity to allow that to happen. of course, it then takes time to build testing capacity. perhaps, then, that's the end of one government claim, but it won't be the last you will hear of dominic cummings' allegations. he may be gone, but his shadow, and the events of the last year, still stalk number 10. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas is at westminster. you and i spoke about the impact of

dominic cummings evidence. there were so many allegations and so many claims, what does the government —— what has the government done in terms of rebutting those? how specific has it been? you heard there the two _ specific has it been? you heard there the two sort _ specific has it been? you heard there the two sort of— specific has it been? you heard there the two sort of key - specific has it been? you heard - there the two sort of key moments, there the two sort of key moments, the prime minister, he addressed some of the charges, saying that on theissue some of the charges, saying that on the issue like of the care homes, he addressed that, saying they did the best they could at the time, and he battered away some of the others. mr hancock was the one who came under the most sustained attack at that press conference, where you heard laura kuenssberg there, but question after question came to him about what happened with care homes, and he repeated the same answer, so the questions focused on, had he promised and told others in downing street that people would be tested before being released from hospital

and back into care homes to make sure they weren't taking coping with them? and also why did he sign off on a care plan that would release people that way if he knew they were not being tested? —— taking covid with them. time after time, he did not give a direct answer to that, he did not say yes or no that he had given that assurance, he kept repeating that point he had made that it took time to put in place a care, a testing strategy, and that they worked to do that. i think that exposes one difficulty for the health secretary, which was that talk of having put a protective shield around care homes, which was talked about last year, and the difficulty there is he did not feel, he did not repeat that today, he stated he made this point about it took time. those are slightly different things and i think that opens up some sort of space the

people may look at now and question. i suppose that's the interesting point, that you can make broadbrush statements about, we're going to do that, we agree to do this, this was one of those perhaps quite unusual circumstances where it really does matter, the old case can bring up the opportunity of spreading in care homes. did the government think they have managed to park these allegations and counterclaims until there is a counter done at public inquiry? were you get a sense in westminister this has some momentum behind the theatre of dominic cummings versus borisjohnson, cummings versus boris johnson, dominic cummings versus borisjohnson, dominic cummings versus matt hancock? i dominic cummings versus matt hancock? ~' ., , dominic cummings versus matt hancock? ~' ._ , ., hancock? i think there may be a sense that _ hancock? i think there may be a sense that the _ hancock? i think there may be a sense that the immediate - hancock? i think there may be a sense that the immediate sort l hancock? i think there may be a| sense that the immediate sort of danger, the immediate criticisms, will now be fading, because we are moving into the end of the week, the weekend, then we will have a sort of

lowell in the politics around this, but that will only be for a time. —— lull for it will not be until there is a full inquiry, that is a long time away, many many months away and the pandemic can use to run its course. these questions will continue, and as you say, they are important, because for many of the many people who lost relatives and loved ones, particularly in care homes but in other situations too, they have many questions that they want answered, and that issue in particular, about how and why so many died in care homes in the first and second waves, will i think be one that will continue to be asked and those questions will continue coming up right until we have an inquiry into all of this. coming up right untilwe have an

inquiry into all of this.— inquiry into all of this. damian grammaticas _ inquiry into all of this. damian grammaticas at _ inquiry into all of this. damian grammaticas at westminster, | inquiry into all of this. damian - grammaticas at westminster, thank you. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are rosa prince, who's editor of the parliamentary magazine the house, and george eaton, the senior online editor at the new statesman. do stay with us for that here on bbc news. it is always a lively exchange of views. there's been another rise in the number of new coronavirus infections across the uk. 3,542 new cases were reported in the latest 2a hour period — that's the highest daily figure since the middle of april. ten more deaths have been reported. cases have been creeping up again over the past week — they're up 20%. in the vaccine roll—out, just over 236,000 people have had a covid vaccine in the last 2a hours. in total, more than 38.6 million people have now had their firstjab. that's more than 73% of the uk's adult population. more than 427,000 people had their second dose in the past 2a hours, meaning just over 2a million people

have had both doses. 45.6% of the population are now fully vaccinated. and my thanks to the staff at the health centre in london for looking after me yesterday. up to three quarters of new uk covid cases could be of the indian variant. health secretary matt hancock told a downing street briefing that the government had always expected cases to rise as restrictions were eased, and he said it was "critical" to monitor the link between cases and hospitalisations in england when deciding whether the final stage of lifting lockdown onjune 21 can go ahead. here's our health editor hugh pym. the final laps in the race to get all adults vaccinated. from today in northern ireland, those aged 18 and over are eligible to get theirjabs, and there was a steady stream of takers. in england, it is 30—year—olds and over booking in, and all this as the data points to a slight pick—up in the spread of the virus.

daily reported covid cases in the uk rose steeply to hit a peak injanuary. then they fell back, butjust since early may, they've started rising slowly. this map shows hotspot areas in different parts of the uk. red, with the highest case rates, followed by orange and then yellow. experts say cases were expected to rise as the economy opens up, and it shouldn't necessarily be a concern. as long as our vaccination programme continues successfully, and as long as people are taking up the opportunity to get vaccinated, i think we will still continue in a positive way. we just have to be incredibly careful that, when this new data arises, we give it the analysis and the attention it deserves, to make sure that we can avoid another lockdown. hospital numbers have been going up. there were 826 covid admissions in the uk in the last seven days, an increase of nearly 20% on the previous seven—day period, though they are still relatively very low.

in bolton, where there has been a surge in cases with the indian variant of the virus, the local hospital has come under intense pressure, with more covid patients needing to be admitted. and trust leaders in other areas with the variant are also reporting higher numbers. they are optimistic at this point that they are not going to skyrocket, but they are really saying this week is the crucial week. this representative of hospital leaders says a common picture is emerging. what is particularly striking is that chief execs are saying that the people who are coming in are a lot younger, they need less access to critical care, they can treat them on general wards, but also, crucially, that the significant majority of people who are in hospital with covid—19 are people who haven't been vaccinated. as vaccinations continue in areas like leicester, with rising cases of the variant first identified in india, public health officials are urging everyone who is invited for a second dose to come forward.

they stress it does offer a high degree of protection against the variant. earlier, hugh gave us some more background about how much of a worry the indian variant is. the overall perspective on this is that cases generally across the uk, and hospital numbers, are still very low, relative to where they were earlier this year. but cases of the variant first identified in india have doubled in the last week. they are still quite concentrated in the existing known hotspot areas, but public health leaders are saying hospital admissions in more than one of these areas, notjust in bolton, which was highlighted a couple of weeks ago, those admissions have been going up. and we know that it is more transmissible, so warnings have gone out in these areas to people to be extra vigilant, extra cautious with mixing with other households. and, crucially, if they are ready

for a second dose, to go and get one because of the protection offered there. as we heard from chris hopson there from nhs providers, the next week is going to be pretty crucial, in terms of data. is this trend going to continue? are there going to be more hospital admissions? and that of course will have a bearing about decisions about the road map in england. the prime minister saying at the moment there's nothing in the data to change his mind about opening up onjune 2i, but we'll certainly get a lot more important date in the next week or so. 0ur health editor hugh pym talking there to sophie a little earlier. france is to ban nonessential travel from the uk from monday, to reduce the chances of spreading the variant of covid first identified in india. the measure is in addition to a week long quarantine already imposed on travellers from the uk as a result of the variant. valid reasons to enter france will include bereavement and childcare. wales is on course to offer all adults a first dose of the covid—i9 vaccine more than a month ahead of schedule. along with other uk nations, wales has committed to offering

a first dose to all adults by the end ofjuly. the welsh government said more than half 18 to 29—year—olds have already had a jab, and it expects to contact all people yet to be invited injune. in northern ireland, anyone over the age of 18 is now able to book a covid—i9 jab. it's the first part of the uk to offer the vaccine to all its adult population. right, it is 16 minutes past 8pm. the headlines on bbc news: the prime minister rejects claims by his former adviser dominic cummings that government mistakes led to thousands of extra covid deaths. the health secretary, matt hancock, is under pressure over accusations that he falsely claimed that hospital patients were being tested for covid before being discharged back into care homes. with england's planned final lifting of lockdown said to be "in the balance", the health secretary says up to three quarters of new uk covid cases could be of the indian variant.

sport — and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's marc edwards. good evening, marc. how are you? very well. and we have got some news from tottenham hotspur. they have held talks with former manager mauricio pochettino over a sensational return to the club. he was only sacked in november 2019 despite leading them to the champions league final six months earlier. jose mourinho replaced him, but was also dismissed following a slump in results. and spurs have now returned to pochettino, who was only appointed as paris saint—germain manager back injanuary. it's believed there's been no official contact between psg and tottenham so far. the uk department for education are looking into claims one of the racist messages received by marcus rashford after last night's defeat to villarreal in the europa league final came from a teacher.

the manchester united forward has tweeted this evening that, as a united fan himself, "it's really difficult stuff to read." villarreal won 11—10 on penalties in poland, after drawing 1—1 at the end of extra time. 0ur sports correspondent joe wilson reports. last night, manchester united lost a football match. commentator: and villareal win the europa league! - the circumstances were extraordinary. their goalkeeper missed the decisive penalty in a shootout where everyone else scored. as villarreal celebrated winning the europa league, manchester united's players, management and supporters shared a profound sense of deep disappointment. marcus rashford had to take a loser�*s medal. and then, online, he was racially abused. in the early hours of this morning, marcus rashford tweeted that he had "at least 70 racial slurs counted on my social accounts so far. for those working to make me feel any worse than i already do, good luck trying." he also said...

it's understood that account has been deleted and the abuser has been reported to police, but for campaigners, there is a weary sense of disgust about the abuse marcus rashford received. it was all—too—familiar and predictable. this is notjust a new thing, it's a regular occurrence, it's absolutely happening after every match day. something extreme needs to happen now, in terms of how we move forward in situations like this. there was recently a social media boycott. manchester united's players took the knee before last night's match, villarreal�*s didn't. united today condemned the abuse and also urged social media platforms and authorities to strengthen measures, to prevent this "disgusting behaviour." few sportspeople match marcus rashford's profile, a campaigner as well as footballer. instagram say they removed a number of comments and accounts after the latest abuse aimed at him and are now introducing new online tools.

what's clear is that while black footballers play through every result and emotion, the abuse of their race persists. joe wilson, bbc news. the great britain women's football squad for the tokyo 0lympics has been named and 11 manchester city players are included. among them, england captain steph houghton, who was part of the side at london 2012. wales skipper sophie ingle is also in the line—up, one of only three non—english players in a squad of 18. tennis star naomi 0saka says she won't be taking questions from the media at the french open, because of the impact it has on players�* mental health. the four—time grand slam champion says expecting them to talk after a defeat amounted to "kicking a person while they're down" and added, "we're asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and i'm just not going to subject myself to people who doubt me." she said she expected to receive a considerable fine, which she hopes will go to a mental health charity.

that's all the sport for now. back to you, shaun. marc, thank you very much, marc edwards there at the bbc sport centre. two metropolitan police officers accused of taking photographs by the bodies of two women at a crime scene in london have said they are "sorry beyond measure" for the pain they have caused. pc deniz jaffer, who's a7, and 32—year—old pcjamie lewis have been charged with misconduct in public office. from westminster magistrates�* court, helena wilkinson reports. bibaa henry was celebrating her birthday with her sister nicole smallman last year when they went missing. two days later, their bodies were found next to each other. pc deninaffer and pc jamie lewis were assigned to protect the crime scene, but they were later arrested, after an investigation into accusations they had taken selfies by the bodies. last year, the sisters�* mother spoke to the bbc. those police officers...

..dehumanised our children. today, the officers appeared in court, charged with misconduct in a public office. both police officers appeared together in the dock, and through their lawyer, they issued an apology, saying they are sorry beyond measure for the pain that they have caused. their barrister also said that both defendants had indicated they would plead guilty at the old bailey next month. separately, 19—year—old danyal hussein is facing trial next month at the same court, accused of murdering the two sisters. helena wilkinson, bbc news. no human remains have been found by police searching a cafe in gloucester for a suspected victim of the serial killer fred west. officers have been searching for mary bastholm who worked at the pop—in cafe — now called the clean plate.

the 15—year—old was last seen in 1968. gloucestershire police began excavating the cafe cellar on the 19th of may. atv a tv crew reported suspicious response from a dog they brought in to look for human remains. more than a thousand people have been arrested across britain after a week—long operation to crack down on so—called county lines drugs gangs. dealers have been using children to transport drugs out of cities so they can sell them in smaller towns. charities working with young people caught up with the gangs say they�*re overwhelmed by the numbers needing their help since the pandemic — many of them vulnerable teenagers who dropped out of sight of schools and social services. angus crawford reports. police, police! frighteningly, you know, they can be as young as seven or eight years of age, and that's scary. these children are victims. you know, this is modern slavery. these children are i

being used as slaves. it's going to be in this block here. a teenager is missing. dawn and tammy are police officers in northampton. theirjob, trace him, bring him to safety. have you heard from him today, or had contact from him? every day, they look for children lost to county lines. he's stayed currently in a crack house, which is involved in knife crime. he's frightened. 0n the other side of the country... he cries in his sleep, he comes home, - he's got bruises and burn marks. ..a mother in despair, locking the doors and windows at night to keep her boy indoors. we've asked for so much help from the police, - and we've had no help at all. he's turned from a loving, i gorgeous boy to a stranger. police! and this is where they can end up. hands behind your back!

when officers came through the door here, they found a 17—year—old boy, a missing person up from london, and he had 30 wraps of class a drugs. all the users will be told, "if you want to pick up your drugs, come to this address." children made to sell drugs. the threat of violence always there. there's needles everywhere, there's, like, drug wrappers everywhere. drug addicts would be that bad of their face and they're literally poo—ing in something like tinfoil and throwing it out the window or something like that. it is really disgusting. and rhys should know. he lived that life ten years. he now wants to warn others. so, i was about eight years old when i first got involved. often i would get on the trains with it, transport it, go hundreds, 200 miles away. drug dealers are preying upon these young people and these vulnerable people. rhys and his boss lisa try to help families trapped by county lines. it kind of feels it�*s out of control. the pandemic seems to have made

things much, much worse. it�*s got really, really bad. it�*s probably the worst we�*ve seen it. it�*s gone crazy, and we are basically on our knees. looking for weapons, drugs and the children who carry them. the emphasis now on helping young people, not locking them up. you look very young, how old are you? - but what if they don�*t want help? he�*s 16, angry and abusive. people who are young, are potentially victims, they don�*t realise quite often themselves that they�*re being exploited. remember the missing teenager in northampton? a breakthrough. he�*s made contact... whereabouts are you, just so we know where we are going to? 0k, buddy, we�*ll speak to you soon. ..and wants to come home. result. he�*s vulnerable. for us, ourfocus is safeguarding

him and removing him from quite a dangerous, risky situation. and there he is — just a shoe box and plastic bag for his things — but he�*s safe, at least for now. angus crawford, bbc news. the conservative mp rob roberts has been suspended from the commons for six weeks — after he made repeated unwanted advances to a member of staff. mps approved the motion to suspend him. the leader of the house, jacob rees—mogg, said it would be "honourable" if mr roberts stood down as an mp. thejoint committee on human rights will look into the issue of forced adoptions in the 1950s, �*60s and �*70s following our coverage this week. it will hold sessions to speak to the birth mothers and the children — as witnesses — and a government minister will give evidence. there�*s been an immediate and unconditional call for the release of roman protasevich, a belarusian journalist arrested by the authorities in minsk after the ryanair plane he was on was diverted. foreign ministers of the g7 wealthy

nations said they condemned in the strongest terms the unprecedented action by the belarusian authorities. in another development, the european union�*s top foreign policy official has said that new personal sanctions against belarus�* president and other senior figures are "almost ready" and that work has started on more far—reaching economic measures. northern ireland�*s first minister, arlene foster, has been awarded £125,000 in damages after a defamatory tweet by tv presenter dr christian jessen. he tweeted an unfounded allegation that mrs foster had been having an extra—marital affair. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy was at court in belfast. this case really highlights just how much trouble one tweet can get you into. now, dr christianjessen posted his comments on twitter back in december 2019, alluding, as you say, to those unfounded rumours that

arlene foster was having an affair, and his post got a lot of views. and the judge here at belfast high court said today that it was an outrageous libel that involved trashing the relationship that was most important to mrs foster, and he awarded this very substantial sum of damages. now, there were several aggravating factors in this case — one that drjessen never apologised, but also the fact that, for a long time, he had ignored the legal proceedings and later claimed that he didn�*t know the case was going ahead, which the judge today said he found to be false and misleading. so drjessen will now have to pay arlene foster £125,000, but his bill will also be substantially higher than that, as he will also have to pay for the legal costs. and arlene foster�*s solicitor said outside court today that he hopes this acts as encouragement for all women in public life who are subjected to similar attacks on social media. emma vardy emma va rdy reporting emma vardy reporting from belfast.

now it�*s time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. much of the country saw a fine day today with some good spells of sunshine, and it felt much warmer than what we�*ve been used to for this month so far. now, tonight, we�*ve got some changes in the forecast briefly. we�*ve got a weather front pushing in from the west that�*s going to bring thicker cloud to much of the country, but outbreaks of rain will affect northern ireland, then pushing across the irish sea into western scotland, western england and wales. there will be some clear spells further north and east, and it�*s here where we�*ll see temperatures drop down to around 6 to 8 degrees. further west, though, where we have the cloud and the rain, 9 to 11 degrees. so we start friday on a rather grey note for many of us. a weak weather front will bring further outbreaks of rain to western areas, the rain slowly petering out through the day. best of the sunshine, the north and east of the country. where we get any sunny spells, that will set off the odd heavy shower. you�*ll notice temperatures reaching around 19 celsius in the brightest spots. that�*s a few degrees cooler than what we had through today. as we move through the bank holiday weekend, plenty of dry, sunny, warm weather, a few showers in scotland and northern ireland

on bank holiday monday. hello, this is bbc news with me, shaun ley. the headlines — the prime minister rejects claims by his former adviser dominic cummings that government mistakes led to thousands of extra covid deaths. but the health secretary, matt hancock, is under pressure over accusations that he falsely claimed that hospital patients were being tested for covid before being discharged back into care homes. with england�*s planned final lifting of lockdown said to be "in the balance", the health secretary says up to three quarters of new uk covid cases could be of the indian variant. police, police! more than 1000 arrests after a week—long operation to crack down on gangs who use children to transport and sell drugs across britain. and — pop — out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar...

and eric carle has died — the man who wrote and illustrated the very hungry caterpillar, adored by millions of children over the decades. it�*s ten years since undercover filming by the bbc�*s panorama programme at a residential care unit called winterbourne view near bristol shocked britain, revealing bullying and abuse of people with learning disabilities and special needs. pledges to shut all similar hospitals have been missed. every day, around four people are admitted to specialist hospitals, according to the charity mencap, and theirfigures show that over a recent period spanning 2.5 years, there�*ve been more 100,000 incidents of patients being restrained, drugged or put in isolation. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. winterbourne view caused

incalculable damage to simon. he went somewhere where they beat him, they abused him. it�*s been a decade since this deeply upsetting undercoverfilming by bbc panorama showed people with learning disabilities and autism being abused at winterbourne view hospital. it closed and the government promised all similar institutions would shut with better support provided in the community. but this online vigil by families marks what they see as ten years of broken promises, because more than 2,000 people are still locked up in such places. among them, elliott. he was taken to a specialist hospital after the crisis. three years later, he�*s still there. there's times where he rings and he's crying and breaking his heart, saying that he just wants to come home, he's had enough. and you're kind of fobbing him off. you can't give him a direct answer

to say, "you're coming home in august," cos giving him that guarantee and it not happening is difficult. simon endured some of the most distressing abuse at winterbourne view. now he lives in his own home with support, but he is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened. they ridiculed him and emotionally tortured him, and hejust couldn�*t understand. his mother feels let down that government promises to protect others from what simon faced haven�*t led to enough change. they failed their own targets, and i find that astonishing because we�*re talking at the highest possible level of government, and those changes did not happen. people didn�*t come out of units, and people continued to go in them. northern lamb was the care minister in the coalition government who made the first promise to close

specialist hospitals by 2014. unfortunately, i discovered - as a government minister you don't have nearly as much power- as you would want to effect change, and i also recognise that it takes time to move institutions and iti requires constant - focus over many years. the government and nhs england say winterbourne view has led to the number of people in specialist hospitals being reduced by a third, and that increasing support in the community is a priority. alison holt, bbc news. more than 5 million people in melbourne, australia�*s second—biggest city, will enter a week—long lockdown from today to contain a new coronavirus outbreak. for the next seven days, people will be required to stay at home except for essential work, shopping, exercise and caregiving, or to get a covid vaccine. so far, 26 new infections have been reported. 0ur sydney correspondent shaimaa khalil has more details. melbourne has been here before.

last year, an outbreak plunged it into a second wave of covid—19, killing more than 800 people. this is a reminder of dark days that melburnians had hoped were now behind them. once again, we�*re faced with a challenge in our ongoing battle against covid. a challenge and a battle that we�*ve faced many, many times, and on each occasion, together, we have overcome. there is a great deal of nervousness as 5 million victorians go into another strict lockdown for the next seven days. panic buying has already started. although numbers are comparatively low here, the authorities have been quick to act, compared with other countries. officials have said that if they wait any longer, it could spiral out of control. and, once again, businesses have to brace themselves. how often is the state government

going to expect small business to pay for all of this? and, you know, it wasn't that long ago, in february, that they flicked the switch off, which was absolutely devastating for small business back then. there are 10,000 primary and secondary contacts to those who have tested positive. so a big potentialfor the number of community cases to increase. more crucially, not enough people have been vaccinated. for the past year, the numbers have told australia�*s success story in containing and, for a while, eliminating the virus. but they�*re telling a very different one when it comes to vaccinations. and all it takes is an outbreak like this to put that success at risk. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. china has accused the us of playing politics with coronavirus after presidentjoe biden ordered a review of intelligence about where the covid—19 virus originated from. it follows renewed speculation in america that the virus leaked from a laboratory in the city

of wuhan, where it was first identified. the world health organization is preparing further studies into its origins after previously saying it was "highly improbable" that it had come from a lab. let�*s get more now on our top story — the health secretary, matt hancock, has denied lying to his colleagues and to the public about dealing with covid in care homes after accusations yesterday from dominic cummings, the prime minister�*s former top aide. sam monaghan is the chief executive of methodist homes, the largest not—for—profit care provider in the uk. welcome to bbc news. thank you for speaking with us. take us back to a year ago at a situation you faced at the provider and the manager of your homes in light of the early months of covid—19. what was in place and what was established to help the transition of patients who had been

in hospital receiving treatment for covid we needed to come back to the care home and the hospital stated to discharge them? right care home and the hospital stated to discharge them?— discharge them? right from the outset, discharge them? right from the outset. we _ discharge them? right from the outset, we were _ discharge them? right from the outset, we were contacted - discharge them? right from the outset, we were contacted by i discharge them? right from the l outset, we were contacted by the department of health to ask you we would play a part in terms of the discharge of patients because of the pressures that were envisaged that would come up on the nhs. the reality was that we said that we could take them but they would need to be tested for the virus in order that if they came into our homes they would not then transmit that. it was made clear from the outset that that was not going to be in place of who we very clearly said we could not take people into our homes on a discharge basis for the difficulty was that in the very early days, some people were discharged to work not presenting any symptoms but had clearly picked up any symptoms but had clearly picked up covid from hospital but because they were not tested, they then brought that back into care homes. so in those cases, why were they allowed back into care homes? the

obvious thing is if the department had already said we cannot test them at this stage, that is where there is confusion, or people being told he care homes by hospitals or whoever that people have been tested and they are fine or were they not being told that and care homes did it presumably for humanitarian reasons? i it presumably for humanitarian reasons? ~ , it presumably for humanitarian reasons?

reasonably also hospitals on the ground were able to say to you that we can show you the paperwork and can show the test have been done and can show the test have been done and can show the test have been done and can show you that as far as is possible we have test of the people? that was not until after mid april, i think april the 15th when the guidance change to people were being tested from then on. but prior to that, we were having people ringing up that, we were having people ringing up press and care homes to take people untested and actually sometimes bringing residents back to homes even though we had said that we would not accept them and actually just turning we would not accept them and actuallyjust turning up with them at the homes. so you got a difficult situation and we appreciate of the pressure on the nhs but the challenge was we could not let them back into our homes. understandably so civen back into our homes. understandably so given what — back into our homes. understandably so given what happened _ back into our homes. understandably so given what happened people - so given what happened people readmitted to homes when they did not know they had covid or had not been tested as of the willie others were infected and either got very ill or died. clearly important, we can have a big discussion about what

happened but from your point of view the important thing is protocols for the important thing is protocols for the future if there is a resurgence of covid and if there is a development of a variant that is not responding but hopefully does not happen but it could happen it is not responded well to the vaccines. what is in place that was not in place a year ago? is in place that was not in place a ear auo? . , is in place that was not in place a year ago?— is in place that was not in place a earauo? . , ., �* ., ., year ago? clearly what we've now got its reuular year ago? clearly what we've now got its regular testing _ year ago? clearly what we've now got its regular testing regimes _ year ago? clearly what we've now got its regular testing regimes in - its regular testing regimes in place, routine testing of all our staff in all our residents. we�*ve also got the vaccination in place now with levels of about 96% of our residents and over 90% of our staff, which obviously provides the protective ring that was talked about at the very outset of the pandemic that really was nonexistent. so those are core factors but we need to do the learning in every respect of what happened during the first and the second wave which is what we need to bring forward the inquiry to the prime minister has promised rather than delay it in case we then do get further outbreaks with new variants coming in from other countries or

arriving in terms of mutation in this country. arriving in terms of mutation in this country-— arriving in terms of mutation in this count . ., , , , this country. can i 'ust pick you up there? use _ this country. can i 'ust pick you up there? use of— this country. can i 'ust pick you up there? use of the — this country. can ijust pick you up there? use of the protective - this country. can ijust pick you up there? use of the protective ring l there? use of the protective ring that clearly was not in place. do you you believe that was what you would others were reassured was there when it was not there? the secretary of _ there when it was not there? tue: secretary of state there when it was not there? tte: secretary of state said there when it was not there? t'te: secretary of state said that there when it was not there? tte: secretary of state said that there was a protective ring and the premise or has said there was a protective ring around care homes and there was no protective ring, there was no testing, there was no vaccination process. and there was pressure to have people from hospitals, so quite what they mean by a putative ring i think is very unclear. we were not supported and if anything we were abandoned as a sector and our residents abandoned and most of the health professionals were unable to come out to see people in our homes and we were very much left on the edge. but it�*s really quite systematic i think of the way that older people in our society and care provision is viewed it will be also need the reform to the sector. in the queen�*s speech

there were nine words about adults social care and it feels the mindset around the older people and the priority that they need to be given still is not there.— still is not there. sam, thank you very much _ still is not there. sam, thank you very much for— still is not there. sam, thank you very much for talking _ still is not there. sam, thank you very much for talking to - still is not there. sam, thank you very much for talking to us - still is not there. sam, thank you very much for talking to us on - still is not there. sam, thank you | very much for talking to us on bbc news this evening. new research suggests there�*s a 40% chance that at least one of the next five years will be 1.5 degrees celsius hotter than pre—industrial levels. the study, for the world meteorological 0rganisation, says rising temperatures mean more melting ice, higher sea levels and extreme weather patterns. it�*s been a year since george floyd was killed in minneapolis while in police custody. it prompted black lives matter protests around the world and sparked conversations in the home, bringing people together, but also creating division in some families. 0ur reporter ashleyjohn—baptiste has been speaking to people across the uk about how the movement has affected their relationship with loved ones. the black lives matter protests that took place across the globe

following the death of george floyd last year rippled around the uk. this is adam and his jamaican grandmother, catherine. adam joined the march in stafford last summer. by going to the street and letting them know, the police and government know that we are not going to put up with it any more. despite adam�*s support of blm, the topic�*s been a divisive one in adam�*s family. my uncles still say they can't support black lives matter. when we had the protest in staford, the audience in stafford was 90% white. they probably didn't experience that kind of support growing up and so they are kind of looking that anything that comes in with suspicion. each and every one of us have our own opinion. the first time we actually met in person was at the first - protest in manchester.

this is tom malonejr with his family, whom you may recognise from the tv show gogglebox. he�*s currently in an interracial relationship with his girlfriend, briony brisco. it was a comforting feeling to know he values black people�*s lives. their vocal stance against racism has led to online abuse. there�*s a lot of people trying to use it to divide us. there was one comment where someone referred to briony as my slave. _ it was disgusting. it�*s not the first time i�*ve heard it, unfortunately. when you�*ve got people saying the same things that were said 50, 100 years ago, you�*d think we�*d be further along. anna and jeff live in carlisle with their two children in a mainly white area, and they were surprised to see protests take place. the fact that someone had organised a black lives matter movement in carlisle was amazing, and i went not expecting to see 200 people there. you have a white husband. how has race played out in that relationship? it's something i've never admitted to anyone before, but i'm quite disappointed i fell

in love with a white man! i thought that'd would be another way of claiming my heritage. i wanted children to have a similar experience as me, of being a blend. a lasting impact of the blm movement in their relationship is they are now more open about race. there is definitely an awareness from the other side, _ being a white person, i and i don't want to feel like the colonialist, - exploiting in some way. black lives matter has i really united our family. i'm realising it's not about who i marry and the colour of their skin, it's about how we work together for us to totally explore and engage with both of our cultural heritages. a year on since tom and briony met at a demonstration, they are back on the streets of manchester for another march. the fact we still have to be here protesting,

we're a lot further away than we need to be. at the same time, it�*s nice that people are so passionate about wanting change. i think this is going to be a big part of who we are as a couple because it's something we're both passionate about. dark matter — it�*s the most mysterious substance in the universe. little is known about it. scientists are pretty sure it exists, but still don�*t know what it is, yet it is strangely fundamental to our understanding of the cosmos. dark matter is matter that neither emits nor absorbs light, but is subject to the effects of gravity, like everything else we see around us. now scientists have created the largest ever distribution map of dark matter in the universe, and it has some very significant implications, as our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. look up at the skies, and you see stars. but this telescope, in the deserts of chile, is able to see the universe as it really is, filled with a mysterious substance, called dark matter.

it can�*t be seen, but this instrument can detect dark matter by the way it distorts starlight. this is a map of matter in the universe. and that�*s allowed astronomers to produce this map of how it�*s spread across the expanse of space. it�*s an element of, you know, unveiling mystery. something you, you couldn�*t see before, and suddenly, it�*s there, and you think, "wow." so what is dark matter, and where is it in space? well, let�*s start off with our own sun. it�*s one of 100 billion stars that make up our galaxy, the milky way, which, in turn, is one of countless others throughout the universe. dark matter permeates space, with galaxies like tiny gems on the tangled cosmic web. the bright areas are where dark matter is most concentrated, and it�*s here that galaxies form, but the map is not what astronomers expected. the matter should be slightly

more clumped together. instead, it�*s smoother than predicted by einstein�*s theory of general relativity, which helps determine how the matter should have spread out after the big bang. if the structures in this map are smoother than we expect them to be, which is what the results seem to hint at, it means that einstein's theory is wrong. so, you might think that that's a bad thing, that maybe physics is broken. but for physicists, it's extremely exciting, because it means we can find out something new about the way the universe really is. building on the work of einstein, carlos frenk was among a group of scientists that developed the current model of cosmology. hearing now that there may be something not quite right with the theory, well, it�*s very disconcerting. it�*s very alarming, and, in a way, frightening, to see that maybe my whole life�*s work might crumble in front of me. but, at the same time, it is immensely exciting. astronomers believe that we are at the start of a new revolution in cosmology,

that will give us a fuller understanding of how the universe began, and how it will evolve. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the author of the best—selling children�*s book the very hungry caterpillar, eric carle, has died aged 91. tens of millions of children have been brought up on his most famous book, published more than 50 years ago, which tells the story of a ravenous caterpillar. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito looks back at his life. the very hungry caterpillar, by eric carle. it�*s the story of a ravenous caterpillar that becomes... ah! he's a beautiful... . . butterfly! eric carle�*s children�*s classic, and more than 40 million copies have been sold. and he pushed his way out! what's he going to be?

we sell him every day - of our lives in the book shop. it's the days of the week, - it's the food that everyone knows, it's the interactivity. you want to put your fingers in that hole. i it just works on every single level. it's the perfect children's book. it had begun as a story about a worm, but eric carle, an american graphic designer, was advised to switch species. his friends saw, in the gentle world of his children�*s books, a reaction to the traumas of his own childhood in wartime germany. he went to school, and the school told him that the next day they would bejoining the german army. and he went home, told his parents that. they sensibly locked him in the cellar the next morning. most of his comrades were killed. you can imagine just the effect that would have on somebody. eric carle wrote dozens of books, but nothing came close to the caterpillar, and by the end, he had a theory as to why. it took me a long time,

but i think it is a book of hope. i think that is the appeal of that book. well, i should know — i did the book, after all. eric carle, children�*s author and creator of the very hungry caterpillar, has died at the age of 91. 17 years after they drank their last cup of coffee at central perk, it's it�*s the one where they all got back together again. 17 years after they drank their last cup of coffee at central perk, the cast of friends has got back together for a one off special interview programme. james corden was the host, and some of the show�*s famous fans also put in an appearance. here�*s our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. the cast of friends! this is the day for which friends fans have been waiting 17 years — the six cast members back together in front of a camera. my eyes, my eyes! it�*s not a new episode, rather, this reunion show features almost

an hour and three quarters of them visiting the old sets... wow, does courtney still have her lines written on the table? ..getting a bit weepy... it was an incredible time. we became best friends. yep, i�*m going to cry now. ..and paying homage to some of the series�* most famous scenes, including the trivia game. each team will answer ten questions. rachel wrote ross a letter and demanded he read it before they got back together. how many pages was that letter? "18 pages!" 18 pages... front and back! front and back is correct! and the cast explain what it�*s like to film in central perk. remember our marks, do you remember what colour you were? yellow. blue. i never looked down, i always used the corner of the... you looked! you tripped every time! fans in manchester had gathered together this morning to make sure that they were the first people to watch the show. just, like, the ultimate comfort blanket, you should enjoy it with your friends!

oh, i loved it, i actually feel a little bit emotional. it was, like, quite an emotional ending, so, yeah, i loved it, loved every bit. spoiler alert — there are very few new revelations, butjennifer aniston and david schwimmer reveal that they almost became romantically involved. the first season, we... i had a major crush onjen. so we just channelled all of our adoration and love for each other into ross and rachel. audience: aw! is this blowing anyone else's mind? i�*m starving! matthew perry says that the live recordings left him crippled with anxiety... i felt like i was going to die if they didn�*t laugh. and it�*s not healthy, for sure. but i would sometimes say a line and they wouldn�*t laugh and i would sweat, and just, like, go into convulsions. if i didn�*t get the laugh i was supposed to get, i would freak out. it would take you down. yeah. you didn't didn't - tell us that, though. no? no, i don't remember you ever saying that. i oh, yeah.

i felt like that every single night. lady gaga joins lisa kudrow for a version of smelly cat. # smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you? audience whooping. and at the end, courteney cox confirms that�*s it as far as friends is concerned. there will be no new episodes and no film. this will be the last time that we're ever asked . about the show as a group, that we will do this. - like, we're not going to do this again in 15 more years. - to sum it up friends—style, this is the one where the fans were not disappointed. colin paterson, bbc news, central perk. the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall have visited clapham to celebrate the high street and the retail sector as nonessential shops reopen. the prince of wales pulled a pint behind the bar of his namesake pub as he and the duchess of cornwall visited businesses in the area. the prince poured himself a glass of sambrook�*s bitter at the prince of wales pub in the old town area of clapham, and even pulled up his facemask to enjoy a sip.

now it�*s time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. we saw plenty of sunshine today, and it felt much warmer across the board than what we�*ve been used to this month so far. there are some subtle changes overnight. we�*ve got a weak weather front pushing into western areas. that�*s going to bring the thicker cloud to many, but also outbreaks of rain across the west, initially for northern ireland, and then that rain will spill its way eastwards through the night across western scotland in towards western england and also western wales. there�*ll some mistiness and murkiness around, too. but the further east you are, although there will be more cloud around, it should tend to stay dry here. those temperatures no lower than around 8—11 degrees for most, so milder than last night.

so, here we go — here�*s the pressure chart for friday, then. we�*ve got this weak weather front across western areas pushing into high pressure, so that�*s always going to weaken it. so, it looks like the rain out west will slowly peter out through the course of the day, but could stay rather grey, damp and misty here. further north and east, we�*ll see the best of any sunny spells and dry weather, but where the sunshine does appear and pushes temperatures close to the 20 celsius mark, then we could see the odd heavy shower developing, particularly in towards east anglia. and temperatures not as high as what we�*ve seen today. now, for the bank holiday weekend, though, we�*re going to see lots of sunshine around, particularly for england and wales, as high pressure continues to build in across the country. for saturday, there will be a legacy of cloud left from that weather front, so patchy cloud and sunny spells sums it up nicely. maybe the odd shower mixed into there, but most places will be dry. where you get the sunshine, temperatures reaching the low 20s celsius again. further north, where skies stay cloudy, the high teens celsius. for sunday, though, i think it looks sunnier across the board. little bit of fairweather cloud bubbling up through the afternoon,

and there will be light winds as well around this area of high pressure, so it�*s going to feel much warmer than what we�*ve been used to. 22—23 degrees across the south, 20 celsius there across parts of scotland, too. now, for the bank holiday monday, we�*ll see this weather front push in from the north—west, affecting the north west of scotland, parts of northern ireland. but for the south and east of scotland, much of england and wales, it�*s pretty similar to sunday. plenty of sunshine, light winds and feeling warm — in fact, even warmer. we could make 24—25 degrees across the south or the south east. and it stays fine, settled and sunny, particularly for england and wales as we head through the first week ofjune. temperatures holding up at around the mid—20s celsius across the south east.

this is bbc news. it is the scientific mystery of our times, with a hefty dose of politics mixed in. where did the covid—19 virus come from? talk of a laboratory leak was long dismissed as the stuff of conspiracies. now it�*s in play — only a theory, but certainly in play. joe biden says he�*ll release the results of a new investigation to the public. china says any suggestion it leaked from a lab is a "conspiracy" itself. the us senate is split over the formation of a capitol siege commission. democrats say a thorough investigation is needed. republicans argue there�*s nothing left to learn. also in the programme: the recent fighting between israel and hamas has revealed faultlines in america�*s relationship with its main regional ally.

we�*ll hear from americans in israel about how