this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at eight. a cabinet minister indicates that the use of face coverings will become a personal choice when lockdown restrictions in england are eased. we trust the british public to exercise good judgment. people will come to different conclusions. more than 20 million people watched england's brilliant night in rome as they thrashed ukraine, and moved onto the semi finals of the euros. it has been a long year for everybody and i am pleased our performances have brought such happiness to people. ministers extend the period in which legal action can be taken against housing developers in light of the cladding crisis. from retail to real estate john lewis outlines plans to build

10,000 homes for rental over the next few years. and in 30 minutes the travel show continues its journey from city to coast, meeting the locals in wales. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the government is signalling that all legal restrictions relating to covid will end on the i9thjuly in england — including the wearing of facemasks. the housing secretary, robertjenrick, said the public must learn to live with the virus and use their personaljudgement. labour said they're keen for the economy to open up — but they want to see the science guiding government decisions.

0ur political correspondent chris mason reports. from the cobbles of york... ..to the minster, a portrait of england, wandering back to normal, as the government suggests that legal rules around checking into cafes, wearing facemasks and such like are likely to go in a fortnight. i think it is fantastic. i'm not sure that masks have been such a great idea in the first place. personally i won't wear outside but i will continue to wear them in shops and enclosed spaces. i think there is a risk of another spike. - from a cabinet minister today another message about the next stage. it does look as if, thanks to the success of the vaccine programme, that we now have the scope to roll back those restrictions and return to normality as far as possible. we should all be prepared, though, that cases may continue to rise. they may continue to rise significantly, but we now

have to move into a different period, where we learn to live with the virus, take precautions, and we, as individuals, take personal responsibility. for the best part of 18 months, we've had to get used to an unprecedented squeeze on our liberties and the imposition of all sorts of rules, like wearing facemask in shops which would have seemed bizarre a couple of years ago. what we saw from the minister was the strongest indication yet that many of these rules are about to be swept away in england. why is the government sounding confident? take a look at this graph. the number of coronavirus cases is going up, but look at this line, too. the number of people ending up in hospital isn't rising anywhere near as quickly. the link is not totally broken. there are people in hospital who have been vaccinated, but it is severely weakened.

the link is not completely broken, so the key aim is to get as many people as possible vaccinated before july the 19th. labour wants to get rid of the rules, too, but... it is important that if the qr codes are going to stop and masks are going to come off, that we are absolutely confident that that is the right thing to do. at the moment we are hearing from the ministers rather than the science behind it, and we need to see that science. prime minister will explain the government thinking and direction of travel within the next of days. separate decisions will be made for scotland, wales and northern ireland. chris mason, bbc news. earlier i spoke to martin mckee, a professor of european public health at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. he gave his thoughts on the idea of allowing the public to make their own decisions, when it comes to wearing a mask. it is quite difficult. of course personal responsibility works very well in some areas, bungee jumping

would be a good example, but not so well in others like, for example, drunk driving or speed limits. what we know with the pandemic is the one thing that has really worked has been collective action, everybody looking out for each other. so in wearing face coverings we are wearing face coverings we are wearing that to protect ourselves but much more to protect other people, so how people will work out what decision they are to make when they are protecting other people and they are protecting other people and they do not know if they are coming into contact with people who are vulnerable, who have been vaccinated or not, i am struggling to understand the logic, but as your reporter said, we need to wait to hear the details because we are just going on the basis now of some briefings, we do not have the data. you have ended on the point i will pick up at night you have started on, it depends on the data. what would it look like ideally to lift all restrictions? in would it look like ideally to lift

all restrictions?— would it look like ideally to lift all restrictions? in a way it does not matter— all restrictions? in a way it does not matter which _ all restrictions? in a way it does not matter which bit _ all restrictions? in a way it does not matter which bit of- all restrictions? in a way it does not matter which bit of the - all restrictions? in a way it does not matter which bit of the data j all restrictions? in a way it does i not matter which bit of the data we are looking out, it is weather cases, hospitalisations and deaths are going up or down. we have learned from the beginning of the pandemic that if they writes, that will continue until you do something to bring them down, and they are all rising up in minutes. cases are rising up in minutes. cases are rising dramatically, hospital admissions are still going up, maybe not at the levels we saw earlier and there may be a much lower hospitalisation rates, but the delta variant in unvaccinated people is about 80% more likely to put you into hospital. you have to take into account the good news that many more people are vaccinated, but we are still only at about half the population fully vaccinated, a long way off full vaccination and 20% of the population, those under 18, we are not vaccinating them at all. do ou are not vaccinating them at all. do you think... sorry, carry on. otherj

you think... sorry, carry on. other data going — you think... sorry, carry on. other data going up _ you think... sorry, carry on. other data going on or— you think... sorry, carry on. other data going up or down? _ you think... sorry, carry on. other data going up or down? the - data going up or down? the hospitalisation data are going up slowly, but the point is they are going up and we have learned with exponential growth that even though it is slow to begin with, it gets faster and faster until you do something, and we also know that there is a lag period between cases and hospitalisations, but presumably the secretary of state has data he will share with us so we understand the confidence about where we will be on july the the confidence about where we will be onjuly the 9th, but i think throughout the pandemic i have learnt to be cautious about predicting the future. haifa learnt to be cautious about predicting the future. learnt to be cautious about ”redictin the future. ., ., , ., predicting the future. how would you a- roach predicting the future. how would you approach this — predicting the future. how would you approach this cautiously? _ predicting the future. how would you approach this cautiously? what - predicting the future. how would you | approach this cautiously? what would our approach this cautiously? what would your suggestions _ approach this cautiously? what would your suggestions be? _ approach this cautiously? what would your suggestions be? we _ approach this cautiously? what would your suggestions be? we have - approach this cautiously? what would your suggestions be? we have had i your suggestions be? we have had until now a situation where the government makes the decisions, government makes the decisions, government has made a decision a week in advance of changing the rules, that has been the situation until now. and i have explained why they had changed the rules on the

basis of the data, i would like to see that, a clear presentation of comprehensive strategy with a clear objective —— and they have explained why. how high are they willing to allow places to go up to, how many hospitalisations and deaths are they willing to accept? i do not have that information and we need to be clear about what it is to look at the measures they take and for them to explain what impact each of those will have on those parameters, that is what we need to understand the rationale behind the decision, and we do not have that yet. professor martin nicky. _ we do not have that yet. professor martin nicky, speaking _ we do not have that yet. professor martin nicky, speaking to - we do not have that yet. professor martin nicky, speaking to me - martin nicky, speaking to me earlier. —— professor martin mckee. the latest coronavirus figures show that 15 deaths were recorded across the uk in the last 2a hours, and 24,248 new infections. there were on average 211,809 new cases a day in the past week. 137,389 people have received a first dose of a vaccine in the latest 24—hour period.

in total, more than 45.2 million people have had theirfirstjab, which is 86% of all uk adults. 196,209 people have had their second jab in the past 24 hours, which means more than 33.6 million people are now fully vaccinated — which is nearly 64% of adults. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered on tomorrow's front pages at 22:30 and 23:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are the parliamentary journalist tony grew and the journalist and broadcaster, caroline frost. a lovely duo. england's football team

are back in the country after their convincing victory over ukraine in rome in the quarter finals of the euros. bookmakers now have england as favourites to win the tournament. but first there is the little matter of needing to beat denmark in the semi—final at wembley on wednesday. 0ur sports editor dan roan is at england's training ground. that didn't take long. just what england wanted. ukraine blown away, england on their way. having seen his side run riot in rome, gareth southgate finds himself in rarefied coaching company. only the second manager after legendary 1966 world cup winning sir alf ramsey to lead england into the semifinals of both that tournament and the european championship. it is an absolute honour to be in that sort of company, so i know how high i hold them in esteem, and yeah, it's lovely to be able to get the results that are putting our country on the football map again, really. if there had been any

nerves against ukraine, harry kane settled them within five minutes. this is the first of two more goals for the captain. harry maguire also getting on the scoresheet. england's confidence will again be soaring. as the team recorded the biggest ever knockout win at a major tournament to cruise into the last four. this is what you look forward to as a kid. don't use it as a point of fear, use it as a point of excitement to go out and prove to the world how good you are, and i think that change in mentality means the players are going out, they are expressing themselves. england's quarterfinal triumph became the most watched live tv event of the year, with a peak audience of almost 21 million. today, a nation unified in praise, little time to recover ahead of what fans believe could be a week to remember. hyam all right, i think the boys had

a sore head, he was still partying 1am. it has been amazing. we have come and helped each other. especially last night because my game, had a barbecue going, drinks. really nice after the last couple of years we have had. attention now returns to wembley, where england know that success against denmark on wednesday night will see them reach a first ever final in this tournament, fans desperate to be among the 60,000 there to potentially witness history. both the semifinal and the final was about 1500 euros, so it was a bit of a gamble, but, you know, seeing england's performance through that germany game just gave us real confidence and belief that england can go all the way. 0pponents denmark have been one of the stories of euro 2020, inspired by christian eriksen, after the cardiac arrest he suffered during their opening match, they have ridden a wave of emotion, but they also pose a stern footballing threat and they stand between england and a date with destiny.

dan roan. a fire has caused a huge plume of smoke to fill the skies above the town of strabane in northern ireland. it happened in the railway street area of the town, which people are being told to avoid. a local councillor has told the bbc that the fire is coming from a coffin makers. the vatican has said pope francis has undergone scheduled surgery on his colon in rome. unconfirmed reports say the operation went well and that he will be under observation for the next 48 hours. pope francis is 84 years old. the prime minister of luxembourg, xavier bettel, has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for covid—19. in a statement, the government said mr bettel will be kept under observation, a week after his positive result. he is to stay in hospital for 24 hours as a precautionary measure. the government wants to give people who own flats with flammable cladding or other fire safety defects in england and wales

up to 15 years to sue developers for poor construction. it's the latest attempt to try to solve the cladding crisis in the wake of the grenfell tower fire. the proposal is in the building safety bill being presented to parliament tomorrow. here's our business correspondent katy austin. four years on from the grenfell tower fire, hundreds of other buildings still haven't been made safe. the government says it is putting over £5 billion towards the removal of dangerous cladding. and today the housing secretary announced a change that will increase the current six—year time limit for homeowners to seek compensation from developers for sub—standard building work. it is not right that either the leaseholder or the taxpayer has to step up. and i am announcing today that we are going to change the law retrospectively to give every home owner 15 years in which to take action against the people who built their building, if there is shoddy workmanship.

but some flat owners say this won't help them. this building in sheffield is set to receive £6 million from the government's building safety fund for cladding removal. however, to fix other fire safety defects, the leaseholders still face another £6 million in bills, an average of £50,000 each. willis one of them. i welcome it. it won't help me, my building is over 15 years and even if my building was less than 15 years old, my developer is insolvent so it won't help me. mrjenrick this morning said on the show that the majority of these buildings were built in the 2000s so it doesn't take a mathematician to work out that by the time the bill is implemented many of those buildings will not benefit from this because they will be over 15 years old.

labour's shadow secretary said focusing on legal action missed the point. focusing on legal action missed the oint. , ., , , ., point. the problem is not whether leaseholders _ point. the problem is not whether leaseholders can _ point. the problem is not whether leaseholders can take _ point. the problem is not whether leaseholders can take developers | point. the problem is not whether i leaseholders can take developers to court, the problem is they are being hunted for bills for works which they cannot afford to pay, and they should not have to pay.— should not have to pay. meanwhile the government _ should not have to pay. meanwhile the government insists _ should not have to pay. meanwhile the government insists good - should not have to pay. meanwhile i the government insists good progress has been made towards removing grenfell style flooding. iziex’s has been made towards removing grenfell style flooding.— grenfell style flooding. 9596 of those buildings _ grenfell style flooding. 9596 of those buildings have _ grenfell style flooding. 9596 of those buildings have had - grenfell style flooding. 9596 of. those buildings have had classic removed or there are workers on site removing it, and about 70% of it have had the job finished altogether. have had the 'ob finished altogether._ have had the 'ob finished altogether. but the latest government _ altogether. but the latest government figures - altogether. but the latest government figures show| altogether. but the latest - government figures showjust 6196 altogether. but the latest _ government figures showjust 6196 of government figures showjust 61% of buildings with acm clutching in the public sector, for example housing associations, have had it completely removed and replaced, it is 44% on private sector blocks. the extended period to seek redress for shoddy building work will take time, and

longer still for legal cases to get going. those stuck in flammable flats they cannot sell say that they need help much sooner. israel is in talks with other countries about a deal to unload its surplus of pfizer coronavirus vaccines, which are due to expire at the end of this month. more than a million doses may have to be thrown away after attempts to broker a swap deal with the uk failed. last month, the palestinians rejected about a million doses from israel, saying they were too close to their expiry date. israel's health ministry says any deal will have to be approved by pfizer. let's speak to professor adam finn, who is a member of thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation. 0r or the 0r thejcvi, as we know it. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. many people would be shocked that vaccines that countries are crying out for could well end up in the

bin, how likely is it that a solution will be found? you are uuite solution will be found? you are quite right. _ solution will be found? you are quite right, there _ solution will be found? you are quite right, there is _ solution will be found? you are quite right, there is an - solution will be found? you are | quite right, there is an absolute humanitarian imperative that these vaccines and open somebody�*s arms, preferably some people who are at high risk of being exposed to or dying of covid —— and in somebody�*s arms. there is a desperate need to sort this. i do not know the risks of it not being sorted but my experience working within the uk in a research environment during the last 18 months is things can happen much more quickly than was the case in the prix covid era, so one would hope that on the international stage, similarly the right people will make decisions swiftly to make sure vaccines do not go to waste. professor finn, i understand the reason the swap between the uk and israel did not work was for

technical reasons. what would they be? movement, transportation? what likely technical reasons would they be? i likely technical reasons would they be? ., , , likely technical reasons would they be? ., .y be? i honestly don't know the answer, clearly _ be? i honestly don't know the answer, clearly from - be? i honestly don't know the answer, clearly from reports | be? i honestly don't know the l answer, clearly from reports we be? i honestly don't know the - answer, clearly from reports we have heard about the palestinian side of things there is a need for these vaccines to go somewhere where the logistics are in place for them to be swiftly used, and that may not be the case in the palestinian authority. i actually honestly have no idea of the reasons behind the failure between the uk it's radio was, i am sorry. failure between the uk it's radio was. i am sorry-— failure between the uk it's radio was, i am sorry. you mention is an interesting — was, i am sorry. you mention is an interesting point _ was, i am sorry. you mention is an interesting point about _ was, i am sorry. you mention is an interesting point about the - was, i am sorry. you mention is an| interesting point about the vaccines being swiftly used. i was looking into this and it seems lots of these manufacturers know this issue is coming up, just last monthjohnson & johnson extended their expiry date, it was approved by the fda, from

three months to four into half, astrazeneca have gone up to nine months from six months, moderna are up months from six months, moderna are up to six months and they said they put that through last year in november, so obviously this is an issue manufacturers are aware of. we are likely to see more countries coming up with the problem of too manyjabs? it coming up with the problem of too man “abs? , coming up with the problem of too manyjabs?— many “abs? it is paradoxical but i think many jabs? it is paradoxical but i think what has _ many jabs? it is paradoxical but i think what has happened - many jabs? it is paradoxical but i think what has happened is - many jabs? it is paradoxical but i - think what has happened is countries you have the financial muscle to do so have ordered many more doses of vaccine than they need, and there is clearly a need for agility in ensuring they do not go to waste when they do not have people available to give them too. the world health organization has been crying out for donations to the covax facility they have organised, which would be one mechanism to ensure these vaccines are swiftly distributed, but other bilateral deals might be able to be done. in

terms of the extension, clearly the duration of safe use of the vaccine has to be evidence—based, it cannot be arbitrarily decided to keep the vaccine for longer, but going forward we learn more about stability and that is why we are seeing these extensions happening. i came across a fact that the us has 13 lots ofjohnson &johnson shots that expired injune the 27th, it is fascinating. before we finish i would like your thoughts on the idea of the public policing themselves when it comes to the lifting of restrictions? i when it comes to the lifting of restrictions?— when it comes to the lifting of restrictions? ~ ., , restrictions? i think we have seen the british public— restrictions? i think we have seen the british public being _ restrictions? i think we have seenj the british public being extremely responsive to requests from the government to be careful and to comply with restrictions over the last 18 months, my personal view is that right now we are in a very uncertain situation and anyone who

is listening to profits of either doom or redemption should be cautious because i think we are very uncertain —— prophets of doom or redemption. we should be focusing on children and ensuring disruption to education is minimised. fine children and ensuring disruption to education is minimised.— education is minimised. one more ruestion education is minimised. one more question on _ education is minimised. one more question on the _ education is minimised. one more question on the vaccines - education is minimised. one more question on the vaccines and - education is minimised. one more question on the vaccines and the l question on the vaccines and the expiry date, the best befores, the likes of moderna and pfizer both use mrna technology and they appear to have a shorter shelf life, will bite have a shorter shelf life, will bite have implications for how countries buy vaccines the future? i have implications for how countries buy vaccines the future?— buy vaccines the future? i think certainly the — buy vaccines the future? i think certainly the mrna _ buy vaccines the future? i think| certainly the mrna technology, buy vaccines the future? i think - certainly the mrna technology, that is one of its major limitations, although we have learned that the last year that these vaccines are more stable than we originally thought but nevertheless the low temperature storage they need for longer periods is a limiting step, particularly for countries who do not have those kinds of freezing

facilities. ., , ,., not have those kinds of freezing facilities. ., , ~ ., facilities. professor adam finn, thank you _ facilities. professor adam finn, thank you very _ facilities. professor adam finn, thank you very much _ facilities. professor adam finn, thank you very much for - facilities. professor adam finn, thank you very much for your i facilities. professor adam finn, i thank you very much for your time. thank you. cuba is preparing to evacuate residents along its southern coast amid fears that tropical storm elsa could wreak havoc on the island. the storm has already left a trail of destruction through the eastern caribbean, killing a young boy and his grandmother in the dominican republic and a man in st lucia whose house collapsed on top of him. the government in cuba has opened shelters and moved to protect crucial sugar cane and cocoa crops. the approach of stowe elsa has led to a pause in search and rescue operations at the tip at —— at the apartment block in miami.

at least 120 people remain missing nine days after the block collapsed, 24 people have been confirmed dead. representatives of the owners of the ship that blocked the suez canal in march say they've struck an agreement with the egyptian authorities that will finally allow it to leave. the vessel, the ever given, has been detained in the area during protracted negotiations over compensation. the ship became the focus of world attention after it ran aground in the canal, and swung out across its narrow channel. it blocked the normally very busy waterway for six days, causing significant disruption to global trade. john lewis has announced plans to move into the residential property market by building 10,000 homes for rental over the next few years. the department store chain said it wanted to address the national housing shortage and support local communities.

tenants of the new properties which will be built on sites owned by the chain will have the choice of renting fully furnished withjohn lewis products or using their own. earlier i spoke to the correspondence from the i newspaper and asked what she thinks of this announcement. we and asked what she thinks of this announcement.— and asked what she thinks of this announcement. we have a housing emergency. _ announcement. we have a housing emergency. there _ announcement. we have a housing emergency, there are _ announcement. we have a housing emergency, there are not - announcement. we have a housing emergency, there are not enough l emergency, there are not enough affordable homes had not enough social housing, but 10,000 will not make a dent in that emergency and we have to wonder whether these homes will be affordable in terms of rent, at what point in the market they will be set and who will they be aimed at. i think furnished or unfurnished is by the by, john lewis, having suffered a financial hit due to the pandemic, are looking for other revenue streams but we really need affordable homes that people can afford to live in and it

will depend on where they are too, they want to bill beaumont cup parks, for instance, they will only be in places where there is another infrastructure. i visited some buildings around the country over the last few years when reporting on the last few years when reporting on the housing emergency where homes have been built in the former office blocks, for instance, and parents just not enough green space nearby. so it really depends where they will be and what they will cost —— and there is just not enough green space nearby. john lewis is not the first company to move into property development, we have ikea, how have they done? ikea's homes in this country are in partnership with local authorities and being used primarily as emergency accommodation, they are flatpack homes, as you would expect from ikea, those arrangements were structures before the pandemic and i amateur if any of those are being used now, it makes sensible companies likejohn lewis and ikea

to move into the sector. earlier this year it was announced that lloyds bank wanted to diversify and become a landlord. cynically i suppose you could say that being a landlord is rather lucrative, guaranteed income, it is something to consider. you guaranteed income, it is something to consider-— to consider. you said we need good auali to consider. you said we need good quality homes. _ to consider. you said we need good quality homes, what _ to consider. you said we need good quality homes, what is _ to consider. you said we need good quality homes, what is that - to consider. you said we need good quality homes, what is that and i to consider. you said we need good| quality homes, what is that and why aren't we getting them now? there aren't we getting them now? there are lots of questions _ aren't we getting them now? there are lots of questions about - aren't we getting them now? there are lots of questions about this. i are lots of questions about this. the new homes quality board has been established to ensure new homes being built abra to scratch. we have had a lot of problems with new—builds over recent years, including but not limited to cutting and building safety scandal that has emerged in the wake of grenfell tower —— not limited to cladding. there have been issues with leeks, plasterboard, people on facebook are complaining about the big developers, so we need homes that, quite simply, delightful parts, and

at a basic level or not flammable and unsafe to live in. we had some of the smallest homes in europe, we are throwing up homes that are really quite tiny, these flats would need to be a decent size. i really quite tiny, these flats would need to be a decent size.— need to be a decent size. i don't know if you _ need to be a decent size. i don't know if you are _ need to be a decent size. i don't know if you are more _ need to be a decent size. i don't know if you are more of- need to be a decent size. i don't know if you are more of a i need to be a decent size. i don't i know if you are more of a business correspondence, i know you write about the housing market, but what would they say to you about the future of the high street? that is an interesting _ future of the high street? that is an interesting point _ future of the high street? that is an interesting point and - future of the high street? that is an interesting point and clearly l future of the high street? that is| an interesting point and clearly as i mentioned, lloyds bank also looking to become a landlord, businesses who have suffered during the pandemic looking to diversify, asjohn lewis clearly are, know there is money to be made in housing. property developers and landlords do very well, corporate landlords do very well, corporate landlords who build lots of homes and rent them out, build to rent, also do very well. if you are a business that had just gone through a pandemic and suffered because some of your stores had shut, housing might look quite attractive. that

was a correspondent _ might look quite attractive. that was a correspondent from the i newspaper. events have been taking place across britain today to say a national thank you to everyone who's helped during the coronavirus pandemic including nhs staff and key workers. our home editor mark easton reports. # don't stop thinking about tomorrow. # don't stop, it will soon be here. at the london vaccination centre health workers joined gospel singers in an impromptu community choir. don't stop is the anthem of thank you day, song of hope that future as people give thanks to those who help the country through its past pandemic. fleetwood mac have given their blessing. the communities of london's east end came togetherfor a bangladeshi barbecue today, a chance to reflect and connect. this is a way to actually remember all those that we have lost and to say thank you to the incredible effort that everyone has put in to get us through this pandemic. we want to say thank

you for all the support for us. they are tremendous and without those people that came out - in theirsnow suits... the rain, the snow, normality, plight, kept the pub going. kept us going. it is a paradox of the pandemic that social distancing and isolation actually brought communities closer together and they hope is that thank you day will become an annual opportunity to renew and strengthen those bonds and friendships. thank you day is supported by community groups, businesses and national leaders. prince charles thanked hospital radio. its origins are in the thursday evening club for carers. know that it has been of immeasurable value in connecting people, in providing comfort and companionship. harry kane thanked community volunteers. we thank you on our behalf for everything.

thank you.