dominic cummings has rather love to culture _ dominic cummings has rather love to culture that _ dominiche does come through— also loved as well. so he does come through with the power of persuasion he has _ through with the power of persuasion he has come of the extraordinary arrogance — he has come of the extraordinary arrogance he exudes commit all creates — arrogance he exudes commit all creates visit image that people love to know _ creates visit image that people love to know about. certainly, we know our broadcasting figures came in front— our broadcasting figures came in front of— our broadcasting figures came in front of the committee today. i suspect — front of the committee today. i suspect paper sales will go up because — suspect paper sales will go up because people want to read about this sky— because people want to read about this sky for— because people want to read about this sky for good or for bad. and as ou uuite this sky for good or for bad. and as you quite rightly _ this sky for good or for bad. and as you quite rightly said _ this sky for good or for bad. and as y

dominic cummings has cut through. my radio station streaming figures went through the roof when he came on air this morning. we took the coverage live, we can measure this very accurately. absolute fascinating to see. people want to know about dominic cummings, whether they like him, whether they loathe him. he fascinates people. his mac rebellion this, his evil, his brilliance, other people might say he is a truly fascinating character. you will sonia, france quarantine, it is a covert _ you will sonia, france quarantine, it is a covert story, _ you will sonia, france quarantine, it is a covert story, but _ you will sonia, france quarantine, it is a covert story, but it - you will sonia, france quarantine, it is a covert story, but it also - it is a covert story, but it also plays into all kinds of things, uk relationship of europe, how effective it it has been between countries in terms of having a common approach to this problem. given what's happening australia new zealand, whether countries can actually isolate t

this is dominic raab and anthony blinken. dominic raab first. goad blinken. dominic raab first. raab first. good afternoon, everyone. thank- blinken. dominic raab first. (13mm afternoon, everyone. thank you for joining us. it is a huge pleasure to welcome secretary of state blinken to the uk, tony, great to have you here with us, a warm welcome. i think it is fair to say the biden administration is barely 100 days old, but has already taken a huge number of bold and very welcome steps on issues like climate change, global health and human rights and that has really created momentum in efforts to tackle these global pressing issues. since tony's confirmation, we have been working very closely together and today's meeting has been another reminder of the depth and breadth of the work we do together, the convergence of our interests and the many shared values. so today, tony and i discussed a full range of issues and i will give you a highlight of i think some of the key points. we talked about our shared commitment to stand up for open societies, democracy and human rights, protec

obviously, yesterday was the dominant cummings show, and there werejust so was the dominant cummingsjust so many stories that could've come out of that, that mammoth evidence session. he really went to town, busting pretty much everyone in government at the time of the pandemic. at this is the one that seems to have kind of hit home. matt hancock very much found himself on the back but today having to defend himself against this charge that the government was reckless in letting people back into care homes who were potentially infected and certainly didn't carry out the testing regime that was perhaps or perhaps not promised. so i think this is where the focus of dominant cummings�*s evidence comes down to, whether or not manheim —— matt hancock is culpable for what happened and care homes which was truly horrendous. i happened and care homes which was truly horrendous.— truly horrendous. i suppose you could summarise _ truly horrendous. i suppose you could summarise this. - could summarise this. yes, it's an interesting one in that we have _ yes, it's an interesting one in that we h

cummings. committees this week as well. -- dominic cummings.— dominic cummings.itteefi dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committee of i dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committee of the i dominic cummings. yes, a “oint committee of the science h dominic cummings. yes, ajoint committee of the science and i dominic cummings. yes, a joint - committee of the science and health committees where he will be at his opinions on what happened in those early stages in february and march leading up to the first lockdown and then throughout the summer. the former british prime minister, gordon brown, has called on borisjohnson to use next month's g7 summit in cornwall to step up funding of the global covid vaccine roll—out. $66 billion is required to complete the un—led covax programme, and mr brown says that at least two thirds of that sum ought to be covered by the g7 group of nations. he said that while most adults in britain have had vaccinations, the figure in africa was just 2%, and ii % for india. scotland's health secretary says covid restrictions in glasgow could be eased

raab —— dominic cummings.f state for health and social care and everyone has worked incredibly hard and unprecedented circumstances to protect the nhs and to save lives. we absolutely reject his claims about the health secretary. in the health secretary will continue to work closely with the prime minister to deliver the vaccine roll—out, tackled the risks of variance and support the nhs and care sector to recover from this pandemic. support the nhs and care sector to recoverfrom this pandemic. that support the nhs and care sector to recover from this pandemic. that is the initial plan from the health secretary. you will be giving evidence to that same committee in a couple weeks' time. 0ur political correspondent nick eardleyjoins me now perhaps we can break down a little bit. asking you about the governments handling of the pandemic and mr cummings bitter criticism across the board incompetence from the government. it painted a picture of chaos at various points. we first got the impression from mr cummings

i dominic cummings was saying esterda . �* dominic cummings was saying yesterday-— dominic cummings wasput it, "we put a shield around care homes" it was complete nonsense. how did you respond to hearing that? i don't know mr cummings i you respond to hearing that? i don't know mr cummings or i you respond to hearing that? i don't know mr cummings or mr i you respond to hearing that? i don't know mr cummings or mr hancock. | you respond to hearing that? i crrr’i�*t know mr cummings or mr hancock. what i would say from a care home provider perspective, we didn�*t think there was a ring of protection around is in the very early days and we were short of ppe. we didn�*t have testing and unfortunately some people came into care homes without a test which cause a lot of difficulty but we are where we are. i think we need to make sure that this doesn�*t happen again. anything positive coming out of this pandemic really is the overdue cause for social care reform and that�*s what i think mr hancock needs to be concentrating on the future as well as at the moment. can concentrating on the futur

cummings, try that's you know, dominic cummings, by criticising — that's you know, dominic cummings,e force of his attack on borisjohnson, if that is indeed what _ borisjohnson, if that is indeed what his— borisjohnson, if that is indeed what his ultimate target really is. i what his ultimate target really is. i don't _ what his ultimate target really is. i don't know how much of the story you have read, but in terms of the dates as to when people contracted covid—i9 in hospital, do you have a date there, a timeline of what the figures are, i don't know if either of you have picked that up. it's been a measure since march 2020 that 32,000 people are thought to have caught covid in hospitals and around 30%, 8700 have died from contracting it in those conditions. will be interesting to see all those figures have tailed off, they are very active and they would've learned. they didn't know what they were dealing with at the beginning of the pandemic, so that will be interesting to look a little bit deeper into those figures. another strength from page of the guardian is the picture story

dominic for any number of years and i dominic for any number of years and i have _ dominic for any numberlked into numberten that it knows that the moment he walked into number ten that it was going to end like this _ number ten that it was going to end like this, with him having a big break-up— like this, with him having a big break—up with the prime minister and then attacking the prime minister because _ then attacking the prime minister because that is what dominic cummings does. the great misfortune for the _ cummings does. the great misfortune for the country is that in between those _ for the country is that in between those two — for the country is that in between those two events there has been this unprecedented event of a pandemic and dominic cummings was the prime minister's _ and dominic cummings was the prime minister's most senior adviser during — minister's most senior adviser during the time over every allegation he makes about the prime minister. _ allegation he makes about the prime minister, you have to ask, where was he had _ minister, you have to ask, where was he ha

dominic.tegorically said in the cabinet room in — categorically said in the cabinet room in march _ categorically said in the cabinet room in march that _ categorically said in the cabinet room in march that people - categorically said in the cabinet| room in march that people were categorically said in the cabinet - room in march that people were going to be tested _ room in march that people were going to be tested before _ room in march that people were going to be tested before getting _ room in march that people were going to be tested before getting back- to be tested before getting back into care — to be tested before getting back into care homes. _ to be tested before getting back into care homes. mr— to be tested before getting back into care homes. mr cummingsl to be tested before getting back- into care homes. mr cummings went on to say— into care homes. mr cummings went on to say that _ into care homes. mr cummings went on to say that he _ into care homes. mr cummings went on to sa

so why is dominic cummings sa in: that policy...ying that is — policy... so why is dominic cummings saying that is true? _ policy... so why is dominic cummings saying that is true? i _ policy... so why is dominic cummings saying that is true? i can't _ policy. .. so why is dominic cummings saying that is true? i can't speak- saying that is true? i can't speak for mr cummings _ saying that is true? i can't speak for mr cummings and _ saying that is true? i can't speak for mr cummings and one - saying that is true? i can't speak- for mr cummings and one individual. he said _ for mr cummings and one individual. he said it_ for mr cummings and one individual. he said it was in all the paperwork and all the crucial meetings but if you say it is not true presumably he cannot be ringing hard evidence of this. ~ ., ., ., , �* this. what i would say to this, i'm not auoin this. what i would say to this, i'm not going to _ this. what i would say to this, i'm not going to comment _ this. what i would say to this, i'm not going to comment on -

the breadth of dominic— was.ishing hours. | the breadth of dominic cummings critique and this is the first account of deep inside the government, you cannot get much deeper that dominic cummings. wade this unfolded which is profoundly unflattering to the british system in key politicians, including the prime minister. people will question just what kind of a witness mr cummings is and what his motives were. but i think that is why it is so striking. it is the first account from deep inside the government. staying with us in helping us assess this testimony, let us remind ourselves the dominic cummings is answering questions as part of the lessons learned process on response to the pandemic and mr cummings was a centralfigure in government. here he is pictured with borisjohnson in 2019. he is a part of the prime minister's inner circle which led to an election victory that year and to brexit withdrawal deal as well. he was also the chief adviser to the prime minister when the pandemic hit in march of last year. ho

clearly, dominic cummings was riaht today. clearly, dominic cummings was ri . ht at the today.today. clearly, dominic cummings was right at the heart of— today. clearly, dominic cummings was right at the heart of government, - right at the heart of government, borisjohnson's senior advisor for a time, so what he says simply cannot be dismissed. today, how is the government trying to frame its response? it government trying to frame its resnonse?_ government trying to frame its resonse? , , , , response? it is interesting because they almost — response? it is interesting because they almost don't _ response? it is interesting because they almost don't want _ response? it is interesting because they almost don't want to - response? it is interesting because they almost don't want to dignify . they almost don't want to dignify dominic cummings with the attention so even when government ministers are asked that sort of question, should we trust what he has got to say, does he not their responsibility, too? they don't even address it. so borisjohnson will be visiting hospital today

why is dominic cummings saying it is true? i - and the strategy... why is dominic. cummings saying it is true? i cannot speak for mr cummings _ cummings saying it is true? i cannot speak for mr cummings and - cummings saying it is true? i cannot speak for mr cummings and one - speak for mr cummings and one individual. the speak for mr cummings and one individual. , ., ,., individual. the government said it followed the _ individual. the government said it followed the signs _ individual. the government said it followed the signs and _ individual. the government said it followed the signs and acted - individual. the government said it followed the signs and acted to i individual. the government said it i followed the signs and acted to save lives in nhs. dominic cummings will have his chance to put his thoughts before parliament this week. and the latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,235 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, which means an average ofjust over 2,500 cases per day, in the last week. five deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, and

i don't think dominic cummings... done. i don't think dominic cummings. . ._ done.... print very much for your time. -- cummings. .. print very much for your time- -- thank— cummings... print very much for your time. -- thank you _ cummings... print very much for your time. -- thank you very _ cummings... print very much for your time. -- thank you very much - cummings. .. print very much for your time. -- thank you very much for- time. —— thank you very much for your time. the health secretary, matt hancock, and drjennie harries, the uk health security agency chief executive, will be holding a news conference later today,and you can see it live on the bbc news channel, from 5pm. gps in england say they're facing a "tsunami of patients," as the country emerges from lockdown. nhs figures show more than 28 million appointments were made in march — that's one of the highest on record. the royal college of gps is warning that without more resources they'll no longer be able to meet demand. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. the start of another busy day an

borisjohnson is, according to dominic cummings, unfit to lead the country.rds, there was huge build—up to this testimony. did it deliver in terms of an informed critique about how government functioned at one of the toughest times civilian governments have experienced 7 yes, i think it did. you say there was a huge build—up. you and i have waited for many of these political dramas, and they were anti—climactic when they happened, so i assumed this was going to be one of those. it really wasn't, notjust because it went on for so long, i watched, like you did, the whole lot. but as you say, here was boris johnson's chosen senior adviser, who was on the inside during all of these key moments, making a series of extraordinary assertions. now, some say with some credence, that here is a subjective, unreliable narrator, but that would only be true if what we all know and experience was with at odds with what he was saying. but we know they locked down late in the first lockdown, when football matches and rock concerts were taking place. we know there was a dispute

and speaking of what dominic cummings about_ speaking of what dominic cummings about what was going on going on inside number ten in about what was going on inside numberten in terms about what was going on inside number ten in terms of the power struggle _ number ten in terms of the power struggle which seem to be portrayed between _ struggle which seem to be portrayed between him and carrie simmons for home _ between him and carrie simmons for home at— between him and carrie simmons for home at the — between him and carrie simmons for home at the prime minister's here and we _ home at the prime minister's here and we finished the week with a very definitive _ and we finished the week with a very definitive answer in the wilderness and i_ definitive answer in the wilderness and i suppose carrie is now miss johnson — and i suppose carrie is now miss johnson. ,, ._ ., and i suppose carrie is now miss johnson. ,, ., , , johnson. the sunday mirror subtitle is as the country _ johnson. the sunday mirror subtitle is as the country rages _ johnson. the sunday mirror subtitle is as the countr

anand, dominic cummins not the politicians. anand, dominic cummings is _ not the politicians._ not the politicians. anand, dominic cummings is a figure _ not the politicians. anand, dominic cummings is a figure that - not the politicians. anand, dominic cummings is a figure that looms i cummings is a figure that looms large in westminster, but what about elsewhere in the country? is this something that will cut through? that's the interesting question. you spoke _ that's the interesting question. you spoke about wednesday. i wonder whether_ spoke about wednesday. i wonder whether the public at large, especially in terms of the good news of the _ especially in terms of the good news of the vaccine working against the indian _ of the vaccine working against the indian variant, the thing i thought that might stick in the reporting of dominic_ that might stick in the reporting of dominic cummings this morning was this claim _ dominic cummings this morning was this claim he makes that the prime minister_ this claim he makes that the prime minister missed some of those initial— mini

dominic hughes reporting there. ireland, anyone over the age of 18 is now able to book a covid—19 jab. it's the first part of the uk to offer the vaccine to all its adult population. more than five 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 are 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 nervous

ok that— from dominic cummings today. ok that is— from dominic cummings today. ok. areas _ people, certainly in some of the areas the — people, certainly in some of the areas the change to the guidelines was only— areas the change to the guidelines was only put on the government website — was only put on the government website late on friday and they were highlighted. people woke up yesterday, having been spotted by locals _ yesterday, having been spotted by locals and — yesterday, having been spotted by locals and one or two politicians, with the — locals and one or two politicians, with the suggestion they should not leave their areas unless they were doing _ leave their areas unless they were doing so— leave their areas unless they were doing so for work or for essential reasons — doing so for work or for essential reasons. and amongst many people whose _ reasons. and amongst many people whose plans were possibly affected were those families possibly thinking of a trip over half term outside — thinking of a trip over half term outside their area. so thinking of a

— inquiry into covid to preempt what dominic coming says on wednesdays at actually— dominic coming sayst a lot of answers about what went wrong so that we don't _ about what went wrong so that we don't get — about what went wrong so that we don't get into this mess again. he don't get into this mess again. hrs. brin-s don't get into this mess again. brings up a don't get into this mess again. he: brings up a course the subject of how care homes were managed during the pandemic. let's move on. still the pandemic. let's move on. still the same paper. the sunday times. martin bashir, diana, my wife and a new baby, this is an interview that has been conducted by rosamund irwin. , , , irwin. this is martin bashir trying to net irwin. this is martin bashir trying to get some _ irwin. this is martin bashir trying to get some kind _ irwin. this is martin bashir trying to get some kind of— irwin. this is martin bashir trying to get some kind of defence - irwin. this is martin bashir trying to get some kind of defence in i irwin. this is martin bashir trying i to get some kind of defence in what

the week dominic cummings said sorry over the covid crisis.of thousands of people died who didn't need to die. he'd warned a hard rain was going to fall — the prime minister got a soaking. the only problem was, fundamentally, i regarded him as unfit for the job. and borisjohnson wasn't the only one... i think that the secretary of state for health should have been fired for at least 15, 20 things. mps drew their own conclusions. if true, this is one of the biggest scandals and tragedies of the pandemic. but matt hancock hit back. these unsubstantiated allegations around - honesty are not true. also in this programme, the long wait for dental appointments and should we all have lessons in pavement courtesy? but first, covid has killed almost 128,000 people in the uk. tens of thousands of them needlessly. many in care homes. that's according to the prime minister's closest adviser during the early months of the pandemic. in explosive evidence to mp5, dominic cummings painted a picture of a chaotic government that failed to take the virus serious

because obviously you can dominate quite a few lakes and a good view of the alps from there.ow busy is lake maggiore at this point, because covid has meant that fewer people have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it is normally in may. during the weekend is quite busy with people doing trips for the day from the big cities like milan and turin which are only an hour and a half away from stresa. we have just had a we havejust had a development we have just had a development in the story. according to the emergency services in italy another person has now died as a result of this cable car accident. taking the death toll to 13. the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccines are effective against the indian variant of coronavirus a new study has found. health officials have urged people to take up the offer of a second dose — which experts believe makes both vaccines just as effective as they are against the older kent variant. the research from public health england suggests the pfizer vaccine provides 88% protection after the second dose. however health experts say social distanc

george and dominic cummingsl ten under a cloud.opularity contest and he didn't leave out much of this square pile from his strong criticisms today. yes, his relationship with the prime minister is now very bitter, and very broken, and clearly, over a time they had a very serious parting of ways and some very very serious disagreements over covid policy. that said, despite the fact that mr cummings�*s reputation itself and his reputation with boris johnson reputation itself and his reputation with borisjohnson isn't spotless. i don't think it is possible for downing street to dismiss this as sour grapes or to erase everything he said. has left the health secretary matt hancock with difficult questions to answer. he will pop up at a press conference tomorrow where he is bound to have some of it put to him. it has given borisjohnson's political opponents plenty of ammunition too and lastly and think maybe most importantly tonight, after months of the government trying to say they were well prepared for this, trying to say that lessons

and essentially dominic, coming just to the main takeaway is a dominant cummings and said that those failings, as he described them, cost tens of thousands of lives. he will say level very serious attacks at the health minister mat hancock who he said should have been fired at least 10 or 15 times. what he said was, was lying by the health minister, both in meetings and public, accusing him of criminal behavior. now, as you had, boris johnson has rejected some of the allegations. i've had the health minister here as well that he could have mrs. was as a former age, the prime minister. why do you think cummings came, came out like this when he was asked exactly that question. what was his motives here in, in, in laying out exactly what he just happened in the fight inside the wall, the government and dominant coming, put it forward really. as a public interest argument that he's his actions were unable. he said people how to write know the doctor as he described it, early in the early stages, essentially, because the public inquiry, he said into the, we're going to take too long peopl

cummings in number— carrie and dominic cummings in numberten, and this carrie and dominic cummings inen, and this kind of really shows how— number ten, and this kind of really shows how it has ended with dominic cummings— shows how it has ended with dominic cummings obviously giving that lengthy— cummings obviously giving that lengthy and possibly bombshell committee evidence during the week. he is ranting away and making his claims, _ he is ranting away and making his claims, carrie very much installed in number— claims, carrie very much installed in numberten, the prime minister's wife _ in numberten, the prime minister's wife 50— in numberten, the prime minister's wife 50 i_ in numberten, the prime minister's wife. so i think it will play well amongst, _ wife. so i think it will play well amongst, you know, the red wall voters _ amongst, you know, the red wall voters that— amongst, you know, the red wall voters that this tory government, you know. — voters that this tory government, you know, very much prizes, because people _ you know, very much prizes, because people love _ you k

then why is dominic cummings saying it is true? mr cummings and one individual. the government said it followed the science and acted to save lives in nhs. dominic cummings will have his chance to put his thoughts before parliament this week. damian grammaticas, bbc news. scotland's health secretary says covid restrictions in glasgow could be eased if the number of people in intensive scotland's health secretary says covid restrictions in glasgow care does not go up. glasgow is the only part of scotland still in level three, and some businesses have criticised the decision to keep it under stricter measures. humza yousaf told the bbc ministers want to ease restrictions as soon as possible. he hopes after this week it'll become clear whether case numbers have led to a rise in icu patients in the city. and the latest government figures on coronavirus show 2,235 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, which means an average ofjust over 2,500 cases per day, in the last week. five deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours, and that

dominic cummings said that didn't happen. we actually knew it didn't happen straightaway.'t happen, yes. what we don't know is whether or not matt hancock actually made that promise. ah, but what we do have is matt hancock going on the record with this very carefully phrased answer. have a listen, and i think the first sentence here is the key thing. of course, we committed, | and i committed to getting the policy in place, but it took time - to build the testing. we didn't start with a big | testing system in the uk, and then we built that testing - system and that is why the 100,000 target was so important - because it really accelerated the availability of testing. "i committed to delivering that policy" — now, you could hear that multiple ways, couldn't you? you could. anyone would imagine he might be a politician. yeah. you could, you could hear it as him saying, "well, i'm not denying that i made that promise", or you could hear it as him saying, "of course i didn't make that promise because that would have been ridiculous to make because at that point, we all knew t

coming just to the main take away the dominant coming. so said that those failings, as he described then cost tens of thousands of lives. he will say level a very serious attacks at the health minister hancock who he said should have been fired at least 10 or 15 times. but what he said was, was lying by the health minister, both in meetings and public, accusing him of criminal behavior. now, as you heard, or johnson has rejected some of the allegations i've had the health minister here as well. so he could have mrs. was as a former age of the prime minister. why do you think cummings came, came out like this? well, he was off to exactly that question. what was his motives here in, in, in laying out exactly what he happened in the, in find inside the rules of governments and a dominant coming, put it forward really, as a public interest argument that his, his actions were unable. he said people how to write know the doctor as he described it, early in the early stages, essentially, because the public inquiry, he said into this, we're going

well, i think dominic cummings's evidence is - dominic cummings's evidence is woefully indifferent tond of the way that other governments have handled the epidemic. so, what about donald trump? what about president microns? what about angela merkel? what about modi? —— macron. ithink what about angela merkel? what about modi? —— macron. i think we need to have a comparative since and recognise what was it fair and reasonable to have expected a government that clearly did not have a road map for how to deal with the pandemic, despite many people saying that it should have done it. it didn't have that. were they human errors or was there deliberate lying and deceit and criminal negligence, as has been alleged. all of this needs to be looked at. we have never had such great allegations for some money so close who may be saw with one eye but saul with that one i what was happening. maybe didn't fully understand what was happening or the context, but we have to now look very seriously at what he said, but also ask why did he say it and what has he not said. final question on this, in what

dominic cummings _ the coming cessation. dominic cummings said _ the coming cessation.i cummings said he felt there were the coming cessation. dominic - cummings said he felt there were 20 or 30 occasions when he thought hancock should have been sacked and there will only be more pressure on him after the story in the telegraph, suggesting on the 19th of march last year that the department of health told hospitals to discharge hospitals without any mention of testing them first. that is a potential bombshell because this idea that hancock has been trying to back up that they were knowingly discharging infected patients back into care homes. if it is proven that it was not properly monitored, ifind this phrase really offensive actually, this protective ring he said around care homes, with so many deaths in the care homes, could they have been avoided? where those people sadly sacrificed to protect the nhs? there are so many questions about hancock and cummings has highlighted them. this report in the sunday telegraph has reinforced the sunday telegraph has reinforced the

because obviously you can dominate quite a few lakes and a good view of the alps from there. how busy is lake maggiore at this point, because covid has meant that fewer people have been travelling? obviously not as busy as it is normally in may. during the weekend is quite busy with people doing trips for the day from the big cities like milan and turin which are only an hour and a half away from stresa. is it likely to be local people there at the moment? this is very difficult to say, but what we can say at the moment is that the majority of tourists and visitors are italian, actually, on the lake, because of the covid restrictions. we are waiting to hear exact details of how many people have been killed and injured and how this happened. but it will be a desperate shock and an immense cause of upset for people there. definitely. it is a major upset for people in stresa, because nothing has ever happened of this type before and it is also surprising because the cable car went through general revision that costed over 4 million eurosjust four years ago. this is the scene liv

office tv for westminster—watchers, but did the bbc give too much airtime and credence to the words of dominicummings? and is bbc news showing us too much of him, too? no doubt who the person of the week was, at least from the media's point of view. dominic cummings�* appearance on wednesday in front of a joint health and science parliamentary committee had been much anticipated. and for most people in and around westminster, at least, it didn't disappoint, with a startling series of revelations, claims, accusations and insults. but not everyone was persuaded of the value of his seven hours of testimony, with elisabeth blandon wondering... and glenn thirlby similarly asked... but yadwiga billewicz disagreed... one part of the session which caught the attention of bbc—watchers was when the prime minister's former chief adviser described how, over the course of last year, he largely stopped speaking to journalists — with one exception. the main person, really, though, that i spoke to in the whole of 2020 was laura kuenssberg of the bbc, because the bbc has a special position in the country, obvi

we'd all been told to stay at home, but dominic cummings didn't.ents' home in durham. before setting off, he was seen rushing out of downing street after discovering his wife had covid. weeks later, in the rose garden at downing street, he was forced to explain. i was worried that if my wife and i were both seriously ill, possibly hospitalised, there was nobody in london that we could reasonably ask to look after our child and expose themselves to covid. but today he revealed another version of events. my wife called saying, "there's a gang of people outside saying they're going to break into the house and kill everybody inside." so it was actually repeated security threats which prompted the move to durham. but when the story erupted, mr cummings decided not to mention that. now, at this point i madejust a terrible, terrible, terrible mistake, which i'm extremely sorry about. so i ended up giving the whole rose garden thing where what i said was true, but we left out a kind of crucial part of it all. and just the whole thing was a complete disaste

as dominic cummings delivers his verdict on borisjohnson. part of the problem was fundamentally, i regarded him as unfit for the job. he doesn't rate matt hancock much, either. i said repeatedly to the prime minister that he should be fired. plenty of ammunition for the labour leader at prime minister's questions, where borisjohnson fights back. he continues to play these pointless political games, whilst we get on with delivering on the people's priorities. also in this programme: a cycling minister speaks out about a new form of transport. i know how frightening it is, actually, just on the road i to be approached by one of these e—scooters. - but first: dominic cummings' explosive evidence to mps on the government's handling of the pandemic. the prime minister's former adviser told them tens of thousands of people had died needlessly, borisjohnson was unfit to be prime minister, and matt hancock should have been sacked as health secretary for repeatedly lying. he spent seven hours in front of the health and the science and technology comm

and essentially dominic, coming just to, to the main takeaway is a dominant cummings and said that those failings, as he described then cause tens of thousands of lives. he will say level very serious attacks at the health minister, mat hancock, he said, should have been fired at least 10 or 15 times. what he said was, was lying by the health minister, both in meetings, in public, accusing him of criminal behavior. now, as you had or if johnson has rejected some of the allegations i've had, the health minister here is that he could have mrs. was a former age, the prime minister. why do you think cummings came, came out like this while he was off to exactly that question. what was his motives here in, in, in laying out exactly what he just happened in the fight inside the world of government and dominant coming, put it forward really. as a public interest argument that he's his actions were unable. he said people how to write know the doctor as he described it, early in the early stages, essentially, because the public inquiry, he said into the, we're going to take too long people how to

are you worried about dominic cummings i worried about dominic cummings giving evidence later, mr hancockcarol kirkwood. hello again. today we still have some patchy rain and and some showers in ourforecast, but after today, things turn a bit drier and warmer. you can see where we've got a weather front which is increasingly tending to fade, but behind it, a lot of showers developing across scotland, northern and eastern parts of england. not all of us will catch them, but they could be heavy and thundery. on either side, there will be bright skies with sunshine, but a bit more cloud across the south—west, particularly the isles of scilly introducing some drizzle. we hang on to the showers through the evening but they fade overnight as cloud comes in, some patchy mist and fog form, but the bulk of the uk will still have some clear skies. no issues with frost — overnight low temperatures between 5 and 8 degrees. by the end of the night, you can see the clouds thickening across the south—west. this is heralding the arrival of a weather front. tomorrow, we are looking at high pressure domina

— way as dominic raab. jo from how do you see at? i — way as dominic raab. understand _ you see at? i mean, i don't really understand how _ you see at? i mean, i don't really understand how these _ you see at? i mean, i don't really understand how these processesl you see at? i mean, i don't really - understand how these processes work. i don't know if there is a fund that pays for that, whether of the uk taxpayer pays for it's from i have no idea. i did come out of the blue, which was the interesting bits. i think we've got an overcrowded prison population. this will take a disproportionate amount of effort to ensure, as mentioned in the story, that he is his safety is assured because plenty of people that want to attack him. which is you know, also just throws up the question of how much effort and resource will be required? so very strange. i have not been following to know whether this was on the cards, but it seemed to me came very out of the blue. let's look finally at another story, certainly i think fair to say that nobody reported it until today eve

dominic cummings has given hours of evidence to a parliamentary handling of covid-19.did not hold back criticisms of himself, the prime minister, and many others. in the next few minutes we will take you through the key moments. before that, here is bbc political correspondent rob watson. >> it was an astonishing seven hours because of the breadth of dominic cummings's critique and because this is the first account of deep inside the government of exactly how the covid crisis unfolded, in a way that is profoundly unflattering to the british system and several key politicians, including the prime minister. people question what kind of a witness mr. cummings is and what his motives were. but i think that is why it is so striking. it is the first account from deep inside the government. >> dominic cummings was answering questions on the government response to the pandemic. here he is with boris johnson in 2019. he was part of the prime minister's inner circle. he was also chief advisor to the prime minister when the pandemic hit in march of last year. in november, he quit

dominic cummings told members of parliament he believed the government had been guilty of disastrousngs. he described mrjohnson as unfit for thejob and said he heard the prime minister say he'd rather see "bodies pile high" than order a third lockdown. britain has been one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. reality or revenge? delving back into troubled recent history, dominic cummings�* day to give his version of events — a verdict of failure and an apology for his part. senior ministers, senior officials, senior advisers like me fell disastrously short of the standards that the public has a right to expect. when the public needed us most, the government failed, and i'd like to say to all the families of those who died unnecessarily how sorry i am for the mistakes that were made and for my own mistakes at that. he described the original expectation — a peak in early summer, protecting the most vulnerable. but as flaws in the numbers emerged, how rapidly plans were sketched out on whiteboards to accelerate to lockdown. showing i

for the bank holiday weekend, high pressure dominates so weekend, high pressure dominates so we willaces will be light as high pressure continues to build. temperatures a little bit higher on friday. 20, 20 one celsius in the south, high teens further north. into sunday, it's even better, less cloud and we should see more sunshine, light winds so it will feel warmer and you can see the breeze building up across the northwest of scotland into parts of northern ireland later on in the day but for those temperatures, 20 celsius across parts of scotland, 21, 22, may be 23 across parts of england and wales. we could see more cloud and the odd shower on bank holiday monday across scotland and northern ireland but further south it is warm and sunny and fog the first week ofjune. this is bbc news. the headlines... borisjohnson denies claims made by dominic cummings, that the poor handing of the coronavirus pandemic, led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. at every stage, we've been governed by a determination to protect life, to save life, to ensure that our nhs is not overwhelmed.

— investigating, but the ones that dominic cummings has mentioned so far on— dominic cummings has mentionedme minister followed the advice of the scientific— minister followed the advice of the scientific advisers, and if dominic cummings— scientific advisers, and if dominic cummings wants to pick a fight with them _ cummings wants to pick a fight with them, then, you know, that will be interesting — them, then, you know, that will be interesting to watch, but it is not the grudge match between him and the prime _ the grudge match between him and the prime minister that a lot of journalists are expecting. gk, prime minister that a lot of journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank ou journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank you so _ journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank you so much. _ journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank you so much. lucy _ journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank you so much. lucy come - journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank you so much. lucy come i - journalists are expecting. 0k, john, thank you so much. lucy come i amj journalists are expecting. 0k, j