the first minister of wales mark drakeford has announced most coronavirus restrictions will be scrappedails of the latest easing of restrictions at the senned this afternoon. but quite a significant announcement has just come through from the welsh government, subject to a heavy caveat. they say if covid rates are low from august the 7th, then most restrictions will go, not all, but most. there would be no legal limits on the number of people who could meet, night clubs could reopen, social distancing would be replaced by risk assessments. crucially, though, facemasks would still be compulsory in most indoor public places, except hospitality such as pubs, for instance. that is subject to approval. from saturday, it has been approved that the rule of six would be allowed in private homes and accommodation. ice rinks could be reopened, and there is no need for social distancing outdoors. quite a significant announcement, certainly for august the 7th, but it is subject to plenty of ifs and buts and the odd maybe. just to explain in fact that we are expecting, anyway, a formal statement fro

that was mark drakeford, speaking to me a l available to us. coming from westminster today? well, this can only be — from westminster today? well, this can only be good — from westminster today? well, this can only be good news, _ from westminster today? well, this can only be good news, and - from westminster today? well, this can only be good news, and in - from westminster today? well, this can only be good news, and in fact i can only be good news, and in fact it is probably the first bit of positive news that the inbound tourism industry and the 500,000 people that work in it have had for about 18 months, so we absolutely welcome this news today. i about 18 months, so we absolutely welcome this news today.— welcome this news today. i don't know if you _ welcome this news today. i don't know if you caught _ welcome this news today. i don't know if you caught what - welcome this news today. i don't know if you caught what mark i know if you caught what mark drakeford had to say there, he still has a number of questions, in particular talking

the first minister, labour's mark drakeford, looked ahead to the changes next month.rned very substantially to how it was before the coronavirus pandemic began. but here in wales, we will not abandon all those measures which have done so much to keep us all safe. the welsh conservatives conceded voters had endorsed the government's approach. i have disagreed with that approach on many occasions, but democracy's a wonderful thing and the largest party forms the government, and sets the tone and the direction. and you are quite right to identify that we are still in the middle of many challenging periods of time that we will face with the covid crisis at the moment, in particular around new variants. i personally would've liked to have seen greater speed and urgency in bringing some of these measures forward, but i appreciate the difficult decisions that the cabinet have had to take based on the scientific evidence they've had before them. i'm pleased that you weren't pushing for an immediate i lifting of mandation on masks. some members of the i conservative party have

mark drakeford. now for a story that some have suggested could have been written byjohn le carre. military documents were found "in a soggy heap" behind a bus stop in kent. the papers included information on hms defender�*s recent mission in the black sea when more than 20 russian aircraft and two coastguard ships shadowed the warship as it sailed near crimea. the minister, jeremy quin said the loss of the documents appeared to be "a mistake" and an inquiry was under way. a number of ministry defense classified documents work lost by a senior official early last week. upon realising the loss of documents, the individual self reported on tuesday the 22nd ofjune. the documents lost included a paper that was secret uk eyes only. the documents were found by a member of public at a bus stop in kent. the member of the public then handed in the papers to the bbc. the ministry of defence has launched a full investigation. the papers have now been recovered from the bbc and are being assessed as i speak to check that all documents missing have been recovered and what mitigation actions mig

mark drakeford striking a different tone on face coverings from ministers in westminster.e theresa may had voted against her party in 2a years as an mp. she was one of two dozen conservatives to rebel over cuts to overseas aid. ministers said the cut of almost four billion pounds a year is needed due to the pandemic. so the share of national income spent on official development assistance is being reduced from nought point seven to nought point five per cent. they've promised to restore the cut when public debt falls and borrowing is no longer needed for day to day spending. borisjohnson insisted britain would remain among the world's most generous donors. we all believe in the principle that aid can transform lives. and by voting for this motion, honourable members will provide certainty for our aid budget and an affordable path back to 0.7% while also allowing for investment in other priorities, including the nhs, schools and the police. as soon as circumstances allow and the tests are met, we will return to the target that unites us, mr speaker and i beg to move this mo

mark drakeford.ival rates in the uk were substantially lower than in comparable countries. mps on the health committee wanted to know if the strain of dealing with covid—i9 had made the situation worse. cancer treatment has been maintained throughout the pandemic if we take march 20 at the start through to may, this year, take that period and its 91%. that masks some variation in treatment types and we saw a particular drop in referrals for lung cancer because the crossover with covid—i9 and rightly, we saw referrals recover very quickly after a drop in april and may and that has been sustained. since march, referrals and treatment levels are above pre—pandemic levels. but despite that there were around 16,000 so called long—waiters in england, people who've been waiting more than 62 days for investigations and diagnosis. it has been coming down, it was considerably higher than that during the peak of the pandemic but it has been steadily reducing. but, clearly, we need to do more to make sure that i

we have just had the latest on restrictions in wales announced by the first minister there, mark drakeford i has he said? well, we have 'ust had the announcement from i has he said? well, we have just had the announcement from the - has he said? well, we have just had the announcement from the welsh | the announcement from the welsh government, mark drakeford himself will be laying out the details of the latest easing of restrictions at the latest easing of restrictions at the senate this afternoon but quite a significant announcement has come through from the welsh government subject to heavy caveat. they say if covid roads —— covid rates are low, by august to seven, most restrictions would go, not all. they will be no legal limits on the number of people who can meet, night clubs will reopen, social distancing would be replaced by risk assessment but crucially, facemasks would still be compulsory in most indoor places accept hospitality, such as pubs, for instance. that is subject to approval. from saturday, it has been approved that the rule of six will be allowed in private homes and a

sam what is your response to mark drakeford's announcement?nt? i think it is great and really nice to see _ announcement? i think it is great and really nice to see movement| announcement? i think it is great i and really nice to see movement in announcement? i think it is great - and really nice to see movement in a positive direction. i think it is a slow and steady which we all want to see because i think rushing things will lead to another walked down the line. i don't really think many music venues will be able to do much on august the 7th because risk assignments take time but it is nice to see movement in that way. you say ou think to see movement in that way. you say you think it — to see movement in that way. you say you think it is — to see movement in that way. you say you think it is a _ to see movement in that way. you say you think it is a good _ to see movement in that way. you say you think it is a good idea _ to see movement in that way. you say you think it is a good idea for - you think it is a good idea for whales to go at

home secretary priti patel described the scenes as "disgraceful", and first minister mark drakeford saidnacceptable". here on the estate itself, people are doing their best to get back to normal — but key questions remain. and among the most important ones — could this have been prevented and why did it happen? mayhill and townhill enjoy some of the best views in wales, and are collectively known as "the hill" — home to 9,000 people. some areas of mayhill are amongst the 10% most deprived areas in wales. you've got deprived communities that are geographically isolated even though they are within a couple miles of the most affluent areas in the city. basically, there's no reason... you don't really pass through. 0wen pillai was as a youth worker in one of the most challenging areas of swansea for nine years. you just can't look at it in isolation. itjust made me upset that we've reached a point where things are starting to bubble over and the overwhelming response wasjust anger with no kind of understanding of why it might be happening. are you surprised it escalated the way it did? i was

questions in the senedd where the trefnydd or leader of the house, lesley griffiths, stood in for mark drakefordpatients were contracting the covid virus in a hospital setting. these were decisions that were taken here in wales by welsh government ministers. surely those decisions need now to be tested at a welsh public inquiry and not lost in a uk—wide public inquiry. will you commit to using your energies within government to campaign for a wales—wide public inquiry so these very issues can be looked at and remediated here in wales? no, i won't. you have hear the first minister say many times, and i know the first minister in his answers to you in chamber has said that he has agreed to four—nation inquiry, a uk four—nation inquiry. he's had discussions with senior ministers, i think the prime minister himself in the uk government. and, you know, if we had our own inquiry, we would not be able to look at so many of the independencies there are across the four countries in relation to covid, so if you think about testing, if you think about vaccines, if you think about ppe, if you think about th

but wales' first minister mark drakeford has urged the public to remain vigilant.iban have begun in the qatari capital doha. afghan government sources have told the bbc that peace negotiations are off to good start — but have warned that the window for negotiations is closing fast, as taliban militants continue their unexpectedly rapid advance across the country. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in doha. she explained what these negotiations mean for the people of afghanistan. afghanistan, even in the best of times — but no—one can remember the best of times — is one of the poorest countries in the world, notwithstanding the fact that there's been 20 years of major international engagement, and now it is reeling from a humanitarian crisis — growing hunger, growing displacement from the violence, and growing fear amongst so many afghans about what the future holds. we saw so many of this new, young educated generation, which came of age after the fall of the taliban in 2001, wondering now whether there is space for them in the kind of afghanistan

but wales' first minister mark drakeford has urged the public to remain vigilant.rs after the floods that wreaked havoc in germany and its western neighbours. 153 people are so far known to have died across europe, 133 of them in germany alone. hundreds remain unaccounted for and thousands are now homeless. thousands of residents of wassenberg, an area west of the german city of cologne, have been evacuated after a dam was breached by floodwater overnight. german officials say the country s flood warning system functioned as it was supposed to, but the amount of rain ? and how rapidly it fell ? was unforeseen. 0ur correspondentjenny hill has been at an aid centre in the german town of nurburg and sent this update. there must be scores of people here sorting through all of this donated clothing, donated supplies. there must be scores of people here sorting through all of this donated clothing, donated supplies. people bringing all of this throughout yesterday, overnight, and now this morning, too. they actually say they need more help here. these are all volunteers.

lesley griffiths, standing in for mark drakeford, who's had a family bereavement.e, david cornock. the foreign secretary has again been forced to defend the decision to temporarily cut the funding the uk gives to other countries. facing the foreign affairs committee, dominic raab said the impact of the pandemic on the uk's finances has meant a reduction in overseas development aid, or oda, was necessary. the move has been widely criticised, with the former prime minister, theresa may, accusing the government of "abandoning" the uk's moral leadership on the world stage. the committee chair opened the questioning. i'm sure you have many negotiations with the chancellor over budget, over how to square the foreign aid question. was this... in your opinion, was this the right way to square it? the decision that was originally made, a very difficult one, financially it reflected the fact that we've been in the biggest economic contraction for 300 years, the budget deficit peaked at double what we saw after the 2008—2009 crash. i talked it through the prime minister and t

but wales' first minister mark drakeford has urged the public to remain vigilant. in germany and its western neighbours. 153 people are so far known to have died across europe, 133 of them in germany alone. hundreds remain unaccounted for and thousands are now homeless. thousands of residents of wassenberg, an area west of the german city of cologne, have been evacuated after a dam was breached by floodwater overnight. german officials say the country s flood warning system functioned as it was supposed to, but the amount of rain ? and how rapidly it fell ? was unforeseen. let's cross over live now to my colleague kasia madera, who's in erfstadt in germany. as the floodwaters receded in western germany, residents can counting the cost. achim hueck�*s home once stood here. it has been reduced to rubble, along with the owner's recently renovated fish farm, which was meant to fund his retirement. translation: i had just put another 35,000 euros into the house - in the last two weeks. everything, new water pipes laid. i still have to pay the bills. his neighbour built

but wales' first minister mark drakeford has urged the public to remain vigilant.pe with hundreds of people remaining unaccounted for, as the waters begin to recede in some areas. the majority of those who've died are in germany. our europe correspondentjenny hill is in one of the worst hit regions in ahrweiler. what's happening there? they are trying to clear up, but you can see the destruction for yourself. this is an ahrweiler, in this district alone police said this morning 90 people have now been confirmed dead and they expect number to rise, and when you look around, when you look at destruction, how vast that water is flowing, you can see why, there are still people unaccounted for. it is difficult for the authorities to tell us how many are missing because mobile phone networks are down in many of the affected areas. they are continuing with their search and rescue operations. here in parts of the town which are habitable, they are trying their best to clear up, everything and everyone is covered in a thick sticky mud. there is no power here, they are relyi

here's the welsh first minister mark drakeford earlier. as the welsh government is to understand more of how the uk government will be able to give us confidence that if people say they have been doubly vaccinated when they arrive in the united kingdom that we are sure that that has taken place, that it has taken place to be start of standards we would expect in our own health service, that the vaccines that have been use that are vaccines that are recognised by our regulatory authorities here in the uk. so there is just quite authorities here in the uk. so there isjust quite a authorities here in the uk. so there is just quite a lot of practical detail that we don't yet have available to us. the plans are a major boost to the aviation and tourism sectors — who have been pushing for a relaxation of travel rules. next, let's get the reaction from the chief executive of heathrow airport. it's the right thing to do, the government needs to show confidence in the vaccination programme to allow people who have been vaccinated to travel freely.

i would wager a small bet that mark drakeford will be using the words careful and cautious, he said,acist abuse online to be banned from attending football matches. it wants the courts to be given new powers to crack down on perpetrators, like those who targeted members of the england squad on sunday. it comes after hundreds of people turned out in support for striker marcus rashford after a mural of him was covered in racist graffiti. in the last few minutes, we've had the latest inflation figures from the office for national statistics. here's ben with the details. you won't have seen what happened, did you just sprint income is that because you are seriously looking at the figures while trying to do live tv? i wish we had seen that! you are not sopposed — tv? i wish we had seen that! you are not sopposed to _ tv? i wish we had seen that! you are not supposed to see _ tv? i wish we had seen that! you are not supposed to see that! _ tv? i wish we had seen that! you are not supposed to see that! we - tv? i wish we had seen that! you are not supposed to see that! we were i not suppose

it can also go to cardiff now, because there is a news conference at the first minister, mark drakefordes will be lifted next month, but it will be lifted next month, but it will remain in not to wear a facemask on public transport and most indoor settings. wales is going to move to level zero on august the 7th, so let�*s just listen and. ladle 7th, so let's 'ust listen and. we have had 7th, so let'sjust listen and. - have had room to complete the alert level one changes in indoor places, which we prized four weeks ago. on the side you see, it will show the changes we are making. from this coming saturday the 17th ofjuly come up to six people will be able to meet indoors in private homes and and holiday accommodation. 0rganised indoor events for up to 1000 people seated or 200 people standing can take place, provided a risk assessment has been completed and implemented. i strengths will be able to be the regulations will also change to allow up to 30 children from organisations such as the brownies and scouts to attend residential activity centres over the summer holidays. and we conclu

first minister mark drakeford confirmed last night that the change will come into effect on the 7th ofplans to do the same on the 9th. labour is calling on the government to bring forward the date on which double—jabbed people will no longer be told to self—isolate in england. it's currently set for august 16th. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. morning to you, things clearly being done differently in different parts of the country, why have wales chose in august the 7th as opposed, i supposed, tojust in august the 7th as opposed, i supposed, to just getting in august the 7th as opposed, i supposed, tojust getting rid of these rules now, for example? t these rules now, for example? i think wales are looking very much at the underlying data in wales, but also this is the next stage, if you like, of their road map, so in a sense, england'sjuly the 19th, if you like, and august the 16th combined, so there will be a change in on the social distancing rules to reopen nightclubs and so on, which are still closed in wales, and at the same time get rid of the requireme

heard yet whether scotland and northern ireland will accept this and in wales, the first minister mark drakefordrd expressed some reservations. drakeford expressed some reservations. this is what he had to say earlier. given that they are making decisions that we probably wouldn't _ have made for ourselves, - it's very important that the uk government is able to offer us assurances that the risks thatl will be run, and there are risks whenever people visit - from other parts of the world i where the virus is in circulation, and where new variants - of the disease may be emerging, that proper precautions are in place. _ the government is a saying if you don't do this now when people are double vaccinated and they are being tested when would you get the system up tested when would you get the system up and running? but it is worth noting that it is not being reciprocated across the board. there are slightly different arrangements depending on what country in the eu you go to and not being reciprocated by the us where they are still not wanting people from the uk to travel at there and they are adv

first minister mark drakeford confirmed last night that the change will come into effect on the 7th oflf—isolate in england. it's currently set for august the 16th. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. clearly things being done differently in different parts of the country, but with wales choosing august the 7th all of these different dates, what is the logic behind the different decisions? well, certainly the welsh government say that is what the data supports, but they are changing a whole range of things, quite a big change for people in wales from august the 7th. they plan, as long as the infections are still kept in check, they plan to open up nightclubs, for example, to open up nightclubs, for example, to end a social distancing rules, these sorts of things that happened on july the these sorts of things that happened onjuly the 19th in england, although they will still make facemasks mandatory in some settings. they are bringing in changes to self—isolation at the same time, and equally scotland is planning to move, they say, to do much the same as the gove

mark drakeford, first _ wales was very serious indeed. given special permission to search during lockdown. mn; permission to search during lockdown-— permission to search during lockdown. ~ , ., ., permission to search during lockdown. g ., ., , ., , lockdown. my dad died a few years auo and at lockdown. my dad died a few years ago and at times _ lockdown. my dad died a few years ago and at times of— lockdown. my dad died a few years ago and at times of need _ lockdown. my dad died a few years ago and at times of need i - lockdown. my dad died a few years i ago and at times of need i sometimes call out for his help and support. and just in the middle of the field ijust shouted out, come on, dad, help us to find the meteorite. and within half an hour i had come across this blue blackstone. we knew straightaway it was a meteorite, a fresh meteorite. ijust couldn't believe it. he fresh meteorite. i 'ust couldn't believe eh fresh meteorite. i 'ust couldn't believe it. , ., ., , . believe it. he has brought one piece to his friend — believe it

mark drakeford, the welsh first minister, has said he will not be abandoning them wholesale, that washe word he used. so he has signalled that he will go for a different strategy to the uk government, with more mitigations and measures in place, more in line with the scottish government's approach. he has indicated that facemasks will be kept on public transport and in health care settings. the labour member of the welsh parliament, john griffiths, has been speaking about that. well, i guess we all have our own opinions. what the welsh government has indicated up to now makes sense to me, that we move on to the same footing as england and scotland perhaps a little later, with the exception of the wearing of masks. as you said, masks would continue to be required in health and social care settings, on taxis and public transport, and that makes sense. john griffiths there, indicating the extent to which the debate around mask wearing, about how best to start to ease restrictions safely as the pandemic continues to surge, and it is expected to take off as restrictions around the uk are l

mark drakeford said all this adds up to what he has continually described as his cautious and carefulcautious approach to borisjohnson and ministers are going to meet on thursday to decide whether to go ahead with their plan to ease restrictions this time next week so for the time being social distancing remains, people on public transport and in shops and other indoor spaces are still legally required to mower masks and are still limits on socialising and a maximum of six people and six adults from two household only allowed to socialise indoors and if you have a garden that limitation there is 16 people from five households so it all goes to plan for next monday that limitation on indoor socialising will be raised from six to ten and the cap of 15 people's gardens will remain in place but it can be an unlimited number of households rather than just five and theatres and conference venues are due to be open but beyond that there is no date for moving towards the position that england is in as regards lifting all the remaining restrictions. the first minister and the deputy first mini