why is there a different approach in westminster? about giving people false hope, because the data is evolving all the time. remember, all these politicians are looking at the same information, they are sharing all the scientific information that is being put together by government scientists, so i think they are worried about giving people false hope. i think they are also worried, actually, about being too pessimistic. and one interesting thing that i think we might see more of before we actually get a big announcement on any of this from the westminster government is more what was described to me as prodding. so brandon lewis, the northern ireland secretary was on the airwaves this morning and he was saying, there is a big diy firm that's opening up today, where businesses can open, maybe they should. now that is not the government saying, you should open and these businesses must now open, it'sjust a little prod, remember? remember that? and then we heard, actually, a couple of hours later, in our newsroom, that there were queues

vicki young at westminster.seen a leaked letter from social care officials which is highly critical of the government's handling of the pandemic. the association of directors of adult social services says the provision of personal protective equipment has been ‘shambolic‘. the government has admitted it needs to do more to help the care sector. richard galpin reports. across england there are 430,000 elderly and disabled people in care homes like this and more than 2000 of these homes have already had a coronavirus outbreak. now it's been revealed that those in charge of social services are accusing the government of failing this vital sector in the midst of the crisis. in a letter sent at the weekend by the association of directors of social services to the department of health and social care, it said deliveries of personal protective equipment for staff had initially been paltry and then later haphazard. it went on to say messages from the government had been contradictory and the rollout of testing for care

finally enough in westminster, the favourite parlour game and i don't wa nt to favourite parlour gamend i don't want to be glib about this, but the favourite parlour game for people working in westminster, many of whom are at home is, do you think you've had it? oh i don't know. do you think you've had it? oh i don't know. i had a cough over christmas, that kind of thing. ok, .4, there was then this fourth load of testing that was being done at the top secret chemical weapons lab?m that was being done at the top secret chemical weapons lab? it is a different lab, run by public health england. but it is the same place? you might yes, but you can'tjust walk in there? so this is a super, super, super accurate antibody test where they are looking for the amount of people, the number of people in a community who have got antibodies and therefore immunity, hopefully, to coronavirus and it is a super accurate one and by doing that, you take a community, a small community, you can then do modelling and work out, are well if this village has 27% who are already antibody—positive, we can then e

hello, it is adam at westminster secular and lower at at westminster secular and lower at at westminsters still coronavirus newscast succulent this is actually looking out onto the street of the village where i live. what you will see in the houses here is people tend to have white sheets out their windows, solidarity for the health service, and the bear is for kids to count as they walk. they can‘t play with their friends but they can count their bears. lovely. today has been a very big news day, though maybe not surprising for people who have been following the story. a whole series of meetings today, so there was the meeting of sage, the independent scientific advisers who contribute some thinking to the government, then a meeting of cobra, which is... cabinet office briefing room a, it‘s the ministers who get together in times of crisis. and they had the dialling in of leaders from foreign nations of the uk, culminating in a decision on the current restrictions on daily life to halt the spread of the virus continuing in its current form for another three weeks before it is reviewed a

as we have seen so out of westminster as we have seen so you out of westminster as we have seen so youestminster as we have seen so you can expect them to be travelling from westminster to their homes. basically, robertjenrick has said his family were already there before the lockdown restrictions we re before the lockdown restrictions were put in place and he travelled to be with them and that is where he is now, working from home. but clearly, there is some slight merging of the water here saying perhaps causing people to ask questions about what qualifies as an essential or nonessentialjourney. i do not think that is helpful at this time when the government is trying to really ramp on that message of just eight. our correspondence held thatis just eight. our correspondence held that is outside st thomas's hospital in london where borisjohnson has been treated. the prime minister, we learned, last night, was moved out of the intensive care unit here at st thomas's hospital. he had spent three nights in intensive care. we know he was moved from the ward on monday and things actually t

to what extent is that in the westminster government and how much is about taking a bigger hit to they. it is a colossal hit to the economy and over and over we see the statistics and it is absolutely it's huge but what is interesting, it repeatedly here and we have traded all along from the chief menace dominic medical officer and the adviser to the uk government is the direct and indirect medical costs of the continuing lockdown as it currently is. we see it regularly and we see a lot this week in terms of massive decline in the number of people bringing at the gp and saying i have outlined here there and potential cancer case and the consequences that could have played some wondering if i could be an even bigger death toll then from coronavirus. it is not a direct trade—off between the lockdown and the economy versus using the economy and increasing the covid—19 death rate. there are other elements that factor and it. if they left too early and you need another lockdown, mid to early to say the economy, and cause another spike, it will be worse but it is very fraught. a real moral

any westminster voice that comes from northern and it's not going to make any difference in westminster so the difference is going to have to be made on this island with the devolved government and presumably in conjunction with the dublin government so there is no real other way to progress. with speed and doing it in a way that suits the country and the people living in this country that are doing something here and working from here so i think that i think that they have got the message that the have to build together and i think they've been sent a message also to sit down and work together and build together because at the end of the day their cell phone tree is still intact if they wish and there's nobody arguing with them as to how they get on with economic progress in both the united kingdom and the e.u. it was a similarity in some ways between the message sent by people normally i went to the parties in the same. basically get back to work to do something about the health service and the messes that seem to be set in the public affection this february where they said look who i

laura joins me from westminster.eople have been asking for clarity and openness in these briefings, and professor whitty certainly provided that today. yes, it was striking to hear him talking so plainly, but his a nswer hear him talking so plainly, but his answer wasn't necessarily that surprising. if you go back a month, of which documents put together by their scientists said plainly, in black and white, the kind of measures we are seeing now could last for 12 months or so. remember, he is also not talking about everything staying exactly as it is right now. this status quo, this lockdown. i think we can still expect in the coming weeks the government to come forward with some kind of tweaks or promises of tweaks and ways of lifting some of the restrictions on and off. for now though, in westminster, ministers wa nt to though, in westminster, ministers want to stay tight—lipped about what those changes might be, because the data is evolving day by day and they don't want to raise expectations or, indeed, to be ove

jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster message from borisjohnson this morning. it's a very strong message from boris johnson this morning. well, we didn't get detail, simon, but a clear sense of direction on the lockdown, and it is that there is not going to be any significant easing of it anytime soon because of mrjohnson‘s fears that virus would come back, that would mean more deaths, the nhs being overwhelmed, and it would be catastrophic for the economy if you then had to impose a second lockdown. so a firm push back to those vociferous voices in his party calling for an early easing in restrictions, but he coupled that with the promise of a national debate about the lockdown, saying that the government would set out some of its thinking later this week. and my senses ministers have concluded that the old mantra that they cannot talk about easing the lockdown because it would confuse people, people might no longer abide by the lockdown, has been trumped by the very real fear that at the margins the lockdown is already

our political corrrespondent, iain watson, is at westminster.watson, is at westminster. the entirety of the the for the entirety of the last month, the british prime minister has either been in isolation in hospital, or in recovery. he's back at work on monday morning. how will having a fit prime minister at downing street change the way the government runs? certainly, though inside downing street say it's giving them a real boost to have him back. he was at checkers country retreat today, but travelling back to downing street. we believe he's inside without any flourish being made at this stage, but, tomorrow morning, he will be cheering a meeting of what is sometimes described as a war cabinet, a group of cabinet ministers who daily meet to discuss the progress on tackling the coronavirus crisis command he will be chairing that meeting himself tomorrow morning. also, as far as insiders are concerned, they say, look, they think dominic raab is to factor deputy, he did a great job, but this is to some extent a government in the image of boris jo

jessica parkerjoins us from westminster.hat we are in our third week of in the uk, we are assuming they will continue as said, as we have seen the past two weeks or so. continue as said, as we have seen the past two weeks or sol continue as said, as we have seen the past two weeks or so. i think thatis the past two weeks or so. i think that is the expectation, as he were reflecting their comedy downing street briefing today, we have them every day, some of the things that dominic rab said, he is deputising for borisjohnson, dominic rab said, he is deputising for boris johnson, he dominic rab said, he is deputising for borisjohnson, he said we are not done yet, we must keep going, we must stick to the plan. i think there a particular concern, as there was last weekend that the good weather tempt people outside, as you say now, ensuring that third week of the lockdown measures, people being asked to stay at home u nless people being asked to stay at home unless they have specific reasons to go out, one daily form of exercise,

over the last number of months, we are very much tempted to piggyback on westminster legislations tothis legislation takes a kind of the stakeholders and puts in place legislation that listens and adheres to concerns. legislation that listens and and hears to concerns. but one mla for the bill compared poorly with the domestic abuse legislation going through westminster. if this contests, physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, psychological or emotional abuse. that is it. that is clear and that is unambiguous and that is intelligible. compare that with clauses 1,2,3, 4 and five. of my legislation. it is covered by our bill and our offence is more robust than in england and wales. going on to clear his second stage it would be considered in more detail. you are watching tuesday in parliament. don't forget you can find all of our programmes on the bbc iplayer. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has advised the scottish public to wear face coverings and enclosed public spaces. she said it would not be mandatory, but that w

laura kuenssberg, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent chris mason gave us this update from westminsterturn of events, isn't it, when the person charged with co—ordinating the country's response to a national emergency is stricken by the very virus he spent much of the last month trying to ensure impacts the uk in the most minimal way possible, while being well aware that the impact was always going to be very grave, both in health terms and in economic terms, and in terms of our liberty. we are now a fortnight on from his address to the country, beginning the lockdown and the social distancing measures that we been slowly adjusting to over the last couple of weeks. over and over again, this coronavirus crisis which has swept the world and swept the country has had the capacity to surprise us, to do the very thing that 2a hours earlier would have seemed impossible and here we are again with the prime minister in intensive care, with downing street having to point out, as of 8pm this evening, that boris johnson was conscious but that he had been moved to intensive care, having been given

the bbc‘s chris mason had the latest details from westminster.shocking turn of events, isn't it, when the person charged with coordinating the country's response to a national emergency is stricken by the very virus he has spent much of last month trying to ensure impacts the uk in the most minimal way possible? whilst being well aware that the impact was always going to be very grave, both in health terms and in economic terms, and in terms of our liberty. we are now a fortnight on from his address to the country beginning the lockdown and social distancing measures we have been slowly adjusting to over the last couple of weeks. over and over again, this coronavirus crisis which has swept the world and swept the country has had the capacity to surprise us, to do the very thing that 2a hours earlier would have seemed impossible, and here we are again, with the prime minister in intensive care, with downing street having to point out, as of 8pm this evening, borisjohnson was conscious but had been moved to intensive care, having been given oxygen

push the westminster government into some sort public position?ent into some sort public position? i would like a private conversation with the uk government. i wrote to michael gove on monday of this week, suggesting either of them to these three weeks in which we have a regular pattern of engagement between devolved administrations in the uk government so that we could share information, pool ideas, craft a common way ahead. i have published the framework as the first minister of scotla nd the framework as the first minister of scotland has in scotland. as a contribution to that conversation, i very much hope we will be able to embark on it in earnest next week. 0k, we are going to have to leave it there. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. mark drakeford, thank you very much for your time. thank you very much for your time. thank you very much. it's exactly one month since the prime minister announced the current lockdown measures, which are designed to save lives and protect the nhs. but are people following the rules? the national rural crim

with announcements on public face coverings and lockdown easing as westminster continues to still joins me now with the latest. we have grim news on the death toll. yes absolutely we have been receiving get today the death toll for england scotland and wales according to the n.h.s. in those countries and the death toll for the most recent 24 hour period is 673 now that's around $300.00 more than the death toll we received for yesterday's statistics and that rude also just be those who have died or lost their lives after testing positive for coverage $98.00 in hospitals now as we know 'd there are different measures or at different organization that also take into account at death tolls in care homes for example the office for 'd national statistics now according to the office national statistics more than 4300 people died in cabos from the virus of a 2 week period from the 10th until the 24th of april now half of those deaths occurred in just the last 5 days of that period indicating the melting of the large increase in those dying in cabos over this period that takes the death toll at

hello, it is adam at westminster. and laura at westminster.hris, social distancing also in westminster. and fergus in new broadcasting house. and katja adler, giving you a taste of village life outside brussels. you know this isn't gardner‘s question time, it is still coronavirus newscast. this is actually looking out onto the street of the village where i live. what you will see in the houses here is people tend to have white sheets out their windows, solidarity for the health service, and a bear is for kids to count as they walk. they can't play with their friends but they can count their bears. lovely. today has been a very big news day, though maybe not surprising for people who have been following the story. a whole series of meetings today, so there was the meeting of sage, the independent scientific advisers who contribute some thinking to the government, then a meeting of cobra, which is... cabinet office briefing room a, it's the ministers who get together in times of crisis. and they had the dialling in of leaders from the four natio

iain watson, bbc news, westminster.political editor norman smith at westminster. the issue of ppe is not going away, how serious is this for government? the concern is that far from easing, the problems over protective clothing seem to be intensifying. what had now been a problem of distribution, we had the kit but the issue was getting out to the myriad of different nhs settings and care homes and gp surgeries, seems to have become an issue of supply. in other words, we cannot get hold of the kit now. that's why we have to go to countries like turkey and china to try and get additional supplies. every other country in the world is doing exactly the same, we are ina world is doing exactly the same, we are in a global scramble to get hold of this clothing. but it does mean many hospitals now are almost having to operate on an ad hoc day by day basis, not really sure if they are guaranteed supplies. so we're seeing staff almost having to eke out what they have got with some hospitals effectively rationing the best kit for

but speaking by video link, the snp‘s westminster leader, was alarmed at the rumoured lack of progress a pandemic and economic crisis. refusing to admit the inevitability of an extension is not a taft or clever negotiating tactic, it is a foolish gamble. the secretary of state, will he embrace common sense and recognise the need for a brexit extension, show some leadership and based on the hardliners of the tory party and extend a brexit transition and let us all get on with the job of tackling this health crisis together? dominic raab who was briefly brexit secretary under theresa may gave that short shrift. if his desire is to avoid uncertainty at the right thing for us to do is double down and get ideal by the end of this year. 0ur desire is to dig ourselves out of the economic challenges that we the european union and the world face. and get a shot in the arm of businesses on both sides of the channel and we are doing it as one united kingdom. the fire at grenfell tower in west london left 72 people dead. the blaze injune 2017 spread quickly up and around the building thanks to dan

back to westminster and laura kuenssberg now.inic raab directly about the functioning of government. what did you make of the answer? well, i think dominic raab, perhaps not surprisingly, looked pretty shocked by how things have been moving tonight. the foreign secretary is now technically in charge, as he is the prime minister's official understudy and he has been requested by downing street to deputise for him as and when. government insiders are pretty confident. they say the way the cabinet committees has been desired to try to deal with coronavirus come into four different groups looking at all the important elements, that will continue to take over. one cabinet minister said to me the decision—making was pretty crisp and efficient and this had been happening whoever was in charge. but a prime minister is much more than a political mascot, of course. they are the most senior decision—maker in any government, and at a time when there are so many dilemmas about the health and wealth of the country, this is obviously a very ser

speaking to chris mason in westminster, i just spoke to james gallagher, i'm now speaking to you.s now intertwine and almost become the same — the health of the prime minister and the health of the country. indeed so. on a personal level and political level, therefore a national level, as we were discussing this time last night shortly after the prime minister had been admitted to st. thomas as hospital, by definition, the occupier of that role personifies the country. the elected leader of the country. the elected leader of the country, test at the moment with leading the greatest fight the country has faced since the second world war —— task. yet stricken by the very thing he's trying to wrestle with on behalf of us all. throughout the day we were told that the prime minister, despite being in hospital, was in good spirits and still receiving his ministerial red box with papers that he would sign, the things he would sign every day to keep the wheels of government turning. there were lots of questions that came to dominic raab at the daily news conference at 5pm today, along the

laura kuenssberg, news, westminster. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan in here.t about help to charities, the latest package of support. what did you make of that? well, the thing that has been noticeable over the last few weeks speaking to a number of charities involved particularly with the elderly and people helping vulnerable families is they have seen unprecedented demand to try and help these groups. at the same time, as their donations have dried up overnight in some cases. the sector have calculated they would lose about £4 billion intonation —— donations over this 12 week period, so as the chancellor to be fair acknowledged, this package of support will not save every charity and every person working for those charities. it is a headline figure of £750 million worth of support for charities, but half of it will be allocated through government departments borrowed to allow to help national charities. half of it roughly to a new national lottery scheme to help small and medium—size charities and £20 million as well to help a bbc charity appeal later on thi

laura kuenssberg, many thanks to you at westminster. that's it.arting on bbc two at 10:45pm and now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. this is what must be done. personally i think it's quite let the decided to take the zirconium measures. hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be welcome to viewers on the bbc news channel. you've joined us just in time for our first review of tomorrow's newspapers. hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are barbara speed, opinion editorfor the i newspaper, and laura hughes, political and diplomatic correspondent for the financial times. tomorrow's front pages are in. most of the papers leading on that same story — borisjohnson spending a second night in intensive care. the mirror leads with the well wishes that the queen sent to the prime minister's partner, carrie symonds. the sun says he stayed at work for "you", so you should stay at home and pray for him. the metro also showing solidarity wit

|j you now want westminster to follow suit and doing the same?s and have a grown—up conversation. people obviously know we are in the middle of a crisis, at a certain stage, we will get out of it it. it will probably be a phased exit. we do need to talk to people but how sectors of the economy can't be restarted all the implications for society. which sectors cannot restart, such as the hospitality sector. and what level of public support should be put in place to ensure they do not completely colla pse to ensure they do not completely collapse to stop these out all important questions. just because we are more than halfway through the first phase of response, it is not a reason for not looking beyond that. i think other contributory are right, that they mourn we have that conversation the more it reassures people about the purpose of what they're doing here and now today. if you cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel, people will get increasingly different. —— desperate. we have a major debate scheduled on covid—19 and what to do about it

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.as said, any attempt to ease the lockdown will not happen till ministers and their scientific advisers are convinced that the spread of the coronavirus is under control. so testing for who has the infection is clearly going to play an important part in monitoring the spread of the coronavirus. this afternoon the health secretary matt hancock said essential workers will be able to book coronavirus tests online from friday. the army will be helping with mobile testing facilities. as our health editor hugh pym reports, the government remains under pressure to meet its target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. home testing for coronavirus, kits are sent out and people take their own swa bs are sent out and people take their own swabs and send them back to be tested. it will be rolled out gradually, along with the expansion of drive—through centres currently available for key workers and their mobile testing facility is going to work places. we are also currently working with t

westminster has decided the lockdown will continue for another three weeks.y say it is too soon to relax any restrictions without risking increasing the spread of coronavirus. wereill have pdates from the u.k. in a moment, and across the world, of course. first, let's start in the u.s., where president trump i expected to announce guidelines to reopen the u.s. economy. jobs in america continue to be st at a record rate. the statistics are staggering. another 5.2 million people have filed for unemployment last week. a record 20 million people have lost their jobs in the last four weeks. this gives you a sense of the surging unemployment. economists now predict the rate will hi double digits. marthaimble is a u.s. labor statistician. huge numbers. they are declining slightly. is that a cause for optimism, or is it too soon. >> it is a little weird to be in a situation where were grateful that we only got 5 'illion unemployment claims this week, but that'where we are. it's heartening to seeerhe nuoming down. that said, the number is not coming down nearly as qui

the scottish 1st minister getting ahead of politicians in westminster with regards to the publishing of an exit plan comes as late as death toll figures have come in but we can go to that press briefing now. welcome back to downing street for today's daily coronavirus briefing i'm joined by sir patrick vallance the government's chief scientific advisor and professor john newton who is called meeting our work on testing the government is working through our action plan which has as its core that we must protect life and protect the n.h.s. . both by speed slowing the spread of the virus so that we flatten the curve and buying suring that the n.h.s. is always there to treat all people who need its cash according to the most recent figures 583004 196 tests for corona virus have now been carried out in the u.k. including 23560 task carried out yesterday. 138078 people have tested positive for the virus that's an increase of 4583 cases since yesterday. 17615 people have died. 17615 people sorry are currently in hospital i correct myself with coronavirus down from 18189 on the 21st of april

nations break with westminster as wales claims it could easily lock down measures in scotland recommends face coverings in certain circumstances be joined by health protection expert shortly. and one in 4 boxes are having to be used personal protective equipment that's according to a survey as it emerges the government failed to stockpot essential p.p. beginning of the break we'll be hearing from assertion. also the domestic violence is predicted to soar by 20 percent across the world as a result of the global meltdown and says politicians called on the british government to set up safe spaces in supermarkets to help the victims hit from a psychiatrist. the russian president vladimir putin has announced that lockdown measures will be extended until may 11th and says the government needs a plan for coming out of lockdown by next week on the senior correspondent there against you have joins me now with the latest so who are bring us up to speed with what's going on there in russia. well as you mentioned the government is extending the nationwide lockdown self isolation mandatory self isola

keith palma sue scotland yard over the death of the officer during the westminster terror attack 3 years ago. it's another deadly day for the u.k. as the $24.00 corona virus death toll soars back up to over $800.00 fatalities that's the government is accused of underestimating the true scale of the virus crisis after it emerged the death rate is up to 41 percent higher when including norm hospital fatalities meanwhile health bosses have warned that changing official advice to make the public face masks could lead to even greater shortages for their workers with ministers already under fire for failing to procure enough protective equipment. joins me now and. another big rise in deaths and it's likely to be far higher than that. yes yesterday we saw the numbers just server 400 deaths across the u.k. but today those figures almost double of not there are 778 deaths it england 17 scotland 25 in wales that takes the total of those who have died in hospital after testing positive with coded $19.00 to $873.00 and it doesn't include the figures from northern ireland just yet there have been sug

and police ignore the government's social distancing rules as the public plan for key workers on westminsterbridge i'll be joined by a former police officer. welcome to r.t. the u.k.'s business secretary alan chava has announced the creation of a task force to combine efforts in the search for a coronavirus vaccine earlier the government had been accused of being too slow in its response to the coronavirus crisis as european countries expressed concern over britain's infection rates well. joins me now for more on this so then he said a move then that could potentially in the crisis is that right yes we've seen just a little under an hour ago at sharma taking the podium to. the front the government's daily briefing and he announced the government's intention was to continue. trying to slow the spread of 19 but also he announced a development that some will hope will lead to some type of light at the end of this tunnel and that was the development of a task force that will see industry private business private finance academia or regulators and government coming together all in a joint effort

but we've seen no progress from the westminster government so far.e just left to the fire and rescue service to get on with it or not and that is not acceptable. in a statement, a westminster government spokesman said fire services were doing incredible work helping with the crisis and it was working with fire chiefs to ensure they had the resources and support they needed. the post office is to make it easier for those in self—isolation to allow a trusted friend to withdraw cash on their behalf. they'll be able to ask their bank for a single—use barcode, which can be exchanged for cash at a post office branch. the scheme, which is already in place for named carers, aims to stop the vulnerable from handing over a bank card and pin. the headlines on bbc news. the number of deaths in the uk from coronavirus exceeds 10,000, as the uk faces its fourth week in lockdown. the prime minister recuperates at his country residence chequers, praising two nurses, jenny mcgee from new zealand and luis pitarma from portugal, for caring for him at his bedside. nearl

sis there agreement acr westminster that the huge is nec?age being discussed >> yes, i think there is broadly speaking, not only within government, b as far as the opposition parties are concerned, as well. labour welcome those announcements by the chancelloed they have ca in the time since then t for more to be done, more economic measures put in place to protect the economy, jobs, and businesses through this crisis, and beyond. we havseen criticism of the loan scheme offered to businesses, was not being made available quickly enough, and that some businesses are not getting the cash needed to se themhrough. in the days and weeks that have passed, the government has to good around the edges thatry and make scheme more accessible. in answer to your question, what the government had done was needed. some would argue that it needs o further. >> as always, thank you for talking us through. let's bring you up-to-date with the situation across europe. pain, the death toll has passed 18,000. there is some promising news. new infections have droppe

nick eardley, bbc news, westminster.ough the power of social media. since pubs were forced to close last month, one landlord has been running a virtual pub quiz — at first for his regulars, but now for tens of thousands of people who are taking part every thursday. and the quizzes run by jay flynn have also raised nearly one hundred thousand pounds for the nhs. and we can speak to jay now. what have you started?” what have you started? i would love to know! it's been probably the most surreal three weeks of my life, that's for sure. how did it get started ? that's for sure. how did it get started? i used to run pub quizzes, i really enjoy going to quizzes on thursday night. so i thought, i could do for myself, for my family soi could do for myself, for my family so i set up an event on facebook. i didn't really, i never really set up an event on facebook, next thing i know it was public by mistake and really, just went crazy. the first one had over half a million people interested on the event, it was just, yes, it's bee

mps return to westminster this afternoon — with questions by video link and strict new social distancing the number of victims grows relentlessly — health workers, too, find themselves mourning the loss of colleagues and friends. the tragic story of barbara — one of many disabled covid patients to be transferred to hospital, where she had to face death without family or friends. the collapse in oil prices — at one point producers were paying others to take barrels off them. but will it mean cheaper petrol at the pumps? and... portraits of nhs heroes. the artists who decided to celebrate the work of health care workers — by painting them. marking the queen's 94th birthday. the royal family share footage of her majesty as a young child. good afternoon. the figures are already out of date — but they're no less shocking for that. in the week up to easter, deaths in england and wales hit a 20—year high, with 8,000 more people dying than would be regarded as normal at this time of year. and care homes are at the sharp end of these figures from the office for national statistics — with more tha

it appears that as far as westminster are concerned they still feel it's too early to put forward any type of indication as to a way out of this lot but as you mentioned we've seen scotland and wales already going forward with their own exit plans and also in the case of scotland they've to they publish the dates on the use of face coverings where it would be difficult to socially distance now the scottish minister because they didn't say that years of face last isn't an alternative to social distancing that could perhaps be just a small hint that the scottish government are exploring different ways forward for an exit strong block the measures. i'm talking here about feces coverings made of cloth or other textiles such as a scarf i'm not talking about medical greed facemask that you would see health and social care at work as we are at the gate is also made clear that the evidence on the use of face coverings is still limited however it recognizes that there may be some benefit in waiting a face covering if you leave the house and into an enclosed space where you will come into conta

crossing over to westminster, chris mason joins us now. we know that his condition has worsened but we don't know more details than that. we don't, a statement from downing street about 40 minutes ago said that around 7pm this evening, a couple hours ago, mrjohnson was moved from where he was within st. thomas as hospital in central london to the intensive care unit. the statement flushes out that the reason for that was that he needed to be in that unit as a precaution should he require ventilation to aid his recovery. we are told that the prime minister is currently conscious. the very fact that downing street have had to spell that out gives you some sense of the scale of concern about his condition at the moment, and the extent to which he is deteriorated. when he was admitted around 24 hours ago, we we re was admitted around 24 hours ago, we were told repeatedly by his office that that was because of the persistence of the symptoms he had been suffering with for some time. in other words, the high temperature and a persistent cough, r

there were whispers in westminster about the prime minister's whereabouts.child, but a picture of borisjohnson, already known to have fathered five, on his return from their side. so, again, the foreign secretary played understudy in parliament. good morning. the labour leader on his way to not—quite prime minister's questions again. both mother and baby are doing well and i'm sure the whole house will want to join with me in sending congratulations and our very best wishes to them. i think we all recognise the anxiety that the prime minister and carrie must have gone through in these past few weeks. unimaginable anxiety, and so i really hope this brings them incredible relief and joy. such happy news amid such uncertainty. 2020 is certainly a year they will never forget. with the most grave reasons to remember, a year more dangerous and dramatic than the most outlandish political fiction. thank you, thanks all. trying to run the government's response to a serious health and economic emergency... i must continue my self—isolation. .. ..then the prime ministe

there is a sense in the air here at westminster that if the air here at westminster that if the numbersp going in the right direction, then by the end of this week, we might know more about the government's thinking, not about when we will start to be out of the lockdown but about how, gradually, step—by—step, things might change. but remember, there is still so much that they don't know and that we don't know, so much is evolving in this new disease. there is no comparison to what is going on right now, no familiar territory where politicians can look back and think, that was the solution on that occasion. as one senior minister said to me today, the trickiest part of this whole operation was always going to be the turning things back on, coming out of this unprecedented lockdown step—by—step, rather than when we went in and everything was turned off at the same time. so, the prime minister's return could mark the beginning of a different conversation, but there is a lot still that is uncertain here tonight. laura, many thanks. the impact of the lockdown on businesses has been acute. t

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.american economy. joining me now is gregory daco, chief us economist at oxford economics. these figures don't reflect the full crisis, it is likely that the bulk of it will be felt in the bulk of it will be felt in the current water, april through june? the current water, april through june? that's correct. what's amazing about the first quarter of gdp releases the amended hit from the global coronavirus recession was already quite severely visible in the first quarter data, even though the shock really took pa rt though the shock really took part in the later part of march, so the very end of the first quarter. the second quarter is likely to show an even larger drop in economic activity. aux ford economics expects a big i2% contraction over the first half of the year that would be three times as large as the global financial crisis ten years ago. and we we re crisis ten years ago. and we were seeing of course, the longest employment boom in american history, but i think looking at th

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.nson. bye— bye. hello. it was not so much a case of april showers on wednesday. this was the scene for a time across birmingham but give it a wee bit of time and eventually that rain cleared away and out came the sun. the reason is we have two weather fronts to contend with and thursday again a mishmash of weather, low pressure very much the dominant feature. the isobars squeezing together on its southern flank. it will not be a particularly cold start today given all the breeze and cloud as well but for some it may well be a wet one. just pushing wednesday's rain away from the north of england up into central and southern parts of scotland. there will be showers across wales and south—west england, these will rush their way further east as we get on through the afternoon, may be the odd rumble of thunder and those winds too noticeable through the channel areas. 40—45 mph or so in the highest of the gust. the best of the brightness in northern ireland perhaps towards the west later in

chris mason there in westminster.icture in a number of european countries. the french prime minister, edouard philippe, has set out a plan for easing the coronavirus lockdown, warning that france is going to have let's just take a look now at the picture in a number to learn to live with the disease. this is mr philippe addressing parliament, where he said that lifting restrictions was to be feared as much as it was desired. he warned that if the virus makes a comeback, easing the lockdown may be delayed beyond 11 may, the target date. here's mr philippe speaking earlier. translation: our entire strategy is based on advice. first, medical. i will use simple language so everyone can understand. while no vaccine is available and no treatment has been shown to be effective, we are a long way from the famous herd immunity. the virus will continue to spread. it's not very cheerful, but it's a fact. all food shops and most markets can reopen from 11 may, but not bars, restaurants, cinemas or theatres. here's more from hugh

the snp‘s westminster leader renewed calls for a basic income for all.now support this. a universal basic income is a solution that will provide support for anybody — and crucially, it will leave no one behind. we want to make sure we provide support to those who need it most. a universal approach, uniform without reference to need or income, or the most vulnerable in our society is not the way i respectfully suggest to achieve it. will the government itself now and for a future independent, judge—led inquiry into how this crisis has been handled? i won't take up his offer of committing to a public inquiry. i think that there are definitely lessons to be learned when we get through this crisis, and it will be important that we take stock and come together to understand with an unprecedented challenge on an international scale, what can be done to avoid it happening again. we go across to liz saville roberts. liz saville roberts? if the lockdown is lifted in one nation or region because it has passed a peak, we will see confusion and we will start to see

we have progress in scotla nd westminster.tland. some in northern ireland. but we have seen no progress from westminster government so far. and it seems to be just left to the fire rescue service it seems to be just left to the fire rescue service to it seems to be just left to the fire rescue service to get on with it or not and that is unacceptable. in a statement, westminster government spokesman said fire services were doing incredible work helping with the crisis and it was working with fire chiefs to ensure they had the resources and support they needed. the post office is to make it easier for those in self—isolation to allow a trusted friend to withdraw cash on their behalf. they‘ll be able to ask their bank for a single—use barcode, which can be exchanged for cash at a post office branch. the scheme, which is already in place for named carers, aims to stop the vulnerable from handing over a bank card and pin. one of the world‘s best known opera singers, andrea bocelli, has performed a live concert outside milan‘s dese

laura kuenssberg in westminster. demand falls because of the crisis. and unemployment has rocketed with more than 22 million americans filing for unemployment benefits in the past month. protesters have ta ken to the streets in states across the us demanding an end to stay at home measures and the reopening of the economy as our north america editorjon sopel reports. like wildfire a series of demonstrations has erupted across the country... usa! ..to protest at the stay at home order. to protest at the closure of the us economy. to protest at what these people see as unacceptable government interference in their lives. and they don't seem much interested in maintaining social distancing. this person carries the placard, "give me liberty or give me covid—19." he may end up with both. now i think it's time for the government to allow us adults to make the decisions of what businesses they want to open. if they want to open, open up. we should open up yesterday. it never should have closed. it's a hoax. it's the facts o

leila nathoo, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is at westminster.itics. a much more restrained tone, and i think that is in part due to the fa ct think that is in part due to the fact that some people were appearing virtually if you like on big screens around the chamber rather than the chamber being packed full of mps so less of a tribal, partisan atmosphere, but i think also it was due to the fact we had a new cast list. sir keir starmer of course replacing jeremy corbyn as labour leader, dominic raab standing in for borisjohnson, still convalescing at chequers. keir starmer said very clearly he would have the courage to challenge the government where they we re challenge the government where they were getting things wrong but most of the criticism were in a very measured tone, and with his legal background, he laid down a charge sheet, a big gap between the government's promises and his delivery but then he asked very specific questions which i think he felt the government finds difficult to answer, so he asked dominic raab for example not simply

as we have seen, so you working out of westminster as we have seen, so you can working out of westminstern, so you can expect them to be travelling from westminster to their homes. basically, he said, look, my family were already there before the lockdown restrictions we re before the lockdown restrictions were put in place and i travelled to be with them and that is where he is now, working from home. clearly there is some slight muddying of the water here saying perhaps causing people to ask question about what qualifies as an essential or nonessential journey. i qualifies as an essential or nonessentialjourney. i do not think thatis nonessentialjourney. i do not think that is helpful at this time. the government is trying to ram home that message of staying at home. thank you. new york state now has more coronavirus cases than any other country outside the us, according to latest figures. there are almost 160,000 people infected. that's more than spain or italy. the state has started to bury some of its dead in mass graves. images, taken by drones, show labourers working on hart island