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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/19/uk-coronavirus-live-boris-johnson-london-lockdown-williamson-refuses-to-rule-out-government-putting-london-in-lockdown-by-weekend
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| UK coronavirus live: Williamson refuses to rule out government putting London in lockdown by weekend | UK coronavirus live: Williamson refuses to rule out government putting London in lockdown by weekend |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Rolling coverage of the latest coronavirus developments in the UK | Rolling coverage of the latest coronavirus developments in the UK |
| Public transport operators have started slashing services due to the coronavirus, PA Media reports. The story goes on: | |
| Former England defender Gary Neville has said he will open his hotels to health workers free of charge, in an effort to help with the public health crisis. | |
| His two Manchester hotels will be closed to the public, freeing up 176 beds for medical staff from Friday. | |
| Neville said none of his staff will be made redundant or asked to take unpaid leave. | |
| He made the announcement on Twitter yesterday: | |
| Chelsea Football Club made a similar announcement on Monday, opening a hotel owned by the club to NHS workers. | |
| Driving tests in Northern Ireland will be suspended for three months as part of the effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. Nichola Mallon, the infrastructure minister in the Northern Ireland executive, said the suspension would run until Monday 22 June 2020, but that this would be kept under review. She said: | |
| The BBC is to broadcast church services on Sunday via all its 39 local radio stations from this weekend after the Church of England and other religious institutions closed their doors to congregations. | |
| The “national wireless congregation” will give churchgoers a sense of community while their usual place of worship is closed, the BBC said. | |
| Sunday’s service will be led by Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. He will say that looking inwards at this difficult time will “only reveal the limit of our own resources, and lead to deeper fear and selfishness”. | |
| He will add: | |
| Helen Thomas, director of BBC England, said local radio had a unique role as a community hub: disseminating information, airing views and being “a constant companion to listeners”. | |
| She added: | |
| BBC local radio will also be working with other faiths - including Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs – to provide on-air spiritual reflections. In areas where there are Muslim populations these will be on a Friday. | |
| Britain’s biggest online-only supermarket, Ocado, has seen growth double in March as the business is overwhelmed by orders from people staying indoors to avoid the pandemic. | |
| The news comes a day after Ocado had to temporarily shut down its website and app to give itself breathing space amid “unprecedented strain” as orders streamed in from new and old customers. | |
| In case you missed it yesterday, here are the details of the updates issued to customers by CEO Melanie Smith: | |
| National Express said it is running reduced coach services in a similar way to how it operates on Christmas Day, due to the drop in demand caused by the coronavirus. | |
| This has the effect of removing up to 80% of capacity. | |
| Retail chain Next has said it is preparing for up to a £1bn hit to sales in the year ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic as it revealed full-price sales have tumbled by 30% in recent days. | Retail chain Next has said it is preparing for up to a £1bn hit to sales in the year ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic as it revealed full-price sales have tumbled by 30% in recent days. |
| Online sales are likely to fare better than stores due to social distancing measures, but it gave a bleak outlook for trading in the coming months, cautioning that “people do not buy a new outfit to stay at home”. | Online sales are likely to fare better than stores due to social distancing measures, but it gave a bleak outlook for trading in the coming months, cautioning that “people do not buy a new outfit to stay at home”. |
| More on how the pandemic is impacting UK retailers here: | More on how the pandemic is impacting UK retailers here: |
| The government has promised to come up with an employment support scheme to help people who will lose work because of the coronavirus crisis but, despite hints that Boris Johnson is willing to consider some far-reaching ideas, ministers have said very little about the specifics of what they might do. | The government has promised to come up with an employment support scheme to help people who will lose work because of the coronavirus crisis but, despite hints that Boris Johnson is willing to consider some far-reaching ideas, ministers have said very little about the specifics of what they might do. |
| Today the Resolution Foundation, a thinktank focusing on low pay and poverty, has published a 26-page report (pdf) with proposals for the government to adopt. There is a summary here. | Today the Resolution Foundation, a thinktank focusing on low pay and poverty, has published a 26-page report (pdf) with proposals for the government to adopt. There is a summary here. |
| At the heart of the plan is a statutory retention pay scheme. It says this could be implemented in various ways, with the most expensive option costing £8bn over six months. It summarises the plan like this: | At the heart of the plan is a statutory retention pay scheme. It says this could be implemented in various ways, with the most expensive option costing £8bn over six months. It summarises the plan like this: |
| The Resolution Foundation has two other key recommendations. It wants statutory sick pay to be extended and made more generous. It explains: | The Resolution Foundation has two other key recommendations. It wants statutory sick pay to be extended and made more generous. It explains: |
| And it is also calling for universal credit payments to be made more generous. It says: | And it is also calling for universal credit payments to be made more generous. It says: |
| On the Today programme this morning Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, urged the government to do more to stop people losing their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis. He told the programme: | On the Today programme this morning Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, urged the government to do more to stop people losing their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis. He told the programme: |
| Dozens of London Underground stations are to be closed indefinitely amid a toughening of measures to try to slow the spread of coronavirus, my colleague Kevin Rawlinson reports. | Dozens of London Underground stations are to be closed indefinitely amid a toughening of measures to try to slow the spread of coronavirus, my colleague Kevin Rawlinson reports. |
| Good morning. This week the government has already a series of measures unprecedented in peacetime to fight coronavirus by limiting social contact. But there are indications that it is going to go even further. For the last 24 hours there have been widespread reports that Boris Johnson is planning to enforce measures that would put London, where the coronavirus outbreak is most advanced, under some form of effective lockdown. And in interviews this morning Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, did not rule it out. | Good morning. This week the government has already a series of measures unprecedented in peacetime to fight coronavirus by limiting social contact. But there are indications that it is going to go even further. For the last 24 hours there have been widespread reports that Boris Johnson is planning to enforce measures that would put London, where the coronavirus outbreak is most advanced, under some form of effective lockdown. And in interviews this morning Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, did not rule it out. |
| On the Today programme, asked if the government would shut down bars, restaurants and tube stations in the capital, he said Johnson said at his press conference yesterday that there were no plans to do that. But Williamson went on: | On the Today programme, asked if the government would shut down bars, restaurants and tube stations in the capital, he said Johnson said at his press conference yesterday that there were no plans to do that. But Williamson went on: |
| Asked if that meant the government would be willing to implement these measures, Williamson went on: | Asked if that meant the government would be willing to implement these measures, Williamson went on: |
| Quite what a lockdown in the capital would involve is not clear, but in the Financial Times (paywall) George Parker and Jim Pickard say one option might involve people being ordered to largely stay at home from Friday. They report: | Quite what a lockdown in the capital would involve is not clear, but in the Financial Times (paywall) George Parker and Jim Pickard say one option might involve people being ordered to largely stay at home from Friday. They report: |
| We will be covering the latest on this, and all other UK coronavirus developments, as the day goes on. | We will be covering the latest on this, and all other UK coronavirus developments, as the day goes on. |
| For the worldwide picture, do read our global coronavirus outbreak live blog. | For the worldwide picture, do read our global coronavirus outbreak live blog. |
| Here is the agenda for the day. | Here is the agenda for the day. |
| 9.30am: George Eustice, the environment secretary, takes questions in the Commons. | 9.30am: George Eustice, the environment secretary, takes questions in the Commons. |
| 10.15am: Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, gives evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee. | 10.15am: Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, gives evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee. |
| After 10.30am: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, makes a statement to MPs about next week’s business. | After 10.30am: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, makes a statement to MPs about next week’s business. |
| After 11.30am: Priti Patel, the home secretary, is due to make a Commons statement about the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. As Amelia Gentleman reports, it is expected to recommend wholesale reform of a “reckless” and “defensive” Home Office. | After 11.30am: Priti Patel, the home secretary, is due to make a Commons statement about the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. As Amelia Gentleman reports, it is expected to recommend wholesale reform of a “reckless” and “defensive” Home Office. |
| Afternoon: The government is due to hold its daily coronavirus press conference. | Afternoon: The government is due to hold its daily coronavirus press conference. |
| And at some point today the government will be publishing its coronavirus emergency powers bill. | And at some point today the government will be publishing its coronavirus emergency powers bill. |
| We will be covering all UK coronavirus developments, as well as any non-coronavirus political developments (if there are any). You can read all the latest Guardian coronavirus articles here, you can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here and here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. | We will be covering all UK coronavirus developments, as well as any non-coronavirus political developments (if there are any). You can read all the latest Guardian coronavirus articles here, you can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here and here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. |
| If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow and Lucy is on @lucy_campbell_. | If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow and Lucy is on @lucy_campbell_. |
| I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
| If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. | If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. |