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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 UKRolling coverage of the latest coronavirus developments in the UK
The environment secretary, George Eustice, has sought to reassure MPs about measures to tackle empty supermarket shelves, saying there is “significant resilience in our food supply chain” and that the main issue was getting the food out to shops when people were buying more.
Answering departmental questions in the Commons, Eustice gave no new details of how food supplies would be maintained, but said supermarket staff would be included on a list due out later today of key workers, whose children will remain in otherwise-closed schools.
Asked about this by Labour MP Jim McMahon, Eustice said:
On the endlessly-shared social media photos of stripped shelves, Eustice said:
As well as moves to improve this, Eustice said, he was talking to colleagues in the communities and local government department about ensuring food reached people who are self-isolating.
Luke Pollard, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, called for more help on the “immediate family emergency” of those relying on food banks, saying many were low on food and reliant on older volunteers who would need to self-isolate.
As travel continues to take a hit, London Gatwick airport is running less than half the number of scheduled flights.
More info on the declining number of departures over the last 30 days here.
A cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned the government to ensure any measures it takes to curb the spread of coronavirus do not breach human rights provisions, ahead of the publication of emergency legislation later today.
The intervention by parliament’s joint committee on human rights comes after Jeremy Corbyn wrote to Boris Johnson asking that the powers in the new coronavirus bill, which will last for two years, are reviewed every six moths.
Opposition parties are not expected to seek votes on the emergency legislation, which is expected to complete all stages of the House of Commons on Monday, and then pass through the Lords on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, both party leaderships and MPs are lobbying hard to try to ensure safeguards, with the new powers set to include the potential ability of police to ban all gatherings, and to detain people with the virus and move them to quarantine.
The human rights committee has published a 12-page interim report into potential civil liberties issues which could arise because of the powers in the legislation.
It stresses that all measures should comply with the UK’s obligations under both the UN and European conventions on human rights. Under the European convention, the report notes, a member state can derogate from some provisions during a public emergency. But the report adds:
Potential areas of conflict the committee highlight include whether forced quarantine could breach the right to liberty and to family life. It says:
Northern Ireland has recorded the first death of a patient who tested positive for Covid-19, the Department of Health has announced.
The patient was described as elderly and as having an underlying medical condition.
The Ivors, an annual celebration of excellence in screenwriting and composing, have been postponed from May until 2 September amid the coronavirus outbreak, with the announcement of nominations happening closer to that date.
The Ivors Academy’s chief executive, Graham Davies, and its chairman, Crispin Hunt, said in a joint statement:
In an interview this morning Gavin Williamson, the education secretary for England, said that the government would be issuing guidance tomorrow explaining how pupils unable to sit exams this summer will be graded so that they get the qualifications they need for the future.
He also said there will be a “proper and fair system” of appeal for those who are unhappy with the results they are given. He said:
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said he expected pupils to be given grades based on teacher assessment and internal work, such as the results of mock exams. And he said Williamson’s decision to scrap performance tables for schools this year would remove any incentive for teachers to skew the results. Barton said:
Universities UK chief executive Alistair Jarvis told the Today programme that one option might be for students who already have an offer from a university to be told that that will now be treated as an unconditional offer. Asked if this could happen, he replied:
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, gave a strong hint that the capital may see tougher measures because it highest level of cases in the UK, and said that Londoners should cease all but essential travel.
Giving evidence before the London assembly on Thursday morning, Khan said:
He said those in London must follow the advice and cease all but essential travel:
So big was the crisis, Khan said, that London and the country will be living with its effects for years.
He confirmed transport services would be reduced, with some underground stations closed.
Khan said he would be meeting prime minister later on Thursday Boris Johnson and senior officials amid continued speculation about new measures.
Khan said:
Restaurant chains have started to shutter their sites in the face of the pandemic, PA Media reports.
Zizzi and Ask Italian are to close their sites temporarily as national restaurant chains start to close in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.
Azzurri Group, which runs the Italian chains as well as Coco di Mama, confirmed that its 300-plus sites will shut their doors from today.
The company said it currently plans for 117 Ask and Zizzi sites to be open for delivery.
Meanwhile, hospitality giant Whitbread is also set to temporarily close around 400 restaurant sites from Friday night in response to the virus.
The move will affect its chains such as Brewers Fayre, Beefeater and Bar + Block.
A Whitbread spokesperson said:
Vietnamese brand Pho revealed it will close its 30 sites to focus on home delivery, while burger chain Byron has also closed its operations to the public completely and is moving to delivery-only. Brasserie Blanc has closed its operations for the near future.
Other chains like Itsu have moved to take-away only models to reduce the time customers spend at their sties.
Public transport operators have started slashing services due to the coronavirus, PA Media reports. The story goes on: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.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.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.Neville said none of his staff will be made redundant or asked to take unpaid leave.
He made the announcement on Twitter yesterday: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.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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
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.
For the worldwide picture, do read our global coronavirus outbreak live blog.
Here is the agenda for the day.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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