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UK coronavirus live: Labour MP says retraction from FCO chief about UK boycotting EU scheme not credible UK coronavirus live: Labour MP says retraction from FCO chief about UK boycotting EU scheme not credible
(32 minutes later)
Latest on UK coronavirus crisis as part of a PPE consignment arrives and Keir Starmer quizzes Dominic Raab at PMQsLatest on UK coronavirus crisis as part of a PPE consignment arrives and Keir Starmer quizzes Dominic Raab at PMQs
The Welsh government has announced that disadvantaged children will receive free ‘school meals’ throughout the summer holidays, the first UK country to do so.
Kirsty Williams, the education minister for Wales, said the government in Cardiff was extending funding for local authorities to provide free school meals for eligible pupils until the start of the next school year in September. Williams said:
While England’s use of a national voucher scheme contracted to a French company has been plagued by delays, Welsh councils and schools can choose to transfer money directly to parents’ bank accounts, or use vouchers or offer food directly.“After examining whether a national voucher scheme would work for Wales, we have decided not to proceed with that approach,” Williams noted.Complaints about the slow delivery of food vouchers in England have lessened. Head teachers say they are now receiving the £15 weekly supermarket vouchers applied for up to two weeks ago.
Four men have been given fines totalling £240 after travelling 25 miles to get a takeaway.
Derbyshire police said the friends, who do not live together, were approached in a parked car in Normanton, Derby, on Monday evening. They had made a round trip to Burton-upon-Trent to pick up burgers, chips and soft drinks, and were parked up eating the meal, the force added.
Derby West response team said: “This burger has cost them £240 in fines for ignoring government guidelines.”
Earlier in April Derbyshire police and crime commissioner, Hardyal Dhindsa, warned that the coronavirus lockdown could begin to crumble if “isolation fatigue” began to set in among the public.
A senior West Midlands police officer who contracted coronavirus has left hospital after spending 13 days on a ventilator.A senior West Midlands police officer who contracted coronavirus has left hospital after spending 13 days on a ventilator.
Ch Supt Phil Dolby fell ill in late March and was later taken to hospital in an ambulance after experiencing symptoms including “breathlessness and dizziness”.Ch Supt Phil Dolby fell ill in late March and was later taken to hospital in an ambulance after experiencing symptoms including “breathlessness and dizziness”.
He was discharged from intensive care on Tuesday after spending a total of 26 days in hospital.He was discharged from intensive care on Tuesday after spending a total of 26 days in hospital.
After being taken off a ventilator on 11 April, Dolby had posted regular updates of his recovery to Twitter.After being taken off a ventilator on 11 April, Dolby had posted regular updates of his recovery to Twitter.
On Monday he posted that he had been taken outside for an assisted walk in the hospital’s grounds. “The air in my lungs was like a special gift I can’t describe,” said Dolby. “Recovering now like I have had a heavy gym session not a 2 min walk!”On Monday he posted that he had been taken outside for an assisted walk in the hospital’s grounds. “The air in my lungs was like a special gift I can’t describe,” said Dolby. “Recovering now like I have had a heavy gym session not a 2 min walk!”
The BBC’s Jessica Parker has more on the row about the UK’s non-involvement in the EU’s coronavirus procurement schemes.The BBC’s Jessica Parker has more on the row about the UK’s non-involvement in the EU’s coronavirus procurement schemes.
Scottish stars including Annie Lennox, Irvine Welsh, Janey Godley, Judy Murray, James NcAvoy and Lorne Balfe are taking part in a livestream fundraiser, For the Love of Scotland, organised by broadcaster Edith Bowman. Scottish stars including Annie Lennox, Irvine Welsh, Janey Godley, Judy Murray, James McAvoy and Lorne Balfe are taking part in a livestream fundraiser, For the Love of Scotland, organised by broadcaster Edith Bowman.
The event, which will include music, literature, poetry and chats, aims to raise urgent funds for Masks for Scotland, a crowdfunding initiative set up by Professor Jill Belch of the University of Dundee, in response to the desperate need for PPE for community frontline medical teams across the country. The event, which will include music, literature, poetry and chats, aims to raise urgent funds for Masks for Scotland, a crowdfunding initiative set up by Prof Jill Belch of the University of Dundee, in response to the desperate need for PPE for community frontline medical teams across the country.
Bowman will host the charity livestream from 6pm – 9pm on Wednesday evening, and viewers can tune into the stream on the Gigs in Scotland Facebook or YouTube. Bowman will host the charity livestream from 6pm to 9pm on Wednesday evening, and viewers can tune into the stream on the Gigs in Scotland Facebook or YouTube.
According to the BBC’s Norman Smith, a survey by the National Care Forum, which represents care homes, has found that 75% of care home staff who want a coronavirus test have not been able to get one. The survey found that one problem was that people who do get offered a test have to make a round-trip of 62 miles on average to get to the nearest drive-through centre where the testing takes place.According to the BBC’s Norman Smith, a survey by the National Care Forum, which represents care homes, has found that 75% of care home staff who want a coronavirus test have not been able to get one. The survey found that one problem was that people who do get offered a test have to make a round-trip of 62 miles on average to get to the nearest drive-through centre where the testing takes place.
In his Good Morning Britain interview Tony Blair also said it was important not to have “a void of decision-making” in government. While Boris Johnson continued to recover from his own coronavirus infection, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state who is deputising for him, should have the authority to take decisions, Blair said.In his Good Morning Britain interview Tony Blair also said it was important not to have “a void of decision-making” in government. While Boris Johnson continued to recover from his own coronavirus infection, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state who is deputising for him, should have the authority to take decisions, Blair said.
The former Labour prime minister Tony Blair has restated his call for the government to change the way it operates as it addresses the coronavirus crisis. He believes the government needs to bring in outsiders with the right expertise and experience to take charge of the various specific challenges ahead. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Blair said this is one of the lessons he learnt from handling the foot-and-mouth crisis. He explained:The former Labour prime minister Tony Blair has restated his call for the government to change the way it operates as it addresses the coronavirus crisis. He believes the government needs to bring in outsiders with the right expertise and experience to take charge of the various specific challenges ahead. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Blair said this is one of the lessons he learnt from handling the foot-and-mouth crisis. He explained:
The mayor of London has called on the UK government to ban evictions over arrears built up by renters as a result of the coronavirus emergency, with millions facing falling into debt with their landlords because of lost work and high rents.In an announcement today, Sadiq Khan also called for an increase to housing benefits, and an undertaking that the government would cover, for the duration of the crisis, any shortfall in payments by private renters, including those with no recourse to public funds. Demanding a “triple lock” protection for renters, Khan said:The mayor of London has called on the UK government to ban evictions over arrears built up by renters as a result of the coronavirus emergency, with millions facing falling into debt with their landlords because of lost work and high rents.In an announcement today, Sadiq Khan also called for an increase to housing benefits, and an undertaking that the government would cover, for the duration of the crisis, any shortfall in payments by private renters, including those with no recourse to public funds. Demanding a “triple lock” protection for renters, Khan said:
Three million people in London rented privately, more than the number who owned a home with a mortgage in the city, Khan’s office said. Last week the Guardian reported on research suggesting millions of UK renters may already be having to choose between paying rent and buying food and other essentials. The polling by Opinium found six in 10 renters had already taken a financial hit as a result of the crisis.Three million people in London rented privately, more than the number who owned a home with a mortgage in the city, Khan’s office said. Last week the Guardian reported on research suggesting millions of UK renters may already be having to choose between paying rent and buying food and other essentials. The polling by Opinium found six in 10 renters had already taken a financial hit as a result of the crisis.
Amina Gichinga from the London Renters Union said landlords were still threatening evictions, despite their halt for the duration of the crisis and official guidance urging them to “show compassion” to tenants. She said:Amina Gichinga from the London Renters Union said landlords were still threatening evictions, despite their halt for the duration of the crisis and official guidance urging them to “show compassion” to tenants. She said:
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP whose question about the EU’s ventilator procurement scheme led to Sir Simon McDonald, the head of the Foreign Office, telling the foreign affairs committee that the UK’s decision not to get involved was a “political decision”, is now saying the committee should investigate exactly what happened. As reported earlier (see 8.31am), Bryant has already said that he does not find the retraction issued by McDonald a few hours after the hearing at all credible.
Here is the key passage in McDonald’s retraction letter.
Earlier Helen Whately, the care minister, said that the confirmed number of NHS staff who have died from coronavirus was 61. (See 8.22am.)
According to the Nursing Notes website, which is compiling an online memorial, 111 health and social care workers have died from coronavirus.
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Matthew Weaver.
Here is a timetable for the main events coming up today.
9.30am: Liz Truss, the international trade secretary and minister for women and equalities, gives evidence to the Commons women and equalities committee on the impact of coronavirus on women and minorities.
12pm: Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, faces Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs. This is not just Starmer’s first PMQs as Labour leader, but the first PMQs taking place under the “hybrid” procedural arrangements that will see most MPs submitting their questions via video conference. The order paper, which says whether a question from an MP will be “virtual” or “physical”, is here (pdf).
After 12.45pm: Matt Hancock, the health secretary, makes a Commons statement about coronavirus. He will also take questions mostly from MPs via Zoom.
After 1.30pm: MPs debate various procedural motions, including one that would allow a move towards electronic voting in the Commons.
Afternoon: The daily UK coronavirus hospital death figures are published.
2.30pm: Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, gives evidence to the defence committee.
2.30pm: Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee.
5pm: The government is expected to hold its daily press conference.
Labour’s Chris Bryant was one of the MPs who quizzed Sir Simon McDonald on why the UK opted out of the EU’s procurement scheme. Bryant says he does not believe McDonald’s retraction of his claim that the decision was political.
Whately told BBC Breakfast that 61 NHS staff were known to have died after becoming infected with the coronavirus.
She said:
Earlier she told Sky that she was working to provide more up to date data on deaths in care homes by next week.
The latest back dated figures from the ONS showed that Covid-19 fatalities in care homes in England and Wales have more than quadrupled in a week, rising to 1,043.
The Guardian’s Brussels correspondent, Jennifer Rankin, points out that EU officials have not confirmed Matt Hancock’s claim that the UK has joined the latest EU medical equipment procurement round.
The FT estimates that the true number of those who have died from coronavirus in the UK is 41,000 - more than double the current official total.
Chris Giles, the FT’s economics editor, has explained the calculation.
The care minister, Helen Whately, has confirmed that some PPE supplies from Turkey have arrived at RAF Brize Norton. She also insisted the initial decision to opt out of an EU procurement scheme was not political.
Speaking to Sky News she said:
On the EU scheme she said
Stephen Hawking’s ventilator has been donated to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge to help treat patients with coronavirus.
The physicist, who had motor neurone disease, died in 2018, aged 76.
His daughter, Lucy Hawking, said:
Welcome to our UK coronavirus live blog.
Ministers’ claims about efforts to procure vital medical equipment appear to be unravelling amid fresh evidence of failures to secure supplies.
The government missed opportunities to secure at least 16m face masks for NHS staff in the past four weeks, the Guardian has revealed.
And Brussels sources have told the BBC that the UK was given ample opportunity to part in an EU scheme to source medical equipment.
Sir Simon McDonald, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, told MPs that the decision to opt out was political. But he was then forced to retract the claim within hours after he was contradicted by the health secretary, Matt Hancock.
But commentators have picked over the strange wording of McDonald’s retraction.
Meanwhile, an RAF plane, believed to be carrying a delayed consignment of personal protective equipment for NHS staff, has landed in the UK.
The plane had been dispatched from the Oxfordshire base, where two other planes are on stand-by to pick up further kit from Turkey. It is not known if the consignment, which was ordered on Thursday and originally due to arrive on Sunday, includes 400,000 badly-needed surgical gowns.
Later on Wednesday, Labour’s new leader, Keir Starmer will quiz the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, over the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis during the first virtual Prime Minister’s Questions.
Starmer is expected to spend his first PMQs as Labour leader questioning Boris Johnson’s stand-in over testing, safety equipment for frontline workers and an exit strategy from the lockdown.