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| Coronavirus UK live: Boris Johnson says 'public health is the priority' | Coronavirus UK live: Boris Johnson says 'public health is the priority' |
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| Follow the latest Covid-19 developments in the UK as the government comes under pressure to clarify lockdown exit plans | Follow the latest Covid-19 developments in the UK as the government comes under pressure to clarify lockdown exit plans |
| Labour has called for an investigation into reports that the privately run National Shielding Helpline call handlers have mocked and fobbed off callers during the coronavirus crisis. | |
| The shadow communities secretary, Steve Reed MP, said: | |
| Dominic Cummings observed, but did not get involved in decision-making on the government’s scientific group, Sage, according to Prof Neil Ferguson, a leading member of the panel. | |
| He said: | |
| Ferguson made the comments in an interview with Unherd’s Lockdown TV. | |
| Ferguson comments were followed up in the Sunday Times. | |
| Downing Street admitted to the Guardian that Cummings and the former Vote Leave data specialist Ben Warner attended some Sage meetings. | |
| A spokesman said: “Occasionally they ask questions or offer help when scientists mention problems in Whitehall.” | |
| The shadow mental health minister, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who is working as a doctor during the crisis, criticised the government for entering the lockdown “too late”. | |
| Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, she said deaths could have been avoided if ministers had acted earlier. | Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, she said deaths could have been avoided if ministers had acted earlier. |
| When it was pointed out that many countries in Europe had struggled with the pandemic, Allin-Khan said the UK should aspire to be the best. | When it was pointed out that many countries in Europe had struggled with the pandemic, Allin-Khan said the UK should aspire to be the best. |
| She cited the example of Germany’s testing and tracing programme. Alllin-Khan pointed out that the deadline for 100,000 tests per day in the UK was set for three months after the start of the outbreak. | She cited the example of Germany’s testing and tracing programme. Alllin-Khan pointed out that the deadline for 100,000 tests per day in the UK was set for three months after the start of the outbreak. |
| Allin-Khan also warned of the mental health impact of the crisis. | Allin-Khan also warned of the mental health impact of the crisis. |
| Welcome to a Sunday edition of our coronavirus live blog. | Welcome to a Sunday edition of our coronavirus live blog. |
| In a sign that Boris Johnson is on the mend, he has started flexing his classical education again. As the prime minister prepares to return to work on Monday, he is reported to have cited a saying by the Roman philosopher Cicero as a guiding approach to tackling the coronavirus crisis. “‘The health of the people should be the supreme law’,” Johnson told cabinet members during a three-hour meeting at Chequers, but he probably said it in Latin. | In a sign that Boris Johnson is on the mend, he has started flexing his classical education again. As the prime minister prepares to return to work on Monday, he is reported to have cited a saying by the Roman philosopher Cicero as a guiding approach to tackling the coronavirus crisis. “‘The health of the people should be the supreme law’,” Johnson told cabinet members during a three-hour meeting at Chequers, but he probably said it in Latin. |
| It is also sign that Johnson appears to be in no hurry to ease the lockdown restrictions or set out a timetable for doing so, as opposition politicians and some in his own party are calling for. | It is also sign that Johnson appears to be in no hurry to ease the lockdown restrictions or set out a timetable for doing so, as opposition politicians and some in his own party are calling for. |
| Johnson is also facing cross-party calls to stop his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, from attending meetings of the secret scientific group advising him on the pandemic, as demands grow for the committee’s deliberations to be made public. | Johnson is also facing cross-party calls to stop his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, from attending meetings of the secret scientific group advising him on the pandemic, as demands grow for the committee’s deliberations to be made public. |