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| Coronavirus UK live: vaccine 'not likely to come to fruition this year', says Raab | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Foreign secretary says speculating on how to ease lockdown is not responsible; government is looking at ordering millions of antibody tests; Boris Johnson to return to work on Monday | |
| Scotland should “look seriously at social and economic reform” in its planning for recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Nicola Sturgeon has said, PA reports. | |
| The first minister said the virus has fundamentally changed everyday life but has given an opportunity to shape a different kind of future. | |
| Stressing that lockdown measures are vital to suppress the spread of coronavirus, and could continue in their current form beyond this three-week period, she called on people to work together to develop ways Scotland can emerge stronger from the crisis. | |
| Writing in the Herald on Sunday, she said: | |
| Earlier this week, as the Scottish Government published a paper setting out a framework for how lockdown measures could be eased in the future, Sturgeon warned people must adapt to a new reality and said some restrictions to prevent spread could be in place until the end of the year or beyond. | |
| Raab confirmed that Boris Johnson will start work full-time on Monday. He is “raring to go” and in “good spirits”, Raab said of the prime minister. | |
| The foreign secretary, who has been deputising for the PM, said the last week three-weeks had been a “challenge” but it has been a team effort. | |
| He also warned that a coronavirus vaccine is unlikely to become available this year. | |
| Raab confirmed the government was “looking at” ordering millions of antibody tests. But he stopped short of confirming a report in the Mail on Sunday that the order had been placed. | |
| On antigen tests, Raab claimed the government was “on track” to meet its target of 100,000 tests for Covid-19 by Thursday. He predicted there would be a “surge” of tests in the coming days. | |
| The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has insisted it would not be responsible to “speculate” on how to ease the lockdown. | |
| Until we have evidence from scientists it would not be responsible, and it it would confuse the public, Raab told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. He said setting out possibilities for how restrictions could be eased would send out “mixed messages” to the public. | |
| Asked about publishing the advise and membership of Sage, Raab said some of its guidance was released. He also said that membership was kept secret to stop those on the committee being subjected to undue pressure and outside influence. | |
| He also defended scientific and and medical advisers who said keeping the UK death toll below 20,000 would be a good outcome. “I don’t think you can blame the chief medical officers who were pressed repeatedly to try to put an estimate on how long it would take, how many people would pass away,” he said. | |
| Labour has called for an investigation into reports that call handlers at the privately run National Shielding Helpline have mocked and fobbed off callers during the coronavirus crisis. | |
| The shadow communities secretary, Steve Reed MP, said: | 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. | 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: | He said: |
| Ferguson made the comments in an interview with Unherd’s Lockdown TV. His 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. | 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.” | 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”. | 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. |