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| UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson says too early to ease lockdown as second peak would be disaster | UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson says too early to ease lockdown as second peak would be disaster |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirus | Prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirus |
| The names of some of the experts on the scientific group advising the UK government’s response to the coronavirus crisis will be published “shortly”, the Government’s chief scientific adviser has said. | |
| It comes after the Guardian revealed the involvement of the prime minister’s chief political adviser, Dominic Cummings, in meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). Cummings’ attendance and participation in the group’s meetings raised questions about the independence of its scientific advice. | |
| After mounting pressure on Downing Street to disclose more details about the group – whose membership and advice the government had kept secret – Sir Patrick Vallance told a briefing for science journalists the identities of the experts are usually revealed after the emergency is over, and that had also been the advice for the coronavirus crisis. | |
| However, he added: “But I believe that we should be more prepared to publish names sooner, and intend to do so shortly. So we will be publishing names of those that are happy to have their names published.” | |
| The group would also be releasing a list of the documents, and eventually the documents themselves, that have fed into Sage meetings, he added. | |
| The Guardian also revealed that Ben Warner, who worked together with Cummings on the Vote Leave campaign for Brexit, had attended Sage meetings. Downing Street insists there is nothing untoward about the pair’s attendance at Sage meetings, saying they are largely taking part as silent observers. | |
| However, one attendee of Sage told the Guardian they felt Cummings’ interventions had sometimes inappropriately influenced what is supposed to be an impartial scientific process. A second attendee said they were shocked when Cummings first began participating in Sage discussions, in February, because they believed the group should be providing “unadulterated scientific data” without any political input. | |
| A loophole in Ireland’s lockdown laws means police cannot detain visitors from Northern Ireland, raising concern that some people may cross the border and defy physical distancing regulations. | |
| Gardaí have been ordered not to arrest anyone from Northern Ireland because they have no powers of enforcement over people who do not live in the Republic, RTE reported. | |
| The disclosure prompted concern from politicians and residents in Donegal and other border counties that Northern Ireland residents chafing at the UK’s continued lockdown may visit holiday homes and tour beauty spots in the republic. | |
| Residents in the republic are chafing at a ban on travelling more than 2km from home and would bristle at any sign of cross-border visitors taking advantage of the loophole. | |
| Sinn Fein said the loophole reinforced the need for an all-island response to the coronavirus pandemic. The party has also cited the UK’s higher death rate as further reason for an all-Ireland approach. The Ulster Unionist party accused Sinn Fein of “perverse” political point-scoring. | |
| The Royal Mint is to make 1.9m medical visors for the NHS in England and Wales to help protect medical workers. | |
| The South Wales based firm – best-known for manufacturing coins and investment products – has transformed its visitor attraction into an emergency production line to produce more than 100,000 medical visors a week exclusively for the NHS. | |
| The Royal Mint began making medical visors last month, after engineers created a design in just 48 hours and became the first firm in the UK to secure BSI safety approval. It has worked with its supply chain across the UK – including Brammer, TJ Morgan and Technical Foam – to source the materials to mass manufacture the design. | |
| More than 150,000 medical visors have already been made, with further supplies reaching hospitals across Britain shortly. | |
| Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, who is also master of the Mint, said: | |
| Anne Jessopp, chief executive of the Royal Mint, said: | |
| The family of a veteran NHS doctor who died after contracting Covid-19 have paid tribute to him as an “honest, kind and generous man who was deeply respected”. | The family of a veteran NHS doctor who died after contracting Covid-19 have paid tribute to him as an “honest, kind and generous man who was deeply respected”. |
| Dr Kamlesh Kumar Masson, who worked for the NHS for 47 years, died earlier this month, aged 78. | |
| His family, who described him as someone who “would have wanted to practise medicine for many more years to come”, said he last worked on 12 March, adding that his career “came to an unexpected end last month, when he unfortunately contracted Covid-19”. | |
| The doctor, who died on 16 April, founded Milton Road Surgery in Grays, Essex, in 1985 and worked there until 2017, after which he did locum work across Thurrock and Basildon. | |
| His family also described him as “an excellent clinician whose drive to constantly improve his clinical skills and knowledge with passion and enthusiasm will remain with us all as a reminder to always try to be the best”. They said: | |
| He was well-known locally and recognised as a “dedicated, determined, positive individual who would always do his utmost to help in all endeavours”, they added. The family thanked the staff at University College London hospital who “fought tirelessly” to try to save him. | |
| Masson completed his medical training in India and also worked as a doctor in east Africa. He worked in different parts of the UK before settling in Essex in 1975. | |
| Masson is among a number of NHS and private healthcare staff, from heart surgeons to nurses, porters and volunteers, who have lost their lives to coronavirus in the UK. The Guardian has been chronicling their deaths here. | |
| Earlier this year Boris Johnson experimented with holding a “people’s PMQs” on Facebook on Wednesday afternoons. Generally they were dreadful and, with coronavirus becoming a more serious issue in February and early March, No 10 seemed happy to abandon them. | Earlier this year Boris Johnson experimented with holding a “people’s PMQs” on Facebook on Wednesday afternoons. Generally they were dreadful and, with coronavirus becoming a more serious issue in February and early March, No 10 seemed happy to abandon them. |
| But the concept of getting Johnson to respond directly to questions from members of the public has not been abandoned, and No 10 is now inviting non-journalists to submit questions for the afternoon press conference. One question will be selected every day (alongside the questions from journalists), and the questioner will be invited to record a video, or to just submit their question in writing. | But the concept of getting Johnson to respond directly to questions from members of the public has not been abandoned, and No 10 is now inviting non-journalists to submit questions for the afternoon press conference. One question will be selected every day (alongside the questions from journalists), and the questioner will be invited to record a video, or to just submit their question in writing. |
| You can apply to take part here. | You can apply to take part here. |
| One drawback is that questions have to be submitted by midday. At that point we don’t normally know who will be holding the press conference. | One drawback is that questions have to be submitted by midday. At that point we don’t normally know who will be holding the press conference. |
| (Hopefully this is just an exercise in transparency and accountability, although some journalists may worry that this is early evidence of the resurgence of the “war on the Westminster lobby” that some in No 10 were merrily engaged in before the coronavirus crisis took hold.) | (Hopefully this is just an exercise in transparency and accountability, although some journalists may worry that this is early evidence of the resurgence of the “war on the Westminster lobby” that some in No 10 were merrily engaged in before the coronavirus crisis took hold.) |
| He’s better known for playing gangsters or superhero villains on the big screen, but Tom Hardy is adopting a different role during the coronavirus lockdown. | He’s better known for playing gangsters or superhero villains on the big screen, but Tom Hardy is adopting a different role during the coronavirus lockdown. |
| The Hollywood hard man will read a CBeebies bedtime story urging children to remember their loved ones are always with them, even if they cannot hug them because of social distancing. | The Hollywood hard man will read a CBeebies bedtime story urging children to remember their loved ones are always with them, even if they cannot hug them because of social distancing. |
| It is a far cry from the 42-year-old actor’s roles playing the Kray twins in the film Legend, or Batman’s nemesis, Bain, in the Dark Knight Rises. But it’s not the first time he has appeared on the children’s TV channel, with the star first reading a story to children in 2016 – his stories have been requested more than 1m times on BBC iPlayer. | It is a far cry from the 42-year-old actor’s roles playing the Kray twins in the film Legend, or Batman’s nemesis, Bain, in the Dark Knight Rises. But it’s not the first time he has appeared on the children’s TV channel, with the star first reading a story to children in 2016 – his stories have been requested more than 1m times on BBC iPlayer. |
| Hardy will read a new story each day from 27 April to 1 May, with the date of a sixth story yet to be confirmed. On Monday, he will read Hug Me, by Simona Ciraolo, about a young cactus called Felipe who really needs a hug, but his family “just isn’t the touchy-feely kind” so he sets off to find a friend. | Hardy will read a new story each day from 27 April to 1 May, with the date of a sixth story yet to be confirmed. On Monday, he will read Hug Me, by Simona Ciraolo, about a young cactus called Felipe who really needs a hug, but his family “just isn’t the touchy-feely kind” so he sets off to find a friend. |
| He will open the story by saying: “Hello. I’m Tom. Sometimes, on a day like this, I feel strong and happy. But on other days, I just need somebody to give me a hug. Tonight’s bedtime story is all about a little cactus called Felipe, who just wants a hug too.” | He will open the story by saying: “Hello. I’m Tom. Sometimes, on a day like this, I feel strong and happy. But on other days, I just need somebody to give me a hug. Tonight’s bedtime story is all about a little cactus called Felipe, who just wants a hug too.” |
| Finishing the story, he will tell the channel’s young viewers: “So, in the end Felipe found someone to hug. It’s not always possible to hug the ones that you love. But they’re always there, in your heart. It’s time for bed. Off you go and I look forward to seeing you again for another bedtime story. Good night.” | Finishing the story, he will tell the channel’s young viewers: “So, in the end Felipe found someone to hug. It’s not always possible to hug the ones that you love. But they’re always there, in your heart. It’s time for bed. Off you go and I look forward to seeing you again for another bedtime story. Good night.” |
| CBeebies Bedtime Story is at 6.50pm on CBeebies and on BBC iPlayer. | CBeebies Bedtime Story is at 6.50pm on CBeebies and on BBC iPlayer. |
| Boris Johnson identifies with Churchill and even wrote a book about him (mediocre on Churchill, extremely revealing about Johnson himself), and it was hard to listen to this without hearing some echo of Churchill’s El Alamein speech. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Johnson’s own words won’t be remembered in the way Churchill’s are, but he was telling the nation this morning that it is reaching a turning point of sorts. | Boris Johnson identifies with Churchill and even wrote a book about him (mediocre on Churchill, extremely revealing about Johnson himself), and it was hard to listen to this without hearing some echo of Churchill’s El Alamein speech. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Johnson’s own words won’t be remembered in the way Churchill’s are, but he was telling the nation this morning that it is reaching a turning point of sorts. |
| He was also, in subtle ways, re-defining the terms of engagement. | He was also, in subtle ways, re-defining the terms of engagement. |
| Here are the main points. | Here are the main points. |
| Johnson said it was too soon to ease the lockdown measures now. Although he acknowledged the pressure to relax the rules, he said this was also a moment of “maximum risk”. | Johnson said it was too soon to ease the lockdown measures now. Although he acknowledged the pressure to relax the rules, he said this was also a moment of “maximum risk”. |
| See 9.56pm for more on this argument. | See 9.56pm for more on this argument. |
| He said the UK was now “beginning to turn the tide”. There were “real signs now that we are passing through the peak”, he said. He said: | He said the UK was now “beginning to turn the tide”. There were “real signs now that we are passing through the peak”, he said. He said: |
| This was Johnson effectively saying he remains committed to the prediction he made on 19 March (five and a half weeks ago) when he said the UK would “turn the tide within the next 12 weeks”. | This was Johnson effectively saying he remains committed to the prediction he made on 19 March (five and a half weeks ago) when he said the UK would “turn the tide within the next 12 weeks”. |
| But Johnson also effectively re-defined “turning the tide”, saying that the UK was now near the point where it could move from “the first phase” to the “second phase”. Last month, when he made his “turning the tide” prediction, Johnson said: | But Johnson also effectively re-defined “turning the tide”, saying that the UK was now near the point where it could move from “the first phase” to the “second phase”. Last month, when he made his “turning the tide” prediction, Johnson said: |
| Now no one is talking about sending coronavirus packing (Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, said last week coronavirus “is not going to be eradicated”) and Johnson said the aims in phase one were to ensure the NHS did not get overwhelmed and to “flatten the peak” of the curve. | Now no one is talking about sending coronavirus packing (Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, said last week coronavirus “is not going to be eradicated”) and Johnson said the aims in phase one were to ensure the NHS did not get overwhelmed and to “flatten the peak” of the curve. |
| Johnson said that in the second phase lockdown restrictions would start to be lifted - but only “gradually”. He said: | Johnson said that in the second phase lockdown restrictions would start to be lifted - but only “gradually”. He said: |
| He refused to make any predictions about what restrictions might be lifted, or when. He said: | He refused to make any predictions about what restrictions might be lifted, or when. He said: |
| He also avoided any prediction about life returning to normal, or even the “new normal”, as ministers call it now. | He also avoided any prediction about life returning to normal, or even the “new normal”, as ministers call it now. |
| He said that he wanted to build “the biggest possible consensus” about how and when to relax the lockdown measures. He said: | He said that he wanted to build “the biggest possible consensus” about how and when to relax the lockdown measures. He said: |
| In some ways this was the most novel element in the speech. In the three weeks while Johnson has been off work, Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for him, has not given this sort of commitment. The Scottish government (here) and the Welsh government (here) have both published discussion papers about the issues to be considered as the lockdown gets lifted and Downing Street may be stung by the criticism that it is not consulting the public properly in a similar way. A good example is this statement from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics at the weekend. It says citizens’ assemblies should be used to help determine the path forward. | In some ways this was the most novel element in the speech. In the three weeks while Johnson has been off work, Dominic Raab, who has been deputising for him, has not given this sort of commitment. The Scottish government (here) and the Welsh government (here) have both published discussion papers about the issues to be considered as the lockdown gets lifted and Downing Street may be stung by the criticism that it is not consulting the public properly in a similar way. A good example is this statement from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics at the weekend. It says citizens’ assemblies should be used to help determine the path forward. |
| Johnson claimed that preparations were underway for the easing of the lockdown. He said: | Johnson claimed that preparations were underway for the easing of the lockdown. He said: |
| He did not elaborate, but he will have been referring to things like the ramping up of testing, and the introduction of contact tracing system. | He did not elaborate, but he will have been referring to things like the ramping up of testing, and the introduction of contact tracing system. |
| He presented the government’s fight against coronavirus so far as a success. He said: | He presented the government’s fight against coronavirus so far as a success. He said: |
| This is one interpretation of events. An alternative view is that the UK has one of the worst coronavirus death rates in Europe, perhaps because it implemented the lockdown later than other countries, and that the government has been behind the curve in implementing testing and stockpiling PPE. | This is one interpretation of events. An alternative view is that the UK has one of the worst coronavirus death rates in Europe, perhaps because it implemented the lockdown later than other countries, and that the government has been behind the curve in implementing testing and stockpiling PPE. |
| Johnson stressed that he understood the pressure from business for the lockdown to be eased. He said: | Johnson stressed that he understood the pressure from business for the lockdown to be eased. He said: |
| This passage seemed to be addressed in particular to Johnson’s colleagues in the Conservative party. “I still a free-market Tory,” he was telling them - while failing to offer them any actual concessions on policy. | This passage seemed to be addressed in particular to Johnson’s colleagues in the Conservative party. “I still a free-market Tory,” he was telling them - while failing to offer them any actual concessions on policy. |
| He depicted coronavirus as a mugger. He said: | He depicted coronavirus as a mugger. He said: |
| He thanks the public for their contribution so far. He said: | He thanks the public for their contribution so far. He said: |
| Every ministerial public statement now contains a passage of thanks to the public like this. | Every ministerial public statement now contains a passage of thanks to the public like this. |
| He ended by saying the UK could come out of this stronger. He said: | He ended by saying the UK could come out of this stronger. He said: |
| Johnson speeches almost always contain passage of evidence-free utopianism like this one. At a press conference last month he said he was often accused of being “unnecessarily boosterish”. Today’s speech showed that, despite his illness, he has not really changed. | Johnson speeches almost always contain passage of evidence-free utopianism like this one. At a press conference last month he said he was often accused of being “unnecessarily boosterish”. Today’s speech showed that, despite his illness, he has not really changed. |
| The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be followed by even more deadly and destructive disease outbreaks unless their root cause – the rampant destruction of the natural world – is rapidly halted, the world’s leading biodiversity experts have warned. | The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be followed by even more deadly and destructive disease outbreaks unless their root cause – the rampant destruction of the natural world – is rapidly halted, the world’s leading biodiversity experts have warned. |
| “There is a single species responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic – us,” they said. “Recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity, particularly our global financial and economic systems that prize economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of the current crisis, to avoid sowing the seeds of future ones.” | “There is a single species responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic – us,” they said. “Recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity, particularly our global financial and economic systems that prize economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of the current crisis, to avoid sowing the seeds of future ones.” |
| Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizio led the most comprehensive planetary health check ever undertaken, which was published in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It concluded that human society was in jeopardy from the accelerating decline of the Earth’s natural life-support systems. | Professors Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizio led the most comprehensive planetary health check ever undertaken, which was published in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It concluded that human society was in jeopardy from the accelerating decline of the Earth’s natural life-support systems. |
| Read the full story here: | Read the full story here: |
| The full text of Boris Johnson’s speech is now here, on the No 10 website. | The full text of Boris Johnson’s speech is now here, on the No 10 website. |
| Here is the key extract from Boris Johnson’s speech. It sums up his message; although he understands why people want to relax the lockdown, now would be too soon, he says. | Here is the key extract from Boris Johnson’s speech. It sums up his message; although he understands why people want to relax the lockdown, now would be too soon, he says. |
| (For the sake of speed, I am posting this verbatim from the No 10 transcript. As you can see, despite being one of the best-paid newspaper columnists in the UK before becoming PM, Johnson does not seem to have mastered punctuation.) | (For the sake of speed, I am posting this verbatim from the No 10 transcript. As you can see, despite being one of the best-paid newspaper columnists in the UK before becoming PM, Johnson does not seem to have mastered punctuation.) |
| He said: | He said: |