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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)
Experts on scientific advisory group to be named after prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirusExperts on scientific advisory group to be named after prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirus
A new NHS Nightingale Hospital is to officially open in Bristol today, providing up to 300 intensive care beds for coronavirus patients. More from the news earlier that the names of some of the experts on the scientific group advising the UK government’s response to the coronavirus crisis will be published, as Downing Street confirms it will happen “in the coming days”.
The facility, based at the University of the West of England’s Frenchay campus, is one of seven Nightingale Hospitals to be set up around the country. “It’s right that only the names of those who wish to disclose their participation will be published,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
The opening comes amid criticism that the flagship 4,000-bed Nightingale hospital, in east London, is well under capacity and growing concern it was becoming a “white elephant”. The Guardian revealed last week that dozens of patients with Covid-19 have been turned away from the new London hospital because it has too few nurses to treat them. Until a week ago it had treated just 41 patients. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) advice documents and evidence are expected to be published some time this week, he added.
The new Nightingale hospital in Bristol will be opened by the Earl of Wessex, who will be joined by Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the NHS, via video link. It comes after the Guardian revealed the involvement of the prime minister’s chief political adviser, Dominic Cummings, in meetings of Sage. Cummings’ attendance and participation in the group’s meetings raised questions about the independence of its scientific advice.
Run by North Bristol NHS Trust, the new hospital will provide 300 fully-ventilated additional beds if local services require them. This is six times the intensive care capacity of a large hospital in the south west. There was also an interesting line on Brexit at the No 10 lobby briefing.
Downing Street said there would have to be “political movement on the EU side” for the talks with the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal to succeed. The prime minister’s spokesman was responding to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, claiming last week that the UK was running down the clock in the negotiations. The spokesman said the government did not accept this. He went on:
Good news for fans of vegan sausage rolls, as Greggs becomes the latest highstreet retailer to announce plans to reopen stores during the lockdown.
The bakery chain is due to reopen a small number of stores for takeaway and delivery next week after shutting all its sites due to the pandemic.
It comes after firms such as B&Q have reopened their doors to shoppers, while John Lewis has said it hopes to reopen all its shops next month.
Rival chains, including Burger King, Pret a Manger and KFC, have already reopened a small number of sites for takeaway and delivery. It is understood that Leon is due to reopen six of its restaurants for delivery and click-and-collect, in addition to the 16 it has kept open to sell groceries.
The boss of the bakery chain has told staff it plans to open 20 stores in the Newcastle area from Monday 4 May as part of a “controlled trial”.
Roger Whiteside, the chief executive, said he hoped the trial would inform the business about what changes needed to be made to operate safely and meet physical distancing guidelines. He said he believed the trial, which will involve a limited product range and shorter trading hours, would take at least two weeks.
In a letter to staff, Whiteside said he hoped to open around 700 stores, including 150 franchise shops, with new operational measures in place from 8 June. He said:
The Downing Street lobby briefing has just finished. Here are the main coronavirus-related points.
The prime minister’s spokesman said that the government would not be able to say on Thursday whether or not it had met the target of reaching 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. Thursday is the last day of April. But the spokesman said that it took a while to get information about how many tests were carried out on a particular day. He said:
He said that even on Friday it might not be “difficult” to say whether the target had been hit. He said it took 72 hours for the results of home testing kits to be delivered, “and therefore show up in the numbers”.
The spokesman said that government now has the capacity to carry out 53,000 tests per day. The most recent daily figures show more than 29,000 tests being carried out.
The spokesman said that more than 40 drive-through testing centres are now open. He said there would be 48 by the end of the month, as well as 96 mobile testing sites by early May.
Boris Johnson is due to speak to Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, this week about the coronavirus crisis, the spokesman said. The spokesman said that this would follow Johnson’s declaration this morning that he wanted to work with the opposition parties on policies around relaxing the lockdown. (See 11.04am.) Johnson is also planning to speak to all opposition parties next week, the spokesman said.
The spokesman confirmed that members of Sage, the scientific advisory group for emergencies, who are happy to be named as members of the committee, will soon have their names disclosed. Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, also revealed this at a separate briefing this morning. (See 12.08pm.)
The spokesman said that another tranche of evidence from Sage submitted to the government about coronavirus would be published this week.
The spokesman refused to say whether Johnson anticipated the fight against coronavirus entering a third phase after the “second phase” mentioned by the PM in his speech this morning. (See 11.04am.) Asked how many phases there would be, the spokesman said he was “not in a position to answer that question”.
The spokesman was unable to cite any evidence to justify a claim from Dominic Raab in an interview yesterday saying that deaths in care homes were going down.
The spokesman said Johnson was back at work “full time” now. Asked if that is what his doctors advised, the spokesman said he had been following their advice throughout.
But the spokesman was unable to confirm that Johnson would be doing PMQs on Wednesday. But he said Johnson would be chairing cabinet this week, on Thursday.
The spokesman said the government would not be involved in choosing the daily question submitted from a member of the public to be taken at the regular press conference. (See 11.30am.) A polling company (YouGov) will choose the questions.
Matt Hancock will hold today’s daily press conference, the spokesman said. He will be with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Prof John Newton from Public Health England, who is described by No 10 as the government’s “testing tsar”.
The spokesman said that the Department for Health and Social Care would be issuing statement later in response to a report from Health Service Journal saying doctors are concerned about a small number of children affected by a coronavirus-related syndrome. Here is the report.
The British Hollywood actor Riz Ahmed has revealed he has lost two family members to Covid-19, as he warns about the impact of the pandemic on minorities across the world.
The actor and rapper, who said the outbreak is “reflecting and revealing the faultlines in our society”, added that he hopes the surge of appreciation for the NHS draws attention to prejudice against the people from ethnic minorities who keep it running.
“I’m seeing reports of India, where the government are calling it ‘corona-jihad’ and they’re trying to blame it on the spread of Muslims and they are segregating hospitals between Muslims and non-Muslims,” he told GQ Hype.
“Trump is using it as an excuse to try to ban immigration and the Hungarian government is centralising power off the back of this.
“I’m looking at the fact it’s hitting African-Americans twice as hard; I’m looking at the fact that 50% of NHS frontline workers – is it 50%? – are ethnic minorities.”
Referring to the viral video of Clap For Me Now – which features UK residents and people of foreign heritage reciting an anti-racist poem - he compared it to his latest album, in which he symbolically broke up with Britain. He said:
He added: “I have lost two family members to Covid. I just want to believe their deaths and all the others aren’t for nothing. We gotta step up to re-imagine a better future.”
He likened the pandemic to an alien invasion. “It’s bringing humanity together against the common enemy. So there is this potential for this momentous, unique-in-the-history-of-our-species moment, of us all going through this crazy challenge together and only being able to get through this together.
“And yet, in the midst of that, insofar as any crisis is a mirror, reflecting your priorities and patterns, this crisis is reflecting and revealing the faultlines in our society, the broken records that are stuck in our head, the f***eries and the power plays that are still dominating how we are running our planet, the rising intolerance.”
A new NHS Nightingale hospital is to officially open in Bristol today, providing up to 300 intensive care beds for coronavirus patients.
The facility, based at the University of the West of England’s Frenchay campus, is one of seven Nightingale hospitals to be set up around the country.
The opening comes amid criticism that the flagship 4,000-bed Nightingale hospital in east London is well under capacity and is becoming a “white elephant”. The Guardian revealed last week that dozens of patients with Covid-19 had been turned away from the new hospital because it had too few nurses to treat them. Until a week ago it had treated just 41 patients.
The new Bristol hospital will be opened by the Earl of Wessex, who will be joined by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, and Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, via video link.
Run by North Bristol NHS trust, the hospital will provide 300 fully ventilated beds if local services require them. This is six times the intensive care capacity of a large hospital in the south-west.
Tomorrow, London’s Nightingale hospital will hold a minute’s silence at 11am for health and other key workers who have died from Covid-19.
Councils are facing a funding shortfall of up to £9.6bn as a result of the coronavirus crisis with some considering axing services, town hall leaders have told MPs on the house of commons’ housing and communities select committee.Councils are facing a funding shortfall of up to £9.6bn as a result of the coronavirus crisis with some considering axing services, town hall leaders have told MPs on the house of commons’ housing and communities select committee.
Additional spending, particularly on social care, and reductions in increasingly important commercial incomes mean that they may need a central government bail out four times higher than the £3.2bn already announced by the chancellor Rishi Sunak, according to Cllr James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA).Additional spending, particularly on social care, and reductions in increasingly important commercial incomes mean that they may need a central government bail out four times higher than the £3.2bn already announced by the chancellor Rishi Sunak, according to Cllr James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA).
The assessment of the shortfall is derived from a survey of councils carried out in April by the government which 98% of councils responded to. Many councils rely on commercial investments. Luton Borough Council relies on a multi-million pound income from its shareholding in Luton airport, to shore up the finances. Incomes from these have been hit hard by the lockdown. “We need the cast iron guarantee that we will be funded to the amount we are delivering to our communities,” Jamieson said.The assessment of the shortfall is derived from a survey of councils carried out in April by the government which 98% of councils responded to. Many councils rely on commercial investments. Luton Borough Council relies on a multi-million pound income from its shareholding in Luton airport, to shore up the finances. Incomes from these have been hit hard by the lockdown. “We need the cast iron guarantee that we will be funded to the amount we are delivering to our communities,” Jamieson said.
The LGA told the MPs that some councils are actively considering issuing so-called section 114 notices to freeze some spending and limit council expenditure to essential services only, but said that none of these had been triggered yet.The LGA told the MPs that some councils are actively considering issuing so-called section 114 notices to freeze some spending and limit council expenditure to essential services only, but said that none of these had been triggered yet.
In response to Boris Johnson’s speech, Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, said: In response to Boris Johnson’s speech, Sir Ed Davey, the acting Liberal Democrat leader, said:
Barristers have gone from working on average 50 hours a week to only 18 hours now, a survey has found, with more than half of self-employed counsel reporting they will not be able to survive financially if the lockdown lasts six months. Barristers in England and Wales have gone from working on average 50 hours a week to only 18 hours now, a survey has found, with more than half of self-employed counsel reporting they will not be able to survive financially if the lockdown lasts six months.
The snapshot of legal opinion comes as the courts enter their second month of effective closure with only a few urgent hearings continuing and a small number of online cases being dealt with through remote video sessions.The survey by the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, reveals that Covid-19 is having a devastating effect on the profession’s sustainability due to the abrupt drop off in hearings and other legal work. The research also showed that the financial impact of Covid-19 is greater on barristers from BAME or state school backgrounds. The survey found that: The snapshot of legal opinion comes as the courts enter their second month of closure with only a few urgent hearings continuing and a small number of online cases being dealt with through remote video sessions.The survey by the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, reveals that Covid-19 is having a devastating effect on the profession’s sustainability due to the abrupt drop-off in hearings and other legal work. The research also showed that the financial impact of Covid-19 is greater on barristers from BAME or state school backgrounds. The survey found that:
65% of self-employed barristers who responded had seen a reduction in work: the typical barrister has gone from working over 50 hours a week to working fewer than 18 hours a week. 65% of self-employed barristers who responded had had a reduction in work: the typical barrister has gone from working more than 50 hours a week to working fewer than 18 hours a week.
53% of self-employed barristers cannot survive six months and 74% cannot survive a year.53% of self-employed barristers cannot survive six months and 74% cannot survive a year.
31% of criminal barristers will not be able to continue to practice within three months; 69% will not last six months and 88% will no longer be practicing within a year. 31% of criminal barristers will not be able to continue to practise within three months; 69% will not last six months and 88% will no longer be practising within a year.
83% of young barristers (those in the first seven years of practice) cannot survive a year.83% of young barristers (those in the first seven years of practice) cannot survive a year.
7% think access to justice is currently acceptable; 77% of self-employed barristers say people are now unable to properly access justice.7% think access to justice is currently acceptable; 77% of self-employed barristers say people are now unable to properly access justice.
Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council, said: Amanda Pinto QC, the chair of the Bar Council, said:
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.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.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 has kept secret – Sir Patrick Vallance told a briefing for science journalists that the identities of the experts are usually revealed after the emergency is over, and that had also been the advice for the coronavirus crisis.After mounting pressure on Downing Street to disclose more details about the group – whose membership and advice the government has kept secret – Sir Patrick Vallance told a briefing for science journalists that the identities of the experts are usually revealed after the emergency is over, and that had also been the advice for the coronavirus crisis.
“But I believe that we should be more prepared to publish names sooner, and intend to do so shortly,” he said. “So we will be publishing names of those that are happy to have their names published.”“But I believe that we should be more prepared to publish names sooner, and intend to do so shortly,” he said. “So we will be publishing names of those that are happy to have their names published.”
The group would also release a list of the documents, and eventually the documents themselves, that have fed into Sage meetings, he added.The group would also release 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 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.The Guardian also revealed that Ben Warner, who worked 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.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, RTÉ reported.
The disclosure prompted concern from politicians and residents in Donegal and other border counties that Northern Ireland residents frustrated 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 Féin 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 Féin 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”.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.”
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.
He was also, in subtle ways, re-defining the terms of engagement.
Here are the main points from the speech.
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.
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”.
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.
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 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:
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:
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:
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:
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 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.
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.
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.”
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:
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.
(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: