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UK coronavirus live: government publishes recovery plan as official death toll rises by 210
UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson sets out lockdown exit plans to MPs as official death toll rises by 210
(32 minutes later)
PM publishes 50-page ‘blueprint’ and will address Commons later as Starmer says Johnson’s strategy ‘unravelling’ due to lack of clarity
PM publishes 50-page ‘blueprint’ and addresses Commons as Keir Starmer says Johnson’s strategy ‘unravelling’ due to lack of clarity
The challenge now is to find a way forward, Johnson says.
He says the government has a “supremely difficult balance to strike”.
He says there may need to be divergence in different parts of the UK.
But any such divergence should be short term, he says.
Johnson says the British people have face a grave threat.
They have changed their way of live.
Tragically many families have lost loved ones.
Yet the NHS has not been overwhelmed. Many more lives would have been lost if it had been, he says.
He says the reproduction number has been cut to between 0.5 and 0.9.
Boris Johnson is starting his Commons statement about the coronavirus recovery plan now.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste” is sound political advice, normally attributed to the former Barack Obama aide Rahm Emanuel, and it seems from the government’s coronavirus recovery plan, that Dominic Cummings, the PM’s chief adviser, is taking it to heart.
Cummings has for years been a fierce critic of the way Whitehall is structured and the civil service operates. He used to say Brexit would be “an exercise far beyond Whitehall as it currently works”. His critics think he was right about that one. Now the government is proposing “a rapid re-engineering of government’s structures and institutions” to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
Here is the relevant extract from the government’s coronavirus recovery plan (pdf).
The government have published further guidance on what the public can and cannot do as the lockdown is eased. Check out the update to the frequently asked questions.
The IWGB union, which represents some of workers hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic such as security guards and cab drivers, is taking legal action against the government for its failure to provide income protection and sick pay.
The union’s general secretary, Jason Moyer-Lee, said:
Sky’s Sam Coates has a useful summary of more lines from the government’s coronavirus recovery plan.
Sky’s Sam Coates has a useful summary of more lines from the government’s coronavirus recovery plan.
Our colleague Dan Sabbagh is interested in this passage at the end of the coronavirus recovery plan.
Our colleague Dan Sabbagh is interested in a passage at the end of the coronavirus recovery plan.
Dominic Ponsford, editor of the Press Gazette, says No 10 has backed down on its plan for Boris Johnson not to take any questions from the press later today. (See 9.48am.)
Dominic Ponsford, the editor of the Press Gazette, says No 10 has backed down on its plan for Boris Johnson not to take any questions from the press later today (see 9.48am).
We have not been told yet when this will be, although there are suggestions that it might be later than the usual 5pm.
We have not been told yet when this will be, although there are suggestions that it might be later than the usual 5pm.
A female worker at a meat processing plant in Northern Ireland has died from coronavirus prompting union demands for the factory to be temporarily shut down.
A female worker at a meat processing plant in Northern Ireland has died of coronavirus, prompting union demands for the factory to be temporarily shut down.
It is understood she died five days ago and is originally from East Timor.
It is understood she died five days ago and was originally from East Timor.
After learning about her death the Unite union called today for Moy Park’s site in Dungannon, Co.Tyrone to be shut down while its entire workforce and their families are tested for the virus.
After learning about her death, the Unite union called for Moy Park’s site in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, to be shut down while its workforce and their families are tested for the virus.
Unite said the Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland must be instructed to carry out “unannounced physical inspections” of all meat processing sites across the region.
Unite also said the Health and Safety Executive of Northern Ireland must be instructed to carry out “unannounced physical inspections” of all meat processing sites across the region.
Sam McKeever, Unite’s regional office said the union had been raising concerns for some time over alleged failures to ensure proper social distancing on meat production lines at Moy Park plants in Dungannon and Portadown.
Sam McKeever, Unite’s regional officer, said the union had been raising concerns for some time over alleged failures to ensure proper physical distancing on meat production lines at Moy Park plants in Dungannon and Portadown.
The coronavirus recovery plan says the UK should become self-sufficient in PPE, the Spectator’s James Forsyth reports.
The coronavirus recovery plan says the UK should become self-sufficient in PPE, the Spectator’s James Forsyth reports.
Obviously this is a reference to manufacturing capacity, not just people at home sewing their own along the lines set out at 2.42pm.
Obviously this is a reference to manufacturing capacity, not just people at home sewing their own along the lines set out at 2.42pm.
As Heather Stewart reports, the government is also offering advice on how to make your own face covering. She has posted a link on Twitter to the relevant page on the government’s website.
As Heather Stewart reports, the government is also offering advice on how to make your own face covering. She has posted a link on Twitter to the relevant page on the government’s website.
The government is talking about face coverings, not face masks, because it does not want people buying up surgical face masks needed by the NHS.
The government is talking about face coverings, not face masks, because it does not want people buying up surgical face masks needed by the NHS.
Here is our first story on the government’s coronavirus recovery plan. It’s by Heather Stewart.
Here is our first story on the government’s coronavirus recovery plan. It’s by Heather Stewart.
This is how it starts.
This is how it starts.
One union leader has said Boris Johnson is treating workers like expendable guinea pigs by failing to set rules over workplace safety and social distancing. The PCS’s general secretary, Mark Serwortka, said:
One union leader has said Boris Johnson is treating workers like expendable guinea pigs by failing to set rules over workplace safety and social distancing. The PCS’s general secretary, Mark Serwortka, said:
The Department for Health and Social Care says there have been been another 210 coronavirus deaths in the UK, taking the total to 32,065.
The Department for Health and Social Care says there have been been another 210 coronavirus deaths in the UK, taking the total to 32,065.
This figures just covers people who have tested positive for coronavirus and died. There will be many people who have died from coronavirus without testing positive.
This figures just covers people who have tested positive for coronavirus and died. There will be many people who have died from coronavirus without testing positive.
The government has just published what it calls its coronavirus recovery plan. It’s here (pdf). It runs to 60 pages.
We will be posting highlights here on the live blog shortly.
The BBC is going to broadcast a message to the nation from Sir Keir Starmer tonight, giving the Labour leader a right to reply to what Boris Johnson announced last night.
The imminent return of jury trials has been widely accepted as necessary. (See 11.39am.) David Lammy, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, welcomed the move and called for remote justice hearings to be made accessible to the public. He said:
Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales, said:
Judging by the comments, a lot of readers enjoyed Piers Morgan’s clash with the Tory MP Andrew Bridgen on Good Morning Britain this morning. Bridgen was defending the PM and his record on coronavirus. You can watch it in full here.
The stark contrast between death rates for care home workers and their NHS counterparts, revealed today by the Office for National Statistics, has triggered an angry reaction from the care sector. The ONS found that 45 men and 86 women working in social care died from Covid-19 in England and Wales, based on death registrations up to 20 April. (See 12.16pm.) This was around twice the mortality rate from the virus experienced among NHS workers whose likelihood of being killed by the virus was in line with the general population.Care England, which represents many of the largest care home providers, said it was wrong to blame its members for a failure to supply enough personal protective equipment because their ability to buy kit was hampered at the start of the pandemic by central government moving to commandeer supplies for the NHS.“The government completely stopped our supply chain,” said Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England.
By 24 April there were 5,890 deaths from Covid-19 in care homes in England and Wales, according to ONS figures based on what is written on death certificates. On Sunday, HC-One, the largest provider of private care homes, said it alone had lost 829 residents to confirmed or suspected cases of the disease. Boris Johnson conceded in his Sunday evening TV address that there had been “awful epidemics in care homes”.Care home staff have also been struggling to get tested and tests for residents with suspected cases have been limited, operators say, with tests not carried out after an outbreak has been confirmed in a home.
As our colleague Rowena Mason reported yesterday, Momentum, the Labour group set up to promote Jeremy Corbyn and his brand of politics, has criticised Sir Keir Starmer for not advocating rent cancellation for people who cannot afford to pay their landlords because they have lost work because of coronavirus.
Our colleague Owen Jones, a prominent Labour leftwinger, also tweeted on this last week.
This might seem like an arcane policy dispute in a party that is out of power, but it is interesting because it is the first serious indication of Starmer falling out with the Labour Corbynite left. A lot will depend on whether this becomes the norm, and, if so, who prevails.
During his LBC phone-in this morning Starmer was asked about this by a Labour party member who is also renting who asked why he should support Starmer when Starmer was prioritising his landlord’s income over his own. Starmer said he was glad the issue had been raised, because we wanted to clear this up. He made two arguments.
Starmer said that, if the government cancelled rents, landlords would be entitled to compensation. That would not be a good use of public money, he argued. He said:
He said that, if renters did lose their job, he favoured helping them through the benefits system. He said:
Almost 400,000 people have signed a petition demanding that parents should be given the choice about whether or not to send their children back into schools once they start reopening to more pupils next month.
The petition was launched following Boris Johnson’s announcement on Sunday that the government plans to press ahead with opening primary schools in England from as early as June 1, starting with reception and years 1 and 6, followed by the rest of the primary year groups.
Currently schools are only open to a tiny minority of pupils, who are either children of key workers or pupils classed as vulnerable, and many parents and head teachers are concerned about the safety implications of opening up to more pupils - particularly younger pupils who struggle to observe social distancing rules.
The Change.org petition, which was started by London parent Lucy Browne, states:
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has expressed concern that Boris Johnson’s announcement on changes to lockdown could lead to more coronavirus cases in Wales.
Drakeford said he was worried that the prime minister was not as clear as he ought to have been on what the changes meant across the UK.
He warned people not to travel from England to Wales to exercise and said there had been an increase in traffic in Wales over the weekend.
Speaking at the daily press conference in Cardiff, Drakeford said he still believed that all parts of the UK were moving in the same direction, making small adjustments to the lockdown.
But he said:
Drakeford said the four Welsh police forces had reported a “distinct increase” in activity over the bank holiday weekend and suggested this was after many UK national newspapers reported that a major easing of the lockdown was on the horizon. There was also an increase in traffic and alcohol-related violence associated with VE Day celebrations.
While Johnson has said people will be able to travel to exercise, the message in Wales is that people should exercise locally.
Drakeford said:
I want to be clear in Wales it is Welsh law that applies. Travelling to Wales to exercise is not to exercise locally.
He said signs would inform motorists of this on major routes in Wales but he said there were no plans to actually shut the border.
Drakeford said he had sympathy with people who would not grasp the differences between what was allowed in England and Wales. “I do have sympathy with people who haven’t heard that message with sufficient clarity because of the way it was announced yesterday,” he said.
He added:
He once again called for more regular meetings between the four UK nations.
Asked if he was worried that the tone of Johnson’s announcement could have an impact on the number of Covid-19 cases in Wales, he said: “I have to be concerned about that.” He added that he didn’t want to see the “headroom” Wales currently has in dealing with the crisis eroded “because people are exercising freedoms they have elsewhere but not in Wales.”
Asked whether the furlough scheme would remain longer in Scotland, Sturgeon said she wants the financial government to stay as long as needed.
“If we have different parts of the UK on slightly different timelines, then the schemes have to recognise that,” she added.
An estimate published last week suggests 26,000 people in Scotland have been infected with the virus, Sturgeon said.
