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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson sets out lockdown exit plans to MPs 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 addresses Commons as Keir 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 has caused ‘considerable confusion’
Johnson says the new, increased fines for people breaking lockdown rules will be £100, or £50 if paid early (instead of £60/£30). And they will rise to a potental maximum of £3,600 for repeat offences, he says.
(In reference to these measures Johnson is speaking as prime minister of England.)
Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says there is now a three nations approach; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all agree. Can the PM confirm he is acting as prime minister of England?
Johnson rejects that. He says he is offering good advice for the whole of the UK. But he says he accepts why in different places different policy may be needed.
Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, asks Johnson to confirm that neither the chief medical adviser nor the chief scientific adviser signed off the new “Stay alert” slogan.
“That’s not right,” says Johnson.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says the PM has generated confusion. He says: “Mixed messaging risks lives.”e
First, he asks the PM to confirm that in the devolved nations the “Stay at home” advice still applies.
He says the PM said last night he had consulted with the devolved administrations. But will he confirm he did not consult on the slogan.
Can he promise not to deploy the slogan in Scotland?
When will quarantine be enforced? And is it true that Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, told the airline industry that if this was too complicated, it would not be enforced.
And will the PM confirm people in Scotland should follow Nicola Sturgeon’s advice?
Johnson says the answer to question one is yes, and the answer to question four is no.
On other points, he says the four nations have more in common than Blackford implies.
Johnson says different approaches from the devolved nations are to be welcomed when needed because R, the reproduction number is different in different places.
Referring to Wales having different rules on exercise, he says there will be many examples of anomalies like this.
But he says everyone understands what the government is trying to do.
He says he thinks people will apply “good, solid British common sense”.
Johnson says guidelines on places of employment will be published tonight. And the transport ones will be out tomorrow, he says.
Johnson is responding to Starmer.
He says until now people have been following the “Stay at home” advice.
People may have followed it more thoroughly than in other countries, he says.
But now we have to take “small, limited steps” to come out of the lockdown.
He says, when you are coming out of a message that is so “gloriously simple”, there will inevitably be complexities.
On childcare, Johnson says the government expects employers to be reasonable. If people do not have childcare, they cannot be expected to go to work.
Johnson says parents without childcare should not be expected to go to work.
Starmer is still speaking.
He asks what rules will apply to public transport.
And what about childcare? Will childcare workers go back on Wednesday?
Starmer turns to the quarantine plan. Johnson says this would apply to people arriving by air. But the document says it will cover all arrivals?
And is it England, or for the whole of the UK?
He says there is no consensus on messaging between the UK government and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
He asks Johnson to confirm that people won’t be able to travel to Scotland for exercise. Won’t this make enforcement hard?
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is responding to Johnson.
He starts by saying he accepts how difficult these decisions are.
The country needs clarity and reassurance. At the moment both are in short supply, he says.
He says the PM’s statement caused “considerable confusion”.
He says No 10 put out a press release on Sunday implying construction and manufacturing would go back on Monday.
But the document says a wider set of employees (see 3.38pm) should go back on Wednesday.
But safety guidelines are not ready.
Will they be ready tomorrow? Have they been agreed? And will they only apply in England?
Johnson sums up by using the “Stay alert” slogan.
Johnson says in July, if the data supports this, the government will move to stage three.
It will then open some hospitality and leisure businesses.
But that will only be if they can maintain social distancing, he sayss.
And he says the government will not hesitate to put on the brakes if necessary.
Johnson says from Wednesday there will be no limits on the outdoor exercise people can take.
He is referring to England only, but does not make this clear.
He says people can do this with members of their own households, or with one other person.
And people can drive as far as they want to exercise this right, provided that they observe the rules of the devolved administrations.
(In other words, they should not drive to Scotland or Wales, he means.)
And he says people who are clinically vulnerable should continue to observe the current rules.
This is what the document says about this group.
Johnson says the government is now advising people to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible.
But he says this does not mean people should wear medical face masks.
Johnson says Dido Harding, a peer and chair of NHS Improvement, will take charge of a programme that will oversee mass testing.
He says the government wants workers who cannot work from home to return to work.
This is what the document says about this.
The challenge now is to find a way forward, Johnson says.The challenge now is to find a way forward, Johnson says.
He says the government has a “supremely difficult balance to strike”.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.He says there may need to be divergence in different parts of the UK.
But any such divergence should be short term, he says.But any such divergence should be short term, he says.
Johnson says the British people have face a grave threat. Johnson says the British people have faced a grave threat.
They have changed their way of live.They have changed their way of live.
Tragically many families have lost loved ones.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.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.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.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.“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.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).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 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 on how they will apply in England.
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.
Our colleague Dan Sabbagh is interested in a passage at the end of the coronavirus recovery plan.
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.
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 was originally from East Timor.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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:
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.