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| UK coronavirus live: London crime rises in May after lockdown lull | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Economy sees biggest monthly slump on record while families of Covid-19 victims call for inquiry into government handling of pandemic | |
| Crime recorded by Britain’s largest police force has started to rise after a sharp drop when lockdown measures were imposed. | |
| The Metropolitan Police saw all recorded crime drop to 48,349 offences in April, down from 65,633 the previous month, and compared with 74,898 in April 2019. | |
| But in May the total recorded offences went back up to 56,514, according to figures published on the force’s crime data dashboard. | |
| Britain’s top police officer had previously said that falls in gun and knife crime under lockdown are “silver linings” to the pandemic. Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner, said officers had a “smile on their face” as they had more time to go after criminals. | |
| Strict lockdown measures were eased in England in the middle of May to allow people to spend more time outside and to exercise with one other member of another household. | |
| The Metropolitan Police had also started taking pre-emptive action ahead of an expected rise in crime as society enjoyed more freedom. | |
| Officers visited 1,000 known offenders to try to point them towards “diversionary activities” in an effort to stop crime returning to pre-pandemic levels. | |
| They also targeted 250 micro hotspots that had previously seen high levels of street violence and robbery. | |
| The most recent national figures for England and Wales released by the National Police Chiefs Council suggested that crime had fallen by a quarter in the four weeks to May 10, compared with the same period last year. | |
| However assaults on emergency services workers were up 14% during the period, and there was a 4% rise in domestic abuse incidents. | |
| There’s a fairly damning quote from a UK-based foreign diplomat in a piece from the Telegraph’s Jeremy Warner today about the manner in which the UK has navigated Covid-19 crisis | There’s a fairly damning quote from a UK-based foreign diplomat in a piece from the Telegraph’s Jeremy Warner today about the manner in which the UK has navigated Covid-19 crisis |
| “What has become of your country?” Warned was asked by the diplomat. | “What has become of your country?” Warned was asked by the diplomat. |
| “We see only a ship of fools, and a plague ship at that.” | “We see only a ship of fools, and a plague ship at that.” |
| Warned makes the argument that more leadership is needed to bring the UK out of lockdown, writing: “Even as a halfway house, transitional arrangement, the two-metre rule provides no kind of solution. Schools, restaurants, bars, most retailers, and many workplaces cannot be viable as long as it lasts. Time is running out.” | Warned makes the argument that more leadership is needed to bring the UK out of lockdown, writing: “Even as a halfway house, transitional arrangement, the two-metre rule provides no kind of solution. Schools, restaurants, bars, most retailers, and many workplaces cannot be viable as long as it lasts. Time is running out.” |
| Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said the government needs to “get a grip” on the coronavirus test track and trace system because “it is holding us back economically as well as in health terms”. | Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said the government needs to “get a grip” on the coronavirus test track and trace system because “it is holding us back economically as well as in health terms”. |
| Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: “We have to get that test, track and isolate system working properly. | Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: “We have to get that test, track and isolate system working properly. |
| “If we don’t have it functioning as well as in other nations, then we risk seeing additional lockdowns and much slower reopening than would otherwise occur.” | “If we don’t have it functioning as well as in other nations, then we risk seeing additional lockdowns and much slower reopening than would otherwise occur.” |
| “And, of course, we risk seeing much lower consumer confidence, and that’s critically important now that we push demand up.” | “And, of course, we risk seeing much lower consumer confidence, and that’s critically important now that we push demand up.” |
| Today’s economic figures confirm that Britain “faces the most serious economic challenge in generations,” tweeted the acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, who has also turned his fire on the looming risk again of a no-deal Brexit. | Today’s economic figures confirm that Britain “faces the most serious economic challenge in generations,” tweeted the acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, who has also turned his fire on the looming risk again of a no-deal Brexit. |
| “Not a time to exit the world’s largest market. Not a time to increase trade barriers Not a time to deny business skills they need with a damaging new immigration system.” | “Not a time to exit the world’s largest market. Not a time to increase trade barriers Not a time to deny business skills they need with a damaging new immigration system.” |
| Virgin Atlantic has become the latest airline to leave a vapour trail of furious customers who are now being told they will have to wait up to four months to receive refunds for cancelled flights. | Virgin Atlantic has become the latest airline to leave a vapour trail of furious customers who are now being told they will have to wait up to four months to receive refunds for cancelled flights. |
| Following warnings in May from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), more airlines have started processing refunds to customers, after initially trying to get customers to accept vouchers rather than the full cash refund to which they are entitled. | Following warnings in May from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), more airlines have started processing refunds to customers, after initially trying to get customers to accept vouchers rather than the full cash refund to which they are entitled. |
| Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways initially bore the brunt of consumer ire, but Virgin Atlantic customers have this week accused the company of not processing refunds in order to prop up the company. | Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways initially bore the brunt of consumer ire, but Virgin Atlantic customers have this week accused the company of not processing refunds in order to prop up the company. |
| Those behind a Virgin Atlantic refund action group on Facebook, which has more than 400 members, say they are yet to find a single person who has received a voluntary refund from the airline. | Those behind a Virgin Atlantic refund action group on Facebook, which has more than 400 members, say they are yet to find a single person who has received a voluntary refund from the airline. |
| The airline’s social media channels are bearing the brunt of anger as well. | The airline’s social media channels are bearing the brunt of anger as well. |
| Northern Ireland’s first minister, Arlene Foster, has insisted a move to enable all shops to open on Friday had not been fast-tracked in response to the opening of retailers in the Irish Republic. | Northern Ireland’s first minister, Arlene Foster, has insisted a move to enable all shops to open on Friday had not been fast-tracked in response to the opening of retailers in the Irish Republic. |
| Retailers were given the all-clear by Stormont ministers on Thursday following a reduction in the numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths. | Retailers were given the all-clear by Stormont ministers on Thursday following a reduction in the numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths. |
| Scientific experts estimated the level of transmission of Covid-19 is manageable. Outlets like independently-run bookshops have spent days getting ready and installing protective screens while those based in shopping centres also received the green light as ministers accelerated the pace at which society emerges from lockdown. | Scientific experts estimated the level of transmission of Covid-19 is manageable. Outlets like independently-run bookshops have spent days getting ready and installing protective screens while those based in shopping centres also received the green light as ministers accelerated the pace at which society emerges from lockdown. |
| Foster said on Friday: “We have had our plan, we launched it back on the 12th of May, and in that plan we said we would take a step-by-step process out of the lockdown and we would do it in a way that didn’t have a cumulative impact upon the transmission of the virus. | Foster said on Friday: “We have had our plan, we launched it back on the 12th of May, and in that plan we said we would take a step-by-step process out of the lockdown and we would do it in a way that didn’t have a cumulative impact upon the transmission of the virus. |
| “We’ve been taking steps to come out, we do that in a gradual way, and we think that now is the right time to open all retail.” | “We’ve been taking steps to come out, we do that in a gradual way, and we think that now is the right time to open all retail.” |
| One third of people who tested positive for coronavirus and were referred to the NHS test-and-trace app were not successfully contacted because they “simply didn’t feel like answering the phone”, the health minister Edward Argar has said. | One third of people who tested positive for coronavirus and were referred to the NHS test-and-trace app were not successfully contacted because they “simply didn’t feel like answering the phone”, the health minister Edward Argar has said. |
| In the first week of the app being in use, 8,117 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England had their case transferred to the NHS system. | In the first week of the app being in use, 8,117 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England had their case transferred to the NHS system. |
| Of these, 5,407 (67%) were reached, while 2,710 (33%) did not provide information about their contacts or could not be reached. | Of these, 5,407 (67%) were reached, while 2,710 (33%) did not provide information about their contacts or could not be reached. |
| Argar told BBC Breakfast: “Some people won’t necessarily have answered their phone, you and I know what it’s like if you have flu, for example, and Covid-19 is a much, much nastier disease than that, you sometimes simply don’t feel like answering the phone or responding to much at all.” | Argar told BBC Breakfast: “Some people won’t necessarily have answered their phone, you and I know what it’s like if you have flu, for example, and Covid-19 is a much, much nastier disease than that, you sometimes simply don’t feel like answering the phone or responding to much at all.” |
| Edward Argar, a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, is being pressed on BBC Radio 4 about when the test-and-trace app, which has been trialled on the Isle of Wight, will be ready. | Edward Argar, a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, is being pressed on BBC Radio 4 about when the test-and-trace app, which has been trialled on the Isle of Wight, will be ready. |
| He’s repeating that new ministerial mantra that the app is (altogether now) the “cherry on the cake”. | He’s repeating that new ministerial mantra that the app is (altogether now) the “cherry on the cake”. |
| The test-and-trace system has got off to a good start, he insists, despite criticism directed at the government after it emerged that a third of those who have tested positive for the coronavirus in England have not provided details of people they have been close to and may have infected. | The test-and-trace system has got off to a good start, he insists, despite criticism directed at the government after it emerged that a third of those who have tested positive for the coronavirus in England have not provided details of people they have been close to and may have infected. |
| The data came from the first full week of the new contact-tracing scheme has revealed. | The data came from the first full week of the new contact-tracing scheme has revealed. |
| On an already difficult day for the government, the Financial Times has this piece on how ministers are braced for a wave of job cuts as big companies prepare to launch redundancy consultations before they have to start picking up some of the cost of furloughed workers. | |
| Ministers are reported to fear that many large companies may rush out announcements on job cuts in the coming days and weeks. | Ministers are reported to fear that many large companies may rush out announcements on job cuts in the coming days and weeks. |
| One minister told the FT that many Tory MPs were being told by local employers that “redundancy notices are being prepared” – a message confirmed by business organisations. | |
| Centrica and Johnson Matthey became the latest London-listed companies to announce lay-offs while hundreds of manufacturing jobs are also due to disappear at Nissan’s Sunderland factory and Bombardier’s Belfast plant. | Centrica and Johnson Matthey became the latest London-listed companies to announce lay-offs while hundreds of manufacturing jobs are also due to disappear at Nissan’s Sunderland factory and Bombardier’s Belfast plant. |
| Matt Hancock is facing legal action from the daughter of a man who died from Covid-19 in a care home in which the health secretary is accused of a “litany of failures” and misleading the public with his claim to have “thrown a protective ring” around care homes. | Matt Hancock is facing legal action from the daughter of a man who died from Covid-19 in a care home in which the health secretary is accused of a “litany of failures” and misleading the public with his claim to have “thrown a protective ring” around care homes. |
| Dr Cathy Gardner launched a high court claim on Friday after her father, Michael Gibson, a retired headteacher, died in an Oxfordshire care home in early April. He became infected after a patient who tested positive for the virus was discharged from hospital into the home. | Dr Cathy Gardner launched a high court claim on Friday after her father, Michael Gibson, a retired headteacher, died in an Oxfordshire care home in early April. He became infected after a patient who tested positive for the virus was discharged from hospital into the home. |
| The request for a judicial review alleges failings “have led to large numbers of unnecessary deaths and serious illnesses” and have been “aggravated by the making of wholly disingenuous, misleading and – in some cases – plainly false statements suggesting that everything necessary has been done to protect care homes during the pandemic”. | The request for a judicial review alleges failings “have led to large numbers of unnecessary deaths and serious illnesses” and have been “aggravated by the making of wholly disingenuous, misleading and – in some cases – plainly false statements suggesting that everything necessary has been done to protect care homes during the pandemic”. |
| The fall in GDP due to the coronavirus lockdown is “unprecedented”, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has said | The fall in GDP due to the coronavirus lockdown is “unprecedented”, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has said |
| Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Well, 20% is really unprecedented.” | Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Well, 20% is really unprecedented.” |
| “Actually, if you take March and April together the fall was 25%. So in two months the economy shrank by a quarter.” | “Actually, if you take March and April together the fall was 25%. So in two months the economy shrank by a quarter.” |
| The political debate is now being picked up. Here’s Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror laying a striking graphic at the feet of the prime minister | The political debate is now being picked up. Here’s Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror laying a striking graphic at the feet of the prime minister |
| Edward Argar, Minister of State for Health at the Department of Health and Social Care, has meanwhile claimed on BBC Breakfast that the economy is “in roughly the same place” as other Western European economies. | Edward Argar, Minister of State for Health at the Department of Health and Social Care, has meanwhile claimed on BBC Breakfast that the economy is “in roughly the same place” as other Western European economies. |
| It’s been no secret that the UK growth figures for April would be a horror show. With the economy in full lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic it was inevitable that activity would take a hit of historic proportions. | It’s been no secret that the UK growth figures for April would be a horror show. With the economy in full lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic it was inevitable that activity would take a hit of historic proportions. |
| All that was at issue was whether the news from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) would be bad, really bad, calamitous or so far off the scale that even the most hardcore pessimist had not envisaged it. In the end, it was merely calamitous. | All that was at issue was whether the news from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) would be bad, really bad, calamitous or so far off the scale that even the most hardcore pessimist had not envisaged it. In the end, it was merely calamitous. |
| It goes without saying the 20.4% contraction of the economy was the worst on record. The decline was three times as big as the contraction in March and 10 times as big as anything seen before Covid-19. The economy was 25% smaller in April than in February. | It goes without saying the 20.4% contraction of the economy was the worst on record. The decline was three times as big as the contraction in March and 10 times as big as anything seen before Covid-19. The economy was 25% smaller in April than in February. |
| Almost two decades of growth has been wiped out in two months. | Almost two decades of growth has been wiped out in two months. |
| Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s liveblog coverage of coronavirus developments in the UK, where the country has been learning about what a full month’s lockdown does to its economy. | Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s liveblog coverage of coronavirus developments in the UK, where the country has been learning about what a full month’s lockdown does to its economy. |
| The economy slumped by 20.4% in April in the biggest monthly decline since records began, as the coronavirus lockdown paralysed the country. | The economy slumped by 20.4% in April in the biggest monthly decline since records began, as the coronavirus lockdown paralysed the country. |
| Richard Partington has that story here on a day when prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to come under sustained pressure from his MPs to take further steps to open up the economy, amid calls for caution from other quarters. | Richard Partington has that story here on a day when prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to come under sustained pressure from his MPs to take further steps to open up the economy, amid calls for caution from other quarters. |
| A range of other indicators are also out while the ongoing ramifications of the public health crisis continue to be felt. | A range of other indicators are also out while the ongoing ramifications of the public health crisis continue to be felt. |
| On that front, lawyers representing 450 bereaved people whose relatives have died due to Covid-19 have called on Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to hold an immediate public inquiry into the government’s handling of the crisis to help prevent many more deaths. | On that front, lawyers representing 450 bereaved people whose relatives have died due to Covid-19 have called on Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to hold an immediate public inquiry into the government’s handling of the crisis to help prevent many more deaths. |
| This is Ben Quinn in London. You can reach me on Twitter at @BenQuinn75 | This is Ben Quinn in London. You can reach me on Twitter at @BenQuinn75 |