This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/jun/15/uk-coronavirus-live-non-essential-shops-reopen-latest-updates-news

The article has changed 18 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 11 Version 12
UK coronavirus live: minister says 2-metre rule review will be concluded 'as quickly as possible' UK coronavirus live: Dominic Raab holds daily briefing as UK official death toll rises by 38
(32 minutes later)
Edward Argar answers urgent question on distancing; non-essential shops open in latest lockdown easing in England; No10 rejects claims previous racism inquiry recommendations being ignored Foreign secretary holds press conference; Priti Patel condemns ‘far-right thugs’ at London march at weekend; health minister says 2-metre rule review to be completed soon
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee he would be surprised if the UK avoided a second coronavirus wave. The PA news agency has his comments: Q: What will the government do to help key workers with childcare over the summer? The normal options - summer camps, grandparents and holidays abroad - aren’t available?
Raab says that is a good question. But he says the government will fund summer activities.
Raab is now taking the first question, from Olly in Newcastle.
Q: When will the alert level fall to one, or close to one?
Raab says it is hard to say. They are trying to push it down. But the alert level is not up to politicians, he says.
And here is the slide with the death figures.
Raab is now presenting the slides.
Here are the figures for tests and news cases.
Raab says the government is monitoring the impact of its changes carefully. There is a risk of a second spike, he says.
He says the government will not move to the next stage before 4 July.
Nick Thomas-Symonds says that we need to see “deeds not words” and that, by launching an inquiry into racism and inequality and failing to act now, “the prime minister just isn’t offering the leadership required”.
Priti Patel responds that the Black Lives Matter movement and the points they have been making are “important and essential”.
She says the aim of the commission is to set out a “positive agenda for change” and that all MPs should welcome that.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, is taking the UK government press conference.
He summarises the latest moves to ease the lockdown coming into force in England. These are modest and careful steps, he says.
The Department of Health and Social Care has released the latest headline UK death figures. There have been a further 38 deaths, taking the total to 41,736.
This is the figure for people who have tested positive for coronavirus and died. It is not the total for all coronavirus deaths because thousands of people have died from coronavirus without having had a test, ONS figures suggest.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds says that this weekend we were “reminded once again” about the professionalism of our front line workers.
He says he was appalled to see the images of a man urinating by the memorial to PC Keith Palmer.
On the issue of damage to memorials, he says:
Patel says she wants to see “these vicious individuals” brought to justice.
She says that large gatherings of people remain unlawful and that she urges people not to attend any future protests to “protect themselves and their loved ones” from the coronavirus.
In total, at least 100 officers have now been injured, says Patel. And at least 280 arrests have been made. “Many of the so-called protesters came with the deliberate intent of causing harm to those around them and to police officers”.
Patel says hooliganism is “utterly indefensible”. She says that the image of the man desecrating the memorial to PC Keith Palmer, who made the “ultimate sacrifice” during a terror attack, was “the most abhorrent”.
Patel says that over 210,000 have attended demonstrations across the country following the death of George Floyd. She says that there were at least 160 separate protests this weekend, the vast majority of which passed peacefully.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, is giving a statement to the Commons on the violence in central London this weekend.
She says she was “saddened and sickened by the far-right thugs” who came to London on “a so-called mission” to protect our heritage. They failed to understand that “our heritage is founded on a set of shared values – tolerance, respect for people and property, and adherence to the rule of law”, she says.
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, has told the House of Lords science and technology committee he would be surprised if the UK avoided a second coronavirus wave. The PA Media news agency has his comments:
This is from David Henig, the British trade specialist and former civil servant who heads the UK trade policy project at the European Centre for International Political Economy, on Boris Johnson suggesting July could be a deadline in the talks process. (See 4.32pm.)This is from David Henig, the British trade specialist and former civil servant who heads the UK trade policy project at the European Centre for International Political Economy, on Boris Johnson suggesting July could be a deadline in the talks process. (See 4.32pm.)
And here is the quote from the clip Boris Johnson recorded for broadcasters after his talks with the EU where he said he would like to set the end of July as a deadline for getting a breakthrough in the post-Brexit trade talks. (See 3.53pm.) He said:And here is the quote from the clip Boris Johnson recorded for broadcasters after his talks with the EU where he said he would like to set the end of July as a deadline for getting a breakthrough in the post-Brexit trade talks. (See 3.53pm.) He said:
Earlier this year Downing Street effectively set June as its deadline for a breakthrough, saying that if the broad outline of a deal was not clear by then, it could walk away and prepare to trade with the EU on WTO terms (ie, opt for a “no-deal” Brexit) from the end of the transition in December. The coronavirus crisis made that deadline unrealistic. Johnson now seems to be reviving it for the end of July, although from his words it is not clear how firm an ultimatum this actually is.Earlier this year Downing Street effectively set June as its deadline for a breakthrough, saying that if the broad outline of a deal was not clear by then, it could walk away and prepare to trade with the EU on WTO terms (ie, opt for a “no-deal” Brexit) from the end of the transition in December. The coronavirus crisis made that deadline unrealistic. Johnson now seems to be reviving it for the end of July, although from his words it is not clear how firm an ultimatum this actually is.
Care homes have been ordered to destroy a batch of faulty Covid-19 test kits after the Department of Health and Social Care discovered the swabs could break off while being used to gather samples from residents’ tonsils and noses.
Care home managers were told on Sunday not to use the tests because they had “brittle stems at risk of snapping”. The kits were manufactured by Citotest, a company based in China, and were distributed by the government’s Covid-19 care home testing programme. It is tasked with providing tests for all staff and residents in care settings, not just people displaying symptoms.
The affected batch should be destroyed or kept in a safe area clearly marked that they should not be used, officials said, adding the problem emerged on Saturday and they were working as quickly as possible to resolve it.
You can read the full story from the Guardian’s social affairs correspondent Robert Booth here –
In the Commons Labour’s Richard Burgon says the push from Tory MPs to replace the 2-metre rule with a 1-metre one is an example of the party putting profits ahead of public safety.
Edward Argar, the health minister, says the government is holding a review so it can decide what policy is best.
Boris Johnson has said that “a bit of oomph” is needed to conclude the UK-EU talks on a post-Brexit trade talks. Speaking from Downing Street, he said:
And in the Commons Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative, says 1 metre is the right distance, and now is the right time to announce it.
Argar says Ellwood is making a powerful case. But he says Ellwood must await the outcome of the review.
More than 1,000 prisoners were released into homelessness at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in England and Wales, figures show, prompting the government to increase funding for accommodation for prison leavers.
Figures released to the Labour MP Lyn Brown – the shadow minister for prisons and probation – show 840 men, 89 women and 85 young adults aged 18 to 24 were released into rough sleeping or other forms of homelessness between 23 March, when the lockdown was imposed, and 30 April.
A further 1,209 men, women and young adults were released with unknown circumstances for accommodation in the same period.
You can read the full story from the Guardian’s home affairs correspondent Jamie Grierson here –
In the Commons John Redwood, a Conservative, says the government should announce the reduction of the 2-metre rule to a 1-metre rule today. That would help business, he says.
Argar says he hears what Redwood is saying, but that it is important to carry out a proper review.
In the Commons the Conservative MP Bob Stewart asks, if the reproduction number is falling, why any social distancing is needed at all.
Argar says R is still close to 1. He says as it falls, the government will be able to relax lockdown measures.
From ITV’s Paul Brand
In the Commons Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, says it could be six weeks (from the liaison committee) before we get the results of this review on the 2-metre rule, even though the facts have not changed. He says the advisers are divided. Government must take a decision, he says. He says livelihoods depend on this.
(Duncan Smith favours a relaxation of the rule.)
This is intriguing. Boris Johnson is planning to make a Commons statement on “global Britain” tomorrow.