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UK coronavirus live: Dominic Raab holds daily briefing as UK official death toll rises by 38 UK coronavirus live: Dominic Raab holds daily briefing as UK official death toll rises by 38
(32 minutes later)
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 soonForeign 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
Secondary schools in England have been told they can invite pupils in for one face-to-face meeting ahead of the summer holidays to check on well-being and progress since lockdown.
The new guidance from the Department for Education comes as pupils in years 10 and 12 who are preparing to sit GCSEs and A-levels next summer begin to return to school this week for limited contact.
The DfE has also confirmed that primary schools can use flexibility to admit more children, in addition to the year groups already allowed back to school, if they have capacity to do so.
The government is under pressure to get more children back into school before the summer holidays amid growing evidence of patchy provision of lessons at home and fears that the attainment gap will widen.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “I want to make sure as many pupils as possible can get back into the classroom and be reunited with their friends and teachers before summer, to support their wellbeing and education.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the idea of a “check-in” session but added: “These changes do not make up for the lack of a long-term, strategic plan for education for the coming months.”
Q: When the PM says you need to get infection rates down before the two-metre rule can be relaxed, what does he mean?
Raab says two metres will applies for now. The PM has launched a review. The government will say more than, he says.
Q: What assurances can you give to people in the hospital sector that they will be able to reopen?
Raab says 4 July was always the earliest possible date for reopening. It has to be done in safest possible way, he says.
And that’s it. The press conference is over.
Q: In April you said it would not be business as usual with China after coronavirus. How strongly do you take warnings about the danger China could do to the UK economy?
Raab says he thinks his comment may have been over-interpreted. He says it is not necessarily business as usual with any country.
He says they want a balanced approach to China.
Q: When will we see the results of the Huawei review?
Raab says that will be when the full data is back.
Back in the Commons, Priti Patel has been paying tribute to Patrick Hutchinson, the Black Lives Matter demonstrator who was photographed carrying a counter-protester to safety during Saturday’s protests in London.
She said:
Hutchinson spoke to Channel 4 news last night and his comments are worth a read.
Q: Are you taking less notice of the science?
Raab says the science is evolving.
Science and medical experts will continue to attend the press conferences, he says.
But he says other experts will be represented too.
Q: Your colleague Nusrat Ghani said today that you don’t need any more BME reviews. You just need to implement what has been recommended already.
Raab says the commission is being set up to set a new direction.
But he stressed that a lot of progress has already been made.
He says this commission will come up with actual policies.
Q: Aren’t you just kicking the can down the road?
Raab says the government is already following up on things like the Lammy review. (See 1.28pm.)
And he says there is some encouraging Ipsos MORI polling out on this today.
Q: Do you accept that changing the two-metre rule involves a trade-off between safety and business?
Raab says there is nothing absolute about two metres. And he says the scientific evidence is constantly evolving
Q: Do you agree that the way British Airways is treating its workers is a disgrace?
Raab says firms are going through a very difficult time. He would urge them to save as many jobs as possible.
Q: What help is the government offering?
Raab says it has offered a lot of help already. He says his department, the Foreign Office, spent £75m on a charter flight regime that helped airlines.
Q: But what are you doing for British Airways?
Raab says the chancellor is looking at all vulnerable sectors.
Q: [From the BBC’s Mark Easton] Instead of announcing a new disparities review, why doesn’t the government publish the material from the Public Health England review that was suppressed?
Raab says he does not accept this is just another review. He says the government is making progress on the recommendations from past reviews.
Q: But there are leaks from the report explaining why BAME people are dying more frequently from coronavirus?
Raab says it is a sensitive topic. When the government can release further information, it will do so.
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?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 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.Raab is now taking the first question, from Olly in Newcastle.
Q: When will the alert level fall to one, or close to one?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.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.And here is the slide with the death figures.
Raab is now presenting the slides.Raab is now presenting the slides.
Here are the figures for tests and news cases.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.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.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”.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”.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.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.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.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.)
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.