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UK coronavirus live: Johnson hails 'breakthrough' of cheap steroid that helps prevent Covid-19 deaths UK coronavirus live: Johnson hails 'breakthrough' of cheap steroid that helps prevent Covid-19 deaths
(32 minutes later)
PM leads daily briefing; former PMs condemn merger of FCO and DfID; Johnson makes U-turn on free school meals after Rashford campaignPM leads daily briefing; former PMs condemn merger of FCO and DfID; Johnson makes U-turn on free school meals after Rashford campaign
Rory Stewart, the former Conservative international development secretary (who subsequently left the party after opposing Boris Johnson’s Brexit policy), has joined those criticising the plan to merge DfID with the FCO.
Q: [From the South Wales Argus] Is Wales being sidelined? Mark Drakeford said yesterday that he had gone almost three weeks without speaking to you.
Johnson says the UK government consults with the Welsh government regularly. He looks forward to speaking to Drakeford.
And, since the question came from the South Wales Argus, he says people from Cardiff contributed greatly to the dexamethasone trial.
(South Wales Argus is based in Newport, not Cardiff. When I worked in Cardiff many years ago, I don’t think the Argus had any readers in the Welsh capital.)
That’s it. The press conference is over.
Q: Will you be talking to President Macron about travel corridors?
Johnson says he will be talking to Macron about all sorts of things, including this, when they meet later this week. And he says they will be talking to Spain too about this.
Q: You said 12 weeks ago we would be almost through this by now. Yet it does not feel like that.
Johnson says he said they would turn the tide in 12 weeks. He thinks that has happened. We are coming through it, he says.
He says they have flattened the sombrero, or whatever he said they would do.
He says they are seeing “the first chink of light” in the fight against the disease with drugs like dexamethasone.
But people are resolved to defeat it, he says.
Q: How is baby Wilfred getting on? Has he seen his grandparents?
Johnson says he never normally comments on things like this, but it is all fine so far.
Q: How quickly will NHS patients be able to get dexamethasone? And, given that you have banned its export, how does that square with global Britain?
Johnson says he is not aware of an export ban. He says this drug is produced around the world.
Vallance says this drug is inexpensive and very widely available.
And he says this study will help people across the world.
The chief medical officer will issue guidance soon saying this should be used for clinical practice, he says.
Horby says doctors should be able to use the drug this evening. It is in the cupboard, and they know how it works.
Q: Are you planning to switch aid money from poorer countries to richer countries?
Johnson says that is not what’s happening. He says he wants to ensure the UK gets more “bang for its buck” with aid spending.
He says other countries are doing the same thing.
Q: Why did it take a 22-year-old footballer to shame you into doing the right thing?Q: Why did it take a 22-year-old footballer to shame you into doing the right thing?
Johnson says this is the right thing to do. He congratulates Marcus Rashford. In normal circumstances you only give out these vouchers in term time. But now there is a need to help people, he says.Johnson says this is the right thing to do. He congratulates Marcus Rashford. In normal circumstances you only give out these vouchers in term time. But now there is a need to help people, he says.
Q: Can you assure David Cameron that merging DfID and the FCO is the right thing to do?Q: Can you assure David Cameron that merging DfID and the FCO is the right thing to do?
Johnson says he is certain this is the right thing to do. He says he is surprised it did not happen earlier.Johnson says he is certain this is the right thing to do. He says he is surprised it did not happen earlier.
He says he is trying to put the idealism of DfID at the heart of foreign policy. It will create a super-department, he says.He says he is trying to put the idealism of DfID at the heart of foreign policy. It will create a super-department, he says.
Q: It took a campaign from a footballer for you to do something about free school meals. Have you lost touch with the need to level up?Q: It took a campaign from a footballer for you to do something about free school meals. Have you lost touch with the need to level up?
Johnson says he spoke to Marcus Rashford today and thanked him for his campaign. He says he only became aware of it recently.Johnson says he spoke to Marcus Rashford today and thanked him for his campaign. He says he only became aware of it recently.
He says he hopes the school vouchers announcement will make a big difference.He says he hopes the school vouchers announcement will make a big difference.
Q: Does the dexamethasone breakthrough change what might happen if there were a second wave?Q: Does the dexamethasone breakthrough change what might happen if there were a second wave?
Vallance says this will not stop people getting the illness.Vallance says this will not stop people getting the illness.
Horby says, if there were a second wave, there would still be a need for social distancing measures.Horby says, if there were a second wave, there would still be a need for social distancing measures.
Johnson says people should be able to attend funerals if they follow social distancing rules. The government will say more on this as it approaches 4 July, he says.Johnson says people should be able to attend funerals if they follow social distancing rules. The government will say more on this as it approaches 4 July, he says.
Trevor from Northamptonshire asks when the government will move from two metres to one.Trevor from Northamptonshire asks when the government will move from two metres to one.
Johnson says two metres are more effective.Johnson says two metres are more effective.
But it is also his view, he says, that as the infection numbers fall, then the statistical likelihood of being next to someone with coronavirus falls.But it is also his view, he says, that as the infection numbers fall, then the statistical likelihood of being next to someone with coronavirus falls.
This is under constant review, he says.This is under constant review, he says.
As the incidence of coronavirus goes down, there will be a “strong case” for changing the rule.As the incidence of coronavirus goes down, there will be a “strong case” for changing the rule.
Vallance says what the PM said was “absolutely right”. He goes on:Vallance says what the PM said was “absolutely right”. He goes on:
According to the ONS, only six out of 10,000 people have the disease. That means it becomes safer to change, he suggests.According to the ONS, only six out of 10,000 people have the disease. That means it becomes safer to change, he suggests.
At the press conference Horby is speaking now.At the press conference Horby is speaking now.
He says dexamethasone is not a drug that you would use on patients who do not have breathing difficulties. But, in patients with breathing difficulties, it has significant benefits, he says.He says dexamethasone is not a drug that you would use on patients who do not have breathing difficulties. But, in patients with breathing difficulties, it has significant benefits, he says.
He says if you were to use it on eight patients in this category, you would save one life. And the drugs for all eight would only cost £40, he says.He says if you were to use it on eight patients in this category, you would save one life. And the drugs for all eight would only cost £40, he says.
He says this is a common drug, which has been around for many years and which is very cheap.He says this is a common drug, which has been around for many years and which is very cheap.
Here is my colleague Sarah Boseley’s report about this trial, involving a drug called dexamethasone.Here is my colleague Sarah Boseley’s report about this trial, involving a drug called dexamethasone.
And this is how it starts.And this is how it starts.
Johnson says today global efforts to find a long-term solution continue.Johnson says today global efforts to find a long-term solution continue.
He claims the biggest breakthrough yet has been made by a team of British scientists.He claims the biggest breakthrough yet has been made by a team of British scientists.
Backed by UK government funding, they have led the first, robust clinical trial in the world proven to have reduced the risk of death, he says.Backed by UK government funding, they have led the first, robust clinical trial in the world proven to have reduced the risk of death, he says.
See 1.37pm for more.See 1.37pm for more.
Johnson says he is “all too aware” that the two-metre rule has implications for schools and other sectors.
He will do everything in his power to get life back to normal.
But he will proceed carefully, and will only act in a way that minimises the risk to life, he says.
Johnson says the government is following its plan.
At each stage it has only eased lockdown measures when the evidence suggested that was safe, he says.
He says it has been good to see non-essential shop opening, and more pupils returning to school in England.
He urges all parents whose children are eligible to return that it is safe for them to do so.
Johnson starts with the slides.
Here are the death figures.
Boris Johnson is holding the UK government’s daily press conference. He is appearing with Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, and Prof Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at Oxford University.
Johnson says he will let Vallance and Horby do most of the talking because they have some news.
Public Health England has now published a report called Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on BAME groups (pdf). It covers in part how structural racism helps to explain why black, Asian and minority ethnic people are at greater risk of dying from coronavirus than white paper.
Much of this material was expected to appear in the first Public Health England report on disparities in the risk posed by coronavirus to different groups. But it was held back, leading to complaints that the report did not fully address the extent of the problem.
Here is an extract from today’s report.
Political leaders from across the political spectrum in Scotland called on the UK government to protect around 900 Dfid jobs based in East Kilbride after Boris Johnson confirmed the department would be merged with the Foreign Office.
Its large base in Scotland is frequently cited by pro-UK parties and the Scotland Office as evidence of the UK government’s investment in the union; alongside HM Revenue and Customs and various armed services, DfID has the largest presence of any Whitehall department in Scotland.
Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary and MP for Edinburgh South, said losing Dfid “would be a deeply retrograde step at any time, let alone at a time when global cooperation is needed more than ever”. He went on:
The Scottish government’s prospectus for independence in the 2014 referendum proposed one ministry for foreign affairs and global development. However, Jenny Gilruth, the Scottish minister for Europe and international development, said merging Dfid with the Foreign Office was a “deplorable decision”. She said:
Johnson told MPs the Dfid jobs in East Kilbride would stay. (See 2.08pm.)
The full text of Boris Johnson’s opening statement to MPs about the merger of Dfid and the FCO is here. But, as is often the case with exchanges in the Commons, some of his impromptu language was more revealing. Two replies to MPs were particularly striking because they suggested that his instinctive view of British foreign policy is inherently reactionary.
Johnson calls DfID ‘a giant cashpoint in the sky’
Replying to a question from the Tory MP Steve Double, Johnson said:
This phrase was condemned by the former Conservative Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, who posed these on Twitter.
Johnson suggests diplomacy is about dealing with leaders who cut their opponents’ heads off
In response to a question from the SNP’s Kirsty Blackman, Johnson said:
After saying “cut the head off his opponent”, Johnson paused, as if he had realised that he had said something wrong. He probably had, although no one seemed to object at the time. This sounded like a line from one of his reactionary Daily Telegraph columns, redolent of an imperialist world view in which foreigners are assumed to be less civilised.
Tony Blair has said that he is “utterly dismayed” by the decision to merge DfID with the FCO.
Boris Johnson has now managed to unite three former prime ministers - two Labour ones and one Conservative - in opposition to his plan to get rid of DfID as a stand-alone department.
We are yet to hear from Sir John Major and Theresa May on the subject. But Major never set up an independent department for international aid himself, and so is unlikely to feel any attachment to DfID, and May showed little interest in this area during her short, Brexit-dominated premiership.
Arlene Foster, the first minister of Northern Ireland, has said she will be proposing the extension of free school meal support to the region’s pupils over the summer holidays. She told told the Northern Ireland assembly she would make the proposal to colleagues in the power-sharing coalition. The measure would be dependent on the necessary funds being found, she said.
For the record, this list shows how today’s UK coronavirus daily death figure, 233 (see 3.36pm), compares to the equivalent figures for the past two weeks.
Tuesday 2 June - 324
Wednesday 3 June - 359
Thursday 4 June - 176
Friday 5 June - 357
Saturday 6 June - 204
Sunday 7 June - 77
Monday 8 June - 55
Tuesday 9 June - 286
Wednesday 10 June - 245
Thursday 11 June - 151
Friday 12 June - 202
Saturday 13 June - 181
Sunday 14 June - 36
Monday 15 June - 38