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| Coronavirus UK live: Keir Starmer questions Boris Johnson over child poverty and struggling councils | Coronavirus UK live: Keir Starmer questions Boris Johnson over child poverty and struggling councils |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Labour leader accuses PM of failing to tackle child poverty; Hancock says government to write to 2.2m people shielding in England ‘shortly’; excess deaths in Scotland at lowest level since April | Labour leader accuses PM of failing to tackle child poverty; Hancock says government to write to 2.2m people shielding in England ‘shortly’; excess deaths in Scotland at lowest level since April |
| The UK government has ordered an urgent review of the potential ability of vitamin D to reduce the risk of Covid-19, our colleague Mattha Busby reports. | |
| It comes amid growing concern over the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people, who make up 94% of all doctors killed by the virus. | |
| A delayed Public Health England review into the reasons behind the disproportionate impact on people from BAME backgrounds which pointed to historical racism was said not to have yet reviewed the role of diet and vitamin D. | |
| Here is the full story. | |
| One further death with coronavirus has been has been recorded in Northern Ireland, bringing the total reported by the Department of Health to 543. There were eight new confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the total there to 4,862. | |
| Public Health Wales said a further 10 people had died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,466. The total number of cases increased by 53 to 14,922. | |
| The 2-metre distancing rule is threatening the future of the UK’s largest private zoo, its managing director has said. | |
| Dr Dominique Tropeano, of Colchester Zoo, said that in a normal summer season the Essex attraction could expect 5,000 to 6,000 visitors per day. But the number is currently limited to around 2,000 to comply with social distancing guidelines, he said. | |
| If the 2-metre distancing rule was relaxed to one metre then visitor numbers could “probably go to 4,000” per day, he said. | |
| Colchester Zoo opened to invited pass-holders and donors on Wednesday ahead of opening to the general public on Thursday. | |
| Staggered arrival times were in place, with groups of 200 people allowed in each half-hour and a one-way system operating around the park. | |
| Feeding times and organised entertainment were cancelled, and some indoor attractions had to remain closed, including the giraffe and elephant houses and the orangutan building. The giraffes and elephants can still be seen when they are in their outdoor enclosures. | |
| Dr Tropeano said he was excited to see people coming through the zoo’s gates, but warned: | |
| He is calling for the government to reduce VAT for zoos from 20% to 5%, adding that it could take “anything up to five years to recover” from the hit during the pandemic. | |
| Cameron Mackintosh has announced he is delaying the London West End return of the shows Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Hamilton and Phantom of the Opera until 2021 and is starting a consultation process over potential redundancies. | |
| In a statement, Mackintosh said the decision was heart-breaking but with no tangible government support he had no choice. | In a statement, Mackintosh said the decision was heart-breaking but with no tangible government support he had no choice. |
| The performing arts, including theatre, opera and dance, have been particularly badly hit by the lockdown because no-one has found a way of successfully operating with social distancing. | The performing arts, including theatre, opera and dance, have been particularly badly hit by the lockdown because no-one has found a way of successfully operating with social distancing. |
| A report by global forecasters Oxford Economics has forecast that UK theatre will this year suffer a £3bn revenue loss (61%) and the loss of 12,000 jobs (26%). | |
| In his statement Mackintosh says: | In his statement Mackintosh says: |
| In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said it was not true that student nurses were being made redundant. (See 12.51pm.) But students are finding that their paid placements are ending early. Here is a story on this from PA Media. | In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said it was not true that student nurses were being made redundant. (See 12.51pm.) But students are finding that their paid placements are ending early. Here is a story on this from PA Media. |
| Here is our colleague Peter Walker’s story about PMQs. | Here is our colleague Peter Walker’s story about PMQs. |
| The number of excess deaths in Scotland last week were at their lowest level since the beginning of April according to new figures released by the National Records of Scotland. | The number of excess deaths in Scotland last week were at their lowest level since the beginning of April according to new figures released by the National Records of Scotland. |
| There were 1,032 deaths recorded in Scotland in the week ending 16 April, compared with the five-year average of 1,000 deaths, or 3.2% above the norm, the lowest excess death rate recorded in 11 weeks. | There were 1,032 deaths recorded in Scotland in the week ending 16 April, compared with the five-year average of 1,000 deaths, or 3.2% above the norm, the lowest excess death rate recorded in 11 weeks. |
| At its worst point in the week ending 12 April the number of excess deaths - the total number of people whose deaths were registered in 2020 and comparing it to the average number of deaths in the five years prior - was running at almost 80% above the norm. | At its worst point in the week ending 12 April the number of excess deaths - the total number of people whose deaths were registered in 2020 and comparing it to the average number of deaths in the five years prior - was running at almost 80% above the norm. |
| But as this tweet by Severin Carrell demonstrates, while excess deaths in hospitals have now fallen below the five-year-average, and care homes are about the same, excess deaths in peoples’ private homes are still higher than in previous years. | But as this tweet by Severin Carrell demonstrates, while excess deaths in hospitals have now fallen below the five-year-average, and care homes are about the same, excess deaths in peoples’ private homes are still higher than in previous years. |
| There were 70 Covid deaths in the week ending 8 June the lowest figure recorded in Scotland since early April. | There were 70 Covid deaths in the week ending 8 June the lowest figure recorded in Scotland since early April. |
| Hancock said the government would look into air pollution as they investigate why Covid has had such a devastating effect on the BAME community. | Hancock said the government would look into air pollution as they investigate why Covid has had such a devastating effect on the BAME community. |
| That was Boris Johnson’s best performance at PMQs against Sir Keir Starmer so far. And it was also his first since his return to the Commons since his illness where he exhibited enough verve to make you believe that he might have fully recovered. (There have been credible reports saying that he has been more ill in recent weeks than anyone is publicly admitting, and that may well be part of the explanation for his below-par Commons performances in recent weeks.) That does not mean Johnson was statesmanlike or inspiring; the core weaknesses - flippancy, inattention to detail etc - remain; but today Johnson sounded like someone who had found a chink in Starmer’s armour, and he exploited it reasonably successfully. | That was Boris Johnson’s best performance at PMQs against Sir Keir Starmer so far. And it was also his first since his return to the Commons since his illness where he exhibited enough verve to make you believe that he might have fully recovered. (There have been credible reports saying that he has been more ill in recent weeks than anyone is publicly admitting, and that may well be part of the explanation for his below-par Commons performances in recent weeks.) That does not mean Johnson was statesmanlike or inspiring; the core weaknesses - flippancy, inattention to detail etc - remain; but today Johnson sounded like someone who had found a chink in Starmer’s armour, and he exploited it reasonably successfully. |
| Johnson’s key strength as a politician has been his talent as a campaigner, and campaigning involves finding a line that resonates with the public and then banging on about it remorselessly. This is what he did today, accusing Starmer of being unable say it is safe for children to return school out of deference to the teaching unions. Johnson has used this line before, but what was new about today was his determination to return to the theme ad nauseam, like an obsessive. It is the sort of tactic that looks cheap and ridiculous, but it works as a means of ramming home a message. (David Cameron played this trick at PMQs successfully quite often.) There is enough ambiguity in Labour’s position to make this a plausible line of attack, and Johnson’s argument will certainly appeal to the Tory MPs (see 10.39am) and rightwing papers who feel strongly on this issue. How much wider resonance this will have is not clear. Last month polling showed many parents did not want their children to go back to class. But after weeks without any real attack line against Labour at all, at least today Johnson had something. | Johnson’s key strength as a politician has been his talent as a campaigner, and campaigning involves finding a line that resonates with the public and then banging on about it remorselessly. This is what he did today, accusing Starmer of being unable say it is safe for children to return school out of deference to the teaching unions. Johnson has used this line before, but what was new about today was his determination to return to the theme ad nauseam, like an obsessive. It is the sort of tactic that looks cheap and ridiculous, but it works as a means of ramming home a message. (David Cameron played this trick at PMQs successfully quite often.) There is enough ambiguity in Labour’s position to make this a plausible line of attack, and Johnson’s argument will certainly appeal to the Tory MPs (see 10.39am) and rightwing papers who feel strongly on this issue. How much wider resonance this will have is not clear. Last month polling showed many parents did not want their children to go back to class. But after weeks without any real attack line against Labour at all, at least today Johnson had something. |
| The drawback, of course, is that this is the sort of play you only require if you are on the defensive. Starmer was probably sensible not to engage with the PM’s questions and twice he ended up deploying the well-used line about it being the PM’s job to answer the questions, not to ask them. As ever, his performance was assured and his questions were pertinent. Perhaps he should have pursued the child poverty line more persistently and aggressively, and in his final question - exposing a blatant government failure to follow-up on a promise made about the NHS surcharge - he recovered the upper hand by forcing Johnson into an abrupt change of tone. (Johnson effectively admitted that people were still paying a charge they should not have to.) But, generally though, Johnson’s ebullience survived largely unpunctured. | The drawback, of course, is that this is the sort of play you only require if you are on the defensive. Starmer was probably sensible not to engage with the PM’s questions and twice he ended up deploying the well-used line about it being the PM’s job to answer the questions, not to ask them. As ever, his performance was assured and his questions were pertinent. Perhaps he should have pursued the child poverty line more persistently and aggressively, and in his final question - exposing a blatant government failure to follow-up on a promise made about the NHS surcharge - he recovered the upper hand by forcing Johnson into an abrupt change of tone. (Johnson effectively admitted that people were still paying a charge they should not have to.) But, generally though, Johnson’s ebullience survived largely unpunctured. |
| When asked about the 14-day quarantine for visitors and why airports can’t instead take temperature checks instead, Hancock said temperature checks has been inadequate in other countries. | When asked about the 14-day quarantine for visitors and why airports can’t instead take temperature checks instead, Hancock said temperature checks has been inadequate in other countries. |
| When asked if the government would increase funding for mental health survivors, Hancock said the government had been increasing funding for mental health services and it was “a very important part of this response”. | When asked if the government would increase funding for mental health survivors, Hancock said the government had been increasing funding for mental health services and it was “a very important part of this response”. |