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Press conference raises more questions but Boris Johnson gives full backing to adviser
The crisis that has engulfed the government over Dominic Cummings’ conduct continued to rage unabated after an unprecedented press conference in which the prime minister’s chief aide repeatedly refused to resign or apologise for breaking lockdown rules.
After an outpouring of public anger rattled No 10, he attempted to explain why he drove 264 miles from London to his parents’ estate in Durham despite suspecting that both he and his wife had coronavirus.
Continue reading...Office of the PM says Rutte ‘complied with all directives’ and did not see his mother in the weeks before her death
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was unable to visit his dying mother in her final weeks because he obeyed coronavirus restrictions against visiting care homes, his office has said.
The news about Rutte emerged as Britain was gripped by a political row over allegations that the top aide to prime minister Boris Johnson broke Covid-19 rules to travel cross-country to stay on his parents’ estate.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson’s chief adviser refuses to resign in public statement from Downing Street
Dominic Cummings has refused to resign or apologise for driving 264 miles to Durham to isolate on his parents’ property while his wife was sick with suspected coronavirus.
In an unprecedented move for a senior political adviser, Cummings addressed criticism of his actions from the rose garden of No 10 Downing Street on Monday afternoon, following an outpouring of anger among the public, MPs, bishops, police, scientists and medics.
Continue reading...Dominic Cummings will not resign; WHO drops hydroxychloroquine from global study into experimental coronavirus treatments; Follow the latest
The White House on Monday issued a statement amending the timing of the start of new restrictions on travel from Brazil to the United States to 11.59pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, 26 May.
The White House announced on Sunday that it was restricting travel from Brazil to the United States, two days after the South American nation became the world’s No. 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases.
In its original announcement, it said the restrictions would come into force on 28 May.
Ten million UK adults have been volunteering in their community during the coronavirus crisis, and most say they will carry on after the lockdown ends, according to new research.
Related: UK volunteering soars during coronavirus crisis
Continue reading...Key exchanges from press conference given by Boris Johnson’s chief aide
After more than seven weeks of refusing to give any detailed explanation about whether – and why - he had gone to Durham during lockdown, the prime minister’s special adviser Dominic Cummings took centre stage in an unprecedented press conference in the Rose Garden of No 10.
Here are the key exchanges with journalists:
Continue reading...A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak
Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Continue reading...How No 10’s claims about the adviser’s breach of lockdown square with the public record
When Dominic Cummings was photographed sprinting out of Downing Street on the same day the prime minister and the health secretary were reported to have developed symptoms of coronavirus, observers might have assumed he was racing to attend to vital matters of state. In retrospect, many will ask whether he was just trying to beat the traffic.
Over the last 72 hours, Downing Street officials, unnamed sources and ministers have attempted to cast doubt on parts of the timeline of Cummings’s travels.
Continue reading...The schools reopening from 1 June will look very different to the ones that closed in March
The journey
Children in nursery, reception, year one and year six in primary schools in England, who are due to start a phased return to school from 1 June, will be asked to get to school by foot, bike or car, avoiding public transport as much as possible, accompanied by just one parent or carer.
Sage scientist condemns ‘vacuum in the heart of government’
A leading scientist from the government’s official advisory body has said there is a “vacuum in the heart of government” following Dominic Cummings’ press conference on breaking lockdown, and that “we now have to recognise that central government probably cannot be trusted to provide leadership.”
Robert West, a professor of health psychology at University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health, who sits on the advisory group on behavioural science for Sage told the Guardian: “From a public health perspective what we now have to recognise is that central government probably cannot be trusted to provide leadership, and other agencies, including local and regional government, are going to have to work together to make up for this. It will be difficult and maybe things will change but as things stand there is a leadership vacuum in the heart of government.”
Continue reading...Ten million have helped in their community – most plan to continue after lockdown ends
Ten million UK adults have been volunteering in their community during the coronavirus crisis, and most say they will carry on after the lockdown ends, according to new research.
The study also found that Britons have been extending a financial helping hand to local businesses. More than £1bn was spent on services and goods that people knew they would never be able to use during the pandemic, including payments to home cleaners and gardeners.
Continue reading...
