UK coronavirus live: ‘many, many job losses’ are ‘inevitable’, Boris Johnson says

This is from Business Insider’s Adam Bienkov on Boris Johnson’s claim to be a Sinophile. (See 5.45pm.)

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the prison estate continues to rise, the Ministry of Justice daily update shows.

As at 5pm on Tuesday, 479 prisoners had tested positive for coronavirus across 79 prisons, an increase of just two cases in 24 hours, a rise of less than 0.5%

The number of prison staff with the virus increased by just five cases to 935 workers across 105 prisons in the same period, a rise of less than 1%

The figures are not live cases and include those who have recovered.

There are around 80,000 prisoners across 117 prisons in England and Wales, and around 33,000 staff working in public sector prisons.

At least 23 prisoners and nine staff are known to have died, as well as one prison escort driver and one NHS trust employee working in a secure training centre.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Justice unveiled its plan for recovery within the prison estate with potential to restart prison visits in July.

Johnson says the UK is discussing air corridors (or “air bridges”, as they are sometimes called) with other European partners. But he will not give details.

But he has a message for Italians, he says: “Come back to the UK.” But you have to quarantine, he says.

The press conference is now over. I will post a summary soon.

Q: What assurances can you give to the car industry in the West Midlands?

Johnson says he wants to champion low-carbon vehicles. That is the future.

Q: What advice can you give to parents worried about sending their children to school?

Whitty says he will reply as a doctor would; when putting a patient on a new treatment, you stress the advantages and the disadvantages.

He says children are much less likely than adults to get severe illness from coronavirus.

And parents of primary school children are generally not in the age group where they are at high risk, he says. He accepts some parents may have health issues that make them vulnerable.

He says government has to perform a balancing act between slowing transmission, and making sure children do not lose out by missing education.

He says other family members might be at risk. They need to take sensible decisions, he says.

Q: Do you want to exclude Huawei now from the 5G network?

Johnson says he thinks what is happening now in Hong Kong will be an infringement of the agreement between China and the UK.

On Huawei, he says he wants solutions for the UK that protect UK security.

But he stresses that he is a Sinophile. He deeply disapproves of anti-Chinese phobia. We must stamp out attacks on Chinese people, he says.

Q: Did Sage specifically advise on imposing quarantine from 8 June?

Vallance says it did not advise on timing. That is a policy matter for ministers. He repeats the point about Sage advising that quarantine works best when the incidence of coronavirus is low here and high in other countries.

Whitty says coronavirus is an infection we will have to live alongside for many months, and possibly longer.

He says the lockdown should be relaxed very cautiously.

He says the government has to isolate people with the virus, or who might have the virus.

The people most likely to get it from these people are people in their household.

He says test and trace has just been brought in. It will work better over time.

It will allow the government to identify people most at risk.

Whitty goes on to talk about reducing transmission at an individual level. Washing hands is important, and so is coughing etiquette. The 2-metre rule is important. And if people cannot socially distance at 2 metres, they should wear face coverings.

He says all these measures will continue for as long as the epidemic continues.

On top of that, the government needs to break social contacts. That is why pubs have been closed down, and why shops and schools were closed too.

In this category of lockdown measures, the changes have been very modest, he says.

Whitty says shielding is also important, to protect those at greatest risk.

A small adjustment has been made to this, but it is “very small”.

And research is vital too – finding new vaccines and drugs.

Whitty says he has set out all these measures to explain that it is not “lockdown over”. He says the changes announced have been modest.

Q: [From Sky] Protesters in London are angry about the death of George Floyd. They cannot speak to the US president. You can. What will you say to him?

Johnson says we mourn George Floyd. He says he was appalled and sickened by what happened to him. His message to Trump is that racist violence has no place in society.

People have a right to protest. But they should do so peacefully.

Q: The government said the lockdown would not be relaxed until the alert level went down to 3. But it is still at 4. What has happened?

Whitty says relaxing the lockdown was linked to the government’s five tests.

But the alert level is different, he says. It is independently set. It monitors the spread of the disease.

(Whitty is wrong about this. The government’s coronavirus recovery plan specifically said: “The content and timing of the second stage of adjustments will depend on the most up-to-date assessment of the risk posed by the virus. The five tests set out in the first chapter must justify changes, and they must be warranted by the current alert level.” And the government produced a chart saying gradual relaxation of the lockdown would only start when the alert level went down to 3. See here.)

Q: What help is there for parents who need to go back to work but who do not have childcare options?

Johnson says he understands how frustrating that is.

He says they hope to get primary children back.

The government will continue to support people, thought things like the furlough system.

As for specific options with childcare, he refers the questioner (a member of the public) to the government’s coronavirus website.

He says not being able to get childcare should be seen by employers as a reasonable excuse for not being able to go back to work.

The first question is from Amy in Brighton. She says Spain has relaxed its lockdown, but there is no second spike. Why?

Vallance says he would hope to see the same thing happen here.

Johnson says it is possible there could be a second wave. It has its own kinetic force, he says.

Whitty says a second wave is quite common.

And here are the figures for deaths.

Vallance says there is a long tail.

It is not coming down as fast as we would like it to come down.

Johnson says as the weather gets worse some people may be tempted to move the gatherings they would have held outdoors indoors.

He urges people not to do that, he says.

He says the government relaxed the rules for outdoor gatherings because there is much less risk of transmission outside.

Johnson says there must be effective international action to reduce the impact of the virus.

Health experts have warned that, if the virus is left to spread, future waves could return to strike the UK, he says.

He says many developing countries have health systems that are ill prepared for this.

Tomorrow he will host a global vaccine summit, he says.

Here are the death figures from today’s slides.

Johnson is speaking now.

He appeals to people to get tested if they have symptoms.

And he justifies the decision to introduce quarantine.

The latest Guardian Politics Weekly podcast is out. Sonia Sodha chats to Michael Savage about the latest in Westminster. Peter Walker talks to Lib Dem leadership candidate Layla Moran, and Rajeev Syal reports on the latest restoration plans for the Palace of Westminster.

Scotland’s national parks are demanding urgent guidance on reopening public toilets safely and consistently, after weekend reports of local residents near beaches and beauty spots discovering human excrement left by daytrippers, my colleague Libby Brooks reports.

Laura Trott, a Conservative, asks about the app being tested on the Isle of Wight.

Harding says the feedback has been very positive. She says more than 50,000 people have downloaded the app – although she admits some of those are people not living on the island.

Labour’s Barbara Keeley asks what financial help is available to anyone told to self-isolate.

Harding says anyone who is told to self-isolate by test and trace is eligible for statutory sick pay.

If not, they could get universal credit, she says.

Q: But those pay very little. And this could happen to people more than once.

Harding says she understands this. But she says the scheme should work alongside people physically distancing. If you have not been close to someone for more than 15 minutes, you cannot be asked to self-isolate. So this should encourage people to practice physical distancing, she says.

Q: But what about key workers, who might come into contact with people with symptoms, like healthcare workers?

Harding says if workers have been wearing PPE, they won’t be asked to self-isolate.

Back in the Commons health committee Labour’s Rosie Cooper asks what is being done to ensure fraudsters don’t cheat people by pretending to be from test and trace.

Dido Harding, executive chair of the NHS test and trace system in England, says the test and trace system will never ask for people’s bank details. She says its phone number is public. She says if people receive suspicious text messages or emails, they should report them.

But she says there will always be people trying to take advantage of people.

Cooper says she does not know where there is no number people can ring to check a call is genuine.

Harding says there is a number. It’s 119, she says.

Luke Evans, a Conservative, asks what will be done to stop people false reporting that they have been in contact with someone. He suggests this could be done maliciously to force police officers to isolate, or MPs.

Harding says she does not think that is likely. She says people have to supply their details. She does not rule it out, but she suggests this is improbable.

Hunt says a Sage report from 1 May (pdf) said that contact tracing would only be effective if people were contacted and put into isolation within 48 hours. He asks how many tests results are provided within 24 hours.

Harding says over 90% of all test results come within 48 hours.

(That is the answer Boris Johnson gave when asked the same question in the Commons by Hunt. See 12.19pm.)

Hunt says he wants to know what the figure is for results within 24 hours. Harding says she does not have that figure. Hunt says he finds that hard to believe. Harding then says she does not have validated data.

Harding does, though, offer to give the committee a flavour of what is happening.

She says the “vast majority” of people contacted by the service are happy to be contacted and to self-isolate.

As an example, she cites a person who was planning to go to a family barbecue. She says they were glad to be contacted, because it meant they would not put their family at risk.

NHS England has recorded another 179 hospital deaths today. (See 2.20pm.) For the record, here are the equivalent daily NHS England figures for the last two weeks.

Wednesday 20 May – 166

Thursday 21 May – 187

Friday 22 May – 121

Saturday 23 May – 157

Sunday 24 May – 147

Monday 25 May – 59

Tuesday 26 May – 116

Wednesday 27 May – 183

Thursday 28 May – 185

Friday 29 May – 149

Saturday 30 May – 146

Sunday 31 May – 85

Monday 1 June – 108

Tuesday 2 June – 143

The Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne asks whether the home secretary will bring forward the review of the quarantine policy by 10 days, “to limit a second wave of economic damage”.

Patel says the date for review has already been outlined.

The Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown asks whether the home secretary will consider and urgently review as soon as possible the establishment of air bridges, particularly with countries where the rate of infection is lower than our own.

Patel says this is absolutely right and they want to find a safe way for people to travel.

Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee, says hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost if airlines are unable to fly their peak summer schedules. He asks that there be clear criteria for air corridors and the first list of safe countries well before the three-week review on 29 June.

Patel says the transport secretary will be leading on this.

The Tory former environment secretary Theresa Villiers urges the home secretary to suspend the implementation of the blanket quarantine requirement, to allow more time for air bridges to be in place safely and to save aviation jobs.

Patel says this would require bilateral agreements with countries, which the FCO is working on.

The Conservative MP Ben Spencer calls the 14-day quarantine “a very blunt tool” with many downsides and consequences for the aviation industry. He calls for the government to move “as quickly as possible” to a precise, more targeted based on science and international safety standards that would protect the both the health of the public and staff and save livelihoods.

Patel says this is an international crisis, so there is no “bespoke” way of working throughout the crisis for the aviation sector.

Back in the Commons, the Conservative MP Steve Brine says the quarantine measures are “the right move at the wrong time”. He asks if the government would consider “travel gates” to block travellers from certain countries based on the science, in what would be a more targeted “risk-based approach”.

Patel says there will be a range of measures and ongoing dialogue with the industry.

Public Health Wales said a further 17 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,371.

And another 82 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there to 14,203.

Patel added:

Taking this public health action – alongside our other measures, including test and trace and continued social distancing – will ensure we have greater freedom in the longer term.

That includes international travel corridors.

Currently, there should only be essential travel, but across government and with the sector we continue to explore all options for future safe travel. Any international approaches will be bilateral and agreed with the other countries concerned.

We need to ensure that those countries are deemed to be safe. We are not alone in our fight against this disease, or in the measures we have taken to stop it.

Patel says she will not allow a reckless minority to put quarantine at risk.

A breach of the rule could lead to a £1,000 fine in England, or potential prosecution.

She says the measures will be reviewed regularly to ensure they are proportionate. The first review will take place in the week beginning 28 June.

She says various factors will be taken into account when the government decides whether or not to continue with the measures, including: the rate of infection, credibility of reporting, what other governments are doing, the infection rate in other countries and the extent to which testing minimises the risk.

Patel says the quarantine measures will come in from 8 June.

She says a limited number of exemptions from the self-isolation rule for new arrivals have been allowed.

Arrivals will have to fill in a contact locator form, including details of where they will be isolated, and how they can be contacted.

The form will have to be completed before arrival. Passengers will need a receipt showing they have filled it in.

Border Force officers will be able to impose a £100 fine on those who do not comply, she says.

Nearly a decade of progress in narrowing the attainment gap in England between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates has probably been “wiped in a few months” due to the coronavirus pandemic, a study has found.

Analysis by the Education Endowment Foundation charity said the closure of schools to most pupils 10 weeks ago was likely to reverse all progress made to close the gap since 2011.

Over the past decade the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates at the end of primary school in England is estimated to have narrowed from 11.5 months in 2009 to 9.2 months in 2019, according to the Education Policy Institute. However, the EEF fears that progress made since 2011 will now be lost.

The analysis, published on Wednesday, said its median estimate was that the attainment gap could widen by 36% but that “plausible estimates” indicated it could widen by between 11% and 75%.

Sir Keir Starmer has not held a one-on-one conversation with the prime minister for more than a month, the Labour leader’s spokesman told journalists. As PA Media reports, the spokesman said the telephone talks referred to by Boris Johnson during PMQs (see 12.09pm) were with all opposition leaders, with the last one-on-one conversation occurring on April 29. Starmer has since written a letter (see 12.31pm) requesting a meeting with the PM and the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, to discuss schools reopening but Labour says there has been no reply.

Downing Street’s new Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) will be moved to the Department of Health and run by one of its senior officials – instead of the Home Office’s head of counter-terrorism as originally proposed.

It is now expected to be led by Clara Swinson, currently responsible for global and public health, in a swift replacement for Tom Hurd, a security specialist who was also a schoolmate of Boris Johnson.

But the changes reflect a rapid shift in emphasis after some public health experts had voiced concern that the pandemic virus did not behave in a similar way to violent terrorists. “A different approach is being taken,” a source said.

Initially the JBC was modelled on the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which assesses the terror threat level, when it was announced by the prime minister in early May.

It was intended to assess the pandemic threat on a colour coded scale from one (low) to five (critical), replacing a lower-profile alert system that reported to the country’s four chief medical officers.

Initially the risk level was set at four although the government had hoped it would be reduced to three this week as the lockdown began to ease on 1 June. But all four chief medical officers refused to endorse the change because it would contradict evidence the virus was still widespread. The body has been brought firmly under the control of the chief medical officers, including England’s Prof Chris Whitty, suggesting the group will take on disease monitoring currently carried out by Public Health England, with greater involvement from the devolved nations.

Hurd, one of the sons of the one-time Conservative foreign secretary Sir Douglas, is expected to return to his job at the Home Office. An Old Etonian, he is considered a contender to become the next director general at MI6.

The Bank of England has said it is looking at “a number of outcomes” including a no-deal Brexit scenario, following reports its governor, Andrew Bailey, has told banks and lenders to prepare for the transition period to end without agreement. Bailey said during a call with bank chief executives that they should accelerate planning for the outcome, according to Sky News.

The Scottish government has warned that failing to extend the Brexit transitional arrangements to the end of 2022 could cost the Scottish economy up to £3bn and lower its GDP by up to £2bn.

Mike Russell, Scotland’s constitution and Europe secretary, said the forecast showed that leaving the EU on 31 December this year would deepen the recession expected to follow the coronavirus crisis, hitting businesses and employers already suffering from a steep decline in economic activity.

Citing the Scottish government’s new forecast, Russell urged the UK government to listen to all the business leaders, opposition parties and EU leaders calling for an extension to the Brexit transition.

He said the Tory government had to extend it for two more years, and had to do so before 30 June, the cut-off date agreed with the EU:

Given the huge economic hit caused by coronavirus it would be an act of extraordinary recklessness for the UK government to refuse to seek an extension.

[I] believe there is a growing common-sense coalition to press for an extension to avoid such a disastrous outcome and the needless damage it would do to Scottish jobs and our economy.

Three Metropolitan police staff have died after testing positive for Covid-19, the force’s commissioner has revealed.

Dame Cressida Dick told the London assembly police and crime committee:

Very sadly, we have lost three police staff colleagues, apparently to Covid, in this time period.

She also said there were more than 900 assaults on police staff and officers between 20 March and 31 May, including 100 attacks involving spitting or coughing where coronavirus was used as a threat.

Of those 100 incidents, 83 people were charged, with 13 of the 14 dealt with by the courts so far handed a custodial sentence, which Dick said “underlines the courts are taking these horrible offences seriously”.

The latest weekly statistics from the National Records of Scotland show that coronavirus deaths in Scotland have fallen for the fifth week in a row, but total deaths in care homes (1,818) have exceeded total deaths in hospital (1,815) for the first time.

Between 25 and 31 May, 131 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate have been registered, a decrease of 99 from the previous week. As of 31 May, a total 3,911 deaths related to coronavirus have been registered in Scotland.

While there was also a reduction in deaths in care homes over the past week, it is still the case that more than half (52%) of all registered deaths involving Covid-19 in the week occurred in care homes.

At first minister’s questions, Nicola Sturgeon said that the figures gave grounds for optimism, but insisted that the stay-at-home message remained essential.

PMQs has now finished. Snap verdict coming up soon.

But, first, the BBC’s Iain Watson has this Labour response to one of the points the PM made earlier. (See 12.09pm.)

Theresa May, the former Tory PM, asks for an assurance that the UK will continue to get access to EU databases needed for fighting crime from next year.

Johnson says that will depend on the outcome of the Brexit talks. But he hopes the EU will see sense, he says.

Labour’s Andy Slaughter asks why references to structural racism were removed from the Public Health England report on diversity and coronavirus yesterday.

Johnson says the government commissioned the review. He says he thinks it is “intolerable” that some groups are more at risk.

Johnson says the government is doing everything it can to support the UK steel industry. He says 98% of the companies supplying HS2 are based in the UK.

Asked if he will end the “rough sex” defence, Johnson says that the government is committed to addressing this and that this defence is inexcusable.

Labour’s Fleur Anderson asks the PM to condemn the actions of the US police.

Johnson says he condemns the killing of George Floyd.

Asked if the furlough scheme can be extended for the air industry, Johnson says he cannot give that commitment now. But the government will look at all it can do to support the industry.

Johnson says he thought Labour supported quarantine. It is being introduced to keep the infection rate down, he says.

Here is the text of the private letter Sir Keir Starmer sent to Boris Johnson that he said he would now be publishing.

Labour’s Maria Eagle says Covid has hit worse in deprived areas. Will Liverpool and Knowsley councils get all the money they need to address this?

Johnson says he will write back to Eagle about this.

Laura Trott, a Conservative, says Sevenoaks needs more police on the streets.

Johnson says he agrees.

Mark Fletcher, a Conservative, asks if the PM will meet him to discuss how Bolsover (Fletcher’s constituency) can lead the way in green jobs.

Johnson says Fletcher has the right vision for the future.

Mel Stride, the Conservative chair of the Treasury committee, asks why self-employed people who pay themselves through dividends do not get support from the Treasury scheme.

Johnson says he has an answer of huge complexity. Basically, it would be too complicated to verify, he says.

Asked why he is only introducing quarantine now, Johnson says that is because it is vital to keep the infection rate down.

Paul Howell, a Conservative, asks about the government’s levelling-up agenda. Should the Treasury be moved to Sedgefield (where Howell is MP).

Johnson jokes that he will look at this, but Sedgefield should be careful what it wishes for.

Labour’s Lloyd Russell-Moyle asks about cuts to fire services.

Johnson says he will respond to Russell-Moyle’s letter on this.

Johnson says he understands why people want places of worship to open. But it is tough. Every time you relax a measure, you take a risk with R, he says.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, asks about the killing of George Floyd. What has the PM said to President Trump about this? Can he say “black lives matter”?

Johnson says of course black lives matter. The only reservation he would have is that protests must be peaceful.

Blackford says Johnson did not say what he had said to Trump about this. Will the PM review riot equipment to the US?

Johnson says he is happy to look at this, but all exports are covered by guidance, and Britain’s is the most scrupulous in the world.

Jeremy Hunt, the Tory chair of the health committee, asks how many tests are being turned around in 24 hours.

Johnson says 90% are turned around in 48 hours. He says all the mobile tests are turned around in 24 hours. He says he can promise all tests will be turned around within 24 hours by the end of June, unless there are insuperable difficulties.

Starmer says he has tried to support the government. He thought the schools issued needed consensus. That is why he offered to help.

He says the scenes in parliament yesterday were “shameful”. If any other employer operated like this, it would be a clear and obvious case of discrimination. Will the PM stop this?

Johnson says people around the country are having to queue. He says it is not unreasonable to expect MPs to do their job. When people look at what the government is doing … He says his policy is test, trace and isolate. Labour’s is agree, U-turn and criticise.

Starmer says the PM is mistaking scrutiny for criticism. He would like to support the government’s policy, he says. But Johnson makes it difficult.

He says the government said it would not relax the lockdown until the alert level was lowered. What is it now, and what is the R number?

Johnson says the alert level does allow the lockdown to be relaxed. The question is whether or not Starmer supports the government’s plan.

Starmer says Johnson did not put a number on those being contacted. He says the number of people testing positive every day is only a fraction of the people being infected. The system probably should be contacting 45,000 people a day.

He quotes the UK Statistics Authority criticism of the government. Can the PM not see how much damage is being done to trust?

Johnson says he does not know why Starmer continues to undermine trust in government. Starmer should give credit to the people involved.

Starmer says he will publish his letter to Johnson.

He says the government should have been working on a test and trace system for weeks. He says Dido Harding, who is in charge of the system, has said it will not be fully ready until the end of June.

Johnson says Starmer is casting aspersions on the people behind the scheme. The scheme was up and running on 1 June, he says. He says thousands of people are now self-isolating as a response.

Starmer says Johnson asks him to cooperate. But he says he wrote to the prime minister privately about schools policy. Johnson never replied, he says.

He says a survey at the weekend for the Reuters trust showed a huge fall in trust in the government.

Johnson says he phoned Starmer after he got the letter. He says Starmer did not criticise his policy. He says the public are following the government guidance.

Sir Keir Starmer starts by saying how shocked he was by the death of George Floyd.

Referring to today’s Telegraph story (see 9.37am), he asks who has been in charge up to now.

Johnson also condemns what happened to George Floyd. But he says people should protest in a peaceful way.

He says he takes full responsibility for what happened. He says people know that “with good British common sense” we can tackle this.

Johnson rattles off the amount of money going to Blackpool, in response to a question from Scott Benton.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP, asks about yesterday’s Public Health England report about diversity and the risk from coronavirus.

Johnson says the government commissioned that report. It is obvious different communities are affected differently. Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, will take this work on, he says.

Boris Johnson starts by saying he will host a global vaccine summit tomorrow.

PMQs is about to start. But first Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, suspends proceedings for one minute to allow some MPs to leave the chamber and others to come in. Only 50 are allowed in at any one time now.

From the Spectator’s James Forsyth

Next Wednesday, 10 June, is the last day when an employer can furlough a worker for the first time under the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. But Citizens Advice is urging the government to extend this deadline for the 2 million-plus people in the shielding category – who have been advised to stay at home because they are extremely clinically vulnerable. Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:

While the government’s gradual approach to winding down the job retention scheme is welcome, there are now just days left for employers to protect their workers who need to shield.

We are already seeing too many heartbreaking cases where, having been denied furlough, shielded workers face the impossible choice of safeguarding their health or ensuring they have enough to live on.

The government should waive the 10 June deadline for the shielded group, and those they live with. Employers should also be exempt from contributing to the cost of the scheme for the shielded group.

Public Health England (PHE) has insisted it published its review (pdf) on disparities in Covid-19 health risks and outcomes for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups in full following claims that parts were removed by government officials.

The study, unveiled by the health secretary Matt Hancock on Tuesday, confirmed earlier findings from the Office for National Statistics that BAME individuals have a much higher risk of death from Covid-19 than white people, as do those from poorer backgrounds, men and anyone who is obese or suffering from diabetes.

However, a report in the Health Service Journal said sources had informed it that the Department of Health removed a key section from the review.

It said a draft that was circulated within government last week contained a section which included responses from over 1,000 organisations and individuals who supplied evidence to the review.

Some of these responses said discrimination and poor life chances were playing a part in the increased risk of Covid-19 to those with BAME backgrounds.

The Muslim Council of Britain made a recommendation which stated:

With high levels of deaths of BAME healthcare workers, and extensive research showing evidence and feelings of structural racism and discrimination in the NHS, PHE should consider exploring this in more detail, and looking into specific measures to tackle the culture of discrimination and racism.

It may also be of value to issue a clear statement from the NHS that this is not acceptable, committing to introducing change.

One source told HSJ the section “did not survive contact with Matt Hancock’s office” over the weekend.

The review was published on Tuesday with very little notice, following claims it was delayed by the government amid concerns of “close proximity to the current situation in America”, which Downing Street denied.

The HSJ said it understands the responses may be used to inform a set of recommendations to be possibly published later by PHE.

Launching the review on 4 May, Prof Kevin Fenton, regional director of public health at PHE and NHS London, said it would engage a wide range of external experts, independent advisers, and diverse constituencies and communities.

PHE maintained it had published the report in full. A spokeswoman said:

Professor Fenton has been engaging with a significant number of individuals and organisations within the BAME community over the past couple of months, to hear their views, concerns and ideas about the impact of Covid-19 on their communities.

The valuable insight he has gathered will help inform the work the equalities minister is now taking forward.

You can read the full HSJ story here.

The Imperial College paper (pdf) published on 16 March is the one that is generally credited with triggering the lockdown because it contained modelling showing that the NHS would be overwhelmed unless extreme measures were taken to suppress the virus. But the Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was also providing similar advice to the government. They have already published a paper with their projections, but it has now been peer reviewed and it’s here, on the Lancet’s website. This is from Adam Kucharski, one of the authors.

The LSHTM team forecast that the most stringent version of a lockdown could result in a death toll of 50,000 – much less than under less strict versions. As we reported yesterday, the UK has just passed that figure.

Commercial flights will return to London City airport by the end of June, with domestic routes the first to resume.

The airport announced that international flights will restart early next month but the timing “may depend on the proposed quarantine of passengers arriving into the UK”, according to a statement.

London City’s runway has been closed to commercial and private flights since 25 March due to travel restrictions and the collapse in demand amid the pandemic.

From our colleague Philip Oltermann in Berlin

Fewer than half of people working from home as a result of the Covid-19 crisis are keen to return to the office, a new study suggests. As PA Media reports, many of those surveyed by jobs site Glassdoor said they were expecting significant changes to their usual working environment when they do return. Around half of the 2,000 employees questioned said they believed they would be back in their office in some capacity in the next few months, although a few said they would continue working from home until next year.

And after PMQs in the Commons we will get a statement from Priti Patel, the home secretary, who will be giving details of the new quarantine scheme coming into force next week. The plans are not popular with many Tory MPs, who fear they could be crippling for the tourism industry. But, in a joint article in the Daily Telegraph (paywall) with Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, Patel says quarantine could be good for tourism. Patel and Shapps say:

As we continue to follow the rules designed to protect our families, friends and loved ones, so should visitors to our country.

And by stopping people coming in from spreading the virus further, we can control it and get back to normal sooner – meaning the tourism industry will be up and running faster.

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, joining the blog for the day.

It is PMQs later, and the Daily Telegraph has this morning helpfully been writing Sir Keir Starmer’s script for the exchanges.

You might have thought that, given Boris Johnson’s job title is prime minster etc etc ….

Submerged underneath the peculiar headline and intro is a proper story about some machinery of government changes in Downing Street. Christopher Hope reports:

A new strategy committee – dubbed “CS” – will be chaired by Mr Johnson, while the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, will chair the new operations committee, known in Whitehall as “CO”. Both will meet on a regular basis.

The new approach echoes the government’s Brexit planning last year which was led by an “XS” strategic and “XO” operational committee.

The committees will replace four ministerial implementation groups, set up at the start of the crisis and covering foreign affairs, health, economy and business and public services, each chaired by a Cabinet minister.

The regular Covid-19 committee meeting, which has been held every morning at Number 10, is being axed. One source said the new structure would give a more “cohesive” approach to tackling the pandemic.

But the story also includes this quote, which inspired the headline.

A senior Tory MP said Mr Johnson’s shake-up was intended “to bring some order” to the decision-making process after a difficult two months. The MP said: “Boris has decided that Cummings is there, but he is going to take more direct control.”

Edward Argar, the health minister, was asked about this in an interview on Sky, and he insisted that Johnson had always been in charge. He said:

The prime minister is the head of this government. The prime minister has always been in charge.

UPDATE: On the subject of Boris Johnson being in overall charge of the government’s coronavirus strategy, it is worth recalling this anecdote from Tim Shipman’s write-through in the Sunday Times (paywall) on 17 May.

A moment of “tense” standoff between the prime minister and Sir Mark Sedwill, Britain’s most senior civil servant, exposed growing fissures at the top over the implementation of his blueprint for lifting the lockdown.

In a meeting early last week, two sources said Johnson had listened as the detail of the plan was outlined but then asked: “Who is in charge of implementing this delivery plan?” One recalled: “There was just silence. He looked over at Sedwill and said, ‘Is it you?’ Sedwill said, ‘No, I think it’s you, prime minister.’”

Nick Robinson, the BBC Radio 4 Today presenter, had a rather fruitless exchange with the health minister Edward Argar about the government’s plans for a quarantine.

Robinson repeatedly asked Argar to name a European country with a higher infection rate than the UK, given that there is only a risk of “reimporting” the virus if the UK allows unfettered access from a nation with a worse infection rate.

Argar sidestepped the question three times, saying he didn’t want to pre-empt Prit Patel’s statement to parliament later today.

Asked how the quarantine would be enforced, he said new arrivals would be required to give their address and that failure to stay there for 14 days would be met with a fine. He said he had confidence people “will do the right thing” and comply with the measures.

The BBC’s Danny Shaw has some interesting, and worrying, statistics showing that a disproportionate number of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds have been fined for alleged lockdown breaches:

The health minister Edward Argar is fielding questions on behalf of the government this morning.

On BBC Breakfast, he was quizzed about the government’s use of statistics.

He said he didn’t have a figure for the number of people being tested every day and could not say how many people had been traced under its new test and trace programme.

The government hasn’t published figures on how many people have been tested for almost two weeks. It says this has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting”.

Asked about a Channel 4 News report that found that only 37% of contacts given to the government’s test-and-trace programme had been contacted last week, Argar described the figures as “partial and outdated” but said he could not provide more accurate data:

We’re into the thousands but I’m not going to give you a figure until we’ve worked with the UK Statistics Authority to get a reliable and accurate methodology of giving that data out. We’re working at pace with them and as soon as we can come to an agreement with them we’ll be publishing that data on a weekly basis.

Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the council of the British Medical Association, has criticised an official report published yesterday that confirmed that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups are dying disproportionately from Covid-19.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Nagpaul expressed concern that the report had not come up with any conclusions, recommendations or actions to urgently protect people in the most at-risk groups:

It’s just full of graphs and figures. It’s a statistics analysis; it isn’t a report or review that has come up with any actions or recommendations and therefore it hasn’t taken us further.

Prof John Newton, of Public Health England, told No 10’s daily briefing last night that more work was needed to understand the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on people from BAME backgrounds. He urged people not to jump to conclusions from its report.

But Nagpaul said: “We don’t have the luxury of going out and discussing how to implement this report. What we need is some clear recommendations and actions and mitigations now, which really could be taking place.”