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Boris Johnson does not believe that the UK is “a racist country”, his official spokesman has said. No 10 also said the tearing down of slave trader Edward Colston’s statue was “a criminal act” and “unacceptable”.
It comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “completely wrong” for Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol to pull down the statue of the 17th Century slaver – but also claimed that it should have been removed “a long time ago”.
Home secretary Priti Patel is set to make a statement on public disorder in the Commons following the protests. The Lib Dems have warned Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg that he “must” resign if MPs fall ill from the coronavirus ahead of a debate on the end of remote voting.
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The rate of spread of the virus remains in decline, the government’s scientific advisory committee has said.
Speaking to the Commons, health secretary Matt Hancock said the R rate – or the rate of reproduction for the virus – remained between 0.7 to 0.9 across the UK and below one in every region
The health secretary added the figures were part of the “encouraging trends” that had lead to the easing of lockdown measures.
“Coronavirus is in retreat across the land, our plan is working”, Mr Hancock said, adding that the government remained cautious over the risks of a second peak.
The protests across the weekend cam up a number of times in questions to the home secretary – who touted the benefits of living “in a free and democratic society” while warning those who were found to have engaged in violent protest will be dealt with “to the full extent of the law”.
Asked if statues raised to slavers like Edward Colston should be taken down if there is sufficient public opposition, Priti Patel has said elected mayors and local councillors should be engaged over issues with local monuments so people can “exercise their democratic rights and freedoms but importantly stay within the rule of the law”.
The campaign to remove the statue of the slave trader, which now rests at the bottom of the river Avon having been hauled through the streets of Bristol, had gone on for years before it was eventually pulled from its plinth on Colston Avenue
A Conservative MP has caused controversy by appearing to defend the actions of a 17th-century slave trader on social media.
Ben Bradley, the Tory MP for Mansfield, seemed to offer a defence of the slave trader Edward Colston in a tweet responding to the toppling of a statue of Colston in Bristol by Black Lives Matter protesters on Sunday afternoon.
In a Twitter post, the MP wrote: “If we start to judge historical figures by 21st century standards, we’ll find that quite a few folks weren’t that nice… Almost as if they didn’t know any better.”
More below:
Will Johnson recover from Cummings-gate?
According to Ipsos Mori, more people (43 per cent) now have an unfavourable view of Boris Johnson than a favourable one (39 per cent) for the first time since March.
Our political commentator Andrew Grice has taken a closer look at whether the PM will recover from the damaging saga over Dominic Cummings’ lockdown trip to Durham.
Lockdown might have save three million lives, say researchers
Around three million deaths may have been prevented by coronavirus lockdowns across Europe, new research suggests.
A modelling study from Imperial College London scientists, involving data from 11 European countries up to early May 2020, found that lockdowns had a “substantial effect” in reducing transmission levels of Covid-19.
The Imperial researchers estimate that across all 11 countries – the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland – between 12 and 15 million people were infected with Covid-19 up to 4 May, representing between 3.2 per cent and 4 per cent of the population.
In their paper, published in the Nature journal, they said the results show that major non-pharmaceutical interventions and lockdown in particular have had a “large effect on reducing transmission”.
Government won’t change access to public funds for people in destitution
Home secretary Priti Patel has said the government will not suspend the ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) policy during the pandemic.
The rules which means migrants with no or only limited leave to remain in the UK have no entitlement to the majority of welfare benefits, including income support or housing benefit.
Speaking in the Commons, acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the home secretary “doesn’t get it” – pointing out that some migrants in Britain “are being denied support and falling into destitution”.
Patel argued that local authorities were offering a “basic” safety net. “It’s wrong to imply safety nets are not in place.”
UK coronavirus deaths rise by 55 – lowest since lockdown began
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 40,597 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK – up by 55 from the day before.
The rise is the lowest daily total of newly reported deaths since the lockdown began.
UK government has the joint-lowest approval rating in the world for handling Covid-19 crisis
Boris Johnson’s government now has the joint-worst approval rating in the world – alongside Mexico – when it comes to managing the coronavirus crisis, according to YouGov.
Dentists call on government for support
Dentists have called on the government to support surgeries and keep treatment accessible for patients – as some practices in England reopened on Monday for the first time since lockdown rules were introduced.
In an open letter to health secretary Matt Hancock, the British Dental Association (BDA) said that “since lockdown, support from across government for our members has been far too limited. That cannot continue”.
The union has asked for dentists to be granted key worker status and access to the government supply chain on PPE, as one industry survey suggests only around one third of surgeries have opted to open today (36 per cent).
36 arrested at Sunday’s protests in London
The Metropolitan Police have released a statement saying 36 people were arrested during Sunday’s protests for offences including violent disorder, criminal damage and assaulting police.
Investigations are under way into a number of incidents including criminal damage to a statue, and “other sites and buildings of national importance” – and officers are seeking to identify those responsible.
“When officers sought to protect colleagues and iconic landmarks they faced further obstruction and sustained assault.”
She added: “The violent criminality we saw is disgraceful and will have been very frightening for others. It will never be acceptable to attack police officers, damage property and leave others in fear of their safety. We will be carrying out a thorough investigation so that those responsible for criminal acts are brought speedily to justice.”
‘Good level of compliance’ with quarantine, says No 10
Downing Street has said there appeared to be a “good level of compliance” with new regulations requiring people arriving in the UK to quarantine for 14 days.
The PM’s official spokesman said the government expected most people would be willing to co-operate to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
“All of the indications so far are that there has been a good level of compliance. We do expect the vast majority of people to play their part in helping to stop the spread of this disease,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman declined to comment on the threat of legal action by some airlines, but said the science behind the new regulation was clear. “If we limit the risk of new cases being brought in from abroad we can help to reduce the likelihood of a second wave of coronavirus,” he said.
The PM’s spokesman also dismissed suggestions the system of quarantine for passengers arriving in the UK could be replaced by coronavirus checks at airports.
He said people needed to self-isolate for 14 days as it could be a “significant number of days” after becoming infected before they developed symptoms.
“They could potentially have a test at the border, that test could say that they were negative for coronavirus and then a few days later they may start to develop symptoms and by that point they might have already been spreading the virus.”
UK ‘not a racist country’, says PM
Boris Johnson does not believe that the UK is a racist country, his official spokesman has said. The comment came in the midst of ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.
“The PM doesn’t doubt that there continues to be discrimination and racism but would not agree that this is a racist country. We have made very significant progress on this issue but there remains more to do,” the spokesman told reporters.
“The PM is absolutely committed to continuing efforts to stamp out racism and discrimination.”
His official spokesman made clear that the prime minister regards attacks on police officers during protests as “unacceptable” and sees the destruction of the statue of slave trader Edward Colton in Bristol and vandalism of a memorial to Churchill in London as acts of criminal damage which should be investigated by police.
Police chief defends decision to not intervene over protesters pulling down statue
The chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police has defended officers who decided to not intervene when protesters pulled down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol on Sunday.
Andy Marsh said police did not want to risk causing a “very violent confrontation” with the demonstrators and acted “in the best interest of public safety”.
“Can you imagine scenes of police in Bristol fighting with protesters who were damaging the statue of a man who is reputed to have gathered much of his fortune through the slave trade?” Mr Marsh said.
“I think there would have been very serious implications and whilst I certainly do not condone crime or damage of any sort, I fully support the actions of my officers.
“They responded with common sense, sound judgment and in the best interest of public safety.”
UK ‘not a racist country’, says PM
Boris Johnson does not believe that the UK is a racist country, his official spokesman has said. The comment came in the midst of ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.
“The PM doesn’t doubt that there continues to be discrimination and racism but would not agree that this is a racist country. We have made very significant progress on this issue but there remains more to do,” the spokesman told reporters.
“The PM is absolutely committed to continuing efforts to stamp out racism and discrimination.”
His official spokesman made clear that the prime minister regards attacks on police officers during protests as “unacceptable” and sees the destruction of the statue of slave trader Edward Colton in Bristol and vandalism of a memorial to Churchill in London as acts of criminal damage which should be investigated by police.
More than 7 million people feeling lonely in lockdown
More than half of young people who said their wellbeing has been affected by the government’s lockdown have experienced loneliness, analysis suggests.
The latest Opinions and Lifestyle Survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that more than 7 million have experienced loneliness during the pandemic.
The ONS found that 50.8 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 said they were lonely during the lockdown. By contrast, just under a quarter (24.1 per cent) of people aged 55 to 69 who reported their wellbeing as being affected by the lockdown said they had felt lonely.
The ONS said this echoes previous research exploring chronic loneliness, showing that people in younger age groups were most likely to report loneliness, while those in older age groups were less likely.
The ONS’ Dawn Snape said: “Lockdown affected everyone, but responses differed. During that first month, the equivalent of 7.4 million people said their well-being was affected through feeling lonely.”
No coronavirus deaths in Scotland for second day in a row
No new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Scotland in the last 24 hours, the second day in a row the figure has remained the same, Nicola Sturgeon said.
The virus is “in retreat but not gone”, said the first minister.
She added: “I can’t tell you how long I have waited to be able to report such a development and I know all of you will have longed to hear that.”
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said 15,639 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland – up by just 18 from 15,621 the day before.
No Ofcom investigation over actress saying she wanted PM ‘to die’
Ofcom has decided not to launch a formal investigation after Miriam Margolyes sparked more than 490 complaints by saying she wanted Boris Johnson “to die” from coronavirus.
The actress told Channel 4’s The Last Leg that the government’s handling of the pandemic has been a “disgrace” and a “public scandal”.
A spokeswoman for the TV watchdog said: “These provocative comments had clear potential to offend viewers. But we also considered the audience’s likely expectations of Miriam Margolyes, a comic actor known for her forthright views, and of this live, late-night satirical comedy show.
“We also took into account that Ms Margoyles immediately qualified her comments, and viewers were warned in advance about the programme’s adult humour.”
‘Have we ever had a more tone-deaf home secretary?’
Piers Morgan has branded Priti Patel “tone deaf” after the home secretary said pulling down of slave trader Edward Colston’s statue was “unacceptable” and “utterly disgraceful”.
The Good Morning Britain host was left enraged by Patel’s comments, tweeting: “Priti Patel thinks pulling down a slave trader’s statue ‘undermines’ racism protests. Have we ever had a more tone-deaf home secretary?”
The presenter’s rant continued on Monday morning, when he told GMB viewers: “For Priti Patel, the home secretary, to be outraged, outraged, this week of all weeks, she’s outraged, the most I’ve heard her outraged, about that statue being put into the water in a week when there have been global protests about the death of a black man at the hands of a racist policeman.
“That’s what outrages you? Priti Patel? Really?”
Monday’s business in the Commons
This afternoon’s proceedings in the Commons will see an urgent question from Labour’s shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth of the ‘R’ rate of coronavirus transmission – following concerns the number could be rising in parts of England.
That discussion will followed by a statement from home secretary on recent “public order” – so expect the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue to come up.
Then the row over Commons’ leader Jacob Rees-Mogg’s attempt to bar older and shielding MPs from contributing in a “virtual” parliament will resurface when the Lib Dems lead an emergency debate.
‘A crime has been committed,’ says policing minister
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said the country would have to “hold our breath” on a possible rise in coronavirus cases, following the mass gatherings over the weekend for the anti-racism protests.
Malthouse also said “a crime has been committed” by the protesters who pulled down the statue of slave trader – and suggested they should be prosecuted.
He told the BBC earlier: “Evidence should be gathered and prosecution should follow.”
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