COVID-19: It could be three weeks before it's known if Indian variant will scupper lockdown roadmap, warns expert - Sky News

It could be another "two to three weeks" before it's clear whether the final step in lifting lockdown can safely go ahead, according to a former senior scientific adviser to the government.

Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, told a briefing for the German media that the precise biological advantage of the variant over previous versions of the virus remains uncertain.

If it is only 20-30% more transmissible and has a small impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine, it would cause a significantly smaller third wave of infections than had been initially feared, he said.

Even before the B.1.617.2 variant was classed as a concern, models showed that COVID cases would rise over the summer and autumn as a result of lockdown being lifted on 21 June.

Image: The four stages of England's lockdown lifting

The expectation was that hospital admissions wouldn't rise so fast because most vulnerable people would have had two doses of vaccine.

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But speaking at an event organised by the Science Media Centre in Germany, Prof Ferguson said it's too soon to be sure what impact the Indian variant will have on the numbers.

"It's not how high cases rise, but how quickly," he said.

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"If they double every 10-14 days and hospital admissions follow the same trend, then there is a concern. We were expecting cases to rise as we relaxed restrictions but if they rise too quickly that's a problem."

Prof Ferguson said the UK is in a much better position now than when the Kent variant emerged in December. Infection levels are low and vaccination rates are high, which will help to control the virus.

Data from Singapore suggests the Indian variant is more common in children.

Prof Ferguson said there were "signals" in the UK that people under 21 are more likely to be infected with the variant than other versions of the virus.

But he added uncertainty remains over whether that is due to a biological enhancement from its mutations or the "founder effect", whereby the virus was brought back by travellers, who passed it to children, who then took it into local schools.

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2021-05-26 16:59:55Z
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Nicola Sturgeon to announce plans for Scotland after Level 0 within three weeks - Daily Record

The Scottish Government will set out its "expectations" for what will come after Level 0 of Covid-19 restrictions, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

In a speech at the Scottish Parliament earlier today on her plans for the first 100 days of government the First Minister told MSPs the "most important priority" is to lead Scotland safely out of the pandemic.

She said an announcement will come in the next three weeks on how Scotland will look once the levels system is scrapped.

"As we come out of the pandemic, there will be bumps in the road - as we are experiencing in Glasgow just now," she said.

"But the vaccine rollout gives us firm hope that we are on the right track.

"So over the next three weeks, we will also set out our expectations for the stage beyond Level 0 - as we return to a much greater degree of normality."

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Sturgeon said in the first hundred days the Scottish Government will publish an NHS recovery plan - "setting out how we will achieve a 10% increase in activity in key services".

She also said legislation to create a national care service will be introduced in the next 12 months.

Outlining the Scottish Government's priorities in Holyrood, the First Minister said ministers aim to have the new service - which would focus on social care - established by the end of the parliamentary term.

She told MSPs: "In our first hundred days, we will begin the consultation on legislation to establish a National Care Service.

Scottish politics

"We intend to introduce the legislation during the first year of this parliament, and expect the service to be operational by the end of this parliament.

"This will be, in my view, the most important public sector innovation since the establishment of the National Health Service."

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2021-05-26 15:53:36Z
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Dominic Cummings tells committee he heard PM say 'let the bodies pile high' after ordering second lockdown - Sky News

Dominic Cummings says he heard Boris Johnson say he would rather "let the bodies pile high" than hit the economy again with a third lockdown.

"I heard that in the PM's study" immediately after Mr Johnson made the second lockdown decision on 31 October, he said.

Live updates as Dominic Cummings gives evidence on government's handling of COVID pandemic

Image: Mr Cummings said he heard the phrase in the Prime Minister's study

Mr Cummings has told a select committee that the PM said he regretted ordering the first lockdown, and when he ordered the second, said he did not want to make the same mistake again.

The prime minister has repeatedly denied using that phrase.

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The former Downing Street adviser was questioned about the language being used in autumn last year as the country moved towards a second lockdown.

SNP MP Carol Monaghan asked him: "Did you hear [the Prime Minister] say 'let the bodies piled high in their thousands' or 'it's only killing eighty year olds'?"

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Mr Cummings replied: "There's been a few different versions... of these stories knocking around.

"There was a version of the of of it in the Sunday Times, which was not accurate. But the version that the BBC reported was accurate."

The BBC reported in April this year Mr Johnson said he would rather see "bodies pile high" than put the country into a third lockdown - as the UK went into shutdown for a second time.

Ms Monaghan asked if Mr Cummings heard the remarks, to which he replied: "I heard that in the PM's study."

Mr Cummings had earlier said: "There's a great misunderstanding people have that, because [COVID] nearly killed [Mr Johnson], therefore, he must have taken it seriously.

"But in fact, after the first lock down, his view was he was cross with me and for others into what he regarded as basically pushing him into the first lock down.

"His argument after that happened was literally, quote, 'I should have been the mayor of Jaws and kept the beaches open'. That's that's what he said on many, many occasions."

Mr Cummings was very open during his testimony - especially when it came to Mr Johnson.

When asked about what was happening in February 2020, ahead of the first lock down, the former adviser said the prime minister was distracted.

"[The prime minister] was finalising his divorce, his girlfriend wanted to announce being pregnant, an engagement and his finances and all that sort of stuff... certainly he had a very difficult time mid-February in his private life for sure.

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2021-05-26 15:40:40Z
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Cummings tells committee he didn't tell 'full story' about Durham trip - but Barnard Castle drive really was to test his eyesight - Sky News

Dominic Cummings has admitted that he did not "tell the full story" about his lockdown trip to Durham, saying that security threats against his family were the reason they left London.

Last May he explained in a statement in Downing Street's rose garden that he made the trip to stay at his father's property on 27 March after his wife fell ill, concerned that he might soon fall ill himself.

Mr Cummings added that he then drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight after experiencing loss of vision due to coronavirus before making the journey to London to return to work.

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May 2020: Dominic Cummings's statement in full

Speaking to MPs on Wednesday, he stuck to his Barnard Castle explanation, saying that if he wanted to lie about it "I would have come up with a better story".

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But he also expanded on his reasons for the trip to Durham and said he was "extremely sorry" about the episode and that it was "definitely a major disaster for the government and for the COVID policy".

Mr Cummings said in last February his wife had told him there was a gang outside the family home "saying they're going to break into the house and kill everybody inside".

It was decided with the Cabinet Office after that - combined with press coverage which prompted more threats - that he would move his family out of London to his parents' home in County Durham regardless of lockdown rules.

He said that after his trip was reported by newspapers, "the prime minister and I agreed that because of the security things, we would basically just stonewall the story and not say anything about it".

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Cummings on the Barnard Castle 'disaster'

He added: "I was extremely mindful of the problem that when you talk about these things, you cause more trouble for yourself, and I'd already put my wife and child in the firing line on it.

"So I said, I'm not talking about this, we should shut our mouths about it."

However, he said the PM came under pressure to explain and it was agreed the press conference would be called, but Mr Cummings said he made the "terrible, terrible, terrible mistake" of not sending his family out of London again and telling the whole truth.

"I ended up giving the whole rose garden thing where what I said was true, but we left out a kind of crucial part of it all," he said.

"And it just... the whole thing was a complete disaster and the truth is - and then it undermined public confidence in the whole thing - the truth is, if I just, when the prime minister said on a Monday, 'we can't hold this line, we're going to have to explain things', if I just basically sent my family back out of London and said here's the truth to the public, I think people would have understood the situation.

"It was a terrible misjudgement not to do that. So I take ... the prime minister got that wrong, I got that wrong."

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2021-05-26 13:41:15Z
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Five arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of activist Sasha Johnson - Sky News

Two men and three teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of activist Sasha Johnson, police say.

Ms Johnson, a 27-year-old black equal rights campaigner, was shot in the head at a party in south London in the early hours of Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers detained three teenagers and two older men on suspicion of other offences, before they were all also arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Image: Ms Johnson is an Oxford graduate with two children

The first suspect, a 17-year-old boy, was held on Tuesday afternoon, accused of suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and drug dealing.

Police then raided an address in Peckham, where they arrested three men - aged 18, 19 and 28 - on suspicion of affray and possession with intent to supply class B drugs.

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A fifth man, aged 25, was arrested later that evening following a car chase, on suspicion of affray and failing to stop for police.

Ms Johnson was one of the organisers of the first-ever Million People March last August to protest against systemic racism in the UK. During the demonstration, hundreds of people took to the streets of west London.

More on Sasha Johnson

She is also one of the leaders of the Taking The Initiative Party (TTIP), a political party that was registered with the Electoral Commission nearly four years ago and fielded its first candidates in May's local elections.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard said the investigation into the incident on Sunday was in its "early stages", but progress was being made.

He added: "I continue to appeal to those who may hold information about the events that led to Sasha receiving her horrific injuries, or about those responsible, to do the right thing and come forward and speak to police."

Image: Police have appealed for anyone with information about the shooting to contact them. Pic: AP

Ms Johnson, an Oxford graduate with two children, was at a party in the back garden of a home in Consort Road when four men in dark clothing burst in and shots were fired.

A man aged in his 20s suffered a "superficial" knife injury as the violence erupted, but he was not seriously hurt.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101, tweet @MetCC quoting the reference CAD1172/23MAY, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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2021-05-26 12:54:49Z
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Hillsborough trial: Men acquitted as judge rules no case to answer - BBC News

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Two retired police officers and an ex-solicitor accused of altering police statements after the Hillsborough disaster have been acquitted.

Retired Ch Supt Donald Denton, retired Det Ch Insp Alan Foster and former solicitor Peter Metcalf had denied perverting the course of justice.

They were accused of trying to minimise the blame on South Yorkshire Police in the aftermath of the 1989 disaster.

Mr Justice William Davis ruled they had no case to answer.

He said the statements had been prepared for the public inquiry chaired by Lord Taylor in 1990.

The judge said this was not a statutory inquiry and therefore not considered "a court of law", so it was not a "course of public justice" which could be perverted.

Ninety-six Liverpool fans died as a result of the crush at the FA Cup semi-final match at Sheffield Wednesday's ground on 15 April 1989.

One family member, Chrissie Burke, called out to the jury "the families are heartbroken".

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who has campaigned with the Hillsborough families, said the ruling was "a disgrace and so disrespectful to the families".

He added: "Why was it not left to the jury to decide?

"I can only conclude that the scales of justice in this country are weighed heavily against ordinary people."

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram tweeted: "My thoughts are once again with the families of the 96 today, who face yet another kick in the teeth."

Before the jury was called into court, prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said they would not seek leave to appeal the judge's decision.

Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said they were "right to bring this case and for a court to hear the evidence of what happened in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster".

"Words cannot describe the sheer devastation of the Hillsborough disaster and the impact on the family and friends of the 96 who died, and hundreds more who were injured," she said.

Analysis

By Judith Moritz, BBC North of England correspondent

The collapse of this trial will anger and distress many of those who've spent 32 years campaigning for "Justice for the 96".

It's likely that it will mark the end of the legal road for them, which has been long and winding, with few ups and many downs.

In 2016 they celebrated the inquests verdicts which found that the 96 had been unlawfully killed, and that the fans were not to blame.

There were high hopes for accountability. But the match commander David Duckenfield was acquitted after two trials, and the collapse of this aftermath trial means that no one has been convicted for the alleged cover-up.

Over the last three decades there have been four trials, two sets of inquests, a public inquiry and several other investigations and reviews.

Despite all of those proceedings, it remains the case that the bereaved families feel let down by the system. They feel that they know the truth of what happened to their loved ones, but they haven't had justice.

Six men were charged in 2017 following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into allegations of a cover-up by police following the tragedy.

All charges against Sir Norman Bettison, a chief inspector in 1989, who was accused of trying to blame Liverpool fans for the disaster, were dropped in 2018 because of insufficient evidence.

The match commander on the day, David Duckenfield, was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter at a retrial in November 2019, after the jury in his first trial was unable to reach a verdict.

Sheffield Wednesday's former club secretary Graham Mackrell was found guilty of a health and safety offence in May 2019, relating to the provision of turnstiles.

Mr Denton, 83, of Sheffield; Mr Foster, 74, of Harrogate; and Mr Metcalf, 71, of Ilkley, had all denied two counts of perverting the course of justice.

The three men had been on trial at the Nightingale Court at the Lowry Theatre in Salford for more than four weeks.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

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2021-05-26 10:42:10Z
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Covid-19: Government backtracks over travel advice and England's vaccine rollout extended - BBC News

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday morning. We'll have another update for you this evening.

1. Government backtracks over local travel advice

After advising people not to travel into and out of eight areas in England worst hit by Indian coronavirus variant, the government has now said travel should be minimised, clarifying local restrictions are not being imposed. The government came under fire on Tuesday over the initial advice for Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside. Although advice on avoiding all non-essential travel has changed, around two million people in those affected areas are still being asked to meet outdoors and stay two metres apart from anyone in other households, wherever possible.

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2. Vaccine rollout reaches 30 and 31-year-olds in England

The vaccine rollout continues at pace in England with people aged 30 and 31 being invited to book their first dose of a Covid jab. The NHS is urging the million or so in the latest category to book an appointment at one of the 1,600 available locations. Several areas are seeing a surge in coronavirus cases linked to the Indian variant and two doses of the vaccines are needed for strong protection. Meanwhile, over-18s in most areas of Wales, over-25s in Northern Ireland and those aged 30 and above in Scotland are all being invited to book appointments for their first dose.

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3. Cummings to be quizzed by MPs on pandemic handling

The prime minister's former aide, Dominic Cummings, will be questioned by MPs later as part of an ongoing inquiry into "lessons learnt" about coronavirus. Mr Cummings - who has been increasingly critical of the government in recent months - will be asked about ministers' handling of the pandemic. He says "secrecy" had "contributed greatly to the catastrophe". Downing Street says it is getting on with the "huge task" of recovery.

4. DIY and building projects hit by materials shortage

Most people have been doing some DIY during Covid restrictions and it appears building materials are now running short in the UK. Due to "unprecedented levels of demand" - which is set to continue - cement, some electrical components, timber, steel and paints are all in short supply, the Construction Leadership Council warns. Some building firms may have to delay projects, others could be forced to close as a result and people are being advised to delay home improvement projects until autumn.

5. Technology helps parents of premature babies stay in touch

When Gracie was born two months early visiting was restricted for her parents due to the pandemic. But thanks to new technology, Grant and Lucy have been watching their daughter grow via updates from nurses at Evelina Children's Hospital.

Get a longer daily news briefing from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning, by signing up here.

And there's more...

Although restrictions have eased, advice has changed in some areas due to the Indian variant of Covid-19. Find out what rules apply to you, using our postcode checker.

Find further information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

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• SHE'S DOING THINGS HER WAY!: Shrill's Annie is done being a wallflower and is ready to be herself
• OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR BODIES: How has the pandemic impacted how we view ourselves?

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2021-05-26 07:13:45Z
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