Kamis, 01 Juli 2021

Covid: Boris Johnson upbeat about easing lockdown in England on 19 July - BBC News

The PM says he is hoping England will return to as close to the pre-pandemic status quo as possible on 19 July.

Boris Johnson said he would set out in the next few days what step four of the roadmap out of lockdown - due in just over two weeks - will look like.

But he added some "extra precautions" may still be needed and urged patience over the possibility of scrapping isolation for whole bubbles in schools.

The PM also said double jabs would be "a liberator" for foreign travel.

During a visit to a new Nissan plant in Sunderland, Mr Johnson was asked whether measures such as social distancing and masks would be removed on 19 July.

"I know how impatient people are to get back to total normality, as indeed am I," he said.

"But I think I've said it before, we'll be wanting to go back to a world that is as close to the status quo, ante-Covid, as possible. Try to get back to life as close to it was before Covid.

"But there may be some things we have to do, extra precautions that we have to take, but I'll be setting them out."

Asked about reports that fully-vaccinated people may be able to travel from amber-list countries without quarantining by 26 July, the prime minister told reporters: "Everybody who is frustrated about travel over the summer - double jabs will be a liberator.

"I want travel to be possible but I've got to stress that this year will not be like every other year, because of the difficulties with Covid. People shouldn't expect it will be completely hassle-free."

Most popular holiday destinations are currently on the amber list, meaning people must isolate for up to 10 days on their return to the UK.

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Analysis box by Vicki Young, deputy political editor

The prime minister was sounding very confident about lifting restrictions on 19 July, on his visit this morning to the Nissan vehicle factory in Sunderland.

What everyone wants to know is how far he'll go when it comes to masks, social distancing, school bubbles, travel.

The feeling around Whitehall is that it's going to be very close to a return to normal life.

I'm hearing that an announcement laying out these details could come as soon as next week, with final confirmation giving formal go-ahead a week later.

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The prime minister's comments come after the UK recorded 26,068 new cases on Wednesday - the highest daily figure since 29 January.

However, deaths remain low, with 14 deaths within 28 days of a positive test recorded on Wednesday.

Although the country has seen a "big increase in cases", Mr Johnson said this was "not translating into a big increase in serious illness and deaths".

He said it looked "ever clearer" that the vaccination programme had "broken the link between infection and mortality".

"That gives us the scope, we think, on the 19th, to go ahead cautiously and irreversibly," he added.

Chart showing that the number of cases are now rising again
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Chart showing that the number of daily deaths remains low
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On the possibility of replacing isolation with daily testing to prevent whole groups of pupils needing to stay at home, Mr Johnson said Public Health England (PHE) were looking at the advantages of this.

"I understand people's frustration when whole classes, whole bubbles, are sent home and people are asked to isolate," he said.

However, the prime minister said PHE had not yet concluded their research, adding: "So what I want to do is just to be cautious as we go forward to that natural firebreak of the summer holidays when the risk in schools will greatly diminish, and just ask people to be a little bit patient," he said.

If a pupil tests positive, anyone who has been in close contact with them is told to self-isolate.

This can result in whole classes or year groups being sent home.

More than 375,000 pupils in England are currently out of school because of Covid - but only 15,000 are positive cases.

It comes after a letter from 48 Conservative MPs urged the prime minister to end what they described as the "disproportionate" and "unsustainable" bubble system.

The group, including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and the chair of the Commons Education Committee Robert Halfon, are calling for schools to go "back to normal" on 19 July, when other restrictions in England are due to be lifted.

Meanwhile, sociologist Prof Robert Dingwall, one of the scientists advising the government, said "we have to ask very hard questions" about what restrictions and the test-and-trace programme are achieving now the most vulnerable have been offered a vaccine.

Professor Dingwall, who sits on the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "We have never thought it was important to do differential diagnosis of school children with respiratory infections.

"If they're not well enough to go to school, they don't go to school - that's the sort of equilibrium we need to be moving towards when the school year restarts in the autumn."

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2021-07-01 13:11:41Z
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William and Harry to unveil Diana statue at Kensington Palace - BBC News

Prince William and Prince Harry
Reuters

The Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex will meet later to unveil a statue of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, on what would have been her 60th birthday.

The event will be William and Harry's first appearance together since the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

Commissioned by the brothers in 2017, the statue will stand in Kensington Palace's redesigned Sunken Garden.

At the time, they said they hoped it would help visitors to the palace "reflect on her life and her legacy".

Harry, who lives in the US with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two children, arrived in the UK last week in order to complete his quarantine ahead of Thursday's event.

On Wednesday, he paid a surprise visit to children's charity WellChild's awards ceremony for seriously ill children in the UK.

Kensington Palace confirmed that, in addition to the royal brothers, members of Diana's close family will attend the unveiling, as will the committee that oversaw the statue's creation and the redesign of the garden that will be its home.

Ian Rank-Broadley, who has a long track record of creating images of the Royal Family, was chosen to sculpt it, and he will also be among the guests.

The redesigned Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace
Princess Diana with her sons
John Swannell/Camera Press

The ceremony - scaled back due to Covid restrictions - will be a "small event and a very personal moment for the family", a source told the PA News agency.

Kensington Palace said the Sunken Garden had been "one of the princess's favourite locations" when she lived there.

More than 4,000 flowers have been planted for the garden's redesign, which has taken 1,000 hours to complete.

The garden, which sits within London's Hyde Park, will be open to the public to visit for free from tomorrow, in line with Kensington Palace's opening hours.

Diana, Princess of Wales with her sons in 1993 at Thorpe Park in Surrey
PA Media
Diana, Princess of Wales, with her sons, Princes Harry (left) and William, aboard the Maid of the Mist cruiser near to Niagara Falls
PA Media

Speaking about his mother's death in a recent interview, Harry said he had been willing to drink and take drugs to cope with the pain of losing her.

He also spoke of his family's unwillingness to talk about the death, and how he was expected to "suffer" in silence.

The comments, along with a series of other revelations, followed the Sussexes' decision to step down as senior royals at the beginning of 2020.

Ian Rank-Broadley is no stranger to depicting royalty. His effigy of the Queen appeared on all UK and Commonwealth coins since 1998, while another of his likenesses of the monarch appears on a plaque at the Supreme Court in Parliament Square.

Earlier this month a limited-edition £5 coin commemorating the life of the Duke of Edinburgh featuring Rank-Broadley's likeness of Prince Philip was unveiled on Armed Forces Day.

Coin bearing Ian Rank-Broadley's likeness of Prince Philip
RoyalMint

Two of his sculptures - a group of stretcher bearers carrying a wounded soldier and another group tending to an injured comrade - can be seen at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

His other work includes a sculpture of a machine gunner that stands on the Royal Anglian Regimental Memorial at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

Police in front of one of Ian Rank-Broadley's sculptures at the National Memorial Arboretum
PA Media
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2021-07-01 06:47:12Z
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Police breached 'fundamental rights' at Sarah Everard and Kill the Bill protests, parliamentary inquiry finds - Sky News

Police breached "fundamental rights" in their handling of the Sarah Everard vigil in London and Kill the Bill protests in Bristol, a parliamentary inquiry has found.

The Metropolitan Police and the Avon and Somerset force committed "multiple failings" in their response to the two events, according to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and the Constitution (APPGDC).

Their report claims that both forces wrongly applied coronavirus lockdown laws and "failed to understand their legal duties in respect of protest".

It also suggested that officers taking action against protesters - as opposed to engaging with them before the event - "may have increased the risk of COVID-19 transmission" at the Sarah Everard Vigil in Clapham, southwest London.

Officers in Bristol "failed to distinguish between those protesting peacefully and those engaging in acts of violence", which resulted in "excessive force" being used, it added.

Reclaim These Streets says the police failed to protect public order, public health and the right to protest
Image: Police are pictured facing protesters on Clapham Common in March

The Met and Avon and Somerset Police came under huge criticism following the two events in March - with images of officers clashing with demonstrators causing huge controversy.

The Clapham vigil was held in memory of Ms Everard, who was found dead after she disappeared while walking home nearby.

More on Bristol

Wayne Couzens, who was a serving Metropolitan Police officer at the time, has pleaded guilty to her kidnap and rape, and has accepted responsibility for her death.

Patsy Stevenson, who was pictured being bundled to the ground at the London vigil, has threatened legal action against the Met unless they withdraw the COVID fine they gave her.

Kill the Bill marches were organised to protest against powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC), which would impose controversial "conditions" on demonstrations.

The APPGDC inquiry's chairman, Labour MP Geraint Davies, said the police should "facilitate the expression of peaceful protest".

"The police must not become the enforcement agency of the state against those who choose to publicly and collectively call for change - political, economic, social or environmental," he added.

"Parliament must protect our freedoms and reject attempts to increase police power and restrict our right to peaceful protest."

The findings have resulted in proposed amendments to the PCSC bill due to be debated in parliament on Monday.

They include abandoning some of the new proposed powers - as they are "unnecessary" and have placed police in an "unfair position".

A special code on how to police protests will also be suggested.

Despite the official watchdog report - by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) - backing the Met's handling of the London event - the inquiry criticised its "tone deaf" response to criticism.

It also said it failed to take into account the testimonies of people who were there on the day.

The government claims the PCSC bill is designed to "better manage protests" so they do not "disrupt the lives and livelihoods of others".

The HMICFRS rejected the comments made in the report about the watchdog.

Kill the Bill' rally in Bristol saw a police station attacked, officers suffer broken bones and a number of police vehicles set alight by violent thugs. Pic: Dan Whitehead
Image: Police clash with protesters at Kill The Bill demonstrations in Bristol. Pic: Dan Whitehead

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said she "stands by the actions of those officers who policed the events on Clapham Common".

She said they were "met with an extraordinarily challenging circumstance" and "followed national guidance…taking enforcement action as a very last resort".

The Avon and Somerset force added: "We always welcome transparency and accountability but we strongly refute some of the findings of this report relating to the policing of protests in Bristol.

"We reject any suggestion we did not facilitate peaceful demonstrations on the day of the riot and for subsequent protests."

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2021-07-01 02:56:51Z
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Rabu, 30 Juni 2021

Princess Diana: William and Harry reunite to unveil a statue in memory of their mother - Sky News

Prince William and Prince Harry will be reunited later to a unveil a statue to mark what would have been Princess Diana's 60th birthday.

Over the past 18 months the troubles in the relationship between the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex have been well documented, but their mother will be their focus on Thursday as they honour her memory.

The brothers commissioned the statue in 2017 as a tribute to their late mother who died in 1997. The design, created by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, whose portrait of the Queen features on all UK coins, has been kept secret ahead of the ceremony.

(L-R) The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales at Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997
Image: (L-R) The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales at Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997

A royal source has already described the ceremony as being a "small event and a very personal moment for the family".

The brothers and Diana's close family will attend the unveiling, along with the statue committee and others involved in the process of erecting it in Kensington Palace's sunken garden.

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Diana's sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, was a member of the six-strong committee tasked with commissioning and privately raising funds for the creation of the statue, alongside Julia Samuel, a godparent of Prince George and a close friend of the princess, and Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the brothers' former principal private secretary.

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When the brothers commissioned the statue in 2017 - the 20th anniversary year of Diana's death, they said in a joint statement: "Our mother touched so many lives. We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and her legacy."

Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey will air on Sunday Pic: CBS
Image: Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey Pic: CBS

It was meant to have been unveiled later that year. Since then William and Harry appear to have grown apart. The rift has coincided with the Sussexes deciding to move away from royal duties and their subsequent interview with Oprah where they accused the royal family of racism, which Prince William publicly denied.

The brothers were last seen together at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April where they were seen speaking to each other as they walked back to Windsor Castle.

William and Harry at their grandfather's funeral in April Pic: AP
Image: William and Harry at their grandfather's funeral in April Pic: AP

They will inevitably want their mother to be the focus on what would have been her 60th birthday.

Ahead of the unveiling it has also been revealed that the sunken garden where the statue has been placed has been redesigned in Diana's memory.

It was one of Diana's favourite places at the palace where she lived for 16 years.

The borders of the garden have been replanted
Image: The borders of the garden have been replanted

The gardening team has spent more than a 1,000 hours replanting the borders with some of her favourite flowers, including forget-me-nots.

A more generous lawn has been planted around the pool at the centre of the garden to create a calmer and more reflective setting for the statue.

Pip Morrison who designed the new layout said: "This has been a very special project to work on, as the sunken garden was a favourite place of Diana, Princess of Wales.

"We have worked carefully to ensure that the new layout and planting scheme compliments the statue, providing a calming place for people who visit Kensington Palace to remember the princess."

The lawn around the pond has been extended
Image: The lawn around the pond has been extended

Graham Dillamore, Deputy Head of Gardens and Estates at Historic Royal Palaces, said: "While she was in residence at Kensington Palace, Diana, Princess of Wales regularly admired the changing floral displays in the sunken garden and would always stop to talk with me and the other gardeners who cared for it."

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2021-07-01 01:15:30Z
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UK could offer Covid vaccine booster shots from September - 'Vulnerable' set for third jab - Express

Coronavirus booster jabs 'will keep virus at bay' says Javid

The Department of Health said the plan had been drawn up following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and will take place alongside the annual flu jab rollout. The NHS is preparing to start the booster programme in two stages from September. Vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi said: "Our COVID-19 vaccination programme has been a roaring success, with almost 85 percent of adults across the UK receiving a first dose and more than 62 percent getting both doses.

"We are now planning ahead to future-proof this progress and protect our most vulnerable from variants and flu ahead of the winter.

"Vaccines are the best way to stay on top of this virus and I urge everybody to take up the offer as soon as possible."

The Government said that a final decision on whether a vaccine booster campaign was needed had not been made, but officials had advised that preparations should begin on a precautionary basis.

The JCVI advised the programme should take place in two stages, with the first round focusing on frontline health and social care workers, clinically vulnerable people, care home residents and those who are immunosuppressed.

UK to offer Covid vaccine booster shots from September - 'Vulnerable' set for third jab

UK to offer Covid vaccine booster shots from September - 'Vulnerable' set for third jab (Image: GETTY)

boris johnson

Boris Johnson is keen to get the population vaccinated as soon as possible (Image: GETTY)

All adults over 70 will also fall into this category.

Once these batches of people have been offered their booster vaccine, the next stage will concentrate on three categories.

These include all adults over 50, adults under 50 who are in high risk groups and adults living with immunosuppressed individuals.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, said the Government wants to be "on the front foot for COVID-19 booster vaccination to keep the probability of loss of vaccine protection due to waning immunity or variants as low as possible."

READ MORE: Covid vaccine: Booster programme to protect against COVID-19

covid vaccines uk

Youngsters queue for vaccines in Newcastle (Image: GETTY)

He said this would be especially needed during the autumn and winter seasons.

He called the announcement "good news" and said it shows the JCVI are "thinking carefully" about how best to protect the most vulnerable citizens during the coming months.

The UK continues to power ahead with its vaccine programme.

The latest data from the Government shows 44.7 million people have received their first dose and 32.8 million are fully inoculated with two jabs. 

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nadhim zahawi

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said booster shots will be offered to some vaccinated groups from September (Image: GETTY)

NADHIM ZAHAWI

Nadhim Zahawi hailed the plan for booster shots (Image: GETTY)

Professor Wei Shen Lim, chairman of the JCVI’s Covid group, said the aim of any booster shot given to a person "should be to reduce serious disease, including death".

He said offering a third jab to people already inoculated would maximise protection and "safeguard the NHS ahead of winter".

He added: "Almost all these people would also be eligible for the annual flu vaccine and are strongly advised to have the flu vaccine.”

He said the JCVI would study data on the pandemic, levels of vaccine protection, new variants and results from trials on the efficacy of different booster shots in the week ahead.

UK coronavirus map

UK coronavirus map (Image: EXPRESS)

One such booster jab known as Cov-Boost is being trialled at 18 research sites.

A wide range of vaccine recipients are taking part in the trial including those who have received the Pfizer, Valneva and Janssen vaccines.

He added: “Our final advice on booster vaccination may change substantially."

The benefits of booster shots for younger people, many of whom are still getting their first and second shots, would be considered at a later date, the JCVI said.

Uk covid vaccines

A young woman receives a Covid jab in Newcastle (Image: GETTY)

The success of the vaccine rollout so far has seen Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledge to lift lockdown restrictions on July 19, even as cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant rise.

Sajid Javid, who was this week named as the new health minister, said: "We need to learn to live with this virus.

"Our first COVID-19 vaccination programme is restoring freedom in this country, and our booster programme will protect this freedom."

Data suggests that the current vaccines provide protection for at least six months, with more studies about the length of immunity and the effectiveness of booster shots expected in the coming months.

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2021-06-30 18:28:50Z
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Covid: NHS plans booster jab for those 50 and over before winter - BBC News

Older man being vaccinated
Getty Images

The NHS has been given the green light to start planning a Covid vaccine booster programme in the UK ahead of this winter.

A bigger flu season than normal is expected, meaning extra protection against Covid is likely to be needed.

More than 30 million of the most vulnerable should receive a third dose, vaccine experts are advising.

They will include all adults aged 50 and over, and anyone younger who qualifies for a flu jab.

Health service bosses had previously said they needed lots of warning of an autumn Covid-19 booster rollout in order to plan the logistics alongside vaccinating millions of people against flu.

Interim advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is that boosters will help maintain protection against Covid-19 and new variants for those most at risk, before winter comes.

The vaccines are thought to protect most people against serious illness for at least six months, but a lack of data on exactly how long immunity lasts is prompting a safety-first approach.

No decisions have yet been made on which vaccines will be used.

Winter flu comeback

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said: "We want to be on the front foot for Covid-19 booster vaccination to keep the probability of loss of vaccine protection, due to waning immunity or variants, as low as possible - especially over the coming autumn and winter."

He said other respiratory viruses, particularly flu, "will make a comeback" and be an additional problem this winter.

"We will need to ensure protection against flu, as well as maintaining protection against Covid-19," Prof Van-Tam said.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said ministers were working with the NHS to rapidly deliver the programme from September.

"Our first Covid-19 vaccination programme is restoring freedom in this country, and our booster programme will protect this freedom," he said.

Scotland's health secretary Humza Yousaf said the government had been working closely with NHS boards to plan for the booster campaign, while the current vaccination programme "continues at pace and remains on schedule".

Wales' Health Minister Eluned Morgan said she was working with Welsh health boards to ensure they can deliver a booster programme "from the start of September".

"In line with the other nations of the UK, the Welsh government welcomes the JCVI advice," she said. "It very much aligns with our thinking and our planning assumptions to date."

The JCVI's final advice will be published before September, when better data will be available on how long protection from the first two doses of the vaccines lasts. The latest figures on hospitalisations, emerging variants and trials will also be taken into account at that point, and could change their advice.

Who could get a third dose?

In the meantime, the JCVI's advice is to offer a third Covid jab (and a flu jab) to the following people from September 2021:

  • adults aged 16 and over who are immunosuppressed or clinically extremely vulnerable
  • residents in care homes for older adults
  • all adults aged 70 and over
  • frontline health and social care workers

After those groups, it will be:

  • all adults aged 50 and over
  • adults aged 16-49 who are in a flu or Covid-19 at-risk group
  • those living in the same house as people who are immunosuppressed

Prof Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for JCVI, said all these groups would also be eligible for the annual flu vaccine and were strongly advised to have it.

Younger adults will be not be given a third dose, because they will only have had their second dose in the summer, although this decision will be revisited at a later time, the JCVI said.

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2021-06-30 18:03:57Z
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Ollie Bibby: Mother feels dismissed by Boris Johnson over dead son - BBC News

Ollie and Penny
Penny Bibby

A mother stopped from seeing her dying son in his final weeks said she felt Boris Johnson "dismissed" a question about what happened to her family.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer highlighted the case of Ollie Bibby, 27, who was not able to see his family as he died in hospital.

Mr Johnson said he "shared the grief of Ollie and his family and millions of people up and down the country".

Penny Bibby said all families who have made sacrifices "must be listened to".

Her son, from South Benfleet, Essex, died of leukaemia in hospital on 5 May, a day before Matt Hancock was filmed kissing a colleague, prompting his resignation as health secretary.

Mr Bibby had begged to see his family in the weeks before his death.

Sir Keir raised the case in the first Prime Minister's Questions since Mr Hancock resigned and asked why he had not been sacked.

He said he had spoken to the Bibby family, who had followed the rules and made "huge sacrifices", in contrast to Mr Hancock, who had set the rules.

"Every time, it's the same old story," said Sir Keir. "Where the British people are doing everything asked of them, it's one rule for them, another rule for everybody else."

Ollie
Penny Bibby

In response, Mr Johnson said: "We all share the grief and pain of Ollie and his family and millions of people up and down the country have endured the privations that this country has been through in order to get the pandemic under control, and that is why we had a change of health secretary a day after the story appeared.

"And that's why as a government, instead of focusing on stuff in the Westminster bubble, we are focusing on rolling out those vaccines at a rate that will make sure that people like Ollie and his family do not have to suffer in the future."

His spokeswoman later said he "absolutely was not" referring to the case of Ollie Bibby when he spoke about the Westminster bubble.

Mrs Bibby said the response made her family feel "not important".

"Boris Johnson just dismissed the question, he avoided answering it entirely, which made us feel like we're not important," she said.

"He keeps going on about vaccinations, but there are no guarantees that families can be together on their death bed, even if everyone is vaccinated.

"There are no signs that anything is going to change."

She previously said she was "livid" Mr Hancock broke social distancing rules, while her family were "treated like criminals" as they battled to see Ollie in the weeks before he died.

She said she had received hundreds of "heartbreaking" messages from families in similar situations since her story came to light.

Ollie and Georgie
Penny Bibby

"I have lost confidence in this government now," she said.

"There needs to be a plan, this can't go on. How many more families need to be kept apart while loved ones are dying?"

Sir Keir told the BBC: "What came across powerfully in my conversation with Penny was the huge dignity which she and her family have shown through this terrible ordeal.

"Ollie's case demonstrates the huge sacrifices that families have made during this pandemic to follow the rules. That's why it was important for me to raise with the prime minister today."

Ollie and family
Penny Bibby

Mr Bibby spent seven weeks at University College London Hospital before he died. His parents said they did not blame the staff, who were following rules, but most of his family were "denied the chance to say goodbye properly".

The hospital said it was "confident that Ollie received appropriate care and treatment and that regular visits were allowed in line with hospital guidance" but it would look to "learn from the family's experience".

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiNGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLWVuZ2xhbmQtZXNzZXgtNTc2NjY3MDHSAThodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy91ay1lbmdsYW5kLWVzc2V4LTU3NjY2NzAxLmFtcA?oc=5

2021-06-30 15:48:53Z
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