Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news, as we build up to todays Coronavirus Briefing led by the health secretary, matt hancock. But we start with the two minute silence held in reading for the victims of the stabbings over the weekend. Three people were killed in the attack on saturday evening. In the last hour or so, david wails has been named as the third victim of the attack. Joe Ritchie Bennett, originally from philadelphia, was the second victim to be named. He had lived in the uk for 15 years. His friend, james furlong a history teacher also died. Pupils at the school in wokingham where he taught have gathered to pay tribute to a man described as very kind and gentle, who inspired everyone he taught. Police are continuing to question a 25 year old libyan man, khairi saadallah, who is being held under the terrorism act. On a visit to the scene of the attack, the home secretary, priti patel, said it was a tragic event and the actions of a lone individual. Andy moore reports. Deep emotion and real shock at the school where james furlong taught and where a two minute silence was held this morning. He was much loved and described as a man who inspired everyone he taught. As a whole community we all now need to absorb this sad news. Counsellors are available for staff and students. Words cannot describe our shock and sadness at this time. He wasnt just an average teacher, he was an incredible person. And he wasnt just a teacher, he was a human being, and he had family and friends that loved him just as much as we do. The home secretary came to the scene of the attack in forbury gardens to pay her respects. What we saw here on saturday evening in reading was the actions of one lone individual, we should bear that in mind. The police have that individual in custody, they are not looking for anybody else. We should all remain alert, we should all remain vigilant in terms of the fact that threats are all around us but weve just got to respond in the right kind of way and be very mindful of the type of society that we live in. A second person who died in the attack has been named by his family in america asJoe Ritchie Bennett. Hed been living in the uk for about 15 years. His family said they had lost a brilliant and loving son. Civic and religious leaders from all parts of readings multiethnic Community Came to lay flowers at the park. They said the attack was uniting the city in its grief. We are one united reading. We are not going to let Something Like this come into our communities. Any form of terrorism, any form it takes, we will stamp that out. We stand here to support and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims at this time. We are here to stand by the families that have lost loved ones. No one deserves what happened here on saturday. And we as a community should stand together and say no to any form of hatred, any form of violence. Police are continuing to question khairi saadallah, whos 25 and originally from libya. He came to the attention of Security Services a year ago when it was thought he might travel overseas to carry out acts of terrorism. He was investigated but not thought to be a serious threat. At holt school in wokingham, students laid flowers to mr furlong. There will be no classes today. And the grief of leaving losing one of the most respected teachers will take a long time to heal. Andy moore, bbc news. And andy moore is in reading for us now. Full three of the men who died in this attack have now been named . Thats right and we were hearing a bit more about them. James furlong and his friend Joe Ritchie Bennett here in the parkjust enjoying some evening sunshine on saturday, they we re evening sunshine on saturday, they were supporters of the Lgbt Community here in reading and Martin Cooper from the Charity Reading cap black pride said they would be sorely missed by him personally and many in the community. Joe Ritchie Bennett came to the uk from philadelphia about 15 years ago we understand and he married ian bennett in 2004 but his partner died from colon cancer in 2014 point up the third man who died is david wails, and we believe he was 49 yea rs wails, and we believe he was 49 years old. This gateway leads to forbury gardens, where the attack happened, and people have been coming to hand over flowers to the Police Officers who put them at the wall back there to join that going rank of floral tributes. Every now and again we see a white suited Forensic Experts are still carrying out the investigation in the park. Praise for the Police Officers who we re praise for the Police Officers who were quickly on the scene here, one of whom we are told rugby tackled the suspect, of course not knowing if they were still armed with a knife or a gun or if they might even have at a bomb on him. That Police Officers colleague administered cpr to some of the victims to do what he could to save them. The suspect, khairi saadallah, originally from libya, is being held in custody. His flat is a mile or two south of here and was searched. He was known to the security authorities but they did not believe he was a serious look threat when they briefly ignore best to get at him. Police have to weeks to question him because he was arrested and a terrorism act, so quite a lot of time to establish the background to what happened here on saturday evening. Many thanks, andy. The Prime Minister has been meeting senior cabinet members and leading scientific advisers, ahead of an announcement expected tomorrow that social distancing in england can be reduced from two metres to one, with some conditions. Its thought the move will be timed to coincide with a further reopening of businesses including pubs, bars a nd restau ra nts early next month. The number of people in the uk who have died after testing positive for coronavirus has risen by 15, to 42,647. That makes it the lowest number since mid march, although figures do tend to be lower after the weekend due to delays in recording deaths. In other developoments, the Childhood Trust is warning that children are developing Serious Mental Health conditions, including post traumatic stress, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Theres also been a report suggesting that the pandemic has added to existing inequalities, with lower income households turning to borrowing, while those on higher incomes have been able to boost savings. And a new test for covid 19 using saliva samples is to be piloted in southampton over the next few weeks. Thousands of participants will complete the tests at home, to see if they can provide an alternative to swabs from the nose and throat. This report is from lauren moss. Keeping our distance. Its become a way of life butjust how much is the subject of debate. Its expected that tomorrow, the government will announce the findings of a review which could see the distance relaxed from two metres down to one in england, but with some strict conditions. There has been a great deal of work thats been taking place at pace over the last number of days, informed by the science, informed by experience from around the world as well. As to how we can appropriately look at easements and reflect on the two metre rule as well. Wider use of face coverings and perspex screens will likely be among the new guidelines, the changes could be in place by the 4th ofjuly, the earliest day restaurants, bars, hairdressers may reopen in england. As businesses prepare there are calls for urgent clarity. As an industry we have always manage people, thats what we do, the safest place to drink is in a licensed environment, where you are being monitored already by staff in that environment but if it goes above and beyond that, this will become another burden to an industry already having to put in a lot of Safety Measures in place. Other countries including china, denmark, hong kong and singapore already follow a one metre rule. Uk experts say its a bit of a balancing act. 0ne metre seems like a reasonable compromise between safety but also what is practical and most people agree that what we want at the moment is something practical. The levels of the virus circulating in society are really very low now. Testing for the virus and tracing those who may have it will be just as important as we ease further out of lockdown. A trial on a new saliva test is now under way to find out if people can test themselves at home without needing to swab the nose and throat. Delivery for you. Also under consideration is the advice to shield and stay home thats been given to more than 2 Million People who are clinically extremely vulnerable. As more of the country prepares to reopen, its not without warning from the Prime Minister that there will be no hesitation to apply the handbrake if covid 19 cases rise again. Lauren moss, bbc news. 0ur Political Correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. We are expecting that news that the social distancing route will be cut to one metre but there has been huge pressure for what feels like weeks on the government to cut this, from businesses, tory mps, and lots of people . You are absolutely right and i think this is part of what this weeks strategy is all about. It is giving businesses, be it shops, bars, restaurants and other facilities, a bit of time to get ready for the reduction of that to beta 21 metre, probably around at the start ofjuly from two metres down to one metre. Anybody who has walked on a high street would have seen big signs telling every plea two metres apart so its a pretty big change to something that has become pretty to our lives in the last three months. The Health Context for this is pretty promising for the government. The stats we have seen are among the best we have seen have seen are among the best we have seen for months now. At the lowest number of deaths since march, 15 across the uk in the last 24 hour period and likewise, fewer than a thousand new cases confirmed of the virus in the past 24 hours. There is a caveat which is that things are often lower at the weekend, but clearly things the government hoped argo in the right direction in a Health Context and politically, the last couple of weeks has been a bit tricky for the government. Not everything is going according to plan, some tory backbenchers are less tha n plan, some tory backbenchers are less than impressed with the way the government dealt with things like the fallout from announcing they we re the fallout from announcing they were not going to have the app in the way they hoped, run by the nhs. There was also the u turn on Free School Meals in england, all a bit tricky for the government. Getting it right will be important for Boris Johnson this week but it is absolutely a big week for potentially easing some of those restrictions in england and finding out what the next few weeks and months might look like for peoples lives. Thank you very much, nick. Lets get more now on the announcement expected tomorrow from the Prime Minister, that social distancing in england can be reduced from two metres to one, with some conditions. Wendy wakeman is the co owner of the gardeners arms in alderton near tewkesbury and has been busy renovating her restaurant to make it safe for her customers when they return. Shejoins me now. Thank you for being with us. How big a difference will it make to you to have that social distancing rule cut down to one metre . It will make quite a lot of difference but at this stage, we are quite cautious. We are more than happy to adhere to the two metres so we have set up for that here. Im happy to cut from 84 covers down to 30 to make my clients safe. You are going to stick to the two metre rule even if there is the announcement tomorrow, you wouldnt necessarily have to . I think the clientele that we have, slightly older, will want us to feel that we are looking after them and keeping them safe. My husband and i need to talk about it, we have been adapting and changing each week with the rules and regulations. We have got to look at it to see if it is feasible. You are saying youre going to 30 covers from 80 but is it profitable to operate like that . Yes, we have an outside bar bus so the drinkers can go outside and there was a lot more space out there with tables and blankets and stuff that they can sit on so i will have no one coming inside to the bar, they will be taken to a table and according to what we set up, im even taking temperatures of clients and staff. Right, and what other precautions and Safety Measures have you taken . Basically, we have opened the toilet doors so they dont have to touch handles, things like salt and pepper and sugar and all that stuff in packets now, no grinders or ketchup bottles. The cutlery will be provided in like a sleeve so you are not handling it. There is so much we have had to do, i have an anti back station in the hallway. The trouble is you cannot wear gloves, it will melt with the hot plates. And if you put those white gloves on you see in posh restaurants, they get dirty so quickly and people will go, dont hand me my food with that. It is just getting them to wash their hands really regularly which will work. I must say, it sounds like you have thought are pretty much everything and full marks for for that and i suppose part of it is that and i suppose part of it is that you want to encourage people to come back, you want your customers to come back and they had to feel safe. You have to reassure them that they are safe. According to the statistics we have been getting from our people, 25 couldnt care less and will come back no matter what, 35 wa nt and will come back no matter what, 35 want to actively see that you have done something and you have got your signage up, you are talking to them and you have the anti back and so on them and you have the anti back and so on and the other 45 will try and come and see, may be a lot less often than they to. Wendy, great to talk to you and really good luck when you reopen. Co owner of the the gardeners arms near tewkesbury. Some news coming in from Northern Ireland before we go on to discuss the two metre rule in more detail. We arejust the two metre rule in more detail. We are just hearing that indoor meetings are to be allowed from tomorrow of up to six people from different households in Northern Ireland. The decision on the relaxation of restrictions was made ata relaxation of restrictions was made at a meeting of ministers in the devolved government there at stormont. People are still being encouraged to follow social distancing and are advised to wear face coverings. 0vernight stays are not permitted but from tomorrow indoor meetings are allowed in Northern Ireland of up to six people from different households. That has just come in from belfast. Lets talk now to peter drobac who is a Global Health physician at oxford university. He will talk to us first about social distancing rules. Do you believe it will be ok to cut from two metres to one metre which is the announcement we are expecting tomorrow. Yes, i would be concerned about the change and i think its too soon to further relax measures. We have seen some positive trends in terms of declining numbers of cases and deaths in this country, very welcome in recent weeks, but we are still seeing around 20,000 or more new cases in the uk every single week and two out of three new cases are not even being diagnosed and reported. That means even with the infrastructure we have in place there is a lot of invisible and silent transmission are still happening. So every step we take to start to reopen things i think we increase the risk of a second wave. The science is complex on the distance rule because its not only how far i am away from another person, its whether we are indoors or outdoors, how long we are in contact for, whether we are speaking, shouting or coughing. But it is clear that one metre is a higher risk than two metres. The World Health Organization recommendation is one metre and a lot of other countries do have one metre so two metres is not set in stone. Thats correct, its not set in stone but it is safer than one metre. Looking at a lot of other countries with the one metre rule, many have been more successful in controlling the virus and we have so far in the uk. One of the big differences is the use of face masks is much more common. I think thats really important. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence now that has emerged in recent months that has emerged in recent months that face coverings can really decrease transmission so i would like to see is to have a face coverings become commonplace in public areas, particularly in indoor spaces. That will make us much safer and get us to a place where it is less of a risk to go from two metres down to one metre. Do you think and face coverings the government has been a bit slow to recommend them . There was some doubt and some scientific advisers were saying in briefings in weeks gone by that there was only weak evidence that face coverings really work. Early on, many of the Public Health community was sceptical that routine use of non medical facemasks would make a big difference but we have learned a lot in the last couple of months. The big thing is we now know how important asymptomatic or presymptomatic transmission is, meaning i can be infected and still feel healthy but infect others around me. That creates a situation where just testing and tracing isnt enough because a lot of transmission happens before people feel sick. Since then we have seen quite a number of studies that have demonstrated a substantial decrease in the risk of transmission when face coverings are common. We have just lost the line, but we were pretty much finished we are grateful to peter for his time, pretty much finished we are grateful to peterfor his time, a Global Health physician at oxford university. You are watching bbc news. As black authors top the bestseller charts in the wake of the black lives matter protests spurred by the killing of george floyd, the newly formed black Writers Guild, which counts among its members some of britains best known authors and poets, has written an open letter calling on all major publishing houses in the uk to introduce sweeping reforms to make the overwhelmingly white industry more inclusive at all levels. Members of the black Writers Guild include benjamin zephaniah, Malorie Blackman and booker prize winner Bernardine Evaristo. And we can talk to Bernardine Evaristo now, who won the booker prize in 2019 for her novel girl, woman, other. Many thanks indeed for being with us. Many thanks indeed for being with us. Congratulations for being top of the charts is it a surprise to you that you are the first woman of colour to top the bestseller list in this country . It was actually last week and i was top of the paperback fiction list. I was the first woman of colour to be so. I was actually really shocked. Just to say that this week, Reni Eddo Lodge is top of the bestseller list for all genres, the bestseller list for all genres, the first british person to be at the first british person to be at the top of that list. So a couple of firsts have happened recently. I think its astonishing and i dont think its astonishing and i dont think we realised our books were not selling in this way. Now they are its terrific. Its a good place to be but i think its a bittersweet experience because in the 21st ce ntu ry experience because in the 21st century it really shouldnt just be happening now. You are one of the signatories to this letter calling for real reform in the british Publishing Industry. What sort of reforms do you want to see and what are you saying to them exactly . Just say we have formed the black Writers Guild, with 200 members of the guild, which is incredible. It was actually formed by the writers after a hirsch, publisher charmaine lovegrove. I am just a signatory. Its for the industry to take stock and do an audit in the way black people are not present in their publishing houses and commit to doing better. To give one example, a poetry publisher in this country that has been going for 91 years and they have only ever published five poets of colour, just one black man and they have never published a black woman. So we are not in a good place in terms of the Publishing Industry being more inclusive. Some publishers are trying to improve that and i think moore will do so now and once the letter has gone i it was