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the world is unprepared for the impact on societies of falling fertility rates will have, according to a big new global report. china has said it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its interests, after the uk decided to purge huawei technologies from its 56 infrastructure. china said britain's decision was political, and not an issue of national security. it comes as president trump welcomed the uk decision, saying it was him who convinced britain to abandon the chinese tech giant. beijing has also warned of reciprocal sanctions against the us, after the president ruled out further trade negotiations and ended hong kong's preferential trade status. our north america correspondent, peter bowes reports. the us has long been campaigning for britain and other countries to ban equipment from the chinese tech giant. the about—turn follows months of pressure from washington, including imposing tariffs on china. huawei posed a national security threat, said the trump administration. the company denied it. at a news conference in the rose garden at the white house, ostensibly to announce actions against china over hong kong... thank you very much, everybody. ..donald trump let it be known that he felt vindicated. we confronted untrustworthy chinese technology and telecom providers. we convinced many countries — many countries — and i did this myself for the most part — not to use huawei, because we think it's an unsafe security risk, it's a big security risk. i talked many countries out of using it. china's ambassador to the uk has criticised the british government's decision, describing it as "disappointing and wrong". he said it was now questionable whether the uk could provide a fair business environment for foreign companies. huawei is unlikely to be surprised by the us response. what happens next may hinge on the result of america's presidential election in november and future tone of us—china relations. right now, the countries‘ leaders are not on speaking terms and a second—phase trade deal is in doubt. president trump has moved to hold china accountable for its actions over hong kong, signing a bill that passed unanimously in congress. today i also signed an executive order ending us preferential treatment for hong kong. hong kong will be treated the same as mainland china, no special privileges, no special economic treatment, and no export of sensitive technologies. this news conference had very much the feel of a presidential rally with the president hitting a number of issues, but repeatedly coming back to his complaints against china and also his view ofjoe biden, and how he believes perhaps a joe biden presidency may go in its relation to china. thank you all very much. but overshadowing everything, the coronavirus, with president trump again saying that he holds china fully responsible for unleashing the virus on the world, ratcheting up the rhetoric even more. peter bowes, bbc news. our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, joins us now from beijing. you have just been at a chinese foreign ministry briefing, so what was said to? a strongly worded response from the chinese foreign ministry. they have basically said that mutual trust between britain and china has collapsed as a result of this decision and that they would be taking some sort of unspecified measures to safeguard the interests of chinese companies. we were asking, what might the response speed. one question was put to the chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, might uk companies be worried if they are operating in china at the moment? she didn't say they shouldn't be worried, or that they shouldn't be worried, or that they should, but rather cryptically said that if you grow a melon, you rea p said that if you grow a melon, you reap a melon. that actions have consequences. she said first the chinese government would have a good look at the decision and decide how to respond. but the broadbrush picture from the chinese foreign ministry is that china is now weighing up whether or not the uk is a place, really, where chinese companies should be doing business at all, and they even said they were warning chinese companies now operating in britain that they should be weighing up the increased political risk of continually operating inside the uk. at the moment this is alljust rhetoric but it's pretty tough and fiery rhetoric andi it's pretty tough and fiery rhetoric and i think there is no question at all that it has harmed relations considerably between the two countries. stephen mcdonell invasion, thank you. we will talk to oui’ invasion, thank you. we will talk to our assistant political editor norm smith at westminster about this. the fallout from the decision announced yesterday continues. it is huge, a massive decision in terms of our economy and whether there will be retaliatory action against british companies in china, british universities with campuses in china. at the same time there is a push from some tory mps to revisit chinese investments in other crucial infrastructure, such as the nuclear power industry, transport industry, north sea oil. the argument being, if we are suspicious of chinese involvement in our telecommunications industry, then shouldn't we also be suspicious of their involvement in our energy and nuclear power? this is far from over, quite apart from the huawei decision, which is farfrom over because tory mps, who are pleased with the government taking this step, but they want them to go further and faster. their concern is because of the complete stripping out of huawei from 56 isn't required until 2027, they say if there is an election in the meantime, who knows what might happen, you might get a different government who might reverse the decision, so they want the government to move faster and strip huawei out of 36 and ag. the government to move faster and strip huawei out of 3g and ag. in short, this is very far from strip huawei out of 3g and ag. in short, this is very farfrom over at any number of levels. but i think one thing that is becoming clear is that this is not about huawei, this is about china. lets ask you about masks and they reinforcement particularly in england, how long we might be wearing them for and whether we will have to wear them in offices in the future. there is good news and bad news, i suppose, offices in the future. there is good news and bad news, isuppose, if offices in the future. there is good news and bad news, i suppose, if you are an enthusiast for masks, the bad news is that we are not going to wear them in offices because the government does not believe they are required in offices. if you don't like masks, i guess that's good news for you. however, the indications from the health secretary this morning is that we will be wearing masks for some considerable time. he was asked, could we be wearing them this time next year, and he said, i hope not, which i suspect would cause some unease. this is what he said about wearing masks in offices. when you are in close proximity with somebody who you have to work closely to, then if you are there for a long time with them, then a mask doesn't offer that protection. as opposed to a shop or public transport, for instance, when you are with somebody fora medium, a reasonable amount of time, a few minutes but not all day, in the same way that the same logic applies for schools, we are not recommending masks in schools, because if you are in a classroom with kids all day then the mask doesn't give you that much protection. the point is that it's when you are in interaction with people who you aren't normally with. that's when the mask can be particularly helpful. the other slightly worrying bit of news we got from matt hancock this morning is that there is a likelihood there will be some sort of resurgence of the virus in the winter because apparently it is more transmissible in colder climates. and obviously in winter you spend less time outdoors, it is harder to open windows and so on and so forth, so the government are bracing for the likelihood we might see a pick—up in the virus as we head into the colder months. thank you to norman smith. for the first time in almost four months if you're in scotland you can have your hair cut, have a meal out or a drink in a pub. hairdressers, restaurants, bars and hotels are all opening their doors. galleries, museums and libraries are also allowed visitors in the biggest relaxtion of coronavirus restrictions so far. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, has described it as the riskiest stage of the process. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon has the details. it's the latest kit for hairdressers heading back to work. scotland's salons are the last in the uk to reopen. in this one they're already booked up weeks ahead, and things will be very different to before. we are a small salon, so we just wanted to really take every measure that we could to make things safe. so, the screens, obviously, will give each workstation a safe space. it's different, but i think it's a workable, fun space. you know, it's safe. and it's notjust hairdressers that are reopening. a lot of restrictions are easing in scotland today. all holiday accommodation, including hotels and b&bs, can accept guests once again. places of worship can restart communal prayer and services, and museums, galleries, libraries and cinemas can reopen their doors as long as strict physical distancing remains in place. table 823, your drinks aren't free, but they are on the bar waiting to collect. beer gardens, outdoor cafes and restaurants were allowed to welcome customers back ten days ago. now they're also allowed inside, as indoor hospitality reopens. so, there are three stools here that people will be able to sit at and drink at the bar, but that'll be the only place someone can sit. in this bar—restaurant restrictions mean they will only be allowed half the numbers they had before but are hoping people will quickly return. from opening the garden last week, we have been swamped with customers, and if we could have fit more people in, we would, however i'm not sure if the same will stand for inside. but i think the more we can show that we're adhering to the rules and the social distance guidance, the more comfortable customers will feel coming back. hoping confidence, customers and business will return, as more restrictions ease in scotland and many more aspects of normal life resume. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. if you are in the uk, you could be paying less at restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels from this morning, as a £a billion cut in vat comes into force across the hospitality sector. the tax is reduced from 20% to 5% untiljanuary, it's aimed at encouraging people who can spend to go out, and help protect jobs. starbucks and mcdonald's are the latest to promise to pass on the reductions to their customers, but many companies are expected to use the windfall to shore up their own finances hit by the lockdown, rather than cut prices. here's our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz. it's the chancellor's £a billion giveaway to try to get the economy moving, slashing the vat on going out, including to restaurants and pubs, and to campsites, cinemas and zoos. we need to give these businesses the confidence to know that if they open up, invest in making their premises safe, and protect jobs, demand will be there, and be there quickly. it could be worth a £5 saving on a mealfor two normally costing £a0, nearly £11 off an £85 room for two at a hotel or b&b, or £16 off a family entry to a theme park worth £130. some businesses, nando's is one of them, have promised to pass on 100% of the saving. but the big worry is that others will hold onto some or all of the benefit, effectively pocketing the tax cut, saying they're struggling and they're the ones who need it. the treasury says it wants businesses to pass on the cut if they can, but it recognises they have been without an income for months, and it is up to them to decide. the majority of businesses are going to look at using the vat cut to support themselves and their employees, and reconfigure getting their business back on track after being closed for some while. bigger chains are more likely to pass on the cut. starbucks says it will on coffees. pubs like wetherspoons face the problem that alcoholic drinks don't qualify, so it's taking some of the saving on food to reduce the price of beer. simon gompertz, bbc news. new measures to curb the spread of covid—i9 in blackburn and darwen have been introduced after a spike in cases. for the next month, people living there must limit the number of visitors to their homes, and wear face coverings in all confined public spaces in a bid to avoid a leicester—style local lockdown. mass testing began at the weekend after 61 new cases sprang up within a week. meanwhile, people in leicester will learn tomorrow whether local lockdown measures will be eased. non—essential shops, businesses and schools closed again on the 29thjune after a spike in positive cases, and it's taking a toll on the city's economy. many companies are considering their futures, as navteonhal reports. i've been running for two years now, or ran for two years, and it means the world to me. i'm devastated, having to close. i put all my time and effort and love into it, and created something that i want to go into work to every day. getting ready to say goodbye. arti chudasama's cafe and deli will not be reopening when leicester's coronavirus restrictions are eventually lifted. she says the local lockdown has forced her to close. i was 50—50 on it, and as soon as it happened, that was it. my decision was made. if there was anybody around here i could open, but nobody is coming in. if nobody‘s coming in, i don't have a business to run. i'm just sat in there because i love it and that's not enough. her fate is unlikely to be unique, at least according to an organisation which represents businesses in the city centre. it says many of them are crying out for more help. it's a very simple message that we need grant support directly to our businesses if they are going to survive. what impact will it have on the city if businesses do not get that extra support? if that support doesn't arrive urgently we will see the shutters coming down, we will see the doors closing, we will see a lot of businesses, particularly in nonessential retail, food and drink sectors, closing. but leicester's mayor believes help may be on the way after speaking to health secretary this week. although we still have not got the absolute commitment that is going to happen, i think there was certainly an indication that the secretary of state understood the importance of that and i very much hope that we will soon be able to give good news, at least to the businesses of the city. either way, any support will come too late for arti. how are you feeling today? upset, sad. it is sad, it's emotional. you don't expect to close a business after two years, especially in the situation that we're in. the government says the circumstances of individual local lockdowns will continue to be carefully assessed, and that its support package is one of the most comprehensive in the world. but it's clear that many businesses here in leicester believe that extra help is needed if they are to continue to survive. navteonhal, bbc news, leicester. in the uk, an all—party parliamentary group on choice at the end of life has been hearing personal stories and, for the first time, expert international opinion regarding the impact of the ban on assisted dying in the uk. with me isjoy munns — she is the daughter of mavis eccleston, who was cleared of murder last year after helping her terminally ill husband to die. i'm also joined by sher safran, whose parents were legally assisted to die at their request in oregon in the united states in 2017. thank you so much for talking to us. can you tell us about your father's illness and the decisions he made when he found out his cancer was terminal? my dad got diagnosed with a terminal bowel cancer. once he was diagnosed with that, there were two things he didn't want. the loss of his dignity and pain. the decision he made as soon as he made out of the hospital, because he had been given 6—12 months diagnosis, and he decided, he said to my brother straightaway that he wanted to end his own life on his own terms and didn't want to go into a hospital. he had seen lots of his friends die of cancer and he wanted to do it his way, have his choice, really. as soon as my mum heard that, she had been with him since she was 19, 60 yea rs been with him since she was 19, 60 years married they would have been now, and she decided she wanted to go with him. like i said, everything was so taboo. we weren't allowed to talk to anybody about it because of incriminating ourselves. my dad had asked me to look at something for dignitas and my husband said, don't even look on your computer because the police will incriminate you, you will be incriminating yourself. my mum knew the only way she could go with my dad was to give the ultimate sacrifice of her own life, and that's what she ended up doing. they both tried to commit suicide at the end of february. dad passed because we didn't release the dnr, and mum survived. the day after she then got taken away to a prison cell for 30 hours in her nightie, dressing gown and slippers and was charged with murder. we will come back to your mum's story in a moment. sher, your mum's story in a moment. sher, your mum had heart disease and your father charlie, who had a pancreatic cancer, they were legally assisted to die in oregon where an act has beenin to die in oregon where an act has been in place in the state for two decades. how does that legislation work? it's actually very rigorous. even though both my parents were diagnosed terminally ill with less than six months to live, they each still needed to go through a rigorous process of approval. they we re always rigorous process of approval. they were always supportive of dying with dignity and assisted dying, and they first had to verbally request to use the law and then be seen by one doctor that knew them and was a specialist in the area of their disease, and then separate doctors who did not know them and evaluated them, physically, mentally and emotionally, and even go to the ethics committee to make sure that everything is above board. all of this has to take place over several weeks. it can't all happen at once. it is really very careful, very careful that it's not be used and the person who is requesting to use this death with dignity law is of sound mind and is clear in their choice. and do you know if in the 20 yea rs choice. and do you know if in the 20 years the law has been emplaced whether it has been abused? it is one of the arguments against putting a new law in place here, that vulnerable people and groups would be under pressure from unscrupulous relatives, for example. be under pressure from unscrupulous relatives, for examplelj be under pressure from unscrupulous relatives, for example. i know that's of great concern. in my understanding, in oregon as well as washington where i live, but it was oregon where my parents died, there has not been abuse. it is so regulated and there are so many steps you have to go through, and the person has to decide for themselves. no one else can decide for them that this is a choice they need to make. the chances, it is far more likely that people do what poor joy's family had to do, to circumvent the fact there is no law for assisted dying, it is far more likely there is that trauma and abuse which shouldn't happen if they could have assisted dying. abuse which shouldn't happen if they could have assisted dyinglj abuse which shouldn't happen if they could have assisted dying. i wonder what effect it had on your mum, joy, being charged with murder and then waiting 18 months for the trial and then being unanimously found not guilty by a jury at stafford crown court in september last year. the thing for us is we never got a chance to mourn our dad, my mum never got a chance to mourn her husband. she died dug —— he died on the tuesday and she was arrested on the tuesday and she was arrested on the wednesday. we assumed it would be an arrest for assisted suicide, but they clearly told me and she was eventually charged with murder. even at the funeral, we wasn't allowed his body back for quite a while because obviously, with it being a murder case, we had to wait quite a while before we got his body back. and when we did, like i said, to this day, none of us have been able to grieve. we are now at the stage where we can talk about him and do what normal people do after they have mourned and grieved and speak about them in reflection and laugh and joke about certain things he used to do and say. we can now speak about him without having to think about him without having to think about mum's court case. sorry, i just want to put some of the other arguments that are made against assisted dying, if i may. good palliative care avoids the need for assisted dying. no, it doesn't. it doesn't work for everybody. that pain, itjust doesn't. it doesn't matter how much they are given. my dad was a very private man. a very proud man. he was a coal miner and didn't wanta proud man. he was a coal miner and didn't want a woman nurse looking after him. he was in his 80s and was very old—fashioned. surely, as a human being, he should have been given that choice. the thing that hau nts given that choice. the thing that haunts me, when i heard sher ‘s story how beautiful... it was so lovely and made me really, really upset with how her story was compared to ours because what upsets me more than anything in all of this is how afraid, lonely and scared they were at three o'clock on that morning making that decision on their own knowing they would never see theirfamily their own knowing they would never see their family again and how desperate they must have felt. that still haunts me to this day and i don't think i will ever be able to get that away from me. and had we had this law, had we had this choice, we could have sat round dad to's bed, we could have had the wolves match playing, we could have said goodbye and tell him how much we loved and adored him, as opposed to that awful evening when they were scared, afraid and lonely. thank you to you both are talking to us. we appreciate it. and we appreciate it's the early hours of the morning in oregon so thank you. in the last few minutes, europe's second highest court has rejected an eu order to make apple pay the irish government billions of euros in tax. the eu has accused the tech giant of using irish tax regulations to pay barely any tax on profits earned in other parts of the world. our economics correspondent, andrew walker, joins me now. tell us about the european court's decision. it's very striking. they have ruled that the decision made by the european commission that apple had received an illegal state subsidy from the irish government was not correct, and that means essentially that those billions of euros worth of taxes that the commission says apple should have played leeds paid are simply not ode. the court has ruled that the commission was simply wrong to say that this was a selected benefit, that apple had received. what was the original decision about in the first place? this was arrangement that apple had made with irish authorities that had the effect that it essentially paid almost no tax on large parts of its operations in europe. the commission took the view that because it was donein took the view that because it was done in no way that meant it was not generally available to other businesses in ireland, it meant it was a specific financial aid given toa was a specific financial aid given to a specific company and in most circumstances european law prohibits that. so the commission said, you have broken the law so apple must repay the money. thank you. an anti—smoking charity is estimating that more than a million people have kicked the habit since the coronavirus crisis. ash said just under half of the 10,000 people they questioned in england, wales and scotland who had quit in the past four months, said the pandemic played a role. with me is hazel cheeseman from the smoking charity ash. also i'm joined by david reay, who quit smoking at the start of the pandemic. why and how was that?” why and how was that? i have been smoking since i was 1a, that's the first time i had a cigarette will stop i have wanted to do this for several years will stop i tried several years will stop i tried several times using patches and electronic cigarette but nothing worked. i nearly succeeded last year but when the lockdown came in place, it was my opportunity to do something for me. normally you would expect may be people to turn the other way and maybe smoke more, but in my case it was just determination and, yeah, it worked. you need to give us more insight. determination but what else? did you change your routine, did you google how bad smoking was for you again to remind yourself? what was it? it was an opportunity for me to do it for various opportunity for me to do it for various reasons. opportunity for me to do it for various reasons. my late mother wa nted various reasons. my late mother wanted me to do this but she didn't get to see it. there were financial reasons. and when lockdown occurred i thought, ok, i don't want to end up i thought, ok, i don't want to end up smoking more cigarettes so i will do something for me, and i did it. health reasons as well. and how old are you now because you had your first cigarette at 1a? are you now because you had your first cigarette at 14? i'm 55. so it's a long time. hazel, what do you think about the fact that in the uk a million smokers have given up and they say it's a million smokers have given up and they say its related to the pandemic? it's kind of a silver lining, i think, pandemic? it's kind of a silver lining, ithink, of pandemic? it's kind of a silver lining, i think, of what has been a difficult situation for many. i think there's been lots of reasons why smokers have decided now is the time for them to quit. i think david's story will be common. lockdown was an opportunity for people to really change their habits. we know changing your life style habits. we know changing your lifestyle is an opportunity for you to change your behaviour and that can be really successful, but also people are really conscious of health risks right now. what can i do to make sure i am as fit and healthy as possible? and clearly if you are a smoker than quitting is the best thing you can do for your health right now. will it make a difference to give up after four will it make a difference to give up afterfour decades? will it make a difference to give up after four decades? absolutely, you can see the benefits from day one. the first benefit will be to your cardiovascular system and your heart, and in time the rest of your body benefits as well. david willis e benefits from now into the future. we have seen this big uptick in quitting and people making the change right now. the challenge is how we support people like david and the other people who have quit smoking during lockdown because while you get health benefits straightaway, those accumulate over time and we want people to stay quitting smoking. how do you feel, david, different? much more healthy now. financially it is great, my friends and family are so proud and supportive. oh, god, ijust wish i could advise people. don't give up quitting or attempting to quit, that is my advice. 0k, hazel, can you give us advice for those watching and who want to stop but have not yet done so? absolutely, we are launching a campaign today, action on smoking and health are launching a campaign around the country encouraging people to make the attempt to quit smoking. what we are suggesting is that people go to the nhs stop smoking site and to google smoke free. find your local service, which i think david used in his attempt to quit, and they can really help you make the change and give you the medication you might need to make the difference. i would urge any smokers attempting to quit at the moment to google smoke free and find out what support is out there to help you and give it a go. thank you, hazel. go on, david. that was my last point, i attended the nhs clinic and i try previous methods that did not work. but i went to this clinic and they talked me through the various options. that was my last resort and that is what worked. so, thank you nhs. of course, thank you, thank you! you said your mother would be pleased. what would she think, david? sadly she passed away 3.5 years ago and she passed away 3.5 years ago and she kept nagging me to stop smoking andi she kept nagging me to stop smoking and i used to say, i will do, don't worry. sadly she passed so she never got to see this. but you are thinking of her. all the time. thank you for speaking to us, david. david ray. and hazel from action on smoking and health, thank you. if you google smoke free, then you will get some tips and hints. hello, this is bbc news with victoria derbyshire. the headlines... china says it will take "all necessary measures" to look after its interests after the uk government decided to ban huawei from britain's 5g networks. uk health secretary, matt hancock, says face coverings will be mandatory in england in shops and on public transport "for the foreseeable future" but aren't needed in offices or schools. scotland's most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions — hairdressers, restaurants, tourist attractions and places of worship are allowed to re—open. apple and ireland have won their appeal against the european commission over a 13 billion euro tax bill. around 500 jobs are being cut at luxury fashion firm burberry in the uk and globally after lockdown sent sales tumbling. cancer treatment can be incredibly gruelling, but how risky is it to reject conventional therapies? sean walsh was a young musician from liverpool who had blood cancer, but turned down chemotherapy and believed he could cure his cancer through alternative treatments. now, his family have spoken to the bbc to warn others not to follow the same approach. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. # how was i supposed to know. # that you'd walk out that door? #. sean walsh, well—known on liverpool's music scene, was first diagnosed as a teenager with hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. you just don't imagine that your child's going to have cancer. it just doesn't enter your head, does it? sean endured the rigours of chemotherapy and at first, it looked like the treatment had worked, but less than two years later, some devastating news — the cancer had returned. he was getting poorly again, and they called us in and said the cancer was back. he had to undergo chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant. obviously, this wasjust not what sean wanted to hear, he didn't want to do it all over again. chemotherapy, i've already had it. it done me no good. why would you poison yourself after good health? sean decided to treat the cancer himself through alternative therapies. he was also having scans at a clinic run by philip and rosa hughes, medical thermal imaging, which sean believed were monitoring his cancer. it's legal to offer these scans, but the nhs warns that there is no evidence that thermography is an effective way to test for cancer or monitor its treatment. they were sean's evidence as hope, as confirmation that it was working. this was all backed up by the stemographic scan that the tumours are shrinking. that was pretty much the crux of everything. sean's scans did carry a disclaimer from the company, stating: further research was needed. but the scan results seemed reassuring, and sean believed his cancer had gone. we asked cancer specialist professor andrew wardley of manchester's christie hospital to review secret filming in which rosa hughes, who provided scans for sean, make some troubling medical claims to our reporter. that's preposterous. you don't burst tumours — they're solid. you do squash the breast down to do a mammogram, it is unpleasant, but it's a short—term thing. you do not spread cancer by doing a mammogram, that's a complete fallacy. rosa and phillip hughes say that they utterly reject the allegation they gave sean walsh inappropriate advice, but sean's family believe the scans gave him false hope. he thought he'd cured himself. in reality, he was dying. he had a tumour the size of a grapefruit fruit in his stomach. he had tumours all in his chest and stuff. ijust got on the bed with him and just said, "come on, sean..." # and my loneliness...# sean died injanuary 2019, aged just 23. you're vulnerable when you've got cancer. you're looking to cure yourself or you put yourself in remission at least, or spend as much time with your loved ones and you are going to believe certain people who are actually making money out of the cancer industry through vulnerable people... if you're in the uk you can watch the full investigation, "false hope: alternative cancer cures2, on bbc three on the bbc iplayer. researchers say declining fertility rates — that is, the average number of children a woman gives birth to — means nearly every country in the world could have shrinking populations by the end of the century. 23 countries are expected to see their populations halve in the next 80 years. india's population will still be over a billion, sub—saharan africa's however will triple in size to three billion. our global affairs correspondent, naomi grimley, joins me. which countries could see their population for the most? there are 20 of them, and they include spain, portugal, thailand, south korea, poland, and to give you a few figures, italy could see its population go from 61 million down to 28 million, and japan could see its population going from 128 million to 53 million. that has massive implications for those countries for the way that they would organise themselves, and for the public policy that they would wa nt to the public policy that they would want to pursue in future. 0k. the public policy that they would want to pursue in future. ok. so, what kind of changes might be needed? well, there are lots of things to think about. for example, a lot of these countries might want to embrace more liberal immigration policies, because they will have fewer people of working age, and that means they are taxed takes will be down to. so this report is predicting that instead of putting up predicting that instead of putting up orders like we are seeing at the moment, countries would actually wa nt to moment, countries would actually want to pursue immigration, particularly immigration from africa, because africa is the big area which would buck this trend. the population there would treble by the turn of the next century. of course, the other thing that governments must bear in mind is more elderly people, so i think this report are suggesting that oxygen arya ns report are suggesting that oxygen aryans could outnumber the under—fives by 2—1, so you would have to think carefully about what kind of social care and hospital ca re kind of social care and hospital care do get a society that is ageing in that manner. thank you very much, my own —— naomi. let's get more now on the story that china has said it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its interests after the uk decided to purge huawei technologies from its 5g infrastructure. china said britain's decision was political, and not an issue of national security. professor rana mitter is the director of the china centre at the university of oxford. hello, good morning. what do you think china will do next, if anything? well, victoria, one thing i think it will be doing is to weigh up i think it will be doing is to weigh up the short—term and long—term in responses it can make to the huawei decision here in the uk. in the short term, i think you will see a lot of angry rhetoric. already the chinese ambassador to the uk has talked about this being discrimination and other quite strong language will be used. but i think there will be a pragmatic thought about whether or not this is something that china wants to maintain long term. the uk remains a large market and a liberal society that china wants more influence and business with, and therefore you might expect that after a while and after some rhetoric there might be a bit of a reset. 0k, after some rhetoric there might be a bit of a reset. ok, i wonder if he reset might include other sectors in the uk, where there is chinese involvement, north sea oil production, power plants, airports etc? i think one of the things one has to note is that the chinese will not remove themselves from sectors where they think they can make money. right now the chinese economy is running at, let's say, 80% of what it was at this stage last year because lie because they have been ha rd by because lie because they have been hard by the covid—19 crisis. for the back of that i think they will be thinking about where they can pragmatically make a gesture without losing money. it is about whether the uk wants to continue that investment in sensitive areas of national and. do you think the fight is overfor huawei? —— national and. do you think the fight is over for huawei? —— areas of national infrastructure.” is over for huawei? —— areas of national infrastructure. i think they will try to maintain some ways of maintaining a presence in the uk. it still sells mobile phones. if it cannot get hold of american chips and so forth it is hard for them to offer the full range of services that they currently do. before the end of the year and the cut—off date being january 2021 they may act differently but i think it is fair to say they will have to be a rethink because the uk government wa nts to rethink because the uk government wants to encourage european suppliers to put forward 5g instead of huawei. thank you very much. thank you. a woman who injected herself with lip filler during lockdown accidentally blocked an artery and, without emergency treatment, would have been in danger of losing her lips. the woman sourced the filler through a private facebook group called natural kaos tribe, and although there are disclaimers on the website it shows videos of people injecting themselves, and links to where you can buy botox, filler and needles. this morning we've heard that, following a bbc investigation into the site, facebook have removed it for "violating its regulated goods policy". the woman, who we're calling sarah, spoke to reporter melanie abbott from bbc radio a's you and yours, and explained why she decided to inject herself. in this clip, which contains graphic images, her words are spoken for her to protect her identity. i'd had a little bit done professionally before and to be totally honest i've never felt overly pretty. and itjust made me feel a bit better, having a bit done. and when we locked down and i realised it was going to be months and months, so i thought, well, i'll have a look and see, because you can get these things like pens. it's not like a needle, it's like a pen that really powerfully pushes hyaluronic acid into your skin. there are a lot of demos online on youtube so i watched some of those. it does sound ridiculous and it is still very embarrassing but when it's all there explained, it did seem like something i thought i could do. i bought the filler online from a company in korea and it did say, pull back on the needle, see if you get blood, and if you do it means you are in an artery or something, which was obviously what i'd done. i think i sent the first message for help about half an hour or so later. the middle of my lip was turning darker and darker to the point it was black, and the sides of my lips, too. i was finding it hard to tell if i was overthinking because i was getting so anxious and having panic attacks, so i went away from the mirror and about 15 minutes later i went back and i thought, no, it's getting worse. i saw this nurse, who recognised straightaway what it was. i was just crying, and she very kindly helped me. i felt so stupid. now my lips are sort of back to normal and healthy, but they very, very easily might not have been. with me is susan young, an aesthetic nurse prescriber. she was responsible for correcting that women's lips. and by nigel mercer, a consultant plastic surgeon. i'm also joined by alberto costa, mp for south leicestershire. susan young, what did you think when you saw sarah's lips? i was upset for the lady because she was quite distressed. when i first saw the lips, it was quite obvious on examination what she had done. she explained what she had done. presenting symptoms and signs were such that she had blocked both her upper and lower blood supply to both her lips. do you see many cases like this? sadly, we do. it is becoming more common for people to inject themselves, but we do tend to have a lot of people who are having problems that come to us from injections with lay people who are not medical professionals. why are filler, lip further is not authorised in the same way as botox, for example? it is coming from europe and perhaps they should look at reclassifying them as prescription, any device, making sure they are the same as botox. but as the lady had said, she brought this and purchase this online many years ago, ten years ago i did a piece with the bbc where we bought stuff online and it came via brazil through germany and it was mislabelled on the box and it is just too easy to do. as the other commentator said, we are seeing increasing numbers of patients who are really having quite significant problems with unscrupulous injections, in this country and also the diy stuff. the diy stuff it is beggars belief that you would do that to yourself, though. why do you think they do, then?” that to yourself, though. why do you think they do, then? i think we have an international problem with a lack of confidence now, and there is work done by the dove foundation and other research groups where people have been found to be quite vulnerable and i think the lady showed quite well that she had long—term problems about her appearance, and perhaps we have to get to a stage of dealing with those long—term problems. they are psychological, not physical problems, and perhaps as we are doing cosmetic surgery, we are psychological assessments can become the norm, perhaps we have to have psychological assessments included in every primary consultation, filler, botox, for any cosmetic surgery. it would be much better for the patients to be safe.” surgery. it would be much better for the patients to be safe. i will bring in alberto costa now, an mp and also let me get his correct title and relevance... he has been campaigning fora title and relevance... he has been campaigning for a change in the law after one of his constituents suffered an injury to her lip after an unregulated filler was put into their artery. it is quite astonishing, alberto costa, would you agree, how cosmetic surgery is currently regulated in the uk? anyone can do it, pretty much. yes, this is why i championed the issue in february 2019. i raised the matter in the house of commons, and i raised it again in may 2019 following which the government launched a campaign to raise awareness on the issue. but you are right, we must do much more, and thatis right, we must do much more, and that is that we need to change the law. we need to bring in the law which makes it compulsory to be trained, to be qualified and to be regulated to undertake these form of cosmetic treatment, and i think the reason it is so important to be regulated is that as a professional, you have to carry indemnity insurance, and that is a sort of guarantee to consumers that when things go wrong they have somebody to fall back on. but there have been calls for a law change for years now, since 2013. the then nhs medical director said it is our view that the dermal fillers are a crisis waiting to happen. that was seven yea rs waiting to happen. that was seven years ago. no one is listening. no, people are listening, government is listening, that is why they are following my representations and representations of other mps and they then initiated that campaign. but we have to accept that since 2016 we had the brexit crisis, and now we have a covid crisis, and the timetable in the house of commons understandably has been very tight. but that is no excuse, and that is why i continue to champion this issue... sorry, i wasjust why i continue to champion this issue... sorry, iwasjust going why i continue to champion this issue... sorry, i wasjust going to return to susan young who treated the woman, sarah, treated her lips. what she really in danger of losing them? absolutely, yes. quite luckily we recognise that she had a big problem and she came and sought professional help. but alberto costa is correct, we need a change in legislation desperately so that description on the medication includes dermalfillers description on the medication includes dermal fillers and also only registered medical health care professionals can be injecting these substances. 0k, and very briefly, a psychological point that nigel made, what is it about our lack of confidence that means that we want big lips? i don't think it is necessarily about the big lips, i think the instagram issue is a big one that influences younger people. more and more people we are seeing now want a more natural appearance, and we are bombarded with images co nsta ntly, and we are bombarded with images constantly, aren't we, that shows that we have to be perfect all the time. and it does affect the psyche. thank you all very much. i really appreciate your time, susan young, nigel mercer and alberto costa. and you can hear more on this on "you and yours" on bbc radio a at 12:20pm bst today. a sculpture of a black lives matter protester has been installed on the plinth where the statue of slave trader edward colston stood until it was toppled in bristol last month. the figure ofjen reid with her fist raised was installed at dawn. she was photographed at demonstrations last month. the sculptor, marc quinn, and ms reid said they hoped the installation would continue the public conversation about racism. bristol mayor, marvin rees, says the sculpture was installed without permission and that the future of the plinth must be decided by all in bristol. jen reid, the black lives matters protester, spoke earlier and explained how the idea came about for the monument. that came about via my husband is taking a photo of me shortly after the statue went into the river. i climbed the statue with the help of my husband, standing on his shoulder. he took the picture, posted it on his social media the next day, and he was then contacted by marc quinn, who asked to get in contact with me. here is the statue. i contact with me. here is the statue. , that is correct. here is the statue. a replica of that moment. what has it been like for you to be turned into that statue, sessions where you have been measured, that kind of thing? very straightforward, i went kind of thing? very straightforward, iwent up kind of thing? very straightforward, i went up to marc quinn's studio after the protest where i had several camera surrounding me and if you takes, getting back into that moment, that feeling, and he has really captured it so well. for me, getting on that plinth, you know, i raised my fist and i raised it to give power back to the people, back to the slaves who died at the hands of kosten. i gave power to george floyd. and for other black people who have faced injustices for being black, you know? and it really kind of ca ptu res black, you know? and it really kind of captures that. —— colston. black, you know? and it really kind of captures that. -- colston. that wasjen reid of captures that. -- colston. that was jen reid speaking. the england and manchester united footballer marcus rashford will recieve an honorary doctorate from the university of manchester. it's being awarded for his campaign against child poverty as well as his sporting achievements on the pitch. atjust 22 years old he will be the youngest ever recipient of an honorary degree from the university of manchester. thank you for your messages about that statue in bristol thatjen reid was talking about. so says she thinks the statue should have been ofa thinks the statue should have been of a nurse who saves lives. estonians must have missed the democratic vote memo to see what they wanted. neil says, democratic vote memo to see what they wanted. neilsays, it democratic vote memo to see what they wanted. neil says, it is a beautiful and deliberately provocative work of art, notjust the sculpture itself but it's guerrilla installation. keeping lurr says i would have preferred the existing statue of edward colston being integrated into an installation that represents it being toppled by other statues. it would have better reflected the broad support for black lives matter rather than selecting one specific individual may day. raven says, that isa individual may day. raven says, that is a cool idea. the colston statue is a cool idea. the colston statue is in is a cool idea. the colston statue isina is a cool idea. the colston statue is in a museum now along with placards of the process and written explanation of him and what happened to him. they have also preserved the graffiti as well. and to the people who seem to think that the statue was put up by the council without consultation, the artist and others put it up. the council was not involved, no public funds were spent on it, we don't know if the council will allow it to remain or not. thank you for getting in touch this morning. you can, throughout the day and night, 2a/7, get in touch, iam on twitter or you can e—mail me. you are watching bbc news... hello. it is of course st swithin's day today and if the myth were to be believed, whatever weather you have, you're going to have for the next a0 days. thankfully, it is just a myth, otherwise it would be a pretty disappointing rest of summer in store for many of you. plenty of cloud around, some patchy rain and drizzle. the rain and drizzle mainly linked to this weather front i've put in place on top of the satellite imagery from earlier. it is slowly pushing its way south and eastwards, so after the morning sunshine in east anglia and the south—east, clouding over here in the afternoon and turning increasingly damp. elsewhere, some of the rain and drizzle eases off. there will still be some coming and going through the day and staying fairly cloudy for most. but a little bit of afternoon sunshine possible, particularly for parts of wales, south—west england, eastern scotland. that may lift the temperature and the feel of things but for mid—july overall it's a rather cool day, 1a—19 celsius, the highest temperatures we can expect. let's go into this evening and overnight. there will be some further pockets of rain and drizzle, the odd heavier burst in northern scotland. lengthy dry spells for many. but after a cool day by day, by night with the cloud in place it will be a fairly mild night with temperatures not dropping below around ten or 11 degrees. some places at 15 or 16 celsius. it will be a grey start for many on thursday but slightly lighter shades of grey and they will turn to blue through the day as the cloud breaks up. some sunny spells in the east of scotland and across parts of england and wales especially. and where you get the sunshine, temperatures will be higher than today, a much warmer feel tomorrow afternoon compared to this afternoon, more widely in the 20s and peaking probably across north—east england and north—eastern parts of scotland, around 23 or 2a degrees. cooler to the west of scotland, outbreaks of rain developing on the breeze all linked to the next weather front which will bring a return to fresher conditions as we go through the weekend. certainly turning fresher but brighter across northern scotland on friday. cloud and patchy rain spreading through southern scotland, northern ireland, into the far north of england. much of england and wales will stay dry. morning cloud breaks up an increasingly humid field, 26 celsius possible in london compared to 15 degrees in stornoway. that fresher weather will push its way southwards as we go through the weekend. taking us into saturday, it looks like we will start with that weather front somewhere across parts of northern england, north and west wales, so a bit of a damp start to the weekend before sunshine comes out. a few showers to the west of scotland punctuating the sunshine. after a sunny and warm start to the south—east corner, though, cloud will spread its way southwards and one or two showers. cloud will spread its way southwards and one or two showers. temperatures could still peak around 2a degrees but by sunday more sunshine but a coolerfeel for all. goodbye for now. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk china says it will take "all necessary measures" to look after its interests — after the uk government decided to ban huawei from britain's 5g networks. a temporary cut to vat for the hospitality and leisure industries comes in today — from 20 to 5%. scotland's most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions — hairdressers, restaurants, tourist attractions and places of worship are allowed to re—open. apple and ireland have won their appeal against the european commission over a 13 billion euro tax bill. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. china has said it will take all necessary measures to safeguard its interests, after the uk decided to purge huawei technologies from its 5g infrastructure. china said britain's decision was political, and not an issue of national security. it comes as president trump welcomed the uk's decision — claiming he had convinced britain to abandon the chinese tech giant. our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the us has long been campaigning for britain and other countries to ban equipment from the chinese tech giant. the about—turn follows months of pressure from washington, including imposing tariffs on china. huawei posed a national security threat, said the trump administration. the company denied it. at a news conference in the rose garden at the white house, ostensibly to announce actions against china over hong kong... thank you very much, everybody. ..donald trump let it be known that he felt vindicated. we confronted untrustworthy chinese technology and telecom providers. we convinced many countries — many countries — and i did this myself for the most part — not to use huawei, because we think it's an unsafe security risk, it's a big security risk. i talked many countries out of using it. china's ambassador to the uk has criticised the british government's decision, describing it as "disappointing and wrong". he said it was now questionable whether the uk could provide a fair business environment for foreign companies. huawei is unlikely to be surprised by the us response. what happens next may hinge on the result of america's presidential election in november and future tone of us—china relations. right now, the countries' leaders are not on speaking terms and a second—phase trade deal is in doubt. president trump has moved to hold china accountable for its actions over hong kong, signing a bill that passed unanimously in congress. today i also signed an executive order ending us preferential treatment for hong kong. hong kong will be treated the same as mainland china, no special privileges, no special economic treatment, and no export of sensitive technologies. this news conference had very much the feel of a presidential rally with the president hitting a number of issues, but repeatedly coming back to his complaints against china and also his view ofjoe biden, and how he believes perhaps a joe biden presidency may go in its relation to china. thank you all very much. but overshadowing everything, the coronavirus, with president trump again saying that he holds china fully responsible for unleashing the virus on the world, ratcheting up the rhetoric even more. peter bowes, bbc news. let's hearfrom china's ambassador to the uk, liu xiaoming. he is delivering a virtual speech to the london—based european centre of reform on china— europe relations. for the safety and health of mankind and requires a joint response of the international community, including china and the eu. second, the development deficit. this pandemic has resulted in a severe recession in the world economy. according to oecd forecasts, european economy will be the hardest hit this year. the imf and world bank predicted respectively a.9% and 5.2% contraction in the world economy this year. how to achieve economic recovery and continued growth is a daunting task all countries, including china and europe. third, the piece deficit. the pandemic has aggravated the severe challenges from and sensing a regional conflict and was, raging terrorism and a grave humanitarian crisis. world peace and security and stability on the has revealed the weak links in the has revealed the weak links in the global public health governance systems. covid—19 reminds the world that mankind belongs to a community, with a shared future. scapegoating, shirking responsibilities are unhelpful to solving problems and saving lives. solidarity and cooperation are the only right way forward in this fight against the virus. both china and europe are major global players and it is important that the two sides join hands and contribute to global response to covid—19, the world economic recovery, improving global governance and overturning the deficits. first, china and europe should work together to safeguard the health and safety of mankind. china attaches great importance to cooperation with the international community, including europe, and fighting the pandemic. at the 73rd world health assembly xi xinping called for the building of a global community of health for all. he also mentioned in the coming two years china will provide 2 billion us dollars in international aid, once china are successful in building a vaccine and putting it to use china or make it a global public goods. china also took part in the coronovirus global response conference, initiated by the eu, and global vaccine summit, hosted by the uk. going forward, china and the eu should continue sharing experience in academic containment, enhanced cooperation on research and development for vaccines, strength and support to regions with weak public health systems, and cooperation between china, the eu and africa in epidemic response. together china and the eu could help strengthen global defence against threats to public health and contribute to building a global community of health for all. second, china and europe should work together to uphold world peace and stability. china and the eu have between them one tenth of the world's land area, a quarter of the world's land area, a quarter of the world's population. and three permanent members of the un security council. there is every reason... that is the chinese ambassador to the uk delivering a virtual speech to the european centre of european reform on china— european relations based in london. he spoke of deficits opened up by the pandemic, he spoke of development deficit in economies around the world, a peace deficit, he said the pandemic aggravated tense situations in a number of nations around the world and he also spoke about it governance deficit where he said the pandemic had revealed weak links in public health policy in some countries, talking about research and development going on towards a vaccine as well. china very much to the fore today in terms of our lead story and the decision by the uk to remove huawei technologies from its sg remove huawei technologies from its 5g infrastructure. the uk government's temporary vat cut for the hospitality and leisure sectors comes into effect today. until the middle of january, vat on a range of items has been cut from % to 5%, to encourage people to spend, and to help protectjobs. here's our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz. it's the chancellor's £a billion giveaway to try to get the economy moving, slashing the vat on going out, including to restaurants and pubs, and to campsites, cinemas and zoos. we need to give these businesses the confidence to know that if they open up, invest in making their premises safe, and protect jobs, demand will be there, and be there quickly. it could be worth a £5 saving on a mealfor two normally costing £a0, nearly £11 off an £85 room for two at a hotel or b&b, or £16 off a family entry to a theme park worth £130. some businesses, nando's is one of them, have promised to pass on 100% of the saving. but the big worry is that others will hold onto some or all of the benefit, effectively pocketing the tax cut, saying they're struggling and they're the ones who need it. the treasury says it wants businesses to pass on the cut if they can, but it recognises they have been without an income for months, and it is up to them to decide. the majority of businesses are going to look at using the vat cut to support themselves and their employees, and reconfigure getting their business back on track after being closed for some while. bigger chains are more likely to pass on the cut. starbucks says it will on coffees. pubs like wetherspoons face the problem that alcoholic drinks don't qualify, so it's taking some of the saving on food to reduce the price of beer. simon gompertz, bbc news. in the united states, record daily increases of people testing postive for covid—19 have been reported in alabama, florida and north carolina. texas and california also reported record one—day increases in new cases. cbs news correspondent laura podesta has more on the worst hit states. those states you mentioned also received their worst record as far as death toll, with alabama reporting a0 people killed yesterday by the coronavirus. florida, 132. we are also seeing a record number of hospitalisations in places like arizona and texas and in order to help those patients that have coronavirus in those states, a redistribution of supplies as well as staff, like nurses, moving from low impacted states, like new york and others, to those high impacted sunbelt states. the uk health secretary matt hancock has said there are no plans for coverings to be worn in offices and workplaces. in england, it becomes mandatory to wear one in shops from next friday. when you are in close proximity with somebody, who you have to work closely to, if you are there for a long time then a mask doesn't offer that protection, as opposed to a shop or public transport, when you're with somebody for a reasonable amount of time, a few minutes, but not all day. in the same way that the same logic applies for schools, we are not recommending masks in schools because if you are in the classroom all day, then the mask does not give you that much protection. the point is it is when you are in interaction with people who you aren't normally with, that's where masks can be particularly helpful. you're watching bbc news. for the first time in almost four months if you're in scotland you can have your hair cut, have a meal out or a drink in a pub. hairdressers, restaurants, bars and hotels are all opening their doors. galleries, museums and libraries are also allowed visitors in the biggest relaxtion of coronavirus restrictions so far. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, has described it as the riskiest stage of the process. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon has the details. it's the latest kit for hairdressers heading back to work. scotland's salons are the last in the uk to reopen. in this one they're already booked up weeks ahead, and things will be very different to before. we are a small salon, so we just wanted to really take every measure that we could to make things safe. so, the screens, obviously, will give each workstation a safe space. it's different, but i think it's a workable, fun space. you know, it's safe. and it's notjust hairdressers that are reopening. a lot of restrictions are easing in scotland today. all holiday accommodation, including hotels and b&bs, can accept guests once again. places of worship can restart communal prayer and services, and museums, galleries, libraries and cinemas can reopen their doors as long as strict physical distancing remains in place. table 823, your drinks aren't free, but they are on the bar waiting to collect. beer gardens, outdoor cafes and restaurants were allowed to welcome customers back ten days ago. now they're also allowed inside, as indoor hospitality reopens. so, there are three stools here that people will be able to sit at and drink at the bar, but that'll be the only place someone can sit. in this bar—restaurant restrictions mean they will only be allowed half the numbers they had before but are hoping people will quickly return. from opening the garden last week, we have been swamped with customers, and if we could have fit more people in, we would, however i'm not sure if the same will stand for inside. but i think the more we can show that we're adhering to the rules and the social distance guidance, the more comfortable customers will feel coming back. hoping confidence, customers and business will return, as more restrictions ease in scotland and many more aspects of normal life resume. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. and we will be live. from scotland very and we will be live. from scotland very soon on and we will be live. from scotland very soon on the situation there. the headlines on bbc news: china says it will take "all necessary measures" to look after its interests — after the uk government decided to ban huawei from britain's 5g networks. a temporary cut to vat for the hospitality and leisure industries comes in today — from 20 to 5%. scotland's most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions — hairdressers, restaurants, tourist attractions and places of worship are allowed to re—open. in the last few mintues, europe's second highest court has ruled that apple does not have to pay the irish government billions of euros in tax. the eu has accused the tech giant of using irish tax regulations to pay barely any tax on profits earned in other parts of the world. our economics correspondent andrew walker has more. well, it's very striking. they have ruled that the decision made by the european commission that apple had received an illegal state subsidy from the irish government was not correct, and that essentially means that billions of euros worth of taxes that the commission says apple should have paid are simply not owed. the court has ruled that the commission was simply wrong to say that this was a selective benefit that apple had received. and what was the original decision about in the first place? this was an arrangement about an arrangement that apple made with the irish authorities which had the effect that it essentially paid almost no tax on a large part of its operations in europe. now, the commission took the view because it was done in a way that meant it was not generally available to other businesses in ireland, it meant that it was a specific financial aid given to a specific company, and in most circumstances european law prohibits that. and so the commission said, ok, you've broken the law and so apple must repay the money. let's get more now on scotland which has begun its most significant relaxation of coronavirus measures since the country went into lockdown in march. hairdressers, bars, restaurants, cinemas, tourist attractions, and places of worship can now all reopen. and lorna is in glasgow for us now. hello to you. it is a big day for scotland. the tone set by the first minister is one of saying to people can't be cautious and careful. minister is one of saying to people can't be cautious and carefulm really is. that is a big list of things i can do today i could not do yesterday —— be cautious and careful. nicola sturgeon says keep the heads, don't get carried away. the restrictions are easing, a lot of indoor areas are reopening, we are seeing indoor areas of cafe is in restaurants opening up, lots of the tourism industry opening back up. but she also warns this is the point that carries the biggest risk, the level of the virus in scotland is pretty low at the moment, no deaths for the last six days but as people move indoors, if they do not maintain that strict physical distance, the risk of the virus spreading increases so there is a big note of caution in the message being pushed out today. they want people to go out and resume normal life as much as possible, not least to help the economy, tourism has suffered in particular, the number ofjobs in suffered in particular, the number of jobs in scotland suffered in particular, the number ofjobs in scotland that are reliant on tourism, and there are warnings 70 to 80,000 of those jobs could possibly go if people return in this quite short summer season that is left. they want people to return but they want them to pay heed to the guidelines and nicola sturgeon says if they don't, for instance, leave contact details at pubs and restau ra nts contact details at pubs and restaurants then they should not really be going out at all. law now, thank you very much. —— lorna, thank you very much. let's speak to frances anderson who is the owner of giffnock barbers in east renfrewshire. and elizabeth newman who works at the pitlochry theatre in perthshire, which is still not sure when it will be able to reopen. francis, to you first of all you've got yourface mask francis, to you first of all you've got your face mask on, i francis, to you first of all you've got yourface mask on, i know francis, to you first of all you've got your face mask on, i know you've been extremely busy since you reopen just after midnight, how many hours have you been awake so far?” just after midnight, how many hours have you been awake so far? i was just here until three this morning then went home for a couple of hours, three hours sleep last night. thank you for being here for us. tell us what it has been like since you reopened? the bench behind me is normally full of customers but we've had to ask them to arrive at the back door. i can see one of your members of staff speaking to a customer right now behind you, to keep them up—to—date with the new way of working. am i right in saying you reopened just after midnight? we did, yes, we opened at one minute past midnight last night. and your bookings, how are they looking? we are fully booked until 12 o'clock tonight as well. obviously huge demand for people to get their hair cut, beard trimmed and so forth. what have you had to do to make sure it is safe for them to come to you? we are all waiting our face shields and we have screens dividing the positions because it is quite a small shop sojust to positions because it is quite a small shop so just to make it safe for customers. i will come back to you in the second. let me speak to elizabeth from the pitlochry festival theatre. you must be listening to what francis is saying and feeling wistful about it because you are just not in that position yet. we are not, no. we are obviously really pleased for those who can open it but unfortunately we cannot. we can't afford to open it with social distancing restriction is still in place. we've got a 538 seat auditorium and we need to play to an average ofjust over 70% capacity, 400 seats. if we did that via social distancing that would be 70 people so that is a big difference between 70 people and 400 people. a huge gulf in the numbers before you can turn a profit. absolutely. what have you been trying to do to mitigate the fact you cannot put on performances in the usual way and try to bring in some money? it's been really hard to bring in any revenue. we've gone online to our virtual stages, producing the three pieces of content each day for the public, everything from participation activities for small children to performances of opera, lots of different things, we will to build your own theatre at home but that's not necessarily bringing in large amounts of revenue. the difficulty is we have a staff bill of £2 million each year and we have to earn 85% of income so the numbers just don't stack up for us so we had to place a lot ofjobs at risk of redundancy. i think that process i believe is coming to a close this week, in fact, where you will decide how many people have to be made redundant. which is a terrible thing to be facing. what help have you had so far financially? whitehall and holyrood have pledged money, £10 million fund promised by holyrood, has any of that filtered through to you? today we expect the application process to be announced via creative scotland for performing arts relief fund, so hopefully we may receive money from that so we will be applying. as yet there have not been any announcements about the 1.57 billion and that is obviously 97 million to scotland as part of barnet consequential is so we are just waiting for news. it is a really tough situation, to be in that sort of limbo. francis, listening to elizabeth, you must be live thankful you actually have been able to reopen and start making money again. 10096. and do you feel, from what you've seen so far, the customers, most customers are confident about coming back? that confidence is hugely important, isn't it? yeah, everybody is wearing their masks and everybody feels quite comfortable. seeing we've got the screens makes them feel comfortable. and you feel you've been given enough advice and at the right advice about what to do to get to this point? yeah, a lot of it we just to get to this point? yeah, a lot of it wejust decided to get to this point? yeah, a lot of it we just decided ourselves but, yeah. you've been able to piece all the bits of the puzzle together to make sure you're ready to reopen. good luck to both of you. francis anderson, the owner of giffnock barbers and elizabeth newman from the pitlochry festival theatre. good luck to both of you and thank you for sharing your thoughts today. ajudge in new york has denied bail for ghislaine maxwell, former girlfriend of the financier and convicted paedophile, jeffrey epstein. maxwell pleaded not guilty to charges that she groomed and helped him abuse young girls. nada tawfik was in the courtroom. after a life of luxury, this is now ghislaine maxwell's stone—cold reality — denied bail, imprisoned in solitary confinement, and heavily guarded here at the metropolitan detention center in brooklyn with her trial at least a year away. jeffrey epstein's alleged co—conspirator appeared remotely in court from a small white room, and pleaded not guilty. stripped of her power and privilege in a brown prison top, with her hair tied back, she sat mostly expressionless during the more than two—hour hearing. but the moment the judge read out the decision, ghislaine maxwell hung her head, visibly trying to absorb the news and a few times, she used her finger to wipe under her eye. her lawyers said she was not jeffrey epstein, and had been unfairly portrayed as a monster by endless media spin. but prosecutors successfully argued that she was an extreme flight risk and was skilled at living in hiding. they say she bought her property in new hampshire under the alias janet marshall to conceal her identity. when fbi agents raided the estate, she ignored orders and locksed herself in another room. annie farmer, one of maxwell's accusers in the indictment, phoned into the remote hearing and implored the judge to hold her detained. she said maxwell was a sexual predator who groomed and abused her, and never showed remorse for her heinous crimes. i don't think this is something that's going to be over with this year. david boies represents 12 epstein accusers, including annie farmer. he says he's handed over evidence to prosecutors which could implicate others if introduced during the trial. prince andrew is clearly somebody who is going to come under even more scrutiny now than he did before. there's...too much evidence of their connection, both independent of epstein, and with epstein. prince andrew has denied having sex with underage girls or being aware of epstein's crimes. this saga has been filled with twists, turns and disturbing revelations. ghislaine maxwell's impending trial has the potential to be even more explosive. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. a sculpture of a black lives matter protester has been installed on the plinth where the statue of slave trader edward colston stood until it was toppled in britol last month. the figure ofjen reid with her fist raised was installed at dawn. she was photographed at demonstrations last month. the sculptor, marc quinn, and ms reid said they hoped the installation would continue the public conversation about racism. bristol mayor, marvin rees, says the sculpture was installed without permission and that the future of the plinth must be decided by all in bristol. jen reid, the black lives matters protester, spoke earlier and explained how the idea came about for the monument. that came about by my husband taking a photo of me shortly after colston went into the river. and i climbed the statue with the help of my husband, standing on his shoulder. and he took the picture, posted it on his social media the next day. he was then contacted by marc quinn, who asked to get in contact with me. and here is the statue... and here's the statue! ..which is a replica of that moment. so, what has it involved for you, being turned into a statue? have there been sessions where you have had to be measured and that kind of thing? um, it was really straightforward. i went up to marc quinn's studio, maybe four days after the protest, where i had 201 cameras surrounding me, and, you know, a few takes, getting back into that moment, into that feeling, and he's really captured it so well. you know, for me, getting on that plinth, you know, i raised my fist and i raised my fist to give power back to the people, back to the slaves who died at the hands of colston. i gave power to george floyd and for other black people who have faced injustices for being black, you know? and it really kind of captures that. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. china says it will take "all necessary measures" to look after its interests after the uk government decided to ban huawei from britain's 5g networks. a temporary cut to vat for the hospitality and leisure industries comes in today, from 20% to 5%. scotland's most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions. hairdressers, restaurants, tourist attractions and places of worship are allowed to re—open. apple and ireland have won their appeal against the european commission over a 13 billion euro tax bill. in england , new measures to curb the spread of covid—19 in blackburn and darwen have been introduced after a spike in cases. for the next month, people living there must limit the number of visitors to their homes, and wear face coverings in all confined public spaces in a bid to avoid a leicester—style local lockdown. mass testing began at the weekend after 61 new cases sprang up within a week. meanwhile people in leicester will learn tomorrow whether local lockdown measures will be eased. non—essential shops, businesses and schools closed again on the 29thjune after a spike in positive cases and it's taking a toll on the city's economy. many companies are considering their futures, as navteonhal reports. i've been running for two years now, or ran for two years, and it means the world to me. i'm devastated, having to close. i put all my time and effort and love into it, and created something that i want to go into work to every day. getting ready to say goodbye. arti chudasama's cafe and deli will not be reopening when leicester's coronavirus restrictions are eventually lifted. she says the local lockdown has forced her to close. i was 50—50 on it, and as soon as it happened, that was it. my decision was made. if there was anybody around here i could open, but nobody is coming in. if nobody‘s coming in, i don't have a business to run. i'm just sat in there because i love it and that's not enough. her fate is unlikely to be unique, at least according to an organisation which represents businesses in the city centre. it says many of them are crying out for more help. it's a very simple message that we need grant support directly to our businesses if they are going to survive. what impact will it have on the city if businesses do not get that extra support? if that support doesn't arrive urgently we will see the shutters coming down, we will see the doors closing, we will see a lot of businesses, particularly in nonessential retail, food and drink sectors, closing. but leicester's mayor believes help may be on the way after speaking to the health secretary this week. although we still have not got the absolute commitment that is going to happen, i think there was certainly an indication that the secretary of state understood the importance of that and i very much hope that we will soon be able to give good news, at least to the businesses of the city. either way, any support will come too late for arti. how are you feeling today? upset, sad. it is sad, it's emotional. you don't expect to close a business after two years, especially in the situation that we're in. the government says the circumstances of individual local lockdowns will continue to be carefully assessed, and that its support package is one of the most comprehensive in the world. but it's clear that many businesses here in leicester believe that extra help is needed if they are to continue to survive. navteonhal, bbc news, leicester. the uk's inflation rate rose to 0.6% last month as the coronavirus lockdown began to ease. but how have the big retailers been doing since their doors reopened? dixons carphone put out its financial results this morning, which showed that profits roughly halved, when the decision to close its carphone warehouse shops is taken into account. alex baldock is the chief executive of dixons carphone. thank of dixons carphone. you very much for your time today. thank you very much for your time today. there is profit for the 12 months until the end of may roughly halved at 166 million. on the scale of where you thought you might be at this point, where does that sit? or well, prior to the crisis in the ten months. the business was nicely on track. we were on track with our transformation programme. all five legs of it was showing very good progress, reflected in increased customer satisfaction and improved market share and we were on track to keep our financial promises, on track for around £210 million of profit as well as growing sales and growing profits in our electricals businesses. so, the business was on track and obviously, the crisis has hit that performance, but what i would say is that the crisis has also seen the business pivot very fast and i am indebted to my tens of thousands of colleagues for the great work they have done to keep each other save and continue helping millions of customers and secure the business is future. what was customer behaviour like during the months of lockdown? you say that the staff e na ble months of lockdown? you say that the staff enable the business to pivot, what were they responding to in terms of customer demand? they were responding to a big spike of online demand. overnight, we had to turn ourselves into an online platform, we are seeing black friday levels of demand which was completely unplanned for. which is why i praise my colleagues because they responded it out brilliantly. everything from the it platform to the colleagues going out and delivering that, they coped with it. it does give you a sense of it, in april, our online sales were 166% up on the previous year. so these were big levels of demand and i think what that shows is the important role that technology has played in customer's lives to help them through this crisis, whether it is keeping them connected with loved ones, entertaining the kids, home—schooling the kids, working from home. that is a trend that we expect to see continuing.” from home. that is a trend that we expect to see continuing. i listen to an interview with you early and i believe you said that 98% of your shops have now reopened, so what has trade been like since that has happened? we have reopened 9896 of the big stores and trade has been good. we have started the financial year continuing with the strong online progress, but also trading well in our stores. i should say that we are cautious about the outlook. we do expect a weakening of consumer demand later this year and we are preparing for some very different scenarios about how the future may pan out. are you saying that you are yet to see a significant return on customer confidence and actually going out of the home and into shops? know, what we have seen so far is strong demand and strong trading in our shops. as well as continuing strong demand online and i think what i'm cautioning against is forecasting the future. that has never been harder than it is now. what we are focused on doing is preparing ourselves for very different versions of how the rest of this year might pan out. but we are able to do that better than most, we are the number one at what we do, we have the number—one relationships with our suppliers by example and is allowing others to come in a new and innovative way, prepare for different ways in which the future might turn out. what does that mean for the future of your staff? are many of them back from the furlough scheme? most of them are back from furlough, but we are being cautious about how we do that. we want to bring colleagues back into a safe environment, that's the number one priority, we want to continue the social distancing, continue the hygiene measures, now of course, installers, as well as in our supply chain, contact centres and in the delivery vans. so that is the number one priority, but we also want to see how the develops and we want to see how the develops and we want to see whether the currently strong trend continues. my intention, our intention, as it has been throughout this crisis, has been to protect the livelihoods of the tens of thousands of colleagues and the government help with things like the furlough scheme has been welcome and i'd been very important for all retailers, not just for very important for all retailers, notjust for us, very important for all retailers, not just for us, but very important for all retailers, notjust for us, but of course it is up notjust for us, but of course it is up to us. as the government help tapered off, we have to get back to the transformation it was on track and we have to get back to building and we have to get back to building a dixons car phone that is much more valuable for our colleagues. has any specific advice been given to staff in your stores about face coverings and how they would handle a situation of a customer comes in without one? yes, we have been prepared for this as we have been for other developments. all the way through, one of the things we've stayed ahead of, is government guidance. we have worked closely with the government and with our trade association to make sure that we are helping set new standards in hygiene and social distancing that go beyond the letter and spirit of what the government is asked of us. clearly, we will abide by whatever the rules are. the government has been clear that it wants to mandate face mass, that is what we will do. but you are happy to stay to your staff that they should advise customers to wear face masks. sure. one of the things we've seen since the stores reopened, and as we saw with customers on their own homes, is that people have been very sensible. when the stores reopened, we haven't had great problems with customers being indifferent to the social differencing all the hygiene standards that we set, in fact they have been reassured by it. that's really good to hear. that confidence of people getting out there is hugely important. i also want to ask you, about your thoughts on what has been happening with huawei. obviously, there has been reports today that the uk has decided to remove huawei technologies from its sg remove huawei technologies from its 5g infrastructure. how do you see that making an impact on the market here in the uk? what can the implications be for yourselves? directly, there is no immediate impact because we do sell huawei products. we sell mobile devices, which aren't covered by the government's descriptions. so in in one sense, if it delays the roll—out of 5g then that will have an impact. because one of the things that will get many customers wanting to buy a new mobile phone is buying a 5g enabled mobile phone that can do all sorts of exciting things with the new technology. that said, we haven't depended on 5g at all and any of our plans. we saw it as a nice upside, we haven't lent on it, to that extent as well, it doesn't effect is. you are able to take a neutral stance at this point and not weigh in on whether you think it's a goodidea weigh in on whether you think it's a good idea to exclude huawei. we are not doing that, no. we are getting on with what is in our control and thatis on with what is in our control and that is getting back to the transformation of this business that was in place pre—crisis and we want to get back on track with that. thank you very much for your thoughts today. the chief executive of dixons car phone. as we've been hearing, face coverings are about to become a "must—have" item in england — as it becomes compulsory to wear one in shops from friday of next week. with demand going through the roof, it means that some factories are now working flat—out, as jayne mccubbin reports. the high street is back in business, but all signs say everything has changed. and more change is on the way with mandatory face masks. tracy, how do you feel about this? the masks, ijust think it's too late to put them out now. it should have been done from the start. masks are already in the barbers, already in the cafes, but from the 2ath, they'll have to be worn in all shops, and yasmin for one is concerned. i feel that it might put off some customers, to be honest. i do think it should be people's choice. how would you feel if you come to a situation where you have to have that difficult conversation with somebody? well, i don't want to be forcing my customers to wear it. getting on the bus, jean tells me it's a policy which is already working on public transport. yes, the drivers do say you must wear a mask. everyone has got used to it? they are very good around here. but barbara explains why she won't be wearing a mask to travel today... i'm exempt, yeah. ..or shop from next friday. ijust picked my letter up from the doctor's. "mrs barbara bradley has diagnosed disease copd. " i would actually feel as if i was being suffocated. have you got a mask? in scotland, changes came in days ago. nicola sturgeon says there is almost 100% compliance with the rules, and yesterday this mp in westminster was furious. desmond swayne. nothing would make me less likely to go shopping than the thought of having to mask up. nonsense, says district nurse lisa and her family, who are all now getting used to masking up to go out, including her youngest, who's 12. you are just in that age group. how do you feel about it? i'm not bothered about it. if there isn't any more rules put in place, i think we'll have a second lockdown. there'll be another one. as a district nurse, what would your message be to the people who aren't exempt, but who do have a problem? just wear your mask. it's saving lives. it's a view the government absolutely agrees with. but be warned — there are dos and don'ts when it comes to face masks. when it comes to those fabric masks you want to be looking for triple layer fabric. if you are looking to make your own, the important thing is you're using the right fabric, so a tightly woven cotton. when it comes to using them, the most important thing — and i cannot emphasise this enough — is making sure it fits properly, because the better it fits the less likely you are to be messing around with it. but one group feels it has been left out of this whole debate. the 9 million people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and need to see a face to properly communicate. absolutely, i mean, we had an appointment at the hospital recently and logan was trying to do his hearing test with a face mask around his hearing aids, as well as the audiologist wearing a full face mask and visor. can you ask logan, how does he feel about the mask situation? were they scary? yeah, it was like a ghost. he's saying it was like a ghost, which is scary. yes, well, andy, that's why it's so fantastic that your charity has come up with a solution. how many of the masks with the perspex screens have you guys given out? well, at the moment, we order 100 masks. we are supporting about 30 families in trafford, our local area, but we do need more people to be aware of this. andy is making them. so many others are diying too. from the 2ath in england, and already in scotland, make sure you don't leave home without one. the headlines on bbc news. china says it will take "all necessary measures" to look after its interests — after the uk government decided to ban huawei from britain's 5g networks. a temporary cut to vat for the hospitality and leisure industries comes in today — from 20 to 5%. scotland's most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions. hairdressers, restaurants, tourist attractions and places of worship are allowed to re—open. the rate of covid—19 infections in england appears to have fallen significantly in may, the month before lockdown restrictions began to be eased. that's according to the early results of a study commissioned by the government. researchers from imperial college london tested 120,000 people and found that the r number — which indicates how many people catch the virus from one infected person — was lower than previously thought. the study is yet to be endorsed by other academics but its initial findings were welcomed by the health secretary matt hancock. cancer treatment can be incredibly gruelling, but how risky is it to reject conventional therapies? sean walsh was a young musician from liverpool who had blood cancer, but turned down chemotherapy and believed he could cure his cancer through alternative treatments. now, his family have spoken to a bbc three documentary to warn others not to follow the same approach. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. # how was i supposed to know. # that you'd walk out that door? #. sean walsh, well—known on liverpool's music scene, was first diagnosed as a teenager with hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. you just don't imagine that your child's going to have cancer. it just doesn't enter your head, does it? sean endured the rigours of chemotherapy and at first, it looked like the treatment had worked, but less than two years later, some devastating news — the cancer had returned. he was getting poorly again, and they called us in and said the cancer was back. he had to undergo chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant. obviously, this wasjust not what sean wanted to hear, he didn't want to do it all over again. chemotherapy, i've already had it. it done me no good. why would you poison yourself back to good health? sean decided to treat the cancer himself through alternative therapies. he was also having scans at a clinic run by philip and rosa hughes, medical thermal imaging, which sean believed were monitoring his cancer. it's legal to offer these scans, but the nhs warns that there is no evidence that thermography is an effective way to test for cancer or monitor its treatment. they were sean's evidence as hope, as confirmation that it was working. this was all backed up by the thermographic scan that the tumours are shrinking. that was pretty much the crux of everything. sean's scans did carry a disclaimer from the company, stating... but the scan results seemed reassuring, and sean believed his cancer had gone. we asked cancer specialist professor andrew wardley of manchester's christie hospital to review secret filming in which rosa hughes, who provided scans for sean, make some troubling medical claims to our reporter. that's preposterous. you don't burst tumours — they're solid. you do squash the breast down to do a mammogram, it is unpleasant, but it's a short—term thing. you do not spread cancer by doing a mammogram, that's a complete fallacy. rosa and phillip hughes say that they utterly reject the allegation they gave sean walsh inappropriate advice, but sean's family believe the scans gave him false hope. he thought he'd cured himself. in reality, he was dying. he had a tumour the size of a grapefruit in his stomach. he had tumours all in his chest and stuff. ijust got on the bed with him and just said, "come on, sean..." # and my loneliness...# sean died injanuary 2019, aged just 23. you're vulnerable when you've got cancer. you're looking to cure yourself or you put yourself in remission at least, or spend as much time with your loved ones and you are going to believe certain people who are actually making money out of the cancer industry through vulnerable people. let's get some of the day's other news. the new york times newspaper is to move some staff from its hong kong bureau to the south korean capital seoul. it said the new security law imposed by china on the territory had created uncertainty and it felt prudent to make contingency plans. the speaker of the catalan parliament has accused spain of spying on him and other pro—independence leaders. it follows an investigation by the guardian and el pais newspaper which found that his phone had been targeted with a spyware tool sold only to governments. the spanish government has denied the allegations, saying there was no evidence the phones in question had been targeted. the trump administration has reversed course on a plan to bar international students from american universities if they were going to be taking classes exclusively online. harvard and m—i—t had sued the administration, saying the decision would limit access to education. international students also provide much—needed tuition fees for american schools. working from home means millions of people have taken to video calling in the past few months, but for some members of the british armed forces, their recent calls have had a rather special guest. the queen has been speaking to people who are stationed around the world about their life and work during the coronavirus pandemic. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. she normally meets her servicemen and women face—to—face, butjust now it has to be done via a conference call. no reason to forget protocol, though. watch the top right of the screen. good morning. yes, if you're a general, chief of the defence staff, no less, you begin with a bow. and then to business. first to a sailor, speaking from a royal fleet auxiliary ship in the caribbean. and where are you at the moment? i'm currently in curacao at the moment, ma'am. well, i would think the last time i saw you, you wouldn't have imagined that this is what you'd be doing now. in holyport, we met. yeah, it was, ma'am, in 2014, i believe it was. then to west africa, and a soldier from the yorkshire regiment who's been there since last year. the covid crisis has meant that the rest and recuperation flights have been put on hold, so i'm afraid my wife has been slightly abandoned with our two young children. and she works for the nhs? she's training nurses and other health care professionals. finally, to a member of the queen's colour squadron of the raf, who has rather an unusual sideline. so i'm the pilot for the jamaican bobsleigh team. gosh! the queen laughs. sounds a very dangerous job. it can be quite dangerous. so how do you train? i've been pushing a car up and down the street. i've had to make... the queen laughs. they all laugh. well, i suppose that's one way to train! that's definitely one way to train, ma'am. well, i'm very glad to have been able to meet all of you, and the best of luck. nicholas witchell, bbc news. goodbye to our viewers on bbc world. borisjohnson will be answering questions from mps in a few minutes' time with face masks and huawei likely to feature prominently. let's speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith, who's in westminster. what else can we expect? a bundle of possibilities. i wasjust what else can we expect? a bundle of possibilities. i was just thinking, keir starmer is spoilt for choice. today, he could go back to the summer statement from rishi sunak which we had last week. this is the first time he has had an opportunity to respond to that in the commons. so possibly, he might pick up on the criticism of the meal deal and also there are £1000 bonus to companies keeping on furloughed staff. and the boss at hmrc saying, not sure that is value for money. he could press for some sort of extension targeting of the furlough scheme, so they could be some questions on the economy because there is a lot of figures and data around the economy suggesting that the pick—up is a pretty small pick—up. yesterday, there was a 1.8% pick—up in gdp. very, very slow and uncertain. as you say, masks, after they confused m essa g es you say, masks, after they confused messages that we had at the weekend from cabinet ministers over masks more confusion actually this morning if you looked in the papers. we had those pictures of two cabinet ministers coming out of the same pret a manger store just a few minutes apart. one wearing a mask, the other not wearing a mask. let's trust wearing a blue mask and michael gove who said at the weekend, leave it up to individuals, he wasn't wearing a mask. so, seemingly are still reluctant to wear a mask. maybe there might be some pick up on the home secretary's statement in the commons on immigration policy when again there was no real help offered to the care industry in terms of a special route for care workers with fears that they may lose out if they cannot attract care workers from the eu, that might be another of the issues from the eu. huawei could get picked up, but not by keir starmer, much more likely by tory backbenchers because there, there is clear signs of continuing disquiet on the tory backbenches as we've been hearing. they are pleased that borisjohnson has gone so far in terms of saying, huawei has to be stripped out of 5g by 2027. not happy that it is taking until 2027, so it will be interesting to see whether any of those leading tory rebels, some of them like iain duncan smith and david davis, get up and actually challenge borisjohnson david davis, get up and actually challenge boris johnson in david davis, get up and actually challenge borisjohnson in person or via video link to move faster on huawei. also, to strip huawei out of ag and 3g, so that might be an issue that we find some tory mps want to raise with the prime minister, so there really are a huge range of issues. we will see in just a couple of minutes. norman, thank you very much. also, nicola sturgeon speaking at half past 12 just to remind you that. right now, it is time for a look at the weather forecast. hello there. it is a fairly grey and damp day out there for many at the moment. even where we had the sunshine this morning across east anglia and the south—east, cloud increases here through the afternoon, patchy rain and drizzle developing. the rain and drizzle elsewhere will ease off, so more places become that bit drier and we could see some sunshine in parts of wales, south—west england, the east of scotland, for instance. overall, even with light winds across the country, for mid july it will be a rather cool day, with temperatures for most around 1a to 19 celsius. 19 is 63 fahrenheit. this is bbc news. the headlines: china says it will take "all necessary measures" to look after its interests — after the uk government decided to ban huawei from britain's 5g networks. we'll see how the huawei issue is dealth with in prime minister's questions, due to begin shortly — here's the scene live in the house of commons. a temporary cut to vat for the hospitality and leisure industries comes in today — from 20 to 5%. scotland's most significant easing of coronavirus restrictions — hairdressers, restaurants, tourist attractions and places of worship are allowed to re—open. hello and we can go live to the house of commons straightaway because prime minister borisjohnson has just got to his feet and began to speak. systems alone employs over 10,000 people across lancashire alone supporting the great work of the raf and have ta ken supporting the great work of the raf and have taken on over 250 apprentices in that part of the business this year. will the prime minister come to visit walton, meet these apprentices, and commit to doing all he can to secure these key jobs through support for defence experts and the team programme? well, mr speaker, i have no doubt i will be coming to walton in due course and let me tell him that already there are 1800 highly skilled engineers and programmers involved in the project, going up to 2500 next year and 800 of those are in his constituency and i look forward to his constituency being at the epicentre of the development of the epicentre of the development of the next uk led combat air programme. we now come to the leader of the opposition, sir keir starmer. over the last few months we supported many of the economic measures announced by the government but the decision last week not to provide sector specific support to those most at risk could end up costing thousands of jobs. those most at risk could end up costing thousands ofjobs. one of the sectors, aviation, has already seen huge redundancies. ba have announced 12,000 redundancies. virgin, 3000. easyjet, 1900. announced 12,000 redundancies. virgin, 3000. easyjet,1900. if the government's priority really is to protect jobs, why government's priority really is to protectjobs, why did the chancellor not bring forward sector specific deals that could have done precisely that? no one should underestimate the scale of the challenge that this country faces, and that is why the chancellor has brought forward a range of measures and by the way, he supported last week, mr speaker, the job retention bonus, the kick start a programme for young people and we are also doing a huge amount to support the aviation sector and one of the companies he mentioned, virgin, has now come out of the birch process after extremely difficult but in the productive conversations. that's the work of this government, getting on, helping companies through it, helping our people through it and may i say, he has to work out whether he's going to support or oppose the government's programme to get people back into work. last week, the shadow chancellor said here in this house that she supported our programme, this week, he says he opposes it. which is it? this is just such rhetorical nonsense. it is perfectly proper and right for the opposition to set out parts of the package with the support of the government and to highlight where there are problems, and the problem with the prime minister's dismissal of this is since the chancellor set down last week, around 10,000 people have lost their jobs down last week, around 10,000 people have lost theirjobs and the prime minister should focus on them not the rhetoric, and the ob are projected 5.3 million unemployed next year. i want to press the prime minister further on next year. i want to press the prime ministerfurther on the next year. i want to press the prime minister further on the situation at ba, huge employer and the national flag carrier. alongside the 12,000 redundancies already announced, ba is trying to force through the rehiring of the remaining 30,000 workers on worse terms and conditions. that is totally unacceptable, and it's a warning shot to millions of other working people. the prime minister sent an e—mail to be people. the prime minister sent an e—mailto bea people. the prime minister sent an e—mail to be a staffing which he said i've already made it clear that firms should not be using fellow to cynically keep people on their books and then remove them or change their terms and conditions. that was the 2nd ofjune. it's now six weeks on. will the prime minister now personally intervene and make clear that actions like those at ba cannot be allowed to stand without consequences for landing slots? we've been absolutely clear that we wa nt we've been absolutely clear that we want our companies, our great companies across this country to support their workers and to keep them in employment where they possibly can, and i've made that point clear before the house just in the last couple of weeks. but let's be absolutely clear, british airways and many other companies are in severe difficulties at the moment, and we cannot, i'm afraid, mr speaker, simply with a magic wand ensure that every single job that was being done before the crisis is retained after the crisis. what we can do, and what we are doing, is encouraging companies to keep their workers on with the job retention scheme, with thejob retention bonus, and with a massive programme in investment in this country of £600 billion to build, build, build and create jobs, jobs, £600 billion to build, build, build and createjobs, jobs, jobs, and thatis and createjobs, jobs, jobs, and that is what we are doing, mr speaker. the prime minister knows exactly what i'm talking about, it's the rehiring of 30,000 people at ba on worse terms and conditions and he should call it out. yesterday the government's expert advisory group published a report on the challenges this autumn and winter and were asked to do so by the government office for science. that report assessed the reasonable worst—case scenario for this autumn and winter, including a second coronavirus spike and seasonal flu and set out strong recommended actions to mitigate the risks. the report was clear. july and august must be a period of intense preparation, ie, now. can the prime minister made clear that he intends to influence the recommended actions in this report in full recommended actions in this report infulland at recommended actions in this report in full and at speed? not only are we getting on with implementing the preparations for a potential new spike, but he will know that the government is engaged in record investment in the nhs, £3a billion. what the house may not realise is that just in what the house may not realise is thatjust in the last year since this government has been in office, there are now 12,000 more nurses in there are now 12,000 more nurses in the nhs, 6000 more doctors and it was thanks to their hard work and of the entire nhs that we were able to prevent our health service from being overwhelmed this spring, and we will take steps to ensure that it is not overwhelmed this winter as well. that's the whole point of this report. it sets out the reasonable worst—case scenario and tells the government what it needs to do about it. so i'm surprised he's not committing to fully implement it. it's vital that the government learns the lessons from the mistakes that have been made and acts now to save lives for the future. one of the key recommendations in this report, commissioned by the government's office for science, is that testing and tracing capacity will need to be significantly expanded to cope with increased demands over the winter. the reality is this, trace and track is not working as promised as it stands today. the report makes clear it needs to be significant lee expanded to cope with the risks of autumn and winter. what assurance can the prime minister give that the system will be fit for both purposes in the timeframe envisaged in this report, namely by this september? once again, he attacks the test and trace operation which is working at an absolutely unprecedented scale and a and aa,000 people across the country --1aa,000 and aa,000 people across the country ——1aa,000 people across the country have now agreed to self—isolate to stop the spread of the virus, and he keeps saying that the test and trace operation is failing to contact enough people, or failing operation is failing to contact enough people, orfailing to get enough people, orfailing to get enough people, orfailing to get enough people to self—isolate. actually, they are doing fantastic work. 70 or 80% of the contact are found and they are getting through to the vast majority of people who have the disease. i can certainly give the house the assurance that our test entry system is as good as or better than any other system anywhere in the world, and yes, it will play a vital part in ensuring that we do not have a second spike this winter. and what i think you should do, instead of knocking the confidence of the country in the test entry system, now is the time for him to return to his previous script and build it up. that's what he needs to do. the problem with the prime minister quoting the 70% of people who have been contacted and asked to self—isolate is that that has gone down. it was 90% a few weeks ago and now it has gone down, soi weeks ago and now it has gone down, so i wouldn't quote the latest figure, looking at the trend. i have to ask in the light of the last few questions, as the prime minister actually read this report that sets out the reasonable worst—case scenario tells the governor what it needs to do about it in the next six weeks? has he read it?” needs to do about it in the next six weeks? has he read it? i am of course aware of the report. we are of course taking every reasonable step to prepare this country for a second spike. and i may say to the right honourable gentleman that it is up to him, really, to get behind what the government is doing or not, and he previously supported our plan and he previously supported our plan and has previously come to this house and said he supports our measures, and he now says that he thinks he does not support them. i thinks he does not support them. i think what he needs to do is build up think what he needs to do is build up the confidence of the people of this country, cautiously, to get back to work, cautiously to restart our economy, which is what we're trying to do instead of endlessly knocking the confidence of the people of this country, knocking their confidence in test and trace, knocking their confidence in our schools and the safety of our schools and the safety of our schools and the safety of our schools and our transport network. now is the time for him to decide whether he backs the government or not. it's perfectly possible to sport track and trace support —— point out the problems and standing up point out the problems and standing up and saying it's a stunning success is killing no one. that is not giving people confidence in the system, they want a prime minister who says there are problems and they are going to do something about it, not this obvious rhetoric about stunning success when it's not true. this afternoon i am eating the families of the covid—19 bereaved families of the covid—19 bereaved families forjustice families of the covid—19 bereaved families for justice group, families of the covid—19 bereaved families forjustice group, a group of hundreds of families who have lost loved ones. they say this, and i quote, we won't let the deaths of our loved ones be in vain, and we won't allow government to risk a second wave of deaths without learning from their mistakes. they will be listening to the prime minister's answers today. so what with the prime minister like to say to them? mr speaker i willjoin eve ryo ne to them? mr speaker i willjoin everyone in the house and mourning the loss of everybody who has died in this epidemic. and i can assure him, and through him, the victims and their families, that we will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent a second spike in this epidemic. and that is why we are taking the steps we are, that is why we have set up, as we say, an unprecedented test and trace operation and that is why we are investing massively in our nhs and front line staff, and as i say, in the last year, recruiting 12,000 more nurses as part of a programme to recruit 50,000 more, preparing the nhs for winter, and we will do absolutely everything we can to protect our country and to stop a second spike, but what he has to decide is whether he wants to back that programme or not, because one day he says it is safe to go back to school, the next he says he takes the line of the unions. one day, they are supporting our economic programme, the next day they say the stamp duty cut is an unacceptable bungle. one day, they say they accept the result of the brexit referendum, the next day they will tell their troops to do the exact opposite. he needs to make up his mind which brief he is going to take today, because at the moment, he has more briefs than calvin klein. we are getting on with delivering our agenda for the country, getting the country through the pandemic and moving us forward. can i say to the prime minister as well, we are going to work through the chair. the audience is not that way, it is this way. thank you, mr speaker, my constituency is home to many farms producing excellent british food. can my right honourable friend confirm to me that the new trade deals our government is working on will safeguard high food standards and provide fantastic new opportunities to the hard—working farmers in my part of buckinghamshire. yes, indeed, i can give him that assurance that we will not only protect high food standards in this country, safeguard animal welfare but open up new opportunities for farmers in buckinghamshire and across the uk. we now come to the leader of the snp, ian blackford. thank you, mr speaker. tomorrow this tory government will publish legislation for its biggest power grab since the scottish people voted overwhelmingly for the scottish parliament in 1997. westminster‘s plan to impose an unelected, unaccountable body to rule on decisions made by the scottish parliament will not be accepted. the decisions of the scottish parliament must and will be decided by the scottish people. we also reject any attempts of lower standards from one part of the uk being imposed on scotland, knowing that this tory government is prepared to sell out food and agriculture industry to his pal donald trump. will the prime minister confirm that his tory government are once again ignoring the wishes of the scottish people and launching their hostile agenda on the contrary, mr speaker. what we are doing is possibly the biggest single act of devolution to scotland, to wales, to northern ireland in modern memory. he should be celebrating the 70 powers or more that are going to be transferred to the elected people in scotland. what he wants, by contrast, is trade barriers, mr speaker, between england and scotland. able to use sterling in stirling. he talks about unelected and unaccountable people. what he wants to do is hand the powers that we would give back to scotla nd powers that we would give back to scotland from this parliament to brussels. which is neither elected nor accountable. thank you, mr speaker. of course, the document we are going to see tomorrow is going to talk about the benefits of the single market. it is a pity the prime minister doesn't understand the economic value of the european single market and customs union. this prime minister often states the need to respect referendum results. then he should respect the decision taken by the scottish people in 1997. we know this government is undertaking a full—scale assault on devolution. a brexit settlement scotla nd devolution. a brexit settlement scotland rejected imposed on scotland. an immigration system scotla nd scotland. an immigration system scotland rejected imposed on scotland. a decade of tory government scotland rejected imposed on scotland. it is no wonder the first minister's approval ratings are three times that of this prime minister. effective leadership and respecting the will of the people, contrasted with the bumbling shambles coming from westminster. scotla nd shambles coming from westminster. scotland has the right to have our decisions made by those we elect, not bureaucrats appointed by westminster. will the prime minister guarantee that his plans will not be imposed on scotland ? guarantee that his plans will not be imposed on scotland? that scotland will have the chance to choose for ourselves? mr speaker, first of all, i thinkjust to repeat my point, it is slightly extraordinary for him to attack unelected bureaucrats for any role they may have in scotland when his proposal is to hand back the powers that we are going, this place is going to be transferring to scotland, back to brussels where they are neither elected nor accountable to the people of scotland, so i really don't know what he means. as for his point about respecting referendum results, mr speaker, i think the house will recall that there was a referendum on the issue of scottish independence, on the issue of breaking up the union, in 201a. they said, at that time, that it was going to be a once in a generation event. i think they should keep their promises to the people of this country and to the people of scotland. thank you, mr speaker. my constituent is a beautiful and brave nine—year—old girl with an inoperable brain tumour. wrexham has rallied round unbeatable either but with the only suitable treatment are being offered abroad, the family are struggling to make the travel arrangements. will the prime minister make the commitment to work with the family so that eva can access treatment. i thank my honourable friend for her question and our thoughts are very much with eva, herfamily and our thoughts are very much with eva, her family and and our thoughts are very much with eva, herfamily and we and our thoughts are very much with eva, her family and we will of course look at everything we can do to support her and her travel arrangements. sir edward davey. under this prime minister, we have suffered one of the worst death rates in the world and europe are's worst death rate for health and care workers. previously, he has refused my demand for an immediate inquiry, an immediate independent inquiry, saying it is too soon, even though, backin saying it is too soon, even though, back in 2003, he voted for an independent inquiry into the iraq warjust months after the conflict had started. if he still rejects an immediate inquiry, will he instead committed, in principle, to a future public inquiry? yes or no? mr speaker, as i have told how several times, ido speaker, as i have told how several times, i do not believe that now, in the middle of combating, still as we are, a pandemic is the right moment to devote huge amounts of official time to an inquiry but, of course, mr speaker, we will seek to learn the lessons of this pandemic in the future and certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened. mr speaker, after such a difficult few months for everyone, people with mental health conditions are especially suffering increased anxiety, the effects of isolation, months without a treatment and, most importantly, a lack of early intervention. can the prime minister outlined what steps the government will take to make sure that people with mental health conditions are not left alone or behind.” with mental health conditions are not left alone or behind. i thank my honourable friend for campaigning on this issue, which is, of course, incredibly important but particularly during lockdown. overall, we have massively increased ourfunding for overall, we have massively increased our funding for mental health care for 12 and our funding for mental health care for12 and a our funding for mental health care for 12 and a half billion but we are also publishing our national strategy for disabled people, which will cover all types of disability, including physical and mental health. thank you, mr speaker. on monday, in announcing new immigration rules that will prevent people coming to work in social care, ministers said that care workers should be paid more. that's right, they should. the chair of the government's migration advisory committee said they should receive around 50% more than current rates. now, the government is the primary funder of social care so will the prime minister commit to providing the additional money to pay those higher rates? well, mr speaker, i can tell the house that we have already taken steps to support local authorities to another 3.2 billion, authorities to another 3.2 billion, a £600 million contribution to fight infection, and we are incredibly proud of what our social care workers do and what this government has done, in sharp contrast to the previous government, is we have not only introduced a national living wage, but we have increased it by the biggest ever amount. thank you, mr speaker. on friday, the last surviving battle of britain aircrew member, group captain john hemingway, turns 101. in the week that marks the 80th anniversary of the start of that pivotal campaign. in contrast with that golden generation, he will not seek any recognition for himself but we ought to shine a spotlight on the sacrifice of those who defended freedom and particularly the 1,500 from all commands that fail. will the is to give some support on how we might recognise a group captain john hemingway, not for himself but as the final representative of the view —— will the prime minister gives some thought.” view —— will the prime minister gives some thought. i will indeed, it isa gives some thought. i will indeed, it is a matter for the honours committee which are independent of government and i would urge him strongly to make his representations to them. let's head to dundee and visit chris law. last month, the chancellor received a letter from all tayside councils, including my proud city of dundee, requesting urgent action to finally sign off the tate cities deal after 18 months of waiting. 6,000 jobs hang the tate cities deal after 18 months of waiting. 6,000jobs hang in the tate cities deal after 18 months of waiting. 6,000 jobs hang in the balance while this constant delay continues and the situation has been described quite rightly as ridiculous by the chief executive of the regents chamber of commerce. two previous prime ministers have failed to deliver when asked, so will this prime minister personally guarantee he will sign off this vital city deal without delay? well, he will sign off this vital city dealwithout delay? well, mr speaker, i know we have done a number of growth deals in scotland recently and i know we intend to do more. the best i think i can say to the honourable gentleman is i will write to him with an answer about the tay city deal. mr speaker, i refer the house to my register of interests. there is a sense of great celebration in thanet in east kent with a positive consent order for the airport, allowing that asset to fly once more but we have one more pa rt fly once more but we have one more part of the jigsaw puzzle to solve and that is thanet parkway station. it was deemed desirable before the dco, it now has to be deemed as essential. unfortunately, through the covid pressures, kent county council feel unable to raise the 17 million via the public works alone to support the final part of the jigsaw. can my right honourable friend use the influence of his great office to encourage the chancellor and ministers to find that a £17 million to complete the regeneration of thanet and east kent? i have good news for my honourable friend because the department of transport has received a bird forfunding thanet park railway station. it is going to be assessed in the third round of the new stations fund —— received a bid. and i hope he will hear good news in the near future. prime minister... sorry, mr speaker, on the 23rd of june and again on the 2ath ofjune, the prime minister said to the house in respect of financial support for businesses and workers during local lockdown is that nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing. last week, the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy was unable to give any details to my committee at all about this vital future local support. can the prime minister today be crystal clear, for the towns and cities preparing for local lockdown is, will he be penalising businesses and workers were doing the right thing or not? —— for doing the right thing or not? —— for doing the right thing or not? —— for doing the right thing or not? in addition to the £160 billion of support that the government has given to people and firms across the country, we have supported areas, cities in lockdown with considerable grants, 20 million to leicester, business rates relief for aa million, 68 million spending on business grants. the best thing possible is for them all to work hard, as blackburn and darwen have done, for instance, to get the virus down and to make sure they are able to open up again. thank you, mr speaker. in my constituency, there are well over 20,000 people directly improved in the aerospace and defence sectors, as well as 17,500 people in the supply chain throughout the southwest region. these jobs are not only vital to the individuals and families supported by them but crucial to the economy of our region, our country at large and our future of our region, our country at large and ourfuture air of our region, our country at large and our future air prospects, connectivity and sovereign manufacturing capability, with projects like macro—temp post. when will the prime minister announced a wide—ranging support package for the aerospace industry, which most contain scrappage scheme... aerospace industry, which most contain scrappage scheme. . ” aerospace industry, which most contain scrappage scheme... i will examine the idea of a scrappage scheme for old and highly polluting aircraft, but what i can tell him is that, long before then, we are putting 3—.9 billion into the aerospace technology institute and, asi aerospace technology institute and, as i am sure he knows, the department of and skills has set up with transport a joint task force to create jet zero, a zero emissions passenger plane in which this country will lead the world. we head to yorkshire and visit naz shah. thank you, mr speaker. last week, the chancellor said he could not save every job the chancellor said he could not save everyjob or business. councils across england are facing a £10 billion black hole which could see many issue section 11a notices, effectively declaring bankruptcy. many councils are already beginning. i asked the prime minister, will the chancellor save local councils and does he feel the support his government has already provided is enough for our most vulnerable communities and will not lead to council cuts and another era of austerity? yes, indeed, mr speaker and, in bradford alone, we have allocated £30 million to help deal with the pressures of the virus and, asi with the pressures of the virus and, as i said to the house just now, billions, i think for point to billions, i think for point to billion now in support for local councils across the country —— a.2 billion. i pay tribute to the work of local councils and their services to help us get through this pandemic and we will continue to support them. thank you, mr speaker. out and about talking to the good people of south ribble and they are worried about the economic effects of covid, although they do also say thank god that other lot didn't get in because imagine how much trouble we would be in right now. can the prime minister confirmed that, whilst there might be tough days ahead, this conservative government is throwing the kitchen sink at fixing it. come on, mister plummer. not only the kitchen sink, but every part of the kitchen, because we are going to build, build, build ourway forward and we are going to be supporting the building of 300,000 new homes a year and we the building of 300,000 new homes a yearand we are the building of 300,000 new homes a year and we are going to do everything we can to ensure that we getjobs, jobs, jobs throughout this country, whether by installing kitchen sinks or any other part of the house, we will take this country forward. thank you, mr speaker. can i refer the prime minister to the question asked by my honourable friend, due to a covid outbreak in kirklees, we are now an area needing an enhanced support. the council have been brilliant, testing all workforces and closing operations, but there is a cost to this, to the business but also to the worker put on statutory sick pay. could i ask the prime minister to help us in the council and communities like batley and spen? can we have daily postcode data and, also, can the prime minister commit to a package of support so that businesses can close and individuals can do the right thing to benefit all of us? of course we are committed to sharing as much data as we have with councils, so they can get on at a local level, as they have been, in dealing with the pandemic, and actually, some of them have been doing an absolutely outstanding job. kirklees in particular, and we will continue to support councils up and down the land as they engage in local action to make sure the whole country can start to get back to work. it's a pleasure to be back. the toyota manufacturer is based in south derbyshire in my constituency is the leader producer of low emission cars in the uk and their aim like the government let's cross live to edinburgh because first minister nicola sturgeon is giving a virtual coronavirus briefing. she'sjoined by economy, fair work and culture secretary fiona hyslop and national clinical director, jason leitch. as usual. i will start with the update on the latest covid statistics. since yesterday an additionalfive statistics. since yesterday an additional five cases have statistics. since yesterday an additionalfive cases have been confirmed, taking the total to 18,373. a total of 611 patients are currently in hospital with suspected or confirmed covid, an overall decrease of five since yesterday but to any number of confirmed cases. of last night six people were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected covid, a decrease of six on the number reported yesterday and there are only two confirmed cases in icu and the entire country. since the 5th of march a total of a132 patients who tested positive and admitted to hospital have been able to leave hospital. and i am very pleased to say that in the past 2a hours, no deaths have been registered of a person confirmed through a test is having the virus. that means that this is the seventh day ina that means that this is the seventh day in a row that no deaths have been recorded in our daily figures and means that the total number of deaths in scotland under that measurement remains at 2a90. of course, national records of scotland has just published its course, national records of scotland hasjust published its regular weekly report, and that is more comprehensive than our daily figures. like the daily figure set includes the deaths of people who have been confirmed through a test as to having covid but it covers cases where the virus had been entered on a death certificate as he suspected or contributory process to the cause of death, even if not done through a test. the latest report cove rs through a test. the latest report covers the period to sunday the 12th ofjuly, sunday just past covers the period to sunday the 12th ofjuly, sundayjust past and to remind you at that point, according to our daily figures, 2a90 deaths of people who had tested positive had been registered. however, the report today shows that by sunday the total number of registered deaths with either a confirmed or a presumed link to the virus was forth unto the -- a187. of link to the virus was forth unto the —— a187. of those link to the virus was forth unto the -- a187. of those 13 link to the virus was forth unto the —— a187. of those 13 that were registered in the 70s up to sunday, and that is a decrease of five on the week before. the number of covert deaths in care homes increased slightly from five to seven. that means that deaths in ca re seven. that means that deaths in care homes made upjust over half seven. that means that deaths in care homes made up just over half of all covid deaths in care homes made up all covid deaths in care homes made upjust over all covid deaths in care homes made up just over half of all covid death last week. finally, the total number of deaths recorded in scotland from all not just of deaths recorded in scotland from all notjust of covid was six, below the average at the same time this year. this is the third time this week that has been below that average. last week was the 11th week any average. last week was the 11th week a ny row average. last week was the 11th week any row in which the number of deaths from has fallen. so, these weekly figures, although they ca ptu re weekly figures, although they capture more cases, still show the same trend as our daily figures, they show that covid is now being driven to very low levels in scotland. however, we must not forget that these numbers also speak of tragedy for many people. every death that has been recorded has resulted in a loss for family or friends, and i want to send my condolences again today to everyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one. and i want is always to thank our health care workers. since today is scottish care's care home day, i wa nt to is scottish care's care home day, i want to particularly thank the care workers and all of the other staff who are absolutely essential to the operation of care homes, such as cleaning staff, kitchen workers and many others. all of you, in recent months have shown skill, dedication and compassion above and beyond the call of duty, and you have my heartfelt thanks for that, and i am sure the heartfelt thanks of eve ryo ne a cross sure the heartfelt thanks of everyone across our country. in a few minutes the economy secretary will talk a bit more about some scottish government support for business, and i want to cover two points today which are closely related to that. the first is to let you know that the scottish government is publishing a new paper today that sets out our approach to surveillance of the virus as we move forward and the management of outbreaks. as i havejust said, prevalence of the virus in scotland has fallen to very low levels, but as we all go out and about more, it becomes increasingly important that we are very becomes increasingly important that we are very alert, hypervigilant, to any we are very alert, hypervigilant, to a ny early we are very alert, hypervigilant, to any early warnings that the case numbers might be starting to increase again. it is also important that we are cases do arise, we are able to respond quickly, as happened last week, or rather two weeks ago, in dumfries and galloway. our test and protect system is absolutely vital to that, because that means we picked up on individual cases or clusters of cases and are then able to work to disrupt the chains of transmission. as the publication today sets out, we are using other sources of information to give us as early warning of any potential problem as possible. so, for example, nhs 2a call data, which shows the number of people phoning up shows the number of people phoning up nhs 2a, asking about covid —like symptoms is potentially a very early indicator of community transmission in some areas, and whole genome sequencing on the other hand allows us to assess the likelihood of different cases being part of the same cluster. we have also established a data and intelligence network, which has representation from academia and health officials which is able to assess relevant information quickly and allow that information quickly and allow that information to inform our decision—making quickly, both at a national and at a local level. health protection scotland has also updated its guidance on the management of public health incidents, helping to ensure that we can respond rapidly to incidents or outbreaks, again, either at a national or local level. these are all really important ways of preparing ourselves to identify and deal with outbreaks of covid as they arise, and all that is important. as i indicated a moment ago, test and protect is probably the important of all and is central to the entire system. so, let me repeat again, the advice that you have heard me give on many previous occasions. if you have symptoms of covid, a high—temperature or fever, a have symptoms of covid, a high—temperature orfever, a new car ora high—temperature orfever, a new car or a loss or change in your sense of smell or taste, please act immediately, do not wait as some of us have tended to do in the past to see if you feel better before doing anything. act immediately and you should firstly self—isolate, and secondly, book a test through the nhs inform website, or if you prefer, by phoning oh 800 02 06. speed is of the essence and by following the advice you will ensure that we are cases of covid arise our contact racers can quickly step in and break those chains of transmission. that advice and i were a wider surveillance system becomes even more important and i cannot stress that enough as we open up more public services and different parts of our economy. it is especially important to talk about this today, because today marks the biggest step for scotland out of lockdown so far. the childcare sector can fully open from today, the education secretary willjoin me tomorrow to see more on that. venues like museums, galleries and other attractions can welcome visitors from today, but in many cases you must book tickets in advance. hairdressing services resume today andi hairdressing services resume today and i understand some opened at midnight to meet demand. i wish i had known about that! cinemas can also open their doors from today and places of worship can be open for communal services and prayer for up to 50 people, if that can be accommodated with physical distancing. the tourism sector can reopen and hotels and bed and brea kfast ca n reopen and hotels and bed and breakfast can welcome guests and indoor hospitality like pubs and restau ra nts ca n indoor hospitality like pubs and restaurants can open again. all of this of course has strict conditions attached to it. but it is all good news, the changes are long—awaited and have been very hard earned by everybody across the country. i have to tell you, i am even more nervous about the changes today than i have been about earlier changes in previous phases of coming out of lockdown. that is because, as i covered yesterday, the steps today are by some margin the highest risk changes we have made since we began the process out of lockdown. many of these changes, as you have just heard, involved in their activity, and we know that the risk of the virus spreading indoors is significantly higher in pubs than outdoors, for example for. that is why we waited before allowing these services to restart which gives us a better chance of managing these risks that opening and services creates but it does not remove those risks. so it is vital than it has been any other stage of this crisis so far that all of us stick rigidly to the rules and guidance on how to behave in these different settings, because it is only by doing that than as we open up the services we will stop the virus spreading again. get your contact details when asked for them, that means that you can be contacted for them, that means that you can be co nta cted if for them, that means that you can be contacted if you go to somewhere linked to new covid cases, and the ability to contact you will be essential to breaking the chains of transmission that i spoke of earlier. keep a two metre distance and where you are in a one metre zone, comply with the necessary mitigations. where a face covering in indoor environments and remember they are mandatory in shops and on public transport. and continue to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. all of these steps, as i have said before and will continue to say, are more important now than they have ever been. and for people running these premises and work places and attractions, please follow all of the relevant public health guidance. it has been put in place to keep you, your staff and customers and your visitors safe. and it is also there to minimise the risk of us having to close any of you down again in future if the virus starts to spread. i mentioned yesterday that the state of california in the usa hasjust shot all of its bars, cinemas, restau ra nts a nd all of its bars, cinemas, restaurants and museums all over again. that must be a reminder that our progress out of lockdown could yet go into reverse, and it will go into reverse if we see signs that the virus is starting to spread widely in the community again. so all of us must do everything we can to ensure that does not happen. in the days and weeks ahead, enjoy your first meal out any long time, if you are able to do that, enjoy your first drink indoors, if you want to do that. enjoy your first haircut, which i know many others across the country will certainly do! and they support local businesses as you do that, whenever you can. they need our support at this time more than ever. but to do all of that really carefully. cooperate with staff and organisers at these different venues, and if any venue to you does not seem to be taking all of this advice seriously, if it does not ask for your contact details and does not seem to be clear about physical distancing, take your custom elsewhere, because that is for your safety a nd elsewhere, because that is for your safety and the safety of those around you. ultimately, it is only by sticking to all of these rules that any of us will continue to enjoy these services for the rest of the summer through the autumn into winter and beyond. iwant the summer through the autumn into winter and beyond. i want to leave you before handing over to the cabinet secretary with one other piece of information that i thought it was important to share with you today. because it shows again the progress we are making, but it will also hopefully help motivate all of us to keep doing the right thing. the figures i report each day, as you know, include the total number of people in hospital with suspected or confirmed covid. the figures published today by public health scotla nd published today by public health scotland get a breakdown of how many people were actually admitted to hospital on each day last week, between the third and the 9th of july. and if they show that on three daysin july. and if they show that on three days in that week, three separate days, there were no admissions to hospital of confirmed covid cases. in fact, since the 26th ofjune, we have had six days in total where there have been no confirmed cases of the virus admitted to hospital. ifi of the virus admitted to hospital. if i think back to the early part of april, into may, what i would have given to stand here and give you figures like that. and yet, that is the progress that i am now able to report to you. and just like the days where we are able to report that no deaths have been registered under our daily measures, we have had seven days any row of that, these hospital numbers are a really significant milestone. i do not want to go backwards, and i know you do not want to go backwards to the days where each and everyday people were admitted to hospital. at the peak of this outbreak, more than 200 people where being, for the period, admitted to hospital each day. let's not take the risk of going back to that. let us make sure that we do everything we all need to do as individual citizens to protect ourselves and protect each other, and keep us on the right track when it comes to tackling and hopefully eliminating this virus. so, let me leave you with the most important advice of facts. if you remember nothing else, i am asking you to rememberfacts. face nothing else, i am asking you to remember facts. face coverings and enclosed spaces, avoid crowded places, clean your hands and hearts offices, two metre distancing is the overall rule and self isolating and book a test if you have symptoms. if we all follow these five basic measures, then the nerves and anxiety that myself and jason, who will articulate this later, are feeling right now, will hope to be not well—founded, because we will manage to open up our country without a living this horrible virus to spread. so, as we have done over these four long painful months, continue to work in that spirit of solidarity and beat this virus. thank you all so much. i will hand over to the cabinet secretary for the economy before jason leitch says some words and then we will go on questions. thank you, first minister, today marketing a significant step forward for our economy with a majority of scotland's tourism and hospitality sector is beginning to be open. guests can now stay in hotels and plan to visit attractions such as museums, galleries and historic sites. cafes, restaurants and bars can also begin to serve customers indoors, and people can once again look forward to watching a film in the cinema or visiting their local library as they, too, prepare to reopen. this is underpinned by strong guidance that has been closely developed by each sector with the safety of employees and the public in mind, and we all have a duty to enjoy these new freedoms responsibly, so i would ask people to plan visits in advance, respect the local community you are visiting and adhere to the fact at all times. there is also good news for the construction industry today, which will be moving to fees a of its restart plan. this means close working can take place on site if necessary and with appropriate ppe —— phase four. we have undertaken significant work with the sector to make sure this will not compromise ppe supplies for the nhs. going forward , ppe supplies for the nhs. going forward, we will continue to work in partnership with these key sectors. the scottish council for development and industry and the relevant bodies will be helping raise awareness of the test and protect system with our business community. this will ensure that smaller firms in business community. this will ensure that smallerfirms in particular have the information they need about test and protect and its role in keeping the virus under control. that vigilance will help economic recovery and help businesses. i'm pleased to say scotland's housing market is receiving at boost today with reductions in land and buildings transaction tax coming into force. the threshold at which the tax has to be paid has risen from £1a5,000 to £215,000 excluding the additional dwelling supplement. this will result in savings for home—buyers of up to £2100 and will stimulate the construction sector and the wider economy. so we have taken a distinctly scottish approach to lbtt, reflecting our overall response to the pandemic, as well as making £2.3 billion available in business support we are also implementing a 2000 and £30 million economic stimulus package to create jobs in construction, low carbon schemes and digitisation. as part of this i announced last friday a £30 million fund for high growth companies. last week we also committed a further £100 million to employment support and training, and i look forward to outlining our priorities for this funding tomorrow to parliament. that includes how we will invest in the future of our young people, given the scarring effects of unemployment on them are well known. we are determined they will not be on fairly dis— disadvantaged by the economic impacts of the situation. in relation to this we are also calling for urgent discussions with the uk government on the kick—start employment programme. while we welcome additional investment we are disappointed about the lack of consultation on the issue and we have been working with industry on our own youth employment response including asking sandy bed be to develop an implementation plan for a job guarantee in scotland. we need the uk government to work in partnership with us to make sure their scheme which covers the whole of the uk delivers for the young people in scotland. and we are also doing all we can to support our summer school leavers and the developing young workforce programme is running a series of events for them over the coming weeks. registration closes on friday and those wishing to take part should visit www.dyw.scot for more information. while we are seeing people return to work as the economy reopens, i think figures published today show about 28% of scottish workers have been furloughed so we ask again the chancellor considers extending thejob ask again the chancellor considers extending the job retention scheme especially for sectors ha rd—hit extending the job retention scheme especially for sectors hard—hit by the pandemic or those unlikely to recover quickly. it is only fair that these businesses are supported when they have had to close through no fault of their own and have undoubtedly helped save lives as a result. so we will continue to press this cause also. thank you. thanks, first minister. let me be clear, but before i start, as the first minister suggested, i am before i start, as the first minister suggested, lam nervous today. today feels like a big day in the route map out of lockdown, but let me speak about the guidance around reopening places of worship which happens today. it has been an incredibly difficult time for faith communities who have been unable to come together in person during the past weeks and months of the pandemic, so it is a great relief to many that from today places of worship can be opened for congregational services, marriage ceremonies and religious life event ceremonies and religious life event ceremonies depending on your place of worship. places of worship play a vital role in the lives of many people, and of course in bringing communities and generations together across scotland. however, the communal nature of places of worship also makes them particularly vulnerable to the spread of covid—19, and you can see that from experience around the world. so there are a number of guidelines and regulations that are being put in place to keep people as safe as possible. no more than 50 people should gather in a place of worship at one time. this is to help manage the risk associated with these larger indoor gatherings. we need to proceed with caution. i know places of worship have been working hard to place safeguards in place to manage the risk associated with congregational services, and we are grateful to them. the number of people who can gather are lower in some cases. up to 20 people can attend a marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration, and up to 20 people can attend a funeral service. these low limits also apply in other venues where these events can take place. at this stage of the route map we are stipulating there should be no singing or chanting inside places of worship even if social distancing can be observed or face coverings are being used. all individuals must keep at least two metres distance between others while they are in a place of worship or in they are in a place of worship or in the grounds. this does not need to be maintained between sorry, this does need to be maintained within households but not in an extended households but not in an extended household or if you are a carer or the person assisted by the carer, just as you are outside. we are asking for places of worship to keep asking for places of worship to keep a temporary register of those who attend, staff and volunteer contact details for a period of 21 days. this is to support contact tracing around our test and protect system to allow us to get in touch if anybody in that setting tests positive. when entering or leaving you should of course wash your hands, ideally with soap and water, and if not with hand sanitiser. anyone who has symptoms of covid and you now know this by heart i am sure, they should go nowhere near a place of worship but should stay home and self— isolate place of worship but should stay home and self—isolate and test. place of worship but should stay home and self-isolate and test. on two questions. the bbc are first today, lindsay buse. thank you, first minister —— onto questions. we are hearing from hoteliers in skye they are under pressure to pass on they are under pressure to pass on the vat cuts today. do you think they should be passing that on to customers or should their customers except they won't benefit and let the firms pocket the difference between it might because they need the financial help. the nhs is starting to clear a backlog of treatment now. given the scale of the challenge facing the health service, do patients need to accept longer waiting times for the foreseeable future? thanks. on the first question, i'm not going to dictate individual business decisions to hotels or any other businesses but the vat reduction for tourism and hospitality that the chancellor announced last week which we welcome a design very much to support businesses to a very difficult period where the trading conditions continue to be limited andi conditions continue to be limited and i think it is really important to be clear that that is the purpose of it. as customers or consumers, where we can we should try to find ways our selves of helping local businesses in particular, shopping local if you can where you might not have done that previously, and going on holiday in scotland if you are able to do that. i know not everybody can do that. that would be my general answer to that. i will hand over to fiona on that point. i will then lead to hand over to jason on health services, but i would just say we are trying to get the health service running is close to normal as we can as quickly as possible, but as you will have heard jason and i think gregor and jean say here in the past we are asking patients to be patient, if you like, because just like it will be the case in parts of the economy the different ways of working will require different behaviours, and in some cases that may mean waiting a bit longer, but we are working really ha rd longer, but we are working really hard and the health service is working really hard to get the system operating as quickly and as efficiently and is close to normal as possible. the owner, do you want to ta ke as possible. the owner, do you want to take the first point, then jason... just briefly, the cuts in vat on tourism is really welcome. it was the second highest in europe at 20% and is now down at 5% and that will be a big economic stimulus and obviously, as the first minister said, individual businesses can make their own decision, but it is really important in the most beautiful places we have in scotland that we have a sustainable tourism industry, and that means they need to be here not just and that means they need to be here notjust in the next month but in the next six months, therefore they will have to work out in their own business plans how much they can do in terms of their occupancy, what their costs and staff costs are and obviously a lot of hotels want to make sure to retain and support their staff because they are vital again as part of that economic activity within the local community. in terms of encouraging people with reduced costs and prices because of the vat cuts, some may choose to do that, but it is in everybody because my interests, tourists, customers and hotels to make sure we have a strong tourist and hospitality sector, not just today, strong tourist and hospitality sector, notjust today, tomorrow, but in years to come, and one of the ways nicola sturgeon talking on the day that there is a significant easing of restrictions in scotland as coronavirus restrictions. nicola sturgeon saying that she was feeling a degree of nerves and anxiety. urging people to stick to the advice to make sure that they can break any chains of transmission and keep these freedoms. simon mccoy will be here ina these freedoms. simon mccoy will be here in a few minutes, let's have a look at the weather. grey is certainly the order of the day today. a lot of cloud across the uk. tomorrow we will hopefully see a bit more in the way brightness, but places like these are hills, particularly those towards the west that will struggle with low cloud and misty into thursday. same with the western facing coast, this murky here. there is a warm weather front moving its way in from the atlantic, bringing all of that moisture, plenty of miles to go around, for all of us, it will be a great evening. driver the majority, perhaps a bit of rain to come in. the cloud stays... currently we are infora mild the cloud stays... currently we are in for a mild night and the cloud stays... currently we are infora mild nightand in some spots, lows of 1a or 15 degrees. first thing on thursday, again, quite grey, gloomy, murky skies to start our day. but for thursday, there is a greater chance of the cloud breaking up as the day goes by in england and wales, particularly central and eastern areas and eastern scotland could be a favoured spot for some of the best of the sunshine, it could turn out to beat the warmest place in the uk up to 2a25 degrees. further west, the warmest place in the uk up to 2a25 degrees. furtherwest, more cloud and some rain, just 16 degrees, that is because we have a cold weather front that will then sync its way south across the uk through friday and on into the weekend. friday, looks like we will have some rain in southern scotland, perhaps northern england in the day, brighter skies to the north but cooler air. to the south, temperatures get pretty close to average for the time of year, 25 or 26 degrees in the south of england. just how quickly this front makes its way south through the course of the weekend is subject to some question, but it is a weakening front so the rainfall amount isn't a great concern but saturday, we could see some cloud and outbreaks of rain for a time pushing across england and wales before skies begin to brighton later on. notice to the north, temperatures are as low as a high teens. sunday, there could be some showery prospects, particularly across south—eastern counties of england, again showers coming into the north west of scotland, but a much sunnier story for the majority, in contrast to today. temperatures in the high teens to low 20s. temperatures in the high teens to low 20s. minister's questions of this session. bye—bye. a £a billion cut in vat to kickstart the economy— but not all companies will pass it on. food, drink and hospitality industries benefit — but some companies say they need to keep the cash to stay in business we are looking to pass some of that onto customers but i think we are in survival mode right now. it allows us to comfortably put on a larger descant so we are passing it on. we'll be looking at what the cut in vat will mean for you. also this lunchtime: the biggest easing of lockdown restrictions in scotland is underway — the first minister says it's the riskiest stage to date. facing going back into lockdown — blackburn is given a deadline to deal with a "rising tide" of coronavirus cases.
AlabamaUnited-statesHong-kongUnited-kingdomBrooklynNew-yorkBeijingChinaCaliforniaPortugalJamaicaStornoway huawei — as president trump takes credit for the decision to exclude it from the uk's 56 network. the statue of slave trader edward colston is replaced — with a sculpture of one of the protesters whose anger brought him down. and coming up on bbc news: confirmation that the lions‘ tour of south africa will go ahead. three test matches are scheduled against the world champions in july and august. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a £4 billion cut in vat has come into force across the hospitality sector, allowing companies to cut their prices — but not all of them say they will. the tax, which has been reduced from 20% to 5% untiljanuary, is aimed at helping to boost the economy and protectjobs. starbucks and mcdonald's are among those saying they will reduce their prices — but some firms are expected to use the windfall to shore up their own finances hit by the lockdown. here's our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz. it's the chancellor's £4 billion giveaway to try to get the economy moving. slashing the vat you pay for going out, including two restaurants and pubs, and to campsites, cinemas and zoos. we need to give these businesses the confidence to know that if they open up, invest in making their premises safe and protectjobs, demand will be there — and be there quickly. restaurants like this one point out there's a big hill to climb to get sales back up to the levels they were before the virus. i don't know how much the vat cut itself will drive sales. i mean, is a 15% discount really going to bring us the level of revenue we need? the vat cut could mean a £5 saving on a mealfor two normally costing £40, nearly £11 off an £85 room for two at a hotel or b&b or £16 off a family entry to a theme park worth £130 - that's if customers are given it. some businesses — nando's is one of them — have promised to pass on 100% of the saving, but the big worry is that others will hold onto some or all of the benefit, effectively pocketing the tax cut, saying they are struggling and they are the ones who need it. we are looking to pass some of that onto customers but i think we are in survival mode right now and i think it's important that, i guess, the public recognise that this cut will go a long way to help the business get through what will be, i guess, a tough trading period in the months ahead. the treasury says it wants businesses to give customers the full 15% off if they can but it recognises that firms like this coffee roasting and grinding place in manchester may have been without an income for a long period and it's up to them to decide how to handle the tax break. our approach is to make it flexible, so it wouldn't be a blanket 15% across all our products. what it allows us to do is comfortably put on a large discount so we are passing it on but i would say it's more a flexible approach that was under our control depending on what sales are like in the coming months. bigger chains are more likely to pass on the cut. starbucks says it will on coffees. pubs like wetherspoons face the problem that alcoholic drinks don't qualify so it's using some of the saving on food in order to cut the price of beer. simon gompertz, bbc news. the biggest easing of lockdown restrictions in scotland is underway — with the reopening of indoor spaces including hotels, places of worship and hairdressers. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, has described it as the riskiest stage of the process to date. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, has the details. it's the latest kit for hairdressers heading back to work. scotland's salons are the last in the uk to reopen. in this one they're already booked up weeks ahead, and things will be very different to before. we are a small salon, so we just wanted to really take every measure that we could to make things safe. so, the screens, obviously, will give each workstation a safe space. it's different, but i think it's a workable, fun space. you know, it's safe. and it's notjust hairdressers that are reopening. today sees the biggest steps out of scotland's lockdown. some cinemas including this one in glasgow are welcoming back moviegoers while tourist attractions, museums, galleries and libraries can also from today, if they choose to, open back up. worshippers can once again gather for communal services and prayer as long as congregations maintain strict physical distancing. and holiday accommodation including hotels and b&bs are accepting guests as the tourism industry fully reopens for business. today's steps are, by some margin, and i mean that, by some margin, the highest risk changes we have made since we began the process out of lockdown. and so it is vital, more vital than it has been at any stage of this crisis so far that all of us stick rigidly to the rules and guidance on how to behave in these different settings. because it is only by doing that that as we open up these services, we will stop the virus spreading again. table 823, your drinks aren't free, but they are on the bar waiting to collect. beer gardens, outdoor cafes and restaurants were allowed to welcome customers back ten days ago. now they're also allowed inside, as indoor hospitality reopens. so, there are three stools here that people will be able to sit at and drink at the bar, but that'll be the only place someone can sit. in this bar—restaurant restrictions mean they will only be allowed half the numbers they had before, but are hoping people will quickly return. from opening the garden last week, we have been swamped with customers, and if we could have fit more people in, we would, however i'm not sure if the same will stand for inside. but i think the more we can show that we're adhering to the rules and the social distance guidance, the more comfortable customers will feel coming back. hoping confidence, customers and business will return, as more restrictions ease in scotland and many more aspects of normal life resume. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. health secretary matt hancock says the government will not be recommending that people wear face masks in offices. there was speculation that rules for work places could follow shops where people will have to wear face coverings from 24th july. mr hancock said that the government rejected the idea on the basis that if people spend a long time together, face coverings do not offer protection. new measures to stop the spread of covid—19 in blackburn with darwen have been introduced after a spike in cases. for the next month, people living there must limit the number of visitors to their homes, and wear face coverings in all confined public spaces in a bid to avoid a lockdown like leicester. sophie hutchinson reports. blackburn with darwen, where they have seen a spike in covid—19 cases. 114 people have tested positive in the past two weeks, in what public health experts have described as a rising tide of infection, particularly in the south asian community. what we think is going on is one person is asymptomatically infected, they are then going back to their own households, other household members are infected, that only becomes visible once somebody has symptoms. they go and get tested, then the household is tested and then we get a cluster in that household of four orfive members. and that's happening across the bame, the south asian community, in significant numbers and that is what is driving our rising tide event. the tighter new measures include limiting the number of people who can meet to one household plus a maximum of two people from a second household, face coverings to be worn in all enclosed public spaces, increased ventilation in small shops, and no handshaking or hugging — only elbow bumping. officials say the problem is centred on terraced housing with large multi—generational families. but compared to leicester, where a local lockdown has been imposed due to a substantial rise in cases, blackburn with darwen is some way off. while we had to take the action nationally in leicester, i announced that to the house of commons, in blackburn, the council have taken the lead and done what they think is the right thing to do to tackle the problem in their area, and i applaud them. officials in blackburn are hoping to avoid a full lockdown, but with additional testing in the at—risk communities, they expect the numbers of confirmed infections to rise over the next few weeks, and there are fears about other parts of lancashire, where infections are also on the increase. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. gill dummigan is in colne in the district of pendle in lancashire — where people have also been warned to stay alert after an increase in covid—19 cases. also been warned to stay alert what also been warned to stay alert is the reaction the? would what is the reaction the? i think it would be safe to say here that people are very worried. this is the second highest infection rate in the country although still some way down from leicester. blackburn the third. we had about specific request for the people of blackburn wearing face coverings in enclosed public spaces, a limit on the number of people that can visit families. there is a meeting here today to discuss what to do here but it would be safe to say they are hoping people will follow similar behavioural patterns. there is particular concern for the south asian community for the reason she had outlined there. the community has been very quick to respond and have been producing videos in a variety of languages, leaflet drops, and the mosques have been involved trying to get this infection rate down because the worry is, specifically in blackburn, if it isn't down by the end of a fortnight, limited lockdown measures may have to be reintroduced. thank you. meanwhile, the lockdown in leicester is taking a toll on its economy. the prolonged shutdown caused by the city's coronavirus infection rate has forced one business to permanently close. and there's a warning that, unless urgent government support is on its way, it might not be the only one to go under, as navteonhal reports. i have been running for two years now, or ran for two years, and it means the world to me. i am devastated having to close. i have put all my time, effort and love into it and created something that i want to go into work to every day. getting ready to say goodbye. arti chudasama's cafe and deli will not be reopening when leicester's coronavirus restrictions are eventually lifted. she says the local lockdown has forced her to close. i was 50—50 on it and then as soon as that happened that was it. it was like my decision was made, because if there is no one around — you can see there's nobody here — i could open but there's nobody coming in, so if nobody is coming in i don't really have a business to run. i'm just sitting there because i love it and that's not enough. herfate is unlikely to be unique — at least according to an organisation which represents businesses in the city centre. it says many of them are crying out for more help. it's a very simple message that we need grants or support directly to our businesses if they are going to survive. what impact will it have on the city if businesses don't get that extra support? if that support doesn't arrive urgently we will see the shutters coming down and the doors closing and a lot of businesses, particularly in our nonessential retail, food and drink sectors, closing. but leicester's mayor believes help may be on the way after speaking to the health secretary this week. although we still haven't got the absolute commitment that that is going to happen i think there was certainly an indication that the secretary of state understood the importance of that and i very much hope that we will soon be able to give good news, at least to the businesses of the city. either way, any support will come too late for arti. how are you feeling today? upset, sad. it is sad. it's emotional. you don't expect to close a business after two years, especially in the situation that we are in. the government says the circumstances of individual local lockdowns continue to be carefully assessed and that its support package is one of the most comprehensive in the world. but it's clear that many businesses here in leicester believe that extra help is needed if they are to continue to survive. navteonhal, bbc news, leicester. we've just heard from boris johnson answering prime minister's questions. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. and norman, borisjohnson said there will there be an independent inquiry into the pandemic? i think it is quite a significant moment because although everyone here assumed there would be an investigation into the covid crisis borisjohnson has connected to a full independent inquiry and we know from inquiries we have seen, whether it is the iraq inquiry or the leveson inquiry or bloody sunday, they have the potential to shape and shatter the reputations of the most powerful and to probe in a most thinking and calculations in crisis which it is often hard to do through the normal scrutiny ofjournalists 01’ the normal scrutiny ofjournalists or politicians. but there are an awful lot of unanswered questions. we still do not really know what the prime minister meant when he talked about an independent inquiry. that could be a judge inquiry or a lower calibre investigation led by an academic or maybe as a select committee. we do not know the timeframe. the prime minister has indicated he doesn't think we should hold the inquiry while we are still grappling with coronavirus but that means it could be months or years away if we are having to wait to eliminate the virus or get a vaccine. we do not know the remit of the inquiry or the authority it will have. will it be the sort of inquiry where witnesses are questioned under oath by barristers led by a judge? my oath by barristers led by a judge? my guess, and it is only a guess, is that it will have to be of similar stature and authority to the iraq inquiry. why? because of the number of deaths from coronavirus. because of deaths from coronavirus. because of the catastrophe it has inflicted on care homes and because it has involve the government imposing restrictions on as never seen before in peacetime, so my senses it will have to be a similar sort of inquiry to that into iraq. thank you. our top story this lunchtime. a £4 billion cut in vat to kickstart the economy — but there are concerns that not all companies will pass it on. from hundreds to 30 — how weddings in some communities have had to downsize their guest list because of the pandemic. coming up on bbc news. manchester united striker marcus rashford will become the youngest person to receive an honorary doctorate from the university of manchester for his campaign against child poverty. china has said it will take all neccessary measures to safeguard its interests — after britain decided to exclude the telecoms giant huawei from its 5g mobile networks — on national security grounds. president trump welcomed the move and took credit for personally persuading "many countries" not to use huawei. he also widened the gap in relations between the us and china by dismissing any resumption of trade talks — and cutting hong kong's preferential trade status. peter bowes reports. the us has long been campaigning for britain and other countries to ban equipment from the chinese tech giant. the about—turn follows months of pressure from washington, including imposing tariffs on china. huawei posed a national security threat, said the trump administration. the company denied it. at a news conference in the rose garden at the white house, ostensibly to announce actions against china over hong kong... thank you very much, everybody. ..donald trump let it be known that he felt vindicated. we confronted untrustworthy chinese technology and telecom providers. we convinced many countries, many countries. and i did this myself for the most part, not to use huawei, because we think it's an unsafe security risk. it's a big security risk. i talked many countries out of using it. china's ambassador to the uk has criticized the british government's decision, describing it as disappointing and wrong. he said it was now questionable whether the uk could provide a fair business environment for foreign companies. huawei is unlikely to be surprised by the us response. what happens next may hinge on the result of america's presidential election in november and future tone of us—china relations. right now, the country's leaders are not on speaking terms. and a second phase trade deal is in doubt. president trump has moved to hold china accountable for its actions against hong kong, signing a bill that passed unanimously in congress. today i also signed an executive order ending us preferential treatment for hong kong. hong kong will now be treated the same as mainland china. no special privileges, no special economic treatment, and no export of sensitive technologies. thank you all very much. but overshadowing everything, the coronavirus, with president trump again saying that he holds china fully responsible for unleashing the virus upon the world, ratcheting up the rhetoric even more. peter bowes, bbc news. researchers say declining fertility rates — that is, the average number of children a woman gives birth to, means nearly every country in the world could have shrinking populations by the end of the century. 23 countries including spain and japan are expected to see their populations halve in the next 80 years. india's population will still be over a billion, sub—saharan africa's however will triple in size to three billion. a convicted paedophile has lost a supreme court challenge over using evidence in court gathered covertly by so—called paedophile hunters. mark sutherland brought the case after being caught by a group called groom resisters scotland, arguing his right to a private life had been breached. let's speak to our legal correspondent clive coleman. just how significant is this case? just how significant is this case? just to explain the background can in 2018 mark sutherland believed that he was communicating with a 13—year—old boy on a dating at but it was in fact 48—year—old paul devine from the group groom resisters scotland. he sent an indecent image and agreed to meet with the boy but when he got there he was confronted by two members of the group or film then counter and broadcasted online and it was used ina criminal broadcasted online and it was used in a criminal prosecution. sutherland was convicted and given two years sutherland was convicted and given two yea rs in sutherland was convicted and given two years in prison for attempting to communicate indecently with an older child and other offences in this morning the supreme court rejected his claim that the decoy operation and use of the material had infringed his right to a private and family life and private correspondence. they did that because they will do children have privacy rights as well and the state has a particular duty to protect those rights and also there was no reasonable expectation of privacy, any child receiving this kind of communication is likely to go and ask an adult about it. but it is a real issue for police because there are around 90 of these groups operating in the uk and prior to they carried out a right 100 of these operations per month. i think that they will be encouraged by this but the police are worried that what they want really is the information and they do not want them to broadcast the material. i think that the groups will now feel they can do that. thank you. cancer treatment can be incredibly gruelling — but how risky is it to reject conventional therapies? sean walsh was a young musician from liverpool who had blood cancer, but turned down chemotherapy and believed he could cure his cancer through alternative treatments. now, his family have spoken to a bbc3 documentary to warn others not to follow the same approach. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. # how was i supposed to know that'd you'd walk out that door... #. sean walsh, well—known on liverpool's music scene, was first diagnosed as a teenager with hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. you just don't imagine that your child's going to have cancer. it just doesn't enter your head, does it? sean endured the rigors of chemotherapy. and at first it looked like the treatment had worked. but less than two years later, some devastating news. the cancer was back. he had to undergo chemotherapy with a stem cell transplant. so obviously it was just not what sean wanted to hear. didn't want to do it all over again. why would you poison yourself back to good health? sean decided to treat the cancer himself through alternative therapies. he was also having scans at a clinic run by philip and rosa hughes, medical thermal imaging, which sean believed were monitoring his cancer. it's legal to offer these scans, but the nhs warns there's no evidence that thermography is an effective way to test for cancer or monitor its treatment. sean's scans did carry a disclaimer from the company stating thermography does not see or diagnose cancer and recommended further clinical investigation. but the scan results seemed reassuring and sean believed his cancer had gone. we asked cancer specialist professor andrew wardley of manchester's christie hospital to review secret filming in which rosa hughes, who provided scans for sean, makes some troubling medical claims to our reporter. they've referred you to a breast clinic, haven't they? when you go to a breast clinic, what i want you to do is have an ultrasound rather thana mammogram. not a mammogram? not even a mammogram, because you're going to get radiated and it's going to squash. and that the amount of women that have their tumours, if a tumour bursts, that spreads cancer. that's preposterous. you don't burst tumors. they're solid. you do squash the breast down to do a mammogram. it is unpleasant, but it's a short term thing. and you do not spread cancer by doing a mammogram. that's complete fallacy. rosa and philip hughes say they utterly reject the allegation that they gave sean walsh inappropriate advice. but sean's family believe the scans gave him false hope. he thought he'd cured himself. in reality, he was dying. he had a tumour the size of a grapefruit in his stomach. he had tumours all in his chest and stuff. just got on the bed with him and just said, come on, son. sean died injanuary 2019, aged just 23. you're vulnerable when you've got cancer. and you are going to believe certain people who actually are making money out of the cancer industry through vulnerable people. you can watch the full investigation, ‘false hope: alternative cancer cures', on bbc three on the bbc iplayer. the compiling of any wedding guest list is difficult — but when, because of covid—19 — it's limited to 30 guests.. well, that can be a huge problem. it's causing particular anger in communities where large guest lists are key to their tradition and customs. sima kotecha reports. it's just the community, the culture, the way that we've been brought up. everybody is close and tight—knit and the culture is really strong. and it's really important to have all of the traditional elements to the wedding and have everyone there to be part of it. rajni and ahmet‘s engagement in september last year. their wedding was supposed to be in march, but then came lockdown. we kind of decided the best thing, the safest thing to do was to postpone everything. and for us, it was just it was a really hard decision to make. hundreds were invited. a common feature of south asian weddings. she says her future plans are now in limbo. we don't know how many guests we're going to be able to invite. unfortunately, the registry offices are also not open yet. and i can't book a notice of a marriage appointment. the notice of marriage has expired from last year. the reason weddings are small at the moment is for safety reasons. for health reasons, to protect your guests. why is it so important to have hundreds of people at a south asian wedding? weddings are really important days, and so coming together to celebrate that is part of who we are. like i said, indian weddings are really big and everyone's close—knit and connected. and so you can'tjust invite some people, not others. it doesn't really work like that in our culture. the government says weddings in england can have no more than 30 guests. we could have invited 2,000 people. but offering hospitality at a time of celebration is integral to particular faiths and cultures. if you've been invited to weddings from their children and their grandchildren, and then you don't return the favour, it does create a bad feeling amongst the community, and the friends and family. and there's a belief the larger the guest list, the more good wishes for the couple. one priest told us in india it's been a tradition for generations. the whole entire village will come gather, watch, witness as the ceremony was done, as the couples were making their vows. so the whole idea is that may there be their blessings, and may all these people be also witness. it's unclear when the government guidelines will change. ministers say safety is their priority. rajni and ahmit hope by the end of next year, they'll be able to have their big dream wedding. sima kotecha, bbc news. the statue of slave trader edward colston — torn down in bristol last month — has been replaced by a sculpture of a black lives matter protester — but without the approval of the city council. the figure ofjen reid with her fist raised was installed in secret at dawn. jon kay has more. undercover, before sunrise and without permission. artist marc quinn and his team arrived in bristol this morning to erect their statue in secret. on the plinth where slave trader edward colston stood until last month, they installed a resin replacement of local woman jen reid. she was there as it went up. it's great to see, obviously, me as a statue, but the bigger picture is why i am up there. it was inspired by this photo, whenjen climbed on top of the empty plinth last month after colston‘s statue was toppled. for me, i think it is out with the old and in with the new, and i think that statue there, putting aside it being myself, it is definitely colston is no more and it is time for change, it is time to move on and, you know, it's inspiring, people of my colour walking past that statue and knowing that change is happening and it will continue to happen. when crowds pulled down colston‘s statue and threw it into the city's docks, it prompted an international debate about the slave trade and the way we memorialise those involved. the artist behind the new work told me he was relieved to have erected the replacement in the dead of night. some people in bristol were angry in the way the colston statue came down, some might be angry at the way this one has gone up — without permission, cranes coming in in the middle of the night. what do you say to them? i think sometimes you have tojust do something, because otherwise nothing ever gets done. and ifelt like if i had done it officially it would have taken five years to get here, the conversation would have moved on. this is a temporary installation, it is not saying this is what should be on the plinth forever, it is saying this conversation is in the public realm and i want this sculpture to be part of the conversation. the mayor of bristol had already said he wants the people to decide what should happen in the future to this plinth. what happened today will only intensify that debate. jon kay, bbc news, bristol. time for a look at the weather. susan powell good afternoon. all a bit gloomy at the moment with a lot of
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