Huge queues as some shops re open for the first time in nearly three months. As the government encourages people to go out and spend sensibly non essential stores and shoppers in england prepare for a new way of doing business. I cant wait, first time in ages, apart from the supermarket ive been into. So, im looking forward to it. Love it, love it. I havent been on lockdown because i work for the nhs but its so nice for the shops to finally be open. But theres chaos in some places as social distancing rules are ignored in the rush for a post lockdown bargain. Well be getting the latest from the high street. Also this lunchtime. Whose lives matter . Black lives matter. The Prime Minister says hes setting up a commission to look into racial inequality saying hed been influenced by images of the black
lives matter protests. We have to acknowledge that when thousands of people marched peacefully for black lives matter, you know, you cant ignore that. I, as a leader, as someone in government, i cant ignore the strength their feeling. Wearing a Face Covering is now compulsory for anyone travelling on Public Transport in england with a £100 fine if you dont we relied on them and so do others. Marcus rashford calls for a government u turn on its decision not to provide Free School Meal vouchers during the summer holidays. You know, what families are going through now i once had to go through that same system and its very difficult to find a way out. And coming up on bbc news. Aston villa boss, dean smith, says the premier league will unite in support of the black lives Matter Movement as clubs prepare for matches to restart on wednesday. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. Well if the queues are anything to go by theres a lot of pent up demand for high street shopping out there, as thousands of nonessential shops across england reopened their doors to customers for the first time in almost three months. Not all shops appear to have sorted out their queuing systems there was chaos at one this morning, but customers are being encouraged to go out and spend as the government begins to reopen the economy. In Northern Ireland, nonessential shops reopened on friday, but there is still no date for wales and scotland. Our Business Correspondent sarah corker reports. The sarah corker reports. Shoppers are back. The queu sports the shoppers are back. The queue for Sports Direct in Bishop Auckland stretched all the way across the market square. How do you feel about being able to shop again .
market square. How do you feel about being able to shop again . I have got my mass, so i cannot wait. First time in ages apart from the supermarket i have been into. Looking forward to it. Have you missed coming down to the high street . Not really, no. It has saved mea street . Not really, no. It has saved me a lot of money. Love it, love it. I havent been on lockdown because i work for the nhs but its so nice for the shops to be finally open. After 12 long weeks in enforced hibernation, thousands of high streets across england are coming back to life. How does it feel having the open again . It is amazing. It absolutely amazing. Todayis amazing. It absolutely amazing. Today is a bit of a trial run, we dont know what is going to happen. Really excited, but nervous at the same time. Small, independent retailers believe lockdown has encouraged more people to shop locally, a trend they hope continues. I think wejust locally, a trend they hope continues. I think we just need to
keep encouraging our customers, let them know it is safe to come into shops again, making sure we have our Safety Measures in place so customers and the staff are confident when they come into the shop. The Shopping Experience may feel a bit strange. Some stores will have a one income of one out policy. There is hand sanitiser at the door, one way systems and customers are else to browse with their eyes only. Keep touching to a minimum and expect to see lots of plastic screens, expect to see lots of plastic screens, people are asked to shop alone and pay by contactless. And the restrictions have not put people off. Thousands waited for primark to openin off. Thousands waited for primark to open in bradford, birmingham, liverpool and this is bristol. It doesnt trade online and there is pent up demand. In londons Oxford Street there was a scrum to get into nike town, the crowd ignoring social distancing rules. In ashford in
kent, a steady stream of customers but clothes shopping will be different. Some of the clothes you try on, they are then quarantined and some of the fitting rooms are closed. But some retailers worn it just wont be profitable to trade with social distancing measures in place. The government say this is a phased path to recovery. It will allow the economy to open. The two metre rule is there today, there is a comprehensive review but it is a lwa ys a comprehensive review but it is always going to be based on advice. Elsewhere in the uk, nonessential shops opened in Northern Ireland last week. There is still no date for wales and scotland. The high street was already struggling before the virus struck and the big unknown is after this initial rush, will customers return in the numbers needed to help the high street bounce back . Sarah caulker, bbc news in county
durham. Our Business Correspondent, ben thompson, is at ashford Designer Outlet in kent. There is a lot of demand . Yes, simon. Welcome to ashford in kent and you can see some of the cues that have been forming since it opened at ten oclock this morning, stretching right the way back down there to get into some of these stores. Dont be fooled, it might be busier than it is. Take a look, the queue outside and they are limiting how many can get in there. Half of the car park is still closed and limiting the amount of people who can shop so they can abide by their social distancing rules as much as possible. An important day in england, the british retail
consortium estimates it has cost £1. 8 billion a week for nonessential retailers to stay close. The question is, do people feel confident coming back here . A study suggested 43 of us feel confident to get back out and shop again. But retailers are worried about the impact it could have on them. We have missed you, they say and the doors are open. They want to get the message out that it is safe, with certain rules in place, hand sanitiser and social distancing and you might not be able to try on many of the clothes you want to buy. Shopping will look and feel different but an important day to get the economy back up and running. Thank you very much. I cant ignore the strength of peoples feeling the words of the Prime Minister after more than two weeks of anti racism protests. In response hes setting up a commission to be lead by the equalities minister, kemi badenoch, which will examine all aspects of inequality in the uk,
but warned against attempts to re write the past. Critics say that recent events mean now is time for action, not another review. Our Political Correspondent chris mason reports. Trafalgar square in Central London this weekend. One of many demonstrations around the country that have now forced a response from the government. When thousands of people marched peacefully for black lives matter, you know, you cannot ignore that. I, as a leader, as someone in government, i cannot ignore the strength of feeling. We have to look at discrimination in the education system, in health, in the education system, in health, in the criminal justice the education system, in health, in the criminaljustice system. We have to look at all ways in which it affects black and ethnic minority groups. Parliament square today and the statue of Winston Churchill entombed in its protective sheath, as the Prime Minister put it. Something he described as miserable
in an article in the daily telegraph. The statue was protected just after it was defaced over a week ago. Boris johnson just after it was defaced over a week ago. Borisjohnson said the attempt to photoshop the entire Cultural Landscape or something he found dubious. Beyond the row about statues, there is another row about this government inequalities commission. Some say the Prime Ministers choice of language is unhelpful. Others point to lots of studies that have looked at similar issues where the recommendations have not yet been acted upon. And some wonderjust how much thought the Prime Minister has given this. If he was serious, why are there no details about how it will be staffed, its remit, terms of reference, its timetable. That is the question. It is because it was written on the back of a fag packet yesterday to assuage the black lives matter process. Get on with the action, legislate and move, you are in government, do something. Others
point to the long standing concern that black and ethnic minority people are much more vulnerable to the coronavirus of the government report about it, that, they say, lacked crucial detail. Two weeks ago publish the review and there wasnt a single recommendation or plan of action. Two weeks later, here we have the government saying that they are going to confront racism and address racial inequalities in society, when we dont have any recommendations on how they are even going to save the lives of black and ethnic minority people. Society and government continue to grapple with huge questions about the pandemic and about race. Chris mason, bbc news. A man has beenjailed for 14 days in prison, for urinating next to the Pc Keith Palmer memorial outside parliament. 28 year old andrew banks was photographed during saturdays far right protest in london. He pleaded guilty to outraging public decency during a hearing at westminster magistrates court. Wearing a Face Covering is now compulsory for anyone travelling on Public Transport in england those failing to wear one could be fined up to £100. The new regulations dont apply in wales, scotland and Northern Ireland where officials are only recommending people wear them. Danny savage is at york station. Simon, this is quite strange. I have been reporting on the coronavirus outbreak since we had the first two confirmed cases here in york at the end of january. But confirmed cases here in york at the end ofjanuary. But for the confirmed cases here in york at the end of january. But for the first time in five months this is the only time in five months this is the only timei time in five months this is the only time i have had to publicly wear a face mask. That is because they are asking people to wear them in the station concourse as well as on the trains. When the trains come in, it is obvious that three out of four seats are cordoned off, nobody can sit in them. They are very much restricted incapacity and there arent many passengers at the moment
but we have been talking to them and the staff about how they are coping with these new regulations. For anybody using Public Transport in england, this is now the compulsory look. Passengers at york station have got the message. Here, you are encouraged to wear a mask anywhere inside the station, not just on services. Feelings about the rule are mixed. Its very odd. I dont know how busy they are going to be today, but when ive been catching trains before, ive been on my own on the train, so it is not felt particularly necessary to wear a mask. Although i do understand why we need to wear them. Its really strange, because ive never done it before, but yeah, actually its normality with the current situation, so yeah. The protection actually offered is very little. Im wearing the same facemask throughout the day, obviously theres less protection, but i thinks it gives a reassurance to a lot of people. But one traveller said not
all her fellow passengers were abiding by the new rule. And i said to him, excuse me, but you should have a mask on, and he just laughed. I said, i dont think its funny. You need to be wearing your mask. So i told one of the police officers. I said, that guy has come further than me. I came on at leeds, and hes had no mask on. This issue once again highlights the disparities in rules across the uk. This train is heading up to edinburgh. Anybody on it at the moment has to wear a Face Covering. Its mandatory. But as soon as it gets north of the border, above berwick, its only advisory, so you could take your mask off. At manchester piccadilly station this morning, the hush of the rush hour was still noticeable. But the feeling was that people are going along with it. The safety of our staff is absolutely paramount, so wed never want our staff to be in any situation where they are putting themselves at risk. Really, we are trying to work with passengers to encourage and explain the reasons for wearing the masks, and so far, weve seen a really good response, really good uptake. In london, transport police
were handing out some masks to people who didnt have them. Much more cleaning is also taking place in between trips. And its notjust trains and tubes bus passengers in england must wear Face Coverings, also might. Weve got to get used to this. These regulations will be reviewed periodically, but for the time being, this is something we will just have to get used to. Simon. Danny, thank you very much. Some secondary pupils in england facing exams next year have returned to school today forface to face time with their teachers. Government guidelines only permit a quarter of the chosen year groups 10 and i2 to be on site at a time. Danjohnson has been to a school in South East London to see how they are learning to cope. Taking the register means taking temperatures, too. But this is only a quarter of two year groups, the pupils who face exams next year. I havent been here for about three months. Its just weird to be back. Im glad to be back because i get to see my mates now, so its cool, i dont mind it. It has been hard trying to learn at home. It is better being back, so you can see everyone again. All the teachers. It feels very different. And the screening at the school gates is something that is new for lots of us but hopefully this will reassure everyone that we can come back safely. Welcome to a first ever when it comes to assemblies. A Virtual Assembly is a natural extension of online learning. We are also joining hundreds of students at home, who will be watching this via our daily stream. And we are going to start by looking at some of our. Here the timetable is unchanged butjust a handful of each class will be in each day, with the restjoining from home. There are calls for more laptops and better broadband connections to make sure everyone benefits. My only concern is that there will be uniform provision across the country in terms of safety, the schools that are difficult,
the ones in the category, they may be in special measures or require improvement, that they are operating at the same level in terms of safety and quality of provision. Here they worry about the small percentage havent been logging in, getting left behind. There has been some engagement from those harder to reach students but the next steps in terms of students returning to school, for me, as the principle of this academy, that 8 are the priority students that ought to be returning to school next. So these classrooms could be busy over summer, help catch up. More space and older children makes bringing in a more secondary year groups easier than filling primary schools again. Where to put everyone in who will teach them are still big questions. Then there are exams, next moves, futures, thats up in the air. I would rather, i want to be here for longer, i want to do more
days here but it is only once a week. We have been set work online so we shouldnt be behind, if you do the work online. Have you been doing it . Most of it, yeah danjohnson, bbc news, bexleyheath. Micheal martin is set to become irelands next Prime Minister as a deal was struck to form a new coalition government. Under the deal the role of Prime Minister will be rotated between mr martin and the current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who will take over in 2022. Sinn fein will lead the opposition in dublin for the first time. Our ireland correspondent chris page is in belfast this follows elections in february, but then of course we had the pandemic. Yes, thats right, a significant moment, this, for the republic of ireland. Lee over radtke has been leading the country through the covid i9 pandemic. In that
election in february, his party came in in third place. Him and the leader of two parties have been involved in negotiations for the last number of weeks to put together a coalition government. In the last hour or a coalition government. In the last hourorso, a coalition government. In the last hour or so, those negotiations have concluded with a Draft Programme for government. Under the terms of that deal, as you say, micheal will be Micheal Martin will become taoiseach. It is not all signed and sealed yet and it will have to go to the parties wider memberships. If it goes through, sinn fein will lead the government in dublin for the first time. The time isi 20. Our top story this lunchtime. Long queues as non essential shops re open in england as the government encourages people to go out and spend. And still to come the heroic story of dunkirk is well known we look at another group of little ships which sailed to rescue allied troops in normandy two weeks later. Coming up on bbc news lucky to be alive britains top female skateboarder, ii year old sky brown, tells us how she survived a is foot fall. Officials in china are placing restrictions on peoples movements inside beijing after a cluster of coronavirus cases linked to a large wholesale food market. Its sparked fears of a second wave, with the ci