Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak launches Eat Out to Help Out scheme

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Britons, Your Country Needs You to Eat Out. Attempting to revitalise the struggling hospitality sector after the coronavirus lockdown, the government today launches its Eat Out to Help Out scheme – giving all a £10-a-head discount in restaurants. More than 70,000 outlets have signed up to scheme which will run every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in August. As well as the major chains (think McDonalds, Nandos, Starbucks), Michelin-starred restaurants are also participating. Quite a different message from No 10 telling the public to lose weight last week. Bon Appetit.

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

The House of Commons Justice Committee takes on the thankless task of trying to drum up sympathy for lawyers, after a survey revealed as many as 60 per cent of High Street solicitors risk closure due to work drying up during the coronavirus lockdown. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Holyrood’s transport secretary Michael Matheson kicks off a £50 bike repair scheme designed to help take pressure off public transport as lockdown eases and people go back to work.

Daily Briefing

LOCKDOWN 2.0 : In Greater Manchester, a major incident was declared last night over rising cases of the coronavirus – three days after the PM rolled back some of the social freedoms in the region. According to the latest data, the area makes up seven of the top 20 worst affected local authority areas for Covid-19 infections in England. Acutely aware of the possibility of a second spike in infections across the country, and keen to avoid the “nuclear deterrent” of a nationwide lockdown, reports suggested over the weekend Boris Johnson and his senior allies allies war-gamed possible scenarios of coronavirus transmission on the rise in the UK. Options to reduce the threat of the virus include over 50s shielding and travel restrictions in and out of London. No 10 said the reports were “speculative” (typically Westminster code for true).

TESTING, TESTING: Two tests that can diagnose both Covid-19 and the flu within just 90 minutes are set to be introduced in hospitals and care homes in the coming months. The Department of Health, which has ordered over a half a million of the tests, said the swab and DNA tests will help deal with the virus in winter, enabling those working on the test and trace systems to differentiate between the coronavirus and seasonal illnesses. “The fact that these test can detect flu as well as Covid-19 will be hugely beneficial as we head into the winter, so patients can follow the right advice to protect themselves and others,” Matt Hancock said. But the health secretary was also facing a backlash last night after it emerged ministers had dropped the target of delivering regular virus tests for care homes. A leaked memo suggested the originally promised timetables for rolling out regular tests had been abandoned.

MP ARRESTED: With parliament closed for the summer recess, Conservatives will hope to be able to ride out pressure from opposition MPs for the suspension of an ex-minister under police investigation for rape allegations. Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips said it was “shocking” that the Tory whip had not been withdrawn from the former minister, a man in his 50s who has not been identified. Over the weekend, reports said the unnamed MP was arrested and questions on Saturday after a woman in her twenties went to police with complaints of rape, sexual assault and coercive control. He was later released on bail to a date in mid-August pending further inquiries. Speaking to The Times, the alleged victim said she was “devastated” the MP had not been suspended from the party, adding: “It’s insulting and shows they never cared.”

LABOUR LAND: Len McCluskey, the leader of Unite union and formerly one of Jeremy Corbyn’s top allies, has warned Sir Keir Starmer not to “take for granted” continued funding from the party’s biggest donor in a not at all veiled threat. The general secretary said the new leader’s “extraordinary” decision to reach a financial settlement with former party workers who became whistleblowers over allegations of antisemitism in Labour’s ranks was a “huge miscalculation”. To the delight of the party’s new leadership, McCluskey also played down suggestions he might scale back his political interventions ahead of his retirement in 2022. “The fact is that Keir Starmer ran on a radical programme, some might say a Corbyn programme, and of course I keep this to hand,” he said.

WRONG!: Not content with wanting to delay the 2020 American election, Donald Trump has clashed once again with his leading infectious disease expert on social media. The US president retweeted a video in which Dr Anthony Fauci explained while the states had continued to see a surge in cases, European countries overall had seen a sharp decrease. Evidently upset at the comparison, Mr Trump posted: “Wrong! We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases. How did Italy, France & Spain do? Now Europe sadly has flare ups.” Imagine similar confrontations between professor Chris Whitty and Boris Johnson at the podium in No 10? Meanwhile, speculation over the weekend pointed to Senator Kamala Harris being announced as Joe Biden’s Democratic running mate for the election in just 92 days.

On the record

“While pending a police investigation for a sexual crime, I think it is only right that the whip is withdrawn”.

Shadow minister Jess Phillips after a Conservative MP was arrested following an accusation of rape.

From the Twitterati

“We all have to die sooner or later. If I get Covid and cop it, so be it. My time has come. I’ll have had a good life, better than most in this world at any rate. I certainly don’t expect the entire nation to bankrupt itself to save my sorry a**.”

... from Sarah Vine, columnist and wife of Conservative cabinet minister Michael Gove

“We all have to read Sarah Vine’s tweets sooner or later. My time has come. I’ve had a good life, better than most in this world at any rate. I certainly don’t expect Twitter to censor itself to save my sorry a**.”

... reacts chief features writer at the Financial Times, Henry Mance

Essential reading

• Andrew Grice, The Independent: Boris Johnson is running out of time to get his coronavirus message right – and things will only get harder

• Rabina Khan, The Independent: BAME communities are not responsible for spreading coronavirus

• Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer: Why Boris Johnson is suddenly spooked by the spectre of a second spike

• David Spiegelhalter, The Guardian: Why has the UK done so badly on Covid-19? There are still no simple answers