Coronavirus news – live: Boris Johnson accused of ‘shamelessly avoiding responsibility’ after sacking official and blaming ‘mutant algorithm’ for exams fiasco
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson has blamed a "mutant algorithm" for this summer's exams chaos in an attempt to dodge responsibility for the downgrading of thousands of students’ grades.
Meanwhile, the guidance on face masks in schools has changed following the latest government U-turn on coronavirus, with secondary school pupils now told to wear masks in parts of England.
Face coverings will be required in communal areas of schools in parts of the country where local lockdowns are in place, while headteachers elsewhere will have the option to ask pupils to wear them.
It came as the government announced that the Department for Education’s top civil servant, Jonathan Slater, would step down next week following the controversy around exam results this month.
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Lincoln Project ad shows 175,000 coffins for coronavirus victims as ‘Trump’s Wall’
The anti-Trump campaign group the Lincoln Project has referred to the rising US coronavirus death toll as “Trump’s wall” in its latest ad.
Over drone footage of a fence in the south-western desert, the video says: “More than 175,000 Americans are dead. Friends and colleagues. Sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers.”
The advert notes that the bodies of these people laid end-to-end would span 2,673 football fields.
Our reporter, Andrew Naughtie, has the full story below:
Drug offences rise as crime falls during lockdown, ONS says
Drug crime rose by up to 44 per cent during the coronavirus lockdown in England and Wales compared with the same period last year, official figures have shown.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said drug offences recorded by police rose by 22 per cent in April to 16,570 and 44 per cent in May to 20,687.
This compared with 13,535 and 14,343 for the respective months in 2019.
The ONS report, published on Wednesday, put this down to “proactive police activity in pursuing these crimes during lockdown”.
It said the rises were driven largely by drug possession offences with “early indications” suggesting this was “particularly evident in London”, where the Metropolitan Police had increased the number of drug-related stop and searches it was carrying out during that time.
Overall police-recorded crime during lockdown was 25 per cent lower in April and 20 per cent lower in May compared with the same period in 2019.
It also fell 5 per cent in March compared with February, the report said.
“There was a significant fall in crime at the height of the coronavirus pandemic across England and Wales,” Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said.
“This was driven by reductions in theft offences, particularly domestic burglary and theft of personal property.
“As this period coincided with the majority of people spending long periods at home during lockdown, it is not unexpected.”
Our Whitehall editor, Kate Devlin, has produced a guide below to the government’s U-turns during the coronavirus pandemic so far:
Education Committee chairman calls for explanation on masks U-turn
The chairman of the Commons Education Select Committee has called on England’s chief medical officer to explain the reasoning for the change in the government’s face masks policy in schools.
Robert Halfon, a Tory MP, told the PA news agency that parents and pupils needed to be reassured after the U-turn.
“I think the chief medical officer, just as he did last Sunday about the risk of school return, or low risks, should put out a letter about the mask policy,” Mr Halfon said.
“What exactly it is and why it is and the science behind it, but in a way that ordinary folk can understand it.”
He added: “We just have to concentrate on getting our kids learning again. Whatever has gone on the priority must be to get our kids learning and deal with issues of attainment.
“The department and schools need to get data on how much the left-behind pupils during the coronavirus need to catch up and what the effect of the loss of learning has been.”
School leaders’ union recommends all secondary schools bring in masks
The school leaders’ union NAHT has recommended all secondary schools ask pupils and staff to wear face coverings in corridors and communal areas unless there is a “compelling” reason not to.
“Once again, many school leaders will feel as though the government has passed the buck and handed the difficult decision over to them,” Paul Whiteman, the NAHT’s general-secretary, said in a message to members.
“We will continue to lobby the government to take a clear and unambiguous line on this.”
He added: “In the meantime, NAHT's advice is that it would be prudent for secondary schools to ask pupils and staff to wear face coverings in corridor and communal spaces unless there is a compelling reason not to.
“Erring on the side of caution would seem a sensible approach to take given the information coming out of the WHO (World Health Organisation).”
Tourist kicked off boat in Venice after refusing to wear mask
A tourist in Venice was kicked off a boat by fellow passengers after he refused to wear a face mask on board.
The man, believed to be German, was forcibly removed from the public waterbus when he declined to put on his mask and mocked crew and passengers who asked him to respect the rules.
When he tried to reboard the boat, fellow passengers repeatedly blocked his way.
Video of the altercation shows one visibly angry man, enraged by the tourist, being restrained by others onboard. Helen Coffey reports:
Restrictions eased in parts of north
Wigan, Rossendale and parts of Blackburn with Darwen have become the first areas released from the so-called northern lockdown on Wednesday morning.
People living there are now able to visit friends and family at home for the first time since 31 July, and visit bowling alleys, soft play centres and casinos. Colin Drury reports:
Japan keeps mask-wearing cool in summer
From masks with ice packs to cooling sprays, products designed to make wearing a face covering more bearable in sweltering summer heat have become a hit in Japan.
Medical experts have warned rising temperatures mean more potential for heat illnesses, particularly when wearing a face covering, as this summer shapes up to be one of the hottest on record.
Japanese firms have launched items aimed at keeping mask wearers cooler, with sports brand Descente introducing a face covering that comes with cooling packs. More than 1,000 have been sold so far, the firm says.
A spray for face masks that can create a cooling effect that lasts about 15 minutes also has nearly sold out since its launch last month, said its maker Big Bio.
Reporting by the Thomson Reuters Foundation
PM thanks school pupils for 'sacrifice'
Boris Johnson thanked pupils for their efforts to limit the spread of the virus.
"We have the number of deaths way down, we have the number of hospital admissions way, way down and it's thanks to you and your sacrifice that we have protected the NHS and saved literally tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives," he said during a visit to a school in the East Midlands.
"No previous generation of pupils has ever done anything like this."
Now, he said, "the risk to your health is not from Covid because, after all, statistically speaking, your chances of suffering from that disease are very, very low".
"The greatest risk you face now is of continuing to be out of school."
The prime minister said pupils returning to school would "experience things with an intensity and clarity ... that is seldom repeated in your lives".
Mr Johnson told pupils at Castle Rock school in Coalville they would be dealing with concepts such as nuclear fusion or "is Harry Potter sexist - answer no, by the way" and "is it politically acceptable to sing Rule Britannia - yes".
"When you are struggling with complex questions, or something which you are worried about, somebody - very probably a teacher, a brilliant teacher - will say something and a light will go on, the clouds will lift and you will never, ever forget that moment."
One in 30 people reports lockdown breach to police
One in 30 people has reported lockdown breaches to police in England and Wales during the pandemic.
A survey by the Office for National Statistics found that just over half of the public had noticed people violating restrictions in their area. But of those, only 7 per cent reported the breach to the police.
When asked why they did not report the incident, a third of people said they thought it was “too trivial”. Lizzie Dearden reports:
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