Thank you for joining us on a sometimes contradictory day, that began with allegations of "lockdown by stealth" and ended with a joint statement from health directors refuting the idea.

We will be back tomorrow with updates as MPs question the prime minister's former chief adviser - Dominic Cummings - over the government's handling of the pandemic.

Mr Cummings has claimed that the government's original plan was to let the coronavirus spread through the population - achieving so-called "herd immunity".

But the UK Health Security Agency chief says allowing people to become infected "has never been on the agenda".

We will bring you live updates when the health and science select committee meet at 9:30 BST., external

For now, goodbye from Doug Faulkner, Dulcie Lee, Jennifer Meierhans, Julian Joyce and Robert Corp.

New guidance row could have been avoided by better communicationpublished at 17:22 British Summer Time 25 May 2021

17:22 BST 25 May 2021

Katharine Da Costa
BBC News

It seems that the row over whether or not coronavirus guidance has changed in eight council areas with high cases of the Indian variant all comes down to a big breakdown in communication.

There has been a meeting with the eight councils and government officials where they were given some reassurance, and they have since released a joint statement to confirm there are no local lockdowns.

It is worth saying that the government had previously said these were guidelines only - not restrictions in law - and that people needed to remain cautious to act responsibly and to use common sense.

Today we heard the vaccine minister in the Commons saying it's about using common sense and being responsible. It's not always going to be a case of following rules set by government.

It may have erupted out of a difference in language, referring to restrictions or guidance, and they could have avoided a lot of this by better communication in the first place.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tells the BBC the confusion over the advice is a "fiasco".

"It has been an utterly chaotic day," he says.

He says the government should withdraw the guidance because it has caused distress.

"The guidance says people shouldn't travel unless it's essential. Well it is half-term next week - should families who have perhaps booked a few days away be expected to cancel their holidays now?" he asks.

The Labour MP says he is pleased the guidance isn't being enforced but says it could have been handled better.

He says the way to deal with hot spot areas is to fix issues like sick pay, invest in contact tracing and rolling out the vaccination.

Image source, FAMILY HANDOUT

Three families whose loved ones died after contracting Covid-19 in hospital say mistakes were made by NHS trusts.

It follows a BBC investigation which found that one third of patients who died with Covid-19 at one hospital are likely to have contracted it on the wards.

David Laws, David Smith and Debbie Burford all died of coronavirus.

Carol Bursey, Mr Laws' wife, says staff "let him down massively", despite the "extreme conditions" they were in.

Retired crime prevention officer David Smith was taken to Eastbourne District General in November after a heart attack. He died of Covid-19 on Christmas day.

His wife Christine Smith said the family were all "shattered, devastated".

Debbie Burford died from Covid related pneumonia in January.

Her sister-in-law Oona Vatcher says the hospital failed to adequately isolate Covid positive patients and "mistakes were definitely made".

You can read the full story here.

Image source, Nick Stokes

A bereaved husband whose wife died from secondary breast cancer is calling for the swift return of in-person GP appointments.

Joy Stokes, 69, from Wiltshire, died in April after delays in a physical examination, that her husband Nick said might have fast-tracked her case.

She had previously survived primary breast cancer in her mid 50s.

Mr Stokes, who lives in a village near Devizes, said he believed if his wife had been physically examined earlier, she might have survived for longer.

"Put your foot down if necessary, go and stand outside the surgery until you're seen by a doctor," he said.

Continue reading here.

The directors of public health of the eight areas where additional caution was advised on a government website have issued a joint statement.

They say: "Following the national coverage of recently revised guidance we have met with national officials and confirmed there are no restrictions on travel in or out of each of our areas: there are no local lockdowns.

"In areas where the new Covid variant is spreading we are all working together to boost testing and vaccination and to support self-isolation.

"There are sensible public health precautions people can take as individuals in line with the sorts of advice we have all been following throughout the pandemic.

"We will keep sharing that and working with national officials to make sure people understand what they need to think about as they go about their daily lives."

The areas are Burnley, Bedford, Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside.

Analysis: Cummings testimony will be political box officepublished at 16:38 British Summer Time 25 May 2021

16:38 BST 25 May 2021

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

Image source, Reuters

In the political universe, Dominic Cummings' testimony will be the ultimate box office moment.

By posting tweet, after tweet, after tweet, after tweet in recent days, the former adviser has already sketched out the script - the dramatic revenge of the anti-hero, the witness to the worst moments of the country's most serious crisis in decades, revealing in all its gory detail, what he sees as the truth.

There is no doubt that the former adviser plans to use his appearance at the Health and Science select committees on Wednesday, external to criticise many elements of the government's handling of the pandemic, and Boris Johnson's own attitude as loudly and publicly as he can.

In classic Cummings style, he has already provoked headlines, stoking anticipation of his moment in front of the committee.

But his objectives are likely to be questioned too.

Mr Cummings is not a neutral observer of what happened, nor was he just a bystander. When vital decisions were taken in Downing Street, he was one of those making them.

In tracking the history of this pandemic, his version of events is relevant, but he cannot separate himself from entirely from what went wrong.

Read more from Laura here.

A total of 61,420,928 Covid-19 vaccinations have been given in the UK, according to the government's daily figures., external

That's 38,192,417 first doses and 23,228,511 second doses.

A further 15 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, the government's daily figures show., external

The total number of people to die within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test in the UK is 127,739.

There were also 2,493 new infections recorded today.

Image source, Jonathan Hughes

Jonathan Hughes lives on the outskirts of Gomersal, in the Kirklees borough of West Yorkshire.

He has plans to spend a couple of days in Edinburgh next week for a short break to see his son. However because of the new guidance his son no longer wants him to travel.

Jonathan has terminal cancer and his oncologist told him a year ago that he probably had two years left to live.

The 58 year-old has shielded most of the last year and says it is "increasingly unlikely" that he will be able to travel in 2022 due to the progression of the disease.

"There is a large point of me that would like to go ‘to hell with what the rules are’ but I’ve spent my life caring what the rules are so it's difficult for me to go all caviller about it and not care about it now," he told the BBC.

"A year ago, my oncologist advised that I plan for ‘quality of life, not quantity’. The government’s lack of clarity means that I’m increasingly unlikely to see much of either.

“For me time is going to run out.”

Public health bosses in some of the eight areas of England that received updated coronavirus guidance are beginning to release statements saying there are no new local restrictions in Indian variant hotspots.

Earlier, Leicester's director of public health said government officials told him there had been "a mistake" and now his counterpart in North Tyneside says she has received assurance "there are no local lockdowns".

Wendy Burke says there was a meeting between the deputy chief medical officer and local officials.

"Following the national coverage of recently revised guidance, we met national officials and confirmed there are no restrictions on travel in or out of North Tyneside."

She says people should continue to take the sensible precautions as they have been doing throughout the pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

Moderna says its Covid vaccine is "highly effective" in adolescents aged 12 to 17.

No cases of Covid-19 were seen in a trial involving 3,732 young volunteers who received two doses of the vaccine, compared with four cases in the control group that had placebo injections.

Moderna says it will soon submit the data to regulators globally to seek approval for use in teens.

The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for use in US adolescents.

Although teenagers rarely get seriously ill with Covid, they can spread the infection. Experts hope vaccinating them against the virus will help stop the pandemic.

Alongside trials in teenagers, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is authorised for use in those aged over 16, is also being tested in children under 12, with the aim of involving babies from just six months old.

Moderna's vaccine is currently authorised for people aged 18 and older.

Read more: Should all children get a vaccine?

Leicester’s Director of Public Health says government officials have confirmed that new advice published on its website around social distancing and travel was "a mistake".

Professor Ivan Browne says people should continue to follow existing national guidelines as before.

He says in a statement:, external “We had an urgent meeting with government reps and other affected local authorities today...these officials confirmed there are no restrictions on travel in or out of each of our areas and it was a mistake to suggest there was.

“There are no local lockdowns and there is no justification for Leicester to be treated differently to the rest of the country," he says.

He says he was not contacted by anyone from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or Public Health England about the advice, "to explain the rationale behind it or give any other information".

The second person in the world to get the Pfizer-BioNTech jab has died.

Bill Shakespeare, 81, received his first Covid vaccine in December at University Hospital Coventry shortly after 91-year-old Margaret Keenan.

Coventry councillor Jayne Innes, a friend of Mr Shakespeare, says he died on Thursday and the "best tribute to Bill is to have the jab".

She wrote in a post on Facebook: "Bill will be remembered for many things, including a taste for mischief."

Mr Shakespeare had worked at Rolls Royce and was a parish councillor in Allesley for more than three decades.

West Midlands Labour group said on Twitter: "Bill made global headlines as [the first] man to have [the] Covid vaccine.

"His decades of service to the party were recently recognised by Keir Starmer." You can read more tributes here.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has called on ministers to clarify the coronavirus guidance in areas where there is concern over the Indian variant.

Andy Burnham told a virtual press conference: "Let's not repeat the mistakes of last year, let's have this cleared up immediately, ahead of the bank holiday weekend, so everybody knows where they stand."

He says Bolton residents should be allowed to use "their good judgement".

Asked during the press conference if residents should cancel holidays, the Conservative leader of Bolton Council, David Greenhalgh, says they should "just behave sensibly".

He says: "As long as they follow the guidance I don't believe residents in Bolton should be cancelling holidays."

Image source, Manxscenes.com

Isle of Man's chief minister has apologised for "missed opportunities" to prevent the Isle of Man's third Covid-19 outbreak, in which four people died.

Howard Quayle told the House of Keys that mistakes were made "on both sides" after a report highlighted failures in communication between the government and a ferry operator.

The outbreak, which was linked to Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IOMSPC) worker, reached a peak of 881 active cases in late March.

The number of deaths registered in the UK in the week ending 14 May 2021 was 11,556, which was 5% below the five-year average, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Some 164 involved Covid-19, 25 more than the previous week and the lowest since last September.

In the week of 18 September last year, 170 deaths involving coronavirus were registered.

However, the ONS warned the figures "should be interpreted with caution" as registry offices were closed over the early May bank holiday last week.

The Greater Manchester mayor calls for a government minister to "clear it up" so everyone knows where they stand today.

Andy Burnham says there will be a concern out there that "this will be a local lockdown by stealth" or a return to the tier system.

"We do not wish to see any return to local lockdowns, we do not believe they worked," he says, adding that he believes the context in 2021 is different to 2020.

Andy Burnham says it appears that guidance was reissued on Friday and has been amended to put more emphasis around travel - "hence the confusion".

He says that nobody was told about it and says it was the Manchester Evening News which first brought it to everyone's attention.

"This would appear to be a in my view a fairly major communications error of the kind that we saw a lot of last year but we haven't seen recently," he says.

"But it does have a major effect on people's lives."

David Greenhalgh, Conservative leader of Bolton Council in Greater Manchester, says the town is not being subject to any additional restrictions and there is no local lockdown.

"This is a very a challenging time for Bolton and we will continue to do everything we can to address these rates," he says.

Greenhalgh says there has been a degree of confusion but after speaking to senior officials and the government "there are no added restrictions coming to Bolton, there is no local lockdown".

He says this is a "considerable relief" as he and colleagues have argued that local lockdowns do not work and Bolton has already had "disproportionately unfair experience" of them.