New guidance not communicated to everyonepublished at 11:47 British Summer Time 25 May 2021

11:47 BST 25 May 2021

Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent

There's been a breakdown in communication somewhere, where precisely that is we don't know, but the outcome is you've got directors of public health in some of these eight areas not knowing that this advice on the government website had changed.

The director of public health in North Tyneside gave an interview to her local newspaper yesterday and when she was asked 'should people come to North Tyneside?' she replied 'Yes, it's fine'.

And the director of public health in Blackburn tweeted this morning 'I didn't know anything about this' and is asking the government to provide the risk assessment and the reasoning for changing this guidance.

Downing Street was saying this morning this is not "local lockdowns by stealth" firstly they say this is not local lockdowns because this is guidance rather than the law. Nothing has changed, nothing has closed in these places and they still went ahead with step three of the roadmap out of lockdown. And they say it's not stealth because this information is communicated.

It just seems it wasn't communicated to literally everyone.

The government will answer an Urgent Question in the House of Commons at 12:30 BST after a morning of criticism over its handling of changes to Covid guidance.

Advice for people living in eight Covid hotspots in England changed last week, but without any official announcement from the government.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth is tabled to ask the question and Vaccines Minister Nadim Zahawi is expected at the despatch box.

We will, of course, bring you all the latest as and when it happens.

We're getting more comments on the government's handling of updated Covid guidance for people in areas struggling with the so-called Indian variant.

Another local leader says they weren't told about the change in guidance. North Tyneside, North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll says: "Nobody from central government had told us.

"I'm speaking to the minister in half an hour to get to the bottom of it.

"In the meantime, I'm going to leave it to my public health colleagues in North Tyneside Council to comment on the restrictions.

"The last thing we need is more confusion."

Read our full story here.

The MP for the Kirklees area says he knew "nothing at all" about new guidance to prevent the spread of the Indian variant.

Barry Sheerman, who is Labour MP for Huddersfield, told BBC News: "We were totally surprised because it was leaked out over the weekend, it was on the goverment website but many people didn't pick it up.

"It was very clear very early this morning the advice had changed."

Sheerman says he spoke to the chief executive of Kirklees Council Jacqui Gedman who told him "these are not regulations, these are recommendations" but he says he felt the guidance was "all wishy washy".

Dawn Gerber
BBC News

Melissa Julings, 35, from Norwich, said the wearing of masks had left deaf people feeling "isolated" and "lost" throughout the past year.

She's calling for more research into effective clear masks to help deaf people communicate.

The government is due to review face coverings before 21 June.

A government spokesman told the BBC: "Transparent face coverings may be worn by those who communicate through lip-reading or facial expressions.

"However, their effectiveness is not supported by evidence so the government does not recommend their use by the wider public at this time."

BBC Radio 5 Live
Your Call

There's been anger and confusion expressed by people living in the eight areas affected by new government guidance around Covid.

BBC Radio 5 Live's Your Call programme has been hearing from listeners in Bedford, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow or North Tyneside.

Cheryl, from Kirklees - one of the affected areas, has a holiday cottage near Holmfirth and a café in Huddersfield.

She’s now confused about what the guidance means for her businesses.

“Where are we? Do we open? Do I close my holiday cottage? Who is going to want to travel here now?” she asked.

"Last week we got to open [the café] inside, it was scary and felt very strange but it was great as well.

“Now on Friday, this thing pops up on the government website and nobody knows about it.”

Di, who lives in North Tyneside, says she is confused about what she can and can’t do, as someone in one of the affected areas.

“I’m meant to see a friend [who lives in Northumberland] today for lunch, and we arranged to meet in Newcastle,” she says.

“We haven’t seen each other for a year, so I don’t know what to do know, I’m absolutely torn.”

Di, who is retired, said she found out about the changes when she was scrolling through Twitter.

“I don’t know how many people in North Tyneside check the government website regularly.

“It’s the lack of communication that makes me angry,” she says.

Listen to 5 Live on the free BBC Sounds app.

Image source, Getty Images

The government has issued new guidance for people in eight areas, external of England with high numbers of cases of the Indian variant of Covid.

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

The advice says that "wherever possible, you should try to":

• meet friends and family outside rather than inside
• keep 2m (6ft) apart from people you don't live with (unless in a support bubble with them)
• avoid travelling in and out of the affected areas unless it is essential, for example for work (if you cannot work from home) or education

People in these areas should also:

• Take a free lateral flow test twice a week (you must self-isolate if positive)
• Take part in local surge testing
• Work from home if possible
• Get vaccinated when eligible

The government has warned outbreaks of the variant could delay the next stage of lockdown easing in England, currently expected in June.

Here's a reminder of the rules in the rest of the country and the next steps to lifting restrictions.

Image source, PA Media

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is demanding the government provide clarity "fast" over the changes to advice in England's hotspots that are fighting the so-called Indian variant.

He tweeted, external: "Making a major change that will impact so many people without even telling them is utterly shameful.

"The government needs to provide clarity, fast. Local lockdowns are the wrong approach for both public health and local economies.

"The government is time and again failing to learn lessons. We need proper support to self-isolate, decent sick pay, a working test and trace system and the roll out of the vaccine as quickly as possible."

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Government borrowing fell in April compared with the same month last year, as parts of the economy reopened after lockdown measures eased.

Borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - was £31.7bn, official figures show, which was £15.6bn lower than April last year.

However, the figure was the second highest for April since records began.

• Where does the government borrow billions from?

Borrowing has been hitting record levels with billions being spent on measures such as furlough payments.

Continue reading here.

BBC Breakfast

Image source, PA Media

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said she expects the health secretary to explain to Parliament what is happening with the updated guidance on Covid-hit areas.

Updated advice was published by the government on Friday, but health officials and local MPs say they weren't told.

"It's another example of the government doing to us without working with us," the Labour mayor says.

"It's caused a lot of confusion. We were only alerted to it by journalists last night, late last night."

• How many cases are there in my area?

She says councils have worked "absolutely tirelessly" during the pandemic, but if there's an issue "we need government to be working with us, not causing more chaos".

Asked if this she thought this was a step towards a return to the tiered system in England, Ms Brabin says: "If it is, we would like to know. This is part of the problem. We don't know how to respond. We don't know what to advise our citizens."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, PA Media

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey says it was "sensible" to issue additional guidance to local communities with the most cases of the variant first identified in India.

People in areas including Bolton, Leicester, Kirklees and the London borough of Hounslow are being advised not to meet others indoors or travel in or out of the location.

But the government has been accused of failing to communicate the change, after public health leaders said they were not properly told.

Asked about this, she says "the government did set out last week... that extra caution would be needed", referring to a separate announcement on extra surge testing and vaccination.

Questioned as to why the guidance was put on the government website without telling local councils, she says: "The guidance was simply put out at the same time as the risk was identified."

She earlier told Sky News she was "surprised" to hear that MPs in areas felt they weren't properly briefed.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Indian police have visited a Twitter office after the social media giant labelled a tweet criticising the government's handling of the pandemic as "manipulated media".

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, including spokesman Sambit Patra, had reportedly shared screenshots of a document on Twitter that they said was created by the main opposition party Congress to highlight the government's failure in handling the pandemic.

Congress complained to Twitter that the documents were fake - leading Twitter to mark some of the posts - including one by Patra - as "manipulated media".

According to a Reuters report, Delhi police on Monday said they had received a complaint about how Mr Patra's tweet was classified and thus carried out the visit to Twitter.

Delhi police say the visit was part of the investigation in order to serve notice to the company's managing director.

In April, India ordered Twitter to remove tweets critical of its handling of the virus, which it complied with.

You can read more on this story here.

Risk remains - but UK's position is now very differentpublished at 09:35 British Summer Time 25 May 2021

09:35 BST 25 May 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The Indian variant is on its way to becoming dominant in the UK, pushing out the Kent variant that caused the deadly winter surge.

But the implications of that are uncertain. In some areas, such as the north west of England, it is pushing up infection rates as well as replacing the Kent variant.

Elsewhere it just seems to be replacing the Kent variant without having much of an impact on the amount of virus circulating.

Government scientists always warned the easing of restrictions would lead to an increase in cases - and that is now more certain with what seems to be a more infectious variant circulating.

What no one knows at the moment is how large that increase will be and what impact it will have on hospital cases.

The UK is in a very different position than when the Kent variant started taking off.

Infection levels are low - we have one of the lowest rates in Europe - and the vaccination programme is well advanced.

But there is still a risk of a big wave of serious illness. The difficulty scientists face is quantifying that risk, which makes deciding the proportionate response very hard.

Image source, Reuters

The head of Spain’s health emergency centre Fernando Simón has appealed for a lowering of the euphoria surrounding the decision to allow in tourists from 10 non-EU countries including the UK. Spain is on the UK’s amber list, so non-essential travel is discouraged and a 10-day quarantine required. Mr Simón said while he thought the associated risks could be controlled he would rather that the announcement of the reopening was made with “a low voice”. So far international tourist arrivals at the big resorts have been slow since Monday's announcement.

A number of French influencers and YouTubers say they have been approached by a marketing campaign with the aim of publicising false information about the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine. Science YouTuber Léo Grasset says he was astonished to get the request from an agency that said they had a massive budget but wished to remain anonymous.

Meanwhile, a public health official in Lille in northern France has said he’s worried that the exuberance of Lille football supporters celebrating their Ligue 1 championship victory will lead to a spike in cases. Philippe Amouyel, public health professor at Lille hospital, says the dense crowds carry significant risk and those who took part will need testing.

Serbia’s military trade union has objected to the compulsory vaccination of soldiers and threatened legal action against the chief of staff. The interior ministry in Belgrade has also ordered mandatory vaccination for police officers.

Image source, Getty Images

There have been 5,647 cases of the Indian variant detected in total in England, 383 in Scotland, 62 in Wales and 15 in Northern Ireland.

In some areas of England - including in Bolton, Blackburn, and Sefton in North-West England and Bedford, Chelmsford and Canterbury in the South-East - this version of the virus is causing the majority of infections.

Is the Indian variant more infectious?

In London it makes up the lion's share of cases in Croydon, Hounslow and Hillingdon.

A surge in Glasgow - which has left the city unable to lift some lockdown restrictions - may also be driven by the variant.

New guidance has emerged for eight areas hit by the Indian variant - read more here.

We're getting more reaction now after it emerged the government published new guidance for people in Covid hotspots last week without an official announcement.

North Tyneside's director of public health, Wendy Burke, says there was no indication of any additional restrictions when a statement about extra testing was made in Parliament last week.

But, she says: "When the announcement was made there was no indication it would come with any additional restrictions for North Tyneside or the other areas."

The health boss says the guidance later published by the government "has not been accompanied by any communication to the local authority, local residents or businesses".

The Department for Health has been asked for clarification, she says.

Read our full story here.

Image source, UK Parliament

Changing Covid guidance without an official announcement risks causing "confusion and uncertainty", Liberal Democract MP Layla Moran says.

The government published new guidance for areas hit by the so-called Indian variant on Friday, but did not officially announce the change.

Moran, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, says: "This is a major change to policy that will have a huge impact on people's lives. Simply updating the government website without an official announcement is a recipe for confusion and uncertainty.

"Local people and public health leaders in these areas need urgent clarity from the government. Matt Hancock must come before Parliament and make a public statement to explain these new rules.

"It seems crucial lessons have still not been learnt about the importance of clear messaging during a pandemic."

Read more about the updated guidance here.

Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

All eight local authorities in England subject to extra Covid guidance because of the Indian variant were told about it, a Downing Street source insists.

The source strenuously denies this amounts to local "lockdowns by stealth", pointing out that it was advice not law and that all areas had proceeded with step three of the lifting of the lockdown.

However, the director of public health for North Tyneside, Wendy Burke, did not appear to have got the message.

Yesterday she told the local news website Chronicle Live: "It's certainly okay to visit the area and obviously we've got some fantastic things for people to come and see.

"We don't want to turn people away but my message is the same as the one for residents."

Blackburn with Darwen's director of public health Dominic Harrison says areas affected by updated guidance tackling Covid hotspots were not warned about the change.

As we've just heard, new guidance was published on Friday in for eight areas in England, but no official announcement was made.

Mr Harrison tweeted, external that "areas involved were not consulted with, warned of, notified about, or alerted to this guidance".

"I have asked to see the national risk assessment which supports this action - it has not been provided to us yet," he said.

Image source, Reuters

Government advice has emerged urging people not to travel into and out of areas hardest hit by the Indian coronavirus variant unless necessary.

The guidance for Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside was published online, external without an announcement on Friday.

But health bosses say they were not consulted or warned over the changes.

The new guidance says people in the affected areas should try to avoid meeting indoors, keep two metres apart from people who you do not live with (apart from those in a support bubble), including friends and family.

Bolton recorded 451 overall cases per 100,000 people in the week to 20 May, the highest in England.

Read more here.