House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Sir Keir Starmer says there has been criticism of the statistics used by the government and it's fallen "well short of expectations" - referring to a letter from the chairman of the UK statistics authority.

He asks - can the PM see how damaging this is to public trust and confidence?

The PM says he "really does not see" the purposed of these "endless attacks" on public confidence.

Test and trace "is a vital tool in our armoury", he says.

We did by the end of May get testing up to 100,000, he says, and 200,000 by the end of this month.

"That was an astonishing achievement," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Sir Keir then asks about the "promise" the PM made about having a "world beating" test, track and trace operation to be in place by 1 June.

But he says "a critical element is missing", with local councils telling him it is weeks away from being gully up and running.

"Why did the prime minister make this promise?"

Boris Johnson accuses the Labour leader of "casting aspersions on the efforts of tens of thousands of people who set it up from a standing start".

He says the system is up and running, and "thousands of people are now following our guidance".

House of Commons
Parliament

Sir Keir says he wrote to the PM in confidence to ask if he can help with the consensus for getting children back to school, but he did not get a reply.

"This is a critical week in our response to Covid-19," Sir Keir says.

He says this is a week where public trust needed to be at its highest, with easing of restrictions.

But, he says there has been a drop in trust in the government. Is the PM worried?

The prime minister says he is surprised Sir Keir "should take that tone", he says he replied to him by phone and briefed the Labour leader on the government's steps.

"I think that he's on firmer ground when he stands with the overwhelming majority of the British people who understand the very, very difficult circumstances that we are in.

He says people should observe the basic rules on social distancing and washing their hands.

"I think everybody understands that," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Before asking his first question to the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer says he wants "expressing shock and anger at the death of George Floyd".

He also says he is "surprised the PM hasn't said anything about it yet" and calls on him to tell Donald Trump about "the UK's abhorrence to his response".

The Labour leader then asks Boris Johnson about an article saying the PM is taking "direct control" of tackling the virus, saying: "Who has been in direct control up until now?"

Johnson says what has happened in the US is "appalling and inexcusable".

In answer to the question he adds: "I take full responsibility for everything this government has been doing and I am very proud of our record."

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The prime minister is first asked about the Public Health England report on Black and ethnic minorities that they are more at risk from coronavirus.

The prime minister says the government is taking the findings "very seriously".

"Obviously there are inequalities in the way the virus impacts different people", he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Boris Johnson has taken to the dispatch box as Prime Minister's Questions gets underway...

Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer was snapped leaving home earlier too.

Image source, Getty Images

The prime minister has just left Downing Street for the Commons.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Another hot topic in Westminster today is the government's plan to introduce a 14-day quarantine for any travellers coming to the UK.

Home Secretary Priti Patel is due to make a statement to the Commons this afternoon to outline the plans.

And she joined Transport Secretary Grants Shapps in writing an article for the Telegraph today, external, saying "we owe it to the thousands who have died” to introduce these measures.

But a growing list of Conservative MPs have spoken out against the blanket travel quarantine.

And Labour has been asking why such a move wasn't made some weeks ago.

You can read more about the plans here.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Sir Keir Starmer has adopted a fairly clinical, restrained, analytical approach so far, and a lot of Labour MPs believe it has paid dividends - forcing Boris Johnson to concentrate on detail where he's not so comfortable.

What we get today though is a significant raising in the stakes.

The Labour leader is now, in effect, saying that Boris Johnson will be personally culpable if there is a rise in infections, if virus spreads or if there is an increase in deaths because of his handling of the easing of the lockdown - which he frankly thinks has been mishandled.

Sir Keir says the PM has rushed the test and trace scheme out, has ended shielding too suddenly, there's been conflicting messages, and, of course, there has been the blow to public confidence from the Dominic Cummings saga.

Some in Labour take the view that this should have been Sir Keir’s approach all along - that actually he's been a bit bloodless and let Boris Johnson off the hook.

But the thinking of Team Starmer is that Boris Johnson is one of those politicians who always manages to evade responsibility.

They would argue that has been evident in this crisis by the fact he has been able to hide behind the scientists or been able to express regret for what has happened in care homes while somehow distancing the government from any responsibility.

So, what they want to do is to pin the blame very directly on Boris Johnson for the mistakes they believe will be shown to have been made in the coronavirus outbreak, and which have already led to us having the highest death rate in Europe.

Image source, Reuters

This morning Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "mismanagement" of the easing of virus restrictions risks a second wave of infections

In a Guardian interview, external, he urges the PM to "get a grip" and restore public confidence in ministers' handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

But No 10 says it is proceeding with caution to secure a safe recovery.

Read more here

BBC Politics Live
BBC2's lunchtime political programme

Keeping fit, buying chickens and spending more time with the family are some of the things that MPs have been getting up to, during the coronavirus lockdown.

Politics Live spoke to six MPs about how they have been handling their increased casework from home and what help constituents have been seeking over the past few weeks.

Parliament returned on Tuesday and MPs have been encouraged back as their brief spell of virtual appearances in the Commons came to an end. But not all politicians are keen to make the physical journey back to Westminster.

Image source, UK Parliament

In recent weeks, MPs have been able to pose their questions to the prime minister via Zoom and appear in the Commons chamber on video screens.

But this week, Parliament approved a return to physical appearances over virtual ones.

There is still a limit on 50 MPs in the Commons at any time, and a motion will be brought to the House later to allow some members to join in from home.

Image source, PA Media

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of today’s Prime Minister’s Questions.

Boris Johnson will face Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at the dispatch box in 30 minutes time.

You can follow all the updates here or watch the exchange in the videos above.