Daniel Barnes from South Wales Argues asks about comments from Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford who said he had not spoken to the prime minister in three weeks.

Boris Johnson says there has been a "huge amount of collaboration" with leaders in all of the nations of the UK.

"They've been in all the Cobra meetings," he says, adding: "I look forward to talking to Mark as soon as possible."

He also praises those people from Cardiff who volunteered for the medical trials that enabled the dexamethasone to be tested.

"So a big shout out to them," he says.

And there the press conference ends.

Daily Mail journalist Jason Groves reminds the PM of his earlier prediction that the UK could "turn the tide" on the coronavirus crisis within 12 weeks.

That was made 12 weeks ago, as the UK entered lockdown.

Johnson says he thinks the UK has turned the tide.

He says the UK has successfully flattened the peak of cases and "saved many, many tens of thousands of lives at the least".

"Of course, it's a very, very difficult time for this country, but I do think we're coming through it," he adds.

And he says the news about dexamethasone is "the first chink of light" in the bid to defeat the virus.

He adds that he may have been "perhaps a bit dubious about" whether that progress would happen.

Sophia Sleigh from the Evening Standard asks if the scientists on the panel would encourage families to give their consent to enable more research using tissue from post-mortems of coronavirus victims.

She also asks if the government is considering travel corridors with France and Spain.

On the first question, Patrick Vallance says clinical research is "incredibly important" and that does sometimes involve the use of post-mortem tissues.

On the question about travel, the prime minister says "eventually we will be able to travel freely between each other's countries".

Sam Coates of Sky News asks how quickly people in the NHS can expect to get dexamethasone.

He also asks why the drug has been put on the export ban list.

"I'm not aware of that," says the PM, replying to his second question first.

"It sound peculiar to me," he adds, and promises to look in to whether it is on the export ban list and if so why.

On the first question, Patrick Vallance says the chief medical officer will issue guidance to say it should be used for medical practice shortly.

He reiterates that the drug is inexpensive and widely available.

ITV reporter Dan Hewitt also asks about the UK government's decision to fund free meals for school children in England during the summer holidays following Rashford's campaign.

The PM begins by congratulating the England international on his campaign.

He said the scheme had only existed to provide meals during school time, but that he understood many families would be struggling.

The extension of the scheme, Johnson says, "will help the kids of the families that really need it".

Vicki Young of the BBC now asks if the PM has lost touch after having to U-turn on providing free school meals over the summer holidays in England.

Read more about the government’s U-turn on the measure here.

The PM replies: "I talked to [Manchester United forward] Marcus Rashford and congratulated him on his campaigning, which I only became aware of today."

"I do think it is right that we should be looking after families of the vulnerable."

Vicki Young also asks if the new drug means further lockdown measures will not be needed in the event of a second wave of infections.

Patrick Vallance replies that while the drug reduces deaths "it is certainly not of the level where you would say you do not need to worry about measures to reduce the spread of the virus."

Peter Horby adds that the UK may need to re-introduce social distancing measures if we see transmissions increasing.

We now turn to questions.

Trevor, a member of the public from Northampton, asks when the government will reduce the 2m social distancing rule.

"This is a question I am being asked the whole time now," replies the PM.

"Two metres is more effective at reducing transmission," he says.

He says he hopes to be able to reduce the limit, but adds: "We can't do it yet - we need to continue to make progress."

Sir Patrick Vallance adds that "2m is safer than 1m but it is not an absolute".

Horby says the results of the trial are "really good news" in the battle against coronavirus.

"I think this is really good news that almost every patient can take and they will get benefit from it," he says.

He adds that further trials are continuing.

Vallance points out that this is the first drug that's proven to reduce the risk of death from Covid-19.

"That's the start of something - it shows this is possible to do and as other drugs get looked at it's hoped they will add to that," he says.

Horby says the drug has been around for decades and is "extremely cheap".

The professor explains that the cost of saving eight patients in intensive care was about £40.

He says a study of the drug found "remarkable" results - and it could reduce the chance of death by about 35% for patients on ventilators.

For those who require oxygen it was about 20%, he says.

But he says it is "not a drug that you would use in the community" at large.

Peter Horby, from Oxford University, says the UK has been carrying out "by far the biggest clinical trials in the world".

He says what they found from Dexamethasone "was really quite remarkable".

He says 75% of patients in hospital will receive a benefit from the drug.

"This is really good news," he adds.

A moment ago, we heard Boris Johnson talk about news that a life-saving drug for coronavirus has been found.

A cheap and widely available drug, dexamethasone, is a low-dose steroid treatment.

The PM says he is "delighted the biggest breakthrough yet has been made by a team of scientists here in the UK".

"I am proud of these British scientists," he says

"This drug can now be made available across the NHS.

"We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak."

We're now hearing from Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government's chief scientific adviser.

He has been asked to speak about the drug dexamethasone - a cheap steroid which could save one in three lives of Covid-19 patients on ventilators.

He thanks those who have helped during the global trials - "most importantly, the patients who volunteered for this study".

And then he swiftly hands over to Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at the University of Oxford, who has been a leading figure in the trials.

Boris Johnson says he hears people's calls to reduce the 2m social distancing recommendation and promises to do "everything in my power to get us back to normal as soon as possible".

"But we must proceed carefully," he says, and adds that his government is still hopeful further restrictions can be eased by 4 July.

Boris Johnson says the figures "show we are making good progress in controlling the virus".

However, he says it is "critical we hold our nerve and don't throw away the progress we have made".

He says it has been good to see shops re-opening and some children returning to schools. And he tells parents who are reluctant to send their children back, there is "no reason for your kids to miss out on their education".

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson begins by going through today’s figures.

The number of positive coronavirus tests have risen by 1,279 to 298,136.

6,981,493 people have been tested for the virus – an increase from yesterday of 113,107.

Sadly, 233 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus – taking the total toll to 41,969 across all settings.

Here are graphics on the figures below.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson now opens today’s coronavirus press conference.

He is accompanied by the government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at the University of Oxford.

The UK press conference is due in about 15 minutes. We'll be bringing you everything you need to know.

We expect the prime minister to focus on the announcement made earlier today that a common steroid drug, dexamethasone, has shown success in saving the lives of people who are seriously ill with coronavirus.

But expect questions on other matters - particularly why it took a public campaign by an England footballer for the government to extend its free school meals programme for poorer children to cover the summer holidays.

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has spoken about the death of his mother who contracted coronavirus.

Dolors Sala Carrio died, aged 82, in April - just weeks after Guardiola donated ‎€1m (£920,000; $1.1m) to help tackle the pandemic.

"What I live personally is the same as everyone lives. There is nothing different," said the football boss from Spain's Catalonia region.

"All the people we lost are important to their families. That is why we have the families to be together, to be strong."

Read more here

Image source, Vicky O'Hagan

Flat racing's biggest meeting, Royal Ascot, starts today behind closed doors, with large gatherings banned in the UK.

Horse racing fans will instead have to watch the action on TV but that has not stopped many of them dressing up for the occasion.

People have been posting pictures of their Ascot attire on social media using the hashtags #SharedWithThanks and #hatsfromhome

We've gathered some of the best and most innovative outfits.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

UK experts were keen to get the good news out as soon as possible that a steroid called dexamethasone could save the lives of people seriously ill with coronavirus.

Drug trial findings are usually published in a medical journal after being evaluated or "peer-reviewed" by other experts but that takes time. The investigators behind the dexamethasone study say that as soon as it became clear that the results were so significant and of instant global importance they went public.

All of the usual checks and measures will still happen but, in the meantime, lives can be saved if doctors start giving the drug to the sickest patients who could benefit.

Dexamethasone is cheap and widely available and, according to the research, cuts the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. The UK already has a stockpile of 200,000 doses that are “ready to go” for National Health Service patients.

The drug is generic which means there won't be the issue of big pharmaceutical companies charging lots of money for it - something that can happen with new drugs. And it’s easy to make, meaning production can be scaled up quickly to get it out to more patients around the world.