UK coronavirus live: local lockdown imposed in Aberdeen; official UK death toll rises by 65 | Politics

Civic leaders from across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire are concerned about a rise in community tension following the introduction of new lockdown measures, announced on the eve of Eid al-Adha last Thursday, which many say prompted a surge in online anti-Muslim sentiment.

My colleagues Helen Pidd, Josh Halliday, Amy Walker and Nazia Parveen report:

The prime minister Boris Johnson must meet with the grieving relatives of people who have died from Covid-19, according to the chair of parliamentary group that heard their complaints on Wednesday. Layla Moran, who leads the All-Party Parliamentary Group on coronavirus, has said:

It is unacceptable that bereaved families have been met with such a wall of indifference from No 10. The prime minister must agree to listen to families who have lost loved ones to coronavirus and take their concerns on board.

We also need greater support for bereaved families and those living with long-term symptoms of Covid. This cross-party inquiry will continue to hear from those impacted by this terrible disease, so we can put pressure on the government, learn lessons and save lives.

The bereaved families told MPs they have written to the prime minister asking to meet and share their experiences on three occasions, but were told that officials were unable to arrange a meeting “due to the current pandemic”.

Weekend car use has returned to pre-pandemic levels but demand for public transport remains low, official figures suggest.

The number of cars on Britain’s roads compared with equivalent days in early February was 97% on Saturday and 100% on Sunday, according to Department for Transport (DfT) data. Car use on Monday – the latest day for which data is available – was at 88%, partly due to many people continuing to work from home.

Passenger numbers on buses outside London were at 37% of pre-pandemic levels on Monday, while the latest confirmed figures for train use show it is at 28%. Cycling is the mode of transport that has seen the biggest increase, at 126% of what it was before the crisis began.

Stephen Joseph, a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire, said the figures highlight the need for “a bigger focus” on alternatives to car use for leisure travel. He said potential solutions include establishing more park and ride schemes in rural areas and creating more hubs where people can transition from cars to walking, cycling and bus services.

Otherwise, the places that people come to – the seaside, national parks – will be destroyed by the traffic that’s bringing people there. Leisure car use was congesting a lot of places pre-Covid. It’s going to be even worse now when there’s less public transport available.

The latest official figures show 46,364 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider UK community after testing positive for coronavirus as of 5pm on Tuesday; up by 65 from the day before.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have now been 56,600 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The government also said that in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 892 lab-confirmed cases. Overall, a total of 307,184 cases have been confirmed.

Hello, this is Kevin Rawlinson back with you for the rest of the afternoon.

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The grieving relatives of people who have died from Covid-19 have accused the government of ignoring them, with one saying she feels their concerns are being “swept under the carpet” by ministers, MPs have heard.

Grieving family members said they had written three times to the prime minister asking to meet and share their experiences. But they told the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on coronavirus that officials merely told them they were unable to meet with them “due to the current pandemic”, the PA news agency reports.

Jo Goodman from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, who lost her father, Stuart, after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 aged 72, said:

We wrote to the prime minister three times beginning on 11 June, asking him to meet with bereaved families and also to Matt Hancock, calling for a public inquiry and calling for them to meet with us and hear our experiences.

At first we only received a two-line acknowledgement and eventually a letter saying they are unable to meet with us due to the current pandemic. The fact that they’re able to meet with cycling groups and other groups, it feels as though we are being swept under the carpet.

We really do want to ensure that other people don’t go through this and we think it is really important that bereaved families’ voices are heard.

Charlie Williams, another member the group, which represents 1,450 families, told MPs:

I last saw my father via video.

We have so many traumatic stories within our group and none of us are getting support from the government as bereaved families whatsoever. We are trying to help and support each other.

We reached out to the government several times by writing letters. He has pretty much ignored us. We haven’t even received a condolence from our government. We received a two-line reply acknowledging our letter with no condolences. We find this shocking.

We have got so much information to give that could save lives before the second wave and we hope the government will listen to us.

The virtual meeting of the APPG also heard from people who are still struggling with symptoms from so-called “long Covid”. Dr Jake Suett, a staff grade doctor in anaesthetics and intensive care medicine, said:

I was doing 12-hour shifts in ICU. It’s a high-pressure situation, you have to be able to be active. I was going to the gym three times a week regularly.

And now a flight of stairs or the food shop is about what I can manage before I have to stop … if I’m on my feet then shortness of breath comes back, chest pain comes back.

Arsenal have announced they are to make 55 redundancies due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the club’s finances.

In a statement issued by the club’s head of football, Raul Sanllehi, and managing director, Vinai Venkatesham, the club pointed to severe drops in broadcast revenue as the main reason for the plan.

They also moved to assure supporters that investment in the team would continue, despite the job losses – with it understood the cuts will come across some football departments as well as commercial and administrative roles. This comes after players, senior football staff and the executive team took voluntary pay cuts.

“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic we have been working hard to ensure that Arsenal football club emerges in a robust and strong position for the future,” the statement read.

This is Damien Gayle covering the next hour or so, while Kevin takes a break. If you have any comments, tips or suggestions for things to cover on the blog please drop me a line, either via email to [email protected], or via Twitter DM to @damiengayle.

The new leader of the Scottish Conservatives has said his party must earn the trust of people “looking for a positive and credible alternative for Scotland” in his first comments since his uncontested appointment.

Douglas Ross described becoming leader of the Scottish Tories as an “honour and privilege of a lifetime” after his appointment was confirmed at noon on Wednesday.

The Moray MP will take over from Jackson Carlaw, who resigned on Thursday just six months after his election as leader.

The SNP’s depute leader, Keith Brown, said:

Douglas Ross is Boris Johnson’s man in Scotland. Westminster has launched a total takeover of the Scottish Tories and installed a Brexit-backing MP to act as a puppet for Downing Street.

The Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said:

Just months ago, the Scottish Tories were maintaining the pretence that they were something different from the extremist no-deal Brexiteers of the Boris Johnson camp. Today, the instalment of Douglas Ross as their part-time, absentee leader without even asking their members confirms that there isn’t a hint of difference between them.