Agree with all the points about being past the peak. The curve has clearly flattened and we are now, hopefully, looking at a plateau and then a decline in the numbers of infected.

No doubt the clarion calls for the lockdown to be eased will become irresistible. My fear is what happens if/when there is a second wave in the autumn. What does next winter look like?

Why is each of the home nations singular (correct) but Italy is plural?

The rate of decline in London is very encouraging and it should soon reduce somewhat the pressure on the PPE supply chain. 

PM sent but your inbox shows full! All good.

I'm glad you've said that because I was really surprised to learn that the PPE is 'wear once and throw away'.  I know it's a contagious virus but I'm sure that such items would have been washed (in a suitably effective way) not that many years ago.

I was brought up not to argue if you were caught doing something wrong.

That youth wasn't being gobby though. He was rightfully asking what he had done wrong. 

Agree with everything else though! 

Who was doing what wrong?

Newsnight is the only current affairs programme that I try to watch as I might learn something new or change my opinion on a topic and they seem to have done pretty well with this crisis too. Lots of calm and relevant reporting and some useful discussions. 

As the video clip didn't cover the entire incident who knows? But that was my original point - a clip posted to Twitter by self-confessed 'political activist', i.e. someone wanting to make a point.

My reasonable starting point is that if the police had to intervene then he was doing something questionable.  CP's - and possibly your - starting point appears to be a groundless presumption of fault on the part of the policeman.

I was brought up to be mannerly and respectful, but if this is not reciprocated, then my not so mannerly and respectful side will automatically kick in. We should not have to humour rude, bad mannered people. 

But...... you don't know what happened before what was shown on the video clip.

In the absence of proper evidence neither you nor anyone else is in a position to make a sound judgment about the merits and dismerits of the behaviour of those involved.

Even if you were in the wrong in the first place?

Any chance of getting back on topic?

I never am though. 

That's an assumption. 

My own assumption is that you've lived a very sheltered life.

Regional data for new cases today in England

The 7 English regions 

• London +689 (3.3%) 20,904


• Midlands +474 (3.4%) 13,963


• North West +550 (4.2%) 13,237


• South East +414 (3.5%) 11,885


• North East and Yorkshire +528 (4.5%) 11,739


• East of England +344 (4.8%) 7,203


• South West +226 (5.1%) 4,448

The 10 local areas with the highest cases

1. Kent +85 (3.9%) 2,193


2. Birmingham +69 (3.2%) 2,133


3. Hampshire +64 (3.2%) 2,005


4. Lancashire +76 (4.0%) 1,918


5. Surrey +61 (3.3%) 1,832


6. Essex +60 (3.4%) +1,781


7. Hertfordshire +57 (3.3%) 1,752


8. Sheffield +79 (5.1%) 1,553


9. Cumbria +26 (1.8%) 1,429


10. Brent +34 (2.9%) 1,160

The 10 local areas with the lowest cases

1. Rutland 12 - no change


2. Isle of Wight +9 (13.4%) 67


3. Hartlepool +2 (2.5%) 81


4. North East Lincolnshire +2 (2.2%) 91


5. Torbay 110 - No change


6. Peterborough +7 (5.5%) 127


7. Herefordshire, County of +5 (3.7%) 134


8. North Somerset +4 (2.8%) 145


9. Bracknell Forest +2 (1.4%) 145


10. Telford and Wrekin +3 (2.0%) 150

Yes, quite a relief really. Knowing that the degree of compliance to lockdown is generally very high it would be very worrying otherwise implying that the virus is spreading in a way we don't understand.

It's interesting that the decline in hospital admissions seems to be matching the lockdown. Those hospitalised yesterday were probably infected in early April (average incubation period is 5.3 days and then another ~8 days on average  for symptoms to deteriorate).

Yes, it wasn't acceptable but we don't know how much he was provoked.  I'd be disappointed if a solitary indiscretion cost him his job; that would be disproportionate, wouldn't it?

What get me is that I've known a number of policemen in my life and they've all been decent, pleasant people. I've only ever had one encounter with one with an attitude and that was when leaving Lords cricket ground after a full house watched a T20 match: my young son and I became separated in the crowd and he ended up the wrong side of a suddenly formed police line. But even that ended amicably once he understood the cause of my agitation.

Good.

But some of the tweets below the official response are..... 🙄🙄🙄