We’re going to be closing down this live blog now. Thank you to all those who’ve read along or sent in tips and pointers, it’s much appreciated. I hope you’re all able to stay safe and well, wherever you’re reading from. If you’d like to continue with our live coronavirus coverage, you can head over to the global blog which will carry on bringing you breaking news on the pandemic from the UK, and around the world. Before I go, here’s a quick summary of the key developments in the UK today: The UK’s daily death toll is at its lowest since lockdown began, with 36 recorded deaths recorded yesterday. However, it is important to note that Sunday figures are often lower due to delays in reporting over the weekend. Chancellor Rishi Sunak suggested the government was keen to lower the 2m social distancing rules, and said it was a decision for ministers rather than scientists. Boris Johnson said that the lowering number of coronavirus cases gave a “margin for manoeuvre” on the regulations, and said the government was constantly reassessing the 2m regulations. However, after Sunak’s interview made the headlines, he slightly changed the emphasis, insisting that any changes would be based on science, and saying he saw the “benefits” of keeping the 2m rule in place. PM Boris Johnson and Labour leader Keir Starmer joined people across the UK marking the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower Fire, in which 72 people died when the cladding on their building caught fire. Landmarks across London have been lit up in commemoration, and Johnson released a video message saying he was committed to discovering the cause of the fire and preventing it from happening again. Scuffles have broken out in Glasgow after demonstrators calling for the statue of Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan police, to remain in place, became violent with police. The protest came after plans were laid for a demonstration calling for the removal of the statue, but this was cancelled. However, skirmishes also broke out between the pro-Peel statue protesters and an unknown group, thought to oppose the statue. Schools in Scotland are likely to continue with a ‘blended learning’ approach from August until the end of the next academic year, with a mixture of at-home and in-school learning, the Scottish education secretary has said. 23 police officers were injured and 113 protesters arrested at a violent far-right gathering in London yesterday, Metropolitan police have said. The force also said they have arrested a man in connection to the photograph appearing to depict someone urinating on or next to the memorial to PC Keith Palmer, who was killed during a terrorist attack at Westminster. More than 6,000 people attended two illegal raves in Greater Manchester last night, in what the deputy mayor described as a “flagrant breach of the coronavirus legislation”. One more person has died in Ireland after testing positive for Covid-19, the National Public Health Emergency Team said, bringing the overall death toll to 1,706. This video shows Nicola Sturgeon’s response to the violent protests in Glasgow today in full: In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. “At least 15,000 people have died in UK care homes from confirmed or suspected Covid-19, but few facilities have faced such an ordeal as Melbury Court. It was “three weeks of hell”, staff have told a Guardian investigation into what happened.” The Guardian’s social affairs correspondent Robert Booth talks to carers and family members at one of the UK’s hardest hit care homes, in an investigation into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the home. The Scottish government has re-affirmed its commitment to transgender rights as equalities campaigners express disappointment at reports that Westminster is planning to ditch reform of transgender rights. The Sunday Times reported on leaked proposals to shelve reforms developed by Theresa May’s government to make it easier for transgender people to change the sex on their birth certificate by removing the requirement to provide medical evidence of a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. No 10 sources on Sunday strongly played down the front page story, insisting that no decision has been made. Stonewall and Amnesty International described the reports as “disappointing” and “extremely worrying”. Meanwhile, the Scottish government – which is further ahead on legal reform than its UK counterparts, having carried out two consultations on the fraught issue – said on Sunday afternoon that it “remains committed to reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Trans people continue to suffer poorer outcomes relative to the wider population and this needs to change. We know that we must do so in a way that ensures women’s rights are preserved and protected”. But the spokesperson added that work on the bill had been halted in the light of the coronavirus pandemic, so the bill would not be brought forward before next May’s Holyrood elections. Thanks to all those getting in touch with tips and pointers. If you see something you think we should be reporting on in this blog, you can drop me a message on Twitter. I won’t be able to reply to everything, but will endeavour to read it all. Thanks in advance! Scotland’s justice minister has joined first minister Nicola Sturgeon in describing scenes of violent protests in Glasgow as “shameful”. Police officers appear to have been attacked during the demonstrations, where protesters were calling for the statue of Metropolitan Police founder Robert Peel to be kept up after there were plans to hold a demonstration calling for its removal. This was cancelled. Humza Yousaf praised the police, saying they had been “at the front line keeping us safe during pandemic”. Channel 4 news have spoken to Patrick Hutchinson, the Black Lives Matter demonstrator depicted rescuing a far-right activist from a crowd where he was being attacked. You can watch an extract of the interview here, before it is aired in full on Channel 4 this evening: Photographs of the incident, with the far-right demonstrator looking bemused and badly shaken up as he is slung over Hutchinson’s shoulders and carried away, have gone viral, and Hutchinson has been widely praised for his actions. Senior scientists have reported flaws in an influential World Health Organization study into the risks of coronavirus infection and say it should not be used as evidence for relaxing the UK’s two-metre physical distancing rule. Critics of the distancing advice, which states that people should keep at least two metres apart, believe it is too cautious. They seized on the WHO research, which suggested a reduction from two metres to one metres would raise infection risk only marginally, from 1.3% to 2.6%. But scientists who delved into the work found mistakes they believe undermine the findings to the point they cannot be relied upon when scientists and ministers are forming judgments about what constitutes safe physical distancing. You can read the full story from my colleague Ian Sample here: Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described protesters in Glasgow as “utterly shameful” after skirmishes erupted and police were forced to step between demonstrators for and against the removal of a statue of Robert Peel. Hundreds of people arrived at George Square in Glasgow to call for the statue of Metropolitan Police founder Robert Peel to stay in place. The event was organised by a group called the Loyalist Defence League, after a protest was organised to call for its removal. However, the protest in favour of the statue’s removal, organised by Glasgow Youth Art Collective, was postponed due to what organisers say was a lack of access to the square and “police targeting activists”. Sturgeon welcomed the cancellation. At the daily coronavirus press briefing, the Nicola Sturgeon said that violent protest was “never acceptable”, particularly not during the coronavirus pandemic. “I say to anyone that has found themselves on the streets of Glasgow in an altercation with other groups or with the police, that they should really take a long hard look at themselves,” she said. “That is not acceptable behaviour at any time, but at this time of crisis that the country faces, I think it’s particularly shameful behaviour.” Despite the cancellation, police were forced to step between protesters calling for the statue to stay, and those in favour of its removal, who were from an unknown group, with objects thrown between the groups. Number of UK daily deaths at lowest since lockdown began The UK’s daily coronavirus death toll is today at 36 - its lowest since lockdown began. A total of 41,698 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Saturday, The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said. This is an increase of 36 from 41,662 the day before. On March 21, the day the UK went into lockdown, the death toll rose by 35, making today’s figures the lowest since lockdown began. The DHSC also said in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Sunday, 144,865 tests were carried out or dispatched, with 1,514 positive results. This brings the total number of tests to 6,772,602, with 295,889 cases confirmed to have been positive. The figure for the number of people tested has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting” across all methods of testing. It is worth noting that figures provided on a Sunday are often lower due to under-reporting over the weekend. Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor has described the 6,000 people who attended illegal raves in the city last night as “reckless”, saying the events were a “flagrant breach of the coronavirus legislation”. Bev Hughes, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said attendees risked public health and put a “strain on our police at what is still a very difficult time”. She also revealed that the city’s events industry have agreed to ban anyone involved with the raves in light of the events, and praised the mass clean-up which has happened in communities across Greater Manchester this morning. Hughes also said that Greater Manchester Police have seen a “noticeable reduction in Covid related incidents over recent weeks”. “Greater Manchester will not allow a small minority to put us the sacrifices we have made over recent months at risk,” she added. You can read the full statement here. The Welsh health minister has admitted he would have made “different choices” in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, but denied accusations that the Welsh Government had been “cavalier” in its approach. Speaking on BBC Politics Wales, Vaughan Gething said that, had the government been in possession of the information now available, it would have done things differently. Gething was asked about the discharging of 1,300 patients from hospitals into care homes which occurred during March and April. The consistent testing of patients leaving hospital and entering into care homes did not begin until late April, leading to concerns that those discharged before that date could have been carrying the virus. “It should always have been the case that anyone who was symptomatic should have been tested and that was our understanding of the science and the evidence at the time when all of the choices were made,” Gething said. “We of course developed further understanding and further knowledge, so if I had the knowledge I have today, I’d have probably made different choices at a number of points in the coronavirus pandemic.” “We certainly haven’t taken a cavalier approach,” he added. “The safety of the people in Wales has always been the driving force in the choices we’ve made, right from the choice to stop large areas of NHS activity in the middle of March, to the way we’ve done the testing strategy, to where we are now.” Nicola Sturgeon has warned that, while she hopes to lift further lockdown restrictions in Scotland this Thursday at her three-weekly review, the pace of change will remain cautious. The expected announcements in Phase 2 include more social interaction, the re-mobilisation of the NHS, as well as a date for the retailer sector to begin to reopen. Sturgeon told reporters at her daily briefing: “We should also realise the prize for going a bit more cautiously now could be a return to greater normality in the medium term.” She reiterated that the Scottish government would continue to keep evidence for reducing the 2 metre rule under review.