Lucy Campbell A fresh government bailout for theatres could be on the cards. Given they are likely to remain unable to open for some time due to social distancing requirements, the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said “other support” was being discussed. It comes as the West End producer Cameron Mackintosh announced he was delaying the return of shows including Hamilton and Les Mis to the West End and had started the redundancy process in the absence of any support, and 98 leading creatives signed a letter urging the government to issue emergency support for the creative sector, stressing it was “on the brink of ruin”. A Union Jack makeover for the prime minister’s RAF Voyager will cost the taxpayer at least £900,000. The project was ridiculed and condemned by opposition parties as a waste of public money in the midst of an unprecedented national crisis. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman insisted the red, white and blue paint job provided “value for money” and that the rebranding would help promote the UK’s standing abroad. No 10 was unable to say when the NHS Covid-19 contact-tracing app would be ready for roll-out. The health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock, had initially said it would be ready this month, but the PM’s official spokesman today said he had no update on when the app would be made available to the public. The UK death toll surpassed 42,000 as another 184 fatalities were recorded. It brings the official total across all settings as tallied by the Department of Health and Social Care to 42,153. And the long-awaited return of the Premier League kicked off this evening. Aston Villa v Sheffield United got off to a powerful start, with a minute’s silence for all victims of the coronavirus pandemic and all 22 players and the referee taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement immediately after the whistle blew. You can follow updates on the second half over on our Premier League live blog. That’s it from us on the UK side. If you would like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture. Leadership is broken. From the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality to the marginalisation of minority communities around the world, our leaders are failing us. Self-serving and divisive, they are gambling with public health and the future of younger generations. We have to make them raise their game. This is what the Guardian is for. As an open, independent news organisation we investigate, interrogate and expose the incompetence and indifference of those in power. Your support helps us produce quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism every day - and publish it free so everyone can read. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Dowden hints at bailout for theatres, saying they could remain shut for some time Here are the main points from Oliver Dowden’s press conference. Dowden, the culture secretary, suggested that the government was planning a bailout for theatres. That was because they were likely to remain shut for some time, he said. He said that indoor venues providing live entertainment were even more constrained by social distancing rules that outside arenas, such as football stadiums. He said: I know for theatres in particular as we open – and we’ve set the challenging target of July 4 [for a further relaxation of the lockdown in England] – it is going to be exceptionally difficult to open, consistent with social distancing. And that is why I continue to have discussions across government to see what further support we can give theatres during this challenging time. Dowden said that cinemas might benefit from the 2-metre rule being replaced by a 1-metre rule “because I think they are better able to operate at lower capacities”. But he said that a 1-metre rule would not be enough to allow theatres to operate in a way that was financially viable. He went on: It will still be immensely challenging for theatres – [they] really do rely, not just in terms of the atmosphere but the profit margins – they work on wafer-thin profit margins – they need lots of people packed in ... So I think we may be looking at some time for theatres to be returning to a state where they can perform sensibly, which is why I’ve been discussing what other support we can provide them with. Until now, when discussing help for theatres, ministers have generally stressed that the sector has gained from the support available to businesses generally, like the furlough scheme. Dowden said he had asked experts to advise him on what could be done to pilot ideas that might allow live performances to continue in theatres and other arts venues. He said: We do need greater flexibility to overcome some of the very specific and practical obstacles to the return of live performance. So that’s why over the next week we will be convening experts in a targeted way, bringing together our leading performers in theatres, choirs and orchestras with medical experts and advisers. And the idea is that they will work together in detail to develop that roadmap which is so badly needed to performing safely – with a particular focus on piloting innovative ideas that may permit live performances. He suggested that England could open for tourism after 4 July. Asked when domestic tourism would be possible, he said that 4 July was the next stage in the roadmap. He went on: I very much hope that we will be able to stick to that roadmap and we will see tourism return to the UK. He said that football fans would be able to return to stadiums by the time of the new season. He said: I would really hope that by the return of the new season we might be in a position whereby some fans could start to return to stadiums. And he said talks were already under way on how fans could return to stadiums. He said: We are having intensive engagement to look at how that could be done safely. Clearly we will not only look at the positioning of fans and where they are relative to each other but there is all the issues with how you get in and out of stadiums in a safe way, how you have access to conveniences and everything else. I want to be clear on this, we are having these discussions – I am not at this stage indicating that this is going to happen but of course it is the final step in the five-stage process. He said the return of Premier League football tonight was “an important step forward in our careful journey back towards normality”. He rejected claims that the UK was particularly late in implementing the lockdown. Asked about claims that locking down late led to an extra 20,000 or more deaths, he said: Ministers clearly made the decision [to order the lockdown], we were informed by scientific advice in doing so, we did so at a relatively similar stage in the progression of the disease as other countries did so. He defended Boris Johnson’s decision to spend £900,000 repainting the RAF Voyager plane he uses in red, white and blue colours on the grounds that this was a way of promoting Britain. He said: I think that we have always spent money on promoting the UK around the world. I see this with creative industries – we genuinely are a creative industries superpower and we should be promoting that and we’ve done that through the great campaign. I think that the work on Voyager is part of that promotion. Matt Hancock has apologised for a “human mistake” after he broke 2-metre social distancing rules in the House of Commons. Footage from the chamber shows the healthsecretary placing his arm around a fellow MP as he arrived for PMQs this afternoon. He then stood well within 2 metres of his colleague while waiting to be seated, despite floor markings to guide MPs as they enter the chamber. A third MP then appears to the pair’s right, and the MP Hancock had placed his arm around steps back, appearing to do so to stay socially distant. After the incident, Hancock said in a statement: I’m so sorry for a human mistake on my part. Like all of us, I instinctively wanted to reach out to a friend I’d just seen - in this case, for the first time in many weeks. I realised my mistake and corrected myself. It shows how hard social distancing can be but it is so important that we all keep trying to do our bit. Parliament advice on proceedings during the Covid-19 pandemic states Commonsphysical proceedings should be socially distanced and “in line with public health guidance”. Guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care states people should stay 2 metres apart from anyone outside of their household – rules Hancock has consistently promoted. Covid-19 has been identified among inmates in a new prison, a daily update from the Ministry of Justice revealed. As of 5pm on Tuesday, 503 prisoners had tested positive for the coronavirus in 81 prisons, compared to 502 inmates in 80 prisons on Monday. The number of infected staff increased by 0.7% to 978 workers across 105 prisons in the same period. The numbers are not live cases and include those who have recovered. There are around 79,700 prisoners across 117 prisons in England and Wales, and around 33,000 staff working in public sector prisons. The current regime, which has seen a ban on family visits, reduced time spent out of cells to about 30 minutes a day, suspended prison transfers and forced new arrivals to be quarantined for 14 days, has been hailed a success by ministers as deaths and infection rates behind bars have been significantly lower than expected. At least 23 prisoners and nine staff are known to have died, as well as one prison escort driver and one NHS trust employee working in a secure training centre. A new survey of family doctors, conducted by the GP magazine Pulse, found that 71% of GPs believe the government has eased lockdown measures “too quickly”, including 25% saying “far too quickly”. Many GPs raised concerns about the government’s response to the crisis, including issues around the test-and-trace programme as well as shortfalls of PPE earlier in the crisis. Six in 10 (61%) view the government’s response negatively, including 27% “very negatively”, according to the survey of 680 GPs. More than half (55%) said the test-and-trace system would not stop the spread of the virus. And 81% of GPs said the Dominic Cummings affair has made people less likely to follow government advice – including 58% saying “much less likely”. Commenting on the survey, Prof Martin Marshall, the chairman of the Royal College of GPs, told PA Media: The pandemic is far from over and getting through the next phases of tackling it will necessitate healthcare professionals across the NHS having confidence in decision makers. As lockdown restrictions are lifted, general practice will be at the forefront of dealing with any health consequences resulting from the pandemic - directly or indirectly. Our profession needs to be told well ahead of announcements being made that will impact on our patients’ lives, and given appropriate, unambiguous guidance to support practices to implement any changes, so that we can prepare to give our patients the most appropriate health advice. The Duke of Cambridge has thanked those involved in getting Premier League football going again as his beloved Aston Villa prepared to face Sheffield United in the first game of the restart. He signed off the tweet from the Kensington Royal Twitter account: So good to have football back, we have all missed it! Thank you to everyone involved for your hard work in making it happen. W. An NHS nurse who spent 75 days in the hospital where he works with coronavirus has recovered. He walked out of the ward to applause from colleagues. Felix Khor, 68, spent 45 days in the intensive care ward at Southend hospital where he has worked for 15 years, and was on a ventilator. He then spent several weeks on a different ward. Khor was admitted to hospital in early April at the height of lockdown and was discharged on Monday. Up to 200 NHS staff lined the hospital’s main corridor to clap for him as he was wheeled out of intensive care last month. Khor, who lives in Shoebury, joined Southend hospital in 2005 as part of the resuscitation training team. He continued working at the hospital following his retirement as part of the staff bank in the emergency department. Recalling the moment he was clapped out of intensive care, Khor told the PA Media news agency: There were consultants, doctors, matrons, nurses, domestics; every uniform you could think of. I never realised that so many people cared about me. It was amazing to have been in lots of people’s prayers and thoughts; it has been a huge morale boost. Waking up and everyone knowing your name has been a little bit surreal, but I thank everyone for their kind thoughts. Staff have been so caring, supporting and encouraging. I keep saying to people that, honestly, words cannot express enough my gratitude to the care I have been given. He plans to retire after recovering from Covid-19 and is looking forward to gardening. Q: What do you say to people who have lost their jobs? I have spoken to people in the hospitality industry going on benefits for the first time? Dowden says the government has spent tens of billions trying to protect jobs. We need to reopen business, he says. People need to get their jobs back. Q: What would you say to a person I spoke to who has joined a group that thinks the delayed lockdown cost 20,000 lives. What have been the goverment’s worst mistakes? Dowden says ministers made the decision, informed by the scientific advice. He says the UK acted at about the same time as other countries. And he claims it is too early to make comparison about which countries did best. Q: Will there be an inquiry? Of course there will be lessons to be learnt, he says. When meaningful comparisons can be made, lessons from them will be learnt, he says. And that’s it. The press conference is over. Q: Ministers did say we should not expect to have summer holidays abroad. Has that changed? Will people be able to go on holiday in August? Dowden says the government is looking at air corridors. But it will be driven by the public health issues. Q: When will Britain be open for tourism? Dowden says the government has set out a roadmap. The next stage is 4 July. He says he very much hopes that we will be able to stick to that, and see tourism return to the UK. He wants to be out there making the case for British tourism. But it has to be safe, he says. He says guidance will be published on this. Q: Is £900,000 on repainting the RAF Voyager a good use of public money? Dowden says he sees this as part of promoting Great Britain, which is a good use of money. Dowden says his office has been in touch with the mayor of London’s office about the Churchill statue in Parliament Square. He says the mayor is in charge of that. But he hopes the mayor will allow it to be uncovered soon. He says he hopes that will happen before President Macron comes to London. Dowden says a 1-metre rule would benefit cinemas. They can operate with smaller audiences. But theatres would still have problems. He says he has been in touch with Andrew Lloyd Webber about what happens in Seoul. He says it may take some time before theatres can operate sensibly. So they may need financial support, he says. Q: What will the police do if people congregate outside football stadiums? Dowden says the police have appropriate powers. He hopes they won’t be able to use them. There is nothing to be gained from congregating outside a stadium, he says. Q: Should Marcus Rashford get a knighthood? Dowden says he has been very impressed by Rashford’s lobbying skills. But he says it is not for him to give out knighthoods. Q: Are there security implications from the collision outside parliament? Dowden says he is not aware of any security implications. But he can tell people the PM is unscathed.