The UK recorded its highest daily number of deaths for a week as new figures showed a surge in unemployment due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.
More than 2.1 million people submitted benefits claims in April – the highest level since 1996.
It came as the government urged the public to sign up for a job picking fruit and vegetables during the summer harvest – only for the ‘Pick for Britain‘ website to crash during the official launch by environment secretary George Eustice at the daily briefing on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Donald Trump has revealed he is taking malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to protect against Covid-19, despite warnings from his own government that it should only be administered for the new coronavirus in a hospital or research setting due to potentially fatal side effects. The US president has also threatened to permanently stop funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has bowed to calls from most of its member states to launch an independent investigation into its management of the international response to the coronavirus.
