Its chief executive has said, ‘YMCA’s unique nature is particularly affected by this crisis. Our work stretches across every aspect of the community and throughout people’s lives: whether it is the youth clubs we deliver to thousands of young people, the nursery provision provided to tens of thousands of families, or the health and wellbeing services delivered to the elderly and vulnerable. YMCA supports communities across the country; every hour of every day, through the good and bad times. Our frontline work is significantly disrupted by coronavirus. It is affecting those people who come and go from our services as well as those individuals who depend on it as a lifeline and place to call home. YMCAs are facing a multitude of challenges in keeping our support operational; not least ensuring that our staff and volunteers are safe whilst at work.’

Superdrug has started selling a coronavirus antibody test, costing £69, to the public. They sold out in a few hours. The tests are intended to tell if someone had the virus in the past. The user takes blood samples and posts them off to a laboratory, where it takes 24 hours to produce a result. Medical giant Abbott, which makes the tests, insists that they are not intended to be used by people taking their own blood samples. They have only been found to be accurate on blood samples taken by trained healthcare providers directly from patients' veins. The MP who chairs the parliamentary panel on consumer protection said, ‘Superdrug seems to be playing on people’s fears and that is not right. What people really need is a readily available, easy to use test that is accurate’. She added that the cost is excessive and it is not 100% accurate. See

Archbishop Wojciech Polak has called on the Church hierarchy to launch proceedings following the release of a documentary telling the story of two brothers who sought to confront the priest who allegedly abused them as children. The Vatican is expected to assign an investigator to the case. The film, ‘Hide and Seek’, has been viewed over 1.9 million times on YouTube and is the second documentary on the subject by Marek and Tomasz Sekielski. Poland plans to double jail terms for paedophiles, and the Pope has made it mandatory for clergy to report abuse after victims failed to bring to account those in the Church who were responsible for covering up their abuse. A senior bishop allegedly knew about the allegations for years without taking any action.

David Frost, Britain’s trade deal negotiator, has warned the Cabinet that Brussels talks are heading for collapse. He told ministers to ‘take the moral high ground’ when speaking to their counterparts across the Channel in the face of Brussels stubbornness. He urged them to step up their ‘no deal’ planning in case talks over a new trading arrangement break down. Downing Street is preparing to issue warnings that the UK is heading for an ‘Australia-style deal’ - which in reality means tariffs on imported and exported goods under World Trade Organisation terms. Boris Johnson is expected to tell the EU27 to set new rules for their negotiator Michel Barnier, otherwise any hopes of a deal fade. If progress is not made at the next online UK-EU negotiators meeting there is talk in Whitehall of a British walkout. A senior Government source said, ‘Breakdown is entirely possible.’