Thread by @joepike

About 25 people in Commons chamber for #PMQs, including parliamentary staff.

Don’t expect much cheering.

A couple of sketch writers in the gallery.

PM says 144 NHS workers and 131 social care workers have died from #COVID19.

.@Keir_Starmer starts with care homes and govt advice earlier this year saying ‘very unlikely’ people there will become infected.

PM: Not true advice said that. ‘Appalling epidemic’ in care homes. Number of casualties has been too high. Outbreaks and fatalities down.

#PMQs

Starmer drilling down into the death stats. 10K additional and unexplained care home deaths this April. Govt investigating?

PM: Coronavirus hits elderly worse than others. Solving problem is care homes is going to be ‘absolutely critical’ to move forward as a nation.

#PMQs

Starmer highlights international comparisons. Slides on this showed by govt every day for 7 weeks. Yesterday govt stopped using that slide. Why?

PM: Need to have excess death totals for countries first. But still likely to be ‘stark’ and ‘deeply deeply horrifying’.

#PMQs

Starmer: Govt dropped global death comparisons when they got bad for UK.

Now highlights case study of concerned parents who work.

PM: ‘Nothing further from truth’ re not learning from other countries.

Re childcare: employers must be ‘understanding’ of circumstances.

#PMQs

Starmer now asks PM to publish scientific advice govt decisions based upon.

PM: All SAGE advice published in due course.

SNP’s @Ianblackford_MP asks about govt ‘recovery strategy’ and says PM is undermining work of NHS with method of lockdown loosening.

PM says he doesn’t want overcrowding on public transport. Hails rapid increase in testing capacity and new 200K/day target.

#PMQs

Jeers on both sides of Commons for @EdwardJDavey as he claims govt have listened to the @LibDems on extending furloughing scheme.

PM: I admire the brilliant attempt to take the credit for extension of job retention scheme.

*laughter*

#PMQs

Labour communications team circulating this govt advice from earlier this year.

PM’s response to Starmer was:
‘It wasn’t true the advice said that.’

#PMQs

gov.uk/government/pub…

UPDATE: Starmer has written to PM about ‘inaccurate comments he made in the House of Commons about Government guidance on care homes’.

Starmer asking for Johnson to come to the Commons to correct the record.

This timeline gives you idea of speed of Labour's new press operation:

1204: PM denies Starmer claims on care homes advice.

1222: Lab circulate #PMQs mini-transcript, screenshot of govt advice & link to govt website.

1256: Lab circulate letter asking PM to correct the record.

My colleague @VeryBigNews also points out that the PM:

1) No longer has two Parliamentary Private Secretaries in the row behind him with two binders of facts, who often whisper info into his ear.

2) No backbenchers cheering him on and heckling the Labour leader.

#PMQs

NEW: PM responds to Keir Starmer.

Accuses the Labour leader of quoting Public Health England advice ‘selectively and misleadingly’.

#PMQs

Worth pointing out the PM’s 2 parliamentary private secretaries with their binders have been replaced by @MattHancock. Who seems to act as @BorisJohnson’s walking talking binder.

He took the Chief Whip’s usual perch (approx 2m away). The PM consulted him a lot during #PMQs.