Your morning briefing: What you should know for Wednesday, May 26

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Cummings expected to land more blows on Government in session with MPs

Downing Street is braced for more explosive revelations from the Prime Minister’s former chief advisor Dominic Cummings as he makes a much-anticipated appearance before MPs.

Mr Cummings has been vocal in his condemnation of Boris Johnson, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and others since leaving Government after a behind-the-scenes power struggle in November.

Ahead of giving evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees later today, Mr Cummings set out his criticisms of the Government’s approach to the pandemic.

In a series of explosive tweets, he said the policy, to build up resistance in the population by allowing some spread of the disease, was only dropped in March last year after a warning it would lead to a “catastrophe”.

Covid-19 vaccination programme extended to 30-year-olds in England

People aged 30 and over can book their Covid-19 jab from Wednesday, the NHS in England has said.

About one million people aged 30 and 31 will get a text message in coming days asking them to come forward for their Covid vaccine.

Health SecretaryMatt Hancock praised the “phenomenal pace” of the vaccination programme.

New guidance for Covid hotspots including Hounslow

Guidance for eight areas considered hotspots for the Indian variant of coronavirus is to be updated to make clear there are no local lockdowns imposed.

The Government said it would instead be issuing advice to those living in the London borough of Hounslow and other places after ministers were accused of bringing in rules on socialising and travelling “by stealth”.

There had been confusion over whether local lockdown had effectively been put in place in the west London borough, as well as in Burnley, Bedford, Blackburn. Darwen, Bolton, Kirklees, Leicester and North Tyneside.

Williamson ‘failed children with lack of coronavirus pandemic plan’

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had “no plan” and was “unprepared” for the coronavirus pandemic which caused “damage” to children, MPs have said.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Department for Education (DfE) seems “surprisingly resistant” to the idea of conducting a lessons-learned exercise on its early response to the pandemic.

When schools were closed to most pupils, the DfE “set no standards for in-school or remote learning during the rest of the school year”, meaning “children had very unequal experiences”, the report said.

Ronnie Kray had a butler behind bars at Broadmoor, TV show claims

Ronnie Kray lived a pampered life behind bars at Broadmoor, a TV documentary will reveal tonight.

His room at the high security psychiatric hospital was so plush it was compared to a hotel.

Dubbed “Duke of Broadmoor”, Kray lived his final years in luxury and enjoyed perks that included a fellow patient acting as butler, regular visits from a tailor and culinary delicacies.

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