Matthew Taylor

Michael Gove – Government is not thinking about lifting lockdown restrictions yet Sophy Ridge began the morning interviewing the Cabinet Office Minister, Michael Gove. On Thursday, the government announced it would be extending the UK's lockdown for a further three weeks to best tackle Covid-19. Gove downplayed reports that the government had drawn up a three-stage plan to end the lockdown, and explicitly quashed the idea that schools could be open again from mid-May. Instead, he told Ridge that the government's efforts would continue to be guided by the science, and would not be drawn on a timescale: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1251781184553652224?

Politicians might usually expect a weekend off from interview duties over the Easter weekend, but tradition is hardly the order of the day at present. The Business Secretary Alok Sharma joined Sophy Ridge to discuss the government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis at a sombre time, with the total number of fatalities soon expected to pass 10,000. Today, the Royal College of Nursing has issued guidance advising that nurses should refuse to treat patients with coronavirus if they do not have sufficient personal protective equipment available to them. Sharma defended the government's record on PPE: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1249242921808703489?

Matt Hancock - 100,000 tests a day target is achievable Once again, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock was tasked with doing the rounds of television studios, updating the public on the government's coronavirus strategy. Concerns have been mounting that the government has not made enough provisions to test people for the virus, especially NHS staff. The government has since announced a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. Sophy Ridge challenged him on these figures, but Hancock insisted the goal was realistic: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1246709425802526720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw SR: The numbers sound great... but on [your] record, is it actually achievable? MH: Yes.

Michael Gove: Coronavirus crisis has ‘a range of potential outcomes’ The UK has now been in lockdown for almost a week as the nation tries to grapple with fighting the coronavirus. The government has said that it will look again at whether to renew the current restrictions after three weeks have elapsed. Sophy Ridge asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove about how long the lockdown period could last. Gove replied that it was not ‘absolutely fixed’ and that a lot would depend on people following the official guidelines: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1244170064577925120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw MG: There is a range... of potential outcomes, but those outcomes are not pre-determined. Our behaviour can influence those outcomes...

Robert Jenrick - We will do 'whatever it takes' to support those at risk Sophy Ridge was first joined this morning by the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick. With the threat from coronavirus still looming large, Jenrick told Ridge that the Chief Medical Officer was now officially advising around 1.5 million people at particular risk from the virus to remain indoors for potentially as long as three months. He pledged that the government would do its utmost to support them: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1241645655703146497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw RJ: We are writing to these people... and we're asking them, as soon as practical, to stay at home and to do so for a prolonged period, perhaps as long as 12 weeks...

Once again, Health Secretary Matt Hancock took to the TV studios to update the public on the response to the coronavirus outbreak. The UK has now seen 1,140 people testing positive for the virus, including the Health Minister Nadine Dorries, and the number of related deaths has risen to 21. Hancock told Sophy Ridge that the government, with input from the opposition, was due to set out its plans for emergency powers next week: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1239112154374197250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw MH: We're going to set out the emergency powers on Tuesday... SR: Is the government going to be banning gatherings of over 500 people? MH: ...I'm absolutely prepared to take actions like that if that's what necessary.

Rishi Sunak - We will give the NHS whatever it needs The Chancellor Rishi Sunak was the government's representative across the TV studios today, ahead of his first Budget on Wednesday. Sunak remained tight lipped when asked about many of the specific measures he would be taking, but told Sky’s Sophy Ridge that the NHS could expect more cash to help with the strains caused by the coronavirus: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1236572324889006081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw SR: Are you ready to give more money to the NHS? RS: Absolutely. We stand ready to give the NHS whatever it needs. Flood defence spending will double Sunak also told Ridge that the amount of money the UK spent on flood defences would go up to £5.

John McDonnell - Priti Patel likely 'on the way out' The Shadow Chancellor joined Sophy Ridge, and the conversation quickly turned to Home Secretary Priti Patel. Yesterday the Home Office's top civil servant Sir Philip Rutnam, accusing Patel of bullying, resigned and announced his intention to sue the government for unfair dismissal. McDonnell suggested an investigation into Patel's conduct, but made clear what he thought the result would be: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1234037250381492225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw JM: [It's] interesting this morning what I hear from No. 10 – that the Prime Minister only has confidence in his cabinet, not specifically Priti Patel. It looks as though she's on the way out.

David Davis – Huawei decision could be among worst ever made The former Brexit Secretary David Davis joined Andrew Marr this morning to argue the case against involving the Chinese tech giant Huawei in the UK’s rollout of 5G infrastructure. Davis said that because this arrangement had the power to compromise the ‘Five Eyes’ agreement on intelligence sharing between the UK and its Anglophone partners, it could pose a serious risk to national security: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1231514221520834561?

Grant Shapps - No 10 and 11 should be working 'hand in glove' Sophy Ridge's first guest was the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. On Thursday, Boris Johnson carried out his long planned cabinet reshuffle, which saw the shock resignation of the Chancellor Sajid Javid. It emerged that Javid had been told that he could stay in his job on the condition that he sack all of his special advisers, something which he was not prepared to countenance. Ridge questioned Shapps about this development: When asked about Sajid Javid's resignation, @grantshapps says he thinks viewers would likely want advisers to "be working hand in glove" with Number 10.Asked if he would have signed up to the terms that Mr Javid rejected, Mr Shapps does not address the question directly #Ridge pic.twitter.

Dawn Butler: ‘I’m the most experienced candidate’… Sophy Ridge started her show by speaking to Dawn Butler, one of Labour’s five deputy leadership contenders. Butler, who was first elected in 2005, argued her case for being chosen: "I am the most experienced candidate."@DawnButlerBrent MP explains her strategy to become deputy Labour leader, claiming that she is the "unity candidate".#Ridge https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1226427545085714433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw DB: I am the most experienced candidate. I’ve served under two Labour Prime Ministers and in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, and I am the unity candidate.

Donald Tusk - 'One year is enough' to complete trade deal Andrew Marr spoke to the former President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. Boris Johnson's critics have heaped scorn upon the idea that the UK and the EU can reach a comprehensive free trade agreement without extending the current Brexit transition period past the end of 2020. Tusk however, begged to differ on this: https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1223929174244691974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw DT: One year is enough to finalise our negotiations... We have to demonstrate good will on both sides... Business is business... The campaign is also over. The game is over.

Priti Patel - No confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK Niall Paterson took over the reins from Sophy Ridge this morning and began by speaking to the Home Secretary Priti Patel. The first item on the agenda was the outbreak of coronavirus in China, which has so far claimed the lives of 56 people and potentially infected as many as 2,000. There have been concerns that the virus may enter the UK, with five people having been tested in Scotland. However, Patel confirmed that all five had been given the all-clear: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1221352900024328192 NP: As of this point... [there are] no confirmed cases of coronavirus? PP: That's right. That's absolutely right.

James Cleverly - If the Queen is happy, we should be happy Sophy Ridge began the day by talking to the Conservative party chairman James Cleverly. The interview began with the latest developments in the royal family, which from this spring will see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back from their official duties. The couple will no longer receive public funding, nor use the style HRH. Cleverly told Ridge that he supported the Duke and Duchess's decision and the arrangement that had been reached: https://twitter.com/RidgeOnSunday/status/1218814893517955072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw JC: Harry didn't choose the life that he was born into...

Boris Johnson - We will end automatic early release The Prime Minister joined Andrew Marr this morning to give his first extensive interview since Friday's terror attack on London Bridge. Usman Khan, who was previously convicted for his involvement in plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange in 2010, killed 2 members of the public, including 25-year-old Jack Merritt. Khan was sentenced to 16 years in prison, but only served half of that before being released under license. Marr challenged Johnson over why the Conservatives had not changed the previous Labour government's policy of early release for the most violent offenders: [embed]https://youtu.be/u8DS37Pv2k0[/embed] BJ: I think it's repulsive that individuals as dangerous as this man should be allowed out after serving only 8 years.

John McDonnell - Businesses are not scared of Labour Sophy Ridge began the day with an interview with the Shadow Chancellor. Ridge asked McDonnell about last week's comments from the CBI's director general Carolyn Fairbairn that Labour's plans for businesses would 'crack the foundations' of the economy. McDonnell did not refer to concerns about nationalisation, but insisted that businesses were ready to back his prospectus: SR: Do you think they are a bit scared of you? JM: No, I don't think they are... [Fairbairn is] representing some of her member organisations... but when I meet with asset managers, with pension fund managers and business leaders, I talk them through our investment plans... and they are up for this. They are really up for it.