UK coronavirus LIVE: New protein treatment 'reduces Covid symptoms by up to 80%' as government secures 90million early access vaccine doses

Marks & Spencer has seen its share price fall after reports that the high street giant is to axe hundreds of jobs.

The retailer is set to announce redundancy plans for hundreds of employees within days as part of a major restructure, according to Sky News.

It comes after a bloodbath on the high street in the face of coronavirus, with the likes of John Lewis, Boots and Debenhams announcing thousands of job cuts.

Total job losses across the company could potentially reach several thousand when existing restructuring plans are taken into account, sources told the broadcaster.

In May, chief executive Steve Rowe said the company would be accelerating parts of its transformation plan with a programme dubbed “Never the Same Again”.

M&S told investors that “central support costs and headcount will be examined at all levels” as part of the plan.

The retailer’s food stores continued to trade throughout the lockdown period, but trading in other part of its business, such as clothing, was significantly reduced.

It has also now reopened 118 of its cafes and said last week that it will pass VAT reductions on to its customers.

Mr Rowe warned at the latest update that some customer habits have “changed forever” as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

An M&S spokeswoman said: “We don’t comment on speculation and, if and when we have an announcement to make, our colleagues will be the first to know.”

Shares in the company dropped by 1.7% to 97.1p in early trading this morning.

The Health Secretary has also hyped up the Government’s new vaccine deals.

Matt Hancock tweeted: “Britain has now secured early access to 90 million potential #coronavirus vaccine doses. I want to thank all involved who’ve achieved this.

“Members of the public have a vital role to play. I urge everyone who can to back the national effort & sign up to the NHS COVID-19 vaccine research registry to help find a vaccine as soon as possible.”

Schools must prepare for local lockdowns – minister

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said schools need to prepare for the possibility of local lockdowns in the wake of coronavirus.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have been clear to schools that they have to plan for a scenario where they are in a situation where we see local lockdowns, and how we have that continuity of education that flows all the way through.”

“It’s unlikely to be a single vaccine for everybody.

“We may well need different vaccines for different groups of people.”

Schools to decide how to spend ‘catch-up’ funding

Schools will be able to decide how to spend new Government coronavirus “catch-up” funding, the Education Secretary has said.

Gavin Williamson told BBC Breakfast on Monday that the money equates to an extra £80,000 per secondary school and £16,000 for an “average, small” primary school.

He said: “How the schools spend that money is very much up to their discretion. But we have set out guidance as to how best to spend (it).”

Mr Williamson added: “In terms of Covid catch-up it’s about making sure teachers have ability to do an assessment of the children on where they have fallen behind, what they have missed out on, how we get the right types of interventions.”

He said schools will be able to “lay on” extra support outside of normal hours to give “special catch-up” sessions to children.

Gavin Williamson said he would “absolutely” take part in a coronavirus vaccine trial.

Mr Williamson told BBC Breakfast that 500,000 people would be needed to take part in clinical trials during the winter months.

It comes as the Government announced it had signed new deals which will provide more than 90 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

Asked if a vaccine would be ready by winter, Mr Williamson said: “The whole purpose is that they will be getting trialled out.

“Half a million people will be having the trials of these vaccines and it will be something that comes after winter.”

Asked if he would take part in a trial, Mr Williamson said: “Absolutely. As you are probably aware politicians tend to meet lots of people, so it would be a sensible thing to do.”

Labour’s shadow education secretary said one in four childcare providers believe they will not be in business by the end of the year.

Kate Green told BBC Breakfast that the prospect of providers going out of business was “really worrying” for parents who need to find childcare when they return to work.

She said: “The problem for childcare providers is that lack of capacity means a lack of income and some of them are becoming financially unviable.

“So the consequence of less demand is that it’s possible, and indeed the childcare providers are saying this, that some of them will go out of business altogether.

“One in four think they may not still be around within the year, and that’s really worrying when parents need to find childcare places so they can go back to work and know that their children are being looked after safely.”

Labour’s shadow education secretary has said parents need more time to plan childcare arrangements ahead of their return to work.

Kate Green told BBC Breakfast that the Government had not given parents enough “notice” to put childcare arrangements in place during the school holidays.

She said: “I think they (parents) need, first and foremost, time to plan.

“Plan to put childcare in place because many parents of course will have been furloughed and at home looking after their children and so may have cancelled their own childcare arrangements.”

She added: “I think the problem we have got is that the Government is making grand announcements at very short notice and not really giving businesses or schools and childcare providers or families proper advance notice so they can put their necessary arrangements in place.”