Scotland should remove all major legal coronavirus restrictions on 9 August, Nicola Sturgeon has said, as she confirmed that the move to level O of her government’s five-tier system of Covid controls would be delayed until 19 July, the same date as measures are to be lifted in England. Nearly 250,000 children in England missed school last week for Covid-related reasons, including 9,000 with confirmed cases of Covid-19, the worst figures since state schools fully reopened in March. (See 1.43pm.) Record numbers of UK families had their benefits capped during lockdown earlier this year, leaving them hundreds of pounds a month worse off overnight and plunging them into deeper poverty, official figures show. More than 60,000 fans will be allowed into Wembley for the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 after a deal was struck between the UK government and Uefa. Researchers are working to establish whether the flu jab and a Covid vaccine can be given at the same time, as the NHS braces itself for a potential surge in cases of flu this winter. Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, has said that Brexiters did not expect relations with the EU to be as difficult now as they are. (See 12.57pm.) In evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee, Frost also said that the EU would be harming itself by seeking to reduce the “disproportionate” amount of British content on European television but that the government is powerless to stop it. The former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke has dismissed Boris Johnson’s plan for a new royal yacht Britannia as “silly populist nonsense” amid a continuing internal government row about funding for the £200m vessel. Keir Starmer’s closest aide, Jenny Chapman, is to be removed from her role as political secretary after significant criticism from MPs, but will move into the shadow cabinet taking responsibility for Brexit. Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, has restated the government’s determination to pass Irish language legislation for Northern Ireland if Stormont does not do so by the end of September. Speaking in the Commons debate on the Northern Ireland (ministers, elections and petitions of concern) bill, he said: The government has promised to deliver the balanced culture package for example that was agreed in NDNA [New Decade, New Approach agreement] through parliament if it’s not been taken forward by the Northern Ireland executive by the end of September, but I want to reiterate and be very clear that our strong preference and desire is for this to be delivered in the appropriate place by the devolved institutions. In response, the DUP MP Sammy Wilson said: [Lewis has] just announced that he’s prepared to interfere once again on the institutions in Northern Ireland in a way that no secretary of state would dare to do in Scotland or Wales and does he not accept that for the unionist community this continual interference in the institutions at Stormont at the behest of Sinn Féin is not an annoyance, it’s something which enrages people? Edwin Poots was forced out as DUP leader by his party because he accepted the UK government’s plan for it to pass Irish language legislation if Stormont does not do so itself by the end of September. Today it was confirmed that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will replace Poots as the party’s leader. Dominic Cummings demanded senior civil servants pay half a million pounds to an external data team, according to leaked emails that show the prime minister’s then chief adviser urging officials to bypass government procedures. That’s all from me for tonight. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.