MATT Hancock has urged people not to take part in mass demonstrations over the weekend in breach of lockdown rules.

The Health Secretary told the No 10 briefing that coronavirus "remains a real threat".

He added:  “Like so many I am appalled by the death of George Floyd and I understand why people are deeply upset but we are still facing a health crisis and coronavirus remains a real threat.

“The reason that it is vital that people stick to the rules this weekend is to protect themselves and their family from this horrific disease.

“So please for the safety of your loved ones do not attend large gatherings including demonstrations of more than six people.”

Hancock also said the Government will take action to tackle any structural inequalities that may have led to a higher level of Covid-19 deaths amongst people from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background.

Asked why more people from a BAME background proportionally have died, Hancock said: “The answer to that is to address the risks to those occupations and we’re working very hard to do that.

“And in fact the measure on face masks both on public transport and in hospitals will be steps in that journey.”

He added: “The Public Health England report did not take into account factors such as comorbidities or, as I mentioned, occupation.

“That’s the first starting point. But also questions around deprivation, quality of housing are important as well because we know that those living in lower quality housing find it more difficult to escape from a contagious virus like this.”

He continued: “All the way along if we find things that we can do to help reduce inequalities then we’ll just get on and do them.”