Coronavirus: £1.5bn arts sector lifeline for theatres and galleries as PM bows to pressure to save cultural icons

Latest updates and essential advice from the news source you trust Trouble viewing? [View in browser]( [Image]( [Image] Daily news briefing Latest updates and essential advice from the news source you trust £1.5bn arts sector lifeline for theatres and galleries as PM bows to pressure to save cultural icons Theatres, independent cinemas and other arts organisations are to get a [£1.5bn lifeline to help them stay in business]( while coronavirus forces their closure. The rescue package is expected to help world-famous cultural institutions like the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Mary Rose Trust. Unveiling the plan, Boris Johnson said the money would help safeguard the arts for “future generations”. Organisations that will be prioritised are understood to include the so-called “crown jewels” of the British arts, culture and heritage industries and those with special local or regional significance. The prime minister led [another round of applause for healthcare workers]( on the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the NHS. People across the nation were encouraged to show their appreciation for health service staff by clapping outside their homes – a gesture adopted during the pandemic. Politicians such as health secretary Matt Hancock and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer were seen applauding, as were people in communities across the UK, with some playing music, dancing and, in Cambridge, watching a Spitfire flyover. Police in London and Durham and the Crown Prosecution Service have been urged to [launch new investigations]( into whether Dominic Cummings’ movements at the height of the pandemic broke lockdown rules. Nazir Afzal, former chief prosecutor for northwest England, said he is “concerned that police and prosecutors have not received all relevant information and that their decision making will be incomplete as a result”. Mr Afzal, who has become the figurehead of a public bid to ensure the actions of the prime minister’s top aide are properly scrutinised, added that his legal team has already been given “information from reliable sources that reflects poorly on everybody who has considered the allegations thus far”. Podcast [Image]( The Independent Coronavirus Podcast Subscribe now wherever you listen for all the latest coronavirus news. [Listen now]( The Independent employs over 100 journalists around the world to bring you news you can trust. Please consider a [contribution]( or [subscription](. Top stories [I'm an image]( PREMIUM [Do taxes need to rise in the wake of the coronavirus crisis?]( [I'm an image]( [Mendes spearheads fund for theatre workers at ‘breaking point’]( [I'm an image]( [Government to invest £111m in traineeships for young people]( More news [27,000 excess deaths ‘likely’ by April, ex-government adviser warns]( [‘Crystal clear’ drunk people unable to social distance, say police]( [Churches in England reopen for Sunday service]( [Popular Spanish beaches ‘forced to close due to overcrowding’]( [Boris Johnson says gyms can reopen 'in a couple of weeks']( //link.e.independent.co.uk/click/20823156.88105/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXZlbnRicml0ZS5jby51ay9lL3BvbGl0aWNzLW9mLXRoZS1wYW5kZW1pYy1hc2stdGhlLWV4cGVydHMtdGlja2V0cy0xMTExMjE4MTAzMjY/583d2887487ccd777a8b7489C275446c4 Suggested for you [I'm an image]( [Rubens painting worth £3.5m revealed under 140 years of dirt]( [I'm an image]( [Home Office removal policy blocks access to justice, lawyers say]( [I'm an image]( [More than 220,000 renters ‘at risk of eviction within weeks’]( [I'm an image]( [Government planning temporary stamp duty exemption - reports]( Follow us [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's News email. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent News email and Breaking News alerts, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.