Horrific news came in that least 67 people died in Germany and Belgium after record rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks. Most of the victims were in Germany, but nine died in Belgium, including a 15-year-old girl. The German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were worst hit, but the Netherlands was also badly affected. More heavy rain was forecast across the region tomorrow. My sincere condolences go out to all those affected. Meanwhile, the NHS Covid-19 app is causing chaos as hundreds of thousands have to isolate after being 'pinged'. In the first week of July, for example, more than half a million isolation alerts were sent to people in England and Wales. Some 530,126 alerts telling people to self-isolate were sent in the week to 7 July, a 46 per cent rise on the previous week. One union warned factories were on the verge of shutting because of staff shortages, with Nissan and Rolls Royce the latest firms to raise concerns. The UK has recorded another 48,553 daily coronavirus cases. At 0945, our Defence Select Committee had an interesting and private session with the Surgeon General, Major General Tim Hodgetts. Later, my West Dorset colleague, Chris Loder, and I, had a virtual meeting with new Defra minister Lord Benyon. We had asked for the meeting, fearing that a National Park was going to be forced on Dorset. As it happened, the new designations did not affect us, thankfully! We do not want museum status for Dorset. Finally, the PM set out the "skeleton" of a plan to "level up" the country by spreading power and opportunity more evenly. In a speech in Coventry, the PM insisted his flagship policy would not make the "rich parts" of the UK poorer but would be a "win win" for everyone. He also pledged to hand more power to local leaders, with the possibility of elected mayors for counties. In a wide-ranging speech, Mr Johnson said the government wanted to "rewrite the rule-book" on local devolution and offer county areas in England "new deals" to give them the same powers as those currently given to major cities. I have doubts about devolving more powers. You only have to look at what has happened to the UK as a whole to see the potential problems.