you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines: 254 people die from coronavirus in china on the deadliest day of the outbreak so far. meanwhile, more than a0 more cases are confirmed on the diamond princess cruise ship currently moored off japan. here, a ninth case is confirmed, while the first group of people brought to the uk from wuhan and quarantined in a hospital on the wirral, are due to leave today. labour calls for boris johnson to clarify who paid for his caribbean holiday over the new year. iam i am live from downing street where

it doesn't feel remotely like mystique. there is a cabinet reshuffle under way. the latest comings and goings as there is a parade of personalities and the power and patronage throughout the day. the city watchdog investigates past links between the boss of barclays bank and the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. criminal gangs are blamed for a big increase in fly tipping across england. also, why are roundabouts are good for your health? good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine. china has sacked two of the most senior communist party officials in hubei province, amid accusations the extent of the coronavirus epidemic has been suppressed.

the pair were fired after authorities revealed yesterday was the deadliest day of the outbreak, with 254 people dying from coronavirus. there was also a big increase in the number of new cases, although doctors have changed the way they diagnose people. here, the number of people who've officially contracted the virus has now reached nine. but the group of britons quarantined at a hospital on the wirral will leave today after an all—clear from doctors. they arrived back on january 31st, before being moved to accommodation at arrowe park hospital on the wirral. since then there have been nine confirmed cases in the uk — the latest was a woman returning from china to heathrow. the virus has spread to 25 countries, but the vast majority of the 1,300 deaths and 60,000 cases have been in china. meanwhile, at a conference in geneva last night,

the world health organization said that it's too early to predict an end to the outbreak. the international red cross is asking for sanctions to be lifted in north korea to prevent an outbreak of the virus they are. —— they are. jon donnison reports. china's health system is at full stretch, with these figures suggesting it was the coronavirus‘ deadliest day. 2a2 deaths is almost the previous highest daily total. the sudden increase can partly be explained by a change in the criteria doctors in china are using to confirm infections. but such a rise challenges the assertion made in geneva just yesterday by the world health organization that infection rates may have peaked. the number of newly confirmed cases reported from china has stabilised over the past week.

but that must be interpreted with extreme caution. this outbreak could still go in any direction. meanwhile, overnight, doctors at saint thomas‘ hospital in london continued to treat the latest coronavirus case here in the uk, a woman who is thought to have flown into heathrow from china in the last few days but had only developed symptoms after she arrived. officials are now trying to trace everyone she may have been in contact with. elsewhere, two weeks after they were put into quarantine at arrowe park hospital on the wirral, more than 80 british patients evacuated from china will be released today. i'm very, very pleased to announce that each and every one of us — the 83 people that were on that first evacuation flight from wuhan have tested negative for coronavirus. so, we're coming home! but 150 people remain in quarantine at a conference centre in milton keynes after being flown back from china at the weekend.

jon donnison, bbc news. let's talk to steve mcdonell — he's in beijing for us. hello to you. let's pick up on a point mentioned in the report. to what extent is this spike in the number of deaths and confirmed cases to do with the new method for diagnosing coronavirus? yeah, i mean people will have seen the figures from today and seen a jump of 15,000 cases just in hubei from today and seen a jump of 15,000 casesjust in hubei province and thought, what is going on there? well, the reason there has been this bigjump is well, the reason there has been this big jump is that nearly all of them have simply been moved from they probably have the coronavirus into the definitely have the coronavirus category. that's because of results have decided that if you have the symptoms of the coronavirus, plus a

ct scan showing a lung infection, they have done the more sophisticated test to see if you have the virus positively. you are considered in that category. it is a kind of changing form of accounting which has led to this explosion in numbers today. nevertheless it is a bit of a headache for us. while the numbers, although they are not perfect, and definitely they don't catch everybody in terms of the deaths and infections, they were kind of providing a bit of a pattern so we kind of providing a bit of a pattern so we could see where the emergency was going. what are we to do now? sta rt was going. what are we to do now? start all over again with the new form of accounting? it is kind of throwing the whole thing into chaos in terms of predicting the trend. meanwhile, as we mentioned, further accusations that the extent of the virus has been suppressed, which adds to the difficulty in measuring what is actually happening with this

virus. the early scientists in china are saying it is too early to predict the end of the outbreak. are they giving any clue as to when they think they might be in a position to do that, or do they simply not now? no, in short, they don't know. but really, if we were to use let's say the old accounting technique, the numbers today probably show a similar pattern, that it hasn't been growing to the same extent. but it isa growing to the same extent. but it is a very hard thing to try to judge 110w. is a very hard thing to try to judge now. it has also left people wondering, imagine how many more people have actually died from this virus if you change the way you measure who definitely has the virus and who definitely does not have it. either way, the axe is starting to fall. somebody had to be furnished —— punished because the general public were so angry in the early days of this outbreak that crucial information was held back from them.

we have seen the top two figures in hubei province, the party secretary for the province and the party secretary for the city of wuhan, both have been dismissed. there could be others with their heads on the chopping block. stephen, thank you very much for that. stephen mcdonell in beijing. elswhere, there has been a signifant rise in the number of passengers infected with the coronavirus on a cruise ship off the coast of japan. rupert wingfield—hayes sent this update from yoka hama. yesterday we had 39 new cases confirmed, today we have 1m. this quarantine on the ship behind me is 110w quarantine on the ship behind me is now into its eighth or ninth day. so by now i think officials here were hoping to start seeing a drop off in new infections as they carry on testing more passengers. but that hasn't happened. in fact, today hit hasn't happened. in fact, today hit has gone up again. so that is worrying because there is a concern that the virus is still circulating

on board the ship. people are closed off in their cabins. people are being isolated from each other. but health officials, public health experts, are concerned that the virus may be still continuing to circulate around the ship. they have 110w circulate around the ship. they have now agreed to allow some people off the ship. the japanese government has given into some pressure and said that people over the age of 80 who are not showing any symptoms and have tested negative, but have underlying other health problems, they will start allowing those people off the ship from tonight. we don't know how many people that is. and where they will be taken to continue their quarantine. but this is the first sign thatjapan will allow some of the people, particularly those who are very elderly, the most vulnerable people on board, to go and be quarantined elsewhere. rupert wingfield—hayes. it's emerged the city watchdog is investigating the chief executive of barclays' jes staley, and his links

with the disgraced financier, jeffrey epstein. mr staley had previously told the bank's board he had business connections with epstein, who was convicted of sex offences and died in prison in new york last summer. dominic 0'connell‘s here. dominic, what are the various parties involved in this saying, mr staley, ba rclays, parties involved in this saying, mr staley, barclays, the financial conduct authority? we already know joe staley did have a business relationship with jeffrey joe staley did have a business relationship withjeffrey epstein, which dated back a long time. it goes back to when mr staley ran the private wealth division ofjp morgan in new york. he took thatjob in 1999. it is about managing the money of wealthy individuals. that was jeffrey epstein‘s made business. the new york times has reported how mr epstein referred several of his clients to jp morgan epstein referred several of his clients tojp morgan and two mr staley‘s business. the bank said this morning mr staley had talked to the port of berkeley is about this, providing them with information about the nature of the relationship, the extent of the bank

and answered questions from the financial conduct authority about that relationship. but the extra thing they said this morning is that the investigation is ongoing and they are looking into how mr staley characterised that relationship. did he say everything about it? and also, what did the banked out the watchdog when it asked questions? the probe is ongoing and it is about whether mr staley has anything to say about the relationship with mr epstein. what does this mean for mr staley‘s of future? epstein. what does this mean for mr staley's of future? the bank say they have full confidence in him. there is no question of him losing hisjob. it must be said he does have form at the regulators. he pursued a whistle—blower a couple of yea rs pursued a whistle—blower a couple of years ago and ended up being fined £600,000. so he has a rocky path with regulators before. it remains

to be seen whether this particular thing, the nature of his relationship with jeffrey thing, the nature of his relationship withjeffrey epstein, will have any bearing on his future at the bank. dominic, thank you. later today, the first major government reshuffle since the general election will take place, but it's thought it may not be the radical overhaul some had predicted. many of those tipped to be sacked by the prime minister are thought to be women, but it's understood borisjohnson is also likely to boost the number of women injunior ministerialjobs. joining me now from downing street is our political correspondent, chris mason. good morning. ithink good morning. i think some of the big offices of state, there is going to be no change there. is this more ofa to be no change there. is this more of a westminster story, or how big a shake—up will it really be? of a westminster story, or how big a shake-up will it really be? good morning. there has been speculation about this reshuffle pretty much ever since election results day. all sorts of feverish chat over christmas about reshaping whitehall and collapsing government departments into one another, a huge

coal at the cabinet table. it now seems like this will be more low—key than that. but still pretty significant and pretty significant at the lower rungs of the government ladder. the main offices of state, chancellor, home secretary, foreign secretary, likely to stay the same. we do know that the reshuffle is now under way. the prime minister is in his office down the road in the commons doing the sackings away from ocelot in downing street. and those who are promoted will be able to do the walk of pride to become cabinet ministers or senior government ministers or senior government ministers later. geoffrey cox, the attorney general, gunning to see the prime minister in the last couple of minutes. julian smith, the northern ireland secretary, quite a bit of speculation he may be fired today. this is what he said as he left home this morning. the prime minister is to choose who is in the cabinet, who serves. i

enjoy serving the people of northern ireland. we have done a lot of really good stuff. there's a lot more to do. but it is up to the prime minister at that is the responsible itty he has had to choose the cabinet he wants. it is great serving in it but it is always the call of the prime minister of the call of the prime minister of the day. a couple of other names we can mention that we now are going to be promoted. 0liver dowden and alok sharma. alok sharma already sits in the cabinet as international develop and secretary. downing street expect he will be promoted. 0liver dowden isa he will be promoted. 0liver dowden is a more junior he will be promoted. 0liver dowden is a morejunior minister. lots of speculation he could be the new culture secretary, replacing baroness morgan, who is standing down from the cabinet. a lot of briefing too about trying to improve the gender balance in the government at all levels. we are told the cabinet will retain the same proportion of women it currently has. there will be an improvement in terms of gender balance at the lower ra nks terms of gender balance at the lower ra n ks of terms of gender balance at the lower ranks of government in the hope that

in the future they will have the experience to rise to the cabinet table. names being mentioned in terms of promotions, anne—marie trevelya n, terms of promotions, anne—marie trevelyan, susanna braverman and gillian keegan. we await official news from the prime minister's office, or indeed his house in the next few hours. you will be keeping a close eye on that door, i am sure. let's turn to the prime minister's new year holiday in the caribbean. it had been thought that the co—founder of carphone warehouse, david ross, had paid for that holiday. but he says he didn't pay for it. he arranged it. are we going to find out who actually did pay for it? there is mystique about must seek this morning. yesterday we saw in the registered members interest the prime minister saying he had been on holidays because it made the papers over christmas, to the

caribbean. there was an entry saying it had been paid for by david ross, a former aide to borisjohnson when he was mayor of london. a conservative donor, the founder of carphone warehouse. but the daily mail got hold of mr ross last night and he said, the thing is, i didn't pay for it. yes, there had been an interaction between the two about the holiday. we understand that mr ross had recommended a place that did have a vacancy. but he didn't pick up the tab. labour are now saying there should be some clarity about who exactly did pay for this holiday. downing street insisted that it has been open and honest and transparent in what has happened. so who knows? is it an administrative error, some sort of cock—up in terms of the registering of it? we don't know. the question is will continue. asi know. the question is will continue. as i said, it is distinctly not like the caribbean here in downing street this morning. election in december, reshuffle in february. there ain't much glamour in politics right now.

absolutely not. many layers of clothing required. thank you for the moment. labour asking questions about who paid for the prime minister's holiday. and at 9.30 this morning, victoria derbyshire will be hosting a live studio debate between the four contenders to replacejeremy corbyn as labour leader. this is a live shot of the studio as final preparations are under way. catch that at 9.30 here on bbc two and the bbc news channel. the cost of restoring elizabeth tower, which houses big ben, has risen by more than £18 million. the increase is being put down to the discovery of asbestos, toxic lead paint and extensive bomb damage from the second world war. it means the cost could rise to almost £80 million in total. a 52—year—old man is expected to appear in court later charged with the murder of lyra mckee, the journalist shot dead during rioting in londonderry last april. as well as the murder charge,

he is accused of possessing a firearm and membership of an illegal organisation. at the time, the new ira claimed responsibility for the killing of the 29 year—old in derry. the headlines on bbc news: 254 people have died from coronavirus in china on the deadliest day of the outbreak so far. labour calls for boris johnson to clarify who paid for his caribbean holiday over the new year. the prime minister has begun his first major cabinet reshuffle since the conservatives' general election victory. fly tipping is a blight on the countryside, and now, new research by the bbc shows the number of large scale incidents, where thousands of tonnes of rubbish are dumped at a time, has more than doubled.

0rganised criminal gangs are being blamed for the continued rise, as our environment correspondent, david gregory—kumar, has been investigating. just north of birmingham, an example of large—scale fly—tipping. lorry loads of waste dumped on parkland by a housing estate. disgusted. we have to pay a management fee to live on this estate. and yet they've sent us another bill this morning, but they still haven't even cleared it. so why should we pay money to live here if nobody can look after the estate? experts say that this is the new narcotics trade for criminals, because the penalties are small, but the profits can quickly run into millions of pounds. but, believe it or not, large—scale fly—tipping like this can also happen pretty much out of sight. a short trip up the m6 — fly—tipping on a scale you've never seen before. wow. that is a lot of rubbish.

each black bale weighs about a ton and there are thousands of tonnes of rubbish that's been illegally dumped by a criminal gang that the owners thought was a legitimate business. the landowners obviously rented this warehouse out to the people that dumped this waste here under false pretences, so the people that came in, told the landowners they would be doing something completely different, and what has ended up here is an operation where they have dumped 5,500 tonnes of waste. well, this site is an active investigation at the moment, so we can't tell you exactly where this warehouse is, but it is in staffordshire. and there was another staffordshire warehouse where something similar happened. that cost £400,000 to clear up and there was half as much waste. the bbc has looked at large—scale fly—tipping since 2012 and it's more than doubled in england. and while it accounts forjust over 3% of the number of incidents, it makes up more than 20% of clean—up costs, with council spending almost £60 million.

but our analysis also showed large—scale fly—tipping decreasing in wales. data for scotland and northern ireland are not held publicly. the environment agency has seized and even destroyed tipper trucks involved in this crime, but the sheer scale of the issue is leading to a totally new approach. it is involving career criminals and it's becoming very complex. we are working with our partners, so other law enforcement agencies like the police, hmic, the national crimes agency, we're sharing all our intelligence. and we've literallyjust started up a joint unit for waste crime. our research shows this is a growing problem, a problem that can blight the lives of communities and cost landowners hundreds of thousands of pounds. david gregory—kumar, bbc news, birmingham. more now on the news that boris johnson is due to make his first government reshuffle since the conservatives' general election victory. downing street sources have suggested the prime minister wants

to bring forward a new generation of talent, especially at the junior ministerial level. let's discuss the reshuffle a bit more with the former conservative advisors laura round and mo hussein. good to have you both in the studio. some of the big offices of state, we have been told, are not going to be changing. so how much of a big change does this represent?” changing. so how much of a big change does this represent? i think what we are going to see today is the first act rather than the grand finale. this is a government i think that thinks it will be in powerfor ten yea rs that thinks it will be in powerfor ten years or so. the prime minister doesn't need to do everything straightaway. there will be some changes. some of the bigger changes we have heard about in terms of government departments and more people moving, will still happen, but not today. it will take longer. laura, in terms of big personalities who viewers will be most familiar with, who might be going, who might be coming in? it's all rumour, of

course. women rumoured of being in dangerare course. women rumoured of being in danger are andrea leadsom and julian smith, a surprise to some. i think what's quite interesting in this reshuffle, i think for the first time ina reshuffle, i think for the first time in a very long time if not ever, it has been pre—briefed, elements of it, to the press. so clearly number 10 trying to get ahead of the narrative when it comes to women especially. and making sure there is a pipeline for the dandelion for future cabinet reshuffle. you mentioned julian smith. i am just hearing thatjulian smith has been sacked as northern ireland secretary. that's really interesting, because voices in northern ireland have been saying that he is widely regarded, of course, the executive restored after three years in the deep freeze. it's not easy in northern ireland to find a politician, a secretary of state, who most political parties agree on

and most of them agreed on him doing and most of them agreed on him doing a good job. for example, and most of them agreed on him doing a goodjob. for example, colum eastwood, the leader of the sdlp, said last night it would be really strange for boris johnson said last night it would be really strange for borisjohnson to move julian smith after he achieved storm and restoration. if it happens it sends another signal of indifference to northern ireland. what signal do you think it sense? i think it's a very odd look, given thatjulian did manage to do something that for three years had not been done. he got people around the table again. he got the assembly running. i also think in the calculation of the people around the prime minister, it probably isjob people around the prime minister, it probably is job done. people around the prime minister, it probably isjob done. stormont people around the prime minister, it probably is job done. stormont is rerunning. this reshuffle is about the future. and moving onto delivering the domestic agenda and the manifesto commitments that the prime minister wants to see delivered. and also will be judged on in five years in the next election. i'm not sure that politicians in northern ireland would think thejob politicians in northern ireland would think the job is done.

politicians in northern ireland would think thejob is done. but politicians in northern ireland would think the job is done. but we will move on because there is a lot to talk about. we saw will move on because there is a lot to talk about. we sanulian smith's reaction. going back to women in the cavernous, this has been heavily briefed that the prime minister will be bringing in this new generation of talent. these are women who won't necessarily be occupying top positions but may be promoted next time there is a reshuffle? yes, there are two elements. obviously paving the way for future governments and bringing in more talented women. there are loads of women to choose from. to get more of them lined up. but also, there is them lined up. but also, there is the media element of it. pre—briefing it was a positive story about women, where as probably the numberof women in about women, where as probably the number of women in the cabinet won't be changing much. that will be criticised by a number of people. certainly an attempt, as ever, as one would expect, to control the narrative. what is going to happen

with michael gove? that is a good question. i think a lot of water has come under the bridge since the heady days of the previous leadership election. i think you will be given quite a strengthened role, beyond the get brexit done mantra, clearly there is a whole trade negotiation now to deliver and the future relationship. i think someone the future relationship. i think someone like michael, who is trusted by the prime minister, dominic cummings, he used to work for michael gove, he is in the room a lot. as the implementer and the person who can oversee the government agenda and make sure that things are being delivered that were promised and people are feeding —— feeling and seeing the difference, thatis feeling and seeing the difference, that is the role, the roaming overseeing government activity. while representing a sense of continuity. yes. a question about the climate conference in glasgow in november. there had been calls for a big hitter to take charge of that. do you think we might see that

today? i suspect we will. things need to start moving quickly. there isa need to start moving quickly. there is a lot to be planned in the run—up. interesting names have been mentioned like michael gove, zac goldsmith and this morning even kwasi kwarteng. ithink goldsmith and this morning even kwasi kwarteng. i think what's interesting is claire perry wasn't a ministerany interesting is claire perry wasn't a minister any more. she was doing it asa minister any more. she was doing it as a full—time job. whoever does ta ke as a full—time job. whoever does take on that role will be required to spend a lot of time on it. i wouldn't be surprised. it might not be michael gove. he might have an overarching role if he does remain cabinet secretary. oliver dowden has been touted. is that likely? i think thatis been touted. is that likely? i think that is likely. he was an early adopter of boris. he was involved in his leadership campaign. he is going places. dcms is a good place to start your cabinet career. ok, thank you both very much for your thoughts

today with the first news of a sacking, julian smith has been removed from his post as northern ireland secretary. more on that coming up. but right now, the weather. carol kirkwood has the latest. good morning. this morning we have seen some heavy rain moving north and east. a lot of it is clearing. as it bumped into the cold air across northern england, the southern half of scotla nd northern england, the southern half of scotland and northern ireland, some of us had some snow. squally showers behind it. some of those will be heavy with gail force winds. a cold start in the north of scotland. you will see some sunshine later. wherever you are today it is going to be a blustery or a windy day. these black circles indicating the kind of wind gusts you can expect. temperature was only 5 degrees in aberdeen. ten as we scoop down to london. the weather remains u nsettled down to london. the weather remains unsettled through friday. by the time we get to the weekend, even into monday, we are looking at the storm dennis across our shores. that

storm is going to bring heavy rain and also the risk of flooding. couple that in with melting snow, not a pretty picture. we will also have gales through saturday and sunday. that will continue into monday as well. or whether it later.

it's thursday, it's 9:30am. i'm victoria derbyshire and we're live from new broadcasting house. these four people want to be leader of the labour party and think they've got what it takes to beat boris johnson and become your prime minister. rebecca long—bailey was born in old trafford. she's the shadow business secretary. herfirstjob was working in a pawn shop and she is a manchester united supporter. lisa nandy is the only candidate in the in the race who's not injeremy corbyn‘s top team. she grew up in manchester and her grandfather was a liberal mp. her first child was born just four days before the 2015 general election.

keir starmer, the shadow brexit secretary was born in south london.