now, eight leading mps, ams and councillors representing the people who live here want the uk treasury to provide more money to help. a quarter of all the properties across the whole of the united kingdom that have been hit by the flooding are in rhondda cynon taff. we've got bridges that have got to be mended. we've got culverts that have got to be made good and tips that have to be made safe. the letter asks for a one—off infrastructure grant of £30 million to cover necessary repair, restore and resilience work across rhondda cynon taff. it goes on to say: some of the things you're asking for in this letter are devolved. shouldn't the welsh government be filling that gap, not the not the uk government? the welsh government is filling the gap, it's putting £10 million forward and it will put forward undoubtedly further money when there's been further assessment of the damage. but of course there are areas of the uk responsibility where

funding would normally kick in. for example there used to be emergency funding available for these situations from the european union. we've left the european union. the uk government has picked up that responsibility, but also the uk government is making special money available to parts of england and they should be doing the same with wales. the letter also asks for a direct fund to the welsh government to cover the cost of one year of council tax and business rate exemption for all affected properties, which has been offered in england. and concludes by saying: the treasury has been asked to comment. stay with us for the papers. time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello. it looks like the weather could cause us further problems

over the next few days. first, we'll look at the current flooding situation, with 112 flood warnings in force, and if we pick outjust one of those, in shropshire, in shrewsbury, well, here we could see a new record set for the level of the river severn. the current record is 5.25 metres, and we might get close to or beat that on monday, which is a result of last night's rain running off the hills, but with more rain in the forecast, we might see some further flooding concerns in the coming days. wet weather pushing into wales, northern ireland and the midlands overnight, and with that we will start to see milder air pushing in. it will hit colder air in northern england and scotland, setting the scene for some potentially disruptive weather for monday morning. rain turns to snow across the hills of northern england and scotland, and it could get down to lower levels for a time, and that

could coincide with the monday morning rush hour in scotland, so some atrocious conditions here and a risk of some disruption. this band of heavy rain pushes its way south and east across england and wales. it could bring another a0 to 50 millimetres across the hills of wales for a time, and that water will be running into the river catchments, providing further flooding problems. as the rain clears, it's blustery with showers following. for tuesday and wednesday, high pressure to the south—west, maintaining north—westerly winds, and on tuesday they will be bringing us a mixture of sunshine and showers. many eastern areas starting dry and sunny, showers will swing in through the day, getting increasingly widespread as a trough starts to push in. showers could turn thundery and will still have a wintry flavour. for wednesday, the showers continue to be brought in on cold

north—westerly winds, particularly frequent in north—western areas, the cheshire gap, greater manchester, north—west midlands and north wales. for western scotland and northern ireland, showers through the morning and afternoon.

hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment. first, the headlines. four of the cruise ship passengers taken to the wirral

test positive for coronavirus and are transferred to specialist infection centres. the virus has spread to 21 countries. six people have now died in south korea, and a third death has been confirmed in italy. politicians in south wales say westminster needs to stump up more money for those affected by the region's recent floods. in las vegas, tyson fury produces the best performance of his boxing career, to become the new wbc heavyweight world champion. with house prices in england hitting record highs, we report on the struggle to make homes affordable for first—time buyers. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be

bringing us tomorrow. with me are henry mance, chief features writer at the ft, and john rentoul, chief political commentatorfor the independent. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. the metro says a woman in birmingham has been treated in hospital after being knocked out as she tried to protect her chinese friend from being racially abused over the coronavirus outbreak. the daily telegraph warns of a pandemic, as four new cases of coronavirus are confirmed in the uk, and parts of italy go into lockdown after a massive rise in the number of new infections there. the "i" also goes with coronavirus, saying there is "fury" after passengers from the quarantined diamond princess cruise ship test positive for the virus after returning to britain. the guardian warns that the world is fast approaching a tipping point in the spread of the coronavirus, as experts say the disease is outpacing efforts to contain it. the mirror goes with

an investigation into us chicken sheds, where birds live what the paper calls "a grim life" before being killed and washed in chlorine. and the times says the home secretary, priti patel, has demanded a formal leak inquiry into so—called "hostile briefings" by officials in her department, after claims emerged that intelligence chiefs at m15 do not trust her. those are the front pages. let's start our discussion with the front page, and it has to be the coronavirus, and fast developments, particularly in italy, and the telegraph goes with that. kick us off, henry. 50 telegraph goes with that. kick us off, henry. so far, this epidemic has really been a story about china and asia, and of the 78,000 cases, 77,000 of them have been in mainland china. what you now have in italy is

potentially instances of the disease which are very hard to trace back to china, suggesting it may have taken hold. you've got 150 odd new cases in the last few days, the italian towns are going into lockdown, giorgio armani giving his show behind closed doors, live streamed, so behind closed doors, live streamed, so you behind closed doors, live streamed, so you are seeing a behind closed doors, live streamed, so you are seeing a real fear that it may have taken root and we might be about to see a big uptick in cases in europe. nick the telegraph going with the ankle but a lot of people have been in italy for half term, therefore bring it home. it's obviously going to dominate the news for some time to come, and you were having a very interesting conversation with that scientist at king's college london. i didn't know the definition of a pandemic, but we are approaching that point. you were paying attention! i was!

are approaching that point. you were paying attention! iwas! it are approaching that point. you were paying attention! i was! it has to be spreading in all the continents of the world. so basically it's the of the world. so basically it's the ofan of the world. so basically it's the of an epidemic within a community or country, and then a pandemic goes across the world. i was paying rapt attention. the front page of the metro, and this is a disturbing aspect of this outbreak, in that people are being assaulted because of astute links to coronavirus, mainly because of how they look. it's a horrific case of a woman being punched in the face. you could liken it to after a terrorist incident where you have instances of islamophobia in the past, and here you have real prejudice against those seen to be of chinese origin, 01’ those seen to be of chinese origin, or having links with any part of asia, potentially, and it's really not what you would hope a society would do in this situation, which is to ta ke would do in this situation, which is

to take reasonable precautions and look at four other people. and hitting somebody is not the best way to avoid being infected by coronavirus! i can't remember what i read in the papers, but i have heard of chinese people feeling that they have to wear these masks in public because otherwise people will abuse them for, you know, being dangerous and risking infecting people. there have been local cases of international chinese students visiting schools around the country and they are not having a good time but at the moment, is worrying. let's turn to the times, and patel livid after claims she has lost the trust of m15. a bit of a war between the home secretary and her civil servants, it appears. the home secretary and her civil servants, itappears. last the home secretary and her civil servants, it appears. last week we had reports that several civil serva nts had reports that several civil servants had concerns about bullying

in the home office. 0ver servants had concerns about bullying in the home office. over the weekend, there was the suggestion that some m15 intelligence is being withheld because officials don't trust priti patel, and she was somebody who met israeli politicians on holiday and forgot to tell anybody else in the government in her previous role in the cabinet. this would obviously set alight tensions between the civil service and boris johnson's government, which have been there since day one, and now we will see how it plays out, whether civil servants start to lose theirjobs, or whether out, whether civil servants start to lose their jobs, or whether there out, whether civil servants start to lose theirjobs, or whether there is some kind of detente and debris that this is all a lie. dash group they that this is. in an unusual move, mi5 that this is. in an unusual move, m15 had come out and said, there is no truth to these reports, she has been briefed like every other home secretary, but something is obviously wrong in that department. very unusual for any five —— m15 to

put out a statement like that, and that indicates there is an attempt to de—escalate the tension, because there were reports of a hit list being drawn up of senior civil servants by people at number ten. this is all, er... what puzzles me is how counter— productive this is all, er... what puzzles me is how counter—productive this must all be for boris johnson, is how counter—productive this must all be for borisjohnson, as prime minister. he'sjust won all be for borisjohnson, as prime minister. he's just won an election, he is ina minister. he's just won an election, he is in a very strong position, and he is in a very strong position, and he is in a very strong position, and he is lashing out, taking on the civil service, he is sucking ministers and creating trouble for himself on the backbenches. —— he is sucking ministers. he is at war with the bbc, channel 4, sucking ministers. he is at war with the bbc, channelli, westminster journalists. this is not going to end well for him if he carries on. this is the impression that you receive, that it is number ten against everyone else and, like you say, they will have to work together. you'd have thought so! the

times, on page four... 0h, together. you'd have thought so! the times, on page four... oh, no, the guardian, sorry. 11,000 homes planned for flood danger areas. flooding continues, and there are more areas potentially at risk, and farmers saying it might take years to recover some land but, while we have these unprecedented floods, we are also learning in the guardian that we are building more homes on the land which is highest risk of flooding. fishlake was flooded back in november, and nearly 4000 homes are proposed nearby, and the interesting thing for me here is you are seeing floods at levels that break historical records, so climate change has obviously changed the map and the potential risk, but the government's ability to offer

planning permission remains stuck in the old way. if you have a home that is at flood risk —— which isn't at flood risk, you subsidise the insurance of those who are at risk, and people moving to those areas should be aware of the dangers, and there was a question as to whether there was a question as to whether the rest of the country will continue to subsidise new homes on dangerous areas. surely, if people don't want to buy those houses, particularly now, as flooding has really gone to the top of the news agenda, they won't build them, will they? but, as in re suggests, the risk estimates haven't really caught up risk estimates haven't really caught up with climate change, and i think there is some difficulty there, and there is some difficulty there, and there might be people who are less aware of the risks. you can look at those flood maps on the internet now, so those flood maps on the internet now, so you those flood maps on the internet now, so you shouldn't fall for it,

but if a developer builds houses on a flood plain, you know, people who buy them are entitled to think they have done something sensible. now page four of the times, and the nation has lost its faith in sneering universities. at university vice chancellors slapping themselves off and saying that their pr is shockingly bad, they have had a terrible reputation for paying themselves too much, and they really ought to pull their socks up. i mean, it is self—flagellation. ought to pull their socks up. i mean, it is self-flagellation. which universities do they quote? it's mainly anonymous sources. there is one chairman of the governors comparing the dissolution of the monasteries to the threat that universities face at the moment, which strikes me as a bit unlikely, that boris johnson which strikes me as a bit unlikely, that borisjohnson will close all the universities and nationalise theirfunds. the universities and nationalise their funds. one of the big dividers

in recent votes, whether it is brexit or coming up to the election as well, has been education, so the level of education is now likely to bea level of education is now likely to be a very good predictor of how you vote. part of the concern being reflected is that there is part of the country which resents those with education, because they feel they don't have an understanding of ordinary lives and are not taking that into account in decisions they make, so universities can no longer be national institutions in the same way if education is seen as potentially a bad thing or something that misleads your perspective. i think they are right to be sensitive about being seen as part of this so—called metropolitan elite. about being seen as part of this so-called metropolitan elite. where are you thinking, henry?” so-called metropolitan elite. where are you thinking, henry? i don't think it is geographical. you have lots of people. in the south, lots of people voted for brexit, and lots of people voted for brexit, and lots of people voted for brexit, and lots of people feel the elite

institutions are not working for them, so this is certainly a question about... one of the concerns universities are expressing is they have to reflect the whole nation, which means partly geographically, wales, the north and the midlands, but it's also a thing about reflecting those on all incomes and those who didn't necessarily go to the institutions, they have to feel they have a stake in them. problem is, as henry says, it's a values thing, that people feel that, once their children have gone to university, they lose their sense of place, they want to go to london, and they leave, you know, the so—called towns behind. that's going to be very difficult for universities to overcome. the article states that the rising number of students securing first and second, upper second degrees has led to a loss of trust among

employers, so you wonder about the value of your degree. that's the problem, so many different things mixed into this story. there is excessive pay for vice chancellors, the fact that grade inflation is devaluing degrees, and then there is the whole problem of universities being seen as elitist. and ndas as well and sexual harassment. absolutely. the mirror, chlorinated chicken, a story which keeps coming round again and again, as this is because trade talks, we are starting to see those appear this week. yes, a picture of what a chicken shed actually looks like, which i can certify is correct. i have worked in one, and they are not very pleasant places. i have been free range ever since, and, you know, ithink this whole argument about chlorinated or

lactic acid washed chicken is irrelevant. i think we ought to ban intensively reared chickens anyway, and we ought to have free range. i think that is the direction that europe is going in and, if america is going to drag us back, that is allotment against a trade deal with america. -- an argument against. but this is part of the deal that america want. the us senate, which has to approve any trade deal, is very with the us companies put up there is not a huge consistency of people in britain who want to lower standards to get cheaper food from america. idon't see any advantage to that. british food has great brand value, people want to believe in the quality, and you have seen farmers here saying, keep those levels are there so we can compete, so levels are there so we can compete, soi levels are there so we can compete, so i this is very unwelcome

publicity for the government. does that mean that prices will go up, if those are the standards we want? a lot of people don't have that spare money. that is definitely a trade—off, any kind of tariffs with the eu, failure to bring through other agreements with new zealand, australia, yes, there is a real risk. in the independent, trade, businesses are concerned because we are about to see this blueprint out this from the government. it's about whether, after... brexit hasn't really happened yet, because we are ina really happened yet, because we are in a transition phase where we are treated as if we are still in the eu but, after the end of december, there will be more red tape involved in import and export between britain and the rest of europe, and that is going to be the friction that people have talked about for so long, and

that's going to increase costs for us that's going to increase costs for us and possibly for europe, to a lesser extent. we have seen that borisjohnson is lesser extent. we have seen that boris johnson is desperately trying to reconcile the fact that he wants to reconcile the fact that he wants to diverge from european standards but he doesn't want to impose extra costs on businesses, but i can't see how you square that circle. it goes back a bit to whatjohn was saying at the beginning about priti patel, at the beginning about priti patel, a government with a big majority, a charismatic politician, and he can do whatever he wants in the next few months to secure this deal, but he can't break the laws of physics, and the business lobby has spoken out against the government plans and been ignored, so the government doesn't have to obey these warnings, but it has to be mindful that business is talking from a degree of informed analysis but what will

happen to the sector. i think there isa happen to the sector. i think there is a political freedom that the government has, and we will see how it uses it. do you think the government would use that, in the discussions with eu ministers, they we re discussions with eu ministers, they were not able to agree, because obviously they now have to divvy up who will pay the most. the government is that to their advantage in terms of trade talk negotiations? the question is, could the eu ask us for contributions for frictionless access to the single market? that is a very interesting question, but everything boris johnson has said is about britain's right divided burj from european standards. —— right to diversion. back to the guardian, and a good news story from the world of sport and for britain, but coming from las vegas. tyson fury, yeah, the king of

heavyweight boxing, and a huge performance. did you watch it? i was asleep at 5pm and i'm £25 richer for not seeing it! but he has an incredible story, and people have a lwa ys incredible story, and people have always wondered if he is the real deal, is it more frank bruno and lennox lewis, and you could compare it to any british heavyweight performance, and to go out there and to meet an unbeaten fighter so comprehensively, and it now sets up potentially a huge fight with anthonyjoshua, all british, and you'd have to say that tyson fury is the huge favourite to win. i have interviewed him once, and he was a very awkward character. in what way? he didn't answer the questions i asked him! he said at one point didn't want to talk about anything from the past, which makes it

difficult! in terms of overcoming the struggles he has had... mental health, alcohol, and he can be very charming. in boxing, he is about showmanship, and he managed to sell this fight well in terms of entertainment. 1 have a grudging respect for what he has achieved. he delivered, john. i think boxing. respect for what he has achieved. he delivered, john. ithink boxing. i'm going to be sanctimonious. it should be banned, because it would be underground and unregulated, but i think broadcasting it should be banned. henry mance and john rentoul will be back at 11:30pm for another look at the front pages. next on bbc news, it's the weather with chris fawkes. it looks like the weather could cause us further problems over the next few days. first, we'll look at the current flooding situation, with 112

flood warnings in force, and if we pick outjust one of those, in shropshire, in shrewsbury, well, here we could see a new record set for the level of the river severn. the current record is 5.25 metres, and we might get close to or beat that on monday, which is a result of last night's running off the hills, but with more rain in the forecast, we might see some further flooding concerns in the coming days. wet weather pushing into wales, northern ireland and the midlands overnight, and with that we will start to see milder air pushing in. it will hit colder air in northern england and scotland, setting the scene for some potentially disruptive weather for monday morning. rain turns to snow across the hills of northern england and scotland, and it could get down to lower levels for a time, and that could coincide with the monday morning rush hour in scotland, so some atrocious conditions here and a risk of some disruption.

this band of heavy rain pushes its way south and east across england and wales. it could bring another 40 to 50 millimetres across the hills of wales for a time, and that water will be running into river catchments, providing further flooding problems. as the rain clears, still blustery with showers following. for tuesday and wednesday, high pressure to the south—west, maintaining north—westerly winds, and on tuesday they will be bringing us a mixture of sunshine and showers. many eastern areas starting dry and sunny, showers will swing in through the day, getting increasingly widespread as a trough starts to push in. showers could turn thundery and will still have a wintry feel. for wednesday, the showers continue to be brought in on cold north—westerly winds, particularly frequent in north—western areas, the cheshire

gap, greater manchester, north—west midlands and north wales. for western scotland and northern ireland, showers through the morning and afternoon.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00: four of the cruise ship passengers taken to the wirral, test positive for coronavirus, and are transferred to specialist infection centres. the virus has spread to 21 countries — six people have now died in south korea and a third death has been confirmed in italy. we report from inside syria's idlib province — the country's last rebel stronghold — which is under ferocious attack, by forces loyal to president assad. it is now the biggest exodus of the conflict. they have fled time and time again and now they can go no further so they asked, now that there are so many of them, can the

world continue to ignore their fate?