the most important thing now is that we prepare against a possible, very significant expansion of coronavirus in the uk population. a big increase in calls to the emergency line 111. a government action plan will be published tomorrow. and british airways cancels hundreds of flights as the spread of coronavirus causes a drop in demand. also tonight... the bbc sees details of another formal complaint of bullying against the home secretary priti patel. shock tactics — the greek coastguard use force to stop migrants trying to enter by sea from turkey.

the rain may have eased, but dozens of homes in east yorkshire are still underwater and likely to be so for days yet. thomas cromwell is now 50 years old... and we talk to author hilary mantel about her final book in her blockbuster trilogy in the court of henry viii. and coming up on bbc news, six—time olympic champion sir chris hoy says gb cyclists will not dominate at tokyo this year, after they struggled at the track cycling world championships. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the to the bbc news at six. prime minister has warnec could the prime minister has warned there could be a very significant

expansion in cases of coronavirus and has pledged to give the nhs all it needs to handle the outbreak. another three cases have been confirmed in the uk — all of whom had recently travelled to italy. the patients from hertfordshire, devon and kent, bring the total number of people across the country known to have contracted the virus to 39. across the world, nearly 90,000 people have been infected by the virus. the majority of the cases are in china. 3,000 have died across 62 countries. in a moment, we'll look at the nhs response, and how businesses and workers are being affected, but, first, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. the gates are locked at a school in south—west london. a pub in surrey closed its doors when a customer took ill. a business park in kent, where one worker has been diagnosed and is now at home in isolation. coronavirus is here and the government expects it to spread. the most important thing now is that we prepare against a possible, very

significant expansion of coronavirus in the uk population and that is clearly on the cards. can you give us clearly on the cards. can you give usa clearly on the cards. can you give us a sense clearly on the cards. can you give us a sense of the kinds of numbers we might be looking at? at the moment, it is difficult to speculate about exactly how it may or may not progress, but what i think you can say with a fair degree of certainty is it is, in my view, much more likely than not that we will face a challenge in the weeks, months ahead. if you look at how this has been spreading, particularly outside china, we are clearly looking up thousands of cases. you are right. we have got to consider the realistic, the realistic possibility that there is no going to be a significant expansion in the number of cases —— now going. significant expansion in the number of cases -- now going. are we looking already at closing lots of schools, cancelling big events? the public i've seen other parts of the world basically in lockdown because of what has been going on, is that

what people should expect? what we've got is a range of calibrated responses, the measures that you have mentioned are on that list and theissue have mentioned are on that list and the issue will be when and how and with what logic to deploy them. there is already some anecdotal evidence, it is taking a long time for people to get through to 111 on the nhs, there is evidence and people can't get tested as quickly as they would like to. will you commit today to give the nhs exactly what it asks for, even if it runs into significant extra amounts of money? of course we will do everything we can to address the problem to stop the spread of the disease. the government's emergency committee met today. expect more detailed plans tomorrow. wash your hands to the national anthem. we do have wider concerns about whether the nhs can cope. we know it has suffered from ten years of cutbacks, it hasn't got enough beds, it hasn't got enough staff. with 39 cases now,

in northern ireland, scotland, england and wales, people are making their own preparations, but... for their own preparations, but... for the vast majority of people, they will make a full recovery and it is a relatively mild illness. children and healthy adults seem to be at much lower risk of getting into the serious complications you might get with this disease. dozens of brits who have been in tenerife in quarantine are denied happy and healthy, flying back. quarantine are denied happy and healthy, flying backlj quarantine are denied happy and healthy, flying back. i am on the flight healthy, flying back. i am on the flight home after being in tenerife and stuck in the hotel. with other airlines cancelling hundreds of lives, what started as a problem far away is now very much close to home. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the government will publish details of a uk—wide action plan tomorrow to try to tackle the spread of the infection. the chief executive of nhs providers, which represents nhs trusts, is warning the outbreak will place extra strain on the health service. 0ur health editor hugh pym has been taking a look at the nhs response to coronavirus.

nhsiii, nhs iii, the place to call for those with symptoms recently back from the worst affected country with the virus —— countries. advice is given on whether a test is needed. call volumes were up on whether a test is needed. call volumes were up more on whether a test is needed. call volumes were up more than 50% at times last week and there were some reports by users of delays, but the number of calls has since fallen back to more normal levels. there have been some delays but our staff are working flat out, round the clock, right across the country, doing a fantasticjob and i would certainly like to place on record my personal thanks for the enormous effo rts personal thanks for the enormous efforts and hard work. a new online nhs iii efforts and hard work. a new online nhs 111 service for those wanting guidance on possible exposure to coronavirus was launched last week. 0n coronavirus was launched last week. on one day, there were 25,000 users. health chiefs are urging people to go online if at all possible, rather than calling 111. more than 13,000

coronavirus than calling 111. more than 13,000 coro navi rus tests than calling 111. more than 13,000 coronavirus tests have now been carried out, some at this drive—through centre in west london. a few people who have self isolated waiting for it test have reported delays. dave and his wife called 111 last wednesday, were tested on friday and are still waiting for the results. it is incredibly frustrating and i know there are a lot of people being tested at the moment, i know the nhs are stretched but it is unbelievably frustrating, believe me. so if there is a big jump believe me. so if there is a big jump ina believe me. so if there is a big jump in a number of cases, how well an already overstretched nhs cope? how will hospitals and their staff manage to handle the extra patients on top of their already heavy workload? the nhs may well free up beds by stopping any nonurgent surgery, but some health organisations say future staffing has not been considered. in terms of staffing, we need to bring extra staffing, we need to bring extra staff on board, bearing in mind that some stuff themselves may be unwell. we also need to think about how we

undertake privatisations. the nhs advice to everyone, regardless of symptoms, is wash your hands regularly to reduce the infection risk. hugh pym, bbc news. the economic damage of the virus is being felt too. today, global growth forecasts were cut, and markets again fell. and there could be major implications for uk businesses and their employees — as our business editor simonjack explains. how is working at home? businesses are having to face up to the challenges of working around coronavirus. do you really need to come in? at this software company, there are some new office rules. we are doing a number of things in the office. we are asking staff to take their laptops home at the end of every day in case they are unable to come to work the next morning. we are operating a strict policy on sickness, if you don't feel good, please don't come in. we are asking all of our team to set up meetings via video conference and general cleanliness in the office, including hand wipes and hand sanitiser. many

employers are prepared to pay workers involve short periods of illness, but they don't have to do. so what are your rights? employees are entitled by law to sick pay of £94.25 per week but it only kicks in after three days' illness. it is paid up to 28 weeks, plenty to cover a14 paid up to 28 weeks, plenty to cover a 14 day isolation period, but if you stay home and don't get sick, employers are not obliged to pay you for taking the precaution. policies will no doubt vary from employer from employer to employer. most will hopefully take a sensible approach. for office workers, it is arguably easier, you can work from home but for some people, that isjust easier, you can work from home but for some people, that is just not an option. if you don't show up, you don't get paid. taxi driver mohammed says he is taking as many precautions as he can. but not working is not one of them.|j precautions as he can. but not working is not one of them. i do sort of try not to pick up from airports, because people travel anywhere and you don't know how

their hygiene is going to be under all that. if you getjobs, you just do it, really and i can't see myself not working, i need to work. i need to pay bills. unless my wheels are turning, i'm not earning. the public sector, including the nhs, employs private firms to perform critical functions. unions are worried low—paid workers will be financially forced into work. our workers are the lowest paid in the nhs, the cleaners, caterers, security guards and borders. they can't do their jobs from home and are put in an impossible situation where they have to choose between paying the rent or coming into work ill. we need leadership and the government than to say everybody in the nhs will be paid falsely pay from day one. for now, for most, it is business as usual but the impact of the virus is beginning to change how we live and work. simonjack, beginning to change how we live and work. simon jack, bbc beginning to change how we live and work. simonjack, bbc news. our business correspondent simon gompertz is at heathrow tonight, where the impact on business is being clearly felt with the cancellation of flights. yes, fiona, british airways is

saying more than 200 flights will be cancelled between march the 17th and march the 28th. now, 171 of those are two european destinations from here, heathrow. that italy but also germany, france, switzerland, ireland, belgium as well. 12 other flights from here tojf kennedy airport in new york are being cancelled and also flights from london city airport and some from gatwick as well. passengers are being told they can rebook or get their money back. they might even be put on other carriers and one other carrier, ryanair, has said 25% of its flights to italy are going to be cancelled in the second half of march and the first week of april. there is evidence that planes are going half empty, that people are simply not turning up for flights. it isa simply not turning up for flights. it is a measure of how worried they are and how that is affecting

bookings. 0k, simon gompertz at heathrow, thank you. and, as we've heard, the nhs's111 telephone and online service is under intense pressure at the moment. 0ur global health correspondent tulip mazumdar is at one centre in the west midlands. what's the situation there? well, there are more than 100 call centre workers on shift are denied, these are call handlers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and they have been dealing with a record number of calls over the last few days. on an average weekday, they would expect around 3,000 calls on a wide number of health issues people are having. they are expecting more like 4,000 calls on week days now. that is why people are being urged, notjust here in the west midlands but around the country, to go online to the 111 and nhs service online for advice and, most often as well, reassuring. there is a big recruitment drive happening here, 150 new call handlers are being recruited in the coming days and weeks as the uk prepares for more cases. there haven't been any cases here in the

west midlands so far. and just remind us of the key medical advice to try to limit the spread of coronavirus. well, the key thing is all of us can be doing, you, me, people watching at home, is to make sure we are washing our hands regularly, as we heard in the report and catching sneezes heard in the report and catching sneezes and coughs in a disposable to chew and throwing it away. for those advised to self—isolate, the advice is to follow that, don't cut corners. the uk and the world, according to officials, is still in containment mode and at the least, these precautions can slow this outbreak right down. tulip mazumdar and simon gompertz, thank you both very much. let's take a look at some of today's other news. the bbc has seen details of another complaint of bullying against the home secretary priti patel. it follows the resignation at the weekend of the top civil servant in the home office, who also accused her, amongst other things, of bullying. the documents show a settlement of £25,000 was paid to a former staff member four years ago, after ms patel was accused during her time as employment minister.

the home secretary's spokesperson denied she knew anything about the complaint. rianna croxford has the story. are you a workplace bully, home secretary? she is one of the government's most senior ministers. no more allegations have emerged about her treatment of staff. —— no more. on saturday, the most senior civil servant in a home office resigned and announced he was suing the government for constructive dismissal. in an extraordinary statement, he said he was aware of a number of complaints against the home secretary. this afternoon, the minister for home secretary. this afternoon, the ministerfor cabinet home secretary. this afternoon, the minister for cabinet office, michael gove, announced an investigation into claims she had broken the ministerial code. this government always takes any complaints relating to the ministerial code seriously and in line with the process set out in the ministerial code, the prime minister has asked the cabinet office establish the facts. now bbc

news has seen documents from when priti patel was employment minister, showing that a junior employee brought a formal complaint alleging bullying and harassment against the department for work and pensions. the grievance letter says the staff member had tried to take her own life at work the previous year, before ms patel worked in the department, at the reporting allegations are being bullied. by october 2015, the employee, a member of her private office, was told they we re of her private office, was told they were to be dismissed. a letter told her it wasn't because of her performance but because ms patel "doesn't like your face". a formal complaint tells a woman had told her line manager she was feeling fragile because of a medical condition. the next day, it says ms patel shouted at her, saying to "get lost" and get out of herface. at her, saying to "get lost" and get out of her face. she was described as acting within unprovoked level of aggression. shortly after, the staff

member took an overdose of prescription medication in the office and became unresponsive. the letter says that, after being taken home, the woman took another overdose in what is described as an attempt to kill herself, and was rushed to hospital, where she spent the night in resuscitation. a spokesman for ms patel had previously said she was not aware of the formal complaint. the bbc has seen documents that show the junior staff member later received a £25,000 settlement, after bringing a claim of bullying and discrimination against the department. ms patel is named in the documents. on sunday, the prime minister defended ms patel, calling her a brilliant home secretary and praised the civil service. she has always strenuously denied all of the allegations. riana croxford , , denied all of the allegations. riana croxford,, bbc news. the time is 18:16. our top story this evening... more cases of coronavirus are confirmed in the uk,

as the prime minister warns of a possible big increase in the spread of the disease. and we will have the latest from the east yorkshire village where dozens of homes are still under floodwater. it could stay that way for several days yet. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... anthony joshua will defend his heavyweight belts this summer. it's been confirmed he'll fight kubrat pulev at tottenham stadium. there had been suggestionsjoshua would meet tyson fury next. shocking new pictures have emerged of the greek coast guard shooting into the water and using their patrol boats to push away dinghies full of migrants trying to reach greece. thousands of migrants and refugees have gathered at turkey's border with greece, after turkey announced it would no longer prevent them from leaving for the european union. turkey is trying to increase pressure on western countries for more help with the syrian conflict.

jonah fisher sent this report near greece's border with turkey. shouting in the eastern aegean, migrant lives are bargaining chips and cheap. this was filmed by the turkish coast ca rd this was filmed by the turkish coast card and shows greek boats trying to stop a packed dinghy of migrants reaching europe. —— coastguard. imagine the fear on board, unwanted by turkey or by greece. those are warning shots being fired at a flimsy, and inflatable, dinky. not eve ryo ne flimsy, and inflatable, dinky. not everyone makes it. just this morning, a young migrant boy drowned when his, a difference dinky, capsized. one of the rising number who have with turkey's encouragement, tried to reach the greek islands over the last few

days. the direct human consequence of ankara's demands that europe comes to its aid in syria. on land, things are no better. there have been riots at greece's border with turkey at a thousand migrants were mobilised to much break up to the fence and some have got through. —— to march right up to the fence. greece has changed the rules so that if migrants get caught now, they don't get paid —— processed here, they get sent straight back. it means that some of them are hiding. so we have just seen what looks like a couple of migrants over here. they run off and we eventually find them hiding in some bushes. police. 0k. police. i'm not the police, ok? they are syrians, from aleppo. tear gas? tired and still shell—shocked from crossing the border. moments later, we are disturbed and they

move off once again. on the run, in a country that is increasingly hostile to their presence. jonah fisher, bbc news, in northern greece. a series of gross failures by the home office and other agencies contributed to the death of a vulnerable ghanaian man in an immigration removal centre. 31—year—old prince fosu died in his celljust six days after he arrived at the removal centre in harmondsworth in 2012. he was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, hyopthermia and psychosis. speaking after the inquest, his father welcomed the conclusion. thank you, almighty god, for taking us so far. it has been eight years now, and what i saw was shocking news. but what can i say? i'm very glad that everything is over and i've seen the truth in the matter. dozens of homes in east yorkshire are still under water, after the river aire overflowed,

following the recent unprecedented rainfall. in east cowick, the water is still severalfeet deep in places, and its expected to be several days before people will be allowed back into the worst—affected homes. our correspondent, danny savage, is in east cowick for us now. danny, so it's still very difficult for the people living there? yes, fiona, having been here last week, i really thought i would come back this morning to see the situation improving and people a little bit more optimistic. after all, it didn't rain much over the weekend. but that wasn't the case at all, people here say the floodwaters kept rising over the weekend, topped up kept rising over the weekend, topped up last night, and only started receding this morning. as you can see behind me, there is still a long way to go before all of this water disappears. the rain which caused all this flooding is now a distant memory, but the problems it created go on and on. in the village of east cowick, 69 homes have been flooded. you need waders to reach many of them.

we've been watching every day and thinking, another foot, another foot, another foot, another foot, and thinking we were going to get away with it. and then when it actually goes in, you relax then, it's done, it's finished. you've nowt to fight. this is sodden, isn't it? and when you lose the battle, this is what is left. people's homes, their sanctuaries, destroyed. when my mum came yesterday, she saw the house and just floods of tears. it's horrible. yeah, it's... don't know where to start with it. across the road, it was much worse. mick let us into his bungalow, where the waters had forced his floor up. it's come up in a big hump. it isn'tjust the carpet, it's the floorboards. the whole floor. so, you've got like an island in your living room now. sandbags are ok for a little bit, but not to this extent, are they? we sort of keep it nice and, there you go, it's

all done for, isn't it? as you can imagine, the water here isn't very clean, but what's making it worse is that kerosene has got into it — they use it here as heating oil — and it's given the water a film, it stinks and it's getting into all these people's houses. down the road in snaith, another 24 houses are still flooded. the water level might be dropping, but it's not making much difference. pumps are moving water off the flood plain and into a nearby canal, butjust look at how much there is. it could take days for levels to drop off enough, so people can get in here and start assessing the damage. danny savage, bbc news, east cowick. now, it's being billed as the literary event of the year. after an eight—year wait, the third part of dame hilary mantel‘s trilogy about the life of thomas cromwell — the mirror and the light — is finally published this week. the previous two books

in the series, set in the court of henry viii, have sold more than five million copies around the world. hilary mantel has been talking to our arts correspondent, rebecca jones. 480 years ago, thomas cromwell was here at the tower of london, awaiting execution. what better place, then, to discuss the final novel in hillary mantel‘s turbulent tudor history? but at 900 pages, and with a vast cast of characters, she acknowledges it's a challenging read. i can't deny it's demanding, but i make no apologies for asking a lot of commitment from my reader. the mirror and the light completes the story of henry viii's chief adviser, thomas cromwell, begun in wolf hall and bring up the bodies. our case is slender... both were prize—winning novels, adapted successfully for stage and screen. do not be a viper in my bosom...

and hillary mantel says our relentless scrutiny of the monarchy — especially royal wives — spans the ages. i think there's still an intense concentration on the bodies of royal women. we only have to look at what happens when our royal ladies give birth. they are perceived as public property, in the same way that tudor women were perceived. it is simply turning the individual woman back into a breeder. i did wonder what you made of the treatment of the duchess of sussex. do you think she's been a victim of racism? it brings me back to this question of the body. it does include the skin, so racism is a factor. i think it's more deeply embedded in people's consciousness than any

of us are willing to admit. couldn't it have been managed with less bloodshed ? hillary mantel‘s already adapting her new book for the stage, and she says she'd now rather work in the theatre than at home, writing novels. i've spent enough time sitting in a room by myself and, you know, i'm not sure i want to die at my desk, so you've got to be, erm, sane about this. dame hilary mantel ending that report by rebecca jones. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos. good evening. it is the first week of meteorological spring and there isa of meteorological spring and there is a feeling of spring and yet with quite a bit of sunshine around and glorious evening picture here sent a weather watcher in poole, dorset. it isa weather watcher in poole, dorset. it is a bit ofa weather watcher in poole, dorset. it is a bit of a relief to have some respite from the wind and rain after what was february, the wettest on

record. we still have a low pressure close by bringing a bit more breeze to the north west of the uk and further showers and long spells of rain with settling snow on the hills in scotland. through tonight, the area of showers migrate southwards and eastwards into northern and western england and towards wales with snow on the hills. other areas see lengthy clear skies and it is a chilly night with a touch of frost in places and a bit of ice to watch out for the first thing on tuesday. starting with their old showers through central and northern areas, showers move into eastern parts of scotla nd showers move into eastern parts of scotland and england into the afternoon. elsewhere, a bit of sunshine behind. a few wintry showers close to the west coast. temperatures generally single figures, still quite cool. a little cooler, we should be looking at for this time of year. into wednesday, we look to the south of this area of low pressure moving into parts of south—west england and wales during the course of the day. it will bring increasing rain, which turns wintry on the high ground of the moors and

into the hills of wales. to the north of here, variable cloud, some sunshine, mainly dry, with further showers in western scotland and perhaps northern ireland. winds generally light for most, but it feels on the cool side still. the rain spreads across southern areas during wednesday and into thursday, but generally this week, settled conditions with some sunshine and showers are not as windy as it has been of late. fiona. new line that is good to hear, thanks very much. and back to our top story, the spread of coronavirus in the uk. there's a bbc news special tonight on bbc one, at 7:30pm. here's rachel burden. coronavirus — what is it, are you at risk, and how do you protect yourself? what do you and your family need to know? tonight, we're answering your questions. you can get in touch using the hashtag bbc your questions. that's 7:30pm, on bbc one. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me. and, on bbc one, we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are.

the headlines on bbc news... the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the uk rises to 39 as the prime minister warned that it is likely to spread further across the country. the nhs prepares for a major outbreak as the government's cobra meets. the cabinet office is to investigate allegations of bullying by the home secretary following claims by a former senior civil servant. the rain may have eased but dozens of homes in east yorkshire are still under water and are likely to be so for days. the bargaining begins. trade talks get

under way in brussels between the uk and the