this is bbc news the headlines at six. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics, or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. ido i do not believe in the story at all, there is no sense in it. councils in england now have new powers to close shops, cancel events and shut outdoor public spaces to manage outbreaks of the virus. the veteran american civil rights leader and long—serving congressman, john lewis, has died at the age of eighty. eu leaders struggle to reach an agreement on a 750 billion euro economic recovery package to repair the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic.

the uk government guarantees financial support for holiday makers seeking refunds for trips that that were cancelled because of coronavirus. and lewis hamilton sets a new track record as he takes pole position for the hungarian grand prix. good evening. the russian ambassador to the uk has flatly rejected british allegations that his country's intelligence services have tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research.

speaking to the andrew marr show, andrey kelin also denied russia's involvement in last year's general election, and even suggested, following russia's referendum on its constitution, that cyber—attacks aimed at his country originated in the uk. we do not interfere. we do not see any point in interference because for us whether it is conservative or labour party at the head of this country, we will try to settle relations and to establish better and to establish better relations. now conservative party has won and we are committed to this relationship. the committee which is studying the results have discovered several cyber attacks, also coming from the united kingdom but we do not accuse the united kingdom. but we do not accuse the united kingdom.

the ambassador also said russia was willing to start a new chapter in its relations with the uk, which have cooled in recent years, partly due to the 2018 novichok poisioning in salisbury, thought to have been carried out by two officers in russia's intelligence service. andrey kelin also took aim at britain's imposition of sanctions on individuals implicated in the death of russian lawyer sergei magnitsky in 2009... as for magnitsky, we will find the way to punish those who are making these types of sanctions because sanctions are illegal. sanctions can only be imposed by the united nations. as you said, the united kingdom is a member of the security council. we are prepared to do business with britain, to open again our committees on investment that we have had, the committee on energy we have had and to conduct normal relations. we still do not understand why some

spy story should disrupt this important business relation which would be very helpful to britain in times when it is exiting from the european union. and you can watch the bbc‘s full interview with russia's ambassador to the uk, andrey kelin, which will be shown on the andrew marr show tomorrow morning at nine o'clock on bbc one, and will then be available on the bbc iplayer. the latest changes to coronavirus restrictions come into effect today in england, scotland and wales — after the prime minister expressed the hope of a return to normality by christmas. councils in england now have new powers to close shops and cancel events to try to manage local outbreaks in future. it comes as figures from public health england show a further a0 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in the uk, although the health secretary has ordered a review in to how the figures are compiled. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker reports. people in the town of rochdale have been asked to wear facemasks in shops,

limit visitor numbers to their homes. it's one of the places in england where there is concern about the number of new cases. it comes as local authorities are getting powers to tackle coronavirus at speed. we have been dealing across the country with over 100 outbreaks a week, and we have been using our existing powers, and quite frankly, cooperation of the public and businesses, and that has worked well. but this will allow us to act swifter, on a more localised basis, and therefore hopefully, prevent us needing to make more drastic measures, as we have seen in leicestershire. the new powers for councils include the ability to close shops and public outdoor spaces, also cancel events. along with the possibility of local stricter measures, a loosening of lockdown more broadly. getting people back to work, onto public transport, allowing audiences back into stadiums in a covid—secure way.

all part of a staggered, conditional plan over the coming months with this possible reward at the end of it. it is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from november, at the earliest, possibly in time for christmas. but there are questions over whether the road map is realistic, including an end to social distancing by christmas. it's possible that we can get there, and the prime minister and i and others have spoken about this this week because we want to give people some sort of sense of direction, because a lot of people are running businesses or rely on the christmas period, for example, and need to know that if everything goes well that this is our intention. mitigation measures alongside it all, expanded test and trace, more money for the nhs, ramping up flu vaccines, the coronavirus

journey isn't over, the months ahead may well present new challenges. joining me now is dr andrew lee, reader of global public health at the university of sheffield. thank you for being with us. let me ask you about the prospects for the rest of the year and in particular the winter because obviously we a lwa ys the winter because obviously we always have a flu outbreak, which i vaccinate people to prepare for it but we have never had it before in combination with the rest of a second wave of a much more serious virus? good evening. i agree with you on that. there was a port this week by the academy of medical sciences which gave a guarded,

pessimistic predictions for the winter. we could be looking at a challenging winter indeed before we add on that there coronavirus second with. do you think one of the consequences this year which will make people more conscious about the risk of infection in the winter, i am thinking that lots of people who do not bother getting the flu vaccination routinely, they are now all desperately waiting for a virus —— micro vaccine to fight coronavirus which will not happen till next year but will it make people take the threat of the more seriously? i certainly hope so. we know that the virus is protected and those who are eligible should get the vaccine. we know that flu viruses can act in synergy with other pathogens in the winter such

as things which cause meningitis. there are things we can do to damp down influenza over the winter and this will help. we have a system in this will help. we have a system in this country until 1974, dealt with by local councils, that he much focused on locality, then it went into the nhs, then it went back to councils in 2012, at a time when councils in 2012, at a time when council funding was being councils in 2012, at a time when councilfunding was being cut because of this territory, how ready are councils do you believe in their public health role to take on this challenge? central government is playing a part with new is today, there is an expectation more initiative will have to be taken locally. you cannot strip out funding from local authorities and public health departments over decades and expect to be no

consequence. decades and expect to be no consequence. i know a lot of local authority public health teams have been working hard now to get measures in place to prepare and respond to outbreaks in the near future and localities so a lot of work to do to prepare winter definitely. you think we perhaps have to be prepared to accept some of the changes made? definitely. if people expect to go back to pre—covid 19 normality, that is unlikely. we probably need to continue to practice good group infection control measures such as social distancing, use the face coverings, handwashing and so on. what you make of what the prime minister said on friday, his hope at least that things could be back to normal by christmas?” least that things could be back to normal by christmas? i think that is a possibility there albeit a small

one. ican a possibility there albeit a small one. i can see from the government point of view of trying to reassure the public to get consumer confidence back to get the economy going. that said, i would advise our fellow citizens to continue to practice all the infection—control measures we have been doing for the la st measures we have been doing for the last few months. let us not take this infection for granted. if conditions are right, it will combine with a vengeance. conditions are right, it will combine with a vengeancem conditions are right, it will combine with a vengeance. if we take it seriously now, we have a much better chance of having a normal family christmas at the end of the year? certainly. to be fair, we had ina year? certainly. to be fair, we had in a better place than they were four months ago. we had test and trace in place. we had some experience of how to respond to the virus and the new powers that government has given local authorities should also help. thank you very much for being with us.

one of the last surviving leaders of the civil rights movement of 1960s america, john lewis, has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer. he was 80 years old and had been a congressman for 17 terms. rajini vaidyanathan has been looking back atjohn lewis' extraordinary life. john lewis was one of the most enduring figures in the civil rights movement. dedicating his life to fighting racism, he marched alongside martin luther king. and lived to see a black president. born in alabama in 1940, john lewis grew up in an america that was deeply segregated. i would come home and ask my mother and my father, my grandparents, my great grandparents, why segregation, why racial discrimination? they would say that is the way it is, do not get in trouble.

but dr king inspired me to get in trouble. the two men met whenjohn lewis wasjust a teenager. i wanted to go and attend troy state college. it was a school which had never admitted black students so i wrote a letter to martin luther king junior and said i needed his help. he wrote me back and sent me a round—trip bus ticket and invited me to come to montgomery to meet him. in march 1958, i am 18 years old by then, he was standing behind the desk, i was so scared and dr king spoke up said, are you john lewis, are you the boy from troy? and so the boy from troy became a civil rights leader himself. as a student he took part in citizens to protest —— in sit ins. i was beaten, arrested and taken tojail. but i felt so free when i was arrested. i felt soliberated, you arrest me,

beat me, thrown injail, what else can you do to me? you kill me? dr king said it is better to die a physical death than to die a spiritual or psychological death. in august 1963, john lewis was the youngest speaker at the march on washington where doctor king delivered his famous i have a dream address. when the march was all over, and dr king had finished speaking, we were all invited to go to the white house to meet president kennedy. we were ready and prepared. so they marched again for voting rights from selma to montgomery, alabama but their message of nonviolence ended brutally as they were attacked by the police. by the 50th anniversary of that iconic march, john lewis had become a politician and was known as the conscience of the us congress.

at the age of 70, he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, the highest civilian order in america. in recent months he was that marches after the killing of george floyd. can i give up now? no! can i give in? no! we must keep the faith and keep our eyes on the prize. we must go out and vote like we never ever voted before. for a man who lived through so many chapters of the civil rights movement, the pain of racial injustice in america never went away, nor did the fight against it. forjohn lewis, the mantra was simple, never give up, nevergive in. earlier i spoke to the son of martin luther king jr, human rights activist martin luther king iii,

about the legacy ofjohn lewis. in factjohn lewis became the conscience of congress. and really the conscience of our nation. he always stood up forjustice and righteousness and equality. he brought people together. he worked in a bipartisan fashion, more than probably anyone else, that is what he was about. we have got to bring people together to get something done. in fact, the voting rights act was passed in 1955, sorry 1965. it has been 55 years and is that act was passed but in 2013, the united states supreme court struck elements of it down. although some of it was struck down, john lewis was still fighting, every

year he brings people to selma to observe the anniversary of the march. this has been going on for a number of years, over 25 years, he led those demonstrations. the fact is the work is not done. if we want to pay tribute to john lewis, we need to be engaged in voting, organising, mobilising or registering and voting. we need to re—enact the voting rights act, congress needs to pass legislation, don't just talk that he was such a great man and he did great work. the work has to become action now and that is what he would want to see happen in the united states. i can recall being in georgia in the run—up to the presidential election in 2008 and seeing long queues of

black voters stretching around and down the street in some towns, inspired by the prospect of getting ba rack 0bama elected. more than a decade on, others challenges still there ahead of this us presidential election? there are challenges and maybe to some degree different challenges because of voter suppression. some of the governors and legislators in our states have imposed new restrictions which make it more challenging for some people to vote by moving people off the voter rolls, closing down polling stations, making early voting, shorter voting times so it means there are more challenges but what i believe can happen is that young people will come out in this election like never before. i think people want to see something different in our nation than what we have seen over the past four years. i think people, especially sadly because ofjohn lewis passing, i

think there will be an even larger engagement. people think they need to do something this year, i will vote like never before. we saw in our report, on his life and clear, ——and career, thatjohn lewis was on the protest lines on their matter of weeks ago after george floyd's killing, looking thinner but no less determined, no less focused on the bigger picture. you tweeted at the time of george floyd's death, some words your late father had said about the importance of the fight for equality and freedom and for life. do you think some of that inspiration can be focused on the commemorations, the funeral and so on forjohn lewis to remind people of this extraordinary period of american history which sadly stretches back decades and decades?

i certainly think some of it will be. i think it could be an additional impetus to mobilise people in a way like not before. for example, the george floyd tragic killing really struck a chord in our nation and throughout the world. we have never seen anything like this. there are more civil rights demonstrations, the largest civil rights demonstrations have taken place during this particular period. so whatjohn lewis would want us to do would—be capture that energy and engage it by casting our votes in november. that was martin luther king the third talking to me aboutjohn lewis

who has died. a man who was filmed being detained while a police officer knelt on his neck has appeared in court in london — charged with possessing a knife in public. the metropolitan police's deputy commissioner, described the footage as ‘extremely disturbing'. a police officer has since been suspended and another placed on restricted duties, while an independent investigation is carried out. european union leaders in brussels are struggling to reach agreement on an economic recovery package worth 750 billion euros — to repair the damage done by the coronavirus. a revised plan has been put forward on the second day of the summit, and is being discussed this afternoon. the bbc‘s europe correspondent, gavin lee explains what the sticking points are on the deal. gavin lee explains what the sticking the main element is that 500 billion euros is to be given out as grants to countries worst hit by covid—19, so italy and spain, but the dutch saying, no, there have to be

stricter conditions, we have to sign off on it. effectively, give a veto to every, any and every country who is, saying, 0k we sign up for this trench of cash. now, boyko borisov, the bulgarian prime minister, reportedly said that mark rutte is acting as the policeman of europe. so tensions last night. there is a new proposal on the today in which the eu council are saying, slash 50 billion of this grant fund, let's say it's 450 billion in grants, the rest in loans, to make up, as you say, 750 billion, and, if you've got a problem with italy or spain or who else asking for this cash and wanting reasons, raise it with the european commission, it's not a veto, but it helps. now, the dutch have said that is a significant step forward. my only take on this, ijust had a message from one senior eu council official, and she has said they are going to go through plenty of facemasks and hand gel if there's going to be any white smoke here. germany has been relying

on testing, tracing — and now mobile phone technology — to reduce the number of new coronavirus infections. more than 15 million people in the country have downloaded a tracking app which automatically notifies users if they've been in contact with an infected person. jenny hill has sent this report. welcome to frankfurt airport. please remember to keep your... this is germany's largest airport. just a few weeks ago, it was almost at a standstill. now, well, this country's back on the move. but how to stop the virus spreading too? germany's testing more. 500,000 tests last week. here at frankfurt, for a fee, they are on offer to travellers, too. anyone can turn up here for a test. you get the results within three hours or around seven hours, depending on how much you are willing to pay. let's give it a go. three to five people test positive here every day, they tell us. many had no symptoms. so, really young travellers and especially those below 40,

usually they have nothing or slight symptoms that they did not link with covid—19. tracking infection is important here. at every cafe, bar, restaurant, you have to leave your contact details and, for the last month, germans have been able to download a tracing app. every time i, or rather, my phone, come into close proximity with someone else and their phone, it keeps a record. now, it won't tell me who they were or where we met, but, if within 14 days, they test positive and tell the app, i'll get an automatic warning. around one in five germans have downloaded the app. for privacy reasons, their data stays on the phones. the authorities can't see it. so it's unlikely to put sylvia out of work. she's the human version, speaking to those who tested positive and tracing those they might have infected. so many contacts. it was awful, you know! there were so many. after the shutdown, it was less and less and less. germany's got used to masks,

distance, caution. but, as this country embarks on a very different holiday season, experts worry. too easy, they say, to leave those cares behind. jenny hill, bbc news, frankfurt. the president of iran, hassan rouhani, has said that 25 million iranians have now been infected with the coronavirus. the figure is nearly one hundred times the official number. in a televised speech, mr rouhani did not explain the discrepancy, but said the figures were based on a new ministry of health report. 14000 iranians have officially lost their lives to covid—19. iran has been the country worst hit by the coronavirus in the middle east. a fire at a cathedral in the city of nantes in western france is thought to have been

started deliberately . around 100 firefighters have been tackling the blaze, which totally destroyed the cathedral‘s great organ. the fire has now been brought under control. one of bollywood's most famous actresses, aishwarya rai bachan, has been taken to hospital after testing positive for covid—19. she's being treated at mumbai's nanavati hospital according to reports. her daughter has also been admitted. aishwarya's husband abhishek and father—in—law amitaab bachan — both also considered bollywood royalty — have been in hospital since last saturday with the virus. people who've been given credit notes for cancelled package holidays are being reassured by the government that these will still be honoured — even if firms go bust. the announcement covers breaks which were disrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic between march the tenth and the end of september this year. our business correspondent, katie prescott, has more details. jennifer and john were due to get married in las vegas injune. coronavirus put that trip on hold. and like many others, the couple is still waiting for a refund. we need that money to pay for the wedding that we've rearranged, so we're just chasing them, we just keep asking them, please, please, please

will they refund us, but they're just saying there's a queue. £6,000, which is what ours cost, is not a small amount of money to anybody. to normal people like this, especially when my partner's been furloughed for three months. travellers who see their holidays cancelled should get a refund within 14 days, but given the sheer number of cancellations that have happened over the last few months, many travel companies have struggled to meet that and have been instead issuing credit refund notes for holidays at a later date. the concern is, though, if those companies go under, that travellers would lose both their money and their holiday. the government is changing this, pledging to underwrite all refund credit notes issued between the 10th of march and the 30th of september this year. for atol protected holidays cancelled due to covid—19. it gives consumers that confidence to accept these credit notes. if they don't want to accept the refund, they can still take a refund if that's what they want, but then it does also give companies the opportunity to help to encourage those customers to book with them

again in the future. but customers are advised to do their homework before accepting them over a cash refund. by accepting a refund credit note, you are locked in with that holiday company, so when you come to rebook, you have to rebook with them. it means you can't shop around, you won't necessarily get the best price. we also know that some tour operators have increased prices for 2021, so you may end up having to use the refund credit note and pay a little bit more as well. the government won't say how much they expect the scheme to cost, but as 12 travel firms have already gone under this year, the burden of paying for cancelled package holidays will fall on the taxpayer. katie prescott, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. it has been a glorious saturday in london, here are the details for the whole of the uk. hello. we have seen

the rain in parts of northern england and wales, it will turn drier and clearer overnight as a mid—size and seized and they are. heavier bursts developing. a few showers in northern scotland but much of scotland, northern ireland and northern england and into wales, and northern england and into wales, a cooler night but a warm and muggy night in the state. clearing away from south—west england in the morning but cloud holding on in south—east england even in the afternoon. chance of patchy rain. elsewhere, plenty of sunday sunshine. a few showers in scotland, there could be the odd heavy one, still quite breezy here but not as busy as today. temperatures just into the high teens, warm and muggy for the south, temperatures in the south, the humidity is down as well.

goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics, or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. we have an interview with a former uk ambassador to moscow just we have an interview with a former uk ambassador to moscowjust after 7pm. i don't believe this story at all. there is no sense in it.

councils in england now have new powers to close shops,