this is bbc news with the latest headlines. new lockdown rules for more than four million people in parts of northern england due to a rising number of coronavirus cases. most of the transmission was happening between households visiting each other, and people visiting each other, and people visiting relatives and friends, and so visiting relatives and friends, and so we've taken this action, which i appreciate is very significant for those involved. people living in greater manchester, east lancashire and half of west yorkshire are barred from mixing with other households in their homes and gardens — although pubs and restaurants can stay open. if you live in the area and are affected — you can get in touch. on twitter it's annita underscore

mcveigh, or hashtag bbc your questions. also coming up this hour... in wales, up to 30 people can meet outdoors and children under 11 will not have to social distance from monday. after four months of shielding, the vulnerable are told they can go back to work, but charities say people's health is being put at risk. ba's owner posts huge losses and say it will take until at least 2023 for passenger levels to recover from the impact of the pandemic. the baftas behind closed doors. the tv awards take place tonight, but there'll be no red carpet this year and the ceremony is being held inside a closed studio.

good morning and welcome to bbc news. more than four million people across northern england have been told to comply with new lockdown rules because of a rising number of coronavirus cases. the changes, which were announced late last night, apply to people living in greater manchester, east lancashire and parts of west yorkshire. the city of leicester is also affected. if you live in any of those places, you're now not allowed to meet up with people from other households in your home or garden, as well as indoor public venues such as pubs, restaurants, shops or places of worship. you are still allowed to meet with those you've formed a support bubble with. earlier, health secretary matt hancock clarified that members of different households can meet in public outdoor spaces like parks but not in pub or private gardens.

meeting people from another household in hospitality, in a purple restaurant, is against the guidance, for exactly the reason that i set out. —— in a sage or restau ra nt. that i set out. —— in a sage or restaurant. you can go to a restau ra nt restaurant. you can go to a restaurant also red with people in your own household, or the support bubble, where people have a support bubble, where people have a support bubble with a single household. but this is all about trying to stop the spread from one household to another, which is at the heart of the increase we had seen across this area. we had said that two households can meet at a social distance in a public place outdoors, because the evidence is that altoe transmission is much lower. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, said he supported the government's decision to implement stricter lockdown measures as cases of the virus across the area

continue to rise. in our highest borough, oldham, it's over 50 cases per 100,000 people, which is often seen as a benchmark for when things are getting more serious, it is about 38 cases per 100,000 in rochdale, which has come down slightly. the issue we have seen it spread in different communities. we have a rapidly rising rate in the trafford borough in the south side of manchester. that is the change in the week and that is why action needed to be taken. these are obviously in some ways, not for everybody, for some people, modest measures, they are intended to present a more severe local lockdown. we do not want that, that is why we are prepared to act to prevent it. it is about household gatherings, that is the issue that has been identified, rightly, in our view, by the government. family gatherings or young people gathering, parties, even, this is causing spread of the virus in different

communities across greater manchester. why the differentiation between let's say the pub and the home, as the person rightly asked, is a fair question, it is because the pub all the shops or whatever else is meant to be a more regulated environment. there are distancing arrangements in place and people are wearing face covering. in the home environment, people are mingling and that is where we are seeing community transmission. these regulations are about getting to the issue, not restricting people unnecessarily but getting to the issue. i would say to all residents of the areas affected it is probably best not to travel to another part of the country this weekend, i am not sure that the rules would stop you, but i would say it is best not to do it. andy burnham. 0ur political correspondent,

jonathan blake is at westminster. 0bviously obviously as rules change in specific areas, people try to make sense of what is happening and how it applies to them, and it turns out even health secretary matt hancock had to be corrected in what he said on his interview on bbc breakfast this morning. there is a certain amount of confusion about exactly what applies, given the latest restrictions pretend place, and what you cannot cannot you. the government this morning has published several pages of advice online covering various different scenarios, from weddings to go into mosques, two eid celebrations, to using other places of worship, to meeting indoors and outdoors. it is worth saying that, broadly speaking, the restrictions put in place are pretty simple, as andy burnham was suggesting, they are about hassles meeting other households indoors. whether that is in your home or your

garden or at a pub, bar, whether that is in your home or your garden orata pub, bar, restaurant oi’ garden orata pub, bar, restaurant or anywhere else in george. 0utdoors and outside of commercial premises, things are broadly speaking as they were, but on that specific point of weather households in the affected areas can travel outside of the affected areas and then meet indoors with another household, matt hancock appeared to say in his interview on bbc breakfast this morning that that was allowed as well as people maintain social distancing, but the guidance is printed on the government website this morning is clear, it says you should not visit someone clear, it says you should not visit someone else's home or garden even if they live outside the affected areas. we have tried to get clarification on this tcf health secretary wa nts clarification on this tcf health secretary wants to correct what he said, but nothing has so far been forthcoming. that won't help people trying to get their heads about these new wills. as the government said it is important for people to follow them as closely as possible

if these new restrictions are to remain in place for as short a time as necessary. thank you very much, jonathan blake at westminster. in a moment we will be talking to baroness sayeeda warsi — conservative peer and former chair of the conservative party — she's in wakefield, just outside the affected area, but first let's speak to lucy powell, the labour mp for manchester central. good morning, both. thank you for your time. we heard from jonathan about the confusion in the interview with the health secretary this morning, if we are even getting confusion from the health secretary, how are the rest of us meant to interpret and comprehend the rules? me included. look, isupport interpret and comprehend the rules? me included. look, i support any public health measure that keeps this virus under control and helps to save lives, but it is so important if we want people to comply with the rules that they understand what they are, and there

isa understand what they are, and there is a great deal more transparency around the decision is likely had seen around the decision is likely had seen overnight, why they have been taken and seen overnight, why they have been ta ken and what seen overnight, why they have been taken and what they mean —— about the decision to likely had seen overnight. i am afraid we are not in that situation this morning and the so—called new rules are already legally enforceable, yet there is a huge amount of uncertainty about what they actually mean a many, many different scenarios for many different scenarios for many different people, and that uncertainty, i'm afraid, leads to people not complying and to greater levels of transmission, and it also has a huge knock—on impact on the local economy and local businesses. we are already seeing as of tomorrow some of the pulling back of the economic support measures in place, the furlough scheme is being tapered off as of tomorrow and frankly the £10 meal deal will not help restau ra nt £10 meal deal will not help

restaurant in manchester that are waking up this morning to mass cancellations. obviously you talk about people not complying, as you have clearly said i am sure you support the need for these restrictions in whatever area they had to be applied, but prior to this and the reason for this is that people were not complying with what was a pretty simple instruction of social distancing. that is a fact, isn't it? i don't know because i have not seen the data myself. that is what we are told is the reason for these new restrictions. this is com pletely for these new restrictions. this is completely new news to me, i keep very closely abreast of the day take manchester, as he would expect me to, iam involved in regular briefing conversations and at no point has this been flagged with me. i knew of this, along with everybody else, last night. if that is the case, that it is because of

household interactions, we really must be very clear about what these restrictions mean, and my understanding was that this was just about not going to other households orfamily and about not going to other households or family and household about not going to other households orfamily and household gatherings, yet the guidance as it has come out goes much further than that and that is why it is causing people a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty. what is that mean for attending a wedding in another part of the country, which some people have raised with me? what does it mean about going on holiday this weekend with another household, that has been raised with me. what did it mean for some of those sectors that we re mean for some of those sectors that were due to reopen 0ko further with some of our services this weekend, like beauty, for example? what is it mean for the shielding who were supposed to not be in the shielding category of this weekend? there is a whole range of questions which we need to urgently answering, i am afraid it is not good enough of the

government to announce such widespread and large—scale measures with huge, knock—on consequences, without being around to answer those basic questions. also, i am sorry to say, it throws right in the shape the government's track and trace system. having to announce such broadbrush restrictions across such a large area, i'm afraid, it's the government recognising that the track and trace system is not fit for purpose, because if that was up and running as they said we would have, properly, we use that system to really focus on where transmission is happening and to stop it from happening, so to bring about such a packet setup restrictions, it says to me they have no confidence in themselves in track and trace, which is a real worry going forward. finally and briefly, if you would, are you in a position based on what you had said

to have enough data to be able to comment on whether it is a idea to place these additional lockdown measures on this huge area rather than attain more nuanced and specific to more localised areas, which is a point we have heard raised by a number of representatives this morning? clearly they may become more localised because i was not the information, i do not know. what i would say to the people of greater manchester and my own constituents, as frustrating and difficult as this is, the best thing we can all do, especially this weekend and in the coming days, is to be extra cautious, extra vigilance, don't mix it households, as the instructions are telling us, so that when this situated next thursday, which is what are being told, it can be done any more nuanced way if it needs to continue. lucy powell mp, thank you

very much forjoining us to talk about this. with me analysis is a former cherub conservative party, baroness sayeeda thank you for your time. happy eid, first of all. do you think many muslims are waking up today and people of any faith or none, waking up today confused about what this news means for them? thank you. yes, ithink what this news means for them? thank you. yes, i think it has been... i agree with lucy, any measures introduced which will protect either individuals, families, areas of the country from the spread of this pandemic, i absolutely support, but what i think is important is that ultimately we can't police our way out of this pandemic, we will need volu nta ry out of this pandemic, we will need voluntary compliance, with both the guidance, the regulations and what does my keeps talking about as common—sense. because of that volu nta ry common—sense. because of that voluntary support that we need from

individuals, it is important we keep the communities on board and therefore important that we communicate the message clearly and ina timely communicate the message clearly and in a timely way. what concerns me about last night's 11th hour announcement is that i was up until the early else of this morning fielding phone calls and trying to cascade information through communities to make sure that this morning people were not falling foul of breaking the law. and your pa rents of breaking the law. and your parents and in—laws, i understand, who you had been planning to visit for first who you had been planning to visit forfirst mac, but who you had been planning to visit for first mac, but now can't? like most eid festivities, they started daysin most eid festivities, they started days in advance and my mother and mother—in—law had amassed a multitude for expecting at various times of the day for family to visit. —— had amassed huge amounts of food. i had to call them and explain why plans had changed, for

there to protect themselves. there has been a lot of messaging put through communities, specifically faith communities, and fantastic compliance by faith communities. lots of churches, synagogues, mosques and temples had complied with social distancing and when they have reopened they had done so safely, but when changes are made last minute, at nine o'clock in the evening when the news came through, it is incredibly difficult to try to make sure that information is cascaded appropriately and fully to those whom it concerns. surely deserving of a press conference? when the government stop giving the daily press briefings it said it would have some on days when there we re would have some on days when there were significant enhancements, we are talking about more than 4 million people being affected, surely this dessert a news conference? deserving, and also deserting of some time. if we go back to the pandemic started, it was weeks before we started to impose

the lockdown measures are countries across the lockdown measures are countries a cross we re the lockdown measures are countries across were imposing, it was months before we started to impose measures and face coverings which other countries were imposing, and where showing were effective in controlling the pandemic. it seems unusual why we don't —— don't now have allies, possibly 2a alice cutter to make announcements, whether it is the one last night, whether it is the one last night, whether in relation to quarantine measures for those travelling to spain and to other countries for holidays, i think having more space and time will mean that we keep the public on side to make sure we do not have a second spike. thank you for your thoughts. let me read you a couple of the comments i have been sent about this and lots of questions, i think it emphasises the confusion about the new wills. hannah says please help us get

clarity on weddings, we desperately need a road map, the industry has been forgotten. charlie says i live in manchester, it says i can travel outside the area to attend a wedding but does not mention other reasons. alistair says can you clarify the situation in leicester? debbie, i live in trafford and work from home asa live in trafford and work from home as a beautician, can i have clients at my house? and that survivor to spread by relatives visiting each other so the government wait until the eve of eid to enhance the lockdown, which affects muslims more than anyone else. annette says i live in rossendale, one of the areas in the new lockdown, we have the second lowest rate of infection in lancashire but are lumped in with areas with high infection rates. we have gone from zero cases to one in the last week. thank you for your comments, lots of people writing in with lots of questions in the vein of those comments, these get in touch with your thoughts on this

all. for the past four months, more than two million vulnerable people have been following medical guidance to stay at home, to protect themselves from coronavirus. but from tomorrow in england and scotland, and from today in northern ireland, the advice for shielders will be paused, meaning they'll be able to socialise indoors, and even return to work if they wish. but, many have mixed feelings. tim muffet has been speaking to some of those affected. shut away, you know? shut away from the world and no one seems to be caring what's happening to people like me. rob has a rare form of muscular dystrophy. he's been told to shield, to stay in and away from others. but from tomorrow, in england and scotland, that guidance will be paused. so how are you feeling ahead of this weekend? very, very anxious, to the point of almost paranoia. i'm worried about going anywhere where people are going to be, such as a shop, public building, anywhere like that, i'm dreading going into.

there's nothing i've heard or seen that will convince me that i'm safe. sunday morning and my lovely partner anna has brought my shopping around, bless her. it's notjust a simple case of, "right, the door‘s open, out you go, rejoin the human race, enjoy yourself." i don't think that's going to be the case. i think a lot of people like myself will be concerned about catching the virus, of course, but just getting used to be an out there when you've been told you can't. so i'll now show you inside my caravan. this is where i sleep. kate has a range of conditions, including a rare type of asthma. she spent much of the last few months inside a caravan in her parents‘ garden. it's a big emotional step to be stuck inside for four plus months, and then to go out into the big wide world. for a lot of people it brings on a lot of anxiety and worry. although i was by myself

in the caravan and i was shielding from the family as well, i was running the shielders united group. what's the general view about the changes? it's a bit mixed. there is some people that can't wait to get a piece of normality back, but for a large majority of the people that i speak to, it's scary. do you think this guidance has been communicated well enough? it definitely feels like there's been a step missing. expect us to be stuck inside. months, then we can go for a walk. and then, "0h, off you go to work," that's a big leap to take. at first i was maybe a bit anxious, but now i'm actually quite looking forward to going back to a bit of normality, getting my life back a little bit more now and going back to work. katrina also has a rare type of asthma. now, those who've been shielding have been allowed out once

a day to go for a walk. what's that been like? the first walk i went on, i went with my mum, and we literally only went around the block. but bear in mind i'd not been outside for 12 weeks. i turned the corner and i think it was just so overwhelming that i started crying. but everything was so bright, everything was just so vivid, like the colours and everything, but you are very aware of, like, people walking close to you or walking behind you, it's quite sort of... it makes you a bit anxious when people are walking behind you, because you feel like you either have to move to the side or speed up, which i can't really do because of my condition. what do you plan to do this weekend? i'm going to have a walk, i think, with my boyfriend, we've been together nearly two years and obviously with him living in a different household we haven't seen each other properly for about four months. oh, i can't wait. i am very excited. ijust think it'll be a bit weird, because obviously, like, you can't hug, you can't hold hands, you can't do your normal

everyday couple things. the government says... shielding's been paused from today in northern ireland, and it's due to happen in wales on august the 16th. huge changes to the lives of more than two million people. tim muffett, bbc news. in wales, children under 11 years old will no longer need to keep their distance from other people outdoors form monday. it's part of the changes to lockdown rules being introduced next week. pubs and cafes will also be allowed to serve customers inside, but there are no plans to make face masks mandatory in shops. from monday, groups of up to 30 can meet outdoors in wales, and it will not matter how many households they are from.

from today, passengers arriving in the uk from luxembourg will have to isolate for 1h days as the countryjoins spain in a growing list of countries being closely watched by the government. the foreign office is also advising against all but essential travel there. downing street said there had been a "consistent increase" in covid—19 cases in the country since the end ofjune. it comes as several countries in europe have reported record daily increases in new cases this week, prompting fears of a wider surge across the continent. there is speculation that belgium could be the next country to be taken off the quarantine free list. 0ur brussels correspondent nick beake is in brussels. hello, i think the news on luxembourg and the fact that belgian is really being closely watched, to look at the number of cases there, emphasises the huge uncertainty for eve ryo ne

emphasises the huge uncertainty for everyone right now, whatever your reasons for travel might be, and uncertainty unlikely to go away anytime soon? i think you are absolutely right, and for me a straight a problem that so many governments face, notjust straight a problem that so many governments face, not just the british government but looking at the domestic picture and the lockdown in the north, the changes in the north of england, and so as you mentioned luxembourg hasjoined spain on the uk quarantine less, if you come from luxembourg you have to self quarantine for two weeks if you are right in the uk, speculation that belgian will follow because the number of cases has been telling up, and this is part of a wider picture which is concerning quite a few people, that in different parts of mainland europe the number of cases is going up. the actual numbers involved here is that spain is reporting about 1900 new cases on average over the past seven days, france, for two days wedding they

have reported more than 1000 new cases, which is causing concern. —— for two days running. some of the governments and health authorities in these countries point out we are nowhere near the levels of cases we we re nowhere near the levels of cases we were seeing in the really dark days of the first initial wave of survivors, but they are really hoping they can get a grip on them. here in belgium, they talked may be about needing a second complete lockdown, but for now they had taken some of the social distancing measures, which had been relaxed in the last few weeks. —— but for now, they have tightened. it shows how countries are china to tackle this massive global problem in different ways. thank you, nick beake in brussels. we can speak now to neil pearce, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. and i'm alsojoined by india bullock, who is due to fly to tenerife

in august. professor neil pearce, the new lockdown measures in the north of england, the situation in luxembourg and belgium and the rise in many cases in europe, how worried are you by this? certainly i am worried, and i think we should be, but it seems we have a new crisis every week, but this week we have had two crises, the crisis of foreign travel and the crisis of what is happening in the north. what they both have in common is the most common word that people are using is confusion, they want a road map, they want to be able to plan to have holidays and celebrations, and things keep changing all the time and nobody really knows the rules now. i think the reason for that is that the government needs a plan, not about what it will do this week but about what it will do this week but about what it will tailor next two or

three months. how helpful do you think that would be to the general public? everybody has to be on board to make this work, for this situation to get better. you have been looking at countries which are close to eliminated the virus, like new zealand and taiwan. what have they done which other countries have not yet? you need to do three things to eliminate the virus, you need effective social distancing, and effective social distancing, and effective test, trace and isolate system and you need to quarantine up the borders. new zealand decided on a very clear policy, they had four levels of restriction, people knew the rules and in seven weeks they eliminated the virus from the country. new zealand has had no new domestic cases in the last few months —— three months. taiwan has had no new domesticated in the last hundred days, the only cases they get are arriving from other countries. it is possible to do this

here but we need a clear plan, we need to decide that the next two or three months we will get the levels in england and wales down to the same as those in scotland and northern ireland, which are very low, and then together between the uk and ireland we could push to eliminate the virus from these islands. it is not difficult if you have a clear plan and you stick to eight and people support it.|j have a clear plan and you stick to eight and people support it. i will come back to una few moments, professor, but india, you were nodding your head as professor pearce was talking about a clear plan. iam pearce was talking about a clear plan. i am sure you would love that, you are in limbo, you were meant to travel to the canary islands on the 19th ofjuly. travel to the canary islands on the 19th of july. what travel to the canary islands on the 19th ofjuly. what has happened since then? we moved our holiday out to the middle of august, so we are due to go again, it was originally cancelled, we totally understand the bigger picture here. we were unable

to go because at the moment henry has been added to the nonessential travel list. —— happy moments, henry has been added. we are totally confused by the message we are getting and we cannot understand why the island has been added with such low infection rates. i would love to hear your thought process on deciding to go abroad for a holiday, because what professor pearce is saying is if the uk is to eliminate the virus, all international travel should be cut for a period. 0bviously everyone blood holiday but would you be prepared to do that if you thought there was a prize at the end of eliminating the virus? absolutely, we booked a holiday last year. had we been in a situation where we could see what would happen into the future, there is no way we probably would have booked a holiday, but also having seen lots

of people enjoying holiday safely we made a calculated decision that we would try to go on holiday. at the moment we have mass confusion, and as you say i think if there is a plan and meet new foreign holidays we re off plan and meet new foreign holidays were off the cards for even a year, but we could go abroad at the end of it, that is a really clear message. interesting to hear the decision no discussion about messaging. professor pearce, you have written that britain should be aiming for zero coronavirus cases, the well community transmission, rather than, close, settling for suppression. what would it take to do that? as you say, it is a big price which would take a pretty radical change in approach? well, we have all the elements. we have social distancing and we are learning how to do it well. we have a test, trace and isolate system

which didn't work well but seems to be improving. and in theory, we have quarantine. those are the only three things you need, but they need to be effective and they need to have public support. a month ago, we were getting on top of this thing and thenit getting on top of this thing and then it seemed that the government encouraged people to travel overseas. they would give you £10 to go and buy a burger, they were encouraging people to go to work and to go on public transport. and now it is rebounding. ultimately, we have come to a fork in the road. we either need to get the direction of sweden or the direction of new zealand. sweden decided essentially to give up on controlling the virus and just mitigate its effects. i think that is a terrible strategy which results in extra deaths and a lot of people being sick for a long time, and it's not good for the economy anyway. the alternative is to go the way of taiwan or new zealand and try and eliminate it. it

is important to stress firstly that that would take two or three months. it took seven weeks in new zealand. they followed three simple principles. and what you get at the end is normal life like we used to be living back injanuary. new zealand, if you watch the rugby, they have full stadiums. grandparents hug their grandkids. life has returned to normal. the only restriction is on travel. even then, it is not a matter of banning foreign travel. if you have to travel, you can. but you need to quarantine when you come back. really interesting to hear your thoughts, professor neil pearce. and in bullock, thank you for your time. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. it is the final day ofjuly and it is set to be the hottest day of this july by a considerable margin. hot sunshine for most of us,

temperatures widely up into the 30s. but some rain across western areas, this band of rain moving through northern ireland in two parts of scotla nd northern ireland in two parts of scotland later in the day, eventually getting into pembrokeshire and cornwall. with the cloud, belfast will get to 21 degrees. but where we keep sunshine further east, edinburgh is looking at 28, 31 in birmingham and a high of 35 or 36 degrees towards the south—east of england. in some of these eastern counties, there is the potential for thunderstorms to break out through the late afternoon into the evening. some heavy and thundery rain pushing into shetland overnight. elsewhere, areas of cloud with clear spells and still quite a muqqy with clear spells and still quite a muggy feel. at the weekend, it will feel cooler and fresher, those temperatures dropping away with a mix of sunshine and showers. hello, this is bbc news.

the headlines: millions of people across parts of northern england are facing new lockdown restrictions, after a spike in covid—19 cases. after four months of shielding, the vulnerable are told they can go back to work, but charities say people's health is being put at risk. in wales up to 30 people will be able to meet outdoors and children under 11 will not have to social distance from monday. the bafta tv awards take place tonight, but there'll be no red carpet this year — and the ceremony is being held inside a closed studio. sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mike bushell. i know you are going to be talking about the world snooker championship andi about the world snooker championship and i will be talking to the mc of the tournament later. it is a big day for indoor sport and for snooker? yes, and some fans are back

at the crucible. that is why it is important, with some outdoor crowds coming back tomorrow at goodwood races. it is a small proportion of what they normally get, but it's a start in that direction. first practice will get under way shortly for the british grand prix this weekend, the first of two formula one races being held at silverstone over this sunday and next. the mexican sergio perez misses out, though, after becoming the first driver to test positive for coronavirus since the season started a month ago. the head of silverstone told me earlier that while the racing point driver and his close associates must self—isolate, there will be no impact on the rest of the teams. well, i understand he's feeling very well. sergio did not come to silverstone yesterday, so this was picked up as part of the formula 1 testing regime that is very vigorous. everybody is being tested at least every five days. he's been in contact withjust three people. they've been identified and tested and they're also

quarantining, as sergio is. the system has worked. it has identified somebody with coronavirus, it has taken them out and it will not impact the race. it will all go ahead safely. they say in football it's the hope that gets you, and after months of newcastle fans dreaming of a big future with money to spend, they've been plunged into worry and uncertainty after the latest takeover bid, led by a saudi arabian consortium, fell through. the potential deal, which has always been controversial, has been dragging on for months and was still being being scrutinised as part of the premier league's owners‘ and directors' test. it's understood the saudi arabian group ran out of patience waiting for approval, and say it's with "deep sadness" that it had to pull out. so what about the supporters? they've been giving their views. been expecting it, it has been dragging on for so long. nothing is given at newcastle. expect the worst

and hope for the best. really disappointing. we should have known it wouldn't go ahead because we are used to things falling through. my dad and my boyfriend wanted the money. secretly, they do think the saudis would be a negative influence and it is not great for the game overall. it's fulham who will battle brentford, for a place in the premier league after reaching the championship play off final. that's despite fulham losing 2—1 at home to cardiff. lee tomlin got the winner for the welsh side on the night, and made for some nervy moments. but because fulham had won the first leg 2—0 last week, they still had the aggregate lead. and held on to celebrate, getting to wembley and the most lucrative match in club football, a west london derby at wembley next tuesday. wigan expect to find out next week whether their appeal against a 12—point deduction for going into administration has been successful. the hearing into their case starts today and if wigan

were successful, it would take them out of the relegation zone and put barnsley in it. the wigan captain is angry that the players took a wage deferral before the new owner in hong kong allowed the club to go into administration. it's extremely disappointing because for a long while, the players had come together. every player gives everything they have got, sacrifice, playing through injuries, everything without getting paid. to be relegated like that was just unbelievable. it's not right, is it? the new owner should never have been allowed to take over the club. and in the united states, at disney world, florida, the new basketball season got under way after a powerful statement from the players who took the knee next to the words, "black lives matter", by the nba logo. the stands were empty and silent, but the players say they want

one message to be loud and clear, they want to continue talking about racism. it's a sport that has a long history of making a stand against injustices. the world snooker championship gets under way at the crucible theatre in sheffield later this morning. it will be the first indoor sports event in the uk to allow spectators. the defending championjudd trump starts proceedings at 10am in front of around 300 spectators, that's about a third of the arena's capacity. not everybody is happy about fans being allowed in, though, with qualifier anthony hamilton withdrawing on the eve of the tournament due to health concerns. the former world champion neil robertson isn't happy with hamilton's conduct. he has qualified for the crucible and then decided to pull out a day later. playing that last match, he knew there was going to be a crowd there. i feel bad for the players. lots of safety protocols in place at the crucible. we will see how it

works shortly. thanks, mike. iwill works shortly. thanks, mike. i will be speaking to the emcee of the world snooker championships in the next hour. changes to the bbc licence fee will come into effect tomorrow. they were delayed from the first ofjune because of coronavirus. nearly four million people over the age of 75 who previously received a free tv licence will now have to pay the fee, but households with one person who receives pension credit will still be eligible. here's our media correspondent, david sillito. it was just over 20 years ago that the government said it would provide free tv licences for anyone over 75. that has now come to an end. so from tomorrow, only people over 75 on pension credit will be eligible for a free licence. that is around 1.5 million households, which means around 3 million will now have to pay.

the bbc says giving everyone over 75 a free licence is something it cannot afford. it is currently costing the corporation around £35 million a month. and, to continue, the bbc says it would have to cut its services. it's well understood the bbc is under severe financial constraints but ourjob is to be fair to all audiences — those over 75 and those under 75 — who have no wish to see the very significant cut in programmes and services that would have been necessary if we had rolled out the concession to everybody over 75, whether they could afford to pay or not. don't switch us off. everyone over the age of 75 will now receive a letter advising them about what they have to do next. around 450,000 people have already applied for a free licence but a number of groups representing the elderly are unhappy with the change. it's really bad news for lots of older people. the ones we worry about the most are those who won't be able to afford to pay for a licence in future, and that includes some of the poorest in our society — more than half a million of them on current levels. that is because these are people whose income is so low, they are

entitled to pension credit but they don't claim the benefit. without the benefit, they cannot get a free licence. tv licensing says no—one will have to leave their home to get a licence and said the cost can be spread with weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment plans. david sillito, bbc news. jim waterson is the media editor at the guardian. he joins us from bristol. this is hugely controversial and has been from the outset. the bbc has taken the brunt of the blame for this and there has been an agenda but some of the media to place the blame squarely with the bbc, but thatis blame squarely with the bbc, but that is far from the whole story, isn't it? it's a complicated one but in summary, in 2015 the then chancellor george osborne went to the bbc, having just won a big election victory for the conservatives and said, you are going to take responsibility for over 75 licence fees and you will

getan over 75 licence fees and you will get an extension to the licence fee model. you have a weekend to decide whether you take it or not, and the bbc, under the outgoing director—general, decided to take it. so they knew what they were getting into but in retrospect, it might have been worth digging in and fighting back because that has left them with this situation five years later where the bbc is taking the blame for a decision that ultimately was made back in 2015 by the government. do you think the bbc needs to do more to explain this? as we have mentioned, the poorest over 75s, who are on pension credit, will still get a free tv licence, but the bbc has had to take into representation what represents good value for all licence fee payers and what might happen to other services if they had to fund all of these over 75 licences. the bbc has, in a classic bbc manner, tied itself up in knots trying to be all things to all people all the time in an age when the media is splintering and we all have different things we want to

pay for or niche things we want to pay for or niche things we want to pay for. so the issue with the bbc model is this idea that it can provide entertainment, news and informative material to everyone in an age when people are just going to different places. so it is trying to keep that together while also dealing with constant funding pressure. and that is very hard to square. at some point, we are going to sit down as a nation and work out what we want from a public broadcaster and how to fund it. the idea that a fee on owning a piece of equipment is going to be sustainable in the mid—term is not going to happen. when you look at the role the bbc has had during this pandemic, whether it is the local services or the role in educating children, is that going to help as the bbc looks to the future, as government considers its future and as discussions continue about the future of the licence fee? there is definitely a sense among busy people, there was a hope that the news coverage during the pandemic, which saw record numbers of people

coming to the bbc and the educational material, would help the case with the government. the government was certainly playing ball with the bbc after being in opposition for some time. i get the feeling that that nice, neutral atmosphere won't last for ever and that it still could be all up in the air. my real concern if you were at the bbc right now is that there is a high risk that the governmentjust goes, you did a greatjob during the pandemic but that doesn't change the fundamentals. we still think you are too big, swamp out commercial rivals, and people's usage habits have changed anyway. jim waterson, media editor at the guardian. just hours after raising the idea on social media of pushing the date for november's us presidential election back, donald trump has now said he does not want to delay the vote. earlier, the us president had suggested that increased postal voting could lead to fraud and inaccurate results, despite there being little evidence to support his claims. democrats and republicans united

to say the election date was enshrined in law and wasn't going to be moved. the bbc‘s north america correspondent david willis reports. 0nly hours after he'd suggested delaying november's election, president trump reiterated the view that increased use of postal ballots because of the coronavirus could cause problems. you are sending out hundreds of millions of universal mail—in ballots, hundreds of millions. where are they going, who are they being sent to? on twitter, the president claimed postal voting would make the upcoming election the most inaccurate and fraudulent in history, and he went on to pose an incendiary question — "delay the election until people can properly, securely and safely vote?" from senior members of his own party, the answer was unequivocal. never in the history of the country, through wars, depressions and the civil war, have we have not had a federally

scheduled election on time. and we will find a way to do that again this november the 3rd. a recent surge in coronavirus cases here has prompted some states to consider postal ballots as a safer way of enabling people to vote. such a system is already in place in certain parts of the country, and seems to work well. in my state, we've had it for some time. it works extremely well. i think almost 90% of our voters, may be more, vote by mail. it's a system that works pretty well. in fact, if there's a problem of some kind alleged, you go back to the paper ballots. you have actual record. postal voting is generally thought to favour the democrats, which might explain president trump's opposition. he insists his main concern is fraud, although experts say such fears are unfounded. there is a colourful history going back a couple of hundred years about how elections have been conducted. legislatures across the country have responded with strong laws

to protect the integrity of the election. and we have seen no systemic evidence of voter—originated misconduct in an election. i, donald john trump... the constitution that donald trump pledged to uphold when he was sworn in puts his term in office at four years. unless, of course, he is re—elected, which the latest opinion polls seem to suggest might be unlikely. more now on our main story. separate households have been banned from meeting each other indoors in greater manchester, east lancashire and parts of west yorkshire following a spike in coronavirus cases. the new local lockdown rules, which came into force at midnight, come nearly four weeks after restrictions were eased across england, allowing people to meet indoors for the first time since late march. the lockdown comes as muslim communities are preparing 0ur reporter rahila bano covers the north west of england for the bbc asian network,

and joins me now from cheshire. morning to you. how have people in the area that you cover reacted to this new lockdown? there has been quite varied reaction here. i was looking across social media this morning and one muslim female doctor said there was a lot of confusion and many questions were being asked about the new northern lockdown extension. she was saying the way it has been handled by the government isn't great. this news came late last night, on the eve of eid, when many muslim families across this region have been making preparations for the day of eid, preparing to meet friends and family and it is traditional to visit the cemeteries. they are not going to get to do this now. there was other reaction across social media this morning. there was another asian woman who was saying

she thinks it's good that the government have brought in these new restrictions because some people we re restrictions because some people were simply ignoring the social distancing measures. on that point, matt hancock, the health secretary, has said the new lockdown is largely due to people not social distancing. from what you have seen, have people been ignoring those measures or the opposite? when i have been to some of the asian shops in places where there are large asian communities, sometimes i have seen people not keeping to the social distancing rules, not keeping a 2 metre distance. 0n more than one occasion, i have had to hold my hand out and say to people, look, please stay at a2 say to people, look, please stay at a 2 metre distance from me. so

although many people have been adhering to the 2 metre rule and have been practising what has been advocated by the government in terms of the safety measures to try and prevent covid—19, some people have not been listening to the government advice. how, in this weekend of eid, can muslim communities celebrate under these new restrictions? what have faith leaders been saying about this? well, the mosques have reopened. they are holding special eid prayers this morning in places like greater manchester, lancashire, leicester and west yorkshire. they have said they are going to stick to the 2 metre distancing rule, which means they are not going to be able to accommodate as many people as they normally would on eid. and it

is usual for many muslim families to attend, even if they don't go to the mosque for friday prayers or times during the week, the two occasions in the year when they will make a special effort to attend the mosque are on the two eids and this is a three—day festival this time, which sta rts three—day festival this time, which starts today. and people have been told to wear masks. people over the age of 70 have been told not to come to the mosque and everybody is being asked to register at some mosques and give their name and address so that if there is a case of covid—19, these people can be easily traced and they have been told to bring their own prayer mats. so the mosques are taking this seriously. but the lanky counsel of mosques issued a message to people saying, please celebrate eid at home with your immediate family, those who live in your household, and try and

stay safe. thank you very much for that, rahila bano from the bbc asian network. the bafta tv awards are taking place tonight, but if any of the stars want to be seen on a red carpet this year, they'll have to set one up in their own home. the coronavirus pandemic means the ceremony is being held in a closed studio, and awards will be accepted by the winners virtually. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba has more.(tx next) this year, there might be no glitzy carpet but the great creativity in tv will still be celebrated. perhaps the favourite is nuclear accident drama chernobyl, with three nominations, for best miniseries, for stellan skarsgard and for its lead, jared harris. look at that glow. that's radiation ionising the air. a hugely popular show with critics and audiences. normally, when you aim for that spot, which is a kind of artistic spot, you don't normally get rewarded

with huge popular attention and popular acclaim because it's kind of a niche thing. so i think that caught everybody out by surprise. fleabag also has three nominations, scripted comedy... oh, god. and for stars phoebe waller—bridge... oh, god. and sian clifford. oh, god. nothing for bafta favourite 0livia colman, who also misses out on a nomination for royal drama, the crown. there were nominations, though, for josh 0'connor‘s prince of wales... kind of earthly worship. # i can say anything faster than you.# for helena bonham carter's princess margaret, and for best drama series. the voting process by bafta members and specialistjuries began shortly after bafta was the target of criticism because all the performance nominations for its film awards this year went to white actors. the tv nominations recognise many more diverse performers, including will sharpe and takehiro hira, for crime drama giri/haji. so how are you?

have you got kids? no. naomi ackie, for dark drama, the end of the world. so what have you been doing? prison. and ncuti gatwa, for comedy drama, sex education. in terms of diversity, we are definitely seeing that industrywide efforts are now are starting to make a difference. we are seeing 36% of the nominees in the performance categories are people of colour but there is always work to do and we will continue to do that. progress, then, in terms of ethnic diversity but glenda jackson, nominated for her first tv role in 27 years for drama elizabeth is missing, says, for women, there is still a way to go in tv and particularly theatre. contemporary dramatists don't find women interesting enough to make them the central dramatic energy.

there have been changes in television and i'm sure there will be changes even more. it is just that those who still far too often sit in the decision—making chair, still have to be dissuaded in the decision—making chair, still have to be persuaded in a way that would never occur to them, as far as a man was concerned. the bafta goes to... like the bafta tv craft awards, which recognise behind—the—camera talent, tonight will see presenters in the studio with nominees and winners joining remotely. we are so excited to win a bafta award. it's pretty obvious i don't want you to leave. many are hoping that by 2021, when the nominations could well include shows like normal people, normal awards service might have been resumed. lizo mzimba, bbc news. and i will be talking to the chair of bafta in the next hour. we will also have much more on the new

restrictions in parts of the north of england as we take you through to 11 o'clock. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. it's the final day ofjuly and it is set to be the hottest day of thisjuly by quite a considerable margin. hot sunshine lifting temperatures into the high 20s and quite widely into the 30s celsius. but where we keep sunshine further east, edinburgh is looking at 28, 31 in birmingham and a high of 35 or 36 degrees towards the south—east of england. in some of these eastern counties, there is the potential for thunderstorms to break out through the late afternoon into the evening. some heavy and thundery rain

pushing into shetland overnight. elsewhere, areas of cloud with clear spells and still quite a muggy feel. at the weekend, it will feel cooler and fresher, those temperatures dropping away with a mix of sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. new lockdown rules for more than four million people in parts of northern england due to a rising number of coronavirus cases. most of the transmission was happening between households visiting each other, and people visiting relatives and friends, and so we've taken this action, which i appreciate is very significant for those involved. people living in greater manchester, east lancashire and half of west yorkshire are barred from mixing with other households in their homes and gardens — although pubs and restaurants can stay open.