this is bbc news. the headlines... the prime minister puts the brakes on further easing of lockdown restrictions due to come into force in england tomorrow. bowling alleys, ice rinks, and casinos will not now open, and small wedding receptions won't be allowed. borisjohnson said it's necessary to deal with a rise in infections. i won't stand by and allow this virus to threaten to cause more pain and more heartache in our country. new lockdown rules for parts of northern england announced late last night — 4 million people affected are trying to work out what they mean for them. you can't understand what's actually going on, it is expendable.”

you can't understand what's actually going on, it is expendable. i see it online, anyway, so terrified. the scottish government advise against all but essential travel to coronavirus—hit parts of england. but in wales, lockdown rules are being eased next week, with groups of upto 30 people able to meet outdoors. in other news, the three men found guilty of the manslaughter of pc harper last august are sentenced to a combined total of 42 years in prison. in past years, we have had that the film director has died following a lengthy illness. the prime minister's brother — jojohnson — is among 36 nominations for peerages announced by the government — others include former england cricketer sir ian botham and russia newspaper owner evgeny lebedev. and, today has become the third hottest on record in the uk, as temperatures reached 37.8 degrees celsius at heathrow airport.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. borisjohnson has announced that some of the easing of coronavirus restrictions in england which were due to start tomorrow have now been postponed for at least a fortnight. indoor venues such as bowling alleys and casinos will not reopen. pilots allowing crowds in sports venues will not go ahead. wedding receptions of up to 30 people — which would have marked traditionally the busiest weeks in the wedding industry — will not now be permitted. face coverings will be required in more indoor settings — for example, in cinemas, galleries and places of worship — and they will be enforceable by law. borisjohnson also defended the government's decision to introduce new lockdown rules in parts of northern england, because of a rising number of coronavirus cases.

he said that for the first time since may, the prevalence of the virus in england is rising. the changes in northern england, announced late last night, affect four million people living in greater manchester, east lancashire and parts of west yorkshire. the measures also apply to the city of leicester. people in those areas are now not allowed to meet up with those from other households in their homes, their gardens, nor in pubs or restaurants — including outside tables. we'll have more on those measures, but first this report from our political correspondent jonathan blake. greater manchester and other parts of northern england, now under tighter restrictions. after a rise in coronavirus cases. the ban on people visiting others at home, affecting around 4 million people as affecting around 4 million people as a result of the governed, says as of households mixing and not a social distancing. the move came as a surprise to many, but the panellists said today it was a necessary step. these are targeted measures on social contacts between households,

which the data tells us is driving the current increase in cases. businesses and workplaces should continue as before, in those areas. i know how hard it is to have restrictions like this imposed on it seeing yourfamily restrictions like this imposed on it seeing your family and your friends. but we have to act rapidly in order to protect those we love. boris johnson said further easing of the lockdown in england was being delayed, bowling alleys and other venues, including casinos and some close contact businesses, like beauty salons, due to open tomorrow, must stays close for at least another fortnight. restrictions already in place will be more tightly enforced. most people in this country are following the rules and doing their best to control the virus. but we must keep our discipline and our focus and we cannot be complacent. i have asked

the home secretary to work with the police and others to ensure the rules, which are already in place, are properly enforced. that means local authorities acting to close down premises and cancel events which are not following covid—i9 are secure guidance, and it means a greater police presence to ensure face coverings are being warned where this is required by law. wearing his mask on a visit to a factory in peterborough this morning, sec istana said he supported the measures taken in the north of england, but criticised the way they were announced. the decision the governor's has made is the right decision and we will support it, as butch and tim near manchester, we support them, and the government guidance. the government medication has been really poor, related announcements at night, coming to effect a few hours later without any real clarity, to the right decision, but very poor communication. that has got to improve. face coverings will now be compulsory and more settings,

employers and applause and shelving measures will go ahead tomorrow as planned. changes in response to a rise in the prevalence of coronavirus that the government cannot ignore. our political correspondent, nick eardley is at westminster. quite a lot of people complaining that the government is rather could decide. yes, they did, it was about 9:30pm last night and we found out millions of people in the north england were going to be affected by these changes. lots of the announcements came out and the guidelines were neatly published, the governmentmy argument is that as it isa the governmentmy argument is that as it is a decision was made, the health secretary came out to tell us what the plans were, but nevertheless, that criticism has been forthcoming and i think more broadly, what we are seeing from the government, is increasing caution, over the last few days, warnings that this virus had not gone away and now a tightening of some of

these restrictions on certain parts of the country and telling us all that some of the changes that were supposed to happen tomorrow in england are going to have to be postponed. 0ne england are going to have to be postponed. one of the things i found really interesting in that press conference earlier today was the chief medical officer conference earlier today was the chief medical 0fficerfor conference earlier today was the chief medical officer for england, professor chris massey, was saying that we probably have reached the limit in which we can ease the restrictions safely. it all suggests that the next few months could be quite a slow process, that we have got used to things getting back to something approaching normal in certain aspects of our lives, but the government is not going to be able to take all of those extra steps without potentially some precautions being put in place and even other things, may being close. tell us about the conservative mp who has attracted criticism for some of the comments he has made about how some communities are r are not observing lockdown and covid—i9 reflections. yes, this is craig

whitaker, he is a tory ntp who is constituency, is going to be reflective actor by retraction, which have been brought in on the north of restrictions. he did an interview last night which attracted a lot of criticism because he suggested that some communities were not taking the restrictions in the virus seriously and when asked whether he was struck a man as impunity, he said yes, that he was. that has attracted a lot of criticism from the labour party and from summer camp there are sectors too. he has however defended those comments and tried to defend a bit more. have a listen. that's not one thing, what i'm saying is that we are challenging our local leaders to find out what extra... well, it's not that i'm blaming them, what i'm saying is that i have been challenging our local leaders, chief executives for example, to find out what extra support on outreach has been being put into these communities to try

and ebb the flow. we know nationally, that bame communities, a high proportion of deaths in those communities and it alarms me that we are starting to see a spike in those communities locally. so it is about how do we, not police, probably not the right word, but how do we get out to those communities and communicate with them about the importance of making sure that they are social distancing. mai positive, this weekend is eat, and the government is more aware that these restrictions being a boat in the north of england, is a rather huge impact in people hoping to celebrate the festival of ide to follow the guidelines have been brought in. remember that places of worship are allowed to stay open for the foreseeable future and all parts of the country just the foreseeable future and all parts of the countryjust that they will have to follow social distancing for both festivals of maxi. thank you

for the moment, nick eddie that in reference to. so millions of people in parts of the north of england are now having to comply with new restrictions. our health corrrespondent anna collinson reports now on why these areas are being targeted. which is how as noted, from today, millions are facing new coronavirus attractions. with cases on the rise, people in parts of england are now banned from meeting each other in private homes. it is important that we keep ourselves safe and our families safe. you can't understand what is going on. it needs explaining more. it came in sudden, i have seen it online anyway, so i have sort of verified it. now in the rest of england, things that were supposed to open tomorrow will now not. we have probably reached near the limit or the limits of what we can do in terms of opening up society, so what that means, potentially, is that if we wish to do more things in future, we may have to do less of some other things, and these

will be difficult trade—offs. some will be decisions of government and some of which are for all of us as citizens to do, but we have to be realistic. the idea that we can open up everything and keep the virus under control is clearly wrong. as this graph shows, coronavirus cases reached their peak in april, and then steadily fell through may and june. confirmed cases now appear to be rising again. yesterday, 816 were reported — the highest daily number in a month. better testing and contact—tracing means we are now better identifying problem areas and people visiting relatives and friends are seen as a cause for concern. scientists say that meeting in someone's home can increase transmission because it often involves prolonged close contact in small rooms with little ventilation. figures suggest blackburn is currently the worst affected part of the uk with 91 cases per 100,000 people. the new measures impact people in greater manchester, east lancashire and parts of west yorkshire.

households in those areas are not allowed to meet in homes or private gardens. people are still allowed to go to pubs, restaurants and beer gardens, but can't mix with other households. they can meet one other household in a park or in a group of up to six people, but they must socially distance. the announcement last night came as a shock to many, particularly muslim communities who are preparing to celebrate eid. this has been on the agenda for a couple of weeks, there have been discussions about this, so what data came out last night to make them make this announcement? it has left our plans in disarray, and i question whether this would happen the night before christmas eve. others have welcomed the measures. in many ways, this isn't about disrupting lives, we have agreed to this because it doesn't massively disrupt lives, it is a modest change that, if we make now, we will take away the need for a much more

severe lockdown threat. there are changes for all of england too. places that were due to open tomorrow won't open for at least two weeks, including bowling alleys, casinos and indoor theatres. sporting events with spectators have also been paused, and face—coverings will be mandatory in more settings, such as museums and places of worship. it is hoped the steps taken today will prevent a much bigger national problem in the future. anna collinson, bbc news. the scottish first minister nicola sturgeon has been speaking at a press briefing in edinburgh. she explained what action the scottish government is now taking in response to the tightening of coronavirus restrictions in parts of northern england. the scottish government has now issued strong advice against nonessential travel between scotland and the affected parts of the north of england. let me be very clear, we don't do this lightly. the connections between scotland and the north of england are very strong, very important and are highly valued by people on both sides of the border.

but we see this as being an important and necessary precaution. our advice is, of course, designed to minimise the risk of spread from england into scotland, but it is also designed to assist people in these parts of england. by not travelling there, we are making sure that we don't exacerbate the challenge that they are already facing. we are therefore now advising that travel between scotland and the areas covered by the uk government's new restrictions should only be undertaken if absolutely essential. and those areas are greater manchester, east lancashire and parts of west yorkshire. if you're returning to scotland from these parts of the north of england, we are asking you to minimise your contact with people outside of your own household for 14 days after you return and we are asking you to avoid if at all possible indoor hospitality and areas where you are more likely to come into contact with people outside

of your own household. in wales the first minister — mark drakeford — has been outlining the latest easing of restrictions due to come in over the next three weeks, confirming that at the moment the data suggests that the virus is in decline in wales. from 3rd august, from monday, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes will be able to reopen indoors. licensed wedding venues will be able to reopen to carry out ceremonies, but indoor reception parties will not be considered until 15th august, the start of the third week at the earliest. as from monday, we will relax the restrictions to provide more flexibility in the way people can meet outdoors. while reminding everyone that physical distancing still needs to be maintained at all times. and we will also update our guidance

to make it clear that children under ii will not now need to maintain a two—metre distance from one another orfrom adults. the scientific advice shows that the risk of transmission is lower amongst this age group, and it will mean that young children can meet their friends to play outdoors or to give their grandparents a hug again. the shielding period for over 80,000 vulnerable people in northern ireland has come to an end. restrictions are eased.