this programme contains scenes of repetitive flashing images. the prime minister halts plans to ease lockdown again in england tomorrow, amid concerns over an increase in coronavirus cases. casinos and bowling alleys will remain shut, wedding receptions for up to 30 people are off, and face coverings will be mandatory in more places. we cannot be complacent, and i won't stand by and allow this virus to threaten to cause more pain and more heartache in our country. england's daily coronavirus infection rate has roughly doubled in a month — the chief medical officer says we may have reached the limits of what can be done in opening up society. more than 4 million people in north—west england can now no longer visit other people's homes or gardens after new restrictions were imposed suddenly last night. it's just hard to know really how to move forward and how coming out of this lockdown... what's going to happen, really.

three teenagers are jailed for the manslaughter of pc andrew harper, who died after being dragged behind a carfor more than a mile last august. thousands flock to beaches on the south coast of england as the uk basksin south coast of england as the uk basks in its third hottest day on record. temperatures have reached almost 38 degrees at heathrow. and one of britain's most acclaimed film directors, sir alan parker, has died at the age of 76. and coming up on bbc news: pulling the plug — why a rise in infections means fans will no longer be allowed into pilot events to watch live sports.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a further easing of england's lockdown planned for tomorrow has been put on hold because of a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections. the prime minister said it was time to "squeeze the brake pedal", as he warned the country cannot be complacent. he said face coverings will now need to be worn in more places where you come into contact with people you don't know. the decision means bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos cannot reopen tomorrow, and certain beauty treatments involving the face, can't now go ahead for at least two weeks. wedding receptions of up to 30 people and indoor musical and theatrical performances won't be allowed either. you'll have to wear a face covering in cinemas, museums and galleries as well as places of worship from the 8th of august. england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, says the country has "probably reached" the limits of what can be done in opening up society. here's our political correspondent leila nathoo.

poised to stage a performance for the first time in months, this venue in london was due to open its doors tomorrow. 86, normally 180, and now we can't open. and that's a huge financial hit for us. business is still closed across england have been waiting for the next phase of to begin, but now, with cases of coronavirus on the rise again, the prime minister pressing pause.- every point, i have set our plan to reopen society and the economy is conditional that it relies on continued progress against the virus, and we would not hesitate to put the brakes on if required. with those numbers creeping up, our assessment is that we should now squeeze that brake pedal. and so... on saturday the ist of august, we

had hoped to reopen in england a number of higher risk settings that had remained closed, and today i am afraid we are postponing those changes for at least a fortnight. afraid we are postponing those changes for at least a fortnightm borisjohnson changes for at least a fortnightm boris johnson acknowledging changes for at least a fortnightm borisjohnson acknowledging this disruption this will cause. borisjohnson acknowledging this disruption this will causeli borisjohnson acknowledging this disruption this will cause. i know the steps we are taking will be a real blow to many people, and i am really, really sorry about that, but we simply cannot take the risk. that apology name that people like luke and vicky, who is wedding reception in chorley, already slims down, is now cancelled. you have dreams of what your wedding will look like, andi what your wedding will look like, and i already shattered so, once we heard about this week before our wedding, it was devastating and obviously very upsetting. although employers are still being encouraged to think about how to get people back to work, and advice on shielding will still come to an end, face coverings will now be required in more places, like galleries, cinemas and museums. how worried are

you this is going to turn into a search, and what is it that we find ourselves in this position, because the government message has been unclear and inconsistent, or are we all to blame? we are now seeing a warning light on the dashboard. it is right to respond in the way that we are. the answer lies with all of us we are. the answer lies with all of us following that guidance. but, from a man who is always struck a cautious tone, a stark warning about the challenges to come. we've probably reached near the limit of the limit of what we can do in terms of opening up society, so what that potentially means is, 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. things, and these will be difficult trade-offs. as well as juggling what is happening nationally, targeted local restrictions, like those imposed in the north—west of england last night, are here to stay. the scottish first minister now advising against all but essential travel to the affected areas. we see this as

being an important and necessary precaution for sub our advice is, of course, designed to minimise the risk of spread from england into scotland, but also to assist people in these parts of england. and labour questioning how the message was relayed. right decision, very poor communication. it has to improve. we are going to see more of the situations in the coming months and the government needs to learn the lesson of the last 24 hours, which is to improve communication. still empty spaces, tables unfilled. the government says it is now up to us the government says it is now up to us to stick closely to the rules so lockdown reasoning —— lockdown easing can resume. more than 4 million people in north—west england now have to abide by new restictions that were announced late last night. people living in greater manchester, and in parts of east lancashire and west yorkshire can no longer visit another household in their home or garden. support bubbles are exempt from this rule. police will have the power to enforce these new rules. you can still go to pubs,

restaurants and shops in the affected areas, as well as places of worship, but only with your own household. it comes after a jump in new infections in the past week in almost every part of greater manchester, with the highest levels in the city of manchester, trafford and oldham, from wherejudith moritz reports. from stockport to bradford, rochdale to huddersfield, 4 million people are living under new restrictions. infection rates have been high in the north of england, but the announcement late last night still came as a shock. in old town, the ali family were expecting to be celebrating eid, with relatives, but now the party would be illegal. for its devastating, a few hours before eid you are told can't do anything. it's upsetting that we expected more. we think we have been

targeted. do you think the timing was chosen because of eid, to stop large family gatherings? care we it's quite unfair. we feel like it's been quite insensitive by the people making the decision. it's the short notice that's really- people notice that's really getting people to stop it's not. celebrations notice that's really getting people to home :'s not. celebrations notice that's really getting people to home that nt - celebrations notice that's really getting people to home that are i celebrations notice that's really getting people to home that are affected ations notice that's really getting people to home that are affected by ms notice that's really getting people to home that are affected by the at home that are affected by the chance to party elsewhere with friends. i'd probably have gone out with my mates into manchester, but it looks like those plans have changed and i had to stay inside. it looks like those plans have changed and i had to stay insidem bradford, community elders are not questioning the restrictions but are angry at the last minute timing. it's 9:30pm on christmas eve, you put the turkey in the oven and then you see a twitter feed telling you that christmas is cancelled. so, yeah, disappointing, anger at that christmas is cancelled. so, yeah, disappointing, angerat the lack of notice, really. in oldham,

the infection rate has risen more sharply in the last week than anywhere else, it's no more than ten times the average for england, and there have been sharp rises in other northern communities. local leaders say they accept the restrictions, but they've criticised the government for its communication, saying local people feel confused and distressed. it sends mixed m essa 9 es and distressed. it sends mixed m essa g es to and distressed. it sends mixed messages to people in greater manchester. on the one hand, they are hearing that new restrictions are hearing that new restrictions are being imposed and, for one another, they hearing some of the sport have been receiving to stay at home and do the right things is being withdrawn. in oldham, a mixture of resignation, irritation and confusion. i was supposed to go toa and confusion. i was supposed to go to a party with mates, but too many people are going to be there. i'm not risking it. is it cancelled? edge yeah. it's all right to go and spend your money, it seems, but don't make. how do you expect people to not mingle when you leave them

with a free choice to go to restaurants? the rules mean people from restricted areas can't travel to visit friends in other places. mina and kieran have cancelled their holiday. the difficulty has been not that we are not allowed to go on holiday, but that the information was delivered in such a way that it's hard to know whether this is a cancellation, are we allowed to be ina cancellation, are we allowed to be in a house together when we are not in greater manchester, it's been so unclear. in oldham, the ali family might not be able to celebrate eid as they wanted, but they are not letting them stop them from staying in touch. even online, they are determined to be together. judith moritz, bbc news, oldham. according to the latest figures, 120 further people have died with coronavirus, which brings the total number of deaths in the uk to 46,119. in terms of new cases, the uk's seven—day rolling average is 753. you can see from the chart that cases have been rising slightly in the past week, but scientists don't yet know

whether that's more and better testing or the beginnings of the resurgence we've been seeing elsewhere in europe. two dozen areas are now on public health england's watchlists due to the rise in infection rates. here's our science editor, david shukman. relaxing the lockdown is not going to happen as quickly as many had hoped. we are not on the brink of returning to the toughest restrictions. the scale of the disease is too low for that, but the virus does seem once again to be reaching a growing number of people. the latest official analysis shows new infections in england rising from 2000 per day at the end ofjune to 3000 in mid—july, and 4200 more recently. and one government adviser speaking personally says he is concerned. i think we need to be much more cautious. we need to adhere to best practice. and i do worry that if it gets out of control it could trigger another second wave quite early,

which we really don't want. and if this had happened in october, i think that would have been an unstoppable event. we are nowhere near the scale of infections we saw at the height of the pandemic back in march and april, but there are now more than 20 areas of concern, including those in the north—west that had new restrictions imposed on them last night. top of that list is oldham, along with trafford and salford. over the border, wrexham has the highest rate of infections in wales, with 61 cases per 100,000 people. in scotland, with a far lower level of infections, glasgow's had three new cases over the last seven days. likewise in northern ireland, there is a handful of cases in lisburn and castlereagh. this comes at a time of changing messages from the government on how to keep a safe distance and whether to stay at home. experts in behaviour say a much clearer guide is needed.

the government strategy seems to be haphazard and responsive rather than strategic. it is leaving people confused as to what they should and shouldn't be doing, and confused as to what's coming next. one measure we will see more of is face coverings. they will be required in more places. a reminder, in these more nervous times, of how until there is a vaccine there aren't many ways to stop the virus from spreading. david shukman, bbc news. in wales, swimming pools, gyms, leisure centres and indoor play areas will be allowed to reopen from the 10th august. up to 30 people can meet outdoors and children under 11 will also not have to social distance from monday. licensed wedding venues will be able to reopen from monday, but receptions will need to be outdoors. but first minister, mark drakeford, admitted that new lockdown restrictions in the north—west of england had given him

"pause for thought". our political correspondent is in westminster. two weeks ago, the prime minister was talking about a significant return to normality by christmas, but that seems less likely now. i think we are in a very different place than we were a fortnight ago, when the prime minister were setting out plans for the next phases of unlocking and coming out of lockdown. it was a lwa ys coming out of lockdown. it was always couched in terms of conditionality on virus levels continuing to stay low, but i think there was more of a sense of optimism, more of a sense of a pathway to a return to normality. now it seems that caution is the word of the day. we have seen restrictions reimposed in the north—west of england, and we have the national unlocking being rolled back. add to this concerns about the virus being re—imported from europe, where there has been a spike in cases, and a stark warning from

professor chris whitty this evening that we cannot have it all when it comes to suppressing the boroughs and reopening. ithink comes to suppressing the boroughs and reopening. i think you are starting to see a bit more of an uncertain road ahead, with very difficult choices coming up for the government. a teenager has been jailed for 16 years for the manslaughter of pc andrew harper, who died after being dragged for more than a mile behind their car in berkshire last summer. his two passengers, who are 18, were also jailed for 13 years. helena wilkinson was in court. her report contains flashing images. andrew and lissie harper were married for less than a month when he was killed. today, she was in court with family to see those responsible jailed for their crimes. jessie cole, henry long and albert bowers. they had during parts of the trial laughed and joked. i've got four masked men outside my house and they've got weapons. they are stealing my quad bike. this is the 999 call about the theft of a quad bike that pc harper had been responding to with a colleague.

the officers soon came across the teenagers' car. jessie cole quickly unhooked the bike. through the rear—view cameta,4ou_can_seej1ls who got caught at that moment in the tow rope. sentencing the teenagers, mrjustice edis said they had killed a talented and brave officer who was going above and beyond his duty in order to provide a public service. pc harper's widow, lissie harper, read a victim impact statement to court. she said: four weeks was all i had to call him my husband. four weeks to be called his wife. my life often feels bleak, hopeless, irreparable. my desolate nights bring no rest, no time for reprieve from this utter turmoil. i will spend every day of the rest of my life with a hollowness that will never, ever be filled.

these are three people who i do not believe have ever shown an ounce of genuine remorse or contrition for their actions. they did their best to frustrate the police investigation. thejudge said there was nothing he could do to restore andrew harper to his loving wife or family, and they had the profound sympathy of the whole nation. recruitment agencies say they're seeing up to ten times the usual number of applicants for jobs since the start of the pandemic. research suggests the jobs market is so competitive that people who used to work in management positions in the worst—hit sectors, like hospitality, are now applying for much less experienced roles. our business correspondent, sarah corker, reports on what's been described as the "toughestjobs market in a generation". the government wants to get the economy moving again, but our high streets

are farfrom normal. i don't think i could possibly tell you. rebecca worked in communications for a high street bank for a decade but, just before lockdown, she was made redundant. not knowing when your next salary‘s going to be, it's really daunting. with every application that goes out the door, it kind of chips away at your confidence and how you feel. it's already dog eat dog. it's only going to get worse. across the uk, unemployment is rising asjob vacancies have plummeted. in the hospitality sector, new opportunities are few and far between. the restaurants that are hiring say they are seeing large numbers of highly skilled candidates applying forjust a handful of roles. bar managers, air stewards, shop workers, dancers, singers — all are out of work and looking for new employment. it's a similar tale

in the manufacturing sector. this engineering firm in the midlands was inundated with applications for ten jobs. i certainly expected a few hundred. my head of manufacturing thought we may get a couple of thousand. neither of us imagined the response was going to be 15,000 within 24 hours. people are looking to us as a growth company, and i think that's important in these troubled times. the scale of recentjob losses means well—qualified candidates are now applying for lower paid roles.