a court of results were downgraded. it will make an announcement tomorrow to put things right. despite our best intentions, i do acknowledge that we did not get this right. iam acknowledge that we did not get this right. i am sorry for that. i will discuss results to be changed and what about the rest of the case. with a leper with those two on thursday. —— with a level results? a lebanese government resigns as protests continue and beirut after last week's catastrophic explosions.

home secretary is that with the coast guard is the government comes under pressure to reduce the number of migrants crossing the channel. british olympic medallist nile wilson, the highest profile male gymnast to speak out about abuse in his sport. the gymnast is still in my opinion it's treated like pieces of meat. and new research suggests so much ice has melted in antarctica since the mid—nineties, it could fill the grand canyon. and coming up in sport on bbc news... holding his nerve if not quite the trophy — american colin morikawa wins the us pga championship at the age of 23.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a row is growing over the way school exam results have been calculated in scotland after they were cancelled because of the pandemic. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has apologised, saying the government didn't get the exams results right and will announce tomorrow what it intends to do about them. pupils in scotland received their results last week — a quarter found they had been downgraded from their teachers‘ predictions. so what will scotland do and will the rest of the uk follow suit with a level results due thursday? with more here's our scotland correspondent lorna gordon. all focus this week should have been on scottish schools safely reopening, tomorrow, but instead there has been this growing row over results and today an apology from the first minister who said too much

emphasis had been placed on an algorithm to create grades and not enough on an individual‘s performance. it has been a tough few days for 16—year—old olivia and her dad, david. her dreams of studying medicine for now on hold. david. her dreams of studying medicine for now on holdli david. her dreams of studying medicine for now on hold. i wasn't really nervous at all because i kind of knew what i was expected to get. then i opened up the results and i was devastated. i was heartbroken. literally i thought my dreams were crushed. after days of defending the process , crushed. after days of defending the process, a u—turn from scotland's first minister, who said she wasn't prepared for young people in more deprived areas to think the system is stacked against them. despite our best intentions, i do acknowledge we did not get this right and i'm sorry for that. but instead of doing what politicians sometimes do and dig our heels in, we are determined to

acknowledge that and put it right. the anchor was down to this. with no exams this year the grades were calculated based on teacher assessments. at 125,000 of those estimates were downgraded, the board taking into account the school's past performance. in deprived areas grades reduced by more than 15% in comparison to just under 7% in more affluent areas. the row overshadowing the fact that from tomorrow pupils start returning to scottish schools. teachers like those here in kelso focus both on keeping pupils safe and trying to understand how the results system let so many down. for us it was quite a significant amount that was dropped, either one band or down two. really? yes. moderation across the schools is important but it's a case of each kid is individual, and

basing the result on last year doesn't sit right with us. some scottish pupils took to the streets to protest their grades, with a level results in england, wales and northern ireland out soon the prime minister will be keen to avoid similar scenes. this year there is some anxiety about what grades pupils are going to get and everybody understands the system that the teachers are setting, the standardisation system, and we will do our best to ensure the hard work of pupils is properly reflected. there was heading back to school here have been enjoying their last day of the summer holidays after nearly five months away. plans to fix the scottish grading system that let so many down will be set out tomorrow. then returning to the classroom is the next big challenge ahead. lorna gordon, bbc news, in the scottish borders.

as we've heard, scotland's schools open their doors from tomorrow, england aims to follow suit in september. the education secretary gavin williamson says there's little evidence of coronavirus being transmitted in schools and the plans to fully reopen schools in england have been guided by the best science. but how safe will classrooms be for pupils and teachers? our science editor david shukman has been looking at the evidence. all the signs are that children generally escape the worst of the virus. studies across europe show that under 18s make up a tiny fraction of the cases. so for them schools should be safe. for young children, for primary schoolchildren, they are probably about half as likely as adults to get infected and extremely unlikely to get on well. for secondary school children, they behave more like young adults in terms of their risk of infection but they are also unlikely to get on well from covid. for staff the risks may be higher, so for staff the risks may be higher, $03 for staff the risks may be higher, so a lot will depend on careful social distancing and other measures

to reduce the chances of infection. another concern is what happens beyond the gates in the wider community. whether more activity and contacts will allow the virus to reach further. the big worry is what is called the r number, the pace of infection. whether one person spreads the virus to two others for example and each of them infects two more. at the height of the outbreak, the r number was nearly three meaning every person infected was passing the virus on to three others on average. right now across the uk it is just below one. anything above that and the virus could escalate again. let's assume we are at the lower range of estimates. reopening primary schools would not make much difference but secondary schools would have a bigger effect and possibly take us above the critical threshold of one. but there are things that can be done about it.

contact tracing, reaching anyone that may be infected, could reduce the rate by as much as 0.7 provided it is carried out more effectively thanit it is carried out more effectively than it is now. closing pubs and restau ra nts than it is now. closing pubs and restaurants would have a similar effect. so, with the virus still circulating, will pubs or something else have to give? scientists say that adults will have to be more careful than ever. the temptation is there that you will start resuming every day life. you might go shopping more, going to work more. you might go to the gym that you haven't been able to go to while your kids have been at home, and it is really those contacts who have to be careful not to increase. in any event there are no guarantees. a few schools in various parts of the world have increased outbreaks. usually they are blamed on a lack of attention, showing how basic measures really matter. david

shukman, bbc news. this row about exam results affects the future of hundreds of thousands of young people around the uk. let's talk to chris mason. we know the government will make an announcement tomorrow, and then presumably the rest of the uk will have to follow suit to make things equal across the uk? yes, we will hear from scotland's education secretary tomorrow and what he says will be keenly listened to around the uk. the implication from the uk government today is they want to look at individual circumstances around a particular pupilfor instance, and that would suggest a greater role for schools. it matters in the context of this week because we have a—level results coming on thursday in england, wales and northern ireland. the model is similar. how has it worked? schools had to predict results and submit them, but crucially among other things the past performance of individual schools was taken into

account. that has happened because they felt if they didn't do that, overall the results would be up by about 10% so they wouldn't be comparable with other years and wouldn't be fair. but it does mean if you are an outstanding pupil for insta nce if you are an outstanding pupil for instance in a poorly performing school, you might have your results u nfa i rly school, you might have your results unfairly marked down. in england, i'm told by a source at the department for education, provisional data suggests around 1% to 2% higher than the overall result as far as a—levels are concerned and there is an appeals process. it will bea there is an appeals process. it will be a big week across the uk for pupils whether they are returning to school, looking forward to doing that in a couple of weeks, or awaiting results. a big week for pupils, parents and the government. chris, thank you. in the last half hour the entire lebanese govenment has resigned following last tuesday's

catastrophic explosion in beirut. the prime minister said it was the result of endemic corruption. the blast left more than 200 people dead, and hundreds of thousands of people homeless. there have been protests surrounding the government's handling of the crisis, as the country faces economic collapse and food shortages. our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville is in beirut. the government has been under intense pressure and has now stepped down? yes, they did just step down and there were celebrations here in beirut. if you look over here, you can see riot police have been deployed. they then fired tear gas to re m ove deployed. they then fired tear gas to remove the protesters who fell back. the protesters are very cynical either getting rid of this government will make any difference to lebanon and bring accountability for the deadly explosion that happened a couple of blocks away from i lebanon's government is coming the lebanon's government is coming - the explosion here is coming apart. the explosion here has unleashed a new fury on the

street. even among the tear gas, these protesters can almost smell these protesters can almost smell the government's downfall but they have brought down governments before and there has been little change here. the reshuffling of the same old faces at the top will not solve lebanon's crisis. they are out in force, carrying guns are not brooms. the lebanese are famous for their determination. people here are sick of being left to fend for themselves. nobody else but the youthis themselves. nobody else but the youth is going to help here. as you see, you can see some people from the government here and theyjust sit and do nothing. it's not fixing. we doa sit and do nothing. it's not fixing. we do a revolution, it doesn't help. we do a revolution, it doesn't help. we become more aggressive, it won't help either, so what else can we do other than clean at the moment? some bonds remain unbroken in beirut.

nadia lived in this beirut flat for 70 years. just two blocks from the port. he and his wife were here during the explosion. most of the doors and windows are gone. is it time to leave, i asked. no, no, no. this is a tight neighbourhood. a dozen people died on this one corner, and everybody here knows exactly where their neighbours were when the blast hit. but some are in no position to help. the wounds are too raw. this woman was in her car on the highway by the port. she and her husband filmed the fire before the explosion. when we arrived to the explosion. when we arrived to the hospital, it was like a movie. i

had more chance than others because i saw people who lost their eyes. today she is having plastic surgery. the doctor is offering his services to the wounded for free. it is my god telling me that if you can at least offer some kind of expertise to help the people because if i'm going to go and work on the streets in five months and see people with bad scars on their face, in five months and see people with bad scars on theirface, i'm going to feel directly responsible. this disaster brought the lebanese people together, but it is also tearing the country apart. quentin somerville, bbc news, beirut.

there were 21 deaths in england announced today — we do not have reported figures for other nations today but it can take time for figures to come in after a weekend. meanwhile, the health secretary has announced that the national ‘test and trace' scheme is now going to be cut. our health editor hugh pym is here. we know that test and trace is critical to get out of this pandemic, so what is this about? we have been told the number of contact tracers will be cut from 18,000 to 12,000. these are people who chase up 12,000. these are people who chase u p co nta cts 12,000. these are people who chase up contacts of people who have tested positive to tell them to self—isolate. some contact tracers before now have not had much to do so before now have not had much to do so perhaps that was inevitable. we are also told the 12,000 who are still there in the nationals system will work much more closely with local authorities sharing data and cooperating on that basis. critics have said before now the national system seems to be working differently from what is going on locally. officials have been frustrated, so it is much better they are working together like that, so they are working together like that, so that will be seen as a bit of a

u—turn. others have said the test and tray system is still reaching fewer than 80% of those who test positive to get their contacts in the first place. the word from health sources is it is probably better to have too many contact tracers than the other way round, it can be stepped up in the winter if need be, and this was always an evolutionary process. so it can only bea evolutionary process. so it can only be a good thing. thank you. gyms, swimming pools, leisure centres and play centres are reopening as lockdown continues to ease in wales. the welsh government says businesses are legally required "to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus" on their premises. councils have been given extra powers to enforce these requirements and can issue improvement notices, or in the event of a serious breach of regulations, issue an order to close. it is now compulsory to wear a mask in shops and other enclosed public spaces in northern ireland. the decision was taken last week as part of efforts to suppress coronavirus. infections in northern ireland have risen three—fold since earlyjuly.

stormont says it wants enforcement to be light—touch but warns fines of up to £60 are possible. the home secretary priti patel has been out with the coastguard in dover as pressure grows to reduce the number of migrants crossing the channel from france. a boat of 20 syrian migrants was intercepted by border force this morning and 4,000 migrants have successfully crossed the channel in small boats this year alone. our home editor mark easton reports. on land. at sea. and in the air. today the government sought to reassure its citizens that it can control britain's borders. the home secretary here in the blue dress boarded a police patrol boat with a personal photographer to underline her determination to stop the dinghy is breaching uk sovereignty. she was unavailable for interview. where are

you from? syria. the political persuasion is evident. today the prime minister suggested he might sound government lawyers into the maze of international laws and conventions that structures britain's responsibilities to migrants. to look at the legal framework that we have means that when people do get here, it is very difficult then to send them away again even though blatantly they have come here illegally. 135 migrants arriving on small boats have been deported from the uk since the beginning of 2019 but that is less tha n the beginning of 2019 but that is less than 3% of those who have reached britain's beaches. there is an eu agreement, the dublin regulation, which says asylum seekers are the responsibility of the birth country they reach, but that deal expires with bill brexit in less than six months. anytime you wa nt to in less than six months. anytime you want to send people for another country you need to consent with that country. you canjust

country you need to consent with that country. you can just go into waters or that country. you can just go into waters 01’ however that country. you can just go into waters or however you might do it without the consent of france or any other country. talks between french and british representatives are being held in france tomorrow and there is urgency. without the deal by december it suggested brexit may make it more difficult for britain to control the country's borders. make it more difficult for britain to control the country's bordersm means all the migrants that arrive in europe in the last few years and fingerprinted in greece and italy can't go to the uk without facing the risk of being deported. military force may send a message, but controlling international immigration can only be achieved through international agreement. mark easton, bbc news. the time is coming up to 20 past six, or stop —— top stories evening. nicola sturgeon apologises to scottish pupils amid a growing row over exam results. coming up — calls for counselling services that try to change someone's sexuality to be banned. we hear one man's story.

coming up on sportsday on bbc news... manchester united prepare to face fc copenhagen for a place in the semi finals of the europe league. the olympic medallist nile wilson has criticised a "culture of abuse" in british gymnastics, saying athletes are treated "like pieces of meat". the 2li—year—old, who won bronze at rio 2016, is the highest profile male gymnast to speak out after a series of allegations of mistreatment in the sport in recent weeks. he's been speaking exclusively to our sports editor dan roan. in british gymnastics, it doesn't get much bigger than nile wilson. nile wilson! the yorkshireman becoming an olympic medallist in the rio games. in recent weeks, he has seen his spirit engulfed by a flood of allegations of mistreatment, and now he has decided to speak out, telling me gymnastics has

serious issues to address. i would absolutely describe it as a culture of abuse. and i have lived and breathed it for 20 years, dan. it's emotional manipulation and being pushed through physical pain was certainly something i experienced. the gymnasts are still, in my opinion, treated like pieces of meat. would you say that you were abused yourself? i would say that i was abused. but we wanted to win medals. we wanted to win olympic medals. the governing body wanted to win olympic medals. the coaches wanted to win olympic medals. in a statement, british gymnastics said... earlier this year, wilson made a complaint over an altercation with a senior member of staff at a social event at leeds gymnastics club. it did not relate to his

training or coaching staff. following an internal club investigation, wilson's grievance was dismissed, a decision upheld after a review by british gymnastics. i was told and felt like i was the problem. it was evident that it was brushed under the carpet. ijust felt like i wasn't being heard and i was wrong. —— i was wrong. top the governing body at leeds, they didn't care. they didn't care at all, man. how does that make you feel? just completely worthless, completely worthless. leeds gymnastics club said it disputed wilson's version of events and... british gymnastics said the club had dealt with the matter appropriately and stood by the review of the complaint. wilson left his home club after the case and fears his candour could cost him. for so long now, we are made to feel fear or scared of speaking out,

and if i voice my concern, i may affect my selection for the olympic games. i'm scared talking to you. you think that by coming out and saying this, it could actually affect your selection for tokyo? yeah. the reason i am talking, which by the way has been one of the hardest decisions i've made, is because my incident this year, this last six months, highlights that there is still a challenge in the culture of gymnastics. and it starts at the top. representing great britain. the sport is now bracing itself for an independent review into widespread allegations. such strong words from one of its biggest stars reinforcing the sense that gymnastics is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis. dan roan, bbc news, rotherham. there are calls for counselling services that try to change someone's sexuality to be banned. the prime minister has called it abhorrent and promised to outlaw what's known as conversion therapy, which is opposed by the nhs and major professional bodies in the uk. but organisations promoting it

insist it's ethical. our ireland correspondent emma vardy has been speaking to one man who attended these sessions, but found himself broken after years trying to change his sexuality. music. perhaps x factor is not the place you would expect to spark debate about a controversial therapy. but the maltese contestant matthew greck made headlines on the show saying he was ex—gay. it is our vision and mission to raise an army of formerly gay... he is now a director of the charity core issues trust in northern ireland. and running a campaign which promotes the view sexuality can be altered. i felt like something was deeply wrong with me and that i needed help. gareth is a qualified medical doctor in manchester. but growing up in northern ireland, he began counselling with core

issues and later other groups over four years. i was about 1k years old when i first became aware that i was attracted to men. and within the community, that i was a part of, it was very difficult for me to talk about that with anybody. i actually opened up to someone at a christian convention. they had known of somebody that would be able to offer therapy. what was your mindset going into this type of counselling? ijust knew that i needed to get rid of this part of myself. and really, i went in wholeheartedly 100%. pretty soon after it began, my mental health took a drastic turn for the worst. there is a huge pressure for you to stick with it and to keep trying to try harder, to delve deeper into the problems that might have caused this. eventually, gareth ended the therapy. he is now openly gay and in a relationship. but it took several years he says to move on. i felt really broken.

there are other people out there who are going through the exact same thing. back in northern ireland, the man at the helm of core issues trust, mike davidson, rejects the term conversion therapy and says they support people, like matthew greck, who want to leave same sex attraction behind. is it fair to try and change somebody‘s sexuality when there is clear examples of where this does not work? out because they hear of people who are going in a different direction. for somebody whose feelings don't change throughout this process, isn't there the risk that you leave them mentally much worse off? well, that is a concern and that is part of the advanced informed consent. what we are promoting is an exploration of sexual fluidity. and what we find over a period of time, when behaviours change,

feelings began to change. lgbt campaigners argue the existence of the therapy at all reinforces prejudice views that is wrong to be gay. borisjohnson said the government plans to carry out a study into so—called conversion therapy before bringing forward new laws to ban it. what the research would say is actually we cannot change somebody‘s sexuality. all these professions have released statement to say practitioners should not be able to do that. but it is not clear how the practice will be defined and where to draw the line. emma vardy, bbc news. the ice shelves in antarctica have melted to such an extent that since the mid ‘90s they've produced enough water to fill the grand canyon. a study released today has put it all down to higher temperatures in the ocean and warned of the consequences of climate change and increasing melting of the ice. our science and environment correspondent victoria gill has more. ice shelf seems a very humble term for the huge masses of floating ice

surrounding antarctica. and to study these vast frozen platforms, scientists had to zoom right out into space. using satellites to make precision measurements of the thickness of the ice shelf showed that in 25 years it lost enough mass to fill the grand canyon with water. the ice shelves that we see melting in this study are not going to raise to sea level in themselves because they are actually already sitting in the water. they are already floating. the sea level rise comes when those ice shelves reduce the restraint that they exert on the rest of the antarctic ice sheet, which then flows faster into the ocean, causing sea level rise. the effects of all this cold, fresh water entering the deep sea around antarctica are likely to be felt far beyond the polar south. the ocean plays a major role in controlling the climate around the world. adding a lot of cold fresh water to the ocean changes the way

it can transport heat. and that can change global climate and maybe potentially change rainfall patterns around the world. is that what scientists mean when they describe antarctica as the world's thermostat? that what happens to that ice and in that ocean is shifting weather patterns all around the world ? yeah, exactly. with many of the world's biggest cities by the coast, modelling future sea—level rise accurately is crucial. this study reveals just how much of that accuracy depends on understanding what is happening to the ice at the end of the world. victoria gill, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's tomasz schafernaker. hello. good evening. we have had many days now of temperatures in excess of 30 celsius. today it got

up excess of 30 celsius. today it got up to 35 in the south—east of the uk. that is where the heatwave has been across southern and south—eastern areas, not have we been experiencing those high temperatures. this is what it looks like around 7pm. the pork is still an like around 7pm. the pork is still a n excess like around 7pm. the pork is still an excess of 30 in the capital, 20 01’ so an excess of 30 in the capital, 20 or so expected in the lowlands of scotland. all ice on the thunderstorms and we have already had some storms and we have already had some storms and we have already had some storms in the south—west of england and across wales. recently there have been flashes and bangs around merseyside. at the moment the storms are affecting areas that are not necessarily experiencing the heat. there has been the odd storm around parts of the east midlands, but on the whole we are talking about mostly dry weather this evening. you can see storms across the north—west of england, parts of northern ireland and also scotland will step a really balmain night. not will step a really balmain night. n ot ofte n will step a really balmain night. not often the temperature in the south—east was no lower than around 20 or21. south—east was no lower than around 20 or 21. you could call it tropical. tomorrow showers expected

across the north of the country, some will be thunderstorms. elsewhere the risk of abuse dom is developing. another really hot day again,