the battle against coronavirus: a dramatic rise in the number of household tests in england. the health secretary says ramping up the tests will give a much clearer idea of the spread of the virus. we are going to expand it — essentially by almost ten times — so that we get more detailed information about where the virus is taking root. we'll be looking at the numbers — and getting the thoughts of our health editor. also this lunchtime: awaiting sentence for mass murder — the brother of the manchester arena bomber faces life in jail. an inflation—led price hike for railfares — but, as our travel habits change, will trains ever be full again? the wheel deal. hands—free driving could be a reality in the uk in less than a year.

and a penny for your forts. actually, it'll cost you £9 million — but they do have lovely views. and coming up on bbc news: four—time winner chris froome won't ride this year's tour de france. he's been left out of the team ineos squad. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the number of people being randomly tested in the community for covid—19 is to be increased in england from 28,000 to 150,000 a fortnight. the office for national statistics says the survey — taken from a random sample of the population —

can give a clearer picture of the true spread of the virus. our health correspondent richard galpin reports. swipe to the back of the throat, both sides by the tonsils. it might make you gag. volunteers carrying out coronavirus testing as part of the household infection survey run by the office for national statistics. the survey described by the government as the most important indicator as to how the virus is spreading in the country. and now it's to be expanded massively. from 28,000 people in households being tested every fortnight to 150,000 every fortnight by october. households in scotland, wales and northern ireland are also to be included. all this potentially very significant. what is going to be really important about that is getting greater coverage of the country and at the time it will also

possibly highlight early outbreaks in certain areas but it will also give information as we move forwards and we then know in the future that an area has an outbreak we can look back at the data and see where people were infected. but while this ramped—up testing system should be effective in tracking the virus, there will still be gaps in coverage across the country. the biggest challenge we have got is finding people who do not have symptoms, so don't know they have got coronavirus, but can still pass it on. and getting tested. so, the message to the public is, if in doubt, get a test. and other serious challenges remain. this video from a thermal camera on a police helicopter shows a party in full swing in manchester last weekend, breaking the local lockdown. people here risking being infected and infecting others. nearby 0ldham has one of the highest rates of new infections in england. 225 cases were recorded in the week ending on the 14th of august,

an average of 28 new cases a day. but officials are confident they can deal with it. we have got a really robust plan in place in terms of increasing the numbers of people that are having tests, in terms of really targeted engagement with our communities and we need to increase that uptake in testing and get the message out how important it is to self—isolate and how important it is to quarantine if that's appropriate. more outbreaks across the country are highly likely and while the office for national statistics can track the disease the current low rates of infection make it very difficult to spot outbreaks and any clear trends. richard galpin, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym is here. well versed live up to the billing? it is like a mass opinion poll. up

to 150,000 every fortnight by 0ctober. seeing who is positive and who isn't. it is waited for the population so you get a representative sample based on age and so on. the daily cases reported by the government, people who presumably have symptoms and go and get tested, doesn't reflect the population as a whole, just those who have gone for tests. this survey includes people who do not have symptoms because they will be tested and might not have realised they have the virus. particularly important coming into winter with all the challenges that has for policymakers and knowing how the virus is spreading or receding. uk wide it will include scotland, wales and northern ireland so that will be extremely important. 0n and northern ireland so that will be extremely important. on a regional level. but it will not go down to local outbreaks. it doesn't have the ability to do that. they could get

down to greater manchester for example but not smaller towns. it is what it is so it doesn't necessarily give the armoury to local policymakers to work out what is going on in their areas, they have mass testing going on and they will have to hope that delivers the results and information they need. thank you very much. the brother of the manchester arena bomber is facing life injail for mass murder. hashem abedi was found guilty of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder, and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life in march. the sentencing — which will take two days — is happening at the old bailey and daniel sandford is there. hashem abedi has failed to appear in court for his sentencing for a 22 murders and attempted murder and the manchester bombing in 2017. the court heard he had been brought to the court building but had refused to come up into the dock. mrjustice

jeremy baker said the court has no legal right to use force or to compel a prisoner to attend court. hashem abedi is of course facing a life sentence, automatic for 22 cou nts life sentence, automatic for 22 counts of murder, so this is about the minimum time he will spend in prison. because he was under 21 at the time of the murders he cannot get a whole life order, matters he will never be released from prison, so will never be released from prison, so this is about how many decades he spends in prison before he is considered for release. we have had an incredibly emotional no morning in court with relatives of those who we re in court with relatives of those who were killed telling the judge how it has affected their lives. we heard from claire bruce who was at the concert. her sister was killed and her daughter was very badly injured, spending ten weeks in hospital. she told thejudge she spending ten weeks in hospital. she told the judge she has spending ten weeks in hospital. she told thejudge she has been struggling with feelings of guilt because she had to abandon her sister to look after her daughter.

she said i struggle with feelings of guilt but i had no option to leave kelly to die alone. we have also heard from the mothers of the teenage sweethearts. liam's mother said we have heartbreaking dreams of what is. and chloe's mother told the judge, we are destroyed. thank you very much. a man who rammed several vehicles on a motorway in berlin is being investigated for what prosecutors say was "an islamist—motivated attack". six people were injured — three of them seriously — when the suspect‘s car collided with vehicles yesterday evening in the german capital. prosecutors say they're working on the basis the attack had either a political or religious motive. railway season ticket holders and commuters in england and wales will see a 1.6% rise in fares from january — after a surprisejump in inflation. it'll affect about half of rail fares — which are pegged tojuly‘s retail price index. the office for national statistics

said rising petrol prices and additional ppe costs helped contribute to the increase in prices. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. the morning commute across the pennines from huddersfield to manchester. it's normally packed. but in the era of coronavirus, rush hour is anything but. despite the slump in passenger numbers, rail fares are set to rise next year, angering some today. if the service was going to improve i wouldn't have a problem with it. if the service is going to stay as bad as it is then yes, i don't think it is fair. they make all the promises but never, ever change it. never. and i have been getting on the train 25 years. i can't see us ever going back full—time, especially not in the immediate future. i suppose that is subject to change, depending on what happens with covid. but the minute it isjust one or two days a week, no pressure to sort of go in fulltime. regulated fares including season

tickets are set to go up by 1.6% injanuary. for huddersfield to manchester that is an annual rise of £113 to £2771 per year. for brighton to london, it is up £80 to more than £5,000 a year. despite the government encouraging workers to get back to the office, rail travel is still below one third of what it was before this crisis began and the way many of us work and travel has changed permanently. passenger groups want a radical shake—up of the fares system. the department for transport says any fare increases in england and wales will go straight into crucial investment in the railways. while transport for scotland say they are considering the options on future fares and have delayed the rise. passengers just want flexibility. the traditional season ticket was incentivised to people travelling four and five days a week. we now want to see bundles

where people could get ten journeys for the price of eight or nine. get them travelling again as they go back to the office one or two days a week. as lockdown has eased, consumer price inflation rose to 1% injuly, boosted by rising petrol, furniture and clothing prices. despite the increase, it is still low for historical standards and restaurants like mexican chain wahaca have been passing on the cuts in vat to customers. given everything that has happened over the last four months, the best we could do was to give people a real reason to go back out, so passing on the 15% vat cut through all of our pricing was really important. we do not hold it against anyone who has not done that because everyone has had a very hard time, but for us we have always been known for great value and we just wanted to reiterate that to our customers. the bank of england said earlier this month that it

expects inflation to drop again soon. good news for consumers but tough times ahead for businesses weathering this economic storm. sarah corker, bbc news. after the chaos surrounding a—level regrading, universities are warning that in some courses — such as medicine and dentistry — institutions may not be able to admit students this year. simonjones reports. this a—level student needed three as to study medicine. she thought she had missed out when her results were downgraded by an algorithm. the government's u—turn means she now marks as predicted by her teachers, but fears there won't be space for her on the course. so stressful to have your life, essentially, toyed with, and changing every few minutes. one minute i'm crying, the next few minutes i'm happy. i just don't know how to feel. it's so stressful, especially for your mental health. ijust think it's been awful for a lot of students. definitely notjust me — everyone. medical schools are

a particular pinch point. places are highly competitive and traditionally limited, as part of the cost is met by the government. broadly speaking you need the cap lifted and you need the funds to follow. it's not easy even if you do that. it costs about £56,000 to educate a medical student per annum. most of that money goes to the nhs. if that money isn't found then there is a funding gap that falls on the nhs. the royal college of gps says extra funding is vital. we know that students from disadvantaged backgrounds, we know that students from black, asian and ethnic minority backgrounds were particularly disadvantaged by the algorithm and our concern is those students — who would make brilliant doctors — we absolutely need a diverse medical workforce — will be disproportionately disadvantaged by the exams fiasco. the government says it will consider whether the cap needs to be lifted.

these are unprecedented circumstances with not having a—levels and we are looking at that, but thankfully we have got an expansion in the number of medical places this year — the biggest number of medical places ever — because we are hiring into the nhs, we are growing the nhs. campuses may be quiet now but all courses, notjust medicine, are having to examine whether they can accept more students who now have the grades they need while teaching in a covid—secure way. clearing lines are busy but there is also a call forfinancial support for universities, who will lose out if students reject places in favour of higher grade offers elsewhere. gcse results are out tomorrow in england, wales and northern ireland, based on grades estimated by teachers. like last year, there will be celebrations and commiserations, but it's hoped less chaos and confusion than this year's a—levels. simon jones, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime:

a dramatic rise in household testing. the health secretary says ramping up covid—19 tests will give a much clearer idea of the spread of the virus. and still to come — why team ineos is leaving two british former winners out of their tour de france squad. coming up on bbc news. ronald koeman is confirmed as the new manager of barcelona — he leaves the dutch national side to move to the nou camp on a two—year deal. joe biden has been formally nominated as the democrats' presidential candidate. 0n the second night of the party's virtual national convention he was endorsed by former presidents bill clinton and jimmy carter. the main speech — an emotional one — came from his wifejill in an empty classroom at the delaware high school where she taught english in the 1990s. peter bowes reports. this was the night that joe biden has been working towards for decades. the seal of approval from his party

to run for the white house. with leadership as the theme, two former democratic presidents spoke to rally the troops. jimmy carter sent an audio message, while bill clinton lashed out at donald trump. you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. if you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching tv and zapping people on social media, he's your man. denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame. but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. the night again featured prominent republicans backing joe biden over donald trump. joe biden will be a president we will all be proud to salute. withjoe biden in the white house you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to adversaries, never the other way around. he will trust our diplomats

and our intelligence community, not the flattery of dictators and despots. the widow ofjohn mccain, the senator and one—time republican presidential candidate shared a video celebrating her husband's 30 year friendship with mr biden. a show of support from the wife of one of donald trump's harshest critics. the night's keynote speaker wasjill biden, who spent eight years as america's second lady when her husband was vice president. a lifelong teacher, hoping to become the next first lady, she reintroduced herself to the country and laid out the case for a new family in the white house. so many classrooms are quiet right now. the playgrounds are still. but if you listen closely you can hear the sparks of change in the air. across this country educators, parents, first responders, americans of all walks of life are putting their shoulders back, fighting for each other, we have not given up.

wejust need leadership worthy of our nation. the main business of the night was the roll call, without the usual convention centre razzmatazz. coming to you live from the wisconsin centre, it's time to begin our virtual trip around america. i'm honoured to cast connecticut's 75 votes for our next president, joe biden. it was a revamped and speeded up format for prime time tv. and 2a votes for our next president, joe biden. quickfire contributions from sea to shining sea. and 11 votes for our next president, joe biden. with democrats from all 57 us states and territories pledging delegates to their chosen candidate. and 50 votes for our next president of the united states, mrjoseph r biden!

the result was never in doubt. joe biden is now the party's official nominee for president. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. how do you respond when you see someone not wearing a face covering when you think they should be? most of us probably wouldn't say anything — because the reason could be very personal. caroline davies has been speaking to one woman for whom a face mask is notjust personal — it's terrifying. mask wearing has become an emotional issue. but what happens if you can't wear one? 29—year—old georgina fallows says it brings back traumatic memories of the night she alleges she was raped. she has waived her anonymity to talk to us. i was walking home late at night and was just pulled off the street. and to stop me from screaming, he put his hand over my mouth. so putting on a face mask, for me, anything across my mouth, even if it was an oxygen mask, which has happened before, it brings back all those...

it brings back all those feelings and anxiety and at its absolute worst that can trip over into a full post—traumatic stress disorder flashback. the easiest way to describe it would be like hallucination. it's horrifying. i will shout and scream and be rolling on the floor. georgina says she has limited how much she has been going out, but on the two times she has, she has been challenged. 0nce by a woman at a hairdressers. she was herself very distressed and she said, you know, people like you are killing my father. and you just think, oh, god. you would be inhuman if that didn't make you feel this big. it's not my place to say, well, your anxiety doesn't matter. so if i could wear one, i would. although she would welcome a way to prove that she is exempt, georgina says she understands why some don't want to advertise it. i completely understand that there are many people, notjust rape victims, but other people with disabilities that don't necessarily want to admit

that they have this issue. she was also disappointed in recent comments made by the met police commissioner cressida dick who said that she hoped that people not complying with wearing a mask would be shamed into complying. and that is so unhelpful because you just... you cannot have somebody in that position, who has a huge voice, saying to members of the public, challenge. the met have said that the comments were directed at those actively choosing not to wear a mask. and that the object is to protect safety, not to criminalise the general public. georgina thinks that despite potential abuse, the public should give non—mask wearers the benefit of the doubt. if one more person thinks hang on a minute, i'm not going to challenge because i don't know what that person has been through, then that will be for the better. caroline davies, bbc news. a minute's silence has been held at railway stations around the uk to remember the three people killed in last week's train crash in aberdeenshire.

family members, commuters and rail workers fell silent at aberdeen — where the train departed at 9.113 — exactly a week from the crash. in edinburgh the first minister was amongst those paying their respects to driver brett mccullough, conductor donald dinnie, and passenger christopher stuchbury who died in the incident. the train which was en route to glasgow derailed after hitting a landslip following heavy rain. for many — it's a terrifying idea — the driver next to them with their hands off the wheel on a busy 70—mile—an—hour motorway. but the government's looking at the technology — and could give hands—free driving the go—ahead within a year. rory cellan—jones reports. here is the future, cars which will drive themselves, without a human at the wheel. that is some way off, but in the meantime, plenty of autonomous driving technology designed to make life easier for the motorist, is arriving.

here is one such feature, automated lane keeping. the car sees the white lines on the road and keeps within. but right now, you still have to keep your hands on the wheel at all times. the government is consulting on changes to the law, a move welcomed by the autonomous vehicle industry. it is something that is coming, something that is very exciting. but it is something that we should not be worried about. this is a part of the process that the department for transport goes through to make sure that the systems are safe and the public are aware and accept that... do not cause fear, but unlock potential. but here is the concern. with systems that still require a driver to take over in some circumstances, perhaps when the car in front suddenly changes lanes, there are dangers. you think that the car is doing all the business, but it's not. and it needs you to be

alert and to be able to intervene at any time. and i'm very worried that calling this hands—free is a big mistake and will lead people to allow the car to do too much and they will not be able to react in an emergency. there is a lot at stake here. if the law changes, the responsibility for an accident could switch from the driver to the car—maker. the insurance today covers the person and obviously if you are not driving, the insurance coverage will not cover that. so in other words insurance has to move towards the car and therefore insurance have got to understand the characteristics of the car to be able to write and assess that, to give a fair premium. the promise of self driving cars is that they will be safer in the long run. the tricky part is deciding how soon to let the robot drivers take over. rory cellan—jones, bbc news.

a 16—year—old migrant from sudan has been found on a beach near calais. home secretary priti patel described the death as a tragic loss. nearly 5000 people have crossed the channel in160 5000 people have crossed the channel in 160 small boats this year. two former british tour de france winners — geraint thomas and chris froome — have been left out of team ineos' tour de france squad — the team will be led by last year's yellowjersey winner egan bernal. joe wilson reports. these are the images which made britain a cycling nation. since 2012 british riders in a british team have dominated the tour de france. chris froome has already won it four times. his ambition is one more, maybe two, to make him the greatest. ambition that sustained him as he recovered from terrible injuries following a crash last summer. but in the explanation team ineos filmed and released to the world, it is not enough. he's a champion, chris froome is one of the legends of sport.

everyone must admire chris's return to the racing, unbelievable what he has achieved. and he has come back with great determination. i think he needs just that little bit more, just a little bit longer to get to the highest level. the fact is, chris froome is already due to join another team. the 2018 sports personality of the year is geraint thomas! geraint thomas's victory in the tour de france two years ago made him sports personality of the year. now he has been aimed at a different race altogether, the tour of italy. on his social media today, thomas was trying to emphasise the appeal of the giro d'italia. so yes, a big challenge ahead but looking forward to it. at the momentjust chilling out in the next few days, maybe getting a haircut. and then from the weekend crack on and get working hard for the start of the giro. there is a new sponsor for the team which was once sky, a new image.

but perhaps the core value remains the same. a ruthless commitment to winning. a team not selected on sentiment nor nationality but on the realistic chance of victory. it is a policy which created britain's cycling revolution but those wheels are always turning. joe wilson, bbc news. lots of space, plenty of character, and wonderful views of the sea. and — no troublesome neighbours. if you're after a change of home how about a fort — or three? these napoleonic structures sit in the solent — off the south coast of england and they could be yours for £9 million. john maguire has been taking a look around. when buying property, there are important things to consider. the commute to work. the neighbours — seem friendly, but very serious. and local schools. well, here they're all fish. but of course, the main factor — location, location, location. so how do you fancy the middle of the solent, just off portsmouth?

the three forts being sold separately or together for £9 million were built around 150 years ago as part of the sea defences against a french invasion. the brainchild of the british prime minister, lord palmerston. it's time to take a look around. first up, we have no man's fort — fourfloors, 23 bedrooms, 99,000 square feet and plenty of fresh air. if you get too hot lounging in the garden, what about this? your own private diving board. it used to be used to train royal marine commandos. it's called commando leap. they'd jump off here and swim right around the fort. rather them than me! and down below, a passageway designed to allow divers access to attack invading ships. initially manned during the 19th

century, the forts also saw service in both the first and the second world wars. so many different people touched these forts in so many different ways, from the people who built them in the first place, to the people who manned them in the early wars, and then to the people who manned them through world war one and world war two, when they became really anti aircraft defence batteries. much cheaper, and in need of some tlc, is horse sand. in your best estate agent pitch, how do you describe this one? well, in need of some refurbishment, of course. definitely not deceptively spacious. it's 100,000 square foot of fort, which is really an amazing, amazing opportunity for someone to bring this historic piece of england back into something exciting that works for them. cash may well be an issue, but if its vision you're lacking, well, here's one they made over earlier.

this is spit bank. it's been run as a nine room boutique hotel. and the admiral fisher suite comes complete with its own fishing hole. here, the gun emplacements have been modified for more peaceful pursuits. and the many million dollar question, of course, who's in the market for a sea fort, or three? a lot of the people we've had so far are people who have been incredibly successful, as the current owner was himself. they've sold a business, and they want to do something fun, but at the same time, something that will bring them a financial reward as well. and perhaps looking for something that they can isolate in again or maybe just have for their own sort of peace of mind and privacy. so for your cool £9 million, you get these three victorian forts. one drawback, though, i've noticed, no car parking. luckily, they come with

a helicopter landing pad.