this is bbc news, with the latest headlines. donald trump accepts the republican party's nomination to run for president, accusing the democrats of having a far—left agenda, and being weak on law and order. no—one will be safe in biden‘s america. my administration will always stand

with the men and women of law enforcement. the largest ever study of children with covid—19 has concluded that it is "vanishingly rare" for young people to die from the virus. and if you would like to get in touch on any of our stories today — you can contact me on twitter @annita—mcveigh, or use the hashtag #bbcyourquestions. manchester united captain harry maguire says he feared for his life, in his first interview about his arrest in greece. we thought we were getting kidnapped. we got down on our knees, we put our hands in the air. and then, erm, theyjust started hitting us, they were hitting my legs, saying my career‘s over, no more football. a new government campaign to encourage people

to return to the office, amid concerns that city centres are suffering as workers stay away following the pandemic. japan's prime minister, shinzo abe, is set to resign due to ill health, according to his party officials. an announcement is expected shortly. and coming up this hour... a blue plaque for a woman of indian heritage who became a british spy during the second world war. president trump has set out his case to win a second term in office, as he formally accepted his party's nomination for november's election. addressing the republican national convention from the white house lawn, mr trump described it as the most important election ever, and presented himself as the candidate of law and order. he warned his rival, joe biden, would "demolish" the american

dream and give free rein to anarchists and criminals. our north america correspondent david willis was watching. please welcome, ivanka trump. it's been a family affair, this convention, and it fell to donald trump's daughter ivanka to introduce him on the final night of the republican gathering — a billionaire businessman she described as a builder, an entrepreneur, and an outsider. my fellow americans, our first lady and the 45th president of the united states, donald j trump. and onto the south lawn, to a rousing reception from an invited and un—socially distanced audience, stepped donald and melania trump. the white house, a federal building, a controversial, some have said unconstitutional backdrop for a political pitch of this kind. donald trump's appeal to remain here coming at a time of renewed racial tension,

and on the day a hurricane wreaked havoc on america's gulf coast. my fellow americans, tonight, with a heart full of gratitude and boundless optimism, i profoundly accept this nomination for president of the united states. calling the forthcoming election the most important in the country's history, donald trump called once again for the restoration of law and order in the face of protests against police brutality and racial injustice, some of which have grown violent. like richard nixon in 1968, the message to white suburban voters is clear — safety on their streets is at risk, and he's backing the police over the protesters. the democrat party wants to stand with anarchists, agitators, rioters, looters and flag burners. that is up to them. but i, as your president, will not be a part of it. the republican party will remain

the voice of the patriotic heroes who keep american safe and salute the american flag. touting his achievements in trade negotiations, criminal justice reform and the middle east, the president vowed to rebuild an economy ravaged by what he calls the china virus. perversely, perhaps, given his criticism of the black lives matter protests, he made this assertion about a voting group his party is nonetheless still hoping to woo. i have done more for the african—american community than any president since abraham lincoln, our first republican president. there was no mention ofjacob blake, the black man shot in the back by a white police officer in wisconsin on sunday, nor of the trump—supporting teenage vigilante charged with murdering two people who were protesting that shooting. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. let's speak now to greg swenson from republicans overseas uk.

good to have you with us this morning on bbc news, greg swenson. i think the thing we have to begin with is that more than 1000 people we re with is that more than 1000 people were watching donald trump there at the white house last night with barely a mask insight and no social distancing, as the death toll, as you will know, in the us, from covid, is 180,000, and rising. was that the act of a president who is desperate to say that everything is fine? well, i think you have to have some balance and perspective. it was his speech on the last night of the convention. i guess if you wanted to look at vp biden and senator parry is walking out with the masks, there is walking out with the masks, there is clearly a difference between the parties on where they rank the priorities, and it is amazing, the partisan difference. democrats, by all means, over 75% in a poll say that the pandemic is the biggest

issue, and for the republicans, it's the economy. i think what he is trying to message is that a thriving economy is not incompatible with managing the virus and it is important to balance both. but the economy isn't thriving and the virus isn't partisan and this was the biggest platform, arguably, of the year, and therefore, should the president have been sending a very clear message that social distancing and mask wearing our advisable? well, and that's fine, and he has done that in the past but i don't think it would have been appropriate for this particular moment, this particular speech. the americans believe in liberty and making responsible choices, you can even see it in the results, in the states that have had the most extreme lockdown driver and the most aggressive policies in managing it, aren't necessarily the ones that are doing well in terms of outcomes. and they are also crushing their economies at the same time. so the president has got to strike, and i think he did strike, the right

balance between addressing the pandemic, doing the right thing but also at the same time maintaining a confidence in the country to recover from this. i think the big message that he wanted people to take away from his speech was his claim that no one would be safe in biden's america, that's pretty audacious, isn't it, that repeated claim, in the speech, given the unrest in cities around america on his watch? where was the policy in that speech in terms of what he was saying he would do to deal with this? in terms of what he was saying he would do to deal with thi57m in terms of what he was saying he would do to deal with this? it is a good point and you hit a couple of topics. it is on his watch, and he has been very vocal about that and offered federal help in those, by the way, all democratically managed cities in some of the blue states as well. he has offered help and in some cases he has provided it. it is a federal system so you have to look at the states and local governments to handle the violence and disruption. so, on a number of

measures, he is defining himself as the law and order president and i think you have to look back at the dnc last week and there was no mention of the violence, the riots. so, the democrats during this last three months have either ignored it or condoned it, either way, three months have either ignored it or condoned it, eitherway, ithink it isa or condoned it, eitherway, ithink it is a good case for the president to define himself and the party as law and order leaders. to define himself and the party as law and order leadersli to define himself and the party as law and order leaders. i am getting the democrats would absolutely refute that they have condoned any of the violence, but let's talk about who this speech will have appealed to, was that enough for his co re appealed to, was that enough for his core supporters, presumably yes? will it do anything to persuade anyone who is undecided about voting for donald trump? really good question, annita, because one thing which is unique about this election, there are not a lot of persuadable voters, everybody has made up their mind. two divided, you either love the president or you don't. but there are a couple of spots. there are some persuadable demographics,

for example, hispanic men, and also you are seeing a bump in the african—american polling for the president. and i think they have made a great case all week that some of the people who historically don't vote republican have really good reasons to vote for this president and also in the state local elections. i think he made a good case for that. but you make a good point, there are not a lot of persuadables so this becomes a turnout election, and that is where enthusiasm comes in, and i think he did a good job generating some enthusiasm. when they polled democrats, the majority do not support biden because of him, they will vote for him because they don't like trump. whereas trumpet‘s voters, 75% or more are supporting him because they like his policies and they like the president and what he has done. so, i think it does become a turnout election, and that is why speeches like last night and this week will help him with the

enthusiasm. he already has an advantage on enthusiasm but i think this week will help that. it's going to bea this week will help that. it's going to be a very interesting few months. greg swenson, thank you very much for your time today, spokesperson for your time today, spokesperson for republicans 0verseas uk. the largest ever study of children with covid—19 has concluded it's "vanishingly rare" for young people to die from the virus. it found the disease has not caused the deaths of any schoolchildren in the uk who did not have serious underlying health problems. the report, published in the british medicaljournal, identified which children were more likely to need critical care support, including newborn babies under a month old, young people from a black ethnic background, or children who are obese. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh has more. this is the world's largest study of patients with covid—19. and it confirms that the overwhelming majority of those aged 19 or under don't get severe symptoms. the study looked at the 70,000

patients who were admitted the study looked at 70,000 patients who were admitted to hospital in the uk. just 651 were children. six of those died and all of them had serious underlying health problems. i think the most important message from this paper is that children make up a tiny proportion of severe covid in the uk, and that death with covid in children is vanishingly rare. and what i would like to say is that these findings are really reassuring. for myself as a parent, as a children's doctor, and also as a scientist, i find these numbers extremely reassuring for parents who are about to send their children back to school. the researchers also found that young people with black ethnicity and those medical staff classed as obese were more likely to need extra treatment such as intensive care. the findings were seen in advance by england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty. they were part of the evidence he looked at when he told parents on sunday that it is safe for children to return

to school in september. pallab ghosh, bbc news. and later i will be talking to a professor from the government advisory group and also to a mother whose baby was diagnosed with coronavirus. the manchester united captain harry maguire has spoken for the first time about being found guilty of assaulting police and bribery, on the greek island of mykonos. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, the england defender says he feared for his life when he was arrested by plain clothes officers and thought he was being kidnapped. he has been talking to our sports editor, dan roan. sports editor, dan roan. since he left a greek courthouse on saturday, harry maguire has not been seen or heard. but finally, the united and england star has broken his silence, telling me what it was like to spend two nights in custody. it was horrible. it's not something i ever want to do again. i don't wish it on anybody. who do you owe an apology to?

i don't feel like i owe an apology to anybody. an apology is something when you've done something wrong. do i regret? i regret being in the situation. obviously, the situation has made it difficult. i play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so i regret putting the fans and the club through this. maguire says trouble began when he suspected his sister, daisy, had been attacked by two strangers. these two men approached my little sister. they asked her where she was from, she responded, and then my fiancee fern seen my little sister's eyes go into the back of her head, and... she ran over and she was fainting, she was in and out of consciousness, and... sorry.

maguire says he and his friends tried to get to hospital, but were instead taken to a police station, where they claim outside, they were attacked by plainclothed officers. my initial thoughts was that we were getting kidnapped. we got down on our knees, we put our hands in the air. and then theyjust started hitting us. they were hitting my legs, saying my career is over, no more football. "you won't play again." despite everything you've said, the facts remain, sadly, that you were found guilty. how can you remain captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world? it's a massive privilege to play for the club, never mind to be the captain. obviously, it's not my decision to make. i have great faith in the greek law. the retrial will give us more time to prepare. gather the evidence, allow witnesses into the court. and i'm really confident

that the truth will be told. some breaking news from japan, confirmation that the prime minister shinzo abe is to resign for health reasons. he has suffered for many yea rs reasons. he has suffered for many years from an inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis. but he said that his health had started to decline around the middle of last month. he has been in hospital a couple of times recently, and in a statement, he has made it known that he doesn't want his ill health to result in any mistakes being made in important decisions. shinzo abe became japan's longest serving prime minister last year, but announcing today that he is to step down from that role for health reasons. we are

going to get more detail on this announcement and get some reaction as well in around 15 minutes' time. the headlines on bbc news... donald trump accepts the republican party's nomination, accusing the democrats of having a far—left agenda, and being weak on law and order. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has announced he will step down due to ill—health. and the world's largest study of patients with covid—19 has concluded that the risk of children needing hospital treatment for the virus is tiny. a campaign to emphasise the benefits of going back to work will be launched by the government next week. it will urge employers to reassure staff that it is safe to return by highlighting the measures they're taking to make workplaces covid—secure and the benefits of working in an office environment. labour said it could force people to choose between theirjob and their health.

let's get more from our political correspondent leila nathoo. good morning to you, leila. if we go back to the beginning of lockdown, when the prime minister told people to stay at home, now, is this the government formally saying to people, go back to the office, if you can, and what concerns are there around that messaging? morning, annita. yes, we have already heard some comments from borisjohnson in recent weeks, saying, go back to work if you can. at the start of the month, the official guidance work from home actually changed to give employers a bit more discretion over their own workplaces. so, over these months, employers will have been putting in various protective measures, making adjustments to try to make their workplace covid—secure. and to make their workplace covid—secu re. and i to make their workplace covid—secure. and i think what we're hearing from the government now is a bit more of a renewed push, we have

got a different context, schools are going back across the country, so it might help parents with childcare. it is worth pointing out that of course, certain workplaces, people have gone back to work already, many people have been going in throughout, so this is clearly aimed at officers. what we are hearing this morning from the transport secretary, grant shapps, is that it is safe for people to go back to work, offices are ready with protective measures, the transport network is also ready to carry people back into offices, the government clearly mindful of the impact of people working from home en masse, and what this is doing to city centre economies, and also on transport revenues. this is what grant shapps said earlier. by and large, where it's possible, people can now return to work, it is safe to do so. your employer should have put in covid—friendly or covid—unfriendly, i suppose you could say, measures, to ensure that people can work safely from their offices, because there are just things which are impossible to do

from home over zoom videos, as we are doing now. so, yes, gradually, now people will start to return to the office, but i suspect we will see more flexible working than we have seen in the past, and it will be for employers and employees to work out the right balance in their particular cases. interesting to hear grant shapps saying that ultimately it would be up saying that ultimately it would be up to employers, because of course thatis up to employers, because of course that is the case, no matter what the government says and tries to cajole people back into offices, it will be up people back into offices, it will be up to individual employers to manage what is best for them. and, of course, with social distancing still required it will be very difficult for most workplaces to get back to full capacity, with people coming in full—time. and, of course, many businesses have figured out that actually perhaps working from homework‘s best for them and they are having a bit of a rethink. so i think it is unlikely that we are going to see some snap back to a full return or anything like what we

saw three coronavirus. but this is just a saw three coronavirus. but this is justa campaign saw three coronavirus. but this is just a campaign and pressure from the government, there will be a campaign in the regional press next week, i think it is clearly another push to say to people, things are safer now and you should start thinking about going back into the office. leila nathoo in westminster, thank you very much. the august bank holiday weekend is upon us, and it is a crucial one for britain's tourism industry. but bookings for uk staycations for this august bank holiday weekend are down by around half on last year, according to visit britain. our business correspondent ben thompson is by the sea in whitstable for us. ben, i think the weather is looking a bit better than when i saw you earlier this morning. a beautiful shot from the drone there. so, why are these bookings down? yeah, good morning, annita, welcome to sunny whitstable. you're absolutely right, earlier this morning the rain was

here, but they will be hoping that it lasts much longer, and the weather being so glorious right now, because they will really rely on this weekend to make sure that they can get the visitors in that they need. about a third of all domestic tourism spending is done in the months ofjuly and august and this will be really crucial to help salvage what is left of the summer season, given that the bars and restau ra nts a nd season, given that the bars and restaurants and shops here have missed out on the easter weekend, the other bank holidays this year, the other bank holidays this year, the school holidays, so they will be hoping that this weekend will deliver. but you're right cover the number of trips overnight stays are down significantly. this time last year, 8 million of us were planning an overnight trip over the weekend, this year it is just 4.8 million. clearly where still travelling but not staying overnight. so what does that mean? let me introduce you to patricia, from visit britain, and also sarah, who runs a hotel and restau ra nt also sarah, who runs a hotel and restaurant in which double. good morning to you both. patricia, talk

to me about the importance of this weekend, this year, even more important, this bank holiday weekend? yes, because tory businesses need to make their money in the summerto businesses need to make their money in the summer to help them through the quieter months. —— tourism businesses. as you say they have lost a lot of business this year, so this is the last hurrah before the kids go back to school and it is important to get people out and supporting local businesses and spending their money. speaking of local businesses, sarah, you are pinning your hopes on this weekend being a good one, because you have been through it all this year, with lockdown and changes to the way you operate, tell me about how tough it has been? absolutely. so, lockdown came overnight, it was really important for us to look after our customers, and change. we want to be covid—secure, customers, and change. we want to be covid—secu re, we've customers, and change. we want to be covid—secure, we've got great outside space so we have been able to adapt quickly. however, the hotel was on lockdown, we're just coming out of lockdown now, we've got

weddings, albeit a smaller, intimate. as a business we are having to gear up again and think about the future. great that we have got these in small staycation is right now, however, cold months ahead. and also i was speaking to another restaurant owner earlier and he said the problem is the mondays, tuesdays, the wednesdays, the things that the chancellor was trying to help outwith, but for the likes of businesses like yours, it is really difficult, people are coming for the weekend and not the rest of the week? the eat out campaign has been great to give back to our customers and also positive to get the food supply chain going again. however, coming back to the hotel side, we are noticing last—minute stays, people who want to suddenly get away, but we have to make sure that we are covid—secure and we offer confidence to our customers to encourage them to keep coming out. and patricia, a final word, this is really make or break, but what about november, december, january,

february, it's going to be tough, isn't it? it is, even the places in resorts that have been doing good business are expressing worry about how they get through to christmas. if you're in a city centre business, you've not got business travellers, you've not got business travellers, you've not got people who are confident travelling on public transport. so, a really positive message is needed that people can travel confidently and go into cities and we are launching the escape the every day campaign, where there was memories of lockdown hopefully will fade and we can get out and enjoy ourselves trick good luck. you've got your work cut out but on a glorious day like today, it makes yourjob but on a glorious day like today, it makes your job slightly but on a glorious day like today, it makes yourjob slightly easier. that is the view for this weekend. many people will be choosing to go away evenif people will be choosing to go away even if it is just for a day but hopefully for a bit longer to make the most of what this country has got to offer. when you see shots like this, from the drone, you

really do see what this country has to offer, and whatever you may be up to offer, and whatever you may be up to this weekend, have a wonderful time. back to you, annita. thanks, ben, fabulous view of which double there. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has warned british holidaymakers that quarantine rules could continue to change very quickly. switzerland, jamaica and the czech republic have become the latest countries to be added to the government's quarantine list. cuba has been added to the quarantine exemption list after a drop in cases there. we can speak now to professor antoine flahault who is director of the institute of global health. and he is in geneva. good morning to you, thank you very much for your time today. do you think that from your perspective it was right that switzerland was added to the quarantine list for the uk, talk to us quarantine list for the uk, talk to us about the level of infections

there? you know, it is difficult to say who is right, who is wrong, because is no international recommendation come in either the who, nor any other institutions, delivered any common eyes ocean or recommendation on what to do in this regard. so, it is something which is now at the level of the states, and there is a lot of this harmonisation, i would say, between the criteria which are used in various companies. it is normal that countries try to protect their borders against the virus, so we don't want to welcome new viruses, we can understand that. —— disharmonisation. as you say, there is no harmonisation on this, so, do

you think that the idea of quarantine is in anyway effective? yes, i think so. what i doubt a bit, to tell you frankly, is that between the uk and western europe situation, between the states, in these situations, there is no real scientific reasons to flag these countries — switzerland now, maybe france, or... because we share, most of the states share today the same kind of situations, which is some surge in new cases, i should say, in positive pcr, because most of the cases are asymptomatic or even very mild form of the disease, and almost no mortality. and the uk is rather in the same situation. you also have

this surge in cases, may be at a lower level, i agree with that, but you don't have also any surge in mortality. so, this is quite different from the situation in latin america or even in the united states, where the mortality is still very high. isn't there a greater reason for an island, though, to ta ke reason for an island, though, to take this approach? yes, it is true that we can understand when an island is completely removed and secluded, like new zealand, it is quite understandable that they want to protect themselves, and it may be very successful to do that. for the uk, it is an island puzzles so we can understand that you want to have secured your borders. interconnection is much more complex to deal with, and i think that it is very important to be prudent with regard to travellers coming from

high—risk countries. the point is, how to define high risk, and i and not completely sure that it is com pletely not completely sure that it is completely understandable to take such decisions,, it is understandable, but i am not com pletely understandable, but i am not completely sure that travelling in the western part of europe today is very dangerous for the uk citizens. professor, director of the institute of global health, thank you very much. have a back, with sarah. we have got a mixture today, some heavy downpours, but also some sunshine. it will be brightening up in scotland and northern ireland in the afternoon. south of that, there isa the afternoon. south of that, there is a band of rain. further south still, scattered showers and thunderstorms. further north, the quite a chilly northerly wind starting to develop later on, which

will be with us for the next few days. watch out for the heavy downpours in the south. there could be some flash flooding. 0vernight we keep a few showers in the south—east but most other places are looking clear. temperatures, between 7—13 overnight. but it will be colder tomorrow night. on saturday, quite a lot of dry weather, but some showers on the east coast. again, quite a chilly northerly wind. feeling colder than recent days. you're watching bbc news... hello, this is bbc news with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines... donald trump accepts the republican party's nomination to run for president, accusing the democrats of having a far—left agenda and being weak on law and order. no—one will be safe in biden's america. my administration will always stand with the men and women of law enforcement.

in the last half hour japan's prime minister shinzo abe has announced he will step down from the position due to ill health. the largest ever study of children with covid—19 has concluded it's "vanishingly rare" for young people to die from the virus. manchester united captain and england defender harry maguire says he feared for his life in his first interview about his arrest in greece. a new government campaign to encourage people to return to the office, amid concerns that city centres are suffering as workers stay away following the pandemic. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre here's jane dougall. that interview with harry maguire generating a lot of conversation, isn't it? yes, and understandably

so. yes, and understandably so. england defender harry maguire says he's thankful for the suppport of his club manchester united after the traumatic events of the past seven days. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, he told sports editor dan roan that he feared for his life when he was arrested by greek police, and thought he was being kidnapped. united have said he is likely to remain as their captain this season. it's such a huge honour to be captain of manchester united. it's something i'm really proud of. it's a massive privilege to play for the club, never mind to be the captain. but one thing i will say is how supportive the club have been, from top to bottom. they have been great with me. and, obviously, it has been such a difficult time. my main focus is obviously family. but the next best thing to my family is football. so, playing for manchester united, like i said, is something i love. more reaction to that interview on the bbc sport website.

more reaction to that interview on the bbc sport website. the shooting ofjacob blake has sparked more sporting protests in the united states, with basketball, football, ice hockey and baseball matches called off. players boycotted the mlb game between new york mets and miami marlins. neither team warmed up, both left their dugouts and took off their caps for a moment of silence, before walking off the field, leaving behind a black lives matter t—shirt on the home plate. american football is in full practice mode, with the season starting in two weeks, but the tennessee titans cancelled their latest session in solidarity. we had a lot of powerful discussions. guys spilled out their emotions, guys teared up, and we had a lot of constructive conversation. but as we went to our team meeting, with the entire team, we felt as players, and as an entire organisation, that it was right to not practise today. we feel that with all the recent events that's happened in our country, not onlyjust this year, not only the past year, but the past hundreds of years,

we decided that it's time to take a stand. there have been protests at the tennis in new york too, with former world number one naomi 0saka choosing not to play her semi—final yesterday. that match will be go ahead later. and the draw for the us open was made as planned, producing an all—british tie in the first round, with johanna konta facing heather watson. andy murray will take on japan's yoshihito nishioka. and kyle edmund could play novak djokovic in the second round, if they both get through. the tournament starts on monday, behind closed doors at flushing meadows. there's another step in the return of fans to sport this evening, with murrayfield staging the first rugby match to admit supporters since the lockdown. around 700 will be allowed in to watch edinburgh take on glasgow warriors, with strict social distancing measures in place. tickets have been sold in pairs,

with members of the same household sitting together. season—ticket holder darren coutts will be back at murrayfield for the first time in six months, taking his partner anna healy to her first rugby match. you know, i'm part of the edinburgh rugby fans group, which we started up a few years back, and it's going strong. and, you know, everybody has a sense of, well, we're going to make this work, not just for rugby, but for sport in general. and, you know, there is a sense of responsibility. we understand that covid's racked sport across the land and we just want to make it work. and hopefully, a great event tonight leads to another great event, and we can get back to watching rugby live. rory mcilroy said he was loving the conditions at olympia fields in illinois, after shooting an even—parfirst round of 70. the course, just outside chicago, features brutal, rough and devilish greens and mcilroy said he enjoyed having to really think about his shots.

only three players shot under par, with japan's hideki matsuyama leading by one. you can follow it on the bbc sport website. but that's it from me for now. let's return now to the news that the governement is looking to get staff back into offices, with a major media campaign to be launched next week. employees will be encouraged to stop working from home amid fears that town and city centres are becoming ghost areas with commuters staying away. let's speak now to labour mp lucy powell who is the shadow minister for business and consumers. good to have you with us. good morning. is the time right this? well, we want to see people returning to work, returning to their usual way of life as soon as possible. but in a way that people get reassurance and can feel safe and secure about doing that. i think

what is really regrettable today has been some of the briefing around this campaign, threatening workers that if they do not return to the office that somehow they will be more at risk of redundancy and losing theirjob. i think that is the worst possible message that we could send. it stands in stark contrast and contradictory to many of the other messages that are so important to tackling this pandemic. for example, if you are shielding we are asking people to continue to be cautious. if you need to be isolated and self—isolate because the track and self—isolate because the track and trace system has been in touch with you, we are asking you to stay away from work. if you are quarantining because you have been abroad, we are asking you to stay away from work. these are conflicting messages which is the worst of all worlds and will do a great deal of damage to this campaign. where is that messaging coming from because the government

has said this morning, grant shapps has said this morning, grant shapps has been talking about this, that people should be going back to work if they are confident their workplace is covid—secu re if they are confident their workplace is covid—secure and if there is any sense of them being pressured to go back and there are measures that they can take to protect themselves. i am afraid that time and again with this government we have seen really unhelpful briefings to their preferred newspapers, which is just briefings to their preferred newspapers, which isjust not briefings to their preferred newspapers, which is just not the way of doing this. it is the headline in the telegraph today, it is obviously well sourced from the government, and we have seen this pattern many, many times over recent weeks. the government has to then spend 24—48 hours unpicking that message and trying to reassure people. that is why we need openness, transparency and clear and consistent messaging to encourage people to return to their usual way of life and get things back to some

kind of normality in a way that people can feel safe about. kind of normality in a way that people can feel safe aboutm kind of normality in a way that people can feel safe about. it is something i have heard lots of people chatting about. 0bviously some schools are already back and lots more are returning in the next week or ten days or so, do you think that we should be seeing the school situation bed down and hopefully children get back safely before any return to offices is encouraged? well, certainly what we need to see our things being done in a methodical way, one thing at a time. that is what the government said they were always going to do, they we re they were always going to do, they were going to proceed with caution and slowly ease the lockdown measures in different ways so that we can keep track of the effect of those. of course, all efforts next week should be on the schools are reopening, because that will be a difficult challenge and there is a lot of reassurance that is still needed for the parents and teachers

as well. we want to see all children back to school as soon as they are able to do so. we know there is a monumental effort in place to make that happen. but we do also need to think about our city centres as well. i represent a city centre and i see the huge impact that this pandemic has had on my city centre here in manchester. that is why we need a proper plan for our city centres and notjust about threatening workers to go back to work, but ensuring that city centres have got that extra support that they need. there is £1.5 billion of government support that is yet to be spent that could go to businesses in our city centres and we are calling on the government to make that money available for local authorities, to be able to distribute at their discretion, and that could help support many of the city centre businesses we are talking about today as well. lucy powell, thank you very much. shadow minister for business and consumers.

shadow ministerfor business and consumers. japan's longest—serving prime minister, shinzo abe, has announced he is stepping down because of ill health. abe, who is 65, has suffered from the disease ulcerative colitis for many years, but his condition has worsened. there is no clear successor. the government has faced severe criticism over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which many people injapan view as being too slow and uncoordinated. this was the moment mr abe confirmed he would be stepping down. translation: even though i have one year to go translation: even though i have one yearto go in translation: even though i have one year to go in my tenure and with other challenges that have not been addressed yet, and amid the coronavirus outbreak, i decided to step down as prime minister. i would like to send my apologies to the people of japan. let's speak now to dr krisitn surak, senior lecturer injapanese politics

at soas university. thank you for talking to us about this development in the last three quarters of an hour. was this a surprise or were people expecting that shinzo abe, having beenjapan's longest serving prime minister, would take the step?|j longest serving prime minister, would take the step? i think it has blindsided quite a number of people, even some people within his own party and his staff. they did not expect this and certainly not at the beginning of the week. i think the suddenness of the announcement, given that he has only had a year left in power, suggests the health issues are really quite serious that he is dealing with now. he said he did not want his ill health to result in him making mistakes in important decisions. given you say it isa important decisions. given you say it is a surprise even to some quite close to him, that would suggest that no process of someone to take over, either in a caretaker capacity ora over, either in a caretaker capacity or a slightly longer time, has been

put in place. there are procedures for doing this. significant in what he announced today is that he would be stepping down. what will be happening now is next tuesday there will be a decision within the party as to how to elect a party leader. once that is done, that person will then become prime minister. had he resigned, there would have been a trigger of the election of the party leader, but there will be a more orderly transition with the continued power of the party assured. do we have any idea at this stage to the successor might be? what might that mean for the direction japan goes on? there are a couple of lead contenders. one is currently the policy chief. he is very popular within the party, less popular with voters. but he is in

first place to take over because if it does not go to a popular vote, then the power within the party are significant. other contenders are the chief cabinet secretary, and he has been shinzo abe's main adviser throughout his entire tenure, very powerful within the party as well. the third contender would be the secretary general of the liberal democratic party, of which shinzo abe is a member. he is his main rival and when shinzo abe was first elected in 2012, he was the main rival in that election. and so it depends a bit on what is going on within internal party politics and the sort of negotiation and compromise that will be made in terms of who of those three come out on top in this situation? good to get your expertise. thank you very

much. the headlines on bbc news... donald trump accepts the republican party's nomination — accusing the democrats of having a far—left agenda, and being weak on law and order. japan's prime minister — shinzo abe — has announced he will step down from the position due to ill health. the world's largest study of patients with covid—19 has confirmed that children's risk of needing hospital treatment for the virus is "tiny". sir ed davey has won the race to become the new leader of the liberal democrats. the acting leader was up against the mp for abingdon, layla moran and won the leadership contest almost 2—1. he's now the party's fourth leader within five years and says it's time for his party to "wake up and smell the coffee" following last year's election result which saw the lib dems secure only 12% of the vote.

sir ed daveyjoins me now. good morning, congratulations. i wonder when you found out that you had one, when it was confirmed, what was the first thing that went through your head? well, i was pleased and excited. it is a big task that we have got, a hard task, but i believe we can reconnect with the voters, it is how we do that. i wa nt the voters, it is how we do that. i want the party to make sure that we understand that we are not in a good place and the only way we are going to turn our fortunes round and represent people better is by listening, a serious, deep listening exercise across the country, so people understand we do want to represent them. at the moment voters have been sending us a message for three successive elections that they don't think we are on their side, they don't think we share their values and that is the problem i have to fix. how will you do that? turnout was down in this leadership

election. if the turn—up was down amongst lib dems, how will you inspire voters around the country to vote for you? the reason turnout was down was mainly because of covid—19. try running campaigns during a pandemic, it is tricky. in the listening exercise we will do it in a covid—secure way and we will try to work out what people think, not just about their immediate future, how they have been affected by covid-19, but how they have been affected by covid—19, but also the longer term future, how they think of igniting will affect their country, our world. i want to make sure that we are hearing from them the challenges that they are facing now, whether it is there a family plasma education, their future, is there a family plasma education, theirfuture, their is there a family plasma education, their future, their livelihoods, and how we can respond to that. a political party at some stage at some point in its history has to be frank about itself and that is what i want the party to be. we can represent people well. if you look

at local government we have got candidates, councils and campaigners who have listened to people, who have connected to them and who are serving them. we spent £5 billion of taxpayers money in councils around the country and i remember when we did that nationally, when we were a powerful and distinctive voice in politics, so i know we can do it, but i also know we lost our way. the only way we can find our way back is by reconnecting. speaking of reconnecting, i was looking at reaction to your went yesterday and there was a fair smattering of people talking about the coalition government, talking about your votes for the bedroom tax, tuition fee increases, benefit cuts and so on. do you regret that? how are you going to persuade people who are still talking about that that they should now vote for you? all governments made mistakes and the

coalition government made some, but it is fairto coalition government made some, but it is fair to say we also made some really good decisions. the liberal democrats, when i was a cabinet minister, quadrupled britain's renewable power. we took of low paid out of... i have heard you talking about the things you are proud of, but the things that have been problematic, and specifically on that question, if you would address that, how will you persuade people who criticise you still for that that they should now vote for you? that is why i want this listening exercise. you are only going to turn things round if you really engage with your audience and listen to them intently. we will hear what they say. i have already started the process as acting leader. i set out a general election review with the party, which looked at how we performed not only at last december‘s election, but in the last three elections and it did not pull

punches. it looked at the need to re—engage with voters and reconnect to them so that our messages are releva nt to to them so that our messages are relevant to their lives and we are the ones who can improve their lives and we are in touch with them. that is how we will do it and whatever it is, that exercise is the process by which we will reconnect. as you look ahead to the next election cycle, obviously the conservatives have a big majority, 80 seats, labour are looking at that as well and the seats they lost to the conservatives in the last election, a lot of people have talked about what ifjo swinson had agreed to a pact with labour last time round, it must have crossed your mind to consider whether the lib dems under your leadership would, if necessary, do a pa ct leadership would, if necessary, do a pact with labour under keir starmer. is that something you have been thinking about? on the first day as being leader of the liberal democrats. said to my colleagues i

would ask you that question and that is the answer you would get me. of course it is your first day, but these are things that people want to know. first of all, i want them to know. first of all, i want them to know what the liberal democrats stand for and what the general election showed in a very clear way is that too many people do not know what we stand for at the moment. so both the listening exercise and making democrats a stronger voice, we can build a party up and that is the first step i want to focus on. i am not thinking about the next general election, i am thinking about making sure people understand who we are and what we are about. the way to do that is first of all to re—engage with the voters and thatis to re—engage with the voters and that is what i will focus on and i will not be distracted. with an 80 seat majority for the conservatives, is that something in the future? what you have done thatjob of listening to the people and building up listening to the people and building up the listening to the people and building he party, listening to the people and building up the party, is that something that might be out there not in the

immediate future, but in the middle distance? let me say this, for the conservatives to lose their majority at the next election it is going to require liberal democrats to beat many sitting conservative mps, that is the way the maths work. we are second in 91 seats in the country and 80 of those are against the conservatives. do i have conservatives. do i have conservative constituencies in my target range? i do. but i think there is a step before that and the set before that is to listen to the voters and reconnect with them so that we have a chance of defeating those conservative mps. ed davey, leader of the liberal democrats, thank you very much for your time today. most schools in england feel ready to reopen fully next week, that's according to the national association of headteachers.

around 4,000 head teachers — mainly from primary schools — told the union about their plans to manage the risks around coronavirus, including additional cleaning and staggered starts and break times. the education secretary, gavin williamson, said this should give parents confidence ahead of the new term. a video of two passengers being escorted off a flight at stansted airport by officials in protective suits, has been shared on social media. a man had just boarded a ryanair plane to pisa in italy, when he received a text saying he had tested positive for coronavirus. after alerting cabin crew, the man and his travel partner were taken to an isolation area at the terminal. rya nair said both passengers were seated for only 10 minutes, but the flight on wednesday was delayed while seats and overhead cabins were disinfected. a woman of indian heritage is being honoured with a blue plaque the first in the scheme's 150 year history. noor inayat khan, who was a british secret agent during the second world war, lived at a house in bloomsbury, in central london before leaving for what was to be herfinal mission. lizo mzimba has more.

it's the first time in its 150—year history that a blue plaque is being unveiled in honour of a woman of indian origin. noor inayat khan was born in moscow to an american mother and an indian father. he was a musician and teacher. the family moved first to london and then to france. she was educated in paris and later worked writing children's stories. after the fall of france in 1940, khan escaped to england, where she joined the women's auxiliary air force. two years later, she was recruited to join the special operations executive as a radio operator. shortly after, she returned to paris, this time to work as a spy, the first female radio operator to be sent into nazi—occupied france. after months of dangerous work, she was betrayed, arrested by the gestapo, imprisoned and tortured.

she died after being shot in a concentration camp in september 1944. her plaque marks the return of the blue plaque scheme after a brief hiatus because of coronavirus. the new plaque will mark the house in bloomsbury in central london that was her family home when she left england for the last time. english heritage, which oversees the blue plaque scheme, believes that the story of her remarkable courage in the service of her adopted country is something that will serve to inspire future generations. lizo mzimba, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello. after heavy rain brought flooding problems yesterday for many areas, today will be mixed weather—wise. we have got further outbreaks of rain and sunshine coming through as well. this was the

picture in winchell sea beach. things will be drying up this afternoon for scotland, northern ireland and the four north of england. to the south, patchy outbreaks of rain in northern england, wales, the midlands and heavy showers and thunderstorms interspersed with sunshine further south. but the wins will be a feature of the weather today, particularly across the northern half of the uk. gus 30 to 40 miles an hour. temperatures in the mid teens and with that northerly when it will feel a bit chillier than that. 18 or 19 in the south—east between heavy showers. overnight in most between heavy showers. overnight in m ost pla ces between heavy showers. overnight in most places dry out, but we will keep showers in the south and south—east, all down to this area of low pressure. higher pressure builds in from the atlantic, so that will tend to dry things out as we head on into saturday. we have still got that northerly wind with us and that will be driving in further showers for parts of northern scotland, the

east coast and the south—east. it will ease later on in the weekend. some sunshine on offer. again we have got chilly, northerly winds. temperatures are cooler than they have been recently. for saturday typically about 13—19. but as the winds tend to ease saturday night, ta ke winds tend to ease saturday night, take note if you are camping, will be quite a cold night. temperatures down into single figures as we start the day on sunday. sunday is dominated by an area of high pressure moving in from the west. not as blustery. still a bit of a northerly breeze. you will notice that if you are around some expos, eastern coasts. further west, less blustery than recent days. temperatures between 14 to 17. a little below par for this time of year. as we head on into monday, a

bank holiday, it is looking largely dry and cooler than it has been.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. donald trump accepts the republican party's nomination to run for president, accusing the democrats of having a far—left agenda, and being weak on law and order. japan's longest—serving prime minister, shinzo abe, announces his resignation due to ill health. translation: i decided to step down as the prime minister. i would like to send my apologies to the people of japan. the world's largest study of patients with covid—19 has confirmed that the risk of children needing hospital treatment for the virus is "tiny". and if you would like to get in touch on any of our stories today, you can contact me on twitter @annita—mcveigh, or use