good morning, welcome to bbc news, i'm victoria derbyshire. here are the headlines. after almost six months at home, it's back to school for millions more children in england and wales. because we have been at home for so long, so it is very nice that we are able to come back to school and find new friends and things like that. quite nervous, like i say, it's my first day but i feel like it will be, like, nice meeting new people. lockdown restrictions affecting more than a million people in parts of greater manchester, lancashire and west yorkshire

are eased, despite strong opposition from councils in two areas. but hundreds of thousands of people in glasgow and surrounding areas are now living under new coronavirus restrictions. w and if you're in glasgow if you're in greater manchester, how are you reactnig to the latest change in rules? let me know. you can message you can message me on you can message me on twitter or instagram or e—mail me. borisjohnson is branded "heartless" by families of coronavirus victims after they say he declined to meet them, despite promising to do so. the government urges businesses to sign up to kickstart, a £2 billionjob scheme for under—24s who are at risk of becoming long—term unemployed. and coming up this hour, olympic gold medal boxer, nicola adams, makes strictly come dancing history by becoming the first contestant to compete as part of a same—sex pairing.

good morning. after months of home—schooling and being away from the classroom, thousands of pupils in england and wales have returned to school today. the start of the new term is being staggered in many areas, as schools prepare to welcome students back safely. but there are still many questions over how easy it will be for children to catch up on learning and the impact on next year's exams. our education correspondent dan johnson reports from a school in worksop. the nerves of starting a new school meet the concerns of coming back for the first time since march. i don't mind online learning, it's just that i got sick of it. i've been doing it for what, three months? when we were out. then another three months, wasn't able to see anyone, really. i just want to get back. i haven't put my uniform on for six months, so it didn't fit, most of it, so i had to get

a whole new uniform. distanced corridors lead to reorganised classrooms and protective bubbles will keep year groups apart. the squirt of sanitiser will be more frequent than the bell. students have staggered breaks, staggered lunch. in terms of cleaning as well, we had to get extra cleaners into the building in the course of the day. but one thing we know for sure is the longer the students stay out of the classroom, the more disadvantaged they become. so, we want to get students in. does that mean everything will run smoothly? no. we will have some bumps here and there, and challenges here and there. but we will work through that and make sure that the bottom line is that students and staff are safe. you've all been given the visors. you need to put those on when you are supporting. there are plans for dealing with cases and responding to local outbreaks. but none of this has really been tested. the bubble system, yes, keeps you together and safe

but as soon as the children go out of school, and can meet whoever they want, with that, it's flawed. i think it's as safe as it can be. i think it is probably safer than the local supermarket. the other priority is working out how much learning has being lost, then helping every child catch up. let's go to our education correspondent dan johnson, who's in worksop. it has gone 9am so presumably the bell has rung and lessons have begun. yes, it has, quite a mementos moment, notjust for these begun. yes, it has, quite a mementos moment, not just for these kids, there thursday at peak school which would be a nervous and exciting and interesting time anyway but this is the first day back, really, improper education for so many kids and although it is a staggered start and further year groups will come later in the week, it is a big test to see how things work. you can see the

social distancing measures in the corridor to try to keep children apart. the big thing is bubbles and year groups being separated so they have different parts of the school for different year groups so they should not mix, that is the intention, to keep them apart. we have got special permission to enter up have got special permission to enter up lesson this morning, if we go in here, we can see how the day is starting and how the classrooms are laid out. at‘s have a listen to what is being said. you guys are here to do your learning because that is the most important thing, you are here to start your secondary education and we are so, so happy to have you. you will notice in front of you that you have your learning packs. they are yours. you will be able to take them home with you. that is your information and work and how you will do all of your learning. pens and pencils are for you. they are not to be shared because of covid—19. it is really important that you are looking after them. can we quickly dropped? off because. i'm

sorry, i know you've got so much to get through, but tell us what it has been like preparing to get the kids back into class today? it has been a challenge but really exciting. we have been making preparations since june, when the first lot of government guidance came out and then making the relevant amendments when their changes happened. we have been working really hard, particularly for year seven, to get them back into school. into a new school that they have never been into before. absolutely. it has been quite a challenge but we have enjoyed it. how are you feeling today? i'm a bit nervous but i am so excited to have year seven in today and i'm really looking forward to getting all of the children that we know and remember back in tomorrow. do you think it is the right time, is it safe? absolutely. we have got all of the necessary precautions in place. we are going to talk about students being on the left—hand side of the corridor, make sure that the students know when they can wear masks and should wear masks, and we are putting all of the relevant

precautions in place top yellow you normally teach physics. i do. quite a practical subject so how will that work? so the normal practical is we'll be done in labs that we have segregated for specific use. the gcse students who have to do required practical, the guidance from quual is we no longer need to actually perform the required practical, it can just actually perform the required practical, it canjust be demonstrated to them which is absolutely fine. it is something we will take in our stride and i really enjoy demonstrated things sol will take in our stride and i really enjoy demonstrated things so i will really enjoy it! when you get the older children back in, how will you work out how much they have missed and what they need in terms of catching up? i think it is really important we are going to focus on making sure we pick up where we left off. if there are students that did not complete home learning, and then there are, we will make sure that they are in the same position as the children that they do the home learning when they come back and it isjust going to be a case of

working really hard to assess where those students are and get them to where they need to be ready for theirexam. where they need to be ready for their exam. 0k, where they need to be ready for their exam. ok, let's have a quick word with a cup of the lads on the front row, jacob and luke, how are you feeling this morning, jacob? pretty good, very nervous, as it is the first of secondary school. what about you, luke? exciting, nervous, but fun to be in a new school. and from the teachers i have met so far, it seems like it is going to be a good ea. what about the things to keep you safe, are you clear about what you need to do? yes, i am. we need to make sure to keep our distance and wear masks and walk on the correct side of the corridor when required. good stuff, thanks, lads can appreciate your time, sorry to drop, glass, we will let you get on, i know there is so much to get through and get used to. it is good to see kids back in class and learning again. things are not as they would normally be, the bathroom would normally be organised differently, the fact that kids are all facing the front is part of the measures to try to keep people safe, a lot for people to get to grips

with today and a lot of questions about how this will play out, whether there will be further disruption to learning because inevitably there will be challenges to come, a really tough time at a really exciting day come to see children back in the classroom in england. absolutely, no wonderjacob and luke are nervous, they are on bbc one in front of 1.5 million people and what a good job they are doing. good luck to all of you and the girls as well. thanks, dan. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, says the easing of lockdown restrictions in bolton and trafford is "completely illogical". mr burnham's urging people living in these areas to continue to follow the guidance and not to have social gatherings at home because coronavirus cases are still rising. measures were originally introduced to combat new infections across greater manchester, parts of lancashire and yorkshire, and were lifted overnight. the rules were reintroduced in july after concerns the virus was being spread between households. the lifting of the restrictions means different households can again meet indoors or in private gardens, but councillors have criticised

the government, accusing them of ignoring advice from health officials and lifting the measures too soon. we can speak now to the labour mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham. good morning. why have they been lifted? that is a good question. yesterday, we had the leader of bolton council, which is conservative, the leader of trafford council, labour, from different angles, both saying the same thing to the government, that it is not the right time to lift the restrictions and actually, trafford said last week to the government before they made their original decision, don't lift the restrictions, and i am afraid that was ignored. it is a very difficult position to be in. we are on the front line of fighting this virus and we have this whitehall knows best approach. well, they don't. they should listen to what the council leaders are saying. 0k, they should listen to what the council leaders are saying. ok, so why do you think the government has lifted the restrictions in those areas? well, that is a question you

would have to put to them. what do you think, though? they gave a role to local members of parliament to say it is important that they were involved in the decision, and i think there are different views amongst mps. i would question the government, i've been an mp so i can vouch for the fact that most mps are not public health experts, directors of public health should be the most important voice in this, and certainly on both councils yesterday, the director of public health was saying, please don't lift the restrictions. it is frustrating to say the least that we find ourselves in a position this morning where borough's with rising cases are seeing the restrictions lifted overnight, neighbouring boroughs, still under the restrictions, with much lower cases, so no wonder the public is getting confused here. we really need urgently to agree an exit strategy from all of this with the government and hopefully bring the government and hopefully bring the public back on board. are you saying it is conservative mps in the area who have lobbied the government to lift restrictions on their

particular area? i think they have had a role, and graham brady was public last week in saying that he wa nted public last week in saying that he wanted the restrictions lifted. i think i would be interested to hear from him today, trafford is not in a good position with regards to cases. what the director of public health was saying has turned out to be true. ijust think was saying has turned out to be true. i just think we need was saying has turned out to be true. ijust think we need to get away from a debate about who said what to who and some of the party politics that creeps in. we have got to get back to a situation where national government is consulting, negotiating, agreeing with local government about what needs to be done. particularly when you have a conservative and labour leader both say to the government yesterday that they should leave things as they are, it is disappointing to say the least that it was ignored. you suggested it was confusing for people but what can you do now in bolton that you can't do next door in bury? the restriction is on

social gatherings in the home and garden. people are now free to have gatherings but i am still saying to people, you know, it is not wise to do that because obviously, this is a week when schools are going back, we have a rising number of cases in bolton, which has gone right up to the top of the list. clearly, it does not make sense. you know, you are not protecting the health of yourfamily if are not protecting the health of your family if you were to start having gatherings in the home. what i would say more broadly, victoria is that we need to move beyond this. we need to agree an exit strategy from the restrictions with the government. what we are saying is, what has been most effective is door to door testing and tracing. we are saying to the government, is part of the exit strategy for this, but the national test and trace system under more local control and we will take responsibility for it. we also need financial support for people to self—isolate, people on low wages, who are self—employed. we are finding out they are finding it very ha rd to finding out they are finding it very hard to take 1a days off work with

no money. the government say they can get up to £182 if they do that. well, no, there is currently a pilot in three borough's, not all in greater manchester, but blackburn, pendle and oldham, where people can get £13 per day. the health secretary has said you can't live on £13 a day so why should he expect anyone to live on that? it is not enough to cover your bills or your food, school uniform, whatever else is needed. we can't have people self isolating and ending up in debt at the end of it because they won't be able to do it. likejury the end of it because they won't be able to do it. like jury service, the end of it because they won't be able to do it. likejury service, i am saying to the government, if the government is asking people to do something for the public good, in this case, take time out to stop the spread of the virus, then cover their wages for the period, the 1a days they are asked to do that. it is not that complicated. and just one more question if i may, you have just said that if you live in

bolton, don't be going round to each other‘s houses even though the government says you can stop you should people listen to? well, that is why it is confusing. i would say to people in all the boroughs of greater manchester right now, it is insensible to have social gatherings at home because we are finding that there is a lot of spread of the virus because of that. particularly this week, with schools going back, people beginning to return to the office, the risks are even greater. we are advising against that. we have a confusing position now where some borough's are under legal restrictions and others are not. we are saying to the government, let's move beyond that and have test and trace under local control, financial support to self—isolate, and general advice to people not to gather in the home. that is the basis of getting consistent messaging back across all ten boroughs of greater manchester. we urgently need that because i think people are going to because i think people are going to be rightly very confused today about what the government is saying. the

messaging has become very mixed again, i'm afraid. can i redo an e—mail that hasjust again, i'm afraid. can i redo an e—mail that has just come in from alan who is watching —— read you. i don't need andy burnham to tell me how to behave, he's been criticising from day one, he is playing politics top yellow that is simply untrue because i agreed with the government when they came to me originally, saying they thought the restrictions when he did. if i'd been playing politics, i would have said we were not having it and had a big row with them but i agreed with them when they came to me a month or so ago because we could see evidence of rising cases across nine of the ten boroughs. you know, i have worked with the government, alan, on that. i think with the government, alan, on that. ithinki with the government, alan, on that. i think i was right to do so. the measures originally had an impact. it stopped the increase we were seeing across greater manchester. but the longer the restrictions have been in, the less effective they have become and the more confusion they are now creating, particularly when you have this kind of position in one borough being different from

the next. that is what i am asking the next. that is what i am asking the government to move beyond. to be honest, i'd take some exception because all the way through this, when the government has asked me to help, i have done what i believe to be the right thing. but i am not just going to sit here if they are getting it wrong and go quiet stop thatis getting it wrong and go quiet stop that is not doing myjob. i've got to represent the people of greater manchester and i will represent them. we want a change in terms of them. we want a change in terms of the way these things are being done. we can't have white orjust sitting there, saying, "we know best and we're going to impose ourjudgment on trafford and bolton council and we are not going to listen to the local leaders." that is not right, the councils are closer to their communities and the government and they should listen to the council leaders. thank you forjoining us. andy burnham, the mayor of manchester, there. let's return to the reopening of schools, and we can speak to two parents. with me is becky strafford whose daughter is 11—year—old millie.

millie has asthma and eczema and returns to school tomorrow. mum—of—three, joanna barrett in glasgow. two ofjoanna's children were in the shielding category as they have cystic fibrosis. they went back to school three weeks agos. thank you forjoining us. how are you feeling about millie going back? i think we are feeling pretty excited. it has been a long few months with millie being at home. i think she is particularly excited to get back to some kind of normality. do you have any concerns about her condition because it can be triggered by things like cleaning spray, i understand. yes, absolutely. we have done quite a lot of work with millie and the school, over the last few months and particularly over the summer, we have researched the facts rather than making assumptions. speaking with the school around processes as well because what happens with her if she was to have an asthma attack and she needed some support? with the social distancing rules in

place, how does that work? lots of conversations with the school but also with millie to make sure that she is doing everything she can to make sure she is safe. getting her back into routines with things like the prevention inhaler and making sure she is aware of what she can and can't do. it is also about being aware of triggers. obviously, we would ordinarily be expecting her to go back to school and to catch a cold very quickly which for her would mean a chest infection. but actually, with the hygiene measures in place, we are not sure whether that will happen because everybody seems to be so much more conscious about hygiene. that is interesting, ican about hygiene. that is interesting, i can see joanna about hygiene. that is interesting, i can seejoanna nodding in agreement. two of your three boys have cystic fibrosis which is a condition which affects the lungs. they have been back for nearly three weeks. do you think maybe it is safer because of the extra hygiene measures? i think certainly it is really interesting that the boys and people with cystic fibrosis

generally are hyper aware of infection control and need for good hygiene and now all their pals think the same. i definitely think the hygiene controls will be good for everyone in the school. 0k. do you worry that your boys could be affected, their lungs particularly could be affected if there is a case of coronavirus in the school? my worries are not particular to my sons, i have a daughter at school as well. i think everyone is living with anxiety about the virus. but i've been on a bit of a journey of worry, so when they were first told to shield and told they were clinically vulnerable, that was very upsetting and we had to get used to the isolation of shielding. but the cystic fibrosis trust, for example, have gathered data through their registry about cases of cf and covid and has found that it is not as bad as we may be first feared. also when there is guidance came out for the royal college of child health and

paediatrics, it said not all children who are shielding may need to and my boys were in the category that did not have to do. so that definitely allayed my fears, and now lam not definitely allayed my fears, and now i am not worried that they will be particularly affected. i am just carrying the jenna legg is it that we allare. carrying the jenna legg is it that we all are. —— the general anxiety. my consent for the return to school, and the same for my daughter, is more generally about my well—being. they have been isolated for five months and they are out of their routines, how will they feel about going back. how has it been? three weeks on, it's been absolutely fine, i must say. we are all going to have to live with some uncertainty because this is a movable feast and the guidance has already changed into remix, at first they did not have to wear a mask on the school bus but as of monday, they do and they are rolling with it and being incredibly resilient, children, and they deserve a lot of praise for how they've coped in the situation. but yes, three weeks in, so far, so good. excellent, do you find that reassuring, joanna? her bag you mean

becky. sorry, becky! absolutely, likejoanna becky. sorry, becky! absolutely, like joanna was becky. sorry, becky! absolutely, likejoanna was saying, there's a level of anxiety, and we're all going through this regardless of whether your child has asthma or another illness or is healthy. i think there's a level of anxiety there. but we know that our children are resilient so knowing that three weeks in, things are going well is definitely reassuring. yes, and i wa nt to definitely reassuring. yes, and i want to askjoanna, if i may, about the restrictions which have been imposed yesterday evening in glasgow and the surrounding area. people should not meet with others in an indoor setting, is my understanding. what do you think about that? how do you react to that? i don't live in glasgow so i'm a bit pleased about that. but however, ordinarily, i would be working in glasgow and i have family there. i'm not a public health expert but essentially, we have to do what we are told because these measures are put in place to protect public health and if the

virus is predominately spreading indoors, through indoor gatherings, then we have to put a pause on that to try to stop the spread of the virus. yes, ithink to try to stop the spread of the virus. yes, i think we should do what we are told. sure, and some people who are criticising it say how does it make sense when you can still meet others in the pub?|j think still meet others in the pub?” think again, i know public health expert, i'm just giving think again, i know public health expert, i'mjust giving my think again, i know public health expert, i'm just giving my opinion but i think there are control measures in pubs and public spaces that we can't guarantee in indoor spaces. the evidence is pointing that it spaces. the evidence is pointing thatitis spaces. the evidence is pointing that it is indoor gatherings of families that are causing the spread. i think there's a lot of sense in focusing on that initially because the last thing we want to do is to shut the school is again because that would be so incredibly disruptive for their children and young people who have already borne quite a significant brunt of the pandemic. thank you forjoining us. good luck tomorrow, becky. joanna, i am glad it is going well with your children. thanks for your views and insight this morning. "i lived in

halifax and i'm totally frustrated by the changes in the reductions, areas with higher numbers than calderdale, such as newcastle—under—lyme and leeds, are not even on the watch list, while halifax is still in intervention". this from yvonne in glasgow says, "we have just learned yesterday we are not allowed to have any other households in our own home, yet we are still allowed to go out to the pub or restaurant with other members of other households. this seems bizarre to me full stop" and this one says," i can't believe i'vejust watched your reporter in a class of year seven and they are seated together in rows of four, the teacher tells a reporter she will be telling them to walk on the left in corridors and to keep their distance" for top you don't have to social distance within your class or necessarily your year group, depending on which bubble you are in because they are in the same bubble they don't need to socially distance. the measures they were taking were all the desks were looking forwards as a to sometimes, you had four kid sitting in a square. that is why.

as we just discussed withjoanna, the scottish government has imposed fresh restrictions to control the spread of the virus in glasgow and two neighbouring areas. the new measures will affect nearly a million people. the first minister nicola sturgeon said the number of cases had been rising mainly "as a result of household gatherings". let's just take you through those restrictions. the restrictions will apply to people living in glasgow, west dunbartonshire and east renfrewshire, and mean people in these areas should not meet with people from other households indoors. if a close contact has tested positive for covid—19, everyone in the household should self—isolate for 1h days. and only essential visits to care homes and hospitals will be allowed. and your reaction to those new restrictions in glasgow, i would like to hear from you this money. send me a message on twitter or instagram or e—mail me. england is facing pressure to reconsider quarantine rules for greece after scotland and wales introduced new measures over concerns about rising coronavirus cases. the scottish government says anyone travelling from greece will have

to self—isolate for 1h days from tomorrow. people flying back to wales from the island of zante now have to quarantine following several outbreaks of cases. the holiday company tui has cancelled all holidays to laganas cancelled all holidays to zante because customers have been failing to follow coronavirus safety measures. today, a £2 billion scheme to help get young people into work is being launched by the government. kickstart will provide anyone who is unemployed, aged under 25 and currently receiving universal credit, with a job placement. jobs will last a minimum of six months, and will be paid at the national minimum wage rate for up to 25 hours per week. so, what's in it for businesses? well, as well as having wages paid for six months, they will also receive a £2,000 bonus for every apprentice they hire, and £1,500 extra per person for things like training and uniforms. here's the work and pension secretary therese coffey speaking a little earlier about the aim of the scheme.

we know it is an important time for young people and we need to make sure we try to help them get their first foot on the jobs ladder, so this is why we are targeting in particular those who have been unemployed for a bit of time and are at risk of long—term unemployment. in terms of what has happened in the past, yes, we have learned some lessons from that but this is on a bigger scale. we have made it more straightforward for basically every business and organisation in the country to come forward and offer a kickstartjob and we believe the targeted support, not just about, in effect, free labour, will be important for businesses and very important for young people. campaigners representing families whose loved ones have died from coronavirus have accused prime minister boris johnson of being heartless, after he refused to meet them. the covid—19 bereaved families forjustice group said it wrote to mrjohnson five times to request a meeting. it came as quite a shock to the families, because this is what the prime minister said last week, when he was asked if he would meet them.

i'm not aware of those letters. but i, of course, will write back to every letter that we get. but will you meet them? well, i will write back to every letter that we get. of course i will meet anybody who's. .. of course i will meet anybody, uh... the people who've. .. the bereaved who've suffered from covid. of course i'll do that. but i'm not aware of the letters that you've described. since then, the prime minister has responded to the covid—19 bereaved families forjustice. in a letter, he passed on his deepest sympathies but said that he would not be able to meet them as a group. joining me now from her home in glastonbury is fiona kirton from the group. she lost her father bernard in april, after he was diagnosed with coronavirus in hospital, where he was being treated for a fall. good morning. good morning. how do you react to the news that primers minster won't meet your group?m you react to the news that primers minster won't meet your group? it is rather confusing, we sent five letters a nd rather confusing, we sent five letters and asked to meet him in

june. we feel if he had listened to what we had to tell him injune, we would be much better prepared for a second wave. why he has not seen five letters that we sent to him, i don't know. but for him to say he would meet us and then go back on it is disappointing, to say the least. what questions would you and the families want to have asked him if he had met you? well, we have got a lot of information about failures that have happened in the system that have happened in the system that don't seem to have been highlighted anywhere, such as failures in the 111 system. there are failures in the 111 system. there a re lots of failures in the 111 system. there are lots of things that as a group we could talk to him about and make him aware of and these are the kind of things that we want a statutory public inquiry to look at because things have not been brought to light and we know from the preparing for a challenging winter report that sir patrick vallance commissioned and was published injuly, that there is forecast a reasonable

worst—case scenario of 119,000 deaths this winter in hospital if plans are not put into place over the summer. now we, as a group, have first hand experience of what led to our loved ones‘ deaths and there are lots of lessons to be learned, and yet, we have repeatedly asked and asked to see him, and matt hancock, and they will not even look us in the eye and talk to us about what our experiences have been. you would have to ask the prime minister why he does not want to learn the lessons that we are offering our experience of. downing street would say, of course, we wa nt downing street would say, of course, we want to learn the lessons, and the prime minister is resolute in his determination to beat this virus to prevent further dreadful loss? well, we must be the wrong kind of

bereaved. why does he not want to meet us? does hejust bereaved. why does he not want to meet us? does he just want to meet people who will smile sweetly and tell him he is doing a good job? that will not help to save lives. what we are about saving lives. none of us want to be campaigning. all of us want to be healing our grief about very traumatic loss of our loved ones. we haven‘t been able to be with them as they went, we haven‘t been able to say goodbye. these are very difficult deaths to deal with. and that is why we are asking for bereavement counselling, specialist bereavement counselling for people that have been bereaved as well. we don‘t want to be doing this. we want to talk to the prime minister. why were the prime minister. why were the prime minister of this country not to talk to us? can i ask what happens to your dad? he went into hospital for a fall. he was ready to be released. and he has to go to a care home because he was frail. we had one for

him, a very good one. they would only take him if he was tested. i‘m the hospital refused to test him. we waited another two weeks until we could find a second care home in the middle of a pandemic. but in that two weeks, he caught covid in hospital and died on the 7th of april. had he been tested, he would have been in that care home, he would be safe, and he would be alive. this follows into the number of people that were discharged from ca re of people that were discharged from care homes without being tested, and that led to a large number of deaths. how do you feel about the way your dad died? sorry? how do you feel about how he died? horrible, we could not go and say goodbye to him. he was deaf, so we could not speak to him, they would not fit his hearing aid because of covid. he

died confused, alone and in pain, without. .. died confused, alone and in pain, without... i am grateful that you have told us about what happened, andi have told us about what happened, and i am sure many people watching will be able to relate, sadly, to your kind of experience. we will see what happens in terms of the prime minister and whether he will meet you at some point. thank you for talking to us. in the next 30 minutes, we are expecting to go live to the education select committee, who are going to put questions to quual, and in particular their boss, roger taylor, the chairman of quual. they we re taylor, the chairman of quual. they were the organisation that came up with the algorithm that they put the a—level grades through, which ended up a—level grades through, which ended up downgrading about 40% of a—level students‘ grades. so there will be pertinent questions, no doubt. we will go live to that at about 9.115. before that, the sport. here is

catherine. it‘s been a long road back for andy murray. he broke down in tears at his last grand slam injanuary last year.. hip surgery followed and many thought his career was over. but last night the 33—year—old was back on the big stage. and once again showed his phenomenal mental strength, staging a remarkable comeback to beat japan‘s yoshihito nishioka at the us open. joe lynskey reports. andy murray‘s last grand slam was 20 months ago. back then, no—one thought tennis could look so strange and sound so empty. but after so long away, murray had to dig deep to stick around. yoshihito nishioka is just five foot seven. he won the first two sets through his speed around the court. murray‘s body is still adjusting to majors. the pain looked too much. but then the fightback came. in the third, he forced a tie—break, and then set to winning it. come on!

even in an empty stadium, murray brings the roar himself. with the momentum, he did the same again in a fourth set tie—break. that meant a decider, and quite the test for a resurfaced hip. murray is still outside the world‘s top 100, but his perseverance is still there. still, after four hours, he stayed in the set and then went for the win. and he's done it! i don‘t know how many of us actually believed i would be back winning matches like that. so, yeah, it was emotional after the match finished, for sure. even by murray‘s standards, this win was extraordinary. 20 months ago he left a grand slam in tears. now, for him, and for this sport, everything‘s changed. joe lynskey, bbc news. that was followed up by a win for the british number one dan evans. he beat brazilian youngster thaigo seyboth wild in straight sets meaning there will be four british men in the second round of the event for the first time since 197a.

kyle edmund and cameron norrie, the others who play today. one british woman was guaranteed to go through — becausejohanna konta took on heather watson. the first set was a real battle, but konta — who‘s the ninth seed — won the second 6—1. and serena williams‘s quest for a record—equalling 24th grand slam singles title got under way with a straight sets victory over fellow american kristie ahn. you can see all the results on the bbc sport website. well if andy murray‘s comeback wasn‘t enough dramatic sport for you last night, at old trafford there was a gripping finale to england‘s twenty20 series with pakistan. the tourists set an imposing target of 191. mohammad hafeez here top scored with 86 while teenage debutant haider ali added 51. england though looked to be chasing well with moeen ali putting on a brilliant batting display. but they needed six off the final ball and couldn‘t do it, falling just short. meaning the series

ends in a 1—1 draw. and finally, it‘s the international break as the home nations prepare for matches across europe. it‘s also the first time some players will get that first call up to play for their country. wolves captain conor coady is one of them. he‘s in the england squad for their games against iceland and denmark. he‘s described it as a "dream come true", even though it did lead to a misunderstanding with his parents. i rang my mum and dad straightaway. me and my wife were on the call and we actually said to them, "we‘ve got a bit of news for you." i had my arm around my wife, and my mum and dad said, "oh, amy‘s not pregnant again, is she?" that‘s what she thought at the time! isaid, "no." i‘ve got three boys already. but no, they got upset, my mum and dad, because honestly, and i think every single player will tell you as well, to come here is a real specialfeeling. a completely reasonable mix—up, i would say!

and that‘s all the sport for now. olympic gold medal—winning boxer nicola adams is set to make tv history by competing on strictly come dancing as part of the show‘s first same—sex couple. nicola told bbc breakfast that teaming up with a same—sex partner sends a message: i think it‘s really important. it‘s definitely time for change. it‘s definitely time to move on and be more diverse. and this is a brilliant step in the right direction, and it would be nice for the lgbt community to see that there‘s a same six couples on the show as well. let‘s talk to benjamin cohen — chief executive of pinknews lgbt online newspaper. what you think? is really welcome that finally the bbc is going to have a regular same—sex couple on strict eu. i think nicola is a fantastic role model. i think it‘s going to be really important for young people who see that to see that two men, or two women in this

case, is normal. ithink that two men, or two women in this case, is normal. i think it‘s a bit ofa case, is normal. i think it‘s a bit of a shame it has taken the bbc 16 yea rs of a shame it has taken the bbc 16 years to finally get with the times. is that a reflection of society, or a particular thing with the bbc?” think that it does reflect society. but other talent shows have already done this. one thing i would highlight is that last year the bbc did have two professional male dancers dancing together, and it did generate a huge number of complaints. i hope the bbc is prepared for the fact there will be manufactured outrage at this, but i hope it stays strong. and i think it really does send an important message. i do think, whatever programme it is, i think we need to see greater representation of lgbt people in our media. you are right about the two men that dance together last year, they performed together last year, they performed

to emeli sande‘s shine, and lots of viewers applauded that. but the bbc got 189 complaints from viewers who found it offensive. in bbc complaints terms, i can tell you, that‘s actually not that much when you think about the thousands that can pour in over all sorts of controversies there have been. but still, it is still 189 people complaining about two men dancing together on prime—time telly, which is just together on prime—time telly, which isjust mad! completely mad. i'm very lucky, my husband and i got married to model years ago and we actually had our wedding dance choreographed by robin windsor, who used to be a pro on strictly. i think it‘s really important for all people to see it. it was so important when we got married for ourfamily and important when we got married for our family and friends to see that it is so normal, for a same—sex couple to be married, and to be dancing as well. and howard's married life going? going well, my husband is a doctor so he is working

really ha rd on husband is a doctor so he is working really hard on the front line of the nhs at the moment. but married life is great. actually, we are moving forward so much as a society, and strictly is moving forward. i would think about the young people seeing this, watching us with their parents and grandparents, and seeing that it is normalfor and grandparents, and seeing that it is normal for two and grandparents, and seeing that it is normalfor two women and grandparents, and seeing that it is normal for two women to be able to dance together, and hopefully, in the future, maybe we will see some actual couples together, and see them on television, that would be really important. thank you very much. thanks for coming on today. despite calls for him to stay away, president trump has visited kenosha, wisconsin to highlight his "law and order" campaign theme — in a city that‘s seen protests after the shooting of a black man by a white police officer. the president, who is running for re—election against democratic presidential nomineejoe biden — has seen his polling gap with the former vice president narrow amid ongoing protests over racial injustice and

resulting violence. let‘s speak to pauline chilton — the republican nominee for the iowa house of representatives for district 99. he did go and see a burn down furniture factory, but he didn‘t meet the family of jacob furniture factory, but he didn‘t meet the family ofjacob blake. was that the right decision? he should hear from them and express that the right decision? he should hearfrom them and express his thoughts. he did meet their pastor, he said the family wanted a lawyer to be there which is why he wasn‘t interested. is that enough, to talk toa interested. is that enough, to talk to a pastor? i think at this point, any outrage that the president can make to someone who is personally connected to jacob blake is ok. ——

out of reach. but at some point he should speak to their family. critics say that he went to kenosha to effectively scare people into supporting his law and order campaign. what do you say to that? no, i don‘t think so. i think the president has every right to go to wherever he wants to go in the country. and i think that the president really showed... you know, i think he would want to show that he has some interest in the issue, and show his concern. and i think it is also to show himself as a strong leader. and do you think this is going to work? is this law and order, strong leader campaign going to work for him in terms of the election in november?” to work for him in terms of the election in november? i think that this strong leader thing is something that the american people

wa nted something that the american people wanted in 2016. and i think it is something that the american people still want. here‘s the thing, i think that the other side, the opposition to president trump wants to make him look like he is being heavy—handed. they want to make him look like he is trying to stoke fear, but that is not really what i think the president is trying to do. yes, i think the american people wa nt yes, i think the american people want a strong leader. they also want jobs, don‘t they? something like 15 millionjobs have been lost since may. could that be the main issue when it comes to voting in november? absolutely. people wantjobs, they wa nt to absolutely. people wantjobs, they want to see the economy come back. and i think the american people want to put their trust in a leader who is going to revive the economy. and he had already done a greatjob with

the economy before the coronavirus issue started, with shutting down our economy. so i think the american people would like to put their trust backin people would like to put their trust back in the person who has built our economy, in the first place. and do you think... i mean, what do you think when it comes to the way president trump has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic, which is the keyissue coronavirus pandemic, which is the key issue of our time? it is a very large issue of our time. i think that most people have not seen something like this in their lifetime. so, yes, everybody is watching how our leaders are handling the coronavirus pandemic. i think the leadership has done a good job, but there‘s definitely people who are looking for all of this to subside and get back to as normal as

possible, back to work, back to school, get our economy going again. why did you switch from supporting the democrats to support in the republicans in 2016?” the democrats to support in the republicans in 2016? i switched because i was not happy with the policies that i had seen over the yea rs. policies that i had seen over the years. i supported the democrats, i started out voting for president clinton in my first time voting. and i continued to support the democrats. and that when i saw that their policies were not very effective in our country, i started to look in 2016. i did my research, andi to look in 2016. i did my research, and i ended up going into the iowa caucuses in 2016 and changing my registration to republican. and i feel that republican leadership is doing a betterjob of working out

policies that are going to work better for the people of our nation. what did you think of the president‘s defence of the teenager who shot dead the protesters in kenosha at the weekend? he said he was trying to get away from them, i guess, i guess he was a very big trouble, he probably would have been killed. i think the teenager who shot the protesters, i think we need more information. there is an investigation going on. u nfortu nately, investigation going on. unfortunately, with the way everything goes, there is quick reactions, with little time and little information. yes, i‘ve seen reports that the teenager was trying to get away from the protesters, that they were coming after him and attacking him. but we need to know the facts. we know he shot dead two

people. yes. and he was seemingly pa rt people. yes. and he was seemingly part of a militia. and even though it is illegal for part of a militia. and even though it is illegalfor a part of a militia. and even though it is illegal for a young person of his age to possess a firearm, it seems that his legal team is arguing he was part of a militia. and that he was part of a militia. and that he was part of a militia. and that he was acting in self—defence. again, when the facts come out, we will know more and we will know whether or not that is a valid argument. mr trump told an interview on fox news that sometimes police officers choke in high—pressure situations, like a golfer that misses a putt. is that appropriate? i think police officers are well trained. if we are talking about reform, then i would support adding more training to police officers, so

that they can know better about how to respond and situations. but like isaid,| to respond and situations. but like i said, i think they are well trained and they are responding in situations according to the training. now, let‘s be clear, there area certain training. now, let‘s be clear, there are a certain number of police officers who are, you know, acting outside of the training, or acting ina way outside of the training, or acting in a way that is not in line with what they are supposed to do. and thatis what they are supposed to do. and that is really what we should be talking about, the fact that there isa talking about, the fact that there is a small number of police officers who really should be held accountable for what they are doing, if it is outside of what they are supposed to do in the line of duty. thank you very much for talking to us. pauline chilton, who is a republican nominee, she got up extremely early to talk to you this morning, so thank you. let‘s take you to westminster and the education select committee, where quual are facing questions

from mps over the exams u—turn. that is the chairman, i think i am right in saying, roger taylor, the chair of quual. still in his post as chairman, although the chief executive handed in her resignation. julie? good morning, julie swann, executive director of qualifications at quual. and i can't see... where is michelle? michelle, there you are. i'm michelle meadows, i am the executive director of strategy and risk. dame glenys? do you want to introduce yourself, although you‘re not answering questions on to mock thank you, i am dame glenys stacey, very recently appointed as acting chief regulator at quual. would you

like to be dame glenys, glenys?” chief regulator at quual. would you like to be dame glenys, glenys? i am happy to answer to either. thank you for coming today. i wish you well in your new position. i appreciate that. could i urge you all to give concise answers? we will mostly be asking direct questions that individuals, or we might say can you a nswer individuals, or we might say can you answer this, orjulie, or michelle, can you answer these questions. but to be as concise as possible, because we have quite a bit to get through today. we received your statement last night, just to let you know, the committee will publish that statement in the next 15 minutes or so. thank you for sending that. obviously i have got to look at the statement very carefully. my first reading of it suggests that what quual is saying is that you did everything that ministers asked you to do, that the algorithm you

think was fair, despite the anomalies, and actually what went wrong was because pupils and families, and teachers, would not accept the grades, because, in essence, they hadn‘t turn an exam. so what you are really saying, in three words, to describe it in a nutshell, not me, guv? is that a fair reflection of the statement? as we made clear in the statement, we fully a cce pt we made clear in the statement, we fully accept our share of responsibility for what has gone wrong this year. i have personally apologised to students and parents for what has been, we recognise, and extremely anxiety making incident. it has been disruptive to this year‘s candidates, it has been disruptive to higher education, it has been disruptive to next year‘s candidates. yes, you say that in your statement, specifically, is my summary of the statement accurate,

in your view? what we would point towards is that mistakes... the fundamental mistake was to believe that this would ever be acceptable to the public. perhaps i might illustrate that point, give a sense of what i mean by that. we were looking at this in terms of particular ideas of fairness, fairness across the whole population, the probability that somebody would get a grade, but acknowledging from the outset that it would not be anything like as accurate as exams. i think what we now realise is that... if you have 1000 students that have an 8% chance of getting a a grade, they would regard themselves, quite regularly go reasonably as a grave students —— a grade students. in a normal year, 200 of them would go in and they would not get the grade, they would

get a b. we were using statistics and teacher rankings. in the statement, you say that there is no evidence that bias was there, but we know that larger institutions like six wrong colleges were disadvantaged by the algorithm. those institutions are more likely to educate those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. is it not extraordinary for your statement to say we knew about this, but we were unable to find a solution to this problem? if you knew about it, why didn‘t you ask for help? problem? if you knew about it, why didn't you ask for help? we didn't know about it, it‘s important to say that, given the choice between standardising and not standardising, the impact is betterfor students from lower socioeconomic sectors with standardised results. that is why we felt, despite the known issues, and the same is true of

private schools, it did give an advantage to private schools, where there was the ability to standardise more. but it‘s also true that, overall, the process of standardisation reduced the advantage enjoyed by private schools. that is why we felt it was fairto schools. that is why we felt it was fair to use the standardisation process as a mechanism to show the greatest possible fairness in the circumstances. we do acknowledge that the level of fairness achieved was not held to be acceptable. but it did improve the level. if i could just turn to the relationship between the department for education and quual, and we know that on the 3ist and quual, and we know that on the 31st of march the secretary of state issued a direction asking quual to mandate the method of calculating final grades, and develop an appeal process for gcse, a—levels and vocational qualifications. on the 15th of august 2020, we saw quual

published criteria by which mock exa m published criteria by which mock exam grades could be used in the appeals process, and then subsequently retracted. the dfee had also said the distribution of growth should follow a similar profile to those in recent years. on the 19th of august, a dfe statement implied that the decision was taken to use a centre assessed grades, and that was one that, i quote, won the department agreed with. what these events department agreed with. what these eve nts s how department agreed with. what these events show is that there is maybe not one clear authority making final decisions. could i ask you, roger, to clarify in simple terms what is the relationship between the dfe and quual, and what authority each had for the major decisions that were taken? the relationship is one in which the secretary of state, is the democratically accountable politician, decides policy. quual‘s role is to regard the policy and diplomat the policy, but within the

constraints laid down by the statute that established quual. and those constraints, the awarding of grades must be valid, it must maintain standards from year—on—year and it must command public confidence. so, we can decide not to implement a directive from the secretary of state if we feel that it would directly contradict those statutory duties. but if policy does not directly contradict those statutory duties, our obligation is on to implement the policy is directed by the secretary of state. so, who had the secretary of state. so, who had the authority for which decisions when it came to the development of the standardised model algorithm, and which grades should be used? and at what point, precisely, was the decision made on the 15th of august, that saturday, to retract the statement on mock exam results and appeals? and who took that decision?

ifi appeals? and who took that decision? if i could walk through from the beginning, there is an important relationship in terms of how quual offers advice to ministers. at the outset, our initial advice to the secretary of state... the questioning of the chairman, roger taylor, the chairman of quual, being questioned by the chairman of the education select committee. he isa the education select committee. he is a conservative mp. obviously getting some crucial points there about who was responsible for decisions that were made. you can continue listening to that on bbc parliament. thank you for your m essa g es parliament. thank you for your messages this morning. you have been sending them to me on twitter and instagram. particularly for those who are involved in local lockdown is. we have seen this affecting 800,000 people in glasgow. chakra princess says she is in west dunbartonshire, i am a bit hacked

off, if people did what they were told to the first place, we would not here now. people were visiting by the trainload from all over the place with little or no social distancing. you are welcome to get in touch. send a message on twitter, instagram or e—mail.

this is bbc news. i‘m victoria derbyshire. here are the headlines from the uk and around the world. after almost six months at home, it‘s back to school for millions more children in england and wales. because we have been at home for so long, so it is very nice that we are able to come back to school and find new friends and things like that. quite nervous because it's my first day but i feel like it will be, like, nice meeting new people. lockdown restrictions in the uk, affecting more than a million people in parts of greater manchester, lancashire and west yorkshire are eased, despite strong local opposition. but hundreds of thousands of people in glasgow and surrounding areas are now living under new coronavirus restrictions. and if you‘re in glasgow or in greater manchester, how are you reacting to the latest change in rules?

let me know.