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.

1a people go on trial, five years after the deadly attack on the satirical magazine charlie hebdo in paris. the coronavirus pandemic plunges australia into recession for the first time in 30 years. and businesses in the uk are urged to sign up to kickstart, a £2 billionjob scheme for under—24s who are at risk of becoming long—term unemployed. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. 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. and dan was there at that school in worksop as lessons got under way for the new year 7 pupils this morning.

quite a mementous moment, not just for these kids, their first day at big school which would be a nervous and exciting and interesting time anyway but this is the first day back, really, in proper 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 interrupt a lesson this morning, if we go in here, we can see how the day is starting and how the classrooms are laid out. let'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. the 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 interrupt? of course. 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 the changes happened. we have been working really hard, particularly for year 7, 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 7 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 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. you normally teach physics. i do. quite a practical subject so how will that work? so the normal practicals will be done in labs that we have segregated for specific use. the gcse students who have to do required practicals, the guidance from quual is we no longer need to actually perform the required practicals, it canjust be demonstrated to them which is absolutely fine. it is something we will take in our stride and i really

enjoy demonstrating 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 did do the home learning are in 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 their exam. ok, let's have a quick word with 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 day 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 year. what about the things to keep you safe, are you clear about what you need to do? yes, lam. 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, appreciate your time, sorry to interrupt, class, 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 classroom 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 will be challenges to come, a really tough time but a really exciting day to see children back in the classroom in england. memories of the first day at school! the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, says the easing of lockdown restrictions in the boroughs of 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 parts of england's north west 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. well earlier, i spoke to the labour mayor of greater manchester andy burnham, who gave his reaction. 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. 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 boroughs with rising cases are seeing the restrictions lifted overnight,

and 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 public back on board. are you saying it is conservative mps in the area who have lobbied 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 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, as part of the exit strategy for this, put 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 hard to take 14 days off work with no money. andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester, there. rose says she is part of the new people breaking the rules, people who think it don't apply to them, and he says lots of people, young and he says lots of people, young and old, should know better. sarah says her daughter is in glasgow so is she allowed to come and visit in the town not in restricted areas which are much she has but her last

few days of holiday and booked the bus, and we have not seen her since before lockdown. sarah, i think the a nswer before lockdown. sarah, i think the answer is no because the rule is don't mix with people in other households. the scottish government, says margaret, has given clear advice about the pandemic and tha nkfully advice about the pandemic and thankfully the majority of the population have complied. i am happy to ta ke population have complied. i am happy to take personal responsibility and follow the latest advice. 14 people have gone on trial in paris, in connection with attacks in 2015 on the satirical magazine charlie hebdo and a jewish supermarket. 17 people were killed in three days of violence around paris, carried out by brothers, cherif and said kouachi, and ahmedy coulibaly. the attacks sparked large protests in defence of freedom of speech across france. our paris correspondent hugh schofield has this report. five years ago, these pictures brought france face—to—face with a new kind of horror. shouting, "we've avenged the prophet", the kouachi brothers emerged from the office of charlie hebdo where they've just killed 11 people.

in the getaway, they kill a 12th, a policeman. it's the start of a frantic two days, which end when the two are cornered at a print works north of paris and shot by police. but in the meantime, there's been another islamist attack. this time, a jewish supermarket, with four hostages dead. before there, too, police killed the assailant. ahmedy coulibaly, who's previously videotaped a statement of support for islamic state. francois molins was paris chief prosecutor. he recalled what he felt when he first saw the charlie hebdo office. translation: it was surreal. there was this powerful silence and the smell of blood and gunpowder. the editorial room was carnage. it was no longer a crime scene. it was a war zone with bodies piled up one on top of the other. it was frightful. the charlie hebdo attack

here marked the start of a long violent period — the bataclan attack, nice, which changed france. now for the first time, with this trial, comes a chance to tell the story and put it on record. who did what, who knew what, who, if anyone, gave the orders. the killers are dead, so it's the alleged backroom conspirators who are on trial in this special court room. 14 in all, some of whom it's claimed provided weapons, others phones or money. three, including coulibaly‘s islamic war wife, will not be in court because they fled to syria just after the attacks. in the immediate aftermath, the world was outraged. hundreds of thousands marched in sympathy for the dead and to support the right of anti—religious satirists to speak freely and to offend. five years on, though, some say the issue has become lukewarm. translation: today, freedom of expression has been lost in france.

it still exists on paper but do it at your risk if you draw the prophet, so no, the lesson was not learned. what happened but also why it happened. the two—week trial, unusually, is being filmed the two—month trial, unusually, is being filmed for france's national archives so future generations can look back and maybe learn. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. australia's economy has plunged into its first recession in nearly 30 years, as the country continues to suffer from the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the nation's gdp shrank by 7% between april and june. that represents the biggest fall since records began back in 1959. meanwhile, household spending, which accounts for over half of the australian economy, slumped by 12.i%. and scott morrison's government has already pumped the equivalent of 147 billion us dollars in stimulus measures into the economy. but australia is still doing better

than many countries. during the same period, the us economy shrank by 9.5%. the australian finance minister has been reacting — this is what he had to say. our commitment to the australian people is that we have your back. we were with you on the way into this crisis, we are with you through this crisis, and we will be with you all the way out of this crisis. our australia correspondent shaimaa khalil is in sydney. she says the country's economic good fortune appears to have run out. 2020 is going to go down as the year where australia lost its very famous nickname of the lucky country and has fallen into recession for the first time in 30 years. a 7% dip in the economy in the last three months, more than twice the full in the recession of the early 1990s. for many young people who are new

into the workforce, this is something they have never seen. australia has had a robust economy with steady growth for decades now. this is thanks to its natural resources of iron or, coal and natural gas, with a demand from china, and tourism, which has been a big driver ofjob creation and economic growth. take those two things and stack them up against what has been happening this year. the country has been hit, not once, but twice, firstly, catastrophic bushfire season earlier in the year, that ravaged about 12 million hectares, and really bashed the economy, especially with tourism. thousands of small businesses have lost essential seasonal revenue. then a few weeks after that, covid—i9 became a global pandemic and australia closed its borders internationally and internally, and more than a million people lost theirjobs. i more than a million people lost their jobs. i remember more than a million people lost theirjobs. i remember back in march, really long queues outside

social and financial support offices, with many people dazed that they are in that situation, probably for the first time in their lives. the headlines on bbc news... after almost six months at home, it's back to school for millions more children in england and wales. 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. 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—i9, everyone in the household should self—isolate for 14 days. and only essential visits to care homes and hospitals will be allowed. jason leitch is the national clinical director for scotland. he was asked on bbc breakfast whether the restrictions in glasgow and neighbouring areas had been introduced in order to keep schools open. they have been brought in in the context where the schools have been open for three weeks and closing schools for five months is not a good thing. it is a terrible thing. it is a terrible thing for education and public health. the likes of me advising, we are desperate for schools to open and higher and further education to get back because they are important for the population, not just for the kids. it lets people get back to work and society. but the numbers in glasgow in the last seven days, let me just look

at them quickly, 15, 21, 14, 36, 39, 69, 66. you don't need a maths degree to work out something is happening there. it is not exponential so it has not rocketed. but it is just enough for us to try to do something relatively mild, although it doesn't feel like that if you are waking up in glasgow today and you were going to see your mum and you now can't, but we wanted to do something that would restrict that, and human behaviour, which is our only treatment against the disease, would kick in and keep that number down. the uk government is meeting later to decide whether english tourists returning from greece should self—isolate. from thursday, anyone from scotland who travels to greece will need to self—isolate on their return. welsh passengers going to the island of zante will have to do the same. greg mckenzie reports.

touchdown last night at cardiff airport, holiday—makers, back from the greek island of santi, although order to self—isolate for 1h days and be offered covid—19 tests. last week, at least 16 people tested positive for covid—19 after arrivin back to cardiff from the greek island of zante. some on that tui flight, including staff, had been accused of not adhering to safety precautions. customers know that they should be wearing masks on board. it is their responsibility to do so. and our crew are trained and enforce that, but it is a difficult thing to enforce, particularly in an aircraft where you are not in the cabin as much as you used to be before. again, because of social distancing protocols with covid. it has led to the travel firm tui to stop offering holidays to the resort of laganos on zante, a popular destination for large groups of young people. the health minister says

there are currently six clusters of cases, amounting to 30 new infections, linked to flights from greece. but he claims they have landed not only in wales but also in scotland and england too. last night, the scottish government imposed a 14—day quarantine restriction for anyone returning to scotland from greece as of tomorrow morning. it is spreading again particularly in these three local authority areas. ministers say the move comes due to a significant rise in covid—19 cases being brought into scotland from people who have been to greece. she the uk government is now facing mounting pressure from the welsh health minister to reimpose quarantine rules for greece, but the department for transport says no changes to its rules have been made. it's understood the uk government is considering putting portugal back on the quarantine list

for all four nations, that's england, scotland, wales and northern ireland, after cases this week went over 20 per 100,000 people, which is the marker for introducing quarantine measures. in 2015, in one extraordinary week, europe experienced a series of events which continue to reverberate today. more than 1 million migrants were on the move. from germany's open door policy to hungary stopping trains to the border, each day revealed new tensions that tested european solidarity to its limits. and it was exactly five years ago today that one of the most shocking images emerged — the body of a syrian toddler, alan kurdi, washed up on a beach in turkey. he had drowned, along with his mother and five—year—old brother, in a desperate attempt to reach

greece, and safety, in europe. his death became a symbol of the suffering of migrant families, and the dangers they faced. his father survived, and he's been speaking to our correspondent hanan razek. a warning that his report contains upsetting images. he would have been seven years old this year. alan kurdi, the syrian toddler whose body washed ashore at a turkish beach, after the boat that was carrying him and his family capsized in the mediterranean sea. his mum and older brother also died. only the father survived. five years on, abdullah kurdi is trying to rebuild his life. he's had another son whose name is alan. translation: i named him after his brother alan so i remembered him. god sent me a child who looks like

alan and has the same character. i can't wait to go home to see him. i feel that he's a godsend. but the shadows of the past are still alive. translation: it's impossible to forget what happened. i only blame myself but i was forced to as a father because i could picture them in a school and i wanted a better life for them. but it didn't go as i planned. i regret it. alan's death shook the world. it led to europe opening its doors and hearts to refugees and taking in over1 million of them in 2015. last year, a german charity named one of its rescue ships alan kurdi. the ship has helped rescue almost 700 migrants in the mediterranean waters between libya and southern europe but its team

says the picture has got more grim recently. it's not that we cannot handle this financially or otherwise, as the european union, so we have the means to make a change and to help those people and take care of them. but we don't do it, we choose not to and i think that's the most frustrating part to me. it's estimated that nearly 17,000 people have died in the mediterranean sea since alan kurdi's death. in recent years, europe has made deals with countries like turkey and libya to help curb the flow of migrants to the continent. measures that have helped slow down the flow of migrants but didn't stop tragedies from taking place. hanan razek, bbc news. you can find more on this story on our website.

go to bbc.com and look for stories with the title "europe's migrant crisis". in them, bbc correspondents and those who made the journey talk about how that dramatic time changed europe and the lives of those involved. let's take a look at some more stories from around the world this morning. one of the most notorious figures from the genocidal khmer rouge regime in cambodia has died while serving a life sentence. known as comrade duch, he was responsible for sending more than 111,000 people to their deaths when the khmer rouge were in power in the 1970s. he oversaw a brutaljail system in which guards, who were often teenagers, tortured prisoners into confessing to fictitious crimes. president macron of france is on a visit to iraq to show support for the government of the new iraqi prime minister. before leaving for baghdad, mr macron said he wanted to help the administration reassert iraq's sovereignty in the face of regional tensions. the country has been a flashpoint in the confrontation between its two major allies, iran and the us. the iraqi government is also still battling what remains of the islamic state group.

in bulgaria, anti—government protesters have been demonstrating outside the national parliament. for nearly two months, protesters have demanded the resignations of the prime minister and the prosecutor general over allegations of corruption. unrest in the eu's poorest state has continued despite early elections in may. british olympic gold medal—winning boxer nicola adams is set to make tv history by competing on strictly come dancing as part of the uk show‘s first same—sex couple. nicola told the bbc that teaming up with a same—sex partner sends a message. i think it is really important. it is definitely a time for change. it is definitely time to move on and be more diverse and this is a brilliant step in the right direction and it will be nice for the lgbt community to be able to see that there are same sex couples on the show as well.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines. after almost six months at home, it's back to school for millions more children in england and wales. 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 1a people go on trial, five years after the deadly attack on the satirical magazine charlie hebdo in paris. the coronavirus pandemic plunges australia into recession — for the first time in thirty years. president trump has visited kenosha in wisconsin — and condemned the violent clashes there as domestic terrorism.

mr trump did not meet the family ofjacob blake — who was left paralysed after being shot by police last month. the incident led to anti—racism protests in the city and across the country. the bbc‘s been speaking to jacob's uncle justin blake, family friend tanya mclean and alvin 0wens, who runs a barbershop and was tear gassed while he was protesting. tanya described what impact the protests have had on kenosha. we're just a small town, we're peaceful people, we just get on with day—to—day life. nothing major happens here. there are some issues here in our town with division, but we've never seen anything like this. what's rough is watching a video of a black man being gunned down seven times. what's rough is with one week we had a fire in uptown here in our city and then four days to five days later, we had looters from god knows where that we didn't recognise

tear up our city and tore down the other half of uptown. so that's rough. however, the president is 100% incorrect and he told a lie when he called protesters, peaceful protesters or non—violent protesters "domestic terrorists". keep terrorists for terrorism. we all know in america who terrorists are and what they are and what they do. kenosha's citizens and residents are not that. jacob's a soldier and he's hanging in there. he's the epitome of blake men, we go through some really severe struggles and we still manage to turn it into a great success. he's stuck in the moment right before he got shot. he knows something's going on. he can feel the love from the different event's that's been thrown, the help from the different organisations. in kenosha, milwaukee,

chicago and beyond. pauline chilton is the republican nominee for the iowa house of representatives for district 99. she wants president trump to speak to the family ofjacob blake 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 to a pastor? i think at this point, any outreach that the president can make to someone who is personally connected to jacob blake is ok. 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 should... 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? i think that this strong leader thing is 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 want a strong leader. they also wantjobs, 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 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 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 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 the republicans in 2016? i switched because i was not happy

with the 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, 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.

the 77th venice film festival is the first major international film festival to take place physically after several months of lockdown. it's usually one of the biggest events in the industry calendar but safety measures will mean things are rather different this year. there'll be no fans allowed near the red carpet, booking is online only, and temperature checks and masks will be enforced in half—full theatres. ana rocha de sousa's debut film listen will premiere at the festival next week. it follows a fictional portuguese couple in london who are trying to keep their family together after a misunderstanding at school with their deaf daughter means social services get involved. we'll speak to ana in a moment, but first let's take a look at a clip from listen. i want to go home, mum. please, when can we go home? please speak in english, diego. i'm not saying anything new, i just want to go home! hey! stay calm, diego. it is ok, we agreed, we agreed.

we are going to speak english. i miss you so much. i'm sorry, you are not allowed to say things like that, 0k? but i do miss him so much! if you insist on using language like that, i will end this visit, 0k? that's it, daddy's here. sorry, no, no, no, she can't do that. how do you expect her to communicate, so? we agreed english, yes? look, if you really wanted to, you could have asked for an interpreter. english only. sorry, you can't do this.

that was ‘listen‘, directed by ana rocha de sousa who will be presenting her film at the venice film festival. i not seen the film, i would like to know if it is a happy ending, but you don't have to tell me. that was so you don't have to tell me. that was so upsetting. i can't tell you the end, of course, sorry! i know it is your debut film, how do you feel about actually being able to present it at the venice film festival? well, it's overwhelming. i think it's an amazing opportunity to share the film with the world. it is a milestone for any film—maker, you know? to me, it is very overwhelming. what do you want people to take from your film? well, it isa people to take from your film? well, it is a film about love and family. and bringing awareness to the subject matter of forced adoptions.

so what i want people to do is to be thoughtful, and i want to raise questions. and what was the inspiration behind it? first, adoptions. it is not based on a specific case that actually happened, but i did a lot of research on the subject matter. and because i became a mother myself, it was very touching and very... visceral? absolutely. you could feel it. definitely. i first, visceral? absolutely. you could feel it. definitely. ifirst, when you start the research, you understand that it start the research, you understand thatitis start the research, you understand that it is very easy to take a position that can become very extreme when you look at things on the surface. but then you realise

why these things happen, and there's a lwa ys why these things happen, and there's always a gap in the law that makes mea always a gap in the law that makes me a bit uncomfortable about the subject matter. how important is it, do you think, that the festival is actually going ahead, where people will be able to be face—to—face? well, it is very important to keep living. of course, to me, personally, it is very important to be able to be there and show my film, for obvious reasons. but, in general terms, i believe it is very important for the film industry that these events keep taking place, you know? i think that the possibility of letting cinema die, it is actually a great threat. which i think we all must keep united to fight the coronavirus, of course. we

need all to be aware of the health and safety measures, and to be responsible, and to keep respecting that, and not saying the opposite, of course. but it is crucial that we keep living. to me, it is that point, you know? we need to keep living without. .. i point, you know? we need to keep living without... i think the balance is always in between. it's never to avoid everything at all, or just ignore things, you know? we can't keep staying at home and avoid living. for now, we all know that corona is here to stay and we need to keep fighting it, and doing our

best to keep everyone safe. of course. do you think the pandemic will change the way the industry makes films? do you think it will change the way we go and enjoy films? yes. i think the massive threat is, well, along the years the industry has been facing a lot of changes, in digital terms, industry has been facing a lot of changes, in digitalterms, as industry has been facing a lot of changes, in digital terms, as we all know. and i believe that all platforms are valid, you know? but we must be able to keep all the platforms. cinema, is a classical idea of going to a room to watch a film on the big screen, it is history to keep. we need to be able to keep that always, never losing

it. if it is life—threatening, we need to be aware of that and fight it out as much as possible, and try to keep living as much as possible. yeah. thank you. and good luck with listen. really, really. have an amazing time, i am sure you will. the director of listen. today a £2 billion pound scheme to help get young people into work is being launched by the uk 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. earlier i spoke to 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.

it's rather confusing, because we met him injune. why he hasn't seen five letters that were sent to him, i don't know. for him to say he would meet us and go back on it is disappointing, to say the least. what questions would you want the families wanted to have asked him, if he had met you? well, we've 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's 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 published injuly, that there is a reasonable worst—case scenario that there is a reasonable worst—case scenario forecast 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 is a lot of lessons to be learned. and yet we have repeatedly asked and asked to see him, and matt hancock, and they will not even luck is in the eye and talk to us about what our experience has been. you would have to ask the prime minister why he doesn‘t want to learn the lessons we are offering our experience. down the street would say, of course we want to learn the lessons, they say the prime minister remains committed to meeting people who have been bereaved as a result of covid—19 and that he is, quote, resolute in his determination to defeat this virus to prevent further devastating loss. well, we must be the wrong kind of bereaved. why does he not want to meet us? does he just

wa nts to he not want to meet us? does he just wants to meet people who will smile sweetly a nd wants to meet people who will smile sweetly and tell him he is doing a good job? that will not help to save lives. that is what we are about, saving lives. none of us want to be campaigning. all of us want to be healing our grief about the 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 thatis difficult deaths to deal with, and that is why we are asking for bereavement counselling, specialist bereavement counselling, specialist bereavement counselling, specialist bereavement counselling for people that have been briefed as well. we don‘t want to be doing this. we want to talk to the prime minister. why will the prime minister of this country not talk to us? can i ask what happened to your dad, fiona?- went into hospitalfor a what happened to your dad, fiona?- went into hospital for a fall. what happened to your dad, fiona?- went into hospitalfor a fall. he was ready to be released. and he had to go toa was ready to be released. and he had to go to a care home because he was frail. and we had one for him, a very good one. they would only take him if he was tested. at the

hospital refused to test him. we waited another two weeks before we could find another care home in the middle of a pandemic, but in those two mega 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 on from the people who we re this follows on from the people who were discharged into care homes without being tested, which led to a large number of deaths. how would you feel about the way your dad died? sorry? how do you feel about the way your dad died? horrible. he was deaf, so we could not speak to him, they could not fit his hearing aids because of covid. so he died confused, alone and in pain, without

being able to say goodbye. borisjohnson has rejected that meeting with her group. this is a message from glasgow, somebody who is now subject to new restrictions. the new lockdown measures, says rizwan, are absurd. i‘m a responsible individual who has followed social distancing guidelines. but to be deprived from visiting loved ones, such as my mum, who lives alone, will have a detrimental effect on her mental health. i can‘t see this being policed, therefore i will not abide by these new restrictions. and on the film listen, we were talking to the film listen, we were talking to the director, who will be presenting her debut film at the debut film festival, david moran said, just watched the short clip, and incredibly emotive scene that grabbed my attention immediately, i need to know what happens next and look forward to seeing it in the future, i hope it is a great success at the venice film festival.

members of the exam regulator in england, 0fqual, have been appearing before mps this morning, to answer questions on what went wrong with this year‘s gsce and a—level results. students didn‘t sit exams, which meant 0fqual were awarded grades based on an algorithm. after two weeks of controversy over the fairness of the algorithm, the education secretary gavin williamson, decided to revert to what are known as centre—assessed grades. speaking earlier, the chair of 0fqual highlighted where mistakes were made. 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 80% chance of getting a a grade, they would regard themselves, quite regularly go reasonably as a grade students. we were acknowledging that some of the students would get a b grade. mr taylor was also said that 0fqual wanted students to sit exams, but it was secretary of state gavin williamson, who decided that they would be cancelled and replaced with a system of calculated grades. 0ur our initial advice to the secretary of state was not the best ways to handle this was to try to hold exams ina handle this was to try to hold exams in a socially distanced manner. our second option was to delay exams,

but the third option, if neither of these was acceptable, would be to try to look at some form of calculated grade. we did also look at whether that would be a teacher certificate, rather than attempting to replicate exam grades. but that was our advice to ministers. it was the secretary of state who subsequently took the decision and announced, without further consultation with 0fqual, that exams we re consultation with 0fqual, that exams were to be cancelled and a system of calculated grades were to be lamented. —— implemented. talking to mps in parliament, well, some of them were in parliament, some of them were in parliament, some of them zooming in. you can see thatis some of them zooming in. you can see that is still going on, facing questions from mps over that exams you —— you turn, england questions from mps over that exams y°u " you turn, england followed u—turns in scotland, wales and northern ireland. if you want to watch further, then you can go to

bbc parliament. in the next few minutes, joanna gosling will be with you. right here on bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather. hello again. many others are going to see some rain at some stage. what is happening as we have got low pressure dominating our weather once again, and it has a couple of fronts with it. it is bringing the rain from the west, pushing towards the east. and with it, it is going to be fairly windy, particularly so with exposure in the north and west, where we could have gusts of around 1:0 where we could have gusts of around a0 or 45 where we could have gusts of around a0 or a5 mph. some of us have already seen that today. we have the first front moving through bringing rain, the second coming behind it, also bringing rain. for eastern areas, largely dry. the cloud continuing to increase before the rain arrives later on. then we got the second batch of rain coming through northern ireland. you have

the first one going through, and in the first one going through, and in the second one behind. whenever you see green and yellow, that is telling you you can expect some heavy bursts. those white circles indicate sustained wind speeds, but gusty, especially in exposure in the north and west. the temperatures today ranging from 15 to 20 degrees. this evening and overnight, the first band of rain pushes off into the north sea. the second one continues to sink slowly southwards. there will be a lot of cloud ahead of it. in behind it, there will still be areas of cloud, but there will be clear skies and also some showers. it‘s not going to be a cold night. most of us staying in double figures. tomorrow, if we pick up this weather front, it continues its slow descent southwards, weakening all the time. but there are a lot of isobars on the chart. tomorrow, once again, there are going to be brisk winds, particularly with exposure in the west. inland, you will notice the west. inland, you will notice the wind, too, and as it sinks south it will bring a band of cloud and patchy rain with it. behind that, we are looking at a mixture of bright

spells, sunshine and showers, with temperatures a little higher, up to 22 degrees. 0vernight, thursday into friday, the front goes south, pivots and comes back, bringing in some rain across southern parts of wales and southern england, pushing towards the south—east. for the rest of the uk we are looking at a mixture of sunshine and showers. some of those showers could be heavy, particularly in western scotland. saturday, a dry day for most of us. a cooler day as well. still breezy, and still a few showers knocking around, particularly in the north and west. not all of us will see them. temperatures ranging from 11 in the north team 18 in the south.

this is bbc news withjoanna gosling with the latest headlines for viewers in 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. hundreds of thousands of people in glasgow and surrounding areas are now living under their own local coronavirus lockdown.

uk prime minister borisjohnson is branded "heartless" by families of coronavirus victims after they say he declined to meet them. 1a people have gone on trial in paris charged with helping the gunmen who carried out the deadly charlie hebdo attack five years ago. the coronavirus pandemic plunges australia into recession — for the first time in 30 years. and businesses in the uk are urged to sign up to kickstart — a £2 billionjob scheme for under—2as who are at risk of becoming long—term unemployed. hello and welcome if you‘re watching in the uk or around the world. and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. 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. 0ur 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 off, 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, somne 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, they 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. and dan was there at a school in worksop as lessons got underway this morning. quite a momentous moment, not just for these kids, their first day at big school, which would be a nervous and exciting and interesting time anyway, but this is the first day back, really, in proper 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 here 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 interrupt a lesson this morning, if we go in here, we can see how

the day is starting and how the classrooms are laid out. let‘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. the 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. 0k? can we quickly interrupt? of course. 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 the changes happened. we have been working really hard,

particularly for year 7, 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 7 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 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. you normally teach physics. i do. quite a practical subject, so how will that work? yeah. so the normal practicals will be done in labs that we have segregated for specific use. the gcse students who have to do required practicals, the guidance from 0fqual is we no

longer need to actually perform the required practicals, it canjust be demonstrated to them which is absolutely fine. it is something we will take in our stride and i really enjoy demonstrating 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 did do the home learning are in 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 their exam. ok, let‘s have a quick word with 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 day 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 year. what about the things to keep you safe, are you clear about what you need to do? yes, lam. 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, appreciate your time, sorry to interrupt, class, we will let you get on, i know there is so much to get through and get used to. thank you. it is good to see kids back in class and learning again. things are not as they would normally be, the classroom 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 but a really exciting day to see children back in the classroom in england. danjohnson

dan johnson with danjohnson with that class of pupils. if you have not come back yet and you‘re feeling a bit nervous about it or if you are a parent and you are feeling anxious at the moment you might want to hear the clinical psychologist i will be talking to in 20 minutes also. she will bejoining us talking to in 20 minutes also. she will be joining us with some tips on how to manage anxieties around returning to school after so many months. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, says the easing of lockdown restrictions in the boroughs of 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 parts of england‘s north—west and were lifted overnight. the rules were re—introduced injuly 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.

people are free now 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 rising numbers of cases in bolton. bolton has risen right up to the top of the list and so it clearly doesn‘t make sense and you are not protecting the health of your family if you are to start having gatherings in your home, so we just need to move beyond this. you know? we need to agree an exit strategy from these restrictions with the government and what we are saying is what has been most effective is door—to—door testing and tracing. so we are saying to the government as part of the exit strategy from this, put 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, people who are self—employed... we are finding out that they are finding it very hard to take 1a days off work with no money.

that is andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester. 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 nearly1 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 1a days. and only essential visits to care homes and hospitals will be allowed. jason leitch is the national clinical director for scotland. he was asked on bbc breakfast whether the restrictions in glasgow and neighbouring areas had been introduced in order to keep schools open. they have been brought in in the context where the schools

have been open for three weeks and closing schools for five months is not a good thing. it is a terrible thing. it is a terrible thing for education and public health. the likes of me advising, we are desperate for schools to open and higher and further education to get back because they are important for the population, not just for the kids. it lets people get back to work and society. but the numbers in glasgow in the last seven days, let me just look at them quickly, 15, 21, 1a, 36, 39, 69, 66. you don‘t need a maths degree to work out something is happening there. it is not exponential, so it has not rocketed. but it is just enough for us to try to do something relatively mild, although it doesn‘t feel like that if you are waking up in glasgow today and you were going to see your mum and you now can‘t, but we wanted to do something that would restrict that, and human behaviour, which is our only treatment against the disease,

would kick in and keep that number down. 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. we will be asking our political correspondent what is going on with that situation a little bit later on the bbc news channel.

you‘re watching bbc news. fiona kirton lost her father bernard in april, after he was diagnosed with coronavirus in hospital, where he was being treated for a fall, and believes that the prime minister could learn important lessons from the covid—19 bereaved families forjustice group. 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 enquiry 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 in july, that there was forecast a reasonable worst—case scenario of 119,000 deaths this winter in hospital if plans are not put into place over the summer. and we, as a

group, have first—hand experience of what led to our loved ones deaths and there are a lot of lessons to be learned, and yet we repeatedly have asked and asked to see him and matt hancock and they will not even look as in the eye and talk to us about what our experience has been. you would have to ask the prime minister why he doesn‘t want to learn the lessons that we are offering our experience of. joining me now from westminster is our political correspondent, iain watson. why won‘t the prime minister them? well, what the premises in his letter is he recognised that a letter is he recognised that a letter wouldn‘t be enough of a condolence for bereaved families, but he also mentioned two other things, that it is regrettably not possible to meet everyone who is breathed, although he will be meeting some people in the course of his work. he raises the question of legal action as well, and he doesn‘t make this a distinct reason for not meeting the families, but he does

mention they are considering legal action against the government to try to force this independent enquiry, and of course as we heard the real bugbearfor them is and of course as we heard the real bugbear for them is the length of time it might take to get that enquiry so they want a more rapid review. what the prime minister says in his letter is there will be an enquiry at the appropriate time, but there is no guarantee on the nature of that enquiry, whether or not it would be independent and also the timescale for that enquiry. so i think the difficulty i suppose from the prime minister‘s point of view is if he meets these families then he may well get into arguments, not just about his handling of the coronavirus crisis, but more pressure we re coronavirus crisis, but more pressure were placed on him to have the enquiry sooner rather than later. but some of the families to see this is quite odd because although the bereaved families for justice is a campaign group, they do consist of 1500 people who have all lost relatives and they say lessons need to be learnt for next time round and it did sound like on the 26th of august about a week ago when

the banister said he would consider beating them, he was asked a direct question and it did sound at that stage as if he might be willing to meet the campaign group, although he did not mention by name. it is not just bereaved families who are saying the government needs to learn lessons quickly before a possible second wave. it is many mps as well. what is the government doing to show lessons have been learnt? the government has said they have learned a lesson from the first wave and they‘re learning more about the virus time again. what they are also suggesting is that in the middle of the pandemic it is the wrong time to try to hold an enquiry. 0f the pandemic it is the wrong time to try to hold an enquiry. of course, there has been pressure from the liberal democrat leader, the new liberal democrat leader, the new liberal democrat leader was calling foran liberal democrat leader was calling for an independent enquiry and what keir starmer said and i for an independent enquiry and what keir starmersaid and i imagine for an independent enquiry and what keir starmer said and i imagine this will come up in prime minister‘s questions, the first clash they‘ve had sincejuly, questions, the first clash they‘ve had since july, but questions, the first clash they‘ve had sincejuly, but what keir starmer says is an independent enquiry is inevitable, but he has not quite caught for one himself. but he has met with representatives of the bereaved families group, so

it expected to put more pressure on borisjohnson to consider. it expected to put more pressure on boris johnson to consider. you mention prime minster‘s questions coming up in half an hour or so. the first one for some time and it is still going to be a hybrid event. that is right, yes. it has been agreed and there are some rumours that perhaps the government will try to end the hybrid parliament, as we know. they stepped back from insisting that virtually every mp had to be in chamber during the last session, so at the moment those who are shielding or with relatives who are shielding or with relatives who are shielding, they will still be allowed to take part remotely, so to some extent that is also a product of the fact so few people can actually be in the chamber itself to allow full social distancing, so it is now likely to go on until november. the government is hoping by then that there isn‘t a second wave of the coronavirus and therefore parliament could perhaps resume a little bit closer to normal, even though numbers would still be restricted. but for now, we will still see people asking some questions remotely in the first

prime minister‘s questions in a little while and i imagine in terms of the substance of that, given we have talked about buried families of course, the first time there has been this clash between the party leaders since the exams crisis as well, so i imagine what keir starmer will be trying to do is try to portray his party is notjust more competent than it was under his predecessor, but more competent than the current government. thank you. we will actually be getting the views of the opposition on that decision by boris johnson views of the opposition on that decision by borisjohnson not to meet the families of the bereaved over covid—19 as they would like to do. just in meadows, shadow health minister is going to bejoining me in the next half hour. the headlines on bbc news: after almost six months at home, it‘s back to school for millions more children in england and wales. 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. 1a people have gone on trial in paris charged with helping

the gunmen who carried out the deadly charlie hebdo attack five years ago. we will stay with that. 1a people have gone on trial in paris, in connection with attacks in 2015 on the satirical magazine charlie hebdo, and a jewish supermarket. 17 people were killed in three days of violence around paris, carried out by brothers, cherif and said kouachi, and ahmedy coulibaly. the attacks sparked large protests in defence of freedom of speech across france. 0ur paris correspondent, hugh schofield, has this report. five years ago, these pictures brought france face—to—face with a new kind of horror. shouting, "we‘ve avenged the prophet", the kouachi brothers emerged from the office of charlie hebdo, where they‘ve just killed 11 people. in the getaway, they kill a 12th, a policeman. it‘s the start of a frantic two days, which end when the two

are cornered at a print works north of paris and shot by police. but in the meantime, there‘s been another islamist attack. this time, a jewish supermarket, with four hostages dead. before there, too, police killed the assailant. ahmedy coulibaly, who‘s previously videotaped a statement of support for islamic state. francois molins was paris chief prosecutor. he recalled what he felt when he first saw the charlie hebdo office. translation: it was surreal. there was this powerful silence and the smell of blood and gunpowder. the editorial room was carnage. it was no longer a crime scene. it was a war zone with bodies piled up one on top of the other. it was frightful. the charlie hebdo attack here marked the start of a long violent period — the bataclan attack, nice, which changed france. now for the first time, with this trial, comes a chance

to tell the story and put it on record. who did what, who knew what, who, if anyone, gave the orders? the killers are dead, so it‘s the alleged backroom conspirators who are on trial in this special court room. 1a in all, some of whom it‘s claimed provided weapons, others phones or money. three, including coulibaly‘s islamic war wife, will not be in court because they fled to syria just after the attacks. in the immediate aftermath, the world was outraged. hundreds of thousands marched in sympathy for the dead and to support the right of anti—religious satirists to speak freely and to offend. five years on, though, some say the issue has become lukewarm. translation: today, freedom of expression has been lost in france. it still exists on paper but do it at your risk if you draw the prophet, so no, the lesson was not learned.

what happened, but also why it happened. the two—month trial, unusually, is being filmed the two—month trial, the two—month trial, unusually, is being filmed for france‘s national archives so future generations can look back and maybe learn. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. australia‘s economy has plunged into its first recession in nearly 30 years, as the country continues to suffer from the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the nation‘s gdp shrank by 7% between april and june. that represents the biggest fall since records began back in 1959. meanwhile household spending, which accounts for over half of the australian economy, slumped by 12.1%. and scott morrison‘s government has already pumped the equivalent of $1a7 billion us in stimulus measures into the economy. but australia is still doing better than many countries. during the same period the us economy shrank by nine point 5%. economy shrank by 9.5%.

the australian finance minister has been reacting — this is what he had to say. our commitment to the australian people is that we have your back. we were with you on the way into this crisis, we are with you through this crisis, and we will be with you all the way out of this crisis. 0ur australia correspondent shaimaa khalil is in sydney. she says the country‘s economic good fortune appears to have run out. 2020 is going to go down as the year where australia lost its very famous lost its very famous nickname of the lucky country and has fallen into recession for the first time in 30 years. a 7% dip in the economy in the last three months, more than twice the fall in the recession of the early 1990s. for many young people who are new into the workforce, this is something they have never seen. australia has had a robust economy with steady growth for decades now. this is thanks to its natural resources of iron ore, coal and natural gas,

with a demand from china, and tourism, which has been a big driver ofjob creation and economic growth. take those two things and stack them up against what has been happening this year. the country has been hit, not once, but twice, firstly, catastrophic bushfire season earlier in the year, that ravaged about 12 million hectares, and really bashed the economy, especially with tourism. thousands of small businesses have lost essential seasonal revenue. then a few weeks after that, covid—19 became a global pandemic and australia closed its borders internationally and internally, and more than a million people lost their jobs. i remember back in march, really long queues outside social and financial support offices, with many people dazed that they are in that situation, probably for the first time in their lives. today a £2 billion scheme

to help get young people into work is being launched by the uk 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. 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.

england is facing pressure to reconsider quarantine rules for greece after scotland and wales introduced new measures over concerns about rising coronavirus cases. from tomorrow anyone from scotland who travels to greece will need to self—isolate on their return. welsh passengers going to the island of zante will have to do the same. the holiday company tui has cancelled all holidays to the zante resort of laganas because customers have been failing to follow coronavirus safety measures. greg mckenzie reports. touchdown last night at cardiff airport, holiday—makers, back from the greek island of zante, although ordered to self—isolate for 1a days and be offered covid—19 tests. last week, at least 16 people tested positive for covid—19 after arriving

back to cardiff from the greek island of za nte. some on that tui flight, including staff, had been accused of not adhering to safety precautions. customers know that they should be wearing masks on board. it is their responsibility to do so. and our crew are trained and enforce that, but it is a difficult thing to enforce, particularly in an aircraft where you are not necessarily in the cabin as much as you used to be before. again, because of social distancing protocols with covid. it has led to the travel firm tui to stop offering holidays to the resort of laganos on zante, a popular destination for large groups of young people. the welsh health minister says there are currently six clusters of cases, amounting to 30 new infections, linked to flights from greece. but he claims they have landed not only in wales but also in scotland and england too. last night, the scottish government imposed a 1a—day quarantine restriction for anyone returning

to scotland from greece as of tomorrow morning. ministers say the move comes due to a significant rise in covid—19 cases being brought into scotland from people who have been to greece. the uk government is now facing mounting pressure from the welsh health minister to reimpose quarantine rules for greece, but the department for transport says no changes to its rules have been made. it‘s understood the uk government is considering putting portugal back on the quarantine list for all four nations — that‘s england, scotland, wales and northern ireland, after cases this week went over 20 per 100,000 people, which is the marker for introducing quarantine measures. greg mckenzie, bbc news.

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 same—sex couples on the show as well. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... after almost six months at home, it‘s back to school for millions more children in england and wales. 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.

hundreds of thousands of people in glasgow and surrounding areas are now living under their own local coronavirus lockdown. uk prime minister borisjohnson is branded "heartless" by families of coronavirus victims, after they say he declined to meet them. 1a people have gone on trial in paris charged with helping the gunmen who carried out the deadly charlie hebdo attack five years ago. president trump has visited the city of kenosha in wisconsin and condemned the violent clashes there as domestic terrorism. mr trump did not meet the family ofjacob blake, who was left paralysed after being shot by police last month. the incident led to anti—racism protests in the city and across the country. the bbc‘s been speaking to jacob‘s uncle, justin blake, family friend tanya mclean and alvin 0wens, who runs a barber‘s shop and was teargassed while he was protesting. tanya described what

impact the protests have had on kenosha we‘re just a small town, we‘re peaceful people, we just get on with day—to—day life. nothing major happens here. there are some issues here in our town with division, but we‘ve never seen anything like this. what's rough is watching a video of a black man being gunned down seven times. what's rough is with one week we had a fire in uptown here in our city and then four days to five days later, we had looters from god knows where that we didn't recognise tear up our city and tore down the other half of uptown. so that's rough. however, the president is 100% incorrect and he told a lie and he called protesters, peaceful protesters or non—violent protesters "domestic terrorists".

keep terrorists for terrorism. we all know in america who terrorists are and what they are and what they do. kenosha's citizens and residents are not that. jacob's a soldier and he's hanging in there. he's the epitome of blake men, we go through some really severe struggles and we still manage to turn it into a great success. he's stuck in the moment right before he got shot. he knows something's going on. he can feel the love from the different events that's been thrown, the help from the different organisations. in kenosha, milwaukee, chicago and beyond. coronavirus is just one of the anxieties children and parents may face about going back to school. pupils may also worry about being bullied or making the transition from lockdown to being surrounded by hundreds of other children. let‘s talk to clinical psychologist dr marianne trent.

thank you forjoining us. what are your thoughts on the issues that might be arising today and in the days ahead ? might be arising today and in the days ahead? i think they are multifaceted. so much going on so, for many young people, this might be the first time they have been outside their homes at all other than for exercise or to see close families, perhaps in gardens and things like that. they will be going against the advice of what mum and dad or parents or caregivers have been telling them over the last few months, to keep your distance, keep away from people, don‘t go places where there might be other people, so there is going to be a lot going on, but also somebody‘s transition toa on, but also somebody‘s transition to a new school, there is added anxiety, stress and worry about that as well. what is the best advice for pa rents as well. what is the best advice for parents on managing the transition? allow yourself to be human, try and put yourself in your child‘s shoes a

bit, but also know that children don‘t yet have fully functional brains, so they don‘t have their frontal lobe is as yet, so can‘t necessarily think through the full consequences and implications, and the full gravity of this global pandemic situation we find ourselves m, pandemic situation we find ourselves in, so allow yourself to not be an expert. none of us are an expert in this. none of us have facilitated a return to school for our children or a return to work if we have not yet done that, so i guess have an open and honest policy, where you can talk about anything that worries you, and! talk about anything that worries you, and i will be saying to my children, we are not quite sure how it‘s going to work out, but we are going to try and do what is asked of us going to try and do what is asked of us and see how it goes, and let me know if something doesn‘t sit right. what you are saying is excellent advice and it doesn‘t always come easily or naturally, it is often normal and understandable first response when a child is distressed is to say, don‘t worry, it‘s going

to be fine, and try and brush it off. what impact does that have on a child who is feeling in need of being heard? of course, as humans, we really are not great at tolerating distress in other people, and that is around grief, that is around anxiety. we want other people to feel good. we don‘t want people to feel good. we don‘t want people to feel good. we don‘t want people to feel awful. it‘s hard to watch as a human, to see other people being distressed, so there can be a natural tendency to try and distract somebody and cheer them up and direct them in a slightly different perspective, but what we need to do is go, gosh, i know, that is really tricky, isn‘t it, how did that make you feel? is there anything i can do to help? rather than necessarily trying to fix a problem which might not be fixable at this stage. this is brand—new territory. not be fixable at this stage. this is brand-new territory. some simple words where you are not trying to fix can actually have a greater result in terms of actually fixing

how they are feeling, is that what you are saying? absolutely, it's about being validated and contained and heard, and i guess what my profession are really good at is having those difficult conversations, but it‘s something that parents don‘t need to be shying away from, you don‘t need to be thinking, gosh, i have to keep my child jolly all the time, they still have to go to school tomorrow, but what is important is in terms of trauma debrief, mini ones, having a chance to think about how it is felt at the time, so we have a tendency to say, did you have a really good day, was it brilliant, did you love it? and sometimes it‘s useful to have a conversation about what was the trickiest thing you did today, was anything surprising or a bit scary? with a child‘s experience in their day, we don‘t need to shy away from that. we can give a forum, we can hear negative stuff as well as good stuff. what advice to the many

pa rents good stuff. what advice to the many parents who will find themselves in the position of saying, what happened at school today, and the chance has come of nothing, want to talk. what is best to do? that's a puzzle and sometimes children don‘t wa nt to puzzle and sometimes children don‘t want to talk about it the second they get in, but for children with neurodevelopmental conditions they never want to talk about anyway, and sometimes it can be useful to have a checkbox of things a child can go to if they feel they want to talk but struggle to find their words. it was the best thing that happened today, was anything worrying, would you wa nt to was anything worrying, would you want to talk to mummy or daddy or somebody else about whatever happened today, not everybody wants to talk about it the second they get m, to talk about it the second they get in, and it might be an opportunity get back to basics and think about trying to eat around a table or trying to eat around a table or trying to eat at the same time without a tv on or a distraction, just to up that communication and see what comes out and to use it as a space of containment. we have been around our children for months now.

it's around our children for months now. it‘s going to be different. change is tricky. we havejust it‘s going to be different. change is tricky. we have just got to allow ourselves and our children to grow into that change. we can‘t expect ourselves to be experts in things we have never done before. advice, thank you very much. more now on the group of campaigners representing families whose loved ones have died from coronavirus, who have accused prime minister borisjohnson 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. mrjohnson responded by sending a letter where he passed on his deepest sympathies but said that he would not be able to meet them as a group. joining me now from westminster is labour‘s shadow health minister, justin madders. thank you forjoining us. can you understand why he wouldn‘t meet them? i can't, i'm afraid. ithink his behaviour is beyond contempt, to refuse to meet them is bad enough but to go back on his word, having

previously agreed to meet them is, in my opinion, plain cruel. we have had a sum of u—turns from the government, and a u—turn on this would be most welcome as soon as possible, please. he has said he is acutely conscious of the letter will be of little comfort against the grief and heartbreak the families have suffered, but he says he wants to offer his sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones. even those from a experience how debilitating it affects up and can only imagine the pain and despair of those bereaved families, and he goes on to talk about how the government is learning lessons. in reality, what comfort can he offer the families? well, he can do more than have words, he can act and show that he has learnt lessons, and i think, if you look back over the course of this pandemic, there has been a series of questions about government decisions, be it on ppe, preparations in the first place,

social care, and families who have lost loved ones will want to know that the government have understood where it‘s gone wrong and have put in place measures to prevent a repeat of some of the horrific scenes we‘ve seen this year. having a conversation with the families about that would be a good starting point in terms of helping people understand the government is, in a way, getting things right. just to read a bit more from his letter, he does address partly what you are saying, he says, i will of course meet members of the public and key workers who have been bereaved as pa rt workers who have been bereaved as part of covid—19. each story of loss motivates me to ensure we beat this virus together. he says, much as i would wish to be able to offer my condolences in person to all of those who have suffered loss, that is not possible so i am and am —— i am unable to meet with you and he says, as for the issue of an independent enquiry, the government is clear there will be opportunities to look back and analyse and reflect

on all aspects of covid—19, and he says, as i have previously made clear, this will include an enquiry at the appropriate time. isn‘t that fairenough? he is at the appropriate time. isn‘t that fair enough? he is meeting people, he can‘t meet everybody. fair enough? he is meeting people, he can't meet everybody. we are not expecting him to meet everybody, but he has had a specific request five times from this campaign group to meet with him, and i think it would be really useful for him to do that, because although he can talk about an independent enquiry, it doesn‘t have the questions that the bereaved families want to see that he won‘t have answered all the questions that we need to know the answer to, and it won‘t necessarily show that the government have learnt lessons from the past six months. i really don‘t see what the problem is in having a meeting, and i think it would go a long way to showing the public that he is determined to get things right if we do get a second way. what is your view on the timing of independent enquiry?”

your view on the timing of independent enquiry? i think it needs to be discussed with the bereaved families. you could do something quite quickly now, i think, or you could actually wait until after the winter and do something far more in—depth and detailed. i think the important thing is that the prime minister demonstrates to those families that he is taking on board their concerns, and the best way for him to do that is to meet with them and discuss those issues. thank you for joining us. in 2015, in one extraordinary week, europe experienced a series of events which continue to reverberate today. more than a million migrants were on the move. from germany‘s open—door policy to hungary stopping trains to the border, each day revealed new tensions that tested european solidarity to its limits. and it was exactly five years ago today that one of the most shocking images emerged — the body of a syrian toddler, alan kurdi, washed up on a beach in turkey. he had drowned, along with his mother and five—year—old brother, in a desperate attempt to reach greece, and safety in europe. his death became a symbol of the suffering of migrant families

and the dangers they faced. his father survived, and he‘s been speaking to our correspondent, hanan razek. a warning that his report contains upsetting images. he would have been seven years old this year. alan kurdi, the syrian toddler whose body washed ashore at a turkish beach, after the boat that was carrying him and his family capsized in the mediterranean sea. his mum and older brother also died. only the father survived. five years on, abdullah kurdi is trying to rebuild his life. he‘s had another son whose name is alan. translation: i named him after his brother alan so i remembered him. god sent me a child who looks like alan and has the same character.

i can‘t wait to go home to see him. i feel that he‘s a godsend. but the shadows of the past are still alive. translation: it's impossible to forget what happened. i only blame myself but i was forced to as a father because i could picture them in a school and i wanted a better life for them. but it didn‘t go as i planned. i regret it. alan‘s death shook the world. it led to europe opening its doors and hearts to refugees and taking in over1 million of them in 2015. last year, a german charity named one of its rescue ships alan kurdi. the ship has helped rescue almost 700 migrants in the mediterranean waters between libya and southern europe, but its team

says the picture has got more grim recently. it‘s not that we cannot handle this financially or otherwise, as the european union, so we have the means to make a change and to help those people and take care of them. but we don‘t do it, we choose not to and i think that‘s the most frustrating part to me. it‘s estimated that nearly 17,000 people have died in the mediterranean sea since alan kurdi‘s death. in recent years, europe has made deals with countries like turkey and libya to help curb the flow of migrants to the continent. measures that have helped slow down the flow of migrants but didn‘t stop tragedies from taking place. hanan razek, bbc news. you can find more on this story on our website. go to bbc.com and look for stories with the title "europe‘s migrant crisis".

in them, bbc correspondents, experts and those who made the journey talk about how that dramatic time changed europe and the lives of those involved. the headlines on bbc news... after almost six months at home, it‘s back to school for millions more children in england and wales. 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. 1a people have gone on trial in paris charged with helping the gunmen who carried out the deadly charlie hebdo attack five years ago. now, back to the coronavirus restrictions across the uk. eight areas of the north of england — where people were told in late july there was to be no visiting another household, even in a garden — are having those restrictions lifted today, although local leaders in two of them — bolton and trafford — would have preferred to keep them because they‘re worried about a spike in infections in recent days.

let‘s get more on this from our correspondent, richard galpin. restrictions have eased in some parts of the north—west — but not everyone is happy about it. it seems to be a co—ticket situation at the moment. —— a chaotic situation. widespread easing in terms of greater manchester, lancashire and west yorkshire, but, and that means, of course, that members of two households can meet in their homes and gardens, as long as you maintain social distancing, that remains key, but then you have this situation in bolton, trafford and stockport, asking for a delay in the easing, because they are saying that the infection rates are going up that the infection rates are going up and it isn‘t safe to be actually doing this. we have heard from the greater manchester mare, andy burnham, saying that easing is

illogical with cases increasing, so it‘s a really messy situation at the moment, and it‘s not clear how this is going to be clarified and how quickly it‘s going to be clarified. why have they been eased if there are still concerns around rising infections? there has been a sudden spike. it seemed like the situation was ok but now they are saying there has been a significant spike, so therefore the situation has changed on the ground, and the whole idea is to be able to react as quickly as possible in these situations. glasgow and surrounding areas have new restrictions. tell us more. we don‘t have that much detail but they are saying, because of an increase in cases, people should not visit other people‘s houses, and that will remain in force for the next two weeks. and the issue of tourism still ongoing, that flight back from zakynthos, still ongoing, that flight back from za kynthos, and what still ongoing, that flight back from zakynthos, and what should happen in

future with english tourists is being discussed later. as expected? we have to wait and see, but whether the government will decide there should be automatic quarantine for anybody coming back from greece, again, they are very worried about the situation, particularly on the island of sa nte, the situation, particularly on the island of sante, where people have come back and there have been clusters of cases in the uk, particularly lots of young people partying on zante, a real party island, and then they are re—importing cases into the uk, so thatis re—importing cases into the uk, so that is another big worry which the government needs to deal with. thank you. members of the exam regulator in england, 0fqual, have been appearing before mps this morning to answer questions on what went wrong with this year‘s gsce and a—level results. students didn‘t sit exams and were awarded grades based on an algorithm instead. after two weeks of controversy over the fairness of the algorithm, the education secretary, gavin williamson, decided to revert to what are known as centre—assessed grades. speaking earlier, the chair of 0fqual highlighted where mistakes were made.

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 1,000 students that have an 80% chance of getting an a grade, they would regard themselves, quite reasonably as a grade students. ina in a normal year, 200 of those

stu d e nts in a normal year, 200 of those students would not get there a grade, they get a b grade. mr taylor also said that 0fqual wanted students to sit exams, but it was the education secretary, gavin williamson, who decided that they would be cancelled and replaced with a system of calculated grades. our initial advice to the secretary of state was that the best way to handle this was to try to hold exams in a socially distanced manner. that our second option was to delay exams, but the third option if neither of these were acceptable would be to have to try to look at some form of calculated grade. we did also look at whether that might be a teacher‘s certificate, rather than attempting to replicate exam grades. that was our advice to ministers. it was the secretary of state who then subsequently took the decision and announced without further consultation with 0fqual that exams were to be cancelled and the system of calculated grades was to be implemented. mr taylor was also asked about the adjustment to the appeals process, which was introduced in england following similar problems in scotland.

he said that 0fqual advised at the time that the system, which was based on mock grades, was a risky option. the initial response in scotland was driven by a view that it had unfairly penalised disadvantaged communities and, as i have said, we were confident that our approach was not unfairly penalising disadvantaged communities. the second thing to say about this is that the decision to change policy on the basis that there was no public confidence was obviously something that ministers would need to agree with. it was on that day that the secretary of state decided that the government‘s response in terms of policy adjustment in relation to scotland would be to introduce this new form of an appeal based on mock grades. our advice was that this was an extremely risky thing to do because we were very unclear how it could be delivered in a way that was

consistent with 0fqual‘s legal duties. that select committee hearing, a sign of the times of how these things are being done, and it meant a newborn baby was able to interact the proceedings in the most adorable way. basically, it‘s the newborn baby way. basically, it‘s the newborn ba by of way. basically, it‘s the newborn baby of the mp for stoke, jonathan kallis, and here is the moment when he and his daughter caused the most adorable moment. extensive guidance, which we updated when it came to us, and hence the centre side of the declaration... ba by declaration... baby noises. had the exams taken place.|j baby noises. had the exams taken place. i want to go back to the chair's question, about the testing of this algorithm. did you run any of the... about the testing of this algorithm. did you run any of the. .. isn't that brilliant? i loved how he looked like he was caught in something, but it‘s those moments that underline

how everybody is human, we are all dealing with the same things, a tory mp trying to do hisjob and question 0fqual over what happened with the exams, and he isjuggling childcare as well to stop and he managed to soothe the baby put up i keep saying baby because i don‘t know whether it‘s a little boy or a little girl. i don‘t know when the baby was born or what the name is, but it was a lovely moment. you are watching bbc news. 0ne one of the most notorious figures from the khmer rouge regime in cambodia has died after saving a life sentence. known as comrade duch, who was responsible sort sending more than 1a,000 people to their deaths in the 1970s. he oversaw a brutal jail system their deaths in the 1970s. he oversaw a brutaljail system in which gods, often teenagers, tortured prisoners into confessing tortured prisoners into confessing to fictitious crimes. now we said

goodbye to viewers watching around the world. see you soon. we are now waiting for prime minister‘s questions, due to start at midday. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with carol. in the next 2a hours, many of us will see some rain and it will also be quite windy, particularly in the north and west. through the early pa rt north and west. through the early part of the afternoon, still largely dry in eastern areas, but the cloud will build ahead of this band of rain moving west to eased, and then another band comes in which will be sinking south. where we see greens and yellows, that is telling you you can expect heavy bursts, and don‘t forget the gusty winds. this evening and overnight, the first band plays into the north sea and the second band continues to journey south,

with a lot of clout ahead of it. behind it, some clear skies and showers, but it will not be a cold night with most of us staying in double figures. tomorrow, this band of cloud and patchy rain continues to sink southwards. behind it, a lot of dry weather and a lot of sunshine, but also a few showers. temperatures, 15 to 21 or 22 and, once again, brisk winds. in a few moments the first prime minister‘s questions since the summer break will take place in parliament. it's it‘s another hybrid session, with some mps it‘s another hybrid session, with some mstoining it‘s another hybrid session, with some mps joining by it‘s another hybrid session, with some mstoining by link, zuma link or whatever they are using. alex forsyth is at westminster. —— zoom link. they have been for some time, so it‘s full back to business almost as normalforfor so it‘s full back to business almost as normal for for what so it‘s full back to business almost as normalforfor what are so it‘s full back to business almost as normal for for what are you expecting? there is definitely a markedly different feeling westminster yesterday and today, because there are more mps back now than there were initially during those little months of lockdown, and we have just come out of the summer

recess, so it‘s the first time we will see borisjohnson recess, so it‘s the first time we will see boris johnson and recess, so it‘s the first time we will see borisjohnson and keir starmer across the dispatch box and there is probably quite a lot that could come up because, over the summer, there has been quite a lot that the government has had to deal with, that exams, what happened with the a—levels and gcse results, where the a—levels and gcse results, where the cupboard had to u—turn and came infora lot the cupboard had to u—turn and came in for a lot of flak, questions over the economy, because some of the key support schemes, they are coming to an end, so it‘s about government plans about that, it‘s about how the government might pay for some of the big spending bills it has racked up as it tried to put in some support throughout this pandemic, and of course today we have had this story about some of the families who lost loved ones during the covid pandemic who wanted a meeting with the prime minister, and they say today they don‘t think that‘s going to happen because they have received a letter from borisjohnson, because they have received a letter from boris johnson, so because they have received a letter from borisjohnson, so it‘s possible that could come up, so there is plenty there, but as ever with prime minister‘s questions what is also important is the mood in the house of commons, and we know that, before

recess, during lockdown, some people thought that keir starmer, the labour leader, had the advantage because they said he had a very calm way for questioning, which really pinned borisjohnson, and boris johnson did better with the support of his backbenchers, so we will see how that might feel different today, and it‘s what comes up from the backbenchers themselves, what questions they choose to put to the prime minister and how he responds. and what is the mood within the party is a bad... the parties, the state of the leadership? because obviously these have been testing months. yeah, you have to remember that boris johnson got months. yeah, you have to remember that borisjohnson got elected with only an 80 seat majority only in december and then of course the country and the world was hit with a global pandemic, so they might have knocked his original priorities of course, but from a government perspective what they are hoping to do is rest firmly back onto that ground, the things about the economic recovery and making sure those seats they won last year are

well catered for, there has been some real discontent though on the tory backbenchers about how the government has handled all of this. some coming out publicly, saying that the government and its u—turns and shift in policy aren‘t the way to runa and shift in policy aren‘t the way to run a government. without some pretty strong criticism, so i think borisjohnson has pretty strong criticism, so i think boris johnson has got pretty strong criticism, so i think borisjohnson has got something of a party management problem, so a lot of people will be looking at his performance today from his own backbenchers on what he says and his tone and message and how he comes across and we also understand the prime minister could be meeting with some backbenchers this afternoon, perhaps in part to address those concerns and to be seen to be visible and to try to make sure that those rumblings of discontent that the tories and he is are an unhappy... borisjohnson the tories and he is are an unhappy... boris johnson has started speaking. thank you very much. three weeks ago today a community in my constituency of... and i think it is indeed the entire country was rocked by the events on the railway line

just south of us, the tragic events in which three men tragically lost their lives. i‘m sure my right honourable friend and indeed the whole house will join honourable friend and indeed the whole house willjoin me in sending our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those three men today as well as our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible men and women of the emergency services and multiple agencies who worked in an incredibly difficult conditions to help the survivors from the accident. the interim report is on the death desk of the transport secretary as we speak and i know the full report will take time to run its course, as it is only right. what assurances can my right honourable friend give to my constituents that the serious questions they have will be answered, any recommendations will be implement it and the government will do anything it can to prevent an accident like this ever happening ain? an accident like this ever happening again? i thank my honourable friend andi again? i thank my honourable friend and i know the whole cathouse house who want to join me and i know the whole cathouse house who want tojoin me in and i know the whole cathouse house who want to join me in sending and i know the whole cathouse house who want tojoin me in sending our condolences to the family and friends of those who died. i would like to thank my writer friend who

paid tribute to the emergency services and the bravery that they showed. british railways are among the safest in europe, partly because we ta ke the safest in europe, partly because we take accidents like this so seriously and therefore we must ensure that we learn the lessons of this tragic event to make sure that no such incident recurs in the future. now i come no such incident recurs in the future. now! come to no such incident recurs in the future. now i come to the leader of the opposition, keir starmer. thank you, can! the opposition, keir starmer. thank you, can ijoin with the prime minister on those comments about the tragic events ofjust a few minister on those comments about the tragic events of just a few weeks ago? mr speaker, can also begin by paying tribute tojohn hume, who passed away during recess. he was a beacon of light at the most troubled of times and he will be seriously missed. let me start today with exams fiasco. 0n missed. let me start today with exams fiasco. on a day that thousands of rubles had their a—level grades downgraded, the prime minister said, and a—level grades downgraded, the prime ministersaid, andi a—level grades downgraded, the prime ministersaid, and i quote, the a—level grades downgraded, the prime minister said, and i quote, the exam results are robust. they are good, they are dependable. the education

secretary has said that it will absolutely not be a u—turn. take a few days later, a u—turn. we learned yesterday that the education secretary knew well in advance there was a problem with the algorithm, so a straight answer to a straight question, please, prime minister. when did the prime ministerfirst know there was a problem with the algorithm? mr speaker, perhapsi could begin by congratulating the right honourable gentleman on his birthday and say to him that on the exams and the stress that young people have been through over the summer both the secretary of state for education and i understand very well how difficult it has been for them and for their families going through a pandemic at a time when we have not been able because of that pandemic, in common with most other countries in the world, to stage normal examinations. and as a result

of what we learned, about the... the tests, the results that had come in, we did institute a change. we did act. the students, pupils of this country now do have their grades and i really ask the right honourable gentleman whether he willjoin me in congratulating those pupils on their ha rd congratulating those pupils on their hard work? and whether he agrees with me that they deserve the grades they got? keir starmer! mr speaker, i have already expressed congratulations to all those stu d e nts congratulations to all those students and i do so again and i wa nt to students and i do so again and i want to go back to my question, which the prime minister avoided and i know why he avoided it. because he either knew there was a problem with the algorithm and did nothing or he didn‘t know when he should have. so let me ask again, when did the prime minister first know there would be a problem with the algorithm? mr speaker, as he knows perfectly well

0fqual made it absolutely clear time and again that in their view the system that was in place was robust. 0fqual is, as he knows, an independent organisation and credit had to be given to their views. all summer long, mr speaker, he has been going around undermining confidence, spreading doubt is, in particular about the return to school in safe conditions and... today is a great day because the parents of pupils of this country, the teachers of this country are overwhelming approvingly him wrong. proving the doubters wrong, mr speaker, because they are going back to school in record numbers, in spite of all the gloom that he tried to spread. i think the finding is today after three months of refusing to do so, as pupils go back to school if today finally he said that school was safe to go back to come on! the prime minister is

just making it up as he goes along. iam surprised... just making it up as he goes along. i am surprised... the education secretary stood at that dispatch box yesterday and said and acknowledged that labour‘s first priority has been getting children back to school. that has been our first priority, i have said numerous times it was dispatch box, he knows it very well and he isjust it was dispatch box, he knows it very well and he is just playing games. mr speaker, and he is fooling nobody. even if mps have run out of patience, the one person has said the governor says one thing on monday, changes its mind on tuesday, something different is presented on wednesday. that sounds familiar, doesn‘t it? a number of mps who wa nts to doesn‘t it? a number of mps who wants to remain anonymous said in the chamber today that it is mess after mess. your own mps, u—turn after mess. your own mps, u—turn after u—turn, a fundamental issue of incompetence. god knows what is going on! there is no grit. his own mps are right, aren‘t they?

going on! there is no grit. his own mps are right, aren't they? this is a leader of the opposition who backed remaining in the eu and now is totally silent on the subject. he backed,in is totally silent on the subject. he backed, in fact he still does, mr speaker! this is a leader of the opposition who supported an ira condoning policy and wanted to get out of nato. this is a leader of the opposition who sat on the front bench... order! i think opposition who sat on the front bench... order! ithink there opposition who sat on the front bench... order! i think there are questions being asked. we do need to try and answer the questions being put to the panellist. it would be helpful to those who are watching to know the answers. i minister. i think it would be helpful to all those who are watching to know...|j those who are watching to know...” think i will make the decisions today. come on, prime minister.” think it would be helpful to all those who are watching to know that this opposition and this lead at the opposition said absolutely nothing to oppose the method of examinations that was proposed and indeed they opposed the teacher accreditation

system that we eventually came up with. is he now saying that those grades aren‘t right? or is itjust captain hindsight leaping on a bandwagon and opposing a policy that he supported two weeks ago? the problem is he is governing and hindsight. that is where he is making so many mistakes. before i go on, mr speaker, the prime ministers said something about the ira and i wa nt said something about the ira and i want him to take it back. i worked in northern ireland forfive want him to take it back. i worked in northern ireland for five years for the police service in northern ireland, bringing peace. i prosecuted as a director of public prosecution serious terrace, working with the police in northern ireland andi with the police in northern ireland and i asked if i minister to have the decency to withdraw that comment! mr prime minister, it is the same every time. pretend the problem doesn‘t exist. brush away scrutiny. make the wrong decision, then blame somebody else. this has

got to change. because the next major decision for the prime minister is on the furlough scheme, with jobs of minister is on the furlough scheme, withjobs of millions minister is on the furlough scheme, with jobs of millions of people at risk. the longer he delays, the more they are at risk, so will he act now, finally get this decision right and commit to extend the furlough for those sectors and workers who desperately need it? mr speaker, what we are doing in this government is getting people back to school, getting our pupils back to school in spite of all the doubts that he is trying to sew and we are getting people back to work. what he wants to do is extend the furlough scheme, which this country has already spent £a0 billion. what we would rather do is get people back into work through our kick—start scheme, which we are launching today. £2 billion to spend to support people, young people in particular, to get the jobs that they need. he wants to get people who are out of work in suspended animation. we want to be this country forward! that is the difference between him and us! can i

just say there was a question about the allegation in northern ireland. he was very concerned about is the point he was making. i think it fairness i'm sure you would like to address that. mr speaker, i am very happy to say that i think i listen to the protestations of the right honourable gentleman and i think they would have been more in order throughout the long years in which he supported a leader of the labour party... keir starmer. when the panellist has worked in security and intelligence forces prosecuting criminals and terrorists he can lecture me. i asked him to do... i asked him to do the decent thing, but doing the decent thing and this prime minster don‘t go together. this has been a wasted summer! the government should have spent it preparing for the autumn and winter. instead they have lurched from crisis to crisis, u—turn to u—turn, to correct one error, even to might make sense, but when the government has notched up 12 u—turns and rising, the only conclusion is

serial incompetence. that serial incompetence is holding britain back. will be prime minister pick response ability and finally get a grip? mr speaker, itake response ability and finally get a grip? mr speaker, i take full response ability for everything that has happened under this government throughout my period in office and actually what has happened so far is that we have succeeded in turning the tide of this pandemic and in spite of the negativity and the co nsta nt spite of the negativity and the constant sniping from the opposition, we are seeing a country thatis opposition, we are seeing a country that is not only going back to school, but going back to work. britain is in the lead in developing vaccines, we are in the lead in developing and finding cures for this disease, in dexamethasone, in finding treatments for this disease. not only that, mr speaker, we are taking this country forward, in spite of the extreme difficulty is that we face. what i think the people of this country would appreciate is he a die, the labour front bench, everybody across this

house, coming together and uniting and saying that it is safe for kids to get back to school. i must say, we still have not heard that. those words from the right honourable gentleman. will he now says school is safe? i have said it so many times. school is safe. my own children have been in school throughout. there is no issue on this. the seeking to divide instead... i wrote to him on the 18th of may in confidence and in in offering their support to support to him to get kids back to school. the only reason they went back before the summer was because of his incompetent education secretary. mr speaker, the prime minister will recall that before the recess i asked him if he would meet the covid—19 bereaved families for justice group. i had the privilege of meeting the families on the 15th of meeting the families on the 15th ofjuly. they gave me incredibly moving accounts of how covid—19 had taken their loved ones from them. on sky news last week, the prime was askedif sky news last week, the prime was asked if he would meet the families

and he said, and i will quote, of course i will meet the bereaved. of course i will meet the bereaved. of course i will do that. but yesterday i received a letter from the course i will do that. but yesterday i received a letterfrom the prime minister, saying that meeting them was now regrettably not possible. the prime minister will understand the frustration and the hurt of those families that he said one thing to camera and another to them. cani thing to camera and another to them. can i urge the panellist to reconsider? to do the right thing and find time to meet these grieving families? mr speaker, ifi may and find time to meet these grieving families? mr speaker, if i may say to the right honourable judgment it is absolutely typical of him that she should frame it in that way because when i made that answer and of course i would be very happy to meet the families of the bereaved andi meet the families of the bereaved and i sympathise deeply with all those who have lost loved ones throughout this pandemic. and we all feel their pain and their grief. but it turns out that this particular group that he refers to are

currently in litigation against the government and i will certainly meet them once that litigation is concluded. but i may say to him that it would be a better thing, rather than trying to score points in that way, if hejoined than trying to score points in that way, if he joined together with us and with this government and said not only is school safe, but it is also safe to go back to... by the way, mr speaker, that is the first time infour way, mr speaker, that is the first time in four months that he has said it. i'm time in four months that he has said it. i‘m delighted to have extracted it. i‘m delighted to have extracted it from him over this dispatch box. he has never said it to me in the house of commons. i hope, mr speaker, he will also say that it is safe for the work force of this country to work in a covid—19 secure way. we want to take this country forward. were not only getting the pandemic under control, with death down and hospital admissions way down. we will continue to tackle it with local lockdown is, with our superlative test and tray system, which by the way before they sneer, before they mock at it, mr speaker,

has now conduct more tests than any other country in europe. and he might hail that, rather than sneering at this country‘s achievements. thank you, mr speaker. discussions in thejoint achievements. thank you, mr speaker. discussions in the joint committee established under the withdrawal agreement will have the most crucial bearing on the future of trade, not only between the uk and the eu, but also within the uk itself. unless otherwise agreed in that committee, goods passing from great britain to northern ireland will be subject to the full rigour of the european customs code and also to the imposition of tariffs. that would be quite unacceptable, so would my right honourable friend commit to doing whatever it takes to ensure that it does not happen? prime minister. yes, my right honourable friend is absolutely right to raise the concern that he does and we must of course and will deliver on what the protocol says, which is that there shall be unfettered access between great britain and in ia gb

and there shall be no tariffs and we shall legislate in the course of the next months to guarantee that. we now come to the leader the snp, ian blackford, on the first of two questions. thank you, mr speaker, and can! questions. thank you, mr speaker, and can i associate myself with the remarks of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition on the tragedy that we witnessed close to stonehaven? and indeed to the tribute we had tojohn hume from the leader of the opposition. a man that did so much for the delivery of peace in the northern ireland. mr speaker, yesterday the panellist told his cabinet and i quote, i am no great nautical expert, but sometimes it is necessary to tack here in response to the facts as they change. it was surprisingly honest for the panellist to admit that his government is all at sea. the uk government now defined by

eight u—turns in eight months. but if the banister is true to his word, then surely he must see sense and change tack. with the clock ticking for struggling businesses and workers, will be promised a commit today to extend the job retention scheme beyond october? or is his government making the political choice to accept levels of unemployment last seen under thatcher in the early nineteen eighties? prime minister. mr speaker, i... members of opposite on all parties seem to want to extend the furlough scheme, which has already cost this country £a0 billion, help supported 11 million people, but after all keeps them in suspended animation and prevents them from going to work. what we wa nt to them from going to work. what we want to do is get people back to work! and that is why i hope you will instead support our kickstarter

scheme to get young people into jobs and support them in those jobs. how much better that than languishing out of work? my goodness, mr speaker, languishing out of work! the furlough scheme is there to protect people so they can come back to work when the time is right. mr speaker, france, germany and ireland have extended their furlough scheme into 2021. they have made a moral choice. they are not prepared to punish their people with record levels of unemployment. you know, mr speaker, people in scotland are seeing a tale of two governments. while the tories are cutting the low scheme support, yesterday nicola sturgeon was announcing new investment to protect jobs, including a youth guarantee. we all know that jobs are including a youth guarantee. we all know thatjobs are under threat if the furlough scheme ends in october. the power to end this threat lies with the prime minister. will he do

his duty and extend the furlough scheme? or are we going to return to levels of unemployment last seen under thatcher, with the result of human misery? mr speaker, what we are doing is not only continuing with the furlough scheme, as he knows, until the end of the month, which is by far more generous, by the way, than anything but i did in france or germany or ireland. we are continuing with it, but we will also after that scheme elapses, we will get on with other measures to support people in work and starting today there is the kickstarter scheme to help young people get the jobs that they need. that is in addition to a £160 billion package that we have spent to support the economy throughout this crisis. this government has put its arms around all the people of this country to support them throughout the crisis. that is what we are doing and will now help them to get back into work!

thank you, mr speaker. i share my right honourable friend‘s enthusiasm that those who can get back to work safely in their offices should do so, but realistically many will only wa nt to so, but realistically many will only want to do so for two or three days a week. and i urge him to use his considerable powers of persuasion to encourage the rail industry to introduce immediately flexible season tickets, so that those people are not tied into traditional work patterns? both to help many thousands of commuters in areas like mine in ashford, but also to help save the rail industry. well, i think the right honourable friend and his absolutely right that we are working at pace with rail companies to try to deliver new products in terms of ticketing, which ensure not just better value, but also enable people to get back to work in a flexible way. can i thank the prime

minister and the chancellor for the financial and economic interventions that government have made to date? but he will be aware, as much as we wa nt to but he will be aware, as much as we want to see people back in work, but there are certain sectors, such as tourism, travel, hospitality and aerospace, where that will not be possible in the short to medium term. therefore, encourage the prime minister to look at a targeted extension for those sectors? and also to look at a specific uk—wide scheme to help those so far who have been excluded from the current schemes, including the newly self—employed? schemes, including the newly self-employed? well, mr speaker, as the right honourable gentleman knows, there are a great number of schemes in addition to the job retention scheme that support people in work and in all sorts of sectors, the coronavirus loans, they bounce back loans, the grants that have been made to businesses of all

kinds. he mentioned the tourism and hospitality sector and we have made huge investments in there, the very successful and eat out to help out scheme that we have been running. but it is also very important that we get people back into the workplace in a covid—19 secure way and unlike the leader of the opposition we do absolutely hope to give them confidence that it is a goodidea give them confidence that it is a good idea to go back. and confidence, mr speaker, it is one else is worth a tonne of taxpayers money. thank you, mr speaker. the bounce back loans scheme has been a huge success delivered by the panellist and the chancellor, 1.3 million loans have been granted, vital support for smes. the party committee on business banking which ichair is committee on business banking which i chair is established there are over 200 business banking... who do not have access to those loans because they cannot get access to the bank of england‘s funding scheme and lenders who do have those loans

are not and lenders who do have those loans a re not really and lenders who do have those loans are not really accepting loan applications from new customers. would the prime minister uses best offices to persuade the governor of the bank of england to open up this funding scheme to those alternative finance organisations or open the doors of other lenders who can provide those schemes, those loans to other smes? well, i thank my right honourable friend. he raises an important point. as he will know, the rules around access to schemes for alternative finance are not the responsibility of my rational friend, the chancellor, but for the bank of england, but i‘m sure the government will have heard him today. thank you, mr speaker. over the summer months, many people undertake a range of activities. for some, it is camping, for others it is festivals and events. in my constituency we‘ve got a number of highly successful employers in audiovisual technology, hospitality and creative industries, none of them can currently undertake their

normal activities. in the face of this, when pella ends, these companies could face collapse. what should i tell them ? companies could face collapse. what should i tell them? that the government are today going to extend the scheme make sure that the industry can get back on its feet or has the government completely given up has the government completely given up on themnot at all, is to speak of. we have supported the arts industry alone with i think about £1.7 billion of support and in scotland, as i‘m sure he never tires of saying, the overall support for tackling coronavirus has been in the order of about £a billion. we will continue to give support, but we happen to think and i hope this common ground across the house, we happen to think that it would be better for the uk economy and all the people he rightly cares about to get back into work. thank you, is speaker. now, one positive is among the gloom of the covid—19 pandemic is that this year‘s i am a celebrity will be found not in new south wales

australia, but in our own north wales. even if i cannot tempt the panellist to take part in a welsh tucker trial, would he commend itv on its choice of venue and welcome the positive impact this can have on the positive impact this can have on the regional economy?” the positive impact this can have on the regional economy? i think my honourable friend and he is right to draw attention to the wonderful attractions of north wales, which i know very well myself when i tried to get elected there many years ago! u nsuccessfully. to get elected there many years ago! unsuccessfully. and i congratulate him on his success and may it be long repeated. neil gray. thank you, mr speaker. earlier this summer the treasury floated a story in the telegraph suggesting a public sector pay freeze to save money. given so many public sector workers, such as nurses, police, firefighters, teachers and others have put their lives on the line to fight covid—19, surely this would be an unconscionable betrayal? will be

prime minister therefore unequivocally not only rule out a pay freeze, but commit to fully funding a package to ensure they are enumerated to reflect their sacrifices? i must say i listened carefully to what the honourable gentleman said and he seems to ignore the fact that we just had an inflation busting public sector pay rise and that nurses alone, as part of the package that we agreed in 2018, have had a 12.5% pay increases then and i appreciate his sentiments, he is on the right lines but he should look at what is actually happening. thank you, mr speaker. alexander dennis has been manufacturing buttons in guildford for over 100 years of exciting new low emission vehicles. i‘m sure my right arm will be saddened as i was to have a 200 jobs have been made redundant locally. does he agree with me that the fantastic skills these workers have a vital as part of our green recovery and will he work to me with me to assure the

term success of our uk button manufacturer‘s of both domestic and export markets? i thank my honourable friend for her very apposite intervention on behalf of alexander dennis. i was a keen custom of alexander dennis and his fantastic machines and i hope that our bean recovery and a massive investment in green buses, and i can‘t guarantee this, but i hope it will be of benefit to the workforce of alexander dennis. into swansea west. geraint davies. mr speaker, the prime minister is stumbling forward into mass unemployment with the sudden and universal removal of furlough and towards a further spike and resurgence in coronavirus, due to making people who are working from home travel to work. in order to minimise further and future bad decisions and u—turns, will he fully restore the online parliament, so that all voters can be fully represented in all debates and all

lawmaking, as happens in the welsh government and the scottish government and the scottish government and the lords, whether mps are shielded or unshielded, so that we make the best decisions with the least harm during the pandemic and during the recession by the reintroduction of proper online democracy? well, mr speaker, i think the honourable gentleman and i encourage him to return from new york or shanghai or wherever he is. and tojoin us york or shanghai or wherever he is. and to join us as fast as we can hearin and to join us as fast as we can hear in this house. i think actually what the people of this country want to see is their representatives back on their seats as fast as possible in the palace of westminster and thatis in the palace of westminster and that is what we should work for and that is what we should work for and thatis that is what we should work for and that is why we are working together to drive down this virus and create a covid—19 secure environment. to drive down this virus and create a covid-19 secure environment. thank you, mr speaker. when i buy a copy of the mirror, the daily mail or the

telegraph, iam not of the mirror, the daily mail or the telegraph, i am not required to buy a copy of the guardian, and yet when i want to watch tv on sky tv or amazon prime, i am forced to pay for the bbc. does the plan is to believe this is a sustainable situation in the medium or long—term? this is a sustainable situation in the medium or long-term? well, my honourable friend makes a very interesting point of view i am sure shared by many people in this country, but my right honourable friend the secretary of state for culture, media and sport will be setting out a road map shortly for a reform of the bbc and addressing the very issue he mentions. ruth cadbury. thank you, mr speaker. last week the financial times published a list of the trial government u—turns made under this prime minister, from the exam results the esco to the contact up, to the wearing of masks. —— the fiasco. he has just said

contact up, to the wearing of masks. —— the fiasco. he hasjust said he ta kes —— the fiasco. he hasjust said he takes response ability, so i wonder which of those 12 u—turns is they promised a‘s favourite? which of those 12 u—turns is they promised a's favourite? mr speaker, it isa promised a's favourite? mr speaker, it is a rare privilege to be asked a question in a house, you would have thought they would have come up with something better than that. i what i wa nt to something better than that. i what i want to say to her is that this is a global pandemic that this government is dealing with extremely effectively as a medical level and what we want to do now is in a covid—19 secure way, not only get our children back to school because thatis our children back to school because that is what is happening today, in spite of the... i don‘t know where she has been on this question, but in spite of the leader of the opposition and his colleagues, and what we also want to do is get our country and economy back on its feet again and get us back to work, so i hope that she and her colleagues will say that it is also safe to go back to work in a covid—19 secure way. my honourable friend will be aware

that, welcome though it is, the start of the new term this week will be challenging for all schools, especially for burton green church of england academy in my constituency, where hs2 hasjust closed the road many parents use to access the school. it has done that for several months with little notice or consultation and contrary to assurances given during the passage of the hs2 bill. this is not, as my right honourable friend knows, the first or only example of highhandedness or poor communication on the part of hs2, so will he please help me to require of hs2 that it does better for the people burton green and elsewhere on the route? yes, mr speaker, i heartily endorse, i am afraid, the sentiments he has expressed. anybody who has worked with hs2 over the last few yea rs worked with hs2 over the last few years will know that they do treat local residents with, i am afraid, a high—handed manner, and what i can

tell him is that, where there is damage to local roads, hs2 will pay compensation. i will certainly take up compensation. i will certainly take up his point with hs2. compensation. i will certainly take up his point with h52. low public confidence in social distancing measures means many businesses are struggling. if thejob retention scheme ends in october, there will be catastrophic consequences for workers, businesses and the economy so, despite earlier waffle from the prime minister, i am asking again, will he commit to extending the job retention scheme or are we to expect more government incompetence, resulting in unnecessary redundancies and further strains on our already collapsing economy?” direct the honourable lady to what i have already said, which is that there will always be those who argue for infinite extension of the furlough scheme and who want to keep people off work, unemployed, being paid substantial sums for a very long time. i don‘t think that‘s the

right thing. i think the best way forward for our country is to get people as far as possible back into work, and there is thejob bonus, as she knows, till the end of the year, and there are abundant schemes, £160 million has been spent to support the economy through the crisis, and we will continue to put our arms around the entire people to keep them going throughout this crisis. but indefinite furlough is just not the answer. our nation has a proud history as a safe haven for desperate souls, but now the asylum system is broken and being abused, so the people would like to know when the prime minister will introduce legislation to fix the asylu m introduce legislation to fix the asylum system, which will save lives by taking back control of our borders? i think my honourable friend and i have a great deal of sympathy with those who are so desperate as to put their children in dinghies or children‘s paddling pools and try and cross the channel,

but i have to say that what they are doing is falling prey to criminal gangs, and they are breaking the law, and they are also undermining the legitimate claims of others who would seek asylum in this country, and that is why we will take advantage of leaving the eu by changing the dublin regulations on returns, and we will address the duties and our laws that make this country, i am afraid, a target and a magnet for those who would exploit vulnerable people in this way.” trust the prime minister had an enjoyable visit to appledore. he knows well the mother the odd in my constituency in east belfast, and i ask that the prime minister recognise the strategic purpose of appledore and also that howell wharf are now in an well—placed position to exist —— assist this country in

our defence needs. it was very excited to get appledore to see the potential of that yard to see what harland and wolfe is doing there, and also, of course, he is right in what he says about the potential for various other contracts, both in devon and belfast, but i can‘t give him now the kind of guarantees he wa nts him now the kind of guarantees he wants over this dispatch box, but watch this space. mr blackford, you have not given me notice of this point of order, but i think it is important to clear up this matter for that it isn't normally that i would allow urgent questions to be interfered with but on this will allow it. thank you, mr speaker, i am most grateful. on friday the 21st of august, the daily mail ran a front—page story revealing the location of the prime minister‘s holiday in scotland. this was a

violation of his family‘s privacy that neither myself nor my party in any way condone. later the same day, any way condone. later the same day, a senior conservative source in downing street told the sun newspaper, and i quote, the finger of blame for all this getting out is being pointed at the snp, particularly ian blackford, and this was subsequently repeated in a number of newspapers and broadcast outlets. this allegation and briefing was entirely and deliberately false. it was a targeted political smear from the prime minister possible to office. the photographer who provided the material for the original daily mail front—page later confirmed that i was not his source in revealing the prime minister‘s location, a location, i might add, iwas prime minister‘s location, a location, i might add, i was not even aware of. however, by this point, the damage was done. this

matter has not only been the worst kind of political smearing, the false allegation is equally resulted in security implications for myself and myfamily in security implications for myself and my family with a serious and personal nature. i can see the prime minister pulling a face, but all he has to do is go to social media to see the threats that i was then forced to witness. it is a very serious situation when the apparatus of the uk government can be deployed in this way, manufacturing false briefings in order to attack an opposition politician. i raised this issue with the prime minister possible office in writing but, as i have not received a response, i am raising this point of order today to ensure these false briefings are now stopped and are never repeated. for any parliamentarian. may i first of all say what a wonderful staycation

holiday i had in the right honourable gentleman‘s constituency, what a fantastic part of the world, and how i thoroughly commend it to anybody. it‘s absolutely beautiful, and he is very lucky to represent it. on the substantive point he raises, iam it. on the substantive point he raises, i am happy to accept the assurances that he gives, but i would just draw his attention... he talks about going to social media, soi talks about going to social media, so i draw his attention to a tweet bya so i draw his attention to a tweet by a chap called crikey on the 17th of august, saying ferocious mitch cou nty of august, saying ferocious mitch county in wester ross tonight, i hear it must be bad if you are fair skinned and camping, to which an account that purports to be the right honourable gentleman‘s, but i‘m sure it isn‘t because of what he had just said, saying i wonder if energy is an eton in good stead. i am sure and i am happy to accept his assurances and protestations, and i think we should leave it at that.

cani think we should leave it at that. can ijust think we should leave it at that. can i just say what i think we should leave it at that. can ijust say what i am very concerned about is the security implications to the prime minister and to the leader of the snp. please cani and to the leader of the snp. please can ijust and to the leader of the snp. please can i just ate and to the leader of the snp. please can ijust ate everyone, let‘s be very, careful and let‘s learn from this, and it is on the record from both parties, and i hope we can draw a line under it, but please let‘s ta ke a line under it, but please let‘s take each other‘s security very, very seriously. thank you. studio: that's very seriously. thank you. studio: that‘s the end of prime ministers question time, quite a lot going on, a fairly feisty exchange between boris johnson going on, a fairly feisty exchange between borisjohnson and keir starmer, as we have come to expect in prime minister‘s questions. there are some breaking lies that emerged that i want to bring you stop while

prime minister‘s questions was under way, we heard that there has been u—turn on the local restrictions around covid—19 in bolton and trafford. we were reporting earlier that they were being lifted, but there was a lot of local unhappiness because there had been a spike in the number of cases, and now the health secretary has announced that thatis health secretary has announced that that is going to be changed. and also another line that emerged in prime minister‘s questions from borisjohnson on the bbc, he said that the culture secretary will shortly be publishing a road map for the future of the bbc, and we will be looking at funding. let‘s go back to the restrictions around covid—19 in bolton and trafford. we were just talking a while ago about the change and how people are unhappy, and now the restrictions have come back. it's all happened very quickly. just earlier, we were talking about more than a million people in greater manchester, lancashire, west yorkshire looking forward to

restrictions being eased so that members of two households could actually meet up with each other, but actually, at that time, we did know that bolton and trafford, these two key areas, were asking for a delay in the easing, because they are saying there has been a significant spike of infections. andy burnham had been saying it was a logical to carry on with easing the restrictions in this situation. -- it the restrictions in this situation. —— it was illogical. in the last hour or —— it was illogical. in the last hourorso, we —— it was illogical. in the last hour or so, we have had a statement from health secretary matt hancock saying there has been a significant change in the level of infection rates so bolton and trafford will remain under the existing restrictions, which means members of two households in those areas will not be able to meet up. so it‘s all change, quite quickly, but i have to say somewhat predictably, given the fa ct say somewhat predictably, given the fact that infections have been going

up. the localtory fact that infections have been going up. the local tory mp, chris green, mpfor up. the local tory mp, chris green, mp for bolton and alberton, said, despite what i had local press have said, bolton is being kept in local lockdown and i‘m disappointed in how this important decision has been communicated because of the impact this will have on people‘s lives. just hearing in prime minister‘s questions how many u—turns there have been, and it obviously means that people find things unpredictable. they took the decision to end them, and they have said there was this sudden spike, but trying to unpick what the sequence of events was and when this decision was taken... what have you been able to ascertain? it's got very complicated step there have been flip—flops going on and it‘s been flip—flops going on and it‘s been change after change, so it‘s been change after change, so it‘s been really messy, and i think the messaging for people in this country, it‘s very, very confusing. it's country, it‘s very, very confusing. it‘s one thing one day at the next day it‘s all change, it may be the

next hour it‘s changing, so it‘s very difficult for people to keep up with exactly what they can and cannot do. it is affecting people‘s lives and therefore it‘s really concerning this is going on. it is not clear decision making or clear decisions being made. another u—turn, this time from the bbc about the last night of the proms, rule britannia and land of hope and glory will be sung at the last night of the proms by a select group of bbc singers. you will probably have been aware that there was quite a row over what will be happening on the last night, when it was decided it would simply be musical. the new director—general, tim davey, has just taken up the reins in his role at the bbc, and now today we hear that there will be a select group of bbc singers singing at the last night of the proms, so we will get the latest on that without media editor on news that 1pm.

speaking at first minister‘s questions — nicola sturgeon has been addressing the fresh restrictions and the latest deaths in the country. an additional 156 cases of covid we re an additional 156 cases of covid were found yesterday, and the total number now is 20,788. 86 of the new cases are in greater glasgow and clyde, 26 in lanarkshire, 16 in lothian and six in ayrshire and arran. 258 patients are in hospital, six fewer than yesterday, and five people are in intensive care, one fewer than yesterday that i am sorry to say that, in the last 2a hours, one death was registered of a patient who had tested positive, and the number of deaths and that measurement 2a95 the in additional, national record of scotland has introduced its latest update, which includes cases where covid is a suspected contributory cause of

death. the latest update covers the week up to sunday the 30th of august and shows the total of a bridge to death with a or presumed link to covid is now a228. six of those were registered in the previous week, the same number as the week before. two we re same number as the week before. two were in care homes, two fewer than the previous week, and my condolences go to everyone who has lost a loved one. in the interest of public information and parliamentary information, let me mention briefly to other matters. last night, we announced that greece has been added to the list of countries subject to quarantine restrictions. test and protect has had in recent days that a number of new covid cases can be connected to individuals returning from that country and any restrictions apply from thorium tomorrow. anyone arriving in scotla nd tomorrow. anyone arriving in scotland from greece after that time self—isolate for 1a days. anyone who has returned from greece in the last few days should be particularly careful about social interactions and follow all of the advice particularly carefully. given the

uncertainties inherent in a global pandemic, i want to repeat my advice for people to be very cautious about nonessential foreign travel right now. there can be no guarantee that the rules on quarantine will not change while you are awake and affect you on your return. let me briefly remind people living in glasgow city, east renfrewshire and western partnership of the new guidance. the level of covid is particularly high and rising in these areas given the cole we know cobra can take doing nothing was not an option. the date we now get from test and protect allows us to be more targeted in the measures we ta ke more targeted in the measures we take and what we know is that unlike the cluster in aberdeen a few weeks ago data so far suggests that transmission in western scotland is happening not exclusively but mainly in people‘s homes. so the guidance is now firstly, if you live in glasgow, east renfrewshire and west dunbartonshire, you should not host people from other households in your home and you should not visit someone else‘s home, no matter where that is. there are exceptions for

emergencies, providing care or shopping to vulnerable people and for extended households, and you can find further guidance and a q and a at the scottish government website. second, if any member of your household is identified as a close contact household is identified as a close co nta ct for household is identified as a close contact for somebody who has tested positive, we will ask the whole household eye slit for 1a days, and local authorities are stepping up support arrangements. lastly, visits to ca re support arrangements. lastly, visits to care homes in these areas is restricted to outdoor only, and hospital visiting will return to essential visits only. these restrictions will be in place for two weeks and reviewed in one week. they have not been put in place lightly but they are necessary and we believe proportionate and we hope they will allow spread to be contained at an early stage without the need for further measures later. they apply only in these three council areas right now, but i think they should be a wake—up call for all of us. if we let it, the virus will spread rapidly but, if we stick

to some basic rules and continue to make some sacrifices we can stop it. blu ntly, make some sacrifices we can stop it. bluntly, but only works if we all do these things, so please make sure you are aware of the rules and stick to them and follow face coverings, avoiding public bases, clean hands and hard surfaces, keep two metres distance and, self—isolate and book a test if you have this is more important than it has been at any stage of the pandemic so far. nicola sturgeon on the new restrictions in glasgow. pupils in england and wales have been going back to school after the unprecedented shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. the start of the new term is being staggered in many areas. but there are still many questions over how easy it will be for children to catch up on learning. our correspondent, tomos morgan, went to a primary school in barry island earlier to see what measures have been put in place for children to return to the classroom safely. barry island primary school is reopening for some pupils today in wales. in wales, children under 11 will not have to socially distance. there are no masks needed for any

primary school children, but children will be in classrooms like this, all forward facing, and they will remain in their bubbles throughout the day, which means they will be doing everything in groups of 30 or so or how big the class is. so they will be having break timejust on their own. they will be having lunches here in this classroom. sarah, your two children standing next to you here, you are obviously really excited to come back today, aren‘t you? yeah. yes? yeah. a resounding yes, there. and you are happy, safe, looking forward to children going back? absolutely. they have been looking forward to coming back for ages and certainly we are looking forward to having some routine back. i was lucky during the whole covid crisis because we used the hub, but they missed their friends, that teacher contact and learning. and the way it‘s set out here, you‘ve had a little walk through the school, you are happy? you‘re confident everything is going to...not go to plan

but you all feel confident about the safety element here? no concerns at all. good luck today, both of you. we willjust walk down back through the classroom here and we‘ll just go back through the corridor. there is hand sanitiser when you come in and out so the pupils and staff will have to wear that. the one—way system now on the floor through the corridor as we come into the main hall here. the main hall will not be used for assemblies at the moment because the bubbles have to stay together. renee and niamh, your first day back as well. renee just talk to us a little bit about different entrances for different year groups. are you happy with everything? yes, we have had communication and it has been very clear that different classes use different entrances at different times and they will also finish school at different times, they will be staggered. there was a trial run before the summer holidays. quite confident that the school is ready to have the children back. and obviously, for you, niamh, the main thing is you get to see friends again. yes. but also, you have to get

a little bit of learning in, are you happy about that? yes. brilliant, of course. matt, the head teacher here, look, it has clearly been a lot of work. what has it been like getting the teachers, not on board, but making sure everyone understands the guidance? i think realistically, with advice and guidance from the local authority, you know, with human resources supporting some members of staff to return to work, they have been incredible. i'm lucky to work with the dynamic teaching team, so they are really the hands—on, integral to setting up the school ready and again going with the risk assessments based on government guidelines and the local authority's advice. thank you so much. barry, one of the schools opening today, but most schools like this one will be doing a phased return, having different year groups starting school at different days of week and by week and a half‘s time, all children in wales

will have to be back in school. let‘s go back to that breaking news in the last few moments that there has been a government u—turn over the lockdown restrictions in bolton and old trafford, and trafford, surrey, where restrictions are going to remain after they were supposed to remain after they were supposed to have been lifted after the health secretary was in consultation with local leaders and there was a big surge in the level of infection rates in the last few days. as you would imagine, there has been a lot of reaction to this decision, because people thought the restrictions were going, and now they have been told they are not. they are being brought backjust 12 hours after they were eased. the local tory mp, chris green, has tweeted. he is the mp for bolton west and appleton, and he‘s happy. he says, despite what i and local press understood, bolton is being

keptin press understood, bolton is being kept in local lockdown. i am disappointed at how this important decision has been communicated because of the impact this will have on people‘s lives. bolton and trafford councils have written to the government yesterday but a p pa re ntly the government yesterday but apparently they haven‘t had any response by last night, so this morning the mayor of greater manchester was out saying that he was unhappy about the restrictions being eased, and now, just in the last half an hour or so, that hancock has the restrictions are going to be put back in place. —— matt hancock. we will have plenty more reaction to that through the afternoon. members of the exam regulator in england, 0fqual, have been appearing before mps to answer questions on what went wrong with this year‘s gsce and a—level results. students didn‘t sit exams and were awarded grades based on an algorithm instead. after two weeks of controversy over the fairness of the algorithm, the education secretary, gavin williamson, decided to revert to what are known as centre—assessed grades. speaking earlier, the chair of 0fqual highlighted where mistakes were made.

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 1,000 students that have an 80% chance of getting an a grade, they would regard themselves, quite reasonably as a—grade students. in a normal year, 200 of those students would not get the a grade, they‘d get a b grade.

mr taylor also said that 0fqual wanted students to sit exams, but it was the education secretary, gavin williamson, who decided that they would be cancelled and replaced with a system of calculated grades. our initial advice to the secretary of state was the best way to handle this was to try to hold exams in a socially distanced manner. our second option was to delay exams, but the third option, if neither of these was acceptable, would be to try to look at some form of calculated grade. we did also look at whether that would be a teacher certificate, rather than attempting to replicate exam grades. but that was our advice to ministers. it was the secretary of state who subsequently took the decision and announced, without further consultation with 0fqual, that exams were to be cancelled and a system of calculated grades was to be implemented.

and then there was this surprise intervention. had the exams taken place... that‘s the conservative mp for stoke, jonathan gullis, who had his hands full throughout the hearing. he ended up putting on a papoose. it's he ended up putting on a papoose. it‘s lovely to see what happened, soothing the baby, and finally resorting to the papoose and carrying on as if nothing was happening. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello. earlier on today we had a window of fine weather, particularly across eastern and southern areas, but the clouds have been increasing through the afternoon and into this evening it is a case of rain at times, in some places heavier than others. here is the cloud moving across the uk. the heaviest of the rain will be across northern ireland, the south—west of scotland, as well as the lake district. so this area here. to the south it may be heavy at times, but should be moving swiftly on and actually

generally speaking it is going to be looking overcast and drizzly this evening and not cold. temperatures tonight may fall lower than about 16 degrees in the south. there is a bit of a mild south—westerly wind, but a lot of cloud, moisture and hill fog spreading across the uk. further north, also relatively mild, around 1a degrees there in the lowlands of scotland. so here is the weather map for thursday. low pressure close to iceland, a cold front moving across the uk, so it is going to introduce some fresher, blustery conditions to the north—west of the uk. to the south of that where that weather front is moving through there will always be a bit more cloud and outbreaks of rain, anywhere from cardiff, london, say, to norwich, during the course of the afternoon. i think the best bit is going to be this bit in the middle here around liverpool and yorkshire. temperatures should nudge up to around 20 degrees. the rest of the week is going to be a bit of a mixed bag. here is friday‘s weather forecast. another weather front sneaks

into the south, bring cloud and some outbreaks of rain and also we have some showers across scotland, maybe one or two sneaking into the north—west of england. and relatively cool, 16 or 18 celsius. now at the weekend, we are watching this high pressure from the azores, it is called the azores high because it is close to the azores and the islands there. but it is building into the uk, settling things down across the south of the country, so i think sunshine from birmingham to norwich to london, but scotland closer to the low further north and also cooler and also more of a breeze there, with some showers. some of them may even sneak in as far south as central parts of england. through the course of the week, the weather is going to improve and you can see from these weather icons, turning a little bit brighter towards the weekend, but the temperatures not spectacular, we‘re mostly talking about the high teens. bye— bye.

back to school — with a difference. millions of pupils in england return after the coronavirus lockdown. for many of the children, it‘s the first time they‘ve been in a classroom for months. it is a mixture of emotions and stuff. ifeel, like, really, really excited but really nervous as well. i just can‘t wait to get in and start learning and stuff. we‘ll be seeing how they‘re getting on and asking if the safety measures are working. also this lunchtime... we wanted exams to go ahead but were overruled — the head of 0fqual launches a robust defence of the regulator‘s role in the a—level and gcse fiasco. another government u—turn — hours after lifting them, restrictions in two parts of manchester are reimposed. # rule, britannia...