search teams in the lebanese capital, beirut, say they have found possible signs of life in a collapsed building — a month after the huge blast which destroyed parts of the city. rescuers said they'd detected a pulse 2 metres deep in the rubble in a residential area joe biden, has spoken by phone to jacob blake, the black man whose shooting by police in wisconsin sparked days of unrest. in a speech in the city of kenosha mr biden accused president trump of legitimising the dark side of human nature. south korea has now imposed a near—lockdown in the capital after a surge in cases. experts say the situation has been made worse by extreme evangelical churches — who've convinced many followers that the pandemic is part of a government conspiracy now on bbc news,

the week in parliament. hello and welcome back to the week in parliament. the week when millions of children went back to school and mps went back to westminster after the summer break. this has been a wasted summer. the government should've spent it preparing for the autumn and winter but instead they lurched from crisis to crisis, u—turn to u—turn. but borisjohnson said his government was turning the tide. in spite of the negativity and the constant sniping from the opposition, we are seeing a country that is not only going back to school, but going back to work. also in this programme: jacob rees—mogg reveals his up to the minute ringtone. i wonder...

the first prime minister's questions since july saw borisjohnson and sir keir starmer clash over schools, the pandemic and the economy. the labour leader focused his questions on the chaos over grades for students whose a level exams were cancelled due to the pandemic. there was an outcry when many students received lower than predicted grades prompting the government to abandon the system and opt for grades based on teacher predictions. at question time, borisjohnson sidestepped a challenge to reveal when he knew there was a problem with the algorithm used to allocate grades. he either knew of the 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 you know

perfectly well, quual made it very clear that the system in place was robust, quual, is an independent organisation and credit had to be given to their views. he accused keir starmer of undermining confidence in the return to school. i think you'll be a fine thing that after three months of refusing to do so, as pupils go back to school, that it finally be said that school was safe to go back to. come on. prime minister is just here to make it up as he goes along. the education secretary stood at the dispatch box yesterday and said and acknowledge that labour‘s first priority was getting people back to school, i have cited numerous times, he knows very well and he was just playing games. keir starmer said his own

children had been at school but that didn't deter the prime minister. this leader of 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 are not right? or is he just tapped in hindsight leaping on a bandwagon and opposing the policy that he supported two weeks ago? governing in hindsight, that slave made so many mistakes. this is been a wasted summer. the government should've spent in preparing for the autumn and winter, instead they have lurched from crisis to crisis, u—turn to u—turn, to correct one error, even two. when the government has notched up 12 u—turns and rising,

the only conclusion os incompetence and sorting bring back, with the prime minister take responsibility and finally get a grip? i take full responsibility for everything that is happened under this government throughout my period in office and actually, what is happened so far is that we have succeeded in turning the tide of this pandemic and in spite of the negativity in the constant sniping from the opposition, we are seeing a country that is not only going back to school, but going back to work. hours before boris johnson highlighted the role of england's exam regulator in the chaos, quual's chair told mps it was a "fundamental mistake" to think that the public would accept a system of calculated grades to determine a level results. the education committee heard that ministers had been aware of the risks. what you are really saying, rather describing in a nutshell, not me, is that a fair reflection of the statement? i think it's he made clear in the statement,

we fully accept our share of responsibility for what has gone wrong this year. i have personally apologised to students and parents for what has been as we recognise, and extremely anxiety making incident. it has been disruptive to this years candidates, it is been disruptive to the higher education, it has been disruptive to the next years candidates. you say in your statement, but specifically, is my summary of the statement accurate in your view? but we would point towards is that the mistakes, the fundamental mistake is to believe that this would ever be acceptable to the public. the prime minister has put the problems down to a "mutant algorithm". quual said there'd been a public consultation on the principles of the algorithm. we, at the same time set up a working group with technical representatives from

the examples and decisions —— representatives from the exam boards and decisions taken were ours and we worked with around 20 different technical experts across the exam boards and chose then the algorithm that seem to produce the most accurate results. and at what point did the algorithm mutate? i don't think the algorithm ever mutated. quual's chief executive has resigned as the department for education's top civil servant has been sacked. but the education secretary is still in a job. gavin williamson came to the commons to explain and apologise. mr deputy speaker, the situation has, i know, cost a great deal of stress and uncertainty and i am deeply saddened that those who have borne the brunt of it have been students themselves. i can only apologise again for this. we took immediate action to provide certainty as soon as it was clear that

if he didn't, too many students were to receive crates that did not reflect their hard work and their ability. he must now take responsibility forensuring a summer of incompetence does not this in further into an autumn of disaster and dismay. any normal cabinet with the repeated failure to take responsibility would lead to his sacking, but this government talks of mutant algorithms. a shoogly peg is a will be one carol monaghan clearly —— a shoogly peg is a wobbly one. carol monaghan clearly surprised to find gavin williamson still in a job. back at prime minister's questions, boris johnson came under pressure from sir keir starmer and others to extend the furlough or job retention scheme under which the government pays some of the wages of those laid off

during the crisis. the scheme is due to close at the end of next month. 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 resulted human misery? what we are doing is not only continuing with the furlough scheme as he knows until the end of this month, which is by far more generous than anything provided in france or germany, or ireland. 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 kick starter 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 of the people to support them throughout the crisis that is what we're

doing and we will now help them get back into work. as much as you want to see people back into work, there's certain sectors, such as tourism, travel, hospitality and aerospace where that will not be possible in the short to medium—term. i 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 have been excluded from the current schemes, including the newly self—employed. the prime minister said there were a number of schemes helping people. it is 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 everything we can to give them confidence that it is a good idea to go back and confidence, mr speaker, is worth a tonne of taxpayers money. the prime minister.

time now for a brief look at some of the other goings on in the world of politics. the chancellor rishi sunak reassured recently elected tory mps there won't be a "horror show of tax rises with no end in sight" to pay for the costs of coronavirus. but if he is looking for cash raising ideas, the treasury committee heard from experts who think he should widen the range of goods being taxed. i think it would be beneficial to talk about broadening the tax base because of we do not and simply rely on increases and breaks, that will increase the distortion in the already existing system. but, doing that in the past is proved quite difficult. if you let that attempt in 2012 to go on a broader range of products, that will create serious difficulties. but... you are not suggesting that this tax will assuming, that's a lot of pasties.

you cannot tell a big story about taxing that but not something else. a minister has defended a trial scheme to pay workers on low incomes in parts of north west england where there are high rates of coronavirus 13 pounds a day if they have to self—isolate. those who claim universal credit or working tax credit and cannot work from home can claim the money in addition to their benefits. could the minister tell us what was the evidence base for the decision that £13 a day would be sufficient to persuade low paid workers to forgo their earnings and self—isolate. he did not answer it the first time around, perhaps he could answer it now. what was the criteria?

my lords, the evidence base and criteria was our discussion with local authorities, with community leaders, on what would be an effective amount that would tip the balance on a personal decision to isolate. those personal decisions are, as i said earlier, extremely tough and it was agreed with local infection teams and authorities that this was the kind of sum that would make a difference. ministers are under growing pressure to appoint a patients‘ safety commissioner in england. the call was led by the chair of a review that found many lives have been ruined because officials failed to listen to women given drugs and procedures that caused them or their babies considerable harm. i stand before you as a person who is shaken by the experience of personally listening to over 700 women and their families, families who were damaged by the health care system. their testimonies actually haunt me.

their bravery impels me. and it impels me to right their wrongs. she said there was widespread support for her report. the only cloud on the horizon is the department for health and social care, which simply does not get it. simply asking everyone as they are now to work together, better in the future, just simply will not work. the department for international development has formally merged with the foreign office. the newly annointed secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs came to the commons to answer an urgent question from labour. the new foreign commonwealth and development office will deliver on this government mission to forge a truly global britain to defend all aspects of the british national interest and to project this country as an even stronger force for good in the world. can i thank him for that? but the truth is this

is a complete mess. it has made a nonsense of his own review. the integrated department has come before the integrated strategy, thousands of staff with world— renowned expertise have been treated disgracefully, holding meetings in recent weeks for senior civil servants who can't even answer basic questions about how this department is going to operate. and why? because the government was shamed by a footballer into supporting some of the poorest children in this world. it doesn't bode very well for a commitment to the poorest people across the planet. the snp raised reports the government might ditch its commitment to spent 0.7% of national economic output on overseas development. on the .7%, i am grateful for his assurances and the prime minister has made it very clear but can i give him an opportunity to strengthen his own hand in these discussions that presumably that a trail of the manifesto commitment, were that come to pass, would be a resignation letter from the foreign secretary because i don't see how anyone would possibly be able to pull that

given that situation. an offer dominic raab felt able to decline although he has rejected reports that the government might drop its target. the former australian prime minister tony abbott confirmed that he's been in discussions with the uk government about a possible trade talks role. it would be a controversial appointment, as he's been criticised for his views on climate change, coronavirus and women. mps on the foreign affairs committee tried to find out more. you said that you applied for, been in discussions about a job with government ministers here. i think i would call it a role rather than a job. what is the distinction you are drawing? what is the role? give it a title or pay grade. again, i think that is better addressed to ministers in the government. it is something which is not yet official. and i really don't think there's any more i can say

until things have been decided. did they first approach you about this role or did you see an advert in the guardian? i'm just not going to go into this any further. can i get back to what you were invited to speak about, which is multinational diplomacy? is it possible to come in there, tom? very briefly. if it really is specific to the role of the foreign affairs committee and not something on a wider issue that mr abbott is not here to answer. it is an important question i want to ask. welcome, mr abbott. in 2012, you said that men are, by physiology or temperament, more adapted than women to exercise authority or to issue command. can you tell us whether you stand by that view and will you have any difficulty accepting the authority of liz truss

if you are working under her command at the board of trade? i'm not sure that i ever did say that, if you would like to privately provide the committee secretariat with your source, i would happily have a look at it but it doesn't sound like anything i have said. international trade questions on thursday offered another opportunity. the appointment of the sexist and homophobic tony abbott is also the appointment of a climate change denier, so does this indicate the government is moving away from any commitment in trade deals to maintain environment protection? if not, why have you put him in thejob? the reality is that those on the left of politics always are intolerant of anybody who doesn't agree with them but are prepared to defend anything from their own friends. liz truss. this week saw a record number of migrants cross the english channel in small boats on a single day. on wednesday, more than 400

people took advantage of flat seas and reached the uk. the next day, the man who's been given the job of stopping the illegal crossings told mps on the home affairs committee it was an incredibly complex problem and praised the work of the french authorities. we have made a number of offers to the french for additional capability in terms of people and kit and we have provided significant uplifting for resources and we paid for drones, we paid for night vision equipment and we've offered use of aerial surveillance aircraft to the french. so there is a lot ofjoint working and it is delivering results. it is nowhere near the level we wanted to be and that is frustrating. it is frustrating for us and frustrating for the french. but it means in the region of 3000 interceptions prevented, 3000 interceptions this year it prevented. they prevented 3000 people from crossing the channel this year. including yesterday, close to 200 just yesterday alone prevented from leaving

the beaches of france. so it is delivering the results. one of the french mps has spoken about it on television. i've debated with him. he said his conversation with some of the people trying to get over, they say it is easier to work illegally in the uk and to live undercover, which clearly is not the case, but that seems to be a perception. under operation focal, a joint operation with the french, again, financed by the british taxpayer, this sort of misinformation should be dealt with, but it would appear that french members of parliament are party to putting around these misconceptions about how they're actually going to be looked after if they do make it to the uk. that is part of the problem, isn't it, that people are coming here on a false premise?

i think that is absolutely correct and that way i see this operation delivering is that it is both an operation in the traditional sense but also a behaviour change campaign which will be enabled as time goes on with a strategic communication effort. it is exactly the phenomenon you just described, the ruthless criminals are taking advantage of these migrants, some of whom who don't even want to come to the uk. we hear a lot of stories of migrants who are literally forced onto boats, no idea where they are when they get to the uk because the facilitators don't get paid until they do that last leg of the journey, so there is a huge misinformation campaign going on with the facilitators who told him that the streets are paved with gold in the uk and anybody knows who's travel to france, it is a perfectly civilized country that has a fully functioning asylum system and what we find is when we deliver the migrants to the reception centres, they do claim asylum in france.

to holyrood now, where the first minister has set out her government's plans for the next year. besides a guarantee of a job, education or formal training for young people, nicola sturgeon also announced that there would be a draft bill on a second independence referendum. this will include the government's preferred question that would be asked, and the timescale in which it believes the vote should be held. but at first minister's questions, she found herself like the uk's other leaders, under pressure over education. i know that the first minister doesn't like to be asked questions on record but the fact is that she deserves to be challenged of this. it was her the said education would be a number one priority. it wasn't us. it was her who said that flagship education bill was needed to fix education, not us. it was her that said closing the attainment gap was what she wanted to be judged by and her record simply doesn't stand the test.

not only am i willing and happy to have questions asked of me about my record and my policies and my plans, i'm happy to allow the scottish people tojudge that in an election. instead, we have ruth davidson, who wants to continue to be a politician but without the consent of a single person across this country. she is heading to an unelected parliament but has the brass neck to lecture the rest of us on scrutiny and accountability. there is no air mind cloak in the world that will cover up that hypocrisy. ruth davidson will join the house of lords next year. the scottish labour leader hopes to stay at holyrood but is facing internal calls to quit. he asked about a newly announced independent review of adult social care.

so, first minister, will you give a commitment today to appoint trade union representatives and representatives of care users to the review panel announced yesterday so that the voices of those who deliver care and those who receive it are at the centre of that review? we want to move on this quickly, which is why we have asked the independent review to give us a report byjanuary. i'm not sure whether richard leonard will still be standing in his place by then, we will wait and see. nicola sturgeon. now margaret thatcher famously said u turn if you want to, the lady's not for turning. but u turns are increasingly popular at the moment. newspapers have counted a dozen by boris johnson's government in his first year. and now, for us at the bbc, there's a u turn closer to home. will my right honourable friend join me in noting that the bbc are now going to broadcast land of hope and glory as it should be heard ? they have as they put it reversed their decision.

a description that in the context of anything to do with this government, they would characterize as a u—turn. can my friend give any reason for this curious inconsistency? i wonder... song plays. laughter. mr speaker, i of course apologise for any offence i may have given to the house but when britain first at heaven commands arose from the azure main, this was the anthem of the land and guardian angels sang strain, rule britannia, rule the waves, britons shall never be slaves, and let's hope

the bbc will recognise the virtues of britannia and this plan of glory. the word perfect jacob rees—mogg. now, although the government wants people to go back to work, if they can, social distancing rules make it hard for mps to appear in the chamber. and there are other good reasons for working from home. conservative jonathan gullis was left holding the baby when the education committee continued its investigation into the exams chaos, challenging him to a little multitasking. baby amelia isn't the first to have fallen asleep during parliamentary proceedings. that was the week in parliament. thank you for watching. i hope you canjoin me on bbc parliament on monday evening at 11 o'clock for the latest from the commons and the lords. until then, from me, david cornock, bye for now.

hello there. looks like we are all in for a dose of cooler, fresher weather over the coming few days. could be perfect weather for seeing some rainbows, just as we saw on thursday here by a weather watcher in scotland. further south, it's been milder and quite muggy for a while. temperatures ahead of the cloud and drizzle were as high as 23 celsius in the southeast of england. it's a cooler start to friday, temperatures in the clearer skies, typically 9—11 celsius. some more blustery showers in northern scotland, then towards the southwest, this cloud never really clears away. it comes back into the southwest of england and south wales — pushing eastwards towards the midlands and south east england. that will bring a bit of light rain and drizzle. further north, some brighter skies, some sunshine and some showers. those showers turning more widespread in scotland and northern ireland, pushing into the far north of england. disappointing temperatures, 17—18 celsius, fairly typically, could make 20 in the southeast ahead of any rain that arrives

during the evening. as we head into the weekend, high—pressure is close by, but it's towards the southwest of the uk. it leaves us with a run of northwesterly winds. that's going to drive in cooler air, and temperatures on saturday could be even lower during the day as well — it will be a chilly start to the day too. so, a cool weekend ahead. there will be this mixture of sunshine and showers continuing. as we look ahead to saturday, most of the showers will be in the north and west of the uk. quite a few showers, actually, across northern scotland, quite a few showers for northern ireland. those will stream over the irish sea into northwestern parts of england and wales. so, for the south and the east, it should be largely dry, some sunshine at times, those temperatures could be even lower, making 1a celsius at best through the central belt of scotland — 18 in the south of england. some more showers continuing overnight and into sunday. should be a drier day though for northern ireland, a drier day for scotland. most of the showers across england and wales, some of those could be heavy as well. temperatures will be pegged back in those showers, but probably a degree or two higher than saturday across scotland and northern ireland,

but still only making 16 celsius. those showers do move away during the evening as we head into the early part of next week. we've got lower pressure to the north of the uk, some weather fronts on the scene, higher pressure into more southern areas. so, that means for the first few days of next week, it's going to remain unsettled for northern areas. there will be some stronger winds, some rain from time to time. further south, it should be largely dry and warmer — temperatures into the mid—20s.

welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: one month after the blast that claimed so many lives, rescuers in beirut think somebody may still be alive under the rubble of this building. joe biden visits kenosha where he spoke by phone to jacob blake, whose shooting by police triggered days of unrest. south korea imposes a near lock down on its capital. why experts suspect some of the country's churches may have worsened the latest coronavirus outbreak. facebook announces new measures to try to protect the integrity of the us presidential election.