this is bbc news. a warning that the country is at ‘a critical moment‘ in the coronavirus pandemic as thousands of students prepare to return to universities across the uk. tighter coronavirus restrictions for bolton this evening as the council says the city's infection rate has risen to 99 cases per100,000 people, perweek — the highest in england. government departments in england are told to get civil servants back to the office, ‘quickly‘ — but unions say the attitude is ‘outdated'. borisjohnson criticises protests by environmental campaigners, extinction rebellion, targeting three printing presses owned by rupert murdoch.

good evening. as thousands of students are preparing their return to university, data now shows the highest number of detected infections of coronavirus, is in young people. a leading epidemiologist said today, she believes the country is at a "critical moment" in controlling the spread of the virus. this evening, bolton has announced tighter restrictions. the council says the town's infection rate has risen to 99 cases per 100,000 people, per week — the highest in england. residents have been asked to only use public transport for essential purposes and not to mix with other households in any setting — but this doesn't apply to support bubbles.

in leeds, young people are being urged to take responsibility for controlling the spread of coronavirus following an increase in house parties in the city.leeds was added to the public health england ‘areas of concern‘ — as covid rates rose to 32.5 cases per 100,000 people. 0ur correspondent richard galpin reports. the new university year is approaching for students here in leeds. but it is feared the movement of thousands of students to universities could lead to a surge of coronavirus cases. the virus has much less impact on the young, but they can spread it to other people. i'm a bit worried about the population, that they might bring something with them because they're from all over the uk and america and things, and we don't know if they're carrying it, so i feel like they need to be tested before they can be allowed

back in universities. as long as i limit my interaction and use my mask and stuff, i'm not really that concerned about spreading it to anyone else. but experts believe it is likely there will be significant outbreaks. this is indeed a critical moment. we are seeing the highest numbers of infections, or at least detected infections, in younger people. universities are having to put in place important measures to make sure they have testing capacity and also thinking about how they teach their students. leeds is already being seen as a coronavirus hotspot. it's now been added to the watchlist of areas of concern. 0fficials here are urging young people to take responsibility for controlling the spread of the virus. whereas we were focusing more on specific communities at the beginning, it's now clear that the pattern is changing, and a very strong message from us

to avoid having further restrictions put on us. the watchlist of hotspots is growing. south tyneside, middlesbrough, rossendale, corby, kettering and norfolk are also now on the list after increases in cases. it is another busy day here at the flamingo's coffee house in leeds. social distancing, as in all cafes, pubs and restaurants is vital. but the owner here says there are still people who ignore it. 99% of people want to do the right thing and they want to follow the rules and keep everyone safe. people are getting fatigued from coronavirus, everyone, me included, we slip up a bit, it's hard to keep everything going, and also there are some people that don't want to socially distance. and as long as that continues, then leeds like other affected cities and towns will not be rid of the virus.

richard galpin, bbc news. corby in northamptonshire is one of the places added to public health england‘s covid watchlist as an ‘area of concern‘. corby borough council‘s leader, tom beattie, says he wants to avoid a local lockdown. i think it would be very damaging, it would affect business confidence, it would affect business confidence, it would affect the ability for local businesses to get back on their feet after having spent time in lockdown already, and i think it would be an up to the confidence of the people in the town if they had to go and look again. so, i want one to go and look again. so, i want one to avoid that very much and they do say there is a damaging thing which we are trying really hard to avoid. and we‘ll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow‘s front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers.

0ur guestsjoining me tonight are political commentatorjo phillips and nigel nelson, the political editor of the people & sunday mirror. civil servants in england have been urged to return to their office desks, as part of a drive to get people back to their workplaces following the lockdown. the government has urged officials to "take advantage" of the return of schools this month, amid warnings that some cities have become ‘ghost towns‘ as people work from home. analysis of mobile phone data last month suggested only 17% of uk workers had returned to the office. dave penman, the general secretary of civil servants union, the first division association, said that companies and organisations have over recent months shown that they can operate effectively when employees work from home. pretending if we think this is

actually about efficiency, of course there are issues around how people communicate with each other in a workplace. the last six months have demonstrated in the public and private sectors that organisations can work very effectively whilst a significant number of staff are working at home. whilst it is not for everyone, not all work can be done remotely, not everyone drives in that environment and in a civil service, a quarter of the people have always been at work, the idea that you solve the issue by a top—down thing does not reflect the reality of how the workers organise 01’ reality of how the workers organise or how it has been transformed over the last six months. that was dave a nun. ina the last six months. that was dave a nun. in a few moments, he was from bbc one will be joining us for a round—up of the news with kate silver said. france has registered its highest daily infection rate since the start of the pandemic. the latest figures, over 2a hours between thursday and friday —

show almost 9000 new cases of covid—19. transmission is mainly among young people — which means hospital admissions aren‘t nearly as high as they were back in march. the increase is partly a result of more testing across france. however, the return of 12 million children to school this week, has heightened concerns. 0ur europe correspondent damian mcguiness explained more. schools have gone back, dozens have had to close again because they have had a couple of outbreaks there as well. as life has got back to normal in france and as people have gone back to work, infection rates have risen. this number, almost 9,000 over 2a hours between thursday and friday, is the highest we have seen at any point during the pandemic. it is a very worrying record. back in march, at the height of the pandemic, at the strictest point of the lockdown, there were 7,500 daily infection rates. this is a sharp increase in daily new infections. that‘s partly because of a sharp

increase in testing as well. we are seeing a more realistic view of the figure. we are also picking up in france a lot more people who are possibly not showing any symptoms, so it is showing a more realistic view of the actual situation. the other thing happening is a lot more younger people are transmitting the virus between them — that is very serious because it means it is spreading throughout the population, but the good news is they are less likely to suffer severe complications so, even though we are seeing a slight rise in hospitalisations, it is not as dramatic as the total rise in infection rates. it is a more realistic picture, but it is a worrying trend because we are seeing across europe a sharp rise in daily infection rates.

as thousands of students prepare to return to university, a leading scientist says britain is at a critical moment for coronavirus. with the highest number of detected infections in young adults, concerns are raised about the mass return to campus. they might bring something with them because they‘re from all over the uk. tougher measures have also been

introduced in bolton to try and stop rising case numbers there. 80 arrests are made as the prime minister condemns the actions of environmental activists who‘ve targetted the media over the reporting of climate change. injerusalem — the volunteers who‘ve recovered from covid and are now heading back in to hospital to help others do the same. and in football, england secure a 1—0 victory over iceland in the nations league. good evening. as thousands of students are preparing their return to university, data now shows the highest number of detected infections of coronavirus is in young people. a leading epidemiologist said today

she believes the country is at a "critical moment" in controlling the spread of the virus. in leeds, people have been urged to socialise "sensibly and responsibly" this weekend, after the city was added to a government watchlist of areas with high rates of infection. 0ur correspondent richard galpin reports. the new university year is approaching for students here in leeds but the movement of thousands of students to universities could lead to a surge of coronavirus cases, and while a coronavirus infection has little impact on the young, they can then spread the virus to other people. i‘m a bit worried about the population, that they might bring something with them cos they‘re from all over the uk and america and things, and we don‘t know if they‘re carrying it. as long as i limit my interaction and use my mask and stuff, i'm not really that concerned about spreading it to anyone else.

but experts believe it‘s likely there will be significant outbreaks. this is indeed a critical moment. we are now seeing the highest numbers of infections, or at least detected infections, in younger people. universities are having to put in place important measures to make sure they have testing capacity and also thinking about how they teach their students. leeds is already on the government‘s watchlist of areas of concern and officials here are worried young people are becoming complacent. whereas we were focusing more on specific communities at the beginning, it‘s now clear that the pattern is changing, and a very strong message going out from us to avoid having further restrictions put on us. the watchlist of hotspots like leeds is growing. south tyneside, middlesbrough, rossendale, corby, kettering

and norfolk are also all now on the list after increases in cases. this evening bolton has announced a further tightening of restrictions. people here being asked to avoid mixing with other households and only use public transport if essential, because, the council says, its infection rate is the highest in england. back in leeds, another busy day at flamingo‘s coffee house. social distancing vital, but the owner says people are still ignoring the rules. 99% of people want to do the right thing. people are getting fatigued from coronavirus, everyone, me included, we slip up a bit, it's hard to keep everything going and also there are some people that don't want to socially distance. and as long as that continues, then infection rates will not come down. richard galpin, bbc news. the latest government figures

show there were 1,813 new confirmed coronavirus cases across the uk in the latest 2a hour period. as you can see, the rate is continuing to slowly rise, with the average number of new cases per day in the past week being 1,630. the deaths of 12 people were also reported, under new rules recording those who‘ve died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, seven deaths have been announced each day. that means the total number of people who have died, across the uk, is now 41,549. civil servants in england are being urged by the government to return to work in their offices. in a letter seen by the bbc, the government wants 80% of civil servants to be back at their workplace at least once a week by the end of the month. unions have described the government‘s attitude as outdated. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has more.

usually vibrant, bustling, dynamic, and yet for much of the last six months many of our city centres have looked like this. it‘s time for that to change, says the government. the head of the civil service, sir mark sedwill, says the prime minister believes... this is whitehall, home to loads of government departments. it‘s actually relatively busy here today but still pretty quiet on weekdays. the government wants four in five civil servants in england to be back at their desks for at least some of the week by the end of this month with more and more people worrying that unless public and private sector workers return to the office there could be huge economic consequences. if we don‘t see workers coming back until the new year, and workers are a big driver of footfall in city centres, particularly on a monday to friday, then we might see a huge wave

of closures and a huge wave of redundancies as a result. but some believe changes in where many people have worked in recent months will be permanent. what the government are doing are virtue signalling, using the civil service, not because it's a more efficient way of operating, but because they want to send a signal to the private sector. they are dreaming about a world of work which has, quite frankly, gone. in scotland, wales and northern ireland, the message is still to work from home if you can. but in england, the government is hoping that more people can be persuaded back to their workplace. chris mason‘s here, and there are new developments tonight which showjust how much is at stake? it is at stake? is worth thinking of it as the three it is worth thinking of it as the three challenges the government faces this autumn, firstly trying to tiptoe back towards something resembling normality, such as returning to work places. secondly, the imminent end of the furlough scheme, the scheme which the government has ploughed a huge

amount of money, taxpayers subsidising the wages of millions of people. that is due to end at the end of next month and the boss of the cbi has said that that is a real concern. that she thinks that whilst it has been an absolute life—saver, this scheme, that it needs to continue in some form, and ministers have been adamant it does need to wind down and they point out there are other support packages available. thirdly, brexit. we talked about it endlessly for so long, it is not really made much use in the last six months for obvious reasons, we left the european union at the beginning of debris but we are still in the transition period which basically means not much has changed. can a long—term deal be done between the uk and the eu by the end of the year? plenty of businesses are very keen to see that happen. the government‘s chief brexit negotiator fort ross, an interview in the mail on sunday,

very striking language —— lord ross. he says we will not be a client state and we will not accept provisions which lock us into the way the eu do things and that the uk intends to be a sovereign and independent nation, but they are still sticking points on things like fishing quotas and the terms of a trade deal between the uk and the eu might work. whether it is responsive to the pandemic or trying to secure a brexit deal, the stakes could not be higher this autumn. chris, thanks. france has registered its highest daily infection rate of covid—19 since the start of the pandemic. the latest figures, in the 2a hours from thursday to friday, show almost 9,000 new coronavirus cases. transmission is mainly among young people, which means hospital admissions are far lower than their peak in april. the increase is partly a result of more testing. ten people have been arrested following clashes

between anti—migra nt demonstrators and the police in dover. the protesters brought the a20 to a complete standstill for more than an hour as they marched to the harbour. rival protesters also gathered in the town in support of migrants arriving in the uk. the prime minister has condemned environmental activists for preventing the delivery of millions of newspapers this morning. extinction rebellion targeted newspaper printing presses in england and scotland accusing the media of failing to report climate change. 80 people have been arrested. 0ur chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt reports. what a turnout! it was late last night when vans containing dozens of extinction rebellion protesters blocked the entrances to three printing presses owned by rupert murdoch‘s news corp. as well as this plant in hertfordshire, activists targeted presses in merseyside and in north lanarkshire.

the protest meant delays delivering millions of newspapers this morning, including the sun, the times, the daily mail and the daily telegraph. we‘re here because we feel the british media and political establishment have been complacent about the most existential threat britain has ever faced. 72 people were arrested as police cleared the roads. newspaper editors described the actions as an outrageous attempt to gag the press. the actions of these protesters are so absurd. these are the actions of totalitarian dictators and authorities throughout the world and history — shut down the message, attack a free press, which is exactly what they've done here. this is the fifth day of protests by the environmental campaign group. on tuesday, perhaps 3,000 activists congregated outside parliament, blocking the roads, amongst them the former archbishop of canterbury, rowan williams. there were clear guidelines

about how this protest could be conducted, and one of the rules was, do not go into the road, but right at the beginning of the demonstration when the protesters first congregated here in parliament square, they were encouraged to come into the road and block the streets. there have been more than 600 arrests in london alone. you're under arrest for criminal damage! extinction rebellion says five more days of actions are planned. power to the people! justin rowlatt, bbc news, london. a hospital in jerusalem is carrying out what it says is a world first to support covid—19 patients. people who have recovered from the disease are volunteering to access the wards and help those currently being treated. it comes amid a surge in cases in the region. here‘s our middle east correspondent tom bateman. in the sealed world of a coronavirus ward, the sick fill bad upon bed,

in the sealed world of a coronavirus ward, the sick fill bed upon bed, and fight illness alone. shuki knows how the isolation feels. he had the disease in april. now recovered, he‘s one of a small army volunteering to help those suffering now. i was looking at this together with my wife, and we said, that‘s what we‘ve been waiting for, i guess. it‘s a chance to give something back. hadassah hospital started the trial last month, thought to be one of the first of its kind in the world. the volunteers are all survivors of the disease. now, reassuring current patients, feeding them or helping them call relatives. for under pressure nurses, it‘s been vital support. all the patients are very lonely. they have nobody inside. no family, no friends, no one.

only the staff and the staff are dressed like aliens, so it‘s very important for them that someone can come, sit near to them and talk to them. the science is still unclear aboutjust how much or even how long people might have immunity from having had the virus and that is why all the volunteers here wear exactly the same protective gear as the nurses. shuki says he knows the risks but feels safe enough. he hopes the project can help others overcome the desperate isolation coronavirus can bring. my assumption is that i‘m geared up just like any other staff member and then i have another layer of protection, these antibodies, so worst case, i‘m like anybody else that goes in. try to keep it simple and do whatever i can. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. with all the sport now, here‘s 0lly foster

at the bbc sport centre. good evening. the england manager gareth southgate says they "got out ofjail" in their first game of 2020. they had a player sent off but a late raheem sterling penalty sealed a 1—0 win in their nations league match against iceland in reykjavik. here‘s our sports correspondent andy swiss. very ordinary match with extraordinary finish. that 18 mine minutes, england the‘s return seems to be falling flat —— for 89 minutes. harry kane‘s early effort ruled out for offside when replays showed he was on, but no var meant no goal. england‘s frustration only grew from there. declan rice fluffing a glorious chance to leave england almost literally kicking themselves at the break. after it, their problems deepened. a second yellow card for kyle walker and he was off. that was the precursor to a chaotic finale. first, an iceland handball and a penalty to england, which raheem sterling then coolly

dispatched, butjust seconds later, with the game into stoppage time, joe gomez tangled and guess what? iceland penalty. birkir bjarnason with a chance for a last—gasp draw... ..but he blew it. not n ot exa ctly not exactly world beating, but england are back with a win. andy swiss, bbc news. the women‘s super league season got underway today with a 2—0 win for manchester city over newly promoted aston villa. two defensive mistakes saw georgia stanway score both their goals in the first half. there are five more games tomorrow. serena williams had a scare at the us open. she lost the first set against fellow american sloane stephens in their third round match but came back strongly to progress to the last 16. she hasn‘t won a major tournament since becoming a mother — three—year—old 0lympia was watching from the stands. williams will equal the record of 2a grand slam singles titles if she wins in new york for a seventh time. british triathlete georgia taylor—brown

is the new world champion. the title is usually decided with a series of races across the year, but because of the pandemic a one—off race in hamburg was organised. it‘s her first world crown. frenchman vincent luis retained the men‘s title. great britain‘s adam yates is still in the lead at the tour de france. he did well to keep hold of the yellowjersey on the first high mountain stage, staying in touch with his rivals in the pyrenees and maintaining his three second lead. stage 8 was eventually won by the frenchman nans peters. there is simply no stopping lewis hamilton at the moment. the world champion will be on pole for tomorrow‘s italian grand prix. he broke the lap record at monza as mercedes secured another 1—2 on the grid. both ferraris finished outside the top ten at their home circuit. that hasn‘t happened for 36 years. the five—time ashes winner ian bell will retire from cricket at the end of the domestic season with warwickshire. he won 118 test caps with england, scoring almost 8,000 runs in an 11—year international career.

the 38—year—old says his body can‘t keep up with the demands of the game and he will look to move into coaching. there‘s more on the bbc sport website, including details of a dramatic win for ulster that saw them reach the pro 1a final to face leinster. you can see more on all of today‘s stories on the bbc news channel. that‘s all from me. goodnight. hello, there. it‘s been a day of sunny spells and showers. although the showers were clustered across many northern and western areas and further south in devon at great torrington through the afternoon, we had some sunshine whilst across in northern ireland, you can see a lot more cloud. here it is from earlier on in the day, the cloud with drizzly rain, we‘ve got showers breaking out ahead of it and that generally is going to push slowly

southwards and eastwards and into the south west of scotland, showers in the north—east through this evening, those showers also filtering southwards across some parts of england and wales, the cheshire gap into the midlands, potentially towards london, as well. a lot of dry weather to be found here and that continues through the night. it will turn quite chilly, as it will, the showers will diminish across parts of scotland and where we keep more cloud, still on the cool side but probably holding at ten or 11, so into double figures. but that does mean we will start sunday with quite a bit of cloud on this weather front here and showers but high pressure starting to build in. that will do two things — it will ease the shower activity across the northern half of the country, so fewer showers for scotland and northern ireland, but the winds will ease right across the uk. so, with lighter winds and for scotland and northern ireland, fewer showers and more sunshine, it will feel a little bit warmer here although we have a northerly breeze instead so near the north sea coast, quite cool. and it‘s not altogether dry — most of the showers starting