mass coronavirus testing is promised by early next year — but some scientists question whether it's achievable. the health secretary, matt hancock, defends the government's ambition of achieving up 10 million tests a day. the so—called operation moonshot, to deploy mass testing, will allow people to lead more normal lives and reduce the need for social distancing. talk ofaiming talk of aiming for the moon is all very well, but actually it's a distraction from the concrete problems we have in the here and how. nicola sturgeon says social gatherings in scotland in any location will be limited to six people, from no more than two households. we'll get all the latest from our health editor.

also this lunchtime... emergency brexit talks get under way — the eu says it has serious concerns about british government plans to override parts of the withdrawal agreement. the roof of a school bus is sheared off in a crash in hampshire — three children are in hospital with serious injuries. new coronavirus guidance is issued to england's universities. there should be face to face teaching for priority courses only — and no big parties. and wildlife is dying out at a rate never seen in human history — according to a stark new report from the world wide fund for nature. coming up in sport on bbc news — with doncaster races ordered behind closed doors, there are concerns the sport faces a loss of £300 million if fans can't return.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the health secretary matt hancock has been defending the government's pledge to carry out millions of coronavirus tests every day. his comments in parliament brought laughter from the opposition benches, as leaked official documents show that the prime minister's so—called "moonshot" programme aims to carry out three million tests a day by december, and up to ten million early next year. experts have expressed concerns about laboratory capacity, and say the technology for rapid tests doesn't yet exist. it comes as the number of positive tests jumped 43% in one week, at the end of last month. dominic hughes reports. is mass testing for coronavirus the key to opening up the economy, and is it even possible?

these are the questions being asked in the wake of borisjohnson‘s plan that would see perhaps 10 million tests per day by next spring, with results delivered in minutes. we are developing new types of tests which are simple, quick and scalable. they use swabs or saliva. they can be turned round in 90 minutes, or even 20 minutes. the so—called operation moonshot, to deploy mass testing, will allow people to lead more normal lives and reduce the need for social distancing. for instance, it could mean theatres and sports venues could test audience members on the day and let in those with a negative result. but there are real doubts over whether the plan is even realistic. the current system is already struggling to deliver around 175,000 tests a day. experts say the practicalities of testing millions of people shouldn't be underestimated. you are thinking about a football stadium that has approximately 70,000 people who may wish to attend.

you may well have people queueing from early in the morning for an evening football match, simply to get 70,000 people tested and through the gates without having crowding outside. there is also the cost involved. documents linked to the british medicaljournal suggest a price tag of around £100 billion. even some of those involved in advising government believe the idea is flawed. i think talk of aiming for the moon is all very well, but actually it's a distraction from the concrete problems we have in the here and now. there is a pattern that each time the government has failed on testing, it's announced something yet more ambitious in the hope of distracting us from the present problems. wash your hands, cover your face... this new government campaign is a reminder that basic hygiene is still the key to stopping the spread of the virus, and while mass testing technology does exist, it's not yet been rigorously assessed. avoiding false negatives — tests that wrongly indicate

you are free from the virus — will be crucial. the latest figures on testing illustrate some of the challenges faced in the here and now. more than 9,800 new people tested positive for covid—19 in england in the week to september the 2nd. that's an increase of 43% in positive cases on the previous week — the highest weekly number since test and trace was launched at the end of may. whatever happens with what the government is calling its moonshot testing plans, they are unlikely to be in place much before the spring. that raises the prospect of the new guidelines on socialising — the rule of six — and maybe even something more restrictive, will still be with us at christmas and beyond. dominic hughes, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym is with me now. so many questions about the achieve ability of a big pledge here? yes, and you have heard the scepticism there. how on earth do you get from

a current level of testing of about 170,000 a day, up to 3 million by the end of december, and then 10 million sometime after that next year? itjust million sometime after that next year? it just seems million sometime after that next year? itjust seems completely extraordinary. but what the government is saying is that this is relying on a new generation of testing. we heard from matt hancock in dominic's piece, based on rapid results, saliva tests and so on, which are now being trialled. and they could deliver the means for doing something quickly for somebody going into work or going to the theatre, or a football stadium, going into work or going to the theatre, ora football stadium, or whatever. it does seem very, very difficult to envisage how this will come on as rapidly as they wanted to, and how it will work when there are so many to, and how it will work when there are so many problems with people getting tests at the moment, reporting difficulties getting something close to home, being sent miles from their home or not getting a test at all. i think the interesting thing from the leaked documents in the british medical journal, and other things we have heard today, is that the prime

minister really feels very strongly, achievable or not, that this is a way forward, back to some sort of normality. there is other data out today as well that reminds us just how far behind an awful lot of other conditions have fallen because everybody has been so focused on coronavirus? yes, once the covid pandemic developed in march, and the severity of it was known, the nhs cleared the decks right around the uk so that there was room for covid patients. but a lot of routine, nonurgent surgery procedures and appointments were cancelled. and now we are beginning to see the backlog, in recent data. this is from nhs england and shows that more than 2 million people were waiting then, more than 18 weeks, the target, for a nonurgent operation, a hip or knee replacement, that sort of thing. that is more than half the total waiting list. we haven't seen a number like that since records began in 2007. 83,000 of those were

waiting more than a year. to put that into perspective, it was only 2000, back in february. nhs england say they are making progress on bringing back diagnostics. there are more cancer patients being seen than in march. but certainly there seems to bea in march. but certainly there seems to be a long way to go. thank you. the number of people allowed to meet up in scotland has been cut to six from two households — amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic accelerating. first minister nicola sturgeon announced the measure as part of a "tightening and extension" of restrictions. it comes as a new contact tracing app called protect scotland became available to download. james shaw is in glasgow. nicola sturgeon, speaking in the last hour or so. bring us up—to—date. last hour or so. bring us up-to-date. well, really, the restrictions she is talking about are very similarto restrictions she is talking about are very similar to the ones we know about in england already. so, a maximum of six people from two households meeting together, either

indoors or outdoors. a couple of refinements compared to what is happening in england. nicola sturgeon said in hospitality settings, cafes, pubs and restaurants, people moving around, customers and staff, would have to wear masks. there will be some exceptions to these rules for things like funerals and weddings. essentially, nicola sturgeon saying it is unfortunate that these tightening measures have to happen, but it is, as she sees it, a necessity. i can confirm that we intend to change this so that a maximum of six people from two households will be able to be together. to help reduce transmission and to simplify the rules as much as possible, the new limit will apply both indoors, in houses, pubs and restaurants, and also outdoors, including private gardens. there will be some limited exceptions, for example for organised sports and places of worship. also, any children under 12

who are part of two households meeting up will not count towards the limit of six people. one somewhat positive development, the new contact tracing app, which is 110w new contact tracing app, which is now up and running, last time i checked about 150,000 people had downloaded it so far today. james shaw, thank you very much. the eu says it has serious concerns about uk moves to override parts of the brexit withdrawal agreement. emergency talks are taking place between eu officials and the cabinet office minister michael gove. the government says it's trying to protect the internal market and the northern ireland peace process. let's get more from our political correspondent iain watson: perhaps it will be particularly fascinating to be a fly on the wall at that meeting? yes, i imagine it won't necessarily be too diplomatic. the emergency meeting, going on even as we speak, was called by brussels because of their concerns that the united kingdom government was prepared to break international law.

some of the reasons for this sound very obscure. there is legislation called the internal markets bill. it would let the government, unilaterally, not by agreement from the eu, but unilaterally, to decide how to applied withdrawal agreement that was negotiated last year, to some aspects of the situation in northern ireland. this is all about trade, customs declarations and so on. the eu see a far more important, they are less worried about the detail, they are more worried about the principle. they think of the government decides not to honour the withdrawal agreement, it is putting at risk separate trade talks which are also taking place today between oui’ are also taking place today between our chief negotiator, bob frost, and michel barnier, the eu chief negotiator. they say unless the uk sticks to the letter of the withdrawal agreement, that is a precondition for those trade talks to go ahead. so, they are potentially at risk. i think the government is trying to take the temperature down a bit. government ministers are saying, look, we do

still want to reach agreement and we would only go ahead with doing something unilaterally if agreement cannot be reached, with a joint committee, between the uk and the eu, including michael gove, they will continue to keep talking and hopefully that situation won't arrive. but at the moment the international temperature is high, and it is not limited to concerns in the eu, but some american politicians also expressing concerns about whether britain would abide by its obligations. the former prime ministerjohn major saying the government's actions of today are undermining the uk's international reputation. thank you, iain watson ata reputation. thank you, iain watson at a rather noisy westminster. three children have been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a school bus hit a railway bridge near winchester in hampshire — the roof of the bus was sheared off. our correspondent duncan kennedy is there. well, the boss is still under the bridge behind me, and you are right, the roof was completely sheared off.

it was a double—decker bus, and it is likely that most of the serious injuries were among children on the upper deck. police say they are now questioning the driver involved. there was nothing left of the top deck of the bus, sheared off after hitting a railway bridge. the bus had more than 70 children on board, many on the top deck. those on board said the impact sounded like a massive bang. among those on the upper deck was 14—year—old zoe. we suddenlyjust hit the top of the tunnel, because it's a double—decker bus, and it all fell in on the top. i'm not sure what happened down the bottom, i think they were all ok, but on the top it all fell in on top of everyone. there was glass everywhere and everyone started screaming. children have spoken of screams and panic when the vehicle hit the brick built bridge. the bus slowed down

to let a car go through and then the bus went in and the roofjust got ripped off and the window smashed and dust came in through the windows, smoke, and lots of people were screaming and like, worried they'd die. police say three children were seriously hurt, though not with life—threatening injuries. 12 more sustained minor cuts and bruises. officers say they've spoken to the driver, who was not hurt. that bus doesn't fit through the bridge. i can't think that a bus route would have been drawn to take it through a bridge that is too low for the bus. all the pupils went to the henry beaufort school in winchester. the head teacher said she was relieved that more people weren't hurt. the head teacher also said support was available for the students involved and she did not want to speculate about the cause of the accident. as universities and colleges begin their academic year, the government has set out new guidelines to try to prevent coronavirus outbreaks. the guidance — for england — says face to face tutoring

should be used only for priority courses, and that students shouldn't return home in the event of a local rise in cases. dan johnson reports. this is the normal phone of the freshers fair. new city, new friends, new things to sign up for. all part of the university experience, which will be more difficult this year. there is a direct appealfor difficult this year. there is a direct appeal for students to stick to the rules. please, for the sake of your education, for your parents and your grandparents‘ health, wash your hands, cover your face, and your grandparents‘ health, wash your hands, coveryourface, make space and don‘t socially gather in groups of more than six now, and when term starts. six is the limit for social gatherings, so no big house parties, but accommodation blocks are more complicated. the guidance says classroom teaching is safe, mixed with online learning. cambridge has announced all students it accommodates will be tested weekly, regardless of symptoms. there is a warning that is of

limited use. if there is an indication that a local health protection team is working with a university because there has been a case, the likelihood of you finding more cases than is higher. so the really important message here is be guided by the health professionals, by the health protection teams, as to when that is a useful intervention. students who get ill are being urged not to return to their home towns and risk spreading their home towns and risk spreading the virus further. exeter has signed a contract for rapid testing of those with symptoms. we hope that by having a testing programme alongside those other effects, it will enable us those other effects, it will enable us to get as close as possible to a proper exeter experience, and we hope that our students who come this year will end up with the same sort of memories on the same sorts of opportunities are students who came in previous years. memorable, it will be, one way or another. there is recognition that so many young people moving and mixing will produce more cases. but there is

reassurance, too, that the risks are currently limited. in society, and community at the moment, the number of cases is still very low. there are outbreaks in various places and rising rates, but the chances of a person going to university and having coronavirus this week and next week, probably, a very, very low indeed. at the moment, the risk is extremely low. face masks, social distancing and reject timetables will limit numbers to keep campuses say. it will be what happens beyond lectures that determines the impact of student life on the next stage of the pandemic. the time is 1:17. our top story this lunchtime... the health secretary, matt hancock, defends the government‘s ambition of carrying out up ten million tests a day — but some scientists question whether it‘s achievable. and coming up — why there‘s been a surge in applications for health care qualifications. coming up in sport on bbc news, the four time formula one world champion sebastian vettel is joining

a renamed aston martin next season, calling it a new adventure. a huge migrant camp on the greek island of lesbos was all but destroyed in a fire on tuesday night. now a second one has wiped out what was left. what was last week the only shelter for more than 12,000 refugees is now a wasteland. mark lobel has the latest. hundreds of unaccompanied children leave for greece‘s mainland from their fire—ravaged camp on the island of lesbos — just as new fires began destroying parts of the camp that had been spared the initial onslaught. the greek government says the original fire was caused by protesters after 35 residents who had tested positive for coronavirus were isolated. strong winds then fanned

the flames in a tinderbox, where families crammed into a space meant to house just a quarter of the 13,000 men, women and children who were placed there. these new fires at europe‘s largest refugee camp have opened up old wounds. after afghanis, syrians and iraqis headed for a new life in europe, a deal struck four years ago with turkey was meant to offer accommodation there. but the problem was pushed onto greek shores, as the closest destination. and now look. the truth of the matter is, the people on the greek island welcomed the refugees years ago. but after so many years of continuous flows, there has been a lot of fatigue in local communities. the german government is under pressure at home to urgently house more migrants. demonstrators in berlin and frankfurt insist there is room. translation: the situation is such that the people there could simply

come here to live normal lives instead of having to go through hell. that‘s why we‘re here. we are saying the city of frankfurt has a room, and so does germany. and now another challenge. as the coronavirus pandemic pushes the problem of migration further into the open, could it also make it more difficult for economically strapped countries to open their borders and keep the pandemic at bay? mark lobel, bbc news. bethany bell is in lesbos. what on earth happens now, bethany? well, the authorities are trying to investigate about how to see how this fire started but really the huge question is what happens to all those thousands of people who were living in the tents behind me, those burnt out structures that you can see, and the air is still full of

smoke here in the moria camp and the aeroplanes and helicopters have been flying over, trying to extinguish new fires which still keep cropping up. people here, some people have returned to the camp to try and salvage some of their lost belongings. you can see burnt bla nkets belongings. you can see burnt blankets and clothes scattered all over the ground, but most people are just camped out on the roadside is very close by, or under the olive trees. they spent two nights out in the open so far and many of them say they are expecting to do that again tonight stop the police have cordoned them off. they say they are not allowed out and when they try to cross the police line the police say, go back, go back, covid. bethany bell, thank you. a minute‘s silence has been held at the site of the stonehaven train derailment, in which three people died last month. an interim report released this morning found the derailment in aberdeenshire was caused when the train struck rock and gravel washed onto the tracks. our scotland correspondent

lorna gordon is at the crash site. jane, this is a very remote location and engineers had to build 900 metres of road and a bridge to get specialist equipment onto site. this morning, just afterfour specialist equipment onto site. this morning, just after four weeks after the crash occurred, in a slow and delicate process, the first of those two engines and four carriages which derailed were lifted from the tracks. it comes on the day when network rail released the interim report which said the crash was caused by the train hitting a pile of washed out rock and gravel. there was heavy rain in the area in the hours before the crash occurred at network rail admits the impact of climate change on the network is accelerating faster than previous assumptions. it says it needs to get better at predicting and reacting to extreme weather events at a local level. it says it also has to look

closely at the earthworks, the cuttings, the embankments, around the network, the network itself. the areas most at risk of failure from slippage are being targeted for action but network rail says in this report that it‘s not economically viable to strengthen all substandard track—side slopes. viable to strengthen all substandard track-side slopes. lorna gordon, thank you. a cyclist who was stopped and searched by police during a ride to promote diversity has had a complaint against the officers upheld by the police watchdog. mani arthur is the founder of the black cyclists network. he says the experience was humiliating and a gross abuse of power. amanda kirton has been to meet him. so you both maintain you smell cannabis on me? yes, we did, yes. right, brilliant. it was last year, out on a ride promoting diversity, that mani was stopped and searched by police officers who said they smelled cannabis on him as he was riding by. so, do you still smell cannabis on me? no, i don't at the moment, no.

you don‘t? you were there a second ago and you said you could smell cannabis on me? after the search, you don't smell it! the search was recorded and widely shared on social media. by the time mani filed a complaint, it had become a high profile case and was investigated by the iopc. we actually upheld that a police officer stopped and searched mr arthur without reasonable grounds. and the metropolitan police service agreed. mr arthur felt he actually had been racially profiled, because the officer didn't really understand that part. as a black cyclist, i have so many obstacles to already go through. to then have to wonder whether the police are on my side or not, it‘s another layer. mani is the founder of the black cyclists network, one of the largest diverse cycling groups in the uk. he set up the group as a space for diverse riders. when i initially set up the black cyclists network, i knew i wasn‘t the only one. i knew there was a

community out there. stay in your pairs, stay in your pairs! mani says the stop and search that he experienced are among many in his group that highlights the need for a dialogue around diversity within organisations. since george floyd‘s murder, that has brought up a lot of questions about structural racism, institutional racism. can you get this bit, right here? that‘s why i partnered with andy edwards, a friend of mine, to produce the diversity in cycling report. i think there's an awful lot going on at grassroots level that i feel like british cycling and other governing bodies can tap into, that the governing body level have not yet taken full responsibility for this. amanda kirton, bbc news. admiration for the way medical staff have coped during the coronavirus pandemic is thought to have caused a surge in applications to study for health care qualifications. there‘s been, for example, a 16% increase in the number of people wanting to study nursing.

phil mackie has been to meet some new recruits. sirens blare horns beep these were some of the most uplifting images during lockdown. every week across the country we gathered to thank health care workers. clap the nhs! applause. this is the next generation already getting used to the new normal. go! and if you are working on the front line, you need to be taught how to deal with unruly and aggressive patients. these first—year paramedics are part of a new wave of people signing up for these types of courses, nursing of course, as well, and that is largely because of what has happened over the last six months. ok, in your own time, off you go. in worcester, they have doubled their number of health care students and have added an extra intake next year. we have got a record year of nursing students who have started with us this september. they are very much from our local area, but they are even more committed than usual because i think so many have been inspired to go into nursing by the effects of the pandemic.

hi, patrick. my name is ricky. more men are applying as well. 5% may not sound a lot, but ricky baker, who used to be a children‘s entertainer, is about to graduate as a paediatric nurse, a discipline where there are very few men. i think nursing is such a varied, wide profession, so many people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic see it as a chance to change careers. mike travelled the world working as a skincare specialist in the beauty industry. for it to last so long and be forced out of work was really quite scary. i am an independent adult, so i wanted a job that i knew i could have indefinitely until the end of time. i think there are kind of two kinds of people during the covid—19 pandemic. people that want to help and people who want to stay away and stay safe, and both are ok, but i am the person where i feel like there are a lot of people out there who are vulnerable and need help, and i am someone who can provide that help. now he has enrolled on a new course at university college birmingham.

the whole covid—19 pandemic has raised awareness nationwide, as to the extent of the work of nurses and has made people realise that it is a really highly skilled profession. the new students hope that when they graduate in three years‘ time, the pandemic is over, but that the high regard in which they are held remains. phil mackie, bbc news, worcester. a new report by the wwf says wildlife populations have fallen by more than two thirds in less than 50 years. the report warns that nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before — and that what it calls a catastrophic decline shows no sign of slowing. our environment and rural affairs correspondent claire marshall reports. wildlife is dying out at a rate that has never been seen before in human history, according to today‘s report.

from the arctic, to the warm seas of the caribbean, to the gardens of britain, it‘s happening faster than all the predictions and it‘s global. the living planet report, carried out every two years, assesses more than 20,000 creatures all around the world. species in all groups of animals, on every continent, are being lost. what we‘ve seen is a wholesale destruction of some of our most important natural assets in the space of one human lifetime — in 50 years — and this is a trend that is only increasing and accelerating. that‘s why we have to stop now and actually start to address it. intensive agriculture is one of the key drivers. these are huge banana plantations in ghana and it‘s a monoculture. wildlife is being driven out, so people around the world can eat it‘s the same story elsewhere. in the amazon a football pitch of rainforest is lost every minute, cleared as grazing for beef cattle and to plant soy, which goes into animal feed.

and a third of the food produced in the world for human consumption is lost or wasted. but it is possible for food to be intensively produced working with nature — and that‘s what‘s happening here, in wiltshire. it‘s a really good hunting ground for birds of prey. david butler‘s farm isn‘t organic, but it‘s still a haven for wildlife. the grey partridge, here filmed in a different location, if we have poor air quality, if we have poor water quality, then we‘re not going to have high yields of crops and we‘re not going to have healthy animals, we‘re not going to have healthy food, and that directly then feeds through to people. humans are managing nature for their own benefit, whether it‘s for grazing animals orfor building on, and it‘s having a dramatic impact all over the world. and scientists say we can see this now by the pandemic we‘re living through. research suggests the emergence of covid—19 could be linked to bats. we‘re fairly confident that the driving forces that have led to the spread of that virus came through a combination