this is bbc news, i'm simon mccoy. the headlines... time for the rule of six — new restrictions ban social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. we've followed the rules. we've, as i say, just been careful. and now i think we are being penalised because we're a big family. i don't think it's fair, to be honest. i think if they put things in proportion at the very beginning then we wouldn't be having this second spell. and in half hours' time, we'll be answering your questions on the new rule of six in england — and the restrictions across the uk. a ‘promising' new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested, artificial antibodies will be given to 2,000 patients in the uk.

borisjohnson will open the debate into a bill which would allow the government to break international law — as it seeks the power to override part of the brexit treaty. fires burn across three states on the west coast of america devastating the land, and the lives, of tens of thousands of people. and britain in lockdown — a new exhibition of portraits chosen by the duchess of cambridge, goes live. good afternoon. the rule of six has come into force today — in different forms — across the uk in an effort to tackle rising coronavirus infections. the rule places further restrictions on social gatherings, with a limit of six people in england, and similar limits in scotland and wales. the policing minister has encouraged people to report those

who break the rules. it comes amid more complaints about the difficulty of getting tests for the virus. matt hancock says they are dealing with the problems. a further 3,330 positive cases were recorded in the uk on sunday — the third consecutive day with more than 3,000 — with five more deaths reported. this morning, the labour leader, keir starmer, has announced he is self—isolating after a member of his family developed possible symptoms of the virus. here's our health correspondent, anna collinson. for some this weekend was a time to make the most a being with their friends, meeting in large groups was against the rules but from today it is against the law for social gatherings to include more than six people. those who refuse to comply could be fined. the police will be encouraging and explaining the situation. we hope that at that stage most people will comply. and if they fail to comply, then

obviously fixed penalty notices can be issued but what we saw in the first phase of the lockdown is enormous compliance. the british people recognised that we had to work together to get on top of these numbers. with coronavirus infections on the rise, england, scotland and wales announced the so—called rule of six last week. it was meant to clarify things for the public with concerns and variations across the uk will leave people confused. in england and scotland, it applies both indoors and outdoors but in scotland the six must be from two households only. in wales come up to 30 people can socialise outside. in scotland and wales, children are not included in the six but they are in england. large groups are still allowed in gyms, places of worship and at covid—secure weddings and funerals while in northern ireland, six people from two households can meet indoors and up to 15 can gather outside. this morning another reminder why the measures are needed. desperate to avoid scenes like this, doctors in england are warning a second peak of covid—i9

in the coming months is their number one concern. they told the british medical association that if it happens, confusing public health messaging and problems with test and trace would be to blame. what we have at the moment, because we are not having the ability to test people, is that we don't know who has the infection and that is spreading on a daily basis and every day counts. this infection can double in terms of the numbers infected injust a few days and that is the biggest priority doctors say needs to happen today. the government says it is testing hundreds of thousands of people every day but some people are still struggling to get tests so let's see what happens when i try now. we have tried this multiple times, different locations, said i was an essential worker, nonessential worker, and almost every time we have the same message, the service is currently very busy, try again later. even if you are successful getting a test, some people have been sent to sites hundreds of miles away

and there have been multiple reports of people being refused a test because they have not received a relevant qr code. if you have symptoms, come forward and get a test. we are dealing with the problem of people having to travel to bath and we are putting in the extra resources to deal with that. with concerns about covid spreading in the uk notjust globally, it confirmed keir starmer is a self—isolating with a member of his household showing possible symptoms, travelling too far. earlier, the bbc‘s health editor hugh pym explained the problems affecting the uk's testing system. it was ten days ago when it first emerged that you had to drive long distances for testing and at the time, matt hancock, the health secretary, said there were operational challenges and they would be addressed. but, as you've seen there in anna's piece, there are people going online and still struggling to even get a booking, never mind something close to home. so there is clearly

something that is not quite right and this morning the scottish first minister nicola sturgeon said she has a very serious concern about the backlog of tests and capacity which appears to have built up in the uk—wide system. there is a uk network of labs which works with all the devolved administrations and each of them has their own testing system as well. so clearly there are problems. the government line at westminster is they are trying to increase capacity because there has been such a big jump in demand. huge pressure on the government and again we hear more evidence of what a difficult political decision they face with all this. yes, there's an ongoing debate about whether lockdown was too late in the uk, whether it was delayed longer than it should have been. and an e—mail sent by sir patrick vallance, the chief scientific adviser, in response to how to deal with enquiries by the sunday times in may said that he had argued stronger than anyone, he believed, and had had a telling off from others, including the chief medical 0fficer chris whitty and the cabinet secretary

at the time, sir mark sedwill, implying that there were differences of opinion about that crucial decision on lockdown and that debate no doubt will continue. we arejust we are just getting figures for those who have been fined already and how many of them actually paid up. more than half of fines have not been paid and this is the fixed penalty notices that were issued after there were breaches of health regulations linked to covid—i9. this has come in a letter to thejustice committee of mps from the attorney general who said that 8930 fixed penalty notices have been paid. that brea ks penalty notices have been paid. that breaks down a 8000 954 penalties have not been paid within the payment period. these can now be considered for prosecution. 1287 haven't been paid but they are still within the payment period. so

problems already with the enforcement of the new legislation that was brought in to deal with that was brought in to deal with that first wave and of course we now enter a new phase to date with the rule of six. meanwhile, what's been described as a promising new treatment for covid—19 is about to be tested in uk hospitals. the therapy uses artificial antibodies — called ‘mono—clonal antibodies — and will be given to about 2,000 patients — to see if it's effective at fighting the virus. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. antibodies are the warriors of the immune system, playing a vital role by attacking the coronavirus. now they are being harnessed in a promising new treatment. currently there are very few medicines to help covid—19 patients. the most successful was discovered by the uk's recovery trial. now it will be testing antibodies made in the laboratory called monoclonal antibodies.

they will be given to thousands of patients in uk hospitals to see if they work. i think the reason the monoclonal antibodies are so exciting is that this is the first type of treatment that is targeted for this specific virus. there are lots of good reasons for thinking it might well be effective — stopping the virus from reproducing, stopping the virus from causing damage, improving survival for patients. we need to know, and the way to know is to do the trials. how does this work? when a person is infected with coronavirus, they produce antibodies. these attach to the spike of the virus, blocking it from entering our cells. we make hundreds of different types of antibodies so scientists sifted through them to find the best at sticking to the virus. they chose two because they both attach to slightly different parts of the spike. so if the virus mutates and the structure changes, at least one will still work.

both antibodies are then multiplied in the lab and produced in huge quantities. they are then mixed together and given to the patient, immediately boosting their own immune response. monoclonal antibodies are expensive. they are a relatively new type of medicine but they are used for other diseases including some types of cancer. the us company regeneron behind this covid treatment have used the technology to successfully treat ebola. there are high hopes. we are very excited about our antibody combination. these highly potent neutralising antibodies really will help boost that immune response and will always be needed, even when a potent vaccine is available, because there are going to be underserved populations that we don't want to neglect. with covid cases rising, new treatments will be essential. the recovery trial will tell us if the promise of monoclonal antibodies turns into a reality.

rebecca morelle, bbc news. joining us now is martin landray who is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the university of oxford — he is co—leading on the recovery trial of artifical antibodies. you saw him in that report he is leading the trial. the first thing you would need is patients, have you got them yet? over the summer months tha nkfully got them yet? over the summer months thankfully covid has been relatively scarce in the uk and the number of patients coming into hospital has been really quite low. we're already rising case numbers in the community and as we've seen in other parts of the world, it is usually three to four week lag between patients appearing in the community and seeing rises in hospital cases. so this is good timing. how soon will you know if this can be an effective treatment? well, to really understand whether these treatments work we need to study a couple of thousand people to understand whether these treatments lower the

risk of death, reduce the time in hospital, reduce the need for ventilators. 0f hospital, reduce the need for ventilators. of course, how soon will depend on how many patients are admitted to hospital. if that was very few we'd all be delighted of course but that is not what we are anticipating. but what will really matter is that those patients who do get into hospital are able to participate in this trial and help us participate in this trial and help us all understand which treatments work and in whom do they work tickly well. there is a perception out there isn't there that there is a huge race for this holy grail. in reality, we are going to need as many of these treatments as we possibly can, aren't we? yes. i mean, both on the vaccine side but particularly on the treatments, which is where we are really doing oui’ which is where we are really doing our work. we need to have a range of treatments, different treatments will work in different people and very often what we will need is to use treatments in combination. if you think about the disease, it is like heart disease and diabetes, cancer, even in hiv and infections, often what we need to use is

combinations of several drugs in order to have a really big impact. of course crucial is understanding the virus in the first place. and we are still in the early stages, we're still about things like long set one and other aspects of this virus, aren't we? yes, certainly. but let's think, this was a completely new virus at the start of the year. when we started the recovery trial in early march there was very little known. the amount of new knowledge about how the virus is structured, how it works, and now the first time treatments are targeted specifically at this virus. a lot has been learnt in the last nine months. we now need to go to the last stage and see if that science turns into a treatment actually improves survival, shortens the duration of hospital and so on. ina the duration of hospital and so on. in a nutshell, what your treatment does is it helps the body's own immune system, is that right? yes, it's way of attacking cells and getting inside cells so that it can

multiply is to stick on to be outside of the cells and be drawn in. what this antibody does is stick onto the outside of the virus making that interaction very difficult. so it really blocks the ability of the virus to get into the cells, multiply and do its damage. great promise but we need to test that in the trial. sure. and my hope and i'm guessing your hope is that one day, i don't know, you be fast asleep at two o'clock in the morning on the phone goes on one of your assistance says it works. is that what you wait for?! maybe not two o'clock in the morning but we certainly have been taken by surprise already by this epidemic. back in june taken by surprise already by this epidemic. back injune i have three such phone calls if you like. one was to tell me that actually hydroxychloroquine, doesn't work. another was to tell me that hiv treatment also doesn't work, despite being widely used. so we can stop using those. and then the best news of all at the time was that

dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available actually has very dramatic effects in the most sick patients. so those with three phone calls i enjoyed, i'm looking forward to hearing the phone call in due course around the monochrome antibodies. we all are. and it's good to see smiling because i'm sure that the last few months have been unbelievably busy. i'm sure everybody asks you to give some sort of timescale on this. if everything went as well as it possibly could, when do you think there might be a treatment? i think in the context of a rising epidemic i think we are looking at results on the specific treatment perhaps towards the end of this year. of course, there are already testing other treatments including convalescent plasma, which will get results i think somewhat sooner will get results i think somewhat sooner than that. of course, if there is a treatment does that take there is a treatment does that take the pressure a bit of those who are trying to find a vaccine? we are going to need both. you have already

covered testing, we clearly need good testing, vaccines for prevention but we also need treatments. 0n prevention but we also need treatments. on day one of discovering a vaccine that works it will not be available to everybody. it will take some time to roll out crossed everybody and not everybody will respond that vaccine. 0ne can't abandon those people who actually have the disease. they need treatment, we need treatments for them and we need to discover which treatments actually work as opposed to simply those which we speculate might work. it's the clinical trials that do that for us. professor, we wish you all a look in the world with your work. thank you very much. you're watching bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... new rules ban gatherings of more than six in the uk is the number of current virus than six in the uk is the number of current vii’us cases than six in the uk is the number of current virus cases continues to rise. a promising new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested, as we have been hearing. borisjohnson will open the debate into a bill that will allow the government to

break international law as it seeks the power to override parts of the brexit treaty. let's get more on that. mps will debate the controversial internal market bill this afternoon. parts of the legislation would give the government the power to break international law by breaching the brexit treaty signed with the european union, but ministers say it's necessary to protect trade if talks with the eu fail. david cameron has become the latest former prime minister to raise his concerns, and a conservative mp has left his role as a government envoy in protest at the bill. iain watson reports. it would be understandable if some mps get flashbacks to last year's brexit battled here in parliament, amid talk of a rebellion there is a vote tonight on a bill that would allow the government to break international law by ignoring part of the deal it struck with the eu last year. today, david cameron became the fifth former prime minister to express his concerns.

well, passing an act of parliament and then going on to break an international treaty obligation is the very, very last thing you should contemplate. it should be an absolute final resort. so i do have misgivings about what is being proposed. downing street aren't too worried about previous occupants of number ten who campaigned to remain in the eu speaking out now. but this man causes them a bigger problem. an ardent brexiter who was the government's senior law officer when it struck its brexit deal last year. he says he can't support boris johnson into night's vote.|j he says he can't support boris johnson into night's vote. i find myself in a very sad position. i'm a strong supporter of this government, a strong supporter of brexit for me, the crossing of an important boundary is when a government says it is going to break the law. and a treaty is signed. the government has described his controversial move as an insurance policy. it says in trade talks with the eu brussels is threatening to put up barriers to

food exports, not just threatening to put up barriers to food exports, notjust of the continent but between britain and northern ireland. and a policing minister says there are circumstances where the letter of the law can be ignored. you know, international treaties are as much about the spirit and the intent as they are about the letter of the law. and, you know, no one as i say contemplated that this situation would occur and i have yet to hear a compelling solution if you like to that practical issue that we are being faced with that hopefully will never occur but that may occur in the future and why we shouldn't have an insurance policy for that. the eu is denying it would use any part of the brexit deal to block a trade between the uk and ireland. labour say they will be voting against the government tonight too. he is making a mistake remaining on a treaty, that will have reputational damage to the uk. i mean, here we are on the world stage for the first time in many years on our own and what is

the first thing we do? we break up treaty. so brexit returns to westminster and it has the same capacity for division but the government has an 80 seat majority so if all the sound and fury directed at boris johnson, so if all the sound and fury directed at borisjohnson, it doesn't signify a potential defeat. let's talk to our political correspondent jonathan blake — clearly there are concerns and boris johnson going to be opening the debate. yes, there is a relatively small but significant number of conservative mps who have already expressed their concern about what the government is trying to do with this bill and signalled that they will either abstain in its first vote in parliament tonight or vote against it. and the latest of those is not a government minister but an mp who was appointed by the prime minister as a special envoy on religious tolerance. that is rehman chishti, he is a former lawyer and a brexiteers well. so well not solely significant in the seniority or

stature in the government, he does represent a cohort of conservative mps who were signed up to brexit from the start and i very much supportive of borisjohnson's approach. he has resigned from that position saying that he couldn't support the bill on a matter of principle. writing to the prime minister that if we give our word we must honour it. so what will become of these conservative mps who are threatening to rebel? well a senior government source has told us that at this point nothing is off the table. all options are on the table in fact. raising the spectre that they could possibly find themselves with the whip withdrawn and no longer members of the conservative party. another former prime minister weighing in although david cameron a bit late on this one. yes, we don't hear much from him these days do we? but david cameron voicing his concerns in slightly more cautious terms than say theresa may or certainlyjohn major and the former labour prime ministers gordon brown and tony blair, saying that he does

have some misgivings about what the government is trying to do here and that breaking an international treaty should be an absolute last resort. he said everyone's attention at the moment should be on the brexit deal negotiations which are ongoing. the negotiations over a future trade deal between the uk and the eu. but tonight, all eyes will be on parliament when this controversial legislation gets its first test. the government is expected to win that vote and win it co mforta bly expected to win that vote and win it comfortably but the argument over what it will allow ministers to do in future will go on. jonathan, thank you very much. jonathan blake there in westminster. joining me now to franklin dehousse, currently professor of eu law at the university of liege in brussels, and formerly an eu judge and eu treaties negotiator. good to talk to you. i am guessing you will agree with geoffrey cox. he says it is an important boundary that has been crossed. yes, absolutely. and many people in

brussels and other eu capitals are quite puzzled by what happens in london now. are they quite puzzled though because they will understand that there are very difficult talks being held and everybody is carrying the game of brinkmanship until the end. well, you can carry games but they are —— there are different ways to do it. you could argue that the agreement was going too far, too broadly considering article 50. you could, all of this could have been done and wouldn't have been a frontal attack on international law just at the crux of a vital negotiation. but those talks are also going ahead, aren't they, in tandem if you like? you have the trade talks on the one hand on the talks you are discussing are under

way as well. yes, they are going simultaneously but not in the same direction now. because it is very difficult to have two tracks of negotiation and you try to make a new treaty on one track and then you decide that... another treaty on another track. this creates a huge problem of trust. but we have brandon lewis, a government minister, he says we're only doing it in minister, he says we're only doing itina minister, he says we're only doing it in a small way. we are breaking international law in a very specific and limited way, says. yes, indeed. but unfortunately there is no predation in the violation of international law. and in so doing, the uk makes a very dangerous step because we are at the closing time ofan because we are at the closing time of an essential negotiation. this will be the most important economic treaty for the uk. and there is

another specificity that is in this negotiation there is no possibility of postponement. it's important too for the eu. i'm just wondering how you think they should approach things from now on. well, like many politicians, they are often prisoners of words they have pronounced before. and so it happens in london but it also happens on the other side of the channel. so it will be, of course people are going to look for, well, exits for this. but the problem is that precisely because the attack is so frontal it is very difficult to find a solution. it would have been easier if the uk had had some precise points saying i would like something

to be revised on this point of that point. this you can negotiate easily. when you say i don't want to be committed by my agreements it is much harder to negotiate, i must tell you. i know you know what you talk about because you have negotiated a few eu treaties in your time. we all share that i think! but i'm just wondering, do you appreciate boris johnson's i'm just wondering, do you appreciate borisjohnson's position here where he has gone through the detail perhaps or someone has told him, that he has signed something that if the eu wants to play in bad faith and this, i think is the accusation from the british government, it could cause real problems the trade between the uk from great britain and northern ireland and that has to be stopped. and that's what he's doing, he is protecting the union. is there an understanding of that within the eu? no. first because if you say you ta ke no. first because if you say you take a position because you suspect the other party of bad faith, it

won't be easily understood first. and second, you have said something that doesn't exist at the present time. this is one thing. the second thing is that, i repeat, have the british government presented some concrete requests about the regime in the trade between northern ireland and the uk this would have been something. but this is a general attack on the whole text. these are not specific requests that you can easily find a solution for. what does this say about boris johnson and his future dealings with the eu? well, precisely they say that they are going to be made more difficult, very clearly. and one of the first result, this is why find this episode really saddening, is that people not only the eu but

other partners, when they negotiate with it uk now they will want more guarantees, they will want more systems ofjudicial guarantees, they will want more systems of judicial settlement. guarantees, they will want more systems ofjudicial settlement. this will make the next negotiations more difficult. would you, a few weeks ago, have brought a second—hand car from borisjohnson ago, have brought a second—hand car from boris johnson and ago, have brought a second—hand car from borisjohnson and much of you have changed by now? well, is a complex question. it really isn't! having worked with many politicians of many nationalities i generally don't buy cars that let me tell you a general rule. it is really good to talk to you. thank you so much for your time. a great pleasure. have a nice afternoon. you are watching bbc news. just returning to coronavirus and going to give you the latest figures for

the cases in wales, this is coming from public health wales. no further deaths have been reported but there have been a further 183 cases of covid—19 reported in wales. that brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 19,573. but perhaps point that should be made there is a case of 162 further cases been reported. today it is hundred 83. so the trend it is suggested by these figures continues to rise. 183 cases been reported that in wales. we will bring you the rest of the figures as they come in. as we are used to relentlessly used to doing here on the bbc. a new digital exhibition of photographs taken by people during lockdown has been launched by the national portrait gallery. the project was led by the duchess of cambridge — and involved more than 30,000 photos. it's designed to capture the resilience of the british people at one of the most challenging periods of our history.

sarah campbell has been taking a look. moments captured on camera during lockdown, every picture telling a story. titled ‘be safe daddy', a cuddle between a father and daughter before his next shift working as a paramedic. loved ones separated by glass in ‘last precious moments‘, and ‘empty‘ — three—year—old leo's mother, who took the picture, said she experienced panic and a fear that this would be the new normal. this was a project initiated by the duchess of cambridge — herself a keen photographer — and she, along with four other judges, had the job of whittling the thousands of entries to just 100. i felt really strongly that i really wanted to try and create a portrait of the nation that sort of captures the fears and the hopes and, you know, the feelings of the nation at this really extraordinary time. the images convey the difficulties faced by so many. kerry hayles from bridgend,

after three hours working in ppe, titled her portrait ‘this is what broken looks like'. in ‘the first kiss', a father captures the moment his newborn son tries to kiss his mother despite the plastic barrier. the judging process itself was really interesting and very moving and obviously going through those images and seeing all those different stories, some of which are, you know, joyful and heart—warming, some of which are profoundly moving or even harrowing, it is something that i think has really stayed with all of us. a rainbow playground at a school in norfolk, ‘short cut‘ features a tense diy haircut using dog clippers, and taken by big sister marcella, ‘home—schooling in dagenham'. congratulating all those who submitted a portrait, the queen has said in a statement that she had been inspired to see how the photographs have captured the resilience of the british people at such a challenging time. sarah campbell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich.

today has brought a burst of late summer today has brought a burst of late summer heat for most of us. a very warm start to the new working week. it will stay largely dry but it will later on turned significantly cooler. through the rest of this afternoon the highest temperatures across england and wales where we have the best of the sunshine, high 20s, close to 30 degrees but for northern ireland and scotland more cloud means slightly cooler conditions and through tonight this cloud will bring heavier rains at times. the odd shower getting into west wales and south—west england. maybe the odd fog patch further east but generally it is dry with clear spells, quite a mild night. tomorrow southern... the odd shower for the south—west, drying up and brightening up for northern ireland. showery rain to parts of scotland. warmer than today, it could get to 30 in parts of east anglia. from mid week onwards it does get cooler from the north. it will however stay

largely dry. time for the role of sex. new restrictions than social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise —— rule of six. as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise -- rule of six. we followed the rule with just being careful and now i think we are being penalised because we have a big family. i don't think this is fair andl family. i don't think this is fair and i think if they had put things in proportion at the very beginning we wouldn't be having a second spike of it. a promising new treatment for coronaviruses to be tested after artificial antibodies will be given to 2000 patients in the uk. boris johnson seeks her bill that will allow the government to override international law as it seeks and a

path to exit 80. fires burn across three states on the west coast of america devastating the lives and the land of thousands people. new exhibition of portraits chosen by the duchess of cambridge goes live. sport now... and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. holden has denied that england have forgotten about the black lives matter movement. archer says his comments were a bit harsh. matter movement. archer says his comments were a bit harshlj matter movement. archer says his comments were a bit harsh. i think it would be, you know, a bit harsh for him to say that. ijust wanted him to know we have got stuff and in the background, we have not

forgotten, no one here has forgotten about the black lives matter so i think it is a bit harsh for him to not do some research. french governing body will look at official government reports and match pictures later this week to decide what action is needed following last night's brawl at the end of psg's match with marseille. if you look at the pictures you can see neymar in animated conversation with gonzales at the end of the game. he later accused one of his opponents of racially abusing him, which sparked brawl which led to five players being sent off, one of which was dismissed after the ref used neymar to spots and hitting gonzales on the back of the head. 0ver to spots and hitting gonzales on the back of the head. over the award of television rights for the world cup and the federation cup. he's

been charged with accepting bribes, criminal mismanagement, and inciting documents. both men deny wrongdoing. the trial is expected to last till the 25th of september with a verdict is expected by the end of october. and we have a new men's grand slam champion for the first time since 2014. that's who overstretch claim alexander zverev in the final. he says his whole life has been dedicated in winning this. michael ra dford dedicated in winning this. michael radford reports. it's tm time in new york. dominic thiem has still done that. three major final defeats york. dominic thiem has still done that. three majorfinal defeats but now at last he had his moment of

final glory. perhaps fittingly it came in the city of dreams, other began as no more than a nightmare in new york. with no nadal, vetiver, or djokovic, dominic thiem was seen as the favourite against alexander zf, but it was not straightforward. zverev showed no signs of nerves, racing into a 2 cents lead. experience normally plays the part ofa experience normally plays the part of a bigger stage. experience normally plays the part ofa biggerstage. dominic experience normally plays the part of a bigger stage. dominic thiem began to turn the tide, winning the next two sets and coming out on top two in the decider that onlyjust winning the championship in the tie—break. winning the championship in the tie-break. i put a lot of work in. i mean, dedicated basically my whole life until this point to win one of the four majors and now i did it so that's also for myself and a great accomplishment. i was super close to being grand slam champion, you know. i was being grand slam champion, you know. iwasa being grand slam champion, you know. i was a few games away, may be a few points away but, i mean, i'm 22

years old, i don't think it's my la st years old, i don't think it's my last chance, and i do believe that i will be a grand slam champion at some point. so is zverev still full of confidence his time will come. as further dominic thiem, his time as now, the waiting over. now, my time is now. that was my colour spot. now maybe seniors are designed for your questions answered. by for me. social gatherings of more than six people will be legally banned in england from today following a steep rise in coronavirus cases. the ban will apply to people meeting in private homes — indoors and outdoors, and places such as pubs and restaurants. there will be some exemptions — with the ban not applying to schools and workplaces. anyone breaking the rules will be liable to a £100 fine, which would double with each offence. now it's time to have a look at your questions about the new restrictions, it's your questions answered. to answer all your questions around the new rules, we'rejoined by —

professor alan maryon—davis, honorary professor of public health at kings college london and dr bharat pankhania, an expert in communicable disease control & outbreak at the university of exeter medical school. thank you both forjoining us. alan, perhaps i could start with you. this first one — does it mean six at a time? so could it be say six in the morning and a different set of six in the afternoon, or the next day? 0r, say a family with several grandchildren visiting in relay? yes, it means six is a time i guess you could do this in best if you like, morning, afternoon and evening, and yes you could ring the changes as much as you like that it has to be a limit of six people. that is your understanding as well, is it, doctor? yes it is, and there thenl is it, doctor? yes it is, and there then i am nodding my head in disappointment because automatically you are actually limiting mingling with 18 people all 24 people because you're having six in the morning, six at lunchtime, six and evening,

six at lunchtime, six and evening, six in the late evening and therein is the fault in a sex gathering at one time. use the word mingling and that actually appears i think in the wording of these restrictions. what you by mingling? i mean that they are together in their way of eating, drinking, chatting, sitting together, prolonged conversation over 15 minutes. in other words, they are one entity. i'll move the next question, which is from becky anderson. i have just sent my two children to high school, were there are 550 children not wearing masks, sitting next to one another and walking down corridors where they are not following the correct social distancing. how does this make sense and how can any child be safe? many, many people are asking that one. yes, it doesn't particularly make sense. in the classroom face coverings aren't necessary because what the schools have done is to ta ke what the schools have done is to take precautions and they had the stu d e nts take precautions and they had the students sitting at proper distances from each other so that works well.

the problem comes in the corridors and in the communal areas, and they're the advices, certainly for those that are from year seven u pwa rd those that are from year seven upward anyway, that they should wear a face covering because in those situations they could be mingling quite closely as possible, and they could be breathing all over each other so that should be happening. it does, however, it is largely up to the discretion of the head teacher and it does depend whereabouts in the country the schools are but ideally would certainly have face coverings being one of those communal areas in those crowded corridors. in doctor, of course, hygiene cruise along this and everyone knows it is quite difficult to persuade children wash their hands at the best of times but this is going to be crucial, isn't it? this is going to be very crucial and also to expand on what the professor is saying it is the advice of the school which is really important and the advice has to be, look, keep your distance. this virus

is out there, it is circulating, and therefore please, six is not the top limit, have it as few as possible and keep on washing your hands. in fa ct, and keep on washing your hands. in fact, timetable washing your hands. every two hours, wash and dry your hands. professor, angela brown in essex has asked this. my eldest daughter and son—in—law have five children ranging from ages three to 14. so they are a family of seven without any visitors. does that mean that my husband and i are not allowed to visit them at all? i have been shielding since march as i have incurable secondary breast cancer in the lung, and only see them and my other younger daughter, husband and grandson. is this classed as an exception? no, not really. the way to get around that one is for that family to split up, as it were, and just to see, well you and your husband would be allowed to see four of them at a time. and they can ring the changes as to which for that is what to

stick strictly to the latest rule it does so more fully harsh i have to say, it should really be a maximum of six even with that family. unless somebody is a single adult living alone in which case they could be in alone in which case they could be in a support bubble with a family and that could mean she it can expand but broadly speaking, no, it's got to speak to that rule of six even in a situation like that, i'm afraid. awfully hashes how the professor described it. some will say that seems awfully silly because if you're splitting up the groups are still in contact with one another, it doesn't matter if your altogether or not. i agree with you. whilst i agree with the professor who was my teacher in the late 1990s, i say it isa teacher in the late 1990s, i say it is a bit silly. the reason why i think it is silly is for the reasons we have already explained which is, you know, you are mingling in the first half— hour with one you know, you are mingling in the first half—hour with one group and then in the second half our group number two. of course, we have to

keep to the six, but it is silly, and what can you do? those were the rules made by our government. what you didn't see is professor boss —like reaction when he heard that he is trying to work out if you are good people on that but we will move on because we're getting a lot of questions. —— trying to look as if you're a good student or not. do students living in halls of residence on the campus of an fe & he college need to follow the rule of six when not in class and just socialising? if so, how should a college/university manage this? yes, they do. if they are in, say, the student common room or something like that of roundabout or whatever, that venue has to follow the usual advice was a hospitality venues, even though broadly speaking it is an educational setting, nevertheless it isa an educational setting, nevertheless it is a hospitality venue, and therefore it has to follow that rule of six, c shouldn't have any more

than six students gathering round any particular table, on the table should be socially distanced and all those other percussion should be taken. the venue is usually very good at this and they do their risk assessments. they should also take note of who is there in case you need to do some contact tracing, so all that sort of stuff needs to be done but yes, that will have six still applies and those of classroom situations. and doctor cumming are nodding? i am, and actually what i wa nt nodding? i am, and actually what i want to add is those social gatherings pose a risk and just because it is six does not mean you are at zero this, people need to be aware. and furthermore i would urge all those settings, police which are musical for the time being because the louder the place, the risk of you speaking in a loud voice, more droplets coming from you to another people and therefore a chance of getting infected, is to talk in lower voices and keep the noise and

in such places from now on. —— i would urge their settings, please turn your music off for the time being. we're are foster carers, with a home of six. can social workers, etc still do home visits? that is simple enough because people visiting for care purposes, charitable purposes, work premises allowed to visit that i am however many there are in that household and people will be going to do work and it may be somebody who was installing something and they are allowed to visit that household as well so that is relatively straightforward, that one. let's move on. how will six people all from different households be able to socially distance meeting in a pub or restaurant? it's all still confusing. it is difficult unlike the other

questions that we have discussed is you can circumvent the life you wish and like! you can circumvent the life you wish and like i would said i would say that this is for your own well—being, this that this is for your own well— being, this is that this is for your own well—being, this is you not to be infected and not to infect other so keep your circulation low, circulate the few people as infrequently as possible. i know people are trying to do these combinations and pay mutations of what is allowed. it is just better to say college today, we will live for a better day in the next year. doris marsh has sent this question — can persons in a lockdown area attend a wedding and reception that is not in a lockdown area? yes, they can because weddings and receptions have one of these exceptions where you are allowed up to 30 people in the wedding as long as the church or whatever place of worship it is and the reception, the hospitality, as long as they do a

proper risk assessment and they allow... they strictly use strict social distancing and all those other things and there's a hand washing, you know, the hands, face, allots long as all that is respected and yes, you could do that.|j thought and yes, you could do that.” thought i saw you shaking your head. yeah, because this is akin to coming from a high risk areas so whilst it is allowed you are actually emigrating from a high lockdown area to go toa emigrating from a high lockdown area to go to a non—lockdown area so therefore extra caution, extra precautions, absolutely important and, you know, you might even want to say look, before the wedding, check it out, are you really fit to come to this wedding and not infect the other guests? yeah, that is all very well but as we know when reporting today getting it test is a problem. yes, big problem and that is why i hesitated and said he will go and get that test. —— hesitated

in saying you will go and get that test. did you think six months and we would still be having discussions on how easy it is to get it test? no, ididn't. i on how easy it is to get it test? no, i didn't. i here think we have been behind the curve and playing a game of catch of the whole way through. 0bviously game of catch of the whole way through. obviously the number of people being tested is going enormously and it is putting great pressure on the laboratories and we are having test now sent to other countries to get the results so no, ididn't countries to get the results so no, i didn't anticipate that it would be as difficult as this and of course when we have a big review of this thing once one day, even sure that particular thing will that we didn't get to sing organised early enough. and we were old is a very early on by the world health organization, i remember the news conference, they said test, test and test. they did indeed, that is right, and we were a bit slow to heed the warning i am

afraid. this is close to my heart. will organised gym classes be limited to six participants from today like a spin classes for example? it isa it is a group of six and it is allowed end but you need to be cautious because it is an indoor setting and if you're going to a gym makes of it has good ventilation and good flow of air are not too many people coming and going because indoor places, poor ventilation, risk of infection. professor, staying with the fitness theme, this one from michael. i play in a darts team and our league was due to restart on the 28th september but i am in doubt if we should go ahead because we have six players in a team and our opposing teams have the same. so would you please give clear direction if we are allowed to play matches under today's new six persons rule law? well, i am trying to put myself in that situation. i'm thinking this is probably in a pub setting, not necessarily, it might be a social clu b necessarily, it might be a social club or something, but as long as each darts team sticks to its own

table and then they get up alternatively to throw their arrows, then that should be ok. basically, then that should be ok. basically, the basic rules we have been talking about today are, you know, sit in your own sakes, don't have others too close together, keep the music levels down because that apology leaning in to hear what somebody is saying, but just, yes, leaning in to hear what somebody is saying, butjust, yes, keep separate and that should be ok because you're only going up to the board once a time when you are relatively separate, good ventilation and all that, other things we have talked about. how fab a part of the two ta bles about. how fab a part of the two tables need to be? if you have got two tea ms tables need to be? if you have got two teams of six and they're not supposed to get close to each other how does that work? the table is about to be at least two metres apart, that is the basic rule, and when they are their group of six they have also got to be separated as much as much as they can reasonably be an on the table and obviously trying not to face each other and... obviously trying not to face each otherand... it is obviously trying not to face each other and... it is going to be difficult. we have to use common sense in these situations. the rules are there but a lot of common sense needs to be applied to the situation

as well. yes, follow the arrows. forgive me, cheap shot. bull's-eye. yeah, i know, thank you. this one from janet's marjoram. please can you clarify the new rules for places of worship. you, the bbc, state that the rule is six people per group only, but the superintendent minister of our methodist circuit says it does not apply to churches if social distancing measures have been put in place. we are having a meeting this week and there could be ten people present. absolute clarity needed. and of course, this changes the sense of this because we talking something potentially fatalfor particularly that age group. my view would be a void. you are in your 70s. the risk of a coronavirus infection for over 60 roles is significant and i would say whatever the rules, whatever the precautions, my view is view is now is not the

time to be venturing out into a place where other people will also be gathering no matter what precautions take. things happen and i would want to be ultra cautious especially in an indoor setting like a church. on a similar theme, we got this from a woman in gloucester. does the new rule of six preclude amateur choir rehearsals of more than six at once? i think it does but other choir committee members take a different view. there's some discord. this is not particularly clear and i think that choir members are awaiting further guidance on this. don't go. i think quine isa guidance on this. don't go. i think quine is a particularly dangerous situation because you're breathing out quite heavily and at risk of infecting others. i think in terms of the rules i am not clear and i think your fognini to and stick to

the sick role for now. doctor can be don't do it? there is clear evidence that there was a choir practice going on in the united eight and a significant number, 90% got infected and two died therefore even if it is six, even if it is allowed, why practice in the middle of a coronavirus polemic? don't do it. 0ne coronavirus polemic? don't do it. one last one from louise hitchcock on this when i can get around that i'm going to give it to professor first of all. we went on holiday last week to stay in a cottage in devon. two households mixing with a total of eight when including children. when we went on holiday the rule had not come in, but now if we go and sit on the beach together we could be fined, even though we are going back

to the same accommodation after. at the start of our holiday this was within the rules. so does that mean that we currently classed as one large household until we return home and are there for exempt from the rule of six until we get home? 0h, oh, well! oh, well i can't get my head around that either, but i would think in that either, but i would think in that situation let us assume that the rule of six is applying and you've basically got to stick to that simple number. don't... even on the beach, 0k, in the open air, it is much, much safer, we know that. but i would still advise people, those people to stick to their own sa kes, those people to stick to their own sakes, a group of six, and their friend stick to their own group of six and have at least two metres between the two of you. you can still chat to each other is a strong sea still chat to each other is a strong sea breeze. you may not be to hear what each other at at least you're out there in the open air and you're communicating with each other. i would say that is probably the way to play it. going back to what you are saying earlier, they could have two bugs and stop halfway through, three from each. rock sharing, i am not sure about that either, good one. doctor, this is where people get very confused about this.”

would say treat it as one unit because it is a lot easier and otherwise we are symbolically distancing ourselves on being silly because if you are indoors and you are a group of eight, you are indoors. you are one family units are one unit, so i stick to, i think i would call it one unit, but the important point here is, we mustn't consider six equal safe, seven equals unsafe. even six can be unsafe if somebody in your group is infected and infectious. well, that is really good to sort that out. doctor anne professor, where did you to... where was he your boss? in croydon. he was lovely. he really was because this was a two examination practice and he was a real gentleman and i am so pleased to see him today. that was not very nice of you, to be honest. we all

are an “— nice of you, to be honest. we all are an —— that is very nice of you, to be honest. thank you for helping out without questions answered. today has brought a burst of summer heat to many parts of the uk particularly in england and wales where we have had the sunshine. it was a lively try after a very warm start things will turn significantly cooler for start things will turn significantly coolerfor mid week start things will turn significantly cooler for mid week onwards. this is the satellite picture. this type of player brought a lot of rain, flooding in parts of the north west highlands, many places were dry and through the high pressure over the continent we are feeding the winds up continent we are feeding the winds up in the south, fairly general southerly wind but it is lifting the temperatures up to the high 20s close to 30 degrees, bit cool for

scotla nd close to 30 degrees, bit cool for scotland and northern ireland where we have more cloud in some splashes of rain and through this evening and overnight that rain, if anything, will pep up a bit, so some heavier perse will pep up a bit, so some heavier per se there. the odd shower peaking at pembrokeshire, parts of cornwall, and central and southern parts of england. temperatures between ten and 15 degrees. any early fog in the southis and 15 degrees. any early fog in the south is full clear very quickly and on for many it is a sunny day of a bit more cloud will creep in from the south—west. northern ireland things will... the south—west. northern ireland things will. .. after the the south—west. northern ireland things will... after the soggy start, the odd shower in scotland later in the day and some cold air feeding into some of these not see close to anything is a little bit rain were murky but it will be warmer than today, could once again get to 30 across parts of east anglia but a bit of the shift in the weather we head into wednesday. this area of high pressure becomes dominant, building on from the atlantic, but this changes the wind direction. no mass of the lease, instead we get a northerly wind and

thatis instead we get a northerly wind and that is going to feed some much cooler air across the british isles. it will still be mostly dry on wednesday, a week for the front bringing cloud and some spots of rain across the central parts. an offer that we start to feel effects offer that we start to feel effects of the colour there. 13 degrees in aberdeen, 17th hole, could still be a bit of low cloud for some of these eastern coast, bit of warm towards the south are not the high temperatures we have seen was the beginning of the week and then we head toward the end of the week and we stick with that colour feel particularly across the north. most places will be derived. temperatures bounce back a bit towards the south but not the summer heat we have right now.

this is bbc news, i'm simon mccoy. the headlines... time for the rule of six — new restrictions ban social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. we followed the rules, we have been careful i think we have been penalised. a ‘promising' new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested —— artificial antibodies will be given to 2,000 patients in the uk borisjohnson will open the debate into a bill which would allow the government to break international law — as it seeks the power to override

part of the brexit treaty. fires burn across three states on the west coast of america devastating the land, and the lives, of tens of thousands of people. and britain in lockdown — a new exhibition of portraits chosen by the duchess of cambridge, goes live. good afternoon. the rule of six has come into force today — in different forms — across the uk in an effort to tackle rising coronavirus infections. the rule places further restrictions on social gatherings, with a limit of six people in england, and similar limits in scotland and wales. the policing minister has encouraged people to report those who break the rules. it comes amid more complaints about the difficulty of getting tests for the virus. matt hancock says they are dealing with the problems. a further 3,330 positive cases

were recorded in the uk on sunday — the third consecutive day with more than 3,000 — with five more deaths reported. this morning, the labour leader, keir starmer, has announced he is self—isolating. a member of his household developed possible symptoms of the virus. here's our health correspondent, anna collinson. for some this weekend was a time to make the most a being with friends, meeting in large groups was against the rules but from today it is against the law for social gatherings to include more than six people. those who refuse to comply could be fined. the police will be encouraging and explaining the situation. we hope that at that stage most people will comply. and if they fail to comply, obviously fixed penalty notices can be issued but what we saw in the first phase of the lockdown is enormous compliance. the british people recognised we had to work together to get on top of these numbers.

with corona infections on the rise, england, scotland and wales announced the so—called rule of six last week. it was meant to clarify things for the public with concerns variations across the uk will leave people confused. in england and scotland, it applies both indoors and outdoors but in scotland the six must be from two households only. in wales, up to 30 people can socialise outside. in scotland and wales, children are not included in the six but they are in england. large groups are still allowed in gyms, places of worship and add covid—secure weddings and funerals while in northern ireland, six people from two households can meet indoors and up to 15 can gather outside. this morning another reminder why the measures are needed. desperate to avoid scenes like this, doctors in england are warning a second peak of covid—19 in the coming months is their number one concern. they told the british medical association that if it happens, confusing public health messaging and problems with test and trace would be to blame.

what we have at the moment, because we are not having the ability to test people, is we don't know who has the infection and that is spreading on a daily basis and every day counts. this infection can double in terms of the numbers infected injust a few days and that is the biggest priority doctors say it needs to happen today. the government says it is testing hundreds of thousands of people every day but some people are still struggling to get tests so let's see what happens when i try it now. we have tried this multiple times, different locations, said i was an essential worker, nonessential worker, and almost every time we have the same message, the service is currently very busy, try again later. even if you are successful getting a test, some people have been sent to sites hundreds of miles away and there have been multiple reports of people being refused a test because they have not received a relevant qr code. if you have symptoms, come forward and get a test.

we are dealing with the problem of people having to travel to bath and we are putting in the extra resources to deal with that. with concerns about covid spreading, notjust in the uk but globally, it's now been confirmed that labour leader keir starmer is now self—isolating. a member of his household had showed possible symptoms. he found out shortly after this interview with lbc. sir keirstarmer here appearing on lbc. anna collinson, bbc news. earlier the bbc‘s health editor hugh pym explained the problems affecting the uk's testing system. it was ten days ago when it first emerged that you had to drive long distances for testing and at the time, matt hancock, the health secretary, said there were operational challenges and they would be addressed. but, as you've seen there in anna's piece, there are people going online and still struggling to even get a booking, never mind something close to home. so there is clearly something that is not quite right and this morning the scottish first minister nicola sturgeon said she has a very serious concern about the backlog of tests and capacity which appears to have built up in the uk—wide system.

there is a uk network of labs which works with all the devolved administrations and each of them has their own testing system as well. so clearly there are problems. the government line at westminster is they are trying to increase capacity because there has been such a big jump in demand. huge pressure on the government and again we hear more evidence of what a difficult political decision they face with all this. yes, there's an ongoing debate about whether lockdown was too late in the uk, whether it was delayed longer than it should have been. and an e—mail sent by sir patrick vallance, the chief scientific adviser, in response to how to deal with enquiries by the sunday times in may said that he had argued stronger than anyone, he believed, and had had a telling off from others, including the chief medical 0fficer chris whitty and the cabinet secretary at the time, sir mark sedwill, implying that there were differences of opinion about that crucial decision on lockdown and that debate no doubt will continue.

i'm joined now by brian booth — chairman of the police federation in west yorkshire. good afternoon to you. good afternoon. new rules come into force today. will officers be enforcing them straightaway? we will be trying our best but unfortunately demand for us has increased significantly since the whole world has woken up out of covid and the regulations have got slightly easier. so my collea g u es have got slightly easier. so my colleagues will have to deal with all the usual policing incidents and try and deal with covid calls to service on top. i've got to say, we use threat, risk and harm when we are working out which jobs take priority to attend and my colleagues will normally be going to assaults, crimes in progress and road traffic accidents and we will be doing that before going to groups of over six people. so would you back calls for

people. so would you back calls for people to tell on their neighbours if they see something going on next door to call the police is the recommendation. you are saying there's not much point.” recommendation. you are saying there's not much point. i think they should still call but don't expect an officer to be there instantly. if there is an available resource they will come but, like i've said, we are so will come but, like i've said, we are so busy with other policing matters that would take a higher priority it is likely that that group will have disbursed by the time an officer gets there. what you seem time an officer gets there. what you seem to be saying is people who have had a taste of freedom, if you like, if they'd been able to go out more than they were before it is much harder to get them to change their behaviour once again.” harder to get them to change their behaviour once again. i really cry out for the public to do that. they must really take this threat seriously. it is a public health concern and it can't be relied upon for the police to deal with it all. we all have to pull together and do our own bit. one of the reasons the government has reintroduced these rules is to make things simpler. do you think it does? it does

certainly, yes. there were many exemptions before when you have a group of 30 people it is very difficult when you arrive at an incident and then you have to say can everyone stand still a minute while i have a quick count to make sure there is not over 30. so having the rule of six is probably a lot easier to police for my colleagues. and are you getting the resources? i think you have sort of and a with new restrictions like this you are going to say we need more people.” would say that there is some work that could be done around these covid marshals. i've not seen the devil in the detail with that yet but i think that could be an effective way of policing the covid regulations by having people with proper powers, the ability to issue fines and training and paying them appropriately as well. you will know better than i do but once alcohol becomes involved, things become much harder to deal with, don't they? and you must be sort of dreading weekends. it is. but my colleagues are experts at dealing with public

and alcohol, that is the bread—and—butter of what policing is about. dealing with people when they are not my sober. so my colleagues will be able to do with that quite easily but like i've said there are so easily but like i've said there are so many other types of incidents which are far more threatening and the media that might cause collea g u es the media that might cause colleagues not to get to these incidents. is there a different attitude now so when there was with the first big lockdown introduced when the country seem to be backing the government and its proposals? is there a different mood out there? i think probably the police are better tojudge that think probably the police are better to judge that than anyone else.” think the public are quite fatigued with covid. you know, they are sick and tired of it. it is a major infringement on people's liberty and lives but we have just got to dig a bit deeper as a nation and get through this together. because if not, covid is not going to go away. and because of that eye you, sad is

public the wrong word, but is it are on the front line in enforcing something like this? it can be quite challenging because a lot of the axed and tension is aimed at my colleagues. you know, what they are simply trying to do is keep everyone safe. and some of those tensions come out directed at my colleagues like we are the ones trying to spoil everyone's fun and i simply not the case. and looking at the enforcement i was reading earlier breaking news that only half of the fines that have been issued have actually been paid. is that going to be a problem do you think across the country?” couldn't answer you that question. i don't know at what rate the fines have been paid. i know certainly not many fines have been issued because officers are very good at doing engagement and encouraging and explaining element before having to use the enforcement line. just run through that. what would it take for

an officer actually to issue a fine? what would people have to have done wrong? well, in essencejust what would people have to have done wrong? well, in essence just not complied with the instructions of the officer. so if there is a congregation of over six people, their seven people there and you don't disperse and go, the officer will speak to all those involved there. they will explain the dangers that they're putting themselves through and the risks of the wider community and then if they are still ignored they will be issued with a fine. how often do people just say i didn't know? it's quite common and if we look at the face mask legislation, how many times to people just simply forget to put theirface mask people just simply forget to put their face mask on? people just simply forget to put theirface mask on? and a polite chat with people, oh, i'm very sorry, officer, and they comply very quickly. brian, it's very good of you to give me your time. thank you. thank you. what's being described as a ‘promising' new treatment for covid 19 is about to be tested

in uk hospitals. the therapy uses artificial antibodies — called ‘mono—clonal antibodies ? and will be given to about 2,000 patients — to see if its effective at fighting the virus. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. antibodies are the warriors of the immune system, playing a vital role by attacking the coronavirus. now they are being harnessed in a promising new treatment. currently there are very few medicines to help covid—19 patients. the most successful was discovered by the uk's recovery trial. now it will be testing antibodies made in the laboratory called monoclonal antibodies. they will be given to thousands of patients in uk hospitals to see if they work. i think the reason the monoclonal antibodies are so exciting is that this is the first type of treatment that is targeted for this specific virus. there are lots of good reasons for thinking it might well be effective — stopping the virus from reproducing, stopping the virus from causing damage, improving survival for patients.

we need to know, and the way to know is to do the trials. how does this work? when a person is infected with coronavirus, they produce antibodies. these attach to the spike of the virus, blocking it from entering our cells. we make hundreds of different types of antibodies so scientists sifted through them to find the best at sticking to the virus. they chose two because they both attach to slightly different parts of the spike. so if the virus mutates and the structure changes, at least one will still work. both antibodies are then multiplied in the lab and produced in huge quantities. they are then mixed together and given to the patient, immediately boosting their own immune response. monoclonal antibodies are expensive. they are a relatively new type of medicine but they are used for other diseases including some types of cancer.

the us company regeneron behind this covid treatment have used the technology to successfully treat ebola. there are high hopes. we are very excited about our antibody combination. these highly potent neutralising antibodies really will help boost that immune response and will always be needed, even when a potent vaccine is available, because there are going to be underserved populations that we don't want to neglect. with covid cases rising, new treatments will be essential. the recovery trial will tell us if the promise of monoclonal antibodies turns into a reality. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... time for the rule of six — new restrictions ban social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. a ‘promising' new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested ,

artificial antibodies will be given to 2,000 patients in the uk. borisjohnson will open the debate into a bill which would allow the government to break international law — as it seeks the power to override part of the brexit treaty. mps will debate the controversial internal market bill this afternoon. parts of the legislation would give the government the power to break international law by breaching the brexit treaty signed with the european union, but ministers say it's necessary to protect trade if talks with the eu fail. david cameron has become the latest former prime minister to raise his concerns, and a conservative mp has left his role as a government envoy in protest at the bill. iain watson reports. it would be understandable if some mps get flashbacks to last year's brexit battled here in parliament, amid talk of a rebellion there is a vote tonight on a bill that would allow the government to break international law by ignoring part of the deal it struck with the eu

last year. today, david cameron became the fifth former prime minister to express his concerns. well, passing an act of parliament and then going on to break an international treaty obligation is the very, very last thing you should contemplate. it should be an absolute last resort, so i do have misgivings about what is being proposed. the former occupants of downing street also said he recognised that the government was in vital negotiation with brussels to get a deal. but this man causes than the biggest problem, an ardent brexiter who was the government's senior law officer when it struck its brexit deal last year. he says he can't support borisjohnson internet‘s vote. he can't support borisjohnson internet's vote. i find myself in a very sad position. i'm a strong supporter of this government, a strong supporter of brexit but for me the crossing of an important boundary is a government says it is going to break the law. and the

treaty is signed. the government has described its controversial move as an insurance policy. it said in trade talks with the eu brussels is threatening to put up barriers to food exports not just threatening to put up barriers to food exports notjust on the continent but between uk and ireland. international treaties are as much about the spirit and the intent as they are about the letter of the law. and no one contemplated that the situation would occur. and i have yet to hear a compelling solution if you like to have the practical issue that we have been faced with that hopefully will never occur but that may occur in the future and why we shouldn't have an insurance policy for that. the eu is denying it would use any part of the brexit deal to block trade between the uk and ireland. the real issue is over state subsidies and labour

say they will not be back in boris johnson internet's vote. he is making a mistake remain on treaty, that will have reputational damage for the uk. i that will have reputational damage forthe uk. i mean, here we are on the world stage for the first time in many years on our own and what's the first thing we do? we break a treaty. so brexit returns to westminster and has the same capacity for division. but the government has an 80 seat majority serve all the sound and fury directed at boris johnson, serve all the sound and fury directed at borisjohnson, it doesn't signify a potential defeat. in the political temperature continues to rise. another lawyer turned conservative mp has resigned as the prime minster‘s special envoy on religious freedom saying that while the care and support brexit can't support breaking international law. and next week yet another lawyer who is a conservative mp will try to get the government to change its legislation to give mps and not just government ministers the final say on whether to break international law. this afternoon, the prime minister himself will be

leading from the front, arguing for his own legislation. and downing street say he is in no mood for compromise. let's talk to our political correspondent jonathan blake — he may have the numbers but resignation doesn't help does it? no it doesn't help i think given rehman chishti's position as a brexit here, someone chishti's position as a brexit here, someone who is a staunch supporter of borisjohnson someone who is a staunch supporter of boris johnson and someone who is a staunch supporter of borisjohnson and his government and the aim to leave the european union on the uk's terms is that there is a level of disquiet on the conservative backbenches which could get tricky for the government at some point. certainly they are not expected to lose tonight's vote by any means but it will be interesting to see with the prime minister opening the debate for the government, making himself the case in person, that ministers do need this legislation passed and the powers contained within it, which

would by the government's own admission allow the uk to break international law, are necessary, albeit the in hopes that it would never have to use them. it'll be interesting though to see how many conservative mps stand up and voice their concerns about it and what, if any, indication there is that the government could budge or could concede or could change the detail of the bill later on in the legislative process. there is no suggestion that they are prepared to do that at this point however and tonight's vote will be on the broad terms of the bill, so expect something of a binary clash if you like between those who are signed up on supporting the government, wanting this to happen, seeing the necessity for it, and those who believe that it is either unnecessary or unwise given what it would give ministers the power to do. how likely is it that the prime minister could lose this? it is very unlikely the government will lose tonight's vote. if you look at the number of conservative mps who say

they have concerns about the bill and they will either abstain or vote against it, it is around about a dozen or so. and as ian was saying in his report there, the government has a majority of atc don't have to be particularly good at maths to know that rebels, if you like, are some way short of getting to the line where they would be able to defeat government. so all indications are that the government will win and win comfortably tonight's vote but it is the first of many on this legislation in parliament on the argument about the detail of this legislation will continue beyond night. jonathan, thank you very much. that bill will be debated and voted on in the house of commons later today. 0ur reality check correpsondent chris morris has been looking at what it is and why it's proving controversial. the overall aim of this legislation is to ensure the uk internal market continues to function seamlessly once the uk has left the eu single market, and its shared rules and regulations. but it has created huge controversy. most obviously, when it comes

to the northern ireland protocol, which was agreed by borisjohnson last year to avoid the return of a hard border with the republic of ireland. the protocol is part of the brexit withdrawal agreement, which took the uk out of the eu last january. but this new legislation gives ministers the power to ignore some of the legal obligations it contains: the need for businesses to complete export declaration forms, for example, when sending goods from northern ireland to great britain. and the need for the uk to inform the eu of any state aid decisions, government subsidies for business, that affect trade in northern ireland. the government admits that these new ministerial powers would break international law but only, it says, in a "very specific and limited way." to protect british interests. a bill which gives ministers explicit permission to break the law, though, by ignoring a recently signed treaty in this way, is unprecedented. the eu calls

it a "serious breach" of international law and says the legislation must be changed. a significant number of senior tories seem to agree, but the government says it won't budge. and if that's not enough for parliament to get its teeth into, there are massive rows looming about devolution. the internal market bill gives uk ministers power to spend money in policy areas that are the responsibility of the devolved governments in scotland, wales and northern ireland. the uk government says it new uk shared prosperity fund is good news. but when that money used to come from the eu, it was largely the devolved governments that decided how it was spent. now they're complaining of a power grab. another part of the bill says devolved governments will have to allow the sale of imported goods that the uk government has approved — even if scotland for example wants to introduce stricter rules on quality or standards of production. that's causing concern about what kind of trade deals the uk government might do in the future, and what kind of agricultural standards

will be maintained. so this isn't just about the irish border. it's also about the strain that leaving the eu is putting on the uk's carefully crafted devolution settlement. some of the biggest challenges in the brexit process have been kicked repeatedly into the long grass over the last couple of years. but they can't be ignored any more. thank you very much, chris. public health wales has apologised for a data breach involving more than 18,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus. information including people's initials, dates of birth and location were accidentally uploaded to a public website on august 30th. 0ur news correspondent tomos morgan is in cardiff. what happened here? well, as you just said they're on the 30th of august around 18,000 people's details, people who had tested positive for coronavirus, have their personal information put onto the

public health wales website. it was up public health wales website. it was upfor public health wales website. it was up for about 20 hours or so, so the majority of the day. people who saw the information on the information ranged from dates of birth, where people live and their initials as well really. public health wales have said that it was down to an individual human error when the site was uploaded to a public server, searchable by was uploaded to a public server, sea rchable by anyone was uploaded to a public server, searchable by anyone using the site. ina searchable by anyone using the site. in a statement, the chief executive tracey cooper says that they take their obligation to protect people's data extremely seriously and have apologised and on this occasion they have failed. it seems to be a significant data breach, 50 people seeing it over the course of the day last month. you are watching bbc news. let's catch up with the weather.

a very warm start to the new working week. it will stay largely dry this week. it will stay largely dry this week but it will later on turn quite significantly cooler. through the rest of this afternoon the highest temperatures across england and wales where we have the best of the sunshine, high 20s, close to 30 degrees. the northern ireland and scotla nd degrees. the northern ireland and scotland more cloud means that some slightly cooler conditions. through tonight this cloud will bring some slightly heavier rain at times. the odd shower getting into west wales, the far south—west of england. maybe the far south—west of england. maybe the odd fog patch further east but generally speaking it is dry for much of england and scotland. tomorrow, southern area is dry with some sunshine after a foggy start, the odd showerfor some sunshine after a foggy start, the odd shower for the south—west. drying up and brightening up for northern ireland. showery rain across parts of scotland. a warmer day than today here, it could get to 30 in parts of east anglia. from mid week onwards it gets cooler from the north. it will however state largely dry. —— it will however stay largely

dry.

the headlines... time for the rule of six — new restrictions ban social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. a ‘promising' new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested , artificial antibodies will be given to 2,000 patients in the uk borisjohnson will open the debate into a bill

which would allow the government to break international law — fires burn across three states on the west coast of america devastating the land, and the lives, of tens of thousands of people and britain in lockdown — a new exhibition of portraits chosen by the duchess of cambridge, goes live. we have been hearing today for an england cricketerjoffrey carr archer who has reacted rather strongly from criticism from holding the england about the black lives matters movement. she spoke out after play stopped taking the knee before matches. actions that his comments were a bit harsh.” before matches. actions that his comments were a bit harsh. i think it was, you know, a bit harsh for him to say that. i have spoken to tom and we have got stuff running on the boat in the background and we have not forgotten, nobody has loved about the black lives matter so i

think it is a asked them to not do the research. this man won the adriano race. yates wasjust the research. this man won the adriano race. yates was just 22 seconds slower but that was enough to win the leaders blue jersey. both riders are using this race to prepare for next month's tour of italia which will have three time trials. we have a new winner of the men's grand slam for the first time since 2014. austria's dominic tm ove rca m e since 2014. austria's dominic tm overcame alexander zverev. his whole life, he says, has been dedicated to winning this. sometimes the best things come to those who wait. dominic thiem has certainly done that. three major

final defeats but now at last he had his moment of grand slam glory. perhaps, fittingly, it came in the city of dreams although it began as no more than a nightmare for new york. with no nadal, federer, all at djokovic, he was seen as the favourite against the web match. playing in his grand slam final, zverev showed no sign of nerves, racing into a two—point lead. thiem began to turn the tide, winning the next two sets and the austrian would come out on top two in the decider but only just come out on top two in the decider but onlyjust winning the championship on a tie—break.” but onlyjust winning the championship on a tie-break. i put a lot of work in. i mean, i dedicated basically my whole life until this point to win one of the four majors and now i did it, so, that's also for myself a great accomplishment.” was super for myself a great accomplishment.” was super close to being grand slam champion. you know, iwas a

was super close to being grand slam champion. you know, i was a few games away, may be a few points away, but, i mean, i'm 22 years old, i don't think it was my last chance andl i don't think it was my last chance and i do believe that i will be a grand slam champion at some points. so zverev so full of confidence in time will come. as the thiem, the time will come. as the thiem, the time is now. the waiting is over. novak djokovic has said he has learnt a lesson from the incident which led to his disqualification in the tournament. he hit a linejudge with the ball in new york. of course, it's a bit of a shock to finish in that way but it is what it is. life goes on and hopefully i can, you know, learn a big lesson from that and move on and you know, idid from that and move on and you know, i did talk with a lady, laura, and checked on her after the match she was fine. so, thank god nobody was

really hurt badly. that is all your sports and r. simon, batty. simon, back to you. thank you. let's remind you of our top story — the new rules which make it illegal to gather in a group of more than six people in england from today. jim reed has more on the new regulations and how they change across the uk. social distancing rules are very different depending on what part of the uk you live. in general, everything is still based on the two metre rule. if you can, you have to stay that distance away from anyone

you don't live with. in some places, like pubs, it can be a metre apart if other measures are in place. those living alone can also form what is called a support bundle to make an extended group that is treated as one single household. in england and scotland, those bubbles can also include the children of single parents. in wales, the rules are different and up to fourfamilies of any size can combine in a giant support bubble. if you want to meet up with friends or relatives in a completely different household, it all depends on where you meet. starting with outdoors. in england, the rules have now changed. the number of people who can meet in a park or back garden has been cut from 30 to six. that law will not apply to weddings, funerals or organised team sports. in scotland, the limit is six from two households. children aged 11 and under do not count in that total. in wales, the maximum number is being kept at 30. in northern ireland, it is 15 people outside. then there is indoors. if you want someone to come inside your house, the rules are different in every part of the uk. in england, the limit is six people including children, the same as it is outside. in scotland, six people can meet but only from two households. children aged 11 and under don't count inat total.

in wales, it is also six from one extended household group or bubble. children ten and under are not counted. northern ireland has the strictest rules, six people from two households including children. pubs, restaurants and shops will remain open that people can only attend in those groups of six and places of worship will also stay open. again the same limit of six people in each group. those are the general rules but then there are local lockdowns as well. those living in these areas may be subject to extra restrictions which you can find online. let's talk to the ceo of neighbourhood watch, john hayward—cripps. are they going to be a lot of phone calls, do you think? what is going to happen in terms of neighbour sing

something going on? i'm not sure... i think we got a problem in the line—up. can you hear me now?” i think we got a problem in the line-up. can you hear me now? i can hear you fine, simon. i, we're back. they can send with people and the police were talking to is that they are going to get inundated with people saying the 12 people meeting next door and what can you do about it. what are the best way to approach this? i think a neighbourhood watch would always advocate preventing crime and we do that through connected communities and individuals speaking to each other and we would maintain that the best way of doing this would be to have conversations with your neighbours if you're concerned or worried and that should be the first port of call. as has happened throughout the curvy crisis we know lots and lots of neighbours have been contacting each other exchanging contact details to support and help and i think this is a continuation of that. this is the irony, this crisis has brought neighbourhoods together, hasn't it?

it absolutely has. that has been a real silver lining in what has otherwise been in polling crisis. i think it is important we don't change that but we still maintains those links to the neighbours. if only the best way to stop again conversations is to start than now, have a conversation with your neighbours today, today, on your way to work, only your balcony outside the flat, say how you're going to manage, what are you thinking on how we of six and just have those conversations. it is much easier to manage these conversations in those challenges when you are in contact with your neighbours. and not to go to the police directly? it is different, obviously. if there is a major house or anything else that is a different thing but at the advantage of organisations which is around like neighbourhood watches that we have close contact with the police, we worked hard to develop relationships with local policing as your earlier piece says. there are differences in lockdown in different parts of the country as well so having those links within your

community to your neighbours, local community to your neighbours, local community organisations and local police will be what helps make us all the best of this and about was all the best of this and about was all being responsible rather than going out, i am not sure there are six or seven people, i don't know what next‘s householders are the support bubble was also my phone the police now. i don't think that ever works. is there much evidence that that has happened in the past?” think we as an organisation have had lots of effort evidence were people are very closely linked in with a community in a way that they haven't been previously. i think there's good evidence not just been previously. i think there's good evidence notjust neighbourhood watch but across lots of community organisations across england and wales they know that those links have been made and it is about maintaining those links. the difficulty always as you only need one household to constantly flout the rules, they became very popular locally, and then they have an targets territory, and they? everybody to say let's go for them

or of course, there was be a small number of challenging circumstances andi number of challenging circumstances and i think if the those circumstances which have just described a conversation with the local policing team would be entirely appropriate. and it also depends operate obviously, and whereabouts in the country you are. of course, hence my comment about linking to local policing team will be more aware about what the local guidances and will be able to assist members of the public on that front. it can be pretty daunting, though, particularly if we are talking about trying to control a large number of people than you eye on your own, obviously, a lot of people say that is all very well, don't talk to them, but i don't feel comfortable with that. what advice would you give to them? i mean i think that has been the same situation that we have been enduring lockdown in other circumstances and nobody should do anything they feel uncomfortable or think might put them in or service, obviously, that is a given that is

the case then maybe it is possible to have contact with of the neighbours that it someone just feel possible to have a conversation with and not necessarily the neighbour that they're concerned about that is why we need to remain and be really positive about the community connections because maybe somebody else in the case of neighbourhood watch, other organisations, and they be somebody else that they are all, this is what we think should do and ican do this is what we think should do and i can do some of that for you and ta ke i can do some of that for you and take care of those people are more vulnerable and more afraid. your neighbours know that you the ceo of neighbourhood watch? that ever complained you ? neighbourhood watch? that ever complained you? not my face. suddenly my neighbours are aware of my role, yes. just a word about the the people have, particularly pontypool talking about wanting to get theirfamilies pontypool talking about wanting to get their families together and they might say well, don't be so nosy, i wa nt to might say well, don't be so nosy, i want to see my grandmother if it if it means to get we get to eight or nine people allow us to do that in peace in our garden. why should

neighbours complain about that? the me, this is not about neighbours complaining this is all about tools taking responsibility in the event i really feel for those people whose lives have been on hold and challenge and i think it is really difficult and that is why they have maintained it is about as all being responsible. we know it seems like there is really good evidence that there is really good evidence that there is really good evidence that there is a high risk of a potential second surge and that is something that we all want to remember so it is about as being responsible for ourselves and our families. good to talk to you, john. ceo of neighbourhood watch there. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon says a total of 70 people

have tested positive for coronavirus in scotland in the past 24 hours. that brings the total number of people testing positive in scotland to 22,749. but she urged caution over the figures — saying that because of the backlog in tests being processed across the uk, these numbers may be incomplete. it's important that i'm frank that we now have a very serious it's important that i'm frank that we now have a very serious concern that the backlog of test results being faced by the uk lab network, which the glasgow lighthouse lab is pa rt which the glasgow lighthouse lab is part of, is starting to impact on the reporting of scottish results. we have been raising these concerns with the uk government in recent days, indeed over the weekend the health secretary managed to resist a move to the limit access to testing slots, mobile testing units and regional testing centres, however this apparent delay and turn is causing us concern and therefore will be seeking to escalate these discussions with the uk government over the course of today. let me stress that we are keen to, very clea n to stress that we are keen to, very clean to play a full part in addressing these issues and finding solutions to them urgently, will in

the uk government to share this full scale and nature of the issue they're facing and the impact that they're facing and the impact that they are having on scotland in order that we can collectively, and very quickly, find solutions. we will give an update including any changes to today's figures as soon as possible. i can also confirm that 264 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed covid. that is five more than yesterday, and seven people are in intensive care, which is the same numbers yesterday. ican which is the same numbers yesterday. i can also confirm that in the past 24 hours. no deaths were registered at people who put first tested positive under the previous 28 days and the total number of deaths under this measurement is still 2499. i think it is worth reflecting on the sad fact that it was exactly six months ago yesterday that the first death from cobh it was confirmed in scotland. that death and each and every one we've seen since scotland. that death and each and every one we've seen since then has been a source of grief and

heartbreak to families across the country and i want again today to pass on my condolences to everyone who has lost someone. and in wales, face masks have to be worn in shops by everyone aged 11 and overfrom today , and they too have introduced the rule of six. a little earlier the wales health minister vaughan gething spoke about the changes to guidance and new trends in cases. cases arising overall in wales and we are seeing deteriorating situation outside our brothers. the latest advice will be published this week. it says this pattern of increasing cases are similar to the situation we face in early february. it says action should be taken now to prevent significant harm of another full lockdown. to prevent significant harm of anotherfull lockdown. none to prevent significant harm of another full lockdown. none of us wa nt to another full lockdown. none of us want to see large numbers of seriously ill people in our hospitals again, and none of us want to see large numbers of dying again from the survivors. —— from this

virus. from today, face coverings must be won in all indoor public places in wales. 0nly must be won in all indoor public places in wales. only six people from the same exclusive extended household group will be ale to meet indoors. that applies to people's homes and indoor public places like pubs and restaurants. if you can work from home, you should continue to do so wherever possible. now, as you will be able to see shortly from the slight, there are a number of areas in south wales where cases of coronavirus have risen sharply in the recent past. there is in the carefully bullet, in merthyr tydfil, in rhondda cynon taff, and newport. they're working with each of the local authorities and public health experts to understand these biases and put in place measures to help control the spread of the virus. there are many similarities between the vices in each of the areas, ——

between the rises in each of the areas, including socialising indoors without social distancing and imported cases from holiday travel. let's return to the news that a new antibody treatment is to be trialled on coronavirius patients at uk hopsitals in coming weeks, as the hunt for covid—19 treatments continues. a little earlier martin landray, who is co—leading the trial at the university of oxford, told us more about what this means... we are already seeing rising his numbers in the community, we are seeing lots about that, and as we have seen in other parts of the world it is usually three to four week lag between cases appearing in the community and seeing a rise in hospital cases, so this is good timing. how single you know if this can be an effective treatment? welcome to really understand whether these treatments work we need to study a couple of thousand people. to understand whether these treatments lower the risk of death,

reduce the time in hospital, reduce the need for ventilators. 0f reduce the time in hospital, reduce the need for ventilators. of course, how soon will depend on how many patients are admitted to hospital. if that was a very few, we would all be delighted of course but that is not what we are interest dissipating, but what will really matter is that those patients who do get in hospital are able to participate in this trial and help us all understand which treatments work and in whom do they work particularly well? there is this perception out there that professor that there is a huge race for this holy grail. in reality, we're going to need as many of these treatments as we possibly can, way? yes, of course on the vaccine side but also particularly on the treatments where we're doing our work. we need to have a range of treatments. different treatments will work in different people and very often what we need is to use treatments in combination. everything about treat stomach diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, even day of hiv—1

infections, often what we need to uses combinations of several drugs in to have a really big impact. of course crucial is understanding that i was course crucial is understanding that iwas in course crucial is understanding that i was in the first place. we're still hearing about things like long covid and other aspects of this and we? yes, certainly but this was a com pletely we? yes, certainly but this was a completely new virus at the beginning of the air. when we started the recovery trial in march there was a little known. imagine new knowledge about how the virus is structured, how it works, and now for new treatments targeted specifically at this virus, loss has been learnt in his last nine months. we now need to go the final stage and understand whether all that good science translates to a treatment that actually improve survival in show situation in hospital and so on. in a nutshell, what your treatment it helps the body's own immune system, is that right? yes, so immune system, is that right? yes, so the virus, it was not way of attacking cells and getting inside cells that can multiply is to stick on the outside of the cells and be

drawn in. what this antibody does a stick and the insert, outside of the virus, making that interaction very difficult. is it really blocks the ability of the virus to get into the cells, multiply and do its damage. great promise, we need to test that in the trial. my hope i'm guessing your hope is you'll be one day fast asleep, two o'clock in the morning, and the phone goes on your assistant says it works! is that what you hope for? may be not two o'clock in the morning, but certainly have been taken by surprise and a separate backin taken by surprise and a separate back in june. i taken by surprise and a separate back injune. i had to be such phone calls if you like. one was to tell me that actually hydroxychloroquine, widely promoted, widely used treatment doesn't work. another is worcester told me that hiv treatment called... also doesn't work so we could stop using those. the best use of all the time was to tell me that

dexamethasone, a very cheap and widely available, actually has pretty dramatic effects in the most six patients. so those were the phone calls i enjoyed. i am looking forward to hearing the phone call in due course and the monoclonal antibodies. some positive news. political leaders on america's west coast have accused president trump of being in denial about climate change , as three states battle unprecedented wildfires. more than 30 people have died in california, oregon, and washington states in recent weeks. mr trump has blamed the crisis on poor forest management. simonjones reports. some of the biggest fires the west coast has ever witnessed, raging now for three weeks. the scale and the sheer number of them pushing firefighters to their limits. high winds are now threatening to fan the flames even further. an eerie quiet has descended on berry creek in california where the fires have been extinguished, but it's still too dangerous for residents to return, they just have

to wait out of town. but they are the lucky ones, some didn't get out alive. in this city in oregon, some people have been allowed back, but to a scene of complete devastation. the valentine family are left sifting through what was once their home. the clement family moved to berry creek after their previous home was destroyed by the huge fire of 2018. now they have seen it happen again. i said better get out now and when i came around the bend, everything was on fire. just... entire hillsides and so i ended up driving through and you could not see 50 feet. the community is rallying around. going through this again isn't easy, but at least some knew what to expect. it may turn bad, so grab everything important this time. don't expect to come back, because, you know, you may not. and we ended up not. president trump will visit the area today with a row over the cause of the fires raging. he blames poor forest management, democrats say it's

down to climate change. but for firefighters, the immediate concern is saving lives. simon jones, bbc news. a new digital exhibition of photographs taken by people during lockdown has been launched by the national portrait gallery. the project was led by the duchess of cambridge — and involved more than 30 thousand photos. it's designed to capture the resilience of the british people at one of the most challenging periods of our history. sarah campbell has been taking a look. moments captured on camera during lockdown, every picture telling a story. titled ‘be safe daddy', a cuddle between a father and daughter before his next shift working as a paramedic. loved ones separated by glass in ‘last precious moments‘, and ‘empty‘ — three—year—old leo‘s mother, who took the picture, said she experienced panic and a fear that this would be the new normal. this was a project initiated by the duchess of cambridge — herself a keen photographer — and she, along with four other

judges, had the job of whittling the thousands of entries to just 100. i felt really strongly that i really wanted to try and create a portrait of the nation that sort of captures the fears and the hopes and, you know, the feelings of the nation at this really extraordinary time. the images convey the difficulties faced by so many. kerry hayles from bridgend, after three hours working in ppe, titled her portrait ‘this is what broken looks like‘. in ‘the first kiss‘, a father captures the moment his newborn son tries to kiss his mother despite the plastic barrier. the judging process itself was really interesting and very moving and obviously going through those images and seeing all those different stories, some of which are, you know, joyful and heart—warming, some of which are profoundly moving or even harrowing, it is something that i think has really stayed with all of us. a rainbow playground at a school in norfolk, ‘short cut‘ features a tense diy

haircut using dog clippers, and taken by big sister marcella, ‘home—schooling in dagenham‘. congratulating all those who submitted a portrait, the queen has said in a statement that she had been inspired to see how the photographs have captured the resilience of the british people at such a challenging time. sarah campbell, bbc news. then brown is hip and knee will the news just a then brown is hip and knee will the newsjust a moment then brown is hip and knee will the news just a moment but before that, look of the weather with ben birch. -- is look of the weather with ben birch. —— is yet bringing you all the news injusta —— is yet bringing you all the news injust a moment. in england and wales we have had the lion‘s share of the sunshine and just look at the beautiful skies overhead from the weather watcher in west wales. it will stay largely driver things will turn significantly cooler for mid week onwards. this type of cloud brought

a lot of rain in the north of scotla nd a lot of rain in the north of scotland to the we can. there was flooding in the parts of the north west highlands many faces were dry and now with high pressure over the north of the continent we are feeding the wind up in the south, a fairly gentle southerly wind but it is listing the temperatures up to the high 20s close to 30 degrees, bit cooler firm northern the high 20s close to 30 degrees, bit coolerfirm northern ireland where we have more cloud in some splashes of rain and to deny if anything that they will pick up a little bit so hadn‘t heavier burst here and there, yard shower creeping into pembrokeshire, pat 0‘connell and some fog patches for fob or southern england parts of england. any temperatures —— a bit more cloud will creep in from the south—west. we‘ll keep some outbreaks of rain across parts of northern scotland, or sharp shower at than scotland later in the day and some low crowd feeding into some of the north sea close the dink stomach turning things a little bit rain and murky but it will be warm as a grey across

parts of scotland and northern ireland, could get to 30 it parts of east and gave us a bit of a shift in the weather pattern as we head into thursday, this heads changes the weather pattern, no more so than these, it said this northerly wind, much cooler work because the british isles, weeks cloud in some spots of rain across the central parts, to the north of that we start to feel effects like cooler air, 13 degrees in aberdeen, 17 therefore whole, could still be some low cloud for some of that we start to feel effects like cooler air, 13 degrees in aberdeen, 17 therefore whole, could still be some low cloud facilities eastern coast, bit of low cloud, but not the high temperatures we have seen towards the beginning of the week and and as we head for that will feel particularly across the north, things will be diet, temperatures bounce back a bit but not the summer heat we have right now.

this is bbc news, i‘m ben brown. the headlines... scientists say they‘ve detected in venus‘s atmosphere a gas normally produced by living organisms — indicating there might be life on our nearest planet. time for the rule of six — new restrictions ban social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. we‘ve followed the rules. we‘ve, as i say, just been careful. and now i think we are being penalised because we‘re a big family. i don't think it's fair, to be honest. i think if they put things in proportion at the very beginning then we wouldn't be having this second spell. a ‘promising‘ new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested , artificial antibodies will be given to 2,000 patients in the uk.

borisjohnson will shortly open the debate into a bill which would allow the government to break international law — as it seeks the power to override part of the brexit treaty. and this is the scene live in the house of commons, where the prime minister will open that debate in around half an hour‘s time. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. in the last few minutes, an international team of astronomers have revealed they‘ve detected traces of a gas in the atmosphere of venus that could possibly indicate signs of life on the planet. they say that there could be another

explanation for the presence of the phosphane gas — but so far, they haven‘t come up with an alternative theory. 0ur science correspondent, pallab ghosh, has the details: venus, could it be home to extra terrestrial life? there is new evidence that it might be. . astronomers have discovered a gas called for spain in the planet‘s gas. they think it could have been produced by tiny living microbes in the clouds. i was pretty surprised and shocked. at first i didn‘t believe that we had found it but then once we set out and independently detected it through another telescope that‘s when i knew we really had a real gas. it was made using a telescope in the mountains of the atacama desert in

chile it is one of the most powerful rays ever built. it found large amounts of 23 across the planet. researchers think that it is if it is been produced by living organisms they‘re still there. the discovery of life on another world would be one of the greatest scientific discoveries ever made. but the researchers aren‘t making that claim, at least not yet. the gas could have been produced by some other means. but its presence on venus is still a sensational finding. it‘s the strongest evidence that astronomers have ever had for the existence of alien life. the scientist leading the study told me she can‘t think of any other way that 23 could have been produced, other than by life. everything we've tried whether it‘s volcanoes or meteors or bits of grit grown up from the surface and it‘s a chemical reaction, none of those things worked. so i think we are excited

because phosphane is really distinctive, something we know life can make and other mechanisms can‘t readily make on venus. the big problem though is venus is hostile to life. the soviet spacecraft landing in1982 to life. the soviet spacecraft landing in 1982 confirmed scorching temperatures up to 460 celsius and clouds of concentrated sulphuric acid, able to disintegrate any living thing in seconds. something that even here life could be possible. as you go higher up through the atmosphere, just as you do on earth as you climb a mountain and it gets cooler and cooler. so there is a habitable zone, at a range of altitudes on venus where it is not too hot not too acidic life as we understand on earth, extremely hardy survival superhero type cells, could survive that environment. many scientists still think that the

conditions on the planet are too harsh to support life and there‘s another explanation for the essence of the gas. at this stage it is hard to completely rule out the possibility that alien life might exist on one of our nearest planets. let‘s go live to cardiff, where professor greaves is announcing more about the discovery. let‘s listen in. let's listen in. the pressure is much like it is at the surface of the earth on the temperature is quite nice maybe up to 30 centigrade. so it has been hypothesised that this is a living habitat today. so i originated a project in 2016 to see if we could look, deliberately look for phosphane as a possible signature of living organisms in the high clouds of venus. so we started with the

telescope in hawaii which is operated by the east asia observatory and the uk is a member of the other partners there. we then went on to use a network of telescopes in chile, operated by europe, north america, japan and other partners. if you have technical questions about our observations, i am the expert onj cmt data. so what were we looking for? we will leave that news conference as it continues. dr emily drabek—maunder is an astronomer at the royal observatory greenwich and part of the team behind the discovery. shejoins us now from greenwich. thank you for being with us. just explain then in lehmans terms if you can what you think you found and how exciting potentially it could be. so what we think we have found his phosphane gas in the atmosphere of

venus. now on a rocky planet like the earth phosphane is a rare gas and it is mainly the result of life. so it is what we call a bio signature. on the earth, phosphane is caused by human activity so through industry or through microorganisms or microbes. so finding a gas like this on venus is really exciting because of the possibility that it could have also been produced by life, like it is on the earth. ok. i'mjust explain been produced by life, like it is on the earth. ok. i'm just explain to us again how exactly you have found this gas is present there? we used telescopes in order to search for the gas. we first observed phosphane gas in hawaii, the telescope in hawaii. it was a shock when we first found it. when we originally set out to the study we didn‘t know if we would find the gas and then actually finding it was just a really big surprise. we then confirm that

observation with another telescope, and that actually led us to search where the 23 was coming from in the atmosphere as well. so use to telescopes to find the phosphane. he said this type of gas is a bio signature if you like, an indicator of possible life. could there though be other explanations as to its presence? absolutely. so at this time we have not been able to explain the amount of phosphane gas we have found in the atmosphere. from what we currently know about venus. so we can look at ways that sunlight interacts with venus‘s atmosphere. we can try and explain it through possible volcanoes on the surface or through even lightning in the atmosphere. but itjust, those processes don‘t make enough to make three gas. so what that means is we have to start thinking outside the box for other expirations. so it could be produced through some sort

of other chemical or geological process that no one knows about, on venus. or they could be a biological origin, so life could be producing the gas. ok, tell us more about that biological origin. when we talk about possible indicator of life, what sort of like are we talking about? so the life we are talking about? so the life we are talking about is not complex, intelligent life. we have pretty much ruled out complex and intelligent life in other places in our solar system, so we‘re not talking about little green men or anything like that. the type of life we are talking about is more su btle of life we are talking about is more subtle and so things like microorganisms or microbes. and those would exist in the clouds of venus, so it would be some sort of area life that we would be trying to detect. but even if it were try to limit true that it was microbes, how significant would that be is a discovery in terms of its implications for the rest of space? i think it would be a huge

discovery. we would have found another place in our solar system where life developed independently. and what that really means is that if we have two places in our solar system with life than life is probably a lot more common than what we thought it was. and so there is going to be life in other solar systems in our galaxy as well. but just to sum up, potentially a hugely exciting discovery. absolutely, yeah. it is definitely what should be taken from this study is that it should make everyone a little more hopeful that we are moving in the right direction for finding life in other places, whether that be on venus or elsewhere in our universe. by venus or elsewhere in our universe. by searching for these gases like 23. great to top talk to you. beautifully explain, even i understood what you were talking about! and you can see more on that exciting discovery on sky at night, tonight at 10.30pm on bbc four.

here on earth... the rule of six has come into force today — in different forms — across the uk in an effort to tackle rising coronavirus infections. the rule places further restrictions on social gatherings, with a limit of six people in england, and similar limits in scotland and wales. the policing minister has encouraged people to report those who break the rules. it comes amid more complaints about the difficulty of getting tests for the virus. matt hancock says they are dealing with the problems. a further 3,330 positive cases were recorded in the uk on sunday — the third consecutive day with more than 3,000 — with five more deaths reported. this morning, the labour leader, keir starmer, has announced he is self—isolating after a member of his family developed possible symptoms of the virus. here‘s our health correspondent, anna collinson. for some this weekend

was a time to make the most of being with their friends. meeting in large groups was against the rules, but from today it is against the law for social gatherings to include more than six people. those who refuse to comply could be fined. the police will be encouraging and explaining the situation. we hope that at that stage most people will comply. and if they fail to comply, obviously fixed penalty notices can be issued, but what we saw in the first phase of the lockdown is enormous compliance. the british people recognised we had to work together to get on top of these numbers. with corona infections on the rise, england, scotland and wales announced the so—called rule of six last week. it was meant to clarify things for the public but there are concerns variations across the uk will leave people confused. in england and scotland, it applies both indoors and outdoors, but in scotland the six must be from two households only. in wales, up to 30 people can socialise outside.

in scotland and wales, children are not included in the six but they are in england. large groups are still allowed in gyms, places of worship and at covid secure weddings and funerals, while in northern ireland, six people from two households can meet indoors and up to 15 can gather outside. this morning another reminder why these measures are needed. desperate to avoid scenes like this, doctors in england are warning a second peak of covid—19 in the coming months is their number one concern. they told the british medical association that if it happens, confusing public health messaging and problems with test and trace would be to blame. what we have at the moment, because we are not having the ability to test people, is we don‘t know who has the infection and that is spreading on a daily basis, and every day counts. this infection can double in terms of the numbers infected in just a few days, and that is the biggest priority doctors say needs to happen today. the government says it is testing

hundreds of thousands of people every day, but some people are still struggling to get tests, so let‘s see what happens when i try now. we have tried this multiple times, tried different locations, said i was an essential worker, nonessential worker, and almost every time we have the same message, "the service is currently very busy, try again later. even if you are successfully getting a test, some people have been sent to sites hundreds of miles away, and there have been multiple reports of people being refused a test because they have not received a relevant qr code. if you have symptoms, come forward and get a test. we are dealing with the problem of people having to travel too far and we are putting in the extra resources to deal with that. with concerns about covid spreading notjust in the uk but globally, it‘s been confirmed labour leader keir starmer is now self—isolating, with a member of his household showing possible symptoms. is he found out shortly after this interview with lbc. anna collinson, bbc news.

we can now speak to tracey gilson who is a mum of five and her 10—year—old daughter, katie. thanks very much for being with us, both of you. tracy, first of all, what is this rule of six mean to you because you already are six? there are several others in the household. pa rt are several others in the household. part of the exemption because we are a large family but it also means that we can‘t do what we have been doing for the last couple of weeks and have the support that we need around us. and, katie, i gather you have written a letter to the prime minister about this. yes, i have. what did you say to borisjohnson? that i don't think it's very fair because we have more than six people in our household. and so you think this is unfair do you? well, yeah,

but not slightly. katie put in her letter that she thought it was a ridiculous rule because of her grandad who is 74 who potentially won‘t be able to see us that christmas and pick between myself and my brother. right. but of course what the government would say, tracy, is that the number of cases is rising quite alarmingly. there have been around 3000 cases for the last few days and that this sort of new rule, well, there is no real alternative to it if we are going to keep cases down. yeah, but we also said that boris had caused a spike by the eat out to help out scheme. we didn‘t do that. we haven‘t been out anywhere, we haven‘t broken the rules. but now we have been totally penalised because of the fact that we have started to put back into the economy while people have been

starting to eat out. the children now back at school. for me, if one of the children gets it all the school closes are one of their classes, that is me out of work again for another 14 days. i have had six months off work looking after five children. in one of your children i think has autism, so what extra difficulties does that present you with? yeah, we have obviously had 20 47 with him being at home. it's had 20 47 with him being at home. it‘s been difficult to get him back into the routine but he is finding it difficult, but italy with a face mask etc and the change again of routine. and the fact that we can‘t even get support from social worker, family workerfor even get support from social worker, family worker for him, because they are not allowed to come to the house because we are a family of seven. katie, you have written to boris johnson, what would you like him to write back to you if he does write back? i'm not really sure what i'm

expecting but i think something like that we can't change the rules. because i know the rate is going up and there is a spike in coronavirus but i know that's not his fault but... just to see grandad at christmas. just to see grandad because he can't choose between us, a family of seven, and my uncle. so is difficult, i get that. and also, katie, you are back at school now? yes, i katie, you are back at school now? yes, lam. katie, you are back at school now? yes, i am. i've katie, you are back at school now? yes, lam. i've had a day to katie, you are back at school now? yes, i am. i've had a day to day. is that nice for you? yeah. or a tracy, just to conclude, these rules obviously are difficult for lots of people in different ways. but i suppose people would say wealth lockdown was difficult for lots of families in different ways and you just have to get on with it. you have got to get on with it but it

has opened up the pubs and that and they should be one of the first things to shot or he should build to come forward and say stick to your own household. the number is six, i‘m not quite sure why he has picked that number to be honest. it seems like it‘s a magic number that has been picked out of the air. ok, well, good to talk to both of you. thank you very much for being with us. tracy who is a mum of five and her daughter, katie. what‘s being described as a ‘promising‘ new treatment for covid—19 is about to be tested in uk hospitals. the therapy uses artificial antibodies — called ‘mono—clonal antibodies — and will be given to about 2,000 patients — to see if it‘s effective at fighting the virus. our science correspondent rebecca morelle has more. antibodies are the warriors of the immune system, playing a vital role by attacking the coronavirus. now they are being harnessed in a promising new treatment. currently there are very few

medicines to help covid—19 patients. the most successful was discovered by the uk‘s recovery trial. now it will be testing antibodies made in a laboratory called monoclonal antibodies. they will be given to thousands of patients in uk hospitals to see if they work. i think the reason the monoclonal antibodies are so exciting is that this is the first type of treatment that is targeted for this specific virus. there are lots of good reasons for thinking it might well be effective — stopping the virus from reproducing, stopping the virus from causing damage, improving survival for patients. we need to know, and the way to know is to do the trials. how does this work? when a person is infected with coronavirus, they produce antibodies. these attach to the spike of the virus, blocking it from entering our cells. we make hundreds of different types of antibodies so scientists sifted

through them to find the best at sticking to the virus. they chose two because they both attach to slightly different parts of the spike. so if the virus mutates and the structure changes, at least one will still work. both antibodies are then multiplied in the lab and produced in huge quantities. they are then mixed together and given to the patient, immediately boosting their own immune response. monoclonal antibodies are expensive. they are a relatively new type of medicine but they are used for other diseases including some types of cancer. the us company regeneron behind this covid treatment have used the technology to successfully treat ebola. there are high hopes. we are very excited about our antibody combination. these highly potent neutralising antibodies really will help boost that immune response and will always be needed, even when a potent vaccine is available, because there are going to be underserved populations

that we don't want to neglect. with covid cases rising, new treatments will be essential. the recovery trial will tell us if the promise of monoclonal antibodies turns into a reality. rebecca morelle, bbc news. mps will debate the controversial internal market bill in the next few minutes. parts of the legislation would give the government the power to break international law by breaching the brexit treaty signed with the european union, but ministers say it‘s necessary to protect trade if talks with the eu fail. david cameron has become the latest former prime minister to raise his concerns, and a conservative mp has left his role as a government envoy in protest at the bill. iain watson reports. we have heard in the last few minutes that sajid javid doesn‘t

support it either. it is not clear to me why it is necessary for the uk to me why it is necessary for the uk to break international law, says sajid javid. i am regretfully unable to support the uk internal market built and amended. that is another very prominent conservative who is opposed to that proposed legislation thatis opposed to that proposed legislation that is about to be debated. ian watson has the latest. it would be understandable if some mps get flashbacks to last year‘s brexit battles here in parliament. amid talk of rebellion there is a vote tonight on a bill that would allow the government to break international law by ignoring a part of the deal it struck with the eu last year. today, david cameron became the fifth former prime minister to express his concerns. passing an act of parliament and then going on to break an international treaty obligation

is the very, very last thing you should contemplate. it should be an absolute final resort, so i do have misgivings about what is being proposed. downing street are not too worried about previous occupants of number ten who campaigned to remain in the eu speaking out now. but this man causes them a bigger problem. an ardent brexiteer who was the government‘s senior law officers when it struck its deal last year. he says he cannot support borisjohnson in the vote tonight. i find myself in a very sad position. i'm a strong supporter of this government, i'm a strong supporter of brexit, but for me, the crossing of an important boundary is when a government says it is going to break the law. and a treaty it signed. the government has described its controversial move as an insurance policy. it says in trade talks with the eu, brussels is threatening to put up barriers to food exports, notjust to the continent but between britain and northern ireland, and the policing minister says there are circumstances

where the letter of the law could be ignored. international treaties are as much about the spirit and intent as they are about the letter of the law. no—one contemplated that this situation would occur, and i have yet to hear a compelling solution, if you like, to that practical issue that we are being faced with, that hopefully will never occur, but that might occur in the future, and why we shouldn't have an insurance policy for that. the eu is denying it would use any part of the deal to blockagd trade between britain and northern ireland — the real dispute is over subsidies. labour say they would vote against the government tonight as well. he is making a mistake reneging on a treaty, that will have reputational damage for the uk. here we are, on the world stage, for the first time in many years on our own, and what is the first thing we do? we break a treaty. so brexit returns to westminster, and it has the same capacity for division.

but the government has an 80 seat majority, so for all the sound and fury directed at borisjohnson, it doesn‘t signify a potential defeat. so someone he can support brexit, he can‘t support breaking international law. next week, yet another lawyer would try to get the government change its legislation to give mps and not just change its legislation to give mps and notjust government ministers the final say on whether to break international law. this afternoon, the prime minister himself will be leading from the front arguing for his own legislation and downing street say he is in no mood for compromise. and you can follow that debate live here on the bbc news channel from 4.30

relatives of those who died in the manchester arena bombing have begun speaking about their loved—ones at the public inquiry into the attack. 22 people were killed when salman abedi detonated a bomb at the arena in may 2017. fiona trott is listening to the inquiry and sent this report. my name is martyn hett. i absolutely adore coronation street. the showman and social media star. this is how martyn hett‘s family want him to be remembered. i‘m a coronation street superfan and a deidre barlow enthusiast. his father paul recorded this tribute for the inquiry. due to martyn‘s huge social media following, we have been asked many, many times by people, is martyn hett your son? and we reply, with all the pride in the world, yes, martyn is our son. martyn‘s story was the first to be heard in this inquiry.

over the next two weeks, all families are being given the opportunity to speak. this is a critically important chapter in the oral evidence hearings of this public inquiry. its purpose is to recognise and more over firmly establish the deceased and their families as central to this process. each family has decided the manner in which the evidence should be presented, and each pen portrait is deeply affecting. the impact of that night is indescribable. as part of this inquiry, the families are also learning more about how the emergency services responded. the hearing was told in the 40 minutes after the explosion, only one paramedic had gone into the area where the bomb went off, and fire crews arrived over two hours later. this was salman abedi wandering around the arena before the attack. he is carrying the bomb on his back. the inquiry was told

he was reported to officials, but no action was taken. he killed 22 people that night. each with their own story and tributes that need to be heard. fiona trott, bbc news, manchester. we will be live in the house of commons in a couple of minutes for that latest brexit debate with the prime minister but first of all let‘s get a look at the weather forecast. good afternoon. a very warm start to the new working week, it will stay largely dry this week but later on it will turn quite significantly cooler. through the rest of this afternoon the highest temperatures across england and wales where we have the best of the sunshine, high 20s, close to 30 degrees, for northern ireland and scotland some slightly cooler conditions. tonight some slightly heavier rain at times. the odd shower getting into west

wales and south—west england, the fog patch further east but generally speaking it is generally dry for wales and england. tomorrow southern areas dry with some sunshine after a foggy start. the odd shower for the south—west. drying up and brightening up for northern ireland. showery rain in scotland. 21 degrees in glasgow it could get to 30 in parts of east anglia. mid week onwards it turns cooler from the north. it will however stake largely dry.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... borisjohnson will open the debate into a bill which would allow the government to break international law — as it seeks the power to override part of the brexit treaty. and former chancellor sajid javid

has just tweeted that he cannot support the bill because he doesn‘t see why it is ‘necessary‘ — adding that he is urging the government to amend it. time for the rule of six — new restrictions ban social gatherings of more than six people in england as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise. we followed the rules, we‘ve, as i say, just been careful, and now i think we are being penalised because we‘re a big family. i don‘t think it‘s fair, to be honest with you. i think if they'd put things in proportion at the very beginning then we wouldn't be having a second spout of it. a ‘promising‘ new treatment for coronavirus is to be tested. artificial antibodies will be given to 2,000 patients in the uk. scientists say they‘ve detected in venus‘s atmosphere a gas normally produced by living organisms — indicating there might be life

on our nearest planet. we‘re expecting the prime minister to give the opening statement on the contentious internal market bill in the next few minutes. meanwhile, we‘ve heard that the former chancellor, sajid javid has said that he is unable to support the bill unless it is amended because it breaks international law. so, adding his name to quite a long list of prominent conservatives and indeed conservative party leaders and prime ministers who‘ve all opposed that move by boris johnson. let‘s talk to our political correspondent jonathan blake — so, a particularly urban large

amount of opposition to this will it make any difference given that government‘s large majority? make any difference given that government's large majority? certain clauses in there are causing the government trouble as by ministers own admission that they will allow the uk too in what is a very specific limited way, as they say, break international law. it is all to do with that technical issue of the northern ireland border and what happens to the flow of goods across it once the transition period that we are currently in comes to an end at the end of this year and as you say, sajid javid the former chancellor adding his name to that, relatively small but significant number of conservative mps who say that they cannot support the bill in its current form. now, we understand that sajid javid and it will not be joining with opposition mps in voting against this legislation tonight, he will abstain, voting against this legislation tonight, he willabstain, but nevertheless he has been taking a close look at it in the bill in its current form. now, we understand that sajid javid and it will not be joining with opposition mps in voting against this legislation tonight, he will abstain, voting against this legislation tonight, he willabstain, but nevertheless he has been taking a close look at it and decided that he

cannot it once the transition period that we are currently in comes to an end at the end of this year and as you say, sajid javid the former chancellor adding his name to that, relatively small but significant number of conservative mps who say that they cannot support the bill in its current form. now, we understand that sajid javid and it will not be joining with opposition mps in voting against this legislation tonight, he will abstain, voting against this legislation tonight, he willabstain, but nevertheless he has been taking a close look at it and decided that he cannot support it in its current form. i‘lljust read you what he has had to say in the statement he has published in the last few minutes. breaking international law, he says, isa breaking international law, he says, is a statement that should never be taken is a statement that should never be ta ken lightly. having is a statement that should never be taken lightly. having closely studied the uk international market ability is not clear to me why it is necessary to do so. conservative mps going public about their concerns about this legislation making things about this legislation making things a little bit difficult for the government at this stage but will have the finest opening this debate in parliament himself and there is no sign at the moment that downing street is willing to concede in any way or give any ground. let‘s go now to the house of commons. ...the the creation of the act of union was not simply a political event but

also an active conscious economic integration that laid the foundations for the possibility we injure today. —— prosperity we enjoy today. we allow the invisible hand of the market to move cornish pasties to scotland, scottish beef to wales, welsh beef to england and devon sir clotted cream to northern ireland and wherever else it may be enjoyed. when we chose to join the eu back in 1973 we also thereby decided that the eu treaties should serve as the legal guarantor of these freedoms. now that we‘ve left these freedoms. now that we‘ve left the eu and the transition period is about to elapse, we need the amateur of our law once again to preserve the arrangements on which so many jobs and livelihoods depend. that is the fundamental purpose of this bill, which should be welcomed by eve ryo ne bill, which should be welcomed by everyone who ca res bill, which should be welcomed by everyone who cares about the

sovereignty and integrity of our united kingdom. with we shall provide the legal certainty relied upon by every business in our country including of course in northern ireland. the manifesto on which this government was elected promised government, as i quote, u nfettered promised government, as i quote, unfettered access to the rest of the uk and! unfettered access to the rest of the uk and i give way to the honourable gentleman. thank you for giving way andi gentleman. thank you for giving way and i am listening carefully to what he is saying but why then did one of his own distinguished members on the other side describe his policy this week as nixon ian madmen theory? is he not worried that his policies are being compared to their former disgraced president richard nixon rather than someone like winston churchill? i must say to the honourable gentleman that actually i think this bill is essential to guaranteeing the economic and political integrity of the united kingdom and simply sets out to

achieve what the people of this country achieve what the people of this cou ntry voted achieve what the people of this country voted for when they supported our election manifesto and not only unfettered access to, from ni to gb not only unfettered access to, from n! to gb and gb to n! but also, i quote, and this was in the and ma nifesto, quote, and this was in the and manifesto, to maintain and strengthen the integrity and smooth operation of our internal markets. no, i have given way. i won‘t. this bill is designed to honour that pledge to maintain those freedoms. when we renegotiated i withdrawal agreement from the eu, we struck a careful balance to the flex northern ireland‘s integral place in our united kingdom. while preserving an open border with ireland, with the express and paramount aim of protecting the belfast good friday agreement and the peace process. and in good faith we accepted certain

obligations in the northern ireland protocol in order to give our european friends the assurances they sought on the integrity of their single market while avoiding any change to. order! we agreed to conduct some light touch processes and goods passing between great britain and northern ireland in case they were transferred to northern ireland and i pass the honourable member who does a great deal about the subject. thank you for giving way and this is the very impossibility you know, i know anyone in this house notes. does the finest except that the eu‘s determination to use northern ireland as a stick to beat uk were to chose outdated institution that has no concern for the well—being of our people as shown by the behaviour of meps in this house is serving to stop brexit instead of doing the honourable thing, respecting the vote in the recent general election validation and taking care of the uk and putting people first which the prime minister said he will do. this

legislation is a way of doing that. mist and speaker, the intention of this bill is clearly to stop any such use of the stick against this country and that is what it does. it isa country and that is what it does. it is a protection, it is a safety net, it is an insurance policy, and it is a very sensible measure and in the spirit of reasonableness we are conducting those checks in accordance with our obligations. we are creating the sanitary and phytosa nita ry are creating the sanitary and phytosanitary processes required under the vertical and spending hundreds of million pounds of on helping traders. under this finely balanced arrangement our eu friends agree that northern ireland, and this is a crucial point, northern ireland would remain part of the customs territory of the united kingdom, able to benefit from free trade deals with other countries which we are now beginning to strike and ensuring that god is not at risk of travelling to the eu, and that is

the majority of goods going gb to northern ireland, the majority of goods travelling to the not at risk of travelling to the eu do not have to pay tariffs. but details of the atla ntic to pay tariffs. but details of the atlantic deal and the obvious tensions between some of its provisions can only be resolved in with the basic minimum of common sense and goodwill from all sides. repeated requests t0 sense and goodwill from all sides. repeated requests to give way continue in background.” repeated requests to give way continue in background. ito sell the house in this month the eu have decided to use the northern ireland protocol to simply turn the libint use leverage against our negotiation

with free trade agreement. two take them as glaring example, the eu has said that if we fail to reach an agreement to their satisfaction, they might very well continue to list the uk‘s food and agricultural products for sale anywhere in the eu. and it gets even worse, mist and speaker. because under this protocol, that decision would create an instantand protocol, that decision would create an instant and automatic automatic prohibition on the transfer of our animal products from great britain to northern ireland. mist and speaker, our interlopers on the other side are holding out the possibility of blockading food and agricultural transports within our own country. repeated requests to give way continue in background.” give way to my honourable friend. thank you very much. would the prime minister agree with me that there is

no greater obligation to mps and our voters and that the british people told is no that no that no deal is better than a bad deal given that the eu refused to negotiate in good faith we have no option but to lead legislate to protect our internal markets. my honourable friend is entirely right and i have to say thatis entirely right and i have to say that is absurd and self—defeating as action would be, even as we debate that mattered, mist and speaker, the eu has not taken that particular revolver of the table and i hope that they will do so and that we can reach a canada style street trade agreement as well. indeed, it is such an extraordinary threat, and it seems so such an extraordinary threat, and it seems so incredible that the eu could do this, that we are not taking powers in this bill to neutralise that threat, but obviously reserve the right to do so if these threats persist because i am afraid these threats reveal the

spirit in which some of our friends are currently minded to conduct these negotiations. it goes to what my learned friends would call the intention of some involved in the talks. i give way to the noble and the learned, my right honourable and learned colleague. he never objects to another promotion. i have listened carefully to what the fai minister has said. would he accept that worthy interlopers in the eu to behave in such an egregious fashion which clearly would be unacceptable to us there is already provision under the withdrawal agreement for an arbitrary arrangement to go into this and will be to take reserve flowers, is it right, does he accept that those reserve powers should only be brought into force as a

final backstop if we have in good faith try to act under the withdrawal agreement and are then frustrated. the timing on which they come into force is very important for a reputation as a poultice of the rule of law. well, my honourable friend is absolutely right in what he says and he knows a great deal about this matter. it is of great importance that we go through the legal procedures as we will. but i must say to him, as things stand we are like there are other avenues in addition to the financial blockade on agricultural goods that the eu could explore if their determination to as! could explore if their determination to as i say interpret the protocol in absurd ways and, if they fail, to negotiate in good faith. we must now ta ke negotiate in good faith. we must now take a package of protecting powers

in this bill and subsequently. repeated requests to give way continue in background for example, there is the question of tariffs in there is the question of tariffs in the irish sea. when we signed a protocol that we accepted that goods at risk of going from great britain into the eu via northern ireland, should pay the eu‘s tariff as they cross the irish sea. we accepted that. but that any good staying within northern ireland would not do so. within northern ireland would not do so. the protocol created a committee to identify with the eu which goods we re to identify with the eu which goods were at risk of going into this sensible process was one of the achievements of our agreement and... i am afraid some in

the eu are now relying on legal d efa u lts to the eu are now relying on legal defaults to argue that every good is at risk and that therefore liable for tariffs. and that would mean, mr speaker, tariffs that could get as high as 90% by value on scottish beef, going to northern ireland. moving not from stranraer to dublin but from stranraer to belfast within our united kingdom. tariffs potentially over 61% on welsh lamb moving from anglesey to antrim, potentially over 100% on crop clotted cream moving from college, to pick a devonshire term at random, too long. mr speaker, this is unreasonable and plain against the space of that protocol. repeated requests to give way continue in background. they're threatening to caftan with borders across our own country and threatening to caftan with borders across our own country and to divide our own land and to change the basic

fa cts our own land and to change the basic facts about the economic geography within to a kingdom and egregiously to ride rough said over their own commitment to article four of the vertical whereby, as i quote, northern ireland as part of the customs territory of the united kingdom. mr speaker, we have done or cannot have a situation where the very boundaries of our country could be dictated by foreign power or international organisation. no british by minister, no government, no parliament could ever accept such an imposition. i give way to my honourable friend. how can my right honourable friend. how can my right honourable friend. how can my right honourable friend ensure that derbyshire dales lamb grown in our country can be enjoyed by our fellow citizens in northern ireland, part of our country? i think my honourable friend, very much mr speaker, and the best way that we

can all be sure that such lamb is able to be sold is that the united kingdom is to vote for this bill! and devote to protect economic integrity of the uk. and to answer the questions that then shouted out from a sheltered position, mr speaker, last year we signed the withdrawal agreement in the belief that i still hold that the eu would be reasonable. now, after everything that has recently happened we must consider the alternative. we ask for reasonableness and common sense and we still hope to achieve that, mr speaker, through the joint committee process in which we will always persevere no matter what the provocation. i will give way to my right honourable friend. i'm very grateful to my right honourable friend the giving way and i want to ask about the ministerial code. when

i was the attorney general of the previous government i was happy to confirm that the ministerial code oblige ministers to comply with international as well as domestic law. this bill will give ministers over the authority to break international law. the position on the ministerial code change? no, not in the least, mr speaker, and he can consult the attorney general‘s position on that the collateral, what this bill are simply seeking to do, this is the crucial thing, what we are simply seeking to do is to ensure this country, to protect this country, against the eu‘s proven willingness, and that‘s the crucial point, to use this delicately balanced vertical in ways for which she was never intended. so this bill includes our first step to protect our country in such a contingency by creating a legal safety net, taking powers in reserve, whereby ministers

can guarantee the integrity of our united kingdom. and i understand why some people will feel unease to the that the use of these powers i want to see myself as i have absolutely no desire to use these measures. they have an insurance policy, and if we reach agreement with our european friends, if we reach agreement with our european friends, which i still believe it‘s possible, they will never be invoked. and, of course, it is the case at the passing of this bill does not constitute the exercise of these powers. if they were ever needed, if they were ever needed, ministers would return to this house with a statutory institute in which a vote, perhaps that a question which is to

be answered mr speaker, which a vote would be and we will simultaneously, to get back to the point i was making to my honourable friend the memberfor bromley. making to my honourable friend the member for bromley. we will simultaneously pursue every possible address under international law as provided for in the protocol. in addition to our steps in majestic denmark domestic law, we would, if we had to make clear that we believe the eu is engaged in the material breach of its duty of good place as required under the withdrawal agreement and the vienna convention on the law of treaties. we will seek an arbitration as provided for under the withdrawal agreement and consider safeguards under article 16 of the protocol. it is not a question of if we meet our obligations that how we fulfil them.

we must do so in a way that satisfies the fundamental purpose of the protocol, the belfast good friday agreement, and the constitutional position of northern ireland. we will work with the eu on all of these issues. and even if we have to use these powers we will continue to engage with the joint committee so that any dispute is resolved as quickly and as amicably as possible. in reconciling the integrity of the eu single market with an old man island‘s place in the uk customs territory. but what we cannot do now is tolerate a situation where our eu counterparts seriously believe that they have the power to break up our country. if thatis power to break up our country. if that is what honourable members want to have on the other side i‘m afraid they‘re previously mistaken. that is

must be swiftly dispatched and that is why these reserve powers are enshrined in the spell. in addition, mr speaker, this bill will help deliver the single biggest transfer of powers to the devolved administrations since their creation. covering a total of the hundred and 60 different policy areas. each devolved administration will also be fully involved in the over sized internal market. the bill will maintain our common cause of high standards. while we already go beyond the eu in areas ranging from health and safety to consumer and environmental protections, and i give way to the honourable gentleman. can ijust make the payments trip back to the question he was asked by the former attorney general. it seems to me quintessential to the way that we do our business that the ministers abide by the law. indeed, the justice secretary is required by law to swear that he will uphold the

rule of law. how, therefore, can the prime minister seriously advance a piece of legislation which says, regulations are not to be regarded as unlawful on the grounds of any incompatibility or inconsistency with relevant international or domestic law? that‘s just gobbledygook, isn‘t it? complete end thorough nonsense.” gobbledygook, isn‘t it? complete end thorough nonsense. i don't know whether my right honourable gentleman was listening but i made very clear that we do not relish the prospect of having to use his powers at all. we hope very much, as i said, that the eu will be reasonable, but any democratically elected government of this country i would go to say any mp representing the people of this country, must be obliged to do whatever he or she can to uphold the territorial integrity of this country, and that is what we are doing.

chea sim background. it will allow us to invest billions of pounds to help uk level up. a they... they. . . are they... are undermining our negotiators, by effectively telling the negotiators that if they played ha rd ball the negotiators that if they played hard ball this house would oblige them by weakening our country is handed illegally forbidding and representatives and walking away from the negotiating table. mr speaker, i hope this house will never make that mistake again. instead, let us seize the opportunity presented by this bill and send a message of unity and resolve. let‘s say together to our european friends that we want a

great future relationship and they fantastic free trade deal and i give way to the pleasure of my honourable friend. the prime minister will remember that we have some andi and i didn‘t want us to leave with no agreement last year. we fell out over that but he was due to his word. we had an agreement. isn‘t the truth of this that we said in our ma nifesto we truth of this that we said in our manifesto we will ensure that northern ireland‘s businesses and producers enjoy unfettered access to the rest of the uk and the way to do thatis the rest of the uk and the way to do that is either through this internal market spell or by agreeing the free trade agreement with the eu, the canada trade agreement with the eu, the ca na da style trade agreement with the eu, the canada style deal, that they said was on the table, that he then came into office and said ok, they now have a team to step back from that, so can have a team to step back from that, so can he just assure have a team to step back from that, so can hejust assure me have a team to step back from that, so can he just assure me and have a team to step back from that, so can hejust assure me and i think in the saying that tonight is difficult for some of us but this is an important piece of legislation but can he assure me that his policy and the policy of his government is

still to secure the fta with the eu that they say they want and that we know that we want? can i thank my honourable friend for the spirit in which he asked that question and make us an important point and he is absolutely right to focus on where we are now. there are talks on this free trade agreement and it is by passing this bill tonight and in subsequent days that we will make the possibility of that free trade agreement sit more real and we will get it done sooner. therefore with this bill we will not only expedite a free—trade agreement with our european friends and partners but with friends and partners around the world. we will supportjobs and growth throughout the whole of the united kingdom. we will back alley negotiators by voting for the steel. we will back our in brussels and above all we will protect the territorial integrity of the uk and the peace process in northern

ireland. so i urge this house, i urge this helps to support this bill and, as my honourable friend rightly said, to get back to the business of securing a free—trade agreement with our closest neighbours that we would all wish to see and mr speaker, i recommend this also house. the question is that the bill now be that a second time. i call the ce ntre that a second time. i call the centre of the secretary of state to know with the amendment. thank you mr speaker. i beg to move the amendment standing in the name of the leader of the opposition and other right honourable and honourable fence. mr speaker, there are two questions at the heart of the bill and why we will be opposing it tonight. first, madam deputy speaker —— mr deputy speaker, how do we getan speaker —— mr deputy speaker, how do we get an internal market after generally the first in the uk while upholding the devolution settlement slits have been a vital part of our

constitution now for two decades and i were essential for our union? constitution now for two decades and i were essentialfor our union? and secondly, it is our country going to abide by the rule of law? of all space international orders for which we are famous around the world and have always stood up? does make a rules —based international order for which we are famous around the world and have always stood up. these are not small questions but go to the heart of who we are as a country and the character of this government. let me start with the first question. an internal market is vital for trade question. an internal market is vitalfor trade and jobs question. an internal market is vital for trade and jobs at home but also for our ability to strike teenage eels and it is the responsibility of the uk government at westminster to say glad that market and legislate. in this reading of the government but, madam deputy speaker, it must be carried out understanding that the government understanding has changed in the last two decades. two decades of devolution settlement is whether a decision that we would share power across our four nations, including devolving key powers of issues like

animal welfare, food safety,