this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as the us west coast continues to suffer devastating wildfires, the rivals for the white house clash over the cause. when you have years of leaves, dried leaves on the ground, itjust sets it up. it's really a fuel for a fire. to give a climate arsonist four more years the white house, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of america ablaze? borisjohnson‘s conservatives win the first vote in their battle over the new uk internal market bill. a huge backlog of tests for coronavirus in the uk, as the first minister of scotland, expresses

hello and welcome. president trump and his democratic rivaljoe biden have clashed over global warming as america's west coast is riven by wildfires. mr biden called the president a climate arsonist who would leave america ablaze if he was re—elected. but visiting california, donald trump said it would ‘start getting cooler‘ and blamed ‘poor forest management‘ for the fires. our correspondent aleem maqbool has the latest from oregon. it was like a journey into an eerie twilight zone. few have been allowed here since the fires swept in with such rage. and though most people had scrambled to get out with whatever they could, it was in this area that lives had also been lost.

there were some we found wandering and bewildered like larry. i lost everything except what‘s in that bag. everything. and i didn‘t have insurance. out of all the homes had insurance except for me. what made these fires so lethal and record—breaking is the high winds that came with them, accelerating their frightening, destructive passage through vast areas of this state. we keep hearing from those who said they felt they were fleeing for their lives, and it‘s only when you‘re on the ground and you see the destruction as we‘ve been able to and the warped landscape here, that you start to get a sense of the nightmare that they were running from. donald trump has been called a climate arsonist by his political opponentjoe biden. he biden. blamed global warming for this he blamed global warming for

this but in a trip to california the president said the fault lay elsewhere. this is one of the biggest burns we have ever seen and we have to do a lot about forest management. obviously forest management in california is very important. there has to be good, strong forest management which i've been talking about for three years with the state, so hopefully they'll start doing that. this family has just been thinking of survival. we found them in a displacement camp. they have now fled fires three times in three different locations in the past week. my mum had ten minutes to get out of her place and she got the clothes on her back and the cat and that was it, and her house is completely annihilated. it wiped out everything she owned. you know, and that's what we heard was the same with ours. we're not sure as of right now. it was summerstown that i‘d visited earlier. the signs aren‘t good. for all the politics at the heart of this disaster

are hundreds of thousands of americans who have faced fear, displacement and loss. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in gates in oregon. this is whatjoe biden had to say earlier. if we have four more years of trump‘s climate denial. how many suburbs will be burned in wildfires? how many suburban neighbourhoods will be flooded out? how many suburbs will have been blown away from super storms? if you give a climate arsonist four more years in the white house, why would anyone be surprised we have more of america ablaze? chris dicus is a professor of fire management at california polytechnic state university. i asked him if president trump was right in saying that the fires are caused by poor forestry management.

what we have seen is much more complicated than what politicians are coming out with. there is an amalgamation ofa with. there is an amalgamation of a lot of different things, climate change is part of it, lack of forest management is pa rt lack of forest management is part and we got overwhelmed because our lightning storm dumped thousands upon thousands of lightning strikes across our state and we haven‘t had rain for six months so all these factors a re for six months so all these factors are coming together to result in the pictures you are seeing. climate change compounding the issue but what has changed over time in how these forests are managed? historically even if you go back 100 years ago the landscape will look different. historically the western us, many of our indigenous people spread fast to manage land, we

took that away from them but we also got good at putting out fires when they were small so almost imperceptibly the forest has changed where the small trees that would normally have been taken out by small fires grow up into ladder fuels and at the same time it‘s dumping all this burnable vegetation on the forest floor. 40 million people live in california. how realistic is it to think you can go back to having these small but prescribed fires as pa rt small but prescribed fires as part of the management system? at present it‘s almost impossible because we have hundreds of thousands of hectares that are overgrown at this point and we can do different things but they are very expensive because it‘s small diameter material, it‘s different to give off the forest and at the same time it‘s difficult to ladder a

prescribed fire. —— to light a fire. it‘s too dangerous and the smoke can travel hundreds of fires and can impact people, especially with impaired breathing. new legislation which would allow the british government to override key parts of the brexit withdrawal agreement has passed an early hurdle in the house of commons even though it would break international law. mps voted by a majority of 77 to give the internal market bill a second reading. order. the ayes to the right, 340. then there? to the left, 363. it‘s all rather complicated. our political correspondent jessica parker unpicks it for us from westminster it goes back to the divorce settle m e nt it goes back to the divorce settlement the uk and the eu signed off earlier this year but borisjohnson says he‘s worried that extreme

interpretations of that agreement could damage the integrity of the uk, the movement of goods between all four nations and be a problem for the northern ireland peace process , for the northern ireland peace process, that his his argument, said the government has put forward legislation that could give powers to override part of that treaty to protect those elements they say they are worried about but a lot of people are crying foul over this, some people see it as a sabre rattling as the uk engages in future trade talks with the eu, they think northern ireland is being used asa northern ireland is being used as a political football by this government and some even suspect number 10 of trying to blow up the talks altogether. both sides insist they want to reach a deal over a future trade and cooperation but with this internal market build proving controversial moving through the commons, that is a big cloud hanging over trade talks which haven‘t got long left to run now.

the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has been accused of ‘playing politics with the pandemic‘ after she expressed ‘very serious concerns‘ about a reported backlog of coronavirus test results in the uk. the health minister for england, matt hancock, says the vast majority of people are getting results quickly, but as our health editor hugh pym reports a shortage of staff in government laboratories is presenting significant new challenges. another week begins with reports of struggles to get bookings for coronavirus tests. here in plymouth there was frustration from some who were waiting and hoping. went online and it‘s totally crashed so then phoned 119 and their system crashed and she‘s told me to come up here just to see if i‘d get turned away or not. there is problems getting a test. i was told by the nhs there was none. there was none in the uk whatsoever. back injuly system leaders were promoting walk—in testing centres like this one in east london. but now walk—in slots are limited each day and when they run out people are turned away if they don‘t have a booking.

two school staff i spoke to weren‘t pleased to hear that they have to come back tomorrow. i need to go back to work and i didn‘t get tested. i‘ve been trying since friday evening, tried saturday, sunday, no luck. i've tried calling the numbers on the websites, the waiting line isjust ridiculous. for us to get through today it took us about two hours. laboratories analysing swab tests are said to be overstretched. the big sites like this one in glasgow known as lighthouse labs are run by the uk government and scotland‘s first minister has called for action to resolve the problem. 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 part of, is starting to impact on the timeous reporting of scottish results. a westminster government source said the first minister

was playing politics with the pandemic, and her claims were wrong. earlier the health secretary had said the issues were being addressed. if you have symptoms, come forward and get a test. we're dealing with the problem of people having to travel too far and we're putting in the extra resources to deal with that. one organisation representing laboratory staff said the lighthouse labs have so far relied on academics on attachment but they‘re now returning to their universities so there‘s a staffing shortfall. there has been a gradual loss of staff across those sites and it has been difficult to fill those posts, especially at the senior level. it‘s not so difficult to fill at the level of the people working at the bench. but those senior people who have been running those laboratories are having to return to academia, is our understanding, and that‘s what‘s led to the capacity loss. the department of health denied there were staffing problems but questions are still being asked about why there‘s a backlog in the labs which appears to be holding up testing for key workers

and the wider public. stay with us on bbc news, still to come — life on venus? the extraordinary possibility contained in the clouds above the planet. george w bush: freedom itself was attacked this morning, and freedom will be defended. the united states will hunt down and punish those responsible.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: as fires continue to devastate the us west coast, the rivals for the white house clash over the cause. boris johnson‘s conservatives win the first vote in their the battle over the new uk internal market bill. families of those who lost their lives in the manchester arena bombing have been sharing messages and videos about their loved ones, as part of the inquiry into the attack. 22 people died when salman abedi detonated a bomb as fans left a concert

at the arena in may 2017. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz, reports. bagpipes play. my my whole world has been shattered into pieces. this was a cruel beyond belief. darling, if you can't have a glass of prosecco on your way to the tube station, then when can you? laughter. martyn hett and eilidh macleod, two of the 22 people murdered in the manchester arena attack. each had their own personal story. today those stories began to be told. weight, we have news just coming in. martyn is fit. martyn hett had a magnetic personality. i absolutely adore coronation street.

those who met him neverforgot him. this video, his family‘s way of showing his colourful character to the world. this is the way martyn lived his life and we should all be more martyn. the video was played in court with martyn‘s family present. it‘s been difficult. we‘ve had many difficult days throughout the whole process. but this was one of the nicer ones. we got a great deal of comfort from it. eilidh macleod was from barra in the outer hebrides. her family present video full of the highland music she loved to play on her bagpipes and messages from the whole island community. i know personally that i will never forget her. she was a wonderful girl and a wonderful person, and she taught me as a class teacher to be a better person. sorrell leczkowski‘s mother samantha was with her young

daughter when she died. her tribute, read by her lawyer, brought home the enormity of the pain she feels. "i feel that i let her down and i didn‘t save her. i am beyond devastated. i‘m broken. as well as dealing with both me and mum being blown up, i have to deal with seeing sorrell being blown up and die in my arms." the inquiry‘s heard that john atkinson may have survived the bomb if help had come sooner. his family‘s statement was read by their lawyer. "we as a family are truly devastated with losing john. we can‘t even explain how much we love and missjohn. it‘s just not fair. love you always and forever, john. your heartbroken mum and dad." the experience of paying public tribute is distressing for the families. but it‘s also considered important

to so that those who died are placed at the heart of the inquiry. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. a new treatment for covid—19 that uses artificial antibodies is about to be tested in uk hospitals. mono—clonal antibodies are made in laboratories and it‘s hoped they will boost the effect of the antibodies that occur naturally in people infected with coronavirus. some 2,000 patients will be given the treatment, 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 the laboratory called monoclonal antibodies. they‘ll be given to thousands of patients in uk hospitals to see if they work. i think the reason that 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 in 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 attached 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. covid cases are rising and the timescale of the recovery trial depends on the rate

of hospital admissions. only then will we see if the promise of monoclonal antibodies turns into a reality. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the american software company, oracle, has confirmed it wants to create a partnership with the video—sharing app, tiktok. the us administration is now reviewing oracle‘s bid, having previously said chinese ownership posed a threat to national security. frank lavin is a former us undersecretary of commerce under president george w bush. i asked him how much the us had to be concerned about over security issues. i think there is enormous concern on our security front. the concern of applications like tick—tock or companies like tick—tock or companies like wei wei collect a lot of data. —— huawei. scepticism or

suspicion is warranted. do you wa nt suspicion is warranted. do you want a foreign power with that degree of degree of data? you do not want to put all the hardware in place and find out the reason material going back to china that you wish was not going back to china so you have to act in a precautionary fashion, to use the eu phrase. thank you. how likely is it that china would retaliate? they do have history of 1—upmanship ship. they do have history of 1-upmanship ship. we do have to expect some response from china. it might not be immediate. they may want to wait until the elections are over because donald trump has shown he does not have a problem with escalating

tensions. i would problem with escalating tensions. iwould not problem with escalating tensions. i would not be surprised if they took sanctioned against us tech. washington may say you have already done this by censoring google and facebook. the us would say a response is not warranted. how much different would it be ifjoe biden was the next president? would it settle down? i do not know if there would be a great difference in policy but the tone would be different, more diplomatic channels to dispute resolution. rather than inflaming the issues. different tactics, i think. frank inflaming the issues. different tactics, ithink. frank lavin. it‘s the question that‘s always asked — about the possibility of life beyond earth. well, a team of international astronomers have detected traces of a gas in the atmosphere of venus that they believe could be produced by microbes in the planet‘s cloud.

they say that there could be another explanation for the presence of the gas but, so far, they haven‘t come up with an alternative theory. here‘s our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. venus. could it be home to extra—terrestrial life? there‘s new evidence that it might be. astronomers have discovered a gas called phosphine in the planet‘s atmosphere. they think it could have been produced by tiny microbes living in the clouds. i was really surprised, i was pretty shocked as well, and, at first, i didn‘t quite believe the detection, ijust couldn‘t believe that we‘d found it but then once we set out and independently detected it through another telescope, that‘s when i knew we really had a solid detection of phosphine through two telescopes and that it was real. the discovery was confirmed by the alma telescope in the mountains of the atacama desert in chile. it is one of the most powerful arrays on earth.

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. but the big problem is that venus is hostile to life. a soviet spacecraft landing in1982 confirmed scorching temperatures, up to 460 degrees celsius, and clouds of concentrated sulphuric acid, able to disintegrate any living thing in seconds. but some think that, even here, life could be possible. there is a habitable zone, a range of altitudes, on venus where it is not too hot and not too acidic, that life that we understand here on earth, so—called extremophile life, extremely hardy survival

superhero type cells, could survive that environment in the venusian clouds. many scientists still think that the conditions on the planet are too harsh to support life and that there is another explanation for the presence of the gas, but, at this stage, it‘s hard to completely rule out the possibility that alien life might exist on one of our nearest planets. pallab ghosh, bbc news. many cinemas may have opened up again after lockdown but of resurgent from riverside screen, a floating cinema launched in an attempt to bring the film industry back to life. more than 100 people can floating and watch stars on the screen by listening to noise cancelling headphones. you can reach me on twitter —

i‘m @ martinebbc. plenty more on our website on all those main stories. stay with us in the hours ahead. this is bbc news. we had the warmest september day on monday since 2016. for many a case of blue sky and sunshine. a beautiful september afternoon. it was joseph that had the top spot with 31. —— jersey. the reason being, this area of high pressure allowing this southerly float to drag in very warm and all the way from africa. temperatures unusually high but things will change as we go into tuesday with weak weather front bringing showery

outbreaks of rain. a mild start. but there will be some rain, not the heavy persistent rain, not the heavy persistent rain we have seen and it will wea ken rain we have seen and it will weaken through the afternoon a letter. more cloud in south—west england, south wales. we keep for many of us dry, settled and sunny conditions, light winds and plenty of warmth. mid to high 20s the temperatures. perhaps 30 degrees never to east anglia in the afternoon. it stays largely dry in the middle of the week but it will turn noticeably cooler. high pressure will stay with us but centred across the north of scotla nd centred across the north of scotland and as the wind swing around ina scotland and as the wind swing around in a clockwise direction that means more of the north, north—easterly and that means a notable difference. and in

particular along the north sea facing coasts. that could drag in isolated showers and maybe even some mist and fog. further south, we might see temperatures peaking at 25 celsius. 77 fahrenheit. high pressure not going too far away at all. another high keeping things very quite indeed noticeably cooler. temperatures perhaps falling down to where they should be to where they should be for this time of year. take account. —— take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines.

donald trump is visiting california where record wildfires continue to burn. he said the fires were the result of poor forest management, not climate change. but his election rival, joe biden, says it‘s the president‘s policies that are contributing to natural disasters. borisjohnson‘s controversial plan to override key elements of the brexit deal he signed with brussels has cleared its first commons hurdle despite deep misgivings by some senior tories. mps voted to give the uk internal market bill a second reading by a majority of 77. the american software giant, oracle, has confirmed it wants a technology partnership with the chinese—owned video—sharing app, tiktok. time was running out for a deal after president trump threatened to ban the popular app unless its american operations were sold. that‘s all from me for now. now on bbc news, it‘s

time for hardtalk.