the prime minister faces criticsm in the commons. everybody can see, just in the last few days, a colossal spike in the number of people who want to test and who want to ascertain whether they've got coronavirus. and what we're trying to do now is meet that demand at record speed. they've had six months, mr speaker, to get this right. and yet the prime minister still can't deliver on his promises. the health secretary said yesterday it would take weeks to sort the situation out. well, mr speaker, we don't have weeks. there's still confusion, as people struggle to find covid tests wherever they can. we're not alone.

we're hearing from other nhs trusts where this is happening there as well, and our gp surgeries as well. because people are unable to access the system, they're panicking, they're thinking, where can i go to get some certainty about whether my family member is struggling? otherwise i can't go to work. they can't go to school. we'll be getting the latest from the testingfront line, and gauging the political fall—out in westminster. also this lunchtime... taking a bite out of inflation — the eat out to help out scheme pushes uk inflation to its lowest level for nearly five years. longer jail terms for serious offenders, as the government announces a shake—up of sentencing powers. and a special report from india on the devastation caused to the country's poor, as the number of coronavirus cases exceeds five million. and coming up on bbc news, england have a five—year unbeaten record to defend in the deciding one day international against australia at old trafford.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. borisjohnson has defended the uk's coronavirus testing system, insisting it compares "extremely well" with other european countries. at prime minister's questions, he acknowledged there'd been a "huge surge" in demand in recent days, but he said that care homes, particularly, were being treated as a priority. labour told him to get his skates on, that he was presiding over a system that was collapsing, and that the government is staring down the barrel of a second wave without a plan. our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. why haven't you sorted out testing, prime minister? with a system under strain and the mid grappling to get a grip, boris johnson strain and the mid grappling to get a grip, borisjohnson left downing street to face a day of questioning

on its response to the coronavirus pandemic. testing by far the most pressing issue. labour's deputy leader stood in for a sir keir starmer, awaiting a test result for one of his children, and suggested the government rhetoric did not match reality. the prime minister has put his faith in operation moonshot, but meanwhile on planet earth there was no nhs test available for several high infection areas, including tame and oldham in my own constituency. injuly, the government promised there would be weekly test in care homes and they promised this for september. so can the prime minister confirm yes or no, do all care homes in this country have weekly tests? well, mr speaker, yes, to the best of my knowledge care homes in this country should get weekly tests for all staff members and test every 28 days for those who are in the care homes, the residents. angela rayner said

evidence suggested otherwise and attacked the government record. time and time again he makes promises and then breaks those promises. injune he told this house, i can undertake now to get all tests turned around in 2a hours by the end ofjune. they've had a six months, mr speaker, to get this right. and yet the prime minister and still can't deliver on his promises. the health secretary said yesterday it would ta ke secretary said yesterday it would take weeks to sort the situation out. mr speaker, we don't have weeks! we are delivering exactly what we said we would do. what is happening, mr speaker, is that the british people, quite understandably, are responding to that system with a huge, huge surge in demand. and so it's very important that everybody follows the guidance about when they should be getting a test. from the labour backbenchers claims that constituents had had to travel huge

distances, but for the majority, the prime minister claimed, the testing system was working well.|j prime minister claimed, the testing system was working well. i would remind the house and those that want to run it down, that we are conducting more tests than any other european country. testing more people per thousand of population than any other european country. those are the facts. he doesn't like it. all he wants to do is score party political points. with high demand putting the coronavirus testing system under strain, political pressure will continue over the government are's response. jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. unions and school leaders are calling for teachers to be given priority access to coronavirus tests, as a surge in demand continues to cause long delays in some areas. as nhs trusts report people heading to a&e departments and gps for tests, officials across the north west say the system there is under severe strain. our health correspondent richard galpin reports. queues of people here in

southend—on—sea lining up to get tested for it coronavirus. the surge in demand for tests as winter approaches and children return to school, overwhelming the key laboratories, which process the 12 tests. people now being discouraged from coming to testing centres like this unless essential. sparking an angry response here.|j this unless essential. sparking an angry response here. i dropped my daughter off with my grand daughter. she was about 350 people being told they cannot get tested because they don't have enough, they only had enough tests for about 150 people. the lady in front of her had been here five days on the trot with her little one. she couldn't get tested. another one had been queueing since half past four in the morning to get tested. to tackle this the government encouraged people to get tested earlier this year. now it has changed tack and once priority given to nhs patients and staff and a care

home staff and residents. the nhs has to be at the top of the list and then social care. and i think looking at the need to keep our economy going and our schools open, it's micro clear that making sure that we get our priorities right so that we get our priorities right so that children can stay in school and parents are able to go to work, clearly has to be at the heart of this important work. but other key workers such as teachers are also being affected by the shortage of tests a nd being affected by the shortage of tests and so far have not been prioritised. the lack of testing means that we are stuck at home with oui’ means that we are stuck at home with our children. our children are not able to attend school. we are not able to attend school. we are not able to attend school. we are not able to return to work. i do have some symptoms. it could be just a cold, but if it was ruled out, if i found out i didn't have coronavirus, then i could go back to work, my wa ke then i could go back to work, my wake —— wife could go back to work and continue teaching. such is the situation now that people have been

heading to any units in hospitals like this one in bolton in their dozens. —— a&e. bolton has the worst infection rate in the country. but in this tweet at the hospital trust is saying a&e is so busy with patients requesting test, it wants people to stay away. we are not alone. we are hearing from other nhs trusts where this is happening as well. and gp surgeries. people are not able to access the system. they are panicking. they are thinking, where can i go to get some uncertainty about whether my family member is struggling? otherwise i can't go to work. they can't go to school. so we are seeing gps being on “— school. so we are seeing gps being on —— inundated the same way that hospitals are. now to add to the problems, another welsh authority will be put under local lug from tomorrow evening following an increase in cases. in scotland nicola sturgeon has said that while cases were continuing to rise, the

backlog of testing was decreasing. and there were no indications of any difficulty booking tests. but there are plans to set up a new testing centres to cope with demand. richard galpin, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym is here. why is the government under so much pressure now? there are many factors. it is down to this extra ordinary build—up of demand for tests which happened throughout august. there may have been a question to be asked about why it was not anticipated, more people going back to work, more people going back to work, more people going into schools, teachers and pupils, and people coming back from holidays, why was it not foreseen that more would have needed to tests ? that more would have needed to tests? but that was probably the same around europe. we have seen other european countries with the same issue. the number of cases has gone up dramatically. that was expected in october. the government had planned laboratory —type —— capacity to handle the tests that

we re capacity to handle the tests that were going to come on stream in late september and october to get to their target of half a million tests a day by the end of next month. but it has all come to a head right now with this mismatch between supply and demand, and only a certain amount of tests available for the next few weeks. as we heard, a prioritisation with the nhs and social care getting the first batch available each day and leaving some for other people, hence the enormous frustration that we have been hearing from people waiting to get tests. the government line is if you haven't got symptoms, you should not try and get a test. that is absolutely clear. they say there is more testing going on in major —— than in major european economies, but the system is under great stress at the moment, causing a lot of problems for people at a time when cases are rising. you need a testing system that is really up there and working properly. thank you.

the inflation rate fell sharply in august, to a five—year low of 0.2%. the reduction — measured by the consumer prices index — was partly caused by the eat out to help out scheme which pushed down restaurant prices. our business correspondent ben thompson joins us. what is responsible for this huge bite out of inflation? yes, simon, you're right, prices in cafes and restau ra nts you're right, prices in cafes and restaurants falling for the first time in record. 100 million meals we re time in record. 100 million meals were served as part of that government eat out to help out scheme that offered discounted meals to diners. that coming at the same time asa to diners. that coming at the same time as a cut in vat for hospitality firms, that bringing down prices there. but there were a number of other factors. the price there. but there were a number of otherfactors. the price of air tickets, plane fares, they fell sharply as a result of that slump in demand for travel. and traditionally at this time of the year in the shops prices would go up as new stock arrives in stores. but we know that retailers right now are pretty

desperate to attract us back to the high street and so have been cutting the price of clothing rather than increasing it. all of that taken together ringing inflation down to 0.2% last month, down from 1% in the month before. it is a five year low. and still well below that bank of england target of 2%. now you might wonder why any of this matters. if you are facing a squeeze on your income right now, low inflation means prices are rising less quickly. perhaps you have been furloughed, maybe you are working fewer hours, facing the prospect of redundancy. with prices rising less quickly it does mean that your earnings and your income could go a little further. ben, thank you. the uk's approach to potentially flouting international law has attracted further international criticism, with senior figures in the us saying there can be no free trade deal with them if the britain tries to flout the northern ireland protocol. and in brussels, ec president ursula von der leyn has quoted margaret thatcher as she joined in the criticsim. our correspondent nick

beake is in brussels. what has she been saying? simon, the head of this place, the european commission, has been outlining her future for europe for the next five years, but she took us back in time to 1975 specifically, which some viewers may recall as the first time the uk had a referendum on european membership. she quoted margaret thatcher speaking in that year, he said, "britain does not break treaties. it would be bad for britain, bad for relations with the re st of britain, bad for relations with the rest of the world and bad for any treaty on trade." and i should have underlying said the same thing applies today. she called on the current conservative leader and the prime minister borisjohnson not to go back on the bridge is a divorce deal that was agreed last year. the european union and the uk jointly agreed it was the best and only way for ensuring peace on the island of ireland. and we will never

backtrack on that. under this agreement has been ratified. by this house and by the house of commons. it cannot be unilaterally changed, disregarded or disapplied. this is a matter of law and trust and good faith. we know that boris johnson in contrast says he is only acting in the best interests of the whole country and he is looking to secure the peace accord in northern ireland. and also interestingly, we have heard senior conservatives say it is the european union that has been acting in bad faith, in particular during these negotiations that have been going not very well, but i have been going on that —— nonetheless. the idea of striking a trade deal... 0h, trade deal... oh, we have lost an egg. that was the end of his report. nick beake. serious and violent criminals in england and wales will face tougher jail terms under government proposals to overhaul sentencing laws. the new measures also include more support for those with mental health and addiction issues. here's our home affairs

correspondent, june kelly. ellie gould was 17 when her life was taken by a former boyfriend after she ended their brief relationship. her killer, thomas griffiths, was also 17 and they were at the same school. he went to ali's home and stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife. her mum carol recently organised a get together for her daughter's friends, who are all about to head off to university. i wanted to see them all before they we nt i wanted to see them all before they went and wish them all the best. at the same time i should have been wishing ellie off as well. her daughter's murderer was jailed for a minimum of 12 and a half years. new sentencing measures announced today include tougher penalties in the future for teenage killers. a move welcomed this morning by carol gould. i can't bear the thought he will be out before he is 30. he has

devastated our lives and it seems so wrong that by the age of 30 he could be out and he has got a second chance to have a second life. there will also be harsher sentences for other violent offenders, including rapists, and powers to keep those convicted of terrorism injailfor longer. just some of the changes announced by the justice secretary. the public want to know that custodial sentences for these sorts of crimes do what they say on the tin. they want to know that when serious and violent offenders go to prison, that is where they will stay for as long as possible. these reforms will restore their faith and the system will keep dangerous criminals off our streets for longer. but there is a focus too in rehabilitation for less serious offenders. chris mcgrath, with martin bruen, the psychologist who helped him to turn his life around when he was given a community sentence. martin enabled chris to address the mental health issues

which had led to 16 years of reoffending. i'd be out from friday to sunday, sometimes longer, spent all my wages, lose jobs, to sunday, sometimes longer, spent all my wages, losejobs, lose friends, whereas on the other hand now i've gained all that back and more. a lot of the clientele we see have been struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues for some time and without the support that just creates a revolving door. but the sentencing overhaul comes as the court system is facing a massive backlog of cases. june kelly, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime. frustration across the country as many still can't get coronavirus tests — but the government insists it is working to resolve the issues. and coming up... the extra difficulties that the parents of special educational needs children face during this time of covid. coming up on bbc news. former spurs winger gareth bale has talks about a return to tottenham

from real madrid after leaving back in 2013 for a then world record fee. many of us are now aware of the environmental dangers of micro—plastics — or micro—beads — as millions of tonnes of them get washed into our seas and oceans. well now there's some good news. based on work started at cambridge university — a company has become the first in the world to make single use plastic out of something that won t damage the planet. peas. here s oui’ science correspondent richard westcott. everyone in this lab is full of plastic. well, their lab coats are, anyway. a lot of our clothes are full of tiny little balls that have got fragrance inside. it's what makes them smell so nice. now, normally, they're made of plastic, which washes into the environment and stays there for decades. what if you could make them out of something that's better for the planet? like peas?

this is the first company in the world to engineer plant protein into a material that does the same job as single—use plastic. things like the micro capsules you'd often get inside fabric conditioners or cosmetics. at the moment the micro capsules contain plastic which would not degrade and last for ages in the ocean. our capsules were made out of protein which would be eaten by fish eventually. it's taken 15 years to perfect the process. here, they're using peas, but you can use other common plants, including potatoes. eventually, it comes out as a liquid that can be made into plastic—like sheets. so, after the coating has been dried in the oven, it turns into a lovely film, which we can then turn into a label like that, that's on your apple there. so, basically, that's the equivalent of a plastic label, but i can eat it? yes, it'sjust100% pea protein.

0k. crunching. very nice! it's hard to eat an apple nicely on camera! dishwasher tablets, sandwich packets, sweet wrappers, all made of something that biodegrades naturally in a matter of days. is there a danger you're just replacing one problem with another, so farmers who should be growing food are actually going to grow peas to make plastic and then we don't have enough food? there are a lot of waste products already in the farming process that have got very low value or even are just ploughed straight back into the field that can be sold on and used to make our kind of materials. single—use plastics and micro plastics don't need to be made from fossilfuels. there's something very wrong about making materials from oil that just lasts for a minute or two. it's thought that the average family washes around a0 million tiny plastic balls down

the drain each week. several countries are in the process of banning them. now there's a process of swapping that harmful plastic for something made from peas. richard westcott, bbc news, cambridge. barbados has confirmed its intention to become a republic by the end of next year — removing the queen as its head of state. the former british colony gained independence in 1966. the governor—general, dame sandra mason, delivered a speech on behalf of the country's prime minister saying it was time for barbados to "fully leave our colonial past behind." a group of mps say there's been "u na cce pta bly slow" progress in the removal of dangerous cladding from high—rise buildings — which was due to be replaced byjune. the commons public accounts committee says nearly 250 buildings in the uk — with similar cladding to that used on grenfell tower — still have it. ministers say they've made 1.6 billion pounds available to speed up the process. with 5 million cases of coronavirus — india has become the second worst hit country in the world,

behind the united states. the conditions caused by the pandemic have had a devastating impact — particularily on the country s poorest citizens. the bbc‘s india correspondent yogita limaye reports. they weren't infected by covid, but they've suffered because of it. last month, ramesh kumar‘s two—year—old son died of nerve damage in his brain. the family was turned away three times by a public hospital. doctors told them they were overburdened because of the covid crisis. translation: if it wasn't for coronavirus, my son could have been saved. government doctors has told me to take him to a private hospital, but i didn't have money for that. deaths like these are going unnoticed as covid—19 numbers continue to stack up and bring india's already inadequate medical

infrastructure to its knees. doctors at a public hospital in mumbai are now being allowed to isolate forjust one day between their duties in covid and other wards, which puts patients at risk. when a doctor is the source of infection, it is not good in terms of health systems. we are over—worked, we are over—stressed, we are working tirelessly, we don't have leave. many are questioning why restrictions continue to be eased, including reopening metro rail systems across the country even as the health crisis is getting worse. imposing another lockdown to curb the spread of covid—19 is an extremely difficult option because the closures we've seen over the past several months have already had a devastating impact on the lives of some of india's poorest citizens. praveen kumar‘s family has been stitching shoes for generations in the northern city of agra. during the stringent

lockdown earlier this year, they once went hungry for four straight days. his mother, pushpa devi, says they've struggled for every morsel of food, and that she's never seen such days in her life. even with restrictions easing, there's only been a trickle of work. "i don't know how we will get by in the coming days. "if the situation remains like this, we'll have no option but to kill ourselves," praveen says. over the past decade, india has managed to pull millions out of poverty. hard —fought achievements that are now at risk of coming undone. yogita limaye, bbc news, mumbai. the uk government's law officer for scotland, lord keen, has offered his resignation

to the prime minister. bbc scotland understands lord keen, the advocate general, has found it increasingly difficult to reconcile government plans to change the european union exit deal with the law. after so many months away — the return to school in a world of social distancing is tough for any child. but parents of those with special educational needs say their children are facing extra barriers to education. our disability correspondent nikki fox reports. lewis needs routine and constant engagement in order to cope with his autism and complex needs. his mum dawn is desperate for him to return to school, to get a full—time education. she knows that's what is best for his development and his mental health. he thrives on structure, times. he understands school is five days a week, he needs a routine. lewis has been offered two days per week initially. two days? two days.

so that's no routine, no structure. in some aspects, worse than what we're doing now. how has this impacted the whole of the family? it's been really, really hard. my other son is 12 and he has no additional needs. hello! is it leon? yeah. leon, so lovely to meet you. leon is a wonderful young carer, but it's tough. are you coping all right at school yourself? eh, yeah. but sometimes a bit like, now i can go to school to see my friends but lewis can't, which is unfair. yeah. he feels really guilty going back to school, erm, because his brother's more in need of that school play. and he hides himself in the morning, he hides that uniform and he runs out to school.

erm, really sad. he'd never let lewis see him in a uniform. never. cos he knows how much it means? yeah. that it's, well done. lewis's school says phased returns are working and have helped children adapt to the new routine. but dawn says they don't work for her son. he's still at home. i'm frustrated for lewis. upset to see him lose skills that he'd gained, be so isolated. every day is draining. and every day asks me, "monday? monday?" he knows he should be going back to school like his brother. you know, i've had to say, "not soon. not for you anyway." it's a right of passage for many — but for hundreds of thousands of learner drivers the coronavirus pandemic ? and subsequent suspension of driving tests — has seen hopes of passing pushed further and further away.

now the driver and vehicle standards agency has acted — to try to clear a huge back log. matt graveling reports. ozzie is teaching sister chen to drive. it's not called first, it's called one. no, it's not. it's called first gear. it's not. it's going ok. this is exactly how you are on a driving lesson. you want to be in a position where you are the most prepared you possibly can be before going into a test situation, so that you have a higher chance of passing, don't you? but for shen and others learning to drive, lockdown in march meant tests were no longer on offer. so when the first slots opened up last month, thousands found themselves in gridlock. so i'm currently 57,365th in the queue. and shen wasn't alone. for the past two weeks others have sent me their story. i am standing in a queue, it started with 166,000 people. i'm currently standing

at 49,230 something. i think today is a great example about how those of us with cancelled tests have been completely disregarded by the dvsa. because it is near impossible to book a test. initially the driver and vehicle standards agency only made tests available six weeks in advance. this has now changed to 18. despite still working within covid restrictions, this week the dvsa took some big steps to try and reduce the backlog. instead of limiting each instructor to five tests a day, now they can do one more. it's hoped this will mean 375,000 tests between now and the middle ofjanuary. a big number, but still 200,000 less than the same period last year. barmett kemmel has been a driving instructor for 11 years. he says having to book so far ahead is having an impact. it's not very easy because you are having to sometimes get a learner to try to book a test before they are ready because they are afraid that if they do get ready and book it,

it's going to take a long time. the dvsa say fewer than half of learners pass first time, so only book when you are confident. they also said they're working hard to meet exceptionally high demand for tests but that there are still some available. and while we were filming, shen finally made it to her destination. cheering. oh, my god, it's about time! oh, my god! matt graveling, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's tomasz schafernaker. we were getting used to some quite nice weather. you have put me on the spot! yesterday at temperatures got up spot! yesterday at temperatures got up to 31 degrees in the south east of the uk, mid 20s for most. not quite so warm in the outlook. still then settled with plenty of sunshine around but temperature is not quite so high. they are dropping across

northern parts of the uk