a police officer is shot dead by a suspect who was being held in a custody centre in south london. he died in the early hours of this morning. a 23—year—old suspect who'd been arrested opened fire in croydon, and then shot himself. thi met is a family. the met is a family. policing is a family in london, and across the united kingdom. and today we police are all mourning a great loss. colleagues held a minute's silence for the sergeant, who's not yet been named. he'd served with the police for almost 30 years. also tonight a quarter of the uk's population now under tighter coronavirus restrictions as another wave of local lockdowns is announced. from this weekend people in cardiff, swansea, blackpool and leeds

are among those being banned from mixing with other households as another two million people put under heightened measures. large numbers of students in scotland are testing positive — as universities ban them from going to pubs and parties this weekend. but across the uk — the daily death toll and hospital and intensive care admissions remain very low. and the story of this hero rat and how he won himself the animal equivalent of the george cross. and coming up on bbc news — more disappointment for british cyclist geraint thomas, coming fourth at the italian time trials, just weeks after being dropped for the tour de france. good evening and welcome

to the bbc news at six. an investigation has been launched after a police officer was shot dead at a custody centre in south london in the early hours of this morning. a 23—year—old suspect — who was being processed after being arrested is believed to have turned the weapon on himself. he is in a critical condition in hospital. a minute's silence was held for the sergeant who lost his life. he's not yet been named. but the head of the metropolitan police, cressida dick, said he was much loved. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is in croydon. for daniel sandford is in croydon. the first time since i british for the first time since 2012 british police has been shot dead on duty. those who knew him described him as incredibly popular, honest, honourable and a police officer who cared. the man suspected of shooting him was referred as a possible extremist to the prevent programme a few years ago but was never investigated by m15 and this is not being considered as a terrorist incident. examining the scene of the murder

of one of their own colleagues. forensics officers working at the croydon custody centre in south london today. a suspect was brought here at around a 2:15am this morning in a police vehicle, but he was carrying a concealed gun and he shot the custody sergeant in the chest before turning the weapon on himself. the met is a family. policing is a family in london and across the united kingdom. today, we police are all mourning a great loss. we are all deeply shocked and very sad. we begin our minute's silence for our fallen colleague. this afternoon, the metropolitan police held a minute's silence in tribute to the dead officer. the prime minister sent his deepest condolences to his family. the police federation said the news was, "utterly devastating and heartbreaking."

this is a sad day for our country, as once again, we see the tragic killing of a police officer in the line of duty as they are trying to protect us and keep us safe. as well as the metropolitan police's murder investigation, the independent 0ffice for police conduct has been called in. it will be looking at the level of experience of the arresting officers, what was previously known about the suspect, whether he was searched and handcuffed and how he was able to conceal a gun until he was inside the custody centre. the suspect is in a critical condition at st george's hospital in tooting after having surgery. it's though at least one special constable was involved in his arrest. i think that a police officer can be killed in a police station is a source of huge concern, not just to the police, not just to those of us politicians who are charged with giving the police the tools they need, but everyone. but today, all of those involved

in policing are indeed shocked. in policing are in deep shock. once again, an officer has been killed on duty. once again, they remember the hidden risks they face when they come to work each day. daniel sanford, bbc news, croydon. a quarter of the uk's population is now under tighter coronavirus restrictions after measures were announced for another swathe of the country. cardiff, leeds and blackpool are on the new list of places where people will be banned from mixing with other households from this weekend. london is also on the covid hotspot watchlist as cases rise sharply in the capital. it comes as new figures suggest that england is seeing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. in a moment, the latest on the local lockdowns in wales and england. first here's our medical editor fergus walsh. the coronavirus numbers are all going the wrong way. infections, hospitaladmissions and deaths are all rising.

the latest r number has increased to1.2 to1.5, which means every ten infected people will pass the virus to between 12—15 others. the office for national statistics infection survey estimates that more than 100,000 people in england had coronavirus in the week ending 19th september. nearly double the previous week. that equates to 9,600 new infections per day — roughly three times the number that we were picking up by testing. it amounts to 1 in 500 people in england being infected, and that doesn't include those in hospitals and care homes. in wales, it's estimated that1 in 300 people is infected. infection rates are rising fastest in england in the north west, yorkshire and the humber, london and the north east.

in leed, 750,000 people will be banned frp, meeting in each other‘s homes and gardens from midnight, bringing the city in line with bradford and other parts of west yorkshire. in leeds, there was a mixed reaction. you have to go to work, you have to get through transport, there is still going to be mixing with people, so it doesn't really make any sense, to be honest. i don't really agree with the restrictions. i'm a key worker as well, so i have been working the whole way through it, so i have been seeing a lot of majority of what's going on from you can see some people just don't want to follow the restrictions and stuff is welcome and so it's even more frustrating when that happens. the demand for tests remains high, but fewer than one in three people who attend centers like this one in west london get their results within a day. london's mayor says the city is at a tipping point, and he wants a ban on household socialising. and now, as the season's change, even the weather is against us. with the onset of winter, many viruses transmit better. they survive longer in cold and humid conditions.

covid—19 may have that same effect. as well as that, because we meet more indoors there's more contact with individuals, also increasing transmission of covid—19. it will take at least two weeks before we know if any of the new restrictions will have an impact on the outbreak. for now, the coronavirus numbers may just keep rising. fergus walsh, bbc news. there has been another rise in new coronavirus cases. the latest government figures show that in the past 2a hours 6,874 new coronavirus infections were recorded across the uk — that's 240 more than yesterday. it means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is now 5,329. and daily hospital admissions have risen slightly — with 291 people being admitted on average each day over the last week. this number doesn't include scotland. in the past 2a hours 3a deaths

were reported of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test — for technical reasons today that also doesn't include scotland. it means on average in the past week, 29 deaths were announced every day, taking the total number, across the uk to 41,936. local lockdowns are being introduced in three more areas of wales this weekend — the capital cardiff, swansea and llanelli. it'll mean around half the welsh population — around 1.5 million people will now be under much tighter restrictions. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith, is in cardiff for us now. we've got to come to a decision by sunday. the logistics of lockdown can be painful. leigh and her grandson, corey, can't decide how they'll cope. it all depends on how long this lockdown lasts. they live separately and so, from sunday evening, can't be under the same roof or leave cardiff. other relatives live in places already under lockdown, so they'll all be cut off.

it's a travesty, isn't it? i'll be honest with you, i think it's going to have a lot of psychological effects. i think it's going to bring in a lot of loneliness, and i really am not looking forward to the second wave. i think it's going to be twice as bad as the first wave. they endured the first lockdown, but seeing coronavirus spike again after lapses in social distancing makes this even harder. do they not care about their family? is there nobody in their life that they love? are they realistically not going to be bothered if one of their family die of covid? it's frustrating. yeah, it really is. with cardiff, swansea and llanelli joining the lockdown list, it will mean 1.5 million people across wales being under the tighter measures. it will come into force just as students start to arrive for the university term next week. they mean no meeting indoors, in pubs or student halls, with anyone not in your household. anyone expecting to party

into freshers' week has been warned. the measures reflect the seriousness of the position, and we ask people to reflect on it in their conduct and to avoid unnecessary contact with other people. so just how serious is this second wave? hospital admissions are rising, but very slowly. at wales's biggest hospital, they are braced for more admissions in the coming weeks. it's inevitable that we will see a rise in hospital admissions. i suspect there will be a gradual increase in the weeks to come, so we may have a few weeks. we have been preparing all year. how long this will last is far harder to plan, but most here are preparing for the long haul. by by this time on sunday evening almost half the welsh population will be under local lockdown. the entire nation has been asked by the welsh government to think twice before people travel anywhere. think back just before people travel anywhere. think backjust a before people travel anywhere. think back just a few weeks before people travel anywhere. think

backjust a few weeks ago, the talk was of a late surge in staycations, helping the tourism and hospitality sector and that seems to be evaporating out as people face up to harder weeks and months ahead. studio: thank you. tighter restrictions come into force in leeds at midnight tonight. phil bodmer is there. what is the scale of the restrictions? sophie, health and civic leaders say they are seriously concerned that coronavirus cases are high and they are continuing to rise. more than three double 750,000 people are affected by these new rules. as of midnight people will no longer be allowed to meet those they don't live with in private homes or gardens unless they are in a support bubble. people all show should not visit people's homes or gardens if they live outside of the city. this has been an area of concern for some weeks now. tonight it becomes what is known as an area of intervention. earlier today the local authority held a news briefing in which the

local council leaderjudith blake said that in the past plans haven't been quite as good as they have hoped they could be. cases of covid—19 here are now at 98.5 per 100,000 people, and continuing to go up. we don't as yet know how long these measures will be in place. it could be some time. of course, they are hoping that the citizens of this city will abide by these new rules to arrest, at least, the numbers going up, or help reduce them. sophie. phil, thank you. london is also now on the covid watch list as new infections climb fast in the capital. helena wilkinson is in leicester square. and is a london lockdown now on the cards? well, there is real concern, sophie, about the increase in the rate of transmission of the virus. if you look at other towns and cities, as we have heard, some who have been on the watchlist have gone on to face further restrictions. it is not inevitable, though, of course some

have come off that list, but we understand that london is going on as an area of concern. what that means practically is that it will be much more carefully monitored and testing will be increased in areas where the rates are high. but we have heard from the mayor of london sadiq khan, who is calling for further restrictions, and he has also just further restrictions, and he has alsojust said further restrictions, and he has also just said that london is at a tipping point. and tonight, sophie, in the heart of the west end in london people out on a friday night, the first friday since the 10pm cu rfew the first friday since the 10pm curfew on bars, restaurants and pubs, people no doubt wondering whether london is going to be next to face local restrictions. studio: helena wilkinson in leicester square, thank you. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, is with me now. the local lockdowns keep coming but, despite a sharp rise in cases, but the numbers in hospital and the numbers in intensive care are still low, aren't they? a bit of context, at one stage back

in april there were 20,000 people with covid—19 in hospitals, it is about 1300 now, and at one point there were around 1000 deaths a day so we are a long way from that but the trend is up. and with coronavirus cases rise fast but they fall slowly. the government was criticised for not acting soon enough first time around. there will be people who will be confused, angry, bewildered about the dizzying rate of change in all these restrictions being announced day by day. they are likely to be with us on and off in various parts of the ukfor on and off in various parts of the uk for the next six months. we are going to hear about university stu d e nts going to hear about university students in a moment. but still, when you look at the latest figure is the biggest rise in infections is still amongst the young. 17-24 —year—olds are the peak group in terms of infection, but they are rising in all age groups, and the concern is, although it is mostly in the young now, that it will spread to the elderly and vulnerable, and thatis to the elderly and vulnerable, and that is where you get the

hospitalisations and the deaths. fergus walsh, a medical editor, thank you. students caught up in coronavirus outbreaks at universities in scotland have questioned why halls of residence were allowed to open at all. in glasgow, at least 172 students have tested postive and hundreds more are having to self—isolate. they've been told it would be illegalfor them to go home. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith has been speaking to some of those affected in glasgow. we've been in isolation since monday so last night we e—mailed the university asking for essential food, and they sent us these five bags. glasgow university are supporting some of the 600 students who are happy to isolate in their halls of residence, and the weekend won't be much fun. all students in scotla nd won't be much fun. all students in scotland have been told not to go to pubs or restaurants. i feel like we have been robbed of ourfirst pubs or restaurants. i feel like we have been robbed of our first year for top anyone who has been to uni, you have freshers' week, they say,

it's amazing, you meet friends for life, and we've been stuck. as stu d e nts life, and we've been stuck. as students arrive to nearly two weeks ago, some parents were concerned about a lack of covid security. we went to the polls, there were stu d e nts went to the polls, there were students running about, there was vomit on the stairs, and people running up and down the stairs that we re running up and down the stairs that were not supposed to be. angry stu d e nts were not supposed to be. angry students and their parents are asking why they are stuck in halls of residence in all their tuition is online. they suspect they were encouraged to come here so the university could benefit from their rent. that's an accusation firmly denied by the authorities, who say the students wouldn't get the full university experience if they stayed at home. at the university of abertay, they are offering half a day's learning our campus per week, but not for the 500 students isolating in halls. we want to have our students on campus for one

morning afternoon per week, and most our students are doing that. stu d e nts our students are doing that. students who are self—isolating in a flat with three or four other people are feeling somewhat isolated, obviously, and we regret that, but it's a temporary measure which will be released as soon as we can, based on the advice of health authorities. glasgow university didn't expects only students to break the rules by throwing parties, but that is what freshers do. should the scottish cup and have stopped them coming to campuses? had we taken a different decision, and it's legitimate for people to think we should have, but had we done that i am pretty sure that by now we would be getting questions about why we were preventing students being on campus and what that fair or an overreaction? students, step inside for now, can expect new advice on when they might be allowed to go home sometime this weekend. thousands more students are heading to universities in england and wales this weekend for the start of term. what is life going to be like for them?

12 universities say they will be carrying out their own testing. 0ur education correspondent, dan johnson, sent this report from liverpool — a city with a student population of more than 70,000. in liverpool, student heartland, the council has come knocking. we have had reports of a party this week, so we arejust had reports of a party this week, so we are just really asking young people and students to really be mindful. this is one of the most complained about roads in this area. we have to get this message out. 200 complaints this month across a city which doesn't even have all its stu d e nts which doesn't even have all its students back yet. i'm from the council, can we have a quick word? everybody likes a party, but we have to restrain ourselves for a few months, unfortunately i can sympathise, but they have to do what is required of them to protect themselves and our communities.

these are big households. how many are here? eight. john and jabiru are 30th in a house of seven, facing more online learning. you feel a bit short—changed. you just get onto your computer and sit there in front ofa your computer and sit there in front of a camera and it doesn't feel that productive, what else are you supposed to do? do you think stu d e nts supposed to do? do you think students will get the blame? yeah, like at home, would have been at the pub or whatever, loads of middle aged blokes all mixing with each other, probably more so than young people are doing. itjust seems that it's coincided with universities going back. they are keeping some face—to—face learning here alongside online lectures. campus has been transformed to make it safe and we really listened to students, staff and local residents to make sure it's as safe as possible. some people think it's just about you

getting the money from students that you need and inevitably they will have to be let down and teaching those online and they face restrictions on their social lives. we are trying to make sure that stu d e nts we are trying to make sure that students are safe, engaged, that they have a fantastic experience within the context of the challenges we face. not everyone is reassured. hugois we face. not everyone is reassured. hugo is about to head across the country to keele university. is like seeing a storm in the distance and decided to drive towards it. where i am currently in surrey has relatively low cases and where i'm going, near stoke—on—trent, has a lot higher, and i don't really want to go somewhere where i can't get out of. testing on campus could help keep things moving and might allow stu d e nts to keep things moving and might allow students to safely go home but, even if they all stick to every rule, cases already— amongst their age group had more outbreaks will come. —— cases are already high. two suspects have been arrested after two people were stabbed

and seriously hurt in paris, near the former offices of the satirical magazine charlie hebdo. a blade — described as "a machete or a meat cleaver" — was recovered at the scene. it comes as the trial is under way of 111 people, accused of helping jihadists carry out an attack on charlie hebdo's offices five years ago, in which 12 people were killed. senior directors at the online fashion retailer boohoo knew about "serious issues" over how workers were treated at its supply chain in leicester months before reporting brought the issue to the fore. the review by the company of its practices found no evidence boohoo had committed any crimes, but boohoo has admitted significant and unacceptable issues in its supply chain. liberal democrat leader sir ed davey has urged supporters to fight for what people "really need", as the party's annual conference today. the four—day conference is being held online due to covid—19. the party has suffered three poor general elections in a row, and sir ed warned that it needed to "listen" more. the boss of the clothing store next

has warned that thousands of retail jobs could become unviable, because the coronavirus pandemic may lead to a permanent shift to online shopping. lord wolfson welcomed the chancellor's newjob support scheme, but he said it was important that businesses eventually learn to live without state support as new figures showed government borrowing hit record levels. here's our business editor, simonjack. the crieff hydro hotel in perthshire, scotland, a destination for tourists, a venue for weddings and conferences — or at least it was. and here we have our reception today. a beautiful day in scotland... but for the lack of customers. the boss says a new package postponing tax and vat bills will help the business, but wage subsidies for staff working shorter hours won't change employment decisions. we simply can't afford to pay one third of an employee's time just to make that hour up, in order to benefit from the newjob retention scheme.

it just doesn't work for us financially. we can't afford it. however, the vat deferral, the reduction deferral, is very, very welcome, as is the repayment of loans, the extension of repayment of vat and tax bills, that is very welcome. thejob support scheme, unveiled yesterday by the chancellor, is less generous than the furlough scheme, which ends at the end of october, but it's still expected to cost billions. this morning, we got a reminder ofjust how much money the government is having to borrow. in august alone, to pay for furlough, support for the self—employed, while deferring income from vat and business rates, the government had to borrow £36 billion. that is £30 billion more than the same time last year and, if you look at the bill for the tax year so far, it's 174 billion, the highest number on record. the chancellor is trying to wean the economy off life support without killing it. retail is another sector hit very hard, but some employers think the time is right to face

some economic realities. i think it's important that employers begin to pay a little bit more for these schemes, and that employees get a little bit less, because otherwise i think there is a risk that our economy willjust become hooked on it. a lot of people say, with this permanent—looking shift online, a lot of the unviable jobs are in retail. is that right? i think that is right, yes, and i wouldn't want to underestimate the difficulty that is going to cause a lot of people who work in retail. i think it's going to be very uncomfortable for a lot of people. exhibitions, trade shows, conferences used to be big business, but event organiser emma carver fears that, without events, there are nojobs, subsidies or not. the announcement from the chancellor yesterday relies on people being able to bring their staff back for a third of their normal hours, but we can't really do that, because the business that we have doesn't exist. the measures to defer bills like vat and rates will help some businesses but, for firms with no customers,

it's hard to see how it will stop morejobs disappearing. simon jack, bbc news. his name is magawa. he's a rat — an african giant pouched rat — and he's also a life—saving hero. he has just been awarded the animal equivalent of the george cross for his work detecting landmines in cambodia. he's the first rat to get one. duncan kennedy tells his story. this is magawa, the mine—clearing, medal—winning, mind—blowing rat. he is actually a giant african pouched rat, capable of clearing an area the size of a tennis court injust 30 minutes. something that would take a human four days to do. and now for the first time in their 103—year history, one of britain's leading animal charities has given him the highest award. magawa is a true hero rat and we're thrilled to celebrate his life saving devotion by awarding him

the pdsa gold medal. it took a year to train magawa to work in cambodia. he walks up—and—down sniffing out the chemicals in the mines and gently taps it when he finds one. he's discovered 39 mines and 28 bits of explosive ordnance, making him the most reliable rodent. tell me, why is magawa so special? magawa, year after year, he searches the biggest amount of square metres, he finds more mines than any other rat. like i said, he is the one that each handler wishes to work with. magawa is one of 45 rats who have cleared enough land in cambodia for one million people to live on. so his handler, says he is due to retire in november but is fit enough to work for another year. a cuddly rat — well, perhaps. an effective one — certainly.

magawa, the mega mine clearer. duncan kennedy, bbc news. thank goodness for him. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. what a blast at a day along the north sea coast, gusts up mph near grimsby. the weekend is looking bright but chilly, and a shower symbol indicating it's not going to be completely dry stop here is the low pressure in the southern north sea which brought those nasty winds, but look at this gap in the cloud. that is where the cold air has been seeping through from northern climes, the arctic, across the uk. that will be stepped over us during the weekend. back to the winds, still blowing a gale this evening, gusts in excess of 50 mph, and showers on top of that coming from the same place, over and over again, so some areas are seeing in the last

24 hours around a month's so some areas are seeing in the last 24 hours around a months worth of rainfall. for the vast majority of us, it's been nothing like that, a clear day, and it's going to be a clear day, and it's going to be a clear evening with lighter winds and tomorrow morning a touch of frost. this gap 1 pointed out earlier, it still with us on saturday. we are between weather systems. 0ne still with us on saturday. we are between weather systems. one of these still clipping the extreme east of the country, so gale force winds around posts, further showers in lincolnshire, east anglia, may be the south—east, but the vast majority of us having a fine day. for cardiff, birmingham, liverpool, belfast, glasgow, and all the way up to the finals, it should be a fine day but a bit on the cool side, around 12 to 15. tomorrow evening, the showers eventually clear, but on that northerly wind the cloud rolls back in, which means that, in the west of the uk on sunday, it should be quite sunny and relatively pleasant, 17 in cardiff. for places like london and hull, still cloudy.

street, temperatures rise a bit, back into the high teens, but with that comes some cloud, wind and rain. a reminder of our top story. a police officer has been shot dead bya a police officer has been shot dead by a suspect who was being held in a custody centre in south london. from this weekend, people in cardiff, swa nsea, this weekend, people in cardiff, swansea, blackpool and leeds will be among those banned from mixing with other households, is another 2 million people are put under local lockdowns. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me.