a this is bbc news the headlines at five. a adlines at five. the government defends its decision to allow students to return to university — despite several outbreaks of coronavirus, which have seen many confined to their rooms. labour demands assurances. students have been done over on their a—level. they've been done over on freshers‘ week. the government is now threatening to lock them up at university. and very worrying for them when they graduate, we may be looking at long—term youth unemployment. it's important that students don't have to give up a year of their lives by not going to university. they are going to university and are paying the fees accordingly. cardiff and swansea prepare for tighter lockdown restrictions from 6pm this evening — with neath—port talbot, the vale of glamorgan and torfaen also going into local lockdown tomorrow evening.

police name louis de zoysa as the suspect in the killing of police seargeant matt rartner. the 23—year old remains critical in hospital. president trump nominates the conservative judge, amy coney barrett, to fill the vacant seat on the us supreme court. good afternoon. the government has defended its decision to allow hundreds of thousands of students to return to university. that's despite several outbreaks of coronavirus which have seen many students confined to their rooms on campuses. the culture secretary oliver dowden says it's important that students

don't give up a year of their lives by not returning to their studies. but a member of the government's advisory body modelling the spread of the pandemic says the consequences of allowing students back have been ‘entirely predictable'. danjohnson reports from manchester. so this is our saturday night. staying in forfilm night is not exactly the fun freshers experience katie and max wanted. earlier in the week we made plans to go out. obviously as students we have lectures through the week. then lockdown came yesterday so every booking we made and had to pay for, we had to cancel. other people at uni get to go on nights out, see their friends and go out drinking which is what we should be doing. it is quite hard for us. even other accommodations can date like in manchester. how is your saturday night? dylan and claudia were also trying

to make the best of it. it is a bit scary, i feel like we are in an apocalypse. i have one two hour lesson a week, everything else is online. it just seems a bit pointless. this was only second night of two weeks isolation here but the voices of concern are growing. students have been done over in their a—levels. they've been done over on freshers' week. i'm very worrying for them when they graduate, they may be looking at long—term youth unemployment. some of these students are starting to wonder how they ended up in this situation when the rest of us were told to work from home if possible and to limit the number of people we mixed with. there were warnings that outbreaks would come and that that would mean disruptive teaching. now because university involved students coming in from many different parts of the country, congregating in very close proximity, then it's inevitable there will be some spread among the student population and that is what we are seeing.

but there are no good alternatives, even if it means a tough start to term for some with time behind bars instead of in them. universities say this shows they have the plans in place to cope with cases. we are doing that in order to reduce the spread of the disease and enable them to go back at all and i think it's important for students not to have to give up a year of their lives by not going to university. and they are going to university and paying the fees accordingly. in scotland, more than 1000 students are in isolation with reports a few have left to go home, against advice. there are questions about seeing family at christmas with calls to get enough testing in place to allow that to happen safely. danjohnson, bbc news, manchester. earlier i spoke to some students from manchester metropolitan university — locked down in their student accommodation. they told me this wasn't how they'd imagined their first weeks at university.

it wasn't the experience we were expecting. we are just trying to get by and learn how to do things now. you have all been tested, but none of you have it, is that right? yes, two days ago we all got tested because around the building, people had it. we were celebrating we were negative, however we were told to self—isolate although we are all negative in the house of —— household. i have the names of your flatmates, who is rosie? move in a bit. how are you finding it because this is not what you were expecting? are you concerned about the future now if there are other outbreaks, this could be the pattern of what your first year at university will be like? yes, i was looking forward to coming to university more but on

my course , we to coming to university more but on my course, we only have three hours in university every week and that has all moved online so it is not what we were expecting but hopefully it will improve eventually. jamie, who is on your left? hannah. hello. are you thinking about not pursuing this yearfor gets worse, are you thinking about not pursuing this year for gets worse, would you be looking for a refund for example of your fees and saying it is not what i'm expecting a university? well, realistically cut with all due respect to the university, they are trying to make it work. but i am personally not interested in a refu nd personally not interested in a refund because i do not see it as necessary. india, what about you, are you satisfied with the lectures you're getting on soon, is working?

with me, because i am studying drama, it is difficult to do that online obviously. i do not think personally it is very fear that i am paying disseminated students in the past have paid with not the same experience. with acting on things like that, it is very difficult to do that with online lecturers. you need to do it in real life, face—to—face. charlottes, you are the last one. do you think the government was right to encourage all to start university this year.l lot of people have been saying that with the migration of your old travelling around, this was predictable. yes, i think it was like they should have done that. for

me it did not change my decision. i knew i wanted to go to university this year. i did not want the virus to stop me from going to university and getting the education to do my career and what i want to do. final question, are you still having fun? yes, we are, we are just staying indoors trying to have fun. we have had some reaction from manchester metropolitan university about the lockdown. they said that they are attempting to assist students who have been asked to go into 14 day self isolation at the berlin cambridge halls. this includes the provision of foods and other essentials from the supermarkets and enhanced well—being services and additionalfinancial enhanced well—being services and additional financial assistance. they recognise the situation for the

students, especially in the short period of time we had to inform them of the decision. the latest government figures show that there were 5,693 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 2a period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 5,816. 17 deaths were reported, of people who died, within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test, and that means on average in the last week, 30 deaths were announced every day,) taking the total number, across the uk, to 41,988. on another note, the government has been urging people to download the new app and in the last few minutes, matt hancock, the health secretary

has said an absolutely fantastic response to the nhs covid—i9. over 10 million people have downloaded it injust three 10 million people have downloaded it in just three days. i 10 million people have downloaded it injust three days. i recommend 10 million people have downloaded it in just three days. i recommend you download it now. some of us here have downloaded it, it is quite easy to put in your phone and it scans. let's bring you some live pictures now from the city of wilmington in the us state of delaware where democratic presidential nominee joe biden is speaking about president trump's nomination ofjudge coney barrett as his candidate to be the new suprme courtjustice following the death of ruth bader ginsburg. for a decade, twice already this supreme court has upheld that law, the affordable care act. the congress, expressing the popular will of the american people, has rejected president trump's efforts

as well. now, all of a sudden, this administration believes they have found a loophole in the tragedy of justice ginsburg's death. it does not matter to them republicans set the precedent just not matter to them republicans set the precedentjust three years ago when they denied even the courtesy of heat in to president obama's nominee after he had only passed away nine months prior to election day. it did not matter to them. millions of americans already voting ona millions of americans already voting on a new president and new congress had begun. all that does matter is that they see an opportunity to overturn the affordable care act on their way out the door. as i speak, we are still in the midst of the worst health crisis globally for a century. the crisis has already taken over 200,000 lives between 750

and 1000 lives a day and counting. and yet, the trump administration is asking the supreme court right now asking the supreme court right now asi asking the supreme court right now as i speak, to eliminate the entire affordable care act. the administration filed a brief and the supreme court and it concludes and i quote, the entire affordable care act thus must fall. the entire act thus must fall. president trump can claim all —— all he wants, he's going to protect people with pre—existing conditions but the fact is he is already fighting to take those protections away as we speak. if he has his way, more than 100 million people with pre—existing conditions like asthma, diabetes and cancer could once again be denied coverage. complications from

covid—19 like lung scarring and heart damage could become the next flight heart damage could become the next flight of pre—existing conditions used as an excuse to deny coverage to millions of people. women could once again be charged higher premiumsjust because once again be charged higher premiums just because they are women. pregnancy becoming a pre—existing condition again. seniors could see their prescription drug prices go up. the funding for medicare could go down. it does not matter. it does not matter what the american people want, president trump sees a chance to fulfil his explicit mission, steal away on vital protections of the affordable ca re vital protections of the affordable care act for countless families who have come to rely on it for their health, their financial security, the lives of those they love. president trump just tweeted an hour ago on my way here and i quote,

obamacare will be replaced with a much better and far cheaper alternative, if it is terminated in the supreme court, it would be a big win for the usa. it should come as no surprise that on saturday, president trump would nominatejudge amy coney barrett and on sunday layout clearly what his objective is, to terminate obamacare. the judge has written —— has written track record of disagreeing adamantly with the supreme court decisions on two occasions upholding the obamaca re act. decisions on two occasions upholding the obamacare act. in fact, not as a judge but prior to going on the bench, she publicly criticised chief justice roberts opinion of upholding the law eight years ago. the

american people understand the urgency of this moment. they had already voting in droves because they know their health care hangs in balance. they understand that if donald trump gets his way they could lose their right to vote, write to clean—air and water, the right to equal pay, voters could —— workers could lose their bargaining rights. dreamers could be thrown out of the only country they have known. and women could lose the bedrock rights enshrined in the law for 50 years. people are voting right now because they know the very soul of this country is at stake, because they know the decisions of the supreme court affect their everyday lives. that is where we will leave delaware and the home state ofjoe biden, not and the home state ofjoe biden, not a swing street —— swing state at all. talking about the choice of

judge amy coney barrett to the supreme court. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there, it has been a cold weekend, not so bad if you have the sunshine. we had this cloud around which should lead to a spectacular sunset. it has been cold and cloudy on the east of england, the winds have dropped in bridlington. thickest of the cloud affecting east anglia in the south. a much drier day than it was yesterday. those ones in the south—east are easing and will continue to fall overnight tonight. we have this cloud advancing in from the atlantic, especially into west scotland and northern ireland. plus it was the cold est northern ireland. plus it was the coldest september night on record and tonight will be much milder. the cloud from east scotland all the way down to the west country, there is the risk of a touch of frost and some mist and fog patches. early

next week we should see higher temperatures but it will be turning more unsettled. we have this band of rain in the morning across northern ireland and west scotland, the rain becoming lighter as it heads eastwards into western parts of england and wales. ahead of its, some sunshine. because of this atla ntic some sunshine. because of this atlantic influence on monday, it will be warmer, 15 and 16 degrees in scotland, as high as 19 celsius in england, quite a change from recently. that weather front is moving across the uk bringing that band of cloud and patchy rain. it will. through much of tuesday across east anglia. away from this, generally dry and more sunshine with light winds as well. pleasant enough of the time of year, temperatures up to 17 or 18 degrees. by the middle of the week, the weather will be different, and weather front from the atlantic, that is where all the

weather is coming from. this one is more active, there will be stronger winds, nudging 50 mile in our gas across the irish sea. a white start to the west of the uk, some of the rainbow push eastwards during the day. cloud, rainfora rainbow push eastwards during the day. cloud, rain for a while, temperatures near normal for this time of year but the rest of the week will be turning colder.

the government defends allowing students to return to university campuses across england, despite several coronavirus outbreaks. with some students confined to their rooms, ministers say their studies, must be given a chance. i think it's important for students not to have to give up a year of their life by not going to university. and they are going to university and paying the fees accordingly. cardiff goes into local lockdown tonight, as three more areas of wales face new restrictions, tomorrow. so, could some university students be stopped from returning home for christmas? also on the programme... police name louis de zoysa, as the suspect, in the killing of police seargeant matt rartner. the 23—year old remains in a critical condition, in hospital. more arrests in belarus,

with no let up in weekend protests, against president lukashenko. and, the all—time record of formula 1wins will have to wait, as lewis hamilton comes third, in russia. good afternoon. the government has defended its decision to allow hundreds of thousands of students in england to return to university for the new term, despite several outbreaks of coronavirus on campuses. thousands of students have had to be confined to their rooms, but the culture secretary, oliver dowden, says it's important their studies aren't sacrificed because of the virus. but a member of the government's advisory body modelling the spread of the pandemic, says the consequences of allowing students back have been entirely predictable. dan johnson reports

now from manchester. for the student in need, there is one emergency service that always delivers. parents have stepped in when supermarket slots run out. it's just really rough at the moment, and we are just really rough at the moment, and we a re really just really rough at the moment, and we are really disheartened by the whole situation. these first year nursing student say there already rationing food. people wanted to drop out, we are not getting the right uni experience, we are not just talking about going out and partying, we are not getting the right education. people are really struggling, especially with anxiety and depression. it is really hard for them to calm themselves down and relax, because they are being told they are locked up. it's basically claustrophobic, and you feel like you can't get out of here because you can't get out of here because you are not allowed to. max got a family drop off on the third day of a fortnight in isolation here. do you think there might become a time when you need to take him back? potentially. if it was an option and

he wanted to and felt uncomfortable here, yes. while case numbers are so far limited, the voices of concern are getting louder. students have been done over on their a—levels, they have been done over on freshers' week. the government is now threatening to lock them up at university. and, very worrying for them, when they graduate we may be looking at long—term youth and employment. no surprise that stu d e nts employment. no surprise that students living on top of each other will share the virus. scientific advisers did predict university spikes. they showed quite clearly that the risk areas were particularly first year students in halls of residence and face—to—face teaching. it was very predictable and it was modelled. while some may be questioning the situation, they say it is all about keeping the community safe. we are doing that to reduce the spread of the disease and enable them to go back at all. it is important for students not to have to give up a year of their life by not going to university. they are

going to university and paying fees accordingly. of course, this is no start to the new term for these students, and there are likely to be others that suffer similar disruption. but what is the alternative? there are no good options, really. unless everyone is to be denied even the chance of a university experience this year. in newcastle, these are the latest arrivals. i am still excited, there will still be plenty going on. i'm excited, but quite nervous, you don't know what to expect. in glasgow, tess has the virus and is one of 1000 students isolating across scotland. it is spreading because people from other universities, or people who can't go don't even go here, they are coming for a night out, which is ridiculous. there are questions about seeing family at christmas and calls to get enough testing in place to allow that to happen safely. our political correpondent chris mason is here. how much of a struggle is it,

frankly, for all of the devolved governments to defend allowing universities to reopen in the middle ofa universities to reopen in the middle of a pandemic? it is the latest case study on coronavirus chaos. we saw in england, the false starts of getting children back to school before the summer holidays and then the mess around the exams around the uk, and now this. it is a devolved issue so governments around the uk are facing questions. government sources at westminster say, firstly, universities are autonomous. they also make the point that political parties across the country have been arguing that it was absolutely important that education returned to educational settings, that there was no longer a period where people were doing their schooling or university education in the back bedroom, or on the kitchen table. england's health secretary matt hancock has tweeted, saying 10 million of us in england and wales have downloaded the coronavirus app. governments around the uk will hope that apps plus testing can help with all of this. lots of people, as we heard there,

but getting to look forward to christmas. the one lesson we have learned in this pandemic is the triumph of perpetual uncertainty. we can't predict what is going to happen this time next week, let alone at christmas, but those questions will keep coming. thank you. the welsh government says three more areas will go into local lockdown tomorrow, resulting in two thirds of the welsh population undergoing tighter coronavirus restrictions. cardiff goes into local lockdown this evening and from there, here's tomos morgan. is another autumn begins, so does another lockdown in another part of wales. cardiff will become the first uk nation capital to go back under lockdown measures this evening. uk nation capital to go back under lockdown measures this eveningm uk nation capital to go back under lockdown measures this evening. is a capital, yes, there is a particular focus. you know, i'm particularly conscious that we are the economic dynamo of the city region. indeed, probably all of wales. so there is an impactand probably all of wales. so there is an impact and i am disappointed, in

that regard. is the economy came to a standstill earlier this year, several industries have been struggling, regardless of the furlough scheme. many have been made redundant as a restrictions persist. the younger generation, starting their careers, have been particularly affected and have had to use the pandemic as an opportunity to create their own job security. i started a newjob opportunity to create their own job security. i started a new job and then i got put on furlough straightaway. so, it was in the back of my mind, oh, am i going to be kept on at the job, or am i going of my mind, oh, am i going to be kept on at thejob, or am i going to need to be let go because i'm new? so that was at the back of my mind, to be fair. white not go along with cardiff, from tonight extended households, or bubbles, must also end in swansea as local restrictions come into force there. nobody will be able to leave either city area without a valid reason, such as work or childcare. the first minister, mark drakeford, or childcare. the first minister, mark dra keford, has or childcare. the first minister, mark drakeford, has pursued with local lockdown measures for now. however, the welsh government has made the unexpected announcement this sunday afternoon that another

three local authorities will be placed under instructions from tomorrow evening. figures have continued to deteriorate in those three areas over the weekend. we signalled on friday that we were keeping them under very close scrutiny, and the advice we have had is that now is the moment we need to act and local restrictions will apply in those three areas, the vale of glamorgan, and neath port talbot borough councils, from 6pm tomorrow evening. that will be in by tuesday that almost 2 million people, two thirds of the population in wales, will be under local lockdown. with cases continuing to rise and the first minister refusing to rule it out, the prospect of another wales wide lockdown becomes even more of a realistic possibility. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff. the latest government figures show there were 5,693 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 2a period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is 5,816. 17 deaths were reported,

of people who died, within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test, so on average in the last week, 30 deaths were announced every day. that takes the total number, across the uk, to 111,988. the bbc has been told that the suspect in the killing of police sergeant matt rartna is louis de zoysa, who's 23 and from norbury in south london. he remains critically ill in hospital following the shooting. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has the very latest. police memorial day commemorates all of those who've died while serving but the killing of an officer is a particularly traumatic event. the home secretary and the mayor of london laid wreaths, but the metropolitan police commissioner, dame cressida dick, was remembering an officer she had personally served alongside. matt ratana was extraordinary she said, firm but supportive

of those needing help. if something good can come out of this terrible incident, it would be that more people understand a little bit about the challenges of police work and see us police for who we are. you know, human beings who go to work to help people, to support people and to protect people. and matt was the epitome of that. matt ratana was killed when shots were fired by a handcuffed suspect inside a secure police custody facility. the bbc has been told louis de zoysa, whose 23, is the man of murdering him. this morning, searchers continued at his family home in south london. police were also at a rural property in surrey, where early morning local residents heard what was later described to them by police on the ground as a controlled explosion.

as the investigation gathers pace, a man has been arrested in norfolk on suspicion of supplying a gun. matt ratana was as dedicated to rugby as he was to policing. and today, several clubs were remembering him, including east grinstead, where he was head coach. two families, rugby and police, will never forget their loss. tom symons, bbc news. in belarus more than 100 people have been detained after riot police tried unsuccessfully, to disrupt demonstrations against president lukashenko. tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country, demanding he steps down. belarus has seen daily protests, since a disputed election in early august. from the capital, minsk, jonah fisher reports. seven weeks after the disputed election, belarus's protests now have a certain rhythm. sundays are the big ones, and there was once again tens of thousands on the streets of the capital, minsk.

over the weeks, the protesters' outfits have evolved, as have the jokes and the insults. why have you got a rat on a cross? it's our president! president lukashenko is widely thought to have lost august's vote to sviatla na tsikhanouskaya. they chant for her, but a crackdown has all but destroyed the opposition leadership. sergei dylevsky, a tractorfactory worker and trade unionist, is pretty much the only leader who is neither injail or in exile. and he is worried. while we are with him, his wife calls twice to make sure he hasn't been picked up. at the moment, there is no organised opposition inside belarus, he tells me. but if you call the people of belarus the opposition, then the opposition

is stronger than ever. while the police and military remain loyal, and willing to use force, it's hard to see president lukashenko going. so, this is what we have seen repeatedly here. excuse me, sir. basically, these masked guys, nothing on them which says who they are, disrupting demonstrations. detaining people, taking them into vans. where are you taking these people? this was a women's march yesterday. what is happening to you? she says she was just standing next to a cafe. what is your name? we showed you our name. no name. no name? why not? no name, no face? why don't you show your face?

on europe's eastern flank, the men in masks are still very much in charge. jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. now with news of the day's sport, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre. lewis hamilton is still one short of michael schumacher‘s record of formula 1 race wins. he started on pole in the russian grand prix but time penalties meant he could only finish third. here's our sports correspondentjoe wilson these men control the russian grand prix. the stewards, defying lewis hamilton's finish before he even began. they saw him practising sta rts began. they saw him practising starts in the wrong place, a dangerous place. park that for a second. lights out and away we go! the race itself began with the two black mercedes battling each other for the lead. hamilton lost it to va ltteri for the lead. hamilton lost it to valtteri bottas, and won it back.

behind him, there was chaos. carlos sainz, and some signs. hamilton was first when his team found out he would be punished for his prerace errors. fancy telling lewis? team radio: there is a ten second time penalty. bleep. that left him 11, but he fought back to third. russia deemed it safe or thousands to attend and watch hamilton's team—mate, his rival, finish first. valtteri bottas wins the russian grand prix. never give up the russian grand prix. never give up was the winner's verdict. we've had two results in the premier league, another handball controversy denied tottenham three points against newcastle and leeds came out on top against their yorkshire rivals sheffield united. adam wild reports. ra rely rarely is the absence of funds more keenly felt than on derby day, especially in yorkshire. —— fans.

they haven't had a premier league derby day in nearly 20 years. but even without a crowd, such rivalry can present enough. the young keeper, with a brilliant save. an inspired performance made all the more significant when, with just three minutes remaining, patrick ba mford three minutes remaining, patrick bamford headed three minutes remaining, patrick ba mford headed leeds three minutes remaining, patrick bamford headed leeds a derby day winner. one worth the wait. at totte n ha m , winner. one worth the wait. at tottenham, waiting his turn, was gareth bale. the star signing, still not quite ready. instead, he was left to what his new team—mates against newcastle. it was all going well enough. lucas moura putting them ahead. a try as they might, they couldn't find a second. and, for the second time today, the drama came late. very, very late. video replays here, according to the officials, showed that this was a

handball. callum wilson, firing in newcastle's equaliser. spurs manager jose mourinho, so furious he left. his players, just left furious. adam wild, bbc news. there were three games in the scottish premiership. rangers are still top of the table after a 5—1 win away at motherwell. cedric itten scored twice, this the pick of the goalsthere were also wins for celtic and aberdeen more on the french open on the bbc sport website and also the women's fa cup quarterfinals with wins for everton, manchester city and birmingham. that's it. i'll be back with the news at ten, but now on bbc one, time for the news where you are.

hello, you're watching bbc news with me, tim willcox. the government defends its decision to allow students to return to university — despite several outbreaks of coronavirus, which have seen many confined to their rooms. cardiff and swansea prepare for tighter lockdown restrictions from 6pm this evening — with neath—port talbot, the vale of glamorgan and torfaen also going into local lockdown tomorrow evening. louis de zoysa is named as the suspect in the killing of police seargeant matt ratana. the 23—year old remains critical in hospital. president trump nominates the conservative judge amy coney barrett, to fill the vacant seat on the us supreme court.

those were our headlines. more now on the coronavirus restrictions in the uk. the two biggest cities in wales are preparing for lockdown, which begins shortly. the new measures will come into force in swansea and cardiff, from 6pm tonight. neath port talbot, torfaen and vale of glamorgan will also have tighter restrictions imposed from 6pm tomorrow. in the town of llanelli in carmarthenshire, which came into force on saturday evening. it means almost two million people in wales — or two—thirds of the population — will be under local lockdown rules by 6pm tomorrow. announcing the extension to the area where tighter restrictions will apply, the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, said figures in the three local authority areas have deteriorated over the weekend.

there is household transmission, people not being careful enough about observing simple things like social distancing, not behaving in ways that allows the virus to spread. there are some working patterns, people working, living in one local authority, working in another and the virus being spread that way too, so there is nothing unique about these three areas. the numbers are being driven by the same combination of factors we have seen in other parts of south wales. but on that point, if its people moving around for work, that will be able to continue to happen under these local restrictions? it will. so how will that deal with that? it's important that we reinforce the message with people, that people are able to travel for work but when you travel to work that is what you are meant to be doing, not using that opportunity to go and socialise, to mix with other people, to go out doing things that brings you into contact with lots more

people so it's just persuading people the fewer people you meet, the less you travel, the safer you and other people will be and we need to keep hammering that message home to people who will be able for a designated purpose to be able to cross boundaries only for those purposes, please. have you got any idea as a government as to whether people are actually self isolating when they need to? yes, we do because our ttp teams are contacting those people. the picture is mixed, it's why we announced the £500 help to people on low incomes so they don't face the pressure to go into work to earn money when they know they may be suffering from coronavirus. i think the position is that the majority of people continue to be willing to do the right thing and i know there are pressures on individual people's lives that can make that different, as a government

we want to try to help them as much as we can to self—isolate when they are asked to and therefore to reduce the risk to others. now, the government has been defending the decision to allow students to return to universities at the start of this term which has led to outbreaks of covid—19 and thousands of young people being ordered to self—isolate. earlier i spoke to dr anthony seldon, the vice—chancellor of the university of buckingham, where they have been able to carry on with socially distanced teching and freshers events. everyone's heart goes out to those students, particularly if they are freshers and they had a terrible final year at school without all those a—levels and final year closure, no closure at all, and then looking forward so much to carry up to university and having freshers' week and being back

in the swim of social life. and now this, i mean, it's cruel, isn't it? but i don't think there are any good solutions. it is second best solutions all around. i do think, you can call me biased, but i think university is a fantastic choice for young people. and you heard that in the students. they were saying, they wanted to go ahead with university and they wanted to have whatever social experiences they are able to. they are much more resilient. there is a risk that if we carry on, some groups taking political capital out of this to hit the government or being defensive for the government, it is not really helping. you need to put students first. some universities have offered some money back. glasgow, anecdotally

some first—years are of residence saying this is not for them. why should they be paying tuition fees and accommodation as well? other lawyers are saying it is a breach of human rights. it is a bit of a mess, isn't it? it isa it is a terrible mess, nobody wanted it and it's heartbreaking all around. if the students cannot have their lived in experience and have to go home, it's right that their accommodation fee should be refunded to them. universities are falling backwards, the university of buckingham, like all the others, to provide a really rich, high quality online experience if that is all that we can safely offer within government guidelines. we are going to get through this. covid will pass and i think it is important to remember there is a risk that we can just be panicking ourselves into a knee jerk response by people pouring in and saying, this is absolutely deplorable.