hello and a warm welcome. the prime minister, borisjohnson, says they uk is at a critical moment in the fight against the coronavirus, as his advisers warn that this is not the time for complacancy. it comes on the day that the number of covid cases has once again topped 7,000 — with a further 7,108 confirmed coronavirus cases reported. in the last 2a hours. and there have been 71 deaths within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test, the same number as reported on tuesday. with millions of people living under tighter national restrictions, the prime minister warned it was too early to tell if they were having an impact on the spread of coronavirus. but he insisted that he would not hesitate to take further measures if the evidence required it. the government's chief medical officer said the virus was accelerating rapidly in some parts of the country and that the rise in cases was being led by young people. in scotland, nicola sturgeon said the deaths reported there today

were a "very sharp reminder" of the danger of covid—i9. the deaths of seven people mark the highest rise in the country since mid—june. while in northern ireland, ministers will meet tomorrow to consider further restrictions after recording the highest ever daily number of positive tests. earlier today in the house of commons, mps voted to extend the government's emergency coronavirus laws. but the labour leader, sir keir starmer, called for an "urgent review" as to whether local lockdowns are working as intended. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg has been following the day's developments. coronavirus has changed this woman and her family's life. coronavirus has changed this woman and herfamily‘s life. she and her husband both had the disease. his lungs are still scarred, and things are different now. my husband was one of those people who when covid came on the scene he was a believer that it was not going to affect him,

he was under a5, fit and healthy and it wasn't going to affect him. my husband nearly died, and it is really real. we found ourselves being more isolated at home. and in that mele, borisjohnson. coronavirus has changed his life and his leadership too. cases are rising again, political pressure is mounting with winter on the way. no matter how impatient we may be, how fed up we may become, there is only one way of doing this — and that's by showing a collective forbearance, common sense, by showing a collective forbearance, common sense, and by showing a collective forbearance, common sense, and a willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others. he can't say enough. he doesn't want another national lockdown, but it's plain it could yet happen. if the evidence requires it, we would not hesitate to take further measures that would, i'm afraid, be more costly than the ones we put into effect now. we can see already that the limits are in place today for millions of people and i'm

not stopping the spread. you've even had to apologise for failing to explain the rules properly. how can people have confidence in your government's approach? can you give people your honest assessment, how high is the chance of more restrictions coming in for everyone everywhere? the answer is, i'm afraid, entirely dependent on how effective we are now collectively in driving down the virus. and we know we can do it because we did it before. 0ur we can do it because we did it before. our success will have to be judged i'm afraid in the days and weeks ahead, as we look at the numbers that come in. we have a long winter ahead of us and a lot could happen over that time. sol winter ahead of us and a lot could happen over that time. so i think to predict forward from here would be a mistake. if everyone follows the guidance, then we could actually contain it. and the disease has changed the balance between ministers and mps too. at the start of the epidemic, tories where the masters of parliament. now ministers have given ground of backbenchers who have more of a say over extra

restrictions being rushed through. but not before a serious taking off from the speaker. a total disregard for the house... for cutting mps who represent all of us out of the process. i now look to the government to rebuild the trust with this house and not treated with the co nte m pt this house and not treated with the contempt that it has shown. and just as the tory backbenchers are proving less reliable than the government might hope, the opposition too is sharpening their attacks. the government's site is to have a very clear strategy, but we don't see that strategy. very clear communications, and the byword for this week has yet again been confusion. but even with the current limits,... remake this is the business design centre. this is dominicjones. coronavirus has changed every thing for him sucker he normally would be a bustling environment with thousands of people. these halls would normally

be packed with 90,000 people a year. this complete un—clarity on people's lives and livelihoods is causing so much distress. we have so we people who rely on our industry, and it is desperately unfair that we are being told and touted as a centre, saying we cannot open. with rising cases come rising worries and concerns about the government's grip. everything feels different the second time around. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blakejoins me now. a lot of developments, as i was mentioning. and we saw again the return of those daily briefings, but a lot of strong words from the prime minister and also from sir patrick vallance, but the prime minster saying this is a critical moment. sir patrick vallance saying we don't have this under control at the moment. words of alarm? yes, i think

today's news briefing from downing street was there to warn people that things are not good in the uk at the moment with regard to coronavirus, and infact moment with regard to coronavirus, and in fact they're getting worse. so whilst there was no headline grabbing announcement, no new measures that the prime minister had to tell us about it, it was a stark reminder of the situation. and on more than one occasion, the adviser standing to his side and the scientist there said that things we re scientist there said that things were going in the wrong direction. and as you say, sir patrick vallance said that the virus is not under control in the uk at the moment. now we might have known that, we might have assumed that. but to hear it said from the podium inside number 10 downing street is quite the reminder for 10 downing street is quite the reminderfor people at 10 downing street is quite the reminder for people at this point. and i think the government's hope and the prime minister's hope was that, in reminding people about the severity of the situation, it would encourage the public to follow the rules and stick to the laws which are in place around social

distancing, meeting up with other households, and various other restrictions, including the 10pm cu rfew. restrictions, including the 10pm curfew. the problem the government has is that, as different geographical areas, under tighter restrictions because of local outbreaks of the virus, those restrictions get more and more complicated for people to understand. and as we've seen in recent days, even government ministers have been caught out in terms of knowing the detail of what people are expected to do. so it is a tricky time for the government in getting its message across, and for the public in general trying to adhere to those restrictions. in terms of the politics, we had quite a dramatic moment before pmqs today, but we also had some good news for the government later on. yes, the government got a stern telling off from sir lindsay hoyle, saying ministers had been treating the house of commons with contempt, their approach had been deeply

unsatisfactory, and ministers needed to rebuild trust. this is because a lot of the measures put in place to deal with coronavirus have been done under powers which ministers were granted by mps right back at the start of this pandemic. and in many mp's eyes, the powers have been over used, the restrictions of gone too far, and there's a complete lack of parliamentary oversight and debate on what the government has been doing. but today, in face of significant pressure from conservative backbenchers, matt hancock told mps they would get time to debate national measures which we re to debate national measures which were taken at a level covering either england and the uk entirely, and where possible there would be a vote on that. and it seemed to go far enough to, for now, satisfy conservative backbenchers that there would be proper time set aside in parliament for mps to have their say. jonathan, thanks so much for talking us through it. with around one in four of us

already living under tighter coronavirus restrictions and the prospect of more local interventions, how are people feeling about the coming weeks? 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports from warwickshire. this town is bracing itself for what may come. for now they are not under local lockdown, signs life is farfrom normal. at the high street deli, they made hot meals to help out at the height of the pandemic. for their business and well—being, they're wary about the next few months. we'rejust anxious, we just do not know. we have christmas around the corner. we do not know if it is going to get better or worse. i know we will all come together again as a community and we will do what needs to be done. this market towns saw volunteers step up like so many places and with fresh warnings about rising cases across the country today, they're prepared to do so again if needed, sensing no emotional

support may be in demand. back in march and april, it felt like the world was turning upside down. i think there is probably less fear about the virus itself but a little bit of fear about the next six months. bill is certainly apprehensive. he was shielding with a lung condition, helped by local volunteers — he worries about new restrictions. to be honest, i'm rather scared because i do not fancy a winter of being shielded. but i think the country is much better prepared, the nhs, supermarkets — although i still understand there are shortages of toilet rolls already. some of the town's teenagers at a cooking class are resigned to rules for the long cold but it is not without frustration. it kind of annoys me because it rained all the things we love. —— ruined. there are too many restrictions. i would much rather stay safe.

i hope it goes well. studying for a—levels. i do not want the schools to close down again. if we are locked down over christmas, i will be devastated. there is uncertainty here but for members of a bridge club unable to meet since march, it is time to stay positive. 0ptimistic. we will come through. i have my first grandchild on the way at the moment. congratulations. it is something to look forward to and life continues. so despite having to keep apart, this community seems determined to stick together, knowing there could be tough times ahead. alex forsyth, bbc news. one of the areas with new rules is of course the north of england, there are rising concerns about the rise of coronavirus cases there, with households now banned from mixing indoors, including in pubs. the new law applies to about two million people in newcastle, northumberland, gateshead,

north tyneside, south tyneside, sunderland and the county durham council area, even when they go outside these areas. alice wiseman is the director of public health for gateshead. shejoins me now. thanks so much for your time. are the people living in gateshead clear as to what the restrictions are? so i wait till my coat think the way the messages have been delivered has been very challenging. they came into force at midnight last night but we didn't see the regulations ourselves until 11pm last night. so we have spent the day trying to get communication out, trying to make sure our residents understand what it is we are asking them to do and why we asking them to do it. but it's definitely been a challenging 24 it's definitely been a challenging 2a hours. it's definitely been a challenging 24 hours. in your position, have you had a lot of people questioning exactly what it is that are allowed and not allowed to do? what do you

explain to them? absolutely. they have every right to ask us about what we are asking them to do. i think my key that what we are trying to do is to break the transmission. and what we've done is looked at the places where people are most likely to become infected with the virus, and it is households mixing — whether it be in private dwellings oi’ whether it be in private dwellings or in pubs or other entertainment or hospitality industries. so what we've tried to do is put a break in there so people mix within their household groups, rather than mix between household groups. we do appreciate that it is incredibly difficult, but that's the key message we are trying to get out tonight. and i'll put you on whether it's inside or outside of venues, as well — when they're outside, what is the situation there? how many people, how do they mix? it's indoors, in public venues. if it's your own home, it's indoors and outdoors. but in public venues, it's

indoors. and outdoors, it is the rule of six. so the regulations are that people can meet outside as long as they're not in groups greater than six. however, ouradvice as they're not in groups greater than six. however, our advice is that households still refrain from mixing even in those outdoor spaces. we do feel there are potential risks for transmission. so it is not regulation but is advice. private gardens, just one last point — how does that work, for a barbecue? not of the weather is giving us any barbecue whether. private gardens, you're not allowed to mix households. that's in regulation, so thatis households. that's in regulation, so that is something in the law at this stage. you are appealing to people in terms of these suggestions outside in particular, that they are not legally abiding, so you a purely

per—pupil's goodwill? not legally abiding, so you a purely per-pupil's goodwill? absolutely. 0ver per-pupil's goodwill? absolutely. over the last few months, our communities have done tremendous jobs of following the advice we've been giving them. so we are just hopeful that we are able to continue working with our communities. and i have to say that, alongside the regulations, we are in discussion with government at the moment around a package of support that we can offer to our communities to support them in making the right choices, and also to support local business. because we are absolutely concerned about the impact on our economy, as well. so how do you encourage people? what is that package that will encourage people to make the right choice? most importantly, communication, to make sure people understand what is we are asking them to do and why we are asking them to do and why we are asking them to do that. but secondly, we need some additional resources to be able to set back the shielding hopes that we had operating in the first pa rt that we had operating in the first part of the pandemic so that we can provide support to people if they need to isolate, potentially people

who may need help with shopping or picking up a description to prescription or anything like that. we're also trying to work various different groups that are working already within our communities to firstly help us with getting the message out, then also to mobilise community action. and again, ifeel really lucky to be working somewhere like gateshead, because the community really has come together to support each other in terms of the first wave of the pandemic. so actually, i anticipate that we will have as much goodwill the second time around once we've had the opportunity to work with our communities, so they understand what we are asking them to do. good to hear, and thank you for answering those questions. alice wiseman. apologies for pressing you there, but it's always important to get the details. at today's news conference, the prime minister said,

"no matter how impatient we may be, how fed up we may become, there is only one way of doing this, and that's by showing a collective forbearance, common sense and willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others." well, i'm joined by dr gavin morgan, a psychologist at university college london. he's also member of the expert group advising the government on how people will behave during the pandemic. doctor morgan, we heard they are from alice that there is goodwill and people are abiding by the rules. in your understanding, do you think the rules are clear enough for them to abide by? i think your previous guest made some very interesting points that i'd like to build on in relation to why people do or do not conform to rules and expectations. and as psychologists, we know the value of what we call

co—construction, which essentially means working for people, with children, with groups of people to design their own config dutch future and take control of their future. it is very difficult for governments to do that. governments don't do it. instead, what governments do is impose change on people. and i think people who follow rules and regulation, if they are credible and meaningful desk people will follow rules. but generally people don't like being told what to do. but if instructions are credible and releva nt to instructions are credible and relevant to their lives, then they will follow them. and where the government needs to focus, really, is all consistency, credible, meaningful messaging. if any m essa g es meaningful messaging. if any messages lack credibility or if individuals have double standards, oi’ individuals have double standards, or the prime ministry of — he was

confused with facts and the change that had ta ken confused with facts and the change that had taken place —— prime minister. they can really affect the credibility of the meaning that the government is trying to give. and this is where i think the government is really struggling at the moment. so suggestions that members of the public should go check the website? you think that's not helpful? there needs to be more of a concerted message, i think. needs to be more of a concerted message, ithink. and needs to be more of a concerted message, i think. and what we are perhaps lacking at the moment in the country is a sense of social cohesion. and as psychologists, we know how valuable a sense of community is. i think of the moment that the country is quite divided, it's a divided society. some of the messaging is confused. there's different messages for different parts of the country. and this does undermine the message it's trying to give, andi undermine the message it's trying to give, and i think there is also different messages that could be

given to different members of our community, like younger people versus older people. but at the moment, it'sjust confusing. there's conflicted messages, and it all lacks a bit of credibility to me. psychologists know how important those factors are. we heard the prime minister today say there's only one way of doing this, and it's a collective forbearance, a common sense and willingness to make sacrifices for the safety of others, and his words. do you think that that will perhaps bring us all together and make us think, let's not go to the off licence after the pub closes earlier on. not go to the off licence after the pub closes earlier onlj not go to the off licence after the pub closes earlier on. i was quite hardened by the fact that the prime minister used that kind of collective word —— heartened. if we cast our minds back to march or april, i think it was a really good sense of goodwill than, there was faith in the government that m essa g es we re faith in the government that messages were being given, and the

sense of goodwill was being generated in communities. 0ver sense of goodwill was being generated in communities. over time that was undermined. the prime minister himself said we will have this dealt with within 12 weeks. suddenly it was going to be over by christmas. now we are looking at a longer stretch, six months of this throughout the winter. and again, to me this is mixed messaging, it's confused messaging. and once again, he really does undermine that credibility. so what i think the government need to do in terms of trying to persuade people to follow the instructions as to be realistic, not prep not over promise and under deliver. it is perhaps something the government and the premise or have been guilty of. doctor gavin morgan, fascinating insight. thank you so much for your time. thank you. northern ireland is at a "crossroads" in dealing with the rise in covid—i9 cases — that's according to the health minister at stormont, robin swann.

he's announced a meeting of the executive tomorrow to discuss the possibility of further restrictions. 424 new cases were announced in northern ireland today. marie—louise connolly reports. for some, the daily covid tally may be starting to sound monotonous. but the reporting of these figures is crucial. with an additional 424 new cases to report, the highest daily figure to be recorded, this was the message from the health minister. this isn't a game. it's not a rehearsal. because we will only get one chance to get this right. these new figures pushed derry city and straban into the top six council areas in the uk in relation to cases per 100,000. the minister confirmed he will be recommending the executive imposes further restrictions. aren't you going to be seen by the public as someone who's crying "wolf" all the time? mary—louise, as i said

in my comments, i think it would be inconceivable for the executive not to do something tomorrow. you yourself indicated the increase we've had in the past day — 24 hours, we've increased a further 100 positive cases. that has doubled in the past number of days. 67 people have now been admitted to hospital — that's eight more than yesterday. and there are ten in intensive care — a rise of two in 24 hours. the bbc understands that, if and when required, the nightingale hospital at the belfast city tower block is ready for use. northern ireland is at a crossroads. it's — if our behaviours do not change, if attitudes if attitudes this virus toughen, then on the trajectory, hospital and patient numbers will exceed those of the first wave in only six weeks' time. meanwhile, hospitals are contending with their own covid outbreaks.

the latest is cardiology at the royal victoria hospital, where one patient has tested positive alongside five staff. the belfast health trust says protocols are being followed and patients should attend scheduled appointments. the department of health has said on record that it intends to deal with covid—19 while keeping other essential services open — a real challenge for everyone as winter approaches. mary—louise connolly, bbc newsline. a leading cancer charity says almost a million british women have missed a mammogram appointment because of the coronavirus pandemic. breast cancer now say thousands of cancers could be undetected with their diagnosis delayed. breast cancer screening services were paused during the height of the pandemic to help free up emergency nhs resources. they have now resumed. the high street bank tsb has it announced it will close 164 of its branches with the loss of 960 jobs. it said that a change in customer behaviour was behind the cuts as more people choose

to bank online. it comes as oil giant shell says it will cut between 7—9,000 jobs worldwide by 2022 following a slump in the price of oil during the coronavirus pandemic. however, supermarket morrisons plans to take on 1,000 more permanent staff to help fulfil its fresh food orders on amazon. the uk car industry has demanded to be treated as a priority by the government as post—brexit trade negotiations continue with the eu, arguing it must not be "traded off" against other sectors. the society of motor manufacturers and traders has warned of the "damaging consequences" of export tariffs, after it was revealed brussels has told the government's chief negotiator, lord frost, that uk factories would not be permitted to consider foreign—made car parts as british. the greater manchester fire and rescue service has apologised for its response to the terror attack in may 2017,

saying it was neither "adequate nor effective". speaking at the public inquiry, the lawyer representing the fire service admitted that it was unacceptable that it took two hours for them to arrive at the scene. 0ur north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. it looks real enough, but this was a fake terror attack — a training exercise at the trafford centre a year before a real bomb exploded at manchester arena. during this rehearsal, the police failed to contact fire and ambulance teams, who took an hour—and—a—half to arrive on the scene. lessons should have been learned. but, when the attack happened for real, similar mistakes were made again. it took two hours for firefighters to be sent to the arena. we would like to say to the families and victims that we are sorry that this happened.

the inquiry will hear evidence from many individual gmfrs witnesses who still have profound feelings of frustration and deep anguish that they were not there to help. none of the senior fire officers thought they were in command on the night, and no one took charge. i've spoken to the family of saffie roussos, who was murdered at the arena, and they told me that the fire service apology was painful to hear, but they say they feel it's the only organisation which hasn't passed the buck. and they say they want other authorities to be as open and transparent, adding that they believe m15 hasn't accepted any failures. the government has said that there was a missed opportunity to stop and search the bomber salman abedi when he returned to the uk from libya four days before the attack. it also revealed that he was in touch with at least six people who were being investigated by m15 for links to terrorist groups. on two separate occasions

in the months prior to the attack, intelligence was received by m15 about him. the intelligence was assessed at the time to relate to possibly innocent activity or to non—terrorist criminality on his part. in retrospect, this intelligence was highly relevant to the planned attack, but the significance of it was not fully appreciated at the time. 22 people were murdered at manchester arena. the public inquiry will have to decide what, if anything, could have prevented such a tragic loss of life. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. much more on our website, i'll be back a little bit later with the papers. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. brighter skies on the way for many of you tomorrow, but as for the time being, still quite a bit of rain around. that rain through this evening and overnight — the persistent rain becomes can find it to the north and east of scotland. elsewhere, there will still be a few

showers around into the morning, but with some lengthier clear skies developing, particularly in the west, a much cooler night than last night. and parts of northern ireland, maybe north wales and southwest scotland could see a touch of frost into the start of the day. but a much brighter start for many. the biggest exception being across scotland, lots of cloud. and from the central belt northwards, rain becomes confined further and further north as we go through the day. some cloud and a bit of rain close to the southeast for a time, but for most of you it will be a dryer, sunnier day before shower cloud start to pop up. those will be most frequent across parts of wales, the southwest into the south west of northern ireland, some of those heavy with hail and thunder. they'll drift away northwards tomorrow evening, so more of you will get wet for a time. but friday into the weekend, keep checking the forecast because we could see heavy rain across many parts of the country, and potentially some disruptive winds too.

this is bbc news. 0vernight polls suggest last night's presidential debate was won byjoe biden, but the real loser may have been america's reputation around the world. "it was a farce of a performance that did almost nothing to illuminate the choice before the american people." the question is... you're gonna put a lot of new supreme courtjustices... the question is... ..radical left... will you shut up, man? listen, who is on your list, joe? clean up — after ducking an opportunity to condemn white supremacists, the president now claims ignorance over a far—right group he mentioned by name at last night's debate.