this is bbc news with the latest headlines. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england, scientists suggest the spread of the virus may be slowing, but warn that levels of infection reamain high in all areas of the country. liverpool looks set to face stricter local measures, after a big spike in infections in the city. you know, at the beginning of september, we had 94 infections on a weekly basis. today, it is 1287. a further half a million people in north wales will come under local lockdown restrictions this evening from 6pm. let us know whether you welcome the new restrictions or are worried about new lockdown rules coming in in yourarea.

on twitter, it's @annita—mcveigh or #bbcyourquestions. as more people reached the uk illegally by boat in september than in the whole of last year, the government is understood to be considering plans to house asylum seekers on disused ferries while their claims are assessed. and the impact of the pandemic on wildlife — how a lack of funding for zoos could threaten the future survival of rare species. good morning. the growth in cases of coronavirus may be slowing down, according to the largest study of its kind in england, in one of a series of developments this morning. the react study, at imperial college

london, analysed samples from 84,000 random people. it found that the r number appears to have fallen to around 1.1 since the "rule of six" was introduced. in late august to early september, it was estimated to be as high as 1.7. merseyside could be the next area to face new local lockdown measures. it's expected new rules such as a ban on household mixing will be announced today. there are now more than 200 cases per 100,000 people in the region overall. in liverpool, the figure stands at 258. but there are concerns that new restrictions could harm the economy there. and as of this evening, around a third of the uk population will be subject to extra restrictions, as new rules will come into force in wales across conwy, denbighshire, flintshire and wrexham at 6pm. this report from anna o'neill

begins with the emerging situation in merseyside. liverpool city centre last weekend after the pubs closed at ten — no masks, no social distancing, and seemingly nowhere else to go. this is a city where covid—19 cases are rising fast, and which later today might be the next to see stricter lockdown measures. and many people in the city would welcome them. i think it needs to happen because when all the students come back, it has gone higher. yeah. like, it has spiked, definitely, nothing's really being done about it. closing pubs early hours, don't really see the point in it, but i do think it's in the best interest to keep the public safe, yeah. local leaders are worried about the latest figures in merseyside, and here's why. of the four hot spots in the north—west, three of them are in merseyside. per 100,000 people in knowsley, there are now 262 cases. in liverpool, there are 258

cases per 100,000 people, and in st helens, 212 cases per 100,000. at yesterday's downing street news conference, the prime minister, borisjohnson, was explicit — expect more local restrictions. it may be that, again, this is a more localised phenomenon this time, in which case, all the more reason for us to concentrate on these local solutions, as well as the national solutions. almost a third of the uk is now in some form of local lockdown, and merseyside isn't the only place facing tighter restrictions. in parts of north—east england, two households are banned from mixing anywhere indoors, although support bubbles are exempt. some areas in north wales will follow south wales with stricter rules, including people being told not

to leave their own area unless absolutely necessary. will there be more restrictions? the government's chief medical officer said the uk would likely continue to see localised surges. while other areas have a relatively low rate of new cases. but it is possible that in this next stage of the epidemic here, we will have a pattern more like that, where it is more highly concentrated in certain areas, lower rates in the others. but it is far too early to say that. we've got a long winter ahead of us and a lot could happen over that time. but despite the rising figures, early results from the largest covid—19 study in england suggest the rate of infection, or r number, has fallen, and the virus may be slowing down. which means protective measures taken locally and nationally may be working. anna 0'neill, bbc news. joining me now is professor paul elliott, chair in epidemiology and public health medicine at imperial college london, and director of the study that suggests the growth in coronavirus cases may be slowing.

thank you forjoining us. just begin by telling us about the scale and scope of your study and the key findings. yes, we have been carrying out surveys of random samples of the population since may, as we were exiting lockdown, and the surveys are very large. they include between 120000 and 160,000, and each time we are currently reporting on the first 85,000. we have been sending out swa b gets 85,000. we have been sending out swab gets right up until last saturday, our most recent results. we found there was a quite rapid reduction in the amounts of virus in the population, all the way through from may to july. the population, all the way through from may tojuly. but the population, all the way through from may to july. but the levels the population, all the way through from may tojuly. but the levels of infection started turning up again in august and at the beginning of september, we reported that the r rate had gone up to 1.7, as you

said. that meant that the virus was doubling every seven to eight days. what we are seeing now is really quite high levels of virus in the population, one in 200 people today have the virus and it is notjust in younger people, although it is higher in younger people, it is right across the age range. so between the beginning of september and now, in our recent survey, the levels of virus in older people, above the age of 65, has gone up seven times. so just to clarify, which age group are you saying one in two people have the virus, did i miss you all that —— is that what you said? won in 200. sorry, i thought you said one in two, i may have misled. it is one in 200 of the population but one in 100 in younger people, aged 18—24. but it has

substantially gone up across all the ages and that is the key point. excuse me for interrupting but there may be confusion because the headline from this is, may be going down, the number of people with the virus may be going down but presumably, because you say that, you have some caveats. no, it is really important to differentiate between the numbers with the virus, which has gone up substantially, which has gone up substantially, which is why we are in a really critical phase right now, and the rate of rise of the virus, which was going up exponentially from the beginning of september, and that rate of rise seems to have slowed down in the very recent data but there is some uncertainty around that value because it is based on very recent data, in the last nine days or something. it is that rate of rise which is slowing which is good news but the rate we have reached in the population is high and that will translate to

u nfortu nately and that will translate to unfortunately hospitalisation is and ultimately some deaths going forward. so there is no contradiction between what you are saying and what we had from professor chris whitty and sir patrick vallance yesterday, that the numbers are going in the wrong direction? absolutely. the r value is still above one, the best estimate, although there is a lot of uncertainty around that which means the rate of increase of the virus is still positive which is not what we want. we have got to very high levels because that value was even higher back at the beginning of september. but if you like, the silver lining is that there may be a downturn in the rate of increase. what we need to see is not onlyjust a downturn in the rate of increase but the virus decreasing again from the high levels. that is really important. i would completely endorse what was said yesterday. we need a redoubling of our own efforts as individuals and at the population

level, to follow the guidance. that is the key takeaway, isn't it? no room for complacency, everybody has to remain very careful. absolutely, we are at a critical phase now. we have just got to follow the guidance on social mixing and distancing, hand washing, face covering, and if we do get symptoms, get a test and then isolate as well, and if you are a contact. it is really important now, we are at an absolutely critical phase of where the virus has got to because it has gone up so much, because we detected this high r value at the beginning of last month, september. thank you for joining us. professor paul elliott, director of the react study for imperial college london. to westminster now for more on the expected announcement on further local restrictions on merseyside. more measures coming in wales as well. 0ur political correspondent is chris mason.

we heard the professor say there is no room for complacency in terms of how we deal with the virus. talking about liverpool first because the mayor a couple of weeks ago was calling for these measures. local knowledge? quite, and the argument that has been made by local leaders on merseyside for some time is that they wanted more involvement in the process. there was a bit of a scrabble a couple of months ago for them to see their local data to even come to an informed judgment on what was happening in the region, irrespective of who would make the final decision. what i am told this morning is that we should look out for matt hancock, the health secretary for england, in the house of commons at 10:30am, in about an hour and of commons at 10:30am, in about an hourand a of commons at 10:30am, in about an hour and a half, with the expectation that we might hear then what the measures for merseyside are going to be. there's been a huge increase in the number of cases in the various types of merseyside, a 13 fold increase in liverpool, similar spikes 13 fold increase in liverpool, similarspikes in 13 fold increase in liverpool, similar spikes in knowsley, runcorn, saint helens. real concern locally,

both about the spreading of the virus but also about the economic consequences of any restrictions that are likely to be imposed because the expectation is they could be more severe than those in big chunks of the north—east of england. this is the mayor of liverpool on bbc breakfast this morning. we know that there's a covid coordinating meeting taking place sometime this morning, chaired by the prime minister. and it will be looking into the serious increase in covid infection rates in liverpool and the wider region here. so we expect some announcements this morning. we suspect, we've already been told, for instance, there will be similar restrictions and regulations put in place, similar to newcastle. similarand similar and perhaps, as similarand perhaps, as i similar and perhaps, as i say, more severe. the region's mps were invited to a meeting last night with

the minister helen whately and some mps emerging from that meeting said some of the ideas that were being floated last night were to restrict pubs to only being able to sell you a drink if you buy food, or maybe even ensuring that pubs and restau ra nts even ensuring that pubs and restaurants only served takeaway is rather than you going in and sitting down. none of this is nailed down yet. the announcement is expected later this morning but we have had an insight into the government's thinking about all of this from the environment secretary. the evidence shows that once the disease gets past a tipping point, we talk about the r value, the infection rate, it is now about 1.5 across the country which means there isa across the country which means there is a velocity to this virus and once it gets going, then you need to take action to try to dampen it, otherwise itjust rises exponentially, and that is what happens. there can be a range of factors that contribute to the virus getting above that tipping point in a particular city, and then you need

to act fast in order to dampen it. you might wonder after the lancastrian lashing of the verbal variety that was given to the government by the speaker of the commons, sir lindsay hoyle, yesterday, what the procedure will be when we hear from the health secretary. will mps get a vote? the a nswer secretary. will mps get a vote? the answer is they won't because the government made clear yesterday that it would offer parliament to say when measures were being applied to all of england or all of the uk. these are obviously regional measures and so the government holds the view that it should be able to act unilaterally, the argument being that it should be able to act quickly because that is the nature of how a government needs to be able to operate when it is handling a pandemic. so more from matt hancock a little later this morning and we will keep you posted on bbc news. a little later this morning and we will keep you posted on bbc newsm course, as ever, chris, thank you very much. the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in burnley in lancashire is now the highest in england with roughly 327 cases per 100,000 people.

dr sakthi karunanith is the director for public health in lancashire and joins me now. thank you forjoining us. that is a really worrying rate in burnley and if we look at the week to the end of september, it was 178 cases per 100,000 people, and now it is 327 per 100,000 people. what is going on? it is very worrying, what we are seeing in burnley, especially the lesson that we are learning from burnley is that if you remove restrictions early on, before the infection has come down sufficiently, it can have a severe rebound effect and that is what is happening. there's a number of factors, i think we have lost the public because we need simpler messaging, number one, we don't have a fully effective test and tray system, number two, but a fully effective test and tray system, numbertwo, but more importantly, we need resources, not just more restrictions. we need

support, not suppression of the virus. what i am seeing in the north—west and i hearing is that where the rates are considerably lower, there are more measures being brought in, so what is becoming critical in lancashire is community consent and the political will to act with the resources swiftly. let's talk about that a bit more, you said we lost the public with the messaging, tell us more about that? for example, the rule of six meant that people from six different households can meet inside, it was the case when the restrictions were in burnley and we also know that the fundamental way that the virus spreads is when households mix and i think that has created a confusion, and also, there's a range of things that we brought in. some are regulations and some are advice. clearly, people are thinking if they could, they should come and what we need to do is to turn that around is to say just

need to do is to turn that around is to sayjust because you could, does not mean you should which is why we are asking everyone in lancashire to avoid mixing households to stop the transmission. it is just avoid mixing households to stop the transmission. it isjust going that extra mile, really, airing on the side of caution, actually, rather than getting too relaxed, too soon, fundamentally, is what you are saying? that is right and by doing so, we think we can just about avoid an economic lockdown, too, but we do need proper resources and proper support to consider and address the concerns of businesses, particularly in the hospitality and tourism sectors which are particularly affected, as well as the night—time economy stop what you may have been able to hear us talking a moment ago, i was talking to chris mason andi ago, i was talking to chris mason and i put to him that the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, had called a couple of weeks ago at least for the measures which we are expecting to be introduced in liverpool. and that really important local knowledge of people in an area, to see what is going on, that they can call for swift and direct action.

you clearly sound as though you think there needs to be a lot more of that. absolutely, i have been warning that we are in the second wave for at least a month. we welcome any restrictions but it needs to come with the resources and support. just on the test and trace, how is that looking in the area that you look after at the moment?m how is that looking in the area that you look after at the moment? it is improving but it is not good enough. what we really need is, again, timeliness has become really critical. we want to know cases within 2a hours. sometimes it can ta ke within 2a hours. sometimes it can take six or eight days. i think we all have a role to play, it is not just about the test and trace programme itself, all of us need to do our bit, if we are symptomatic, we need to stay at home and seek a test and if we are asked to stay at home by the nhs test and trace, we must, and what we're actually seeing is, a of people are not paying a lot of attention and that is really

crucial to stop the transmission of the virus. 0k. the director of public health for lancashire, there. thank you forjoining us. more people reached the uk illegally by boat in september than in the whole of last year. that's according to figures compiled by the bbc. almost 2000 migrants made the crossing last month, and the government is now believed to be considering using ferries to house asylum—seekers while their claims are considered. simonjones reports. motoring towards the uk, a boat carrying 20 migrants, the man driving it was jailed this month for assisting unlawful immigration. but with record numbers of people crossing the channel by boat, the national crime agency says too many are falling victim to immigration crime. it's a very dangerous trip, particularly because organised crime groups are exploiting vulnerable people who are trying to get to the uk and using methods that risk their lives. so far this year, more than 7,000 people have reached the uk by boat.

in september, around 1,950 people made the crossing from northern france. that's a higher figure than for the whole of last year, when 1,835 migrants crossed the channel. the national crime agency says it hopes that by tackling the organised criminal gangs, those numbers will start to fall, although it admits it can't promise that. but it says joint working with its french counterparts is disrupting the crossings. this week, the french authorities moved hundreds of people out of a makeshift camp in calais, offering them shelter in other parts of france, away from the temptation of trying to get to the uk. but for those who do, the government is believed to be considering setting up floating asylum centres on disused ferries, where people would stay while their asylum claims are considered. simon jones, bbc news. a ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds comes into force in england today, as part of a drive to tackle single—use plastic pollution.

businesses which sell or supply them to customers could be prosecuted, but exemptions will be made for people who need them for medical reasons. the date was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. campaigners have welcomed the move but say the items are only a fraction of plastic waste littering fields and seas. zoos have had a particularly tough time during the pandemic, with ticket sales plunging, but food, care and vet bills staying as high as ever. now there are worries that those financial difficulties could threaten the future survival of rare species. the bbc‘s chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt is at whipsnade zoo in bedfordshire. iam i am pleased to see, well, i can see two of the rhinos behind you, although they should be free, i think, wonderful to see them, though. yes, it has been really exciting at whipsnade zoo. it was

sizzle's update today and he was released into the pen to meet the two rhinos you can see here, the big one is fa and the smaller one is fahari, and now i will try divide sizzle with cave, he's over there somewhere, hiding. but he came out, he was electrified, immediately, they have very strong sense of smell that poor eyesight, he could immediately smelljazeera that poor eyesight, he could immediately smell jazeera and that poor eyesight, he could immediately smelljazeera and fahari and he went off to go and meet them, so he ran across the field, the huge pen they are in and there was a great clashing of heads. jazeera is much bigger than sizzle and he wa nted much bigger than sizzle and he wanted to assert his authority over her and she was having none of it, head—butting and you could hear them grunting and shouting at each other, soa grunting and shouting at each other, so a very dramatic scene and then sizzle pulled back, i think he was a bit intimidated and he has come back

to the other four female rhino they have got at whipsnade. he is now behind there, looking a little bit shy, i think. behind there, looking a little bit shy, ithink. i behind there, looking a little bit shy, i think. i think it is going to ta ke shy, i think. i think it is going to take a while for the courtship that whipsnade zoo hope will happen here to ta ke whipsnade zoo hope will happen here to take place. but these programmes breeding endangered animals is an international project that zoos around the world do and it is a central part of what modern zoos today do, as i have been discovering. hi, baby edie. a super rare baby okapi takes its first teetering steps at london zoo. her keeper, gemma, who shot this footage, has called her edie. these endangered relatives of the giraffe are found only in forests in the democratic republic of the congo, and here's a red panda with its cub born during lockdown. just a couple of the threatened species britain's zoos are helping protect. more and more, we are finding that these conservation breeding programmes are acting

as an insurance population for species facing imminent extinction in the wild. there are countless examples of species we hold in our zoos in the uk that have been reintroduced to their former ranges from zoo populations. to ensure there is enough genetic diversity, the world's zoos share animals, but it is expensive, shipping big, dangerous animals like rhinos around. and lockdown has hit zoos hard. they have endured a double whammy, no visitors but of course, they still need to feed the animals. some sweetcorn, parsnip and cucumber today. delicious. it can cost as much as £1 million per month to feed all the animals at london and whipsnade zoos. and most zoos, including london zoo, don't get any public funding. they rely on visitors for their income. without help, they say something has to give. we are all about conservation, and preventing animals from going extinct, so it is a really horrible place to be, where we are actually worried ourselves about the reality

of going extinct. you know, that is a really scary place for us to be right now. the global zoo breeding programmes covers familiar animals like these but also dozens of species that are now extinct in the wild. zoos are now their only hope of survival. if a covid crisis means zoos themselves face extinction, there will be no hope for these animals. listen, recognising the terrible financial crisis many bridges lose face, injune, the government offered a £100 million rescue package for their zoos but the bbc has discovered that only one zoo has been able to claim any money from the pot. why's that? i am joined by andy hall, who is with the british and irish association of zoos and aquariums. why haven't the zoos been able to claim from the pot of money? we are incredibly frustrated, you know, zoos are in desperate need of

the money but the way the government has designed the fund means that zoos need to be 12 weeks away from ba n kru ptcy zoos need to be 12 weeks away from bankruptcy in order to access any cash and is not good enough. this rhino move took over a year in the planning and we have other members who in normal times would take years to move their animals and so that 12 weeks does not take account of the way that the zoos operate. if they zoo way that the zoos operate. if they zoo thinks that it might go bankrupt, it would start looking to move its animals way beforehand and you are saying possibly years beforehand so by the time it was 12 weeks before it went bankrupt, it effectively would be closed anyway? that is exactly right and without those small changes that government can make to the fund, we are putting at risk of these amazing conservation programmes and breeding programmes, the education and research that zoos do which are needed more than ever. what is your message to government? what do you wa nt message to government? what do you want them to do? we are in a really strange position where they have put money on the table but we can't access it. just make those small changes to open up the fund, ring fenceit changes to open up the fund, ring

fence it for 2021 and let's get the zoos the support they need. what happens if the zoos don't get the money they need? we are putting at risk all that amazing work they do. we have members who are at real risk of closure and the more zoos that close, the more pressure it puts on other zoos. we really need government to change tack on this and support them. to be clear, when we spoke to the comment about this, they said, listen, the package is designed for zoos in serious financial difficulty and does provide a safety net so they are sort of standing by their other. yes, well, one out of about 300 zoo licence holders in england has access this one so it is clear it is not working. we need those small changes so the government needs to act now. listen, people watching this, what can they do? is there anything they can do to help their local zoos? zoos are pace anything they can do to help their localzoos? zoos are pace -- anything they can do to help their local zoos? zoos are pace -- facing possibly the worst financial winter in living memory. we need people to get out and support the local zoos, give them a donation and help keep these amazing programme is going. give them a donation and help keep these amazing programme is goingm we are saying visit to the zoos.

just before we leave whipsnade, the gestation period for a rhino, apparently, is 16—18 months, so if sizzle over their does manage to get a little bit more friendly when his tea m a little bit more friendly when his team at the new girlfriends, then interiors time, we could have baby rhinos at whipsnade zoo. —— in two yea rs rhinos at whipsnade zoo. —— in two years time. doubling back wonderful foran years time. doubling back wonderful for an endangered species, it would be so good so let's keep everything crossed and i hope you don't mind me saying, justin, that you are slightly upstaged by the rhino on this occasion. justin rowlatt at whipsnade zoo. now, the weather with carol kirkwood. hello, again. compared to yesterday's weather, today is going to be drier with lighter winds. there will be some showers in the forecast. we have got some across northern ireland, wales and the south—west. some of those will be heavy with potentially some thunder

and hail but we could also see them in the midlands and parts of southern england, in between, some sunshine and a lot of dry weather. the rain continuing across the north—west of scotland but also shetland and in shetland, it will also be windy. a cool feel to the day and under clear skies by night, the temperature will fall away quite quickly. it will be a colder night than the one just gone with some frost around the borders. but by the end of the night, we will already be seeing signs of this deep area of low pressure coming in from france. the french met service have named it storm alex and it is going to bring some heavy rain and also some strong winds, getting to gale force across parts of southern england and also wales. it could be disruptive. north of that, northern england, scotland and northern ireland seeing some sunshine.

hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines... in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england — scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing — but warn that levels of infection reamain high in all areas of the country. liverpool looks set to face stricter local measures — after a big spike in infections in the city. a further half a million people in north wales will come under local lockdown restrictions this evening — from 6pm. as more people reached the uk illegally by boat in september than in the whole of last year — the government is understood to be considering plans to house asylum seekers on disused ferries — while their claims are assessed.

sport and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's mike bushell. what have you got for us today? first... gareth southgate will need all the england players he can get when he names his latest squad, for an unprecedented three matches in a week, coming up but even so, it might be too soon for misbehaving youngsters mason greenwood and phil foden, to be included again after breaking covid guidelines in iceland. they apologised after meeting with two women at the team hotel following their international debuts. foden and greenwood were sent home after england's win in rekjavik last month for what southgate called an "unacceptable" breach — it also saw them both fined by icelandic police. but by icelandic police. will they be punished more abc being but will they be punished more about being left out again? well, one player who has good reason to expect a first england call up, is the star of this season so far, dominic calvert lewin, who scored another hat—trick for everton last night,

in their 4—1 league cup win over west ham. that's eight goals already. he's 23 and has only played before for england's under 21 side. so england are preparing to play three matches. the first is a friendly against wales, who'll definitely be without gareth bale who recently rejoined tottenham from real madrid. he scored against england last time they met at euro 2016, but right now bale is recovering from injury. our focus is on the players who are in the squad. that's myjob, and that's ourjob as staff to make sure we get the best out of the players who are in the squad. obviously we would love gareth to be in the squad. unfortunately, that's not to be and you just have to deal with that. i think gareth will be concentrating on, he's at a new club now, getting himself right for when he is fit, when he is able to play for spurs. we have heard about everton's men and their women, had a great night too, as they reached the fa cup final, for the first time in six years beating birmingham city 3—0 in the first semifinal. they will now play either arsenal or manchester city in the final at wembley on november 1st. this competition has been carried

over from last season to be completed after lockdown. and although everton have won the cup before, this will be their first trip to wembley, which is where the women's cup final is now held. still plenty to play for in rugby union's premiership with bristol boosting their late surprise bid for the playoffs by thrashing leicester tigers by 110—3. the bonus point means they're level on points with sale for that final playoff berth. just two points separate second to fifth ahead of the final round of fixtures on sunday. there was a dramatic finish to england women's t20 series against the west indies. the rain in derby meant the two sides batted forjust five overs each. england needed 42 to win off their 30 balls — and they made hard work of it losing seven wickets. but after all the windies hard work, a wide ball gave england victory to seal a 5—0 series victory. you can see despair on the faces of the west indies players.

the french open continues at roland garros today, but it's unlikely we'll match the drama that we saw in the match between sara errani and kiki bertens. bertens, here in the orange, was apparently struggling with cramp, but her italian opponent sara errani appeared to poke fun at that here, accusing her of faking it. bertens came back to win, but errani then left the court, without tapping racquets. 0r showing any respect. then to top it all off bertens, who's the fifth seed, left in tears, in a wheelchair and needed 45 minutes of treatment. errani also served underarm during periods of the match as she struggled with the ball toss. the los angeles lakers began their first nba finals in a decade by beating the miami heat 116—98 in game one of the seven match series overnight. miami raced in to an early lead withjimmy butler leading the way, before the lakers took control with lebron james — who is going for a fourth nba title, proving his star quality once again with 25 points. i don't think at the beginning that we were physical enough.

you have to get a feel for how hard play is. they smacked us in the mouth. we got a sense of that. so we knew how hard we had to play if we wanted to try to make it a good game. from that moment, when it was 23—10, we started to play to our capabilities. started flying around. started getting defensive stops in, started sharing the ball a lot better offensively and got into a really good groove. they are blown up but still a long way to go. —— they are one up. that's all the sport for now, we'll have more later. the fire brigade union has warned there is "no excuse" for dangerous breaches of fire safety regulations in universities as thousands of students are isolating in halls. the warning comes after photos emerged of a locked fire exit at one quarantined student accommodation block. with me to discuss this further is matt wrack, general secretary of the fire brigades union and michael snelson, a student at leeds becket university.

good morning to both of you. michael, beginning with you, we have some photos to show viewers but explain to us what was going on in terms of one of the exits from the building. it was the main exit we all know to use on a daily basis. it was shut tight at the hinge to make sure we couldn't use the turnstile we use was blockaded with chairs. cones and chairs? we have pictures, i think, i think we are trying to bring this up for viewers right now, plastic ties, cable ties around the exit, we will try to get those pictures for you but everyone can imagine from the picture i am painting. let me be clear. leeds beckett university says, marston house is owned and operated by iq students, although this is not a main route for student use or a fire

exit, iq students average with the cable ties from the gate so do you accept this was not the main entrance exit but that it was a route that students liked to use, shall be say? i disagree with that completely. leeds beckett have nothing to do with the accommodation, but this is the main and only way to get out of the accommodation and it circles a courtyard and that is the only way in and out bar reception which is housed inside another building so in the means of a fire it's not ideal asa the means of a fire it's not ideal as a fire exit. how long was this the case that there was some kind of block, impediment, to anyone using that? it's about a week now, it started off roundabout saturday they left the ties on the whole way through the day. let me check on the situation with regards to quarantine, are you in quarantine at the moment? no, we are not. you are

out of quarantine? we were never in quarantine. that was a different block, perhaps. how did that make you feel? the situation going on, not being able to access either to enter or leave the building as freely as you might like? it felt really unsafe to be honest. at first, it made us think of the situation, students immediately being put into lockdown without warning and it made us all feel very u nsafe, warning and it made us all feel very unsafe, in the event of an emergency, what are we realistically going to do because to be able to get to the courtyard, after that, if there is another thing going wrong or happening somewhere you cannot leave the premises if that is shot with cable ties. i will read the statement again before we go to the fb you. to repeat,... a spokesperson for leeds beckett university said "marsden house is owned and operated by iq students . although this is not a main route

for student use or a fire exit, iq students have now removed the cable ties from the gate." a spokeswoman for west yorkshire fire and rescue service said iq student confirmed "they did not secure the exit" and it was working with the company "to ensure this does not happen again and to identify the individual(s) responsible for securing the exit closed". matt, the situation seems slightly unclear as to who did what were talking about general principles, should any exit or entrance be blocked like that? we alerted the we st blocked like that? we alerted the west yorkshire fire and rescue service on this issue and as you've just reported they are trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. the fact they are saying it should not happen again suggests it should not happen again suggests it should not have happened in the first place. i not have happened in the first place. lam not have happened in the first place. i am obviously not familiar with the building myself. the fire service believes it should not have been locked, that suggests it is or can be used as a fire exit in which

case it should not be locked, that's absolutely clear. i am a bit unclear as to leeds beckett universities response to this, they surely have some responsibility to the safety of students who are registered with them? and it should be ensuring that student accommodation providers are operating safely and within the law, thatis operating safely and within the law, that is our view of the matter. obviously covid—19 is a safety matter anyway but there are other safety matters such as fire safety which needs to be built into everything that we do as well. we have been in the past year, we've seen have been in the past year, we've seena have been in the past year, we've seen a very serious have been in the past year, we've seen a very serious fire in bolton, in student accommodation. these are very, very serious matters. although there is clearly a difference shall be say between what michael is saying and the spokesperson for the university are saying about whether or not this is a main route, the university says it's not, we all know in buildings with a number of access points people may have a preferred short cut, it may be the main route or it may not but the point is in an emergency, in an

emergency situation, heaven forbid, people who use the other route might automatically want to use it if they need to escape a building? as i say, lam not need to escape a building? as i say, i am not familiar with the building. i would expect, legally, the responsible person which would be the owner or manager of the building, is responsible for fire safety in the premises and that means ensuring there are fire exits, very clear fire exit routes, and there should be periodic fire drills to ensure all the residents, the students, are familiar with what should be done in the circumstance ofa fire. should be done in the circumstance of a fire. those are all normal measures that should be in place in such premises. michael, i understand there is someone posted at the door to monitor the door rather than there being a cable tie or any other impediment? immediately after the twitter thing went on, they remove the cable ties, they kept the turnstile that would have been

jammed but after that they had someone jammed but after that they had someone nearby to check residents. michael and matt, thank you both very much. it's not just the first day of october today — it's also the first day of black history month. it's happened for the last 30 years but organisers say this year's event — which follows the huge growth of the black lives matter movement — is more relevant than ever. greg mckenzie has been to meet some of those involved. waiting to be disturbed by the next person who sees in my skin a good reason for a tone dive into condescension. newsreel: arrivals at tilbury, the empire windrush brings to britain 500 jamaicans. from slavery to windrush, britain's black history month is not about far—away people. it is about uk history. launched back in the 1980s, over seven days, it was a chance to educate and inform people about black history, which was not being taught in our schools.

i think black history month is a great vehicle to raise awareness of black history but for black cultural archives, one of the sayings we have is black history every day of the year. the black cultural archives in brixton, south london, holds a treasure trove of research and information, stemming back some 2000 years. i think that there is a lot more that needs to be done to understand that black history is not confined to a month. it is not confined to particular periods, especially of recent history in britain, but there is this influence and contribution, you know, stretching back thousands of years. the month of october is not about creating a separate history, it is simply about remembering a history that already exists. i drown it out with music, screaming at how often

i scrape its breath into my palm and will it to beat slower. tolu is a poet and today, a collection of her works will be published as part of the 20 in 2020 campaign. i mean, if we look at the history of the uk, black people in particular have played a particular part in building the infrastructures of this country. it has either been built by them or on their backs, and so, black history month is a time to remember that, especially since it is not remembered everywhere else. there will be many events taking place throughout the month of october, up and down the uk, including phenomenal women at the southbank centre in the capital. the exhibition honours the achievements of black women in academia. we both wanted to capture these women as powerful, as symbolising something also about their professions, because if we are going to take the time to do an exhibition,

it is really important that their stature and authority was reflected in the portraits. the recent black lives matter protests have highlighted the reality of the global injustices and systematic racism that black people have faced for years. black history month is a time to look forward and celebrate the here and now, as well as a time to reclaim history and reimagine how shared history will be told in the future. greg mckenzie, bbc news. joining me now from his farm in st giles on the heath in devon is wilfred emmanuel—jones, better known as the founder of the black farmer. he's marking black history month by adding the pictures of historic black figures to the packs of sausages he sells in supermarkets. really good to have you with this, we arejust really good to have you with this, we are just showing viewers a couple of these packets right now. the humble sausage, as a vehicle to

actually inform and educate people about key black figures in british history, is a really great idea. how did you come up with that? good morning. it's nice to be on your programme, i cannot see you, u nfortu nately. programme, i cannot see you, unfortunately. but, as we all know, backin unfortunately. but, as we all know, back in june when unfortunately. but, as we all know, back injune when the black lives matter movement erupted, i felt that asa high matter movement erupted, i felt that as a high profile person in the grocery industry, i really should try and do something and i knew that black history month was coming up in october. so i wrote to all of the chief executives of all the big supermarkets and said, for years, i've been campaigning to try and do something major around black history month. this year, of all years, we should try and do something. therefore, i thought what would be appropriate would be to come up with an initiative that would be

celebrating black people in british history. and what better than to do it on sausages? we all love a great sausage and therefore, to use that asa sausage and therefore, to use that as a vehicle to showcase some of the black heroes in british history. and even i, as a black person, looking into the involvement of black people in british history was amazed, absolutely amazed, by the black involvement throughout british history and i thought, we need to try and educate or inform people that black contribution to british history is something that has been going on for thousands of years. and so it was an opportunity to put all of the supermarkets for once to do something that would feature black heroes and when i say feature, it was kind of beyond things like gondola ends, the feature ends, you would see real people, real people, you could go and read their stories on my website and read about the contributions they have made to

british history. and i don't know if you had time to show your viewers my ad which is going to be running alongside this promotion? but that isa alongside this promotion? but that is a real celebration of our britishness, you will see me in that ad, flying the british flag and that black is not just ad, flying the british flag and that black is notjust the ad, flying the british flag and that black is not just the flag ad, flying the british flag and that black is notjust the flag that belongs to people who are white but to all of us, more diverse communities. it's all about celebrating our patriotism. communities. it's all about celebrating our patriotismlj communities. it's all about celebrating our patriotism. i think people can probably see that on your twitter account, wilfrid, but we are showing some of the packaging of the sausages right now. and there is an image of you on that, flying the flag! you know, this year, if it has done anything, we talk about black history month, it has informed and educated so many of us, people of a non—black background, that we need to be thinking about notjust black history but the people in the

history but the people in the history of people of different heritage and in exactly the way we talk about white history, for too long, history has been taught in schools, it's all in about white history, not black history or other types of history but i was struck by some mallory black man said yesterday, the author, please note, iam yesterday, the author, please note, i am black all year round and i am happy to consider doing things all year round, you don't need to try and cram all your requests and activities into october, was what she wrote. and it reallyjumped out at me but do you think this year is going to be the launch pad for something different, we do think about black history all year, and not just this about black history all year, and notjust this month. —— mallory blackman. listen, we will know when changes happened, we do not need to have a black history month, then black history will be so much part of the mainstream, a bit like a gay

pride, when it becomes part of the mainstream you do not need to take a period in the calendar so people focus on it and what i would like this year to be, is a launch pad for it to become part of the mainstream. and that, in my lifetime, i would like black history month not to exist because it's automatically taught in our schools, it's automatic in everything that we do when we think about our britishness. so, unfortunately, to bring awareness, you have to create either special events or take a section out of the calendar and say right, let's focus so we can bring our attentions to the focus on the things in the contributions that people of colour have made. we want to be seen as representative all year round. i have a business called the black

farmer brand, i do not want to be shoved in the ethnic brand, we, as black people are part of the mainstream, we are british! therefore, we have to make the best that we can and part of making the best that we can is for everybody to best that we can is for everybody to be aware that we ain't strangers that have just arrived here a couple of months ago, we have been here for generations and generations and generations! not only been here but made some phenomenal contributions to british history! and i think that is reflected in some of the people you have chosen to go on the packaging. yes, when i read mary 's story, the kindness and care she gave to british soldiers during perhaps a terrible war, it is phenomenal. not only did she ove rco m e phenomenal. not only did she overcome prejudice, she was rejected, to be part of the florence nightingale group, she paid her own

way to go out so she could help people. when i see sergeant lynch, in the air force, the gunner, when i was a kid, i did not know black people were flying planes over germany and fighting our enemies. it really, it goes to show that there isa really, it goes to show that there is a lot of information that we need to put out there so people have a much better understanding of our contribution throughout history. many stories still to be told and you are playing your part. thank you very much for your time today, very good to talk to you. thank you very much for having me. back to our coverage of coronavirus. italy was for some weeks the global epicentre of coronavirus — the first country in the west to be deeply affected by the pandemic and the first in the world to impose a national lockdown. but now its infection rate is considerably lower than others in europe: 38 cases per 100,000

people, compared to more than 100 in the uk, 230 in france and 330 in spain. so how it has managed to stay on top of the virus? our rome correspondent mark lowen reports. covid's once global epicentre is not letting down its guard. spot checks by italian police to ensure rules on overcrowding and mask—wearing are followed. it's one of the tools italy has used to get infection rates down to some of the lowest in europe, keeping the virus in check while others struggle with a fresh spike. "we issue fines when needed," says giovanni. "but none today. usually, everyone wears masks. awareness of the consequences of breaking the rules has helped instil a sense of discipline here but in reality, police have had to intervene relatively rarely as italy has, on the whole, followed restrictions. and now, it is reaping the benefits.

italy is taking safety as seriously as its food. many restaurants have screens, disposable or digital menus, customers are recorded for contact tracing. it has given them the freedom to stay open and busy, unlike others in europe. the trauma of covid frightened italians into compliance. because we were the first and we had a very long quarantine and we really felt it, and it was a very strong period for everyone, so we really felt it, and there were many, many people dying and we could see all the — not here but through the news — all the — those people dying alone, well, it has been very strong. the government's reward for a lower infection rate has been broad public support, but it knows success is fragile. i'm really proud of italians because they did follow the rules. but, you know, the war

is not over yet. it is still to wait and see what is going to happen in october, november and even the winter, but right now, i think things are going very well. alert to the fact schools reopened later here than elsewhere in europe, there is now mass testing for students and teachers — this at a high school near rome. rapid results come within 30 minutes. tests, rules, compliance — a formula italy hopes can halt a second wave and ease the legacy of pain from the first. mark lowen, bbc news, rome. conservationists and marine divers will sail up the river clyde near glasgow this morning to try to herd a pod of whales back out to sea. the five northern bottlenose whales are being moved ahead of planned military exercises in the area — which could disturb them.

gorgeous pictures and i hope they managed to be moved safely back out into the open waters. now, the weather with carol kirkwood hello again. after the wet and windy weather yesterday we're looking at something quieter today. drier, lighter winds. still some showers in the forecast, some of those could be heavy with the potential for hail and thunder, particularly in northern ireland, wales, south—west england, later on we see some of those in the midlands as well. yesterday ‘s rain pushed into the north sea but still affecting shetland for much of the day with some heavy rain for you and also quite strong winds. pushing into the north of scotland, turning lighter, we are looking at a lot of dry weather, bright and sunny conditions, do not forget the in parts of the west and west and south and midlands. feeling cold today, temperatures between ten and 15 degrees. through this evening and overnight we hang on to a lot of the showers but there will be clear

skies and under those temperatures will fall away, going to be a colder night. temperatures easily below freezing across parts of the borders, some frost for you. at the same time, there deep area of low pressure coming up from france, producing some heavy rain and also some strong winds, strong, gusts especially. the french met service have cold this storm alex, here it is, tomorrow it will drift north across parts of england and also wales. for scotland, northern ireland and northern england are much quieter day for you, some bright or sunny skies. again, light winds. the main focus of the stormy conditions will be in the south. in a period of 12—18 hours we could have as much as 50 millimetres of rain, two inches, inland in the south we are looking at gusts of wind roughly about 40—45, possibly 50 miles an hour but across the english channel, there could be up to 65 mile an hour gusts, that

combination could well lead to some disruption. as we head through the weekend, we continue with low pressure dominating, you can see the isobars, owing to be windy, you can also see the rain, still some heavy rain in the forecast. at this stage it looks like saturday will be the wettest date for many. strong winds as well, feeling cool, sunday, central areas, likely to have the heaviest rain but still strong winds.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. in the largest study of coronavirus cases in england, scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing, but warn that levels of infection remain high in all areas of the country. liverpool looks set to face stricter local measures, after a big spike in infections in the city. you know, at the beginning of september, we had 94 infections on a weekly basis. today, it is 1287. a further half a million people in north wales will come under local lockdown restrictions this evening from 6pm. let us know whether you welcome the new restrictions or are worried about new lockdown rules coming in