this is bbc news. more than 7 million people have been infected with coronavirus in the us. one of them, we now know, is president trump. the news of his positive test, tweeted out in the middle of the night, has thrown the final phase of this year's election campaign into disarray. with just over a month until polling day, president trump and his wife melania are now isolating in the white house. the campaign has said all public events have been cancelled or will go online. the president is said to be in good spirits, and his aides insist he's still working. i'm not going to get into the president's symptoms exactly. he's had mild symptoms, but he is hard at work. we're having to slow him down a little bit. the democratic contender for the white house, joe biden, who shared a debate stage with donald trump this week, has tested negative. he's due to hold a campaign event in michigan within the next couple of hours.

so, with the virus springing an october surprise like no other, how will it affect this year's closely fought election contest? hello, i'm katty kay in washington. christian fraser is in london. a reminder for you that the odds of a full recovery are overwhelmingly on donald trump's side. but it is sobering, nonetheless, that the leader of the free world, a 7a—year old man, is now suffering the mild symptoms of coronavirus. we know the risks. the mild symptoms of coronavirus. more than 200,000 people have already died in the united states from this virus. and tonight, 32 days before an election, behind in the polls, the president is locked in the white house under the watchful eye of his physicians. there have been global messages of support today, as well as the schadenfreude expressed on social media. for months, donald trump has played down the seriousness of coronavirus.

he's campaigned throughout in defiance of the public health guidelines. and yesterday, despite being told en route to his fundraiser in newjersey that senior aide hope hicks had tested positive, he went ahead with the trip anyway. there are many questions that we will get to this evening, but first, here's our north american editorjon sopel. last night, one of the great pre—election traditions, the president attending the al smith dinner, where donald trump addressed the coronavirus pandemic with what now appears to be grim irony. "the worst was behind us," he said. and i just want to say that the end of the pandemic is in sight, a next day will be one of the greatest in history of our country. then later in the evening, the bombshell that will reverberate around the world, the most serious health issue to affect a serving president in decades.

he tweeted. .. today, the president's chief of staff gave reporters this update. the president and the first lady tested positive for covid—19. they remain in good spirits. the president does have mild symptoms. a hint of something being wrong came earlier in the evening last night when it was announced that this woman, hope hicks, had the virus. on wednesday, she travelled by helicopter with the as donald trump appeared to dance with joy at a rally in minnesota, she had become symptomatic and was quarantined on air force one for the return journey to washington. the ripples of concern will reach everyone who's been in close contact with the president, not leastjoe biden, who shared a debate stage with him

for a shouty 90 minutes on tuesday night. a debate where the president ripped into the democratic candidate for his mask—wearing. i don't wear a mask like him, every time you see him he has got a mask, he could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask i've ever seen. and it was noticeable that none of the trump entourage wore face coverings. that actually violated the rules of the cleveland clinic, which was in charge of all the safety issues inside the hall, which were that everybody except for the president, the vice president and i were not supposed to wear masks, were supposed to wear masks. the president has worn masks in public in less than a handful of occasions, and his ambivalence towards them is evident. can you take it off? because i can't hear you. you want to be politically correct. it's a recommendation, they recommend it.

i'm feeling good. and he has been holding rallies or as though covid was in the rear—view mirror, with thousands turning up, no attempts at social distancing, few wearing masks. last night, from the president's physician, a seemingly upbeat assessment. today, messages of support from around the world, this from boris johnson, who has been where the president is now. i think we all want to send our best wishes to the president and the first lady, and i have done that this morning, as you can imagine. and i am sure that they will both stage a very strong recovery. and messages of support, too, from political rivals. joe biden wrote...

this is first and foremost a medical issue for the president and his wife, but it's upended a presidential election campaign that needed no further agitation. with many questions begged and few answers to give at this early stage. jon sopel, bbc news, at the white house. let's return to former adviser to president george w bush, ron christie. if you are on the inside of the campaign tonight, but would beat you your concerns? good evening once again. my immediate concern would be those who were in close proximity to the president as well as hope hicks. this is a very small group of people that are already together for a great deal of time. and so there is going to undoubtedly be a lot of testing going on right now and if i we re testing going on right now and if i were working on the campaign staff as well as the staff in the west wing, first i'm wondering if i contracted coronavirus and secondly

ifi contracted coronavirus and secondly if i have how will this impact the running of the government as well as the running of the campaign wasjust a bit more than a month to go. that extends to senior republicans on capitol hill who have come out today keen to say they have had a negative test. the thing is we know you can have false negative tests and if they are following the rules strictly then they should be quarantining because they have been in contact with someone who has covid—i9. in contact with someone who has covid-19. certainly something i would do if i were a member of congress and had been in proximity to not only the staff members but also the president and those closest around him. i think the also the president and those closest around him. ithink the protocols have been very clear that you need to quarantine, to stay away. what does that leave the supreme court nomination then? you will feel the chamber with lots of senior republicans and democrats may say we don't want to sit with you until the other side a quarantine. one thing we have seen with proceedings on capitol hill is the use of technology similar to the way i'm

beaming in with you. i think you can conduct a senate judiciary committee hearing in it when people are safe and are not confronted with the prospect of people who may have the virus. so, yes, we can still do this although i find it interesting that senator dianne feinstein, the ranking memberof senator dianne feinstein, the ranking member of the committee, chuck schumer the democratic leader both said with the testing positive, what are members of the committee commit we should push back but the american people demand and i think respect the fact that there is a lot more business to be done. that is senator mike lee on the committee. how do we think in terms of the campaign and honestly everyone focused on the health issue but in terms of the campaign itself with more than a month to go, how does this impact it? president trump has wa nted this impact it? president trump has wanted to put the coronavirus in the rear—view mirror and it's one to talk about other things. if nothing else, ron, this makes coronavirus a

subject again, a big subject of conversation again and kind of highlights the difference between the what he has handled his campaign and joe biden does. it does. one of my most ironic about this is this is an achilles' heel issue for the president. the president for many months did not want to wear a mask and did not want to be around those who had a mask and now he has contracted the disease himself. if i am the vice presidentjoe biden and i'm sitting in the campaign headquarters i will make this an issue. i will say if i were president i would've taken it a lot more seriously and i have in fact been wearing a mask and i don't have it and my wife does not have it by the president and the first lady do. it's not very nice to say but this is politics and was only a month ago, expect the joe is politics and was only a month ago, expect thejoe biden is politics and was only a month ago, expect the joe biden campaign to make a big political issue out of this. and a super high-stakes election as well. and i also wonder just the fact that donald trump cannot get out and hold these rallies whereas now, ironic that for

ages there wasjoe in his basement and now it will bejoe out campaigning and the president stuck in the residence of the white house. i wonder how much that will impact over the next week or two. significant. for one thing, if the president were healthy he will be down in the theatre and doing debate preparations for the next debate with the vice president and he also is really going to be climbing the walls. he likes to be out with people and likes to be on television and won't be on television. from a political standpoint, i would say this, think people here in the us and around the world are going to wa nt and around the world are going to want to see him on a daily basis. how does he look? does he look healthy? as he looked like he is in full command or does he look sick? and what will that have by way of impact on the campaign? thank you very much. we will see you a little later in the evening. i have not thought about debate prep because that will impact that because you do that will impact that because you do that in close proclivity but none of

the aids can be there in close proximity. it is very informal for the president. but the debate prep in the small room in the white house may be where they caught it from each other, all cooped up in one small room. the commission said they wa nted small room. the commission said they wanted control of the microphones to avoid a repeat from what was happening tuesday and if it is virtual they can turn it off. and he was against it but he might be very well for it now. to have total power to mute somebody. that would be wild. it's well known that the older you are and the heavier you are, the more at risk you are of having serious complications. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh looks at the risk to president trump's health. donald trump has several factors which raise his risk profile for coronavirus — his age, weight, and being a man. at 7a, he's often insisted how healthy he is, despite a love

of fried chicken and burgers. age is the biggest risk factorfor covid—i9. in the united states, eight out of ten deaths have been among the over—65s. the risk of dying for somebody aged 65—74 is 90 times higher than for someone in their 20s. now, to put that in context, a recent international study found that once infected with coronavirus, the chances of dying were around one in 100 at age 65, one in 25 at 75 and one in seven at 85. the first lady, melania trump, is just 50, 2a years younger than donald trump, and physically fit, so her risk from covid should be low. the president is six foot three and weighs more than 17 stone, putting him in the obese category, another red flag.

his medical team will be on constant guard for any change in his condition. 0ften patients have quite mild symptoms to start with, and then it's as if they drop off a cliff and suddenly it gets worse, and that can happen really within hours. i don't think they can be sure for approximately ten days. if then he really hasn't really developed any worse symptoms, he seems to be controlling the virus in his throat and nose, then i think they will relax. it was nine days after testing positive for coronavirus before boris johnson was admitted to hospital in early april. he spent three nights in intensive care and says the nhs saved his life. another leader who got covid was president bolsonaro in brazil. he had few symptoms and dismissed the virus as a measly cold. it's impossible to predict how any

individual will cope with covid. many people never develop any symptoms at all. and there are treatments now which have helped improve survival rates for what can be a brutal disease. fergus walsh, bbc news. let's head over to boston and speak tojeremy faust, an emergency medicine doctor and coronavirus specialist at brigham and women's hospital and harvard medical school. thank you very much forjoining us. if you work the president's position at the moment. i think we have got you. what would you be looking for? what would you be monitoring? right fiow what would you be monitoring? right now i would watch for the development of further symptoms. and i think the fact that we have heard from his chief of staff that there are symptoms now that are mild will we will be watching for an increase in that. i'm sure they are watching things like if oxygen level and whether or not he has a fever. the

real line in the sand here is between a systematic disease and its symptomatic disease. people can go through it and really have never noticed it and others can be in the i see you. and that we are in the pool of people who have symptoms and his reportjust pool of people who have symptoms and his report just said pool of people who have symptoms and his reportjust said the next ten pool of people who have symptoms and his report just said the next ten to 12 days really are going to be crucial. he tested positive on thursday so can you tell when he was infected? get to go back further than people realise. you have to be exposed to people have to have the infection in that it takes several days for you to generate a true positive result. so it is possible he was infected two or three days ago but also it could be a bit further beyond that. it could be five, six or seven days. we know he probably gets tested on a very regular basis, so from that we can get a little more information but

this is what makes contact racing so difficult. this disease can move a symptomatically in a could take a while between exposure and positive results in the between that and a symptom. let's bring up his health report card if you well and go over some of this and maybe you could tell me what concerns you would have. so we know he is 7a. he is clinically speaking obese. he has cholesterol issues. and then there is that visit to the walter reed hospital in november which in this context becomes much more important. it's very hard to read into that because we don't have any details on this. it is equally possible that that was a harbinger of him being a bit more sick than we realised or he could actually lean on the fact that vip medicine is a real phenomenon which is a people with connections and money get more testing and treatments and more things. even

when they are not necessary. so it is possible that this visit was an example of eip medicine and it was kind of not necessary in a way. but of course now we kind of not necessary in a way. but of course now we say kind of not necessary in a way. but of course now we say it may be something was serious and this is why he has a higher risk. only time will tell and this is why again you wa nt will tell and this is why again you want to be as forthcoming as possible. ok, thank you very much for joining possible. ok, thank you very much forjoining us. his position is looking for the symptoms to see what they happen or if they get worse or better. for those watching on bbc world news, we'll be right back. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has called on the mp margaret ferrier to resign after she travelled from london back to scotland this week knowing she had tested positive for covid. ms ferrier, who has been suspended from the snp, has received a barrage of criticism for her actions from all sides of the political spectrum. nicola sturgeon described margaret ferrier as a "friend", but said that her actions were indefensible.

now, people contact me and say, "why don't you just sack her?" and this is a point that i have to make clear — i don't have the power to force an mp to step down. no party leader has that power. but i can make my views known, difficult though it is, and i have done so. and i hope she will come to the right decision in the interests of the overall integrity of these vital public health messages. first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon. and it's emerged tonight that the metropolitan police has tonight launched an investigation.

so, let's look beyond the us and ask how are other big leaders responding to the virus? russian journalists who report on mr putin have not seen him up close since march. the few people who meet him face—to—face generally spend as much as two weeks in quarantine first. the president still conducts his meetings with senior officials, including with his cabinet and his security council, by video link from a spartan room in his residence outside moscow, which has been outfitted with a disinfectant tunnel. how does that compare with what is going on here? i'm joined now by olga ivshina from bbc russian. how protected is vladimir putin from the virus? no one is 10096 how protected is vladimir putin from the virus? no one is 100% protected the virus? no one is 10096 protected of course but the president's office is taking really harsh measures to protect him. to begin with no one can even get close to the president's office without two or even a one—day old covid—19 test. and all those who would meet him

directly have to quarantine at least for two weeks. and president putin is in sochi which is a tourist area in the south then they quarantine they are in sochi. so there was a joke to everyone who was with vladimir putin in the summer it had a perfect tan because they had to spend two weeks in the sochi sun. so it isa spend two weeks in the sochi sun. so it is a challenge for some who work close with vladimir putin because they have not seen their families for quite a while and this includes his drivers who drive or fly him from place to place and some other people. some have to stay in the president's residence for more than 30 days and others use eight shift method but it definitely affects their personal and family lives. so very different from what is happening here at the white house where people are coming and going and there is a direct contact with rapid tests but those are not always

reliable but we are also having these big events where president trump is run by people at the white house and sounds totally different for president putin. well, there are big events where mr prudent sort of sees big events where mr prudent sort of sees huge crowds and sufficient amounts people see him but in these events, one happened recently, they don't approach him closely. so it is quite strict protocol. if you see him from distance of more than five metres then you are ok. if you approach them directly and are going to shake his hand or something, you have to quarantine for two weeks. this was confirmed by several speakers who spoke to bbc russian. my colleagues had to conduct sort of an investigation about that and certain speakers who met vladimir putin directly confirmed that yes, indeed, they had to quarantine for two weeks. and if they are ordinary people, then they are certain to certain locations where they have to

quarantine and if they are federal ministers, than they have a luxury of choosing where they are going to spend those two weeks. yes, compare and contrast. we are told in the us today that there would have been a national security council meeting over concerns that may be rival countries might exploit the situation. i would countries might exploit the situation. iwould have countries might exploit the situation. i would have thought that russia is rubbing its hands right 110w. russia is rubbing its hands right now. you have the prospect of a fiercely contested election, maybe not a result for weeks and now the commander—in—chief in total isolation. well, the kremlin denies such claims and they say that vladimir putin is working effectively and indeed he is meeting people but what is interesting is that now the kremlin definitely controls the whole situation. for example, in the past, there was a certain amount of journalists example, in the past, there was a certain amount ofjournalists who could see vladimir putin asking questions and follow him around the country or international meetings but now the 9% of them have not seen him for months in only through

translations or some broadcasts from the various events. so everyone who sees the various events. so everyone who sees vladimir putin or gets access to him or whether it is a journalist oi' to him or whether it is a journalist ora ministeror members to him or whether it is a journalist or a minister or members of the public, the kremlin now heavily controls that. and definitely this sort of as to the game of the kremlin and this is a thing which the president's office is quite satisfied with. ok, hold up from bbc russian service from london. quite a different situation there now. let's get more now from our senior north america reporter anthony zurcher. if you had to throw a coin in the airand see if you had to throw a coin in the air and see which way it landed or give us the brilliant wisdom of your experience, how do you think this impacts the eventual presidential campaign? i think you have to look at what was happening up to this

point. and that was that it was a relatively stable race despite everything that has happened here in the us over the course of this year, from the original pandemic, from the economic collapse that happened after that, to the unrest following george floyd's death, to the protests across the country in cities it turned violent and none of that seem to shake up his race. sol think the go to analysis is that evei'i think the go to analysis is that even though it is dramatic will not significantly chase —— change the dynamic of the race but if it does by focusing more attention on the coronavirus which the polls say they by and large hold an unfavorable view about the president over, than it is going to damage him. it will make it harder for him to win over the support that he needs to catch up the support that he needs to catch up withjoe the support that he needs to catch up with joe biden and win the election in november. interesting you say that because over here i cannot help seeing it through the prism of what happened to boris johnson, who of course divides

opinion here in the uk any recall that once it started to get more serious, there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy and support for the prime minister. now if we get to that situation, that is the sort of thing that could shift to the polls, is it not? it could. you would imagine that there will be soitie would imagine that there will be some support and sympathy for the president given that this has hit him and his wife both. but going in we him and his wife both. but going in we have people already voting here and going into this, 90% plus of americans said they had already made up americans said they had already made up their mind about who to vote for. it isa up their mind about who to vote for. it is a very stable electorate and it seems like people are not going to perhaps switch their vote to donald trump just because to perhaps switch their vote to donald trumpjust because he has succumbed to a virus that if you look over the course of this year he downplayed it times. he spoke about it saying she was taken seriously at times but there were key moments where he said this was going to

disappear and this was not that serious and just a few days ago say we serious and just a few days ago say we turned a serious and just a few days ago say we tui’i'ied a coi’i'iei'. serious and just a few days ago say we tui’i'ied a coi’i'iei’. so serious and just a few days ago say we turned a corner. so i think you will be difficult to imagine it significantly giving him a boost in support. ok, anthony, thank you very much for that. look at the polls, 60% of people don't have much belief in the what he has run coronavirus and maybe that will be exacerbated. hello again. it was a lovely day today across scotland where we had the blue skies. tomorrow, the skies are going to look very different, and that's because the wet and windy weather that we've had further south is going to develop more widely this weekend. it's the rain that's going to be the issue. there's likely to be some flooding, some travel disruption, although there will be strong winds at times. and earlier today, this morning, we had some very windy weather through the english channel from storm alex. that has weakened and is getting consumed by a larger area of low pressure that will move northwards into the uk and spread that rain and the stronger winds to more areas. so, we've got more rain at the moment across parts of england in particular.

it stays wet for central and eastern areas. maybe just a bit drier through wales, the south west later on, but still windy here. and the winds will blow in more rain into eastern parts of scotland. western scotland, though, and northern ireland largely dry, some clearer skies, but chilly here. maybe some early sunshine tomorrow. but generally it's cloud and rain on the way as the rain sets in for more of england and wales. we've got gales still in the south west. it turns wetter across scotland. largely dry for northern ireland, and after the rain clears, we could get sunshine in the afternoon for the south east of england, giving temperatures a boost. but underneath the cloud and rain, it's a chilly 11—13 degrees. and that rain is going to be heavy at times, especially over the hills. we do have amber rain warnings from the met office for later on saturday into saturday night. there could be more than two inches of rain actually over the higher ground here. and further north, as well, another area that's likely to have some flooding, the north east of scotland. a lot of rain especially over the hills blown in off the north sea around our area of low pressure.

and as we move into the second half of the weekend, the centre of the low is going to be sitting slap bang over the uk. so, we've got the stronger winds probably around the edges where we have this rain. that rain should move away from the north east of scotland in the morning. the wetter weather not far away from northern ireland, heading into south wales, the south west of england. not as windy for many central parts of the uk, but there will be some sunshine and some heavy showers around as well. and it's still a cool day, typically 13—14 degrees. those temperatures aren't really going to change as we look ahead into at least the early part of next week. the winds won't be quite as strong perhaps, but there will be sunshine and some heavy showers.

this is bbc world news. the headlines... donald trump tests positive for coronavirusjust a month before the us presidential election. the white house says he has mild symptoms and is still working. all campaign events have been suspended or will take place online. the democratic contenderjoe biden, who shared a debate stage with donald trump earlier this week, has tested negative. he's about to hold a campaign event in michigan. in the uk, another outbreak of the virus hits the new university term. more than 750 students in newcastle at northumbria university have tested positive. only 10% of them were showing symptoms. and in scotland, the mp margaret ferrier is urged to quit after she took a train from london to scotland knowing she had covid.

police are investigating. you are watching bbc news. more than 750 students have tested positive in newcastle at northumbria university. almost all of them showed no symptoms. it's the biggest outbreak so far at any university in the uk. our correspondent sharon barbour is there and has more information. 770 students, an extraordinary number of students have tested positive for coronavirus here at northumbria university in the heart of newcastle. only 78 though showed symptoms. all of those students and their flat makes are now self—isolating for 1h days —— flat makes. the university is sorting laundry and getting food, any kind of help they can. today the council and university appeal to the public

to put together food parcels to nearly 800 students. why are there so nearly 800 students. why are there so many? one of the reasons according to the university is they've made really good testing available to the students, and a lot of stu d e nts available to the students, and a lot of students they say have been tested. that's one reason, but for some students i've spoken to say they've also been celebrating. they started around 26,000 students two weeks ago. they've been doing a lot together. back to you. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has called on the mp margaret ferrier to resign after she travelled from london back to scotland this week knowing she had tested positive for covid. ms ferrier, who has been suspended from the snp, has received a barrage of criticism for her actions from all sides of the political spectrum. the metropolitan police has tonight launched an investigation. our scotland editor sarah smith has more. nicola sturgeon says margaret ferrier is a friend, but she is not attempting to defend what she has called a monumental almost

incomprehensible error of judgment. her actions were reckless, dangerous and completely indefensible and i feel very angry on behalf of all of you. every single day i stand here and i ask you to make horrendous sacrifices as part of our collective efforts against covid. i have spoken to her directly and made crystal clear to her i think she should resign as an mp. on saturday, margaret ferrier took a test after showing symptoms of coronavirus yet she travelled from glasgow to london by train. on monday evening she received a positive test result and then she took a train back to scotland knowing she had my mac. —— knowing she had covid—19. it was not until wednesday she informed the snp cheap whip who told the parliamentary authorities. i cannot believe the behaviour of a member of parliament.

it is with complete shock that somebody could be so reckless with the staff of the house of commons, with fellow mps and also travelling on public transport. completely reckless behaviour, totally unacceptable, and i am very angry the house has been put at risk. really very angry about this. an mp making a speech about coronavirus after having taken a test has shocked her colleagues. a dup mp who sat with her at dinner is self isolating. the real concern is that what margaret ferrier has done undermines the public health message that anyone with covid—19 symptoms has to self—isolate immediately, not even pop to the shops, let alone take a train journey. she admits she made a mistake, but people across the country might be asking if she can do it, why can't i? i think she should have known better. definitely. after all, the kids back at school know the rules and she

should know the rules. i am an snp member. i am very sad about it all. very disappointed. margaret ferrier is being investigated by police scotland at the metropolitan police. she may face a fine and could be suspended from parliament. sara smith, bbc news,. the latest government figures show that there were 6,968 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 6,273. over the past week, on average, 372 people have been admitted to hospital every day. this number doesn't include scotland. 66 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average

in the past week, 47 deaths were announced every day, which takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 42,268. the leader of plaid cymru, adam price, says westminster‘s incompetent handling of the pandemic has made the issue of welsh independence more pressing. mr price was speaking at his party's first ever digital conference on friday to spell out his vision for wales under a plaid cymru government were it to come out on top in the election next may. mr price set out five priorities for tackling covid—19 in wales, and called on the welsh government to do more. so what do we need to do? what what ido? the i do? the welsh government needs to maintain the independence discovered backin maintain the independence discovered back in the summer. it should try and persuade them at spencer government to stop had a stating act

quickly —— westminster government to stop hesitating. if it fails, it must be ready to act alone. where they are slow and soft, we need to be swift and solid. halfhearted measures bring with them all the misery before lockdown down the line. giving somethings up earlier by contrast means gaining a lot later as measures that are more effective can also be short or lasting. so here are five urgent priorities. it was government ‘s right to adopt a local and even hyper local approach, as it's doing internationally, but be as focused as the data allows you to be. but in those areas that are under higher restriction, we should close pubs and off licence earlier is one of the local authorities has asked, or even close them in time. insist on targeted sector specific support for those businesses affected. we should

test a somatic contact the people who have tested positive —— asymptomatic people. this was the original public health plan. it's what the centers for disease control in the united states has argued for. on this issue, i suggest that sensible not to be on the same side as president trump. we should provide more financial support to help because of its eight people —— compensate people. the uk government should double this. we need to get every person entering or returning to wales from abroad tested and retested again within days. finally, we retested again within days. finally, we need to make a ventilation plan for every public building and workplace, school and college, a legal requirement as soon as we practically can. these five steps

may not fully compensate for the abject failings of westminster ‘s distracted us —— disastrous testing system, norfor their distracted us —— disastrous testing system, nor for their relaxed approach to international travel at this time, but they would foot wales on the front put, and avoid a third and fourth. if we learn one thing during the pandemic, it's that an overreliance on westminster leads to worse results and a better outcomes can be secured by following the beltway. it's been said to me that 110w beltway. it's been said to me that now is not the time to talk about that welsh way —— following the welsh way. to me, the experience of the last six months has brought the need to accelerate the process of wales charting its own course rather than being at westminster‘s incompetent wing. caring, building and believing in a good life for eve ryo ne and believing in a good life for everyone in a better life for you and your family. changing wales for

good, that's something worth believing in. notjust good, that's something worth believing in. not just for the better but changing wales forever. putting us on a new path permanently open means independence, but that journey to a better, their future, open means independence, but that journey to a better, theirfuture, a nation of equals starts with us. here, now, today. in the shadow of this pandemic, asked not what you can do for wales, ask what your country can do for you. ask what we can do together for each other for good. adam price there. dozens of former sub—postmaster and postmistresses should now be able to quash their convictions for fraud, theft and false accounting after being told the post office will not contest their appeals. it's thought hundreds more may now come forward to try and clear their name. they were convicted of stealing money after the post office installed a new faulty computer

system. for years, their criminal records put some of those affected in dire circumstances. our business correspondent katy austin reports. thank you, god bless. goodbye. this was the moment seema heard the conviction that had turned her life upside down would likely be quashed. she became a sub—postmistress in 2005, five years later, a jury found her guilty of theft after a discrepancy was found in her accounts. she was sent to prison. i was pregnant with my second son. i couldn't even... that was the pregnancy we were waiting for for so many years. i couldn't even enjoy that. the building is no longer in use but it was here in surrey that seema used to be a sub postmistress. she was just one of hundreds of sub—postmasters and postmistresses across the country who were accused by the post office of crimes, including theft and false accounting after using an it system called horizon.

horizon was introduced in 1999, and, over the next 15 years, there were more than 900 prosecutions. but more than 500 sub postmasters raised a civil action over the it system, and last year, the post office agree to pay £58 million to settle the dispute. the criminal cases review commission referred 47 convictions for appeal. today, the post office confirmed that it won't contest the majority of them. we could see numerous hundreds of convictions overturned, we could see a raft of civil claims, on the back of that, because of course we're talking here of people going into debt, they've lost their homes, they have lost their careers, potentially been made bankrupt. the chairman of the post said office today he was...

and that... seema can't get back the years of hurt or her time in prison for a crime she says she didn't commit, but for dozens of those involved in a scandal that has seen many lives ruined, today there was some relief. i had a strong feeling always. whenever you are fighting for the truth, you always getjustice. in this case it was delayed, but at least we got it. katy austin, bbc news. you are watching bbc news, now it's time for newswatch. hello and welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. coming up... with protests and conspiracy theories abounding from coronavirus to qanon, how to separate truth from fiction. we talk to mike wendling on the bbc

news anti—disinformation unit. we talk to mike wendling from the bbc news anti—disinformation unit. first, the frequently changing restrictions now in place to halt the rise in coronavirus cases differ between the four nations on between the four nations of the united kingdom, and between those areas under local lockdown and the rest of us. if you add to that the fact that some measures are mandatory, some advisory, it's unsurprising that not everyone is across all the detail. on tuesday's today programme, the education minister gillian keegan was unable to clarify the rules on meeting in pub gardens, and a few hours later, the prime minister came unstuck on the same question of how many people could meet where. in the northeast or in other areas where extra tight measures have been brought in, you should follow the guidance of local authorities. but its six in a home or six in hospitality,

but as i understand, not six outside. that, though, was not what the new rule said, as borisjohnson swiftly acknowledged with an apology for misspeaking. his error and gillian keegan‘s earlier inability to clarify the issue were reported prominently on bbc news, which elicited this response from peter partington. and doctor saijal sent us this video on the same theme. i think it's high time the bbc stops trying to trip up government ministers by asking them to clarify a particular covid guidance, and when they can't answer,