russia and the eu have led calls for armenia and azerbaijan to respect a ceasefire in nagorno—kara bakh, which should have taken effect on saturday. the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov, said the truce must be strictly enforced. the eu says it's extremely concerned by reports of civilians being targeted. the us infectious diseases expert, anthony fauci, has complained that donald trump's election campaign team has used his comments out of context and without his permission. in a republican tv advert, dr fauci appears to praise mr trump's response to the coronavirus outbreak. two prominent opponents of the belarusian president, alexander lu kashenko, have been released from jail — on the same day that hundreds of activists were detained after mass protests. security forces used water cannon and stun grenades against demonstrators, who are angry about the president's re—election in august.

now on bbc news, the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament. a week when borisjohnson faces mutiny in the ranks. if lockdown measures are the answer, why aren't they working? the worst in society is the government enjoying its powers a little bit too much. labour say there is one man to blame. the prime minister ignores the warning signs, hurtles towards a car crash, then looks in the rear mirror and says, "what's all that about?" also in this programme: mps reflect on the harrowing consequences of gang violence. in the last two months alone, i've had to speak to three inconsolable mothers who've lost their children as a result of knife crime. but first: some parts of england face more restrictions to suppress coronavirus.

we could hear more details as soon as monday but ministers are facing anger from conservative mps over the existing rules. more than a dozen tory mps rebelled in a retrospective vote on the rule of six limit on gatherings and spoke out against the 10pm early closing time for pubs and restaurants. the health minister, helen whatley, endured an uncomfortable time as she tried to explain the thinking behind that limit on gatherings. this virus spreads through social contact, so we are having to take difficult decisions to suppress the virus whilst allowing people to socialise safely. the regulations we are debating today brought previous guidance into law whilst tightening and simplifying it. the rule of six means that people can now only gather in groups of six both indoors and outdoors. there are exceptions to this — households or support bubbles that are larger than six as well as for areas including work, schools, weddings, and organised sports activities.

outside england, children aren't included in the rule of six. what is the rationale for children under the age of those that would have to wear masks being included in the rule of six? the rationale, not the fact that it's happening. what is the rationale? my honourable friend asked specifically the question about children. the position on this is that, as i have said, a clear steer, the need for guidance to be simple and absolutely clear for everybody. the tory rebels included some unlikely figures. and these rules are a massive intrusion into the liberty and private lives of the whole british people, and they are having a devastating economic effect as well, which will result in big job losses and masses of business failures. labour mps did not take part in the vote but complained about the regulations

being signed into law with no parliamentary scrutiny. how can we expect anyone to possibly adhere to the minutia of these regulations if they only appeared for the first time a quarter of an hour before they become law? at a quarter to midnight on a sunday evening, how would a policeman be expected to be enforcing that? are they supposed to google the regulations while they're walking around on their beat? with labour abstaining, the regulations were approved overwhelmingly, but ministers faced criticism in the lords too. two ministers have suggested that people should inform on their neighbours. well, it's one thing to report on your neighbour if you see he is building a bomb factory. if he's holding a barbecue for seven people, are you really going to report him? my lords, i deplore any suggestion that we should become a nation of informers, like the old east germany. where there was love, it puts in space. and that, my lords, is something i cannot apologise for. i cannot change it.

i cannot find some form of words that transforms that simple fact or in any way changes the grim realities of how we have to limit the transmission of this disease. lord bethell described the debate as like an elastic band being pulled as tight as it could go, but he said that during the summer, the public had massively relaxed their behaviour. the arguments continued as mps went on to debate the rules in parts of the north of england, including a ban on social mixing indoors between people from different households. one conservative said the government was enjoying its new powers a little bit too much. day by day we see those liberties and freedoms being given away back to the government in the name of covid. i'm afraid that has to stop. because once we give these up they will not come back to us — the government will not return them to us. tory mps kept up the pressure. will he ensure that the

minister focuses rigorously on the key question? namely, if lockdown measures are the answer, why aren't they working? the lockdown measures have been implemented to try and stop the spread of the disease. a disease that is communicated by people meeting is bound to be reduced in its circulation if people meet less, and we saw that with the first lockdown, that it stopped people meeting and therefore the numbers affected by the disease declined. jacob rees—mogg. so could england follow where scotland leads? at holyrood, the first minister, nicola sturgeon, announced that all licensed premises across scotland's central belt, including glasgow and edinburgh, would be closed for 16 days. pubs and restaurants will be able to open in other parts of scotland until 6pm but can only serve alcohol outdoors. the restrictions will be in place until the 25th of october. she's earmarked £40 million to help those affected.

none of this is easy. i am acutely aware that in every decision we take, lives and jobs are at stake, and i want to assure notjust the chamber but the country that none of these decisions are ta ken lightly. she said she wasn't announcing a lockdown but a far more targeted approach. the reason we are not closing indoor hospitality completely is that we know the benefits in terms of reducing loneliness and isolation of giving people, particularly those who live alone, somewhere they can meet a friend for a coffee and a chat. these new restrictions are intended to last for 16 days. they are intended to be short, sharp action to arrest a worrying increase in infection. although they are temporary, though, they are immediate. without them, there is a very real risk presiding over us

that the virus will run out of control by the end of this month. we need to acknowledge that the first minister's announcement today is putting further massive restrictions on people's lives and livelihoods. in the weeks ahead, the whole country will be in the firing line but perhaps no more so than scotland's hospitality sector. like other small businesses, they are looking to the first minister for a clear statement of what support they can expect. we've had the headline figure today but we don't have what small businesses really need — the details. and they can't afford to wait. many are running on empty. all reserves are gone. the first minister said the hospitality sector would be consulted on the best way to help them, but labour suggested keeping some venues open. the scottish hospitality sector is not sodom and gomorrah and should not be treated as such. why doesn't the first minister consider closing down those businesses which are not complying with guidance instead of shutting down every single business serving 70% of the population including those which are fully compliant? because of some of the characteristics of hospitality — sometimes poor ventilation, places where people particularly with alcohol are mixing more and not maintaining physical distancing — even where premises are making a significant effort to comply with all

of the regulations as the vast majority are, these are higher—risk settings in terms of the virus transmitting. nicola sturgeon speaking on a day it emerged that she'd forgotten about a meeting where she was first told about harassment allegations against her predecessor, alex salmond. in a busy day at holyrood, the scottish government also announced that next year's national five exams for i6—year—olds will be replaced by coursework and teacher assessment. back at westminster, boris johnson faced calls to publish a scientific evidence behind the iopm early closing time that has upset so many of his mps. the labour leader said he should review the rule if he cannot do so. sir keir starmer also challenged the prime minister over a computer error that saw 16,000 positive coronavirus cases issued, a mistake he said that "put lives at risk". if this was an isolated

example, i think the british people might understand. but there's a pattern here on care homes, protective equipment, exams, testing. the prime minister ignores the warning signs, hurtles towards a car crash then looks in the rear mirror and says, "what's all that about?" it's quite literally government in hindsight. he said borisjohnson had imposed local restrictions in some areas, but infections had continued to rise. the prime minister defended his government's actions and attacked labour's position. what we are doing is a combination of national and local measures which one week, mr speaker, he comes to this house and supports. and the next week mysteriously, he decides to whisk his support away. and he cannot even be bothered to mobilise his own benches to support something as fundamental as the rule of six which he himself said only three weeks ago that he supported. he cannot continue to have it both ways. does he support the rule of six — yes or no? yes.

shouting. but the government... shouting. yes. but if the prime minister can't see and hear local communities when they say the infection rate has gone up tenfold under restrictions and he doesn't realise that's a problem, then that is part of the problem. mr speaker, there is a further cause of anger. prime minister, if you actually listen to the question, we might get on better. shouting. there is further cause of anger. lack of clarity about why particular restrictions have been introduced. for example, in the prime minister's own local authority, hillingdon, today there are 62 cases per 100,000, yet no local restrictions. but in 20 local areas across england, restrictions were imposed where infection rates were much lower. in kirklees it was just 29 per 100,000.

local communities, prime minister, genuinely don't understand these differences. i wish i could pretend, mr speaker, that everything was going to be rosy in the midlands or indeed in london, mr speaker, where alas we are also seeing infections rise, and that's why we need a concerted national effort. we need to follow the guidance. we need hands, face, space, get a test if you have symptoms, and obey the rule of six, mr speaker. and i think it quite extraordinary that the right honourable gentleman has just said that he personally supports the rule of six while allowing his entire party to abstain! next week this house will vote on whether to approve the 10pm rule. the prime minister knows that there are deeply held views across the country in different ways on this. one question is now screaming out: is there a scientific basis for the 10pm rule? the public deserve to know. parliament deserves to know. if there is, why doesn't the government do itself

a favour and publish it? the basis on which we set out the curtailment of hospitality was the basis on which he accepted it two weeks ago! and that is to reduce the spread of the virus, mr speaker. and that is our objective. that's why we introduced the rule of six, mr speaker. which again he supported only two weeks ago and yet, last night, they abstained — and today they're withdrawing their support for other restrictions. what kind of a signal, mr speaker, does this send to the people of the country about the robustness of the labour party and their willingness to enforce the restrictions? mr speaker, that's not new leadership. that's no leadership. and that vote on early closing is now expected on tuesday. as the pandemic continues, so does the economic cost with the current furlough scheme ending this month. support for the self—employed

has been less generous. hundreds of freelance musicians played in parliament square to highlight the impact of the crisis on their industry. ministers pointed out they have announced a package worth £1.6 billion for the arts — although that is largely being distributed to museums, galleries, and venues rather than individuals. at the start of the pandemic the government increased universal credit by £20 a week for a year. but what happens then? at prime minister's questions, the snp's westminster leader said it should be made permanent. thejoseph rowntree foundation have painted a very clear picture for his government. strip the £20 universal credit away and 700,000 more people, including 300,000 children, could move into poverty. the prime minister has an opportunity here and now. will he do the right thing? will he answer the question and make the £20 uplift permanent? what i can tell him on universal credit is that we're putting another £1.7 billion into universal credit by 2023-2024.

and if that doesn't give him the answer that he wants, then he can ask me again next week. but we will continue to support people, families across this country. in wales, which has a labour government, members of the senedd approved local lockdowns — although the welsh conservatives opposed countrywide restrictions. the welsh government said it was considering forcing visitors from covid hotspots elsewhere in the uk to quarantine. borisjohnson has rejected calls for a travel ban. the issue was raised during first minister's questions in the senedd. we've called for action consistently on this issue in the senedd. can you say whether and when you intend to take action yourselves independently as government? and in addition to looking at introduction of quarantine as a solution, is consideration being given to making non—essential travel and to wales from a lockdown area is illegal and subject to enforcement by the police? for that, i thank adam price.

i share his sense of disappointment at the prime minister's apparent conclusion and i say apparent because although he gave an interview which he opined on this matter, he has yet to apply to my letter to him of monday last week and i think that is deeply disrespectful, not to me, but to the senedd and to people here in wales. what i asked for in my letter was not a border solution, it was a solution that would've prevented people living in hotspot areas in england from travelling to other places where the virus was not in the same place, whether that was england or scotland or in wales. mark drakeford, and if you want to know what the current

restrictions are on your part of the world — it can be a challenge to keep up — you can go to the bbc news website... ..and enter your postcode. well, time now for some other news in brief. the security minister has denied that undercover agents are being given a licence to kill with new legislation. the government hopes the covert human intelligence sources criminal conduct bill will protect agents from prosecution if they're forced to break the law. for example, to stop a terror plot. i know there are concerns about them somehow providing a licence to kill, to commit torture. let me be clear, that there are upper limits to the activity that we authorised in this bill and these are contained in the human rights act. this includes the right to life, prohibition of torture or subject to inhumane degrading treatment or punishment. it is unlawful for any public authority to act in a way of human rights. labour supports the bill. the activity here is not

new activity, and it's been going on under existing practices and has been for many years. it should be on the statutory footing, it allows the necessary and robust safeguards that we will be pressing for. more than three years after the grenfell tower fire, the housing secretary has been accused by a conservative mp of a shocking betrayal of people who are unable to sell their homes due to cladding on the building. 72 people died in the grenfell fire in west london, with the flames able to spread quickly due to flammable cladding. the government has set up a fund to replace dangerous cladding on some high—rise buildings in england, but it has yet to pay out. the secretary of state is overseeing a shocking betrayal of millions of people trapped in flats they cannot sell because of the cladding, irrespective of the height. mortgage companies are refusing to remortgage, shared ownership tenants that only owe 10% are being forced to pay 100% of the cost. when is the secretary of state

going to get out of his ivory tower, stop talking and start actually helping our constituents? well, i don't agree with that analysis of the actions that we have taken as a government. we are bringing forth the biggest change to building safety regulation of this generation. we've outline plans for a £1.6 billion fund. of course there is more that we can do. this is one the most challenging and difficult issues faced by the government today or indeed any government built over many generations but we intend to tackle it and provide support for those in need. drivers aged between 17 and 2a hold 7% of uk driving licences but are involved in 20% of fatal and serious collisions. mps on the transport committee have been looking at why that is and what can be done about it. they spoke to insurers. the reality is young drivers are causing catastrophic injuries and having severe crashes because of a lack of experience

and a sense of recklessness i suppose and bravado. from being young and inexperienced and not having that time to understand and the dangers of when they do that. the cricketing legend ian botham has taken his seat in the house of lords in a cross bench or independent peer. he took the oath and the new socially distanced cut—down introduction ceremony which has been in operation since the march lockdown. i, ian, lord botham, do swear prithee by god, true allegiance to her majesty in accordance with her and her successors according to the law, so help me god. lord botham, swapping one lord for another. it has been described as possibly the largest miscarriage of justice in our history. problems with an it system led to hundreds of postmasters being unjustly accused of fraud. many were prosecuted or bankrupted and some were jailed.

the post office will now contest appeals against "it ——it won't. convictions in 44 cases, which means they're extremely likely to be quashed. the government asked the retired high courtjudge to gather evidence into the horizon system to see if lessons have been learned. some mps fear that inquiry could be a whitewash, although the post office decision has been welcomed — up to a point. but it actualy belies the agony and the torment which has gone on for these individuals and hundreds of other individuals who have lost their livelihoods, lost their good names and in some cases, lost their freedom. in other cases, people have lost their lives. and i'm sorry, minister, but what you have said is not good enough. the decision to prosecute postmasters was an operational matter for the post office and government is not involved in the operational decisions.

but in hindsight, knowing what we know now, it is clear that different conclusions could and should have been reached and that is why the inquiry is there — to work out those lessons. how did a respectable organisation like the post office, a major software company like fujitsu and the great and the good of the civil service and ministers from all parties fall prey to groupthink on such a grand scale that despite this computer error occurring across the country, it was assumed the only possible explanation was that all sub postmasters effected were dishonest? this is being reviewed in scotland and in the rest of the uk and should result in financial compensation for all of those innocent people who suffered as a result of this scandal. i welcome the establishment of the inquiry. but can the minister assure us that this is not going to be a whitewash? many subpostmasters in my

constituency are very anxious to know that. the truth is the ministers have set up a half—baked inquiry in response to this extraordinary scandal without the powers to fully get to the bottom of this mess. can the minister tell us as their only shareholder that the government allowed the post office to continue to oppose the appeals for so long? what happened when — whether the government had the board's appointee as well as the post office will come up in that independent inquiry and it is right that they're questioned so that we do find out what happened and when. the business minister, who was left in no doubt about the anger of the mp5. westminster hall is back in action after a covid—19 break. it allows mps to raise issues that sometimes do not get an airing in the main commons chamber, such as the plight of girls and young women caught up in gang violence. in the last two months alone, i have had to speak to three inconsolable mothers who have lost their children as a result of knife crime.

these children were murdered by their peers. and as a mother to two young children myself, this is not something i can live with, ignore or accept. we need to look at targeted interventions to help the girls who have been exploited, groomed and abused. we need to continue to raise awareness with the authorities around the use of girls in county lines and other gang related activities. and we need the policymakers to change the language they use in highlighting this issue. but most importantly, we need to continue to listen to these young women and girls. and listen to what they are telling us. i want to reassure colleagues that tackling serious violence and the exploitation of girls and women is an absolute priority for this government. we have invested £119 million this year alone to provide extra police resources to drive

down the scale of violent crime that we are seeing on our streets, to fund violence reduction units in the 18 force areas that are most affected by crime and violence, and fund specialist county line operations. we have also spent over £200 million on early intervention to ensure that those most at risk are given the opportunity to turn away from violence and lead positive and safe lives. victoria atkins. mps have been strongly advised to wear face coverings while moving around parliament and voting in division lobbies. the speaker, sir lindsay hoyle, led the way on his daily procession in the commons chamber on wednesday. but mps do not have to wear masks in the chamber itself, which means we will continue to see the speaker's double act

with a conservative mp who speaks via video link and a very aeronautical headset. we are now heading to bob blackman, who's about to land his question. bob blackman. thank you, mr speaker. flight officer blackman, cleared to land. thank you, ground control. let's head up to blackman to glide his question in. thank you, ground control. as we've no stacking, we are now going straight to bob blackman. thank you, ground control. sir lindsay hoyle — or ground control, as he is known in harrow. thank you for travelling with the week in parliament. we know you have a choice of programmes. for me, it is over and out, and have a good onward journey.

hello there. the changing autumn colours looked splendid in the sunshine on sunday. beginning to look a little more muted as we go through monday. lots more cloud around, outbreaks of rain spreading its way eastwards across most parts during the day as well. the cloud and rain, though, from these weather fronts as they push in through the night means the temperature shouldn't drop too much across western areas. in the east though, a little ridge of high pressure, some clearer skies for a time. parts of east anglia and the southeast — could even be a touch of frost in the countryside, with temperatures and lower single figures, away from the city centres. but here, some early brightness before cloud thickens, rain arrives later into the afternoon. a wet start in northern ireland, through much of scotland, and around any western fringes of england and wales. the rain heavy at times. clearing through northern ireland quite quickly to a blustery wind, sunshine and a few showers later. same too into scotland as we go into the afternoon and maybe some late sunshine into northwest england and north and west wales. winds strongest across the west during the second half of the day. light winds further east, but even though those winds coming in from a south—westerly

direction, they won't bring much warmth with them. after a cold start, the cloud and the rain arriving means temperatures not going to lift much — parts of yorkshire through towards the midlands and lincolnshire could be only around nine degrees, same too in aberdeenshire. through monday night, the rain could linger across east anglia and the southeast, and it returns across parts of northern scotland with some heavy showers through northern ireland, wales and the southwest. with the clearest conditions in southwest and northwest england, here, a touch of frost into tuesday morning, but i think all of us see a bit of cloud around and some rain around at times on tuesday. our weather front, well, pressure deepens in around it. so that low pressure spinning around, buckling our weather front back southwards across scotland during the morning — brighter conditions in the afternoon. we will see some brighter weather on tuesday across the heart of england and wales, but outbreaks of rain across many northern—eastern areas, heavy showers towards the southwest as well. the breeze will be picking up, but it won't feel quite as chilly, i suspect, for the southwest midlands down towards the southwest. then, as we go through into wednesday, still some cloud and showers around, particularly for england and wales.

a stiff northeasterly breeze for all, best of the sunshine in the west, driest of all parts of scotland and northern ireland. but a cool feeling day, once again, and that cool feel will continue through the rest of the week, with temperatures down on where they should be for the time of year. the winds, though, will gradually ease and the skies will brighten a little bit more, with more of you spending thursday and friday dry. that's how it's looking. see you soon.

welcome to bbc news. i'm mariam mashiri. our top stories: searching for survivors — armenia and azerbaijan are urged to heed a ceasefire after another deadly attack in the disputed region of nagorno—karabakh. the top us government scientist anthony fauci says an edited clip of him used in a trump campaign tv ad is misleading. security forces in belarus use water cannon and stun grenades to break up mass protests over the re—election of president alexander lukashenko. nigerian police say they'll disband a controversial anti—robbery brigade following days of nationwide protests.