good morning, welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire. here are the headlines this monday morning: borisjohnson is to announce more new lockdown restrictions for certain parts of england. liverpool is expected to face the toughest restrictions, with pubs and betting shops shut. the metro mayor says a deal is yet to be agreed. we're still continuing to try and find the fine detail that will give us some comfort that one, we can go to our nearly two million residents in the liverpool city region and explain to them what it is that we've negotiated on their behalf. how are you feeling about the prospect of even tighter restrictions — on you, your physical and mental health and financially — how willl tougher lockdowns

affect yourjob, your workplace, your business? and is it more difficult second time around? let me know this morning. either on twitter or you can e—mail me. the boss of british airways, alex cruz has stepped down from the role with immediate affect, as the airline continue its pandemic struggle. the premier league criticises a radical plan to shake—up english football. project big picture would see the top tier cut to 18 teams, and the league cup and community shield scrapped. also coming up this hour... back in march, the former children's laureate, michael rosen was fighting for his life with coronavirus. six months on, we'll talk to him about his recovery from long covid.

hello, good morning. towns and cities across england are bracing themselves for a tighter lockdown as more restrictions are expected to be brought in today. borisjohnson is to announce a new system of "local covid alert levels" in england — following accusations of a lack of clarity in the various restrictions in place across the country. the prime minister will tell the commons there will be three categories. regions will be classified as being on "medium", "high" or "very high" alert but it's not yet clear which measures will apply to each category. it's expected the liverpool city region will be put on the highest alert level — in a statement the area's leaders said they had been told pubs, gyms and bookies will close. john mcmanus has this report. it was a weekend of bar—hopping and socialising for some on the streets of liverpool,

but later today, the government may announce that the party's over, for now. like other parts of the north west and north east of england, the transmission of covid—19 continues to rise. and after a weekend of negotiations between whitehall and local leaders, some likely measures are becoming clearer. it's expected that different parts of the country will come under medium, high and very high alert levels. however, the full restrictions have yet to be announced and they may vary between areas with the same alert levels. the full details will be confirmed by the prime minister when he addresses parliament today. the government says it's worked closely with regional mayors but there has been significant pushback. the leader of the liverpool city region says gyms and betting shops will close, alongside pubs in his area. but he says a deal hasn't yet been done and he wants crucial information. if the government can provide us with that scientific evidence that says that there are some outbreaks

in gyms and other things that are on the list then we have to accept that. if not, of course, we will be asking them to release those restrictions as soon as they possibly can. as i say, we've got four weeks where we all have to abide by what the government are imposing, then after that, it's for us to hopefully put a case forward to say we should be going down to tier two. officials in manchester, meanwhile, says they've begun legal proceedings to challenge any closure of hospitality venues. several breweries have also joined the application for a judicial review. they say there's no scientific evidence to support the measures. there's real concern that some pubs might not survive a second closure. it's been a long weekend, shall we say, ever since friday's announcement when we didn't find out anything and now possible closure again. there's a lot of pubs that won't recover from this. other parts of england are also bracing themselves. nottingham has the highest infection

rate and the council expects new restrictions to be announced today. whatever they may be, the direction of travel is becoming clearer. john mcmanus, bbc news. let's get reaction from two people who run thier own businesses. with me is nicola storey — who runs the mustard pot pub in leeds. also i'm joined by bala croman, who owns a chocolate shop on the wirral, merseyside. hello to both of you. ijust looked at the cases for the wirral, 265 cases per 100,000 in your area, bala, comparing to a national average for england of 7a bala, comparing to a national average for england of 7k per 100,000. what are you expecting from the prime minister today and how are you feeling about all of this? the word is we will be on the highest level, very high threat. so we will... we won't be locked down

ourselves, we expect that all of the hospitality industry will be closed. we are kind of in the middle ground because we make chocolate, we sell chocolate and we run chocolate making workshops, so we are not quite a hospitality business but we will be severely affected by it all. so you don't expect that legally you will be required to shut but in all but name, it's going to have a real impact on your shop, isn't it? yes, totally. we are coming into peak time now, especially for workshops. so we have quite significant parties running throughout half term. we do children's workshops and hen parties so children's workshops and hen parties so for us, it will mean a complete shutdown. but because you are not legally required to shut, you won't be able to get the chancellor or taxpayer to pay two thirds of your

staff's wages, is that correct? that is correct and we won't be eligible for any is correct and we won't be eligible forany grants, as is correct and we won't be eligible for any grants, as far as i can say. so, are you going to survive?” don't know, we will have to see. we are counting on christmas, really. we will hope things go well around christmas but that will be quite difficult because normally we go out to lots of events over christmas, so we do quite a lot of markets. you know, street markets and so on and none of that is happening this year. sure. let's talk to nicola. 393 cases per 100,000 in leeds, in your area where you run your pub. compared to nottingham with the highest rate, 760 cases per 100,000, are you expecting further restrictions in leeds? definitely, i think we might even be closed. getting a lot higher than they were

andi getting a lot higher than they were and i think any more restrictions would be a killer too many in this industry. already, the restrictions are ruining trade by at least 50%. yeah, ithink are ruining trade by at least 50%. yeah, i think any more restrictions... we would be losing thousands of people. you have the 10pm curfew at the moment and you say it is affecting your trade, by how much, can you estimate that? from ten o'clock it's probably about 20-30% but it is the from ten o'clock it's probably about 20—30% but it is the leeds lockdown which has decimated trade in the week for us. i think it's made people extremely worried to go out. during the week we have probably dropped off 70—80%. it's a combination of things for us. more restrictions on top, whatever they may be today, whatever the announcement is today, it's just going to be more on top of that, i guess... i don't know if people will get by. i cannot see it, really. if

you are legally required to shut down your pub then your staff will get two thirds of their wages paid. so how helpful would that be, could it see you through, depending on how long... ? it could last one month, two months, three months? who can realistically live on two thirds of their wage? before it was 80% the government was paying and even then it was hard for people to get by. how can people survive on that? but that would be potentially better than more restrictions, which would mean we might not be able to pay even that. all options seem bad but i guess we will see what we can do. how are you coping with the uncertainty? it'sjust. .. it's absolutely impossible to plan. the whole of hospitality, like 3 million people are waiting to hear today to see what will happen to us. are we going to have a business? will people be able to pay their bills,

buy food? it's unbelievably stressful. does it feel hard at the second time around? yeah, i think we are worn down, aren't we? it's like how many more times can we keep going round? i don't know the answer but it just feels going round? i don't know the answer but itjust feels we are going round and round again but there is no solution in sight, really. it seems like an endless circle of lockdown. stress. bala, how do you cope with the uncertainty? youjust have stress. bala, how do you cope with the uncertainty? you just have to ride it along, don't we? i hope for the positives. we're just hoping the best will of it. do you think it feels more challenging the second time round? definitely. iwish feels more challenging the second time round? definitely. i wish you all the best and the prime minister is due to make a statement in the commons and then a televised briefing from downing street which will be on bbc one tonight. thank you both of you. nicola and bala,

thank you very much, both of you. the prime minister, by the way, will be flanked by the chancellor rishi sunak and professor chris whitty. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardley, is at downing street for us this morning. people are on tender hooks, they need to know, when are we going to find out? hello, victoria. i think it will be this afternoon before we know exactly what measures are going to be put in place in different parts of england. we do know the broad idea that the government is going to come up with later, which is this three tier system. the medium tier, roughly what we see right now with the rule of six. the high tier, likely to see more clamp—downs on households meeting, particularly in dolls and then the very high tier, which would have a pretty big impact on communities where it's imposed. that will be

things like losing some hospitality. liverpool is likely to be the only area that says that right away. we area that says that right away. we are expecting things like pubs to be closed in the liverpool region over the next few days. still a lot of discussion, though, about some of thoseissues discussion, though, about some of those issues you were just talking about, exactly what sort of financial support is going to be in place for business. big questions over whether the two thirds of salary commitment the chancellor has made will be enough. those negotiations in liverpool are still going onjust now. in about an hour we think the cobra government body will meet to sign this off and then this afternoon we will get exact details from the prime minister about what the government is going to put in place. thank you very much, nick. thank you for your messages, as well. this says, it has to be done. look at what happens if we don't. but i wish the government would make things more clear. they seem would make things more clear. they seem to make some things that are

simple very complicated. boris johnson should stop waffling. juliette says it doesn'tjust affect northerners, my daughter lives in the north—east and i live in kent. i can count on one hand the amount of times we have met face—to—face from march and it is breaking my heart. don nguyen says that the north is not an island, travel between the regions is constant so the spread between regions is inevitable. track and trace gives us the ability to focus our efforts that the government have failed miserably on that. rob says it's time the government laid out the dangers again of not doing restrictions. chris is anti—any more restrictions, no to lockdown and to masks. kirsty says my parents live in kent, i am in the north—west. we haven't seen each other in person since february. marion says it is hard at the second time around because we know what could come but the realisation of the cost to working people, children, grandchildren that we are retired, we are both very well but the whole thing is so emotional.

alison says, i am feeling sick in the pit of my stomach at the pressures ahead for the fabulous teams in hospitals of hull and the lab teams in hospitals of hull and the la b staff teams in hospitals of hull and the lab staff i look after especially. thank you for those. keep them coming in. how do you feel about the prospect of more restrictions and how does it feel second time around? in a moment, will talk to our correspondent geeta pendse who is in nottingham, which has the highest infection rate in england. first to our correspondent danjohnson, who is in liverpool, where people are waiting to hear how the new restrictions will impact the region. what are people saying, dan? they are nervous about exactly what is coming but they know some extra measures are needed because case numbers here have kept rising in the last few weeks, even though there have been local restrictions in place already. so there is a cce pta nce place already. so there is acceptance more is needed and there is an understanding that that is going to mean more social disruption and economic pain for this city and the region. but i think the real

sticking point here has been the level of support that is on offer for people who are going to face disruption. the regional mayor was very clear that what he is expecting to be enforced here from wednesday as something similar to the original lockdown. that is the sort of level of disruption we are talking about and he says with that needs to be support for the workers who are going to be effectively furloughed again. the offerfrom going to be effectively furloughed again. the offer from the government is two thirds of pay. it has been pointed out here that so many people rely on low paid wages in the hospitality region that this city is built on that that won't be enough. the other concern from local leaders as once they go into this lockdown, how do they get out? how are those measures release? what are the gauges of working out what the right point is to reduce that so life can start to resume again here? 0therwise, what people are seeing as this may go on and on and the local lockdown here might exist right through the winter and people are saying that won't be sustainable, it will absolutely finish off their

city's businesses. no doubt they need to take action because case numbers have kept rising and hospitalisations are increasing as well. a really difficult balance the government has to find here in working out what the right measures are as it tries to apply a simplified system across the country, it then has to work out what each city is going to fit into that system and what the right set of measures are for each place. a lot of difficult decisions to be made to get this right. yes, thank you, dan. geeta is in nottingham. let me read you this e—mail. i live in nottingham and are heartbroken because i have observed social distancing to the letter to protect my disabled husband and myself. i am so my disabled husband and myself. i am so upset nottingham is in the state it is, due partly to the large student intake. under the new restrictions i won't be able to see my son or daughter. what kind of life or that be? i'm 65 and devastated. what is to come is already hitting people hard, isn't it? yes, absolutely. there is that

real sense of frustration at what might be about to happen. we know there will be further restrictions here. from what we know, anyway, currently, there is that sense of anticipation with no one knowing the exact details yet. even the local council here, nottingham city council, i had from an official this morning who told me they don't know yet. what's widely sort of expected is the local authorities have advised people here not to mix indoors with other households. it is expected that perhaps will be part of the restrictions must what eve ryo ne of the restrictions must what everyone is waiting to hear is which tier will nottingham and nottinghamshire, which surrounds the city, which tier will it be placed in and what will it mean? if it does go into the most severe tier, tier three, it could see the closure of some of the hospitality sector, places like pubs and bars. a leaked document on friday suggested it would be placed into tier two but it

hasn't been confirmed yet. and as you mentioned with that e—mail, it is how will people interact? what will they be able to do? what will be the impact on livelihoods? so lots of questions. it's anticipated the prime minister will make that announcement later today and hopefully that will give some people some comfort at least to know what they can and cannot do. thank you very much, thank you, geeta. and the prime minister, the chancellor rishi sunak and the chief medical officer for england professor chris whitty will be holding a news briefing from downing street at around 6pm this evening — we'll bring that to you live here on bbc news. and probably bbc one. the headlines on bbc news: borisjohnson is to announce new lockdown restrictions for certain parts of england, as part of a new three—tier system. liverpool is expected to face the toughest restrictions with bars, beauty salons and betting shops all closed. the region's mayor says a deal is yet to be agreed. the premier league criticises a radical plan to shake—up english football.

project big picture would see the top tier cut to 18 teams, and the league cup and community shield scrapped. british airways chief executive, alex cruz has stepped down after four—and—a—half years in the role. mr cruz will stay on as nonexecutive chairman for a transition period. the last few months of his tenure have been tough, as he was tasked with driving through thousands ofjob cuts at the airline. let's hear from our business correspondent ben thompson. what difference will this make? an interesting announcement this morning from the parent company of british airways. now

headed up... replacing willie walsh. alex cruz will leave with immediate effect and that is because the airline is going through such an unprecedented time of difficulty. but alex cruz not without its critics. he presided over the baggage handling crisis at the new terminal five at heathrow, which left thousands without their bags for many days, cause disruption for planes and passengers trying to get around the world. he was also in the topjob when there around the world. he was also in the top job when there was a huge data breach and hack at british airways that leaked data from passengers to criminals. and now in the midst of what is pretty much unprecedented, as far as the crisis in the aviation industry is concerned. you touched on thejob industry is concerned. you touched on the job losses announced at ba, 13,000 of them are currently at risk. there has been a lot of criticism about how they have handled this. some suggesting staff have been forced to step down from theirjobs and then be rehired on

worse terms and conditions on a new contract but one that does not pay anywhere near what it paid before. so lots of concern as far as staff are concerned. but the new boss says he will get rid of alex cruz and instead sean doyle will take over. he is the current boss of aer lingus. part of the same group but nonetheless, they are hoping the new man might be able to steer the airline in the right direction amid so airline in the right direction amid so much turbulence for the airline industry right now. thank you, we will see. thank you. more than 1300 arts venues and organisations are to receive money from the government's culture recovery fund, to help them survive the pandemic. grants worth a total of £257 million have been announced; beneficiaries include the cavern club in liverpool and other theatres, museums and ballet companies across england. the funds are intended to help the organisations produce work and keep going until the spring.

all pregnant women are being encouraged to take up the offer of a free flu vaccination before the winter. health experts say the jab is even more important than usual because of covid—19. more people have been offered the vaccine this year — anyone over 50 in england is also eligible. twitter has attached a disclaimer to another of president trump's tweets — saying it violated its rules on spreading misleading information about the coronavirus. mr trump tweeted that he was now immune to covid—19. scientists say the virus hasn't been around long enough to understand an immune response. mr trump made the same claim on fox news, after his doctor said he was no longer a transmission risk. the us government's top infectious disease expert has criticised donald trump's re—election campaign team. doctor anthony fauci says comments made by him have been taken out of context and used without his permission in a republican party tv ad. today, the senate is moving ahead with confirmation hearings for president trump's pick to fill a vacancy on the supreme court,

amy coney barrett, an appeals court judge. her appointment would cement a conservative majority on the influential body, with enormous implications for the nation. the push is like nothing seen in us history so close to a presidential election. barbara plett usher reports. an already contentious candidate walking straight into pandemic politics. today it is my honour to nominate one of our nation's most brilliant and gifted legal minds. amy coney barrett is a dream nominee for those on the right. she's of formidable intellect, a devout catholic, a super mum, and staunchly conservative. although here she tried to distance herself from partisan divides. if confirmed, i would not assume that role for the sake of those my own circle, and certainly not for my own sake. i would assume this role to serve you. this ceremony became ground zero for a covid outbreak.

it appears to have infected two senators on the congressional committee that's questioning her. but nothing is getting in a way of the rush to confirm the new supreme courtjustice, the third nominated by president trump. the stakes are just too high. i will process this nomination, consistent with the rules of the committee, and, um, look forward to the coming days here. it's going to be a lot of fun. for republicans, because it is an unprecedented chance secure a conservative court for a generation, and recharge the election campaign by energising the base. yes, we can! for democrats, this is a nightmare. a job for life on a court that sets the nation's social and cultural direction on issues like gay rights, gun control, abortion, 0bamacare. i think this is less about her than it is about the targeting here of the affordable care act, of roe v wade, of 0bergefell.

those are indisputably, you can take that right out of the republican party platform. you can take them right out of the words of president trump talking about it his appointees. amy coney barrett is the ideological opposite of the woman she'd be replacing — ruth bader ginsburg. liberal americans are afraid she would chip away at rbg's legacy. they're also furious about the politics. in 2016, republicans blocked democrats from filling a supreme court seat because it was an election year. but now that they're in power, they've changed their tune. if donald trump can secure a supreme court seat, even if he doesn't win the election, his presidency will be deemed a success by the ideological right, by evangelical christians — that's why they voted for him. and it will be remembered as a turning point for the nation on some of the issues that matter most to americans. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. historic woodland across much

of the uk could look drastically different — as thousands of trees are cut down because of the worst outbreak of a disease called ash die back. judy hobson has been looking at the problem in the lake district. these ranges should be working on conservation projects. instead, they are felling trees and they have their work cut out. just look at this ash tree looking beautiful and leafy here but just look this ash tree looking beautiful and leafy here butjust look at this ash tree looking beautiful and leafy here but just look at this one. this has been infected with ash die back. in this world there are tens of thousands of ash trees and the national trust thinks 95% have been infected with the disease. this is their worst year we've ever had bya is their worst year we've ever had by a long chalk. normally we have been felling possibly, i don't know, maybe 100 trees across the whole of the lake district because of ash die back. now i think we are probably into 500-800 back. now i think we are probably into 500—800 trees. 0ne back. now i think we are probably into 500—800 trees. one size alone, we will be felling several hundred.

ash die back has been in the north west for about five years but it's thought this year's dry spring has created the perfect conditions for the disease to spread. here you have some of the classic systems of the diamond—shaped lesions and another one there. ash die back is a fungal disease, it's carried by spores in the wind and affects the leaf and then the spores and fun guy itself gets into the vascular system of the tree and gradually kills it from there. it droughts itself by blocking its vascular system. felling the trees does not stop them but some have to be removed for public safety. although some of the ash trees here are 120 years old, in other parts of the lake district like honest and they are much older. my like honest and they are much older. my biggest fear is the iconic trees we have in the lake district, especially the pollards, they are very important, fantastic landscape trees. in terms of habitat, they are

unique and probably 400—500 years old so losing them will be a massive impactand old so losing them will be a massive impact and they are irreplaceable. the national trust says it will have to re m ove the national trust says it will have to remove 40,000 ash trees in the uk this year at a cost of £2 million. here in the lake district, such extensive felling could change the look of some of our most famous landscapes. judy judy hobson reporting from the lake district. thank you for your messages. how district. thank you for your messages. how are you district. thank you for your messages. how are you feeling about the prospect of further restrictions depending on where you are in england? and is it more challenging second time around. this is from steve, he says it is about time we had more restrictions. i think the government has taken too long to do this and now it will take twice as long to recover. fiona tweets, had the government spent the last six months setting up a fully functioning test, track and trace system instead of lining the pockets of their mates maybe it wouldn't feel so difficult. i am finding it

ha rd to feel so difficult. i am finding it hard to see any way forward. and pete in blackpool says i am a care worker on the minimum wage and i hear the complaints about only getting two thirds of the pay supplement for those who have to close their businesses. i have to carry on working, risking myself and my family. these people should stop moaning, they are being kept safe and they are still taking home more money than i earn. thank you for those. do get in touch. you are very welcome. you can send me an e—mail or you can message me on instagram or twitter? time for the weather now with carol. hello. if you are heading outside take a brolly because if you haven't got the rain yet it is coming your way. what is happening as we have a clutch of weather fronts moving from the west towards the east. not particularly heavy rain and will ferment throughout the day but a lot of cloud and brisk winds coming from the north—east, blowing in some showers across scotland and northern

ireland through the afternoon. brightening up here with temperatures eight in the north and 14 in the south. 0vernight, the first batch of the rain clears away but we will become ensconced in the south—east and also parts of scotla nd south—east and also parts of scotland and northern england. you can see the brisk wind blowing in those showers. tomorrow, the rain across the southeast gradually moves across the southeast gradually moves a bit further west. the rain in scotla nd a bit further west. the rain in scotland sinks further south the chris moore of northern england into north wales and still a fair few showers in the south—west. the brightest conditions in scotland and northern ireland, with the fewer showers but still a brisk wind.

hello, this is bbc news with victoria derbyshire. the headlines: borisjohnson is to announce new lockdown restrictions for certain parts of england. liverpool is expected to face the toughest restrictions with bars, betting shops all closed. the region's mayor says a deal is yet to be agreed. still continuing to try and find the fine detail that will give us some comfort that we can go to our nearly 2 million residents in the city—region and explain to them what it is that we have negotiated on their behalf. the premier league criticises a plan to shake up english football. "project big picture" would see

the top tier cut to 18 teams, and the league cup and community shield scrapped. the boss of british airways, alex cruz, has stepped down from the role with "immediate effect" — as the airline continue its pandemic struggle. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, and more on that plan from relevant parties. here is sally. the premier league has criticised a radical plan to shake up english football. it's been dubbed "project big picture", and would see the top tier cut to 18 teams. picture", and would see the league cup and community shield would be scrapped too. the premier league would hand over £250 million to the football league to help clubs through the pandemic, and 25% of its annual income would go to the efl. premier league bosses say the plans could have a "damaging impact" on football. there was a good win for england in the nations league last night. they came from behind

to beat belgium, who are the number one side in the world. gareth southgate's side won 2—1 at wembley. mason mount‘s deflected effort was the winner. next up, denmark at wembley on wedensday. a good win too for scotland. they're now seven unbeaten — lyndon dykes‘ goal enough to see off slovakia at hampden park. elsewhere northern ireland lost to austria, and wales were held to a goalless draw by the republic of ireland. there was formula one history for lewis hamilton as he equalled the great michael schumacher‘s record of 91 wins. he did it at the grand prix at the nurburgring in germany. the win extends his championship lead to 69 points, edging him ever closer to another of schumacher‘s records — seven world championship titles. after the race, hamilton was given one of the great german's helmets by his son, mick schumacher. to the french open, where rafa nadal equalled

roger federer‘s record of 20 grand slam singles titles. he did it by beating world number one novak djokovic in paris. nadal made it look simple — as he often does on clay — winning in straight sets. it's his 13th title at roland garros. and england's tyrell hatton also won the bmw pga championship at a canter at wentworth. he finished four shots clear on 19—under par in the european tour's flagship event. the victory will see hatton move into the world's top 10 for the first time in his career. that's all the sport from me for now. more on the bbc news channel throughout the day. the family of an autistic man who has spent lockdown receiving 24—hour care in a specialist setting have taken the first legal steps to ending what they say is a ban on him coming home to see his family. the 32—year—old, who lives in a care home, used to be allowed home visits every six weeks.

since the pandemic, that has been stopped — his family haven't seen him since february and have been told that the government guidelines mean he, and others like him in adult care settings can't leave the premises. the government says there is no blanket ban and it's up to individual care homes to determine visiting policies. let's talk to "rachel" — not her real name — who is the man's sister and her solicitor clare jennings. rachel, tell us why you haven't seen your brother sins very. when the lockdown happened they just your brother sins very. when the lockdown happened theyjust issued a blanket ban on care home visits, which is understandable, and since then, the care home has been following government guidelines which means that visits home are not allowed. despite that there is nothing in the legislation that, so

we have been told that you can come home because the government says no so we home because the government says no so we have to go how —— go along with what the care home is saying. he is autistic, non—verbal and requires 24—hour care. do you know how he's coping? luckily, he has been at the care home for a number of years now. the ca re home for a number of years now. the care he has received has been excellent, but his weekly visits are obviously very important for him and we are getting worried that the longer this goes on the more of an effect it will have on his well—being. effect it will have on his well-being. are the home visits very important for him? absolutely. he looks forward to them. he knows that every six weeks he will be going home. we miss him, a lot, as well. we look forward to those visits. home. we miss him, a lot, as well. we look forward to those visitsm is important for the whole family. why don't you just go and get him?

this is the thing. there is part of us this is the thing. there is part of us that thinks we should just go and get him, but it would be difficult because of the knock—on effect on that because it might be that he might not be allowed back and that would lead to questions with the local county council who pay for his care. we don't want to put the care home at risk because it is nothing wrong on their part. it is just the repercussions if we just went and got him to bring him home.” understand the care home says you can visit him and sit in the garden for him —— for 20 minutes with him. that is correct, unfortunately, we live about two hours away and with if we were to go to visit him, we would collect him and bring him home, he would think they have come to ta ke home, he would think they have come to take me home, and the fact that you cannot have any physical touching would agitate him and getting more confused, and he would

be thinking why are they not coming near me and not taking me home? there has been lots of attention on elderly people in care homes, but not on people like your brother who is in the care system. how clear do you think the guidance to professionals in the care sector has been? i don't think it has been very clear. if you look at all the government guidelines, he is clearly vulnerable, the only category is that he's in a car, apart from that he is ina that he's in a car, apart from that he is in a caring, apart from that he's actually physically healthy, probably fitter than i am, to be honest, so we don't blame the care home, because i'm not sure what they have been told, either, so they are not really clear on the guidance and this is what the government need to do, they need to make people realise that the social care system doesn't just include older people. there are those like my brother. let's bring in your solicitor clairejennings,

from the firm, matthew gold. the government has introduced a ban on people leaving care homes for home visits, and the care home has told the family that they are just following government advice. the government is right in the sense that they haven't changed the law to say that they can't go home from ca re say that they can't go home from care homes, the problem is the guidance the government has issued. so the guidance and the announcements made by the government very much give the impression that visits home are not allowed. actually what the guidance says is that, back injuly, they issued guidance for visits to care homes, and in that, they said we will be producing further guidance covering theissue producing further guidance covering the issue of people leaving care homes for visits. it is now a few months later and that guidance still hasn't been issued. and so, when you read it all in context, the impression given to care homes is,

you can't let people home until this further guidance has been produced. right, | further guidance has been produced. right, i see. further guidance has been produced. right, isee. so further guidance has been produced. right, i see. so in terms of legal action, what stage are you at, what do you want to achieve? 0k, action, what stage are you at, what do you want to achieve? ok, so, we have a letter before claim to the government, setting out the basis of out government, setting out the basis of ourclaim. government, setting out the basis of our claim. what we would like to achieve is for the government to make clear publicly that there is no ban on visits home, at least in law, and to issue the guidance promised, and to issue the guidance promised, and take steps to facilitate safe home visits. right, 0k. and take steps to facilitate safe home visits. right, ok. in the meantime, you hope what will change before you have to go through with that legal action? what will change and how so that you don't have to press forward with the legal action? what i'm hoping is that in response to the letter we have sent the government, that they will come back

say we will now issue the new guidance within a couple of weeks, we are going to say clearly to care providers now that they shouldn't be implementing bands on people going home for visits. that is what we would like to achieve, now. thank you very much, thank you to rachel. a quick statement from the department of health, we know that limiting current visits has been difficult forfamilies limiting current visits has been difficult for families and residents and we are taking every step to curb the spread of the virus and deliver vaccines that will allow us to see oui’ vaccines that will allow us to see our loved ones again. that statement is about visits to care homes, not about care home residents going home for visits. as many across the country face tougher restrictions on their day—to—day lives, in the government's latest attempts to stop the spread of coronavirus, there are those still feeling its affects months after catching it. the family of children's author

and poet michael rosen were told he might not ever wake up and after 12 weeks in hospital, including 48 days in intensive care, the 74—year—old is far from fully recovered from coronavirus. he's actually had to learn how to walk again. michael rosen joins us now. hello, good morning. good morning, victoria. thank you for talking to us. victoria. thank you for talking to us. the effects of coronavirus are still with you. give the audience an insight into how it has affected you. the way i see it is that covid—19 took prisoners. i have got very little sight in my left eye. i have no hearing in my left ear, i have no hearing in my left ear, i have no hearing in my left ear, i have no feeling in most of my toes. at the moment i don't know whether i have got rid of the big blood clots that i had in eye pulmonary arteries, the ones going from the heart to the lungs so that would be the major things and a variety of minorare the the major things and a variety of minor are the ones that go along with it, so i had very very mild

arthritis before covid and it has sort of runabout rampant. i have a strange arthritic bump in the middle of my chest, on my tail bone and on my knee, so that affects me in a variety of ways. sitting down can sometimes be uncomfortable. i have to sit move about to make sure that my doesn't get pinched, so there is a variety of things but most seriously just day to a variety of things but most seriouslyjust day to day is the eye and air problems. —— ear problems. how serious they did get in hospital? so serious that i didn't know about it because i was put into a induced coma. the only memory i have, which is wonderful, is the patient diary that the nurses kept. after every night they looked after me, they wrote a diary, like letters, actually, letters to me, saying what they did for me and how

they looked after me after that night, and it is a very moving, and kind of overwhelming really to read it, because it is the kind of care that i got, i would use the word devotion, if you like, that i got, from the wonderful nurses in intensive care, that i have zero memory of it. is it possible to say, do you know how many times medics save your life? to start off with, straight i know it is technical but my oxygen saturation level which for most of us you would want in the high 90s was 58, so that was the first indication i if that had gone on for another 2—3 hours, the doctors would be able to tell you this, i think i would have faded away. that was right at the very beginning. then there was several times when i was on intensive care that i was fighting two kinds of pneumonia, both viral and bacterial,

and also, at some point, my liver and also, at some point, my liver and kidneys were in trouble, so, they were working away with a variety of methods. again, i know nothing about this. it was going on through my nose, or through a drip, to keep me alive, if unconscious, and then of course is the problem of waking you up out of the coma, and thatis waking you up out of the coma, and that is no easy thing either.” waking you up out of the coma, and that is no easy thing either. i will ask you about how they work due from the induced coma in a moment but how do you reflect on the fact that the nhs save your life at least three times, from what you have just described. unbelievable gratitude. the nhs is a wonder. it is a glory. igo the nhs is a wonder. it is a glory. i go there now, and have been since i left hospital at the end ofjune, i'm going nearly every week for eye procedures, for scans on my chest,

so, it's a glory that this thing can save our lives, can look after us, and of course, i'm 74, i was born just before the nhs, but the whole of my conscious lifetime has been in the nhs, and it's a feeling that, it is how a government can act in a loving way, because what it's doing is caring for us, as you said in the cliche, from the cradle to the grave. that cliche is very powerful. the idea that we have a lifetime of health or illness, and this is for all of us, and it is a sense, a way in which we all care for each other, andi in which we all care for each other, and i am overwhelmed by it, in the way it has acted on me, if you like, and save my life, as you say. how did they get you out of that induced coma indian? -- in the end. they

tried various things. my family could not visit because of the covid restrictions. they tried various things. they celebrated my birthday which i knew nothing at all about, that was in may, they showed me pictures of the family. they showed me pictures of the arsenal football team, but it was when they are arranged, they wheeled me out on the bed, onto an area outside of the board, andi bed, onto an area outside of the board, and i met with my wife, she came as she spoke to me, and showed pictures of my children. i remember nothing of this. this is all from what she has told me. and apparently this was like a sort of trigger moment, it was this moment that i then responded logically and sensibly as opposed to sort of writhing around on the bed and waving my arms about, and what the co nsulta nt waving my arms about, and what the consultant told me was that, when they wheeled that bed back into the lift to go into the ward, i became lucid, and that was the key moment towards the end of may. that was a

key change from being out of it, not knowing what was going on, and then responding to the things around me. so it was seeing my wife, talking with her, and there is a photograph of us holding hands, which, i can speak... i know, i have water in my eyes, the way that you are describing it. i'm sure that other people are, listening to this this morning. when you had recovered enough you went to a rehabilitation unit hospital, where they taught you how to stand up and walk again. what was that like? terrifying, to start off with. i arrived at the rehabilitation centre. i didn't know what my next state of being would be. would i be a real chairperson? what kind of person was i going to be? these wonderful occupational therapists came to my bedside and said, today, you are getting up, and

the 0ts had tried when i was on the ward after intensive care and it had been a disaster, i had just flopped. soi been a disaster, i had just flopped. so i thought, here we go again, and ican so i thought, here we go again, and i can still hear the word, rasping panting noise that i made as i stood up, and were shaking from top to toe, and it was a mixture of the fa ct toe, and it was a mixture of the fact that i had very low blood pressure but also was nervous, i was very anxious. and so, they had to deal with that. they had to first level me to stand, and to support myself on a kind of zimmer frame. and then to get me into a wheelchair. i thought, and then to get me into a wheelchair. ithought, i like and then to get me into a wheelchair. i thought, i like a wheelchair, this is good. i think i exchanged some texts with ade adepan about how i was coping with the corners in the ward, and i thought maybe i'm a wheelchair person. i usually go to the window i see

walking about in kings cross, st pancras. but they were not having that. they got me out of the wheelchair, and i would support myself on parallel bars. you may have seen those. and they would get me to walk alone, take two steps, i would think how brilliant i was doing, two steps. then they got me to the stick which i call sticky mcstickstick, and then another occupational therapist told me that i was becoming stick reliant, which i felt was a kind of insult. i was becoming stick reliant, which ifelt was a kind of insult. i'm stick reliant, and my?! how dare you be stick reliant! i threw it away. i remember my first trip to the loo without the stick, it was an heroic moment. i was thinking of that song

bym moment. i was thinking of that song by m people about search for the hero inside yourself. i would sink this to myself to get me to the loo. and then i came home. the fact that the physios, the therapists, came with me on the first visit home to see how i could cope with the stairs. they got me to make a cup of tea, to see whether i could cope with that, and then bit by bit, since the end ofjune, i have walked more, try to exercise every day, when the microwave is on i do my glutes, i do many squats, many press ups, and! glutes, i do many squats, many press ups, and i try and walk as much as possible. i have one of those theraband possible. i have one of those thera band things, possible. i have one of those theraband things, i stretch it well and watching the football to try to get some upper body strength in, because that also affects your breathing and my voice. at the start of this interview i could hear that my voice was very reedy, but it has

got stronger. we have talked about the longer—term impacts of covid on you. you have mentioned your site, hearing, the walking and the breathing. i know that clumps of hair half full and out. —— have fallen out. you will have heard people say, at least you are alive, michael. how do you feel about that? they are totally entitled to say that. i asked the consultant about people dying on my ward. and that war that i was on, it was touch and go for a lot of people, and many died, and that is the same for many intensive care wards in march and april. you can see the statistics. 0bviously they have improved their care. so people are right in that sense, yes, i'm alive. ialways point out to people when they see me, strangers, isay point out to people when they see me, strangers, i say that i am not dead, and they say, yes, i can see

that, they agree! 0f dead, and they say, yes, i can see that, they agree! of course. and it feels mean to be complaining, when obviously there are people dead, and people whose post covid who is a long covid effects are worse than mine. there are people with very severe breathing problems. i think the clots are still there. i have yet to find out whether i have dispersed the clots, i had a scan a week ago, so i'm waiting for the results of that. and there are people who lost toes, there is a syndrome called covid terms, it cuts off circulation to the towers, i've lost the feeling in my toes, but i got them. we need them for balance and walking, obviously, so in some sense i am mr lucky, for sure. we are heading into winter. more restrictions will be announced by the prime minister today. does it feel like deja vu to you, or do you

think that is a country, we are slightly better prepared now? listening to the today programme this morning, with nick robinson in the north—west, it feels very sad. i try to be an optimistic person. but it feels very sad. people are in the grip of not knowing, all feeling desperate and so on. and i can't bring happy words to that, other than obviously doctors are getting better and better at treatments, they are trying out things. at the timei they are trying out things. at the time i was in hospital all they knew today was to do a tracheostomy, stick a tube down my throat to get me breathing. that was all at that early stage that they knew how to do. that is very optimistic. they will try very hard to get the vaccine, may be, in the new year, we don't know. i hold that as i hope. and also that people will be

sensible. how do viruses spread? close contact, breathing on each other. not washing your hands. there is basic, simple instructions about wearing masks, social distancing, and washing hands again and again and washing hands again and again and again, regularly. but also, the test and tray system must be perfected. we shouldn't be saying this. where are we now come 0ctober? that was march. the who was talking about test, trace and isolate, then. so we should not be faffing around having all these mistakes. it should be sorted right away. test and trace isa be sorted right away. test and trace is a crucial way to combat the circulation of viruses. it is very easy to think of a virus as mysterious or magic. it is a strange organism. it is halfway between life and not live, but it propagates. we know how it propagates, by us

breathing on each other, smearing surfaces and not cleaning them, not washing your hands. so, if we improve all that practice and at the same time the test, trace and isolate practice improves, then that isolate practice improves, then that isa isolate practice improves, then that is a good preventative measure, alongside these other things that the doctors are finding, and fingers crossed, the vaccine. absolutely. thank you very much, mr rosen. michael! michael. i have got we are going on michael! michael. i have got we are going 0na michael! michael. i have got we are going on a bear hunt, that was very popular with kids during lockdown. and we look forward to sticky mcstickstick be on your next children's book! thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. we are in for another fairly cloudy and wet day ahead. a couple of weather fronts

coming in from the west. they are going to be pushing steadily eastwards as they go through the course of the day, taking the train with them and, as they clear the west we will find it will brighten up, with some showers around and still some quite brisk winds. what we have got at the moment is a fair bit of cloud, and all this rain continuing to journey steadily eastwards, so brightening up for western scotland, northern ireland, later across north—west england and north wales and again south—west england. mid afternoon, rain across the channel islands, extending into southern england, through the midlands, cloudy in wales, right across north—west england, with northern ireland and west of scotland looking at sunshine and showers, but still gusty winds with 50 miles an hour gusts in exposure. temperatures between 9—14 celsius, and feeling cool where you are exposed to the wind or indeed in the rain. this evening and overnight our weather front into the north sea

with rain across east anglia and parts of scotland and northern england. still showers packing in across western areas. under clear skies anywhere in the north we could see temperatures fall low enough for a touch of frost, but more especially in the north—east. tomorrow starting off with a rain in scotland sinking further south across england, getting into north wales. we will have a weather front in the south—east producing some rain, moving further west during the course of the day of the driest conditions are likely to be across scotland and northern ireland, but here, we'll still see some showers and a brisk wind. by the time we get to wednesday, something drier is coming our way. still a brisk, cool, north—easterly wind, blowing in showers to eastern parts of england, some of those getting over towards wales in the south—west. making it feel cooler than the temperatures you see would suggest. drier conditions across northern ireland and scotland, temperatures once again turning 10—14, maybe 15 degrees. as we head on into thursday,

starting off in northern ireland and western scotland with a touch of frost, a lot of dry weather, brisk winds in the south—east, something drier with lighter winds for friday.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines borisjohnson is to announce new lockdown restrictions for certain parts of england, as part of a new three—tier system. liverpool is expected to face the toughest restrictions with pubs and betting shops closed. the region's mayor says a deal is yet to be agreed. the only thing open to us is to try and influence the package of support. we have been negotiating since late friday evening and burning the midnight oil. talks have gone on way into the early hours. we wa nted gone on way into the early hours. we wanted to understand what the package was. the chinese city of qing—dao will have its entire population of nine million people tested for covid after a handful