this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines — boris johnson is preparing to announce tough new local coronavirus restrictions in england — as medical advisers warned of the dangers of failing to act. if we do not take measures to control the spread of the virus, the death toll will be too great to bear. the liverpool city region is expected to face the toughest restrictions with pubs, gyms and bookies closed. and the prime minister will address mps at 3:30pm this afternoon. we'll bring that to you live and have full reaction on bbc news. as three nightingale hospitals are put on standby, it's revealed there are now more people in hospital with covid—19 than when a national lockdown was imposed in march.

an anxious wait for businesses to hear whether they will be in the most restricted zones, and how they'll cope if they are. most gcse and a level exams in england next year will be delayed by three weeks, the education secretary has confirmed. and controversial plans to shake up the premier league pitch fans and some clubs against each other. hello. good afternoon. boris johnson is preparing to announce a tiered system of coronavirus restrictions for different parts of england, with different parts of the country on ‘medium', ‘high‘ or ‘very high‘ alert levels. it comes as leading government scientists warned of a marked pick up in coronavirus cases

across the country. in a briefing this morning, deputy chief medical officer jonathan van—tam produced this graph, which shows the virus "heating up" across all of england, notjust in the north. the dark brown areas show those parts of the country most affected. professor van tam said infections, which started among younger people, have spread to the 60—plus age group in the north west and north east — and that other regions are following suit. the rise in cases means nightingale hospitals have been put on standby in manchester, sunderland and harrogate. those new tiered restrictions will be a chance for the prime minister to halt the spread of coronavirus — he'll be addressing mps at 3:30pm this afternoon to give more details on the measures. we'll be bringing that to you live here on the bbc news channel. our political correpsondent nick eardley has our first report. enjoying a drink in liverpool at the weekend, but for the next few weeks, at least, this won't be possible.

1.5 million people in the liverpool city region are facing significant new curbs. pubs, gyms and some other venues closed to try and stop the spread of coronavirus. the point of doing this now is to ensure that we get the disease under control. we've seen it rapidly rising, certainly in those areas. we need to take action, because if we don't take this reasonable, measured and proportionate action now, we'll have to take more difficult action further down the line. this afternoon, the government will detail a new three tier system for local restrictions. tier one, medium risk, will see measures similar to those already in place of much of england. the rule of six and early closing times for hospitality. tier two, high risk, is likely to mean more restrictions on household mixing. the top tier, very high risk, will see a raft of new restrictions,

with some hospitality venues forced to close their doors again. and here's why. a stark warning this morning from the government's advisors. we now have more patients in hospital with covid—19 than we did before the government announced restrictions of march 23rd in the spring. as the secretary of state for health has said, if we don't take measures to control the spread of the virus, the death toll will be too great to bear. the first place to be categorised very high risk will be the liverpool city region. local leaders accept the need for action but want much more support for businesses forced to close, and their employees. the only thing that was open to us is to try and influence the package of support and so we've been negotiating since friday evening, late friday evening and genuinely burning the midnight oil, talks have gone on way into the early hours because we're not going to just roll over and have our bellies tickled. we wanted to understand what that package was. today will give people in england more of an idea about what the next

few weeks and months will look like. the different levels of restrictions that will be introduced, depending on how bad local outbreaks are. but even this afternoon, there are still conversations taking place about the economic support that needs to be offered and the conditions that need to be met before restrictions are lifted. in pubs in places like knowsley, in merseyside, a pint will be off the cards for the next few weeks. the question is, where else might follow, as the government grapples with the virus once again? nick eardley, bbc news. three nightingale hospitals in england have been put on standby, to provide extra capacity to the nhs, if needed. cases are rising across most of the country, but the north west is the worst affected. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. they were set up to protect the nhs from being overwhelmed during the height of the coronavirus crisis, but now staff at some of the nightingale hospitals are once again readying themselves for a potential surge.

we have asked the nightingale hospitals in manchester, sunderland and harrowgate to prepare for this next phase. they are being asked to mobilise over the next few weeks, to be ready to accept patients, if necessary. latest government figures say there are around 4,000 covid patients in hospital in the uk. treating 60% of cases, hospitals in the north of england are under particular pressure. 231 patients on ventilators are in the north west and north east and yorkshire — more than half the total figure for england. data shows coronavirus cases are rising across the uk but it varies greatly, and there are hotspots. derry city and strabane has the highest levels, with 171 cases per 100,000 people. nottingham, knowsley, liverpool and newcastle upon tyne are also in the top five. in comparison, north devon hasjust 35 cases per 100,000.

but during this morning's briefing, england's deputy chief medical 0fficer warned covid—19 is notjust a problem for the north. the dark brown areas on the right—hand side show where cases are said to be rising and it's spreading south. the increase since early september is said to be mainly down to young adults. and you can see, again, that there is the spread from those younger age groups into the 60—plus age group in the north west and the north east and this is again of significant concern because, of course, the elderly suffer a much worse course with covid—19. health officials are concerned that as we approach winter, the pandemic could once again spiral out of control. but the problem with the government's expected three tier system is no one is sure whether it will work. sceptics of the 10pm curfew and the potential closure of pubs and bars believe it will drive people away from covid—secure venues and towards illegally mixing in homes, where transmission of the virus is more likely.

there are also serious concerns about the impact the toughest measures will have on communities. we should try and shield the vulnerable because we know now, what we do know is that the virus specifically has, causes deaths in a segment of the population. we should put all our resources that we have at our disposal towards shielding them or allowing them to make the choice to shield themselves, while permitting the general population to conduct their lives as normal. but the government advisers say it's wishful thinking that the vulnerable can be fenced off, and this is now a nationwide phenomenon. anna collinson, bbc news. while we are waiting for the prime minister to give us more details of how the coronavirus restrictions

will fall, pieces of information are coming out. we just will fall, pieces of information are coming out. wejust want will fall, pieces of information are coming out. we just want to show you this tweet by the labour mp for 0ldham this tweet by the labour mp for 0 ld ha m west this tweet by the labour mp for 0ldham west and royton, jim mcmahon. as you can see, he says a call with the secretary of state confirms greater manchester will be placed in tier two with household restrictions on meeting indoors in any setting but not outdoors. pubs serving food will remain open. 0ldham, which has been under enhanced lockdown measures, will be removed from those and brought into line with greater manchester, so i think that had probably been expected for greater manchester but some confirmation there that it is going to be placed in tier two, so that is the middle set of restrictions and we will of course bring you more details if and when they emerge. the liverpool city region is expected to be the first area to face the tightest restrictions. the number of coronavirus cases is much higher than the national average. 0ur correspondent dan johnson has been gauging the mood of the city.

yes. case numbers have kept rising here in the last couple of weeks, despite extra measures already being in place and the number of people going into hospital is also a big concern, so going into hospital is also a big concern, so people recognise that more action is needed, and they are realistic that this is going to mean life here getting harder again in the next few days. we are talking about pubs, bars, gyms, betting shops and casinos closing. there is a question mark over restaurants. a big disruption to life here and big concerns about the knock—on effect for the economy here, people's jobs, and talking to people in the city, not just people and talking to people in the city, notjust people who live here but visiting from across the country, you really get a sense of how the city does rely on tourism, its culture and its nightlife, and they're are big concerns about how that could be affected. they're are big concerns about how that could be affectedlj they're are big concerns about how that could be affected. i have seen a lot of places struggling and closing down with it due to the new restrictions, so i'm not sure what else could be done, but i think it may be might not be the right path to go down. i think the whole

country should be locked down, not just areas. i think it should be all the country. even if the case number is not the same? yeah. i love liverpool. i really want to save the people and save the city, but... are you worried about the economic impact? they're you worried about the economic impact? they‘ re absolutely, you worried about the economic impact? they're absolutely, bars, restau ra nts, impact? they're absolutely, bars, restaurants, social amenities. impact? they're absolutely, bars, restaurants, social amenitiesm impact? they're absolutely, bars, restaurants, social amenities. it is about your own safety, you have to do what you have to do, so wear your mask, be sensible, don't go around getting drunk and hanging around with people you don't know. it is about being sensible. so people seem to know that there are extra measures on the way, perhaps as early as wednesday, the region's city mayor says there are going to be these disruptions, but the reason it has not been agreed and put in place yet is because he is holding out for more support for workers to be provided from government. he thinks that the two thirds effectively furlough payments for people in industries that will be affected may not be enough to

support those workers and spending the weekend here talking to people who work in bars and the industries around it, the taxi drivers who could be affected as a knock—on from this point perhaps qualify for that support, it is those sorts of people that local leaders here say need to be supported and that is what they are still talking about trying to put in place. they also want a guarantee of the way out of these restrictions, what other ways to make sure they can be relaxed in the future so that this city and others like it are not stuck in local lockdowns for month upon month. 0ur correspondent in liverpool, dan johnson. it's notjust the north of england that is seeing a worrying rise in cases. nottingham looks set to see much stronger restricitons come into place. 0ur midlands correspondent sian lloyd is there for us. well, i am well, iam here well, i am here at one of the main testing sites here, and this area does have the highest rate per hundred thousand than anywhere else in england, reeta. so the question that people are asking is will it go

into the highest tier? it is the question on everyone's‘s lips but at the moment we certainly don't have the moment we certainly don't have the answer to that. now, the rate in nottingham shot up over a very short period of time, and we were told on friday that three quarters of all new cases are in the 18 to 22 year group. now, there is a higher proportion of students in nottingham, some 60,000 of them in total. they are not the whole story but they are described as a substantial part of this outbreak, but local public officials have been stressing that the transmission rate is going on the wrong direction right across the board. in the city, but also in the county area too, and they would welcome uniform restrictions being brought in across the city area and also in those shires. now, at the moment, there are no particular restrictions here in nottingham, other than the rule of six and the 10pm curfew, although

local officials have been advising people since last week for people not to mix households. it appears almost certain that restriction will be introduced here, but not clear how much further it will go. sian lloyd there. and the prime minister borisjohnson will be updating mps in the house of commons on the new coronavirus measures at 3:30pm this afternoon, and he will also be holding a briefing from downing street this evening, along with the chancellor rishi sunak and the chief medical officer for england professor chris whitty — we'll bring all that to you live here on bbc news. 0ur deputy political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. vicki, i suppose this morning we had the very sobering data on the spread of the coronavirus, and there is a reason to this choreography that we have the figures first and then we will hear the restrictions on about an hour's time. yeah, and i think it

is interesting that over the last few months there has been a lot of data out there but since those daily press c0 nfe re nces data out there but since those daily press conferences stop, it has been harder to please all of that together so interesting today that they decided to draw all that information in a presentation to talk not just about the information in a presentation to talk notjust about the geographical spread of coronavirus, but also the age groups that it is affecting and of course that knock—on effect on hospitals and the nhs, and again it all sounds very familiar, doesn't it? trying to make sure that hospitals and the nhs and it is not overwhelmed at a different time of the year. in march, it was bad enough, but now going into the winter, there is real concern about that, particularly because a lot of the rise in the cases has been quite localised. it doesn't mean it is not other places as well, but certainly the north—east and north—west, yorkshire for example, and that is harder then for that area to cope with hospitalisations. so all of this ahead of the prime minister laying out what was supposed to be a more simplified approach to all of

this, three tiers, so that you knew which tier you were in, and that would lead to a certain number of restrictions, but as we've seen, this sort of toing and froing really with local leaders, with males, leaders of the councils there, means that actually it hasn't been quite so straightforward. they are very concerned, many of them, about the financial package bringing in support for any businesses that might have to close, but they also wa nt might have to close, but they also want more of a say over what might be the right thing to do in their area. so we will have to see how that plays out, certainly for that highest, most severe tier, which is tier three. but as you alluded to earlier, some stuff is leaking out, because of all of these meetings going on with mps from the area as well, so as you say, greater manchester going to be in tier two, according to at least three mps we have spoken to. liverpool city region as we were talking about there in tier three, but the real question then is what will that mean for people, so again mps saying that actually restaurants will stay open, evenin actually restaurants will stay open, even in tier three. certainly that

will be the baseline, so you could still be in a situation where restau ra nts still be in a situation where restaurants are open. of course the big thing is who you are allowed to go there with and what they're trying to do is cut down on that household to household transmission, so as you go through those tears, thatis so as you go through those tears, that is the kind of thing that will get more limited. —— through those tiers. do we know which businesses will be eligible for the extra support the chancellor announced last friday? do you have to be in tier three to be eligible for that or is it simply the case that if your business is forced to close because of the restrictions, which ever area you are in, that you will be able to get that help? yeah, well, this is the big question, and i think it is supposed to be for businesses forced to close, so that could be a gym for example, if it is in tier three, it could be a pub, but of course what is happening is that people are saying, well, hang on, we are being restricted anyway on, we are being restricted anyway on what we can do so if you start restricting households going out together then inevitably it will mean fewer people are going. so the

problem there is that you can't claim the money and they are very concerned about that, certainly some of the mps in liverpool, they have been asking the treasury for more funding. they don't think it is enough to be paying two thirds of salaries particularly when it is by definition if you are doing bar work or catering in the hospitality industry, tends to be lower, it can be minimum wage. they are saying paying two thirds of that is going to leave a lot of people unable to get by. so they want the treasury to go back and come back with more full stop they are hearing some positive signs about that but nothing concrete at the moment. so then the other issue are going to have is enforcement, and whether people will go along with it, particularly if they feel that their livelihoods are being threatened. 0k, our deputy political editor, vicki young, there. let's get the views now of sir mark walport, who was the government chief scientific adviser from 2013 to 2017 and is now a member of sage — the government's scientific advisory group for emergencies.

good afternoon to you, sir mark. thank you forjoining us. you listened of course to the deputy chief medical officer listened of course to the deputy chief medical 0fficerjonathan van damme and the others at the briefing this morning, just wonder what your thoughts were about what he had to say? well, he and stephen powers go toa say? well, he and stephen powers go to a very clear and good briefing andi to a very clear and good briefing and i don't think there's much doubt now that we are entering into a second wave of this pandemic, and the time window for bringing it under control is narrowing, and what they showed was that although it is clearly at its worst in the north—east, north—west, yorkshire, humberside, parts of scotland, it is spreading across the country, and as you pointed out in your last piece, whilst the majority of the cases are in young people, and it is in that sort of 17 to 24—year—old age group, the infection rate is rising fast as, it is inevitably spreading from younger age groups into older, and there are now over 400 people in intensive care beds needing ventilation. and yet those figures,

although we heard today that the number of people in hospital with covid—19 now matches the level that we had in march, the overall number of cases doesn't appear to be anything like what is estimated to have been the case in march. no, but we are still at a fairly early stage of this, where the numbers are going up of this, where the numbers are going up exponentially and you could see the rising rates across the uk. and the rising rates across the uk. and the best opportunity of bringing it under control is to act as quickly as we possibly can. and that's the challenge. so yes, it is correct that the doubling time is slower thanit that the doubling time is slower than it was early in the year and of course the good news is that we are better at looking after people with severe coronavirus than we were. we know how to manage oxygen requirements better, there are antivirals, and the recovery reduces mortality by about a third in patients needing respiratory support

in hospital. nevertheless, the potential for the numbers to go up massively is very large indeed, and thatis massively is very large indeed, and that is why it is important that we implement tougher social restricts and measures. it was said that there might bea and measures. it was said that there might be a case for allowing younger people to go about their lives with greater normality while asking the older to take more precautions. do you have any somebody with that sort of view? well, i'm afraid the evidence is that you can't come as it were, let it rip in one part of the population and expect the other population to remain isolated. young people live with older people, their pa rents people live with older people, their parents live with their grandparents sometimes, carers, so it is impossible to isolate in one part of the population and what already seeing is that the infection rate is going up in young people, but it is spreading in other age groups, and againjonathan spreading in other age groups, and again jonathan van tam spreading in other age groups, and againjonathan van tam and stephen powers showed some really clear data on that. we are waiting to hear what

these restrictions are, but it does look as if it will be the leisure and hospitality sectors that are going to be hit in the various areas where the restrictions are tightest. have you seen evidence to suggest it is within hospitality settings that the virus is being spread? bacca if you look at the evidence, most of the transmission happens in household so if one person in the household so if one person in the household gets it, the chances of another person are really quite high, very high in fact, approaching 50%. and then between households, but of course it has to get into households and move between them, and there is evidence from the united states for example that people with coronavirus were much more likely, severalfold more likely to have been at a hospitality venue, a baror to have been at a hospitality venue, abarora to have been at a hospitality venue, a bar or a restaurant, to have been at a hospitality venue, a bar ora restaurant, in the to have been at a hospitality venue, a bar or a restaurant, in the couple of weeks before their infection. and we've seen that in environments where people congregate, there are outbreaks of infection, and we are seeing this in universities at the

moment. so the bottom line is it is fairly straightforward, this virus transmits when people come in proximity, and the hospitality sector is one of those places. and would you draw a distension between outdoors and indoors? the risk is definitely higher indoors, there is lots of evidence on that front, but of course as winter approaches, the outdoors is a much less attractive place for people to congregate. and we've seen that, well, who knows exactly what happened in the rose garden, but you are not completely immune in the outdoors either. no. good to talk to you, mark waugh port he was the government chief scientific adviser 2013 to 17. thank you so much your time. there are more patients in hospital with covid—19 now than there were right at the onset of the pandemic, back before restrictions were introduced in march, according to the latest figures provided by the nhs. because of this, the nhs

medical director stephen powis says no to hospitals in manchester, sunderland and harrogate have been put on standby to take patients, so with this increase in virus —related hospital admissions, what are doctors on the front line seeing? we can speak now to dr rajesh kumar, an anaesthetist at royal preston hospital. good afternoon to you. just tell us what is happening with cases across preston, and what you are seeing yourself with your own eyes in your own hospital. good afternoon, reeta. yeah, well, what we are seeing as there has been a sudden very alarming increase in the number of patients here. not so long ago, we had zero patients on our wards and nonein had zero patients on our wards and none in acu but suddenly we have seen a spurt of cases. now we have got more than 50 patients on our wards, and also about half a dozen

in acu. so this has increased quite rapidly, so i'm extremely, extremely concerned about this. so it has increased rapidly and i suppose your concern might be that it might increase at this rate unless measures are taken? absolutely. when we had wave one, we stopped doing anything other than covid and emergencies, and also there was com plete emergencies, and also there was complete lockdown. but now we are carrying on with as much elective work as possible, plus dealing with this rise in cases. so it is going to have an effect on everything. and just describe for us what it is like for you, because it must take its toll and a personal way as well?m

is, because you see i am from a ba ma background, and when you are working, you can minimise the risk, but you cannot completely eliminate the risk. the measures are there, we have the ppe and the other safety measures to deal with the patients, and we also are testing much more, making sure that patients, we know they are green, unless they are an emergency. but still, you cannot com pletely emergency. but still, you cannot completely eliminate, and the risk of catching the infection is very real. you worry for yourself, you worry for yourfamily, real. you worry for yourself, you worry for your family, you worry for your patients, because the patients, if you are asymptomatic and you have had this, you can pass it onto your patients as well. the whole workload, we didn't do much elective workload, we didn't do much elective work for nearly three months, so that has increased. we are a finite number of doctors and the hours are

finite, so dealing with all this backlog, plus the work that we have at the moment, plus the covid, and then winter looming, it is going to bea then winter looming, it is going to be a very difficult task. yes, it is certainly a grim prospect. what do you think, given your professional experience and expertise, what do you think needs to happen to help stop the growth of the virus? the message from the government has to be simple and uniform. say for example, regarding the mask, the mask has to be worn everywhere in the same way. it cannot be that you are allowed to wear a mask in certain areas and not in certain other areas. in the same way, all the information for the restrictions, what you can and you can't do, has to be very clear so that people know. if you randomly ask ten people on the street what

they know about the restrictions, i'm sure you will get ten different a nswe rs , i'm sure you will get ten different answers, and that is not very good. the simple messages about the hands, washing the hands, the face coverings and also the distance, these are the three simple messages, which need to be very clearly informed to all the people, and that is one of the most important thing is one of the most important thing is to stop the rest of the restrictions i am hearing about these tiers, which is a good move, but at the same time it has to be very clear so that the people understand and follow these. 0k, thank you very much, dr kumar, an anaesthetist at royal preston hospital. thank you so much. thank you, reeta. some newsjust in. downing street has pulled an advert featuring a ballet dancer,

suggesting she should retrain in cyber. it comes after a social media backlash, with critics describing the advert as patronising. earlier, the advert as patronising. earlier, the culture secretary 0liver dowden distance himself from the advert, saying it did not come from his department, adding i agree it was crass. the department for digital, culture, media and sport says it will invest in the arts industry. it was run by a training company called qa was run by a training company called 0a and now appears to have been removed. the government has announced that exams for students in england will go ahead next summer — although most will be delayed by three weeks. dr mary bousted is joint general secretary of the national education union. shejoins me now. good afternoon to you. a three—week delay to gcses and a—levels in england. what is your reaction to that? my reaction is it a little

something. it's not to be, you know, sneezed at, but it's just simply not enough. a three week delay will give a minimalamount of enough. a three week delay will give a minimal amount of extra teaching time, about six hours per subject for the core subjects, or for a—levels, but not much more than that, and we had said to the government, in fact all the unions writing together with the national governors association said they need to be bigger changes to the exams. we a cce pted to be bigger changes to the exams. we accepted that they probably should go ahead but there need to be far greater changes than this. the government had a choice, didn't it? it could have gone down in the scotla nd it? it could have gone down in the scotland route of basing results on coursework or assessment. it could have made mock gcse and a—levels tougher.

how will it sit with them that people will have missed five months of education this year? we wrote to the government to weeks ago and said that given that the courses are designed to be examined and given that there isn't any coursework built in to gcses or very little coursework built in to gcses and a—levels, we said they needed to change the exams, so they needed to introduce greater choice so that stu d e nts introduce greater choice so that students who have missed five months of teaching in a school could choose topics or be directed to topics that they had covered in teaching. we said that. and secondly, they should ta ke fewer said that. and secondly, they should take fewer exams. if you put exams three weeks later, you are cramming more exams into a shorter period of time. the average gcse student sits 30 exams. we think that 30 exams will be impossible for schools to

timetable and really increase students' mental ill—health and stress. how should schools go about adapting to what we now think is going to be a term that is three weeks long? should they be teaching to the exam more? i think that is what will happen. i think exams already dominate our teaching and learning and schooling to much, and they will become completely exam obsessed. but i really think there are obsessed. but i really think there a re clear obsessed. but i really think there are clear questions to be had about this. this feels like a government which is determined to carry on as though there hasn't been five months of schooling in —— missed. particular students who have had to isolate because they can't get a test for covid—19 or they have

covid—19. i think it is dubious to think that students taking exams next year will be able to cover the whole of the syllabus content with such disrupted schooling and having missed so much in a school teaching. that is why we have said that these courses are designed to be examined, but you need to change the exams to fit in with the circumstances that these students are faced with. thank you very much indeed. that was the joint general secretary of the national education union. thank you very much. it will turn drier and brighter, but it will stay rather chilly. through the rest of the afternoon and into the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, outbreaks of rain pushing eastwards. if anything, that rain will start to spell back in to eastern scotland and north—eastern england throughout the night. a

fairly cool night, particularly across parts of south—west scotland and the far north of england. 0utbreaks and the far north of england. outbreaks of rain continuing to spiral into an area of low pressure tomorrow. some drier weather to the north—east, and also for scotland and northern ireland. a brisk and north—easterly wind here. it is going to feel rather chilly. all of us see going to feel rather chilly. all of us see those temperatures go back to between 11 and 13 degrees. it stays rather chilly as we head through the middle of the week towards thursday and friday. but it will be drier is often rather cloudy. i am going to ta ke often rather cloudy. i am going to take you straight to the house of commons where the education secretary gavin williamson is speaking about next year's gcses and a—levels. speaking about next year's gcses and a-levels. a lifelong learning announcement will benefit... helping the levelling up agenda. what assessment has been made of earnings of individuals who will gain a level three rather than sit with a level

two qualification? my honourable friend raises an incredibly important point. there is so much evidence to point out that if people have an a—level equivalent qualification, the benefits they will have throughout their life are significant, with an increase on 10% of average earnings on those who gained that. that is why our lifetime skills guarantee is so vital to ensure that people right across the country have the opportunity that all our constituents have. educational attainment, of course, depends very much on the quality of the teachers. in scotland, teachers must attain a specified professional standard which is not necessarily replicated in other parts of the uk. the general teaching council of scotland have raised concerns about the internal market bill and its implications for the profession in scotland. would the secretary of

state agree to meet with the general teaching council of scotland to discuss these concerns? of course, we would be always happy to meet. we now come to the chair of the select committee. i think my right honourable friend is right to delay the exams that was announced today. could i ask him what assessment has been made of the students who missed learning over the past six months in terms of the catch up needed and the learning they have lost, and what is the plan if students are sent home in terms of ensuring that they carry on learning at home online?” in terms of ensuring that they carry on learning at home online? i think my right honourable friend raises a vitally important points to ensure that we have a continuity of education. i think every member of this house recognises the value that all children gain from being at school, being with their teachers, having the opportunity to learn. that is why issuing the director of

continuity of education, making sure that schools are held accountable for delivering education, even if pupils are having to isolate at home is so incredibly important. we need to ensure that every child, whether they are in the classroom or whether they are in the classroom or whether they are in the classroom or whether they are at home, are getting the education that they require. we will leave that there are, the education secretary taking a range of questions from mps on education. we will keep an ear and an eye open and let you know of anything that emerges out of that. we know that exams, gcses, a—levels are to take place three weeks later than usual. the mayor of greater manchester andy burnham has commented after it's emerged that greater manchster will avoid the toughest of the new coronavirus restrictions. in a tweet he says this

is the right decision and "we're glad the government has listened. but any restrictions will lead to loss of trade the pm must give ahead of the expected new restrictions today, the chancellor rishi sunak announced a new package of financial help, including more grants for businesses forced to close, and wage support for workers. but many firms are still very anxious about their future as they face the new rules. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. limiting social contact in parts of the north and the midlands will mean more economic pain. from pubs and casinos to gyms and leisure venues, these are some of the businesses that could be impacted by the top—level restrictions, told to close by law. this newcastle bistro is already seeing capacity down by 40%. we've got bills coming in all the time. you know, we've got stock that we'll lose if we have to shut. we've probably got 300 quid worth of stock that we'd essentially be putting in the bin or trying to give away or something so it all adds up

and each time we get told to shut and reopen, it's a cost. the government is grappling with the conflicting demands of protecting health and keeping the economy going. this pub owner in leeds says a second lockdown could finish them off. any more restrictions would just be a killer to many in this industry, really. already the restrictions are ruining trade by at least kind of 50%. and we're in the suburbs and kind of not as bad as city centres so i think any more restrictions would be... we just would be losing thousands per week. some argue restaurants and pubs which have to be covid—secure to operate may be safer places to socialise than homes or university halls. and the hospitality industry has said it will take legal action to stop the forced closure of pubs and clubs. today, if boris says shut down greater manchester, then we're taking it to judicial

review because, do you know what? they've never engaged with the operators and we keep saying to them, show us the scientific evidence. the government has said it will give businesses forced to close by lockdown up to £3000 a month, and will pay two thirds of workers' wages up to a maximum of £2100 a month. and one estimate is that more than 440,000 employees could be using the new scheme by november. large parts of the north have been under tighter restrictions for months and all of this has a huge knock—on effect on the wider supply chain. we've had no direct grants, no business rates relief, no rent assistance so what we're calling on the government for is to extend business rates relief to the wholesale sector because we're the ones that are supplying food and drinks to all of these vital sectors of the economy. what's really hurting businesses is the uncertainty ahead, not knowing what the rules will be next week or next month, and how long these new curbs could last. sarah corker, bbc news.

the us government's top infectious disease expert 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. his words that he "can't imagine that anybody could be doing more" to fight covid—19 appear in the ad to refer to president donald trump specifically. but dr fauci, who clashed with mr trump before on covid, was actually talking about himself and other public health officials. 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. 0ur washington correspondent gary

0'donoghue said this isn't the first time president trump has had a disclaimer on his twitter. i spoke to him earlier. in the case of the social media post, this is something that's becoming something of a habit for the president. it's the third or fourth time that i've counted that he's done such a thing. he has been criticised in the past, for example, for suggesting that people should vote twice. he has been criticised in the past for suggesting that covid is only as serious as the flu. there have been other areas where facebook has taken down posts as well. as for doctor anthony fauci, who is the leading epidemiologist in the country and a very public figure, he has distanced himself from donald trump messaging, which he has included saying he didn't approve it and it was taken out of context, what he was saying. the president doesn't like being contradicted like that, so we will see what his response is to it. but he's back on the campaign trail today, reeta, down in florida, that key swing state, back in front of those huge

audiences hoping to turn it round, because he's trailing badly in the polls. british airways chief executive, alex cruz has stepped down after four—and—a—half years in the role. mr cruz will stay on as non—executive 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. he has been replaced by sean doyle, who is the boss aer lingus. 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. rugby league star rob burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in december last year. a bbc documentary this week follows the former leeds rhinos player and his family as they raise awareness of the degenerative condition, for which there's

currently no cure. sally nugent reports. i've been following rob since the start of the year. in that time, i've discovered that he's all about two things — his family, and his rugby family. rob's parents inspired his love of rugby league. go on, rob. a journey which took him from this field in featherstone, to wembley and old trafford. this year, jeff and irene have helped rob tackle his toughest challenge. rob said recently that rugby has prepared him for the situation that he is in now. would you agree with that? yeah, yeah. it did. but, as a family, you've just got to keep strong. and that's notjust our family. it's the motor neurone

disease family. you've got to be strong. all that i am i give to you. all that i am, i give to you. rob, he has always treated me like a princess. there was never going to be anybody else than rob, because he was always very caring and has always looked after me. you know, if there was going to be anybody that i was going to spend the rest of my time with, it was going to be rob. applause. after 20 years together, in december, doctors told lindsay and rob that time could be short. you ask the question of how long. and you are told, you know, a year to two years. and you know, at that point, i was just thinking of the kids. what are we going to tell them? you know, one of the first things that rob said to me was, "thank god it was me and not the kids". and, you know, that's all he was bothered about. that's just rob. he wasn't, he didn't care about himself. as rob's condition has

deteriorated, he has had to lean on lindsay more than ever. rob's going to get to a stage where he's not going to be able to walk, he's not going to be able to talk. you know, just to have his independence taken away from him. cheering. the word that you use when you talk about rob, particularly when he was younger, is how proud you are of him. how do you feel about what he's doing now? we still feel so proud. and he's so brave. he isjust rob. being proud of everything that all us family's done, but what rob's achieved, i've never felt as proud as i do now.

rob now struggles to speak. but technology is helping him to communicate in a new way. electronically augmented voice: hi, sal. mnd has taken his voice, but his spirit has amplified awareness of this dreadful disease. i'm very grateful for the awareness that bbc breakfast have given to mnd. and i'm determined to beat this disease, and it starts with have a strong mindset. very moving. sally nugent was talking to rob burrow about his struggle with motoneuron disease. boris johnson is preparing to announce tough new local coronavirus restrictions in england as medical advisers warned

of the dangers of failing to act. the liverpool city region is expected to face the toughest restrictions with pubs, gyms and bookies closed. three nightingale hospitals in manchester, harrogate and sunderland have been put on standby to help with the spike in covid admissions. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. in the next hour, the prime minister is expected will outline in the commons what extra restrictions are being taken in england to try to reduce the rapid spread of the disease. it's thought three tiers of measures will be introduced, including the closure of pubs, restaurants and bookies in the worst hit areas of northern england. let's get the thoughts now of jake berry, the conservative mp for rossendale and darwen in lancashire and former minister

for the northern powerhouse. some of the details are starting to emerge, although we will get the full details in an hour. we know that greater manchester is going to be in tier two, the middle tier, so pubs serving food will be allowed to stay open. what do you think the government's priority should be as they prepared to inflict these new restrictions? i support this new national system. i colleagues across the north have been calling for it for a couple of weeks now. as we hear the detail, i believe it will become clear that it is proportionate and simple for people to understand. but what i do hope that the government will go on to explain isn't just how that the government will go on to explain isn'tjust how areas will go in to tier one, two or three, but also how they will come out of it as well. we are the shared national endeavour to beat this appalling disease that is ripping through communities across north and i'm

sure we'll start to affect other areas as well. part of this needs to be saying to people that the measures we are taking are working. the numbers in your area are improving and if we carry on like this, if you live in the liverpool city region, i was born in the liverpool area, i know the area well, we are taking steps to come out of tier three and be put back into tier two. the government needs to ta ke into tier two. the government needs to take the people with them on the next chapter of this very difficult journey ahead of us. do you think the government needs to explain more why it is hospitality venues that are most likely to be shut? we have had a couple of times, evidence from the us, that nobody has pointed to anything concrete about evidence from the uk? i understand from discussions with health ministers that have taken place with northern mps today on a cross—party basis that that evidence is emerging. i think there is real value in the

government treating the british people as grown—ups, giving them the information we need and trusting us to get behind these new national measures. i feel certain that the british people will get behind it, but they need to know notjust what is going to get them into these measures, which is the bad news, but also how if we work together, we can come out of it. very shortly, if it is not here now, the government need to set out notjust how it is going to set out notjust how it is going to support businesses which find themselves in these enhanced lockdown restrictions, but also what is their plan for the economic recovery of areas of the united kingdom? towns like burnley went into this crisis on a national basis a lot poorer than other areas of the country. as we leave these restrictions, we need to ensure that we have got a plan to deliver that northern powerhouse, level up the northern powerhouse, level up the north of england and create wealth and prosperity in the recovery for

all. do you think it is the fact that some of those areas which are suffering really badly now, do you think part of the underlying reason is that they went into this pandemic considerably poorer than other areas of the country, and so maybe people's ability to follow the rules was rather less? i certainly wouldn't agree on that. i don't think your ability to care about your community and follow the rules is governed by how big your pay packet is. sorry to jump in, is governed by how big your pay packet is. sorry tojump in, but is governed by how big your pay packet is. sorry to jump in, but you simply can't afford it because you have got to put food on the table? i'm not sure that is the case. people across the united kingdom do wa nt to people across the united kingdom do want to work together to beat this disease. but i do think the reason we have got this spike in infections in the north of england is that over the summer as we came out of lockdown, for example when the pubs openedin lockdown, for example when the pubs opened injuly, lockdown, for example when the pubs opened in july, the

lockdown, for example when the pubs opened injuly, the infection rate in my constituency was 81 per 100,000. in london, it was 3.2. as we started to release the economy and release our country, there is a far higher in latent infection rate across the north of england. this is across the north of england. this is a national decision that will be driven by local data and i do think thatis driven by local data and i do think that is the way to go. you have formed this new group of mps, the northern research group. is that partly to try and counter labour‘s rhetoric of the north getting a hammering by westminster over covid—19? hammering by westminster over covid-19? that isn't the reason we have formed. i know it is happening at the time of covid—19. we have but nearly 80 conservative mps now in the north of england. we won many of those seats from the labour party. the prime minister's compelling vision from the north of england,

people shouldn't be surprised that conservative mps are banding together to deliver the prime minister's compelling vision. that idea of levelling up the north of england, delivering the northern powerhouse, increasing prosperity across the north has gone from important to edge and because we will be exiting these coronavirus restrictions next year. —— to urgent. some breaking newsjust in. a lincolnshire sheep, has been jailed for 14 years at the old bailey for blackmail over a plot that saw him place three judge of baby food laced with metal in stores ina bid baby food laced with metal in stores in a bid to extort £1.4 million from the supermarket chain. that news just in from the old bailey. 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 rangers should be working on conservation projects, instead, they're felling trees. and here in sizergh, they have their work cut out. just look at this ash tree, looking beautiful and leafy here. but just look at this one. this has been infected with ash dieback. in this wood, there are tens of thousands of ash trees here, and the national trust thinks 95% have been infected with the disease. this is the worst year we've ever had, by a long chalk. so, normally we've be failing possibly, i don't know, maybe 100 trees across the whole of the lake district because of ash dieback. now, i think we're probably into sort of, five, six, seven, 800 trees. certainly on sizergh alone we'll be felling several hundred. ash dieback 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. and here you've got

some of the classic symptoms of the leisons — the diamond—shaped lesions there — and another one there. ash dieback‘s a fungal disease. it's carried by spores in the wind. it infects the leaf, then the spores on the fungi itself gets into the vascular system of the tree and gradually kills it from there on. so it droughts the tree, or the tree droughts itself, by blocking its vascular system. felling trees doesn't stop the spread, but infected ones are unsteady and so some have to be removed for public safety. although some of the ash trees here are over 120 years old, in other parts of the lake district, like coniston, they're much older. i think my biggest fear is the iconic trees that we have within the lake district and then especially the pollards, they‘ re culturally important, they‘ re fa ntastic landscape trees, in terms of habitat, they're unique. and they are probably three, four, 500 years old. so, losing those will be a massive impact and they're irreplaceable. chainsaw whirs. 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello, good afternoon. it hasn't exactly been the brightest of starts to the new week, not the warmest of starts either. it is cool, it's cloudy, we've had some outbreaks of rain in many places. things are set to change through the coming week. it will turn gradually drier, but it will stay rather chilly with temperatures just a touch below par for this time of year. through the rest of today, a band of rain pushing eastwards. the further west you are, skies brightening with some sunshine, but one or two showers, some of which will be heavy across northern ireland and western parts of scotland. those are the temperatures as we head into the evening — just eight or nine degrees for some north sea coasts, and elsewhere

11 or 12 degrees. a cool afternoon leading into a rather cool night. as we go through the night, we will see these outbreaks of rain lingering for a while across the south—east of england and then starting to feed back in across scotland and north—east england, and further west there will be a mix of clear spells and showers. most places holding up around five, six, seven degrees. could be a little bit colder than that for parts of south—west scotland and northern england. as we head into tomorrow, low pressure still in charge. the frontal system bringing a spiral of wetter weather across the british isles. you can see that rain across parts of scotland to start off, pushing down into northern england, parts of wales as well. some heavy showers pushing southwards across the south—west of england. something a little drier and brighter towrads the south—east of the uk, although some rain may return to some eastern coasts later, and certainly it will brighten up for northern ireland and scotland with sunny spells and just a small chance for a shower. quite windy, though, particularly across the northern half of the uk and that wind coming down from the north—ast, never a warm wind direction, so temperatures, at best, around 11, 12 or 13 degrees.

as we look ahead to wednesday, there will be some showers around, chiefly as we go through the day across england and wales, something drier developting for much of scotland and northern ireland. strongest of the winds down towards the south at this stage. where you get some shelter from that north—easterly wind, 15 degrees is possible in plymouth, but generally 12, 13, 14 degrees. as we head towards the end of the week, high pressure will try to take charge of the weather. various frontal systems around the edges but i think this high will fend those off for the most part, so it is looking largely dry, but it will often be quite cloudy, and temperature will continue to struggle with highs between 10 and 13 degrees.

this is bbc news, i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines — boris johnson is preparing to announce tough new local coronavirus restrictions in england, as medical advisers warned of the dangers of failing to act. if we do not take measures to control the spread of the virus, the death toll will be too great to bear. the liverpool city region is expected to face the toughest restrictions with pubs, gyms and bookies closed. and the prime minister will address mps at 3:30pm this afternoon. we'll bring that to you live and have full reaction on bbc news. as three nightingale hospitals are put on standby, it's revealed there are now more people in hospital with covid—19 than when a national lockdown was imposed in march.

an anxious wait for businesses to hear whether they will be