this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera. the headlines at eight. greater manchester refuses to accept the highest covid alert level. the city's mayor and other local leaders say number ten's plans are flawed and unfair. this is an important moment. greater manchester will stand firm. we are fighting back for fairness and for the health of our people. as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the country, ministers say any delay will cost lives. i call upon local leaders to set aside this party politics and to work with us to put in place the measures that are needed in greater manchester across the northwest so that we can deal with this virus.

from saturday, london, york, essex, parts of derbyshire and other areas will be placed on high alert, meaning no household mixing indoors. the brand new covid mega—lab in milton keynes. a bbc investigation into allegations that there have been safety breaches. out and about after seven months — the queen's first public engagement outside a royal household since the march lockdown. and coming up, the ‘cliffside camping' that requires a head for heights and nerves of steel. boris johnson's strategy to tackle the coronavirus pandemic with a series of regional restrictions faces its toughest political test yet. earlier today, the mayor

of greater manchester, labour's andy burnham, refused to accept the terms on which ministers want to place his city on the very highest alert level. he said his constituents' livelihoods were being sacrificed. the health secretary for england, matt hancock, hit back saying any delay would cost lives. let's just look at what's happening in england. the grey area is on medium alert which means a 10pm curfew and the rule of six. the areas in orange will be on high alert from midnight tomorrow. that includes london and a raft of areas stretching from barrow in furness to elmbridge in surrey. for more than 28 million people, that will mean no more household mixing indoors. at the moment, only the liverpool city region is on very high alert. this bans people from more than one household mixing in most settings. we'll be looking in more detail about the changes in a moment, but first, our political editor laura kuenssberg reports on a row that threatens

the government's covid strategy. is it too late to stop the northwest doors closing? government wants bolton every part of greater manchester and a limited lockdown. pubs and bar shut, travel restrictions, no household mixing. the students dominic and connor say a college, everyone is already ignoring the rule. people are still going out, what's the point? today, i've mixed with a lot of other people. no social distancing. angela has had enough. as long as it curves the stem before christmas, that kind of what my big concern is if. is not happening for now. listen to the resista nce happening for now. listen to the resistance from the mayor of greater manchester after angry conversations with number ten. they are asking us to gamble our residents' jobs and businesses and a large chunk of our

economy on a strategy that their own experts tell them might not work. greater manchester and lancashire are being set up as the canaries in the coal mine for an experimental regional lockdown strategy. this is an important moment. greater manchester will stand firm. no applause from 200 miles away. furious calls between ministers and mps, including angry tories. the government is not ready to... still trying to persuade. i call upon local leaders to step aside this party politics and to work with us to put in place the measures that are needed in greater manchester across the northwest so that we can deal with this virus and support people through it. the reluctance of politicians on the ground to back

harsher restrictions has been a concern that those who live there will lose out. where firms have to close, the treasury has promised to stump up two thirds of wages and workers benefits. what a well respected former government adviser says that just doesn't respected former government adviser says thatjust doesn't cut it. respected former government adviser says that just doesn't cut it. they are looking at a period of destitution. do we want to go back to days where people can't put shoes on their children's feet? this is what we are talking about. 0r on their children's feet? this is what we are talking about. or we actually asking people in places like liverpool to go out and prostitute themselves so they can put food on the table? more than 20 million people do know though these extra limits, right across london, parts of derbyshire and cumbria, meeting friends and doors is off. for sue, it's yet more time home alone. i haven't seen anyone inside my flat since march. it's lonely. so, that's why i come out and talk to friends outside in the fresh air. what else can you do? martin says

his business is already on his knees. we are in tier1 and business is completely, completely dead. look at it. if we go to tier two, i don't think it will make much difference anyway. this woman worries about more times and doors with kids.|j had her at home for six months, which was so hard to keep her entertained. under like his counterpart, the london mayor had been putting for tighter rules. the virus is spreading rapidly in every corner of our city. nobody wants to see more restrictions, but this is deemed to be necessary in order to protect londoners. i must warn londoners that we've got a difficult winter ahead. downing street wants to push and pull different parts of the country in and out of limited lockdowns to match the spread of the disease, but those differences mean a clash, a war of words between

national and local are leaders. —— local leaders. in the end, it's number ten that has the power to impose tighter rules. remember, the tories want to keep their new—found friends in the north. there is no easy way out. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. with me now is our political correspondent nick eardley. as we see all over so many different parts, facing tougher restrictions, we're also seeing a real political clash between national and local leaders. that's right. the government did want to put greater manchester into that top tier, the most restrictive tier today, and it's not happened because of the political backlash. notjust from andy burnham and some of the labour leaders up in manchester, but also from some conservative mps who think the measures go too far. let's be clear. this is a decision that will

be made by downing street. they are desperate to have local buy—in. partly, that's because they don't wa nt to partly, that's because they don't want to be seen to be imposing things on the north of england, partly because we want leaders in different parts of the country to share some of the responsibility. frankly, for the decisions that are taken. at the moment, an agreement with those local politicians in greater manchester seems a long way off. there are discussions going on about adding lancashire to the top tier, either tonight or potentially over the next few days. those conversations are going better, to my understanding. but again, we see these new dynamics in english politics where local political leaders are putting a lot of pressure on central government and its stopping ministers in london doing exactly what they want to do. nix, as always, thank so much for talking us through that. —— nick. let's speak now tojohn hamilton.

he runs bar pop on canal street in manchester city centre. he is also the vice chair of the manchester pub and club network. john, you're going to be one of those directly affected potentially of manchester does move into the third tier. what do you make of all this initially? initially, it's so confusing. rbn, or be out? make your mind up. we need to find out and we don't know from one day to the next where we're at. i have to say that we do back burnham, we do need more priority, more funding and more support. we can't just priority, more funding and more support. we can'tjust close our whole interest terry down and be expected to open without financial support —— whole industry. we are doing not safely. but if you were to move, if the area was to be moved

into tier three, surely you'd get more financial support. would not be beneficial for establishments like yours? they say 6796 of the furlough scheme and for businesses for a value of 51,000, i believe. they'll give you 3000 a month. ijust need to stop you there. my rent is three and a half thousand pounds a month. it's a city centre venue with high rents. £3000 will only pay one week's rent. what do we do? they've asked us to take another loan. how can we do that we are not earning any money? it's a really testing time for this industry. for anyone who's had a good night out on canal street knows how busy it is. how has it been thus far for you guys? honestly, before lockdown, this bar would take 35,000 on a saturday

night. july the 4th, we opened up, that was 11,000. with the safety of put in place. the 10pm curfew, we got down to 3000. that's the impact that this has had on our industry. it had an impact on manyjobs, many jobs had to be cut back. at a hard, ha rd jobs had to be cut back. at a hard, hard time for this industry. what about your staff? my staff are finding it really hard. i've had a few of them come to me crying. there are quitea few of them come to me crying. there are quite a lot of young members not knowing what to do. or had to work... not living at home, they're living in the city and panicking about how to pay their bills, having to pay their rent if theirjob secure, will he still be here. we reckon we have six more weeks at this rate before we have to close. it's that much of an impact on our business. a successful business like ours that took over £2 million a year last year. have you had to let

anybody go? not yet. not yet, but we believe that if things don't change in the next couple weeks, we will. we put everyone on half hours to save people's jobs, but we put everyone on half hours to save people'sjobs, but it's really ha rd save people'sjobs, but it's really hard for them at the moment. it's ha rd hard for them at the moment. it's hard for them at the moment. it's hard for us as business owners. what should the government be doing? we're seeing a lot of emphasis being put on schools remaining open. are you feeling that's potentially at the cost of the hospitality industry? absolutely. we opened july the 4th. no increase, no spike. we did eat out to help out, no spike. let people study from home. we can control that. no, they went ahead and what happened ? control that. no, they went ahead and what happened? we had a spike. where? and all them major new

universities. —— in all the major universities. —— in all the major universities. they let it all happen. we have to leave it there, but best of luck. john hamilton, thank you. the latest government figures show there were 18,980 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 15,973. and as new cases have climbed, so have daily hospital admissions, with 730 people being admitted on average each day over the past week. this number doesn't include scotland. 138 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week, 100 deaths were announced every day, which takes the total number of deaths so far

across the uk to 113,293. a number of places across england will be moved into the ‘high‘ alert level this weekend. they include parts of essex, york, north east derbyshire, chesterfield, erewash in derbyshire, elmbridge in surrey and barrow in furness, cumbria. london will also placed in the ‘high‘ level, meaning a ban on households mixing indoors, including pubs and restaurants. nine million people will be affected by the changes in the capital. our special correspondent, lucy manning has been talking to some of them. london's ability to meet up, drink and eat out has already been limited. theatres shut, night clubs closed, pubs finishing early. and now, 9 million londoners facing more restrictions. we have only got a small garden here. lauren owns a pub in

hackney, in east london. her area has some of the capital's highest covid rates. she is now scared what direction her business will go in. we already had to reduce our capacity massively to allow for social distancing. and then the 10pm curfew has cut trade by about 25%. and now this, not allowing households to mix indoors, it is a triple whammy. we have got such restrictions on us now that no financial backing from the government, unless we are forced to close, but that will not happen until the next tier. nearby, this family can look out over london but they worry, like many in the city without gardens, how they will see relations now facing the same problems as many have in parts of the north for months. my eldest is autistic and partially sighted and he sees his nanna every weekend, so that is a break in his pattern, so he is going to struggle with that. i don't think they are now is going to be able to be outside because it is too cold for her. half an hour's drive from hackney,

over the river thames, most of the areas in south london have lower rates of covid cases. some here don't think all of london should be stopped from mixing inside with other households. but politicians are adamant the new restrictions must go across the whole of london, because they say londoners don't work and socialise and live in the same places and that covid cases are going up across every borough in the city. in southwark, by shakespeare's globe theatre, the area only has nearly half the rate of covid cases, compared to london's worst areas. unfortunately, the stage is set for morejob losses. the end of october, i think we will have lost 120 staff. and we've got people who have been working with us for ten years who have been made redundant. it is breaking the hearts of everyone, i don't think we are going to see london nightlife until the vaccine arrives. friends enjoyed their last drink for a while. they won't be able to meet inside from saturday,

and autumn outside is not appealing. to be honest we have lived through a lot worse things. we can get through this, people just need to stay at home and follow the restrictions that are in place of. harder for pubs and restaurants, tougherforfamilies, difficult forfriends. like leeds, birmingham and elsewhere, this will now be life in london. lucy manning, bbc news. let's pick up on some of those aspects of life in london. bambos charalambous is the labour mp for enfield southgate. thank you forjoining us today. you're supportive of london being placed in this higher—level alert. given there are discrepancies between some burros in terms of active cases, do you think that potentially, it would be better

beneficial to do a more localised lockdown rather than the whole of london? and mike went constituency, but i think there should be a national circuit break in this because we got half the country which is in restrictive measures —— in my constituency. so people get confused. to have a national circuit break that would actually reset the clock and actually help bring down the number for cases that we have. we've just come out of lockdown measures and we got cases coming up. it's not going to stop anything indefinitely. no, but it would help reduce the level and for infection. if he had two or three weeks, states have shown that this would drastically reduce numbers of deaths over the course of the year. i do

think we need to have a serious look at that. and your borough is in the lower state of bu rros at that. and your borough is in the lower state of burros in terms of active cases. where are you roughly? we've got about 100 cases per 100,000, i don't know where exactly at six in the table. but i do think we need to have this different approach because clearly, the government's approach working. manchester and parts of the northwest were under this semi—restrictions they had in the cases kept going up and up. clearly something more drastic need to happen, and if that happens over a short period of time, it would probably be better. what about people who are... we were speaking toa people who are... we were speaking to a gentleman who runs a club in manchester. it's very difficult for businesses to continue with these kinds of restrictions. what you say to them? it is difficult in the government needs to have a better

economic pass package. if you don't sorted properly, and we started from march of this year, they've had six months to get this right and still, cases arising. so, there's no fuse for the government now. they need to actually take action —— there's no excuse. so that we can get out of this quicker. you describe how people find it confusing when it comes to different measures in different areas, but the idea that pubs close across in london at ten o'clock and we still see people hiding out on the streets, trying to get alcohol. not disbanding as they should. even with these measures, do you think people will adhere to them? i don't think there is any scientific evidence that the 10pm

cu rfew scientific evidence that the 10pm curfew that the government imposed, soi curfew that the government imposed, so i think anything needs to be based on science. but it's far easier to say to people, you can't go out at all between... for these purposes, rather to say you have to finish by ten o'clock, because that's been the advice. if people mingle, they mingle. it doesn't matter what time you put them out on the streets. the other thing that's worrying is that people will then continue drinking, they'll get into pubs and supermarkets and that will lead to more interaction, which could lead to a rising cases. so you need to take different action when something clearly isn't working. that is why we're on the subject of alcohol. we just got some news dropping from the house of commons,, the speaker lindsay hoyle has said that alcohol will no longer be served in parliament in the house of commons from the weekend. these

measures would last for the foreseeable future. sorry to put you on the spot a little bit, but what do you make of it? given what the rest of the nation is going through, is it necessary that this even has to be announced ? is it necessary that this even has to be announced? show that have been done immediately? certainly, some of the bars have been closed but i think they need to lead by example. i think he was absolutely right to ta ke i think he was absolutely right to take this action, and i think actually, the fact that parliament is... some mps aren't able to attend virtually, we've had six votes tonight and those votes have resulted in mps mingling, which invariably is going to lead to more interaction. some mps are isolating because they been traced as having had because they been traced as having ha d co nta ct because they been traced as having had contact with somebody with

coronavirus. invariably, we need to lead by example, and that would also mean to have more virtual parliaments. thank you so much. just to remind our viewers of that breaking news that we got from the house of commons, the house of commons. serving alcohol from the weekend. this has just commons. serving alcohol from the weekend. this hasjust been announced by the speaker, sir lindsay hoyle, saying the measures would last for the foreseeable future, and he says that as mps represent different constituencies in different tiers, with the very highest level ordering the closure of pubs, he has decided to stop the sale of alcohol across the house of commons from this saturday. and he adds that people will not be liable to be able to buy a drink for the funeral —— for the future where there is served. adding they will

meet monday to consider other measures to protect mps while maintaining our covid—secure status. breaking news at the house of commons is stopping the sale of alcohol from the weekend. pauline latham is the conservative mp for mid derbyshire whose constituency includes part of the erewash district which has been added to the high covid alert level. should be start with this breaking news regarding the alcohol sale? just a reaction initially. i'm surprised that's been decided because nowhere else in the country has alcohol being banned. particularly on a monday night, we have an evening meal and there. so some people do prefer it with a glass of wine. it isn't essential,

obviously, but it's quite nice when you're waiting until the end of the day and not finishing until 11 sometimes. it's quite a long evening. so he's made that decision and we have to abide by it. given what's happening with the rest the country, do you really need alcohol when you finish up late in the evening? we don't have parliament without parliamentarians in it. we have to be there and we will be mixing, as in any other workplace. it's not really any different, but we can't stop parliament working. it's just not possible. and i think if we go to virtual parliament, which is really what... itjust will not be as help holding the government to account. we got much more rigid systems. so, it's hard to hold the government to account, and

if it gets harder, if we do go to virtual parliament and shut down, therefore, it's going to be difficult to do ourjob properly. let's focus now on your constituency. this includes part of the district that's been added into high covid alert levels. many people will be facing those restrictions. what's your reaction to that? i'm disappointed. i can understand if parts not in mike constituency might have to go into the higher tier, but where i represent, i have seen no proof of any of those going really high. i proof of any of those going really high. i guess it is in the larger populations but not in my constituency i don't believe

places... will have a big problem. i didn't know about this until a few minutes before when it was announced by matt hancock. we were not told this was going to happen. you must have been watching the figures. erewash dig strict, the figure has gone up from 106 last week —— district. you must have known something would have been happening with such an increase. something would have been happening with such an increaselj something would have been happening with such an increase. i certainly know that the council leaders have been talking to the government, but we haven't been talking to mps. we haven't been included in those with government. maybe we should have been, but it's happened now. we are in tier two. we have to do the best we can and support businesses as best we can. i think it's really

important for us all where we can go out, even if it'sjust important for us all where we can go out, even if it's just in our own household, to go and support local hospitality businesses. at the end of the day, they are the one suffering more than anyone else, as well as places like cinemas, theatres and all the arts organisations, which i feel add so much to the richness of life. as one of the 42 conservative mps who voted against stricter covid regulations, does that mean you will continue to oppose the tightening of those restrictions? what i want is more information. matt hancock made a statement in the house of commons today, but there were no statistics in itand today, but there were no statistics in it and i think we should be treated a little bit better and given more statistics so that we can actually understand what the science is. and understand where in my constituency where i have part of

erewash, which i don't believe it is anywhere near as bad as the rest of erewash. why can't we split it down? colleen, thank you so much for your time. lots more on our website. the pub group marston's is to lay off 2,150 staff as a result of coronavirus restrictions on hospitality. the company said the rules, which include mandatory table service, a 10pm curfew and limits on group sizes "undermine consumer confidence and create uncertainty". scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon says the country is at a critical point in the pandemic, and she is considering travel restrictions that would ban entry to people from areas of the uk with higher rates of covid—19. she also set out new rules on face masks. they will become mandatory for workers while moving around in offices or in staff canteens.

the test and trace scheme in england has had its worst week since the beginning ofjuly for reaching the contacts of those infected with the coronavirus. the tracing team only reached 58 per cent of contacts of those testing positive in the week ending the 7th of october. our health editor hugh pym has been looking at why it's proving so difficult. could this be the future for mass testing of the population? children arriving at school in southampton drop off saliva samples which are tested for coronavirus. it's easy for them to do with quick results, and is now part of a trial to assess the potential. we know we can turn around those results within 26 to 48 hours, so it's a great opportunity notjust to keep teachers and children within school settings, but also more broadly to other businesses and settings too. that's the aim, but right now the system for testing using swabs and following up contacts is under strain. ministers say capacity

is being increased to ensure those who should have tests get them, but there are continuing reports of inefficiency. a lot of the calls were essentially repeat calls... martin's family are self—isolating after two tested positive, but they were surprised to get dozens of calls from test and trace staff. we probably needed four or five calls to tell us our end date and how we were doing, but that's it, so the other 32 calls could have been given to other families. in the first week in october, the number of results back in 26 hours for people going to testing centres in england was 32.6%, slightly better than the week before but much lower than injune. just 57.6% of close contacts of those testing positive were reached and asked to self—isolate, down from 62.5% the previous week. senior health officials say testing and tracing gets more difficult as case numbers accelerate, and is most effective when infection

rates are lower than they are now, and local outbreaks can be quickly identified and tackled. the sort of restrictions that we're seeing coming in, of course they are to save lives but they're also to reduce the number of cases in circulation so that it comes down to a manageable level, so that the test and trace system is able to work so effectively that it will be able to find a much higher proportion of the people who are at risk. in spain, the testing system may be working, but tracing is said to be very patchy. in berlin, long queues have built up outside some testing centres. test and trace problems are notjust limited to parts of the uk. hugh pym, bbc news. and wherever you are across the uk, if you want to check the rules in your area now — you can search by postcode — that's on our website — bbc.co.uk/news, or via the bbc news app.

sport and for a full round up, from the bbc the english football league has rejected the proposed 50 million pound bailout from the premier league. the offer would have helped teams in league's one and two, but not the championship. in a statement the efl said... a short time ago i spoke to the tranmere rovers chairman mark palios and asked him why this was rejected.

i think to use the term rejected is slightly harsh, i think it has been politely declined. i think the first thing is that it's recognised that the problem facing the efl, and this is the efl as a whole is the size of about 250 million, and while it is respect lee understood that this then offerfor leagues one respect lee understood that this then offer for leagues one and two, there's a real strong feeling of solidarity and the collective is 72 clu bs. solidarity and the collective is 72 clubs. that's the first thing, it appears this divisive, i'm not so sure it was aims to be divisive but it could potentially be divisive. that's one of the reasons why at the end of the day the premier league rejected the suggestion to the top six clubs in terms of the big picture because at the end of the day there were cognizant of the impact it would have on the pyramid, andi impact it would have on the pyramid, and i think equally to just go ahead

with this type of scenario in leagues one and two, i would personally think that again start to reinforce differences and potentially fracture the pyramid. in scotland, two st mirren players have returned positive covid—19 tests and another member of the first team is also self—isolating as a precaution. the cases were detected in routine screening on monday, and all three will miss saturday's scottish premiership match with motherwell. it is the second time this season the club have suffered an outbreak. salford red devils have been dealt a blow in the run up to their challenge cup final at wembley after two players tested positive for coronavirus. dan sarginson and jack ormondroyd will miss out on saturday's match against leeds after returning positive tests. it comes on top of a spate of injured players also being ruled out of one of the biggest games in the clubs history. and one rugby union line to bring you. ulster captain iain henderson will miss the remainder of ireland's six nations campaign after getting a three—match ban for his red card

against ospreys in the pro1li. he was sent off for a dangerous tackle last weekend. finally chris gayle — the self styled universe boss — has been back to what he does best. smashing the ball out of the ground. gayle hadn't played since january but showed no signs of rust hitting a quick 53 as his kings 11 punjab side beat royal challengers bangalore in the ipl holding the bat upside down while celebrating his 50 was just about the only thing he got wrong. luckily we can still read upside down. that's all the sport for now. thank you so much as always. millions of people across the country and other areas face tougher covid measures from saturday. from midnight tomorrow a raft of areas streching from barrow in furness in cumbria to elmbridge in surrey will move into the high covid alert level. for more than 28 million people that will mean no more household mixing indoors.

one of those areas included is york — councillor keith aspden is the liberal democrat leader of york council. talk us through when you were first told her that york was moving from the medium to the hyatt covert alert level —— hi everyone alert level. one of the messages i have been putting back to the department of health is please trust a local public health teams and please work with us. we don't want to be having a public health campaign run through twitter or leaked briefings, we need to work with teams and work with those people keeping their communities safe. so you weren't directly told, that's what you are

suggesting? of conversations have you been having with government with the other we that nudges from officials that we might be an area officials that we might be an area of concern a couple of weeks ago and that we might have more restrictions, but we did not know it was confirmed until we saw on social media from, as say briefings and in fa ct media from, as say briefings and in fact it was confirmed that obviously this is really frustrating for public health teams on the ground but we want to have a better conversation with the department of health and with the government so we can protect our communities but we really need to update their communication and talk to us in advance. when it comes to support, talk us through how much support you feel we've been having or not as it sounds come you decided to set up your own local test and trace systems. so why was that? why did you feel the need to do that yourself? i think is her previous report said, test and trace itch is not working. there's not enough capacity in testing or getting the

results back, but local public health teams have a lot of intelligence and can help, particularly with the tracing and so we've now got permission to supplement that national system so that we can do everything we can locally to make a better system, because until test and trace works it's going to be really difficult to protect our local communities. and how is it going for your local system ? how is it going for your local system? you how is it going for your local system ? you have how is it going for your local system? you have figures and results of how many people you have managed to co nta ct? of how many people you have managed to contact? i've been very pleased with how our local health centre, from the hospital to the public health team have been working. only have just started on this local test and trace scheme this week so i will have to come back to you to tell you how successful it is, but really the reason we have taken this route is due to frustration with that national system which they have had since march to sort outjust not being a place quick enough not working and then seeing those backlogs, and if we are to really

protect our local population we will need to work together notjust with private companies but actually using the expertise we got on the ground, and our doctors and public health teams to do a much betterjob than the government is making of it at the government is making of it at the moment. counsellor asked ben from the city of york council. thank you for sharing that. whistleblowers have told a joint investigation by the bbc and the online newspaper, the independent, of safety concerns at a coronavirus testing lab. one scientist who worked at the milton keynes lighthouse lab claimed staff were being put at risk. the health and safety executive has found breaches in safety following the claims. the company which runs the lab says it has strict safety measures in place. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. the lighthouse labs, sometimes called mega labs, mass processing centres for coronavirus swab tests. the government had them set up in order to dramatically increase testing during the pandemic.

one of the first to open was this lab in milton keynes where hundreds of staff process around 40,000 tests per day. but some of those who have worked here told us of safety concerns which they fear are putting staff at risk. it's just chaotic. it's dangerous. julian harris, a virologist, worked at the lab this summer. he believes cracks in the system began to show when the calibre of staff changed. when the lab started in march, then they had furloughed academics, virologists, biologists, all these people, so they had the experience, right? but then towards the middle ofjune onwards, they started to go back. then you have got an influx of these young people with absolutely no experience. he alleges the training for new recruits was completely inadequate. these people, you know, no lab induction for a bio—safety level two, and then they are just launched into this facility. and it freaked me out.

the work is carried out in protective cabinets like this, which remove infected air. but doctor harris claims, in order to get as many tests done as possible, cabinets designed for one person were being used by two. a practice of the scientists have told us is at best poor and at worst dangerous. and he says the cabinets were being overloaded with piles of plastic bags from swab tests. the whole dynamics of the airflow in the cabinet is corrupted, and what you get, you get turbulence. you might as well be working on an open bench. these young people don't realise they are being put at risk. another scientist who wanted to remain anonymous told us he resigned from the milton keynes lab because of safety concerns. we had disposable visitor coats with gloves taped to the sleeves with brown parcel tape to reach into the cabinets. i know it can be permissible in developing world labs but operating that way was just inviting litigation and ridicule.

the uk biocentre which runs the lab said safety is their number one priority. it said... it said training was robust, recruits have laboratory experience, cabinets were operated byjust one person with a second person observing, and that there was a choice of ppe including cotton lab coats. we believe everyone has the right to come home safe and well from theirjob... but the health and safety executive has visited the lab and said it found five material breaches. we understand they relate to social distancing, cleaning regimes and site safety training. the lab said it had already reinforced its processes based on the hse‘s recommendations. the government target is to increase testing capacity by one third by the end of the month in an attempt

to get a handle on the pandemic. ensuring it can scale up safely has never been more important. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. european union leaders have agreed to keep talking to britain to get a new trade agreement "in the coming weeks". that decision came at the summit which had originally been pegged as the deadline for sealing that deal. the two sides are still too far apart for that to happen — but there appears still a will to get it done. eu chief negotiator michel barnier said fresh "intensive" talks should aim to reach a deal around the end of october. (tx sor) ourteam andi our team and i will continue discussions over the coming weeks. our positions have been crystal clear from day one of this negotiation. if you want access to our market of a50 million people there must be a level playing field.

there must be free and fair competition. let's speak to sam lowe, senior research fellow and trade expert at the centre for european reform so today borisjohnson's deadline has come and gone, no real surprise to their to be honest. it's important to remember there are pretend deadlines and real deadlines. this deadline was very much a pretend one. as we've been talking, david frost the uk chief negotiator has been tweeting and he's quite upset the word intensively was not included in the european council's conclusions despite the fact that michel barnier has been using it. there's it? over whether it will continue negotiating with the eu or not. that's something that we will find out tomorrow. he says he disappointed. you are saying, what does that mean do you think? we are not sure was going to happen next then when it comes to the uk government. we are not sure

what boris johnson the uk government. we are not sure what borisjohnson is going to decide to say tomorrow around this issue of whether the talks should continue or not. my feeling throughout all of this as there is a deal that had to be done, we note with the compromises need to fall on fishing and issues around state aid to, and governance. still would not necessarily surprise me that a little bit more drama to come in the uk could potentially stage a walk—out or something simply dramatic. i do think both sides will come to the negotiating table to conclude something. just give them both sides time to reflect because ultimately there is a willingness on both sides. there's a willingness we got to the point of negotiations where we are come face—to—face with the political difficulty because this is the area where both sides we need to compromise in order to conclude an arrangement. the ee was going to compromise on fisheries and not have the same access to the uk waters as it did before. we uk will

have to compromise on state aid and have to compromise on state aid and have to compromise on state aid and have to accept that there are going to be some binding principles and there will be consequences if the uk subsidizes to the extent that it causes uk companies to get a competitive advantage over the eu counterparts. so that's where the negotiation is that it's difficult because it requires political compromise, and both sides want to reassess at the end of this that they one. you described this as a boring drama, but there is and needs to bea boring drama, but there is and needs to be a compromisejust boring drama, but there is and needs to be a compromise just checking your twitter feed there. there to be a compromise just checking your twitterfeed there. there needs to bea your twitterfeed there. there needs to be a compromise in a deal needs to be a compromise in a deal needs to be a compromise in a deal needs to be done. are we going to look at yet another deadline perhaps?” to be done. are we going to look at yet another deadline perhaps? i sort of think of this as being a bit boring, these talks have been going too long and i note the conclusion would be and ugly to skip to the end of this point. in terms real deadlines the deadline is the end of the year where the transition period

ends. of course if we leave it up until then to get an agreement on it might be difficult because we have to ta ke might be difficult because we have to take into account european parliament and its need to ratify the agreement. i definitely think negotiations could run well into november. grades, we will look forward to that then. really good to talk to you. scientists are learning more about the long lasting effects of coronavirus. a new review suggests that some people are living with a ‘rollercoaster‘ of four different syndromes after getting the virus. the national institute for health research says thousands of people could be living with so—called long covid, and experts want more help for those affected. katharine da costa reports. jo house, a lecturer at bristol university, was never tested for coronavirus and didn't need hospital treatment. but more than six months on she still can't work or lead a normal life.

i have a lot of shortness of breath, i get really crushing fatigue, brain fog with difficulty concentrating and memory. i have difficulty swallowing, i get heart palpitations. i've got pain in all myjoints. researchers looked at the wide range of experiences people with ongoing symptoms have, whether they are recovering after a long stay in intensive care or had mild infections that were never officially diagnosed. after a long stay in intensive care or had mild infections that were never officially diagnosed. the review found a wide range of symptoms affecting people's brain, gut, breathing, heart and even skin. as well as affecting different parts of the body, researchers found symptoms could come and go at different times and with different levels of intensity. and that crucially, long covid could be up to four different syndromes, including permanent organ damage, symptoms resulting from time spent in intensive care, severe fatigue and continuing symptoms of covid—19. we want to start better data collection of people who are presenting with these symptoms which will actually help us

understand the nature of the problem, but also give us an opportunity to research better and see if there really are these four differences, if people are at different risks for different syndromes and how we treat the different syndromes. lesley macniven still suffers from ongoing fatigue seven months after contracting the virus. she works for a long covid support group with more than 25,000 members and says it affects people's physical and mental health. if you can imagine how hard it would be living under restrictions, but if you are also doing that and every single day you felt tired, fatigued and restricted in what he could do, even within your own four walls because of lack of energy and lack of breath. it's thought tens of thousands of people could be living with ongoing conditions caused by covid—19. the boss of nhs england has said £10 million will be spent on more

long covid clinics across england. campaigners want to see them across the whole of the uk so that those with debilitating symptoms get the care and support they need. katherine da costa, bbc news. let's speak now tojenni regan who is suffering from long—covid. you had covid but she did not have a test about what you'd do believe you had it, talk us through what happened to you. listening to that package was really kind of everything she said it was really holding true. i became unwell right at the beginning of lockdown so before schools actually closed down. i was so tired i cannot get out of bed, i had a bad cough and a bad chest, mainly the tiredness just feeling incredibly unwell. and that happened for around two weeks. at the time we were being told not to use the nhs and i did call 111 a couple of times because i did not

feel very safe. but obviously at the time we were told that to leave it for the people that needed it. so i never got tested like many. now all these months on how do you feel?m started, i became very unwell for a couple of weeks and then a kind of got better and i felt that that i have had it now, that's fine. it's been the in waves since then, and so i got better and then two weeks later i felt even worse. so i had to have more time in bed. it's more manageable but i tend to get days where i can't get out of bed. i'm having problems with energy and just breathing sometimes. i used to run marathons and i can't walk more than i guess 20 minutes without feeling really tired and having to have a nap. the most irritating thing for me is that i'm getting massive brain

fog and finding it really hard to think and articulate a lot of the time, andi think and articulate a lot of the time, and i do lots of public speaking and find myself sitting there and not really knowing what i meant to say. that's the hardest thing for me, i think. what is your biggest concern as someone that's a professional, how is that impacting yourjob? you professional, how is that impacting your job? you are professional, how is that impacting yourjob? you are talking about brainfog, yourjob? you are talking about brain fog, what else happens?m yourjob? you are talking about brain fog, what else happens? it has impacted myjob so much, and to take a lot of time off work in the middle of the summer. not actually when i first got covid, i tried to struggle through and then i got to a point where i got shingles as a result of having the virus which was probably even worse than having the virus in many ways, really unpleasant. it just means i will have to drop everything and that's really difficult. i run a charity, and the ceo and there's days i can't work andi ceo and there's days i can't work and i have never not worked. i'm

also a parent. and at the time when it happened really sadly my husband had a terrible accident. they were trying to parent without actually being able to. i don't know if this will be forever or i will be able to work normally again and to run again. it'sjust so work normally again and to run again. it's just so unsure, work normally again and to run again. it'sjust so unsure, really. are you getting yourself checked out, i'm sorry to hear of this is such an awful time, are you being referred to any specialists?|j referred to any specialists?” finally got a referral to specialist there will be seeing his chest specialist in their checking my heart. she said there's worries about organ damage. i am doing everything i can to help myself and i'm seeing lots of therapists and eating what i can, but generally i don't think gps really know what to don't think gps really know what to do because it's only really been recognised very recently that it's

actually a condition, i think basically people thought you got covid you died or got better, so i'm getting help now but it has taken me until now to get that and it's been since march really. really important you shared that with us, thank you so much for talking us through it. good luck. the queen has carried out her first public engagement — outside a royal residence — in seven months. the queen did not wear a face mask as she and her grandson, prince william, visited the defence science and technology laboratory at porton down, in wiltshire. everyone who came into the contact with the royals had tested negatively for covid before the visit. ‘cliffside camping' requires a head for heights and nerves of steel — but the views are second—to—none. the bbc‘s tim muffett has been to try it out. well, at least you do not have to pitch a tent. hi, tim, how's it going? this is it then? yeah, this is it. portland in dorset, where eddie young is a finding

that a lot of people want to try cliff camping. the idea of cliff camping is you come to the cliff edge, you make sure you have some safety equipment on, then you abseil, you have a really nice relaxing evening, as relaxing as it can be, and then we leave it to have a good night's sleep. because everybody has been literally cooped up for such a long time, i think they just want to escape. the tourism industry has been transformed by the pandemic. during the summer there were days when the uk's beaches were packed. foreign travel for many no longer an option. but many went to the seaside on last—minute day—trips so hotels and bed and breakfasts did not necessarily see the benefit. visit britain's latest forecast is for a a9% decline in domestic tourism spending this year. that is £a5 billion loss to the economy. at the moment, the rules and regulations are changing so frequently, a lot of the outdoor centres have diversified to offering camping so that's been

a saving grace for them. this feels so weird. how's that feeling? i have done a few camping trips but nothing quite like this. unless you are a climber, going into the biggest top mountains, you do not really get this experience. so this is where i'm supposed to sleep. how do i go to the loo? it's a bit graphical to...can you see this tube that we've got down here? if you do need to go, when you have to go then you've got to be very balanced and delicate and you need to aim it into a plastic bag and then put the plastic bag in that sealed unit. we do not want to do is have an effect on the environment. i might wait till the cameras stop. fantastic. if you allow me escape as well, that'd be great. many businesses are having to adapt to survive. offering something different can help and, when it comes to camping, this is different. right then, time to get

into my sleeping bag. the most socially distanced camping experience you could wish for. tim muffett, bbc news. ican i can safely say rather tim than me. hello. most of us saw some occasional sunshine today through what was a fair amount of cloud, especially across the eastern side of the uk, and though high—pressure is close by that cloud is delivering a few showers, and you could still see a few of these dotted about across the uk as we go into the night and some patching and light rain and drizzle and this fairly thick cloud across northern and eastern areas of scotland. here's the western side of the uk, most likely to get any prolonged clear spells, temperatures may end up being a bit lower than this in the morning, some spots close to freezing perhaps. a touch of frost and one or two mist and fog patches. tomorrow variable cloud, some sunny spells, a few of these mostly light showers scattered about, it's like northern counties

of northern england, south wales, southwest england. sharing best throughout the afternoon sunshine. for the most partjust a gentle northeasterly breeze, but that is coming in from a rather cool direction of course, that means temperatures are a little bit below the average for the time of year, a little change in the weather with these temperatures into the weekend.

this is bbc news. joe biden might look like he's cruising to victory. but then why are so many more republicans registering to vote than democrats? we take a look at the warning signs behind the democrats' rosy poll numbers. both candidates will attend a 0&a session with voters tonight — same time, different network. nothing like a bit of primetime tv wars. also in the programme.... twitter and facebook have taken down a story aboutjoe biden's son. are they censoring our right to make our own mind up, or increasingly savvy about foreign disinformation? and a warning from the who europe must act quickly to curb the spread of covid—19, with germany and italy reporting