boris johnson faces pressure from dozens of his own mps over covid—19 restrictions in the north of england. the region they say has been hit by disruption unparalleled in other parts of the country — and they urge him to spell out an exit plan. we are asking people to give up huge civil liberties, businesses to close, people to live on two thirds of their normal wages. i don't think it's unreasonable to say that the other side of that coin should be show us the way out. as other areas in the north east of england look set for the toughest restrictions, businesses ask — why us? in london, the disease is down there, the disease is rampant down there, like it is up here, but they don't seem to be getting put into lockdown, whereas when we are put into lockdown we struggle, massively. we'll be looking at the pressures

being faced by communities as millions of people live with the toughest restrictions. also tonight. levels of covid—19 antibodies in people who've had the virus diminish quite rapidly, new research has found. with exactly one week to go before election day in the us, we look at the electoral challenges for donald trump and joe biden. i'm for donald trump and joe biden. live in warm sprin with i'm live in warm springs georgia with joe i'm live in warm springs georgia withjoe biden i'm live in warm springs georgia with joe biden is i'm live in warm springs georgia withjoe biden is making a campaign stop, in this normally rock solid republican state. is that sign of growing democrat confidence? and dancing to their own tune — we speak to two women of colour — who've made it in the arts. and coming up on bbc news. denmark's fc midtjylland may be billed as champions league minnows, butjurgen klopp doesn't see the debutantes as a small club, ahead of their clash against liverpool.

good evening. the prime minister is under pressure to clarify his covid—19 strategy scientists have found that immunity to coronavirus may decline sooner than had previously thought. a study by imperial college london found the number of people with covid—19 antibodies had fallen by around a quarter betweenjune and september. adults under the age of 2a had the highest levels of antibodies — but those over 75 the lowest. here's our science correspondent rebecca morelle. antibodies are the immune system's best defence against covid—19. they block the virus from entering our cells, and stay around in case of reinfection, but the latest research has found they don't last long. it does suggest that immunity is likely to wane over time, after you've been infected,

and we're now about six months past that first wave of infection. this is not particularly surprising because seasonal coronaviruses, which we have known about for a long time, do tend to produce some immunity but it does wane after six to 12 months. this is one of the largest surveys of its kind, carried out across england on more than 350,000 people. injune, scientists found that 6% of adults who had been tested had detectible coronavirus antibodies. by september, these had fallen to 4.4%. that is a drop of more than a quarter in a matter of months. and the fastest decline was seen in people aged over 75, and in those who had had the virus with no symptoms. so does this mean you can get covid twice? there have now been a few confirmed cases of reinfection, but it's not yet clear whether symptoms are less severe

the second time around because the body's defences are already primed, and scientists are studying other parts of the immune system, like t—cells, to see if they play a longer lasting role. all of this has implications for the vaccines in development around the world. if natural immunity doesn't last long, what does this mean for them? i think we should remain optimistic about the up—and—coming sars vaccines. they will work in very different ways to drive the immune response. and so we could remain hopeful that they will indeuce a more robust and long lasting immune response that will protect people for much longer than natural infection would. it may well be that future covid vaccines need to be administered more than once. achieving herd immunity is unlikely without a vaccine, especially if antibodies to natural infection are shortlived. so for now, it means everyone‘s sticking to the rules of hands, face and space, as there's still much we need to learn

about coronavirus and immunity. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the latest government figures show the uk recorded the largest number of deaths in a single day since the end of may, 367 deaths were reported over the week to last tuesday. that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week 200 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 45,365. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. we have had more figures today about the number of deaths. that figure of 367 new daily reporteds in the uk will be surprising to many people, it is up considerably on the previous day, but we do get this tuesday effect of deaths not being reported over the weekend so it a volatile series but to get a broader pick chafer what is going on, it is

interesting to look at excess deaths, that is the number over and above what you would expect from all causes so above what you would expect from all causes so let us look at a chart which incorporates some of the latest data out today. for the uk. you can see that is the five year average that line, which shows for each month how many people on average have died, a bit higher in the early months of the year. let us ta ke the early months of the year. let us take a closer look at this year so far, and you can see, here, it was more or less on the average, then a big spike in april and may, because of covid. that red area is official covid—19 deaths, the blue on top of thatis covid—19 deaths, the blue on top of that is other excess death, some of which may be indirectly related to covid because people didn't seek hospital treatment at the time. for the rest of year it falls back to the rest of year it falls back to the five year average, but has started going up a bit, in the last few weeks, that is the red area at the end there, and the excess deaths is covid deaths in the most recent

week, 6% above the average but well below where we were in april and may. secondary school attendance in england has fallen further due to covid—19 — down from 87% to 83%. and there is growing evidence the picture is far worse in many parts of the north of the country. a coalition of business and council leaders in the north says the government needs to think again about the fairness of next year's exams. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports now from 0ldham. 0ldham has been hit hard by coronavirus, its schools feeling the impact. teachers and pupils self—isolating, just keeping going sometimes a challenge. as a school of 1500, to have 900 children out makes it nigh on impossible to be able to operate normally. to have a quarter of my teaching staff isolating for two weeks, even though they will do their best online in giving every bit of support to a child, it doesn't beat being in the classroom

with that expert. for you, is this part of the same bigger debate about fairness, about free school meals? i think our major concern is that if you're a young person hearing this information now, your value, your worth, your dignity isn't really being respected in the same way it should be. the national figures don't tell the full story of what's happening across the north of england, where data we have seen shows that a third of teacher cases of coronavirus at one point were in the north—west of england, and pupil attendance in secondary schools has fallen as low as 60 or 70%, raising huge questions about the fairness of next year's exams. because many schools in the south have reached half—term barely affected. maths, english, science, rs, history. like many parents in 0ldham, kelly is worried. gabriel is due to sit gcses next year. i think they'll try and make us sit them as much as possible,

so i'm hoping we will. but i also think there is a good possibility we won't be. ijust don't think it's a level playing field, if students are in school down south because they're not as badly affected compared to a lot of the young people up in the north. it's adding a great deal of pressure to them. we would like a plan b that is an ongoing assessment. for teachers like vic, it has been exhausting. he is self—isolating after contact with a case. day—to—day it's been really difficult to plan for education in the classroom. really difficult to plan who is going to be in the classroom, really challenging. no planning. you've had cover lesons being done, you've had teachers covering each other, which has seen an increase in work load, stress. schools in the north fear a winter of disruption. back up plans for exams are promised by christmas. plans needed to ensure fairness from north to south. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, 0ldham.

the prime minister is under pressure to clarify his covid—19 strategy after more than 50 conservative mps signed a letter describing the situation in northern england as "unparalleled." the mp5, who make up the newly—formed northern research group, have written to borisjohnson, pressing him for a "clear road—map" out of the tough restrictions their areas face. and they warn that the pandemic threatens the prime minister's pledge to "level up" northern communities. all of the highlighted areas are presently — or soon to be — under the toughest tier 3 restrictions by thursday, and they're all in the north west or in the midlands. is extremely limited. and pubs and bars not selling meals are closed. the central belt in scotland, and the whole of northern ireland are also under similar controls — while the whole of wales is in a "fire break" national lockdown. there's speculation that areas of north east england and west yorkshire could be the next

areas to enter tier 3. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth is in wakefield in west yorkshire for us now. with winter on the way, wakefield is wondering what next? people here are living with high level restriction, worried there are tougher rules still to come. for amy who open her plant shop months ago, the prospect of any long lockdown is daunting. trying us best every day, every like local person that still gets up and comes in, despite the worry and the scaremongering that is going on, just don't forget we are here and we need that support, because otherwise, we are going to decline. this city centre, like so many, has been hit hard in recent months, it was one of the seats the tories took from labourfor was one of the seats the tories took from labour for the first time in decades at the last election. with a promise of investment and attention, plans pushed off course by

coronavirus. in his shop off the high street scott says it will take a lot to help businesses bounce back. if you walk round wakefield at the minute, there is probably 20 or 30 shot shops completely shut. we need encouragements to get people backin need encouragements to get people back in to the town centres the and spending we are not getting the help we need. do you think the government will deliver on its promisesm we need. do you think the government will deliver on its promises if they don't they will get a backlash from the north. simple as that. that is fearfor the north. simple as that. that is fear for several of this region's tory mps. they are calling for a clear route out of lockdown for parts of the north that have lived with restrictions for some time. we are asking people to give up celebrity, i don't think it is runable celebrity, i don't think it is ru nable to say celebrity, i don't think it is runable to say show us the way out, but we need to move beyond covid into the recovery stage. there is no exact science to lifting local rule, it is kept under constant review, the fear for it is kept under constant review, the fearfor some is it is kept under constant review, the fear for some is lasting economic damage, exacerbating

existing north south divides. part of this is the fact some of these mps want to be seen to be sticking up mps want to be seen to be sticking upfor mps want to be seen to be sticking up for their communities and they claim it is not an attack on the government. but it is a stark reminder for number ten, some government. but it is a stark reminderfor number ten, some of some of the places that feel most bruced are the very areas boris johnson has promised a bright efutu re. johnson has promised a bright efuture. ministers insist that is still the ambition. i absolutely share my colleagues frustration at restriction, but i share their passion and ambition for the north. we will absolutely will remain committed to investing in infrastructure, and investing in education and skill, in newjob placements. back in wakefield, there isa placements. back in wakefield, there is a sense of weary resignation about what is to come, even as people try to enjoy half—term at a local cafe. there is not a lot we can do about it. we just have to do the best we can, really. i think the government have handled it well, whoever they are, because it's, the unknown to everyone. how these local

economies are rebuilt after this pandemic though, could determine how this political landscape looks in future. the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has been setting out the details of scotland's tiered covid restrictions. she addressed msps at holyrood this afternoon. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith is in glasgow for us now. sarah, so tell us which areas face what? well, there will be five levels of restrictions in scotland. numbers from 0 to 4 with levels one two and three roughly corresponding to the rules in england. nicola sturgeon said they are considering moving north and south lanarkshire into the highest tier four, there are five other area, that could be moved down into level one, so they would have far fewer restrictions and there would be some relief for hospitality, for restaurants and pubs which are currently shut across

the central belt of scotland. in level three areas, they would be allowed to open, until 6pm but not serve alcohol, in level two areas, pubs and restaurants could serve drinks indoors with a main meal up to 8pm. currently you can't have a drink indoors at all. the scottish conservatives listening to this said they want a business advisory council to be set up by the scottish government to consultant on these restrictions as they change going forward. sarah, thank you very much. our top story this evening. new research has found that levels of covid antibodies in people who have had the virus diminish quickly. farmers worn thousands of foreign workers will be needed next year to pick fruit and vegetables. coming up on sportsday on bbc news. after nine months with no games, great britain's men's and women's team are back in action with matches

against the netherlands. in exactly one week's time, voters in america will be deciding who the next president of the united states will be. this election has already proved remarkable for the record number of postal votes and early voting going on in many states. while the democratic candidate joe biden is currently leading president trump in the national polls, that doesn't guarantee victory. the race is very much still on, and our north america editorjon sopel is in one of the states being watched very closely — georgia — for us tonight. jon. although there are 50 states that make up the usa, presidential candidates tend to any campaign in about ten. the other a0 are safe as houses, republican, safe as houses, democrat, butjoe biden has come to georgia, one of those states that

traditionally has voted republican. is this a sign that times are changing? 0ne one week to go, and joe biden has georgia of all places on his mind. no democrat has won here in decades but polls suggest this once rock—solid republican state is there for the taking. though famous southern hospitality was markedly absent from the trump supporters leading the road where the democrat candidate was speaking. so where are we with the race between donald trump andjoe we with the race between donald trump and joe biden? the key to this election is what happens in the swing states. joe biden has a steady lead in wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania, the three northern industrial states that propelled donald trump to victory in 2016, but he's also level or ahead in iowa, georgia, north carolina and arizona.

and it is the same picture in florida and texas. and werejoe biden to win one of the last two states, it's hard to see how donald trump can win. the remarkable phenomenon about this election is early voting. in 2016, 130 5 phenomenon about this election is early voting. in 2016,130 5 million americans cast a ballot in the presidential election. with a week to go, so far, more than 60 million americans have already voted and that means if turnout remains the same, well, nearly half of americans have already voted. what is also astonishing as the number of young people who voted early. in 2016, in michigan, 7000 people aged between 18 and 29 went to the polls before polling day. this time round it is over 1a0,000 so far. in other words, a20 over 1a0,000 so far. in other words, a 20 fold increase. and it's a similar story in florida and north carolina. and in georgia, that number is 31,02016. it's already

170,000 this year —— was 30,000 in 2016. these are numbers thought to favour the democrats massively, but donald trump says he's confident that next tuesday there will be a red wave of his supporters coming to vote that will propel him to victory. he is doing multiple rallies a day. today he is en route to michigan, wisconsin and nebraska. and there is a sophisticated data mining operation that takes place at these events, ensuring that everyone who attends is also registered to vote. this was his successful 2016 playbook. now, if you believe the polls, you would rather be injoe biden's shoes than donald trump at the moment and there is growing confidence in the democratic party camp. but four years ago, with a week to go until polling day, hillary clinton was feeling pretty confident. and we all know what happened a week later. and for our clear and simple guide to the us election,

explaining how it works, and allowing you to enter certain words and phrases to find out more, please go to bbc.co.uk/news or to the bbc news app. two adults and two children aged five and eight have died after a boat carrying migrants sank near dunkirk. french officials have said a search and rescue operation began earlier today after the vessel was seen earlier today after the vessel was seenin earlier today after the vessel was seen in difficulty. 15 others have been taken to hospital. caroline davies is here with me now. a tragic story, and what more do we know? we know that the boat was seen at around 930 local time which means it was reported to the french authorities about two kilometres from the french coast, and by the time the authorities got there it is reported that the boat had already sunk. 18 people were rescued from the water, some of those are in hospital in dunkirk and in calais,

and at the moment it is thought they are from iran. the home secretary here priti patel has said she is truly saddened to learn of the loss of life and has said that the uk has offered her french counterpart whatever support they need. it does come at a time when we've seen an increasing number of people making the very dangerous journey, more than 7a00 migrants have reached the uk in small boats this year, up from last year by 1825. caroline, thank you. a police officer who strangled his lover after she exposed their affair to his wife has been cleared of murder. constable timothy brehmer killed nurse claire parry in a pub car park in may. the two had been having a secret relationsip for more than 10 years. pc brehmer had previously admitted manslaughter and said mrs parry‘s death was an accident. he will be sentenced at salisbury crown court tomorrow. the labour party has confirmed that its leader sir keir starmer was involved in what it called

a "minor traffic accident" on sunday. it's understood the labour leader was driving in the kentish town area of north london when the incident happened around midday on sunday. a cyclist was taken to hospital after a collision with a car. a security steward has told the manchester arena inquiry has apologised to one of the mothers of the victims after posting an offensive message on facebook. kyle lawlor saw the bomb in the poyet, and was 18 at the time but failed to raise the alarm. at the start of this year this offensive post appeared on facebook attacking the idea of a new law named after the man who died at manchester arena. aimed at martin's mother, the author said, he'd had enough of listening toa said, he'd had enough of listening to a woman who clearly still has no idea of what actually happened and is honestly still blaming others. today, she sat at the back of the courtroom as the man responsible for the abuse sorry to her.

courtroom as the man responsible for the abuse sorry to herlj courtroom as the man responsible for the abuse sorry to her. i didn't mean to cause any harm or upset within that post. i had been dealing within that post. i had been dealing with a difficult period and for that, i would like to apologise to anybody that it caused offence to. kyle lawler was at manchester arena on the night of the bomb. then 18, he was working as a steward along with another teenager. the two saw a man with a rucksack who they thought it looked suspicious. it was the bomber, salman abedi, who had been in the lobby for an hour. kyle lawler said he tried unsuccessfully to radio the control room but cctv shows him apparently unconcerned as he walked away without approaching salman abedi. you said this, i was scared of being wrong. you were concerned that if you approached him and he was just some innocent kid that people might think you are a

racist. yes. a few minutes later, salman abedi detonated his bomb. few —— today, kyle lawler said he wished he had spoken to him and has suffered terrible guilt. tonight, martin hit‘s mother offered to meet him and accept his apology to the facebook post. farmers say they will still need to employ thousands of foreign workers to pick fruit and vegetables next year — despite the pick for britain campaign to recruit more people from the uk. the national farmers' union says this summer only 11% of the workforce were uk residents, and the government needs to do more to help the industry after brexit. jon kay reports. it's cold and early. but in the cotswolds, they are hard at work. this farm advertised for more british pumpkin pickers this year, but everyone here is from romania. we're quite happy to have british

workers, we will invest in them in their training and being able to do the job, but theyjust don't come and apply for the jobs. theyjust don't come down the road. is there more you could do as an industry, in terms of pay or conditions, that might attract more? well, a lot of the work we do is on bonus, so it's above minimum wage. i'm not really sure what we could do. pick fruit, pick veg. this government backed campaign aimed to recruit thousands of home—grown workers this summer to pick for britain, to fill any gaps caused by the pandemic and brexit. according to the national farmers' union, the number of uk residents doing seasonaljobs did increase, but they still only made up 11% of the total workforce. one of the uk's biggest recruiting agencies told us they had had tens of thousands of brits apply for picking work, but only 1% of them stayed the course.

it's hard physical labour. this recruiter says the government urgently needs to find a solution for next year's harvest. both covid and brexit, we have a potential armageddon in the industry, and fruit being left in fields, and then that's not what anyone wants to see. ministers say they are working hard on a new immigration system to benefit the industry long—term. with unemployment rising, there could be more to domestic interest in this kind of work next year. in the meantime, the politics are getting more intense. some farmers have told us that if they can't get the labour they need in future, they'll just stop growing things like pumpkins, peas and beans, that require lots of people, and instead, they will harvest wheat and barley mechanically. so they say this could change not only what we farm in britain, but also what we eat. jon kay, bbc news, in the cotswolds.

britain's arts sector has been badly hit by the pandemic — with jobs lost, theatres closed, and cultural events put on hold. times are even more challenging for people from ethnic minority backgrounds trying to make their way in an industry where they are under—represented. as part of black history month, our community affairs correspondent adina campbell has been speaking to two women of colour, who've made it to the top. in this painting, tell me what you see. the ship tries to distance itself from the nightmare. this latest play by winsome pinnock explores race and slavery. it was due to open in manchester just days before the lockdown in march. how dare he make something so ugly beautiful. but like many other theatre productions, it's been put on hold. the play could not have come at a more poignant time, just months after the death of george floyd in the us. my generation have been trying

to speak about this for decades. we have been trying to write about these things. we've witnessed these deaths. this is not new to us. we have lived with it. winsome pinnock was the first black female writer to stage a play at the royal national theatre. she's also written for shows like eastenders. you run home and tell your mum and dad. but in the arts, she's still very much the minority. why do you think it is taking so long to have this equal representation? because if you are given power, then why would you think to give it up? that, dare i say it, colonial mentality. there's also a lack of diversity in ballet, but bucking the trend is francesca heywood, who started dancing at the age of three.

i was meant to make my debut in the main role of swan lake a week after lockdown happened. these coveted roles are even more special for people like francesca. looking back, all my role models, they do look like me. maybe race is something i never really liked to talk about, but i've actually realised i would regret not talking about it, and i should be really shining a light on the fact that i'm here. do you think there is enough diversity in representation, not just in ballet, but in the arts in general? i think the arts have still a long way to go. despite the challenges, both women are positive about the future. we are seeing writers who look like me move from the fringes on to the main stages. my ultimate hope is there will be so many more mixed race and black ballerinas after me, and that i hope they won't have to be singled out and asked about their race, that it isjust

a part of them as it is for me. edina campbell, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. after the grey skies earlier, a taste of what is to come tomorrow for some of you. a day of sunshine and at times heavy and thundery showers accompanied by some fairly blustery winds. the winds will be picking up through tonight a mixture of clear skies and showers most frequent in the west and the persistent rain makes it to 0rkney and shetland where you had the best of today's sunshine. the clearest conditions overnight were eased in scotla nd conditions overnight were eased in scotland and eastern england and another cold night with temperatures down to three or a degrees but as the chart shows tomorrow, low pressure from the north atlantic but the wind is pushing a long way across the atlantic towards us which will rip up some rough and dangerous seas to the west of the uk and ireland, and that is something to be wary. it is in the west and across the english channel coastal counties

where we will see the