this is bbc news. the headlines: the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest level since 2008 as a result of the corona pandemic. you can't stop people having heart attacks, or strokes, or slipping on the ice and breaking their wrists or hips, but you can control the flow of coronavirus patients. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer. 15.5%, but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the pandemic and there are warnings that it will slow again. that recovery, slow coming into the autumn, it's likely that that slowdown will be continued given the necessary restrictions we've had to put in place to control the spread of the

virus. turmoil in downing street as one of the closest advisers to the primers to quicks as head of communications in behind inviting. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies, and the attempted murder of ten babies at a hospital in chester. a major new study shows black people are twice as likely to catch coronavirus than white people. and also this hour, something to look forward to. a long bank holiday weekend to mark the queen's platinum jubilee in 2022. good afternoon. the number of people waiting more than a year for

hospital treatment in england has hit its highest level since 2008. patients are meant to be seen within 18 weeks, but nearly 140,000 people are on the waiting list at the end of september and have been waiting for more than a year. health officials say cutting the number of coronavirus cases is crucial in tackling this backlog. 0ur health correspondent has more details. stephanie was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer injuly, after finding a suspicious mole. the 43—year—old pharmacist was told she should have surgery in four weeks, but it took nearly three months. waiting for my operation to come round, i did feel alone, i felt scared. depression. anxiety. just not knowing, and not having any

contact with anyone, and having to phone the hospital to chase up times, timescales for appointments for these operations. it's hard. stephanie fears the delay has made her condition worse. she will find out if her cancer had spread further in a few weeks, and says without her family's support, she wouldn't be able to cope. i work for the nhs myself, so i understand the pressure the nhs is under with covid, and how it has been dealt with, but if it wasn't for those i feel i would totally be on my own. coronavirus has consumed the health service. the latest figures for september show the number of patients waiting for more than a year for routine operations is the highest it's been since 2008. nhs england say nearly 140,000 people waited more than 12 months. in total, there are now more than 4.3 million on the waiting list. if you want the nhs to look after the patients we see over winter when we are at our most stretched, if you want us to deal with covid patients coming in, and recover those backlogs,

the bit you can control is the number of covid patients. you can't stop people having heart attacks, strokes, slipping over on the ice. cancer services are now back to pre—pandemic levels but there is still a significant backlog. these latest figures also don't take the pressures of the second wave into account, with cancellations of non—urgent work already happening. anoushka found a cyst on her breast injune. she sought medical advice but was repeatedly told it was benign. as a last resort she went to her local a&e where she was diagnosed with breast cancer. i feel very angry that i was not diagnosed earlier. seek treatment, don't be deterred. yes, covid is a factor, but there is a lot more going on out there. anna collinson, bbc news. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle is with me now.

people will be really alarmed when they hear that stat about some people waiting more than a year. this is for routine procedures, but imean, this is for routine procedures, but i mean, these are still things that are very, very important to a lot of people. explain more about that. yes, they are. they are knee and hip replacements, cataract surgery for eyesight problems and over the summer eyesight problems and over the summer there was eyesight problems and over the summer there was a eyesight problems and over the summer there was a big push by the nhs to get back to doing more of this non—covid work, and let's have a look to see, and we can see a chart to see how they have been doing. hospitals have been struggling to carry out as many operations as they did prior to the pandemic, and we can see that these are the long waiting list, patients waiting over a yearfor are the long waiting list, patients waiting over a year for treatment. this time last year there was only just over a thousand on the waiting list who had waited over a year, but during the pandemic numbers have been increasing and now they have hit nearly 140,000. that added to a

waiting list of over 4 million, so still a smack —— a small fraction but gives an idea of the pandemic, and we call these routine operations but the royal college of surgeons has come out today to point out that these are patients who are left in pain, often unable to get on with independent lives that they had previously led, so they say it's a really serious problem that the nhs must get on top of. but hugely difficult. that is a gargantuan task, and how much confidence is there amongst medics you speak to that they can do it? and i am wondering as well if there are differences depending on which part of the country you live in. there are differences, and we are seeing some of the more severe problems in the north where the infection levels are higher and we have seen more hospitals cut back on this nonurgent work. the thing the nhs is having to do because of the pressure from covid is prioritised, so for example, we know cancer services are back to the pre—pandemic levels in

terms of the numbers of patients who getan terms of the numbers of patients who get an urgent checkup and the numbers of patients who are receiving treatment. there is still quite a backlog to be seen but they are back seeing as many as they were this time last year, but what it has meant is that those waiting for what are perhaps some would say less urgent conditions are having to wait longer. the nhs does have a massive task trying to catch up with this. there was a push over the summer, but the problem is that we are seeing rising numbers of patients admitted to hospital for coronavirus. at the end of september when the figures relate to, there we re when the figures relate to, there were just when the figures relate to, there werejust 2000 in hospital in england but there are now five times that number and that is why we are hearing of hospitals almost on a weekly basis having to cut back, and the fear is that waiting lists for these routine treatments will get worse. nick, for now, thank you very much. the uk economy came out of recession, with record growth between july and september,

but still remains below where it was before the pandemic began. the chancellor rishi sunak says there is cause for cautious optimism but he added it's going to be a difficult winter, and analysts expect the economy to shrink again because of the impact of new coronavirus restrictions. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. growth was up by three months to september as a result of the lifting of restrictions on the eat out to help out scheme but the news was not enough to reverse the damage caused by coronavirus on the lockdown. the economy is still more than 8% smaller than when the virus hit. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. today's figures refer back to what now seems a bygone era — july to september. with lockdown over, restrictions lifted and half price fry—ups at taxpayers' expense, economic activity rose by a record 15.5%. at this exeter pub, business was up by 30% in august,

though it slowed down in september, and now once again it's a bit dead. eat out to help 0ut was absolutely fantastic for us. we were turning away so many people, and we were very busy. our trade was around 25% up on the previous year in august, so we felt that this money that we make in august will probably be used to get us through the hard winter ahead. but in some parts of the economy, there was no summer bounce—back. this 3d printing company makes models for exhibition and was growing before the pandemic struck. it really just took the feet away from us. how do i reduce my costs? how do i avoid spending any money? how do i get through with little or no income? as a limited company owner, gavin was among up to 2.9 million people excluded from most government support. he's tried to adapt by shifting from physical models to computer—aided design, but it's a long haul.

well, i've had some success there, but it'll take a long time to build that up from a very low base, and it'll be a year or two before that fills in all the activity that we were previously doing. just as the economy shrank by record amounts when restrictions were imposed in the spring, so it grew by record amounts when those restrictions were lifted, but at the end of september it was still a tenth smaller than it was at the end of 2019, and the bank of england's predicting that in the fourth quarter it will shrink again. what the figures today show is that the economy was recovering over the summer, but, yes, that recovery is slowing down coming into the autumn and it is likely that has continued as a result of the health restrictions we have necessarily had to put in place to suppress the spread of the virus. but there are reasons for cautious optimism. improvements in mass testing being rolled out, news on the vaccine, though early days. but the drop in activity of nearly

10% since the start of the year is more than twice as large as in italy, or germany or france. our country is experiencing the worst downturn in the g7. we have a long way to go and of course we are back in lockdown again now, so i would agree with the chancellor on this. unfortunately, we are likely to see a very severe impact from that feeding into the last quarter of this year's figures. a recovery needs businesses to invest and business investment is still down from a fifth from its pre—covid level. vaccination will do more to change that than any government policy, but for most of us that's still months away. andy verity, bbc news. i'll be talking to a business owner about the impact of running a business. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam said the government's top priority would now be to ensure the economic recovery continues despite the threat posed by the pandemic.

it's clearly welcome, the technical recession is over, clearly welcome we have had a record quarter of growth over the summer, but history happens very quickly in this crisis, and that is in the kind of rear—view mirror now. now most people expect the economy is contracting by a smaller amount than the previous lockdown and there are clouds on the economy in terms of the continued uncertainty over our trading relationship with europe, but there is also a big ray of sunshine which is the prospect of a functioning vaccine. that should help people, you know, big businesses, trying to invest for next year, think, 0k, there is a prospect of the economy recovering. so far what we have is a catch up recovery from lights going back on in the economy, but not a full—blown recovery. faisal islam there. to find out how this is affecting bushiness

in the real economy, we can speak now to patricia michelson, owner of the delicatessen la formagerie which has three shops in london. very good afternoon to you and i hope you are hearing me 0k. very good afternoon to you and i hope you are hearing me ok. i mean, goodness, you are a very specialist operation. just explain a little to the audience what the last few months have been like for you and your team. seven months, and it's been a very interesting seven months, a trial, but we think on our feet and we reinvent the shopping space all the time and it has obviously lost momentum, the month we are now in, we are closed down in central london, with no shops at all except for our marylebone shop and

the highbury shop being in the suburbs, that's great, that's doing fine. 0ur bloomsbury shop, sadly, in an area right in the heart of the city is also suffering. but we are reinventing ourselves and doing lots of home deliveries, suppers to go, lots of virtual tutorials but we have lost out on the wholesale to restau ra nt have lost out on the wholesale to restaurant and are doing a massive amount online, so things are not great, but we are chugging along. we are doing our best. it's interesting you mention restaurants, because i assume a lot of what you do is supplying local restaurants and we all know about the parlous situation that a lot of them are in. that must have had a knock—on. that a lot of them are in. that must have had a knock-on. absolutely. i have had a knock-on. absolutely. i have a restaurant site to my business, a bar and restaurant side, and of course that has suffered, and all the people who would be working in the restaurant side are working

doing things for the online supper clu bs doing things for the online supper clubs and things like that. i think it is tragic that all of our hospitality had spent a huge amount of money restyling their restaurants and putting in all the ppe in and then as soon as they've got it up and running, they are told to close down again for a month. it is just crazy. i just don't down again for a month. it is just crazy. ijust don't know what down again for a month. it is just crazy. i just don't know what the future holds. i really don't. in terms of forward planning, at the moment, we are all looking to the date of december the 2nd and we don't know what will happen then and i'm interested, as a business owner, and you're talking about how nimble business owners have had to be. can you plan for that date? what do you do? do you work on the assumption that it would be later than that date, and i wonder what you do and how you keep your staff going, and furlough and all of those issues. it's not just furlough, furlough and all of those issues. it's notjust furlough, it is keeping the staff working here in a

good frame of mind, a positive frame of mind because everybody needs to be on the movement, it's like a pantomime, he's behind you? is he behind you? we just don't know, and we have to work everyday as it comes and make sure that are servicing the public and our customers as best as we possibly can and give them a christmas that will not be the usual christmas, but let's give them a delicious christmas with all the things we have got, and we are bringing in loads of stuff, but whether we will sell it is another thing but i committed myself to products, to produce, to cheese, all sorts of things. i can't let the cheesemakers down by not taking it, so i've got all of this product and we have to sell it and i am urging eve ryo ne we have to sell it and i am urging everyone to shop local, remember

your beautiful shops that you could go shopping out every day, and just be positive, as positive as you can. we must work towards this, the 2nd of december, we will reopen and let see what we can do for the rest of the year. yes, well, we wish you and the year. yes, well, we wish you and the rest of the team the best in that. thank you very much. the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment in england has hit its highest levels since 2008 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer, 15.5%, but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the pandemic and there are warnings it will slow again. and there is turmoil in downing street as one of the prime minister's closest

advisers quits as head of communications in behind—the—scenes infighting. a study of 18 million people suggests that black people are twice as likely as white people to catch the coronavirus. the researchers at the universities of leicester and nottingham also found that asian people are 1.5 times more likely than white people to be infected and may be more likely to need intensive care. dr manish pareek, who is one of the lead researchers, joins me now. thank you very much for your time this afternoon. those are horrifying statistics. explain how much more you have been able to understand about why this is the case, quite simply? thanks very much. these are data which are brought together the published literature from the start of the pandemic from december last

year through to august this year, and all we have done is brought together all of the individual studies which have been looking at this in the last few months. we are trying to develop an overall risk in the different aspect groups, and there are three aspects, and one is infection, and there are increased risk of infection in certain ethnic groups, and the data on mortality and death is less clear and needs further work. in terms of the underlying reasons for that, i think there are a multitude of reasons, but it will come down to a variety of aspects coming together. firstly, household structure and multi—occupancy household structure and multi—occu pancy household. secondly, often individuals from different ethnic groups are working in front or key worker roles where they cannot necessarily shield or have an increase risk of exposure and we know in certain ethnic groups, certain underlying medical conditions like diabetes are more common, so we have a combination of

factors increasing the risk of infection that you mention. and all of that information can be used in public policy. the fact that they are, to pick one example, more likely to be key workers on the front line of this weather in hospitals or taxi drivers are all of thejobs we hospitals or taxi drivers are all of the jobs we know about that are so crucial to the running of everyday life. what should that say to politicians who are making decisions about how we protect people, and who we vaccinate, those sorts of topics. absolutely. i think public health messaging has to be really central to this end at the start of the pandemic when we first outlined this in april, the concerns we had, i think public health messaging was not so clear. it has improved over the last few weeks and months but it is an issue. public health messaging needs to be much clearer. if you are working on one of those key worker roles in the health system, occupational risk assessment is really key and i work in the nhs as well, and we undertake them locally,

andi well, and we undertake them locally, and i think that is important, but there are also studies under way to try and understand this much better andi try and understand this much better and i know there is a study looking at health workers and covid which will hopefully provide more clarity about which health care workers and from which ethnic groups within the key worker roles are at highest risk. i do want to add to your point about the vaccine. it's really good news what we've heard over the last few days about vaccination, but in the initial phases of the vaccine being available it's likely that the number of vaccines available, the supply line and supply chain, maybe, may be more limited. and i think the decision about the risk groups, who should be prioritised, will be very important and also very difficult decisions to make. don't forget, ethnic minority individuals are a risk group, but there are other risk groups. individuals who are very elderly, people with underlying health conditions and people who live in nursing homes, so these are important decisions that the

government and the committee that looks at vaccination needs to look at and think about very carefully. really, interesting to talk to you. thank you for your time again and good to hear from you again. talking about that latest research on those very sobering statistics about who is more likely to be infected with covid. just while i was talking, some fresh details coming through in terms of numbers. just reading that the number of covid infections rose sharply in october, double the number of cases being reported by the end of october compared to the start of the month stop this is all figures through from a study from imperial college london, so that is where the data is coming from. so, far more cases being reported by the end of october than we saw at the

beginning. perhaps our health correspondent is looking through the data and we will have a little more on that and a bit more context around that, but those are the initial details coming through from imperial college london. senior ministers insist they are focused on coronavirus of mid infighting. one of borisjohnson's key aides, lee cain, resigned as director of communications last night after disagreements about his possible promotion. labour and several conservative backbenchers have expressed dismay at the events at the heart of government. 0ur political correspondent chris mason reports. he resigned last night, but lee cain still turned up for work this morning, albeit heading into downing street via the back door. yes, i know, a person you've probably never heard of loses a job you didn't know he had, but office politics in the most political office in the land matters, because it shapes how we are governed.

the prime minister has a strong team around him and all of us, whether it's his advisers or the cabinet, are focused on the big task, which as you say is tackling the pandemic, helping to shepherd the country through this very challenging period, helping to preserve people's jobs in an economic downturn, and ensuring all the other things people care about are not neglected at the same time. it is those colossal issues that the government is dealing with that helps explain why this row about advisers at westminster matters. those around a prime minister matter hugely. those who have his ear and those that don't, and they are crucial in shaping a government's priorities, style and communication. lee cain, like fellow adviser dominic cummings, here on the left, is a veteran of the leave campaign in the eu referendum. you will remember mr cummings for that row about his trip to county durham during the first lockdown.

sorry i'm late. the word is mr cummings couldn't believe his eyes at what happened last night — mr cain being offered the job of chief of staff, then not offered it, leading him to pack it in. what happened in between, we understand, is carrie symonds, the prime minister's fiancee, intervened, suggesting it would be a mistake. she used to be the conservative party's director of communications and is very plugged in to what tory mps think. lee cain was already irritated at the appointment of allegra stratton as the government's spokeswoman. he wanted someone else to get the job. it really is time, i think, that downing street got in place what i think is known as somebody with big boy pants on, because a prime minister, particularly one facing the difficulties mrjohnson is facing, needs heavyweight help.

i think that the country looks on with astonishment, really, that on the day that the uk reaches 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic with less than 50 days to go until we leave the european union, that downing street is focusing on internal battles. lee cain is now working out his notice. the prime minister is working out how to manage his office and his government. chris mason, westminster, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is at westminster. for people who might be trying to follow this thinking, with the best will in the world, i've never heard of this chap, why should they be concerned? it is tempting to look at this and think, isn't this just one m, this and think, isn't this just one in, one out, a change of the guard in numberten, in, one out, a change of the guard in number ten, office politics coming to the fore but it is hugely significant but because we have the departure of one of the prime minister's key aides, a very small tea m minister's key aides, a very small team of trusted advisors the prime

minister has in downing street and lee cain was one of the longest serving aides and had been with him long before they entered downing street, so that is destabilising for a prime minister at any time to lose one of a handful of people who you have been relying on for advice and guidance, but the departure of lee cain has guidance, but the departure of lee ca i n has clearly guidance, but the departure of lee cain has clearly come in the wake of all of this infighting, the personality clashes, struggles for power and tensions in downing street and it has really exposed them to the fore, and i think that that is quite damaging for downing street and you will hear criticism levelled today about why we are focusing on infighting in downing street, the departure of age, when the government should be focusing on the pandemic. remember brexit negotiations are coming to the crunch and a couple of weeks but there will be those who think that this could mark a moment, a shift if you like, in the approach of downing street and certainly people in the tory party, in government, who want the prime minister to use lee cain's departure as a moment to reset and

change the approach of government, because there has been a lot of criticism within the party and within government about how number ten has been working. we will see how it unfolds. thank you for now. there are more patients in hospitals in wales with covid 19 than at any time including during the earlier peak of the pandemic. latest figures show 1,529 beds are occupied across the country 983 are with covid 19 patients. however, the number of people with the virus being treated in intensive care is lower than earlier peak. lockdown restrictions in northern ireland are due to end at midnight friday but it's not clear what happens next. the stormont executive is in political deadlock about whether hospitality and other small businesses should be allowed to reopen. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy is at stormont.

if you are a business owner, frankly, there is not long for politicians to make a decision. yes, and that has been the main complaint from the business sector saying, come on, you guys, give us a decision, because they say they cannot just decision, because they say they cannotjust open the doors tomorrow evenif cannotjust open the doors tomorrow even if the decision was to go their way because they need a few days to get staff back or longer to plan. coming in, and that has been the huge criticism levelled at the executive in the last few days. what we are seeing here at stormont is debate, discussion dragging on, sometimes late in the night, for four days now, because the five party coalition have not been able to reach a decision on where to go next. northern ireland entered a second period of lockdown restrictions four weeks ago and back then the dup was very reluctant to go into it at all saying it had to be time—limited, and now they want to see it coming to an end. sinn fein and other parties on the other hand are concerned it might be too early to open up, saying infection rates are still too high and we need

to protect the health service as there were 800 new cases on coronavirus in northern ireland just yesterday. in the $10 million question, are we likely to get a decision? is this going to drag on and on? who knows? we thought it was imminent at night after night and it hasn't come to pass. what has been going on behind the scenes, there was one plan on the table for a two—week extension and that was vetoed by the dup and there is a vetoed by the dup and there is a veto mechanism in the power—sharing government that allows them to do that and there was a one—week extension put on the table, also vetoed by the dup who have argued strongly that businesses cannot take any more and there are all sorts of unseen costs to additional restrictions and they are saying that we need to get things open, but it's a really difficult thing to resolve when you have five parties ina resolve when you have five parties in a coalition, a veto mechanism and so many conflicting arguments about people's health, the economy, and how much more the nhs can take.

emma, thank you very much for now. we will keep an eye on that and more to come in the next half an hour and we will pause right now and take a look at the weather prospects. here is chris. the weather has not been too bad today and for most of us we have seen a little bit of sunshine coming up seen a little bit of sunshine coming upfora time seen a little bit of sunshine coming up for a time and this was how things looked earlier in the day. however, cloud is thickening and we have rain on the way. this wet weather is moving in this evening, spreading across northern ireland and then into scotland, england and wales. 0n and then into scotland, england and wales. on and ahead of the weather front, the wind will get very gusty for a time front, the wind will get very gusty fora time and front, the wind will get very gusty for a time and we could see a few gusts getting up to 40 mph, so a blustery kind of night, relatively mild, especially ahead of the front with things cooling off behind the weather front across scotland and northern ireland later in the night. friday, we will see the wet and windy weather pushing east across the midlands, across east anglia and south—east england before clearing. in the afternoon, sunshine follows to most of the uk but we will also

see showers and they will be most frequent across north—western areas where they will be heavy and may be the odd clap of thunder. blustery conditions and temperatures between nine and 14 degrees. this is bbc news. the headlines: the number of people waiting over a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest levels since 2008 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer, 15.5%. but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic. and there are warnings that the economy will slow again. turmoil in downing street one of the prime minister's closest advisers quits as head of communications, in behind the scenes infighting. a nurse has appeared in court

charged with murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of ten babies, at a hospital in chester. a major new study shows black people are twice as likely to catch coronavirus than white people. and now the sport. it has been delayed by seven months but just 25 minutes it has been delayed by seven months butjust 25 minutes after the masters finally got under way, it is on hold again, this time because of bad weather at augusta national. the defending champion tiger woods was due to beginjust defending champion tiger woods was due to begin just before play was halted, and as you can see, wet weather made conditions very difficult, with parts of the course covered with pools of water. the threat of thunder and lightning and only three groups of players could com plete only three groups of players could complete their opening holes. no word yet on when play will start

again. we will let you know. now to again. we will let you know. now to a huge night for scotland and northern ireland with both nations one match away from qualifying for next summer's european championships. scotland need to go back to 1998 for the last time the men's reached a majorfinals, the world cup, and tonight that could all change. victory over serbia in belgrade and they would seal a place at next summer's euros.|j belgrade and they would seal a place at next summer's euros. i was four the last time scotland got to a major tournament and my generation has missed out on seeing scotland at major tournaments and you look back on old videos and talking to the family, how good the tartan army is, and we know what a good fan base we've got and how passionate they are and we want to see them at a tournament. we are the next group of lads that can go and achieve it. setback for serbia. their influential captain and the crystal

palace player has tested positive for coronavirus so he will miss tonight's match. they will be no supporters in belgrade but in belfast there will be exactly 1060 as northern ireland take on slovakia at windsor park. that is how many are allowed in because of social distancing. northern ireland ended a 30 year wait for a trip to a major finals by reaching euro 2016 and could now make it back european championships with a victory later tonight. captain steven davis says victory will be for the supporters and he is looking forward to having supporters back in the stadium. hopefully that will help us and we are disappointed not to have a full house because when we have a game of this magnitude you want the fans who have followed you through thick and thin to be there, to enjoy the moment, and difficult times for a lot of people. people will be looking to watch and hopefully we can give them something to look forward to in the future, off the back of what has been a difficult year. england will play the republic

of ireland in a friendly but they will be withoutjoe gomez, the liverpool defender will miss a significant part of the season after having surgery on a knee injury he sustained while straining for england. wales are also in action, against the usa. the fa have asked the government for special exemption to allow their nation's league match against iceland to take place at wembley. it is in doubt because iceland play in denmark days before that and currently there is a travel ban on people arriving from denmark. the ban is due to come into effect on saturday with germany also a potential venue. after resigning as the chairman of the fa on tuesday, greg clarke has now stepped down as vice president for fifa. his resignation comes after he used outdated and offensive racial comments in a parliamentary select committee hearing. it was also criticised in relation to comments about gay players and female players. jack willis will make his

england rugby union debut on saturday in their opening autumn nations cup match against georgia. eddiejones has nations cup match against georgia. eddie jones has named nations cup match against georgia. eddiejones has named the flanker alongside maro itoje while billy vunipola will start at eight and it will also be a big day for 0llie robbins who was not a test match for the first time. eddiejones says willis deserves the chance. he has worked really ha rd willis deserves the chance. he has worked really hard since he has been in camp and he came back in on some good club form, we have been impressed by his toughness and ability to get his head over the ball. very coachable, he mixes well with the squad, so a great opportunity for him. for details on all of those stories on the bbc sport website but that is all for now. studio: jane, thanks for joining us.

a nurse has appeared in court via videolink charged with murdering eight babies at a hospital in cheshire. 30 year old lucy letby is also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder. our correspondentjudith moritz is at warrington magistrates' court and sent this update. it was a short hearing, 12 minutes, before a district just, nicola sanders, and lucy letby was on a video link away from here, spoke to confirm her name, her date of birth and her address, only those things. she was not asked to enter any pleas, and the charges which she faces were read out to her and to the court. she is accused of the murder of, as you say, eight babies, of five boys, whose names were read out, including josephjohnson, barney g, joseph gelder and eli gelder, and of three girls, including, daisy parkin and maddie freed. she is also accused of the attempted murder of maddie freed and of another nine babies whose identities we can't report.

they are protected by a court order. as i say, she didn't enter any pleas. all we can tell you at this stage, these alleged murders and attempted murders are said to have happened betweenjune 2015 and june 2016 at the countess of chester hospital, where lucy letby was a nurse in the neonatal unit. she was remanded in custody and she was told she will next appear at court tomorrow. that will be at chester crown court tomorrow afternoon. judith moritz, there. an investigation into equal pay at the bbc has found no unlawful acts of pay discrimination against women. the equality and human rights commission opened an inquiry last year after complaints about large differences between the salaries of male and female presenters. but the watchdog has made a number of recommendations including a call for the bbc to improve transparency. david sillito reports. when the bbc was forced to publish the salaries of its highest paid stars, there was fury at the gap

between many male and female presenters and correspondents. there were protests demanding equal pay. the bbc admitted there was a problem and a number of women were given a pay increase. but an independent investigation says it has found no unlawful discrimination. however, it says there were issues with the system. i do understand the feelings of bbc women and i think it's important to remember that these are people who suffered considerably. we are talking about delays of two years in one case, more in others. feelings of anger and humiliation and distress and insomnia. and i think this goes to the really important findings that we've made in terms of inadequate record—keeping and inadequate communications and transparency in terms of the decision—making that was made. campaigners remain sceptical. the presenter samira ahmed won a pay tribunal and the fawcett society, which fights for equal pay, has doubts about the equality commission's investigation. i think the fact they reached that

conclusion really is based on what i can see to be quite a limited investigation. i think ten in—depth cases isn't really enough. i know it was very challenging for the commission, i know it's very resource intensive work, and undoubtedly, that has played a major factor in how they have approached it. the bbc has welcomed today's report and accepts there was a problem, and that it also needs to improve both transparency and trust with women in the corporation. david sillito, bbc news. more now on the departure of one of the prime minister's closest allies. lee cain will leave his role as director of communication at the end of the year, following disagreements over his possible promotion as borisjohnson's chief of staff. labour and some conservative mps have expressed frustration at the infighting at the heart of government. we can discuss that with someone who

was at the heart of power for more than a decade. jonathan powell was tony's blair chief of staff for over a decade. what do you make of what has been unfolding at number ten? it would be keystone cops of the situation in the country was not so great, given we have a coronavirus crisis with thousands of people dying and we are at the final stages of crucial negotiations, so this is not a time to have a breakdown of this sort. this is a serious problem. politics if full with ambitious and driven people —— is full. is it more than a clash of personalities? it is a systemic problem we have seen extraordinary incompetence from the government in the way it has handled the coronavirus crisis and other issues, with constant u—turns, this comes from the mistake of inserting into government a campaigning machine, they bought a whole team in

they are trying to run the government, notjust in downing street but in departments, with special advisers reporting to dominic cummings in number ten, and we discovered in 97 but we brought ina very we discovered in 97 but we brought in a very tight unit, and we work together in opposition and we try to govern without integrating into the government machinery and it did not work. campaigning and governing are different things and different skills, and they need someone who can run the place and make it official and stop making these mistakes. more attention needs to be paid to the parliamentary party? that is something you learn? the crucial issue is not politics but actually making it work. myjob was to make sure the government and number ten ran efficiently and we did not make mistakes and we did not lockdown too late for example in the foot and mouth crisis, which is less serious than the coronavirus, of course, but that is lacking, and there is no one in number ten who is bringing that rigour and execution to government and as a result we are paying the price. is it about

someone and whoever it might be, borisjohnson in this case, but someone at relying too much on a very small number of key advisers and then one when of them goes, it sta rts and then one when of them goes, it starts collapsing? —— one of them goes. it is a different problem, it is an advisor led government. tony blair was always the leader and i executed what he wanted but now we have the situation where we have the chief aide putting the prime minister on probation. it is almost like spitting image has come to life. extraordinary way to play things. the nation is in the middle ofa things. the nation is in the middle of a pandemic, things. the nation is in the middle ofa pandemic, and things. the nation is in the middle of a pandemic, and there is brexit to think about, as well. rather a lot going on. the pressure that will bring about this change will be the tory mps, they need to have a grown up tory mps, they need to have a grown up in there, someone who can run the place effectively and efficiently

and that brings together everything. we don't need to have lots of different people, and at the moment they have three chiefs of staff, lee cain, dominic cummings, but you need one person to integrate the whole thing and then it can work smoothly. jonathan powell, thanks forjoining us. he was the chief of staff to tony blair. the headlines on bbc news. the number of people waiting over a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest levels since 2008 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer 15.5%. but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic. and there are warnings that the economy will slow again. turmoil in downing street — one of the prime minister's closest advisers quits as head of communications, in behind the scenes infighting.

it is an iconic picture that went viral, patrick hutchinson taking a protester to safety, this happened injune during a black lives matter protest. nearly six months on from george ford's death, and the clashes that followed, patrick hutchinson, the father of four and grandfather has written a book about this last period. it is an open letter to future generations and describes the realities of life as a black man today and why we must unite to bring about change. we can talk to patrick hutchinson right now. i can see you,

hello. good afternoon. good afternoon. so many people will be familiar with that photograph but maybe not much more about you and everything you have done since, so explain the driving force and what has led you to write the book. what has led you to write the book. what has led you to write the book. what has led me to write the book apart from being approached by at harpercollins, the publishing house i have worked with, apart from them approaching me, it was a need for society to understand a bit more about racism, systemic racism, unconscious bias, and what it is like as a young black man, a young black boy, a young black person, growing up in a country that is systemically racist. even as i read out the title of your book, every versus out the title of your book, every versus racism, that is so striking, because that is the point, the first word is the most important, it is what people like me can do to help

with the situation that is phased as you are suggesting in the book every single day by people in britain —— faced. and maybe more to understand it, because it is hard for some people to fathom what racism really is when they are not on the receiving end of it, so maybejust seeing it from one particular person, a black person's perspective, it may open their eyes. there are harrowing facts in there, harrowing statistics that don't make for easy reading for those that don't want to understand what is happening, but it is there. it is there to prove a point and to show that, there is an issue, but with unity we can come together and we can create a better world for the children. as you demonstrated on that day, because you rescued someone who was on the other side of the argument. yes. my friends and i,

it was a collective, we did it. i just believe that regardless of the colour of your skin, or whatever their beliefs, in a moment like that, you do the right thing. that is what we did as a collective, my brothers and i, now we have formed an organisation off the back of it. what does it do? we are united to change and inspired this initiative is something we have set up to champion education, mental health, the criminal justice champion education, mental health, the criminaljustice system, and also child development and youth development. what we want to do at grassroots level, we want to get lots of funding and we want to make a difference within our community and at the other end of the spectrum we wa nt and at the other end of the spectrum we want to speak to the policymakers and the people that have power and

we wa nt and the people that have power and we want to be the glue in between to try and make change for society as a whole. you have access now to those policymakers, do you, as a result of that act of generosity on your part? it strikes me that a huge amount has changed for you through one very generous, decent act. this is the thing, if you think about, there are lots of people already in the community doing great work, working in mental health, education, but they don't have the platform. we are not trying to reinvent the wheel, we will work with these individuals and use our platform that we now have, to make change. but patrick, it is a pleasure to talk to you. thanks for joining us. patrick hutchinson there. thanks for having me.

the number of teenage murder suspects reached a five year high last year, according to research carried out by the bbc. data from half of the uk's police forces also shows a sharp rise in the number of teenage victims of murder and manslaughter. you may find some of the footage in this report from tom symonds distressing. armed police, show your hands! show me your hands! police move in on a violent drug gang in kent. listen to me! going through the conservatory... in london, officers chase two murder suspects. we tracked the first 100 killings of 2019 to create a picture of who the killers were. nearly all were male. but shockingly, over a quarter were teenagers. louai ali was just 16. he boxed for england juniors. he had a bright future, but he couldn't contain his

violence to the ring. ali bought a knife off the internet and murdered a college student in birmingham, in front of a crowd. it was all over within a minute. another stabbing by another 16—year—old, days later, also in birmingham. adam muhammad was walking with fellow student hazrat umar. shortly afterwards he turned on hazrat, leaving him for dead. and his family, including his uncle, a former senior prosecutor, are devastated. hazrat was one of these people who warmed the room when he walked in. he was cheerful, joyful, adored by his own family and extended family. my family's grief is repeated, as your has survey found, dozens and dozens of times over every year. the government's planning higher sentences for teenage killers. his view? punish them, yes, try and deter other people, but also at the back of the judge's mind must be the view that this person can still make a contribution to society once they are finally released.

our 100 killings project has highlighted the factors which lead to murder — drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, and young people living violent lives. tom symonds, bbc news. the government has given the go ahead for a controversial new tunnel alongside stonehenge, more than 30 years after it was first proposed. the transport secretary has approved plans for the a303 near the world heritage site in wiltshire. duncan kennedy reports. it's one of the busiest roads next to one of the greatest monuments. for decades, the debate has raged over what to do with the a303 alongside this world heritage site. now, the government has ruled that the a303 is to be buried into a tunnel, creating a traffic free landscape. the decision has been welcomed

by english heritage, who say it will transform stonehenge. as guardians of the stones, english heritage welcome the news the a303 tunnel is now approved and will be implemented. it makes good on a decades long ambition to remove this noisy and polluting road from this very important prehistoric landscape. it's only when you get here on the ground that you realise just how close the stones are to the a303. it's just a matter of about 150 or 200 yards, and this is a road that attracts between 30,000 and 50,000 cars a day. but some campaigners have fought for years to stop a tunnel, saying it will damage the wider archaeological heritage of this unique setting. the landscape to each side of the tunnel will be gouged out into deep cuttings with dual carriageways in the huge tunnel entrances, masses of concrete, major road interchanges to each side

of the world heritage site. this is devastation on a major scale. there have been memory promises before to put the a303 into a tunnel but is this the moment stones and vehicles really part company? duncan kennedy, bbc news, at stonehenge. celebrations have been in short supply this year but we can now look forward to a four day bank holiday weekend to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne. we do have to wait until 2022 for the platinum jubilee but ministers are promising a spectacular, once in a generation show injune that year, and buckingham palace says it wants as many people as possible tojoin in. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. no british monarch has celebrated a platinum jubilee before. by the time the country marks the queen's 70 years on the throne in 2022, she'll be 96. nonetheless, the government says this milestone will be marked by what it calls...

the celebrations will climax over an extra—long bank holiday weekend from thursday 2nd ofjune to sunday 5th ofjune inclusive. events are at an early stage of planning, but they're likely to echo some of the features of previousjubilees. the queen marked the 25th anniversary of her accession with her silverjubilee back in 1977. 50 years on the throne was celebrated by the goldenjubilee in 2002, when she undertook a lengthy series of visits to different parts of the country. most recently, in 2012, she marked 60 years on the throne with her diamond jubilee — which was also celebrated across a long weekend. there was a pageant on the thames which was handicapped by the weather and, after a service of thanksgiving at st paul's cathedral, an appearance on the palace balcony

in front of large crowds. whatever may be in store to mark her 70 years on the throne, it'll be an opportunity for the country to show its appreciation for a monarch who continues to break records. nicholas witchell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. the weather is looking pretty wet and often pretty windy as well, so we have got to grab the sunshine when it comes along. earlier most saw at least some sunshine and this was northern ireland earlier, but just to the west we have cloud gathering and some rain is on the way thanks to this weather front which will be pushing its way in and just ahead of the weather front the isobars pinched together so we are looking at a spread of windy weather to ta ke looking at a spread of windy weather to take us through the evening and overnight. the winds quickly building over northern ireland before strengthening over scotland and england and wales, as well. maybe 50 mph around some of the exposed western areas, with the band

of rain and heavy and squally so the rain coming down very heavy. temperatures still into double figures in the southeast overnight, but things cooling off somewhat behind the weather front in scotland and northern ireland. into friday, the band of rain still with strong winds pushing over east anglia and south—east england before clearing, a bit of sunshine before time before chow was moving to scotland, northern ireland and western areas of england —— before showers move in. they could be most frequent and heavyin in. they could be most frequent and heavy in north western areas of the uk. temperatures, between 10—14, and it will stay pretty windy, and as we go into the weekend, even stronger winds on the cards, thanks to these weather systems pushing north—east across the uk bringing spells of rain as well. the weekend, not the greatest, often it will be wet and strong winds to contend with as well. saturday, the rain looks to be pretty widespread and heavy, and the

winds, they look strongest in parts of wales and maybe into western areas of england, reaching maybe 40-50 areas of england, reaching maybe 40—50 mph through the course of saturday. very blustery in these areas. temperatures are still mild but maybe not feeling that special, given the strength of the wind. in the rain coming down, as well. sunday doesn't look much better. outbreaks of rain, a few dry spots but strong winds to come in the south coast of england with gusts reaching 50—60 mph. the rain still heavy and temperature starting to drop away as well, that's so this weekend looking particularly u nsettled.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines: the number of people waiting over a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest levels since 2008 — as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. you can't stop people having heart attacks or strokes or slipping up on theice attacks or strokes or slipping up on the ice and breaking their wrist or hip, but the thing you can do is control the flow of covert patients —— covid patients. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer — 15.5%. but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic. and there are warnings that the economy will slow again: that recovery, slow coming into the autumn, and it's likely the slowdown will continue given the restrictions we've had to put in place more re ce ntly we've had to put in place more recently to control the spread of the virus.

a major new study shows black people are twice as likely to catch coronoavirus than white people. turmoil in downing street. one of the prime minister's closest advisers quits as head of communications, in behind the scenes infighting. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies, and the attempted murder of 10 babies, at a hospital in chester. and, something to look forward to. a long bank holiday weekend to mark the queen's platinum jubilee in 2022. the number of people waiting more than a year for hopsital treatment in england has

hit its highest level since 2008. patients are meant to be seen within 18 weeks but nearly 140,000 people on the waiting list at the end of september had been waiting over a year. health officials say cutting the number of coronavirus cases is crucial for tackling the backlog. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. stephanie was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer injuly, after finding a suspicious mole. the 43—year—old pharmacist was told she should have surgery in four weeks, but it took nearly three months. waiting for my operation to come round, i did feel alone, i felt scared. depression. anxiety. just not knowing, and not having any contact with anyone, and having to phone the hospital to chase up times, timescales for appointments for these operations. it's hard. stephanie fears the delay has

made her condition worse. she will find out if her cancer has spread further in a few weeks, and says without her family's support, she wouldn't be able to cope. i work for the nhs myself, so i understand the pressure the nhs is under with covid, and how it has been dealt with, but if it wasn't for those i feel i would totally be on my own. coronavirus has consumed the health service. the latest figures for september show the number of patients waiting for more than a year for routine operations is the highest it's been since 2008. nhs england say nearly 140,000 people waited more than 12 months. in total, there are now more than 4.3 million on the waiting list. if you want the nhs to look after the patients we see over winter when we are at our most stretched, if you want us to deal

with covid patients coming in, and recover those backlogs, the bit you can control is the number of covid patients. you can't stop people having heart attacks, strokes, slipping over on the ice. cancer services are now back to pre—pandemic levels but there is still a significant backlog. these latest figures also don't take the pressures of the second wave into account, with cancellations of non—urgent work already happening. anoushka found a cyst on her breast injune. she sought medical advice but was repeatedly told it was benign. as a last resort she went to her local a&e where she was diagnosed with breast cancer. i feel very angry that i was not diagnosed earlier. seek treatment, don't be deterred. yes, covid is a factor, but there is a lot more going on out there. anna collinson, bbc news. our health correspondent nick triggle explained to me what kind of proceedures were included in the figures.

they are knee and hip replacements, cataract surgery for eyesight problems and over the summer there was a big push by the nhs to get back to doing more of this non—covid work, and let's have a look to see, and we can see a chart to see how they have been doing. hospitals have been struggling to carry out as many operations as they did prior to the pandemic, and we can see that these are the long waiting list, patients waiting over a year for treatment. this time last year there was only just over a thousand on the waiting list who had waited over a year, but during the pandemic numbers have been increasing and now they have hit nearly 140,000. that's added to a waiting list of over 4 million, so still a small fraction but gives an idea of impact of the pandemic, and we call these routine operations but the royal college of surgeons has come out today to point out that these

are patients who are left pain, often unable to get on with independent lives that they had previously led, so they say it's a really serious problem that the nhs must get on top of. but hugely difficult. that is a gargantuan task, and how much confidence is there amongst medics you speak to that they can do it? and i am wondering as well if there are differences depending on which part of the country you live in. there are differences, and we are seeing some of the more severe problems in the north where the infection levels are higher and we have seen more hospitals cut back on this nonurgent work. the thing the nhs is having to do because of the pressure from covid is prioritise, so for example, we know cancer services are back to the pre—pandemic levels terms of the numbers of patients who get an urgent checkup and the numbers of patients who are receiving treatment. there is still quite a backlog to be seen but they are back seeing as many as they were this time last year, but what it has meant is that those waiting for what are perhaps some would say less

urgent conditions are having to wait longer. the nhs does have a massive task trying to catch up with this. there was a push over the summer, but the problem is that we are seeing rising numbers of patients admitted to hospital for coronavirus. at the end of september when these figures relate to, there werejust 2000 in hospitals in england but there are now five times that number and that is why we are hearing of hospitals almost ona weekly basis having to cut back, and the fear is that waiting lists for these routine treatments will get worse. the uk economy came out of recession, with record growth betweenjuly and september, but still remains below where it was before the pandemic began. the chancellor rishi sunak says there is cause for cautious optimism — but he added it's going to be a difficult winter, and analysts expect the economy to shrink again because of the impact of new coronavirus restrictions. after bad figures

earlier in the year, growth was up by 15.5% in the three months to september — a result of the lifting of restrictions, and the eat out to help out scheme. however the news wasn't enough to reverse the damage caused by coronavirus and the lockdown — the economy is still more than 8 percent smaller than when the virus first hit. our economics correspondent andy verity reports today's figures refer back to what now seems a bygone era, july to september. with lockdown over, restrictions lifted and half price fry ups at taxpayers' expense, economic activity rose by a record 15.5%. at this exeter pub, business was up by 30% in august, though it slowed down in september, and now once again it's a bit dead. eat out to help out was absolutely fantastic for us. we were turning away so many people, and we were very busy. our trade was around 25% up on the previous year in august, so we felt that this money

that we make in august will probably be used to get us through the hard winter ahead. but in some parts of the economy, there was no summer bounce back. this 30 printing company makes models for exhibition, and was growing before the pandemic struck. it reallyjust sort of took the feet away from us. how do i reduce my costs? how do i avoid spending any money? how do i get through with little or no income? as a limited company owner, gavin was among up to 2.9 million people excluded from most government support. he's tried to adapt by shifting from physical models to computer aided design, but it's a long haul. well, i've had some success there, but it'll take a long time to build that up from a very low base, and it'll be a year or two before that fills in all the activity that we previously doing.

just as the economy shrank by record amounts when in restrictions were imposed in the spring so it grew by record amounts when they were lifted but at the end of september it was still one tenth smaller than it was at the end of 2019 and the bank of england is predicting in the fourth quarter it would shrink again. what the figures today show that the economy was recovering over the summer, but yes, that recovery is slowing down coming into the autumn and it is likely that has continued asa and it is likely that has continued as a result of the health restrictions we have had to necessarily put in place to suppress the spread of the virus but there are reasons for caution optimism, improvements in mass testing being rolled out, news on the vaccine, although early days. but the drop in activity of nearly 10% since the start of the year is more than twice as large as in italy or germany or france. our country is experiencing the worst downturn in the g7. we have a long way to go, and of course, have a long way to go, and of course , we are have a long way to go, and of course, we are back in lockdown again now, sol course, we are back in lockdown again now, so i would agree with the

chancellor on this. unfortunately, we are likely to see a very severe impact from that feeding into the la st impact from that feeding into the last quarter of this year's figures. a recovery needs businesses to invest. and business investment is still down by one fifth from its pre—covid level. vaccination will do more to change that than any government policy, but for most of us, that is still months away. our economics editor, faisal islam said the government's top priority would now be to ensure the economic recovery continues despite the threat posed by the pandemic. it's clearly welcome, the technical recession is over, clearly welcome we have had a record quarter of growth over the summer, but history happens very quickly in this crisis, and that is in the kind of rear—view mirror now. now most people expect the economy is contracting by a smaller amount than the previous lockdown and there are clouds on the economy in terms of the continued uncertainty over our trading relationship with europe,

but there is also a big ray of sunshine which is the prospect of a functioning vaccine. that should help people, you know, big businesses, trying to invest for next year, think, ok, there is a prospect of the economy recovering. so far what we have is a catch up recovery from lights going back on in the economy, but not a full—blown recovery. let's talk about the impact on business generally. with me is natalie moore, a partner at ‘the pickwick inn & oliver's restaurant', near padstow, cornwall — a hotel with a restaurant and bar. good afternoon to you. goodness, we know about the impact on the hospitality sector, butjust give our viewers a flavour of what the last few months have been like for you. well, we are in a big tourist hotspot here, so everybody heard the news and cornwell was full for most

of the summer and it's been a really busy season despite running on half capacity and it has been brilliant, and that carried on for a prolonged period as you normally have a slump at the end of half term, and that continued to be very profitable. it has been up and down, there's been a lot of changing and adapting to do, but generally it has been a good season up to the point where we had to close. so how and what do you think about christmas? can you plan for it? what sort of contingencies are you able to make? we are hoping we will be able to open, but in the industry is not a case ofjust turning the lights on. we really need at least a week's notice in terms of real ales, they need to be tapped and settled and the suppliers, the brewers they need

time. the fresh food suppliers as well. it's not just time. the fresh food suppliers as well. it's notjust a case of giving us the sign to open and turn on the lights. it would be helpful to have some notice this time because obviously you don't want to be buying in lots of fresh produce and real ale and having you discarded. and even in what you say there, you remind us all about the supply chain. it's not just remind us all about the supply chain. it's notjust you and your staff inside the hotel, it is all the suppliers, food supplies, drink suppliers. it is an ecosystem, isn't it? it is. it is a huge network. there's literally hundreds and hundreds of people involved in our pub, directly or indirectly. so it is really important to have as much notice as possible because, like i say, it's not just notice as possible because, like i say, it's notjust a case of turning on the lights and opening up. any notice would be really, really welcome. what about your staff? have you been able to use the furlough scheme? yes, we have and it has been

a lifeline because, obviously, there is no income coming in and this industry again, there is money trickling out that will have to be paid, so, yes, the furlough scheme is what we see that it is slightly less generous with a national insurance payments and contributions there, so that is money to be found, so this will be why it is so vital to open if we can when they say we can. of course. well, we wish you all the very best with that. thank you very much indeed. good of you to talk to us, natalie moore. the headlines on bbc news: the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest level since 2008 — as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer — 15.5%. but it is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic, and there are warnings

it will slow again: turmoil in downing street as one of the prime minister's closest advisers quits as head of communications, in behind the scenes infighting. senior ministers are insisting they remain focused on coronavirus and other key issues, amid infighting at downing street. one of borisjohnson's key aides, lee cain, resigned as director of communications last night after disagreements about his possible promotion. labour and several conservative backbenchers have expressed dismay at the events at the heart of government. our political correspondent chris mason reports. he resigned last night, but lee cain still turned up for work this morning, albeit heading into downing street via the back door. yes, i know, a person you've probably never heard of loses a job

you didn't know he had, but office politics in the most political office in the land matters, because it shapes how we are governed. the prime minister has a strong team around him and all of us, whether it's his advisers or the cabinet, are focused on the big task, which as you say is tackling the pandemic, helping to shepherd the country through this very challenging period, helping to preserve people's jobs in an economic downturn, and ensuring all the other things people care about are not neglected at the same time. it is those colossal issues that the government is dealing with that helps explain why this row about advisers at westminster matters. those around a prime minister matter hugely. those who have his ear and those that don't, and they are crucial in shaping a government's priorities, style and communication. lee cain, like fellow adviser dominic cummings, here on the left, is a veteran of the leave campaign in the eu referendum. you will remember mr cummings for that row about his

trip to county durham during the first lockdown. sorry i'm late. the word is mr cummings couldn't believe his eyes at what happened last night — mr cain being offered the job of chief of staff, then not offered it, leading him to pack it in. what happened in between, we understand, is carrie symonds, the prime minister's fiancee, intervened, suggesting it would be a mistake. she used to be the conservative party's director of communications and is very plugged in to what tory mps think. lee cain was already irritated at the appointment of allegra stratton as the government's spokeswoman. he wanted someone else to get the job. it really is time, i think, that downing street got in place what i think is known as somebody with big boy pants on, because a prime minister, particularly one facing the difficulties mrjohnson is facing, needs heavyweight help. i think that the country looks on with astonishment, really,

that on the day that the uk reaches 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic with less than 50 days to go until we leave the european union, that downing street is focusing on internal battles. lee cain is now working out his notice. the prime minister is working out how to manage his office and his government. chris mason, westminster, bbc news. let's get more from our political correspondent jessica parker. is all of this building up a greater head of steam, jessica? things seem to have settled down a little bit over the course of the day but as chris was saying, there are still questions over the future of some figures in downing street because clearly those tensions won't have com pletely clearly those tensions won't have completely disappeared overnight now that lee cain has decided to go, and he is not going until the end of the year, so i think downing street will

continue to be under some level of scrutiny to see how this all plays out, and of course, some conservative mps are saying this is a chance for borisjohnson to move on and reshape the downing street operation and some of them have got quite frustrated particularly with the communication strategy in the last six months or so, strategy that has come under criticism from various quarters and giving his thoughts on how the operation is working today, the former labour chief of staff for tony blair, jonathan powell. it is a systemic problem as over the last year we've seen extraordinary incompetence from the government in the handling of the government in the handling of the coronavirus and other issues with constant u—turns, and this is the mistake of trying to insert into government a campaigning machinery, they brought a whole team in to run they brought a whole team in to run the government, not just they brought a whole team in to run the government, notjust in downing street but in departments with special advisers reporting to dominic cummings in number ten and we discovered in 1997 when we came in and brought in a very tight unit and work together in opposition and

tried to govern without integrating into the machinery and it didn't work. campaigning and governing different things, different skills and we need someone in that house who can run the place, make it efficient and stop making the mistakes. and if people are wondering why on earth any of this matters, i can point out a couple of things. lee cain, the man who is going to depart at the end of the year as director of communications was from the vote leave camp and some people see it as a possible start of the changing of the guard in downing street and another reason it is important as well is that downing street is really the heart of government, the beating heart of government, so if there is some dysfunctionality the there will be concerns that that will have an effect on the rest of the government's operation whilst dealing with a pandemic, of course, tackling economic issues and trying to secure a brexit deal when there is very little time left to do so. ministers insisting though that they remain focused on the job. jessica parker, for now, thank you very

much. a study of 18 million people in the uk and us suggests that black people are twice as likely as white people to catch the coronavirus. the researchers at the universities of leicester and nottingham also found that asian people are 1.5 times more likely than white people to be infected — and may be more likely to need intensive care. earlier i spoke to dr manish pareek, who is one of the lead researchers. he explained how much is known about what causes the disparity. these are data which are brought together the published literature from the start of the pandemic from december last year through to august this year, and all we have done is brought together all of the individual studies which have been looking at this in the last few months. we are trying to develop an overall risk in the different ethnic groups, and there are three aspects, and one is infection, and there are increased

risk of infection in certain ethnic groups, and the data on mortality and death is less clear and needs further work. in terms of the underlying reasons for that, i think there are a multitude of reasons, but it will come down to a variety of aspects coming together. firstly, household structure and multi—occu pancy households. secondly, often individuals from different ethnic groups are working in frontline or key worker roles where they cannot necessarily shield or have an increased risk of exposure and we know in certain ethnic groups, certain underlying medical conditions like diabetes are more common, so we have a combination of factors increasing the risk of infection that you mention. and all of that information can be used in public policy. the fact that they are, to pick one example, more likely to be key workers on the front line of this weather in hospitals or taxi drivers or all of

the jobs we know about that are so crucial to the running of everyday life. what should that say to politicians who are making decisions about how we protect people, and who we vaccinate, those sorts of topics. absolutely. i think public health messaging has to be really central to this end at the start of the pandemic when we first outlined this in april, the concerns we had, i think public health messaging was not so clear. it has improved over the last few weeks and months but it is an issue. public health messaging needs to be much clearer. if you are working on one of those key worker roles in the health system, occupational risk assessment is really key and i work in the nhs as well, and we undertake them locally, and i think that is important, but there are also studies under way to try and understand this much better and i know there is a study looking at health workers and covid which will hopefully provide more clarity about which health care workers and from which ethnic groups within the key worker roles are at highest risk. i do want to add to your point about the vaccine.

it's really good news what we've heard over the last few days about vaccination, but in the initial phases of the vaccine being available it's likely that the number of vaccines available, the supply line and supply chain, maybe, maybe more limited. and i think the decision about the risk groups, who should be prioritised, will be very important and also very difficult decisions to make. don't forget, ethnic minority individuals are a risk group, but there are other risk groups. individuals who are very elderly, people with underlying health conditions and people who live in nursing homes, so these are important decisions that the government and the committee that looks at vaccination needs to look at and think about very carefully. a nurse has appeared in court via videolink charged with murdering eight babies at a hospital in cheshire. 30—year—old lucy letby is also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder.

our correspondentjudith moritz is at warrington magistrates' court and sent this update. it was a short hearing, 12 minutes, before district judge nicholas sanders. lucy letby was on a video link away from here, spoke to confirm her name, her date of birth and her address, only those things. she was not asked to enter any pleas, and the charges which she faces were read out to her and to the court. she is accused of the murder of, as you say, eight babies, of five boys, whose names were read out, cemlyn bennett, josephjohnson, barney gee, joseph gelder and eli gelder, and of three girls, elsie mcnall, daisy parkin and maddie freed. she is also accused of the attempted murder of maddie freed and of another nine babies whose identities we can't report. they are protected by a court order. as i say, she didn't enter any pleas.

all we can tell you at this stage, these alleged murders and attempted murders are said to have happened between june 2015 and june 2016 at the countess of chester hospital, where lucy letby was a nurse in the neonatal unit. she was remanded in custody and she was told she will next appear at court tomorrow. that will be at chester crown court tomorrow afternoon. an investigation into equal pay at the bbc has found no unlawful acts of pay discrimination against women. the equality and human rights commission opened an inquiry last year after complaints about large differences between the salaries of male and female presenters. but the watchdog has made a number of recommendations — including a call for the bbc to improve transparency. david sillito reports. when the bbc was forced to publish the salaries of its highest paid stars, there was fury at the gap

between many male and female presenters and correspondence. there were protests demanding equal pay. the bbc admitted there was a problem and a number of women were given a pay increase. but an independent investigation says it has found no unlawful discrimination. however, it says there were issues with system. i do understand the feelings of the bbc women and i think it's important to remember that these are people who suffered considerably. we are talking about delays of two years in one case, more in others. feelings of anger and humiliation and distress and insomnia. and i think this goes to the really important findings that we've made in terms of inadequate record—keeping and inadequate communications and transparency in terms of decision—making was made. campaigners remain sceptical. the presenter samira ahmed won a pay tribunal and the fawcett society, which fights for equal pay, has doubts about the equality commission's investigation.

i think the fact they reached that conclusion really is based on what i can say to be quite a limited investigation. i think ten in—depth cases isn't really enough. i know it was very challenging for the commission, i know its very resource intensive work and undoubtedly, that has played a major factor in how they have approached it. the bbc has welcomed today's report and accepts there was a problem, and that it also needs to improve both transparency and trust with women in the corporation. david sillito, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. the weather has not been too bad and we've seen a bit of sunshine coming out for the time and this was how things looked early in the day in northern ireland, but cloud is now thickening and we have rain on the way. this wet weather will be moving in this evening, spreading across northern ireland and then into scotland, england and wales. on and ahead of this weather front, the wind will very gusty for a time and

we could see a few gusts getting up to 40 mph, so a blustery kind of night, relatively mild, particularly ahead of the front where things cool off behind the weather front across scotla nd off behind the weather front across scotland and northern ireland later in the night. friday, we will see wet and windy weather pushing east across the midlands, across east anglia and south—eastern— before clearing and in the afternoon sunshine follows to most of the uk but we will also see showers and no showers will be most frequent across north—western areas and they could be heavy with a clap of thunder. blustery conditions and temperatures between nine and 14 degrees.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the number of people waiting over a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest levels since 2008 — as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer — 15.5%. but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic. and there are warnings that the economy will slow again. turmoil in downing street — one of the prime minister's closest advisers quits as head of communications, in behind the scenes infighting. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies — and the attempted murder of ten babies, at a hospital in chester. a major new study shows black people

are twice as likely to catch coronoavirus than white people. and, something to look forward to — a long bank holiday weekend to mark the queen's platinum jubilee — in 2022. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. here's jane dougal. good afternoon. it's already been delayed by seven months and — just 25 minutes after the masters finally got underway. it had to stop because of bad weather at augusta national. defending champion tiger woods was due to tee off shortly before play was halted. and as you can see from these images, the wet weather made

conditions very difficult, with parts of the course covered with pools of water and only three groups of players could complete their opening holes. to a huge night for both scotland and northern ireland — with both nationsjust one match away from qualifying for next summer's european championships. for scotland — you need to go back to 1998 for the last time the mens side reached a major finals. that was the world cup. tonight — that could all change. a win against serbia in belgrade and they'll seal a place at next summer's euros. i was still playing the last time scotla nd i was still playing the last time scotland qualified, very long time ago. there is definitely a generation that has missed the atmosphere and the feeling that you get as a nation, when you do qualify, that proud feeling, so hopefully this group can deliver. there's been a setback for scotland's opponents serbia. influential midfielder and crystal palace captain luka milivojevic has tested positive for coronavirus and will now miss tonight's match.

there will be no fans in belgrade — but in belfast there will be exactly 1,006. as northern ireland take on slovakia at windsor park. that's how many are allowed in due to social distancing. northern ireland ended a 30 year wait for a trip to a major finals, by reaching euro 2016 — and could now make it back to back european championships with a win later. defenderjonny evans says having home supporters back inside windsor park is a big boost. it is great to have them here, because everyone was worried it might be the case where we didn't have any. we know the importance of having fans in the stadium. it can create an atmosphere and a bit of tension throughout the match. also tonight, england will play the republic of ireland in a friendly — but they'll be withoutjoe gomez. the liverpool defender will miss a significant part of the season, after having surgery on a knee

injury he suffered while training for england. wales are also in action tonight — they face the usa in a friendly. the football association have asked the government for special dispensation to allow their nations league match against iceland to take place at wembley. it's in doubt because iceland play in denmark days before that — and currently there is a travel ban on people arriving from denmark. the ban is due to be reviewed on saturday, with germany a potential neutral venue for the nations league game. after resigning as the chairman of the football association on tuesday, greg clarke has now stepped down as vice president for world football governing body fifa. his resignation comes after he used outdated and offensive racial comments in a parliamentary select committee hearing. he was also criticsed in relation to comments about gay players and female players. jack willis will make his england rugby union debut on saturday, in their opening autumn nations cup match against georgia. eddiejones has named the wasps flanker alongside maro itoje,

while billy vunipola will start at eight. it'll also be a big day for ollie lawrence, who will start a test match for the first time. jones says willis deserves his chance. he has worked really hard since he's been in camp and he came back in on some good club form, we have been impressed by his toughness and ability to get his head over the ball. he's very coachable, mixes well with the squad, so it's a great opportunity for him. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. more details on the restart of the masters on the bbc website. studio: thanks forjoining us. with talks continuing between the uk and the european union today, ireland's prime minister has warned borisjohnson of the dangers of failing to reach a post—brexit trade deal. in an interview with the bbc, micheal martin warned that not reaching agreement would be very damaging to the uk and irish economies.

europe does want a deal and is anxious we get it because it's the sensible thing to do. i mean, we all represent people, we've all had a very significant shock to our economic system because of covid—19. the last thing we need now, across all of our respective economies, is a second major shock. two former members of jeremy corbyn's shadow cabinet have called on the labour leader to issue a full throated apology" for the party's stance on brexit. in their report, jon trickett and the former party chair, ian lavery said sir keir starmer is losing the trust of those on the left of the party. let's get more from our political correspondent, iain watson. tell us more about this desire for an apology about brexit? the report produced is called no holding back and is published this evening and it does what it says on the tin,

hard—hitting does what it says on the tin, ha rd—hitting report. does what it says on the tin, hard—hitting report. en library and jon trickett were close allies of jeremy corbyn, they served in the shadow cabinet —— ian lavery. when keir starmer took over they were asked to leave the top table, but what they are saying is, by labour changing its position from the 2017 election when they accepted the result of the brexit referendum and the 2019 election when it was then calling for another referendum, in the process they alienated many people in traditional labour seats, but they also argue that changing position when against the democratic principles of labour, as well, and the only way to rebuild trust in the so—called crumbling red wall, the areas that have gone conservative,, they say is for the party to make an apology for their brexit stance and they want keir starmer to that apology. keir starmer was the shadow

brexit secretary and he was instrumental in party policy and this is indicative of some people on the left of the party who are openly challenging the direction of the party under keir starmer. i don't expect him to make an apology, by the way, and his allies are saying, if ian lavery and jon trickett felt so strongly about it, why did they not resign from the shadow cabinet about it? they say they argued privately very strongly about the party shifting position and they also say they should be an apology to those who voted remain, as well, because they were given false hope that the referendum could be overturned and that was never really a realistic option. their report covers much more ground than brexit. what about what they feel is the problem within the party generally? they say they have had these conversations with party activists and trade unionists and former voters and the impression they get,

from the red wall seats predominantly, the areas that were traditionally labour, the perception of the party is that it is to soften and to middle class. what they are suggesting is a range of policy options to change that —— to southern. including having quotas to include working class candidates and giving funds to help less well off candidates and also not parachuting people into traditional labour seats. however, ian lavery did have the previous ability to stop this when he was in a different position but did not choose to do so. thanks for joining but did not choose to do so. thanks forjoining us. there are more patients in hospitals in wales with covid—19 than at any time — including during the earlier peak of the pandemic. latest figures show 1,529 beds are occupied across the country — 983 are with covid—19 patients.

however, the number of people with the virus being treated in intensive care is lower than earlier peak. lockdown restrictions in northern ireland are due to end at midnight friday— but it's not clear lockdown restrictions in northern ireland are due to end at midnight friday — but it's not clear what happens next. the stormont executive is in political deadlock about whether hospitality and other small businesses should be allowed to reopen. let's talk now to stephen magorrian — he is a board member of hospitality ulster and the director of the horatio hospitality group, a pub company which owns four bars. what on earth are business owners meant to think and do right now?- the moment we are just having a conversation and we hope a decision is made. the regulations under which we are closed come to an end tomorrow night so technically if they change we can open on saturday

but we haven't planned because we are expecting an extension, and the other side is that the grants we have been promised, we haven't received them yet, for when we were closed. they fall away on friday night when the regulations fall away, so if there is no decision between now and friday, we are allowed to open legally, and if we don't, there's no grant to support us so we are in a difficult position at the moment. you own four bars. are you having to plan to reopen? you need supplies and you have to talk to your suppliers and there is a lot of work? it is too late now for us to open, and all of our premises sell a lot of food, so at this stage, to get a plan going to do something at the standard we would normally do is impossible, so opening this weekend won't be

possible. it is a case of trying to plan for the week ahead. what we we re plan for the week ahead. what we were hoping for and what we expected was for this extension, disclosure, to be extended by a further two weeks, that is what we expected. we we re weeks, that is what we expected. we were hoping the decision would be made early in the week with a clear date as to when we can open. not only is it a case of getting supplies in but we also need bookings. no point opening a restau ra nt bookings. no point opening a restaurant if you don't have anyone booked to come, so we can't open the doors and hope people will turn up. we need to let people know we are actually opening. we are at the mercy of the executive coming up with a decision. do you feel let down by politicians? you can't help but feel let down. we do understand it isa but feel let down. we do understand it is a very difficult decision and we do understand there is a pandemic going on and we know we all have a pa rt going on and we know we all have a part to play, but all of our

businesses, we invested very heavily at the end of the last lockdown to make sure that we were covid safe and we trained our staff and put procedures in place. we were closed down again and told it would be for bad few weeks and we did that willingly. we are still closed down. —— told willingly. we are still closed down. -- told it willingly. we are still closed down. —— told it would be for four weeks. you sound, phlegmatic is not the right word, but people watching you would think you are trying to run a business and trying to employ people and trying to create jobs, and your hands are tied. that is a really tough position to be left in, it would seem, through no fault of your own. absolutely. to be honest, things have been made worse by the chancellor's extension of the furlough scheme in a strange way, because many people think this was the saviour for us but we have to

also pay a pension for our employees, but i have no income coming in. one of the things we had been hoping for and relying on was the bonus at the end of january, for the bonus at the end of january, for the costs were incurred in the first lockdown, keeping our employees on, and when we open, keeping them on, but that has been taken away and thatis but that has been taken away and that is another loss, losing £100,000 in the last week, and now we are not open and we don't have a date to open, so it is frustrating. ifa date to open, so it is frustrating. if a decision isn't made by friday night we will have no option but to open next week. we can't stay closed because there is no support in place. we wish you all the very best. thanks for your time. a board member of hospitality ulster, still waiting for a decision on lockdown restrictions which are due to end there on friday night.

the headlines on bbc news... the number of people waiting over a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest levels since 2008 — as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer — 15.5%. but the economy as a whole is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic. and there are warnings that the economy will slow again. turmoil in downing street — one of the prime minister's closest advisers quits as head of communications, in behind the scenes infighting. the number of teenage murder suspects reached a five year high last year, according to research carried out by the bbc. data from half of the uk's police forces also shows a sharp rise in the number of teenage victims of murder and manslaughter. you may find some of the footage in this report from tom symonds distressing. armed police, show your hands!

show me your hands! police move in on a violent drug gang in kent. listen to me! going through the conservatory... in london, officers chase two murder suspects. we tracked the first 100 killings of 2019 to create a picture of who the killers were. nearly all were male. but shockingly, over a quarter were teenagers. louai ali was just 16. he boxed for england juniors. he had a bright future, but he couldn't contain his violence to the ring. ali bought a knife off the internet and murdered a college student in birmingham, in front of a crowd. it was all over within a minute. another stabbing by another 16—year—old, days later, also in birmingham. adam muhammad was walking with fellow student hazrat umar. shortly afterwards he turned on hazrat, leaving him for dead. and his family, including his

uncle, a former senior prosecutor, are devastated. hazrat was one of these people who warmed the room when he walked in. he was cheerful, joyful, adored by his own family and extended family. my family's grief is repeated, as your has survey found, dozens and dozens of times over every year. the government's planning higher sentences for teenage killers. his view? punish them, yes, try and deter other people, but also at the back of the judge's mind must be the view that this person can still make a contribution to society once they are finally released. our 100 killings project has highlighted the factors which lead to murder — drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, and young people living violent lives. tom symonds, bbc news.

now do something linked to coronavirus. —— now to something. millions of hindus, sikhs and jains around the world are celebrating the religious festival of diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights. it's normally marked by visiting families and friends and hosting big celebrations. but like many other festivals this year, diwali too is affected because of coronavirus. let's speak now to tarun patel from the shri swaminarayan temple in london. good afternoon. what a year it has been, how are people going to be able to celebrate? it is a tough time at the whole country are making sacrifices. this is the largest hindu festival in the year, so naturally we are disappointed, but

fully understand the rationale behind this. we have made alternatives. neasden temple has been very proactive in trying to provide solutions so that the community can enjoy diwali whilst maintaining its civic duty and spiritual responsibility during the lockdown guidelines, and we have a host of interactive programmes broadcasted live from the neasden temple into the homes of hindus all over the uk, starting from this evening. fantastic. quite an operation and quite a feat of organisation. will celebrations and festivities, will it have a different tone this year? festivities, will it have a different tone this year7|j festivities, will it have a different tone this year? i would think so. there is nothing like going to the temple on diwali and

celebrating with the whole community. the colours and vibrancy, the music, meeting yourfriends and family. the whole atmosphere is very different. so it will be toned down, naturally, but having said that, it isa time naturally, but having said that, it is a time for the family to be spending quality time in their own homes, and an opportunity to bring aspects of the temple into your own house. perhaps recreate the atmosphere by way of decorations, by way of putting inspirational quotes on your bedrooms, lighting, lighting the candle of hope, and simultaneously participating in the ceremonies that will be broadcasted live from the temple. so, we are making the best of what is available, using technology, and i think the community is really excited for the next five days. rightly so. we should be looking forward to celebrating during these

dark times. of course, of course. my heart goes out to people because it is just about being together and seeing friends and family. being together in big groups. so many communities are having to adjust to this throughout 2020 and i suppose you feel you are really doing as much as you possibly can. you are absolutely right, but we have got to put things in perspective. celebration is very important but we also have do understand that people are losing theirjobs, businesses are losing theirjobs, businesses are going down, so the whole country is making sacrifices. , to make a small sacrifice of celebrating diwali slightly differently is not a big sacrifice in the larger scheme of things, but what is important, we

have to remain collectively equal to the challenges that lie ahead. we have to be constant in our prayers and we have to be confident for the year ahead because better times will come and the temple will reopen. the festivals will be enjoyed in years to come. we don't have to get too downbeat. keep hope and move forward. thank you for ending on a positive note. that is really lovely. we don't always get a lot of that on a rolling news channel. it is lovely to hear those sentiments. i hope you and your loved ones very much enjoy the next five days. happy diwali to you all. thank you very much indeed. nice to be able to have a smile once in awhile.

the government has given the go—ahead for a controversial new tunnel alongside stonehenge — more than 30 years after it was first proposed. duncan kennedy reports. it's one of the busiest roads next to one of the greatest monuments. for decades, the debate has raged over what to do with the a303 alongside this world heritage site. now, the government has ruled that the a303 is to be buried into a tunnel, creating a traffic free landscape. the decision has been welcomed by english heritage, who say it will transform stonehenge. as guardians of the stones, english heritage welcome the news the a303 tunnel is now approved and will be implemented. it makes good on a decades long ambition to remove this noisy and polluting road from this very important prehistoric landscape. it's only when you get here on the ground that you realise

just how close the stones are to the a303. it's just a matter of about 150 or 200 yards, and this is a road that attracts between 30,000 and 50,000 cars a day. but some campaigners have fought for years to stop a tunnel, saying it will damage the wider archaeological heritage of this unique setting. the landscape to each side of the tunnel will be gouged out into deep cuttings with dual carriageways in the huge tunnel entrances, masses of concrete, major road interchanges to each side of the world heritage site. this is devastation on a major scale. there have been memory promises before to put the a303 into a tunnel but is this the moment stones and vehicles really part company? duncan kennedy, bbc news, at stonehenge. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes.

the weather is looking pretty wet and often pretty windy as well, so we have got to grab the sunshine when it comes along. earlier most of us saw at least some sunshine and this was northern ireland earlier, but just to the west we have cloud gathering and some rain is on the way thanks to this weather front which will be pushing its way in and just ahead of the weather front the isobars pinch together so we are looking at a spread of windy weather to take us through the evening and overnight. winds quickly building over northern ireland before strengthening over scotland, england and wales, as well. maybe 50mph around some of the exposed western areas, with the band of rain and heavy and squally so the rain coming down very heavily. temperatures still into double figures in the southeast overnight, but things cooling off somewhat behind the weather front in scotland and northern ireland. into friday, the band of rain still with strong winds pushing over east anglia and south—east england

before clearing, a bit of sunshine before showers move i to scotland, northern ireland and western areas of england. they could be most frequent and heavy in north western areas of the uk. temperatures, between 10—14, and it will stay pretty windy, and as we go into the weekend, even stronger winds on the cards, thanks to these weather systems pushing north—east across the uk bringing spells of rain as well. the weekend, not the greatest, often it will be wet and strong winds to contend with as well. saturday, the rain looks to be pretty widespread and heavy. the winds, they look strongest in parts of wales and maybe into western areas of england, reaching maybe 40—50mph through the course of saturday. very blustery in these areas. temperatures are still mild but maybe not feeling that special, given the strength of the wind. and the rain coming down, as well.

sunday doesn't look much better. outbreaks of rain, a few dry spots but strong winds to come in the south coast of england with gusts reaching 50—60mph. the rain still heavy and temperatures starting to drop away as well, so this weekend looking particularly unsettled.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest level since 2008 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. you can't stop people having heart attacks or strokes or slipping up on the ice and breaking their wrist or hip, but the thing you can do is control the flow of covid patients. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer — 15.5%. but it is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic and there are warnings it will slow again. that recovery, slow coming into the autumn, and it's likely the slowdown will continue given the restrictions we've had to put in place more recently to control the spread of the virus. and in an hour's time the business secretary, alok sharma,

will be holding a news conference. do stay with us for that. a major new study shows black people are twice as likely to catch coronavirus as white people. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of ten babies at a hospital in chester. something babies at a hospital in chester. to look forward to a bank something to look forward to a long bank holiday weekend to mark the queen's platinum jubilee in 2022. the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment in england has hit its highest level since 2008. patients are meant to be seen within 18 weeks but nearly 140,000 people on the waiting list at the end of september had been

waiting over a year. health officials say cutting the number of coronavirus cases is crucial for tackling the backlog. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. stephanie was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer injuly, after finding a suspicious mole. the 43—year—old pharmacist was told she should have surgery in four weeks, but it took nearly three months. waiting for my operation to come round, i did feel alone, i felt scared. depression. anxiety. just not knowing, and not having any contact with anyone, and having to phone the hospital to chase up times, timescales for appointments for these operations. it's hard. stephanie fears the delay has made her condition worse. she will find out if her cancer has spread further in a few weeks, and says without her family's

support, she wouldn't be able to cope. i work for the nhs myself, so i understand the pressure the nhs is under with covid, and how it has been dealt with, but if it wasn't for those, i feel i would totally be on my own. coronavirus has consumed the health service. the latest figures for september show the number of patients waiting for more than a year for routine operations is the highest it's been since 2008. nhs england say nearly 140,000 people waited more than 12 months. in total, there are now more than 4.3 million on the waiting list. if you want the nhs to look after the patients we see over winter when we are at our most stretched, if you want us to deal with covid patients coming in, and recover those backlogs, the bit you can control is the number of covid patients. you can't stop people having heart attacks, strokes, slipping over on the ice.

cancer services are now back to pre—pandemic levels but there is still a significant backlog. these latest figures also don't take the pressures of the second wave into account, with cancellations of non—urgent work already happening. anoushka found a cyst on her breast injune. she sought medical advice but was repeatedly told it was benign. as a last resort she went to her local a&e where she was diagnosed with breast cancer. i feel very angry that i was not diagnosed earlier. seek treatment, don't be deterred. yes, covid is a factor, but there is a lot more going on out there. anna collinson, bbc news. our health correspondent nick triggle is with me now. it is very worrying because people have been told repeatedly to seek medical help when they need it and yet we hear there is a huge backlog. yes, in the summer at the nhs had a

big push to get back to normal, back doing that non—covid work that was stopped or severely curtailed in the first wave of the pandemic in the spring. but what they have had to do because of the backlog in cases is prioritise the most urgent, serious conditions. as we have heard, for cancer, services and activity levels are back to pre—pandemic levels but that has not happened for routine treatment and if we see a chart, we can see the impact of that. this shows the number of long waiters, those waiting over a year for treatment. this time last year there was just over a thousand patients on the waiting list who had waited longer than a year but we can see that during the spring, that has risen quite rapidly and there are now nearly 140,000 patients who have waited more than a year which is out ofa waited more than a year which is out of a total list of over 4 million.

it isa of a total list of over 4 million. it is a small fraction but still a significant number of people and the worst level since 2008. we call these routine treatments but they are things like hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery to correct eyesight problems and the royal college of surgeons said we should not dismiss these as not important or not urgent because they are leaving patients in pain, often unable to carry on with the sort of lives they had before and their conditions are deteriorating as they are waiting longer and longer. 140,000 people waiting more than a year. is that figure likely to rise, could this get worse? that is the fear. this was the picture at the end of september. then there was around 2000 patients with covid in hospital and we are now seeing five times that number and already beginning to hear of hospitals having to cut back on some of this nonurgent work, hospitals in

bradford, leeds and liverpool and birmingham and nottingham have all announced cancellations of routine work. at the fear is that the numbers waiting a long time will get worse as the nhs continues to struggle overwinter worse as the nhs continues to struggle over winter with coronavirus. thank you. and a spokesperson for the nhs said that the number of people having cancer treatment is now back to pre—pandemic levels and more people came forward for checks in september compared with the same month last year, almost 200,000 referrals injust one month. they also said that the nhs message has always been clear — "do not delay, help us to help you by coming forward for care." the uk economy came out of recession, with record growth between july and september, but remains below where it was before the pandemic began. the chancellor, rishi sunak, says there is cause for cautious optimism but he added it's going to be a difficult winter, and analysts expect the economy to shrink again because of the impact of new coronavirus restrictions.

after bad figures earlier in the year, growth was up by 15.5% in the three months to september, a result of the lifting of restrictions, and the eat out to help out scheme. however the news wasn't enough to reverse the damage caused by coronavirus and the lockdown. the economy is still more than 8% smaller than when the virus hit. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. today's figures refer back to what now seems a bygone era, july to september. with lockdown over, restrictions lifted and half price fry ups at taxpayers' expense, economic activity rose by a record 15.5%. at this exeter pub, business was up by 30% in august, though it slowed down in september, and now once again it's a bit dead. eat out to help out was absolutely fantastic for us. we were turning away so many people, and we were very busy. our trade was around 25% up on the previous year in august,

so we felt that this money that we make in august will probably be used to get us through the hard winter ahead. but in some parts of the economy, there was no summer bounce back. this 30 printing company makes models for exhibition, and was growing before the pandemic struck. it reallyjust sort of took the feet away from us. how do i reduce my costs? how do i avoid spending any money? how do i get through with little or no income? as a limited company owner, gavin was among up to 2.9 million people excluded from most government support. he's tried to adapt by shifting from physical models to computer aided design, but it's a long haul. well, i've had some success there, but it'll take a long time to build that up from a very low base, and it'll be a year or two before that fills in all the activity that we previously doing.

just as the economy shrank by record amounts when restrictions were imposed in the spring, so it grew by record amounts when they were lifted but at the end of september it was still one tenth smaller than it was at the end of 2019 and the bank of england is predicting in the fourth quarter it will shrink again. what the figures today show that the economy was recovering over the summer, but yes, that recovery is slowing down coming into the autumn and it is likely that has continued as a result of the health restrictions we have had to necessarily put in place to suppress the spread of the virus but there are reasons for caution optimism, improvements in mass testing being rolled out, news on the vaccine, although early days. but the drop in activity of nearly 10% since the start of the year is more than twice as large as in italy or germany or france. our country is experiencing the worst downturn in the g7. we have a long way to go, and of course, we are back in lockdown again now, so i would agree with the chancellor on this. unfortunately, we are likely to see

a very severe impact from that feeding into the last quarter of this year's figures. a recovery needs businesses to invest. and business investment is still down by one fifth from its pre—covid level. vaccination will do more to change that than any government policy, but for most of us, that is still months away. andy verity, bbc news. our economics editor, faisal islam said the government's top priority would now be to ensure the economic recovery continues despite the threat posed by the pandemic. it's clearly welcome that the technical recession is over, clearly welcome we have had a record quarter of growth over the summer, but history happens very quickly in this crisis, and that is in the kind of rear—view mirror now. now most people expect the economy is contracting by a smaller amount than the previous lockdown and there are clouds on the economy in terms of the continued uncertainty over our trading

relationship with europe, but there is also a big ray of sunshine which is the prospect of a functioning vaccine. that should help people, you know, big businesses, trying to invest for next year, think, ok, there is a prospect of the economy recovering. so far what we have is a catch up recovery from lights going back on in the economy, but not a full—blown recovery. senior ministers are insisting they remain focused on coronavirus and other key issues amid infighting at downing street. one of borisjohnson's key aides, lee cain, resigned as director of communications last night after disagreements about his possible promotion. labour and several conservative backbenchers have expressed dismay at the events at the heart of government. our political correspondent chris mason reports. he resigned last night, but lee cain still turned up for work this morning, albeit heading into downing street via the back door. yes, i know, a person you've

probably never heard of loses a job you didn't know he had, but office politics in the most political office in the land matters, because it shapes how we are governed. the prime minister has a strong team around him and all of us, whether it's his advisers or the cabinet, are focused on the big task, which as you say is tackling the pandemic, helping to shepherd the country through this very challenging period, helping to preserve people's jobs in an economic downturn, and ensuring all the other things people care about are not neglected at the same time. it is those colossal issues that the government is dealing with that helps explain why this row about advisers at westminster matters. those around a prime minister matter hugely. those who have his ear and those that don't, and they are crucial in shaping a government's priorities, style and communication. lee cain, like fellow adviser dominic cummings, here on the left, is a veteran of the leave campaign

in the eu referendum. you will remember mr cummings for that row about his trip to county durham during the first lockdown. sorry i'm late. the word is mr cummings couldn't believe his eyes at what happened last night — mr cain being offered the job of chief of staff, then not offered it, leading him to pack it in. what happened in between, we understand, is carrie symonds, the prime minister's fiancee, intervened, suggesting it would be a mistake. she used to be the conservative party's director of communications and is very plugged in to what tory mps think. lee cain was already irritated at the appointment of allegra stratton as the government's spokeswoman. he wanted someone else to get the job. it really is time, i think, that downing street got in place what i think is known as somebody with big boy pants on, because a prime minister, particularly one facing the difficulties mrjohnson

is facing, needs heavyweight help. i think that the country looks on with astonishment, really, that on the day that the uk reaches 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic with less than 50 days to go until we leave the european union, that downing street is focusing on internal battles. lee cain is now working out his notice. the prime minister is working out how to manage his office and his government. chris mason, westminster, bbc news. let's get more from our political correspondentjessica parker. stories about advisers always divide people into two camps, one lot who say, what on earth does it matter, get on with the issues on the other who say it goes to the heart of the issue. absolutely and if people are asking why should i really care about this story, clearly the last

24 hours have been a little bit messy for downing street. in downing street is the beating heart of the government, where key political decisions are made and of course particularly key political decisions given this government is dealing with the pandemic, with trying to revive the economy, looking ahead to the future and of course trying to seal a brexit deal as well ahead of the transition period ending at the end of this year. plenty of things on downing street's plate and that is why there had been particular attention on what has gone on over the past 24 hours in number 10 and the past 24 hours in number 10 and the idea of who gets whatjob. it is something been put a very senior cabinet minister by our political editor, laura kuenssberg, this afternoon. will there be a new chief of staff to drive this through? personal decisions the premise that makes are for the prime minister but we have the benefit of a great team of civil servants and advisers who are working well together in order

to make sure we deliver on the promises we made to the british people. michael gove i think trying to say that as knitters have been saying they are focused on the job but laurette referred to this chief of staff roll —— ministers have been saying. there is debate about whether lee cain was offered that and on what terms. clearly he has decided to resign his role as director of the medications and another interesting aspect all this is that he was part of the vote lead campaign that boris johnson, is that he was part of the vote lead campaign that borisjohnson, michael gove, dominic cummings were very much involved in as well so they respect you listen this could be pa rt respect you listen this could be part of a changing of the guard in downing street but we don't know for sure yet because we have only seen one departure so far as we understand at the moment and dominic cummings is staying put for the foreseeable future. really interesting. and at the same time, the government does have a great deal on its plate, not least is the issue of the end of the transition period and brexit? of course the uk left the european union earlier this

year but pretty much stuck to eu rules and regulations whilst both sides try to hammer out a trade deal but time is running out to secure that deal because the transition period will end on december the 31st. talks have been going on in london, set to go on in brussels next week but of course this deal, if it can be reached, needs to be ratified as well by european parliaments across the eu as well as here in westminster. it is an issue that michael gove is very closely tied to, something he oversees, preparing for a potential or no—deal brexit and he spoke about that. some of that detail is subject to the resolution of these talks and negotiation and there needs to be movement on the eu site if we are to get the progress we want. one of the arguments we have always made is that by choosing to leave the european union we became a sovereign equal it is absolutely important the eu recognised that. i think the penny is dropping but negotiations are going on at the moment in order

to make sure those final areas of disagreement are finally resolved. michael gove insisting that penny is dropping. he had been talking to businesses as part of a new task force to ensure they are ready but there has been numerous warnings that businesses will not be ready. as for michel barnier, the eu lead negotiator, he has tweeted this afternoon something quite curious, saying he had taken a short break from intense negotiations in london and went looking for level playing field! he is seen looking out upon what i think if a football pitch, a bit of wordplay then but referring to one of the sticking points in the trade talks intend are trying to get both sides to agree to future competition rules. of the talks will carry on, probably next week as well and meanwhile at this afternoon we have a browning —— downing street press co nfe re nce have a browning —— downing street press conference to look forward to headed by business secretary alex, will bejoined by nhs england's stephen powers at around by pm —— alok sharma. and we will bring you

that live. thank you very much. some breaking news, nicola adams and katya jones are to leave strictly come dancing after cat is —— katya tested positive for covid—19. this means they will no longer be able to ta ke means they will no longer be able to take part in the competition. in a statement, nicola adams said she was devastated that her strictlyjourney came to an end so soon because she said she had so much more to give and so many people to win this for. she also thanked katya for being the best dance partner anyone could ask for. there are more patients in hospitals in wales with covid—19 than at any time, including during the earlier peak of the pandemic. latest figures show 1,529 beds are occupied across the country — 983 are with covid—19 patients. however the number of people

with the virus being treated in intensive care is lower than earlier peak. lockdown restrictions in northern ireland are due to end at midnight on friday but it's not clear what happens next. the stormont executive is in political deadlock about whether hospitality and other small businesses should be allowed to reopen. peter mccleery runs the sugarcane cafe and bistro in comber. hejoins me now. good afternoon. what is your understanding of what is going to happen? we are left in limbo at the moment because we really don't know. the restrictions were meant to end tomorrow. still here we are, not knowing what is going to happen. tomorrow. still here we are, not knowing what is going to happenm must be very frustrating for you? very frustrating for us and all the staff and morale is very low in hospitality at the moment. we just

feel our industry is on the brink. we are coming to the christmas period, we need to be planning and we can't do any of that right now. what do you understand the problem to be? itjust seems to be that our executive cannot agree, it is more to do with the five coalition party agreement across the board. it is just a difficult one. i can't blame any individual political party, i'm not really into party politics, but we just need clear guidance to move forward. were you expecting to be able to open tomorrow? and have only just realised that you are not sure you can? we had planned all week. rotors were done, we were about to place orders and then on monday, the story broke that they might extend the lockdown for another two weeks.

obviously then the politics kicked in. we have been in limbo, we had to cancel supplies for the weekend because if we get them now, it is still too late to do all the preparation. give me an idea, how much leading time do you need in order to get up and running again? probably a minimum of three orfour days but different suppliers come at different times so it is quite a logistical situation to get into place. what are your members of staff saying to you? thankfully, we have been able to retain every member of staff since the lockdown, we already had three months of lockdown earlier on. we are trading asa lockdown earlier on. we are trading as a takeaway and we have some stuff doing that but not all of them are back at work. again, the staff are in the darkjust as much as we are and we try to them but everyone is fea rful and we try to them but everyone is fearful for and we try to them but everyone is fearfulfor their and we try to them but everyone is fearful for their future and their

jobs, as we are for the business. and how do you feel hospitality has been treated? we believe we are slightly being singled out, notjust hospitality but close contact businesses. hospitality itself is probably one of the most regulated business on the high street, we already have scores on the doors, checks by environmental health officers, we open to scrutiny. we are saying, let us trade but come and see what we do, the measures we have put in place to make it a secure place to dine and eat out and where transmission is not coming from hospitality. you are saying you followed the rules and you are being u nfa i rly followed the rules and you are being unfairly treated ? followed the rules and you are being unfairly treated? we followed the rules and invested quite heavily to make our premises secure. and to reduce transmission. we are the only industry to have track and trace taking customer details at the moment, so we have gone above and

beyond already but here we are, at the 11th hour, still not knowing whether we can open our doors on saturday. what would you say to the executive? you have your chance, what would you say? i would just say, make up your mind and tell us one way or another so we can tell our staff and we can plan, that is all we ask for. christmas is coming, we need to plan and advertise but do we need to plan and advertise but do we spend the money right now? not really, not until we have clear guidance. all the very best to you. peter who runs the sugar cane cafe in tow local health bosses in hull are warning the city is facing a public health crisis as it battles to keep its covid infection rate under control. hull has the highest infection rate in the uk with 726 cases per 100,000 people. the city's director of public health, julia weldon, said local leaders wanted the authority to close certain schools for all expect vulnerable pupils and key workers if the virus spirals out of control.

a study of 18 million people in the uk and us suggests that black people are twice as likely as white people to catch the coronavirus. the researchers at the universities of leicester and nottingham also found that asian people are 1.5 times more likely than white people to be infected and may be more likely to need intensive care. dr manish pareek is one of the lead researchers. he explained how much is known about what causes the disparity. these are data which have brought together the published literature really from the start of the pandemic, from december last year, through to the end of august this year, and what we have done is we have brought together all the individual studies which have been looking at this over the last few months and tried to develop an overall risk for different ethnic groups in three aspects. one is infection and we find, as you say, increased risk of infection in certain ethnic groups, but also in terms of intensive care.

the data on mortality and death is perhaps less clear and i think needs further work. in terms of the underlying reasons for that, i think there are a multitude of reasons but i think it will come down to a variety of aspects coming together. firstly, household structure and multi—occu pancy households. secondly, often individuals from different ethnic groups are working in front line, key worker roles where they cannot necessarily shield or have an increased risk of exposure. and we also know that in certain ethnic groups, certain underlying medical conditions such as diabetes are more common. so, we have a combination of factors increasing that risk of infection that you have just mentioned. and some official figures coming and some officialfigures coming in about new cases which appear to have gone up considerably. the uk record 33,470 new coronavirus cases on thursday, compared to 22,950 on

wednesday. that is more than 10,000 cases recorded in that 24—hour period which is really quite significant and we will have more on that when we have it. two senior members of jeremy corbyn's shadow cabinet have called on the labour leader to issue a "full throated apology" for the party's stance on brexit. jon trickett and former party chairman, ian lavery, said sir keir starmer is losing the trust of those on the left of the party. and we can speak to ian lavery now. good afternoon. why do you say this? can you hear me? i can. ijust asked him what you say there should be an apology about the labour stance on brexit? no holding back was a great

listening exercise, public one of the biggest listening exercise the labour party has ever embarked upon. we listened what people had to say because there are too many people out there telling too many people out there telling too many people out there telling too many people out there why they voted for remain or leave without even listening to the arguments. we have listened to what people have said, listen to the views of people up and down the length and breadth of this country and we found that many traditional photos had felt let down, many traditional labour voters felt let down and betrayed by the party sta nce down and betrayed by the party stance on brexit and believe they broke promises and bleep voices have been ignored and they had not been listened to. —— their voices ponder when we listened to a number of things, it is notjust about an apology but about politics and education and local government and

the redistribution of wealth, a whole range of things from this great listening exercise, but the apology is simply a suggestion to try and draw a line under the issue of brexit because we feel there is a great need to do so. it is pretty hostile out there and we think it is only right, listening to what people have got to say and this was their views emphatically that the party would need to rebuild trust in the communities, the 48 seats we lost plus many others, in order to try and move forward because we have a fantastic array of policies. we really have but you couldn't get past the doorstep because people believed they had been let down and ignored and betrayed. cani can ijust can i just be can ijust be clear, then? when you talk about the party's stance on brexit, this is about the position that there should be a second

referendum, but i am just quite unclear why there should be an apology. what are you saying, are you saying this contributed to labour's defeat? what i am saying is emphatically it was a massive issue, and the main reason why we lost at least 48 seats at the election, that's because the party fudged the brexit issue, the party turned their back on the referendum result and the people who voted, many of them for the first time, as well as people who had voted for the first time, as well as many young ones, just thought the labour party were trying to fudge the issue, wanted a second referendum and basically didn't want to recognise and accept wholeheartedly the referendum result. that went down very, very, very badly indeed, and it was a major concern, which... misdelivery, the poll suggested it was simply

thatjeremy corbyn was unpopular with voters. isn't that why labour lost? you must be looking at different folders to me. lost? you must be looking at different folders to melj lost? you must be looking at different folders to me. i think the polls showed that fairly systematically. again, it might be the polls that you were, i'm not saying that wasn't an issue, but what i am saying is that the major factor certainly in the 48 seats that were left was the fact that many traditional voters who voted labour, labour heartlands, felt let down, and! labour, labour heartlands, felt let down, and i think the people who count, these weren't statistics on computers by polling companies, they we re computers by polling companies, they were genuine individuals who were delighted for the first time to be listened to, to feel that their contribution actually mattered, and thatis contribution actually mattered, and that is where we got our results

from, and that is why we are seeing what we are seeing. it is very important if the party agreed that there should be this full throated apology, for both sides, by the way, because the remain side, the leave side, the remain side were led down the garden park, people were informed we could have this wonderful new second referendum, it was never on the cards, and the people on the remain side, it was suggested that perhaps we are going to lose 50 to 60 seats to the liberal democrats, it was never the case, so they deserve an apology and the people from the leave side quite simply deserve an apology for the fa ct simply deserve an apology for the fact that they use their democratic vote, it is a basic principle of democracy in this country that we accept the result of a vote. that is why there needs to be a full throated apology. many thanks, that is iain lee very there.

—— ian lavery. hello, this is bbc news. with reeta chakrabarti. the headlines — the number of people waiting more than a year for hospital treatment in england hits its highest level since 2008, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. the uk economy grew by a record amount over the summer — 15.5%. but it is still smaller than before the coronavirus pandemic, and there are warnings it will slow again. and at 5pm, the business secretary, alok sharma, and the director of nhs england, professor stephen powis, will be holding a news conference. do stay with us for that. a major new study shows black people are twice as likely to catch coronoavirus as white people. coronavirus as white people. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre... here's jane. after a three—hour

delay, the masters is finally under way. the threat of lightning meant they had to stop afterjust three and a half minutes. it was scheduled to start in april but covid meant it was postponed for seven months. this is how bad the weather got. very poor visibility at augusta national, puddles of water on the course. it did eventually clear up and one of the first to get under way was tournament favourite bryson dechambeau. started off well with this iron shot on his 1st hole. on to his second with everyone talking about his driving, this one didn't quite go to plan. his ball going into the trees. however, he still managed to par that hole. meanwhile, the defending champion tiger woods is out on the course and hit this nice little chip to save par on the 1st hole.

to a huge night for both scotland and northern ireland — with both nationsjust one match away from qualifying for next summer's european championships. for scotland, you need to go back to 1998 for the last time the mens side reached a majorfinals. that was the world cup. tonight, that could all change. a win against serbia in belgrade, and they'll seal a place at next summer's euros. i was four the last time scotland got to a major tournament, and my whole generation has missed out on seeing scotland at major tournaments, and you look back on old videos, and talking to family and stuff how good the tartan army used to be, and we know how big a fan base we have got, we know how passionate they are we want to see them at a major tournament, and we are the next group of lads that can go and achieve that. good for scotland. there's been a setback for scotland's opponents, serbia. influential midfielder and crystal palace captain luka milivojevic has tested positive for coronavirus, and will now miss tonight's match. there will be no fans in belgrade —

but in belfast there will be exactly 1,060, as northern ireland take on slovakia at windsor park. that's how many are allowed in, due to social distancing. northern ireland ended a 30—year wait for a trip to a major finals by reaching euro 2016, and could now make it back—to—back european championships with a win later. captain steven davis says victory tonight will be for the fans, and he's looking forward to have supporters back in the stadium. hopefully that will help us. we are obviously disappointed we can't have a full house because whenever you have a game of this magnitude you want the fans who have followed you through thick and thin to be there and try and enjoy the moment. obviously it's been difficult times for a lot of people and a lot of people will be able to tune in and, as i say, hopefully we can put a smile on their face, give them something to look forward to in the future, off the back of what's been a difficult year so far. also tonight, england will play the republic of ireland in a friendly — but they'll be withoutjoe gomez. the liverpool defender will miss

a "significant" part of the season, after having surgery on a knee injury he suffered while in training for england. wales are also in action tonight — they face the usa in a friendly. the football association have asked the government for special exemption to allow their nations league match against iceland to take place at wembley. it's in doubt, because iceland play in denmark days before that, and currently there is a travel ban on people arriving from denmark. the ban is due to be reviewed on saturday, with germany a potential netural venue for the nations league game. after resigning as the chairman of the football association on tuesday, greg clarke has now stepped down as vice president for world football governing body fifa. his resignation comes after he used outdated and offensive racial comments in a parliamentary select committee hearing. he was also criticsed in relation to comments about gay he was also criticised in relation to comments about gay players and female players. jack willis will make his england rugby union debut on saturday, in their opening autumn nations cup match against georgia.

eddiejones has named the wasps flanker alongside maro itoje, while billy vunipola will start at eight. it'll also be a big day for ollie lawrence, who will start a test match for the first time. jones says willis deserves his chance. more details on all those stories, including updates on the masters in augusta but that is it for now. while the uk has become the first country in europe to pass 50,000 coronavirus deaths, large parts of the continent are currently in lockdown. this week, italy reached the grim milestone of more than a million covid cases, while both france and spain have seen the daily number of cases start to fall in recent days. dr andrea ammon is the director of european centre for disease prevention and control, which has responsibility for strengthening europe's defences against infectious diseases. good afternoon to you, dr ammon. can

you, i don't know if there is some way in which you can sum up, really, the current outlook for europe, when it comes to coronavirus? well, the current situation is definitely of serious concern. we see since almost four months of the case notification numbers rising, and for the eu average, we are now at 600 and a few more per hundred thousand notifications per 14 days. so the development is not only concerning because of the rise in case numbers, but also because the indicators that we have to monitor the severity and the seriousness are increasing. and yet of course within that overall picture, there are these differences, in that italy, the uk

seem to be on an upward trajectory about france and spain are coming down. there are signs for some of the countries where the trend is stabilising. we can't say yet whether this is really the change of the trend, but we definitely see in some countries signals that the numbers stop increasing. and in terms of how to get, that all—important question, of how to get transmission rates down, which are the countries that are doing the best, and what is it that they are doing? i think all countries apply a combination of measures. one of course is all the measures that

produce all the possibilities for contact within people, the so—called, well, premises closes, stay—at—home, physical distancing for people, wearing masks, washing hands and so forth, countries are protecting their vulnerable populations, that is the elderly, the ones in the nursing homes, the ones with underlying diseases, and i think what is very important is that the population plans there importance in order to control the pandemic, and they adhere to these measures. and where would you class the importance of a test and tracing system, in the uk we have an app, but it is not compulsory. do you think it should be? well, testing

and contact tracing are things that we have very much throughout the last ten months emphasised, that it is an essential element for the measures. testing capacity needs to ensure that the test results are really conveyed very quickly to the persons. they need to at least test all of these symptomatic persons, and the contact tracing is something that has tended to insua, following the identification of an infected person. now the contact tracing apps area person. now the contact tracing apps are a complementary, additional tool for the contact tracing, but they are not completely replacing the

human follow—up of contacts. the success or let's say the extent to which contact tracing apps can contribute to the success of contact tracing is of course the frequency they have taken out. whether they are compulsory or not depends on whether you can enforce the obligation to have this app. it is more to find out why they are not taken up, and then to initiate a communication to the population. 0k. we will have to leave it there. thank you so much. dr ammon from the european centre for the control and prevention. thank you. a nurse has appeared in court, via videolink, charged with murdering eight babies at a hospital in cheshire. 30—year—old lucy letby is also charged with ten counts of attempted murder. our correspondentjudith moritz has more from warrington magistrates' court.

it was a short hearing, 12 minutes, before district judge nicholas sanders. lucy letby was on a video link away from here, spoke to confirm her name, her date of birth and her address, only those things. she was not asked to enter any pleas, and the charges which she faces were read out to her and to the court. she is accused of the murder of, as you say, eight babies, of five boys, whose names were read out, cemlyn bennett, josephjohnson, barney gee, joseph gelder and eli gelder, and of three girls, elsie mcnall, daisy parkin and maddie freed. she is also accused of the attempted murder of maddie freed and of another nine babies, whose identities we can't report. they are protected by a court order. as i say, she didn't enter any pleas. all we can tell you at this stage, these alleged murders and attempted murders are said to have happened

between june 2015 and june 2016 at the countess of chester hospital, where lucy letby was a nurse in the neonatal unit. she was remanded in custody and she was told she will next appear at court tomorrow. that will be at chester crown court tomorrow afternoon. judith moritz, there. an investigation into equal pay at the bbc has found no unlawful acts of pay discrimination against women. the equality and human rights commission opened an inquiry last year, after complaints about large differences between the salaries of male and female presenters. but the watchdog has made a number of recommendations, including a call for the bbc to improve transparency. david sillito reports. when the bbc was forced to publish the salaries of its highest paid stars, there was fury at the gap between many male and female presenters and correspondence. presenters and correspondents. there were protests

demanding equal pay. the bbc admitted there was a problem and a number of women were given a pay increase. but an independent investigation says it has found no unlawful discrimination. however, it says there were issues with system. i do understand the feelings of bbc women and i think it's important to remember that these are people who suffered considerably. we are talking about delays of two years in one case, more in others. and feelings of anger and humiliation in and humiliation and distress and insomnia. and i think this goes to the really important findings that we've made, in terms of inadequate record—keeping and inadequate communications and transparency in terms of decision—making was made. campaigners remain sceptical. the presenter samira ahmed won a pay tribunal and the fawcett society, which fights for equal pay, has doubts about the equality commission's investigation. i think the fact they reached that conclusion really is based on what i can say to be quite a limited investigation.

on what i can see to be quite a limited investigation. i think ten in—depth cases isn't really enough. i know it was very challenging for the commission, i know it's very resource—intensive work and undoubtedly, that has played a major factor in how they have approached it. the bbc has welcomed today's report and accepts there was a problem, and that it also needs to improve both transparency and trust with women in the corporation. david sillito, bbc news. it is not possible to test all students at swansea university for covid before they return home for christmas, its chief operating officer has said. on wednesday, education minister kirsty williams asked all students in wales to travel by 9th december at the latest. andrew rhodes is the registrar and chief operating officer at swansea university — hejoins me now. good afternoon to you, mr rhodes. it won't be possible to test them all? why not? well, it is a simple matter of logistics. firstly, ithink

testing students is a really big step forward. i think it would be a huge treatment for next year. the test will be available from 30th november to us. we were approached this week to gauge our interest in taking part, so between 30th november and students leaving, we will only have a small number of daysin will only have a small number of days in order to test all of the stu d e nts days in order to test all of the students that we have. it's just not possible in that time, so we will need to prioritise those that we can test during that window. how many stu d e nts test during that window. how many students do you have? we have 21,500 stu d e nts students do you have? we have 21,500 students enrolled with us at the moment. not all of those would be here to test, but if we were to test all 21,500 of them, based on the testing that has been done at other universities, where they are testing about 1500 students a day, using 45 staff members to do that. to test all of ours twice, which is what we need to do for a symptomatic testing would take us a month. we will actually probably have something like three to five days to fit that m, like three to five days to fit that in, which is why it is something we

wouldn't be able to do for everyone. but we are ambitious about it, we are hoping to be able to test as many students as we can, but for any university it would be very difficult to do that in the time that they will have before students start to return home. that is really interesting, do you think actually swa nsea interesting, do you think actually swansea might be the first to be saying this but there will be other saying this but there will be other saying this but there will be other saying this too? certainly the other universities i have spoken to are saying the same thing. if you think about this from a pure mathematics point of view, if you have your stu d e nts point of view, if you have your students finishing there in person teaching, as we do on a round about the third or 4th of december, if they are then able to leave, you have a very, very small window in which to test students, if they are to be tested 24 hours before they leave, so it is a simple matter of logistics. we would need something the size of wembley stadium with probably close to 1000 people to test everybody in that three day period. it is a simple matter of operational logistics, but i do think that testing students who are

asymptomatic would be a huge step forward , asymptomatic would be a huge step forward, something we are very supportive of. it is a simple matter of how many people can you test in a small number of days in order to give a small number of days in order to givea high small number of days in order to give a high degree of confidence. small number of days in order to give a high degree of confidencem you're just worried about the logistics, with it have been a help to you of the covenant had announced this earlier? i absolutely support the policy, i think it is the right thing to do. if the government had told us earlier we would have had a bit more time to prepare but the reality is none of that would change the simple logistics, if you are trying to test 21,000 people in a four or five day period, if you think about the difficulty of the governments have had setting up large—scale testing governments have had setting up la rge—scale testing programmes, imagine what it is like for 100 plus universities trying to test a million students potentially in a few days. not all would need to be tested. we a re few days. not all would need to be tested. we are talking about large numbers ina tested. we are talking about large numbers in a short time. we need to do this testing to test as many as we can by christmas, and particularly those filling with people who may be vulnerable, i

think this would be of huge benefit to them. also how we use this testing regime from january in helping students attend universities, and to not have some of the issues that some universities experienced in september. 0k, many thanks for your time, andrew rhodes from swansea university, thank you. the government's approved plans to build a two—mile road tunnel near stonehenge in wiltshire, nearly 30 years after it was first proposed. it's intended to reduce frequent tailbacks on the a303. campaign groups had said they were worried about damage to the landscape. we can speak to anna davis, she's from english heritage. what is your reaction to this, where does english heritage stand on this issue? english heritage welcomes the decision. we look after stonehenge and anybody who goes there will know that currently the a303, there is a huge blight on the landscape, it cuts very close to the monument

itself, and it is noisy, it is congested and it is dangerous. what this scheme will do by tunnelling the road will restore the ancient landscape around stonehenge. stonehenge is a monument that actually is part of a great prehistoric commemoratives landscape and at the moment the connections between the stones and the iron age burial cemetery is on the south, the great processional avenue to the site on the south—east are cut in two by this road, so we looking forward to a time when what is now a blight on the landscape will be transformed into a great public amenity, because people will be able to walk freely along the public of way, enjoying a landscape unsullied by the noise and site of traffic. so aesthetically it will be much better, but i wonder what you make planning officials, who recommended that the government withhold consent for this tunnel, because they say that it will harm the integrity and the authenticity of stonehenge? the

whole issue is very complicated, and it is in the end a balance, and one of the contentious issues is to do with the western approach to the tunnels, so not the tunnel itself, which will be bored at geological levels, but with a quarter on the western side emerges, and there is an area to the west of that where the intensive archaeological investigation that has gone as part of the planning proposal has uncovered bronze age features. now what will happen now is that a really exemplary programme of archaeological research will take place on to those features, so our view is that this is actually a very exciting opportunity for us to learn more about that bronze age element of the landscape. so you are contending that it won't necessarily harm the other archaeological treasures that there might be there?

the issue is about a benefit of —— a balance of benefit and harm. we think the benefits are considerable, it will result in a measurable improvements for the setting of stonehenge and we think the mitigations that will be put in place, by which i mean the archaeological excavation and analysis and scientific analysis of those bronze age fines actually offers an opportunity to advance knowledge, and so take altogether this is a scheme worth pursuing. and is this now going to go ahead? this is a scheme worth pursuing. and is this now going to go ahead7|j is this now going to go ahead?” think that we are all today digesting the news, and there are some conditions, a lot of conditions. i think many organisations who have an interest in the scheme are at the moment still digesting the detail of what happens next. it is certainly a very positive step in that direction. 0k, we have to leave it there, thank you very much indeed for your time.

celebrations have been in short supply this year but we can now look forward to a four—day bank holiday weekend to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne. we do have to wait until 2022 for the platinum jubilee but ministers are promising a spectacular, once—in—a—generation show injune that year. to create the long weekend, the late may spring bank holiday no british moniker celebrated a platinum jubilee before. by the time 70 years were marked on the throne, she will be 96. nonetheless, the government says this milestone will be marked by what it calls an extensive programme of public events, which will mix traditional pageantry with events, which will mix traditional pagea ntry with cutting—edge technological displays. the celebrations will climax over an extra long bank holiday weekend, from thursday 2nd ofjune to sunday the 5th of june from thursday 2nd ofjune to sunday the 5th ofjune inclusive. events are atan

the 5th ofjune inclusive. events are at an early stage of planning, but they are likely to echo some of the previous features ofjubilees. the queen marked the 25th anniversary of her accession with her silverjubilee back in 1977. 50 yea rs on her silverjubilee back in 1977. 50 years on the throne was celebrated by the golden jubilee years on the throne was celebrated by the goldenjubilee in 2002, when she undertook a lengthy series of visits to different parts of the country. most recently, in 2012, she marked 60 years on the throne with her diamond jubilee, which was also celebrated across a long weekend. there was a pageant on the thames, which was handicapped by the weather, and after a service of thanksgiving at st paul's cathedral, an appearance on the palace balcony in front of large crowds. whatever may be in store to mark her 70 years on the throne, it will be an opportunity for the country to show its appreciation for a monarch who continues to break records. nicholas witchell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello, there.

the weather has not been too bad for us. this is how things looked early in the day. however, cloud is now thickening and rain is on the way. the wet weather will be moving on this evening, spreading across northern ireland and then into scotland, england and wales. now on and just ahead of this weather front, the wins will get very gusty for a time as well. we could see a few gusts getting up to 40 mph. so a blustery kind of night, relatively mild, particularly ahead of the front, things starting to cool off high on that front across scotland and northern ireland late in the night. friday, the wet and windy weather continuing to push eastwards across the midlands, east anglia and south—east england before clearing. the afternoon. sunshine follows from most of the uk but also showers, which will be most frequent across north—western areas. the weather will also be heavy, with an odd clap of thunderfull stop will also be heavy, with an odd clap of thunder full stop quite blustery conditions, temperatures about nine to 14 degrees.

this is bbc news, i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines... more than 33,000 new covid cases reported in the uk. we will pull away from the headlines and take you straight to downing street for the latest press briefing. good afternoon. i am joined today by professor stephen powis, national medical director of nhs england pulled that the average number of new cases each day is now 22,524, compared to 22,398 a week ago. there are now 14,196 covid patients in hospitals across the uk