this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera. the headlines at 8pm — the number of people in england waiting more than a year for hospital treatment hits a 12—year high as nhs staff battle the second wave of the pandemic some hospitals are once again cancelling non—urgent treatments. i'm in quite a lot of pain. some days are worse than others. sometimes ijust go into a spasm. you are just left in a wasteland with no idea what's going on. the uk economy's roller coaster ride a big rebound over the summer, but signs of another dip as the second lockdown bites. baby deaths at the countess of chester hospital — a maternity ward nurse is charged with murdering eight children. separated by a screen —

the nottingham care home that's hoping rapid covid tests could make face—to—face visits possible again. the government gives the go—ahead for a controversial new road tunnel alongside stonehenge. and the olympic boxer nicola adams has to pull out of strictly after her dance partner katya jones tests positive for coronavirus. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. we know how tackling the coronavirus pandemic has been an all—out effort for the nhs and its staff. new figures published today show another side of the impact of the pandemic, the number of people facing longer

waits for non—covid hospital treatments and operations in england is the highest for 12 years. patients are meant to be seen within 18 weeks of a referral by their gp. but by the end of september, nearly 140,000 people had waited more than a year for non—urgent operations like hip and knee replacements. compare that to a waiting list of just over 1500. that's what it was in february before the pandemic hit britain. and it could get worse, as some hospitals around the country have started to cut back non—urgent work even further in recent weeks. 0ur health editor hugh pym has more. it's another cruel consequence of covid — routine operations and procedures were cancelled to clear hospital beds for coronavirus patients this year. that's meant long waits and increasing pain for many other patients. this isn't even up for discussion,

you need both hips replaced. since last year, helen has struggled with arthritis in her hips. she was told she needed a double replacement and went in for a pre—op assessment in september. but she's heard nothing since. i'm in quite a lot of pain. some days are worse than others. sometimes i go into a spasm. it's just the not knowing, i don't know if i should be walking or sitting down, resting. there's just nobody telling me what i should and shouldn't do and when it might happen. hospital leaders argue that, since the summer, there has been a big increase in the number of patients getting non—urgent treatment as covid pressures eased, but it's been hard to bring down the backlog and cope with new work coming in. cancer treatment has been affected, too, partly because people might have been worried about going into hospitals. around 888,000 patients had checks for potential cancer between april and september,

but that's down 27% on the same period last year. the number actually starting treatment was 121,900 between april and september. that's down 22%. nhs england says cancer services for new patients coming forward to their gps and then needing treatment are back to where they were before the covid crisis, but charities and campaigners argue that a backlog of work has built up over the last six months and that has been harmfulfor some patients. it's incredibly serious. it's probably the worst cancer crisis in my lifetime, and the problem is cancer doesn't wait. there's data out now saying that even for a four—week delay, you can have an up to 10% reduction in survival. sarah had successful treatment for colon cancer and is in remission, but she needs restorative surgery. there have been delays, and she hasn't been told when the next operation will happen. being left in a state of not knowing, cos there isn't really anyone to call,

because they're all too busy. you know, someone like me, who is recovering from cancer, but, you know, it's not life or death, you are just left in a sort of wasteland with sort of not knowing what's going on. because of the surge in covid cases and admissions of more seriously ill patients, some major hospitals are having to postpone non—urgent surgery again. that can only mean waiting lists getting longer and more discomfort for those who've already faced frustration and delays. the latest government figures show there were 33,470 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. so far, no figures have been published for the number of deaths we can now tell you there were a 563 deaths reported within a positive test in the 28 day period. and our health editor

hugh pym joins us now. this is a record high. what does this tell us? is a big jump on more than 10,000 this tell us? is a big jump on more than10,000 a this tell us? is a big jump on more than 10,000 a day in numbers reported on the previous day. the big news is not to read too much into one day's data and in fact in the downing street briefing earlier the downing street briefing earlier the head of an hsa length said you should look at the rolling average of near 22 or should look at the rolling average of near22 or23,000. should look at the rolling average of near 22 or 23,000. but it does appear something may have happened last week because the cases reported today were based on swabs taken at the beginning of this week. they we re the beginning of this week. they were not a lot of cases found for a few weeks ago. so they reflect infections which were picked up probably in the middle of last week because it takes five days or more to get symptoms. so it could be that just before the lockdown in england, people were going out more and that has caused a boost in infections. it could also have been that after half

term at schools the previous week, people coming back to my pupils going back and maybe getting tested also has put up the numbers. the general view is don't read too much into it but it could be that what looks like a flattening off of cases has not happened that is still going up. regardless of that, the impact on hospitals is going to be worrying. yes because any new cases means that sadly a certain proportion, a small proportion, but some people will get seriously ill and going to hospital. we have already seen the impact on routine care, hip and knee replacements, all sorts of important operations being postponed because of the pressure of covid—19 back in march, april and may. in the report back on stream again and the surge cases which really began in september, real pressure on hospitals developing last month and this month and now more cases results in fewer beds

available for those patients needing routine surgery. so probably more cancellations and more numbers being added to these waiting lists. and we get the daily figures in terms of deaths and just remind us in terms of how it compares, the daily figures, ijust had it in hand, it was 553 daily deaths within 28 days ofa was 553 daily deaths within 28 days of a positive test. how is that comparing over the past period was met it is very slightly less in the previous day's reported figures we have now had three days or so of deadly reported death numbers for the uk being above 500. and that is still half of what it was back at the peak but it has been rising steadily and it may well rise a little bit further as each day goes on because tragically deaths with coronavirus reflect infections picked up two or three weeks before. so people infected then when case numbers were rising rapidly in some

parts of the country who have then got seriously ill and he will not survive and we have already been warned that they really never could go on rising even through this period of lockdown. thank you very much. from the impact of covid on health care to what it's doing to the economy. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has said there are "reasons for cautious optimism" after new figures show record growth between july and september. the uk's economy grew by 15.5% as it came out of the first lockdown. but the economy still remains smaller than it was before the pandemic and, of course, we're in a second lockdown. here's our economics editor, faisal islam. in caerphilly, south wales, one example of how the pandemic shutdown has rebounded. a manufacturer of biodegradable straws saw demand collapse during the lockdown of restaurants and bars, then adapted to manufacturing personal protective equipment and has recovered somewhat

from the reopening of the economy. it was a proper interruption. like, the business paused for this period of time, and then restarted to the same trajectory it had before. the economy grew over three summer months like never before. it has now made up about three quarters of its record loss during the first pandemic lockdown. this is more catch—up than, as yet, an assured recovery — as the chancellor explained. 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's likely that has continued as a result of the health restrictions that we've had to necessarily put in place to suppress the spread of the virus. in a crisis such as this, history occurs very quickly indeed, so a record quarter of growth, the end of the technical recession, is positive and welcome. right now, it's almost certain

that the economy is shrinking again, and there's a further cloud in terms of the future of our trading relationship with europe. but there's also the prospect of a big ray of sunshine — a functioning vaccine. until now, though, all the world's major economies have been hard—hit by the pandemic lockdowns — spain and the uk with the worst infection rates, also the biggest economic impact. and while all have since started to recover, that has been stronger overall in the us, france and germany, down 3—4% overall this year — compared with the uk, nearly 10% down. we're not at the right end of sort of international comparisons. if we do get a double dip, won't that be down to specific policy problems here? no, i think if you look underneath the numbers, hospitality, leisure, they comprise a larger share of our economy. that's obviously going to have an outsized impact. the pandemic‘s economic uncertainty also spreading to local authorities.

croydon council declaring effective bankruptcy after difficulties with property investments. the cost of covid and the medium—term scarring effects on the economy will inevitably require broad—based tax increases. even though the government and bank of england have already pumped billions more to supportjobs until the spring, the economy is not out of the woods. faisal islam, bbc news. 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 1529 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. ministers in northern ireland have agreed to extend coronavirus restrictions for another week following days of deadlock at stormont. earlier, we heard from our ireland correspondent emma va rdy.

well, it's taken four days, some late nights here, and exasperation from the business community, but finally there is a deal. it means the current restrictions in northern ireland will be extended for a week, then close contact services, like hairdressers and beauty salons, can reopen along with unlicensed premises, and a week after that, the rest of the hospitality sector will also be able to open. but it got very messy up to this point. the dup vetoed two other proposals. they were really sticking their heels in this time, concerned that it would have too much impact on businesses to have any more restrictions. meanwhile, sinn fein and others wanted to remain more cautious. sinn fein actually voted against tonight's proposals. so, yes, there is a compromise, but not everybody on board, and still everybody has one idea or one eye on what this all will mean for christmas. several countries have been added to the travel corridor list, meaning people travelling from those countries to the uk won't have to self—isolate on return

after 4am on saturday. the transport secretary, grant shapps, announced that bahrain, chile, iceland, cambodia, laos, the united arab emirates, qatar, and turks and caicos islands have been added to the list. mainland greece has been removed from the list, meaning travellers from there will have to self—isolate for 1h days, but five greek islands are exempt. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:a0pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. joining us tonight are james moore, the chief business commentator of the independent, and rachel cunliffe, the comment & features editor of city am. a nurse has appeared in court in cheshire charged with the murders of eight babies and the attempted murders of ten others. lucy letby, who's 30, was arrested following an investigation at the countess of chester hospital. 0ur north of england correspondent judith moritz has more.

lucy letby once posed whilst cradling a baby for the camera. she told her local paper that she loved nursing infants, seeing them progress and supporting their families. now she's charged with murdering babies who were in special care. sitting next to her solicitor, she appeared by videolink as the charges were read out, speaking only to confirm her personal details. the nurse worked at the countess of chester hospital. the babies were all patients in the neonatal unit. in 2017, the hospital called in the police after noticing a higher than usual number of fatalities and babies at risk of death. the names of 17 babies who were in lucy letby‘s care were read out to the court. they were all younger than one year old when it's alleged the nurse murdered five

boys and three girls betweenjune 2015 and june 2016, and tried to murder ten babies during the same period. theirfamilies have been supported by specialist police officers since the criminal investigation began. lucy letby was first arrested in 2018, and her house and garden were searched. she was released on bail and arrested again last year. earlier this week, she was arrested for a third time before being charged. the police say their investigation has been highly complex and extremely challenging. the former nurse will appear before chester crown court tomorrow. judith moritz, bbc news, chester. the headlines on bbc news — the number of people in england waiting more than a year for hospital treatment has hit a 12—year high. 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. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of ten babies at a hospital in chester.

sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh. the four final teams to make zero 2020 will be decided tonight with scotla nd 2020 will be decided tonight with scotland and northern ireland hoping to be among them. they kicked off half an hour ago. northern ireland are trailing against slovakia. scotla nd are trailing against slovakia. scotland currently goalless they are in serbia. 0ne team is already through an that is north macedonia, who beat georgia to reach their first ever major tournament. a limited number of fans allowed into windsor park to watch northern ireland in belfast but not without some rigorous health checks. they have first been having their temperature measure before then having to walk through a disinfecting pod. 1000 —— 1060 fans

exactly have been into the grounds. england and have qualified already of course so there is a friendly‘s for them tonight. jack greenish representing england against his former club ireland tonight. the third biggest player to ever play for england is on the bench. and it is goalless between wales and the us with rob page in charge of the team in the absence of manager ryan gates. england's next home game in the nations like against ireland will take place at wembley next week after the uk government granted an exemption for the iceland squad to travel. the match up in and out because iceland was playing in copenhagen a few days before and there is currently a travel ban people arriving from denmark. the rescue package for leagues one and two has been agreed as the two teams

will receive a package of £50 million to help recover match the losses and the premier league has also reached a different agreement with some but not all temperature clu bs, with some but not all temperature clubs, will expect to reach that. paul casey leaves the masters in the first round at the so that will not be finished today because of bad weather causing delays earlier on. when the rain cleared him a paul casey took advantage with this approach to the 11th green, the second hole of the day for him, brought him an eagle. he currently has a two shot lead at seven under part. another englishman, lee westwood, has finished as high as second at the masters before and registered five birdies on the front nine including this one on the fifth before finishing on for under par and unsurprisingly a lot of focus on tiger woods. he is a defending champion of course at agusta after his extraordinary victory last year but he has not been a great form since goff returned from lockdown although that tee shot on the 16th has helped him to for under par, three behind the leader paul casey. much more on all the stories on the

website and there is radio coverage of the playoff finals and the english friendly and you can follow them all at spore and plenty on the golf there as well. back a bit later on. a lot of oohing and eying on the golf shots in the gallery, thank you. it's been one of the toughest aspects of the coronavirus pandemic — the separation of elderly care home residents from their loved ones. now there is a ray of hope. four care homes in england are taking part in a trial in which staff are trained to carry out and analyse rapid result tests taking less than two hours. it's hoped it could pave the way for closer contact between care home residents and their visitors. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. glimpses through windows and closed doors, barriers that keep the virus out of care homes, like this one in nottingham, but here they hope rapid testing could be the key to allowing more visits.

i think its three or four. i think it's number four. at the moment, 96—year—old janet can only see her family through the glass of a specially built pod. they can't touch, but it's a step forward from lockdown, which she found difficult. it felt as if you'd done something wrong and you've got to be kept in prison. and you knew you hadn't. and not to be able to see your family is dreadful. this is one of four homes trialling fast tests, which could be a game changerfor visiting. in an outbuilding, kelly, one of the nurses, prepares to check if i have covid. rapid testing is being trialled on staff here at the moment, but the hope is eventually it'll be rolled out for relatives as well. rather than having to send swabs off to a laboratory,

kelly's been trained to prepare the solution, then run checks on it in the machine provided. the care home staff have found the technology relatively easy to use. we've seen a very low error rate. and the specificity of the tests, its ability to correctly identify a negative case, is 99%, so that means it gets it right in 99 cases out of every hundred tests that are done. 85 minutes after my test, i have a result. it's negative. many of the residents here have dementia, and the home believes this technology is vital to balance people's safety with their need to see family. we've built pods at the minute, which are great, it means we're one step further on, but we're still putting people behind a barrier to see their relatives. if we could have testing whereby people could actually come in and be with somebody, obviously taking precautions as need be, i think it would be a massive step forward. hi, mum! clare brown believes her mum helen, who has dementia, deteriorated

in the weeks they were unable to visit, so she wants testing available quickly. for my mum in particular, and for people like her, to have access to her family who know her and love her best is such an important part of her care. it can't really be ignored. the results of the trial are expected soon. it will then be for the government to decide whether rolling this out will give care home residents like helen, and theirfamilies, the safe contact they crave. # what will be will be...# alison holt, bbc news, nottingham. a controversial plan to dig a road tunnel near stonehenge has been given the go—ahead by the government. highways england says the two—mile stretch will remove noise and visual distraction from the historic landmark. but campaign groups and archaeologists are worried the wiltshire landscape could be damaged. duncan kennedy is at stonehenge for us now.

it's no exaggeration to say they've been talking about building a tunnel here to save stonehenge for more than a0 years. everyone agrees the a303 is both noisy and polluting, but whilst campaigners say a new tunnel will damage the archaeology of this site, the government say it is now time to act. the a303, gateway to the south west, but routed past the richness of this world heritage site. for 30 years, they've debated how to save stonehenge from the roads noise and pollution. well, now the government says the a303 is to be buried into a tunnel, creating a traffic—free landscape. english heritage say it will transform the monument. it makes good on a decades—long ambition to remove this noisy and polluting road from this very important prehistoric landscape. the tunnel will be two miles long, and the government insists there won't be any major damage to the archaeology here.

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—200 yards. and this is a road that attracts between 30,000—50,000 cars a day. but some campaigners have fought for years to stop a tunnel, saying it will damage the archaeology of this unique setting. the landscape to each side of the tunnel will be gouged out into deep cuttings, with dual carriageways, 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 many promises before to put the a303 into a tunnel, but the main work here is finally expected to start in three years' time. duncan kennedy, bbc news, at stonehenge.

let's pick up on some of those points made by duncan. professor david jacques of the university of buckingham has been working since 2005 on the blick mead area within the world heritage site, close to where the road will run. hejoins me now. is this a good idea? when he said the proximity of the road, it is incredibly close to stonehenge? the proximity of the road, it is incredibly close to stonehenge ?m is reasonably close. i am completely ashamed. i knowi is reasonably close. i am completely ashamed. i know i speakfor a lot of collea g u es ashamed. i know i speakfor a lot of colleagues and this is just a classic of science playing second fiddle to politics. because we have got a clear empirical data set and much more important in that and missing in the report is the fact that the inspectorate who the government tasked with examining this issue have come out very clearly saying they have recommended to the government that the title scheme should not happen. very straightforward. to the government are running roughshod over their own

inspectorate. they took six months at great public expense to go through all of the detail and data and they are running roughshod through their conclusions and unesco's and a 23 archaeologists who form the consortium and a great deal many other volunteers and specialists. so why does english heritage, which with doctor stonehenge, why are they describing this as a chance to restore the ancient landscape around the monument? why are they for equipment frankly they willfully failed to comprehend that the world heritage site is an entire site and the value is attached to the whole place. they have failed to appreciate future stu d e nts have failed to appreciate future students and future generations want to be working there and examine the place themselves with better technology and they should have every right in the future to move between landmarks in the landscape in the monuments and be able to work

things out and having this two—mile gashis things out and having this two—mile gash is as was said on your piece would prevent that. another key point that has not come out is that lest we forget that the david cameron government said that english heritage would have its grants com pletely heritage would have its grants completely in 2016 when it was mooted in that would come on stream ina mooted in that would come on stream in a couple of years time. so frankly english heritage is a really difficult place here and i think he is informing his decisions because it needs stonehenge is a cash cow and obviously if you cannot see it for free from the rope, if that easy to see from some distance at embarkation point. in those circumstances, english heritage will get their money which will then be able to flow english heritage and it really is a national scandal that some of the other heritage agencies, not all i should add, are buying

into this when they know full well what they're planning inspectorate has set and they know full well what unesco have said. so i am absolutely... this is a co—principal. this is the equivalent of prehistory and it's taking up chances for inquiry later on. there are so many news stories are coming out about the area which is our side but elsewhere as well. and it breaks your heart frankly the government canjust go your heart frankly the government can just go over these broken international treaties with unesco and break their own inspectorate positive recommendation. so what do you do then? the a303 is a popular route and use of the amount of traffic going past stonehenge and enabling the fumes will be damaging this historic monument. so what is your ideal solution to this? the evidence for the latter point you

make is not very clear actually. but the big picture, i totally take your point to deal with it head on. i was really lucky i got a full ride over 20 years ago to america. if people who were listening to this have been to the us, they may have gone to a national park. that seems to me to bea national park. that seems to me to be a much better plan for the stonehenge landscape. national parks in america are commercially successful places and they are good experiences people and good for people's well being and we need to organise this utterly precious landscape which is a world standard of importance. we need to make sure that that is best set up for an inquiry and enjoyment and having a national park would do that best. 0k, professor, thank you so much for talking us through it. we feel your passion about this. thank you so much for your time. we have lots more on the website regarding those pla nts more on the website regarding those plants so do check that out. but

let's have a break and find out what the weather is doing with chris. hello there. most of us saw some sunshine today before the clouds generally gathered through the afternoon, and we've got some rain on the way. now, rain's moving in right now and will continue to push across scotland, england and wales overnight. on and just ahead of this weather front, some strong winds, too. gusts of around 40—115 miles an hour for some, and it's one of those weather fronts that could even wake you up overnight. the rain is going to be quite intense, quite heavy for a short time. 0n into friday, wet weather will be with us to start the day across the midlands, central, southern england before spreading to east anglia and the southeast. it does clear away through the morning, and the afternoon looks much brighter with some sunshine for all of us, but there will be some showers, particularly across northern and western areas. blustery winds still affecting the north west of the uk, but the winds dying away through the afternoon across the south east. it stays mild, highs up to 1a degrees. this weekend is an unsettled one. strong winds and some heavy rain both saturday and sunday.

hello this is bbc news with kasia madera. the headlines... the number of people in england waiting more than a year for hospital treatment has hit a 12 year high. 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. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of ten babies, at a hospital in chester. the government has given the go ahead for a controversial new road tunnel alongside stonehenge. and, 0lympic boxer nicola adams and partner katya jones are forced to pull out of strictly come dancing after the professional dancer tests positive for coronavirus.

an investigation by the bbc has found that staff at the safety watchdog felt they were leaned on by the government to make "factually incorrect" statements about protective equipment for nhs staff treating coronavirus patients. the government has been spending billions of pounds to replenish ppe stocks. 0ne company was given a contract to supply what are called isolation suits, but the firm was not given the correct safety specification. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. as coronavirus peaked in hospitals and care homes, there was a rush to buy more protective equipment. in the summer, we revealed how the government had wasted £150 million on masks the nhs couldn't use. now we reveal more — isolation suits that hadn't passed nhs safety tests and allegations of political pressure to hide that failure.

pestfix, the small family—run pest control firm, won contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to supply ppe to the nhs. the government is being taken to court to explain why it spent so much on the isolation suits from pestfix. bbc news has seen e—mails that reveal a behind—the—scenes battle for proof that the protective outfits were properly tested. the hse, the health and safety executive, in june wrote that the isolation suits shouldn't be released to the nhs because they hadn't been properly tested to the right standards. it appears the government ordered suits to be tested as if they were medical devices, but not for the intended use is ppe. after weeks of delays, in august, the suits were eventually re—tested to a standard acceptable for use in hospitals. but it appears as the legal

action heated up, so too the political pressure. "we are being drawn into the legalities," wrote one health and safety official in september, saying they'd been asked to provide a statement that pestfix‘s products had the right safety documents. "this is not factually correct," the safety regulator wrote. "documentation provided did not support the products." there was yet more political pressure — the following day, a health and safety executive official wrote, "that various colleagues in the department for health and social care were contacting inspectors asking for statements to the effect that the hse had assessed the pestfix products were compliant. " "not factually correct," the official wrote again. pestfix itself didn't want it known its isolation suits were not in hospitals but sitting in a warehouse, writing injune, "we do not want it to be made public knowledge that ppe from pestfix has not passed the hse inspection."

in a statement, the company said, "pestfix delivered these products the department for health and social care said, the government has been challenged on the money wasted in the rush to get ppe — the problem is, we still don't know the details of around £3 billion worth of spending because the government hasn't published the details yet. lucy manning, bbc news.

hairdressers officially reopened across england in july, but now the second lockdown means they've had to close their doors again. helen mulroy has been finding out the impact this new lockdown has had on some salons. three salons, three business owners, all feeling despair. big trouble if i'm honest. it frustrates me. i don't understand. a week into this second lockdown and salons are among the businesses being hit hardest. closed for months of the spring and summer and then forced to invest as they could reopen safely only to be shot again. and all the while their customer base is dwindling. the investment that we have had to make into ppe last week and then get bio misted every week, its extraordinary. it's thousands of pounds just to run the same business we were before. we had our regulars. but there are a lot of people that

i have not seen come back. you can't have any parties, you don't go to any clubs. plus they are not going to work. so there is no need to get your hair done. i think there is only so much anyone can take. i think for us business owners, we have six months closed as a salon to then be shut again three months later. everyone isjust like what is the point. while the hospitality and leisure sectors have had government help in the form of a vat reduction and the eat out to help 0ut scheme. there has been no initiatives for the beauty industry. and they say they feel forgotten. they need to acknowledge that we are a £28 billion industry. and they need to support that, because i know there are a lot of salons that will not survive this. it's like it's a nonexistent industry. we have had no help with that, which is what has killed most salons. we have not had hardly as much help as other industries. the eat 0ut scheme,

which could easily have helped us in beauty that way. we are classed as hospitality but they are not classing us as hospitality. we are doing a petition to try to get vat down to 5%. because it's not fair to us. there was little insight into any possible government action when this issue was raised in parliament this week. a1% of hair and beauty salon owners say they do not know if their businesses will be able to survive until christmas. putting tens of thousands ofjobs at risk. i completely understand how incredibly tough it is for many businesses also, of course, in the sector that she has outlined. obviously, she has a raised a point and i'm sure this is an issue that will be looked at. but today the government said... despite that, though, salons are enclosed and ——despite that, though, salons remain closed and their tills empty. helen mulroy, bbc news. senior ministers are downplaying

reports of infighting at downing street, after the resignation of one of borisjohnson's key aides. the upheaval comes as ministers grapple with the pandemic and concerns over a post—brexit trade deal. and with 50 days to go until the end of the transition period, there's a warning from the irish taoiseach that the uk must "knuckle down" to agree a deal with the eu. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. borisjohnson is in charge because of brexit. he wants to change how we deal with the rest of the world but there has been melt down among his band of brexiteers and if there is no trade deal there could be economic turmoil too, so michael gove is warning business to be prepared agreement or not. by choosing to leave the european union we became a sovereign equal, and it is important the eu recognise that. think the penny i: it is rather extraordinary that only a matter of a few weeks ago you cannot tell businesses,

particularly in northern ireland, how they will have to trade. there are still things that do need to be resolved. this deal with set the terms for years to come, that is so important we get it right. you have people in government fighting like rats in a sack. what kind of impression does that give to people desperately worried that there might not be a trade deal? there is a complete focus in government and making sure we can deliver on the promise of brexit and take advantage of the opportunities of being outside the european union. you say that with a straight face but the prime minister cannot even choose a chief of staff. what we do every day and what the prime minister does every day is ensure we are delivering on the manifesto pledges we were elected on last year. but there is a shakiness to everything because there have been tremors in there. watch this, the prime minister's longest serving aide walking out of his job. in part because of the new press secretary enjoying arriving at the front.

the position of the most controversial adviser, dominic cummings, is perhaps now in question. is it bad for the country to have tension in downing street? just as one of the most important moments for their brexit project arrives. ten days or so left to do a trade deal with the eu. patients. brussels chief negotiator in london talks in stalemate with any time to go. other leaders in the eu are urging boris johnson to budge to get a deal done, especially for dublin where the effect of a bust up would be so acute. we have 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 shock. that a no—deal would cause. many in the uk government don't believe the eu is ready to compromise enough. in all negotiations, both sides take positions, both sides have to move

in all negotiations. if i could respectfully say it, the british government should head in that direction in my view. it should knuckle down and get a deal with the eu. 0n the 1st of january, whatever happens, the way we trade with and interact with our neighbours and the whole eu will change in some very big ways. if politicians can put aside their differences and do a deal, that transition will be significant but smooth. but if the politics fail and an agreement cannot be reached, there could be big disruption. an outline of the trade deal can be seen on both sides, but the final act of the brexit project is not over. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. 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 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. 0ur100 killings project has highlighted the factors which lead to murder — drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, and young people living violent lives. tom symonds, bbc news. you are watching bbc news. our main

headlines... the number of people in england waiting more than a year for hospital treatment has hit a 12 year high. 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. a nurse has appeared in court charged with murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of ten babies, at a hospital in chester. 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 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 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. the family of a british woman, who suffered a cardiac arrest during surgery on her nose in turkey, say they face a medical bill of tens of thousands of pounds. michelle williams from east london is now being flown back to the uk on a 10,000 pound repatriation flight, but only after a dispute over payment with the hospital. greg mckenzie has been speaking to her family. in the prime of her life, east london schoolteacher michelle williams has spent the last 13 weeks fighting for her life

at the private academic hospital in istanbul in turkey. it's heartbreaking, because this is my sister that i know is outgoing, you know, she's bubbly. so to see her in the state that she is, there's no communication, she has hypoxia on the brain now, and so we're told she has a brain injury. michelle, who is 46 years old, seen here with her daughter, had gone in for a cosmetic procedure. but her family claim she was given too much anaesthetic and suffered a cardiac arrest which led to a brain injury. we believe that there's been medical negligence on their part. michelle went in walking, fit and healthy. there is a five—hour lapse of what happened between her being admitted and her being admitted to icu. today the hospital in turkey have decided to discharge michelle, allowing her to fly home. i still feel a sense of, obviously, upset and stuff,

but now i know that she's on her way home, i can breathe a sigh of relief, because i now know that she will hopefully get the care that she needs back in the uk. the foreign office says it has been in touch with the family, who now plan to launch a legal action. the bbc has contacted the hospital in turkey for comment. greg mckenzie, bbc london. millions of hindus, sikhs and jains around the world are celebrating the religious festival of diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights. the chancellor rishi sunak has been lighting candles to mark the festival outside 11 downing street. there are normally big celebrations for diwali. but like many other festivals this year, it's been affected because of coronavirus. 0ur global religion reporter has more. across india, tens of millions of devotees a re across india, tens of millions of devotees are preparing to mark

diwali, properly —— popularly known as the festival of lights, with over 40,000 infections every day, the country is already struggling to deal with the virus, and some states have advised people to spend diwali at home. i'm really afraid that the cases are going to hike after the festival is over. at this year, because of the lockdown and not a lot of movement happening, that mightjust be a reason for us to go back to our roots and explore that essence of truly being with people you care for. in northern india, celebrations are normally huge and go on for days. for hindus, diwali remarks the return of the lord and his wife back to the kingdom after defeating. the festival presents the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. millions of the sikhs andjains good over evil. millions of the sikhs and jains are also celebrating diwali, they, and the release... and

forjains, it's the anniversary for the last jane of the present ‘s age. meanwhile, 5000 miles away, dipped he has been drying wrangle leaves for this temple in north london for 25 years. but another lockdown in lockdown means she's giving up the tradition for the first time. feeling a bit sad as well, where i will not be able to see all of my friends and all of the other community members. it has not —— brought me much more closer with my family and my children as well. because i am engaged in making decorations, making the suites that we do. south africa has the largest population of people of indian descent on the continent, with nearly 20,000 covid—19 related deaths, it hasn't been hit as hard as some other countries. restrictions will still have an impact on celebration. every diwali, this girland impact on celebration. every diwali, this girl and her family impact on celebration. every diwali, this girl and herfamily host relatives and close friends at their home. but now they can't gather

together, so she's delivering food packages instead. covid has really affected many families in my area, and we are looking out to help them right now, we are sharing so that we can distribute them. diwali will be a different experience this year, but people are finding new ways to celebrate this important festival despite the pandemic. no doubt that celebrations have been in short supply this year. we can now look forward to a holiday we can 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 the 2nd ofjune to sunday the 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. certainly something to look forward to. time to tell you that nicola adams and katja jones are to leave strictly come dancing. it's after katya tested positive for covid—19. she is a symptom that again the pair are now self isolating separately following the latest government guidelines as part of the protocols outlined ahead of the series. this means that they will no longer be able to take part in the competition. in a statement, nicola adams said that she is absolutely devastated that are strictly journey has come to an end so soon. she said

that she's had so much more to give and so many people to win this for. a big shame, but we wish her a safe recovery. now it's time for a look at the weather. most of us saw some shine shine today but the clouds has been gathering more recently across the north—west of the country. that was how the weather looked around cumbria through the afternoon. the cloud you can see spilling in here is associated with this area of low pressure, cold front set to move on through the night on this front will have some strong winds on and just ahead of the front, as well, so it will become quite gusty for all of us for a time through the next few hours with the rain really quite heavy as well as it moves across from northern ireland into scotland, england and wales. those gusts of wind could reach 40—45 in places so it is going to be pretty blowy and the rain will be intense very short time, one of those weather fronts

that might wake you up for a time overnight. following the front, fresher air works and to northern ireland and as we head into tomorrow morning the cold front pushes eastward so rain for a time across the midlands, central and southern england on into east anglia and south—east england. then there will be some sunshine so the weather improving it will get brighter and drier for most of us, but there will be showers across northern and western areas and the showers will be accompanied by blustery winds across the north—west of the uk, winds falling lighter across the south—east later in the afternoon. this weekend sees low pressure in charge, a whole tangle of weather fronts crossing the uk, each of these bringing zones of heavy rain, so heavy rain both saturday and sunday in strong winds at times as well. on saturday, the strongest winds will be blowing through the irish sea, so wales, western areas of england picking up the strongest gusts, 40 or 50 mph, outbreaks of rain driving northwards through the day, some might start off bright across the north of scotland,

we will also see a soaking at some point. maybe brighter spells at times across eastern england, it is going to be mild with the temperature 11 in edinburgh and glasgow to around 16 in london. more wet and windy weather to come on sunday, our main band of rain clears through eastern england but rain at times for scotland and northern ireland still quite heavy. strongest winds through the english channel and those gusts could reach around 50 or even 60 mph. so particularly blustery here, fresher air eventually working in for most of us as we head through sunday afternoon. that's your latest weather. bye for now.

this is bbc news. president trump is not budging and he still has not conceded the election but cracks are appearing in the red wall of republican support. not a stampede but a growing number of republicans are beginning to acknowledge joe of republicans are beginning to acknowledgejoe biden's victory. of republicans are beginning to acknowledge joe biden's victory. group of independent leaders founded by the nelson mandela have seen enough. they all say donald trump is undermining democracy and the rule of law around the world. we will hear more from the four president of ireland mary robinson. many state and national polls were way off in the election again. we will investigate some possible causes. also in the programme. china condemns resignation of pro—democracy lawmakers in hong kong isa pro—democracy lawmakers in hong kong is a blatant challenge to its

authority. so how will the