this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the prime minister's most senior adviser — dominic cummings — says he'll leave downing street before christmas, after the turmoil of recent days. the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died at the age of 7a. the serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across yorkshire and north—west england. wilma mccann was killed by peter sutcliffe. her son richard wasjust five years old when she died. for me it is the reduction hopefully in press stories, the tabloid press, that really irritated me my entire

life, so some closure but i am certainly not celebrating. senior us officials have described last week's election as the most secure in american history. it comes as former president barack obama accuses senior republicans of undermining democracy. boris johnson's closest adviser, dominic cummings, is to leave downing street by christmas after 16 stormy months at the heart of government. mr cummings helped drive through brexit last year, and has been at the forefront of the government's push to shake up the civil service. so, who is dominic cummings?

in 2015, the former advisor to michael gove ran the pro—brexit vote leave campaign in the eu referendum and was behind the group's "take back control" slogan. after becoming the prime minister's senior adviser in 2019, the "get brexit done" campaign message helped the conservatives win a large majority in the general election. but he made enemies. there were many disparaging comments. he described some tory brexiteer mps as "useful idiots". sajid javid resigned as chancellor after refusing to comply with mr cummings' request to dismiss his special advisers. three months later, he was fighting for his political life in the downing street rose garden, after two opposition party leaders demanded his resignation for travelling to his parents‘ farm during the covid—i9 lockdown. he survived. but it seems the announcement of his departure was accelerated after the news his close colleague, lee cain, resigned as communications director on wednesday night.

dominic cummings insists he always wanted to make himself "largely redundant" by the end of 2020. but a downing street source told the bbc he "jumped because otherwise he would be pushed soon". 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is at westminster. despite leila nathoo is at westminster. what dominic cum about despite what dominic cummings says about the timings it is pretty difficult to avoid linking this to the political turmoil going on inside downing street in the last few days. yes, dominic cummings himself and his allies say this is pa rt himself and his allies say this is part of the plan and he always intended to step down at the end of the year, pointing to a post he made injanuary the year, pointing to a post he made in january when he was the year, pointing to a post he made injanuary when he was hiring new staff at downing street saying he wa nted staff at downing street saying he wanted to make himself much less important and within a year largely redundant. i do not think anyone at the time would have read into that that he had an intention to actually

leave and certainly it was only six months ago that the prime minister and he threw everything at the effort to save his job when he was hugely criticised for his behaviour during lockdown, that drive to the north of england during the national lockdown, so six months is a long term in politics but it seems like something has shifted in that there has been a shift in the balance of power if you like in number 10 downing st away from that vote leave tea m downing st away from that vote leave team you identified, those who have been with the prime minister since the brexit referendum, brought in when borisjohnson took charge as prime minister, lead borisjohnson into the 2019 election victory, a huge tory majority delivering brexit, so hugely consequential, but 110w brexit, so hugely consequential, but now it seems their power and influence has been on the wane and it seems that dominic cummings is going to leave government by the end

of this year. the transport secretary grant shapps was speaking to usa secretary grant shapps was speaking to us a bit earlier. here he is talking about who was really in charge. he was always someone who would sort of shake things up. he didn't take thingsjust as they had been done that way they couldn't be done any other way and it always good to have people who challenge the system and challenge the way things have been done and he was influential in that way. but a lot of people misunderstand — advisers advise, the prime minister and ministers decide. there are many occasions where, you know, advice is given but it is not the path that would be followed. but it is always good, as i say, to have people with fresh, new ideas and he certainly brings a lot of that with him. with the pandemic to deal with, the end of the brexit transition period about six weeks away, what does this changing of the guide mean in essence for the way the government

is run? lots of people in government, lots of dominic cummings critics and tory mps who have been concerned about how the government has handled the pandemic so far, about strategic mistakes, u—turns, lea ks, about strategic mistakes, u—turns, leaks, policy about strategic mistakes, u—turns, lea ks, policy missteps, about strategic mistakes, u—turns, leaks, policy missteps, they will be very happy to see the back of dominic cummings and the way of working in downing street that they see as identified with him and are hopeful perhaps of a more consensual style of government, bringing in cabinet ministers, empowering cabinet ministers, because many critics have felt that it has been confined to the small circle of people who have the prime minister's here and a lot of tories will be thinking this is a chance for a reset and for the prime minister to get some fresh advice as it were. there are some supporters of the vote leave team in government who are dismayed by his departure and see him as extremely capable and someone who has driven through

change, who has radical ideas and has certainly made an impact on government, so i do not think it is the end of the splits that have been exposed in recent days but it certainly marks a big detachment from borisjohnson certainly marks a big detachment from boris johnson from certainly marks a big detachment from borisjohnson from his closest advisers and our departure from what has happened in government so far, soi has happened in government so far, so i think we can expect a change of approach. what that will entail will largely depend on who fills the roles. there is a new chief of staff position borisjohnson roles. there is a new chief of staff position boris johnson monster though. disputes about that precipitated the departure —— wants to fill. it will be time before we see how this pans out but it is a big time here for borisjohnson to lose his closest advisers. thank you. one of the country's most notorious serial killers, peter sutcliffe, known as the yorkshire ripper, has died. sutcliffe who was 7a,

had been suffering from covid—19 and he is said to have refused treatment. he also had a number of underlying health issues including heart problems and diabetes. he murdered 13 women and attempted to murder seven others. he was given 20 life sentences after admitting his crimes in 1981. danny savage reports. he was one of the most prolific killers of the 20th century — peter sutcliffe, the yorkshire ripper. we knew we were dealing with a monster because of what he was doing. he would get behind them and hit them on the back of the head, a real whack. for six years, women across a large part of northern england lived in fear — a serial killer was on the loose. no woman walking alone at night was safe. from 1975, until 1980, 13 women were killed by sutcliffe and he tried to murder several others. went down the path on the back of the house, which we later discovered is where she was found. thankfully it was dark and we were

spared discovering mum's body. richard's mother was the first victim. he was just five years old when she died. it devastated his young life and, for a long time, he wanted revenge against sutcliffe for the murder of his 28—year—old mum. as a young teenager, i can remember with my sister, we planned, or we discussed her contacting him, befriending him, changing her name and then eventually going to visit him and then she was going to attack him. that was the thoughts we had and that is how angry we were back then. this was in halifax, where19—year—old bank clerk josephine whitaker was killed. murder scenes were scattered across yorkshire and manchester. iamjack... the police inquiry was famously led down a blind alley by hoax tapes from the man dubbed wearsidejack. he sent letters and tapes taunting the investigating officers.

i have the greatest respect for you, george... it led to the conclusion that peter sutcliffe was not their man. there was one young detective, who said i interviewed a man today, and he fits the description, the photofit description. he has got bushy hair, a bushy beard and a gap in his teeth and he is a lorry driver. and one of the top table officers said... is he a geordie? no, no. what is his name? he said, peter sutcliffe. now, listen boys, peter sutcliffe... peter sutcliffe is not the yorkshire ripper. so, sutcliffe carried on killing, although he was interviewed on numerous occasions. colleagues at the haulage firm where he worked knew and used to joke about it. he was nicknamed the ripper. he used to answer to that sometimes, so it was rather... it was rather sort of...

it is sad now, isn't it? bizarrely, he was finally caught after being linked to a car with stolen numberplates. weapons were found and, in early 1981, he confessed. that led to these extraordinary scenes in dewsbury, as the public turned out to voice their disgust. sutcliffe was jailed for life. anger, hatred and obsession were deemed the motives for his crimes. few, if any, will mourn the passing of a man who destroyed so many lives. danny savage, bbc news, west yorkshire. we heard from richard mccann in that report, the son of wilma mccann, who was killed by peter sutcliffe. for me it is the reduction

hopefully in press stories, the tabloid press i am talking about, that have really irritated me my entire life, to be fair. it will give me closure but i am not celebrating. i reached out to offer my condolences. people will be amazed you she felt able to do that. carl sutcliffe reached out to me many years ago when he read about myjourney, i wrote a book years ago, and he reached out to me with compassion, and i think i did the same. i know he did some horrendous things but he was still his brother so i felt like i wanted to call him. you talked about these crimes being reduced in the tabloid press to sensational headlines. you were just five when your mum was killed, you and your siblings,

how did that affect your young lives and how you developed? the main thing i can think about is that feeling of loss and of fear. even though i wasn't exposed to everything that was being spoken about and written about i certainly knew what was going on and i lived in fear, especially when the fifth person to die, incidentally the first apparent innocent victim died, and she baby—sat for us and lived seven houses away from where we lived i thought he must have been watching all the houses and i thought he was going to kill me. that was the impact on me as a young child and the shame of it all, especially because of the way some of the women were described, including my mum, embarrassment and shame, and it has stuck with me

for many years and it is only more recently i have created a life for myself and i have my own family and what was fantastic for me personally about this morning was it was my young son, ellis, who broke the news to me, so for the first time ever i heard about something from a family member and not a phone call from the media. the mirror once called me at half past 11 at night to tell me last year he had had a heart attack, they woke me up. so, it was nice for it to be my son to tell me because one of his friends had text him. richard mccann reacting to the news that peter sutcliffe has died. the

prime minister's most senior adviser announces he will leave downing street by christmas. peter sutcliffe has died aged 7a. senior us officials have described last week's election is the most secure in american history. it comes as the former president barack obama accuses senior republicans of undermining democracy. us federal election officials have said the election officials have said the election was the most secure in american history rejecting donald trump's fraud claims. the cyber security and infrastructure security agency, part of the department of homeland security, said...

it comes as china sends its congratulations to the managers calling president elect, joe biden. "the most secure election in american history." the verdict from senior us officials. refuting the president's claims that there was widespread voter fraud, a top committee overseen by the department of homeland security has concluded there is no case to answer. "while we know there are many

unfounded claims and opportunities," the officials say, "we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections and you should, too." barack obama, who campaigned alongsidejoe biden, his former deputy, has now added his voice to the growing criticism of mr trump over his false claims of election fraud. they appear to be motivated, in part, because the president does not like to lose, and never admits loss. i am more troubled by the fact that other republican officials, who clearly know better, are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion. it is one more step in delegitimising notjust the incoming biden administration but democracy in general, and that is a dangerous path. senior democrats are urging the white house to acknowledge joe biden's win, saying the president—elect should be given access to the security briefings that mr trump gets every day.

the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, said the "absurd circus" meant that the coronavirus pandemic was being neglected and the leader of the democrats in the senate had this message for senior republicans. stop denying reality. stop deliberately and recklessly sowing doubt about our democratic process and start focusing on covid. the unease felt at mr trump's continuing denial about the election result has prompted the elders, a group of senior world figures, founded by nelson mandela, to condemn the president's behaviour. the tragedy is that the united states has always been the supporter and strong advocate for democracy and adherence to the will of the people. when the votes are counted, you accept that and so we do see it as being serious for the united states in the short—term but also very worrying internationally

because it is obviously something autocrats and bad leaders are rejoicing in. they're laughing, they are saying, "who talks about democracy? look at the united states!" apart from playing golf last weekend and one official engagement to mark veterans‘ day, donald trump has confined himself to the white house since the election, venting his anger through social media. peter bowes, bbc news. staying with the us election — and the bbc is now projecting that joe biden has won the state of arizona — increasing his already decisive lead over donald trump. it means he now has 290 electoral college votes, compared to mr trump's 217. the total required to win is 270. the result in arizona isn't yet official, but with mr biden leading by more than 20,000 votes and only a few left to count the bbc — along with major us news outlets —

is projecting a biden win. it's the first time arizona has been won by a democratic candidate since 1996 — when bill clinton took it on the way to his second term in office. china congratulating president—electjoe biden on his election victory. a foreign ministry spokesman says beijing respects the choice of the american people. her correspondent told as china had been cautious about making such a statement. china had been one of only a handful of countries not to congratulatejoe biden but that has changed. they said we respect the choice of the american people, we extend congratulations to joe american people, we extend congratulations tojoe biden and kamala harris, but also added we understand the result of the us election will be determined according to us laws and procedures. they had been holding out and only seeing earlier this week we have

noticed thatjoe biden is projected to win this election and beijing are sticklers for a procedure so maybe in their minds they were politely waiting for donald trump to concede but i think even for them now it is so obvious thatjoe biden has in fa ct so obvious thatjoe biden has in fact won, i am not sure if arizona was what changed their minds to all ofa was what changed their minds to all of a sudden declare that in their minds he was the winner, but nevertheless that is the case. beijing has officially congratulated joe biden on winning. any incoming us president has a big headache in terms of relations with beijing. in recent times there have been enormous strains between china and the us over allegations of espionage, us arms sales to taiwan, the chinese government's handling of hong kong and allegations that freedoms there have been eroded. the

trade were, you name it. it is almost like there's virtually no area in which they are getting on at the moment, so either way there is going to be a lot of work to do for this incoming joe biden administration in terms of handling that relationship with beijing. tough coronavirus restrictions have been extended in northern ireland for a further week. the current measures were due to expire at midnight tonight — with ministers under pressure to make a decision. under a compromise deal reached by the stormont executive some businesses will reopen next friday. france now has 32 thousand people in hospital with covid—19 — that's more than double the number in the uk — and more than they had at the peak in april. the french prime minister said there was one hospital admission for the disease every 30 seconds — and a patient is moved into intensive care every three minutes. 40% of those in intensive care are under 65 years old.

as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise across the globe — world leaders have been meeting in paris — to discuss the need for international cooperation to tackle the pandemic. at the third paris peace forum — which is being held virtually — several countries — including the uk — have pledged to contribute to a global fund to ensure the poorest nations have access to tests, treatment and vaccines. well we can speak now to pascal lamy, who is the president of the paris peace forum and also former director general of the world trade organisation. thank you forjoining us. the paris peace forum brings together heads of state, international leaders of international organisations, a diverse range of people, and explain for us ina diverse range of people, and explain for us in a simple way what the key aim of this year's forum is. as you

just said, rightly, the paris peace forum is a sort of worldwide platform which has been running for three years as a new approach to solving global challenges, recognising that the tradition of multilateral diplomatic solutions does not work well so we are gathering people from scientific communities, cities, some diplomats, in order to advance solutions, concrete solutions, and of course this year covid was featuring extremely high in all conversations, all projects, all agendas, and we have tried to move a few covid related... i don't know if you can still hear me. unfortunately i think

we have lost the line which is a real shame because i was looking forward to asking him about the plans to develop an accelerator mechanism to ensure that a vaccine or vaccines when they become available are distributed fairly across the world. i am told we may have you back. i was just saying to viewers i was looking forward to asking you about the accelerator mechanism you are working on, a way of ensuring an equitable distribution of any vaccines around the world. what progress are you making on that? well, as you have said, it is about getting things done so what we have done in these two days is filler pocketed 500 million euros in order to facilitate the distribution of vaccines in poor countries. this is done by private

foundations and by places like the united kingdom, france, spain, the world health organization, so when there huge problem that we have, which is making sure that the part of humanity which is today not covered by a vaccine, and you only know we are covered when the vaccine is there, this is a step forward in order to make sure that this planet is not factored in a few months in two parts, one that can access a vaccine and one that cannot. this bridge needs to be built. this is very much a circumstance where one country's successes everybody‘s success because we need this to be a joined up process to defeat the virus. that is absolutely correct.

there is a moral political imperative and there is a sanitary imperative and there is a sanitary imperative and there is a sanitary imperative and for once both convert. we also have an economic and social imperative and what we heard yesterday is that in parts of the world like africa the sanitary shock may be less acute than in the western world that the economic social shock will be much worse and this is something we need to realise and we need to cope with.|j this is something we need to realise and we need to cope with. i would also like to talk to you with your former hat on as director—general of the world trade organisation about brexit, about six weeks away from the end of the brexit transition period here in the uk. how hopeful argue the uk and the eu will be able

to reach a deal? well, this is largely a question that has to do with uk domestic politics. i think if borisjohnson with uk domestic politics. i think if boris johnson wants with uk domestic politics. i think if borisjohnson wants a deal there will be ideal. if he does not want a deal there will not be ideal which means from the 1st of january the eu and the uk will trade on wto terms, which is not hell but it is not paradise which for the moment to love leavened with a totally open trade between the uk and the eu. if there is no deal trade between the eu and the uk will be less open and less open trade makes life more difficult for businesses and at the

end of the day for consumers, so thatis end of the day for consumers, so that is the option. you clearly think there is still time to get something done. you see it is down to borisjohnson to decide whether he wants a deal or not. do you totally reject the narrative that has been put forward by the prime minister and people who support brexit in the uk that economically the uk will be fine outside of a deal with the eu? the uk will be fine outside of a dealwith the eu? negotiation is also about narrative. it is always tempting to see as it doesn't work thatis tempting to see as it doesn't work that is because of not making a deal. leaving that aside, the interest of the eu and the uk is to cheat on terms which are as possible —— trade on terms. 0pen trade works.

we all have to have this in mind. thank you very much for your time today. turkmenistan's president gurbanguly berdymukhamedov has bestowed his favourite breed of dog with the highest honour — a golden statue. situated on a busy roundabout in the capital, ashgabat, the six—metre canine was unveiled to a socially distanced celebration of music, dancing and balloons. the alabay — a central asian shepherd dog — is so beloved by the president that he gifted russia's president, vladimir putin, with a puppy in 2017. he has also devoted a book to the alabay. just hello, this is bbc news.

the headlines. the prime minister's most senior adviser dominic cummings says he'll leave downing street before christmas, after the turmoil of recent days. the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died at the age of 7a. the serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across yorkshire and north—west england. wilma mccann was killed by peter sutcliffe in 1975. her son richard was just five years old when she died. for me, it's the reduction, hopefully, in press stories. the tabloids i'm talking about, that have really irritated me my entire life. so to some degree there's some closure, but i am certainly not celebrating. senior us officials have described last week's election as the most secure in american history. it comes as former president barack 0bama accuses senior republicans

of undermining democracy. the lockdown has forced many people back on their bikes for the first time ina back on their bikes for the first time in a long time and now councils in england are set to receive more funding for cycle lanes and socially distant pavements. the department for transport is giving them a further £140 million of funding initially announced in may but many motorists say some of the new lanes are causing more harm than good. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge reports. more road space for cyclists. i feel really safe and i never did before hand so i love it. i'm new to cycling and it is billiard because i would like to go on the road. but less room for motorists. we got too many people driving cars, driving cabs, driving lorries. we're not even back in any sort of major recovery yet — god knows what it's going to be like when everybody does come back.

the prime minister is passionate about cycling. his advisers are on a crusade to get councils to take really radical steps. but in places, it hasn't been a complete success. here in welwyn garden city, cyclists now have an entire lane. it's going to cause chaos at rush hour in the town. so do i think it was good? yes and no. this is a great example — a main link down into the town centre in a place where most people get around in a bus or by car. and, as you can see, half of this road now is dedicated to cyclists. when the pandemic hit, the government decided to revolutionise our roads. it does cause a lot of traffic at the traffic lights. if anything, the only cyclists that i have seen over the bridge since it's been put up have been cycling on the pavement! and councils like hertfordshire have been competing

for government funding. i personally think it's a very positive thing — a, for road safety. especially if you're riding with children, etc. i was driving along here the other day, and this old woman clearly did not know that she wasn't meant to be driving in the cycle lane, and she was driving along it on her own, as well. so i think for people like her, it's not a good thing. people are not going to go shopping on their cycle. it'sjust not going to happen. this is muddled thinking. this is a war on the motorist. and, frankly, if you want to look at this politically, it's a vote—loser. but in parts of our biggest cities, the cycling experience really has improved. this liverpool councillor got back on her bike during lockdown. the reason i'm really passionate about this is because it's completely changed how i travel. so ordinarily i would have just popped into my car

for a shortjourney. now i willjump on my bike. some pop—up cycle lanes like this one are being removed, but if many more people cycle, it will cut congestion, improve air quality and our health as we peddle along. improve air quality and our health as we pedal along. tom burridge, bbc news. more now on the departure of dominic cummings afteran more now on the departure of dominic cummings after an eventful 60 month government, mrjohnson's resident advisor has helped him win a general election and deliver on his break that promise but dominic cummings has made a number of enemies along the way. i can now talk to a special adviser to robert buckland, the author of the secret life of special advisers. thank you forjoining us. do you really think the timing and the manner of this announcement of dominic cummings' departure is all down to his plan for the year or is

it about this political infighting that we have seen in downing street, especially in recent weeks? absolutely the latter. this has been building for a couple of months now. there has been a number of personalities within the downing street factions which have essentially been fighting one another and this is the result of that. of course, lee cain, the director of communications, went earlier this week, or announced his resignation earlier this week and dominic cummings has followed him almost exactly 24—hour slater. —— 24 hours later. the insistence he gave to laura kuenssberg that he was a lwa ys to laura kuenssberg that he was always planning to go at the end of the air, i'm afraid i find always planning to go at the end of the air, i'm afraid ifind it very difficult to believe. dominic cummings is the mavericks, isn't he, the somewhat abrasive, many would argue, individual who has been very close to borisjohnson now for quite some time. do you think boris johnson is going to feel his loss when he leaves that position in downing street? will it be difficult

for the prime minister to adjust to that role without him alongside him with yellow yes, i think actually, lee cain —— with yellow yes, i think actually, lee cain -- i think lee cain's leaving will have a bigger effect on the prime minister because he worked of length or longer, when you are a special adviser, as i was for three and half years under theresa may and borisjohnson, you need a special adviser to crawl over broken glass for you metaphorically, to do everything you need and to help you as much as possible, lee cain was that person and dominic cummings perhaps less so but certainly had an agenda which meshed very well with the prime minister's and they worked very closely together. he was a trusted adviser but it is a kind of nonsense “— trusted adviser but it is a kind of nonsense —— but the nonsense, the drama and a soap opera of the last few days and indeed the last couple of months has tested the prime minister's patience in regard to this and it got to a stage where it was inevitable that —— that dominic cummings especially was going to go. ultimately when it comes to the much more important question of the

running of government, especially in such a critical period, and how number ten communicates with the wider parliamentary party, do you think ultimately that this will benefit boris johnson think ultimately that this will benefit borisjohnson even if he may benefit borisjohnson even if he may bea benefit borisjohnson even if he may be a little bit bereft without these individuals by his side, come the new year? there is no indispensable man or woman. i think you have hit a really important point in that the conservative party, especially the backbenchers, they are fine when things are going well, they don't mind not being consulted or brought into the tent but when things are going badly, then those relationships that have not been built up come out and you have lots of people who are being very critical. it is very notable there has not been a single mp who has come out this morning that i have heard who has said that lee cain should have stayed and dominic cummings should have stayed. i think there is a big chance for the prime minister to reset the way he runs number ten, appoint a minister to reset the way he runs numberten, appointa new minister to reset the way he runs number ten, appoint a new chief of staff and impose a new structure that means that decision—making comes from the top and is very clear

and of course, the chief of staff and of course, the chief of staff and all of the prime ministerial aide should be anonymous. we should not be talking about them and they should not be in the media. we passed the grim milestone earlier this week of 50,000 people who have died of coronavirus in this country and that is what the government needs to be focusing on alongside getting out of the transition period for brexit and that is what boris johnson needs to focus on. he needs to ta ke johnson needs to focus on. he needs to take the weekend to relax and regroup and to plan the next phase of his prime ministerial period. absolutely because we have this image of boris johnson absolutely because we have this image of borisjohnson between two factions within downing street, which is not a good look at this time, nota which is not a good look at this time, not a good look at any time for a prime minister, time, not a good look at any time fora prime minister, but time, not a good look at any time for a prime minister, but with the appointment of allegra stratton and whoever else will make up the new guard, do you think that is going to be really noticeable for the average person in the way that the prime minister communicates and what we hear from downing street minister communicates and what we hearfrom downing street and minister communicates and what we hear from downing street and the government? i think it well,

actually, especially because allegra stratton is someone with a huge amount of ability. i worked with her asa amount of ability. i worked with her as a journalist and i knew her when we we re as a journalist and i knew her when we were both very young, we are not so young we were both very young, we are not so o we were both very young, we are not so young now! she will be very visible in people's games, perhaps even from bbc news, doing those white house style press conferences, speaking directly to journalists and the public. so the kind of image that she wants to project of downing street as a friendly and more approachable, less factional place, certainly in terms of public communications, will be an easier thing to do when she is on screen everyday. she will a household name, we will hear a lot from her and she is well are quick to do the job. thank you forjoining us. diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights, is normally celebrated with parties, gifts and religious ceremonies. but with many places of worship closed and restrictions in place, traditional celebrations aren't possible this year. sima kotecha joins me from buckinghamshire. she will take us through some more on the story.

yes, diwali won't be the same for worshippers this year because as you say, families will not be able to get together or exchange food and gifts and so it is going to be a diwali with a difference. i had a chat with the chancellor yesterday, who is a practising hindu, rishi sunak, about what he would say to people who are not able to see their family and how he felt about restrictions probably being lifted in time for christmas but obviously not in time for diwali tomorrow. sisters chaya and maya, lighting candles by a statue of their hindu deity. 0m shanti, shanti, shanti. like christmas and other religious festivals, diwali brings gifts, songs and traditional food.

although the sisters are excited about its imminent arrival, they know this year won't be the same. we've still got the lights and the fireworks. but you can't meet up with your family and you have to do it on zoom. that's ok, you at least get to see them, not face to face, but still like a bit sad because we actually want to like, maybe hug them. their grandparents live just minutes away, but aren't in their bubble. they talk online and tomorrow will be no different. but there'll be no exchanging of food and no dancing with cousins. normally we would dance and perform at grandpa's house as you saw. so we'd dance and sing. we do a big show! and we've practised online, we've got it all correct. and this year, perhaps, will be more poignant than usual. south asians have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus. the girls‘ grandparents lost a close

friend to the virus. and so this diwali, they say, will have a somber tone. will have a sombrd tone. and so this diwali, they say, will have a sombre tone. we are in close contact with his wife and of course, not very far from us, you know, being a good friend, but, of course, will be missed in that respect. that one friend we have lost. the chancellor, a practising hindu, is urging those who celebrate to stay at home, even though they may be tempted to visit relatives. i know how difficult it is. i mean, it's so difficult for us not to want to see each other like it is for everybody, especially at this time of year. but we've just got to stick with this for a couple more weeks and we're going to get through this to keep everyone safe right now. just follow the rules. but there are those, chancellor, who have said that they're frustrated that the restrictions could be lifted in time for christmas but won't be lifted in time for diwali. what would you say to those people? well, i mean, we've had restrictions all the way through this year. there's lots of different religious and cultural celebrations that happen.

we can't control the spread of the virus. the virus is doing what it's doing. we have to react to that. and that's got to be the right way to approach this. this is neasden temple. it's one of britain's most popular temples and it hosts the largest diwali and hindu new year celebrations in europe. but not this year. there'll be no packed car parks. there'll be no line of worshippers waiting to go inside. but instead, there will be virtual ceremonies for thousands of people to watch from the safety of their home. special days like this one bring the differences caused by covid into sharp and often painful focus. sima kotecha, bbc news. so what happens at diwali is worshippers exchange a lot of gold, it is something that is done in traditional household but is this year going to be any different

because of the lockdown, the fact they cannot see each other and the fa ct they cannot see each other and the fact that the exchange, they can't do it tangibly? i guess it is going to be done for many people in the post, perhaps, or perhaps through zoom, online. someone who is going to talk to me about the impact diwali and the restrictions in place have had on the gold industry is david crawford, the director of baird and coe. has it made an impact on your trade? yes, it has, typically we see 20—30% growth month on month during diwali. it is the most auspicious gold buying time in the hindu calendar and many indians buy gold during this time in order to secure financial prosperity for the following year. clearly, many families are unable to meet each other because of the current covid restrictions, and we have seen that directly impact the desire for customers to want to gift in absence

of their being able to see their family members. so what you are saying is it has actually seen a post? we have spoken to so many businesses in recent weeks that have made a loss but has the opposite happened for you? yes, it has. we have a store in hatton garden that has remained open for collection and delivery by appointment only. we also have a refinery in east london, which due to the covid essential role that we play in the production of silverfor the role that we play in the production of silver for the nhs role that we play in the production of silverfor the nhs in role that we play in the production of silver for the nhs in the presenting of —— prevention of legionnaires' disease, we have remained open because we are in full control of our value chain, being the uk's only la rge—scale control of our value chain, being the uk's only large—scale gold refiner so we are able to continue to manufacture products, get the metal through the refinery and then sell it through to customers through our store and online. we do see, don't we, at times, a financial

crisis, that the price of gold sometimes goes up and that is what has happened this time? yes, it has. it impacts the size of the materials that customers may purchase, so typically instead of maybe buying a five grams bar, they might by one gram orten grams five grams bar, they might by one gram or ten grams instead of 20 grams. but we do see a strong link to the customers are still holding gold as a very important and symbolic religious and ceremonial peace of the indian community —— ceremonial peace of the indian community, certainly in the uk. thank you, david. so if you are lucky, you might get some gold in the post! chance would be a fine thing. thank you forjoining us. france is holding commemorations for the victims of militant jihadists in paris five years ago. the shootings and bombings by three groups of islamist extremists left

130 people dead and hundreds more wounded in the country's worst peacetime atrocity in decades. paris mayor anne hidalgo and prime ministerjean castex, along with other ministers and representatives of victims‘ organisations, have begun visiting the sites of the attacks and laying wreaths. but there are fewer public mourners this year because of coronavirus restrictions on gatherings. 0ur correpondent in paris hugh schofield told us more about the day‘s schedule. there are events but as you say they have been scaled down because of covid. what we are seeing now is a very low— key, covid. what we are seeing now is a very low—key, really, moved by this group of dignitaries, the mayor, the prime minister, the justice group of dignitaries, the mayor, the prime minister, thejustice minister and interior minister, right now, as we are watching the feed coming in on tv, they are moving from location to location, culminating of course at the bataclan itself, the concert hall. it is timed to be exactly 12

hours ahead of the actual timing of the attacks which was in the evening, it started at 9:15pm at the stadium and so at 9:15am this morning, nine years on, the group we re morning, nine years on, the group were at the stadium, where the terrible series of events started with the suicide bombings there, which killed only one other person and then they are in the middle of town right now, going to four different bars which were visited and attacked by gunmen and a short distance away again, in the 11th arrondissement, the bataclan concert hall where the worst of it happened, 90 people mown down in terrible circumstances. in general, i would say, five years on, everyone remembers but to talk about big, large—scale commemorations, it is not that, it is something which is very much internalised now and because of covid, there is no great public event. hugh schofield.

thomas tran dinh is a survivor of the bataclan theatre attack. hejoins us now. thank you he joins us now. thank you for joining us. how are you marking the anniversary? i believe because of the lockdown, this is the first time you will be spending the anniversary in paris itself. yes, thank you for having me, i feel in paris itself. yes, thank you for having me, ifeel really lucky in paris itself. yes, thank you for having me, i feel really lucky to in paris itself. yes, thank you for having me, ifeel really lucky to be back here. i have chosen... it is very personal but i have chosen to be away from paris for the last four yea rs. be away from paris for the last four years. my family is a bit scattered in the world so i have always found shelter abroad and i try not to think about it, and this year, since we are locked down, i am here, so i have to face it a bit more. but... it is strange for me but let‘s say

the bbc is my little escape from this. i hope, thomas, that talking about this can help in some way, because how does it feel now that you have to confront the memories of that day in the city where it happened? as we have mentioned, you we re happened? as we have mentioned, you were in the bataclan theatre, near the stage when the attack began, i believe. yes, it feels weird. i must say, you know, i don‘t talk about this with my close ones, i almost never talk about this. i wanted to talk today, not really to talk about this but strangely enough, i feel very lucky. i survived. this but strangely enough, i feel very lucky. isurvived. my this but strangely enough, i feel very lucky. i survived. my friends, we we re very lucky. i survived. my friends, we were in a band, and i took my band mates to the concert. we wanted to get inspired. it is a bit ironic. they all survived, you know. i live

in france. we had medical care for free, still, up and do today. —— up until today. i testified to the bbc last time, and a lot of people contacted me and supported me and showed me love, you know? up until today, some of them became friends, we became friends, you know? so i am very lucky and if i can afford to try not to think about it, it is because i am lucky. you know, these attacks happened unfortunately all around the world, in countries that people care less about, you know, they don‘t have this help and support. even some of my friends have lost their jobs, support. even some of my friends have lost theirjobs, you know, my company has been fantastic with me, supporting me. so you have much to be thankfulfor, supporting me. so you have much to be thankful for, and what struck me when i was reading about you was

that you said you feel you have a duty to spread a message of hope. how have you been able to do that and how do you feel that france now, five years on, is there any difference now in france, five years on, from the france that it was then? i can talk about france, i can talk about the world, i travel and i love. but it has been... i always had hope in human decency and that hope, i still have, it has been on trial, you know? i have seen the world becoming more polarised. i have seen the cult of individualism become much more important. i am still seeing culture wars and, you know, in a war, no one is innocent.

everybody thinks they are right. and my answer to this is trying to be decent and caring human being. i believe that, you know, we talk... everyone is talking about freedom of speech, but we should talk about listening. we should talk about trying to understand each other, trying to understand each other, trying to understand each other, trying to understand, especially the people who are not like us. you know, i still have a duty to speak about the ones in the forgotten attacks, that no one talks about. everyone, we are in covid right now and everyone is struggling. myself, iam and everyone is struggling. myself, i am lucky but i feel alone and sad often so i can‘t imagine how more

unlucky people than me could feel, you know, and i want to tell them that, you know, they are not alone. we can do this, we have to find a way to be together and we have to find a way to be together. 0k, thomas, thank you so much for speaking to us on this the fifth anniversary of the attacks. you speak very powerfully about that message of hope and we wish you well. thank you forjoining us. a survivor of the attack at the bata cla n survivor of the attack at the bataclan theatre, there. we can show you some pictures now from paris on this, the fifth anniversary of the attacks which killed 130 people and injured many hundreds more. the commemorations, of course, very much scaled back because of the lockdown, but the thoughts of so many people are with these officials as they lay

wreaths. the prime minister, jean castex and the mayor of paris, anne hidalgo, taking part in commemorations. time for a look at the weather forecast. compared to the wet conditions some of you started with today, lots more sunshine around now. still some downpours to come through the rest of the day, particularly in the north and west, this is where we will see the showers but more cloud and rain waiting in the wings for the weekend. clumps of cloud lining up in the atlantic. this is the window of quieter weather for the afternoon, the area of cloud which brought the rain this morning continues to move off towards the east. clearing kent and shetland last of all as we start lunchtime. long sunny spells in the south and east of the country but even here, one or two isolated showers.

the main chance of showers to the north and west, western scotland and northern ireland, showers most frequent and heaviest and with the breeze at its freshest this afternoon here, further south and east, there wind nowhere near as strong as first thing this morning. temperatures not a million miles away from where they should be this time of year, 10—14. turning cool quite quickly that evening, clear skies in the eastern half of the country, one or two showers in the west but through the evening and overnight, cloud starts to spill in off the atlantic and the next spell of wet weather at times. as you can see the rain is fairly fragmented, coming and going by the end of the night, and temperatures will be 5—6 at their lowest and end up close to double figures as we start the weekend. quite a mild weekend on the way wherever you are at times, particularly in the south, and rain will feature very largely in the forecast, because we have low pressure moving into the west of the country

and weather fronts working their way up on a southerly breeze. rain on and off through the day on saturday, often large amounts of cloud and very little sunshine, one or two glimpses to the south—east and for the far north—east of scotland, but for most, a fairly cloudy day and outbreaks of rain, the heaviest of which will be through the afternoon across parts of south—west scotland and northern ireland down into wales and the western half of england but it will be a day which feels milder and milder. a mild night to come and as we go into sunday, low pressure is still there, revolving around it, more weather fronts so more rain at times. a better chance of seeing some sunshine between the downpours but some downpours on sunday will be on the heavy side, a rumble of thunder and flash of lightning towards the south and west and throughout the weekend, southern counties of england and wales, the strongest winds touching gale force at times, making it feel cooler than the temperatures would suggest. have a good weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. the prime minister‘s most senior adviser — dominic cummings — says he‘ll leave downing street before christmas, after the turmoil of recent days. the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died at the age of 74. the serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across yorkshire and north—west england. wilma mccann was killed by peter sutcliffe in 1975 — her son richard was just 5 years old when she died. for me, it‘s the reduction, hopefully, in press stories. the tabloids, i‘m talking about, that have really irritated me my entire life. so to some degree there‘s some closure, but i am certainly not celebrating. senior us officials have described

last week‘s election as the most secure in american history. it comes as former president barack 0bama accuses senior republicans of undermining democracy. a proposed shake up to university admissions — with the recommendations from university leaders including offers based on actual exam results, rather than predicted grades. the chancellor rishi sunak urges hindus to respect lockdown rules during this year‘s diwali celebrations. and coming up this hour — scotland have finally done it, qualifying for a first men‘s major tournament in 22 years, after a dramatic win over serbia on penalties. more on that at 11.30.

borisjohnson was my closest boris johnson was my closest adviser dominic cummings is to leave downing street by christmas after 16 stormy months at the heart of government. he helped drive through brexit last year and has been at the forefront of the government‘s push to shake up the civil service. who is dominic cummings? in 2014 the former adviser to michael gove ran the probe exit vote leave campaign and was behind the group‘s take back control slogan. after becoming the prime minister at‘s senior adviser, the get brexit done message help the conservatives when a majority in the general election. but he made enemies. there are many disparaging comments. he describes some tory mps as useful ideas. sajid javid resigned after refusing to comply with one of his requests to fire an

adviser. his resignation was demanded by two after travelling to his family home during lockdown— he survived. his close colleague resigned as communication as director on wednesday night. he insists that he always wanted to make himself largely redundant by the end of 2020, but a downing street source told the bbc he jumped because otherwise he would be pushed soon. the transport secretary grant shap said dominic cummings will be remembered for his unique approach. he was always someone who would shake things up. he didn‘t take things just as they had been done that way. they can be done any other way. it is good to have people who challenge the system and challenge things, he is a must have been influential in that way. the author people misunderstand. advisers

advise, prime ministers and ministers decide. there are many cases where advice is given, but it is not followed. it is always good to people with fresh new ideas, he certainly brings a lot of that. may our political correspondent has been giving more details... himself and his allies say this was all part of the plan, he always intended to step down at the end of the year, pointing to a blog post he made in january when he was hiring new staff are downing street, saying that he wa nted are downing street, saying that he wanted to make himself much less important, and within a year, largely redundant. i don‘t think anyone at the time would have read into that that he had intention to actually leave. and certainly, it was only about six months ago the prime minister and she, through absolutely everything at the ever to save hisjob when he absolutely everything at the ever to save his job when he was absolutely everything at the ever to save hisjob when he was hugely criticised for his behaviour during lockdown, the drive from london to

the north of england during the national lockdown. six months is a long time in politics, but it certainly seems like something has shifted and that there has been a sort of change in the balance of power, if you like, and number 10 downing street, away from that vote leave tea m downing street, away from that vote leave team that you identified, those who have been with the prime ministers since the brexit referendum brought into downing street when boris johnson referendum brought into downing street when borisjohnson became premise, led him into the 2019 election victory, a huge tory majority, delivering brexit. hugely consequential and absently intertwined with borisjohnson‘s political leadership, but now it seems their power and influences on the way and that dominic cummings is going to leave government by the end of the year. a conservative peer and columnist for the times, thanks for joining us. what difference will it make, the departure of the brexit crowd ? as it‘s make, the departure of the brexit crowd? as it‘s being seen?

make, the departure of the brexit crowd? as it's being seen?” make, the departure of the brexit crowd? as it's being seen? i don't know, is the answer. we don‘t know what will replace it. i‘m not sure borisjohnson what will replace it. i‘m not sure boris johnson knows what will replace it. i‘m not sure borisjohnson knows either. there are two elements to this. one day from as has been covered, the idea that he brought in allegra stratton, this led to a dispute with lee kane and therefore with dominic cummings about the tone of the government. there is also another problem. the vote leave people in number ten have terrible relationships with the bully people in parliament, and this caused a problem for borisjohnson, who is weaker than you would expect a prime minister with an 80 seat majority he has just one to be in parliament. both of these things, i think, are part of my dominic cummings is leaving. we don‘t know what difference it will make until we see what comes after it. certainly, it‘s hard to see him replaced with someone who... less strategically focused on a confrontational strategy then

dominic cummings. it, borisjohnson being weaker than you expect, see the right and temperament to be in thisjob at all? the right and temperament to be in this job at all? he is the right and temperament to be in thisjob at all? he is noted the right and temperament to be in this job at all? he is noted for a lack of attention to detail, for delegating extensively and, ultimately, across the premise of‘s —— a lot of decisions? ultimately, across the premise of‘s -- a lot of decisions? i've always heard that. i always used to say to liberal conceptions, tone an attack boris too much, we may need him. by that amount i thought borisjohnson was essentially a liberal conservative. this was in the before brexit. but i also acknowledge, and i think anybody who knows has got to acknowledge, he doesn‘t like to offend people, so therefore he will tell one person one thing, another person another thing, and that he is better at the overview than he is at the detail. that is a serious problem for the premise. if you watch theresa may, who may be the opposite, you saw that she had amazing command of the detail that he doesn‘t have, and that is problematic. at the same time, he

has won a big election victory, partly because of his personality, and some of that is definitely to do with this sort of broadness and generosity, which is all bound up with his indecision. all these things come in a package. i‘ve a lwa ys things come in a package. i‘ve always had questions about that part of borisjohnson always had questions about that part of boris johnson and always had questions about that part of borisjohnson and whether that was suitable for the office he has got. are we going to see more influence from his partner, his fiancee carrie simmons? from lord goldsmith? who is known to be part of that friendship crowd? what disarming for policy, for example, on lockdown? i don't think it will alter the policy towards lockdown, actually. partly that‘s because i‘m sure the focus is now going to be on trying to get a vaccine. i don‘t think the government is going to move away from the strategy of trying to control the virus until we get a vaccine. that‘s what i think. but it will definitely have an influence on town. without any question, both lee, and it was more

hen than people appreciated, both him and dominic cummings, they did like to start fires... decide to have a play with the bbc, the courts, that was linked probably to a long—term strategy. this is going to bea a long—term strategy. this is going to be a problem for borisjohnson, of trying to keep going a sort of culture war with the left in which the conservative party will be able to fight the next election if economic surplus instances were propitious. if you miss away from that strategy, it looks like he is going to, he has to decide what to replace it with. —— if he moves away from that strategy. dominic cummings clearly had a strategy about how to wina clearly had a strategy about how to win a general election. he had me a nyway win a general election. he had me anyway because jeremy win a general election. he had me anyway becausejeremy corbyn was the leader of the labour party. next timei leader of the labour party. next time i think these things are a bit more difficult, but what boris johnson is going to now choose, that

is difficult to know, actually. you‘ve worked closely with the number of prime ministers and whether she soon act... how close is that top team at number 11 going to be in his only chance for france would give way during the next licensing them a collection for his neighbour next door? —— rishi sunak. how many premises have actually done that unless when they have seriously ill? -- that unless when they have seriously ill? —— how many prime ministers? none. anything can happen in politics, but i don‘t think that is the most likely thing. there‘s a tension caused by the different attitudes towards public spending that go away. boris is expansive by nature. his famous, i wanted that go away. boris is expansive by nature. his famous, iwanted my that go away. boris is expansive by nature. his famous, i wanted my cake and have it, he wants to do the...

rishi sunak is more fiscally conservative and that creates a tension between number ten and number11. tension between number ten and number 11. may tension between number ten and number11. may be, tension between number ten and number 11. may be, with a somewhat different tone which rishi sunak is more comfortable with, some differences might be reduced. more comfortable with, some differences might be reducedm terms of looking ahead, obviously there is a lot of names in the paper about who might take over as chief of staff and so on. any thoughts on that? who would you recommend? look, one of the people listed there, andrew, he won‘t take me for saying, i think it would be brilliant. i think he will say no because he is happy to have moved on in his life and done other things. maybe he is persuadable and he is very good to come in my experience. the premise will have people he has worked with before. he may be able to call on

one of those people from his period as mayor and may be that as the solution, because there‘s got to be someone who gets him. the important thing is, politics, its chemistry, not physics. allegra stratton is going to be a key player. we already know part of the structure around them, caddy is, that‘s clear. know part of the structure around them, caddy is, that's clear.l number of journalists and they them, caddy is, that's clear.l number ofjournalists and they are running the government at the moment —— caddy. one of the country‘s most notorious serial killers, peter sutcliffe, known as the yorkshire ripper, has died. sutcliffe who was 74, had been suffering from covid—19 where he is said to have refused treatment. in the late 1970s sutcliffe terrorised northern england, murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others. he was given 20 life sentences, after admitting his crimes in 1981. danny savage reports.

he was one of the most prolific killers of the 20th century — peter sutcliffe, the yorkshire ripper. we knew we were dealing with a monster because of what he was doing. he would get behind them and hit them on the back of the head, a real whack. for six years, women across a large part of northern england lived in fear — a serial killer was on the loose. no woman walking alone at night was safe. from 1975, until 1980, 13 women were killed by sutcliffe and he tried to murder several others. went down the path on the back of the house, which we later discovered is where she was found. thankfully it was dark and we were spared discovering mum‘s body. richard‘s mother was the first victim. he was just five years old when she died. it devastated his young life and, for a long time, he wanted revenge against sutcliffe for the murder of his 28—year—old mum.

as a young teenager, i can remember with my sister, we planned, or we discussed her contacting him, befriending him, changing her name and then eventually going to visit him and then she was going to attack him. that was the thoughts we had and that is how angry we were back then. this was in halifax, where19—year—old bank clerk josephine whitaker was killed. murder scenes were scattered across yorkshire and manchester. iamjack... the police inquiry was famously led down a blind alley by hoax tapes from the man dubbed wearsidejack. he sent letters and tapes taunting the investigating officers. i have the greatest respect for you, george... it led to the conclusion that peter sutcliffe was not their man. there was one young detective, who said i interviewed a man today, and he fits the description, the photofit description.

he has got bushy hair, a bushy beard and a gap in his teeth and he is a lorry driver. and one of the top table officers said... is he a geordie? no, no. what is his name? he said, peter sutcliffe. now, listen boys, peter sutcliffe... peter sutcliffe is not the yorkshire ripper. so, sutcliffe carried on killing, although he was interviewed on numerous occasions. colleagues at the haulage firm where he worked knew and used to joke about it. he was nicknamed the ripper. he used to answer to that sometimes, so it was rather... it was rather sort of... it is sad now, isn't it? bizarrely, he was finally caught after being linked to a car with stolen numberplates. weapons were found and, in early 1981, he confessed. that led to these extraordinary scenes in dewsbury, as the public turned out to voice their disgust.

sutcliffe was jailed for life. anger, hatred and obsession were deemed the motives for his crimes. few, if any, will mourn the passing of a man who destroyed so many lives. danny savage, bbc news, west yorkshire. we can speak now tojonathan margolis who was a reporter for the yorkshire post at the time of peter sutcliffe‘s killings. you met some of the people involved in this. how did you meet and just talk me through how it was at the time? the most extraordinary people to meet where peter sutcliffe‘s extra neighbour‘s in bradford. because we were the local paper we we re because we were the local paper we were 12 hours ahead of the media, so were 12 hours ahead of the media, so we got to speak to them first. i knocked on their door and said, look, i‘m sorry to bother you act on hawkins eight, blah blah, your neighbour is going to be charged

with the wrapper murders, and to my astonishment they said, oh, yes, we a lwa ys astonishment they said, oh, yes, we always knew it was time, we kept telling the police. they knew it was him because he looked like the ripper, whenever there was a murder they noticed he would burn his close on the back garden. and they said they keep telling the police and they keep telling the police and they won‘t listen to us. that was they won‘t listen to us. that was the most important meeting i had. when you met the people around him that sort of radiated out, the colleagues, the work colleagues who called him the ripper, as was mentioned earlier, the people who worked with him in the graveyard he was once a grave—digger who, when he stuck about heeding the voice of god telling him to do strange things in strange languages... it was one little man, a little insignificant man who was able to have an entire

belt of the country, pretty much from the east coast to the west, across the centre of northern england, completely under his spell. when you hear people say women and children couldn‘t walk alone, when you think what that actually means, for me, i had a young wife, pregnant, he would say, you know, can you walk down to safeway with me, because i don‘t want to go alone ona me, because i don‘t want to go alone on a winter evening. and when one of the last murders was behind that very safeway, it brought it to within 400 yards of where we lived ina within 400 yards of where we lived in a lovely area of leeds. it got it home any way that almost no other global story, global event resonated right down to the minutiae of what you did during the typical day was dictated by the whims of the

strange, insignificant little man. you also track down the parents of sutcliffe‘s wife. you also track down the parents of sutcliffe's wife. yeah, that was very strange because we found them at 4am. any journalists very strange because we found them at 4am. anyjournalists that goes knocking on someone‘s dora 4am, it has to be quite serious. we were already trying to find out more about this guy, who had been charged yet. it was a snowy night in northern bradford. we knocked on the door and the czech father of sutcliffe‘s wife poked his head out ofan upper sutcliffe‘s wife poked his head out of an upper window and we whispered up of an upper window and we whispered up to me and said, terribly sorry to bother you, we are from the yorkshire post and this concern to your son—in—law pete. he said, oh, is it the casting again? what are referred to as, sutcliffe, he wasn‘t a very cunning serial killer, he drove his car through positive areas on the lookout and so on, and to be

interviewed so many times that it obviously made a joke of it with his pa rents obviously made a joke of it with his parents in law. they invited us in and showed us some photos fresh from boots of peat at christmas, two weeks before, and saddam he was their beloved son—in—law but to anyone looking at your mouth dropped to the floor —— to them to stop you are looking at this stark man with eyes going off in different directions that looks exactly like the photo of the yorkshire ripper. they have the right guy, 0k. the photo of the yorkshire ripper. they have the right guy, ok. you talk with the neighbours warning the police but not being listened to. why did the investigation takes a long? because the police were obsessed with this question of him being a geordie. to the point where, as was mentioned earlier, individual coppers would make the sky, know he was weird, no everything fitted from the accent and there was one i remember going to visit, a

detective, a lovely intelligent guy who was shifted to the northumberland force because of his obsession with peter sutcliffe being the ripper. i went to interview him while the investigation was still active and we sat in his office in newcastle and he said, they got it wrong. it is the wrong guy. i know who it is. i can‘t tell you, but i know the name of this guy. it was only a fluke of policing, a very bright constable in sheffield who picked it up and picked up this extraordinary clue that he heard a ringing sound when sutcliffe went to urinate behind a coal bucket when they were questioning him and he woke up in the morning thinking he had something funny and went back, i believe not in uniform, as a savvy, to look at where sutcliffe had been and found this hammer dropped behind and found this hammer dropped behind a coal bunker. and so it was an instinctive bit of copying by a young, intelligent officer that

trumped all the work and effort done by these senior, very sensationalised, probably very conservative senior officers who got it so wrong. if it hadn‘t been without looking ship you, he might have gone on and killed another 30. thank you for your recollections. tough coronavirus restrictions have been extended in northern ireland for a further week. the current measures were due to expire at midnight tonight — with ministers under pressure to make a decision. under a compromise deal reached by the stormont executive some businesses will re—open next friday. a new system, offering students university places only after their exam results are known, could be introduced across the uk to reduce the reliance on predicted grades. the proposal is one of a series of recommendations made by universities uk, which represents more than 130 institutions. following an 18—month review, it said more needed to be done to make admissions fairer for students. let‘s speak to professor sally mapstone, who‘s

the principal and vice—chancellor of the university of st andrews. she‘s also deputy chair of today‘s report carried out for universities uk. thanks forjoining us. thanks for joining us. just thanks forjoining us. just explain for me how this proposed new system would work. the fair admissions review represents 18 months of work by universities uk, ucas fee admissions body, schools, universities and students. what is aiming to do is to improve the public understanding of undergraduate admissions, by making them fairer, more transparent. refreshing the guiding principles and also bringing in some proposed changes. and the key one as to bring and a system of post—qualifications offers. essentially, what that would mean would be that students would only get an offer from their chosen universities after they had received their examination results and summer. we think this would be fader

for students. more transparent. and it would, as you‘ve just mentioned, reduce the dependence on predicted grades. would have been a change to the timetable, given the results of a levels, and in august and university start in september? are you suggesting students would add to shortlist if you universities poorer and? —— have to shortlist if you universities beforehand ? and? —— have to shortlist if you universities beforehand? we are not suggesting a change to the timetable but this one of the reasons we need to consult with the sector and with schools. and why of the changes were to come on, they could do so would be in about three years time. what would happen is, in the final year of school, students will be making their choices in relation to universities, putting on applications, engaging with those universities to make sure that they have, would have the appropriate qualifications, and then after the results came out, universities would make offers to candidates. so there would be and actually quite narrow

period of time in the summer in which those decisions would be made and followed through on. and it would thus be absolutely crucial that students were able to get the advice that they need at that particular juncture from their schools and their advisers and families. which students have to have two and a formal application and may be interviewed before doing their a—levels so that universities have something to go on before they made an offer based on great? yeah, that‘s exactly right. they would be engaging with universities, probably with about three universities. interviews are not used everywhere, but in relation to some particular courses, there might well be the need for interviews. those engagements would have been made. not least to ensure that every student was applying for a course where, really, their qualification profile wasn‘t looking ray, where they were applying for physics and didn‘t have maths a—level, for example, the university can go back and say don‘t make this application because it wouldn‘t be appropriate

in this instance. if you like, the relationship would be there, but the offer making would come in the summer. that was to give students time to get to university in the autumn. so you are saying the results also, earlier than august? they would have to have at least a month or so to make their mind up where they would want to go? did, in august and there would be a pretty tight turnaround time. probably a two—week period in which the negotiations between universities and undergraduates would be taking place. that‘s why it is so important positions in theirfinal place. that‘s why it is so important positions in their final year to place. that‘s why it is so important positions in theirfinal year to be engaging with universities, to be researching, making their choices, making sure that the university they wa nt to making sure that the university they want to attend as the right one for them. quickly, what problems does them. quickly, what problems does the saw? wiping this change in? essentially, at the moment, students from disadvantaged background is in particular, may underperform on the

basis of predicted greys that their teachers may under ss what craze they‘re going to get and students may have less ambition because they pragmatically think i‘m not going to get into that because, so i will apply for another one —— predicted grades. we think this makes it fairer for everybody, for the universities and students to be making the choices after they know how well they have done. the lockdown forced many people back on their bikes for the first time, and now councils in england are set to receive more funding for cycle lanes and socially—distanced pavements. the department for transport is giving them a further £175 million of funding initially announced in may, but many motorists say some of the new lanes are causing more harm than good. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge reports. more road space for cyclists... i feel really safe, and i never did beforehand, so, yeah, i love it. i'm new to cycling.

for me it's brilliant because i wouldn't go on the roads. ..but less room for motorists. we got too many people driving cars, driving cabs, driving lorries. we're not even back in any sort of major recovery yet — god knows what it's going to be like when everybody does come back. the prime minister is passionate about cycling. his advisers are on a crusade to get councils to take really radical steps. but in places, it hasn‘t been a complete success. here in welwyn garden city, cyclists now have an entire lane. it‘s going to cause chaos at rush hour in the town. so do i think it was good? yes and no. this is a great example — a main link down into the town centre in a place where most people get around in a bus or by car.

and, as you can see, half of this road now is dedicated to cyclists. when the pandemic hit, the government decided to revolutionise our roads. it does cause a lot of traffic at the traffic lights. if anything, the only cyclists that i have seen over the bridge since it‘s been put up have been cycling on the pavement! and councils like hertfordshire have been competing for government funding. i personally think it's a very positive thing — a, for road safety. especially if you're riding with children, etc. i was driving along here the other day, and this old woman clearly did not know that she wasn‘t meant to be driving in the cycle lane, and she was driving along it on her own, as well. so i think for people like her, it‘s not a good thing. people are not going to go shopping on their cycle. it'sjust not going to happen. this is muddled thinking. this is a war on the motorist. and, frankly, if you want to look at this politically, it's a vote—loser. but in parts of our biggest cities, the cycling experience really has improved.

this liverpool councillor got back on her bike during lockdown. the reason i‘m really passionate about this is because it‘s completely changed how i travel. so ordinarily i would have just popped into my car for a shortjourney. now i willjump on my bike. some pop—up cycle lanes like this one are being removed, but if many more people cycle, it will cut congestion, improve air quality and our health as we peddle along. tom burridge, bbc news. let‘s discuss this with two guests. we‘re joined from the wirral by the former british former racing cyclist chris boa rdman. he‘s now greater manchester‘s walking and cycling commissioner. of the london cab drivers club. it's it‘s quite a lot of money to be spending at a time of economic

hardship potentially. 0n infrastructure to help just a few people who can afford to get on a b i cycle. people who can afford to get on a bicycle. no. not when we havejust announced over 20 billion spent on roads and over 2 billion on a single tunnel in the capital. so no it‘s not at all. listening to that report, there was a lot of unsubstantiated claims being made and a lot of support. we are founding eight out of ten people wa nt to founding eight out of ten people want to see, wants us to get our streets back. i think an important point i would like to make is ten yea rs point i would like to make is ten years ago, we are gone to people and said, listen, is it ok if we put 30% more traffic past your house? there would have been absolute outrage. it would have been absolute outrage. it would have been incandescent. but thatis would have been incandescent. but that is what has happened. 20 billion more miles are being driven on residential streets then ten yea rs on residential streets then ten years ago. what we are saying is, this space needs to go back to the people, we need to get the right back to the people of a genuine

choice to travel not in a car and a third of people don‘t have a choice a nyway third of people don‘t have a choice anyway because they don‘t have a car. grant davies, chairman of the london cab drivers club, your service is obviously valuable but surely covid and the climate change crisis have come together to force a change faster and it‘s healthier, isn‘t it? to get on a bike then go ona isn‘t it? to get on a bike then go on a car or isn‘t it? to get on a bike then go ona carortaxi. isn‘t it? to get on a bike then go on a car or taxi. well, we have seen a rise in cycling, mainly due to the lockdown. you can't use the gym, you're not going to work. you can't exercise in the gym, so you get a bike. i mean, take london for example. transport for london has spent nye on £800 million for cycle lanes. you know how many cyclists are registered in london? there's 118,000 out of a population of 8.7 million and transport for london have already spent nearly 800

million. so can somebody tell me or equate to me how such a small minority gets such a massive windfall allocated just for them? the problem with these and what you are seeing all over the country is that the local authorities and the government are not listening to the people. they are just acting like the old east german government and people are waking up and at the end of every road is these big plant pots and the local authorities are saying, we never asked you, we don't really care about your opinion, but they are here anyway. how would we get out of this economic mess that we are going to face? and it's not just taxis, it's local people who are suffering enough under covid. local people who are trying to have a resurgence of business. they are finding that their numbers are vastly reduced in local areas you to the road closures. somebody tell me

how this country gets back on its feet and we are bringing in plans like this without any consultation? it's ridiculous and as for the figures chrisjust it's ridiculous and as for the figures chris just mentioned, it's ridiculous and as for the figures chrisjust mentioned, who got these figures? no one has asked me. was it sage? chris, let me put some of that back to you. there is a difficulty, isn‘t there? because britain‘s roads are not that wide. the pavements are not that wide and it isn‘t necessarily possible or safe to have everyone, cars, vans, lorries and cyclists on that same space. that's exactly right. i pretty much refute almost every point, they were dft‘s figures themselves. so, we have effectively filled up our residential streets as an filled up our residential streets as a n ove rflow filled up our residential streets as an overflow for the main roads and any change at all exposes the fact that we have just got too many cars. all of the arguments i am hearing are incredibly myopic and very

irresponsible politics, because they don‘t take the responsibility for offering a solution, they only offer the status quo. it‘s like arguing against chemotherapy because it‘s painful and against chemotherapy because it‘s painfuland i‘m against chemotherapy because it‘s painful and i‘m not against chemotherapy because it‘s painfuland i‘m not going against chemotherapy because it‘s painful and i‘m not going to take any responsibility for the effective we don‘t do this. so, it‘s pretty poon we don‘t do this. so, it‘s pretty poor, really. also, as far as support goes, absolutely that. the majority support is their time and time again by local residents and we need to make sure that quiet majority is heard. chris, if you don‘t mind me asking briefly, you have suffered directly with tragedy in your own have suffered directly with tragedy in yourown family have suffered directly with tragedy in your own family with, you know personally about the dangers of cycling safely. lots of people want the option to have all choices. it's exactly that. i think it‘s a choice. and right now, you look out of a car window and it doesn‘t look appealing, because that‘s who all these measures are for. it‘s not for cyclists, they have already made a choice, it‘s the people who currently drive. a few hundred miles

from the just across the channel, 50% of kids go to schools every day because it‘s safe on bikes or walking. who wouldn‘t want that? but it won‘t happen until we create space and creating that space now, after we have allowed things to get saturated is not going to be pain free. grant, isn't it going to be possible that you still allow motorised transport where it is essential? it is still needed for old people who can‘t get on their bikes and business concerns, but you basically have to just redistribute the traffic on the road a bit. again, igo the traffic on the road a bit. again, i go back to the point that no one was consulted on these. it is beena land no one was consulted on these. it is been a land grab and let me tell you this, at the london cab driver's clu b this, at the london cab driver's club there is a saying. a moving city is a thriving city, great block city is a thriving city, great block city is a dying city. so you can have these many hamlets, you can have these many hamlets, you can have these many hamlets, you can have these cycle lanes everywhere, let's crush the economy and people

won't have a job, so they willjust have loads of spare time to cycle around the empty roads. 0k. grant davies and chris boardman, many thanks to both of you for your time. sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good morning. the england manager gareth southgate says their match against scotland at wembley next year will be a humdinger. the scots secured their place at the european championship after a nail—biting penalty shoot out in belgrade against serbia. 1—1 at the end of fulltime and extra time, they were flawless from the spot and david marshall was the hero, saving from alexander mitrovic winning the shoot out 5—4. after 10 missed major tournaments what a way to finally end the long wait. unbelievable, unbelievable, the character of the players, to... we were setting up nicely for a difficult scottish last game scenario, weren‘t we?

we were 1—0 up going into the last minute of the game and conceded from a set play. it would have been easy to crumble and take the disappointment and not finish the game properly but they dug in in extra time. they kept believing and they get their reward when we got it to penalty kicks. they kept their nerve again. two big games, twice that group of players have held their nerve. the players said they were celebrating for the whole country. the team‘s official twitter account saying they hoped the result had lifted the spirts of a nation in what‘s been a difficult year for all. well, andy murray was certainly celebrating. here‘s what it means to him as he watched the game. it vertainly raised the spirits on the street of edinburgh last night. flower of scotland ringing out, everyone is keeping fingers crossed that fans will be allowed in next summer,

knowing how importnat they are to the scotland team. the tartan army, that‘s what it will bring. hopefully, the fans get back into the stadium and hopefully that will be the case. the scotland england game is going to be a great spectacle and you know when we come there, it will be a big party atmosphere. ijust think it‘s great, for the whole country, it‘s brilliant. june cannot come quickly enough for scotland, group games against czech republic and croatia at hampden park either side of that trip to wembley to face england. firstly, to congratulate steve clark, i think he‘s a super guy and i‘m really pleased for him and for scotland. it‘s been a long time for them, so they‘ve done really well, i think they‘ve got some really good young players coming through. a team that are improving very quickly. let‘s hope we are a full house. that

would be a super occasion, although it certainly makes our life a lot more difficult. we were so close to having a full house of home nations at the euros next year, nothern ireland‘s play—off final against slovakia also went to extra time, and they were 10 minutes from penalties in belfast but slovakia‘s michal duris scored their winner. it finished 2—1 heartbreak for the northern irish players who qualified for the last euros and the 1000 fans who had been allowed into windsor park. the masters at augusta resumes in the next hour or so, bad weather and then bad light disruped the first days play, and ariound half the field, including rory mcilroy are yet to complete their first round. england‘s paul casey is the clubhouse leader on 7 under. he had the best of the conditions yesterday, this approach to the 11th green, his second hole of the day produced an eagle.

lee westwood is also well placed at four under, the same score as defending champion tiger woods. this approach on the par3, 16th showing he‘s not going to let go, of the green jacket that easily. could be a huge weekend for lewis hamilton, he can a 7th formula one world title which would equal maichael schumacher‘s record. it‘s the turkish grand prix and the early impressons from practice is that the istanbul park circuit is very slippery, with grip causing some problems fro the drivers. hamilton will win the title as long as he doesn‘t lose more than 7 points to his mercedes teamate valterri bottas. that‘s all the sport for now. lot‘s of rugby union internationals over the next month, the autumn nations cup starts with ireland against wales tonight, all the build up to that on the bbc sport website.

the annualjohn lewis christmas advert has been released. but this year it aims to raise £4 million for two charities fareshare, which helps those facing food poverty and home—start, which works with parents who need support. it‘s hoped this campaign will make a difference to some of those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. let‘s have a look at a section of that advert. just a little snippet of the ad there. i‘m nowjoined by the executive director of waitrose james bailey. mr bailey, thank you forjoining us.

people do often wait for the advert to come out at this time of year from john lewis. how is it different this time? thanks for having me. like a lot of things this year, it had to be different, didn‘t it? people are feeling a lot of conflicting things going into christmas. i think there is a bit of a need to release some tension and celebrate, but at the same time, it has been a year back no other. it's raising money for two charities. how much realistically will it raise?|j much realistically will it raise?” think we will go all the way, i think we will go all the way, i think we will get that £4 million. the plan is to raise that through a series of mechanisms. the partnership will match all the donations we receive and there is a further million on top of that via our local stores, so they can invest in their local communities in the way that they see fit. i think eve ryo ne way that they see fit. i think everyone feels like now is not the time to think only about yourself, you have to reach out, and give a little love as the advert says. we

are little love as the advert says. we a re pretty little love as the advert says. we are pretty confident that the whole 5 million will arrive to the people who need it most this christmas. of course, we are in extraordinary times. the waitrose and john lewis businesses, john lewis certainly is reported to have had a number of changes, job cuts like so many in retail. no staff bonus, having to shut stores. how difficult is the next year going to be?” shut stores. how difficult is the next year going to be? i think that‘s the million dollar question. nobody knows exactly what the trade will look like. there is all sorts of moving parts. it‘s really hard to forecast, i think the best any business can do, and this business is lucky, we have food stores that are doing pretty well, even if the john lewis shops have to shut for lockdown, so we have a balance. but every business has to plan for the unpredictable next year. we are hopeful that we will see our way through the covid crisis, but of course lots of people have lost

theirjobs. the economy is a difficult place. it‘s hard to forecast, we just have to plan for every eventuality. how important is it to get a deal on brexits? if there is no deal, what will act do to prices and your ability to bring food in? ideal would to prices and your ability to bring food in? idealwould be good. certainty always helps and we wish the government well in their endeavours. we need a good deal and we are still hopeful of that. everybody has been planning for a no—deal brexit as long as we can remember. so there are things in place, there are things you can plan for and things you can‘t do anything about, so for everything that you can avoid and plan around, we have done that and we are ready to go. there is no question that there will bea there is no question that there will be a bit of disruption and it will have a knock—on effect to the supply chains, all the uk grocery supply chains, all the uk grocery supply chain is very efficient and the system will try and compensate for all the changes, but there is no question that in some instances, you won‘t be able to cover every eventuality. what's that going to

look like? are you talking about certain foods that you will be able to get in? temporarily, i think it has been well trial that there are bottlenecks in dover and fresh food and things like that. maybe no more than a week or two, i am hopeful. i suspect, given the year that eve ryo ne suspect, given the year that everyone has been through, i think most customers will be forgiving for a week or two and then the system should kick in and repair that damage. there is no realtelling what will happen. but you have to plan for every eventuality. james bailey, executive director of waitrose, thank you for your time. joe biden has been projected to win the state of arizona, increasing his already decisive lead over donald trump in the us election. it means he now has 290 electoral college votes, compared to mr trump‘s 217. the total required to win is 270. a win for biden would be the first time arizona has been taken by a democratic candidate since 1996, when bill clinton took it on the way to his second term in office.

races in north carolina and georgia have yet to be called, but these results would not affect the overall victory. president trump has repeatedly circulated unfounded claims of election fraud and errors and is still refusing to acknowledge that he lost tojoe biden. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the most secure election in american history, the verdict from senior us officials, refusing the president‘s claims that there was widespread voter fraud, a top committee overseen by the department of homeland security has concluded there is no case to answer. while we know there is a number of claims about the process, they say... barack obama, who campaigned alongsidejoe biden, his former deputy has now added his voice to the growing criticism of mr trump over his false

claims of election fraud. they appeared to be motivated, in part, because the president does not like to lose, and never admits loss. i am more troubled by the fact that other republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion. it is one more step in delegitimising, notjust the incoming biden administration but democracy in general, and that is a dangerous part. senior democrats are urging the white house to acknowledge joe biden‘s win, saying the president—elect should be given access to the security briefings that mr trump gets every day. the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, said the absurd circus meant that the coronavirus pandemic was being neglected and the leader of the democrats in the senate in this message with senior

republicans. stop denying reality. stop deliberately and recklessly sowing doubt about our democratic process and start focusing on probit. the unease felt at mr trump continuing denial about the result has prompted ‘the elders‘, a group of senior world figures, founded by nelson mandela, to condemn the president‘s behaviour. the tragedy is that the united states has always been the supporter and strong advocate for democracy and adherence to the will of the people. when the votes are counted, you accept that and, so, we do see it as being serious for the united states in the short—term also very worrying internationally because it is obviously that something autocrats and bad leaders are rejoicing because they're laughing, they are saying who talked about democracy? look at the united states!

apart from playing golf last weekend and one official engagement to mark veterans‘ day, donald trump has confined himself to the white house since the election, venting his anger through social media. peter bowes, bbc news. just want to bring you some breaking news. a man is due to appear in court with the murder of a two—year—old girl. cleveland police have said that she died at the royal victoria infirmary in newcastle on thursday, two days after she was inserted or injured. a 26—year—old man will appear inserted or injured. a 26—year—old man willappear in inserted or injured. a 26—year—old man will appear in court charged with her murder. the police previously said the toddler‘s family was being supported by specially trained officers. anyone here who would like to speak to somebody can approach the team, they have said.

very tragic piece of news there in newcastle. more now on the news that covid 19 restrictions in northern ireland have been extended for another week. but in a deal agreed late yesterday from next friday cafes that don‘t sell alcohol can open until 8pm and you can have your hair cut by appointment only. we speak now to carly hoey — she owns bellaire beauty in belfast. do you know exactly what you can and can‘t do now? can you open, when and for how long? so we found out late last night that we can‘t open until friday the 20th, which is obviously an extra week extension on the initial date we were given. the news was devastating for all of hospitality in close contact industry because we were hoping to open and initially when we locked down, we were under the impression that we would open in four weeks. so i know myself, i had a full diary of clients that i‘m now having to move

to the following week and i‘m just praying that in a week‘s time, we can get back to business and open again. they have been calls for a two—week further closure, haven‘t they? because of rising numbers. 100%. i am under no doubt that this isa 100%. i am under no doubt that this is a massive pandemic but ijust think we need a more viable way of moving forward. lockdowns have massive impact on society and economic hardships, economic costs are unparalleled at the moment and the uncertainty of whether we have a business to go back to if this continues is just very scary for myself and my team for a lot of people in a small business position. what sort of, you do have the full range of beauty treatments plus hair or, just beauty? we have a huge team and amongst us, a lot of us have families and small children and obviously christmas is around the corner, so we were hoping for a big run at it after being closed, i have

been closed 17 weeks this year. i have... we have had an awful trading year and obviously this is a way that they are slowing the numbers andi that they are slowing the numbers and i understand but i think we need and i understand but i think we need a more viable way of controlling this virus then continuously locking down businesses and as well, it‘s the close contact and hospitality are hit worse. international companies are open and trading as normal. has the furlough scheme help to protect jobs? 0r furlough normal. has the furlough scheme help to protectjobs? 0rfurlough has been great in respect to staffing costs a nd been great in respect to staffing costs and i have been in the position that i‘ve helped my staff out a bit more. with regard to the overhead costs, i am way short of what my outgoings are and that‘s the same for a lot of companies. so it all very well and good with the furlough but we still have our bills coming out. the bills are still coming out. the bills are still coming out. the bills are still coming out. we understand, everybody is in coming out. we understand, everybody isina coming out. we understand, everybody is in a difficult position, but for now, carly hoey, thank you very much indeed. best wishes. diwali — popularly known

as the festival of lights — is normally celebrated with parties, gifts and religious ceremonies. but with many places of worship closed and restrictions in place, traditional celebrations aren‘t possible this year. the chancellor of the exchequer rishi sunak, who is a practising hindu, has urged those celebrating to respect the lockdown ban on meeting people outside their household. sima kotecha, has more. sisters chaya and maya, lighting candles by a statue of their hindu deity. 0m shanti, shanti, shanti. like christmas and other religious festivals, diwali brings gifts, songs and traditional food. although the sisters are excited about its imminent arrival, they know this year won‘t be the same. we‘ve still got the light and the fireworks. but you can‘t meet up with your family and you

have to do it on zoom. that‘s ok, you at least get to see them, not face to face, but still like a bit sad because we actually want to like, maybe hug them. their grandparents live just minutes away, but aren‘t in their bubble. they talk online and tomorrow will be no different. but there‘ll be no exchanging of food and no dancing with cousins. normally we would dance and perform at grandpa‘s house as you saw. so we‘d dance and sing. we do a big show! and we've practised online, we've got it all correct. and this year, perhaps, will be more poignant than usual. south asians have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus. the girl‘s grandparents lost a close friend to the virus. and so this diwali, they say, will have a somber tone. we are in close contact with his wife and of course, not very far from us,

you know, being a good friend, but, of course, will be missed in that respect. that one friend we have lost. the chancellor, a practising hindu, is urging those who celebrate to stay at home, even though they may be tempted to visit relatives. i know how difficult it is. i mean, it's so difficult for us not to want to see each other like it is for everybody, especially at this time of year. but we've just got to stick with this for a couple more weeks and we're going to get through this to keep everyone safe right now. just follow the rules. but there are those, chancellor, who have said that they‘re frustrated that the restrictions could be lifted in time for christmas but won‘t be lifted in time for diwali. what would you say to those people? well, i mean, we've had restrictions all the way through this year. there's lots of different religious and cultural celebrations that happen. we can't control the spread of the virus. the virus is doing what it's doing. we have to react to that. and that's got to be the right way to approach this. this is neasden temple. it‘s one of britain‘s most popular

temples and it hosts the largest diwali and hindu new year celebrations in europe. but not this year. there‘ll be no packed car parks. there‘ll be no line of worshippers waiting to go inside. but instead, there will be virtual ceremonies for thousands of people to watch from the safety of their home. special days like this one bring the differences caused by covid into sharp and often painful focus. sima kotecha, bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. as the cloud and rain eventually clears away from the south and east of the country, will be left with a story of sunshine and a few showers for the rest of the day. more sunshine and some of us have seen so far, showers most frequent across northern and western areas. northern

ireland and scotland, heavy at times, stiff breeze here, lighter winds further south and east and while there will be a few showers coming to eastern districts on that breeze, many eastern and southern parts stay predominantly dry as we go through this afternoon. temperatures not 1 million go through this afternoon. temperatures not1 million miles away from where they should be, ten to 40 degrees. into this evening and overnight, turning call quite quickly, temperatures will lift later in the night, outbreaks of rain spilling in and a stiffening wind. when strongest towards the south—west as we start saturday morning. temperatures will be on the up. i‘ll feel to the weekend, but certainly on saturday, lots of cloud, outbreaks of rain right across the country, on and off through the day. a better chance of sunshine between the downpours on sunday but gales in the far south.

this is bbc news. i‘m geeta guru—murthy. the headlines... the prime minister‘s most senior adviser — dominic cummings — says he‘ll leave downing street before christmas, after the turmoil of recent days: the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died at the age of 74. the serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across yorkshire and north—west england. wilma mccann was killed by peter sutcliffe in 1975 — her son richard was just 5 years old when she died... for me, it is the reduction, hopefully in press stories. the tabloid, i‘m talking about. that i have really irritated me my entire life, to be fair. to some degree there is some closure, but i‘m certainly not celebrating.

senior us officials have described last week‘s election as the most secure in american history. it comes as former president barack 0bama accuses senior republicans of undermining democracy. the chancellor rishi sunak urges people to respect lockdown rules during this year‘s diwali celebrations. tonight marks 40 years since the launch of children in need — we‘ll be looking at how the money raised is being used to help people. and coming up this hour... scotland have finally done it, qualifying for a first men‘s major tournament in 22 years, after a dramatic win over serbia on penalties. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. boris johnson‘s closest adviser,

dominic cummings, is to leave downing street by christmas after 16 stormy months at the heart of government. mr cummings helped drive through brexit last year, and has been at the forefront of the government‘s push to shake up the civil service. so who is dominic cummings? in 2015 the former advisor to michael gove ran the pro—brexit vote leave campaign in the eu referendum and was behind the group‘s "take back control" slogan. after becoming the prime minister‘s senior adviser in 2019 the "get brexit done" campaign message helped the conservatives this win a large majority in the general election. but he made enemies. there were many disparaging comments. he described some tory brexiteer mps as "useful idiots". sajid javid resigned as chancellor after refusing to comply with mr cummings‘s request to dismiss his special adviser. three months later he was fighting for his political life in the downing street rose garden, after two opposition party leaders demanded his resignation for travelling to his parents‘ farm during the covid—19lockdown. he survived.

but it seems the announcement of his departure was accelerated after the news his close colleague, lee cain, resigned as communications director on wednesday night. dominic cummings insists he always wanted to make himself "largely redundant" by the end of 2020. but a downing street source told the bbc he ‘jumped because otherwise he would be pushed soon‘. the transport secretary grant shapps said dominic cummings will be remembered for his unique approach. he was always someone who would sort of shake things up. he didn't take thingsjust as they had been done that way they couldn't be done any other way and it always good to have people who challenge the system and challenge the way things have been done and he was influential in that way. but a lot of people misunderstand — advisers advise, the prime minister and ministers decide. there are many occasions where, you know, advice is given but it is not the path that would be followed. but it is always good, as i say,

to have people with fresh, new ideas and he certainly brings a lot of that with him. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo has been given more details about dominic cummings decision to leave downing street. himself and his allies say this was all part of the plan, he always intended to step down at the end of the year, pointing to a blog post he made injanuary when he was hiring new staff for downing street, saying that he wanted to make himself much less important, and within a year, largely redundant. i don‘t think anyone at the time would have read into that that he had intention to actually leave. and certainly, it was only about six months ago the prime minister and he threw absolutely everything at the effort to save his job when he was hugely criticised for his behaviour during lockdown, the drive from london to the north of england

during the national lockdown. six months is a long time in politics, but it certainly seems like something has shifted and that there has been a sort of change in the balance of power, if you like, in number 10 downing street, away from that vote leave team that you identified, those who have been with the prime minister since the brexit referendum brought into downing street when borisjohnson entered, led him into the 2019 election victory, a huge tory majority, delivering brexit. hugely consequential and intertwined with boris johnson‘s political leadership, but now it seems their power and influence has been on the wain and that dominic cummings is going to leave government by the end of the year. theresa villiers is a former environment and northern ireland secretary — who served in borisjohnson‘s cabinet until february of this year. this is your side of the conservative party losing control, losing influence, isn‘t it? ithink

his record, he has achieved, dominic cummings, he has achieved some significant things. his role in the general election was important. i do feel these changes in the downing street tea m feel these changes in the downing street team are an opportunity for a fresh start. i think to enable the prime minister to build bridges with some of the back benches, who have become anxious about some of the direction the government has gone over recent months. i think we should look on this episode as a positive opportunity to do that kind of reset, which sources at number ten clearly seem to want to do. should dominic cummings and lee cain have been in government with such massive levels of power? there is no doubt they both were very powerful.

there are, as the transport secretary in that clip just said, there are merits in having someone like dominic at the heart of government, who will challenge and shake things up, but i think there we re shake things up, but i think there were some increasing problems in terms of divisions within downing street. and that‘s why i think this set of changes, with the departure of lee cain and the departure of dominic at the end of the year probably are the right way to go for the government. what would you critically worried about, you and your colleagues? certainly there was a very different atmosphere within government when i served on the borisjohnson is government when i served on the boris johnson is compared government when i served on the borisjohnson is compared to david cameron, with david cameron much more prepared to enable his team just to get on with delivering our commitments in the manifesto, whereas i think the attempt to sort of centralise under led by dominic

cummings and lee cain, it was well—intentioned but sometimes it felt like it got in the way of actually just achieving the felt like it got in the way of actuallyjust achieving the outcomes that we all wanted to achieve. i do hope that this change and it‘s replaced with an approach which is more collegiate, both in terms of relationships between number ten and ministers, but also between number ten and the parliamentarians, there are such a crucial part of delivering the government‘s agenda. you say that but dominic cummings described brexiteer mps, you are in that part of the party, as "useful idiots". that stain for parliamentarians was evident, wasn‘t it? borisjohnson parliamentarians was evident, wasn‘t it? boris johnson is parliamentarians was evident, wasn‘t it? borisjohnson is like that to run for it? borisjohnson is like that to runfora year it? borisjohnson is like that to run for a year —— that distain for parliamentarians. -- boris johnson has allowed that to run for a year. there is no doubt that both lee cain

and dominic cummings were pretty dismissive of backbenchers etc, i don‘t think there was helpful. i do think it is important that whoever ta kes think it is important that whoever takes over from these two has a different approach. yes, i amongst others have been on the end of that dismissive approach. i do think it needs to change. through what you are most concerned about, in terms of your own experience with him. well, as i say, i think the important thing is to allow the current secretary of state, really, just to get on with the important task that the government faces. not just tackling the covid emergency, but also the other hugely important because the government has, for example on the environment and climate change. just to understand what your criticisms are, what happened to you that you were concerned about in terms of the behaviour of these two men? the

a lwa ys behaviour of these two men? the always behaved with courtesy towards me. but there were occasions where it was frustrating, particular in terms of relationships with the media, that sometimes it was more difficult to be able to get the message out to the media, because of the tendency of dominic cummings and lee cain to seek to centralise everything at number ten. that did make it more difficult to respond nimbly and rapidly to media opportunities and queries. i think thatis opportunities and queries. i think that is where i would highly with my own experience. —— i would highlight with my own experience. sometimes it was more difficult than it needed to be because of the tendency to seek to centralise things at number ten, rather than just to let secretary of state is just comedy. rather than just to let secretary of state isjust comedy. isn't this all indication of the weakness of the perimeter self? that for someone at the top, yet to be more than just a

chairman figure? the top, yet to be more than just a chairmanfigure? —— the top, yet to be more than just a chairman figure? —— the weakness of the prime minister himself? and that no prime minister should be too reliant on other elected advisers, should they? i think this prime minister is as a man, he makes his own decisions. inevitably in any government there are these kinds of internal debates between advisers and misters —— the prime minister as his own man. i don‘t think this is been different from other episodes in previous governments, budgeting this is an important opportunity to reset what i think will be a more collegiate approach. would you like to be chief of staff instead? —— who would you like to be chief of staff -- who would you like to be chief of staff instead ? -- who would you like to be chief of staff instead? i don't have a name to put forward. i‘m sure there are

many. no one comes to mind but i‘m sure the front runners will be appearing in the media in due course. now it‘s a matter of speculation. one of the country‘s most notorious serial killers, peter sutcliffe, known as the yorkshire ripper, has died. sutcliffe who was 74, had been suffering from covid—19 where he is said to have refused treatment. in the late 1970s sutcliffe terrorised northern england, murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others. he was given 20 life sentences, after admitting his crimes in 1981. danny savage reports. he was one of the most prolific killers of the 20th century — peter sutcliffe, the yorkshire ripper. we knew we were dealing with a monster because of what he was doing. he would get behind them and hit them on the back of the head, a real whack. for six years, women across a large part of northern england lived in fear —

a serial killer was on the loose. no woman walking alone at night was safe. from 1975, until 1980, 13 women were killed by sutcliffe and he tried to murder several others. went down the path on the back of the house, which we later discovered is where she was found. thankfully it was dark and we were spared discovering mum‘s body. richard‘s mother was the first victim. he was just five years old when she died. it devastated his young life and, for a long time, he wanted revenge against sutcliffe for the murder of his 28—year—old mum. as a young teenager, i can remember with my sister, we planned, or we discussed her contacting him, befriending him, changing her name and then eventually going to visit him and then she was going to attack him. that was the thoughts we had and that is how angry we were back then. this was in halifax, where19—year—old bank clerk josephine whitaker was killed.

murder scenes were scattered across yorkshire and manchester. iamjack... the police inquiry was famously led down a blind alley by hoax tapes from the man dubbed wearsidejack. he sent letters and tapes taunting the investigating officers. i have the greatest respect for you, george... it led to the conclusion that peter sutcliffe was not their man. there was one young detective, who said i interviewed a man today, and he fits the description, the photofit description. he has got bushy hair, a bushy beard and a gap in his teeth and he is a lorry driver. and one of the top table officers said... is he a geordie? no, no. what is his name? he said, peter sutcliffe. now, listen boys, peter sutcliffe... peter sutcliffe is not the yorkshire ripper.

so, sutcliffe carried on killing, although he was interviewed on numerous occasions. colleagues at the haulage firm where he worked knew and used to joke about it. he was nicknamed the ripper. he used to answer to that sometimes, so it was rather... it was rather sort of... it is sad now, isn't it? bizarrely, he was finally caught after being linked to a car with stolen numberplates. weapons were found and, in early 1981, he confessed. that led to these extraordinary scenes in dewsbury, as the public turned out to voice their disgust. sutcliffe was jailed for life. anger, hatred and obsession were deemed the motives for his crimes. few, if any, will mourn the passing of a man who destroyed so many lives. danny savage, bbc news, west yorkshire. our home affairs

correspondent isjune kelly. what more are we hearing about how he died when he died? we know he had been admitted to hospital suffering from covid—19. he did have a number of long—standing health issues, heart problems, diabetes and was very overweight. he was over 70. what we do understand is, having been admitted to hospital, he refused treatment for covid. he had, i‘m told, had had some oxygen, but that was about all, he refused any other sort of covid treatment. there isa other sort of covid treatment. there is a massive irony in that, isn‘t there? this is a man so controlling when he was on the outside of prison, who, write to the end, he controlled he wanted to die, which for his victims and the victims families today, that is massively ironic. the notoriety is huge. it is remembered by people who remember those times. has that remain through

the years? i think anybody was living in the north of england and those particular parts of the north of england where he operated, so he killed 11 women in his native west yorkshire, he then crossed the pennines and killed two other women in manchester. but any women in the north of england at that time can remember the terror that this man engendered. the fact he was on the list for so long, that was the big problem. —— on the loose. as we had in that report, the police went com pletely in that report, the police went completely up the wrong path in terms of trying to find a yorkshire rep. they were concerned this hoaxer from the north—east was their man. as we had in the report, peter sutcliffe was in the frame to a degree, he was on the radar and fitted the photofit that the victims who had survived had been able to help the police compile. they had in their heads that the killer was a geordie. the women who did survive his attacks had cited the police that he was a local man, had a local

accent, but i was completely disregarded. ironically, in the end, was caughtjust disregarded. ironically, in the end, was caught just by disregarded. ironically, in the end, was caughtjust by basic good old policing, apprehend about two officers from the south yorkshire force when he was found to have take place in his car and that set into play the events of him being arrested and eventually going to the 0ld arrested and eventually going to the old bailey where he was convicted. the headlines on bbc news... the prime minister‘s most senior adviser — dominic cummings — says he‘ll leave downing street before christmas, after the turmoil of recent days. the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died at the age of 74. the serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across yorkshire and north—west england. senior us officials have described last week‘s election as the most secure in american history. it comes as former president barack 0bama accuses senior republicans of undermining democracy.

sport now... scotland at wembley next year will be a humdinger of match, that was the reaction from the england manager gareth southgate after the scots secured their place at the european championship. they had to go through a nail—biting penalty shoot out in belgrade against serbia. 1—1 at the end of fulltime and extra time, they were flawless from the spot and david marshall was the hero, saving from alexander mitrovic winning the shoot out 5—4 in their play—off final. after 10 missed major tournaments, what a way to finally end the long wait. the players celebrated long into the night. chanting this was them paying tribute to their keeper back at their hotel,

he also pulled off a brilliant save in extra time. the 35 year old feared he might never reach a major finals with scotland. it's it‘s been so long. 0pposite i‘m a certain age as well as that i can remember tournaments, and opposite we have not been on one purse so long. it is massive emotion, feeling. delighted to be there. it is probably not sunken in terms of what is going to happen now. ryan christie was in tears, shows how much it means to the last to get there. 0bviously much it means to the last to get there. obviously to families and fa ns there. obviously to families and fans can be there, hopefully by next summer they get the chance to go. it wasn‘t just the players celebrating — andy murray showing what it means to him as he watched the game. and it certainly raised the spirits on the street of edinburgh last night. flower of scotland ringing out...

everyone is keeping fingers crossed that fans will be allowed in next summer, knowing how important they are to the team. the tartan army, that‘s what they will bring. hopefully if they fancy back into the stadium. hopefully that will be the case, because the scotla nd that will be the case, because the scotland and england game will be a great spectacle. and we come there, it will be a big party atmosphere. i just think it is great for the whole country, i think it is brilliant. sojune cannot come quickly enough for scotland, group games against czech republic and croatia at hampden park either side of that trip to wembley to face england. firstly, to congratulate steve clarke. a super guy and i'm really pleased for him and for scotland, has been a long time for them. they've done really well. i think they have some of the good young players coming through. a team that are improving very quickly. let's hope we are a full house. that would

bea hope we are a full house. that would be a super occasion. although it certainly makes our life is a lot more difficult. we were so close to having a full house of home nations at the euros next year, nothern ireland‘s play—off final against slovakia also went to extra time, and they were 10 minutes from penalties in belfast but slovakias michal duris scored their winner. it finished 2—1. heartbreak for the northern irish players who qualified for the last euros and the 1000 fans who had been allowed into windsor park. the masters at augusta resumes in the 10 minutes or so, bad weather and then bad light disruped the first day‘s play, and around half the field, including rory mcilroy are yet to complete their first round. england‘s paul casey is the clubhouse leader on 7 under. he had the best of the conditions yesterday. this approach to the 11th green... his second hole of the day... produced an eagle.

lee westwood is also well placed at four under, the same score as defending champion tiger woods. this approach on the par 3, 16th. it could be a huge weekend for lewis hamilton, he can win a 7th formula one world title which would equal maichael schumachers record. it‘s the turkish grand prix and the early impressons from practice is that the istanbul park circuit is very slippery, with grip causing some problems for the drivers. hamilton will win the title as long as he doesn‘t lose more than 7 points to his mercedes teamate valterri bottas. that‘s all the sport for now. lot‘s of rugby union internationals over the next month, the autumn nations cup starts with ireland

against wales tonight, all the build up to that on the bbc sport website. joe biden has been projected to win the state of arizona — increasing his already decisive lead over donald trump in the us election. it means he now has 290 electoral college votes, compared to mr trump‘s 217. the total required to win is 270. a win for biden would be the first time arizona has been taken by a democratic candidate since 1996 — when bill clinton took it on the way to his second term in office. races in north carolina and georgia have yet to be called, but these results would not affect the overall victory. president trump has repeatedly circulated unfounded claims of election fraud and errors and is still refusing to acknowledge that he lost tojoe biden. the most secure election in american history,

the verdict from senior us officials, refusing the president‘s claims that there was widespread voter fraud, a top committee overseen by the department of homeland security has concluded there is no case to answer. while we know there is a number of unfounded claims about the process, they say... barack obama, who campaigned alongsidejoe biden, his former deputy has now added his voice to the growing criticism of mr trump over his false claims of election fraud. they appear to be motivated, in part, because the president does not like to lose, and never admits loss. i am more troubled by the fact that other republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion.

it is one more step in delegitimising, notjust the incoming biden administration but democracy in general, and that is a dangerous path. senior democrats are urging the white house to acknowledge joe biden‘s win, saying the president—elect should be given access to the security briefings that mr trump gets every day. the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, said the absurd circus meant that the coronavirus pandemic was being neglected and the leader of the democrats in the senate in this message for senior republicans. stop denying reality. stop deliberately and recklessly sowing doubt about our democratic process and start focusing on covid. the unease felt at mr trump continuing denial about the result has prompted the elders, a group of senior world figures, founded by nelson mandela, to condemn the president‘s behaviour. the tragedy is that the

united states has always been the supporter and strong advocate for democracy and adherence to the will of the people. when the votes are counted, you accept that and, so, we do see it as being serious for the united states in the short—term but also very worrying internationally because it is obviously that something autocrats and bad leaders are rejoicing in because they're laughing, they are saying who talks about democracy? look at the united states! apart from playing golf last weekend and one official engagement to mark veterans‘ day, donald trump has confined himself to the white house since the election, venting his anger through social media. peter bowes, bbc news. just want to bring you some of the latest covid stats were getting. government scientists, the sage group, who say the r rate has fallen

at the drop. it is dropped to between one and 1.2 across the uk. that is a fall of 0.1%. they were estimating an at point —— between 1.14.3. estimating an at point —— between 1.1-1.3. it is estimating an at point —— between 1.1—1.3. it is now gone between 1-1.2. it is still 1.1—1.3. it is now gone between 1—1.2. it is still spreading at that level. there are still saying the outbreak only goes into retreat if it goes below one. they are saying the confident —— they are confident has grown across england in recent weeks. they say levels of disease are very weeks. they say levels of disease are very high in these areas. significant health care demand and mortality were possessed until it lowers low one for an extended period of time —— will persist. .

saying some officials have suggested that increased comedy highs today, is the result of people going out and socialising just before the current long—term peter began —— some officials have suggested that that increase, the highest to date. still significant numbers of mortality and illness due to the covid crisis, and that is why there is this lockdown still persisting. more on all the with our statistics corresponding in a few minutes. france is holding commemorations for the victims of militant jihadists in paris five years ago. the shootings and bombings by three groups of islamist extremists left 130 people dead and hundreds more wounded in the country‘s worst peacetime atrocity in decades. paris mayor anne hidalgo and prime ministerjean castex, along with other ministers and representatives of victims‘ organisations have begun visiting the sites of the attacks

and laying wreaths. but there are fewer public mourners this year because of coronavirus restrictions on gatherings. 0ur correpondent in paris — hugh schofield, told us more about the day‘s schedule: the event to scale down because of covid and what we are seeing now is a low—key by this group of dignitaries, the mayor, the prime minister, thejustice dignitaries, the mayor, the prime minister, the justice minister, dignitaries, the mayor, the prime minister, thejustice minister, the interior minister and right now, we just watching the feed coming in on television that they are moving from location to location, culminating of course at the bataclan itself, the concert hall. it is time to be exactly 12 hours ahead of the actual timing of the attacks, that was in the evening, it started at quarter past nine in the evening at the

stadium and so are it was at quarter past nine this morning that the group at the stadium, that is where the terrible series of events started with the suicide bombings there which killed only one other person and then now they are in the middle of town right now going to four different bars which were visited and attacked by gunmen. a short distance away and the 11th arrondissements, the bataclan concert hall, the worst of it happen, 90 people mown down in terrible circumstances. in general, i would say five years on, of course everybody remembers but talking about big, large—scale commemorations, it‘s not that. something that is internalised now and the costs of covid there is no great public event. now, it‘s time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. as the cloud and rain eventually

clears away from the south and east of the country, will be left with a story of sunshine and a few showers for the rest of the day. more sunshine than some of us have seen so far, showers most frequent across northern and western areas. northern ireland and scotland, heavy at times, stiff breeze here, lighter winds further south and east and while there will be a few showers coming to eastern districts on that breeze, many eastern and southern parts stay predominantly dry as we go through this afternoon. temperatures not a million miles away from where they should be, ten to 14 degrees. into this evening and overnight, turning cool quite quickly, temperatures will lift later in the night, outbreaks of rain spilling in and a stiffening wind. wind strongest towards the south—west as we start saturday morning. temperatures will be on the up. mild feel to the weekend, but certainly on saturday, lots of cloud, outbreaks of rain right across the country, on and off through the day. a better chance of sunshine between the downpours on sunday but gales in the far south.

hello this is bbc news. the prime minister‘s most senior adviser — dominic cummings — says he‘ll leave downing street before christmas, after the turmoil of recent days: the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died at the age of 74. the serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across yorkshire and north—west england. wilma mccann was killed by peter sutcliffe in 1975 her son richard was just 5 years old when she died. for me, it‘s the reduction, hopefully, in press stories. the tabloids, i‘m talking about, that have really irritated me my entire life. so to some degree there‘s some closure, but i am certainly not celebrating. senior us officials have described last week‘s election as the most secure in american history. it comes as former president barack

0bama accuses senior republicans of undermining democracy. as we‘ve been reporting, peter sutcliffe, infamous as the serial killer, the yorkshire ripper, has died. sutcliffe who was 74, had been suffering from covid—19 where he is said to have refused treatment. he also had a number of underlying health issues including heart problems and diabetes. in the late 1970s sutcliffe terrorised northern england, murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others. richard mccann‘s mother, wilma mccann, was one of peter sutcliffe‘s victims. earlier he spoke to my colleague annita mcveigh and told her what sutcliffe‘s death means for him. for me, it‘s the reduction, hopefully, in press stories. the tabloid press, i‘m talking about, that have really irritated me my entire life, to be fair. so to some degree, there is some closure there but i‘m certainly not celebrating. in fact, i reached out

to carl sutcliffe and gave him a call when i got the news to offer my condolences. gosh, many people will be absolutely amazed that you did that. that you felt able to do that. i don‘t know, carl sutcliffe reached out to me many years ago when he read about me, myjourney, when i wrote a book years ago. he reached out to me with compassion and i felt the same. i know he did, obviously did, some horrendous things, but he was still his brother. so, ifelt like i wanted to call him. talk to us then, you talked about these crimes being reduced in the tabloid press to sensational headlines. let‘s get behind that. if we can richard, and talk about the impact on you. you were just five when your mum wilma was killed, the effect on you and your siblings, how it affected your young lives and how you developed. well, the main thing i can think about was that feeling of loss, and fear.

even though i wasn‘t exposed to everything that was being spoken and written about, i knew what was going on and i lived in fear, especially when jane mcdonald, the fifth person to die, incidentally the first apparent "innocent" victim according to the police, when she died, she baby—sat for us and lived seven houses away from where we lived with my mum, i thought in my little young mind, "he must have been watching all the houses and the baby—sitters." i thought he was going to kill me. so that‘s the main way in which it impacted on me as a young child and the shame of it all, especially because of the way some of the women were described, including my mum. embarrassment and shame and that, has to some degree, has stuck with me for many years and it‘s only more recently that i‘ve started to create a life for myself and have my own family. and what was fantastic for me personally, about this morning,

was it was my young son ellis who broke the news to me. so for the first time ever, i heard about something related to my mum or her killer from a family member and not a phone call from the media. the mirror once called me once at half past 11 at night, or a journalist anyway, to tell me last year that he had a heart attack and would i comment. they woke me up. so it was nice for it to be my son to tell me, one of his friends had text him. that was richard mccann, son of wilma mccann one of peter sutcliffe‘s victims. more now on the departure of dominic cummings from downing street after an eventful 16 months at the heart of the british government. mr cummings, who is borisjohnson‘s closest adviser has helped the uk prime minister win a general election and deliver on his brexit promise. however he has made a number

of enemies along the way. let‘s get more reaction now from the conservative mp, sir roger gale who said yesterday that dominic cummings should resign. sir roger gale, i assume you are delighted today. i don't take any pleasure in the fact that somebody is going but it‘s necessary. i personally would like to see him go immediately. i said personally would like to see him go immediately. isaid nine personally would like to see him go immediately. i said nine months ago, after the barnard castle incident, that i thought his position was no longer tenable and that he should go. what does it say about boris johnson‘sjudgment in go. what does it say about boris johnson‘s judgment in that case that he has kept him at lee cain and others on, with what he say is a very abrasive, difficult style.” think with hindsight, mrjohnson might feel that he has squandered quite a lot of political capital unnecessarily and seeking to defend the indefensible. but the fact of the indefensible. but the fact of the matter is that we are now where we are, we can move forward and i would like the prime minister to see this as an opportunity to muck out the stables. to get the team of

people in that he needs and deserves behind him to do the most difficult job that any peacetime prime minister has probably been required to do since the war. to get on with thatjob and deliver for the to do since the war. to get on with thatjob and deliverfor the united kingdom. and he will have us behind them. is a case that people who pushed for brexit, who got it delivered, delivered a massive majority, i now leaving just as britain enters this new political period with challenges. people who campaign welland period with challenges. people who campaign well and not necessarily people that can run the country well. we need to remember that. it‘s presumptuous possibly for me to say this but i believe that what the prime minister needs and deserves is a serious, heavyweight political adviser behind him. who understands the scene, understands the system. he knows where the bodies are buried, can tell the prime minister what he needs to hear not what he wa nts to what he needs to hear not what he wants to hear and can help him to do thejob, very difficult wants to hear and can help him to do the job, very difficultjob, wants to hear and can help him to do thejob, very difficultjob, that must be done. do you think boris

johnson is willing to appoint to me like that? i asked you yesterday that the names, are you willing to give me any now. no, i'm not because i don‘t want to put the black spot on anybody that might be interested in thejob and am quite sure on anybody that might be interested in the job and am quite sure that if i say this is the person you should have, then that will be the last person that will be picked. but there are some very good people around, there are some excellent political heavyweights in the house of lords. they know their stuff, they understand the system, they have the trust of the parliamentary party and the trust of the prime minister. i think that together, some of those people could help the prime minister to do a first—rate job at a very difficult time. the parliamentary party includes a whole bunch of mps who won in the north of england, areas which had previously been labour who owe their seat to dominic cummings and that whole campaigning group. are you sure that a change in tone and a change in style from number ten is going to be welcomed completely across the

parliamentary party?” welcomed completely across the parliamentary party? i hear from the media over and again that dominic cummings did this, he did that. actually, let‘s be clear, the prime minister had a small part to play in this as well. those people in the seats owe their seats to a considerable extent to mrjohnson. the last thing we want to see, if thatis the last thing we want to see, if that is so, it is power diminished, farfrom that is so, it is power diminished, far from it. if he's going to be given credit for his success, he will also be given credit for, or blame, for the mess of the past few months. the question now is whether, people in the conservative party can have faith that boris johnson people in the conservative party can have faith that borisjohnson is going to be up to it, regardless of who he surrounds himself with.” think mrjohnson will be the first person say that the buck stops with him at number ten. that‘s how it should be. these digressions that have distracted from the real work that has to be done are a luxury

that has to be done are a luxury that we can‘t afford and that he can‘t afford. he‘s got the opportunity to get rid of the dead weight. to put in place people who will be foursquare behind him to help them do the job he will be foursquare behind him to help them do thejob he has will be foursquare behind him to help them do the job he has to do. he can then get on and do thatjob and that will be, in my party‘s interest, certainly, but it will also be in the country‘s interest. that is what the country expects of the parameter. sir roger gale, many thanks for your time. lets get more now on government scientists saying the reproduction numberfor coronavirus, the r number has dropped to between 1 and 1.2 across the uk. let‘s get more from our head of statistics robert cuffe who‘s hear with me now. the first set of numbers that have come out from the 0ns and they have been telling us about the number of people in the uk who have the virus. it's people in the uk who have the virus. it‘s a mixed picture. it‘s probably slightly higher in england and in

wales than in scotland or northern ireland, but we are seeing it much higher in the north of england and in common than elsewhere. what we are seeing is this kind of two very different pictures. some areas that are very different pictures. some areas that are very high and i may be flattening or coming down and the rest of the uk, where the cases are much lower, they are starting to come up, so it‘s a meat in the middle picture. most recent figures from the 0ns are repeating that story that we have been hearing in the number of cases and the number of people going into hospital in the last few weeks. where is it going 7 last few weeks. where is it going up? in the south of england, certainly built up if you look there, you would think that it‘s probably there, you would think that it‘s pro ba bly less there, you would think that it‘s probably less than 1% of people in the south—west of the virus, but it has been moving up over time. if you look in areas like the north—west, which we have been talking about for a long time, where it is about 2% of people have the virus, perhaps higher, you can see that that has started to flatten and maybe even come down in recent days and in

cases, the hospitalisations are doing the same. those are the biggest differences we see. that‘s not the picture everywhere, london isa not the picture everywhere, london is a bit lower and may be starting to flatten, but broadly, if you are being very rough and ready, you can see that some of the areas where we restrictions are introduced, to or three in england, with central belt restrictions in scotland or the firebreak in wales, we have started to see the numbers turn a bit and it‘s in the rest of england particularly, that we are still seeing some increases. overall, there was a very big rise in the number of cases. there was a sharp jump number of cases. there was a sharp jump yesterday and the kind of surveys like the react study or the 0ffice surveys like the react study or the office for national statistics, the pilot, their data goes up until last friday, the day after their instructions were introduced. so the big spike we saw yesterday is really people coming in for tests on tuesday, wednesday this week and it wouldn‘t necessarily feature in those figures. so with all of these, the data that we have at the moment is always a watching brief, it‘s never the time to say this has

definitely happened owe it in the corner. but there is some promising pictures in some parts of the country. thank you very much, robert. the lockdown forced many people back on their bikes for the first time, and now councils in england are set to receive more funding for cycle lanes and socially—distanced pavements. the department for transport is giving them a further 175—million pounds of funding initially announced in may, but many motorists say some of the new lanes are causing more harm than good. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge reports. more road space for cyclists... i feel really safe, and i never did beforehand, so, yeah, i love it. i'm new to cycling. for me it's brilliant because i wouldn't go on the roads. ..but less room for motorists. we got too many people driving cars, driving cabs, driving lorries. we're not even back in any sort of major recovery yet — god knows what it's going to be like when everybody does come back. the prime minister is passionate about cycling. his advisers are on a crusade to get councils to take really radical steps. but in places, it hasn‘t

been a complete success. here in welwyn garden city, cyclists now have an entire lane. it‘s going to cause chaos at rush hour in the town. so do i think it was good? yes and no. this is a great example — a main link down into the town centre in a place where most people get around in a bus or by car. and, as you can see, half of this road now is dedicated to cyclists. when the pandemic hit, the government decided to revolutionise our roads. it does cause a lot of traffic at the traffic lights. if anything, the only cyclists that i have seen over the bridge since it‘s been put up have been cycling on the pavement! and councils like hertfordshire have been competing for government funding. i personally think it's

a very positive thing — a, for road safety. especially if you're riding with children, etc. i was driving along here the other day, and this old woman clearly did not know that she wasn‘t meant to be driving in the cycle lane, and she was driving along it on her own, as well. so i think for people like her, it‘s not a good thing. people are not going to go shopping on their cycle. it'sjust not going to happen. this is muddled thinking. this is a war on the motorist. and, frankly, if you want to look at this politically, it's a vote—loser. but in parts of our biggest cities, the cycling experience really has improved. this liverpool councillor got back on her bike during lockdown. the reason i‘m really passionate about this is because it‘s completely changed how i travel. so ordinarily i would have just popped into my car for a shortjourney. now i willjump on my bike.

some pop—up cycle lanes like this one are being removed, but if many more people cycle, it will cut congestion, improve air quality and our health as we peddle along. tom burridge, bbc news. diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights — is normally celebrated with parties, gifts and religious ceremonies. but with many places of worship closed and restrictions in place, traditional celebrations aren‘t possible this year. the chancellor of the exchequer rishi sunak, who is a practising hindu, has urged those celebrating to respect the lockdown ban on meeting people outside their household. sima kotecha, has more. sisters chaya and maya, lighting candles by a statue of their hindu deity. 0m shanti, shanti, shanti. like christmas and other religious festivals,

diwali brings gifts, songs and traditional food. although the sisters are excited about its imminent arrival, they know this year won‘t be the same. we‘ve still got the light and the fireworks. but you can‘t meet up with your family and you have to do it on zoom. that‘s ok, you at least get to see them, not face to face, but still like a bit sad because we actually want to like, maybe hug them. their grandparents live just minutes away, but aren‘t in their bubble. they talk online and tomorrow will be no different. but there‘ll be no exchanging of food and no dancing with cousins. normally we would dance and perform at grandpa‘s house as you saw. so we‘d dance and sing. we do a big show! and we've practised online, we've got it all correct. and this year, perhaps,

will be more poignant than usual. south asians have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus. the girl‘s grandparents lost a close friend to the virus. and so this diwali, they say, will have a somber tone. we are in close contact with his wife and of course, not very farfrom us, you know, being a good friend, but, of course, will be missed in that respect. that one friend we have lost. the chancellor, a practising hindu, is urging those who celebrate to stay at home, even though they may be tempted to visit relatives. i know how difficult it is. i mean, it's so difficult for us not to want to see each other like it is for everybody, especially at this time of year. but we've just got to stick with this for a couple more weeks and we're going to get through this to keep everyone safe right now. just follow the rules. but there are those, chancellor, who have said that they‘re frustrated that the restrictions could be lifted

in time for christmas but won‘t be lifted in time for diwali. what would you say to those people? well, i mean, we've had restrictions all the way through this year. there's lots of different religious and cultural celebrations that happen. we can't control the spread of the virus. the virus is doing what it's doing. we have to react to that. and that's got to be the right way to approach this. this is neasden temple. it‘s one of britain‘s most popular temples and it hosts the largest diwali and hindu new year celebrations in europe. but not this year. there‘ll be no packed car parks. there‘ll be no line of worshippers waiting to go inside. but instead, there will be virtual ceremonies for thousands of people to watch from the safety of their home. special days like this one bring the differences caused by covid into sharp and often painful focus. sima kotecha, bbc news.

idid cue i did cue for some diwali sweets yesterday, i must confess. tonight marks 40 years since the launch of children in need, and although the fundraising events might be a bit different this year, the donations are still vital. all this week we‘ve been looking at some of ways the money is being used to help people. i like coming out here cos it‘s my dad‘s favourite place to go. chris used to love coming up here as a child, and he used to walk up here and used to run the route regular because he lived in abertridwr and he wanted to come up here with the kids. it‘s been just over a year since chris morgan — a husband and father — took his own life. we'd scattered his ashes up here for us to have a walk to remember him so we can go somewhere where he enjoyed to be. sharon, coel and ffion have had to cope with their sudden and tragic loss, as the world around them

contracted and locked down. it's been difficult with lockdown. we've... we haven't had a family around as much as we could, so it'sjust been the three of us, really. one of the hardest aspects since chris‘ death has been those special occasions, such as birthdays and christmas. what are they like? mm...they‘re 0k. we usually go to his grave. cos you go through a period where everything you see — normality is there, and it's just in grasp. and then you get a first, and then it puts you right back to where you were and where the children were with their birthdays. obviously, they were going on all right and then it's their birthday and their dad's not there. and it's christmas, and their dad's not there. it's... it was difficult for them. what about the page that talks about the things that you liked doing with dad? what did you like? we liked playing on the playstation. 0n the playstation. elaine robinson is from the unicorn service.

supported by money from children in need, it‘s part of st david‘s hospice care and works with bereaved children. elaine has been helping ffion and coel. these memory books encourage the children to open up and to talk about their dad. it says, "if i could whisper something to dad now, what would it be?" i said, "you‘re amazing and i love you and i miss you." ah. i was very upset, but then she helped me and i‘m happier. and how does she help you? well, as you seen, we done the remembrance book, and we just talk about my feelings and stuff like that. we talk about happy times, sad times — like, a mix between all of them. a person who knows what it's like... they know what it feels like to be sad for someone to die. you can't undo this experience. you can't rub it out

and pretend it hasn't happened. being able to talk about it and being very open about how they're feeling, about what's happened, helps them learn to process it, maybe, and helps them to find ways of coping with it. and that's hopefully what the service and the support helps us to do. they've come on amazingly, compared to where they were and circumstances that we found ourselves in. they've come on in leaps and bounds with the counselling, and they've opened up more. coel, whereas he was quite insular to begin with — he wouldn't talk to anybody, was very, very quiet — whereas now he's back to his happy, bubbly little self. nothing can bring chris back, but the support the family is receiving is helping them to cope with life after his death. john maguire, bbc news, caerphilly. downing street has described peter

sutcliffe is a depraved and evil individual and it is right that he died behind bars. that‘s boris johnson‘s thoughts, they are with the victims and their families. chris fawkes has the weather we are looking at a day of sunshine and showers. the radar picture picking up the majority of the showers across the western side of the country, in particular for western scotland. there will be some decent breaks between the showers, we‘ve seen some sunshine already for example in the north—west of wales, and into north—west of wales, and into north—west england because the cloud gathering there in cumbria for a time. looking at the weather, the west, a lot of cloud on the satellite picture, this area of cloud is the next area of low pressure that is going to be swinging injust in time for pressure that is going to be swinging in just in time for the weekend, bringing all of us outbreaks of rain and there will be some strong winds to come as well. heading into the evening, further showers for scotland, across western

parts of england and wales, may one or two sneaking into the south coast of england for the time. through the night, we will see more general outbreaks of rain spreading quite widely across most areas of the uk. temperatures overnight around five to seven celsius across northern areas, a bit milder than that in the south, nine or 10 degrees as we head into the first part of the weekend. talking of the weekend, it is going to be an unsettled one with low pressure firmly in charge, bringing windy weather with rain at times. you can see several weather fronts moving north eastwards across the uk, tightly packed isobars at times through the weekend, bringing some strong bouts of wind as well. saturday morning, getting off to a wet start for many others, the heaviest rain will always be across western areas of the country, the strongest winds coming through the afternoon around the irish sea coast where across parts of wales, western england, we could see gusts of wind getting up to around 50 mph or so in places, so it will be pretty blustery. eastern areas of england and northern parts of scotland have

seen the best of the dry spells. a bit of hazy sunshine coming through at times. it will be mild, temperatures up to 15 degrees or so. sunday sees more rain at times particularly for some or scotland, returning to wales and south—west england as well, across the south coast we will see the strongest winds during sunday afternoon with gusts reaching around about 60 miles an hour very cooler air filtering m, an hour very cooler air filtering in, temperatures through the afternoon at nine to 11 degrees. that‘s the weather.

dominic cummings, the prime minister‘s top adviser, is to leave his job by christmas. a divisive figure, his departure comes amid reports of tensions in downing street. we‘ll ask what this means for the direction of government. also this lunchtime: the yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe has died in hospital at the age of 74. he was convicted of murdering 13 women, and the attempted murder of another seven. the son of the first woman he killed says for years he wanted revenge. i can remember with sonia, my sister, we planned — or she... ..we discussed her contacting him, befriending him, changing her name and then eventually going in to visit him. and then she was going to attack him. that was the thoughts we had and that's how