tonight at ten, the uk's four nations are trying to agree on a common approach to covid in the christmas period. it all depends on the rates of infection coming down in the coming weeks in time for the festive season. every administration is trying to find common ground. public health england says it would like families across the uk to celebrate together. we are very keen that we have christmas as to close normal as possible. that requires all of us to make every effort over this national restriction period, and even in early december, to get the cases as low as possible. but any relaxation of the rules would come at a price. we'll have more details. also tonight: more encouraging news about the pfizer—biontech vaccine. it's 94% effective in people over 65.

an official report says suppliers of protective equipment to the nhs who had political connections to the uk government were ten times more likely to get contracts. in ten years‘ time, the sale of new diesel—only and petrol—only cars will be banned — part of what ministers call a "green industrial revolution". and we visit the trump heartlands in the deep south to talk to those who believe their man has been cheated. and coming up in sport on bbc news, action from the nations league, where scotland were hoping to win their group and boost their chances of qualification for the 2022 world cup. good evening. all four nations of the united kingdom are trying to agree on a common approach to the christmas period

and the restrictions that might be needed during that time. senior medical and scientific advisers said they were working on a plan so that families across the uk might be able to celebrate together "as close to normal as possible". but any relaxation of the rules would come at a price. experts say that, for every one day of relaxed measures, there would need to be five days of tighter restrictions to keep infection rates down. our health editor, hugh pym, has the latest on the christmas debate. will it be a christmas nightmare or a dream come true? a question being widely asked as people look beyond the current lockdown in england, due to end in early december. those we spoke to in manchester were hoping the rules would allow some form of celebration. it would be nice if everyone could get together and get back to some sort of normality. i mean, it would be amazing, and i think, like many families, we've had a bereavement as well, so it would mean a huge amount to be

able to spend the time together. senior officials stressed that ministers would decide but they were open to the idea of a christmas relaxation. we are very keen that we have a christmas as close to normal as possible. that requires all of us to make every effort over this national restriction period and even early december. so is some sort of christmas possible, do you think? so i think it is. coming into christmas, we need to be very careful about the number of contacts that we have, to reduce transmission. once we have got past the christmas period, if there's been a release and some socialisation, we will all have to be very responsible and reduce those contacts again. scotland's first minister set out her position on the christmas issue. we are all desperate for some normality at christmas, and i absolutely include myself in that, and the scottish government right now is working very closely and well with the other uk nations to try to agree a way for that to happen. decisions in england have to be made on how the tier system might work in december.

officials think the highest tier restrictions in place in the north west before the full lockdown had an effect on curbing the virus. daily hospital admissions of covid patients in the region, which had gone up sharply, have begun to level off and fall a little. allowing a limited mixing of households is one thing, but deciding what will be permitted for pubs, bars and restaurants is another matter. it's normally their busiest time of the year in the run—up to christmas, but health officials are concerned that a full reopening would see a further spread of the virus. this bar in manchester only opened in march, just before the first lockdown. they had to close, reopen, and then close again, and they are desperate to get customers back in. we really need a strong december to make as much money in as normal circumstances as possible in order to get through the first two, three months of 2021. trade—offs and difficult decisions will be needed on what exactly will open up over christmas and for how long,

and what will have to stay closed. and hugh is here. how difficult is it going to be to balance there is desired to give people a bit of freedom around christmas, you know, with concerns about health and the economy? well, huw, it's going to be a very delicatejudgment by huw, it's going to be a very delicate judgment by officials at westminster and the devolved administrations. how do you get transmission down and the crucial r number down below one through december, november into december? in england, the challenge is going to be what follows the current lockdown from december the 2nd, how do you reintroduce the restrictions? will some of them be tighter than before? and we have learned to date this calculation that for every one day of relaxation, experts in the sage committee so you need five to tighten up, so does that mean you might have some tightening before christmas, then relaxation, and then a tougher regime after? or will it

all follow christmas? that is going to bea all follow christmas? that is going to be a very difficult call to make. and what about the hospitality sector, pubs, bars and restaurants? it is crucial for them to trade up to christmas, but it seems that officials will feel, in the area with the toughest restrictions, those areas, it may not be possible at all, so there is the interests of the economy to consider as well. when all is said and done, though, we have learned that health and scientific advisers, they are working around the clock to find something which will work to let families mix at christmas. 0k, hugh pym, thank you. there's more encouraging news about the vaccine being developed by pfizer and biontech. final trials show it is 94% effective in people over the age of 65. what's more, it's passed safety checks, making it ready for approval by authorities around the world. it's due to arrive in the uk by the end of the year. our medical editor, fergus walsh, has the latest. yet more good news on vaccines. last week, pfizer were the first to show that there vaccine

is effective against covid. the vaccine is more than 94% effective among the over—65s and showed the same consistent protection among volunteers from different ethnicities. there were 170 cases of covid—i9 across more than 40,000 volunteers. 162 of those were among the volunteers who got dummy or placebo jabs, and only eight in the vaccinated group. there were no serious safety concerns, but a small minority of volunteers suffered significant headaches orfatigue. i think this is good news and also very encouraging that the vaccine seems to show equal protection in elderly people, because that was a question we couldn't answer after the first announcements last week. our immune system usually declines as we age, so it's highly significant that the vaccine protects the elderly, who are most at risk from covid.

they should be first in line to get the jab, which requires two doses a month apart. booster doses may be needed, as we don't know how long protection lasts. vaccinators will go into care homes to immunise vulnerable older residents. gp surgeries will play a crucial role. some could be open seven days a week, and large venues like sports halls will be used for mass immunisation. the pfizer vaccine has be stored at minus 70 degrees, which creates some logistical problems, but it remains viable for a few days in a normal fridge. it's thought regulators could approve the vaccine by early december. the uk has bought a0 million doses, but most of these will arrive next year. nonetheless, it seems increasingly likely that some covid immunisation will begin before christmas. fergus walsh, bbc news.

the latest official figures show there were 19,609 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means that the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 24,802. 1,745 people have been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last saturday. and 529 deaths were reported. that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means, on average in the past week, 416 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 53,274. the national audit office has reported that more than £10 billion worth of contracts have been handed out without competitive tender for supplies of protective equipment for the nhs. and it said that "suppliers

with political connections were ten times more likely to be awarded contracts." for his part, the prime minister said he was proud of the way the government found supplies of ppe when the pandemic took hold. labour demanded more transparency and asked why a spanish businessman had been paid millions for his role in getting supplies. our special correspondent lucy manning has more details. the £21 million man. spanish businessman gabriel andersson got that amount in consulting fees on a uk ppe deal. the bbc revealed yesterday he got paid for helping the owner of a miami jewellery company who had won the contracts, so it was ultimately british taxpayers' money. from pendants to pmqs. does the prime minister think £21 million to a middle man was an acceptable use of taxpayers' money? the prime minister answered from self—isolation. we were facing, as he will remember,

a very difficult situation, where across the world there were not adequate supplies of ppe. nobody had enough ppe. we shifted heaven and earth to get 32 billion items of ppe to this country. i'm very proud of what has been achieved. the public spending watchdog, the nag, says it will investigate these payments, and today it criticised the government for the way it had bought ppe, saying it hadn't been open enough about the way decisions are made. so how did companies get to supply hospitals with the ppe they so desperately needed? well, it turns out there was a vip fast—track route, and if companies were recommended by ministers, mps, peers or officials, they were ten times more likely to get a government contract. bbc news revealed in august that pestfix, a small pest control company, had problems with the masks they supplied. the report reveals they were put

on the vip fast—track by mistake. the spending watchdog also flagged potential conflicts of interest. public first was paid more than £500,000 for focus groups. its founders previously worked for and advised michael gove. the company says it worked on a pay—as—you—go deal. as the bbc also revealed, ayanda capital got a £250 million contract. andrew mills, the man helping ayanda, was also a government trade adviser. and we reported their masks that were bought for £150 million couldn't used in the nhs. did you use political connections to get the contract? no, absolutely not. how come the man leading your bid was a government trade adviser? it's a coincidence. he certainly used his connections to approach the cabinet office in the sense of he managed to find out who we needed to call.

experienced companies say they weren't aware of any vip fast—track route. we did not get a reply from our inquiries or our offers for help, so i was really surprised when we saw these contracts being awarded to companies thatjust do not have the investment in the supply chain, the expertise. ppe was needed fast, but did speed overtake buying the right equipment at a fair price? lucy manning, bbc news. the labour leader, sir keir starmer says his predecessor, jeremy corbyn, will not be allowed to sit in the house of commons asa labourmp. he was reinstated as a member of the party yesterday after a 19—day suspension, following a report into anti—semitism in the party. mr corbyn had said the problem had been overstated. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, is at westminster. let's talk about the impact of this

decision, laura. well, huw, none of oui’ decision, laura. well, huw, none of our viewers will need reminding of how much angst there was in the labour party about allegations of racism towards jewish labour party about allegations of racism towardsjewish people during the period in whichjeremy corbyn was in charge, and three weeks ago an official independent legal report from the equalities commission spelt out what was going on and actually said that the party had breached equalities law in how they had handled all of that. now, jeremy corbyn, at the time, in a post on facebook and so when speaking to cameras, seemed to claim that it had somehow been exaggerated. now, that provoked a howl of outrage, he was suspended from the party, he was chucked out of the parliamentary party too, but yesterday, after an independent panel at party hq had discussed the matter, they let him into the wider labour party. but no surprise, after everything that has happened, there was realfury surprise, after everything that has happened, there was real fury and real upset across most of the jewish

community and among many mps too, and the decision therefore was paul sir keir starmer to decide, should he be allowed to return as a labour mp? they are not the same thing, being in the party is one thing, it's down to the party leader to determine whether or not he was able to return in that way. now, sir keir i to return in that way. now, sir keir , after thinking about it overnight, decided that the man who was in his job less than a year ago should not be permitted to make a return to set as part of the labour group on the green benches. sir keir starmer‘s position is thatjeremy corbyn has undermined his attempts to try to crack down on anti—semitism and therefore he simply shouldn't be allowed back in. but given how strongly people have felt about this all the way along, there is real anger and fury among jeremy corbyn‘s tribe, if you like. despite last yea r‘s tribe, if you like. despite last year's terrible election defeat, he still has a noisy band of supporters among union leaders, some members of

the party, and may be a couple of dozen mps. the question now is how ha rd dozen mps. the question now is how hard they are going to fight to try to get him back in, how much are they going to organise to try to keep this campaign going, to reinstate the man for whom some labour mps is something of a folk hero. but i think the wider question for the labour leader really was based — the solemn promise he made to the jewish community based — the solemn promise he made to thejewish community and the public was that he was going to crack down and show no tolerance towards anti—semitism whatsoever, and given that, i'm not sure he had very much of a choice over the decision that he made today. and in essence, it also is a very strong signal of what sir keir starmer wa nts to signal of what sir keir starmer wants to shout to the public — that the labour party under his leadership is not the same as what has gone before. ministers at westminster have unveiled plans for what they say is a "green industrial revolution" to hit the uk target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. from 2030, the sale of new diesel—only and petrol—only cars will be banned —

a decade earlier than originally planned. but some hybrid vehicles will be allowed. there will be more money for new nuclear power, including 16 mini nuclear plants, and a target to replace 600,000 gas boilers a year by 2028 by installing low—energy heat pumps. to carry out these plans, the uk government has committed £4 billion in new spending as part of a broader £12 billion package, and says it hopes 250,000 newjobs wil be created in the green sector. with more details, here's our business editor, simon jack. eliminating carbon emissions is a mammoth project, which will need a lot of tools. wind power, a new generation of nuclear energy to replace the old, and electrifying transport. all of them were included in the government's ten—point plan for what it's calling a green industrial revolution. but it is projects like this one,

in oxford, which may prove the unlikely front line in the battle against climate change. when you think of a huge issue like climate change, you might think of international summits, extinction rebellion protests, offshore wind turbines, but the truth is is that if we're going to get to net zero the way we heat our homes is one of the toughest nuts to crack. this is an industrial revolution that will be coming right to our front doors. these pipes extract heat from under the ground, which is pumped into the home, for heating and hot water. it's a replacement technology for the 25 million gas boilers, which will have to be ripped out. gas boilers are going. we cannot continue to do what we've done for years and years and years, and i believe the future is heat pumps, and the technology exists today. local resident paul brennan told me why he agreed to be part of this housing association pilot scheme. the initial attraction was the bills are cheaper, the electricity bill will be cheaper, and that in itself

will have a knock—on effect, in terms of being better for the environment, using up less resources, for instance. each house costs nearly £15,000 to convert. that's why this is going to be so difficult. easier, by comparison, a technology that has come of age and down in price. nevertheless, bringing forward a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by a whole decade, from 2040 to 2030, will get car owners‘ attention. it is ambitious, but i think it's achievable. the charging infrastructure has got to grow, but that's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, because the cars aren't on the road yet, and we need the manufacturers to roll out new models. technology to extract and store carbon from heavy industry will see investment, along with experiments in hydrogen and small nuclear reactors. so does it constitute a revolution? it's an exciting day, in terms of getting us back on the front foot.

is it enough? no, of course it's not enough, and we'll be looking next week to the chancellor, in terms of what's coming out of the spending review. the committee on climate change estimates it will require £30 billion in investment every year for the next 30 years. transport secretary grant shapps said where the government led, private investment would follow. we think the amounts of money we are investing in this will be dwarfed by the amount of money that comes in from, of course, those new technologies, and people wanting to invest in this sector. the important thing is government is leading the way. perhaps not a revolution, but a down payment on a green future the government hopes will create newjobs, even new industries, along the way. simon jack, bbc news. two weeks after the us presidential election, donald trump is still refusing to accept that he lost. mr trump's campaign and its allies have filed a series of lawsuits in battleground states, contesting the results, despite the fact that election officials say there's no evidence

of serious wrongdoing. in the southern state of georgia, whichjoe biden narrowly won, a manual recount is taking place, which has to be completed by tonight. state officials do not expect the result be overturned, but donald trump's supporters are convinced that the election has been stolen. our correspondent aleem maqbool reports from donald trump's heartlands in the south. cheering. veterans for trump and america! it's not over! the whole world is watching us! right now, they are watching us to see if we have a democracy! in the trump supporting heartlands, they are keeping the faith, and almost daily taking their passion for their president to the streets, in sheer disbelief he could possibly have lost. there's more people for donald trump, and you can see that through donald trump's

rallies that he's had. the amount of people that showed to those versusjoe biden rallies, it's a huge difference. thousands and thousands of people difference. in the rural south it's sometimes hard even to imagine a world outside where donald trump is loathed. what you hear is that he fought for real americans, people just like them. well, there are parts of this country that felt forgotten before donald trump, feel that he represented then and fear that they'll be forgotten again once he is gone, which is part of the reason they are clinging on to the hope that somehow he'll stay in office. and so everywhere you go, they'll repeat the conspiracy theories about how the election was stolen. i think the majority of it's a lie, because ballots were brought in unnoticed in the back rooms, through the back doors, people that have died years ago are still voting. # in america. # in the divided states of...

# ..america. through his music, jim white has chronicled the culture of the south and of his country, one he now says is riddled with the kind of division no president can cure. he says discussion about civil war is commonplace. it's not a possibility, it's happening. it's happening. it is a virtual civil war. people are turning against each other, you know, brother against brother. i talk to people who go to family reunions, they can't talk to half of their family. they can't talk to them. they stopped going to family reunions because they could not bear to be around such hateful rhetoric as what trump puts forward. horns honk. beyond the smiles, many told us they'd never accept this election was anything but rigged. the history of the south tells

us when people feel, rightly or wrongly, they are being silenced, they will fight back. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in the florida panhandle. the bbc has announced that a former president of the court of appeal, lord dyson, will head an independent investigation into how the panorama programme secured an interview with princess diana in 1995. the inquiry will look at how reporter martin bashir obtained the interview with the princess, how much the bbc knew of his methods, and how effective the bbc‘s subsequent investigation was. tonight, prince william's office said they tentatively welcomed the investigation and called it a step in the right direction. a lorry driver charged with the manslaughter of 39

our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports from the old bailey. an airtight lorry trailer containing 39 vietnamese migrants, being dropped off at zeebrugge port last october. at the wheel, eamonn harrison, a young lorry driver from northern ireland. by the time the ferry carrying the trailer sailed up the river thames just east of london, all 39 migrants had suffocated to death. mo robinson, another lorry driver from northern ireland, collected the trailer. when he opened the door, there was a puff of vapour, and he saw 39 bodies lying on the floor. today, the first driver, eamonn harrison, used an expletive to explain to the jury how bad he felt about what happened. he said that he was devastated for the families of those who died. eamonn harrison's barrister

asked him if he knew that there were people in the trailer, and he replied simply, "no". he told the jury that he'd got into debt with his boss after crashing his lorry while drunk in germany, and that he'd agreed only to do jobs involving stolen goods. the jury has seen cctv showing that eamonn harrison had dropped off three trailers in zeebrugge on three different occasions last october, including on the fatal night, and has heard that all of them had contained migrants, but he insisted that each time he was unaware there were people on board. daniel sandford, bbc news at the old bailey. millions of britons, young and old, are coping with record levels of loneliness and isolation during lockdown as we head into the depth of winter. figures from the office for national statistics suggest that, before the pandemic, more than two and a half million adults felt lonely always or often. by the start of this month, that number had risen

to more than four million. elaine dunkley reports from huddersfield. loneliness and isolation feels... it feels like being in a grave. it's cold, it's dark, and it's pointless. we are trying to find the next of kin of this gentleman that we are really concerned about at the moment. loneliness and isolation drives everything. at huddersfield railway station is platform one... ..a charity on the front line of isolation, loneliness and crisis. this 1950s carriage is used as a workshop, a place for men to talk and get mental health support. lockdown and regulations have stopped many coming here. before the pandemic, we were seeing up to 50 guys a day. they came in here and they wanted community

and they wanted connection. when covid came, that stopped the connection, and so far this year we've had 15 guys on suicide watch. last year, we had one. people in a crisis can turn up here without an appointment. platform one works with more than 500 men across yorkshire, but such is the demand, it has now opened its doors to women. traumatic experiences are going to creep up... sophie suffered childhood trauma. she is now a mother of two. the pandemic has brought issues to the surface. every day, it's a challenge, a challenge to believe that i am someone who is loved, and, mentally, that makes me very suicidal. during this isolation, working from home has had more of an effect on me to want to self—harm. you know, just being locked up in these four walls. how has platform one helped you?

my crisis support here at platform one is actually a form of normality for me at the moment, being able to speak to someone, other than someone over a zoom call. lives have been saved here. shane lost his mother and hisjob, and was struggling in isolation, until he found the charity. now i'm, as some of my neighbours call me, mr community, because i fix kids' bikes up forthem, and i've got a purpose in life. shane has come a long way from the days when he was so lonely, he'd talk to the furniture in his house. now he is a volunteer. and i come in and i think, great, i've helped somebody. i might have just turned them around. because i've been there, i know what it was like. they're not sat there, talking to chairs, like i did. platform one offers hope, but there is also fear. with christmas around the corner, loneliness will be felt more acutely

because of the pandemic. elaine dunkley, bbc news in huddersfield. for details of organisations offering information and support with emotional distress, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded information on 0800 066 066. football, and all the home nations have been playing tonight in the national league. our sports correspondent andy swiss brings us up to date. a big night for wales' biggest star. gareth bale's team were facing finland, and they were soon in control. finland'sjere uronen sent off, and wales took advantage, bale setting up harry wilson to put the hosts ahead at half—time. and after it, danieljames extended their lead in some style.