this is bbc news. lam iamjane i amjane hill. the headlines: more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine — the oxford team says its research is showing good results and has had a promising immune response in people over 60. what we've demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages, including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is to see whether or not this translates into actual protection from infection, so protection from getting the disease in the first place. artillary fire. a boost to the defence budget — the prime minister says a new four—yearfunding deal would protect "hundreds of thousands" of jobs and create 40,000 new roles. prince william says the bbc

investigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction. covid in care homes — scientists who advised the government admit they never checked how the virus could be spread by staff working in multiple homes. and, a £300 million rescue package for 11 sports, struggling without spectators because of coronavirus. and coming up — we look ahead to tonight's announcement of the booker prize winner for 2020. i'll speak to last years joint winner, bernadine evaristo, in just over half an hour.

good afternoon. there's more encouraging news today about coronavirus vaccines. researchers from oxford university say the vaccine they're working on shows a promising immune response so far in people in their 60s and 70s. crucial further tests still need to be carried out and the vaccine isn't yet at the same stage as similar jabs being developed by pfizer and moderna. the uk has ordered 100 million doses of the oxford vaccine if it eventually receives regulatory approval. our health correspondent naomi grimley has the details. more encouraging news, after months of upsetting headlines. oxford university says its vaccine is well tolerated in older adults, and, crucially, that it induces a robust immune response, similar to that found in younger people. it's always been a nagging worry that covid vaccines wouldn't work so well in older age groups. our results show that adults over the age of 70 have as good antibody responses as adults aged 18 to 55, and that's really

important, because the older age group are the people who are the most vulnerable to severe covid disease. there are three stages to vaccine trials. these results come from its middle stage, phase two. researchers were studying 560 uk volunteers. 240 of whom were over the age of 70. but we are still waiting for oxford's phase three results. that's the most comprehensive stage, which involves some 30,000 participants in the us, uk, brazil and south africa. it is only when that data arrives that we will really know whether this vaccine actually works. then, things could move fast. the production has already begun, so i think that most people believe that the oxford vaccine will be ready to receive much quicker than the others.

it could be as early as the end of winter. it really depends on the logistics and everything, but it is looking very promising indeed for swifter access to this particular vaccine. two other vaccine candidates, pfizer and moderna, are already on the verge of submitting their results to regulators. the uk has invested to differing degrees in all three of these leading vaccines, but, as this breakdown shows, hopes are pinned especially on the oxford one. overall, the uk has placed orders for vaccine doses totalling 355 million, but two shots will be required in most of them. globally, too, there is a sense of expectation. the oxford team has done multiple deals with overseen vaccine makers, like this one, india's sarum institute, in a bid to make sure the world's

poorest get access too. naomi grimley, bbc news. let's talk about this further with james gallagher. it sounds positive, but we are not there yet, james? no, we are allowed to be excited, after the year of gloom, let's cherish every bit of good news we have. it's not the final piece of evidence but an important one along the way. phase two trials of the ones where you go is this vaccine safe, is it doing what it's supposed to be doing, provoking an immune response? it is, and the next stage is proving whether it stops people getting ill. those are the phase three trials and they should complete before christmas. there is a temptation to think that only one company wins, only one gold medal to hand out. that is not true, everybody who crosses the finishing line with a successful vaccine gets a gold medal because we are going to need as many

of these to work as possible. and then the next hour, we will be answering your questions about a covid vaccine. if you have queries, concerns, please send all your questions in in the next hour. we'll be putting them to our experts at 3:30. a total of 167,369 people tested positive for covid—19 in england in the week ending november 11th, according to the latest test and trace figures. it's the highest weekly number since test and trace was launched at the end of may. the figures look quite similar to

last week. some of that is good news so last week. some of that is good news so in terms of the performance of the system, the number of people getting contacted after they test positive, that is stable but it has been rising in recent weeks. tests are coming back to people faster than they were about a month ago. they haven't really changed much in the last week. the less good news is probably the number of contacts named by infected people, the proportion of those that get rich, still around 60% and the government says that is not enough for test and trace to have a big impact on the epidemic. the better news is probably in something called the positivity rate. 0ver probably in something called the positivity rate. over the summer we saw both the number of cases rising every week and the proportion of tests that came back positive also rising, suggesting we were falling further and further behind the epidemic. while cases are still rising, albeit slower than they were a while ago, the proportion of test coming back positive has started to

flatten out. these set of figures reflect the first week after lockdown, it is too soon to show the lockdown, it is too soon to show the lockdown show through fully in assessing figures like they have in wales or in northern ireland. but there are some signs in the data of that flattening and slowing down of case growth, which is where we want to be and a start on the right direction. the number of people who've died with coronavirus in the united states has passed a quarter of a million. the us has now reported more infections, and a higher death toll, than any other country in the world. yesterday, new york city ordered the closure of its schools until further notice following a spike in cases there. a new four—yearfunding deal for the armed forces will protect jobs and keep the british people safe said the prime minister this morning. by 2024—25, annual defence spending will have increased by around £7 billion over previous manifesto commitments. speaking in the commons, borisjohnson claimed "the era

of cutting our defence budget" would end. the extra money will help fund space and cyber projects. 0ur defence correspondentjonathan beale has the details. britain's armed forces say they are about to undergo their biggest transformation since the end of the cold war. it will inevitably mean less of the old, like tanks and heavy armour, and more of the gnu to defend in the domains armour, and more of the new to defend in the domains of cyber and space. british troops here are already countering threats, such as this information. they will also now be part of a new national cyber force, able to conduct offensive cyber operations. and there will be a new space command, with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites, with concerns that russia and china are already developing anti—satellite weapons. announcing the biggest increase

in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would bolster britain's influence and end an era of retreat. i've done this in the teeth of a pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm, and the safety of the british people, must come first. defence spending has fallen by over £8 billion in real terms over the last ten years. over the same period, uk regular forces have decreased by a quarter, and on top of that, the national audit office estimate there is a black hole of up to £13 billion in the mod equipment plan. the mod's annual budget is currently £41 billion a year. the government is now promising that will rise by 4% a year above inflation, which would mean an overall increase in the mod budget to nearly 52 billion by 2025. the government says the extra investment will also boost

the economy, creating, it says, up to 10,000 extra jobs a year. at bae systems in lancashire, they have already started work on what they call their factory of the future, where they are developing the next generation of fighter jet. tempest has been designed to fly with or without a pilot in the cockpit, but a former military chief worries about the cuts that will still have to be made to fund these new technologies. obviously, there are some programmes, some historic programmes, that could be cut, and i'm sure the defence chief will think very carefully about that, but the vast majority of our maritime, land and air capabilities that we currently have need to be fully funded before we spend too much of the additional cash in new and novel areas. the mod doesn't have a strong track record of staying within budget. it's still working out how to pay for the equipment it already once,

for the equipment it already wants, including more jets for the two new aircraft carriers, and good news for the mod might mean less money for other government departments. jonathan beale, bbc news. sir simon mayall is a former deputy chief of defence staff, and middle east advisor at the ministry of defence. among many other things. good afternoon. very good afternoon to you. what you think of the extra funding over a four—year period. you. what you think of the extra funding over a four-year period. you can probably tell by my body language and the smile on my face, it is long overdue and a great announcement. not simply for the money that is involved, which will be hugely welcome, and i think it should be welcome by the citizens of the united kingdom, but for the statement of intent the prime minister has made, both in terms of setting out the threats, but also how defence is part of britain's overall ambition in a post brexit

era in the face of these challenges and opportunities. what are the key areas that really do require this injection, as far as you are concerned? i think we are too small, i don't think we have enough ships, i don't think we have enough ships, i don't think we have enough ability to have a global presence, but i do get the contribution that will go into cyber, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics, research and development, surveillance etc. we are making up for quite neglect, and darei we are making up for quite neglect, and dare i say, bad decisions. i welcome the fact that the chancellor and the prime minister understand what it is the industry and the ministry of defence build a plant on a four year basis. it is a short—term estimate that led us to waste vast sums of money over the yea rs.

waste vast sums of money over the years. industry must play its part, demonstrate its own patriotism, if i may say so, delivering on time, to budget and to capability as required by the threats and the opportunities. did you mean they haven't been doing that recently, or short—termism has meant they haven't done that? i think it has been a combination. many of these great industries do thrive on orders from the ministry of defence. you know, in the wider sense? we need really mature and grown—up partnerships, the sort of things dominic cummings did, this should allow us, the civil servants, the military men and i do commend cts and the permanent undersecretary for making their case strong enough in the current environment and the pressure on public finances, having made such

convincing case for britain's increased expenditure. i want to say, we get a huge amount out of this defence expenditure. we get influence, we reassure allies, we get social issues to do it upscaling people, good citizenship, i commend the cadets, research and development, support to our technical base and reach underpin a whole load of diplomatic and prosperity agenda ambitions and aspirations. actually, that is interesting what you say, you are talking about the fact the chief of the defence staff and others made a good case to get this. people will be watching this thinking, that is great but where is the money coming from at a time when education needs help, the health service needs help? what is it, do you feel that the chief of the defence staff and others will have said that has made government think, do you know what, this money is needed specifically in

this money is needed specifically in this field as opposed to some of the others i just mentioned? this field as opposed to some of the others i just mentioned ?|j this field as opposed to some of the others ijust mentioned? i totally understand that debate, which will be thrashed out around the cabinet table. i think the case, as i said, defence spending needs to be used imaginatively. the primary role of government is to defend its people. we have taken a holiday from that and the world has turned out to be more perilous and the threats are more perilous and the threats are more diverse than we were expecting. spent properly, investing in technology and investing in british defence industries, investing in our people, upscaling, training, education and then parlane that into influence around the world which supports our prosperity agenda, for laying it into diplomatic advantage to the united kingdom. that is a way in which defence spending is much more the investment in equipment, which is what it has characterised

as. i suspect he has been able to make the case across over government departments as to why this helps. you know, we have one of the fittest cohorts in the british population the military. that usually helps the national health service. we educate and up skill people, that usually helps the education sector. this is the way that defence spending must be looked on, imaginatively, over and above what it contributes to our direct security defence. is it more important because of brexit? personally, i would say absolutely yes. i have the integrated review would give us that context that says britain is a member of the security council, we are now the primary, premier military power in europe. that military power can be used to stabilise countries, to reassure allies, to deter threats and give us the capacity to keep moving forward

on all those other aspects the government is responsible for. but ultimately, without security, as we have seen all around the world, a proper defence, everything else is money thrown at a black hole. i know there is a big argument over the overseas aid budget, in many ways, britain's contribution to other countries and their development is underpinned by its capacity to give security and stability and reassurance to close friends and allies and less fortunate countries, of course. very good to have your thoughts, response and perspective on that. returning to coronavirus, bringing you the latest figures through from nhs england in the last few moments. we are hearing that a further 346 people who had tested positive with coronavirus have died in hospital in england. it brings the total number of confirmed deaths, this is in

hospitals, to 37,470. all except nine of that number had known underlying health conditions. prince william has tentatively welcomed the bbc‘s decision to launch an independent investigation into how an interview was secured with his mother, princess diana, in 1995. lord dyson, a former seniorjudge, will carry out the inquiry into martin bashir‘s panorama programme. in a statement released last night, the duke of cambridge said... our royal correspondent jonny dymond explained how unusual the statement is. members of the royal family, senior members of the royal family don't really commentate on media

coverage and they certainly don't involve themselves in something as controversial and, for the bbc, embarrassing as this investigation. and look at the phrasing that was used, his office said that he "tentatively," cautiously that is, welcomed the investigation, that it's a step in the right direction. prince william isn't giving a round of applause to the bbc, he is effectively saying, look, i am looking at what you are doing, i am watching this investigation, i am pleased it is happening but i am also waiting for the conclusion. this was a very important moment in his mother's life, the 1995 interview she gave to panorama. it had very serious implications for the rest of her life, brief period of her life. the circumstances around it are very, very controversial. the bbc has pledged an investigation. prince william has said, extraordinarily, he is watching and waiting. scientists who advised the government during the early

stages of the coronavirus pandemic have admitted they ‘never checked' how covid—19 could be spread by staff who work at more than one care home. the researchers were speaking to a bbc documentary focusing on the period before the first lockdown in march. our health correspondent, catherine burns, has more details. at all stages, we have been guided by the science. we have been following the scientific and medical advice. at each point we have been following the scientific... and medical advice. following the science. that was the mantra at the start of this pandemic, but this documentary asks how good was that science? scientific advice. the risk to the public remains low. spi—m, the modelling group, is made up of academics who use computing models to make a best guess on how the virus can spread. their advice goes up to sage and then onto government. the first uk cases were confirmed

in january to 31st. for the next month, life went on largely as normal. by march the 2nd, the prime minister chaired the emergency meeting of the cobra committee. for the first time since the virus arrived in the uk. the next day, this press conference. for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual. by then, officialfigures had said 164 people in the uk had been diagnosed with covid—19. it is thought, though, the real number of infections was more like 14,000. the virus had been spreading across europe. if i could have known one thing, i think i should have thought, if northern italy has got an epidemic than she is quite likely that other places in europe have probably got an epidemic as well. and i didn't think that. by mid—march, the scientific advice

was that the virus was doubling every 5—6 days and heading for a peak injune. that advice was wrong. i got really concerned because i realised the doubling time was closer to three days than to the five or six days we were talking about. and this is really important and quite a massive game changer. what it would really mean is that within one week or two weeks we would be at saturation of the nhs. and so, march 23rd, lockdown. cases started to fall but that's continued rising, especially in care homes. but it took until mid april for the risk posed by staff,

particularly agency workers. what made you think they were shielded? that's a good question. we never checked. he points out the scientists were working with limited data. the government says it has constantly adapted its approach as new evidence came through. and you can see more on that story in the full documentary "lockdown 1.0 — following the science? " tonight at 9pm on bbc2, or shortly afterwards on iplayer. a woman whose father died with coronavirus in a care home is taking the government to court, arguing it failed in its duty to protect him. cathy gardner's 88—year—old father michael died on the 3rd april. she's seeking permission for a judicial review of ministerial decisions at the start of the pandemic.

the government says it can't comment on the legal action. mps have launched a new inquiry into the windrush compensation scheme, because of concerns that applicants are experiencing serious delays. the inquiry is being carried out by the home affairs select committee. its chair, the labour mp yvette cooper, says mps are deeply concerned about problems reported since the scheme was established more than a year ago, including issues with pay—outs, and with complex paperwork. just trying to bring you a couple of details about the brexit trade talks. we are hearing via twitter, michel barnier who has treated, there is the news... one of the

negotiations has tested positive for covid—19. therefore, negotiations are suspended for now. that has just come through, as much as we know. as soon as come through, as much as we know. as soon as we come through, as much as we know. as soon as we get come through, as much as we know. as soon as we get more come through, as much as we know. as soon as we get more details, we will bring those to you. life in lockdown has led to isolation for many people — and all this week bbc news has been looking at its impact on people of all ages. our correspondent elaine dunkley has been to walsall, to meet someone who's dealing with his loneliness — by helping others in a similar situation. loneliness. it is a killer, there's no doubt about it, it's a killer. when i lost doreen, after 63 years of marriage, i don't know, it's like a curtain's come down, i thought, what am i going to do with myself now? i never said goodbye to her. ron davies is 86. he lost his wife, a daughter and grandson. a life of love and laughter replaced with loneliness and heartbreak. how can you not miss somebody that's

been there every day of your life, 63 years? and that loneliness, it is a killer, there's no doubt about it. it's a killer to people, and i've experienced this, and it will overtake you, if you let it. ron is not alone. millions of people are feeling increasing levels of loneliness during lockdown. social distancing has broken social bonds. in walsall, a group of volunteers are reaching out to the most vulnerable. it's called neighbourhood natters. a chat on the doorstep that can make all the difference. oh, hello. are you ok? i've brought you some parcels, ok? how are you doing, are you ok? angela is visiting 91—year—old adelaide with some shopping, and for a much—needed catch—up. it's lovely to see angela. she's made my day. i really enjoyed it, yes, and i feel very proud and thankful for the things they're doing for me. i think it's lovely. is it quite upsetting sometimes, when you get back in the car?

no, i get in the car sometimes, and sometimes i am, like now, ifeelfull up. you get in the car and you feeljust like pulling on your heartstrings, you know what i mean? and they are lonely, and there's been some people worse than adelaide, and you think you don't even want to, you want to put them in the car and take them home with you and look after them. neighbourhood natters has changed ron's live, and now he is a volunteer. every day he makes calls to people who are feeling lonely. hello, kath. oh, hello, ron. are you all right? yes, yes, not too bad. oh, good. you sound a bit better. is everything 0k? i've got 16 people now. ten o'clock in the morning, i can phone reg. two o'clock in the afternoon, i can phone brian, at the home. i never thought that i would do this, never in a million years, but i'm thankful i've done it now. we're not strangers now, we're all friends, you know? "oh, it's ron. "it's all right, love, it's ron, my mate", when you get on the phone, you know, and you think to yourself, "oh, that's ok, that is",

and it is a wonderful feeling, there's no doubt about it. i hope it lasts a lot longer, i do. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah. hello. we have seen a change in the weather. after the milder days we have seen, colder air is working in from the north and wintry showers across the high ground of scotland. the rest of the day, cold wind and things are dry as we head into the evening hours. overnight tonight, we keep the clear skies in the east the cloud will increase from the west. this is the next weather front bringing rain to northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales and south—west scotland. under the clear skies and east, cole started friday. a touch of frost and perhaps the odd icy stretch. tomorrow will be different, more in the way of cloud, milder with rain spreading

west to east through the day, patchy showers returning later on. temperatures back into double figures, but chili around the east coast. into the weekend it is windy, especially on saturday with showers around. fewer showers and a little bit brighter by sunday. goodbye for now.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine — the oxford team says its research is showing good results and has had a promising immune response in people over 60. what we've demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages, including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is see whether this translates into actual protection from infection, so protection from getting the disease in the first place. a boost to the defence budget — the prime minister says a new four—yearfunding deal would protect "hundreds of thousands" of jobs and create 40,000 roles.

prince william says the bbc investigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction. covid in care homes — scientists who advised the government admit they never checked how the virus could be spread by staff working in multiple homes. and coming up — we look ahead to tonight's announcement of the booker prize winner for 2020. i'll speak to last year's joint winner, bernadine evaristo, in the next few minutes. we are heading to the sports news first but before that, just to give you what update we have about the brexit trade talks because we had that tweet in the last few moments from michel barnier. we have had another one from david frost, the

chief british negotiator and the essenceis chief british negotiator and the essence is there is a pause to the discussions because someone in the tea m discussions because someone in the team has tested positive for covid—19. see the british tweet there from david frost, the health of our teams comes first. a pause to the discussions. much more coming up in this half hour, including we will be talking about the us election, results still rumbling on and we will have live conversations about that and i will be talking to bernandine evaristo as well. let's cross over tojohn watson bernandine evaristo as well. let's cross over to john watson for the sport. we'll have huge news from the premier league in a moment, but first to the government's £300 million emergency package that's been announced for sports affected by the absence of crowds due to the pandemic. of that sum, just under half has gone to rugby union, £135 million, with £59 million to premiership clubs, £44 million to the rfu,

and the rest between championship clubs and below. the funding will largely be made up of loans. here's how the rest breaks down. 40 million goes to horse racing. while the premier league and english football league clubs miss out, with both parties still to agree on a separate deal between them. 28 million goes to those in the national league and women's football. rugby league will get 12 million as a top up to the existing loan they have. owners of major motorsport circuits such as silverstone and goodwood get six million. the lta get five million. netball, basketball and ice hockey will benefit with four million. half that figure goes to badminton england and greyhound racing will get one million. cricket is another sport to miss out. we promised to stand by them when we made the decision to postpone the return of fans, so today i am pleased to announce a £300 million sports winter survival package to see major

spectator sports through this very difficult period. the majority of this funding will be given through low interest loans with flexible repayment terms, with grants where organisations are unable to repay loans. this package will focus on those sports severely impacted by the restrictions announced in september, and is the largest announced by any government for its domestic sports sector in the world. now to football. the manchester city manager pep guardiola's signed a two—year contract extension that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2023. his current deal was set to expire at the end of this season. guardiola has won eight trophies sincejoining the club four years ago, including two premier league titles and led the club to an unprecedented clean sweep of all domestic titles in 2019. football's world governing body fifa could impose transfer bans on clubs who don't meet their new rules around maternity cover. players will be entitled to at least

14 weeks of maternity cover, on at least two thirds of their salary. it is less than what uk law outlines but has been described as "an essential step" for the sport in protecting female players. the proposed regulations need approval next month. after making history last weekend by equalling michael schumacher‘s record of seven world titles, lewis hamilton's been speaking about the critics who predicted he'd never make it in the sport. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, he says he plans to remain with mercedes and endeavor to make the sport more diverse. he's been speaking to my colleague sally nugent. i remember as a kid, adults, teachers, parents of other drivers and youngsters telling me that i would not make it, you are not good enough, there is no way you are going to make it, go back to your country, all these horrible things, and i remember, i'm going to prove you wrong! really, the message was for all the kids out there who might

feel that they don't have a voice, might be dreaming something or want to dream big. what's next? i would love to stay. i still feel young and energised and hungry. it is crazy as i have won my seventh title, but we have another big fight to win, and that is for racial equality across the board. and diversity within my sport, which i thought would have shifted just by my being there and i realise that's not the case. the grandson of former england cricketer ian botham will make his debut for wales this weekend. cardiff blues flanker james botham will start in saturday's autumn nations cup game against georgia. he was only called up to the squad on monday as head coach wayne pivac makes 13 changes to the side that lost last weekend, their sixth straight defeat. fly—half george ford will start on the bench

for england's match with ireland, as he returns from injury. head coach eddie jones is maintaining captain owen farrell at 10 while maro itoje, tom curry, sam underhill, mako vuinpola and kyle sinckler return to the starting 15. ollie lawrence will make his second england start in an unchanged back line from the 40—0 win over georgia. and in the women's side — fly—half katy daley mclean will captain the team against france on saturday at twickenham. it'll be her 116th cap, making her the third most capped england player of all time. british tennis number two kyle edmund has split with his coach afterjust one season together. edmund won the new york open in february alongside franco davin, but since the tour resumed in august, has won just one of his seven matches. edmund said covid travel restrictions had made "working together quite difficult" with davin living in the united states. and before i go, it's that time of the year when the top basketball stars are picked by the teams

in the nba, and it was an emotional moment when anthony edwards paid tribute to his late mother and grandmother, as he was named the number one draft pick, with a move to minnesota timberwolves. both family members died of cancer and the georgia guard, 19, sat next to paintings of the pair as the announcement was made. that's all the sport for now. more on all those stories and latest from the atp finals on our website. i will be back with another update later on. we will take a couple of minutes now to talk about the us election.

it's been 16 days since voters went to the polls across the united states, but there's still no concession from president trump afterjoe biden's victory. let's take a look at what we know so far. the trump campaign has filed a flurry of lawsuits contesting the results in key states, including requesting a partial recount in the state of wisconsin. in pennsylvania they have asked judges to look again at their claims that republican observers were improperly blocked from watching the vote count. election officials say there is no evidence of widespread irregularities. meanwhile president—elect biden says delaying the transition will damage the us pandemic response. it comes as president trump has been making unsubstantiated claims of fraud and refusing to initiate a handover. and we can speak now to larry sa bato, who's director of the center for politics at the university of virginia. hejoins us from charlottesville in virginia.

very good afternoon, larry. same to you. are you at all surprised that this is still rumbling on two and a bit weeks later? no. this is donald trump personified. let me make very clear the election is long over. not only did joe biden win, he won convincingly. he is leading by almost 6 million votes, that's double the margin posted by hillary clinton four years ago and he has 306 electoral votes, exactly the number donald trump had four years ago when he won. this is all in donald trump's head and he's being reinforced by the usual sycophants around him. what does it actually mean in practical terms? joe biden is building a team, had a few appointments, but what should those people be doing right now that they perhaps can't do? incredibly we just

passed sadly the 250,000 death from coronavirus. we are number one in the world and in a way we don't want to be number one and yet the biden transition team is not permitted by donald trump to talk to the special task force that has been handling the matter for the us task force that has been handling the matterfor the us government. there is a lot the biden team could learn from them and they take over onjanuary learn from them and they take over on january 20 at learn from them and they take over onjanuary 20 at noon, they are not going to have the background information they need. trump is refusing to give biden what he got from barack obama immediately which we re from barack obama immediately which were morning national security briefings and to add insult to injury, they will not transferred the $6.3 million already in the budget and approved for the transition. biden is having to raise his own money to do it. so legally there are literally people thatjoe

biden and his team could be talking to, would want to talk to given the coronavirus pandemic and legally they are not allowed to speak to those people because does the law say there has to be a formal transition moment, if you like? yes, thatis transition moment, if you like? yes, that is absolutely correct and this is the first time this has ever happened. in 2000 when you had that extremely close election between george w bush and al gore, the election was truly up in the air. it came down to 537 votes in florida. this is if not a landslide, it is certainly a runaway as it's turned out and yet none of this can be done and it's purely spite on donald trump's part. and whatever the reason is, i'm interested in the result of that for the american people and for the process of government and legislation. i take

your point, you say it's never happened before but where does this go? will biden's team be making private appeals to some of donald trump's team who might be more sympathetic to this conundrum? what will be going on behind the scenes? it's likely at least a few people who have the national interest at heart from the trump team are talking privately to the biden people. remember though, if talking privately to the biden people. rememberthough, if donald trump finds out, he will almost certainly fired them. he just fired the head of our cyber security agency who both sides say did a terrificjob in securing our elections forforeign terrificjob in securing our elections for foreign influence terrificjob in securing our elections forforeign influence but he was fired for suggesting that this was the most secure election in american history. he was fired for doing hisjob well. that's american history. he was fired for doing his job well. that's what happens to people who cross donald trump. what of other senior figures in the republican party? are there not people on donald trump's own

site saying, actually, mr president, look at the figures. we do need to do the decent thing, we do need to, particularly at a time of national crisis, we do need to let the transition team do their work. 16 days on we finally have a few squeaks from some of the mice who are afraid to challenge donald trump. these elected officials in the senate in particular, they worry about a tweet from a donald trump because it could destroy their re—election bids in the future. that is really what it is all about, they don't want to challenge him. larry, not for the last time, we will talk again. thank you for your time this afternoon. political analyst there from the university of virginia.

let's turn our attentions to something else entirely. this evening we find out who is the winner of the 2020 booker prize — given to what the judges consider the best novel in the english language published in the uk. tonight's ceremony is a semi virtual one, being hosted from the roundhouse in north london. ina in a moment i will be talking to two special people involved in the ceremony. the booker prize has boosted the career of many authors, including salman rushdie, kazuo ishiguro and hillary mantel. talking to us now is bernadine evaristo, the winner of last year's award for her novel ‘girl, woman, other' and margaret busby,

chair of this year's judges. ladies, welcome to both of you. i should explain to the us where you are. you are both at the venue already but of course socially distance. brilliant to have you with us. distance. brilliant to have you with us. thank you. bernandine evaristo, i can't believe it's a year. what has the last year done for you? how different has it been for you as a result of your win? it's been the most incredible year. everything changed overnight for me since winning last october. suddenly i became known as a writer and also my book has been usually commercially successful. so all the things i wa nted successful. so all the things i wanted for my career and i had been writing since 1982 professionally, happened in the last year. i have done so many press interviews, festival appearances, all online, and lots of writing commissions in

my book has sold into 35 languages which is a phenomenal amount. in every way possible, my career has been enhanced and also i am an activist, i do speak out for inclusion in the arts and i have been given a much bigger platform to do that this year. therefore, given that, does this year's shortlist delight you? it does. it's an amazing shortlist. it is a ground—breaking shortlist because they have never had that kind of diversity for this price before, three women of colour, two african women, two queer writers, one black man, somebody writing about climate change, so it's very hopeful and very exciting. there are quite a few debut authors which is very interesting and i couldn't call it, i don't know who is going to win so it will be really exciting to find out. let's talk to the lady who does know but will not tell us. margaret,

lovely to have you. it is remarkable. i remember when the final shortlist was whittled down and announced, i thought, for debut novelists. have we ever had so many in the shortlist before? probably not but the thing is it was not a curated list in that way. we had our meetings, we read our books, we came up meetings, we read our books, we came up with our lists and when we saw what we had come up with, that is exactly how the list broke down. we didn't have a check list and say, let's have this number of debuts or women and men. it was serendipity if you like that we have this wonderful shortlist. it is something to do with the fact that we are a very diverse group of judges. with the fact that we are a very diverse group ofjudges. i have some wonderful co—judges, lee childs, emily wilson, we are all very

different but in a way we cover the whole spectrum of the publishing, literary industry from writing to editing to reading to publishing, reviewing. i think may be that may be why we produce this shortlist because it was nothing done in a deliberate way. that is exactly as it should be. everything you described about the people on the judging panel and the novels you have all been reading, that is what any artistic endeavour should be surely, a representation of life and the world in 2020. do you feel it's come at the booker prize is finally getting there and is where it should be and perhaps where other arts institutions are getting too as well? i think it's very noticeable that in the last few years the booker prize has been really changing ina

booker prize has been really changing in a way that is for everybody's benefit, making it richer in terms of who is in the chair judging richer in terms of who is in the chairjudging the books. it's wonderful to see the tradition of excellent literature is continued evenif excellent literature is continued even if there is a more inclusive group of people making those decisions. surely this was a great yearfor decisions. surely this was a great year for us decisions. surely this was a great yearfor us all to be reading because what else was there to do in so because what else was there to do in so many instances. is there a boom -- is so many instances. is there a boom —— is this a boom time for literature because it is still really ha rd literature because it is still really hard for authors to get their voices heard. yes, that is certainly true and i think this year has been particularly difficult because lockdown has meant book shops have been shut and writers probably have suffered in ways that we didn't know was going to happen. anything that encourages reading, helps the writers, help the publishers, book shops, i think in the end is

something we would all like to see happen. bernandine evaristo, ordinarily i might say to you, have you been able to use lockdown to perhaps create even more work than you might have had time for before? maybe i know the answer because you have had such a busy year, i don't know whether lockdown has been a help or hindrance. in one sense it was a help because i was supposed to be travelling because typically you do get invited to lots of international festivals but i didn't go anywhere, so it meant i was able to capitalise on all the media interest so i didn't move out of my study much but i was able to communicate so much through online events and so on. i think in one senseit events and so on. i think in one sense it has been a really good and also, i'm a very busy person anyway but i quite enjoyed being at home and nesting and just recalibrating having had such an exciting time

with winning the booker. what will those finalists who are waiting for the envelope to be open tonight, what will they all be feeling right now? what does it mean for them?|j now? what does it mean for them?” was so nervous and now? what does it mean for them?” was so nervous and i'm not a nervous person, i'm usually very controlled. it's a big deal, it's a huge deal for writers and i can't really second—guess how they will be feeling about some of them will be desperate to win it, really desperate. there is a lot of pressure that they will be feeling right now and some of the others will be thinking, this is my first, second book, ifi will be thinking, this is my first, second book, if i don't win, that's 0k. to make it as far as the shortlist is a huge achievement. they need to take it on the chin if they don't win but if they do when, their life will be changed in an incredible way i think. thank you both very much indeed. it's such a pleasure to speak to both of you and

bernandine evaristo, thank you for your wonderful novel because i loved it! i was beside myself with excitement you were coming on to talk to us. enjoy tonight ‘s ceremony. thank you to both of you. enjoy the booker prize tonight. the 2020 booker prize award ceremony will be broadcast live on radio 4's front row programme from 7pm this evening. anyway, seven or 715 but you can watch it on bbc news as well around 745. that was margaret busby and bernandine evaristo. you can find out here tonight between seven and eight. as the unemployment rate rises,

it appears to be young people who are being hit hardest by the job losses taking place. today, new figures seen by the bbc suggest apprentices are also losing out. between march and july, more than a thousand people in england were withdrawn from apprenticeship programmes because they had been made redundant, nearly double the number in 2019. our business correspondent sima kotecha can tell us more. who we saw just who we sawjust a brief flash of accidentally. we had do up there as accidentally. we had do up there as a booker prizewinner. many congratulations. that was quite impressive. if only. thank you. yes, grim news i'm afraid today for some young apprentices. we have had some figures from the bbc today that have shown that around 12%, that's what one survey suggests, lost their apprenticeships in october, that's because young people have been very

vulnerable during this pandemic. if a business struggles, sometimes the apprentice is the first to go and somebody who can speak to us about their experience is ryan anderson who was an apprentice, was made redundant but the good news is he has a newjob now. explain to us what happened to you.” has a newjob now. explain to us what happened to you. i got furloughed at the start of covid. i was on furlough for about five months and got called in for a meeting where i got made redundant along with another colleague. i was just shocked, completely shocked. and then you are lucky enough to get another apprenticeship. tell me about that. how did that come about? i got made redundant in the same weekl i got made redundant in the same week i was trying and trying again for another apprenticeship. i had

only one year left of the apprenticeship so i was on to loads of companies, i didn't have much luck for the first few days. got on to one gentleman from newcastle who said that he would get me in touch with someone that he knows. later on that day i received an e—mail of steve, my boss now, saying he would like an interview. over the moon. i didn't expect this. fantastic and you got lucky but there are so many out there who haven't been as lucky as you. what support do you think apprentices need going forward? yes, exactly. there needs to be more incentive to keep an apprentice on, especially given the climate and apprentices are the future for any trade. they need more help of the government in may be funding but definitely. if you dig deep for me,

ryan, at your lowest point, how did being furloughed make you feel? we have been talking a lot about young people and the mental health impact this pandemic has had on them.” struggled. i very much a struggle. it was a lot of stress being made redundant. obviously being an apprentice i was scared encase i was going to get anywhere. i knew this career was going to get anywhere. i knew this career was for me when i started and i thought it was going to go down the train. i felt backed into a corner, didn't have nowhere to go but was thanks to steve and the couege but was thanks to steve and the college that they made me get anotherjob. thank you, ryan anderson. an apprentice who was lucky enough to get another apprenticeship after he was made redundant. the government would say it has its kick—start scheme, its furlough scheme which has been

extended until the end of march but there are still some young people who are really struggling to get work at the moment and just listening to that story there, you can see what their situation is like. thank you. let's take a look at the weather right now. colder air has been working in from the north. wintry showers across the high ground of scotland. for the rest of the day a cold when, showers easing away. largely dry into the evening. overnight tonight we keep the clear skies in the east but cloud will increase from the west. this is the next weather front bringing rain to northern england, —— northern ireland but under clear skies, a cold start to friday. through the day tomorrow we will see a different feeling day than today. more cloud cover with rain spreading west to east through the day. patchy

sheesh i was returning from the rest later on and temperatures back into double figures. fairly chilly around the east coast. into the weekend, fairly changeable. windy on saturday with showers around. fewer showers and brighter on sunday. this is bbc news. more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine. what we have demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is see whether this tra nslates do next is see whether this translates into actual protection from infection, so production from getting the disease in the first place. a boost to the defence budget — the prime minister says a new four—yearfunding deal would protect "hundreds of thousands" of jobs

and create 40,000 roles. crunch brexit trade talks between the uk and the eu are suspended after a negotiator tests positive for covid—19. prince william says the bbc investigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction. covid in care homes — scientists who advised the government admit they never checked how the virus could be spread by staff working in multiple homes. and, a £300 million rescue package for 11 sports, struggling without spectators because of coronavirus.

good afternoon and welcome. there's more encouraging news today about coronavirus vaccines. researchers from oxford university say the vaccine they're working on shows a promising immune response so far in people in their 60s and 70s. crucial further tests still need to be carried out and the vaccine isn't yet at the same stage as similar jabs being developed by pfizer and moderna. the uk has ordered 100 million doses of the oxford vaccine if it eventually receives regulatory approval. our health correspondent naomi grimley has the details. more encouraging news, after months of upsetting headlines. oxford university says its vaccine is well tolerated in older adults, and, crucially, that it induces a robust immune response, similar to that found in younger people. it's always been a nagging worry that covid vaccines wouldn't work so well in older age groups. our results show that adults

over the age of 70 have as good antibody responses as adults aged 18 to 55, and that's really important, because the older age group are the people who are the most vulnerable to severe covid disease. there are three stages to vaccine trials. these results come from its middle stage, phase two. researchers were studying 560 uk volunteers. 240 of whom were over the age of 70. but we are still waiting for oxford's phase three results. that's the most comprehensive stage, which involves some 30,000 participants in the us, uk, brazil and south africa. it is only when that data arrives that we will really know whether this vaccine actually works. then, things could move fast. the production has already begun,

so i think that most people believe that the oxford vaccine will be ready to receive much quicker than the others. it could be as early as the end of winter. it really depends on the logistics and everything, but it is looking very promising indeed for swifter access to this particular vaccine. two other vaccine candidates, pfizer and moderna, are already on the verge of submitting their results to regulators. the uk has invested to differing degrees in all three of these leading vaccines, but, as this breakdown shows, hopes are pinned especially on the oxford one. overall, the uk has placed orders for vaccine doses totalling 355 million, but two shots will be required in most of them. globally, too, there is a sense of expectation. the oxford team has done multiple deals with overseen vaccine makers, like this one, india's sarum institute, in a bid to make sure the world's

poorest get access too. naomi grimley, bbc news. today's news from the oxford vaccine follows on from good news earlier this week from two other vaccine trials which were shown to be highly effective in the late stages of development. the coronavirus vaccine developed by pfizer and biontech appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old. on monday this week, moderna announced that its vaccine is nearly 95% effective, according to early stage data. the vaccine works in a similar way to the pfizer/biontech jab. and as we've been hearing, the team behind the oxford vaccine has reported ‘encouraging' results today. with me now is dr maheshi ramasamy, an investigator at the oxford vaccine group. we saw her very briefly in the

report we ran at the top of the hour, iam report we ran at the top of the hour, i am glad we can talk to you in more detail. in lehmans terms, i know... you tell me, you are at phase two, not phase three, explain what point you are at here? currently, we are running at phase two, three clinical trial and the —— data we have published today, we have an ongoing phase three trial happening across 20 sites in the uk at the moment. one of the key things asi at the moment. one of the key things as i understand it with what you are talking about today, is the fact that it talking about today, is the fact thatitis talking about today, is the fact that it is showing positive results in older people, explain why that is so in older people, explain why that is so significant and potentially so exciting? that's right, in the reports we made today we've looked at immune responses in 560

participants. in particular, they are from different age groups, 18 to 55, and then up to 69 years of age and then participants over 79 years of age. it is critical to look at immune of age. it is critical to look at immune responses of age. it is critical to look at immune responses in the elderly, those over the age of 70, because we know those are the group most vulnerable to covid infection and death. it is critical we develop a vaccine to protect this group from covid infection. what is your timeline to test that out further? at the moment, what we have demonstrated is we can measure good immune demonstrated is we can measure good immune responses demonstrated is we can measure good immune responses in blood tests we can look at in the lab, so we can measure good antibody responses and good t cell responses. what we don't know yet is whether or not this tra nslates know yet is whether or not this translates into actual protection from the disease itself. that is going to take a bigger group of the population so the 10,000 people we

have in the uk, along with the thousands of participants in brazil, south africa and now kenya. so we have over 20,000 south africa and now kenya. so we have over 20 , 000 participants recruited worldwide and numbers continuing to increase. what we will need to do is look at the rates of covid infection in vaccinated participants. our trial includes either using the covid vaccine, which half of the participants get. the other participants get an unsure cockle vaccine which will not prevent covid disease. neither of the participants know we know which one they have got. we determine this by looking to see if we get fewer cases in the groups of people who have had the covid vaccine, as opposed to the groups of people who have had the placebo vaccine. the process you have described, is it something that takes months? we

started recruiting to this particular study at the end of may. it has been a phenomenal task to recruit so many people quickly in so many different places and we are hugely grateful to all the participants and the people who signed up. the limiting step is the number of covid cases we get. we started recruiting at the start of the summer when we were seeing the successful effects of the lockdown in bringing down the viral transmission across the uk. then over the summer transmission across the uk. then over the summer cases transmission across the uk. then over the summer cases fell significantly, so it is hard to see whether the vaccine was protecting from disease because there wasn't a lot of disease circulating. however, over the last few months as case numbers have started to increase over autumn and the beginning of winter, we are building up cases of disease within our participant group as well. how frustrating is it when

people like me just want to know when we will have a result and a decision? it is frustrating for me as well and i wish i knew the answer. we have to make sure we get the data absolutely right. they can be absolutely no doubt. every time there is a case of covid infection in our trial it is reviewed by an independent panel, who make sure that participant meets the definition of covid infection, we are sure they have definitely had covid. that data is separately reviewed by a data monitoring committee, an independent group of clinicians who are used to running vaccine and drug trials. only when they feel have the accumulated enough data can be underlined and see what the results were. i would love to know, but unfortunately i don't yet. you have explained the sheer scale of this on the process you have gone through to meet this

point. actually, this is all very, very quick, both your trials and the other two mentioned at the beginning? what about those people who say, this makes me a bit nervous, this is all happening so quickly and we are hearing potentially positive news so swiftly, it unnerves me, how can this vaccine, when it comes, possibly be safe. what do you say when it sounds like a rushed job?m certainly happened very quickly but it has not been rushed. normally to develop a vaccine it takes years. the reason that is because you start off with a pilot project, you gather your data, then apply for more funding. go to the next age, look at your data, apply for more funding and so on. it can take years where we can have a large scale human trial. we have been very fortunate we have had funding from the

department of health and other donors which have allowed us to access the resources, access the people, get the logistics up and running very quickly. but once the clinical trial started in terms of our safety reviews and regulatory reviews, that has happened at the normal pace it would at any other time, whether or not we were in a pandemic. the accelerated bit has been before the clinical trial actually started. it is super of you to give us your time this afternoon, thank you for everything you and your team are thank you for everything you and yourteam are doing. just looking at my screen, just while i was talking to the doctor, we we re while i was talking to the doctor, we were just hearing a bit of news through from the scottish parliament in terms of the vaccine. the scottish health secretary has told the scottish parliament that the first people to receive a vaccine in

scotla nd first people to receive a vaccine in scotland will include front—line health and social care staff, older residents in care homes and staff. people over the age of 80, unpaid ca re rs people over the age of 80, unpaid carers and the people actually delivering the vaccines. that is some interesting detail. the scottish parliament told this is the plan for the first wave of distribution of any vaccine. this says the first wave is planned for between december and february. so thatis between december and february. so that is the categories of people who are essentially at the front of the queue for that vaccine in scotland. that is what the scottish parliament has just been told in the last few moments. we are hearing. we will be answering only questions about vaccines just after 3.30 and in the

few minutes let me remind you at the address to send them to. some breaking news now , post—brexit trade talks some breaking news now, post—brexit trade talks between the uk and the eu have been temporarily suspended after a member of the eu's negotiating team tested positive for coronavirus — with michel barnier self—isolating. joining me now from brussels is our correspondent, nick beake. what are people saying. these talks are ata what are people saying. these talks are at a critical point and it was being seen as crucial if the deal was going to be done and ratified

bill for the end of the year. but michel barnier announced on twitter that a member of his team has tested positive for covid—19 and in the past few minutes we have had it confirmed by someone within his team that that will mean the eu's chief negotiator will have to follow the rules and regulations they have got in place in brussels. he will now self quarantine. it is unclear what this means for lord frost, the uk's chief negotiator. the british side say they will follow any rules that apply to him and the rest of the team. interestingly, we know the two teams have been at loggerheads, but on this they are united, they say the health of their teams is more important than anything else. crucially, they will remain in contact crucially, they will remain in co nta ct over crucially, they will remain in contact over zoom, as well, these negotiations will continue. remember, so much of this process has taken place during the pandemic where they have had to deal with restrictions, not being able to be in the same room on quite a few

occasions, but this couldn't have come, frankly, at a worse time. absolutely. that said, surely everything doesn't have to come to a grinding halt? virtual conversations must be possible? absolutely, we saw borisjohnson this week being able to ta ke borisjohnson this week being able to take part in prime minister's questions by zoom. he was able to field questions from mps. so presumably this will continue. one thing to remember, it's not like there are cameras in the room. if it is going to be an agreement soon, it will be behind closed doors, they will be behind closed doors, they will not be cameras capturing a moment of theatre when one side or the other says, we are in, this is where we sign on the dotted line. things can continue and although the top level negotiations between michel barnier and lord frost have been suspended, you would imagine a lot of the work at the lower levels will keep going at the same pace.

but i think at this point, if there is going to be a deal it would have to come from the very top. this doesn't derail stuff completely but it does complicate things at this crucial moment. nick beake, for now, thank you very much. a new four—yearfunding deal for the armed forces will protect jobs and keep the british people safe, according to the prime minister. by 2024—25, annual defence spending will have increased by around £7 billion over previous manifesto commitments. speaking to the commons via video link, borisjohnson claimed ‘the era of cutting our defence budget‘ would end. the extra money will help fund space and cyber projects. our defence correspondentjonathan beale has the details. britain‘s armed forces say they are about to undergo their biggest transformation since the end of the cold war. it will inevitably mean less of the old, like tanks and heavy armour, and more of the new to defend in the domains of cyber and space.

british troops here are already countering threats, such disinformation. they will also now be part of a new national cyber force, able to conduct offensive cyber operations. and there will be a new space command, with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites, with concerns that russia and china are already developing anti—satellite weapons. announcing the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would bolster britain‘s influence and end an era of retreat. i‘ve done this in the teeth of a pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm, and the safety of the british people, must come first. defence spending has fallen by over £8 billion in real terms over the last ten years. over the same period, uk regular forces have

decreased by a quarter, and on top of that, the national audit office estimate there is a black hole of up to £13 billion in the mod equipment plan. the mod‘s annual budget is currently £41 billion a year. the government is now promising that will rise by 4% a year above inflation, which would mean an overall increase in the mod budget to nearly 52 billion by 2025. the government says the extra investment will also boost the economy, creating, it says, up to 10,000 extra jobs a year. at bae systems in lancashire, they have already started work on what they call their factory of the future, where they are developing the next generation of fighter jet. tempest has been designed to fly with or without a pilot in the cockpit, but a former military chief worries about the cuts that will still have to be made to fund these new technologies. obviously, there are some programmes, some historic

programmes, that could be cut, and i'm sure the defence chiefs will think very carefully about that, but the vast majority of our maritime, land and air capabilities that we currently have need to be fully funded before we spend too much of the additional cash in new and novel areas. the mod doesn‘t have a strong track record of staying within budget. it‘s still working out how to pay for the equipment it already wants, including more jets for the two new aircraft carriers, and good news for the mod might mean less money for other government departments. jonathan beale, bbc news. prince william has tentatively welcomed the bbc‘s decision to launch an independent investigation into how an interview was secured with his mother, princess diana, in 1995. lord dyson, a former seniorjudge, will carry out the inquiry into martin bashir‘s panorama programme. in a statement released last night, the duke of cambridge said...

our royal correspondent jonny dymond explained how unusual the statement is. members of the royal family, senior members of the royal family don‘t really commentate on media coverage and they certainly don‘t involve themselves in something as controversial and, for the bbc, embarrassing as this investigation. and look at the phrasing that was used, his office said that he "tentatively," cautiously that is, welcomed the investigation, that it‘s a step in the right direction. prince william isn‘t giving a round of applause to the bbc, he is effectively saying, look, i am looking at what you are doing, i am watching this investigation, i am pleased it is happening but i am also waiting for the conclusion. this was a very important moment in his mother‘s life, the 1995 interview she gave to panorama. it had very serious implications for the rest of her life,

brief period of her life. the circumstances around it are very, very controversial. the bbc has pledged an investigation. prince william has said, extraordinarily, he is watching and waiting. mike pompeo has become the first us secretary of state to visit a jewish settlement in the occupied west bank. the trip comes a year after mr pompeo said the settlements did not contradict international law, reversing a long—held us position. the declaration outraged palestinians, who oppose settlements on land they claim for a future independent state. our middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. these are the babies here. an embrace of roots that run back centuries. the land here is loved and in this man‘s case, lost.

he is a palestinian cut—off from where hundreds more of his olive trees grow after israeli settlers built nearby. he says the trump years favoured israel even further, so now what change? so we are hoping becausejoe biden is on the side of the poor people and on the side of, hopefully, justice. so we believe, we hope that he‘s going to do a little better than donald trump. do you think you‘ll be able to access your land? i don‘t think he‘s going to let me access my land because we live under a very hard occupation here. and now, the last throes of team trump, mike pompeo landed with us and israeli policies bound tighter than ever, listing four years of support. it sounded like a long goodbye. we've done incredible things.

it's remarkable, we went through the list whether it's the simple fact of recognising the reality ofjerusalem as the rightful, proper, true capital of israel. crazy that the united states hadn't done this for decades. and america‘s top diplomat is visiting an israeli settlement in the west bank. going to a winery like this one, it is a contentious first. settlements are built on land the palestinians want for a state. they are seen as illegal under international law, a view dropped by the trump team. this is the land of the jewish people. jeremiah the prophet promised the jewish people that one day they should come back to the land and produce wine. and that is exactly what we are doing today, 2000 years after. palestinians are protesting against an unwelcome visitor. some reflect

on dim prospects, their leadership left yet more isolated after president trump‘s time. some of the palestinians are burning tyres come about as close as they are going to get to the israeli settlement at the top of the hill. all of this demonstrates that whatever happens in washington, it always has the power to dramatically affect the mood on the ground here. many won‘t miss president trump‘s top envoy after this likely last official trip. but for israel, it will mark a parting of ways for the closest of friends. tom bateman, bbc news, ramallah. the bbc‘s middle east correspondent yolande knell joins me now from jerusalem. this is a visit in the dying days of an administration, what did both sides think about the next administration and the next chapter? this has looked like a farewell

tour, a victory lap, some have said, for the us secretary of state. he began the day with a very warm news conference giving statements with the israeli prime minister, the two of them bumping elbows. benjamin netanyahu said under the trump administration, the alliance between israel and the us had been pushed to unprecedented heights. then, these very notable first, mike pompeo becoming the most senior us official to visit a jewish settlement in the occupied west bank. right now, he is in the israeli occupied golan heights, which this white house recognised of being part of israel and the departure of previous us foreign policy. there are some attem pts foreign policy. there are some atte m pts to foreign policy. there are some attempts to tie the hands of president—electjoe biden when he reaches the white house. it is

thought for example, he will not move the us embassy from jerusalem back to tel aviv, but there will be a reset term, a more traditional us policy in this part of the well, that mr biden will try to restore ties with the palestinians, for example, they have been cut off under president trump and allowed the palestinians to reopen their representative office in washington. but he is also going to be extremely busy with big domestic issues and international issues away from here in iran, russia and china as well. thank you very much for now. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah. hello, we have seen a change in the weather. after milder days, colder air has been moving on from the north and we have had wintry showers

across the high ground of scotland. cold wind and most of the showers easing away and things mostly dry as we head into the evening hours. overnight we keep clear skies in the east the cloud will increase from the west, next weather front bringing rain to northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales. but under the clear skies in east, cold start to friday. touch of frost and perhaps the odd icy stretch. from tomorrow it will be a different feeling, milder with rain spreading west to east through the day, patchy showers returning from the west later on. temperatures back into double figures for many, but surely round the east coast. into the weekend it is changeable, windy on saturday with showers around. fewer showers and a little bit brighter by sunday. goodbye for now.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines:

more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine — the oxford team says its research is showing good results and has had a promising immune response in people over 60. what we‘ve demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages, including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is see whether this translates into actual protection from infection, so protection from getting the disease in the first place. a boost to the defence budget — the prime minister says a new four—yearfunding deal would protect "hundreds of thousands" of jobs and create 40,000 roles. crunch brexit trade talks between the uk and the eu are suspended after a negotiator tests positive for covid—19. the eu‘s chief negotiator, michel barnier has been told to self—isolate. prince william says the bbc

investigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction. we will be answering all your questions in the next few minutes about coronavirus vaccines but before all that, all the sports news. we start with the government‘s 300 million pound emergency package that‘s been announced for sports affected by the absence of crowds due to the pandemic. of that sum, just under half has gone to rugby union. £135 million, with 59 million to premiership clubs, 44 million to the rfu, and the rest between championship clubs and below. the funding will largely be made up of loans. here‘s how the rest breaks down. 40 million goes to horse racing. while the premier league and english football league clubs miss out, with both parties still to agree

on a separate deal between them. 28 million goes to those in the national league and women‘s football. rugby league will get 12 million as a top—up to the existing loan they have. owners of major motorsport circuits such as silverstone and goodwood get six million. the lta get 5 million. netball, basketball and ice hockey will benefit with 4 million. half that figure goes to badminton england and greyhound racing will get1 million. cricket is another sport to miss out. we promised to stand by them when we made the decision to postpone the return of fans, so today i am pleased to announce a £300 million sports winter survival package to see major spectator sports through this very difficult period. the majority of this funding will be given through low interest loans with flexible repayment terms, with grants where organisations are unable to repay loans. this package will focus on those sports severely impacted

by the restrictions announced in september, and is the largest announced by any government for its domestic sports sector in the world. now to football — the manchester city manager pep guardiola‘s signed a two—year contract extention that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2023. his current deal was set to expire at the end of this season. guardiola has won eight trophies sincejoining the club four years ago, including two premier league titles and led the club to an unprecedented clean sweep of all domestic titles in 2019. football‘s world governing body fifa could impose transfer bans on clubs who don‘t meet their new rules around maternity cover. players will be entitled to at least 14 weeks of maternity cover, on at least two thirds of their salary. it is less than what uk law outlines but has been described as "an essential step" for the sport in protecting female players. the proposed regulations need approval next month. after making history last weekend by equalling

michael schumacher‘s record of seven world titles, lewis hamilton‘s been speaking about the critics who predicted he‘d never make it in the sport. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, he says he plans to remain with mercedes and endeavor to make the sport more diverse. he‘s been speaking to my colleague sally nugent. i would love to stay, i want to be here, i still feel young, i would love to stay, i want to be here, istill feel young, energised, hungry and what is crazy is yes, i have won seven titles but we have another big fight to win and that is for racial equality across the board. and diversity within my support, which i thought i would have helped shift just support, which i thought i would have helped shiftjust by being here but i realise that‘s not the case. the grandson of former england cricketer ian botham will make his debut for wales this weekend. cardiff blues flanker james botham will start in saturday‘s autumn nations cup game against georgia. he was only called up to the squad on monday,

as head coach wayne pivac makes 13 changes to the side that lost last weekend, their sixth straight defeat. fly—half george ford will start on the bench for england‘s match with ireland, as he returns from injury. head coach eddie jones is maintaining captain owen farrell at 10 while maro itoje, tom curry, sam underhill, mako vuinpola and kyle sinckler return to the starting 15. ollie lawrence will make his second england start in an unchanged back line from the 40—0 win over georgia. look, he‘s a very, very talented number ten. he‘s been a mainstay of ourteam. number ten. he‘s been a mainstay of our team. he‘s played 69 tests, i think and for him to come on in the last pa rt think and for him to come on in the last part of the game and his technical analysis, his kicking, last part of the game and his technicalanalysis, his kicking, his goal kicking and his distribution skills is going to be very handy for

us. and in the women‘s side — fly—half katy daley mclean will captain the team against france on saturday at twickenham. it‘ll be her 116th cap, making her the third most capped england player of all time. british tennis number two kyle edmund has split with his coach us open champion team had already qualified for the semifinals. british tennis number two kyle edmund has split with his coach afterjust one season together. edmund won the new york open in february alongside franco davin, but since the tour resumed in august, has won just one of his seven matches. edmund said covid travel restrictions had made "working together quite difficult" with davin living in the united states. and before i go — it‘s that time of the year when the top basketball stars are picked by the teams in the nba, and it was

an emotional moment, when anthony edwards paid tribute to his late mother and grandmother, as he was named the number one draft pick, with a move to minnesota timberwolves. both family members died of cancer and the georgia guard, 19, sat next to paintings of the pair as the announcement was made. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. we will go through your questions in a moment about vaccines but some business news and we are hearing of potential sizable job losses again. we arejust potential sizable job losses again. we are just hearing the fashion chains peacocks and yeager say they have fallen into administration. it puts nearly 500 shops at risk across the uk and that is 4700 jobs, that

is what we are hearing. peacocks and jaeger in administration. more than 4700 jobs at risk because of that. more bad news from the british high street. now we will turn to your questions answered. ona day on a day when we have had more positive news on the oxford vaccine along with the other two vaccines we have heard in the week. so to discuss your many questions. vaccines now is dr bharat pankhania from the university of exeter medical school and dr muhammad munir, a virologist at lancaster university. goodness, we have had a lot of

questions which is interesting in itself. sandra irving wants to know, during the trials, because these are ongoing, during the trial is how are the participants exposed to the virus? a very good question from sandra and ideally what we want to do is immunise the participant and then expose them to normal living conditions. in other words, then expose them to normal living conditions. in otherwords, go then expose them to normal living conditions. in other words, go out and about and do your normal work. that is why some of the vaccines have been tried in countries like india, the united states and brazil where they have had lots of cases, so where they have had lots of cases, so that is where you are replicating potential exposure to the virus from other infectious people. that would bea other infectious people. that would be a good way to do it and that is how it is being done.” be a good way to do it and that is how it is being done. i will move to our second question simply because i am told we have had a lot of people asking variants on this question. this is from cathy who is talking

about whether the vaccine is safe for immune compromised patients. she says, as a group, we can‘t safely ta ke says, as a group, we can‘t safely take a live vaccine. we are among those who will be offered a vaccine first because we are vulnerable but we do need to know whether we will be able to take any vaccine safely. a lot of questions on that.” be able to take any vaccine safely. a lot of questions on that. i think the important thing here is to identify which vaccine is it and what kind of volunteers have been recruited into the clinical trial, because generally when we see immunocompromised people, once a particular vaccine would become available or approved, at that point we will be in a position to identify how many people recruited in the

trial to demonstrate whether it is effective in a specific age group or vulnerability based on that data. the recommendations will be made by the manufacturer but whatever the case, the information would become available before the vaccine will be administered to people, whether it is safe and immunocompromised people or not. that topic, it shows quite rightly people really want a lot of reassurance, don‘t they? rightly people really want a lot of reassurance, don't they? yes and we had to take people with us because there is a lot of negative news about vaccines in general on social media and what i would say is these novel vaccines, the messenger rna once, they are not live vaccines so i would expect them to also be safe

in immune suppressed people. the only vaccine where i would be a little bit unsure about or cautious about would be the live attenuated ones, but we have got many which are what we would call messenger rna vaccines coming online and i expect them to be safe in a large group of people if not all groups of people. and in fact apologies, i realise the next question is from christian who talks about cancer. she says, i am having treatment for cancer, can i still have the vaccine? you are talking about vulnerable groups which is a sizeable section of the population. absolutely. again the a nswer population. absolutely. again the answer is about how the vaccine has been evaluated and as i have mentioned, we do have vaccines that are relatively new technologies, so there will be challenges around. pfizer and moderna provide

production, more than 90%, that is what we have heard but still those are new technologies. there are questions that need to be addressed and the question will only be addressed when we will have access to the data, how many people of those recruited in the face three trial were having cancer conditions and has the vaccine still been safe and has the vaccine still been safe and protected in those vulnerable groups because that is the only way you will be able to demonstrate whether it is safe. once again once we reach that point, there will be certain recommendations around that domain. i will stay with you because sally asked, what about people who we re sally asked, what about people who were told to shield? we‘ll all vaccines be suitable for them? will these people be a top priority? vulnerable groups are the ones who are at the topmost list in terms of priority to be immunised in the

first instance because as we all understand at this moment, the major impact of the disease in terms of severe impact is in vulnerable groups. people who are shielding, in the vulnerable category will be the first immunised but at the same time we need to bear in mind we had 2.3 million people who fall into that category in this country. that could be scaled up into used to immunise all those in vulnerable groups or not. rob holliday wants to know whether there is a process whereby differing age groups in one household can all be vaccinated together. we haven‘t had announcements about processes and things but is that something that is medically advisable or desirable? no. we've got to go with public— health protocols. you no. we've got to go with public—health protocols. you target the at risk groups first followed by

health care workers who can often infect and be infectious to their patients. we have to address the at risk issues first. having said all of this, as a health measure, i am also advocating that whilst we immunise the at risk people, we can very rapidly immunise otherwise fit and healthy people in the younger age groups and by doing that, what you achieve is a lower level of viral activity in the community which by default also has the potential to protect more vulnerable people because there is less virus in the community because you have immunised a large number of people in the community. right. that's where ultimately you want to get to as many people having it as possible but of course we had to prioritise those who are vulnerable. peter in leicestershi re those who are vulnerable. peter in leicestershire wants to know why the government has ordered 150 million

doses of a vaccine when our population is about 70 million. it has ordered all three, various figures from the three vaccines we we re figures from the three vaccines we were talking about this week. why so no need for a population of 70 million? we have pledged around 355 million? we have pledged around 355 million doses for the population of 70 million. the first reason is we don‘t know which vaccine will be approved. we have 350 million doses across seven different vaccine manufacturers, so the primary reason is we don‘t know which will be effective and then the other thing is most vaccines will need a double dose. we are looking half of the total we will be looking for. the availability will be scaled through the course of this immunisation regime, so in the beginning we might have for example the pfizer one day

will only be providing 10 million to the uk, so cross the time it would be distributed so it‘s good to have doses from multiple technologies from multiple sources so we will supply those to those who need it. you are nodding through a lot of that, doctor. that is interesting but a separate question to you. another question that a lot of people have been asking us. one from sandra in lincolnshire who says, once the vaccines are available, well we‘ll be able to choose which version we would prefer to have? that‘s assuming all three are given the go—ahead. that‘s a really interesting point, are we allowed to pick one or does it depend on which ourgp pick one or does it depend on which our gp surgery gets in?” pick one or does it depend on which our gp surgery gets in? i hope there isn't a scramble for, i want a, b or c. what is required is good public health messaging about the safety,

efficacy and availability of these vaccines. what i want to share with our viewers is if a vaccine is on the market, please rest assured that it will protect you and there is no need for you to go shopping to find a better version. be grateful that we have got a vaccine that will be given to us by our national health service. it's lovely to see a smile from you because we haven‘t had many smiles since march but it ties in with what you were saying earlier about taking the country with you. again it comes back to this issue of their will need to be public reassurance for some people. their will need to be public reassurance for some peoplem their will need to be public reassurance for some people. it is very important and whilst it is easy to say take it or leave it, when i was in charge of mumps, measles and rubella and we had a lot of people not taking it, i went out of my way to inform, educate, advise and carry my population with me, and we turned it around in the south—west. from a

total, we are not going to take it bya certain total, we are not going to take it by a certain community to having done my shoe leather work, they turned around, they took it, their children got protected and that's the way to do it. fascinating to have that example. dr munir, stephen wa nts to have that example. dr munir, stephen wants to know what is the storage temperature for the oxford vaccine? this is interesting because it is different than the other two we have mentioned this week. explain the releva nce mentioned this week. explain the relevance of this question. one of the challenges in terms of distribution would be how it would be stored and whether it will be stored throughout the chain or we need to store it only when it is about to be administered. pfizer and moderna have around —22, —70 celsius storage. with the oxford one, although the information hasn‘t been provided yet, it wouldn‘t be freezing temperature, it would likely be at the fridge temperatures or —20 celsius which is affordable

within surgeries, pharmacies and small hospitals. and again, you are nodding through that. another question from anna cooper, after having a vaccine, how long will i be immune for? do we know yet? no, we don't but the good news is all the vaccines we have talked about so far, the mrna, and the oxford astrazeneca one, they are different platforms but they all seem to show they are making both humoral antibodies as well as cellular antibodies. what that leads me to believe is that we will most probably make good immune memory as well. i'm feeling very positive of late that these vaccines may actually work for longer than i had thought they would, so i'm feeling positive about it. ok. iwill close with a question that i hope you will both have time to not to because

interestingly this is anonymous but this is crystal ball time or forecasting time, because this questioner wants to know essentially a timescale. he or she says, we have been hearing for ages that the oxford vaccine would be ready for approval within weeks but we still don‘t have it. i am an older, vulnerable person, i was hoping to get my soon in order i could spend christmas with my family. when is approval really likely to have —— happen? the oxford one had to stop its trials twice for safety evaluations and it is perfectly safe and it's going ahead with its analysis and evaluation in phase three, therefore there is a bit of a delay. i doubt we will have a vaccine that this side of christmas which you can have and be protected from because remember, to get the

vaccine you've got to be immunised and thena vaccine you've got to be immunised and then a few days, 28 days in the moderna and pfizer ones, and then you are fully properly immunised. i don't think it will happen this side of christmas. good to have an honest answer. dr munir, your thoughts. i am with him. one of the things i would like to highlight, it depends on which vaccine we are talking about. pfizer is ready to deposit documentation for fda approval and if they get that within this month, this means they will have distribution next month in december and we will hopefully have 5-10,000,000 in the uk for the pfizer vaccine. but the timeline required to have a proper impact of the vaccine would around a month so what we are looking at is first round of 2021. we will speak to you both again. thank you both for your time. good to have you with us.

a bbc news investigation has uncovered failures in the diagnosis of serious medical issues during private baby scans. more than 200 studios across the uk now sell ultrasound scans, with hundreds of thousands being carried out each year. but the bbc has uncovered evidence of women not being told about serious conditions and abnormalities. the care quality commission says there is good quality care in the industry but it has a "growing concern". rianna croxford reports. on our high streets, one business is booming. early in the pandemic, the nhs asked women not to bring partners to scans, leading some to turn elsewhere.

but more than 200 businesses now offer a solution. reassurance scans. hope thought she had struggled to have children because of previous ill health. hey, how are you doing? hey! she says it made her especially anxious when she became pregnant. ijust couldn‘t believe it, it was like such a big gift and then i thought, what if this doesn‘t last? she is now six months pregnant and has had five private scans, costing between £60 and £100 each. it has been the most relieving experience ever. i‘d had the most sleepless night before just with pure worry, so when you come out of that and know everything is ok, you‘re like, "phew!" you feel pretty relieved for maybe a good couple of days up to a week and then the cycle starts again. scans are carried out by sonographers. it is not a regulated profession like being a midwife. but the growing popularity of gender reveal parties is a big draw for many couples.

we have spoken to one woman who attended a scan with window to the womb in salford to record her baby‘s genderfor a party and check its well—being. we have learned the company identified a serious abnormality incompatible with life. but rather than refer her to hospital immediately and provide a medical report, the woman was told the baby‘s head couldn‘t be fully seen and recommended to book an nhs anomaly scan. it was absolutely immoral, it was disgusting. they let this poor girl leave and go to a gender reveal party, name the baby, open gifts and that baby couldn‘t live. the woman only found out when she showed the scan images to a family friend who is an experienced sonographer. i had to break the news that that baby couldn‘t live and i had to do that over the telephone, and. . .they were hysterical. the company apologised at the time. it says the sonographer left shortly afterwards and the incident led to best practice being reinforced.

but these leaked internal documents show that three spina bifida cases were also missed in a single week in may. the company‘s directors described the cases as a pattern of similar and serious errors. the company says it conducts more than 100,000 scans a year and human error can occur. some companies say they are not medical and do not diagnose problems. meet your miracle advertises reassurance scans, which it says visualise well—being. we have been passed these messages from the company‘s whatsapp group, which show sonographers and management sharing and discussing customer scans, sometimes during appointments. any ideas at all? i have asked her outside. one sonographer told the group she had to let a woman leave without informing her of a possible abnormality. i feel terrible at saying nothing. the company says its scans are largely recreational and under its registration it can‘t discuss any concerns

unless they are relevant to the baby‘s heartbeat. it says it advises women bleeding or in pain to attend the nhs. the government says it is committed to appropriate regulation and the care quality commission inspects studios. but experts in interpreting imagery say regulation of sonographers is also needed. staff working as radiographers and midwives will be regulated, so why does any of this matter? it matters now because of the massive increase in these companies. if you said to most members of the public, "do you realise some "of the people scanning you actually don't have an easy way "of demonstrating that expertise?" i think the mums would be surprised. problems in pregnancy are rare, but women who have experienced them say it‘s vital private scans don‘t lead to false reassurance. rianna croxford, bbc news. and you can find out more about this in a special programme on the bbc news channel this weekend.

that‘s britain‘s ba by scan boom on saturday evening at 7.30. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah. we have seen a bit of a change in weather type out there today. after mild days, colder air has been working in from the north. we have had wintry showers across the high ground of scotland. still a cold wind, most of the showers moving away. overnight tonight we keep the clear skies in the east but cloud will increase from the west. this is the next front bringing rain to northern ireland, western fringes of england, wales and south—west scotla nd england, wales and south—west scotland but in the east, a cold start to friday, a touch of frost. tomorrow we will see a different feeling day than today. more cloud,

milder with rain spreading west to east, patchy showers returning from the rest later on and temperatures back into double figures but still fairly chilly around the east coast. into the weekend, fairly changeable. windy on saturday with showers, fewer showers and brighter by sunday. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i‘m ben brown. the headlines at four... more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine — the oxford team says its research is showing good results and has had a promising immune response in people over 60. what we‘ve demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages, including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is see whether this translates into actual protection from infection, so protection from getting the disease in the first place. the high street fashion chains peacocks and jaeger enter administration, putting more than 4,700 jobs at risks. a boost to the defence budget — the prime minister says a new four—yearfunding deal will protect "hundreds of thousands"

ofjobs and create 40,000 new roles. a controversial day a first for mike pompeo. he becomes the first us senator to us representative to visit an occupied settlement in the west bank. crunch brexit trade talks between the uk and the eu are suspended after a negotiator tests positive for covid—19. the eu‘s chief negotiator, michel barnier has been told to self—isolate. prince william says the bbc investigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction. and, a £300 million rescue package for 11 sports, struggling without spectators because of coronavirus.

and, a £300 million rescue package for 11 sports, there‘s more encouraging news today about coronavirus vaccines. researchers from oxford university say the vaccine they‘re working on shows a promising immune response so far in people in their 60s and 70s. crucial further tests still need to be carried out — and the vaccine isn‘t yet at the same stage as similar jabs being developed by pfizer and moderna. the uk has ordered 100 million doses of the oxford vaccine if it eventually receives regulatory approval. our health correspondent naomi grimley has the details. more encouraging news, after months of upsetting headlines. oxford university says its vaccine is well tolerated in older adults, and, crucially, that it induces a robust immune response, similar to that found in younger people. it‘s always been a nagging

worry that covid vaccines wouldn‘t work so well in older age groups. our results show that adults over the age of 70 have as good antibody responses as adults aged 18 to 55, and that‘s really important, because the older age group are the people who are the most vulnerable to severe covid disease. there are three stages to vaccine trials. these results come from its middle stage, phase two. researchers were studying 560 uk volunteers. 240 of whom were over the age of 70. but we are still waiting for oxford‘s phase three results. that‘s the most comprehensive stage, which involves some 30,000 participants in the us, uk, brazil and south africa. it‘s only when that data arrives that we‘ll

really know whether this vaccine actually works. then, things could move fast. the production's already begun, so i think that most people believe that the oxford vaccine will be ready to receive much quicker than the others. it could be as early as the end of winter. it really depends on the logistics and everything, but it is looking very promising indeed for swifter access to this particular vaccine. two other vaccine candidates, pfizer and moderna, are already on the verge of submitting their results to regulators. the uk has invested to differing degrees in all three of these leading vaccines, but, as this breakdown shows, hopes are pinned especially on the oxford one. overall, the uk has placed orders for vaccine doses totalling 355 million, but two shots will be required in most of them. globally, too, there is a sense of expectation.

the oxford team has done multiple deals with overseas vaccine makers, like this one, india‘s sarum institute, in a bid to make sure the world‘s poorest get access too. naomi grimley, bbc news. a total of 167,369 people tested positive for covid—19 in england in the week ending november 11th, according to the latest test and trace figures. it‘s the highest weekly number since test and trace was launched at the end of may. earlier our head of statistics, robert cuffe, had more on the figures. largely, the figures look quite similarto largely, the figures look quite similar to last week, but some of thatis similar to last week, but some of that is good news. so, in terms of the performance of the system, a number of people getting contacted after they test positive, that‘s sta ble after they test positive, that‘s stable but it has been rising in recent weeks. tests are coming back to people faster than they were about a month ago. they haven‘t really changed very much in the last

week. but probably be less good news is that the number of contacts named by infected people, the proportion of those that get reached, that is still at around 60% and... from government say that is just not enough test and try to have a big impact on the epidemic. the better news is probably in something called positivity rates. over the summer, we saw both the number of cases rising every week and a proportion of tests that came back positive also rising, suggesting we were kind of falling further and further behind the epidemic. now, while cases are still rising, albeit slower than they were a while ago, that positivity rate, the proportion of test coming back positive, that has started to flatten out. the set of figures reflect probably the first week after lockdown. it is too soon first week after lockdown. it is too soon to expect a lot them to show through fully in the testing figures in the same way that they have in wales and northern ireland but there are some signs on the date of that kind of flattening and slowing down of kate‘s growth which isn‘t where we wa nt of kate‘s growth which isn‘t where we want to be eventually that is in

the right direction. —— slowing down of case growth. fashion chains peacocks and jaeger said they have fallen into administration, putting more than 4,700 jobs and around 500 shops at risk. let‘s get more on this from our business correspondent emma simpson. for those staff who are now at this, desperately bad news just before christmas? it is, it is really worrying. so peacocks and jaeger we re worrying. so peacocks and jaeger were ina worrying. so peacocks and jaeger were in a race to find a buyer. the court had given the businesses breathing space to get protection from creditors because of a huge slump in sales because of the pandemic, and this deadline was looming tomorrow to try to come up with a solution, to try and find a solvent solution for these businesses and that has now come to a haltand, businesses and that has now come to a halt and, as you say, now thousands of jobs

a halt and, as you say, now thousands ofjobs at risk. we had a statement from the edinburgh, wallin, will group, which has a number of other brands, that happened a fortnight ago. then in recent weeks they said we have had a number of discussions with potential buyers for peacocks and jaeger but the continuing deterioration of the retail sector due to the impact of the pandemic and of course the second lockdown have made this process longer and more complex and we would have hoped. while those talks are ongoing, we no longer had an option to extend the standstill agreement and therefore as directors we have taken the desperately difficult decision to place peacocks and jaeger into administration. and then just and jaeger into administration. and thenjust a and jaeger into administration. and then just a breakdown on those numbers, peacocks, 423 stores, 4369 staff. jaeger, 76 stores, mainly concessions, and it employs 347

staff. now we have got no redundancy and store closures but the majority of the stores haven‘t reopened since lockdown. around 80% of staff are still in fellow is a lot of uncertainty there. just briefly, and i. uncertainty there. just briefly, and i, is thisjust uncertainty there. just briefly, and i, is this just about coded all are there more longer term issues with both of these chains? —— just about covid—19? both of these chains? —— just about covid-19? well, peacocks was profitable. it had locks of stores up profitable. it had locks of stores up and down the uk. it was doing 0k. —— lots of stores. and then we had this catastrophic downturn in sales because peacocks wasn‘t really much ofan because peacocks wasn‘t really much of an online player and didn‘t have that capacity to suddenly switch channels and it‘s had a devastating impact. also the same thing with the edinburgh woollen mill group. it was heavily reliant on service and older

shoppers and when that lockdown came it has a devastating impact on sales there. many thanks, anna simpson, our business correspondent with the latest on that. —— emma simpson. a new four year funding deal for the armed forces will protect jobs and keep the british people safe, said the prime minister this morning. by 2024—25, annual defence spending will have increased by around £7 billion over previous manifesto commitments. speaking to the commons via video link, boris johnson claimed "the era of cutting our defence budget" would end. the extra money will help to fund space and cyber projects in particular. our defence correspondentjonathan beale has the details. britain‘s armed forces say they‘re about to undergo their biggest transformation since the end of the cold war. it‘ll inevitably mean less of the old, like tanks and heavy armour, and more of the new to defend in the domains of cyber and space.

british troops here are already countering threats, such as disinformation. they‘ll also now be part of a new national cyber force, able to conduct offensive cyber operations. and there‘ll be a new space command, with plans to fire the first british rocket, like this us one, to launch their own military satellites, with concerns that russia and china are already developing anti—satellite weapons. announcing the biggest increase in defence spending in decades, the prime minister said it would bolster britain‘s influence and end an era of retreat. i‘ve done this in the teeth of a pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm, and the safety of the british people, must come first. defence spending has fallen by over £8 billion pounds in real terms over the last ten years. over the same period, uk regular forces have decreased by a quarter,

and on top of that, the national audit office estimate there's a black hole of up to £13 billion in the mod equipment plan. the mod‘s annual budget is currently £41 billion a year. the government is now promising that‘ll rise by 4% a year above inflation, which would mean an overall increase in the mod budget to nearly 52 billion by 2025. the government says the extra investment will also boost the economy, creating, it says, up to 10,000 extra jobs a year. at ba systems in lancashire, they have already started work on what they call their factory of the future, where they are developing the next generation of fighter jet. tempest has been designed to fly with or without a pilot in the cockpit, but a former military chief worries about the cuts that will still have to be made to fund these new technologies. obviously, there are some programmes, some historic programmes, that could be cut,

and i'm sure the defence chief will think very carefully about that, but the vast majority of our maritime, land and air capabilities that we currently have need to be fully funded before we spend too much of the additional cash in new and novel areas. the mod doesn‘t have a strong track record of staying within budget. it‘s still working out how to pay for the equipment it already wants, including more jets for the two new aircraft carriers, and good news for the mod might mean less money for other government departments. jonathan beale, bbc news. the chief of the defence staff, general sir nick carter has been speaking in the last hour. he says the new funding will provide certainty over the next decade and boost morale. myself and all of the armed forces are absolutely delighted at what‘s been announced today. it‘s an extraordinary announcement for us

and it will be really, really good for morale. i think the important thing for us, particularly, though, is that it gives us a chance to add some planning certainty over the course of the next decade. it gives usa course of the next decade. it gives us a chance to have a firm budget around which we can make some sensiblejudgments around which we can make some sensible judgments about how we move from an industrial age of platforms to an information age of systems and of course about six weeks ago we lodge something called our integrated operating concept which describes how we, the military, will operate in the context of the integrated review and of course that was the ways, this now gives us the means to achieve those ends so we are obviously delighted to be able to do that. boris johnson may, you know, it may mention the fact that he is doing this in the teeth of a pandemic when we know that public finances are already under huge strain. do you think this kind of money is justified? i strain. do you think this kind of money isjustified? i think we are living in an extraordinary and complex and dynamic global strategic complex and dynamic global strategic

complex at the moment. this jet is very evident as far as i concerned. most to the point, we absolutely understand in our armed forces that the nation‘s fiscal circumstances have not been as bad as this for many, have not been as bad as this for any have not been as bad as this for many, many generations and we are also very conscious of that but of course we are also conscious that living to the skin of its prices the armed forces have stepped up to the plate to provide some of the resilience that the nation has needed and indeed what of course bothers us as we do that is the way the nation feels and of course our hearts go out to those who will be suffering at the moment in the way that similar people have suffered. and you have made mention of increasing threats. just to spell it out, why is this massive increase justified at this particular time? well, i think the world is very complex at the moment. i think it‘s very anxious. there are a lot of visual complex at the moment and they said the other day over remembrance, the plain fact is that the latest risk at the moment is unwarranted escalation which leads in this calculation. —— regional

conflicts at the moment. what you can spend all this money on? the key thing is to modernise the armed forces and the integrated... talks about the sort of information age could that we would need. first and foremost is establishing of what we call a digital backbone. think about the iphone can do to you. we need is to have the iphone in military terms that enables all of our platforms to connect into a macro system because in doing that a sporting chance that we will get the maximum benefit from all of our capability and achieve a real synergistic effect. trevor taylor is a research fellow in defence manageme— nt at the royal united services institute — a british defence and security think tank. billions extra is the time when money is very short in this country

and will be the next four years. what young it will be spent on? the money is obviously spent on maintaining the equipment programme and obviously maintaining people in the armed forces and paying them properly. the emphasis on new ships in the shipbuilding programme and are novel sorts of equipment that are novel sorts of equipment that are now coming on in areas like cyber and even in the prime minister‘s words, things like directed energy weapons. quite a varied picture. are you confident the money will be well spent? because the mod does not have a great track record when comes to procurement? difference procurement i was so people is an extremely difficult thing to do and i think the mod has improved the way it is doing business in several key areas, particularly by working more closely with contractors from the early stages, rather than having the kind of competition which encourages people to make unrealistic bids, and the mod to accept those bids even though they may not be realistic. so iama bit though they may not be realistic. so i am a bit more upbeat about what

the future could hold. what do you see is the strategic threats to this country that justify a big see is the strategic threats to this country thatjustify a big increase in defence spending like this? because i mean, some people watching might say that what we really need to be spending money on is preventing another pandemic, rather than any sort of perceived military threats, but what do you think those threats, but what do you think those threats are? well, the government has got a very ambitious defence policy which is to be, you know, a major international player across the globe, and that drives a lot of choices, things like aircraft carriers, which can deploy to various distant areas, but also the international environment is becoming more threatening. particularly because of russia as a direct threat to nato areas and of course chinese assertiveness is growing almost by the day and that still leaves other problems like, you know, terrorism, islamic fundamentalism, so, you know, there is no shortage of difficulties that

the mod has to face. the privatisation of government money among the various causes that you offer is, of course, very significant and i‘ve got no doubt that more resources will need to be put in to the kind of risk management efforts that deal with... that would make a pandemic either less likely or more importantly have less likely or more importantly have less impact. and when you talk about projecting british power around the world with aircraft carriers and so on, is that tied in with the post brexit future of this country, the way the prime minister says that? very much so. i think the phrase that everybody realises he enjoys using his global britain rather than something that‘s focused on things that are absolutely closest to home so that are absolutely closest to home so if global britain is to mean anything in defence terms as well as economic terms, then, you know, this wide—ranging defence policy, ambitious defence policy, has to stay in place. it is a policy, it is

not a policy that was devised by tory government. all this emphasis on an international role goes back to 1998 and the strategic defence review that the labour party did so it isa review that the labour party did so it is a long—standing thing and there‘s no sign for the moment that it‘s changing. there‘s no sign for the moment that it's changing. are right, good to talk to you. thank you very much for that analysis. trevor taylor bear from the royal united services institute. prince william has tentatively welcomed the bbc‘s decision to launch an independent investigation into how an interview was secured with his mother, princess diana, in 1995. lord dyson, a former seniorjudge, will carry out the inquiry into martin bashir‘s panorama programme. in a statement released last night, the duke of cambridge said; our royal correspondent jonny dymond explained how unusual the statement is.

members of the royal family, senior members of the royal family don‘t really commentate on media coverage and they certainly don‘t involve themselves in something as controversial and, for the bbc, embarrassing as this investigation. and look at the phrasing that was used — his office said that he "tentatively," cautiously that is, welcomed the investigation, that it‘s a step in the right direction. prince william isn‘t giving a round of applause to the bbc, he is effectively saying, look, i am looking at what you are doing, i am watching this investigation, i am pleased it is happening but i am also waiting for the conclusion. this was a very important moment in his mother‘s life, the 1995 interview she gave to panorama. it had very serious implications for the rest of her life, brief period of her life. the circumstances around it are very, very controversial. the bbc has pledged an investigation. prince william has said, extraordinarily, he is watching and waiting.

that was our royal correspondent there. just the latest covid figures for the uk to bring you. uk government has reported 22,950 new cases of covid. that compares to just over 19,500 on wednesday and 501 deaths within 28 days of a positive tests, so 501 deaths in the uk. those are the latest governor by the speakers. we will be getting more detail on those as they come into us. it is now 22 minutes past four. the price comparison website compare the market has been fined nearly £18 million by the competition watchdog for using contracts that prevented home insurers from offering better deals elsewhere. the competition and markets authority said it was likely customers on other sites paid higher insurance premiums as a result. compare the market said it "fundamentally" disagreed

with that ruling. christiane kent is the project director at the competition and markets authority. just explain a bit more about what has not been going on here. afternoon. yes, what we found is that for a two—year period compare the market had clauses in its contracts with a significant number of home insurers under which those whom insurers were prevented from offering cheaper prices on arrival comparison platforms. what we found is that those clauses had the effect of reducing competition between the platforms and also between providers quoting on those platforms. as a result, because customers were likely to have played higher premiums than they would otherwise have. because i'm in the consumers, the customers would think that these

comparison sites are supposed to be driving down prices but, in this case, it didn‘t have that effect, it had the opposite effect. well, price comparison website are absolutely great for consumers. they really do increase competition between providers and they also make it far easierfor consumers to providers and they also make it far easier for consumers to shop around to find the best deals. in this case the effect of the clauses was, as you say, it would use the level of competition between the platforms and also between the share the selling through those platforms. what is that the kind of common practice, putting clauses like that m, practice, putting clauses like that in, do you think? well, we, back in 2015, we banned the use of those clauses, including compare the market‘s clauses, in private motor insurance, and at that time, the other two big platforms who were still using, who used these clauses,

remove them from all their contracts across all insurance products, so actually compare the market was the only one of the big price comparison websites to continue to use and involves these clauses. so how did all of this came to life? how did you get involved ? all of this came to life? how did you get involved? well, after the private motor insurance market, the cma undertook a market study into price comparison websites and one of the things they looked at was the sorts of clauses as well as other source of contractual terms and other behaviour, and during the course of that enquiry it came to our attention that compare the market still has these clauses and was extensively using them in its contracts in home insurance. was extensively using them in its contracts in home insurancem was extensively using them in its contracts in home insurance. it also sounds, the consumers watching this will be shocked, i would say because these scores are sound or clauses sound very much to cosy. well, we

looked very carefully to see what effect they had on competition both between the platforms in the insurers. i have to say, many, several of the insurers did try to get the clauses removed but compare the market refused to remove them. and compare the market say they fundamentally disagree with them bowling? that‘s right. obviously we have undertaken a very detailed investigation, a very robust investigation, a very robust investigation, and that includes receiving extensive submissions from compare the market during the course of our investigation, which we have addressed in our decision in full, so addressed in our decision in full, soi addressed in our decision in full, so i very much hope that, once they‘ve had a chance to look very carefully at our decision, they‘ll understand the reasons why we have come to the decision that we have. all right. thank you very much for being with us. project director at the competition and markets authority. mike pompeo has become the first us secretary of state to visit a jewish

settlement in the occupied west bank. the trip to psagot comes a year after mr pompeo said the settlements did not contradict international law, reversing a long—held us position. the declaration outraged palestinians, who oppose settlements on land they claim for a future independent state. our middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. these are the babies here. an embrace of roots that run back centuries. the land here is loved and in this man‘s case, lost. he is a palestinian cut—off from where hundreds more of his olive trees grow after israeli settlers built nearby. sael says the trump years favoured israel even further, so now what change? so we are hoping becausejoe biden is on the side of the poor people and on the side of, hopefully, justice.

so we believe, i mean, we hope that he‘s going to do a little better than donald trump. do you think you‘ll be able to access your land ? i don‘t think so he‘s going to let me to access my land because we live under a very hardship of occupation here. and now, the last throes of team trump, mike pompeo landed with us and israeli policies bound tighter than ever, listing four years of support. it sounded like a long goodbye. we've done incredible things. it's remarkable, we went through the list whether it's the simple fact of recognising the reality ofjerusalem as the rightful, proper, true capital of israel. crazy that the united states hadn't done this for decades. and america‘s top diplomat is visiting an israeli settlement in the west bank. going to a winery like this one, it is a contentious first. settlements are built on land

the palestinians want for a state. they are seen as illegal under international law, a view dropped by the trump team. this is the land of the jewish people. jeremiah the prophet said after the exile, he promised the jewish people that one day they should come back to the land and produce wine. and that is exactly what we are doing today, 2000 years after. palestinians are protesting against an unwelcome visitor. some reflect on dim prospects, their leadership left yet more isolated after yet more isolated after president trump‘s time. some of the palestinians are burning tyres come about as close as they are going to get to the israeli settlement at the top of the hill.

all of this demonstrates that whatever happens in washington, it always has the power to dramatically affect the mood on the ground here. many won‘t miss president trump‘s top envoy after this likely last official trip. but for israel, it will mark a parting of ways for the closest of friends. tom bateman, bbc news, ramallah. a short while ago, mr pompeo made a second unprecendented visit — to the israeli—occupied golan heights. here‘s what he had to say... i told the prime minister that i very much wanted to come here on this trip to tell the world that we had it right. that we, the united states, has it right and that israel has it right and that each nation has it right and that each nation has the right to defend itself on its own sovereignty and that the united states of america at the trump administration will continue to do all that we can to make sure that israel has what it needs to do just that and we will on your right to defend your own people. mike pompeo there on the maxi. let‘s get a look at the weather now. —— and

the golan heights. we have seen a bit of a change in weather type out there today. after mild days, colder air has been working in from the north. we have had wintry showers across the high ground of scotland. still a cold wind, most of the showers moving away. overnight tonight we keep the clear skies in the east but cloud will increase from the west. this is the next front bringing rain to northern ireland, western fringes of england, wales and south—west scotland but in the east, a cold start to friday, a touch of frost. tomorrow, we will see a different feeling day than today. more cloud, milder with rain spreading west to east, patchy showers returning from the west later on and temperatures back into double figures but still fairly chilly around the east coast. into the weekend, fairly changeable. windy on saturday with showers, fewer showers and brighter by sunday. goodbye for now. hello, this is bbc news.

i‘m ben brown. the headlines — more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine — the oxford team says its research is showing good results and has had a promising immune response in people over 60. what we‘ve demonstrated is that, in the lab, we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages, including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is see whether this translates into actual protection from infection, so protection from getting the disease in the first place. the high street fashion chains peacocks and jaeger enter administration, putting almost 5,000 jobs at risk. a controversial day of firsts for mike pompeo — he becomes the first us secretary of state to visit an israeli settlement in the occupied west bank, and the golan heights. prince william says the bbc investigation into how panorama secured its interview with his mother is a step in the right direction.

sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre... john watson, some much—needed help for lots of the sports that have been struggling during the pandemic. absolutely, some much assurances and clarity on the difficult financial situation they are facing, and some much—needed money that will come their way. good afternoon. we‘ll have huge news from the premier league in a moment, but first to the government‘s £300 million emergency package that‘s been announced for sports affected by the absence of crowds due to the pandemic. of that sum, just under half has gone to rugby union, £135 million, with £59 million to premiership clubs, £44 million to the rfu, and the rest between championship clubs and below. the funding will largely be made up of loans. here‘s how the rest breaks down. £40 million goes to horse racing,

while the premier league and english football league clubs miss out, with both parties still to agree on a separate deal between them. £28 million goes to those in the national league and women‘s football. rugby league will get £12 million as a top up to the existing loan they have. owners of major motorsport circuits, such as silverstone and goodwood, get £6 million. the lta get £5 million, netball, basketball and ice hockey will benefit with £4 million. half that figure goes to badminton england racing will get £1 million. we promised to stand by them when we made the decision to postpone the return of fans, so today i am pleased to announce a £300 million sports winter survival package to see major spectator sports through this very difficult period. the majority of this funding will be given through low interest loans, with flexible repayment terms, with

gra nts with flexible repayment terms, with grants where organisations are unable to repay loans. this package will focus on those sports severely impacted by the restrictions announced in september, and is the largest announced by any government for its domestic sports sector in the world. now to football — the manchester city manager pep guardiola‘s signed a two—year contract extention that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2023. his current deal was set to expire at the end of this season. guardiola has won six major trophies sincejoining the club four years ago, including two premier league titles and led the club to an unprecedented clean sweep of all domestic titles in 2019. it is the longest he has spent at any club. chelsea boss frank lampard has called for the saturday lunchtime kick—off slot to be scrapped. his side travel to newcastle for a 12.30pm clash this weekend, despite a number of his players only returning from international duty this afternoon. lampard‘s comments echo those of manchester united manager

ole gunnar solskjaer, whose side faced the same kick—off time a fortnight ago, having only returned from a champions league defeat in turkey in the early hours of thursday morning. that 12:30pm slot, how much does it need to be there, if you are looking over the course of the season, i don‘t know how many times we returned from international duty, i don‘t know, is it five through the season? with clubs that have got going over there, it is absolutely not the optimum way to have players preparing for a premier league game, which is an incredible brand, all around the world. yes, growing frustration amongst managers over the scheduling of premier league matches. football‘s world governing body fifa could impose transfer bans on clubs who don‘t meet their new rules around maternity cover. players will be entitled to at least 14 weeks of maternity cover —

on at least two thirds of their salary. it is less than what uk law outlines but has been described as "an essential step" for the sport in protecting female players. the proposed regulations need approval next month. after making history last weekend by equalling michael schumacher‘s record of seven world titles, lewis hamilton‘s been speaking about the critics who predicted he‘d never make it in the sport. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, he says he plans to remain with mercedes and endeavor to make the sport more diverse. he‘s been speaking to my colleague sally nugent. i would love to stay, i want to be here, i still feel young, i would love to stay, i want to be here, istill feel young, i i would love to stay, i want to be here, i still feel young, i still feel energised, i still feel young, and what is crazy is yes, i have won this seventh title but we have another big fight to win and that is for racial equality across the board. and diversity within my sport that i hoped i would have shift by being here but it seems that is not the case.

the grandson of former england cricketer ian botham will make his debut for wales this weekend. cardiff blues flanker james botham will start in saturday‘s autumn nations cup game against georgia. he was only called up to the squad on monday, as head coach wayne pivac makes thirteen changes to the side that lost last weekend, their sixth straight defeat. meanwhile, fly—half george ford will start on the bench for england‘s match with ireland, as he returns from injury. for england‘s match with ireland, as he returns from injury. head coach eddie jones is maintaining captain owen farrell at 10 while maro itoje, tom curry, sam underhill, mako vuinpola and kyle sinckler return to the starting 15. ollie lawrence will make his second england start in an unchanged back line from the 40—0 win over georgia. jones is anticipating a tough test against the irish as usual. definitely, there is a bit more edge around the place. you know, all the quys around the place. you know, all the guys know that ireland‘s a very, very tough team, you know, what was

it, 18 months ago they were ranked number one in the world, so it shows you the class and ability of this team, and we know we‘ve got to be at our best to get the result we want to get. we finish with news from the atp finals, the season—ending tournament in london. andrey rublev has beaten dominic thiem in their last round robin match at the 02 in london. the contest was a dead rubber as us open champion thiem had already qualified for the semi—finals, with rublev eliminated. rublev won the first set 6—2 and sewed up the match, winning the second set 7—5. big match to come later with rafa nadal up against stefanos tsitsipas with teh winner securing a spot in the semi finals. thank you. see you later. post—brexit trade talks between the uk and the eu have been temporarily suspended after a member

of the eu‘s negotiating team tested positive for coronavirus, with michel barnier now self—isolating. nick beake is our correspondent in brussels and he explained why the timing is less than ideal. these talks were at a really critical point. this week was being seen as a critical point. this week was being seen as a crucial one, if the deal is going to be done and ratified before the end of this year. but as you say, within the last half an hour or you say, within the last half an hourorso, you say, within the last half an hour or so, michel barnier announced on twitter that a member of his team has tested positive for covid—19, and in the past few minutes i have had it confirmed by someone within tea m had it confirmed by someone within team barnier, that that will mean the eu‘s chief negotiator will have to follow the rules and regulations they‘ve got in place here in brussels. he will now self quarantine. it‘s unclear what this means for lord frost, the uk‘s chief negotiator. the british side say they will obviously follow any rules that apply to him of the team, and interestingly, we know the two teams have been at loggerheads, but on this they are as one, they are

united, they say the health of their teams is more important than anything else, and, crucially, they will remain in contact, we think over zoom as well these negotiations will continue, and remember so much of this process has taken place during the pandemic, where they‘ve had to deal with restrictions, and not being able to be in the same room on quite a few occasions. but, you know, this couldn‘t have come, frankly, at a worse time. one thing to remember, it is not like there are cameras in the room. if there is going to be an agreement soon, it would be behind closed doors, there won‘t be cameras capturing a sort of moment of theatre where one side or the other says, you know what, we‘re m, the other says, you know what, we‘re in, this is the moment we sign on the dotted line. so you would imagine that things can continue, and although the top level negotiations between michel barnier and lord frost has been suspended, you would imagine a lot of that work underneath at the lower levels will keep on going at the same pace, but i think at this point, if there is going to be a deal, it would have to

come from the very top. so this doesn‘t derail stuff completely but it certainly complicates things at this crucial moment. nick beake, our brussels correspondent. there is ‘credible evidence‘ that australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the afghan war. a long—awaited report has uncovered what the head of australia‘s armed forces says is a ‘shameful record‘ of a ‘warrior culture‘ among some soldiers. he‘s apologised to the afghan people. from sydney, shaimaa khalil reports. these are australia‘s elite troops, risking their lives in afghanistan, supposedly to help the people in their battle against unrelenting violence. but now it‘s been revealed that some of them could be responsible for alleged war crimes. a moment of shame for the special forces. australians had been warned that this report would reveal very difficult realities, but few thought it would be this bad, including the country‘s

top military commander. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values. the inquiry found credible evidence that 39 afghan men and teenagers had been unlawfully killed. allegations include junior soldiers being coerced into executing unarmed civilians to get their first kill, in a practice known as blooding, and that weapons were planted on victims to make it look like the killings were legitimate. in all, the report said that 25 soldiers had carried out alleged crimes or had been accessories to them, and it is recommended that 19 people be referred to the australian federal police. the defence chief‘s language left us in no doubt about how grave the alleged violations in afghanistan were. general campbell used words

like shameful and appalling. he also described a toxic culture of deceit and secrecy, which allowed this kind of behaviour to go unchecked for years. as he announced the damning findings, general campbell also apologised to the afghan people. such alleged behaviour profoundly disrespected the trust placed in us by the afghan people, who had asked us to their country to help them. a special investigator will now be appointed to look at the findings, gather evidence and then present it to the public prosecutor. it is a process that could take years. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, sydney. scientists who advised the government during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic have admitted they ‘never checked‘ how covid—19 could be spread by staff who work at more than one care home. the researchers were speaking to a bbc documentary, focusing on the period before the first lockdown in march. our health correspondent, catherine burns, has more details. at all stages, we have been

guided by the science. we have been following the scientific and medical advice. at each point, we have been following the scientific... and medical advice. following the science. that was the mantra at the start of this pandemic, but this documentary asks how good was that science? scientific advice. the risk to the public remains low. spi—m, the modelling group, is made up of academics who use computing models to make a best guess on how the virus can spread. their advice goes up to sage and then onto government. the first uk cases were confirmed on january 31st. for the next month, life went on largely as normal. by march 2nd, the prime minister chaired the emergency meeting of the cobra committee. for the first time since

the virus arrived in the uk. wash your hands to the national anthem. what about shaking hands? the next day, this press conference. for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual. by then, official figures said 164 people in the uk had been diagnosed with covid—19. it is thought, though, the real number of infections was more like 14,000. the virus had been spreading across europe. if i could have known one thing, i think i should have thought, hm, if northern italy has got an epidemic than she is quite likely that other places in europe have probably got an epidemic as well. and i didn‘t think that. by mid—march, the scientific advice was that the virus was doubling every 5—6 days and heading for a peak injune. that advice was wrong. i got really concerned because i realised the doubling time

was closer to three days than to the five or six days we were talking about. and this is really important and quite a massive game changer. what it would really mean is that within one week or two weeks we would be at saturation of the nhs. and so, march 23rd, lockdown. from this evening i must give the british people a very simple instruction. you must stay at home. cases continue to fall. so what made you think they were shielded? we were... that‘s a good question.

we were... that‘s a good question. we never checked. he points out that the scientists were working at extreme pace, on a new area, with limited data. the government said it has constantly limited data. the government said it has co nsta ntly ada pted limited data. the government said it has constantly adapted its approach as new evidence came through. catherine burns, bbc news. and you can see more on that story in the full documentary "lockdown 1.0 — following the science?" tonight at 9pm on bbc2, or shortly afterwards on iplayer. a high courtjudge has granted judicial review of government decisions, relating to care homes during the coronavirus pandemic. the case was brought by dr cathy gardner — whose father, michael gibson, died in an oxfordshire home in april. she says certain key policies led to a shocking death toll among care home residents. a bbc news investigation has uncovered failures in the diagnosis of serious medical issues during private baby scans. more than 200 studios across the uk now sell ultrasound scans, with hundreds of thousands being carried out each year.

but the bbc has uncovered evidence of women not being told about serious conditions and abnormalities. the care quality commission says there is good quality care in the industry but it has a "growing concern". rianna croxford reports hope thought she had struggled to have children because of previous ill—health. she says it made her especially anxious when she became pregnant. i just couldn't especially anxious when she became pregnant. ijust couldn't believe it, it was like such a big gift, and

then i thought what this doesn‘t last? she is now six months pregnant and has had five private scans, costing between 60 and £100 each. and has had five private scans, costing between 60 and £100 eachm has been the most relieving experience ever and i had had the most sleepless night before, just with pure worry, so when you then come out of that and you know everything is ok, feel pretty relieved for may be a good couple of days, up to a week, and then the cycle starts again. scans are carried out by stenographers. —— by sonographers. it is not a regulated profession like being a midwife, but the growing popularity of gender reveal parties is a big draw for many couples. we have spoken to one woman who attended a scan with window to the woman sulphur to record her baby‘s gender for a window to the woman sulphur to record her baby‘s genderfor a party and check its well—being. we‘ve learned the company identified a serious abnormality and lie. rather than refer her immediately to hospital and provide a medical

report, the woman was told that they be‘s head couldn‘t be policing and recommended to book an nhs anomaly scan. it was absolutely immoral, it was disgusting. they let this poor girl leave and go to a gender reveal party, named the baby, open gifts, and that baby couldn't live. the women only found out when she showed the scan images to a family friend who is an experienced sonographer.” had to break the news that that baby couldn't live, and i had to do that over the telephone, and they were hysterical. the company apologised at the time. it says the sonographer left shortly afterwards and the information led to best practice being reinforced. but these leaked internal document showed that three spina bifida cases were also missed ina single spina bifida cases were also missed in a single week in may. the company‘s directors described the cases as a pattern of similar and serious areas. the company says it connects more than 100,000 scans a

year and connects more than 100,000 scans a yearand human connects more than 100,000 scans a year and human error can occur. some companies say they are not medical and don‘t diagnose problems. meet your miracle advertises reassurance scans, which it says visualises well—being. we have been passed these messages from the company‘s whatsapp group, which show sonographers and management sharing and discussing customer scans, sometimes during appointments. any ideas at all? i have asked outside. one the sonographer told the group she had to let a woman leave without informing her about a possible abnormality. i feel terrible at saying nothing. the company set up scans are largely recreational and under its rate rotation it can‘t discuss any concerns are less releva nt to discuss any concerns are less relevant to the baby‘s carpet. it says it advises women bleeding and in pain to attend the nhs. the government says it is committed to appropriate regulation in the care quality commission inspects studios but experts in interpreting imagery say regulation of sonographers is also needed. staff working as

radiographers and midwives will be regulated so well as any of this matter? because of the massive increase in these companies. if you said to most members of the public, do you realise that some of the people scanning you actually don‘t have an easy way of demonstrating that expertise, i think the mums would be surprised. robinson pregnancy are rare. the women who experience them is a private scans don‘t lead to false reassurance. and you can find out more ff gfx about this in a special programme on the bbc news channel this weekend. that‘s britain‘s baby scan boom on saturday evening at 7.30pm the energy firm e.0n has announced it is planning to cut nearly 700 jobs. the cuts will take place over the next two years as part of the migration of customers to a new platform — and will mainly affect those

in support and management roles. life in lockdown has led to isolation for many people — and all this week bbc news has been looking at its impact on people of all ages. our correspondent elaine dunkley has been to walsall, to meet someone who‘s dealing with his loneliness — by helping others in a similar situation. loneliness. it is a killer, there‘s no doubt about it, it‘s a killer. when i lost doreen, after 63 years of marriage, i don‘t know, it‘s like a curtain‘s come down, i thought, what am i going to do with myself now? i never said goodbye to her. ron davies is 86. he lost his wife, a daughter and grandson. a life of love and laughter replaced with loneliness and heartbreak. how can you not miss somebody that‘s been there every day of your life, 63 years? and that loneliness, it is a killer, there‘s no doubt about it. it‘s a killer to people, and i‘ve experienced this, and it will overtake you, if you let it. ron is not alone. millions of people are feeling

increasing levels of loneliness during lockdown. social distancing has broken social bonds. in walsall, a group of volunteers are reaching out to the most vulnerable. it‘s called neighbourhood natters. a chat on the doorstep that can make all the difference. oh, hello. are you 0k? i‘ve brought you some parcels, 0k? how are you doing, are you 0k? angela is visiting 91—year—old adelaide with some shopping, and for a much—needed catch—up. it's lovely to see angela. she's made my day. i really enjoyed it, yes, and i feel very proud and thankful for the things they're doing for me. i think it's lovely. is it quite upsetting sometimes, when you get back in the car? no, i get in the car sometimes, and sometimes i am, like now, i feel full up. you get in the car and you feeljust like pulling on your heartstrings, you know what i mean? and they are lonely, and there‘s been some people worse than adelaide, and you think you don‘t even want to, you want to put them in the car and take them home with you and look after them.

neighbourhood natters has changed ron‘s live, and now he is a volunteer. every day he makes calls to people who are feeling lonely. hello, kath. oh, hello, ron. are you all right? yes, yes, not too bad. oh, good. you sound a bit better. is everything 0k? i‘ve got 16 people now. ten o‘clock in the morning, i can phone reg. two o‘clock in the afternoon, i can phone brian, at the home. i never thought that i would do this, never in a million years, but i‘m thankful i‘ve done it now. we‘re not strangers now, we‘re all friends, you know? "oh, it‘s ron. "it‘s all right, love, it‘s ron, my mate", when you get on the phone, you know, and you think to yourself, "oh, that's ok, that is", and it is a wonderful feeling, there‘s no doubt about it. i hope it lasts a lot longer, i do. much money is coming up at the top of the hour but first a look at the weather forecast with sarah keith—lucas. we have a brief colder interlude in

our weather before things turn milder and more changeable again from tomorrow onwards. for today, there are some blue sky with that colder air around. if you shower clouds around, we have had some snow showers over the higher ground of scotla nd showers over the higher ground of scotland early on in the day but for the rest of today into the evening we keep the fairly cold wind, and it leaves a largely dry into the day. that is because we have the ridge of high pressure with us at the moment, waiting in the wings the next warm front. that will introduce milder airfrom the front. that will introduce milder air from the west as we head through the course of tonight. certainly through the rest of the afternoon, this evening, temperatures three or 4 degrees for many of us but feeling colder than that when you add on that wind—chill. particularly around east coates of scotland, feeling as cold is about minus three degrees in aberdeen as we head into the evening hours —— east coast of scotland. ridgers will get quite quickly once the sun sets, and it will remain clear across central and eastern parts of the uk for the longest. rainfor parts of the uk for the longest. rain for northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales,

south—west scotland first thing tomorrow morning but under those clear skies in the east, a cold night, so a touch of frost and also the odd icy stretch around first thing tomorrow as well. fairly quickly, that cloud and rain spreads across all parts of the uk, so some wet weather spreading west to east through the day. it should clear from northern ireland, wales winston through the afternoon, and still the odd light shower. milder air moving m, odd light shower. milder air moving in, so temperatures returning to double figures for many of us. stays a bit cool in the east out of actually started the day. then, as we move through the course of friday night into saturday, quite a lot of isobars. quite a windy spell of weather, and in the cold front, following on behind the warm front, so following on behind the warm front, so that will bring a change as we had through saturday. initially that cold front producing some rain for southern scotland, northern england as well, that slips its way south, so as well, that slips its way south, so cloudy conditions with some outbreaks of rain moving south across england and wales, scotland, northern ireland, then into northern england, we see the return to some sunshine but fresher conditions with some fairly strong and gusty winds

as well. but temperatures outside for the time of year. heading into sunday, likely to see a bit of cloud, perhaps the odd shower lingering in the far south on that cold front. for most of us, into a day of sunny spells, scattered showers, still quite blustery and temperatures around about eight to 12 degrees. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i‘m ben brown. the headlines: more positive news about a coronavirus vaccine — the oxford team says its research is showing good results and has had a promising immune response in people over 60. duff up what we‘ve demonstrated is that in the lab we can measure good immune responses in adults of all ages, including those over the age of 70. what we need to do next is see whether this translates into actual protection from infection, so protection from getting the disease in the first place. the high street fashion chains peacocks and jaeger enter administration, putting almost 5,000 jobs at risk. a boost to the defence budget — the prime minister says a new four—yearfunding deal