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tv   BBC News at One  BBC News  November 20, 2020 1:00pm-1:31pm GMT

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the government adviser on ministerial standards resigns — after the prime minister backs the home secretary over a bullying inquiry. the independent probe found priti patel had broken the ministerial code — but borisjohnson is standing by her, saying he doesn't believe she broke it. priti patel says she's sorry if her behaviour in the past has upset anyone — a civil service union says it's disappointed. what is the point of them the ministerial code, then? what is the point of the investigation, if, actually, what we are saying is, it doesn't matter what evidence is found, it doesn't matter what the prime minister's own advisor on the ministerial code says? if it is politically convenient for the prime minister to ignore it, he will ignore it. we'll have the latest
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live from westminster. also this lunchtime: a pay freeze looks likely for milions of public sector workers in england — though front—line nhs staff are likely to be exempt. the test and trace system in england has failed to track down nearly half the close contacts of people with coronavirus, in some of the worst—hit areas. the drug ghb, which has been used in murder and rape cases, should have a higher classification, according to an official report. and, why this song really is rubbish — the three bin men raising money for charity and hoping for a christmas number one. and coming up on bbc news: stop talking and act. chelsea boss frank lampard hits out at the fixture congestion ahead of the return of the premier league this weekend.
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good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the prime minister's adviser on ministerial standards, sir alex allan, has resigned, following the inquiry into allegations of bullying by the home secretary. sir alex's report found that priti patel had not always met the high standards expected of a minister. downing street said borisjohnson doesn't believe mrs patel has breached the ministerial code, and considers the matter closed. priti patel has said she is sorry if she has upset people. here's our political correspondent, helen catt. after months of waiting, a verdict on the resignation, but not the home secretary. the report said priti patel‘s behaviour had not met the
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standards required by the minister's code of conduct. some of it could even be described as bullying. but only the prime minister can decide if she actually broke the code. borisjohnson said she didn't. he said she had inadvertently upset though she worked with. priti patel said she was sorry her behaviour in the past had upset people and it had never been her intention to cause upset to anyone. the report also said the home office was not as flexible as it could have beenin was not as flexible as it could have been in responding to her and she had legitimately not always felt supported by the department. the report shows there are some very strained relationships on all sides during the period being looked at and at times the home secretary unintentionally upset people, so i think it is important that those things be made clear. it usually imported the home secretary has apologised but the prime minister has made clear she hasn't breached the ministerial code. priti patel
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stays in her post but the man who wrote the report has quit his. sir alex allan said he recognised it was for the prime minister to make a judgment on whether actions by a minister amounted to a breach but he felt it was right that he should now resign from his position. sir alex allan couldn't have been clearer that the home secretary has not consistently met the high standards of the ministerial code. the home secretary is the person in government responsible for law and order. i government responsible for law and order. lam government responsible for law and order. i am frankly shocked that the home secretary remains in post when it is sir alex allan who has made those findings and had a very distinguished career and yet it is him who is resigning today. there has been a furious reaction from the civil service union as well. what message does it send notjust a civil servants and the home office but across the several service? if you want to raise a complaint
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against a minister about their behaviour the outcome of that will depend on politics happening at the time. that is the clear message from the prime minister. there are calls from critics and allies alike for the sole report to be published. but is unlikely to happen. the prime minister said he considers the matter closed. and helenjoins us now. borisjohnson considers boris johnson considers it borisjohnson considers it closed. where does this go from here? boris johnson likes to stand by his ministers when they are under fire and we have seen that several times over the last year and priti patel would have been a loss to boris johnson. she has a very popular member of the conservative party particularly among the grassroots membership and for a government regularly criticised for a lack of any visible senior women losing your most seniorfemale any visible senior women losing your most senior female government minister would have been difficult, and of course there was no precedent. if she had been found by the prime minister to have breached the prime minister to have breached the ministerial code there is no
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precedent for a minister staying in their post, but downing street believes there was enough in this report and other factors at play for the prime minister to make this decision but what is going to be so controversial as it is through the system where the prime minister is the ultimate arbiter so he has effectively allowed to mark his own minister's hole and the fact he has taken this decision having called an independent inquiry and then effectively overruled what it suggested is why it is going to remain controversial. thank you. millions of public sector workers in england are expected to face a pay freeze, under plans to be announced by the chancellor, rishi sunak, next week. more than five million people would be affected, including key workers praised for their service during the pandemic — though it's thought nhs staff will be exempt. unions say the proposals are a "body blow" for their members and have threatened industrial action — but new figures this morning underline the challenge ministers face in restoring the public finances. andy verity reports.
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it is public sector workers who have been clapped as their heroes on the front line of the pandemic but the chancellor is floating the idea of freezing public sector pay to address a ballooning budget deficit caused by the huge cost of the government's anti—virus measures. nhs workers may be left out but other public sector workers could see real terms pay cuts in years to come. it is a measure being floated but not yet confirmed. come. it is a measure being floated but not yet confirmedlj come. it is a measure being floated but not yet confirmed. i am not going to go into an —— internal discussions. you know how much i value nhs workers and all colleagues right across the nhs, but i am afraid i am going to respect cabinet confidentiality, as i always do, and instead allow the chancellor to set out the details. public sector
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workers currently get 7% more on average in pay and pensions than private sector workers. if rishi sunak takes private sector workers. if rishi sunaktakes up private sector workers. if rishi sunak takes up a suggestion by a think tank the government could save £23 billion a year by freezing public sector pay for three years or 15 billion of nhs workers were exempt. of course are nhs staff have been at the forefront but still have civil servants, local authority workers, care workers. this pandemic has demonstrated how much the government relies on the public service. freezing public sector pay was one of the main austerity measures after the financial clash with no pay rises in the public sector for three years and after that they were capped at i%. that over the decade has cut the difference between public and private sector pay. if you strip out pensions it is very little. it is like going back to the days of austerity the last decade where public service workers who have paid the price, 700,000 jobs lost. it is
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a kick in the teeth. but the government borrowing £215 billion in just seven months according to figures released today spending cuts and tax rises are inevitable but announcing them now is controversial. independent analysts say levelling down the public sector to private sector levels would hit women hardest, worsening the pay gap between men and women. about two thirds of the public sector workforce are women and in some parts it is higher than that. 85% of primary school teachers and more than 90% of teaching assistants. the private sector workforce has less. chancellor has been urged to wait to fix the roof until the sun is clearly shining. rather than imposing spending cuts before the recovery has got going. the
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government is keen to address a budget deficit that hasn't been this high since the 605. analysis by the bbc shows england's test and trace system has failed to track down nearly half of the close contacts of people with coronavirus, in some of the worst—hit areas. the figures cover the six months since boris johnson promised the system would be world—beating. ministers say many of the contacts the system didn't reach were in the same household, and the message to self—isolate would have been passed on. sophie hutchinson reports. foot soldiers in the war against coronavirus. this is one of the worst hit areas, door—knocking who has tested positive, and to the system has failed to reach. it is the first time this operation has been filmed but we were not allowed to show people's homes. the first one was for a case under 18 so we had to talk to parent or guardian.
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when we knocked on the property they we re when we knocked on the property they were not available to talk to us but were not available to talk to us but we have been told we can get them after 1pm. the first one this morning was successful. after 1pm. the first one this morning was successfullj after 1pm. the first one this morning was successful. i don't have a finger and's councils contact tracing to address some of the problems. in the six months since the government promised a world beating system it has failed to track down nearly half of the close contacts track down nearly half of the close co nta cts of track down nearly half of the close contacts of people with covid—19 and some of the areas most badly affected. including bradford, manchester, nottingham, newcastle upon tyne and leicester.
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do that means we have access to sources of information others might not. there are other problems with the way the national system is being run. after this that tested positive for covid—19, his family were killed more than 45 times over three days. we were told every contact would have to be phone separately so we could expect 20 phone calls. we knew we had covid. i asked the lady who
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was on the phone to me in the first day whether there was any way of avoiding the phone calls and she said, slightly menacingly, she would keep calling me until i answered. the government says from the sweet track and trace will no longer insist on talking to children and it says it will continue to refine and improve, building an integrated national and local system that can quickly scale up and down as the virus changes. the rate of covid infections among households in england appears to have levelled off during the first week of the lockdown. the latest snapshot by the office of national statistics suggests there have beenjust under 40,000 new cases per day. our health correspondent, katharine da costa, is here. explain a little bit more about what the figures tell us. positive news because the numbers of people with covid in england and scotland has levelled off and fallen in northern
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ireland and wales. the data is for the first full week of lockdown in england, up to the 14th of november, and it is a mixed picture. in the northeast and midlands, it has fallen, but continued to increase in london, south—east, east of england. while infections have fallen in young adults, they have increased in school—age children. 39,000 new cases a day in england, down a little bit in recent weeks where cases had stabilised at 50,000. we will get an update on the r number later, telling us whether the epidemic is growing or shrinking. science experts have say we need to get it below one and keep it there for some time to see a significant fall in cases and deaths. there are hopes of vaccines, new drug treatments, mass testing, but right now, there are many covid patients in hospital across the uk and we have to get through the winter when
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the nhs is that its busiest. hospital leaders say to continue to ca re hospital leaders say to continue to care for all patients, we need to have a stricter tier 3 restrictions replacing lockdown in england come the 2nd of december. ministers are still deciding the details. this data will help feed into that and we may get a clearer picture next week. thank you. senior eu diplomats have been told there's a good chance a brexit trade deal will be reached. ambassadors were briefed by a senior european commission official, on behalf of the chief negotiator, michel barnier, who is self—isolating after a colleague tested positive for covid—19. fisheries and competition rules remain the most problematic areas. a pre—inquest review has heard the tv presenter jeremy kyle may have caused, or contributed to, the death of one of the guests on his programme. steve dymond is suspected of taking his own life after failing a lie detector test on the show.
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a lawyer for mr dymond's family told the winchester hearing that mr dymond became distressed after he failed the test. the hearing continues. our top story this lunchtime... boris johnson's adviser on ministerial standards has resigned after the prime minister backed the home secretary, priti patel, over a bullying inquiry. with all of the good news about the vaccine when might we expect to receive the first jabs? coming up on bbc news, world number one novak djokovic looks to bounce back from defeat at the atp finals as he takes on alexander zverev, hoping to secure his place in the last four. more than 2 million people in west and central scotland will move
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to the country's toughest level of coronavirus restrictions this evening. the level four rules will apply in 11 council areas, including glasgow. nonessential shops will close, along with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms and visitor attractions, but schools will remain open. the measures remain in place until the 11th december. james shaw reports. this is one of the busiest, most high—value shopping streets in scotland and there is definitely a sense at the moment of the last—minute rush. but by six o'clock tonight, almost all of this will be shut down. shoppers i spoke to were anxious about the restrictions which are about to be imposed. to be quite honest with you, i think a lot of people are not going to take any notice of what they have been told to do because we have had nearly a whole year of this. ijust think it must be really upsetting for the shops, the small businesses, and i think this is a time of year when they would be making money.
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especially when they had the lockdown earlier in the air. they must have been putting all of their hands on this basket. it is a shame. it is not just hands on this basket. it is a shame. it is notjust shops. all hospitality, entertainment venues and sport centres will close, schools will stay open. this is a big area. all the way from the west coast to livingston further east and north to stirling in the countryside around it but health experts believe the new controls are necessary. this isa the new controls are necessary. this is a moment when we have to work together and understand that, yes, there are people struggling economically throughout this, but there is hope on the horizon. there isa there is hope on the horizon. there is a vaccine that has been seen as viable. the fact some areas have been moved to level 4, that is to help protect the nhs workers. in those areas, hospital rates are well above capacity. this is not a full
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national lockdown so travel restrictions will be used to stop people spreading the virus into low—risk areas. nicola sturgeon addressed the toughness of the new restrictions at her daily briefing. these restrictions are difficult and we are all thoroughly fed up with them and i will never stand here and pretend otherwise because i feel the same sense of being utterly fed up as the rest of you do. we do now see as the rest of you do. we do now see a possible end in sight to all of this and i think it is really important we don't forget that. this and i think it is really important we don't forget thatm will be illegal to travel into or out of areas under level 3 and level for restrictions and even between council areas under those controls, except for essential purposes including work, education and caring —— level 4. she has promised the restrictions will only be in place until the 11th december. james shaw, news, glasgow.
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northern ireland's government has ordered tougher coronavirus restrictions from next friday — nonessential shops and other public venues will have to close for two weeks. it means cafes and hairdressers, that were allowed to open this morning for the first time since mid—october, will shut again, after just one week. our ireland correspondent chris page reports from belfast. coffee shops had been keeping their powder dry for this morning. the first day of full business since mid—october. butjust first day of full business since mid—october. but just as first day of full business since mid—october. butjust as we are opening preparations were almost complete, last night, they found out they will have to shut again next friday. disappointing and pretty devastated. it feels like there is a lack of care for the industry and the people in it. customers are able to drink inside coffee shops once more from today but in seven days' time that will change when everything will again go takeaway only. businesses were not expecting the devolved governments to tighten
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restrictions and to say the least they are strongly critical of how politicians are handling the situation. this is a decision which makes no sense, they have gone for a decision that will kill small businesses rather than the virus. it is the wrong decision. that is what you get when you get a coalition government run by numbskulls who cannot even produce a coherent policy to fight a common enemy. many business owners today feel furious and angry, not just business owners today feel furious and angry, notjust at business owners today feel furious and angry, not just at the business owners today feel furious and angry, notjust at the decision, but the manner in which it was taken. the power-sharing coalition at stormont has decided on a new lockdown just a week after voting to partially ease restrictions. the democratic unionist party had pushed for a reopening of hospitality but yesterday all five parties in the stormont executive agreed a bigger shutdown was necessary. public health advice states we need a stronger and harder intervention. i am glad all party support that position. ourjob is to support the
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businesses you speak of, the businesses you speak of, the businesses that need financial support, money in the bank accounts 110w. support, money in the bank accounts now. ministers say without the closures hospitals would be overwhelmed by the middle of next month. people in northern ireland are bracing themselves for a difficult december. chris page, bbc news, belfast. wales's first minister, mark drakeford, says the two—week firebreak there has been a success. he said he'd seen evidence that the rate of transmission fell, and the number of people in hospital with covid—19 is stabilising. let's speak to our correspondent, tomos morgan. explain more about the somewhat upbeat news from mark drakeford. very upbeat today, mark drakeford. the last government measuring success based on three things, among a number of things, three main things, the number of positive tests, the number of the rate of transmission and hospital admissions. the rate of transmission, that has eased across the country. in merthyr tydfil where
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it was the highest in the uk at one stage, 770 per 100,000, it was the highest in the uk at one stage, 770 per100,000, down to it was the highest in the uk at one stage, 770 per 100,000, down to 215 l. percentage rate still fairly high but has come down on hospital admissions seem to have eased off. a word of caution, when it comes to the weight of transmission, still in triple digits as an average across wales. at one stage, local authorities were going into local restrictions after hitting just over 20. when it comes to the number of positive, percentage of positive tests, still around 12—13%, more than double what the world health organization suggest should be the maximum or minimum before taking areas out of restrictions. we are only ten days after the firebreak but signs, as the first minister said, that it seems to have made a difference in wales. however, he has warned people have to follow the rules in the run—up to christmas now
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so there is not any further restrictions over the christmas period. thank you. the health secretary, matt hancock, has said the nhs will be given whatever resources it needs to roll out a mass programme of vaccinations, as soon as a covid jab is approved. the last fortnight has seen promising announcements by the scientists working on three of the potential vaccines. so, how soon might the public receive the jabs and who would be first? our health correspondent james gallagher has this assessment. vaccines are being developed at unprecedented speed — ten years of work has been condensed into around ten months. more than 200 vaccines are being researched, and the most advanced are starting to produce results. so, how do they work? well, first of all, i want to point out something on the coronavirus itself. this is known as the spike protein and that is what most vaccines are training your body to attack. now, there are broadly four different approaches being used to make coronavirus vaccines.
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the first kills or inactivates the coronavirus and then injects it into people. this triggers the immune response, but without causing an infection. the second approach takes the spike proteins from the coronavirus and just injects that. these are tried and trusted methods of making vaccines, but they are slow to get up and running. a faster and more experimental style of vaccine takes a common cold virus. it is genetically modified to stop it causing an infection, and then again, to give it the blueprints for making the spike protein from the coronavirus. this is the technique being pioneered by the university of oxford, so you'll have heard about that in the news a lot in the past week. now, the final approach is quite new. part of the genetic code, here, of the coronavirus is injected into patients. once there, it starts making copies of that spike protein, which the body learns to react to. this is how pfizer and moderna have
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developed their potent vaccines. to be honest, we need all of these techniques because we still do not know which will prove to be best. the crucial question — who might actually get the vaccine? this is the draft priority list drawn up by thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation. right at the top are people living and working in care homes. the vaccination programme will then prioritise people with age, with hospital staff and people with some medical conditions also getting jabbed. and this is why. each of these icons represents 1,000 deaths in the first wave of the pandemic. and, look at it, you canjust see how many deaths there were in care homes and in the older age groups. the government hopes that by vaccinating all these people, 99% of those at risk of dying from covid would be protected. i must warn you — if you're healthy and under 50, then you're in for a long wait.
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no decisions have been made on vaccinating the under—505 and they are a tiny proportion of all deaths. we are now at the point when the first vaccines could be approved for use very soon. then the long and mammoth task of vaccinating millions of people can begin. james gallagher. the drug ghb should have a higher classification, according to a new official report. the drug has been used by murderers and rapists to knock out their victims, but is currently class c, the same level as anabolic steroids. the advisory council on the misuse of drugs says it should be moved to class b, the category which includes cannabis. the government says it supports the tightening of controls. here's our home affairs correspondent, june kelly. described as the most prolific rapist to go through the british courts, convicted of offences against 48 men. stephen, a serial
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killer, murdered four young men and raped and sexually assaulted others. and gerald, a drug dealer, who also became a killer. all three used the drug ghb on their victims. it often originates from a colourless liquid and is described as a party drug. but it can also be used to spike drinks and not a victim unconscious and in higher doses it can kill —— and in higher doses it can kill —— and knocked a thief who drugged the man he met to steal from them. and knocked a thief who drugged the man he met to stealfrom them. the dose of ghb he gave eric michael is proved fatal. his sons began a campaignforghb to proved fatal. his sons began a campaign for ghb to be reclassified. they wanted to be class a. today's recommendation is that it should go from c to b. today is a big success and we are happy to see the
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classification has been suggested to be changed. with that in mind, there is still work for us to do, we still have to make sure we keep pushing. for something like this, us losing our father to it, we wouldn't want anyone else to go through it. our father to it, we wouldn't want anyone else to go through itm our father to it, we wouldn't want anyone else to go through it. it was the serial offending by the rapist which we the dangers of ghb. but it is not just about which we the dangers of ghb. but it is notjust about reclassifying it according to the watchdog. we have also said we want better training for front line clinicians so they can detect and treat ghb harm when it occurs. so, the professionals are recommending more public awareness, prevention and treatment to reduce the harm done by ghb. june kelly, bbc news. for anyone tired of hearing the same old christmas songs, three bin men have put out something new. boogie round the bins at christmas time has been released with a video, showing the three men
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dancing as they make the rounds in wolverhampton. they're hoping to bag the number—one spot with some of the proceeds going to charity. just don't say it's rubbish. keith doyle reports. lockdown has shone a light on many heroes. three binmen from wolverhampton have been raising people's spirits through the year, dancing around bins on their rounds. now they've released a single... you know what i want to be number one? ..and they have set their sights on the christmas number one. it is called... well, what else could it be? boogie round the bins at christmas. # boogie, boogie # boogie round the bins at christmas time #. for a christmas song, things need to look, well, christmassy. it may not be lapland, but all proceeds go to charity. we are all trying our best in these difficult circumstances.

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