this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones with the latest headlines... borisjohnson is facing questions about whether he tried to tone down an independent report which said home secretary priti patel broke the ministerial code by bullying staff. an online summit of the world's biggest economies is under way in saudi arabia. top of the agenda — the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. the nhs starts setting up coronavirus vaccination centres, and the first doses could be delivered next month. a rocket attack on the afghan capital, kabul — at least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured. the firebreak is over, but the visitors remain locked down. how tourism businesses in wales are struggling to stay afloat.

and coming up, barack obama discusses his long—awaited memoir a promised land with historian david olusoga. the prime minister is facing further criticism for disregarding an independent report which said home secretary priti patel broke the ministerial code by bullying staff. number 10 has rejected claims, made by a whitehall source, that borisjohnson had asked for the inquiry findings to be toned down. it has insisted that the conclusions made by sir alex allan — who has now resigned as independent advisor on ministerial standards — were "entirely his own".

our political correspondent helen catt has more. the findings of sir alex allan's report into priti patel were stark. one of the government's most senior ministers had shouted and sworn at staff, and some of her behaviour had amounted to bullying. yesterday she apologised. well, i'm here to give an unreserved apology today, and i am sorry if i have upset people in any way whatsoever. that was completely unintentional. but she stays in herjob, and that's put the focus back on her boss. borisjohnson‘s decision to back her and override sir alex's judgment on the ministerial code is drawing more criticism. the system depends on the prime minister standing up for standards in public life, and for taking action when his or her ministers breach those standards, and for the first time, as far as i can remember, we have a prime minister who doesn't

seem willing to stand up for high standards in public life. and there are claims that the prime minister had asked for the report to be toned down. a source has told the bbc that back in the summer there were discussions between sir alex and borisjohnson about the challenges the report presented. another whitehall source said that sir alex had resisted pressure to make it more palatable. a downing street spokesman said that, as you would expect, the prime minister spoke to sir alex allan to further his understanding of the report, but that sir alex's conclusions were entirely his own. the report that's being published by sir alex allan is obviously independent. it is a nuanced report, reflecting clearly that the home secretary was working in an at times frustrating environment. borisjohnson considers the matter closed. labour does not. it has called for an independent investigation. downing street might be hoping that this will blow over, but there may be repercussions yet. helen catt, bbc news, westminster.

alex thomas has worked across whitehall as a civil servant and is now a programme director at the institute for government. thanks at the institute for government. so much forjoinin on thanks so much forjoining us here on bbc news. priti patel has apologised. in your review, does that draw a line under the matter? it might draw a line under the priti patel matter and obviously the prime minister has made his decision and he has got to accept the political full out from that, so we will see over the next few days whether that prove sustainable. but the question is that the process has raised, they absolutely shouldn't be overlooked oi’ absolutely shouldn't be overlooked or drawn a line under. it has shown the essential weakness of the oversight system that exists in that the prime minister cannot just choose to stand by his ministry but actually concludes that there has

been no breach of ministerial code when an independent investigation has concluded otherwise. when an independent investigation has concluded otherwisem when an independent investigation has concluded otherwise. if the prime minister can override an independent investigation, it raises the question is it worth having them in the first place? there is a report, an independent person has looked into this and reached conclusions that we know about even if we haven't seen the full report, so if we haven't seen the full report, so there is value in a process like this. i would say the answer, given what we have seen, is not scrappy system, but to strengthen it and make sure that these things are properly investigated, both the commissioning of these investigations and the conclusions themselves. then the prime minister can hire and fire he wants. —— not to scrap. what do you make of the claim that the prime minister tried to tone it down in the report to make it more palatable? how credible

do you think that is?|j make it more palatable? how credible do you think that is? i think it is reasonable and part of the job that the prime minister talks to the person doing the report, it is right that he wants to talk to the person that he wants to talk to the person that has done the investigation. if the prime minister then applies a bit of pressure, then at the role of the independent investigator is, as it seems to be case, to resist that and say i have reached my conclusions and this is what stands, and that seems to be what has happened here. in one sense, that seems to be part of the system that is working, in that the independent report resisted any pressure is, indeed, pressure was put upon him. in the report, saying priti patel wasn't supported, people coming out and saying that she is a passionate person, those mitigating circumstances? i don't think they

are mitigating for the accusation of bullying. bullying is bullying and no matter what frustrations you feel in thejob, it no matter what frustrations you feel in the job, it doesn'tjustify that, but it does feel to me that nobody is coming out of this very well. it is coming out of this very well. it is pretty extraordinary for alex allan, who was a senior civil servant with a very long and distinguished career, to conclude that both the home office and department for international development were not sufficiently flexible and didn't support their secretary of state. it may not be quite what they are focusing on now with the bullying accusation, but those are some hard questions for the civil servants in those departments to ask themselves as well. do you think the home secretary should resign? all i can go on is the independent investigation that concluded she did breach the ministerial code. not every breach of the ministerial code needs to lead to a resignation or dismissal, but it does say there was

bullying. if you follow it through, perhaps you get to a point where she should resign. this is probably more with your hat on as programme director for the institute of government, that you talk about the political fallout from this and whether boris johnson's political fallout from this and whether borisjohnson‘s position was sustainable. what did you mean by that's i meant whether his decision to stand by the home secretary was sustainable. the system that is supposed to work, as the prime minister did with dominic cummings, they can choose to stand by the ministry but they have to deal with the second back from that. if you have the independent investigation, —— there are an should be consequences to those decisions. as much as the prime minister suffered from standing by dominic cummings in the summer, it is possible there

will be wider political and public opinion fallout from that. alex thomas, really good of you to join us on thomas, really good of you to join us on bbc news. thank you. the prime minister has insisted he does not want to undermine devolution — after saying earlier this week it had been a disaster in scotland. borisjohnson told the virtual scottish tory conference he wanted policies which show how devolution can work for scotland and accused the snp of making it work against the rest of the uk. leaders of the world's richest countries have begun an online g20 summit hosted by saudi arabia. the coronavirus pandemic is expected to top the agenda. aid campaigners have called on the meeting to provide urgent funding to help poorer nations deal with the pandemic. borisjohnson is taking part — he's calling for urgent action on climate change and the pandemic. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is there.

is itfairto is it fair to say that the pandemic is very much at the forefront of everybody‘s mine's? —— minds. is very much at the forefront of everybody's mine's? -- minds. the pandemic has completely dominated the summit festival because every country around the world, almost without exception, is being affected extremely by this deadly virus. here in riyadh, it has shaped the very format of this summit. you can see the screen is behind me where the summitjust the screen is behind me where the summit just opened, and the screen is behind me where the summitjust opened, and it was like being on the most higher—level zoom call you will ever see. in this case, you have a president putin of russia getting into his chair, president trump at his desk in the white house, boris johnson president trump at his desk in the white house, borisjohnson at number 10 downing street. all of the world

leaders gathering in front of the screen at home or at work to listen to the king of soggy arabia. the covid—i9 crisis —— saudi arabi. it has been put at the top of the agenda to underline they are the wealthiest countries and have to ta ke wealthiest countries and have to take care of their own nationals first but they also have to be generous in helping the rest of the world, the poorer countries respond to this health crisis, and also the economic consequences of the virus that people in britain know all too well. you say it is completely dominating the summit, but we do also note the issue of human rights in saudi arabia is a long—running issue and i do wonder how much that might be overshadowing the summit, perhaps even at the fringes?“

might be overshadowing the summit, perhaps even at the fringes? if this is in an online world, if you look online, you will find the g20 official summit statement and pacing official summit statement and pacing of the presidency of saudi arabia, but you will also find the counter summit organised by human rights groups who have called for a boycott, who say that saudi arabia should release some of the dozens of activists, academics, intellectuals and journalists who are languishing in saudi maximum security prisons. there was even a call for the european parliament for the summit to be boycotted. when you are here in the kingdom, you hear very little of that. saudi arabia wants to use the stage to show the wide—ranging reforms that have been. there have been reforms on an economic and social front, but in the same way it is opening up economically and socially, it is closing down

politically. while it wants to shine on the world stage, there is still a dark cloud, most of all from the murder two years ago of the saudi journalist that hasn't gone away. thank you for that. our chief international correspondent in riyadh, good to talk to you. the uk and canada have agreed a deal to continue trading under the same terms as the current european union agreement after the brexit transition period ends. the government says the agreement paves the way for negotiations to begin next year for a new comprehensive deal with canada, which has been touted as one of the benefits of the uk leaving the bloc. the prime minister said, "this is a fantastic agreement for britain, which secures transatlantic trade with one of our closest allies." the chancellor rishi sunak is to change the way the government assesses big spending projects, to remove the longstanding bias that's affected northern england and other regions outside the south east. the reforms are due to be

unveiled in parliament at next week's spending review. our business correspondent katy austin has been giving us more details. with its political commitment to so—called levelling up, spreading prosperity across the country, the government wants to be talking about investment too, and investment in big public projects. so at the spending review, we are expecting the chancellor will announce tens of billions of pounds towards infrastructure, including road improvements, and the long—delayed national infrastructure strategy will be published, setting up flagship schemes on things like fibre broadband, flood defences and transport. and yes, another big change is that so—called green book, how it assesses the value of certain projects, will change towards considering the regional impact more, not just looking at the benefit compared to cost, which has been seen to favour london and the south—east at the expense of other regions, including the north. another thing we are expecting to hear about is something called

a uk shared prosperity fund. this is replacing money the european union has allocated to less well—off areas. this new fund will be targeted at so—called "left—behind places", including coastal communities and former industrial heartlands. labour's shadow chancellor anneliese dodds has called for the spending review to put the country on the right path, saying communities up and down the country didn't want to hear more empty rhetoric. the headlines on bbc news... the home secretary priti patel keeps her job after being found to have broken rules by bullying staff. now questions for borisjohnson, over his influence on the report. an online summit of the world's biggest economies begins today in saudi arabia — top of the agenda the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. the nhs starts setting up coronavirus vaccination centres, and the first doses could be

delivered next month. a procession of cars is driving through birmingham this afternoon, to mark the 46th anniversary of the birmingham pub bombings. 21 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in the attack. six men, who became known as the birmingham six, were wronglyjailed for the bombings and their convictions were quashed. phil mackie reports. it is 46 years since bombs were set off in two busy pubs in birmingham city centre. the carnage caused at the mulberry bush and the tavern in the town left 21 dead, and more than 200 hurt, many with life—changing injuries. although it is thought members of an ira cell were behind the attacks, nearly five decades later, it's not known exactly who was to blame. today is about more than just the anniversary. it's about the growing campaign for a public inquiry, including new voices

from a generation that was not even born back in 197a. the home secretary's decision to consider a public inquiry has given campaigners new hope. there is always an element of hope, that's why we campaign. if we don't have hope there's no point in us campaigning. we might as well give up. but we will never give up, and we will never give up, we will never go away, untiljustice is seen to be done. our loved ones are not here to fight for justice themselves. we are their voice and we will continue to fight and campaign until their voices are well and truly heard. because of covid, this year's memorial service had to be recorded before lockdown, and there can't be a large gathering at the memorial for the 21 who died. instead, supporters are planning to drive in convoy around the city centre, more optimistic than they have been for many years. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. the prime minister's pledge to ban gas boilers from new homes

by 2023 has been withdrawn. it first appeared on the government website earlier this week, as part of borisjohnson's ten—point climate plan. but it later disappeared, with downing street claiming a "mix—up" and said it plans to set out further details in due course. our energy and environment analyst roger harrabin reports. normally, it's planes, cars and industry that gets the blame for the emissions that are boosting climate change. but gas central heating also plays a role. that is why the government is committed to improving insulation standards on new—build homes. heat pumps are one answer, taking warmth from the ground to create low carbon heating. but they only work well if the standard of insulation is high, so this week, the government announced a goal. by 2023, to implement a standard for new homes with low carbon heating and world leading levels of energy efficiency. now, that date has

mysteriously disappeared. builders didn't like the idea of new standards in just three years. but the government's critics say it will have to face up to industry if it really means to tackle climate change. at least eight people have been killed and more than 30 others injured in a series of rocket attacks in the afghan capital kabul. the taliban has denied carrying out the attack which occurrred shortly before the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, was due to meet the group's negotiators in qatar. secunder kermani reports: it should have been an ordinary day at school. instead, panic and fear, as these children run for safety. cctv cameras captured the moment the rockets landed outside this popular bakery. translation: i was having breakfast

when the rockets landed. one hit a van belonging to a bakery. at least three people were wounded. they have been taken to hospital. a local resident filmed the rockets being fired from the street. this was the pick—up truck the attackers used. how they managed to get it inside the city is a major cause for concern. the taliban has denied responsibility, but violence has been flaring across the country in recent weeks, despite ongoing but slow—moving peace talks in doha. us secretary of state mike pompeo arrived there today to meet both afghan and taliban officials. some progress on initial issues seems to have been made but they haven't even begun discussing a ceasefire or power—sharing arrangement. in spite of the violence, us troops are being withdrawn from here. the new american president might

look for another way forward but the fear is the bloodshed is only going to get worse. secunder kermani, bbc news. some coronavirus updates now. there have been 887 cases of covid—19 reported in scotland in the last 2a hours, compared to 1,018 the previous day. there have been 37 deaths registered of people who had tested positive in the previous 28 days. this compares to 32 deaths the previous day. a possible alternative to a covid vaccine is entering its final stage of trials. it's being developed for people with weakened immune systems who cannot be vaccinated. 5,000 patients from around the world are taking part in the study and trials involving 1,000 uk participants begin in manchester today. professor anna maria geretti is professor of virology at the university of liverpool.

shejoins us now. lovely she joins us now. lovely to have you with us. thank you so much. can you explain to us in a little bit more detail how this antibody system works and how it differs from a vaccine? this is a cocktail of two antibodies that can work by blocking the virus from entering inside the cells inside the body, inside the human cells. so they can block infection in those who have never been exposed to the virus, and they gain this protection in case they are exposed. they can also work at the second level which is by preventing progression of an infection which is already becoming established. the trial which has been announced, this phase three trial, they tested the ability of this cocktail of antibodies to block the infection to prevent the

infection in those who had never experienced the infection before but are exposed to it. as you mentioned, it will target specifically a certain patient population, so those that are potentially vulnerable to the consequences of an infection with the coronavirus because they have risk factors. but at the same time, we have circumstances that mean that they would be less suitable for a vaccine, so perhaps they may not be expected to make an expected response to a vaccine, as is the case with people with defect on the immune system, perhaps the immune system has been weakened by treatment, as in the case of transplant recipients, for example, or patients with cancer. could this be an answer for everybody, notjust the potentially vulnerable people you have talked about? we have to look at vaccines to see who can be

expected to make an effective response. we look at the antibody cocktail as a compliment, something we hope to develop and that will complement our strategy, will complement our strategy, will complement our strategy, will complement our tools to get on top of the pandemic by protecting those that are most vulnerable. this is really in the spirit of leaving nobody behind. the vaccine would be our major strategy for the prevention of severe disease. the antibodies will complement our strategy, particularly for those patients who are less likely to benefit from vaccination. so they are not a replacement, but a compliment for vaccination. understood. we must leave it there, but good to talk to you. thank you. wales ended its nationalfirebreak almost two weeks ago,

but tourist hotspots are still being hit hard by tough restrictions across the border. it's been estimated that more than half of businesses that rely on tourism in wales have remained closed during england's lockdown. tomos morgan reports. november in north—west wales, and the famous weather has already kicked in. wales finished its firebreak almost two weeks ago, but even in the rain, it still feels eerie on the streets of aberdovey — just like a lockdown is still in place. it's never been so quiet for this time of year in all of the 13 years peter holt has run his cafe. does it feel a little bit like a ghost town at the moment here? it's nice for the locals. the locals absolutely love it. but as a business, we need the people, yes. people need to come. well, we feel a bit safer. i know we can travel anywhere in wales, but i don't think

people tend to do that either. after the first lockdown, tourist hotspots across wales saw record numbers visiting with fewer people wanting to go abroad for the holidays. but areas like aberdovey, according to the welsh tourism alliance, are 80—90% reliant on visitors coming from england, so a lockdown over the border has a significant impact on businesses. from the celtic manor resort outside newport to zipworld and its adventure attractions in snowdonia, to the famous italian—style village of portmeiron, some of the tourist hotspots have remained closed during this period. it's estimated by the welsh tourism alliance that more than 50% of businesses in the sector have remained closed in wales as the lockdown in england goes on. the restaurant is closed, the bar is closed, 26 bedrooms have closed, for half the week. some, like this hotel on the outskirts of aberystwyth, have closed the majority of their operations and decided to only partially

reopen half of their 26 rooms, three days a week, until the end of the month. we based our decision purely on the lockdown in england. it's a major part of our business coming in. how long can you keep going, do you think, in this kind of state of in and out, partially open...? well, we couldn't. i don't think any business can. it definitely needs unification now. it's a shame now that the two governments, and scotland and northern ireland as well, are not working together so that we can get on the same song sheet, you know. people tend to forget that this virus is the same virus in england as in wales and scotland and northern ireland. in response, a spokesperson from the welsh government said...

a response from the authorities in westminster said... whether or not the lockdown in england will finish on december 2nd will have a knock—on effect on much of wales' economy, and with the prospect of another lockdown early in the new year here in wales, what this industry really needs now is some assurances so they can get off to a flying start in 2021. tomos morgan, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. an area of cloud and occasional rain pushing very slowly further south through england and wales during the rest of today and into tonight. and by the end of tonight, that will be sitting across southern england. clearer skies behind it. a few showers into northern ireland overnight. lots of showers still running into the north and west of scotland.

wintry on the higher hills. still driven along by strong winds, particularly in the northern isles. only very slowly easing tomorrow. and where you have got clear skies, temperatures in the cold spots will fall close to freezing, so it mayjust see a touch of frost going into tomorrow. but there will be plenty of sunny spells around us. southern england staying rather cloudy with patchy rain. it mayjust push back towards parts of south wales as the day goes on. elsewhere, you may catch a shower in north—west england or northern ireland — a bit more especially into western scotland. it will be a cooler dayjust about wherever you are tomorrow, but then again, there are these sunny spells to be had. a weatherfront bringing more rain into parts of scotland and northern ireland on monday and tuesday. pushing further south through england and wales on wednesday, and a mainly dry end to the week. borisjohnson is boris johnson is facing borisjohnson is facing questions about whether he tried to tone down

about whether he tried to tone down a report which said the home secretary priti patel broke the ministerial code by bullying staff. an online summit of the worlds biggest economies is under way in saudi arabia. top of the agenda, the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. the nhs starts setting up coronavirus vaccination centres, and the first doses could be delivered next month. a rocket attack on the afghan capital kabul, attack on the afghan capital kabul, at least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured. more headlines at three o'clock, but now ina more headlines at three o'clock, but now in a uk exclusive, barack obama encounters the historian to discuss his long—awaited memoir a promised land, about his experience as a black first family in the white house.