more than 23 million people in england will be living under the most severe coronavirus restrictions when lockdown ends next week. greater manchester, birmingham, leeds and sheffield will be among places in the highest tier, level 3, says the health secretary. liverpool and london will be tier 2. only three areas are in the lowest tier. to keep people safe and to keep the gains that are being made, more areas than before will be in the top two tiers. this is necessary to protect our nhs and keep the virus under control. business owners say it's more dreadful news for the hospitality industry. we've all agreed it feels like the

government have been playing a game of carrot and stick with us. we are going above and beyond what they ask us going above and beyond what they ask us to do. then the goalposts to change the following day. we'll have reaction live from around england, and ask how the decisions were reached. also this lunchtime... the chancellor defends his decision to freeze the pay of many public sector workers. i've had to make some tough choices, and what i couldn't do was justify an across—the—boa rd rise in public sector pay. and, people mourn across argentina after the death of the footballing legend diego maradona. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, george ford returns for england as they look to maintain their unbeaten autumn nations campaign this weekend against wales.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. in the last hour, the health secretary has revealed what level of coronavirus restrictions will be imposed in different parts of england when the national measures are lifted next week. more than 23 million people will be living under the most severe restrictions, tier 3. only three areas will be in the lowest level. matt hancock told the commons he understands the impact the restrictions will have, but said they're necessary given the scale of the threat the country is facing from the virus. a number of major cities including manchester, newcastle, leeds, sheffield, blackburn and birmingham will be in tier three.

most of the country will be in the middle tier 2 — including liverpool and london. all the decisions will be reviewed on december 16th. our first report is from our political correspondent iain watson. as england emerges from lockdown next week, across the country more shops will reopen, you will be able to get a haircut and go for a swim but there are fears for tiers. it was confirmed today each area of england will be placed in one of three tiers and most of the country will be in tier 2 or tier 3, those with the most restrictions. the current evidence and clinical advice shows we must make the tiers tougher than they were before to protect the nhs through the winter and avert a national lockdown. so we have looked at each of the tiers are fresh and strengthened them, as the prime minister set out on monday. groups of six people in tier1 can meet indoors and pubs are allowed to open

with last orders at ten p m. most of england will be in tier 2, groups of six can meet outdoors but not indoors unless part of a support bubble. pubs can only happen if they operate as restaurants and alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal. tier 3 with the highest level of restrictions, pubs and highest level of restrictions, pubs a nd restau ra nts highest level of restrictions, pubs and restaurants will be limited to ta ke and restaurants will be limited to take and deliveries. there will be no mixing of households apart from up no mixing of households apart from up to six people in outdoor spaces. only cornwall, the isle of wight and isles of scilly are in tier i. councillors and mps lobbied to keep lincolnshire and kent out of tier 3, is only some local areas had high levels of infection, but they failed. london will be in tier 2, and liverpool which piloted mass rapid testing has moved down from tier 3 before lockdown to tier 2

will now. we are now expanding this community testing programme even further to launch a major community testing programme honing in on the areas with the greatest rate of infection. this programme is open to all local authorities in tier 3 areas in the first instance and offers help to get out of the toughest restrictions as fast as possible. covid hasn't simply posed a health and economic challenge for the prime minister but a political one too. mps get to vote on the new tier system next week and some of horacejohnson‘s own tier system next week and some of horace johnson's own mps tier system next week and some of horacejohnson‘s own mps are worried about how long restrictions will last. if we are going to have regular reviews, weekly, that's great, but if we are stuck in that tierfor several great, but if we are stuck in that tier for several weeks, great, but if we are stuck in that tierfor several weeks, i wonder great, but if we are stuck in that tier for several weeks, i wonder if the secretary of state would consider an appeals process. there has been zero consultation between central government, buckingham council and our local nhs. and there

we re council and our local nhs. and there were calls for local consultation. the prime minister imposes from downing street restrictions on communities across the midlands and the north which will have a huge impact on the livelihood of families and small businesses. we know the current lockdown in england will end in tears but it is still not clear, even with the prospect of a vaccine, when the new restrictions will be lifted. and we can hear more now from iain now. how much resistance to these measures will borisjohnson face? i think he is likely to face a rebellion in his own ranks when mps vote on this next week, but we can get a hint of the discomfort on the conservative benches in the house of commons when matt hancock made his statement because of the government said these restrictions will be reviewed every couple of weeks but that was not good enough for some conservative mps who want more regular reviews to be carried out. there are also concerns for how easy it will be to get down tier to tier

1. there are concerns because there's so many criteria involved. it's not only about taking pressure off the nhs, it's also about prevalence of the virus among the over 60s who can get more serious infections. there is a fear the restrictions could last well into next year but there is also concern about how the restrictions have been imposed. in lancashire they don't like the fact the government said the whole county has to be in a specific tier, with such wide variations in local areas, and there is also concerns the north looks to be hit more than the south of england. what does that mean for boris johnson's england. what does that mean for borisjohnson‘s levelling up agenda? iain watson, for now, thank you. so what does the reinstating of the tier system mean for businesses across england? theo leggett reports. the end of lockdown means many businesses will be able to take down the shutters and get back to work,

but severe restrictions will remain, and pubs are among the worst affected. under the new rules, pubs in tier2 affected. under the new rules, pubs in tier 2 areas across much of the country will only be allowed to open if they are also acting as restau ra nts a nd if they are also acting as restaurants and only allowed to serve alcohol if it is accompanied bya serve alcohol if it is accompanied by a substantial meal. pub chains and breweries are furious, they say they are being unfairly singled out. the industry claims the new restrictions will leave 20,000 pubs unable to open, either because they are not allowed or because they cannot make money. it's claimed that would cut sales by £1 billion in december alone and leave a quarter ofa december alone and leave a quarter of a million staff unable to work. the government is being urged to provide grants for struggling pubs of up to £12,000 per month. the next four months for the sector is absolutely critical and without the support we are going to need sector

specific, many of the companies, pubs and local restaurants, won't come through this period. considering we now have a vaccine, we know what the future looks like in the long term, it is vital that government provide this financial bridge to the sector. in tier 3 areas such as greater manchester, pubs will have to shop altogether along with whole swathes of other entertainment venues. it is another hammer blow to the night—time economy. we have all agreed this government, it feels like they have been playing a game of carrot and stick with us. we do above and beyond what they are asking. they ask to do on a certain day and then the goalposts change the following day. the changes do at least mean that some businesses such as nonessential shops can open, whichever tier they are in, but few are celebrating. for many businesses moving to a tier system will feel like a halfway house. it is good

news for some including retailers who can take advantage of the vesting —— festive trading period, but others will feel like they are stuck in a deep freeze. the prospect ofa stuck in a deep freeze. the prospect of a vaccine being developed does at least give hospitality businesses hope that life will one day get back to normal, but they insist help is needed now or many of them will be ringing last orders for the final time. theo leggett, bbc news. in a moment we'll get reaction from our correspondents helena wilkinson in kent and phil mackie in sandwell, but first andy gill is in liverpool. yes, the reaction here is one of relief tempered with caution. only seven weeks ago liverpool and knowsley were in the unwanted position of being at the top of the coronavirus infection charts, nearly 700 cases per 100,000. that is now

down to 150 per 100,000. people are putting it down to the fact that people stop to the rules in tier 3 and liverpool has piloted mass testing of asymptomatic people. the mayor of liverpool said it was welcome news but urged caution. the leaders of neighbouring boroughs said it is down to the sacrifice and resilience of local people but said difficult months lie ahead. going into tier 2 is important for this pa rt into tier 2 is important for this part of the world because of the importance of the hospitality economy which is worth nearly £5 billion a year to the area. don't forget though that even in tier 2 social distancing applies in pubs and social distancing applies in pubs a nd restau ra nts social distancing applies in pubs and restaurants which can open so they are taking in less money. i was speaking to one restaurant owner this morning who said without tier 2 she wasn't sure her business would have survived. the umbrella body which represents businesses said the government would have to support their sector all the way through to

2022 if they are to survive. just to give you an idea of how quickly the infection rates can change, the cou nty of infection rates can change, the county of kent was under tier1 before the second lockdown, it is now going to be placed under the strictest tier 3. we are in the market town of faversham which is in the district of swale and the latest data tells us swale has the highest infection rates in the whole of england at the moment. there is particular concern for those over 60 getting the infection, and they are asking why in the infection rates are so asking why in the infection rates are so high in this area. one reason might be that in this area and people work in manufacturing so it is difficult for them to work from home, but earlier this week the leader of swale borough council said he also put it down to what he called the wilful disregard of the rules by some people. there is no

doubt though that this will cause local frustration because the infection rates vary within areas in kent, and those in the lower rates of infection in those areas will be asking why they also need to be under the strictest of restrictions. here in sandwell they were in tier 3 before lockdown, they are coming out in tier3, and infection before lockdown, they are coming out in tier 3, and infection rates remain high across the urban parts of the west midlands. the government said one of the reasons birmingham and the black country will be in tier3 is and the black country will be in tier 3 is because infection rates remain at around 390100,000. although cases are coming down, the numberof although cases are coming down, the number of people who get tested and turn out to be positive is still high and there is a lot of pressure on the nhs here at the moment. there are areas in the midlands, the east and west midlands, where infection rates are much lower and have been coming out in higher tiers than they

we nt coming out in higher tiers than they went in. there will be criticism of what is happening. andy street, the mayor of the west midlands, said he is disappointed so many areas are coming out in tier 3. he says he understands why and people need to observe the rules to make sure infection rates come down, but he will be asking for more support particularly for the hospitality industry because restaurants will not be able to open. west bromwich albion who playjust a short distance from here won't be able to have any fans in even though the restrictions were lifted because in tier3 restrictions were lifted because in tier 3 nobody will be allowed in the ground. thank you. our health editor hugh pym is here. what do we know about how these decisions were reached? what is the criteria? as we have been hearing, there is undoubtedly dissatisfaction in some areas about why they are tier 3 and not tier 2. the

government line is they have a very transparent set of criteria, five tests deciding on the tiers and it is the number of cases, the rate of cases, and also the rate of cases in the over 60s. and then overall how much are they going up or falling, and how much pressure is there on the local nhs. they are trying hard to say that for each area they have applied these tests, that won't stop people challenging it. one example is cornwall is in tier1 but devon is cornwall is in tier1 but devon is in tier2 is cornwall is in tier1 but devon is in tier 2 and the reason given for that is there are higher cases among the over 60s in devon we are told, and in the urban areas there are rising cases next to torbay and plymouth, and there is pressure on the nhs. that is one reason why the nightingale hospital in exeter has been opened for covid patients. the bigger picture for the whole of

england is, according to the office for national statistics, their latest survey, cases are levelling off. they are not falling, even after this national lockdown, which shows there is a long way to go. that is why tiers two and three particularly is tougher than before. that is what the experts would argue. hugh pym, thank you. there was good news about another coronavirus vaccine earlier this week, when it was announced that the jab being developed by oxford university and astrazeneca had successfully cleared testing. but now questions are being raised about the details of they way some of the trial results were presented, with officials in the united states saying further information is needed. anna collinson reports. it was an announcement that made the oxford university team smile from ear to ear. early data from the oxford and astrazeneca vaccine released on monday suggested it was 70% effective. this figure was reached after two processes were collated.

a larger group received two identical doses and were said to be 62% effective, while a sub—group received a half dose followed by a full one, and that was 90%. the us regulator, the fda, says vaccines need to be at least 50% effective, so both results are well above this threshold. some have described oxford's second method as a happy accident because it wasn't initially planned, but some officials in the us say they need to understand what the data shows. an astrazeneca spokesperson said the studies were conducted to the highest standards. the data and safety monitoring board determined the analysis met its primary end point, showing protection from covid—19 occurring 1a days or more after receiving two doses of the vaccine. ultimately what happens will be down to the regulators, but there are fears this could undermine confidence in covid vaccines. on the one hand the regulatory system is working and picking up problems.

nowadays with trials what you have to do is declare in advance what you are going to do and how you are going to statistically analyse them and if there's any departure from what you say will do in advance that has to be picked up and discussed with the regulators. while we wait for a vaccine, covid infections appear to be levelling off in england. the latest figures from the office for national statistics for the week to the 21st of november say cases are decreasing in wales and northern ireland, but rising in scotland. after standing empty over the summer, today, exeter‘s nightingale hospital has opened to coronavirus patients due to demand. even if infections do fall, it can take weeks before that's seen in hospitalisations. we have 18,000 cases happening every day. yesterday we had 700 deaths, and hospitalisations are almost near the april peak. at this point in time we really need to learn lessons from why the public health strategy failed in the first place and fix those things. while the end of england's lockdown may be in sight,

there's still great uncertainty about what will happen over christmas and beyond. anna collinson, bbc news. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has been providing an update on the relaxing of restrictions in scotland over the christmas period. james shaw was listening. it was a message all about caution delivered in the scottish parliament by nicola sturgeon about an hour ago. essentially she was saying that people should try to find alternative ways to celebrate christmas, by meeting with friends and family outside and going for a walk, by connecting on the internet, but she acknowledged of course as we know that many people will want to meet indoors and those rules are quite strict. in scotland, eight people from three households can meet over that five—day period from the 23rd to the 27th. children under

12 don't count towards that total and that was advice about not sharing cutlery, not sharing crockery, making sure the houses are well ventilated and people maintain distance but as i say the emphasis for nicola sturgeon all the way through was all about caution. the safest way for any others to spend christmases with our own household in ourown christmases with our own household in our own home and own local area. just because we are allowing people to meet up in a limited way does not, of course, mean that people have to do so and people should not feel under pressure to do so. this virus spreads when people come together. so we are asking everyone to think carefully before using these flexibilities. and underlying it all the emphasis from nicola sturgeon, this relaxation of the rules at christmas does carry risks. james shaw, thank you. our top story.

more than 23 million people will be living under the most severe coronavirus restrictions when lockdown ends next week. to keep people safe and to keep the gains that are being made, more areas than before will be in the top two tiers. this is necessary to protect our nhs, keep the virus under control. coming up on bbc news — delight for england's cricketers in australia as tammy beaumont helps sydney thunder into the final, in a dramatic victory in the big bash. the chancellor has been defending his decision to freeze the pay of many public sector workers, saying that "tough choices" had to be made about which workers would get a pay rise because of the economic impact of coronavirus. concerns have also been raised about the impact of the plans revealed in yesterday's spending review on some of the poorest households. our economics correspondent

andy verity reports. overshadowed in the spending review by the vast sums spent and borrowed to tackle covid was a surprising fa ct. to tackle covid was a surprising fact. analysis of the review‘s fine print carried out overnight reveals that away from emergency spending the government actually plans to cut normal spending on public services by more than £10 million. it's important to say that for next year the government spending plans were cut really quite substantially actually other than the amount they are allocating to deal with covid. the idea that we will need no more money in the nhs after next year than we thought at the beginning of this year, the idea that we'll need no money to deal with covid, the idea that we will want to spend less on public services, on social care and education and so on, i'm not sure that stacks up. the ifs also points out rishi sunak chose to reduce support for local authorities

while giving them the ability to raise council tax by 5% to make up. because most are likely to have to do so, that will raise council tax by an average of £70 per household. that will have a direct impact on people and really we needed to see resolute action yesterday, to support people back into work, to support people back into work, to supportjob creation. support people back into work, to support job creation. we support people back into work, to supportjob creation. we didn't see the kind of ambitious programme being set out that for example countries like france and germany have put in place for site this morning rishi sunak defended his most controversial move, the decision to freeze the pay of 1.3 million public sector workers outside the nhs, who earn more than £24,000 a year. what we have seen in the private sector is that wages have fallen over the last six months by about a percent. in the public sector wages have gone up by 4%. given that i think we need to take a more targeted approach. actually it is true the public sector wages have done much better than the private

sector over this year but over the la st sector over this year but over the last decade public sector wages have done even worse than private sector wages. both have done incredibly badly in historic terms, the public sector has done worse than the private sector. the chancellor was keen today to point out that the majority of public sector workers, including nhs staff, would still get a pay increase. they ifs though notes that because of that narrow targeting the pay freeze is likely to save the government less than £2 billion, a modest sum against the £335 billion it is spending tackling the covid crisis. andy verity, bbc news. president trump has pardoned his former national security adviser michael flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi. general flynn resigned three months into the trump administration, after being investigated in relation to russian interference in the 2016 us presidential election. donald trump said the act of clemency was a "great honour", but senior democrats have accused the president of an abuse of power.

mps have accused amazon and apple of dodging their environmental responsibilities by failing to help collect, recycle and repair old tech products. the environmental audit committee wants companies to be banned from intentionally shortening the lifespan of electronic devices. apple says it's surprised and disappointed by the report, while amazon said it's helped recycle 10,000 tonnes of electrical products in the uk over the past decade. the danish actor mads mikkelsen is to replacejohnny depp in the third film of the harry potter fantastic beasts series. mr depp stepped down from the role as the dark wizard after losing a libel case over a sun newspaper article which called him a "wife beater". mikkelsen has previously starred in the bond film casino royale, and played dr hannibal lecter in the television series hannibal.

the death of a premature baby in 2001 led to a "20—year cover—up" of mistakes by health workers, an independent inquiry has found. elizabeth dixon, from hampshire, died due to a blocked breathing tube shortly before her first birthday. let's get more from our correspondentjon donnison. the doctor who led this enquiry said the response to the baby's death had been at times inhumane. this report by doctor bill kirkup is absolutely damning. lizzie dixon died in 2001 after an inexperienced nurse failed to spot that her tracheotomy tube was blocked. she had only needed that breathing aid in the first place because she had suffered a brain injury at birth when doctors had failed to spot that she had high led pressure at frimley park hospital in surrey. but this report says not only that there were

failings medically but there was a 20 year cover—up involving deceit and deception and that some of the doctors and officials involved in lizzie's care actively lied to the police. the report is also critical of hampshire police for failings in its police investigation. today, anne dixon, lizzie's mother, gave her reaction to the report's findings. she's always in my heart. and once all this is over, and we hope to see change, i will take elizabeth back into my memory. i will claim my daughter from what we've had to go through. she's been sullied by the lies and the cover—up. and my daughter is absolutely perfect and i would like her back and i would like change to come. the government has been giving its reaction today. the health minister nadine dorries very critical statement, she said this report describes a harrowing and shocking

series of mistakes associated with the care received by elizabeth and response to her death that was completely inadequate and at times inhumane. on behalf of the government and the health system she said she would like to say that they we re said she would like to say that they were truly sorry and apologised to lizzie's family. jon donnison, thank you. argentina is in three days of national mourning for its football legend diego maradona, who died yesterday. thousands of people are queuing outside the presidential palace, in the capital buenos aires, where maradona's body is lying in state. natalio cosoy reports from buenos aires. brought to tears and brought to his knees. a fan plays tribute to diego maradona. here at la bombonera, the home of boca juniors, an informal shrine in memory of the club's greatest player. all across buenos aires, all across argentina they gathered, to celebrate a glorious and colourful life.

if you want to know what maradona meant for argentinians, you need only to come here to the center of buenos aires this evening, tojoin these hundreds of maradona fans dressed in argentina and boca junior kits, who came here to chant, to shout and to cry for their hero. translation: he is eternal. and here, diego will continue to be history. he made us known all over the world. translation: i want to cry. i really want to cry. argentina's gone. argentina died today. at every champions league match a minute's silence was held in his memory, the latest generation of players and coaches saying goodbye to one of the greats. he made the world of football better. his performance in, you know, down in napoli,

a team for the south, and especially the national team in argentina, mexico '86, was something unbelievable. in naples, in barcelona, they grieved. but it's here in argentina where the pain is felt the deepest. world football has lost a legend. but this country has lost one of its favourite sons. natalio cosoy, bbc news, buenos aires. time for a look at the weather. here's daren bett. hello, some places have been lucky enough to have some sunshine today. the next few days could be quite cloudy and for a while there will be fog around too. the fog tends to form where we have like winds and clear skies under an area of high pressure but there are two micro—week weather fronts nibbling away at the edges of the uk and the one in the south—east has been

thickening the cloud