today at six — borisjohnson spells out what happens when the lockdown in england ends next week. 55 million people will still find themselves in the top two tiers. much of the north, like manchester and hull, face the toughest restrictions. if we ease off now, we risk

losing control of this virus all over again, casting aside our hard—won gains and forcing us back into a new year national lockdown. pub owners say they are facing their "darkest moments" — covid rules mean they're losing out at a lucrative time of the year. right now, for hospitality, all the tiers are a version of waterboarding for our industry. we're allowed out for a brief gasp of fiscal oxygen, and we're slammed back down. anger in the hospitality industry, and unease in the house of commons. also tonight... at last, after 20 years of campaigning by baby elizabeth dixon's parents, an inquiry says there was a cover—up into their daughter's death. from teaching assistants to rubbish collectors — will they really be better off after the chancellor's spending review? the people of worcester raised hundreds of thousands

for oscar's cancer treatment — now he's well enough to turn on the christmas lights. coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news... we'll look at what next week's regional restrictions mean for sports fans looking to get back into matches. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. next week, when the national lockdown comes to end, 55 million people in england — that's more than nine out of ten people — will still find themselves in the toughest two tiers of coronavirus restrictions. the details, announced by the health secretary matt hancock,

have already sparked unease among the government's own backbenchers, and accusations that the north of england has come off worse. you can see why, when you look at a map of england. many cities in the north and the midlands, including manchester, hull, newcastle and birmingham, as well as kent and bristol, will fall into tier 3 — that's the toughest category. most of the rest of england will be in tier 2 — that includes london, the south east and south west. only the isle of wight, cornwall and the isles of scilly will be in tier1 — with the least restrictions. that's fewer than a million people. the rules for what's allowed in each tier have changed — we'll bring you the detail in a moment. first, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. and the prime minister is warning that if we ease off now, england risks being back in a national lockdown again in the new year.

december will be month four for people in west bromwich, hunkered down, banned from seeing friends and family they don't live with, apart from work or school. covid cases are still high and the market's quieting down. sarah is worried about hanging on. i'm struggling to find the money to pay for my pitch. tier 3 isn't going to work for us. we need to drop right back down. mchale lost hisjob last year drop right back down. mchale lost his job last year and now there are fewer people out to hear him sing. his job last year and now there are fewer people out to hear him singli can't guarantee getting money every day when i do come out, but it's just come at such a time where as i said it hasjust thrown me, because i couldn't have prepared for this. the prime minister might be out of his isolation now but the country is a long way from escaping restrictions. if we ease off now, we risk losing control of this virus all overagain, risk losing control of this virus all over again, casting aside our hard—won gains, and forcing us back into a new year national lockdown,

with all the damage that would mean. as we emerge next wednesday, only a tiny proportion of us will go into loose limits under tier i. tiny proportion of us will go into loose limits under tier 1. nearly 60% of england will be under tier 2 rules, where pubs, shops and restau ra nts ca n rules, where pubs, shops and restaurants can be open, and some limited socialising will be allowed, but nearly 40% of people, mainly in the north of england, will be under stricter rules, tier 3, where pubs and stricter rules, tier 3, where pubs a nd restau ra nts stricter rules, tier 3, where pubs and restaurants have to shut, apart from takeaway, and you're not meant to leave your local area. remember, the rules are different in scotland, northern ireland and wales. it's a complicated patrick and the lines are hard to draw. even inside —— complicated patchwork. even inside individual areas there is strife over whether it is fair. in birkenhead, cases are low but it will be in tier 2 anyway because in other parts of hertfordshire the disease is on the rise. carry a sort of grinning and bearing it. we would

have much preferred tier i, because there is so little covid, but if they think it warrants tier 2, we have to go with the rules. robert was on furlough, though he is now back at work, though her some time for his boat. once numbers go down, we can start socialising but until then everyone will have to basically suck it up. what was the point of the national lockdown in england over the last four weeks if more people are moving into tougher restrictions than before? this is not continuing the lockdown, on the contrary, across all tiers, shops will be open, but what we want to avoid is relaxing now too much, you know, taking our foot off the fruit of the beast now full stop there are doubts about the new system, and a tricky start, after the website with the information crashed at first. we also need to be convinced that the government have a plan to get places out of these higher tiers, because there is not a lot of detail. some tory backbenchers are angry that

they are big areas have been treated all the we have effectively because we count in exeter, torbay and plymouth that we are in tier 2, but actually even they are well below the national average, so one solution would have been to cut out the cities from the more urban areas. the lines on the map will all be reviewed in the middle of december, tess bending how we respond, how the disease responds, the way we are asked to behave in town and country —— the way we respond, how the disease responds. it is clear the prime minister is not doing this with any relish but also clear that he and the country's top medics believe if this action is not taken over the next few weeks, that on the other side of christmas there could be a bigger national shutdown if the disease takes off again. butjust as many of our viewers tonight might be feeling disappointed, frustrated and a bit worried about this, there are people in the house of commons who share

that view. there are even some of the government because my own tory mps who might vote against this plan when it goes before them in the middle of next week, but while it might bea middle of next week, but while it might be a bit bumpy for ministers trying to get this through, i don't think there is a really realistic chanceit think there is a really realistic chance it would be blocked in any way. so like it or not, this is what is due to come in next wednesday as the government still tries to get control of this disease. laura, many thanks. so, england goes back to the tier system next wednesday, but what you can and can't do within the tiers has changed. for example, hairdressers, gyms and all shops can open, regardless of the tier, across england, and everyone who can work from home is being told to do so. but let's have a closer look at the restrictions for the tiers. in tier i, also called the medium tier, households will be allowed to mix, although the rule of six should be followed inside and out. in the high tier, or tier 2, as before, households will not be allowed to mix indoors, and alcohol will only be served as part of a substantial meal.

but in tier 3, pubs and restaurants will remain closed except for takeaway and households, again following the rule of six, will only be allowed to mix in outdoor public spaces, not in private gardens or hospitality venues. the government will review the restrictions across england every 14 days, with the first one due on the 16th december. our north of england correspondent danny savage sent this report from yorkshire. this, it turns out, was aspirational thinking in hull. there was an infection rate of 776 per 100,000 people a couple of weeks ago. no surprise here, then, that they're going into the new tier 3. during the first lockdown, the only people that i knew were a friend of a friend's auntie who had it, really, in this area, but more so, i've got children at school, and they've got friends that have contracted it, friends' parents that have contracted it. people here say not enough locals

have stuck to the rules, while some are sticklers for them. it's absolutely rife. my husband's been self—isolating since well before. he is on the extreme list, so we have to be everything careful. and you're happy for that to go on for some months? i'm happy, because if it can save lives, then yeah. those living on this side of the humber were expecting tier 3, but over there in lincolnshire, the whole county is also going into the highest tier. that is a very large rural area, where even the conservative leader of the county council can't understand government thinking. huge areas of lincolnshire actually have lower rates than the national average, so it does seem very perverse to put the whole area into tier 3, and obviously that will mean businesses and families and individuals will be suffering far more restrictions than is really necessary. 70 miles away, harrogate has moved from tieri pre—lockdown to tier 2,

where one new concession is that up to 2,000 much—missed spectators are allowed at sports events. the crowd is coming along to see the goals and the trophies. it's like the horse and carriage, they have to go together. next wednesday, all the shops can open again too. it's not fair, marks & spencer's in harrogate is open, and i can't sell, you know, my clothes, so very, very important, and i can't wait for wednesday. and in the highest tiers, there's many more weeks of sitting outside in the cold if you want to catch up with a friend. danny savage, bbc news. according to the body that represents the hospitality industry in england, close to £8 billion of trading could be lost, if the tier restrictions stay in place for all of december. some of the industry's top bosses have written to the prime minister, warning of huge job losses. our business editor simon jack reports from nottingham. it's hard to organise anything in a brewery right now. if you can't sell it,

there's no point making it. we've got empty vessels and not much happening at all today, i'm afraid. last week, colin wilde poured £90,000 worth of beer down the drain. his brewery customers and the 20 pubs the brewery runs itself are all in tier 3 — the worst possible news. well, it means revenue here will be next to nothing for us. we still have our rent to pay. the support that we've had is inadequate to cover those so it will mean we will lose more money. well, there's a lot of anxiety. we've got the virus to deal with, first and foremost, so people are a bit worried about that, and then also worried for theirjobs into the long term because they see the business is really struggling. five minutes down the road, hotel manager steve cook is having to screen the few customers who are not calling to cancel. ijust need to check with the new tier restrictions that it is for work or essential travel. tier 3 for our business means that we can't reopen our pub, we can't reopen our bar and we can't

welcome the families and the couples and all the leisure stays that were going tojoin us for the christmas period. december is a vital month, especially for our food and beverage. we take 20% of our revenue in that one month. that's not happening now. normally this place would be thronging to festive sounds. the office party season is getting into full swing, but as you can see, emerging from lockdown into tier 3, like here in nottingham, is nothing to celebrate. even in tier 2, most hospitality businesses say they would be unviable or trading at a loss, and with well over 90% of businesses in either tier 2 or tier 3, it's clear that hospitality is looking at a very bleak winter. all the tiers are a version of waterboarding for our industry. we're allowed out for a brief gasp of fiscal oxygen and we're slammed back down. this is, pure and simple, business torture. martin greenhow has bars in nottingham, leeds, liverpool and harrogate in both tier 2 and tier 3. we're going to see hundreds

of thousands ofjobs lost on top of the ones that have already gone, potentially into the millions. there are going to be tens of thousands of operations and businesses that will close for good. despair, anger and fear haunt the hospitality industry — simonjack, bbc news, nottingham. so what's the reaction around the country? in a moment, we'll speak tojon kay in cornwall, but first tojudith moritz in liverpool. judith, so liverpool is being held up judith, so liverpool is being held up as an example these days, and i guess there must be relieved they have been able to move down a tear? yes, it is being said here that the extra measures, which liverpool has taken, have paid off. the mayor of the liverpool city region steve rotherham said that it is a vindication of having done the right thing at the right time. he said coronavirus was in danger of spiralling completely out of control here, and it has been brought back

to manageable levels, he said because of the behaviour of people in the way they have responded to the restrictions. seven weeks ago, they were at the top of the infection league tables. they have actually dropped that infection rate down here by nearly 70%. now of course liverpool has piloted mass testing, and we now know that more than half of the population here has taken the opportunity to have a test, and borisjohnson said this evening that liverpool has set an example, which he would like other parts of the country to replicate. and will has always had a lower rate of infection, and i suppose this is proof now? yes, people here are very relieved tonight, one lady told me that she felt like cornwall had won the lottery today. next week she will be able to take her kids to a friend fuel is house to play, as long as they stick to that rule of six, and a jubilant pub landlady said to me that finally things can

start getting back to normal. but even here in tier i, start getting back to normal. but even here in tier 1, things won't really be normal. pubs and restau ra nts might really be normal. pubs and restaurants might be open but there will still be restrictions. yes, you might be able to go and see football oi’ might be able to go and see football or rugby in penzance or falmouth, but there will be limits on capacity. cornwall has a population of about half a million, it is quite an elderly population, there is limited hospital capacity here, and some people are really worried about tieri some people are really worried about tier i attracting some people are really worried about tieri attracting visitors who might bring the virus in. so, people here feel lucky tonight but they don't wa nt feel lucky tonight but they don't want luck to run out. jon kay in cornwall, and judith moritz in liverpool, thank you very much, both of you. if you want to read more about the new tier system being introduced next wednesday, you can go online to bbc. co. uk/news/coronavirus. the scottish government has published its guidance for

christmas. people will be able to spend christmas together in bubbles of up to three households, but it is being recommended that these bubbles should include a maximum of up to eight people. adults are being encouraged to keep two metres away from those outside their own household. the latest government figures show there were... there were 1,636 people admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. and 498 deaths were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. that means, on average in the past week, a65 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 57,031.

as we've been hearing, the return to a tier system has left some people disappointed, some angry and others relieved. but how have the tiers been decided, and according to what data? 0ur health editor, hugh pym, has more. logging in this morning, some in england tried to find out which tier their area would be in. kent, for example, has been put into tier 3, even though there is a big variation in case rates across the county. some locals we spoke to support the move. because there are only one or two places that are really high, however, i think it's the only sensible thing that we can do. we've got to do it. i think you just have to follow the guidelines as much as you can and hopefully we will have a better time of it next year. so what are the government criteria for working out who goes in what tier? first, total cases, then case rates among the over 60s,

the rate at which they are rising or falling, the number of positive cases relative to total tests and finally, pressure on the local nhs. devon, for example, is in tier 2 and not tier1 like cornwall, partly because of rising hospital numbers. this nightingale hospital in exeter, which has been standing ready sincejuly, has started taking covid patients. so what is the data looking like more broadly across the uk? the latest survey by the office for national statistics covering household infections last week showed that in england, one in 85 people have the virus. the 0ns said there had been some levelling off. in wales, it was one in 185. in northern ireland, one in 145. in both, said the 0ns, there had been a fall in the rate of those testing positive. in scotland, it was one in 115. the 0ns said there had been an increase the rate. an increase in the rate. the 0ns said there had been an increase in the rate. the survey suggests there

are regional variations in england, with some areas still seeing rising cases. until very recently, cases were still rising in the south, particularly, so in london and the south—east, and that is actually even more worrying because we really need to understand why lockdown has not worked in terms of reversing case increases in some areas. officials hope that more extensive testing will keep track of the virus, paving the way for some areas to move to higher tiers if needed and allowing others, perhaps, to move down to levels with looser restrictions. hugh pym, bbc news. the government's chief scientific adviser, sir patrick vallance, has said that the headline results on the 0xford/astrazenica vaccine are that it works, but that the regulator would need to do more research before the vaccine could become available. it comes after reports that astrazeneca might conduct an additional global trial on the vaccine after questions emerged over the protection it could offer.

our top story this evening... the prime minister spells out what happens when the lockdown in england ends next week. 55 million people will find themselves in the top two tiers. and coming up... what a difference a year makes — 0scar is now well enough to thank the community that helped save his life. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news... three days of national mourning in argentina following the death of diego maradona. we'll have the latest from buenos aires. an independent inquiry into the avoidable death of a baby has concluded that there was a 20—year cover—up by the authorities after her death. elizabeth dixon died in 2001 after being born prematurely in a hospital in surrey. her parents have been campaigning

ever since to reveal the failures that blighted her short life. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has more. and a warning, some viewers may find his report distressing. she was beautiful, she was absolutely perfect. she was a gift from god. by the time these videos were taken, elizabeth dixon had already been failed by the nhs. within months, she would suffocate to death and a cover—up would be under way. a lot of these people who have behaved so shockingly over the years, they have children of their own and i can't understand why anyone would want to lie to another parent about what happened to their child. elizabeth was born at this hospital in surrey in december 2000. but staff did not spot her high blood pressure, an error which left the infant with brain damage and needing a tube to breathe. just days before her first birthday, elizabeth died at home when a nurse

caring for her failed to notice the tube was blocked. despite this, she was said to have died of natural causes and no investigation was ordered. what has happened to us over the years would have been completely avoided if people had been truthful from the start. if the nurse had told us what had happened, if the doctors and coroners had ordered the correct investigations, then we would not have had this situation for the last 20 years. today's hard—hitting report shames all the agencies involved in elizabeth dixon's short life. there were failures of care by every organisation that looked after her that were never fully investigated. instead, a cover—up began on the day that she died. and most troubling, there is clear evidence that some individuals have been persistently dishonest. i think we need to have a health service and public services that uniformly own up when things have gone wrong, they're honest and open with people right from the start,

they investigate and they learn. hampshire constabulary rejected criticism in the report that their investigation into the death was poor. the police watchdog has been asked to look into it. graeme and anne dixon won't rest until lessons have been fully learned from elizabeth's death. only then, decades later, will they properly grieve. i will always love elizabeth. 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 i would like her back. michael buchanan, bbc news, hampshire. it's always the way — the day after chancellor rishi suna k‘s spending review, the economists have been looking at the small print. the independent institute for financial studies has raised some concerns. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam, is here.

so, faisal islam, is here. what exactly has the institutt been so, what exactly has the institute been saying, faisal? and of that public sector pay freeze, in particular, after accounting for inflation, that £250 pay rise at the lowest end, they have said, accounts after inflation, in real terms, as a pay cut for those earning above £18,000, so effectively more people than we may have thought. a related issue from the same freeze is for teachers, ahead of the election, just a few months ago, it was a promise of a starting salary in england of £30,000, because of the freeze, that is not going to be hit by the target date of 2022, delayed by the target date of 2022, delayed by at least a year, that was a pre—election promise for payslips on social media for that date. and then on council tax, there is a potential for a rise of 5%, the ifs assume that that will be taken up in order to meet the rising costs of social care, equating to an average rise of £70 per household in the spring. and

what about brexit, has that been factored in? yes, the prime minister promised that even without a deal, we would prosper mightily. the official forecaster, the 0br, we would prosper mightily. the officialforecaster, the 0br, has the most in—depth assessment assessment of this, and it shows from their projection sterling going down if there is no deal, inflation going upa down if there is no deal, inflation going up a little bit, unemployment above 8%, and that the borrowing, over and above what we reported yesterday, would be £6 billion higher because the economy is smaller, all of this as we await whether the eu negotiator returns to london to negotiate with those talks ona london to negotiate with those talks on a knife edge. faisal, thank you very much. considerably delayed due to coronavirus, the snp annual party conference will take place virtually this weekend. delegates will discuss plans for another referendum on scottish independence. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has said there are decisions she deeply regrets in the response to coronavirus. she pointed in particular to the delay in introducing regular testing in care homes in scotland.

in an interview for the bbc ms sturgeon also said she believed in the earlier part of the next scottish parliament term. she's been talking to our scotland editor, sarah smith. thanks forjoining us again today. almost every day, nicola sturgeon appears on tv answering questions about coronavirus. maybe that's why polls suggest voters trust her handling of the pandemic more than boris johnson's. but she admits she's made mistakes and there are lessons to learn. at the outset of the pandemic, we were all maybe thinking a bit too much in terms of this being a flu—type pandemic and not so much as a sort of coronavirus—sars—type pandemic, and possibly from that, in the initial stages, flowed some decisions that were we able to turn the clock back, we might have taken differently. some of the other things i deeply regret — and critics will say they're mistakes, i would say it was, you know, an underdeveloped knowledge about the virus — are some of the issues around care homes and the length of time to introduce regular testing in care homes.

but we're not at the beginning of this crisis. i mean, you do look internationally — across europe, for instance, scotland has actually been one of the hardest—hit countries in europe. 0nly england and spain have fared worse in terms of excess deaths. i can't answer that question categorically right now, because i don't think we yet have had the opportunity to do the rigorous lookback and come to those conclusions. i think it's really important that we do. the snp will go into scottish elections next year promising another independence referendum, but the prime minister has already said he will refuse to allow it. there are very important elections to the scottish parliament next year. the snp will go into that saying, you're committed to having another referendum on independence, but we already know if you win those elections and ask for that, the westminster government will say, "now isnot the time". how can you convince voters that this isn't a hollow promise to have another independence vote? if people in scotland vote for a referendum, there will be a referendum. i mean, we see even right now across the atlantic, even trump is now having to concede the outcome of a fair,

free and democratic election and, you know, the same has to happen and that principle has to be defended. if the snp do win next year's election, demands for another independence referendum will grow and a tough battle with westminster may ensue. sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. what better way to say thank you to the community that helped save your life than to bring them a little cheer this christmas? that's exactly what little 0scar saxelby—lee has done in worcester this evening, by turning on the city's christmas lights! phil mackie reports. last christmas, no—one could be confident that this story would have such a happy ending. this was 0scar saxelby—lee 18 months ago, just after his fifth birthday. he had a rare form of blood cancer, and the prognosis wasn't good. that's when the people of worcester answered the call for help. thousands gave swabs to see if they might be a stem cell match, but when the transplant failed,

the fund—raising started. they raised three quarters of a million pounds to pay for treatment in singapore. now oscar's cancer—free, and back home with his mum and dad. i think just the fact that we have such a strong, committed, loving community behind us, it means the world to us. this evening, 0scar was given the honour of virtually switching on worcester‘s christmas lights, after recording this earlier. ready, steady, go! whee! at the same time, across the city, othersjoined in. merry christmas! top of oscar's christmas list is a chocolate coin—making machine. it's actually a special treat for my friends, because they've done all this hard work for me. ah! 0scar can look forward to many more christmases at home in the city which helped to save him. phil mackie, bbc news, worcester. three days of national mourning have begun in argentina,