this is bbc news. lam i am kasia madera. the headlines at eight: borisjohnson spells out what happens when the lockdown in england ends next week — with 55 million people being placed in the top two tiers. if we ease off now, we risk losing control of this virus all over again, casting aside the 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 were are allowed out for a brief gasp of fiscal oxygen and we are 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's 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. ready, steady, go! and coming up — people of worcester raised hundreds of thousands for oscar's cancer treatment — now he's well enough to turn on the christmas lights. hello and welcome.

next week, when the national lockdown comes to an end, 55 million people in england — that's more than nine out of ten people — will find themselves in the toughest two tiers of coronavirus retsrictions. 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 across northern england 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. as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports, 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. michail lost his job last year and now there are fewer people out and about to hear him sing. i can't guarantee getting money every day when i do come out, but it'sjust 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 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 looser limits under tier i. nearly 60% of england will be under tier 2 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 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 patchwork and the lines are hard to draw. even inside individual areas there is strife over whether it is fair. by the peace of the canal 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. gary's sort of grinning and bearing it. we would have much preferred tier i, because as you say there is so little covid, but if they think it warrants tier 2, we just have to go along with the rules. robert was on furlough, but is now back at work, although has 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 throat of the beast now. 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 actually

have a plan to get places out of these higher tiers, because at the moment there's just some warm words and not a lot of detail. and some tory backbenchers are angry that their big areas have been treated all the same. we have the lowest infection rate in the country as a whole, it's 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 and the more urban areas. the lines on the map will all be reviewed in the middle of december, depending how we respond, how the disease responds, the way we are asked to behave in town and country may change again before too long. well let's speak now to our political correspondent jonathan blake. we see and hear concerns but it is not just we see and hear concerns but it is notjust members we see and hear concerns but it is not just members of we see and hear concerns but it is notjust members of the public. unease among the governments own backbenches. yes. a lot about

today's announcements sounded familiar. there was a promise of hope full, happier, bettertimes ahead from the prime minister with a combination of vaccines and other treatments, followed by a reality check about the spread of coronavirus and tough measures. that the government had decided when needed as a result. we have had this at various stages, whether it was the initial lockdown that the prime minister announced all those months ago in the early part of this year. they moved to local lockdowns, with the prime minister described as a waccamaw strategy later on, and then this new national lockdown. —— a whack a mole. now the return to a tiered system albeit a beefed—up version of what we had been introduced to before the current set of national restrictions and one we re of national restrictions and one were far more of england will find itself under the top two levels of

those two years. this announcement has caused again in anger and upset of the conservative backbenches in the house of commons and tory mps up in arms and what the government is trying to do here. once the baker said the levels of authoritarianism on display were appalling —— steve baker said. and the minute the government publishes assessment of the impact of these measures before mps the impact of these measures before m ps vote the impact of these measures before mps vote next week which downing street has confirmed that it will do. and another, graham brady, the tory chairman of the 1922 backbench committee, saying it was unfair that so committee, saying it was unfair that so many committee, saying it was unfair that so many areas were committee, saying it was unfair that so many areas were being lumped together, parts of england where cases of the virus were relatively low, bundling it with nearby areas where they were higher. but i think the fact is that that is just all priced in out of the prime minister has come to the view however relu cta ntly a nd has come to the view however reluctantly and warily that there is simply no alternative to putting large parts of the country under tough restrictions for perhaps many

more months until the spring next year when the government clearly hopes that vaccines will be in place and they can begin to come out of what the prime minister described today as an error of restrictions. thank you, jonathan. 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 tier1— 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 some outdoor public spaces — not in private gardens or hospitality venues. the government will review the restrictions across england every 1a days — with the first one due on the 16 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 tier1 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. lancashire will be in the top tier of restrictions when the lockdown in england ends next week. we can speak now to the leader of lancashire county council, geoff driver. remind us, how will lancashire compared to what it was pretty lockdown? what is the difference now for what you understand 7 lockdown? what is the difference now for what you understand? the difference is a significant reduction in infection rates. we went into the all tier 33 weeks

before the national lockdown. the measures that were taken then have ata measures that were taken then have at a significant effect. —— old tier 3. we are disappointed the government has lumped the whole of the county together when some parts are at the extremely low and compared with their neighbours who have moved into tier 2. it is a truly disappointing and we just feel it is too broad a brush that has been taken to the issue of lincolnshire. in terms of the region swell district authorities, you think some of them should've been moved into tier 2, the lower tier? yes. we put that proposal to the government and said because of the size of the county and the diverse nature of the county and the very different rates of infection in certain parts of the county, we should suggested that the east of the kind he should stay in tier 3, notwithstanding significant reductions in the infection rates there. some of them are still very stubborn high and we accept that that should be in tier 3. but the

western parts of the county in the north of the county, the rates have come down significantly. so i want pa rt come down significantly. so i want part of the county, the rates of infection are lower than some of the authorities that have gone into tier 1. authorities that have gone into tier 1, never mind tier 2. it is extremely disappointing and it will be very difficult for us to keep the public with us and to explain to them why they're having to face these extra restrictions when the numbers don't seem to stack up. when you are in discussions with the government in terms of where lancashire should be placed, what was the kind of information you're giving them and why do you think this has happened? ultimately i guess the government will argue they wa nt to guess the government will argue they want to simplify it for everybody across the of lincolnshire. that was the argument they put forward. and so the same if you get a boundary, between districts where one party is in tier2and between districts where one party is in tier 2 and one party is in tier 3, people would move across the

battery and of course that will happen, some people would be responsible at that what that will happen anyway. we have the people in west lancashire district council who are in tier3 west lancashire district council who are in tier 3 but their neighbours in merseyside are in tier 2. and lancaster are in tier 3, and their rate of infection are much lower than their neighbouring authorities in cumbria or in tier 2. so the movement across the batteries is going to happen and that would happen wherever you draw the batteries, but the argument that is i made to government and clearly i didn't have much success with that. —— draw the boundaries. didn't have much success with that. -- draw the boundaries. you will continue to make the representation or will you wait for the 16th of december deadline when the next review will take place? december deadline when the next review will take place ?|j december deadline when the next review will take place? i shall keep making the point spread and obviously we will carry on with the restrictions that are there, we're not going to rebel against them in any shape or form, not going to rebel against them in any shape orform, we not going to rebel against them in any shape or form, we would not going to rebel against them in any shape orform, we would our not going to rebel against them in any shape or form, we would our very best and we will try when the review comes in two weeks' time, we can move down into tier 2 perhaps in the

isle of the counties if the rates of infection in the east where they are very high, if they carry—on and the line they are at present time, we should be hopefully going into tier 2. but the problem we have from the government have announced five categories, they take account of to determine which local authorities are going to wish tears but the measurements within those categories seem to be... we don't know what we have to do in terms of the rates of infection and hospitalisation and etc. we don't know what we have to do to get down to tier 2. and that is something i will be pressing the government for the next few days and weeks. keep us posted. thank you. let's bring you some pictures now from buenos aires,

where there have been chaotic scenes as tens of thousands of fans queued to pay their respects to the football legend, diego maradona, who died on wednesday. he died yesterday. police have had to re m ove he died yesterday. police have had to remove his coffin from a room of the presidential palace, he was lying in the state, after hundreds of fa ns lying in the state, after hundreds of fans broke through barriers and ran through the buildings. now, local media said that diego maradona's family was evacuated and police struggled to control the huge crowds that have been killing in the streets around the palace to pay tribute to the football legend. rubber bullets, tear gas was fired it early authorities had to extend the time of the weight by a few hours to calm the situation as people were really wanting to pay their respects to really argentina's

most famous footballer and legend across the world. these are images live from buenos aires as we have been seeing some scenes, chaotic scenes around the capital. you can see here, tens of thousands of fans have been paying their respects and waiting as their hero has been lying in state. according to the body that represents the hospitality industry in england, close to eight billion pounds 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 — merry christmas 2020. simonjack, bbc news, nottingham. so what's the reaction to the new tiered restrictions from around the country? jon kay is in saltash, in cornwall, where there's relief they are in the lowest tier of restrictions, but first tojudith moritz in liverpool which is being held up as an example after it was revealed the city will be going from tier 3 to tier 2 once the lockdown ends. 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. 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 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 1, things won't 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 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 tier1 attracting visitors who might bring the virus in. so, people here feel lucky tonight but they don't want luck to run out. jon kay and earlierjudith moritz. 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 on forming household bubbles over christmas. people can spend between the 23rd and 27th december together in bubbles of up to three households. but it's recommending that these bubbles should contain a maximum of eight people — although children aged under 12 do not count. adults are being encouraged to keep two metres away from those outside their own household.

the latest government figures show, there were 17,555 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is now 17,329. 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—19 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.

all of our numbers are on our website of course. germany is seeking an agreement with eu countries to keep ski resorts closed until early january, in an attempt to kerb the spread of coronavirus. it comes after some of the early european coronavirus hotspots were at ski resorts, which helped to spread the virus. italy and france have express the support for a co—ordination approach, whilst austria has voiced concern. peter hardy, travel writer and co—editor of welovetoski.com — joins us now, hello peter. what would you say, when people think about, are people in fact even considering skiing holidays given that some of the early european coronavirus hotspots were in fact ski resorts and this helped to spread the infections across the continent, what do you say to people? skis are pretty hardy. most

of them missed out last year would like to go this year. during the summer the ski resorts across europe, they were open during the summerfor europe, they were open during the summer for summer skiing at high altitude and they've all worked extremely hard to try and work out how they could run skiing this winter. not with a lot of success. for example, injune, winter. not with a lot of success. for example, in june, they winter. not with a lot of success. for example, injune, they were to how to do socialist distancing unless. —— also distinct. in all the things they needed to do to make it safe. they promise that if skiing is allowed, when it is allowed, that there will be little difference on there will be little difference on the mountain, the volume of skiers will not change. so let's may have —— a list may have all the windows open but skiing will go on as normal. that's the list may have. i guess the question is what happens afterwards when all of these people

then come back. at the very beginning of this, it was those particular resorts that then became the kind of super spreaders, the people coming back to him and huge amount of people go skiing as you say, that then spread across the different countries across europe and people will be alarmed. different countries across europe and people will be alarmedlj different countries across europe and people will be alarmed. i think thatis and people will be alarmed. i think that is the problem. in germany, who started this, they said they should have a eu agreement on this, but switzerland, who is not in the eu, as the left running. actually, to be fairto me to as the left running. actually, to be fair to me to point out at this time of the year, in november, very few resorts are open. only the high apps to ones that are normally open. they are all closed now apart from the swiss. so we will see a situation that if there is no skiing in the other resorts, they will all go to switzerland. and that could cause a lot of chaos. germany meanwhile,

toying with the suggestion i feel they might close their border to austria in the german market in the huge percentages in that the number of skiers who go, so that might be worth while austria closing this list. your passion is this and you encourage people to go. what is your gut instinct when it comes to whether people should be going given that so many people are going without over this period in order to ensure that we keep this coronavirus in check? i think when we get back to skiing, we are not back to skiing at the moment, i can see no reason why people can't travel. we need to get travelling again. the country needs to get travelling again. the whole world these two. but i take your point, we have to be very careful about it but there's no reason to suppose now with all the work that has been done that skiing should be more dangerous than a lot of other things. first a start, it

ta kes pla ce of other things. first a start, it takes place outside. the risk is fairly small i think. there will be no apis ski. now if the problem last year. we're not talking about that at all at the moment. in france for example, they are talking about opening the lifts onjanuary the 20th when the list hotel and restau ra nts 20th when the list hotel and restaurants will all be open for the first time. at the moment, there is no pressure or anything else open. it is possible they could open up resorts in early january, it is possible they could open up resorts in earlyjanuary, quite safely i feel. peter, thank you so much forjoining us. 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 oscar saxelby—lee has done

in worcester this evening — by turning on the citys christmas lights. phil mackie reports. last christmas, no—one could be confident that this story would have such a happy ending. this was oscar 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, oscar 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! oscar can look forward to many more christmases at home in the city which helped to save him. phil mackie, bbc news, worcester. brilliant and we wish them all the best. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. we had the clearest guys in the fog will be picking up and developing more widely. that is much of england into east wales. —— clear skies. more cloud coming down from the northwest with patchy rain and the cloudy damp weather in the extreme southeast of england. in between,

clear skies and fog developing, and a frost in places as well. more fog on the way for friday, particularly across the midlands, east anglia and the home counties. down towards the west cou ntry the home counties. down towards the west country and parts of northern england. it will lift into low cloud and we will see sunshine around the edges but still no showers running into the southeast. more cloud and patchy rain moving down into scotla nd patchy rain moving down into scotland and northern ireland. the fog is slow to lift into low cloud and through the midlands, temperatures no better than three or 4 degrees. into the weekend, for many of us, it will be a cloudy weekend. at least it should be milder. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... borisjohnson spells out what happens when the lockdown in england ends next week — with fifty five million people being placed in the top two tiers.

if we ease off now, we risk losing control of this virus all over again, casting aside our hard work 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 tea rs right now, for hospitality, all the tears are a version right now, for hospitality, all the tears are a version of waterboarding for our industry. we are allowed for a brief gas perfiscal oxygen for our industry. we are allowed for a brief gas per fiscal oxygen and we slammed back down. that might all the tiers. —— all the tiers. at last, after twenty years of campaigning by baby elizabeth's 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?

ready, steady, go. and coming up — people of worcester raised hundreds of thousands for oscar's cancer treatment — now he's well enough to turn on the christmas lights. now on bbc news, your questions answered. welcome to your questions answered. you've been sending in your questions. you've been sending in your questions about the covid local restriction tiers. here to try and answer some of them is professor of medicine at the university of east anglia, paul hunder. lots of questions given what we've been hearing. let's crack on with louise from bristol who are, can we leave bristol, which is in tier 3, to bring our son back from university in swansea next week? a

lot of parents will be asking this. absolutely, and i spent some time trying to read through the document today to answer this question. it's not absolutely clear, but you can leave a tier 3 area for educational purposes and to me, going to pick your son purposes and to me, going to pick yourson up purposes and to me, going to pick your son up from university counts as an educational purpose, so in your position, i would certainly go and pick up my son from university. but it doesn't say that explicitly in the rules. i'm sure louise will be pleased to hear that. how lovely of herfor offering to be pleased to hear that. how lovely of her for offering to pick her son up, so that is good. paul collins also in bristol asks, will students be tested before they are allowed to return to university after the christmas break? he asks, if not, why not? i'm not absolutely sure of the answer to this question. i've

heard it suggested but i've not seen it written down that that is what is going to be required or recommended. i think whilst they are all in university and my own university, we have... it will be easy for us to get samples and get student samples before they go home for the christmas break. when the dispersed all around the country, it will be quite difficult to achieve that. i suspect that they will not, but i do not know for certain. just in terms of the university of east anglia, from your point of view, will your stu d e nts from your point of view, will your students be tested? on the way... before they go home, absolutely. i think we are still waiting to see what the guidance is about when stu d e nts what the guidance is about when students return. what people do probably but i cannot say this for certain, as do something similar to what we did at the start and make it easy for students who have got

worries or symptoms to be tested, but i don't think we will be doing a routine, asymptomatic screening as is the case like is being done at liverpool at the moment, but that may well change over the course of the month. this is a very rapidly moving situation. sorry to put you on the spot there butjust interesting to get it from your point of view and from your university. going to elliott in essex. is there really any point in reviewing the local restrictions and two—week just before they reviewing the local restrictions and two—weekjust before they are lifted for christmas? that is this a review on the 16th of december the government announced. yeah, i must admit, i think there probably is not. it will be difficult to lift restrictions before christmas and i would be very surprised personally, although i do not know, i would be very surprised if there were substantial restrictions this side

of the christmas break. i think after christmas, once we have gone two or three weeks after the christmas break and are back, then the two—week review will probably happen and i hope and suspect that many authorities currently in tier 3 might then be able to move into tier 2, but we will have to wait until january to see for certain. a lot of christmas questions butjust that point, that period during christmas where the tears are lifted, is that right? —— the tiers are lifted. where the tears are lifted, is that right? -- the tiers are lifted. yes, this restructured —— reduction over christmas is restricted. you can only have three households in your christmas bubble, possibly bobble,

—— possibly bauble, and we are trying to work it out because we have two sons with each their own partners and their families, and it's very difficult trying to work out so, yes, restrictions are pretty much going to be uniform over the country, i suspect, much going to be uniform over the country, isuspect, but much going to be uniform over the country, i suspect, but again, much going to be uniform over the country, isuspect, but again, i'm not 100% sure and we will hopefully see more guidance and see how it works out, but at the moment, it is still early days and we are trying to get our head round of minutiae of what we are are not allowed to and again, it is a tricky one but thank you. i cannot believe you said bauble, debbie in lincolnshire saying her son lives in london and he is due to come home from christmas, before christmas, from the 23rd to the 27th, from london to lincolnshire. can you say until new year if he chooses bubble and i will not say bauble, with us before returning to london in the new year?

can he stay longer? if he's a student, then there isn't a problem. if he is not a student, then he may be able to bubble and form a support bubble, but does he live alone in london? and are... the lady asking these questions, if you are a single household or is there a child, or a disabled child under five? household or is there a child, or a disabled child underfive? there are all these other issues to be involved but i think if you're not going to form an exclusive bubble, but will remain throughout the period, then probably you will have to go back at the end of the christmas hiatus and not stay until new year at the moment. so, you're giving debbie permission to ask her son lots of questions about life,

thatis son lots of questions about life, that is great, but the difference, a student is by default going back a bubble within his... and they known student would go back to a workplace and are out in the open. yes. and i think it is because, realistically, university breaks over christmas are 4-5 university breaks over christmas are 11—5 weeks. you do not want loads of stu d e nts 11—5 weeks. you do not want loads of students going back to university with nothing to do for a three—week and there are better and they are mirror —— they are more safely managed in their own families. if you're going back to work and will be around particularly if you're in a household with multiple occupancy, you cannot realistically form a bubble with your family back home u nless bubble with your family back home unless you fulfil one of the criteria of forming a bubble. ok,

tim hague in cornwall is going to ask a question that will get a lot of people really riled. i'm not a business owner and he's in cornwall, just distress, but would like to know how the government stop second homeowners coming down from tier 2 and tier 3 areas bringing the virus with them. the first thing to say is the three people whose main home is in tier3 the three people whose main home is in tier 3 should not move around the country with the possible, only real exception of the business rate and if they are moving for certain circumstances, such as education, work, attending funerals, that sort of thing. tier 2 people can move around the country if they so wish, providing that when they do move somewhere else, they do not then

spend time overnight with people who are not in the bubble, so tier 2 people can, as i understand it, realistically come down to cornwall if that is what they want. tier 3 people, that is against the rules but that is something which i do not know how it will be policed if at all. not sure tim will like that a nswer all. not sure tim will like that answer but thank you. mary marshall in elke is asking, is there a limit to the number of members who can me at christmas and, if so, do children under 12 count in that number?” don't believe there is a limit. they look very carefully through the documents and i cannot find that, so the question about whether children are included doesn't need to be answered, but what i would say is that the more people you have round, the more difficult it is to socially

distance and manage that risk within a household, so if you have three households with ten people in each household, it will get very difficult to manage that safely, but there will probably be very few people who have that sort of size in three separate households coming to bubble in the country, i believe. good to stress that even when you do go into that bubble, you still have to be careful. laura castleford is saying she lives in a tier 3... in tier 3, saying she lives in a tier 3... in tier3, and saying she lives in a tier 3... in tier 3, and has been invited to anotherfamily tier 3, and has been invited to another family wedding in another tier 3 area, county travel to attend or not? it doesn't say whether in public transport or a private car.” think so, i think the rules are that you can attend wedding receptions in tier 3. what you are not allowed to do in tier3 tier 3. what you are not allowed to do in tier 3 is have a wedding

reception. you can go to the marriage service but you're not allowed to have a reception in tier 3. right, well, congratulations to the bride and groom. to pass that on from us here. tim knight says he lives alone and has a carpet due to be fitted in the 11th of december, can it still happen? yes, tradespeople are allowed to still work in people's homes, electricians, and so on, providing that they do that in a covid safeway, wearing appropriate ppe and are safeway, wearing appropriate ppe and a re careful safeway, wearing appropriate ppe and are careful when they part in the property, so the answer to that is yes, they are allowed to do that work. and let's have a last one from jessica clark in nottingham. in the

new system, can hotels provide accommodation for people attending or organising funerals like they could before rose i don't think anything will be like it was before for a while yet, but basically hotels in tier 3 areas must close u nless hotels in tier 3 areas must close unless they are providing accommodation and the words that... i will actually find the exact word to tell you. if you are providing accommodation for people who are there for work or if they cannot travel home, so if you go to the funeral, and it is too late for you to then travel home, then you can stay and they hotel can be in business. it would be, i don't know how easy it would be to find hotels in the area that the funeral will be

that will still be open. so you might have some difficulty in trying to track one down but as far as i'm concerned, reading the documentation, if you could not reasonably get home after the funeral. it's a sad note to end but if you're looking at the fine details, you're doing it so we don't have to. thank you so much and just distress, we do have a postcode checker if you want to find out what postcode or tear you are in on our website. —— what tier you are in. 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? our 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 orfalling, 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 tier 1, 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 ons said there had been some levelling off. in wales, it was one in 185. in northern ireland, one in 145. in both, said the ons, there had been a fall in the rate of those testing positive. in scotland, it was one in 115. the ons 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. 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. our 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. 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. our economics editor faisal islam explained what some of them were. after accounting for inflation, they have said accounts after inflation isa have said accounts after inflation is a pay cut for those. the affecting more people than we thought on a related issue from the same as for teachers ahead of the

election. because of the freeze, it will not be hit by the target date of 2022, delayed by a year, that is a pre—election promise with payslips on social media. on council tax, the iss equates to an average rise per household. and with 35 days to the end of the brexit transition period, —— and with just 35 days to the end of the brexit transition period, faisal explained the economic forecast was even blea ker. they did the in—depth analysis of this and that showed 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 the boring over and above 8% and the boring over and above what we report it would be 6

billion higher because the economy is smaller. all of that when the negotiator is saved to negotiate on a knife edge. it's been more than 3 months since the disputed election in belarus — which the country's long—standing leader, alexander lukashenko still claims to have won even though there is widespread evidence of vote rigging. protests have continued in the country every day and the authorities are becoming increasingly violent in their attempts to suppress dissent. our europe correspondent jean mackenzie has been following the leader of the opposition, svetlana tikhan—ovskaya as part of the bbc‘s 100 women series. now one of the world's most guarded women, svetlana tikhanovskaya is exiled and wanted. this is where she and her team now plot the downfall of belarus's regime. i have to make it extremely difficult decisions every day. decisions that will make the moment of our victory closer. here, she's shown a video of a protester in belarus being beaten by secret police.

how are you this morning? horrible. horrible? why? i think he will die. as lukashenko clings to power, his grip on his security forces is holding firm. these violent crackdowns are no longer a surprise, yet still they have the ability to shock. this regime, it seems that they don't have borders at all. as soon as he doesn't have money to pay riot police, they will refuse to serve him, they will come to our side. it's widely believed that tikhanovskaya won the election in belarus and european leaders see her as the legitimate president.

she spent the past months persuading them to starve the regime with targeted economic sanctions. she is on the way to meet the prime minister of latvia when she finds out the protester who was beaten has died — 31—year—old roman bondarenko. now we're going to insist on more help from european countries because we see that our authorities there are escalating their violence. and only a0 people on the sanction list? are you joking? you have to expand this list to hundreds of names. the prime minister agrees to help and in the days that follow, so does the eu. finally, a moment to pause and a vigilfor roman. this grief is felt painfully back in belarus where people have been protesting against the regime for more than 100 days. all of these people in belarus going out every sunday, knowing that maybe they will not come home this evening. this is really hard news. underneath the fatigue of her attritional fight is sober determination to keep the rest of the world with her. she knows this is the only hope she has. jean mckenzie, bbc news.

there've been scuffles in buenos aires between police and fans of the footballer diego maradona — as time ran out for people to pay their respects. maradona's funeral cortege has now begun travelling through buenos aires, with huge crowds gathering to say goodbye to the footballing great. maradona's body had been lying in state at the presidential palace in the argentine capital, where clashes broke out between police and fans earlier. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett hello. where we have the clear skies, the fog will be picking up and developing that is much of england and into east wales. more cloud coming down from the northwest with patchy rain and developing more widely. that is much of england and into east wales.

more cloud coming down from the northwest with patchy rain and the cloudy damp weather in the extreme southeast of england. in between, clear skies and fog developing, and a frost in places as well. more fog on the way for friday, particularly across the midlands, east anglia and the home counties, down towards the west country and parts of northern england. it will lift into low cloud and we will see sunshine around the edges but still the showers running into the southeast. more cloud and patchy rain moving down into scotland and northern ireland. the fog is slow to lift into low cloud through the midlands, temperatures no better than three or 4 degrees. into the weekend, for many of us, it will be a cloudy weekend. but at least it should be milder.

this is bbc news with me, christian fraser. the shadow of the pandemic hangs over the thanksgiving celebrations, as president—electjoe biden urges the us to "hang on." in texas the number of people hospitalised with covid—19 has more than doubled since the beginning of october. we will speak to an a&e dr in austin who is working through the holiday. 23 million people in england will emerge from the lockdown next week to find themselves still in the top tier of restrictions. we will talk to two business owners who are battling to survive. and in argentina, thousands of people are on the streets to pay respects to diego maradona, as the footballer‘s coffin leaves the presidential palace. the coffin is now making its way through buenos aires.