this is bbc news. the headlines at 5pm: the prime minister appoints nadhim zahawi as minister for the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. a warning that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases if mps don't back new restrictions. iran's president rouhani blames israel for the assassination of a top nuclear scientist, saying his country won't be deterred from its nuclear ambitions. violent clashes in paris as thousands protest against a new law to restrict the sharing of images of police officers. it comes days after footage emerged of officers beating up a black man. a worrying weekend for 13,000 workers at some of the uk's biggest retail names — the group that owns top shop, dorothy perkins, and miss selfridge is on the brink of collapse.

the perils of gambling addiction — we look at how covid and lockdown has created what experts call "a perfect storm" for problem gamblers. and coming up at 5:30pm, we'll be going behind the scenes of finland's coalition government — led by five women. good afternoon. boris johnson has appointed a minister, nadhim zahawi, to take charge of the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. mr za hawi, the current business minister and mp for stratford—on—avon, will oversee the distribution of the vaccines in england until at least next summer. the health secretary, matt hancock, has tweeted to say he is "delighted" that mr zahawi is taking on role of covid vaccines minister, adding that there is

"an enormous task ahead". it comes as many backbenchers are continuing to oppose the tougher system of tiered restrictions that will replace the lockdown in england next week. cabinet office minister michael gove has warned that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with new covid cases if mps don't back the restrictions. with more, here's our political correspondent, ellie price. teignbridge in devon has one of the lowest infection rates across england, but it will find itself in tier 2 with the rest of the county. it's a similar story across towns and villages in england, which is just one of the things that's been irritating conservative mps about the new tier system. we have just lived through lockdown version two and yet we have vastly more people being moved up a phase, despite being told this is the last push, this is the new panacea. but writing in the times today, the cabinet office minister michael gove tried to address the concerns of wavering mps.

he said the tougher tiers are grimly inevitably necessary, not least because the previous system had not been effective enough. and without tougher action, the nhs would be broken. then a challenge. all of us who have been elected to parliament, notjust ministers, he said, must take responsibility for difficult decisions. and medical experts say the threat to the nhs is real. if we get very large numbers of covid patients injanuary and we have a cold snap, there will be a danger that the nhs gets overwhelmed. so far, around 12 conservative mps have said they will vote against the government in the commons on tuesday. another 20 or so have publicly voiced concerns. a numberare waiting on a so—called impact assessment, a sort of cost—benefit analysis, that the government are expected to publish in the coming days. but will it be enough? order, order. but don't forget there was a sizeable conservative rebellion going into the most recent lockdown measures in england, and that still passed. so any real chance

of a government defeat will depend on how labour vote. and so far, they are undecided. i am particularly worried about business. there is no extra support for businesses in tier 3. and the hospitality industry will be really hardly hit at christmas, so we've got real concerns there. but also we want to know how different parts of the country can come out of their tiers. the government acknowledged the best hope of getting out of any tier system is mass vaccination. and today announced nadhim zahawi as the new minister responsible for covid vaccine deployment. until that's under way, here in england, we are likely to be living under the tier system, which will come into effect on wednesday 2nd december. and ellie told us more about why the government made the decision to appoint a minister to oversee the vaccine rollout in england. nadhim zahawi has everything to gain and everything to lose, of course, if it all goes horribly wrong. all eyes will be on this role, because obviously it is the big hope of how we get back to normality in this

country. nadhim za hawi we get back to normality in this country. nadhim zahawi is a business minister, he will pause most of his business responsibilities for now and take control of what is going on. big questions will be, how does the government avoid the logistical nightmares it faced with the likes of test and trace and some of the other big logistical challenges that this virus has posed? and that is why there is a minister in charge of it. that is something that people we re it. that is something that people were calling for earlier this week because of the sheer challenge ahead. there has been plenty of talk in the last few weeks and months that the nhs is ready for this, ready for the roll—out is the vaccines get the go—ahead, that they are safe and effective, the nhs is well placed to do it because they are used to doing the likes of the flu vaccine. but clearly there are challenges and the government is keen to make sure there is somebody in charge, making sure it goes as well as it can. let us talk about the tier system, because there are ongoing tensions regarding england moving into that

system. what can be done to ease those tensions, if anything? we heard that the government will announce or publish an impact assessment, a cost benefit analysis, which is what a number of disgruntled conservative mps have been calling for. they are concerned about all of this, ranging from a variety of issues, but one of the big things is a number of conservative mps are saying, my constituency has got low rates of the virus, hospital capacities are 0k, why have we been locked in on a countywide restriction, for example? the answer to that is, these need to be quite broadbrush restrictions so that there is clarity and also people travel in and out of areas. so it makes the most sense. what we will see from the government is a sort of publishing ever as much as it can open the science behind this. it will then be up to the

conservative mps to back their government. there was a sizeable conservative rebellion the last time mps conservative rebellion the last time m ps voted conservative rebellion the last time mps voted on restrictions, that was for the lockdown in england. that may happen again, but crucially it will be how labour decide to vote and whether they will vote with the government. the latest government figures show there were 15,871 lab—confirmed cases of coronavirus recorded in the latest 24—hour period. a further a79 people have died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test — that takes the total number of deaths to 58,030. the president of iran claims the assassination of the country's top nuclear scientist will not slow down its nuclear programme. hassan rouhani has blamed israel for the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh. he was shot dead on friday in an ambush on his car by gunmen in the town of absard, east of the capital tehran. speaking at a cabinet meeting, president rouhani accused israel of trying to create "chaos" but said his country

would not fall into a "trap". iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has promised retaliation for the killing, tweeting that the scientist's nuclear work will continue. there have been demonstrations in tehran over the assassination, with protesters calling for revenge against israel and the united states. israel has not commented, but it has previously accused the victim of friday's attack, mr fakhrizadeh, of masterminding a covert nuclear weapons programme. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports. angry protests once more on the streets of the iranian capital. people here in no doubt about who was behind yesterday's killing. we demand a hard revenge against america and israel, says this university student. the father of iran's nuclear programme is now being treated like a martyr, his assassination on the subject of much debate. 0ur enemies are becoming weak, he says.

assassination is the work of those who have no other options. and they point the finger at donald trump. in his last two months in office, this man says, he is trying to create conditions for war. yesterday's killing is not without precedent. ten years ago, israel carried out a campaign which killed four other nuclear scientists, but the death of mohsen fakhrizadeh poses a dilemma for iran's leadership. retaliate or bide their time? the supreme leader, ali khamenei, says the perpetrators and those who commanded them will be, pursued and published. the country's more pragmatic president struck a different tone. iran would respond in due time, the president said, but would not fall into a trap. they're thinking of creating chaos, he said, referring to israel, but we read their hand and they will not succeed. iran knows the next american president wants dialogue, not confrontation.

but pressure is mounting. iran vowed to retaliate after america killed general major general qasem soleimani in iraq injanuary. it is yet to do so. with another senior figure dead, the desire for revenge is strong. i think iran has no option but to respond to this. if it doesn't, i think this will bring a bigger danger of further actions or even conflict in future. iran's recent progress, stockpiling and enriching uranium beyond the limits allowed by the 2015 nuclear deal, may have triggered this attack on the programme's figurehead. it is a stark warning to iran's entire nuclear establishment. but it is also likely to make joe biden's already difficultjob, coaxing iran back into negotiations, that much harder. paul adams, bbc news. more than 2.5 million vulnerable people in england

will be offered free vitamin d this winter. this follows the lead of scotland, which is also providing free supplements to some people. the vitamin helps to keep bones, teeth and muscle healthy, but a new clinical trial has just started looking at whether it can also protect against coronavirus. 0ur science correspondent, rebecca morelle, reports. a dose of sunshine, helping us to make vitamin d, which is essential for our health. but at this time of year, the sun's in short supply. from october to march, people in the uk are advised to take vitamin d, and now in england people in care homes and those classed as clinically extremely vulnerable will get a free supply too. we know that with things like lockdown measures, people staying indoors much more often, maybe not going out as much because they're shielding, or they're housebound, here i think supplementation is, you know, a relatively easy

and affordable way to sort of protect the health of the general population. but can vitamin d also help with covid? this lab is trying to find out. there's some evidence the vitamin helps with other respiratory infections. now a clinical trial involving more more than 5,000 people is looking at its impact on coronavirus. it's not going to be as powerful as a vaccine, but it might reduce the risk of covid—19 or the severity of the disease significantly. we only need to demonstrate a modest effect for it to be worth implementing. because vitamin d is very safe and it's very inexpensive. the vitamins for the clinical trial have been sorted into different doses. then they're packed up and sent out to volunteers across the uk. they'll be taking the supplements throughout winter and spring. it's clear that vitamin d is important for general health. the uk government's now asking health authorities to review the existing science around its effect on covid,

and should publish those findings by the end of the year. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the european union and the uk have resumed brexit trade talks, with just five weeks to go until the transition period ends. the eu's chief negotiatior, michel barnier, has travelled to london for talks with his british counterpart, david frost. it is the first time they have met face—to—face since mr barnier went into self—isolation after a member of his team caught coronavirus. the two sides are still at odds over fishing, fair competition, including state aid, and over how disputes will be settled. more than 60 people have been arrested after police and protesters clashed at an anti—lockdown demonstration in central london. demonstrators — many not wearing face masks — ignored requests to go home. protests are currently not permitted under lockdown rules in england. staying in the uk, and around 13,000 people employed by one of the high street‘s biggest retailers, arcadia,

are waiting to hear if theirjobs are safe, with the company said to be on the brink of collapse. administrators could be appointed to the group, which owns brands such as topshop, dorothy perkins and burton, as early as monday. here's our business correspondent, katy austin. the festive season is approaching, but there's tough news this weekend for the 13,000 people working for arcadia, with their employer on the verge of collapse. the group had its troubles before the pandemic, already shedding jobs and closing stores. experts say it had failed to adapt as retail changed. new fashion businesses which are digital native have found it much easier to adapt to the shop and climate now. it's not easy for any big company who's an old company to adapt in the same way as a new do. arcadia's owner, sir philip green, had built a huge clothing empire, but in 2015, he sold bhs for £1, and the department store chain

collapsed the following year. do you mind not looking at me like that all the time? it's really disturbing. leaving him first facing fury from mps, then coughing up hundreds of millions to plug the gap in bhs‘s pension scheme. he was definitely a man of his time, but that time has been changing dramatically in recent years, and then we've had the pandemic, which has catapulted it further forward. his style worked really well some years ago. it's worked less and less well. in a statement, arcadia said the forced closure of its stores during the pandemic had had a material impact on trading across its businesses. if the administration process does kick off on monday, the groups 500 shops will continue to trade when they're allowed to reopen in england and ireland, and a buyer will be sought. the question then is if buyers can be found for arcadia's brands, and who they might be. katy austin, bbc news.

protests are taking place in paris against a new law restricting sharing of images of police officers. the demonstrators argue it undermines the freedom of the press to document police abuses. the government says the law protects security services from receiving online abuse. the action comes days after the distribution of disturbing footage showing police officers beating black music producer michel zecler. president emmanuel macron called the officers' action "shocking". mark lobel reports. pursued by the police for not wearing a face mask, then, set upon in the reception room of his music studio by those he thought were meant to protect him. caught on this cctv footage that has struck a nerve in france, the black french music producer michel zeckler is brutally punched, kicked, hit and allegedly racially abused. the three officers seen here, two in uniform and one plainclothed, have been suspended and questioned in police custody. the violent scenes continued for around five minutes

until michel's colleagues emerge and push the police out. france's president emmanuel macron said, "the images shame us, france must never allow racism to prosper. those who apply the law must respect the law. i ask the government to quickly make proposals to reaffirm the bond of trust between the french people and those who protect them, and to fight against discrimination more effectively." anger at the treatment of the a1—year—old, who was released without charge after being held for 48 hours, was felt by several members of france's world cup squad. kylian mbappe wrote this. "unbearable video, unacceptable violence, say no to racism." antoine griezmann said this. "my france hurts. " and benjamin mendy asked, "without the videos, what would have happened to michel? we would have preferred to believe the version of the police under oath?" ever since the death in us police custody

of george floyd in may, and as the black lives matter movement has grown, tackling police conduct has been under the spotlight. i certainly think accountability would be a great first step to rebuilding trust in the community. when you first admit and acknowledge there is a problem, then, we need to next fix it, accountability. there should be a disciplinary process that is commensurate with the crime or misconduct conducted by police officers. emmanuel macron's condemnation is also intended to quell ongoing protests across france. demonstrators are critical of a police crackdown on migrants and proposed reforms to restrict publishing images of the police they say jeopardises freedom of expression. after this latest incident, there will be even less appetite among protesters for more anonymity for the police. mark lobel, bbc news. in a moment, reeta chakrabarti will be here with the latest national

and international news, but first, charities and nhs services who help problem gamblers say this year has been one of their busiest. more than a quarter of a million people in the uk are thought to be addicted to gambling, with the number of women increasing at double the rate of men. next month, the government is due to launch a review of industry regulations. jeremy cooke reports. gambling to me was as normal as breathing. i was gambling from the first moment i'd wake up in the morning. i would wake up in the night and gamble. there was no time that i wouldn't gamble or think about gambling. kerry is a recovering addict. it felt like something i couldn't stop. it was part of me, it had control. gambling cost her tens of thousands of pounds. but the true cost has been higher still. what i lost was so much more than that. it was my identity, my self—respect, my values, time, sleep, relationships, my home.

the list is endless. i did think of ways to end my life. i didn't want to be here, because i couldn't see a life without gambling. it had me, it had total control. i would just have a little gamble, maybe. breaking the habit is not easy. this is one of the few residential centres in the uk helping gambling addicts. the process starts thinking again. and it's cold turkey. no phones, no internet, no cash. the event, as you know, could be a sporting event. for years, online betting has been shifting the problem from the bookies to the family home. and then came the covid lockdown. it just amplified the situation. it amplified their feelings, thoughts, and of course their behaviour. it took them to the edge when they were desperate. for most of us, of course, gambling is harmless. but for some it can be disastrous. and now experts say covid and lockdown have created the perfect storm for a growing and deeper problem.

before lockdown, our outreach services were reaching about 30 interactions a month. we are now doing about 1,000 a month. the volume is on the increase, but the intensity is ten times greater then it was before. studies show that the number of women living with gambling addiction is growing, and stands at around 75,000 across britain. kerry now works full—time to help as many of those women as she can. if i hadn't spoken about it, i probably wouldn't be here now, you know? you can recover — it is possible. i never believed it, but i'm living proof. so there is hope, but also fear that this new lockdown once again brings the ideal conditions for gambling addiction to grow and to destroy lives. jeremy cooke, bbc news.

good evening. the cabinet office minister michael gove has warned that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with new covid—19 cases if mps don't back the planned restrictions in a vote in the commons on tuesday. writing in the times, mr gove urged them to take responsibility for difficult decisions, ahead of the new rules

coming into force next wednesday. england will be split into three tiers from december 2nd — medium, high and very high. areas have been put into tiers depending on the total number of cases, the number of cases in people over 60, and pressure on local nhs services. 99% of england will enter the highest two tiers, with tight restrictions on bars and restaurants, and a ban on households mixing indoors. some conservative mps are unhappy about how the tiers have been allocated, and labour hasn't yet said if it will back the plans. with more, here's our political correspondent iain watson. teignbridge has one of the lowest infection rates in the country, and yet from next week it will be in tier 2, not tier 1, because the same restrictions are imposed across the whole of devon. it's a similar story in other counties, where some areas with a low level of the virus can still face tough rules. the government's advisers say a countywide or regional

approach is more effective than more local restrictions. but you can't keep politics out of a pandemic, and there is pressure from some of the government's own mps for a rethink. the big question we have to ask ourselves, we had tier version one a couple of months ago. we've just lived through lockdown version two, and yet we now have vastly more people being moved up a phase, despite being told, "this is the last push, this is the new panacea." in the times today, cabinet minister michael gove warned wavering mps not to rebel on tuesday when parliament votes on the restrictions. he said the tougher tiers were "grimly, inevitably necessary," and without tougher action "the nhs would be broken." fears that the nhs could be overwhelmed might restrict the size of the conservative rebellion next week, but hope can also be a powerful weapon. so ministers have been hinting that

some areas might get an early christmas present and move out of tier 3 when the restrictions are reviewed in mid december. this isn't guaranteed, because i'm told that government scientists are extremely sceptical about whether this could or should happen. and the government's keen to show mps it's getting on top of the virus. today the business minister, nadhim zahawi, was transformed into minister for vaccines, focusing on rolling out the inoculations once they're approved. and mass testing, seen as a means of exiting tier 3, is being extended redcar and cleveland on teesside. if all this doesn't keep the rebellion down on tuesday, the government might need labour votes, but these will come at a price. there's no extra support for businesses in tier 3, and the hospitality industry will be really hard hit at christmas, so we have real concerns there. but also we want to know how different parts of the country can come out of their tiers. borisjohnson says he wants to squeeze the disease,

but first he'll have to try to squeeze the rebellion in his own ranks. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. and you can find out what the restrictions are in your area by using the postcode checker on the bbc news website. the latest government figures show there were 15,871 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 16,153. there were 1,551 people admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last tuesday. and a79 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, a87 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 58,030.

a largely peaceful protest in paris has been marred by clashes, with police firing tear gas at protesters opposing a bill which would restrict the public‘s right to film police officers' faces. the demonstrations come days after footage emerged showing police racially abusing and beating a black music producer. 0ur correspondent sangita myska's reports contains images from the start which some viewers may find distressing. tens of thousands gathered in paris and across france to peacefully protest against proposed laws that they say will limit press freedom and encourage police brutality. if passed, it will be a crime for the media to publish video or photographs showing the faces of police officers involved in wrongdoing. that includes images like this, released last week. the cctv shows three french policemen, two in uniform and one plainclothed, confronting a black producer in his own studio for allegedly not wearing a mask.

for 12 minutes, the music producer is badly beaten and racially abused. he was never charged with a crime. today there was at times an escalation of force on both sides as french police fired tear gas at protesters, who threw fireworks and built barricades in the capital. with president macron preparing for his next presidential run, protesters here claim his attempts to look tough on crime have backfired. sangita myska, bbc news. more than 60 people have been arrested at an anti—lockdown demonstration in central london. many protesters were not wearing facemasks and refused police requests to go home. protests are currently not permitted under lockdown rules in england. an agreement has been reached with the french authorities to increase the number of officers patrolling french beaches in a bid to tackle migrant

activity in the channel. 0ur correspondent simon jones is with us now. tell us more about it, simon. so far this month around 700 migrants have succeeded in reaching the uk by boat. the figure for this year in total is around 8000, much higher than the total for last year. the home secretary priti patel has been under some pressure not least from her own conservative mps to get a grip on this issue. she held a meeting with her french counterpart in france has agreed to give money for a in france has agreed to give money fora numberof in france has agreed to give money for a number of measures to try to tackle the crossings. the one chief isa numberof tackle the crossings. the one chief is a number of french officers patrolling beaches in northern france, that will be doubled. the home office won't reveal how many office rs home office won't reveal how many officers will be involved, they say it isa officers will be involved, they say it is a security issue, but we are told it is a significant uplift in numbers. the money is also going to be used to help move some migrants away from calais and the people smugglers and also to pay for some

equipment in france, radar and increased binoculars so beaches can be patrolled more effectively. but i think the key thing to emerge from this, britain wants to give the message it is very serious about this issue, but there have been many agreements in the past between britain and france talking about close cooperation that have only had limited success and groups supporting migrants have told me you can throw money at the issue but that will not necessarily stop the desire of people to get to the uk. simonjones, desire of people to get to the uk. simon jones, thank you. the snp has pledged to extend free school meals in scotland to provide breakfasts and lunches for all primary school pupils. the expanded scheme, expected to cost £230 million per year, would run in school holidays — notjust term time. speaking at the party's virtual conference, john swinney, scotland's deputy first minister and education secretary, praised the campaign led by the footballer marcus rashford. more than 2.5 million vulnerable people in england will be offered free vitamin d supplements this winter. it follows scotland, which has provided free supplements