this is bbc news. the headlines at 7pm: a warning that hospitals in england could become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, if mps don't back new restrictions. the prime minister appoints nadhim zahawi as minister for the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. 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 — arcadia, the group that owns top shop, dorothy perkins,

and miss selfridge is on the brink of collapse. and coming up at 7:30pm, we'll hear the story of sharon crawford and usman ahmed, whose lives were changed forever following the manchester arena bombing three years ago. 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. i don't want to make any promises at this stage. i need to make sure the whole system is working properly, and that is what your viewers and the nation will expect from any minister, to make sure that everything is in place, that the vaccine safety procedures have gone through, we need to make sure all of that hard work is done and then we can begin deployment. nass testing, seen as a means of exiting tier 3, is being extended to 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. well, iain watson is with me now. from the sounds of it, as far as this parliamentary vote goes, there is some tension growing within the conservative party, but it may well come down to labour? it could well come down to labour? it could well come down to labour. 43 conservative mps would have to vote against their own government to wipe out boris johnson's majority and effectively make him dependent on labour votes. when the lockdown restrictions were

voted on, 35 conservative mps voted against the government. some are confident that will happen again oozed up we will see a big push by other government ministers, notjust michael gove, to try to make the case to their own mps to fall into line. partly it is warnings about the state of the health service, and partly this idea that if you can hold your nerve now, just around the corner the cavalry is coming, the new vaccines. there is an to say, just let these disruptions go through and you will not have to live under them for all that much longer. whether that will be enough to convince people, there is a lot of restlessness, and labour are not saying how they will vote. in truth, they will back this and i think they will get these restrictions, but they will be making the case for more help for t3 areas in particular. labour's caution is more

about financial support, is it? particular. labour's caution is more about financial support, is mm is. they also want more detail on how they are improving the track and trace system. in redcar and clevela nd, trace system. in redcar and cleveland, getting that mass testing system, but extending it to other areas will be a big challenge for the government. they also want to see a clear criteria for coming out as well as going into the tears. is it willing to put more money into the areas under most severe restrictions? 75% of those are in the north of england. let's see. many of these seats conservatives won for the first time. what does the new ministerfor won for the first time. what does the new minister for vaccines won for the first time. what does the new ministerfor vaccines bring to thejob? the new ministerfor vaccines bring to the job? but there was the fallout with the ppe that was not

appropriate and test and trace, you cannot miss this one up, can you come in terms of rolling out the vaccine? it is one of the toughest jobs. he will be embracing it, but he will be basically in the firing line if he gets this wrong. this time they have got a government minister, not a conservative, not summary minister, not a conservative, not summary from outside, someone who is in the house of commons who will be under scrutiny for the roll—out of these vaccines, and whether they are safe or not. he used to be the marketing director for a safe or not. he used to be the marketing directorfor a big company and set up the new gulf pollen company —— set up the yougov company. how experienced he will be in terms of the regulation of the efficacy of these vaccines, he will

have to leave that to the scientists. but it will be his job, once they are approved, to get them from the laboratories into our arms. thank you. 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 and we'll find out how this story — and many others — a re covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the political editor of the sunday mirror and people, nigel nelson, and the political commentator, jo phillips. iran has vowed to retaliate in its own time for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist. president hasan rouhani has blamed israel for the killing of mohsen fakhrizadeh, and he says the country's nuclear programme will continue. the scientist was shot dead on friday, when gunmen ambushed his car in the town of absard, east of the capital, tehran.

israel has not commented, but it has previously accused mr fakhrizadeh of masterminding a covert nuclear weapons programme. here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. 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 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. —— pursued and punished. the country's more pragmatic president struck a different tone. translation: this savage act shows that our enemies feel that global conditions are changing and it is important for them to make the most of the remaining few weeks that they have two create uncertain conditions in the region. but our brave nation is smarter than default into the trap of zionists. iran vowed to retaliate after america killed 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. a largely peaceful protest in paris has been marred by what the french interior minister has described as "unacceptable" violence. protesters clashed with police who fired tear gas at demonstrators 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. 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 shopping 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. 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.

the snp has pledged to extend free school meals in scotland to provide breakfasts and lunches for all primary pupils. speaking at the party's conference, which is being held virtually, the deputy first minsterjohn swinney said if the party retained power after the holyrood elections it would expand the scheme at a cost of around £230 million per year. also speaking on the first day of the conference first minister nicola sturgeon called for a new independence referendum. scotland is now a nation on the brink of making history. independence is in clear sight, and if we show unity of purpose, humility and hard work, i have never been so certain that we will deliver it. the ethiopian prime minister has claimed his forces have taken control of mekelle, the capital of tigray province, where leaders of the opposition tigray people's liberation front are besieged.

abiy ahmed said the military operations were completed but ethiopian police would apprehend members of the tplf. with communications to tigray province cut, it's hard to confirm mr abiy‘s assertions, but ethiopian forces had been advancing from the north and begun shelling the city. the ethiopian army has been locked in conflict with the tplf for weeks. let us find out the latest. this is the press secretary. first of all, could you give us more detail as to what has been said today. the details are still coming m, today. the details are still coming in, so what we have right now is that over the past day or so, the

national defence forces have made a lot of advances towards the last hideout of the cleat. —— de clique. there were specific targets that we re there were specific targets that were identified. the primer to has announced that the military operation has ceased and finalised with control of the city. key if a structure and key sites have been secured within the city. it is now for the federal police to arrest the

clique. could you confirm for me, it sounds as though you have entered the city. it has taken a few days, because last week the offensive had begun and there was some confusion because of the communications cut out. when you say this is completed, are you confirming that you have entered the city, or the opposition forces have surrendered? over the past two days, the information we have received from the defence forces at the front is that they have been surrendering. the national defence forces a re have been surrendering. the national defence forces are within the city, have taken defence forces are within the city, have ta ken command defence forces are within the city, have taken command and it is under federal command. what will happen next? if this is not resolved in terms of speaking to the tplf,

tensions will resume once again. what has been put in place for the regional players? we have not spoken to them yet, because they are the critical targets. what is next is that there have been matters which are been settled constitutionally. this last stronghold is now under federal control as well, so there will be undertaking the critical task of resuming the services that have been interrupted in the last two weeks of the operation,

particularly because the administration of the term two had fled. —— the administration of the tplf had fled. material assistance has been delivered to these cities. now there will be a possibility for a number of other agencies to go in now the areas are secure and provide humanitarian aid as a priority. we will be locating those who have fled from the conflict, there are many camps within the border areas, and we will rehabilitate those... you have actually answered my next

question in terms of civilians anti—monetary and assistance —— humanitarian assistance. their families who are ready concerned about their members who were either remaining within tigray or who have fled across the border to sudan. we have spoken to many members here in the uk who say theyjust don't have news and they are very worried. could you confirm when communications will be re—established, certainly with the humanitarian corridor? the eu were not even aware that a corridor had been put in place. with regards to confirming when communications will be restored, the figures had always been pointed at the federal government. we will reiterate that

one of the key strategic things the tplf had done was just trying k infrastructure. —— was destroying communication infrastructure. 0ne infrastructure. —— was destroying communication infrastructure. one of the next things will be the focus on the next things will be the focus on the rebuilding of communications infrastructure and other infrastructure and other infrastructure that has been destroyed by the militia. that will be the next step in ensuring that everything is put back in place for the people of tigray. the ague were in ethiopia 48—hour is a go. are you going to sit down and speak with the tplf for negotiations? there was no

negotiation with them because it is a criminal entity. the leadership of ten throw is a mixture of different political parties. there will be an interim government for the next stretch in the region. thank you for that update. britain and france have announced an agreement to double the number of police officers patrolling beaches in northern france — to stop migrants attempting to reach the uk in small boats. under the deal the uk will contribute around £28 million towards a series of preventative measures. 0ur correspondent, simonjones, gave us more details about the agreement. so far this month, around 700 migrants have succeeded in reaching the uk by boat. the total for

migrants have succeeded in reaching the uk by boat. the totalfor this year is around 8000 people. that is a big increase on the whole of last year, and about four times more so far this year. priti patel, the home secretary, has been undergoing pressure, not least from her own conservative mps, to get to gets with this issue. she has held a virtual meeting with her french counterpart, and agreed ace series of measures that britain will pay for. the chief one will be stepping up for. the chief one will be stepping up patrols by french officers on beachesin up patrols by french officers on beaches in northern france. it is a huge area of coastline there. we are not being told how many officers will be working on that patch, but we are told it is a significant uplift. 0n we are told it is a significant uplift. on top of this, britain will also provide additional equipment, such as drones and night—vision binoculars that will be used by the french authorities to try to patrol these areas. there will also be money for accommodation to move migrants away from the calais area, two places to live away from that area, to take them away from the temptation of trying to cross the

channel, and also from the people smugglers who are also organising a lot of these crossings was a priti patel has described this development as significant. this new package today that i have just signed with my french counterpart, the french interior minister, effectively doubles the number of police on the french beaches. it invests in more technology, more surveillance and radar technology, which supports the law enforcement effort. 0n radar technology, which supports the law enforcement effort. on top of that, we are sharing in terms of toughening up our border security, so toughening up our border security, so in the french side in particular they are now focused on strengthening their border security because we are seeing fewer migrants now in small boats, but we are seeing displacement into other areas, such as lorries. so priti patel talking this up, but a note of caution. in the past couple of years we have had a number of agreements between britain and france, they have talked of working more closely than ever on each occasion to try to

stop these crossings, but the number managing to reach the uk has continued to go up. so i think although priti patel is really giving the virtues of this agreement, i think the key thing will be the numbers that continue to arrive in the coming months. i spoke to one group that supports refugees once they arrive in the uk and they say, welcome you ctrl money at this problem or this issue, millions of pounds we are talking about here, but it necessary stop the desire of people to get to the uk. more than 60 people have been arrested at an anti—lockdown demonstration in central london. many protesters were not wearing face masks and refused police requests to go home. protests are currently not permitted under lockdown rules in england. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. most places will remain cloudy overnight. the cloud lowering to bring misty weather and some fog over the hills. a lot of that rain we are seeing in northern england

will move away. we will see some patchy cloud moving into scotland, but a frost is developing here, with clearer skies for longer, it could be down to —5 by the morning in the north—east of the country. with the cloud elsewhere, it is milder with temperatures five to 7 degrees. a great start to sunday. it may brighten up in wales. some sunnis pulse for the eastern side of scotland. more likely to make double figures in the west, probably cooler for the eastern side of the uk. looking at monday, some patchy rain moves down from the north, most affecting scotland, some for northern ireland in the mauling, and northern england, but not much as it moves into the south of england. temperatures between nine and 11. hello this is bbc news. the headlines...