this is bbc news with the latest headlines at 2.00. the foreign secretary says the government is "listening" to conservative mps who're unhappy with the latest coronavirus restrictions for england. having a vote on regulations in january with a sunset in february is the right combination of accountability and transparency with the measures the public need now. the eu's chief negotiatior, michel barnier, continues talks in london over a post—brexit trade deal — but fishing is still a sticking point. tributes are paid to jack merritt and saskia jones, who were killed in the london bridge attack — a year ago today. sources at the arcadia group — which owns high street brands including topshop and miss selfridge — downplay hopes of a last—minute downplay hopes of a last—minute rescue of sir philip

green's clothing empire. and the man behind the mask of darth vader — weightlifter—turned—actor dave prowse has died at the age of 85. good afternoon. the foreign secretary, dominic raab, says the government is "listening" to conservative mps who're unhappy with the latest coronavirus restrictions for england. the revised tier system comes into force next week, replacing the current lockdown. most of england will be in the highest two levels of restrictions. our political correspondent, ellie price, reports. "tis the season to be jolly careful," said boris johnson last week

and he needs to be, with a potential rebellion of his own mps unhappy about the proper tier system in england set system in england, set to start on wednesday. yesterday michael gove warned it wasn'tjust ministers who had to take difficult decisions, but mps also. this morning the foreign secretary opted for more domestic diplomacy. we are listening, we do understand, people say to me we just want to understand that the measures you are taking take into account not just the cost and benefit of tackling the virus but also the non—covid health and social implications and we will publish more analysis on that and we take seriously the principle of parliamentary accountability. the prime minister has written to all mps and peers are promising that if they back him he will give them a new vote on the restrictions on january 27th. he says a review of restrictions next month means some

19th, especially if the evidence suggests recent lockdown measures have had an impact. prime ministers tend not to give concessions unless they feel they are forced to, even if it is nearly christmas. one conservative mp told me he had no confidence in the cack—handed way things had been put together. another mp told me that the letter was nice but he still hadn't decided how he will vote. if enough tories rebel, the government will rely on labour support, and that isn't a good look. so far labour haven't said they will support the measures, but they have never voted against health restrictions in the past either. the reason i'm not committing to vote for these measures is we are not convinced at the moment that they are either sufficient or workable. it is not too late for the government to convince us of that, but that's what they've got to do in the next 48 hours. government scientific advisers say the tougher restrictions are crucial. the rates are still too high, there are too many cases, too many people dying, and if we take their breaks off at and if we take the brakes off at

this stage, just when the end is in sight, i think we will be making a huge mistake. many mps are waiting for the government to publish its so—called impact assessment tomorrow, which will look at the economic and social effect of the english tiers. the mayor of manchester has called for more compensation for businesses in the restricted tiers, but for many, it is already too late. let's talk to the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham. greater of greater manchester, andy burnham. mancheste tier greater manchester will return to tier 3 when the national lockdown ends this week. thanks forjoining us ends this week. thanks forjoining us this afternoon on bbc news. one report today said that you had been privately reassured that you will be moved down from tier 3 to tier 2. is that right? no, it isn't. we will certainly be making that case because at the moment, the cases in greater manchester are falling faster than anywhere else in england and if that continues, i think we will have a very strong argument to be in tier2, will have a very strong argument to be in tier 2, come the first review

in the middle of december. in fact, the one thing i was told by the government was they wouldn't be a meaningful review in december and i am pleased that the prime minister has had the opposite today because it is clear we are going to have a really clear case to come down a level. who told you that a government? that they wouldn't be a meaningful review? the communities secretary, robertjenrick, meaningful review? the communities secretary, robert jenrick, briefed the mayor is earlier this week once the mayor is earlier this week once the decision was made and said, don't expect a meaningful review in december. so obviously there seems to bea december. so obviously there seems to be a change on that and i am glad because you cannot put a place like greater manchester in tier 3 for the whole of the winter period and not expect there to be serious damage done to the economy, and of course to people's lives. and yet, your numbers are still higher, aren't they, than the english average? your numbers are coming down, but you are still higher? yes, that is right.

that is why i didn't necessarily argue against the decision that the government made. what i am arguing against today is the unfairness of places in tieri and tier 2 getting the same level of discretionary business support as places like greater manchester going into tier 3. now, the tier3 greater manchester going into tier 3. now, the tier 3 areas are often new places with the highest levels of deprivation in the country. to put them in this position, particularly in december, the month when hospitality makes most of its money, i think is going to cause real damage to the economy and i simply cannot accept a situation where there is no extra discretionary support to help tier 3 areas deal with that. and yet, the science, the scientists say that you cannot dilute the tears like this. —— die lieu to the tiers like this. chris whitty said a couple of weeks ago tier 2 doesn't really make any

difference, it is tier 3. the issue is if we don't impose these restrictions in this way we are looking at a third surge and may be another national lockdown injanuary oi’ another national lockdown injanuary or february. well, to be honest with you it is precisely for this reason that i said schools should have been included in the national lockdown because i think we would have got cases down much lower than they currently a re cases down much lower than they currently are and more areas would have been in tier 2 and tieri if we had done that. it is why i would also argue against the arrangements that the government is putting forward for christmas. i think they are putting forward very strict tier arrangements to allow for those five days over christmas. i think most people here would say actually, can we not just have people here would say actually, can we notjust have a steadier approach that allows us to have more of our lives back and for that to be in place right through the period? so personally i would prefer the government to move away from the regional tier system. i think if we we re regional tier system. i think if we were to have an approach to 2021

which was having a planned circuit brea ks which was having a planned circuit breaks around the school holidays, i think it would put everyone in a much better position than this approach we have at the moment where people are suffering under continual restrictions. those restrictions often don't make that much impact, as you are rightly suggesting. so you are writing to the region's 27 mps now. what are you going to ask them to support you on, bearing in mind a lot of people think you are going to be moved down anyway, before christmas, if not four or five days before christmas? well, i don't take that as a given at all... sorry, that was what certain people think, but what are you asking for now? so if you are moved down to tier 2, say, if you are, what will you be asking those local regional mps to support you on? well, no, i am asking them to vote in the debate on tuesday... forgive me for interrupting, but you want more cash as well, which is part of this new

tier system, that there aren't going to bea tier system, that there aren't going to be a separate deal struck with people like you? it should be for all tier 3 areas, notjust greater manchester and that is principally what i'm asking our mps to do today. i would encourage them to withhold their support for the government's proposals until there is a fair financial package for tier 3 areas on the table because it is the case that we aren't getting any additional discretionary business funding than areas in tiers two and tier is one. that can't be right. if london had been in tier 3 i don't think they would have done that. there would have been more money on the table. that has obviously been the table. that has obviously been the story of this particular year. it is often the case that the government would do things to the north of the england that it knows it wouldn't be able to get away with in london and the south—east. the only time they talked about costs 42 areas was when london went into tier 2, soiam areas was when london went into tier 2, so i am asking our mps to press for that fair financial case. also do get the clear commitment to a meaningful review and personally i

think tier 3 should be changed. i think tier 3 should be changed. i think it hits hospitality and businesses that are in the supply chain of hospitality too hard and it is to light in some ways on nonessential retail. i think shops actually present a bigger risk because it is harder to maintain social distancing in retail environments, compared to hospitality. i don't think the government has got this package right and that is why i am asking oui’ right and that is why i am asking ourmps to right and that is why i am asking our mps to challenge it on tuesday. 0k, our mps to challenge it on tuesday. ok, andy burnham, thank you very much indeed. let's get some reaction to this now, we'rejoined by the conservative mp tobias ellwood. he is the mp for bournemouth east, which i think is going to be in tier 2, if i'm right on that. who are we expected to believe or meant to believe on this, the prime minister, michael gove, matt hancock, dominic raab? who is actually giving us government policy at the moment? well, we should notjust have government policy, but also have

clarity on what the economic impact assessment is and that is why i am pleased to prime minister has conceded to that. hang on, you haven't answered my question, though because all the four people i have just mentioned seem to have a different position at the moment about what seems to need to be done, so who is right? and ultimately the prime minister is the ultimate arbiter here. you raised an important question about the bandwidth of number ten to deal with during an emergency, a point i have made for a long time, we have remained locked into a peacetime cabinet conduct and have not moved toa war cabinet conduct and have not moved to a war footing. we have got people with no experience in emergency planning or operational decision—making running this enduring emergency and i would have liked to have seen far earlier on in division between the strategic decision making and operational delivery. we still have these friends of mine running around chasing ppe and doing all the sorts of things, things they have never had experience in doing a consequently you are right to pose

the question of who is in charge. cani the question of who is in charge. can ijust the question of who is in charge. can i just clarify this, the question of who is in charge. can ijust clarify this, then because 2a hours ago michael gove wrote a 2000 word essay in the times, explaining why certain tiers couldn't be moved down because of the wider good, geographically and for the country in avoiding a third search. 2a hours later, the prime minister is an article in such case the mail on sunday, where suddenly thatis the mail on sunday, where suddenly that is all scrapped. let's look to move forward... can you just explain that to people who are watching now? 204i that to people who are watching now? 2041 was in downing street! what 204! was in downing street! what does that say? well, you can make your ownjudgments on does that say? well, you can make your own judgments on it, does that say? well, you can make your ownjudgments on it, i am not here to defend the government and spokespeople, i am here to defend the government and spokespeople, iam here here to defend the government and spokespeople, i am here to ask for greater clarity and i agree with you we need greater clarity and communication. we have a big boat taking place this week, lots of people up and down the country not understanding the data that was used thatis understanding the data that was used that is now a couple of weeks old,

the why the tears have been put up in some areas, which seems unfair, and in dorset numbers with numbers further down, and yet here we are... this is based on the politics, not the science. you have got your chief scientific officer, chris whitty, saying that tier 2 doesn't work, tier 3 does work. this is all about politics, just a rebellion. everything is about politics, but the art of making the right decision is about getting compromise. yes but this is according to the chief scientific officer. you need to let me finish my sentence and i will explain. the two problems every government across the world is facing is supporting your economy for the slip flip side of the pandemic and actually cutting down the spread of that pandemic as well. we are so close to getting the vaccine rolled out. the tier system

is necessary, but we believe it needs to be advanced. we have a couple of days. it is absolutely right that mps are scrutinising what the government does, that is their job. all the more important to take place during an emergency and we have a couple of days to get this right, to advance what is going on. concession have been made, but i would like to see more, the nightingale programme, for example, was rolled out, supposed to alleviate pressure on local hospitals, such as bournemouth, which has a criteria that is working against it because bournemouth is up against it because bournemouth is up against it, and we have 2000 medical personnel in the armed forces wanting to play their part, but they have not been asked. so was michael gove being genuine when he talked about the threat to the nhs, if you say all these nightingale hospitals, which we know are standing empty, by and large? you are right there, it is an amazing achievement to put these together, but i am afraid many of them are empty or dormant or not being used certain to their maximum.

let's ratchet that up. like i say, if it is a staffing issue, the mod stand ready to help, so that is one problem solved right away. the other problem solved right away. the other problem is the tiering system, the prime minster is right if you have small enclaves surrounded by large enclosed in a higher tier, how to make sure they don't move? i would like to have seen... in wales, that means that tier ones can be better protected in tier 3 can get the support that they need. what we need isa support that they need. what we need is a natural winter plan that takes us is a natural winter plan that takes us through the winter and into the sunnier climes when that vaccine is rolled out. tobias ellwood, thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon has been speaking to the bbc‘s andreew marr programme today about her response to the pandemic. official figures show there were

50.5 deaths in scotland compared to 40.6 deaths in england on average... ji said it was too soon to be conspiring statistics. —— nicola sturgeon said. the number of deaths in scotland is far too high. you won't hear me say any different. i don't think there is an acceptable level of deaths. what i would say is firstly, and, you know, i don't think it should be seen as a competition, but you've asked me the question in a comparative sense. we have a lower death rate, if i could use that term, than england and wales. there are particular issues in scotland, which will not be unique to scotland, different demographics, intergenerational issues of long—term health conditions, but perhaps the most fundamental point, which applies to all countries is this one. we are still in the teeth of this pandemic. so i think it's premature for any country to be declaring victory or assessing performance against others. every single day right now, my focus is on trying to do the best i can with my scottish government colleagues to suppress the virus, to drive levels of the virus down.

we are not complacent about that, but we do have a lower prevalence of the virus at the moment than the other nations of the uk. of course, we have to work on that every single day. none of us are finding it an easy challenge to face. nicola sturgeon there. if you live in england and want to check which tier your area will be in, suddenly up to a few days before christmas you can enter your postcode on the bbc news website. or the bbc news app. senior sources at the arcadia group have told the bbc they do not expect any last—minute rescue of the clothing empire built up by sir philip green. around 13,000 people are employed by the group, which owns uk high street brands such as topshop, dorothy perkins and burton. speaking to the bbc, an insider dismissed talk of any possible rescue. administrators could be appointed as early as monday.

our business correspondent, katy austin, is with me. gosh, the high heyday of sir philip green there, we saw with kate moss, when everything was going so well. no knight in shining armour around the corner? it doesn't look that way, no. of course, arcadia group did have problems before the coronavirus pandemic. it is absolutely true, though, that the restrictions that have come with coronavirus, shops having to close for a period of time, have really added to those difficulties and yes it does look like arcadia is set to enter administration at some point tomorrow. in practical terms, these stores would continue to trade for the time being, although of course they can't yet in england until later in the week, but when they do reopen they will carry on trading and a search for a buyer or buyers for those brands really starts. because there are some attractive brands and therefore people who have actually made a success of the online, for example, top... man?

topshop, yes. a very successful brand, but. that is seen as the jewel in the crown and is likely to attract interest. it might be a bit harderfor attract interest. it might be a bit harder for others, attract interest. it might be a bit harderfor others, burton, dorothy perkins, evans as well. we don't really think sir philip green is going to look to buy back into those brands, so it does look like it is time for his exit from the huge retail brand that he did build. by... build, rather. but, yes. but in terms of what went wrong, is it all covid? it in terms of what went wrong, is it all covid ? it has in terms of what went wrong, is it all covid? it has been in the press over the last few days that sir philip green wasn't interested in the online side of things in his refusal to take that on board is what has made things go bad. refusal to take that on board is what has made things go badlj refusal to take that on board is what has made things go bad. i think it is fairto what has made things go bad. i think it is fair to say that his style became outdated and yes, he wasn't as quick as others to seize on the

opportunities online, not as much as others, such as boo—hoo and lots of others, such as boo—hoo and lots of other competition online as well as on the high street. there is going to bea on the high street. there is going to be a focus in the coming weeks and months on other things, like pensions as well because we do think the arcadia group has had a deficit in its pensions funds, which potentially runs into hundreds of millions of pounds. it is not like members of those schemes are linked going to lose everything, that is not the case, but if administration happens the pension fund will go into what you would think of as a lifeboat, the pension protection fund, but they would lose something of their value, potentially around 10%. however, there have been calls for sir philip green to come in and plug the deficit so that members will get the amount of pension they we re will get the amount of pension they were expecting. 0k, katy austin, thank you very much. the us embassy in eritrea says that six explosions have been reported in the eritrean capital, asmara.

they happened late on saturday night. there's no indication of the cause. meanwhile the ethiopian prime minister has said that federal police are searching for the leaders of the tigray people's liberation front after government soldiers entered the tigray regional capital, mekelle. abiy ahmed added that the capture of the capital marked the "last phase" of the three—week conflict. the tplf leader has vowed to fight on, telling the reuters news agency that his forces were withdrawing from mekelle, suggesting this would now become a guerilla war. family and colleagues have paid tribute to the two people killed in the london bridge terror attack, which happened a year ago today. jack merritt, who was 25, and 23—year—old saskia jones were stabbed by a convicted terrorist at a prisoner rehabilitation event. in a statement, saskia's mother michelle thanked those who have supported the family through a difficult 12 months. well, a few days after the attack we interviewed the chief executive of fishmongers' hall,

commodore toby williamson. the hall is where the attack started and commodore williamson gave a comprehensive description of what happened and praised the heroism of his staff. i'm about to interview him again, but let's fist listen to a bit of what he said at the time. there's this guy called lukasz. he's the guy who cleans the glasses down in the basement, and that's exactly what he was doing when he hears this scream. the scream was so loud that, as a first aider, he makes a choice. he goes towards the trouble. he gets there on the first floor of the building just behind me. and it's very clear that there is a bad guy who has two knives in his hand and there is blood, screaming, there is chaos. lukasz pulls off the wall this long stick, he charges towards the bad guy and he impacts him on the chest. well, as i said, here's commodore toby williamson now. today's events, obviously done virtually because of the pandemic

back restrictions, but is it something that lives with you every single day, since that time a year ago? well, good afternoon and thank you for allowing me to come to your programme. here we are, one year on, the 29th of november is a date we will never forget. so the 29th of november is a date we will neverforget. so in the 29th of november is a date we will never forget. so in that sense, your question is true. but the flag today flies at half mast and there are two candles burning brightly and the flowers have been laid. earlier in the week we had a short service with the staff to commemorate that day and one message from that that i took was that pain is the price you pay for love. it is the love of your family and friends, which is normally the strongest and anyone's life. if that link is lost and dramatically so, as it was for saskia jones and jack merritt, it is

painful and want to all pay tribute to them and what they stood for and indeed of course remember their families here, just after 2pm, from one year ago. i remember one year ago talking to you and you were praising effusively the staff at fish mongers hole. have you still got the same team there? —— at fishmongers hall. i do still got the same bond there and are you perhaps even closer now? well, friendships are forged, and as you recalled then, our story was one other housekeeper, a waitress, a security guard, a receptionist, a kitchen porter and others, who between them we re porter and others, who between them were inesca pably involved porter and others, who between them were inescapably involved in this tragic happening in some nightmarish minutes of violence, which even though they were containing themselves as calm, they were indeed tending to the wounded and dying.

some showed stunning bravery to cope with the scale of the violence unfolding before them. others showed intense calm under intense pressure and others assisted merely by locating the building as quickly as possible, executing their duty apace, but all of them were present andi apace, but all of them were present and i think people deal with mental anguish in their own way. some lead time and space, others need structure and activity. others can appear very normal on the surface, but be hurting desperately underneath, and as a leader one of the roles is to show empathy, never bejudgmental, the roles is to show empathy, never be judgmental, immense patience the roles is to show empathy, never bejudgmental, immense patience and indeed to inspire some hope. and there has been a lot of hope since last year, going forwards. the violence and the virus that we have all seen, something that allows you to really prioritise what does matter in life and to value a sense of community and to get on the front and start helping others. all of the staff have been on thatjourney.

have you or any of your staff sought professional help for this? well, it is true that professional counselling now is extremely good. fishmongers' hall and the company as a whole is involved in many activities, mental health, and my goodness that has been needed by many in this country over the past year. we do other things as well, our catering facilities, which were active on that day, have now com pletely active on that day, have now completely shifted into the east end, helping those in food poverty. prisoner b rehabilitation, we had talked about that here. we have been involved in it, not because it is easy, but because it is difficult. education in the arts. all these things have been under pressure. it isa things have been under pressure. it is a company that is nearly 750 yea rs old is a company that is nearly 750 years old and we can show high releva nce to years old and we can show high relevance to society. from a staff point of view, i hope they can come to work every day and they can add

something to make someone else's life better and that is a tremendous boon under these terms of pressure. regrettably, of course, forjack and saskia that all came too late, but all of us are in it together and there is a lot to look forward to in this world. just finally, on a much lighter note, and i hope it doesn't sound flippa nt at lighter note, and i hope it doesn't sound flippant at all, but it caught the public‘s imagination about the narwhal task being used to keep the attacker down. i remember seeing it before, but what has happened to that because it was quite old, wasn't it, and quite valuable as well? indeed, i knew nothing of narwhal tasks before that day and we shouldn't make light in any sense, it was 150 years old and about seven feet long, there were two of them, in fact. both were shattered and the attack and now form part of the police evidence. but i was given an

old tuscan cuddly toy for christmas, and that and the fire extinguisher have become my emblems, if you like, they much more serious and braver episode. exactly, they really have. commodore toby williamson, thank you very much indeed for speaking to us one year on from that attack. dave prowse, best known for playing darth vader in the original star wars trilogy, has died at the age of 85. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back on his life. at 6ft 6", with a towering figure, dave prowse was physically perfect for the part of darth vader in the original star wars trilogy in the 1970s and 1980s. looks like you two need a lesson in crossing the road! at the same time, he was also the face of road safety, presenting videos and visiting thousands of schools as the green cross code man. we won't be there when you cross the road, so always use the... robot: ..green cross code! it's very interesting

because when i became darth vader, when the star wars film came out, i almost got the sack from the government because they thought that my image as darth vader would have a detrimental effect on my image as the green cross code man. a champion weightlifter, he eventually tried acting, he had the bulk, he had the build, but he also had a bristol accent. start tearing the ship apart piece by piece until you've found those tapes. find the passengers of this vessel. i want them alive! you are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor. take her away! when the first star wars film came out he found that his dialogue had been replaced with the booming tones

of james earljones. he may never have been the voice behind the villain, farewell david prowse at the age of 85. time for summer weather, quite wintry in london, what is right for the rest of the country? indeed, and for most of the uk it is pretty great and murky and the weather stagnated over the last few with. .. pretty the weather stagnated over the last few with... pretty cold, but not like that everywhere. across north—east scotland, parts of wales, south—east england, we have got some glorious sunshine and it really is an all or nothing kind of forecast. you can see the extent of the cloud and where the sunshine comes out it is pretty much clear blue skies you have as well. overnight tonight, we will see that mist and fog again across england and wales, going nowhere too fast. the fog will lift as the rain begins to move into scotla nd as the rain begins to move into scotland and northern ireland later

tonight, so turning right here