is the high. that's your weather. this is bbc news — the headlines at 5pm: the foreign secretary says the government is "listening" to conservative mps who are unhappy with the latest coronavirus restrictions for england. having a vote on the regulations in january, with a sunset in february if that doesn't pass again, i think, is the right combination of accountability and transparency, with taking the measures that the public need now. the french formula 1 driver romain grosjean escapes a huge crash at the bahrain grand prix, which saw his car split in two and erupt into flames. the race has now restarted. former f1 driverjohn watson said romain grosjean had a lucky escape. that was an accident which in my generation would have had a much worse outcome. president trump says he will continue to fight the results of the us presidential election, telling fox news his ‘mind

will not change in six months‘. let us work, let us work... the eu's chief negotiatior michel barnier continues talks in london over a post—brexit trade deal — but fishing is still a sticking point. and the man behind the mask of darth vader — weightlifter—turned—actor dave prowse has died at the age of 85. welcome to bbc news. 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 of his own mps unhappy about the tougher tier 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, colleagues, mps 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 to all mps and peers,

promising that if they back him he will give them a new vote on the restrictions onjanuary 27th. if he loses that vote, restrictions would end on february the 3rd. he says a review of restrictions next month means some areas could come out of tier 3 on december 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 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. today, the mayor of manchester has called for more compensation for businesses in the restricted tiers, but for many, it is already too late. well, in the last hour the government has released the latest figures on coronavirus. in the past 2a hours the uk has recorded 12,155 new cases of coronavirus and 215 new deaths, which takes the total number of deaths from covid—19 in the uk to 58,245.

earlier i spoke to tobias ellwood, conservative mp for bournemouth east, which is going into tier 2. i asked him who in the cabinet we are meant to believe we have remained locked into a peacetime cabinet construct can we have not moved to a war footing. we've got people with no experience in emergency planning or operational decision—making running this and doing emergency and i would have liked to seen earlier on a division between these strategic decision mistaking and the operational delivery. we still have mps, friends of mine, running around, chasing ppe ordering the sorts of things, things they've never had any experience in doing, and consequently you are right to ask who is in charge. can i just clarify this, 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 surge. 2a hours later the prime minister writes an article in the mail on sunday where suddenly that's all scrapped! let's look to move forward , all scrapped! let's look to move forward, we have a major... can you explain that the people who are watching now? 2a hours in downing street! what does that say? you can make your own judgments, i'm street! what does that say? you can make your ownjudgments, i'm not here to defend the government, i'm here to defend the government, i'm here to defend the government, i'm here to ask the later clarity, greater command of control and communication, with a major vote taking place on tuesday, love can send mps up and down the country that don't understand the data that was used, which was a couple of weeks old, they don't understand why tiers have been caught up in other areas which seem to be unfair, in dorset for example we entered lockdown with our numbers going down, we came out of it with numbers even further down yet here we are... this is based on the politics, this

is to try to buy off a rebellion, is not based on the science, because you have chris whitty saying that tier 2 doesn't work, tier 3 should work. this is all about politics, this is just to work. this is all about politics, this isjust to buy work. this is all about politics, this is just to buy off a rebellion. everything is about politics, of course it is. politics is the art of making the right decisions. except this doesn't seem to be the right decision according to the chief scientific officer. you need to let me finish. the two challenges every government across the world is facing is that dilemma between supporting your economy, economic intervention, saving jobs and so forth, for the flip side of the pandemic and then actually cutting down on covid—19, the spread of the pandemic as well. we are so close to getting a vaccine roll—out, the tier system is necessary but we believe it needs to be advanced. we have a couple of days, it is absently right that mps are scrutinising what the government does, that is theirjob, all the more important to take place during an enduring emergency, and we

have a couple of days to get this right and advance was going on. concessions would like dell would have been made by would like to see more, the nightingale programme was rolled out to alleviate pressure on local hospitals, bournemouth is up against it, and nightingales are empty, we have 2000 medical personnel in the armed forces wanting to play their part but they have not been military assistance... so michael gove was not being genuine when it talks about the threat to the nhs, if you sail these medical hospitals, which we know, are by and large standing empty. you are by and large standing empty. you are right, absolutely. that is an amazing achievement put these together, i'm afraid many are empty 01’ together, i'm afraid many are empty or dormant or not being used certainly to their maximum. if we are to alleviate the pressure on hospitals, let's ratchet that up. like i say, if there is a staff there when staffing issue the mod stands ready to help. another criteria will be the tiering system, the prime ministers right if you

have small enclaves surrounded by large ones at higher tier, how to make sure they don't move? i would like to see a national lockdown travel ban similar to wales, just until a vaccine is rolled out. that means tier1 until a vaccine is rolled out. that means tier 1 can until a vaccine is rolled out. that means tier1 can be better protected and tier 3 means tier1 can be better protected and tier3 can means tier1 can be better protected and tier 3 can get the support it needs. we need is an active plan that takes us through the winter and into the sunnier climes when the vaccine rolled out. the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon, has defended her government's handling of the pandemic, as statistics show scotland's covid death rate is higher than england. official figures show there were 50.5 deaths per million in scotland in the week up to 15th november, compared to 40.6 in england. speaking to the bbc‘s andrew marr, the first minister said it was too soon to be comparing statistics. 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.

let's bring you some dramtic images from formula 1, where the driver romain grosjean has managed to walk away from a significant crash at the bahrain grand prix, which saw his car burst into flames. the 34—year—old hit the barriers in the opening lap of the race. grosjean's team have said he appears to have light burns on his hands and ankles. they've also thanked the marshals and other officials for their quick reactions when coming to his rescue. there has been lots of reaction on social media. the official formula 1 twitter account said "romain is doing ok, i don't want to make a medical comment but he had light burns on his hands and ankles. 0bviously he's shaken... i want to thank the rescue crews who are very quick. the marshals and fia people they did a greatjob, it was scary"

and the british formula 1 driver lewis hamilton tweeted, "i'm so grateful romain is safe. the risk we take is nojoke, for those of you out there that forget that we put our life on the line for this sport and for what we love to do. thankful to the fia for the massive strides we've taken for romain to walk away from that safely." i've been speaking to the former british formula 1 driverjohn watson, who also gave me his reaction to the crash. it was a shocking accident because it occurred at the back end of the field going through turn three into turn four. romain grosjean went from left of the circuit across to the right and contacted another car. it then sent his car at a very high speed directly into the barrier. the thing that was shocking to me was that the car penetrated the barrier, which is something you would never expect to see, but also the car split into mac, so when pat went

through the barrier with romain g rosjea n through the barrier with romain grosjean in that part of the car, the second part of it stayed on the other side of the barrier. there was afire, other side of the barrier. there was a fire, unfortunately romain g rosjea n a fire, unfortunately romain grosjean was able to step out of the car. he did suffer minor injuries but fortunately he was able to walk away and ta ken but fortunately he was able to walk away and taken to the medical centre where he believed his injuries are very minor. but listen, that was an accident which in my generation would have had a much worse outcome, thankfully, thanks to all the work that has been done by the federation, the faa, including the driver halo which is a support across the driver cockpit, unquestionably in my opinion save the life today of romain grosjean,. which would not have happened when you were driving in the 80s. just tell us, not only the halo which is presumably like a protective frame, in terms of what the drivers are wearing now in terms of fire reta rda nt wearing now in terms of fire retardant suits and other things as

well, just how conscious are they of the risk of fire after a collision like this? it's mandatory today that drivers wear underwear, overalls, the helmut, every part of the safety equipment is mandated by the fia. but it was the development i think that halo introduced two years ago. i have to say when it was introduced i wasn't particularly a fan of it, but i witnessed today something which has changed my mind irrevocably. and that is that the halo saved romain grosjean's life. that was an accident that had fidelity written all over it. it was appalling to watch, the images, i've watched them again and again, i'm still shocked by what i watched and i'm sure that romain grosjean's family, i think that his wife and three children, must be sitting at home thinking, our man, our husband, oui’ home thinking, our man, our husband, our father is safe and it will be another day for him to think about his future, but that day formula 1 saved a racing driver's life,

unquestionably. president trump has given his first interview since the us election and again made unsubstantiated claims that the election was, in his words, ‘rigged'. in a telephone interview with fox news, he refused to give a deadline for when he might drop his legal challenges or concede the election. well, i don't want to give you an actual date. a lot of people say the 18th or they say the 14th or they say january 20. i'm not going to say a date, but i will say we have to move very fast. we have been moving fast. and, you know, look, when you say, "is it tainted?" everyone knows it's tainted. everyone knows that the poll watchers were thrown out of buildings. everyone knows that people were not allowed to vote when they walked in — so preciously, so beautifully — to vote. nomia iqbal is in washington.

what interested me was he said he wa nted what interested me was he said he wanted joe biden to prove that every single member who had voted of the country, 80 million, that it wasn't illegitimate. yes. and of course that's not how it works. the burden of proof is on donald trump's shoulders. it's interesting because although this was supposed to be an interview, it certainly wasn't really a n interview, it certainly wasn't really an interview, it was on a network fox news which is largely sympathetic to him, and with an interviewer who had previewed the interviewer who had previewed the interview by basically backing donald trump and not really contesting any of the baseless claims he continued to push throughout the interview. he was co mforta ble, throughout the interview. he was comfortable, a rift, he did the usual thing where he went to extreme, he said it was the worst thing to happen to he painted this conspiracy theory, he pushed at the usual claims of voting machines were rigged, no evidence of that, he talked about dumps of ballots, and

thatis talked about dumps of ballots, and that is essentially voters, he said that is essentially voters, he said that as the night was going on he was winning by a lot then losing by a little. which is what happens when the votes are counted. and he continued to basically say that this election was taken away from him. he has a right to contest the vote, but he also has to prove it in court, and the fact that all his cases are pretty much being thrown out says a lot. he has yet to provide any evidence, he said he would during this interview and he did not. evidence, he said he would during this interview and he did notm there any route that he can take that would get him to the supreme court, for example, to make a decision on this? he was asked about the supreme court, but of course to get there again you need a solid case with evidence. and all the evidence that he is suggesting isn't concrete enough, it isn't enough to overturn the result. yes, he won more than 73 million votes, butjoe

biden won more than 80 million votes, and a lot of the states have come back and certified, including pennsylvania which was the state that clinched it for biden in the end, and is interesting because he mentioned, he says people keep throwing around dates, the dates are important, december 1a is when all the results disputes have to be resolved, the 23rd is when all the states co m e resolved, the 23rd is when all the states come back and certify. 0f course we knowjanuary states come back and certify. 0f course we know january 20 is when joe biden becomes president. donald trump becomes a civilian, and if it doesn't leave the white house he will be escorted out. regarding the formula 1 grand prix crash, romain grosjean walked free. lewis hamilton has just crash, romain grosjean walked free. lewis hamilton hasjust won crash, romain grosjean walked free. lewis hamilton has just won that race. talks between the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier and his uk counterpart on a post—brexit trade deal are contining this afternoon, but downing street says

there remains a lot to do at a late hour. the government says fishing rights are still an "outstanding major bone of contention" but there is a deal to be done. mr barnier himself described negotiations as an "ongoing process". the united nation's humanitarian coordinator in nigeria says 110 civilians were killed in an attack by suspected islamist militants near the city of maiduguri on saturday. some of the victims, many of them farmers, are said to have been tied up before being knifed to death. maiduguri is in the north—eastern borno state — where islamist militants have long been active. 0ur correspondent in abuja, chris ewokor, has more. it's the harvest season here in nigeria. and these rice farmers had gone to their farms to harvest the rice, but they were now invaded by some attackers. at the moment, we don't know who the attackers were, but they invaded the farms,

tied the farmers and killed them. in fact, the word the governor used is that they were slaughtered, and then the attackers set fire on their farms and burned it down. at the moment, 43 bodies have been recovered and buried, according to the governor of borno state, who visited the community on sunday morning. and some of the members of the farmers said that some bodies are still yet to be recovered, and so the number of those who have fallen casualty could not be ascertained at the moment after burying about 43 of them. now, the president of nigeria, muhammadu buhari, has condemned the attack. he calls it insane, but he said that the federal government of nigeria has given the nigerian army all the necessary support to ensure that it provides security for nigerian citizens. this attack happening at this

time is likely to also indicate that the attackers, especially insurgents in northeastern nigeria, remain very active. it's likely to also raise questions about the ability of security agencies in the country to contain such attacks, as many lives — especially civilian lives — are highly at risk in that region. at least 30 afghan soldiers have been killed in a suicide bombing in the east of the country. the attacker is reported to have detonated a military humvee vehicle filled with explosives at an army base in the province of ghazni. 2a people were injured in the blast. there's been no claim of responsibility. but fighting has continued in the region between government forces and the taliban, despite peace talks between the two sides in qatar. a british woman who's spent six years on a camper van tour of europe has gone missing while walking in the pyrenees.

esther dingley, who's 37 and originally from durham, last spoke to her partner dan colegate a week ago when she was on the border of france and spain. she was due to finish her solo trek on wednesday, but has not been seen. mr colegate, who's travelled to france to help with the search, said he was ‘shattered' by her disappearance. more than 10,000 turkeys are to be culled at a farm in northallerton, in north yorkshire, overfears they could have bird flu. the department for environment, food and rural affairs said avian flu poses little risk to public health and that this strain of the virus does not affect food safety. 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 gave me this update. 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, the 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 would carry on trading and the search for a buyer or buyers for those brands really starts. i think it is fair to say that his style of business had become slightly outdated and yes, his brands weren't as quick as others to seize on the opportunities of digital. others, you might think of boohoo, have done very well out of online retail and lots of competition on the high street as well. i think it is worth mentioning

at this time, 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 going to lose everything, that is not the case. 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, probably around 10%. diego maradona's doctor is being investigated for manslaughter, following the death of the argentine football legend earlier this week. police in buenos aires searched leopoldo luque's house and private clinic for evidence of negligence, after maradona's daughters gave statements questioning their father's medical care. he died of a heart attack on wednesday at the age of 60. earlier in november, he had successful surgery

on a blood clot in his brain and he was being treated for alcohol dependency. dave prowse, best known for playing darth vader in the original star wars trilogy, has died at the age of 85. his fellow co—star mark hamill, who played luke skywalker, has paid tribute to him, calling him a "kind man" who "loved his fans as much as they loved him". 0ur 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, playing a succession of small roles, including one in stanley kubrick's 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, but the man behind the mask of darth vader is how he will always be remembered. and for so many, he played the most iconic cinema villain ever seen.

paleaontologists have identified a fossil discovered in morocco as a previously unknown dinosaur. the creature — which they've named ajnabia 0dysseus — was about the size of a pony and a member of the duckbill dinosaur species, which emerged in north america. it dates back to the end of the cretaceous era, around 66 million years ago. so just how did it get to africa, which at that time was an isolated island? dr nick longrich from the university of bath was the lead paleontologist on the project. he told me more about the fossil. you look at a lot of fossils, you get used to recognising them, and i had seen a lot of duckbilled dinosaur fossils working in museums in north america, working in the field there. they are super common so you often wouldn't even pick them up in north america, you just find these bones

and teeth and jaws and just leave them in the field. and then i was looking at a collection of fossils in morocco and i saw these distinctive teeth and i realised instantly we had a duckbilled dinosaur, and because we've never seen a duckbilled dinosaur from africa before i knew it was going to be a new species. that's exciting just in its own place. but in terms of how it got there, so africa... well, explain what africa... it was surrounded by ocean at the time, and where was the nearest land mass? how far would it have been for this dinosaur to have made thejourney? yeah, so the continents break up kind of at the beginning of the age of dinosaurs, and africa kind of drifts away and becomes an island. and it would have been separated from europe by something like maybe 400 kilometres. and it was fairly deep water, so even if the sea levels went down a few tens of metres during an ice age, which happened once or twice, it still wouldn't have exposed dry land, they couldn't have walked from one landmass to the other. and so, as sherlock holmes says, if you eliminate the impossible

then whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. and it's very improbable that these animals could swim from one landmass to the other, but that's the only real explanation we are left with, so that's probably what happened is they just swam that huge distance. that is extraordinary, because i think i was reading that polar bears swim... i mean, elephants can swim as well. we've got some rather funny graphics just as we've been speaking to you, actually, showing these dinosaurs padding along a beautiful tropical beach, which is perhaps the wrong image to their at this moment. but do you think it's possible that a 400 kilometre journey could have been swum by a dinosaur? well... you start looking into what animals have done historically, we know elephants can swim up to kilometres in the oceans, polar bears, there has been one example of a polar bear that was observed swimming for over six...kilometres. and we know that during the ice ages elephants had gone out to islands in the mediterranean that were isolated by water, they must have swum out there.

so we know animals occasionally do this. and i think the explanation is that over the very longest time incredibly improbable things happen. the improbable becomes probable given millions of years. so this might be a once in a million year event but given a million years something like this... 0k, really good to speak to you. i'm sorry, you werejust breaking up a tiny bit at the end there. just answer my question, is that an ammonite behind you? yes, it is. i was surprised i got it right! now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. the weather has stagnated under an area of high pressure. the winds haven't been strong enough to move the weather along and so it has been another grey and cloudy day, with some mist and fog patches lingering into the afternoon. across north—east scotland, there was some sunshine here. staying pretty chilly, temperatures in parts

of aberdeenshire just getting a couple of degrees above freezing and we also saw a little bit of sunshine for parts of wales and south—west england, otherwise, we have all been stuck underneath the sheet of cloud. 0vernight, mist and fog patches again across england and wales, visibility improving for a time in the southern uplands as rain spreads across scotland and northern ireland, with the rain turning heavier in the night across western scotland. on monday, this wet weather will be pushing its way southwards but as the front bringing the rain moves southwards, it will weaken, so the rain won't amount to much across the south. sunshine follows across northern scotland, but we will see colder air moving in here, with temperatures of around 7 through the afternoon, otherwise, about 8 to 10 degrees is the high. that's your weather. hello, 5.31pm, you're watching bbc news.

the headlines: the foreign secretary says the government is "listening" to conservative mps who are unhappy with the latest coronavirus restrictions for england. having a vote on the regulations injanuary, with a sunset in february if that doesn't pass again, i think, is the right combination of accountability and transparency, with taking the measures that the public need now. the french formula 1 driver romain grosjean escapes a huge crash at the bahrain grand prix, which saw his car split in two and erupt into flames. in the past few minutes, lewis hamilton has won the grand prix. president trump says he will continue to fight the results of the us presidential election, telling fox news his "mind will not change in six months". let us work, let us work! the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, continues talks in london over a post—brexit trade deal, but fishing is still a sticking point.

back now to the news that the foreign secretary, dominic raab, has said that the government is "listening" to conservative mps who are unhappy at the planned introduction of new covid rules in england on wednesday. some have indicated they will vote against the stricter tiers on tuesday. under pressure from tory back—benchers, borisjohnson has offered them a second vote in january if they back the changes this week. earlier, i spoke to the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham. greater manchester will return to tier 3 when the national lockdown ends this week. he says he'll be making the case to move down to tier 2. 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 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 in government, that there wouldn't be a meaningful review? the communities secretary, robertjenrick, briefed mayors earlier this week once the decision was made and said, "don't expect a meaningful review in 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? yeah, 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

tier 1 and tier 2 getting the same level of discretionary business support as places like greater manchester going into tier 3. now, the tier 3 areas are often the 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 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, maybe another national lockdown,

in january 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 are and more areas would have been in tier 2 and tier1 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 notjust have a steadier approach that allows us to have more of our lives back and 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 were to have an approach to 2021, which was having 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 is what certain people think, so 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... don't in the debate on tuesday... you want more cash as though? 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 be a separate deal struck with people like you? it should be for all tier 3 areas, not just 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 tier 2 and tier 1. 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. and that's obviously been the story of this particular year. it is often the case that the government would do things to the north of 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 for tier 2 areas was when london went into tier 2, so i am asking our mps to press for that fair financial case. also to get the clear commitment to a meaningful review. and personally, ithink tier 3 should be changed. i think it hits hospitality and businesses that are in the supply chain of hospitality too hard

and i think it is too 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 our mps to challenge it on tuesday. mayor of manchester, andy burnham, there. family and colleagues have paid tribute to the two people killed in the london bridge 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 the past 12 months. 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 described what happened and praised the heroism of his staff. this is 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 pretty clear that there is a bad guy, he's got two knives in his hand, 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. and i caught up with him earlier today. he told me how he and his staff marked a year from the attack. 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 that you pay for love. it's the love of your family and friends which is normally the strongest and anyone's life, but if that link is lost and traumatically so —

as it was for saskia jones and jack merritt — it's painful, and we 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 a year ago talking to you and you were praising effusively the staff at fishmongers' hall. have you still got the same team there? and ijust wondered if these terrible events had actually forged an even closer bond amongst you now. well, friendships are forged — and not least amongst pressure, the quickest and the hardest. as you recall then, our story was one of a housekeeper, a waitress, a security guard, a receptionist, a kitchen porter and a maintainer and others, who between them were inescapably involved in this tragic happening, some nightmarish minutes of violence, whether they were containing usman khan or whether indeed they were tending to the wounded and dying.

some showed outstanding bravery to reduce the scale of the violence unfolding before them, others professional calmness under intense pressure, and others assisted greatly merely by vacating the building as quickly as possible, at pace, but all of them were present and i think people deal with mental anguish in their own way. some need time and space, others need structure and activity. others can appear very normal on the surface but they hurt desperately underneath, and as a leader, one of the roles is to show empathy, never bejudgmental, immense patience and indeed, then, to inspire some hope. and there has been a lot of hope since last year, going forwards. the violence and the virus that we've all seen, it's something which allows you to really prioritise what does matter in life — to value a sense of community

and to sort of get on the front foot 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. one of them is mental health, and, my goodness, that has been needed by many in this country over the past year. we do other things as well. 0ur catering facilities, which were active on that day, have now completely shifted into the east end, helping those in food poverty. prisoner rehabilitation — we've talked about here. we've been involved in it, not because it's easy, but because it's difficult. education and the arts — these are all areas that have been under pressure. and we think as a company nearly 750 years old, we can show high relevance to modern society.

from a staff point of view, they, i hope, can come to work every day and they can add something to make someone else's life better — and that's a tremendous boon under these times of pressure. regrettably, of course, forjack and saskia, that all came too late, but all of us are in it together and there is an awful lot to look forward to in this world. commodore toby williamson, a year after that attack on london bridge and after it started in fishmongers' hall. now, something quite different. one way of doing your bit to help the environment for years to come is to grow a tree. tonight, bbc countryfile is launching a new campaign to plant 750,000 saplings across the uk and wants us all to get involved. a number of high—profile names are supporting the initiative, including prince charles. i know that so many people during this terribly difficult year

have had their appreciation of the trees and other green spaces around them deepened, and therefore it is our duty, given how long that it takes for a tree to mature, to plant trees now for future generations to enjoy, and for the immense benefits, particularly in towns and cities, from their shade in an ever more overheated climate. there are so many opportunities for us all to plant more trees, to protect green spaces and, above all, to plant avenues of trees in our towns and cities. even small spaces can accommodate a tree or a green area planted with appropriate native species. so, as someone with a passion for planting trees, i can only encourage you all to get planting for plant britain. you are watching bbc news.

in a moment, viewers on bbc one willjoin us for a round up of the news with mishal husain. butjust before that, he's been described as the world's loneliest elephant after living in miserable conditions in a zoo in pakistan for the past 30 years. but now, kavaan will live out the rest of his years at a wildlife sanctuary in cambodia. here are the pictures of kavaan being prepared for his departure from islamabad. it follows a five—year campaign, supported by the pop singer cher. secunder kermani reports. this is the story of one of the world's most famous pop stars and the world's loneliest elephant. after 35 years in captivity, at times left chained up, kaavan is being set free. tens of thousands of people signed a petition on his behalf. his most vocal supporter — superstar cher.

earlier this year, she described news of his upcoming release as one of the greatest moments of her life. kaavan was given to pakistan as a gift by the sri lankan government back in 1985. but he has been badly treated at this zoo, enduring poor conditions. life got even worse after his only companion died eight years ago. the way kaavan is swaying his head from side to side as a common sign of distress, and it is something that he spends a lot of time doing. it is why campaigners have been so keen to move him. now kaavan will be taken to a wildlife sanctuary in cambodia, after a court shut the zoo down until its facilities are improved. good boy! a specialist international charity has been preparing him for the journey, trying to get him used to the crate he will fly in, using food to encourage him to obey the commands. it is like any other dog training, or training your cat or whatever.

a bit bigger than a cat! it depends on the cat! i think the main deal is that he feels comfortable with whatever you do, or at least excited enough to follow, and maybe to follow you somehow. because as soon as he is kind of afraid, as soon as he shows some mistrust, yeah, then you can go back home. the end is near. kaavan weighs around five tonnes. moving him will be a huge logistical challenge. but the charity's leading vet has discovered how to keep him calm — singing to him. his favourite song, frank sinatra's my way. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. hello there. 0ur weather has stagnated under

an area of high pressure. the winds haven't been strong enough to move the weather along and so it has been another grey and cloudy day, with some mist and fog patches lingering into the afternoon. across north—east scotland, there was some sunshine here. staying pretty chilly, temperatures in parts of aberdeenshire just getting a couple of degrees above freezing and we also saw a little bit of sunshine for parts of wales and south—west england, otherwise, we have all been stuck underneath the sheet of cloud. 0vernight, mist and fog patches again across england and wales, visibility improving for a time in the southern uplands as rain spreads across scotland and northern ireland, with the rain turning heavier in the night across western scotland. on monday, this wet weather will be pushing its way southwards, but as the front bringing the rain moves southwards, it will weaken, so the rain won't amount to much across the south. sunshine follows across northern scotland, but we will see colder air moving in here, with temperatures of around 7 through the afternoon. 0therwise, about 8 to 10 degrees is the high. that's your weather.

the government warns of a possible third wave of covid — unless mps support its latest plans for england. with christmas around the corner, a new system would come into force this week. tens of millions of people will be in the top two levels of restrictions. it will all end soon enough. not this year, thinking around about when it comes into spring next year. as long as we're all careful, do what we're told, be sensible. diego maradona's doctor is investigated for possible

negligence, after his family raise questions about his care. dave prowse, the actor who became darth vader in the original star wars films, has died at the age of 85. and a miraculous escape at the bahrain grand prix — after romain grosjean manages to jump clear of the wreckage of his crashed car. good evening. the foreign secretary dominic raab says the government is "listening" to conservative mps unhappy with planned new covid restrictions in england — but that a third spike in cases is possible unless they are approved. the system would replace the lockdown when it ends this week and would place most of england

in the two highest levels. with a vote due in the house of commons on tuesday, here's our political correspondent, iain watson. it correspondent, iain watson. has been difficult find year it has been difficult finding each yearin it has been difficult finding each year in this festive season. in greater manchester they have been living under some restriction since the summer and what's more cutting is being placed in tier 3, the highest form of restrictions from next week. if you look at the figures, they seem to have cracked down harder on greater manchester. speaking amongst the people, they seem speaking amongst the people, they seem to be kind of fed up. but some are putting a brave face on it. they are putting a brave face on it. they are correct what they say, we have to be careful. if we are all sensible it will all end soon enough, not this year. this goodwill

hasn't extended to westminster with borisjohnson facing hasn't extended to westminster with boris johnson facing rebellion from his own mps but ministers say they are reaching out. mps tell me they just want to understand the measures ta ke just want to understand the measures take into account notjust the cost and benefit of tackling the virus but the economic, health and social implications, we will publish more analysis on that and we do take seriously accountability. the prime minister has written to mps promising that if they back him this week, he will give them i new vote on the restrictions injanuary. if they don't back them, the restrictions will end in february and he says some areas could come out of tier 3 on december the 19th but that will depend on evidence. a p pa re ntly but that will depend on evidence. apparently there is smoke without fire in westminster because some local potential rebels now say they will back the government in tuesday's crucial vote on the

restrictions but for others the prime minister hasn't gone far enough. it's right that mps scrutinise what the government does, thatis scrutinise what the government does, that is theirjob, all the more important during an emergency and we have a couple of days to get this right. concessions have been made but i would like to see more. wasn't it just but i would like to see more. wasn't itjust a year ago that boris johnson one and 80 seat majority? but such is the unease with the restrictions he wants to introduce, he will have to meet a range of mps tomorrow to keep them onside. he wa nts to tomorrow to keep them onside. he wants to avoid relying on labour votes because their support would come at a price. i am not committing to vote for these measures because we are not convinced they are sufficient or workable. it's not too late for the government to convince us. late for the government to convince us. political measures have led the government to postpone a vote until

january so he moved may be postponing the conflict rather than avoiding it. the latest government figures show there were 12,155 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that takes the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week to 15,224. 1,524 people have been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last wednesday. another 215 deaths have been reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. it means an average of 460 deaths per day in the last week. the total number of uk deaths is now 58,245. the government says it's secured another two million doses of one of the american coronavirus vaccines — adding to the millions already ordered. but when are the first vaccinations likely to take place? 0ur science editor david shukman‘s been taking a look.

there is so much talk about vaccines, it's easy to lose track of what's going on so here is what we note so far. the government has ordered 357 million doses of several different vaccines although none has been approved for use so far. here is the list of those under numbers doses ordered. the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has now been sent to regulators, the mhra, for approval and they are going through the data now but the pfizer vaccine was the first to start that process and its possible we will get an a nswer and its possible we will get an answer on that soon. i understand there has been quite an interactive process with the regulators while trials are going on. i wouldn't be surprised if an announcement is made in the next two weeks, possibly as early as next week. so what are the regulators are looking for? safety,

quality and effectiveness, and of these the regulators keep emphasising the safety of the public must come first so they are working fast but carefully because the worst thing would be for doubts to start creeping in about these new vaccines. doses are already being manufactured in the hope that approval is given so everything hinges on that coming through, so when might we start to see the benefits? if approval is given next month, it's possible that the first doses could be administered ahead of christmas although people will need two injections a month apart so they won't get immunity straightaway. beyond that the government hopes that by next spring they will have vaccinated the most vulnerable such as residence of care homes and health and care workers but everything hinges on distribution and production on a massive scale and production on a massive scale and that is a huge challenge. 0ur science editor david shukman reporting there.

police are investigating the doctor of the footballer diego maradona for possible negligence, after his death in argentina last week at the age of 60. 0ur news correspondent simon jones joins me now, simon, what's the latest? maradona's death prompted an outpouring of grief in the football community and tonight there were questions about that death. we know he recently underwent surgery to remove a clot from his brain, he had returned home but now his three daughters want to know what medication he was on and what treatment he was getting and whether there could have been negligence. that is why the home and the clinic of his doctor, leopoldo luque, has been searched. mr luque has told local media he is cooperating fully with police, and that he did everything to help maradona in his last days. he is most famous in this country for the hand of god incident that not england out of the world

cup, he had a troubled life on and off the pitch and for his family those troubles appear to be continuing. a fresh inquest opens tomorrow into the death of nine—year—old ella adoo—kissi—debrah, who suffered a fatal asthma attack in 2013. her mother hopes that it will make legal history by registering air pollution as the cause of death. the coroner will consider new evidence about dangerously high levels of air pollution, mainly from traffic, to which ella was exposed. her mother rosamund has been speaking exclusively to claire marshall. my name is rosamund adoo—kissi—debrah. i am ella roberta's mum. ella was incredibly active. i sometimes worry that we always talk about her being ill all the time. she wasn't always like that. ella and her family lived in lewisham, just 25 metres from london's south circular. the little girl was breathing air so polluted it broke legal limits. she endured three years of seizures

and time in intensive care. ella coughs. this cough an early sign of the damage being done to her lungs. she was ventilated four times. she suffered greatly. that's something i can't erase from my memory at all. in 2013 ella had a fatal asthma attack. at the time no connection was made with air pollution. then new medical evidence linked the harmful particles and chemicals in exhaust fumes to her death. the high court, in a rare move, eventually granted rosamund a fresh inquest. 0verwhelming. she didn't want to be forgotten by her siblings and her friends and i'm incredibly proud of her. she was only here for a short while but i hope she has made her mark. more and more evidence is emerging about how dangerous air pollution is to human health. we have most recently a much greater understanding of the kind of levels