hello, a very good afternoon to you. i'm ben brown. we're poised to bring you today's coronavirus briefing from downing street. first of all, our headlines: the government publishes its impact report outlining the data to backing up their decision behind england's new tiered system. wales is imposing stricter coronavirus measures, with all pubs and restaurants closing from 6pm every evening. and the prime minister says "everyone including celebrities" should follow the regulations, as rita ora says she made an serious error of judgment by celebrating her birthday at a restaurant.

hello, a very good afternoon to you. welcome to bbc news. we're expecting a downing street coronavirus briefing led by the health secretary, matt hancock. the national medical director of nhs england, professor stephen powis, and the head of operations for the community testing programme, general sir gordon messenger, will also be there. we will bring thatjust as soon as they arrive in downing street, in they arrive in downing street, in the briefing room. first of all, let's talk about what has happened in the last few minutes, which is that the government has published its impact report which outlines the date on which they have come to their decisions around the new three tiers of restrictions in england, replacing the lockdown on wednesday.

this was partly to assuage the concerns of conservative mps who are minded to support those resurgence in the house of commons. let's speak to our political correspondent ellie price. i know this is only come out a few minutes ago, i do not know if you've had a chance to look through it, but is it going to be enough, do we think, to get the support of some of these rebellious tory backbenchers who are at the moment not thinking of backing these new restrictions coachella there are 48 pages of it, but the honest truth is there is not that much more information in there. there are various bits across government, economic impacts, health impacts, social impact of what the tier system will be and just generally how to deal with covid—i9. and i suspect that many of the hardline rebels in all of this will probably think it is not quite enough, but then for those who are sort of wavering maybe, maybe it will be. there is a not here to the

fa ct will be. there is a not here to the fact that the balancing of health and societal impact is not straightforward, but we knew that already, and a lot of the economic data and there was data released last week in the spending review. it looks to me like there are probably... there are around 12 rebels who have said they would vote against the government in a vote tomorrow. beyond that, there were 20 oi’ tomorrow. beyond that, there were 20 or30... tomorrow. beyond that, there were 20 or 30. .. thank you, here is the briefing with health secretary matt hancock. good afternoon and welcome to today's down the street briefing. i'm joined by professor stephen powis and general sir gordon messenger, the head of operations for the community testing programme. tomorrow night, our national resources and a little come to an end. and subject to the vote in parliament, we will return to the tiered system from wednesday

morning. i know that the national restrictions have been really tough for some people, but the good news is they have been working. let me ta ke is they have been working. let me take a moment if i may to run through some of the numbers. today's study from imperial college shows that the nationalist russians have brought down cases by a third. —— the national restrictions. 0ver brought down cases by a third. —— the national restrictions. over the last week, the average number of positive tests is down from a peak of 25,331 on the 16th of november. today, there are 15,712 patients in hospital right across the uk with coronavirus. that is down from 16,612 on the 23rd of november, a week ago. in england, in the week before the peak, the number of cases through by 11%, but in the last week, cases have dropped by 30%,

almost a third. this is clearly good news. it shows that the national restrictions have been successful. and what this means in practice is that, through everyone's actions in respecting the national lockdown a nswer respecting the national lockdown answer everything that people have sacrificed, we have reduced pressures on the nhs, we have brought on the number of coronavirus cases, we've got this virus back under control. and i want to thank you for that. for the part that you have played. the effect of the action that we take, of course, brings with a huge challenge too, especially for the hospitality sector, and as the analysis of health, economic and social effects of covid—19 and the approach to tearing shows, which we have published today, it clearly demonstrates this action is necessary to avoid in much worse

outcome —— the approach to tiering. and we must be vigilant. they're still... thereso those 15,712 people in hospital with covid, and sadly, there are still 460 reported deaths on average each day. this is far too many. but there is light at the end of the tunnel. we know that together, we can beat this, and we've got to stick at it. putting this in technical terms, the r rate is back below one, but onlyjust. when r is below one, the number of infections falls over time, because on average, each infected person infects fewer tha n on average, each infected person infects fewer than one other. and for that to happen on average, it is important that lots of infected people infected no one else at all. this is the central challenge of

this pandemic and it has made much more difficult because about one in three people with coronavirus have no symptoms at all, but nevertheless, they passed the infection onto others. and that is why, even as we infection onto others. and that is why, even as we ease infection onto others. and that is why, even as we ease these national restrictions, we have got to keep some restrictions in place. hence the tiering system. so what we can let upa the tiering system. so what we can let up a little, we cannot afford to let up a little, we cannot afford to let up a little, we cannot afford to let upa let up a little, we cannot afford to let up a lot. the success of our collective efforts means that from wednesday, everyone in england, even those in tier 3, can have some greater freedoms, but we don't have much headroom. we cannot risk letting cases rise again, especially into christmas and with the flu season into christmas and with the flu season around the corner. the prime minister has published the government's covid winter plan, which sets out the and international

instructions and the steps we will ta ke to instructions and the steps we will take to help to bring life back to normal by spring, but even as we ta ke normal by spring, but even as we take those steps forward, we must keep our resolve. we have worked so ha rd keep our resolve. we have worked so hard and collectively sacrificed so much. but we can get through this andi much. but we can get through this and i know that hope is on the horizon. in the past fortnight, we have made some really significant progress on vaccines, have made some really significant progress on vaccines, and the nhs now stands ready to deploy a vaccine should one be approved by the uk's independent regular, and today, moderna formally applied for use in america. as we set out this weekend, we have secured 2 million further doses, meaning that we in the uk now have access to a total of 357 million doses of seven different

vaccines, and while we keep working ona vaccines, and while we keep working on a vaccine, we have already built a huge testing capacity that we can deploy right now. and i want to take a moment to talk to the next steps on testing. since the start of the pandemic, we have built the biggest testing capacity in europe and it means we can use tests to do lots of things that we could not do before, in addition or systematic testing programme, and the rapid testing programme, and the rapid testing programme across social care, we have the capacity to do more. today we begin the roll—out of our university student testing programme and expanded community testing. and we will notjust and expanded community testing. and we will not just test and expanded community testing. and we will notjust test people with symptoms. because of this problem with people with a

—— asymptomatic... by finding positives, we can stop people catching covid. in liverpool, both those with symptoms and without, where that testing has happened, they have managed to bring the case rates down by over three quarters, and so on wednesday, liverpool will go into tier 2 manatt tier 3. 0f course, i want to see this sort of success right across the board, so we are rolling out community testing much more widely. we have been working with those going into tier 3, with colleagues from scotland, wales and northern ireland too, and today, the publication of our community testing prospectus, we set out the next phase of that work, to give tier 3 areas a faster way out of the toughest resurgence, to support them, to come down the tears as has happened in liverpool. ——

come down the tiers. we have already had significant interest from across the country and this offer is available all across the uk, and we will be delivering and hardship with partnership in tier 3 areas and with devolved the ministrations across the country —— delivering in partnership with. we can isolate people with covid, including crucially the two and three people who do not have symptoms at all but can nevertheless pass the infection on. because if you have covid without symptoms and still infect others, that of course is a silent danger. you would not know that you are risking lives around you, and so

to anybody, if you are offered a test, please take it. you mightjust save a life. the final thing i wa nted save a life. the final thing i wanted to say is that it is all of our responsibility to keep ourselves safe, to keep ourfamilies, our friends and our communities safe. that responsibility is on all of us. and i know that it weighs heavily. we've been carrying it for a long time now. but the light of dawn is on the horizon. it is the moment to stand firm until the morning, so we can look back and see clearly that everything we gave in every thing we did, it was not for nothing, but so we could save lives and build back better for everyone. i now we could save lives and build back betterfor everyone. i now want we could save lives and build back better for everyone. i now want to turn to professor powers for the latest numbers on the impact of the impact on the nhs —— professor

powis. thank you, secretary of state for time going to show a single slide, a slide i've shown before, and as you all know, as infection rates rise, so do hospital admissions for those who are sickest and, of course, in a minority of people, also that requires treatment in our intensive care units. and as i've shown you before, as infection rates have risen during the autumn, from september through october, into november, usually, with a couple of weeks leg, we start to see rises in hospital admissions and the number peopledon hospital and you can see in this chart, going through the into november, we have seen increased numbers of people in our hospitals in england. the national lockdown was introduced at the beginning of november and we would expect it would be a couple of weeks, asi expect it would be a couple of weeks, as i have said cub before we begin to see the effects of that on hospitalisations. as the secretary

of state has said, we have evidence infection rates are falling and have been following ernest of lockdown we are just now begin to see that translate through into hospital admissions, which have been falling, and into the overall number of people in hospital, which again in re ce nt people in hospital, which again in recent days has started to turn the corner and is now falling. and as you can see, in english hospitals, stood at over 13,000 yesterday. beneath this, there is some regional variation. in the northeast and northwest, where the infection rates have been falling from a high pace, we have been similarly seen early falls in the number of people in hospital. in the south of the country, where infection which have been lower but increasing, we are onlyjust beginning to see some effects of the lockdown, but he will be the next week or two as we see those effects translate. but what is crucial is that we see hospital admissions and hospital patients

falling. we are going into winter, the nhs's biggest time, we are continuing all the elective work we do in trying to catch up on the backlog that was caused by the pandemic over the spring, so it is crucial that we do not have so many patients in our hospitals that we cannot do that work, and that is why it is important that numbers continue to fall and that is why it's important that infection rates fall. we do need to see the further effects of the measures that we all have to follow and everybody in the nhs is extremely grateful that the public is complying with those measures, because that is how we can all support the nhs in its work. secretary of state. thank you very much, professor powis. the first question is from ella. in the first... my boyfriend and i live in

different households, so are unsure how he was applied to us. can we only meet indoors or can we meet —— outdoors or can we need indoors having been in an established relationship? thank you very much, ella. the rules in each of the tears is on the website and we are also making sure that it is widely available through advertising. i start my answer with that. for everybody watching, if you are in a specific situation, the best thing to do is to go and look precisely at the rules. of course, i understand the rules. of course, i understand the impact on people who are in a long—term relationship, and we have made specific provision, but the general rule for those who are in tier 2 is that it is the rule of six applies outdoors, including in a private garden, but indoors, you should only be mixing with people

who are in your own household. and soi who are in your own household. and so i hope that answers the question. and i would urge you to go and look on the government website if you got any query on any of the specific rules in any of the tiers in which you live. the next question from adrian in worthing, which has been vetted by text... this is a great time to ask this question, adrian, because today is the first day that we are rolling out the widespread testing of people who are about to return from university. and we want to make sure that people can come home from university but do that in the safest possible way, so there is a programme right across universities right across the uk to ensure that as many people as possible can get a test before they

travel, and this is a really health contribution an example of how the extension intestine capacity we built up over these last nine months or so can have a real road impact —— extension in testing capacity. of course there are arrangements in place if you're in university, and your university can give the details of, if you test positive, you need to isolate along with contact, but thatis to isolate along with contact, but that is starting today. is there anything else we think we should add? thank you, adrian foster vetted the —— adrian. that is the provisions therefore i hope students will engage with this enthusiastically because it is so important with making sure people get home safely at the end of this term. next question is from hugh pym from the bbc. thinking, secretary of state.

—— thank you. testing a students is volu nta ry, —— thank you. testing a students is voluntary, so how effective can that be. the question for stephen powis, how worried is the nhs about january, following the relaxation over christmas? our view is, we have not made testing editorials to may bea not made testing editorials to may be a will bring in general messenger with the community roll—out we are rolling out as well, with the prospectus being launched now. our goal is to get this testing made available to as many students as possible. it is a huge logistical exercise. i am very grateful to the universities right across the uk who have engaged with us to help to make this happen. it is about making

things as safe as possible and anybody who has a concern about the need to access testing should in the first instance speak to the university, because we're doing in partnership with the universities. i think it will make a good difference, a good positive difference, a good positive difference, but as i say, we have not made it mandatory because that brings in all sorts of other considerations and we think that it is therefore best done on a pollen —— voluntary basis. general messenger? obviously, a big part of the community testing programme is to drive a participation for the higher numbers we get tested, the more effective this regime will be, and we think the best way to do that is to work with the local amenities and the local leaderships because they are best able to tackle where needs are about where risks are, in their best able to tailor their

offer to the local communities they serve. “— offer to the local communities they serve. —— they are best able. that is right at the heart of this programme, a partnership that is led from the local level that is supported by central help. thanks very much. on the second question about the new year? thank you. as i said whenl about the new year? thank you. as i said when i introduce the data slide, it is really important for the nhs that we did infection rates down and that translates, as it does into taking pressure off hospitals, reducing the number of admissions and reducing the number of people in hospital with covid—19, and that is for a hospital with covid—19, and that is fora numberof hospital with covid—19, and that is for a number of reasons and i will say them again. firstly, unlike the spring, when we were heading out of winter into the summer, we are now heading into the winter. the nhs is always at its busiest injanuary, february and into march. we see more infections can adjust infections from other viruses and bugs —— chest

infections. we see more slips, trips and falls, so the pressure on the nhs builds. it is crucial we have this under control. in the spring, we are contending is full bond as we can with all our routine work, our elective work, and we are trying to make sure that we catch up on the backlog that we have had because of the pandemic in the spring. and we wa nt the pandemic in the spring. and we want and who have always been open for everybody with emergency conditions, with heart attacks, strokes, and we need the nhs... we saw a drop of that in the spring and we don't want to see that. we want people to come forward. for all of those reasons, it is critical to keep infection rate under control. clearly, christmas is a special time, but the nhs will always ask people to be sensible over christmas and we are confident again that people will act essentially once again over christmas. they will use the change in restrictions sensibly.

and we will go into the new year hopefully with infection rates staying down and falling and therefore the pressure coming off therefore the pressure coming off the nhs at that prickle time of year. —— a critical time of year. next question is from emily morgan at itv. i've got a question about mass testing for ijust wonder how you expect to have the same success you expect to have the same success you had in the pool if you're not going to give the councils the same sorts of resources. coventry have told us they think they've been left told us they think they've been left to sort this out themselves and need £1 million. will they get that sort of money to do the community has an wa nt of money to do the community has an want them to do? —— community testing you want them to do? yes, the prospectus we are putting out now includes local funding for communities to do that testing. that

is quite significant extra funding thatis is quite significant extra funding that is available across the uk for councils that want to make this work on the model of liverpool and i will ask general messenger to set up more details of how we can make it work, because this community testing approach is so important to finding the cases that we have not yet found, and so reducing the number of infections, which honestly is critical for everybody. firstly, we are trying to move away from the term mass testing. this is about community testing, it is about tailoring to the needs of of the local area, that might be geographically specific or in might be ethnic communities specifically i think he secretary of state is right when he says the prospectus which will be public from now will set out a great deal of support and a great deal of sign posting for what is on

offer to these local authorities. and one could easily see an arrangement where we are setting up some small, local, targeted community testing sites, but equally when a community wants to target broader swathes of the population, something larger, something more ubiquitous, tackling larger swathes of the population, it really depends where the need is and we -- it will —— it will be driven by the local leadership and directors of public health. it is important to talk about the workforce here, because as you rightly point out, liverpool was primarily delivered by a military workforce , primarily delivered by a military workforce, and that... and i'm not speaking as part of the military, i worked for the health secretary on the community testing programme, that i can say that cannot be replicated across the country and therefore the military support, along with all other types of central support, has to be targeted

where it is needed most or it can have the greatest effect. so i've absolutely no doubt that the military will continue to have a really important part in the community testing programme but the baseline assumption, in terms of workforce generation, is that that will be delivered locally with considerable support from the centre. and from what i have seen of a numberof centre. and from what i have seen of a number of local communities, there is great on —— ingenuity already under way in delivering that workforce. they are working very innovatively with the private sector and they have good good liaison with local leadership and the military, so that is our starting assumption. as i say, i have no doubt the military will play a prominent role, but the idea that there can be wholesale offer to local communities is simply undeliverable given with the military are doing already. thanks very much. andy bell from channel

five. thank you very much. realistically, is there any chance of any part of england being able to move down a tier the side of christmas? is it not more likely anyone left to wait untiljennifer to move down a tier because we will have to work out what the effect of the christmas relaxation has been? not necessarily can i know. we will work on the —— not necessarily, no. of course we've got to take into account christmas is coming up, but nevertheless, with the case rates coming down as they are, coming down by almost a third in the last week, we will be absolutely looking at

each area and seeing what is the right tierfor that each area and seeing what is the right tier for that area as of i wa nt to right tier for that area as of i want to see areas that have pulled together, follow the rules, got the case rate down, like liverpool has over the last month, which has led to it having, going into tier 2, i wa nt to to it having, going into tier 2, i want to see that happening much more broadly. there are some areas of the country i am worried about, there are some parts of the country, small parts of the country, for the numbers are still going up, so we do have to be careful and we have to be cautious, but the person will be on the 16th of december, we will look at the whole of england at that point and then we will continue to review regularly after that. next question is from the ftp. —— the ft. you sent today there is nearly 16,000 people in hospital with

covid. can you say what proportion of those are in hospital because of covid as opposed to others who are in hospital for other reasons like cancer or a broken leg and they have to have covid and that has been kicked up? and also, the new vaccines minister has suggested people who refuse to get accented could be refused access to restaurants or bars. is that an approach you agree with? thanks very much. i will ask steve to enter the first one and i will —— answer the first one. -- answer the first one. we asked... we do see people in hospital with covid when infection rates are high who have not been admitted because of covid, so as the secretary of state highlighted, about a third of people have covid without any symptoms, so we have for sometime in the nhs been testing everybody who gets admitted for covid, to pick up whether they

haveit for covid, to pick up whether they have it or not. as infection rates increase in the community, the chance of picking up individuals as they come to hospital increases, so we certainly do see cases of individuals who have come into hospital without covid who then test positive and that is why we have got very detailed infection prevention and control measures in. we not only test people when they arrived in hospital for that we test people after they've been in hospital for a few days, because it is also possible that when you arrive, you may test negative, so we are very careful to ensure that we are testing people on a regular basis in the first week in hospital. because that keeps patients, that keeps staff safe, but the important thing is to get infection rates down because the lower the rate in the community, the less the chance it is that you will be admitted into hospital for some other condition and turn out to test positive for

covid. and on vaccines, our overall plan is we do not plan to mandate a vaccine. we think by encouraging the taking up of the vaccine, we will get a very high proportion of people in this country to take up the vaccine because of course it protects you but it also helps to protects you but it also helps to protect your loved ones and your community. on the question of what happens once you have had the vaccine, in the first instance we do not yet have reliable data on whether a vaccine not only protects you, which we do have a high degree of confidence subject to the mhra which i thought about my comments, we do have a high degree of confidence the three vaccines so far but that the person vaccinated, but the impact of whether you transmit the impact of whether you transmit the virus is not as clear from the

date it so far. and therefore in the first instance, our approach will be to watch the indicators that we watch all the time, the case rate, the case rate among the over 60s and the case rate among the over 60s and the positivity rate, and to see the impact of that on the vaccine and the vaccine programme on the pandemic. now having said that, for a long time now, we have been looking at the questions that minister was talking about and the question is what is the impact on the individual in terms of what they can do and i've talked about that at press co nfe re nces can do and i've talked about that at press conferences like these months and months ago. and that is what the vaccine minister was referring to. he isa vaccine minister was referring to. he is a great appointment and i think will bring a huge amount of support and scrutiny to the roll—out of the vaccine. i think he is going

to do of the vaccine. i think he is going todoa of the vaccine. i think he is going to do a brilliantjob and he started working on the vaccine on the business department side of the fence and i'm really delighted that he hasjoined fence and i'm really delighted that he has joined the fence and i'm really delighted that he hasjoined the department fence and i'm really delighted that he has joined the department today. next question is from kate at the daily mail. we have her concerns from a faculty of public health about the enormous resources required for mass testing and the suggestion it could detract from the vaccine suggestion it could detract from the vaccine programme. suggestion it could detract from the vaccine programme. firstlyl wondered how you respond to that and how confident you are the two things can successfully run alongside one another. secondly is the expansion of community testing an admission that test and trace an admission that test and trace an admission that it has not worked as well as you like and how can you imagine it changing asa you like and how can you imagine it changing as a result of this new programme? thanks very much and i can reassure you on both counts. the first thing is the community testing programme is a big expansion of what we can do within nhs test and trace,

and it's only because of the work of nhs test and trace over the last nine months, the work of the team that has got these massive new testing capabilities that allow us to make these expansions. so that work, the work of nhs test and trace has been critical to getting us to this point we can roll—out such widespread use of the tests. for insta nce widespread use of the tests. for instance today, to university stu d e nts instance today, to university students and then as general messenger was saying, more broadly to the committee working with public health. on the first part of the question, the key point is that testing and vaccination need to run alongside each other. this has already been happening. for instance in the vaccine trials, we have also tested repeatedly for some of the people within the trials to find out if they picked up covid and that's

one of the ways you can find out if a vaccine can work. and especially because once you've taken the vaccine, it still takes some time to get immunity through the vaccine, not least because you have to have two doses. it's critical that we have the testing programme running alongside the vaccine programme, and so they are designed to be symbiotic. i will ask general to say more about this with the last thing i will say is this, the roll—out that we can announce today, the community testing programme, is a sign of the success of nhs test and trace in delivering the massive capability that we now have to be able to keep more people safe to find this virus and to get it under control with the minimal negative impact on people's lives that all of these things have. general. i'm all of three weeks in, but my experience

thus far supports with the secretary of state says. the importance of alignment with what test and trace have achieved so far, the vital nature of the alignment with the vaccine, we are and we have to ensure that those are synchronous and not competitive. i can tell you how supportive colleagues have been in the vaccine task force and test and trace, their experience, their skills, their knowledge has been vital as we have looked to build this community testing proposal. so to me that alignment is there but we are absolutely certain that we cannot allow each other to disrupt or deflect from the important business we are all doing. thanks very much, kate. the final question is from david hughes. david. tomorrow, mps will vote on these new arrangements. the impact assessment

the government has published today makes clear that without restrictions, the nhs could be overwhelmed. given that, all your colleagues on the tory benches who we re colleagues on the tory benches who were taking a voting against these measures acting irresponsibly? and for the general, 23 million people will be going into tier 3 this week. what sort of question or proportion would you expect your testing exercise to cover? thanks very much, david. i would urge all mps right across the house to vote for the tiered system. the tiered system has a lower set of restrictions in the national lock down in all three tiers of it is also more targeted so the areas where prevalence is lower and pressure on the nhs is lower have fewer restrictions, which means that people can do more in terms of going about their normal lives. and obviously has a less detrimental impact on the economy. unfortunately

though we do have to have the higher tier restrictions and particularly tier 3 tier restrictions and particularly tier3 in tier restrictions and particularly tier 3 in place so we can have confidence that we can keep getting this virus down and then keep it under control right across the country. and that way, it is the best way to avoid a third lockdown and it is the most proportionate way to ta ke and it is the most proportionate way to take down the action that we need to take down the action that we need to keep people safe and to stop the nhs being overwhelmed. and so i hope that we get a very certificate portion of mps from all parties voting for the proposals of were put before the house tomorrow. i don't know, professor, if you have anything to add from the nhs side and that i will ask general the second question. to read or at the importance as nhs goes into its busiest time of the year to ensure that infection rates are low or falling because as it as night follows day, that is two weeks later

unfortunately, more hospital admissions, more people in hospital, more pressure on nhs services. and of course unfortunately mort that's and increasingly as we understand conditions such as long one can buy more long—term health problems as of the key as always does get infection rates down and then to ensure that they can stay down. thanks very much. general. i don't know how many of those 23 million will be able to reach it because planning is still very much under way, and as i said the nature of this will vary from region to region and from area to area. we are alive to the possibility that we will not be able to do this all at once, but we assess that local authorities are at varying levels of preparedness and readiness to do this and therefore i can see this as an offer that will

sequence over time and into january and beyond it. the priority that we accord the levels of support we give will be based on the infection rate, how long those areas have been under harsh restrictions, how much are there plans are, how ready they are to deliver them, and that's the business of the next week or so is to try and identify some front runners and to lean into support, so we can have a quick early impact but asi we can have a quick early impact but as i say we can have a sequence we can have a quick early impact but as i say we can have a sequence over time. thanks very much. the only thing i would add to that is i would urge all those council leaders, directors of public health, and those in the diwali administrations who want to take up this offer that set out in the prospectus and those within the tier 3 areas in england and the das with whom he working to come forward and come forward with their proposals. often in other communities best, and so we want to

work hand in glove with local directors of public health, with local authorities and of course with collea g u es local authorities and of course with colleagues and mps who represent those areas to make sure that we can use this community testing programme as effectively as possible to root out this virus and also then hopefully to free up people to be able to do some of the things that we love. and that way we can better get through this together. thanks very much indeed. that ends today's coronavirus briefing from a number 10 downing street. and there is the health of your terry just 10 downing street. and there is the health of your terryjust completing the coronavirus briefing. let's run through some of the key points that we re through some of the key points that were made during the briefing and matt hancock said we have got to get the virus back under control and admit chris is in from conservative mps who are anxious about the late if government restrictions in england. he said the new tiered system for england will help keep

the spread of the virus down. he said the uk is ordered another 2 million buses of the us vaccine by the company moderna and the national health service stands ready to deploy a vaccine if one is approved by the uk regulator. mr hancock also said takea by the uk regulator. mr hancock also said take a test, you mightjust save a life as a government prepares to roll out community testing much more widely. let's get the latest analysis on what he was saying. let's speak to our political correspondent ellie price. he was sound really chilling or was trying to with the light of dawn is on the horizon and a moment to look back and see clearly that every thing we gave anything but it was not for nothing. i think it a bit of a scorecard with some of these wonderful metaphors that seem to come out every time there is a press conference from number ten. it is an interesting town he was trying to strike i think which is that these

national restriction we have had in england over the last month have worked in that we have got the virus under control and the hospital admissions are slowly going down. they still have that two week lie behind and slowly now we are starting to see the fruits of our labour in the national restrictions playing out. but still this word of caution, ie we still need to have this tiered approach of this regionalised approach, this approach the number of conservative mps are not sure they will support. so i think that was a tone he was trying to strike and all of that. the other point that was interesting and this was a press conference that was talking more about mass testing and of course the government sees mass testing as something the prime minister called earlier one of the two scientific tools for a way out of this pandemic. the second tool of course being a vaccine. until the vaccine can be under way and rolled out on a grand scale, mass testing will be the other way in which there will be the other way in which there will be the other way in which there will be some kind of normality brought back and of course liverpool

isa brought back and of course liverpool is a place that is always lauded for somewhere where it's worked. liverpool went into tier 3 restrictions surely before the most recent many lockdown and we have seen cases come down to the point that liverpool now will be in tier 2. liverpool is used as an example where mass testing has really worked but i think it's quite telling that the twins remain people who will find themselves in tier 3 in the coming days, there is a hope that mass testing will be able to be unveiled there but certainly a realistic point which is not all of the people will be able to be mass tested straightaway and this will be sequenced over the case of a few months. so hope being given but again can be yachts of realism. all right, many thanks indeed for that. let's talk to our health correspondent. hearing quite a lot about community testing and matt hancock saying it's the duty to get tested if it is available to them. yes, a u differences as being placed

in community testing programme. this was it was referred to as a moonshot programme over the summer and nothing the best way to think about is as nothing the best way to think about isasa nothing the best way to think about is as a cinematic testing, looking for people who have the virus but are not showing symptoms, to root out the hidden virus in communities but we are really pushing the boundaries for what these tests were designed for. these are the rapid tests that can produce a result within an hour but they were not meant to be used in the community like this when untrained people use them. they may only spot 50% of positive cases and so it's important that we have some training. the army was used to liverpool but we heard the general there is a press briefing say obviously the army cannot go out into every local authority area and help out. so the government said there will be some money attached to these testing programmes so councils can presumably recruit some staff to do them. and the other factor is people

coming forward for testing because if you test positive you have to isolate. people do have concerns about the impact on finances, job security, they have two isolate. while there is a lot of emphasis being attached to testing, the effectiveness is far from certain. thank you very much indeed. breaking news in the last two minutes, the british government has decided not to order an immediate public inquiry into the fatal shooting in 1989 in north belfast of the solicitor pat finucane. the shooter was by a loyalist in collusion with the agents of the state. mr finucane's family having company for decades for an inquiry to establish the exact extent of

state affairs in the killing. the irish government would say an inquiry would show if the british government was truly working to show transparency for the past. let's go to our correspondent in belfast. the big decision with you ramifications. asa big decision with you ramifications. as a bully. this is for many years one of the most high—profile murders of the trouble. at its heart the issue of state collusion. in 2012 the official government review, david cameron the then prime minister apologise to the finucane family for what he said were shopping levels of pollution. that review back then found that state agents had played key roles in the murder. colluding with loyalist paramilitaries and ever since then really in for many years the family hasjust stepped really in for many years the family has just stepped up really in for many years the family hasjust stepped up their campaign again and again in calling for a full public inquiry and saying this is the power of a full public inquiry is the only way to get answers. they have been given that

announcement today from the secretary of state for northern ireland to say he is not taking it off the table but he is not going to order a full public inquiryjust yet. the reasons he gave he said we re yet. the reasons he gave he said were that there are other processes ongoing, there is a psni review to start next year is part of the legacy investigations and there is also ombudsman investigations ongoing and other information about the investigation to be placed in public domain that was not there before. he says it would have the right at the moment to go for a pull public inquiry until those processes have their course. but i the table but inevitably disappointment to the family of pat finucane who have campaign for so many years. probably too early for reaction guesses as come out in the last two minutes but as he said the family will be desperately disappointed by this news. yes, absolutely. the circumstances of his killing were horrific of course as many of the killings in the troubles work. in

1989 he was shot dead with his wife in front of his wife and three children and his sonjohn in front of his wife and three children and his son john who in front of his wife and three children and his sonjohn who is now the mp for north belfast and we will hear from them probably a little later on. and altogether they have asked for many years to say there must be a full public inquiry in thatis must be a full public inquiry in that is the only way they believe to get answers. the government says this cases been examined and re—examined many times and several re—examinations of this case have found that state collusion was prove n found that state collusion was proven to be at the heart of it. but the family used this line many times, saying we are in asia and who pull the trigger, we want to know who pull the strings and they really wa nt who pull the strings and they really want to know how far the chain this way and believe in public inquiry is the only way to do that. but look not getting that for lansing today and there are a few other processes due to run their course and i'm sure they will be picked over in great detail. indeed, thank you very much indeed for that would lead us from belfast. the 6pm news is coming up inafew belfast. the 6pm news is coming up

in a few moments with fiona but first let's tell you have to prime minister saying today that he hopes the uk health regulator will be able to approve the use of a vaccine in december. speaking at a pharmaceutical manufacturer in wales this afternoon, the prime minister said he hoped the uk health regulator will approve the use of a vaccine in december. he also defended the tiers system for england amid criticism from inside his own party. this could be available just in a few weeks. and this could, and i stress could, really be the salvation for humanity, these vaccines, notjust this one but obviously all the vaccines that are currently being developed. and so it's a very exciting and a very moving moment, and i really congratulate everybody who's involved. what we're also announcing today is some extra cash so that we're ready for the next pandemic, able to make vaccines in the future. but of course the capacity here for this particular vaccine is huge. what we need now is the approvals.

no vaccine has yet got... this must be stressed, no vaccine has yet got an mhra approval, but we're obviously hoping that both the pfizer/biontech vaccine and the oxford/astrazeneca vaccine will get approved in the course of the next few days and weeks. before christmas, you hope? that's the hope. you know, we can't overdo it, we can't let our optimism run away with us. but we have every reason now to be very hopeful that these vaccines really will turn the tide in the struggle against the disease and unlock notjust this country, but unlock the whole of the world and give people finally a sense of relief and salvation after a year in which humanity has basically been unable to move forward.

some wider questions on behalf of some reliable sources, on the tier system, why can't you convince everybody this the right way forward, including your own mps? well, as we come out of the present autumn restrictions, the lockdown, into the tiers on wednesday, first thing on wednesday morning, we've got to remember that we've achieved a huge amount. so if you look at where we were on november the 5th going into lockdown, the disease was climbing really pretty steeply. there's no question that the collective action of this country arrested that increase, stopped it, we've now got it under control. the r is now below one again. what we can't do — with a very high incidence of the disease, it's still about one in 100, maybe, you know, something like that across the country — we can't afford to take our foot off

the throat of the beast, to take our foot off the gas. we can't afford to let it out of control again. so the tiering system is tough, but it's designed to be tough and to keep it under control. and i know that lots of people think that they are in the wrong tier, and i understand people's frustration. i particularly understand the frustration of the hospitality sector that has borne so much and been through so much in the last few months. and we will do everything we can, as we have been doing, to protect and to encourage that sector throughout the weeks and months ahead. but i do think it's important that we use the tiers plus mass community testing to continue to drive that disease down. and tiers 2 and 3 can definitely help to achieve that.

you mentioned the importance of not taking feet off the gas pedals. your own scientific advisers now say christmas gatherings will increase transmission, but yet you're allowing people to do that. would it seem to be better from a public health point of view to tell them not to do that? of course. from a strictly public health point of view, the way to contain the virus is to stop all human contact of any kind for the foreseeable future. and so you could take that maximalist approach. but everything's a judgement, everything's a balance. and over christmas, families traditionally want to get together. that's going to happen to some extent whatever you do. so it's very important, i think, to be very clear about the rules, to give you a clear understanding of what will work and the right and the right balance to strike. but that makes it all the more important that we use the tiers carefully, that we follow the guidance — hands, face, space,

all those things, you know — and use those restrictions to keep it under control because as you can see from the lab i'm in, the scientific cavalry really are almost here. and it's potentially a real, real game changer. what we can't do is forsake, abandon all the gains we've made now just when we are starting to see real progress in the science. notjust in vaccines, but also in mass testing. i urge people to look at the opportunities of mass testing in their towns and their communities, in their regions, as liverpool has done. hello again. it's been another pretty great day for most of us but a big improvement in my book.

it this little lot of rain coming in off reside and the cold front has improper sentient working across scotla nd improper sentient working across scotland with plenty of showers here and also sunshine in the northeast of england. overnight tonight clear skies will continue to push southwards so parts of wales, most of inland and much of eastern scotla nd of inland and much of eastern scotland having that clear weather. going to be call with patches of frost developing in the countryside but thicker clad in northern ireland with her will be some drizzle and amateurs here mostly staying above freezing. tuesday cold air and place them but eventually we will seek this warm sector and milder air pushing into the northwest but clocked late in the day. for eastern areas of scotland and eastern areas of wales and most of england, should be some sunshine or rain but we will have cold northerly winds and temperatures are in the isco struggle with highs of 5—7 for some. turns milder in the northwest but with a lot of local out and again probably some misty fog over the hydra nt probably some misty fog over the hydrant is certainly some patches of drizzle around. midweek, a narrowing warm sector pushing across the uk in

a cold front on the chance colder air a cold front on the chance colder a i r follows a cold front on the chance colder air follows and what all that means on when state is it will be cloudy for england and wales with some patches of light rain and drizzle pushing southwards and eastwards and much brighter skies follow with some sunshine but lots of blustery showers being blown in as well and those temperatures drop us a colder air pushes in and temperatures across scotland in the form of england about 5—6. it's even colder across the north on thursday with the showers here turning increasingly to snow above theatre metres in elevation or slow and heavy rain for wales and for part avail and especially in the south with some strong winds working to the english channel. so it will be a blustery day perhaps with some gales here as well. beyond that toward the end of the week lopressor takes up residence to the eastern side of the uk. colder airfiltering residence to the eastern side of the uk. colder air filtering in residence to the eastern side of the uk. colderairfiltering in all the wild across western areas when they will see some of this rain turned to snow towards the end of the week but for the most part it looks to be over the high ground above theatre metres elevation so if you if you could wake up and seen scenes like this for the end of the week.

just three weeks after its last lockdown, wales announces new restrictions as covid cases rise. from friday, pubs and restaurants will be banned from serving alcohol and will have to shut after 6pm. of course we can open, but a pub with no alcohol is not a pub any more. it's as simple as that. indoor attractions such as cinemas, museums and galleries will also have to shut. the restrictions will be reviewed in three weeks time. also tonight... mass covid testing for students gets under way as new research suggests cases in england have fallen by a third during this lockdown. arcadia, the retail group behind names such as topshop, burton and dorothy perkins faces collapse within hours with little chance of a rescue deal. the biggest shake up to farming in england for 50 years —