democratjoe biden is on course to win 306 of the electoral college votes, to republican donald trump's 232. despite this, president trump is not expected to accept the official result. the french energy giant edf is in the process of building a nuclear power plant — called hinkley point c — in somerset. and edf is now in talks with the government to build a similar plant in suffolk. the £20 billion project at sizewell could generate 7% of the uk's electricity needs. ministers say it would create thousands ofjobs and contribute to their plan to get to net—zero carbon emissions by 2050. our business editor simon jack examines the details. the last of a generation. by 2035, sizewell b will be the last uk nuclear power station in operation. nuclear supplies 20% of the uk's electricity,

and the government has always said it's committed to new plants. it wants to build an identical copy of this one under construction in somerset. nuclear produces huge amounts of low carbon electricity when it's built, which the uk will need to hit net zero, according to the nuclear industry. we're going to need a lot of low carbon electricity if we're going to meet net zero — four times what we currently have, and that means distributed energy, it means storage, it means demand management, but it also means that you've got to have a backbone of that electricity system, and so we have to have some of that from system technologies that produce power 21w. nuclear does that, and it will work alongside other technologies to get us to that net zero future. that's what's most important. there has been a revolution since the government announced a new nuclear age a decade ago. as offshore wind turbines have grown, the cost of the power they produce has shrunk, making nuclear, for some, simply too expensive. £20 billion is a very hefty price tag.

at hinckley, they raised that kind of money up front, which meant the electricity it'll produce will be very expensive, at £92.50 per unit. by contrast, offshore wind prices have tumbled to around £40 per unit, although that doesn't include the cost of connecting turbines to the grid. at sizewell, it could come in at around £60 per unit, with some combination of a government stake or adding a little bit of money to consumer bills over the lifetime of the project. the government hopes, over time, private investment will come alongside or replace any government stake. but, for critics, it's not just about the money. even if the government were to take a direct stake in sizewell c, at £20 billion, edf would still have billions to find, and uk pension funds would want to consider the reputational risk of investing in an unproven reactor that even the french are walking away from, on an eroding coastline, and next to world—famous minsmere reserve. but away from huge reactors, our daily lives will need to change,

according to government plans. petrol, diesel, gas central heating, replaced, while trying to keep it all affordable. things are going to be changing in our homes. it could be disruptive. and also, you know, we have to pay for them somehow, so what we really need from government is a package of information, support and protections to help people engage. sizewell c alone will create tens of thousands ofjobs in east anglia. it's not a done deal — there's a long approval process to clear, but big changes to our energy system seem guaranteed. simon jack, bbc news. the authorities in north—west nigeria say they are negotiating with a group of gunmen for the safe return of hundreds of children abducted from a boarding school on friday night. some 800 pupils were enrolled at the all—boys school in katsina state, and almost half remain unaccounted for. it is not clear how many ran away durng the attack and how many were abducted. from kano, our correspondent mayeni jones sent this report.

abdulhadi escaped friday's mass kidnapping byjumping out of a window. translation: i was afraid, terribly afraid. but what frightened me the most was that my brother would be in danger. when i looked for him, i couldn't see him. but in the chaos, he lost his twin brother — one of 333 boys the state governor says are still unaccounted for. some of them, like abdulhadi, managed to run away but many are believed to have been taken by armed men for ransom. three days later, the campus is eerily quiet... ..littered with the reminders of a childhood shattered just days ago. this dormitory still has all of the belongings of some of the young boys who were taken here on friday night. they were whisked away hastily, barely had the time to take anything with them and they've left their parents with more questions than answers. it's unclear when

they'll be reunited. ruqayya bello‘s 14—year—old son 0mar has asthma and was ill in the days before the kidnapping. translation: frankly, i can't sleep. whenever i think i'm going to sleep, i think about whether he is able to sleep and it keeps me awake. even food i can't eat every day, i'm worried how he is. my biggest wish is that he comes back home. kidnapping for ransom has been on the rise in nigeria, but the abductions are not usually on this scale and with hundreds of children still missing, comparisons are being drawn with the kidnapping of the chibok girls in 2014 — dozens of whom are still missing. these parents are hoping that this is not their children's fate. mayenijones, bbc news, kankara. the former liverpool manager, the frenchman gerard houllier, has died at the age of 73, after suffering heart problems for many years.

he led liverpool to five major trophies — including the fa cup, the league cup and uefa cup treble. in a statement, liverpool said they were "deeply saddened" and during the day, a number of the club's star players — past and present — have paid their own tributes. 0ur sports correspondent katie gornall reports. in the pantheon of great liverpool managers, gerard houllier is often overlooked, and yet the former schoolteacher transformed the club's fortunes and modernised their approach to the game. i came but i didn't make a revolution. ijust wanted to have a sort of evolution of things and to convince people we could do things differently and be more performant. having managed psg and the french national team, houllier arrived at anfield in 1998, initially as a joint manager with roy evans, before taking sole charge just four months later. he oversaw a major rebuilding of the squad and brought through young players

such as steven gerrard. the high point of his six years with liverpool came in the 2000—2001 campaign, when he guided them to an unprecedented league cup, uefa cup and fa cup treble. yes! 0h, he's done it! today, those at anfield and around the world of football paid tribute. what he did at liverpool at that time was definitely the foundation and the platform for what they're going on to achieve now. football took a heavy toll on houllier‘s health. in 2001, he nearly died after suffering from chest pains during a match against leeds. in 2011, he took charge of aston villa, but heart problems forced him to quit afterjust nine months. gerard houllier will be remembered as an intellectual and passionate manager, and a fierce servant of the club he adored. today's many tributes to the football manager gerard houllier, who has died at the age of 73. newsnight is on bbc two in about

seven 01’ newsnight is on bbc two in about seven or eight minutes‘ time. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the broadcaster, john stapleton and the political editor of politics home, kate proctor. welcome kate proctor. to you both. let's have a flick welcome to you both. let's have a flick through some that are already the news that an additional 11 million people across london and south east england are to be plunged into the highest level of covid restrictions is the lead for the telegraph — the paper says up to 150,000 thousands jobs in the capital are at risk. that story also the lead for the guardian —

which also dedicates some of its front page to the renewed optimism surrounding a possible post—brexit trade deal with the eu. we will come to that in a minute. the yorkshire post claims leeds could move down from tier 3 to tier 2 covid restrictions this week — but the paper claims the rest of west yorkshire is likely to remain under the tightest restrictions. news of a new coronavirus variant is the top story for the metro — the health secretary says it's possible the variant is driving the rise in cases in south east england — but he did say there's no evidence to suggest the variant makes vaccines ineffective, or the disease worse. and the i says the surge in covid infections in the south means the prime minister is being urged to re—think the easing

of measures over christmas. so let's begin... let's ta ke let's take off with the telegraph. i just wanted to compare the telegraph and the metro front pages because some virologists have accused the government of releasing this new information about the new variant is a way perhaps of masking tier 3 but without going into too much detail. it is interesting to see how different papers respond to that. quite a sober right through in the telegraph without picture there. did that strike you, as well? telegraph without picture there. did that strike you, as well7|j telegraph without picture there. did that strike you, as well? i think the telegraph has really put together a very comprehensive account what happened today. we had this news that london is going into tier 3 and then it followed with this press conference where we were told that there is a new strain of coronavirus. that was genuine news, nobody knew about that. matt hancock

explained in the press conference that this is something they were aware of. and they were trying to say that this was important in this variant of coronavirus might mean the spread is happening more quickly, they were also keen to try to explain that there was no need to be particularly alarmed. so we are left in a slightly funny position on that variant and i think we will come to that in other newspapers. what they telegraph the spelling out here is what tier 3 means. it is london, parts of execs and hertfordshire, 11 million people will go into those restrictions. many have been living under those restrictions already. you picked that out before, hospitality bosses are warning that this move could cost pubs and are warning that this move could cost pu bs a nd restau ra nts are warning that this move could cost pubs and restaurants 2.6 billion over the next two weeks. christmas is one of the busiest times for the sector and this is

such major news for them that they will have to be shutting their doors. john, it is a catastrophe for them, isn't it? we were talking to theatre owners earlier this evening who were saying that pantos sometimes make 50—60 percent of their annual income. it is a disaster for them. we should not forget, as kate hasjust said, that businesses in other parts of the uk have been suffering the same fate for some weeks now. also not getting enough help from the government. i was talking to a restaurant to, having dinner outside, i should add, ata having dinner outside, i should add, at a local restaurant, run by a portuguese family. i said to him, how do you face the prospect of tier 3? he put his head in his hands. he said we have spent loads of money spent making this place covid secure, loads of measures, brought in supplies in the expectation that

they would be serving people throughout the country in the forthcoming days making a lot of money. likewise, the theatres, it is terrible, terrible news for them. as kate says, is 14,000 pubs, bars and restaurants likely to close in the next few days in london alone. 2.6 billion hit to the economy again, just in london alone. thousands of jobs at risk, according to those in the sector. the government accused of panic by doing this. compare that with the metro front page. mutant covid. that is what matt hancock was talking about, but with not particularly much information. they have got the picture of the guy in the full ppe. it does lend itself to quite shocking, scaremongering headlines

potentially, doesn't it? people are really feeling very nervous about what they have heard today. they have been able to get their head round a certain level of destruction to light because of coronavirus and trying to prepare for christmas. some of those plans have been delicate and they have just been blown apart by this. as the metro because it, a mutant covid strain. i do not think that... that is a very alarmist headline and will worry people. the main thing we learned todayis people. the main thing we learned today is that the strain of coronavirus may spread faster, but we we re coronavirus may spread faster, but we were told very clearly that the vaccine is still believed to work on this strain and the symptoms are not any different, the illness is not more severe. when you do have the information that there is a more rapid spread, it does really make you think, is it worth doing that household mixing over christmas? is it worth travelling across the country? the government is saying this is down to your personal choice, but you have got to be safe and cautious. but i think this news

today will probably alter people's christmas plans. it will put more pressure on the prime minister. the prime minister is urged to rethink christmas bubble. just by seeing think about it carefully, do you think that will make an impact on how people behave? i think it may well. can you imagine the prime minister coming out on television to say to the nation, i know what i told you last week, that you could have a family christmas with two or three friends around, don't go crazy but it will be christmas as normal for five days. and then saying, sorry, folks, we have to think again. families have perhaps bought food, but train tickets, made arrangements to go here or there, but food and supplies, then being told they cannot do it. it is unimaginable. they have previously done u—turns on things like school meals. the