this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. the headlines... millions more people in england will be living under the toughest restrictions from saturday, in a bid to slow down the spread of coronavirus. i regret having to take the action that we have to take. i deem it necessary, and there's a strong view right across government that these actions are necessary, but i also plead that personal responsibility is absolutely central to how we as a society should respond to this pandemic. thousands of secondary school children across england will have their return to school staggered, after the christmas break due to coronavirus concerns. the chancellor announces an extension to the furlough scheme. it will now run until the end of april next year. russia's doping ban is halved

by the court of arbitration for sport, but russian teams will still be banned from the tokyo olympics and dozens of other global competitions. more former rugby union players havejoined legal action against the game's authorities, accusing them of negligence over head injuries. and coming up: the west end performers staging virtual christmas concerts in care homes. hello to you, welcome to bbc news. two—thirds of the population of england — or 38 million people — will be living under the tighest coronavirus restrictions

by this weekend. the health secretary, matt hancock, told mps that following a review, most of the areas already in the toughest tier 3 level will remain there. he said a 46% increase in covid—i9 cases in the past week in south east england and cases "up by two thirds" in the east of england meant it was "necessary to apply tier 3 measures across a much wider area". bedfordshire, buckinghamshire, berkshire and hertfordshire will be subject to tier 3 rules, as will parts of surrey, east sussex, cambridgeshire and hampshire. bristol and north somerset will move from tier 3 to tier 2. herefordshire will move from tier 2 into tier i. the health secretary told mps the measures are needed to suppress the virus and said, "we've come so far, we mustn't blow it now." all the details come from our political correspondent helen catt. not so long ago, hastings in east sussex had one of the lowest rates of coronavirus in england. now a surge in cases has pushed the town into tier 3 along with a huge swathe of the south

east. it is therefore necessary to apply tier 3 measures across a much wider area of the east and south—east of england, including bedfordshire, buckinghamshire, berkshire, peterborough, the whole of hertfordshire, surrey, with the exception of waverley, hastings and rother on the kent border of east sussex, and portsmouth, gosport and havant in hampshire. these changes will take effect from one minute past midnight on saturday morning. millions of people across northern england and the midlands will stay in tier 3. i regret having to take the action we have to take. i deem it necessary, and there is a strong view right across government that these actions are necessary. greater manchester has been under the toughest restrictions for months and the rate of infection has come down — it's now below

the national average. despite that, the government has decided not to move it to tier 2 yet. the problem with tier 3 is it is devastating from an economic point of view, and that is what we said to the government. if they will keep places in tier 3 today, then there has to be much more financial support. some areas will move down a tier. bristol and north somerset to tier 2, herefordshire to the very rare tier i. the latest tiering decision comes less than 2a hours after the prime minister urged us to be cautious over christmas. have yourselves a merry little christmas. i'm afraid this year, i do mean little. the rules allowing three households to gather are not changing in england, scotland or northern ireland but the message is to persuade people not to get together. labour says that isn't enough. this isn't about cancelling christmas. santa will still deliver his presents. but is he really telling us that allowing — allowing — indoor mixing of three households across regions and generations for five days is sensible, given the virus is raging with such

ferocity at the moment? the tier changes come into force on saturday meaning hospitality venues in new tier 3 areas will have to shut to diners over christmas. the next formal review is due in a fortnight. helen catt, bbc news, westminster. our correspondent phil mackie is in ledbury, in herefordshire — which will soon be moving from tier 2 to tier i. i think i can detect that the christmas lights in ledbury tonight are sparkling a little bit brighter than they were before, because everybody here is generally very pleased with the news that they've gone down a tier. a manjust walked past and said it was cracking that this has happened. they think they probably could've been in tieri when the most recent restrictions were announced before this one, and that's because it sparsely populated, it's remote, it's rural, there have never been high infection rates or death rates in herefordshire throughout the pandemic, and things haven't really moved a lot

since the last time. they have gone down a bit, and because, in particular, that over—60s age group, there have been no great rise there, that's why it felt it could move into tieri now. that means that people will be able to socialise a lot more. as you can see, it's quite bustling anyway in tier 2, as is the case with lots of these small—market towns. big cities empty, small market towns very busy, especially in tier 2. but it will mean, as you say, hospitality can get open again. not pubs thatjust serve drink, but if you serve a full meal, you can go out back to the rule of six. a group of six friends can go out for a meal and a drink together from saturday night, which is something that i was talking to a 19—year—old who was just saying, "we can socialise a little bit again." at the moment, they have to kind of wander out in the street and keep socially distanced and wear their masks. they won't necessarily have to do that from saturday in herefordshire. there is a concern, though, as well, because as you say, people have relatives in tier 2

gloucestershire, herefordshire and over the border in wales, which is in much tighter restrictions. people don't necessarily want to mix too much at the moment, and that welsh issue will become a problem. there are towns near herefordshire, right on the border with wales, who will have the lowest restrictions in england come saturday, a few miles away in wales, they will have much tougher restrictions than tier 3 in england, and there is a fear that there will be an influx, that people across the border will be tempted to come here, breaking the rules over there, but abiding by them on this side of the border. there was anecdotal evidence that that happened in the last welsh lockdown around the border. it may be even more so because we are running up to christmas. ithink, really, tonight, most people here, there is an air of caution, yes, but they're really delighted and they thought it probably should've happened earlier. good news for the people of hertfordshire. west yorkshire is to remain in the top category of coronavirus restrictions over christmas

despite some progress in driving down infection rates. lets speak now tojudith blake, the labour leader of leeds city council. thanks very much indeed for being with us. first of all, your response to the news that no change in the tier system as far as your area is concerned? we started to get the sense that government were moving away from a decision to move places down a tear over the last couple days, but it's extremely disappointing because earlier in the week, the secretary of state had beenin week, the secretary of state had been in the house of commons answering questions from one of our mps, very strongly suggesting that leads was seriously being considered to move down. of course that has raised expectations in our business community in particular. they started to prepare themselves for opening at the weekend, and this has come as a bit of a blow for many of those businesses who had looked

forward to some trading before christmas. and some of them are really on their knees, and i think this is the message we have to get across — that it's understandable, the rates are going up in different parts of the country, but parts of the north have had restrictions for a long time, and i think the government really does now need to look at the areas that have been under restrictions for longer and to think about some other financial packages for them. because they're looking at the prospect of this continuing into january and february, and it really is causing huge distress amongst particularly the hospitality sector. sure. i mean, the mayor of greater manchester has made it clear that, as far as here's region is concerned, and one suspects he would feel the same about yours, those who have been under the toughest

restrictions for long periods of time and need some financial support. but as you say, your area, the numbers and cases have been going down. so why do you think that leads remains in tier 3? andy burnham suggests that if the figures are going up in london, the whole country are going up in london, the whole cou ntry stays are going up in london, the whole country stays in lockdown, in effect. well, i think that is the sense we are getting not only in the big cities, but right across the communities, the smaller towns that have been in lockdown. leads hasn't been under restrictions as long as some of the other areas, but it does seem to me that at the beginning of the week, there was optimism, we submitted our numbers, they were going down across the board significantly amongst the over 60s, hospital numbers going down, and confidence coming from senior national politicians that we were being considered. but then there was a massive change over the last couple days, and we can only

interpret that as the fact that their rates are going up so significantly, in london and across the southeast as we know. and it does feel as though we are being penalised, if you like. so i am writing to the secretary of state and asking, on behalf of all the people who live in leads, but also those businesses most affected, exactly what it is we need to do to make sure that, at the next review, oui’ make sure that, at the next review, our situation — hopefully we will continue for our rates to continue going down and stabilise. but if thatis going down and stabilise. but if that is the case, then we need to have some very clear understanding exactly what it is that the government will accept to enable us to move down to the lower restrictions. from an economic point of view, it's clear that there is a huge difference between being in tieri and huge difference between being in tier i and tier 3. huge difference between being in tieri and tier 3. but from a health perspective, do you think there is enough of a difference between those

two categories? do you think it is possible to drive the figures down quickly enough, fast enough if you are in tier3 quickly enough, fast enough if you are in tier 3 as opposed to tier 2? so this is an argument that has been raging all the way through this. and if you talk to our hospitality sector — and don't forget, we are talking about people going out in the restaurants and their households, not mixing within these venues, and they've invested heavily over the months to become covid—i9 secure, really taking responsibility for taking details of people who are using the premises. and we've asked for a real long time of the hard evidence of where that infection is transmitted the most. obviously our numbers have gone down under tier 3, but i think as well, there's a huge amount of public awareness raising

that goes alongside that. our concern is people are getting, you know, really quite fed up about what is happening, and the worst place for transmission of infection, we understand, is in the home environments where people are coming together, lack of ventilation in the winter, central heating. so wejust wa nt to winter, central heating. so wejust want to make sure there is a really balanced view of how we can all come together. we all want the rates to go down, we need to really take this forward , go down, we need to really take this forward, and we are having phenomenal response and success in the number of vaccinations we are managing to get done here in leeds, and we are looking forward to a very steep increase in those numbers in the next few months. but we want to work with government to get across how together we can drive the rates down without causing enormous distress. the mental health issues

amongst people who work in the hospitality sector are really serious indeed. and we've seen a doubling in the number of people claiming universal credit, our unemployment rate has gone up to 80% over the last few months. these are serious issues, and we need to pull them altogether, get all the evidence we can about what really works and how we can implement them in the full knowledge that government will recognise where success is coming through to help us get through a very difficult winter ahead. thank you very much, judith blake, the labour leader of leeds city council. breaking news from grant shops, he's tweeted that the latest data means the government must remove the us virgin islands from the travel court or. countries that, up until now, you did not need

to quarantine for two weeks after returning to the uk from, but from 4am saturday, 19 december, if you arrive into the uk from uruguay, namibia, and the us virgin islands, then you will need to self—isolate. and you can find out what the rules are in your area of the uk, by entering your postcode in our interactive tool — you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app. coronavirus infection rates are rising in all but one region in england. latest figures from public health england says london has the highest rate with more than 300 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 13 december. yorkshire and the humber is the only part of england to see a week—on—week fall in the infection rate. our health correspondent nick triggle says the figures give some context to the government's decisions on tiers today.

they are essentially an in—depth look at the daily figures the government provides on a national level each day. and, as you say, they show that all but one area, yorkshire and humber, are seeing increasing rates and infections. even in the north—west and north—east, where we have seen big falls during november and into early december, cases have plateaued and even started to go up slightly. in london, there are the highest rates of any region in england. 319 cases per 100,000 in the week to 13 december. that compares to 200 cases per 100,000 the week before — an increase of well over 50%. they also tell of what has been happening with hospital admissions which has been increasing in every

region apart from the midlands. this is really crucial to today's decisions today about the tiers. notjust from not just from the notjust from the infection rates. we know from daily figures over 15,000 patients are in hospital, up from 12,000 in early december. but what we have got today is the total numbers of patients, non—covid patients in hospital. 17,000 patients being treated in english hospitals, meaning nine in ten beds are being occupied by patients. that is not unusual for this time of year. there is some wiggle room, but concern is those beds are filling up fast. routine planned work has been cancelled. so it has come as a cost as well. the highest rate is in london, which stood at 319.3 cases per 100,000 people in the week

to december 13, up from 199.9 in the previous week. in eastern england, the rate has risen from 152.9 to 249.1, the latest coronavirus figures for the uk have been released in the past half hour. there were 35,383 new confirmed cases in the past 2a hours — but that includes a backlog of 11,000 cases that were not initially reported earlier in the week because of a technical delay in wales. there were 532 further coronavirus deaths — that's of people who died within 28 days of testing positive. it brings the overall number of deaths across the uk to 76,287. thousands of secondary school children acrosss england will have their return to school delayed following the christmas break. the government says the return to secondary school will be staggered, with some starting online rather than in class. it will allow head teachers to set up a covid testing scheme announced this week, but with exam—year pupils being able to start term as usual. let's get more from our education correspondent elaine dunkley. shejoins us now. she joins us now. hello, clive. the christmas holidays haven't started yet, but the big concerns for it had teachers and parents is how and when children will return to school. there's a huge amount of anxiety

about the spread of coronavirus and secondary schools, last week we heard matt hancock at raising concern about the spread amongst 11 to 18—year—olds, and how that might be driving numbers in burrows in london, places like essex and kent. and we are all holding our breath over festivities, and we are all holding our breath overfestivities, hoping and we are all holding our breath over festivities, hoping that doesn't lead to an increase in coronavirus cases. now doesn't lead to an increase in coronavirus cases. now the plan for schools is that primary school children and those in nursery will return back to school at the start of term as usual. in secondary schools, those children who are deemed vulnerable and also the children of key workers will also return in the week commencing the 11th of january. students who have taken 11th of january. students who have ta ken exams 11th of january. students who have taken exams in year 11—13 will return to school, but they will be prioritised for testing. and exams that were due to take place in the first week will still go ahead. but for a lot of children, there'll be a staggered start and gradual phasing back of returning to school. and also, there's this huge issue around

mass testing. the government says there will be rapid testing within secondary schools, and that students will be offered two rapid test three days apart, and teachers will be able to have weekly tests. that's to stop the spread in the wider community, but also to stop teachers and students having to needlessly self—isolate. here's education secretary gavin williamson. we won't make the mandatory, but i think all parents want to see the best for their children, they want to see their children, they want to see their children, they want to see their children have the opportunity to be able to go into school and maximise the amount of time in the classroom. and we all recognise we play a big role, every single one of us, and defeating coronavirus, and everyone can help. this is a big national effort, this is an effort that involves departments right across government. it's involving schools, communities, and local authorities. but by working together, we can all play our role in defeating the coronavirus. their

plans for the army to help rule out those plans, but what we've heard time and time again is that schools cannot operate on such short notice. now the school holidays are about to start and schools will be having to deal with this over the school holidays. this also comes after councils were warned they faced legal action if they sought to extend remote learning into the year, it was supposed to be up until 11 january but they were warned by the government — this now looks like a reality for millions of students. elaine, thank you very much. the national education union has responded to the announcement, saying making it right at the end of the school term showed "panic". school leaders will be expected to run and manage the testing regime. well, let's talk to a headteacher who is trying to organise this forjanuary. dave lee—allen is the headteacher at stowmarket high school, and the chair of the suffolk association of secondary headteachers. hello, thanks for being with us. do

you agree that this potentially is a panicked decision by the government so late in the term? good evening, clive. i feel personally frustrated that we have been aware that these conversations have been taking place with the government about such plans for weeks now. the fact that they choose to release them a day before we are due to close is extraordinary. its management, ultimately, and i'm not sure if it's panicked, but there's certainly a massive element of mismanagement here. and the suggestion is that this is the result of the that fact it will take quite a bit of time to get this testing scheme up and running. how much of a logistical headache will it be, for instance, for you to get this sorted out at your school? it's huge, absolutely huge. issues of space — in this

document they've sent through, they've got quite detailed guidance as to the space that we need. but we don't have this space, we are currently running under covert back situations in which you're using every available space to keep stu d e nts every available space to keep students as far apart as much as possible —— covid—19. so the requirement of where and when you'll do this, who will do this is in such a short space of time, the time for us a short space of time, the time for us to put these things together is just leaving had teachers with a sense of dismay as they get to this point —— had teachers. in the e—mail m essa 9 es point —— had teachers. in the e—mail messages i've been receiving has just been incredulous, really, that it comes at this stage. we want to help, we want to get it right, but to do it at such short notice to the point where we are meant to be breaking up for festive christmas

holidays. the messaging from the government has been so inconsistent, it's deeply frustrating. we want to be able to do and help. but there is a real concern, isn't there, about the spread of virus, especially between 11—18 —year—olds. how else do you deal with this? to shut down schools, do you go back to doing that? no, we want students in school. we want them in school. we've proven we can deliver high—quality education. we can cope with the covid—19 restrictions, we can be flexible. but what we are being asked to do here is to suddenly take teachers and support staff and ask them to become medical professionals, and organise testing with hardly any training. the unions are with hardly any training. the unions a re really with hardly any training. the unions are really starting to gear up here, i'd be fascinating to see which position they take. i would not be surprised to hear them say it's a

fundamental know from them. if we had mobile units coming in and supporting us, than absolutely, we can focus on what we are trained to do, teaching and learning, and the pastoral care do, teaching and learning, and the pastoral ca re of do, teaching and learning, and the pastoral care of the students. but to ask us to suddenly become medical staff, atwell, at this point, is exceptional. we have to end it there. thanks for joining exceptional. we have to end it there. thanks forjoining us. think you. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has annouced that the furlough jobs retention scheme will be extended until april 2021. in a tweet, he said the government would continue to pay 80% towards wages of unworked hours. we can speak to suren thiru, head of economics at the british chambers of commerce. hello to you, thanks for being with us. he had to do this, didn't he? well, at a time when much of the country is facing tighter restrictions and businesses are facing a stop and cash flow, it is common sense to extend the furlough

scheme and help leading into months. isa scheme and help leading into months. is a month enough of a restriction? it was meant to end in march, now it's april. key questions remain. first of all, what happens at the end of april, particularly with instructions over the coming months? secondly, what about those people who still haven't received what they need? those who still haven't received what they need ? those people who still haven't received what they need? those people are falling between the cracks in government support schemes and need help quickly. those people and businesses that are falling through the cracks of the government support schemes, do you think it is time for the government tojust say, do you think it is time for the government to just say, "look, we will give out grants, we will practically help people and help those that are struggling, and not have them worry about paying off these loans at some point in the future when businesses pick up, because we don't know when that can happen?" element well because we don't know when that can happen? " element well currently because we don't know when that can happen?" element well currently it's about cash flow, and cash flow has

been hit over the last few months due to the reduced demand and further restrictions. so what we would like to see is more significant grant supports across the country, particularly for those facing tougher restrictions. another key challenge for government is how can they keep the economic policy response more closely aligned to what's going on? as it evolves in the coming months, it is important that we are banging on what's actually happening. is part of the problem here the fact that the various loans, certainly at least the emergency loan scheme, or one of them, that rishi sunak believed would generate something like £350 billion in help for businesses — only £68 billion has been led by banks. there falling down on the job here. the loan scheme will help some businesses, but other businesses won't want to take that debt due to

personal circumstances. lending schemes have been extended to the end of april, and we need to see those businesses who can't get access to the scheme, because they are not a credible lender, can get access to these important loan scheme. the furlough scheme, how does that help when it comes to heating, paying suppliers, rent, not just wages? you are right, wages is just wages? you are right, wages is just one part of business costs, but another is around cash, and that's taken a real hit over the last few months. research shows that around one and three businesses have three months or less work and cash reserve , months or less work and cash reserve, meaning cash they need to pay out for bills, etc. so it is really important the government actually wraps up something in grant support at the moment to all parts of the country, but particularly those hit by the tightest restrictions. we leave it there, thanks forjoining us.

hello there. the best of the sunshine has been across the eastern side of the uk. the weather has been changing from the west with thickening cloud and we are seeing more of this rain coming in as well, replacing those earlier showers. that wetter weather will continue to push its way eastwards this evening and overnight. some heavier rain over the hills. the rain probably tending to peter out a bit as it arrives in the south east of england and east anglia. many places becoming dry by the end of the night, by which time temperatures generally in double figures. a few showers to start the day. maybe a few breaks in the cloud across scotland, but we will see more rain arriving in the west and some heavy rain threatening some flooding in the south west of england and then to parts of wales. that wetter weather moving into northern england, northern ireland and up into scotland as well. largely dry in the afternoon for east anglia and the south—east of england.

there will be a stronger wind on friday. gales in the south—west of england and south—west wales. it's a southerly wind so it's going to be a very mild day. after that mild start, temperatures will keep up to highs of 13—14 celsius.

hello this is bbc news with me, clive myrie. the headlines... millions more people in england will be living under the toughest restrictions from saturday, in a bid to slow down the spread of coronavirus. i regret having to take the action that we have to take, i deem it necessary and there is a strong view right across government that these actions are necessary, but i also plead that personal responsibility is absolutely essential to how we as a society should respond to this pandemic. thousands of school children across england will have their return to school staggered, after the christmas break due to coronavirus concerns. the chancellor announces an extension to the furlough scheme.

it will now run until the end of april next year. center, here's gavin. good evening. thank you forjoining us. the ban on russia competing at major sporting events after a doping scandal has been upheld — but cut to two years — by the court of arbitration for sport. it means russia won't have a formal presence at the delayed tokyo olympics next summer, or the football world cup in 2022. the country was initially given a four year ban by the world anti—doping agency — following an investigation in 2016 which found at least a thousand russian athletes across at least 30 sports were implicated in state—sponsored doping programmes. our sports news correspondent alex capstick has more. well, during the case, as i understand it, the four—day hearing, which took place in september in lausanne, russia didn't really defend the fact that they were guilty of covering up

this data or providing fake evidence in these documents which they handed to wada earlier this year, but they argued that the sanction was unfair on clean athletes who were innocent victims in all of this, athletes who wanted to represent their country at an olympic games. and the panel felt it was not proportionate, the four—year ban was too harsh. although, they said in the statement that it should no way validate the conduct of the russian authorities. so they reduced it to two years, which for a lot of people, won't be enough. a lot of people wanted it to be four years. wada said they were disappointed by this, and in the nitty—gritty of the detail of the judgment, if you look at it, russian athletes can compete, they are allowed to compete, they will be allowed to have the name russia on their uniforms, but the flag

and the anthem will be banned, so it is a bit like the winter games in 2018 when there was a team called the olympic athletes of russian, around 170 of them, who were neutral. we can expect a good number of russian athletes in tokyo next year. more former rugby union players havejoined legal action against the game's authorities — for alleged negligence. it means there are now nine players included in preparing the action against the rugby football union, wales rugby union and world rugby. a letter of claim, setting out their intention to sue, was delivered today. former wales under—20 centre adam hughes, who is now aged 30 and seen in action here, is the youngest to claim he has suffered permanent brain damage through playing the sport. the law firm representing the group says more than 100 players have come forward. elsewhere, premier league clubs have voted against allowing teams to make five substitutions per match at a meeting today, but they have agreed the introduction of two additional concussion replacements. the premier league hopes to start the plans from january, after the approval of trials was given for the new year. the new rule means permanent substitutions can be made

if a player suffers a head injury, even if all replacements have already been used. sam allardyce has spoken to the media for the first time since becoming west bromwich albion's new manager. the former england boss was appointed on an 18—month deal yesterday following slaven bilic‘s departure from the hawthorns. out of the game for two years, allardyce says he's raring to go for the challenge ahead. i've never been so refreshed, never been so ready and eager to come back. sometimes, thisjob can wear you down, i haven't realised how many years i had been sat there as a manager through all them divisions trying to get to the top, and just how much it takes out of you. and you realise that when you actually get a break. this break went on so long and i had so much pent—up energy, i needed to expend it as quick as i could, and this is where ican quick as i could, and this is where i can expend all the energy of doubt reserved ready for this battle. yeah, let's see how gets on. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those

stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. clive? gavin, thank you for that. coronavirus infection rates are rising in all but one region in england. latest figures from public health england says london has the highest rate with more than 300 cases per 100,000 people in the week of 13th december. yorkshire and the humber is the only part of england to see a week—on—week fall in the infection rate. let's speak now to professor christina pagel, director of the clinical operational research unit at university college london and member of independent sage. hello to you. thanks for being with us. you know these figures. what is it we are doing wrong? i'm not exactly sure. i think the tier system has just not been as effective as hoped, so i think pretty much every single authority that was in tier 2 saw cases rise week on week, and tier 3 local authorities seemed to be just about

staying where they are, so there's no trend or reduction, so that is definitely not what we were hoping for and we know that in the south that cases started rising during lockdown. it's not just that cases started rising during lockdown. it's notjust about restrictions, it's clearly something else going on. it could be a reasonably natural response to news of the vaccine that came mid—november that that kind of signal that the pandemic is over, but, i mean, it really isn't over. cases are rising, hospitalisations are as high as they been since april. we are in a sticky situation. that's the problem, isn't it? hospitalisations, because that's potentially going to put pressure on the nhs which will make the situation far worse if capacity is reached when it comes to i see you bed. welcome i mean from it already is under pressure. there was a story today in the independent about comedy hospitals in london are now having to cancel nine covid

operations. —— nine 29 covid. it's the highest it's been since the 16th of april. i mean, that's really high. we are only a few thousand people away from the peak in april, we will probably reach that by christmas, and this is all before we have christmas, and the christmas relaxations, and that is a pretty disastrous situation to be going into christmas with. that's what really worries me as that, u nfortu nately, really worries me as that, unfortunately, a lot of the people in hospital are exactly the people who would be likely to be getting a vaccine in the new year. and we are now putting more of them at risk. when the health services already incredibly stretched and health service staff are exhausted. the decision to have a relaxation over the christmas period, mistake? they took it and it mid—november when it looked like lockdown was really working. and we did have quite significant falls in the first half of lockdown, but what they should've

done is say that it depends on where we are. you know, ithink done is say that it depends on where we are. you know, i think they assumed and reasonably naturally assumed and reasonably naturally assume that we would be below 10,000 cases a day now and that we wouldn't be seeing these big increases, but we are, and the situation is different, and it's a lot worse. and things got a lot worse just in the last week, so i think in light of fa ct, last week, so i think in light of fact, you have to be able to turn around and say, you know what, doing this is just around and say, you know what, doing this isjust a disaster. i think, you know, the middle ofjanuary, if we go forward with christmas will be awful. you know, we've got the tier system now. we've had lockdowns, emergency brakes in some regions, is the fundamental problem here that we did not as a nation get a test and trace did not as a nation get a test and tra ce syste m did not as a nation get a test and trace system up and running as sooner “— trace system up and running as sooner —— sooner? is not unduly what —— fundamentally what the issue is here? because if you look at those countries who have managed to suppress the virus and seemed to be dealing with it in a way that is leading to fewer deaths, test and traces really critical their

success. well, they have three things that are critical to success, so, yes, absolute test and trace, but also the isolation. they tend to have quite strict isolation policies and supports people to isolate both financially and practically. it's also very strict border control, which we don't have here, and haven't really had. in fact, the whole of western europe had pretty open borders over the summer, and i think we are kind of paying the cost of that now. also, if they have any kind of outbreak, they liked him pretty quickly in early like australia has been doing. but with success. we tend to lockdown really late when even after several weeks we are still at really high case numbers and it's quite hard to come out and keep that low, so that i think is kind of the issue. our contact tracing to know when you are 20 plus thousand cases a day, 10,000 cases a day, it's too many, and i think i'm germany has experienced thatis think i'm germany has experienced that is welcome and managed to do very well with contact tracing for months and months. 0k, we will leave

it there. director of the clinical operation unit at university college london, thank you forjoining us. the cabinet office minister michael gove has said it's more likely that the uk will leave the eu without a deal at the end of the year. it comes as talks are continuing in brussels to try to secure an agreement, with two weeks to go before the uk leaves eu trading rules. he's also told a parliamentary committee that he wants to have a bill agreed by both houses before january first. our reality check correspondent chris morris is here. q1gove sounding a bit pessimistic? dealing with all of us so that we don't have to which is good because who knows what's going on, no one really knows what's happening. about three people on each side actually know what's going on in the room. and as you know, pretty much every day for the last couple of weeks, there has been a rumour that maybe there is going to be a deal tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and we are really in a glass half glass half—full stage of the negotiations

and michel barnier saying good progress, mr gove saying the glass is half—empty, less than 50% chance, and so when he went to the house of lords, he's appeared between two before two select committees this afternoon and he said when is the real final deadline for an agreement to be done? you know, and comments which i think wouldn't make negotiators, officials, mps, journalists, socially distance christmas turkey come he said it's not yet. so let's have a listen to what he said stopping when we think about the real deadline, i hope that we can conclude agreement as quickly as possible, but talks may go on until after christmas. they made it clear earlier today that if we cannot conclude by sunday that they feel that they would be able to ratify it quickly, but of course, that you provisional application treaty, as i mentioned to the house of commons in an equivalent to this video earlier

today, we will want to ensure that parliament has a say and a chance to scrutinise any agreement that's reached, so realistically, in the stages immediately after christmas step stages immediately after christmas ste p allows stages immediately after christmas step allows quinn to say, good to see him being served a cup of team the middle of his key clip in the day of zoo meetings. the interesting thing the significant thing was that he went on to say, "look, if we cannot ratify a deal if parliaments cannot haveit ratify a deal if parliaments cannot have it say or legislate for any deal by the 31st of december then we will walk away. he mentioned that on the european side, there is a process within the eu where you can provisionally apply a deal and then parliament can vote on it later. and he was pressed quite hard on this point by members of the house of lords committee and said, can we do that here? he said no. our deadline on the 31st of december. so in effect, saying, we could spend nine months coming up with a last—minute agreement which removes tariffs, which gives us an agreement and secured cooperation, but we would prefer to walk away from all of that

and have no—deal then potentially deal with a messy few days at the be getting of january. is deal with a messy few days at the be getting ofjanuary. is that what would really happen? i mean, everyone is holding one's else's feet and the fire at the moment. so i think we wait and watch, i think that was ronald reagan who said that, i'm going back a while there, but you know, we are getting down to the needy greedy now come about, yes, potentially, he was think of me you know, don't set your alarm clock quite yet, these talks really could go on tilljust after christmas to allow the commons and the lords time then to turn around very quickly, have a vote on it, turn it into legislation and then let that eu do their business on their side. one wonders if the plug would really be pulled on the 31st of december as the fireworks are going off. northern ireland though, they are sort of in the mix, but not in the mix. theirfuture is already sort of in the mix, but not in the mix. their future is already been dealt with to a degree. it has. and michael gove had a busy

day, a meeting with his european commission counterpart today to formally agree that the arrangements on northern ireland set out in the brexit withdrawal agreement are now set in stone, and one of the things that means is that deal or no—deal for the rest of the uk, northern ireland will continue to have tariff free trade with the eu next year. so a big plus for northern ireland there, but the price of that is that there, but the price of that is that there is extra bureaucracy down the irish sea between great britain and northern ireland. one example, we've talked before, ithink, about northern ireland. one example, we've talked before, i think, about checks on food going from great britain into northern ireland, but if you wa nt into northern ireland, but if you want to take your pet because that you pet passport scheme is coming to an end, if you want to take a dog or cat after the 1st ofjanuary from great britain into northern ireland, you will have to go to a vet and get an animal health certificate to show that it's healthy before you can move within the uk. so there are some good news from northern

ireland, but also some extra bureaucracy as a result of it staying within some of the rules of that using the markets operate 0k, chris, good to see you. the ceo of dover port has told the bbc it is as prepared as it could be for the uk's departure from the eu at the end of this month. let's take a listen. the port is as prepared as we can be. we've been at this for four years now. our partners in the kent resilience forum have been looking after the traffic management scheme, and they've been testing those — and those are quite robust, as well. i think the most uncertain thing is, how prepared is business to trade post—first of january? and that will be the unknown, not until we see it happening. now, with the stockpiling occurring now, but we should see is — january's typically a slow period for us, we should see that it's quite a slow period during the course of january. hopefully that gives people a chance and try so they know certainly what they're doing, so when their cargo volumes start ramping back up again, there is a higher proportion

of people prepared. let's get a little bit more on the situation regarding covid—19. the bbc understands health officials and northern ireland have proposed a six—week lockdown to try to kerb the spread of the virus. there is speculation ministers could approve it to take effect from 28 december, but the details will be discussed by the devolved government later this afternoon. our ireland correspondent chris page told me what more he's hearing. yes, as you say, ministers in the devolved government are due to meet. it is understood that meeting may well get under way in the next quarter hour or so, in fact. understood to be on the table, a proposal from the department of health, from scientific advisers, that there should be a six—week lockdown here in order to try to deal with the alarmingly high number of coronavirus cases. that could include, for example, once again, the closure of all nonessential shops. northern ireland just came out

of a period of two weeks of circuit breaker lockdown last friday, but then there was some discussion as to exactly what shops should be deemed as nonessential. for example, it was decided in the end by ministers that hardware shops where essential, so they were allowed to remain open during that period, but more shops may be put into the nonessential category this time round, meaning a bigger section of the retail economy will be closed. also likely to be affected, hospitality businesses, close contact services, the likes of hairdressers and beauticians, so ministers will be discussing the detail, but basically, it is understood that the period under discussion is six weeks long, perhaps with a review after four weeks, due to kick injust after christmas. it is possible as part of what may be decided by ministers this afternoon that, as has happened in wales, you could get nonessential retailers shutting, closing on christmas eve and not reopening here fora numberof weeks, if the six—week lockdown is approved, and that would take us to the beginning of february.

chris page in belfast there. the true level of new coronavirus infections in wales could be twice the figure previously thought. planned computer maintenance has led to a delay in reporting an extra 11,000 positive covid tests. our correspondent sian lloyd is in cardiff — and gave us an update. only yesterday, we were reporting that people in wales were learning that they would face tougher coronavirus restriction starting from christmas eve, with a full lockdown here from december 28, and that was explained by the first minister mark dra keford. the situation here is extremely concerning. there are a record number of welsh patients being treated in hospital for coronavirus. today, people are having to take on board this news that a delay in reporting more than 11,000 extra positive covid tests means that cases are twice as high as was thought for the previous week. public health wales have explained this. they say planned it maintenance meant there was significant

underreporting, but that anyone who received a positive covid test was informed and contacted in the usual way. on friday, it had warned that this planned it maintenance would lead to changes and affect its daily reporting of coronavirus figures. first mr mark drakeford said he was aware of the underreporting. this wasn't a computer problem, this was planned upgrading of the computer system. none of the data is missing. everybody who had a positive test was told that in wales last week. everything was uploaded onto our ttp system, but the figures do indeed demonstrate just how serious the position here in wales has become. and i can just tell you that figures from the office for national statistics just released show that covid—19 was the biggest cause of death in wales in november for the first time in six months.

sian lloyd with the situation there. millions of people in the uk have missed out on potentially life—saving scans when the nhs cancelled nonessential hospital appointments in the first few months of the pandemic. analysis by the bbc shows that, in england alone, at least a.4million fewer scans were carried out between april and september, compared with the same period in 2019. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. sherwin hall is one of those caught up in the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the 27—year—old first went to hospital with leg pains in march, just as the crisis was growing, but it took 13 more visits until a scan at the end of may revealed cancer. his death was announced earlier this week, and his wife, latroya, says more should have been done. everything was overrun and tired. nobody was paying attention to him, and it's literally cost him his life, and no one can... it's not right you should be able to turn around and just be, like, i'm sorry now.

the government needs to take accountability for what's happened. it's cost my husband his life, it's caused my eight—month—old child not to have a father any more. and it's caused me not to have my husband. as the pandemic grew in the early spring and the health service was at risk of being overwhelmed, hospitals across the uk were told cancel non—essential appointments. that included some diagnostic scans used to detect cancer. the impact has been dramatic. in england, at least 4.4 million fewer scans were carried out between april and september this year, compared to the same period last year. the backlog created means one in seven people are now waiting more than three months for a scan. but doctors say the crisis has only highlighted existing shortages in staff and equipment. because of our capacity issues, because of our workforce issues, we can't get through the work as fast as we'd like. the covid pandemic has exacerbated that problem,

and i think it's probably true there are people with cancers, and one has to remember other serious conditions, which might present a bit later than we would want. nhs england says some services are now back to the levels seen before the pandemic, and the message to patients is come forward and seek care if you're worried. dominic hughes, bbc news. theatres would normally be bursting with life at this time of the year — but the pandemic has forced many to close their doors. now a group of out—of—work west end performers have found a new use for their skills this christmas — putting on virtual concerts for care homes across the uk. and fittingly the premiere has been held in a home for retired singers and actors. fiona lamdin has more. # snow is falling (snow is falling). # allaround me (allaround me). # children playing...#. these actors would normally be centre stage in the west end.

steph parry has starred in 42nd street, billy elliot and mamma mia! but lockdown has changed everything. so i left the theatre in march. i left my dressing room kind of ready to come back a few days later and carry on the show. and that was eight months ago. the last eight months have been different. they've been barren. and with many theatres still closed, rehearsals like these are rare. it's been the hardest year of my life. i've seen my whole industry decimated. i've been on the phone to, from actors to producers to lighting designers, who simply cannot pay their mortgage, erm, people worrying about their families. so this is your first time back in a rehearsalfor nine months. what's it like? eerily familiar to hear young performers, seasoned professionals, just singing together

for the first time. it really did feel a bit like coming home. # time for parties and celebrations # people dancing all night long...# and these stars are now using their talents to create a christmas concert for every care home across the country. # time for singing christmas songs.# this is particularly close to my heart because we lost my nan this year. she was in a care home and obviously towards the end we weren't able to go and see her. # rudolph the red—nosed reindeer # had a very shiny nose. ..# i've seen what impact music can have on people living in homes with alzheimer's and dementia. # chestnuts roasting on an open fire. ..# and where better to preview it than at brinsworth house, a nursing home for those who've served in the entertainment industry. she sings rosario and josephine were both performers.

she sings. rosario and josephine were both performers. and now i sing in my dressing room or my bedroom, along the corridor and in the loo. i couldn't sing the carols because i don't sing carols in english. i only sing carols in spain. i do enjoy watching good shows done by great people. it feels like the most christmassy thing i've ever done in my career. we can do something good for somebody else. and how christmassy is that? # we wish you a merry christmas # and a happy new year.# fiona lamdin, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. earlier on today, we had a refreshed

pay from this wet and windy theme, but we have seen the cloud increasing, thickening up, moving and very rapidly from the atlantic, it brought rain in some places. these weather fronts will take the rain across northern ireland, scotland and push it further into england and wales. for a while, that rain will be happy as well. it will eventually pushed him towards the southeast of england, other areas away from here becoming drier later on in the night. but there is a lot of cloud around, and it's quite blow wheat out there as well. so it's going to be very mild to start friday with temperatures in double figures. but more rain to come on friday, and the focus of the heavier rain is now across south wales with this amber rain warning from the met office. flooding and travel disruption is likely, as much as 100 mm of rain, four inches of rain in the heat two hills. not only wet here, but we will find the threat of flooding rains in the southwest of england, that heavier rain moves across wales, northern ireland, and it gets much wetter through the day in scotland. not too much rain for east

anglia and the southeast, but all areas will have a windy day, gail's likely in the southwest come about because it's southerly wind, it is unusually mild for this time of year. temperatures hitting 13 — 14 degrees. the rain and potential flooding is the story, and that rain continues in the same sort of areas during friday evening before pushing into eastern england during friday night to be followed by this area of low pressure. now, the very mild air and the more persistent rain will move away by the weekends, but we draw and slightly cooler air coming in from the atlantic around that area of low pressure. so, temperatures are going to drop her through this weekend and essentially, left with mixtures of sunshine and scattered showers. now, on saturday, the bulk of the showers will be across western parts of scotland, wales and western england. there will be a few showers around elsewhere, perhaps, but probably more in the way of sunshine. temperatures still in double figures on saturday, not quite as mild as friday, the winds will still be strong as well. it stays quite

windy, actually, right the way through the weekend. so more showers in the same sort of areas, perhaps piles of rain in the northwest of scotland. again, more sheltered eastern areas missing the bulk of those showers with more in the way of sunshine. but on sunday, it will bea of sunshine. but on sunday, it will be a little bit cooler than on saturday.

today at six: from saturday, two—thirds of england's population will be under the toughest covid restrictions — from hampshire to bedfordshire, much of the south and south east is now in tier 3. in the north of england, hopes of moving down a tier are dashed but in the south—west, bristol and some surrounding areas see an easing of the rules. i know that tier 3 measures are tough, but the best way for everyone to get out of them is to pull together, not just to follow the rules, but do everything they possibly can to stop the spread of the virus. and the furlough scheme is extended by a month to the end of next april, in wales, covid is the leading cause of death again — a computer upgrade means that the number of cases