tonight at six — cracking down on those flouting the coronavirus rules — the home secretary says police will be getting tougher. police say they will not waste time reasoning with people breaking the rules and will find them instead. breaking up an illegal gathering as priti patel says "most of the public" are complying with the restrictions, but blames a minority of people who are putting the health of the nation at risk. if you'd not play your part, our selfless police officers, who are out there risking their own lives everyday to keep us they will enforce the regulations, and i will back them to do so.

as the death toll keeps climbing steeply, the wife of a 55—year—old who died at christmas begs people not to break the rules. adrian was 55 years of age. he was so young and we had so much still planned, and people need to take note and stop being selfish and ignorant. 1,243 more deaths have been reported in the last 2a hours. also tonight: supermarkets say they'll crack down on people not wearing masks and following the rules — amid concern about the spread of the virus in shops. complaints about the quality of food parcels for those on free school meals — ministers promise to investigate. a devastating report into so—called mother and baby homes run for decades by the catholic church in ireland reveals around 9,000 children died. and the 11—year—old who's been sleeping in his garden every night since the first lockdown in march — he's raised more than £100,000

for charity. and coming up on bbc news: after a series of coronavirus rule breaches, football clubs around the country have been reminded of their responsiblities as cases continue to rise, but elite sport continues. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. police to the bbc news at six. forces are warning that the will police forces are warning that they will take tougher action against those who do not comply with the coronavirus restrictions. the head of the national police chiefs council said there would be more officers on patrol to crack down on those who he called dangerous, selfish and totally irresponsible in the face of the current health threat. the home secretary priti patel has thanked the majority of people for complying with the rules, but blamed a minority who she said

we re but blamed a minority who she said were putting the health of the nation at risk. she said current rules are tough enough, but under co nsta nt rules are tough enough, but under constant review. here is our home editor, mark easton. visitors are not welcome at the seaside. southend's beachfront car parks are locked, peaked caps patrolling the shoreline. with people restricted, the rats are enjoying new freedoms. this tourist town doesn't want non—locals coming for a constitutional. they shouldn't be coming. they have to define what local is. i heard that they are going from downing street to the 0lympic going from downing street to the olympic park. what irritates me is that i hear minister after minister saying, don't go out. but they don't follow it except for exercise. the news that the town's capital is struggling to cope, running out of oxygen yesterday, has contributed to the sense of emergency. most people do seem to be obeying the rules.

southend looks like a place in lockdown. it feels as though the mood has changed. in the last couple of days, police say they will be quicker to fine rule breakers. there is strong public support for tougher enforcement and tighter restrictions of the appeals from health professionals become ever more desperate. we need to really focus on what the enforcement issues are. if the legislation was a lot tighter, it would make it a lot easierfor tighter, it would make it a lot easier for our colleagues at the police force to enforce what we are asking them to do. the home secretary wa nts asking them to do. the home secretary wants that we may be facing a health service catastrophe. so why are the rules of this lockdown not as tough as they were last spring? the rules are actually very simple and clear. we are meant to stay at home and only leave home for a very limited number of reasons. that didn't answer the question, of course. the concern is not about the clarity of the rules, but their strength. police say people who flagrantly break the law,

like these illegal gatherings in london, can expect heavy fines. because of the lack of engagement from people here, you are probably going to end up with up to a £10,000 fine. our successful staged enforcement approach remains, but we will not linger on encouragement for those who are choosing to break the rules. the rules are clear, and we need to abide by them if we are going to protect the nhs unsafe people's lives. psychologists say getting people to obey the rules may have less to do with confronting lawbreakers have less to do with confronting lawbrea kers and more have less to do with confronting lawbreakers and more the focus on those who are following the guidance. if you tell people, everybody is doing this, stop it, actually, everybody here is that people are hearing the everybody is doing it. and people think, if everybody is doing it, why shouldn't i? and it undermines the behaviour. positive tests in southend have been falling in the past week, the 55 people have also died from the disease, an increase of 53%. what

happens next is a matter of life and death. mark easton, bbc news, southend. some of britain's biggest supermarkets — including sainsburys, tescos, morrisons, asda and waitrose — have said they will crack down on shoppers who don't follow the rules. customers will now have to wear a mask — unless medically exempt — or they won't be allowed in. it follows government warnings that shops are contributing to the spread of the virus. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. at sainsbury‘s today, security at the door, now ready to turn people away if they don't wear a mask — unless they have a valid medical reason. they will also challenge customers who come to shop in groups. over the last few days, you know, i've seen in our stores, customers shopping in larger groups, customers wanting to shop in the store without a mask where they could wear one. and so we are with making a very conscious shift in appeal today to all of our customers to help us

by doing these two things. but you can't ultimately enforce this, right? we are going to do the best we can. it's the job of the police, of course, to enforce the law, but we are not going to ban customers from our stores. shoppers we spoke to approve. just wear a mask out of respect for other people's health. that's what i think, and i think, yeah, the supermarket should be a bit more strict with it to protect their customers. it makes sense to me, yes. how they are going to get on with it. i like it, it's a good idea. i have had mine on since march because i don't wish to get i have had customers shout at me, i've had colleagues who don't feel comfortable in your shop, they don't want to be around that environment. barbara works for another essential retailer in staffordshire.

every hour of every shift, there is going to be at least one customer that is going to be rude or sarcastic or aggressive or dismissive of your attempts to be safe. supermarkets are one of the few places anyone can go right now, they are essential. but also indoors, where the risk of transmission is higher. supermarkets are now getting tougher, morrison's, the first to ban shoppers not wearing masks. tesco and asda and waitrose are all doing the same. grocers have already spent millions of pounds making stores safe. but in these critical times, they are clamping down. emma simpson, bbc news. the latest government figures show there were 45,533 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 55,653. 1,243 deaths

were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. this number is usually lower after the weekend. over the last seven days there has been an average of 35,520 people in hospitals with coronavirus across the uk — that figure includes suspected cases in wales. on average in the past week, 985 deaths were announced every day. taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to 2,431,648. on average in the past week, 985 deaths were announced every day. taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to 2,431,648. 0ur political correspondent vicki young is in westminster.

the home secretary was talking about the current rules, saying that they are tough enough for now, but under review. yes, we heard a lot today about enforcement. part of the problem for the police is that there are many legitimate reasons why eve ryo ne are many legitimate reasons why everyone is allowed to leave their home, far more than there were in march. that does make policing more difficult. they can speak to people gathering in a park, and it sounds like they are going to go more quickly from warning to finding people. but the warning that rule breaking is going on behind closed doors, in offices or homes, that is ha rd to doors, in offices or homes, that is hard to find and that is why you are seeing this message from the governor shifting towards personal responsibility, saying to people, we have all these exemptions, but really think whether you have to use them. do you have to order that parcel for click and collect? do you really have to meet that person? the message is to stay at home. priti patel, the home secretary, has said that the rules are tough enough. of

course, the government can't be sure of that until it sees a consistent drop in the case numbers. that is why it is constantly under review. vicki, thank you. the number of excess deaths in the uk last year rose to its highest level since world war two. the official statistics indicate how many more people have died than would have been expected based on the previous few years. in 2020, there were nearly 85,000 extra deaths, a rise of 14%. our health editor hugh pym has been talking to one woman who lost her husband at christmas. he was kind—hearted, ambitious, strong, he always thought about other people. lisa remembers her husband, adrian, who died on boxing day with covid. he was 55. he had previous health conditions, but doctors said they were not a factor, as the virus gripped his lungs and he passed away in intensive care. adrian is not a statistic, he's not

a number, he was my husband. he was his family's son, a nephew, a brother, friend to many. and he was well—known in our community because we had a business as well. every covid death is tragic for loved ones. the statistics do make bleak reading, not least at a time of lockdown and concerns about the spread of the virus. 0ne measure of the overall impact of covid—19 is the total number of deaths from all causes, set against what might be expected. there were close to 697,000 uk deaths in 2020, more than 84,000 above the average in the previous five years. that's a margin of 14% above that average. so how does that compare with previous decades? well, it was the highest in 75 years. remember, each year is compared with the previous five, reflecting medical knowledge

and population health at the time. as army personneljoined the vaccination efforts, there are hopes that once enough jabs are carried out, fewer people will become seriously ill with covid. but before that happens, there are warnings of more grim news to come. people who are dying now from covid—19 are people who would have been infected well before christmas. and given that we know that cases have been going up since the beginning of december, we can expect to see deaths to go up as well for several more weeks to come. lisa wants others to think about the risks they might be taking. it can affect anybody. i'm 45 and i was bedbound for two weeks with it, and i got through it, but adrian was 55 years of age, he was so young, and we had so much still planned, and people need to take notes. and people need to take note. she wants people to know what can be

the heartbreaking consequences of the spread of this deadly virus. hugh pym, bbc news. there's concern about the long—term impact that working on the frontline during this pandemic will have on nhs staff — with the added risk of anxiety, depression and burnout. mps have been warned that core staff may end up leaving the nhs. it's estimated that as many as 600,000 health and social care staff — that's one in five workers — may need mental health support once the pandemic is over, as dominic hughes reports. the relentless pressure of work, the fear of contracting the virus. it just destroyed me. it destroyed me in a really bad way. for health and care workers, these are the toughest of times. when a patient dies, that really carries an emotional burden. the impact of which will be felt for years to come. i think there is a grotesque

underestimation of the scale of the problem that we are going to have in 6—12 months. the demands placed on hospital staff across the country have soared in recent weeks. this pandemic has lasted nearly a year, long months with no let—up. it's not just doctors and nurses, those like yvette, an assistant occupational therapist who contracted covid last april, she was left depressed, terrified she might bring the infection home. tearful, very tearful, not willing to get out of bed. all the classic signs, really, low mood, anxiety. i couldn't be bothered. i had no motivation. you know, these are the classic signs that i knew i was desperate. the physical and mental strain is perhaps most obvious in intensive care units. these staff know some patients just won't make it. but each death has an impact, and they have seen so many. it's not necessarily the young patients dying, it might be a father or grandfather

dying, which links you to your own father or grandfather dying, and those things can be extremely upsetting for people. and you do need time to step away from work and, you know, go through your own personal life and try and deal with it. this is a workforce that is emotionally wrung out and exhausted. tens of thousands of carers who in turn will need caring for in the months to come. many of those people will be ok with support and time and a chance to rest, assuming those things happen, but we know, sadly, that a substantial portion will go on to develop full— blown mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, post—traumatic stress disorder. so, potentially, we are looking at a huge mental health crisis.

the care is not available in general mental health services, which have been underfunded for many years now. they are unable to cope with the needs of the general population anyway, and we are sleepwalking into a crisis where the care won't be available for that group. extra funds for mental health support have already been promised, but the next few weeks are likely to be really challenging for front line health care staff, and the impact of this crisis on them will be felt for many months to come. dominic hughes, bbc news. our top story this evening: cracking down on those flouting covid rules. the home secretary says police will get tougher. and coming up — after what appeared to be several coronavirus breaches at matches this weekend, all eyes are on the premier league tonight as clubs come under increased pressure to make sure players are sticking to restrictions. coming up on sportsday on bbc news: sport continues to distance itself from us president donald trump, as former supporter bill belichick,

coach of the new england patriots, says he will not accept the medal of freedom from him. for much of the last century so—called mother and baby homes in ireland took in unmarried pregnant women. many were run by the catholic church. today a devastating report revealed that around 9,000 children died over eight decades, in more than a dozen homes. around 15% of all children born there. at one home in tuam in county galway, nearly eight hundred children died and it's thought many of them are buried in a sewage system. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page has been hearing the story of a man who was born there. the only thing that i can remember is the beds being wet. i'd march down to school, i had to go ten minutes late in the morning. you had to leave ten minutes early in the evening. we were all cornered off in a section of the playground by the nuns, so you wouldn't mix

with the other kids. and then to be locked up in what i call a prison really and to think like why? just because i was born out of wedlock. pj spent his first seven years in the home which once stood here. ireland in the 1950s was a deeply conservative catholic society. unmarried women who were pregnant were taken into religious institutions and separated from their children. the fathers got away with us. it was always the woman that was to blame, it was always the woman's fault and i suppose when you look at other people, i was lucky i got to meet my mother. if i didn't meet her i would be blaming herfor leaving me in there. there is another reason why pj thinks he is lucky. at the tuam home nearly 800 children aged up to three died between 1925 and 1961. investigators believe many were buried at the site in some kind of sewage system.

when i go down there and stand there to think that i could have been there too, a religious country like we're supposed to be would do the likes of that to helpless little baby. the irish government has committed to having this site excavated, so the children whose remains are beneath this ground can be reburied with some dignity. tuam is the mother and baby home that has generated the most international attention, but there are many other institutions the republic of ireland with long histories of shame, neglect and unspeakable cruelty. the inquiry report says around 9,000 children died in the 18 homes which were investigated. that is about one in seven of those who were born in the institutions. investigators state it represents an appalling level of infant mortality. the irish government has said there were decades of brutality. the regime described in the report wasn't imposed on us by any foreign power.

we did this to ourselves as a society. we treated women exceptionally badly. we treated children exceptionally badly. but pj thinks the report hasn't got to the full truth. there was nothing there today that would say, god that's fantastic, my mother is being recognised or they're apologising to my mother and they didn't do that today. there will with be a compensation scheme and memorial, though history will still hurt in ireland for years to come. president trump has warned that efforts to impeach him are causing "tremendous anger" but said he wants "no violence" in the run—up tojoe biden's inauguration. he made the comments as he was leaving for a trip to the us—mexico border — it's the first time he has spoken since his supporters attacked the us capitol last week. 0n the impeachment, it's really a continuation of the greatest witch—hunt

in the history of politics. it's ridiculous, it's absolutely ridiculous. i think it's causing tremendous danger to our country and it's causing tremendous anger. i want no violence. thank you very much. thank you, everybody. the government has said it will investigate the quality of food parcels being sent to those on free school meals during lockdown, after a number of complaints about the size and standard of the supplies. england footballer and food poverty campaigner marcus rashford shared images of food parcels online, saying they were "just not good enough". 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. lockdown has hit some of britain's poorest families the hardest. many children are not at school, but the government is still committed to providing free school meals. 0n social media, images of food that fall short of expectation.

chartwell‘s, the supplier has apologised and said, "in an effort to supply thousands of meals, it's fallen short on quality." you getting on ok with your work? yeah. caroline is struggling, she's self—employed, her two children at secondary school get vouchers. for her child in primary, she's been told to drive to school everyday to pick up a sandwich. i'm weighing up losing money not being able to teach a lesson or going to school to get the sandwich, and it's a no—brainer, really, it'sjust not an efficient use of my time or resources. catering companies say they are also struggling. many have had to switch from providing daily hot meals in dinner halls to delivering parcels of food to last families two weeks in a short space of time. i certainly believe this is a glitch. we have seen some fantastic work by caterers working in partnership with their schools and getting out boxes full of food to begin to help children thrive while they are staying at home. schools have a budget

of £11.50 per week per child for school lunches. this week, the government has increased the amount to £15 for food parcels in line with free school meal vouchers. many parents would prefer vouchers, but companies are already contracted to provide meals during school time, as well as paying these companies, schools would also have the additional cost of the voucher scheme, but some schools say they have little choice. with what we have been getting from the company and it's been not the greatest in the world, and believe it or not, nearly double the price what we paid for the hot meals pre—lockdown. so, yeah, it's... we weren't happy at all. footballer marcus rushford is once again at the forefront of the provision of free school meals. he tweeted an image of a parcel said to be three days of food for one family, saying that this isn't good enough, and children deserve better. with children out of school, there are many challenges. the government says it will carry out a full investigation to ensure lockdown doesn't leave children going hungry. elaine dunkley, bbc news. following an eventful weekend in the fa cup, the premier league

returns this evening. all football clubs know there is increased scrutiny on player behaviour and the necessity to follow covid rules, following several breaches among some clubs at the weekend. some experts are now calling for the game to stop during lockdown. 0ur sports editor dan roan has more. sheffield united and newcastle united emerging in the last few minutes, the first of three premier league matches tonight. elite sport has mapping managed to avoid being suspended. these scenes made a mockery of the protocols. some say the sport can still be trusted. the exposure and the comments and the explanation of the risks, i think now the boys even with that crazy happiness of a big day, they will

control. with more than 60 games postponed due to covid, pressure is building. fulham, furious they were given two days notice ahead of a rearranged match tomorrow. given two days notice ahead of a rearranged match tomorrowm given two days notice ahead of a rearranged match tomorrow. it is the premier league, one of the best leagues in the world, to confirm that on monday morning is scandalous. it is not accept. grimsby became the first club to be fined for a breach of covid rules. safety protocols have been deemed a success , safety protocols have been deemed a success, but some want the season to stop. halting football at the moment would send out the right message. to the public. especially that footballers a re the public. especially that footballers are role models and people would say, the season stopped, the government have stopped the season, it might make the severity of what is going on be more apparent to some. while football isn't blamed for driving transmission some players have been

accused of flouting restrictions and other sports are growing concerned. if that elite sport exemption is taken away for if that elite sport exemption is ta ken away for athletes if that elite sport exemption is taken away for athletes like myself, trying to train and prepare for an 0lympicing 0lympic s without track and gym access is so difficult. in the premier league, referees will remind captains and coaches and protocols before matches. financially, sport can ill afford another suspension, but the scrutiny is intensifying. it was a promise between two friends that has led to a mammoth fund raising effort. when 11—year—old max woosey‘s neighbour rick was dying of cancer he gave max a tent and told him to have an adventure. max did just that and the schoolboy has been sleeping in a tent in his back garden in north devon every night since the first lockdown in march last year and he's raised a staggering amount of money, asjon kay reports. there's lockdown and then there's this. whatever the weather, for nearly

a year, max has been camping in his garden. it's been wet, cold, muddy, it's just been miserable really. he wanted to raise £50 for the north devon hospice. he's now raised more than 100,000. i'm pretty impressed with myself, i have to admit! but this is also the story of another boy — joe berry from cheshire, he too loved camping and helping others. he was amazing. he would just spend hours and hours in the garden, even through the middle of winter. he just loved being outside. joe grew up to join the paras, but last year at the age of 21, he died in afghanistan. when lisa saw max's story on bbc news, she remembered joe's old camping kit. i don't want it to sit in the loft, i would prefer it go to some use and i couldn't think of any

better use than to help max. so lisa sent max the sleeping bag that kept joe warm when he was a scout. it reminded me ofjoe, because it's just something that joe typically would have done when he was a similar age. what did you think when you got the sleeping bag? i think i nearly cried to be honest, when i read the note and all of it. i realised people in this world are so loving, so caring and it'sjust so nice. so tonightjoe's legacy will be keeping max warm as his charity camp out continues. we'll get the weather in a moment, but first let's show you some of the stunning pictures that viewers have sent in of the northern lights in all their glory. the aurora borealis, as they're called, were visible from overnight in the north and north east of scotland and weather watchers in the highlands, shetland and along the moray firth coastline have been sending in these images.

the northern lights happen when atoms high up in the earth's atmosphere collide with energetic—charged particles from the sun. time for a look at the weather here's darren bett. have you seen them before? i haven't. i have tried many times. we probably won't see them tonight in scotland, because the activity has died down. we have clearer skies and we have got some clearer skies down the eastern side of the uk with colder air. to the west there is more cloud advancing in. we have a battle between that colder air and this milder cloudier air trying to push in. the boundary between the two is a front that is producing thicker cloud and rain setting in in northern ireland, pushing into wales, the south west of england and the west country into the midlands and over the irish sea. there will

be some cloud ahead of it. but it is mostly