question is will the bill. 50 my question is will the government bill. so my question is will the government commit to ensuring the uk plays its part in vaccinating the poorest nations in the world, firstly to save lives, and secondly to avoid the potential emergence of further covid variations? we to avoid the potential emergence of further covid variations?— further covid variations? we are more than _ further covid variations? we are more than playing _ further covid variations? we are more than playing our— further covid variations? we are more than playing our part. - thank you. i know the international travel sector will welcome the framework. given that it is coming out on the 1st of october, will that give colleagues the opportunity to pay them their ideas. will he entertain the idea of moving into lateral flow tests and only the small proportion of positive cases we need to take up a pcr test. i know these are important issues. i don't want to pre—empt the statement of the right honourable friend, the

transport secretary, but i know that when he makes that statement, then my honourable friend will be pleased. my honourable friend will be leased. �* , . my honourable friend will be leased. ., . ., my honourable friend will be -leased. ., . ., paces pleased. alistair carmichael. pages 23-24 of the _ pleased. alistair carmichael. pages 23-24 of the autumn _ pleased. alistair carmichael. pages 23-24 of the autumn and _ pleased. alistair carmichael. pages 23-24 of the autumn and winter - pleased. alistair carmichael. pages. 23-24 of the autumn and winter plan 23—24 of the autumn and winter plan specifies that as part of plan b the government will introduce vaccine passports for all nightclubs, indoor settings of 500 people or more, which presumably would include this chamber of 650 members. outdoor settings of a thousand or more, or anywhere, which is a very big place, anywhere, which is a very big place, anywhere where there are 10,000 people. how does the secretary of states that with this assertion in reply to this shadow secretary of state that the evidence on the usefulness of vaccine passports is not there? if the evidence is not there, why are they not part of plan b? it also says that plan b could be

brought into force at very short notice, so can you give the house some assurance that it will not be without a vote?— some assurance that it will not be without a vote? short questions and short answers- _ without a vote? short questions and short answers. we _ without a vote? short questions and short answers. we have _ without a vote? short questions and short answers. we have made - without a vote? short questions and short answers. we have made huge| short answers. we have made huge rouress short answers. we have made huge progress as — short answers. we have made huge progress as a _ short answers. we have made huge progress as a country _ short answers. we have made huge progress as a country in _ short answers. we have made huge progress as a country in fighting - progress as a country in fighting this virus and that is why we don't need certification, we don't need the issues, the plan b issues that the issues, the plan b issues that the right honourable gentleman has just set out. as i made clear in my statement, whilst we can keep other measures in reserve, what matters is what we are doing and if we keep making progress against this virus in the way that we are, we won't need any of those things he has talked about. it need any of those things he has talked about.— talked about. it is worth highlighting _ talked about. it is worth highlighting once - talked about. it is worth highlighting once again | talked about. it is worth i highlighting once again the talked about. it is worth - highlighting once again the latest stats from ons that show that almost 99% of covid deaths in the first—half of this year were people who have not received both doses of the covid—19 vaccine. that really

does show the importance of our world leading vaccination programme, so can he say that as we rule out these boosterjabs, how will he build on the success of the network of gp surgeries, community pharmacies and volunteers who have helped rule out a particularly my part of the world, all these covid vaccinations? he part of the world, all these covid vaccinations?— vaccinations? he is right to raise this. booster— vaccinations? he is right to raise this. boosterjabs _ vaccinations? he is right to raise this. boosterjabs will _ vaccinations? he is right to raise this. boosterjabs will be - vaccinations? he is right to raise this. boosterjabs will be hugely| vaccinations? he is right to raise l this. boosterjabs will be hugely in maintaining protection and the gp networks, the nhs vaccination centres have all been part of our planning for this, and given that these are boosterjabs, i think we can move much more quickly than we did with the original doses.— did with the original doses. parents will have questions _ did with the original doses. parents will have questions and _ did with the original doses. parents will have questions and concerns, l will have questions and concerns, quite rightly. can he confirm that those questions and concerns should not be directed to school staff or head teachers, even if the vaccination happens to take place within a school building? instead, all questions relating to the

vaccination should be directed to the appropriate medical team. yes. steve baker. my honourable friend is keeping covid certification in reserve. he is leaving mass a somatic testing in place along with contact tracing. the public health powers are still there, allowing him to lock us down with the stroke of his pen without prior boats or any formal way of justifying his pen without prior boats or any formal way ofjustifying it. when can we expect all these things to be dealt with so we can all have the certainty that will come from knowing that we are leaving with an endemic disease, thanks to the vaccine, in the way that we live with the endemic disease flew, so we can all get on with their lives? i know he may not agree with every measure that the government is keeping in place, but i hope he agrees with me that the measures that i have set out around making

sure that we are vaccinating the public, offering the faxes to as many people as possible, having some kind of testing regime and some surveillance of the results of these tests to look out for any new variants, i hope he agrees that at least those measures are the right measures and the kind of things that need to be done as we live with covid—19. need to be done as we live with covid-19. ., . ., need to be done as we live with covid-19. . . ., , , ., u covid-19. patricia gibson. vaccine passports. _ covid-19. patricia gibson. vaccine passports. we _ covid-19. patricia gibson. vaccine passports, we were _ covid-19. patricia gibson. vaccine passports, we were told - covid-19. patricia gibson. vaccine passports, we were told they - covid-19. patricia gibson. vaccine | passports, we were told they were going ahead, then they weren't, then that they are still a first line of defence against our winter way. now the position is they are definitely maybe. we haven't seen dithering on this since the issue of mask wearing. does he think that this confused public messaging around this pandemic, how dangerous does he think it is? i this pandemic, how dangerous does he think it is? ~ ., , think it is? i think we have been very clear— think it is? i think we have been very clear on — think it is? i think we have been very clear on this _ think it is? i think we have been

very clear on this issue. - think it is? i think we have been very clear on this issue. last - very clear on this issue. last frida , very clear on this issue. last friday, leicestershire - very clear on this issue. last friday, leicestershire mps i very clear on this issue. last friday, leicestershire mps met with nhs officials locally and were told that around three quarters of all in hospital with covid were not vaccinated. with the right honourable friend agreed with me that if we do not want to be unlocked on this winter, we should all who can get the vaccine, especially in leicester where i now understand that the shadow minister because my earlier comments, take—up is only 61%. i because my earlier comments, take-up is onl 61%. ., because my earlier comments, take-up is onl 61%. . ., ~ is only 61%. i agree. there are 6 million adults _ is only 61%. i agree. there are 6 million adults throughout - is only 61%. i agree. there are 6 million adults throughout the i is only 61%. i agree. there are 6 | million adults throughout the uk that remain unvaccinated and i think we should all do what we can to at least encourage them to think about taking the vaccine, not only to protect themselves, but their loved ones. i protect themselves, but their loved ones. ., protect themselves, but their loved ones. . , ., , , protect themselves, but their loved ones. . , ., ,~~~ ones. i am seriously concerned about the hole in the _ ones. i am seriously concerned about the hole in the secretary _ ones. i am seriously concerned about the hole in the secretary of— ones. i am seriously concerned about the hole in the secretary of state's i the hole in the secretary of state's defence, that taking away contact tracing from public health teams, the data that is completely insufficient now to carry out an

effective operation locally, and therefore to lockdown the virus. will he look at this and ensure that local authorities like in york, we can have that serial data so we can get on top of the contact tracing as soon as the data emerges?- get on top of the contact tracing as soon as the data emerges? there are measures that _ soon as the data emerges? there are measures that made _ soon as the data emerges? there are measures that made it _ soon as the data emerges? there are measures that made it make - soon as the data emerges? there are measures that made it make sense . soon as the data emerges? there arel measures that made it make sense we must remove. the reason that we can take a different approach to contact tracing than we did a few months ago is largely down to the high rates of vaccination we are seen throughout the country. of course we want them to go higher, but as we vaccinate more it allows us to start removing these restrictions, these additional costs, these burdens on individual likelihoods and it is the right approach that we take a balanced approach, keep increasing vaccination so we can keep removing other restrictions. i vaccination so we can keep removing other restrictions.— other restrictions. i welcome the secretary of _ other restrictions. i welcome the secretary of state? _ other restrictions. i welcome the secretary of state? statement . other restrictions. i welcome the - secretary of state? statement today. can i raise the plight of care home residents, many of whom have been

kept apart from their family due to outbreaks being declared at their home. i think the threshold for intervention by declaring an outbreak is really quite low. could the secretary of state look at this so we can ensure that people can see their loved ones throughout the winter ahead?— winter ahead? yes, i can give a commitment — winter ahead? yes, i can give a commitment to _ winter ahead? yes, i can give a commitment to my _ winter ahead? yes, i can give a commitment to my honourable| winter ahead? yes, i can give a - commitment to my honourable friends and he may be interested to know that with the booster american today that with the booster american today that care home residents will be our absolute priority. back that care home residents will be our absolute priority.— absolute priority. back in june, the prime minister _ absolute priority. back in june, the prime minister committed - absolute priority. back in june, the prime minister committed the - absolute priority. back in june, the prime minister committed the uk | absolute priority. back in june, the i prime minister committed the uk and other g7 nations to vaccinating the world by the end of 2022, to end this pair —— terrible pandemic. can he tell us how offering a third vaccine to a fully vaccinated healthy adult in the uk before a first vaccine to a nurse in a low income country helps that goal of vaccinating the world by 2022? i do understand the point the honourable

lady is making, but may i suggest if she hasn't yet she should read the jcvi's advice on booster vaccines, then i think that you might be better able to appreciate the importance of the booster programme. i think we all hope that plan b is not activated. can he lay out exactly what's that pressure means and is the nhs capacity going forward overwinter, is it staff, is it medication, is it beds, and what work is being done to enhance the capacity? work is being done to enhance the ca aci ? ~ ., work is being done to enhance the caaci ?~ ., work is being done to enhance the caaci ?~ . ., , capacity? what i can to my honourable _ capacity? what i can to my honourable friend - capacity? what i can to my honourable friend is - capacity? what i can to my honourable friend is when | capacity? what i can to my| honourable friend is when i capacity? what i can to my - honourable friend is when i talked earlier about unsustainable pressure it will be things like looking at hospital occupancy, looking at the occupancy in nicu units, the admissions of vaccinated individuals versus unvaccinated individuals and the rate of growth in admissions. i think it is right that there is not

one particular trigger so we have to take a number of issues into account, but i hope he agrees that the government is right to plan for all contingencies. iim the government is right to plan for all contingencies.— the government is right to plan for all contingencies. jim sharman. can i convey my — all contingencies. jim sharman. can i convey my sincere _ all contingencies. jim sharman. can i convey my sincere sympathies i all contingencies. jim sharman. can i convey my sincere sympathies to l i convey my sincere sympathies to the prime minister's family on the death of his mum. will the secretary of state confirm the booster roll—out for over 50s will be managed in line with the flu jab roll—out, which seems to be facing some delay —— delay. will additional funding be allocated to gp practices to enable this enhanced you like to take place? to enable this enhanced you like to take lace? , to enable this enhanced you like to take place?— take place? yes, gps will get additional — take place? yes, gps will get additional funding _ take place? yes, gps will get additional funding to - take place? yes, gps will get additional funding to support | take place? yes, gps will get. additional funding to support the vaccination programmes, including ourflu vaccination vaccination programmes, including our flu vaccination programme. vaccination programmes, including ourflu vaccination programme. in terms of co—administering the covid vaccine with the flu vaccine, whilst the jcvi has vaccine with the flu vaccine, whilst thejcvi has said there is no reason why that shouldn't happen, they think that can work, in practical

terms, mainly because of the 15 minute wait after a pfizerjob, it will probably happen in very few cases. regardless of that, the flu vaccination programme this year is also going to be very high priority. as my right honourable friend has said, it has been our vaccine programme that has enabled us to get almost back to normal. will he join me in thanking the staff and volunteers at gap state community centre, who had been rolling out the vaccine in rushcliffe and given my constituents the best protection they have against coronavirus? yes. they have against coronavirus? yes, of course i — they have against coronavirus? yes, of course i will. _ they have against coronavirus? yes, of course i will. community - they have against coronavirus? yes, of course i will. community centres and village halls and so many other places up and down the country, including in her constituency, have done an amazing job and we still need them to help in our fight against this virus. has need them to help in our fight against this virus.— need them to help in our fight against this virus. as the secretary of state may _ against this virus. as the secretary of state may know, _ against this virus. as the secretary of state may know, next _ against this virus. as the secretary of state may know, next door- against this virus. as the secretary of state may know, next door to i against this virus. as the secretary | of state may know, next door to his own constituency, the vaccine uptake

has been about 75%. unfortunately, in some parts of birmingham it has been as low as 47%. will he journey in encouraging anyone who is hesitant to take the vaccine to take part in the quick one minute survey by birmingham city council about why they have those anxieties, because it is important for us to know where those anxieties lie, because the vaccine is pivotal to our success. yes, i willjoin my honourable friend in encouraging people to do that. it would be one minute very well spent. that. it would be one minute very well spent-— that. it would be one minute very wellsent. a ,, ., well spent. across stoke-on-trent and staffordshire, _ well spent. across stoke-on-trent and staffordshire, uptake - well spent. across stoke-on-trent and staffordshire, uptake of i well spent. across stoke-on-trent and staffordshire, uptake of the i and staffordshire, uptake of the vaccine has been very good and i would like to thank all those who have been delivering the vaccine across took on trent particularly. for16 across took on trent particularly. for 16 and 17—year—olds, they cannot use currently the online booking system, they have to wait for their gp to contact them or for one of the very few walk—in centres. could he look at extending that online booking system to all 16 and

17—year—olds? tote booking system to all 16 and 17-year-olds?_ booking system to all 16 and 17-year-olds? booking system to all 16 and 17- ear-olds? ~ ., ~ , ., 17-year-olds? we do keep that under review. at 17-year-olds? we do keep that under review- at the — 17-year-olds? we do keep that under review. at the moment, _ 17-year-olds? we do keep that under review. at the moment, we - 17-year-olds? we do keep that under review. at the moment, we have i 17-year-olds? we do keep that under. review. at the moment, we have found for16 review. at the moment, we have found for 16 and 17—year—olds that the quickest way to encourage them to take up the offer is through the schools and colleges network and through gps, in particular. we do keep it under review. he might be interested to know that 16 and 17—year—olds, the latest numbers are over 54% is are vaccinated and there is progress to be made, but there is good progress so far. my is progress to be made, but there is good progress so far.— good progress so far. my local hosital, good progress so far. my local hospital. the _ good progress so far. my local hospital, the queen _ good progress so far. my local| hospital, the queen elizabeth, good progress so far. my local- hospital, the queen elizabeth, which needs to be rebuilt, has 46 covid patients. isn't the best way to ensure that the hospital and nhs has the capacity to deal with winter pressures is for the vaccine take

up? i pressures is for the vaccine take u - ? , . pressures is for the vaccine take u . ? , . ., , up? i very much agree with my honourable _ up? i very much agree with my honourable friend. _ up? i very much agree with my honourable friend. that - up? i very much agree with my honourable friend. that is i up? i very much agree with my honourable friend. that is one | honourable friend. that is one reason why we are constantly publishing more and more information on the impact the effectiveness of vaccines, including the data from the ons today that i referred to earlier. , . ., , ., , ., earlier. the secretary of state will be aware that _ earlier. the secretary of state will be aware that my _ earlier. the secretary of state will be aware that my constituency i earlier. the secretary of state will| be aware that my constituency has faced restrictions for longer than most. can he clarified that local restrictions are being considered by the government and, if so, what they might be? i the government and, if so, what they miaht be? .,, �* the government and, if so, what they miaht be? ., �* , the government and, if so, what they miahtbe? �* , ., might be? i wasn't sure from the cuestion might be? i wasn't sure from the question if _ might be? i wasn't sure from the question if she _ might be? i wasn't sure from the question if she was _ might be? i wasn't sure from the question if she was referring i might be? i wasn't sure from the j question if she was referring only to her own area or generally in terms of local restrictions? in terms of local restrictions? in terms of local restrictions? in terms of the plans i have announced today, the government will retain some powers for local restrictions, working with local authorities, if absolutely necessary, but if she is interested more in her own particular area, the current situation i or other ministers will be happy to talk with her. like my

honourable _ be happy to talk with her. like my honourable friend _ be happy to talk with her. like my honourable friend the _ be happy to talk with her. like my honourable friend the member- be happy to talk with her. like my honourable friend the member for watford,, emphasised to the secretary of state the amount of anger there is about not being able to get a face to face a bond with their gp? he encouraged gps to get back to work. if necessary and that optic hasn't happened, will he instruct them to get back to work so they can have face—to—face appointments? i they can have face-to-face appointments?— they can have face-to-face appointments? i agree with my honourable _ appointments? i agree with my honourable friend _ appointments? i agree with my honourable friend about - appointments? i agree with my honourable friend about the i honourable friend about the importance of giving patients a choice. there are some patients who prefer not to have a face—to—face appointments, they may be at work, and that is fine. the important thing is for those who want to have a face—to—face appointment, it should be made available. my honourable friend the minister and the department are looking at what measures can be taken and she will be more than happy to meet with him to take him through some of those initiatives. �* ., , .,

initiatives. anthony higginbotham. the nhs and _ initiatives. anthony higginbotham. the nhs and volunteers _ initiatives. anthony higginbotham. the nhs and volunteers across i the nhs and volunteers across birmingham have done a brilliantjob at vaccinating people, but we know there are still hesitancy in getting there are still hesitancy in getting the vaccine. that includes not only people who haven't turned up or don't want to have the first vaccine, but also those who have had the first vaccine but then are hesitant about the second. can i ask him what steps he is taking to understand why that hesitancy is there and what we can do to try to get people to vaccine? i am pleased that my honourable _ get people to vaccine? i am pleased that my honourable friend _ get people to vaccine? i am pleased that my honourable friend has i get people to vaccine? i am pleased| that my honourable friend has raised this and this is an issue. it is in a minority of cases where someone has taken the first dose but become hesitant about the second. what we are doing and all those cases is those people have been individually contacted, often by their gp to other conditions, and offered meetings, phone calls, being talked you to encourage them to get that second dose. it is really important that people follow up at that second dose to get the full protection they

deserve. ., ., ,., . dose to get the full protection they deserve. ., ., ~ ., ., dose to get the full protection they deserve. ., ., ,., . ., ., ., deserve. tom hanson. we have heard a lot about variance. _ deserve. tom hanson. we have heard a lot about variance. it _ deserve. tom hanson. we have heard a lot about variance. it wasn't _ deserve. tom hanson. we have heard a lot about variance. it wasn't that - lot about variance. it wasn't that long ago that i was reading about tweaking the existing vaccine and even a kind of universal vaccine. what are things looking like in that regard, and what is the possible timeframe in which we could release a vaccine that could better protect us against the variance? i a vaccine that could better protect us against the variance?— us against the variance? i think it is reasonable _ us against the variance? i think it is reasonable to _ us against the variance? i think it is reasonable to assume - us against the variance? i think it is reasonable to assume that i us against the variance? i think it is reasonable to assume that at l us against the variance? i think it i is reasonable to assume that at some point in the future, perhaps as early as next year, there may be multi—variance vaccines, for example the flu vaccine is a multi—variant vaccine. in terms of availability and getting approval from regulators, we are not there yet, but if you believe that it is a general direction of travel and when we do get there i think it will be much easier to live with covid—19. my much easier to live with covid—19. my constituents in newcastle—under—lyme very much enjoyed getting back to normal over

the last few weeks, so i think they will welcome the secretary of state because my plan a. whilst we must not be complacent, we must not be overcautious. what assessment to see made on the data over the last few weeks and whether that indicates the government because my decision to proceed on the 19th ofjuly, in the teeth of a lot of opposition? mi; teeth of a lot of opposition? my honourable friend is right to raise this. there are many people, including many in this house that told us the decision be made to go ahead with removing those restrictions was the wrong one. we have made the right decision. the status at the moment with the pandemic is that cases are steady. we have to remain vigilant, but he makes a very fair point. i we have to remain vigilant, but he makes a very fair point.— we have to remain vigilant, but he makes a very fair point. i thank the secretary of _ makes a very fair point. i thank the secretary of state _ makes a very fair point. i thank the secretary of state for _ makes a very fair point. i thank the secretary of state for his _ makes a very fair point. i thank the | secretary of state for his statement and we _ secretary of state for his statement and we now move on to... a point of orden _ and we now move on to... a point of orden carol— and we now move on to... a point of

order. carol monaghan. so we _ order. carol monaghan. so we will pull away from parliament at the end of that statement. all very much as you will gather part of a day of considerable announcements and a of plans being led by the government in terms ofjust how the country is expected, and how they are planning for the country to cope with coronavirus in the coming autumn and winter months. worth reminding you, we have had the announcement about booster jabs reminding you, we have had the announcement about boosterjabs over the age of 50. that is across the uk. we are talking a lot today about jabs for children aged 12—15, it varies slightly depending on what part of the uk you live in, the news conference is due at 3:30pm this afternoon. as soon as that press briefing from the downing street gets under way we will bring back to you. plenty on all of that all afternoon on bbc news. let's just move away from coronavirus and turn

our attention to a couple of other stories here this afternoon. it's thousands of years old and one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments, but how do you keep stonehenge standing? after assessing the stones, english heritage has launched a major conservation project to keep the site safe for the future, as the bbc�*sjohn maguire has been finding out. metal scaffolding may be an incongruous sight next to the ancient structure. and it will be taken down every evening over the next few weeks, such is the determination to keep stonehenge open and looking as normal as possible. this conservation work is, in itself, historic. the last time something of this scale was undertaken was more than 60 years ago, when the ladders were wooden, you could smoke a pipe while working, and protective headgear was a woolly hat. much has changed over the decades, but the problems remain. a few years ago we did do a laser scan of every single stone, so we got a very good record now of all the cracks and the holes,

a lot of which are natural and geological. but also, one of the lintels, for example, was stitched together in the 19505, so we're going to be doing some repair work to that, because at the time they used a mortar that was very hard and we are going to replace that with lime mortar. surveying the earlier work at the time was eight—year—old richard woodman—bailey. his father was the chief architect, and young richard concealed a coin within the stones. today, 63 years on, despite being older and wiser, he will do the same again with a £2 coin, struck specially for the occasion by the royal mint. it's a real honour for me to be able to do this today. over 60 years has passed, and to find it's something that's been remembered and has been recorded, in fact, is happening, to be able now, as they are going to be doing some further minor

repairs to some of the stones this year, to follow up that 1958 coin with a 2021 britannia £2 coin, is really a great honour indeed. repairing, restoring, conserving — there are subtle differences. and at this world heritage site everything is tightly controlled. after all, they are working in the footsteps of giants. they may not have used phrases like structural engineer or architect ii,500 years ago, but they were very clever people. on top of each pillar there's a tenonjoint, that bit of rock that you can see sticking up. they would then go inside this mortise hole. so the lintels would have sat on top of the pillars. we think this one was never actually placed on top of the pillar. we don't know why. as with so much in stonehenge, it remains a mystery. with our changing climate,

english heritage is aware the stones will face different weather patterns, so the hope is to future proof the work for at least the next 60, 70, maybe 100 years. which, of course, when this place is ii,500 years old, is the merest blink of an eye. john maguire, bbc news, stonehenge. unearthed interviews withjohn lennon have revealed what he believed were the beatles best songs and how he didn't want to live without his wife, yoko ono. the rediscovered tapes, recorded in 1969 and 1970, are about to go under the hammer — they're expected to fetch about £30,000. andy gill reports. unpacking a rare slice of beatles history. the interviews withjohn lennon were recorded by a canadian journalist, ken zeilig, in 1969 and 1970. they cover a wide range of beatles—related topics.

john on his favourite beatles tracks, for example. what beatle music do you look upon as being outstanding? well, i'm prejudiced, i like my own, you know! so i don't know, you know. i like revolution no.9, walrus, strawberry fields, day in the life. on how important the beatles were culturally. it was positive in letting people grow their hair and dressing how they like, but it wasn't just the beatles, it was the beatles and others. like the stones and just ordinary people on the street, we all did it together. but we were the figureheads, you know. on people complaining about his long hair. now everybody that complains about the length of my hair now, they're all middle—aged people with beatle haircuts that i had in 1964, you know. and on why he accepted the mbe he later returned. you could have refused to accept the mbe originally. what prompted you to accept it? well, i was a hypocrite

and i was on the make. only a few minutes of the hour and a half of the material have ever been broadcast before. the tapes were recently rediscovered by mr zeilig's family after he died. the content in there is priceless, basically, and so for the beatles historians, or the beatles collectors out there who hopefully will be able to hear these, when they do hear them, they'll be amazed to hear the different topics he talks about. things he's probably never been heard talking about previously. so itjust adds tojohn lennon's story, really. how much you think they'll go for? estimating 20 to £30,000. i'd like to think we'll get to the top estimate, and as past auctions have shown, sometimes we can go way above estimate and fingers crossed that's what's happens. on the recordings, john's love for yoko ono is clear. our only worry in the world is that we die together. in exactly the same minute. otherwise, even if it's three minutes later, it's going to be hell. i couldn't bear three minutes of it. not so much love for

music critics, though. critics are critics and the rest of them are the artists. and the critic can never be the artist, so he'll never understand what's going on. the tapes will be auctioned at the end of the month. andy gill, bbc news. a busy afternoon coming up with covid news. a busy afternoon coming up with covid news. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello. the rain that we've seen through the morning across central and eastern england is likely to linger throughout the rest of the afternoon and slowly peter out this evening. that heavy rain for parts of england, because of its persistence, could lead to 30 or a0 millimetres of rain, so a risk of flooding and travel disruption. warnings are out there on the website. but this is how the wettest areas look. central and eastern parts of england, so east anglia, parts of the midlands, the south—east, into lincolnshire and yorkshire. whilst it peters out across north—western england, we have sunnier skies for parts of wales, the south—west. the rain will tend to peter out across scotland.

the best part of the sunshine in the north and perhaps here 20 degrees around the moray firth. a few sharp showers, though, for the western isles and for northern ireland, particularly western parts of northern ireland. but, otherwise, those will tend to fade away. the rain eases away and the night—time will turn drier for many, but with low cloud and mist and fog, given that it has been so wet through the day, so temperatures will still hold for the most part in double figures. but notice we have another layer of cloud coming in off the atlantic, another weather front. this one far weaker, but it introduces more cloud and patchy rain across the western side of the uk during the day on wednesday, but then clears out of the way for high pressure then to build in for thursday. so it is looking as if through the middle part of the week we will have a drier spell of weather, with some sunny spells coming through, as well. as i say, for the day on wednesday there is a question as to how much cloud we see across eastern england with that weather front close by and the breeze coming down from the north, but it looks drier, it looks brighter and, therefore, warmer. we will have more cloud, though, with some patchy rain for western scotland and for northern ireland,

with eastern scotland becoming much drier. on thursday, as i say, that high pressure ridge is building in, so it is keeping those weather fronts at bay until late in the day, at least. for many, it is probably the driest and brightest day of the week as it stands at the moment, lifting our temperatures into the low 20s, high teens further north. then, as we go towards the latter part of the week, we have this low pressure system moving in and there we have our fly in the ointment for the end of the week. where will that sit on friday? at the moment, it looks as if it's going to come into the western side of the uk, so western england, wales, northern ireland, scotland, with eastern areas holding onto the driest weather longest, but that low pressure will then be around for the weekend. as ever, we will keep you up to date. the warnings are on our website.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a third booster covid jab is to be offered to everyone aged 50 and over across the uk — it can be given six months after the second jab. so if there is good uptake, i think the booster programme will make a very substantial impact on keeping wise in terms of hospitalisations and deaths and keeping pressure the government says it may need to bring in other measures like mandatory face masks if there's a rise in infections this autumn and winter. 110w now we have come so now we have come so far, we have achieved so much, we must stay vigilant as we approach this critical chapter so that we can

protect the progress