at six — nhs leaders warn the strain on the health service is unsustainable. almost 6 million people are now waiting for routine hospital treatment in england, and ambulance services are under pressure, with a record number of 999 calls last month. things are already very, very difficult in the health service. it is compromising patient safety. it is compromising quality of service. also tonight... more turmoil at yorkshire cricket club over azeem rafiq's racism allegations. england's joe root speaks out and another boss resigns. today, we have closed the book on apartheid. south africa's former president fw de klerk — the last white man to lead the country — has died at the age of 85.

last post plays. buckingham palace confirmed the queen will be at the cenotaph on sunday as the nation falls silent to mark armistice day. and the man who spent lockdown sorting out an old box of dinosaur bones and discovered a new species. and coming up on the bbc news channel, aston villa announce steven gerrard as their new manager. the former liverpool captain leaves rangers after guiding them to their first league title in a decade. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. almost six million people are now waiting for routine hospital treatment in england — the highest level since records began.

the head of the nhs confederation has warned that unprecedented demand could compromise patient safety — with the ambulance service in particular coming under extreme pressure. 5.83 million people in england are now waiting to start treatment on the nhs, the highest number since records began nearly 15 years ago. the ambulance service is under its highest state of alert. latest figures show the average response time for urgent calls, like heart attacks and strokes, is nearly 5a minutes — the target is 18 minutes. last month, more than a million 999 calls were answered in england — a record number. it's a picture being reflected across the rest of uk too. governments in all four uk nations say they are aware of the challenges and are doing their best to support services. here's our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. across the length and breadth of the uk, and brilliance is arguing, unable to hand over the sick and injured patients they have on board,

because hospital have no room. —— ambulances are queueing. and ambulances are queueing. and ambulances stuck in queues are not able to attend other emergencies, leaving patients in need, waiting at home. i leaving patients in need, waiting at home. u, . leaving patients in need, waiting at home. . ., , ., home. i called an ambulance at 11:50am, _ home. i called an ambulance at 11:50am, and they _ home. i called an ambulance at 11:50am, and they said - home. i called an ambulance at 11:50am, and they said they - home. i called an ambulance at i 11:50am, and they said they would send help asap. tiara 11:50am, and they said they would send help asap.— send help asap. two weeks ago, christina called _ send help asap. two weeks ago, christina called 999 _ send help asap. two weeks ago, christina called 999 when - send help asap. two weeks ago, christina called 999 when she - send help asap. two weeks ago, i christina called 999 when she found her grandma, margaret, slumped in a chair, having a stroke. but after waiting three and a half hours, she called again to ask when the ambulance would arrive. the? ambulance would arrive. they explained _ ambulance would arrive. they explained to _ ambulance would arrive. they explained to me _ ambulance would arrive. they explained to me that - ambulance would arrive. they explained to me that she - ambulance would arrive. tie: explained to me that she was ambulance would arrive. tt3:1 explained to me that she was already down for a blue light ambulance from the first call and they had nothing available at that time, they could not give me a time when they were able to get to me and then they arrived at 5:30am. her able to get to me and then they arrived at 5:30am. her grandma then aueued for arrived at 5:30am. her grandma then queued for three _ arrived at 5:30am. her grandma then queued for three hours _ arrived at 5:30am. her grandma then queued for three hours outside - queued for three hours outside hospital, taking her weight for care to around nine hours, which meant she was out of time to receive medication to reverse the damage done by the stroke. and older people

are facing devastating delays in north—west england, according to this paramedic who asked to remain anonymous. i this paramedic who asked to remain anonymous-— this paramedic who asked to remain anon mous. , ., ., , anonymous. i has been out to people who has been — anonymous. i has been out to people who has been on _ anonymous. i has been out to people who has been on the _ anonymous. i has been out to people who has been on the floor _ anonymous. i has been out to people who has been on the floor for - anonymous. i has been out to people who has been on the floor for an - who has been on the floor for an excess of 20 hours, and we have just not had the resource to go to them. that is not because we don't care. it is just because we physically haven't got anybody to go. [30 haven't got anybody to go. do you think peeple _ haven't got anybody to go. do you think people are _ haven't got anybody to go. do you think people are losing _ haven't got anybody to go. do you think people are losing their- haven't got anybody to go. do you think people are losing their lives| think people are losing their lives because of the delays at the moment? absolutely, we know of stories of people dying in the back of ambulances where we have not been able to off—load at hospitals. we have got experiences of going out to people who, if we had got to them a little bit quicker, we could have started treatment and potentially the outcome could have been different. :, the outcome could have been different. ., ~ , ~ , different. north west ambulance service has _ different. north west ambulance service has said _ different. north west ambulance service has said it _ different. north west ambulance service has said it is _ different. north west ambulance service has said it is increasing i service has said it is increasing the numbers of available ambulances and taking on additional staff in its call centres. all 14 ambulance services in the uk have escalated to the highest level of alert and some

have even gone beyond, like south central, which recently declared a critical incident when managers said the service became unsafe. for the last three months, these handlers have answered an additional 21,000 999 calls compared to two years ago. and just before the critical incident was declared here, instead of having an average of 20 patients waiting for an ambulance, they had 120 patients waiting. henge waiting for an ambulance, they had 120 patients waiting.— 120 patients waiting. have you got the ain in 120 patients waiting. have you got the pain in the _ 120 patients waiting. have you got the pain in the chest _ 120 patients waiting. have you got the pain in the chest at _ 120 patients waiting. have you got the pain in the chest at the - 120 patients waiting. have you got. the pain in the chest at the moment? south-central— the pain in the chest at the moment? south—central has— the pain in the chest at the moment? south—central has now _ the pain in the chest at the moment? south—central has now asked - the pain in the chest at the moment? south—central has now asked the - south—central has now asked the government for military support. armed forces have helped ambulance services in other parts of england, wales and scotland and have supported hospitals in northern ireland. and hospitals are also under immense pressure in other parts of the uk, with record waits for nonurgent treatment.- for nonurgent treatment. things are already very. _ for nonurgent treatment. things are already very. very — for nonurgent treatment. things are already very, very difficult _ for nonurgent treatment. things are already very, very difficult for - for nonurgent treatment. things are already very, very difficult for the i already very, very difficult for the health service. it is compromising patient safety. it is compromising quality of service. we

patient safety. it is compromising quality of service.— quality of service. we put extra fundin: quality of service. we put extra funding and, £5.4— quality of service. we put extra funding and, £51» billion, - quality of service. we put extra funding and, £51» billion, for i quality of service. we put extra l funding and, £51» billion, for this funding and, £5.4 billion, for this winter_ funding and, £5.4 billion, for this winter period, just to basically help— winter period, just to basically help with _ winter period, just to basically help with the processes, help to get extra staff _ help with the processes, help to get extra staff in, and you know, also help— extra staff in, and you know, also help with — extra staff in, and you know, also help with more ambulance staff but of course, — help with more ambulance staff but of course, it is difficult to do that short _ of course, it is difficult to do that short notice. governments in all arts that short notice. governments in all parts of _ that short notice. governments in all parts of the — that short notice. governments in all parts of the uk _ that short notice. governments in all parts of the uk say _ that short notice. governments in all parts of the uk say they - that short notice. governments in all parts of the uk say they are i all parts of the uk say they are aware of the challenges and are doing their best to support ambulance services, but with winter coming, the pressure is likely only to get worse. sophiejoins me now and there is a great deal of concern from both patients and doctors. what could be done? ~ , , done? well, there is this huge concern. _ done? well, there is this huge concern. i _ done? well, there is this huge concern, i think, _ done? well, there is this huge concern, ithink, many- done? well, there is this huge concern, ithink, many people| done? well, there is this huge | concern, ithink, many people i done? well, there is this huge - concern, ithink, many people i have concern, i think, many people i have spoken to who work in the nhs say they are extremely worried about what is going to happen over the next few months. in fact, one woman told me she was dreading it. the nhs isn'tjust facing a busy time. it is facing pressure like never before. many people have never seen pressure like this in their entire careers. there has been a huge rise in

demand. 999 calls are up by over a quarterfrom two years demand. 999 calls are up by over a quarter from two years ago and we have just seen the busiest 0ctober everin have just seen the busiest 0ctober ever in a&e. and we're only in november. the winter is no tories leave the most difficult time for the nhs, with january really being the nhs, with january really being the of that. —— is no tories lead the of that. —— is no tories lead the most difficult. we have seen the military have helped out and they can drive ambulances, for example, and support staff. nhs staff are also being asked to take on additional shifts but many of them are exhausted. and what the nhs really needs at the moment are additional staff, really needs at the moment are additionalstaff, doctors, nurses and paramedics, to fill those shifts, but may take years to train and so there are no easy solutions. thank you forjoining us. the government's latest coronavirus figures for the uk show there were more than 42,000 new infections recorded, in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average, there were 34,600 new cases reported per day in the last week. 195 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28

days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 163 related deaths were reported every day. and more than 11.4 million people have received their boosterjab. the chief executive of yorkshire county cricket club, mark arthur, has become the latest seniorfigure to resign in response to the row over racism engulfing the club. earlier, the former yorkshire cricket captain azeem rafiq, who's made allegations of racism at the club, said he's "incredibly hurt" after the england test captain and yorkshire player joe root said he couldn't recall ever witnessing racism at the club. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. he is trying to prepare to lead his side into the ashes next month but even here in australia, joe root can't avoid the crisis that has engulfed his county side. a report found his former yorkshire team—mate, azeem rafiq, was a victim of racial harassment and bullying at the club but addressing the issue

for the first time, england's captain today insisted he could not recall any racist behaviour there. not from my... not that i can recall, no, noi not from my... not that i can recall, no, no i can't. but the thing is, what i will say is that it is clear that things have happened at the club and we have to make sure that we eradicate it. you know, that we look to find ways to make sure this never happens again in the sport and beyond that as well, in society. sport and beyond that as well, in socie . �* .,, sport and beyond that as well, in socie . �* _, , sport and beyond that as well, in socie .�* , , society. but those comments dismayed azeem rafiq of— society. but those comments dismayed azeem rafiq of an _ society. but those comments dismayed azeem rafiq of an hour— society. but those comments dismayed azeem rafiq of an hour later _ azeem rafiq of an hour later tweeted, "disappointed is not even the feeling, incredibly hurt, but uncomfortable truths are hard to accept, it seems". having sparked outrage for failing to take disciplinary action against any member of staff, yorkshire has lost sponsors, the right to host international cricket at headingley, and is now embroiled in further investigations after more allegations. joe root admitted the scandal at the club at which he has spent his entire career had fractured the game. it is spent his entire career had fractured the game. it is obviously deel fractured the game. it is obviously deeply hurtful— fractured the game. it is obviously deeply hurtful and _ fractured the game. it is obviously deeply hurtful and sad _ fractured the game. it is obviously deeply hurtful and sad that - fractured the game. it is obviously

deeply hurtful and sad that a - fractured the game. it is obviously deeply hurtful and sad that a club| deeply hurtful and sad that a club that i am so close to and it means so much to be to go and play for yorkshire, it is really important that we recognise what has happened and we make sure that moving forward, we never see this happen again. we have got to find a way of confronting this and stopping it and making sure that absolutely we are, you know, getting rid of racism from society. you know, getting rid of racism from socie . ., ., ., ., society. tonight, another yorkshire board member, _ society. tonight, another yorkshire board member, chief— society. tonight, another yorkshire board member, chief executive - society. tonight, another yorkshire | board member, chief executive mark arthur, whose resignation azeem rafiq had demanded, became the latest in a host of senior figures at the club to step down as the fallout continued. having risen through the academy ranks here at yorkshire alongside azeem rafiq, the england captain himself has now become the latest high—profile cricketer to be drawn into this controversy and with azeem rafiq due to give evidence at what promises to be an explosive parliamentary committee hearing next week, this crisis is far from committee hearing next week, this crisis is farfrom over. dan roan, bbc news, headingley. the uk's economic recovery from the pandemic slowed sharply over the summer —

with supply chain problems hampering growth. new figures from the office for national statistics show the uk's economy grew by 1.3% — less than many analysts had expected. here's our economics editor faisal islam. polishing metal in the midlands. this west bromwich manufacturer can see the growth in the economy since the depths of the pandemic lockdown. but some of the shine is now coming off. we've seen month—on—month growth. we did see in august and the early part of september that it dropped slightly, but a lot of that was because our customers physically couldn't get hold of the material. it was stuck at ports, it couldn't come into the uk to be processed. now that has all since come in, causing bottlenecks in production. and that is exactly what is seen in the big economic numbers, too. the pandemic rebound beginning to fade with normal service not quite resuming.

we are on the right path, but of course there are global challenges ahead, and that's why the budget set out a plan to build a stronger economy with support for working families at its heart. but the net result of that, say the bank of england, is two years of declining living standards after inflation and after tax. that includes all the measures you have mentioned. well, what it doesn't include is the spending on public services, and that does bring value to people's lives. so the uk is finally emerging from the economic heart attack of 2020, but growth is now a little slower than was hoped. in the last quarter, the economy expanded by 1.3% and forecasts predict a further slowing of growth in the coming months. the rebound from the pandemic continued partly thanks to the vaccine roll—out. but we are in a new phase now, with higher prices and taxes hitting people's pay packets and the supply chain crisis continuing to affect what businesses can manufacture.

there are risks ahead from around the world and closer to home too. the uk and eu have continued arguments about the brexit deal, with the government here suggesting it might end the special northern ireland trade border by triggering what is known as article 16, and some eu voices in turn suggesting a suspension of the whole brexit agreement. when you're trying to deal with the cost of living crisis, why would you get involved in any way with some sort of trade war with our biggest trading partner? we are not at that point. and what we should be doing and what we are doing is working constructively with our european friends and partners to explore every opportunity that we have to try and resolve some of our differences around the operation of that protocol. back in west brom, it is stability on trade and some sort of normality that this exporter is yearning for. the rebound may be ending, but the economy is yet to settle. faisal islam, bbc news.

the head of the united nations has described tackling climate change as the world's most important fight as he urged nations at the cop26 summit in glasgow not to make hollow promises. antonio guterres said governments need to pick up the pace and show ambition — with the summit due to end tomorrow. from glasgow, here's our science editor david shukman. the endgame of the conference, urgent consultations with governments back home, checking the agreement line by line, assessing every word. the warnings about rising temperatures are clear, but national interests are at stake, so the talks go on. we are not there yet on the most critical issues. there is still a lot more work to be done. and cop26 is scheduled to close at the end of tomorrow. so, time is running out. we still have a monumental challenge ahead of us.

there's been a boost from china, the world's biggest polluter, and america — the second biggest — that they will work together, the latest in a flurry of initiatives here, a plan to cut methane, a potent greenhouse gas, though some important countries aren't taking part. a promise to end deforestation by 2030. but we have heard this kind of thing behold the before. but we have heard this kind of thing before. and a call to end the use of coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel — but what matters is getting agreements that governments can't wriggle out of. so, in this final stretch, what are the big arguments that still need to be settled? well, the first is how often countries should update their plans for going green. some say that's needed every year. others say that's too often. then there is the fundamental question of cutting the gases that are heating the planet. they are still heading up, when the science couldn't be clearer that they've got to be falling fast. and then aid for

the poorest nations. they were promised it more than a decade ago. it still hasn't been delivered. it's a relief that people are recognising that we need to help communities on the front lines of the climate crisis, but it's a frustration that rich governments aren't yet doing what it takes to help them out. even now? even now, they hear the sounds, they are putting fine words on paper, but no real mechanism to address this crisis. and as a reminder of what this is all about, torrential rain struck the indian city of chennai. floods spilling into a hospital. scientists have long warned that even more violent extremes are possible, but acting now could head them off. so some countries want to move away from fossil fuels entirely. the uk and many others say it's not the right time. another example of different perspectives in these last hours. david shukman, bbc news.

the time is 6:16pm. our top story this evening... ambulance services are dealing with a record number of 999 calls. and coming up in the next few minutes, we will be live here on the isle of wight where they have just discovered a brand—new species of dinosaur. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel, more on the fallout from the yorkshire cricket racism scandal, as england captainjoe root says it has fractured the game and torn lives apart. buckingham palace has confirmed that the queen will attend the remembrance sunday service at the cenotaph this weekend, three weeks after she was told to rest by doctors. today armistice day has been marked across the uk as people fell silent at 11 o'clock this morning to remember those who have lost their lives in conflict.

ceremonies were disrupted last year by covid restrictions. sarah campbell reports. bell tolls 0n the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the guns of the first world war fell silent. more than a century later, the nation paused to remember those who sacrificed so much in service to their country.

bugles play last year, the pandemic prevented people from coming together to remember — not so this year. sydney, australia, on november the 11th. it's also france's national day of remembrance. so many lives were cut short in french fields. many soldiers never returned home. walter tull was one of them, britain's first black army officer, he was killed in 1918. today at the cenotaph in london, his great neophew laid a wreath in his honour. this is a fantastic event to come to the point where i'm able to lay a wreath on behalf of my grand uncle at the cenotaph, it's a great honour

and a great honour to him. armistice day, ensuring those who were lost are not forgotten. sarah campbell, bbc news. the former president of south africa — fw de klerk, the last white person to lead the country — has died at the age of 85. he was a key figure in the country's transition to democracy and in the release of nelson mandela from prison in 1990. mr de klerk had recorded a last message to the south african people with instructions to release it after his death, as our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. we did not only admit the wrongness of apartheid... fw de klerk was terminally ill when he recorded this farewell message, still wrestling with his place in south africa's tortured history. 1, without qualification, apologise for the pain, and the hurt, and the indignity

and the damage that apartheid has done. in the late 1980s, south africa stood on the brink of chaos, the security forces of a racist white government were battling against the black majority. no one expected much to change when de klerk took over as president. after all, his government ran a nation where black people were treated by law as subordinate, inferior. the prohibition of the african national congress... but within months, de klerk announced a shocking u—turn. ..and a number of subsidiary organisations is being rescinded. the anc, the outlawed liberation party of nelson mandela, was unbanned, and soon after that, mandela himself was released from prison after 27 years. soon, the two men, once bitter enemies, were sharing

the nobel peace prize as south africa inched towards democracy. what nobody can take away from him is his foresight. he seized the moment, he showed the courage, and he was a figure that eventually saw the end of apartheid. and nelson mandela elected as president in those heady days of the new reign of democracy. but the transition was not peaceful. thousands of black south africans died during political violence that was, as it turned out, deliberately stirred up by white security forces. still, de klerk and mandela kept negotiating, nudging their nation forward, not that they were ever close. so help me god. then in19911, history was made, as mandela was sworn in as democratic south africa's first president. de klerk retreated backstage. the question that has always stalked fw de klerk is a simple one,

was he a good man who did all he could to destroy an evil system? or was he an opportunist, someone who never properly confronted his own role in the horrors of racial apartheid? many today here are choosing to focus on his undeniable achievements. he had the courage to step away from the path that his party that he led had embarked upon from the 19118, upon from 19118, and we will remember him for that. de klerk will always be a divisive figure, but history will record that he helped to bring freedom to south africa. andrew harding, bbc news. the former south african president fw de klerk, who has died at the age of 85. three mps from the snp and labour have been accused of getting drunk on a flight to visit uk troops in gibraltar. the bbc understands that the ministry of defence was told of their behaviour by military chaperones on the flight.

but tonight, scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon said the accusations about two of her mps were false. 0ur political correspondent chris mason is at westminster. what more do we know chris? 15 mp5 15 mps went out the other day to gibraltar as part of a scheme to allow mps to better understand how the armed forces work. there were two military chaperones on the plane with them who were sufficiently concerned about their drinking and behaviour that they reported the behaviour that they reported the behaviour back to their bosses at the mod. in addition, a witness has said these mps were drinking in the airport lounge beforehand, drinking on the plane and they were drunk by the time the plane got to gibraltar. now one of those mps is labour's charlotte nicholls who came back to the uk very quickly. she has mental

health concerns, she had had a mental health episode i'm told, she has ptsd and is on heavy medication. what then of the two snp mps? these are drew hendry and david linden. really strong pushback from them and scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon, and nicola sturgeon says it was a pretty disgraceful attempt ljy it was a pretty disgraceful attempt by the conservatives to try to distract attention from the behaviour of conservative mps that we have been reporting in the last week or so. that despite the account of these witnesses. incidentally, they have not denied drinking, just denied being drunk. tonight ben wallace has written to the leaders of the snp and labour at westminster and to the commons speaker saying their behaviour and drinking was unacceptable and must not happen again. unacceptable and must not happen aaain. , unacceptable and must not happen a.ain_ , unacceptable and must not happen aaain. , ., ,, unacceptable and must not happen aain. , . ~' the husband of the detained british iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe,

says he says he is "stuck in the same status quo" after meeting officials at the foreign office. quo" after meeting officials richard ratcliffe — who is on day 19 of a hunger strike — said the meeting had been quite depressing, giving him no new hope that she will be released. nazanin was arrested in 2016. a 21—year—old confessed he had killed his grandmother during a game of or dare. he died during smoke inhalation after a fire in her home inhalation after a fire in her home in 2018. the former liverpool and england football player steven gerrard has been named as the new manager of aston villa. he's leaving rangers after three years, having helped them win the scottish premiership title last year. and finally to a retired gp who started lockdown with an old box of dinosaur bones and came out of lockdown having discovered a new species of dinosaur — one that roamed the isle of wight 125 million years ago. it's an extraordinary story that takes lockdown hobbies to a whole new level. duncan kennedy is on the isle

of wight to tell us more. they have been finding dinosaurs here on the isle of wight for about 200 years. the dinosaurs they do discover are about 125 million years old. they thought they were two main species of dinosaur, until now. gnarled, nobbly and what a nose! this is how the not very dainty dino would have looked like. and the usp of this vip, its bulbous snout. and here we have vertebra or backbone of... its remains had spent 110 years in old boxes untiljeremy lockwood, a retired gp, went through them. he'd always believed there had to be more than two types of dinosaur on the island. and he was right. i took a bone, which was a nasal bone, and i thought,

"i'm going to try and reconstruct what the skull of this animal looked like," so i sort of put it into life position. and i thought, "goodness me, this has got a bulbous end to the end of its nose." so it became obvious that this was something completely different. it took dr lockwood two years to sift through all the bones, and this new species has now been confirmed by experts. just along there is where i found it all them years ago. that's right. keith simmonds is the one who found the dinosaur near a village called brighstone, which is why it's being called brighstoneus simmondsi. it was in 1978 keith discovered the bones, and now the new species has been confirmed he's delighted. it's nice, yeah. a bit of recognition for the work done over the years. it's ideal. and now you found out you found a new species of dinosaur, what do you make of that? something for the history books really, and yeah, it's really good.

this coast was already known as a world class centre for discovering dinosaurs. it seems some have, well, just got a nose for it. duncan kennedy, bbc news on the isle of wight. time for a look at the weather. nick miller is here. plenty of sunshine in the channel islands today, but it was the cloud that is across many places and the chance of rain that will win out as we get into tomorrow, and the reason for thatis into tomorrow, and the reason for that is that low pressure is moving into the uk. it will move right across tomorrow, and already we are seeing outbreaks of rain into ireland and scotland, the wind is picking up into western areas as well. tonight we will continue with some occasional rain for northern ireland. this narrow area of rain will move through wales into the midlands and parts of southern england as the night goes on, and the breeze will pick up across all areas on what is going to be another

mild night. we start the day tomorrow at 11 degrees in manchester and belfast. the pressure will move across scotland tomorrow, this is where we will see a longer spell of rain. the midlands, eastern and southern england, here there is a splash of rain in the morning and thenit splash of rain in the morning and then it tries to brighten up for a time but there is a chance of rain again as the day goes on. the further south you are, barely any rain. the winds will be picking up, they are average speeds with gusts of 110 to 50 mph. the wind direction is a mild one so we are topping out around 15 degrees. it is for southern scotland, wales and england, still the chance of showery rain as we go on through tomorrow evening as the low pressure moves out into the north sea, and then replaced into the weekend with the bulging ridge of high pressure coming in, so things will be settling down and it will be turning drier. the outlook for the weekend brings a lot of dry weather bar the chance for the odd shower around. it

will be