, test is ,test is shaping lest is shaping up in test is shaping up in scotland with the - test is shaping up in | scotland with the by-election - test is shaping up in i scotland with the by-election in - test is shaping up in - scotland with the by-election in the scotland with the by—election in the seat of rutherglen and hamilton west. seat of rutherglen and hamilton west. police in cheshire say they are carrying out a corporate manslaughter investigation at the hospital where child serial killer lucy letby worked. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. the 2030 football world cup will be held across six countries in three different continents, fifa has confirmed. the decision is set to be ratified at a fifa congress next year, with spain, portugal and morocco as the co—hosts. but the opening round of matches will be played in uruguay, argentina and paraguay. that's to mark the world cups centenary, as it will be 100 years since the first tournament in montevideo. more on this story in sportsday at 6.30pm this evening on bbc news. that news from fifa comes

on the same day the uk and republic of ireland will now bid unopposed for euro 2028, unopposed for euro 2028, after turkey withdrew to focus on a joint bid with italy for euro 32. turkey agreed to merge their bid with italy injuly and that has now been approved by uefa. in april, 10 venues were selected for the uk and ireland bid, including glasgow's hampden park, cardiff's principality stadium, dublin's aviva stadium and wembley in london. uefa will award the hosting of two european championships next tuesday. liverpool managerjurgen klopp wants their premier league game against tottenham to be replayed after luis diaz's goal was wrongly disallowed by the video assistant referee. the var team failed to overrule the decision when diaz was flagged offside when the game was still goalless. the referees' body, the pgmol, released the audio of discussions between the match officials as they made the decision

and when they realised the mistake that had been made. liverpool went on to lose 2—1. not as a manager of liverpool, so much more as a football person, i think the only outcome should be a replay. that is how it is. it would happen again. i think a replay would be the right thing to do or the referee has the opportunity to bring both coaches together and say, sorry, we made a mistake, but we can sort it. and we start from there. champions league football will return to st james' park for the first time in 20 years later, as eddie howe's newcastle take on paris st—germain. newcastle drew their first game on their return to the competition against ac milan and will now face the french champions, who won their first game against borussia dortmund. howe says the clubs progress has been rapid since the saudi—led takeover two years ago.

i think initially nothing like this was in our thoughts at the speed at which it has happened. the only thing in our thoughts was staying in the premier league. the swing of momentum has shifted so powerfully and quickly and in a positive direction for us. i think my only sort of thought is to try and keep that momentum for as long as we can. there are seven other fixtures in the champions league later, with holders manchester city in germany taking on rb leipzig. celtic will be looking to get their campaign back on track. they host lazio and barcelona play porto. both england and new zealand have suffered injury blows ahead of their cricket world cup opener tomorrow, with ben stokes and kane williamson set to miss the match. england captainjos buttler confirmed the news that stokes is a serious doubt with a hip injury, as the squad look to manage his fitness. meanwhile, williamson has been included for the tournament, but will not play in the first game as he works his way back from a knee injury.

i'v e i've just i'vejust —— i've just —— he's just got a little niggle with his hip. we will obviously no more today and after training this evening, but it is a long tournament so we won't take undue risk, but we will know more a little bit later. it isjust undue risk, but we will know more a little bit later. it is just a slight niggle. it is just a slight niggle. that's all the sport for now. let's remind ourselves of what is happening today at the tory party conference. the prime minister has confirmed he is scrapping the leg of the h52 confirmed he is scrapping the leg of the hs2 leg towards manchester. it was a chance for the prime minister to make his pitch to voters ahead of

the next general election. this page also covered education and the cost of living. i also covered education and the cost of livina. ~' ., also covered education and the cost of livina. ~ ., i. also covered education and the cost of livina. ~' ., ,, . also covered education and the cost of livin. ~ ., ., ., also covered education and the cost oflivinu. ~ ., ., ., . , of living. i know you want tax cuts, i want them _ of living. i know you want tax cuts, i want them to _ of living. i know you want tax cuts, i want them to and _ of living. i know you want tax cuts, i want them to and we _ of living. i know you want tax cuts, i want them to and we will- of living. i know you want tax cuts, i want them to and we will deliverl i want them to and we will deliver them, but the best tax cut we can give people right now is to have inflation and ease the cost of living. first, let's cross to westminster and vicki young. this was an important speech for the prime minister. in your view, important speech for the prime minister. in yourview, how important speech for the prime minister. in your view, how did important speech for the prime minister. in yourview, how did it land? it minister. in your view, how did it land? ., , minister. in your view, how did it land? . , ., minister. in your view, how did it land? ., ,, ._ land? it was important because many --eole land? it was important because many peeple think — land? it was important because many peeple thinkthis— land? it was important because many people think this will _ land? it was important because many people think this will be _ land? it was important because many people think this will be his _ land? it was important because many people think this will be his first - people think this will be his first and, potentially, last speech as minister at the prime tory party conference. what he was trying to do here i think was almost re—energise his government. the way he came into power, following on from boris johnson and liz truss, there are many it is team who felt he had to steady the ship, calm things down

after an incredibly turbulent time. there are now many tory mps that you need more than that. he now has to show a vision, gave some of these long—term policy is a bit of a go. they will be looking at this and wondering how much of this is really going to make too much of a difference. of course, finally after days, weeks of speculation about hsz, days, weeks of speculation about hs2, we finally got the answer on that. he talked about using that money for lots of other transport projects. he talk about post—16 education in england and phasing out smoking over many years. how quickly any of this can be done is really up in the air. that is the problem he has got, he is trying to say i can bring about this great change, but of course there has been a tory government for 13 years, so how credible is that when he says it? i

just want to look at some of the other issues mentioned in that speech. of course, the hs2 announcement, confirming that the leg that would have lent to london to birmingham stretch of the line to manchester has been axed. he said that the money will be spelt elsewhere. i that the money will be spelt elsewhere-— that the money will be spelt elsewhere. . , ., elsewhere. i am ending this long runnina elsewhere. i am ending this long running saga- — elsewhere. i am ending this long running saga- i — elsewhere. i am ending this long running saga. i am _ elsewhere. i am ending this long running saga. i am cancelling - elsewhere. i am ending this long | running saga. i am cancelling the rest of the hs2 project and in its place we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and the midlands across the country. this means £36 billion of investment in the projects that will make a real difference across our nation. life now to our reporter in

manchester piccadilly. what have you been hearing in reaction to this news? ., , , been hearing in reaction to this news? . , , ., ., news? there has been a huge reaction to this news — news? there has been a huge reaction to this news today. _ news? there has been a huge reaction to this news today. plenty _ news? there has been a huge reaction to this news today. plenty of- to this news today. plenty of speculation over the last few weeks. andy burnham the metro mayor of manchester, wrote to rishi sunak last week asking for clarity on this issue. they, like all of us, had to wait you today to hear the confirmation that the leg from birmingham to manchester has been scrapped. in manchester piccadilly, thatis scrapped. in manchester piccadilly, that is where hs2 would have reached the north. reaction notjust from andy burnham. he says he feels frustrated and angry about this. is that this is no way to treat northern leaders. but it is notjust about treatment and politics, it is the economic impact. for example, a local economic partnership said

losing the stretch of hs2 is going to cost this region around £2 billion. henry morrison, the chief executive of the northern powerhouse partnership, said this is the national tragic —— tragedy, economically at least. the chair of transport of the north, a former transport of the north, a former transport minister in the conservative government, his words say that this was a missed opportunity, notjust for this opportunity, not just for this region before opportunity, notjust for this region before the country as a whole. he said that we needed not just this leg of hs2, but also northern powerhouse rail in full, but no real mention of what that will be now. the prime minister is now talking about network north, not just leaders in manchester, the reaction in liverpool as well, the dependency on that east— west linkup

is really important. he said that it doesn't work from east to west or north to south. so a lot of anger here in this part of the country to the news that hs2 has been scrapped. any talk of network north has not been met well by the network of leaders here in the north. people here at piccadilly station, a lot of them say that a lot of their concentration isn't about getting to london, it is making sure that they have a viable connection across the north and across... the second of the three big policy moments concerned health. rishi sunak once the age at which people can buy cigarettes and tobacco in england to rise by one year every year, so that eventually no one can buy them. ii year, so that eventually no one can bu them. . ., year, so that eventually no one can bu them. _, , .,, buy them. if we could stop the starch, then _ buy them. if we could stop the starch, then we _ buy them. if we could stop the starch, then we would - buy them. if we could stop the starch, then we would be - buy them. if we could stop the starch, then we would be on . buy them. if we could stop the i starch, then we would be on our buy them. if we could stop the - starch, then we would be on our way and think the biggest cause of

preventable death and disease in our country, so i propose that in future we raise the smoking age buy one year every year. that means a 1li—year—old... applause that means a11i—year—old today will never legally be sold to cigarettes and that they and their generation can grow up smoke—free. sophie hutchinsonjoins generation can grow up smoke—free. sophie hutchinson joins us generation can grow up smoke—free. sophie hutchinsonjoins us now with more on this. how has this news gone down customer because this expected? there had been a few trails that this might happen today. it certainly is a very big moment in terms of smoking policy. it has been widely praised by many scientists, but some parts of the conservative party are not at all pleased with

it. the main thought behind it is that really smoking, although over the decades it has dropped dramatically, it is still one, if not the biggest cause, of preventable illness and death, as you heard from the prime minister there. the idea is that by increasing the legal age that you can buy cigarettes by one year every year, eventually there will be a whole generation of children, as they become adults, who have never been allowed to buy cigarettes in the first place. the research shows that most smokers have started smoking before the age of 20, so it is about trying to tackle that ongoing process. education was another major theme in the speech by the prime minister as he announced a string of new policies aimed at boosting the prospects of 16—19 —year—olds. he

has called for a—levels to be replaced by a new qualification for all school leavers in england. if we want to change _ all school leavers in england. if we want to change the _ all school leavers in england. if fine: want to change the direction of all school leavers in england. if in2 want to change the direction of our country and build a better future, nothing is more important than making our education system the best it can be. when our party came to power in 2010, our schools were slipping down international league tables. now they are rapidly rising. what we have done in government since 2010, what i am proudest of, is a on education.— is a on education. with me is our education _ is a on education. with me is our education editor. _ is a on education. with me is our education editor. how— is a on education. with me is our education editor. how significantj is a on education. with me is our. education editor. how significant is what is being proposed?— what is being proposed? these are bi , what is being proposed? these are big. radical— what is being proposed? these are big. radical and — what is being proposed? these are big, radical and ideas. _ what is being proposed? these are big, radical and ideas. it— what is being proposed? these are big, radical and ideas. it tells - what is being proposed? these are big, radical and ideas. it tells you | big, radical and ideas. it tells you something about the scale that the idea is to consult on plans that would take a decade to introduce. so children's tarleton primary school

this year in england would be the first to eventually sign on for this new qualification when they were 16. it would entirely replace a—levels and other similar qualifications. students would be studying for more hours every week and they would be expected to study more subjects, so instead of three a—level subjects you might be studying five, for example. it would bring england much more into line with the rest of the world. there is one big challenge, more teaching hours means more teachers and we don't have enough at the moment. let's go back to our deputy political editor, vicki young. it is an understatement to say that it has been a turbulent time for the conservative party over the last few years. how would you assess the prime minister and whether what he had said today, we'll it unify the party, bring those factions

together?— party, bring those factions touether? ., �* ., ., , party, bring those factions touether? ., �* ., ., together? you can't look at any of -- at any — together? you can't look at any of -- at any of _ together? you can't look at any of -- at any of this — together? you can't look at any of -- at any of this without - together? you can't look at any of -- at any of this without looking l together? you can't look at any of| -- at any of this without looking at —— at any of this without looking at what has happened. conservative mps are very much splits. there are plenty that think that the next election is already lost and they will lose their seats themselves, thatisif will lose their seats themselves, that is if they have not already announced they are standing down. the best you will get out the people are saying the polls will tighten, this is a damage limitation exercise. there are those who think that if the party has any chance of winning, they are saying that labour is playing it very safe, but i do think the prime minister is going to have to come forward with a lot more than this, including what tory mps one, which is tax cuts. it is than this, including what tory mps one, which is tax cuts.— one, which is tax cuts. it is often said u- one, which is tax cuts. it is often said tip party _ one, which is tax cuts. it is often said up party conference - one, which is tax cuts. it is often said up party conference is - one, which is tax cuts. it is often said up party conference is that l one, which is tax cuts. it is often i said up party conference is that the main points are made and the powers and what is happening behind—the—scenes. pictures met rather pirate the other night of nigel farage seeming to get a rather warm welcome. is that a surprise to

see him at a conservative party conference? i see him at a conservative party conference?— see him at a conservative party conference? i guess it was to see him there- _ conference? i guess it was to see him there. there _ conference? i guess it was to see him there. there are _ conference? i guess it was to see him there. there are plenty - conference? i guess it was to see him there. there are plenty in . conference? i guess it was to see | him there. there are plenty in the conservative party who agree with a lot of the things he talks about. he has had a huge influence on british politics and it has caused a large amount of disruption in the conservative party. there are some mps who are more to the centre right, they feel that the party has been taken over by the brexiteers and those who follow nigel farage. the party has a lot of work to do to bring the party together. that is what rishi sunak has been trying to do. how successful he will be, we don't really know here. there are plenty of people who think that the party itself is so divided it has become ungovernable and he needs to find something that can bring them all together. i think tax cuts are possibly the thing, butjeremy hunt has ruled that out with the autumn

statement, and everybody is now looking to the budget in the spring which could of course be very close to the next general election. another big political test is coming up another big political test is coming up tomorrow in scotland. the vote was triggered by the exit of ex—snp mp margaret ferrier. she was removed by her constituents after breaking covid lockdown rules when she travelled to london while waiting for the results of a covid test. the impact of the by—election goes beyond rutherglen and hamilton west. the result could indicate voter trends ahead of the next general election. for labour, it's a huge opportunity. they will be looking to secure the seat and a breakthrough. the party currently only has just one mp in scotland. we can speak to scotland correspondent lorna gordon.

so, the parties are looking at this by—election with interest. yes. so, the parties are looking at this by-election with interest. yes, this is one of the _ by-election with interest. yes, this is one of the longest _ by-election with interest. yes, this is one of the longest by-election i is one of the longest by—election campaigns that we have ever seen in many ways, because it was triggered when margaret ferrier broke those covid rules. that eventually triggered that recall petition and this by—election which take place tomorrow. by—elections are only ever a snapshot but this is potentially more important than many that have gone before. it is a hero from a general election. it will give you a sense of some of the parties here in scotland. it is a state that most political commentators would say that while there are 14 parties and individuals contesting the constituency, it is a seat that only realistically has two macro serious credible contenders. the reason they say that is because it is only labour and the snp that have either won or lost the seat in the west of

scotland and it has gone between the two parties ever since 2015. there have been paid campaigns on the part of all the major parties, they have been out knocking on doors. there is a lot to play for. hearing back that cost of living issues are playing well on the doorstep. it is important for the party of government here, the snp, because all be the first electoral test for their new leader and he has had quite a rocky start. he is saying that the campaign here has been challenging and difficult. you can see the sense of how important it is for labour by the fact that they are bringing in some of their big hitters, sir keir starmer was happier on friday. he said that if they win this this is a milestone on they win this this is a milestone on the road back to powerfor labour. there scottish leader said that if they win this seat it will show that they win this seat it will show that

the tectonic plates are moving. the reality is, you suggested in your introduction, that labour have one here in scotland, the snp are by far the dominant force here, so even if labour were to win it it would only topple their numbers from one up to two. what they would hope is if they were to win that it would give them the momentum going forward. they have their eyes on ten, 12, perhaps more seats, not least around glasgow and the lanarkshire areas, so it is all about momentum for labour, for the snp it is all about consolidating power. as with every by—election, turnout is important. it is usually lower than in a general election, and it has to be said the weather is not looking good for tomorrow. police in cheshire say they are carrying out a corporate manslaughter investigation at the hospital where child serial

killer lucy letby worked. the investigation will focus on the countess of chester hospital after lucy letby, a nurse, was convicted of murdering babies in her care at the hospital's neonatal unit. with more on this here's our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan. michael, what more do we know about the early stages of this investigation? it isa it is a very early stage indeed. this was the statement from cheshire police earlier today saying that this investigation would consider areas including senior leadership and the decision is made to determine whether any criminality had taken place in the period between june 2015 and june had taken place in the period betweenjune 2015 and june 2016, which is when lucy between june 2015 and june 2016, which is when lucy letby is working on the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital. this is a charge of corporate manslaughter at the trust. if they were to be found guilty they would face a large fine,

perhaps running into millions of pounds. the test that the police and crime prosecution —— crown prosecution service would have to be convinced of is that mistakes made by the senior management of the trust at the time, if there were mistakes, more than minimally contributed to the death set took place there. in light of the conviction of lucy letby, we note that senior paediatric consultants on the unit at the time said they had raised concerns with senior management about the fact that lucy letby was present for a number of deaths that they could not clinically explain. the paediatricians went on to say that they felt that concerns had not been taken seriously by the trust, who were more concerned about the reputation of the organisation of the time. the management team that ran the contest of chester trust have all moved on. the current management team said they are cooperating fully with this new police investigation and indeed it

has also been welcomed by some of the families of the babies who died at the trust. in the families of the babies who died at the trust-— at the trust. in terms of the reaction _ at the trust. in terms of the reaction from _ at the trust. in terms of the reaction from the _ at the trust. in terms of the reaction from the families l at the trust. in terms of the - reaction from the families involved as to the fact that another investigation now looks like it is ongoing. investigation now looks like it is on . oin . . , investigation now looks like it is on . oina . , ., investigation now looks like it is onauoin. , . investigation now looks like it is oniioin, , ., , ongoing. they have welcomed this investigation. _ ongoing. they have welcomed this investigation. they _ ongoing. they have welcomed this investigation. they do _ ongoing. they have welcomed this investigation. they do have - ongoing. they have welcomed this investigation. they do have faith l ongoing. they have welcomed this| investigation. they do have faith in the police in a way that i think the families don't have faith and the management team of the trust at all. they still feel that the management team, many feel that the current management team aren't being as open or engaging or as transparent with them as they could be. there are a number of investigation still going on in the light of the conviction of lucy letby. there will be a retrial offered one of the counts that the jury offered one of the counts that the jury could not reach a verdict on, and attempted murder charge. she herself is appealing against the convictions she got from the jury, and of course a separate police

investigation taking place as to whether there is any other criminal activity that lucy letby was guilty of at the time, so a number of investigation is ongoing in light of lucy letby is my convictions. thank ou. you. the bbc news website has updates on all of today? stories that you have been watching. the latest reaction to the prime minister's speech at conference. and five things we learnt from the david beckham documentary, we have been talking about that. these pictures are truly inspiring. this is a101i year these pictures are truly inspiring. this is a 104 year who left her walker on the ground and made a 13,500 foot tandem jump from an aeroplane. it makes dorothy hafner,

born and raised in chicago, the oldest person in the world to tandem skydive. she surpassed the previous guinness world record, that was a tandem jump at 103! dorothy, 104 years old, truly inspiring. there is plenty more to come on bbc news. from me, thank you for watching, goodbye. hello. for many of us, it's been quite a cloudy day and, across scotland really quite wet, persistent rain, particularly in the west and also in the highlands, through the central lowlands. here's that weather front. really overcast here, but to the south the clouds have been a little more broken, some bright spells and just the odd shower. the forecast for this evening, then, that band of rain is starting to fizzle away early in the morning on thursday, but the next weather front is approaching.

north of that weather front, it is quite chilly in the north and the east of scotland, around four degrees in aberdeen, but to the south with the south—westerly winds it's going to be rather humid in the morning — temperatures around double figures in most towns and cities. here's the weather map for thursday. high pressure trying to build in from the south, with the warm southerlies coming our way. but, before that happens, this weatherfront, this bulk of cloud and damp weather, if not wet weather, needs to sweep through, initially through northern ireland wales, then northern england gets the rain and also scotland. despite the cloud and the rain, 17 in belfast, 18 in hull, but in the south and the south—east, this is where the best of the weather will be on thursday and thursday evening, and temperatures mayjust nudge up to about 20 degrees celsius. again, thursday evening, overall, a lot of cloud. we have to wait for that warm southerly to develop, at least till friday. still rain in the north—west of the country, so not warm and sunny everywhere by any means. in fact, that sunshine is probably going to be reserved for the southern half of the uk, but still temperatures nearly 20 degrees in belfast

and newcastle on friday, about 22 or so in the south. here's the all important weekend. the weather fronts and all the rain—bearing cloud, that's that's moving northwards. whereas to the south, high pressure is building. the north of scotland, it's a different wind direction here, it will be colder. stornoway only 12 celsius. but look at northern ireland, the bulk of england and wales all in the 20s, perhaps as high as the mid—20s in the south of the country. that is around ten degrees above the average for this time in october. scotland, though, in the north, will be closer to the seasonal norm. look at this outlook for cardiff, for london, it looks like the middle of summer. in belfast the high teens, possibly exceeding 20 degrees celsius at some point during the weekend. that's it for me. have a good evening.

at six — no high—speed rail lines north of birmingham as the prime minister pulls the plug. i am ending this long—running saga. i am cancelling the rest of the hs2 project. the rail line that was destined for manchester scrapped from a stage here in manchester. in birmingham, a huge chunk of the country's biggest in leeds, people are wondering what this will all mean for east—west travel

across the north of england. another major announcement today — the prime minister's plan to crackdown on smoking and stamp it out completely. we'll be explaining how. also tonight, a murder investigation is launched after a man is attacked and killed in sunderland by what's thought to be an american xl bully dog. here is gascoigne. brilliant! and remember this? are the euros coming home again in 2028? the uk and ireland look set to host. coming up on bbc news — newcastle state paris saint—germain in the champions lead after two decades to play in front of their own fans. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. hs2 has been one of the government's flagship projects for more than a decade. unveiled in 2009, it was an ambitious project to link london

with the north of england and the east midlands.