the covid inquiry enters a new phase today — covering the pandemic�*s impact on healthcare systems. two of britain's biggest unions call on sir keir starmer to abandon plans to take winter fuel payments away from millions of pensioners. pope francis is in timor—leste for the first papal visit to the predominantly catholic country since its independence. hello, i'm keith edgar and murphy. thanks for being with us. —— geeta guru—murthy. the next phase of the covid inquiry is about to get under way — with the public hearings looking at the impact on patients, healthcare workers and the wider nhs. the hearings will also focus on issues such as the diagnosis and treatment of patients with long covid, protective equipment in hospitals, and the policy of shielding. more than 30,000 people in the uk have shared their personal stories from the pandemic 7 as part of a report called every story matters, which will be published today. 0ur health reporterjim reed is outside the inquiry in central london.

at the worst point, i didn't want to live any longer. i at the worst point, i didn't want to live any longer. i woke u . want to live any longer. i woke u- and want to live any longer. i woke up and couldn't _ want to live any longer. i woke up and couldn't remember- want to live any longer. i woke up and couldn't remember my| up and couldn't remember my children's_ up and couldn't remember my children's names. my up and couldn't remember my children's names.— up and couldn't remember my children's names. my lungs were white, i'd children's names. my lungs were white. i'd got — children's names. my lungs were white, i'd got covid _ children's names. my lungs were white, i'd got covid pneumonia. | white, i'd got covid pneumonia. every— white, i'd got covid pneumonia. every single _ white, i'd got covid pneumonia. every single household - white, i'd got covid pneumonia. every single household across l every single household across the country live three covid in everything in you hasjust drained, gone. the first person i met, mandy, was a community midwife, when reports showed a new virus emerged. like everybody _ new virus emerged. like everybody in _ new virus emerged. like everybody in health - new virus emerged. like | everybody in health care, new virus emerged. like - everybody in health care, we were really struggling, trying to get equipment was absolutely horrendous. to get equipment was absolutely horrendou— horrendous. mandy still finds it hard to _ horrendous. mandy still finds it hard to breathe. _ horrendous. mandy still finds it hard to breathe. even - horrendous. mandy still finds it hard to breathe. even afteri it hard to breathe. even after our short walk. she spent three weeks in hospital after catching covid at work at the height of the pandemic. breathless. coming back up so it is fine. that's what happens to me when i haven't done anything. i hadn't got the

strength to walk into the hospital. so my poor husband had to go and get a wheelchair for me. he then had to tell —— turnaround and walk away. at that point the stats were coming out on how many people were dying of covid. sorry. how many health care professionals were dying. more than 30.000 — professionals were dying. more than 30,000 people _ professionals were dying. more than 30,000 people like - professionals were dying. more than 30,000 people like mandy in places from ipswich to inverness have spoken to the inquiry. inverness have spoken to the in. ui _ , ., ., inverness have spoken to the in.ui _ ., inverness have spoken to the inuui . ., i, inquiry. good morning, guys, how are you? _ inquiry. good morning, guys, how are you? we _ inquiry. good morning, guys, how are you? we are - inquiry. good morning, guys, i how are you? we are gathering pe0ple's— how are you? we are gathering people's stories of their experience of the lockdown. the independent inquiry. it isjust over— independent inquiry. it isjust over here _ independent inquiry. it isjust over here. it independent inquiry. it is 'ust over here. it is starting to tackle its _ over here. it is starting to tackle its next _ over here. it is starting to tackle its next subject, i over here. it is starting to | tackle its next subject, the

nhs in health care. i caught covid and — nhs in health care. i caught covid and ended _ nhs in health care. i caught covid and ended up - nhs in health care. i caught covid and ended up in - nhs in health care. i caught. covid and ended up in intensive care _ covid and ended up in intensive care for— covid and ended up in intensive care for three _ covid and ended up in intensive care for three weeks. _ covid and ended up in intensive care for three weeks.— care for three weeks. inside the town — care for three weeks. inside the town hall, _ care for three weeks. inside the town hall, gordon, - care for three weeks. inside the town hall, gordon, a i the town hall, gordon, a paramedic, told me he caught covid early on. i paramedic, told me he caught covid early on.— covid early on. i couldn't do the shifts — covid early on. i couldn't do the shifts any _ covid early on. i couldn't do the shifts any more, - covid early on. i couldn't do | the shifts any more, couldn't cope — the shifts any more, couldn't cope with _ the shifts any more, couldn't cope with them _ the shifts any more, couldn't cope with them so _ the shifts any more, couldn't cope with them so left - the shifts any more, couldn't cope with them so left with l the shifts any more, couldn't . cope with them so left with the ambulance _ cope with them so left with the ambulance service _ cope with them so left with the ambulance service and - cope with them so left with the ambulance service and work i cope with them so left with the . ambulance service and work with general— ambulance service and work with general practice _ ambulance service and work with general practice now _ ambulance service and work with general practice now so - ambulance service and work with general practice now so it - ambulance service and work with general practice now so it has. general practice now so it has changed — general practice now so it has changed my— general practice now so it has changed my life _ general practice now so it has changed my life in— general practice now so it has changed my life in that - changed my life in that respect _ changed my life in that respect it— changed my life in that resoect-_ respect. it is clear the pandemic _ respect. it is clear the pandemic had - respect. it is clear the pandemic had a i respect. it is clear the | pandemic had a lasting respect. it is clear the - pandemic had a lasting impact, notjust in covid patients, but on the wider nhs. linda lives in constant pain after a serious accident 20 years ago. an operation on her spine was cancelled as covid hit. i spine was cancelled as covid hit. , ., ., . , hit. i 'ust wanted to close my e es hit. ijust wanted to close my eyes and _ hit. ijust wanted to close my eyes and rrot _ hit. ijust wanted to close my eyes and not open _ hit. ijust wanted to close my eyes and not open them i hit. ijust wanted to close my| eyes and not open them again because i was in so much pain. linda still teaches art, but life is a struggle. she's been told its now too late for surgery. told it's now too late for surgery-— told it's now too late for surre . , ., , , surgery. the rest of my life is destroyed- —

surgery. the rest of my life is destroyed. the _ surgery. the rest of my life is destroyed. the agony - surgery. the rest of my life is destroyed. the agony is i surgery. the rest of my life is | destroyed. the agony is never going to go away now and i will have to live for the rest of my life with the consequences of not having had that one surgery. not having had that one surgery-— not having had that one surre . ., , , not having had that one surre . ., y , ., surgery. nearly five years on, those consequences - surgery. nearly five years on, those consequences are i surgery. nearly five years on, those consequences are still. those consequences are still being felt across the country. the inquiry must now decide if different actions, different decisions, should have been taken at the time. jim reed, bbc news. 0ur health reporterjim reed is outside the inquiry in central london. we can see from the pictures broadcast inside it is just getting under way. what we expect in the next few and today? expect in the next few and toda ? , ., today? this third part of the covid inquiry _ today? this third part of the covid inquiry will _ today? this third part of the covid inquiry will run - today? this third part of the covid inquiry will run until . covid inquiry will run until the end of november. it has been described by victims groups as the most important part in their mind because the first two parts we have had already dealt with the planning for a pandemic, already dealt with the planning fora pandemic, dealt already dealt with the planning for a pandemic, dealt with the kind of political response at quite a high level. this is the first part that really gets

into how patients, how health care workers, how the relatives of those who lost their lives were dealt with on the ground and the experiences they went through, shejust heard and the experiences they went through, she just heard from the report that we played there. so this week we will start to hear this afternoon, they will play a film, about a 20 minute film made up of more of that witness testimony from those kind of people. then we are going to start to hear from some of the lawyers representing the different groups involved, whether that is bereaved families or people who represented the department of health and other government departments, and later on this week we will start to hear from direct witness testimony from some of those people starting tomorrow with witness testimony from some of the family members who lost loved ones during the pandemic and their experiences of the nhs and health care through that time.- of the nhs and health care through that time. thanks very much indeed. _ through that time. thanks very much indeed. we're _ through that time. thanks very much indeed. we're just i through that time. thanks very much indeed. we're just going | much indeed. we'rejust going to dip into the start of that inquiry and listen in. find inquiry and listen in. and there will— inquiry and listen in. and there will be _ inquiry and listen in. and there will be those i inquiry and listen in. and there will be those who l inquiry and listen in. and there will be those who find them — there will be those who find them too distressing to watch.

iwill— them too distressing to watch. i will pause in a moment to allow— i will pause in a moment to allow those in the hearing room who wish— allow those in the hearing room who wish to do so to leave for a few— who wish to do so to leave for a few minutes. the film lasts about — a few minutes. the film lasts about 20 _ a few minutes. the film lasts about 20 minutes and those who are following online to press mute — are following online to press mute or— are following online to press mute or exit the livestream. after— mute or exit the livestream. after the _ mute or exit the livestream. after the film has been played we shall— after the film has been played we shall reassemble and cancel to the _ we shall reassemble and cancel to the inquiry for this module will begin her opening submissions. —— counselto will begin her opening submissions. —— counsel to the inquiry — submissions. —— counsel to the inquiry. she _ submissions. —— counsel to the inquiry. she will set the scene, _ inquiry. she will set the scene, described the background and explain the issues we should _ and explain the issues we should be examining in this module _ should be examining in this module. those who would like to leave _ module. those who would like to leave the — module. those who would like to leave the hearing room, press pause — leave the hearing room, press pause or— leave the hearing room, press pause or leave the hearing room now _ pause or leave the hearing room now. . , pause or leave the hearing room now. ., , _, ., now. 0k, we are 'ust coming out of that. jim — now. 0k, we arejust coming out of that. jim reed _ now. 0k, we arejust coming out of that. jim reed is _ now. ok, we arejust coming out of that. jim reed is still- of that. jim reed is still there, explain a bit more about this video you told us about. we obviously about to get that at the inquiry. for we obviously about to get that at the inquiry-— at the inquiry. for the beginning _ at the inquiry. for the beginning of- at the inquiry. for the beginning of each i at the inquiry. for the i beginning of each section of this inquiry they speak to some of the people most directly

affected by what went on in the pandemic. i think what they are about to show now is, like you heard from baroness hallett, the chair, a 20 minute film made up of the testimony of some of those families. she always give people opportunity, because it can be quite harrowing evidence, to leave the room, so they don't necessarily have to watch it, before that comes on because for some people it can make very difficult viewing. this morning we had a press conference within the last 45 minutes or so from the main group that represents about 7000 or so families who lost loved ones in that pandemic and they were again stressing just how important some of the subjects were. for example, we heard from debbie who lost her husband colin about how he was put on a ventilator. the family were not told he was being put on a ventilator at the time. she said that they did not have an opportunity to tell him how much they loved him because he sadly passed away about a week later. she was saying very powerfully how she was told by the hospital she could only

bring in one other person to say goodbye to her husband. she had two sons and had to make the horrible decision about which of those two sons to bring in and say goodbye to their father. bring in and say goodbye to theirfather. it is bring in and say goodbye to their father. it is when you hit a powerful individual testimony of the first time as opposed to hearing politicians and civil service, which of course is important but it is when you hear this powerful first person testimony, it reminds you what went on in the pandemic and how important this inquiry can be to some of these groups. inquiry can be to some of these urou s. . ~' inquiry can be to some of these u-rous. ., ~ ,, g groups. thank you, jim reed, will be back— groups. thank you, jim reed, will be back with _ groups. thank you, jim reed, will be back with you - groups. thank you, jim reed, will be back with you through | will be back with you through the day and the coming weeks as we cover this phase of the covid inquiry. it is there on your screen if you want to scan the code and follow it live. the details are on the screen for you. silva voices campaigns on behalf of pensioners and senior citizens and the questions of pensioners' rights. another key political issue this week in the uk is the question of winter fuel payment cuts. keir

starmer gave an interview to the bbc yesterday saying difficult choices were what the government faced now and justified those cuts. i spoke to the director of silver voices for his response. the triple-lock _ voices for his response. the triple-lock is _ voices for his response. iie: triple—lock is supposed voices for his response. "iie: triple—lock is supposed to cover inflation generally, not just energy prices and in any event the rise he is talking about doesn't come in until next april so that doesn't help that this winter at all. i think the government has picked an unnecessary battle with older people here. and both the right and left of politics seem united against it. i think they will have to rethink at some stage even if they get the regulation through tomorrow. keir starmer also said, speaking yesterday, that pensioners rely on public services, transport and crucially the nhs and money needs to be found for those things. that's why the government is having to make tough decisions. the government is having to make tough decisions.— government is having to make

tough decisions. the only tough decision really _ tough decisions. the only tough decision really that's _ tough decisions. the only tough decision really that's been i decision really that's been taken so far, as far as i can see, is to hammer older people. where are all the other people who are being hammered? there isn't, in fact. the only people that are down to actually lose income at the moment are older people. nobody else has actually been taxed more or anything else. pensioners have been picked out because it is seen as a soft target and labour is using it to basically enforce discipline, i think, in the vote tomorrow. enforce discipline, ithink, in the vote tomorrow.— enforce discipline, ithink, in the vote tomorrow. isn't that artl the vote tomorrow. isn't that partly because _ the vote tomorrow. isn't that partly because we _ the vote tomorrow. isn't that partly because we haven't i the vote tomorrow. isn't that | partly because we haven't had the budget yet here which will come at the end of october and we don't know what tax changes there could be at that point? well, yes, but why did they pick pensioners out a couple of weeks after taking office, that's what i would ask, why didn't they wait until the budget? why didn't they do a proper impact assessment and how it will affect older people this winter? do you think this should be

a universal benefit, as it was, or do you think there is a case for somehow means testing it maybe in a different way, because there are pensioners who don't need this allowance? well, this is the only argument that the government have got, mickjagger i heard mentioned this morning, why does he need the winter fuel payment? well, he does not really need it, but millions are going to suffer because mickjagger is going to have his £300 taken away from him as an over 80—year—old. so, this is a distraction, really. 0n means testing generally, yes, we do support a universal payment, but in order to help to get the government off the hook, silver voices suggesting that a cut—off point should be raised to the level of the higher rate of tax, so, instead of this very low cut—off point, at £218 a week, which the government is proposing, we actually raise it so that all of those older people on modest incomes with small occupational pensions are protected this winter.

how much concern are you hearing from your members on this? 0h, huge concern and worries. we already have members, last winter, with the full energy support that they got, who could only hit a couple of rooms in their homes, who could only have a shallow bath once a week because they could not afford to heat the water. couldn't use their ovens anymore for a roast dinner or anything like that because it cost too much. and i think these politicians need to get a dose of reality about what it is like to be continually watching the metre tick over and worry what they can do and what they can't do. it is a really worrying situation. cut—off point dennis reid from the silver voices pensioners group. great 0rmond street children's hospital in london, says is urgently reviewing the cases of more than 700 patients, after allegations concerning the possible negligence of a former doctor. yaserjabaar worked as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the specialist centre, from 2017 to 2022. the hospital says

its taking the matter "incredibly seriously". my colleague nickjohnson has been following the latest. great 0rmond street asked the royal college of surgeons to carry out a wider review into its orthopaedic practices following concerns from families and staff members, that was back in 2022. as a result of that review, concerns were raised about a doctor, that led the hospital to get in touch with the families of 721 patients. all of had been treated by yaserjabbar. now, he was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon here at great 0rmond street between 2017 and 2022. the hospital says of the 39 cases it has reviewed so far, 22 children have come to harm, 13 of them, it says, severely.

lawyers representing some of those treated by yaserjabbar say some children as young as four months were subject to unnecessary surgery and suffered life changing injuries as a result. suffered life changing in'uries as a moi suffered life changing in'uries as a resultfi as a result. the clients that we have — as a result. the clients that we have been _ as a result. the clients that we have been instructed i as a result. the clients that we have been instructed to| we have been instructed to represent in claims against mr jabbar have suffered a variety of orthopaedic injuries, some of orthopaedic injuries, some of them have nerve damage, some have muscle damage, we have a client that has undergone an amputation of his lower limb, we have clients to have permanent deformities that have undergone unnecessary operations as well. great 0rmond _ operations as well. great 0rmond street _ operations as well. great 0rmond street says i operations as well. great 0rmond street says it i operations as well. great| 0rmond street says it has contacted all patients and families who have been impacted and offered their sincere apologies for the worry and uncertainty caused. yaser jabbar no longer works at great 0rmond street. he actually had his license to practice here in

the uk removed injanuary of this year. but we understand he still works at a clinic out in dubai and actually we understand he is due to speak at a conference in dubai this coming weekend. the bbc has got in touch, or try to get in touch with yaserjabbar for a comment but we are yet to hear from him. nikjohnson there. for decades, the uk's nuclear waste has been stored at sellafield in cumbria — but as the material piles up, the site is running out of space. scientists are now looking at how it can be moved elsewhere and isolated safely forfuture generations. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. 0n trains, locked inside heavy steel containers, nuclear waste is transported to sellafield. this is the main site in the uk that handles and stores the unstable hazardous products of

the reactions that drive our nuclear power stations. as we watched through metre thick lead lined glass remotely operated robot extracted rods of used nuclear fuel. operated robot extracted rods of used nuclearfuel. still operated robot extracted rods of used nuclear fuel. still hot and highly radioactive, they are put into storage containers.- are put into storage containers. each of the containers _ containers. each of the containers you - containers. each of the containers you can i containers. each of the containers you can see| containers. each of the l containers you can see in containers. each of the - containers you can see in these giant ponds is a container of old nuclearfuel giant ponds is a container of old nuclear fuel anastasia days cooling and the water acts as a kind of radiation shield. and the water acts as a kind of radiation shield. eventually, this high level radioactive waste goes into storage on site. and sellafield also handles contaminated material from inside nuclear power plants that are being shut down. concrete is a radiation barrier and locked inside these boxes is metal and other substances from old nuclearfacilities. it's a legacy of hazardous waste that's been piling up here since the 1980s.

are you still dealing with that? still? yeah. and and we'll be dealing with that for a number of decades to come. 0ur programmer at sellafield in total is more than 100 years into the future. in recent years, leaks in ageing facilities here have had to be plugged. and as the site operates 2a hours a day dealing with the waste of past and present, its running costs exceed £2 billion a year. as you can see, the site is very congested, so if we don't have a permanent solution for the waste, we could run out of space on the site for building interim storage facilities. so if it can't stay here permanently, what is the plan? this is material that requires almost unimaginably long—term storage. this material is really quite hazardous, and it remains hazardous for 100,000 years. scientists use non—toxic chemical copies of nuclear waste to test ways to make the materials safe. the fuel pellets we dissolve up into what you can see in this bottle here. this green goo, highly radioactive liquid from a storage point of view,

that's not a very safe thing because it could leak out of the storage drums. so you make it into a solid? exactly. here, researchers demonstrate how the material is baked into solid glass to stabilise it before it's stored. so, at the moment, the waste is being stored above ground at sellafield in safe and secure buildings. but eventually we need to isolate it from future populations or even civilisations. that's the timescale we're looking at. in finland, they've already built a vast bunker deep underground. hundreds of metres of rock acts as a permanent barrier, and the government plans to build a similar geological disposal facility here in the uk. it's going to take around ten years to find somewhere in england or wales, with the right rocks and willing local residents. two possible locations have been ruled out, leaving a shortlist of three. in one area, there have been protests. in theddlethorpe, lincolnshire, some residents are concerned this would be a blight

that would threaten the tourist industry in their seaside town. the other two are in cumbria, one here in mid copeland. you can see sellafield right over my shoulder here. it's minutes from this community and a huge employer. i think because we're used to sellafield, we'd probably get used to a depository a lot better than other parts of the country. i think there'd be a lot of resistance if you took it somewhere where they haven't got that sort of nuclear awareness. it's fine. absolutely fine. yeah. you know, we've lived here all our lives. it doesn't bother us. it brings jobs to local people, doesn't it? and that's what we're allabout, really. so what i'm going to show you on the next slide... i but thoroughly assessing each site and continuing to consult with the communities is a long process. there's been surveys done and the geology is looking, you know, as if it's doable. and we're also engaging with the communities to share that with them.

and at some point in the future, this community and this community only will decide if it's right or wrong for them. meanwhile, at sellafield, the waste continues to pile up. with new nuclear power plants, part of the government's low carbon energy plan, there'll be more to come and it will all need to be locked away permanently. victoria gill, bbc news. it is well known spending time outdoors can improve your well—being, but as the school terms gets under way, there are concerns that children are not regularly getting outside. the wildlife charity wwf found the majority of pupils are not learning enough about nature in school and it's calling for changes to the national curriculum. sam harrison reports. from beekeeping in devon to pond dipping in newcastle. children across the country showing curiosity in the great outdoors. but with kids back to school, there's a fear that these activities are on the demise. what did we find? i had nothing. new research by the wwf says children across the country aren't spending enough time

connecting to nature. according to their figures, only 24% of schools provide daily opportunities for pupils to get out into the wild, and it seems older pupils suffer more, with the research claiming 56% of secondary schools don't provide outdoor opportunities. the problem of access is particularly bad in more deprived areas, and the wwf say children in these communities simply don't spend enough time outdoors. and they say this chronic lack of access to nature could have damning consequences. despite the hard work of many passionate and committed teachers, most pupils in the uk are still missing out on regular opportunities to engage with nature. currently, students' chances of benefiting from being in nature, and that includes benefits to their physical health, their mental health and well—being, and the quality of their education, are a lottery depending on school year group, size, location, and the affluence of the catchment area they're in. to get kids buzzing about nature again, schools face an uphill challenge.

and at home too, in a modern world of tech, distractions are everywhere. if i can be on my laptop, i will. but if my friends are outdoors, i probably will be outdoors. first thing he wants to do, like, we get on the train, he'll say, "game, game, game", on my phone. so, to get him outdoors can only be betterfor him. do you prefer being outside or inside? outside. and why is that? because i can see lots ofanimals, and i can connect with nature more. it's that connection to nature which has clear benefits. but for happy and healthy minds to flourish in the future, it's one which needs to grow. sam harrison, bbc news. the paralympics have drawn to a close with a lavish closing ceremony in paris. china topped the medal table with great britain second.

here's nicky schiller. so, the paris paralympics are over. 11 days of competition ended with a spectacular closing ceremony in the stade de france, celebrating the over 4,000 athletes who took part in 22 different sports. although some of them having to wear ponchos thanks to the french weather. there was also a celebration of parisian nightlife with 2a different artists from the electronic music scene performing. but in the end, the night was really for the athletes. amongst the medals on the final day of competition, the netherlands beat the united states to retain their title in the women's wheelchair basketball. folashade 0luwafunmilayo of nigeria won gold in the women's over—86kg powerlifting with a world record, and the final gold medal went to iran. ahmad ahmadzadeh took gold in the men's over 107kg powerlifting. and this is how the final

medal table ended. china streets ahead of anyone else on 220 medals. of those, 94 were gold. great britain was second with 49 golds and the united states came in third. now, the hosts, france, they came eighth, their best performance in 20 years. and the french sports minister not only hailed the sporting achievement, but also highlighted the impact the games had had on french society. the quality of the experience on public transport etc means now that when people with disabilities get into a taxi or a restaurant, the perception and the welcome of each person will no longer be the same. so that's the paralympic revolution we're talking about. it's a social revolution, as we say. as we say, great britain came second in the medals table, and king charles posted this message on social media congratulating the paralympic athletes of great britain, northern ireland and indeed the commonwealth. he said:

"your example has succeeded in inspiring, encouraging and lifting the hearts of all." great britain's charlotte henshaw was amongst those to win gold on the final day in the para canoeing. i mean, it means everything. it's what i dreamed about when i was a kid, and i got to wear somebody�*s gold medal when i was ten years old, and i thought i'd like to win one of those one day. and, you know, obviously achieved that dream in tokyo. but to win the double here is just beyond what i could have imagined. it's what i hoped for in those, like, dark mornings in the winter. but to have it come to fruition is very special, and i'm just very grateful to everybody that's helped me get to this point. the paralympics flag has now been handed over to los angeles, who will host the next summer games in 2028. nicky schiller. let mejust let me just take you back to the covid inquiryjust getting under way for its third stage. let's listen for a few minutes. to take an obvious but important example, decisions on the discharge decisions of hospital patients into care

homes without testing, they are matters important to both modules and module three will look at the impact of the decision as it affected hospital capacity, module six will look at the impact of the decision in the care sector. in order to examine these matters, module three is requested over 250 witness statements obtained ten separate expert reports, commissioned independent research project looking at decisions made by health workers about escalation decisions. i will return to that in a moment. the inquiry has also gathered evidence from a number of spotlight hospitals across the uk to help examine what was going on on the ground. that is some of the outline of how covid affected health professionals, doctors and nurses, part of what is going to be looked at as this part of the covid inquiry, the third stage going on for the next few days and we are showing it on the iplayer. the first, let's get the weather with matt

taylor. ready for your first proper taste of autumn weather? we saw temperatures in the mid to high 20s. here are the hotspots of each of the four nations on friday afternoon. northern ireland having its hottest day of the year. look at this by wednesday, temperatures during the afternoon around 12—14 c at best, big change on the way. much cooler feel to come for all. the knights will turn chillier with the return of night—time frost for some. it also be quite windy at times, too, with a mixture of and showers. ——with a mixture of sunshine and showers. today, already starting to feel a bit fresher, but not to that degree yet. weather fronts across eastern england producing lots of cloud and bits of rain and drizzle, the cloud struggling to leave here completely. sunnier spells elsewhere for the afternoon, some good spells of sunshine across northern and western england and wales, a big improvement compared with yesterday. it should feel nice in the sunshine. western scotland and northern ireland, outbreaks of rain developing for the evening rush—hour, with rain throughout the night, on and off,

pushing down into northern england, as the wind picks up, gale force winds across northern scotland as we head into tuesday morning. temperatures, 9—13 clsius, not particularly low but the wind will make it feel a good deal fresher out there as we start the day. here is the weather chart for tuesday. low pressure sitting around in the northern isles, where we will see some persistent rain, and colder air coming all the way from the arctic. but it is still balanced by some strong sunshine at this time of year. the winds to start of tuesday will be particularly blowy, gales in places. the weather front moving southwards quickly. sunny spells in the far south, just one or two showers, before it arrives. living away from northern scotland but showers developing, some of them heavy with hail and thunder and over the scottish mountains it will be cold enough for some sleet and snow on the mountain tops. temperatures, 11—12 in northern scotland, the colder air

with us all into wednesday, a fresh start, winds coming down from the north or north—west, bright but fresh start to the south and east but showers more widely pushing across all areas into the afternoon, given the strength of the wind, and some of those will be heavy with hail and thunder and still a little bit wintry on the scottish mountains. live from london, this is bbc news. two of britain's biggest unions call on sir keir starmer to abandon plans to end winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners.

delegates of trades union congress are gathering for their annual congress in brighton — we'll be there live for the general secretary's main speech in a moment. the covid inquiry enters a new phase, covering the pandemic�*s impact on healthcare systems. a record of stories submitted by the public and nhs staff is being published as evidence. and members of paralympics gb are about to return to the uk following their success in paris — finishing second in the medals table, behind china and ahead of the united states. we'll be live at st pancras in london as they arrive. hello, i'm sarah campbell. the next phase of the covid inquiry is about to get under way with the public hearings looking at the impact on patients, healthcare workers