branwenjeffreys, bbc news, oldham.ore than 50 conservative mps signed a letter describing the situation in northern england as "unparalleled". the mps, who make up the newly formed northern research group, have written to boris johnson, pressing him for a clear roadmap out of the tough restrictions their areas face. and they warn that the pandemic threatens the prime minister's pledge to level up northern communities. all of the highlighted areas are presently, or soon to be, under the toughest tier 3 restrictions by thursday, and they're all in the north west or in the midlands. it means that for 8 million people, household mixing is extremely limited, and pubs and bars not selling meals are closed. the central belt in scotland and the whole of northern ireland are also under similar controls, while the whole of wales is in a "firebrea k" national lockdown. there's speculation that areas of north east england and west yorkshire could be the next areas to enter tier 3. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports f

with a team of testers with us and these are mainly unpaid volunteers working with the council in oldham greater manchester an area turning the tide on rising covert infection rates while the rest of manchester remains the current u.k. hot spot i think it's brilliant and i hate it and just. think it's brilliant should do it this everywhere manisha. there's doorstep testing here but severe testing shortages elsewhere confusing local restrictions are having little effect so oldham is doing for itself what the government is struggling to keeping people safe the central government needs to learn from us in oklahoma about what we've been doing and what's been successful by dieter to listen to us and rather than doing broadcast survivors' room where they tell us what we called what is there in which it's not always clear whether or not it's backed up by the science that dialogue needs to be 2 way we need to be feeding back into the government what we're doing on the ground that's working and then they need to learn from that and roll out some other areas rather than imposing kind of top down r

considering further restrictions the virus is spreading fast particularly in northern england from oldham and greater manchester journal reports. come from the council street by street door to door this is what it takes to contain an outbreak it has this been a rise in this particular area we've got to miss test this with us these are mainly unpaid volunteers working with the council in oldham greater manchester an area turning the tide on rising covert infection rates while the rest of manchester remains the current u.k. hotspot i think it's brilliant i hate it and i still. think it's brilliant should do it this everywhere manisha. there's doorstep testing here but severe testing shortages elsewhere confusing local restrictions are having little effect so oldham is doing for itself what the government is struggling to keeping people safe the central government needs to learn from those in local government about what we've been doing and what's been successful they did to listen to us and rather than doing broadcast surveys room where they tell us what the government is doing which it's n

the headline is...a originally from oldham. the headline is... words of the 3—tier system, this covid overt levels of system, this covid overt levels of system and off the back of that a strong announcement or speech that we heard from the greater manchester mayor early today. it certainly was. andy burnham reflecting the views of other mayors in the reaching and several even some conservative mps had a meeting this morning with the health minister and according to the reader of oldham council it did not get off to a flying start... the health minister said we would do this with you or without you and it will happen and not a great start to a meeting when you're looking for cooperation when you're looking for the cooperation of those mps and mayors in the northwest region. a passionate plea from andy burnham and they are being described as being used as canaries and a coal mine and the principal objections we re twofold, mine and the principal objections were twofold, one that it will not work and he claims that one of the government's chief medi

branwenjeffreys, bbc news, oldham.er killed nurse claire parry in a pub car park in may. the two had been having a secret relationsip for more than ten years. pc brehmer had previously admitted manslaughter and said mrs parry‘s death was an accident. he will be sentenced at salisbury crown court tomorrow. the labour party has confirmed that its leader sir keir starmer was involved in what it called a "minor traffic accident" on sunday. it's understood the labour leader was driving in the kentish town area of north london when the incident happened around midday on sunday. police say the cyclist was taken to hospital with a minor injury. a steward who worked at the manchester arena on the night of the bombing has apologised to the mother of one of the victims after posting an offensive message about her on facebook. kyle lawler, who was 18 at the time of the attack, saw the bomber in the foyer and was suspicious of him, but failed to raise the alarm. our north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. at the start

a third of youngsters in the northwest are on the poverty line something like 40% in a town like oldhamnt was that the scheme is not being funded properly. the northwest is being used like canaries ina the northwest is being used like canaries in a coal mine. as an experiment and an experiment away. he's not being funded properly, people being expected to exist on 60% of the normal salary rather than 80% just what they were paid in the initial lockdown. discipline can't afford that, it's going to ruin the economy eroded businesses, and he's just not having it. having said that as we know think i'm right in saying the government can oppose this if they so wish but also threatened our previous statements to actually take legal action over this and we will see what happens. quite a battle, obviously. it was a dramatic statement, i'm pleased to watch our channel. in north and south divide, local versus a national government. all coming out here and also talking about scientists continuing with the suggestion of these scheduled circuit breakers. that is something the scientists have brought

also caught in the thrall of jews preaching more at the border than you did or singing a soldier's oldham on his. own. chilly. but he says he became disillusioned after witnessing the abuse of other followers in fiji he decided to escape with his wife and youngest son but his eldest son john one is still in fiji and we feel. much i sure was out of because he went on and on global. through war. i could. get on a. good touch somehow that someday i'm on the up. because of how badly it will go to an awesome joke and calling cards little. before you can say and his family went to the promised land they were told to sell all their belongings and give the proceeds to the church but there was one final rite of passage. about the threshing ritual. to cure the market attrition me being to run. 100 had on me. and the other didn't go. the singing in all this you and. i couldn't see good at all. but. just on in the. morning on his return has been described by others. they say followers are asked to take turns hidden each other often violently. sometimes children also my. own mother pushing them in on

our education editor branwen jeffreys reports now from oldham.ible to operate. to have a quarter of mike teaching staff self ice letting for two weeks, even though they'll do the best they can online, it doesn't beat being in the classroom with the expert. is this pa rt classroom with the expert. is this part of the same figure debate about fairness and free school meals?|j think fairness and free school meals?” think our major concern is that if you're a young person hearing this information now, your value, your worth, your dignity isn't really being respected in the same way it should be. the nationalfigures don't tell the full story of what's happening across the north of england. the data we've seen shows that a third of teaching cases across coronavirus at one point were in the northwest of england, and pupil attendance in secondary schools has fallen as low as 60—70%, raising huge questions about the fairness of next year's exams. because many schools in the south have reached half term barely affected. i just have reached half term barely

with that team of testers with us these are mainly unpaid volunteers working with the council in oldham greater manchester an area turning the tide on rising covert infection rates while the rest of manchester remains the current u.k. hotspot i think it's brilliant i hate it and i still. think it's brilliant should do it this everywhere manisha. this doorstep testing here but severe testing shortages elsewhere confusing local restrictions are having little effect so oldham is doing for itself what the government is struggling to keeping people safe the central government needs to learn from those in local government about what we've been doing and what's been successful they did turn to listen to us and rather than doing broadcast surveys room where they tell us what the government is doing which it's not always clear whether or not it's backed up by the science that dialogue needs to be 2 way we need to be feeding back into the government what we're doing on the ground that's working and then they need to learn from that and roll that out to other areas rather than imposing kind of top

vehicles are being made ready with a special ahmed paint job stenciling can take 20 to 30 minutes then oldham vulnerable taped up and within an hour each time.

i'll put conservatives on the supreme court was one of the main reasons people voted for him many oldham upset in the election so he's kept his promise he's kept his word and he's got the votes so he's doing it so when you say conservative judges and it's i think we may should make it clear we're looking at original lists ok now not not using the constitution to get the laws you want but to in to interpret be. laws as that was defined by the constitution so i think we have always have to make it clear you know. conservatives tend to be originalists obviously we're able it would speak to their i mean and for me i throw a plague on both parties if you can't get what you want to the legislative process both parties throw it to the courts is that a good idea and it doesn't make the court dysfunctional and become more dysfunctional there's going to talk about hacking in the 2nd half program so i mean it seems to me as an abdication of responsibility from the congress a big can't get it done they just go ahead oh completely. i think i better read something so. much better than sure. about. ame

the labour leader of oldham council. thank you very much.s. light showers around northern england, the midlands, parts of wales and northern ireland. southern england for the rest of the day seeing the best of the sunny spells. temperatures a few degrees below—average for the time of year. fairly light north—easterly breeze continuing, a lot of cloud across the uk overnight, damp and drizzly, clear spells, westernmost parts of scotland. south wales, south—west england where some spots may end up close to freezing into the morning but most of us underneath the cloud will above freezing. starting the day tomorrow and again with the cloud there will be patchy light rain and drizzle. most likely in the afternoon for parts of scotland and northern ireland. only very limited sunny spells coming through all of this cloud, light wind and temperatures no change on saturday. sunday if anything looks a bit cooler. that is your forecast. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... lancashire becomes the second english region to be put into the highest aler

how are your hospitals coping in oldham? coverage in the media saying we are close to where we we re media saying we are close to where we were back when things were really bad but that is not the case this time. we have capacity in hospitals so we are confident at this point our health system is still able to cope but we are keeping a very close eye on it and we are continuing to keep the infection rate down by doing the right thing. thank you very much, sean fielding, leader of oldham very much, sean fielding, leader of old ham council. we very much, sean fielding, leader of oldham council. we will be speaking to robertjen rick, community secretary, at 7:30am. endometriosis is a condition which affects one in ten women in the uk. it can cause chronic pain, heavy periods and infertility — but there is no known cause or cure. the average wait for a diagnosis has remained at eight years for more than a decade but today the results of a parliamentary inquiry will be published, calling for a commitment from government to reduce

i do think it's going to destroy oldham.le coming in, people aren't going in. we need to abide by the rules so it won't last longer than it has to. labour says more clarity was needed on when and why restrictions were imposed. we are not going to blame the british public like borisjohnson tried to do, we are proud of what the public are doing. we understand why local restrictions may be needed but andy burnham has been saying it's a bit like hotel california, places go into these restrictions, you check in but can never leave. borisjohnson says we should go forward without fear but with common sense but it seems that balancing act may have to be maintained well into the new year. heavy rain has brought flooding and travel disruption to parts of the uk — with more than a0 flood warnings in place. these are some of the pictures from somerset which has been particuarly badly hit. homes have also been flooded in hampshire, hertfordshire and northumberland. in scotland, safety checks have been carried out during today on rail lin

notjust take contact in hospitality was that we have seen restrictions on hospitality and back then, oldhamonfident and jonathan has shown you the data that infection rates are increasing in the community, particularly in the areas you have mentioned around the north west and merseyside so the data is clear and the difference from the first wave in april is we have that data, this time round we can see it very local level how infection rates are increasing and those heat maps that jonathan showed earlier showed new community transmission and increased rates of infection in the community. it is obviously important we also control infection in hospitals, we are doing that with some of the measures i have described and announced today we will introduce regular testing of asymptomatic staff in those high prevalence areas. this is a problem of community infection rates increasing and inevitably causing or resulting in an increased number of admissions into hospitals. i thinkjane could give you some more granular detail of what is happening in men they'd make merseyside and greater manchester. ye

i do think it's going to destroy oldham. pubs restricting people coming in, people aren't going in.to. labour said more clarity was needed on when and why restrictions were imposed. we are not going to blame the british public like boris johnson try not going to blame the british public like borisjohnson try to do, we are proud of what the public are doing to point that we understand why local restrictions may be needed but andy burnham has been saying it's a bit like hotel california, places go into these restrictions, you check in but can never leave. borisjohnson you check in but can never leave. boris johnson says you check in but can never leave. borisjohnson says we should go forward without fear but with common sense but it seems that balancing act may have to be maintained well into the new year. more than 5,000 jobs at the uk's largest cinema chain have been placed at risk after cineworld said it was considering the temporary closure of all its venues. cinemas have been hit hard by the release of big budget films being delayed, most recently the latest james bond, which won

i do think it's going to destroy oldham.t going in. we need to abide by the rules so it won't last longer than it has to. labour says more clarity was needed on when and why restrictions were imposed. we are not going to blame the british public like borisjohnson tried to do, we are proud of what the public are doing. we understand why local restrictions may be needed but andy burnham has been saying it's a bit like hotel california, places go into these restrictions, you check in but can never leave. borisjohnson says we should go forward without fear but with common sense but it seems that balancing act may have to be maintained well into the new year. it is 6:19pm. the headlines on bbc news. president trump's doctors say he is continuing to improve — as he's treated in hospital for coronavirus — they also reveal more details of his condition before he was admitted — he received oxygen twice — but they remain optimistic. here — the prime minister warns there could be "a very tough winter" ahead, as the country deals with t

. >> reporter: police in oldham say they're working with businesses it do their own enforcement but -role for the police, where just giving out fines isn't the best. >> reporter: ultimately, she says there's another reason police aren't more strict. >> you don't develop a relationship with the public by being overly authorizive. and bearing that. >>> the were british government announced last week, almost $18 million in new funding to help police enforce controls and step up enforcement of coronavirus restrictions. the money also enables local counsels to afford marshals to remind the people what the rules actually are. more more on how the restrictions are being received. let's bring in salma abdelaziz in manchester. salma, there's been a bit of a standoff between the mayor and boris johnson. manchester still not entering the higher level of restrictions. where do we go from here? >> reporter: it's a truly extraordinary standoff, isa, after boris johnson came out and encouraged the governor to re-initiate with the residents. and so far, it does not seem that there are any meetings sc

we can now speak to the leader of oldham council — sean fielding. hello to you, counsellor.ry said on the radio an hourago, housing secretary said on the radio an hour ago, council leaders like yourself can pick up the phone to the housing secretary and access the financial package that you need for your people. are you going to do that? i just your people. are you going to do that? ijust want your people. are you going to do that? i just want to reflect on what matt hancock was saying in the house, where he said the offer was made on andy burnham rejected it. it wasn't just andy burnham made on andy burnham rejected it. it wasn'tjust andy burnham that rejected the offer of 60 million, collectively it was the ten council leaders and andy burnham. if you look at the pictures from the press conference, five of us were stood behind him because we supported his position. £60 million was not enough and it remains not enough. i'm not about to sell out my colleagues, sell—out businesses and individuals that will be hit hard by tier 3 for an insufficient amount of money. you are not

this morning, liverpool city council, greater manchester and oldham havejoined a number of other councilsment to revisit their policy on the matter. members of my union, teachers and support staff, have been telling the union of that holiday hunger, children coming back to school after the holiday hungry, unable to concentrate, unable to get on with their work, has been increasing. it's been a phenomenon that has grown since 2010 and the austerity. and it's much worse now. this is something that really matters for education and for these children. the government should look again at this. no mp that voted against this will be hungry tonight, or hungry over the half term. but there are lots of children who are going to be hungry and that is impacting on all of their life, including education. the chief secretary to the treasury steve barclay says the government is committed to help children who need it. we put measures into schools specifically to support disadvantaged children. because it is absolutely core as an issue. the issue is, what is the best way of getting support to families? we

sean fielding is the leader of oldham council and joins us now. good morning to you.talking about what restrictions might be in greater manchester and what financial package you might be able to get. that broke up without agreement. we were promised a further meeting later that day. we received an apology to say that meeting could be accommodated, yet we we re meeting could be accommodated, yet we were on standby all day yesterday for that meeting. we have no meeting. what we saw was boris johnson doubling down the pressure on manchester. we don‘t believe those measures will work and there is no financial package to help. you and your colleagues, what you‘re saying, are you saying that tier 3 as it stands is not acceptable in itself, or is it that you‘re saying that you would accept tier 3 if there were sufficient financial incentives to help locally, because those are two very different positions. we are not even sure what tier 3 is any more. liverpool tier 3 was put in place that meant that james could close, in lancashire they are in tier 3 victims could stay open.