The uk is entering a period of great concern as the number of coronavirus cases rise across the country. As figures rise dramatically amongst those aged 17 to 29, a call for people to take the virus seriously again. It is for all of us to take this very seriously indeed. And we have seen in other countries that if you dont take a second spike seriously, then it can lead to very Serious Problems down the track. The nhs apologises to people unable to get a covid test as the test and trace system struggles to cope with demand. Just how worried should we be . Well be talking to our Health Correspondent. Also this lunchtime. Stop being intransigent and show flexibility and realism the message from the uk to the eu
as britain prepares for the eighth round of brexit talks, Greater Manchester police say they werent aware of the Ariana Grande concert at the arena because British Police had jurisdiction. As furloughing comes to an end, the figures that reveal companies plans to cut hundreds of thousands of jobs. Past the point of no return. The show must go on a warning to mps that theatres have to re open soon. There comes a point where we really cant go on much more. And coming up on bbc news i only have myself to blame. Manchester uniteds Mason Greenwood apologises for being dropped from the england squad for breaching coronavirus quarantine guidelines. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. Government scientific advisors say theyre concerned about a recent rise in confirmed coronavirus cases. In the last two days theyvejumped in the uk to their highest levels since may, with more young people testing positive. Englands deputy chief medical officer has said people need to start taking the pandemic seriously again. To underline the threat, a senior official at nhs test and trace has apologised to people unable to get a test as the system struggles to cope with demand. Heres our Health Correspondent lauren moss. Its an ongoing battle against an enemy we cannot see. Bolton has the highest rate of new coronavirus cases in england, with 350 in the last week. And, as part of restrictions to stop it spreading further, households arent allowed to mix. Scientists and ministers are warning that rising infections
gcioss warning that rising infections across the uk are a cause of great concern. Weve seen in other countries that if you dont take a second spike seriously, then it can lead to very Serious Problems down the track. Now, i want us, if at all possible, to get to a position where we can all have the sort of christmas that people yearn for. There have been almost 6000 new covid cases in the last two days, the highest since may. A large number of positive diagnoses are among the younger age groups. There isa among the younger age groups. There is a responsibility on younger people to not just is a responsibility on younger people to notjust a home, obviously to go out and go to work, and to enjoy pubs and restaurants, but to do so in accordance with the guidelines, because, although they themselves might not become seriously unwell, they could pass it onto others. But more positive tests havent yet lead to increased hospital admissions, havent yet lead to increased hospitaladmissions, partly havent yet lead to increased hospital admissions, partly because younger people tend to become less ill with coronavirus, but also these
cases are new. The way the disease is spreading now in younger people, you would expect quite a big lager before the disease starts increasing dramatically in older people, and then we see the death rate going up. Quite a big lag. Then we see the death rate going up. Quite a big lag. It was always going to be a fine balancing act, with lockdown easing and more turning red returning to work. At some say the guidelines are hard to keep track of. On the other hand, the message is go out as usual, go back to what youre doing before. 0n the other hand, they are being told to follow guidance. The guidance has been coming out, in bits and pieces, its been changing and is different in different nations. A lot of people, especially young people, the data shows, has got very confused. The director of the test and Trace Programme in england has today apologised to people who arent able to book a test at the moment, difficulties in laboratory processing, which the Health Secretary says might take a couple
of weeks to resolve. Carefully in wales is on its first day of new lockdown measures, following a spike. Three further deaths have been confirmed in scotland, the highest figure since the end of june, and restrictions have been extended in some areas. There is speculation additional steps can be taken if cases continue to climb elsewhere. Everyone is being asked to follow the guidelines to prevent that from happening. A local lockdown in caerphilly comes into force at six oclock this evening following a rise in cases. Lets speak to our correspondent hywel griffith. How is this going to work . So, as of 6pm, people who live in this county, about 180,000 of them, will be told not to go in or out of the county u nless not to go in or out of the county unless they have an essential reason to do so, for example travelling to work if they cant work from home, 01 work if they cant work from home, orfor a medical appointment. Work if they cant work from home, or for a medical appointment. But they shouldnt be going a few miles down south to cardiff shopping, for example. That will be familiar from earlier on this year. There was a five mile travel restriction in wales untiljuly. Five mile travel restriction in wales until july. People five mile travel restriction in wales untiljuly. People here had hoped they had been through the worst of it. In fact, at the end of july, caerphilly was covid free. But it has come back very suddenly in the last week. We are told almost 100 cases in the last seven days. According to the welsh government, a large part of that is due to people breaking the social distancing rules, with the Health Minister saying in a press conference in the last hour that people had been deliberately flouting the rules, hosting house parties, mixing and houses when they are simply not meant to. He says these measures are essential. The schools here are remaining open. Pubs, cafes and restau ra nts remaining open. Pubs, cafes and restaurants as well. That confused some people. They thought that would be the first to shut. But the evidence suggests that is not where the virus has been transmitting. When people go into pubs, they have to abide by social distancing. But in their own homes, and certainly in house parties, that is where the problem has emerged. How long will it last . Well, potentially into 0ctober, because they know while the
cases start now and may continue for a few weeks, we may see hospital admissions at the beginning of next month. In the north east of england theres growing concern from local officials about rising infection rates. 0ur correspondent danny savage is in darlington. Yes, well, simon, this is quite an Unusual Development here in the north east of england. The leaders of all seven local authorities, from cou nty of all seven local authorities, from County Durham up to northumberland, have written an open appeal, basically, to the population to start modifying their behaviour to avoid what they describe as a disastrous second lockdown in the region. They say in particular it is young adults that are not abiding by the social distancing rules. They say they are behaving in a selfish and reckless way, and that the infection rate in this region of england has doubled, week on week. They are getting about 80 cases a day at the moment. Yesterday, we we re day at the moment. Yesterday, we were here in County Durham, reporting on the fact that there is a search under way, appeal and the
way, to trace 300 people at a drinks do after a Charity Football match in this part of the world. Already, 28 cases from that one gathering, and that number is expected to rise as the days go on. But they are basically saying to young people to stop gathering, stop flouting the rules, otherwise theres going to be serious consequences in this part of the world. Of course, this comes just a few days, a week or so before University Students of that very demographic start coming back to the region to study for the coming term. And the worry is they will gather, because there wont be the traditional freshers week events, they will start having house parties on that kind of thing, that will cause problems. One other thing, several schools in this region are already partially closing because of of coronavirus, in certain year groups or with members of staff. The curve and the numbers are going up in this part of the world, and Civic Leaders are very worried. Our Health Correspondent nick triggle is here. There has been a ramping up in warnings, how worried should we be . It is clear officials are very concerned about the rise. Its important to remember we are still seeing very low levels of infections. The official figures suggest there were 6500 cases a day at the peak, but that is the tip of the iceberg because we were only testing hospitals there. If we take into account the wider community, estimates were that they could have been 100,000 cases a day. So the 3000 we have seen over the past few days are a fraction of that. Albeit, we are not picking up all of the cases out there, but probably only missing 1000 or 2000, the evidence suggests. Anotherfactor missing 1000 or 2000, the evidence suggests. Another factor to take into account is that we are testing more people. 0nce into account is that we are testing more people. Once we take that into account, the rise we see is not quite as marked, although it is clearly still going up. As i have been saying, many of the new cases are in young people, and that is why we are not seeing the numbers going into hospital rising. At the concern is that these young people can pass
the virus on to older, more vulnerable groups and we could see the numbers of deaths going up. If we are being realistic, sadly, in winter, death rates do go up. We see this every year with flu. It is clear that this is going to be one of the most difficult winters for a generation. But what i would say is that we are in a very different position to what we wear at the start of the pandemic. There are better treatments and place and there was a testing and tracing service up and running, albeit, as we have been hearing, it is not perfect. Thank you very much for that. And if you want to find out about how coronavirus is affecting the area where you live,the latest information is available on the bbc news website. There you can see how many cases and deaths there have been by searching for your postcode or location. Go to bbc. Co. Uk news or the bbc news app. The government says the European Union needs to show flexibility and realism as talks about a brexit trade deal resume this afternoon in london. The eu says both sides
must compromise. 0ur Political Correspondent iain watson is at westminster. Moore talks this afternoon, but there has been a lot of talking already . An awful lot of talking, this is the eighth round of negotiations. Where there is consensus between the uk and the eu is that both sides recognise the time for striking a trade deal is extremely short, and both sides are saying they are prepared to leave with no trade deal at all at the end of this year, when the transition period runs out. But what has been casting a shadow over the latest round of talks are reports that matt legislation over the uks internal market, due to be published tomorrow, could seek to override aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement that was struck with the eu, and that was struck with the eu, and that could put a trade deal at risk. What the government are saying is that they have no intention of changing some of the most controversial parts of the agreement, including placing checks on some goods going from britain into Northern Ireland, that that
would stay, that any changes will be quite limited. But in the last half hour, the former Prime Minister theresa may accused the government a matter of changing the operation of that agreement, and questioned whether britain could be trusted to stick by its legal obligations. Her intervention comes hot on the heels of the departure of another senior Civil Servant from whitehall, the head of the government legal department, sirjonathan jones. Head of the government legal department, sirjonathanjones. The Financial Times is reporting that he has resigned because of concerns that the government would try to step back from some of its obligations on what is known as the Northern Ireland protocol, in other words, part of that Withdrawal Agreement. Downing street today are not commenting on the reason for his departure. Thank you very much. One of the biggest sticking points between the European Union and the uk government is state aid. Thats the Financial Assistance given by government to businesses. 0ur reality check correspondent, chris morris is here and has been taking a look at this and other outstanding issues in the negotiations. Yes, in public this negotiation has often seemed like a dialogue of the deaf. So, with time running short, things are now coming to a head. And of all the niggly issues that have become stumbling blocks, state aid thats Financial Support from government to businesses is perhaps the most difficult. The eu is demanding a level Playing Field on state aid some kind of understanding that the eu and the uk will follow the same rules as part of a free trade agreement. To make sure businesses in one country dont gain an unfair advantage over their competitors in another. The eu has softened its demands slightly, but it still wants pretty strict conditions because the uk is already so closely linked with the european economy. So its waiting for the uk to disclose what kind of competition policy its going to follow outside the single market, and what kind of system it plans to put in place to resolve disputes in the future. But the uk says the eu is still asking for far too much. It argues that eu negotiators have yet to accept fully the consequences of the uk leaving the eu, and soon the single market
and the customs union. The message from london is, were a sovereign state and were going to follow our own rules. Because that, they say, is basically what brexit was all about the freedom to choose. That could mean supporting new technology as the economy changes, or helping companies in the former red wall seats taken from labour in last years general election. But theres an added complication. Northern ireland. The Withdrawal Agreement signed last year by borisjohnsons government is now an international treaty. And it says eu law on state aid will apply to the uk in relation to the goods trade in Northern Ireland. That means the government is obliged to inform the eu of any state aid decisions that affect Northern Ireland. But now the government is planning a fallback option Domestic Legislation which would override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement if trade talks break down. Sensible planning, says the uk. Potentially breaking international law, says the eu. The Prime Minister says no trade deal would still be a good outcome, and the uk would in his words prosper mightily. But many businesses that trade across the border with the eu, and would have to deal with new tariffs, checks and bureaucracy, warn that the consequences would be disastrous. So were back at deal or no deal in relations with the eu, and no certainty on which way its going to go. The Public Inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing has been hearing that Greater Manchester police didnt know the Ariana Grande concert was happening. The inquiry was told that British Transport Police were in charge of the arena foyer because it is part of a train station complex. They reacted within seconds of the attack. 22 people were killed when salman abedi exploded a bomb in may 2017. Fiona trott reports. A new day, looking for new information. Its a new routine for the relatives that will last for six months. Today theyre learning more about the response of the emergency
services that night. How prepared were they . Were they coordinated . This is what they were told. Gmp did not know at an organisational level of the Ariana Grande concert and had not made any provision or plan for the concert that night. The court heard that for a0 minutes after the blast, only one paramedic went into the area where the bomb went off the response may not have been coordinated enough. The inquiry will need to consider whether that is so and, if it is, why that occurred and whether life was lost as a result of any failure. As is beyond obvious, even the loss of a single life due to such a failure would be completely unacceptable. This is salman abedi, minutes before the attack at the Ariana Grande concert, his suicide bomb so heavy with explosive material, the backpack bent him over. The court has heard witnesses reported him to officials at the arena but no action was taken. He killed 22 people that night. The chair of this inquiry says it is not looking for scapegoats, its an exercise in establishing the truth. Fiona trott, bbc news, manchester. The time is 1 17pm. Our top story this lunchtime. Government Scientists Say the uk is entering a period of great concern, as the number of coronavirus cases rise across the country. Coming up. Challenging racism in the fashion industry. We hear from the leading italian designer calling for action. Coming up on bbc news world number one ash barty wont be defending her title at the french open later this month. She has pulled out of the tournament because of coronavirus. Its been a grim few months on the jobs market
we all know that. And now, new figures obtained by the bbc, Show Companies drew up plans injuly to cut almost 150,000 posts. As the pandemic took its toll on the economy, the combined figure forjune and july, was more than 300,000. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. Boots, john lewis, marks spencer, just some of the well known companies who announced redundancies injune and companies who announced redundancies in june and july. The Job Companies who announced redundancies injune and july. The job cuts hitting the headlines were a tiny fraction ofjobs hitting the headlines were a tiny fraction of jobs lost hitting the headlines were a tiny fraction ofjobs lost and official unemployment numbers havent yet ca ptu red unemployment numbers havent yet captured the impact of the pandemic. Instead the more up to date picture emerges from forms that are filed with the Insolvency Service if they plan to make more than 20 redundant, saying how many jobs plan to make more than 20 redundant, saying how manyjobs they want to cut. The bbc freedom of information request discovered that injury in 1888 employers plan to cutjobs. In july a further 1784 gave notice of
plans to cut nearly 150,000 jobs. Many more people will have been made redundant from smaller companies, pushing the overall number ofjob cuts substantially higher. Businesses are concerned that the end of furlough brings a cliff edge to the labour market. The government can do other things to help firms whether the change was that they can step in now and say they were cap thejobs tax, step in now and say they were cap the jobs tax, employers step in now and say they were cap thejobs tax, employers national insurance, so fans can spend money paying people over the coming months rather than paying revenue. Firms. A modest pick up for hiring in temporaryjobs was announced. The number of candidates available for work rose at a record pace. We have not seen the full impact of the crisis in thejobs market not seen the full impact of the crisis in the jobs market yet. Because the retention scheme, the Job Retention scheme is being wound down now, a real concern is what happens after october and this is
what is being reflected in these figures, Companies Looking ahead and deciding to make workforce reductions. Companies wanting to cut jobs before the furlough scheme ends in october, had to give notice. That means it is highly likely that further redundancy notices are being handed out this month. The pace and scale ofjob handed out this month. The pace and scale of job cuts handed out this month. The pace and scale ofjob cuts is likely to get worse before it gets better. And andyjoins us now live. Time is running out for employers and employees on this. That is right. A furlough ending at the end of october is quite a serious moment for a lot of people. If they are thinking they are not getting revenue into colour costs, i am going to have to let people go because we have not fully recovered from the shutdown, they will think they had to get their notices in. On they had to get their notices in. On the furlough scheme, we have had some information from the chief
executive of her majesties revenue and customs setting out what they are assuming is the amount that has been claimed from furlough that should not have been. It was brought in in quite a hurry at the beginning of the pandemic to prevent a situation where a lot of companies had no revenue coming in resulting in hugejob losses. About 9. 6 millionjobs have been covered by the furlough scheme, where the taxpayer pays 80 of employees who had been furloughed. If you are furloughed, you should not be working for your company. If you have been furloughed and working for your company, that is fraud. There isa90 your company, that is fraud. There is a 90 day window where an employer can admita is a 90 day window where an employer can admit a mistake has been made and pay money back. A lot of difficulty coming up for employers and employees. Thank you. Officials in belarus say one of the main opposition leaders, maria kolesnikova, has been detained at the border with ukraine. She was picked up in minsk yesterday. 0ur correspondent
jonah fisher is in kyiv. Some dramatic scenes emerging from this. It appears so. Maria was picked up by an unmasked vehicle in minsk yesterday was that she was taken to the border between belarus and ukraine with two other opposition activists. It appears they were instructed to cross over into ukraine, to go into exile. The two men with maria went across into ukraine but something happened at the border whereby she refused to cross. There are lots of stories in ukraine circulating at what she did at the border was tear up her passport to make it impossible for them to send her across into ukraine. What we understand has happened is she is still in belarus, backin happened is she is still in belarus, back in detention, in the custody of
the belarussian authorities. We will have to see what they decide to do with her now. Will it affect the huge demonstrations we have seen against the president the last four weeks since a disputed election, i very much doubt it. They are run by lots of different organisations are not really buy these opposition figures. If anything, not really buy these opposition figures. Ifanything, i not really buy these opposition figures. If anything, i think it is likely targeting of the opposition likely targeting of the opposition like this will lead to even greater numbers of people taking to the streets in belarus. Iranian state media is reporting that Nazanin Zaghari ratcliffe is facing a new indictment. The british iranian dual national was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted of espionage. Charges that she has always denied. The uk has also insisted she is innocent. Its not clear what new charge she is facing. Italian fashion is famous all over the world but only one black italian designer enjoys any notable recognition. Now, shes launched a campaign
asking do black lives matter in fashion . Sofia bettiza reports from rome. The changing face of italian fashion. This is the woman behind it. Stella jean mixes italian, african and caribbean styles. Her designs have been worn by celebrities, like beyonce and rihanna. Shes launched a campaign that exposes the stereotypes and racist comments that black Italian Women face every day. Translation growing up black in italy was extremely trying. I have been called many insulting things. Italian fashion has faced criticism for racist imagery. Take this jumper from gucci, or these accessories from prada. Translation suffice to say that im the only member
of the italian Fashion Council, out of 113, who is black. My uniqueness is absurd. It is the Fashion Council in italy, along with those in the uk, america and france that dictates what happens in fashion around the world. Out of protest, stella cancelled her show at Milan Fashion Week but asked if she could promote her Antiracism Campaign there instead. I asked for support. From that moment on, the Fashion Council stopped all communications with me and didnt even send me an invite to fashion week. But she says those same fashion brands who had blanked her later rushed to show support for black lives matter on social media. Italys Fashion Council says a lot of its brands are trying hard to be more inclusive but that the government has to drive positive change. Racism in italy is blatant. The problem is that after fascism,
italy didnt reckon with the colonial past. And it didnt reckon properly with the massive and rooted heritage that fascism left to this country. Stella is now lending her voice to the black lives matter campaign. Shes urging fashion houses to hire more black people and, as the movement grows, she feels they will now finally have to listen. Sofia bettiza, bbc news, rome. we are at the point of no return thats the stark warning about theatres and the wider arts sector from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Hes been giving evidence about the impact of coronavirus to a committee of mps. He said venues must be allowed to re open as soon as possible. 0ur entertainment correspondent, Colin Paterson reports. Past the point of no return. Point of no return from phantom of the opera. This morning, lord lloyd webber
quoted his own song to a dcms select committee when describing the position of theatre in the uk. It is. Its in my view, i think we are now at the point of no return, really. It was hoped that lord Lloyd Webbers new musical, cinderella, would be one of the shows to kick start west end theatre next year. But he said there was now a chance he may open the production abroad instead if the government did not give theatres a date when they can reopen without social distancing. I have to take the decision about whether we go into rehearsal with my cinderella or not. If i dont go into rehearsal, there is also the chance that it might open somewhere where people are being a little more helpful. Lord lloyd webber said he believed that theatres should be treated in the same way as aeroplanes and be allowed to reopen with full capacity if measures were put in place, including everyone wearing masks, the use of self sanitising door handles and temperature tests at the door. Sir simon callow says that something has to happen quickly. Its a very alarming position. You almost see a whole industry disappearing before your eyes. Mum wouldnt want us to go crazy. Right, so thats where were headed, away from crazy. A new musical, sleepless in seattle had its premiere last week after being allowed to open with government permission. But with capacity reduced from 1200 to 400, this production is making a statement but not a profit. Dad, theres someone on the phone for you. I think it shines a light and gives a bit of hope to the industry that this is possible. You know, at some point, social distancing will be reduced and hopefully will be a memory. Every fairy tale for sure can use one. For cinderella and british theatre, the clock could be about to strike midnight. Colin paterson, bbc news. 0ur arts editor Will Gompertz is in londons west end. It isa it is a pretty dramatic warning. It is a pretty dramatic warningm isa it is a pretty dramatic warningm is a dramatic warning. I think the point is Andrew Lloyd Webber is talking about much more than his own theatres and his own productions, he is talking about more than theatre. He is talking about the role theatre plays in the economy and ecology of city centres up and down the country. I am standing in shaftesbu ry, country. I am standing in shaftesbury, west end. The cafe is empty, the hotels are empty, the shops are empty. His point is if you do not open the theatres, those shows are shut. There is no reason to come into the west end and Everything Else collapses. This scene is being replicated throughout the country. One Restaurant Owner i spoke to in bellingham said, i do not know why i opened before they open the theatre because it is not worth my while. It is notjust an issue for theatres, it is for city centres around the country. He said
£1. 575 centres around the country. He said £1. 575 billion the government has set aside to help the arts out through this terrible times, he said a lot of that money should not go to the buildings in london, it should go to regional theatres and very specifically to regional theatres, to give them the capacity to put any necessary measures like cleaning and sanitising that have allowed them to welcome to welcome audiences again, to operate and to make a contribution to the community. This isa contribution to the community. This is a story that is actually much bigger than theatre. Time for a look at the weather. Heres nick miller. A much brighter day for some of us today. This picture is from northumberland. 0n the satellite clinic yesterday, so much clout. There are big breaks in the cloud, east of england, eastern scotland and parts of wales as well. The
further west you