So the big cities do well, smaller communities are bound to lose out. Well be reporting live from the village of fishlake near doncaster, one of the worst affected areas. Also tonight life sentences for the parents of six children, who murdered two teenage sons, a day after trying to poison them. In hong kong, police warn that the rule of law is on the brink of total collapse, after months of pro democracy protests. And the spats between Raheem Sterling and joe gomez are just like a family disagreement, according to the england manager. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news. Well bring you the latest as wales, Northern Ireland and england women are all in action this evening. Good evening. The Prime Minister, whos facing criticism for his response to the severe flooding in parts of northern england, has announced more support for the communities affected. Boris johnson was speaking after chairing a meeting of cobra, the cabinets emergency committee. He said the situation was an absolute tragedy. But labour and the liberal democrats have again said that a National Emergency should be declared. Following a months worth of rain in just 2a hours last week, rivers burst their banks, flooding parts of South Yorkshire, nottinghamshire, derbyshire and lincolnshire. But the Environment Agency says the £20 million flood defences, built after the 2007 floods, significantly reduced the impact in areas like meadowhall in sheffield. Severe Flood Warnings around the river don have been in place since friday. Some 400 homes have been flooded and 1,200 properties evacuated. More heavy rain is forecast this week. For the latest we can join our correspondent, danjohnson, in the village of fishlake near doncaster. Yes, this is the community church, this has been the centre of the local response. There has been so much to admire in the way people have come together, helped each other out and the result of these residents have shown. But there is frustration, because people are asking, if this is not an emergency, what is it . Today the government announced more soldiers will be heading to areas to help out and there is more pumping equipment being brought into this village tonight, to try and rid fishlake of the water that is surrounding it. Its right through the house. It goes all the way through. Its ripped all the flooring up. In the furthest reaches of fishlake, this is what lifes been like since friday. James and his pets are cut off and barely coping. Youve been living like this for five days . Yeah, trying to keep warm. Sleep. Everything weve got is wet, its destroyed. No heating . No heating, no power. No light . We have one light eventually, in the bedroom. People think, why havent you left, why havent you gone to the Refuge Centre . Well, ive got two dogs, a goshawk and ferrets. You know, how can you carry all that or take this to a church or whatever . Watch where you are walking. He says, despite offers of help, he wont leave without his animals. Plough on down these flooded lanes and you only find more misery. Some are returning to see how much theyve lost and to salvage whats left and there are fears for the future. My mother in law is in the village, which is not flooding, but they want everybody out of there. But you cant leave if youve nowhere to go. I think we are all scared, worried about what we are going to do, how we are going to live. And on it goes, everywhere you look. Five days on from the heaviest rain and you can now get through most of the village with a proper 4x4. But that doesnt mean there arent people still struggling and people who are still really angry. Communities have been absolutely amazing. The official people that should have been telling us what to do, get out your house, move your things, or even that it was coming. We had no idea. So, just a complete contrast. The only good news here is that clare renewed her insurance a day before the rain came. Not everyone is covered though. Today the politicians descended as flooding spilled over into the election campaign. We cannot leave People Living in this awful sense of fear and limbo. Its wrong that it seems to be just down to the local communities. Important though this work is, its clearly a National Emergency. Winter, after winter, after winter, its homes and communities that get destroyed as a result of action and long term action not being put in place. The Prime Minister said over the weekend, this was no National Emergency. But now, extra support is on its way. Were coordinating a National Defence and programme of flood defences. There has been £2. 6 billion of National Investment and the Environment Agency is there to ensure that cash is spent on the right defences, the right earthworks, the right earth banks and Everything Else that we are going to need. Here, pumps are now starting to get the water moving. Emergency teams have been getting through, but some here are still feeling forgotten. Could have done a lot more. Could have had a lot more warning. What do you say . What can you say . Been let down, somehow. Dan johnson, bbc news, fishlake, in South Yorkshire. The Environment Agency has warned that severe flooding episodes are set to become more frequent. Its prompted a renewed debate about the measures and the money needed to the limit the impact. 0ur science editor David Shukman looks at the challenge of saving homes, businesses and communities at risk. Year after year, we see the misery of flooding, but this time its striking in the middle of an election, adding real edge to questions about why its happened and how to avoid scenes like this in future. A key dispute is over money, so how much is spent on flood defences . A view from the air of the floods in South Yorkshire today the plight of the village of fishlake at the centre of the current political storm. The total budget for flood defences for this five year period is £2. 6 billion, but there has long been criticism that governments of all parties need to spend far more. Whats striking is how its the small villages like fishlake and farmland that are bearing the brunt of the flooding, and thats for a very simple reason. The money forflood protection is allocated according to the number of people who benefit from it, so the big cities do well and smaller communities are bound to lose out. Another challenge, who is in charge of flood protection . Rescue work by the Emergency Services is highly praised and well coordinated, but behind the scenes it can be another story. Theres so much more water that these pumps are having to deal with. With central government, local authorities and drainage officials here monitoring the pumps at fishlake, a complicated mix that can slow down the system of early warning. If people dont know where they are getting their Flood Warning from, their flood information from, it can be very confusing, and that kind of undermines the actions they might take in order to protect themselves and their families. And all the time the question of whether flooding will be worse in future. We spot emergency barriers are being thrown up at a key electricity substation. Scientists are warning that, as temperatures rise, rainstorms are likely to become heavier, so the threat of flooding may well intensify. We need to really speed up if we are going to keep on top of the problems that are being exacerbated by the change in the climate. We dont really have the infrastructure in place for the next 25 years, and that is very frightening. 50 years, you know, im really scared. The emergency pumps in action here are now centrestage in the election, and the struggle reflects wider battle over how the country should protect itself now and in coming years. David shukman, bbc news, South Yorkshire. The government announced an additional 100 Armed Forces Personnel will be sent to South Yorkshire, and councils there are being given some additional funding to help households and businesses. 0ur deputy Political Editor john pienaar is at westminster. The fact is, john, this crisis has become something of a political spat as well . It has become rapidly, deeply politicised. Given we are in a close and unpredictable election campaign, that will come as a great surprise to absolutely no one. Certainly since the Prime Minister chaired that emergency meeting. He has promised grants for councils, troops, sandbags, troops bearing sandbags but all of it is too little, too late, according to the opposition parties. The liberal democrats have said they will write 5 billion extra for flood defences and 5. 6 billion from jeremy corbyn. He has accused the conservatives of caring about people and places in the south and the south east, more than the north, looking after their own heartlands, in other words. Its denied by the tories and that may have something to do with the fact that the midlands and the north are rich in electoral battle grounds. As People Struggle with the floodwaters, who is winning this political battle . The answer is as simple as it is obvious, the voters will have the last word. They will decide in whom to place their trust when they put their crosses in those boxes on december the twell. John, many thanks again. John pienaar there with the latest thoughts from westminster. A father and mother who murdered two of their sons , and plotted to kill their other four children , have been sentenced to life in prison. Sarah barrass and Brandon Machin, who are half siblings, strangled their two eldest children, boys aged 13 and 14, in sheffield in may. 0ur correspondent Frankie Mccamley reports. Tristan barrass in a bbc Childrens Programme in 2017, a happy boy with lots of friends. But tristan was murdered along with his 14 year old brother, blake, on the right, by their parents at their home in sheffield. Sarah barrass and Brandon Machin were half siblings. When poisoning their children failed and drowning didnt work, together the pair strangled the boys, then suffocated them with binbags. Today, for the first time, the court heard why the couple murdered two of their children and tried to kill the rest. The pair feared their children would be taken into care if the local Authority Found out about their secret incestuous relationship, so barrass and machin decided killing all six of their children would be better than letting that happen. As the pair were both sentenced to 35 years in prison, friends of the family paid tribute. A piece of all our hearts died on the 24th of may 2019 which we will never get back. Blake and tristan leave a huge empty void in our lives, and we did not get the chance to say goodbye. At their funeral in august, the motorbikes they loved came together to remember the boys, who were regularly told by their mother, i gave you life, i can take it away which she and her partner did in a crime described as nothing but evil. Frankie mccamley, bbc news, sheffield. Lets take a look at some of todays other news. A man has gone on trial at the old bailey accused of a series of rapes and sexual assaults on women and children in london, hertfordshire and north west england. Joseph mccann, whos 3a, is also charged with multiple counts of kidnap and false imprisonment over a two week period earlier this year. He denies the charges. Official figures show the number of people in work fell by 58,000 in the three months to september the biggest quarterly drop for more than four years. The office for National Statistics says the reduction was partly caused by the collapse of a number of major retailers. The number of people who are unemployed also fell, by 23,000 to 1. 31 million. The former head coach for british cycling and team sky, shane sutton, has walked out of a medical tribunal denying allegations that hes a serial liar and doper. The tribunal is considering the case of the teams former doctor, dr richard freeman, whos facing charges of medical misconduct, for obtaining testosterone for an unnamed rider. He claims they were obtained at the direction of mr sutton, as our sports editor, dan roan, reports. Former british cycling and team sky head coach shane sutton arriving today is the key witness in the case thats cast a shadow over the countrys most successful sport. This man, the organisations former chief medic, dr richard freeman, has been charged with ordering testosterone to the sports headquarters in 2011 for an unnamed rider to dope. He admits lying to cover up the order but insists sutton bullied him into doing so to treat his alleged erectile dysfunction. Sutton denies that, insisting he wasnt behind the delivery of the banned drug. However, as he gave evidence for the first time, freemans lawyer, mary 0rourke qc, said. In remarkable exchanges, 0rourke said she had evidence from an anonymous witness who saw sutton inject himself with testosterone in the late 90s. Sutton denied that, calling her a liar and a bully and saying hed never failed any of 100 tests during his riding career. Enraged by the line of questioning, he said. Sutton said his wife wanted to testify that he didnt suffer from erectile dysfunction, as alleged by freeman, who was sat behind a screen because hes being treated as a vulnerable witness. Take the screen down, man up and look me in the eye, said sutton, banging his fist on the table. Tell me to my face i ordered it. He wont because he knows i didnt. Threatening to sue 0rourke for defamation, he then stormed out of the hearing, calling freeman spineless. I got myself into an emotional state because, you know, when you know that you are not lying and you are accused of lying, you get yourself worked up. Pretty disappointing, the way ive been singled out and feel like i am on trial, but i need to go and talk to my family and discuss whether i will return to give any more evidence. With or without sutton, the case will resume on thursday, but, for a sport desperately trying to move on after a series of scandals, this has been yet another damaging episode. Dan roan, bbc news. In a months time, voters across the United Kingdom will be voting in the general election and, as the campaign progresses, bbc news is continuing its series looking at political priorities in different parts of the uk. Tonight, my colleague clive myrie is in the north east of england and the constituency of Bishop Auckland. Thanks, huw. What a fascinating constituency this is. The town of Bishop Auckland is itself proud of its industrial past, the railways and coal mining. But the death of traditional industry hit this area hard, and there is a sense that the town has never really recovered. Politically, its also a bellwether for the rest of the north east. The constituency is a mixture of post industrial towns, pretty market towns and agricultural communities. Historically, its been a labour stronghold in general elections and, barring four years in the 1930s, labour has held Bishop Auckland since 1918. But this majority has been slowly whittled away over the years. Its now down to just over 500 votes, and thats made it a key conservative target in this election. When it comes to brexit, it was a decisive vote, with 61 of people here choosing to leave the eu. In the two days that weve been here, weve spoken to a number of people who feel this place has been forgotten since the heyday of its industry, a time when Bishop Auckland was truly on the map. Its Bishop Auckland in the amateur cup final at wembley. There was a time when the whole country knew of Bishop Auckland. Warren bradley centres. Its footballers lit up terraces the way the regions coal lit up homes. The teams fans, working miners and families. Their political allegiance always to labour. The whistles gone and Bishop Auckland have made their hat trick. But theres been disappointment at a forgetting that this place exists since the pits closed, when the football was good. And now theres anger for some at this working mens club that labours handling of brexit, they say, is a final kick in the teeth. Ask kevin, an nhs hospital worker switching from labour to tory. Its notjust me being ignored or the north east, its the 17. 4 Million People who voted to leave. And you are fed up with that . Absolutely fed up. Ive had it up to here. Ask shannon, silent witness to thousands of conversations. I think a lot of people will end up voting conservative rather than labour, yeah, from what im hearing. I normally vote labour. So where are you thinking you might go this time . Im undecided. Right. And askjohn, unhappy but unable to bring himself to vote conservative. What about the brexit party . Well, to me, i dont like farage. Then again, i dont like corbyn. I dont likejohnson. You are a bit stuck then, arent you . Are you going to stay at home then on election day . Ill probably still go to the ballot box and have a reading of the thing about it. Sounds as if you might reluctantly end up voting labour again. Probably, yes. The Brexit Party Candidate standing here could split the leave vote but, as allegiances shift, a changing of the political weather wouldnt be down to just brexit. Years of neglect will play their part, too. Auckland castle, with its priceless paintings, has been restored with money from a local multimillionaire. Jonathan ruffer is also financing museums, galleries, gardens, shaming past governments of all stripes. The purpose of what we are doing is to help a Community Find itself. County durham has been under the cosh for a long time, but what we knew was that this was about people, it wasnt about buildings, pictures, anything else, and if you care for people, they respond. Bishop auckland are currently mid table in the northern football league, but how to bring back the glory days, betterjobs, futures for young people, hope . Thats what next months election is all about. With me is the bbcs Political Editorfor with me is the bbcs Political Editor for the north east and cumbria, richard moss. We didnt talk to every labour voter in the constituency, and there will be some happy with labours stance nationally on brexit, but given what weve heard today, how much trouble are they in . Labour candidates in seats like this will save they have two problems, one is brexit and the other isjeremy corbyn, because they are finding it difficult to persuade voters to give him a chance. They sometimes like his policies but they have a real hostility to the labour leader. In addition, the conservatives have learnt some lessons since 20 is 15, and they are talking about more police on the streets, investment in schools and hospitals, but the challenge for the tories is to convince areas like this that they are the party to put austerity into reverse, and can they ove 1120 m e austerity into reverse, and can they overcome the fact that they dont have the kind of electoral machine and history in places like this that mitt has, and the brexit party are Still Standing in seats like this in the north east. They hope they will do as much damage to labour as the conservatives, but conservative candidates in seats like this would bite the hands off if Brexit Party Candidates said, we will leave labour and the conservatives to it. So they will not count on streets like this. Thank you, richard moss. Now its back to the studio. Many thanks, and talk to you again 0011 on many thanks, and talk to you again soon on the campaign trail. A draft report, based on an official review of the hs2 high speed rail project, says the line should go ahead despite the soaring cost. The review was commissioned by ministers in august after the estimated cost reached £88 billion, and its likely to rise again. But members of the review panel have said the line linking london with birmingham and the north of england should be built, with just a few minor changes, as our transport correspondent, tom burridge, reports from birmingham. Theyve been clearing this site in recent months on the edge of birmingham to make way for high speed 2s main rail depot. Today, its clear and almost ready for construction to begin. Supporters of the scheme say this area, washwood heath, will benefit, and local businessman mushtaq khan agrees. Washwood heath, obviously, its slightly rundown area, but this sort of thing coming in would generate some jobs, maybe, and put value on the area. I think its going to be good for the area. Hs2s future was thrown into doubt in the summer when boris announced a review. But a leaked version of that review only recommends minor alterations to the project. When the rail depot here is finished, it will create hundreds of jobs, but the benefits of the new railway have been overshadowed in recent months by its price tag, which has leapt up by around £30 billion. This leaked report suggests the price could rise further, but recommends that the scheme should still go ahead. Supporters of hs2 now want a more definitive green light from the main parties. What we need to see is all the parties committing in their manifestos to fund those new lines between north and south. We can work out the finer details later, but to be committing to spend money on so many other priorities and not back hs2 is a real mistake. But this letter, written by the deputy chair of the review, criticises its lack of balance. Lord Tony Berkeley also said the cost of hs2 hasnt been properly scrutinised. Theyve not managed it in the best interest of the public. Michael bing devised a method of costing Rail Infrastructure projects used by network rail. He argues it wont be value for money. I believe it will cost 106 billion. I believe it wont be delivered until at least 2035, possibly 20110, and the sheer costs outweigh the benefits its going to deliver over that time, given the risks that are still there in the scheme. The direction of travel for hs2 is tonight more certain, but whoever wins the election will have the final say. In hong kong, a Senior Police officer has warned that unrest has brought the city to the brink of total breakdown. In the latest clashes between police and democracy campaigners, the violence has spread to a university campus, where tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon were used. Some of the protestors built barricades and threw petrol bombs at the police. 0ur correspondent robin brant sent this report. Run, she is shouting in cantonese, and they are running, but not for fun. Hong kong students at their university racetrack were escaping the tear gas and rubber bullets as police raided their campus. Moving onto the grounds of the Chinese University is a marked escalation by the police. He said they needed to stop people throwing bricks and other Dangerous Items from a campus bridge onto passing traffic. By night, that bridge became the front line in a standoff. Police on one side, protesters on the other, a raging fire in between. 2a hours previously, this place had been completely normal. Across the university, protesters and students formed a human chain to supply the front line with water and food. 0thers sat in groups, preparing their supply of weapons. You are sitting here making kind of come up what is a better phrase, petrol bombs. Why we are doing this, because yesterday you know they used real bullets, shooting him right in the chest, and that can kill someone. So if they upgrade their weapons, we need to upgrade our weapons to protect ourselves too. This scene shows you how drastically the nature of this confrontation has changed. It started out five months ago with hundreds of thousands of people marching on the streets in peaceful demonstration. Now, at the entrance to a university, there is a roadblock on fire, a burned out car blocking the entrance to this bridge, and around me dozens of protesters in black sitting and waiting, not knowing whats coming next. The start of this week has been different here. The standoff at the university more dangerous. In its sixth month, this particular part of the protest felt less like a competition and more like a conflict. Robin brant, bbc news, hong kong. The former head of the armed forces, lord bramall, has died at the age of 95. Lord bramall served during the normandy landings in 19114, he oversaw the Falklands Campaign in 1982, and became chief he was falsely accused in 2014 of sexual abuse, and his friends say a very distinguished Public Servant was dealt a grave injustice by the episode. The england football manager, Gareth Southgate, has compared the altercation between players Raheem Sterling and joe gomez to a family disagreement. Raheem sterling has been dropped from the england team for thursdays euro 2020 qualifier against montenegro following the incident. 0ur sports correspondent, katie gornall, has the story. At St Georges Park this morning, england were putting on a brave face. It has been a testing 48 hours. Raheem sterling trained despite having been dropped for starting a bust up withjoe gomez in the team canteen. The liverpool defender appeared with a scratch near his eye. How exactly it was called, Gareth Southgate refused to say. We are like a family and all families have disagreements. The most important thing for any family is that you communicate through those disagreements and work through them. I dont expect to never have to deal with things that are either unexpected or difficult. Yesterdays clash came after the two players were involved in an angry confrontation towards the end of liverpools 3 1 victory over manchester city, the biggest game of the season so far, and tensions remained long after the final whistle. Sterling has apologised, saying. Club rivalries used to plague england, but the irony of what has happened here is that team unity has been such a key part of southgates success as england manager, and it is the desire to preserve the togetherness of the squad that has led him to drop arguably his most important player. I think for it to happen, for it to boil overfrom a game of the weekend before is one that ive never really come across before. Ive seen it boil over in training practice sessions,