Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240712

The governments promised all students who achieved the required a level grades will be offered a place at their First Choice University. A prominent critic of the russian government is in intensive care his supporters say hes been poisoned. A man is found guilty of lacing baby food with shards of metal in a plot to blackmail the Supermarket Chain tesco. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. Hashem abedi the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been sentenced to at least 55 years injail, for the murder of 22 people. Abedi refused to attend his two day sentencing hearing and face the families of those who died, who gave emotional statements about the impact of the attack in 2017. Number 10 have issued a statment from boris johnson, the Prime Minister, on the sentencing of hashem abedi. Mrjohnson says, the Manchester Arena attack was a horrifying and cowardly act of violence which targeted children and families. Those who were taken from us will never be forgotten, nor will the spirit of the people of manchester who came together to send a clear message to the entire world that terrorists will never prevail. My thoughts remain with the survivors and with the friends and families of victims, who have shown remarkable courage and dignity. He continues, i would also like to express my thanks to the police and all those who have worked tirelessly to deliver justice for the families. Todays sentencing is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tolerance, community and kindness values which are fundamental to our country, and which we saw in manchester in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford is at the old bailey. Mrjusticejeremy mrjustice jeremy baker said the Manchester Arena murders were atrocious crimes. He said hashem abedi and his brother who died in the attack were equally culpable for the attack were equally culpable for the deaths and injuries caused by the deaths and injuries caused by the bomb. He gave hashem abedi 23 life sentences and he said he shouldnt be considered for release for 55 years, thats a record minimum term. He said hashem abedi may never be released. Hashem abedi, guilty of murdering 22 people in the Manchester Arena bomb, was brought to court but again refused to leave the cells. The bereaved families saying today that it showed what a coward he is. As he passed sentence this afternoon, mrjustice jeremy baker said hashem abedi had played an integral part in plotting his brothers attack. Because abedi was under 21 at the time of the bomb, he couldnt be given a whole life order which wouldve meant he could never be released, but the manchester chief constable told me he was reassured by the length of the minimum term. The fact that we know that he will spend the vast majority of his life in prison and that others will have to make decisions about him being released on licence at some stage many decades from now, i think gives us a degree of comfort, but personally i would have liked to have seen a whole life tariff. The relatives of those abedi killed had told the judge how their lives had been turned upside down, and described the gaping holes left behind in their family. Figen murrays son, martyn hett, had a huge vivacious personality and now he isjust gone. Its like an abyss of grief. Theres no bottom to it, no end to it whatsoever. It is a forever grief. Just because i dont publicly cry, doesnt mean i am not completely distraught and destroyed actually. It was hashem abedis brother salman who detonated the bomb, killing himself in the process. Hashem abedi was in libya by then. But the jury decided the brothers had worked together, driving around manchester, ordering and storing chemicals and shrapnel for the bomb, so hashem abedi was just as guilty as his brother. Ahmed grew up with the brothers in manchester and told me he still cannot believe what they did. They took 22 lives. What is hashem going to do now . Hasem will sit in a cell and say, why is this happening . Why did i take this decision . It will be for the parole board to decide in many decades time whether hashem abedi should ever be released. It brings to a close the criminal justice chapter of this case, though there are still some men from manchester who are now in libya that the police want to talk to and it means the bereaved families will now be turning their minds to the next chapter of this, which is the public enquiry into the deaths. I am joined now by figen murray and by her husband stuart. Do you feel a sense of relief that you now know what is going to happen to hashem abedi and he cant be released for 55 years . feel a sense that the british Justice System was working at its best today. And 55 years is i think a record, isnt it . But for me personally the fact he wasnt there todayis personally the fact he wasnt there today is what i expected him to do, so today is what i expected him to do, so im not disappointed that he wasnt there. I expected it. Secondly, i feel that the wasnt there. I expected it. Secondly, ifeel that the number that he was given is totally, i can write him off now, he is no longer important in my life. What is important in my life. What is important is the families, the bereaved, the injured, they are my focus now more. And also you are very focused on trying to improve security at public events. You martins law, very much a focus of what youre trying to achieve. Absolutely. I am still in negotiation with the government, covid i9 got in the way but nevertheless it is going ahead at some point when knock down has eased a bit more. So hopefully it will become a reality. I am in negotiation with the government and thatis negotiation with the government and that is still very much my focus, so that is still very much my focus, so that atrocities like these can be avoided in the future hopefully. Stuart it has taken us more than three years to get to this point because hashem abedi being in libya. Where there are times where you just thought it might never happen or we re thought it might never happen or were you given enough reassurance that yes you would see a trial . think throughout this whole process we have just tried to carry on and live our lives as best we could, compartmentalise all these events and to me, its how everybody has got through it, the resilience they have shown. My wife, how she stood up have shown. My wife, how she stood up there, the mothers, it is easy to look back at what happen and be angry about the incredible way people have had their injuries and dealt with them, we shouldnt forget that. You are saying to me that actually listening to the testimony from the people who were at the arena and survived worse one of the ha rd est arena and survived worse one of the hardest things you fell yesterday amongst all that harrowing testimony. Absolutely. So many, you forget it is notjust the 22 bereaved families. There are so many hundreds of people, i mean we only had a section of them but so many people have been so severely injured, both physically but the emotional damage that has been caused is phenomenal. My heart went out to those stories that we heard yesterday of young people who are not only outgoing, they are now business in their bedrooms because they cant face going out. That is so hard. The public enquiry is next. Everybody has a different thing that they want from the public enquiry about what is it that you were hoping to find out and to achieve from the public enquiry phase . Hoping to find out and to achieve from the public enquiry phase7m hoping to find out and to achieve from the public enquiry phase . It is like a jigsaw, there are so many pieces still missing, so now this is over the court cases over, we can close that chapter. The enquiry will hopefully give us bits and pieces because we dont really exactly know what happened to martin, and we didnt dare actually wanting to know the details because its too much to ta ke the details because its too much to take on. We can only manage chunks, its really difficult to have so much information thrown at you, so the enquiry will hopefully lead it through bit by bit and will find out exactly what happened and hopefully at the end of it, there will be some recommendations that this sort of thing cant happen again. And i should finally asked, our viewers are starting to get to know martin through the stories you have told about him, but just through the stories you have told about him, butjust remind us again who he was, what kind of a huge personality he was before that terrible night. He was one of the funniest people i knew but also one of the most compassionate people. He would have been sat crying his eyes out listening to some of this. He would have broken his heart. He was such a loyal friend and an amazing son. A pain in the backside sometimes on the whole, but i miss him causing trouble in the nicest possible way. He was just phenomenal. I am sure all our viewers sent their sympathies. Thank you very much. And so the public enquiry should start in september, thatis enquiry should start in september, that is the plan. It will be very difficult because of the covid restrictions but it is intended to have a full and proper investigation of all the other events surrounding these deaths rather than simply the conviction of hashem abedi. Gcse pass rates for pupils in england have risen significantly. The exams were cancelled because of coronavirus, and todays grades have been awarded by schools. The second wave of btec results should also have been released this morning across the uk but it was announced last night that all btec results would be regraded because of concerns about unfairness. Also, the government has lifted the cap on the number of admissions for some degree courses in england to try to ensure that all students who achieved the required a level grades will be offered a place at their first choice of university. It affects subjects including medicine, dentistry and teacher training. Our education correspondent dan johnson has been at Bexleyheath Academy in south east london. If you remember the stress of exam day, then try adding in all these extra complications, the lockdown, the fact learning has been destructed, there were no exams, these were calculated grades and there was so much controversy. So much uncertainty about there have been happy faces here this morning, particularly for gcse students because eventually has gone smoothly but the odds really were stacked against these pupils and there have been so many last minute changes even just been so many last minute changes evenjust in the been so many last minute changes even just in the last 2a hours or so. is here this morning and the contrast with deep sadness last week couldnt be clearer. Finally this is relief. It is reward. It is a realisation that ha rd reward. It is a realisation that hard work has been recognised. After days, weeks, months of questions, now some solid grades and a firm future. Were stressing about what level i would be doing but i am going on to the highest level i can do at college now and i can move on quicker than i thought i was going to. I got a seven in maths but confusion has defined these results. And some are still left wondering. Btec grades are being withheld for a further review. We even have that chaos with the btec today but my result, and a, i am chaos with the btec today but my result, and a, iam happy chaos with the btec today but my result, and a, i am happy with that. Evenif result, and a, i am happy with that. Even if we do go up, that would be better but right now ive got all the grades i need to get, go to six form. Its been very hard, especially over the past week or so but now im relieved its all over. I was scared but im happy now, relieved. After the outrage over algorithms throwing up on fake rates there was a change of direction. And those in charge are still apologising for students have enjoyed. I will say this to them, congratulations on what you have achieved but also how sorry i am for the pain, the anxiety and the uncertainty that they will have suffered as a consequence of the grading issues that we encountered last week. And to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to put these matters right. There were warnings weeks ago that this was coming. Now there are further calls for someone to take responsibility. This is no way to treat young people. You psych yourself up to get your results, you have been expecting you would know today where you stood so you could make plans for the next step in your career or further study, you have been let down. Some students were facing down grades because of their schools previous performance. Over the last 12 months the school has changed a lot and what we would have seen in the previous system is the grades awarded today would have been downgraded dramatically. Sol awarded today would have been downgraded dramatically. So i am left feeling very relieved that students have walked away with the grades they absolutely deserve. Students have walked away with the grades they absolutely deservem could have been handled better, things could have done sooner but at the end of the day, things were sorted eventually. But there have been so many tweaks after so many chances to get this right. To have a computer predictor may be what you are going to get or what youre not going to get, the devastation for them whats really hard to watch and bear but when the government did a u turn, it was kind of like, deep breaths, relief, what will be now will be and yes, today is good. There are more we grades to come though the impact should be limited. Theres a lot to celebrate after all the upheaval, there are also so many questions about how these results we re questions about how these results were so badly handled. And other issues to resolve from this, how many more students, pupils will be heading to sixth form colleges, to further education, university, how will they be accommodated . University, how will they be accommodated . That will university, how will they be accommodated . That will has to be worked out now and there are still some injeopardy, how much of a difference will those new grades may, we know students wont suffer but it will take more time to resolve that issue with the btecs to ensure they are fair and then there is the big question about the futures of those who have overseen this mass. Lets speak to our chief political correpsondent vicki a tumultuous few weeks. Not over yet. No. If you have a dramatic u turn of course there are going to be many problems. The reason the government wanted to bring in this algorithm was they were worried about grade inflation and of course thatis about grade inflation and of course that is now exactly where we have ended up and it does bring its own problems, one of them lots more pupils saying, i have the grades to get into my First Choice University, so there has been announcements on that they are. They are now saying, the government, that they will guarantee a place for all of those at their First Choice University if they now have the grades, but and it is quite a big but, they might have to defer and they might have to do a different course, so that might be helpful for some people different course, so that might be helpfulfor some people but yes, this is the point here, you deal with one problem, you come up with another and there was no perfect solution to this. Once those exams we re solution to this. Once those exams were cancelled and you dont have a single pupil sitting an exam, it will be guesswork, it will come down to the guess work of teachers plus a computer and that was never going to be an easy way to resolve this but i think mistakes almost certainly were made. Many saying the government and ministers should have seen earlier the people it would affect, the fact there were going to be some real injustices there and just relying on an appeals process which hadnt been sorted out in advance, that was never going to work. Lets talk to. Bill meredith is the principal of Bishop Burton college in beverley. Good afternoon. What is the situation facing you and some of your or maybe all of your students today . I do feel sorry for the btec stu d e nts today . I do feel sorry for the btec students mired in confusion really and still dont know when they will get theirfinal grades. And still dont know when they will get their final grades. The consolation for them is grades will if anything go up and we are reassuring them that they wont go down. I think it is the right decision to move away from the algorithm and to base the grades on the teacher s assessment, our teachers know our students very well andi teachers know our students very well and i can trust the assessment that our staff have actually come up with. Very difficult, you were saying. I didnt mean to cut you off. What are you able to say to youngsters who are still waiting for their results, they want to know whether they will come and study with you in september. How much we assurance are you able to give . We can reassure them there will be a place available in the college. We will determine the level as soon as we know the final grades but we can put the students on a programme and we can always change them to a higher level or indeed a lower level if we feel that suits them best when we get to know their students a little bit more. We also have a significant amount of Higher Education here at the college, that is critical, to make sure those on level btec courses know their grades. If we have already offered them a place, they will get that place and if they have the final grades, we will still have places available. There is a degree of reassurance there. Lets hope some of your potential students have been watching and hearing that. How much notice did you have of this change in tack . This has to present practical problems for you and your team. Absolutely. We were all ready to hand out the grades btec pin yesterday. 430 yesterday we got the notice from btec, we immediately put a notice out on our website and went by social media to contact as many stu d e nts by social media to contact as many students as possible, staff manning the phones yesterday and this morning. Enrolment is going ahead because we know a lot about the stu d e nts because we know a lot about the students coming to us already, we know what programmes they are interested in, we will have the level of course, the Programme Area i should say for them, it willjust be determined at a later date when we have a definitive on those grades. Good luck to you for the coming weeks. Thanks very much for your time right now. Bill meredith, the principal of Bishop Merton college. Geoff barton is the general secretary for the association of School College leaders. Good afternoon to you. Good afternoon. Goodness, where does this leave, where do the last 24 hour sleeve the people you represent and speakfor . Sleeve the people you represent and speak for . I think none of us quite knew what results day was going to look like an what happened was a result stay in more normal time. There is a sense of the teaching profession having stepped up and leaders doing everything we can and all of those Smiling Faces, there will be disappointment inevitably, but all of those Smiling Faces will bring some sense of normality to young people who will be craving that and looking forward to the next step. These qualifications do not define them as a human being but open doors to the next phase of learning and many will be looking to the future instead of the present. The situation young people are in today, do you feel the decision ultimately has made the best of a bad situation . Its not ideal, it would have been best if everyone could have taken their exams but in terms of gcses are things as right as they can be . I think so. We had a weekend of embarrassing announcements and then disappearing announcements and then disappearing announcements about whether mock exams would be taken into account in the appeals process and frankly, as the appeals process and frankly, as the vicki young were saying, ultimately this wasnt about an appeals process, it was about that all the algorithm which was wrong. What has prevailed is the person who knows you, your teacher and those teachers didnt stick their finger in the airand teachers didnt stick their finger in the air and make a decision about what weight to give you, they worked collaboratively, that was signed off, that means the grade you got was based on evidence and that should reassure young people whatever their next step that the Education System has acted in the very interest of children and young people. This particular period is not yet over, there are still young people waiting for results, there are still young people trying to work out which university they can go to, but im wondering whether people in your sort of roles are starting to think ahead to the next academic year, to plan god forbid if there is a second spike, to think about young Peoples Education in the coming year if there are further problems with exams. Absolutely because we had the apologies from the regulator, the secretary of state and the schools minister. Frankly apologies are not good enough. We have to be accountable. The people i represent, people running further education colleges, what they know is if something goes wrong if in a particular department, the catering department, a health or safety issue, you cant point your finger and say, it is therefore the. Leadership has to be about finding out what happened and taking responsibility and we have written to the secretary of state saying we think there ought to be an urgent review, partly because we owe it to young people, parents, to find out what went wrong, but secondly because we have another suite of exams in october, another in november and then next summers exams, we cannot allow ourselves to be in exams, we cannot allow ourselves to beina exams, we cannot allow ourselves to be in a similar position at a local or darei be in a similar position at a local or dare i say National Knock downs. Jeff barton, thanks very much for now. We will talk more about exams over the course of the afternoon but other news. A prominent critic of the russian government, Alexei Navalny, is in hospital with suspected poisoning. He collapsed during a flight from siberia to moscow and is now unconscious and on a ventilator. Alexei navalny has been imprisoned several times for organising anti kremlin protests although a spokesman for the kremlin has wished him a speedy recovery. Our moscow correspondent, sarah rainsford, reports. At a siberian hospital, Alexei Navalny is unconscious and in intensive care. Russias most prominent opposition activist was rushed in here after suddenly falling sick on a flight. Tweeting from by his side, his aide described how he had begun sweating, was disorientated and then collapsed soon after take off. The plane made an emergency landing, and kira yarmysh says doctors initially told her mr navalny had been poisoned. Translation i am certain that this is a deliberate poisoning. I dont know how all these decisions are made, but it is obvious that the authorities have their own ideas regarding when the situation is absolutely dangerous. And there is a need to neutralise alexei, if thats what it was. Shes also posted this picture, police and investigators now at the hospital. A senior doctor said his team was working to save mr navalnys life. He said his condition, though, whilst serious, was currently stable. Translation of course, poisoning is being considered as one of the possible causes. But apart from that, there are many other possible conditions which could come on suddenly and show the same symptoms. Were taking them all into account, confirming or excluding as we go. Im afraid i cant go into any more details. Alexei navalny has long been a major irritant to some powerful people here. His teams Anti Corruption investigations have targeted figures close to the kremlin. Their offices have been raided multiple times, all their equipment seized. This year, mr navalny had to close his Anti Corruption fund, collapsing under the weight of so many fines. With a huge online following, he is also capable of bringing big crowds of protesters under russias streets. For that, hes frequently been arrested. The activist has been attacked before. This was 2017, when he was sprayed on the streets. A second time, his eye was badly burned. And last summer, he believes he was poisoned. He was in Police Custody then for calling people to protest over moscow city elections. Doctors called it a severe allergic reaction, but mr navalny said hes not allergic to anything. His team havent revealed yet what he was working on in siberia. These, though, are the last pictures he posted, with supporters in tomsk. The next morning, he boarded a plane for moscow. Sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. We will have the weather prospects for you. Let mejust we will have the weather prospects for you. Let me just flag something coming up on our programming on monday. This monday on bbc one and the bbc news channel well be hearing from the final two candidates in the race to become the leader of the liberal democrats. Layla moran and ed davey will bejoining Victoria Derbyshire at 9. 30am. Send in your questions for the would be leaders by texting 611211, emailing victoria bbc. Co. Uk or you can tweet vic derbyshire. Now its time for a look at the weather with louise lear. Its an afternoon of contrast out there, much of Eastern England in comparison to yesterday, a drier story with more sunshine coming through. Blustery winds but pleasa ntly through. Blustery winds but pleasantly warm. Further west some sharp thundery downpours into Northern Ireland accompanied by Gale Force Gusts of winds. In fact temperatures will pick between 18 and 22 degrees. Highest values of 2426. And 22 degrees. Highest values of 24 26. Tonight widespread Gale Force Winds are expected to arrive, circulating around this area of low pressure so friday is going to be a very unseasonably windy day with spells of showery rain drifting steadily northwards been replaced by sunny spells and scattered showers. Those winds could cause some disruption widely in excess of 50 mph, 60, possibly closerto disruption widely in excess of 50 mph, 60, possibly closer to 65 mph with a high of 15 25. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines. Hashem abedi is sentenced to at least 55 years for the murder of 22 people in the Manchester Arena bombing. The victims families have been reacting outside the old bailey. Although our lives have been deeply affected by what happened, we can now at least put the trial behind us and mentally prepare ourselves for the Public Inquiry that is starting soon. A big increase in the gcse pass rate in england. Students grades have been awarded by teachers, after coronavirus the government promises that all students who achieved the required a level grades will be offered a place at their First Choice University. A prominent critic of the russian government is in intensive care. His supporters say hes been poisoned. A man is found guilty of lacing baby food with shards of metal. In a plot to blackmail the Supermarket Chain tesco. Sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. Good afternoon. The fixtures are out for the new premier league season. Liverpool will begin the defence of their title against newly promoted leeds united. The Opening Weekend is on september 12th. Chelsea and arsenal follow for liverpool in a tough start to the season for Jurgen Klopps side. The other promoted sides are both at home on the opening day. Fulham take on arsenal and west brom play leicester. You can see a fill list of fixtures on the bbc sport website. Ahead of their return to the premier league and that opening game against liverpool, leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear says coach Marcelo Bielsa is very close to signing a new contract. His current deal expired at the end of the championship winning season, but kinnear is confident bielsa will sign a new deal shortly. Wigan athletic owner au yeung wai kay has waived the £36 million owed to him by the club. That removes the threat of a further points penalty next season as administrators try to find a new buyer. A i2 point penalty applied at the end of the championship season for going into administration saw the club relegated to league one with a new owner being sought. Scotlands Catriona Matthew shares the lead at the womens open at royal troon, the biggest Golf Tournament to be staged in britain this year. The solheim cup winning captain didnt start too well, but shots like these and a run of three successive birdies have helped her to one under par. Shes one ofjust two players in the field under par. World number four nelly korda, one of the pre tournament favourites made this eagle on the third to keep her in contention, two shots behind. Not a day of low scoring in scotland with blustery conditions, with former champion georgia hall here finishing her round at two over. I dont think it could be much worse than that, when wise it was so strong. It felt like a0 miles an hour, im not sure how strong it was. Luckily the greens were fairly slow so the balls were not moving or anything but i quite enjoyed it out there. Britains adam yates says hes targeting stage wins at this years Tour De France after being selected in the Michelton Scott team for the race which gets under way at the end of the month. Yates says hes not aiming for overall victory in the general classification, while his brother simon wont feature, hes instead concentrating on the giro ditalia in october. England have named an unchanged squad for the final test against pakistan which gets under way in southampton tomorrow, and after all the frustrations because of limited play due to bad light and rain in the previous match at the ageas bowl the ecb have announced today that revised hours of play will be possible throughout the third test. Play can now begin at 10 30 rather than the traditional 11am start, if time is lost due to bad light or rain earlier in the match. 3 and half days were lost during the second test. We waited several hours for play the other day, and then there was one hours play and they broke for a a0 minute lunch session. I mean, really . I dont think the spectators are going to put up with it any more. Theyve got so many other options, but i think peoples standards of tolerance for this sort of nonsense are diminished. I just think the world has changed. Thats all the sport for now. You can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. Just to bring you some new stats that have come through a about testing for coronavirus. We are hearing new figures from nhs england which show more tests for coronavirus are coming back positive. These are figures for the week up to 12th august and the figures were up 27 in the previous week. There was a slight drop in the overall number of people being tested but if you look at as a proportion, the crucialfact perhaps, the proportion of tests coming back positive increased from 1. 296 coming back positive increased from 1. 2 toi. 5 . Coming back positive increased from 1. 2 to 1. 5 . Thats considered quite a big 1. 2 to 1. 5 . Thats considered quitea bigjump 1. 2 to 1. 5 . Thats considered quite a big jump in terms of coronavirus. The proportion of tests coming back positive increase from 1. 2 toi. 5 . Coming back positive increase from 1. 2 to 1. 5 . Those figures through from nhs england, to do with the test and trace scheme so it might be that our health correspondence are looking at those figures as we speak but those are the latest figures from nhs england. We will have more from nhs england. We will have more from our health correspondent. Those figures go up to the week of the 12th of august so that has been an increase. It will be interesting to see what political reaction there might be to that. Those are the new figures there. The government has today promised that all students who achieved btec results were meant to be out today but they will not be till next week because there will be regrading and on top of that you will remember the situation that dominated the news last week with a level results. So many problems thrown up for so many a level students as you well know. The government has today promised that all students who achieved the required a level grades will be offered a place at their First Choice University. The cap on the number of admissions for courses including medicine and teacher training has been lifted. It comes on the day that the gcse pass rate rose sharply, with nearly 79 of pupils in england given at least a a, the equivalent of a c. Lets speak to the universities minister michelle donelan. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. For all those students watching right now who were worried or feel right now who were worried or feel right now that they are not getting into their First Choice University, what are you actually promising then this afternoon . First of all i want to reassure them that the priority since last thursday has been getting them that certainty that they deserve so they can go into the course they really want to do. We said by the end of the week all universities will have the information around their Centre Teacher assessed grades and we have worked hard with the centre so various University Representatives ina task various University Representatives in a task force i set up and have chaired everyday to deliver this pledge and promise by universities that they will honour results already made, those offers already made and they will accept people onto the first choice. If thats still what the students want. Where physical capacity is a problem we are working with the universities to try and increase the number of places available and that is part and parcel of why we removed the cap. But they may have to in some circumstances offer deferred places for those students. So you are saying and you have reached to be clear on this you have reached an agreement with universities up and down the country that they well honour a Young Persons offer but it might transpire that the young person cannot actually start there this september. They have to wait a whole year . That is just how it is, is it . Its a practical issue that cannot be overcome . Over 6796 of stu d e nts cannot be overcome . Over 6796 of students from the last week in fact got theirfirst choice students from the last week in fact got their first choice of university. Universities are working as hard as they can be really flexible and accommodate those stu d e nts flexible and accommodate those students that are now eligible to go to university. We are working with them on the task force everyday to try and build that capacity and see the challenges around expanding the number of places. We removed the student number control and capture medical places in veterinary medicine. We have offered additional money the form of tea grant for high cost subject areas. Removing all the barriers facilitating students this year. There will unfortunately be some students in the minority who have to defer for next year. But we are doing everything we cancelled those students have the best possible chance to get the University Choice and try and get it this year as well. Absolutely, but there will be some who will be reg retta bly told there will be some who will be regrettably told going to have to wait until 2021. Thats just inevitable . We have already seen some universities come forward and invite people to see if they would actually like to do that and offering incentives to do that. Durham university this week have done that. But its inevitable because of the physical capacity of buildings what i am seeing today is that we are working to try and expand that capacity and doing everything we can to remove barriers to those students getting those places and this is a really positive story for them because they needed that certainty and clarity and information and i have written an open letter to all students really laying out the process for what they need to do over the next few days and that has been sent out by ucas soi and that has been sent out by ucas so i urged them to check their m essa g es so i urged them to check their messages and read that which explains where we are on this. But its not been a positive story for those students for the last week. Its been extraordinarily stressful and distressing. Absolutely, and not for one minute am i denying that. My heart goes out for two them. Results year is always stressful but this is unimaginable. The uncertainty and changing in their results, thinking they may have to appeal and thats why my private priority as universities minister has been to try and work with the sector to ensure those places are there and they can get there that they have worked hard for two years and their entire lives trying to get to. But if the system had not been changed multiple times this might not happen that they might have known last thursday that they could go to their First Choice University. Someone might discover great i can go end, its all change, i can go back to the university that was my first choice and discover there is no accommodation left. There are practical issues around us. There are practical issues around us. There a re lots of practical issues around us. There are lots of practical issues which is why i set up a Task Force Meeting daily to examine all of these check challenges and issues so we can try and unpack them and remove them. To facilitate the students getting to university and not for one minute is anyone saying that it hasnt been a very difficult and emotionally awful period of time in the lives of these stu d e nts period of time in the lives of these students but as the minister responsible for universities my priority is giving them certainty and trying to get them into those places and we can talk about what has been weak and really focus on moving forward and enabling to not have their aspirations curtailed in anyway. Is this a generation of young people who deserve an apology from the government do usual . The secretary of state has already acknowledged what has happened and so has the minister for schools and i will hear today as well and i said multiple times that it has been an absolutely awful time for students which is why my priority and the priority of the task force and all universities i spoke to and the leaders in that task force or students. And making sure that stu d e nts students. And making sure that students are at the heart of every decision and every challenge we try to ove rco m e decision and every challenge we try to overcome in the next few days and weeks. Is future planning being done eft god forbid we have another spike of coronavirus in this country and exams are exams are thrown into turmoil next year. Art lessons being learned from the last few weeks and i next generation of young people taking exams will not be affected in the way these 18 year olds have been . I think an important thing to say is that nobody wanted to cancel exams. That was a ramification of coronavirus and the fact we have to prioritise Public Safety and well being and a fair system. Of course lessons are being learnt across government throughout this unprecedented pandemic but my message to students is that i am working tirelessly every day with universities who are prioritising them and being as flexible as possible to ensure that they can be admitted this year where possible and are also working on capacity for next year as well. Thats at the very heart of my work as universities minister. We must leave it there, thank you. Whats the latest from Northern Ireland and wales . In a moment well hear from our correspondent chris page in carrickfergus, in county antrim, but first tomos morgan in cardiff. Some of the students i have spoken to here at Mary Immaculate School in cardiff this morning saying up until monday they were very stressed following what happened to the a level students across the country last week, but there were some assurances on monday when they found out they would receive teacher assessed grades. A2 of pupils were due to be downgraded on a level so gcse pupils were fearing the worst. However today we found out 75 of pupils across wales have received between a star and a c, and 25 received that highest grade between a and a. A huge increase on last year. When it comes to btec, the wjc has its equivalent, the entry pathway. The majority of students would have been doing that, however there is a proportion in wales that would have done the pearson btec. We dont know how many, but there will have been some that would have been affected. The wjc, the welsh exam board say that todays year without exams, they have warned there could be a grade inflation, that could potentially prove to be a problem for future years. However, the welsh Education Minister has apologised for what has happened and has promised an independent review following a year when no final exams have taken place. Tomos, thank you. Lets get the picture as well, in Northern Ireland. Chris page, what have you been hearing there . It has certainly been an exam results season like no other, but in common with previous years in places like Carrickfergus Academy here, there has been plenty of nervousness but also excitement and satisfaction. Across Northern Ireland about 30,000 pupils have been getting gcse results today and results on the whole are up. Last yearjust over 82 of entries were awarded something between a and a c, this year 89 . So plenty more positivity compared with last week when many pupils, parents and teachers were feeling so disappinted about a level results. There was confusion about btec results, announced last night, many people here are affected at this school, about one third of fifth year students were expecting btec results today. Teachers are stressing they will work with students who have been affected, that they think they can make decisions about their future based on the assessments that have been carried out by teachers, and the body representing the six regional colleges in Northern Ireland have said they will be keeping places for the students who have already applied. A level and as level results will be issued after being regraded tomorrow, then on monday it is being seen as the major day for school reopening. Students in this part of the uk, both primary and secondary level, have been out of school for longer than anywhere else because its a relatively long Summer Holiday here with schools being closed for all ofjuly and most of august. It is a long time since many have had face to face teaching in classrooms. That will be a major test for the devolved government here. Ministers, parents, pupils and teachers will be hoping that goes as smoothly as possible. Were going to turn our attention to events in the us and before we talk about the democratic invention, were just hearing some news coming in from the Usjustice Department in the last few minutes. We are hearing that steve bannon who you may remember, former advance advisor to donald trump, steve bannon and three other people have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in relation to a Crowdfunding Campaign to raise money to build a border along the Us Mexico Border. Build a wall, i am so sorry. I think these pictures, indeed you can see the phrase we built the wall was a Crowdfunding Campaign. Steve bannon you will recognise pictured along that border talking to our north america editor whenjohn that border talking to our north america editor when john interviewed steve bannon at the proposed wall. The four men are charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors. That campaign, we build the wall, raised more than 25 million. Four men arrested this morning, steve bannon being one. Donors to the scheme were told that all the money would be spent on construction but the allegation is that the defendants benefited in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars, took it for their own ends, were being told, thats the allegation we arejust hearing. Four men being told, thats the allegation we are just hearing. Four men arrested this morning, steve bannon is one of all to do with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors. The latest detailsjust through of thousands of donors. The latest details just through from the us justice department. If we get more from that we will bring it straight to you. As i mentioned, it has been the Democratic Convention held virtually. Barack obama has launched a scathing attack on donald trump, accusing him of not growing into the job of president because he cant. Mr obama was speaking at the Democratic National convention, where Kamala Harris accepted the Vice President ial nomination, the first black woman to do so from a mainstream party. Donald trump responded to Barack Obamas comments by saying hes only in office because his predecessor and joe biden did such a bad job. Our north america correspondent, gary odonoghue, sent this report. Never in the modern era has a former president mounted such an excoriating attack on his successor. Not even close. Our country, ourworld, needs you. Speaking on the third night of the democratic virtual convention, barack obama claimed donald trump posed a threat to american democracy. For close to four years now, he has shown no interest in putting in the work. No interest in finding common ground. No interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends. No interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. As barack obama was in mid flow, donald trump delivered his real time rebuttal. He spied on my campaign, the president claimed, in capital letters on twitter, and got caught in another tweet, he suggested mr obama had been slow to endorse mr biden. At the white house, mr trump hit back at his predecessors record in office. Now, president obama did not do a good job and the reason im here is because of president obama and joe biden, because if they did a good job, i wouldnt be here. Then came a milestone moment, with Kamala Harris becoming the first woman of colour to accept a Vice President ial nomination. In this summer of racial reckoning, she spoke of continued injustices in health care and the criminalJustice System. There is no vaccine for racism. We have got to do the work. But the 9th will be remembered for the clash between these two but the night will be remembered for the clash between these two president s, and the breach within this bitterly divided country that it exposes. Gary odonoghue, bbc news. The us has told the British Government that it wont seek the Death Penalty for two members of the Islamic State group if theyre convicted of killing western hostages in iraq and syria, as long as the uk supplies crucial evidence. The assurance means that the men could face trial in the us. Our security correspondent Frank Gardner has been giving me his analysis. These two men, who spent much of their lives in west london, went out to syria and joined so called Islamic State, isis, and they are accused of being part of a four man gang was involved in the horrific execution and beheading and torture of western hostages. Aid workers and journalists, mostly. Now, they are currently in custody in iraq, in us military custody, and they are really at the centre of the legal wrangle, because the mother of one of the two men, she launched a successful challenge which went all the way to the Supreme Court to stop them going to the us, where they could possibly have faced the Death Penalty. And the Supreme Court took her side on this. And part of the conditions for this is that the home office, or the uk government rather, has got to hand over evidence that would be crucial to their trial. And that is currently being considered by the Supreme Court at the moment. If it doesnt by october the 15th, america will hand them over to iraqi justice, where they will probably face very swift justice. Scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon said scotland has recorded the highest number of daily coronavirus cases in almost three months. She said 19,53a people have tested positive for the virus, up by 77 on the day before. But despite concerns about the increasing numbers, the first minister said she intends to go ahead with plans to further ease restrictions later this month. On balance, taking account of the different harms that covid and the restrictions imposed to tackle it are inflicting on the country, we have decided that the reopenings pencilled in for august 2ath can proceed. I must stress, though, that such reopenings should only happen when the appropriate guidance covering that activity or setting has been implemented. We will also monitor the impact carefully and, as with everything else, we will not hesitate to reimpose restrictions, should that prove necessary. Were going to talk about the test and trace figures and will be live in washington for more on the arrest of steve bannon. To come. Now its time for a look at the weather with louise lear. Hello there. The early hours of this morning, storm ellen crossed the republic of ireland, at its peak, she bought gusts of wind in excess of 80 mph. Low pressure is going to control the weather story over the next few days and that means we keep this unseasonably windy weather with a case of sunny spells and scattered showers. Low pressure is drifting its way up into the north west, circulating around that low. We have a shower cloud moving in, that means there is a risk this afternoon out in the west of some sharp thundery downpours into Northern Ireland and the western fringes of scotland, wales and england. Gusts of wind in excess of 50 miles an hour. Continuing maybe more on exposed coast, but come further inland with some sunshine, in comparison to yesterday, it will be a better afternoon. Temperatures peaking low to mid 20s. As we go through the night, that low pressure is going to continue to drift its way steadily east with a combination of high spring tides, gusts of wind in excess of 50 or 60 miles an hour, there could be the possibility of some localised coastal flooding, particularly down into the south west. It will be a mild start to our friday morning, mid teens quite widely, and as we go into tomorrow, the winds will strengthen for many of us. In fact, we see that low pressure crossing, it will bring bands of showery rain, drifting its way steadily northwards and on friday, it is likely to be the day we see widely the windiest weather. We will see gusts of wind in excess of 30 a0 miles an hour in scotland and Northern Ireland, but stronger winds for england and wales. Widely a0 to 50, maybe as much as 60 miles an hour plus on those exposed coasts. Sunny spells and scattered showers, not everybody will see the showers and if you catch some sunshine, it will still potentially feel relatively pleasant out there. The temperatures again into the mid 20s. The low pressure is going to drift off into scandinavia and allow those isobars to open up just a touch on saturday, so perhaps not quite as windy, still a noticeable gusty wind out there and there will be some showers and longer spells of rain, particularly the further north and west you are, so it is going to be a windy afternoon, but if you dodge the showers, you see a little bit more shelter, the temperatures are still likely to peak into the low 20s and we are losing that humidity, so actually, for many of us, it will feel a little more pleasant. Take care. This is bbc news, imjane hill. The headlines hashem abedi is sentenced to at least 55 years for the murder of 22 people in the Manchester Arena bombing the victims families have been reacting outside the old bailey. The number that he was given is totally, i can write him off now, he is no longer important in my life. What is important is the families, the bereaved, the injured, they are my focus now more. A big increase in the gcse pass rate in england students grades have been awarded by teachers, after coronavirus forced the cancellation of exams. Im very proud of myself. Ifeel like the grades i got i did deserve because i did work hard. I had one a , five as and five bs. The government promises that all students who achieved the required a level grades will be offered a place at their First Choice University. Former trump adviser steve bannon is charged with fraud over the Fundraising Campaign to build a Us Mexico Border wall. A prominent critic of the russian government is in intensive care his supporters say hes been poisoned. A man is found guilty of lacing baby food with shards of metal in a plot to blackmail the Supermarket Chain tesco. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. Hashem abedi the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been sentenced to at least 55 years injail, for the murder of 22 people. Abedi refused to attend his two day sentencing hearing and face the families of those who died, who gave emotional statements about the impact of the attack in 2017. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford was in court for the sentencing. Hashem abedi, guilty of murdering 22 people in the Manchester Arena bomb, was brought to court but again refused to leave the cells. The bereaved families saying today that it showed what a coward he is. As he passed sentence this afternoon, mrjustice jeremy baker said hashem abedi had played an integral part in plotting his brothers attack. Because abedi was under 21 at the time of the bomb, he couldnt be given a whole life order which wouldve meant he could never be released, but the manchester chief constable told me he was reassured by the length of the minimum term. The fact that we know that he will spend the vast majority of his life in prison and that others will have to make decisions about him being released on licence at some stage many decades from now, i think gives us a degree of comfort, but personally i would have liked to have seen a whole life tariff. The relatives of those abedi killed had told the judge how their lives had been turned upside down, and described the gaping holes left behind in their family. Figen murrays son, martyn hett, had a huge vivacious personality and now he isjust gone. Its like an abyss of grief. Theres no bottom to it, no end to it whatsoever. It is a forever grief. Just because i dont publicly cry, doesnt mean i am not completely distraught and destroyed actually. It was hashem abedis brother salman who detonated the bomb, killing himself in the process. Hashem abedi was in libya by then. But the jury decided the brothers had worked together, driving around manchester, ordering and storing chemicals and shrapnel for the bomb, so hashem abedi was just as guilty as his brother. Ahmed grew up with the brothers in manchester and told me he still cannot believe what they did. They took 22 lives. What is hashem going to do now . Hasem will sit in a cell and say, why is this happening . Why did i take this decision . It will be for the parole board to decide in many decades time whether hashem abedi should ever be released. No. 10 has issued a statement from the Prime Minister about the sentencing of hashem abedi. Borisjohnson says the Manchester Arena attack was a horrifying and cowardly act of violence which targeted children and families. Those who were taken from us will never be forgotten, nor will the spirit of the people of manchester who came together to send a clear message to the entire world that terrorists will never prevail. My thoughts remain with the survivors, and with the friends and families of victims, who have shown remarkable courage and dignity. He continues i would also like to express my thanks to the police and all those who have worked tirelessly to deliver justice for the families. Todays sentencing is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tolerance, community and kindness from outside the old Bailey Daniel explains that this ruling brings to a close the criminal justice chapter of this case. The bereaved families will now be turning their minds to the next chapter of this, which is the public enquiry into the deaths, and im joined now by figen murray, who you saw in my report, and her husband, stuart. Do you feel a sense of relief that you now know what is going to happen to hashem abedi and he cant be released for 55 years . I feel a sense that the british Justice System was working at its best today. And 55 years is i think a record, isnt it . But for me personally the fact he wasnt there today is what i expected him to do, so im not disappointed that he wasnt there, i expected it. Secondly, ifeel that the number that he was given is totally, i can write him off now, he is no longer important in my life. What is important is the families, the bereaved, the injured, they are my focus now more. And also you are very focused on trying to improve security at public events. Your martyns law, very much a focus of what youre trying to achieve. Absolutely. I am still in negotiation with the government. Covid 19 got in the way, but nevertheless it is going ahead at some point when lockdown has eased a bit more. So hopefully it will become a reality. I am in negotiation with the government and that is still very much my focus, so that atrocities like these can be avoided in the future hopefully. Stuart, it has taken us more than three years to get to this point because hashem abedi being in libya. Where there times where you just thought it might never happen or were you given enough reassurance that yes, you would see a trial . I think throughout this whole process we have just tried to carry on and live our lives as best we could, compartmentalise all these events and to me, its how everybody has got through it, the resilience they have shown. My wife, how she stood up there, the mothers, it is easy to look back at what happen and be angry, but the incredible way people have had their injuries and dealt with them, we shouldnt forget that. You were saying to me that actually listening to the testimony from the people who were at the arena and survived was one of the hardest things you found yesterday, amongst all that harrowing testimony. Absolutely. So many, you forget it is notjust the 22 bereaved families. There are so many hundreds of people, i mean we only heard a section of them, but so many people have been so severely injured, both physically but the emotional damage that has been caused is phenomenal. My heart went out to those stories that we heard yesterday of young people who are normally outgoing, they are now prisoners in their bedrooms because they cant face going out. That is so hard. The public enquiry is next. Everybody has a different thing that they want from the public enquiry but what is it that you are hoping to find out and to achieve from the public enquiry phase . It is like a jigsaw, there are so many pieces still missing, so now this is over, the court case is over, we can close that chapter. The enquiry will hopefully give us bits and pieces because we dont really exactly know what happened to martyn, and we didnt dare actually wanting to know the details because its too much to take on. We can only manage chunk size bites really, its really difficult to have so much information thrown at you, so the enquiry will hopefully lead it through bit by bit and well find out exactly what happened and hopefully at the end of it, there will be some recommendations that this sort of thing cant happen again. And i should finally ask, our viewers are starting to get to know martyn through the stories you have told about him, butjust remind us again who he was, what kind of a huge personality he was before that terrible night. He was one of the funniest people i knew but also one of the most compassionate people. He would have been sat crying his eyes out listening to some of this. He would have broken his heart. He was such a loyal friend and an amazing son. A pain in the backside sometimes on the whole, but i miss him causing trouble in the nicest possible way. He wasjust phenomenal. I am sure all our viewers send their sympathies. Thank you very much. And so the public enquiry should start in september, that is the plan. It will be very difficult because of the covid restrictions but it is intended to have a full and proper investigation of all the other events surrounding these deaths rather than simply the conviction of hashem abedi. Gcse pass rates for pupils in england have risen significantly. The exams were cancelled because of coronavirus, and todays grades have been awarded by schools. The second wave of btec results should also have been released this morning across the uk but it was announced last night that all btec results would be regraded because of concerns about unfairness. Also, the government has lifted the cap on the number of admissions for some degree courses in england to try to ensure that all students who achieved the required a level grades will be offered a place at their first choice of university. It affects subjects including medicine, dentistry and teacher training. Our education correspondent dan johnson reports. Finally this is relief. Wow it is reward. It is realisation that hard work has been recognised. After days, weeks, months of question marks, now some solid grades and a firm future. Was stressing about what level i would be doing but i am going on to the highest level i can do at college now and i can move on quicker than i thought i was going to. I got a seven in maths no, ididnt. But confusion has defined these results. And some are still left wondering. Btec grades are being withheld for a further review. Weve even had all that chaos with the btec today but my result, an a, i am happy with that. Even if we do go up, that would be better, but right now ive got all the grades i need to get, go to six form. Its been very hard, especially over the past week or so but now im just relieved its all over. I was scared but im happy now, relieved. After the outrage over algorithms throwing up unfair grades there was a change of direction. And those in charge are still apologising for students have edured. I will say this to them, congratulations on what you have achieved but also how sorry i am for the pain, the anxiety and the uncertainty that they will have suffered as a consequence of the grading issues that we encountered last week. And to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to put these matters right. There were warnings weeks ago that this was coming. Now there are further calls for someone to take responsibility. This is no way to treat young people. You psych yourself up to get your results, you have been expecting you would know today where you stood so you could make plans for the next step in your career or further study, you have been utterly let down. Some students were facing down grades because of their schools previous performance. Over the last 12 months the school has changed an awful lot and what we would have seen in the previous system is the grades awarded today would have been downgraded quite dramatically. So i am left feeling very relieved that the students have walked away with the grades they absolutely deserve. It could have been handled better, things could have been done a lot sooner but at the end of the day, things were sorted eventually. But there have been so many tweaks after so many chances to get this right. To have a computer predict maybe what youre going to get or what youre not going to get, the devastation for them whats really hard to watch and bear, but when the government did a u turn, it was kind of like, deep breaths, relief, what will be now will be and yes, today is good. There are more regrades to come though the impact should be limited. Theres a lot to celebrate after all the upheaval, there are also so many questions about how these results were so badly handled. Lets turn our attention to the news that broke in the last half hour or so. President trumps former Campaign Manager steve bannon has been arrested and charged with fraud, in connection with a Fundraising Campaign to build a wall along the Us Mexico Border. Steve bannon is a high profile ally of donald trump he lead his campaign to become president , and then became his chief strategist at the white house. Lets get more on this from our correspondent Barbara Plett usher in washington. Explain more about what has happened. Yes, it is for men who Work Together on a Crowdfunding Campaign called rebuild the wall. This was the wall that President Trump has been so focused on building, the southern border of the us with the mexico. Steve bannon was a big part of coming up with the idea and pushing it forward, so they had this Crowdfunding Campaign and they raised 25 million but they told donors this money would be going to the project excel. According to the indictment, some of the money did go into their pockets. The head of the campaign to 350,000 which are used to fund his lavish lifestyle. Mr bannon took 1 million, it said to fund his own personal expenses which he channelled through the non for profit organisation. The indictment says these transfers were covered by fa ke says these transfers were covered by fake invoices and vendor arrangements, so they have been charged with one count of Money Laundering and one count of fraud and each of those counts are a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, all of them have been arrested. Any reaction . Any comments from President Trump . Any other political reaction . A little bit of reaction beginning. Right wing media which championed mr trump are saying at this point that mr bannons rest has nothing to do with mr trump and the white house has not commented at this time, but mr trump is going to be facing a call in about an hour andi be facing a call in about an hour and i expect a question will be raised there. You would imagine so. Thank you very much for now. Lets talk about the new test and trace figures. Its taking longer to return coronavirus test results in england, according to new figures released by test and trace. 61 of tests done at drive through or walk in centres were returned within 2a hours, compared to 70 the previous week. These figures have been falling steadily from their peak of close to 90 at the end ofjune. Our head of statistics, robert cuffe, is here. You can go through these things with the razor like accuracy in a way i cannot. Explain what has come out today, and what it means . Long, slow decline. Borisjohnson when pressed byjeremy hunt some time ago promised that all tests will be processed within 2a hours, barring insuperable problems like postal time, things like that but by and large they made that. By the end of june, 90 of tests were being returned within 2a hours and pretty much all of them either that day or the next day and ever since that point they have been going down. Test and trace say there has been a problem at one of their test and trace say there has been a problem atone of their mega test and trace say there has been a problem at one of their mega labs that processes the test injuly and increasing number of tests that are being carried out every week is leading to a backlog. But that does beg a question because the government say there is a capacity of over 2 million tests a week in the uk at the moment and if the tests carried out, less than half are leading to backlogs, that question is whether notjust the Testing Capacity is in the bunsen burners and labs but all the logistics around that and that is the key part, to get those tests turned around really fast. Could be some political questions coming through in terms of that i suppose. What about contacts that the test and trace team are meant to reach . What are we hearing about that . How fast are the test getting done and how many contacts you get to. On the Contact Tracing is the story of not the improvements we would like to see. One there is a great performance and that is in those complex outbreaks, in a factory or school or close location, that is where the teams descend with the testing vans and they ask in person who have you been working with . They reach about 95 of the contacts identified and have been doing that consistently throughout the life of the programme. We havent seen the same the programme. We havent seen the sa m e levels the programme. We havent seen the same levels of success in the non complex cases, individuals in the community who tend not to have as many contacts but are being handled through the call centres. Their success rates are around the mid 60s, it peaked at 70 but hasnt stayed at that height. This is the pa rt stayed at that height. This is the part of the system managed by the National Call centres generally and we will see them gradually changed the focus over time with the announcement last week that more of the effort is going into local testing to help councils run the Contact Tracing there. So looking ahead, is that the sort of thing we should be looking at, to try and follow the story and follow test and trace . There are a number of statistics to come out about the different ways test and tracing is working on the key number to follow on how well the system is developing as how many people are you finding in so called simple cases that are actually really ha rd, in so called simple cases that are actually really hard, but outside of their household because they will tell the people they live with, it is the people they bump into when they go for a coffee. All right, robert, thank you very much for now. Staying with elements of the coronavirus story. Ministers are meeting to discuss any changes to the uks list of safe travel corridors. It follows decisions by the government in recent weeks over spain, france and portugal, leading to a rush of tourists trying to return home. Lets find out what is happening because there is concern about croatia. Lets get the lakers from nick. What are you hearing about that particular country and others . It is every thursday now that holiday makers or anyone who has booked a foreign trip kind of nervously looks at the news channel and other places to see what is happening. Croatia is one of those countries that ministers have been looking out for a few weeks now, but particularly in the last few days there is real concern in whitehall about the rising numbers of cases there. It is well above the point now at which other countries were taken off the quarantine exemption, so there is a good chance we will see that added to the list of places where ministers are urging people not to go. To clarify that has not been confirmed yet but if it was, it would mean that when people return from croatia, they would help to quarantine for 1a days on their arrival. It would also mean that people shouldnt travel there unless it is all but essential. You may get confirmation of that in the next few hours. One other country that i know there was concern about and a lot of discussion about is trinidad and tobago. Again, no confirmation there yet but one that was being looked at by ministers again because of concern about the rising number of cases. I have used to bring a new brad news on thursday about places you cant go on holiday any more. They could be some good news today for anyone that is planning to try and get away. Portugal has seen a steady decline in the number of cases. You might remember when travel corridors were brought in, portugal wasnt on the list. That caused a massive row with the portuguese government who were saying large parts of the country was safe. The uk government is coming round to that argument because they have seen that fall in the number of cases, new cases in portugal. There is some hope that could be added to the exemption list so people returning from portugal was and how to quarantine on their return. As ever with these things, its not confirmed until it is confirmed, these discussions often go to the last minute so nobly book a holiday just yet go to the last minute so nobly book a holidayjust yet or can someone for that matter but we expect some confirmation in the next few hours. A prominent critic of the russian government, Alexei Navalny, is in hospital with suspected poisoning. He collapsed during a flight from siberia to moscow and is now unconscious and on a ventilator. Alexei navalny has been imprisoned several times for organising anti kremlin protests although a spokesman for the kremlin has wished him a speedy recovery. A short while ago, mr navalnys wife, yulia, was seen arriving at the hospital in omsk where he is being treated. But, according to mr navalnys spokeswoman, she wasnt allowed to visit him, because hes in a coma and cant give his consent. With more on this story, our moscow correspondent, sarah rainsford, has this report. At a siberian hospital, Alexei Navalny is unconscious and in intensive care. Russias most prominent opposition activist was rushed in here after suddenly falling sick on a flight. Tweeting from by his side, his aide described how hed begun sweating, was disorientated, and then collapsed soon after ta ke off. The plane made an emergency landing, and kira yarmysh says doctors initially told her mr navalny had been poisoned. Translation i am certain that this is a deliberate poisoning. I dont know how all these decisions are made, but it is obvious that the authorities have their own ideas regarding when the situation is absolutely dangerous and there is a need to neutralise alexei, if thats what it was. Shes also posted this picture, police and investigators now at the hospital. A senior doctor said his team was working to save mr navalnys life. He said his condition, though, whilst serious, was currently stable. Translation of course, poisoning is being considered as one of the possible causes. But apart from that, there are many other possible conditions which could come on suddenly and show the same symptoms. Were taking them all into account, confirming or excluding as we go. Im afraid i cant go into any more details. Alexei navalny has long been a major irritant to some powerful people here. His teams Anti Corruption investigations have targeted figures close to the kremlin. Collapsing under the weight of so many fines. With a huge online following, hes also capable of bringing big crowds of protesters onto russias streets. For that, hes frequently been arrested. The activist has been attacked before. This was 2017, when he was sprayed on the streets. A second time, his eye was badly burned. And last summer, he believes he was poisoned. He was in Police Custody then for calling people to protest over moscow city elections. My bitters . reaction, but mr navalny said hes