On twitter its Annita Mcveigh or bbcyourquestions. Strict new rules in madrd residents will only be allowed out of the restricted zones for work, doctors visits and shopping, as the authorites fight a resurgence in coronavirus cases. The European Commission president is about to make an announcement about taking legal action against the uk over its brexit withdrawal plans. New measures are promised in an attempt to avoid repetition of tuesdays angry and disorderly encounter between donald trump and his challenger, joe biden. And is there a canine way to combat covid . New Research Suggests dogs can detect the disease through their sense of smell. Hello and welcome if youre watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. The growth in cases of coronavirus may be slowing down in england, according to the largest study of its kind, in one of a series of developments this morning. The react study, at Imperial College london, analysed samples from 84,000 random people. It found that the r number appears to have fallen to around 1. 1 since the rule of six was introduced. In late august to early september, it was estimated to be as high as 1. 7. Merseyside, in north west england, could be the next area to face new local lockdown measures. There are now more than 200 cases per 100,000 people in the region overall. In liverpool, the figure stands at 258. And as of this evening, around a third of the uk population will be subject to extra restrictions, as new rules will come into force in wales across conwy, denbighshire, flintshire and wrexham at 6pm. In europe, madrid and nine towns around it have been given 48 hours to impose a lockdown amid a rise in infections, but the spanish capitals regional president says the order isnt valid. Italy is bucking the trend however, with just over 37 positive cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks among the lowest rates in europe. This report from anna 0neill begins with the emerging situation in merseyside. Liverpool city centre last weekend after the pubs closed at ten no masks, no social distancing, and seemingly nowhere else to go. This is a city where covid 19 cases are rising fast, and which later today might be the next to see stricter lockdown measures. And many people in the city would welcome them. I think it needs to happen because when all the students come back, it has gone higher. Yeah. We are going to pull away from that and where the the European Commission, ursula von der leyen, is making a statement about the brexit withdraw agreement. Good faith laid down in the withdraw agreement. Moreover, if adopted as is, it will be in full contradiction to the protocol of ireland and Northern Ireland. The deadline lapsed yesterday. The problematic provisions have not been removed. Therefore, this morning, the commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the uk government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure. The letter invites the uk government to send its observations within a month. Beside this, the commission will continue to work hard towards a timely implementation of the withdrawn agreement. We stand by our commitments. Thank you. So a very brief statement from the president of the Eu Commission, ursula von der leyen,in of the Eu Commission, ursula von der leyen, in regards to the withdrawn agreement, the full implementation of the withdrawn agreement, including the island and Northern Ireland protocol which she is calling from. Ireland Northern Ireland protocol. A few weeks ago, the eu president said that Boris Johnson and his government had agreed to implement the withdrawn agreement in full, including that protocol, and that was agreed by the government less than a year ago. The Eu Commission said it has a legal obligation and the eu said it also expected the letter and spirit of the agreement to be fully respected. Violating the terms of the withdrawn agreement, they said, would break international law, undermine trust and put at risk the ongoing future relationship and negotiations. You may remember that the government here in the uk said it was going to break parts of that agreement in a specific and limited way. Ursula von der leyen saying that a letter of formal notice to the uk government, which she said was the first step in an infringement procedure, has been sent to Boris Johnson an infringement procedure, has been sent to borisjohnson and the uk government and she says the government has a month to respond. With me now is brussels correspondent nick beake. Just give us correspondent nick beake. Just give us your assessment of what ursula v011 us your assessment of what ursula von der leyen had to say there. She is clearly indicating that the eu means business when it comes to the withdrawn agreement and its full implementation. I think there are two things we need to look at, the politics of all of this but also the pragmatism. The eu, in a way, had put themselves in a situation where they had to Say Something because they had to Say Something because they gave the uk until the end of september to withdraw what they saw as the offending part of the brexit deal being torn up, in effect. In one way, this is not unexpected. Clearly, it is quite dramatic, what we are hearing, in one respect, the fa ct we are hearing, in one respect, the fact the eu is taking legal action but it indicated that it would be doing this. I think the big question is whether this torpedo is the ongoing trade talks, and i dont think it does, largely because any kind of legal action will take months. It is unlikely it will be concluded before the end of the year end before the end of the transition period that we are currently in. And before the end. The eu is in a way saving face but also buying a bit more time for some of the differences to be resolved during the trade talks which again are ongoing in brussels today. Nonetheless, is this in effect the precursors to legal action or is it the first stage of legal action, if you like, if you can explain exactly what this means . I think that is probably one for the lawyers because the detail of this, and we saw quite legal advice from the eu lawyers, which was leaked to us 2a hours after the uk indicated the path it wa nted after the uk indicated the path it wanted to take, i think on the one hand, there is an immediate breach, the eu is saying, a breach of good faith, so in other words, the uk, by coming up with this new idea which would override parts of the brexit deal, as we know, concerning Northern Ireland, they would say there is an immediate grounds for some kind of implementation of legal action. The other, wider point is that if this goes all the way to the European Court of justice, that if this goes all the way to the European Court ofjustice, then this becomes a lot more complicated because you are looking at possible fines but this would be months ahead will stop of course, it changes the whole process, and the whole process changes once the uk has left the transition period at the end of the year. It is one that the lawyers will take on, i think but from what ursula von der leyen was saying, the process is now under way. Nick beake, thank process is now under way. Nick bea ke, thank you process is now under way. Nick beake, thank you from brussels. Just to recap, we havejust heard beake, thank you from brussels. Just to recap, we have just heard from the president of the Eu Commission that they have sent a letter of formal notice to the uk government with a month for the government here to respond, which they say is the first step in infringement proceedings. This is with regard to the withdrawn agreement around brexit and you will remember a few weeks ago, Withdrawal Agreement. The government decided to cover many government members admitted this was a breach of International Treaty obligations, to basically change some of the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement with regard to the island and Northern Ireland protocol so we will get more information about what this means in terms of the eu side on bbc news as the day continues. Returning to our main story now that the growth in cases of coronavirus may be slowing down in england, according to the larger study of its kind. Largest study. Professor paul elliott is chair of epidemiology and Public Health medicine at Imperial College london and the director of the study that suggests the growth in coronavirus cases may be slowing. He said despite signs of a slowdown, the public still need to take all precautions. It is really important to differentiate between the numbers with the virus, which has gone up substantially, which is why we are in a really critical phase right now, and the rate of rise of the virus, which was going up exponentially from the beginning of september, and that rate of rise seems to have slowed down in the very recent data but there is some uncertainty around that value because it is based on very recent data, in the last nine days of sampling. It is that rate of rise which is slowing which is good news but the rate we have reached in the population is high and that will translate to unfortunately hospitalisations and ultimately some deaths going forward. So there is no contradiction between what you are saying and what we had from professor chris whitty and sir Patrick Vallance yesterday, that the numbers are going in the wrong direction . Absolutely. The r value is still above one, the best estimate, although there is a lot of uncertainty around that, which means the rate of increase of the virus is still positive, which is not what we want. We have got to very high levels because that value was even higher back at the beginning of september. But if you like, the Silver Lining is that there may be a downturn in the rate of increase. What we need to see is not onlyjust a downturn in the rate of increase but the virus decreasing again from the high levels. That is really important. I would completely endorse what was said yesterday. We need a redoubling of our own efforts as individuals and at the population level to follow the guidance. That is the key takeaway, isnt it . No room for complacency, everybody has to remain very careful. Absolutely, we are at a critical phase now. We have just got to follow the guidance on social mixing and distancing, hand washing, face covering, and if we do get symptoms, get a test and then isolate as well, and if you are a contact. It is really important now, we are at an absolutely critical phase of where the virus has got to because it has gone up so much, because we detected this high r value at the beginning of last month, september. To westminster now for more on the expected announcement on further local restrictions on merseyside. 0ur Political Correspondent is leila nathoo. Weve heard from the kane of liverpool a couple of weeks ago, mayor liverpool, a couple of weeks ago, calling for restrictions then and it is not the only place where the call has come at a local level but there has been a delay before they have had the authorisation from Central Government to introduce these measures. Yes, it looks likely 110w these measures. Yes, it looks likely now that we are going to see some additional restrictions in place in the north west of england, merseyside, the liverpool city region, we know some of the citys mps had meetings with the Health Minister last night to discuss any additional restrictions. Remember, the government is very keen to avoid any more Strict National measures, and the idea is they can target outbreaks in local areas. But these local lockdowns are now fanning out across the country. Up until now, about a quarter of the uk population are about a quarter of the uk population a re covered by about a quarter of the uk population are covered by local lockdown restrictions and today, potentially, many more as well. So the idea that they were supposed to be targeted to small areas, to control outbreaks, now what you are seeing is local lockdowns being introduced in a much wider area when cases start to spike. No confirmation yet of what the restrictions will be that could be brought in in liverpool and on merseyside but we know that in the north east of england, there are now more strict restrictions, so it could be Something Like that, banning households from mixing in homes, gardens and in hospitality venues, and advised against a meeting outside in any situations. It could be something along those lines. This is what the mayor of liverpool told us earlier. We know that theres a covid coordinating meeting taking place sometime this morning, chaired by the Prime Minister. And it will be looking into the serious increase in Covid Infection rates in liverpool and the wider region here. So we expect some announcements this morning. We suspect, weve already been told, for instance, there will be similar restrictions and regulations put in place, similar to newcastle. Those in the local areas that are under restrictions have been saying that they need to have some idea of whether they are working. It is something labour has been pressing, too, how lots of the areas that have seen increased restrictions have remained under those stricter restrictions for many weeks, with no sign of how they might be lifted and what threshold, for example, the authorities are working towards in order to be able to say you can come out of those lockdown restrictions. There has also been criticism of the government that the message has been confusing because the restrictions va ry confusing because the restrictions vary from region to region and in the different nations, so people in individual areas are having trouble understanding what rules apply to them. This is what the environment secretary George Eustice said earlier. The evidence shows that once the disease gets past a Tipping Point, we talk about the r value, the infection rate, it is now about 1. 5 across the country which means there is a velocity to this virus and once it gets going, then you need to take action to try to dampen it, otherwise itjust rises exponentially, and that is what happens. There can be a range of factors that contribute to the virus getting above that Tipping Point in a particular city, and then you need to act fast to sampen it. Ministers are clear they want to avoid another National Lockdown of what that would entail but by mr borisjohnson said yesterday what that would entail but by mr Boris Johnson said yesterday we what that would entail but by mr borisjohnson said yesterday we are ata borisjohnson said yesterday we are at a critical moment in the outbreak, urging everyone to abide by the rules and saying he would not hesitate to introduce broader National Measures to try to curb the spread of the virus but at the moment, the strategy is to try to isolate outbreaks, even though they are in very wide areas across england at least but the strategy seems to be a target further restrictions, tighter restrictions at areas, and hope that through isolation and testing and people abiding by those stricter regulations in those places, they can contain local outbreaks. Thank you forjoining us. And for viewers in the uk, this afternoon well anwer your questions on the final month of the furlough scheme and its replacement, the job support scheme. At 3. 30 ill bejoined by michelle 0vens, director of Small Business britain. You can send in your questions by emailing yourquestions bbc. Co. Uk or tweet us using the hashtag bbcyourquestions. Breaking news now from West Midlands police who have launched a double Murder Investigation as two men have been found shot dead in a car on a Black CountryIndustrial Estate. The men were discovered inside a vehicle which was parked outside units of more street in Brierley Hill in dudley, just before half past three yesterday afternoon. The victims have not yet been formally identified. It is thought they were killed shortly after 1pm. The men we re killed shortly after 1pm. The men were discovered at around 3 30pm. It was at an Industrial Estate units in moore street in Brierley Hill in dudley. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. The police are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time who saw or heard anything is positions anything suspicious to get in touch with them. West Midlands Police have launched a double Murder Investigation. Italy was for some weeks the global epicentre of coronavirus, the first country in the west to be deeply affected by the pandemic, and the first in the world to impose a National Lockdown. But now its infection rate is considerably lower than others in europe 38 cases per 100,000 people, compared to more than 100 in the uk, 230 in france and 330 in spain. So how has it managed to stay on top of the virus . 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen reports. Covids once global epicentre is not letting down its guard. Spot checks by Italian Police to ensure rules on overcrowding and mask wearing are followed. Its one of the tools italy has used to get infection rates down to some of the lowest in europe, keeping the virus in check while others struggle with a fresh spike. We issue fines when needed, says giovanni. But none today. Usually, everyone wears masks. Awareness of the consequences of breaking the rules has helped instil a sense of discipline here, but in reality, police have had to intervene relatively rarely as italy has, on the whole, followed restrictions. And now, it is reaping the benefits. Italy is taking safety as seriously as its food. Many restaurants have screens, disposable or digital menus, and customers are recorded for Contact Tracing. It has given them the freedom to stay open and busy, unlike others in europe. The trauma of covid frightened italians into compliance. Because we were the first and we had a very long quarantine and we really felt it, and it was a very strong period for everyone, so we really felt it, and there were many, many people dying and we could see all the not here but through the news all the those people dying alone, well, it has been very strong. The governments reward for a lower infection rate has been broad public support, but it knows success is fragile. Im really proud of italians because they did follow the rules. But, you know, the war is not over yet. It is still to wait and see what is going to happen in october, november and during the winter, but right now, i think things are going very well. Alert to the fact schools reopened later here than elsewhere in europe, there is now mass testing for students and teachers this at a high school near rome. Rapid results come within 30 minutes. Tests, rules, compliance a formula italy hopes can halt a second wave and ease the legacy of pain from the first. Mark lowen, bbc news, rome. A lockdown has been ordered in and around spains capital madrid, after a rise in coronavirus cases there. Residents will only be allowed to leave the area for essential reasons. However, madrids Regional Government, which is controlled by the conservative opposition and did not vote in favour of the restrictions, questions its legality. Mark lobel reports. Tempers flare at new restrictions for madrid. Normal life set to be masked once again as a high rate of infections means 4 million residents must stay put. Bars will shut at 11pm, playgrounds and parks will be closed. Gatherings of no more than six. Translation i live alone. The park is an important way out and if they close it, that is very annoying, because being confined at home lowers morale a lot. Translation madrid is the worst off region. It is true that measures must be taken so things dont get worse and we dont have a second lockdown but i think that a second lockdown is not effective because economically, spain cant afford it. Madrids Regional Government opposes the restrictions and argues they are not legally valid, but spains Health Minister disagrees. He says madrids health is Spains Health and that the situation in madrid is complex and worrying. Madrids lockdown was ordered after spains Regional Governments, who are in charge of health care, voted in favour of imposing restrictions in areas with more than 100,000 residents that had 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, 35 covid patient occupancy in intensive care units, and positive results in 10 of tests. Even though madrids politicians did not vote in favour of the restrictions, as it is responsible for nearly half of all spains coronavirus cases and meets the criteria for restrictions, it must now close its borders for nonessential trips. People will only be allowed to cross for work, doctors visits and shopping. Despite spains many casualties in the fight against covid, madrids Regional Government insists National Politicians are causing alarm and may fight the lockdown in court. Their solution has been to bring in targeted restrictions locally, but that too provoked protests, as it affected more poorer areas of the city. But National Politicians concluded those measures were not enough to curb the pandemic. Mark lobel, bbc news. There are reports of continued violence between armenia and azerbaijan. Azerbaijan authorities have reportedly said armenian shelling has killed a civilian in its town of terter and badly damaged the train station there. The region of Nagorno Karabakh has seen four days of deadly clashes between the two countries, which have been in dispute over the enclave for decades. Nagorno karabakh, which you can see on the map in bright red, is officially part of azerbaijan, but governed by ethnic armenians. As you can see from the striped area, armenia also controls swathes of azeri territory around the enclave. A key issue is the role turkey is playing, after Turkish Forces were accused of shooting down an armenian aircraft. The bbcs Rayhan Demytrie has the latest from tbilisi in neighbouring georgia. The Armenian Defence ministry reported that overnight, there was relative calm along the front line, but we have seen some footage published by the azeri Defence Ministry showing rocket launchers, you know, launching rockets towards nagorno kara bakh. In terms of the death toll, there are more figures coming from the azeri side, reporting only civilian casualties so far, 16 dead and 55 injured, and on the armenian side, there are also civilian casualties. Their death toll on the military side is 103 service men. We are now on the fifth day of this fierce fighting, which started on sunday the 27th of september. Now there is kind of more and more evidence that both sides are accusing each other, who started it. But the armenians are saying that the azeris have been preparing for this. There are now more reports about the involvement, alleged involvement of foreign mercenaries from syria. The Armenian Foreign Ministry called on turkey to immediately. They are also accusing turkey of being directly involved on the ground, they have urged turkey to immediately withdraw from Nagorno Karabakh. We have also heard from the Russian Foreign ministry. Russia is trying to mediate in this conflict. Sergei lavrov, the foreign minister, has spoken to both of his counterparts in armenia and azerbaijan and they are calling the two sides to return to the negotiation table. Butjudging by what is happening on the ground, that seems highly unlikely at this stage. If you watched the debate between President Trump and his democrat rivaljoe biden two nights ago and if you managed to hear anything above the shouting youll know that one issue they clashed over was the so called proud boys. Thats a White Supremacist Movement which mr trump refused to condemn, choosing instead to focus his anger on left wing demonstrators. Our north america correspondent Aleem Maqbool has been to meet members of both groups. It has become the us capital of radicalism. Most American Cities have seen some demonstrations this year but here, they have not stopped and it has become a huge election issue. This is what almost every night has looked like here in Downtown Portland in the four months since the Police Killing of george floyd in minneapolis, with hundreds of protesters on one side, Law Enforcement agents on the other, and there have been very many flashpoints of violence. Some feel over aggression by the Security Forces has exacerbated tensions. But the white house says this isnt demonstrating about racial justice, just rioting by anarchists or antifa. The riot is the voice of the unheard. So if you dont want riots, maybe you should listen. It is not antifa in the streets, it is the people in the streets. Its the people that are being pushed around. The people that dont have food. The people that cant pay their rent. The people that deserve life. Theyre in the streets. But it has led to loss of life. In late august, a large convoy of Trump Supporters drove past the protesters in portland, some firing paintballs at them. Later that day, one trump supporter from a far right group was shot dead. The left wing activist who is suspected of killing him died in a police raid on his home. It is partly why the neo fascist group, the proud boys, earlier this week decided to hold a rally in portland. They predicted thousands would attend in the end, it was a few hundred. Their marches have led to confrontation in the past here, and some, who travelled far to get to portland, told me they were looking for confrontation again. This is an american city. I am still an american and i see my brothers and sisters living here in portland dealing with this on a daily basis and i want to help them. And thats why were here. We are here to shut down this violence and bring awareness, national attention. Hopefully donald trump sees this and he has already decreed this an anarchist city, which is great, because it is true. In the debate, when asked to condemn the actions of white supremacists, the president could only manage this. Give me a name. Proud boys stand back and stand by but, i will tell you what, somebody has got to do something about antifa and the left. The proud boys have revelled in his response. Back in portland, at the same time as the proud boys gathering, an illustration of the totally different worlds on display in the us these days. A rally still focused on why so many black people get killed by the police. They are trying to say that we are trying to destroy american democracy but they know that is garbage. They are falling behind a rhetoric that dehumanises us so that they can lower the value of our lives, to justify committing acts of violence against us. It is those at this rally who have been taking to the streets, night after night. Many americans support their efforts to bring about change. But for many others, these scenes are making them all the more determined to vote for donald trump. Aleem maqbool, bbc news. The headlines on bbc news. In the largest study of coronavirus cases in england scientists suggest the spread of the virus is slowing but warn that levels of infection remain high in all areas of the country. Liverpool looks set to face stricter local measures after a big spike in infections in the city. A further half a Million People in north wales will come under local lockdown restrictions this evening from 6pm. Strict new rules in madrid residents will only be allowed out of the restricted zones for work, doctors visits and shopping as the authorities fight a resurgence in coronavirus cases. The European Commission president announces the eu is taking legal action against the uk over its brexit withdrawal plans. New measures are promised in an attempt to avoid repetition of tuesdays angry and disorderly encounter between donald trump and his challenger, joe biden. In northern california, the authorities are struggling to contain wildfires burning through thousands of acres of land. The blazes have destroyed property and forced people to leave their homes. The bbcs tim allman has more. Driving through Yosemite National park, a convoy fleeing the flames. Rangers leading the way as a number of tourists had to be evacuated. It looked like a fairly perilous trip dark clouds above, burning trees neverfar away. This is just one of a series of fires burning through central and northern california. High temperatures, precious little rain it is a dangerous combination. Mother nature is something that we dont try to guess so were preparing for the worst Case Scenario and were hoping for the best. So our firefighters are going to be working around the clock securing those lines. The two latest wildfires called zogg and glass only began in the last few days, but theyve been busy, burning through hundreds of Square Kilometres of land. Some of it wine country, threatening lives and livelihoods. I own this vineyard over here and with a bad year and fires and no power, i havent picked a grape. I dont think were going to pick anything. Tens of thousands of people have left their homes but some are waiting to see what will happen next. How long are you going to hang out . I dont know, well see. And we are pulling away from that report. Lets go to the house of commons where matt hancock the Health Secretary is speaking. The study from the Imperial College suggests one of the remains above one there are early signs that it be falling. We must not let up by people everywhere can take some small hope that our efforts together may be beginning to work. I put it no stronger than that. Cases are still rising. However, as the chief medical officer is set out yesterday, this second peak is highly localised. And in some parts of the country, the virus is spreading fast. Our strategy is to suppress the virus, protecting the economy, education and the nhs. Until a vaccine can make us safe. Earlier this week, mr speaker, we brought in further measures in the north east. However, in parts of teesside and the north west of england, cases continue to rise fast. In liverpool, the number of cases are 268 per 100,000 population. So together, we need to act. Working with Council Leaders and the mayors, i today am extending these measures that have been in place in the north east since the start of this week to the liverpool city region, warrington, hartlepool, and middlesbrough. We will provide £7 million of funding to local authorities in these areas to support them with their vital work. The rules across the liverpool city region, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough will be as follows. We recommend against all social mixing between people in different households. We will bring in regulations as we have in the north east, to prevent in law, social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality. We also recommend that people should not attend professional or amateur sporting events as spectators in the areas that are affected stop we recommend that people only visit ca re recommend that people only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances. And there will be guidance against all but essential travel, essential travel, of course, includes going to work or school. Mr speaker, i understand how much of an imposition this is. I want rules like this to stay in place for as short a time as possible, im sure we all do. The study published today shows us hope that together we can practice and the more people follow the rules and reduce social contact, the rules and reduce social contact, the quicker we can get the ripple and the north east back on their feet. We are also aligning the measures in bolton with the rest of Greater Manchester and i would like to pay tribute to david greenall, the leader of Bolton Council for his constructive support and the bolton mps for all they have done in support of bolton. There are no changes to measures in west yorkshire, the West Midlands, leicester, lancashire the rest of Greater Manchester. It is critical that the whole country acts together now to control the spread of this virus so please, for your loved ones, for your community, and for your country, follow the rules and do your bit to keep this virus under control. Mr speaker, by its nature, this virus spread through social contact and so it has had a terrible impact on the hospitality sector who are in good times, exist to encourage that very social contact that we all enjoy. So weve had to ta ke that we all enjoy. So weve had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. The only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip and i will not let it do that. So whilst i know that many of the individual rules are challenging they are necessary and there are those early signs that they are working. In the measures weve introduced including the 10pm restriction, we are seeking to strike a balance, allowing people to continue to socialise safely, where thatis continue to socialise safely, where that is possible, while reducing the social contact that the virus thrives upon. Elsewhere in the world, we have they have introduced an evening restriction and then seen their case numbers fall. And we know that later at night, people are less likely to follow social distancing. Of course, we keep all measures under review and we will closely monitor the impact of this policy, as with all the others, while continuing our unprecedented support for hospitality businesses, like cutting vat, support the pay of staff, offering rates relief for businesses and giving billions of pounds of tax deferrals and loans. Mr speaker, or Hospitality Industry provides so much colour and life in this country and we will do whatever we can to support them while acting fast to keep this virus under control. I note these measures are ha rd control. I note these measures are hard and that they are yet another sacrifice after a year of so many sacrifices already. But there are some signs that what we are doing together to respond to these awful circumstances is starting to work so dont let up. Lets all of us keep doing our bit and one day, over this virus, we will prevail. I thank the secretary of state for advanced side of the statement. The imperial study todayis of the statement. The imperial study today is indeed encouraging but as the cmo said yesterday that we have a long winter ahead. We no sustained contact especially in crowded pearly ventilated spaces is a driver of infection and pubs and bars are obvious risks so i heard what he said about the 10pm rule but my concerns relate to everybody leaving the pub at the same time so what action will he take so we dont see action will he take so we dont see a repeat this weekend of people piling out into city centre place, packing out public transport, sometimes all piling into a supermarket to buy more drink. We on this side completely understand the need for local restrictions. Including in merseyside as he has just announced. I think it was probably too late for colleagues from merseyside to get on the couege from merseyside to get on the college this morning but i think if they were here, they would be keen to press the secretary of state further on the Financial Support from merseyside. This is a region which is hugely reliant on hospitality and leisure and we know that these restrictions extract a heavy social and economic toll. So areas need Financial Support, otherwise existing inequalities which are themselves of course have a Health Impact and allow the virus to thrive, will be exacerbated. People need clarity. Areas like leicester, Greater Manchester, west yorkshire, bradford, have had restrictions imposed on them for months now. Liens of people in these local lockdown areas like across the north and midlands, just need some reassurance that an end is in sight. Any want to know when they will be able to visit their loved ones, many wa nt to able to visit their loved ones, many want to know whether they will be able to visit family over the coming school half term for example. Can he confirm, has he ruled out the so called circuit break taking place across the october half term as was mooted in the newspapers last week . Also, some of the heaviest increases in infection appear to be taking place in areas where restrictions are in place. So why are the interventions not working, why or the mull is not getting whacked . Yesterday the Prime Minister suggested the success of luton in leaving restrictions was because people pulling together. But ive got no doubt that people are pulling together across bolton, rossendale, in bury, somewhat additional help they receive to drive this virus down . I believe ministers lost precious ground in fighting the virus by not having an effective test, trace and isolate regime in place by the end of the summer, testing and tracing is key to controlling the virus. Increasing evidence now shows of the importance of backward Contact Tracing and controlling outbreaks so could he tell us, is backward Contact Tracing routinely happening in areas of restriction and will he publish data on backward contacts reach . We support the cause and the Health Select committee today for routine testing of ill nhs staff, will he finally set a date for introducing it and the problems that remain with testing generally. Ive heard of a case in the rhondda valley, people turning up at a Testing Centre, booking appointments, but the Testing Centre has been pulled out and circle are saying they need the secretary of state to intervene if a Testing Centre is to be reopened. Will he do that . On the 8th of september he told the select Committee Problems of testing would be resolved in the coming weeks, that was more than three weeks ago yet a test still takes 30 to 31 hours turnaround for an in person, 88 hours, more than three and a half days for test results from satellite test centres which are predominately used by care homes so he hasnt resolved the problems. When will he . Today, weve learnt deloitte who are contracted by the government to help run contracted by the government to help ru n test contracted by the government to help run test and trace, are now trying to sell Contact Tracing services to local councils. The government s own contractor, one of the very firms responsible for the failing system in the first place, now sees a Business Opportunity in selling information and services to local authorities. They should be getting this anyway and this is in the middle of the biggest Public Health crisis for 100 years. Isnt this another scandal, how can it be allowed . Another scandal, how can it be allowed . Doesnt another scandal, how can it be allowed . Doesnt it another scandal, how can it be allowed . Doesnt it once again show directors of Public Health should be in charge of Contact Tracing . Finally, mr speaker, this week gps warned of significant problems with flu vaccine supplies. Lloyds pharmacy to name one have stopped offering flu jab appointments because of issues with supply so can he confirm we have enough flu Vaccines Available for all who will need one this winter . Thank you. I welcome his support for the measures welcome his support for the measures we have had to take. The £7 million of extra Financial Support for the councils who are affected, notjust merseyside and bolton and warrington but in hartlepool and middlesbrough stop thats on the same basis as the support for the north east seven councils that was announced at the end of last week. It is true that some parts of the country have come through a local lockdown. In fact, we have lifted many of the measures, for instance, that were in place in leicester. We werent able to lift all of the measures and the case rate there could then go back up again although it has now appeared to have stabilised. And luton is another example where there was a very significant local outbreak which was brought under control. He asks about increased testing. There is, of course, increased testing going into merseyside and we can do that because we have a record capacity which has increased yet again this week. He asks about backward Contact Tracing, absolutely, we have backward Contact Tracing in these areas. One of the reasons that we know, sadly, that the highest area of likelihood of picking up a case of coronavirus outside your own household is in social settings, is because of backward Contact Tracing so there further information that Public Health england be publishing today on further work on backward Contact Tracing to understand how this virus spreads. He asks about the speed of test results, im glad to say that the speed of the turnaround for test results in care homes, that is speeding up. He asked about deloitte and their Contact Tracing capabilities. Deloitte have done an incredible job capabilities. Deloitte have done an incrediblejob in helping us to put together the Contact Tracing and the backward Contact Tracing that we have and of course, they should offer their services to local councils, on the one hand he says local councils should have more impetus and more involvement in the Contact Tracing and then when a company with great experience and Contact Tracing comes forward to offer their services, he criticises them. He cannot have it both ways and of course, you know, these Services Cost money and they have to be delivered and i pay tribute to deloitte who are doing such a brilliantjob. Finally, deloitte who are doing such a brilliant job. Finally, he deloitte who are doing such a brilliantjob. Finally, he asks about flu jabs. And it is absolutely true, as he says, that there is a record roll out of newjobs, there are enough flu jabs for everybody who needs them in the priority group. I would stress this is our roll out, nobody needs to have a flu jab before the start of december, you can have it in september or october, it will then cover you for the winter. And so we are rolling it out and more appointments will become available in good time. We have got 30 million jabs become available in good time. We have got 30 millionjabs in become available in good time. We have got 30 million jabs in total, thatis have got 30 million jabs in total, that is more than we have ever had before, its almost double what we have typically had in the past and those are available. I am really glad to say, mr speaker, that record numbers of people are coming forward to get flu jabs and i welcome that but people, as the Royal College of gps have said, people will have to have patience, they will, if you are in the group, the target group, the over 65 s and those with clinical conditions, there are flu jabs available and it will take us the coming weeks in order to make sure people who need those jabs can get them. 0k, matt hancock, jonathan ashworth, in the house of commons, the Health Minister announcing new rules for liverpool city region. Warrington, middlesbrough, hartlepool. Including no social mixing between households with the exception of parks or other outdoor spaces and outdoor hospitality. Lets speak up to our Political Correspondent leila nathoo. These additional measures for liverpool and other areas were expected . They were, confirmation came from the Health Secretary the restrictions that were in place in the north east of england will now be extended to liverpool city region, warrington, hartlepool, and middlesbrough. Those restrictions as you said are recommending against all social mixing in any settings, it will be illegal for households to mix in indoor settings, except in parks and outdoor hospitality and those guarding against all essential travel, matt hancock pointing to the infection rate in liverpool being 268 per 100,000 people. An area of concern. He did address the idea that there was some criticism levelled at these local lockdown restrictions, that there was no end in sight, no threshold for exiting those restrictions. He said if people follow the rules in these areas, they cant bring the case is down, he cited the example of luton and leicester being areas where local lockdown restrictions have worked and they have been loosened but the labour party pressing, saying they supported the introduction of new measures in those areas by pressing for more Financial Support for businesses who are forced to close or who will lose business as a result of these restrictions. Also pressing on the testing system saying that needs to be fully effective if these local lockdown s are going to work but clearly now a local lockdown extended through part of england, increasingly these local lockdown s taking in millions more people although we are not officially in a National Lockdown clearly the picture is one of concern across the country. Thank you. More people reached the uk illegally by boat in september than in the whole of last year. Thats according to figures compiled by the bbc. Almost 2,000 migrants made the crossing last month and the government is now believed to be considering using ferries to house Asylum Seekers while their claims are considered. Joining me now is david wood, the former head of uk immigration enforcement. Thank you very much forjoining us today. What do you make of this notion of housing people on ferries while their claims are being considered . I cannot see it as practical. Loss of sound there is by current law, you cannot detain people who are Asylum Seekers, you tend to remove them from the country quite quickly thereafter. This would effectively be detention. The cost would be enormous. Currently, Asylum Seekers, if they are detained, when the decision of a tribunal is made, they appeal to different tribunals, those decisions we need to be in place under human rights legislation. The cost would be enormous in the real problem is at the end of the process , problem is at the end of the process, for those who arent granted asylum, from the initial decision, two thirds of the applicants, the home office isjust unable to remove them to their home country. There are 40,000 backlog of people who are failed Asylum Seekers, who remain in the uk because they cannot be removed stop so what do you do with those people who are on a ferry, who applied for asylum, who are then refused asylum . They cannot keep them all on the ferry so presumably they bring them back to the uk . I dont quite understand what it would achieve, do you have Home Office Officials working on the ferry . Cost would be enormous, legal hurdles to overcome, changes are not needed. It seems politically difficult. Ultimately, i dont see what it would achieve, quite frankly. You raise a host of problems as you see it with this idea. As someone who has looked at this in some detail in your career, what would you suggest that government doors . The government could be more assertive about the returns to different countries. Thats one thing they could do. At the moment there is Something Like 1500 Asylum Seekers returned every year to their own countries and the other thing they need to solve this agreement with france that those who come across the channel from the safe country, france, can be returned to france to be processed. Clearly they are not getting that agreement but if that agreement was forthcoming it would deter the migrants from paying organised criminals who prey on their misery, quite frankly, and the risk of crossing the channel, large sums of money to cross the channel because if they were returned to france, they would not get their. David. We must leave it there, we arejust about out of time but thank you so much forjoining us. Dogs have helped millions of us to get through this pandemic they cheered us up, kept us company and gave us a reason to go outside and exercise. Now it seems they might also help us to defeat the virus itself by using their incredible power of smell. Graham satchell reports. Come on this is asher. He is a medical detection dog. Scientists are hoping specially trained dogs can be a vital help in the fight against covid 19. The dogs have this incredible sense of smell. They have 350 million sensory receptors dedicated to olfaction. Now, us poor humans have got five million and we think we can smell pretty well. Ashers remarkable nose has already been trained to sniff out a number of human diseases like cancer and malaria. Now, a joint Research Project with the London School of hygiene and tropical medicine, and durham university, is seeing whether they can detect covid 19. We now know scientifically that diseases change body odour and, you know, dogs are incredibly good at sniffing and we all know that, but they are also very good at learning as well. And so they can learn the smell of a particular medical condition. We now know that dogs really can do this really well so we are really hopeful that the dogs will be able to do this for covid 19. Helsinki airport in finland. Trials have already started here with dogs sniffing passengers as they arrive. So these dogs are able to do a rapid noninvasive test as to whether somebody is carrying the covid 19 odour, and that is whether they are symptomatic, or pre symptoms. This could be a game changer. Whenever you get a public space where people are moving rapidly, the dog, in a 0. 5 second sniff, will be able to say you have got the odour of the virus and you need to get tested and isolated. This is kip, one of the dogs being trained to detect covid 19. He lives with sam. I think it is a fantastic project. The capability of dogs to do mass screening in a speedy time is really important because covid is going to be with us for a while yet. They have a massive part to play. The dogs are trained by sniffing samples of clothing from people who currently have covid 19. Researchers say they desperately need more samples and are appealing for help. Good girl particularly, we need people who are positive, who have had a recent test. And what we will do is basically send a pack, it is really simple. We have three items, one being a pair of stockings, a face mask and a shirt or t shirt, and basically, we are asking people to wear those for a few hours, pop them back in an envelope which is prepaid and send them back to us. We need as many people as possible, particularly those who are positive. Once the Research Project is complete, Scientists Say these