Tonight at ten, the worst recession in more than three centuries as the uk counts the cost of fighting the pandemic. The chancellor tells mps that the uk is having to take on record borrowing, the highest ever in peacetime. Our Health Emergency is not yet over. And our economic emergency has only just begun. In its response to this pandemic the conservative government has wasted and mismanaged public finances on an industrial scale. And unemployment is set to rise to two and a half million next year, we speak to young people in the north west of england. And well have more on the controversial decision to scale back the uks spending on foreign aid. Also tonight. Going at them again. Brilliant run by Maradona Diego maradona, world cup winner and, for many the best footballer in history, has died at the age of 60. The duchess of sussex talks of the unbearable grief she felt, when she suffered a miscarriage earlier this year. And the first black coach to head british athletics talks about his hopes for the olympic year ahead. And coming up in sport on bbc news, a minutes silence is held across all Champions League matches on wednesday as tributes pour in for Diego Maradona. Good evening. The extent of the economic and financial crisis facing the uk, has been spelled out by the chancellor rishi sunak, who set out his Spending Review today. The cost of fighting the pandemic has led to record government
borrowing and the worst recession in more than three centuries. Next year, more than two and half Million People could be out of work. And this year alone, the government will be borrowing nearly £400 billion, the highest ever in peacetime. Some Public Sector workers can expect a pay freeze, though nhs staff and those earning less than £24,000 a year will be exempt. But the chancellor is spending £3 billion on the restart programme to help the unemployed find work, and a further £4 billion to target investment in those areas that have lost out in the past. We start with our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg on the days events. A warning, her report contains some flashing images. How bad is it looking, chancellor . The straight answer its looking very bad. The chancellors smooth political style cant hide whats been lurking in number 11s spreadsheets. Part one of the pandemic was the profound risk to our health, part two
the cost of covid, a nightmare starting to unfold. 0ur economic emergency has only just begun. So, a blizzard of serious predictions about how the countrys income will hurt. The largest fall in output for more than 300 years. Not expected to return to pre crisis levels until the Fourth Quarter of 2022. Underlying debt is forecast to continue rising in every year. In other words, the economys been hammered by coronavirus, and the most direct cost many, many of us will pay with ourjobs. The 0br expects unemployment to rise to a peak in the Second Quarter of next year of 7. 5 , 2. 6 Million People. Unemployment wont have reached that level for a decade, and around 1. 3 million Public Sector staff outside the nhs will have their wages frozen. I cannotjustify a significant
across the boa rd pay increase for all Public Sector workers. Instead, we are targeting our resources at those who need it most. But how to justify breaking the governments promise on the aid budget for the worlds poorest . Sticking rigidly to spending 0. 7 of our National Income on overseas aid is difficult to justify to the british people. Awkward for some ministers who had stood by the targets. 0ne even quit. But there are big promises. We in government can set the direction better schools, more homes, stronger defence, safer streets, but it is the individual, the family and the community that must become stronger, healthier and happier as a result. Vows on infrastructure will be kept. Theres £4 billion for a pot that mps can bid from for local projects, cash to help people
find work, too. Theres 3 billion more for the Health Service to catch up after covid, money for the Additional Police promised last year. But theres no getting away from the shadows of the shutdown. Coronavirus closed down much of the economy. Massive borrowing to get it through is manageable for now because of rock bottom interest rates. That may not last forever. There could be a lot of pain ahead. Earlier this year, the chancellor stood on his doorstep and clapped for key workers. Today, his government institutes a pay freeze for many of them. This takes a sledgehammer to consumer confidence. We need a comprehensive Spending Review which takes responsible choices to build a future for our country as the best place in the world to grow up in and the best place to grow old in. Do you want to try with a bigger one . 0k. He certainly doesnt want a bigger hole in the economy. Just like chancellors in other countries, rishi suna ks borrowed and spent vast sums because of the pandemic. Todays predictions, though, are based on a vaccine being rolled
out and that therell be a brexit deal, too. The chancellor does need to do a whole lot more to plan for the future and to make sure that he can anticipate what might come in the coming year. And what is missing altogether from this Spending Review is the impact of brexit. The liberal democrats had called for a policy to save jobs and create jobs, to create a fairer, greener economy and to ensure that no one was left behind, and the chancellor hasnt delivered that. Certainly, no one in parliament will push ministers to pare back right now. With so much uncertain, the disease so hard to predict, even the mighty treasury may have to watch and wait. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. The office for budget responsibility has calculated that the uk economy will shrink by more than 11 this year alone. And this is happening while the government is spending hundreds of billions of pounds of borrowed money to deal with the pandemic and its effects. As our economics editor faisal islam reports, theres been very little progress so far in the task of repaying the debt. Grim economic numbers are of no surprise to anyone looking out on a high street. Here in wakefield in yorkshire, lockdown means no shoppers or staff, but as elsewhere, months of pandemic uncertainty have seen the spread of the tell tale to let sign. Here in one of the so called blue wall seats, locals have mixed feelings about the governments public pay squeeze. Well, hes got to do what he thinks is best for the country at the moment because of the state were in. The people thats done the hard work during covid, that should get the pay rises, its the Public Sector workers. Todays forecasts show that the economy is set to shrink by over 11 this year, a three century record, before recovering more slowly from next year. That means an annual increase in borrowing only seen during world wars nearly £400 billion, i9 of the size of the national economy,
a staggering figure, yet the interest bill to pay for it is also tumbling. As historic and frankly unimaginable as some of these numbers are, both the hits to the economy and the huge rise in borrowing, they are in the past. Its just that theyre so big that theyre going to have an impact for years to come. But there is this other record, a record low in just how cheap it will be to actually pay for this massive debt. That buys time for the chancellor and means relatively small downpayments on shrinking the borrowing is all that was required. But where the economy goes doesjust depend. Unemployment is expected to go up about a million to 7. 5 as a result of the crisis, but the forecast assumes progress on a vaccine and functioning testing systems. Without that, the economy and jobs picture gets much worse, peaking at ii . 0n the other hand, with better than expected health progress, unemployment barely goes up at all. The governments official forecaster acknowledges the uncertainty
the economy at the mercy of medical developments and an imminent decision on a post brexit trade deal. If no vaccine proves effective and also we end up leaving the eu without a deal and trading on wto terms, that would combine a 6 hit to the economy from the fact that were living with the disease with a 2 hit to the economy from the fact that were trading out with our single largest trading partner on wto terms. The chancellor is earmarking huge amounts to health to deal with the pandemic and to get the economy back to normal, but other areas of spending on pay, for example, for teachers earning above average wages, for Police Officers and prison officers have been frozen, alongside cuts to aid. If you take out the spending on covid, actually hes reduced his planned spending compared with what he was suggesting back in march by about £10 billion a year going forward, and hes also actually allocated nothing at all to deal with covid after next year. So these numbers look, to me, pretty tight. Back in wakefield, this Council Worker union rep, married
to a teacher, certainly feels the return of austerity. Its a bit of a kick in the teeth, really. Ive worked, like many of my fellow colleagues, throughout the pandemic as a key worker. It feels like the Public Sector workers are being punished again by the government for a crisis that was not of our making. The lowest paid were protected, but the economic shadow of covid i9 will last notjust past this christmas, but many future festive seasons. Faisal islam, bbc news. As we mentioned, rishi sunak promised a new £4 billion fund to support local projects, especially in those areas where investment has lagged in the past. 0ur Political Correspondent alex forsyth reports from rossendale and darwen a conservative held constituency in the north west of england on the challenges people there are facing. The towns and villages of rossendale are in a part of the north west thats been hard hit by the virus. Like in many places, thats meant rising unemployment. Take oliver and lewis, both 19, both out of work, both have been looking forjobs for months. Its really demoralising because youre just applying for jobs all day and theres no responses half of the time it if you do get a response its a no. Whats it like job hunting . Its horrible. Its painful. Theyve joined a local scheme helping young people searching for work. The pool of those eligible has increased fivefold this year. Those who run it say support for job seekers and investment in skills, apprenticeships and work placements is crucial right now. Were really encouraged by the announcement today. That is very much whats needed right now. And the times now, you know, the times now to start targeting these young guys. Rossendale is in the heart of the region promised investment by this government. Local mum and gp emma runs a support network for parents who now meet virtually. Many want the focus
on the next generation. Ive been a Nursery School teacher now for ten years and were absolutely cut to the bone. Ijust really, really, really, really want the government to massively invest and understand the priority that children are now. There was money promised today for schools, the nhs, public services. But some arent convinced. Theres all this talk from boris about connecting the north south but were in the north, were not connected to our nearest borough. Make it a place where our children want to stay. This areas local mp is one of dozens of tories pushing the government to stick to its pledge to address regional inequalities, the north south divide. One of todays announcements was £4 billion for projects that local communities think will make a difference in their areas. The government wants to show it is committed to helping places that have felt overlooked but the impact
of this pandemic on jobs and businesses, and public finances, make that promise much harder to keep. At a nearby heritage site, renovations are being carried out by a family construction firm. While here investment in infrastructure and building is welcome, the concern is who ultimately pays the bill. The numbers dont mean anything any more. They are kind of so huge you just know its a large number and its going to take some sorting out at some point in the future, and perhaps not this generation, perhaps the generation to follow, and i do worry about that. There is understanding of the tough economic landscape. But fear too from those likely to feel it most and a government thats promised opportunity for all cant afford to leave any area behind. Alex forsyth, bbc news, rossendale. 0ur Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg is at westminster. Laura, Laura Kuenssberg is at westminster. We often talk chancellors laura, we often talk about chancellors and governments facing difficult questions and choices and all the rest, when yazidis figures,
those choices look almost impossible . Yes, politics is always about making choices and decisions, none ever straightforward, but here we have a chancellor and a government confronted with historic levels of debt, borrowing and spending brought about by a pandemic of historical crisis and historical proportion. The government never expected to have to deal with Something Like this, certainly a tory government would never have continents previously spending anything like this but it is remarkable just how little political strife that has been in racking up the kinds of bills we had seen already to try to get the country to this crisis. There is very little call now for the government to do anything ina call now for the government to do anything in a hurry to change the course of this. There has been very little political strife or controversy about the main thrust of the decisions that rishi sunak has taken, and that is because the unprecedented crisis that it has
brought to the Nations Health and economy. But sooner or later the questions will come aboutjust how he plans to bring the economy back under control, how does he, before that long, start to have those discussions . Well things have been, relatively speaking, running on consensus in terms of the economic so far, this will be the backdrop to the next years of political debate andi the next years of political debate and i do not think the consensus will last. In the more immediate future, tomorrow, for millions of people across england, they expect to hear the news about the tiers for the regions . Lots of people are on tenterhooks, this matters notjust to the economy but how we live our lives. I have been crucial meetings in whitehall tonight and as i understand it, it is expected london will be tier 2, along with most areas in england. There will be many areas in england. There will be many areas put into tier 3 and only a
handful in tier i, with the lowest level of limits. 0ur viewers might remember the big different between tiers two and three exotic tier 2, hospitality venues can stay open and serve alcohol as long as it is with a meal is that in tier 2. It works much of england will be in that tier with a review on december 16, in time for christmas. But nothing will be official until tomorrow, but that is how the conversation seem to have gone tonight. Thank you. Laura kuenssberg at westminster. One of the more controversial elements of the Spending Review, was the chancellors decision to cut the amount of money the uk gives in foreign aid. The decision has been widely criticised, and a minister at the Foreign Office has resigned in protest. Mr sunak told mps that to carry on spending abroad when there was a domestic emergency was difficult to justify. 0ur Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale has more details. For years, the sight of a plane delivering british food and medicine has brought hope to millions. The humanitarian assistance that can, for some, mean the difference between life and death. But now the governments cutting back, to the fury of the man who championed aid in office. Well, i think its a very sad moment. It not just that weve. Were breaking a promise to the poorest people and the poorest countries in the world, a promise that we made and a promise that we dont have to break, its that that 0. 7 commitment, it really said something about britain. Last year, the uk spent £15 billion on foreign aid, about 0. 7 of National Income. The government is now cutting that legally binding target to just 0. 5 . That means spending only £10 billion next year. This would be less than germany on 0. 6 ,
but more than france on 0. 4 . Those who work to reduce poverty and disease say these cuts will bite deep, particularly during the covid 19 pandemic. This is the last time we should be cutting aid. Cutting aid will make it harder to get vaccines to people all over the world, harder to get the treatments that people need and, ultimately, it will extend the lifetime of the pandemic. This is a little bit like cutting funding to the raf right in the middle of the battle of britain. My lords, existing humanitarian disasters and conflicts. The Foreign Office Development Minister lady sugg was so unhappy she resigned, saying the cut was fundamentally wrong. But the aid budget has long faced questions about priorities, such as why some goes to india, with its own space programme. Questions that are harder to answer when the countrys facing such an economic emergency. This is not something that anybody wanted to have to do,
but the truth is that the nhs and helping people who are unemployed has to be the priority next year. For years, britains had a reputation as an aid superpower. And thats got the uk a hearing on the international stage. Its opened doorfor ministers and officials here at the Foreign Office. The question is what Impact Todays decision will have on that reputation just as britain tries to carve a new role for itself after brexit. To spend less on aid, the government will also have to change the law and that means a long parliamentary battle ahead. James landale, bbc news. Diego maradona, one of the greatest footballers of all time, has died at the age of 60, at his home in tigre. In argentina. Hed suffered a heart attack, and was due to have further treatment for alcohol dependency. Maradona led argentina to victory in the world cup in 1986, a campaign that included the so called hand of god goal, scored against england in the quarter final. The brazilian star pele said hed lost a great friend, and that the world had lost a hero. The former england captain gary lineker said maradona was arguably the greatest player ever. 0ur Sports Editor dan roan looks back at a turbulent life on and off the pitch. Uniquely talented, deeply troubled and at times simply untouchable. Diego maradona played football that defined. He wont need any of them. 0h you have to say thats magnificent argentina against england in the 1980s world cup quarterfinal, in what was later voted the goal of the century. And yet just four minutes voted the goal of the century. And yetjust four minutes earlier maradona had become one of sports most notorious cheats. Commentator maradona touma two extremes. Maradona had no regrets. Translation two extremes. Maradona had no regrets. Translationzlj two extremes. Maradona had no
regrets. Translation i couldnt reach it and shilton was already there. I couldnt head it so i did like that. I believe it is a craftiness. Its not cheating. Tonight one of the men who failed to stop maradona that day recalled an iconic performance. As much as he treated then, the second goal was pure genius from one of the greatest footballers who ever walked the planet. Maradonas spellbinding skills propelled argentina to the trophy, the pinnacle of a remarkable journey that began in the slums outside buenos aires. At its first world cup in 1982 came signs of his flawed genius, making an impact for the right and wrong reasons. After a world record transfer to barcelona came more magic. But chaos and controversy came more magic. But chaos and co ntrove rsy we re never came more magic. But chaos and controversy were never far away, the skill often overshadowed by scandal. At unfashionable Napoli Maradona guided the underdogs to their first league title. But gradually the dream started to sour, tearful
runner up at the 1990 world cup and the next tournament this salivation hinted at the demons within. He failed a doping test and was sent home. Without football his Addictions Group in both drugs and alcohol his weight ballooned. He was rushed to hospital after an overdose while recovering in cuba he befriended then president fidel castro. Maradona went on to coach the National Side but it is as a player he will always be remembered. This evening as thousands of fans gathered outside one of his former clu bs, gathered outside one of his former clubs, boca juniors, and argentina declared three days of mourning, tributes from the world of football poured in. Pele, the other i can with who he will ever be compared, said ive lost a friend and the world has lost a legend. One day i hope we can play together in the sky. Argentinas superstar lionel messi said he has left us but he is not gone, because diego is eternal. Tonight across europe a minutes silence was head as hell that
every Champions League match for a man that was small in stature but a sporting giant. His place among the pantheon of footballing legends is secure. Brilliant run by maradona fantastic goal unbelievable arguably the greatest ever. His brilliance beyond dispute. The many tributes today to the football legend Diego Maradona of argentina who has died at the age of 60. We are going to go live to one of maradonas stomping grounds, if you like, Natalio Cosoy is outside the bombonera stadium, home to one of maradonas former clubs boca juniors. What has been happening there today . It wasnt the first clu b there today . It wasnt the first club maradona played for but he loved boca juniors and boca juniors loved boca juniors and boca juniors loved him back and still love him. Here on the other side of le
bombonera, the chocolate box, the stadium, people have gathered to say goodbye. They are crying. They have lit candles and the sadness can be felt all around. Maradona was a charismatic and complex figure that somehow defined argentinas culture ina somehow defined argentinas culture in a way. He was such a huge character that president Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning, and maradonas wa ke national mourning, and maradonas wake will take place this thursday during the morning in the president ial palace, the pink house, la casa rosada, and that will not be the end of the farewells for maradona. Natalio cosoy, many thanks. Natalio cosoy, our correspondent in buenos aires. Time to look at the nightly round of official government figures, if you like, on the pandemic. There were 18,213 new Coronavirus Infections recorded
in the latest 24 hour period. That means the average number of new cases reported per day in the past week, is now 18,095. There were 1,633 people admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. And 696 deaths were reported, thats people who died within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test. Thats the highest daily rate. Since early may. That means on average in the past week, 466 deaths were announced every day. It takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 56,533. The public spending watchdog has exposed the hugely inflated prices that the uk government ended up paying, for personal protective equipment, as the pandemic began to bite earlier this year. The National Audit office said that stockpiles in the uk were low, but said that competing for ppe with other countries cost the taxpayer an extra £10 billion. Our special correspondent lucy manning examines the findings. At felixstowe port amongst the containers, a sign of englands ppe problems. 4,000 containers of protective equipment still sitting there causing logjams because most of the governments ppe orders didnt arrive for the first covid peak. At the beginning of the pandemic, the government hadnt built up its stockpile of ppe enough. So there were only nine days worth of goggles left, seven days worth of protective aprons and as for gowns, there werent even enough to last a day. And that meant the government had to buy with prices rocketing. The price of body bags and the price of gowns went up by more than 1000 . The price of gloves went up by more than 500 . The spending watchdog found more than £12 billion was spent buying ppe. If it had been bought at prices the year before, £10 billion could have been saved. The shortages left staff feeling vulnerable. The report says it isnt implying theres evidence of a link between covid deaths and ppe. The family of miharajiya mohideen, a nurse who died in april, claim she was concerned about ppe. She did also have diabetes. Well, its devastating especially as front line workers as the government, as the nhs, that we trust in, it should just be natural to just provide anything and everything that will help. Its really hard, you know, its really hard losing someone like that. Its impossible to know how she contracted covid. The bbc has been told that the trust where she worked maintains that all its staff had appropriate ppe. There you go. So, thats your masks and your two boxes of gloves. Care companies in particular came close to running out of ppe. It was a little bit of sort of the wild west, in truth. We were being offered facemasks at 95p per facemask. So, a 1500 increase in price from the original purchase that we made. We were able to find these facemasks for better value than we were being offered by government sanctioned providers. In the summer, the bbc revealed 150 million facemasks from Ayanda Capital couldnt be used in the nhs. The firm claims they met specifications. The report says there could be millions more unsuitable items of ppe. The Prime Minister, challenged about what was ordered. So, will the Prime Minister come clean . How many hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money has been wasted on equipment that cant be used . Speaker Prime Minister. 99. 5 of the ppe, the 32 billion items of ppe that this country has secured, conformed entirely to our clinical needs once wed checked it. At the start of the pandemic, a huge effort was made to get ppe, but prices were high and supplies low. Lucy manning, bbc news. The duchess of sussex has described the almost unbearable grief she experienced, when she suffered a miscarriage in july. Writing in the new york times, she said that talking about losing a baby was still something of a taboo, and led to what she called unwarranted shame. Our correspondent Sarah Campbell reports on meghans decision to speak out. Wait, listen, did you hearthat . I heard duck sounds. Quack, quack, quack archies first birthday in may. Two months later, his mother, the duchess of sussex, suffered a miscarriage, revealing today in a newspaper editorial the impact on her and her husband, prince harry. She described how, after changing archies nappy, she felt a sharp cramp. And yet, she added. Her words have resonated with those all too familiar with pregnancy loss. If i had seen this essay when i had my first pregnancy loss, i wouldve felt a lot less isolated and a lot less alone. Because although i knew that the loss of pregnancy was common, no one really talked to me about it, and no one actually really knew what to say to understand what i was going through. Meghan joins a number of high profile women who have opened up about the loss of a child. Chrissy teigen was widely praised for sharing intimate pictures in the aftermath of a stillbirth. Michelle obama wrote of her miscarriage in her autobiography. And zara tindall, prince harrys cousin, revealed shed suffered two miscarriages before the birth
of her second child
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