A very warm welcome to bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. My name is mike embley. An unwelcome milestone the number of official coronavirus deaths officially past million. Figures from the johns figures from Thejohns Hopkins University in the United States show that brazil, india and the United States accounts for half of that number. The World Health Organization and the us announce plans to rollout a rapid and new covid test. It could transform the Global Response to the pandemic. It will cost just 5 and could see results and is a 15 minutes. Less than 24 hours before the first president ial debate, donald trump dismisses accusations he has hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. The democrats say if true, the president s depths pose National Security concerns as foreign nations or individuals could have leveraged over mr trump. It is about 2 30am in the morning and it is time for monday in parliament. Hello again and welcome to monday in parliament. The Health Secretary sets out the governments covid choice. The two realistic options that we have are suppression until a vaccine comes and letting it rip. As new lockdown rules are introduced, a lords new boy rejects claims theyre too severe. Closing pubs at 10pm takes us back to the days of my teens, but its not actually a major infringement of civil liberties. And tributes to Sergeant Matt ratana, the officer killed at a Police Station in croydon. Our community spoke as one on friday, both in our grief but also in our gratitude to the many years of service from a wonderful officer
who was the very best of us. But first, the Health Secretary has announced further restrictions for People Living in the north east of england to try to stop the spread of coronavirus. Matt hancock said these would include legal restrictions on indoor mixing between households in any setting. So, for example, itll be against the law for different households to go to the pub together. But as mps held a lengthy debate on covid i9, matt hancock was challenged to give parliament more of a say before new laws are imposed. On wednesday, mps will decide whether to renew the coronavirus act, under which many Emergency Powers have been introduced. I know he wants to take Public Opinion with him, but will he also reassure us that hes determined to take parliament with him . And may i urge him, in that respect, to meet with my honourable friend, the member for altrincham and sale, and come to a compromise and ensure that, if there are further national lockdowns, parliament is fully involved in this process . Mr speaker, i thought this might come up the mp for altrincham and sale, sir graham brady, is trying to change the law so ministers must get parliamentary approval before introducing new lockdown restrictions. Were looking at further ways to ensure the house can be properly involved in the process, in advance where possible, and i hope to provide the house with further details soon and i will take up the invitation to a further meeting with my right honourable friend, the member for altrincham and sale, with whom ive already met to discuss this matter, to see what further progress can be made. Has he looked, if he considers the efficacy of parliamentary scrutiny, at what the new Zealand Parliament has done, which is to set up a special select Committee Led by the leader of the opposition, with a majority of the opposition on it in order to subject the governments performance to more direct and transparent scrutiny . I have answered seven urgent questions, given 12 statements and taken 800 interventions since the start of this pandemic, and i am committed to continuing the engagement. But its notjust about scrutiny, its about the laws were making. And the ones that, for example, came in at midnight tonight were 12 pages of detailed laws, lots of detail and criminal offences and duties not mentioned when they were set out in the Statement Last week, including duties on employers, directors and officers, serious criminal penalties. Thats why we need to scrutinise the detail of the legislation before it comes into force and give our assent of it, not, im afraid, just allow him to do so by decree. Thank you very much. Well, of course, sometimes in this pandemic, we have to move fast. Sometimes we have had to move fast and we may need to again. The challenge we have in this
house is how to ensure proper scrutiny whilst also being able, when necessary, to move fast in response to the virus. In the southern part of my constituency, in that district, there were no cases last week. Before we embark upon measures that affect everyone, as opposed to firefighting in individual areas, it is really important that this house has the chance to really scrutinise and hold to account and challenge. We know he wants to do the right thing. We want to help him to do the right thing. Well, help like that is always very welcome. What i can say is that we want to ensure that the house can be properly involved in this process. Why is he against parliament actually being the ones who finally decide on this . Because its quite clear its not even been decided in cabinet, butjust by one or two members in cabinet. Let parliament decide. Others wondered about the impact of the existing restrictions. He would have seen on clips of what happened in my constituency on saturday night
at 10pm, as the streets filled out with young people enjoying themselves, partying, no social distancing and, clearly, creating the worst of environments. Could he now review that policy of a 10pm curfew to ensure that our streets and our neighbourhoods are safe . Well, we always look at the effects of these policies. Weve got to take everything into the round, including the level of social distancing that might have been going on were that to continue all through the night. Some questioned the governments overall approach. He mentioned that there were essentially two strategies, but there is a third strategy, of course, based on elimination, which is what new zealand have been pursuing. And they had succeeded, although theres been a slight resurgence over recent weeks. Is elimination a viable strategy for the uk . I would love it if elimination were a realistic strategy, but everywhere in the world that has tried an elimination strategy has seen a resurgence, sadly. The two realistic options we have are suppression until a vaccine comes and letting it rip, and i know
which of those two i support and the basis of the governments position is entirely on, the goal of suppressing the virus. Labour warned against a Second National lockdown and said people needed hope. We understand the need for restrictions, but people need reassurance that there is an end in sight. Families want to know that they will be able to enjoy christmas together, so when will ministers outline the criteria that will allow a daughter in bradford to hug her elderly parents or grandchildren in leicester to cuddle their grandmother . The snp said the pandemic is still raging. Summer was our time to learn and prepare for winter. We now have the relevant experience to learn from all the mistakes made in the first part of the year. But in the Public Health response, it is vital that we focus on those three
issues outbreaks in care homes, the availability of ppe and having an effective test and trace system in place. But perhaps the strongest criticism of the government came from its own side. One conservative mp, sir desmond swayne, wondered if the Prime Minister had been reprogrammed by scientists over to the dark side, while the governments top scientists, he said, should be sacked. What was their purpose in presenting such a graph . It was the purpose of the fat boy in pickwick papers i wants to make your flesh creep it was project fear. It was an attempt to terrify the british people, as if they havent been terrified enough. Sir desmond said he didnt underestimate the disease, but it was the purpose of politicians to impose a sense of proportion. In the lords, ministers saw off attempts to increase parliamentary scrutiny of the coronavirus act. But several conservative former cabinet ministers criticised the governments approach. My lords, the coronavirus act deserves an assessment, and our assessment is that it has meant an enormous amount to the lives of people. It has meant that theyve known where their next meal is coming from, thanks to the furlough scheme and the easement around claiming benefits that this act has facilitated. It has encouraged a feeling of security in their own home, thanks to the additional protection from the eviction that this act has created, a feeling more confident that theirjob will exist, thanks to the support for industry and business that this act has allowed the government to set up. I will pursue two arguments. First, that government policy has been inconsistent, incoherent, confusing and entirely disproportionate. A Public Health crisis has been turned into a catastrophe. And second, which i think may find more sympathy in this chamber, that our cherished and accountable democratic process has been replaced by authoritarian rule by diktat. I believe we need confidence, we need clarity and we need consistency, and were lacking in confidence and confidence is undermined almost daily now, particularly by the broadcast media and by some irresponsible people on social media. My lords, it is wrong for the government to force the house of commons simply to approve for renewal or, on the contrary, pull expiry and give this house no say at all. But let me say i cant agree with my noble friend in his motion of regret. I think we need these powers. I think the speed of response that is necessary as such that it would be inappropriate for us to require parliamentary approval before the exercise of such powers, but i do share the idea that we actually ought to be debating more frequently, and i think, if in no other way, the usual channels might
be able to engineer. The rule of six is not particularly severe. Closing comes at 10pm texas back to the days of my teens, but its not actually a major infringement of civil liberties. Opinion polls show the public would accept tougher measures from the government, and i think the majority of parliament, after proper debate and scrutiny, would allow most of it. But the government needs to show that it has made its decisions on a basis that takes into account the economic costs. There is in the end the price that we wont be able to afford. We cant have a situation in which the cure is worse than the disease. I agree with those who say we need greater parliamentary involvement. Its not enough for the government simply to say, we know best. The government must do the decent thing, the parliamentary thing, the rule of law thing, and ensure that this legislation is subject
to amendment without delay. Youre watching monday in parliament with me, david cornock. Still to come, will covid bring the curtain down on your local theatre . To stormont now, where, as Coronavirus Infections increase, northern irelands first minister has been stressing the importance of getting the Public Health message across. Some students at Queens University halls of residence in belfast have been told to self isolate after a small number tested positive for covid i9. We have now put in place a Digital Campaign targeted specifically at our young people, working in partnership with organisations like cool fm and obviously using social media and indeed something called mobster, which the member might be able to tell me what it is, but im not quite sure what it is im sure many of our young people would be able to tell me, but apparently we are going to use mobster to do some digital advertising, which will target i6 to 25 year olds, including students, based
on their location data. So if they are in queens, if they are in the university of ulster or whatever, we will be able to get some messages to them. I often travel under these electronic road signs on the motorway which say a speed limit is not a target. In other words, just because you can doesnt mean you should. Therefore, can i ask the minister if she believes the other executive Party Leaders undermined the executives health care message by travelling down to dublin to do a meeting that could have been done on zoom . Im sure my colleagues will be able to answer for themselves. It is important we do give leadership in these issues and that we set forth what we would expect other people to do as well. I happen to think that advertisement of the speed limit not being a target is a very effective advertisement and i hope we can use more of those sorts
of quirky advertisements to get out our covid message as well, because it is important, as i say, that we reach as many people as possible. The nhs covid 19 app was relaunched last week in gb and it included the option for welsh. Im just wondering if any consideration is given to it being put into irish as well . I dont think there has been consideration of that, but that would be a matter for the department of health probably based on need and if people have been asking for that in the irish language. Im not sure that has been the case or if there has been discussion around it. Arlene foster. Back at westminster, the day in the commons began with a minutes silence to remember sergeant mat ratana. The 54 Year Old Police officer died in hospital after being shot by a handcuffed suspect who was taken into custody in croydon on friday morning. Yesterday was national
police memorial day. I ask all honourable members to stand and observe a minutes silence to mark the occasion and to remember mat ratana. And there was a tribute from the home secretary. His tragic death in the line of duty is a reminder to us all of the risk our brave officers take each and every day to keep us all safe. I know the house willjoin me in paying tribute to his courage and service and also in sending oursincere and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. As a croydon mp as well as shadow policing minister, can i pay tribute to sergeant mat ratana for his years of service in my community . Our community spoke as one on friday, both in our grief but also in our gratitude to the many years of service from a wonderful officer who was the very best of us, and we will not forget him. The shadow home secretary joined in the tributes,
but he also had questions for priti patel. The levels of violence against Police Officers is worrying and it is rising. Asjohn apter, the National Chair of the Police Federation said on the weekend, we are seeing more firearms out on the streets. We are doing a lot to combat it, more and more are being seized. So can the home secretary outline what additional steps are now being taken to deal with this increase in possession of firearms and to keep our officers safe . She said the government was working with the intelligence agencies and the National Crime agency. They themselves have a great deal of work taking place on firearms being imported into our country but not just weapons but Component Parts and also ways in which they can intercept and tackle criminals that are facilitating firearms and obviously the harm they undertake. Finally, mr speaker, it is worth noting that of course within policing, we are also developing greater legislation to look at more Police Powers in terms
of where they themselves can do more work when it comes to tackling serious violence, high harms and also that also includes firearms. Elsewhere at question time, conservative mps wanted to know what was being done to stop migrants coming to the uk illegally by boats crossing the english channel. Can he say when legislation will be brought forward to update immigration and asylum law and will that contain provisions such as those who enter the United Kingdom illegally not being able to subsequently apply to stay in this country . My honourable friend is quite right to draw attention to the legal system. It is quite frankly, in my view, not fit for purpose in this area. When it comes to asylum and Immigration Enforcement matters. We are often frustrated by repeatedly vexatious legal claims often made at the last
minute with the express intention of frustrating the proper application of the law. I can confirm we are working at pace on legislative options in the way he describes and everything is on the table. Proportionally, the uk is not a major destination for Asylum Seekers but those who have a legal claim here face a catch 22. I ask my right honourable friend, given that you need currently to be in the uk to establish a claim, what plans she has, her department has, for creating safe legal routes so that we have the ability to robustly disrupt traffickers trying to bring people in illegally . Thank you, mr speaker. My honourable friend is absolutely right about the need, greater need for safe legal routes but i should also add that it is right that as a government we pursue the individuals that are facilitating criminality, who continue to do that, and of course we are working right now to look at
new routes, safe legal routes for the protection of those that need our help. Priti patel. Senior lawyers and former soldiers have criticised new legislation to protect military personnel and veterans from prosecution for alleged historical offences in overseas conflicts. The overseas operations bill would place a five year limit on criminal prosecutions from the date of an incident unless there is compelling new evidence, and a six year limit for any civil case involving personal injury or death. The joint human rights committee, which is made up of mps and peers, has been taking evidence from critics of the legislation. A former Foreign OfficeLegal Adviser who resigned ahead of the iraq war in 2003 had a warning. We know the presumption against prosecution is not justified. There has been a problem in that Service Personnel do seem to have been the subject of enquiries and investigations, sometimes more than one in relation to the same incident but the presumption is not the way to fix any problem there may be. The presumption puts at risk the uks reputation as an upholder of International Law and also puts uk Service Personnel at risk of being prosecuted not before our own courts but before the International Criminal court. She was supported by the former chief legal officer for the british army during the 2003 iraq war. The Un Rapporteur on torture said of this five year limitation it grossly underestimates the practical risks and difficulties experienced by many victims of torture. In some cases, people live with torture for years, for decades, and to have a presumption against prosecution would be grossly unfair to those victims who are struggling to cope with such trauma. In my view, a statute of limitations breaches the Un Convention on torture because it expressly states that there is to be no
statute of limitations, therefore, as far as torture is concerned, this bill violates that convention. Martyn day is a lawyer who helped obtain compensation for around 5,000 kenyans who were the victims of torture at the hands of the British Colonial regime in the 1950s. In 2017, he was cleared of professional misconduct charges over his firms handling of claims against British Forces in iraq. For anything at all serious, murder, torture, inhumane treatment, the idea that we could just be standing by and saying that after five years that the burden is then on the prosecutor in the way that is described in the bill i think isjust monstrous. I think it totally goes against Everything Else we as a society hold dear to us. If in the end there is evidence to say that somebody has committed a terrible crime, then they should be prosecuted, and there should be nothing to do with this burden that the bill suggests. I think it is the most ridiculous idea in a civilised society. The presumption against prosecution applies to all offences committed by Service Personnel or veterans during overseas military operations but with the exception of sexual offences. And the question is, should it apply to serious offences such as murder and torture, or where the alleged conduct may amount to a war crime or crime against humanity or should these also be exceptions . I am against the presumption against prosecution altogether but if we have to have it, then we have to have more exclusions. Lets just go through. The crime that some people say is the worst in the world, genocide, is not in the list of exclusions. You may say, well, why on earth could british Service Personnel
ever be included, ever be complicit in genocide . That may be right but then why is it not included in the exclusion . We give such a poor example to other countries. Weve got crimes against humanity which are not included, we have got war crimes, which is another category, and then we have other serious violations of the laws of war, none of which appear in the excluded offences. And as elizabeth quite rightly pointed out, if we dont prosecute, the International Criminal court will but all those offences should be excluded. Finally, from the Grand Theatre in blackpool to the hippodrome in dudley, regional theatres around the country are feeling the effects of the covid 19 crisis. The government created a support package injuly worth nearly £1. 6 billion. But pointing to the job scheme
announced by the chancellor last week, labour said rishi sunak didnt regard jobs in the arts as viable. The first theatre i ever attended was the beautiful Grand Theatre in blackpool. It, like many other iconic regional theatres, now faces the possibility that it is closed for good. Can the minister give assurances that the Cultural Recovery Fund and other government measures will take careful cognizance of the contribution that these iconic theatres give to the cultural, educational and social life of the regions . Im pleased to reassure the noble lord that that is exactly the way that my right honourable friend, the secretary of state, and the minister for culture is approaching this. They recognise the critical value of these institutions to the communities and the people who live and work in them. Surely, in these times, it is not a coincidence that Dudley Council last week announced a decision to demolish the art deco dudley hippodrome, despite a clear desire of the local people
to restore the building and maintain it for cultural use. Will the government look at that decision . And, more broadly, what guarantees will they give that, with both the effects of covid and the loosening of planning rules, many of our physical cultural assets, not just theatres but art centres, museums and other venues, will not eventually be facing a similar fate . My lords, im sorry to hear about the fate of the dudley hippodrome, but i think, strategically, this fund has been very much aligned to the fact that we must protect key physical institutions in order to protect the jobs and creativity that are found there. Some 90,000 jobs are currently at risk in the Creative Industries and regional theatres right across the country are under threat. Treasury schemes havent helped the creative freelance sector,
and we now know this is because the chancellor doesnt regard them as being viable jobs. Does the noble baroness the minister agree with him . The film and tv sector now has a government backed plan to help it restart productions. Why cant this scheme be extended to regional theatres with immediate effect . Im not clear where the chancellor said he didnt see these as viable jobs. I think weve used every effort to make sure that the unprecedented level of support for these sectors is as wide and comprehensive as possible. The culture minister, lady barran. Thats the final curtain for this monday in parliament. Thank you for watching. I do hope you canjoin me at the same time tomorrow for tuesday in parliament. Until then, bye for now. Hello there. A window of fine weather awaits many today not all, but for most, there will be some good lengthy spells of sunshine and light winds, and it will feel pleasa ntly warm for late september. The reason, well, weve got a ridge of High Pressure moving in behind the cold weather front, which hasnt brought much rain but it certainly brought cloudier skies southwards through the night and some drizzly rain, which will stick across Eastern England for a time before finally clearing. The ridge of High Pressure towards the north ensuring a pretty cold start to the day again, with temperatures close enough to freezing to give us some grass frost. The other thing we need to be aware of in northern and Western Areas is some patchy fog of course, it lingers through the rush hour this time of year. Now, we have got the cloud, the low cloud, the drizzly rain with our weather front as well in the south, really rather great start for parts of Eastern England. As you can see, with time
through the day, its starting to pull away, the skies will brighten. Also, just the outside chance of a few showers in north west scotland, possibly northern ireland. Its more likely the cloud will thicken towards tea time here. With light winds, despite temperatures a little lower than they were on monday, the north will still feel very pleasant, and approaching 18 19 in southern areas, rather where they should be for the time of year. But that ridge of High Pressure is a brief ridge of High Pressure, because by the night, as you can see, and tomorrow, we have got more rain rushing in. And its a slow moving band of heavy rain. Some parts of southern and western scotland could see 40 60 mm before this rain finally clears away. You can see, it continues to fall throughout tuesday night and wednesday. Strong, potentially Gale Force Winds with it. Ahead of it, some drier weather, and this mild air at least, but it will be a fairly wet affair wednesday for most parts of the uk. Then a brief respite again, potentially on thursday, little ridge of High Pressure, still some showers around. Now comes the uncertainty. Where will this deepening area of low pressure come to lie . Potentially southern areas, bringing us increasingly windy and wet weather and lasting into the weekend as well. It certainly looks a lot more
unsettled by that stage. So, yes, definitely feeling autumnal, and feeling quite chilly as well after the fact that weve had some sunshine and its felt quite warm. Look at the temperatures really dipping down by the end of the week. As i say, perhaps a little respite on thursday, but some very unsettled weather as you can see in the outlook. As ever, theres more on our website. A very warm welcome to bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. My name is mike embley. An unwelcome milestone the number of official coronavirus global deaths officially past million. The americas account for more than half the total. The World Health Organization and the us announce plans to rollout a rapid new covid test. It could transform the Global Response to the pandemic. One, two, three, four, five, into the test. Twisted three times. The adhesive is pulled off, then you wait 15 minutes and that is the test. Less than 24 hours before the first president ial debate, donald trump dismisses accusations he has hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. And earth under threat
sir David Attenborough describes his fears