So the big cities do well, smaller communities are bound to lose out. Well be reporting live from the village of fishlake near doncaster, one of the worst affected areas. Also tonight life sentences for the parents of six children, who murdered two teenage sons, a day after trying to poison them. In hong kong, police warn that the rule of law is on the brink of total collapse, after months of pro democracy protests. And the spats between Raheem Sterling and joe gomez are just like a family disagreement, according to the england manager. And coming up on sportsday on bbc news. Well bring you the latest as wales, Northern Ireland and england women are all in action this evening. Good evening. The Prime Minister, whos facing criticism for his response to the severe flooding in parts of northern england, has announced more support for the communities affected. Boris johnson was speaking after chairing a meeting of cobra, the cabinets emergency committee. He said the situation was an absolute tragedy. But labour and the liberal democrats have again said that a National Emergency should be declared. Following a months worth of rain in just 2a hours last week, rivers burst their banks, flooding parts of South Yorkshire, nottinghamshire, derbyshire and lincolnshire. But the Environment Agency says the £20 million flood defences, built after the 2007 floods, significantly reduced the impact in areas like meadowhall in sheffield. Severe Flood Warnings around the river don have been in place since friday. Some 400 homes have been flooded and 1,200 properties evacuated. More heavy rain is forecast this week. For the latest we can join our correspondent, danjohnson, in the village of fishlake near doncaster. Yes, this is the community church, this has been the centre of the local response. There has been so much to admire in the way people have come together, helped each other out and the result of these residents have shown. But there is frustration, because people are asking, if this is not an emergency, what is it . Today the government announced more soldiers will be heading to areas to help out and there is more pumping equipment being brought into this village tonight, to try and rid fishlake of the water that is surrounding it. Its right through the house. It goes all the way through. Its ripped all the flooring up. In the furthest reaches of fishlake, this is what lifes been like since friday. James and his pets are cut off and barely coping. Youve been living like this for five days . Yeah, trying to keep warm. Sleep. Everything weve got is wet, its destroyed. No heating . No heating, no power. No light . We have one light eventually, in the bedroom. People think, why havent you left, why havent you gone to the Refuge Centre . Well, ive got two dogs, a goshawk and ferrets. You know, how can you carry all that or take this to a church or whatever . Watch where you are walking. He says, despite offers of help, he wont leave without his animals. Plough on down these flooded lanes and you only find more misery. Some are returning to see how much theyve lost and to salvage whats left and there are fears for the future. My mother in law is in the village, which is not flooding, but they want everybody out of there. But you cant leave if youve nowhere to go. I think we are all scared, worried about what we are going to do, how we are going to live. And on it goes, everywhere you look. Five days on from the heaviest rain and you can now get through most of the village with a proper 4x4. But that doesnt mean there arent people still struggling and people who are still really angry. Communities have been absolutely amazing. The official people that should have been telling us what to do, get out your house, move your things, or even that it was coming. We had no idea. So, just a complete contrast. The only good news here is that clare renewed her insurance a day before the rain came. Not everyone is covered though. Today the politicians descended as flooding spilled over into the election campaign. We cannot leave People Living in this awful sense of fear and limbo. Its wrong that it seems to be just down to the local communities. Important though this work is, its clearly a National Emergency. Winter, after winter, after winter, its homes and communities that get destroyed as a result of action and long term action not being put in place. The Prime Minister said over the weekend, this was no National Emergency. But now, extra support is on its way. Were coordinating a National Defence and programme of flood defences. There has been £2. 6 billion of National Investment and the Environment Agency is there to ensure that cash is spent on the right defences, the right earthworks, the right earth banks and Everything Else that we are going to need. Here, pumps are now starting to get the water moving. Emergency teams have been getting through, but some here are still feeling forgotten. Could have done a lot more. Could have had a lot more warning. What do you say . What can you say . Been let down, somehow. Dan johnson, bbc news, fishlake, in South Yorkshire. The Environment Agency has warned that severe flooding episodes are set to become more frequent. Its prompted a renewed debate about the measures and the money needed to the limit the impact. 0ur science editor David Shukman looks at the challenge of saving homes, businesses and communities at risk. Year after year, we see the misery of flooding, but this time its striking in the middle of an election, adding real edge to questions about why its happened and how to avoid scenes like this in future. A key dispute is over money, so how much is spent on flood defences . A view from the air of the floods in South Yorkshire today the plight of the village of fishlake at the centre of the current political storm. The total budget for flood defences for this five year period is £2. 6 billion, but there has long been criticism that governments of all parties need to spend far more. Whats striking is how its the small villages like fishlake and farmland that are bearing the brunt of the flooding, and thats for a very simple reason. The money forflood protection is allocated according to the number of people who benefit from it, so the big cities do well and smaller communities are bound to lose out. Another challenge, who is in charge of flood protection . Rescue work by the Emergency Services is highly praised and well coordinated, but behind the scenes it can be another story. Theres so much more water that these pumps are having to deal with. With central government, local authorities and drainage officials here monitoring the pumps at fishlake, a complicated mix that can slow down the system of early warning. If people dont know where they are getting their Flood Warning from, their flood information from, it can be very confusing, and that kind of undermines the actions they might take in order to protect themselves and their families. And all the time the question of whether flooding will be worse in future. We spot emergency barriers are being thrown up at a key electricity substation. Scientists are warning that, as temperatures rise, rainstorms are likely to become heavier, so the threat of flooding may well intensify. We need to really speed up if we are going to keep on top of the problems that are being exacerbated by the change in the climate. We dont really have the infrastructure in place for the next 25 years, and that is very frightening. 50 years, you know, im really scared. The emergency pumps in action here are now centrestage in the election, and the struggle reflects wider battle over how the country should protect itself now and in coming years. David shukman, bbc news, South Yorkshire. The government announced an additional 100 Armed Forces Personnel will be sent to South Yorkshire, and councils there are being given some additional funding to help households and businesses. 0ur deputy Political Editor john pienaar is at westminster. The fact is, john, this crisis has become something of a political spat as well . It has become rapidly, deeply politicised. Given we are in a close and unpredictable election campaign, that will come as a great surprise to absolutely no one. Certainly since the Prime Minister chaired that emergency meeting. He has promised grants for councils, troops, sandbags, troops bearing sandbags but all of it is too little, too late, according to the opposition parties. The liberal democrats have said they will write 5 billion extra for flood defences and 5. 6 billion from jeremy corbyn. He has accused the conservatives of caring about people and places in the south and the south east, more than the north, looking after their own heartlands, in other words. Its denied by the tories and that may have something to do with the fact that the midlands and the north are rich in electoral battle grounds. As People Struggle with the floodwaters, who is winning this political battle . The answer is as simple as it is obvious, the voters will have the last word. They will decide in whom to place their trust when they put their crosses in those boxes on december the twell. John, many thanks again. John pienaar there with the latest thoughts from westminster. A father and mother who murdered two of their sons , and plotted to kill their other four children , have been sentenced to life in prison. Sarah barrass and Brandon Machin, who are half siblings, strangled their two eldest children, boys aged 13 and 14, in sheffield in may. 0ur correspondent Frankie Mccamley reports. Tristan barrass in a bbc Childrens Programme in 2017, a happy boy with lots of friends. But tristan was murdered along with his 14 year old brother, blake, on the right, by their parents at their home in sheffield. Sarah barrass and Brandon Machin were half siblings. When poisoning their children failed and drowning didnt work, together the pair strangled the boys, then suffocated them with binbags. Today, for the first time, the court heard why the couple murdered two of their children and tried to kill the rest. The pair feared their children would be taken into care if the local Authority Found out about their secret incestuous relationship, so barrass and machin decided killing all six of their children would be better than letting that happen. As the pair were both sentenced to 35 years in prison, friends of the family paid tribute. A piece of all our hearts died on the 24th of may 2019 which we will never get back. Blake and tristan leave a huge empty void in our lives, and we did not get the chance to say goodbye. At their funeral in august, the motorbikes they loved came together to remember the boys, who were regularly told by their mother, i gave you life, i can take it away which she and her partner did in a crime described as nothing but evil. Frankie mccamley, bbc news, sheffield. Lets take a look at some of todays other news. A man has gone on trial at the old bailey accused of a series of rapes and sexual assaults on women and children in london, hertfordshire and north west england. Joseph mccann, whos 3a, is also charged with multiple counts of kidnap and false imprisonment over a two week period earlier this year. He denies the charges. Official figures show the number of people in work fell by 58,000 in the three months to september the biggest quarterly drop for more than four years. The office for National Statistics says the reduction was partly caused by the collapse of a number of major retailers. The number of people who are unemployed also fell, by 23,000 to 1. 31 million. The former head coach for british cycling and team sky, shane sutton, has walked out of a medical tribunal denying allegations that hes a serial liar and doper. The tribunal is considering the case of the teams former doctor, dr richard freeman, whos facing charges of medical misconduct, for obtaining testosterone for an unnamed rider. He claims they were obtained at the direction of mr sutton, as our sports editor, dan roan, reports. Former british cycling and team sky head coach shane sutton arriving today is the key witness in the case thats cast a shadow over the countrys most successful sport. This man, the organisations former chief medic, dr richard freeman, has been charged with ordering testosterone to the sports headquarters in 2011 for an unnamed rider to dope. He admits lying to cover up the order but insists sutton bullied him into doing so to treat his alleged erectile dysfunction. Sutton denies that, insisting he wasnt behind the delivery of the banned drug. However, as he gave evidence for the first time, freemans lawyer, mary 0rourke qc, said. In remarkable exchanges, 0rourke said she had evidence from an anonymous witness who saw sutton inject himself with testosterone in the late 90s. Sutton denied that, calling her a liar and a bully and saying hed never failed any of 100 tests during his riding career. Enraged by the line of questioning, he said. Sutton said his wife wanted to testify that he didnt suffer from erectile dysfunction, as alleged by freeman, who was sat behind a screen because hes being treated as a vulnerable witness. Take the screen down, man up and look me in the eye, said sutton, banging his fist on the table. Tell me to my face i ordered it. He wont because he knows i didnt. Threatening to sue 0rourke for defamation, he then stormed out of the hearing, calling freeman spineless. I got myself into an emotional state because, you know, when you know that you are not lying and you are accused of lying, you get yourself worked up. Pretty disappointing, the way ive been singled out and feel like i am on trial, but i need to go and talk to my family and discuss whether i will return to give any more evidence. With or without sutton, the case will resume on thursday, but, for a sport desperately trying to move on after a series of scandals, this has been yet another damaging episode. Dan roan, bbc news. In a months time, voters across the United Kingdom will be voting in the general election and, as the campaign progresses, bbc news is continuing its series looking at political priorities in different parts of the uk. Tonight, my colleague clive myrie is in the north east of england and the constituency of Bishop Auckland. Thanks, huw. What a fascinating constituency this is. The town of Bishop Auckland is itself proud of its industrial past, the railways and coal mining. But the death of traditional industry hit this area hard, and there is a sense that the town has never really recovered. Politically, its also a bellwether for the rest of the north east. The constituency is a mixture of post industrial towns, pretty market towns and agricultural communities. Historically, its been a labour stronghold in general elections and, barring four years in the 1930s, labour has held Bishop Auckland since 1918. But this majority has been slowly whittled away over the years. Its now down to just over 500 votes, and thats made it a key conservative target in this election. When it comes to brexit, it was a decisive vote, with 61 of people here choosing to leave the eu. In the two days that weve been here, weve spoken to a number of people who feel this place has been forgotten since the heyday of its industry, a time when Bishop Auckland was truly on the map. Its Bishop Auckland in the amateur cup final at wembley. There was a time when the whole country knew of Bishop Auckland. Warren bradley centres. Its footballers lit up terraces the way the regions coal lit up homes. The teams fans, working miners and families. Their political allegiance always to labour. The whistles gone and Bishop Auckland have made their hat trick. But theres been disappointment at a forgetting that this place exists since the pits closed, when the football was good. And now theres anger for some at this working mens club that labours handling of brexit, they say, is a final kick in the teeth. Ask kevin, an nhs hospital worker switching from labour to tory. Its notjust me being ignored or the north east, its the 17. 4 Million People who voted to leave. And you are fed up with that . Absolutely fed up. Ive had it up to here. Ask shannon, silent witness to thousands of conversations. I think a lot of people will end up voting conservative rather than labour, yeah, from what im hearing. I normally vote labour. So where are you thinking you might go this time . Im undecided. Right. And askjohn, unhappy but unable to bring himself to vote conservative. What about the brexit party . Well, to me, i dont like farage. Then again, i dont like corbyn. I dont likejohnson. You are a bit stuck then, arent you . Are you going to stay at home then on election day . Ill probably still go to the ballot box and have a reading of the thing about it. Sounds as if you might reluctantly end up voting labour again. Probably, yes. The Brexit Party Candidate standing here could split the leave vote but, as allegiances shift, a changing of the political weather wouldnt be down to just brexit. Years of neglect will play their part, too. Auckland castle, with its priceless paintings, has been restored with money from a local multimillionaire. Jonathan ruffer is also financing museums, galleries, gardens, shaming past governments of all stri