also tonight... following the chaos at wembley injuly, england are ordered to play its next uefa home game behind closed doors. buying a new gas boiler in england and wales should not be possible after 2035 under the government's green energy plans. and we look back at the life of colin powell, the first african—american to serve as us secretary of state, who's died at the age of 8a. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, can arsenal continue their unbeaten run in the premier league against crystal palace, led by former gunners legend patrick vieira? good evening. the house of commons has observed a minute's silence in memory of sir david amess, the conservative mp for southend west who was stabbed to death last friday as he held a constituency surgery in essex. tributes from all sides of the house were led by the prime minister, who told mps that sir david's long—running campaign to bestow city status on southend had been approved by the queen. sir david's family visited the scene of the attack today. a 25—year—old man is still being held by police under the terrorism act. more on that shortly. first, our political editor laura kuenssberg reports on the day at westminster. holding on... ..at a church that should be a place of sanctuary, instead — for their father and husband — a place of violence. this family shattered, left reading messages from others. "thank you for all you have done." a simple note among the blanket of flowers. a way to express sorrow and support at parliament too. then the ultimate mark of respect... ..to still the commons' usual clamour. on so many of their minds, perhaps, a phrase sir david himself wrote, "when mps are doing theirjobs, it could happen to any one of us." sir david was taken from us in a contemptible act of violence, striking at the core of what it is to be a member of this house and violating the sanctity both of the church in which he was killed and the constituency surgery that is so essential to our representative democracy. granting his dearest political wish. her majesty has agreed that southend will be accorded the city status it so clearly deserves. hear, hear! but mps on all sides have fears about their and their staffs safety. this place can be the scene of tantrums and torment — not today. i want to lean across, to reach across, and to acknowledge the pain that's felt on the opposite benches, and i do. hear, hear! of course our differences matter. after all, that is what democracy is about. but today we are reminded that what we have in common matters far more. in a packed commons, the only empty spot, sir david's old seat. his close friend furious at how mps are treated, urging a crackdown on online abuse. we are now systematically vilified day after day, and i simply say to you, ladies and gentlemen, that enough is enough. i'd like to drag mark zuckerberg of facebook and jack dorsey of twitter to the bar of the house. the survivor of a similar attack urged them to stand firm. we must not give up on the accessibility of members of parliament. if we do, the sponsors for those who attacked david and who attacked me will have succeeded. isn't it fitting that his last acts were acts of service to his constituents? there are tears on all sidesl of the house this afternoon. but an argument about civility in politics doesn't explain why, like five years ago, a family is in pain. it brought it back very physically. i was sort of shaking and unable to process it, really. that moment when you are told that they haven't made it and the weeks and months of despair and anguish that follow, i guess. if you were a young couple now, when she first said, "i think i want to go into parliament," would you try to persuade her not to do it? she had a vision for a society she wanted to see, and she would have taken personal risk to see it. so, i wouldn't have either tried or succeeded in trying to convince her to do anything differently, but i do think that there will be people that will be put off. this place is normally fuelled by difference, by argument, but tonight, they walked together across the road together... ..sang and listen together. the noble calling of politicians in a democracy is to make all manner of sacrifices — seen and unseen. a moment to remember a man who believed in that, their common cause. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. as we mentioned earlier, a 25 year—old man, ali harbi ali, who was arrested at the scene on friday on suspicion of sir david's murder is still being questioned under the terrorism act. he is a british national, and is being held at a police station in london. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the latest on the investigation. in a picture taken several years ago, ali harbi ali, the man arrested at the church hall where sir david amess was killed. the murder, just after midday on friday, was initially investigated by essex police, but quickly taken over by scotland yard's counter—terrorism command, when a possible extremist motivation was identified. since then, the arrested man has been in custody being questioned. first in essex, and then in the capital. ali harbi ali was born in southwark, in south london, the oldest of four children. he grew up in croydon and went to school there. his father was an adviser to a former somali prime minister. his uncle is the somali ambassador to china. ali harbi ali was referred to the government's counter—extremism programme prevent some years ago, but he was not a formal mi5 subject of interest. more than three days into this investigation, counter—terrorism detectives do have a potential motive for the killing, islamist extremism and a desire to kill a british politician, but it is still not clear why sir david amess in particular was targeted. counter—terrorism command searches of three properties in london linked to ali harbi ali are now over. this flat in a north london town house was a hive of police activity yesterday, but today it was quiet. it seems that the investigation of the murder of sir david amess is not expanding, but remains focused on the man arrested at the scene. the suspect is still being questioned at a police station in london. he has not yet been charged with any offences. daniel sandford, bbc news, new scotland yard. to westminster and our political editor laura kuenssberg. we heard the many moving tributes but we had some very pointed reminders about the concerns for mps' safety. reminders about the concerns for mps' safety-— mps' safety. that is right, today was one of— mps' safety. that is right, today was one of those _ mps' safety. that is right, today was one of those very _ mps' safety. that is right, today was one of those very rare - mps' safety. that is right, today - was one of those very rare moments when the metaphorical clock stops on normal politics and i think we saw that happen for the very worst of reasons but it showed perhaps one of the best moments for parliament. we saw anger, affection, concern, some laughter and fond memories of sir david himself but also a real shared seriousness from mps today about their joint seriousness from mps today about theirjoint endeavour, reminders of theirjoint endeavour, reminders of the real reason that the vast majority of politicians come to westminster in the first place, their shared desire to try to do the right thing, to serve their constituents. but this terrible episode has had such an impact here of course because of the horror of the crime, mercifully rare but terrible for any family that finds itself losing a loved one in such a way, but also hitting home for mps because this extraordinarily horrible event happened during the most ordinary of moments for mp5, the kind of exchange between a politician and constituents that happens hundreds and hundreds of times a week in every single corner of the country. so the fact it has all happened in this way has caused some mps to feel really unsettled, not just for them some mps to feel really unsettled, notjust for them but some mps to feel really unsettled, not just for them but for their staff and theirfamilies, not just for them but for their staff and their families, too. not just for them but for their staff and theirfamilies, too. but mps also, member after member, made it absolutely plain today that they won't be cowed and they won't hide away. won't be cowed and they won't hide awa . . . , , , away. laura kuenssberg in westminster, _ away. laura kuenssberg in westminster, many - away. laura kuenssberg in. westminster, many thanks. uefa, the governing body of european football, has ordered that england will play their next uefa home game behind closed doors, following the chaotic scenes during the final of the euros at wembley injuly. on that occasion, supporters without tickets forced their way in and fought with stewards and the police. uefa has also imposed a ban for a second game, which is suspended for two years. our sports editor dan roan has the story. they were the scenes that shamed english football, ticketless fans storming wembley this summer on what was meant to have been one of the proudest days in the stadium's history. the crowd disorder overshadowed the country's first ever euros final, and today, the fa was hit with an unprecedented stadium ban, ordered to play england's next match in uefa competition behind closed doors, costing it millions in lost ticket revenue, along with a fine of £85,000 for a lack of order and discipline. the fa said... with an estimated 250,000 people having descended on wembley for the match, both the fa and police have blamed each other for the mayhem that ensued. hugely embarrassing. it could have resulted in fatality. it could have resulted in serious injury. there may well have been a situation where emergency services could not have got into wembley if they needed to, which is why i really urge and hope that both the police and the fa will change this culture of defensiveness and denial and actually have a transparent and honest conversation about how to fix things for the future. the transformation of wembley and the developments surrounding it has made policing matches more of a challenge. then there is stewarding, with many fans able to get inside the euros final via a disabled entrance. graham and his son tim, who uses a wheelchair, were caught up in the chaos. there's a few dozen england fans have somehow managed to pour in through the outer door, and there's five stewards trying to hold them back. it was a scene... it was like a scene out of game of thrones or lord of the rings. yeah _ where it was, you could feel they were about to come crashing through. yes, they were going to burst through. and it was just sort of like they were trying to hold them back and it was... really quite scary. today's punishment, the most serious ever imposed on the fa by uefa, means there will be no fans here next summer when england play their opening nations league match at home, and there are fears it could also have jeopardised a joint uk and ireland bid to stage the world cup in 2030. just last week, another england match was overshadowed here by clashes between the police and hungary fans. fifa are now investigating. security arrangements both in and outside the stadium coming under ever—increasing scrutiny. dan roan, bbc news, wembley. public health experts are calling for the covid vaccine booster programme to be rolled out faster across the uk and to all over—sos, or there could be surge in hospital admissions among the elderly. with infection rates and hospitalisations in the uk many times higher than most of western europe, there are fears that without further protection, there could be a much higher incidence of severe illness in the coming weeks. 869 deaths have been reported in the past seven days, an increase of ii% on the previous week. 0ur health editor hugh pym has more details. boosterjabs in york today. health leaders say millions are being invited for third doses. it means that i'm at less risk of infecting others and spreading the disease, so it's really important to me. the third dose is very important. the booster programme is there for the people that need the third dose and need the immunity in the coming season. but with uk case numbers rising, some are concerned about the pace of the booster programme. we really need that to speed up. every week that passes, if there is waning in those groups, they are more vulnerable at a time when we have high levels of infection, so we need to accelerate this booster campaign. covid hospital admissions relative to the population started rising injuly in the uk, france and germany, though with higher case numbers, they've not fallen back in the uk as in france and germany. in israel, admissions rose faster, but then came down, partly thanks to booster jabs. in israel, where they started vaccinating very early and therefore they've had a longer period to see the decline in benefit, they've seen an increase in case numbers. and when they reinstituted a number of measures including the third dose, the booster dose, they saw a very good beneficial decline within a few weeks of giving the boosters. the hope is that the boosterjab roll—out will do the same in the uk, offering more protection as winter approaches, for example in care homes, where some residents have been getting both the covid and the flu jabs. but there are still challenges in reaching some in younger age groups who may have had just one dose, or none. having made a rapid start to the vaccination programme, the uk has fallen back a bit compared with some other leading economies, with 66% of the population, notjust adults, having had the first two doses. though the uk did start a bit later than some others giving jabs to i2—is—year—olds. little scratch. take a deep breath in. there's still some way to go vaccinating teenagers, and case rates among school pupils have been the highest of any age group. the possibility ofjabbing children aged five and over has moved a step closer, with the european medical regulator now evaluating the use of the pfizer vaccine in that age range. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest official coronavirus figures for the uk show there were 49,156 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — that's the highest number since mid—july. it means there were a4,000 cases on average per day in the past week. currently there are more than 7,000 people in hospital with covid. there were another 45 deaths of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. on average there were 124 deaths per day in the past week. colin powell — the first african—american to serve as us secretary of state — has died at the age of 8a. following a distinguished military career which culminated in his appointment as chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, he served as secretary of state in the first term of president george w bush, where he sparked controversy for helping build support for the iraq war. 0ur north america editorjon sopel looks back at his life. general colin powell, the very embodiment of the american dream. the first black secretary of state, the first black leader of the us military. yet he was born to jamaican immigrants in harlem and was lost as a teenager. today, flags were lowered to half staff and the tributes have been lavish. he broke so many barriers and those barriers were not easy to break by any stretch. but he did it with dignity, he did it with grace. until saddam hussain�*s invasion of kuwait in 1990, colin powell was relatively unknown. after it, he became a household name, as america's first black commander of the us military. he developed the powell doctrine — don't start a war unless you know how you are going to end it. in many ways, he was a reluctant warrior, having been injured during the vietnam war, but if force is to be used, then let it be overwhelming. our strategy to go after this army is very, very simple. first we're going to cut it off and then we're going to kill it. having reached the top of the military, he'd now blaze a new trial, becoming america's most senior diplomatjust before 9/11. it's a great honour for me to submit the name to the united states senate of colin l powell, as secretary of state. and at the un, he made a case for the invasion of iraq that he would later ruefully admit was based on incorrect information. there can be no doubt that saddam hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more, and he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction. but for all that, this moderate republican was being courted by both parties to run to become the country's first african—american president. powell decided against, instead throwing his weight behind democrat barack 0bama's bid for that place in history. this morning a great soldier, a great statesman, a great american, has endorsed our campaign for change. i am so proud that i have had this chance to serve my nation. this venerated soldier in later life used his ammunition sparingly, only intervening when he felt something needed saying, like earlier this year after the attempted insurrection at the capitol, when he called for donald trump to stand down immediately. i wish he would just do what nixon did and that's step down. somebody ought to go up there and tell him it's over. the plane is waiting for you, you're out. colin powell preached tolerance and moderation. he was a leader, warrior and statesman. and according to many of the tributes today, a genuine american hero. the former us secretary of state colin powell, key adviser to several presidents, who's died at the age of 8a. police scotland are warning people to stay away from the scene of an explosion on a housing estate in ayr. local people reported hearing a blastjust ayr. local people reported hearing a blast just after seven o'clock this evening. the explosion appears to have destroyed at least one house in a terrace. the cause of the explosion is not yet known. the government wants an end to the sale of new gas boilers by 2035 in england and wales, while offering grants to homeowners from next april to replace them with heat pumps. households will be offered up to £5,000 to install air source heat pumps or other greener heating. it's all in a £450 million bolier replacement scheme — part of a much larger effort to decarbonise buildings, costing nearly £4 billion. but critics say the scheme is unambitious as the grants only amount to 90,000 replaced boilers, as our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. it came down there, into that corner. there is a secret lying under richard's garden. the heat for his home is absorbed via an underground network of pipes and comes in through a ground source pump. this is where the actual hardware is located. richard swapped his lp, gas—guzzling system seven years ago and he hasn't looked back. i can safely say it's been the best thing we ever did. i mean, the house is constantly at a pleasant temperature. it's not boiling hot but it's very livable. and the economics of it are just fantastic. we paid 15,000 for the ground source and then 5,000 for some solar thermal panels for the roof which supply the hot water. to make a ground source pump work, you need a massive garden, which is a pipe dream for most of us. the other type of heat pump works by compressing heat from the air. it is cheaper to install and smaller, but most homes will still need loads of insulation first. unless you need to do a boiler upgrade or you are planning some house renovations, for most people, switching to a heat pump is still a lot of effort and work and money. even with this £5,000 incentive, this is the kind of investment that most people will be either unwilling or unable to pay. we'll go through and see some of the equipment that we've got set up. david spends his time researching heating efficiency and says that although the money sounds like a lot, it won't go far. what we are being left with is a gamble on a future that these things are going to be cheaper and that the industry are going to be more ready to install them, and crucially, that people are going to want them. do you think this is going to be enough to convince people with gas boilers to make the switch? perhaps not yet. one of the problems they are going to face here is getting that connection with people and householders to make sure the policy actually works and is something people are happy to take on. because each home is different, getting 86% of households off gas is a monumental challenge. despite promises, this strategy will only begin to scratch the surface. colletta smith, bbc news, in harrogate. after a decade of political planning and promises, there are questions over whether the part of the high—speed rail line hs2 from birmingham to leeds will go ahead. work has already started on phase 1 of the line, which will go from london to birmingham. but the part of the line that would connect crewe to manchester and birmingham to leeds has still not been given the final sign—off. and it's the prospect of this so—called "eastern leg" not being completed that's worrying some business leaders and politicians in the north of england. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies has been investigating. we're terrible people! it's a decision that the government can't escape. rehearsals for this year's christmas production of wendy and peter pan are already under way here in leeds playhouse. i'd like to see the old captain do away with you! but the city has been preparing for hs2 for more than a decade. hs2 will bring with it £50 billion of growth, 40,000 newjobs, and that's got to be money and people that can fill this theatre on a nightly basis. and the levelling up of our country can only happen with investment coming across to cities like ours, so i do think that people will feel like it's a promise broken if it doesn't go ahead now. the cost of hs2 has grown to nearly £100 billion. many were expecting a decision about the eastern leg months ago. the wait has made supporters of the route nervous, and some anticipate it will be up to the chancellor to make the announcement. we've got the spending review coming up at the end of the month, and we'll have to wait and see. but, you know, absolutely securing high speed rail is crucial if we are wanting to level—up yorkshire _ phase one of hs2 is already well under way in the south with almost 300 sites. hs2 has said that it will be one of the most environmentally responsible infrastructure projects ever delivered in the uk, and promised 7 million new trees and shrubs will be planted. but environmental protests continue, including against the destruction of ancient woodland. the images of the works worry those on the proposed route. i could cry. and to see people chopping the trees down, i mean, i'm getting emotional now. it breaks my heart to think about it. for the last five and a half years, sandra has researched and campaigned against the hs2 route, which would go through the village she lives in. it's got a poor business case already, and due to home—working now less and less people are travelling to work. some have argued that hs2 is key to the government's levelling up policy — the idea that communities that feel they've been left behind get a chance to catch up. hsz is going to gojust right through here, literally... but the local mp here argues that the money would be better spent on other transport projects. if hsz round here was cancelled, people would actually say, "well, actually, you're taking it seriously. we're notjust chucking money at a project that will benefit a few people in leeds." actually, you want to move that money and invest in infrastructure and transport that we actually need. the government has said that the plan for this part of hs2 will be coming soon, and will deliver reliable train services that passengers across the north and midlands need and deserve. as the machines tunnel onwards, the final destination is still unknown. caroline davies, bbc news. the announcement earlier today that her majesty the queen had approved the elevation of southend—on—sea to city status has been widely welcomed. the late sir david amess had fought a long—running campaign to that end and the news was seen as a fitting tribute. 0ur correspondent leigh milner has spent the day in southend to see how the news was received. archive: britain's hottest august bank holiday for nine years, - and britain makes the most of it. so many londoners have come to southend, there can't be anyone left in london. southend—on—sea. this seaside town has attracted millions of holiday—makers over the years, and it's hoping to attract even more with its new city status. the news went down well with those here today. best thing i've heard today, actually, after the news of the weekend, so, absolutely great. if it's going to, you know, have an actual impact to the place and notjust the name, great, yeah, really happy for it. well, following the tragic incident on friday, many say this is a fitting tribute to sir david amess, who for many years during his time in parliament actually campaigned for this town to become a city. 0yez! his decades—long campaign has finally paid off, a lasting legacy left behind by southend's former mp. leigh milner, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. this is bbc news. 0ur headlines: british members of parliament have been paying their respects to their colleague sir david amess, who was killed on friday, at a special sitting of the house of commons. the prime minister said his death left a vacuum that would never be filled. colin powell, america's first black secretary of state and youngest ever chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, has died at the age of 84. his family said it was due to coronavirus complications. rescue teams in the indian state of kerala are scrambling to find survivors, after severe flooding killed at least 27 people. homes were swept away by the rising floodwaters and there have been landslides. in the uk, covid infection rates and hospitalisations are many times higher than most of western europe. public health experts are calling for the covid vaccine booster programme to be rolled out faster and to all over—505.