but they say more money is needed. ministers promise half a billion pounds to support families in the budget, but the labour party calls it a "smokescreen". court documents reveal that alec baldwin was told a prop gun was safe, moments before he accidentally killed a crew member on a film set. a warning that dog owners are pretending their lockdown pets are strays, in order to get rid of them. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a prominent adviser to the government on covid—19 is urging the public to do everything possible to reduce transmission of the virus. professor peter openshaw says infection and death rates are currently "unacceptable" — and he's very fearful there could be another "lockdown christmas." the government maintains that, at the moment, there's no need for stricter covid measures, and is encouraging all those who are eligible to get their boosterjabs. yunus mulla reports from the wirral. as covid infection rates continue to increase sharply in england and wales, and remain high across the uk, the heart of the uk's government plans to deal with covid this winter is getting people vaccinated. at this clinic on the wirral in merseyside, rising infections is a concern. i lost my son—in—law last sunday, because he didn't have the vaccines. and his life support was turned off last sunday. so it's important that everybody, everybody gets the first, second and mainly their booster. here, they're still trying to persuade some of the 5 million people who've turned down their firstjab. we have vaccinated 83—85%, but the flip side of the coin is that we have not vaccinated 15—20% of the population. i think that poses a significant risk. ryan is getting a jab today for the first time. ijust haven't really gotten round to doing it, given it much thought, to be honest. but she has... my partner has mentioned it a couple of times, so i thought i'd best to get it done. the prime minister has launched an advertising campaign for boosterjab take—up, whilst trying to calm concerns over rising numbers. although the government focus remains on vaccinations to deal with this pandemic, ministers are under pressure, with growing calls to go further and act sooner rather than later in introducing extra measures. as hotspots emerge in south wales and south west of england, one prominent government adviser has urged the public to do everything possible to reduce transmission of the virus. do everything possible in your control to try to reduce transmission, don't wait for the government to change policy. the sooner we all act, the sooner we can get the transmission rate down, and the greater the prospect of having a christmas with our families. average daily hospital admissions in england of people with covid—19 have climbed up to their highest level for nearly eight months. combined with the usual winter pressures such as flu, calls for government action may be difficult to ignore. yunus mulla, bbc news, wirral. the government's latest coronavirus figures show there were 44,985 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — which means on average, 47,638 new cases were reported, per day, in the last week. there were 8,238 people in hospital with covid—19, as of thursday. 135 deaths were reported — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. on average, in the past week, 133 deaths were announced every day. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are, the sunday times education editor, sian griffiths — and the political correspondent from the daily mirror, aletha adu. teachers�* unions are calling on the government to introduce tougher covid measures in england's schools and to speed up the vaccination of children. the association of school and college leaders�* says the first half of the autumn term has left some schools "on their knees", as staff tried to stop the virus spreading among pupils and teachers. pepe di'asio is the association's president. it's fair to say this has been the hardest half term that i have ever faced as a teacher and in my years as a leader, it's the most challenging. we've had a very long eight weeks that started back in august when we were doing mass testing and ended yesterday with us vaccinating another 200—300 students in the school and during that time we have seen an increase in the number of students absent from school and the highest infection rates of 12—15—year—olds and more staff off suffering with covid and long covid symptoms, so it has been tough to get through what is now our first half term and we look forward to a winter ahead where we are not really quite sure what's ahead. we just hope the vaccination is a way forward for our young people and our schools. kevin courtney, the general secretary of the national education union, told my colleague luxy gopal that england needed to follow scotland's strategy in schools. at the very least we would like to see the government in westminster following the government in scotland about mitigations in school. in scotland, children in secondary schools are still wearing masks and perhaps more importantly, if you're a very close contact and if your brother or sister tests positive for covid, you have to stay home for three days and get a pcr test and only go back if you have a negative test. that's unlike england, where there is no mask wearing and if your brother or sister tests positive, you are back in school the next day. we can see from the data that cases in scottish schools are falling, while cases in english schools are rising. the number of children off in scottish schools is only two thirds of the rate in england, despite the fact that close contacts are staying off which has got to be a better way. there's less disruption, less cases, so we think the government in england should do that straightaway, and there are some local authorities moving in that direction. wakefield, calderdale, swindon, trafford, they are moving in that sort of direction. we think that's very sensible. double vaccination really helps, but that does not solve all the problems because children have to stay off if they are positive and what we are finding in schools is so many teachers and support staff, even though they are double vaccinated, picking the virus up from children, testing positive, and then having to stay at home and that is causing enormous stress, disruption to education and stress on the other staff who are in school. what do you make of the government's response that the current rate of cases is within the range that they were expecting? they're not clear what range they're expecting and sajid javid was talking about cases going up to 100,000. double vaccination has really helped but we all know that when cases go up, hospitalisation goes up, as well, even though the death rates are much lower than they were, there are still too many people dying. if theyjust let cases go up, the nhs will fall over and it will not be able to deal with cancer patients. everybody knows someone who is suffering with one of these long—term illnesses and if the nhs cannot deal with them, we will have to go into a lockdown, and nobody wants that, so we should be acting out, and follow the scottish government on these mitigations. they also need to improve on the vaccination in scottish schools. they have reached a point there where half of the secondary school students in the 12—15 year old group have been vaccinated but in england it is only 20% so they need to improve on the vaccination and they do need to look at ventilation, improving ventilation, investing in improving ventilation. doesn't disrupt education at all but will help us get through all of this. the chancellor, rishi sunak, is promising nearly £7 billion, to improve transport outside london, in england's city regions. it's one of a number of spending pledges to be unveiled in wednesday's budget. he says a "transport revolution" will bring public services around the country, in line with the capital. labour says the government lacks a coherent plan to transform regional economies and to tackle the climate crisis. here's our business correspondent, katy austin. whether it's for work or leisure, how easy is it to get about where you live? greater manchester is one area set to receive cash to spend on transport improvements, such as tram upgrades and bus corridors. i think it's going to be a great idea for bolton, and it'll save time on people, like using buses and trains, direct links straight in, and good for the environment, as well. i'm not usually in bolton, i'm more in preston, but if there was a convenient tram from preston to manchester, i'd definitely consider it. it'll be for regional authorities to decide exactly how the money is spent. this is not a day for any negativity. it feels like a real breakthrough for levelling up today, the government feels as though it's listening and buying in to the greater manchester vision, so it's a good day. next week the chancellor is expected to confirm £5.7 billion for a range of projects in england's big city regions — 1.5 billion more than had been anticipated. it's meant to help bridge the gap between transport provision in the capital and other places. including the west midlands — at this cinema in digbeth in birmingham, staff think better local links would be good for business. it would be a great help — again, notjust for the customers, but for the staff as well, they're coming from all over, and it's an importantjob to them, and it would just make life a lot easier — a lot of the time they're just having to get taxis home or things like that, whereas a tram would be great, you know, reallyjust a simple but a bit of a cheaper solution. just over £1 billion will go towards introducing simpler fares and fasterjourneys on local buses, using london's services as the model. that's part of an existing £3 billion promise. we think that it's not so much of a north—south divide, but there are many areas across the whole country that feel left behind and need levelling up, so areas that have very infrequent bus services, no services in the evenings and at weekends, and these glaring gaps in current provision that need to be addressed. in the lead—up to the chancellor outlining his wider spending plans in a few days�* time, we're hearing about lots of these kinds of funding promises. but rishi sunak has also spoken about wanting to put the public finances on a sustainable footing, and we should soon find out more about how he intends to do that. labour has accused the government of lacking a coherent plan and said other projects, like delivering hs2 to leeds, were also critical. but the government says modernising the transport network is central to its levelling up agenda. katy austin, bbc news, in birmingham. the chancellor is also expected to announce funding for a new network, of so—called family hubs in next week's budget. the plans are part of a £500 million package of support, for children and parents across england — with devolved administrations set to receive an equivalent funding settlement. labour have described it as a "sticking plaster." vicky nevin from the nspcc welcomed the investment — but said much greater funding was needed for health visitors. it's a very important announcement, an acknowledgement that parents and babies need more support, especially regarding perinatal mental health. but we need to make sure all parents can access these family hubs. so it's important that on wednesday the government also invests in core services, universal services like health visiting which can reach out to families and make sure that every family has a fair start. we are calling for much greater investment in health visiting and we want to see 3,000 more health visitors. the headlines on bbc news... a senior government adviser on covid warns the uk could face another lockdown at christmas — and tells people they shouldn't wait for ministers to take action. the warning comes as two of the biggest teaching unions have called for tougher covid measures in schools in england to combat a rise in infections. a welcome from england's city regions outside london — for an announcement of nearly £7 billion to improve their transport networks — but they say more money is needed. the actor alec baldwin was told a gun was safe, moments before he fatally shot a crew member on the set of his new film. that's according to new documents filed as part of the on—going police investigation into the killing in new mexico. 0ur north america correspondent david willis reports. emergency phone call: accidentally i shot on a movie set by a prop gun. i we need help immediately. that call to the emergency services, the first public indication of the tragic events that had unfolded in the foothills of northern new mexico. police arrived to find halyna hutchins — an up—and—coming cinematographer — dead, and the film's director, joel souza, badly hurt. their injuries inflicted by the film's star, alec baldwin who — according to court documents — was handed a gun he was told was safe to use, but which was in fact loaded with a live round. in a statement, alec baldwin said he was cooperating with the police investigation. this is not the first tragedy of its kind. nearly 30 years ago, on the set of the film the crow, brandon lee — the son of martial arts expert bruce lee — died after being shot by a gun firing blanks. safety standards have been tightened on film sets since then, but on the family twitter account, brandon's sister, shannon, posted the message, "no—one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set, period." unconfirmed reports suggest that several crew members walked off the set in new mexico only hours before halyna hutchins died, in protest at working conditions and concerns about safety. as detectives comb the set for clues, the key question facing them is, how did a live round end up in a gun fired by alec baldwin? david willis, bbc news, los angeles. a man has been charged with the murder of a woman found dead in a house in kettering. her body was found at a house in wood street on tuesday. shmelecky is due to appear before magistrates in northampton on monday. it's been estimated that uk households bought more than 3 million pets during lockdowns — but some dog owners are now abandoning their pets as normal life resumes. rescue charities say their shelters are being filled, and owners are pretending their dogs are strays in order to get rid of them more easily. jordan davies reports. this is maggie. she is one and is believed to be a fake stray. maggie was brought in as a stray. in the taf area. we had some messages from supporters showing screenshots that she was on sale for £500. we do not know what happened in this 24 hours but we would certainly be concerned that she has not actually gotten loose from somewhere, that she is a fake stray. maggie's not alone —workers say they have never seen as many owners pretending that their dogs are strays. this is maggie for sale for £500 and this is the third day before she was brought into us as a stray. rescue workers say these are desperate times and places like this are at capacity, because people who bought dogs during the lockdown either won't or can't look after them. and the pressure on places like this across wales has consequences. workers fear the dogs will be put down because there's no space for them at rescue centres. the fake strays that are taking the space of dogs in need who were abandoned. unprecedented strain on centres like this for years to come. ahead of next week's crucial climate summit in glasgow, the environmental activist, greta thunberg, has called for honesty from world leaders, about where they're falling down on combatting climate change. her comments come as saudi arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, says it's aiming to reach net—zero carbon emissions, by 2060. greta has been speaking from her home in sweden, to our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. it was a video that went viral — greta thunberg's surprise performance of rick astley�*s �*80s hit. it was to launch the climate live concerts taking place ahead of the un climate talks in glasgow. # we're no strangers to love... so what does greta thunberg want to tell politicians who are attending cop26? be honest about where you are, how you have been failing, how you are still failing us, how they spend their time. instead of trying to find solutions, they seem to spend their time trying to come up with loopholes. greta thunberg says the climate meetings are all talk but no action. this was her last month... there is no planet b, there is no planet blah. blah blah blah, blah blah blah! you've accused politicians ofjust saying "blah blah blah" — aren't you just saying "blah blah blah" to some extent? yeah. but that's the role of an activist, to organise marches, to have speeches, to organise events. it's not ourjob to be politicians. what does greta think about becoming the face of climate activism? i don't think people would recognise me in private if they met me. i appear very angry in the media, but i'm not, i'm too silly in private — too much maybe. so will she ever go back to normal life and stop campaigning? i don't see myself as a climate celebrity, i see myself as a climate activist. after the cop, i don't know — i will go home, go back to school. and of course you can't say this is the point where i will stop being an activist. it's not black and white like that. she'll be busy for a while yet, as she prepares to join world leaders and head to glasgow in the coming days. rebecca morelle, bbc news. we'll have extensive coverage of the un climate change conference — cop26 here on the bbc news channel. and as we look ahead to the summit, we'll be getting some of your questions answered on monday morning at 1130. what do you want to know about the whole of issue of climate change and what will be discussed? we'll be joined by two leading academics — kate crowley from the edinburgh climate change centre — and michael grubb from ucl. send an email to yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or post your question on social media using the hashtag bbcyourquestions. let's return now to our main story this hour and the potential measures that we could see introduced should covid levels remain high or increase further. earlier, we heard from a prominent advisor to the government on covid—19, professor peter 0penshaw, who says the current death rates are unacceptable, though the government maintains there is no need for further restrictions. paul hunter is a professor of medicine at the university of east anglia. as ever, thank you for your time. do you agree with what professor 0penshaw has said today? it is you agree with what professor openshaw has said today? it is very difficult at this — openshaw has said today? it is very difficult at this stage _ openshaw has said today? it is very difficult at this stage to _ openshaw has said today? it is very difficult at this stage to know - difficult at this stage to know exactly what is going to be happening in coming weeks. what we are seeing is some early evidence that actually, the booster dose might be having a pretty impressive impact. in the over 80 category, we are seeing the speed of the epidemic is slowing quite obviously in the over 80s and also starting in those over 80s and also starting in those over 60, so it may well be the case that the booster vaccine is the thing that is going to make the big difference. the other thing we have seenin difference. the other thing we have seen in recent weeks, we have seen significant waves of infection, really going back to earlyjuly, and these waves have actually not been sustained for very long before we have seen declines. we may already be starting to see the first of that. i think, be starting to see the first of that. ithink, as be starting to see the first of that. i think, as you probably gathered, it is difficult to be absolutely certain, but i'm more optimistic than professor 0penshaw, that we will not need to go into that we will not need to go into that sort of lockdown. but the next couple of weeks will be critical to actually helping us decide one way or the other. actually helping us decide one way or the other-— or the other. interesting data presented — or the other. interesting data presented to _ or the other. interesting data presented to sage _ or the other. interesting data presented to sage by - or the other. interesting data| presented to sage by imperial couege presented to sage by imperial college london, but before that, what is driving this current increase in numbers? its, what is driving this current increase in numbers? a number of thins increase in numbers? a number of things going _ increase in numbers? a number of things going on. — increase in numbers? a number of things going on, and _ increase in numbers? a number of things going on, and importantly, | increase in numbers? a number of. things going on, and importantly, is the waning immunity to vaccines, and we have seen that especially with both the astrazeneca and the pfizer vaccine, and to a certain extent we pretty much knew that was going to happen right from the early stages, so that is a big part to play. the other thing, so that is a big part to play. the otherthing, even so that is a big part to play. the other thing, even with the prior infections, we don't see very prolonged immunity after the initial infection. what we do see is a more sustained protection against severe disease and that is crucial to protecting the health service. i think that has been a big impact. clearly, as we are moving through winter, that will provide extra pressures, schools are back and people are indoors more and that is also having an impact. but as well, it is notjust the uk, we are seeing this throughout a number of european countries, predominately in those countries, predominately in those countries that have not achieved very high vaccination rates, the east european nations. but we are beginning to start to see increases as well in countries that have achieved reasonable vaccination coverage. achieved reasonable vaccination coverae. , , ., achieved reasonable vaccination coverae. , ., . , coverage. sage, they have recently been presented _ coverage. sage, they have recently been presented by _ coverage. sage, they have recently been presented by the _ coverage. sage, they have recently been presented by the imperial - been presented by the imperial couege been presented by the imperial college of london, with a paper, which as their pessimistic scenario laid out shows that we could see almost 10,000 deaths over the winter, that is the most pessimistic. what is the greatest impact that could change those figures in terms of measures? to a certain extent _ figures in terms of measures? to a certain extent it _ figures in terms of measures? to a certain extent it is _ figures in terms of measures? to a certain extent it is the _ figures in terms of measures? trr —. certain extent it is the roll—out of the booster vaccination and whether or not enough of the more vulnerable groups are vaccinated. with the booster vaccine. and also, i think, the influenza vaccine, 10,000 deaths as a worst—case scenario, we see as a worst—case scenario, we see more as a worst—case scenario, we see more than that with some particularly bad influenza epidemic years, so it will be crucial that we get people vaccinated against influenza and we don't know if influenza and we don't know if influenza will come back this year, it may not, but if it does and it hits hard, that could pose a very difficult extra burden on the health service. ~ . ~ difficult extra burden on the health service. ~ ., ,, ., , , service. when we talk about burdens, what can be — service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? — service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? the _ service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? the flu _ service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? the flu do _ service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? the flu do in _ service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? the flu do in terms - service. when we talk about burdens, what can be ? the flu do in terms of. what can be ? the flu do in terms of effecting the whole situation? essen effecting the whole situation? even before covid. _ effecting the whole situation? even before covid, influenza _ effecting the whole situation? even before covid, influenza was one of the main driving factors affecting the main driving factors affecting the nhs through the winter and that still remains of that, the problem with covid as well, is twofold, if a lot of your beds are occupied with people with covid there are not as many beds to go around to deal with the influenza epidemic but also, if you have patients who have influenza and covid at around the same time, that count more than double the risk of death and double the risk of hospitalisation so it could well be a particularly severe impact if we get a lot of influenza in the coming weeks. ., , ,., get a lot of influenza in the coming weeks. ., ,,., ., .,, weeks. professor paul hunter, as ever, weeks. professor paul hunter, as ever. thanks _ weeks. professor paul hunter, as ever, thanks for _ weeks. professor paul hunter, as ever, thanks forjoining _ weeks. professor paul hunter, as ever, thanks forjoining us. - now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello, it was very cloudy today across the country. the temperatures slowly coming up a little bit, though, and into tomorrow, it will feel a bit milder. that's because we will have more sunshine around, but there will be some showery bursts of rain, too. we could see this weather front which is bringing some very wet weather to northern ireland, much of central and western scotland through this evening and overnight, but it will slowly move its way eastwards, eventually, by the end of the night, reaching parts of western england and wales. and we should see clear spells and showers following on behind there for northern ireland. ahead of it, for much of england and wales, it will be dry, breezy, and very mild, much milder than what it was last night. so, we start sunday off on a mild note, a lot of cloud around, a little bit of sunshine, too. that weather front begins to weaken and fragment as it moves eastwards, eventually reaching the east and south—east of england later in the day. behind it, sunshine and showers, some of these heavy for northern ireland and scotland. and it is going to be a pretty blustery day, these are mean wind speeds, gusts reaching 30, 40mph around some southern and western coasts. and it will be mild, with top temperatures reaching 16 degrees. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. a senior government adviser on covid warns the uk could face another lockdown at christmas and tells people they shouldn't wait for ministers to take action. do everything possible in your control to try