throughout the programme. it's tuesday the 21st of november. our main story. england's chief medical officer, sir chris whitty, is expected to be questioned about lockdowns when he gives evidence to the covid inquiry later. it comes as the government's former chief scientific advisor, sir patrick vallance, told the inquiry that borisjohnson was "clearly bamboozled" by some scientific concepts. he also claimed that advisors were not consulted in advance about the eat out to help out scheme. our correspondent ellie price reports. he became a familiar face night after night on the covid press conferences, explaining to all of us what was happening with the virus. we will follow the science. we'll be guided by the science, i and that's why we are following the scientific advice in the way that we are _ the government said it would always follow the science, but sir patrick vallance — the uk's top scientific adviser during the pandemic — told the inquiry explaining the science to the prime minister could be...tough. the prime minister at the time gave up science when he was 15, and i think he'd be the first to admit it wasn't his forte, and that he did struggle with some of the concepts and we did need to repeat them often. i think there was a problem in scientific understanding, and it's not unusual amongst leaders in western democracies. during the pandemic, we saw a lot of sir patrick — and the chief medical officer, sir chris whitty — together, but he said their views were different on the timing of the first lockdown. i think sometimes i would want to push and he might not, and sometimes he was right and sometimes i think we should have gone earlier. this was an occasion when i think it's clear that we should have gone earlier. rishi sunak, the then—chancellor, thought his eat out to help out scheme was such a good idea, he even helped serve up some of the meals. a £10 incentive to keep the hospitality industry going. but sir patrick vallance said scientists weren't consulted, and the measure boosted the virus. eat out to help out, we didn't know about until it was announced, and i think our advice would have been very clear on that. it's science week at the covid inquiry, so later we'll hear from sir chris whitty — the chief medical adviser for the uk government during the pandemic — and, in fact, he still is. there'll be more questions about whether the government followed the science during the pandemic, and what that really means. ellie price, bbc news, at the covid inquiry in london. our chief political correspondent henry zeffmanjoins us now from westminster. good morning. sir patrick vallance had some fairly scathing words regarding borisjohnson and rishi sunak. how will they be responding to this and how all those words be going down within downing street? certainly the most eye—catching bits of yesterday's evidence focused on not one but two prime ministers. let's start with boris johnson. not one but two prime ministers. let's start with borisjohnson. a lot of this came from sir patrick vallance�*s private diary, which he is to de—stress at the end of the very difficult days as the government's chief scientific adviser and he talks about boris johnson at times being bamboozled, confused by the scientific evidence that was presented to him. that is obviously very significant, hearing about those kinds of discussions and tensions is one of the reasons the covid inquiry was set up. but boris johnson is now a newspaper columnist and rishi sunak is now the prime minister. and that is why i think there will be a lot of focus on what sir patrick had to say about rishi sunak, in particular the eat out to help out scheme in the summer of 2020, where the government gave people money in order to support the hospitality industry. sir patrick made the very serious claim that he simply was not consulted and that, had he been, he would have whined that this would help spread covid. we saw an extract of the inquiry yesterday from rishi sunak�*s own written evidence in which he disputed that, he said nobody had ever raised concerns in the summer of 2020 about the scheme. but i think if you zoom out to the politics of this, rishi sunak is trying to present himself as someone fresh, someone new, someone who the public should give a fifth term for the conservatives to add to the general election but first full term for him as prime minister, and that involves him trying to shake off some of the baggage of the past and give people reasons to back him. this inquiry, i think, give people reasons to back him. this inquiry, ithink, make give people reasons to back him. this inquiry, i think, make that highly because it reminds people that rishi sunak was borisjohnson�*s chancellor and made some controversial decisions as a result of that, especially during the period of the covid pandemic. so i do think this will be concerning in downing street. before business we will have rishi sunak�*s own evidence session and that will be an opportunity for him to try to defend some of the charges laid at his door —— before christmas. negotiations on a deal that could pause the bombardment of gaza and allow the release of israeli hostages are continuing amid hopes of a breakthrough. the leader of hamas, which the uk government regards as a terrorist organisation, is the latest person involved in the talks to say that a deal could be close. our correspondent nick beake has the latest. in israel, the families of the hostages, once again calling for their loved ones to be released. the young and the old taken by hamas more than six weeks ago. this was tel aviv last night, after relatives had met the israeli war cabinet. many say that the government should focus more on bringing home the hostages rather than destroying hamas. this is incredibly disappointing, because i feel that at this point when we know that taking down hamas — we keep hearing from them — is going to take months or years, and it's going to take a long time. on the other hand, the other object is time—sensitive. people are dying. in gaza, israel keeps hitting what it says are hamas targets. palestinian civilians are still being killed, reducing to rubble family homes — a campaign the israelis say is self defence. "we were asleep in our houses," explains this man, "when it felt like an earthquake hit, because the missiles fell and called because the missiles fell and caused significant explosions, causing numerous casualties. there were dead and injured." amid the destruction, growing signs there could be a pause in the fighting as part of a deal to release some of the hostages. and increased optimism from the americans, who are playing a role in the talks. we believe we are closer than we've ever been. so we're hopeful. but there's still work to be done, and nothing is done until it's all done, so we're going to keep working on this. some sort of ceasefire is urgently needed, according to the international charities and the united nations. they say gaza's hospitals are overrun and desperately short of medicine. it's hoped a hostage deal would allow in more aid to a place where disease is reported to be spreading among the more than two million palestinians who have been under bombardment. amid all of this, a glimmer of hope. at least for some of the premature babies who were trapped in the besieged al—shifa hospital in the north of gaza. they are now in egypt. but some of these 28 newborns have lost their parents, and they leave behind a desperate situation in gaza from which many cannot escape. nick beake, bbc news, jerusalem. nickjoins us now. there has been talk of some sort of pause in the bombing, the violence over the last week or so. does it feel it is a step closer this morning?— feel it is a step closer this mornin: ? ,., ., ., , ~ morning? good morning. yes, ithink it does. morning? good morning. yes, ithink it does- for— morning? good morning. yes, ithink it does. for the _ morning? good morning. yes, ithink it does. for the families _ morning? good morning. yes, ithink it does. for the families of _ morning? good morning. yes, ithink it does. for the families of the - it does. for the families of the hostages, clearly they are desperate for their loved ones to be retrieved. forthe for their loved ones to be retrieved. for the people of gaza, they are desperate for the fighting to stop. as for those families, they have seen false dawns before, hopes have seen false dawns before, hopes have been built up and dashed but i think what is different this time, what feels different is that people are saying a similar thing and lots of different places, so there is optimism here in israel, also optimism here in israel, also optimism in washington. and crucially a development from qatar, the golf skate —— golf estate which has been an intermediary and what we have heard this morning is a statement from the leader of hamas who lives in qatar. last night he met the president of the international committee of the red cross which, if you remember, the icrc when involved in the process of bringing the four hostages, the only fort released so far, but the icrc were involved in this. after that meeting we hear from the leader of hamas that apparently a deal could be on its way. also a member of hamas has told the aljazeera news network that the deal that is being talked about would see an exchange of israeli women and children as well as a releasing of palestinian women and children in israeli detention. that is what is being talked about at the moment. also more aid would be allowed into gaza, is certainly something the un and other people are saying is desperately needed. we don't know the details of this, we don't know how many people may be released in the first instance, whether it would be a very large number and then more in the days that followed, how long there would be in this potential ceasefire but to some of there is some optimism this morning and it is growing hour by hour but distress we are not there yet.— are not there yet. thank you very much indeed _ are not there yet. thank you very much indeed for _ are not there yet. thank you very much indeed for explaining - are not there yet. thank you very much indeed for explaining that. | the president and first lady of south korea have arrived in the uk for a three—day state visit. it is the first granted by king charles to a world leader since his coronation. the main focus of the trip will be trade and technology, as well as discussions around the growing nuclear threat posed by north korea. the welsh government wants to reform the school year, arguing that the traditional academic calendar takes children out of learning for too long. it wants to introduce shorter summer holidays and a longer break in the autumn. teaching unions say they don't understand the need for the change — which could see schools closing for just four weeks during the summer. tax on period pants could be abolished in the autumn statement. the chancellor is expected to announce that the reusable underwear will no longer be subject to vat from january. other period products like pads and tampons have been exempt since 2021. an independent review into how lancashire police investigated the disappearance of nicola bulley will be published this morning. nicola's body was found in january — three weeks after she fell into the river while walking her dog at st michael's on wyre. here's danny savage. nicola bulley — for three weeks earlier this year, her picture was everywhere. she vanished one friday morning after dropping her children off at school. her dog was found alone on the river bank. her phone was on this bench, still connected to a work conference call. what had happened to her? lancashire police quickly concluded she had fallen into the river, and no criminal action was suspected. our main working hypothesis, therefore, is that nicola has sadly fallen into the river... ..that there is no third—party or criminal involvement, and this is not suspicious, but a tragic case of a missing person. but many people refuse to believe that.d online conspiracy theories mushroomed. people were drawn to the river bank in st michael's on wyre to see the scene for themselves. following this briefing, police released sensitive personal information about nicola's personal vulnerabilities — a decision criticised at the time but later accepted by the information commissioner. after three weeks, nicola bulley�*s body was found in the water. a coroner concluded she had accidentally drowned. today's report will focus on the release of personal information about this mum of two, the police response and strategy while she was missing, and police engagement with the press and media. danny savage, bbc news. as the thanksgiving holiday approaches in the us, presidentjoe biden has continued an american tradition by pardoning two turkeys that could have been destined for the dinner table. liberty and bell were this year's lucky birds. the pair, who travelled more than 1,000 miles to the ceremony in the white house garden, will now return to their home in minnesota where they will live for the rest of their post—pardon lives. does that mean they are pardoned forever? , . ., , ., forever? they have a beautiful life somewhere _ forever? they have a beautiful life somewhere now. _ forever? they have a beautiful life somewhere now. really? - forever? they have a beautiful life somewhere now. really? yeah. i forever? they have a beautiful life | somewhere now. really? yeah. or until next christmas? _ somewhere now. really? yeah. or until next christmas? specially - until next christmas? specially looked after — until next christmas? specially looked after in _ until next christmas? specially looked after in a _ until next christmas? specially looked after in a post-biden i until next christmas? specially - looked after in a post-biden home. looked after in a post—biden home. i'm making it up! i don't know. —— post—pardon home. stargazers in london might be able to spot nasa's lost tool box in the sky tonight — weather permitting. this is not a joke. the tool box was dropped by an astronaut last month while they were fixing a solar panel on the international space station. oops. there it goes. if there is limited cloud cover and you have a pair of binoculars, you might be lucky enough to see it floating in the earth's orbit. it doesn't look that big, does it? i know... , . , it doesn't look that big, does it? i know... , ., , ., it doesn't look that big, does it? | know... , ., , ., know... does it have lights on it? it will do by _ know... does it have lights on it? it will do by the _ know... does it have lights on it? it will do by the time _ know... does it have lights on it? it will do by the time it _ know... does it have lights on it? it will do by the time it re-enters| it will do by the time it re—enters the earth's atmosphere. 8pm it will do by the time it re-enters the earth's atmosphere. 8pm over the southeast, the earth's atmosphere. 8pm over the southeast. any _ the earth's atmosphere. 8pm over the southeast, any chance _ the earth's atmosphere. 8pm over the southeast, any chance the _ the earth's atmosphere. 8pm over the southeast, any chance the skies - the earth's atmosphere. 8pm over the southeast, any chance the skies will. southeast, any chance the skies will be clear? cloud is building through this evening _ cloud is building through this evening. we might be lucky and there might— evening. we might be lucky and there might be _ evening. we might be lucky and there might be in_ evening. we might be lucky and there might be in a window of opportunity but you _ might be in a window of opportunity but you wouldn't want it landing on your head — but you wouldn't want it landing on our head. ., ., , but you wouldn't want it landing on your head-_ i i your head. how low will it be? i have no idea! _ your head. how low will it be? i have no idea! good _ your head. how low will it be? i have no idea! good morning. i your head. how low will it be? i l have no idea! good morning. this morning _ have no idea! good morning. this morning is— have no idea! good morning. this morning is a — have no idea! good morning. this morning is a fairly cloudy start to the day— morning is a fairly cloudy start to the day for— morning is a fairly cloudy start to the day for some, particularly acroos— the day for some, particularly across parts of england and wales, where _ across parts of england and wales, where we _ across parts of england and wales, where we have just a few showers. for scotland and northern ireland, some _ for scotland and northern ireland, some clearer skies, high cloud. you can see _ some clearer skies, high cloud. you can see that— some clearer skies, high cloud. you can see that nicely on the satellite. but look at what is coming _ satellite. but look at what is coming in from the atlantic. that tater— coming in from the atlantic. that later it _ coming in from the atlantic. that later it will — coming in from the atlantic. that later it will affect western scotland and northern ireland. you can see _ scotland and northern ireland. you can see the — scotland and northern ireland. you can see the extent of the cloud cover— can see the extent of the cloud cover we — can see the extent of the cloud cover we have. these showers moving steadity— cover we have. these showers moving steadily southwards, breezy in the southwest this morning, the wind picking _ southwest this morning, the wind picking up— southwest this morning, the wind picking up across the north and west of the _ picking up across the north and west of the country through the day of the cloud — of the country through the day of the cloud arrives with some patchy li-ht the cloud arrives with some patchy light rain _ the cloud arrives with some patchy light rain across the far north of scotland — light rain across the far north of scotland. temperatures, we are looking — scotland. temperatures, we are looking at— scotland. temperatures, we are looking at eight in the north to 12 in the _ looking at eight in the north to 12 in the south. as we head through the evening _ in the south. as we head through the evening and — in the south. as we head through the evening and overnight, you can see where _ evening and overnight, you can see where we _ evening and overnight, you can see where we have the cloud. it is building. _ where we have the cloud. it is building, coming south. still clear skies— building, coming south. still clear skies for— building, coming south. still clear skies fora — building, coming south. still clear skies for a time so you might be skies fora time so you might be lucky— skies for a time so you might be lucky if— skies for a time so you might be lucky if you _ skies for a time so you might be lucky if you want to look out for that toot — lucky if you want to look out for that tool box but you can see we also have — that tool box but you can see we also have some rain slipping southwards. windy across the northern _ southwards. windy across the northern half of the country and these _ northern half of the country and these are — northern half of the country and these are the temperatures. nine in these are the temperatures. nine in the north, _ these are the temperatures. nine in the north, ten as we push towards glasgow. — the north, ten as we push towards glasgow, the temperatures go up overnight, still cooler further south — overnight, still cooler further south. the cloud builds, temperatures will start to go up. into tomorrow, the rain continues to move _ into tomorrow, the rain continues to move southwards. we will have some brighter— move southwards. we will have some brighter skies, particularly to the east of— bri