This is bbc news. The headlines at 6 the mayor of Greater Manchester accuses Boris Johnson of exaggerating the spread of coronavirus in the area in a bid to persuade local leaders to accept tougher restrictions as he calls for increased Financial Support. The figures have been falling in manchester itself in the last few days. Across Greater Manchester, up slightly, but certainly not doubling every nine days. Andy has a straightforward choice. Is he going to put Public Health and the economy of the people of Greater Manchester first . If he is, then we can secure agreement today. The government says theres been nearly 17,000 more cases of coronavirus in the uk reported in the last 2a hours and a further 67 people have died. Vigils and rallies are held across france in a show
of solidarity with the teaching profession following the killing of a teacher on friday. A convicted murderer, who helped stop last novembers terror attack on London Bridge, is to be considered for release from prison ten months early. And no bail out required for spurs as harry kane scores twice to give tottenham a healthy lead against west ham with gareth bale watching on from the bench. Sportsday is in half an hour. The labour mayor of Greater Manchester, andy burnham, has continued to clash with the government over lockdown restrictions for the region. Mr burnham wants greaterFinancial Support if the strictest measures are imposed and he accused borisjohnson of exaggerating the severity of coronavirus in the area. His words were echoed by the senior conservative mp sir graham brady, whose constituency is in the region. The Cabinet Office minister michael gove accused mr burnham of inconsistency in his approach. Heres our deputy Political Editor vicki young. Waiting for work and waiting to find out what is coming next for Greater Manchester. Taxi driverjohn says, for months, the tighter rules here compared to many other parts of the country have meant fewer passengers. He is worried about the possibility of even more restrictions. We need help up in the north. If you want to bring the things in, you know, we need financial backing otherwise it is going to be even worse again. This has been going on for a long time now and nothing seems to be resolved. I know covid is not going to disappear overnight
but people who work, whether it be in pay as you go unemployment, self employed, businesses, theyll need help, otherwise. They still have bills to pay. Four days, politicians here and in london have been trying to reach an agreement, and the regions labour mayor, andy burnham, has a gives the government of exaggerating manchesters rise in covid cases there is more restrictions must mean more Financial Support. What we need is a fair Financial Framework if the government are going to insist on tier 3. At the moment, they are doing side deals with individual councils and that isnt good enough for me. Lets remember, the places they are trying to close in tier 3, pubs, bookies, gyms, these are places where people are on low wages. What we are saying is you cannot take away their place of work and not give them support. Mr burnham says he has not seen any Scientific Evidence that extra measures would work but ministers insist action is needed
soon. The fundamental incoherence of the position of andy burnham is that, on the one hand, as i say, he says, actually, the virus is not spreading at a rate that merits these restrictions, and then he is saying, actually, i will have them if i have the money. If he were being truly concerned about Public Health, then he would say, lets have these restrictions now. And the other thing is, the earlier we have the restrictions, in those areas where there is high instance, the better for the economy of those areas because we stop the infection spreading in a way which will do further damage to the economy as well as to Public Health. It is notjust labour politicians who are sceptical. Some conservative mps in the area have also been speaking out. Manchester is pretty united. Certainly, the members of parliament of both parties, the Council Leaders of both parties and the mayor of Greater Manchester have been resisting a move to tier 3 on the basis that we simply have not
been given the evidence that it would be effective. Rising cases are forcing politicians everywhere into action. Welsh government ministers have met this afternoon to discuss options for a further tightening of restrictions across wales. The first minister has said that a short, sharp lockdown could slow the spread of the virus. Vicki young, bbc news. Lets take a look at the latest government figures they show there were 16,982 new Coronavirus Infections recorded in the latest 24 hour period. The average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 16,959. 67 deaths were reported thats people who died within 28 days of a positive covid 19 test. That means on average in the past week 117 deaths were announced every day. It takes the total
number of deaths so far across the uk to 15,616. Well, those were the nationalfigures, and our health correspondent, dominic hughes, has been looking at the figures for coronavirus cases in Greater Manchester. 0n on friday, the Prime Minister described the situation in manchester is great and worsening. He said cases were doubling every nine days but this morning andy burnham told the bbc, that was an exaggeration, so exactly what is going on here in manchester . If we look at some figures, since the beginning of september, we can see the infection rate in the city of Manchester Rose sharply for the first few weeks to exactly around the same time as thousands of stu d e nts the same time as thousands of students returned to the city at the starting university but in the days leading up to october its decline. 0ver leading up to october its decline. Over the same period the wider
region of Greater Manchester, including nine other boroughs, again saw a steady rise, a few peaks and troughs, but then showed signs of levelling off in recent weeks, and if we look at infection rates in manchester for the week ending the 12th of october, manchester was running at a58 infections per 100,000 people. In comparison nottingham was 880 while derry and strabane nottingham was 880 while derry and stra bane in nottingham was 880 while derry and strabane in Northern Ireland was more than 1000 but it many ways its not the number of infections that matter but how many people full seriously ill with a corona and end up seriously ill with a corona and end up being hospitalised so if you have a big group of students are otherwise fit and well, if they get ill it will not have a massive impact on the health service, but if the infection spreads to those who are elderly or have Underlying Health conditions, that situation can change very quickly. What the two sides do appear to be
talking again, the mayor of Greater Manchester andy burnham said this morning it was due to have a call with the Prime Ministers senior advisor. Edward lister, so we will see what, if anything, comes of that. Meanwhile, in an attempt to up the ante again on the government, mr burnham has written to the Prime Minister and other Party Leaders at westminster, calling for an urgent debate and vote in an attempt to create a Cross Party Consensus and break the impasse, as he puts it, over the possible introduction of new restrictions in Greater Manchester. I doubt very much that that is going to happen because it would need the government to make time in parliament or perhaps labour could possibly engineer a debate which would not necessarily result in a binding vote, but you can see what he is trying to do here. Its to push the issue at a National Level and make the argument that the government should change its approach and provide more Financial Support across the board for areas facing higher restrictions. It is interesting because its notjust a government opposition issue either. You have some tory mps united with andy burnham. Where does
labour stand on this . Bceause andy burnham, of course, is a former cabinet minister, labour cabinet minister. He is, a one time candidate for the labour leadership as well, we shouldnt forget. This is an issue which crosses many fault lines, notjust National Versus local government, conservative versus labour, north versus south as well. Many conservative mps representing constituencies in Greater Manchester, as you suggest, are in agreement with mr burnham that tier 3 restrictions are either not needed or, if they are to be brought in, furtherFinancial Support is necessary. Labours position is, as we heard, sir keir starmer set out earlier in the week, a short, time limited, tightening of restrictions at a National Level in england is needed to slow the spread of the virus, during which time perhaps the test and trace system could be improved to a level to more efficiently keep the virus under control
and perhaps the situation would improve but, as we heard, rachel reeves, the shadow cabinet minister pressed on the Andrew Marr Programme this morning, the Circuit Breaker routine may have to be repeated time and again to keep the virus under control. The government could, of course, just impose this . It could. Michael gove said that again this morning and the Prime Minister said it in his press conference earlier this week. He said, if there is no agreement, he may need to intervene and impose restrictions, which the government absolutely can do. It would create a very difficult and awkward situation politically, though, leaving the people of Greater Manchester perhaps wondering who, whose orders they were following, who they should be listening to and arguments about how those rules would be enforced or not, which is why we saw the police intervening earlier in the week, so its a political headache that both sides want to avoid. A Record Number of shops have closed on britains high streets during the First Six Months of this year as the coronarivus lockdown hit many stores hard. According to research, more than 11,000 chain store
outlets have closed their doors, as katy austin reports. The way we shop was already changing before the pandemic. 0nline sales rising, many physical stores struggling. Those trends have accelerated. Researchers who track retail and leisure sites, and Services Like bank branches, found that over 11,000 chain outlets closed in Great Britain since january, only about 5,000 opened. That adds up to a net decline of 6,000, about twice as many as the similar period last year. The total could end up higher. 0utlets that have not yet reopened after lockdown werent counted, nor were independents. According to the research, where there have been openings, theyve tended to be in categories like grocery and value retail, local tradespeople setting up shop and also takeaways. 0ne retail expert told me the way we use town centres has changed for good. I think whats happening to our streets, and its been happening for a while, is we do not need as much Space Dedicated to retail as people
are shopping more online. So our high streets really need to be more about work, rest and play and just not about shopping, but about eating, about working and about services. Recently, local high streets have benefited from people working from home more. However, the big picture is that retailers and hospitality chains are expected to cut more stores and thousands ofjobs to survive. Katy austin, bbc news. Rallies have been taking place in a number of french cities to express outrage over the beheading of a teacher in a suspected islamist attack. Samuel paty was killed near paris on friday after showing pupils cartoons of the prophet mohammed during a lesson on freedom of speech. 0ur paris correspondent, lucy williamson, reports. Applause. Once again, around the figure of marianne, a sea of
defiance. This statue, this square, a homing point for a nation whose values have come under attack. Since his death on friday, samuel paty, like others before him, has become a symbol of france itself. Translation its important to be here today to show our collective strength because thats what can help us follow our principles during tough times. The Prime Minister, jean castex, arrived in Place De La Republique with a mask printed with the french flag. His message on twitter today read, you wont scare us, we are france. The newest slogan on posters here, i am samuel or, simply, i am a teacher, an echo of the rallying cry sparked by the attacks on Charlie Hebdo five years ago. This sombre rally is a show of unity in the wake of samuel patys death but its also proof of the power of social media to deliver a message and bring people together. The same power that enabled a one man campaign against a local teacher to spiral
out of control. Samuel paty was killed by a man who knew him only through social media, the result of an Online Campaign launched by an outraged parent and spread quickly outside the area. Across france, tens of thousands of people have joined the rallies in his name. A man who stood for the values of the nation, remembered today by a nation standing with him. The headlines on bbc news. The mayor of Greater Manchester accuses Boris Johnson of exaggerating the spread of coronavirus in the area in a bid to persuade local leaders to accept tougher restrictions. The government says theres been nearly 17,00 more
cases of coronavirus in the uk reported in the last 2a hours and a further 67 people have died. Vigils and rallies are held across france after a teacher was killed close to his school in a paris suburb on friday. A convicted killer who helped stop a terror attack near London Bridge last november is to be considered for parole ten months early. Steven gallant was on day release when he intervened to end usman khans attack, which left two people dead. Daniela relph reports. Running from fishmongers hall, where he had just killed two people, this was usman khan on London Bridge. In the group pursuing him was steven gallant, himself a convicted murderer out on licence for the day. He was one of the group to wrestle the attacker to the ground before khan was shot dead by armed police. Steven gallant had been working with jack merritt, one of the victims, on a prisoner rehabilitation programme. His courage that day and his behaviour injail mean he will now be considered for parole ten months early. The ministry ofjustice said the decision had been made in recognition of his exceptionally brave actions at fishmongers hall, which helped save peoples lives despite the tremendous risk to his own. Steven galla nts case is likely to come before the parole board next year. Daniela relph, bbc news. With little more than two weeks to go to the us president ial election, donald trump has been campaigning in the battleground states that will decide this contest. One of the most important is pennsylvania, which unexpectedly became Trump Country four years ago. The state lies in the Old Industrial heartland which is home to many of the president s rural and rust belt supporters. Nick bryant reports now from the state that could decide the election. An ugly American Election is being fought amidst this beautiful american landscape. What often feels like a shared continent occupied by warring tribes. This is the trump house in rural pennsylvania. A site of pilgrimage for a Political Base that often exhibits a near cult like devotion, a shrine decorated with the iconography of the modern day american right. Its owner, leslie rossi, points to how the republicans have registered more than twice as many new voters in pennsylvania as the democrats, a portent of victory. They love what President Trump has done, that he kept his word, that he kept his promises, that he did all the things he said, or tried to. He is, you know, the peoples president and they get that. This is the post industrial landscape that provided the seedbed for the trump presidency. The rusting steel works became echo chambers for the slogan make America Great again. But this year, he has not come up with a ringing phrase that has reverberated through these valleys. The 2020 election is not a
rerun of the 2016 election. Donald trump is not an insurgent, he is the incumbent. He has a rec