today at six... from schools, from hospitals, and from local government — warnings that the coronavirus testing system is in crisis. even where infection rates are highest, there are now complaints of confusion and delays. can't understand why it's going on so long. like, people can't get a test. it's extremely stressful. it's added a lot of stress to what is already an upsetting time for us while we are managing everybody being poorly. borisjohnson has admitted there is a problem with testing capacity, but says there'll be new guidance on who will get priority. also tonight... they've onlyjust gone back to class, but already hundreds of pupils are sent home over covid fears — teachers want priority testing for schools.

iam i am alive in pontypridd where a local lockdown will be imposed tomorrow after a surge in coronavirus cases. the bereaved of the manchester arena bombing — we hear tributes from those who lost their children and parents. all i can do now is help my mum's memory live on, and be there for my sister and family. my mum lit up all our lives and is missed every hour of every day. shot. excellent shot. and jonny bairstow helps england to set a tricky target for australia in the deciding one—day cricket international. and coming up on bbc news, dark days for macclesfield town as one of football's oldest clubs is given its winding up orders.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. whether it's teachers or doctors, local government officials or health experts — all of them are united today in warning that the coronavirus testing system is at breaking point. even in bolton, which has the highest infection rate in england, there are reports of delays and confusion. let's look at bolton — 196 people out of every 100,000 have covid—19, and cases are rising. more than 100 people turned up yesterday at a&e asking for a test. hospital bosses have now urged residents not to do it, unless absolutely necessary. ministers say there has been a huge increase in demand for tests, and according to the department of health in england one in four of those asking for tests has no symptoms at all.

0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports. in bolton today some had been able to book a test, but reports suggested that didn't last long. testing capacity ran out in bolton and many of the other worst affected areas. 0thers never made it past the front gate. even in the town with the highest infection rates in the country, this confusion about how to get a test. turning me away, said you need to go online and book an appointment but nobody ever told me that. it wasn't clear online or i didn't know. we haven't got a clue. it is difficult, if you can get a test, what are you meant to do?” have tried. i couldn't get through. my have tried. i couldn't get through. my room, bedroom, tv there, where my baby would normally sleep. ryan has been stuck in this bedroom for seven

days, isolating from his baby son and partner, he has got all the key symptoms of covid—i9 but for a week now he has been unable to book a test. it is chaos. you can't have a testing system that when it needs to be used by any member of the public, no matter what their age, demographic, whatever, they should be able to get a test wherever they are in the country. can't understand why it is going on so long. here are in—built in the town that has the highest infection rate in the country, this testing centre seems to be working relatively smoothly. but the government has put extra resources into testing centres in hotspots like this so there are more slots available. but the infection rate across the north west of england has risen dramatically and thatis england has risen dramatically and that is putting real pressure on the system. pricing those who have been in contact with people who test positive is the other key part of the programme and that to is facing

problems. in greater manchester last week more than 3500 contacts were missed. there has been a relentless focus on fixing the system. this is what we have put forward today. we are prepared to play our part. testing, tracing and isolating are vital elements in containing covid—i9. this evening in the worst hit areas of the uk, it looks like this strategy is facing real problems. tonight here in greater manchester beat mayor andy burnham has announced his intention to try and enlist help of hundreds of psi was and fire officers to help boost the numbers are people who are in christ. but these issues have been coming from right across the region. we have spoken to people in lancashire, warrington, merseyside, all of them expressing the frustration around their inability to book a test quickly. as we've heard, the demand for tests has gone up over the last couple of weeks. but does that account for the problems — some would say crisis — in the testing regime across the uk?

0ur health editor, hugh pym, has been taking a close look at how the testing system works. long waits and frustration for people in southend queueing at a walk—in virus testing centre today — further evidence of the immense strain on the whole system. i dropped my daughter off with my granddaughter, she was about 350 people behind all these, to be told that they cannot get tested because they don't have enough. they only had enough tests to do about 150 people. beth, who lives in surrey, has been trying repeatedly since yesterday to book a test but can't. she and two of her children have symptoms. it is extremely stressful, it has added a lot of stress to what is already an upsetting time for us while we are managing everybody being poorly. trying to get through and constantly trying to check my phone to try and hope that we find a test somewhere, and it is really frustrating, to be honest. the government says the uk is testing more than other

leading european countries and that is the case with the number expressed relative to the population. there are, though, some smaller european nations doing more. but laboratories analysing the tests here are struggling to keep up with the workload. the government says new labs are coming on stream but not for a few weeks. here is how much community testing, not including nhs staff and patients, has gone up in recent weeks. on september 1st, there were just over 119,000 tests processed. that day, lab capacity — the ability to handle those tests — was 156,000. then, over the next couple of weeks, demand soared, with 163,000 tests processed in one day. on september 10th, capacity was 161,000. it would have gone up a bit over the next few days but it still shows how tight things have become. 0ne health expert told me all this should have been anticipated a few months ago. the surge in demand

for testing as we enter autumn was extremely predictable. particularly because we expected covid cases to increase again as autumn comes, which we are seeing they are, but also because we were expecting covid—like symptoms from conditions such as the common cold and flu to increase too, and both of those combined for an increased demand in testing. back injuly, people were being actively encouraged to get tests. if you are just worried, if you have got a temperature, you've got a cough or you are just not quite sure that you feel right, the sensible thing to do in this covid world is to go and get a test. now it is very different. capacity is much tighter and the message is that only those with symptoms like high temperatures should book a test. confusion over what to do it may well have added to the recent surge. hugh pym, bbc news. well the latest government figures show there were 3,991 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 2a hour period.

that means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 3,286. and 20 deaths were reported of people who died, within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test, and that means on average in the last week, 13 deaths were announced every day, taking the total number, across the uk, to a1,68a. a second area of south wales will go into local lockdown following a "rapid" rise in cases of the coronavirus. from 6pm tomorrow, nearly a quarter of a million people living in rhondda cynon taff will have restrictions imposed on their daily lives. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffith is there. do we know what has caused this latest spike? the welsh government has pointed to what it calls an

irresponsible minority. remarkably singling out some groups, for example one group we are told who travel together from a local social clu b travel together from a local social club and went on a coach party to the doncaster races. stopping at several pubs along the way. one example of a cluster that has ended up example of a cluster that has ended up with community transmission of this disease taking off again. the latest cases today the highest within wales. they have also spoken about pubs and bars's failure to impose social distancing, as a result one of the measures that will come into place tomorrow in this local lockdown is an 11pm curfew. this is the second local lockdown in wales, last week we had the first imposed in caerphilly which is a neighbouring county. then it was younger people being accused, but 110w younger people being accused, but now it is more about older people in their 40s and 50s, the health minister says, not taking responsibility. what will it mean for people living here? from this time tomorrow they would be allowed to travel in or out of the county u nless to travel in or out of the county unless they have a very good reason

such as travelling to work. they also want to be able to gather at people's houses as they have done until now. it may also cause significant problem for some of the students. there is a universityjust south of pontypridd here which is meant to start it start next week. they now will have to talk to their pressures about what they are allowed to do, who they can mingle with and being back indoors by 11pm. thank you very much. well, the prime minister admitted today there simply isn't enough testing capacity. speaking to a parliamentary committee this afternoon, borisjohnson said the government was doing everything possible to improve the system. labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, said another crisis was looming, and it was time for the government to get on top of the problem. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, is in westminsterfor us. laura. it is rarely an easy day for any prime minister when they appear in front of senior mps for a grilling at the hands of what is known as the liaison committee. knitters have been put through paces on all sorts

of subjects here in westminster today. but as you might expect, it is the public‘s frustration over the edges with testing and put boris johnson under pressure. all date from almost all angles. have you thought about testing? pressing questions at a rocky time. when are you going to sort out testing? what happened to exams, would ministers really break the law? 0n would ministers really break the law? on top of the list, where are they coronavirus tests the government promised and the country needs? do we have currently enough testing capacity? the short answer to that is now, we don't. we don't have enough testing capacity now because in an ideal world i would like to test absolutely everybody but once i test immediately. with cases rising though he made this warning about lives that could be lost soon. we must expect those infections proportionately to lead to mortality. that is the reality.

good that main another lockdown? we are going to do everything in our power to prevent it and can we afford it? ivery power to prevent it and can we afford it? i very much doubt that the financial consequences would be anything but disastrous. but we have to make sure that we defeat the disease. the frustration with the supply of test that followed the prime minister to the commons, with the labour leader absent after waiting for his child's test result also. it was a debut for his deputy today. they have had six months, mr speaker, to get this right. and yet the prime minister still can't deliver on his promises. the health secretary said yesterday it would ta ke secretary said yesterday it would take weeks to solve the situation. we don't have weeks. the government will soon prioritise testing to help smooth the man. but he defended the system with this disputed claim. we are testing more, conducting more tests than any other european

country. testing more people per thousand the population than any other european, those are the facts. but the prime minister also battened down on the stand—off with the eu. dogs are tense after the uk revealed it would override parts of the deal but has already been done. do you think the eu isn't negotiating in good faith? i don't. so why did the northern ireland secretary say isn't negotiating in good faith? it is always possible. it is possible that lam mistaken always possible. it is possible that i am mistaken and perhaps they will prove my suspicions wrong. and then ina prove my suspicions wrong. and then in a surreal moment, borisjohnson couldn't say if one of the government's top law officers had resigned over the eu or not.“ government's top law officers had resigned over the eu or not. if you could tell us whether the advocate generalfor could tell us whether the advocate general for scotland is still in post. i am afraid, i can tell you all i know is conversations are

still continuing. that query a nswered still continuing. that query answered with an official resignation shortly after but other questions, they will not go away. in that last half hour at the resignation of lord keen who was one of the government's top lawyers has been confirmed. he was obviously deeply troubled by the government was much admission it was willing to break international law, to rewrite some of the deal that had already been agreed with brussels. it is another sign of the real turmoil there has been in the tory party over this. but also just in the last three minutes, there has been confirmation from downing street that they have managed to reach some sort of compromise accommodation with the few dozen mps who were very unhappy about this and who had been saying they would not back it in parliament next week. but the brexit wrangling over exactly what happens from the beginning of next year and exactly whether or not the uk and the eu can reach a final deal on all of the dotting of eyes and crossing of the dotting of eyes and crossing

of teas, that is far from over. the prime minister is claiming that the european union is acting in bad faith, is hardly likely to ease those tensions. gavin willimason, the education secretary for england, told mps today that children should only be given a test if they display coronavirus symptoms. the government announced that from tomorrow there will be a dedicated advice line for schools, nurseries and colleges if there is a case of coronavirus. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. these children are feeling fit and well and ready for school, but this primary school has had a confirmed case of coronavirus. 43 children and four members of staff already home, self—isolating. we've got a whole year of this, i'm convinced of that, and we need to have better testing, access to testing, so parents aren't pushed around all over the country. results need to come back quicker. at the moment, we're seeing tests take as long as four days. i'm feeling absolutely fine.

mrs lawrence teaches children in year two and also does supply work. she's found getting a test difficult and is currently at home. it's like fastest fingers won the test. we tried on saturday night, we couldn't get anything, we tried on sunday morning, we had to do the whole thing again. as a supply teacher, i wouldn't be earning any money at all. as a contracted teacher, i'm earning money, but i can't do the job that i want to do. this is the time of year when children catch colds and sniffles. the problem for parents is recognising when it could be coronavirus. the guidance to schools is a child should be at home if they have a new, continuous cough for an hour or three coughing episodes in 2a hours. a temperature and a change in taste and smell are also symptoms. people only with symptoms are the ones that should actually be doing the testing, so if a child and their contacts have been sent home, it's not that all those children that are sent home should be

getting the testing. children have been back at school for just a matter of weeks. parents are worried about the disruption. it is quite hard to keep up and quite hard to know what is right and wrong. generally, ithink quite hard to know what is right and wrong. generally, i think there quite hard to know what is right and wrong. generally, ithink there is quite hard to know what is right and wrong. generally, i think there is a feeling you have to get back to life. it can be very difficult at the minute, luckily my wife is working from home just now so we can do different drop—offs and pick—ups for the kids. the government has launched a new service for schools to report cases of coronavirus but teachers are warning that it is testing which is vital to keeping schools open. elaine dunkley, bbc news. the time is 18 minutes past six. our top story this evening... there are warnings coronavirus testing system is under severe pressure with reports of shortages, delays and confusion. and coming up, eat out to help 0ut

saw the diners piling into restaurtants and bars — what do they do now the scheme is over? coming up on sportsday on bbc news, the return of fans in the football league, with ten clubs getting the go—ahead to let supporters in this weekend. it was the u—turn of the summer, when the education secretary for england changed the grading system for tens of thousands of students receiving a—level, gcse and vocational results. today, gavin williamson has been explaining why he took that decision. he's also insisted that he wants next year to be different, with pupils sitting exams in the conventional way. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. stu d e nts students have a lot of questions. candidate sit exams next year? how did the a—level chaos happen? we put

together six form to watch mps grill the education secretary. was the exa m the education secretary. was the exam regulator to blame? what i'm asking is did 0fqual get it wrong and hence the resignation of the chief executive? i think the fundamental policy of calculated, moderated grades was the right approach to be taking in terms of the exam system. the reality was that there were too many inconsistencies in terms of the grades. what did the students make of it? as someone who was affected by the algorithm and things like that, for me especially i wanted a straight answer, as they had months and months to finalise this and figure out what they would do for us. figure out what they would do for us. and it ended in a shambles. gavin williamson came out and just dodged questions and i don't feel like he put things right. do you feel that the government had any

alternative having listened to this morning? personally i'm a rather synthetic to the government because i understand this is an unprecedented situation. their initial idea, personally, i'm prepared to accept that it was all ina good prepared to accept that it was all in a good cause. their worry is that next yea r‘s in a good cause. their worry is that next year's exams might be later in the summer with extra dates in case of local lockdowns. very much taking on board what 0fqual has said about maybe needing to have a reserve set of papers for youngsters who, as you have highlighted, may not be in a position to be able to take that examination. i would suggest they might need multiple reserve papers. colleges will get the detailed next month. anything is a good sign. they have had a lot of time to do a lot of thinking. i am hoping they get it closer to right this time than they did over the whole of the summer.m england, every effort will be made to hold exams while in scotland, warnings already they could be

disrupted. branwen warnings already they could be disrupted. bra nwen jeffreys, warnings already they could be disrupted. branwenjeffreys, bbc news. macclesfield town football club has been wound up after amassing debts of more than half a million pounds. at a court hearing, the club's owner asked for an eight—week adjournment, but the judge said he couldn't see anything to suggest that the debts could be paid off. macclesfield town were relegated from the english football league earlier this year, after being docked points for non—payment of their players‘ wages. medical records of children in england and wales could show if their mother has had even a single glass of alcohol during the first week of pregnancy. the national institute for health and care excellence say the proposals are part of attempts to identify children at risk of what's called foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. the eat out to help 0ut scheme has helped push inflation in the uk to its lowest level for nearly five years. data from the office for national statistics shows inflation, the rate at which the prices for goods and services increases,

dropped to 0.2% in august from 1% in july. the cost of clothing and footwear also fell significantly. eat out to help 0ut has now stopped and the businesses that benefitted are facing a new threat — the rule of six. emma simpson reports from peterborough. eat out to help 0ut has gone but there are still plenty of deals in this city. we were absolutely rammed, monday, tuesday, wednesday, every week of august. it gave people the confidence to come out again. and it is still quieter than it was before lockdown so we have introduced a new deal to try and keep the people coming back into the restaurant. they really need to fill the seats here. this new business opened just three days before lockdown. eat out to help 0ut saved it but they are feeling the heat now. new covid restrictions have led to cancelled bookings. if we have to survive just on the break even basis,

we need to feed about 1500 people a week. so, we had lots of bookings, maybe 2000 bookings a week. they are all slashed down, there's nothing like that at the moment so it's really discouraging. but it must be quite nerve—racking? it is, definitely, quite nerve—racking but we have to live with it at the moment, you know. we have to know the techniques of survival. so, we are on the process of survival. some have not made it. this pret has gone, no longer financially viable. with big quarterly rent bills limit, the government is extending a ban on evictions to protect businesses who cannot afford to pay. this gives vital breathing space for those who feared being evicted but we need an extension of the debt enforcement moratorium to provide maximum protection for those businesses but it is just protection for those businesses but it isjust a protection for those businesses but it is just a first step and breathing space but we need

government support to continue into the new year, crucially an extension of the business rates holiday and the vat cut in order to protect the near millionjobs in hospitality that are still supported by furlough. eat out to help 0ut gave hospitality a kick—start but for many, these next few months could be even more crucial. emma simpson, bbc news, peterborough. two sisters who were orphaned by the manchester arena bomb have paid tribute to their parents at the public inquiry into the attack. marcin and angelika klis had gone to collect their daughters when they and 20 others were murdered in may 2017. 0ur north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. of the many tragedies of the manchester attack are the children left without parents, and the parents who have had to bury their children. lisa lees was murdered. she doted on her two daughters, lauren and india. they say she was their role model. my life has not been the same since losing my mum. just the thought that she will never

see me walk down the aisle or see my boys grow up or see any of my sister's life milestones is a daily emotional battle. all i can do now is help my mum's memory live on and be there for my sister and family. my mum lit up all our lives and is missed every hour of every day. the klises were a happy family of four. teenagers aleks and patrycja went to the pop concert. their parents, marcin and angelika, went to collect them and took this photo was taken just before the bombing, which killed them both, orphaning the sisters. i have had to grow up quite quickly and deal with things that i never imagined i would ever have to deal with. and our lives have been turned completely upside down. we haven't just lost our parents, but we have lost our best friends and protectors. the ariana grande concert was full of children and their mums and dads. it was a bombing aimed at families and at the young. the devastation it has caused

is felt by every generation. 18—year—old georgina callander had just passed her driving test. her whole adulthood was ahead of her. her mother lesley now robbed of seeing her daughter grow up. if you think time is a healer, then you are sincerely mistaken. if you have not had the experience of burying your own child. you belong in a special group, you see. your children are not to be buried before their parents. 22 people gone, each murder leaving a family bereft. their lives were full ofjoy, now there is only grief and emptiness. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. as the men's international cricket season comes to a close with england facing australia

at old trafford in the deciding one—day international, there's been a warning that the game will find another season without fans extraordinarily challenging. our sports correspondent andy swiss has more. once more into the biosecure bubble. for england's men, the final game of this strangest of summers, 18 matches with not a spectator in sight. logistically, it has been a success, but financially the sport has lost £100 million and it is fearful for the future. we have coped with it this year and cope is the word. when you start getting into a second year, it becomes incredibly and extraordinarily challenging. well, the venues might have been sterile this summer but england's cricket has been anything but. thrilling test match triumphs over the west indies and pakistan and now today, the final challenge. beat australia and they would win their one—day series. simple. if only. jason roy and joe root

out to the first two balls of the whole match, australia rather enjoying themselves. but not for long. a feisty 50 from sam billings including one of the heaviest hits you will ever see, clearing the car park. fetch that! australia were doing plenty of it. jonny bairstow reaching a superb century in suitably swashbuckling style and chris woakes provided some imaginative support, setting australia a target of 303. this dramatic summer could be in for a dramatic finale. andy swiss, bbc news, old trafford. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. hello and the weather is looking good with some fabulous weather tomorrow, clear blue skies for some. it will be pleasantly warm but temperatures have come down in the last couple of days. yesterday was still around 30 but today more like the mid 20s in the south and it has

called off because there is a cool front moving across the uk and you can see the air coming in from scandinavia so that fresh air has spread into northern england and with it, a bit more cloud so it has not been that sonny brought many of us. not been that sonny brought many of us. the south has had the best sunshine —— not that sunny. it means it will be another balmy evening and by the end of the night, temperatures will still be around 1a 01’ temperatures will still be around 1a or 15 degrees, even 16 in the channel islands. thursday morning it might starta channel islands. thursday morning it might start a little cloudy and misty in places but by mid—afternoon we are talking about beautiful clear blue skies across the uk and pleasa ntly blue skies across the uk and pleasantly warm. low 20s in the south, high teens in glasgow and edinburgh. isa south, high teens in glasgow and edinburgh. is a good date tomorrow andi edinburgh. is a good date tomorrow and i think friday will be every bit as sunny and i think friday will be every bit as sunny for most of us. one thing you might notice is the increasing breeze in the southern part of the uk. still warm, low