at six — gps in england are told to see more patients face to face amid a sharp rise in the number of people heading to a&e departments. the government directs £250 million to help surgeries bring in more temporary staff. but gps say the money offered doesn't match the crisis they face. we haven't got the locums to come in and work in practices, so the idea that this money is going to help with that is just pie in the sky. the government insists the money will make a difference. also tonight... police in norway say a bow and arrow attack that left five people dead appears to be an act of terrorism. a 37—year—old man is in custody. the government announces abattoir butchers from abroad can come to the uk as seasonal workers

to combat shortages in the pig industry. fighting for the environment — prince william tells the bbc why the focus should be on fixing earth, not getting tourists into space. and coming up on the bbc news channel... can arsenal women come back from a heavy defeat to barcelona as they count down to their next match in the champions league against hoffenheim? good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government has told gps in england to see more patients face to face, amid a sharp rise in the number of people going to accident & emergency departments. ministers say they'll provide extra funding to more temporary staff

in surgeries and have said they will intervene if gp practices don't increase access to care. doctors�* leaders have reacted angrily, saying the attack is demoralising and indefensible. it comes as new figures show the nhs treatment backlog in england is at record levels, with more than 5.7 million people waiting for routine treatment. more and more people are going to a&e with more than a quarter waiting overfour hours to be seen. our health editor, hugh pym, has more. fabienne was used to regular face—to—face appointments with her gp to discuss her chronic health conditions. but since the start of the pandemic they haven't happened, only phone consultations have been possible and she says they haven't met her needs. not to see him and to talk constantly to someone who doesn't know my health issues, to talk to someone

over the phone who doesn't know me at all who has probably never had the paperwork needed on my conditions — it has really stressed me out. the proportion of consultations which are face—to—face in england is still well short of the pre—pandemic level. there are no comparable figures for scotland, wales or northern ireland and the nhs will now allocate more money to practices in england to bring in locum doctors to increase appointments, as long as they explain how they spend it. today's package is all about support, about providing gps with ever more support so they can do more of what they love doing, which is seeing their patients. it's about having more appointments and having more prompt appointments and allowing patients to have more choice in the way that they are seen. a shift of some work treating minor illnesses to pharmacists is part of the plan to ease pressure on general practice. we have had quite a few confrontational patients this morning. there will also be measures to cut bureaucracy to allow gps to spend more time with patients

and funding for extra security at practices. this gp in liverpool thinks the plans could have been more ambitious. clearly there are some aspects to do with trying to tackle violence or aggression, zero tolerance. you know, we certainly need that and we would welcome that. it's good in parts, but actually, i don't think it's going to solve very much. the number of gp posts in england has gone up a bit in the last five years. but a conservative pledge in 2015 to boost the workforce by 5,000 by 2020 wasn't met. now there is a new pledge for 6,000 more in three years�* time. and doctors�* representatives argue the real problem is that the current workforce are struggling to keep up with rising demand for patient care. if i reflect on my own practice, i have no appointments left in

the day and i am squeezing people in and their families in when they are speaking to me on the phone, because they are pleading with me. and i am doing that, my colleagues are doing that and we are knackered, we are completely exhausted. and the government is completely out of touch and clueless. some patients say they have had to go a&e because they couldn't get gp appointments and english a&e units had their busiest ever september with the lowest percentage treated or assessed in four hours. the uk's other nations have fared no better. across the country, and even before winter, the pressure is intensifying. hugh pym, bbc news. the latest official coronavirus figures show there were 45,066 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, the highest since the middle ofjuly. the average number of cases per day in the past week now stands atjust under 40,000. more than 7,024 people were in hospital with covid yesterday. another 157 deaths have been recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, which means on average there were 118 deaths per day, in the past week.

0n vaccinations, 85.7% of the population aged 12 and over, have had their first dose of a vaccine, and 78.7% have been double—jabbed. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, is with me now. there have been new warnings that this winter is going to be difficult? yes, sophie. those cases, week on week, are in the uk, 13%. hospital admissions and death numbers are up as well, on that basis. interestingly today, professor chris whitty, england's chief medical officer, at a conference of said that, a is model really weren't clear where it would go from here. he said that what was clear was that evenif he said that what was clear was that even if covid remained relatively low, or if there was a surge, whatever happened, the nhs would have an exceptionally difficult winter because of flu and other viruses and other pressures, which

really underlines what we've been hearing today from gp practices and hospitals and a&e units about the surge in demand that they're having to deal with now, never mind the winter months ahead. and professor whitty went on to say, interestingly, he was at a conference of gps, that they were doing, quotes, an outstandingjob, but he felt that the topic of face—to—face appointments had, quotes, got rather more heat than it needed. , . ~ quotes, got rather more heat than it needed. , ., ~ , ., police are treating a bow and arrow attack in norway that left five people dead as an act of terrorism. a 37—year—old is being held after a man went on the rampage last night in the town of kongsberg, from where mark lowen sends this report. a mediaeval weapon of modern terror, piercing the calm of this once sleepy town. police were called after six o'clock last night when an attacker fired after six o'clock last night when an attackerfired indiscriminately from his bow and arrow. when they tried to intervene, he unleashed more

volleys. by the time they caught him half an hour later, he had killed four women and one man and injured three others. he was reportedly also armed with a knife. today, police identified him as a 37—year—old, a local resident of danish nationality, who had converted to islam and had previously raised concerns over radicalisation. and they say he has confessed. the act itself looks — they say he has confessed. the act itself looks like _ they say he has confessed. the act itself looks like a _ they say he has confessed. the act itself looks like a terror— they say he has confessed. the act itself looks like a terror act, - they say he has confessed. the act itself looks like a terror act, but i itself looks like a terror act, but we do not know what is the motivation of the perpetrator here. i think we have to wait for the investigation.— i think we have to wait for the investigation. i think we have to wait for the investiuation. , , ., ~ investigation. the supermarket where the killin: investigation. the supermarket where the killing spree _ investigation. the supermarket where the killing spree began _ investigation. the supermarket where the killing spree began bears - investigation. the supermarket where the killing spree began bears the - the killing spree began bears the scars of the horror, and kongsberg, this town of 25,000 people, has been shattered. i’m this town of 25,000 people, has been shattered. �* , ~ �* shattered. i'm shocked, i can't believe it— shattered. i'm shocked, i can't believe it has _ shattered. i'm shocked, i can't believe it has happened - shattered. i'm shocked, i can't believe it has happened in - shattered. i'm shocked, i can't believe it has happened in a i shattered. i'm shocked, i can't i believe it has happened in a small town like this. i’ee believe it has happened in a small town like this.—

town like this. i've been active within archery, _ town like this. i've been active within archery, i _ town like this. i've been active within archery, i recognise - town like this. i've been active within archery, i recognise thej within archery, i recognise the sound — within archery, i recognise the sound from a compound bow and i can hear the _ sound from a compound bow and i can hear the tingling of the arrow hitting — hear the tingling of the arrow hitting the streets.— hear the tingling of the arrow hitting the streets. norway's new rime hitting the streets. norway's new prime minister, _ hitting the streets. norway's new prime minister, on _ hitting the streets. norway's new prime minister, on his— hitting the streets. norway's new prime minister, on his first - hitting the streets. norway's new prime minister, on his first day i hitting the streets. norway's new| prime minister, on his first day in thejob, takes over a country in mourning. translation: these are gruesome acts that have been committed, quite surreal talk. that have been committed, quite surrealtalk. but that have been committed, quite surreal talk. but the reality is that five people have been killed and several injured. many are shocked. so, this makes a strong impression. my thoughts go to those who have been exposed to this, relatives, families and everybody who has been seriously frightened. one of the world's who has been seriously frightened. one of the worlds and safest countries has been devastated. it may stir debate over weapons rules, the bow and arrow, not illegal in norway. and it might raise questions over how a man flagged as a security risk seemingly slipped through the net with such deadly consequences. sophie, media reports tonight say the man had previous convictions and

a restraining orderfor allegedly trying to kill a family member, and a video has emerged of him issuing a warning while declaring his muslim faith. what happened here tonight, yesterday, is now the deadliest mass killing in norway since the far right extremist and a spray fig massacred 77 people a decade ago. and once again, terror has shaken the norwegian rush. mark lowen in norway, thank you. the chancellor, rishi sunak, says the government is doing everything it can to ease supply chain blockages. but businesses in industries from toys to construction to meat are warning that blockages at ports caused by a shortage of lorry drivers are still causing big delays. the uk's largest poultry supplier said the price of chicken will rise because of the problems. with more, here's our business correspondent emma simpson. they sell everything they make. frog bikes are in big demand. so, this is our warehouse where we store the bikes. normally there'd be about 25,000

bikes on the shelves so the shelves would be full. we won't have enough bikes for christmas. it's disappointing. disappointing for mums and dads? disappointing for mums and dads, for the shops we deal with and for us. the production line here at pontypool is running at half—speed. they rely on parts from all over the world and they are waiting on three containers of tyres from south korea. the tyres that should have come straight here for early october are not going to be here until mid—november. they're very late. and the knock—on effect is we miss out on making 5,000 bikes. if that wasn't bad enough, a shortage of drivers means they are struggling to get the bikes to the shops. businesses are grappling with a whole host of different issues right now. for some, this festive season is turning into a logistics nightmare and the government is under growing pressure to make sure the wheels don't come off this christmas. i am confident there will be a good

amount of christmas presents available for everyone to buy. we're doing absolutely everything we can to mitigate some of these challenges. they are global in nature, so we can't fix every single problem, but i feel confident that there will be a good provision of goods for everybody and we are working our way to remove blockages where we can. he's hoping temporary work visas will help, but there is concern foreign hgv food drivers may not be able to arrive for another month. all of the shortages were predicted. i think a lot of people will say, why on earth hasn't the government therefore got a plan in place to deal with it? costs for businesses are also piling up. britain's biggest chicken producer, two sisters, is warning the days of low food prices are coming to an end. so, how is all this affecting shoppers' plans for christmas here in newport? are you worried about christmas shortages? yes. definitely. the shops, the shelves look empty already. we've been and got our turkey already.

yeah, bought the turkey just in case. are you worried about shortages? a little bit, ithink. but it's not going to- cause me to panic—buy. most of them will be having money ithis year because you don't knowl what's going to arrive into britain. and for some businesses, it could be a bumpy ride ahead at their busiest time of the year. emma simpson, bbc news, pontypool. the government has anounced that it is to grant temporary visas to allow foreign butchers into the uk to tackle a shortage of workers in abbatoirs. farmers are facing the slaughter of thousands of pigs on farms due to the shortages. our north of england correspondent danny savage is at a pig farm in driffield in yorkshire for us. and this has just been announced in the last hour, what has the reaction been? ~ , .,, .,, been? well, sophie, it was last friday that _ been? well, sophie, it was last friday that we _ been? well, sophie, it was last friday that we were _ been? well, sophie, it was last friday that we were standing i been? well, sophie, it was last i friday that we were standing here overlooking these sows which were all expecting large litters in the coming weeks. at the other end of the farm, the more mature pics which

should be sent off to market, they have not been going off the farm quick enough, so there is a backlog here, and it was reaching crisis point. we have had an announcement in the last hour from the government to allow butchers in abattoirs dealing with pigs to be able to come into the uk on a temperate basis for “p into the uk on a temperate basis for up to six months and they've also announced private storage to help abattoirs to temporarily store meat to help clear the backlog. that has been welcomed here by the farmers here in east yorkshire, they say that should put a stop to on — farm culling which has started in some places, and stop it happening on this farm, but they say timing is everything, and it needs to happen soon. the government estimate that 800 butchers will need to be brought into the country to clear the backlog. they are confident they can meet that figure, but not until november, and that is causing some concern, will they come into the country quick enough to get this problem sorted? we will have more later on this evening. our top story this evening.

gps in england are told to see more patients face to face amid a sharp rise in the number of people heading to a&e departments. and coming up — a new effort is under way to try and count walruses. .. ..from space. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel. british number two cameron norrie is on the brink of becoming british number one after beating american tommy paul to get to the quarterfinals at indian wells. star trek�*s william shatner has just made history as the oldest man to go into orbit on board the capsule built by amazon's jeff bezos. but the duke of cambridge has told the bbc that he thinks there should be more focus on repairing this planet, rather than finding another to live on. his comments come in the run up to this weekend's inaugural earthshot prize, which prince william is launching to try to find solutions to climate change. he's been speaking to

newscast�*s adam fleming. fix our climate is one of the five goals of the earthshot prize. the clue's in the name. the duke of cambridge's new environmental prize is inspired by president kennedy's moonshot. it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. the prince wants to recapture the spirit of the 60s to make the technological leaps that could heal the planet today. but he had this message for entrepreneurs looking to the stars instead. seeing everyone trying to get space tourism going. it's the idea we need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live. what would you give it out of ten, george? how many marks out of ten, would you give it? it's our younger generation of royalty thinking about the generation that will follow them. i want the things that i have

enjoyed, the outdoor life and the sort of nature environment, i want that to still be there for, notjust my children but everyone else's children. and if we are not careful, we are robbing from our children's future what we do now. and i think that's not fair. we are seeing a rise in climate anxiety, young people now are growing up where their futures are basically threatened the whole time. it's very unnerving, it's very anxiety making. george's school recently has been doing litter picking and i didn't realise, but talking to him the other day, he was already showing he was getting a bit confused and a bit annoyed by the fact they went out litter picking one day and then the very next day they did the same route at the same time and pretty much all the same litter they picked up was back again. that for him, he was trying to understand where it all came from, he couldn't understand. he was like, we cleaned this, why has it not gone away?

and this is the message he will give to world leaders at next month's big climate change conference being held in glasgow. children love being outdoors, they love getting money, they love playing, chasing and playing sport and all that stuff. i think they have a true appreciation of what we are going to miss and what we are letting down than actually many of the adults. and that's where the disconnect is happening, is that those adults are in position of responsibility and not channelling their inner child, to remind themselves and remember how much it meant to be outdoors. at the other end of the age range the prince will team up with sir david attenborough to award the first earthshot prizes in a ceremony this weekend. i wasjust coming back home from school and i noticed the ironing vendors in my street were using charcoal. the 15 finalists include solar powered gadgets, apps, organisations and initiatives, all competing for royal recognition. adam fleming, bbc news. and you can see the full interview on newscast on bbc one at 11:35 tonight. the north yorkshire police, fire and crime commissioner has resigned after coming under pressure over comments he made

about the murder of sarah everard by a serving police officer. he said that women needed to be "streetwise" about powers of arrest. phillip allott apologised after the comments but today said he was "doing the honourable thing" and stepping down. his resignation comes after a vote of no confidence in him by the north yorkshire fire and crime panel. a 16—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal stabbing of an 18—year—old on a playing field in south—west london on tuesday. hazrat wali was a student at richmond—upon—thames college. he was taken to hospital but died an hour later. the birth rate in england and wales has fallen for the fifth year in a row, according to official data. there were nearly 614,000 live births

in 2020 —— the lowest number since 2002. and almost 30 % of the mothers were born outside the uk — many originally from pakistan or romania. if you put it this way, there were 320 fewer births every day last year than there where the daily rate back in 2012. so yes, a big drop. the 0ns suggests women are having babies later, improved to contraception and declining child mortality in encouraging people to have smaller families. and it has pushed down the fertility rate in england and wales. the current rate is 1.58, and that would have been even lower still without the impact of the foreign—born mothers whose fertility rate is closer to two. data for

scotland published in the summer shows an even bigger reduction in live births with a fertility rate of just 1.29. the falls will be welcome by those who argue the global population needs to decline to protect the finite resources of the planet. but there will be problems potentially in decades to come for this country as fewer citizens of working age will be required to support probably an increasing elderly population.— six people have been shot dead and many more have been injured in the lebanese capital, beirut, during a demonstration by shia muslim groups against thejudge investigating last year's massive port explosion. huge tension surrounds the probe into the port explosion, with the hezbollah group and its allies claiming thejudge is biased, but the families of the blast victims have given him their support. our beirut correspondent

anna foster has the latest. it started as a protest. but within minutes, it became a battlefield. nobody knows yet who started the shooting. rapid gunfire but the gunfire stares ghosts of the country's civil war. four hours, shooting echoed through the streets of beirut. not everyone survived. translation: mi; of beirut. not everyone survived. translation:— of beirut. not everyone survived. translation: my wife was hiding downstairs, but _ translation: my wife was hiding downstairs, but my _ translation: my wife was hiding downstairs, but my neighbour i translation: my wife was hiding downstairs, but my neighbour was killed. she was shot in the head with the bullet. she had kids, her daughter got married just two days ago. it daughter got married 'ust two days auo. , daughter got married 'ust two days ao. , ., , daughter got married 'ust two days auo. , ., , . ., , daughter got married 'ust two days auo. , ,. ago. it is a very confused picture ri . ht ago. it is a very confused picture right now. _ ago. it is a very confused picture right now, there _ ago. it is a very confused picture right now, there are _ ago. it is a very confused picture right now, there are many, i ago. it is a very confused picture| right now, there are many, many soldiers on the streets trying to work out exactly where the firing is coming from. a lot of the exchange of fire is going on at this cross—section. we can hear regular bursts of automatic gunfire and the

thump of our tgs. we have seen somebody shooting from the top of the building and the army are trying to work out how to contain the situation, which escalated so rapidly. as the shooting faded, the clean—up started, but the scars and the divisions remain. accountability for the port glass feels further away than ever for the lebanese people. anna foster, bbc news, beirut. the queen has opened the sixth term of the senedd on her first visit to wales for five years. addressing the welsh parliament, she praised people for the way they'd coped with the covid pandemic. our wales correspondent hywel griffith is at the senedd for us now. today was largely about ceremony but it was the first time the queen has been to this building since it changed its name from a welsh parliament. it is the first time in

over 18 months we have seen most of the senate members under one roof. the queen commended the senate for being the uk legislate to go online and start holding its meetings virtually during the lockdown. there is plenty looking back over the pandemic, members need to focus on helping wales recover during the next five years. tickly for the welsh labour government who holds half of the seats, tackling the long and growing nhs waiting list here. the crowd of a few hundred people may have noted this was the first time the queen came to open the senate without the duke of edinburgh at the side and for not the first time this week, she was seen in public using a walking stick, something likely we will see more on future royal visits. the british band coldplay have announced they are to go on a world tour next year but are going to try to offset their carbon emissions as they go. they're working to develop a kinetic floor which would convert the audience's dancing in to electricity.

the band's singer chris martin also said they would plant a tree for every ticket sold. but — they have still opted to use private planes. here's our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. coldplay, back on stage in london this week, and today, they have announced a 2022 world tour. but one with a difference. two years ago, their lead singer chris martin told me they would not tour again until they could do so in a carbon neutral way. we are taking time over the next year or two to work out how can a return not only be sustainable, but actively beneficial? and it turns out that interview was a game changer for the band. well, last time we spoke, i sort of made that up when we were talking. really? because i was trying to think of something cool to say.

and... and then it sort of became a headline. and we thought that's actually what we really feel. within a couple of weeks, the band employed to people the band employed two people dedicated to working out how to tour and a cleaner way. today, coldplay have revealed their 12 point action plan including working with bmw to develop the first—ever mobile rechargeable concert battery. the whole show is powered from renewable energy. which is amazing. then, in terms of offsetting people being there, we are able to plant a tree for every ticket sold. and that's a lot of trees. their last tour was seen by 5.4 million people. other ideas include connecting floor, allowing the audience to provide power by dancing along. you know when a front man says, "we need you tojump up and down"? when i say that, i literally really need you to jump up and down.

when rock stars speak about the environment, there are always cries of hypocrisy, especially when private jets are being used. are you ready for the inevitable backlash? i don't mind any backlash at all. we are trying our best, and we haven't got it perfect. and the people that gave us backlash for that kind of thing, flying, they are right. how do you tally that with yourself? i don't know, i don't mind criticism at all, it's ok. because sometimes criticism leads to improvement. and so far, coldplay�*s ideas have been well received. and it's clear christmas and believes coldplay concerts are now green enough that he can once again go around the globe singing yellow. we would not be announcing a tour unless we felt like we are far enough along that it's ok in our heart. but we are definitely not finished. colin patterson, bbc news. a new effort is under way to try and count walruses — from space.

it s a project that s been set up by the british antarctic survey and wwf, and they are asking the public to help. they say getting an idea of how big the walrus population is is essential to see how climate change is impacting these tusked beasts. our science correspondent rebecca morelle has more huge, blubbery and a bit grumpy, walruses are easy enough to spot, but thanks to their remote arctic location, we don't know how many of these giant beasts there are. so, you can zoom in. look, you can zoom in, there. now the public are being asked for their help and the scouts in east molesey are making a start. they're using satellite images to locate and count every atlantic and laptev sea walrus. if it's... ..a little bit blurry, then it's harder, cos sometimes it is rocks. and they're the same colour as the walrus. we have been taking images of the earth from space for more than 60 years, but our view has changed dramatically. in the 1980s, satellites could only see subjects 30—metres in size. but they quickly improved, and a few years later, they could see

features ten—metres across. today, though, the most advanced imaging satellites can see details down to just 30 centimetres and this has transformed our view of the natural world. the sea ice on which they live most of the year is rapidly _ diminishing and they are having i to change their behaviour and come out onto land much more often. that's almost certainly got some detrimental effect to them. i but we are not sure how much the population i is being affected by that. the walrus counts will need 500,000 volunteers to scan through images on the wwf website. with their help, we should finally find out how many walruses there are and see how they fare in the years to come. rebecca morelle, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, with alina jenkins. mixed fortunes today, for some, blue skies across the isle of wight, the

channel islands but others that has been more cloud around in parts of scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england, we have seen some outbreaks of rain. that will push southwards this evening and overnight and behind some colder air and sharp showers across northern scotland. they could be wintry in nature. ahead of this band of cloud and rain we can see mist and fog across the far south of england where it stays male but further north in those clearer skies we could see a touch of frost across parts of northern england and scotland. but for many a good deal of sunshine around tomorrow. away from this zone of cloud and patchy rain across the far south of, parts of wales and it was thin and break and are mainly dry day. some sunshine but feeling cooler across scotland and northern england where temperatures will struggle to get into double figures. further south, fresh feel and temperatures will be across the far south—west of england. for many it is a fine end to the day with clear skies overnight so it is a chilly night as we head into saturday. this brief

autumnal chill doesn't