Matthew Mason paid Alex Rodda to stop him reporting their "intimate sexual relationship", a court hears.

Allen Cook
BBC News

We'll be back from 07:00 tomorrow with the latest news, sport, travel, weather and more for the West Midlands.

BBC Radio CWR

A council has not had an expected response today from the government to its threat of legal action over being placed in tier three of Covid-19 restrictions.

Earlier this month, Stratford-on-Avon District Council said it had sent a judicial review pre-action letter to the health secretary and expected a response today.

However, the local authority said this afternoon the government's legal department had emailed to say it would not respond today.

"It is extremely disappointing that they have as yet not responded to our concerns, we have however been assured that the response will be provided by midday tomorrow," the council added.

BBC Radio CWR

Tier three Covid restrictions are keeping a hotelier awake at night over fears for his businesses' future.

Image source, Google

Mark Chambers owns five hotels including The Arden Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Mallory Court Hotel, Leamington Spa.

With both closed due to Warwickshire being in tier three, he told BBC Radio CWR it is affecting his sleep.

"Having nearly half of your business unable to operate is a bother, it is the sort of thing which keeps you awake at night and you worry for your teams as well and for jobs," he said.

An arts centre in Warwickshire is going to remain shut under at least the new year.

Staff had planned to reopen Bedworth Arts Centre on 8 December after it closed to the lockdown.

But in a post on Facebook , externalthey said the county being in tier three meant they could not reopen tomorrow with the ban on socialising indoors.

Tests for people without Covid-19 symptoms are going to be expanded to Telford later this week.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

Telford and Wrekin Council said , externallateral flow tests would be used to try and find people who might have the virus without realising it.

The tests give results in about 30 minutes and will be used at The Place, Oakengates.

Other parts of the West Midlands including Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Water Orton, Warwickshire, are using the tests this week.

An inquiry finds "mismanagement in the administration" of a rehabilitation charity in Birmingham.

More than 3,000 cannabis plants have been found in a raid.

Image source, Warwickshire Police

A property on Bayton Road, Exhall, Warwickshire was searched by police on Friday after a tip-off.

Officers said , externalthey forced their way in and seized about 3,200 plants along with electrical equipment.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The Local Democracy Reporting Service in Shropshire has been covering these stories:

• Shropshire Council will be left with a shortfall of nearly £70m in its finances within five years unless the government gives it more money, the authority has said. The council's latest financial forecasts expect it to have a shortfall of £40m in 2021-22 due to the soaring cost of social care and limits on how council tax is set. It expects the funding gap to then grow by £7m each year.

Image source, PA Media

• Coronavirus screenings were missed on patients at hospitals in the county and contributed to a string of outbreaks, a report said. Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's nursing director said tests on in-patients were meant to happen on the day of admission and the fifth day after, but were missed in some areas. Ten wards saw outbreaks of Covid-19 in October and November.
• A town councillor who left the Conservative Party in September has announced he will stand for the Greens in next year’s Shropshire Council elections. Councillor Jay Moore was elected to the town council in 2017 but left the Tories and said he was not happy with the expectation to “toe the party line”.

Hospital hubs around the West Midlands are preparing to start administering the coronavirus vaccine from Tuesday.

Image source, PA Media

Hundreds of thousands of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine are being distributed around the UK in time to begin the immunisation programme.

Across the West Midlands they include:

• University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
• University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire
• Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust
• University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
• Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
• Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the first to be approved by the MHRA medicines regulator, needs to be stored at -70C and hospitals already have the facilities to ensure that.

John Bray
BBC News

An eight-year-old Worcester girl has raised £400 for a charity in the city after creating 70 Santa logs.

Daisy Herbert sold the logs in aid of Worcester Community Trust.

She said she wanted to support the charity, which provides Christmas gifts for children, and hot meals for elderly people in Worcester.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carmelo Garcia

An inquiry is going to be held into why a report into sexual abuse involving students was not shared with councillors or schools.

Image source, Google

Herefordshire Council ran an investigation in April 2017 into the handling of a case in which one student was abused by another.

A report was made with recommendations on how to shield a victim from their abuser and a risk assessment for schools, but the findings were not shared with councillors or schools at the time.

The council has agreed to run an external investigation into why the conclusions were not shared.

Coventry Live

The Coventry Live site has these stories today:

• Investigation launched after woman dies in Coventry smash between car and lorry, external
• Council tax rise planned in Coventry but £6m black hole remains, external
• Jaguar driver crashes into house on way to work, external

Parts of the West Midlands are being warned to expect more thick fog this evening and tomorrow.

Image source, Met Office

Following a weather warning this morning, the Met Office has issued a yellow alert for fog from 16:00 until 11:00 on Tuesday., external

It says it could lead to slower bus and train services along with other travel disruption.

Mass testing using rapid Covid tests is being rolled out in parts of the West Midlands this week.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

The programmes use so-called lateral flow devices which can get results in about 20-30 minutes.

People in Wolverhampton, external and Stoke-on-Trent , externalwithout symptoms are being urged to get tested from today.

The aim is to try and pick up asymptomatic cases that would otherwise have gone undetected and stop people spreading Covid-19 without realising.

Warwickshire will see its first lateral flow test centre open at Water Orton Community Hall, near Coleshill, tomorrow., external

BBC Midlands Today

Worcester Warriors say they're hopeful they'll soon be able to welcome more fans back to their stadium, after opening their gates successfully over the weekend.

Image source, PA Media

Two thousand people watched from the stands of Sixways on Saturday as Worcester were beaten by Bath.

It is the first time the team has played in front of a crowd there since March.

Tier two restrictions allow up to 2,000 fans and Gene Willis from the club hopes the number may increase in the near future.

"Just to have 2,000 fans here is a great start for us so we can at least get it right so when we do go into tier one, which will hopefully be in a few weeks, we can work on letting even more fans in," she said

People in Dudley can get an idea of the size of the swimming pool being built in the new £18.2m leisure centre.

Image source, Dudley Council

The council has released photos, external showing the shape of the new pool which it said had been filled with water recently to test it.

The new centre, being built off Flood Street, features an eight-lane, 25m pool, a teaching pool, a sports hall and a gym and fitness suite.

The next stage of the project, finishing the roof, should be completed early next year, the council said.

Pupils in Coventry have won an engineering contest to design a boat to deliver aid after a natural disaster.

Image source, WMG Academy

The Royal Navy set the challenge for schools to come up with a vessel to help people get water, food and medicine after a hurricane.

Five students, aged 15 and 16, at WMG Academy Coventry won the title out of 60 teams., external

Image source, WMG Academy

BBC Weather Watchers

After a misty, foggy start to Monday we have had some photos of blue skies and some of the local wildlife from our BBC Weather Watchers in the West Midlands.

These three are from users Hedgehog in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Hazelnut in Penkridge, Staffordshire and Desmondo in Oswestry, Shropshire:

Image source, Hedgehog

Image source, Hazelnut

Image source, Desmondo

A man has died in hospital more than two weeks after being hit by a car in Birmingham.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Alan Worgan suffered serious injuries in the collision with a VW Golf on Dolphin Lane, Accocks Green, on 17 November, police said. , external

The 45-year-old died in hospital on Friday.

His family released a tribute and said he "was one of the nicest and genuine people you could ever meet".

The force said the driver of the car stopped at the scene and was helping with their investigation.