PRIME Minister Boris Johnson will update Parliament on a proposed national lockdown for England today while the North-East and Yorkshire prepare for flooding. Here are today's top stories from the region and across the country.

The Northern Echo: Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out new Covid-19 restrictions in the House of Commons on Tuesday

Drivers caught in flooding this morning said they were terrified as they battled through rising water.

Dozens of roads have been closed across the North as the environment agency issued 50 flood alerts, 18 of them in North Yorkshire.

The A684 at Morton on Swale is closed and police are urging people to avoid the area.

The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 roadin North Yorkshire. It crosses the full width of the Yorkshire Dales, passing through Garsdale and the full length of Wensleydale.

Minister for the Cabinet Office, Michael Gove, has welcomed a new report which makes the case for relocating as many as 49,500 civil servants from Whitehall to various locations across the North of England in a move which could put rocket boosters under the government’s levelling-up agenda.

The relocations would include Department for Work and Pensions in Stockton and Home Office, UK Border Force and Prison and Probation in Newcastle.

The index also provided other alternative locations - such as Bolton, Darlington, North Lincolnshire, Middlesbrough and Sheffield - which could act as alternative cluster locations if needed.

The Penny Black, in Hartburn, Stockton, was said to have played host to a “free for all” during one incident on May 15 this year which shocked police and saw up to a dozen-and-a-half drinkers on the premises, while landlord Gary Cooke sat at the bar with a pint.

Stockton Council’s licensing committee has suspended the pub's licence for two months from the point at which a 21 day appeal period runs out, with Mr Cooke directed to implement a series of conditions.

ACTOR Johnny Depp has lost his High Court libel action against The Sun newspaper over an article which labelled him a “wife beater”.

Depp, 57, sued the tabloid’s publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), and its executive editor Dan Wootton over the 2018 article, which referred to “overwhelming evidence” that he attacked ex-wife Amber Heard during their relationship.

In a ruling on Monday, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Pirates Of The Caribbean star’s claim, saying NGN had proved what was in the article to be “substantially true”.

Good Morning Britain (GMB) and Smooth Radio presenter Kate Garraway has shared an update on her husband Derek Draper following a 'huge breakthrough'.

Kate has said she was frightened that her husband – who has been in hospital since March – could be “giving up” before he mouthed the word “pain”.

Derek Draper, 53, was placed in an induced coma after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

What else is happening? 

  • Prime William had Covid earlier this year. The Sun newspaper first reported that The Duke of Cambridge contracted Covid-19 in April but kept the diagnosis private because he didn't want to alarm the nation. Shortly after, the BBC — which cited palace sources — reported that he tested positive at a similar time to his father, the Prince of Wales.
  • Thousands of Muslims rallied outside the French embassy in Indonesia's capital on Monday. Protestors demanded the French ambassador be immediately expelled following global outcry over French President Emmanuel Macron comments about Islam.
  • Martin Lewis reveals whether it is cheaper to switch the heating on and off or leave it running. According to experts at the Energy Saving Trust, the idea that it's cheaper to leave the heating on low all day is a myth. Read more here.