hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson and naga munchetty. train passengers are warned of delays, diversions and cancellations as the biggest ever upgrade to our railways gets under way. i'm here at ealing broadway, where passengers will have to use this because paddington is close to two trains for the next six days. -- closed. good morning, it's christmas eve, saturday, the 24th of december. actress carrie fisher is rushed to hospital after a suspected heart attack on a flight from london. calls for unity as the prime minister uses her christmas message to urge british people to come together after brexit and a year of division. good morning. in sport, big sam's back. sam allardyce is the new manager of crystal palace, he signs

a two—and—a half—year deal replacing alan pa rdew. and the science of santa. if you've always wondered how father christmas can travel so far injust one night, we'll hear from a science professor who can explain all. and nick has the festive forecast for us. good morning. storm barbara may be pulling away from the uk but it remains windy today, tomorrow and into boxing day. the latest on the blustery christmas forecast coming up. good morning. first, our main story. extensive railway engineering works are starting across britain today, with 200 different projects being carried out over the christmas break. passengers in london, manchester and cardiff are expected to be the hardest hit by the works, which may cause delays, diversions and cancellations. our reporter jane—frances kelly is at ealing broadway station for us. there's a very good reason that you

are there. explain why. good morning. yes. a lot of gw are passengers are going to have to come here because paddington is closed for the next six days for upgrades and maintenance work. —— gwr. work will be done on crossrail and the heathrow express. if people have a lot of luggage or their disabled they can go to three other designated stations in london. also liverpool street station is affected, which will be closed between the 24th of december and the second of january and between the 24th of december and the second ofjanuary and london bridge too jarring cross between the 24th and the 28th. it's notjust london, its manchester —— london bridge to charrington. it is too and from the city's airport, eccles, salford crescent until the second of january. and services from manchester, piccadilly and warrington bank key will be replaced

by buses and cardiff is undergoing a major signalling upgrade programme and that means replacement buses between cardiff central, bridgend, newport and the valleys from the 27th of december until the third of january. this is the biggest christmas upgrade by network rail. there will be 2a,000 engineers on up to 200 sites and their investing £103 million. jane-frances kelly, thank you very much indeed and she is at ealing broadway. and at 9:10am we'll be speaking to the travel editor of the independent, simon calder. meanwhile, more disruption to transport in scotland is expected as a result of storm barbara. as a result of storm barbara. winds of up to 120 miles an hour were recorded yesterday, and rail, road and ferry travel is again expected to be hampered today by gale—force winds. an amber alert has also been issued for the northern isles on boxing day. the met office has named it storm conor, we'll bring you a full forecast and look ahead to this

in a few minutes time. the american actor carrie fisher, best known for her role as princess leia in the star wars films, is in intensive care in a los angeles hospital after suffering a heart attack. she had been in the uk promoting her memoirs when she was taken ill on a flight from london to the us. let's speak now to peter bowes who is in los angeles for us this morning. what do we know about miss fisher's condition? we know she was heading back from london to los angeles for christmas, she lives here in beverly hills, and the flight was about 15 minutes out from landing when she had what the emergency services are describing as a cardiac episode, that's been interpreted as a heart attack. apparently there were a number of medical personnel on the flight, number of medical personnel on the flight, there were some nurses and people tried to help her but she was reportedly unresponsive at that stage. the plane was met on the

tarmac by paramedics who also tried to work on her, she was then taken to work on her, she was then taken to hospital. we know from carrie fisher's brother, todd, that she is in intensive care. earlier he said that she had been in a critical condition, was then in a stable condition, was then in a stable condition but later clarified that he doesn't know what her condition is and simply appeal to people as they are doing to pray for the best, that she is in intensive care and the doctors are doing their best. we've seen a bit of her recently because she had been promoting her work? yes, the princess diarist is her latest book. she's a prolific writer, not just as her latest book. she's a prolific writer, notjust as i write but as a screenplay writer in hollywood. this is an autobiography, her latest, and in it she revealed her affair with harrison ford during the making of star wars harrison ford during the making of starwars in harrison ford during the making of star wars in 19705 x —— a writer. it wa5 star wars in 19705 x —— a writer. it was a three—month affair. —— 1976.

she became a huge 5tar after that film in her early twenties. that really is the hallmark of her career. she went on to do other things, a lot of writing, but it is really as prince55 things, a lot of writing, but it is really as princess leia that she is for ever known for. peter, thanks for ever known for. peter, thanks for talking to us. peter bowe5 in lo5 for talking to us. peter bowe5 in los angeles. israel has angrily rejected a un security council resolution demanding a halt to the building of israeli settlements in occupied palestinian territory. the vote passed after the united states, i5rael‘5 traditional ally, abstained, rather than using its veto. our state department correspondent barbara plett—usher reports. in a rare show of unity, the un security council passed judgement on israeli settlements... 111 votes in favour. ..voting that they had become a serious threat to a viable peace deal with the palestinians. it was that conviction which led the us to withhold its customary protection of israel at the council, although not

without much soul—searching. the i5raeli5 had managed to delay but not prevent the vote. they felt betrayed by their ally, especially angry about condemnation of their construction in occupied ea5tjeru5alem. who gave you the right to issue such a decree, denying our eternal rights in jerusalem? would this council have had the nerve to condemn your country for building homes in your capital? israel has long pursued a policy of building jewi5h settlements on arab land captured during the 1967 war. it in5i5t5 it has the legal right to do this, but most of the world disagrees, and the un resolution will make that argument even more difficult. halting settlements was the focus of president 0bama's attempts to broker peace. he failed twice. resorting to the un was his final act.

the palestinians embraced this a5 a victory for international law. but they can't expect the same from mr 0bama's successor, donald trump, who has 5ided with the israeli government on this. the un resolution could become a reference point for further moves against israel in international forums, but not for the next us administration. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. questions are being asked about the ease with which the suspect wanted for the lorry attack in berlin was able to flee to italy. tunisian ani5 amri was later shot dead in milan. people in germany also want to know whether he was working alone when he drove into a crowded christmas market killing 12 people and seriously injuring 12 nmore. german investigators are also looking into why security officials stopped monitoring him, despite suspected links to radical i5lamists. the prime minister has called for britain to come together as it prepares to leave the eu. in herfirst chri5tmas message there5a may says the country mu5t prepare to forge a bold new role in the world.

meanwhile, the labour leader jeremy corbyn has used his message to call for an end to rough 5leeping, while the liberal democrats' tim farron called on people to welcome child refugees. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. the people have spoken and the a nswer the people have spoken and the answer is we're out. the eu referendum divided not just politicians but communities and familie5. so against this backdrop it's perhap5 familie5. so against this backdrop it's perha p5 not familie5. so against this backdrop it's perhaps not surprising that in her chri5tmas message, the prime minister appeal5 her chri5tmas message, the prime minister appeals for unity. ina in a separate message recorded for the armed forces, there5a may tells them that the government is on their side. jeremy corbyn say5

jeremy corbyn says his thoughts are with those experiencing loneliness and despair at this time of year. he recently visited a homele55ne55 charity in london and uses his chri5tmas message to repeat the promise he gave them. labour has pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in ourfirst pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in our first term pledged to put an end to rough sleeping in ourfirst term in government. we do that by doubling the number of homes available to people sleeping on the streets. libdem leader of tim farron filmed his message at a centre for child refugees in france and he called for more tolerance. believes traditional message was from the greens. they 5ay message was from the greens. they say 2016 was rubbish, or words to that effect, and they hoped next year is better. but there's one thing mo5t politicians can agree on and that is to wish their voters a hgppy and that is to wish their voters a happy chri5tma5. iain watson, bbc new5. the british—born astronaut, piers sellers, has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. he was from east sussex but became an american citizen,

which allowed him to join nasa'5 space programme. he took part in three space shuttle mi55ions between 2002 and 2010, spending a total of 35 days orbiting earth. temperatures at the north pole could be up to 20 degrees higher than average today in what scientists say is a record—breaking heatwave. they say an air temperature of just below freezing, instead of the usual level of about —30, is preventing ice from forming. the researchers say the un5easonably warm weather patterns are directly linked to man—made climate change. the first gorilla born in a zoo has celebrated her 60th birthday. coco, who is also the oldest gorilla in america,

celebrated by opening presents and eating lots of treats. she's mothered three children herself, and is also a grandmother, a great—grandmother, and a great—great—grandmother. gorilla5 typically only have a life expectancy of 30 to a0 year5, so she's got good reason to celebrate. hgppy happy birthday, coco! let's have a look at this morning's paper5. the times has a story about banks. a three year royal and a top historian on the blacklist, traditionally used to block terrorists from having bank account5. —— three—year—old royal. the picture is of the berlin truck terrorist in milan, shot dead. europe's open border5 putting security at risk, politicians and counterterrori5m expert5 security at risk, politicians and counterterrori5m experts are warning after it was urged the extremist behind the berlin attack travelled unhindered through three countries before being killed in italy. the picture is the duchess of cambridge, pictured at a christmas charity party. the telegraph saying she wrote to the newspaper to thank

reader5 wrote to the newspaper to thank readers for their support with those suffering from mental health issues. the whole bake 0f saga, miranda hart's mother could become the new mary berry under plans being considered by channel 4. can there be another mary berry? the front page of the daily mail, their picture is of the camerons, who have flown off first class to the caribbean. a5 a&es are forced to turn away patients, health chiefs are giving drastic advice, if you're not very well then lock your way in isolation and don't spread it. —— lock yourself away. chocolate santas could kill, these are from the co—op, after small batteries were

found inside. they have called 365,000 of them. for many people cooking christmas lunch or christmas dinner can bea cooking christmas lunch or christmas dinner can be a bit of a chore but in one part of lancashire is being used to improve people's physical and mental health. a group of young cooks in the seaside town of fleet would have taken up the challenge of dishing upa would have taken up the challenge of dishing up a turkey dinner for the residents and it has brought a whole load of benefits. dominic hughes has been following the town for the last year as it tackles its health crisis. he sent this report. get another tray and put it on the bottom. the frantic last-minute rush ofa bottom. the frantic last-minute rush of a christmas dinner. in fleetwood, these young cooks are experiencing these young cooks are experiencing the heat of the kitchen. they are doing well. i am proud of them. they are doing better than me. by

providing lunch for more than 30 elderly people is notjust about cooking. —— however. this is a chance to strengthen the community and develop broader skills. chance to strengthen the community and develop broader skillslj chance to strengthen the community and develop broader skills. i feel like i can do something good for the community. it is a warm feeling. like i can do something good for the community. it is a warm feelingm is good because i get to socialise with everybody and make new friends and build my confidence and everything. and that is important in towns like fleetwood where a strong sense of community can help overcome some serious economic and health challenges. those lessons are reinforced at school where these young cooks are building their culinary is one of the school's most popular lessons at this level. it is not just teaching how to cook popular lessons at this level. it is notjust teaching how to cook but the value of cooking and the difference a good diet can make to their health. and the teachers he is seen not only the physical benefits ofa seen not only the physical benefits of a good diet, but better mental

health as well. children send pictures on their mobile phones so we can see they are still cooking at home. many say it reduces their stress. they do not feel like they are under pressure at home and eve ryo ne are under pressure at home and everyone is happy with what they produce. in a community where a poor diet contributes to a voidable health problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, educating the next generation about how to cook and what to cook is a key part of creating a healthier fleetwood for the future. ——w. back at the west view community association, the cooking is finally over and dinner is served. it was lovely. well appreciated. the yorkshire pudding and potatoes showed that it is true that christmas dinner is perhaps not the healthiest dinner of the year, but the skills these young chefs are

learning here about cooking and also working together and community are for life and notjust for christmas. #we wish you a merry christmas and a hgppy #we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year. good morning. a record number of engineering works are being undertaken on the railway with 200 projects being undertaken. theresa may has said that the uk should move forward in the next year. it is festive whether. i don't think it will be that festive. wind storm after another. but it is warm. good morning. you are right. for christmas day it will not feel like

christmas, it will feel exceptionally mild. a chill in the wind. that is the main story this weekend. boxing day as well. the blustery weather. windy again today but not as windy as yesterday when of course it was storm barbara making the headlines. that is beginning to pull away, leaving very strong winds to begin the day at least in much of scotland. we are all in that blustery westerly today. then another storm system coming our way. that will bring storm connor for boxing day into the northern isles. a windy picture across scotland. some wintriness and snow and showers in northern scotland, especially in the hills. difficult conditions in the higher areas. northern england as well. hail and thunder are also possible. light show is pushing into wales and western parts of england to begin with. this is 9am this morning. some

sunny spells elsewhere in england. the southern half of the uk is having a decent start to the day. showers in northern areas. the strongest winds as well. difficult travelling conditions in northern scotla nd travelling conditions in northern scotland and the northern isles. winds could be in excess of 16 miles per hour at times. the chill in the wind with will bring single figure temperatures. mild air will push into tomorrow morning. tomorrow morning, these are the sort of temperatures we are looking at. widely in double figures. we could see 111—15 somewhere. and exceptionally mild start to christmas day. plenty of cloud around. outbreaks of rain. northern ireland and scotland and northern england and north wales as well later in the day. do that tomorrow in northern scotland, cold a starting to come in. windy across the united kingdom again for

christmas day. storm connor, this is affecting the far northern scotland and the northern isles to begin boxing day. 90 mile for our winds could be yours. gales in the northern half of the uk. blustery wherever you are. decent sunshine in southern areas. sunshine in the north. wintry in the hills. a chill in the wind for boxing day. temperatures are up and down. it will not feel like christmas tomorrow. windy across the board. the good news is that things will turn more quiet from tuesday. back to you. thank you. last week we told you about a convoy travelling to aleppo where the bitter civil war has left civilians without access to medical care. now they have raced dozens of pounds to provide supplies and equipment. one—week of their journey provide supplies and equipment. one—week of theirjourney has taken across the turkish border into

syria. not difficulties. where did you get back? we flew back in last night. how has the convoy changed lives? we responded to a call out by a steering group of doctors, the independent doctors association, we saw the awful pictures of the children's hospital being hit in eastern aleppo and babies being taken out and laid on the floor. the doctor i went to syria with in 2013, we had a conversation on seeing those images and said we had to do something. that was literally only three weeks ago. and that something was the obvious one. they have destroyed... there hospitals have in destroyed... there hospitals have in destroyed. that is what the doctors need on the ground to keep functioning and operating we have no idea if it was going to work or if it was going to take off, if we were going to raise the funds. but within

three weeks, not only have we reached the target, we have gone over 200% of the target. reached the target, we have gone over 20096 of the target. what was the target and what have you now got? it was £91,000. that is what we knew we needed to raise to build a fully functioning paediatric hospital in outer aleppo. and we are now out £209,000. you mean a quarter of1 million? yeah. people must be surprised at those numbers. only £90,000 to build a hospital? yeah. we wa nt £90,000 to build a hospital? yeah. we want to be able to serve paediatric care, general cases, and another wing. that is what it can do. but now the money will allow us to extend on that and also to meet running costs, because they will add up running costs, because they will add up as well. settle the hospital be?

an important question. there is a lot of this convoy we have not put out there, like the actual name of the hospital itself. obviously not the hospital itself. obviously not the location either. and how we did the location either. and how we did the convoy itself, it is not... you will not see pictures of a truck and ca rs will not see pictures of a truck and cars in the convoy. we have done it discreetly. we have even pulled back a bit on the borderjust so the truck can merge in with lots of other vehicles so the eye is not on the kit in the hospitals. is going to be targeted? it absolutely could be. that is why we have had a good security mind on it. how soon will you see the results and fruit of your labour? the doctors, we met the syrian doctors and teams and we handed over the baton to them, and that was just handed over the baton to them, and that wasjust phenomenal handed over the baton to them, and that was just phenomenal to have that was just phenomenal to have that moment, to meet the people who are actually going to be working on this. work will start immediately because there is a need. it is a

hospital. it will serve 66,000 children who are in desperate need of healthcare in that area. that is 5000 children a month. and just how much danger are these doctors in? being a doctor in syria is probably one of the most dangerous jobs. one of the things that i learned on my penultimate night before coming home is that some of the doctors are actually thinking of giving up medicine. they were so do moralise. you know, what else could be show the world? —— demoralised. they did not feel there was a response to help them at all. it felt like a wall of silence coming back at them. they were showing horrific pictures. so when they heard about the people's convoy, it boosted morale, it gave the world a will to continue, and it has helped them

continue, and it has helped them continue in their work. a remarkable achievement. congratulations. let us hope it works completely. thank you. it's the start of the busiest day of the year for one man in particular, and as we speak, santa claus is gearing up to get all those presents delivered to millions of children across the world tonight. but have you ever wondered exactly how he does it? it is magic? or does science play a part? there's one professor who's got his own theory. brea kfast‘s jayne mccubbin has been to meet him. it has to be magic. he is special. this is a vip, a very important professor. why is that?|j this is a vip, a very important professor. why is that? i can scientifically prove sandakan deliver all the presents in one night. scientifically prove? yes. scientifically prove. our search for evidence begins here in london zoo.

how fast do these guys go? estimates vary, but i reckon about 20—30 miles per hour. they are pretty fast across the snow. not quite fast enough for what we have in mind, though. of course, children do not need to fully understand how he does it, they just know. need to fully understand how he does it, theyjust know. how can they do all of those miles in one night? because they do exercise. 0k, all of those miles in one night? because they do exercise. ok, so they are healthy, they work out... there is a special staff! henry, his theory, a work in progress. —— special star. not terribly scientific, and without science, there are cynics. one night... a ridiculous idea. it doesn't some possible at all. you need scientific evidence? oh, yeah. i need hard evidence? oh, yeah. i need hard evidence to be convinced of anything like that. merry christmas! it might

be enough for children to simply believe, grown—ups need more. and this is where they have come in search of the proof. let me summarise. we have heard of schrodingers wave? centre could be a wave particle. he can travel 75.5 million miles injust 7.5 minutes. that leaves plenty of time to eat mince pies and the presence. there isa mince pies and the presence. there is a lot more signs. for more evidence, note the doppler shift. as the sound comes towards us it makes this noise! so, with light, as light comes towards us, we see it as blue, leaving us, we go to the red shift,

and that is why santa claus is red. 0f and that is why santa claus is red. of course he is red! i hope i have convinced you. is that enough evidence for them? cheering! you see? scientific proof! jayne mccubbin. just one theory, of course, on how santa gets around on christmas eve. let us know your theories! you can get in touch by e—mail or facebook. we can tell you that santa is setting up in the next half—hour. that santa is setting up in the next half-hour. we have a santa tracker and we'll tell you exactly where he is throughout the programme. stay with us, more headlines on the way. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson and naga munchetty. coming up in the next few minutes, richard will have all your sports news. but first, a summary of this morning's main stories. train passengers across britain are being warned they could face delays, diversions and cancellations

over the christmas break. network rail is beginning a record number of engineering works, and those travelling from london, manchester and cardiff are expected to be the hardest hit. meanwhile, more disruption to transport in scotland is expected as a result of storm barbara. winds of up to 120mph were recorded yesterday, and rail, road and ferry travel is again expected to be hampered today by gale—force winds. an amber alert has also been issued for the northern isles on boxing day. the met office has named it storm conor. we'll bring you a full forecast and look ahead to this in a few minutes time. the american actor carrie fisher is in intensive care in a los angeles hospital after suffering a heart attack. she was taken ill on a flight from london to los angeles. best known for her role as princess leia in the star wars films franchise, she had been in the uk promoting her memoirs. the un security council has passed a resolution demanding a halt

to israeli settlement building on occupied palestinian land, describing it as a flagrant violation of international law. the vote passed after the united states, israel's traditional ally, abstained. the israeli prime minister has rejected the move. a statement from his office said israel would not abide by the terms of the resolution.