this is bbc news. the headlines at 12:00. the queen's new year's honours list is dominated by britian's olympic and paralympic stars — including andy murray, mo farah and lee pearson. i feel ifeel more i feel more still like andy murray. it feels more normal. obviously, it's a big honour. i'm happy with that. it's a nice way to finish, or is not, the new year. —— or start. and from the world of showbusiness, there are knighthoods for ken dodd, the actor mark rylance, and the opera singer, bryn terfel. almost three quarters of the people on the honours list are recognised for work in their local community — like sylvia morris. her daughter died of leukaemia. we set out to continue the initiative of my late daughter, who agreed to front a campaign on the day she was diagnosed with leukaemia, which resulted in thousands of people joining the bone marrow register and lots of money being raised. dozens of flights cancelled and delayed at heathrow and gatwick after overnight fog causes severe travel disruption. security is stepped up across the uk for new year crowds and celebrations

after the deadly lorry attacks in germany and france. there'll be police officers, stewards, there'll be a search regime in place and people need to give extra time on the day so they can come and have a safe and enjoyable event. and it is new year down under! new zealand welcomes in 2017 in a style with a spectacular fireworks display. welcome to bbc news. more than 100 olympic and paralympic stars have been recognised in the new year honours list, with knighthoods for andy murray and mo farah. jessica ennis—hill and rower katherine grainger have received damehoods, while gold medal—winning paralympian lee pearson has also been knighted.

andy swiss has the details. at the end of a glittering yearfor british sport, for five of its greatest stars — the greatest of honours. first, a knighthood for the man who spent 2016 scaling dizzying new heights. commentator: wimbledon champion again, a supreme performance. after winning a second wimbledon, a second olympics and the world number one spot, it's now sir andy murray, a fitting finish to a remarkable season. there's also a new title for mo fa rah‘s collection. commentator: gold for great britain again! the double double. he described his knighthood as "a dream come true." having come to britain as an eight—year—old from somalia, he added, he could never have imagined it. another athletics star, meanwhile, becomes a dame. london 2012 heptathlon champion, jessica ennis—hill, who retired this year. there's also a damehood for rower katherine grainger.

after five medals at five consecutive olympics, the perfect ending to her career. it's not something i ever thought i would get, but what a great time to get it. it's the end of a 20—year career for me in competing for my country, and it's a lovely way to bring the curtain down. and there's a knighthood for one of britain's top paralympians. dressage rider lee pearson won his 11th gold medal in rio. he told me just what becoming sir lee pearson meant to him. it means loads. i'm unbelievably shocked and honoured. excuse the pun! i hope it doesn't change my life, i don't think it will. it won't change me. but it has taken a lot of getting used to. among the other honours — two sporting couples. cbes for cyclists jason and laura kenney, while hockey gold—medallists kate and helen richardson—walsh become an obe and mbe respectively. and after their impressive run at euro 2016, wales football manager

chris coleman becomes an obe, and his northern ireland counterpart michael o'neill, an mbe. just a few of more than 100 sporting figures honoured for a memorable 12 months. andy murray in abu dhabi says it is a big honour. i feel a big honour. ifeel more a big honour. i feel more still like andy murray. it feels obviously more normal to me. it's obviously a big honour and i'm happy with that, it's a nice way to finish, or start, the new year. stars of showbusiness including ken dodd and patricia routledge have also been included in the honours list. they're among more than 1,000 people to have been recognised, as our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba, reports. # happiness... # he's been one of britain's favourite entertainers for more than half a century. now ken dodd has received a knighthood. the best day ever, you can't get better than this.

i've played lots of big theatres, i've worked abroad, but this is it. this is the day, yes. i'm very, very proud. if there's one thing i can't stand, it is snobbery. hyacinth would be proud. people who try to pretend they're superior. it makes it so much harder for those of us who really are! patricia routledge has been made a dame. # yeah, you really got me going # you got me so i don't know what i'm doing... # kinks frontman ray davies said he felt "humility and joy" to become sir ray. lady anne. a knighthood too for award—winning actor mark rylance. figures from fashion and design have also been recognised. american vogue editor anna wintour said she was touched to be made a dame. accessories designer anya hindmarch has been made a cbe. designer victoria beckham

becomes an obe. and oscar—winning costume designerjenny bevan says she is surprised to be made an obe. i'm not entirely sure it's quite sunk in yet. and whether it has an impact other than just being a very nice of recognition. it's very pleasing. bond actress naomi harris also becomes an obe. as in previous years, the vast majority of owners have gone to people being recognised for work in their local community. the former bishop of liverpool, james jones, chaired the hillsborough independent panel, set up in 2009. he says he feels mixed emotions at being knighted for his services to bereaved families and justice. it is mixed with sadness because of the enduring sadness for the families who have continued to feel the loss of their loved ones at hillsborough. he's one of hundreds recognised for their contribution across the uk. air passengers are facing delays

and cancellations out of heathrow and gatwick airports today, after heavy fog overnight and yesterday. 45 flights have been cancelled at heathrow airport and there are delays at gatwick airport. yesterday more than 150 flights were cancelled. the met office says driving conditions will be difficult in many areas of central, eastern and south—east england until lunchtime, although conditions are improving. our correspondent, angus crawford, is at heathrow airport. it looks better today, angus? it looks better today, angus7m certainly does. today is really a question of the morning after the fog the night before. we know that yesterday something like 20,000 passengers were affected by the cancellation of 200 or so flights. although that means the major disruption caused by the fog is over, it means that many of the aircraft and crews are simply in the

wrong places. as you can see quite clearly the fog has lifted an ad 7am and you couldn't even see the control tower. because of that disruption to schedules, we still have this option here at heathrow. we think about 50 flights in and out had been cancelled. we know at london city that there seem to have been real problems with departures, and we have a number of late departures and arrivals at gatwick airport, all across the south—east of england. some serious weather conditions still continue. what airlines are saying is that if you are travelling by air from the south—east of england, contact your airline before you set out for the airport. angus, thanks very much. around 3,000 police officers will be on duty across central london tonight, as crowds gather to celebrate the new year. greater manchester police and other forces say they've also stepped up crowd protection measures. scotland yard says extra resources have been brought in to keep people safe following the terror attacks in berlin and nice earlier this year. richard lister reports. the metropolitan police say

there is no specific intelligence about an attack in london, but it has been looking at the tragic events in berlin and nice and has adjusted its plans for new year's eve accordingly. some 3,000 officers will be on the streets of the capital as part of the package of measures to maintain security. we carefully planned this operation with partners including the london mayor's office, westminster council and others to make sure people can come into london and have a fantastic time. when they come, give us extra time because there will be a search regime in place. there will be 3,000 officers on duty in central london alone and there will be stewards as well. the police federation says there will be more armed officers on patrol in london this year than in previous years and more areas where vehicles will be banned. greater manchester police and other forces say they have stepped up crowd protection measures in the wake of the berlin attack. german chancellor angela merkel

has said that 2016 was a year of "severe tests" for her country — the biggest being islamist extremism. in a new year address, she insisted that germany's democratic values were stronger than terrorism, and that it was important for the country to help those who needed protection. the first minister of scotland has used her new year's message to insist she is determined to respect scotland's vote to remain within the european union. nicola sturgeon said it was her top priority to ensure scotland retained many of the benefits of eu membership as possible, including the freedom to work, travel and study in other member states. we're also working to explore the opportunities are so many people in scotland now take for granted. we're determined that scotland's vote to remain in the european union will be respected, and that people in scotland can retain as many of the benefits of eu membership as possible — including the freedom to work travel and study other european countries. the new year is inevitably a time when we look to the future.

i'm determined to ensure that we give our children and our young people scotland's future. the support and care they need to live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives. and i'm confident that in 2017 we will make further progress towards that goal. at least 21 people have been killed in two bomb explosions at a busy market in the iraqi capital, baghdad. —— at least 28 people. dozens more were wounded in the blasts, which happened near shops in the al—sinak district, according to police. an iraqi interior ministry official is quoted as saying one of the explosions was caused by a suicide bomber, the other by a planted device. the motives are not known and no group has yet claimed responsibility. the un security council will meet later to consider a russian resolution endorsing the ceasefire agreement in syria. the draft text calls for access for humanitarian aid convoys and expresses support

for a political process to end the conflict. rebel groups have accused the syrian government of repeated violations of the ceasefire. 40% of councils in england have no procedures in place to prosecute people who misuse disabled parking permits. new analysis of official figures found that in 61 local authorities blue badges could be used fraudulently without fear of being fined. the finding been described as "staggering" by a disability charity. leanne brown reports. you're taking the badge off me? offices in oxfordshire checked hundreds of blue badges during a three—day operation over the festive season. many were confiscated because they were not being used by the owner. it is something that we need to enforce. we need to make sure that people are using their badges correctly so that people can get to the shops who need to get to the shops and are disabled. fines of up to £1,000 could be given to those who abuse the system but the department of transport says

61 out of 152 local authorities don't have a policy when it comes to prosecution. where legal action was taken, almost all involved were using someone else's blue badge. disability charity scope has called the figures staggering and says more needs to be done to tackle the fraud. a spokesman representing local authorities say they do take it seriously and are working hard to combat blue badge misuse. earlier i spoke to james taylor, head of policy at the charity scope, who described the blue badges as a lifeline for many users. blue badges are vitally important for around 2 million disabled people today. the blue badge scheme enables disabled people to live independently. it enables them to get to the shops, get to work, take children and families to school. and park near places that they need to get to. ultimately, the scheme enables them

to take part in their local community and contribute to the local economy. so it's vital for many disabled people. were you as shocked as i was in reading these figures — 61 out of 152 councils just don't enforce it? yeah, at scope we think it's staggering that many councils aren't taking seriously prosecution for misuse of the blue badge. as mentioned, it's a lifeline for many disabled people and it's clear that much more needs to be done by many more councils. they certainly prosecute other people for parking, i have to say. yeah, absolutely. i think misuse can take many forms. it can be using a stolen badge. it can be altering a badge. but the majority of the cases of people using someone else's badge. fines of £1,000 are available, but that is no deterrent if the policies aren't in place in the first place. that's an interesting point, because you could say if someone who has a badge quite legally gives it to someone else who uses it in the wrong way — should they be penalised, too? the rules state that the owner of the badge has to be in the vehicle at some point

when using the badge. and it's clear that the majority of the cases, that isn't happening where the prosecution is taking place. now, disabled people rely on these badges and misuse and abuse of the system is stopping many from living independently. i suppose the other thing is we don't really know how often these badges are fraudulently used. if councils are not enforcing it, you don't know. we don't have the figures. exactly. and we want to see at scope more consistency across the country on how data is used and how it's reported. it's quite clear that some councils are doing really good work, but there are many who need to be doing much more. the other point about this is it brings a whole system into disrepute because if any driver sees somebody using a blue badge, you don't want them to think this person doesn't deserve to use it for all of the reasons you've said. yeah, absolutely. this is a lifeline for many disabled people and we need to stop misuse of blue badges. let's ta ke let's take a look at the headlines. more than a hundred stars of the

olympics and paralympics are recognised in the new year's honours list including andy murray, mo farah and lee pearson. dozens of flights cancelled and delayed at heathrow and gatwick airport after overnight fog causes severe travel disruption. security is stepped up across the uk for new year crowds and celebrations after the deadly lorry attacks in germany and france. from midnight tonight, anyone who owns an air gun in scotland will need a licence. the legislation was introduced after a toddler was killed by an air gun pellet in glasgow in 2005. people in england and wales can own the weapons without any kind of documentation. craig anderson reports. these are the guns that by january 1 will be illegal unless their owners have a licence. already 11,000 people have applied for an air gun certificate and anyone with a gun licence already can add air weapons to that. but thousands of air gun owners have missed the deadline of october 31 to apply for a permit. anyone who applied for a certificate

before october 31 is ok because they applied early. unfortunately, those who applied after that will have to wait some time before it is processed. they will have to make alternative arrangements for the safe storage of their airguns. registered gun dealers like this one in inverness are providing a safe house for air weapons whose owners want to keep them but won't be licensed by sunday morning. many of those in the gun trade think the clamp—down is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. shooting people at high rise flats is illegal. you're not allowed to do that, you never were. this legislation is a piece of tokenism which will achieve nothing. the people who will misuse air rifles are not the type of people who are going to go to the trouble of licensing their weapons anyway. but backers of the new laws say air weapons are involved in half of all gun crime in scotland and with an estimated 500,000 of them in scotland, tightening

the legislation is justified. thousands of airguns have already been handed in to police to be destroyed. police in brazil have accused the greek ambassador‘s wife of colluding with her lover in the murder of her husband, kyriakos amiridis. a police investigator said francoise amiridis had admitted having an affair with a policeman who she blamed for the killing. catriona renton reports. the greek ambassador's wife, francoise amiridis, arriving at a police station in rio dejaneiro. her husband, kyriakos amiridis, had been missing since monday. his body was found in the boot of a burnt out car on the outskirts of rio on thursday. his wife told police he left in his rented car and did not tell her where he was going. it's been claimed that mrs amiridis was

having an affair with a policeman. he has now confessed to killing her husband. it is understood she told detectives she told him to do it. investigators say the two had been planning this for days. mrs amiridis admitted to the affair, but denies ordering the murder. a cousin of the policeman has been accused of taking pa rt policeman has been accused of taking part in the crime and moving the body. investigations have been carried out at a house in the north of rio where mr amiridis and his family were thought to have been staying. he had apparently travelled from brasilia to spend christmas with his wife and her parents. it's for this is where he was fatally wounded. the president of brazil has written to the greek prime minister expressing his profound sadness and condolences to the family of ambassador amiridis and the greek people. the man credited with discovering the beatles has died at the age of 86. allan williams was the owner of a liverpool music club and arranged the band's first performances in the early 60s, but he and the band parted company before they became an international success.

his memoir was called the man who gave the beatles away. if you're staying up to welcome in the new year, then you'll have a bit longer to wait — as a "leap second" will be added to this year's countdown to compensate for a slowdown in the earth's rotation. the extra second will occur as clocks strike midnight and the change is needed because standard time lags behind atomic clocks. here's our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. big ben tolls this new year's eve, you have a tiny bit longer to enjoy the celebrations. an extra second is being added to the world's time. and it's all because of a very slight wobble in the earth's rotation. our planet speeds up and slows down as it spins. so while a single rotation equates to one day, some days end up being a tiny fraction longer or shorter than others. and gradually the earth's time drifts out of sync with our clocks. right now, that difference has grown too large,

so just before the clocks strike midnight, an extra second is being added to bring everything back into phase. it's the 27th leap second since they were introduced in the 1970s, but there have been calls to abolish them. communications networks, financial markets and computer software all rely on extremely precise timekeeping, and some say that having to reprogram an extra second puts them at risk. others warn that without leap seconds, over thousands of years, the earth's time and our clocks will grow more and more off—kilter — so much so that one day your watch might say it's midnight as the sun is starting to rise. let's get more now on the queen's new year's honours. and it's not only sporting stars and celebrities who are being recognised. marcia shakespeare, whose daughter was killed in a drive—by shooting in birmingham in 2003, is receiving an mbe for her work as an anti—gun campaigner.

it's a bittersweet moment. it's bitter in the sense that letitia went out on the new year and she lost her life from being murdered. the sweet moment is that, yeah, there's a reward at the end to say that all of the work and effort that i've put in to try and make a change is actually being recognised. for the last 1a years, i've been working with the community. i've been working with west midlands police and also with my charity delivering workshops and presentations on healthy relationships, decision—making and choices. choices which regard to when people make a choice, the effect that it has when someone's been murdered and how there's no winners to murder. do you think you've managed to make a difference to the culture in this area? there's been a big difference in regard, if you look

at in 2001—02, there was a lot more shootings compared to what there is now. a lot more young people. i think to date there has been about 100,000 young people i spoke to in the last six years, educating them on violent crime and the dangers, the choices and the consequences. and a lot more people have been thinking twice before they actually make those choices to go and carry a weapon, and more importantly, to use a weapon. itjust seems so weird that 1a years later that, yes, i am receiving an mbe. but the work that i've done, it's not you receive an award. my rewards have come from the young people who turn their life around. the young people who come to me in the streets and actually say to me, "keep up the good work." earlier i spoke to sylvia morris who's been made an mbe for her work improving the lives of people

with leukaemia and their families. her daughter, karen, died of the disease. she explained to me how the charity was formed. we set out to continue the initiative of my late daughter, who agreed to front a campaign on the day she was diagnosed with leukaemia, which resulted in thousands joining the bone marrow register and lots of money being raised. she passed away a year later and we formalised our fundraising into our trust. we identified the need for karen's homes from jome —— karen's homes from home. as people travel long distances to centres of excellence to be treated for leukaemia. as you imply, it is notjust the person being treated. families need

to be uprooted. they often have to be moved to get the best treatment. very much though. it's young families, its elderly people who have to come up from the country. as the treatment for leukaemia is moving from the need for patients to be in hospital, they need daily treatment. we see that there will be an increasing need for patients to stay in our homes. is getting better, do you think? certainly be research into blood cancer is providing a number of breakthroughs and there are more positive outcomes than there were 20 years ago. oh, very much so. i don't have the statistics, not being involved on the research side, but certainly there are steps. there is a miracle drug that is now in its second, third or maybe fourth generation. so thank goodness that there is hope today for leukaemia patients. obviously, you didn't do this to get an honour, but it is lovely to get one, isn't it?

it is absolutely overwhelming. but this honour is really for karen, it's in her memory. at her funeral it was said that her book was still open. i was really angry and upset because i thought, "she has passed away, how can her book be still open?" but it is still open. lots of our supporters today were her friends. she was a popular youth leader. they were affected by her leadership. and it's keeping her memory alive — just not in the way we would want. and the reverend robert nelson has been awarded an mbe for his work with the homeless on the wirral. i instigated and co—founded a homeless project 25 years ago on wirral. having started as just a temporary night shelter for six

weeks in the winter, it now become a permanent institution and we are all aware “— permanent institution and we are all aware —— a permanent institution on the wirral and playing a major role in sheltering homeless people and finding them new prospects in life in the community and helping them to rehabilitate. with that experience, looking back over 25 years, i wondered how you feel demand for your services has changed? i mean, has it been particularly acute over the last seven or eight years since we've had the economic downturn? the last seven or eight years since we've had the economic downturn7m has got worse. the problem has got worse. we aren't able to culminate all the demand that exists. we also act as a gateway for various other projects in the locality where people might be moved onto. but the general level of demand is higher and all our own beds are pretty well a lwa ys and all our own beds are pretty well always full. we are accommodating 27

people in our main hostel shelter. we also have 72—bedroom houses and another unit which has expressed. that accommodation is pretty well always. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather and it does seem that some of what fog is dissipating. not quite as faulty as what it was. we still have some mist and fog. —— not quite as wobbly. generally speaking it is said to be a rather cloudy day for the last day of 2016. judy easterby pennines will be the best be censured. a band of rain slipping its way its way southwards. heavy bursts will be mixed in, too. further south behind that rain band it will be fairly mild in temperatures. to the north of the rain band, it's going to turn colder. through this evening it will

move its way southwards into wards a central slice of the uk. there will bea central slice of the uk. there will be a clearing for scotland and northern ireland. but watch out after midnight, there could be icy patches. for much of england, it will be cloudy and damp. it looks like it will be wet across much of england and wales with outbreaks of rain. maybe a little bit wintry over high ground. to the north of the country it will be a crisp, bright day with some sunshine, but there will be wintry showers and an increasingly cold northerly wind as well. still fairly mild and cloudy across the south. hello. this is bbc news gavin esler. the headlines at 12:30pm. the queen's new year's honours list is dominated by britian's olympic and paralympic stars including andy murray, mo farah and lee pearson. i feel more still like andy murray, feels obviously more normal to me, but obviously it's a big honour. happy with that, nice way to finish or start the new year. and from the world of entertainment there are knighthoods for ken dodd,

the actor, mark rylance, and the welsh opera