this is bbc news. i am martine martine croxall. the headlines. record levels of patients in england spent longer than the target waiting time in accident and emergency in december. there are suggestions january could be even worse. december. there are suggestions january could be even worsem december. there are suggestions january could be even worse. it is not a great patient experience for many of the patients that use our services. that is what the staff are telling me as well. child refugees will be not brought to england. donald trump's pick injeff sessions is sworn in despite allegations of racism. and ran up on newsnight, we will talk to the top cop in britain. he has been the metropolitan police commissionerfor over he has been the metropolitan police commissioner for over five years, but is about to step down. he will give us an honest view of how the police are doing. good evening and welcome to bbc

news. record numbers of patients spent more than for hours in accident and emergency in england in january according to figures given to the bbc. january seems to be the worst performing month in 13 years. the figures also suggest record numbers of people waited more than 12 hours for a hospital bed once being seen. the doctors' union has accused the government of failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation, as we report. scenes like this on bbc news this week have highlighted the immense strain being felt across the nhs. here at royal blackburn hospital, rated as good by inspectors, some patients waited up to 13 hours in a&e. some had to sit on the floor. official figures have confirmed

that it was the worst decemberfor waits since modern records began. today at hillingdon hospital in west london, things were a bit calmer, but managers confirm that they've been stretched to the limits. it's been fairly relentless in terms of november and december through january. i'm confident that the safety of our patients is being maintained at a high quality, but it's really not a great patient experience. in december, in england, 86.2% of patients were treated or assessed in a&e within four hours, the lowest since records began in 200a. that was below scotland, where 92.6% of patients were dealt with in that time. in wales, the figure was 81%, and the percentage in northern ireland wasjust under 70, all below the 95% benchmark. in england, the number of patients stuck on trolleys or chairs for more than four hours before a bed could be found was nearly 61,800, up 47% over the year. it has been a steep climb this year,

but the thing that has changed the most has been, not the 2% or 3% increase in demand, but it's the 40% increase in the delays in moving patients, helping them get back to their homes and back into the community. with the a&e target being so badly missed, there's now a debate there's a certain art in setting the bar at the right level. the fact is the nhs has been meeting, for example, the four—hour target for many years. it's only recently that it started to go wrong. so i think we need to examine the reasons why it's going wrong and sort those out. many hospitals like this one are running at 95% of capacity. that means they're nearly full, so with more emergency cases coming in and difficulties discharging some patients back into the community, some of those needing surgery are having to wait longer. even cancer patients like martin are affected by delays.

until this year, that's been very rare, as hospitals prioritise cancer treatment even during the busiest weeks of winter. his operation was cancelled minutes before it was due to take place. he's now had the surgery, but he says it was a distressing experience. very anxious to go through all that again, because i don't wish it on anyone. it's a horrible feeling. your mind and that is going overtime. it really is just very draining. december‘s a&e performance figures in england were poor, but nhs documents leaked to the bbc suggest that they were even worse injanuary. it's clear hospital staff are working at full stretch. winter is far from over, and the intense pressure seems unlikely to ease in a hurry. hugh pym, bbc news. ministers have been forced to defend

their decision to abandon a scheme to bring vulnerable refugee children to bring vulnerable refugee children to britain from europe. the home secretary, amber rudd, said the project designed by lord dubs risked ringing in people traffickers. it was cancelled after 350 people were brought in. campaigners hoped to bring in 3000. laboursaid it was shameful and the archbishop of canterbury said he was saddened and shocked. stranded at a hostel in athens, this 17—year—old afghan refugee is travelling alone. he wants to come to britain and was being helped by the charity, safe passage. but the government scheme to assist unaccompanied child refugees in europe with no family in the uk, which has taken 200 so far, will now only take 150 more. he could be stuck. if i am stuck here, it's really hard to me to achieve my aims, to achieve my goals, because here there is no

perfect school or perfect college for the refugees. newsreel: 200 girls and boys wave a greeting to england. it was the kindertransport that saved thousands ofjewish children from the nazis that inspired those who persuaded the government last year to take in more of today's child refugees crossing europe. it's a comparison ministers think is unfair. well, i'm a refugee and i came to england at the age of six. among those saved in the ‘30s was lord dubs, who led the push to get the law passed. this afternoon, he told me the government had broken its promises. when there is something that calls on humanitarian action, and when, as i believe, the majority of british people support that humanitarian action, i think the government are behaving very shamefully by saying, "no, we don't want any more of this." i think it's disappointing and shabby and i don't think they should have done it.

those who want to help more child refugees, including the archbishop of canterbury, said today that the government was going back on commitments it made last year. but ministers say to that that there's no point in inviting thousands of children here if the local councils, who will have to look after them, can't cope. these are children who need looking after over a period. when we accept them here, it is notjob done. it is making sure that we work with local authorities, that we have the right safeguarding in place. called to the commons to defend her decision, the home secretary even found opposition from a few in her own party. but councils warned that caring for refugee children is expensive. it costs on average £50,000 to support a child in the uk care system, and every unaccompanied refugee child is entitled to exactly the same care and support as a child from the uk. we need to make sure that where those costs are rising they are properly fully funded. there are tens of thousands of refugee children still in limbo in europe, but ministers prefer

schemes that take children who are even more vulnerable, from camps near to syria. and the home office said that, in all, 8000 children were given refuge of some sort in the uk last year. daniel sandford, bbc news. donald trump's nominee for the supreme court has described the president's attacks on the judiciary as disheartening. the comments by neil gorsuch were made in a private conversation with the democratic senator, but later confirmed by the office. during the day, the most controversial cabinet nominees, jeff sessions, was sworn in. we report. i, jeff sessions, do solemnly swear... it hasn't been neat, it hasn't been easy, but senatorjeff sessions, a hugely controversial choice with an allegedly racist past, has finally won approval to be donald trump's attorney general.

and it's clear that he and the president are on the same page. we have an increased threat, since i was united states attorney, from terrorism. mr president, you have spoken firmly on that. you have led this nation, to say we're going to respond effectively to the threat of terrorism, and you can count on your department ofjustice to do so in an effective way. but donald trump's plan to ban migrants from seven mainly muslim countries isn't going to be decided by the justice department. it's going to end up here, at the supreme court. and his recent denunciation of federaljudges involved in that case is doing him no favours. astonishingly, even his pick for the supreme court has called the move "disheartening and demoralising." judge gorsuch, who has been touring capitol hill officers to win support for his nomination, wouldn't express those reservations on camera. but he did reveal them in private

talks. this back and forth occurred between the president and the senator. you misrepresented his comments totally. his comments were misrepresented, and what you should do is ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. it didn't exist, after years of saying it did, so, ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that, just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. there is no question that judge gorsuch said that these attacks on thejudiciary are disheartening and demoralising. you needn't believe me. there were white house staff in the room, and his own spokesman confirmed afterward what he said. the judiciary and executive are two separate branches of government that meant to keep their distance. judge gorsuch, when he was unveiled at the white house, seemed determined to do that quite literally, though it seems to be

something to president is struggling to accept. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. an independent report has concluded u nsafe an independent report has concluded unsafe construction at schools in edinburgh was the fault of the council and the building contractor. it was apparently just luck that no one was killed just over a year ago when a wall collapsed. it was closed after safety concerns. more than 8000 pupils were affected. we report. spread across an entire city, 17 schools closed for months, because the buildings weren't safe. it began last january with a storm. nine tonnes of masonry blown to the ground at 0xgangs primary, a question of timing and luck that no one was killed. i eat breakfast... back to school. the bad memory is fading for the mackle family, but they're still wary.

it's a lot quieter in the playground than it used to be. you have faith that people who are building public buildings are doing it to an acceptable standard. it makes you... it does make you question, i guess. you know, and ask the question, is this building safe. explaining why thousands of pupils were disrupted for months has been the job of an independent enquiry. its conclusions, safety failings weren't the result of how the buildings were financed, but instead, poor quality construction. crucial materials were poorly—fitted or missing, and the problems were much wider than one rogue bricklayer. it was also a failure of inspection and oversight. when this school was being built, one of the architects raised concerns with the contractor about the way the walls were being put together. he told the enquiry those concerns were ignored, and they were powerless to do anything about it. the fact that there were different contractors, different subcontractors, and the same faults turned up in the schools and in other schools in scotland,

where we found five walls collapse in the last four years. it says that this is something which isn't just here in edinburgh, or in schools. inspections of all types of public building are underway in scotland's capital. the question posed, should others be doing the same? steven goddon, bbc news, edinburgh. breaking news from the united states. reuters has told us the us appeals court has upheld the suspension of donald trump's travel ban, meaning it is not in place. those affected by it from seven mainly muslim countries are still free to travel. they were asked to decide whether a lower court ruling that lifted the ban should be allowed to continue or whether it should be reintroduced. they have

now made that decision. the ban is not in place. an appeal to the us supreme court is now possible. there will be more on that here on bbc news during newsday. for now, it is time for newsnight, with evan davis. we arrest criminals and support victims. he steps down this month. but is policing in london and the rest of the country in a happy and glorious state? sir bernard how is with us. we also hear from the pa rents of trayvon with us. we also hear from the parents of trayvon martin, the black 17—year—old killed by a white neighbourhood watch volunteer. it is supposed to be that we are all the same but i do not think with

this administration with the things they are doing approving it to be true. a question about the speaker in the house of commons. we will hear the case for and against. this flaw this a ’ rgad no ‘iwas to ‘ i was to step across and into it, if i was to step across and into it, there is a real danger that i could be shot. hello. for the last five and a half years, sir bernard hogan has been a senior policeman.