hello, this is breakfast, with steph mcgovern. universities are warned they must protect free speech — and allow students to both hear and challenge controversial views. the universities minister says academic institutions should be places that open minds not close them. good morning, it's tuesday the 26th of december. also this morning: the boxing day sales used to be a big dealfor bargain—hunters, but new bbc research suggests that the traditional post—christmas spending spree is losing its appeal. in sport — avoiding an ashes whitewash is england's task now but australia have dominated the opening day of the fourth test in melbourne. david warner with his first century of the series. some parts of the uk officially had a white christmas but what can we expect this boxing day?

philip has the weather. at least for some, there was a white christmas. i will have all the details on whether many more of you will see something at it like this injusta will see something at it like this injust a few will see something at it like this in just a few minutes. good morning. first, our main story. the universities minister, jojohnson, will use a speech today to give his clearest warning yet that academic institutions must protect free speech. he'll say students must be able to both hear and challenge controversial views during their years of study. some universities and student groups have refused entry to speakers, edward curwen reports. time spent at university must open minds, not close them. that is the view ofjo johnson, the minds, not close them. that is the view ofjojohnson, the universities minister, who will today set out a firm defence on free speech in

campuses. speaking at a jewish festival in birmingham, he says that stu d e nts festival in birmingham, he says that students must be free to challenge each other‘s‘ views and those seeking to stifle those who don't agree with them must be stopped. the debate comes after speakers from speakers from the state of israel to chant —— transgender rights, have been stopped. others have demanded so—called safe spaces where they went here about issues they might find upsetting. mrjohnson will say this cannot be tolerated. reiterating universities have an obligation to protect free speech and encourage frank and rigourous debate. from next april, and ——a new body representing universities says it will not allow legitimate debate to be stifled. the challenge will be deciding where to draw the line between extremist speech and a frank exchange of views. millions are expected to head out to the boxing day sales, marking the start of a what has traditionally been a crucial period for retailers across the uk.

our reporterjohn mcmanus is on oxford street in london. you can see some people queueing. there are a few people here. not 45 minutes ago that the queues are starting to build up. people used to camp out overnight in order to get their hands firstly on these sales. many people begin their online shopping on christmas day. they unwrap their online discount and go online to start shopping. online has taken some of the buzz out of it and we know that many people prefer to shop on black friday, could you

start day that happens before christmas. —— the discount day. retailers will have two look at where they target their discounts, before or after christmas. —— will have to look. we know that much of the purchasing that goes on here over the next week comes from non— british people, foreign visitors, tourists, taking advantage of the wea k tourists, taking advantage of the weak pound to grab a bargain and in particular, chinese visitors who account for quite a lot of spending at high end shops like selfridge's where we are this morning. retailers count on that. we will be talking about this throughout the programme. if you are out and about, perhaps you are a sales yourself, let us know. the royal navy says there has been an increase in the number of russian ships travelling through, or near the uk's territorial waters over the festive period.

on christmas day, hms st albans was sent to escort a russian warship through the north sea as it passed close to uk waters. defence secretary gavin williamson said he will not "tolerate any form of aggression". a 20—year—old man will appear before magistrates this morning charged with murder, after a fatal stabbing in a restaurant in middlesbrough on christmas eve. efreeqi mohamed siddig is accused of killing 41—year—old mazhar ali from stockton—on—tees who died in hospital yesterday. a british woman being held on suspicion of drug—smuggling will appear in court in egypt later this morning. laura plummer was arrested in october when officials found 290 tramadol tablets in her suitcase, which are legal in the uk, but not in egypt. the shop assistant from hull says she was carrying the pills for her egyptian partner, who suffers from back pain. the nhs has promised to cut back on prescribing gluten—free biscuits, pasta and anti—dandruff shampoo. a study by the taxpayers‘ alliance

has found many items, which are prescribed by gps in england, are available in supermarkets — often at a much cheaper price. nick quraishi reports. the taxpayers‘ alliance has highlighted a number of items it says were prescribed on the nhs last year. they include this sunscreen. a nonbranded version is available for half the price. branded gluten—free biscuits, significantly more expensive than a supermarket equivalent. ibuprofen, 30% cheaper away from the nhs. and colgate toothpaste, over—the—counter it is 70% cheaper. the taxpayers‘ alliance says... in response, an nhs england spokesman said... the health service says

it is already reviewing ten items it claims are ineffective, unnecessary and inappropriate for prescriptions. nick quraishi, bbc news. how did you spend your christmas day? eating? drinking? bit of telly? how aboutjumping out of a plane wearing only a floppy suit? that's what the competitors at the wingsuit flying world cup got up to as tim allman explains. you know what they say — what goes up must come down. a principle they understand all too well at the wingsuit flying world cup. teams from around the globe competing in this extreme and hair—raising sport. translation: i travelled more than 400 kilometres to see this. we arrived here early

in the morning, just to watch the wingsuit flying show. it's spectacular! you can say that again. a couple of skydivers perform a 360—degree rotating nosedive. while others piggybacked from their teammates. but not everybody was happy with how things turned out. translation: i think our performance this time didn't reflect our real strength. we will get to our best through regular competition. i hope we perform better next time. the chinese team finished third overall, behind the winners, france, and the united states, who came second. it is a non—profit event, and the local school received a cheque worth more than $30,000. so some charitable spirit, combined with a little heart—stopping terror. how can you get more festive than that? it looks like great fun.

it has officially been a white christmas in the uk for some, with areas of cumbria and the south of scotland recording light snowfall. the last officially white christmas was recorded three years ago, when parts of the northern isles in scotland saw some snow. more wintry showers are expected — we'll get the latest from phil in the weather centre in ten minutes. lovely pictures from yesterday. out of all the photographers waiting to snap a picture of the royal family at the christmas day service in sandringham, it was a mum from norfolk who managed to capture the perfect image on her phone. this photograph taken by karen anvil has now been used by journalists from all over the world. she says she hopes its sale will help with her daughter's university costs. a great story. all of the

photographers with their professional cameras and up comes karen with her iphone managing to snap it. after recovering from a life—threatening brain tumour, kiko matthews gave up herjob as a teacher and chose to live her life to the full and take on new challenges. now she plans to sail solo across the atlantic. let's take a look at how her training's been going. i learned over the years that worrying is a waste of time. meyer, god. feeling a bit sick and a bit drowsy and miserable. it is all going on, it is ramping up, we are on the home straight. my health, i think, is going in the right direction. breakfast. overcome the challenges, at it more resilience. i did at doing 52 k on my first stint. serious decisions to make. only —— buckingham palace! is not about having lots of money to do things. it is not about having lots of

skills. it is not about knowing loads of people. if we put our minds to it, if we are positive, we can do it. and kikojoins us now. merry christmas. seeing that training, how is it going? it is unbelievable, the training, just everything. it has been an insane journey. tell us why you have decided to do it. it is extreme. yes. it is not your everyday. there is the cherry on the top which is the catalyst, my mum said someone would make a good boyfriend. the attention seeking... the other more serious reason is i wanted to raise money for the hospital to say thank you to save my life. it is important

people challenge themselves because it bring things to their development. you can do anything if you are positive and you work together. having not road before in my life and having raised the sort of money to do it, i was hoping it would be big enough evidence that she can do anything. we are seeing some pictures. how are you feeling about it now? i'm really excited. i live in the end of january. about it now? i'm really excited. i live in the end ofjanuary. i have been doing so much training. i'm looking forward to going out there. i'm sure they will be some hairy moments that feeling like it is time. what is the training involved? what do you have to do a part from rolling? physically, the training is, igo rolling? physically, the training is, i go to the gym. —— rowing. i

have an instructor. over the summer, i work on my back. out in the sea on the beat back and i havejoined i work on my back. out in the sea on the beat back and i have joined a few rowing clubs in london, low key. i cycle to my meetings. anything thatis i cycle to my meetings. anything that is enjoyable. i feel like you should be doing something while you are sat on the so far. don't encourage it. have you always been active? i know you are saying you have always been somebody who is highly motivated and likes a challenge but how different is it to your life before? school finished andi your life before? school finished and i didn't do anything at uni, hated the gym. i have always had a bike but never anything serious. i have just done bike but never anything serious. i havejust done sport bike but never anything serious. i have just done sport enjoyment, really, rather than anything. have just done sport enjoyment, really, ratherthan anything. i have just done sport enjoyment, really, rather than anything. i am not a sports fanatic. but do like it. and then when you got ill, did it. and then when you got ill, did it make you feel like it was

something like time to take it up? perpetuity tumour caused my muscles to disappear. —— tumour. i could barely get up the stairs and being someone barely get up the stairs and being someone who is quite strong naturally to having to quake myself out of the bath and use my hands and thanks to get up the stairs, i became better and wanted to focus on health and do something that would challenge my body. it was just incredible to see the difference between being really ill and not being ill and i wanted to make the most of that. i eat when you were ill, you could never imagined a day that you are about to row across the atlantic. to be honest, i didn't know it existed. the knowledge of that only came about when i met a quy that only came about when i met a guy who owns the boat. when i was ill, nothing else, iwasn‘t guy who owns the boat. when i was ill, nothing else, i wasn't thinking about anything else, to be honest.

how was your health now? perfect. the tumour returned in august. i had it removed again admit training which was incredible. —— need training. it is related to my hormones. they were a bit wobbly. —— mid—training. we are waiting to see if it is long—term. story. good luck with it. keep it up dated, knowing us, will be knocking at your door, trying to get you to do live crosses from the boat. thank you very much and have a lovely rest of your christmas season. it's 07:17 and you're watching breakfast from bbc news. the main stories this morning: universities are warned by the government they must allow students to hear controversial views in order to protect free speech. boxing day bargain hunting

could be losing its appeal, according to new bbc research, as shops open their doors for the traditional sales. here's phillip with a look at this morning's weather. it was a white christmas, officially come yesterday? in some parts of uk, a bit of snow? we got there eventually. the traditionalists probably wanted this kind of scene earlier in the day. we we re kind of scene earlier in the day. we were suggesting at this time yesterday that there was something just coming down through scotland which could deposit this kind of snow, and it has been through the central belt and the high ground on either side which generated an awful lot of which is from our weather watchers this morning. i think we're already seeing some of that snow turning to rain, pulling away through the north—east of england, the south—east and the borders, but it leaves behind the prospect of

ice. the day will be a much cooler, fresher, brighter day for many than has been the case lately. quite a peppering of showers across the northern parts of scotland. watch out for that ice with the lying snow. there is a bit of fun to be had, provided you are not in your car. plenty of showers coming in through northern ireland and to the northern parts of england at the moment. further south than that, lots of dry, fine and bright weather to be had, still a sparkling of showers through wales, the midlands, and the south—west of england. i would urge in the south—western quarter to make the most of the dry weather in between the showers this morning, because around about lunchtime, we will see the first signs of this wet and windy weather beginning to push in a cross that south—western quarter, and some of the rain quite heavy. it is going to help keep the temperature is up, eight or nine or 10 degrees, that wind going all the while. further east, you are really on borrowed time across the midlands and east anglia, the rain heading towards you

andindeed anglia, the rain heading towards you and indeed into the north of wales. further north than that, northern parts of england, northern ireland and southern scotland, a decent afternoon in prospect. in the northern parts of scotland showers turning increasingly wintry. there comes the rain. here is the additional one. we've got some snow likely as that whole system moves further to the east, so it will open the doorfor a mix on the further to the east, so it will open the door for a mix on the northern and western flanks of that low of the rain to convert to snow. i don't just mean the higher ground in the peak district and wales. ten centimetres, perhaps, for some. peak district and wales. ten centimetres, perhaps, forsome. it could be at lower levels that we will see someone treats their getting into the midlands and east anglia, down towards the chilterns. once that system is the way we have a really bright day on our hands across a good part of the british isles. you will notice again that it is about two or six degrees. no more than double figures. that will lead

a son after a chilly night, wednesday and thursday, offer a decent day on thursday. no fronts to speak of until later in the day. we will start to see the first signs of another transition, as if we haven't had enough, into something a good deal more unsettled, coming in from the atlantic this time, which will probably do us for the next few days once that weather front has got its way in. so make the most of the dry and bright weather because it probably won't last. we will talk about the snow later on today and indeed through the rest of the day for the rest of our bulletins. a quick question, as a man who knows lots about outdoor life, i'm going to the football later, middlesbrough, how many layers do i need? where are they playing? at home. you will need plenty. you have probably got used to nine or 10 degrees, but think single figures. because you'll be sitting around, must you are getting very enthusiastic, i am afraid the cold will really get into you. especially up

will really get into you. especially up in the ira area. single figures, that his t—shirt weather for us from the north. yes, all right, easy, tiger. if you wear a t—shirt, don't blame me. you've had yourforecast. and good luck as well, being a middlesbrough fan. cheeky monkey! let's take a look at this morning's papers. holly this morning's papers. joins us as well. good morning, hollyjoins us as well. good morning, holly. have you seen this picture of the royal family? this was everywhere yesterday. obviously lots of heppell are trying to ca ptu re lots of heppell are trying to capture the royal family walking to the church service on the sandringham estate yesterday. lots of photographers, we had reporters there as well. the best picture, the one that is being used by most of the newspapers, was taken by karen, so, she happened to be there with her daughter and she snapped this on her daughter and she snapped this on her phone. it is great. her daughter and she snapped this on her phone. it is greatlj her daughter and she snapped this on her phone. it is great. i love how happy she was, if you saw her twitter feed. she was so pleased with herself. just when down to see she could catch a glimpse, and to

this lovely picture which ended up on the front pages. the other photographers must be furious about. they are out of a job. let's look at some of the other stories on the daily mirror. that same photo, and a lovely story about a baby girl who fought back from the brink of death and has spent her first christmas at home, they gorgeous little santa outfit. she was born one year ago with a heart defect and she was sent toa with a heart defect and she was sent to a hospice. surgeons saved her, and her mother says she is her little miracle. you have to love stories like that at this time of year. that is a lovely story. the times, this morning, a picture of meghan markle, obviously lots of people wondering how she would fit in with the royal family on her first official trip, the christmas service in sandringham, and that story we have been talking about this morning. universities must open minds, not close them. this is about the universities minister, joe johnson, who is giving a speech later talking about how we must

allow, i suppose, later talking about how we must allow, isuppose, controversial figures to speak at universities and let people make up your own minds. i tell you what, what we certainly don't want to see as the cricket going anywhere other than where it ousted. i'm not going to be bringing you the news. i think we will be focusing on their antics. this is of course tom curren, stuart broad, and jonny bairstow, enjoying some this disease. this was before they got into the fourth test. —— enjoying some festive at ease. most of the back ages this morning would later by pale blue. if you are not a manchester city fan you be sick of the sight of this. this was a very big story, dominating all december. manchester city absolutely dominating the premier league. what can we expect in the next few months? well, things can change quite easily. exactly. iwas months? well, things can change quite easily. exactly. i was talking about how i'm going to middlesbrough later. there is a great story here,

in this newspaper this morning. this isa in this newspaper this morning. this is a parrot called rocco owned by a manchester united fan named mike. a sickly, the parrot gets very heavily involved in the football is on. it opens b is for everybody watching the foot while, and it gives various views on what it thinks is going on. i won't repeat what it says because it can be a little bit rude. but thatis it can be a little bit rude. but that is what you want, that is what you need. the parrot that can bring euboea. i don't think even a parrot could help them down in melbourne, mind you. i am not bringing good news. one of these days i will have good news. it has been incredible battle this morning. we have been watching it might. honestly, it has been one of those series where we arejust so been one of those series where we are just so concerned at this point that they could be a whitewash. australia have already won the ashes, just remember that. but now it is all about pride. and the opening day of the fourth test has not done england any favours. it really wasn't the start they would have wanted. david warner punishing

the england bowlers again, making a century on day one. the tourists did recover, taking two wickets between lunch and tea. another came in the final session. tom curren's debut and england's bowling attack didn't go as they would have liked. australia's total climbed rapidly. the oustanding batsman of the series, captain steve smith, has scored yet another half—century and australia closed the day on 244—3. let's talk about the football, as the festive fixtures continue. eight games today the leaders, manchester city, will play newcastle tomorrow. this afternoon's early kick—off, totte n ha m this afternoon's early kick—off, tottenham meet southampton, with harry kane looking to beat a record held by alan shearer. he is currently level with him on 36 goals in the calendar year. manchester united's task today is to narrow that 14 united's task today is to narrow that 11! point gap between themselves and man city at the top of the table. they are at home to burnley.

united slipped up on the weekend, allowing war so to equalise in injury time, but only manager shaun di stars —— doesn't think that will mean his side gets an easy ride. they still look a high—quality group of players to me. i was there recently, about to dig in and get a win, actually, but that's the mark of a good side. if it's not quite their day or the other team are playing well, they're still out for a result. i don't think we're going there expecting it to be anything other than a tough game. and there's just one game in the scottish premiership this afternoon, with champions celtic away to dundee. serena williams said she'd get back on the tennis circuit pretty quickly, after giving birth to herfirst child — and she's announced her return. she'll play an exhibition match against jelena ostapenka in abu dhabi next week, it'll be four months since her daughter alexis arrived. williams hasn't played since she won the australian open injanuary and although she hasn't yet decided whether she'll be defending her title, the tournament organisers have said it's very likely. isn't she incredible? her child in

the four—month old, unbelievable. now, you a boxing day shopper? the four—month old, unbelievable. now, you a boxing day shopper7m the four—month old, unbelievable. now, you a boxing day shopper? ifi am to be honest i avoid it at all costs. apparently that is true of a lot of people. are the boxing day sales still enough to get us off the sofa and down to the shops? with black friday forcing many retailers to cut prices as long ago as november, the majority of shoppers surveyed by bbc radio 4's you & yours programme said the sales had lost their sparkle, as samantha fenwick reports. savinda and her daughterjoti meet up every weekend to go shopping and look for bargains. i've waited with people outside, and then gone into the store, and found lovely bargains. but this boxing day, the high street sales don't have the same appeal. sales are on all the time and i'm always getting emails from shops saying, you can get it cheaper beforehand and things like that.

so i won't be doing anything like that, i'll be in bed. newsreel: they are here again, the sales and the queues. you can't afford to miss a good bargain in these days. some all—night queuers receive a morning surprise — a cuppa to warm them up for the battle ahead. the post—christmas sales, a festive tradition in the uk. retailers called it the golden quarter, the discounts starting on boxing day — an important part of the three months at the end of the year. retailers hope to boost their profits and shoppers to get a bargain. you can get almost anything at these sales. it has changed over the years, though. this is the boxing day sale only five years ago. shoppers didn't queue quite a sedately as in the 19505. but would they do the same today? we asked more than 1000 shoppers what they thought of the boxing day sales, and more than half of them think they have lost the appeal

they once had. virtually nobody we survey said they would be getting up early this morning to beat the queues. they have been overshadowed by other sales that run throughout the year. particularly black friday. this year, over 40% of us bought something on black friday, and that means we spent a lot of christmas money already and we can't spend money twice. shoppers expect things to be discounted and discounted heavily, and if retailers don't offer great deals, shoppers go somewhere else. yet despite this apparent addiction to discounting, 62% of people we surveyed believe that if a shop always has a sale on, it devalues the brand. jenny parker is the co—founder of country attire, an online shop selling 180 different brands. it can be extremely damaging for a brand to always be on sale. it is important to be very strategic about when you discount. the brands which are doing well never really have blanket discount sales. they are the ones which are really forensic as to what pricing they go at, and when they go. have you got everything you need?

nothing is more frustrating than when you buy something for price and the prices are constantly getting slashed down. it feels as though they must be struggling. how can they afford to sell it so cheap? retailers are struggling. competition to get shoppers spending is as fierce as ever, online and on the high street. and with family budgets predicted to get tighter next year, it looks like the year—round sale is here to stay. iam i am surprised you didn't want one of those hats yourself, samantha kerr ‘s share our well, i am tempted. he is giving us a round of applause. i do think it is a surprise, is it, that things are calmer with the sales today given how much we are seeing the retailers discount things? when you see

pictures of boxing day sales by yea rs pictures of boxing day sales by years ago, everyone was struggling to get in. now you see it on black friday. even in the uk when we have wrought in these make it sales. that is what we found in our survey. even if you look across oxford street earlier run, fewer people there than in the past. if! go earlier run, fewer people there than in the past. if i go shopping and there is no sale, ifeel like i am let down. is there