millions hit the high street for the boxing day sales amid signs growing numbers are choosing to hunt for bargains online instead. but in some cities, the queues started in the early hours of the morning as shoppers went in search of big discounts. i like feeling and carrying what i have bought. it's like yes, success. it's nice to get out, we've had some lunch. try before you buy! also on the programme tonight a british woman from hull, who took hundreds of painkillers to egypt, is jailed. 33—year—old laura plummer has been sentenced to three years for drug smuggling. her family say she's done nothing wrong. a kind gesture, that's all it was. how can you be sentenced to three years just for being kind? commentator: harry kane is the name! 39 goals in 2017 — the tottenham striker sets a new record for the most premier league goals in a year. good evening.

millions of shoppers across the country have headed to the high street today for the traditional boxing day sales. in some places the queues began to form outside stores in the early hours of the morning, with research suggesting that one in three people went in search of a bargain today. but some retailers have reported large numbers of people deciding to look for bargains online today instead. and analysts say that footfall in high streets and shopping centres across the uk has been lower than expected. duncan kennedy is in southampton. it is looking rather quiet tonight, duncan. yes, it's around about six o'clock, things are starting to wind down but managers in centres like

this one are saying they had the high footfall day, in other words there are plenty of people coming into shopping centres like this one across the country, but have they been spending? it is raining here in the south and other parts of the country but we are told that has not stopped millions of people coming out in search of a boxing day bargains. it's been fast, if not furious, heavy if not heaving. but, after all that turkey, there have been plenty of bargains to gobble up. have you got what you wanted? yes. it's been successful. successful trip, yeah. here at southampton‘s west quay shopping centre, 10,000 people an hour surged in. what is it about boxing day sales? cheaper. half the price. really? yeah, really. some people say there are these sales all year round. to be honest with you, black friday was better than actually today. and, it's only got the rubbish what's left, that they've put in.

but, you are still buying it? yes, only because i got my christmas money, yesterday. with inflation outstripping many wages, some experts have been predicting a slow boxing day, but in many places, the discounts are proving irresistible. well, ithink, first and foremost it's always about getting a great bargain. and you can see, on the windows around us, there are stores that have got 50%, 60%, 70%, even, discounts on some of their products in store. so, that is a great incentive to come out. in fact, researchers say that something like 34% of us will have gone shopping today. that compares to just 25% of us last boxing day. they reckon that overall we will be spending more than £4 billion. york was just one of the places where they queued for the bargains. 0nline shopping, it seems, not yet the all conquering consumer choice. going on holiday next week, so i've got some light pyjamas, and some trainers.

which are £5 and £14. very good, isn't it? london's oxford street also brought out the shoppers, although some analysts said overall numbers are down by 4%. but many are still bagging the bargains. 50% off prada shoes. so, that was actually good. that's a £215 saving. we do love shopping. we like bargains more than full priced stuff. in glasgow, two arms were not enough for some to take care of business, but whilst many online companies were reporting sales of more than 6% today, for others only the real deal will do. it's a bargain. i think i've saved something. official figures for who spent what, where, and when on boxing day will come later. unofficially, it seemed as traditional as ever, and for some, it has been a case of shop till you drop. duncan kennedy, bbc news.

a british woman has been sentenced to three years in an egyptian prison after being found guilty of smuggling drugs into the country. laura plummer, who's 33 and from hull, was arrested in october when she was found carrying almost 300 tablets of the painkiller tramadol in her suitcase. daniela relph reports. laura plummer‘s family and friends say she is naive, not a criminal. but today the 33—year—old shop workerfrom hull is beginning a three—year sentence injail in egypt. her mother, roberta, and her egyptian partner, 0mar caboo, have been at court to support her during the hearings this week. laura plummer had been travelling to the red sea resort of hurghada to visit 0mar in october when she was stopped by the authorities. in her suitcase were 290 tramadol tablets, a painkiller which is legal on prescription in britain but banned in egypt. she said the tablets were for her partner, who suffers from severe back pain, but she was arrested and has been held since then in a communal cell with up to 25 women. herfamily at home in hull have described today's

sentence as horrendous. she's just a normal girl who works in hull. she just sells clothes, she comes home, she watches telly and she goes to bed. she doesn't drink, she doesn't smoke, she doesn't do anything. she lives to go to egypt. she loves egypt. she loves the egyptian people. she's in love with 0mar. we cannot believe this has happened to her. we are absolutely devastated. laura plummer had been going on holiday to egypt's red sea resort for several years but, for her supporters, she has been let down by the country she loved. this woman doesn't deserve to be incarcerated in an egyptian prison and, to be honest with you, as much as i respect the customs of egypt and the laws and the judiciary and everything else, this will put people off travelling on holiday to egypt in the future, and i think the egyptian authorities need to be mindful of that. the egyptian legal system is complex. laura plummer will now appeal

against the three—year sentence, a jail term her family say is shocking and unjust. daniela joins us from the foreign office now. daniela, this case centres around painkillers that are legal here, but banned in egypt. her lawyer says they've lodged an appeal what chance does she have? an appeal can take anything up to a number of years so the reality is any chance of laura plummer having her sentence cut or dismissed looks remote at this stage. but it appears she's had as much help as is possible from the foreign office here. her own local mp has had several meetings with the foreign secretary boris johnson several meetings with the foreign secretary borisjohnson and said he was satisfied that everything was being done to help laura plummer and

herfamily. boris being done to help laura plummer and her family. boris johnson himself has made a direct representation on her behalf to the egyptian prime minister but even with all of that help it didn't stop her being sentenced today. this afternoon the foreign office has issued the most brief of statements in response to her sentencing, in which it says it will offer continued assistance to laura plummer and her family, will offer continued assistance to laura plummerand herfamily, and its embassy in egypt is in constant contact with the authorities there. thank you. academic institutions have been warned by the government that that they must protect freedom of speech or face possible fines. the universities minister, jojohnson, said they had a duty to ensure students could both hear, and challenge controversial ideas. some universities and student groups have banned speakers advocating disputed points of view on subjects including israel's relations with the palestinians, the role of the british empire, and transgender rights. we don't need people to be cosseted. we don't need to suppress debate and stifle debate. debate is how bad ideas and prejudices get exposed, and it's about how knowledge advances, so it's an absolutely vital part of the learning process

that we have full debate, that we have freedom of speech within the law operating in our university system. two people have died following a collision between a police car and another vehicle in sheffield last night. the 46—year—old officer, who died, was responding to an emergency call when his marked car was involved in the crash. a 61—year—old woman — who was a passenger in the other vehicle — also died. police are appealing for witnesses. a russian cargo ship, listing near portsmouth harbour, is being assisted by the coastguard. the vessel is at anchor in the solent while a pilot vessel assesses its stability and cargo. the coastguard said it had power and was currently stable. the 13 crew on board are reported to be safe and well. there are warnings, though, of gales and rough seas this evening. cotton spinning was once a key industry in the north west

of england and now it has made a return to the uk. a mill in manchester has become the only textile factory to spin cotton commercially again. the process has revived the sector, connecting businesses across the region as they make clothes using the yarn. judith moritz has followed the supply chain from start to finish. her report contains some flashing images. fresh off the boat from california, cotton has come back to its spiritual home. refurbished and reenergised, this manchester mill is the first in the uk to spin commercially again. for the first time in 50 years, cotton is in full production. it's really reengaged the weavers and the finishers and the dyers to pull together and forge those chains back again. and there is honestly an enormous appetite for provenance and british—made. we're following the process as the cotton spun here

finds its way from the bale to the clothes hanger. from its raw state to spun yarn. i'm now going to take this cotton from here in manchester over to blackburn to be dyed. that's for you. what happens now? we are going to take this into our dye house. we're going to load it onto a dye stand. we are going to bleach it, we're going to dye it and we're going to dry it. this yarn dyer‘s used to source all its cotton overseas. now it only travels 30 miles. turned pink, it's time to take the yarn up the road to burnley to be woven. the resurrection of the cotton process comes at a good time for the industry. bbc news and the trade body make it british spoke to almost 100 textile businesses to see how their 2017 has been. 30% of them say they're exporting more british—made goods than last year. there is concern about the age of the workforce. two thirds have staff whose

average age is over a0. but overall, the news is positive. 50% of them are turning over more than a year ago. the factory weaving our pink cloth is a good example. 0ur order book is really healthy. so the next six months‘ forecast is looking great. so much so that we're now having to put on extra shifts and recruit additional staff. here you are, then. back in manchester, our cloth is now ready to be made into a shirt. cut. pressed. stitched. and finished at this factory. one of the few of its kind to survive. i don't think we'll ever see a return to the halcyon days of cottonopolis. however, there is huge opportunities for businesses and brands like ours to create sustainable, viable and ultimately very profitable businesses by making things here again in the uk and selling to an international market. spun, dyed, woven and stitched, the cotton process has been sewn

back together again. 0urjourney behind the seams ends with a shirt made from local yarn. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. it's been a busy day of boxing day sport. with all the latest news, here's marc edwards at the bbc sports centre. hi, sophie. there have been goals galore in the premier league, none more so than at wembley where a harry kane hat trick helped tottenham hotspur thrash southampton 5—2. it sees the spurs striker breaking records both at home and across europe. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks was watching. boxing day is a time when most struggle to move from our sofas, but there was no such christmas slump for harry kane. when danny rose was fouled just outside the box, christian eriksen‘s ensuing free kick landed plumb on harry's head. here goes eriksen. it's in! alan shearer‘s premier league goals record had stood for 22 years. kane was engulfed as his achievements sunk in.

but the game was yet young, and there was another record for the taking. lionel messi has scored 5a goals for club and country this year. one more would take kane to 55. and kane! beautiful from tottenham. dele to son to kane for the tap—in. teamwork makes the dream work. spurs were 4—1 up before kane put the cherry on the icing on the cake. he was once labelled a one—season wonder. he will! hat—trick, harry kane! his eighth hat—trick of 2017 tells you otherwise. the game was a cracker, 5—2 the final score, but one man shone brightest. with the world cup looming, england fans will be praying kane's world—beating form continues. natalie pirks, bbc news. elsewhere, plenty of entertainment in the premier league. there was a six—goal thriller at the vitality stadium, with bournemouth three times coming from behind to draw with west ham. manchester united rescued a point in the 90th

minute against burnley. there were wins for chelsea and watford as well. celtic moved 11 points clear at the top of the scottish premiership with a 2—0 victory over dundee at dens park. james forrest opened the scoring before leigh griffiths added celtic‘s second just before half—time. it was the only scottish premiership game today, with five more to come tomorrow. england's cricketers have had a tough time in the field on day one of the fourth ashes test. a century from david warner and another great performance from captain steve smith left australia on 2411—3 at the close of play. patrick gearey reports from melbourne. no wonder they couldn't wait to get in. australia's festive season began with their series victory last week. ashes monday. in fact, in what seems an age since england first landed, the only thing they haven't lost is the toss. at the worst moment, that deserted them, too. so australia batted, of course they did. this was a gift certificate of a pitch. happy christmas, david warner. 50 runs at england's expense, 100 for the aussies by lunch. 0uch.

at the other end, cameron bancroft had only been marginally more involved than the spectators. out of sorts, out for 26. a wicket, finally. the rambunctious warner grew edgy as he neared his century. on 99, he blinked. there, tom curran‘s first test wicket, what a moment. butjust a moment. look at the replay. no ball, not out. a misstep to sum up a series. back came warner. next ball, no mistake. a100, and the boundless joy of a reprieved man. his second life was short, though. whenjames anderson got him, there was no escape. england battled back. stuart broad as much as anyone. he'd gone 414 balls without a wicket before he removed usman khawaja. broad's blood up. was this shaun marsh out next ball? the umpire said no. the technology upheld that. crucial. small margins can mean hard yards. in one of cricket's great venues, one of the great modern batsmen. steve smith rolled ominously on, unbeaten, perhaps unbeatable. but had the cricket

matched the occasion? we did our best. we didn't bowl a great first session. we didn't add to that excitement, unless you're a david warner fan. but second session, we did all we could on that pitch. it's certainly been a very slow pace at the mcg. it's the kind of match which might be decided not by magic, but by mistakes. and so far in this series, unfortunately for england, they've made too many of them. patrick geary, bbc news, in melbourne. might bite, trained by nicky henderson, held on in an exciting finish to win the king george vi chase at kempton park. nico de boinville's mount led from the front throughout. the 6—4 favourite had to work hard to stay ahead of 50—1 shot double shuffle, who finished second. tea for two ridden by lizzie kelly was third. that's the sport from me for now, the bbc sport website has much more on all those boxing day stories. sophie. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we are back with the late news at 10.30 tonight —

now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news. a woman from hull has been jailed for three years in egypt for taking tramadol painkillers into the country. they're legal in the uk. laura plummer — who's 33 —

was convicted of drug smuggling. her family say they will appeal against the sentence. earlier i spoke to karl turner, laura plummer‘s mp, and asked the reaction to the three year sentence. it's extremely disappointing to the family. laura is utterly distraught, as far as family. laura is utterly distraught, as farasi family. laura is utterly distraught, as far as i am aware, and clearly, we have got to be mindful of the fa ct we have got to be mindful of the fact that this was very much at the lower end of the scale, but people are very disappointed, not least, laura. she has been incarcerated since the 9th of october, she is a woman of good character, stupid decent and honest hard—working british woman from hull, who has not so british woman from hull, who has not so much as had a parking violation, and she has found herself in this terrible predicament, where sears facing a custodial sentence, in a foreign prison. it is terrifying for

her. what do you make of the misunderstanding which led to today's, well it was not a hearing, was it? because she was sentenced to three years. the conviction was there already. how do you understand that any appeal would be taken forward ? that any appeal would be taken forward? i don't know that that is correct. i spoke to the lawyer, yesterday, and they communicated with him today. as a understand it, there was something lost in translation. thejudge there was something lost in translation. the judge had there was something lost in translation. thejudge had asked one of the members to question laura, and his english was not very good. he had the interpreter they're ready to translate, but the judge refused to translate, but the judge refused to hear from to translate, but the judge refused to hearfrom them. however, the lawyer for laura to hearfrom them. however, the lawyerfor laura made representation that the matter should be adjourned and that a new hearing should be today. it is my understanding that thatis today. it is my understanding that that is what has happened, but the

court has found today that laura was guilty of possession, not trafficking, which is a great deal of difference, and she was sentence for possession, today. i spoke with the minister who is responsible for egypt and the foreign office, and had several, visions of him today, and then that he is making representation as we speak, to in egypt. that was kyle turner who is laura plummer‘s mp. prices for many everyday items will rise unless the government focuses on replacing trade agreements which will no longer apply when britain leaves the eu, a leading retail group says. according to the british retail consortium around 80 current deals would be lost when britain exits the eu. the department for exiting the european union said it is committed to continuing current trade and investment deals. i'm joined now by rachel lund, from the british retail consortium. first of all, did anything catch you

by surprise? it seems fairly obvious that if we cut off from the major pa rt that if we cut off from the major part —— partner, without steels, it's going to cost us? there are a of deal that up covered by parts of the eu. a round —— around 80 countries. we trade with a lot of them already. for example, countries such as south africa and turkey are particularly important. turkey, from products like trade and electricals, and south africa, for products like food and wine. adjusting, because he didn't think of that, but that is three eu deal as it is, said the government, your thing needs to have this country is in mind when it looked that these new deals? absolutely. when we leave the uk after brexit, that moment will no longer be covered by these deals, so asa longer be covered by these deals, so as a result, we could be facing higher tariffs if no deal is reached

subsequently. you have mentioned turkey and south africa. what other countries? there are a number of other countries, depending on the product, for example, countries such as norway and iceland are important for this, but also countries that has egypt, bags in the south american countries, as well, when we importa american countries, as well, when we import a lot of fruit and veg as well. we talk about the prices going out, what difference... how much are things going to write? it is hard to say what the exact change through the consumers will see, but we are talking about increases in the cost of the imported goods of 11%, on fish, and some food and veg products, it could be on average, 1015%, but in amongst those, there are some products web tariffs could be very high, particular with meat, which is less important than the bilateral bludgers, but more for the eu, it could be as high as 20, 30%. we are talking about eight post

brexit eu deal, so we need to talk to them, some of the negotiations that are going on now. what difference will it make to consumers if there is no deal? consumers will almost certainly see higher prices in shops. retailers to work hard to try and not pass these costs on, but given the attitude of them, they will have two parts of them on through prices. so, consumers will see those prices go up. we only see a change in habits, if you like? presumably, there be some products that are less accessible, and less available, and more coming up in the market as a sign new deals, said there is a positive, as well, the negative that you're warning about. what we could see, is example, as a result of tariffs, but also customs checks, that some products can't even make it to the shelves. so, we might have to change our behaviour in some areas, as well. but

ultimately, we are putting high prices on things, it means there is less choice for consumers. the diddley, it is going to impact consumers at the bottom of the income is backed. that backed interim spectrum. are they listening, are you getting a sense that we are perhaps further down the line ah bridge then some people are suggesting wijnaldum yellow mac the government have made some progress, and we have got the green light to move on and discuss trade, but there isa move on and discuss trade, but there is a lot of work to do. yellow mac merely on the bilateral deals we're talking about 80 countries. there is a lot of work left to do. thank you very much for talking about it. thank you so much. ben has the weather. good evening. some of us eventually got to see them snow on christmas day, and as eclipse add boxing day,

there is a little more to come, got as wet weather sliding in from the south, turning to snow, especially around the high ground of the midlands and... at lower levels, more likely sleep all rain. this belt is well up north, and very low tipsters, and that will allow some ice to form an untreated surfaces. tomorrow, a miserable day two of the south—east, as hale, sleet and snow becomes more slow—moving. in the west, a scattering of showers which will be wintry, and a blustery wind and a cold field to 5 degrees at best. thursday, starting off called with some icy stretches, staying fine, though, through the day. it turns out here for friday, with outbreaks of rain, and then quite a lot milderfor the outbreaks of rain, and then quite a lot milder for the weekend. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. a british woman accused of smuggling drugs into egypt has been sentenced

to three years in jail. laura plummer, who's 33 and from hull, was arrested in october with tablets of the painkiller, tramadol. the universities minister, jojohnson, has warned academic institutions they could face fines if they fail to protect free speech, within the law. there has been a lower turnout than expected at the boxing day sales. the research group springboard believes there was a 4% drop in the number of shoppers — up to midday today — compared with last year. a police officer and a 61—year—old woman died in a crash on christmas day. the 46—year—old officer was responding to an incident when the marked bmw 3 series he was driving was in collision with a citroen c3 on the a57 in sheffield. now on bbc news — sportsday.