the prime minister apologises for delays to nhs operations in england, as the health service struggles to cope with winter pressures. a day after her health secretary said sorry, theresa may said she recognised what patients were going through. we hope to ensure that those operations can be reinstated as soon as possible. i know it's frustrating. i know it's disappointing for people, and i apologise. the prime minister's words came as new figures showed a sharp rise in ambulance waits outside a&e in the last week of 2017. also this lunchtime. the white house threatens legal action against president trump's former aide over claims in a new book about the presidential campaign and links with russia. plans for farmers after brexit — they'll go on getting subsidies until 2022 — and then get payments for protecting the environment. beggars can be choosers says windsor council's leader — for some it's a choice he says — and they should be removed — ahead of the royal wedding.

and andy murray heads home after pulling out of the australian open with an ongoing hip injury. and coming up in the sport on bbc news: england let slip their advantage over australia in the final ashes test, as they lose late wickets in sydney. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a record number of people called the nhs 111 number during the festive period, according to figures published this morning. there were nearly half a million calls to the advice line in the last week of december in england.

there was also a sharp increase in the number of ambulances being held outside hospitals. here's our health correspondent, catherine burns the prime minister today in frimley park hospital in surrey, thanking staff personally for their hard work over christmas, and now we know just how hard it was. the national health service continues to do a fantasticjob for people. yes, it has pressures overwinter. yes, it has particular pressures in the christmas and new year period. the staff are dedicated, we've put extra resources in. figures from nhs england give us a snapshot into a week of considerable pressure. the starkest number is about ambulance delays, when paramedics have to wait with patients because a&e staff are too busy to do a handover. in the week running up to new year's eve, crews had to stay with sick patients for more than half an hour almost 17,000 times. 0n almost 5,000 occasions,

the delay was longer than an hour. this government refuses to fund the nhs sufficiently. we don't want apologies and hand wringing. we want the government to get a grip urgently. there was also a record number of calls to the nhs‘s iii service, more than a80,000. but these figures don't include this week, when so far at least 20 hospital trusts in england have been on the highest state of alert. unfortunately, what we usually see in the nhs is a quiet period around christmas and then a pick—up. quite often, it's january that's the really difficult point for the nhs, and that's true last year and it's been true in previous years as well. authorities in scotland, wales and northern ireland are also reporting higher patient demand. what we don't know now though is how long this period of extra pressure will go on for. catherine burns, bbc news. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here.

so we have the prime minister apologising today for delays to operations, that are to come, and these figures today show that last week, the last week of 2017, the system was already under strain. well, that is right. the wave of publicity of problems in hospitals really only developed from the weekend on wards, and these figures go weekend on wards, and these figures 9° up weekend on wards, and these figures go up until last sunday, december sist. go up until last sunday, december 31st. they show the big increase in patient demand, this sharp increase in the number of people calling 111, up in the number of people calling 111, up 21% on the previous week, and those long waits for patients trying to be discharged from ambulances outside hospital wait morgue than 30 minute, 30 minutes is considered the absolute maximum, those waiting longer, that was up nearly 40% at nearly 17,000, compared with round 10,000 in the last week of november. so showing the real strain. that is

an interesting gauge. if ambulances can't discharge their patients because of problems ereceiving them and finding beds, the ambulances can't get back on the road again, so thatis can't get back on the road again, so that is last week. we are waiting figures this week where we know there are strain, the prime minister today has apologised. she didn't use the word apology yesterday, jeremy hunt did, out and about she apologised and said that she owed an immense debt of gratitude to nhs staff. she went out of her way to praise staff. but i think all staff working very hard under difficult conditions will feel this is far from over. it isjust conditions will feel this is far from over. it is just the early days of the new year, we have had reports of the new year, we have had reports of flue cases being on the increase, if that continues, the strain could get even more severe. “— if that continues, the strain could get even more severe. —— flu. -- flu. the row between donald trump and his former top aide steve bannon has intensified, with lawyers for the president threatening legal action over comments attributed to mr bannon in a new book about the presidency.

the remarks allege that a meeting mr trump's son had with a group of russians during the presidential campaign was "treasonous", and claims that mr trump was poorly prepared for thejob. the president said mr bannon, who was sacked last august, had lost his mind. dan johnson reports. the president a right—hand man, driving the right—wing america first politics, that put trump in the white house. but like so many advisers steve bannon didn't last long. he is not a racist, i can tell you that, he is is a good person, he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but, we will see what happens with mr bannon. quite. well he found himself outside the big white house tent, and now, he is taking carefulaim. he white house tent, and now, he is taking careful aim. he says a meeting between donald trump taking careful aim. he says a meeting between donald trumer and russian officials should have been reported immediately to the fbi,

describing it as treasonous and unpatriotic. predictably the president's spokeswoman didn't agree i think that is a ridiculous accusation and one i am pretty sure we have addressed many times before, if that is in reference to comments made by mr bannon i refer you to the ones he made previously on 60 minutes where he called the collusion with russia about this president a totalfarce. collusion with russia about this president a total farce. so collusion with russia about this president a totalfarce. so i think i would look back tharkts if anybody has been inconsistent it has been him, not the president or this administration. donald trump's response was even tougher. when he was fired he not only lost hisjob, he lost his mind. it's fire and fury indeed. the book claims the former prime minister tony blair was bidding to be a white house middle east adviser. and that he told the president's son—in—law that british intelligence may have spied on the trump campaign. this story is literally a total fabrication, i

meani literally a total fabrication, i mean i have never had any such conversation, not with someone in the white house, outside of the white house, not that the time or any time, not anywhere. the idea that british intelligence services was interfering in the middle of an american presidential election is preposterous, it is, this is politics today, and you get these wild conspiracy theories that u nfortu nately, wild conspiracy theories that unfortunately, people believe, but it is literally an invention. there are also claims trump's campaign team were shocked and horrified by his win, that his wife was in tears about it, and that the president was angry many a—list celebrities snubbed the inauguration, his daughter a p pa re ntly inauguration, his daughter apparently mocks his hair and is planning to take on the top job. the truth isn't clear in a white house defined by an unconventional new normality. defined by an unconventional new normality. 0ur diplomatic coreespondent james robbins is here. sqraim, how potentially damaging so

president trump is this? it is damaging at many levels. this book won't bring down the president, but it will weaken him and weaken the rubbly can party op which he relies for domestic legislation, i think it is damaging because it paints such a lurid picture, ofa is damaging because it paints such a lurid picture, of a president who was apparently shocked and stunned by his own victory, was apparently com pletely by his own victory, was apparently completely unprepared for office, was not especially respectful of the constitution, was board by the detailed of it, surrounded himself with advisers whom one regards as unsuited to going into the white house, and all based on a campaign in which it is alleged some of those key strategists had what could be described by steve bannon as treasonous relationships with russia, so deeply damaging stuff. in the middle of of an investigation headed by robert muller. it matters domestically for the reasons i have set out. it matters initially as

well, because the president is commander—in—chief, and it raises questions not least in american minds about his suitability to take big decisions, in relation to north korea, to iran and the wider middle east. many thanks. the environment secretary has set out how farming subsidies will be dealt with after brexit, saying farmers will receive payments to protect the countryside. farmers are also guaranteed the current eu level of subsidies until 2022. michael gove said measures such as planting wildflower meadows, and improving water quality would be included — current payments are based on how much land farmers own. duncan kennedy reports. britain has more than 200,000 farm holdings, but the imminence of brexit has put farmers and food policy into a state of uncertainty. a healthy rural economy... that's why issues of animal welfare, food standards and trade deals dominated today's farmers' conference in oxford. michael gove said britain would be a high—quality food exporting

nation after brexit. he said eu subsidies would be phased out, but farmers would still get financial help. we guarantee that, in cash terms, the amount of money that we give to farmers will remain exactly the same right up until the next general election in 2022, and what we want to do is to ensure that thereafter there is a smooth path towards a different form of paying farmers. you've just got them on hay here, craig, or something... minette batters farms in wiltshire and says the certainty of michael gove's financial commitment to farmers after we leave the european union will be welcomed by the industry. we've worked for 43 years under european policy so, of course, it's going to take time, and we really welcome his commitment to be looking at a longer period. 2024 is very well received. michael gove was, of course, one of the key leave campaigners in the eu referendum.

he said that it was britain that should decide what its farmers can do, what trade policies they can work out and what food standards should be for the public. but there are others who are saying that his message today is far too optimistic in terms of what britain can achieve when it leaves the eu. a separate report today from mps said that brexit trade deals risked britain's very food security, as we face cheap foreign imports. they warn that we could end up having to take products like american chickens washed in chlorine as part of the price we pay for trading with non—eu countries. michael gove also said today public access to farmland as well as top—quality animal welfare was at the centre of government policy. but the uncertainties of brexit and what follows make it difficult for him and all those involved in farming to know exactly how our agricultural landscape will change. duncan kennedy, bbc news, 0xfordshire. tony blair has warned jeremy corbyn

he must change course on brexit or be unable to deliver his promise. he said he would oppose any likely outcome to the brexit negotiations. chris mason is at westminster for us now. good afternoon. this song brexit is a frequent spinner on the tony blair play list of political interventions and the chorus is familiar, he wants the uk to stay in the european union, he thinks that would be sense. he says that the country either via parliament or an election or another referendum should get a say on the final brexit deal, once that becomes clear and he would like labour to articulate that position, or he says a labour government would encounter the same problems as he sees it as the conservatives in negotiating brexit while doing many other things. it is going to be extremely

difficult in my view for labour to deliver on its promise, if it puts itself in the same position as the tory government are going to be on brexit, because it will find that it has less money to deal with the country's problem, that it's distracted by dealing with brexit, rather than dealing with the health service and jobs, and living standard and so on, and therefore, in my view if you end up and i have said this before, if you end up in a situation where you do brexit and have a corbyn government, this country is going to face a challenging situation. quick response from one shadow labour minister, saying mr blair's intervention was one helpful, lots of labour voters voted for brexit, and will regard this as the melt poll tan elite ignoring them. a reminder it is notjust the conservatives who have divisions over brexit, labour does too. technology firms are rushing to fix two security flaws in computer chips made by a number of leading manufacturers. the defects could allow hackers to steal personal data from nearly every modern computing device

and smart—phone which have the chips fitted. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones is here. technology firms are rushing to fix two security flaws in computer chips made by a number of leading manufacturers. the defects could allow hackers to steal personal data from nearly every modern computing device and smart—phone which have the chips fitted. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones is here. in theory many millions of people will be affected. the bugs meltdown and sceptre, are in chips, which power complete, smartphones and all other devices. the flaws were discovered some time ago and the industry has been working to find a cure, they reckon they are nearly there in many cases, that the new defence, new security updates should be in place soon. they wanted it kept secret for as long as possible because they wanted to fix it before it became known to hackers. it is a big dangerous in theory in practise, there has been no evidence anybody has been affected so far and the industry will certainly hope it can get those defences shored up in time

to stop that happening. 0k. thank you. thank you. our top story this lunchtime. the prime minister apologises for delays to nhs operations in england, as the health service struggles to cope with winter pressures. and coming up — vanishing in venice — thieves make off with jewels worth millions of pounds in a daring heist. coming up in sport: injury worries forjohanna konta less than two weeks out from the australian open. she retires from the brisbane international with a hip problem. australian authorities have recovered most of a seaplane which crashed near sydney on new year's eve, killing five members of a british family and the pilot. richard cousins, chairman of the compass catering group, died with his two sons, his fiancee, her daughter, and a canadian pilot when the plane crashed into the hawkesbury river. the aircraft had been submerged in more than a0 feet of water,

as phil mercer reports from sydney. the salvage operation atjerusalem bay began shortly after dawn. police divers used inflatable bags to lift parts of the seaplane from the bottom of the hawkesbury river. 0n the surface, a crane pulled the wreckage from the water onto a barge. one of the first pieces of the aircraft to be recovered was a damaged wing, followed by the engine, the front propeller and the tail. we now know that the seaplane that came down in these waters on new year's eve was badly damaged in another fatal accident 20 years ago. the plane was previously used as a crop—duster that crashed near the city of armadale, killing the pilot. it was rebuilt and bought by sydney seaplanes in 2006. the wreckage will be taken for examination to canberra. it will hold vital clues, including possible digital data and mobile phone footage from the passengers that could

explain why a routine sightseeing flight ended in disaster. we've got a range of factors that we look at to fully reconstruct the sequence of events that led up to the accident and to hopefully find factors that contributed to the accident, with the ultimate goal of trying to prevent something like this happening again. six people died in the accident, including the british businessman richard cousins, his two grown—up sons, his fiancee and her 11—year—old daughter. the canadian pilot was also killed. air crash investigators plan to release their initial findings within a month. phil mercer, bbc news, at westhead near sydney. children moving from primary to secondary school are "ill—equipped" for the "avalanche of pressure" that awaits them on social media, according to the children's commissioner for england. anne longfield says social media begins to dominate children's social lives,

and calls on schools to do more to prepare them for the emotional demands it makes. elaine dunkley reports. with social media in the hands of children, there are challenges of growing up in a digital age. a report published today called life in likes warns that many children are starting secondary school unable to cope with the sudden demands of social media as their world expands. ifeel like i'm pressured by other people, because my friends do it so i feel like i have to do it to fit in. you see people, if they are getting bullied on social media, sometimes they don't even tell their parents and, if you don't tell your parents, they are never going to find out. most social media platforms state users must be over the age of 13, but the reality is some children using these sites are younger. children become increasingly anxious about their online image and keeping up with appearances, but this report also highlights that many children are overdependent on getting likes and positive comments in order to feel accepted.

we know that children's anxiety levels have been increasing but we've often looked at what that means for 1a and 15—year—olds. i'd like the government to introduce compulsory digital literacy in all schools for years six and seven, the top of primary school, the first year of secondary school, to help children anticipate what this means, to help build their resilience and help empower them to be more in control in their own social media accounts. whilst there are many benefits, parents, teachers and mentors can find it difficult staying on top of the changing way children use social media when they go into secondary school. we all know what it's like to post something on social media and not everybody like it and people to disagree with what we're saying or people to post things about us that we don't want them to. that's a really difficult thing for young teens or even children to have to deal with. parents want to help their children with how to deal with that, but there's no set guidance on what parents are supposed to be telling their children, and i think the report today

has highlighted that. secondary school is a difficult time when young people feel pressured to fit in. today's report is urging early intervention to help young people deal with the online realities of social media. elaine dunkley, bbc news. jewellery thought to be worth several million pounds has been stolen in a daring heist in venice. police say at least two thieves delayed the alarm system at the doge's palace, before breaking into a reinforced cabinet to take a broach and earrings. the jewels had been on loan from the royal family of qatar. james reynolds has the details. the exhibition held at the doge's palace in venice was called treasures of the moguls and maharajas. the jewellery on display, some of it on loan from the ruling family of qatar, was worth millions of pounds. for one criminal gang, this was all too tempting. at least two thieves helped themselves to a golden brooch and a pair of earrings.

incredibly, they did so during normal visiting hours. translation: while the exhibition was open to the public, one of the glass cases ofjewels on display was open. some jewels were stolen and the thieves made their getaway by mixing with the public. officials suspect the gang may have spent several months planning the theft. investigators are now trying to work out exactly how the thieves managed to switch off the museum's alarm system and how they managed to walk away while hiding among visitors. experts from rome have been sent to help find out who did it. the police describe the gang, with some understatement, as very skilled professionals. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. shares in the department store debenhams have fallen by 20%, the leader of the council in windsor

has said the police should take action against rough sleepers and what he calls "aggressive begging" before the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle in the town in may. simon dudley said some people begging were not in fact homeless, and had made a "voluntary choice" to live on the streets. adina campbell is in windsor. well, this letter has got lots of people talking here in windsor, and it has proved to be very controversial. some homeless charities say they are sickened by the details in this letter, while others say there is a problem with begging and it needs to be tackled. earlier, i was speaking to some of the homeless people here, and windsor is set to get a lot busier over the coming months with the royal wedding being an may the 19th. it may be one of the country's most affluent areas, with a prime tourist

attraction, but nestled among the expensive shops and the is poverty, and those begging on the streets in this town have now been targeted by the local council leader, who once then gone before the royal wedding. it's a royal borough, said the queen is right behind me in the castle, and there is a royal wedding coming up and there is a royal wedding coming up and they don't want us on the streets. do you think it is fair? of course not. in a 3-page letter, the lead of windsor and maidenhead royal borough council is calling on thames valley police to use legal powers to remove beggars for the simon dudley says a significant number of the adults chose not to turn up and use the accommodation that the council had purchased for them, instead choosing to remain on the streets begging, creating a concerning the hostile atmosphere or residence and the 7 million tourists who come to windsor each year. but homeless charities are angry, and say

vulnerable people are being unfairly targeted. it's just totally unwarranted to bring the royal wedding into this. this should not bea wedding into this. this should not be a situation that has hit the headlines because of that. this should have hit the headlines because people are sleeping in bus shelters. windsor castle is one of the country's most popular tourist destination and, on may the 19th, when prince harry marries meghan markle yet, tens of thousands of people are expected. police and the local authorities will want to make sure everyone from all different communities are safe and secure. for those who work here, some say homelessness and begging our long—running issues. for the people who say they've been forced to make a living here on the streets, their days could be numbered. in the last hour, the prime minister, theresa may, has been speaking about this. she is the mp in neighbouring maidenhead and she says she disagrees with the council's comments and says the

council's comments and says the council should be working with police and other local authorities to make sure beggars and the homeless get the support they need, but it's fair to say, from the people i've spoken to today, it has cast a dark shadow over the upcoming wedding. andy murray has pulled out of the australian open after failing to recover from an ongoing hip injury. the three—time grand slam tennis champion hasn't played a competitive match since wimbledon last summer. and there's been more bad news in the women's game — british number one johanna konta was forced to retire from her brisbane open quarterfinal, also because of a hip injury. here's our sports correspondentjoe wilson. andy murray in brisbane, departing. no australian open for him. he'd practised competitively, seemed all right, he told reporters, but the hip would not stand up to the pressure of the tournament. when murray limped to defeat at wimbledon last summer, we thought he'd be back. after all, he stands for resilience, whatever the state of his body. six months on, he's still not played in a competitive match. today murray, in his official statement, admitted he is not yet

ready to compete and is flying home to assess all the options. that suggests surgery. the messages of support included good wishes from scotland's first minister. murray is still an inspiration, says nicola sturgeon, but where does he go from here as a tennis player? the australian open is busy promoting itself, and tennis must go on, although it's a sport heavily reliant on over—30s for its marketing, and that's not a long—term solution. johanna konta will still carry british hopes at the australian open — well, perhaps. she withdrew from her match in brisbane overnight with suspicions of, guess what, a hip problem. more assessment on friday. low—grade strain, she suggests. just be fit forjune, wimbledon might well hope. this week, andy murray posted this picture of himself on social media. the little kid inside me, he explained, just wants to play tennis and compete. it's very difficult to be denied something so simple. joe wilson, bbc news. two late wickets took the shine off

a good opening day for england in the final ashes test in sydney. captain joe root went for 83, and jonny bairstow for five, as england closed on 233 for five. australia have already won the series, after england lost the first three tests. patrick gearey reports from sydney. this is a city almost surrounded by water, just not typically from above. strangely murky in sydney, a morning to wait undercover. when it dried, joe root chose to stay indoors and sent his opening batsman out. mark stoneman looked in particularly good nick until he got a particularly bad nick. 2a, just a start. and so to the curious case of james vince, a batsman who looks better in pictures than numbers, whose beauty is often followed by a beast. that is an awful shot. this has been england's ashes trouble from tranquillity. nowjosh hazlewood thought he had alastair cook. the umpire didn't, but the technology backed the bowler, marginal and maybe crucial.

so root, who had earlier chosen to bat, had plenty of it to do. this was 50, handy, but the celebration told of an unfinished job. by now, the conditions had been transformed from drizzling to sizzling. dawid malan was dropped but shuffled on to his half—century. whisper it, but england were comfortable. only an illusion. third ball with the new ball, almost inevitable, another 100 missed, root didn't need telling. now things started to unravel. instead of a nightwatchman to see out the final balls, jonny bairstow went out, got out and handed the day to australia, a day which encapsulated a series. i think it sums up where we've been this tour. we've been on top for so long in games and we make one or two mistakes and suddenly we let the aussies back in. so england finish the day once again in shadow, the same shadow which has stalked them all over australia, that of missed chances. they must try and clear their heads to make a competitive total on day two, but the damage may already have been done.

patrick gearey, bbc news in sydney. weather forecasters have issued warnings about a huge winter storm over the eastern united states which it's thought has already claimed the lives of nine people. parts of the niagara falls have frozen because of the severe conditions. the state of florida, which has seen its first snowfall for almost 30 years, has declared a state of emergency. similar measures are also in place in georgia, virginia and north carolina. here's darren bett. it is heading our way, this cold and snow. let's pick up the story, because we have had this arctic plunge of their coming in across north america for a couple of weeks, so it's been very cold. i'm into that, we got a developing winter