this is bbc news — i'm vicki young. the headlines at 4:00pm. a tsunami hits indonesia causing widespread devastation — more than 220 people are dead and more than 700 injured emergency services are battling to save the injured. eyewitnesses describe scenes of chaos after waves struck at night. the water came in at about five metres high, and many cars were flown and hit our village. two people arrested in connection with drone sightings at gatwick are released — police say they are no longer suspects. uk homelessness reaches a record high — according to the charity crisis. tributes continue to be paid to former liberal democrat leader lord ashdown, who's died at the age of 77. and after a tumultuous few months in parliament, alicia mccarthy presents a review of the highlights at westminster since september in westminster

in reviewjust before 4:30, here on bbc news. rescue teams in indonesia are searching for survivors of a deadly tsunami that has killed at least 220 people. hundreds more have been injured, and the death toll is expected to rise. walls of water rushed into coastal towns along the sunda strait — which divides the islands of java and sumatra. it's thought the tsunami was triggered by an underwater landslide, following an eruption of the anak krakato volcano. rebecca henschke has this report from indonesia. a work party to celebrate the end of the year. on stage, the stars of the night, a local rock group in full swing,

when suddenly the waves engulf the stage from behind. four members of the band were killed. the singer asking his fans on social media to pray for them. this popular local tourist destination now a disaster zone. beach vendors look forward to this time of year, when local tourists flock to the beautiful beaches here. but now this is what their shops look like. places that would've been filled with tourists eating food and buying drinks now completely destroyed. amongst it the plates and drinks, knick—knacks that would've been bought. rani says she doesn't know how they will rebuild. translation: we were all set up for christmas and the new year holiday period, but it has all been destroyed by the waves and the rest has been stolen.

what am i going to do? families here say they had no warning and there was confusing information coming out from the government. translation: what was the government doing? at first they said there hadn't been a tsunami last night. they took ages to act. these waves were devastating. it was clearly a tsunami. here at this local clinic, desperate families carry out the grim task of trying to identify the dead. officials believe underwater landslides caused by volcanic eruptions at the nearby mount anak krakatoa may have triggered the huge waves and the volcano remains active. authorities are warning that there could be another tsunami and are telling people to stay away from the beaches. a man and a woman who were arrested in connection with drone activity

which caused widespread disruption at gatwick airport have been released without charge. sussex police say a damaged drone has been found and is being forensically examined. flights were grounded for more than 36 hours when drones were first spotted close to the runway on wednesday night. earlier i spoke to detective chief superintendent jason tingley from sussex police about the investigation. in relation to the two people released from custody, it's really important that we publicly say i am satisfied they aren't suspects with regards to this incident. i should also say they have fully co—operated all the time they've been in custody. we were working on information from a member of the public to progress that investigation. we have been dealing with that with a very open mind over the last couple of days whilst they've been in custody. we have also been furthering other lines of enquiry in terms of persons of interest, house—to—house inquiries where we've known where the drone sightings have been, and lastly, what is a significant

part of the investigation, the finding of a damaged drone close to the perimeter fencing at gatwick yesterday morning, which obviously we are investigating in terms of the forensic opportunities that may bring, both in a digital sense and also dna and otherwise. that is being done currently. we aren't back to square one, we are progressing as we were and will respond to any information or intelligence we get. to return to the couple who you were questioning, some will say they've been treated rather unfairly, they had done absolutely nothing wrong and yet images and names splashed all over the newspapers, and they are completely innocent. well, i'm satisfied the arrest of those two individuals was lawful. we've treated them and made sure we are looking after them in terms of that welfare and support after their release from custody. what i will say about the disclosure

of personal details and parts of the investigation in relation to those arrests, we will never from a policing perspective disclose that information. that has been disclosed through the media, and it causes some frustration in terms of the investigation itself, but more importantly the impact on those two individuals. we will pursue and progress information given to us, particularly from members of the public or intelligence from agencies. i can't stress enough the impact on those two individuals of what has been released, and we would not have chosen in any event to provide that information to anyone, and we wouldn't do that in any normal investigation. secondly, it frustrates the investigation in terms of that information being released in the public domain. particularly when there are specific parts of the evidence and investigation that we would rather not be out in the public domain.

it frustrates the effective and thorough investigation, and one might say that has probably hindered us in terms of how quickly we've been able to get to a resolution in terms of them being released from custody. how challenging has this investigation been? you're talking about a damaged drone that you have found. it sounds as if it's near to the airport. how certain are you that might have been one of the drones involved? it will be a working assumption that it may be connected. again, we have to look at this with a completely open mind. we will be forensically examining it, which is happening now. we are also going through a number, or many reports of sightings of drone activity over the last few days. we are meticulously going through that information to see if it produces any further lines of enquiry and also where we may focus efforts in terms of house—to—house inquiries, cctv footage and any other information that will help us work

through this investigation. you say you've got a completely open mind, are you even considering the possibility that there may not have been genuine drone sightings in the first place? that will always be a possibility, but what we are working with is a range of information from a number of people. that's members of the public, police officers and staff working at gatwick, who say they've seen a drone or something that looks like a drone in the sky in the previous few days. we have to work on that basis. we cannot discount the possibility that there may have been no drone at all, but actually if you think about the recovery of the drone itself i mentioned earlier, and also the number of people that say they have seen a drone, we have to work with that information. we will review that at every stage of this investigation,

whilst working in full consultation and engagement with gatwick airport ltd, and we have a strong relationship with those members of staff in terms of that gold command, and we'll review that as we work through many aspects of this investigation. new figures from the charity, crisis, suggest that more than 170,000 individuals and families are experiencing the most extreme forms of homelessness — which include sleeping on the street. it says many people are also living in what it describes as "unsuitable temporary accomodation". the singer, ellie goulding, is an ambassador for the charity and has urged people to interact with the homeless so they do not feel "ignored". she's been speaking to our correspondent angus crawford. i love the work that crisis do, i'm

an ambassador now. i love the service they provide, the volunteers are service they provide, the volunteers a re really, really service they provide, the volunteers are really, really great. people can come off the streets, they opened at 10am this morning. they can come from various other overnight shelters, come here for the day, get in the warm, happy tea, have a shower if they need to. it's a really nice atmosphere and safe environment. what the people who come here say about what it does for them? if anybody comes and talks to me, they always say how great crisis are and how much they've helped them. i see similarfaces, so i see faces i've seen previous years, and new faces too. i like to be here and listen to the stories if they want to talk about them. you're a londoner, do you get a sense of how easy it might be but for a few outcomes, for someone to end up on the street? yes, there is a big misconception about why people end

up misconception about why people end up being homeless. it's been on the rise for different factors and it's becoming easier to become vulnerable and in trouble. i think one thing that has occurred to me in the past couple of years is younger people perhaps coming out as gay or as transgender and their parents or family not really accepting it, so they feel like they have no choice but to leave that environment. so there is the hidden homeless. does this place give you some measure of hope? it does. crisis and other charities in london do such brilliant things to help short term. there does need to be more action taken long—term, more affordable housing and i think the government has pledged to end homelessness by 2020 or something like that. either way, it's unrealistic with the help thatis way, it's unrealistic with the help

that is being given right now. i a lwa ys that is being given right now. i always say to my fans and people who ask, interaction with someone is sometimes more important than giving money. just talking. tributes have been paid to the former liberal democrat leader, lord ashdown, who died yesterday at the age of 77. paddy ashdown led the party for more than a decade until 1999 and is credited with making the lib dems a significant third force in politics. theresa may said the former royal marine had dedicated his life to public service. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker has more. the military man turned diplomat and politician. paddy ashdown cut an impressive figure, and a popular one. his success in building up the liberal democrats after its painful merger in the late ‘80s means he leaves an undoubted legacy. the action man, unafraid to push political boundaries. come and join us. he never had the slightest sign of cowardice. he faced each situation calmly and in the light

of the facts and so on, and with a determination to have the best possible outcome. that courage, and a passion forforeign affairs, could cause some concern amongst colleagues. he took a great interest in the balkans, even when he was leader, and i used to try quite a lot of the time to persuade him not to go, because he exposed himself to risks, for example, going into sarajevo, running the gauntlet of snipers and shelling and things of that kind. but that's the kind of person he was. what you saw, you got, and a great deal more as well. although he never held high office himself, lord ashdown helped set the foundations for what the liberal democrats would eventually become, a party of coalition government, and he was never afraid to offer some sage advice to his successors. he came to see me in my office when i was deputy prime minister, and he said "i have to talk to you about something which is highly important, and will have a big effect on my political fortunes and that of the coalition."

and i thought, "what have i done wrong now?" he said, "you've got too fat. you must lose weight." and so anyway i received those instructions from him, and did try to act on them as well, as i always did. 0utspoken, dynamic, paddy ashdown was a man of irrepressible energy. he could sometimes exhaust his colleagues, but more often it would inspire them. jessica parker, bbc news. mps are warning that the way childcare is paid under the government's flagship benefits policy, universal credit, is preventing people accepting jobs. a report by the work and pensions committee says making parents pay for childcare costs upfront, then claiming the money back from the government, can leave households waiting weeks to be repaid. the headlines on bbc news. a tsunami strikes indonesia — at least 220 people are dead and more than 700 injured.

the death toll is expected to rise. two people arrested in connection with drone sightings at gatwick are released — police say they are no longer suspects. uk homelessness reaches a record high according to the charity crisis. sport — and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. good afternoon. rangers are back up to second in the scottish premiership after coming from behind to beat stjohnstone 2—1 at mcdiarmid park, but maanger stephen gerrard was far from happy and described their first half performance as "awful". joe lynskey reports. it's more congested than we're used to in the scottish premiership. right now, rangers had celtic on site at the top, but to keep up the challenge they would need perfection

in perth. this site hasn't lost at stjohnstone in eight years but that was under threat when matty kennedy put the home side in front. steven gerrard is learning patience with this side. it helps with a striker who steps up when it matters. this equaliser was alfredo morrell los's 18th goal of the season but he knew it wasn't enough, and with missed chances rangers time is running out. kyle lafferty was stopped by a lunch and a safe, but with two minutes left, back pain their colombia. this may become his most important moment, a goal that takes rangers within a point of the top. there is more work still to do but comebacks like this can revive a title bid. the last game before christams in the premier league is underway. it's at goodison park, everton are yet to win in december. tottengham are loooking for their fourth league win in a row to move 2 points behind second placed manchester city. leeds united are back on top

of the championship for christmas after beating aston villa 3—2 at villa park. villa were 2—0 up inside 20 minutes through tammy araham and a long distance effort from conor hourihane. a win would have taken them to two points off the play—off spots but with just over half an hour to play leeds hit back through jack clarke then pontus jannsen. it was heading for a draw before poor defending teed up kemar roofe. a 95th minute winner to send leeds top, one point ahead of norwich. there are two matches in the rugby union premiership, wasps have the chance of going third with a bonus point win at the ricoh arena, but bath have their noses in front thanks to freddie burns, he's scored all their points, a try and four penalties bottom side

newcastle are beating third placed gloucester, niki goneva with a try after the break as they lead ii—io. boxing promoter eddie hearn says that there is a very very good chance that dillian whyte will face anthonyjoshua for his world heavyweight titles in april. whyte is expected to be confirmed as the mandatory wbo challenger after knocking out dereck chisora in the 11th round at london's 02 arena last night. whyte lost to joshua three years ago but wants a rematch after last night's victory. joshua is due to fight someone next april at wembley stadium although wbc champ deontay wilder would be his preferred choice for a unification fight. joshua's talking rubbish, man. talking rubbish. i am not going to sit around and wait for him. i'm not going to waste four months of my career waiting for him, seeing what he is doing.

i haven't got time to do that. my career needs to progress. there's fighters that wait two years, wait to hear, wait for the call. i can't do that. time is ticking. there was a world title fight in manchester last night as josh warrington retained his ibf featherweight belt. it was a thrilling points win over carl frampton. warrington got the better of the former two weight champion frampton from the very first round but somehow the northern irishman managed to stay on his feet right up to the end. and have no pressure. don't get me wrong. everyone has doubts but once i get into the building, i won't get beat. something comes over me and i'll do anything to win, absolutely anything to win. i get this energy

from somewhere. i train hard in the gym, itrain from somewhere. i train hard in the gym, i train like a man possessed. it's still goalless at goodison park between everton and spurs. more now on the tsunami which has hit the coast of indonesia — killing more than 220 people and injuring hundreds of others. the tsunami waves struck at night without any warning, destroying hundreds of buildings. the tsunami is believed to have been caused by an undersea landslide following eruptions from the anak krakatoa volcano — striking coastal towns on either side of the sunda strait. 0ur correspondent rebecca henschke sent us this report from carita beach in westjava. this popular local tourist destination has been turned into a disaster area at a time when holiday—makers flock to these beautiful beaches here to celebrate christmas and the end of the year. all along this road that runs along the coast, we've seen devastation. on this side, the stalls and houses made out of bamboo and wood, all set up to receive visitors,

have been completely reduced to rubble. their owners devastated that at a time when they were hoping to make some money they've lost everything. 0n the other side of the road is the more substantial buildings. the villas and hotels made out of cement, that have also in places crumbled because of the waves. in one place we saw three cars that had been picked up by the waves, moved across the road and landed on the top of one of these destroyed villas. the number of injured is still in the hundreds, and many have been rushed to hospitals outside of this area that is not set up to cope with these kind of disasters. in one clinic we saw the body bags of those who died here laid out in the car park, with desperate family members having to come there to try to identify their loved ones.

the government is telling people to stay away from the beaches. this was an unusual and very unpredictable tsunami. it happened at night in the pitch black and they believe it was triggered by volcanic activity at anak krakatoa, the volcano that sits out in the sunda straits. it's been erupting and officials say an underground landslide may have been strong enough to trigger this tsunami. given that the volcano is still active, another tsunami may happen so people are very much on edge here and have been told to go to higher ground. rebecca henschke, bbc news, carita. the us government will remain partially shut down over christmas after politicians in the senate failed to resolve their differences over the budget, during a special session. democrats oppose donald trump's

plans to use federal funds to build a wall along the us—mexico border. there was further bad news for mr trump as his top official in the fight against so—called islamic state quit over the decision to pull us troops from syria. chris buckler reports. in the us, some government buildings have been closed and many federal employees have been told not to go to work, not because of christmas but because of a government shutdown. senators, however, were working. they were called to a special session of congress to try to find a funding deal acceptable to all. but without any sign of compromise, democrats and republicans were left simply blaming each other. they brought this about because they are under a lot of pressure, we all know this, from theirfar left, and feel compelled to disagree with the president on almost anything and certainly this. the row‘s about donald trump's long promise for a physical

barrier along the border between mexico and america. he's been unable to get mexico to pay for the controversial border wall. in the us, democrats have refused to give the president $5 billion he says he needs to build it. so mr president, president trump, if you want to open the government, you must abandon the wall, plain and simple. relationships between the white house and even some republicans in congress were damaged during the last week, after president trump made a surprise and sudden decision to pull us troops out of syria. it led to the resignation of his defence secretary, jim mattis, and now another member of his administration is leaving as a result of the president's plans. brett mcgurk is the us special envoy to the global coalition fighting the so—called islamic state group. in his resignation letter, he made clear his concerns

that the president's claims that is had been defeated were premature. only a week ago, mr mcgurk raised fears of an early end to the campaign in a bbc interview. the point is, the military commitment does not end with the end of the caliphate. that is absolutely right. there is no timeline on it? no timelines. washington is preparing for a short christmas break but goodwill is in short supply, and with a government shutdown and questions about presidential policy, this seems like a less than happy holiday for donald trump. chris butler, bbc news, washington. now it's time for a look at the weather with philip avery. hello again. if you've got travel plans for the next few days, it looks like christmas week isn't going to get in your way. settled, fair, thanks to an area of high pressure, although really rather dull and grey for many of us. it doesn't look particularly settled for the rest of the day and overnight, simply because we have this weather

front close by to the southern counties of england. at least that helps to keep temperatures up there. elsewhere, under clearing skies, it will be a cold start to the new day on monday. that's christmas eve, of course. and there will be some fog in the forecast for northern ireland, around the merseyside area as well. but monday is shaping up to be a really decent sort of day. late in the day, i think we'll find fog forming again across the line of the ai corridor. throughout the day, the cloudiest skies down towards the south—west. here we are, christmas day itself, a lot of cloud around. the best of the brightness somewhere across the eastern side of both scotland and england. mildest out towards the west. despite the sunshine, pretty chilly in the east. now it's time to join the team at bbc parliament, who've

been taking a look back at an unprecedented six months at westminster. alicia mccarthy reports. hello and welcome to westminster in review, as we take a look back at an extraordinary and tumultuous four months. on this programme — brexit divisions deepen and theresa may faces a vote of no confidence in her leadership. the number of votes cast in favour of having confidence in theresa may was 200, and against was 117. mps react furiously when the prime minister

presents her brexit deal. it is the political equivalent of being asked to jump out of a plane without knowing if your parachute is there and attached. and that's not all. the government comes under fire over its new benefits system. the chancellor unveils his budget. and mps are forced to take a long hard look at themselves after a damning report on harrassment and bullying. the report is clear that there needs to be a complete change in leadership at the most senior level, including you, mr speaker. it has been a long, fractious, and unpredictable few months here at westminster. a term that ended in the high drama of a confidence vote demanded by theresa may's own mps. the result of the ballot held here this evening is that the parliamentary party does have confidence in theresa may. the prime minister may have won that vote by 200 to 117, but how did we get to this moment

of division and crisis? in this programme, we'll be following the path that led to that challenge, the ins and outs of the brexit negotiations and some of the other stories that hit the headlines. for theresa may, the warning signs of trouble ahead had been clearfor months. she had no majority in the commons, relying on ten democratic unionists to win crucial votes, and her party was fundamentally split betweeen those who passionately wanted to remain in the eu and those who passionately wanted to leave. but even so, theresa may had gone over promotional trip to africa in august, believing that she had a plan known as the chequers deal, which she hoped to sell to the european union as britain's road map for leaving the eu. but, at a meeting of eu leaders in salzburg, her proposals were firmly rebuffed and the bad—tempered fallout from those talks led theresa may to make a blunt statement the next day. throughout this process, i have treated the eu

with nothing but respect. the uk expects the same. a good relationship at the end of this process depends on it. the major sticking point — how to prevent a physical border springing up between northern ireland and the irish republic. more on the tortuous way that developed a little later. but of course, while brexit dominated life at westminster, there were other problems for ministers to deal with. top of that list the new benefit system — universal credit. it combines six working age benefits into one with the aim of making the system simpler and helping people into work. 0pponents claim it's too inflexible and driving claimants into rent arrears and poverty. two former prime ministers, labour's gordon brown and the conservativejohn major, both warned of dire consequences if the roll—out continued unchanged.