this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines at 10: the home secretary, sajid javid, cuts short his holiday and returns to the uk to deal with the rising number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. the trade secretary liam fox says the chances of britain leaving the eu will only be 50—50, if mps reject the prime minister's brexit deal. also this hour — the government is urged to do more about the health risk from processed meats. scientists and politicians call for a ban on nitrates in bacon and ham — they say that when cooked, the chemicals can cause cancer. stars from the entertainment world remember comedy actress, dame june whitfield, best—known for her roles in terry and june and absolutely fabulous, who's died at the age of 93. and in half an hour, i'll be looking at a momentous year for science, when astronomers sent a probe to touch the sun. while back on earth, climate scientists warned it was now

or never to save the planet. let's review 2018, a year in science, with me, pallab ghosh. the home secretary, sajid javid, is returning to the uk today, after cutting short his holiday to deal with the rising number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. mrjavid is under pressure to take tougher action on the issue, but he's insisted there's no single easy answer. more than 220 migrants have attempted the crossing since the start of november. simon clemison reports from dover. risking their lives in a tiny boat, crossing the world's busiest shipping lane — these migrants are some of the 220

that have been picked up since the beating of november alone. the number is small compared with the million or so who crossed the mediterranean three years ago. but the figure is rising — up from a dozen who successfully crossed the channel last year. the home secretary is now promising further action, but it is not yet clear exactly what additional measures he's going to take. mps have called for more patrol boats capable of rescuing several dingies at once, but sajid javid has so far only said he will keep the numbers under review. he has spoken of continuing to ensure more is done to intercept boats, tackle traffickers, and deter and protect migrants. sajid javid is expected to speak to the french government later. as with the relatively calm conditions, the boats show no sign of stopping. earlier, our correspondent in dover, simon clemison, spoke to the town's mp, charlie elphicke, who called for a clear plan to tackle the crisis. i think the home secretary's been absolutely right in declaring a major incident,

appointing a gold commander, treating it seriously. this has been building up over the last two months. it's good he's taken personal charge. what we now need is a clear plan and a strategy. for me, that is have a dover patrol, with the five cutters, have more investment in our borders, particularly intelligence, and deeper cooperation with the french, and indeed working across the channel, and not being too specific about the 15 mile zone where our border is. be more flexible in treating it as a joint zone, where we work together with the french, so we can help repatriate people back to the northern french coast. and if they don't, the dangers are there for all to see, aren't they? absolutely. i think we have to do this and we have to work jointly with the french on a humanitarian basis. you know, it is the compassionate and humanitarian thing, to make sure that people don't leave northern france on perilous journeys across the english channel — a great hazard to their lives. remember, this isn't normal travelling, this is men, women and children on the high seas,

in the middle of winter, where they should not be. we've got to stop this and stop it now. earlier, our political correspondent, jessica parker, gave us an update on the reaction from the government. there are concerns that the worst could happen, that this is an incredibly dangerous journey that some people are taking. there has been a lot of focus on the number of patrol vessels, known as cutters, that are operating on the dover strait. only one in five of the border force fleet. the home secretary says it is under review but no easy answers with this issue. among the things we understand he will be doing today is talking to the french interior minister, because at the end of the day, to some extent, this problem is originating in calais. there needs to be that cross—channel working with france. no doubt that is something that maybe the government felt only the highest level officials and politicians could deal with at this stage, to give this situation the oomf needs

in what is a complicated and difficult matter. whilst we are talking about political developments, brexit, it has been relatively quiet on the brexit front over christmas. but liam fox has had something to say today about what would happen if the prime minister doesn't get her brexit deal through parliament. yes, he said if she doesn't get her brexit deal through parliament, he thinks there is only a 50—50 chance that brexit will happen at all. he has been talking to the sunday times about this. we know, liam fox, international trade secretary, he likes to put numbers on things. i think it august last year he said he thought a no deal scenario was 60—40. that headline was well discussed at the time. i this is part of a wider government tactic we have been seeing, warning conservative mps who do want to deliver on brexit that if they reject theresa may's deal, and it looked like they would, that is why she pulled and delayed the vote, they risk getting no brexit at all. liam fox reiterating that argument, saying parliament cannot now with any honour renege on the result

of the referendum. if they were to do so, they would shatter the bond of trust between the electorate and parliament and that would put us in unprecedented territory with unknowable consequences. so, those warnings, that pressure on conservative mps to get behind theresa may's deal continues. we know the vote is now due in mid—january. leading figures from the world of entertainment have been remembering dame june whitfield, who has died at the age of 93. her career spanned more than 70 years, encompassing many of the highlights of british comedy. sarah campbell looks back at her life. kiss me, kiss me, bite me! bite you?! bite me! i can't, dear, i'm a vegetarian! in a career spanning seven decades, june whitfield played alongside some of british comedy‘s greatest talents. what's it like, living in the jungle? well, it's. .. 0h... drums play. it's rather dull and boring, really.

i realised very early on that i was never going to play the glamorous, you know, leading lady roles. and serious roles, i always thought, "ooh, i'd better not do that. they might laugh at me." and laugh they did. as a comedy performer, she first found fame on the radio in the 1950s, appearing in take it from here opposite jimmy edwards. in the 1970s, she teamed up with her regular comedy partner, terry scott, in terry and june. hello, darling. i'm having awful trouble deciding what to give you tonight. well, you can start on an explanation. i'm talking about food. what about eating out? what about the garage? 0h, i'd much prefer a restaurant. # wheels on fire...# but, to younger audiences, june whitfield will be best known

as edina's mother in ab fab. inside of me, there is a thin person just screaming to get out. just the one, dear? laughter. and, even in old age, she continued to delight audiences on programmes like radio's news huddlines. a versatile and reliable performer to the end. here are some of the many tributes tojune whitfield: comedian and actress miranda hart, tweeted: actress and absolutely fabulous co—star, joanna lumley said: and comedian

and actor rory bremnar said... june whitfield. remembered. a group of scientists, doctors and politicians is calling on the government to do more to limit the health risks in processed meats. in a letter, they say there should be a ban on the chemicals — used in products such as bacon and ham — which they say can cause cancer. andy moore reports. nitrates are often used in meat processing. this letter claims there's a consensus of scientific opinion that those chemicals convert to cancer—causing agents when eaten. it says the consumption of processed meats leads to 6,600 bowel cancer cases every year in the uk.

that's around four times the number of people killed on britain's roads. this group wants the industry to increase its efforts to remove nitrates from the curing process, and it wants the government to step up its public health campaign. the letter says... the letter is signed, among others, by by the deputy labour leader, tom watson, the conservative mp sir david amis, and the liberal democrat baroness walmsley. nhs guidance says eating a lot of red and processed meat probably increases the risk of bowel cancer. it advises anyone consuming more than three ounces of day to cut their intake to about two and a half ounces. the world health organization says eating just two slices bacon a day increases the risk of bowel cancer by nearly 20%. andy moore, bbc news.

councils in england should be forced to consult local communities before cutting down trees, according to proposals from the environment secretary michael gove. it follows three years of protests in sheffield, where more than 5,000 trees were chopped down and replaced. mr gove says it's right that residents have a say. the labour mp lucy powell has accused private schools of cheating the exam system to improve their results, by entering pupils for international gcses. the exams have been criticised as less rigorous than the standard exams taken by most state school pupils. in a statement, the department for education said, "the international gcses had not been through the same approval and quality control process as the new gold standard gcses, which is why they are no longer recognised in school performance tables. " the health secretary, matt hancock, has set out plans

to provide better support for mothers and babies in england, to try to halve the number of stillbirths, and maternal and infant deaths by 2025. he said the measures would make the nhs the best place in the world to give birth. 0ur health correspondent smitha mundasad reports. more than 646,000 babies were born in england last year. and the vast majority of new arrivals were delivered safe and well. but, tragically, this is not always the case. in 2017, there were 2679 stillbirths. and last year, 1857 babies died in their first month of life. there have been steady improvements in the last few years. but there are concerns that england's maternity services lag behind some other european countries. the health secretary's ambition is to make england the best place to give birth in the world.

there's a whole package of safety measures around maternity care to make sure that we have the right number of midwives. we will have 3000 more midwives. we've got record midwives in training at the moment. and we want to make sure that the very best care that we see in the best hospitals is replicated right across the country. the new measures include more specialist neonatal staff to care for newborns. and more cots in intensive care. more mothers will get physiotherapy after childbirth. and child health records, known by many as the red book, will soon be available on smartphones, making it easier to share information between parents, carers and the nhs. the hope is these measures will go some way to helping the nhs save an additional 4000 lives by 2025. but some will argue that much more needs to be done to keep both mothers and babies safe.

some breaking news coming into us about a murder investigation in wigan. we are just hearing from police that a 21—year—old man has died following an attack outside a house. officers were called by the ambulance service on friday night. reports a man had been assaulted in wigan william livesley was taken to hospital but died of his injuries on saturday night. greater manchester police now saying a murder investigation is under way. there will be a postmortem examination. the 57—year—old man is still in custody for questioning, after he was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit attempted murder. 38—year—old man was arrested

on suspicion of attempted murder but has since been released with no further action. more on that as it into us. the headlines on bbc news... the home secretary, sajid javid, cuts short his holiday and returns to the uk to deal with the rising number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. the chances of britain leaving the eu will be about 50—50, if the prime minister's withdrawal agreement is rejected by mps, the international trade secretary liam fox has told the sunday times. stars from the entertainment world remember comedy actress, dame june whitfield, best—known for her roles in terry and june and absolutely fabulous, who's died at the age of 93. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. a big smile on the faces of liverpool fans like me this morning! very brave of you to admit it.

liverpool are nine points clear at the top of the premier league this morning following their emphatic win over arsenal yesterday. tottenham remain in second, despite a surprise home defeat to wolves, and at the bottom, there were wins for fulham and cardiff. adam wild was watching the action. around anfield, the best way to avoid the post—christmas blues is to follow the reds. the festive season to savour with liverpool reaching highs, their hopes on the rise as well. they had gone behind against arsenal, but two goals in 90 seconds from roberto firmino turned this right around. a third from sadio mane, the kind of free—flowing brilliance to which their fans have become accustomed. mo salah added a fourth from the penalty spot, before firmino did the same for his hat—trick. you'll never walk alone is liverpool's famous anthem, but, in truth, no one can keep up. i thought we were really good in the game, and we did exactly what we wanted to do.

yeah, for 2018, i have nothing to mourn about any more. —— to moan about. there has of late been plenty of festive cheer at tottenham — harry kane here adding a little more sparkle. goodness me. what a strike from harry kane. but that was as bright as it got. in the second half, spurs faltered, wolves pouncing on any sign of weakness — three goals in the final 18 minutes. how quickly moods can change. the same can be said at fulham. not much to cheer about there this season, so when they were awarded a penalty against fellow strugglers huddersfield, the last thing they needed was a squabble about who would take it. aboubakar kamara won that row. he might wish he hadn't. so aleksandar mitrovic had a point to prove. three points for fulham was his final word on the matter. perhaps the goal of the day came from cardiff's victor camarasa. it came late against leicester, but worth waiting for, as they end their year in spectacular style.

manchester city could overtake spurs with victory on the south coast, they take on southampton. burnley host west ham. manchester united ta ke host west ham. manchester united take on bournemouth in the late kick—off but before that, crystal palace and chelsea as at midday with live text commentary from the bbc news website. rangers moved level on points with scottish premiership leaders celtic after beating them 1—0 at ibrox. brendan rodgers's first defeat in 13 games. hearts beat hibs1—0 at easter road in the edinburgh derby. olly lee scored the only goal there. however, the match was overshadowed by alleged racial abuse against hearts player clevid dikamona. a 64—year—old hibs fan has been arrested. india's cricketers have beaten australia in melbourne to go 2—1 up in the four test series.

australia still needed 1111 more runs to win at the start of the final day, but only had two wickets remaining and they lost both of those for just three runs. it was the first time india have won a test match in melbourne since 1981. staying with cricket, asutralia's cameron bancroft could manage only two on his competitve return to the sport this morning. bancroft was one of three players banned for ball tampering during a test match against south africa last march. he's playing for perth scorchers against hobart hurricanes this morning, but was out after facing just three balls. two—time champions gary anderson and michael van gerwen will meet in the pdc world championship semi—finals later. anderson beat dave chisnall 5—2 in his quarterfinal while number one seed van gerwen beat world number 7a ryan joyce 5—1. the other semi this evening will be between michael smith and nathan aspinall. that's all the sport for now.

i will have more for you in the next hour. but for the moment, i will have more for you in the next hour. but forthe moment, back i will have more for you in the next hour. but for the moment, back to you. great stuff, thank you. anti—government demonstrations have continued across france for a seventh weekend, with the so—called yellow vest protesters taking to the streets. police fired tear gas in paris and barricades were set alight in bordeaux. georgina smythe has the story. the seventh saturday of yellow vest protests. and the streets of france are still burning. this scene, filmed by onlookers on the streets of paris, the latest in a movement that ignited with fuel tax increases and exploded into so much more. an olive branch of tax and salary concessions was offered by president macron early this month, but anger is still high across france. in bordeaux, police barricades were hijacked by demonstrators, stacked high and set alight. further north, in nantes,

canisters of tear gas were deployed, as peaceful demonstrations turned violent. translation: we will continue until we win, until macron backs down and gives us what we deserve — more purchasing power, less taxes, a healthy life, without having to tighten and tighten the belt at the end of every single month. in the capital, yellow vests converged on the steps of media outlets, ensuring the movement stays firmly on the news agenda. translation: i do not think we are slowing down. i think there is a desire to discredit the movement, a willingness to say the yellow vests are slowing down. but that is not the case. organisers of the capital's new year's eve fireworks and light show say preparations will continue for the event, despite plans for more protests on the night. a message to the government that the movement will not fade for 2019. there have been clashes

between supporters of rival political parties in bangladesh as people queued up to vote in the general eleciton. at least seven people were killed; two were shot dead by police. the prime minister, sheikh hasina, is seeking a third successive term. more than a hundred million bangladeshis were eligible to vote. the bbc‘s yogita limaye is in the capital, dhaka, and sent this report. people lining up here in the city of dhaka to cast their vote. inside there, it is still a paper ballot, so it's on a piece paper these people can tick off their choice. but for the first time bangladesh, in six constituencies, electronic voting machines are also being used. now, during their selection, the opposition has very strongly said that it's not been a fair one. the main opposition party here in bangladesh, the bangladesh national party, their leader, their big face, khaleda zia, is injail

on corruption charges. she says they are politically motivated, but she cannot contest this election. and in other ways as well, the opposition says the electoral commission has been biased against them, that the police have been acting as an extension of the ruling party in detaining and arresting their activists. now, i put all of these allegations, i asked prime minister sheikh hasina about them two days ago. she said they are not true. she said the opposition has lost the confidence of the people and that is why they are making these accusations. her main pitch to the people of bangladesh is that her government has brought development to this country. that the rate of growth has increased rapidly and that poverty levels have been falling as well. indeed, on the ground, when you drive around the city of dhaka, pretty much everywhere you will see posters of candidates from the prime minister's awami league party. it's actually really hard to find any campaign material or flyers from the opposition. what we also saw on the last day of campaigning here in the city of dhaka was lots of street marches,

tens of thousands of people from the awami league party, supporters of the prime minister, out on the streets, campaigning for her. on the other side, it was quite quiet, just a few door—to—door campaigns. they are saying they were not given permission to hold big rallies or political marches, at least in this city, at least in dhaka. so, increasingly on the ground, it does feel like a very one—sided contest. a man credited with saving the lives of about 350 jewish children during the second world war has died, aged 108. georges loinger would take the children to play football on a pitch near the border with neutral switzerland, where they'd slip through an unguarded fence to safety. the resistance hero was later awarded the french military cross, and the holocaust memorial foundation described him as an "exceptional man". russian president vladimir putin has

taken to the ice on red square for a traditional festive game of ice hockey with fellow government officials and former nhl stars. mr putin is known to be a big hockey fan, and is always keen to show the public how fit and healthy he is. the favourite is one of the leading contenders at the upcoming awards season. the film is set in the early 18th century, when a frail queen anne, played by olivia colman, occupies the throne. the plot follows rachel weisz and emma stone, as they squabble to become court favourites. the british actors, joe alwyn and nicholas hoult, caught up with our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba ahead of the cinema release. dearest queen, how goes the kingdom? this oscar—tipped comedy—drama follows the behind—the—scenes manoeuvring as everyone tries to win favour with an eccentric queen. look at me!

how dare you?! close your eyes! playing two of the scheming characters, a pair of britain's brightest young stars — joe alwyn and nicholas hoult. he is a politician who is playing the chess game of the court and trying to get to the queen's ear, because then he knows he can gain what he wants in that world, so he's very manipulative. i'm not the brightest character. i think i'm a bit of an airhead, who is running around after abigail, lustfully, and there's this cat—and— mouse power play between the two of them in the scenes they're together, and she uses him. he has some status, and she uses him for that. although set in the 18th century, the story explores power and relationships in a way that still has a relevance today. go back to your rooms. thank you. making these things is — when you're inside the bubble of it, it's not something you're

necessarily aware of. but when it comes out, especially in the current climate, there are comparisons both in terms of politics, or even gender politics. he is referring to the fact that, unusually for hollywood, the three most powerful characters are all women — a refreshing and significant change to the kind of films the cast are used to being offered. sometimes you read scripts, and i've noticed it before, where you read it and you think, that's not a well—developed female character. it's trying to be put into an archetype that doesn't exist. so, yes, it's important for it to reflect what is happening in society, definitely. may i exhort the chamber to roar a mighty hurrah for her majesty in her brilliant decision not to raise the land tax. the film is overflowing with british talent, something often seen as a quality mark to us audiences. it's the accent! i think we're hard—working, i think that's something about it, and also that we love what we do.

i think sometimes — nearly all the brits that i know are in it for the right reasons. you know, so that's a big thing for it. but yes, also the accent. it has already been recognised at awards ceremonies here and in the us, and if the favourite ends up living up to its name at next year's academy awards, few will be surprised. now it's time for a look at the weather. we can cross the newsroom to helen willetts. how is it looking? more of the same, i'm afraid, if you don't like the cloudy weather. drier, high pressure all week so very little rain. that is how it will continue for 2019. but with some subtle changes to how the weather feels. at the moment out there it feels quite mild, given we are at the end of december and temperatures would normally be in

single figures. but today again, in double figures. it is mild and mild because of the cloud and wind direction, are south—westerly. drizzle across the scottish mountains, through cumbria as well, some drizzle in the welsh mountains and perhaps northern ireland. but hoping for brightness in the midlands, north—east england, possibly southern and east area is less likely. overnight, where we have clear skies, it will fill in with more mist and fog towards morning but all that moisture and cloud should act like a blanket and stop those temperatures from falling very low. 3—4 in the countryside is the lowest we will see. fog becomes the lowest we will see. fog becomes the main hazard if you are travelling tomorrow morning. the big change tomorrow is this where the front for the north of scotland, blowing a gale for the northern isles. as it come southwards in the evening, but the celebrations, it wea ke ns evening, but the celebrations, it weakens dramatically. behind that, the colder air is sitting for the start of the year. a mild day tomorrow but tomorrow but getting much colder as we start 2019. it

feels really strange to say but yes, a big change on the way. and you