this is bbc news i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 9:003m. the home secretary prepares to chair a meeting this morning with the border force and other agencies, as he attempts to deal with the rising number of migrants trying to cross the channel. 39 people are arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing in west london. the uk's political leaders deliver their new year messages — with a focus on britain's departure from the eu. big ben tolls. big ben's famous "bongs" are set to ring out at midnight tonight heralding the start of 2019 — even though building works are still taking place in the elizabeth tower. 2018 in the uk has seen months of extreme weather. join us from cumbria in the next hour to see the effects it had on the rural year. the home secretary,

sajid javid, will chair a meeting of the border force and the national crime agency later, as he attempts to halt the flow of migrants trying to reach the uk across the channel. mrjavid returned to the uk this morning, cutting short a family holiday in south africa, to work out how to stem the problem, which has seen more than 200 migrants make the crossing since november. the uk and france have agreed to step up joint patrols but some backbench mps have criticised the home office for being too slow to act. simon clemison reports. the coastguard helicopter on patrol above the kent shoreline. but even though there is now closer monitoring of the english channel, will it be enough to tackle the rising number of migrants

risking everything to reach the uk? in yet another crossing, six iranian men were found on a beach near dover yesterday not long after the home secretary promised action having come under increased pressure. in an interview with the telegraph today, sajid javid told the newspaper the reasons behind the spike were complicated and often beyond the government's control. he said the problem was being fuelled by instability in the middle east, more people smugglers and tighter security at calais. yesterday, the home secretary agreed a joint action plan with france to try to deter migrants and disrupt criminal gangs involved in trafficking. but some mps, including his own backbenchers, feel there's not enough detail and have called for more specialist border force patrol boats to be deployed. the home secretary says the problems are complex and there are many strands to this. while he may tackle trafficking, there is evidence migrants are making their own crossings in their own way. some believe they have to get a cross

before brexit. and then there is the weather, not that anyone should make these crossings in the way that they do, but warmer and calmer conditions are also a factor. when the home secretary says there are no easy a nswe i’s , secretary says there are no easy answers, his critics are looking for many more answers than he is giving. simon clemison, bbc news, dover. our correspondent simonjones is in doverfor us now. good morning. what can we expect from the home secretary in this meeting he is chairing today, and it might have an impact where you are? i think the home secretary has been under great pressure to see that he is taking a grip of this situation. overnight i think he has tried to dampen expectations, the idea that he can return to the country, fly back after his holiday and immediately solve the problem overnight. he has been pointing out it's a very complex issue to solve. he has pointed out, for example, that it begins with the instability

in the middle east, years have been spent trying to solve that issue. also, once migrants get across to northern france, they often fall victim to traffickers who are selling people the idea that it's pretty easy to get across the channel. it's just a few miles from france, not pointing out that this is the busiest shipping lane in the world. having said that, there is pressure for him to do something, to be seen to do something. and one of theissues be seen to do something. and one of the issues that is going to be talked about with border force officials and the national crime agency is how they can step up cooperation with french authorities to try to tackle those people traffickers. once again, that's not a quick issue to solve, and it's not one to solve. the national crime agency say they are trying to make progress infiltrating those gangs but it takes time to do that. what people ultimately want to see here isa people ultimately want to see here is a stop to the crossings and how best to do that, and that will be discussed. but as he says, not an

easy solution. we know the local mp among others has called for the number of border force cutters to be increased in the channel. most of them are in the mediterranean at the moment. is that an obvious step for sajid javid to take and would it make a difference? when we talk about long—term solutions such as the middle east and people traffickers, one thing sajid javid could do immediately is say, i will increase the number of cutters out on the channel. currently only one of the five border force cutters are patrolling the channel, along with two coastal patrol vessels. there is concern in the home office as to what message that would send out. sajid javid has been quizzed on this before, asked about it at the home affairs committee in november and he said at that stage the danger is if they were putting more cutters in they were putting more cutters in the channel they would be seen as rescue vessels instead of patrol boats. that question needs to be looked at and he has asked the borderforce to look looked at and he has asked the border force to look at it so he has

pushed it more into longer term thinking. local mp charlie elphicke says he wants the ships back now and he believes some of the small boats are being dropped off by larger boats, mother ships to bring them closer to the channel, to dover here, and then drop them off because some of the boats are so overloaded it's not likely they could make the journey entirely off their own accord. so he wants action on that front. we have been told france and britain will work together to increase joint patrols. but what we don't have his great detail on what that involves and we hope today, and what local mps want to hear is specific details on what will happen right now out in the channel to stop these boats launching in the first place and detect them if they do launch. simon jones in dover, thank you. 39 people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing in west london. police were called to fulham palace road in hammersmith shortly before iam this morning. a man in his thirties has been taken to hospital with life threatening injuries.

our reporter greg mckenzie is at the scene. what more do we know about what happened? what we know is that police were called here to fulham palace road in hammersmith in south—west london at iam this morning to reports of a man in his 30s who had suffered serious stab wounds. he was rushed to hospital where his condition is said to be life—threatening. shortly after that police 39 people, 39 individuals, all being held on suspicion of attempted murder. this morning at the scene for rinsing officers have been here all morning and there is a heavy police presence still here with three separate police cordons, onejust behind me, as i move the camera, and then one to my left and just beyond that there is a bus stop where there is another police cordon. just behind me there is a

bloodstained pavement where the victim collapsed, we are told. witnesses are saying when the 39 people were arrested, they believed they were... they overheard them giving false information to the police. fake names and addresses, hence they were all arrested. we have not confirmed that with the police, who have said it's an active investigation and 39 people are currently being held and questioned over this attempted murder. knife crime has been a huge story this year, especially in the capital. this incident only serves to remind us this incident only serves to remind us again of that. that's right. it has been a busy year for the metropolitan police with stabbing upon stabbing up on the stabbing. i have covered more than 50 stabbings in london alone this year. that figure is much higher. more than 150 in fact. stabbings in the capital, local seer, and it's quite affluent in fulham, and they say they are not

immune. it's happening on most people's doorsteps on a day to day basis. whether the mayor and government need to do more... inaudible youth workers have told me the government need to do much more. youth have nothing to do. there is gang crime, people carrying knives to protect themselves. those are just some of the issues to tackle, but it's not an easy solution. greg mckenzie, thank you for the update, on the scene of that stabbing. political leaders have focused on brexit in their traditional new year messages. jeremy corbyn has accused the government of making a mess of britain's departure from the eu. he says labour are ready to deliver a radical but fairer alternative to mrs may's deal. the liberal democrat leader, sir vince cable, says the next three months are critical, warning there were only 90 days left for the country to change course. as we enter 2019, time is ticking down on brexit. the history books

will look back on the coming three months as critical to our future. are we going to make a terrible mistake, leaving behind our influence in europe's successful peace project, and the world's biggest marketplace? or are the british people, in the final hours, going to be given a chance to reconsider in the light of the facts that have come to the surface in the last two years? after two long years of negotiation, the prime minister has brought back a deal that satisfies nobody. her reaction is to try to frighten people with the prospect of a no—deal brexit. with the potential for serious disruption in travel and business. in reality, that can't happen unless she decides it should. the only way forward is to have a people's vote with the option to remain. it's a campaign that we the liberal democrats started, and now millions of people

have joined us started, and now millions of people havejoined us in demanding a better future than brexit britain has to offer. prime minister theresa may is expected to deliver her new year message later today. some breaking news coming to us from the metropolitan police about a fatal accident in london in the early hours of this morning. police were called to a junction in dagenham just before 2am this morning, of the a13, at that which‘s hatjunction. a car travelling the wrong way down the carriageway. shortly afterwards it was involved in a collision with a taxi heading in the opposite direction. officers and london ambulance service attended the scene but despite their efforts, a woman in her70s, but despite their efforts, a woman in her 70s, the driver of the car travelling in the wrong direction,

and the taxi driver, a man in his 40s, both died of their injuries. the governing alliance in bangladesh has won a landslide victory in the country's election — giving the prime minister, sheikh hasina, a third consecutive term in power. opposition parties have complained of fraud and vote—rigging —— and have demanded another election. at least 18 people have been killed in violent clashes. our correspondent yogita limaye is following developments in the country's capital, dhaka. we were out speaking to a lot of people yesterday at the polling booths and i have to say that despite the allegations that this was not a fair election and the opposition parties didn't really have a chance to campaign, there were a lot of people on the ground who support prime minister sheikh hasina. she is a popular leader here, credited with bringing development to the country and bringing down poverty levels. and so we did find a lot of her supporters. the one pattern that was clear was that they were the ones who were more vocal and willing to speak to us on record. anyone who might have possibly voted for the opposition or who had a different point of view was quite intimidated, quite scared

to speak to us on record. but we did hear, one man for example told us that when he reached a polling booth with his entire family, many members actually found their votes had already been cast, even though they had just showed up there to vote. so these are the examples we are hearing. also a bbc bengali service reporter who was covering the election in the chittagong area saw ballot boxes that had already been filled even before polling began. the election commission has said it will look into these alleged irregularities, but this is a body that has been accused of bias by the opposition. the headlines on bbc news... the home secretary prepares to chair a meeting this morning with the border force and other agencies, as he attempts to deal with the rising number of migrants trying to cross the channel. 39 people are arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a stabbing in west london.

the uk's political leaders deliver their new year messages — with a focus on britain's departure from the eu. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine. let's start with the premier league, and manchester city — who had a bit of a wobble over christmas, but are back up to second after beating southampton. adam wild rounds up the action. having grown used to setting the premier league pace we now see manchester city learning to chase. that furrowed brow not without good reason. back—to—back defeats meaning they could ill afford another slip—up, not that it looked likely when they went ahead against southampton but a thunderous equaliser from pam il southampton but a thunderous equaliserfrom pam il hojbjerg saw the crowds of concern descend once more. they didn't descend for long.

two goals before half—time settled this one with city seven points behind leaders liverpool. at least some are learning to enjoy the thrill of the chase. they are doing well but the problem is the team is the best team in europe, the best tea m the best team in europe, the best team in the world right now in the top four but we have to accept it. victory put city four points clear of chelsea who needed just a single strike from n'golo kante to see off crystal palace. smiles there. something that had been in short supply at old trafford. that was before ole gunnar solskjaer took over manchester united. players it seems are now free to express themselves. paul pogba, criticised, even vilified under the previous regime, now, like his team, seemingly enjoying himself once more, having re—found his rhythm. he scored twice against bournemouth. marcus rashford and romilly lukaku doing the rest. united looking more like their old self. i probably would have watched this game on

telly, having some crisps and cake. so it's better to be here, to be fair. a troubled year, ending on a high for burnley. a victory over west ham gives them hope of better times ahead. adam wild, bbc news. the premier league is after a new boss, only a few weeks after hiring one. susanna dinnage had agreed to take over from richard scudamore as chief executive, but she's now changed her mind. she's going to stay in her current role with the discovery channel after deciding that she didn't want to leave broadcasting. bath are up to 5th in rugby union's premiership after beating leicester last night. they ran in three ties to win 23—16 — rory mconochie racing down the line for the third. elsewhere bristol beat newcastle to increast the gap between the two sides at the bottom of the league. how about this for a mix—up

in the pro—14 — two ospreys players bamboozled by the bouncing ball. dragons wing jared rosser the happy recipient, as they beat ospreys by a point — it's the first time they've beaten a fellow welsh side in 4 years. michael van gerwen is through to the final of the pdc world darts championship. the dutch two—time champion was in superb form at ally pally and swept to a 6—1win over scotland's gary anderson in their semi—final. van gerwen will play michael smith, who ended the run of nathan aspinall to reach his first world championship final. both men were playing in the last fourfor the first time, but smith came out on top 6—3. andy murray may never be free of pain in his troublesome hip. that's according to the surgeon who operated on murray at the beginning of the year. drjim o'donnell says it's murray's "intense desire to do really well" that's kept his tennis career going. he's playing in the brisbane open which starts today. he is due on court in the early hours of tomorrow morning. and he looks to be enjoying himself. here he is with rafa nadal, nick kygios, jo—wilfred tsonga and kai nishikori, just about to welcome in 2019,

it's just after half past five in the evening in brisbane. and let's take advantage of it being winter to watch a bit of ski jumping. this is germany's andreas wellinger. he's a double—olympic gold medallist. he did the hard bit, landing thejump. but then struggled with the flat bit. that's all the sport for now. idid i did have to laugh at that. it's quite something. poor guy! the majority of councils in england didn't prosecute a single motorist for misusing a disabled parking permit in the last 12 months, according to data from the department for transport. that's despite the number of blue badges reported as stolen in that time, rising by 45% on the previous year. the local government association says authorities have limited resources to carry out enforcement,

as john mcmanus reports. they're a lifeline for around 2.4 million motorists who have some form of disability. blue badges allow holders to park free of charge in pay—and—display bays, and for up to three hours on yellow lines. that makes the permits very valuable, and the number of badges reported as stolen rose to more than 4,000 last year. yet data from the department for transport and analysed by the press association shows that most councils in england, including middlesbrough, nottingham and shropshire, failed to take action against a single motorist for misusing the permits over the last 12 months. of those that did, the largest number of prosecutions were in three boroughs, hammersmith & fulham, newham in london, and leeds. i think the figures show that councils will enforce where they've got the evidence. you know, this is a hard crime to prove. clearly, we have to stick around and find out when we see somebody using a blue badge, we have to gain a large amount of evidence

before we prosecute. the disability charity scope has called the level of prosecutions disgraceful, and pointed out that this is not a victimless crime. john mcmanus, bbc news. concerns have been raised about new eu fishing laws that come into effect tomorrow. crews will have to take fish back to port that would normally have been discarded to prevent them going over quotas. a house of lords committee says it's concerned about how the scheme will work. catriona renton has more. new rules mean from tomorrow any fish caught by british trawlers must be landed. in the past, fish that took boats over their quota would be thrown overboard or discarded. the aim is to avoid wasting fish and to encourage crews to be more selective. the scottish fishing federation says the laws are well intended, but it's the fallout that could cause problems. everyone, most especially including the scots fishing industry, is instinctively against discarding.

so, the problem is agreed. the solution is not agreed. peterhead is the biggest white fish port in europe. here, a variety of fish, including haddock, cod, whiting and plaice are caught at the same time. different types of fish have different quotas. but according to the new rules, when a boat catches its quota of any species, it will now have to stop fishing. fresh fish is of course important to fish and chip shops, and one of the concerns that the committee has raised is that if boats can't discard and have to stop fishing earlier in the year, then millions of pounds worth of fish might not get caught, and some industry experts are concerned for the knock—on effects onto places like this. ultimately, many in the fishing industry argue that brexit will bring an end to brussels' imposed quotas. the department for environment, food and rural affairs said workable solutions to alleviate the risk to mix fisheries have been ensured. they say they are aware of the challenges posed

by the new laws and will continue to work with the industry to address this. catriona renton, bbc news. fewer than half of people over the age of a0 in england have taken up a free health check that could lower their risk of developing dementia. the 20 minute assessment, which screens for heart problems, kidney disease and type 2 diabetes, has only been taken by a minority of the 15 million people eligible for it over the past five years. nhs england says those with a history of heart disease are at least twice as likely to develop vascular dementia. more than 10,000 restaurant workers in britain have lost theirjobs in the past year, according to new research. a rise in the minimum wage and a fall in the value of the pound are being blamed. the centre for retail research forecasts about the same number ofjobs will be lost in 2019. the outgoing white house chief of staff, john kelly, has given a candid interview about his experience working for president trump.

mr kelly told the los angeles times his record should bejudged by what the president did not do while he was chief of staff, rather than by the controversial measures that were introduced. the former general said the president's wall, planned for the mexican border, was more like a fence, and said he felt compassion for migrants trying to enter the united states. as 2018 draws to a close, we're taking a look at what the coming year may hold, and today we're looking at space. it will be 50 years since mankind took its first giant steps on the moon, but the biggest developments could come in tourism and deep space exploration. here's our science correspondent, victoria gill. in 2019, it will be 50 years since the apollo 11 mission first sent people to the surface of the moon, and while it might seem like the heyday of the space race and that one small step for man

is something to reflect on with nostalgia, the year ahead is set to bring us some pretty exciting space—based developments. it'll start on new year's day, when nasa's new horizons spacecraft will zoom past and grab some snapshots of a distant world called ultima thule, at the outer reaches of our solar system. that will make this mysterious object, that's 1.6 billion kilometres beyond pluto, the furthest world ever observed up close. a little closer to home, the us space agency's insight lander or technically mars—quakes. will begin to listen for earthquakes on mars, or technically mars—quakes. the lander‘s onboard toolkit will drill into the red planet's surface to plant a seismometer and pick up vibrations. by studying the deep interior of mars, the mission team hopes we can learn how other rocky worlds, including earth and the moon, actually formed.

speaking of which, the moon is very much on the exploration agenda for india and china's space agencies. just in time for the apollo 11 anniversary, india will take a shot at earth's only natural satellite with its chandrayaan—2 mission, consisting of an orbiter, a lander, and a roving vehicle that will sift and study the lunar terrain. as the schedule currently stands, that will launch hot on the heels of china's endeavour to send the first ever spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon. and it's set to be a milestone year for human space travel. both boeing and spacex will test fly the capsule they'll use to ship astronauts to the international space station. and if you're keen to get involved, there could be chance. there could be a chance. space tourism companies blue origin and virgin galactic are planning to blast off with paying customers in 2019 too. willing adventurers will be propelled above the atmosphere and briefly experience weightlessness, before coming back down to earth. and the ticket will be a snip, at around $0.25 million us. extra protection has

been given to a statue of the suffragette, emmeline pankhurst, in westminster. it was unveiled in 1930 and has been in its current spot — close to the house of lords — since 1959. in september, plans to move the statue to another location were dropped after a public outcry. its upgraded listed status means it now has greater protection against being relocated, altered or demolished. big ben's famous "bongs" are set to ring out at midnight tonight, heralding the start of 2019. the elizabeth tower is undergoing extensive work, and the clock mechanism has been removed for maintenance. our corrspondent tim muffett has been finding out how the famous bongs will be able to ring out tonight. typically, it's 399 steps to the top of what's surely britain's most commonly misnamed building,

but refurbishment of the elizabeth tower — which houses the bell, big ben — means that right now, the journey‘s much quicker. good to see you. wow, this is an amazing spot, isn't it? it's a huge privilege, obviously, to be able to do this. the fabric of the building suffered bomb damage during the second world war. there've been various repairs since then, and this is the first opportunity we've had really to take it apart from top to bottom and do a thoroughjob on it. work began early last year and is due to last until 2021. it's meant scaffolding and silence, instead of familiar sights and sounds. a lot of tourists have been very upset by it, they've only come to london to see the clock tower itself but, you know, at the end of the day, the time has come for maintenance, unfortunately. bell rings. for almost 160 years, the hammer that strikes big ben has been activated by the great clock. with the original clock mechanism currently off—site being restored, here's the challenge —

how do you allow the world's most famous bell to be struck on special occasions? we made the obligation that this bell would be made available for all national events, like remembrance sunday and new year's eve. so, in november, this device made its debut. it is a computer system that's linked to a gps. our device onsite picks up that signal and tells the motor to start to run, allowing the hammer to strike. bell rings. that's exactly what happened on remembrance sunday and it worked extremely well. so come midnight on new year's eve, it's going to happen, is it? it will happen. yes, i'm nervous, but nerves are a good thing because it shows you actually care about something. three, two, one... the sound of one year ending and a new year beginning. too important for any refurbishment to silence. tim muffett, bbc news.

that's how they do it. let's see what the weather will be like if you are out seeing in the new year in london or elsewhere. matt taylor can tell us. i'll be back tomorrow morning from 6am. joost luiten year. gales and severe gales in scotland. outbreaks of rain coming and going through the day, edging further south. not raining all day long. most of the uk staying dry. the