this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at 10:003m. 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. and in half an hour, victoria derbyshire looks back on some of the memorable moments from her programme in 2018. 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 answers, his critics are looking for many more answers than he is giving. simon clemison, bbc news, dover. the uk's political leaders have focused on brexit in their traditional new year messages. scotland's first minister nicola sturgeon, has sought to assure european union migrants that they would always be welcome in scotland regardless of what happens in the next few months. in the yearahead, the scottish government will continue to do everything we can to protect scotland's place at the heart of europe. however, whatever the outcome of brexit, scotland will always offer a warm welcome to the world. in fact, our reputation for being an open, warm—hearted, hospitable country has never been more important.

i want to make that especially clear to the hundreds of thousands of nationals from other european union countries who have done us the honour of choosing scotland as their home. i know that this is a deeply uncertain time for you, but i also want you to know that your contribution to our national life, to our economy, communities and society, is hugely valued. you will always be welcome here. of course, 2019 will not simply be about brexit. we will also keep on with the day to day business of government. we will redouble our efforts to support and invest in our key public services such as the nhs and our education system. we will continue our expansion of childcare and press ahead with our new scottish system of social security, making life fairer and helping those most in need. in his new year message, 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.

i'd like to wish everyone a very happy new year. there is so much talent across britain but we are being held back by a system that for too long has only served a privileged few. now the conservatives have plunged the country into crisis, over the com plete country into crisis, over the complete mess they have made of brexit, trying to drive through a bad deal and letting people down all across the country, whether they voted leave or remain. eight years of damaging tory failure has left us with a divided country where millions are struggling to make ends meet. where so many can't afford a home to call their own. where older people are deprived of the dignity they deserve, and far too many are working low paid and insecurejobs. we cannot go on like this. labour is

ready to deliver a radical alternative, to rebuild and transform our country. we will stand up transform our country. we will stand up to the powerful few so that the wealth you create is shared fairly, not hoarded by a privileged elite. 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 most successful peace project, and the world's biggest marketplace? or are the british people, in the final hours, going to be behind our influence in europe's most 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 we the liberal democrats started, and now millions of people havejoined us in demanding a better future than brexit britain has to offer. sir vince cable. we expect to hear the prime minister's new year message later. we can return to our lead story and the growing crisis involving migrants crossing the channel. our correspondent simonjones is in doverfor us now. we know the home secretary sajid javid is this morning chairing a meeting of border force officials

and other agencies. a lot of interest where you are in what will come out of that meeting. lots of interest here because here is that the sharp end of what has been happening. conditions on the channel overnight, as they are now, have been very calm with the little wind. we have not heard of any additional boats arriving over night but sometimes details only emerge later in the day. one person who will be watching at that meeting very closely is mp for dover charlie elphicke. sajid javid is now back in the country. what do you say to him? i welcome the fact sajid javid is at his desk and taking personal control of this crisis. what is needed now isa of this crisis. what is needed now is a clear plan and strategy to deal with it. i hope you'll come to dover and meet with me as soon as possible. you talk about a clear plan. we have heard so far about greater cooperation with the french but in concrete terms what does that mean and what do we need? the first thing we need is to bring back

border force cutters, currently cruising in the mediterranean, back to the dover front line to form a modern dover patrol to work with french authorities under a new compact that will ensure anyone trying to get into britain in a small craft can be safely returned back to france. so wherever they are found you are saying they should be sent back to france. i think that is the best deterrent. that's the best way to ensure people know there is no point attempting these dangerous journeys because they simply will not succeed. that is how we brought an end to the calais migrantjungle re ce ntly an end to the calais migrantjungle recently and we need to do it again working positively with french authorities. you will be aware that they are territorial waters and when a small boat is in british waters it becomes the responsibility of britain. our france likely to want to sign up to a deal saying everyone has to go back to france? the french interior minister said the other day that it's as big a problem in france as it is in britain. traffickers are roaming free in france trying to

exploit vulnerable people. it's in all our interest to make sure this is stopped as soon as possible, particularly before there is a tragedy in the middle of the english channel. this home secretary seems to be concerned about the idea of bringing back cutters, and it could encourage people to make the journey because they will think they will get picked up and brought to britain. is that a risk? it's defeatist. it's like saying why have any cutters or board force at all, should we just give up protecting our borders? i don't agree. the rnli lifeboat has been doing most of the rescues in any event so it would not encourage more people because the rnli is already doing their duty. it would provide a strong deterrent, ta ke would provide a strong deterrent, take back control of our borders and enable us to work with the french, to bring these people back to france so to bring these people back to france so they don't have a chance of breaking into the country. what we have heard from the home secretary so farour have heard from the home secretary so far our long—term plans to work with the french to tackle people traffickers and he has talked about the problems stemming from

instability in the middle east. the reality is these crossings will continue. that is why we need to ta ke continue. that is why we need to take immediate action. yes, we need to go after the trafficking networks and we also need to provide help in conflict zones, which we are doing, but right now we need to stop these boats as soon as possible. particularly as in january the weather will get worse and temperatures will fall and the risk ofa temperatures will fall and the risk of a tragedy is even higher. charlie elphicke, thank you forjoining us. we had immigration minister caroline nokes in dover on saturday for stop now local mp charlie elphicke once the home secretary himself to come here to explain exactly what will change to tackle this issue. 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 i o'clock this morning. a man in his 30s was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition. our correspondent keith

doyle is at the scene. 39 people arrested. what more can you tell us about the incident? the police say they were called here shortly before one o'clock this morning where a man was found with sta b morning where a man was found with stab wounds. the scene behind me is cordoned off by police tape. that man was taken to hospital with serious injuries. we understand he had been chased after some sort of altercation, chased by a number of men and women. those suspects then disappeared into a house down the road here where a house party was going on. when police arrived they say that because of a lack of co—operation from anyone at the party, and the essential need to recover a ny party, and the essential need to recover any evidence, they said it was absolutely appropriate to arrest all 39 people who were at that party. so all those people have been taken to various police stations

around west london. police say the enquiries are continuing. it's a stark reminder, if one was needed, of the problem with knife crime. a huge story this year, especially in the capital, and the pressure on the mayor of london and others to tackle it. police did recover to make knives here and there is a further cordoned down the road where the knives were found. it is a huge problem. over 40,000 knife —related incidents in london on the last available year of figures. mayor sadiq khan has pledged to crack down on it. 132 homicides and 57% of them we re on it. 132 homicides and 57% of them were due to stabbings. it's a significant problem in london that the mayor is under pressure to tackle, and he says he is going to do that. 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 downes. 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. they beat southampton 3—1 but are second behind leaders liverpool, and they play each other on thursday for stop and this piece of skill from marcus rashford to providing the openerfor marcus rashford to providing the opener for manchester united in their 4—1 victory over bournemouth. ole gunnar solskjaer‘s third straight win as caretaker boss. the

work rate is second to none. that's the biggest compliment you can get, when you see the players working like this. and the enjoyment that we have of working hard. that's the foundation of any team. and there we re foundation of any team. and there were wins for chelsea and burnley yesterday as well. 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 four 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 5:30pm in the evening in brisbane. serena williams also celebrating, winning a first competitive match on her return to action after losing the us open final in september. her victory in perth couldn't halt a 2—1 defeat for the us in that competition. great britain's harriet dart is through to the second round in brisbane, coming through three rounds of qualifying to notch up the biggest win of her career against petkovic. and finally, the eagle has landed, but not where it is supposed to. this was clark the eagle, who we re to. this was clark the eagle, who were supposed to fly around the stadium at a college football game in texas but decided to hang out

with the crowd instead. clark making himself felt at that notre dame football match. that's all the sport for now. 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. two people have died following a crash on the a13 in east london. police were called to reports of a car travelling in the wrong direction down the carriageway

in dagenham at 1.45 this morning. shortly afterwards, the car was involved in a collision with a taxi heading in the opposite direction. a woman in her 70s and a man in his 40s have died. 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 re—located, altered or demolished. fewer than half of people over the age of 40 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 two diabetes, has only been taken by a minority of the 15—million people eligible for it over the past five years. 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 very 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. 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 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 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 a quarter of a million us dollars. 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. let's hope it all goes according to plan tonight. now it's time for a look at the weather. will that go to plan?

we can cross the newsroom to simon king. let's hope the weather goes to plan. dry for many of us at the moment, ending 2018 on a grey and cloudy note across most of the uk. patchy rain and drizzle affecting the north and west scotland with wind increasing full stops on gales and severe gales developing in the northern isles. a few glimmers of sunshine across eastern scotland and down east england, east wales and the east of northern ireland. a mile today with temperatures of 10—12 celsius will stop patchy rain moving south, wind strengthening. by midnight the patchy rain could be across northern ireland and southern scotla nd across northern ireland and southern scotland but for most of us, as the clock strikes midnight it will be dry with a lot of cloud around and patchy mist as well. temperatures will be 5—7dc, not desperately cold. clouds drifting south. we start to

29 with a lot of sunshine but it will turn colder this week. frost returning at night and it will stay mostly dry. hello, this is bbc news with anitta mcveigh. the headlines... the home secretary is chairing 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. the department for transport says almost two—thirds of councils in england didn't prosecute anyone in the past year for misusing a disabled parking permit. there are widespread concerns about the credibility of the parliamentary elections in bangladesh, which the governing party won by a landslide.