given the opportunity like anybody else would... that opportunity to have a child and to have a family, no matter what their situation is. according to this fertility specialist, nhs cutbacks mean that other patient groups may also miss out on treatment. you have things like cancer patients, young people with other fertility—threatening therapies, who may also not get fertility treatment. we asked nhs england for an interview. they declined, but gave us this reply. "we believe this request is misjudged and potentially unfair to nhs patients, as well as wasting precious nhs resources on legal costs." i've only been on hormones for about six months. max is 22 and works at this indoor skydiving centre in manchester. max was born a boy, but identifies as neither male norfemale, but what's known as non—binary. two years ago, when max began transitioning, they weren't offered the option to freeze their sperm and so did it privately. max prefers the pronouns ‘they‘ and ‘their‘. i want kids someday, so, er... i was asking if i would be able to get that covered on the nhs and my gp told me that i wouldn't be able to. the choice between a family and going on hormones is not

something that people should have to make. i've been on testosterone gel now for four months. jackson is a transgender man from leeds. he was offered fertility treatment, but rejected it. i feel that we get enough to start with through the nhs, and we get a lot, you know, surgeries. we get the medication that we need. we also have, like, aftercare. we have a gender clinic to go to. and there's that many now, transgenders out there, male and female, who are going through the process. during a time of cutbacks, many might question whether the nhs can afford this treatment but, for many tra nsgender activists, this is about equality. ashleyjohn—baptiste, bbc news. samoa and new zealand have welcomed in the new year. crowd: five, four, three, two, one. cheering and fireworks. in auckland, the skies

were lit up by fireworks launched from the skycity tower. the harbour bridge was also lit up by a light display. that's it, we're back with the evening news at 6:30. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. let's take you to sydney, where millions of australians are welcoming in the new year with a firework extravaganza — said to be the country's biggest ever. here's how it started a few moments ago. music.

that was sydney a few moments ago with a spectacular display. these are now the live scenes from sydney.

pretty incredible stuff. it is said to be the largest fireworks display yet, featuring 8.5 tonnes of pyrotechnics and 35,000 shooting comets. the show was set to include new wave effects, where the colour moves new wave effects, where the colour m oves a cross new wave effects, where the colour moves across the display rather than the traditional burst from the centre of the firework and pulsating fireworks which will strobe in various colours. the weather out there has apparently not been brilliant. there have been some thunderstorms. there were some may view, a couple of hours ago, i think. i think the millions of people watching, 1.5 million audience watching the displays in the local harbour, they weren't deterred by the rainstorms and the weather. i think many of them had probably been there quite some time, to get their place. they weren't going to give that up too easily. but globally, an audience of 1.1 billion will be watching this.

although auckland had already welcomed in the new year, this is the first big display and australia well aware the world are watching them. this is quite something, pretty impressive stuff there. music. now, the vantage points in sydney are closed off pretty early, as they are closed off pretty early, as they are in other places, including london. hundreds of thousands counting down to the new year's eve party. there is going to be two firework displays, scheduled for nine and midnight, theirtime. but

according to one agency, the aerial flyover display had to be cancelled because of rain and dozens of lightning strikes. but i don't think the weather is dampening spirits there, as they watch this impressive display, said to be the largest yet, featuring 8.5 tonnes of pyrotechnics. music. now, when it comes to statistics, syd ney now, when it comes to statistics, sydney holds the biggest new year's eve fireworks show, with over 80,000 individual fireworks being let eve fireworks show, with over 80,000 individualfireworks being let off on the harbour bridge alone. an

audience of 1.5 million watching the display from the local harbour. and approximately 1.1 billion watching globally. the midnight fireworks run for 12 minutes, globally. the midnight fireworks run for12 minutes, in globally. the midnight fireworks run for 12 minutes, in reference to the 12 months of the year. music. so, those are the beginning of the

huge fireworks display in sydney, with over 1 huge fireworks display in sydney, with over1 million people watching there. of course, not quite the first. samoa and auckland have already welcomed the new year with a dazzling fireworks display of their own, at the sky tower. thousands gathered by the harbour bridge in the city to watch the display there. of course, everyone will be looking ahead to celebrations closer to home in the uk, particularly london and edinburgh later on this evening. the home secretary, sajid javid, has held a meeting with the border force and the national crime agency to discuss an action plan to tackle the growing number of illegal migrants attempting to cross

the english channel. more than 200 people are known to have attempted the crossing since november — many of them iranian citizens. 0ur report from simon jones contains flash photography. back on the beach, the police and bought a force called this morning after more migrants arrived on the coast. just as the home secretary a returned to the country, amid a barrage of criticism the home office has failed to get a grip on the situation. sajid javid says he is deeply concerned about the number crossing the channel by small boat, more than 200 people have arrived in the last two months. he's been meeting officials from the home 0ffice meeting officials from the home office and border force that morning there are no easy answers. he's pledged to increase joint patrols with the french, writing in the telegraph he said 7 the reasons are complicated and often outside our control. he said the problem is being fuelled by instability in the middle east. conditions in the

channel remain very calm. there is very little wind. it is mild for the end of december, so it seems inevitable in the coming days there will be more attempts to get across the english channel in small boats. there is also a growing clamourfor something to be done to stop it. the mpfor something to be done to stop it. the mp for dover once the home secretary to come to the town to see for himself what are facing. facing. i hope sajid javid will come and visit dover and see how things here here on the on the dover front line, look to create a modern dover patrol force with the french, to make sure any force with the french, to make sure a ny craft force with the french, to make sure any craft i helped back safely and soundly to coast. one group one group that supports migrants in they shouldn't be demonised. we have to hold onto the fact that people, however desperate they are, are our brothers and sisters in humanity. that's what we need to keep reminding people about. and they are refugees, unless proved otherwise. but while the number arriving continues to grow, so does the

pressure on the home secretary. 39 people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after an argument in a shop in west london led to a man being chased and stabbed. the victim — who's in his 30s — was found with life—threatening injuries in the early hours of this morning. 0ur correspondent keith doyle is in hammersmith. well, u nfortu nately well, unfortunately stabbings in london are not uncommon. there has been a big increase in knife —related crime this year and on this, the last day of the year, there is another victim fighting for his life. what is notable in this case was the police response in the number of arrests. it started off as a minor argument according to the police, and ended up according to the police, and ended up with one man seriously injured and 39 people arrested. the man, in his 30s, was stabbed on this w. london st after being chased by a group of men and women, following an

argument ina group of men and women, following an argument in a shop. his injuries are said to be life—threatening. the suspects then went into a party at a nearby flat. these are all police. this video shows the police arriving at the property. the police said because those at the party would not co—operate, they decided to arrest them all. here, each person is lined up them all. here, each person is lined up and arrested, all were taken into custody. some were led away in handcuffs. about 50 police officers march down the road, went into the house next door and brought out 30 or a0 people. had them all lined up and were interrogating them and then they got arrested and taken away about four o'clock. the police admit making so many arrests at this early stage of of an investigation is unusual but they said because of a lack of cooperation and necessity to secure essential evidence, it was appropriate to bring so many people into custody at this stage. two knives were recovered close to the scene. those arrested are being

questioned at a number of police stations in london. within the last few hours we have seen forensic teams working at the scene of this crime. just behind us here at the top of the road here, behind a police cordon, the party took place ina police cordon, the party took place in a flatjust to the side of me. so the police forensic teams have been scouring the area and taking essential evidence. they have also recovered two knives. there has been a huge increase in knife crime this year. over a0,000 knife —related crimes in london for the last year that figures have been available. the mayor of london has promised a crackdown on this. what we had seen last night was a huge police response and as far as we know, still 39 people in police custody this afternoon. thank you very much. keith doyle lived for us in west london. political leaders have focused

on brexit in their traditional new year messages. jeremy corbyn accused the government of making a mess of britain's departure from the eu. he says labour is 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 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 insecure jobs. we cannot go on like this.

labour is ready to deliver a radical alternative, to rebuild and 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. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, used her message to say her government would seek to keep scotland at the heart of europe. she said european union workers would always be welcome, 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. the liberal democrat leader, sir vince cable, said the next three months were critical, warning there is 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 marketplace7 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. the us ambassador to the uk,

woodyjohnson, has cast doubt on britain being able to negotiate a wide—ranging free trade deal with america if the brexit agreement put forward by theresa may is approved. president trump has previously said that mrs may's proposals "sounded like a good deal for the eu". mrjohnson told the bbc that america was watching events closely. the headlines on bbc news: the home secretary is chairing a meeting 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 now, and time for a full round up from the bbc

sport centre. good afternoon. the world's best tennis players usually spend their new years in australia. we are two weeks away from the first grand slam of the year, and there are some important tournaments under way. the hopman cup has started in perth, and roger federer‘s is going to play serena williams for the first time in a competitive match. a competitive match. they'll meet in the mixed doubles as the usa play switzerland tomorrow. they're both 37, and have won a3 grand slam titles between them. this is williams‘ first torunament since her defeat in the us open final in september. she beat maria sakkari in straight sets, but greece beat the us 2—1. at the brisbane international, great britain's harriet dart is through to the second round. she came through three rounds of qualifying, notching up the biggest win of her career against andrea petkovic. today, the british number a, ranked just inside the top 150, beat the australian priscilla hon in three sets. andy murray's also playing

in brisbane and faces qualifier james duckworth in the first round in the early hours of tomorrow morning. the surgeon who operated on his hip earlier this year says murray may never be free of pain. drjim o'donnell says it's murray's "intense desire to do really well" that's kept his tennis career going. murray used his protected ranking to make the main draw. staying in australia — england's joe root and jos buttler have been playing in the big bash today. their sydeny thunder side lost against adelaide strikers. buttler was out for just 23 runs fellow opener, thunder captain shane watson, was dismissed by this brilliant bit of teamwork. jake weatherald keeping the ball inside the boundary for team—mate jake lehmann to take the catch. root didn't last too long, making 18 runs before he was caught as well. the strikers won by 20 runs. the man who root replaced as england captain has a newjob.

alastair cook's joining the bbc‘s test match special team to cover england's tour of the west indies. he'll contribute to the tms podcast and bbc sport's online magazine show, the cricket social. he'll also join jonathan agnew in the caribbean for the 2nd and third tests. now, is pep guardiola being brutally honest orjust playing mindgames ahead of their match against leaders liverpool7 he says the title race "is finished" for manchester city if they drop points and he has described jurgen klopp's side as "best team in europe or the world right now". after back—to—back defeats around christmas, city are back up to second in the table, following their 3—1 win at southampton yesterday. they're seven points behind leaders though who they welcome to the etihad on thursday night. if one team achieves 100 points,

and the year after make aa points in the first round, if we do the same results, hopefully we can do better. so, we did well. the only problem is the other team is perhaps the best team in europe, or in the world right now, on top form and you have to accept it. all we can do is do our games, like today we did end last season we did and this season we did. and after that, we will see. and floyd mayweather‘s coming out of retirement for a fight in tokyo today. it's a very lucrative exhibition bout with japanese kick boxer tenshin nasukawa. the former five—weight world boxing champion had gone missing, but he's now turned up, and is getting wrapped up ready to fight. they will face each other under boxing rules. he doesn't want to get kicked in the

head. that is all the sport for now, more in the next hour. thank you very much. police say they're helping to deal with another group of suspected migrants, thought to have arrived in kent this morning. about 200 migrants have crossed the channel since november. simonjones is in doverfor us now. what are people saying about what's going on? people are concerned that there seems to be no end in sight of people trying to get across the channel in small boats. kent police we re channel in small boats. kent police were called this morning to g reatstone were called this morning to greatstone along the coast of dover. a group of migrants had arrived across the channel. the home office didn't confirm how many were in that group but someone who saw the border force and police on the beach seizing the bow said they thought they saw around seven or eight migrants, including possibly a child. the dover mp says he wants

the home secretary to come to the town himself to see what the town are facing and he believes the way to solve this is more cutters out in the channel, currently there is only one borderforce cutter, and he believes all boats found in the channel should be sent back to france. that would require a new agreement with france because at the moment if they are found in british waters, the migrants have to be brought back here. there is talk of closer cooperation with the french but the home secretary perhaps has not raised that idea yet. but they are talking about more joint patrols in the coming days. ok, thank you very much indeed. simonjones in dover. sajid javid has chaired a meeting of whitehall officials to discuss ways to stop people trying to cross the english channel. we can speak to our political reporterjessica parker who is outside the home office in westminster. the home secretary under a certain amount of pressure to act here7 sajid javid under a lot of pressure today and i think we will hear more

later on what he intends to do. he has been during this meeting with borderforce has been during this meeting with border force officials that kicked off at 11am. we have been hearing from the prime minister's official spokeswoman about what theresa may thinks. we had theresa may supports the work sajid javid is doing to tackle what has been described as the deeply concerning rise in the number of migrants illegally crossing the channel. interesting that this briefing with downing street, the matter are those border force cutters did come up. we were told it was a matter for the force cutters did come up. we were told it was a matterfor the home 0ffice told it was a matterfor the home office but it is something under review. and the issue of whether sajid javid was personally instructed to come back to the uk from his holiday in south africa by theresa may. that she was mentioned as well. downing street saying it was not the case and he came home with his own volition. i think it is clear that political pressure on this issue is very much here on the home office and tempo markings are. thank you, jessica. nhs emergency services

across england are preparing themselves for what's expected to be their busiest night of the year. many ambulance services come under extra pressure dealing with new year revellers who need urgent medical care. nhs england announced before christmas it was pledging money to fund so—called "drunk tanks" over the festive period, where party—goers who have overindulged can be checked and allowed to sleep it off. with me now isjonathan fox, who has been a paramedic for over 35 years and has worked for the london ambulance service. let's start with what it is like to be out on the streets of london but also other major cities on new year's eve, what kind of pressures do the ambulance service face7 despite the increase call rates, alcohol consumption increases the workload of new year's eve and new year's day. it puts ambulance staff right into the realms of danger, because of the fact they are more

likely to suffer and be victims of verbal or physical abuse as a result of the alcohol people are taking on board in disproportionately high levels. do you get any sense people have taken on the message about the dangers and the risks there are from drinking too much on new year's eve or is itjust one of those things you think people once a yearjust say, we are going to go ahead and do that? knowing there could be issues? i think there are trends among young people, that it is perhaps putting themselves in harms way to be taking too much alcohol on board throughout the year, let alone on new year's eve. but unfortunately, i think people see new year's eve like other holidays, as an opportunity, some people, to drink in a way that puts them in harms way and puts a disproportionate burden on the emergency services. and it is not helped by people preloading, in other words drinking before they go out and being in a situation that the intoxication levels are even

higher by the time they have only had a couple of drinks at a party. what do you make about the suggestion, i know it's been used before, people have referred to them as drunk tanks, these temporary treatment centres which are set up in various places, to cope with the extra demand question but how do they work? they work as a place of safety to reduce the workload of busy emergency departments at the of highest demand and meant to give us a seamless treatment regime, where ambulance staff simply pick people up ambulance staff simply pick people up and deposit them at these drunk tanks, where they are then supervised until they are well enough to go home. of course, the issueis enough to go home. of course, the issue is alcohol related incidents impacting on the ambulance service are not just impacting on the ambulance service are notjust a one—off. they don't just get put away after new year's eve. we experience that throughout the whole of the year. i certainly did when i was a front line paramedic. perhaps there should be a bit morejoined paramedic. perhaps there should be a bit more joined up paramedic. perhaps there should be a bit morejoined up thinking and

trying to look at a more, how can i put it, cohesive approach to having these types of things the rest of these types of things the rest of the year. finally, what would your message be two people going out this evening, to enjoy themselves, what would you say to them? enjoy, don't drink too much. try and keep hydrated and the one thing i would say is keep an eye on your drinks, because i know that somebody in my own area who had their drink spiked simply because they took their eye off the drink while they were doing something else. enjoy the day all the night and not remember it for all the wrong reasons. ok, jonathan fox, thank you for speaking to us. now time for a look at the weather. chris7 for most of us it will stay cloudy and mild for the rest of the day and the rest of this year as well. there are a few exceptions. a little bit of sunshine coming out of crescent at central and eastern scotland, where the

front in the north—west will bring some rain. some breaks in the cloud in yorkshire and lincolnshire but otherwise cloudy and mild. as we get towards midnight, our weather front will push southwards, bringing some rain across the south of scotland and into northern ireland. blustery conditions below. thus the wind of 75 miles an hour in shetland and quite low e for much of scotland in the run—up to hogmanay celebrations. southwards across england and wales, running up to midnight, a lot of cloud around. staying quite mild, temperature 7—8. not too cold. the new year's day, the cold front pushes southwards. it will bring not just cooler air behind that front but also much more in the way of sunshine. across scotland and much of england, although staying quite cloudy in south—west england, wales and maybe also northern ireland. it will feel fresher, temperatures down on those of today. that is your weather.