st, you're watching bbc news at nine with me, carrie gracie. the headlines... the prime minister will welcome more than 100 new conservative mps to westminster today as he aims to deliver on his election promises. many are from former labour strongholds in the north and midlands. they'll be sworn in tomorrow. the labour party's general secretary has recommended the timetable for a leadership election should begin on the 7th of january. water firms in england will have to cut average annual bills by around £50 under new rules from the regulator. doctors urge parents to vaccinate their children, who are super—spreaders offlu, as they warn of an increase in patients using nhs services.

tamara ecclestone — the daughter of former formula 1 boss bernie ecclestone — has had a reported £50 million—worth of jewellery stolen from her london home. after his performances in england's world cup win and his heroics in the ashes, ben stokes wins the bbc sports personality of the year. good morning, and welcome to the bbc news at 9:00am. the prime minister, borisjohnson, will welcome more than a hundred new conservative mps to westminster today as he aims to deliver on his election promise to "get brexit done". parliament won't officially open until thursday, so what can the new intake expect from their first week in westminster?

today, there'll be a minor cabinet reshuffle to replace ministers who lost their seat or didn't stand for re—election. tomorrow, the speaker will begin the process of swearing in mps, who are required to take an oath of allegiance to the crown. on thursday, the queen will formally open parliament with a shorter—than—usual speech, which focuses on delivering brexit and strengthening the nhs. and on friday the withdrawal agreement bill — the legislation to implement a brexit deal — will be reintroduced in the commons. it passed its second reading by 30 votes before the election was called. meanwhile, labour party officials have given some indication of the timetable for finding a new leader to replace jeremy corbyn. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith joins us from westminster. let's start off with those mps

calling themselves the bloon army are coming to westminster. the first week has been packed full of events by borisjohnson, deliberately week has been packed full of events by boris johnson, deliberately so week has been packed full of events by borisjohnson, deliberately so to give the impression of government hitting the ground running, not hanging around till after christmas before it gets on with anything to create a sense of momentum and drive and purpose. starting today with an address that we expect around lunchtime from mrjohnson to his new tory mps, 109 of them, to lunchtime from mrjohnson to his new tory mps,109 of them, to give you a sense of the scale of the tory victory. part of the message will be about delivery, the need to make good all those promises from the election, so obviously brexit and the brexit bill is back in the commons probably on friday for its key vote, but also on the nhs. we will be told in the queen's speech on thursday that they will be legislation to enshrine in law this commitment to put an extra £20

billion in real terms into the nhs by 2024 so there will be a determination to demonstrate not just that they are moving ahead at speed but that they are delivering on key planks of the manifesto. then, andi on key planks of the manifesto. then, and i think this is the most interesting thing, there will be a desire to give the impression of change, of fresh blood. in other words, that this is a very different sort of tory party and in one way thatis sort of tory party and in one way that is obvious, because there are many more tory mps from working class communities and northern constituencies and midlands constituencies, so the shape of the tory party in parliament is profoundly different, but also the priorities will be different. less focused on meeting the concerns of say more affluent and middle—class tory backers in the south end of much greater focus on the new tories, who mrjohnson recognises he has got to go out of his way to convince that he is delivering on

improvements in their life in terms of infrastructure, transport links, public services, and he has to move quickly on that. i think perhaps that will be the most interesting thing we get from borisjohnson in the next few days, the sense that he wa nts to the next few days, the sense that he wants to recreate and re—present a different sort of tory party. to use his own phrase, does he have anything other than reddy that will do thatjob? anything other than reddy that will do that job? rhetorically, it is fairly straightforward. -- does he have anything other than redi? the nuts and bolts of new roads, new jobs and new infrastructure and that ta kes jobs and new infrastructure and that takes planning and time, which i think in part is why he wants to move ahead swiftly because he knows that for those sorts of projects to reach fruition you are talking yea rs. reach fruition you are talking years. i suspect he has learned from his time as mayor of london when big house—building programmes took time, but you have to start them swiftly.

i think you will see him coming ahead with announcements very quickly, and the actual change you will see in northern seats could probably take years to follow through on, but the simple expression of a desire to do things differently and to read gear government so it is more focused on concerns of people in the north, i think that will be seen as a start. turning from the bloon army and what they are up to to the other lot, in they are up to to the other lot, in the ebb and flow of politics there isa the ebb and flow of politics there is a reflection process going on in labour. i think it will be extraordinarily difficult because the gulf between the two camps seems so the gulf between the two camps seems so profound in labour. you have those on the left around mr corbyn who think what went wrong at the election was brexit, and those on the centre and right who think

blu ntly the centre and right who think bluntly what went wrong was jeremy corbyn and leftist policies. there are some in the middle who are saying it was a bit of both, but it is hard... i think there will be an almighty bust up about it, frankly. but maybe that is no bad thing, because one of the problems you had, i think, after 2010 when gordon brown lost and ed miliband took over, and even to some extent although to a lesser degree, with jeremy corbyn, there was no real profound soul—searching about what is the labour party for and what is it trying to achieve. it is easy to plonk a new leader in place and think that will sort it. most in labour will now concede they are facing very fundamental questions about how they re—engage with their traditional supporters while still hanging on to their new supporters, younger supporters, metropolitan supporters, and i think there is a question about what is the labour party four, who will it address

itself to and where does it look to find space to be a potential government. they are profound questions that will not be sorted out ina questions that will not be sorted out in a three—month leadership campaign. it's a long of rebirth. looking at it from the point of view of people like you, your life in westminster will get in some ways, when this bed is in, a little less interesting, because the labour party, one of the things they are for is to be her majesty's loyal opposition, but with an at majority for the government, there will be less of the cut and thrust of day—to—day division and shifting of tides within parliament. day—to—day division and shifting of tides within parliamentlj day—to—day division and shifting of tides within parliament. i actually don't think it will be done. for most of us it has been ground down to pulp by the endless, attritional parliamentary warfare and gridlock and minutiae. if i'm honest, ithink it turned off many of our viewers. i think we now move into an era where

things can be done, whether there is a par the majority —— parliamentary majority to do things. but it shifts from parliamentary angles to political angles about policy, and what you do for example around things like social care. there are no reasons why these things can't be tackled because mrjohnson has a clear majority to get things done. i think it will be quite energising andi think it will be quite energising and i think many people will have some degree of relief that we now return to the big arguments about the sort of country we are rather than this very intense and narrowly focused tussle at westminster. i doubt it will be dull, put it that way. i think we will get a lot more big picture, big vision, and i think people might find that quite energising. good, let's see you soon. and stay with us on bbc news, as we bring you live updates from downing street and westminster on all

today's political events. water firms in england and wales will have to cut the average bill by £50 by 2025 under plans published by the industry regulator. 0fwat is also forcing firms to invest millions of pounds, aimed at improving their performance, and wants water firms to cut water lost to leaks by 16%. its chief executive, rachel fletcher, has said the plan is to "fire the starting gun on the transformation of the water industry". it is a really good package that we're announcing today, a massive investment to improve services and the environment for the future. in fact, probably the greenest settlement we've ever put in place. improved service standards all round and lower bills. and, frankly, those lower bills are possible because we're pressing the companies to be more efficient. and also we're seeing the cost of financing the companies come down

and we're passing that through, so that saving ends up in customers' pockets. we, a long time ago, three years ago, laid the gauntlet down for the industry and we said, "we want you to be cutting leaks by at least 15% over the next five years." and i'm pleased to see we've got a 16% target in here. companies are paying for those improvements, not customers. and, actually, since those targets have been talked about, we've seen companies up their game, we've seen more innovation to reduce leakage, and we've seen, finally, we've seen companies collaborate across the industry to get a grip on this really important matter. doctors in england are urging parents to get their young children vaccinated against flu after a surge in suspected cases. they say the number of patients reporting flu—like symptoms has risen by nearly a quarter in the last week, and the situation could get worse over the christmas period. andy moore reports. just relax, sharp

scratch coming up now. for many people, it's an annual ritual, but many others are still missing out. doctors say most people over the age of 65 have been vaccinated, but a lot of two and three—year—olds, regarded as so—called super—spreaders, have not. that's because there was a delay in vaccine delivery from the manufacturers. at the end of the first week in december, only 28% of this age group had got the jab. but now the problem has been sorted and parents are being urged to act now. some school vaccination sessions may not happen tilljanuary, but parents can take their children to a gp right away. around 25 million people are eligible for a free flu jab but last year, around 7.5 million failed to take up the offer. the latest figures show gp consultations for flu—like symptoms have risen 24% in just one week. the vaccinations this year are said to be a good match

for the strains of the virus that are circulating. flu levels are expected to rise over christmas and the new year, so the advice is for at—risk groups to get the jab as soon as possible. doctors say it may be the difference between a christmas to remember and one to forget. andy moore, bbc news. police have been called to the home of tamara ecclestone following reports of a robbery. the house, belonging to the daughter of former formula 1 owner bernie ecclestone, was apparently broken in to late last night, and a large quantity of jewellery was taken. 0ur correspondentjon donnison is outside the property in west london now. what can you tell us? this is billionaire's row behind me, one of the most exclusive streets in knightsbridge, kensington, and this is where tamara ecclestone has her house. the met have confirmed a robbery took place on friday night.

they say they got a call just after 11pm and an amount of high—value jewellery was stolen. they have not said who the house belongs to, they have not said how much jewellery was stolen, but the sun newspaper has an exclusive on his front page, saying tamara's 50 million joules gone exclusive on his front page, saying tamara's 50 millionjoules gone in 50 minutes. they say three burglars broke into the house and took some £50 million worth ofjewellery, an extraordinary amount. the house itself was purchased for some 45,000,02011, so itself was purchased for some 45,000,020 11, so the itself was purchased for some 45,000,02011, so the jewellery is worth more than the house itself. —— for some 45 million in 2011. tamara ecclestone was apparently away with herfamily ecclestone was apparently away with her family and had ecclestone was apparently away with herfamily and had gone ecclestone was apparently away with her family and had gone away for christmas. at this stage police say no arrests have been made. jon donnison, thank you for the update.

the headlines on bbc news... more than a hundred new conservative mp will arrive in wesmtinster today as borisjohson begins working towards delivering on his election promises. jennie formby, labour's general secretary, has laid out plans to begin the timetable for a leadership election on january 7th. water bills will come down in april 2020 after the regulator set out new pricing rules. and in sport... ben stokes is named bbc sports personality of the year. he received the accolade in aberdeen last night — completing a year that saw england win the cricket world cup and stokes single handedly win the third ashes test at headingley. arsenal interim manager freddie ljungberg says he "will deal with" mesut ozil after the midfielder reacted angrily to being substituted during his side's defeat to manchester city. and the champions league draw for the last 16 takes place later with all four english sides still in the competition including reigning champions liverpool. i'll be back with more on those stories later.

back to politics now, and northern ireland's political parties are to resume talks aimed at restoring devolved government at stormont. the general election saw a fall in vote share for both the dup and sinn fein, with the dup losing its deputy leader, nigel dodds, and for the first time unionist parties being overtaken by nationalist parties in the number of westminster seats. is in belfast for us. is this electoral outcome concentrating minds? that's one reading off it. the dup and sinn fein, they both suffered a drop in their vote in the general election, those two parties made up the power—sharing devolved government at stormont that collapsed nearly three

yea rs stormont that collapsed nearly three years ago now, injanuary of 2017. since then hospital waiting lists have grown, significantly, they are currently the worst in the uk. infra structure projects are delayed, and school principals complain about what they say is a funding crisis so public services in northern ireland are feeling the strain of not having ministers in charge, of not having elected politicians in office. civil serva nts elected politicians in office. civil servants have basically been running the place because northern irish civil servants are not elected politicians their powers to make decisions are limited. there is a sense that the general election results, which while it still meant the dup and sinn fein are the largest parties in northern ireland, it perhaps represented a kind of tipping point, and certainly the parties have acknowledged they were getting a lot of heat on the doorsteps while canvassing about the impact having no government was having on northern ireland. the thinking is that, yes, it might well concentrate minds. there is a legal deadline of sorts of the 13th of january for an agreement and after

that the northern ireland secretary has said if there is not a deal he would be minded to call more elections for the devolved assembly. viewers in northern ireland rule will remember exactly the problem thatis will remember exactly the problem that is stopping the devolved assembly for the last three years. for other views, can you remind us and tell us whether the new kind of demographic in terms of mps makes any difference to that in terms of pushing that. the main issue really that has got between the parties and there have been several rounds of negotiations that have failed so far, is that of the irish language. sinn fein wants a standard piece of legislation that will protect and promote the irish language, an irish language act. the dup do not want that but instead they are open to suggestions of a wider piece of legislation that covers more aspects of culture including those that are more important to unionists. in the general election, one of the interesting outcomes of it was that

for the first time northern ireland has more nationalist mps than unionist mps. sinn fein, although they suffered a drop in the overall vote, they retained the same number of mps they had before, seven, while the dup dropped from ten to eight. the nationalist sdlp won two seats so the nationalist sdlp won two seats so that means the nationalists are ahead in that westminster race for the first time. 0verall voters were still more unionist than nationalist. the dynamic in that particular issue, the nationalist parties will argue nationalism is gaining strength and therefore the irish language act is more of a must in the talks, and whether unionist will buy that i'm not sure. there is a sense that this time there could bea a sense that this time there could be a way forward that hasn't existed before, the imperative to get the assembly up and running is more than ever but no doubt there will be hard talking and difficult issues to resolve in the next few weeks. chris

page, keep an eye on that for us. i know you will. protests over a controversial new law on migrants are raging across several indian cities, and there've been clashes between police and demonstrators. the new law entitles non—muslim migrants from three muslim—majority countries to citizenship if they are facing religious persecution. police used tear gas and detained protesters in the capital delhi as buses were set on fire and roads blocked. 0ur correspondent ethirajan anbarasan is in delhi for us now. looking at the back ground in a moment, but first tell us about the extent of the unrest around these protests. unprecedented protests in universities and indian cities today, protesting in support of the stu d e nts of today, protesting in support of the students of a university here in dele. —— in delhi. police entered

the university campus forcefully and beat up many students despite demonstrations being peaceful. police say they were trying to bring the situation under control. a small group of protesters set fire to buses and fire engines. this has been part of many protests across india because other university stu d e nts india because other university students were coming out in support of the students here. they are protesting because they think the new citizenship law is discriminatory. what it says is that these minority communities from neighbouring countries like afghanistan, pakistan, those who have come to india because of religious persecution, as the government says, will get faster access to citizenship, but this has angered many people who think it is going against the very secular foundation of india. and in states like assam in the north—west,

bordering —— in the northeast bordering —— in the northeast bordering bangladesh, they feel that could add to the state and they will ta ke could add to the state and they will take over the land and jobs and change the demographics of the region. there are different groups protesting against the bill for different reasons. what does the government intend to do about it? does it intend to meet any of the protest demands? before the law was passed last week it has been in the offing for the last few years. the government tried to include and address the concerns of the groups in the north—east of india. in the seven states there, many indigenous communities believe outsiders are coming into the state, changing the demographic, which will have an impact on their culture and identity. the government has said there will be some areas where these people can't come to live but that did not satisfy protesters. 0n the other hand, many in india say this is discriminatory, how can you leave out muslims, and say muslims cannot

get citizenship because they are facing religious persecution. the critics point out that they are like religious minorities in pakistan, and some minorities face religious persecution in pakistan and these are muslim minorities within muslim countries. the government says they have done the right thing. the majority of hindus will be the ones coming from other countries who have nowhere else to go, they have to come to india, which is why they are offering the citizenship to hindus and not only hindus but other minorities like christians and sikhs. are the protesters are lining along religious lines? there are stu d e nts along religious lines? there are students from many universities across india but we are seeing now for the first time that there are a large number of muslims taking part in these protests. they have

remained very silent and quiet and away from all the political debate happening over the last few years, but what is happening now is muslims are expressing themselves for the first time, coming out to say no, this is a discriminatory law. this will also make many muslims living in the north—east stateless, they will not get citizenship. few years the hindu nationalist government thatis the hindu nationalist government that is the government of the day, they have implemented certain policies that muslims think will make them second—class citizens. india is home to nearly 200 million muslims, probably the third largest muslims, probably the third largest muslim population in the world, so they want to assert their right and be treated like equal citizens. they think if they remain quiet, it will only aggravate the continuing situation, but the government denies these accusations and say they have no religious bias. thank you for explaining that. anti—government protesters in the lebanese capital,

beirut, have again clashed with security forces. protesters threw bottles and fireworks at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. on monday, the lebanese parliament will consider whom to nominate as prime minister, to replace saad al—hariri, who resigned in october. claire sedman reports. explosion. beirut is, once again, a flash point for protest. tear gas choked the air, as police took aim with water cannon at protesters flooding into the city's central square. translation: i am here, and i've got nothing to lose. i'm ready to sacrifice my life for the revolution, so that lebanon can be a real homeland. for the first time in my life, i feel that i can dream of a new homeland, a real one. on saturday, fierce clashes broke out between demonstrators, counter protesters, and police.

the government has opened an inquiry, following claims of excessive use of force. lebanon's ailing economy, high unemployment and dire public services saw unrest begin in october. the prime minister and central government figures have resigned. on monday, consultations to form a new cabinet will begin. protesters want to overhaul the entire political system, but the sunni establishment has previously backed the return of former prime minister saad hariri. the clashes, the most severe in decades, and reignited this weekend, are both ideological and physical. it seems they're far from over and set to enter a new phase. claire sedman, bbc news. four people have been arrested over the murder of a british tourist in argentina, according to local media reports. matthew gibbard, a businessman from northamptonshire, was shot in the chest outside a luxury hotel

in buenos aires on saturday. his stepson was also injured when they fought back against a pair of suspected robbers who targeted them as they pulled up in a taxi from the airport. a minute's silence has been held in new zealand to mark one week since the deadly eruption of white island volcano. the prime minister, jacinda ardern, led the silence, standing alongside her ministers in wellington's parliament building. the tribute was held at 2:11 — the exact moment the eruption happened. 16 deaths have been confirmed while two bodies are still missing, believed to be in the water off the island. the authorities in australia have issued fresh warnings about a "mega blaze" after fires spread beyond containment lines and razed 20 houses near sydney. the fire, burning over about 400,000 hectares, has moved further into the blue mountains —

a popular tourist area west of the city. leading doctors have warned sydney is facing a public health emergency from the toxic air pollution from the fires, and forecasters are warning of severe to extreme heatwave conditions" in parts of south—east australia over the next few days back to politics now — and the first day in any newjob can be daunting, so you may wish to spare a thought for the 140 mps who were elected to parliament for the first time last week. they'll be arriving in westminster today to find their bearings before being officially sworn in on thursday. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo has been looking at what this week will have in store for them. thank you, blyth valley. you've just been elected as a new mp, you're exhausted after six weeks of solid campaigning and then you have to start your new job straightaway, and most of your time is going to be spent here. how do you know where to even begin? well, there is some help.

any mp who's been elected for the first time, when they first come to westminster, they can come here to portcullis house, to this new members' reception area, and this is the room where they can get all the answers to any questions they have. staff in parliament have been preparing for their new arrivals. so, as soon as you arrive, you will be assigned someone called a "buddy" and that's a parliamentary member of staff who will help you navigate your first day, weeks and even months into the new parliament. they're a one—stop shop of information to help you, yeah, to help you orientate yourself. bamboozled by a maze of corridors, a wide—eyed new mp might be in need of some peace and quiet. where better than the serene surroundings of the beautiful commons library? it's really special to be able to film in here. this library is only for mps. not even their staff are normally allowed in here. mps that have been here a while, and, indeed, their staff really value library services, so we look forward to welcoming

them, to telling them about our impartial analysis, what we publish, our request service, and the resources that are available to them. this is an amazing space for mps to use. you can imagine the scene, can't you? log fire over there, reclining on one of these armchairs, just relaxing, getting to know your subject matter, brushing up on parliamentary debates from hundreds of years ago, maybe writing an odd letter or two on this lovely headed paper. it really is an incredibly resource. all that reading setting off the hunger pangs? fear not, new mp. there are no fewer than 12 restaurants around parliament. their kitchens feed more than 14,000 people a day and will surely be able to cater to any taste. but, ultimately, an mp'sjob is to represent and to scrutinise, and here is where that happens. for any new mp, sitting on one of these green benches in here is surely what they've always dreamt of. and for the most ambitious among the new intake, they've their eye on

one day standing here. but before that, get over those nerves and prepare for the most daunting of tasks — standing up to speak here for the first time. leila nathoo, bbc news. imagine that! your maiden speech. good luck to every single one of them from every single party. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. thanks, good morning. a chilly start for some with the risk of ice and entry to services in scotland and northern england. we continue with showers across northern ireland and scotland, some wintry on the hills. here, too, are noticeable wind in western scotland and northern ireland and the north of northern ireland. further south, rain ireland and the north of northern ireland. furthersouth, rain moving across the south—east which has almost cleared but don't be fooled, more coming laterfrom almost cleared but don't be fooled, more coming later from the south—east. in between that, we are looking at a lot of dry weather and some sunshine albeit hazy at times. temperature, 4 in aberdeen to 10 in

london. this evening and overnight, the rain will push a bit further north and west and there will be a gap in between the showers and we will see some mist and fog patches forming. it will be cold. again, showers by day and we could see some ice on untreated surfaces. tomorrow, we start off with that scenario, we lose the mist and fog and a lot of dry weather with showers still peppering the north and west and feeling colder than today.

hello this is bbc news with carrie gracie. the headlines: the prime minister will welcome more than 100 new conservative mps to westminster today. mrjohnson is also expected to carry out a mini cabinet reshuffle. new conservative mps from former labour strongholds in the north and midlands are amongst those making their way to london. the general secretary of the labour party has recommended the timetable for a leadership election should begin on the 7th of january. water firms in england will have to cut bills by an average £50 annually by 2025 under new rules from the regulator. doctors urge parents to vaccinate their children, who are super—spreaders offlu, as they warn of an increase in patients using nhs services. tamara ecclestone, the daughter of former formula 1 boss bernie ecclestone, has had a reported £50 million worth of jewellery stolen

from her london home. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. bbc sports personality of the year is top of uk google trends. the winner was revealed last night in aberdeen as england cricketer, ben stokes. the award comes after his heroics in batting in this summer's world cup and ashes. ben stokes and his fellow england cricketers also won team of the year and moment of the year. let's take a look at what is trending on social what is trending on social media. prince louis is trending on twitter in the uk — that's after it was revealed by his mother, the duchess of cambridge, that his first word was inspired by tv cook — mary berry.

catherine told the story to the former bake 0ff presenter in a bbc christmas special. she said 19—month—old prince louis, was "fascinated by faces" and would say "that's mary berry" when he saw her on cookbooks in the family's kitchen. you can watch the christmas special a berry royal christmas, which airs on monday 16 december at 8.30pm on bbc one. boris johnson will today welcome 109 new conservative mps to westminster following his general election win. dehenna davison is a newly elected mp for bishop aukland — it is the first time ever a conservative has held that seat. she is seen here arriving at london's king cross station with her staff. many of the new conservative mps come from areas in the north and the midlands — some of which have not had a tory representative for decades or, even, ever. swedish climate activist greta thunberg has been criticised by a german rail firm for what it said was her implication that she had spent a journey without a seat on an overcrowded train.

the teenager tweeted a photograph of herself looking out of the window of her german train, writing "traveling on overcrowded "trains through germany. "and i'm finally on my way home!" in a series of tweets, the train company replied and thanked greta for travelling with them but also said, "it would have been even nicer if you had also reported how "friendly and competent you were looked after by our team "at your seat in first class." contrary to their claim that she had spent the entire journey in a seat in first class, greta said in a tweet on sunday afternoon she had only been able to sit in a seat after gottingen, more than four hours into her journey. "0ur train from basel was taken out of traffic. "so we sat on the floor on two different trains. "after gottingen i got a seat. "this is no problem, of course, and i never said it was. "0vercrowded trains is a great sign because it means the demand "for train travel is high!" when a country is run by the same leaderfor 20 years, it is inevitable that the whole

system of power comes to revolve around them. it's very much the case in russia, where vladimir putin has been in control for a full two decades. so much so that many russians feel they need to go directly to the president to solve their problems. steve rosenberg reports from eastern siberia. russian rulers are like siberian winters — they go on and on. josef stalin's icy grip spanned a quarter of a century. brezhnev ruled 18 years. foeradimir putin, it's already 20 and counting. da... this woman is a putin fan. when eight houses in her village burnt down... she sobs. ..she went on tv and begged the president for help. the very next day, mr putin sent in the builders and, abracadabra, new homes,

courtesy of the kremlin. she even got to meet russia's leader and shake his hand. translation: people in the village told me, "don't wash your hand for a year". some of them asked me to shake their hands with the hand the president shook. under putin, russia has arisen from its knees. let him stay in power, give him another 20 years! laughter. this is exactly how vladimir putin wants his people to see him — as the solution to their problems, not as the cause of them. and because the kremlin controls the media here, and the whole political system, for the last 20 years, it's been able to push this message quite successfully. over the last two decades, vladimir putin has honed the image of modern day tsar, all—powerful, irreplaceable. but not everyone in russia believes

that's a good thing. someone who's been in power for that long cannot avoid beginning to think that he is a very special, that he is more intelligent than anyone else, that he knows it all. gradually, you succumb to this aura of being the only and the one great and so on. and that's very dangerous for a country. boris yeltsin didn't succumb. 20 years ago, he stepped down early to hand over to putin. valentin yumashev played a key role in that decision. as boris yeltsin's chief of staff, he'd hired putin to be his deputy and later recommended him to yeltsin as a possible future president. so, what does he think? will putin leave office when constitutionally obliged to,

infouryears time? translation: if we asked putin now about 2024, he'd say 100% that he will step down. but that's four years away. the situation will be different. we don't know what vladimir putin will do then. what we do know is that, although russian winters are long, they do end, eventually. and so, eventually, will the putin era. but what comes next? what kind of leader? it's too soon to predict. steve rosenberg, bbc news siberia. that's it for today's morning briefing. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly. good morning... let's start in aberdeen, and another great night in the career of ben stokes. he was named bbc sports personality

of the year, topping off a year in which he won the cricket world cup with england, and single handedly won the third ashes test at headingley. there was plenty of emotion too, hardly a dry eye in the house as doddie weir was given the helen rollason award. joe wilson reports. 10,000 waited, warm indoors in aberdeen. not gareth thomas. he'd been cycling from cardiff, sometimes with friends on the quadricycle, but always with the same intention — to spread the message of tackling stigma. gareth played 100 rugby internationals for wales. he is hiv positive. oh, and he was delivering the trophy for this year's sports personality. aberdeen—born denis law read out the name. ben stokes. cheering. ben stokes had been a strong bookies' favourite. a slip of the tongue from presenter gary lineker had suggested he was the winner before voting even opened. in his speech, stokes referenced what he called a tough time

in his life two years ago. from the court case to this, stokes was trying to keep it in context. my wife, claire, you're a rock. you always have been. you always will be. i wish you could come up here with me, because you deserve this moment as much as i do. stokes finished ahead of lewis hamilton, and third was dina asher—smith. standing on a red carpet signifies success and glamour, but there are all sorts of reasons why sport should demand attention. applause. doddie weir strode forwards, the crowd rising with him, to receive the helen rollason award. a towering forward of scottish rugby, he's living with motor neurone disease, raising millions trying to find a cure. muscles no longer strong enough to hold the prize, so princess anne held it for him. doddie weir has never lost his sense of humour. it was quite ironic — being a scottish rugby player in the '905, this was the closest i ever got

to a trophy, so it's very nice. applause. and here, a true game changer for british sport. tanni grey—thompson's countless achievements did so much to establish her sport. to establish para sport. she took centre stage — a lifetime achievement award, and she's still only 50. the victory for ben stokes reflects cricket's resurgence in 2019 — world cup, ashes. he didn't do it all on his own, but he did do a lot of it. joe wilson, bbc news, aberdeen. ben stokes and spoty on almost all of this morning's back pages, lots of football in there too. the telegraph celebrates kevin de bruyne's brilliant performance in manchester city's 3—0 win over arsenal. the guardian focuses on arsenal's problems, interim boss freddie ljungberg calling on the club to make a decision about the next permanent manager. and there's mesut 0zil on the back of the sun, after reacting angrily to being substituted. and this is what happened,

0zil kicking away his gloves as he headed to the bench. interim boss freddie ljungberg said he would "deal" with the german. an incident which summed up arsenal's day. because they were tormented by kevin de bruyne who was at his brilliant best. he scored two and set up one. unsurprisingly, he was named man of the match. all the results and reaction from england, scotland and the wsl on the bbc sport webiste. the draw for the knockout stages of the champions league takes place at 11am this morning — four english teams involed. this is pot one, where we find reigning champions liverpool, manchester city in there, too. none of these sides can be drawn against each other, so their opponents will come from pot two, which includes spurs and chelsea. real madrid the other really big european name in that pot. and you can follow

the draw live from nyon in switzerland on the bbc sport website and app from 11am this morning. there was almost a bit of history at the darts last night. japan's mikuru suzuki came agonisingly close to becoming the first woman to win a pdc world championship match. she lost 3—2 to james richardson at ally pally. there is one other woman in the tournament, england's fallon sherrock plays tomorrow. and get ready for the latest installment of dogs interrupting sporting events. this is at a cycling event in belgium. it's lead still on, owner nowhere to be seen. taken off ta ken off following taken off following the cyclist in the road. just giving the cyclist a bit of a chase. he looks like a

puppy- in bit of a chase. he looks like a puppy. in the end, they did manage to catch him. fingers crossed they managed to find his owner. that's all the sport for now. thank you, that will be one red—faced owner when they finally appear! the headlines on bbc news... more than 100 new conservative mp will arrive in wesmtinster today as boris johson begins working towards delivering on his election promises. jennie formby, labour's general secretary, has laid out plans to begin the timetable for a leadership election on january 7th. water bills will come down in april 2020 after the regulator set out new pricing rules. the us special envoy for north korea says he's hopeful it's still possible to negotiate an end to pyongyang's nuclear — and missile programmes. stephen biegun has held a news conference after meetings with south korean officials. he arrived in seouljust hours after north korea announced it had

conducted another successful rocket engine test. i believe we can do this. but the united states cannot do it alone. therefore, here today, let me speak directly to our counterparts in north korea. it is time for us to do ourjobs. let's get this done. we are here. and you know how to reach us. 0ur correspondent laura bicker is in seoul and sent us this update on the standstill in negotiations. well, the clock is ticking, and the clock has been set by north korea themselves. they have said that donald trump has until the end of this year to come up with a denuclearisation deal that involves significant sanctions relief and security guarantees or north korea says it will choose what it describes as a new path. that leaves

the door open a little. what exactly is this new path? we have had a few hints over the last few months. more short range ballistic missile tests and also within the last week, there have been apparently two tests of a rocket engine. this is the kind of engine that may launch or help launch an intercontinental ballistic missile. these are the long—range missiles capable of hitting the united states. north korea appears to be ramping up the tension, wrapping up the rhetoric. here, stephen beacon in the capital of south korea doesn't have a deadline but only has a goal, that goal is to sit down with talks with north korea. the problem is that stephen fagan is having to do it directly to camera. “— fagan is having to do it directly to camera. —— stephen biegun. it doesn't sink you will get any face—to—face time with his north korean counterpart. last year, a number of short range ballistic

missile tests. that is despite being under strict sanctions will stop north korea's messages you can keep this so—called maximum pressure and even then, there are huge cracks in the sanctions pressure because it seems certainly supplies are coming in from elsewhere. there are cracks in the maximum pressure, there aren't the kind of sanctions there that perhaps the united states might like. north korea is still managing to produce weapons and still setting the deadlines themselves. they are saying, "look, we're giving you to the end of the year". the united states are still trying to apply a bit of pressure, saying there is no need for this hostility. also, donald trump just said two weeks ago that options would be on the table if there were any provocations from north korea. but it does seem that right now, north korea isn't listening. we have to wait and see. and we're certainly watching the m essa g es and we're certainly watching the messages from pyongyang very carefully over the next few and

days. 0pioids are an essential part of modern medicine — they're powerful drugs used to relieve pain. but they can be addictive — it's a major problem in the united states. one group of british surgeons is trying to do something about it. 0ur science correspondent, richard westcott, was given unique access to an operation performed without opioids. paul, so we're going to put a mask over yourface, just to give you some oxygen. this operation is different. so we're going to start the anaesthetic, and we're going to you a little something that will make you feel a little bit sleepy. patient paul is having part of his lung taken out. called thoracic surgery, it's the most painful surgery you can have, so they'd normally use powerful drugs called opioids, things like morphine and fentanyl, to control that pain. they're just getting the patient, paul, ready, to have part of his lung removed. but that's not what's unique about this operation. what's unique is the drugs that they're giving him. rather than opioids, they've been trying a cocktail of other drugs for the pain.

0pioids can have side effects like lethargy, confusion, breathing problems, which could mean a longer stay in hospital. so the benefit we've seen after using this technique, through the audit that we have performed, is that patients wake up quicker, stay less time in recovery, and also spend less time in the hospital. 0pioids can also be highly addictive. it's an epidemic in america, where millions are hooked to their pain relief. this technique does have potential to reduce the risk of opioid addiction in surgery. if you give too much opioids, they paradoxically cause more pain, and more pain means more analgesics, and the patients go home with repeat prescriptions, and that's how they unwittingly get addicted to opioids. 0k, start. yes, please. starting. the new technique's possible because surgery has become more skilful, going in through ever—smaller incisions to reduce pain.

but this is the only team in britain, and one ofjust a handful in the world, scaling back opioids for such a painful operation. the message is also to gps and medical practitioners that are involved in control of pain. so, if you can do thoracic surgery, you can also control other kinds of pain using opioid—free — a multi—modality strategy. the operation has gone well, and paul's off to recover. results so far suggest patients on the new drug regime have been leaving hospital around a day earlier than before. richard wescott, bbc news, royal pa pworth hospital in cambridge. that was encouraging. shoppers are being warned about the dangers of buying cheap christmas tree lights through online marketplaces such as amazon and ebay. an investigation by the consumer group which?

found that almost half the products it tested could cause a fire or electric shock. our business correspondent katie prescott reports. a christmas nightmare. this is what the consumer group which? found could happen when fairy lights sold online don't meet uk safety standards. half of the products they tested caused melting circuit boards and electric shocks. when we're decorating the christmas tree, most of us are probably thinking about what looks prettiest. but all these lights that were found to be faulty came from third—party sellers on online marketplaces, which makes it extremely difficult to know exactly what you're getting, because it's the vendor, in these cases, rather than the website, that's responsible for the product. the charity electrical safety first has been campaigning on this for years. we were taught something in school, which was "stranger equals danger". and this is exactly the same situation with buying electrical goods from online marketplaces, from strangers. you don't know who these people are, and they could send you anything in the post. ebay and amazon say the products

in question have been removed from their sites. customers are being advised to look out for warning signs when they buy christmas lights — those that are packaged in unbranded plastic wrapping, a lack of instructions, and products costing less than £5. the chartered trading standards institute recommends that anyone buying electricals should do so from a recognised retailer, and says that anyone who thinks that they have bought a set of dangerous lights should take them down straightaway. katie prescott, bbc news. that was a fairly stern warning, wasn't it? let's take a look at downing street, they have their christmas tree up and i want to take you there in order to mention very briefly some of the things coming up this morning. we discussed them with norman at the top of the hour but a reminder that we have 109 new

conservative mps converging from sometimes unexpected corners of the country. and really changing the complexion of the parliamentary conservative party. they are calling themselves a bluenarmy. there is a lot of tweeting and excitement from them on various trains around the country. they will meet the prime minister this morning and there will bea minister this morning and there will be a photo opportunity. he will welcome them and it is the first week in their new school. the prime minister's in tray a mini reshuffle because he has to find a new welsh secretary, new culture secretary and a new environment minister. we will have lots more on that. coming up, the victoria derbyshire programme, and through the day we'll be bringing you live updates from downing street and westminster. for now, thank you for watching. a chilly start to the day with a bit of ice across northern ireland, scotla nd of ice across northern ireland, scotland and the far north of england with some hill snow around

northern areas this morning. for the week ahead, quite a chilly start but gradually, temperatures will rise throughout the week and by the end of the week, it will turn wetter and windier. more unsettled for the second half of the week and the first half. some wintry showers across the hills of scotland into the afternoon, those showers feeding into north—western areas and patchy rain in the south—east of england with quite a bit of cloud but some bright skies in north wales, northern areas of england. the wind will be fairly light a path in the north—western corner with gusty conditions. maximum temperatures today getting up till about 6 to 10 degrees. tonight, if you showers across scotland and some of those a bit wintry and they will tend to spread north and mist and fog developing across wales, northern england and northern ireland into tomorrow morning will stop some of that could be freezing fog because temperatures will start to drop away at or below freezing. in the south—east, temperature is 4 to 7 degrees because we have more cloud

and rain in the morning. that will gradually move east, improving across central and southern areas. the rain likely to continue in norfolk, suffolk and essex and kent. further north and west, dry and bright with some fog stubborn to clear away but some sunshine, especially for scotland and northern ireland. tuesday night, that rain in the south—east linked into this weather front. that will clear away and a ridge of high pressure for tuesday night into wednesday before this area of low pressure starts to have an influence on our weather for the rest of the week. that will bring in some rain across south—west england, wales and northern ireland. further east, it will be dry and bright skies, a bit of sunshine and temperatures across eastern areas about 4—7 but towards the west and south—west, those temperatures around about 8 to 11 celsius. for the rest of the week, this area of low pressure will drive more weather systems across the uk. the white lines, the isobars, closer together.

it will turn windier and rain at times on thursday and friday. maximum temperatures up to about 9 to 11. at times, feeling chilly but we will lose the overnight frosts. goodbye.

hello it's monday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. no more knife edge votes, no more brexit drama. the new make—up of the house of commons behind me is going to be very different — borisjohnson has free reign to govern as he likes, with a big majority, and over 100 new conservative mps arriving here today. we'll speak to three new female mps, including a lib dem who, in her first day in the job, has already been tipped as a potential leadership candidate, meanwhile, there'll be a new labour leader by march, as potential candidates to succeed jeremy corbyn emerge. who do you think could lead the labour party back to being an electoral force? let me know. the duchess of cambridge reveals that prince william tries to impress her with his cooking. does william ever cook for you? he sometimes does, actually. he's very good at breakfast.