this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabarti at downing street. brexit trade deal talks have entered a "critical moment". the prime minister and the european commission president are speaking by phone now. the government says the talks are progressing but differences remain. while an agreement is preferable, we are prepared to leave on so—called australian—style terms if we can't find compromises. the whole country is waiting for the comprehensive trade and security deal that was promised to the british people at the general election less than a year ago. and i'm ben brown — the rest of today's top stories... final preparations are under way with the first covid vaccine jabs to be administered in the uk tomorrow.

hashem abedi, brother of the manchester arena bomber, admits his involvement in the conspiracy for the first time. and the days of snowball fights and snowmen could be over for much of the uk by the end of the century, according to the latest met office research. hello, good evening. it's 5pm, we're in downing street awaiting the outcome of the telephone call between the prime minister boris johnson and european commission president ursula von der leyen, who are assessing whether a post—brexit trade deal can be salvaged. the government says negotiations have reached a "critical moment" and that "though an agreement is preferable they are prepared to leave on australian style terms

if compromises cannot be found. earlier, downing street said that although time was in "very short supply", the uk would stick at the discussions if an agreement was still possible. no one outside the talks really knows where they've got to. but the mood music suggests there's still considerable discord. well, let's just remind ourselves of what the three sticking points have been in these negotiations. the first is fishing. it's just a small part of the uk's economic activity, but a symbolic one — with disagreement over the level of access the eu will get to fish in uk waters. perhaps the biggest issue is fair competition, also known as the "level playing field". the eu says the uk must stick to agreed rules on government aid to british firms, so that there's no unfair advantage. and then there's what's known as the governance of the deal — if an agreement is reached,

who will police it? with me is our political correspondent nick eardley. nick, we've talked a lot about these sticking points, haven't we? but at some stage, the two sides have to reach a decision. either there is or isn't a deal. how long can this timetable keep being stretched and stretched? i've lost track of the number of times we've spoken about this and gone how we are approaching a deadline, down to the wire, and it's managed to go on longer. the truth is the big deadline is 31 december when the transition period officially ends and the uk leaves the single market and european rules. however there is a lot happening before then that is really important. on thursday, there is a european council meeting where all the european leaders will take stock of where things are. and there are some who are desperate by that stage

to have something to take to say here are the areas they can compromise on to get a trade deal, 01’ compromise on to get a trade deal, or itjust isn't possible. they will have to admit defeat and go for a no deal trade situation. there's also the fact that there are many ministers in the uk government desperate to give some clarity to businesses. they know the rules will change at the end of the year, when that transition period ends, but they don't know what the new rules will be, and they won't know that until that transition —— unless that trade deal is agreed or not, as it may be. the big thing to watch out for in the next hour or so is what borisjohnson for in the next hour or so is what boris johnson and ursula for in the next hour or so is what borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen say about two things — whether these talks continue or there's any more room to find a compromise, and whether there's any political movement, whether either side is prepared to say, "here's something we could potentially move to allow us we could potentially move to allow us to get a trade deal over the

line." all signs over the last 48 hours or so have been far more pessimistic than optimistic. but let's face it, there's always a bit of theatrics and trade agreements, as well, so nothing is dead but nothing is done. nick, we know you have your ear to the ground and will bring us news when you have it. thank you very much, nick lee there. speaking in the commons a little earlier, the cabinet officer minister penny mordaunt, said the uk was prepared to walk away with australian style terms if a deal could not be reached. we are all working to get a deal. but the only deal that is possible is one that is compatible with our sovereignty and takes back control of our laws, trade, and waters. while an agreement is preferable, we are prepared to leave on so—called australian—style terms if we can't find compromises. as the prime minister has made clear, people and businesses must

prepare for the changes that are coming on 31 december — most of which are related to our departure from the eu single market and customs union, and not the outcome of these talks. mr speaker, we will continue to keep the house updated as we seek to secure a future relationship with our eu friends that respects our status as a sovereign equal and independent country. the shadow office minister, rachel reeves, criticised the government's handling of the trade talks. last year, the prime minister said that to leave with no deal would be "a failure of statecraft". so this government must take responsibility for their failure if we are to leave without a deal. and mr speaker, we will hold the government to account whatever they bring back — deal or no deal. let's cross straight to brussels. our europe editor katya adler

is at the european commission. the mood music from brussels today has been pretty gloomy. how would you assess things? absolutely, yes, you assess things? absolutely, yes, you described it, pretty gloomy. i could also say downbeat. michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator, briefed the eu 27 member states, then going to the european parliament and said there was still deadlocked, no agreement, limited progress on the three main outstanding issues that we keep hearing — fish, competition regulations, and how to police a deal if it is ever agreed. you can look at this many ways. you can say, "this is just the low point before both sides get ready to make those difficult political compromises we've also spoke about for so long that would make those necessary to reach a deal." that doesn't mean a

deal is no longer possible. but on the other hand you do see here a clash of ideologies, and we just heard from penny mourdaunt they're talking about sovereignty. for the government, brags it was about national sovereignty and breaking away from brussels's rules, being free to diverge and make your own rules and regulations —— brexit. but when it comes to the eu, and ordering to give uk preferential access to its market, it says it wa nts to access to its market, it says it wants to protect its markets with competition rules, so it wants the uk to sign up to them. and because it knows it has the best the uk has a need to diverge, the eu is... so that if either side breaks the agreement, they would face stiff penalties. and there they are stuck for the moment. the eu, it seems like it is moving towards an informal new deadline of wednesday to see where talks are by that point and if it is worth continuing trying to talk, bearing in mind eu leaders

meet on thursday and friday for a long scheduled summit. and of course we are waiting any moment now to hear the result of a conversation going on between ursula von der leyen, the european commission president, and the prime minister, to hear their assessment of the last two days of talk. indeed, and in fa ct, two days of talk. indeed, and in fact, one news agency is suggesting that eu chiefs are going to be holding a video call with president emmanuel macron of france and with the german chancellor. might want to assume that will be about the content assume that will be about the co nte nt of assume that will be about the content of that phone call that's been going on this afternoon? well, you have a lot of eu countries that have been very jittery you have a lot of eu countries that have been veryjittery about negotiations, because the eu in general want a deal with the uk, just like the government says it wa nts a just like the government says it wants a deal with the eu. but if you talk to individual member states, they echo that phrase that we've heard so often when theresa may was

a minister, and that was "no deal is better than a bad deal." it's what thejohnson government better than a bad deal." it's what the johnson government says better than a bad deal." it's what thejohnson government says as well. they don't want to give up too much to reach a deal. so you have france first and foremost, which has threatened to use its veto if it doesn't like the deal even if one is agreed, but the netherlands, denmark, many countries are nervous about the content of the deal. they say they trust michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator, but they are also saying to him, "we want the steel to be in our long—term interest. don't feel the time pressure here to the end of the year just to agree to a deal." this could really govern future relationships between the uk and the eu for decades to come. 0k, many thanks, that's katia adler speaking to us from brussels. we can speak now to public policy editor at the financial times, peter foster. good evening to you, peter, thank

you very much forjoining us. i suppose it is worth remembering that whatever the outcome of this conversation today and the outcome of the negotiations, things will be very different for businesses and for citizens in the uk, whether there's no deal or there is a deal. that's absolutely right, we call this a free trade deal, but no one should think it should lead to frictionless trade. we will are leaving the eu single market, meaning we are putting back in place many of the checks and controls that disappeared after 1992 when the single market was created. hmrc estimates it will be around 217 million customs declarations come up from 55 now. that's £7.5 billion worth of burden on businesses. even if we do a zero tariff, zero quota

deal, we would still pay tariffs because under the rules of origin, goods must be sufficiently made in the uk to follow for test qualify for zero tariff. there's a perception gap, where it's pretty gloomy at the moment but if we get a deal, people might be mistaken thinking we can all go back for christmas and not worry about it. big change on the way. how prepared do you think the businesses are at the moment for what's coming down the moment for what's coming down the line? not very well prepared. a lot of things are still unclear, they don't know if they will be paying tariffs or not. the government keeps saying that a lot of this will apply whether we have a deal or not, which is true. but if you are a business in the real world, but if you've been doing this year? you've been fighting covid—19, you are now preparing for christmas, there are delays in the uk ports at

there are delays in the uk ports at the moment, there are lots of things on your plate. and particularly for the small and medium—sized businesses who don't have big legal departments or teams, they are the ones will struggle to adjust and i think will struggle to obtain enough professional advice, because there will be a shortage of professional advice available in order to com plete advice available in order to complete all the paperwork. and if you look at the government's border operating, it is quite mind—boggling stuff if you're not part of a large business. that's why think the government is expecting there'll be some disruption in the first 2—3 months, deal no deal. and how do you foresee trade goods going between britain and northern ireland? do you anticipate that things will be more difficult once we get into the 1st of january?

difficult once we get into the 1st ofjanuary? they certainly will, yes, under the northern ireland protocol that boris johnson yes, under the northern ireland protocol that borisjohnson signed as part of the divorce deal, all goods going from great britain and northern ireland must be compliant with the eu's customs code. and that's paperwork. safety and security declarations, all the paperwork involved in exporting other than a customs code will be required. and again, if small businesses supplying supermarkets go to northern ireland, they'll have to adapt to new, complex processes. as we've seen this week, one of the main trading groups and northern ireland really howling in protest of the government, saying, "you need to tell us what's going on and give us the details." but the government can't because the negotiations are still going on in thejoint committee, which is deciding exactly how this new trade border in the irish sea will be implemented. we

will have to leave it there. thank you very much, that's peter foster there from the financial times. that conversation between the prime minister in the eu commission president has been going on this afternoon, starting at 4pm. we'll be back as soon as we hear any more updates, but for now, let's go back to ben in the studio. reeta chakra barti there reeta chakrabarti there for us in downing street. let's take a look at the latest figures in the uk. a further 14,718 people have tested positive for the virus. another 189 people have died within 28 days of a positive covid test, which takes the total number of deaths to 61,434. but it's worth noting that there is often a lag in reporting over the weekend, so that monday's figures are often lower that they would otherwise be.

dozens of hospitals across the uk are receiving batches of the new coronavirus vaccine, with the first jabs to be given tomorrow. front—line health staff, those over 80, and care home workers will be first to get it. the government says the army could be used to help transport further stocks of the pfizer biontech vaccine. here's our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. military personnel running a mass coronavirus testing centre in liverpool. now they may be asked to help again, this time in transporting stocks of the vaccine from belgium to the uk, in what has been described as a significant challenge. we are looking at non—commercial flight options, so we will ensure... i mean, this is such an important product — probably perhaps the most important product — so we will look to ensure that those supplies are available in the uk in whatever circumstance. in total, the uk has bought 40 million doses

of the pfizer vaccine, enough to protect 20 million people. a small proportion of that — around 800,000 doses — are expected to be available this week. the vaccine has to be stored at extremely low temperatures in special freezers and it's hospitals that have them, so elderly people attending outpatient appointments will be the first to be immunised, followed by 80—year—olds in the community who will be invited to receive the jab. it's given in two doses. the key thing that we know from other vaccine programmes is actually making sure that people come back for that second dose, and making sure that we factor that in with the appointments that people are given, because it's a 21—day gap between the first dose and the second dose of the vaccine. so i think that's the key challenge. patients will be given a reminder card to ensure they return for a second jab. this has led some to speculate

the card might become an immunity passport to allow for more freedoms, but the government has said this is not part of their plan. we are going to run through the assessment process now. nurses have been undergoing training in how to give the vaccine, in what the government says is the largest vaccination campaign in uk history. so how are they feeling about the task? nervous. excited that there's something out there that can protect us as well as our patients, and hopefully we will see less cases coming in to critical care, and the vaccine will be of some benefit. 50 hospitals will act as hubs to store and administer the vaccine in this first wave of immunisations, which is set to begin tomorrow. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. well, we can speak now to the chief executive of nhs providers, chris hopson.

he joins us live from north west london. good to have you with us, thank you very much. tomorrow is being called vide, that's what the health secretary said. are we ready for the beginning of vaccinations? —— vide. nhs staff have been working credibly ha rd over nhs staff have been working credibly hard over the last few months. they knew this was on the way, they've been working really hard the last few weeks. so it's been a fever pitch the last 4—5 days when we heard on thursday that the pfizer vaccine had received regulatory approval, and also at the same time, thejoint committee approval, and also at the same time, the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation made it clear about what the priority order should be. so what we've been doing the last few days is marrying those two things together to work out who do we vaccinate, and to put the things in place to make sure we're ready to do so from tomorrow morning. just run us do so from tomorrow morning. just run us again through who will be first in the queue, and will they have been told by now if they are about to get a vaccine? they will

know by now. so effectively what we've got is the first priority group, a care home residents and workers, then the second priority group was the over 80s and most at risk nhs staff. you need to marry thejcb i's risk nhs staff. you need to marry the jcb i's ideal risk nhs staff. you need to marry thejcb i's ideal priority with what you can actually do operationally. so what we've been doing is identifying which care home workers could come into the hospital site to be vaccinated. they've then be talking to the local gps about what 80—year—olds might be able to come along to the hospital hub, and effectively they've also been working out — and the way this will happen is if there any spiritus is available at the end of the day, if people haven't shown up, then trusts have also been identifying their highest at risk staff so should those doses need to be used up, then effectively they've identified the staff who would actually use those

doses at the end of the day. but it's been 100 mph working really, really ha rd to it's been 100 mph working really, really hard to make sure all this has been ready for tomorrow. really hard to make sure all this has been ready for tomorrowm someone has been ready for tomorrowm someone watching right now thinks they haven't had their letter yet, should they be worried? they shouldn't be worried. what i've been saying overnight was anyone over 80 really shouldn't worry if they've not received a letter even by the end of the month. this is a marathon, not a sprint. it will take us marathon, not a sprint. it will take usa number of marathon, not a sprint. it will take us a number of months to get through, and the phrase i'm using is, "don't call us, we will call you." in other words, people will be made aware of when they need to come forward. i assume when we get towards the end of the particular cohort, like all the over 80s, i assume there will be some national publicity to say that now is the time if you haven't had your call or letter, then perhaps you may want to talk to your gp. but at the moment

we are literallyjust starting this, setting it up so people really shouldn't be expecting communications, either in a letter or call. just wait a minute, let us get it up and running, and the communications will come clear. that is clear. obviously it is very important that care home that accident tell my current residence get vaccinations, but there are logistical difficulties there? there are, if you can imagine a large sized pizza box that has 975 vials of the vaccine, then they need to be stored at —70 celsius. but if you wa nt stored at —70 celsius. but if you want a split up, you need to do it ina want a split up, you need to do it in a specialised fridge which is much larger than the fridge most hospitals have got, and it needs to be done by a specialist. it's not like taking a bunch of of yoghurts out of the fridge, breaking one off, putting it in the bag and taking it to the fridge of work. it's specialist work. so, to be frank, i

don't think there any care homes that have 975 residents, they tend to be into the 40s. it's just the splitting up into smaller batches process that needs to be up and running and working effectively. hopefully a week to ten days away, what we can do is hospital hubs will then pass to gps with the broken up batches. but the key is as soon as you do that, you do have to use those vaccines within a particular period of time. so it's notjust the splitting up that's important, but being completely confident that when you pass them on to gps to actually do the vaccination, they're ready to go. very good way of putting it, ben, there are some logistical complexities to get to the care home workers. very well explained. what would you say to anyone watching this now who is a bit sceptical about whether they want to have the vaccine? maybe they're worried it's been developed rather quickly? may

been developed rather quickly? may be they've been reading some of the conspiracy theories that there are on social media, and so on? what would be her message to them?|j on social media, and so on? what would be her message to them? i have two messages. first, we have an absolutely fantastic, copper bottom regulatory approval process in this country. this vaccine would not have got past that really leading edge, high—quality approval process it wasn't safe. and secondly, i have a mother over 80, and she's really concerned about catching covid. she's been home all the way through, and she would like to get out! and what we're saying is, this is the opportunity, if you do the vaccination, this is the opportunity to protect yourself against covid. so it's a fantastic opportunity that people should really be taking. but we wouldn't be administering it if it wasn't safe. last question, possibly the most important — how long you think it will take to

vaccinate all the people that we are aiming to vaccinate in the united kingdom? that's a very good question and we are deliberately not answering it at this point. for the reason that we simply don't know how fast this will go. for example, in order to really make this work, it won't just be order to really make this work, it won'tjust be the pfizer vaccine, but the oxford and madera no one, and we know there are 3—4 others in development. you can't tell at this point until you know when those vaccines will get regulatory approval, and how quickly the doses will arrive. so the sort of timescale were talking about in terms of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the timescale were talking about is early summer, at the point where we've vaccinated sufficient numbers of people that you really can say that we are starting to get on top of all this. but the final point, if i may, in

the meantime, i cannot tell you how important it is to abide by the social distancing rules. so just because the vaccine is literally around the corner tomorrow morning, that doesn't mean we can let up on those social contact restrictions. they are incredibly important. lots of good messages there, chris hopson, chief executive of nhs providers. thanks for talking to us. thank you. trials of rapid coronavirus testing in care homes have started in scotland. 14 homes in five local authority areas are taking part. it's hoped it will help relatives visit their loved ones safely. but concern about the accuracy of lateral—flow tests has prompted some homes in england to stop using them. our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie reports. the first minister spent the morning at the western general hospital in edinburgh, one of 23 vaccination centres in scotland. you are the first person to be vaccinated. for those living in care homes,

visits from family and friends have been very limited throughout this pandemic. both of alison's parents have dementia and are in a care home. through a window or in a doorway, sort of four metres away with mum stretched out trying to see me, trying to touch me, trying to be with me, and a care worker pulling her back saying, "no, you can't do that," all of that feels wrong, completely wrong. the scottish government hope the introduction of rapid testing of care home visitors will mean more people can be reunited over christmas. 14 care homes across scotland are taking part in the trial of rapid or lateral flow tests for visitors. they don't need to go to the lab for analysis, and it takes about half an hour for the results to come back. but the scottish government has said that it doesn't replace the additional layers of protection against coronavirus such as ppe. but the british medicaljournal said a community pilot in liverpool

showed the tests only picked up half of the cases detected by the current pcr test — raising concerns about safety. others have defended its use. it finds virus in some people, what it doesn't do is find all of the virus in all of the people. but it is better than not testing, and the technology is improving all the time. so we're going to test itjust in a small number of homes to try and remove this horrible, horrible thing we've got where people can't see their elderly relatives. and then, if we think it's working there, as we review it, we will introduce it in more homes over time. more than 100,000 people in scotland have now tested positive for coronavirus. it's hoped that the arrival of the vaccine and the new tests signal the beginning of the end of these dark and challenging times. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow.

now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. it's been really cold today where it stayed grey and foggy through parts of the midlands, east anglia and the south—east of england, some more fog around here through this evening and into tonight. further north we start to see the weather changing, cloud thickening, the wind picking up, some wetter weather moving in here. maybe some snow over the mountain tops but it's generally going to be rain. got a few showers further south, but that fog more towards the south—east of the uk. patchy frost in england and wales, and that means the risk of some icy patches. further north in scotland, northern and eastern areas could have some localised flooding by tomorrow. that rain continues at times in scotland, northern ireland, northern england, pushing down towards wales. one or two showers further south but some sunshine coming through. not as much mist, fog and low cloud. it could linger a bit towards east anglia so it's going to be quite cold here. but we've got a bit more of a breeze to stir things up and the winds could be touching gale force across the western isles of scotland and the north coast of northern ireland. here, temperatures probably

about 8—9, 5—6 will be more typical elsewhere. about 8—9, 5—6 will be hello this is bbc news. the headlines... brexit trade deal talks nter a critical moment — boris johnson and european commission president, ursula von der leyen, have been speaking on the phone — we're awaiting the outcome of that conversation final preparations are underway with the first covid vaccine jabs to be administered in the uk tomorrow. hashem abedi — brother of the manchester arena bomber — admits his involvement in the conspiracy for the first time. and the days of snowball fights and snowmen could be over for much of the uk by the end of the century — according to the latest met office research. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport center,

more on the brexit situation coming up more on the brexit situation coming up the next few minutes. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport center, here's olly foster. good evening. the 2022 world cup qualifying draw is under way for 55 european nations. they will be split into ten groups with either five or six teams in each. england are one of the top seeds and they have been placed in group i, which will have five other teams. they are in the very early stages of the draw in zurich. wales are in the pot of second seeds. we will take you live there now to see what's going on. we also know that in group e, belgium, wales have got belgium in group e. wales obviously knocking belgium out of the last euros in france four years ago now. so they have a little but of history. we haven't seen hu northern ireland's i've got yet am i don't believe. a public of ireland also in that second group of seeds.

you can go to the bbc sport website to watch all this unfold. there's northern ireland. we can see they've just come out. let's see where they are going. they won five straight matches in 2008 without conceding a single goal. they are going to have a difficult group by now, see with italy and switzerland. there you go. italy and switzerland. there you go. it early and switzerland for northern ireland. —— italy and switzerland. a tough draw for them. northern ireland in the group of third seeds. lots of teams still to come out, like i said to me can follow this on the bbc sport website or the red button. the 2022 qualifying draw for the world cup of european nations. england's one—day series against south africa has been called off because of continuing concerns over a number of coronavirus cases within both camps in cape town. the first one—dayer was abandoned and they should have been playing

the second of three matches today. a south africa player and two members of hotel staff tested positive, while england say two members of their party returned "unconfirmed positive tests". not do to get those results until tomorrow. tom curran is in that england squad and was due tojoin up with the sydney sixers for the big bash later this week in australia, but after spending the best part of the last 6 months in bio—secure bubbles he has opted to return home to be with his family. the sixers say... "the varying conditions we are asking our players to play "cricket in worldwide is taking its toll and we understand "tom's need for a break‘" in the last few minutes it's been confirmed that breaking, a form of break dance will be included in the olympic programme at the 2024 olympic games in paris. it's part of the ioc‘s drive to appeal to younger audiences. it willjoin other urban sports such as skateboarding, freestyle bmx and 3v3 basketball,

which are set to be retained after debuts at the delayed tokyo olympics. parkour, that involves running, jumping and climbing over obstacles, has been overlooked. they wanted to be included, but they've missed out. breaking will be included, if only it had been an olympic sport when i was around, because i surely would've been up for a metal. let's just because i surely would've been up for a metal. let'sjust take because i surely would've been up for a metal. let's just take you back to that draw, scotland, have been drawn against austria and denmark. so a pretty tough draw for them as well. england getting poland so far. he can go to the bbc sport website for all of those details. as it unfolds, many more nations to come out of the hat, and we will have them offer you in sports day at half past six. yes, very interested to follow that draw. inc. you very much, ali foster there with all the sport.

more now on our top story. we are awaiting the outcome of the telephone call between the prime minister borisjohnson and european commission president ursula von der leyen, who are assessing whether a post—brexit trade deal can be salvaged. let's go back to reeta chakrabarti who's at downing street for us. thank you very much, ben. yes, indeed, we are still waiting. we are hearing that there is one of the news agencies has suggested that eu chiefs are due to hold of video conference call with the leaders of france and germany. that does make it sound as if the phone call between the two leaders between borisjohnson, is between the two leaders between boris johnson, is probably between the two leaders between borisjohnson, is probably over, but we don't have official confirmation of that yet. we will of course be bringing you the very latest as soon as we have it. what we do have now is we arejoined as we have it. what we do have now is we are joined by sam lowe, as we have it. what we do have now is we arejoined by sam lowe, a senior fellow of the pro—eu think

tank —— sam lowe is a senior fellow at the pro—eu think tank, the center for european reform. that afternoon to you, sam. thank you forjoining us. we are all trying to read the rooms at the moment, of course, interpret any sign that comes out of the talks that are going on. do you detect signs of progress? yes, i do think there has been some progress, and i'm trying to ignore a lot of what's been briefed by different people, because i think there's a lot of noise there. but in terms of something substantial of, we have seen something this evening that the uk has published a document stating that it will withdraw some of these controversial clauses to deal with northern ireland to deal with the internal market deal if an agreement can be reached in the joint committee discussions that relate to this over the coming days. and this is something that's really important when it comes to getting the trade over the line, because they view these as a breach of the uk's international commitments and a sign

of insincerity. we know that there are three main sticking points in these negotiations, and competition rules, just talk us through why this is so important. so this is an area in which the eu has put some conditions on the uk getting tariff and quota free access to its markets, and these conditions relate to environmental protections, labour rates and also subsidy control. and the discussion is largely around the conditions, the preferential access, so if the uk where to breach its commitments in the environmental space, what would be the punishment? and the punishment could only ever be the

withdrawal of the benefits of the agreement, but the processes around this, even the principal itself is something that uk contested throughout. the other main issue is about how the uk can remain competitive and still reach an agreement with the eu. how do you see that? it's one of those odd ones where i think fundamentally, the uk really needs to decide whether it wants tariff sunday one because it's failed to reach an agreement with the eu, or it's willing to accept the tariffs could be reimposed in future if it's reaches its commitment sign environments, labour or subsidy. so there's an agreement there to be done, you know, it gets difficult at this stage because everybody has been talking up the differences and being captured by the grand language of sovereignty and taking back control when actually, there's quite an obvious solution here, it's not,

you know, that difficult to accept that uk can still do whatever it once and future, just might lose some of the benefits of the agreement, but it will only lose those when and if it to diverge rather than instantly on day one because it failed to reach an agreement. i'm still optimistic that agreement. i'm still optimistic that a deal can be reached, but of course, a deal can be reached, but of course , we a deal can be reached, but of course, we will find out if that will be the case because there are things that could be happening in the talks still. yes, indeed. we shouldn't have too long to wait. well, thank you very much indeed. that is sam lowe from the centre of european reform. now, ijust european reform. now, i just want to bring european reform. now, ijust want to bring you some pictures that we've just received after those talks between boris johnson and his eu counterparts, and this is charles michelle who is the

president of the european council, and he is speaking there with the president of the european commission, i thank you can see there is a video conference that's going on. the other participants are the president of france, emmanuel macron and also the chancellor of germany, angela merkel. so this is a call that has taken place after the phone call. i'm just here and come i'm just being updated here that and the eu official has said... so we're just hearing that the prime

minister, borisjohnson just hearing that the prime minister, boris johnson and just hearing that the prime minister, borisjohnson and his eu cou nterpa rts minister, borisjohnson and his eu counterparts have ta ken minister, borisjohnson and his eu counterparts have taken a break from the phone call that they were having and a break from the discussions. as you can tell, the situation is a very fluid one. we will be back as soon as we hear anymore updates. but for the time being, so not let's go back to ben in the studio. inc. you very much, with the very latest from downing street. —— thank you very much. you are watching bbc news, let's just repeat that line that we were just getting, the reuters news agency are quoting an eu official as saying, "boris johnson and his eu counterparts have agreed to take a break from brexit deal discussions." we are trying to flush that out and bring a bit more details on that as they come into us, but in the meantime,

let's talk about coronavirus. the first vaccines against coronavirus will be given out at hospital hubs across the uk tomorrow. they'll be given to inpatients and outpatients who will be prioritised by age and clinical vulnerability — as the chief executive of nhs england sir simon stevens has been explaining. he started by highlighting how significant tomorrow will be for england. tomorrow is the beginning of the biggest vaccination campaign in our history. building on successes from previous campaigns against conditions and diseases like polio and meningitis, and tuberculosis. so hospitals and gps and pharmacists, as more vaccines become available, will be vaccinating at least until next spring. so in the meantime, we will have to continue to be very careful. but if we do that, i think there's every chance we will look back on tomorrow as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus. how will it be organised initially in hospitals in england? who precisely will get it and when?

the first people to be vaccinated tomorrow will be the over—80s and some care home workers coming to hospital hubs across england. and then, that will be followed by gps offering vaccinations and community hubs, and pharmacists. and we think there's every prospect that by next spring, the high—risk, vulnerable groups identified by the medical experts will all be vaccinated. but you are, are you, to begin with — certainly in england, doing some nhs staff that are more vulnerable, is that right? we want to make sure that all of the vaccine is used appropriately. and so, the medical experts that advise nhs have said that if there are slots available, then they can be used for high—risk nhs staff. but priority are the over—80s and care home residents and care home staff. and tomorrow, when we kick off the biggest vaccine campaign in our history,

they will be first in line. do you feel it is safe to bring care home workers into these hospital hubs? hospital hubs such as the one we are sitting in here are set up to provide appointments for the over 80s, as well as for care home staff. and that will be followed by gps in every part of the country being able to offer the coronavirus vaccine to their at risk groups, as well as pharmacists over time. one of the first receipients of the vaccine will be hari shukla and his wife, ra njan, from newcastle. hari explained how he felt when he was told he was to be one of the first in the country to be vaccinated. we felt actually that this will come to an end, and when we heard that they were going to start on tuesday here and when i received a telephone call, i was very excited i got the

opportunity ofjoining in and taking pa rt opportunity ofjoining in and taking part in that. so we are very, very pleased and happy and excited as well. what did you make of it when he told you? when he told me, i said, what about me? and he said, well, i can bring him, —— ring him, doctor wilson, and asked him if he come from and he did, and he said, of course he can come with you. so yes, i'm going with him as well. and how much of a relief is that for you? a big relief, because it's not an ordinary crisis. we are terribly, terribly worried, we don't know what's happening, and people are actually getting ill and also dying and all of that. so it was a relief to hear that, yes, things are coming to hear that, yes, things are coming to an end now because we are with looking forward to having a vaccine and ourteam at looking forward to having a vaccine and our team at the top have been

working day and night to get it ready for us, and i think they will produce it in a very, very short time. so we are very grateful for them and proud of them that they have done this. that will actually help now, and things, hopefully, can get back to normal. you must be the envy of all your friends by the end of tomorrow, because everyone wants this vaccine. well, we have let the friends know, but my family, we've got three daughters, and they all know, and they said good, mom. actually, i was thinking when i heard the news about getting the vaccine, because i pray every day for the people in the world that are going through this crisis. i say, i'm the lucky one to get this, but i sincerely hope that all other people will get it soon. so that it will work for them, the people in the world.

now, let's take you back to those brexit talks. we know that that you commission president has been talking on the phone to boris johnson, the prime minister, this afternoon, and we have got a picture of him on the phone there —— or on the phone there, and there are reports that we've been bringing you in the last few minutes, that the two, mrjohnson and ursula von der leyen from the eu site appear to have decided to take a break during their phone call, laura kuenssberg him our political editor, just tweeting that they have appeared to ta ke tweeting that they have appeared to take a break during that call. as laura says, 0 frantic speculation as to what that means. and whether the negotiations are currently on hold asa negotiations are currently on hold as a result of ads, we know that ursula von der leyen has been consulting in the last few minutes with france and germany, with president emmanuel macron, angela merkel of germany as well, and so, a

little bit of uncertainty about the latest state of play on the talks, and just hearing also from our te, the irish broadcaster, saying that british negotiators have proposed stripping the valuable fishing industry out of the brexit talks, the fishing industry out of the brexit negotiations and instead have those stocks dealt with through an informal farm those stocks dealt with through an informalfarm bringing those stocks dealt with through an informal farm bringing together countries such as russia, norway and the faroe countries such as russia, norway and the fa roe islands. countries such as russia, norway and the faroe islands. at the bigger picture is that ursula von der leyen, the eu commission president and boris johnson have leyen, the eu commission president and borisjohnson have been talking, but they've decided to take some sort of break, some sort of pause, not quite sure what that means, whether that is good news or bad news in terms of a trade deal being agreed. we will bring you the very latest as it comes into us. the brother of the manchester arena bomber has admitted his involvement in planning the attack

for the first time. hashem abedi is serving 55 years in prison. our correspondent, damian grammaticas, says details emerged during the public inquiry today during questioning by one of the barristers. paul greaney was questioning the police officer who led the investigation and he said, you will be aware that on 22nd october, hashem abedi being interviewed in prison admitted he played a full part, a knowing part, in preparation for the attack and the police officer acknowledged that. there was no more details at all given and that is all that we have heard from there. but i think what's interesting to say is that at the time hashem abedi fled the country, he fought extradition, when he came back he denied involvement, in court he didn't give evidence, he only gave a written statement, he didn't appear at the sentencing in front of their families. i think the families will feel that at every turn — he denied involvement — he told the police that he knew nothing about it and if he had known

he would have reported this to his family to try to stop it. so with no more details here i think this will simply sort of add to the sense of frustration and the pain and anger the family has felt that he never confronted what he had actually done. and that, of course, is now the job of the inquiry to get to the bottom of the events and what happened there, and that's what the families are looking to for answers. as the uk prepares to roll out the first 800,000 vaccines from tomorrow, many people have contacted us here at the bbc with questions about it. we've put some of them to dr penny ward, a visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at kings college london, who's spent the last 30 years developing drugs and vaccines. my name is ariana hart. i currently attend soas university. are there any implications of the vaccine that would have been missed that could come to light in the future that could actually outweigh the risk

of getting coronavirus for young people themselves? as a technology, it has been studied in clinical trials actually for over ten years in different types of disease. so the first thing is that, although it's a new technology, it's really quite well understood and it's been well understood, and there has been a quite long time now, so if something serious had occurred because of it, there's a good chance that we would have seen it by now. but the vaccine itself has been approved for use by people over the age of 16, or 16 and older, and in order to have been approved the observed benefits had to outweigh the observed risks. many, many people, particularly younger people, may not know they have the infection, actually, and they pass that infection to other people

who then go on to become more seriously unwell. my name's ajay, i'm 42 years old, and i have a disability called spinal muscular atrophy, which is basically a muscle wasting condition which i was born with. what demographic of people were the trials carried out on? was there a way to carry it out on anyone with health conditions? what age, sex, race, where those trials carried out on? where they also carried out on anyone withheld in —— health conditions? yes, people over the age of 16 were allowed to take part in the phase three clinical trials, and people in many different countries have participated, so places like south africa, brazil, india, and a variety of different countries,

north america, and that did include people who had other conditions that would make them vulnerable to infection and disease with covid. my name is emily, i am interested in asking a question about the new vaccine because i have a condition called mecfs. i am interested in learning about how new vaccines work and are rolled out in vulnerable populations that have chronic health conditions that may be confirmed to have an immune system issue involved in them all suspected, so things like ms, mecfs or autoimmune conditions like lupus, so can you tell me how it will work for those communities and if it has been tested on them yet? the quick answer to your question about half the people with ms,

lupus, rheumatoid arthritis taken part in clinical trials, yes, ——the quick answer to your question about have the people with ms, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis taken part in clinical trials, yes, they were able to take part in those trials, but the information from those large phase three studies has not been made public yet. it has been looked at by the regulator, and we know that they licensed the use of the vaccine in the uk, and i know that the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation have also seen that information and have recommended that people with these conditions should be offered the vaccine. the other thing that we now, from our experience with the influenza vaccine in people with autoimmune conditions, is that receipt of the vaccination does not stimulate a relapse of the disease. 0k. so we would expect, based on that experience, the covid vaccination will also be safe. i'm barbara jackson, i'm 77.

for people like me who are allergic to penicillin and the trimethoprim group of drugs and also anti—tetanus, are there any contraindications to taking the vaccine? i did speak to my gp, who said he didn't know the answer! the quick answer is that because many people are allergic to penicillin and some other antibiotics, you'll be glad to know that vaccines generally do not contain penicillins or trimethoprim, and we have over 40,000 people who took part in the vaccine studies, the various different vaccines, and there were no serious allergic reactions reported. so i think we can be reasonably

confident that it should be ok, but we do need to see the list of all the ingredients and then compare it to the list of things to which you personally may be allergic before you have the vaccine. hello there. it's another cold day, particularly where the fog and low cloud lingers across parts of the midlands, southeast england and east anglia, some freezing fog as well, and in many areas where it has stayed grey, temperatures have struggled to get above freezing all day. patchy fog into this evening, further north, wet weather is starting to arrive, and the weather is starting to change here. this area of low pressure coming in from the north sea, bringing wetter weather for northern areas. further south, still hardly any breeze, so mist and fog will reform, thickening up in the same

sort of areas. a few showers into west wales, the far southwest of england, a few into the far southeast of england, but most of that wetter weather coming into scotland, later northern ireland and the far north of england, keeping temperatures up here. further south, a patchy frost and the risk of icy patches too. the rain overnight and into tomorrow could be a concern across northern and eastern parts of scotland, not expecting huge amounts of rain, but given that the ground is saturated, it brings the risk of some flooding and travel disruption too. that wetter weather continues to affect scotland, northern ireland, northern england, pushing down to north wales as well. one or two showers further south, some sunshine coming through, not as much mist and fog and low cloud because we have got more of a breeze to stir things up, and we could be touching gale force in the western isles of scotland, the north coast of northern ireland. temperatures getting up to 9 degrees, the lowest temperatures are going to be across east anglia, where the mist and fog and low cloud could linger into the afternoon. things quieten down, we have that area of low pressure, rain on it tending to peter out overnight, and as we move into wednesday, but there's more

cloud across northern and eastern parts of scotland, and by this stage northern and eastern parts of england with showers and not as much fog. then dry weather and sunshine before we see an atlantic weather front bringing rain towards wales and the south west, and northern ireland by the time we get to the evening. ahead of that, temperatures of 7 degrees with light winds. not a great deal of rain heading our way on thursday, most of it diving down into france. the next weather system has a bit more about it, and that is probably arriving on friday. thursday, arriving on friday. chile, friday see stronger winds, thursday, chile, friday see stronger winds, rain and more areas and temperatures a bit higher.

tonight at six — deadlock continues in the post—brexit trade talks, with fundamental differences remaining between the uk and the eu. downing street has made clear that the uk is ready to walk away from the talks, but, for now, negotiations continue in brussels. can you tell us about any progress, if a deal's still possible? we're still working very hard. i'd like to be giving more positive news, but, at the moment, these negotiations seem stalled and the barriers to progress are still very much in place. we'll have the latest from our correspondents in brussels and westminster. also tonight... ready to roll out the vaccine tomorrow — the firstjabs will be administered in hospitals around the uk. hashem abedi, the brother of the manchester arena suicide bomber,