the prime minister heads to brussels for dinner with the european commission president. on the menu at the talks with ursula von der leyen, a meal deal on post—brexit trade. the prime minister says there's still cause for optimism. i have absolutely no doubt that from january to first, this country is going to prosper mightily. he's absolutely stuck and dithering between the deal he knows that we need and the compromise he knows his backbenchers won't let him do. we'll be getting the latest live in westminster, brussels and belfast shortly. the other stories this lunchtime... delays at ports, initially caused by the pandemic, lead to honda pausing production at its swindon plant, with fears that brexit could make things worse. as more and more people get the vaccine, a new warning to those with significant allergies after two people suffer adverse reactions.

turning the uk into a low carbon nation will be cheaper than previously thought overall, but may prove expensive for some homeowners. forget hollywood — if you want to see real stars, go to yorkshire. two national parks in the north of england have been designated dark sky reserves. and coming up on bbc news... new officials take charge of tonight's champions league game between p56 and istanbul basaksehir. players walked off last night with an official accused of making a racist remark. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. the prime minister is heading to brussels for dinner with the european commission president, ursula von der leyen. borisjohnson said "a good deal

is there to be done" ahead of the talks, adding that the eu was currently insisting on terms which no prime minister could accept. major disagreements remain between the two sides on fishing rights, business competition rules, or the so—called level playing field, and how a deal will be policed or any future disputes resolved. and time is running out to reach an agreement. the uk will stop following eu trading rules on 31st december, deal or no deal. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. can you get this over the line, prime minister? for the prime minister, who was the face of the brexit campaign, decision time is coming. will boris johnson brexit campaign, decision time is coming. will borisjohnson sign up toa coming. will borisjohnson sign up to a trade deal or are the two sides to a trade deal or are the two sides to farapart? to a trade deal or are the two sides to far apart? tonight in brussels he will meet the european commission president to see if they can give fresh life to the negotiating process. a good deal is still there to be done... but talks have been stuck for some time and mrjohnson

told mps that there are still significant issues. our friends in the eu are currently insisting that if they pass a new law in the future, with which we in this country do not comply, or don't follow suit, then they will have the automatic right, mr speaker, to punish us and to retaliate. i don't believe that those are terms that any prime minister of this country should accept. it is notjust competition rules. there are still disagreements on fish, how much can eu boats catch in british waters, and enforcement, who polices the deal? labour said getting an agreement is essential and even keir starmer, self—isolating at home, suggested he could back one. he is absolutely stuck, this is the truth of it, absolutely stuck and dithering, between the deal he knows that we need and the compromise he knows his backbenchers won't let him

do. mr speaker, igenuinely knows his backbenchers won't let him do. mr speaker, i genuinely hope this is the usual prime minister's bluster. this country will be ready for whether we have a canadian or an australian solution, and there will be jobs created in this country throughout the whole of the uk, not just in spite of brexit, but because of brexit. but it is notjust the uk that has red lines. eu leaders say they are united on protecting the single market. if there are british conditions which we cannot accept, then we will take the path of no deal. translation: one thing is absolutely clear, the integrity of the eu's market must be preserved. there has been a growing sense of pessimism in the last few days about whether these trade talks will end ina whether these trade talks will end in a deal. so, borisjohnson is going to brussels tonight to see if there is room for political compromise, a way of breathing life back into the negotiating process. nothing is guaranteed and time is running out because no matter what happens, in three weeks, our

relationship with the eu will change. in a few hours' time, talks will take place in here, the european commission building in brussels. there are big issues to be ironed out and the government is warning that success is far from guaranteed. in a moment we'll speak to nick beake in brussels and chris page in belfast, but first to nick eardley in westminster. hopes of some sort of meal deal, and the prime minister seems to be optimistic? yes, simon, both sides are still saying they want a deal. but don't underestimate how big those differences are. those two things you heard in the piece there. borisjohnson, who things you heard in the piece there. boris johnson, who is things you heard in the piece there. borisjohnson, who is adamant that brexit has to be about sovereignty, and eu leaders like angela merkel who are absolutely adamant that whatever happens in a trade deal, it can't undermine the single market and give the uk, as they see it, and unfair advantage. boris johnson will be going to those talks with ursula

von der leyen this evening to try and see whether the politicians can do something that the trade negotiators couldn't, whether they can find some way through the current impasse, some way of moving the two sides slightly closer together, to get those talks back on track in the next few days. there won't be a deal to sign today, the most they can hope for is that this will see the process resume, but the truth is, if they find that there are —— they are so far apart that there is no point continuing the talks, we could see the start of the end of this process over the next few days. the crucial thing is, is a significant difference distance between the two sides when it comes to those key sticking points. that's why they've not been solved. and the time to solve them is very short. nick eardley, thank you very much indeed. nick beake is in brussels. this dinner tonight, what is on the menu? well, simon, it is not looking particularly appetising, let's be honest. we know for sure feature at some point because they still have

not sorted out eu access to uk fishing waters. as for a main course, maybe they will try and tackle the chilly issue of optician rules, maybe there is a side dish of government subsidies. if anyone is still hungry after that, for dessert may be they could consider policing a deal in the future, to make sure that no one side tries to have their ca ke that no one side tries to have their cake and eat it in the future. it doesn't sound great, let's hope the after—dinner mint sissoko are a bit better for if they want to talk to the cameras, as nick was suggesting, what we are being guided is that they will not be saying, even if it has gone amazingly well, we have sealed a deal. instead, the hope here in brussels would be that it gives a bit of momentum and an opportunity to try and kickstart the stalled talks between the two chief negotiators from both sides. of course, people here are also trying to work out, what is borisjohnson's intention in coming here? is it to come to brussels and if there is to be no deal further down the line to say that he did all he could but the eu simply wasn't prepared to move?

or if there is to be a deal, will he be able to say, i came here and it was my personal intervention that made all the difference? let's leave that there. thank you very much! let's go to chris page, who is in belfast for us. we are getting more detail as to how any deal would work? yes, it has been known for some months that in order to keep the land border on the island of ireland open, northern ireland would in effect have to remain in the eu single market for goods when the re st of single market for goods when the rest of the uk leaves, and also northern ireland would have to apply eu customs rules. michael gove has in the house of commons been giving more details of an agreement reached with the eu yesterday on the finer arrangements as to how exactly that side of brexit, known as the northern ireland protocol, will work. one particular area of concern for businesses is the thought that a new checks on goods arriving in places like here at belfast port, from great britain, would be subject to checks, which might disrupt

supplies to supermarkets of very basic food supplies. so, mr gove has said there is going to be a grace period for supermarkets to enable them to update their procedures, so, fio them to update their procedures, so, no major change to supermarket supply chains on the ist ofjanuary. another question, if there is no trade deal between the uk and eu, well, goods arriving here that are deemed to be at risk of moving across the land border into the republic of ireland, and therefore the eu, might be subject to tariffs. but there will be a trusted trader scheme which will cover up to 90% of those goods, meaning they will be exempt. thank you all very much. honda has temporarily paused car production at its swindon plant because of a shortage of parts caused by delays at uk ports. the companies responsible for transporting shipping containers are warning there could be further disruption when the brexit transition period ends injanuary. but the government insists any delays are a global problem and not connected to brexit, as emma simpson reports. the honda car plant in swindon.

like all the other car manufacturers, the parts arrive when they are needed. a just—in—time supply chain. but it has been hit by delays caused by congestion at the ports. its production line won't be running today as a result. gavin runs an online toy company and he's had weeks of delays at his busiest time of the year. we're particularly affected by things that we're importing coming in from china on containers. there's lots of congestion at the ports. the ports can't cope and there are some boats that are being turned around and sent back to holland. others that are being diverted to other british ports. every company is the same, every company is in total chaos. but christmas will go ahead. we will get there, and we will not let anyone down. so, what has gone wrong? container ships are the arteries of global trade. covid—i9 has disrupted the flow,

especially from china. ports around the world are now having problems. it's just a perfect storm at the moment where we have a situation with post—pandemic rates and orders, pre— brexit stockpiling, and also christmas being a particularly busy period. we will get through this, we are confident the sector can deal with this. itjust may take a bit of time and we ask people to bear with us. felixstowe, britain's biggest container port, has been hardest hit here. it is grappling with a surge in containers ahead of christmas as well as brexit stockpiling, and it had a backlog of ppe containers, too. the ports say things are improving, but volumes could remain high for months. the whole supply chain now wants the government to look at ways to improve capacity, to keep these containers on the move. emma simpson, bbc news. many more people are getting the coronavirus vaccine today as the roll—out of the pfizer—biontech jab

continues across the uk. but people with a history of significant allergic reactions have been advised not to have the vaccine as a precaution. it comes after two nhs workers had reactions after being immunised yesterday. the nhs says they are both recovering well. our health correspondent jim reed reports. sharp scratch now, angela. at a hospital in south london this morning, it was the turn of care home workers to get their jabs. i'm pleased to have it, you know. we are all in it together, let's just get it done. another 150 people at st george's hospital in tooting will get vaccinated today. it is wonderful because it's like a little ray of sunshine in what has been the most difficult year i have ever had in my career over 27 years. across the uk thousands have now received their first doses. they will all need a follow—up booster in three weeks' time before it is fully effective. this morning though the medicines regulator said two nhs workers who received the jab yesterday had allergic reactions to it.

the chief executive of the mhra said those with significant allergies should not have the jab for the time being. even last evening we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. we know from the very extensive clinical trials that this was not a feature, but if we need to strengthen our advice now that we've had this experience in the vulnerable populations, the groups who have been selected as a priority, we get that advice to the fields immediately. to the field immediately. both the staff members affected already had a significant history of allergic reactions and needed to carry an adrenaline or epipen around with them. shortly after receiving the vaccine, they developed symptoms of anaphylactoid reaction, that is less severe than anaphylactic shock. it can include symptoms like a rash and shortness of breath. both have recovered after treatment. the bbc has been told

that it was expected some people would have an allergic reaction. it happens every year with the flu vaccine. to start with, this first jab, made by the drugs companies pfizer and biontech, is being given in hospitals so patients can be monitored for any signs of allergic reaction. gps have been told they will start to receive their first batches from next week. giving evidence this morning, england's chief medical officer stressed it is still important for the public to stick to social distancing rules. the idea that we can suddenly stop now because the vaccine is here, that would be really premature. it is like someone giving up a marathon race at mile 16. it would be absolutely the wrong thing to do. but there will come a point where the choice about exactly when to start to ramp things down, how fast and which, needs to be made. this all comes at a difficult time in the outbreak. cases are rising sharply in parts of the country like london and south wales. scientists and ministers say it may take months for the vaccination

programme to have a real impact on the pandemic. jim reed, bbc news. our health correspondent anna collinson is at st george's hospital in south london. a massive undertaking, how is day two going? well, the first vaccines started at 8.30 this morning and they went to a group of care home workers who were really happy they could do something to protect their residents, who as we know are of the most at risk to the virus, but also unable to most at risk to the virus, but also u na ble to access most at risk to the virus, but also unable to access the vaccine for themselves. since then, the waiting room has filled up and there has been a steady flow of people coming and going to get their vaccine, a process which only takes around 30-40 process which only takes around 30—a0 seconds. today they are hoping to do around 150 vaccines. yesterday it was around 100, and they are hoping that over the coming weeks they can increase those numbers. there are seven booths, each open 12 hours a day, and the target they are aiming for is 400, that is what they wa nt to aiming for is 400, that is what they want to get to. they say there has

been a real demand for the vaccines, people coming forward wanting to know when it is their turn. so, a reminder, the nhs welcome to you, when it comes to getting vaccinated. thank you very much. our top story this lunchtime... the prime minister heads to brussels for dinner with the european commission president to discuss post—brexit trade. and coming up — with students heading home for christmas, a warning over the mental toll the pandemic has had on theirfirst term. coming up on bbc news. england confirm that their postponed two—test series against sri lanka has been rearranged forjanuary. the tour was due to take place in march, but was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic. we all need to change the way we live — but it will cost much less than previously thought — to meet make the uk a low—carbon society. that's the message from the government's independent advisors on climate change. the experts say the uk could viably

cut its carbon emissions by nearly 80% over the next 15 years. but we'll need to eat less meat, avoid too many flights —and change the way we heat our homes. here's our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt. you probably didn't notice the big reduction in carbon emissions the uk has already made. that's because the 41% cut on 1990 emissions were largely achieved by closing coalfired power stations, and replacing them with gas and renewables. getting all the way to net zero emissions will require us all to help out. here's how the committee on climate change says that needs to happen. it reckons technology will get us abount 40% of the way. this is mostly about switching to renewable power and once again will happen without

us doing anything. another 40% or so will be a combination of behaviour change and technology, so think switching to electric cars, insulating our homes better, and finding new ways to heat them. the remaining 16% will be pure behaviour change, so eating less meat and flying less. chris, i'm sitting here in my kitchen, and you're saying i need to eat less meat and fly less. how are you going to make me do that? you're right, it's a set of changes to behaviour that do underpin our analysis of the uk as a whole getting to this big challenge of net zero by 2050. it's worth saying, it's not all about behaviour change, but that really helps. so the kind of changes we're talking about are reducing the amount of meat that we consume, perhaps flying a bit less. that's a real strong signal to government that they need to start thinking about those things in the policies that they put in place. some changes will be easier than we think, the committee says.

it expects electric cars to become so much cheaper and better that we choose to buy them anyway. home heating is more of a challenge. the committee assumes we'll stop using natural gas completely by 2033. our homes will need much better insulation and by 2030, it expects a million electric heat pumps will need to be being installed every year, at £10,000 each. it says the government needs to find up to £4 billion per year to help us cover that cost. the good news is, the committee thinks the overall cost of decarbonising the entire uk economy will be much lower than was thought, just 0.5% of annual output per year. a small price to pay, it says, for doing our bit to protect the world from climate change. justin rowlatt, bbc news. the us—president elect joe biden has promised that during his first 100 days in office, 100 million americans will be

vaccinated against coronavirus. the country has had more than 15 million cases and, in the capital — washington dc — evidence shows your chances of survival depend hugely on the colour of your skin, and where you live. lebo diseko reports. early morning in one of the capital's poorest neighbourhoods. just getting to a doctor can be a challenge for many here. and so, a new approach to try and limit the spread of the pandemic. we're reaching a population that is often under—served and under—resourced, and so we're trying to make a connection with them. and primarily we are doing covid testing and kind of like a well check. but if people need resources or connections back to the health care system, to the hospital, to their doctor, we're trying to help them with that as well. a service that's proved popular with locals. it's awesome, because i don't have to go nowhere. i canjust walk right up the street from my house and get tested, and i'm done. this is just half an hour's drive

from the white house, but it is a world apart. it's predominantly black areas like this one that are bearing the brunt of the pandemic here in washington, dc. authorities say it's because of long—standing, systemic health and social inequalities. and it means that many people in places like this have an increased risk of getting sick and of dying of covid—19. in fact, research shows you're more six times more likely to lose your life to coronavirus if you're black than if you're white in washington dc — the worst racial disparity in the whole country. add to thatjust one public hospital to serve the whole city. it was devastating watching this community be destroyed by the virus. seeing a lot of families, entire families, wiped out. one week the mother, the next week the father, the next week the son. a great deal of the residents here have hypertension and diabetes and so, you know, i'm afraid of the outcome for this community once

the cases continue to spike. the pandemic has also worsened another crisis. hunger. this food bank has had to change how it does things, delivering food to homes across the city in order to limit the numbers coming in. typically, we'd serve about 400 households a day. but we're seeing many days during this pandemic when we've served over a thousand households. so there was a big spike in terms of food insecurity. and it is the people who already have the least who face the most precarious future. in this city which is the seat of power, in one of the richest countries in the world. lebo diseko, bbc news, washington. urgent funding is needed to help students and their mental health — that's according to the national union of students, who say more than half of 4,000 students they surveyed said their mental health had got worse during the pandemic. many of them had little contact with people outside their flats or houses and said they felt

isolated, anxious and depressed. our education correspondent dan johnson reports. some of our youngest minds are the most troubled. i can feel my mental health getting worse. away from home, missing family, cut off from friends. i never thought i'd do a freshers' alone in my bedroom! this is their struggle through anxiety, stress, loneliness, and depression. i feel it is one of the toughest experiences i've had in my life, definitely. welcome to my crib! this was the start of claudia's student life in liverpool. isolated within days. really struggling. she couldn't mix with housemates, or course mates. because we were stuck indoors, we got even more monitored by the security. so that was frightening in a way because we felt like criminals, sort of put into isolation.

the university said they did their best to keep students safe. klaudia's mental health started to slip. you startjust being very depressed, overwhelmed and helpless. at one point i knew i wasn't where i wanted to be and it was really difficult to reach for help. just over half of students who answered the nus survey said the pandemic had damaged their mental health. three weeks into term, with the support of university counselling, klaudia decided to move home and continue her course from here. you were really upset all the time. boyfriend callum has helped her cope. thank you for being there, you know. it's almost like a taboo to talk about your mental health and to start that conversation, it's a really huge step for people to take. the nus survey shows more than two thirds of those who struggled had not asked for help. in a house of nine, there is more company. but here in sheffield, they have still suffered.

when you'rejust, like, stuck in your house and, no offence, with the same people for ever, do you know what i mean! it's like, it's pretty grim. university is meant to be the best years of your life, but right now, it's definitely not. like, it's horrible. i have, like, periods of time where i feel completely disconnected. i think that it's my brain shutting down and saying, i can't cope with this any more. they have all asked for help. they would all like more. there are times when they need more. it really very much feels like we are on our own. we are looking out for each other because there is no one else that is looking out for us. the government is spending £3 million more on a website supporting student well—being through the pandemic. reaching out to a mate, asking how someone is twice rather than once. don'tjust accept, i'm fine. i hope that this pandemic will show that putting people first is much more important than putting money first. dan johnson, bbc news. uefa is carrying out an urgent

investigation after allegations a match official used a racist term during one of last night's champions league games. istanbul basaksehir claim one of their backroom staff was targeted during their game with paris st germain. the players walked off the pitch in protest — and the game will restart this evening with different officials. katie gornall reports. at first it was like any other champions league tie, but then in the 40th minute this happened. pierre weibo, istanbul basaksehir‘s assistant manager, accused the romanian fourth official, sebastian coltescu, of using racist language to identify him as he was shown a red card. tensions rose in paris before demba ba, a substitute for istanbul, confronted coltescu. when you mention a white guy, you never say, "this white guy," you say, "this guy," so why when you mention... listen to me! why when you mention a black guy, you have to say, "this black guy"? in the 23rd minute, the players walked off in protest — a rare act in football — and the match was suspended.

uefa initially said the match would restart with a different fourth official, but after a long delay that attempt was abandoned when istanbul refused to return to the pitch. the match will now resume tonight with an all—new refereeing team. the significance can't really be underwritten. the importance of the match in the most watched club competition in the world. many black players are now saying, "we may have put up with this in the past but now we will take the power that we have and use it, and walk off the field of play," which is within their right. the ps6 forward kylian mbappe later tweeted, "say no to racism. mr weibo, we are with you." uefa have said they will investigate thoroughly, and they will be under heavy pressure to make sure they stick to their word. katie gornall, bbc news. winter is the ideal time of year for stargazing with the long dark nights often providing spectacular views like this. and it seems the uk is one of the best places in the world for budding astronomers. the yorkshire dales and the north york moors have become

the latest parts of the country to be awarded special "dark skies" status because of their low levels of light pollution. luxmy gopal reports. vibrant images of star—strewn darkness. incredible images of our galaxy, the milky way, stretching across the night sky. these photos have been taken from the yorkshire dales and the north york moors — two national parks which have now been designated dark sky reserves. the special status is given to areas around the globe with low levels of light pollution and good conditions for astronomy. about eight out of ten yorkshire people cannot see the milky way from where they live. you come here, and it stretches one horizon to the other. it's fantastic. a river of light in the sky. northern lights, we can see the northern lights from here. very, very difficult to see from other parts, or industrial parts of yorkshire. so really, it's a sky full of magic, both here and in the dales. more than 1300 square miles

combined, the two parks form one of the biggest areas in europe to be given the status. they join five other dark reserves in the uk, including in snowdonia and exmoor. it's amazing news that we've got the designation. and what's really important is that this gives the opportunity for businesses here to extend the season in tourism. we have dark sky festivals in february, half term. obviously, this season is often quieter in that time of year, so this is a much needed opportunity to help boost the economy. it's hoped the new status will help keep light pollution low, protect wildlife habitats and attract visitors in winter months, when the sky is darkest, where, if you're lucky, you can see the expanse of night beautifully illuminated, reminding us that our planet is one tiny part of a vast, star—scattered universe. laxmy gopal, bbc news.

finally this lunchtime — a case of mistaken identity. some of these historical militia re—enactors from wimborne in dorset had their facebook accounts frozen earlier this week. the social media firm appeared to mistake them for a right wing militia group in the united states. but good news — the facebook accounts are back up and running — meaning the 17th century re—enactors can once again share photos and stage virtual events. time for a look at the weather, here's louise lear. sunshine is going to be a pretty rare commodity in the next few days so rare commodity in the next few days so you do need to make the most of it if you have got it. we have seen some of that today after losing that recent fog in cambridgeshire. a weather front pushing in will bring

lane —— rain later in the