tonight at 6pm: borisjohnson says leaving the eu without a trade deal is now a strong possibilty. after failing to break the deadlock in brussels last night, borisjohnson tells the cabinet and public to prepare for no deal. looking at where we are, i do think it's vital that everybody now gets ready for that australian option. we'll have the latest from westminster. also tonight: in wales, all secondary school and college pupils will be home schooled from monday, to try to halt the surge in covid cases. tens of thousands of secondary school children in parts of london, essex and kent are to tested for coronavirus after a worrying rise in cases.

two of the babies who died at a scandal—hit nhs hospital — a review now looking at more than 1,800 cases finds some mothers were blamed for their babies dying. and the actors pushed off stage by the pandemic who've come up with new ways to ensure the show does go on this christmas. and coming up on bbc news: who will come out on top as the most lucrative tournament in women's golf — the us open — gets under way in houston? the prime minister has said there's a strong possibility of a no—deal brexit after he and the european commission president, ursula von der leyen, failed to break the deadlock last night

in the negotiations. both sides admitted they remained far apart, but agreed that talks would continue until sunday. a decision would then be made on whether or not the discussions are worth continuing. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. is editor laura kuenssberg. he ready to walk out of ti system is he ready to walk out of the eu system without a deal in place? there are plenty of other foreign leaders to great. today, the crown prince of abu dhabi. the prime minister cannot shake hands with him. with only four days to go he has won tonight there will be nothing to shake on with the eu. has won tonight there will be nothing to shake on with the eue it all over, prime minister? there is now a strong possibility that we will have a solution that is much more like an australian relationship with the eu than a canadian relationship with the eu. that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. there

are plenty of ways, as i have said, that we can turn to the advantage of both sides. i relationship with australia really means no deal and maybe massive destruction. uk transport could only move around the continent if it sticks to european rows, continent if it sticks to european i’ows , even continent if it sticks to european rows, even though sharing regulations is that the centre of the clash and talks. some firms are already fed up. this transport company run 200 trailers out of kent with sites across europe and have invested in a couple of helicopters to keep things moving, spending more than £3 million trying to keep up with what might happen. than £3 million trying to keep up with what might happenm than £3 million trying to keep up with what might happen. it has been going on for three years. they keep changing the goalposts and every time we are losing 200,000, 300,000, and we go on and off. that is really frustrating. you do not know which way you are heading. we are just flying blind at the moment. whatever

the concession is going to be it is an absolute nightmare. one wonders whether this crowd will budge. if the uk will not stick to their roles, but if neither side can compromise as it failure for both? no one understates the challenges that lie ahead. i am a bit more gloomy today as far as i can hear there is no progress.|j gloomy today as far as i can hear there is no progress. i think a no deal would not be a good thing but a bad deal would be even worse. the eu chief has to corral 27 countries and decide whether to pull the plug on sunday. we are willing to grant access to the single market to our british friends, the largest single market in the world, but the conditions have to be fair. they have to be fair for our workers and companies and this fine balance of

fairness has not been achieved so far. the negotiators are back in the room but getting a deal is far from automatic even though the stakes are sky—high and almost any kind of deal is nearly a dead cert to get through parliament. we must have a strategy to ove rco m e parliament. we must have a strategy to overcome this. if you are going to overcome this. if you are going to trade with another country you have to agree the terms. get round the table, use the time you have got and come back with a deal you promised. if there is a deal is there any chance labour might not back it? on a straight choice between no deal and ideal, then deal is clearly in the national interest. there have even been conversations about mps are proving ideal in the dead days between christmas and new year fi can be done but it doesn't feel that is the way things are going. both sides indulge in spain but if the chances of an agreement we re but if the chances of an agreement were measured by the mood it would be low and gloomy right now. having

left the club already the uk is not in the room tonight in brussels but the leaders they still have the power to change the outcome, just as borisjohnson does at home. it sounds like options are running out. i think that is the case. it will —— we left on the 31st of january but the rules and regulations that businesses and uk life has been governed by did not run out until the 31st of december but getting a deal has been so important to both sides because if there isn't an agreement in place when everything changes there could be significant disruption in all sorts of different ways. the prime minister has always been clear if it doesn't work out, if you cannot agree the right terms, he would be willing to walk away, but tonight this is his strongest warning yet that that outcome is becoming likelier and likelier by the hour. he told the cabinet is much and i

call this afternoon and tonight he is telling the public and business to get ready for that is a very strong possibility now, and it is clear that he really, really does not want to budge on any of the principles where he has been clashing with the european union in the last few months, as these talks have stalled, and in the last few days hit a brick wall. the eu, meeting in brussels tonight, is also really firm. they do not want to give any ground at all either. both sides want to get there. they want to get this over the line. it is still possible there could be a change of heart, there could be a willingness to compromise, but as each error goes on, i have to say it is getting harder and harder to see how this is all going to be resolved. decision dated pull the plug on whether to try to carry on looking for solutions is sunday. genuinely, after many months of seeing it, there really isn't much time left now. laura, in

westminster, thank you. so, how are businesses handling all the uncertainty with just three weeks left until the end of the brexit transition period and hopes of a deal hanging in the balance? our business editor simon jack has been finding out. the branding is british, the customers are all over the eu. 50% of everything produced at this factory in worthing heads for europe. the lack of progress on a deal is making the owner and her customers very nervous. it's really stressful. it's really hard, because all the time there's that feeling like, you know, are we doing the right thing? is there something that we should be doing more than what we are doing? our customers are asking us all the time what's going to happen, what's going on? they want reassurances and certainties from us. they are asking us questions that we can't give them answers to as well, which makes it so difficult, and yeah, we have got a few customers who are actually holding off on placing really big orders with us and contracts and things

because they want to know the outcome and what is going to happen. so nervous, in fact, her business partner was in spain today looking at new premises to limit any damage a no deal might bring. a couple of warehouses. there is one behind which is 8000 square feet. it'sjust a shell. we would be able to put the protein bars and the porridge inside. obviously this is a plan b but it's a good plan b option. the uk economy is not well placed to take another shock. in october it grewjust 0.4%. it's on course for the worst downturn in over 300 years. 0n perhaps the key issue, which trade rules do the two sides play by and what happens when they disagree, businesses think very differently to politicians. many businesses see it like this. 0n the one hand, a deal where if the rule books diverged over time tariffs might be applied, not ideal. 0n the other hand, don't do a deal and see tariffs imposed in three weeks' time on top of new border procedures, a ports crisis and a covid—ravaged economy. that, for many, is the perfect storm.

that is why business leaders are so desperate for a deal. look, my message to the government is sovereignty is important and we trust the prime minister in putting that right at the heart of his negotiations, but a deal is a huge prize for britain. no deal is a huge price for britain. let's strain every sinew to get that deal by sunday. the clock is ticking. time is desperately short. 0n the ist of january 2021. .. ..businesses that deal with europe... ..will have to follow new rules. the government insists any deal is not just for christmas but for keeps and we need the best long—term outcome, but as we approach the edge most businesses would say no deal is not it. simon jack, bbc news. so, what do we know about what a no deal might mean to our everyday lives? here's our deputy political editor, vicki young, with this assessment. trade deals make things run more smoothly for businesses. since leaving the eu,

britain has agreed dozens of them, but the one that's arguably the most important of all has run into trouble. for decades, the uk and the rest of the european union have bought and sold goods across borders without checks or taxes known as tariffs. but if there's no deal, then companies will have to operate under rules set by the world trade organization. that means that most of the food imported to the uk from the eu would attract an extra tax. the british retail consortium has calculated that it will mean 48% on beef mince, i6% on cucumbers and 57% on cheddar cheese. when it comes to exports from the uk to the eu, it will mean a tariff of 10% on cars and 35% on dairy products. both sides are putting measures in place to reduce disruption from the start of january.

in key areas such as transport, the eu said today that it would allow things to carry on broadly as they are but only if the uk continue to follow existing rules on standards. and today, the eu has outlined temporary measures for areas other than trade. so, on aviation, they're saying that, for six months, uk planes can still fly to the eu, but they have to go to a single destination and then return. existing safety certificates would continue to be valid. and on fishing, they're saying that both sides should continue to access each other‘s waters for up to one year, but the uk would have to agree all of this. and there are other aspects of our relationship, including financial services and data sharing, that also need to be ironed out. this won't necessarily involve a negotiation. many things are changing whether there's a trade deal or not. we'll no longer be able to move freely between the uk

and the eu, to live and work. when it comes to holidays, you won't need a visa, but visits will be time—limited. free health care will no longer be guaranteed, we'll need different driving documents for some countries and extra paperwork for pets. all of those things have been agreed, but there's plenty more that will need to be discussed if trade talks collapse in the next few days. vicki young, bbc news. the health secretary for england, matt hancock, says the government is particularly concerned about coronavirus cases in london, kent and essex, which he says are still rising he's announced a programme of mass testing for secondary school children in some of the worst affected parts. schools will remain open, but all 11 to 18—year—old pupils in the areas affected are being urged to get a test in the coming days even if they don't have the symptoms. meanwhile, matt hancock said a decision would be made next week on whether to move any of those

areas into tier 3 — the tightest restrictions. here's our health editor, hugh pym. covid case numbers are coming down in many parts of england but going up in many parts of england but going up in london and the south—east, especially among younger age groups, and there are fears that could spread infections to more vulnerable older people. it has been announced in some areas all secondary school age children will be tested with mobile units moving on. the latest developments are set out at the downing street media briefing. how concerned are you about this increase in cases in the south—east which relate back to infections a week or so ago when lockdown was just in place orjust ending?“ these rates were going up towards these rates were going up towards the tail end of lockdown that is a concerning situation so we have to keep quite a close eye on that because we all know the christmas period, if people go too far in the christmas period, it is going to be

a period of risk everywhere. living london and essex into tier 3 was not ruled out. we will look at the most up—to—date data we have won the 16th, so next wednesday. of course we are looking at it all the time but that is the moment we will take a formal decision. i am in constant pain all through the night and day. chris has had to live with that increasing pain because of arthritis since last year. the planned hip replacement in march was cancelled because of the pandemic and he is still waiting. i get very depressed andl still waiting. i get very depressed and i am lucky that i have a family that are caring for me, but i really worry about those that haven't, because it's absolutely debilitating. julie needs knee replacements, she had to quit her nhsjob because of

the pain and has been waiting since january but her local hospital haven't managed to get the operation is done. every time i go they keep shrugging their shoulders saying, sorry, shrugging their shoulders saying, sorry, we shrugging their shoulders saying, sorry, we don't know when, we are just snowed under and we can't do anything to help you. so basically i've just been really struggling. i can't even walk to the shops now without being in severe pain. in england in october there were 163,000 patients waiting more than a yearfor 163,000 patients waiting more than a year for a routine operation or procedure. that compared with 1600 in february before the covid crisis hit the nhs. the total number waiting for nonurgent treatment is 110w waiting for nonurgent treatment is now 4.41; million, close to the highest since records began. nhs england said more diagnostic tests we re england said more diagnostic tests were carried out in october, but the ability of the health service to deal with routine care partly depends on how many covid patients

they have to treat, and hospitals in some parts of the south—east are now coming under renewed pressure. hugh pym, bbc news. all pupils at secondary schools and colleges in wales will have to stay at home and learn online from monday for the last week of of term. the welsh government announced the decision this afternoon as covid cases continue to rise. let's speak to our wales correspondent hywell griffith. what more can you tell us? well, this decision has come pretty late in the day, families finding out tonight they need to arrange childcare for their children from next monday morning. 0ver childcare for their children from next monday morning. over a week ago, ministers here were given scientific advice to suggest that this would help families isolate over the christmas period. some teaching unions started to put pressure on ministers, some councils made their own decisions and

announced they would close at school sites next week but it's taken till late this afternoon for the education minister to give that announcement. she says this gives a clear national direction and responds to the continuing rise and rise of coronavirus cases around wales. but this only adds to the impression the welsh government right now is struggling to keep control of matters. through the pandemic it has planned its announcements but this has come at the last minute. thank you. the latest government figures show there were 20,964 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 16,236. 516 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week 427 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 63,082.

the government has announced that the canary islands will be removed from its list of safe travel corridors, as a result of rising infection rates. that means that people arriving in the uk from the popular spanish islands from 4am on saturday must self—isolate. our top story this evening: borisjohnson is warning ministers and the public that there is now a strong possibility post brexit trade talks will end with no deal after failing to break the deadlock in brussels last night. and coming up, afterformer rugby world cup winners reveal they have early onset dementia, we look at how by early onset dementia, we look at how rugby training might need to change. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... tributes are paid to the world cup winning striker paolo rossi whose goals steered his country to world cup glory in 1982 — who's died at the age of 64.

an independent review into the deaths of babies at an nhs trust has found that mothers were sometimes blamed for their babies dying and maternity staff caused distress to patients by using "inappropriate language". an inquiry was set up three years ago to look at fatalities and injuries at the shrewsbury and telford trust between 2000 and 2018. it started by looking into 23 cases of when a baby had died or suffered brain injury or when the mother had died. but the review has now expanded to 1,862 cases which also includes women or babies who were injured during birth. injune this year police launched a criminal investigation to look to see if there was enough evidence to support a case against the shrewsbury and telford trust or any of the individuals involved. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been speaking to two families whose children died. you read the story

of a baby and it died. the story of another baby, and it died. i physically felt sick. without these two families, the appalling care exposed today would not have been revealed — both motivated by personal grief. in 2016, pippa griffiths died after staff failed to act on her parents' concerns. seven years earlier, kate sta nton—davies died after midwives failed to properly monitor her. pippa should never have died. we campaigned after kate's death for them to learn from kate's death. if they had learned, pippa would not have died. i feel a huge weight of responsibility that we didn't fight hard enough. for years, the trust ignored them, insisting maternity care was good. today's findings, based on an analysis of 250 cases between 2000 and 2018,

shows how right the families were. the reviews says that mothers were blamed for the death of babies, there was a reluctance to carry out caesarean sections, often with catastrophic consequences. 13 women died in labour or shortly afterwards, higher than the england average. some of the deaths were never investigated. can you explain why it took two families to highlight these failures? i cannot explain that. i will be honest, there have been days where i have met family after family, and i meet them privately shrewsbury, where i have sat down and cried because, as a fellow human being, you can't do anything other than that. the trust wouldn't take questions today but did say they'd implement all 27 recommendations. this is a harrowing read. as the chief executive of the trust now, i want to say personally and on behalf of the trust that we are very sorry

for all of the pain and distress caused to these families. the full report into all 1,862 cases before the review will be published next year. until then, these families will continue to push for real improvements. when your children say to you, "why are you doing this again, mum? why do you put yourself through this?" it's because we don't want any other families to go through the pain that we have. kayleigh griffiths ending that report by michael buchanan. the sky news presenter kay burley has been taken off air for six months after breaking covid—19 rules for her 60th birthday party in london on saturday.

she said she'd made a big mistake and apologised saying she had "pulled her colleagues into the episode". political editor beth rigby and correspondent inzamam rashid have been taken off air for three months. they too regret the incident. the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, is stepping aside from his role following his arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. mr anderson said he was "stepping away from decision—making" and would take unpaid leave while the investigation continued. he was detained and bailed last week, along with four other men. this week, former rugby world cup winner steve thompson revealed that at the age of 42 he has early onset dementia and can't remember playing during the 2003 tournament. he's one of eight former professionals including the 41—year—old wales international alix popham who are taking legal action claiming rugby has left them with permanent brain damage after repeated blows to the head during games. now the rugby players' association

says the way players train needs to be addressed urgently. here's our sports editor dan roan. they are the former players whose impending legal action against rugby's authorities could have a huge impact on its future. among those to reveal they had early onset dementia, blaming head injuries while playing, was ex—england world cup winner steve thompson, and a former team—mate says the sport must now face up to the issue. it is like 20 controlled car crashes a week. some of these hits are just bone rattling, they really are. i think that the system, the rfu, have a massive responsibility to look at the whole area. first contact, thundering tackle. with the game becoming more physical since turning professional in the 1990s, rugby has tightened its concussion protocols, but some want more, such as regular brain scans.

experts who have studied recently retired players say they are most likely suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or cte, a condition that can occur when the brain suffers numerous small traumas, causing memory loss, mood swings and dementia. a big percentage of injuries occur during training, so i think that has to be part of the opportunity to address these things. and perhaps training protocols is something we need to address very quickly. in the amateurgame, like here near manchester, covid protocols already mean limited contact. and while the club has a thriving junior section, the worry is that safety fears could change that. i think it could stop some people playing the game, definitely, and it would be such a shame. at this level there will be certain kids put off by it. in the past rugby could have been better, protecting the players.

these days it's doing everything and more to protect them and that will improve. now rugby must convince people that it is safe, and if it fails to do so it could face an existential crisis. at the club game's top coach feels it's unfair tojudge the sport game's top coach feels it's unfair to judge the sport by the standards of the past. rugby now is probably a leader in monitoring return to play safety practices around head injuries, andi safety practices around head injuries, and i think that's been in place now for a number of seasons. lose the lawsuits being threatened, and the costs to rugby could be with could be many theatres still closed, actors are having to come up with new and initative ways to ensure the show does go on this christmas! 0ne company has even starting staging performances from long—running west end shows in people front gardens!

and our arts correspondent david sillito has been to find out. this is normally the busiest time of year in theatreland. but this year, it's not going to be so much, "it's behind you", more, "it's on your doorstep." they're coming up the road now. hey, guys, i'm elder cunningham. we've got a surprise for you! come to the door! # there's a song in the air... # bert and mary poppins are in the front garden of number 1a. meet doorstep productions. this is the real west end, real west end performers, coming to doorsteps. that's right. i mean, look at this theatre, it's closed. the palladium. i mean, it's heartbreaking. all the shows are shut. all my friends are unemployed. some of them have lost their homes. and i thought, "hang on a minute,

i could get some people some work." # supercalifragalisticexpialidocious! how long since you last performed in public? march 16, 2020. how's it been? it's been rough, but we're here and we're making the best of it. what does this feel like? currently, we're drenched, but it's wonderful. it's wonderful to be performing again. les miserables by the bins. it's not quite the west end, but it is work. david sillito, bbc news. time for a look at the weather — here's ben rich. yes, a chance to do some of that tonight because there is some rain on the way. we've had a pretty cloudy day across many areas and that cloud has been bringing a bit of patchy rain, and as you can see

from the radar pictures of some heavy rain that's been pushing its way in from the west. it's been a wet end to the day in northern ireland, and that will continue to move eastwards with heavy bursts. i'm sure you will notice them as they move through overnight. as the main rain band clears we are left with a lot of cloud, some thundery showers for wales and the south—west, but it won't be a particularly cold night. tomorrow morning we start off with our band of rain across eastern areas. things should clear up across eastern england but eastern scotland will hold onto persistent rain for much of the day which could even cause disruption. elsewhere we keep a lot of cloud, some brightness here and there but also some showers, and temperatures above where we would expect them to be this time of year. saturday brings hope of something brighter. the cloudy, damp start but a slice of sunshine will work its way in from the west. the temperatures again in the range of eight to 11 degrees. if you do see

brightness for the