this is bbc news. i'm kasia madera. the headlines at eight. borisjohnson says leaving the eu without a trade deal is now a strong possibilty. the prime minister tells the cabinet and public to prepare in case the uk fails to reach a free trade agreement with the eu looking at where we are, i do think it is vital that everybody now gets ready for that australian option. two of the babies who died at a scandal hit nhs trust — a review — now looking at more than 18 hundred cases — finds some mothers were blamed for their babies dying. reading this report, it really hammers home the depth and scale of the horror. we don't want any families to go

through the pain that we have. 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 schoolchildren in parts of london, essex and kent are to be tested for coronavirus after a worrying rise in cases 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! good evening and welcome to bbc news. 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. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. is he ready to walk out of the eu system without a deal in place? there are plenty of other foreign leaders to greet. boris johnson's guest today? the crown prince of abu dhabi. the prime minister cannot shake hands with him. with only four days to go, he's warned tonight there will be nothing to shake on with the eu. is it all over, prime minister? there is now a strong possibility that we will have a solution that's 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

that to the advantage of both sides. a relationship with australia really means no deal and maybe massive disruption. under the eu's emergency plans out today, uk transport could only move around the continent if it sticks to european rows, even though sharing regulations is at the centre of the clash in the talks. some firms, though, are already fed up. alcaline transport company run 200 trailers out of kent, with sites across europe. and they've even invested in a couple of helicopters to keep things moving, spending more than £3 million trying to keep up with what might happen. this has been going on for three solid years. they keep changing the goalposts. every time they do that, we're losing 300,000, 200,000, and we go on and off, on and off, on and off. that is what really is most frustrating about that. we do not know which way we're heading. we're just flying blind at the moment. it ain't going to make

any difference where the concession‘s going to be. it's still going to be an absolute nightmare, and we are the ones that are going to suffer. downing street wonders whether this crowd will budge. eu leaders getting together in brussels don't want the uk to keep the benefits of europe's huge market if the uk won't stick to their roles. won't stick to their rules. but if neither side can compromise, it's a failure for both. no one understates the challenges that lie ahead. i'm a bit more 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 number 10 — and decide whether to pull the plug on sunday. we are willing to grant access to the single market to our british friends, it's 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 farfrom automatic, even though the stakes are sky—high, and almost any kind of deal is nearly a dead cert to pass through parliament. you must have a strategy for overcoming this. if you're going to trade with another country, you've got to agree the terms of that trade. i think most people would say, "get round the table, use the time you've got between now and sunday and come back with the deal that you promised." if there is a deal, is there any chance labour might not actually back it? on a straight choice between no deal and deal, then deal is clearly in our national interest. there have even been conversations about mps approving a deal in the dead days between christmas and new year, if one can be done, but it doesn't feel tonight that is the way things are going. of course, both sides do indulge in spin. but if the chances of an agreement were measured by the mood, they would be low and gloomy right

now. having left the club already, the uk's not in the room tonight in brussels, but the leaders there still have the power to change the outcome, just as borisjohnson does at home. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. the first time the prime minister has spoken since last night's dinner and she has not picked it up much. no, he said the uk tried to meet and in many different areas, but he clearly didn't happen despite what one source described as new ideas being put forward by the uk at that meeting. they were met with something of a neutral response by the other side. the prime minister is giving what is the clearest indication that he sees a new deal outcome of this process were no free

trade agreement is reached with the eu is more likely that the two sites doing the deal. it is now a strong possibility as you heard in the report, repeating his words for emphasis. the uk will still work ha rd to emphasis. the uk will still work hard to get a deal, but now is the time to prepare for that outcome where the uk will trade on australian style terms of the eu and that means more trade organisations and on goods, trading between both sides that come with that. he did suggest that the negotiating teams should keep talking and perhaps meetings with other eu heads of state could unlock this process. will make the uk will the uk will continue to do everything it can, your candour, the

treaties, it is not there yet and thatis treaties, it is not there yet and that is the strong view of our cabinet as well. speaking with our cabinet as well. speaking with our cabinet ministers, he shared an anecdote that the eu demand of what is being described as unacceptable for the eu side of the equivalents because were the uk puts it, we need to have to change our laws to align with brussels in the future, it was something like being a twin where if one twin gets a haircut, so does the other. if one is to buy an expensive handbag, so does the other. that is one of you put forward in cabinet which clearly capture the prime ministers imagination. but i think the overriding emphasis in the overriding message for what boris johnson has to say this evening is that you should prepare as far as possible for the outcome and the source ending in an agreement in place. we went to sunday, thank you

so place. we went to sunday, thank you so much in westminster. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. so, if the transition period ends on the 31st december without a trade deal — what will it mean for our every day lives. 0ur deputy political editor, vicki young, has 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, 16% 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. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at around 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are chief executive of demos, polly mackenzie

and poltical commentator, lynn davidson. 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 were injured during birth(rev) injune this year women or babies were injured during birth. in june 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 in 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 we can speak now with ber—tie harlev—lam from the royal college of midwives.

the pain of the numbersjust absolutely shocking. what is your response to this initially? it is a very tragic report and there is some brave families they came forward to make sure that we are able to now learn lessons and it is very sad and tragic what is in that report but we absolutely welcome those recommendations that have come out today and the royal college among the real college institutions absolutely call on all maternity services to act immediately to make sure that they learn those lessons and put those actions in place that are recommended. what is your assessment of how widespread this is. the care quality commission say that one in three units need to improve when it comes to dealing with maternity care. we know that

there are some services that are very challenged and where improvement is needed and we also know that there are some services that are actually delivering really good care we need to make sure that we share the good learning. we also know that actually, maternity services have been chronically underfunded for many, many years. we know where 3000 midwives short, we are short of obstetricians we are very difficult for services to maintain safe care when they do not have enough staff funding for things like training, which is key to her some services are having to make decisions between making sure their staff is up—to—date and trained or delivering front line care. so, we absolutely: the government to make sure that maternity services are funded and we can make sure that we commend the lessons, but also going forward , commend the lessons, but also going forward, we have safe services. can you talk a source of the recommendations that you feel are

most crucial? certainly, we feel the recommendations around sharing and learning. for incidents of occurred, the trust doesn't just learning. for incidents of occurred, the trust doesn'tjust look learning. for incidents of occurred, the trust doesn't just look at that one incident themselves, but they neighbouring trusts and others with the practice is good, to help them look at that incident so we note that we get some external scrutiny we think that is really important. we also know that training is for key and it has to be multidisciplinary training so the recommendations are making sure that those work together, midwives and doctors also train and learn together. that culture of working together. that culture of working together in partnership is so key if we are going to do the right thing for women and whether the recommendations for women and whether the recommendations francis to make sure that women are absolutely centre to planning and making decisions about our own care. given that this is such a distressing report in one of the

findings was that mothers were sometimes blamed for their babies dying, this makes for incredibly difficult reading and how does that happen? it is very sad to see that mothers have been blamed and absolutely i think the external scrutiny in the external review, looking at this comes to show that people other than the trust itself is involved in looking at these cases so that absolutely the family has a voice, but clinicians are involved so that we have completely unbiased and objective reviews. thank you very much for talking us through that. 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. 0ur wales correspondent hywell griffith has more.

well, this decision has come pretty late in the day, families finding out tonight that they need to arrange childcare for their children for next monday morning. we know that over a week ago, ministers were given scientific advice that closing this ahead of christmas would help families to maybe isolate before children mixed with older relatives over the christmas period. some teaching union started to put pressure on ministers, several councils make their own decisions and announced that they would close the sites but late this afternoon for the education ministers to give that announcement. insisting that they have not been bounced into this decision. it gives a clear national direction in response to the rise of coronavirus cases and that's the impression that the government is keeping control of matters to the

pandemic and this is, at the last minute. tens of thousands of secondary schoolchildren in the south east of england are to be tested for coronavirus after a sharp rise in cases in parts of london, kent and essex. schools will remain open, but all eleven to eighteen year old pupils in the areas affected are being urged to get a test — even if they don't have the symptoms. the health secretary matt hancock said they would follow the example of places where community testing is already proving successful: and we'll be discussing these two different approaches in more detail at half past eight — when i'll be speaking to neil butler from the teaching union — the nasuwt. and professor of medicine, paul hunter from the university of east anglia. 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 sixty—three thousand and 82. well as concerns grow over rising cases in london, kent and essex, a decision is expected next week on whether to move any of those areas into tier 3 — the tightest restrictions. it also comes as the number of patients in england waiting over a year for routine hospital care is now 100 times higher than before the pandemic. here's our health editor hugh pym. covid case numbers are coming down in many parts of england, but they're 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's been announced in some areas all secondary school aged children will be tested, with mobile units moving on. the latest developments were 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 still in place orjust ending? if these rates were going up towards the tail end of lockdown, that is quite a concerning situation, so we need to actually keep quite a close eye on that, because we all know the christmas period, if people go too far in the christmas period, it's going to be a period of risk everywhere. and moving london and essex into tier 3 — the highest alert level — was not ruled out. we'll look at the data, the most up—to—date data we have, on the 16th, so next wednesday. of course, we're looking at it all the time, but that's the moment we'll take a formal review

and a formal decision. i am in constant pain, all through the night and all through the day. chris has had to live with that increasing pain because of arthritis since last year. a planned hip replacement in march was cancelled because of the pandemic — and he's still waiting. i get very depressed. i'm lucky that i've got a family that are caring for me, but i really worry about those that haven't, because it's absolutely debilitating. julie also has arthritis and needs two 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 ops done. every time i go, theyjust keep shrugging their shoulders, saying, "we're sorry, we don't know when, we're just absolutely 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 year for a routine operation or procedure. that compared with 1,600 in february, before the covid crisis hit the nhs. the total number waiting for nonurgent treatment is now 4.41; million, close to the highest since modern records began. nhs england said more diagnostic tests were carried out in october, and that cancer treatment and referrals were above usual levels, 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. 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. experts say conservation efforts mean the european bison has moved a step back from the brink of extinction. 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. today in a statement 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. experts say conservation efforts mean the european bison has moved a step back from the brink of extinction. there are now more than six thousand scattered across poland, belarus and russia. the animals were almost wiped out

in the wild a century ago. but the international union for conservation of nature is warning more still needs to be done as the latest update to its red list shows 31 species have been declared extinct. it says this should serve as a "stark reminder" of the work that still needs to be done globally. now, it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. good evening. extensive cloud meant sunshine was in short supply today, and actually that cloud has started to bring some pretty heavy rain in from the west. that will continue to journey eastwards as we go through tonight. behind it, still quite a lot of cloud, some clear breaks, but also some showers which could be heavy. and for wales and the south west of england, those showers could even be thundery. not a cold night, though, 4—9 degrees. so, tomorrow morning, we start off with this band of rain across eastern areas. things should improve a little for eastern england, but i think eastern scotland will keep a lot of rain throughout the day. further west, some brightness,

still quite a lot of cloud and some showers, some of which will be heavy. the winds will be fairly light. temperatures ranging from seven degrees in glasgow to 11 in london, cardiff and plymouth. now, saturday gives a better chance of some sunshine. certainly the driest, brightest day of the weekend for most. on sunday, we'll see cloud bringing heavy rain, brisk winds, but it will feel mild. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: borisjohnson says leaving the eu without a trade deal is now a strong possibilty.the prime minister tells the cabinet and public to prepare in case the uk fails to reach a free trade agreement with the eu looking at larry r, i do think it is vital that everybody now gets ready for that australian option. two of the babies who died

at a scandal hit nhs trust — a review — now looking at more than 18 hundred cases — finds some mothers were blamed for their babies dying. 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 schoolchildren in parts of london, essex and kent are to be tested for coronavirus after a worrying rise in cases. all secondary schools and further education colleges in wales will move classes online from monday, the education minister has announced. kirsty williams said it was part of a "national effort to reduce transmission of coronavirus". a number of counties have also said primary schools will close earlier, including cardiff and swansea. kirsty williams said she regretted having to make the decision which comes after advice from the chief medical officer on the "deteriorating" covid situation in wales.

i really regret that the public health scenario we face today has led me to have to make this decision andi led me to have to make this decision and i wish it was anything but and we will continue to do everything that we can to keep you learning although for next week that will be remotely and we will continue to look to see what we can do to minimise disruption sb head into education in the new year. neil butler is the national official for wales at the teaching union the nasuwt. let us get your reaction to this decision. we are coming up to the christmas holiday. in theory children are not so much missing out ona children are not so much missing out on a week of school because they we re on a week of school because they were him to be home—schooled but they will not be at school from this next week. we can give it a good decision and we think it's the right decision. we think it could be made earlier and we think it should have included primary school but it is

good for health and safety reasons and it's also good for educational reasons as well. are you not concerned about the amount of time that children have been out of school thus far on all aspects? not just education, mental health as well? i think all our members are really concerned about that. the issue and primary concern is health and safety. when it comes, it's important to understand that for educational reasons this would be the best decision as well. the pub and we have had any wales is that a few days ago there was a report by the technical advisory group which effectively when you boil it down was ten parents saying that if they wa nted was ten parents saying that if they wanted a christmas which has been without self isolation data taking children out of school. we have found from our members telling us that large numbers of parents were beginning to do that. they're in a situation where they will be fewer numbers in schools next week anyway and it will be very difficult to teach the children in front of you

while also having to deal with the children at home. said we are now prepared and our members have worked really ha rd to prepared and our members have worked really hard to prepare distance—learning resources and cellular go to distance—learning next week and it will be clear that that would be the process and we will not have the mess that was taking place before the minister made this decision. is there another way? made this decision. is there another 7 i made this decision. is there another way? iam made this decision. is there another way? i am thinking we have heard the announcement that a certain borrowers of london and essex and came to to continue to go to school but they will be tested, is that not a possibility? testing is important and we very much support testing. we would like to see that widespread, but we do not think it is quick enough, it is responsive enough to deal with the present health care emergency that we have in wales. we don't think the minister had any alternative at this particular stage. we are further down the road

in regards to rapid testing and that would be an option for wales but we don't think it is at the moment. given there is one borrower of london which has 360 —— 363 new cases per 100,000, the average infection cases across wales, 370, and they are talking about testing. the figures are similar. i am wondering given the impact of not being at school for children, that perhaps you could have destroyed testing for another go?|j perhaps you could have destroyed testing for another go? i think we actually think is better for their children's education that they are not at school next week because we knew that we were going to be in a situation whereby we would have much of these numbers and there was no way teach is to be able to teach them in the classroom and at home at them in the classroom and at home at the same time. so actually by the education of the children we think the decision made by the minister todayis the decision made by the minister today is better. in all respects to the london borough, we think the

decision made in wales was a better one. thank you. meanwhile, in england the health secretary matt hancock has said mass testing will be rolled out to secondary school children in the worst—affected areas of london, kent and essex after a fast rise in coronavirus infection rates among 11—18—year—olds. mr hancock said he was taking action now as the government is determined to keep schools open. iam i am particularly concerned about the number of cases in london, canned, and essex. cases are writing and in many areas already high. looking into the detail, the testing results and surveys tell us that by far the finest rise is among secondary school age children. 11 through 18 years old. while the rate amongst adults in london is broadly flat. but we know from experience that a sharp rise in cases in younger people can lead to a rise among its more vulnerable age groups

later. we have seen that happen before. we need to do everything we can to stop the spread amongst school age children in london right now. we must not wait until the review which will take place on the 16th of december. we need to take targeted action immediately. having spoken to the leaders of london's councils and to the mayor, we decided to put in place an immediate plan for testing all secondary school—age children and the seven worst affected by owners of london, in part that border london, parts of cans. “— in part that border london, parts of cans. —— kent. we want to keep schools open. lets speak now to professor paul hunter, professor of medicine at the university of east anglia. a slightly different approach in england compared to wales, let us start with my the health secretary is introducing testing to these particularly ha rd—hit areas.

is introducing testing to these particularly hard—hit areas. what are the figures that are of such co nte nt ? are the figures that are of such content? i think it is generally well known that london has seen a surge in the last week or so cases but when you are actually a look at the age breakdown of those, it has been driven largely by an increase in the ten through 19 age group and that increase when you look back, that increase when you look back, that has been increasing throughout lockdown and in the before and that age group has been incredibly rare the greater london cases have been occurring. less so in the southeast region by setting the greater london has been largely the growth in teenagers. it's pockets as well, it is not all borrowers, some have much lowerfigures. is not all borrowers, some have much lower figures. with the is not all borrowers, some have much lowerfigures. with the idea is not all borrowers, some have much lower figures. with the idea that testing, how do you think that will

affect the increase in figures?|j affect the increase in figures?” think testing by itself does not achieve anything other than giving you more information. it has got to be targeted and actually the results have to be acted on. so that's when you do get positives you need to know how many positives are in a class, should we close that class down or can we get away with getting certain peoples self isolating and when they are self isolating we need to make sure that their education is still maintained and that they actually comply with the requirements and they do not go and spread the infection to their friends in other venues away from school. so, when you think about it, there is very little else that we can do other than closing schools. the problem is is we did close i was school, when would be reopened and ain? school, when would be reopened and again? because it is quite likely

that after the christmas break we will be pretty much in a very similar position to what we are now. are we going to keep our schools closed? i think our children probably have suffered enough in this epidemic and really we have got to do everything we can, everything possible for us before we actually deny them their education again. we have just heard from the perspective of wales, they are closing schools. they feel it's necessary. the figures stay so drastically higher given there is one particular borough of london where the figures are very high. absolutely, wales has seen quite an increase in the last couple of weeks in cases. the data is presented differently between wales and england. it's not always easy to know exactly what the nuances are. but it seems and wails that the increase in cases as much

more widely distributed in the population that we had seen in london. and so, it does not look at the moment, like schools have been driving the epidemic in wales, in my mind anyway. so the benefits of closing schools in wales, i am not as convinced as your previous speaker. i personally would have gone down the route that matt hancock has suggested for london. let us finish on london, do you think if there was an inevitability that london will go into the third, the highest tier? it is difficult to tell if the epidemic is restricted to teenagers than the impact on hospitals in the area i will not be that great but we know from the past that great but we know from the past that once it is prevalent in one age group it tends to leak into other age groups and ultimately into the age groups and ultimately into the age groups and ultimately into the age groups that are most vulnerable

with the increase. so, i age groups that are most vulnerable with the increase. so, lam not absolutely sure at the moment but it does sadly look like we are heading that way for london. thank you very much. lots more can be found on our website. greater manchester police has been accused of letting down vulnerable victims of crime by failing to record a fifth of offences. the police inspectorate also says it is ‘deeply troubled' that some cases are being closed without a proper investigation. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds, has more: this is an eye—catching figure, 80,000 cases, what the police inspectorate is saying are not being reported by greater manchester police, one in five cases, as you say, one in four violent crimes. so there's a big problem there. the inspectors say what's going on? well, a lot of these cases relate to domestic violence, stalking and harassment. and those are cases where sometimes

it can be quite unclear whether an allegation has been made and an allegation can be withdrawn by the victim in the case. what the inspectorate says is that the police in greater manchester have not been doing a good job at tracking that recording when crime allegations are being withdrawn and when they stop investigating as a result. but there is a problem. and the inspector, zoe billingham, who's led this work, says it's almost as though greater manchester police is flying blind. if you don't know where your crime hotspots are, your difficult, pubs turning out pointier where people are going to be fighting. if you don't know where most of you repeat offenders are because you've got such an incomplete view of crime in your area, then you're not going to be able to take preventative action. it's like trying to fly a plane with most of the instruments covered up. it's not going to work and i'm sure the public of manchester will understand. but if there's not a complete

picture of crime in their area, then they're not being appropriately served by their police force. and greater manchester police says that they have actually started to address this with a long term plan, they‘ re building a centralised unit to handle the recording of crime. there is a new computer system that works started earlier this year. but as it started, well, the pandemic started. and greater manchester police say that that has made it harder to recruit and train staff. lebanon's caretaker prime minister hassan diab and three former ministers have ben charged with negligence over the beirut port blast in august. the explosion killed around 200 people and destroyed much of the city. the four people charged will be questioned next week about the warnings they received over the unsafe storage of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse. a female journalist has been shot dead in eastern afghanistan. malala maiwand was on her way to work in jalalabad on thursday when gunmen opened fire on her vehicle. her driver was also killed.

the so—called islamic state group has claimed responsibility for the attack. it's the latest in a spate of killings that have targeted reporters, rights workers and political figures across the country. she was a journalist working for a local tv station and the eastern province and she had been working there for a number of years and she's also a woman's rights activist and a symbol of society activist and someone who's very well known locally and she was on her way this morning around 7am to her office when gunmen opened fire and she had previously spoken about the challenges and dangers of being a female journalist in afghanistan. i was looking to her facebook and saw a few weeks back she posted writing that you had to be lucky in afghanistan just to stay alive.

today she and her driver were both shot dead and it's really part of a spate of targeted killings that we had seen in afghanistan in recent months. he has seen as well as journalists he had seen human rights activists and government figures being assassinated. recently there has been quite a focus on the killing of journalists has been quite a focus on the killing ofjournalists in afghanistan. just last month a well—known reporter was killed when a magnetic bomb was attached to his vehicle, a week or so before that a former tv presenter was killed in kabul. earlier this week, the european union and nato both issued a joint statement calling on freedom of expression to be respected and condemning these targeted killings. this incident has been claimed by the islamic state but they're less powerful than the taliban and they recently lost most of the territory that they controlled. in that area of influence has been the eastern pa rt of influence has been the eastern part of afghanistan where it is took

place. but certainly most of the violence that's been connected in afghanistan by the moment is by that taliban and most of these targeted killings that have been taking place in the country, most of them go unclaimed by any militant group and there is a suspicion that other than this incident, generating it is the taliban who is responsible for these targeted killings but they are not public —— publicly admitting that because there is ongoing peace talks between the taliban and afghan government officials and irs are not pa rt government officials and irs are not part of those talks. —— islamic state are not part of those talks. israel and morocco have reached a deal brokered by the us to normalise relations — the fourth arab country to do so in the past year. the announcement was made shortly after president trump signed a proclamation recognising moroccan sovereignty over the western sahara. the palestinians have been critical of the normalisation deals, saying the arab states have set back the cause of peace. uk travellers could be barred from visiting many eu countries from january 1st — because travel rules associated with being part of the eu will have expired,

and coronavirus restrictions may prevent entry to many regions. our business reporter simon browning has more when the transition period ends we become a third—party nation in our relationship with the eu. there are currently severe coronavirus restrictions on travel about entering into the eu and only essential travel is permitted. 0nly eight countries are allowed at the moment to enter the eu for that essential basis because they have low coronavirus infection rates. dominic raab said this morning eu member states would likely decide the rules to protect against infection and remember, the uk has had travel corridors in place with lots of countries over the summer, travel corridors with spain, for example. but they have changed because infection rates have also changed. it's thought they could come back and that individual countries could put travel corridors in place with the uk, places like spain and the canary islands. british travellers are very

lucrative and essential for those countries' economies. easyjet explained they believe individual countries will operate like this. but it is no surprise that these shock suggestions are coming up. the negotiations are still ongoing but this morning the french europe and this evening, 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. we can speak now to paul charles, founder and ceo of travel consultancy, the pc agency. that is pick up on the canary islands first of all. we are talking about such popular destinations like gran canaria and tel aviv and la nza rote, how much gran canaria and tel aviv and lanzarote, how much interest was there to go to the places over the christmas break to get a bit of

warmth? the canary islands came onto the travel corridor is listed at the end of october and at that point it was a triggerfor end of october and at that point it was a trigger for people who wanted to get away and wanted to seek winter sun, average temperatures of 22 degrees over the christmas new year period. in fact, a lot of people booked at that point the chapel between now and april —— travel and we estimated something around 45 to 50,000 people will not be affected by this decision to put the canary be affected by this decision to put the ca nary islands be affected by this decision to put the canary islands back into the acquiring pianist. what does this mean for those people who have booked? mean for those people who have booked ? can they mean for those people who have booked? can they go? they can go if their airline is prepared to fly them of course, but it will mean that they would have to quarantine for five days on their return from what it will be deemed a high—risk area if they take a test on the fifth day, a private test which they have to pay for. he quarantine rules are changing on the 15th of

december, next tuesday, from the 1a days to five days if you have a test on that fifth day. the problem is for a lot of people they cannot afford to take those tests. the average cost is between 80 and £150 per person. they'll be quite a few people who would have such a good value deal to get out to the canary islands and he will be thinking i will have to add another or £300 per couple to the cost of the holiday and they will not bother. so sadly a lot of operators are seeing cancellations. what is your advice to people who potentially are wanting to get away? what do you think? stay indoors? this will be a christmas at home? well travelling during a pandemic is for the brave and it's very difficult because of the very restrictions in place. it isa the very restrictions in place. it is a jigsaw puzzle and it's hard to put together at the moment because there are so many wills across the world. you don't know where that wa rra nty world. you don't know where that warranty will be and whether the borders will be close or if airlines

are flying. it is very hard at the moment to travel so far. my advice is to seek out those places which in fa ct is to seek out those places which in fact are still available, what you do not have to quarantine. perhaps gibraltar or the caribbean the way you don't have to commenting on your return. there are places you can reach which are still good value for money and where it is still perfectly safe to fly to. i want to touch up on the travel rules associated with part of the european union. that will change comejanuary the 1st. uk travellers have been and could potentially be barred from visiting many eu countries, what does one do? it is not helping confidence and that is one of the major issues that people are actually worried about booking because they might find there is a blockade of some kind. i can't believe that eu countries that rely so heavily on the power of the british tourist town are going to

accept this eu wide potential block. the likes of greece, spain, portugal, they need uk travellers both business and leisure travellers to pop up their economies. there is absolutely no way i can see from the 1st of january that there will be this eu wide block in place against british travellers. it will not happen because so many european countries meet us and they need the money to be spent. i can it unlikely to happen. do you think the impact on the travel industry for those countries is too great and they will be petitioning the government cannot allow this to happen? without a doubt. it is a classic case ready eu will not be aligned and you can guarantee and having spoken to collea g u es guarantee and having spoken to colleagues in greece and in particular to get —— today i can assure you that is already a fight back against it. they simply meet their stories to come in and spend money. -- they need those tourists to come in and spend money.

at a time when many people are feeling cut off from each other, here's a story about the power of remote friendship. louise harman was walking her dogs in sussex when she noticed flowers regularly left by the path. she left a note asking who was leaving them and why. it was to lead to a four year correspondence with an elderly man who lived nearby — yet they have never met. she spoke to south today's briony leyland. i live near the south downs. i walk up there all the time. for louise harman and her dog tommy, this path is very familiar territory. but four years ago something new appeared on their route. flowers every two weeks, pretty much like clockwork. really beautiful flowers. curiosity got the better of me and i decided to leave a note and ijust put, "who do you remember?" this was the response. an order of service for the funeral of a much—loved wife, jean,

and a thank you to louise for her note. signed, bob. "dear louise, thank you for your lovely note. i can't tell you how much i appreciate it." i thought i would write a quick note to back, "thank you for sharing the lovely picture of your wife jean and i'll think of her every time i walk past." many more notes and cards were to follow, left under a stone by the flowers. some battered by the rain, all building blocks of a friendship between 30—something louise and 80—something bob. he told me about the person who he was missing, their life together, all the different countries they lived in together. "i've been to every country and capital city and europe and lived in new york for three years. you have it all before you." conversations like that and then i'd tell him the places that i've travelled to, what i was doing, what i did for work. a year after the correspondence began, louise's father david died suddenly. through her sorrow, she felt a new understanding

of bob's experience. it suddenly became, 0k, this is what it feels like to lose someone that close and it made it more real, his grief and how much he was missing jean, and i suddenly knew what that felt like. and i was so grateful for his friendship. the letter he wrote me was everything i needed to hear. "one thing i know for sure is you'll 100% see your dad again." people think you wouldn't really have that much in common with someone who's 83 but we really did. it was not ever purposeful not to meet, itjust happened naturally. it was nice that it was just letters. last year the notes stopped. recently louise managed to contact his family who told her he has developed dementia. he is now 89 and living

in a care home. one of the last ones he wrote was, "i will treasure my friendship with you and your notes which have always given me greatjoy. you will forever have a place in my heart. i wish you every success." today louise laid her own flowers at the place where friendship blossomed, sharing her story in the hope it will inspire others to look for unexpected connections. briony leyland, bbc south today, worthing. my my heart goes out to bob and to louise. with many theatres still closed actors are having to come up with new ways to ensure the show does go on this christmas! 0ne company has even started staging performances from long—running west end shows in people's front gardens! as our arts correspondent david silito has been finding 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. singing in the rain, it is heartening to see. singing in the rain, it is heartening to see. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. that evening. extensive cloud means that sunshine was in short supply today. the crowd is bringing heavy rain infrom today. the crowd is bringing heavy rain in from the last. it will continue to journey east as we go through tonight. behind it is still

a lot of cloud, claire breaks but also showers which could be happy and for whales and the southwest of england that showers could be fun to read. mighta england that showers could be fun to read. might a cold night 49 —— 4—9. we start off with the rain across the eastern areas. things should improve for eastern england but a cold night 49 —— 4—9. improve for eastern england but a cold night 49 —— 4—9 . we start off with rain across the eastern areas. things should improve for eastern england by ethan scotland will keep a lot of rain throughout the day. further west some brightness, still a lot of cloud —— cloud and some showers. some will be heavy. he went really bright and temperatures ranging from 7 degrees in glasgow it's 11 degrees in london, cardiff, and pennetta. saturday gives a better chance of sunshine. the driest day of the weekend for most on sunday will see you cloud bringing rain and wind and it will feel mild.

this is bbc news — hope collides with grief. as coronavirus deaths in the us reach a new daily record, the government's on the verge of authorizing a first vaccine. over 3100 people died on wednesday, a new record. and it will get worse with the number of new daily cases continuing to rise. so, the pfizer vaccine can't come soon enough. the drug regulator said today it is looking good for an emergency roll—out — beginning monday. are these the tailbacks we could see at dover in the weeks to come? with no—deal looming, the uk government's back up plans could be tested to the max. also in the programme. president trump has been hosting a white house lunch for a group of republican attorneys general, most of whom are supporting