this is bbc news. the headlines. pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid this is bbc news. restrictions at christmas — i'm simon mccoy. two medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives". the headlines... pressure mounts for a re—think our health system is not of plans for easing covid going to manage if we allow restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say the current trend to continue out mixing households "will cost lives" on top of the superspread event that will be these our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend five days of christmas. to continue out on top of the superspread event labour leader sir keir starmer calls that will be these five on ministers to hold an emergency review days of christmas. of the christmas plans. labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency as the government holds talks review of the christmas with leaders of scotland wales plans as the government and northern ireland, prepares to hold talks will the case be made for a tightening the rules? with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks greenwich council backs schools to remain open, after the education secretary down and tells schools threatens to take legal action. they should stay open we'll hear from the council after the education secretary threatens legal action. leader live this hour. more than 800,000 fewer people are on the payroll now than at the start of the pandemic, with hospitality and retail particularly badly hit. a giant iceberg, more

than twice the size of london, is on a collision course with the british territory of south georgia, threatening the island's wildlife and ecosystem. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. there's growing pressure on the government and the devolved administrations to rethink plans to ease coronavirus restrictions for five days over the christmas period. in a rare joint editorial, two of the uk's leading medicaljournals have called for the government to reverse what it describes as a "rash decision that will cost lives". labour has called for the government to urgently review the festive relaxation. later today, cabinet office minister michael gove is expected to discuss the christmas coronavirus rules with the leaders of scotland, wales and northern ireland. ministers have urged people to "do the minimum possible" when covid

regulations are relaxed. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker reports. will you stand under the tree? under the tree. getting into the spirit and under the tree, senior minister jacob rees—mogg en route to cabinet, but a small diversion first. will we still get christmas, mr rees—mogg 7 happy christmas. london, most of essex, parts of hertfordshire head for tighter rules tonight. the government revealed yesterday as well, there was a new strain of the virus, and faced questions whether a temporary relaxation of the rules next week was wise. i think it's important that all of us are cautious ahead of christmas. of course, it's a period of risk and that is the reason we want people to take it very seriously and go no further. last month, all four nations agreed that from the 23rd to the 27th of december, people can mix with up to three households, and stay overnight. there's an extra day, either side,

for those travelling to and from northern ireland. but ministers are emphasising wider rules remain in place and while people can take advantage, they don't have to. we've got to trust the british people to act responsibly, to do the minimum that is necessary for them within their family situation. but we should recognise it has been a very difficult year for many families. many families want to come together over the christmas period. but that doesn't mean all the restrictions are lifted — people will still need to continue act responsibly. it may look appealing, the idea of an easing over christmas. but a warning that the plan is rash, could cost many lives, and should be reversed — that from the british medical journal and health service journal. the real, striking, stark truth of the matter is our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue, out on top of the superspread event that will be these five days of christmas.

some mps have also expressed concerns and the london mayor now circular stormers calling for an urgent review while london's mayor is calling for a rethink, suggesting the rules could be relaxed in a safer way. my concern is over those five days you could have three households of big sizes mixing, having sleepovers, hugging, kissing, all the things we normally do at christmas time. and what would be really, really heartbreaking, knowing the vaccine is now being rolled out, is if you inadvertently pass the virus on to an older relation. as families decide what to do this christmas, ministers are keen to stress personal responsibility. but there will be political accountability as well, if, in the new year, some judge this relaxation to have been the wrong call. will we still get christmas, prime minister? it

christmas, prime minister? has now emerged ther this it has now emerged there is a call this afternoon between the four nations. as we head into next week, leaders will know that they are walking a difficult line. jessica parker, bbc news. and jessica is at westminster for us. this is a tough one because a lot of people have made plans and booked things. i think ministers will be aware of that and it really isn't long now until the 23rd of december and to change things now could cause and to change things now could cause a level of public anger. 0ne and to change things now could cause a level of public anger. one of the reasons they looked to make this special provision over christmas in the first place was due to concerns that people would be so concerned to see their loved ones, if there wasn't some kind of relaxation, they might go ahead and do it anyway and that could undermine trust in the rules and the level to which people stick to those rules. the problem facing the government now, and this was a four nations agreement, so an

agreement and issue facing politicians across the country, if you look at what was going on yesterday and that bleak public health news comedy idea of relaxing rules next week, they think that is illogical. —— and the idea of relaxing. and now there is this call between michael bell's and the leaders of the devolved nations to see what will happen next. —— michael gove. whether it is advising people in hotspot areas not to travel out of those areas, but it is a very difficult line for politicians to walk. what no politician wants to say is sorry, christmas is cancelled. the london evening standard has a poll that says that people questioned by them said the relaxed rules would not be strict

enough, but 39% thought them to be about right. there is widespread anxiety about all of this. these may va ry anxiety about all of this. these may vary as to whether this was the right thing to do in the first place. they made this decision back in late november and now they are looking again after the pressure has built up over this morning and we heard yesterday from matt hancock about rising rates of the virus in some area. places in the country are going into tier 3 and, of course, the new strain of the virus. 0ne going into tier 3 and, of course, the new strain of the virus. one of the new strain of the virus. one of the things ministers have been trying to emphasise is this idea of personal responsibility, that families have to judge for themselves what it is best to do. many people up and down the country will be thinking about whether to go ahead with the plans they have made, and others will be of the view that the government should say, you can't do this, or that they should lay

down stricter rules because of that public anxiety. and that question of whether the relaxation and the temporaryjoy it whether the relaxation and the temporary joy it may whether the relaxation and the temporaryjoy it may bring will be worth the possible public health impact. we have heard that stark warning today from the public health journals. thank you very much. public health england plans to release its findings into the new mutation of covid—i9 within the next fortnight after the health secretary matt hancock said the strain could be linked to the faster spread of the virus in some areas. 0fficials stressed there was no evidence the variant caused more severe forms of the disease or was resistant to vaccines. our health correspondent michelle roberts has more. every virus mutates. these tiny genetic changes happen as the virus makes new copies of itself to spread and thrive. most are inconsequential and a few can even be harmful to the virus‘s survival, but some can make it more infectious or threatening to the host. for covid, that host is us.

and experts are working to understand precisely what these new changes that have been identified might mean. some viruses do this at a very, very fast rate, like hiv or the flu, for example. other viruses are more indolent and they change more slowly but it all comes down to the fact that they are evolving and they are evolving against pressure from the thing that is trying to stop them doing what they want to do, which is to spread and have more cases of coronavirus. so far 1000 confirmed cases have been discovered in the uk. they are predominantly in the south of england although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas with numbers increasing rapidly. in the commons yesterday, the health secretary matt hancock said the new strain might be behind big increases in covid infections being seen in london and the south—east. researchers have confirmed that the mutations involve the spike protein of the virus,

the part that helps it infect cells and the target covid vaccines are designed around. that doesn't mean it's necessarily more transmissible, infectious or dangerous or that a vaccine cannot work. the new vaccines are essentially like e—mails that we send to the immune system and they are very easy to tweak so if we know the lock has changed very slightly, we just have to edit that e—mail, change a word or two and then the vaccine will be ready in say, six to eight weeks' time, after that, will be competent and better targeted to the new strain. sharp scratch coming. 0k, brilliant. gps are already giving high risk patients the new pfizerjab which experts still expect to be highly effective. and one leading expert has accused mr hancock of whipping up fear ahead of london being moved into tougher tier 3 restrictions. it's an unproven connection at this moment and it may

well stay like that. reporting that london is going into another tier and all of that, linking it to the variant, my first response was, that is a bit naughty, sort of blaming the virus, rather than how people are behaving! with cases rising in some parts of the uk, people are being advised to follow the rules and keep social contact to a minimum over christmas. michelle roberts, bbc news. the hospitality industry is warning that london's move into tier 3 will put thousands ofjobs at risk. nearly 14,000 pubs, restaurants and cafes will have to close, and offer takeaways or deliveries instead. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. it's one of london's top hotels but it's barely breaking even. keeping going as best they can but once again, business is coming to a standstill.

and you wish to cancel this booking due to the tier 3 restrictions? customers don't have any choice and there has been more than 100 cancellations already. the restaurants are doing a final serving. going to do about 160 today, lunch and dinner and then we will close, again. heartbreaking. they are making christmas lunch for the staff today, to use up some of the surplus food. a taste of what thousands of hospitality businesses are now dealing with as they go into tier 3. it's the lack of notice. the lack of understanding. and i actually think the decisions are wrong! the damage, you know? we cannot recover. there is many of us, many hotels, many restaurants and bars that won't get over this. and that is the frustration and the anger. an awful lot of businesses haven't even reopened from the previous lockdown and those that have were banking on some crucial pre—christmas trade to tide them through january and february.

traditionally, the lean months for hospitality. it's terrible timing for this industry. alexa, show him how it is done. not great for pantomime either — some west end theatres had just reopened, and instead, plans are vanishing in a puff of smoke. here at the garrick theatre, they are now rehearsing to stream the show online. it is gutting to have the theatres closing for the third time in 2020. we worked really hard onstage and offstage to make sure venues are covid secure and it means unfortunately we are losing over 30 performances throughout the rest of december, many of which were sold out. thousands and thousands of theatre—goers are disappointed by closing the show, unfortunately. the government says it has to toughen restrictions to save lives but it will come at a cost to people's livelihoods as well. this pub owner in essex is coping, but anxious. we will survive. but the impact, the recovery,

will be what will hurt, most will be struggling this time next year because we have been lockdown three times. businesses doing their best in these toughest of times. emma simpson, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives" labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks schools to remain open — after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. we'll hear from the council leader live this hour there's confusion for parents and students after greenwich council in london said schools will now stay open. on sunday the local council called for schools to close and take all learning online because of a dramatic recent rise in coronavirus cases.

but the education secretary gavin williamson intervened and told greenwich that it would face legal action if it didn't keep schools open. in the last hour, he's also announced that every secondary school and college in england will have access to rapid coronavirus testing from january. andy moore reports. just a few parents, mostly key workers, and their children turned up at this greenwich primary school this morning. it took the decision to close yesterday after being advised to do so by the labour leader of their borough council. but now the government is insisting it should reopen again, with only a day or two to go before the end of term. it's a difficult time to be a parent in greenwich. we don't actually know what is happening. because today is a different story. the next day is different. you know, actually, i want him to be in school. it's a confusing situation, and considering — well, apparently — the rest of london hasn't done this yet, it seems a bit strange that it would just be happening in our borough. a lot of people are confused.

i work in a school, so i have to go to work. and then my son is coming to school. so we just have to stick together, and just keep safe. faced with legal action from the government, greenwich council has now backed down. in a statement, it's leader, danny thorpe, said... the government has now said that all secondary schools and colleges in england will get rapid lateral flow testing from january. the education secretary, gavin williamson, said it was a milestone in keeping schools safe. schools in other london boroughs and in parts of essex have also closed down early. union leaders say some head teachers are being put in a difficult position.

here, we seem to have turf wars between national and local government, and in the middle of it the people i represent — head teachers who, on sunday night, may have had a letter from greenwich local authority saying, "we are advising you to close the school." so the heads will have talked with the governors yesterday, possibly issued a letter yesterday, then, halfway through the day, the schools minister is saying, "keep your school open." in this battle of wills between local and central government, the parents and head teachers have been caught in the middle, trying to respond to a series of mixed messages. andy moore, bbc news, greenwich. and we'll be speaking to the labour leader of greenwich council danny thorpe in a few minutes' time. aston villa captainjack grealish has been banned from driving for nine months and fined a total of £82,499 after crashing his range rover during march's coronavirus lockdown. the england international was sentenced at birmingham magistrates‘ court, after previously pleading guilty to two charges,

including one linked to the incident in which his 4x4 hit two parked vehicles in solihull in the west midlands. the government should focus on improving regional rail links between cities in the north and midlands — instead of new projects such as hs2. that's according to a new report by the national infrastructure commission. it argues that halting — or at least building in phases — the eastern leg of hs2 from the midlands to leeds could help pay for the plan. the government said it would consider the commission's proposals. the netherlands is the latest european country to introduce strict lockdown measures throughout the festive period. from today all non—essential shops, including garden centres, diy and clothing stores in the country will be closed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. in italy, too, new travel restrictions are to be imposed, though prime minister giuseppe conte stressed that father christmas would be exempt. anna holligan reports from the hague.

the dutch had been dreaming of a relatively relaxed christmas, but over the weekend, photos of crowds cramming into city centres combined with an infection rate that's now almost double the dutch government's worst—case scenario has meant there's a sense of inevitability about the christmas crackdown, which ironically means the dutch will be celebrating under what constitutes the country's toughest lockdown yet. translation: i'm sad that it has to be done, but it is important. yeah, i think that it's necessary. yeah, unfortunately. so, from today, all non—essential stores are closed, along with things like museums, cinemas, theatres and amusement parks. restaurants, cafes and cannabis coffee shops can keep on serving takeaways only. and lots of these pink signs have been going up in protest from businesses that feel as though they're being unjustly targeted without enough state support to keep them afloat. traditional german christmas markets

aren't as busy this year. most have already been cancelled and a hard lockdown is coming into force as the number of deaths and infections has been surging. nonessential shops and schools will close from december 16th untiljanuary 10th. after weeks of national lockdown travel restrictions within france are being eased today, meaning families can get together over the festive break. the infection rate remains stubbornly high, though — a nationwide curfew will be in place from eight o'clock in the evening, which will be lifted on christmas eve but not on new year's eve. italy is currently seeing the highest number of deaths since the end of march, and prime minister giuseppe conte has told italians to expect a more sober christmas without gatherings, hugs and kisses. there'll be a travel ban in place between different regions, but he reassured people father christmas is exempt from all global travel restrictions.

until now, the netherlands has been reluctant to impose some of the stricter measures adopted by neighbouring nations. but with the number of covid—related deaths now approaching 16,000, hospital admissions increasing, infections rising sharply and pressure on the health sector intensifying, a full—blown lockdown comes in later than many had hoped. anna holligan, bbc news, in the hague. we have just been reporting we havejust been reporting on the leader of greenwich council who has backed down after gavin williamson ordered to keep schools open. we have heard that islington councils have heard that islington councils have said they haven't changed their sta nce have said they haven't changed their stance in moving teaching to online learning amidst spikes in coronavirus in both barrels, coming after da n ny coronavirus in both barrels, coming after danny thorpe saying he had no choice in granite but you ask them to stay open. we will talk to him

and see what they say. they say they have moved to online teaching... there were 819,000 fewer workers on uk company payrolls in november than at the start of the pandemic — that's accodring to new figures from the office for national statistics. hospitality was the worst hit sector, accounting for a third of the job losses, followed by retail. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. i was in denial at first, and i went through, like, the stages of grief. nina from dorset worked as cabin crew at virgin atlantic for 15 years, but as the pandemic grounded flights, she was first furloughed and then made redundant injune when the airline laid off more than 3000 staff. the financial pressure has been very great on us, and we've been claiming universal credit, but unfortunately that doesn't cover our basic outgoings, and we've had to really cut back this christmas.

unemployment has continued to rise. in the three months to october, the jobless total rose to nearly 1.7 million people and the numbers suggest a worsening trend as unemployment hits 5% in october. and this is the number of people claiming benefits, it went up to 2.7 million. so these might be people in work but on reduced hours, or using savings and topping up their income with universal credit. since the pandemic began, nearly half a millionjobs have been lost in hospitality and retail, sectors employing a large number of young people. but the over—50s are struggling too. it does get a little bit depressing at times. in lancashire, it's been a tough yearforgraham. his work as a freelance business consultant dried up in march. there are redundancies, people losing theirjobs, when furlough‘s coming

to an end you know there is going to be a wave there, so it's a competitive market. i've been trying but, yeah, it gets you down. i've got ten years left of work and, yeah, i think i've got a lot to give. a quiet high street and boarded up shops are one of the most visible reminders of the economic damage of this health crisis. the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards online shopping and our spending habits are changing the types ofjobs available. companies that pick... ..pack... ..and deliver goods to customers have been hiring. there's been an opportunity there to bring more staff in earlier, and at this moment in time there's still a lot of orders that we need to shift, it gives them an opportunity to continue into the new year. 0n the south coast, nina has now been offered work from january, and with effective vaccines on the horizon, while there is some optimism, unemployment is expected to continue

rising in the months ahead. sarah corker, bbc news. let's get more on the story about greenwich council, which at the weekend asked schools to effectively close and go to online teaching. that decision has been changed after the education secretary threatened legal action against them. let's speak now to the labour leader of greenwich council, danny thorpe. good afternoon. good afternoon. for pa rents good afternoon. good afternoon. for parents and children, this is really chaotic. nobody knows what is going on. i have done my best to communicate with parents across greenwich about the extremely challenging situation that we face. 0n challenging situation that we face. on friday, i was talking directly to head teachers who told me they had had their worst week of the

pandemic. the figure of pupils and staff self isolating has risen, with an additional 588 children added to that pile. we were confronted with a situation where the virus has been spreading more quickly in greenwich thanit spreading more quickly in greenwich than it has done in london. we had to make this call based on the data available to us. i think it is reg retta ble available to us. i think it is regrettable that the secretary of state has chosen to pursue a legal option because my decision has been based on what is in the best interest of children and families in greenwich. are you saying the education sector is not putting the welfare of the pupils first?” education sector is not putting the welfare of the pupils first? i think this shows clearly the government think you can manage the pandemic response entirely from whitehall and we are saying that we have got different parts of london, different

parts of the country experiencing significant challenges. i would also be clear that we did not ask school to close at all. we asked them to change the way they were doing things at the end of this week to go along with the pressures that they are having. schools having to close com pletely are having. schools having to close completely due to staff shortages, thatis completely due to staff shortages, that is true of other parts of london and the country and the secretary of state for education needs to understand the pressure that schools in greenwich and across oui’ that schools in greenwich and across our city are facing. he works in whitehall and that is why this came from there. you did this on twitter, you didn't use the council press office for this announcement, did you? we were talking directly with oui’ you? we were talking directly with our management team about the new data that we had on sunday and what sunday showed that we were seeing signs of greenwich and london of an exponential growth in coronavirus that required an immediate response. that was my advice from public—health colleagues and talking that through with people. we liaised

as quickly as we could with schoolteachers and were trying to get the message out as far and wide so residents knew of the change in circumstances that were dealing with. nobody wants to be having to ta ke with. nobody wants to be having to take decisions like this on a sunday afternoon, especially when school head teachers have been working flat out, and teachers, to manage in extremely different circumstances. but the facts are changing. we can see clearly in london that numbers are moving and in greenwich, they are moving and in greenwich, they are moving and in greenwich, they are moving more quickly than other parts of the city. all i can do as a council leader is take decisions based on the information i have in front of me which i believe are in the best interests of greenwich. front of me which i believe are in the best interests of greenwichlj the best interests of greenwich.” am looking at your personal twitter account which is what you have used to announce this, but somebody said, how about you check with the government first before making an announcement on twitter causing further havoc in our lives. people have had to make arrangements to accommodate, do you seriously expect us accommodate, do you seriously expect us to have to rearrange again for

two days? of course, i recognise the disruption it has caused and it is not a decision i would have taken lightly. i do my best to communicate as farand lightly. i do my best to communicate as far and wide with residents across greenwich. i have been communicating with the government about the resources we need to manage the pandemic. i am delighted that yesterday they finally agreed i could have increased access of testing when its children and families and if i had been able to secure that a couple of weeks ago, we might be in a different situation from the challenge we are now. we might be in a different situation from the challenge we are nowm we might be in a different situation from the challenge we are now. it is clear what the intention was going to be but you went had with this decision anyway and then you turn around and said i am not going to spend council taxpayers' money in a fight with the government. this is a mess of your making, isn't it?” don't believe that at the end of a term where we are managing massive challenges it is in anybody‘s interest to have a legal courtroom

argument and that is not what i was intending at all and it is deeply reg retta ble intending at all and it is deeply regrettable that the government have chosen to do this rather than pick up chosen to do this rather than pick up the phone and engage in a conversation about the challenges that are being faced in schools in greenwich and across the city. in terms of my responsibility to residents based on the information that i get, as i said, the end of a wea k that i get, as i said, the end of a weak briefing, schools are in an increasingly challenged position and idid increasingly challenged position and i did believe i had any choice but to respond to that. i hope the government recognise councils like greenwich have been working extremely hard, long with councils across the country to make sure that local government has been at the forefront of this response. right now, my counsel is backing up over 8000 breakfast boxes that we will be giving out of the next few days to children so that they do not go hungry and so that we can do with the increased levels of child poverty we are seeing. we have faced

massive challenges as a local government and i sincerely hope government and i sincerely hope government recognise that we were trying to do what was in the best interest of our community. islington and waltham forest council have said they are not changing their stance to teaching online. do you wish you had stuck to your guns? know, and i think what i'm saying clearly is that each council is in a different position and i support all councils to do what is right for the communities that they serve. that is what i have been confronted with your today in greenwich and why i had to make a clear choice but we are not had to make a clear choice but we a re not interested had to make a clear choice but we are not interested in an argument with the government about who is right and two is wrong, because the information that i had in front of me, from talking to greenwich teachers, families, children in schools, this would been and everybody‘s best interest. schools, this would been and everybody's best interest. thank so much for your time this afternoon.

nicola sturgeon has been updating msps on the tiers system in scotland — and spoke about the new variant of coronavirus found in the uk — and the call with other devolved administrations about the arrangements for christmas — let's listen to what she's been saying. earlier today, the cabinet concluded the weekly review for levels of protection for each local authority area, andl protection for each local authority area, and i will shortly confirm the outcome of that review in detail, however, in summary i can confirm that no local authority will move to level for this week, however 3—level to authorities will move to level three from friday. all other local authorities will remain in the same level as now. i had previously indicated that this week's review would be the last one before christmas, with the next scheduled review taking place on the 5th of january. however, in light of the volatile case numbers being reported in some parts of the country, i can confirm that the cabinet decided this morning as a precaution to review the levels again next week. i have also asked the minister for

parliamentary business to work with a business bureau to agree contingency arrangements, so that if we require to increase the level of protection in any area of the recess period we will be able to notify parliament accordingly. i will now turn to the context of this week's review, and then to the outcome of it. but first, a first summary of the latest statistic. 845 cases reported yesterday. that is 7.4% of all tests carried out, and takes the total number of cases to 107,749. 996 people are now currently in hospital. 45 people are in intensive care, a increase of 1% yesterday. and i'm sorry to say that in the past and i'm sorry to say that in the pa st 24 and i'm sorry to say that in the past 24 hours a further 24 deaths have been registered in patients who test positive are covid in the last 28 days. 4135 deaths under that

measurement now. these figures remind us again of the grief and heartbreak that this virus is causing, and again my condolences are with all of those who have lost are with all of those who have lost a loved one. today's statistics, behind which of course are real people, provide an important and difficult context for this week's review. in recent weeks, the levels of protection applied across the country have helped to reduce the prevalence of the virus. i reported la st prevalence of the virus. i reported last tuesday that in the space of three weeks the number of cases had falle n three weeks the number of cases had fallen from 142 per 100,000 of the population to 99. however, over the most recent week we have seen a slight rise in case numbers from 99 per 100,000 to 110 per 100,000. slight rise in case numbers from 99 per100,000 to 110 per100,000. test positivity has also increased from 4.8% to 5.3%. while we remain in a much better position than in late october, early november, and as of now ina october, early november, and as of now in a better position than many other countries, most recent data is

a reminderthat our other countries, most recent data is a reminder that our position, like that of countries across the uk and europe, remains extremely precarious. it is also appropriate for me to update parliament today on what we know so far about the new variant of covid that has been detected in the uk. i have now been advised that through genomic sequencing, nine cases of this new variant have been identified in scotland. all of these cases were in greater glasgow and clyde. it is important to stress that there is no evidence at this stage to suggest that this new variant is likely to cause more serious illness in people, and while the initial analysis might suggest that it might be more transmissible with a faster growth rate, that is not yet certain. it may instead be the case that it has been identified in areas of the country where the virus is already spreading more rapidly. further analysis is necessary to understand this new variant better.

and that analysis is being conducted through public health england. in the meantime, we are considering whether any additional precautions are necessary in light of what we know so far, including whether they should be any change over the christmas period because of this, or indeed the wider context, and i will discuss all of this later this afternoon with the other uk government is in a four nations call that we requested yesterday. i will of course keep code parliament fully updated on any changes. all of what i have just reported makes the context for this week's review particularly challenging, and underlines the need for continued caution. before i confirm the outcome of the review, let me also inject a more positive note. the vaccination programme is now under way in scotland. last week, health and care staff started to receive the vaccine. the first care home residents were vaccinated. i can confirm that we will publish the first of the new weekly progress

reports tomorrow. over the course of next year, we firmly believe the vaccine will allow us to return to a much greater level of normality. there is, as we have reflected previously, life at the end of this tunnel. however, as i said a few weeks ago, the road ahead of us may still have dips in it. and at times that means the light will be hard to see. and the next few weeks may well be one of those dips in the road. but even if it is obscured at times, we must remember that the light is definitely there and that we will get through this. 0k, definitely there and that we will get through this. ok, that was the first minister, nicola sturgeon, confirming that three local authorities currently level two will move to level three from friday. in light of rising cases, in some parts nine cases of the new variant of coronavirus have been found in scotland, all in greater glasgow and clyde. stressing that there is no evidence that the new variant is likely to cause more serious illness

in people. we will keep an eye on the process in holyrood, and if there is any more we will take you back. the pandemic is continuing to have a toll on the economy, more people were made redundant between august and october than at any time on record. the office for national statistics says 370,000 people lost theirjobs during that time. 1)1.69m people were unemployed during that period — a slight increase from the three months before. and the numbers suggest a worsening trend as unemployment hit 5% in october. the number of people claiming benefits went up to 2.7m. some of these people might be in work but on reduced hours, or using savings and topping up their income with universal credit. it's a small rise from 2.6 in october but a big leap from 1.2 million back in march. our business presenter, ben thompson, joins us now. yes, simon. a lot of numbers to get

through, and in some respects it is very easy to be misled by those numbers, because they do not necessarily tell us the true situation on the ground. they are looking back at what has already happened. but all assumptions are that the jobs picture will get much worse before it gets better, and just to put it into a bit of context, 820,000 redundancies since this pandemic began, and we are expecting the jobless rate to rise to closer to 7.5% by the end of next year. that would mean 2.5 million people out of work. and the hardest hit sectors are the ones that have borne the brunt of lockdown restrictions. hospitality losing thousands of jobs restrictions. hospitality losing thousands ofjobs as we know. there is in the most stringent of restrictions, those in the tier 3 areas, are unable to open in any meaningful way. and even if you are in tier2 it meaningful way. and even if you are in tier 2 it is very difficult for many firms, whether it is bars, restau ra nts many firms, whether it is bars, restaurants or hotels, to actually make any sort of meaningful living. we also know that retail has been particularly badly affected. the two

sectors that have lost the most jobs. the only area ofjob creation was in health and social care. so it really does tell you what is happening in the jobs really does tell you what is happening in thejobs market right now. as the capital enters tier 3, restrictions from midnight tonight, there are worries about the thousands of jobs in there are worries about the thousands ofjobs in the capital, in hospitality, that could now be at risk. let's get the thoughts of peter lloyd, the chef and owner of the sticky mango restaurant in london. good afternoon. let's talk first of all about those restrictions. london enters tier 3 at midnight tonight. tonight is the last night you will be able to have a dinner sitting for quite a while. what you make of these restrictions? well, obviously it is a hammer blow. this week before christmas is the busiest week of the whole year, and it was not quite obviously going to be anywhere near like normal years, but it was certainly going to give us an but it was certainly going to give us an injection of cash flow to help

support us through what is going to bea support us through what is going to be a turbulent time injanuary. support us through what is going to be a turbulent time in january. and the speed at which these changes have been enforced has taken many by surprise. give me a sense of how you are managing this logistically, because one would assume you have a lot of stock you were hoping to sell this week and beyond? yes, look, it is devastating. it is the beginning ofa is devastating. it is the beginning of a busy week. we've just finished off a busy weekend. we have massive purchases coming in on monday. it was a real surprise. no one was expecting that we are going to be told yesterday that we were going to be going into tier 3. we knew they would probably be an announcement on wednesday and maybe we might get through to saturday, so we might get the benefit of that week. so to come out of a blue like it did, the benefit of that week. so to come out ofa blue like it did, our fridges are full. it is flowers and christmas decorations, all of the investment in time, the training of the staff, christmas menus, the

deposits that have been taken. the staff, christmas menus, the deposits that have been takenm the staff, christmas menus, the deposits that have been taken. it is an absolute nightmare. and i know there is a lot of anger in the industry. i've been talking to a lot of people in your position who have been saying that they are so frustrated by the fact that some sectors of the economy, retail and gems, are allowed to stay open and you are not, despite the industry spending a lot of money to make those premises go safe. —— covid se. you are still trying to save the future of your business. i do not wish any harm on retail, but the message is so inconsistent, and we cannotjust be message is so inconsistent, and we cannot just be used message is so inconsistent, and we cannotjust be used as a scapegoat to try and protect everyone else from the virus. there is no real evidence that suggests that re sta u ra nt evidence that suggests that restaurant and hospitality, especially of our level, i the ones that are responsible for the rise in cases. more and more, we are hearing that young people and schools is where this is starting from. if we

look back at the numbers, it starts off with the younger ones and then it feeds to the different age groups, and then gets to the more vulnerable. i know you have been in this industry a long time, you have been through the ups and downs, particularly after the 2008 financial crash. i started talking aboutjobs financial crash. i started talking about jobs and unemployment. financial crash. i started talking aboutjobs and unemployment. give me aboutjobs and unemployment. give me a sense of what you are thinking about your stuff right now, and what the prospects are in the new year as to how many people you can keep on? this is the harsh reality is that we are heading for a perfect storm. a lot of people don't realise what is going on in the background, and they really think that staff are protected because they are getting furloughed, but this restaurant alone has 16 staff. and yet even with the furlough scheme, it was a whole month of furlough, we still have a £10,000 tax, national insurance bill that we have to pay. if we do not have any revenue coming m, if we do not have any revenue coming in, it is inevitable thatjobs are

going to have to be made redundant. i think everyone was hoping for a surge in decemberto i think everyone was hoping for a surge in december to help protect all of us forjanuary, when it was obviously going to take a bit of a dip again. we have not had that opportunity, and it is inevitable that a lot of restaurants, hospitality, redundancies are coming our way. peter, it is a bleak picture, isn't it? i'm gratefulfor you spending some time with us this afternoon, and i really do wish you the best. and look, simon, what we have seen in these figures today, they tell us a bit about what is happening, but it is worth remembering that they do not take into account some of the big closures and collapses of firms that we have heard about over the last few weeks. things like debenhams and the arcadia group which owns topshop and dorothy perkins. they are not included in these figures. it also

ta kes a included in these figures. it also takes a small account of the national lockdown in november, so all of those figures will need to filter through to the next set, and as you were hearing there january and february looks pretty bleak for things like hospitality and retail. soi things like hospitality and retail. so i think it is fair to say that this is going to get much worse before it gets better. thank you very much. drug—related deaths in scotland have reached another all—time high, with more than 1,200 fatalities in 2019. latest official figures show the country had a higher rate last year than all eu countries — and more than three and a half times that of england and wales. alexandra mackenzie reports. any drug death is more than just a statistic. it is yet another family, ripped apart by substance misuse. when ryan's brother was murdered, his life spiralled out of control. i just didn't want to live any more. it was just completely horrifying.

i just kept reliving it, reliving that day. the only thing that helped, i thought at the time, was more drinking and more drugs. 2019 saw the highest number of drug—related deaths in scotland since reporting began more than 20 years ago. in 2018, there were 1,187 drug—related deaths in scotland. in 2019, this increased by 6%, to 1264. nearly seven out of ten are male, and over two thirds were aged between 35 and 54. the scottish government previously said it was a public health emergency. today, they said steps were being taken to reduce the number of deaths. one is the increased roll—out of naloxone, a potentially life—saving injection

which is sent to those in need. they can either be a person at risk of overdose, a family or friend who is concerned about a loved one or it could be someone who was wanting to have a kit for their workplace. the scottish conservatives have said the statistics are heartbreaking and have called for additional funding for rehabilitation projects. scottish labour have said there should be a radical rethink of drug policy by all political leaders. today's figures are from before the covid—19 pandemic, the fear now is the number of drug deaths in scotland, in 2020, will be even worse. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow. the headlines on bbc news... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives" labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas

plans — as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks schools to remain open —— after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. ministers have published draft legislation which would see internet companies fined if they fail to remove harmful material, such as terrorist propaganda — and content used to bully and groom young people. under the proposals, larger platforms could face fines. and as a last resort, criminal sanctions for senior figures at the company. all platforms will also have a legal duty of care to protect children. the culture secretary oliver dowden told the commons that it will include publication of terrorist, sexual or harmful material. under our proposals, online companies will face a new and binding duty of care to their users overseen by ofcom. and if those platforms fail in that duty of care, they will face steep fines of up to £18 million or 10%

of annual global turnover. now, i know that a number of people, including ian russell, the father of molly russell, expressed concerns about this, but i do want to reassure him and members of this house that the maximum fine will be the higher of those two numbers. and platforms will no longer be able to mark their own homework. to hold them to their responsibilities, i can also announce to the house today that major platforms will be required to publish annual transparency reports to track their progress. this could include the number of reports of harmful content received and the action taken as a result. mr speaker, this will be a robust regime acquiring those at the top to take responsibility. our media editor, amol rajan, has the background. the richest companies in history have basically had a free pass. they are extraordinary companies powered by very, very powerful engineering, but they have been largely left alone by regulators. there is a new mood across the west which says that their worst excesses need to be curbed.

in the economic sphere, that means clamping down on monopolies. a few weeks ago, the government announced a digital market unit to do that. this is about social harms. it is about things like bullying, grooming, the promotion of suicide content or terrorist content. and there is for big main elements, all of which are going to come under the purview of ofcom, which currently regulates broadcasting and telecoms. so there is going to be fines if they don't comply with the new rules of up to 10% of global revenue, so potentially into the billions. there's the threat, eventually, to impose criminal sanctions. that is going to be held in reserve and could eventually lead to executives being called up in court. there is a new illegal duty of care to protect children, something that has been talked about for a while, and there is going to be exemptions for smaller companies so that they don't get hurt in the attempt to tackle big tech. it's about definitions of what harm is. also, executives, what position they have to be in before they are in that legal position. i mean, can it work? well, i mean, there are so many practical difficulties. which is not to say it is not worth trying. but for one thing, there isjust the sheer volume of content. there is so much of this stuff

that it is quite hard to regulate. the second thing is, most of the companies that this is targeted at are global companies having to comply with national rules. and the onus is really on them to comply with the regulation, which is much more carrot than stick. it is worth saying that only 3% of uk companies will actually under this legislation. and the other thing is about there is lots of worries given molly russell and that awful case about self— harm. the work on whether or not the promotion of self—harm should be illegal is part of a slightly different process to do with the law commission that is out of sync with this. so it is all fiendishly complicated, probably won't become law until at least 2022, and if there is one thing that rich companies enjoy doing, simon, it is spending money on lobbying, and i suspect they will be doing that between now and then. so i suspect these proposals will be diluted a bit. a group of former rugby union players is setting out their claim for negligence to the sports authorities. they include the world cup winning former england player steve thompson

who has been diagnosed with early onset dementia aged just 42. one former player who has been helping them is jamie cudmore. the ex—canada international has been pursuing his own legal challenge in france over head injuries he suffered, and he's been speaking to laura scott. as a naturally combative player, jamie cudmore never dodged a challenge. but with that physicality came a number of head injuries. drawing on his own landmark legal case against his old club, clermont auvergne, the former canada international has been lending his support to those at the centre of the sport's recent dementia crisis. it's very alarming that now the wider public understand the depth that this problem really does go, we need to do a hell of a lot better as professional sportsmen, coaches, administrators. it is a contact sport, and i don't want to change anything around that, but we can do a lot more around the treatment of concussion. england world cup hero steve thompson is among a group

of players due to send a pre—legal letter of claim for negligence to rugby's authorities, possibly as early as this afternoon. world rugby says it takes player safety very seriously and proactively implements injury prevention strategies. with such alarming and high—profile cases at the elite level, it's perhaps inevitable that parents, coaches and players are focusing on the safety measures in place for youngsters and those who just play rugby for fun. and obviously what they are playing here is light years away from what we are seeing in the professional game, but certainly with my children it is a concern. but it's really great the way they've started contact, that actually they gradually build in the different skills. unfortunately, the professional rugby players are very large, very strong and can hit very hard. be cautious as they get older. rugby has made changes to make the game safer, including the head injury assessment protocol, concussion subs and pitch—side reviews of knocks, but one of the world's most high profile coaches says

more can still be done. we make players tackle underneath the hips, and that's one thing i think they should start doing straightaway. so, to ensure that young players learn safe low tackle techniques, they've just got to keep on trying to make game safer and safer. while those in charge of the sport look to the future and the next world cup, the grim reality that some stars of the recent past are struggling is casting a lingering shadow over rugby union. laura scott, bbc news. a team of scientists is being sent to the south atlantic to study a giant iceberg which threatens to run aground in south georgia. if that happens it could make life extremely difficult for the wildlife haven's penguins and seals as they go about foraging for fish and krill. researchers have labelled the frozen mass — the a38a — and they're concerned it's impacting the temperature of the ocean

and marine wildlife. they will use this type of robotic underwater vehicle to get as close as possible to the iceberg to monitor its impact. we ran out of pictures just after i ran out of words. good afternoon, it was a chilly start to the day for some of us, but things have been turning much milder, and in fact temperatures are above average for the time of year for most places. a bit of blue sky out there throughout the rest of the day. this was earlier on in fortrose, highland. beautiful blue skies around there. still some clear spells as we head through the rest of today, but also some scattered showers around. and some of them on the heavy side, particularly in the west. so we've already got some of those showers around here and there, particularly around parts of western scotland, and wales as well. further east, fewer showers and temperatures around 8—12 celsius through the course of the afternoon.

now, into this evening, will start to see some of those heavier showers pushing north eastwards across parts of scotland. a few are dotted around towards the south—east as well. many places having a drier, quieter and to the day before this next batch of wind and rain move in from the west. so it is going to turn wet and windy by wednesday morning, particularly for the south—west of england through wales, northern ireland, into south—west scotland. north—west england as well. further east, you should start wednesday on a drying out, but this area of low pressure is going to be moving its way eastwards, so that brings those strengthening winds, a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain, which will push eastwards right across the uk. east anglia and the south—east keeping the dry weatherfor quite a good part of the day and rain eventually arriving here in the afternoon. there will be some clearer, drier intervals later in the afternoon across parts of the south—west of england, into wales, perhaps parts of eastern scotland as well, but the wind gusts are a real feature of the weather. 60 mph gusts possible around exposed coasts around the irish sea, particularly for the south—west of england. 30 mph further east. so a blustery sort of day, with that area of rain moving eastwards. temperatures are fairly

similar to what we've had today, around about 9—11 degrees but feeling cooler with the wind, and also the rain as well. into thursday, a bit of a quieter day. some sunny spells, breezy but not as windy as wednesday. a few showers in the west, and then the next spell of wet and windy weather arrives in the west later on in the day. but further east you should stay dry for quite a good part of the day, and temperatures somewhere between 9—13 degrees. still mild for this time of year. looking towards friday and the weekend, and settled, further showers around. still mild on friday but things are turning a little bit cooler, so we are back into single figures for most of us by the time we get to a sunday. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at three... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives." our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue out on top of the superspread event that will be these five days of christmas. labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans, as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks schools to remain open, after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. the council leader remains convinced online learning would have reduced the spread of the virus. i'm not interested in a legal argument with the government about who is right and who is wrong, because i know that — presented with the information that i had in front of me, from talking to greenwich head

teachers, greenwich families and children who were in schools — this would have been in everyone's best interests. all nhs trusts in england are ordered to implement 12 immediate safety improvements in maternity care by next monday as a result of the scandal at the shrewsbury and telford trust. and coming up, the giant iceberg, twice the size of london, on a collision course with the british territory of south georgia. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. there's growing pressure on the government and the devolved administrations to rethink plans to ease coronavirus restrictions for five days over the christmas period. in a rare joint editorial, two

of the uk's leading medicaljournals have called for the government to reverse what it describes as a "rash decision that will cost lives." labour has called for the government to urgently review the festive relaxation. later today, cabinet office minister michael gove will discuss the christmas coronavirus rules with the leaders of scotland, wales and northern ireland. ministers have urged people to "do the minimum possible" when covid regulations are relaxed. our political correspondent jessica parker reports. will you stand under the tree? under the tree. getting into the spirit and under the tree, senior minister jacob rees—mogg en route to cabinet, but a small diversion first. will we still get christmas, mr rees—mogg ? happy christmas. london, most of essex, parts of hertfordshire head for tighter rules tonight. the government revealed yesterday as well, there was a new strain of the virus, and faced questions whether a temporary relaxation of the rules next week was wise.

i think it's important that all of us are cautious ahead of christmas. of course, it's a period of risk and that is the reason we want people to take it very seriously and go no further. last month, all four nations agreed that from the 23rd to the 27th of december, people can mix with up to three households, and stay overnight. there's an extra day, either side, for those travelling to and from northern ireland. but ministers are emphasising wider rules remain in place and while people can take advantage, they don't have to. we've got to trust the british people to act responsibly, to do the minimum that is necessary for them within their family situation. but we should recognise it has been a very difficult year for many families. many families want to come together over the christmas period. but that doesn't mean all the restrictions are lifted — people will still need to continue act responsibly. it may look appealing, the idea

of an easing over christmas. but a warning that the plan is rash, could cost many lives, and should be reversed — that from the british medical journal and health service journal. the real, striking, stark truth of the matter is our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue, out on top of the superspread event that will be these five days of christmas. now the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is calling for an urgent review, while london's mayor says there should be a rethink, suggesting the rules could be relaxed in a safer way. my concern is over those five days you could have three households of big sizes mixing, having sleepovers, hugging, kissing, all the things we normally do at christmas time. and what would be really, really heartbreaking, knowing the vaccine is now being rolled out, is if you inadvertently pass the virus on to an older relation. as families decide what to do this christmas, ministers are keen

to stress personal responsibility. but there will be political accountability as well, if, in the new year, some judge this relaxation to have been the wrong call. will we still get christmas, prime minister? and now it's emerged there's a call this afternoon between the four nations. as we head into next week, leaders will know they're walking a difficult line. jessica parker, bbc news. our political correspondent nick eardley is at westminster. this is all getting very complicated. it is. i wasjust speaking to a cabinet minister in the last few minutes he said that this issue is now a live one which isa this issue is now a live one which is a shorthand in westminster for ministers are weighing up what to do next. there are different things that have to be considered in this. ina big that have to be considered in this. in a big parts of england and other

parts of the uk, there has been a rise in the number of cases. that has been giving ministers across the uk because for concern. but the other thing they have to weigh up is that many people will have made their plans already and the christmas bubble concept was brought m, christmas bubble concept was brought in, remember, ministers were worried people would not follow the rules if there was not any kind of relaxation. this was supposed to be a way of letting off some steam and allowing pressure to go out and some household mixing without people ignoring the rules completely. that said, having spoken to some of the devolved administrations as well, i think some of the main concerns are travel, people perhaps going from one side of the uk to another, going from areas where the prevalence of the virus is quite high, potentially to places where the prevalence of the virus is quite low. for example, if you are in london right now which has seen a big rise in the number of

cases and you are travelling to certain parts of england, scotland or northern ireland, the concern is that the virus will go with you. one of the things that i understand has been discussed with devolved administrations is some sort of restriction on travel. there aren't any specifics on that. we must emphasise no decisions have been made yet, but clearly there have been concerns on that front. what i don't think we will end up with is the rules being scrapped altogether. it is clear from listening to uk ministers, nicola sturgeon speaking to parliament, mark drakeford as well, they don't think they can get rid of the rules and say to everyone, christmas is cancelled this year, but clearly when that meeting happens at five o'clock today, there are issues to discuss and no easy answers. and we have got michael gove talking to the devolved administrations later. where do all

administrations later. where do all administrations stand? there is an a cce pta nce a cross administrations stand? there is an acceptance across the uk that there was a need for an orchestrated plan which allowed people some way of travelling about, but the big concern is how much that travel is, and the worry is that if you are in and the worry is that if you are in a high prevalence part of the uk and you move to aim low prevalence part of the uk, the virus could go with you. i think we will be hearing a lot in the next few days from the uk government, uk ministers, ministers in scotland, wales, northern ireland as well, that message only do this if you have two. they might say we will not scrap it completely, i don't think they will, but if you are going to travel for christmas, be careful, minimise your contacts in advance and only do it if you have two. that is what we have had in the last few days and it is something we're going to continue to hear. the big question now is if

there are of the rules to give a bit stronger message that people shouldn't travel unless it is absolutely essential. thank you very much. with me now is alastair mclellan, editor of the health service journal. good afternoon. this is only the second time that you and the british medicaljournal have shared an editorial, so why is this issue so important? we decided to write the editorial because of the very significant increase in covid —positive patients being admitted to hospital. when the government made its original plan for christmas, it did so in the reasonable expectation that as we ran up to christmas as a result of the autumn restrictions, the number of cases would be reducing, the number of infections would be reducing, less people would be admitted to hospital with covid, there would be less covid patients in hospital. but the reverse has

turned out to be true. there is a very significant rise in the number of covid patients coming into english hospitals. stronger in some areas than others, but it is going up areas than others, but it is going up everywhere. and we concluded that i think everyone agrees that if there is household mixing over the christmas period, that is bound to increase infections. if those increased infections and therefore covid cases and hospitalisations come in on top of the already very significant number of covid patients already in hospital, then the nhs would face the potential of being overwhelmed in january and would face the potential of being overwhelmed injanuary and february, traditionally its most difficult time of year. where does personal responsibility come in here? nobody wa nts to responsibility come in here? nobody wants to infect their relatives who they have not seen for months at a time like christmas. people will be taking care, went they? ? i hope so.

when the government made their original plans, they did so on the basis that the demand on the nhs posed by covid would be much less money is at the moment. the facts have changed, and therefore they should change their plans. you are suggesting any third wave would be more serious than anything we have seen to date? nobody can know how bad a third wave would be. what we can know and can reasonably surmise, i think, is that household mixing over christmas would increase the number of infections and increase the number of people coming into hospital. if that increase in patients came in on top of already a significant number of covid patients which is what we have got at the

moment and is rising all the time, the nhs would be in very serious trouble. we are currently on course for around about 19,000 covid in patients in english hospitals. at the start of the second wave, the number was 451. so what you are saying is the nhs would face some pretty tough start choices if it gets to that? the nhs would be faced with a very simple choice. it would let itself be overrun by this increasing number of covid patients. of course, it wouldn't do that. what it would have to do as it had to do during the first wave of the pandemic, was to stop all elective and nonurgent care which will drive up and nonurgent care which will drive up waiting lists, causing untold suffering and, in time, death. what

about the nation's mental health? for many, this will be months in planning and for some the only time they will be with those they love this year. your relatives getting sick from covid and potentially dying has a very significant health impact as well. do you think the government does not get it or is just trying tojuggle government does not get it or is just trying to juggle an impossible situation? i think they had some plans and everyone got very excited about christmas, and i understand their reluctance to change it, but their reluctance to change it, but the facts have changed. the situation is not what they hoped it would be. we have seen other countries who have also had difficult autumns. it has not been like the first wave, we have had a very similar experience to germany and france, and we have seen germany and france, and we have seen germany and france, and we have seen germany and france decide that however much they wanted to give their

populations a christmas holiday, it wasn't possible because of the way the pandemic has developed. it is important to remember that we are only three months away or so from the at risk population being vaccinated, which will reduce almost all of the mortality related, or the vast majority of the mortality related to the pandemic. we do not have long to wait. it is really silly to put so many lives at risk and the service at risk for five days at christmas. have you changed your christmas plans?” days at christmas. have you changed your christmas plans? i am in the process of changing them, absolutely. from what to what? i have got a five—year—old who is incredibly excited about christmas. i will be telling him today that he will not be seeing any of his family over christmas and we will not be travelling out of london. i may well make the decisions to restrict our

movements. on a lighter note, the italian prime minister says father christmas is exempt. i am guessing thatis christmas is exempt. i am guessing that is another message for your five—year—old? that is another message for your five-year-old? thank you for that, i will take that and use it! it is great to talk to you. thank you so much for your time this afternoon. alastair mclellan. there's confusion for parents and students after greenwich council in london said schools will now stay open. on sunday the local council called for schools to close and take all learning online because of a dramatic recent rise in coronavirus cases. but the education secretary, gavin williamson, intervened — and told greenwich that it would face legal action if it didn't keep schools open. in the last hour he's also announced that every secondary school and college in england will have access to rapid coronavirus testing from january. andy moore reports. just a few parents, mostly key workers, and their children turned up at this greenwich primary school this morning. it took the decision to close yesterday after being advised to do so by the labour leader

of their borough council. but now the government is insisting it should reopen again, with only a day or two to go before the end of term. it's a difficult time to be a parent in greenwich. we don't actually know what is happening. because today is a different story. the next day is different. you know, actually, i want him to be in school. it's a confusing situation, and considering — well, apparently — the rest of london hasn't done this yet, it seems a bit strange that it would just be happening in our borough. a lot of people are confused. i work in a school, so i have to go to work. and then my son is coming to school. so we just have to stick together, and just keep safe. faced with legal action from the government, greenwich council has now backed down. in a statement, its leader, danny thorpe, said...

the government has now said that all secondary schools and colleges in england will get rapid lateral flow testing from january. the education secretary, gavin williamson, said it was a milestone in keeping schools safe. schools in other london boroughs and in parts of essex have also closed down early. union leaders say some head teachers are being put in a difficult position. here, we seem to have turf wars between national and local government, and in the middle of it the people i represent — head teachers who, on sunday night, may have had a letter from greenwich local authority saying, "we are advising you to close the school." so the heads will have talked with the governors yesterday, possibly issued a letter yesterday, then, halfway through the day, the schools minister is saying, "keep your school open." in this battle of wills between local and central government, the parents and head teachers have been caught in the middle, trying to respond

to a series of mixed messages. andy moore, bbc news, greenwich. latest figures from the department for education show that pupil attendance fell last week. between 7% and 9% of state school pupils — around 700,000 children — did not attend school for covid—19—related reasons last thursday. and three in five secondary schools reported they had one or more pupils self—isolating after coming into contact with a covid—19 case inside the school. well, earlier, i spoke ot the leader of greenwich council, dan thorpe. i asked him whether he should apologise to parents in his borough who have been left confused by the changes. well, of course, i recognise the disruption this has caused. it's not a decision that i would have taken lightly. i do my best to communicate as far and wide with residents across greenwich. i would make the point that i have been repeatedly communicating with the government about the resources that we need to manage this pandemic.

i am delighted that yesterday they finally agreed i could have increased access for testing of greenwich children and families, and, frankly, if i had been able to secure that a couple of weeks ago, we may be in a very different situation of the challenges we are facing here in greenwich. a lot of people will look at this and say it was quite clear what gavin williamson, what the government, what their intention was going to be, and yet you went ahead with this decision anyway. then you turn around and say, "i'm not going to spend council taxpayers' money on a fight with the government." i mean, this is a mess of your making, isn't it? well, i don't believe that at the end of a term when we are managing massive challenges it is in anyone's interests to have a legal courtroom argument, and frankly, that is not what i was intending at all, and i think it is deeply regrettable that the government have chosen to do this rather than pick up the phone and engage in a conversation about the challenges that are being faced in schools in greenwich and across this city. and in terms of my responsibility to residents based on the information that i get daily every week,

as i said, that end of the week briefing showed me very clearly that schools were in an increasingly challenged position and i don't believe i had any choice but to respond to that. i would further like to hope that the government recognise councils like greenwich have been working extremely hard during this pandemic, along with councils across this country, to make sure that local government has been at the forefront of this response. right now, my council is bagging up over 8000 breakfast boxes that we will be giving out in the next few days to children so that they don't go hungry this christmas and ensuring that we can deal with the increased levels of child poverty that we are seeing. we face massive challenges as local government, as a local government sector, and ijust sincerely hope government recognise that we were trying to do what was in the best interests of our community. in the last half hour, islington and waltham forest council both said they are not changing their stance on moving teaching to online.

are you wishing maybe you had stuck to your guns? no, and i think what i'm saying very clearly is each council is in a different position and i totally support all councils to do what is right for the community that they serve. that is what i have been confronted with here today in greenwich. that is why i had to make a clear choice that, you know, we're not interested in a legal argument with the government about who is right and who is wrong, because i know that, presented with the information that i had in front of me from talking to greenwich head teachers, greenwich families and children who were in schools, this would have been in everyone's best interests. reforms are being called for in health, employment, universal credit and housing to eliminate existing inequalities for bame people according to a report by the women and equalities committee. the report says the coronavirus has exacerbated pre—existing inequalities in society. with me is the chair of the women and equalities committee, conservative mp caroline nokes. thank you very much forjoining us

this afternoon. what struck you in this afternoon. what struck you in this report? i think what we learned we re this report? i think what we learned were things we already knew. the existing health inequalities have been exacerbated by covid, and recommendations that were made ten yea rs recommendations that were made ten years ago have not been acted on. they need to be acted on now because we can see that bame people have been adversely affected across a whole range of aspects of their lives, and that needs to be resolved. but whilst everybody will share those aims, it is difficult enough when things are going normally, but in the middle of a pandemic? in the middle of a pandemic, we should make sure that people on a zero—hours contracts are all entitled to statutory sick pay. we should make sure that people that are here on visas that give them no recourse to public funds, that they are entitled to benefits during a pandemic because they have not been able to work and support themselves.

we should make sure there are health checks done on a bame people who we know are more likely to have conditions like diabetes which, if you catch covid, can lead to very serious complications. i think it is crucial that there is action now in a pandemic to nature that our bame communities are properly looked after. is there the liaison between those government and the groups at the moment? without that, you are not going to get anywhere.” the moment? without that, you are not going to get anywhere. i think we need community champions. we need to reach out particularly to women in bame communities so they can cascade information through their families. we also need to mix and that things like universal credit which currently isn't available as an app is made into an app so that people can apply for benefits quickly and easily, so that people excluded from data packages due to their finances can do so more readily than going online and, in some instances, spending a lot of time trying to log onto their

universal credit account. it is crucially important that very straightforward changes are put in place and that information that the government sends out to bame communities is culturally competent and recognises that many will be living in multi—generational households. and we know information that we didn't know in march that poses risks to families. a much broader problem... absolutely, the evidence we took in shows and the report reflects, this is a wide structural problem across all aspects of life, because health care, housing, employment. and it is absolutely crucial that the government addresses these inequalities. as i said at the start, the professor has been highlighting these for a decade and we need to make sure that there is resolution. while i have you here, let us just talk about christmas, because do you think it is time to

rethink the existing restrictions?” think ministers have incredibly difficult decisions to make around christmas. what i have seen around my constituency is both the lockdown and restrictions have seen at the rate of infection is dropping incredibly. my constituency is currently in tier 2 but it teeters on the brink of tier 1. we need to make sure that families stay safe, they abide by the advice to wash your hands, cover your face. given the huge increase in figures that have been reported in the last few days, do you feel certainly in other constituencies, maybe people need to have a rethink? i think there is a significant problem in london and it was regrettable but i think essential that we saw london go into tier 3. i think it is important that we all think carefully about contacts we all think carefully about co nta cts we we all think carefully about contacts we a re we all think carefully about contacts we are going to make over christmas. certainly, iwill

contacts we are going to make over christmas. certainly, i will be speaking with my immediate family and trying to minimise contact with other people because i am conscious that as a member of parliament, i travel into london so i do pose an additional risk for people and it is imperative that i do my bit and everybody acts responsibly over the festive period, which i know it's hard. caroline nokes, it is good of you tojoin us, thank you hard. caroline nokes, it is good of you to join us, thank you for your time this afternoon. from the united states, we a re time this afternoon. from the united states, we are hearing that the us senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, a republican, has congratulated president electjoe biden and vice president elect kamala harris on their victories, which ends a long silence of his on the outcome of the presidential race. he was making remarks on the senate floor. mitch mcconnell acknowledged the democrats' win of the white house following results of the white house following results of the electoral college. donald trump's twitter account has been silent for hours.

public health england plans to release its findings into the new mutation of covid—19 within the next fortnight — after the health secretary, matt hancock, said the variant could be linked to the faster spread of the virus in some areas. officials stressed there was no evidence it caused more severe forms of the disease or was resistant to vaccines. nicola sturgeon confirmed nine cases of the new variant in scotland — all in greater glasgow and clyde. our health correspondent michelle roberts has more. every virus mutates. these tiny genetic changes happen as the virus makes new copies of itself to spread and thrive. most are inconsequential and a few can even be harmful to the virus‘s survival, but some can make it more infectious or threatening to the host. for covid, that host is us. and experts are working to understand precisely what these new changes that have been identified might mean. some viruses do this at a very, very fast rate, like hiv or the flu, for example.

other viruses are more indolent and they change more slowly but it all comes down to the fact that they are evolving and they are evolving against pressure from the thing that is trying to stop them doing what they want to do, which is to spread and have more cases of coronavirus. so far 1000 confirmed cases have been discovered in the uk. they are predominantly in the south of england, although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas with numbers increasing rapidly. in the commons yesterday, the health secretary matt hancock said the new strain might be behind big increases in covid infections being seen in london and the south—east. researchers have confirmed that the mutations involve the spike protein of the virus, the part that helps it infect cells and the target covid vaccines are designed around. that doesn't mean it's necessarily more transmissible, infectious or dangerous or that a vaccine cannot work.

the new vaccines are essentially like e—mails that we send to the immune system and they are very easy to tweak so if we know the lock has changed very slightly, we just have to edit that e—mail, change a word or two and then the vaccine will be ready in say, six to eight weeks' time, after that, will be competent and better targeted to the new strain. sharp scratch coming. 0k, brilliant. gps are already giving high risk patients the new pfizerjab which experts still expect to be highly effective. and one leading expert has accused mr hancock of whipping up fear ahead of london being moved into tougher tier 3 restrictions. it's an unproven connection at this moment and it may well stay like that. reporting that london is going into another tier and all of that, linking it to the variant, my first response was,

"that is a bit naughty," it's sort of blaming the virus, rather than how people are behaving! with cases rising in some parts of the uk, people are being advised to follow the rules and keep social contact to a minimum over christmas. michelle roberts, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon. our unsettled spell of weather is set to stick around for the next couple of days. we've got more rain on the cards and the winds will be picking up as well. but for the rest of today, quite a lot of clear skies out there. there are some showers around, dotted here or there as well. some heavy ones pushing across parts of scotland into the evening hours. there could be the odd rumble of thunder. most places dry as we head into the evening. a few showers in the south—east. but then, overnight, this next area of rain and strengthening winds moves in from the west. so, the western half of the uk, wet and windy from the word go tomorrow. whereas, further east, a cooler start to wednesday — should be dry first thing. and actually, east anglia and the south—east keeping the dry weather for quite a good part of the day.

but eventually this band of rain and strengthening winds moves eastwards, affecting all of us at times — followed by scattered heavy showers heading in from the west. gusts of wind up to around 60 mph around exposed coasts in the west. further east, around 30 mph gusts. blustery wherever you are. still mild at 9—11 celsius. goodbye for now. hello, this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives". our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue on top of the super—spread event that will be these five days of christmas. labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks

schools to remain open — after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. the council leader remains convinced online learning would have reduced the spread of the virus. all nhs trusts in england are ordered to implement twelve immediate safety improvements in maternity care by next monday — as a result of the scandal at the shrewsbury and telford trust. and coming up, the giant iceberg — twice the size of london — on a collision course with the british territory of south georgia. sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. good afternoon... spurs boss jose mourinho admits he's "confused" by coronavirus restrictions on fans — after it was announced that london is set to be moved into tier 3. it means tottenham's trip to liverpool tomorrow night will be played in front of 2,000 fans at anfield, but their next home game against leicester will be

behind closed doors. notjust at not just at the football level, but also and especially at the social level, i am so confused with contradictions. i'm so confused to understand why this decision, why that decision. of course, i am a football man, i am not a politician or scientist. but i am too confused to make any comment. it'll also mean no more spectators at the world darts championship after tonight. plans for 1,000 fans to attend the remainder of the tournament at alexandra palace have had to be scrapped at the last minute. chairman of the professional darts corporation barry hearn says it's a huge blow. i'm gutted to lose the fans because they are an integral part of live sport, there is no doubt. no more so than at the world darts championships, which, as you know, starts today. creates a brilliant atmosphere. but these are unusual

times and we have to do the bestjob we can. as usual with us, whatever happens, we carry on. so, without fans, the event continues, but behind closed doors, and we keep our fingers crossed that, on the next review day, on the 23rd of december, perhaps we can go back to where we thought we were today. arsenal boss mikel arteta admits he must "take the bullets" for the club's poor form. they've made their worst start to a season in 46 years — having lost four of their past five league games. they're 15th in the table and nowjust five points above the relegation zone. we have to face it. and we have to face it being brave. it is not time to hide, it is time to put your face and your body on the line. at the moment, i'm sorry, but we have to ta ke moment, i'm sorry, but we have to take the bullets. you have to put

your chest there, and hit me, because you have the right to hit me because you have the right to hit me because i am not winning, so what else can i do? work harder and then try to do things better and improve. england's women will begin the defence of their cricket world cup title against australia in 2022. they'll meet in hamilton on the 5th of march. england took the crown on home soil in 2017, with victory over india. the 50—overs competition was moved back a year, due to the pandemic, with the same six venues in new zealand hosting the 31 matches. the former yorkshire bowler azeem rafiq has filed a legal complaint against the club under the equality act, following his allegations of institutional racism at the club. rafiq played for the county for 10 years, until 2018, and he first spoke out in august, saying the incidents had left him close to taking his own life. in response, yorkshire commissioned an independent investigation into his allegations. rafiq claims he suffered "direct discrimination and harassment

on the grounds of race". rugby now, and danny cipriani has left gloucester with immediate effect after two and a half years at the premiership club. it's thought the england international departs as part of the overhaul at kingsholm which started during lockdown with a new director of rugby and head coach. cipriani said he feels sad to be leaving but excited for the new challenges he'll face. golf's european tour will feature nine events in the uk next year and include two new stops in the canary islands. former masters winner danny willett will host the british masters at belfry in may, which kicks off the uk swing. the season itself gets underway on january the 21st at the abu dhabi championship. there will be a minimum of 42 tournamets across 24 countries next year from january to november. that's all the sport for now.

i will have more for you in the next hour, simon. all nhs trusts in england have been ordered to implement immediate safety improvements in maternity care as a result of the scandal at the shrewsbury and telford trust. in a letter seen by the bbc, nhs england says there is "too much variation in experience and outcomes for women and their families" and trusts have been told they must implement 12 "urgent clinical priorities" by 5pm next monday. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, is with me now. before we go into the recommendations come a bit of background. this came out of what came out of the review. the interim report was published last week. it was effectively a review into care at the trust. it found that it failed women, failed babies, babies dying because of mistakes made in

labour. seven other recommendations that were recommended for all maternity units in england. so it is quite a deadline. monday, 5pm. what is going to be in place? the essential actions, they are a variety of things, some of which nhs england expect most good maternity units will be doing anyway. for instance, if a woman is deemed to have a high risk pregnancy, she should be gift a named consultant. there should be systems in place to hear exactly what families think of the services that they are receiving, because shrewsbury and telford weren't really interested in that. they should also have things like ward rounds twice within a 24—hour period. and as well there should be proper training of fatal

heart monitoring, which is often mistaken for a woman's heartbeat and leads to poor outcomes. we are talking the middle of a pandemic, huge pressure on the nhs already, what sort of response are we getting? there are huge challenges for the nhs, there is huge pressure on them, but there is an acceptance that this now has to be done. in the context of this, when you bear in mind the context, we are looking at two decades worth of harm, avoidable harm, at one trust, and out of that have come at the immediate actions that can be taken to improve maternity safety. and this is in the context of an acceptance that while england and britain is one of the safest places in the world to have a baby, there's still an awful lot more that can be done to improve safety for women and babies, and to bring the nation up to the top tier

of comparable companies in western europe. aston villa captain jack grealish has been banned from driving for nine months and fined a total of £82,499 after crashing his range rover during march's coronavirus lockdown. the england international was sentenced at birmingham magistrates‘ court, after previously pleading guilty to two charges, including one linked to the incident in which his 4x4 hit two parked vehicles in solihull in the west midlands. the government should focus on improving regional rail links between cities in the north and midlands — instead of new projects such as hs2. that's according to a new report by the national infrastructure commission. it argues that halting — or at least building in phases — the eastern leg of hs2 from the midlands to leeds could help pay for the plan. the government said it would consider the commission's proposals. there are 819,000 fewer workers on uk company payrolls in november than at the start of the pandemic — that's accodring to new figures from the office

for national statistics. hospitality was the worst hit sector, accounting for a third of the job losses, followed by retail. i was iwas in i was in denial at first. nina worked for virgin atlantic as cabin crew for 15 years, but as the pandemic grounded flights she was first furloughed and then made redundant in june when first furloughed and then made redundant injune when the airline laid off more than 3000 staff. the financial pressure has been very great on us, and we have been claiming universal credit, but unfortunately that does not cover our basic outgoings. and we've had to really cut back this christmas. unemployment has continued to rise. in the three months until october, jobless total rose to nearly 1.7 million people, and the numbers suggest a worsening trend as

unemployment hit 5% in october. and this is the number of people claiming benefits. it went up to 2.7 million. so these might be people in work but on reduced hours are using savings and topping up their income with universal credit. since the pandemic began, nearly half a millionjobs have been lost in hospitality and retail. sectors employing large numbers of young people, but the over 50s are struggling to. it does get a little bit depressing at times. it has been a tough year for bit depressing at times. it has been a tough yearforgraham. bit depressing at times. it has been a tough yearfor graham. his work as a tough yearfor graham. his work as a freelance business consultant dried up in march. there were two redundancies. people losing their jobs. when furlough comes to an end, you know there's going to be a wave there. it is a competitive market. i've been trying, but, yet, it gets you down. i got ten years left of work, and i think i've got a lot to give. are quite high street and boarded up shops are one of the most

visible reminders of the economic damage of this health crisis. the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards online shopping, and our spending habits are changing the types of jobs spending habits are changing the types ofjobs available. companies that pick, pack and deliver goods to customers have been hiring. there's been an opportunity to bring more staff in earlier, and at this moment of time there are still a lot of orders we need to shift, it gives them an opportunity that will continue into the new year. back on the south coast, nina has now been offered work from january, and with effective vaccines on the horizon, while there is some optimism, unemployment is expected to continue rising in the months ahead. the hospitality industry is warning that london's move into tier 3 will put thousands ofjobs at risk. nearly 14,000 pubs, restaurants and cafes will have to close, and offer takeaways or deliveries instead. our business correspondent

emma simpson reports. it's one of london's top hotels, but it's barely breaking even. keeping going as best they can but once again, business is coming to a standstill. and you wish to cancel this booking due to the tier 3 restrictions? customers don't have any choice, and there has been more than 100 cancellations already. the restaurants are doing a final serving. we're going to do about 160 today, lunch and dinner and then we will close, again. heartbreaking. they are making christmas lunch for the staff today, to use up some of the surplus food. a taste of what thousands of hospitality businesses are now dealing with as they go into tier 3. it's the lack of notice. the lack of understanding. and i actually think the decisions are wrong! the damage, you know? we cannot recover. there is many of us, many hotels,

many restaurants and bars that won't get over this. and that is the frustration and the anger. an awful lot of businesses haven't even reopened from the previous lockdowns, and those that have were banking on some crucial pre—christmas trade to tide them through january and february. traditionally, the lean months for hospitality. it's terrible timing for this industry. alexa, show him how it is done. not great for pantomime, either — some west end theatres had just reopened, and instead, plans are vanishing in a puff of smoke. here at the garrick theatre, they are now rehearsing to stream the show online. it's gutting to have the theatres closing for the third time in 2020. we worked really hard onstage and offstage to make sure venues are covid secure and it means unfortunately we are losing over 30 performances throughout the rest of december, many of which were sold out.

thousands and thousands of theatre—goers are disappointed by closing the show, unfortunately. the government says it has to toughen restrictions to save lives but it will come at a cost to people's to people's livelihoods, too. this pub owner in essex is coping, but anxious. we will survive. but the impact, the recovery, will be what will hurt, most will be struggling this time next year because we have been in lockdown three times. businesses doing their best in these toughest of times. emma simpson, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives". labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks schools to remain open — after the education secretary

threatens to take legal action. the netherlands is the latest european country to introduce strict lockdown measures throughout the festive period. from today, all non—essential shops, including garden centres, diy and clothing stores in the country will be closed — in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. in italy, too, new travel restrictions are to be imposed — anna holligan reports from the hague. the dutch had been hoping for a relatively relaxed christmas. ironically, the dutch will be celebrating under what constitutes the country's toughest lockdown yet. i'm sad that it has to be done, but

it is important. yeah, i think that it is important. yeah, i think that it is important. yeah, i think that it is necessary. so, from today, all nonessential stores are closed, along with things like museums, cinemas, theatres, and amusement parks. restaurants, cafes and cannabis coffee shops can continue offering take a ways only, and a lot offering take a ways only, and a lot of these pink signs to be going up in protest from businesses that feel as though they are being unjustly targeted without enough state support to keep them afloat. traditional german christmas markets are not as busy this year, most have already been cancelled. and a hard lockdown is coming into force as the number of deaths and infections has been searching. nonessential shops and schools will be closing until the 10th of january. after weeks of national lockdown, travel restrictions within france are being eased today. meaning families can get together across the festive

break. the infection rate remains stubbornly high, though. a nationwide curfew will be in place from 8pm in the evening, which will be lifted on christmas eve but not on new year's eve. italy is currently seeing the highest number of deaths since the end of march, and the prime minister has told italians to expect a more sober christmas without gatherings, hugs and kisses. there will be a travel ban in place between different regions, but he reassures people that father christmas is exempt from all global travel restrictions. until now, the netherlands has been relu cta nt to until now, the netherlands has been reluctant to impose some of the stricter measures adopted by neighbouring nations, but with a number of covid related deaths now approaching 16,000, hospital admission increasing, infections rising sharply and pressure on the health sector in supine, a full—blown lockdown comes in later

than many had hoped. a team of scientists is being sent to the south atlantic to study a giant iceberg which threatens to run aground in south georgia. if that happens it could make life extremely difficult for the wildlife haven's penguins and seals as they go about foraging for fish and krill. researchers have labelled the frozen mass — the a38a — and they're concerned it's impacting the temperature of the ocean and marine wildlife. they will use this type of robotic underwater vehicle to get as close as possible to the iceberg to monitor its impact. let's speak now to oceanographer dr povl abrahamsen from british antarctic survey, who is leading the mission. first of all, tell us about this iceberg. good afternoon. yes, this iceberg. good afternoon. yes, this iceberg is absolutely gigantic. it is called a38a, on the east side of

the antarctic peninsula. and it's about the size of suffolk at the moment. and it's heading for what particular area? what will happen when it eventually gets there? at the moment, it is heading towards the moment, it is heading towards the island of south georgia, in the south atlantic, and this iceberg is about 200 metres thick, so it goes almost 200 metres into the sea. and we are concerned that, as it gets closer to the island, it may well come onto the shelf and ground there. and then what is your worry? what will happen after that? we are concerned about the creatures that live on the sea bed, because they could get damaged or killed by the iceberg itself ploughing into the sea floor. but as it comes to rest

on the shelf, it will be melting, releasing a lot of fresh water into the ocean in the area, and also cooling down the ocean. and for very highly adapted creatures like we see in the oceans around antarctica and south georgia, this could be quite bad for the plankton at the very bottom of the food chain.” bad for the plankton at the very bottom of the food chain. i don't mean to be rude, but given the size of this thing, what would you be able to do about it anyway? we cannot do much about it. it is so gigantic, there is no chance we could actually move it. but we want to study the impact it has on the local environment and on the ecosystem. so, just explain how, over the next few weeks and months, what your mission is hoping to achieve? we are travelling down to the falklands injanuary. we should be able to set off at the very end of the month towards south georgia,

and this will be on the james cook, which is operated by the national oceanography centre in southampton. and we are planning to do measurements from the ship while we are in the area, but also release these two robotic gliders to carry on further measurements even after we have left. tell us a bit more about the submersible gliders. what are they going to tell you? these are they going to tell you? these are small ocean robots. they are about1.5 are small ocean robots. they are about 1.5 metres long. and they can move by changing their buoyancy, so they go up and down through the water, and since they have wings attached that gets converted into forward motion, so they end up gliding through the ocean. they will measure things like the temperature and the salinity of the water, and the concentration of chlorophyll, which is related to the plankton in the water. and amazingly, they are operated here from the uk as they are doing that. correct. every few dives they will pop up to the

surface, stick their tails into the air, and they are full of antennas, they can get a gps position and phoned home to a server in southampton, and say where they are, send us back some of the data, and check for updated instructions. what about the wildlife. they see some of the signs. they have not got much options as to where they are going to go. no, the wildlife that is in the area will potentially suffer here. this could directly impact the very bottom of the food chain. of course, everything above there, the penguins, the seals, the wales, they eat the krill. everything gets affected. this giant iceberg could affected. this giant iceberg could affect the penguins are the seals as they go out to forage and get food for their young. what are the chances of a38a breaking up?m

for their young. what are the chances of a38a breaking up? it is certainly going to break up eventually. but at this stage in time it is really impossible to say when that will happen, or where that will happen. whether it will come to a rest on the southern side of south georgia, and up scraping along the edge of the continental shelf. but eventually as bits break off it will get smaller and smaller. in melting, what is that due sea levels? at the moment, the iceberg is already floating, so it will not change the sea level directly. it was really good to talk to you. thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. a little warmer for the rest of us. good afternoon, it was a chilly start to the day for some of us,

but things have been turning much milder, and in fact temperatures are above average for the time of year for most places. a bit of blue sky out there throughout the rest of the day. this was earlier on in fortrose, highland. beautiful blue skies around there. still some clear spells as we head through the rest of today, but also some scattered showers around. and some of them on the heavy side, particularly in the west. so we've already got some of those showers around here and there, particularly across parts of western scotland, and wales as well. further east, fewer showers and temperatures around 8—12 celsius through the course of the afternoon. now, into this evening, we'll start to see some of those heavier showers pushing north eastwards across parts of scotland. a few are dotted around towards the south—east as well. many places having a drier, quieter end to the day before this next batch of wind and rain move in from the west. so it is going to turn wet and windy by wednesday morning, particularly for the south—west of england through wales, northern ireland, into south—west scotland. north—west england as well. further east, you should start wednesday on a dry note,

but this area of low pressure is going to be moving its way eastwards, so that brings those strengthening winds, a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain, which will push eastwards right across the uk. east anglia and the south—east keeping the dry weather for quite a good part of the day and rain eventually arriving here during the afternoon. there will be some clearer, drier intervals later in the afternoon across parts of the south—west of england, into wales, perhaps parts of eastern scotland as well, but the wind gusts are a real feature of the weather. 60 mph gusts possible around exposed coasts around the irish sea, particularly for the south—west of england. 30 mph further east. so a blustery sort of day, with that area of rain moving eastwards. temperatures are fairly similar to what we've had today, around about 9—11 degrees but feeling cooler with the wind, and also the rain as well. into thursday, a bit of a quieter day. some sunny spells, breezy but certainly not as windy as wednesday. a few showers in the west, and then the next spell of wet and windy weather arrives in the west later on in the day. but further east you should stay dry for quite a good part of the day, and temperatures somewhere

between 9—13 degrees. still mild for this time of year. looking towards friday and the weekend — settled, further showers around. still mild on friday but things are turning a little bit cooler, so we are back into single figures for most of us by the time we get to a sunday. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives." our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue out on top of the superspread event that will be these five days of christmas. labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government holds talks with leaders of scotland wales and northern ireland. iam i am saying to the government to do the responsible thing, review, toughen up, and we will support you if you do that. greenwich council backs down and tells schools they should stay open,

after the education secretary threatens legal action. but the council still says closing schools would have helped stop the virus spreading. the number of people dying in scotland from drug misuse has reached a new record high and is the worst in europe. and coming up... 31 marathons in 31 days — i'll be joined by the comedian eddie izzard to hear about his latest challenge on a treadmill. good afternoon. there's growing pressure on the government and the leaders of scotland, wales and northern ireland to rethink their plans for easing coronavirus restrictions for five days over christmas. in a rare joint editorial, two of the uk's leading medicaljournals have asked the government to reverse what they describe as a "rash

decision that will cost lives". labour says the government must urgently review the festive relaxation. and in an hour's time, the cabinet office minister michael gove will discuss the christmas rules with the devolved administrations. our political correspondent jessica parker reports. will you stand under the tree? under the tree. getting into the spirit and under the tree, senior minister jacob rees—mogg en route to cabinet, but a small diversion first. will we still get christmas, mr rees—mogg ? happy christmas. london, most of essex, parts of hertfordshire head for tighter rules tonight. the government revealed yesterday as well, there was a new strain of the virus, and faced questions whether a temporary relaxation of the rules next week was wise. i think it's important that all of us are cautious ahead of christmas. of course, it's a period of risk and that is the reason we want people to take it very seriously and go no further.

last month, all four nations agreed that from the 23rd to the 27th of december, people can mix with up to three households, and stay overnight. there's an extra day, either side, for those travelling to and from northern ireland. but ministers are emphasising wider rules remain in place and while people can take advantage, they don't have to. we've got to trust the british people to act responsibly, to do the minimum that is necessary for them within their family situation. but we should recognise it has been a very difficult year for many families. many families will want to come together over the christmas period. but that doesn't mean all the restrictions are lifted — people will still need to continue act responsibly. it may look appealing, the idea of an easing over christmas. but a warning that the plan is rash, could cost many lives, and should be reversed — that from the british medical journal and health service journal.

the real, striking, stark truth of the matter is our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue, out on top of the superspread event that will be these five days of christmas. now the labour leader, sir keir starmer, is calling for an urgent review, while london's mayor says there should be a rethink, suggesting the rules could be relaxed in a safer way. my concern is over those five days you could have three households of big sizes mixing, having sleepovers, hugging, kissing, all the things we normally do at christmas time. and what would be really, really heartbreaking, knowing the vaccine is now being rolled out, is if you inadvertently pass the virus on to an older relation. as families decide what to do this christmas, ministers are keen to stress personal responsibility. but there will be political accountability as well, if, in the new year, some judge this relaxation to have been the wrong call.

will we still get christmas, prime minister? and now it's emerged there's a call this afternoon between the four nations. as we head into next week, leaders will know they're walking a difficult line. jessica parker, bbc news. let's speak now to our political correspondent nick eardley. we heard that question being shouted out to boris johnson we heard that question being shouted out to borisjohnson there, will be still get christmas, primer minister? what is the answer? nice try! the honest answer is that it is very unlikely that the four nations will decide to completely scrap relaxations that were put in place but i think there is a growing unease about the potential of the virus to spread over that five—day period if things are kept the way they are at the moment. it is worth bearing in mind that the rules across the uk as we have discussed

day after day have been diverging. it was not easy to get a four nations approach to christmas and the idea was to allow people some limited interaction with their family. there was a belief in government that people were more likely to break the rules if there wasn't some kind of relaxation, so this was supposed to be a managed relaxation allowing that three household mixing over the festive period. that said, you heard in the peace there warning after warning about the potential implications that could have. just in the last hour, we have been hearing from the labour leader ciaran starmer who as well as calling for a review of the relaxation is saying that the restrictions have to be toughened up a bit —— keir starmer. restrictions have to be toughened up a bit -- keir starmer. there are a numberof a bit -- keir starmer. there are a number of things they can do to toughen them up and we will look at what they say, but i don't want to make them party political. we know people and families want to see.

this won't come as a pleasant surprise to families so i am saying to the government to do the responsible thing, review, toughen up, and we will support you if we do that. quite what toughening up means exactly, we are not sure. one of the things i know are causing concern in some of the devolved administrations is the potential impact of travel, of people going from where the virus is spreading quite significantly like, for example, london, to other parts of the uk where perhaps it isn't spreading as badly and potentially taking the virus with them. i would expect potential for maybe some travel rules to be discussed in that meeting in around an hour. it is important for eve ryo ne an hour. it is important for everyone watching at home wondering what it means for them, there have been a decisions yet and we might not get those tonight. we have also been hearing from scotland's festival is nicola sturgeon whose been tightening some restrictions in

parts of scotland like aberdeen, also saying that there is a case now potentially for changing the rules over christmas. —— first minister. i think it's important that we have that discussion across the four nations, given family patterns across the uk. but i do think there is a case for us looking at whether we tighten the flexibilities that we're given any further, both in terms of duration and numbers of people meeting, and i will consider the views of the other nations. if we can come to a four nations agreement, i think that would be preferable. if that is not possible then, of course, we will consider, within the scottish government, what we think is appropriate. if there is a change of policy on this, it will affect people around the uk who have already made their plans? that is right, and i think thatis plans? that is right, and i think that is the reason leaders won't wa nt to that is the reason leaders won't want to do anything rash or make

changes that would make it impossible for people to travel. we have heard a lot of stories today not just from have heard a lot of stories today notjust from people slightly worried about leaving big cities to go to smaller rural areas, for example, but also families who have not seen each other for months, people taking huge precautions in the run—up to christmas, making sure they are not mixing with other people, booking private tests to make sure they don't have the virus when they go to see relatives for the first time. ministers need to weigh that up. we heard from the treasury minister this morning saying this is been a hard year and people want the ability to see love ones who they potentially have not seen for months. we heard from nicola sturgeon when she was speaking in the scottish parliament that she still thinks there needs to be some ability for people to do that, that is why i don't think there will be a complete scrapping of the christmas relaxation of the covid rules. but we have had warning

after warning today, and when ministers talk in an hour, that will be weighing on their minds. let us face it, in this situation, there is not an easy answer. thank you very much for nick eardley, our correspondent at westminster. let's speak now to global health physician peter drobac. we have heard from various health experts saying the relaxation over the christmas period is a rash decision that could cost lives. what is your view? i agree that it is a risk. it is a calculated risk but one that i don't think it makes sense for us to take. there would be consequences, and we don't need to speculate her, we have seen exactly what happens when you have a relaxed approach to a major holiday gathering that is going to involve family members travelling across the country and mixing in households. we saw this in thanksgiving in the us and in canada back in october and november, and we saw a surge in

cases from 25 to 40% subsequently, a strain on hospitals and a rise in deaths. now in the us, we are seeing 3000 deaths per day. we know as we move into the difficult winter period with the vaccine on the way, now is not time to relax. the rules for relaxing things over the christmas period will have consequences and i think we really need to rethink it. rethink it, yes, but surely that would be so cruel and people around the country who have made their christmas plans who have made their christmas plans who have decided that the three households that are coming together for the five—day period, then adjusted to take it away from them, isn't that just too cruel at the end of that cruel year? it probably was a rash decision to make those announcements before we knew what the situation would be like in the run—up to the holidays. take the

perspective of health—care workers who have been bearing the brunt of this pandemic and potentially working overtime as we move into the january period. we have to think about the cruelty of further lockdowns and extended tier 3 restrictions and absolutely, if we relaxing shows, we would pay the price in january. i relaxing shows, we would pay the price injanuary. i want to see my love ones as well, but because i ca re love ones as well, but because i care about them and want to protect them, that means some continued sacrifice. i have seen suggestions of the compromise, everything that might go down from five days over christmas to three days, from three households to two households. would that satisfy people like you, or do you think that whole idea of a christmas relaxation needs to be scrapped? these are all trade-offs. the thanksgiving holidays in the us we re the thanksgiving holidays in the us were one day and we still saw significant surge in transmission of cases, so even if we reduce things,

it might reduce the consequences, but we do need to decide as a society whether we are prepared to pay that price. my preference would be that we don't relax restrictions over the holiday period. there are a range of views, but we need to understand the consequences. peter —— peter drobac there. we can speak now to ipsos mori research director keiran pedley. we haven't seen much change from the ask similar questions in 2014, but the general mood is that people are more cautious, we see the overwhelming majority of britons, seven in ten, saying they are looking forward to christmas but thatis looking forward to christmas but that is down from eight in ten in 2014. what is driving a lot of this is trepidation about these rules.

what we did was ask a national representative sample of the british public on whether they thought the coronavirus rules over the christmas period were too strict, not strict enough or about right. what we found was one in ten said they were too strict, so very much a minority. 39% said they were about right and 49%, as you said in the introduction, said they were not strict enough. what is interesting is when you add the people who said the rules were too strict to around right, that is 49%, then people who said it is not strict enough, that is also 49%. listening to your package and the discussion about whether or not the rules should be tightened further, you can see that people are very divided. some people think it is about right or too strict. if there isa about right or too strict. if there is a rethink of these proposals to have a relaxation over christmas, then perhaps the public won't be up in arms quite as much as people would assume, that a sizeable

proportion of the british public think it is a good idea to tighten up think it is a good idea to tighten up those christmas relaxation is a little? i think it is a challenge to predict how public opinion would react to this. we find that seven in ten people are looking forward to christmas and when things are changed at short notice, you might see something of a pushback. having said that, throughout the year when we have pulled on coronavirus, the public are broadly supportive of measures to respond to the virus. it is not that the public are opposed to measures to control the virus, they recognise the severity and seriousness, but you do wonder what the reaction would be if rules are changed quickly if plans have been made already. one thing receiving these numbers already is that people are split and my best guess, and it can only be a guess, is if rules do change, they might be split also. there are u—turns by governments,

but if the u—turn happens, it is one that would affect tens of millions of people around the country. that would affect tens of millions of people around the countrym that would affect tens of millions of people around the country. it is, does i say, what we see from the numbers is that people are divided about whether these relaxations over christmas is a good idea or not. they have divided the overall level, but this also divides politically and by age as well. young people are very split, most 50—50, on whether these rules are not strict enough or about right, whereas people over 55 r likely to think they are not strict enough... whatever decision you make, you are going to get people that have a different view. the government will have to weigh up the different trade—offs that you mentioned and decide what the best course of action is. as it stands, people are looking forward to christmas but just people are looking forward to christmas butjust a bit hesitant

about the way the relaxations should go. keiran pedley there, it's a small redirector. —— ipsos mori director. pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two prominent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives" labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks schools to remain open, after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. staying with that story — there's confusion for parents and students after greenwich council in london said schools will now stay open. on sunday the local council called for schools to close — and take all learning online

because of a dramatic recent rise in coronavirus cases. but the education secretary, gavin williamson, intervened — and told greenwich that it would face legal action if it didn't keep schools open. andy moore reports. just a few parents, mostly key workers, and their children turned up at this greenwich primary school this morning. it took the decision to close yesterday after being advised to do so by the labour leader of their borough council. but now the government is insisting it should reopen again, with only a day or two to go before the end of term. it's a difficult time to be a parent in greenwich. we don't actually know what is happening. because today is a different story. the next day is different. you know, actually, i want him to be in school. it's a confusing situation, and considering — well, apparently — the rest of london hasn't done this yet, it seems a bit strange that it would just be happening in our borough. a lot of people are confused. i work in a school, so i have to go to work. and then my son is coming to school. so we just have to stick together, and just keep safe. faced with legal action

from the government, greenwich council has now backed down. in a statement, its leader, danny thorpe, said... the government has now said that all secondary schools and colleges in england will get rapid lateral flow testing from january. the education secretary, gavin williamson, said it was a milestone in keeping schools safe. schools in other london boroughs and in parts of essex have also closed down early. union leaders say some head teachers are being put in a difficult position. here, we seem to have turf wars between national and local government, and in the middle of it the people i represent — head teachers who, on sunday night, may have had a letter

from greenwich local authority saying, "we are advising you to close the school." so the heads will have talked with the governors yesterday, possibly issued a letter yesterday, then, halfway through the day, the schools minister is saying, "keep your school open." in this battle of wills between local and central government, the parents and head teachers have been caught in the middle, trying to respond to a series of mixed messages. andy moore, bbc news, greenwich. let's speak now to kevin courtney, joint general secretary of the national education union. thank of the national education union. you for being witr right, thank you for being with us. who is right, greenwich council or the government? greenwich council are more correct than the government. it is astonishing to me that gavin williamson, the education secretary, and the government, are being so heavy—handed in their approach to this. council leaders in london have been talking with public health

officials. i have just been talking with public health officials. i havejust heard been talking with public health officials. i have just heard that in the last day there has been an increase in 68% in positive cases in islington. you see those sorts of figures, you are a local council leader, you talk to public health officials, you have heard from matt hancock the week before that there isa hancock the week before that there is a surge in cases in secondary schools, and you make a sensible public health decision to ask schools to go to online learning apart from a key worker and vulnerable kids, and the government steps in using the coronavirus act, wrongly using it, in my view. ici think greenwich is more right, posit was very late for parents to get this news, and i heard the reports just now with people asking why one borough and not others. siddique khan suggested it should be the whole of london and i think that was

right, —— sadiq khan. they should have said that all schools should have said that all schools should have gone online for this last week for the christmas break. that would have kept cases much lower than where they are currently going to be at. it is no wonder they are now looking at the christmas regulations when they have not done anything to keep cases down in the run—up to christmas. the government because my argument is that children's education is of the highest importance, and let me put to you what the ofsted chief inspector has said about this. it is so easy to call for closures and to forget the long—term price that children pay. we need clarity, consistency and not last—minute decisions. we need clarity, consistency and not last-minute decisions. we certainly need clarity and consistency, but amanda is completely wrong on this question. it is not easy to call foreclosures. if you don't go hard

and fast against exponential growth, you get yourself into huge trouble. we have been calling across this turn to put schools in the second brake lockdown that should have happened at half term. sage. a circuit breaker, the chancellor advised no... we have had the attendance figures again that come out every tuesday, and today partly because of pressure from the union, they have produced breakdowns by local authority. you see the attendance figures, 20% of children are off school at the moment, that is huge levels of disruption and it varies across the country. across the last ten, in west sussex, attendance was 90%. that is much worse than normal, because

attendance is normally 95%. in west sussex, secondary schools, it was 90%. rochdale, it was only 70%, a 20% difference, so the equivalent of three weeks lost education in rochdale compared with west sussex because they aren't controlling the virus in schools. they did not put schools in a second break to get cases down, they don't allow schools to move to has witches known to keep it down. in sandwell in the last week of november, 62% of secondary school to number of school. amanda spielman and gavin williamson need to look at that. that is huge levels of disruption in schools.” to look at that. that is huge levels of disruption in schools. i hear what you say, but equally, if you do shut down schools, as amanda spielman, the ofsted chief inspector said, it is children who pay the

long—term price. if you shutdown schools, these are days and weeks that children will never get back in terms of their education. that is definitely correct and that is why we are suggesting you should do these things in a planned way. we we re these things in a planned way. we were advocating to put schools in the lockdown. that would mean online learning over half term, but that could have been planned if the government had been talking to us and other education unions, it would have been a planned week of online learning. and then we would actually have had far less disruption. we would have had children being taught every lesson and far more of them being taught every lesson. so you cannot just wish these being taught every lesson. so you cannotjust wish these things away and say children should be in school and say children should be in school and then it turns out that what you have done is created a system where 63% of children in sandwell are not in school. you can'tjust wish they are there if you are not taking the steps to control the virus in the

first place. that is just wish fulfilment and not leading to a better education. kevin courtney, but to tokyo, joint national secretary of the education union. you the latest coronavirus figures. they have recorded 568 deaths in terms of the number of cases, 18,450 new cases of covid—19. more on that as we get more details. the hospitality industry is warning that london's move into tier 3 will put thousands ofjobs at risk. nearly 14,000 pubs, restaurants and cafes will have to close, and offer takeaways or deliveries instead. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. it's one of london's top hotels, but it's barely breaking even. keeping going as best they can but, once again, business is coming to a standstill.

and you wish to cancel this booking due to the tier 3 restrictions? customers don't have any choice and there has been more than 100 cancellations already. the restaurants are doing a final serving. going to do about 160—odd today, lunch and dinner, and then we will close, again. heartbreaking. they are making christmas lunch for the staff today, to use up some of the surplus food. a taste of what thousands of hospitality businesses are now dealing with as they go into tier 3. it's the lack of notice. the lack of understanding. and i actually think the decisions are wrong! the damage, you know, we cannot recover. there's many of us, many hotels, many restaurants and bars that won't get over this. and that is the frustration and the anger. an awful lot of businesses haven't even reopened from the previous lockdowns and those that have

were banking on some crucial pre—christmas trade to tide them through january and february. traditionally, the lean months for hospitality. it's terrible timing for this industry. alexa, show him how it is done. not great for panto, either — some west end theatres had just reopened, instead, plans are vanishing in a puff of smoke. here at the garrick theatre, they are now rehearsing to stream the show online. it is gutting to have theatres closing for the third time in 2020. we worked really hard onstage and off to make sure venues are covid—secure and it means unfortunately we are losing over 30 performances throughout the rest of december, many of which were sold out. thousands and thousands of theatre—goers, we are having disappoint by closing the show, unfortunately. the government says it has to toughen restrictions to save lives but it will come at a cost to people's livelihoods as well.

this pub owner in essex is coping, but anxious. we will survive. but the impact, the recovery, will be what will hurt, most probably we will be struggling this time next year because we have been in lockdown three times. businesses doing their best in these toughest of times. emma simpson, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good afternoon. our unsettled spell of weather is set to stick around for the next couple of days. we've got more rain on the cards and the winds will be picking up as well. but for the rest of today, quite a lot of clear skies out there. there are some showers around, dotted here or there as well. some heavy ones pushing across parts of scotland into the evening hours. there could be the odd rumble of thunder. most places dry as we head into the evening. a few showers in the south—east. but then, overnight, this next area of rain and strengthening winds moves in from the west. so, the western half of the uk, wet and windy from the word go tomorrow.

whereas, further east, a cooler start to wednesday — should be dry first thing. and actually, east anglia and the south—east keeping the dry weatherfor quite a good part of the day. but eventually this band of rain and strengthening winds moves eastwards, affecting all of us at times — followed by scattered heavy showers heading in from the west. gusts of wind up to around 60 mph around exposed coasts in the west. further east, around 30 mph gusts. blustery wherever you are. still mild at 9—11 celsius. goodbye for now. it was a chilly start to the day for some of us, goodbye for now.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... pressure mounts for a re—think of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas — two medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives". our health system is not going to manage if we allow the current trend to continue on top of the super—spread event that will be these five days of christmas. labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government holds talks with leaders of scotland,

wales and northern ireland. i'm saying to the government, do the responsible thing, review, toughen up, and we will support you if you do that. greenwich council backs down and tells schools they should stay open — after the education secretary threatens legal action. the number of people dying in scotland from drug misuse has reached a new record high and is the worst in europe. and coming up... 31 marathons in 31 days — i'll be joined by the comedian eddie izzard to hear about his latest challenge. let's get the sports news. two premier league games tonight — as chelsea head to wolves and manchester city host west brom later. arsenal meanwhile will be looking

for a much needed win over southampton tomrorow evening following their worst start to a season in 46 years. manager mikel arteta has admitted he must "take the bullets" for the club's poor form. having lost four of their past five league games. they're15th in the table and nowjust five points above the relegation zone. we have to face it. and we have to face it being brave. no one giving up, or anything. it is not time to hide, it is time to put your face and your body on the line. at the moment, i'm sorry, but we have to take the bullets. you have to put your chest there, and hit me, because you have the right to hit me because i am not winning, so what else can i do? work harder and then try to do things better and improve. it's a confusing time for football fans — with spectators allowed to attend some premier league games — depending on what tier the stadium is in. well, the tottenham boss

jose mourinho admits he's also "confused" by the restrictions on fans — with london set to move into tier 3 tomorrow. spurs' trip to liverpool tomorrow night will be played in front of 2,000 people at anfield, but their next home game against leicester will be behind closed doors. not just at the football level, but also and especially at the social level, i am so confused with contradictions. i'm so confused to understand why this decision, why that decision. of course, i am a football man, i'm not a politician or scientist. but i'm too confused to make any comment. aston villa captainjack grealish has been banned from driving for nine months and fined a total of £82,499. it's after this incident when he crashed his range rover during march's coronavirus lockdown. the england international was

sentenced at birmingham magistrates‘ court, after previously pleading guilty to two charges, including one linked to this incident in which his 4x4 hit two parked vehicles in solihull in the west midlands. england‘s women will begin the defence of their cricket world cup title against australia in 2022. they‘ll meet in hamilton on the 5th of march. england took the crown on home soil in 2017, with victory over india. the 50—overs competition was moved back a year, due to the pandemic, with the same six venues in new zealand hosting the 31 matches. the former yorkshire bowler azeem rafiq has filed a legal complaint against the club under the equality act, following his allegations of institutional racism at the club. rafiq played for the county for 10 years, until 2018, but said in august that incidents had left him close to taking his own life. he claimed he suffered "direct

discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race". well, the club say they have taken the allegations made extremely seriously and are launching a thorough independent investigation, with results expected early next year. they added racism has no place in society or the sport. rugby now, and danny cipriani has left gloucester with immediate effect after two and a half years at the premiership club. it‘s thought the england international departs as part of the overhaul at kingsholm which started during lockdown with a new director of rugby and head coach. he‘s been replaced by scotland fly—half adam hastings. and that is all of your support for now.

we‘ve just had a tweet from our colleague, the political editorfor newsnight, and it says big buzz in the last hour among tory mps, that the last hour among tory mps, that the uk is heading towards a brexit deal with the european union, eurosceptics being assured that they will be happy. and he does go on to say that nothing is confirmed yet, mps are saying that he or being told that the signal will come. that would come before any uk, eu announcement. that is what we are hearing from the newsnight political editor. the uk is heading towards a brexit deal with the eu. there have been signs of a limited progress.

there were 819,000 fewer workers on uk company payrolls in november than at the start of the pandemic — that‘s accodring to new figures from the office for national statistics. hospitality was the worst hit sector, accounting for a third of the job losses, followed by retail. our business correspondent sarah corker reports. i was in denial at first, and i went through, like, the stages of grief. nina from dorset worked as cabin crew at virgin atlantic for 15 years, but as the pandemic grounded flights, she was first furloughed and then made redundant injune when the airline laid off more than 3,000 staff. the financial pressure has been very great on us, and we‘ve been claiming universal credit, but unfortunately that doesn‘t cover our basic outgoings, and we‘ve had to really cut back this christmas. unemployment has continued to rise.

in the three months to october, the jobless total rose to nearly 1.7 million people and the numbers suggest a worsening trend as unemployment hit 5% in october. and this is the number of people claiming benefits, it went up to 2.7 million. so these might be people in work but on reduced hours, or using savings and topping up their income with universal credit. since the pandemic began, nearly half a millionjobs have been lost in hospitality and retail, sectors employing a large number of young people. but the over—50s are struggling, too. it does get a little bit depressing at times. in lancashire, it‘s been a tough yearforgraham. his work as a freelance business consultant dried up in march. there are redundancies, people losing theirjobs, when furlough‘s coming to an end you know there is going to be a wave there, so it‘s a competitive market. i‘ve been trying but,

yeah, it gets you down. i‘ve got ten years left of work and, yeah, i think i‘ve got a lot to give. our quiet high street and boarded up shops are one of the most visible reminders of the economic damage of this health crisis. the pandemic has accelerated the shift towards online shopping and our spending habits are changing the types ofjobs available. companies that pick... ..pack... ..and deliver goods to customers have been hiring. there‘s been an opportunity there to bring more staff in earlier, and at this moment in time there‘s still a lot of orders that we need to shift, it gives them an opportunity to continue into the new year. back on the south coast, nina has now been offered work from january, and with effective vaccines on the horizon, while there is some optimism, unemployment is expected to continue rising in the months ahead. sarah corker, bbc news.

our business presenter, ben thompson, joins us now. not surprising, but more news on jobs. i think it's fair to say this could get worse before it gets better, because remember the figures that we‘ve had to take, they are looking back to what has already happened. they do not take into account the second national lockdown, or the big headlinejob losses that were announced with the colla pse losses that were announced with the collapse of debenhams or the arcadia group. and perhaps no surprise, too, that the industries that are bearing the brunt of these job losses are hospitality and retail comedy to industries that have been so badly affected by restrictions as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. job losses in hospitality rising pretty sharply, and of course now with the news that the capital will enter a tier 3

restrictions, closing most hospitality venues. there is a suggestion that the unemployment rate could rise significantly towards the middle and the end of next year. towards the middle and the end of next yea r. let‘s towards the middle and the end of next year. let‘s get the thoughts of tim foster, who is the co—founder who runs a number of pubs in the south—east. good evening to you. tonight is the night, you have got one more evening to be able to have a dinner service, and then that is it. i was just looking at your website. i know you have got a shop running, you are doing click and collect, you are able to send meals to people, but nonetheless this is not business as usual by a long shot. not even close. a day like today, will be trading across the london sites. visually, we are having to close those tonight. we have been trying to trade through tier2, have been trying to trade through tier 2, those figures have been 90% down on our trading for the last

four years, so, down on our trading for the last fouryears, so, yeah, it has been really difficult trading there. i'm currently in one of my countryside pubs where we are doing better, but only because we built a huge outdoor area. we have literally had people in jackets and scarves and hot water bottles coming out to support us, which has been phenomenal. it is a killer blow, withjust which has been phenomenal. it is a killer blow, with just one which has been phenomenal. it is a killer blow, withjust one day's notice having to shut down three london sites. and there's a few things i want to ask you. first of all about logistics. this coming is all about logistics. this coming is a real surprise to many, you have had very little notice. one would assume you have a lot of stock in your kitchen is that you now have to try and get rid of tonight. but you are hoping you would be able to sell it over the coming weeks. the only saving grace is that we have deftly had a turmoil of a year, so we have only been able to trade 11 weeks out of 52. in our normal trading pattern. so we have had plans in place to expect this to come, to be honest, so actually our stock... we

have reduced our menu size massively going into the last couple of weeks. we have not placed orders for beer so our sellers are relatively empty. we have just done everything we can to protect the business. when we we nt to protect the business. when we went down into lockdown in march, we carried over at £60,000 worth of stock that we essentially had to try and do something with, which is where the shop came with the macro from, and all of the work with the nhs and the homeless. we cannot sustain it again. we can only take that hit once or twice. the overhead costs that we've got. so for us we have ta ken a costs that we've got. so for us we have taken a huge loan. we were not entitled to any of the grants, and obviously the life saver of furlough. we have gone from 107 staff at the beginning of this pandemic. we are down to 67 now. the numbers are just going to keep on

dropping. without any decent argument or evidence, in my opinion, i have seen nothing from the uk sage board that gives me any indication as to why hospitality is being treated in such a way. and then to see retail stay open. this is not a trade—off, we are all in business together, we all want to protect people but they're just does not seem to be any logic for the current things that are happening. if we are going to be closed, which they are forcing us to do so, we are asking them to step up and support us, and allow us to recreate. i started this business in 2007, the week that they crashed we opened our first pub. we are responsible for one in six employees in that time. it allows people to gain experience to then go

on, develop, become managers, go into different sectors. it is such a varied role to be able to drop into. that we are cutting that off to the 18-24 that we are cutting that off to the 18—24 market. my kitchen has got 55—year—olds in it as well. it is notjust the 55—year—olds in it as well. it is not just the young kids. 55—year—olds in it as well. it is notjust the young kids. we give opportunity to everybody. and tim, i wa nted opportunity to everybody. and tim, i wanted to ask you, i know there is a lot of anger about the unfair playing field, that some businesses are able to stay open and then you are able to stay open and then you are not. it also, you say that you cannot carry this cost forever. i wonder what thejob cannot carry this cost forever. i wonder what the job situation. i started by noting the jobs figures. what will it look like for you in january and february? it looks bit bleak, doesn‘t it? january and february? it looks bit bleak, doesn't it? i think january and february? it looks bit bleak, doesn't it? ithink there is a positive side. there is a pent up demand of cash stop our customers have got money, they want to come

out and celebrate. and we are hoping that that will carry into january and february. so we are taking an optimistic view. but we just cannot sustain being open, closed, open, closed. we have already sold two of our sites. we started with six, we are now down to four. i am sitting in one that we own, totally free hold. if i did not have this my business would not have survived. actually, the money that i am getting back now currently in the pandemic, i getting back now currently in the pandemic, lam getting back now currently in the pandemic, i am just asking them on behalf of all hospitality, we are not being recompensed in the right way, as is other european countries. in germany, 90% of turnover. we are just not getting that kind of support here. thousand pound additional money does not even turn on the lights for me. tim, i'm really grateful for you telling your

story to us tonight. i know things are story to us tonight. i know things a re really story to us tonight. i know things are really tough, but i really do wish you the best. and i hope that you are able to salvage something out of the next few weeks in that run—up to christmas, and of course as you said any start of the new as well. and ben, look, when you hear stories like tim‘s, and they are replicated up and down the country, it is very easy for us to get caught up it is very easy for us to get caught up in percentages and numbers and statistics, but those are the stories that are actually happening on the ground right now. and that is the really difficult reality of this pandemic. it is taking its toll on thejobs pandemic. it is taking its toll on the jobs market. the pandemic. it is taking its toll on thejobs market. the suggestion is that it will get worse before it gets better. drug—related deaths in scotland have reached another all—time high — with more than 1,200 fatalities in 2019. latest official figures show the country had a higher rate last

year than all eu countries alexandra mackenzie reports. any drug death is more than just a statistic. it is yet another family, ripped apart by substance misuse. when ryan‘s brother was murdered, his life spiralled out of control. i just didn‘t want to live any more. it was just completely horrifying. ijust kept reliving it — reliving that day. the only thing that helped, i thought at the time, was more drinking and more drugs. 2019 saw the highest number of drug—related deaths in scotland since reporting began more than 20 years ago. in 2018, there were 1,187 drug—related deaths in scotland. in 2019, this increased by 6%, to 1264.

nearly seven out of ten were male, and over two thirds were aged between 35 and 54. the scottish government previously said it was a public health emergency. today, they said steps were being taken to reduce the number of deaths. one is the increased roll—out of naloxone, a potentially life—saving injection which is sent to those in need. they can either be a person at risk of overdose, a family or friend who is concerned about a loved one or it could be someone who was wanting to have a kit for their workplace. the scottish conservatives have said the statistics are heartbreaking and have called for additional funding for rehabilitation projects. scottish labour have said there should be a radical rethink of drug policy by all political leaders. today‘s figures are from before the covid—19 pandemic, the fear now is the number of drug deaths in scotland, in 2020, will be even worse. alexandra mackenzie,

bbc news, glasgow. eddie izzard is no stranger to epic fundraising challenges — having run 28 marathons in 28 days in february. that challenge raised over £140,000 for charity and highlighted eddie‘s campaign to unite people, countries and communities. but now he‘s going one step further with his sporting feat yet. this january he‘s going to be running 31 marathons in 31 days and doing a stand—up gig after every one of them — all from a treadmill in london. and eddie is with us now. you are doing 31? have you tried one ona you are doing 31? have you tried one on a treadmill? no one‘s normally crazy enough to do a marathon on a

treadmill. it is mind—numbing. nothing happens. normallyi treadmill. it is mind—numbing. nothing happens. normally i run somewhere, and when you run a somewhere, and when you run a somewhere you have to run back to get to your house, but the incentive is there to keep going. on a treadmill, if you go to the loo, you think, "i‘lljust have a sandwich." it is going to be tough, i always say this, it is very glib, but the first ten marathons are the hardest, and then it gets easier. is it harder on the feet being on a treadmill? or is it easier? it is easier on the feet, it seems to be easier on the feet, it seems to be easier on the body. my hip was playing up, and then that calmed down. but it feels more springy, so thatis down. but it feels more springy, so that is good. but you could fall off the thing. you could hit the thing. the arm struts that come out. i‘m going to link up with people, people canjoin me on zuma, they can get me

on swift, they can run with me. that will be fun. so there is a number of things happening. and the make humanity great again fund is on and active. in the last two gigs in february, runs in february, i try to do gigs afterwards. it is a bit like you are off your head. but i got them done. and it will have to be one hour, because we are in tier 3 now, so they will be streamed. it‘s fun. they can reach around the world. people can be running on a treadmill from anywhere and join me. they can send in photographs from the cities they are representing, be it london, lisbon, berlin, tokyo.

i‘m just wondering when you are going to sleep. when are you going to get some kip? well, that comes immediately after. when i did before, you don‘t have to worry about keeping, because as soon as you‘ve stopped having to do things you‘ve stopped having to do things you do collapse into a heap. and i just have to take my lipstick off and then i can do it. you've got a cap on the same make humanity great again. a reference i assume it to donald trump‘s make america great again. what is your message? mine are slightly more inclusive. everyone is represented here. my message is, it is a very tough time with covid, national is going on, people saying that we have got the vaccine first, and certain countries are not going to happen have it until much later, and ijust think this is the 21st—century, it is the

coming of humanity. so i think we have got to be making a stronger connection is now, even though some people are saying that as break connections. i am saying let‘s make even stronger connections. so this is why i want to reach out around the world to encourage people to say let us do this even more than we have done it before. because this could be the first century where we make it a fair world for everyone. surely that is worth fighting for? 0r surely that is worth fighting for? or it is good by humanity. i really think it is that high stakes. there isa think it is that high stakes. there is a new strain of covid in london. ijust want is a new strain of covid in london. i just want to push. it is a new strain of covid in london. ijust want to push. it is a run for hope. it is positive, i‘m transgender, i‘m running 31 marathons and doing 31 gigs. i will be doing french in france and germany in berlin. and you are

raising money for charity? we get the money into the fund, and then we put them out to different charities like unicef and other great charities that make humanity great. it's charities that make humanity great. it‘s a style that was started by comic relief and sport relief. so we are following that mould. you can spread all around the world, and people very generous. eddie izzard dot—com, that is the easy place to go. you have all the details there. it will be a trial. you have done this before. it was only in february you are running 28 marathons in 28 days, and that was before we knew all about the extent of the pandemic. it has been such a year.” know, we finished and then it went into lockdown almost immediately. the fear that was coming. but it was a whisper in the wind at that time. i have done this before, but i have

not done it. i‘m very slow, but i keep repeating it every day. it is a lot of time on a machine. you said your hip is talking to you, i suspect your hip is saying, "don‘t do it, eddie." i have to tell my hip, iam do it, eddie." i have to tell my hip, i am over 30 do it, eddie." i have to tell my hip, iam over30 now, and do it, eddie." i have to tell my hip, i am over 30 now, and when you get over a certain age the body sta rts get over a certain age the body starts talking to you, "that means i should go home and have a cake." you have to go through that. when you getan have to go through that. when you get an injury, doctors now tell you to swim through it, and then the injury goes away. well, you, me, eddie, we are both over 30. i really hope it goes well. we will all be watching. now it‘s time for a

look at the weather. we have got more rain on the cards in the event will be picking up as well. there are some showers around, dotted here or there. overnight, this area of rain moving on from the west. further east, a cooler start to wednesday, it should be dry first thing. east anglia and the south east keeping the dry weather for a good part the south east keeping the dry weatherfor a good part of the south east keeping the dry weather for a good part of the day, but eventually this band of rain moves eastwards, affecting all of us at times. led by scattered heavy showers from the west. gusts of wind around 60 mph. further east, about 30 mph. blustery wherever you are, 02:58:59,939 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 still mild at 9—11 celsius.