despite pressure to toughen the restrictions over christmas mixing — there's to be no formal change to the relaxation of covid rules. the prime minister says he'll stick to the rules allowing households to meet over the five day festive window but issues stronger guidance to families. we do think it's absolutely vital that people should at this very, very tricky time, exercise a high degree of personal responsibility. here we go again, mr speaker, ignoring the medical advice, and we know where that leads because we've seen what happened in the last nine months. but the welsh government issues separate guidance that only two households should meet over christmas and the nation will go into full lockdown from december the 28th. in scotland families are given guidance to only come together for one day

at christmas, not five. we'll be getting the latest, live, from westminster, cardiff and glasgow — and talking to our health editor. also this lunchtime: injecting progress. almost 140,000 people have been vaccinated for coronavirus so far in the uk. bell rings as london goes into tier 3 other areas of england are hoping to be moved down — following a review today of covid restrictions. nine—year—old ella kissi—debrah died in 2013, the inquest finds that air pollution did contribute to her death. making football safer — new rules on treating players who suffer concussion in football matches. and coming up in sport on bbc news: west brom sack their manager slaven bilic after 18 months in charge, with the club second from bottom in the premier league.

good afternoon welcome to the bbc news at one. christmas isn't cancelled, but leaders across the uk want you to be very careful. the rules over festive gatherings will not be changed, despite growing pressure for them to be toughened. all four nations have agreed to not to make a formal change but the advice will be made stronger in wales and scotland, where the first minister has given guidance that people should only come together for one day rather than five. families will be urged to think carefully over who they meet. the prime minister told the commons he didn't want to criminalise people's long—term plans — but he said people must ‘exercise extreme caution‘ over the festive period. the rules over christmas allow three households to mix indoors, and they can be from different nations, regions or tiers. though the welsh government is asking people to stick to two households and a new national

lockdown will come into force there after the festive period. in scotland, the number of people within the bubble has been limited to eight, but children under 12 do not count toward that number. and the scottish government is now recommending that people should meet other households for only one day during the five—day christmas period the relaxation of the rules is in place for five days over the festive period, between the 23rd and 27th of december. although people in northern ireland get an extra day either side for travel time. the labour leader sir keir starmer said the government has been too slow to respond to the growth of the virus. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. worried that the time to see family is running out. she has cancer and welcomes the chance to meet them this christmas. i really want to see everybody and my family would really like to see me. i really don't know how long i've got. it's christmas

cancelled, prime minister? but boris johnson has been under pressure to change direction over relaxing rules over christmas and at prime minister's questions, the labour leader asked for the evidence that justifies going ahead. the british medicaljournal yesterday said this. we believe the government is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives. the prime minister should listen to that advice, not just ignore minister should listen to that advice, notjust ignore it as usual. and if he really is going to press ahead with this, can he tell us what is the assessment and has it been done, of the impact it will have on infection rates and increased pressure on the nhs? boris johnson accused keir starmer of wanting to cancel christmas and said at a meeting this morning the uk government and all devolved iterations agreed. we don't want to criminalise people's long made plans, mr speaker, but we do think,

we do think, it is absolutely vital that should, at this very, very tricky time, exercise a high degree of personal responsibility, especially when they come into contact with elderly people. avoid contact with elderly people. avoid contact with elderly people. avoid contact with elderly people wherever possible. all four uk nations have agreed to keep the relaxation in place but while they haven't changed the rules, some are changing the advice. legally, up to three households can meet indoors for up to five days but in wales you will be encouraged to restrict who you see. here in wales in particular, the advice of the welsh government is that only two households should come together to form an exclusive christmas bubble during the five—day period. but there was worse news if you live in wales. with infections rising, all nonessential retail will close on christmas eve and hospitality too from 6pm on christmas day. and scotland's first

minister had some robust recommendations asking people to restrict their own freedom over christmas. my recommendation is if you form a bubble, you should not meet up with people in it any more than ever one day over that period if possible and you should not stay overnight unless it is unavoidable. we should also limit numbers as far as possible, three households is a maximum that tries to account for families come in all shapes and sizes but two would be better. one mp summed it up rather bluntly. he said the government seems to be saying you can have your christmas but if infections rise, it is your fault, not theirs. ministers would say, though, they are simply enabling people to make informed judgments. either way, families across the uk are going to have to make some very difficult decisions during a supposed season ofjoy. iain watson, bbc news. jessica parker is in westminster. no change in the rules but much tougher guidance. yes, toughening up of the language and guidance, if not

the law. having said that, this toughening up of the guidance seems toughening up of the guidance seems to be pretty significant to different parts of the uk. in wales, you have them saying ideal people should meet in two households not three. scotland, they are saying don't stay overnight if you don't have to. if people asking if you are going to change the guidance to that extent, why not the law? it might be regarded to do that tricky at this stage. i think there is a concern as well that it is simply too late. scotland's first minister saying do so now could even risk undermining compliance. ministers here in westminster, they are emphasising common sense, personal responsibility. borisjohnson common sense, personal responsibility. boris johnson of commons in the last cup did in macau that if you want to criminalise people who had audi made the christmas plans. in terms of public health messaging campaign, it isn't ideal. you might have minister saying you can do this, you can go this far, but please possibly, maybe, don't. thank you very much. in wales the first minister has

announced that they will go into full lockdown from the 28th of december. 0ur correspondent sian lloyd is in wales. mark drakeford mark dra keford saying mark drakeford saying the situation there is extremely serious. wales is moving to alert level four. he did say the situation is extremely serious because now there are record number of covid patients in welsh hospitals and also those requiring intensive care has risen to a record level as well. he said that the welsh government had taken the decision to move to further restrictions stop what are they? they will affect everybody here in wales. the whole of the country. nonessential shops, close contact services, leisure and fitness, they will close at the end of trading on christmas eve. then, all hospitality will close at 6pm on christmas day. then on the 28th of december, wales moves to the lockdown situation with

tighter restrictions on household mixing, holiday accommodation and travel. the first minister did say that there will be extra financial support being made available to businesses and there will be more detail on that to come. regarding the christmas bubble, of course, the uk nations had come together, they had agreed the guidance that had been issued and communicated to people previously. however, mark dra keford people previously. however, mark drakeford did say now because of the situation here in wales, the advice to people was that only two households should come together. the five—day window does remain in place here. the leader of plaid cymru says that while he welcomes this news, he says it is the right thing to do to change the guidance over christmas, but he did say because the prime minister has said at westminster that the guidance is not changing, perhaps there does need to be further clarification and communication to people here in wales. it could be seen as confusing, he said. thank you very

much. nicola sturgeon has said the scottish government will be recommending that people should meet other households for only one day during the five—day christmas period and should not stay in someone else's home overnight unless it couldn't be avoided. james shawjoins us from glasgow. what else has she been saying? essentially, she was saying that the overall position in terms of regulations during this christmas e—zine, that will be a four nations approach but it is the guidance that is going to be different. she said discussions were continuing on that but they would be issuing stronger guidance for scotland. in particular, as you say, the fact that people should limit the amount of time that they spend on someone's household and the number of people in that household and that they shouldn't stay overnight unless it was impossible to avoid that. she also said that people should not travel from high risk areas to low risk areas and that in the meantime, in the few days that are left now

between the easing of restrictions on the 23rd and where we are now, people who are planning to see other households, should restrict and limit unnecessary contact with other households and other people as much as possible. she said that she hated, with every fibre of her body, having to tell people what to do at christmas, but that it was, as she saw it, absolutely necessary to do that. james, thank you very much. a week into the national coronavirus vaccine campaign the government have announced that 137,000 people have been vaccinated across the uk. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. the government says this is a good start, is it? yes. it was only a week ago that the first vaccine was given in the uk. now we've got these figures for the uk in the week up until yesterday, a total of more than a let's see how it breaks down

across the uk. england 108,000, scotla nd across the uk. england 108,000, scotland 18,000, wales nearly 8000 and northern ireland 4000. is that roughly what we might expect? well, some people are saying if you take that as the rate each week, then it is not going to go very rapidly. if you look at trying to do it across a large amount of the population by next spring, which is the aim. but it only really got going last week in hospitals. gp practices and surgeries certainly in england have only just started surgeries certainly in england have onlyjust started doing it in the last 24 to 48 hours, so it was quite a limited roll—out. ministers seem quite happy with that start. they are making the point that more of this pfizer biontech vaccine, more doses are coming in. they have had the first 800,000, remember you need to do two, they say they will be a few million at least by the end of this year. we will have to watch these numbers every week. they will be published on a weekly basis.

let's talk christmas. there was huge pressure for the government to change the guidance for christmas and we are not getting what many people had hoped for. certainly across the health and medical well, there was a strong plea to change there was a strong plea to change the guidance and stop people mixing over christmas because of what they called eight super spreader event. we have the editors of the british medicaljournal and health medical journal saying that yesterday and there is a fear that in the health service that you have cases rising at the moment quite sharply in the south—east of england, they are still falling elsewhere in england, but wales have got a particular problem as well, as we have been hearing, there was a worry that the mixing of people over christmas would really push up cases and put intense pressure on the nhs, just when it is most busy. so the health world will be watching quite anxiously as to what happens, but i thinking appreciating that people not mixing over christmases may be not mixing over christmases may be not so good for people's well—being

and mental health. that has to be taken board and mental health. that has to be ta ken board as and mental health. that has to be taken board as well. hugh, thank you very much. this morning, ten million people in london and some surrounding areas moved into tier 3 — the toughest level of restrictions in england — to try to tackle a recent spike in cases in the capital. later today the government will review the tiered system elsewhere in england before announcing any changes tomorrow. 0ne place hoping to move down from tier 3 restrictions is stratford—upon—avon from where phil mackie sent this report. this is stratford's most famous landmark, the royal shakespeare theatre. with very low infection rates in the town, they'd expected to be in tier 2 and open but because other towns and cities nearby had higher rates, it went into tier 3. it was really upsetting. we've obviously had a very tough year in the performing arts, it's been no exception here in stratford. we normally welcome 1,500 people a night to this amazing complex of theatres. we've lost 86% of our income, so actually to get to the end of the year, we were just about to open theatres again to audiences in person, and we had to cancel that. so we are going on with work

that we can stream online but we haven't been able to have audiences in the building yet, which incredibly upsetting. there are more swans than people at the moment by the river avon. prospects for the town look as bleak as the weather, unless there is an easing of restrictions. even on a cold, wet december day, stratford would normally have many thousands of visitors, either coming to the theatre or the town's many attractions, but because it's in tier 3, they can't open and the visitors haven't come which is having a massive effect on the town's economy. the pandemic never seems to end. at the arden hotel, they are getting ready in case they can reopen this weekend, but it may not be worth it, especially if tougher restrictions come back in injanuary. we need to be looking slightly more long—term, in terms of understanding what the strategy is for hospitality. we probably need a minister for hospitality to help us manage our way out of what will be a really tough position. the same concerns are being expressed across england.

in manchester, they've endured restrictions longer than most. there is a strong case now for a substantial part of greater manchester to be in tier2. and bear in mind, people here have been under restrictions for four and a half months and that has to be taken into consideration when these decisions are made. for now in stratford, everything remains on hold, but there is hope that restrictions will be eased by christmas. phil mackie, bbc news, stratford—upon—avon. people from ethnic minority backgrounds or lower incomes are less likely to take the coronavirus vaccine in the uk, according to new research. the royal society for public health found that more than three quarters of white people would take the jab, compared with just over half of people from ethnic minorities. the head of the race equality foundation says it's crucial the nhs uses trusted channels, including bame—led groups, to address concerns — and reach communities disproportionately impacted by covid. our community affairs correspondent

adina campbell reports. the impact of coronavirus on people from black, asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds has caused a great deal of anxiety and distress over the last few months. but with a vaccine now in sight, many of us are now starting to breathe a sigh of relief. some, though, are still fearful. i'm not against people having it. we all have our own personal views. so far, it's god that it's protecting me and with this protection i will never catch any disease. we are hesitant but i think we have to see the positive side of it. so if there is a service offering the public to take it, i don't think there is any issue. i will take the vaccine because there is no problem and there is no consequence. i will take it and protect my family. if it's got a chip in it to track people, that's the reason why i wouldn't go for it. where have you heard that this

vaccine has got a chip? from the whatsapp and all this. the vaccine does not contain a chip and the government says we should be cautious of misinformation and conspiracy theories. even with my two kids people sort of send whatsapp videos and all sorts of messages. if you don't know where that is coming from, then it is very likely to be inaccurate. this is an incredibly well developed, scientific endeavour. and therefore i would urge everyone, take the information read it, look at it and then make your mind up. are you happy? yes. researchers say the evidence is clear. with higher death rates in these communities, coupled with underrepresentation in clinical trials, scientists insist getting vaccinated is the safest way to help end the pandemic. adina campbell, bbc news. the head of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, has said that one of the three major

bones of contention over brexit has been largely settled — but that the dispute over fisheries remains difficult. speaking to the european parliament she said the next few days would be crucial. as things stand, i cannot tell you whether there will be a deal or not. but i can tell you that there is a path to an agreement now. the path may be very narrow, but it is there. our top story this lunchtime. despite pressure to toughen the restrictions over christmas mixing — there's to be no formal change to the relaxation of covid rules. and still to come — as the number of deaths in germany hit a record level the country goes into lockdown with schools and shops closed. coming up in sport on bbc news. manchester united say english clubs will be disadvantaged by new brexit rules on recruiting young players from overseas, which means no more signings like a 16—year—old paul pogba.

nine year—old ella adoo—kissi—debrah is the first person in the uk to have air pollution exposure recorded as their medical cause of death. the coroner ruled that pollution made a material contribution as she suffered a fatal asthma attack in february 2013. her mother said her daughter finally got the justice ‘she so deserved'. jon donnison reports. for the first few years of her life, ella kissi—debrah had been a healthy and active young girl. but after a chest infection, she developed acute asthma. she was hospitalised around 30 times over three years. and died in 2013, just nine years old. the following year an inquest concluded she died of acute respiratory failure and severe asthma. but ella lived just yards from the busy south circular road in south london.

she walked to school along it. her family have always believed air pollution directly contributed to her death. and after new medical evidence showed there was a direct link, the high court ordered a fresh inquest. her mother rosamond arrived in court this morning for the conclusion of that second inquest and finally she got what she had been hoping for. that second inquest and finally she got what she had been hoping fori million people around the world die every year courtesy of air pollution and this was about my daughter, getting air pollution on the death certificate as we finally have and we have got the justice for her which she so deserved but also it is about other children as we walk around our cities still. the assistant coroner philip barlow concluded the official medical because of her death should be recorded as acute respiratory failure and severe asthma contributed to by excessive exposure

to air pollution. the first time such a cause of death has been recorded. and this case could set a precedent, the inquest heard that air pollution is a contributing factor to tens of thousands of premature deaths in the uk each year. we have known for many years that air pollution is a huge cause of ill health but this really is a landmark ruling today because it is the very first time air pollution has been put on a death certificate. we think it should herald a seismic shift in the action that government and clinicians and health professionals take to address the problem. addressing her mother to date the assistant coroner referred toa date the assistant coroner referred to a photograph of the young girl that had been displayed in court throughout the inquest. he remarked that she had very bright brown eyes and a smile go than the photograph itself. jon donnison, bbc news in south london.

the killers of pc andrew harper will not have their sentences increased afterjudges rejected the attorney general‘s case that they were "unduly lenient". suella braverman had argued henry long, albert bowers and jessie cole should be handed longerjail terms. she said the sentences of the three men had caused "widespread public concern" but that was rejected by the court of appeal. pc harper died after he was dragged for more than a mile behind a car in berkshire in august 2019. the supreme court has ruled that plans to build a third runway at heathrow airport are lawful. the scheme had been blocked by the appeal court, which said the government's airports strategy didn't meet up—to—date uk climate targets. the firm behind heathrow can now seek permission to go ahead with the runway. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies reports. it is just over there where that tall tree without leaves on is... justine bailey has lived on the border of heathrow airport for 25 years. the proposed third runway would be opposite her house. the runway would be about where the bungalows, you can see some chimneys at the end

of the road. that is literally where the runway would be. so you wouldn't be able to stand here without ear defenders on if they were using the runway. today's judgment was not what she was hoping for. it won't be possible to go on living here because the air will be far too polluted. it will be far too noisy. most of my neighbours will have had their houses bulldozed and will have had to move. protesters gathered outside the supreme court before this morning's verdict. today's result is a setback for environmental campaigners as well as residential groups. well, it is very disappointing, and very disappointing for our membership across london and the south—east. and the government advisers on the implementation of our carbon commitments has stated that were heathrow to expand, it would almost certainly mean restrictions in aviation activity in other parts of the country. possibly even the closure of some regional airports. the village of harmondsworth has lived with the threat of partial demolition for years.

opponents of the third runway say that climate change concerns and even covid have weakened the argument for it. 0thers disagree. as we come out of covid we are going to have to re—establish international trading connections across the world. and having a major airport which can actually reach every capital city, everywhere in the globe, is going to be crucial to london's advantage. and in a post brexit world we are going to have to do that even more. while heathrow say today's judgment is the right result for the country, labour has argued the proposals don't pass their tests on air quality, noise pollution and delivering countrywide economic benefits. the government has said they are seriously considering the court'sjudgement. today's decision is not the end of the process and both sides have said they will fight on. caroline davies, bbc news. germany has registered more than 950 deaths in the last 24 hours — the most recorded since the pandemic began. it comes as the country enters a tough four week lockdown in response to a dramatic rise

in infections recently. 0ur berlin correspondentjenny hill has been looking at why germany has fared so badly in their second wave. there is little festive cheer as germany prepares for a christmas in lockdown. as shops, schools and hairdressers closed this morning, another miserable milestone — more than 950 deaths recorded in a day. even taking into account statistical fluctuations, it's the worst death toll here since the pandemic began. germany closed its bars, restau ra nts, arts and leisure facilities six weeks ago but that did little to stop the spread of infection. this country's health system may be robust but it's under real pressure. some hospitals have had to turn patients away. translation: if you ask me, it's absolutely the right time to lockdown. hospitals here are at breaking point. we've already had to transfer patients because we don't have any more free beds. so what's gone wrong for the country which came so successfully

through the first wave? scientists aren't sure, though some blame regional politicians who resisted angela merkel‘s calls for a tougher nationwide response earlier in the autumn. i assume that people do not follow all the regulations that we are told. i mean, we had to reduce our contacts by about 75% but i think that didn't work. there's frustration too. the vaccine developed by german scientists has been rolled out in other countries. here, they are still awaiting eu approvalfor use. it's hoped that will happen before the end of the year, but for now a country which loves its festive traditions has all but cancelled christmas. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. football's rule—making body has approved the use of so—called ‘concussion substitutes‘ — and the new policy could be introduced as soon as next month‘s fa cup games. the new rule will allow permanent substitutions to be made if a player

suffers a head injury, even if all replacements have already been used. it comes after a number of recent incidents and growing concern over the long term impact of head injuries in sport. natalie pirks reports. it is one of the most pressing topics in sport right now. head injuries and the long—term effects on the brain. today trials of permanent additional head injury substitutes were approved from january. and john stiles, who lost his father, world cup winner nobby to dementia in late october, says it is about time. the welfare of players should be at the forefront. you‘re not talking about, this is notjust a minor issue. it is not like, you know, he has done his knee and they keep him on forfive minutes or he pulled a calf muscle. you‘re talking about the brain and it doesn‘t matter whether you are a millionaire footballer or whatever, you get brain damage and you get dementia, no money is going to fix that. former spurs defenderjan vertonghen

knows this to his cost. the belgian says trying to play on after a clash of heads in the champions league semifinal last year affected his game for months. translation: i had a lot of problems with it for a long time. headaches and dizziness. that is the first time i have said that, i should not have played on and i was a total fool for nine months. and therefore i could not deliver what i wanted. the fa has already said it could start the permanent additional substitute trial as early as next month. and the premier league looks set to agree the same timing at a meeting tomorrow. but unlike rugby, the idea of a temporary sub brought on while a player is medically assessed has been dismissed. this could just be windowdressing and in reality nothing will actually change. so we simply cannot understand the reluctance. follow the route of other sports in introducing concussion substitutes on a temporary basis to allow a decent amount of time to assess a player. for families affected by the growing

links between dementia and head trauma in football, it is too late. nobby stiles! but there is some relief that the game is taking steps towards helping future generations. a lost artefact from the great pyramid of giza in egypt has been found — by chance — at the university of aberdeen. the pieces of wood from a cedar tree, dating back 5,000 years, was one of only three objects ever recovered from inside the pyramid. the artefacts known as the dixon relics — were found in a cigar tin in a university collection. time for a look at the weather, here‘s darren bett. thank you, simon. another dose of wet and windy weather across the uk today which means more localised flooding. much wetter in the south—west of england weather has been about two inches of rain in

some places and for