this is bbc news. the headlines. millions more people in england will be living under the toughest restrictions from saturday, in a bid to slow down the spread of coronavirus. i regret having to take the action that we have to take. i deem it necessary under the strong view right across government that these actions are necessary, but i also plead that personal responsibility is absolutely essential to how we as a society should respond to this this is bbc news — pandemic. thousands of secondary school the deadliest day of the pandemic children across england will have their return to school so far, as the us records staggered, after the christmas break a record number of deaths. due to coronavirus concerns. in twenty four hours, covid 19 claimed the life of one in northern ireland, american every thirty seconds. a new six—week lockdown starting on boxing day has been

agreed by politicians. the latest in the but there's some hope on the horizon — brexit negotiations — regulators are on the brink borisjohnson says the talks of authorizing a second are in a serious situation coronavirus vaccine and the president of the eu commission says inching closer? big differences remain. britain's prime minister and the eu chief speak again by phone. they say progress but no deal yet. also in the programme. and coming up, the west end performers staging virtual christmas a december snowstorm concerts in care homes. hits the east coast of the united states — bringing more snow to new york than the city had all of last winter and — we've made it to ourfinal programme of the year. the impressionistjohn culshaw joins us to review 2020 — good evening and welcome to bbc news. more than two thirds of england's population will be living under the toughest coronavirus restrictions from saturday, when a number of counties in east and south—east england go into tier three.

bedfordshire, buckinghamshire, berkshire and hertfordshire will be subject to the strictest rules, as will parts of surrey, east sussex, cambridgeshire and hampshire. they'lljoin the other areas already in tier 3 — shown here in red — that's 38 million people in england. but there's better news for bristol and north somerset which move from tier 3 to tier 2, and herefordshire which goes from two to one. here's our health editor, hugh pym. this is what tier 3 looks like — bars, pubs, and some other venues closed. it's what many areas of england have experienced for some time — and now, more parts of the south east are moving into, following others yesterday. the government said the tightening was required to bring cases down and help the nhs. yesterday, the welsh government made the decision to tighten restrictions across the whole of wales. no one wants tougher restrictions any longer than necessary. but where they are necessary, we must put them in place to prevent the nhs from being overwhelmed

and protect life. labour offered support for the new moves, but called for tougher rules over christmas. portsmouth, gosport, and havant have moved up from tier 2 to tier 3. health officials say virus case rates in all age groups are increasing across most of the area. local people gave us their reaction to tighter restrictions. i think we should've been put into tier 3 a bit sooner, just to keep it lower again. portsmouth has got quite a high rate of covid, and i think we're only half that rate. i know we're so close it must be awkward, but i think it would've been better to stay in tier 2. in tier 3 areas like this, pubs, bars, and restaurants will be closed, apart from takeaways. and that will still be the case over the christmas period, even though up to three households are are able to mix at that time. pressure most hospitals is mounting, with more covid patients arriving each day, and there are fewer beds

than normal because of social—distancing measures. here's what's been happening with daily covid hospital admissions in the south—east of england. the solid line there is the seven—day rolling average. you can see it's been rising pretty steeply in recent weeks, and is back where it was in late april, just after the peak of the first wave. and here's what has been happening in the north west of england. hospital admissions rose sharply throughout october, and then came down a bit, but they do appear to have levelled off. a hospital system leader told me that the christmas easing could create further problems. if people push those rules much stronger than they should and they don't exercise proper restraint, then what you can see is very large numbers of people coming into hospital injanuary, and the nhs finding it very difficult to treat all of those patients. one area has moved down to tieri — herefordshire. that means up to six people

can meet in households. it's just really exciting and good to see that coronavirus is not as bad here, so it means we can socialise more and be able to spend more time with our families, especially now it's near christmas. i think it's a nice idea that it's tier 1, but i still think we need to be very, very aware of the situation. and, even here, health officials are worried. one said they were disappointed, and that relaxing the rules just ahead of mixing at christmas would inevitably result in more infections. hugh pym, bbc news. today's announcement has caused dismay across many areas of the north of england — where many had hoped to be moved out of the toughest restrictions. sir graham brady, a leading conservative backbencher and a greater manchester mp, questioned what more the region could do to get out of tier 3. our north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. in greater manchester, they had high hopes of moving from tier 3 into tier 2.

the lowry theatre took the gamble it would happen. having already postponed its production of six the musical once, it was scheduled to open on saturday. instead, the stage will continue to stay dark. along with the producer, we've committed to getting the show ready, the cast are here, they are rehearsed, the set is in place, we were good to go and incredibly disappointed today to hear that now won't be possible. for our business, for our sector, usually we generate about 25% of our total revenues over the christmas period so this is a huge issue. the government says that greater manchester hasn't satisfied all the criteria needed to move it from tier 3 down to tier 2. but some boroughs, like stockport, trafford and tameside, have lower infection rates than the rest of the city. and there's frustration from some who say their progress hasn't been recognised. our rates are lower than they are in neighbouring warrington or in neighbouring cheshire, which have been put into tier 2, and are also lower

than they are in bristol, which has been moved from tier 3 to tier 2 today. what exactly do we have to do to be moved out of tier 3? in leeds, infection rates have dropped by two thirds in four weeks but it stays in tier 3 meaning pubs, like the black bull in otley remain closed, even though those down the road in tier 2, north yorkshire, are open, to the irritation of publica ns mel and malcolm. people are just jumping over to harrogate, they're jumping over to ripon, north yorkshire. where does that leave us? obviously, financially, desperate. it's just very confusing. we appreciate there's got to be boundaries somewhere along the line. but we are so close to them. it's a bit frustrating, really. the north—east also remains in the highest restriction level. local leaders there say they accept the decision on health grounds but need a greater understanding of how moving out of tier 3 will be decided in the new year. the government has acknowledged

the disappointment from the north of england, saying no one wants tougher restrictions for any longer than necessary. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. we can now speak tojim mcmanus, director of public health at hertfordshire county council. the whole county is moving into tier 3 from saturday. talk us through the figures from the comes to the decision, was it inevitable? if you look, good evening, sorry, ishould've inevitable? if you look, good evening, sorry, i should've said that before i started. it probably was inevitable if you look at the government figures. in common with all of the counties in london, our numbers have been growing up significantly and fast and otherwise it is been gaining pace and not slowing down. so, does look

inevitable. we have seen the 51% increase and in other areas, seen higher increases in the last seven days. where that increase coming from because arguably, the commuters that would normally come in to london from hertfordshire, they're not commuting as much because of people working from home, what figures you finding? refining a lot of transmission for the 12 to 16—year—old age group in common with all the other areas, where finding that moving into older teenagers and younger adults and progressively moving up the hq use. one of the things we think at present is that the 35 and up are now being infected currently the 12th sixth two were being infected two or three weeks ago. i think it is beginning to bleed through the age group small population. as director of public health, what state are the hospitals

in the county like? i think all of the hospitals in the region are under significant pressure and they have done an amazing job, but people do not see the pressure they are under. hospital admissions are rising in the survival rate of people has risen significantly, which is a testament to the nhs, but we also have nhs staff that are also sick and self isolating we also have to deal with other winter illnesses and covid—i9 illnesses and all that together protesting significant strains of the hospital system right across the whole region. when it comes to christmas coming up and there's been so much discussion as to the relaxation of the christmas period that potentially people planning a family get together. my advice is, treat everybody you meet

as if they potentially have the virus. and behave as if you have got it. and restrictor social interactions is much as you can and keep to those measures though to be safe and go from there and be sensible about it. it does not mean you have to completely not see anyone at all, but also means that you cannot behave as if this virus, is artie circulated —— has already circulated. calculate your risk and cut down the opportunity with a virus could reach you or you could give other people of the virus is much as possible. and you touched early on the transmission rate being high among 12 to 16—year—olds in that case, do you agree with the suggestion, the idea that schools will be standard when it comes to opening up after this christmas holiday in january for secondary schools? i think the details of this

are still emerging but what i do know is our schools locally come over 500 of them have done an amazing job, they really have. they've worked really hard and they put in place teams of nurses to help them and they have done an amazing job, there tired, our children are tired and actually, we need to make these decisions with the teachers in these decisions with the teachers in the details arejust these decisions with the teachers in the details are just emerging so, my view being, whatever we decide, let us view being, whatever we decide, let us do it with her school colleagues and together let's work together because we are there to support them and doing a brilliantjob that they do, not make decisions for them. and you can find out what the rules are in your area of the uk, by entering your postcode in our interactive tool — you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app. it's understood tonight

that the northern ireland executive has agreed a six week lockdown starting on boxing day. ministers at stormont are meeting right now to finalise the plans. let's cross over the belfast because they arejoining us let's cross over the belfast because they are joining us live. let's cross over the belfast because they arejoining us live. where let's cross over the belfast because they are joining us live. where are we with this? northern ireland will be going into lockdown from boxing day and will be the toughest period of restrictions here since the lockdown and it will close, hospitality businesses will close them as they are providing to with services and such as hair dressers, beauticians and also for the first week of the lockdown, the conditions are going to be more strict and essential shops for example, police are allowed to open, they will have to close at eight o'clock at night

and also in that week, beginning boxing day, all sports will be banned. that means traditional boxing day fixtures and they would not be able to go ahead. announcing these measures, the deputy first minister who recognise these measures were draconian, they were desperate and in regards to coronavirus, this is the most serious is ever faced. coronavirus, this is the most serious is everfaced. the health service was in danger of being overwhelmed and today, more than 600 new cases recorded and that yesterday, sans the hospitals are under immense pressure and so many people have expected that there would be and not they will take northern ireland that no lockdown into the of february. in terms of how this works out, what is happening in the republic of ireland

comes that a line it will close with in terms of like the measures yes it's significantly higher. and the reason is because the republic of ireland has had a lockdown during the month of november. in travel restrictions are lifted and more people can travel outside the countries and the canister christmas travel window and this restrictions of the republic would last up until the 2nd of january but from the irish prime minister, his scientific advisers are recommending that that travel window will close earlier than for example, restrictions been betrayed and dumped there underuse even so it it looks like —— tightened up. and more developments on that from the other side of the borderfrom the

on that from the other side of the border from the government in dublin and could well be for example, schedule tomorrow between the first minister in belfast and the deputy first minister in belfast and the prime minister in dublin where they could decide closer levels of enlightenment in regards to response for this virus. the latest government figures on coronavirus show another 35,383 cases have been recorded in the latest 24—hour period — that includes those previously unreported cases from wales. it means the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week was 22,983, 1,704 people were admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. 4,532 deaths were reported for the last 2a hours, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test.

5 on average in the past week, there were 424 deaths per day. the total number of uk deaths is now 66,052 the government's furlough scheme will be extended for an extra month — until the end of next april. the scheme allows for up to 80% of a worker's wages to be paid by the government, for hours they can't work because of the pandemic. borisjohnson and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, have been speaking on the phone in the past hour, about striking a post—brexit trade deal. it seems differences remain and the talking will continue. our political correspondent chris mason is at westminster. let's start at just over an let's start atjust over an hour ago, various lines coming out in big differences remaining with substantial progress has been made,

explain. the call started at seven o'clock and we just received in the last half hour, but the readout from either side, is of the interpretations that they put on a call that obviously we were not party to and this is all we've got in terms of how the conversation went. it's quite striking at a different tone and tenor to the analysis coming from both sides and is the president of the european commission and the european unions perspective talking about substantial progress as she put it on many issues but acknowledging the big differences remain to be bridged on fisheries and there will be more negotiations continuing tomorrow and statement from downing street from the prime minister segment the discussions are a serious discussion at the moment in time is short and acknowledging there are significant issues around fishing in the recent fishing mattresses even though the

industry itself is quite small, symbolically, it is important from the uk site it is crucial in terms of sovereignty, taking back control is concerning an downing street sees it as issues that they cannot accept in situations where the uk is the only sovereign country in the world not able to control its own waters foran not able to control its own waters for an extended period and to be faced with fishing quotas and it's a huge disadvantage to its own industry and quite striking for an extended period there was as there's room for negotiations something less than an extended period of the prime minister repeating his view that if they cannot come to a deal pretty soon, and the uk will leave for what he describes as a australian style terms. an overarching trade deal. does that mean the two of the sticking points in the level playing field is that all sorted? no, it isn't. clearly the emphasis is still on fishing but there is still talk

of round level playing field as well. so downing street acknowledging that they're making effo rts acknowledging that they're making efforts to accommodate what they see as reasonable you requests in either the gap had narrowed us to some fundamental areas, some remain difficult. in the issue of governance, how any deal is looked into and regulated, in other words what mechanisms there are two to the site breaking the rule and if you have two sites diverge, an extent thatis have two sites diverge, an extent that is the point of brexit that they will be able to set their own rules in their own direction. the key thing is that they are still talking while they're still talking, there's a possibility of a deal, not less because both sides wanted other micro—goals, the minister today suggested that the likelihood of form is less than 50% but talking continues and as with brexit, on it goes.

sport — and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katie. manchester united are looking to move up to fifth in the premier league tonight. they've made the trip across the pennines to face bottom side sheffield united, knowing that a win would see them jump up four places in the table. there could be a shock on the cards, though, as the team without a win all season are leading i—0. in the early kick—off, it somehow finished goalless in the match between aston villa and burnley. that's despite villa carving out 23 chances, but theyjust couldn't find a way past nick pope in the burnley goal. that point lifts burnley out of the relegation zone. marcus rashford has been rewarded for the inspirational work at the best fifa football awards. the england and manchester united striker has won a fifa foundation award for his work trying to end child poverty in the uk. elsewhere, liverpool boss jurgen klopp has been named the best men's coach for the second year

in a row. and manchester city defender lucy bronze has become the first english player to win the best women's player award. sam allardyce has spoken to the media for the first time since becoming west brom's new manager. the former england boss has signed an i8—month deal after slaven bilic was sacked yesterday. and despite being out of the game for over two years, allardyce says he's ready for the challenge ahead. have never been so ready and eager to come back. thisjob can wear you down, and many years i have been sat there as a manager and all those divisions, trying to get to the top and how much it takes out of you. you realise that when you actually get a break. at this break went on so long and at so much pent up energy that i needed to expended as quick as i could in this where i can

expend all the energy it have got reserves ready for this battle. staying with head injuries, as more former rugby union players have joined the legal process against the game's authorities for alleged negligence. it means there are now nine players are preparing to face the rugby football union, wales rugby union and world rugby. a letter highlighting their claims, including their intention to sue, was delivered today. the former wales under—20 center, adam hughes, who is now aged 30 and seen on the ball here, is the youngest to claim that he's suffered permanent brain damage through playing the sport. the law firm representing the group say more than 100 players have come forward. the ban on russia competing at major sporting events after a doping scandal has been upheld but cut to two years by the court of arbitration for sport. it means russia won't have a formal presence at the delayed tokyo olympics next summer, or the football world cup in 2022. the country was initially given a four—year ban by the world anti—doping agency, following an investigation in 2016 which found at least 1,000 russian athletes across at least 30 sports

were implicated in state—sponsored doping programmes. that's all the sport. we'll have more for you throughout the evening. breaking news from nigeria, the kidnapping of the schoolboys over 300 schoolboys, we are now getting notifications that the governor of the state where they were abducted, they have been released. 344 boys who have been kidnapped last friday have been released. this has been released from the governor of the state who says the boys are on their way from the forest to the city at the moment, there will expected in the moment, there will expected in the early hours of the morning and

they said they're in good condition, crucially, no boys have been killed and adding that the video which we have not been playing on the bbc because it's a very distressing was reported to come from the group and it was authentic with regards of the boys but they have been released and they are under way home and a lot of concern after what happened in 2014 with the 300 girls that had been abducted but just to with the 300 girls that had been abducted butjust to confirm, boys kidnapped in nigeria are on their way home. the true level of new coronavirus infections in wales could be twice the figure previously thought. an extra 11 thousand positive cases have emerged because of data that was not originally counted due to computer maintenance. the number of those who've died after contracting the virus has also risen — making coronavirus the biggest cause of deaths in wales for the first time in six months.

our correspondent sian lloyd reports on the struggle to control the spread in wales. christmas plans are changing. more restrictions are looming. people in wales face another lockdown, as covid rates continue to climb. there's concern about the record number of covid patients in welsh hospitals and with 25% of her nursing team currently infected or self—isolating, this hospital consultant feels the pressure daily. you just feel like you're firefighting here, you're running from one sick patient to the next, to the next. you know, it's the staff that are dealing with these patients and have been doing this for nine or ten months now, but they're still there offering themselves on their day off. we may reach a tipping point where that goodwill runs out or where we just have so many people off sick that we just cannot get the staff. the actual number of covid infections in wales is higher than people here thought. a delay in reporting more

than 11,000 positive test result means that the number of cases in the last week was twice as high. public health wales said planned it maintenance work was the reason for the delay and the first minister said he was aware of the issue. this wasn't a computer problem, this was planned upgrading of the computer system. none of the data is missing. everybody who had a positive test was told that in wales last week. the situation is described as serious. today's figures show the covid case rate for wales has jumped to 530 cases per 100,000. the virus is now the biggest cause of deaths here, accounting for more than 21% of all registered deaths. over 27% of all patients in hospital are being treated for coronavirus. people are being placed under new restrictions to try to prevent further cases and deaths here, but families are facing difficult choices. secondary school pupils in england and wales will have a staggered

return to the classroom injanuary. exam—year students will go back as normal after the christmas break but others will start school online. the government says the move will allow head teachers to set up the mass covid testing scheme for schools announced earlier this week. but there are big questions about how testing will be delivered, as our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. a couple of weeks ago, this school was still mainly full. now, all the pupils are learning remotely — the kent coast hit by too many cases. today the news — january will see a gradual return. to threaten schools with the coronavirus act and to park it, to then two days later effectively say, actually, online learning is the important thing and we're going to stagger the return after christmas, to me, itjust shrieks of not clear thinking and, really, not a great deal of understanding of what's happening on the ground.

in the new year, children who are vulnerable, those of key workers, can go back at the start of term. primary schools will be straight back on the first day of term but in secondary schools, only years 11 and 13 will be going straight into their classrooms. all the other year groups will have to learn remotely untiljanuary11th. now, that's exactly the date that was suggested by at least one council, leading some to see this as a massive government climb—down. what we've said all the way through, and we've seen, ever sincejune, we're maximising the number of children in school, and it's so important to get children into school and into the classroom. at every stage, we will take a robust and strong stance to ensure schools are open because as the chief medical office for england said, there's actually... children are best in schools — it's the safest place for them to be.

some parents want greater certainty. testing starts injanuary in england's schools. the army helped try it out. schools are now expected to train volunteers, get parents to give consent for every child. how precisely is that going to work? how is the training going to be done of staff who've never done that before ? how will that be reassuring to parents and what will the role of the army be in all of this? once again, we're left on the back foot with so many questions, so much of a sense of chaos when our young people, their parents, frankly, deserve better. with the term almost over, schools face making new plans over the holidays. although some will welcome this more cautious approach. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. well, let's talk now tojon boyes, principal at the herne bay high school in kent — who you saw in branwen's report. now that you have had a few more

hours to digest this information, because it all came rather abruptly, what is your reaction? are you still we re what is your reaction? are you still were read by is as you work in the report? i think in the first instance, very worried in terms of the logistics for putting testing into place in the speed and the suddenness of all the announcements. over the last two terms, schools have worked extremely hard, tirelessly, demetrio people have received a really good education in very difficult times, and right at the last minute, we received the mass testing announcement on wednesday and then tonight, the staggered returning january, both of which put an inordinate pressure on schools and teachers to try and put everything in place. it is really worrying. what do you make of the way? before we talk about logistics of how you implement all of this, the way that this was announced? it is, for some money, the end of term or the night before the end of term,

the christmas holiday break. quite rightly. it was about an hour before talking to i was reading through the published guidance, and i think it was at 6:25pm tonight the e—mail came in with a bit more detail, it gives us no time at all. it's a big logistic operation to do both. firstly, all of our parents, and we have a big school, our —— they are aware of our return strategy. that is been torn up in the air now. it is turned the school into a covid testing centre. how does your staff feel about the potential for having to carry out these tests? i think it is really important that... these teachers wa nt to important that... these teachers want to teach young people. they did not go to teaching to oversee medical testing. obviously we will do everything to make it work, we

are proud of everything we do. but asa are proud of everything we do. but as a head teacher, i am really disappointed and feel let down, because we're put in the position whereby if it goes wrong, we will be blamed, when greater thought, greater planning and support could potentially have made testing beneficial for schools. when it comes to the staying online for children, the secondary school pupils who are not doing exams, come january, upon their return, i know during lockdown, for my kids, the teachers were working incredibly ha rd to teachers were working incredibly hard to make sure they were able to continue, but it is not the same as being ina continue, but it is not the same as being in a classroom. how do your staff feel about doing that again? absolutely. all teachers want to teach children face—to—face, and there is no doubt school is the best place for young people. at the moment, though, we are in challenging times. where we are in jon boyes

where we are in herne bay, we are one of the highest of the country, and that was pa rt highest of the country, and that was part of the position... last friday, we went online learning this week, which has actually proved usually successful for our students. we have a much more high attendance online, we are lucky, most of our community can we are lucky, most of our community ca n a ccess we are lucky, most of our community can access online learning and access the right learning from teachers, so lots of learning from not being in school is not such a huge issue, but the social support, the interaction and that develop mental side of young people, looking after them, is the one bit that we do miss. that's an interesting point, actually. jon, we wish you all the best and your students as well. jon boyes, the principal at herne bay in kent. as always, you can go to our website

to find out more about the tier you are in. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. the focus of the heavy rain is south wales. flooding, travel disruptions likely in the hills of south wales. could be 100 mm orfour inches of rain. that winter weather pushing into the southwest of england, threatening some flooding. the heavy rain across wales, parts of the midlands and into northern ireland, it would just eat what is today in the scotland. not too much rate for east anglia on the southeast, but for all areas, friday will be a when your day and we are likely to have gales in the southwest of the uk as well and because it is a southerly wind, we've unusually mild air for the time of year.

hello, welcome. you're watching bbc news. i'm kasia madera. the headlines: millions more people in england will be living under the toughest restrictions from saturday, in a bid to slow down the spread of coronavirus. i regret having to take the action that we have to take. i deem it necessary and there's a strong view right across government that these actions are necessary, but i also plead that personal responsibility is absolutely essential to how we as a society should respond to this pandemic. thousands of secondary school children across england will have their return to school staggered, after the christmas break due to coronavirus concerns. in northern ireland, a new six—week lockdown will start on boxing day. the latest in the brexit

negotiations — borisjohnson says the talks are in a serious situation and the president of the eu commission says big differences remain. and coming up, the west end performers staging virtual christmas concerts in care homes. more on our top story — and 38 million people will be living under the tightest coronavirus restrictions in england from this weekend, after the government agreed to move more areas into the tier 3 alert level. the health secretary, matt hancock, told mps large parts of the east and south—east of england would be subject to the toughest rules, although restrictions are set to be eased in bristol, north somerset and herefordshire. one of the areas heading into tier 3 is portsmouth. from there, briony leyland reports. the panto at the kings theatre in southsea has been doing well, finding humour in strange times. contestants, shake hands! no, no, no, no, i haven't hand sanitised! let's tap toes.

but when portsmouth enters tier 3 on saturday, the show must stop — devastating news for the cast and for the businesses close by, like this restaurant popular with theatregoers. it will now only be able to offer takeaway. obviously, it's difficult news. it's been a very difficult year in generalfor everyone, especially in the hospitality industry as well. my personal reaction... you've just got to keep going. you've got to keep going. you've got to ride this wave, keep going through with it and see what happens on the other side. portsmouth‘s council leader says the council wasn't consulted about the tier change but says it hasn't come as a surprise. our rates have been going up. they're still lower than some other areas, but my understanding is that there are big problems at 0a hospital in portsmouth and we have to do what we can to make sure that we protect 0a, to make sure that they don't get completely overwhelmed with people over christmas and the new year. gosport is now also in tier 3.

its mp, caroline dinenage, said it was very disappointed but noted gosport‘s growing rate of infections and highlighted capacity problems at the queen alexandra hospital. the hospital says it's providing safe care but is under increasing pressure. though nonessential shops can remain open in all tiers, the advices only to travel into a tier 3 area if necessary, so destination shopping like gunwharf quays may suffer. it's quite sad, really, because it means that we can't come from the area that we are to come shopping here. if we need to, we need to, don't we, you know? we'll have to follow the rules. i think we've all got to be very sensible. and thank god we've got the nhs to keep us going. back at the panto, they're fitting in an extra show tomorrow and working on sharing a virtual experience after that — finding ways to soldier on. briony leyland, bbc south today, portsmouth. the situation in portsmouth.

peterborough will find itself in tier 3. from there, we'rejoined by angela ennis, who runs the queen's head pub in peterborough. let's get your reaction initially, angela, to waking up over the weekend and find yourself in tier 3. it was a shock, i am not going to lie. it is not something we were fully expecting, watching the numbers rise, but it is a blow to the industry, we're disappointing. in practical terms, will happen to the queen's head, to the customers there and the staff as well? the queen's head is going to shut completely, we are not going to do ta ke completely, we are not going to do take away. we have made the decision that it take away. we have made the decision thatitis take away. we have made the decision that it is better to stay home, stay safe and get out of this as fast as we can. the staff are fortunate they've been put on furlough and we will be ready and raring to go and we are able to open up again. how on earth do you plan for sunday like this? iam earth do you plan for sunday like this? i am assuming while you are into three, you were open and running relatively normally? while

we have been in the church restrictions, we have been open as normal. the new government guidance regarding substantial meal came into play. we serve food already here anyway, so we did not have that issue a lot of people did come as we've just been business as usual on reduced hours. ic, and when it comes to all of the stock, the you bought m, to all of the stock, the you bought in, the beer, what happens to all of that? -- in, the beer, what happens to all of that? —— the food. in, the beer, what happens to all of that? -- the food. we have had in the back of our minds, since that first lockdown in march, when every thing went terribly wrong and waited for that beer away, we had that in the back of our minds, so we've been very careful not over ordering, making sure our stock levels are as low as possible to reduce waste, and i'm part of a chain, low as possible to reduce waste, and i'm part ofa chain, so low as possible to reduce waste, and i'm part of a chain, so there are sites still open, so i am fortunate enough to pass things along i am not going to use. ic, so you're not one

of those pubs that has been bubbling the end selling it off —— i see. of those pubs that has been bubbling the end selling it off -- i see. not having to do that at the moment. and what is morale like in your staff. they enjoy what they do, and must be getting for them. they do, it is a lovely tea m getting for them. they do, it is a lovely team here, and it is disappointing for all of them because they love working. this time of year, and hospitality, we enjoy the seeing people have fun with theirfamilies, we the seeing people have fun with their families, we are the seeing people have fun with theirfamilies, we are missing out on that this year. morale has been up on that this year. morale has been up and down, but once we are allowed to reopen, we will be back at it. any further out area is parts of cambridge or outside. that still remains in tier2, cambridge or outside. that still remains in tier 2, where as where you are, peterborough, is tier 3. how does that make you feel, let's ask you? it is disheartening and

disappointing, but let's face it, we are here to make sure everybody is safe and try and come out of this pandemic as quickly as we can, and if it means closing for a couple of weeks, iam prepared if it means closing for a couple of weeks, i am prepared to do that and my staff are prepared to do that and i think the general public in peterborough are prepared to do that. and you were talking about you we re that. and you were talking about you were watching the numbers, so ultimately you were not overly surprised. do you agree with the decision? yes, i thinki do, surprised. do you agree with the decision? yes, ithinki do, ithink the numbers don't lie, and when peterborough is sitting i believe at higher numbers than some of london, who were put into tier 3 yesterday, it is only fair and i think it is... the science speaks for itself. 0k, well, on that note we are going to leave it and we wish you and the staff and locals at the queen's head the best of luck. angela ennis, thank you forjoining us.

we saw mayeni jones pop up, we are going to her. hundreds of schoolboys, kidnapped last friday in northern nigeria, have been released. the governor of katsina state says the 344 children are on their way back from the forest, where they were being held by suspected boko haram militants. let's speak to our nigeria correspondent mayeni jones. bring us up—to—date. my goodness, what a relief. it has been a very eventful, emotional day for the families of these boys. just a few hours ago, we had a video purportedly from boko haram showing these children in a forest. they looked disheveled, it was a very distressing video. just a few hours later, katsina states government says they have secured their release and they will be united with their families. obviously, this is coming after six long days since they were taken from their boarding school in katsina state, it is still unclear

who kidnapped them, boko haram have claimed responsibility for the attack, although the state government says that it was rather local gangs with some connection to boko haram who carried out the attack. regardless, i'm sure this will be great news for their pa rents, will be great news for their parents, some of whom have been going to the school daily to find out what had happened to them. going to the school daily to find out what had happened to themlj going to the school daily to find out what had happened to them. i can only imagine the pain felt by the pa rents. only imagine the pain felt by the parents. 344 only imagine the pain felt by the pa rents. 344 boys only imagine the pain felt by the parents. 344 boys — is that all of them? are they all accounted for? that is what has always been very tricky with this kidnapping. the state authorities, up until yesterday when we spoke to the state governor, were not clear on how many boys exec had been abducted. they said some of the boys during the attack fled into neighbouring countryside and others were abducted. the state governor said he believed between 320 and 400 boys we re believed between 320 and 400 boys were missing, so we have never had an accurate figure as to how many boys were abducted by these criminals. crucially, the media

adviser to the governor of katsina state said no boys had been killed, which is different to what we heard earlier on. yes, so in the video, allegedly from boko haram, young boy seenin allegedly from boko haram, young boy seen in the foreground said that some of his peers had been killed in air strikes and were presumed air strikes by the government. all of this is part of some sort of war propaganda between boko haram and the government can both find to direct the narrative of what is happening to these boys. i'm sure pa rents happening to these boys. i'm sure parents and the nigerian public in general will feel more relieved when they see pictures of katsina city in they see pictures of katsina city in the morning. how long will that be? according to the katsina state government, the boys are currently on their way from the forest. obviously is quite a long walk and they have been trolled already, but they have been trolled already, but they say that should they should be in the state capital in the next few

hours. mayeni jones, it is in the state capital in the next few hours. mayenijones, it is so good to have some good news and i know you will be monitoring their return for us. we will continue to monitor that and as we get those images, we will bring them to you. the headlines on bbc news... millions more people in england will be living under the toughest restrictions from saturday, in a bid to slow down the spread of coronavirus. thousands of secondary school children across england will have their return to school staggered after the christmas break in northern ireland, a new six—week lockdown starting on boxing day has been agreed by politicians. authorities in the united states are believed to be close to filing charges against a former libyan intelligence officer, in connection with the bombing of panam flight 103 over lockerbie in 1988. it's understood abu agila mohammad masud is suspected of making the bomb that brought down the plane, killing 270 people. our security correspondent

frank gardner reports. the lockerbie bombing was the worst terrorist attack in british history. 259 people were killed when a bomb exploded on board pan am flight 103 as it flew over the scottish town of lockerbie in 1988. a further 11 people died when it crashed to the ground. the bombing was blamed on colonel gaddafi's regime in libya and after a subsequent trial, only one person has ever been convicted — abdelbaset al—megrahi. he was eventually released back to libya and died protesting his innocence. now, further investigations by a victim's brother has focused attention on a new suspect. he's abu agila masud, seen here in a libyanjail, serving time for other offences. a former intelligence officer, he is believed to be the bomb maker

who fitted the timer to the device. the us wants him extradited for trial. but not everyone believes lockerbie was the work of libya. jim swire lost his daughter flora in the bombing and has campaigned for answers ever since. i don't feel confident that the material that was provided to indicate that the bomb had come from the hand of a libyan in malta was correct. i cannot bring myself to feel that the evidence we've heard so far does in fact point us towards the truth. libya's late ruler colonel gaddafi was certainly desperate to get sanctions lifted 20 years ago. to do that, he reluctantly accepted the charges and paid compensation to the victims‘ families. today, 32 years after the tragedy of lockerbie, it appears some details are still being uncovered and the mysterious case of the new suspect may yet pose more unanswered questions. frank gardner, bbc news.

millions of people in the uk missed out on potentially life—saving scans when the nhs cancelled nonessential hospital appointments in the first few months of the pandemic. analysis by the bbc shows that, in england alone, at least 4.4 million fewer scans were carried out between april and september, compared with the same period in 2019. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. sherwin hall is one of those caught up in the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the 27—year—old first went to hospital with leg pains in march, just as the crisis was growing, but it took 13 more visits until a scan at the end of may revealed cancer. his death was announced earlier this week, and his wife, latroya, says more should have been done. everything was overrun and tired. nobody was paying attention to him, and it's literally cost him his

life, and no one can... it's not right you should be able to turn around and just be, like, i'm sorry now. the government needs to take accountability for what's happened. it's cost my husband his life, it's caused my eight—month—old child not to have a father any more. and it's caused me not to have my husband. as the pandemic grew in the early spring and the health service was at risk of being overwhelmed, hospitals across the uk were told cancel non—essential appointments. that included some diagnostic scans used to detect cancer. the impact has been dramatic. in england, at least 4.4 million fewer scans were carried out between april and september this year, compared to the same period last year. the backlog created means one in seven people are now waiting more than three months for a scan. but doctors say the crisis has only highlighted existing shortages in staff and equipment. because of our capacity issues, because of our workforce issues, we can't get through the work

as fast as we'd like. the covid pandemic has exacerbated that problem, and i think it's probably true there are people with cancers, and one has to remember other serious conditions, which might present a bit later than we would want. nhs england says some services are now back to the levels seen before the pandemic, and the message to patients is come forward and seek care if you're worried. dominic hughes, bbc news. theatres would normally be bursting with life at this time of the year, but the pandemic has forced many to close their doors. now, a group of out—of—work west end performers have found a new use for their skills this christmas, putting on virtual concerts for care homes across the uk. and fittingly, the premiere has been held in a home for retired singers and actors. fiona lamdin has more. # snow is falling # all around me # children playing... #

these actors would normally be centre stage in the west end. steph parry has starred in 42nd street, billy elliot and mamma mia! but lockdown has changed everything. so i left the theatre in march. i left my dressing room kind of ready to come back a few days later and carry on the show. and that was eight months ago. the last eight months have been different. they've been barren. and with many theatres still closed, rehearsals like these are rare. it's been the hardest year of my life. i've seen my whole industry decimated. i've been on the phone to, from actors to producers to lighting designers, who simply cannot pay their mortgage, erm, people worrying about their families. so this is your first time back in a rehearsalfor nine months. what's it like?

eerily familiar to hear young performers, seasoned professionals, just singing together for the first time. it really did feel a bit like coming home. # time for parties and celebrations # people dancing all night long... # and these stars are now using their talents to create a christmas concert for every care home across the country. # time for singing christmas songs... # this is particularly close to my heart because we lost my nan this year. she was in a care home and obviously towards the end we weren't able to go and see her. # rudolph the red—nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose... # i've seen what impact music can have on people living in homes with alzheimer's and dementia. # chestnuts roasting on an open fire... # and where better to preview it than at brinsworth house, a nursing home for those who've served in the

entertainment industry? she sings rosario and josephine were both performers. and now i sing in my dressing room or my bedroom, along the corridor and in the loo. i couldn't sing the carols because i don't sing carols in english. i only sing carols in spain. i do enjoy watching good shows done by great people. it feels like the most christmassy thing i've ever done in my career. we can do something good for somebody else. and how christmassy is that? # we wish you a merry christmas # and a happy new year. # fiona lamdin, bbc news. just how fabulous, singing in the

loo. i love that, i am going to take that idea. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. earlier on today, we had a refreshed pay from this wet and windy theme, but we have seen the cloud increasing, thickening up, moving in very rapidly from the atlantic. it brought rain in some places. these weather fronts will take the rain across northern ireland, scotland and push it further into england and wales. for a while, that rain could be heavy as well. it will eventually push down towards the southeast of england, other areas away from here becoming drier later on in the night. but there is a lot of cloud around, and it's quite blowy out there as well. so it's going to be very mild to start friday, with temperatures in double figures. but more rain to come on friday, and the focus of the heavier rain is now across south wales with this amber rain warning from the met office. flooding and travel disruption is likely — there could be as much as 100 mm of rain.

four inches of rain in the hills. not only wet here, but we will find the threat of flooding rains in the southwest of england. that heavier rain moves across wales, northern ireland, and it gets much wetter through the day in scotland. probably not too much rain for east anglia and the southeast, but all areas will have a windier day. gales are likely in the southwest, but because it's southerly wind, it is unusually mild for this time of year. temperatures hitting 13—14 celsius. the rain and potential flooding is the story, and that rain continues in the same sort of areas during friday evening before pushing into eastern england during friday night, to be followed by this area of low pressure. now, the very mild air and the more persistent rain will move away by the weekend, but we draw in slightly cooler air coming in from the atlantic around that area of low pressure. so, temperatures are going to drop away through this weekend, and essentially, we're left with a mixture of sunshine and scattered showers. now, on saturday, the bulk

of the showers will be across western parts of scotland, wales, and western england. there will be a few showers around elsewhere, perhaps, but probably more in the way of sunshine. temperatures still in double figures on saturday — not quite as mild as friday, and the winds will still be strong, as well. it stays quite windy, actually, right the way through the weekend. there's more showers in the same sort of areas, perhaps some longer spells of rain in the northwest of scotland. again, more sheltered eastern areas missing the bulk of those showers with more in the way of sunshine. but on sunday, it will be a little bit cooler than on saturday. 00:58:32,150 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 branwen jeffreys, bbc news.