tonight at ten... hospitals across the south east of england begin cancelling nonurgent surgery is the number of covid patients continue to climb. some hospitals now have more coronavirus patients than they did in the spring. we are now at a really dangerous point where we could tip into finding it incredibly difficult to manage. tonight, downing street sources have said there is fresh concern about the new variant of covid — amid fears that it's making the virus harder to contain. also tonight... mass testing for millions of school pupils in england at the start of next term is undeliverable, say head teachers and unions. the chief constable of greater manchester stands down after the force — england's second largest — is placed into special measures. ramping up government funding for

britain's olympic skateboarders — as money for sports like rowing and swimming takes a dive. six. five. four of us. by myself, so one. and how many will be around your christmas table next week? we ask if people are changing their plans. coming up in sport on bbc news, callum smith towers over saul canelo alvarez as the two fighters go head—to—head at their weigh—in ahead of their world title bout in texas this weekend. good evening. hospitals across the south east of england have begun cancelling non—urgent operations, with some struggling to cope with double the number of covid patients than they had in the spring. it comes as government sources confirmed tonight that there is concern about the new variant of covid—19, amid fears it could be making the virus more infectious and harder to contain. today, the prime minister said

he was hoping to avoid a third national lockdown in england, but acknowledged that rates of infection had increased very much over recent weeks. new data suggests the uk's r number — or reproduction rate of coronavirus — is on the rise again. last week, it was thought to be between 0.9 and 1.0. it is now estimated to be between1.1 and 1.2. anything above one means the virus is growing. here's our health editor, hugh pym. routine operations were going ahead at this hospital in the south of england today, but increasingly nhs managers across the system are having to consider postponements. more covid patients are coming in and it is more of a challenge to find enough beds. that's causing problems in a&e as well. we are now at a really dangerous point, where we could tip into finding it incredibly difficult to manage. now we have got crowded departments

with covid as the additional burden, which is a really scary and challenging place to be. and you can see this, as we are increasingly getting ambulances queueing outside departments. one covid patient at this hospital has made a plea for families to think very hard before travelling at christmas. he thinks his teenage son may have unwittingly passed on the virus. if you saw the look on my son was might face when i was fighting for my breath, you would not want to send these children all over the country to see their family. the prime minister, on a visit to the north—west, did not rule out the possibility of england following northern ireland and wales into a post—christmas lockdown. obviously, we are hoping very much we will be able to avoid anything like that, but the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks. here where i am in the north west, in bolton, they have actually done

a fantasticjob in bringing it down. and the data shows that case numbers are rising in most, but not all, parts of the uk. the latest survey of community infections by the office for national statistics suggests that in england, one in 95 people had the virus last week, with an increase in case rates, notably in london, the south east, the east and the east midlands. there were declines in other areas. in wales, with one in 90, and scotland, with one in 100, there were also increases. in northern ireland, one in 215 had the virus, with case rates no longer decreasing. inevitably some of those infected will become seriously ill and need hospital treatment and that is what is putting pressure on the nhs front line. there have been warnings today about the impact on staff. people are still traumatised and fatigued, not only from physical tiredness but the psychological

impact of dealing with covid. working in very different ways to usual. now we are looking down the barrel of what looks like a third wave, so, you know, we are very concerned, and the impact of five days over christmas is something we are very concerned about as well. many hospitals across the south—east are under increasing strain. nhs leaders in kent say they will cancel nonurgent operations because of the increasing covid patient numbers and in other areas they need to be ready for a possible surge into the uk. —— into the new year. the latest government figures on coronavirus show there were 28,507 new cases in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 23,959. the number of people being admitted to hospital is rising too — 1,707 on average each day between now and last sunday. 489 deaths were reported

for the last 2a hours — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week there were 434 deaths per day. the total number of uk deaths is now 66,541. our health editor hugh pym is here. tell us more about the concerns that are surrounding this new variant of covid—19? are surrounding this new variant of covid-19? we learnt on monday about this new variant, matt hancock, the health secretary for england, announcing it in the house of commons and saying it might be a factor in the speed of transmission of the virus, particularly in the south—east of england, though it wasn't clear at that stage. now, what's emerged tonight is that there are still concerns about it possibly growing concerns about whether it's a factor in how fast the virus is spreading. there it has to be said that scientists, public health england, are still looking at the

science behind it to know whether it really is a matter of concern, or just another mutation which should be expected. but clearly there are worries about the state of the nhs in all parts of the uk, in the south—east of england, as we have been hearing, some hospital spoke postponing routine work now, the same in south wales. one health board announcing it was stopping some nonurgent work. and crucially, moving staff into the front line to deal with covid patients in these hospitals. now, you get this sort of thing sometimes in january, hospitals. now, you get this sort of thing sometimes injanuary, in the winter, when you have a cold snap and you've got flu. things have to be postponed because of front line pressures . be postponed because of front line pressures. but it's very unusual to get it at this stage, in the middle of december, when there isn't any flu or cold weather, so the worry is what happens after christmas with more mixing of household, more cases, and a lot more pressure into january just when the cases, and a lot more pressure into januaryjust when the nhs is most easy. hugh pym, thank you will

northern ireland will begin a strict six—week lockdown from boxing day. similar measures will come into force in wales on the 28th of december. coronavirus cases per head in northern ireland are lower than in the rest of the uk, but scientific advisers fear the hospitals will be overwhelmed if drastic action isn't taken now. from belfast, here's our ireland correspondent, emma va rdy. as the end of 2020 beckons, the new year will see northern ireland under its tightest regulations yet. in the first of six weeks of lockdown, a curfew — people won't be allowed to leave their homes between eight o'clock at night and six in the morning. this time, there will be tighter rules on exactly which shops are deemed essential, and no click and collect services from others, which has disappointed some small businesses who'd been managing to sustain themselves this way. from my perspective, if you're going to click and collect from me, it's a far safer environment with less contact than what it is in the likes of the large supermarkets or in takeaways. to me, that's common sense. restaurants had only

opened back up a week ago. the first lockdown, we took it on the chin. the second lockdown, was, i would say took ten times more out of both myself and the three chefs than the first one. i dread to think what the third one is going to do. ministers admit the measures are draconian, but it's come about after unprecedented scenes in the health service. seven of northern ireland's 12 hospitals are operating beyond capacity, and this week, saw queues of ambulances, and patients treated in car parks. today, northern ireland's health minister warned the new lockdown will be strictly enforced. there will be a greater presence, i think, of police on the roads to make sure that everybody is observing that requirement and that we try to get as many people as possible to stay at home over this so that we can break those chains of infection, so we can get on top of this virus. belfast‘s colourful festive season was already cut short, but now it's been curtailed further.

the decision was made in the face of mounting evidence that allowing households to mix over the holidays would lead to spiralling cases of the virus in january. those bubbling arrangements will still go ahead for families to enjoy a merry christmas. but it will be followed by a much quieter new year. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. the government's plans to test millions of school pupils in england when they return injanuary is undeliverable — that's according to teaching unions, school governors, the church of england and colleges. ministers announced the plans yesterday, along with a staggered return to the classroom. but schools says it will be impossible to recruit and train the thousands of people needed to carry out tests in the next two weeks. our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. think about what's gone well, first of all, this term. the last lessons before christmas, but not all pupils will be back at the start of term. well, we made it. can you believe where

we started back in september? doing his best to be cheerful in assembly, but the head expects to work through christmas on testing. i feel absolutely physically and emotionally exhausted after what has definitely been the toughest term ever in 20 years in teaching. when i heard this news two days ago, i actually felt rather broken, because i just thought, how are we going to get all of this done in the time frames that we've been given? it just feels overwhelming. to set up school testing means finding a large, well—ventilated room. separate swabbing and processing areas. staff to test, process, record and clean. these could be volunteers or agency staff. online training before testing starts. and getting consent from parents. it's a massive logistical exercise. we are testing, as i said, 5.5 million secondary school students.

this is a very good news story. it's all about making sure we can keep the schools open. this afternoon, the government was warned it might not be possible. school governors, teaching unions, the church of england and colleges, all saying this is rushed and chaotic, and telling schools that if they can't manage it, they don't have to have testing in place for the beginning of term. parents now face some teenagers being at home, not in school, when term starts. it was sprung on us yesterday, so it's childcare in the new year if both of them go back, or if only one of them goes back. we don't know yet. goodbye, chaps. happy christmas. term is over, but not for all teachers. government advice on testing is due to arrive just before christmas. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the government's furlough scheme has

kept millions of people in work. but there are concerns the system could be open to fraud. there have been almost 20,000 reports from the public about abuse of the system. the government says it won't tolerate people trying to defraud the taxpayer and says it has prevented thousands of attempts. but there are fears that billions of pounds of taxpayers' money has already been lost because of fraud and errors, as angus crawford reports. as the country shut down, furlough came to the rescue. the scheme has now paid the wages of 9.9 million workers at a cost of £46 billion. it is hideous, and i think about it now, and i still get upset. but some companies claimed the money and then forced staff, who were meant to be at home, back to work, meaning the firms were committing fraud. workers like john, sacked when he complained. we're all in this together, everyone's suffering. but it was the companies taking large sums of money out there were the winners, you know.

the losers are all of us that are having to pay the tax back, and they have just lost theirjobs. butjohn‘s is not an isolated case. leicester, home to the uk's clothing industry. behind these windows, scores of small manufacturers. it was an open secret here during the first national lockdown that many factories were still turning out clothes, but what we now know is that some of them were also claiming money from the government furlough scheme. in fact, an audit of 44 manufacturers found that 37 were breaking the furlough scheme rules. but not this company. it follows the rules, pays workers fairly, but its owner knows many of his rivals have been using furlough money to undercut him and boost their profits. i'd say it's a bombshell, at the end of the day. it's something big. it needs to be looked at. the bottom line is from

the taxpayer, and you're taking money away from people that really need it. it's there for a purpose. it's not there to be... it's not an atm machine! so the doors came down? yeah, yeah, yeah. one former worker at a different factory stops us to talk, but doesn't want to be identified. they stayed and worked? and the money from the government? that went into the boss' pocket? this isn't just a problem in leicester. the government spending watchdog says furlough fraud and mistakes could cost the taxpayer more than £4 billion. john, now back at work, warns about the true cost of furlough. it's billions of pounds. that's going to have to come back from somewhere, and it's coming back from taxes. it's ugly. it's an ugly part of our history.

angus crawford, bbc news. it's thought around 200,000 people in the uk suffer with so—called long covid. that's persistent health problems — up to three months — after getting infected, which can include a wide variety of symptoms affecting all parts of the body. today, new guidelines for doctors on how to diagnose and treat long covid have been published, which stress the need for more research into this emerging problem. our medical editor research into this emerging problem. natalie has worked as a front line doctor during several deadly epidemics, including ebola in africa. but it's covid which has left its mark on her. just over a year ago i biked up the hill, and now, now i can't even get on a bike. the 38—year—old was never admitted to hospital, but now has long covid, and is so physically weak she can't go to work. i was fit, i was active, i could run, i could walk any

distance i wanted to really, and now, i can walk 200 metres. i've asked my contractor to put a bannister on my stairs because i can't get up to the top of my stairs sometimes. so you're fitting out your home for someone with disabilities? at my age, yes. i thought this is what i would be doing, when i was, you know, in my 70s or 805. mri scans have revealed damage to nathalie's spinal cord. you ok, nathalie? butjust how a covid infection has done this is not fully understood. uclh trust in london has opened a long covid clinic for patients with neurological problems. they come from all over the uk, with a wide variety of symptoms. they may complain of fatigue or dizziness, light—headedness, palpitations or a fast heart rate. sometimes patients complain of pins and needles or numbness.

they often describe memory problems, so they may have difficulty focussing or concentrating. they may have difficulty remembering words, or getting words out. there i was, ten weeks ago, i couldn't get out of bed. eli, who is 54, has lost nearly all his strength. covid has affected his memory, brain function, even his vision. but after enduring five months in hospital, and being so close to death, he feels fortunate. i call myself the miracle boy. i've been through something which i've survived. i survived by a very thin line. god flicked the switch and decided, 0k, give him another chance, he's got something do in this world, come back. what about those legs? how fatigued do they feel? one in ten people with covid still has lingering symptoms after 12 weeks. most make a gradual recovery. nathalie says the disease won't hold her back and she is determined

to see patients face to face once more. fergus walsh, bbc news. borisjohnson says things are looking difficult in the talks about a trade deal to take effect once the brexit transition period ends on the 31st december. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has said both sides are at "a moment of truth", with just a few hours left. the uk and eu are trying to resolve a few remaining issues, including fishing rights. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. trade talks between the eu and the uk have had great difficulty in moving forward. and, as the latest catch of crustaceans is landed in hull, fishing fleets want the government to get a better deal for them. the industry accounts for little more than 0.1% of the uk economy, but the issue of fishing rights is proving to be a pinch point in the negotiations.

slide it into the oven. a deal certainly isn't ready. the prime minister was meeting apprentice engineers in the communications industry today. lift it. he said if the talks weren't going to go even closer to the wire, the eu had to move. things are looking difficult, and there's a gap that needs to be breached. the uk, we've done a lot, i think, to try and help, and we hope that our eu friends will see sense and come to the table with something themselves. also ramping up the rhetoric, the eu's chief negotiator emphasised to the european parliament that time was running out. translation: we are at the moment of truth. there is very little time remaining, just a few hours to work through these negotiations if we want this agreement to enter into force on the 1st of january. the chance of an agreement is there, but i believe the path is very narrow. the question of fishing rights goes

to the heart of the brexit promise, to take back control. in this case, of our coastal waters. there is also haggling over exactly when that control will be exercised. the eu wants to see any changes phased in over an eight—year period. the uk is offering three. so the two sides are still oceans apart, and the eu is emphasising that the unity of its member states matters far more than a trade deal with the united kingdom. the ratcheting up of the rhetoric affects more than just the fishing industry. this company's three uk factories supply car and van manufacturers in the eu. and uncertainty over trade is already exacting a price. we've already noticed customers who have not asked us to quote for new work. what i fear is a very quiet january as people either still wait for an agreement, or try to work out what an agreement in action means. uk sources say there has been some

movement from the eu on fishing, but nowhere near enough. talks resume tomorrow, but landing a deal remains difficult. iain watson, bbc news. scotland's public health minister joe fitzpatrick has resigned from the scottish government after the country recorded its highest ever number of drug deaths. figures released this week showed that scotland again had the worst drug death rate in europe — with over 1,200 people dying last year. the chief constable of greater manchester police, the second biggest force in england, has resigned after it was put into special measures. a watchdog had found that the force failed to record 80,000 crimes in the year tojune, closing cases prematurely without proper investigation. in his resignation statement, ian hopkins said he was standing down with immediate effect. our correspondent judith moritz is in salford.

yes, greater manchester police was ordered to introduce an improvement plan after it emerged that officers had failed to record an average of 220 crimes per day. inspectors said their findings 220 crimes per day. inspectors said theirfindings were 220 crimes per day. inspectors said their findings were deeply troubling. the force was put into special measures, and there has been particular concern for victims of domestic abuse whose cases are thought to have been closed prematurely. the chief constable, ian hopkins, on wednesday said that he was going on sick leave because he's been suffering from a debilitating inner ear infection, but tonight he suddenly announced that he is going for good with immediate effect. he said that he had not taken the decision lightly, but that he had done it out of consideration for what's best for gmp, and also because he feels that the improvement plan should be led bya the improvement plan should be led by a chief officer who can oversee it from start to end. but all of this has been enveloped as well buy

something of a political row. after the damning inspection report, the mpfor the damning inspection report, the mp for bolton west, chris green, called for andy burnham to resign. as mayor of greater manchester, mr burnham has oversight of the police, but he said he wouldn't resign and that hisjob of but he said he wouldn't resign and that his job of holding the force to account has been made more difficult because of a culture of overly defensive behaviour inside the force. now, tonight, a spokesman for the secretary said andy burnham has thrown a senior officer under the bus to save his own skin, and amongst all of that mud—slinging meanwhile, the force is under pressure to make improvements and make them quickly, because with the support of external organisations including the home office and the couege including the home office and the college of policing, it has to get things in order, it will be re—inspected again in six months‘ time. greater manchester judith moritz, thank you. let‘s take a look at some

of today‘s other news. hundreds of schoolboys are being reunited with their families, a week after they were abducted from their school in northern nigeria. government officials said all 344 of those who were kidnapped were freed and that local bandits were responsible — despite claims from the islamist militant group boko haram. the us vice president mike pence has received a coronavirus vaccine live on television, as part of a drive to reassure americans that the vaccines are safe. the president—elect, joe biden, has announced that he will receive the vaccine on monday. sony has removed one of the most eagerly anticipated video games of the year from its playstation store, just days after its release. customers complained that cyberpunk 2077 — which broke sales records with more than eight million pre—orders — was riddled with technical glitches. microsoft has said it will also offer refunds to xbox players. some of britain‘s most successful olympic sports are set to lose millions of pounds in support in a major shake—up of how they are funded by the government.

swimming and rowing are among those taking a hit, whilst sports new to the olympics — such as skateboarding and climbing — willallgainfunding. here‘s our sports editor, dan roan. commentator: it's gold for laura trott and for great britain! for two decades, team gb‘s established itself as an olympic and pa ralympic powerhouse, but amid mounting concern that medals were all that mattered, today came an apparent shift, with a wider range of sports funded, and an emphasis on winning in the right way. there's a chance that some of the medals will be affected, but we still believe actually the efficiency is made, we will still be able to deliver great results. because this system is still about winning, it really is still about great success. how that success is delivered is important. we'll have more sports, and we'll have every sport doing it better. among the winners in today‘s funding plan was basketball, given more than £1 million after previous cuts despite its popularity. new olympic additions like climbing and surfing among 43 sports also given support. skateboarding will also feature

for the first time in tokyo, and is another rewarded for its potential to increase participation and reach young audiences. today at this renowned skate park in salford, the man entrusted with growing the sport told me it was a major boost. for us, that's an absolute game—changer for skateboarding, because it means that we can build the foundations to create a talent and world class performance programme. the other thing that it does is it enables us tojust give the gift of skateboarding to more people, which for us is phenomenal. but some of britain‘s most successful sports were handed cuts to their budgets for paris 2024, with canoeing facing a £4 million drop to 12 million. rowing, one of the best funded sports, losing £2.4 million, and swimming also down more than 2 million. another traditional sport, modern pentathlon, said it was disappointed by a 20% cut, and will appeal. it is a massive cut. trying to invest in and help those future athletes is going to be that much more difficult, and it‘s going to be really challenging to support everyone for the next cycle. today marks a departure from uk

sport‘s so—called no compromise approach that‘s brought great medal success, but which has also been blamed for recent athlete welfare scandals. the hope is that by investing in sports like this, a team can be created that is more reflective of modern britain. amid financial uncertainty, olympic and paralympic athletes were today assured that their funding for next year‘s games was secure, but with just seven months to go until tokyo, the focus seems to be on more than just medals. dan roan, bbc news. there‘s just a week to go until christmas day. despite the rising number of covid infections, up to three households are being allowed to mix in england, scotland and northern ireland, with slightly tighter rules in wales. around half the population is planning to form a bubble with friends or relatives for christmas — according to research by the office for national statistics. our home editor mark easton has been talking to people from all walks

of life about their plans, and whether they‘re now thinking of changing them. ‘tis the season to be jolly careful, says the prime minister. so how will britons celebrate christmas in this strangest of years? and what‘s people‘s reaction to the decision to relax the regulations on festive get—togethers just as the pandemic threatens to overwhelm parts of the nhs? with the help of analysts britain thinks, we‘ve assembled a focus group of people across the uk. well, season‘s greetings to you all. i‘m interested to know how your christmas plans have changed, and specifically, how many people will you be sitting down with at christmas dinner? there will be seven. there will be six of us. six. five. four of us. by myself, so one. i work in the nhs, so i don‘t really want to put anybody at risk, so for that pure reason, i‘ve decided that i want to spend christmas alone. that‘s very noble, i have to say. this year, there willjust be

the two of us, and there's no point in getting a turkey for two, so we'll probablyjust have chicken. we are actually planning to have our christmas dinner outside, hoping that it doesn't rain. what, in the garden?! yes, so, our plan is to have two little tables outside, distanced, and have lots of blankets and maybe a little fire. what do you all think about the government‘s plans to relax the restrictions so that family and friends can come together, albeit with this warning to be especially careful? i don‘t think it‘s a good thing. i think we will pay the price for it come january. natalie, you are nodding, i can see. i think they should have just left it down on lockdown through the whole of the christmas period, and then start up, like, 2021, a fresh year. if there had been a lockdown christmas, people would have just said, "no, to hell with it, it's christmas." at least this way, there's guidance.