this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. millions in england and wales are told to stay at home, as tough new coronavirus restrictions come into force. we do not know how long these measures will be placed. it may be for some time, until we can get the vaccine going. similar restrictions will follow in scotland — swathes of the country will be placed under the toughest restrictions from boxing day. last night's tier 4 announcement prompted a rush to london's stations — footage on social media shows large crowds trying to board trains — the transport secretary says extra police officers will be deployed to enforce the rules it makes me want to cry, as i'm sure listening to it will make many of you want to cry. because i know how harsh this sounds. i know how unfair it is,

but this virus is unfair. belgium has reportedly joined the netherlands in banning travel from the uk, as the first case of the new covid variant is detected in continental europe. a uk government source says there will be no post—brexit trade deal between the uk and eu unless there is a "substantial shift" from brussels in the coming days. hello and welcome, if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. millions of people in england and wales are now in tougher lockdown restrictions. at midnight, london and large parts of the east and south east of england were put

into a new category of tier 4 — with an order to stay at home where possible. similar restrictions came into force for all of wales at midnight. plans to relax restrictions over the christmas holiday have now been abandoned for those in the new tier, who can no longer spend any of the festive period with people outside their household. the labour leader keir starmer says borisjohnson's indecision is costing lives and jobs. nick eardley reports. london last night, as some made a last—minute journey before lockdown started. but there won't be the usual christmas getaway this year. significant restrictions are now in place in large parts of england and in the whole of wales. and they are coming in scotland. and for millions, christmas visits will be considerably shortened or cancelled altogether. for lesley nelson, who has terminal cancer, that means she won't be able to spend time with her sister. literally, i just sat in my chair in floods of tears. and messaging my family, you know,

what are we going to do? itjust seems so unfair. for somebody like me, i'm terminally ill, i won't be here next christmas. people can think, 0k, that's all right. we'll celebrate christmas in the summer. i don't know if i'm going to be here in the summer. my sister is going to be sitting at home by herself 100 miles away, and her presents are under the tree. 70 million people in england are back in lockdown. in london, the east and south east of england, people are being urged to stay at home. non—essential shops are closed, plans to allow christmas bubbles have been cancelled. in the rest of england, in scotland and in wales, christmas has been cut back significantly. instead of meeting for five days, christmas bubbles will only be allowed for one — christmas day itself. it is with a very heavy heart,

i must tell you we cannot continue with christmas as planned. in england, those living in tier 4 areas should not mix with anyone outside their own household at christmas. though support bubbles will remain in place for those at particular risk of loneliness or isolation. in wales, lockdown was brought forward and came in at midnight. nicola sturgeon has said nobody should travel to scotland from the rest of the uk, and that she will bring in a lockdown on the mainland from boxing day. it makes you want to cry, as am sure many of you listening to it want to cry, because i know how harsh this sounds. i know how unfair it is, but this virus is unfair. the changes will come as a blow to many. the end of this tough year is going to be no easier, but politicians and scientists believe the risk is just too great. nick eardley, bbc news, westminster. the labour leader has held a press

conference in the last hour, reacting to yesterday's announcement that placed millions of people in london and across the south east in a new higher tier of coronavirus restrictions. sir keir starmer accused the government and prime minister of ineptitude. no one expects the government to get it right all the time, but a government that fails to learn from its mistakes ends up making the same mistakes overand overagain. month after month. week after week. we have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it is too late. oue political correspondent explained why borisjohnson had changed his approach. in his view, the facts have changed after they were presented with evidence on friday afternoon in terms of the impact of this new

variant of coronavirus that was spreading particularly rapidly in london, part of the south—east. that was what borisjohnson was saying, but of course he brought in these new curbs and restrictions have been brought in in scotland and wales just days after he said he did not wa nt to just days after he said he did not want to cancel christmas. he thought that would be inhuman, but these new restrictions are in place and one of the questions will be how long will they be in place for? it is something that has been put to matt hancock this morning. we have to bring in an effective lockdown in large swathes of england because of a new variant strain that has been seen here and in some countries around the world, in order to save lives. and we are saying that we do not know how long of these measures will be in place. it may be for some time,

until we can get the vaccine going. that is not an easy thing to say. these things are not straightforward, and i totally understand how people are frustrated at the situation and disappointed — of course i do. but there is also... but... i willjust finish the answer, thank you. people are feeling cross, frustrated and, in many cases, angry. and the reason that we all have to come together to get through this is because collectively we all face the same enemy. and now, with this new strain, it is a more difficult task than it was. that was the health secretary, and jess, how much criticism is deep government coming under over from its own tory backbenchers who are not happy about the restrictions? yes, there are conservative mps deeply unhappy about the new restrictions, particularly in the sense they want a say over them. there have been suggestions that they might want to see parliament

record and it is on its christmas break, in order to go over these measures. matt hancock has said they will not be a vote untiljanuary, so not for some time yet. something he also said this morning, and i think he has tried to make the ardent they have to act because they think the virus is out of control. he suggested that on this —— this morning. it is interesting that we are hearing that these new restrictions could last for some time, until potentially be vaccine arrives in large numbers. it is already being deployed at the moment, but later next year, earlier in the year around easter time, potentially, when lots of people will have been vaccinated, over 65 is and vulnerable people. the suggestion is the restrictions could be with us for some time yet. briefly, interesting that many papers are talking about boris johnson and how uncomfortable he

looked during that briefing in downing street when he had to deliver such terribly bad news to so many people. no politician wants to go forward and say to people they cannot salivate christmas in the way they had planned. nicola sturgeon, of course —— cannot celebrate christmas. i think the timing is particularly difficult for politicians. they made this for nations agreement back in november and they have had to row back on it over the last few days, saying things have changed and the virus has changed. millions of people are waking up to the new difficult reality, as happens with coronavirus, and having to rethink their plans. jessica parker, thank you. jessica parker, thank you. (tx sot) dr chaand nagpaul is the chair of the council of the british medical association and joins me now. thank you for being with us. we have been hearing all day what terrible news that is for millions of people and their christmas. do you think it

was the right decision? it was, u nfortu nately, was the right decision? it was, unfortunately, a necessary decision. in fact, we believe that when the prime minister announced the relaxation rules for christmas, that did not follow the science, because at that time the infection was rapidly increasing day by day, week by week, and last week, it was quite clear to us that the spread of infection was reaching a point where the nhs was getting overwhelmed must only work surprised stop had called for the christmas rules to be reversed, but he didn't. the signs told us a while back, especially last week, that these relaxation rules needed to be reversed. you did not actually have to wait to hear about the new string to do that, because we were already on a trajectory of increasing pressure in oui’ trajectory of increasing pressure in our health service. so you agree with sir keir starmer and what he has said in the news conference that the prime minister acted too late

and should have done something sooner. and should have done something sooner. he should have followed the science and it was blatantly clear last week that we were reaching a critical point. the infection was spreading in a way that is increasing hospital admissions, numbers of cases, numbers of deaths, numbers of cases, numbers of deaths, numbers on ventilators. we have had 44 hospitals in the last week that had to reread patients away in ambulances to other hospitals because they were too full. two hospitals in london have declared critical incidents, meaning they did not feel they can cope with the volume of critical care, urgent care, both for covid and non—thing—mac. we must remember that one of the consequences of getting hospitals pressurised with covid cases, they do not then have the capacity to look after other patients who may have cancer, heart disease, acute respiratory diseases.

the science, if it had been followed, would have made this decision earlier. the public would have been given greater notice about christmas plans. what boris johnson was saying yesterday was that he only received some of this latest data from scientists and scientific advisers on friday about this new variant, this new strain of coronavirus that is obviously so infectious and transmissible. that is why he only made the announcement that he did yesterday. yes, but in fa ct, that he did yesterday. yes, but in fact, the figures earlier in the week were clear that we were heading with a trajectory of massive increases in cases and numbers of people becoming hospitalised and seriously ill. those figures were available earlier on and so the science would have dictated, if you are actually looking at the spread, that christmas was the last thing he needed and to relax the rules. i

wa nt to needed and to relax the rules. i want to say, when he hear about protecting the nhs or removing pressures on the nhs, it is not a disconnected remote service for people. it is the service any of us, all of us may need to depend upon in all of us may need to depend upon in a urgent situation. are you saying that the government are using the idea of this new strain, this dangerous very transmissible variant of the coronavirus as a sort of excuse for this late lockdown, if you like, over christmas, that they should have done it earlier, and it isn't really all about this new variant? i think the new variant is certainly giving an explanation of why we are seeing increased spread in london and the south—east. in itself, it is, i think, in london and the south—east. in itself, it is, ithink, taking in london and the south—east. in itself, it is, i think, taking what the prime minister, new information. but the data was pretty clear before this to have determined that

relaxing rules at christmas was the wrong thing to do, and that should have been reversed. i am saying we had the data and may not have known about the new variant at the time, but had enough data to show that the last thing you needed to do was relax rules at a time when the infection was rapidly spreading and increasing the numbers of patients in hospital beds. good to talk to you as always. the chair of the council of british medical association, thank you. more on this new variant of coronavirus. government advisors say the mutation is now the dominant strain in the capital, as our health correspondent katherine da costa explains. hospitals in parts of london, kent and essex are coming under intense pressure. they are seeing a surge in new covid admissions, up by around a third in a week, after a sudden spike in new infections. an initial investigation has found a new variant of coronavirus is significantly more infectious than previous strains and now accounts for around

60% of cases in london. but scientists say, at this stage, there is no suggestion it causes more serious illness or would impact the effectiveness of vaccines. at the downing street news conference, government advisers said it was time to act. this virus spreads more easily, and therefore more measures are needed to keep it under control. we absolutely need to stick to the basics of making sure that we reduce our contact, reduce the ability of this virus to spread, and that is the reason that other measures are required to keep this variant under control. vaccines offer a way out. 350,000 people across the uk have received their first dose. if the oxford vaccine's approved by the end of the year, millions of the most vulnerable could be protected within months. millions in england and wales are told to stay at home, as tough new coronavirus restrictions come into force

last night's tier 4 announcement prompted a rush to london's stations — footage on social media shows large crowds trying to board trains. the transport secretary says extra police officers will be deployed to enforce the rules. similar restrictions will follow in scotland — swathes of the country will be placed under the toughest restrictions from boxing day. a uk government source says there will be no post—brexit trade deal between the uk and eu unless there is a "substantial shift" from brussels in the coming days. the two sides have been in negotiations about how many years it will take to phase in new fisheries arrangements. but an eu source said this was not the only remaining issue left to resolve. the uk's brexit transition period is due to end on 31st december. the new restrictions announced yesterday prevent people who live in tier 4 areas in england from leaving those areas except for limited reasons, including work,

education and childcare. morning saying, "it's vital to follow the new guidance to protect others & our nhs. if you're in tier 4, you must not travel or stay away from home overnight." he also says that extra british transport police officers will be on hand at railway stations to enforce the rules. the announcements prompted a rush to london railway stations and by seven o'clock last night, there were no tickets available online from several london stations, including paddington, kings cross and euston. this footage posted on social media showed large crowds at st pancras station waiting to board trains to leeds. earlier, the netherlands became the first country to ban passenger flights from the uk. flights were stopped as of 6am after the country detected its first case of the highly—contagious variant of coronavirus that's surging through southern england.

belgium is also suspending all flights as well as train arrivals from midnight tonight — that's 11 o'clock here in the uk. it is also understood that germany are looking at introducing restrictions on air travel. let's get a little more detail on those travel restrictions, with simon calder — travel correspondent at the independent. this morning, the transport secretary said that extra british transport police will be deployed. i can tell him exclusively that i have just been to have a good look around waterloo station, normally the busiest station in britain — staff were easily outnumbering passengers there, people were not travelling at all. there is an awful lot of upset in the railway industry about the way that people were effectively given a window of maybe five or six hours and in particular for people leaving london on long—distance journeys.

we have seen these extraordinary images of the chaos and confusion in places like london st pancras on the east midlands line to leicester, derby and nottingham and so on. unless a covid secure environment, it is difficult to imagine. and there'll be people in tiers i, 2 and 3 saying, hang on, we havejust been exported thousands of people coming from the most dangerous area and they are all very upset too. there will be british transport police at hubs. they will ensure safeguarding is the idea, but they are obviously going to be making sure, i think, that people are not tempted to make unnecessary journeys. and, of course, as from now, all journeys from within tier 4,which are not connected with work, education, compassionate reasons are simply not allowed. as i mentioned earlier, police in scotland are saying now they will not be setting up roadblocks to enforce nicola sturgeon's christmas travel ban.

it extraordinary that we might even be talking about christmas roadblocks on the border between england and scotland. it certainly is. a reminder of these extraordinary times. however, the first minister, her words have been reported as a total travel ban between scotland and the three other nations of the united kingdom. it is not. it is a presumption against travel except for essential purposes. and certainly lner, which runs trains from aberdeen, inverness, edinburgh, and elsewhere in scotland to newcastle, york, london, they are continuing with their services because there will be people who, for whatever reason, whether it is to do with work, to do with caring responsibilities, will still be travelling. of course, the crucial thing is, and this is talking very much outbound from london, the many tens, possibly hundreds

of thousands of people who, four weeks ago, were suddenly told, 0k, we have got these five days of christmas easing, they all went out and booked their trains. i'm afraid those journeys cannot go ahead. you will be able to rebook or get a refund, and the airlines, incidentally, are being very generous. easyjet are saying that if you booked your travel between now and 30th of december, you can get a full refund. in the us senators have reached a compromise in negotiations to approve a $900 billion package of coronavirus relief measures. the agreement reached between republicans and democrats paves the way for a vote on the stimulus package on sunday. it would provide additional unemployment payments to millions of americans who have lost theirjobs as a result of the pandemic as well as help for renters and loans to local and state governments. british mps want the government

to publish a list of the companies that signed up to the furlough scheme amid concerns money is being lost through fraud and error. under the scheme, the uk government pays up to 80% of staff wages. fraud where furloughed staff continue to work could be running at as much as 34% of cases, the public accounts committee said. the wages of more than nine million workers have been paid by the government at a cost of £46 billion. let's return to our main story now, that millions of people in the uk have seen their festive plans severely restricted or scrapped after a new coronavirus variant caused cases to soar. a stringent new lockdown has come into force in london, parts of east and south—east england and wales. earlier i spoke to our correspondent andy moore, who was out on what is usually one of london's busiest shopping streets. what a difference a day makes.

if i had been stood here 24 hours ago, there would have been crowds hustling and bustling around me. now look at it. it's virtually deserted and i don't think it is going to get any busier during the day. this should be the busiest time of the year for the shops. they should be making millions if not billions of pounds, and that revenue is going to be lost in the time running up to christmas. the organisation that represents a lot of the shops here in the west end says it is catastrophic for business, and they are asking for government aid. the cbi says these regulations are a kick in the teeth. what was the reaction in england last night ——in london last night when the regulations were announced? the chief medical officer chris whitty was asked what advice he would give people who are packing up their bags preparing to get out of the city before the new restrictions come into force, and he said his advice was to unpack those bags and stay here. a lot of people did not hear or heed that advice, and there were very busy scenes

at some london train stations last night. st pancras in particular was very busy. within hours, a lot of the train seats were booked. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, says he understands people will want to get away for christmas and stick to those plans to go and see their families, but he is urging them to stick to the new rules and stay at home. unless you have been self—isolating for ten days and you are sure that you haven't got the virus, you may be taking that virus with you from london to your mum and dad and elderly relations, and you know what? we now have a vaccine being rolled out. we can see light at the end of the tunnel. how are you going to feel if you pass on the virus to an elderly relation, someone you love, whose life may be long and fruitful because of the vaccine, and you pass the virus on to them? the advice is that you cannot leave our area now because you would

be breaking the rules, but even if you could, please don't. it is interesting to see what people think of the new restrictions. there was an opinion poll carried out yesterday after the press conference. more than 70% of people said they thought these new restrictions in tier 4 were needed, and 78% of people, the vast majority — said they would have to change their christmas plans, i'm sure that comes as no surprise for most people. only about 11% said they intended to break the regulations. let's show you some pictures of a ruckus that took place at a zoo in russia. on one side was a panda called ru yi — on the other was a snowman. zoo keepers in moscow used it as a test for the animal — placing carrots and branches in its body. ru yi used his formidable martial arts to destroy the snowman — and was then able to eat his dinner.

you are watching bbc news. if you do not want to know the winner of last night's strictly come dancing, look away now. night's strictly come dancing, look away now. 2020's strictly come dancing came to a typically glamorous end with last night's final as we found out who took home the glitterball. if you've still yet to catch up with last night's final and don't want to know who won, look away now. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson was watching. i can now reveal the strictly come dancing champions 2020 are bill and 0ti. bill bailey, strictly come dancing champion, and at the age of 55, 13 years older then any winner that came before.

the viewers voted for him. it feels surreal, it feels extraordinary, it feels wonderful. i never thought that we would get this far. i never thought we would get to the final, but i have the most extraordinary teacher, the most extraordinary dancer. indeed, his partner became the first professional to win two years in a row. who believed in me right from the beginning, and she found something in me, turned me into this, into a dancer. thank you.

earlier, they had scored a perfect 30 for their show dance, to queen song the show must go on. hello, it's your old friend brian. just to say i don't think you need any luck for this next bit. it's in the bag. we always knew you were a bit of a genius in comedy music, but who would guess you would transform that into incredible dancing skills? each couple had to do three dances in the final. thejudges made the pair revisit their theme quickstep. while their own choice was to go back to the rappers delight routine, and for the first time all series, the pair were top of the leaderboard when it came to the judges' vote. they were joined by eastender maisie smith, for her show dance, and the singer hrvy,

who scored a perfect 30 for her show dance, and the singer hrvy, who landed full marks for his american smooth. at the beginning of strictly, judge craig revel horwood, bill was given a three for his cha cha cha. now he is the cha cha champion. another day of sunshine and showers. showers frequent in the west, but we will see bigger gaps in the showers later, the exception being the far west of scotland where we will seek strong winds. temperatures down a degree on yesterday afternoon. into this evening and overnight, showers

faith for a time. tens milderfrom the south later is more cloud, persistent rain comes in, and that is already saturated ground. temperatures will rise through the morning. we could see temperatures around nine to ii morning. we could see temperatures around nine to 11 degrees across southern counties. a wet start putting on and wales, turning dry up later stop still plenty of cloud or patches of rain and drizzle. colder at around six or 7 degrees and a mild i3 at around six or 7 degrees and a mild 13 to 15 in the south—east. hello this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines. millions in england and wales are told to stay at home, as tough new coronavirus restrictions come into force. last night's tier 4 announcement prompted a rush to london's stations — footage on social media shows large crowds trying to board trains — the transport secretary says extra