good afternoon. almost 18 million people woke up this morning, living in tougher tier 4 restrictions because of what the government says is a mutation of coronavirus which is spreading rapidly. all previous tier 3 areas in the south east and east of england — including london, kent and most of essex — have moved into tier 4. the public is being asked to stay at home and there will be no christmas bubbles for gatherings. get togethers will be restricted to meeting one other person outside in an open public space.

non—essential shops have closed along with gyms, beauty salons and hairdressers. for those living in tiers one to three in england, christmas bubble gatherings can now only take place on christmas day itself. meanwhile, all of wales is now in lockdown — restrictions only easing for christmas day — and scotland is also only relaxing its rules to christmas day, with the highest level of restrictions coming into force for the whole country on boxing day. all travel to the rest of the uk is also banned for the festive season. northern ireland has already announced its new national lockdown, from december the 26th. this morning, the health secretary, matt hancock, said he understood people's frustrations with the change in restrictions, but said they were necessary to try and get the new variant of the virus under control. jessica parker reports. st pancras station last night.

hours before new stay at home rules came in. scenes the health secretary described as irresponsible. but among those who did not want to leave london, a student had hoped to see family in ireland. it's just been a really challenging year being away from my family. this was finally a christmas i could just get some freedom from a year that's just been really difficult. but obviously, we have to adjust, just like i had to adjust last time so itjust won't be very easy. ministers say they had to act. the new lockdown for london, parts of east and south—east england, known as tier 4, christmas plans cut back across the rest of england. as a more infectious variant of the virus spreads. the new variant is out of control and we need to bring it under control and this news about the new variant has been an incredibly difficult and, frankly, an awful year. lockdown in wales has

been brought forward. the christmas relaxation curbed as they had been in scotland where, across the mainland, tighter restrictions come in on boxing day. northern ireland will keep the relaxation but was already set for lockdown from the 26th. for england, a suggestion tighter controls could be here for some time. we don't know how long these measures are going to be in place. it may be for some time until we can get the vaccine going. that isn't an easy thing to say. so little looks normal this year. labour has accused the prime minister of waiting until the 11th hour to toughen up the rules. we have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular, that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it's too late. whether that was going into the lockdown in the first place, extending the furlough scheme, bringing in a circuit breaker in october to protect the economy and now christmas. ministers claim they acted quickly following a scientific briefing

on friday afternoon. with days to go, millions of people have to re—examine their plans. and face a very different, in some cases, very difficult, festive season. so just how has the coronavirus mutated and why is it now considered more transmissible and requiring many of us to rethink our christmas plans? here's our health correspondentjim reed. that a virus can mutate is no surprise. it's when those mutations change the behaviour of the illness that scientists start to get concerned. the first traces of this new variant of coronavirus were found in two samples taken in kent and london back in september. it then started to spread rapidly. doctors say they think the change can make the virus up to 70% more infectious. when we find the virus, we're finding the virus in the nose and throat. the higher amounts of virus means that people are likely

to be more infectious than they would otherwise be. and this means that we need to reiterate the social distancing measures, keep your distance, reduce your contacts. the new variant of coronavirus has 23 genetic changes, some of which are focused around these spike protein on the outside of the virus itself. scientists think that might make it easier to latch onto cells inside the human body. there is no evidence so far that the changes make the disease any more serious or deadly, though researchers are studying hospital patients now to confirm that. a more infectious virus means more people can catch it quickly. that could put pressure on the nhs at a time when the number in hospital with the virus is already nearing the peak of the first wave in april. it might also mean that existing social distancing rules are not tough enough to contain the spread. it's one reason for those new tier 4 restrictions in london and the south—east of england. it's a thousand little decisions everyday about what we do. we need to know what our risk

is when we go about our day and we need to those steps to limit those risks. the virus may be more transmissible with this particular variant and circulating in certain areas, but there are measures that can reduce the spread. the worry with any change to the structure of a virus is that it might make a vaccine less effective. so far though there is no evidence for that in this case. the hope is that a widespread roll—out of the jab will still be enough to put an end to this pandemic. jim reed, bbc news. with all non—essential shops closing in tier 4, people will be very restricted if they still have shopping to finish for christmas, in what would normally be the busiest time of the year. our business correspondent katy austin is here. katy, how are retailers reacting? retailers see the christmas period is absolutely crucial. they got all that christmas stocking. for many it is the time of the year to make as

much money as they can to see them through the quieter periods. some of them were already having a pre—christmas nightmare because some stock like toys was getting caught up stock like toys was getting caught up in congestion at ports causing delays. now for those in tier 4 being forced to close altogether is a further nightmare. of course many people might now want to buy things online. but with time running out now before christmas, the question is whether many people just not make those extra final purchases, or whether they will buy everything supermarkets instead. it is notjust shops that are nonessential that have to close in tier 4, it is also gymnasiums, beauty businesses and hairdressers. the british beauty council said the news was devastating and the short notice on the busiest day of the year give little time to cancel appointments oi’ little time to cancel appointments orfurloughs little time to cancel appointments or furloughs staff. it said more financial support was needed. we could also see an impact on butchers. they are reporting a surge

in enquiries from people changing their christmas plans asking to cancel or downsize their orders. thank you very much indeed. this year's strictly come dancing final attracted a peak audience of over 13 million people, who saw the comedian bill bailey lift the coveted glitterball trophy. at 55, he's become the oldest celebrity to win the contest. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson was watching. i can now reveal the strictly come dancing champions 2020 are... ..billand oti. bill bailey, strictly come dancing champion, and at the age of 55, 13 years older then any winner that came before. thejudges praised him for his ease of movement and lightness on his feet. and it was the viewers who 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'd get to the final, but i have the most

extraordinary teacher, the most extraordinary dancer. indeed, oti mabuse became the first professional to win two years in a row. and only the second double winner in the history of the show. who has... ..who believed in me right from the beginning, and she found something in me, turned me into this, into a dancer. thank you, oti. each couple had to do three dances in the final. thejudges made bill and oti revisit their dr doolittle themed quickstep, complete with cgi elephant. while their own choice was to go back to the rappers delight routine. and for the first time all series, bill and oti were joint top of the leader board when it came to thejudges' vote. they were joined by eastenders' maisie smith, who scored a perfect 30 for her show dance.

and the singer hrvy, who landed full marks for his american smooth. but when it comes to strictly, viewers love a journey to see and reward improvements. think back to week one. craig revel horwood gave bill bailey three for his cha cha cha. now he is the cha cha champion. colin paterson, bbc news. well done, bill bailey. that's it. the next news on bbc one is at 5.15. bye for now. hello, i'm sarah mulkerrins at the bbc sport centre.

british boxer callum smith was well beaten in his super middleweight clash with saul canelo alvarez this morning. giving the fighter from liverpool his first defeat, alvarez — widely regarded as one of the best pound for pound boxers on the planet — takes smith's wba belt, and the vacant wbc belt. he won on a unanimous points decision. he himself has only lost once before. there is no excuses from me. he is a good fighter. i have lost to a pound for pound star. i don't know, ijust think i could have been a better version of me night. it is what it is. he was the better man tonight. he was the better man tonight. there are four more games in the premier league today. the first of those is already under way, with brighton up against a sheffield united side who are still looking for theirfirst win. it's 0—0, but united had john lundstram sent off just before half time.

then there's three games with commentary available on radio five live. it's spurs v leicester at 2:15, manchester united take on leeds at 4:30, and sam allardyce takes charge of west bromwich albion for the first time when they host aston villa in the late game. one game under way in he scottish premiership, too. kilmarnock are hosting aberdeen. just under way in the second half. kilmarnock have just taken the lead, ryan hedges with the goal. and later, don't forget, celtic take on hearts in the delayed scottish cup final at hampden park. victory for celtic would see them clinch a 12th consecutive domestic trophy. now to sailing, and sir ben ainslie and his ineos team uk experienced more frustration overnight. their race against team new zealand was abandoned because wind speeds were too low. ainslie‘s chances of winning the 36th america's cup, which starts in march, have been dented since the world series qualifying got under way last week. his team have suffered a host of technical issues and have so far failed to register a point

in the vital qualifying event in new zealand. two englishwomen are right in the mix at the lpga's season ending tour championship in florida. they'll be teeing off in around an hour's time. charley hull is four off the lead, and 2018 women's open winner georgia hall is one shot better off afterfive birdies in seven holes on saturday. following in the footsteps of a famous father is never easy, made even harder if yours happens to be tiger woods. but charlie woodsjunior looks every bit as good as his dad at a tournament in florida that pairs professionals with a family member. here's11—year—old charlie making an eagle at the third hole. he's the youngest to play in this 36—hole event that began in 1995. and finally, tonight you will get the chance to vote for your sports personality of the year.

it's taking place here at mediacity, in what has been a very different sporting year. jo currie looks at the contenders for us. a glittering event that looks back at the sporting year, celebrating successes and special moments. ben stokes claimed last year's award, but this year will be different. no arena, no public, and just a small audience of winners and nominees will be present. on the shortlist for the main award — english bowler stuart broad. he took 16 wickets in the final two tests against the west indies, taking him past the magic 500 number for his career. holly doyle notched up 146 winners this season, breaking her own record for a female jockey. a champion's day win

one of the highlights. boxer tyson fury became a two—time heavyweight world champion in february, with a devastating victory against deontay wilder. lewis hamilton equalled michael schumacher‘s record of seven formula 1 world championships, and surpassed the german's total of 91 grand prix wins. footballerjordan henderson captained liverpool to their first league title since 1990, a year after leading them to european success. and ronnie 0'sullivan won his sixth snooker title at the crucible to become the oldest champion for a0 years. manchester united forward marcus rashford is being honoured this evening for raising awareness of childhood poverty. ——child food poverty. but whose name will be great on the main tribute this year will be determined by a public vote. and you can find all the details of how to vote for your favourite on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport aberdeen are 1—0 up against xolani in the scottish premiership, and still goalless in the premier league. -- against kilmarnock. —— against kilmarnock. that's all from me for now.

various countries have suspended flights from the uk because of the new variant of coronavirus. that has emerged in the south—east of england in particular, and is driving up infections in the south—east of england and london. italy is now the latest country to announce the suspension of flights to and from the uk. the italian foreign minister had said —— has said that they are suspending those flight after the news about the coronavirus variant. italy nowjoins news about the coronavirus variant. italy now joins belgium news about the coronavirus variant. italy nowjoins belgium and benevolence as european countries that have now and flights —— the netherlands, because of that coronavirus variant. as we've been hearing, millions of people across parts of england are now living under the toughest coronavirus restrictions — tier 4 — as the government looks to contain the rapid

spread of the new variant of the virus. similar measures have been introduced in wales, which has some of the highest infection rates across the uk. we can speak now to the welsh health minister, vaughan gething. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. just spell out for us if you would for those who have not read about the latest restrictions, what situation is in wales and for anybody thinking of coming to wales to spend christmas there. well, u nfortu nately to spend christmas there. well, unfortunately our rates are at around 600 per 100,000, very high across the country. large concentrations to the south of wales, but also north—east wales been particularly affected as well. we have a series of restrictions that are broadly equivalent to tier 4 that are broadly equivalent to tier iiin that are broadly equivalent to tier 4 in england, much of the firebreak we had around the october half term here in wales. —— much like the firebreak. you should only leave home if you are an essential worker and it is essential to go to work, otherwise stay at home. 0nly

essential businesses are open. james, hairdressers, nonessential retail are now closed as well. this will be —— gyms. this will be a difficult decision for many here. people will be frustrated and there will be people who are angry, but we're having to make these choices to try to keep people safe. we have already moved ahead of the rest of the uk in changing our rules over christmas mixing. new information about the new variant and the fact it does appear to be generating a much more rapid growth of the virus really does mean we need two. boris johnson has talked about the new variant being in part of the south of england. is it in wales as well, then? is that part of the drive behind the latest rises in coronavirus cases? i am afraid the new variant is here in wales as well. we had about 6000 welsh positive tests that went to one of the labs that can test this variant.

1196 the labs that can test this variant. 11% of those came back positive for the new variant. i am afraid that of that, 600 odd cases have tested positive for the new variant, 22% we re positive for the new variant, 22% were in north wales. so the south wales area was underrepresented and we have samples from south wales too, the undeniable truth is that this new variant is being seen right across the country. we need to act it take into account the fact that this new variant will be a factor in the rapid growth in the cases in south wales, despite the measures taken. taking a national approach will give the best protection to those areas that have lower levels of infection. we are doing this all together to protect the whole country. i think that is the right choice, but one that is painful and difficult for other people. as a government, cannot get out of making

difficult choices. the difficult choices you are talking about, how long will these latest restrictions last? we will review the measures after three months. —— three weeks. ido after three months. —— three weeks. i do not anticipate whole of wales will come out after three weeks, but we will have to look at data and be patterns of infection, how we can keep on a sustained basis a lower level of infection rates. we will also have to take account of the pressures on the nhs, because we already have over 1500 confirmed cases of coronavirus in our hospital beds. that was more than a reasonable scenario expected on christmas day. that shows the pressure we are under. oui’ christmas day. that shows the pressure we are under. 0ur normal critical care capacity is over a third of what it would normally be, and that means we have to close of a pa rt and that means we have to close of a part of our able to deploy staff to deal with that very real demand. we are seeing death rates go in the wrong way as well. this is a very

real point of crisis that requires action, notjust from real point of crisis that requires action, not just from the government, but our national health service and each of us has a role to play in turning the tide on coronavirus. to be clear on the new variant, my understanding is it is not more inherently dangerous in the senseit not more inherently dangerous in the sense it does not kill more easily, but does increase the infectiousness of the disease. yes, it is much more easily transmitted between people and we think that is a factor in the surge in case numbers we have seen in south wales and are seeing in north—east wales. the danger is that, as more people get covid, as more people in this categories that are at greater risk of harm from covid, will see more people coming into hospitals and more people, sadly, losing the fight with covid. it hasn't got more deadly, but is getting to more people quickly. that is obviously a real pressure point for our health and social care

system, which is why we have already acted to enable our health service in wales to restrict some treatments. that is difficult if you are waiting foran treatments. that is difficult if you are waiting for an operation and in pain, but that will allow us to redeploy staff to an area where they are most likely to save lives. opposition leaders are coming for the welsh assembly, the parliament, to be recalled during the recess. does that make sense during this time of crisis? it is a matter for the first minister and the presiding officer to discuss and agree. what we know is that if the welsh parliament is to be recalled, it will have to meet remotely. politicians must set an example, and if we are telling everybody to only go to work if essential, i will not be going into the chamber of parliament and driving to lima dragging other people with me. it is a matter for the first dragging other people with me. it is a matterfor the first minister and the presiding officer. vaughan gething, welsh health minister,

thank you for your time and being with us on bbc news this afternoon. meanwhile, the governor and has effectively scrapped christmas, as we have been hearing, for around 21 million people in london and parts of the south of england. people in london and parts of the south of england. a short time ago i spoke to dr chaand nagpaul, who is the chair of the council of the british medical association. he says he thinks the government was right to impose the restrictions that it has done. 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, so we were surprised. we have called for the christmas

rules to be reversed, but he didn't. the science 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 strain to do that, because we were already on a trajectory of increasing pressure on 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. he should have followed the science and it was blatantly clear last week that we were reaching a critical point. beacuse the infection is spreading in a way that is increasing hospital admissions, numbers of cases, numbers of deaths, numbers who are on ventilators. we have had 44 hospitals in the last week that had to re—route patients away by ambulances to other hospitals because they were too full. two hospitals in london have now declared critical incidents, meaning they did not feel they could cope with the volume of critical care, urgent care,

both for covid and non—covid. 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 borisjohnson 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 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 we needed and to relax the rules. ijust 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 we all, any of us, may need to depend upon in a urgent situation. so are you saying that the government are using the idea of this new strain, this dangerous, well, 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 that 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, taking what the prime minister said, it is new information. however, 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, we 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 ill numbers of patients in hospital beds. and at 15:15, we'll be answering your questions on the change in christmas restrictions and the new variant of coronavirus that's been detected. get in touch

with the hashtag #bbcyourquestions — or you can text 611211, or you email yourquestions@bbc.co.uk 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. christmas in bethlehem is usually associated with choirs at midnight mass in nativity square, but for locals it's more like bagpipes and marching bands. palestinian scouts, with bagpipes and drums, practise all year round to perform their role leading the christmas celebrations.

the tradition goes back generations, and, despite the coronavirus pandemic, the scouts are determined they won't miss this year. yolande knell attended a rehearsal to find out why it matters so much for them to keep marching. music: ‘we wish you a merry christmas'. for palestinian christians, this is the sound of christmas. at the very heart of celebrations in the holy land, you always find scout bands like this one and they take their role very seriously. i am a drummer and a student at the university. this year is a unique christmas. there is no christmas market, there are no activities that will happen and the nativity takes place every year. and we will try our bestjust to provide the christmas spirit. there is a long history of scouting

here, stretching back to the british mandate times in the early 20th century. and there is a special affection for the bagpipes with their scottish heritage. caught out there. now it is time for a look at the latest weather forecast and that comes from matt taylor. like yesterday, it is another day of sunshine and showers, some of those that heavy and thundery, but in scotland, them a bit heavier than yesterday, but in other parts who may stay dry. the strongest of the wins will touch 40 or 50 mph. temperatures down on yesterday afternoon. as we go into this evening and overnight, showers fade, but turning milderfrom this evening and overnight, showers fade, but turning milder from the south later is more clout, persistent rain pushes in an already saturated ground and here temperatures will start to rise into

the morning. these are the lows