this is bbc news. i'm tim willcox. our top stories... eu ambassadors are due to receive a christmas day briefing on the historic post—brexit free trade deal clinched by the eu and britain. chile, mexico and costa rica begin vaccinating thousands an extra 800 military personnel are deployed near the english port of dover to help clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross into france. and christmas in the castle — queen elizabeth and prince philip break tradition by spending the holiday period at windsor. and nearly two years after ten cathedral was ravaged by fire, the first concert is held in its remains. —— after notre dame

cathedral. happy christmas and seasons greetings. for all of you watching on pbs and around the globe, a warm welcome. viewers here arejoined, as i said, by viewers on bbc world, as well. after relief on both sides following a post—brexit trade deal, european union ambassadors are getting some of the details in a christmas day briefing. they're hearing from michel barnier, who's led the eu negotiating team during nearly a year of fraught negotiations with britain. the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, said britain had achieved a £660 billion a year trade agreement — which would protectjobs. but the opposition labour party, said the deal was thin and didn't protect workers. the agreement must be ratified if it comes in on the ist ofjanuary. our political correspondent,

helen catt, reports. it's little wonder that he looked so pleased. this was a big moment, a deal done after nine months of talks and years of divisive debate. i'm very pleased to tell you this afternoon that we have completed the biggest trade deal yet, worth £660 billion a year, a comprehensive canada style free trade deal between the uk and the eu. in the eu the tone was more muted, but they, too, say they got a good deal in the end. so we have finally found an agreement. it was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it. it is fair, it is a balanced deal and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides. three, two, one... the uk left the eu back injanuary, but nothing really changed as we've been in a transition

period ever since. this deal sets out how the uk will trade and cooperate on security from next friday, when it ends. on wednesday, mps and peers will be called back from the christmas break to debate it. between now and then, the hundreds of pages that make up the deal will be carefully pored over by many. labour has said it will back it, as, it says, the only alternative to no deal. when this deal comes before parliament, labour will accept it and vote for it. but let me be absolutely clear and say directly to the government, up against no deal, we accept this deal, but the consequences of it are yours, and yours alone, and we will hold you to account for it. even with this agreement things are going to change. freedom of movement will end after next thursday. trading with the eu won't be as easy as it was. what this deal will do is avoid more significant disruption and prevent

customs taxes being put on goods. the deal that was never certain to happen has now been done. unwrapping what's in it, well, that's just about to start. helen catt, bbc news, westminster. let's speak to david henig, uk director at the european centre for international political economy — and a former uk trade negotiator. hgppy happy christmas to you. from the information we have got so far, and i'm not sure how much you have been able to wade through in terms of the legalese, did the british government deliver on its promise? well, that depends on what the promise that we are going fourfor the uk government. certainly the uk government. certainly the uk government will be happy that by and large they have protected sovereignty and got preferential access to the eu, but we think that in some of the small print the eu positions have won. both sides have had to compromise, that is the nature of a trade deal. what has

been conceded on both sides? well, the uk had to sign up to what i think are going to be the most stringent level playing field, the fair competition rules, ever included in a trade agreement. we recall this was absolutely the eu's number one agreement. the uk, on the other hand, will regain control of oui’ other hand, will regain control of our fishing waters but only after a six year period where the eu takes a small cut. after six years we will have full control. the eu didn't wa nt have full control. the eu didn't want that, so those are two of the biggest headlines. what trade itself will not be frictionless, willit? so there be big changes. that's right. starting next friday, new year's day, we no longer have frictionless trade between the uk and europe. there will be checks, there will be customs. the deal does not remove those, so expect it to be harder to

trade with europe from next week. what about the services? talk us through those. i mean, that is the largest part, isn't it, of what this previous deal was worth, some 80%? in terms of services, the deal is very much a basic one. it provides a basic level of access. we still don't know about some important areas like equivalence or data and financial services. many uk services such as consultancy and ict should not be overly affected by the new barriers, but some will be. it's a very complex area of trade, is services. again, there will be changes, but we are not exactly sure how that will work or how those will affect the uk economy. so what can the uk do from the ist of january that it wasn't able to do before? the uk's new trade agreements will

be coming into force on the ist of january, that is a new arrangement with japan. more or less continued arrangements with the likes of canada, south korea, mexico. the expectation that the uk will look to very quickly conclude deals with australia, new zealand, perhaps jointly comprehensive partnership of 11 countries. that is the major part of it but also the uk will be able to change rules and regulations relating to products and services. so there is a lot more freedom for the uk domestically from the ist of january. we are not sure how that will be used as yet. know, and on theissue will be used as yet. know, and on the issue of diversions? the uk is free to diverged from eu laws, but mayfair has an effect on competition, if there is a feeling uk is undercutting the eu in some way or if the eu imposes stronger laws in the future, there can be a

review and there is the possibility then of reintroducing some tariffs. we need to see the small print on exactly how that will work but broadly we don't have to follow to the letter eu laws. we have to roughly stay aligned. 0k, david henig, good to speak to you. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. thousands of lorry drivers are spending christmas day in their cabs near dover. an extra 800 military personnel are being deployed to help clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross the channel. our correspondent is in doverfor us this morning and i caught up with her earlier. for many of us, this isn't the christmas we hoped we would have, sat at home, but spare a thought for a lot of these drivers who have been stuck, some of them forfour nights who have been stuck, some of them for four nights here, who have been stuck, some of them forfour nights here, queueing to try to get on the ferries going across the channel to france. if you look behind me you will be able to see we have movement! some of these lorries are moving, they are slowly

but surely being loaded onto ferries this morning to make their way across the channel. now ports that have been working through christmas, throughout the night, —— port staff. to try to get this moving, all of these lorries that you can see year will have tested negative for coronavirus and in order to get those tests there has been a huge weight in store. last night around 800 troops were drafted here to try to speed up that process, and that seems to be the case because just over here, as we head into central dover, a lot of the roads seem to have cleared. but there is still a big backlog. there are thousands of hauliers still parked up at the airport, still parked up along the m20 stop there is a long wait in store and i don't want to be the bearer of bad news on christmas, but some of these lorry drivers will not be making it home in time for christmas and it is going to be some

time before things here get back to some kind of normality. let's catch up with some of the other day's main stories. us authorities have announced passengers arriving on flights from the uk will need to test negative for coronavirus before departure. this is the latest restriction imposed due to the new covid—i9 variant. the strain is believed to be more transmissible and has led nations around the world to close their borders to travellers from the uk. democrats in the us congress have failed in their attempt to increase direct covid relief payments for america's from 600 the increase was demanded by president trump on tuesday but republicans in congress have blocked the change. president trump has refused to say if he will sign the bill if the payments are not increased. the former japanese not increased. the formerjapanese prime minister has apologised to parliament. ——the former japanese prime minister shinzo abe

has apologised to parliament over a political funding scandal that saw his secretary charged on thursday. mr abe has faced allegations that his office improperly topped up money for lavish dinners held for his supporters. prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to charge him. politicians injapan are barred from giving gifts to supporters. india's prime minister, narendra modi, has addressed farmers across the country today, as pressure mounts on his government to scrap controversial farming reforms. this follows weeks of protests over the contentious new laws which will loosen the rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm items. joining me now is our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan. this was a huge address, wasn't it, to millions of people, virtually? the prime minister has been campaigning for these reforms and in fa ct campaigning for these reforms and in fact this was account to push by the government against this protest by

farmers who had camped. it is not very farfrom farmers who had camped. it is not very far from where i am now. farmers who had camped. it is not very farfrom where i am now. it farmers who had camped. it is not very far from where i am now. it has been on for a month, this protest, and generated in the debate. now the government has firmly ruled out withdrawing these reforms and they are now going on a campaign, explaining to the farming communities about how they will benefit from these new reforms, and thatis benefit from these new reforms, and that is why the prime minister was addressing virtually millions of farmers and explaining to them the advantages, saying that they can go and sell anywhere in the country and lots of investments will come into the culture and this will free them from some people who take money from the farmers to sell their produce. this has not satisfied the farmers. in the nearby states of punjab,

rajasthan, they have been telling the government that unless you promise to repeal these laws we will not sit down for any negotiations. is there one main political party behind this protest, supporting the farmers? this has been a spontaneous protest by various unions, the as unions across the country and that has taken the government by surprise. the farmers i nearly 70% of the population, they depend on farming, and narendra modi's government has be very careful in handling this protest even though the process have stopped traffic on some of that highways and these people have been sitting for the last month now around the city of delhi. the government was to take one step at a time. there have been various talks between the few are

two sides but no progress at what the farmers are saying is that they are very disappointed with the government because they are trying to portray us as anti—separatist. actually what we want is... these new laws will allow big corporations to come in. this will go against our interests because it will be a rise in prices and that will go away and thatis in prices and that will go away and that is why the farmers are saying we will not come and sit unless the government withdraws. thank you very much you are watching bbc news. the eu's chief brexit negotiator michel barnier is briefing member states about the free trade deal finalised on thursday. an extra 800 military personnel deployed in english port of dover to help clear the backlog

of dover to help clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross into france. the queen is expected to focus on the effects of the pandemic in her christmas broadcast this afternoon. for the first time in more than 30 years, she and the duke of edinburgh are spending the festive period at windsor instead of sandringham. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has more. christmas 2020, a quiet day at home. this was the queen with members of her family at windsor castle just over two weeks ago, before the tier 4 covid restrictions were announced. there will be no family gatherings at the castle today. instead, the queen will spend christmas day at windsor castle with the duke of edinburgh and a small group of staff. it'll be the first time she's spent christmas at the castle since the 1980s. back then, the castle was where the family gathered every year for christmas. but for the past 30 years or so, they've spent christmas at sandringham. those plans were abandoned several weeks ago. so there will be no visits to church for morning service, though the queen will probably attend a private

moment of worship inside the castle. one thing that will take place as normal, the queen's christmas broadcast, which at the end of such a difficult year, will have an added significance. no details have been made public in advance, but the broadcast will be an opportunity for the queen to offer a message of thanks and reassurance, just as she did back in april during the first wave of the pandemic. we should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. we will be with our friends again. we will be with our families again. we will meet again. but for now, i send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all. the queen's christmas broadcast will be transmitted on radio and television and online. nicholas witchell, bbc news. 0ur royal correspondent daniela relph is at windsor. beautiful

daniela relph is at windsor. morning there. but nt public beautiful morning there. but no public site, even socially distance, of the queen or any members of the royalfamily this of the queen or any members of the royal family this year. that's right. no plans for any public sightings come at all, which of course is very different from what we normally see for a royal christmas. that would normally be up at sandringham led by the queen and the duke of edinburgh with their widerfamily all the duke of edinburgh with their wider family all in attendance, going to church on christmas morning and then a christmas lunch at the main at sandringham. not this year. just the queen and the duke of edinburgh here behind the castle walls at windsor. we are told by royal officials they will be spending christmas quietly, just the two of them, like so many other families this christmas. they have had to make the compromises, difficult decisions. they were made at the beginning of this month, actually, about what the queen and the duke of edinburgh it would do and it was felt best that they should be kept away from the wider family. they are both in their 90s, ata family. they are both in their 90s, at a vulnerable age, and will be spending effectively a christmas in isolation. another break from

tradition, we would normally get advanced copy of the queen's speech. not this year. for what reason?m is unusual. we would normally come as you say, get some kind of sneak preview of what the queen is going to say in her message this afternoon. it would either be a clip of the queen talking, a little snippet of her speech, or some kind of text of what she's going to say, but not this year. the royal officials have decided they want to keep the whole thing back so it is just delivered fresh to everybody at the 3pm uk time this afternoon. that isa the 3pm uk time this afternoon. that is a plan. theyjust didn't want to release anything in advance so that it would lose its impact at all. we will just have it would lose its impact at all. we willjust have to wait and see but i think we can expect that that thread of how the uk and the commonwealth has responded to the coronavirus pandemic will run through everything the queen says this afternoon. it will reflect on the challenges that so many people and families have faced, especially at this time of year. as with all of her christmas

messages, i expect you will also wa nt to messages, i expect you will also want to offer some kind of motive, hope and optimism, going forward. where are the other senior royals? they are all at home, effectively, with their own smaller family units. prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall are in gloucestershire at the prince of wales' at highgrove estate. the duchess of cornwall will also spend some time with her own family, head to children and grandchildren. the cambridge is are at home in norfolk. and meghan and harry, they will be celebrating christmas in california. , thank you very much. what a year it has been for captain sir thomas more. ——what a year it's been for captain sir tom moore, the former british army officer and centenarian, known for his achievements raising millions of pounds for charity in the run—up to his 100th birthday during the covid—i9 pandemic. we've been following his story

every step of the way and john maguire has been to catch up with him and find out about his christmas plans. it's been a year like no otherfor all of us. but for captain sir tom moore, 2020 has seen him catapulted from his back garden to worldwide adoration, and to a specially convened ceremony where he was knighted by her majesty the queen. december‘s always a time to look forward, but also back to boyhood christmases during the 1920s. you got up at six o'clock in the morning to see what father christmas had left overnight. when we were small boys, or small children, we didn't get a stocking, we got a pillowcase. you knew there'd be an orange at the bottom of it somewhere. but not a lump of coal? no! and later, as a young officer in the british army

during the second world war. all the officers gave the all the other ranks their christmas lunch. we served them their christmas lunch. and that was a happy occasion, with a little a bit of relaxation and some drink, which hadn't been readily available for some time. but that was a very good day. one of the main objectives of the captain tom foundation is to tackle loneliness, which can be especially cruel at christmas. for people who don't have a family who can come and knock on the door, it must be a very lonely time. and, of course, how are they going to have a christmas lunch if there's only one of you? so i do hope that everyone will have more than one person to have the christmas lunch.

but you would, of course, expect some of his famous optimism. we've always had all the family around us, and we've all had a lovely christmas lunch with turkey and all the little bits that go with it. and that's always been a joy for the parents, and for the children. this year, of course, with things as they are, things can't be quite the same for everyone, but things will get better and next year we'll be all right. he's spending the festive season not walking, but hopefully relaxing, having been invited to barbados. i had a bucket list, and one of the items on that list was barbados. and this is going to come through.

barbados has very kindly taken barbados off my bucket list. and what's next on that — do we know? what's the next plan on your bucket list? the next one is on the route 66 across america with bentley. well, let's hope you get that one soon as well. so as he works his way down the list, let's hope captain sir tom gets his kicks in the new year. john maguire, bbc news, bedfordshire. barbados and route 66, it's going to bea barbados and route 66, it's going to be a busy 2021. the first concert held inside notre dame cathedral in paris since last year's a devastating fire was broadcast last night. the participants had to take careful precautions due to the coronavirus and because the gothic landmark remains a construction

site. an extraordinary concept for a christmas like no other. members of the choir of notre dame would at least leave their facemasks off as they performed in hard hats and boiler suits. reading in they performed in hard hats and boilersuits. reading in a they performed in hard hats and boiler suits. reading in a slightly hollow at holiday unusual with festive spirit. this was the first concert inside france's most famous cathedral since the fire last year that nearly destroyed it. socially distance of course, the recycle featured only eight of the choir‘s 160 singers. accompanied by a soprano, violin, cello and a small rented organ. given the strict safety protocols, there wasn't room even for the hunchback to watch in a mostly even for the hunchback to watch in a m ostly e m pty even for the hunchback to watch in a mostly empty notre dame, currently a reconstruction site. note normal midnight mass, the concert was pre—recorded and broadcast last

night, when people were allowed out of cu rfew night, when people were allowed out of curfew for their traditional christmas eve dinner. the music included classical pieces by mozart and schubert, as well as some lighter tunes. some # jingle bells... the biggest christmas miracle was perhaps not help the concert was happening, but that it was taking place at all. despite the pandemic, restoration work is well under way will stop a sign that, after dark times, paris with the cathedral at its heart will still be the city of light. and that is it from me. enjoy the rest of your day. plenty more on the website. from me and the team, goodbye for now.

hello. even the weather is taking it fairly easy this christmas day. a chilly start but a fine day for the majority, with light winds. it will remain feeling cold, even with some sunshine. the reason it is pretty quiet for today is this area of high pressure here. we might see a few showers coming into eastern regions of england today, and later, the westerly winds will pick up across scotland and northern ireland. so, more cloud arriving, and there will be some rain for western scotland and for parts of northern ireland to come in the afternoon. as the cloud comes in, temperatures will come up in these areas. overnight and into boxing day, we see a weather front sliding south across the uk, an early frost in the south—east

before the cloud descends. not much rain, as it gets into the south of the uk. but then another spell of heavy rain approaching western scotland by the end of the night. all of the cloud will make for a much milder start on boxing day. the wind, picking up all the while on boxing day, the rain fairly relentless across western scotland, as it only slowly starts to sink southwards. england and wales will be dry for most of the day but some heavier showers are possible for northern england, but a much milder day. take a look at this, on boxing day night, this is storm bella sinking down across the uk, very heavy rain, a risk of flooding and the wind is the biggest issue. for the south coast we are looking at gusts of up to 80mph. widely inland, 50—60mph, which is strong enough to do some damage and cause some disruption. and with saturated ground, yet more heavy rainfall will mean quite a significant risk of flooding

across many parts of england and wales on sunday. this things clear up quite nicely in the afternoon, but towards the north and west, we will be getting a lot of showers on a chilly north—westerly wind, and we could see some snow even on lower ground. temperatures around 5—7. staying chilly as we look ahead into the coming week. a chance of some snow showers further south across the uk on monday.

this is bbc news, the headlines... eu ambassadors are receiving a briefing on the trade deal. we will be hearing from michel barnier, who led the eu team during nearly a year of fraught negotiations. south american countries have begun vaccinating thousands of people against covid—19, the first countries in latin america to do so, and they are using the pfizerjob. an extra 800 military personnel are deplored near dover to help to clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross into france. thousands of lorry drivers are spending christmas day stuck in their vehicles waiting for covid tests. the covid stimulus package designed to revive the us economy is struggling to make progress in congress. the package is worth more than $900 billion.