this is bbc news. our top stories. mission accomplished. the deal is done, now for the detail. eu ambassadors are getting a briefing on the historic free trade deal with britain. 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. pope francis gives his christmas day address. urging all nations to share covid—19 vaccines and peace in war—torn regions. christmas in the castle, queen elizabeth and prince philip break tradition by spending the holiday period at windsor.

hello and welcome if you are watching in the uk are around the world. or around the world. stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. after relief on both sides following a post—brexit trade deal, european ambassadors are getting some of the details on a christmas day briefing. they are hearing from michel barnier, who has 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 per year trade agreement which would protectjobs, but the labour party said the deal was thin and did not protect workers. the agreement must be ratified if it comes in on the 1st ofjanuary. 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.

among those who have had access to a copy of the full document is our political correspondent, leila nathoo. we have seen a full copy of the post—brexit trade agreement, so eu ambassadors meeting in brussels today have seen a copy of the document. the uk government has so far only published a summary but the full text runs to something like 1246 pages. 400 pages—odd of that covers the actual content of the deal, then a further 800 pages of annexes i cannot pretend to have gone through with a fine comb just yet. glad you're honest! but it is a very meaty document clearly and there will be lots of details that need to be looked at, but the full text is being considered today by eu ambassadors. because remember, all the eu states have to give it the 0k. they have been kept in the loop

throughout, so it is unlikely we will get a veto. there was talk of that a few weeks ago that some member states might be unhappy with some elements. but we will not get any of that. the eu parliament has to go through its own process of voting officially for this deal, as does the uk parliament, which will be recalled on the 30th of december. so there are some bits of process to get this deal which is in paper into practice, but really this deal is going to go through. labour here have said they will vote for it, even though they are not completely happy with it, so no real barriers. is there a timetable for this? is it all going to be done by january the 1st? the european parliament have said so far that because it is so tight, remember this agreement was only reached with one week to go before the end of the transition period where everything has stayed the same, and then the new arrangements are due to come into force on the 1st of january, but without the formal ratification it cannot officially happen.

in practice it will come into force and the eu parliament is likely to agree, but there might be some official procedural delay on that side. leila nathoo speaking to me a little earlier. 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 was in the port of dover for us this morning and said that while things are now moving it could take a long time for the tailback to clear. 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 for four 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. port staff have been working through christmas, throughout the night, to try to get this moving, to see these scenes. all these lorries will have tested negative for coronavirus. in order to get those tests there has been tests there has been a huge wait. around 800 troops were drafted to try to speed up the process. 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 manston airport, still parked up along the m20 this morning. still a long wait in store for many of them and i don't want to be the bearer of bad news on christmas, but some of these

lorry drivers will not make it home in time for christmas, and it will be some time before things here get back to some kind of normality. 0nly worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters. god has made this fraternal unity possible by giving us his sonjesus. 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

yea rs, for the first time in more than 30 years, she and the duke of edinburgh are spending christmas at windsor instead of sandringham. 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 told me how different this christmas is even for the queen and the royal family. they have had to make the same kind of decisions as so many other families have had to do this year.

and yes, of course they have the castle and the support bubble of a team around them to look after them at this time of year but essentially they have done what so many other families have done and chosen to scale down their christmas, to limit the number of family members they see and to keep it very small this year. officials say they will be spending christmas quietly here at windsor castle away from their widerfamily, following the tier 4 rules, windsor now in tier 4. but the decisions about what the queen would be doing were decided at the beginning of the month, that she would stay here at windsor and not go to sandringham with her wider family, which is how she would normally be spending christmas day. at this sort of time normally on christmas day we would be seeing hundreds of people queueing up outside the church on the sandringham estate where the queen and her family would go for the 11 o'clock service. so it's very different here. nobody here at windsor, and that was the plan. the royal family didn't want lots of people gathering here outside the castle causing any kind of problems for anybody here. they want it to be very

quiet, scaled back, and that is what is happening. and the queen's traditional christmas message will be broadcast a little later on, but unusually there are no extracts from the message this year. yes, that is unusual. normally in previous years we get a snippet, perhaps a clip of the message or a sense of what she would be saying in text, but not this year. there's been a decision to hold everything back until three o'clock this afternoon, so perhaps it would have the greatest impact. there are no previews at all. but having said that, i think we can all pretty much take an educated guess of the kind of themes of this year's christmas message and the country's response to the pandemic will run through her whole message, i think we can expect to see that. and if we look back to april and the message she gave to the nation at the beginning of lockdown, perhaps that gives a clue as to the tone and the kind of things she will be saying today. she will of course reference the challenges that many families

have faced over the past few months, but i suspect as ever with her christmas message she will also want to offer note of hope and optimism. india's prime minister has announced around $2.1; billion worth of benefits for farmers amid mounting pressure on his government to scrap controversial farming reforms. pressure on his government to scrap controversialfarming reforms. mr modi has today been addressing millions of farmers across the country virtually, accusing his political opposition for misleading them over contentious new laws that will loosen the rules around the sale, pricing and storage of farm items. the dispute has become highly politicised, with many farmers blocking roads around delhi with their machinery. for more on the protests we have been speaking to oui’ protests we have been speaking to our south asia editor.

this was a counter push by farmers who have camped outside delhi, not far from where i am now, and it's almost been a month, this farmers' protest, and it's generated a lot of debate in this country. now the government has firmly ruled out these reforms. —— now the government has firmly ruled out withdrawing these reforms. what they are now doing is going on a campaign explaining to the other farming communities about how they would benefit from these new farm reforms, and that's why prime minister modi was addressing virtually millions of farmers and explaining to them the advantages, saying they can go and sell anywhere in the country and lots of private investment will come into agriculture, and this will free them from some of the agents who take money from farmers to sell their produce. but this has not satisfied the farmers who are already protesting.

mostly they are from the nearby states of punjab and pakistan, and they have been telling the government that unless you promise to repeal these laws, we will not sit down for any negotiations. the uk's biggest testing lab has been hit by an outbreak of coronavirus. the number of scientists at the lighthouse laboratory in milton keynes are believed to have been affected along with admin staff. the laboratory which is asked to process around 70,000 tests per day says it follows covid—secure work procedures. in england more than 1000 people are being evacuated from a holiday park after heavy rain and flooding. police and firefighters have been working through the night in northampton. two leisure centres have been turned into emergency accommodation. there are more than 100 flood warnings in place across parts of england and wales. christmas in bethlehem looks a

little different this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. this was the coronavirus pandemic. this was the scene in bethlehem this morning in manger square. the normally busy scene is quite empty, but the celebration still went ahead at the church of the nativity where christians believe jesus church of the nativity where christians believejesus was born. the service, which is normally attended by thousands of worshippers, was closed to the public this year. this is a christmas eve unlike any that locals have seen before. not even when there have been flare—ups in violence have festivities been so muted. typically, this would be the busiest night of the year for bethlehem, with no room at hotels. that is not the case this year and it is devastating for a place that is so reliant on tourism. churches across the uk will be holding scaled—back celebrations. the archbishop of canterbury has said elderly and vulnerable churchgoers should consider the risks and not feel obliged to go to

church. for those that do grow, services will feel different and many will be broadcast online. —— for those that do go. the darkness is deep. yet, light penetrates the darkness. a homily to an empty building. midnight mass at westminster cathedral last night was streamed online, but members of the public were not allowed to attend. earlier, cardinal vincent nichols had presided at an afternoon service with strict social distancing in place. but cathedral staff feared the popular midnight mass service would attract crowds and moved the service online. at the vatican later today, pope francis will deliver his christmas message indoors, not from the balcony of st peter's. and here at westminster cathedral, cardinal nichols said the crisis was a crossroads in our history. have we not seen in these months of difficulty, they're marked by countless acts of random kindness, quiet heroism, selfless service, remarkable community efforts, all directed to those most in need?

later today, the archbishop of canterbury is expected to say that the darkness of this year will not overcome the light of christ's birth. that service, like this one in westminster, will be broadcast online. across the country thousands will, for the first time today, tune in to christmas celebrations being live streamed from their local church, rather than attending in person. for those here at westminster cathedral, despite the distance, chairs and limited numbers, it was a moment of solace at the end of a difficult year. harry farley, bbc news at westminster cathedral. for millions of people celebrating at this time of year, 2020 is set to bea at this time of year, 2020 is set to be a christmas like no other. we have returned to talk to some of the doctors, nurses and experts we have

heard from since pandemic took the hold in march and asking them how what they will be marking christmas in these extraordinary circumstances. i have been speaking toa circumstances. i have been speaking to a social psychologist and asking him how his christmas will be different. this is a quite silent day in comparison with other days, especially in italy because we know actually because of the pandemic but we are still trying to celebrate, and so we have prepared something here and we willjoin at this table but we will be only two people according to the indications that the government gave everyone. we are going to eat something traditional. for instance, the seafood. i try to show you very quickly.

traditional mushrooms and shrimps and squids. i don't know if you can see the preparation. we can see them. traditional jamon, and we'll move then to some fried. so we have prepared many side dishes more than main courses, and among the main courses we'll have this meatloaf with potatoes. pepperoni here. then what we have on this table is something traditional, a traditional cake in milan and also in the world by now. this is the panettone, and that can be translated as bread made by tony or anthony.

and then we will finish up with some chocolate tower. everything has been home—baked, handmade, and so it should be all so very tasty. making us very hungry! what a year it has been for sir captain tom moore, the former british army officer and centenarian known for his achievements raising money for charity in the run—up to his 100th birthday. we have been following him, and john maguire has been to meet 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. snow has fallen in parts of eastern england with the met office declaring it officially a white christmas in the uk. mark near hull was up bright and early and sent this picture. there was no audience for the concert, and socially distanced singers wore hard hats and boiler suits because notre dame is still a construction site. they performed pieces by mozart and schubert as well as more light—hearted songs

like jingle bells. #0h # oh what fun it is to ride in a one—horse open sleigh # jingle bells 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 on, 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. perhaps will come up in these areas. our warmest box up tl

degrees, perhaps our warmest box up to 7 degrees, just five further south. 0vernight 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 we'll see 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, this 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. temperatures in double figures. 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. 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.

the eu's chief negotiator is briefing ambassadors of the 27 member states of the european union on the post—brexit free trade deal. mps in the uk will be called back on the 30th of december to vote on the deal. thousands of lorry drivers are spending christmas day in their cabs in dover. military personnel are being deployed to clear the backlog of lorries waiting to cross the channel. in his christmas message, pope francis has urged world leaders to share the coronavirus vaccines, saying that nationalism cannot stop a pandemic which knows no borders. the article is a generosity and kindness towards victims of the pandemic. generally, and costa rica have been vaccinating people against coronavirus. they are the first countries in latin america to do so.