restrictions. daniela relph is there for us this lunchtime. well, the royal family have faced some of the same difficult decisions that so many people have had this year, and it is a scaled down royal christmas, plans for the usual celebration at sandringham were abandoned early this month. no public walk to church, no greeting wellwisher, it is just the queen and the duke of edinburgh, here at windsor castle and officials say they will be marking the quietly. for the rest of the royal family they are spending time quietly in their own smaller family units but some of the traditional royal christmas has been retain. there will be the queen's traditional message today, we can expect that to offer a message of hope and reassurance in light of the challenges of coronavirus, and we are told the queen has worshipped privately within the castle walls.

many thanks. religious leaders have used their christmas messages to reflect on the darkness brought by the coronavirus. they've also been speaking about the many selfless and heroic responses to the pandemic. here's nicholas witchell. a day for reflection on a difficult year. at the vatican in rome, pope francis attended a christmas eve mass in st peter's basilica — timed so that the very limited number of participants could be home in time for the 10pm curfew. in his homily, he said jesus was born an outcast, and he urged communities to do more to help the poor and the needy. westminster cathedral in london was empty for midnight mass — the service was delivered online instead. earlier, a small socially distanced congregation had heard cardinal vincent nichols, leader of the roman catholic church in england and wales,

speak about the heart—warming way in which people had responded to the pandemic. have we not seen in these months of difficulty being marked by countless acts of random kindness, quiet heroism, selfless service, remarkable community efforts, all directed to those most in need? # very god... at canterbury cathedral, the leader of the anglican church, archbishop justin welby, also reflected on what the pandemic had taken, and what it had shown us. in this christmas of absence, mourning and restrictions of all kinds, are there any gifts of good news under the tree? any gifts of hope? well, there are many. the vaccine is a gift of hope.

our sense of community and mutual care has changed so much — that is a gift of hope. from religious leaders the world over, messages of hope, of light in the darkness. nicholas witchell, bbc news. this christmas is, of course, one like no other — with many families unable to be together because of the global pandemic. so how have we adapted our plans? judith moritz has been finding out. for so many, covid means christmas behind closed doors, this boy was born during the pandemic, he has a hearts condition and his grandparents are vulnerable. even though rules mean the family could get together they have chosen to keep it virtual and open presents via video call. there was a points where we were thinking about having pa rents where we were thinking about having parents up on christmas day, but following the recent raise, you

know, raising cases, and just the general uncertainty, we have decided to avoid it this year. how are you raymond and olwen. 0k. happy christmas. coronavirus has changed christmas. coronavirus has changed christmas for church goers too. the congregation of this church in carlisle met on zoom instead of in person, though the sense of community was no less heartfelt. at st mary's near congleton the church is big and draftee enough for eve ryo ne church is big and draftee enough for everyone to space out, they had to book a pugh, everyone to space out, they had to booka pugh, one everyone to space out, they had to book a pugh, one per household bubble to ensure social distancing. well i think it is wonderful. i think the place has been going for a thousand years now, so we couldn't let it down and miss a christmas, we had to find a way. i think it is amazing this can be so safe to come and allow the older generation and younger generation to be part of each other.

only the choir was allowed to sing. people have had to make special arrangements to make the church look beautiful, just everything's happened but in a different way. last christmas no—one could have imagined the way this year's festival would look or they would be praying for next year seals bracings to be back to normal. finally, some good news in this most difficult of years — the first concert to be held inside notre dame cathedral in paris since it was severely damaged by a fire last year has been shown on tv in france. there was no audience and the socially distanced singers wore hard hats and boiler suits, because the cathedral is still a building site. as well as classical pieces they gave a heart warming rendition ofjingle bells. # oh, what fun it is to ride in a one—horse open sleigh. #jingle bells, jingle bells. # jingle all the way. # oh, what fun it is to ride

in a one—horse open. #jingling, jingling, jingling, jingling. # open sleigh — hey! that's it for now, the next news on bbc one is at a quarter to five. bye for now. you're watching the bbc news with reeta chara barti. after relief on both sides following a post—brexit trade deal, european union ambassadors have been getting some of the details in a christmas day briefing. they've been 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. 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 1,246 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 that with a fine comb just yet, but it is a very meaty document clearly, and there will be lots of details that need to be unpicked, but the full text is being considered today by eu ambassadors. because remember, all the member

states have to give it the ok. they have been kept in the loop throughout negotiations so it is unlikely we will get a veto. there was talk of that previously that some member states might be unhappy with some elements. but we are not going to 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 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 ist? the european parliament is the one hold—up, they 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 ist of january, but without that formal ratification by the eu parliament 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 there. anne mcelvoy, who is senior editor of the economist, says the ramifications of the deal will be felt for years. i think it ranks as an event which seems a little bit undramatic, possibly, the time of year and the challenges we are facing with the pandemic. but i think the ramifications of this will last for years, if not decades. i always felt there would be some sort of a deal. speaking personally, i am quite happy that there is one, but i think it was a bit like those events you look at on the day and think, phew, that got done,

but some people are still frustrated. for a lot of people, they will be happy to see something on paper that regulates our trading relationships with the european continent. but the detail of that, and some of the arguments i think that is going to throw up, that will be with us for many more christmases. that is part of the issue right at the moment, because we know the deal is done but we have very little detail. i've been trying to wrap my head around it. like a lot of people, apart from those poor ambassadors who have been called in to get that christmas day briefing from michel barnier, it is a bit like looking at one of the government's regular budgets but far more complicated but the headlines each side want to put out are clear. borisjohnson says this gets his leave deal done, we get the sovereignty we aspire to when we agreed by a narrow margin to leave the eu. on the european side, they are saying borisjohnson had to give a lot of ground and particularly on something that became symbolic, the issue of fishing and access

to waters and fish catches. that has really been pushed not quite to the never—never but a five—year or so agreement which grants rights, but then we'll have another look at it. it's better than letting it hold up the deal. but it doesn't resolve things. i think it will be the equivalent of the codwars from the 1970s when it expires. this will be the first of many deals that lie ahead and some will be very cumbersome. what do you think about more broadly the relationship the uk will have with the eu? borisjohnson spoke yesterday about how we will remain culturally close to europe, and of course geographically close. what can we expect in the years to come? i think it is good that he said that, and good

that both borisjohnson and ursula von der leyen, negotiating on the eu side, in what we must now call the eu, "the other side". we are still european, as borisjohnson said. if your whole campaign has been built around separation and uk sovereignty, in what way, then, do you still consider yourself connected? what does it mean to be european and not in the eu? it's a perfectly reasonable question, one the eu has struggled to answer. what do you do with countries firmly in europe who share western democratic values and belong in the security and defence architecture very closely togetherfor one thing, and it's not all that of course determines culture and cultural ties, but it is important in a very dangerous world. you still have to show what that means. i'm pleased to see the government is saying there will be a replacement for that exchange programme of students that was so valued, the erasmus programme. but we don't really know what it is.

i'm always worried when one thing gets replaced with another that the value might be less. from the government's point of view, it will be more ambitious, more global. but we need to watch we don't become... victorians used to call us awkward cousins when it came to relationship between britain and germany. we can be awkward cousins but we do also need to be cooperative cousins in the 21st century, and i think that will be a challenge on both sides — both for london and for borisjohnson and the rest of the country, and for europe and for what the eu wants from us. just briefly, where does this now leaves borisjohnson, who entered number 10 with this very specific mandate and this platform of getting brexit done? i think boris johnson will be seen on this score to have scored, in his terms, a win if not a triumph. i think if he had gone into a no deal scenario it could have been dangerous for him, it would certainly be

very perilous in terms of relationships with scotland, which is already thinking and looking again at independence push. i think he got the deal and showed that he could do it, a lot of people said he couldn't do it. the question is now, when we get to the proof of the christmas pudding or otherwise being in the eating, what have we gained and what have we lost? that will be with us for a very long time to come. the senior editor of the economist. i also spoke to drjoelle grogan, who is a senior lecturer in law at middlesex university london. i started by asking her whether she'll be poring over the full text of the free trade deal, whenever she gets sight of it. 1200 pages! i'm delighted to say for my own interest it is a little bit shorter than we were worrying about, but to put this in context, if i spent the next five days before parliament is recalled on wednesday, spending ten hours a dayjust

reading that document, i will have a maximum of two minutes and 30 seconds to fully understand, analyse and comment on it. i will probably be giving up my christmas today, but i haven't yet seen the document, i have to say. i sense a slight element of relief in your voice. it goes to show, doesn't it, how complex the uk's relationship with the eu was to require such detail. exactly. in fact, what this document represents is a foundational shift in the very relationship between the uk and the eu. what we should also underline is that this is a trade agreement on goods primarily, so a lot of questions as regards say the movement of uk citizens in europe and also services are likely to be beyond the scope of this agreement. this is free trade, not the same kind of all—encompassing relationship we previously had with the european union. so just explain to us how important

that might prove to be that there aren't yet rules governing services. very, very important for everyone who is currently providing services to the european union. one of the critical things i need to underline, and i would express a bit of concern as regards the fact we only have five days — or four days if we take off christmas, as i think we should, to properly analyse what this agreement means in practice. but there is still a lot of legal uncertainty. we are seeing an agreement which will almost certainly be ratified which is highly unusual. we are not getting a lot of time to scrutinise this or understand it. i know there's going to be a lot of questions as regards service providers as to what this means for them.

we understand you haven't seen this document, but once it comes your way, can you give us an idea of what sort of thing you will be looking for? well, i will be taking a very strong cup of coffee before even opening that document. 1,200 pages, it is gargantuan. but critically what i will be looking for from the very beginning is the governance mechanisms. so what that means in practice is if there is a disagreement between the uk and the eu as the interpretation or understanding of some part of the agreement what happens, that is going to be something very important going forward. because one of the red lines announced almost from the beginning is the jurisdiction from the court ofjustice of the european union is not applicable. so trying to find out how to resolve questions of conflict, not only between the uk and the eu at governance level as in between governments, but also for ordinary citizens and ordinary businesses just trying

to understand what this agreement means in practice. doctor grogan from middlesex university. the uk's biggest testing lab has been hit by an outbreak of coronavirus. a number of scientists at the lighthouse laboratory in milton keynes are believed to have been affected along with admin and warehouse staff. the lab, which is being asked to process about 70,000 tests a day, say it follows covid—secure work procedures. more than 1,000 people are being evacuated from a holiday park after heavy rain and flooding. police and firefighters have been working through the night to rescue those stranded at the billing aquadrome 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 scene in bethlehem this morning, in manger square. you can see a normally busy scene is quite empty. but the celebrations

still went ahead at the church of the nativity, where christians believejesus was born. but the service, which is normally attended by thousands of local and foreign 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 the flare—ups in violence in the israeli palestinian conflict 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. what a year it's been for captain sir tom moore, the former british army officer and centenarian, known for his achievements raising tens of millions of pounds for charity in the run—up to his 100th birthday during the covid—19 pandemic. we've 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. not to be outdone, she's been dubbed the scottish captain tom moore after raising hundreds of thousands of pounds climbing her stairs during lockdown, but what does 2021 hold for margaret payne? the 91—year—old has two replacement knees but isn't ruling out more challenges in the new year. isla todd has been to meet her.

how's that? she's the super stair climbing granny who's raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity. at the beginning of lockdown, margaret payne started climbing the stairs in her west highland home. and over the next ten weeks, she clambered up the same height as the scottish mountain sylvan. looking back at 2020, margaret tells us about her experience. well, a bit boring and my knees do ache. and they definitely ache more than they used to. so i thought perhaps it's silly because they're quite old now and they they might wear out. and i don't think at my age they probably want to give me new ones. she's raised a staggering £156,000, including giftaid, which was divided into four charities — the nhs and nhs highland, rnli and highland hospice. itjust came at a perfect time. everything had gone into lockdown. we were struggling. all our fundraising had stopped.

and then up popped margaret climbing the stairs. and itjust gave everything a boost. not only our fundraising, the £170,000 so far and so more trickling in, butjust the whole morale of the organisation to see somebody working so hard on our behalf. but what's next for margaret? will she put up herfeet for a well—deserved rest? or does 2021 hold the potential for another mountainous challenge? it's just an idea. i think this has been a full year and i need a bit of thinking time. i just don't know. i don't think i do it on stairs again. i might do it walking round the garden. i would either do it in the spring... we have lots and lots of spring bulbs. or probablyjune, earlyjuly. i think they're the two best times. no matter what this

91—year—old chooses to do, no doubt she will inspire others to follow in her footsteps. so impressive. for the millions of people celebrating at this time of year, 2020 is set to be a christmas like no other. we've returned to talk to some of the doctors, nurses and experts we've heard from on bbc news since the pandemic took hold in march. we're asking them how they will be marking christmas in these extraordinary circumstances. i've been speaking to italian social psychologist giuseppe pantaleo and asked him how his christmas this year is different. this is quite a silent day in comparison with other days, especially celebrations here in italy, because of reasons that we know, actually, because of the pandemic. but we are still trying to celebrate. so, we prepared something here and we willjoin at this table. but we will be only two people,

according to the indication that the government gave us. we have done something traditional, such as seafood. i will try to show you very quickly. traditional mushrooms and shrimps and squids. i don't know whether you see the preparation. yes, i see them. and here is a traditional salmon. and we will move down... this year we have prepared many side dishes, more than main courses. for the main courses, we will have what we call a polpettone. it's meatloaf with potatoes and parmesan. and also some pepperoni here. and then what we have in this table

is something traditional. a traditional cake in milan and also in the world by now. this is panettone. panettone literally could be translated as pane di tony. this is bread made by tony or anthony. this is delicious. so, panettone, and we will finish up with some chocolate tower. everything has been home—baked, handmade, and so it should be very, very tasty. giuseppe pantaleo there. snow has fallen in parts of eastern england, with the met office declaring

it officially a white christmas in the uk! mark in hessle, near hull, was up bright and early and sent us this picture. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. when i drove in this morning it was a gorgeous morning. crisp and cold and bright but i think you have bad news on the way? that's right, we have a named storm on the way, so you are right, although the weather has been quiet today, we have got a named storm on the way, and i will tell you more about that in a second. the best of the sunshine across england, things are clouding over further north and west, and although there will be an early touch of frost in south—east england, as it turns cloudier some splashes of rain, and it turns milder. by the end of the night we will be frost free. already at this stage, we will see some heavy rain pushing into western scotland. that will be there pretty much all day on boxing day, with the risk of some localised flooding. elsewhere, a milder day, some showers around

particularly for southern counties of england and wales. temperatures up of england and wales. temperatures up to 11 celsius, but then storm bella is on the way. this will be causing problems with a band of heavy rain pushing southwards, given that we already have saturated ground, ithink that we already have saturated ground, i think we could see further flooding problems with southern wales looking vulnerable and there could be some other areas as well. we also have very strong winds on the way, gusts up to 80 mph. southern coast —— coastal counties of england, and it is strong enough to bring down some trees. that is the latest weather.