this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. millions of people face tougher covid restrictions as rule changes come into force. as the uk grapples with a new strain of coronavirus, there are now confirmed cases in france, spain and sweden. millions of americans face losing unemployment benefits as the standoff between donald trump and congress over a coronavirus stimulus package continues. former mi6 officer and soviet spy george blake has died aged 98 in moscow.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. 6 million people in the east and south—east of england have joined those living under the strictest coronavirus restrictions in tier 4. those restrictions now affect around 2a million people in england — more than 40% of the population. the toughest measures mean the closure of all nonessential shops as well as hairdressers, swimming pools and gyms. a national lockdown has also started in northern ireland and measures have been reimposed in wales after being eased for christmas. all of mainland scotland has moved into the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions with the rest of scotland in tier 3 restrictions. and france, spain and sweden have confirmed their first cases of the coronavirus variant recently identified in the uk. meanwhile, millions of americans face going without unemployment benefits after saturday amid a political

standoff over a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package. our first report is on the millions of people who are entering the toughest set of restrictions in england. here's daniela relph. harsher restrictions have returned, and it shows. with christmas day done, the centre of southampton is empty as new areas of southern and eastern england now find their lives restricted by even tighter rules. it's very, very quiet. it's unusual at this time of the year. so, yeah, it's strange and different. some people are totally not seeing their family. it's caused frictions in families. it would be nice if it could all come to an end and we could all be back to normal. the blue areas on the map are all now in tier 4, where you must stay at home unless you need to travel for work or education. you may only meet one person at a time outside.

nonessential retail closes, and you shouldn't leave a tier 4 area. but elsewhere, there is a familiar look to boxing day. the prime minister had warned people to think carefully and avoid sales crowds. in leeds, though, still in tier 3, the prospect of a bargain drew some people out. i always go to the sales on boxing day for bargains and i don't like doing it online, so i wanted to support the shops as well. enjoying it so far, just a shame we can't have a coffee somewhere or perhaps a glass of wine. it's a lot quieter than we were expecting, it's all a bit eerie, but we got what we needed and it was nice, but the staff all looked a bit not as festive as well. it's a different feeling. there is one activity the hardiest can still do despite restrictions. open water swimming here in somerset has been a lockdown comfort for many.

it'sjust addictive, it'sjust something for your mental health, to keep you sort of balanced and a reset from a busyjob. it'sjust perfect. across the uk, harsher rules are now in force. mainland scotland has moved into its toughest level of restrictions, and northern ireland, along with wales, is now in full lockdown. daniela relph, bbc news. the new strain variant, which was first found in the uk in september, carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and it happens to be one that is now common. with france being the latest country on saturday to disclose a case, in the last several days, the world health organization has reported that nine cases have been detected in denmark, four in spain, and one case each in the netherlands, germany, italy and australia. switzerland is also saying the variant is most likely present in the country, and it has been recorded in sweden. japan also confirmed its first five cases, leading it to ban all non—resident foreign nationals from entering the country from the 28th of decmeber. meanwhile, researchers say

that the virus found in south africa, while having similar properties to the uk variant, has developed independently. parts of the us city of nashville remain cordoned off after a camper van exploded in the early hours of christmas day. three people were injured and widespread damage was caused when the van, which had been broadcasting a warning that a blast was imminent, blew up in the city centre. as we've been hearing, in northern ireland, a six—week lockdown has begun with nonessential shops forced to close. hair salons must also shut while pubs, cafes and restaurants are restricted to takeaway and delivery services. the measures will be reviewed in four weeks' time. here's our ireland correspondent, chris page. as soon as christmas day ended, the lockdown began. there are no sporting events in northern ireland

on this 26th of december. racecourses and stadiums are silent. shoppers and sales are absent, too. instead, belfast city centre is shuttered down. one festive tradition that is allowed, though, is a brisk and breezy boxing day walk. people said tighter restrictions were for the best. oh, i think it's very necessary. it's a good thing and anything to keep us safe. i think it'sjust best everybody stays safe. we just have to do it. i think it's ok. lockdowns are in place from today until early february. pubs and restaurants have been hit particularly hard at what is usually a popular time of year to eat out. i know the health of people is just paramount and it protects the nhs, but we were given very, very short notice on some

of the lockdowns and a lot of stock had been bought in, staff had to be organised and it has a very big financial impact on all hospitality trade. the devolved government has said it had no option but to take strong action because infections, hospitalisations and deaths have been rising throughout this month. everyone in this part of the uk is hoping this lockdown will be the last. chris page, bbc news, belfast. mainland scotland has moved into its highest level of coronavirus restrictions. and in wales, tough restrictions have been reimposed after yesterday's relaxation of the rules which allowed two households to mix for christmas day only. all but essential shops are closed and people have been told to stay at home to save lives. and wherever you live in the uk, you can find out what the rules are in your area by entering your postcode in our interactive tool — you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app.

a trial has begun of an experimental antibody treatment which could offer emergency protection against covid—i9. the treatment is designed to be given to people who've been exposed to the virus within the previous eight days. researchers hope it could stop them developing coronavirus. the former mi6 officer george blake, who became one of the cold war‘s most infamous double agents, has died, according to russian media reports. he was 98. as as a soviet spy, blake handed over information that betrayed at least a0 british agents in eastern europe. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, reports. he had a russian home, a russian wife, even a russian name — giorgi ivanovich. but george blake was a british intelligence officer who became one of the most notorious double agents of the cold war. he spied for the soviets for nearly a decade. blake had spent three years in captivity in north korea and,

by the time he returned to britain in 1953, he was a committed communist. posted to berlin by mi6, he became a kgb mole. he would take the train to the soviet sector, hand over data on western intelligence operations and western agents, and then drink champagne with his kgb handler. maybe 500, 600. agents, you betrayed 500, 600 agents? maybe. blake convinced himself that what he was doing was morally right. i looked upon it like a sort of voluntaryjob. you know, like people... oxfam? something like that. he was eventuallyjailed in britain for 42 years. he then was able to escape and smuggled to germany and spent the rest of his life in moscow cocking a snook at the brits who had not succeeded in catching him. in 2012, he told a russian

tv channel that he had not changed sides because of blackmail or torture. he had offered his services voluntarily. in a message of condolence, president putin described him as courageous, an outstanding professional, adding that his memory it would remain in russian hearts for ever. russia gave him medals and much praise but, to britain, he is the cold war traitor who escaped justice. tom bower spent five months with the spy, making a documentary for the bbc in 1990. i spoke to the investigative journalist a little earlier — he told me blake had no regrets over his work. well, he's old, and he died without regrets. i spent, as you said, many months with him, day and night, and he was a very genial, intelligent man who had no regrets

and was very proud of what he had done, he was defensive about the fate of the agents he betrayed, most of whom were executed, but he had no regrets about switching from the west to support communism. did you get any sense of guilt at all about those agents that he betrayed, many of whom were executed as a result of the information he gave? no regrets at all although when i met him he denied they had been executed but of course they had been. he was rather proud — he had betrayed some of the most valuable secrets the west had in those days, the tunnel a break into the radio traffic, telephone traffic in east berlin, he betrayed lots of operations, he betrayed a similar tunnel in vienna, he was an unbelievably successful spy and even more successful that he actually escaped, it was astonishing, though

he was looked up at a top security prison in wormwood scrubs and he got over the wall and was spirited away onto a bed in a camper van to east berlin, it was astonishing. that's incredible, what did he say about that and how much of a propaganda coup was it for the soviets? they were not involved in helping him get out, where they? it was all organised by him and an irish republican. and two peace workers. he was amazingly proud of that, it was all done by him, hejust outwitted the prison authorities. but he was furious that he had been given 42 years. as he told me, why did kim get away with it and anthony blunt and so many other of the cambridge

circle get away with it but only he was sent to prison for that unprecedented period ? he saw it as the establishment getting their revenge against a foreignjewish person, he had furious thoughts against britain and he had no thoughts about betraying them after that and then cocking a snook by escaping. and his parents werejewish refugees who escaped the german occupation of czechoslovakia ? his parents were dutch, went to egypt, hejoined the resistance and made his way from holland through gibraltar and england and volunteered and joined the british royal navy as a submariner, he was then recruited to mi6. the great mistake of the british and of mi6 was that, after his captivity in north korea, he actually was then taken back into mi6 as if nothing had happened. they had no suspicions at all that he had been turned while in captivity. that was a terrible mistake by mi6. and i spent a lot of time researching not only blake

but all these things, i wrote a book, and it was through dick white that he forced blake into a confession, he confessed to being a spy when he could have denied it, but somehow he felt he had to relieve himself of his proud ness, of having been a spy and also his guilt, and hejust blurted out in an interview in carlton gardens, it was quite astonishing. of course he regretted that terrible error. the met office has warned of severe gales and heavy rain as storm bella approaches the uk. yesterday, more than 1,000 people in bedfordshire were advised to leave their homes because of flooding. evacuation centres have been set up to help those affected. anisa kadri reports. a rise in the river levels here caused rising anxiety. 1,300 households were told to evacuate after heavy rainfall with people urged to stay elsewhere.

police said the flooding situation overrides the requirement to stay in your own home, according to tier 4 coronavirus restrictions. with the restrictions, we were all kind of eating in our own homes and so forth. so, yeah, we've ended up doing kind of what we've done in the past few years anyway, so oddly enough it's ended up being a more sociable christmas than we were planning on. debbie ward had police turn up at the door late on christmas eve telling her she should evacuate, but she chose not to. our toilets aren't working, we've not been able to have a shower. our pet, we've had to rehome her to our daughters because she can't go in the garden because it's completely flooded, and obviouslyjust, you know, you worry, you panic. it was rising quite fast and has come up, but luckily it's not reached the top of our step and come in the house. bedford international athletic stadium was one of the emergency assistance centres set up for people who had nowhere else to go out.

people have had a terrible time. we've had all of the measures in place to protect people from the spread of the virus. it was christmas day yesterday, boxing day today, obviously, and our hearts just go out to people that have now, with all of that going on, have had some of the highest level floods for over 20 years thrown at them. well, you can see the river's water levels have risen. the water is seeping onto this path here and the bin submerged in the water is proving to be quite the photo opportunity this morning. the environment agency and other authorities are keeping a close eye on the situation. more rain's expected as different parts of the country prepare for storm bella. anisa kadri, bbc news.

it's been difficult 2020 for many of us but, for one baby boy in the uk, 2020 was extraordinarily special. ethan had been awaiting a heart transplant. well, this year, he got one. tim muffett caught up with the family as they prepared for a very different christmas to the one they faced last year. relief, despair, sadness and joy — it has been an extraordinary yearfor all of us. but for ethan and his family, 2020 has been truly remarkable. it's been a long year and a rollercoaster. the last year, he has lived in great ormond street hospital on the urgent heart transplant list, waiting for a transplant. we met richard and roselelia 12 months ago. their son ethan was born with a heart defect and was reliant on an artificial heart machine, but time was running out. in the summer, we received that call and ethan was given a second chance, and, yes, it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. when you received that call, what went through your mind? it's hard to talk or say anything. i rang my mum, and i was... i could barely tell you. i was practically bawling,

and i only said the word heart, and my mum and my sister thought something had happened to ethan. they thought he had actually died, they thought that was what i was ringing to say. and i finally got myself together and said, no, no, he's got a heart, and they started crying. we're crying because it is relief, but then we're crying because someone has lost their little one. they have lost their whole world. what do you say to that family today? i don't even think words can describe it. thank you is not enough. i think i need to come up with another word — i don't know what it is, but, yes, just thank you so much. thank you. what is it like, having ethan back? amazing, and i'm very excited. i love him lots and lots. it is not the first time this family has been so grateful for an organ donation. two years ago, richard also

had a heart transplant. we've bothjust been so lucky with donors saying yes and giving us that chance at life, and i got a chance to be a dad. someone has given me the chance to carry on being a dad. in may, the law in england changed so that most adults are now considered to be potential organ donors unless they specifically opt out. that has been the case in wales for five years. scotland will follow suit in march. now, many welcome the change, but it does not apply to children. what do you think about that? everyone has their own opinion on what they want to do. just have those discussions today. studies have found that families after have said that, if they could go back, they would have said yes. but at that moment in time, that was the first time that they had ever thought about it. are you able to, if you wanted to, make contact with the donor family?

so we are able to write a letter to them. we would send that letter via the transplant team at great ormond street. they would then pass that on to the family, and it would be for the family, if they want to make contact, to respond back to us. i hope that they do because i would love them to meet us and meet ethan. this year, so many gifts given and received will feel extra special, but sometimes appreciation and gratitude goes beyond words. tim muffett, bbc news. british grand prix racing champion lewis hamilton made his name in the gas—guzzling world of formula 1, but he's also backing a very different form of motor sport. it's called extreme e and it's all about pushing the boundaries, in more ways than one. our chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt, reports. the cars are electric suvs designed by the formula 1

design guru adrian newey. they deliver 400 kilowatts — the equivalent of 550 brake horsepower. and they'll be racing in some of the most extreme environments on earth. heavy guitar music. expect star wars pod racing meets the dakar rally, say the organisers. what brought my attention to extreme e is the great places that it's going to go to and raising awareness for the real climate issues. we've got some serious challenges up ahead of us, the direction we are going as a human race is not good, and, yes, there are potential changes, the government saying that only electric cars, but that fixes — perhaps, while that fixes one problem, another problem pops up.

i'm trying to learn as much as i can with ev technology, which i think extreme e will help develop but that, i don't think, is the answer to the whole issue that we have. the idea is to showjust how powerful and fun electric vehicles can be and to raise environmental awareness by racing them in places that have already been affected by climate issues. the series will be going to greenland, the amazon and the deserts of saudi arabia. extreme e is also billing itself as the world's first gender equal motorsport platform. there'll be four teams, each with two drivers — one male, one female. it's totally different — here, more power than the petrol cars. of course, the sound is totally different — here it's not sound.

i think i prefer the electric car because i need to make a change, especially in these days, because the climate change is near. all extreme e freight and logistics will travel by sea in a refurbished royal mail ship, the rms st helena. and it will generate some of the power it uses with portable solar panels. they'll be used to create hydrogen which, on race day, will be fed into a fuel cell like this to generate electricity, helping prove a low carbon technology that will find applications around the world, say its designers. the displacement of diesel generators which are prevalent throughout the world. the application of the fuel cell on shipping, on boats, where you decarbonise the international maritime industry, a key emitter of c02. so here's the question — does the series deliver on its climate aware promise? well, there's no doubt that extreme e will create unnecessary emissions,

but it will also showcase just how capable electric vehicles can be, and it will send another important message — that the low carbon revolution doesn't have to be dull and boring. heavy guitar music. the extreme e series will begin in saudi arabia in march and will be broadcast live across the bbc. justin rowlatt, bbc news. now the special programme documents a special programme about captain tom moore who raised over £32 million for nhs charities to mark his 100th birthday.

captain tom moore will travel to windsor castle to meet the queen. captain tom moore will travel to windsor castle to meet the queenm is the only honours to be awarded since the beginning of lockdown. tom moore is now sir tom, the 100—year—old world war ii veteran was knighted by queen elizabeth for an extraordinaryjob well done. to meet the queen was more than anyone could expect. never, ever did i imaginel could expect. never, ever did i imagine i would meet the queen, who

had such a kind message for me, that was really truly outstanding. tomorrow will be a good day.“ tomorrow will be a good day. if we asa tomorrow will be a good day. if we as a country could show the same spirit of optimism and energy shown by captain tom moore, we will beat it, together we will come through this all the faster. it is wonderful that everyone has been inspired by his story and determination. it was a one—man fundraising mission. his story and determination. it was a one-man fundraising mission. every crisis needs a hero. and in 2020 in

the middle of the coronavirus pandemic the uk found one, captain tom moore. hello, i'm michael ball, and this is the story of one man and his determination to make a difference. in less than four weeks, captain tom moore raised over £32 million for nhs charities, found himself number one on the charts on his 100th birthday and received tens of thousands of birthday cards. captain tom, we meet at last! where do you come from? i have been looking down the bottom of your garden, how are you, sir? how you? it's nice to see you. a man who served his country during world war ii was doing his bit for the national effort once more. a lovely

story coming up, 99—year—old war veteran has walked 100 lengths of his back garden to raise money the nhs. i have had such marvellous service, particularly the nurses. especially when i broke my hip. we said, if you walk 100 times, your 100th birthday is coming up, we will pay £1 for every length you do, and isaid, pay £1 for every length you do, and i said, let's raise the money for charity, he said, let's raise it for the nhs, the covid—19.

i'm doing a good job. thank you from me and my staff for everything you have done. thank you, captain tom! we were talking earlier to tom moore who is walking 100 lengths of his back garden before his 100th birthday on the 30th of april. and he hoped he would raise about £1000, it went up to £5,000. when we spoke to him and his lovely daughter in the first half of the show, they had just over £200,000. since we talked to him, another £45,000 has gone into hisjust giving page, the target had gone up to £100,000, let's make it £300,000, can we? we then went back on bbc breakfast on

then went back on bbc breakfast on the bank holiday monday and i think the bank holiday monday and i think the rest is history, it is really ha rd the rest is history, it is really hard for us to even rationalise it committee understand what truly happened because from then things we nt happened because from then things went crazy. huge congratulations, captain tom, you are absolutely brilliant. we love you. well done. congratulations on passing the million, you are an inspiration to us and to the millions of bbc breakfast viewers who have been supporting you as well. amazing. well done.