this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. borisjohnson promises big changes following his brexit trade deal, as his chancellor rishi sunak says the deal brings reassurance to those who were worried about the impact on businesses. for those who were anxious about the economic implications of leaving, they should be enormously reassured by the comprehensive nature of this trade agreement, ensuring tariff—free, quota—free access for british businesses to the european union. the rollout of the pfizer covid vaccine begins for millions of people across the eu, starting with italy and the czech republic.

storm bella brings gusts of more than 100mph — with roads in parts of wales, and devon and cornwall blocked by falling trees. and after 80 years working in the same post office in a village in shropshire, postmistress kay white finally retires. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. borisjohnson has promised that big changes are on the way for the uk following his brexit deal with the european union. in an interview with the sunday telegraph, he said he wants to focus on "leveling up the country" and "spreading opportunity" across the uk. mrjohnson said the brexit deal would provide new regulatory freedoms to "deliver for people who felt left behind". but some fishing leaders have accused him of "caving in" to the eu

and sacrificing their interests. mps will vote on the deal in parliament on 30th december. speaking earlier, the chancellor rishi sunak said brexit offers britain a chance to do things differently in financial services. this deal represents one of the most comprehensive free trade agreements ever signed and it is a good deal for british families, businesses and jobs. it gives us a fantastic platform to go forward, maintain tariff free access to european markets, but also capitalise on new opportunities, whether that is signing new trade deals and i think we have already signed 58, covering £200 billion worth of trade and more to come, or trying new things, like free ports for example, which will create jobs, drive investment and increase trade. our financial services industry is something we should be enormously proud of. it is something we are globally best in class at, contributes an enormous amount to our economy

and employs over a million people across the country, notjust in the city of london. i made a statement about the future of our financial services industry a little while ago, talking about our future, making sure that it remains the most competitive dynamic place to do business anywhere in the world, that we remain open to creating new relationships, with lots of different trading partners, for example switzerland, most recently, but also that we remain the most technologically advanced place to conduct financial services. i think that ambitious vision was warmly welcomed by various stakeholders. now that we have left the european union, we can do things a bit differently and we are embarking on that journey, for example, examining how we make the city of london the most attractive place to list new companies anywhere in the world, but this deal also provides reassurance, because there is a stable, regulatory cooperative framework, we mentioned it in the deal, which i think will give people that reassurance that we will remain in close dialogue with our european partners.

that was rishi sunak saying that the deal will maintain access to european markets and opportunities in the financial sector. our political correspondent iain watson has been looking at the deal in more detail. the prime minister has insisted he had been willing to go for no—deal when negotiations were going in the wrong direction, but he insisted the deal he achieved would withstand the most ruthless scrutiny by conservative brexiteers. glad tidings and greatjoy, because this is a deal... the full agreement with the eu runs to more than 1,200 pages and has now been published, but it's attracting some criticism. the national federation of fishermen‘s organisations has described the reduction and the value of the eu's catch as paltry and says there is a profound sense of disillusionment and betrayal in fishing communities. changes to fishing quotas will be phased in over 5.5 years, with the value of the eu's catch falling by 25%.

senior uk negotiators admitted they compromised somewhat over fishing, but said the eu had done so, too. after 5.5 years the uk would be free to reduce eu access to its coastal waters further, but could face retaliatory action. government sources says any measures taken by the eu would have to be proportionate and would be limited to the fishing industry. iain watson, bbc news. i'm joined now from oxford by the shadow chancellor anneliese dodds. thank you for being with us. we were hearing from the chancellor rishi sunak saying the british people should be enormously reassured by this trade deal, and it provides a fantastic platform for this country going forward. well of course many people did grieve a site of early that a deal was obtained, and the clock was really rundown on the

negotiations. —— did breathe a sigh of relief. obviously enormous amounts of pressure with both the lack of a brexit deal until the last minute but also the virus as well. but we have to be clear, this is a thin deal, not the deal the government promised, and there are large areas of our economy, for example financial services, i think one in“; example financial services, i think one in 14 people in our country, where there are not clear elements within the deal. much more work will need to be done very speedily to ensure that we keep the uk, as a result of this deal, and don't lose even more. you result of this deal, and don't lose even more. you say result of this deal, and don't lose even more. you say it is a thin deal, but your leader and your party is going to vote for it. we are going to vote for that to maintain... as messes have been under so much pressure in recent

weeks. i talked to hauliers a few days ago. they said the current situation is beyond anything they have ever experienced, and we are not going to add to that. the deal is to provide the legal certainty around this deal so that at least we have that framework, but it is not going to be sufficient for our economy in the future and our leader keir starmer has made that clear. much more will need to be done in areas like financial services for example. this is a very thin deal, the government needs to act speedily to sort that out, and also for example in customs. the provision so that trade can move freely. these are not new problems that have only cropped up now, we have known about them for months if not years, and yet the conservatives have not got a grip on them. the division within the labour party over this is also

not a new problem. according to the papers, the shadow cabinet has been split when it comes to the deal, it was quoting you are saying the labour party should abstain rather than labour party should abstain rather tha n vote labour party should abstain rather than vote for it. is that right? we are not voting on the concept or principle of a deal. we are voting on the measures to actually implement this deal. obviously this is at the last minute, we only have a few days now until the new measures come in, until the exit of the transition period. labour is not going to add to the uncertainty, that in the last thing we want to do. we need to provide whatever support to businesses by making sure that we have a legal framework, support to businesses by making sure that we have a legalframework, and doa that we have a legalframework, and do a lot more to help them as well. many businesses i have talked to, they are concerned what will happen

if they don't have the precise paperwork when they are trying to export. inaudible. you mentioned the fact the chancellor did resurface today to talk about what support will be there for businesses coping with these twin challenges of the end of the implementation period and of course the impact of cobra. -- the impact of covid—i9. we are not voting on the concept of a deal. we are voting on legislation in a few days. we need to provide legal certainty for businesses. you said that... the possibility of labour mps rebelling against the party whip

on this? again, reports up to 60 labour mps on this? again, reports up to 60 labourmps might on this? again, reports up to 60 labour mps might rebel?” on this? again, reports up to 60 labour mps might rebel? i don't want to say that, i want to see a situation where we have as much certainty for business as possible. for example we have heard the research group on the conservative side have said they would vote against implementing legislation, i don't think that is sensible. we need to provide certainty for businesses, we really need to ensure having had the deepest recession of any major economy, that we do not make that worse problems around the legal situation. i am make that worse problems around the legal situation. iam not make that worse problems around the legal situation. i am not going to say to you that this is the deal labour would have secured, but we don't want to create more problems for businesses right now by preventing the implementation of what the government has achieved.

inaudible question. with all due respect, i am not focused on internal matters, i am sure colleagues will look at these questions themselves very carefully. iam questions themselves very carefully. i am focused on as the shadow chancellor doing all i can for the economy out of this mess. as i said, the deepest recession of any major economy right now, that the uk is experiencing. talking to businesses, hearing about the challenges they are facing, that is my focus right now. unless we see far more from this conservative government to support business and help them with the twin challenges of the end of the twin challenges of the end of the implementation period and this covid—i9 crisis, the implementation of tier 4, otherwise we will see even more economic damage in the

future. the government is saying we are facing a brighter future, future. the government is saying we are facing a brighterfuture, we now have the trade deal, we have the vaccine, maybe in a few months we will have turned the corner on coronavirus. borisjohnson will have turned the corner on coronavirus. boris johnson and will have turned the corner on coronavirus. borisjohnson and rishi sunak very optimistic this morning. well of course we are all desperate to see the end of this crisis, absolutely desperate. people have been through so much, we have seen so many businesses, unfortunately record redundancies, people struggling like never before throughout this crisis. we really wa nt to throughout this crisis. we really want to see the end of it, and i pay tribute to the scientists and medics working so hard to get the vaccine out there to protect the vulnerable. but unfortunately it does look like our country may be subject to those restrictions for longer than was initially anticipated. the prime minister said that himself. we want to see from government notjust

bluster, we need to see action to protect jobs bluster, we need to see action to protectjobs in particular. we have seen eye watering amounts of waste and mismanagement sadly through this period, billions of pounds spent on contracts... we have also seen huge number of businesses and individuals being excluded from support, people seeing their businesses slip through their fingers. seeing their businesses slip through theirfingers. i have talked seeing their businesses slip through their fingers. i have talked to so many companies, a family run company in logistics that i spoke to a few days ago, they said they have no idea what the future holds. they have not benefited so far because they have fallen outside the different schemes. the government could support them for example by recycling the money that has come back from supermarkets when they handed it back, the business rates relief, but we have heard nothing from the chancellor on this. and really i think there is a big clash between how government is describing the current situation, we are almost out of this, and the reality for so

many businesses who are onlyjust clinging on right now. we need the government to back them. thank you for talking to us this morning. the coronavirus vaccine will be given to millions of people across europe from today, as countries including france, spain and italy begin the rollout of their vaccination programmes. meanwhile there have been confirmed cases of the more contagious variant of covid—i9 in several european countries, as well as canada and japan. tim allman reports. time is of the essence in the fight against covid—i9. here at this nursing home in north—east germany, the vaccination programme has begun a day early. health workers said they weren't prepared to wait for the eu's coordinated roll—out, which was due to begin on sunday. clearly, for governments all around the world, it could be a real game—changer. but as the vaccine spreads in vans and lorries across the continent,

so, too, it seems, does the new variant strain of the virus. it was first identified here in the uk nearly two weeks ago, leading to tough new restrictions for millions of people. despite some countries effectively closing their borders to travellers from britain, the virus has been found in parts of western europe, and further afield. japan and now canada have confirmed positive tests. the new form of the virus is potentially far more infectious, but at this stage it doesn't appear to be any more severe or, crucially, any more deadly. the big question is, will the new vaccines be effective in combating it? it happens every year, for example, with influenza virus. we change the vaccine for influenza pretty much every year because of the evolution of influenza from year to year. the concern would be a similar type thing might happen then with this coronavirus. mass vaccinations are due to begin

across europe today, and there are reports that britain's medicine regulator could approve the so—called oxford vaccine within a matter of days. a little hope and optimism as the new year approaches. tim allman — bbc news. some live pictures coming in from barcelona. the vaccination programme is under way there. a number of european countries starting to give the pfizer vaccine, hope for those countries that they will be able to turn a were corner on the restrictions they have imposed in the last few months and that 2021 will... nurses and medical staff applauding one of their patients who has got the new vaccine, one of the

very first patients to get the jab. maybe the first actually, i'm not sure. the first in the czech republic is none other than the prime minister. the czech prime minister, andrej babis, has become the first person in his country to be vaccinated. mr babis received the pfizer—biontech vaccine at prague's central military hospital. he previously said he wasn't sure he could be vaccinated as he had his spleen removed as a teenager. he also walked back on an earlier claim that he would personally oversee the vaccination programme, after his former health minister turned down the role. the plan is to inoculate around 70% of the population. that's in the czech republic. in the italian capital rome, health workers received their first doses of the pfizer biontech vaccine. a medical officer and a senior professor were among the first three

to get the jab at italy's national institute of infectious diseases. italy was the first western country hit by the virus and has reported more than 70,000 deaths since its outbreak in february. it has highest toll in europe and the fifth—highest in the world. the health board which runs wales's largest hospital issued an urgent appeal for help to deal with a high number of coronavirus patients. the cardiff and vale university health board tweeted that it was urgently looking for medical students for its critical care department. last week, public health wales warned of "an alarming rise" in coronavirus case rates across the country. this morning, a doctor from the university hospital of wakes tweeted to say the hospital has covered its critical care staffing. the scottish government has pledged an extra £41 million to support businesses which were forced to close as they entered the country's top tier of coronavirus measures yesterday. the holyrood government says it's now allocated more than £3.5 billion to support businesses

and help the economy recover from the pandemic. weather warnings are in place for large parts of the uk as storm bella continues to bring heavy rain and high winds. gusts of more than 100 miles per hour have been recorded on the isle of wight, and there's an amber warning for wind in place for much of the south coast of england and parts of wales. western power distribution says there are still more than 1700 customers without electricity in the south west of the country and parts of south wales. there were power cuts to more than 21,000 homes — most of which have been restored. heavy rain has already caused flooding in bedfordshire and northamptonshire over the christmas period. authorities in the us are investigating whether a campervan explosion in the city of nashville on christmas day was a suicide bombing. three people were injured in the blast, and dna tests are now being carried

out after human remains were found near the site of the blast. no motive has been established, and no—one has claimed responsibility. authorities in sydney are concerned about a cluster of cases. the sydney cluster has now grown to 122, and that number may not see much compared to other countries, but there are very few cases across the whole country. so this cluster is causing a great deal of concern for the authorities. it is focused in the authorities. it is focused in the northern beaches district of sydney. some of those coastal suburbs on lockdown, there was an amnesty for a couple of days over christmas but those regions are now back under those regions are now back under those restrictions. other parts have

stay at home orders imposed on residents, and restrictions on other parts of sydney. australia had been hoping for a covid—19 safe christmas but this outbreak in sydney is causing the authority a great deal of concern. these restrictions will last until wednesday and then they will be reassessed, and so in total since the pandemic began, australia has recorded 22,000 cases and more than 900 people have died. the search is resuming for missing walkers and climbers in the mountains on the edge of the iranian capital, tehran. at least seven people are unaccounted for after heavy snowfalls and strong winds caused avalanches. the bodies of at least eight people have been found in the alborz range, which is popular with residents of tehran. the rescue operation is being led by the red crescent, who on saturday sent twenty teams to try to assist those in difficulties.

helicopters were also used to bring people down from the heights. among those who died are a political activist, an academic, a doctor and a mountaineering instructor. as the year draws to a close, so does one of the uk's longest careers. postmistress kay white has been working in the same post office in shropshire, england, for almost 80 years, and in that time, she's seen it all. from world war ii, to the transformation of the postal service, she's been honoured by the queen as well. it all means that when she leaves, kay will leave a big hole in the local community as geeta pendse has been finding out. put your letter through. thank you. a life behind the counter. at 93, kay white is the oldest postmistress in the country, assisted by anne, her spritely 75—year—old niece. kay started working at her village

post office in claverley at the age of 1a. there we are. mrs drew, the postmistress, asked mother if i'd come and help in the office. and in those days, if your mother says you're going to do something, you do it. and so, that's how i came to be here. kay became postmistress in 1960, and whilst technology has changed, she still remembers doing the accounts by herself. mother used to say to me, "kay, isn't there anybody who could help you?" i used to say, "nobody would understand this lot!" laughter now, after almost 80 years, kay has decided to retire, leaving a big hole in the community. bells chime how important is kay to the village? she is very important. it's about being the heart of the village, really,

where people come to share their news. the reverend, garry ward, says when the post office closed temporarily this year during the first lockdown, people really felt the loss then. some people come dailyjust to say hello and just to, you know, speak to kay. so, if the church is the soul, then the post office is definitely the heart of the village and kay is a very important part of that. every week without fail, kay pops over to the only other shop in the village — the hairdresser‘s — for a weekly wash and set. and it's safe to say that her departure has become something of a talking point. she started working at the post office when she was 14. linda has known kay all her life. the impact kay has made on the village is immense. she is an absolute character, and the person who will miss the post office the most is kay herself, because it'sjust been her life. what's your secret, kay? you've been working

here almost 80 years. i think you've got to like helping people and one another. how will you feel on that last day? it will be very strange, really, and you know, we should be sorry, you know? i never thought i would live till now. and i thought i shall die and the place will be sold. and i wouldn't have to deal with all this. i didn't think i'd be here! laughter as 2020 draws to an end, kay and anne will lock up for the last time, but there is no doubting the imprint this shropshire postm istress has left on her beloved village. geeta pendse, bbc news, claverley. and i thought i had been in the bbc for a long time! you are watching bbc news. it's the time of year

when many of us take a moment to reflect, and say thank you. maybe for something that has happened this year, or for something that happened decades ago and has had a lasting effect. 50 years ago, martin stephen was visiting family in east lothian in scotland when he nearly drowned trying to save his cousin. he was saved by the lifeboat crew at dunbar, and has had the opportunity to say thank you for the very first time. hope webb reports. it was in these choppy waters 50 yea rs it was in these choppy waters 50 years ago that tragedy nearly struck. this man and his cousin david were climbing rocks to watch the storm in a freak wave pulled david into the water. martin was forced to jump in after david into the water. martin was forced tojump in after him but david into the water. martin was forced to jump in after him but the current was strong, david was swept away and martin was left struggling against the swell. a lifeboat was deployed and the crew saved him from drowning. he was able to speak on

zoom to davy, a lifeboat volunteer that day. lovely to meet you at last. thank you for your involvement. what i do remember is feeling under my feet, thinking oh, dear, here we go... and then i blacked out. extraordinarily lucky. you were submerged apart from the top of your head when i saw you. you simply don't know how you survive... to this day, i don't know why i am still here. crew member david was the one who jumped into the freezing water that day. he has since passed away, but now his sonjamie is learning the true story of the rescue. i remember my dad coming home. if it hadn't been for my mother, putting the plaque up on the wall that he got for the rescue, we

wouldn't have known. dad wasn't keen to talk about it. i loved my dad, he was a great father. it was certainly an eye—opener on what these people can do. i suppose what they take for granted, my dad, his five brothers, they all went out in the lifeboat, they were all crew members. despite they were all crew members. despite the years that have passed, martin says the bravery of those involved that day has changed the course of his life. i've been given one of the most extraordinary christmas presents. one life was tragically lost on that day, but actually david did notjust save one life, he saved nine. my family. and here we are, i

am 71 now. i have had an amazingly happy, wonderful life, which i am really grateful for, and all because one man, and indeed the whole crew of the lifeboat, put their life on the line to people they don't know and who they have never met. i think thatis and who they have never met. i think that is quite extraordinary. the dedication of lifeboat crews up and down the country. throughout this festive period they will put their lives on the line for others. now a time for a look at the weather with helen. after a stormy start, winds from storm bella are starting to ease down but we have had in excess of 80 miles an hour, which has caused damage and disruption. the rain are starting to clear away and all parts

getting into the cold arctic air, and that will be with us until the end of 2020. snow and ice, especially in the north through the rest of the day, but all parts as we head into the night. the winds are reasoning, but still a windy day and the flood warnings remain. the rain is clearing away, sunny spells and showers following, plenty of sun across central areas, but showers further north falling as snow even in lower areas of scotland. a wintry flavour across the hills further south. the winds are easing but still pretty gusty, and that will exacerbate how chilly it feels, so nowhere near as mild as yesterday, temperatures having stayed relatively high, 11 in the south, dipping away. the wind will exacerbate that. overnight more persistent snow in scotland and the north of england. we could see a smattering of snow over the moors further down. much colder overnight,

not as