that was agreed between the uk and the eu on christmas eve. the move means the changes can take effect from the 1st of january. president trump signs a coronavirus relief and spending package, after previously threatening to block the bill — saying parts of it were ‘wasteful‘. democrats have urged the president to follow up the bill with more help for struggling workers. more signs of growing pressure on uk hospitals from the new coronavirus variant. three ambulance services in the south—east of england are asking people not to call unless it's a genuine emergency. a chinese journalist who reported on the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the city of wuhan has been sentenced to four years injail. zhang zhan was convicted of provoking trouble with her reports that criticised the authorities‘ initial response to the pandemic. next, a look back on the year

in politics with leila nathoo. the beginning of a new decade filled with promise, but 2020 didn't play out as any of us expected. from this evening, i must give the british people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home. it was a year of decisions politicians never imagined they would have to make... look at the huge temporary hospitals being created for coronavirus patients. the nhs is bracing itself. ..situations they hoped they would never have to face... we've got one of the worst death rates across europe, and now we are going to have one of the worst recession. ..as the coronavirus pandemic took hold and the economy plunged into crisis.

we are all prepared, we've got the covid—secure chairs, we've got hand sanitisers everywhere. the city isjust being picked on! the story of 2020 is one that we will never forget. for all of us, it's been a year of struggle and challenges including for those in power making the calls that have affected us all so profoundly. it was boris johnson's first year as prime minister, labour chose a new leader in sir kier starmer. you might remember 2020 as the year that life stood still, but in politics, it's been a whirlwind. borisjohnson began the year having secured an emphatic election victory with an 80 seat majority and delivering on his promise to get brexit done. with the eu divorce deal backed by parliament, he had a new slogan of what he called "leveling up". people don't feel that they have a chance to get to the opportunity areas,

to the high skilled, high payjobs, and that's one of the things that i hope by the end of this parliament, we will attack. it was supposed to be a fresh start... there you have it, we are no longer a member of the european union. ..leaving the bitter brexit battle far behind, now the issue that had dominated politics for years had been settled. unless something really, really odd happens, we are going to be sitting here next year and the biggest thing that will have happened politically and all the rest will be the uk's out of the european union. while something was happening on the other side of the world. in central china, a man has died following an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia like virus which officials say comes from the same family as the deadly sars virus. prime minister you concerned about coronavirus? at first, the risk to people in the uk was deemed to be low. this is not wuhan, but brighton. but the virus soon arrived on our shores.

what had at first seemed a distant concern was soon at the government's front door. this budget is taking place against the backdrop of coronavirus. it's almost overwhelming every thing is, of course, with a dramatic news that our health minister has not gone down with it. things were moving fast. a government's top of scientific advisers are making public appearances, but initially, the government's response was low—key. i was at a hospital the other night where i think there were a few coronavirus patients, and i shook hands with everybody. morning. officials arriving this morning for the emergency cobra meeting on the growing threat of the coronavirus. wash your hands. just what was the government's strategy for getting on top of this virus that was spreading through the country? the world health organisation advice was very clear, test, test, test. at an earlier stage, the uk changed its testing requirements. our aim is not to suppress it completely. also, because most people, the vast majority of people,

get a mild illness, to build up some degree of herd immunity. is allowing this to spread to achieve herd immunity in any way government policy? herd immunity is not our policy, it's not our goal. our goal is to protect life. knowing now where we would end up, confined to our homes for months with restrictions on our lives for the rest of the year, it's easy to forget that in early march, the situation was changing rapidly and the government's response had to quickly evolve. but looking to parts of europe, ministers and their advisers could see what was coming down the track. it's estimated we are three weeks behind italy, and if no action is taken, the epidemic here will double every 5—6 days. now is the time for everyone to stop non—essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel. we need people to start working

from home where they possibly can. it's a dramatic shift in policy, and critics say it should've happened sooner, but officials here at the department of health say that it was only today that scientific appraisers predicted a significant escalation and virus case numbers requiring radical new measures. the crucial choices the government made in those early days of the pandemic will be poured over for some time to come. ultimately, borisjohnson, against his libertarian instincts, joined leaders across the world in delivering this shocking message to the nation. without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope, because there won't be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses. from this evening for my must give the british people a very simple instruction— you must stay at home. the four nations moved in lockstep,

england, scotland, wales and northern ireland in lockdown. schools closed for all children except those of key workers, keeping essential services going. international travel ground to a halt. and the economy shut down, prompting an unprecedented intervention from the government, a conservative one at that, to try to save jobs. we are playing peoples wages up to 80% so someone could be we are paying peoples wages up to 80% so someone could be furloughed rather than laid off to protect theirjob. we prepared for the worst and cut ourselves off from each other to try to contain covid—i9. 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. in all of this, labour had spent months choosing a new leader to replacejeremy corbyn who'd inspired his followers and shifted his party to the left

but presided over two failed general election campaigns. in his place came his former shadow brexit secretary, circular starmer, brexit secretary, sir kier starmer, his virtual victory speech delivered to little fanfare. we've got a mountain to climb, where that requires change, we will change. where that requires us to rethink, we will rethink. but while the new leader of the opposition was getting his feet under the table in extraordinary times, the virus had struck at the very heart of government. the prime minister and the health secretary, the men in charge of britain's fight against coronavirus both test positive for the disease as the uk's death toll climbs again. i am working from home, i'm self isolating. we were told his symptoms were mild, but borisjohnson‘s condition took a dramatic turn for the worst. less than a mile from downing street, borisjohnson is intensive care tonight — in a personal fight against the virus that the government

and the country is trying to beat. as the first world leader to test positive for coronavirus, the prime minister was out of action in intensive care at a time of acute national crisis. borisjohnson would later reveal that it was 50—50 whether he would be put on a ventilator used to treat the most serious of cases. mercifully, borisjohnson recovered and in time to see the birth of his son, wilfred, at the end of april. but others were not so lucky. the number of dead continued to rise, soon surpassing the figure of 20,000 that the government's chief scientific adviser had said would be a good outcome. official statistics are only now starting to give a sense of the scale of what's happened in england and wales. 10% of all deaths connected to the virus are happening in care homes. critics claim the government was struggling with key tasks, sourcing reliable and adequate supplies of protective equipment for hospital staff,

and increasing the capacity for coronavirus testing and deciding whether to recommend the use of face coverings. while most of us were still grappling with the stay—at—home instruction and the heartache of not being able to see our loved ones, it emerged that some prominent people hadn't been sticking to the rules. to help save lives, stay at home. scotland's chief medical officer resigned after she admitted having visited her second home. but it was the revelation that the prime minister's most senior adviser, dominic cummings... social distancing. ..had travelled across the country during lockdown that proved to be the most controversial... you're supposed to be more than two metres apart. you understand that for some people, it seems as if there was one version of the rules for you and one version of the rules for everyone else. no, i don't regret what i did. as i said, i think, you know,in a reasonable people may well disagree about how i thought about what to do in these circumstances.

..especially since he kept hisjob. streets were deserted. silence descended. and all the while, the economy was taking a battering. in ordering lockdown, government — like other governments around the world — was requiring and requesting a big drop in economic activity on a scale and at a speed we've never seen before. yes, i can see the long—term consequences of lockdown as clearly as anyone, and i want to get this economy moving as fast as i can, but i refuse to throw away all of the effort and sacrifice of the british people and to risk a second major outbreak. i really fear that, you know, unemployment on a scale that we haven't seen for a generation, 2 million plus possibly 3 million. i don't think that people appreciate the scale of the economic crisis that could be coming down the track.

the chancellor was already paying 80% of the wages of those that had been furloughed. while our interventions have saved millions ofjobs and businesses, we can't save everyjob and every business. there were calls for more support for industries collapsing under the weight of restrictions. meanwhile, the government was trying to get a system of test, trace and isolate working, hoping to use it to be able to relax restrictions. there has been no effective tracing in place since march 12th when tracing was abandoned. we will have a test, track and trace operation that will be world beating, and yes, it will be in place, it will be in place byjune the ist. but it was struggling to deliver. have you fixed your system yet? chanting: black lives matter! 2020 was also the year that issues of racial inequality and injustice came to the forefront.

nojustice, no peace! black lives matter protester erupted in the uk after a black man, george floyd, was killed by police in america. we are not learning or growing from our past mistakes. we consistently put things under the rug and then move on and start something new. at the same time, there was concern that covid was disproportionately hitting those from ethnic minorities. protest lead to tensions over how we represent the country's past... this was how the churchill statue outside parliament was left. the prime minister calling it shameful. the monument had to be secured. ..and claims of a culture war. this feels to me like a bit of a deflection. let's get to the action, let's have some substance, let's do something about these historic injustices. there were concerns, too, over other gaps widening. with children out of school and forced to try to learn from home, it was clear that for some, their education was suffering.

for those at critical stages of their studies, there was confusion about how they would be graded in cancelled exams. a lot of people will be sad and disstressed, its very stressful time. your future is uncertain. i was predicted aaa, and i've got a given bcc, and ijust think it's unfair that we got given these grades even though we didn't sit exams in the first place. and each of uk nations changed their policy. i do acknowledge that we did not get this right, and i am sorry for that. incredibly sorry for all of those students who have been through this. in england, the footballer marcus rashford secured not one but two u—turns of government policy... ijust don't want people to go through the same things. ..and his campaign to continue providing free school meals during the holidays. it was a hot summer, and after months of us staying at home or camped in our local parks, the infection rate started to fall, and some restrictions were gradually lifted.

for the chancellor, it was time to get the country back out, spending and "eating out to help out", he said, with a major government subsidy. morning. but there were questions about his future flagship job supports package. leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that it will always be possible to return to the jobs had before. butjust as the government hoped the economy was starting to get back on its feet... tonight at ten, concern and confusion in leicester, as local firms face a further period of lockdown. ..as life started to return to some communities, in others, especially in the north of england, infections were still on the rise and local lockdowns were imposed. we are all prepared, we've got the covid secured chairs, we've got the covid secured checks, we have hand sanitisers everywhere. the city'sjust being picked on! sudden rule changes

affected iid celebrations. —— sudden rule changes affected eid celebrations. i'll paint you a scenario, you've put the turkey in the oven and then you see a twitter feed which is telling you that christmas is cancelled. so, yeah, disappointing. the four nations were moving at different speeds with the relaxation and re—imposition of restrictions, exposing tensions in our system of devolved government. soon, a gulf opened up between westminster and the north of england over levels of support. is this a game of poker? are they plain poker with places and people's live through a pandemic? is that what this is about? the people who drive those taxis, who work in the pubs, many of them who may have voted for them, they said to them they would "level up", what we have seen today is a deliberate act of leveling down. over 70% icu capacity in manchester, in bolton, and in other hospitals within the region, that's a serious situation, and it demands action. but that action meant businesses forced to close again. it's my livelihood, it's the people who work for me, they have mortgages,

kids, i'm bitter, i'm angry. boris johnson never thought that he would be the prime minister to take away what he called "the ancient right" of british people to go to the pub, something he said at the time he recognised was a huge wrench. but as well as some extraordinary firsts for a uk leader, he also had to contend with matters more familiar to his predecessors. are you going to get a breakthrough, sir? are you close? we will see how things go today. good morning, mr bennett. how are you, good afternoon. britain had left the eu, but time was running out to put in new trade arrangements once the transition period came to an end. deadlines to strike a new post—brexit trade deal came and went, and the government's strategy continue to shock. yes, this does break international law in a very specific and limited way. that's not the kind of thing you hear very often in the house of commons — riling even conservative

brexit supporters. how can we reproach russia, or china or iran when their conduct falls below internationally accepted standards when we are showing such scant regard for our treaty obligations? but in the midst of all the uncertainty around brexit and covid—i9, borisjohnson was still trying to look to the future, promising a green recovery. the uk government has decided to become the world leader in low—cost clean power generation. and he had the future of the union to worry about too. you can see for the duration of the pandemic that there has been an increase in the "yes support" to 56%. i will seek your authority, no one else's, for independent legal referendum to be held in the early part of parliament. shame on you! labour had its own concerns.

in the autumn from the equalities watchdog found the party had acted unlawfully in handling claims of anti—semitism under jeremy corbyn‘s leadership. his response, that the issue is one that had been exaggerated by his political opponents, prompted his extraordinary suspension from the party he had been a member of for more than 50 years... very shocked and very disappointed. ..and which he was in charge of at the start of the year. i made it clear that we won't tolerate anti—semitism or the denial of anti—semitism through the suggestion that it's exaggerated or faction. meanwhile, coronavirus infections began rising once more. would we all be forced back into our homes for the cold months ahead? i don't want a second national lockdown, and i think it would be a completely wrong for this country. the government's scientific advisers privately recommended three weeks ago that it was time to go much further. the circuit breaker is needed now

to get this virus under control. but then... large swathes of the country come under tougher coronavirus measures with a full national lockdown starting in wales. over 3 million people there, whether in a higher low infection —— over 3 million people there, whether in a high or low infection area, will be under full restrictions now for the next 16 days. the uk government eventually went into reverse. i'm afraid the basic message is the same — stay at home, protect the nhs, and save lives. on this and on extending the furlough scheme, rishi sunak has gone from you now to help out to eating his words. we need a chancellor who is in front of the problems we face, not one who is always a step behind. there was disquiet on the government's own back benches too over the system of tiered restrictions in england. by putting down legislation of how people live their lives in private homes, that is not a speeds we should enter easily.

madam deputy speaker, it stinks. collapsing the economy and destroying people's jobs and livelihoods can never be the right solution. there was desperation in some parts of the economy. see all these people? they have children. we need to social distance, or we are going to get in trouble! hungry children. we put a range of different support in place right at the beginning of this when there was such acute anxiety and worry for the country, but the good news is that support lasts all the way to next spring, and that is there alongside lots of other things we've done. in each of the nations, those in charge were under pressure to explain how and why we were here again. the cabinet has agreed to take further specific and targeted action to reinforce the current national measures we have in place. coronavirus was also playing a starring role in the key political event across the atlantic. this is quite an unbelievable scene,

the president who is being treated for coronavirus is waving at his supporters while he is meant to be in the hospital. president trump recovered from the virus. we were getting ready win this election, frankly, we did win this election. applause. the president—elect, joe biden. when in fact, he had lost the election to his democrat challenger. mr biden, a quick word for the bbc? the bbc? i'm irish. and then the news all governments had been hoping for, the promise of a vaccine. a great day for science and humanity, that sentence alone tells you what a big day this could be in the fight against coronavirus. there was soon more scientific breakthroughs. just delighted here in oxford. huge, huge congratulations to you all and your teams. it's the third goal in the back of the net now. oxford has created a vaccine not just for britain, but for the world.

meanwhile, a major bout of office politics triggered some big changes inside number ten. the prime minister's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, was out. no longer loyal to the man who'd been by his side for years, boris johnson did stick by his home secretary, priti patel, when she was found to have broken the ministerial code in a bullying inquiry. i am sorry if i have upset people in any way whatsoever. that was completely unintentional. the cost of coronavirus had been building up. our health emergency is not yet over, and our economic emergency has only just begun. many key workers who willingly took on so much responsibility during this crisis are now being forced to tighten their belts. in contrast, there has been a bonanza for those who have won contracts from this government. the chancellor would have to decide

how to start paying for it all. we have all spent most of the year not being able to share meals with our loved ones, but over christmas, the four nations decided to relax restrictions for a few days to allow us to meet. it was much needed respite from the isolation of 2020, but scientists warned the government it was playing with fire given that any mixing over the festive period could send infection rates soaring in the new year. but it was a gamble that ministers were willing to take. until... given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, the potential risk it poses, it is with a very heavy heart, i must tell you, we cannot continue with christmas as planned. dozens of countries shut their doors on the uk. lorries backed up, unable to cross the channel. the new variant is out of control and we need to bring it under control. and this news about the new variant has been an incredibly

difficult end to, frankly, an awful year. meanwhile, brexit talks were coming to a head with the end of the transition period looming. negotiators had shuttled back and forth between london and brussels... distance. a deal for post—brexit arrangements was within reach... a good deal is still there to be done. ..until it wasn't. the two sides kept us guessing until the last possible moment. 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, because although we have left the eu, this country will remain culturally, emotionally, historically, strategically, geologically attached to europe. 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. in the years since borisjohnson secured his place here, our world has turned upside down. the prime minister himself fell victim to the virus that he was in charge of tackling. his recovery was short, the economy's and society's will take far longer. where and how we go from here with britain in a new relationship with the eu are the crucial political questions for the year ahead and beyond.

hello, it's a cold and bright day for many of you, but for others it really has been a winter wonderland today. we have seen snow as far south as the cotswolds and even in the downs this afternoon, and we are going to continue to see some further bouts of snow across the country. in different areas from one day to the next, but it is always going to be a fine balance for some between snow, rain and sleet. but either way it is going to be cold, frosty and icy by night. now, today it is cold out there, strong winds down the western flank, rain, but a little bit of sleet and snow mixed in over the higher ground towards pembrokeshire and cornwall. rain, sleet, snow mix clearing away from southern counties of england through the rest of today, but more showers down the eastern coast. rain on the coastal strip, a little bit of sleet and snow in mind. and by the time we hit this evening, already temperatures close to freezing. now, tonight, the showers become more abundant through parts of scotland and northern england. rain along the coast, turning to sleet and snow inland,

even the uphill parts. sheffield, manchester, leeds, bradford could see a covering of snow again as we head into tomorrow morning. away from that, though, it is going to be icy with temperatures widely below freezing. so another cold day in store. still breezy down western areas, but we could see a rain, sleet, snow next move through the peak district, staffordshire, shropshire, the midlands, towards parts of wales and eventually the south—west. so another coating of snow possible for some of you. notice though through the afternoon showers mainly around coastal districts, most inland will be dry and clear with some sunshine. some of you will be dry all day long, but it will stay cold. cold because we have got low pressure sitting to the east of us, dragging down airfrom the north. but watch what happens tuesday night into wednesday. we see this weather feature push its way in. now, to the south of that, there will be some milder air, so could be some rain, but the northern edge of it pushing into colder air so a greater likelihood of some snow which could in itself cause disruption. the uncertainty is where that snow will track. at the moment, it could just fringe into northern ireland. it looks like it could go through wales, the midlands,

towards east anglia. rain along southern coastal counties, but bear in mind, if that system is a bit further south, it will be snow rather than rain in the south. the north of it staying dry and bright. that system, though, either way, once it clears out the way could give some snow for a time in east anglia and the south—east. and then into new year's eve, more in the way of batches of showers coming down, which could give us a covering of snow to take us into the new year's day across some eastern counties of england. a lot to play for, but certainly for new year's eve at the moment, many will be dry and bright but still cold.

this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. eu ambassadors unanimously back the post—brexit trade deal that was agreed between the uk and the eu on christmas eve. president trump signs a coronavirus relief and spending package, after previously threatening to block the bill — saying parts of it were wasteful. it's taken forever, however the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. it really is a disgrace. more signs of growing pressure on uk hospitals from the new coronavirus variant. three ambulance services in the south—east of england are asking people not to call unless it's a genuine emergency. a chinese journalist who reported on the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the city of wuhan has

been sentenced to