welcome to viewers in the uk and around the world, as the uk parliament prepares to start debating the post—brexit trade deal struck between the british government and the european union. the prime minister borisjohnson will urge mps to "open a new chapter in our national story" by backing the agreement. the deal hammered out with brussels over nine tortuous months sets out a new business and security relationship between the uk and its biggest trading partner. labour leader sir keir starmer — who campaigned against brexit — has said the "thin" agreement does not do enough to protectjobs, the environment and workers‘ rights,

but said he will ask his party's mps to back the deal to avoid a no—deal. this morning, the european commission president ursula von der leyen and european council president charles michel signed the international treaty ratifying the post—brexit trade deal, due to come into force on january 1st. the agreement is on its way to london, where the prime minister borisjohnson will add his signature. let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley. he is at westminster for us. just talk us through what is going to happen in the commons this morning. good morning, it is going to be a busy day here at westminster because suchis busy day here at westminster because such is the length of time left, one day until this trade agreement comes into force, things are going to have to be rushed through the commons and the lords, it is all going to happen in there today. it could be another 20 minutes or so before we hearfrom

the prime minister, just because parliament has been recalled, they need to go through some procedure to set the date up, basically, and to allow m ps set the date up, basically, and to allow mps to dial in from home because of the pandemic, but we are going to see borisjohnson telling the country why he thinks this deal isa the country why he thinks this deal is a good one, why he thinks it achieves what he promised back in the general election last year, giving the uk back sovereignty as well as ensuring trade with the european union. so we should hear from him in about half an hour's time. there will be a debate in parliament for a few hours, we will hear the labour leader xi keir starmer setting out why he is going to back the deal and tell labour mps to back the deal and tell labour mps to back the deal and tell labour mps to back for it despite many reservations in the party —— sir keir starmer. it is possible we will see many labour mps abstain rather than see many labour mps abstain rather tha n vote see many labour mps abstain rather than vote for the deal. it will go on till around 2pm this afternoon.

there will be votes in parliament through the course of the afternoon, some in the commons and some in the lords and it will be this evening that the trade deal is formally signed off by parliament here and then signed into law. it is extraordinary, isn't it, that and over a0 year history of a strong link between the uk and the eu should be dissolved in a matter of a few hours. this is all going through in one day. and what a contrast with some of the big brexit days we have seen here in the past. i can tell you, westminster is very calm and very steal this morning, a complete contrast to some of those really quite heated days we have seen over the last four and a half years when parliament voted on the big brexit moments. today is going to feel very different because borisjohnson has a comfortable majority, he has the brexiteers on his side, the vast majority of his party is going vote

with him today and he also has the opposition voting with him. it is not going to be a clean sweep in parliament, there are some who are deeply unhappy with this deal. the snp are going to vote against it, the liberal democrats, not of northern ireland's mps are going to vote for the deal this afternoon —— none of. but you are right, it is a strange set of circumstances we find ourselves in, partly because of the pandemic... i am just ourselves in, partly because of the pandemic... i amjust going ourselves in, partly because of the pandemic... i am just going to interrupt you, the speaker of the commons is speaking. as i say, in my own office, working very late christmas eve, boxing day and all the way through, there are staff in this house who have not had a break, please bear that in mind. as i say, i hope any consideration of timings, the house proposals are considered in the context of the additional burden placed on staff due to the current severe public health situation, every effort has been

made to enable today's proceedings to take place. i will shortly call the minister to move the motion which will allow a welcome return to virtual participation in debate for today and the new year. i should inform honourable members that when speaking limit is in effect for backbenchers, the countdown clock will be visible on the screens, with honourable members participating virtually. the screen is in the chamber. for honourable members in the chamber, the usual clock will operate. we now come to the presentation of the bill. minister. michael gove, it should be. i presentation of the bill. minister. michael gove, it should be. lam looking around, michael, unless someone looking around, michael, unless someone wants to move it.|j looking around, michael, unless someone wants to move it. i beg to move. second reading. european

union, future relationship bill. today. thank you for that. we now come to a motion leader of the house to move. i beg to move formally. i willjust put the question. the amendment, the question is the first participation proceedings as on the order paper. shadow leader of the house. thank you, mr speaker and can i thank the leader of the house of lords for this motion, it is a really important motion. i'm slightly disappointed, it just really important motion. i'm slightly disappointed, itjust shows what the government's desperate incompetence is light, slightly disappointed that the leader chose to announce it on social media that he was bringing forward this motion and not copying the opposition members into the letter to the procedure committee. i want to thank the chair of the procedure committee

and the whole committee for all of their hard work in listening to members' concerned and bringing forward their voice on this. can i say, though, that it was wrong for the leader to pitch honourable members who are doing their duty by public health, who had to either stay at home looking after people who have covid—i9, which is sweeping oui’ who have covid—i9, which is sweeping our nations, and they did the right thing. now, every single voice and every single honourable member can be heard, subject to your cause, mr speaker, so her majesty's opposition wholeheartedly support this motion. i'm grateful the right honourable lady's support for this motion, as london has gone into tier a, it is obviously important that we move with the country at large but i don't want to eat further into the time available today's important proceedings. we also welcome the return of full virtual participation. it is regrettable that the government hasn't given us full re m ote that the government hasn't given us full remote voting, there are twice

as many msp's here today who otherwise wouldn't have had to be here. studio: proceedings have started, as you can see, but they are pretty much talking about procedural issues. the speaker there, i don't know, i will take you back to nick in westminster, i don't know if you managed to follow that, the speaker was looking around for the cabinet office minister michael gove to move that motion, he wasn't actually in the chamber at the time, so somebody else did it instead, but the speaker making it clear that this will be a virtual debate that lots of mps will be able to participate in, online, and also reminding mps that there are staff in the house of commons that haven't had a break over christmas, partly because of the very difficult times we are in with covid and also, of course, getting this brexit legislation through. when we were talking, and i

interrupted you, you were talking about some of the disquiet there is in the commons about this brexit deal and you mentioned that this is an issue within the labour party, rather more than within the conservative party. just explain that to us. that's right, i will be surprised if we see any sort of significant rebellion on the conservative benches today because the brexiteers who made life very difficult for theresa may when she was prime minister, they are behind this deal. on the labour side, the labour leader sir keir starmer took the decision that his party should back the deal because the alternative to doing that, he argues, is a no deal situation, something that labour wanted to avoid. that has not gone down well with everybody in the party and i do think a number of labour mps today will refuse to vote through the deal. the vast majority of them i expect will abstain and basically not take part in the vote, but some

may take a decision to actively vote against the deal as well. their point would be that they don't think it isa point would be that they don't think it is a good deal, they don't think it is a good deal, they don't think it goes far enough, it doesn't necessarily stand the test of time and could have to be revisited. and we will get some of the other smaller parties making a very conscious decision to vote against today. and although borisjohnson ends his biggest headache today, the one over getting a brexit deal and getting it through parliament, that doesn't mean there aren't headaches to come. so the snp, who represent most seats in scotland, they will vote against it. the scottish parliament is likely to vote against the deal later when it is recalled this afternoon. it is also significant that anon of northern ireland's mps are going to back the deal either —— non—op. so although borisjohnson will get deal either —— non—op. so although boris johnson will get what deal either —— non—op. so although borisjohnson will get what he wants today, the backing of his own party, a comfortable majority in parliament, very different to some of the big brexit moments we have

seen of the big brexit moments we have seenin of the big brexit moments we have seen in the commons over the last few years, there are some that will vote against this and potentially there are some headaches to come for there are some headaches to come for the prime minister. thanks very much indeed, nick eardley, and we will be back to him during the day. let's speak to our europe correspondent gavin lee, who's in brussels. gavin, today, the european commission president and the european council president signed that international treaty ratifying this supposed brexit trade deal. is there a sense in brussels ofjob done? —— post—brexit trade deal. they were all smiles and poses for the camera for the kodak or insta moment and it almost is job done. the two most powerful leaders of the eu, ursula von der leyen and charles michel, signed these documents, documents for the actual trade deal between the uk and the eu, security

and information sharing and agreement on the safe use of nuclear energy. they signed them, they smiled, had a quick chitchat but this is in proviso. two things has to happen, it has be agreed by the uk parliament today and in two days' time, if all goes to plan, then the agreement will kick in but there will be retroactive approval needed from the european parliament later next year. we are talking about anytime between january and next year. we are talking about anytime betweenjanuary and march. there will be a deadline that will be set but basically they can say yes, we agree to it, even though it has taken place. we are going to leave it there, gavin, many thanks. maddy thimont jack is an associate director on the brexit team at the institute for government — a non—partisan think tank. we were speaking a little bit earlier, interestingly so, proceedings have got under way

within the house of commons, we are waiting for the prime minister boris johnson to begin the debate. they we re johnson to begin the debate. they were talking more about procedures but one of the points that was brought up by the scottish national party was the amount of time being given to the debate. there are five hours being given to it and they wa nt hours being given to it and they want seven hours. itjust shows how quickly mps are being asked to decide. exactly, there are a lot of mps who want to speak, who want to share their views and there is very little time for them to do so and i saw a point raised on twitter, was that the way that the motion has been formed means that actually it might mean that the five hours that the government has to decide, it is all taking up the second reading of the passage, we don't get the amendment stage of the bill so it might mean mps don't even get a chance to propose any amendments to the text, so that is what the snp amendment is trying to address, to ensure there is some time at these

to consider amendments. so i think the way this has been formed means that parliament is being asked to rubber—stamp it, it doesn't really have sa and unfortunately it looks like the government is going to be able do that. —— have a say. like the government is going to be able do that. -- have a say. what are the likelihoods of the snp getting the amendment through? u nfortu nately, getting the amendment through? unfortunately, attending it will be likely unless a number of conservative mps really want to get their teeth in and have a chance to amend it. the government does have an 80 seat majority in a common site for conservative mps support the government on this, i think we will see that —— in the commons so if conservative mps support the government. this is the frustration we are seeing from the smaller parties, they are in the face of a government majority, they don't have much power at all. so a big day in the commons, a huge day, really, but we must remember the effect this is going to have on trade, on businesses operating in the uk. how

are businesses and i'm particularly thinking of small, independent businesses, how are they looking at this vote and the deal and what it means for them? i think it is really important to discuss this because we are talking about mps and peers not having enough time to get their heads around this dense legal text andi heads around this dense legal text and i think this is a bigger concern for businesses, who are going to have to comply with these new rules on the ist of january and have to comply with these new rules on the ist ofjanuary and i have to comply with these new rules on the ist of january and i have had next to no time to try and get their head around and understand that, and i think that is one of the biggest challenges. you mention small businesses. i think the other thing to say is with so much else going on, there is a real chance that many small businesses don't realise how the rules have changed so we might see quite a few behaving illegally accidentally, they just see quite a few behaving illegally accidentally, theyjust don't quite understand what the new rules mean for them and us trying to steal trade. others may try and hold back from trading with the eu for a small time to get their head around these new rules and to adjust. one of the

big things we heard from many business groups were calls for an implementation period, an adjustment period, where new rules could be phased in and this is one of the things that was notably very missing from the agreement. either the uk government has made some unilateral decisions to try and ease some of the burdens on business, you are looking at the import of goods into the uk, -- looking at the import of goods into the uk, —— they are introducing import controls for a time, but the eu hasn't done that and hasn't indicated it will do that so i think that will be one of the biggest problems. very good to talk to you, maddy, thank you very much. i want to just take you to the scene in the commons at the moment. we are waiting for the post—brexit trade deal debate to get under way, it will be opened by the prime minister but, in the meantime, mps are voting on an amendment. i want to bring in oui’ on an amendment. i want to bring in our political correspondent nick ea rdley our political correspondent nick eardley who can explain what is going on. we were talking a few

minutes ago about the pace with which this trade deal is going through parliament today is quite controversial, all the stages both in the commons and lords are due to be done this morning and this afternoon. the snp are trying to get afternoon. the snp are trying to get a bit more time for mps to debate the specifics of the trade deal. remember, it is about 1300 pages long, there is a lot to potentially discussing there. the government wa nts to discussing there. the government wants to get it through as quickly as possible —— discuss in there. so the snp want an amendment to get a bit more time to discuss this today, it is not going to pass, the government is going to defeat it and it will go through parliament today at pretty breakneck speed. so it will be another 15 minutes or so today before we hit the prime minister opening that debate on this treaty and, when he does get to his feet, his argument will be that he has done something that many people on the opposition benches claimed was impossible and including some in his own party, by the way, that deal

that allows the uk to leave the european union and have a strong trading arrangement and maintain some sovereignty for the decisions it makes over the next few years. it's going to be an interesting debate because labour are going to officially back the deal despite having reservations about it, but we will hear many criticising it, saying it is thin and it won't stand the test of time. it will be an interesting debate as well. to a certain extent, we know what the outcome is going to be but it will be interesting for some of the voices we will hear from because i think theresa may, former prime minister, is due to speak.|j think theresa may, former prime minister, is due to speak. i think we will hear from her third. minister, is due to speak. i think we will hearfrom her third. the minister, is due to speak. i think we will hear from her third. the way it works in the uk parliament, speakers are chosen based on their seniority so you will hear from the prime ministerfirst seniority so you will hear from the prime minister first setting out his case, then the labour leader keir starmer, then the former prime minister theresa may who, quite interestingly, has been quite a bit ofa interestingly, has been quite a bit of a thorn in the side of boris

johnson over the last few months. she was furious when the government said it was prepared to break international law over the withdrawal agreement. that has now been shelved because this trade deal has been signed and because the various elements to do with northern ireland have been worked out, but it will also be really interesting to hear different voices from across the commons reminding us of some of the commons reminding us of some of the real tensions there have been in the real tensions there have been in the uk over the last few years over brexit will stop although it is going to sail through parliament today, there will be a pretty co mforta ble today, there will be a pretty comfortable majority because boris johnson has his own party on side as well as the vast majority of labour mps, there are many in parliament who are deeply unhappy that brexit is happening, who really resent the fa ct is happening, who really resent the fact that it is happening with a pretty loose trade agreement that borisjohnson has agreed compared to some of those that were being suggested in previous years, but it feels so different around westminster today. over the last four and westminster today. over the last fourand a westminster today. over the last four and a half years, how many times have we stood down on college green and seen

times have we stood down on college green and seen some times have we stood down on college green and seen some of the real tension on show, really, with protesters and counter protesters? none of them here today, largely because of the pandemic but also, quite frankly, because the debate in the uk has moved on. borisjohnson won the general election, the uk left the european union at the end of january and the majority he has means he can no comfortably get their trade deal through parliament and that new arrangement with europe will start at 11 o'clock uk time tomorrow night. really interesting, the difference in atmosphere that you describe but we mustn't forget that while the focus is on westminster today, the real changes are coming in in two days' time, on january the 1st. that is when british businesses particularly will feel the change. that's absolutely right and there will be change, there will be more bureaucracy for more british companies because the uk is leaving the customs union and the single market. people in the uk who go on holiday to europe will see some changes over the next few years

as well. you need to have longer on your passport, for example, to make sure you can get in and out. the relationship is going to be different and it will be really interesting over the next few weeks to see exactly how that pans out, exactly how it works for british companies and for holiday—makers and tourists travelling between the uk and the continent when restrictions are eventually lifted, and the continent when restrictions a re eventually lifted, of and the continent when restrictions are eventually lifted, of course. at the moment, very little travel going on between the uk and europe because of the pandemic. but it is now that we are of the pandemic. but it is now that we a re really of the pandemic. but it is now that we are really going to see what the impact of brexit is. very few people will have seen that over the last few months because of the fact that we have been in this transition, or standstill period, where, yes, the uk was officially out of the european union but stayed in a single market, the customs union, so the trading arrangements basically remained the same. it will be 11 o'clock tomorrow, midnight brussels

time, when we start to see the impact come through, we start to see the changes come into place. those changes aren't going to be as significant as they could have been had there been no trade deal, there was real concern among business that if there was no trade deal with europe, they would be significant disruption. that isn't going to happen on the scale it could.|j disruption. that isn't going to happen on the scale it could. i am going to stop you there, we are going to stop you there, we are going back to the commons. the noes to the left, 362. the ayes to the right, 360, the noes to the left, 362. the noes have it, unlock. the question is that the main question as of that opinion say aye. to the contrary, no. ithink as of that opinion say aye. to the contrary, no. i think the as of that opinion say aye. to the contrary, no. ithink the "ayes" have it. the clerk will now proceed to read the orders for the second reading pursuant to the order agreed by the house. european union future

relationship bill, second reading. now, given the length of the second reading call list today, members will understand there will be no time left before the 2:30pm to debate the bill of the committee but nevertheless i should inform members that, under the order of the house today, notices of amendments, new clauses are new schedules to be moved in committee of the whole house may be accepted up 10:30am. to maintain social distancing, members are asked not to bring amendments to the table in the chamber but send them by e—mail to the public bill office. the public bill office will aim to circulate earlier this afternoon and a notice paper of the amendments received by 10:30am. afternoon and a notice paper of the amendments received by10:30am. i inform the house that i have not selected any of the reason amendments. i now callthe prime minister to move the second reading. prime minister. thank you, mr speaker. can i begin by thanking you and the house authorities and all of your staff, their hard work in allowing us to meet today. and can i

also welcome the outstanding news that astrazeneca is now rolling out a new uk made vaccine approved by the mhra, that offers hope to millions in this country and around the world. mr speaker, i beg to move that the bill be now read a second time and having taken back control of our money, our borders, our laws and our waters by leaving the european union on january and our waters by leaving the european union onjanuary the 31st, we now seize this moment to forge a fantastic new relationship with our european neighbours based on feed trade and friendly cooperation —— free trade. in a minute, mr speaker. at the heart of this bill is one of the biggest free trade agreements in the biggest free trade agreements in the world, a comprehensive... i will happily give way. point of order, ian blackford. mr speaker, seeking your clarification, i am wondering how on earth the prime minister can talk about taking back control of

waters when scottish fishermen are going to have less access and less fish to catch as a consequence of his con deal? first of all, it is not a point of order, we are very limited on time, can we please try and keep to a tight agenda to allow everybody that i'm to contribute. mr speaker, i must nonetheless correct, although that was not a valid point, i must correct him on what he says because, in fact, i must correct him on what he says because, infact, underthis i must correct him on what he says because, in fact, under this deal, we have taken back control of our waters and indeed scottish fishermen from the get go will have access to bigger quotas of all of the relevant stocks, mr speaker and, from the end of the transition period, as he knows full well... of the transition period, as he knows full well. .. sorry, of the transition period, as he knows full well... sorry, sorry. i understand it is an important day and it is important we all get on the record. what i wouldn't like to do is run out of time for the number of times he wants to give way for interventions. if the premise that wants to give way, he will give way. at least give yourself time to hear

what he has got to say before you disagree. prime minister. with great respect to the right honourable gentleman, i do feel that i must correct him because not only will we ta ke correct him because not only will we take back control of our waters, we will increase scottish fishermen share of all of the relevant stocks. cord going up by a7% to 57%, north sea had it going up and that isjust next year and in five and a half yea rs' next year and in five and a half years' time, we take control of the entire spectacular marine wealth of scotland. it is only the scottish nationalist party, mr speaker, that would hand back control of the waters of this country with spectacular hypocrisy and having said... sorry, this is a point of order. can you point out to the prime minister that the name of my party is the name of the scottish national party? in fairness, i have pointed it out in the past, it is

the scottish national party. pointed it out in the past, it is the scottish national partylj pointed it out in the past, it is the scottish national party. i wish the scottish national party. i wish the right honourable gentleman to know i am using the word nationalist with a small 'n', and i don't think he would disagree that that is semantically justifiable under the circumstances but despite that norman clay check, they would hand back control of scotland's waters and go back into the common fisheries policy —— nomenclature. what this bill does is take back control... absolutely not. take back control... absolutely not. take back control of the spectacular marine wealth in scotland and the rest of the uk, because in the heart of this bill is one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world. as we have discussed in this chamber many times, a comprehensive canada style deal worth over £660 billion which, if anything, should allow companies to do even more business with our european friends, safeguarding

millions ofjobs and livelihoods in oui’ millions ofjobs and livelihoods in our uk and across the continent. in less tha n our uk and across the continent. in less than a8 hours, we will leave the eu single market and customs union as we promised and, yet, british exporters will not face a sudden thicket of trade barriers but, rather, for the first time in the history of eu agreements, zero ta riffs the history of eu agreements, zero tariffs and zero quotas. and just as we have avoided trade barriers, so we have avoided trade barriers, so we have avoided trade barriers, so we have also... mr speaker, i think plenty of members want to speak, i have already taken plenty of interventions and points of order. so we have also ensured the uk's full control of our laws and our regulations. and there is a vital symmetry between these two achievements because the central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something that the british people always knew in their hearts could be done, and yet which we we re hearts could be done, and yet which we were continually told was impossible and told we could not have our cake and eat it, you remember how often we were told

that? mainly that we could trade and cooperate as we were with our european neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill, while retaining sovereign control of oui’ while retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national destiny. and that unifying thread runs through every clause of this bill, which embodies our vision, shared with our european neighbours, other new relationship between britain and the eu as sovereign equals, joined by friendship, commerce, history, interests and values while respecting one another‘s freedom of action and recognising that we have nothing to fear if we sometimes choose to do things different. i give way with pleasure to the honourable gentleman. prime minister, the devil is in the detail of anything that we have before us today. can the prime minister confirm, as i hope it is, that we see the end of discrimination and

the fisherman's association are expressing dismay for the republic of ireland, will uk quotas be shared with northern ireland? will there be ta riffs with northern ireland? will there be tariffs for our boats landing the fish they catch in northern ireland and will the £100 billion for the fishing organisations, will it be shared equally across the whole united kingdom? they are practical issues for us in northern ireland. united kingdom? they are practical issues for us in northern irelandlj can issues for us in northern ireland.” can assure him that the entire uk will share from the programme of investment in our fishing industry and to get ourselves ready across the whole of the uk for the colossal uplift in fish that we will obtain and, even before the end of the transition period, i think the honourable gentleman should know we will be fishing about another 130,000 tonnes more fish in the uk than we are a year at present. and, currently, that is an opportunity we must work to seize.

we have much to gain from the healthy stimulus of competition. under this bill demonstrates, therefore, how britain can be at once european and sovereign. and i think you will agree, mr speaker, that our negotiators accomplish their feet at astonishing speed. it took eight years for the uruguay world trade talks to produce a deal, five years for the eu to reach a trade deal with canada, six for japan, we have done this in less than a year. it was in the teeth of a pandemic. we pressed ahead with this, resisting all of the calls for delay, precisely because creating certainty about our future provides the best chance of beating covid and bouncing back even more strongly next year. and that was our objective. i hope the house will join me in commending my noble

friend lord frost and every member of his team for his skill, mastery and perseverance in translating our vision into a practical agreement. let me also paid tribute to ursula von der leyen, michel barnier and all of our european friends for their pragmatism and foresight, by understanding that it is profoundly in the interests of the eu to live alongside a prosperous, contented and sovereign united kingdom. the house understands the significance of the fact that this agreement is not eu law, but international law. so there is no direct effect, there will be no special status... i think i have already given way several times to the honourable gentleman. there is nojurisdiction for the court ofjustice...

there is nojurisdiction for the court ofjustice. .. point of order? i feel i have to point out to the house that the historic principle in scotland, as established by law, it is the people of scotland that are sovereign, this is the people of scotland that will determine to take them back into the european union with independence. just to say, is that each of the snp knows, it is not a point of order. i am desperate to hear what he has to say on his contribution. ratherthan to hear what he has to say on his contribution. rather than use it up now, why does he not save it? contribution. rather than use it up now, why does he not save mm contribution. rather than use it up now, why does he not save it? it was the people of scotland who took the sovereign decision, quite rightly, to remain in the uk. i think it was a once in a generation decision and i think it is unlikely that the people scotland will take a decision to cast away their new—found freedoms and opportunities, not least over the marine wealth of scotland. we will be able to design

oui’ own scotland. we will be able to design our own laws and regulations, the that this house of commons passes will be interpreted, and i know this is of keen to honourable and right honourable members, will be determined by britishjudges in british courts. we will have the opportunity to devise new ways to spurand opportunity to devise new ways to spui’ and encourage opportunity to devise new ways to spur and encourage flourishing sectors in which this country needs the world, from green energy, life sciences, to synthetic biology. i give way to my right honourable friend. i am gratefulto give way to my right honourable friend. i am grateful to the prime minister for giving way. some of us have different views on brexit, but those debates are now for the history books. anyone in this house and in the country should recognise the benefits of an agreement that goes beyond a free trade agreement, from science to energy, to security. but will the prime minister capitalise on the excellent news that we have had today on the vaccine. by pursuing an industrial

strategy that puts science and technology at its heart, so that we can grasp the opportunities that come as the world bounces back from covid during the year ahead. prime minister, cani covid during the year ahead. prime minister, can i just covid during the year ahead. prime minister, can ijust tell people that interventions, those that rely upon the speaking list will understand if they get put down by continuous interventions, because i wa nt continuous interventions, because i want to get as many people in as possible. so, please. thank you, sir bernard. no more. iam possible. so, please. thank you, sir bernard. no more. i am gratefulto my right honourable friend. i remember well working with him on his industrial strategy, his ideas for championing green technology and biosciences. i can tell him that those ideas remain at the heart of this government's agenda, and we will certainly be using our new—found legislative freedom to drive progress in the sciences and in those investments across the whole of the uk. because we will be free, mr speaker, of eu state aid

rules. we will be able to decide where and how we level up across our country with new jobs where and how we level up across our country with newjobs and new hope, including with free ports and new green industrial zones, of a kind that i am sure he would approve of. and i would like to make an important point, if in using our new freedom is either britain or the eu believes it is somehow being u nfa i rly believes it is somehow being unfairly undercut, then, subject to independent third—party arbitration and provided the measures are proportionate, either of us can decide are sovereign equals to protect our consumers, but this treaty explicitly envisages that any such action should be infrequent, and it banishes the old concepts of uniformity and harmonisation, in favour of the right to make our own regulatory choices and deal with the consequences. mr speaker, every modern free trade agreement includes

reciprocal commitments designed to prevent distortions of trade. and the true significance of the agreement embodied in this bill is that there is no role for the european court of justice, that there is no role for the european court ofjustice, no ratchet clause on labour or environmental standards, no dynamic alignment with the eu trade regime orany alignment with the eu trade regime or any other aspect of eu law. in every respect we have recovered our freedom of action and i give way, with pleasure, to the honourable gentleman who has been rising up and down, mr speaker, many, many times. thank you very much. but many honourable members will be facing a dire dilemma, because they will feel that our country has been sold short. on the one hand, we have the prime minister's thin, terrible, burnt up and ready deal. on the other, we face the prospect of an even more damaging and destructive no—deal brexit. so can the prime minister advised, given that services account for almost 80% of

our economy, why is there so little for that sector in this deal? in particular, why couldn't he negotiate equivalent on passporting rights for the all—important financial services sector? if it was not clear from that intervention which way the labour party is going to go on this, whether he is going to go on this, whether he is going to go on this, whether he is going to go with his right honourable friend, the leader of the labour party and vote for the deal, or whether he is going to join other members of the labour party and continue to data and delay. we on these benches are going to get on, and we will be free of the structures of the common agricultural policy, we will be able to conserve our landscapes and support ourfarmers, to conserve our landscapes and support our farmers, exactly as we choose. and on friday, coming to a point that has already been raised several times in which i will repeat, mr speaker, because it is a wonderful point, for the first time in 50 years on friday the uk will once again be recognised as an independent coastal state, regaining control of our waters, righting the

wrong in the way that was done by the common fisheries policy throughout our membership. i have a lwa ys throughout our membership. i have always recognised, mr speaker, i have answered the point from you guys, have answered the point from you guys, i will give way to my honourable friends.” guys, i will give way to my honourable friends. i thank the prime minister for way, honourable friends. i thank the prime ministerforway, he honourable friends. i thank the prime minister for way, he will know that brixton, the most valuable port in britain, wants to see access to waters and the delivery for fishery in the uk, and this is what this deal does. can he confirm this is what the government is delivering on? the voice should be head up and down the country, it is a point that may be registered with advantage by the gentleman opposite. i have a lwa ys the gentleman opposite. i have always recognised that this would be always recognised that this would be a difficult period for our european friends and partners, because they have been fishing in these waters for decades, if not centuries. as

the house will know, they sought an adjustment period for 1a years, and our negotiators whittled that down to five and a half years, during which the uk share, the uk share of ourfish in our waters which the uk share, the uk share of our fish in our waters will rise from over half today to around two thirds. of course, we would have liked to have done this more quickly. it's also true that once the adjustment period comes to an end, there will be no limit, mr speaker, other than the limits that are placed by the needs of science and conservation on our ability to make use of our marine wealth. 15% of the eu's historic catch from our waters will be returned to this country next year alone. as i say, to prepare ourfishing communities for that moment, we will invest £100

million in a programme to modernise their fleets, and a fish processing industry, restoring, mr speaker, and the right honourable gentleman opposite should listen to this, restoring a great british industry to the eminence that it deserves, levelling up communities across the uk, particularly and including scotland, mr speaker, where their interests have been neglected for too long. so i do find it extraordinary that, on the eve of this great opportunity, the declared position of the scottish national... national nationalist party... is to hand control of the very waters we have just reclaimed straight back to the eu. if that is their policy, mr speaker, and they planned to ensnare scotland's fishing fleet in the dry cadets scotland's fishing fleet in the dry ca d ets of scotland's fishing fleet in the dry cadets of the common fisheries policy all over again. in the

meantime, mr speaker, guess what they are going to do today? they are going to vote today for a no—deal brexit. or perhaps the gentleman opposite will tell me that he is going to vote for the deal?” opposite will tell me that he is going to vote for the deal? i am immensely grateful to the prime minister for briefly pausing that monologue that was designed for the erg. on the issue of fish, he is waxing lyrical, but i would like to read him a quote from the chairman of the british fishermans association. he says i am angry, disappointed and betrayed. boris johnson promised the rights to all the fish that swim in our exclusive economic zone, and we have a fraction of that. is he wrong? i'm afraid he is, mr speaker. we will ta ke afraid he is, mr speaker. we will take back control not only by becoming an independent coastal state from the 1st of january, but in five and a half years time, mr speaker, we will be able to fish every single fish in our waters if we so every single fish in our waters if we so choose. that is the reality. in the meantime, he didn't deny it, i don't think i heard him deny it,

the scottish national party is going to vote against the deal. they are effectively going to vote for no deal, after they have campaigned against that and denounced it, proving once and for all that the interests of scotland, england, wales and northern ireland, scotland, england, wales and northern ireland, are best served by a one nation party, serving one united kingdom. mr speaker, this deal was negotiated by a big team. he should know this, a big team from every pa rt he should know this, a big team from every part of our united kingdom. and it serves the whole of the uk. not least by protecting the integrity of the united kingdom single internal market, and northern ireland's place within it. our points—based immigration system will end free movement and give us full control over who enters the country. either way, on that point, i want to thank very much my honourable friend the chancellor, the duchy of

lancaster, for all he did to protect the interests of northern ireland. at the same time, the deal provides certainty for airlines and hauliers who have suffered grievously during the pandemic. it guarantees the freedom of british citizens to travel to and from the eu and retain access to health care. it provides certainty for our police, for our borderforces, while certainty for our police, for our border forces, while security agencies who work alongside our european friends. if they are going to vote against this, mr speaker... provides certainty is on scientific research, because we want our country to be a science superpower and also a collaborative science superpower. it provides certainty for business, mr speaker, from financial services to our world leading manufacturers, including our car industry, safeguarding highly skilled jobs and investment across our country. as for the leader of

the opposition, mr speaker, i am delighted that he has found yet another position on brexit. and having plunged down every blind alley, and exhausted every possible alternative, he has come to the right conclusion, namely to vote for this agreement which this government has secured. i hope very much the honourable gentleman opposite is going to tell us that he too is going to tell us that he too is going to tell us that he too is going tojoin his right honourable friend on the road for this agreement. is this the case?” friend on the road for this agreement. is this the case? i am very happy to confirm for the prime minister, i will be voting for this. he mentioned several times his levelling up agenda. but financial services and those working in the sector have been left entirely out of it. so does he not agree with me that every city, every town that is dependent on financial services, from leeds to manchester, to edinburgh and many in between, they have been levelled down and left out from this deal. it is great to hear

a member of the labour party not only backing the bankers, mr speaker, bucking financial services, but also backing the steel. he is quite right. actually, this deal does a great deal for services, for financial services, for the legal profession and many other professions. alas, the good news about the labour party stopped there, mr speaker. because i am told that the right honourable gentleman is intending to ask the british people for a mandate to rewrite the deal in 202a. that is what he wants to do. i think, frankly, mr speaker, that we got brexit done, let's keep brexit done. and let's keep brexit done. and let's press ahead with this government fog mission to unite and level up across our whole country and grasp the opportunities

before us. because as i always said, iam going before us. because as i always said, i am going to make progress now because many members want to speak, i have always said that brexit is not an end but a beginning. the responsibility lies with all of us to make the best use of the powers we have regained on the tools we have taken back into our hands. so, we are going to begin with fulfilling a manifesto promise to maintain the highest standards of labour and environmental regulation. no caricature can be more inaccurate than the idea of a bargain basement, dickensian britain, as if enlightened eu regulation has been our only salvation from dickensian squalor. our national standards have a lwa ys squalor. our national standards have always been among the very best in the world. and this house can be trusted to use its new freedom to keep them that way, without any outside in regulation. we are going to open a new chapter in our national story, striking free trade deals around the world, adding to the agreements with 63 countries we

have already achieved and reasserting global britain as a liberal, outward —looking force for good. detaching ourselves from the eu is only april used to the greatest task of establishing our new role in this country, contributing more than any other to vaccinate people across the world against covid, leading the way in preventing future pandemics and we will continue to campaign for 12 yea rs of will continue to campaign for 12 years of quality education for every girl in the world. i thank my right honourable friend the foreign secretary for what he is doing on that. we will continue to lead the drive towards global net zero as we host cop26 in glasgow. i think the tone this morning has given me encouragement in this belief, i believe that the mood in the house this morning, which seems to be positive, on the whole, i hope, in spite of the as usual thin,

synthetic and confected indignation we hear from synthetic and confected indignation we hearfrom some synthetic and confected indignation we hear from some of the benches opposite, i hope and believe that this agreement will also serve to end some of the runco and recriminations that we have had in recent yea rs, recriminations that we have had in recent years, allow us to come together as a country, and leave super master catered argus behind, build a great future for our country. those of us who campaign for britain to leave the eu never sought a rupture with our closest neighbours. we never wanted to separate from our fellow democracies, beneath whose soil live british war dead, often attended by local schoolchildren, testament to our shared struggle for freedom and

everything we have in common. we didn't wanta everything we have in common. we didn't want a rupture, but a resolution, a resolution of the old, tired, vexed question of britain's political relations with europe, which has bedevilled our post—war history. first, we stood aloof, then we became a half—hearted and sometimes obstructive member of the eu. now, with this bill, we are going to become a friendly neighbour. the best friend and ally the eu could have. working hand in glove, whenever our values and interests coincide, while fulfilling the sovereign wish of the british people to live under their own laws. made by their own elected parliament. that is the historic resolution, delivered by this bill. mr speaker, i commend it to the house. the question is that the bill be read a second time. order. before

i call the leader of the opposition, the house will want to be aware that i have accepted a request from the government for an additional statement from the secretary of state for education on education returning in january. this state for education on education returning injanuary. this will be the second statement after the covid—19 update, and before the business statement. the ballot is already open. i call the right honourable keir starmer. thank you, mr speaker. it's often said there is nothing simple about brexit. the choice before the house today is perfectly simple. do we implement the treaty that has been agreed with the treaty that has been agreed with the eu or do we not? that is the choice. if we choose not to, the outcome is clear. we leave the transition period without a deal, without a deal on security, on trade, on fisheries, without protection for our manufacturing sector, for farming, for countless

british businesses, and without a foothold to build a future relationship with the eu. anyone choosing that option today knows there is no time to renegotiate, there is no time to renegotiate, there is no better deal coming in there is no better deal coming in the next 2a hours, no extensions, no humble addresses, so choosing that option leads to one place, no—deal. orwe option leads to one place, no—deal. or we could take the only other option that is available, and implement the treaty that has been negotiated. now, this is a thin deal, it has got many flaws, and i will come to that in a moment. i will come to that in a moment. i will injust a minute. but a thin deal is better than no deal. and not in preventing this deal would mean immediate tariffs and quotas with the eu, which will push up prices and drive businesses to the wall. it will mean huge gaps in security, a free for all on workers' rights and environmental protections, and less

stability for the northern ireland protocol. leaving without a deal would also show that the uk is not capable of agreeing the legal basis for a future relationship with our eu friends and partners. and that matters. because i want britain to be an outward —looking, optimistic and rules—based country, one that does deals, science treaties and abides by them. it matters that britain has negotiated a treaty with the eu commission on the 27 member states, and it matters, ultimately, that the uk has not gone down the blind alley of no deal. it means that our future relationship starts on the basis of agreement, not acrimonious. thank you to the honourable gentleman for setting out the position of the labour party. he used to have six tests that he would

need the deal to meet for him to support it, how many of those does it meet? mr speaker, there is only one choice today, to vote for implement in this deal or to vote for no deal. those that vote no are voting for no deal. i am going to give way again to the honourable gentleman. if he is voting no, does he want no to succeed at 2.30 this afternoon when the house divides? does he want no to succeed in the vote? i'm afraid the leader of the labour party has accepted the spin of the government, that this is a binary choice between deal and no—deal. i think it says a lot about how his position has changed over recent weeks. mr speaker, this is the nub, those voting no today want

yes. they want others to save them from their own boat. they want others to save them from their own vote. voting no, wanting yes. that is the truth of the situation and thatis is the truth of the situation and that is why my party has taken a different path. i will give way.” congratulate the right honourable gentleman on doing the patriotic and right thing today. but i think it would be of quite a lot of interest to the country to know that if he had been responsible for these negotiations, what deal would he have negotiated? a better one than this, for the reasons i'm about to layout. i will go into some of the detail, not too much of the detail, but if anybody believes what the prime minister hasjust said about financial services, they haven't read the deal. with no further time for negotiation, when the default is no deal, it is not a mark of how

pro—european you are to reject implementing this treaty. it isn't in the national interests to duck a question or to hide in the knowledge that others will save you from the consequences of your own vote. this isa simple consequences of your own vote. this is a simple vote, with a simple choice. do we leave the transition period with the treaty that has been negotiated with the eu, or do we leave with no deal? so labour will vote to implement this treaty today to avoid no deal, and to put in place a floor from which we can build a strong relationship with the eu. i am gratefulto build a strong relationship with the eu. i am grateful to the build a strong relationship with the eu. i am gratefulto the leader build a strong relationship with the eu. i am grateful to the leader of the opposition for giving way and out lining his position. ifor pm this afternoon, the member of the scottish parliament will vote against the deal, and as a member of the westminster parliament he will vote for the deal. how does he square that circle? he knows very well it is a different vote. it is a completely different vote. on a

different issue. i give way to the honourable member again, with my question, when he votes no, against this this afternoon, does he want the bill to fail, and thus we leave tomorrow night without a deal? is that the intent? does he want the result to go the way he is voting? i'm grateful to the right honourable gentleman for the intervention, there will be members of his own party in the lobby with me in the afternoon. if he can point to the order paper where it says no—deal, i would like to show what page it is on. that demonstrates the point, he will vote, in the hope that other people will vote the other way and save him from the consequence of his own vote. that is the truth of the situation for the snp, hoping that others will do the right thing and vote in favour of implementing the treaty, because we fought against no deal together for months and years. and now, those voting no, are going

to vote for no deal. nothing is going to happen in the next 2a hours to save this country from no deal. so he wants to vote for something, but he doesn't want that vote to succeed, he wants others to have the burden of voting for it to save us from no deal. i'll give way and just a minute, i'm going to make some progress. it is, of course, completely unacceptable that this debate is happening now, one day before the end of the transition period. the prime minister said he had a deal that was open ready about a year ago. then it was supposed to be ready injuly, then september, the novemberand, be ready injuly, then september, the november and, finally, be ready injuly, then september, the novemberand, finally, it arrived on christmas eve. that matters. i will injust arrived on christmas eve. that matters. i will in just a arrived on christmas eve. that matters. i will injust a minute. because businesses have had no chance to prepare for the new regulations. to talk to businesses about their concerns. they've got real difficulties. many have already taken decisions about jobs and investment because of the uncertainty. and that is made worse by the pandemic. let me go to the deal itself. and analyse some of the

flaws. let's go to watch the prime minister said flaws. let's go to watch the prime ministersaid in his flaws. let's go to watch the prime minister said in his press co nfe re nce minister said in his press conference on christmas eve. he said this about the deal. there will be no nontariff barriers to trade. his words. he was not being straight with the british public. that is plain wrong. it is worse than that, it wasn't on aside, it wasn't an interview or an off the record remarks, it was a scripted speech. there will be no nontariff barriers to trade. the prime minister knows it's not true. every member of the house knows it's not true. i will give way to the prime minister to correct the record. either stand up and say that is true, what he said was true, or take this opportunity to correct the record. i give way. mr speaker... the right honourable gentleman knows perfectly well this isa gentleman knows perfectly well this is a zero tariff, zero quota deal. perhaps he can tell us, since he

says he would have negotiated a different and better deal, perhaps you could tell us whether he would have remained of the customs union and within the single market? perhaps he could tell the house a little bit about how he proposes to renegotiate this deal and build on it, and take the uk back into the eu? because that remains his agenda. typical deflection. the prime minister, at a press conference, told the british public there will be no non—tariff barriers to trade. his answerjust now is not an answer to that. it is not true and the prime minister knows what he said is not true. he simply won't stand up and acknowledge it today and at that speaks volumes about the sort of prime minister we have. the truth is this, there will be an avalanche of checks, bureaucracy and red tape for

british businesses. every business i've spoken to knows they send every business any member has spoken to knows there is. that is what they are talking about, it is there in black and white in the treaty. there will be checks for farmers, for our manufacturers, for customs on rules of origin, vat, safety and security, plant and animal health and much more. many british exporters will have to go through to regulatory processes to sell to existing clients in the eu. and in orderto keep tariff free trade, businesses have to prove enough of their parts come from the eu or the uk will stop so there will be significant and permanent burdens on british businesses. and it is somewhat ironic that, for years, the conservative party has railed against eu bureaucracy but this treaty imposes far more red tape on british businesses that there is at the moment —— than there is. i will give way. i thank my right

honourable friend for giving way. the leader of this brexit deal has seen a the leader of this brexit deal has seen a litany of broken promises. earlier this year, the prime minister stood at the dispatch box and said there is no threat to the erasmus scheme. he also amongst other things made grand statements about taking back full control of our fishing about taking back full control of ourfishing waters. about taking back full control of our fishing waters. does about taking back full control of ourfishing waters. does my about taking back full control of our fishing waters. does my right honourable friend agree that, despite all of the promises, it is not only do british fishermen that are accusing the prime minister of betrayal and having caved in to arrive at this insufficient deal? mr speaker, these are examples of the prime minister saying things, making promises that he doesn't keep. that is the hallmark of this prime minister. i will give way, i promised i would. can the leader of the opposition not, injust some way, join millions of people in this country, including many millions of patriotically labour voters, for the remarkable achievement the prime

minister has... i'm glad there's a deal, i am going to vote for the bill to implement the deal today because a deal is far better than no deal, that is the right thing to do. but to pretend the deal isn't what it is is not being honest and it is not a basis from which we can go forward. or there are not a basis from which we can go forward. orthere are no not a basis from which we can go forward. or there are no non—tariff barriers when there are is just not true. the prime minister won't stand up true. the prime minister won't stand up and say aye got it wrong, i didn't tell the truth when i was addressing the public. he won't get up addressing the public. he won't get up and do that. at least he has read it! the prime minister says i don't know what i'm talking about. there will be no nontariff barriers to trade, will there be no nontariff barriers to trade, prime minister, yes or no? the ox is now on his

tongue, i see. yes or no? the ox is now on his tongue, isee. mr speaker, let yes or no? the ox is now on his tongue, i see. mr speaker, let me turn to services, because whatever the prime minister says, there is very little protection for our services in the steel. it is a gaping hole. we are primarily a services economy. services account for 80% of our economic output and we've got a trade surplus with the eu in services. at what we have got in this text doesn't go beyond what was agreed with canada orjapan. the lack of ambition here is striking. and the result is no mutual recognition of professional qualifications. doctors, nurses, dentists, accountants, engineers, architects, talk to them about how they will practice in other eu states. they will have to have them agreed with each day differently with different terms and conditions. anyone who thinks that is an improvement needs to look again at this deal —— agreed with each state. it will make it harder to sell services into the eu and will be a

huge disincentive for businesses to invest in the eu. there is also a very thin agreement on short business travel, which will, for example, make it much harder for artists and musicians. they want to know the answer to these questions are, notjust know the answer to these questions are, not just comments from the bench. on financial services, even the prime minister himself has accepted, i don't know whether he sticks to this or won't own now, that the deal doesn't go as far as we like, so pretending it is a brilliant dealjust we like, so pretending it is a brilliant deal just isn't we like, so pretending it is a brilliant dealjust isn't on. we have got to rely on the bare bones of equivalence arrangements, many of which are not in place, that can be unilaterally withdrawn at short notice. that is the reality of the situation. so we are left to wonder, either the prime minister did situation. so we are left to wonder, eitherthe prime minister did not try to get a strong deal to protect our service economy or he tried and failed. which is it? let me turn to security. the treaty does offer important protections when compared to the utter chaos of no deal. for

example, dna and fingerprints. there are third—party arrangements to continue working with europol and eurojust and continue working with europol and euro just and i continue working with europol and eurojust and i worked continue working with europol and euro just and i worked with them and know how important that is. but the treaty does not provide what was promised, which is a security partnership of unprecedented breadth and depth. it does not end anybody today who thinks it does, again, hasn't read the deal. we will no longer have access to eu databases which allow for real—time data shared, such as the schengen information system for missing persons and objects. and anybody who thinks that is not important needs to bear this in mind. that is used ona to bear this in mind. that is used on a daily basis. in 2019, it was accessed and consulted 600 million times by the uk police. 600 million times. that is how vital it is to them. that is a massive gap in the steel and the prime minister needs to explain how that is going to be plugged. let me then turn to tariffs

and quotas, because the prime minister has made much of this deal delivering zero tariffs and zero quotas. it does... aha. thank you prime minister. it does, or, rather it does for as long as british businesses meet the rules of origin requirements. it does as long as the uk doesn't step away from a level playing field on workers' rights and environment. he says "rubbish". i've read it, i've studied it, i've looked at nothing else for four years. he is pretending that he has got sovereignty and zero tariffs and zero quotas. he hasn't. the moment he exercises the sovereignty to depart from the level playing field, the tariffs kick in. this isn't a

negotiating triumph. it sets out the fundamental dilemma that has always been at the heart of this... he says vote against it, vote for no deal. really? as my wife says to our children, if you haven't got anything sensible to say, probably better to say nothing. this deal sets out the fundamental dilemma that has always been at the heart of these negotiations. if we stick to these negotiations. if we stick to the level playing field, there are no tariffs and quotas. but, if we don't, british workers, british businesses and british consumers will bear the costs. the prime minister hasn't escaped that dilemma, he has negotiated a treaty that makes it in and it poses the central question for future parliaments. do we build up from this agreement to ensure the uk has high standards, that businesses are able to trade as freely as possible

in the uk market with minimal disruption or do we choose to lower standards and slash protections and, in that way, put up more barriers for our businesses to trade with our nearest and most important partners? for labour, this is clear. we believe in high standards. we see this treaty as a basis to build from and we want to retain a close economic relationship with the eu that protects jobs and economic relationship with the eu that protectsjobs and rights, because that is where the national interest lies today and tomorrow. but i fear the prime minister will ta ke but i fear the prime minister will take the other route, because he has used up so much time and negotiating capital in doing so, he has put the right to step away from common standards at the heart of the negotiation. sol standards at the heart of the negotiation. so i assume that he wants to make use of that right as soon as possible. if he does, he has to be honest with the british people about the possible consequences of that choice, on businesses, onjobs and on our economy. if he doesn't

wa nt and on our economy. if he doesn't want to exercise that right, he has to explain why he has wasted so much time and sacrificed so many priorities for a right that he isn't going to exercise. mr speaker, after four and going to exercise. mr speaker, after fourand a going to exercise. mr speaker, after four and a half years of debate and division, we finally have a trade deal with the eu. division, we finally have a trade dealwith the eu. it division, we finally have a trade deal with the eu. it is imperfect, it is thin and it is the consequence of the prime minister's political choices. but we have only one day before the end of the transition period and it is the only deal that we have. it is a basis to build on in the years to come and, ultimately, voting to implement this treaty is the only way to ensure that we avoid no deal and so we will vote for this bill today. but i do hope that this will be a moment where our country can come together and look to a better future. the uk has left the eu, the leave— remain argument is over, whichever side you

are on. the divisions are over. we now have an opportunity to forge a new future. one outside the eu, but working closely with our great partners, friends and allies. we will always be european, we will always have shared values, experiences and history. we can now also have a shared future and today's vote provides the basis for that. thank you, mr speaker. i am now introducing the four minute limit for backbenchers. theresa may. thank you, mr speaker. i welcome this deal and i will be supporting it today and i welcome the fact that the official opposition will be supporting this deal, but i did listen with some incredulity to what the leader of the opposition said. he said he wanted a better deal. he had the opportunity in early 2019, when there was the opportunity of a better deal on the table and he voted against it. sol

better deal on the table and he voted against it. so i will take no lectures from the leader of the opposition on this deal. mr speaker, central to this deal, the prime minister has said, is the tariff free and quota free arrangements, subject of course to rules of origin requirements. it would have been unforgivable for the european union not to have allowed territory and quota free access, given that they signed up to that in the political declaration signed with my government... we are going to pull away from that debate in the house of commons. viewers in the uk can continue watching bbc parliament and we are going to cross over to downing street, where there is a data briefing on new coronavirus vaccine taking place. with representatives from the mhra, the human medicine expert working group, and thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation, all taking part. let's listen in. and, on my right,

may i introduce professor of respiratory medicine at nottingham university and chair of thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation subgroup, which has been preparing advice on covid—19 vaccines. the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency, the licensing authority, has now, on the basis of the advice of its scientific body, the commission on human medicines, approved the covid—19 vaccine developed by astrazeneca and oxford university, here in the uk, together with the conditions for its supply and use. this vaccine, covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca, has been approved for use in people aged 18 years and older with two standard doses, a—12 weeks apart. as i have said before and will say again today, the safety of the public always comes first.

the mhra's approval has been reached following a thorough and scientifically rigorous review of all of the evidence of safety, of quality and of effectiveness of the covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca. we all know that we are facing one of the biggest threats to health, not only of the uk public but everyone around the world. and, as the uk regulator, we ta ke the world. and, as the uk regulator, we take this very seriously indeed. these are difficult times for so many of us, but vaccines such as this one will have the potential to save many lives and will see us come through. having an effective vaccine is the best way to protect us and may save tens of thousands of lives. let me briefly remind how we have got to this point. the mhra has worked in a process known as a

rolling review and a rolling review can be used to complete the assessment of a promising new medicine or a vaccine in the shortest time possible. during a public health emergency such as this one. our teams of scientists and clinicians have very carefully and methodically, and rigorously, reviewed all of the data on safety, on effectiveness and on quality as soon as on effectiveness and on quality as soon as they have become available, and have done so round the clock, looking at all of the tests and trials, even over holiday periods. no corners whatsoever have been cut. we have one or two slides to help illustrate this point. and the first slide will show, when it comes up, how the preparatory work for our surveillance system started back in june, six months ago fully, and for batch testing of the vaccine at our

national institute for biological standards and control back injuly. our teams of clinicians and scientists then undertook a rigorous assessment of all of the available data on safety, on quality and on effectiveness as soon as they became available, in packages or trenches. clinical trials on the 2ath of september, manufacturing and quality controls from that date. the laboratory preclinical studies from the 30th of september, product sampling and testing of the final vaccine from the 1st of december. and most recently, our expert clinicians and scientists have reviewed and agreed the overall benefit risk and the prescribing information that is being provided to all health care professionals and to all health care professionals and to everyone about having the vaccine, so everyone can be very clear and confident and understand what is involved to help those informed decisions together with your health care professional. our

national institute for biological standards and control has been undertaking the independent laboratory testing so we can make sure that every single batch meets the same standard of safety and quality and the first batch of covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca was released last night, following yesterday's vaccine approval. and another safety step is taken following a thorough review of the data, we sought advice from the commission on human medicines, the independent scientific advisory body. so at this point, i will pass over to explain the critical role the independent members have played in robustly assessing all of the data. thank you very much. i chaired the c data. thank you very much. i chaired thech data. thank you very much. i chaired the c h m's expert working group for the c h m's expert working group for

the covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca. it is also important to note that those independent —— there was independent scrutiny from the commission of human medicines itself and i would first of all like to thank members of both committees for the work they put in to get us to this point. the expert working group i chaired was made up of independent leading scientific members, specialising in many different areas. the study of viruses, immunology, the study of the immune system, epidemiology, the study of patterns of disease, toxicology and clinical pharmacology, the study of medicines and vaccines and their effects human body. the group also included lay membership. they were instrumental, too, in many of these assessments. they freely gave their views and opinions and certainly played a crucial role in the assessment and decision making process of the committee. the remit of the committee. the remit of the committee was really to look at the

data and evidence in relation to the effectiveness, safety and quality of the vaccine and in particular to weigh the benefits against the risks of any vaccine. we looked at all the available data, we had all access to the raw data as well as the assessment reports from the mhra and we answered questions from the mhra. as dr raine said, this was a rolling review, we were looking at data as it came in. when we felt data was not adequate, we went back to the company to ask for more data and we also asked for more analysis. we had many hours of committee work on this, including over the holiday period recently, to come to the decision we came to yesterday evening. iwant decision we came to yesterday evening. i want to take you through some of our deliberations with the next slide, please.

we focused on four particular areas andl we focused on four particular areas and i will go through them in turn. the first relates to the dose. what we are approving is that two standard doses should be given. they should be given at an interval of between a—12 weeks, ie there should between a—12 weeks, ie there should be an interval of a—12 weeks between the first and second dose. we also look at the half dose regimen, which has been publicised quite widely, but we felt that the results were not borne out by the full analysis. we have come to the decision of an interval of between a—12 weeks based on the data that was presented to us, because of the design of the trial, some people got second doses at different time intervals. this allowed an analysis of the effectiveness of the vaccine if you we re effectiveness of the vaccine if you were to be able to delay between a-12 were to be able to delay between a—12 weeks. they showed that the

effectiveness was high, up to 80%, when there was a three month interval between first and second doses, which is the reason for our recommendation. we looked at data in all age groups, particularly in the elderly. while there was a small numberof elderly. while there was a small number of people aged over 65 in the clinical trials, the chn concluded the vaccine can be given to this age group —— chm. we know that further results from us trials plus the uk trial will be available in january 2021 or february 2021 and will help build our existing knowledge relating to the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in this age group. it is important to note that the vaccine does not protect immediately. you have to wait until day 22 before you get partial immunity after the first dose. and,

so, it is really important that people continue to follow all of the government guidelines for your area of the country. we also looked at the safety as well and the committee of human medicines concluded the efficacy of this vaccine is broadly similarto efficacy of this vaccine is broadly similar to other vaccines. you will get a side effects that may be in your arm, or some get a side effects that may be in yourarm, or some pain get a side effects that may be in your arm, or some pain where the vaccine injection was but that usually lasts for a very short time, less than a day or so. there is limited data on the use of this vaccine in pregnant or breast—feeding women. women should discuss the benefits and risks of having the vaccine with their health ca re having the vaccine with their health care professional based on their own individual circumstances, and reach a decision together. we also were interested in knowing whether there was any particular issue with allergy in relation to the vaccine.

we have come to the recommendation people with a known history of reacting to any specific ingredients of the vaccine should not have it, but people with allergies to other medicines or food can have the vaccine. people should also talk to their health care professionals if they have ever had a severe allergic reaction after any other vaccine. the other aspect that we looked at was quality. unlike the pfizer vaccine, this does not need ultra low temperature storage. it can be stored between 2—8 centigrade for at least six months. this is the typical temperature of a domestic refrigerator. this will make deployment of the vaccine much easier and much faster. clearly, this is a new vaccine, and, so, the

commission was very keen to be able to support the mhra proposals for a proactive safety monitoring strategy. this comprises the yellow ca rd strategy. this comprises the yellow card scheme which anyone can report two and a special active monitoring programme, for some people who receive the vaccine will be invited tojoin. finally, the committee considered that no specific precautions were required on administration of this vaccine in people who have already had covid—19. no testing is required before receiving the vaccine. thank you. thank you. another major aspect of our work at the mhra is keeping our approvals up to date as new evidence emerges. and i would like to take a moment now to briefly update on the latest advice on the pfizer biontech vaccine, which we approved in early december. so the next slide, please,

summarises the updated guidance on the use of the pfizer biontech vaccine, particularly in pregnancy and women who are breast—feeding, in people with allergies and, also, on the dose interval. taking first pregnancy and women who are breast—feeding. our advice to date has been, given that an initial lack of evidence, on a precautionary basis, use of the vaccine wasn't recommended in pregnancy and women breast feeding should not be given the vaccine. but now that we have reviewed further data that has become available, the commission on human medicines has advised that the vaccine can be considered for use in pregnancy when the potential benefits out —— outweigh the risks, following an individual discussion with every woman. and as the covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca is the

same, women should always be discussing benefits and risks of having the vaccine with their health professional, reaching a decision together based on individual circumstances. and women who are breast—feeding can now also be given the vaccine, subject to that individual discussion. turning to people with allergies, we previously issued advice that people with a range of allergies to food, to vaccines, two other medicines, should not be given the pfizer biontech vaccine, but there is now growing evidence in a much wider pool of people who have had the vaccine, at least 800,000 in the uk, probably 1.5 million in the usa, which has raised no additional concerns and gives us further assurance that the risk of anaphylaxis can be managed through standard clinical guidance and an observation period following vaccination of at least 15 minutes. and so the commission on human

medicines has now advised that anyone with allergy to food or other medicine or vaccine can have the pfizer—biontech vaccine. of course, anyone with a history of allergic reaction to this vaccine or its ingredients should not. finally, the dose interval. the commission on human medicines, on further review of the data, has recommended that the second dose is at least 21 days after the first dose. so this allows for a potentially longer interval compared with the previous advice that was 21 days. and the conditions for use of the pfizer—biontech vaccine stress that this is in accordance with national guidance. so, those are the updates on the pfizer—biontech covid—19 vaccine. they mean that even more people are now eligible for vaccination. i will now invite

the professor to update us on the latest advice on how the vaccines will be used. thank you, june. the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation is an independent side—effect group that the secretary of state regarding issues relating to vaccination. thej of state regarding issues relating to vaccination. the] the cbi has been reviewing data from both vaccines —— the jcvi, both the pfizer prion tech vaccine and the astrazeneca vaccine, and we are pleased to find that both vaccines are effectively safe and effective for the use of protecting adults from the effects of covid—19, including protecting adults from severe disease. could i have the first slide, please. we note that there have been no head—to—head trials that compare the two different vaccines. the clinical

trials that have been conducted so far have been trials where one vaccine has been compared against a placebo, or a control vaccine. those trials established a safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. however, the trials are not the same in terms of how they have been conducted, in terms of where they have been conducted, in relation to the kinds of people who have participated in the trials and have precise study outcomes. therefore, it is not possible to compare the results from the different trials relating to the two different trials relating to the two different vaccines. the committee's advises that, for individuals eligible for vaccination in the phase one programme in the uk, that both vaccines may be used with no preference for one vaccine above the other. cani can i have the next slide, please.

it will be noted, however, that the two vaccines differ in terms of their storage and handling requirements. this has already been alluded to earlier. for instance, for the pfizer—biontech vaccine, a very cold storage is required, up to -70 very cold storage is required, up to —70 degrees, whilst for the astrazeneca vaccine, that needs to be stored at 2—8 degrees. these logistical considerations are important. to facilitate rapid deployment of the vaccine within a mass vaccination programme and to avoid substantial vaccine wastage, it may be that, in certain settings, one vaccine is offered in preference over another. next slide, one vaccine is offered in preference overanother. next slide, please. finally i want to touch on the dosing interval. both vaccines have been approved for a two dose schedule. what is impressive about the vaccine studies is that after

the vaccine studies is that after the first dose, individuals acquire a high level of protection shortly after the dose. currently in the uk, we know that covid infection rates are very, very high. the immediate urgency is for rapid and high levels of vaccine uptake. jcvi recommends the delivery of the first dose of covid—19 vaccine should be prioritised for both the pfizer/biontech vaccine and the astrazeneca vaccine. this will allow the greatest number of eligible people to receive vaccines in the shortest time possible and that will protect the greatest number of lives. the second vaccine dose is still important because it may impact on the duration of protection. we recommend that the second dose is given up to 12 weeks after the first dose. with today's announcement both from the mhra on

the approval of the astrazeneca vaccine and the advice from jcvi regarding how to use these vaccines, we can expect that the amount of vaccine available for use in the uk will vary substantially — — vaccine available for use in the uk will vary substantially —— very substantially increase soon. this increase in vaccine supply will in turn allow a much higher rate of vaccine deployment across the uk to all parts of the country, and this is good news for all of us at a very critical time in this pandemic. i'd like to end therefore by thanking all the people who have contributed to this national response and are still contributing. these include trial participants, volunteers, scientists, researchers, health professionals and many more. thank you very much. we now have questions from the media andi we now have questions from the media and i would like to return to our

first question which is from fergus walsh of the bbc. good morning. good morning. can you tell me what level of protection one dose of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine will give three weeks after immunisation? secondly, how can you be sure that this vaccine will protect the elderly, given that there's little efficacy data from the trials in older people? thank you. these are both issues which the commission on human medicines considered very carefully indeed. with regard to protection after first dose, from the data given to us, protection starts after day 22, after the first dose. we

we re day 22, after the first dose. we were able to identify data which suggested the protection is afforded until at least three months and hence the reason for the interval dosing of between four to 12 weeks for the second dose. in terms of older people, there was a small amount of data available in older people because of the way the trial was designed. older people have been recruited and will be dharma qc data coming online in early 2021 from the uk and brazil trials as well as united states —— we will see data online. there was an indication that the vaccine was effective in older people as well although obviously we need to wait for more data as well to make sure that that initial promise of efficacy in older people

is shown in the trials which are coming through. can you give a number on how much protection one dosage gives? the data shared with us, and i'm not sure it's entirely in the public domain, calculated the vaccine efficacy between day 22 of dose one to the time of dose to being given and the figure is around 70%, but i don't think i should be revealing any more than that at this point in time, if that's all right. i'd like to emphasise two things from that important double question. firstly, safety and effectiveness in the elderly are approved and, of course, when we have more data that

confirms that initial approval, we will most certainly update. on the point of transparency, we will be putting certain materials in the public domain today, particularly the conditions for use, but we will prom ptly the conditions for use, but we will promptly follow this up with a full public assessment report so that eve ryo ne public assessment report so that everyone can be confident they have seen everyone can be confident they have seen the basis for the mhra's decision. thank you. our second question comes from emily morgan of itv. good morning. good morning, thank you very much. now that more people will get the first dose quicker and given the huge crisis we are in at the moment, ijust wondered whether you would also consider widening the priority list from phase one to perhaps include key workers, specifically teachers or even the people who transmit this virus. thank you. is that something you are looking at? yes, thank you.

there are many key workers and we have received requests from many professional groups who are all concerned and want to have the vaccine, very rightly so. the first thing to say is that any teacher who is above 50 years of age will be eligible for vaccination within the phase one programme and any teacher who is under 50 but with underlying health conditions will also be eligible for vaccination within phase one of the programme. phase two of the programme will take into account the range of other professions and key workers who would benefit from vaccination and protection, particularly if they can't avoid travelling to work or they might be exposed at work. that decision has not been made yet so it will come with a phase two advice, but the advice has not been completed yet. when do you hope to

get to phase two? what is the timescale on that? as soon as phase one is over, we will get to phase two so this will depend on the rate of deployment and i think one would need to see how vaccine uptake runs over the next few weeks to see what the rate of deployment will be. so it will be under review over the next few weeks. thank you for highlighting a really important area. our next question comes from thomas more, sky news. thank you. it looks like you may well be scratching around how to use this vaccine. he rejected the suggestion of the scientists developing the vaccine that they use a half dose followed by a full dose, now you are using unpublished data tojustify this untested, unpublished regime of up this untested, unpublished regime of up to 12 weeks between the two doses. how much confidence can

people have that this has been a truly robust and transparent process and this vaccine is effective? secondly, you seem to be balancing the wider social benefit of one dose and giving that to as many people as quickly as possible with the higher individual protection from two doses. i'd like to say straight out and very directly, the public, eve ryo ne and very directly, the public, everyone listening, can be absolutely confident that the rigour, the scientific rigour of our assessment, has been, as we would normally do according to guidelines and standards. those standards have been met and it has been a fairly robust process on safety, quality and effectiveness. you've raised a couple of issues within that and i will ask my colleagues to pick up the one to reject the half dose, which was given extremely careful consideration. thank you. we did

look at all the data in relation to the half dose versus the standard dose and we also looked at the data in relation to the standard dose regimen. what we identified was the interval in the low dose, standard dose regimen, was actually quite long, and that's why we asked for additional analysis on the extended interval dosing. that highlighted that actually the extended interval dosing produced quite good efficacy, very good efficacy, up to 80%, at an interval of three months between the first and second dose. the low dose, standard dose regimen, although, has been quoted to have an efficacy of 90%, this is confounded by the fact that the interval between the first and second dose was quite long and we feel that a result may be related to that interval rather than the

dose itself. we publish our assessment report which will have a very clear explanation of why the recommendation is for the full dose twice. on the point of transparency and the nature of the comments about unpublished data, is the more you would like to add? i don't think so. it's not uncommon forjcvi to view unpublished data as yet and usually these data are eventually published, but at this point in time they remain unpublished so clearly we cannot disclose too much information. but there will be a full public assessment report very shortly. thank you very much indeed. and you haven't actually given people the data they might need to ta ke people the data they might need to take it. there will be a full publication today of all the conditions, followed shortly by the public assessment report. that will

be available for everyone to read and to reflect on. thank you very much indeed. let's turn to jane merrick. thank you very much. could i ask firstly, what assessments have been made on whether this vaccine reduces transmission as well as illness, and also what assessment has been made on whether it is effective against the new variant of coronavirus? secondly, can ijust clarify on the issue of people with allergies that you have updated the advice both on the pfizer vaccine and also on the oxford astrazeneca vaccine to make sure that it's only people with allergies to the ingredients for both vaccines should not have it, and everybody else can feel confident that they can have it? why don't i deal with your last question first, because that's a very clear a nswer. question first, because that's a very clear answer. both updates are in place and the only people who are

advised not to have either of the vaccines are those with allergies who have had reactions to any of the ingredients, so that's very clear now that we no longer have advice not to use the pfizer/biontech vaccine in someone who has had an allergic reaction to food or to another vaccine or drug. that's very clear and will be published today. would you like to comment on the reduction of transmission question? there was some initial data with regard to work which was undertaken with transmission, but we felt the data was not mature enough to make any recommendations in regards to transmission. this is a new vaccine and further studies will have to be done when it is deployed to ensure and determine whether it also reduces transmission so we can't really make any comment on transmission at this stage. in relation to your question on the new

variant, we know that the new variant, we know that the new variant from the published data increases transmissibility but there is no data at the moment which suggests that the new variant evades the vaccine in terms of the effectiveness of the vaccine. and studies are ongoing to confirm that so they will be available in the coming days and weeks. let's turn to kate pickles from the daily mail. good morning. back to the 12 weeks, could you give us some more...” think we've got a little break in the communication. you would like some more information about the 12 week gap? would you like to clarify your question? yes, it was how exactly the 12 week was reached, whether it was from trials and, if so, how many people were given a second dose after 12 weeks? whether

it was found to be the most optimum time period or whether within that i2 time period or whether within that 12 weeks there is a more optimum time frame we should be going for? that's very helpful. we looked at the date of how the vaccine was given in the trial, all the data is what we looked at. some people were given the second dose at four weeks, some at 26 weeks after the first dose —— up to 26 weeks. however, we felt that the data was most robust when we looked at it between four to i2 when we looked at it between four to 12 weeks and hence why our recommendation suggests up to a maximum of 12 weeks at the moment. after 12 weeks there is some data suggesting that there is still some efficacy beyond 12 weeks but the numbers are too small to be confident of that time interval so thatis confident of that time interval so that is the reason why we suggested that is the reason why we suggested that you go between four to 12 weeks. again, this is something you'll be able to read more about in

our public assessment report. let's move to rhys blakely from the times. good morning. your question, please. good morning. your question, please. good morning. your question, please. good morning. i have two questions. i have been asked by several readers and a couple of editors this morning already, can we mix doses of the pfizer and oxford vaccines? can you talk me through the thinking, whether it's possible now or in future to mix doses of vaccines? secondly, the issue of efficacy. i think you said 70% after one dose but the lancet paper showed 62% after virtual doses —— to full doses. it seems odd one dose would give better efficacy than to doses and what does that actually mean for people who may get one dose and be left for three months before they get their booster shot? how should they be thinking about the level of

protection they have in that time? thank you. let's take your first question about mixing doses. we are not advising that at the moment. absolutely right, we are not advising mixing doses of different vaccines because we don't have any data on that. our advice is that if you have the pfizer vaccine is the first dose, the second should also be pfizer. and if you have the astrazeneca for first dose, second should also be the astrazeneca vaccine. there are trials which are being planned where different people will receive different vaccines at different time points and that might provide more data as to whether you can mix the vaccines. clearly we will review this is more data becomes available. on your second question, would you like to comment on how we interpret some of the figures that have been given, both in published papers and otherwise around efficacy of one dose and how we actually align all of this? thank

you. it's a very important question. the astrazeneca trials are not too easy to tease out because there are actually four different trials held in four different settings with different dose schedules. some people had the second dose early and some people had the second dose later. somewhere are half dose, some we re later. somewhere are half dose, some were standard doses. —— some where half doses. the figure i gave is based on the astrazeneca trial and suggests an efficacy after the first dose, 21 days after, and up to the time of the second dose of about 70%. that is based on a subset of patients so one can't directly compare that with the other efficacy data that's published the lancet paper which is 62%. in terms of your

discussion about the level of protection, there is no advice at the moment that suggests that having been vaccinated, anybody should relax or stop adhering to social distancing measures and other protection measures such as wearing a facemask or handwashing. all of those measures are still important evenif those measures are still important even if somebody has received the vaccine. there are many considerations that go into deciding when social distancing measures and personal protective measures should be relaxed. vaccination is one strand in our defence against the coronavirus. we need everything that we can do to protect ourselves and at the appropriate time when we can see the vaccine having a true effect on severe disease and protecting people from dying. then perhaps we

can start relaxing social distancing measures but at the moment, the advice remains that everybody including those who are vaccinated should adhere to the latest government guidelines on social distancing measures and other protective measures. matt hancock talked about exiting the pandemic in the spring stop is that realistic?” think it's right to be very ambitious. i think it is realistic to be optimistic. trying to put a time to when we can exit and return back to normal is much more difficult, clearly. our last question comes from rebecca thomas of the health service journal. question comes from rebecca thomas of the health servicejournal. good morning. good morning, thank you. this is for professor limb. will the jcvi issue new priority guidance to account for the fast spread of the new variant and will that guidance

give greater priority to nhs staff, given the pressure on services? secondly, will the jcvi given the pressure on services? secondly, will thejcvi offer further guidance about which nhs staff should be prioritised beyond patient facing, as that is over1 million people. i work as a clinician. over the weekend i was on my hospital admissions unit and together with the team around me and colleagues, we were treating many people who are coming in, sadly, with covid—19 so i'm very aware of the pressures and strains on the health service, on my colleagues and the concerns that health professionals have. at the moment, health professionals and front—line workers are already one of the highest priority groups. with the announcement today, we will see a much greater supply in vaccine

availability and that will mean that hopefully all nhs front line workers will very soon be able to be offered a vaccine wherever they are because the constraints will be so much less, and that is the greatest urgency above all. in relation to other nhs workers who are not patient facing, they will also be considered within the groups that are in phase two of the programme, so alongside other key workers and as i've mentioned before, that exact decision hasn't been made yet. just to clarify, there aren't plans to issue new priority guidance? and to my second question i was asking about further guidance within the patient facing groups, so further guidance and prioritisation to those staff. if i can guidance and prioritisation to those staff. ifi can take guidance and prioritisation to those staff. if i can take the second question first, in our previous

statement, which will be updated today, we already described how one might prioritise within front line health care workers and so those at greatest personal risk from exposure and severe disease should be prioritised first and highest within front line health care workers. in relation to your question about whether the priority groups should be changed because of tier for restrictions, is that what you meant? to take account for the new variant, yes. at the moment, we think the new variant transmits more but doesn't cause more severe disease and, importantly, there is no suggestion that the new variant targets are different patient group, so the people who are most at risk from the new variant are the same as the people most at risk from the

previous or the wild—type variant as you call it so there is no reason to change the order in the priority groupsjust because change the order in the priority groups just because the change the order in the priority groupsjust because the new variant is circulating. thank you very much indeed. this concludes our questions from the media and what i'd like to do now is offer my colleagues the chance to add any comments that you would like to. any further points you would like to make? yes, a few closing remarks. the world health organization has shown that vaccines save between two to 3 million lives each year, so they are amongst the most effective public health interventions we have. we now have two covid—19 vaccines in the uk and more on the way and these will save lives and provide us with the weapon we need in the fight against covid—19. with the authorisation of

vaccines, everybody has said that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. i completely agree with that. however, were not there yet. we hu rtle towards that. however, were not there yet. we hurtle towards that light, it is really important that everybody continues to follow government guidelines according to the area you are in to reduce transmission of the virus. this is a new disease, only i2 virus. this is a new disease, only 12 months old, but these vaccines are also new and we need to learn much more about the vaccines in terms of their long—term effectiveness and in terms of their long—term safety. fortunately, the uk has some of the most robust and best surveillance mechanisms in the world to allow us to be able to assess the long—term efficacy and the long—term safety of these vaccines. this will be critical in combating the pandemic. let me finish by thanking all the people

who willingly participated in the clinical trials to help combat the virus. we would not be here at this point without them volunteering to ta ke point without them volunteering to take part in the trials. i also want to thank the fantastic work carried out by scientists in developing the vaccines. the progress has been truly remarkable, given that this disease is barely 12 months old.” would like to reassure everyone that the w would like to reassure everyone that the jcvi will continue to review all the jcvi will continue to review all the latest information that comes out regarding both candidate vaccines and the existing vaccines as they are deployed. in addition, we will also be reviewing data in relation to the vaccine uptake because it's important to understand who is getting the vaccine and whether the right groups are getting the vaccine is the programme is rolled out. i would simply like to

say that with this approval of the second vaccine, we had another step closer in helping to defeat this virus. we are getting there, but as my colleagues have said, no one should drop their guard at this moment and we need to follow the restrictions and the advice hands, face, space. but we are fighting back now and this is another blow to this virus. from the mhra's point of view, are clear messages that you have every confidence in the safety, in the effectiveness and in the quality of covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca. we are doing all we can to help protect the public. our mission is to help protect the public and to save lives and on that, everyone can be completely sure. this now brings the briefing session to a close. thank you very much indeed.

studio: a clear and unequivocal message from the chief executive of the medicines regulatory authority. a very full briefing there from the three experts. we can speak now to our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. what stood out for you? what was really interesting was the dosing, the new information on dosing. we heard this morning that the go—ahead had been given to this new astrazeneca vaccine for two full doses but that those doses could be separated by up to 12 weeks. what was quite interesting in the briefing was the spoke about data that had been provided by the oxford astrazeneca team because during the trials, people were given their two doses with different durations, different intervals in between and they suggest that 21 days after the

first dose of the vaccine, there is up first dose of the vaccine, there is up to 70% protection and about 12 weeks later that could go up to 80%, two numbers were given for these trials. it's a fairly pragmatic decision to go with giving this first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible. itjust means you can roll it out much more quickly, you can get people who are vulnerable to this disease, you can give them protection so it does take about three weeks for that protection to kick in, but it's interesting to see some of the data that this has been based on and there's going to be more information about that released. it will be really interesting to dig into that. what was also quite interesting as there was a lot of publicity in a few weeks ago about a slightly different dosing regime where some people were given half a dose of the vaccine followed by a full dose of the vaccine and they haven't given the vaccine and they haven't given the go—ahead for that. they've said

we wa nt the go—ahead for that. they've said we want to give people to full doses. what was quite interesting in that briefing, they spoke about the people who have been given this a slightly different regime and they also were given the two jabs with a longer interval in between so they we re longer interval in between so they were saying, perhaps it was a longer interval that cost increase protection. i think it was up to 90% protection. i think it was up to 90% protection compared with 62% protection compared with 62% protection with the two full doses but more data is needed for that, so it was really interesting to hear some of the details. i think it is a fairly pragmatic decision with the number of new cases at the moment to try and get this vaccine to as many people as possible, the first dosage, but the second dose is very important because that will offer the sort of durability of protection. it was interesting to hear more details about that. and just to clear up for viewers who will have heard two figures quoted

there of the efficacy of the first dose. one appeared to be 62%, the other appeared to be 70%. are we going to get back cleared up in documents published later today?” hope so, i would like to hear that because more figures were thrown in there. there was the 70% protection after the first dose of the vaccine, anotherfigure after the first dose of the vaccine, another figure was up to 80% protection after three months before you got the second dose, so it would be useful to get that information and dig down into the figures at little bit, but the 62% you refer to was released earlier this month when the news about the vaccine being effective first came about. that was based on two doses, so i would like to have a look at those numbers and see how the 70% and the 80% fit into that as well. we will be coming back

to you when you have got that information. one more thing, interesting to hear a question put to the panel and answered by professor wei shen lim, the words of matt hancock, a uk health secretary, we re matt hancock, a uk health secretary, were quoted at him saying this vaccine means that we could be exiting this epidemic in the spring, but he was much more cautious, saying it was realistic to be optimistic. yes, it is going to take awhile to get the vaccine out. it will speed things up rapidly because the pfizer vaccine has to be stored at these ultralow temperatures, so that makes the logistics and transport tricky, and the oxford vaccine is easier to store so that makes that easier, but we will have to see how quickly a vaccine is

rolled out, how many people it can get to. phase one involves every body over the age of 50 and some people under 50 who are more vulnerable so i feel like we really need to see where we are with the numbers in the next few weeks, but seeing an end to the pandemic would be wonderful. and it is notjust the uk, for this pandemic to get under control, you need to get people vaccinated everywhere around the world. doing that will be one of the biggest logistical challenges of our age, but it'll be interesting to see what other give it the go—ahead after the uk, so i expect we will hear more about that soon. thank you so much, rebecca morelle. it's a very busy news day here on bbc news. before we return to the brexit

debate that is continuing inside the house of commons, let's take a look at what we are expecting from westminster for the rest of the day. at 2:30 a result is expected on the post—brexit trade deal. after that, around three o'clock, the health secretary matt hancock will make a statement on the tiers system for england, with millions more expected to face tougher restrictions. and later, at around four o'clock, the education secretary gavin williamson will make a statement on schools in england. and we'll bring you all of those key developments throughout the day here on bbc news. let's speak to our political correspondentjonathan blake who has been watching the brexit debate. what has been said? a busy day at westminster, as you set out. mps have been recalled from their christmas breaks, some taking part remotely and some here in the house of commons, and later in the house of commons, and later in the house of lords. the purpose of today's

proceedings is for parliament to approve the eu trade future relationship bill, which is the bit of legislation which will put into effect the trade deal which was reached with the eu just before christmas, and it is being raced through parliament in record time because, of course, it needs to take effect in time for 11pm tomorrow, december the 31st, which is when the transition period that we are currently in after formally leaving the eu at the beginning of this year expires. and the prime minister got the debate in the house of commons under way a little earlier this morning by telling mps that the deal he had reached would allow the uk to have a close relationship with the european union in the future while taking back control of what he said was the uk's national destiny. and he said that the deal achieved what many people said was impossible.

just as we have avoided trade barriers so we have got full control of our laws and regulations, and there is a vital symmetry between these achievements, because the central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something british people always knew in their hearts could be done, and yet which we were continually told was impossible, we we re continually told was impossible, we were told we could not have our cake and eat it, do you remember how often we were told that? namely that we could cooperate and trade as we will with our european neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill while containing sovereign control of our laws and destiny, and that unifying thread runs through every clause of this bill which embodies our vision shared with our european neighbours of a new relationship between britain and the eu as relationship between britain and the euasa relationship between britain and the eu as a sovereign equal isjoined by friendship, commerce, history, interest and values while respecting one another's freedom of action and

recognising that we have nothing to fear if we sometimes choose to do things differently. with the support of all conservative mps in support of the labour party, there is no doubt whatsoever that this bill will pass these parliamentary hurdles today, and be put into law as of later tonight. there has been some discussion about what labour's position would be, but eventually sir keir starmer made clear in recent days that his party would support the deal reached by borisjohnson would support the deal reached by boris johnson with would support the deal reached by borisjohnson with the eu. there may be one or two, a handful of waverers on the labour benches who hold out and vote against it, but sir keir starmer said that while the deal had its flaws, it would get his support. after four and a half years of debate and division, we finally have a trade deal with the eu. it's imperfect. it's thin. and it's the consequence of the prime minister's political choices. but we have only

one day before the end of the transition period, and it's the only deal that we have. it is a basis to build on in the years to come, and ultimately voting to implement this treaty is the only way to ensure that we avoid no deal, and so we will vote for this bill today. but i do hope that this will be a moment where our country can come together and look to a better future. the uk has left the eu, the leave remain argument is over whichever side we we re argument is over whichever side we were on. the argument is over. we now have an opportunity to forge a new future, one outside the eu but working closely with our great partners, friends and allies, we will always be european, we will always have shared values, experiences and history. we can now also have a shared future.

now, labour and the conservatives will vote in favour of the deal later. there is farfrom will vote in favour of the deal later. there is far from a will vote in favour of the deal later. there is farfrom a universal consensus, though, here at westminster that it marks the start ofa westminster that it marks the start of a new beginning with the european union, and the best way forward. the liberal democrats, the scottish national party, the green party, plaid cymru and the parties representing seats in northern ireland will all oppose the legislation, but that will amount to nothing like the number of votes needed to hold up the proceedings here in parliament, so there will be a vote at around 2:30pm when the house of commons will give its first approval. it will then move to the house of lords for potentially several hours of debate and possibly votes later on before finally passing all the procedural hurdles here at westminster later on tonight. jonathan, thank you very much for that timetable and also for that update. our political correspondentjonathan that update. our political correspondent jonathan blake there.

we will return to the brexit debate just a moment. let's just show these pictures which have come in the last hour. this is the plane containing the brexit treaty documents signed by eu's ursula von der leyen and charles michel landing at city airport in london. it's now on it's way to downing street to be signed by the prime minister. soa so a slightly surreal moment, a document being flown to the uk, but it is of course highly significant, and marks the moment in a couple of days' time onjanuary and marks the moment in a couple of days' time on january the 1st when the uk will formally be ceasing all of its ties with the eu. now let's go back to that debate in the house of commons. it is being conducted virtually, and the person you are seeing there is the mp kevin

brennan, who is from the opposition labour party. i don't understand why it is necessary for those who believe this is a bad deal to vote for it and dip their fingertips believe this is a bad deal to vote for it and dip theirfingertips in the indelible ink of national failure. the deadline we are up against today is an entirely artificial one, sustained only so that the prime minister can say he has met his own political timetable. the truth is that the transition period could have been extended, or the deal could have been introduced ona the deal could have been introduced on a provisional basis to allow this house to thoroughly scrutinise it line by line rather than follow the ta ke line by line rather than follow the take it or leave it by lunchtime timetable that the government has artificially manufactured today. my right honourable friend was right to talk about the red tape for the manufacturing industry, checks for

farmers, the burden on businesses, and that the consequences of the deal will be economically damaging. in addition the government have chosen to end the erasmus education programme for young people, with no proper recognition for professional qualifications, and there will be no work permit free access across the eu for musicians who have been unable to work for a year because of covid. that issue alone has triggered a petition to parliament of over 200,000 signatures, and less than a year of over 200,000 signatures, and less thana yearago, of over 200,000 signatures, and less than a year ago, the dtmf minister, said at the time in westminster hall that it said at the time in westminster hall thatitis said at the time in westminster hall that it is absolutely essential that free movement for artists is protected post—2020 that is just one example of the failure of the government to deliver even on its woefully inadequate promises in relationship to this deal. this is a thin deal, a failure even on the government's own terms, in short it

isa government's own terms, in short it is a bad deal and i won't be voting for it. doctor liam fox. thank you, madam deputy speaker. those of us who voted in campaign to leave the european union did so for a number of reasons. i was always a constitutional leaver. for me the test of this bill is does it return the solitary resort, and the answer is yes. why? there is no jurisprudence, no direct effect, and retention of any of those would have been compatible with a sovereign state, and from our accession to the eec through various treaties, all of these elements were incompatible with the concept that those who live under the law should be able to determine those who make the law. that is what we have regained in this process. the second test for me is, does this allow us to have a genuinely independent trade policy? let us remember we were told it would take ten years to reach a

free—trade agreement with the european union, it would be impossible to roll all the eu agreements that we had, i stood at that dispatch box and listen to the opposition incessantly telling us that, and so congratulations to the department for international trade, ministers and officials for all that we have achieved and especially to david frost for landing one of the world's biggest if not the biggest trade agreement in 11 months, a world record, again something we we re world record, again something we were told was not possible. when we voted to leave the european union, we also voted to leave the single market, although for some of us the single market is also the single antimarket with the many protectionism is it encompasses. but if we want to access the single market as it now is, there has to be a price to be paid. if we want to diverge from the rules of the single market, there has to be a price to be paid again. does this agreement provide effective mechanisms for us to do these things? the answer again

is yes. does he agree that the mechanisms this treaty has found are every bit as good as the mechanisms for example in the canada treaty and all the other treaties that reflect these tensions and free trade agreements? my right honourable friend is absolutely right, and not only are they effective, they keep us in line with the best international practice, which exists and enables us to move forward with greater predictability. and on that point there are a number of specific elements to welcome. the first is the acceptance of the concept... i won't, the acceptance of the concept... i won't, i'm afraid. the first is the a cce pta nce won't, i'm afraid. the first is the acceptance of non—regression on minimum standards. we accept that the maintenance of high standards have fixed costs in terms of international commerce, which is why we will always need to compete at the high end of the quality market globally in goods and services, and does the prime minister rightly pointed out, we cannot ever become the bargain basement economy because the bargain basement economy because the fixed costs that we have are

simply too high, and quite rightly the british people wouldn't allow us to abandon the standards that we have. it means that we will have to move forward with the natural innovation and creativity of the british people expanding our export culture, because the bottom line is that without more exports and actual trade, any trade agreement is simply a piece of paper. it is upon the natural innovation of the british people that our prosperity will be built in the future. the second element is my right honourable friend alluded to is that the conceptin friend alluded to is that the concept in dispute resolution of international arbitration done without the european court of justice, and that brings us in line with international trends and practices, which takes us to the third element, the mechanism of determining divergence. if there is no ability to determine to diverge, we are not sovereign. if there is not a price to be paid for divergence, the eu would never have

reached the agreement. the process of dynamic alignment would have automatically taken eu rules into our laws, but what is acceptable is that there are penalties for diversions that are clearly set out that are proportionate and required to show harm rather than simply be put into law. and the most important element of all of this is that it is we who will weigh up the costs and benefits of any potential diss alignment, our choice, that is one of the key elements we have in the future. today opens up a new chapter in our politics, the choice between maintaining and strengthening an independent united kingdom and the new ranks of the joiners who will have us thrust back into accession european politics all over again, consuming all our political time and energy, future i believe the british public will reject. there are things we do have to still sort out, the

future of gibraltar being an important one, and seeing further details on services including financial services, but madam deputy speaker, this is a historic day in our democracy. we have delivered on the referendum, delivered on our election promises, and if the opposition doesn't have reasons to be cheerful, at least we should all be cheerful, at least we should all be proud. sir ed davey. our country is gripped by two crises. hospitals are overwhelmed and the economy is in the worst recession for 300 yea rs. in the worst recession for 300 years. a responsible government, faced with these crises to peoples health and jobs, would not pass this bad deal. for this deal will make british people poorer and british people less safe. it is not really a trade deal at all. it is a loss of trade deal at all. it is a loss of trade deal. it's the first trade deal in history to put barriers to

trade. is that really the government's answer to british business, fearing for their futures and british workers fearing for theirjobs? we were told leaving the eu would cut red tape, but this deal represents the biggest increase in red tape in british history. 23 new committees to oversee this new bureaucracy, 50,000 new customs officials, a00 million new forms. some analysts estimate the cost of this new red tape burden for british business at over £20 billion every year. madam deputy speaker, this isn't the frictionless trade the prime minister promised. i will give way. i am extremely grateful to the right honourable gentleman, and they agree with the points he is making. is he concerned at reports that indicate that the lack of equivalence for sanitary and phytosa nita ry equivalence for sanitary and phytosanitary measures means that welsh farmers will face more red

tape exporting to the eu than new zealand farmers? i agree with the honourable gentleman, he is absolutely right, and the more businesses see this, the more they will be very disappointed, for these reels of red tape will put more jobs at risk at a time when so many are already being lost to covid. these barriers will raise prices in the shops at a time when so many families are already struggling to make ends meet. from the failure to agree a good dealfor britain's services sector, 80% of our economy, to the failure to agree a stable deal, investors will trust this is a lousy deal for britain's economic future. the conservatives could no longer claim to be the party of business, and with this deal they can no longer claim to be the party of law and order. for our police

will no longer have real—time immediate access to critical european crime—fighting data bases like schengen 2. in one year alone these were used over 600 million times by our police, often in the heat of an investigation. thanks to the prime minister was my deal, british police will lose that privileged access, and criminals will escape. madam deputy speaker, there are so many things wrong with this deal, from its failure on the environment to the broken promises to young people on erasmus. but with a deal supposed to restore parliamentary sovereignty, our parliamentary sovereignty, our parliament has been given only hours to scrutinise it, when the european parliament has days. business has just days to adjust to this deal. liberal democrats called on the prime minister to negotiate a grace

period to help businesses adjust, forgetting of course this government no longer cares about business. so, madam deputy speaker, the government leaves us no choice but to vote against this deal tonight. perhaps that won't surprise to many people. liberal democrats are after all a proud pro—european party who fought ha rd proud pro—european party who fought hard against brexit. but we have genuinely looked, we have genuinely looked at this post—brexit trade deal to assess whether it is a good basis for the future relationship between the uk and the eu, and it isn't. and to those who argue a vote against this deal is a vote for no deal, i have to tell you this. the liberal democrats have led the charge against no deal when this prime minister was selling the virtues of no deal. madam deputy

speaker, tonight the question is simple. is this a good dealfor the british people? today, madam deputy speaker, the question is, is this a good dealfor the british people? deal that costs jobs, increases red tape, hits our service —based economy, undermines our police and damages our young people's future. it isa damages our young people's future. it is a bad deal and liberal democrats will vote against it. now we go virtually to neil parish. thank you very much, madam deputy speaker. i want to start by congratulating the prime minister and his negotiating team forgetting and his negotiating team forgetting a deal which preserves tariff free and quota free trade with the eu worth over £660 billion. i also want to welcome the astrazeneca oxford vaccine that will help deliver our health in the future and all the

great work that all our health workers are doing and our communities across the country fighting covid. i hope that all members opposite willjoin us in voting for the future relationship bill today to support our farmers, our fishermen, bill today to support our farmers, ourfishermen, our car bill today to support our farmers, our fishermen, our car industry and finally delivering on the referendum result. the public have consistently voted to leave the eu over the last four and voted to leave the eu over the last fourand a voted to leave the eu over the last four and a half years, including voted to leave the eu over the last fourand a half years, including in tiverton and honiton, but farmers in my constituency and across the whole of the united kingdom will be pleased to see that we are leaving with a deal. sheep farmers across the industry, across the whole united kingdom, who were facing ta riffs of united kingdom, who were facing tariffs of almost 50 cents... studio: we will leave that debate for a moment, that debate continuing in the house of commons over the post—brexit trade deal that the government has negotiated with the european union. we know that a result is expected on

that deal at half past two uk time. we will bring in that of course when we have it. you are watching bbc news. now for the weather with matt taylor. hello. coldest morning of the year this morning. temperatures down to minus 10.2 celsius in highland, and it stays cold, maybe not quite as chilly, but cold over the coming days into the start of 2021. frost and ice are featured by night, and still some wintry showers around. today, those are mainly across western areas. the most significant snow over highlands of scotland, even a cover of snow as far south as the trossachs into this afternoon. wintry showers in northern ireland and the isle of man and wales, and this feature here is mainly rain across parts of devon and cornwall this afternoon, but could give a dusting of snow over the moors as it gradually pushes its way eastwards, with heavy rain over the channel islands for a time. most of those, though, dry bright and some hazy

sunshine for the most part, and most will stay dry into tonight. still some snow flurries in scotland drifting down into the far north of england. more snow into the north—east of scotland later. rain around the coast, and more wintry showers for northern ireland and the far west of wales too. we could still see some icy conditions around, particularly some showers into tomorrow morning, with temperatures again widely believed freezing. coldest towards eastern areas, and some patchy, freezing fog to go with it. as you go into new year's eve, though, the main focus of the snow will be attached to this feature which will run down across the eastern half of scotland and into parts of northern england through the day. there are also some wintry showers like today across the north west midlands, across wales, and the liverpool bay area, with heavy showers and a rumble of thunder with them across west wales and cornwall later. but a good covering of snow across the grampians, southern uplands, turning back to rain along the coastal strip later on, and to lower levels. as temperature rise just a little bit with that, we are going to see some snow across parts of northern ireland and the far north of england later on the hills mainly. much of england and wales

having a dry and bright new year's eve. as we go into tonight though, and to take us into 2021, showers from south—east scotland and north—east england down towards england and wales towards the south—west. a little bit of wintry nurse over the hills, mainly of rain, though. some brighter weather to the north and west, and also up across parts of east anglia and the south—east, and a chilly start to 2021. temperatures, as you have seen this week, at highest around three to 6 degrees. the blue colours indicate that the cold air stays with us into the weekend. more of an easterly wind developing though into this weekend which will bring showers up to eastern coast. western areas should be dry and bright, and mainly we'll have dry weather much of the time, frosty by night and staying chilly by day, too.

protection. it was interesting to hear more details about that.

this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world: the coronavirus vaccine developed by astrazeneca and oxford university becomes the second vaccine in the uk to receive regulatory approval — britain's health secretary says the firstjabs will be given in the new year. today's news is great news for the ability to make us safe and make us safe faster tha n ability to make us safe and make us safe faster than we previously could have done. the uk regulators approve that two standard doses should be given at an interval of between four to 12 weeks to be most effective. the effectiveness was high, up to 80%, when there was a three month interval between first and second

doses, which is the reason for our recommendation. the news comes as more parts of england are to expected be moved into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, tier a. politicians in the uk have begun debating legislation which would put the eu trade deal into uk law. parliament is expected to back the measures in time for the end of the post—brexit transition period tomorrow night. the central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something. the british people always knew in their hearts it could be done and yet we were continually told it was impossible, that we could not have our cake and eat it. do you remember how often we we re eat it. do you remember how often we were told that? after years of division, and debate, we finally have a trade deal with the eu. it is thin and it is the consequence of the prime minister's political choices.

explosions have rocked the airport that serves the yemeni city of aden, soon after a plane carrying the country's new government landed. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. in a landmark moment in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic — the uk medicines regulator has approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by astrazeneca and scientists at oxford university. the first doses are due to be given on monday. it's the second vaccine to be approved in the uk, after pfizer—biontech's was given the green light earlier this month. it's also been announced that the immunisation campaign will now shift to giving as many people as possible their first dose of vaccine, with a gap of up to 12

weeks before the second dose is administered. the uk has 100 million doses of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine on order — that's enough for 50 million people. compared to other vaccines being developed, it's cheap, easy to produce and can be stored in a fridge. since being designed in april, it has been through large—scale clinical trials involving thousands of volunteers. the boss of astrazeneca said it was an important day for millions of people in the uk and said his company would not profit from supplying the vaccine. the prime minister borisjohnson said the approval was "fantastic news" and a "triumph for british science", saying, "we will move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible." the immunisation programme will begin next week on january the ath. the health secretary matt hancock said it was a really significant moment in the fight against coronavirus. the vaccine is the way out.

and the approval of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, it brings forward the date at which we are going to bring this pandemic to an end. and so it's good news for everybody, everybody watching, and the whole country. this is a real british success story. it's a combination of the science of oxford university and the vaccines network. the researchers who have done a brilliantjob. astrazeneca and the nhs. and so this is really good news this morning, that the vaccine has notjust been approved, but also, that if they find that the immunity to the disease comes after around a fortnight after the first dose, which means that we can really accelerate the number of people who get protected. speaking during a data briefing at downing street earlier, the chair of the human medicine expert working group explained how the doses of the vaccine will be administered.

what we are approving is that two standard doses should be given. they should be given at an interval of between four to 12 weeks, are you that there should be an interval of four to 12 weeks between the first and second dose. we also looked at the half dose regimen which has been publicised widely but we felt that the results were not borne out by the results were not borne out by the full analysis. we have come to the full analysis. we have come to the decision of an interval of between four to 12 weeks based on the data that was presented to us because of the design of the trial some people got second doses at different time intervals. this allowed an analysis of the effectiveness of the vaccine if you we re effectiveness of the vaccine if you were to be able to delay between four to 12 weeks. . this showed that the effectiveness was high, up to 80%, when there was a three month

interval between first and second doses, which is the reason for our recommendation. the chair of thejoint committee on vaccines and immunisations explained what the data showed regarding the efficacy of the vaccine. the data shared with us, and i'm not sure it's in the public domain entirely, calculated the vaccine efficacy between day 22 of dose one to the time of dose two being given and the figure is around 70%. we can cross to oxford and speak to sarah gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at the university. sarah gilbert was the lead researcher of the team who developed the vaccine. good afternoon, professor gilbert. people around the country are saying this is a great day but for you particularly there must be enormous satisfaction at the approval of this

vaccine. good afternoon. yes, it's a great day. we are very proud here in oxford. the team have been working on this vaccine from almost exactly a year ago with partners in multiple sites around the uk and the world to bring together this dataset that the mhra have now assessed to give approval, we are very proud of this achievement. explained to us how it is you have managed in the space of a year to is you have managed in the space of a yearto do is you have managed in the space of a year to do something that would normally take years to do. has been possible because we've been planning to do something like this for a long time. we've been working on ways to develop vaccines that mean we can go quickly when we need to make a new one. we've been using this type of technology for many years now and oxford to develop vaccines against other pathogens that can cause outbreaks but we've never had to work as quickly as we have done this year. it has really been very challenging, but we've had a great tea m challenging, but we've had a great team of people and partners working with us and in particular astrazeneca taking over the

manufacturing of the vaccine which has gone so well and has meant that so many doses will be available both now and in the coming year. there are now and in the coming year. there a re lots of now and in the coming year. there are lots of questions being asked about this vaccine and the new variant of coronavirus that is emerging and spreading quickly. are you confident this vaccine can deal with that new variant? so far we haven't seen any evidence that any vaccines will be affected by the emergence of these new variants. there is one that has been picked up in the uk and another in south africa and they have some similarities. they appear to be much more transmissible but that's the main difference between them and the original version. we are not complacent. we recognise that as the virus spreads through a population, it will mutate and there are likely to be more mutations in the future so we've already started getting our plans into place to be able to produce a new version of the vaccine should be needed in the future, but we don't think that moment has come yet. we heard from experts advising the government a little earlier this

morning about the doses of the vaccine and the length of time between the first dose and the second dose and there seems to have been developments on both of those accounts. can you just talk us through that? yes, we've been able to provide data from our clinical trials on a variety of intervals between the first and second dose because people didn't all get the second dose at four weeks. some of them had it at intervals of up to 26 weeks but the data is most robust —looking at intervals of up to 12 weeks and in the situation we now find ourselves in with the pandemic raging, case number is increasing rapidly day by day and a real need to get as many people protected as possible, it's been decided by the jcvi that the most pragmatic thing to do is give us many at—risk people the first dose of the vaccine because we know that from three weeks after that first dose there is a very good level of protection and

nobody in the clinical trials at that point after their first dose was in hospital with covid or experiencing severe disease and being able to prevent people going into hospital with covid is going to a massive impact on the health service so that's been the recommendation, that people should be given theirfirst recommendation, that people should be given their first dose and then they have up to three months to receive the second dose and the second still important because that's going to give give us the durability of protection to take people through the rest of the year and give them longer term protection whereas the first dose will give a fairly rapid onset of protection but not for such a long time. that's key what you said, the first dose prevents hospitalisation and serious onset of the disease, and so it turns coronavirus into a milder illness, even if people are ill, but into a milder version that doesn't threaten to overwhelm the health service. yes, that's the really importantfinding, service. yes, that's the really important finding, that we can prevent severe disease with one dose

and that's what we now are hoping to be able to do in the first instance. just to clean up the efficiency of that first dose, it is what exactly? has reported this morning, in the short term, the efficacy of the first dose from three weeks after vaccination is 70% but that is short term protection and it is necessary to have a second dose in order to get the longer term protection. thank you very much, professor sarah gilbert, oxford university. we can speak now to our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. a big day for oxford university and particularly sarah gilbert and her team. an enormous day and it is a turning point for the pandemic here in the uk because what this can really, really do is speed up mass vaccination. the thing that the oxford—astrazeneca jab has going for

it is we have ordered a lot of doses, 100 million doses, not to vaccinate the whole of the uk population and storage is much, much easier than the pfizer vaccine, which means ultra low storage which hasissues which means ultra low storage which has issues with transport, with getting it to places like care homes. the oxford vaccine can be keptin homes. the oxford vaccine can be kept ina homes. the oxford vaccine can be kept in a normal refrigerator and that makes the roll—out much, much easierfor it to that makes the roll—out much, much easier for it to happen all around the country. the price is important. it's a cheaper vaccine which globally is going to be really important to getting it to lower and middle income countries, and vaccination is not just middle income countries, and vaccination is notjust about vaccinating one country, you have to vaccinate everyone, everywhere, that's the only way you can really bring the pandemic to a close. during the data briefing earlier, all the focus today is on the astrazeneca oxford vaccine but there was updated guidance on the other

vaccine that's already been in use now in the uk, the pfizer/biontech one. that's true as well. now the interval has changed for the pfizer vaccine too because initially that isa vaccine too because initially that is a two dose vaccine and initially the plan was to give the two doses within 21 days in between the first and second and the people who started getting their vaccination, the over 85 is, some of them have started getting their second dose but they said that the second jab has to be given 21 days or afterwards so the length is increasing. again, it is this idea to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible because for the pfizer vaccine, it has been shown that one jab after a certain number of days, 21 days, does offer good protection. it really is a pragmatic

decision, there is. you see what's happening with the numbers in the uk, they are going up very quickly because of this new variant. people who are vulnerable are going to be vulnerable to this too so if you can get them vaccinated you can offer them some protection and that's really important, so that's not happening with both the pfizer vaccine which is already being rolled out and the soon to be rolled out oxford—astrazeneca vaccine as well. there was also updated guidance on the use of the pfizer vaccine for breast—feeding women. the use of the pfizer vaccine for breast-feeding women. yes, that's right. pregnant and breast—feeding women. before now it wasn't recommended to be given to women who are pregnant or breast—feeding and now they have said you should have a talk to your doctor. you can have it but you need to understand the risk and benefit of doing so. people with allergies too so the advice on that has slightly changed. if anyone is allergic to the ingredients in both of the vaccines, they should not have the vaccination, but if they

have the vaccination, but if they have other allergies like food allergies or allergies to other medicines, it's probably ok to have the vaccination but they should talk to their health care practitioner who is giving them the vaccine first and those questions will be asked. saw slight changes there both vaccines. —— so there are slight changes. we can speak to andrew preston, a microbiologist at bath university who focuses on infection diseases. the new vaccine, the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine, to be rolled out in the newquay from next week —— to be rolled out in the uk. but it's going to take time, isn't it? absolutely, the numbers involved are incredibly large. some people said end of february for starting to get back to normal. that's very ambitious. easter for others. there will probably be hiccups along the

way. the key thing is this is the start of the way back to normal so we need to focus on that longer term, sort of summertime. interesting you say there might be hiccups along the way. this is a time of such positive news today but it's probably best to be cautious. please talk us through what hiccups there might be. the demand is going to outstrip supply for at least the immediate future. there is going to be clearly in the population some reports of adverse reactions which are going to cause concern. there is still some questions that need to be a nswered still some questions that need to be answered particularly in terms of the effect of the vaccine on possible transmission and we are still waiting for the full trial data on the exact level of efficacy for the older age groups and those over 65, but with transmission raging at the moment and the nhs

close to collapse. these are vaccines that can stop people becoming sick so it's a key intervention, the first real one that we had in this pandemic. what proportion of the pandemic needs to be vaccinated for it to have full efficacy? that depends largely on the effect on transmission. when we talk about herd immunity, that's really making the assumption that the vaccine will not only protect the vaccine will not only protect the individual, but stop those people from picking up the virus and passing it on to others. under those circumstances you can have a relatively lower population of the —— lower percentage of the population vaccinated. without the brake on transmission we are really looking at having to vaccinate more or less everybody to protect each individual from that risk of severe covid. is no logistical challenge to

get it out there. —— it is now a logistical challenge. yes, we have not tried anything on this scale before. with the oxford vaccine's relatively easy storage regime, this now switches us to be able to take the vaccine to the people as opposed to the pfizer one with a very low temperature requirement which really meant bringing people with a well—equipped medical centres. this really does mark a step change in the roll—out of the vaccines. really does mark a step change in the roll-out of the vaccines. we know that the health secretary matt hancock is going to announce more restrictions in england because of the new covid—19 variant. where do you stand on the level of restrictions that people are under now? do you think they should be extended and that the toughest restrictions should be tougher?” guess the concern is that we have some pretty harsh restrictions in place but the data, 53,000 cases

yesterday, suggests that either those restrictions are not tough enough or they need to be extended so the focus is on about trying to protect the nhs and stop it from becoming overwhelmed, and saving the lives of people who unfortunately are going to die and we see hundreds are going to die and we see hundreds are still dying each day from corona—mac, then i'm afraid we're going to see an extension of restrictions and may even toughening those into your four areas of the data suggests we still have unchecked transmission —— in tier a areas. i don't think anyone is in favour of restrictions. it may be the only response we have whilst we get this vaccine into the arms of as many people as possible. thank you very much, andrew preston from bath university. millions more people in england are expected to be moved into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions after a record rise in infections. the health secretary,

matt hancock, will make the announcement in the house of commons this afternoon. a major incident has been declared by nhs and emergency services in essex, because of growing demand on hospitals and on social care services. anisa kadri. the centre of southampton empty, after the toughest coronavirus restrictions came in on boxing day. today, the government's expected to announce more areas of england will enter tier a. and there's also talk of whether four tiers is enough. we don't take these tiering decisions lightly. with this new variant growing rapidly, and it's now the majority of new cases, it is very important that we keep people safe and that we protect the nhs, which, as you know, is under significant pressure. yesterday, the uk announced another 53,135 covid cases, a record daily figure. it's partly down to a christmas lag

in reporting, but also reflects the fast—spreading new variant of the virus. and nhs staff say they're at risk of becoming overwhelmed. the peaks not going to come for maybe two weeks from now, three weeks from now? and the big thing for us will be — we've had the christmas social mixing. question is if people will do the same thing at new year, and then we'll have another peak further up. more than 21,000 people are being treated in hospitals for covid across the uk. in wales, they're dealing with their highest level of patients now. this is something that's taking a real toll on the staff. at some point, we will sit down and take stock. i don't think we've fully absorbed the effects on us all psychologically. but at the minute we're very focused that we've got a job to do, we've got several months more of the winter to get through, and we're really still in the eye of the storm. in northern ireland, hospitals say although under pressure, they are coping. and in scotland, people

are being urged to stay at home over new year as cases hit a record high. in romford, patients had to be treated in parked ambulances outside the queen's hospital. essex has declared a major incident, enabling the county to seek further support from the government to address the pressures. meanwhile, the prime minister is expected to decide whether to keep secondary schools shut, in order to try to reduce coronavirus transmission. nhs providers, the group representing hospitals and other health trusts in england, want to see the government put more areas under tier a restrictions today, concerned that services are being stretched to their limits. as many pin their hopes on the vaccine for normality to return, trying to keep cases down through the winter remains a priority. anisa kadri, bbc news. the number of coronavirus deaths registered each week in england and wales is rising again, new figures show. the number of deaths registered in the uk

in the week ending 18 december 2020 was 1a,627. that was 1,a89 deaths higher than the five year average. of the deaths registered in the uk in week 51, 3,270 deaths involved covid—19 — 20a deaths higher than the previous week. before we return to the brexit debate that is continuing inside the house of commons, let's take a look at what we are expecting from westminster for the rest

and later today there will be a downing street coronavirus briefing — we'll bring you all of those key developments throughout the day here on bbc news. the post—brexit trade deal has been signed by eu leaders and has now arrived in the uk for boris johnson's signature. mps are currently debating the agreement in the house of commons as you can see and they will be asked to vote on it this afternoon. the prime minister told the commons it was an opportunity to "forge a fantastic new relationship with our european neighbours." the labour leader, sir keir starmer, described it as a "thin" deal with "many flaws", but said it was better than no deal. our political correspondent jonathan blake gave us this update on the day's proceedings for the commons. mps have been recalled from their christmas breaks, some taking part remotely and some here in the house of commons, and later in the house of lords. the purpose of today's proceedings is for parliament to approve the eu trade future relationship bill,

which is the bit of legislation which will put into effect the trade deal which was reached with the eu just before christmas, and it is being raced through parliament in record time because, of course, it needs to take effect in time for 11pm tomorrow, december the 31st, which is when the transition period that we are currently in after formally leaving the eu at the beginning of this year expires. and the prime minister got the debate in the house of commons under way a little earlier this morning by telling mps that the deal he had reached would allow the uk to have a close relationship with the european union in the future while taking back control of what he said was the uk's national destiny. and he said that the deal achieved what many people said was impossible. just as we have avoided trade

barriers, we have ensure the uk's full control of our laws and regulations. there is a vital symmetry between these two achievements because the central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something. the british people always knew in their hearts could be done and which we were continually told was impossible, we we re continually told was impossible, we were told we could not have our cake and eat it. namely that we could trade and cooperate as we will with our european neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill while retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national destiny. and that unifying thread runs through every clause that embodies our vision, shared with our european neighbours of a new relationship between britain and the eu as sovereign equals, joined by friendship, commerce, history, interests and values while respecting one another's freedom of

action and recognising that we have nothing to fear if we sometimes choose to do some things differently. with the support of conservative mps and the support of the labour party there is no doubt whatsoever this bill will pass these parliamentary hurdles today and be put into law as of later tonight. there has been some discussion about what labour's position would be but eventually sir keir starmer made clear in recent days that his party would support the deal reached by borisjohnson with the eu. there may be one or two, a handful of people wavering on the labour benches who vote against it, but keir starmer said that while the deal had its flaws, it would get his support. after 4.5 years of debate and division, we finally have a trade deal with the eu. it's imperfect, it's thin, and it is the consequence of the prime minister was my political choices, but we

have only one day before the end of the transition period and it's the only deal that we have. it is a basis to build on in the years to come and, ultimately, voting to implement this treaty is the only way to ensure that we avoid no deal and so we will vote for this bill today. but i do hope that this will bea today. but i do hope that this will be a moment where our country can come together and look to a better future. the uk has left the eu, the leave and remain argument is over, whichever side we were on. the divisions are over. we now have an opportunity to forge a new future, one outside the eu, but working closely with our great partners, friends and allies. we will always be european, we will always have shared values, experiences and history. we can now also have a shared future. labour and the

conservatives will vote in favour of the deal later. there is far from a universal consensus though here at westminster that it marks the start ofa westminster that it marks the start of a new beginning with the european union and the best way forward is, the liberal democrats, the scottish national party, the green party, plaid cymru and the parties representing seats in northern ireland will all oppose the legislation, but that will amount to nothing like the number of votes needed to hold up the proceedings here in parliament so there will be a vote at around 2:30pm when the house of commons will give its first approval. it will then move to the house of lords for potentially several hours of debate and possibly votes later on before finally passing all the procedural hurdles here at westminster later on tonight. this week we've been looking at what the deal means for you, and today we're looking at business competition rules.

i'm joined by our reality check correspondent, chris morris. we hear the term "level playing field" a lot — what's that all about? it's a much more difficult thing to visualise than fish or cars, but it gets to the heart of this debate, because it is the bottom line of both sides. for the uk, asserting its sovereignty, and for the eu, defending its single market and protecting access if the uk wants to go on protecting access if the uk wants to goona protecting access if the uk wants to go on a different path. so the level playing field is basically about fair competition. the rules we have in this deal are stricter than in any other free trade deal the eu has done, so the eu has protected its interests, but crucially for the uk, it doesn't involve a role for the european court of justice, it doesn't involve a role for the european court ofjustice, so the uk has protected its sovereignty. so

fair competition on regulations means things like labour laws, environmental regulations, climate change rules. if the uk chose to divert from those rules, there would be consequences. and then what is known a state aid, government subsidies for business. if on either side, and it does cut both ways, this would be more of a eu concerned in the uk concern but it does cut both ways, if either side were to give more subsidies to their businesses and that made unfair competition as a result for businesses on the other side, again the other side can take steps to remedy that. so here are the rules. what happens if there is a dispute between the sides? that is the crucial thing, dispute resolution is where this agreement gets to the nitty—gritty. there is this thing called a rebalancing clause, which means that essentially either side can potentially say we are going to

impose tariffs if you change your regulations and we see unfair competition. it is not automatic, an important point for the uk, but there will be an independent arbitration system, and i think we will hear a lot about that system, who is on that system, if there are challenges, how does that work in practice. also on the issue of state aid, either side can unilaterally impose tariffs, just say, you have given too much subsidy to businesses, it is not fair, we are going to put tariffs on car parts or fish or whatever, and there will be an accelerated arbitration system which means they will be a lot of talking. either side can call for a review of the entire agreement at any stage, and every four years there will be an automatic review anyway. there is something being set up anyway. there is something being set up called partnership council which has about 20 subcommittees and working groups. so if any of the viewers are thinking, with her the end of talks between the eu in the uk, we haven't, because it is these

technical committees and these technical committees and these technical issues which are really the most difficult issues in this agreement and which involve billions and billions of pounds of business now and in the future. chris, thank you very much for explaining all of that. our reality check respondent chris morris there. at least five people are reported to have been killed in explosions which rocked the airport that serves the yemeni city of aden. the blast happened soon after a plane carrying the country's new government touched down. a french news agency correspondent at the scene said the blasts detonated as the cabinet ministers were leaving the aircraft. so far it's believed that none of them were hurt. rescuers in croatia have spent the night searching for survivors after a powerful earthquake hit the country. at least seven people including a 12 year old girl died and there was widespread damage. the epicentre of the quake was just 30 miles from the capital, zagreb. keith doyle reports. a man is rescued from a crushed car.

he's reunited with his child, who had already been pulled free. it was a little after midday when the 6.a magnitude earthquake hit, the strongest to hit croatia in decades. the town of petrinja took the full force. half of its buildings have been destroyed, according to the mayor, who was talking to reporters when the quake struck. screaming. a 12—year—old girl died. these women were able to walk away from the collapsed town hall. others were moved to safety, however they could be. rescuers from all across croatia searched amongst the rubble for survivors. this man said, "i don't have anything left. everything crumbled."

in the nearby city of sisak, the mayor was holding a news conference when the tremor started. the main hospital here was badly damaged. it was also felt hundreds of miles away in the slovenian parliament building. the town of petrinja was almost destroyed during the brutal civil war in the 1990s. today's earthquake has brought devastation here once again. keith doyle, bbc news. let's take a look inside the house of commons, where the debate is well under way. the debate is being conducted largely virtually, and you are going to hear now, that is in fact the opposition labour mp barry sheerman speaking. hearing a great deal of evidence, and i am sure that although this isn't the best deal we

could possibly have, it's a much better deal than i expected, so i will be sporting it in the division lobbies tonight. but this is the time for the renewal of the european spirit. we are still in europe. this agreement that we have is a building block. we can build on it. and we must build on it if we are going to make this world a safer place and a more secure place, if we are going to stand up to the threats from china and russia and from the threats from covids and global warming and climate change. europe must work together. of all the evidence, i have to say we also ought to thank michel barnier who was tough but a true european, also ursula von der leyen who is an inspired leader, and although some support behind, from angela marco

and president macron, because inspired leadership across europe, they gave us in part this deal. it is not just they gave us in part this deal. it is notjust the true brits fighting for this deal, it is a good piece of statesmanship that has come through, andi statesmanship that has come through, and i applaud it. thank you. we now go to cheryl murray. thank you, madam deputy speaker. i was really pleased that the prime minister secured this deal that will mean so much to so many, and i support it. i was however disappointed that this got links to ourfishing was however disappointed that this got links to our fishing waters, and to say fishermen are disappointed is an understatement. i share the disappointment. i do understand that the eu originally demanded access to our six to 12 mile limit a0 years, and negotiators have managed to reduce that to five and a half. in order to give the industry

certainty, i hope that we will see july 2026 is an end date to legislation, and the government will compensate for this to happen. i also ask that we take advantage of our new found freedom for the european court of justice our new found freedom for the european court ofjustice to ensure the restoration of the principles enshrined in margaret thatcher's shipping act of 1988. we must make sure that all uk quota is available for uk owned boats. foreign—owned vessels while fishing in our limit, i would like the right of a rest given to the royal navy police be extended beyond the six—month period, with any breach of our rules resulting in impounding the vessel. canada showed the ray in 1995. a minimum landing requirement in uk pots should be introduced, with the

limit set after consultation with industry representatives. in order to ensure no obstruction for uk vassals who land on other ports and other countries. we must also take advantage of this five and a half year window to rebuild ourfishing infrastructure, including new vessels using the generous £100 million from the treasury, and i hope the chancellor can look at it a little bit more, but i do understand the economic times we are in. any grantaid the economic times we are in. any grant aid must be distributed throughout the whole of the united kingdom, and benefit fishing vessel owners as well as port infrastructure and processes. we must prepare ourselves for 2026 as an independent coastal state. the minister can take decisions to free the uk from a fisheries management regime which has been hampered by the constraints of the cfp. we can honour our obligations, but also be

flexible to ensure all uk fishermen can benefit from this partial freedom and take the steps we need to ready ourselves when we, and we must, really take back complete control of our waters in 2026. i will be supporting this deal this evening. we now go to diane abbott. thank you very much, madam deputy speaker. this is the most important and consequential piece of legislation on british eu relations that i have taken part in in over 30 yea rs that i have taken part in in over 30 years in this house. so let me say from the beginning that i will not be voting for this tory brexit deal today. but i should also say that will not be because i don't respect

the result of the 2016 referendum. i think i have rather good eurosceptic credentials. i voted against the maastricht treaty in 1992, and they voted against most other pieces of further eu unification that have come in front of this house. but i voted against the maastricht treaty not because i was opposed to freedom of movement because i had a fear and concern about eu migrants, or because i had the notion that migrants drove down wages. i voted against the maastricht treaty and other aspects of further eu integration because of the concern forfundamental integration because of the concern for fundamental issues of democracy and accountability. so let me say that by driving this historic deal through parliament, in one day, with no time for proper scrutiny, this

government is trashing democracy. so this is a deal which falls short in many policy areas, but i wanted to talk about security. the government claims that it was going to get, and i quote, a security partnership of unprecedented breadth and depth. on the contrary, our access to europol has been compromised, we won't have access to the european arrest warrant, and we will no longer have access to eu databases which allow for real—time data sharing such as the schengen information system which are very valuable to the police and national crime agency. this database was consulted over 600 million times by uk police forces in 2019. so in closing, madam deputy speaker, let me say this. i have the

greatest respect for the result of the 2016 referendum, but this shoddy dealfor short. it fails the 2016 referendum, but this shoddy deal for short. it fails the british people. it fails my constituents, andi people. it fails my constituents, and i have to meet my responsibilities as a member of the british parliament and vote against it today. we now go to damian green. thank you, madam deputy speaker. there are huge complexities in this deal, but there is a very simple choice in front of us today. this deal or no deal. as someone who campaigned hard to remain in 2016, i have felt very strongly that it would be trying to overturn the result is many of my friends believe, but also that leaving with no deal would be a terrible option for this country. so today i will vote enthusiastically for this deal,

andi vote enthusiastically for this deal, and i congratulate the negotiating teams on both sides for showing at the final stretch that kind of practical pragmatism which ironically has always been held up asa ironically has always been held up as a positive british contribution to eu proceedings, and i should also say that i'm very grateful that the british negotiators spent some time and trouble to share and discuss the matter is with the conservative one nation caucasus in recent weeks. there is no time today to go into the details, although indeed today isa the details, although indeed today is a triumph for the government, a triumph for the prime minister, not a triumph for parliament, as this degree of scrutiny is laughable, but it is worth registering two specific points, both things that need to be built on. the first other security arrangements, it is hugely reg retta ble arrangements, it is hugely regrettable that the uk has had to leave the regime for exchanging

information about criminals, and i hope that we can negotiate some equivalent in the future, and the second is obviously the need to improve matters for the financial services, and the arguments have been well rehearsed already, but i very much hope that the necessary rules can be agreed in the coming months to allow this industry to flourish not just in months to allow this industry to flourish notjust in the city of london but around the uk. but it is that strong likelihood of further talks on the committee structure that the deal sets up, i think that is one of the reasons why the deal is one of the reasons why the deal is worth supporting enthusiastically. with no deal there would be no chance of such sectoral deals, they would have been bad blood. instead what i hope will become a habit of close co—operation. i hope that fervently because in recent days my constituents have seen the effects of blockages and delays at ports, and if this goes on for too long, they end i will be very unhappy. what is needed now is a spirit of

generosity, both in our internal debates because too much of the brexit debate has been full of bile and hatred, and even more importantly in our attitude to countries who are our neighbours, our allies in democracy and our friends. we can make today the start ofa friends. we can make today the start of a new relationship of good neighbours rather than surly housemates, so let's take that opportunity to put the deal and move on. we now go to yvette cooper. thank you, madam deputy speaker. i'm glad that the government in the eu have agreed a deal, as the transition ends tomorrow night our countries should start the process of building new relationships and a future outside the eu based on an agreement had a plan not on the acrimony or chaos that no deal would have heralded. this is not the deal

that prime minister promised everyone, and services which are left out, on red tape which will go up left out, on red tape which will go up and on security cooperation which will go down. and he should level with people about those problems, not making possible promises. there are further urgent things we need government to do now to supportjobs and security, but we need an agreement as a starting point. we left the eu injanuary. the transition ends tomorrow. and eve ryo ne transition ends tomorrow. and everyone needs to get on with things. no one deserves the chaos of no deal. britain's counterterror chief told us that would make us less safe, and employers in my constituency would be badly hit under no deal by tariffs and delays. so it is in the national interest and our local interest for this brexit agreement to pass through parliament now, and i shall vote for it today. but we need urgent action to improve the deal for this country. because i am glad that it

includes continued security cooperation in criminal records, dna, euro pollen extradition, although arrangements will be more bureaucratic. but there is a huge gap for us. tomorrow night the police and border force will have to remove police and border force will have to re m ove a ccess to police and border force will have to remove access to the details of 38,000 wanted suspects and criminals from the eu on the criminal database where they check hundreds of millions of times a year, and the replacement interpol information system database replacement interpol information system data base is replacement interpol information system database is much slower and we can. that makes our security response weaker too. there isn't a proper trade deal on services, and there will be a massive increase in red tape for businesses, 11 million customs forms that have to be filled m, customs forms that have to be filled in, and those costs will hitjobs and investment. so we need to look forward to the things the government need to do now once this brexit agreement is in place to support security and jobs. resources for the police to operate the new arrangements. look again at the system and work to improve interpol.

a new track plan for services to reduce customs red tape, proper industrial policy to support communities and higher not lower environmental and labour standards. and we need urgent action to heal the divides, because the ultimate test of the prime minister's deal in future plan is what he uses it for, whether to strengthen the united kingdom or to divide and destroy it, whether he pushes scotland away, deepens the divide between north and south. so far in the north this year we have not seen any of the levelling up the government promised. we have seen power and control centralised. our community still want a fair deal, and that is what we should unite around now. still want a fair deal, and that is what we should unite around nowm isa what we should unite around nowm is a matter of public record, i had my points of difference with this government how this prime minister since the brexit referendum, but unlike many i never question that we had a clear result from a free and fair referendum, and i always hated the rather i thought i'm kind of you that people who voted leave were somehow hoodwinked or too daft to

know what it was that they were doing. there werejust know what it was that they were doing. there were just two red know what it was that they were doing. there werejust two red lines that i think my and my constituents insisted upon. one was the transition period, the key ask of business, and the other was that we leave with a deal in place between the uk and its closest neighbours, our largest trading partner. this doesn't seem radical to me. as i said to the premised on christmas eve, i pay huge tribute to him for his statecraft and for sticking to the word that he gave me both publicly and privately that he wa nted publicly and privately that he wanted a deal with the eu, and that he would do everything in his power to secure one. so i will support the deal today, not just to secure one. so i will support the deal today, notjust because it avoids the no deal many feared, and so many of our opponent spent election campaign just 12 months ago warning it would herald some form of national apocalypse. how ironic that they will vote today for the hardest brexit of all, and i listened with interest to the liberal democrats confirming that. but because it is a good dealfor britain, madam deputy speaker, and it does what we promised at the election last year. the prime minister said he would get

brexit done, and the european union withdrawal agreement of last year was passed within days of securing the majority in this place to allow that. that was the oven ready deal and we shouldn't allow others to rewrite history. the future relationships bill before us today didn't go anywhere near the oven until the 11th hour, but it has come out very nicely and i welcome it. ultimately it is just the framework. wide enough to do all the things the premised are set out this morning, giving business, citizens and law enforcement, not withstanding the security concerns which i share, but it is nimble enough to let this country forge its own way in the world, and for me the success or otherwise of this new chapter, as many have said, is not in the 1200 pages on various appendices before us today. that is all still to be written. let me touch on one area financial services in particular. i understand there is a lot of noise and what is not included, but that is to rather miss the point. that

should not be unreasonable or unnecessary impediments in the way of uk financial services seeking to operate in the eu, and that is welcomed. so can i ask the chancellor duchy of lancashire on the front bench know what this means in practice given the agreement doesn't protect uk passport and writes as many have said today, so what work needs to take place now so financial service firms can... just very quickly on passports. i'm sure he would agree with me that the ball is in the eu's courts to get this done, not least because if the deals we are working on with our friends in the us and with our friends work out as we intend to do, we will be ina out as we intend to do, we will be in a stronger position that we are now. i would agree with my honourable friend, and this deal is in many ways a deal in which we can build. we can always structure services, as he knows, and many businesses put measures in place via

brokers, for instance. but i want the front bench to respond to that when they respond to this debate today. so in closing, although we have left the political structure of the eu, this country will remain culturally, emotionally, historically and strategically attached to europe, not least through the eu nationals who are our friends and neighbours and many my constituents. we now have a new future to look forward to. it won't be the same and we shouldn't pretend it will, and we should never have pretended it will, and that is ok. it's time to come together and move on. peter kyle. thank you, madam deputy speaker. i was walking in my constituency yesterday and were stopped by a man out for a walk with his young daughter. he explained to me that he was a real remainer, he had supported remain all the way through, he supported the idea that i co—champion with phil wilson for a confirmatory referendum. you'd really felt in his heart that he wa nted really felt in his heart that he wanted the country to remain. but he told me when the prime minister came

back with a deal on christmas eve, he rushed to the fridge with his wife and opened a bottle of champagne that he was saving for the next day. he had done so because he knew what the impact of no deal would have on his business. it was ha rd to would have on his business. it was hard to hear somebody say that they we re hard to hear somebody say that they were celebrating this deal, but i understand why, and it really impacts the way that i'm voting today. he is lucky because the business that he has, which import and export products into european countries and other countries in the 20% of the economy that is covered by this deal. he is now preparing himself for the additional paperwork and bureaucracy and having to take on extra staff to do it, but he is covered by some of this deal. but 80% of the economy is not covered. if you are in the financial services sector and working in chester or manchester or edinburgh, you are left behind. if you have a professional qualification and seek to use it in other countries, you are to use it in other countries, you a re left to use it in other countries, you

are left behind. if you are in the creative and performing arts sector, you are creative and performing arts sector, you a re left creative and performing arts sector, you are left behind. and if you are a young person who is in education and looking to explore the full potential of your potential across europe and beyond, you are left behind. but i am in no doubt that supporting any deal is better than the chaos of no deal, and i am also in no doubt that if we inflict a defeat on the government today, this is not a government that will extend and renegotiate. it is a government that will drive us out with no deal tomorrow. that is a price that we cannot afford, and i have not gone into politics and become a member of parliament to be a politician that votes one way and secretly hopes the outcome will be another. studio: we are going to leave that debate in the house of commons, mps debating the post—brexit trade deal

with the eu, which is going to be put into law afterjust one day of debate, mps voting at 2:30pm uk time, and it is fully expected to go through. you are watching bbc news. and just to remind you we will be bringing you live coverage of a briefing by the prime ministerfrom downing street, and that is a 5pm this evening. but for now it is time for the weather with staff. hello, staying very cold for the rest of this we and further wintry showers in places in the short term, looking like much of scotland, northern ireland and western coast of england and wales seeing most of these wintry showers. they will be an issue with ice as well, certainly for the next few nights and likely to cause some disruptions. the cold airvery to cause some disruptions. the cold air very much with us, these weather fronts accentuating the rain, sleet and snow, this one bringing wintry showers to scotland, this one bringing an area of rain to the south—west. it could turn into snow

as it moves a little further east for the rest of the day, certainly in land and over higher ground, plenty of wintry showers across central and northern scotland in some accumulations, and further wintry showers for northern ireland and northern and western wales, but with the best of the dry and bright weather in the central and eastern parts of england. overnight we continue with wintry showers in the north and west, central and eastern areas seeing lengthy clear skies, so here it will be colder, with temperatures down to —a or five celsius. around western coasts generally hovering around one or two celsius. for thursday, generally hovering around one or two celsius. forthursday, new year's eve, we will see this feature bringing more substantial rain, sleet and snow across scotland, certainly settling snow in london over the hills, and further showers for northern ireland stretching down into western wales and the south—west of england, but much of central and eastern england will be dry with variable cloud and spells of sunshine, but again temperatures

low for the time of year. 2—5. of sunshine, but again temperatures low for the time of year. 2—5 . as we move through new year plus mcknight, showers continue in the north and west and ice will continue to bea north and west and ice will continue to be a risk. as we move into friday, new year's day, the 1st of january 2021, this weather front moving out of scotland england and wales will tend to weaken, so it could bring a grey day for england and wales, could see some spots of light rain and drizzle and wintering us over the hills. scotland and northern ireland, brighter for you. again it will be cold, temperatures around a—6 for many of us. and then into the first weekend of january 2021, it will stay cold, variable son sunshine and a greater chance of wintry showers across north—eastern coasts.

while.

the uk approves its second coronavirus vaccine, with the first doses due to be given from monday. 100 million doses of the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine have been ordered, enough for 50 million people. so those standards have been met, and it has been a thoroughly robust process — on safety, on quality, and on effectiveness. millions more people are set to move into tougher coronavirus tiers — a government announcement is expected within hours. boris johnson urges mps to back his post—brexit trade deal. the new arrangements are due to come into force on friday. and as 2020 nears an end, we report from new york on how the virus has changed america.