this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a bill to implement the brexit deal has passed through parliament and takes effect at 11 o'clock gmt tonight, when the uk will stop following eu rules. millions more people in england wake up to the strictest level of restrictions — tier 4 — meaning they will have to mark the new year at home. the pandemic is also casting its shadow over new year's eve celebrations in europe — france is mobilising 100,000 police officers to enforce anti—coronavirus measures. some secondary school pupils in england face a delayed return to school, with mandatory remote learning for pupils who aren't in years 11 or 13.

it comes ahead of a government roll—out of mass testing. on monday of next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests, all the equipment they of tests, all the equipment need, all the ppe they formula 1 world champion, lewis hamilton receives a knighthood in the queen's new year's honours, alongside members of the public recognised for their efforts this year. hello and welcome, if you're watching in the uk or around the world. borisjohnson‘s trade deal with the european union has become law. the bill has cleared parliament, after being approved by mps and peers.

0vernight it was given royal assent by the queen. the deal takes effect at 11pm gmt tonight when the uk will stop following eu rules. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. this was the moment, late into the night, when the brexit trade deal became the law of the land. her majesty has signified her royal assent to the following act — european union future relationship act 2020. the final confirmation that, at 11 o'clock tonight, after four and a half years of argument since the referendum, the uk will begin a new relationship with the european union. if you're thinking, hasn't all this happened already? didn't we leave injanuary? well, yes, legally, brexit did happen 11 months ago. but in practical terms, it happens tonight, as the uk leaves the eu's single market and the customs union.

after all the noise, the turbulence, the flag—waving, the megaphones, the resignations, the elections of the last few years, the debate here in the last few days, with the overwhelming support for the government's deal, has felt something like a fire blanket, smothering many of the past flames of anger. plenty, of course, are still hugely passionate about brexit one way or another. the snp opposed the deal, among others, and this won't be the last time you ever hear the b word. but things may, just may, be a little quieter from now on. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. earlier, i spoke to the german christian democrat mep david mcallister, who's chair of the european parliament's foreign affairs committee. here's what he said. i welcome that the negotiation teams found an agreement practically

in the last minute just before christmas and i am relieved the disruptions and the chaos following a no deal withdrawal of the uk from the single market and customs union has been avoided. 0n the other hand, i regret that today will be the last day of 47 years of successful cooperation between the eu and the uk. in the customs union and the single market. this is coming to an end. but with the new agreement, we have the chance to build a new partnership with the uk on a solid legal basis. and how do you see that partnership, the new partnership, evolving? what will the priorities be? this is a very comprehensive agreement. i think it is fair and balanced. the eu managed to protect the interests of our citizens and businesses, our long—term economic interests and the integrity

of our single market. but decisions have consequences and we are talking about a british decision to leave a single market and customs union. this means the eu and the uk will form two separate markets, two distinct regulatory and legal spaces, and this will create or recreate barriers to trade in goods and services and to cross—border mobility and changes that have not existed for decades. this is a result of a british decision to leave the eu, the single market and the customs union. nep david mcallister. what exactly will change between britain and the european union at 2300 gmt tonight? at the most basic level, uk citizens will need up—to—date passports, with six months left on them, to visit the eu.

they'll need to take out health insurance, as automatic right to free treatments ends, and they won't be able to use the eu queue when going through passport control. if you are an eu citizen living in the uk, your rights remain the same until the end ofjune. after that, you will need to become a uk citizen, orapply for a resettlement scheme. free movement for irish citizens remains unchanged. there'll be a new points—based system for foreign citizens wanting to move to the uk, with visas costing from a few hundred dollars for students, to more than $1,500 for certain skilled workers. british companies importing or exporting with the eu won't have tariffs placed on their goods, thanks to the trade deal, but they will have to make customs declarations — that's extra paperwork — because the uk is no longer in the eu single market or customs zone. london is delaying full controls on most goods entering great britain from the eu for six months because of covid. while the new trade deal with the eu ensures there will be no tariffs or quotas on goods, many traders and hauliers will still have to file new paperwork and some goods

will be checked. some truckers are nervous about the changes, as our transport correspondent, caroline davies, reports. is this the calm before the storm? after weeks of queues, a quiet eurotunnel. the way goods are moved in and out of the country is about to change and requires new paperwork, but here they say they are ready for it. it will add no more time to theirjourney, because it takes place where we are already doing safety and security checks, so it is all done together. we don't really expect to see things build up until late on in the first week or early in the second week of january. but some are not so confident. concerned that delays will cost money, rob's company decided not to run lorries from the uk to the eu for the first week of january. we did not think that the risk ofjoining a queue that could be one mile, two miles, ten miles long in either direction was worth doing.

new paperwork will also be required taking goods from england, wales or scotland to northern ireland. sarah's haulage company, based in larne in northern ireland, has already lost a customer because of the added complications. northern ireland has been left in a bit of a precarious position. we have a call setup with hmrc on the 11th of january, but that is just too late. we have freight coming in from the first, the second, the third. the memories of last week's queues to dover after the border of france was closed for 48 hours are still fresh. the government say they do expect some disruption as the uk adjusts to its new relationship with the eu and say that hauliers without correct documentation will be stopped and have their goods held. the changes start tonight. a new year and a new way of trading lie ahead. caroline davies, bbc news. boris johnson's father says he's applying for french citizenship, now that the uk has severed its ties with the european union.

speaking in french, stanleyjohnson told a luxembourg—based broadcaster that it was a question of reclaiming a nationality he'd always considered to be his by birth. he told the broadcaster, my mother was born in france, her mother was com pletely was born in france, her mother was completely french, as was her grandfather. mrjohnson voted to remain in the brexit referendum in 2016. millions of people across the uk are being urged not to celebrate the new year with anyone outside their household, as the new variant of coronavirus continues to spread rapidly. some 20 million more people have now moved into the top tier 4 restrictions in england and have been told to stay at home. borisjohnson said the tougher measures were vital to save lives and urged people to follow the rules and stay safe at home. nhs leaders have urged people not to hold new year's eve parties tonight, saying that

covid loves a crowd. this report from john mcmanus. hidden behind scaffolding and mostly silent since 2017, tonight, big ben will temporarily return to normal service as it rings in 2021. big ben chimes but there's no such reprieve for much of england, where the new year will start on a sombre note with millions more people moving into the highest coronavirus tier from today. it means they must now try to stay at home, with household mixing banned and nonessential shops and services closed. it's a tough ask, especially at this time of year. i must ask you to follow the rules where you live tomorrow night and see in the new year safely at home. that means not meeting up with friends or family indoors, unless they're in the same household or support bubble, and avoiding large gatherings of any kind.

the latest figures for the whole of the uk show more than 50,000 new infections recorded in the latest 2a hours, with 981 new deaths reported on wednesday. you can see, unfortunately, it is a pretty grim and depressing picture at the moment. the situation in the uk is precarious in many parts already, particularly the south—east and london. areas that are now under the tightest restrictions include leicester, the north—east and greater manchester. in total, just under 80% of the population in england. shropshire, devon and cornwall are amongst those moving up into tier 3. with no region now in tier 2, only 2,000 residents on the isles of scilly remain in tier 1. millions of people in northern ireland, wales and scotland are already living under the toughest restrictions. for those facing tier

4 for the first time, there's some unhappiness. i'm in shock. it is completely ridiculous, how they keep locking us in and locking us out and going back and forth. they need to be more organised in what they do and figure out what's going on. it's not ideal for us, but i think that it's important and people need to follow, because there are more important things, like the hospitals and patients who are suffering. well, i haven't had the university experience, for one. and ijust turned 18, so i can't really do the normal things an 18—year—old does. but, i mean, it's fine. rising case numbers and a feared further rise after christmas are driving the new restrictions, but it will be some time before we know which direction the virus will take in 2021. john mcmanus, bbc news. as we are reporting, a total of 44 million people

will start 2021 in tier 4 — that is three—quarters of the population of england. let's take a look at the restrictions for areas in tier 4 — the highest level of restrictions. in tier 4, a stay at home order will be issued to residents — although those who have to travel for education or work may continue to do so. social mixing will be restricted to meeting one other person in an open public space. all nonessential retail will have to close, along with hairdressers, nail bars and indoor entertainment venues. indoor leisure facilites must close, like gyms and indoor swimming pools. people should not leave a tier 4 area, except for limited reasons including work and education. and the guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable is to stay at home as much as possible. 0ur correspondent luxmy gopal is in burnley in lancashire, which has moved into the toughest set of restrictions. people across lancashire, along with the millions of others in england,

waking up under tier 4 restrictions, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions. and here in burnley, like many other places up and down england, businesses here had to react in a very short time to the announcement yesterday and many of them had a matter of hours to shut up shop under the new tier 4 rules that came in today. under those rules, nonessential shops must close, along with indoor entertainment venues and indoor sports facilities, such as gyms, and hairdressers and nail bars and beauty salons, and i spoke to the owners of the barbershop earlier who was saying that because they had so many people booked in, with it being new year's eve, so many people booked in today, they did a bit of last—minute phoning around trying to fit everyone in and were open up until 10pm. they said it was like groundhog day. they have been through this before. to have to go through it again is devastating, although not altogether surprising, given what happened to infection rates here.

burnley has the highest level of infection rates in lancashire. they have around 466 cases per 100,000 people. health bosses in lancashire say it is a critical time in the pandemic and they are urging people to follow the rules and stick to the rules, despite whatever plans for new year's eve they may have had. and of course as well as the closure of businesses, under the tier 4 rules, you must stay at home and stay in your tier 4 area, apart from certain exceptions, including education, work or childcare reasons. and you are not to meet up with anyone outside of your household or support bubble indoors. and you can meet one person outside your household or support bubble, but that has to be outdoors, in a public space. so, people here in burnley and wider lancashire, along with three quarters of the population of england, are seeing in the new year with some of the same restrictions and business uncertainty that have characterised much of 2020. luxmy gopal in burnley. most secondary school pupils

in england will return to the classroom after the christmas break later than planned. years 11 and 13 can resume face—to—face teaching one week late on 11th january, while all other year groups will return the following week. but teaching unions have criticised the government's plans, with one labelling it a last—minute mess. the education secretary, gavin williamson, has been speaking this morning and he explained the importance of getting coronavirus testing for school children properly in place before pupils return. on monday of next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests, all the equipment they need to set up, all the ppe that they need in order to have the staff. and on top of that, those schools that are really having difficulty, that aren't able to get this set up with the resources that are being provided, we are very grateful to the armed forces, 1,500 service personnel, for those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to follow the guidance

and the instructions and use the equipment that has been provided, and the money that's been offered to them, to be able to help them get that mass testing programme set up in their school. gavin williamson. the highly anticipated 0xford—astrazeneca vaccine was approved for use yesterday, bringing with it a change in strategy in the uk's innoculation plans. like the pfizerjab, the oxford vaccine is most effective after two doses, but there is still protection provided after the first dose. the medicines regulator has changed its advice that people should have their second dose three weeks after the first. instead, gps and hospitals are being told to prioritise getting as many people as possible to have that first jab. they are saying the second can be administered up to three months later. joining me now to talk about the change in strategy is professor peter 0penshaw, immunologist at imperial college london and a member

of the uk vaccine network. professor, very good to have you with us. thank you forjoining us. do you think this strategy is the right one? i think it is highly plausible, but i would say the change with respected the dosing schedule is not tested, there is no evidence within the trial is that it will work in the same way. with the enhancement of... in other words, you get more antibodies if you delay the second dose. so there is data within the mhra published document about the enhancement of antibodies if you delay the oxford vaccine, the 0xford—astrazeneca vaccine, that looks convincing, but we do not have comparable evidence. there is a lot to be said for trying to get a lot of people vaccinated with the first dose and it makes rational sense but

i think it is a bit surprising, given that we do not have data to support the delay. that is exactly what pfizer themselves, looking at a statement, they have said. they assessed the vaccine on the two dose regimen whereby people were given the jab three weeks apart and it's as well decisions on alternative dosing regimens reside with health authorities, essentially, in the uk's own hands if anything goes wrong in terms of effectiveness. if someone wrong in terms of effectiveness. if someone has already had the first pfizer jab and they someone has already had the first pfizerjab and they are expecting to get the second one, will they have to wait longer than expected ? get the second one, will they have to wait longer than expected?” think it sounds like in some cases thatis think it sounds like in some cases that is true. but i would reassure people that within. .. that is true. but i would reassure people that within... just that is true. but i would reassure people that within. .. just after the first dose of the biontech vaccine, it is pretty solid protection that cuts in at about two weeks and it

looks like that protection will last for some time. there was no evidence the protective immune response goes downwards. i think it is perfectly rational to delay the second dose and it might be more effective in terms of boosting the response but we need to monitor it very carefully and make sure people are protected and make sure people are protected and that the protection is boosted more strongly. logically, it makes sense, but a lot of things make sense, but a lot of things make sense but turn out not to be true. the monitoring we are told is absolutely going to be happening. the important thing is to reassure people and we heard at the downing street briefing yesterday, and very much impressed upon everyone watching, that if someone has a first jab of the watching, that if someone has a firstjab of the vaccine, whether it is the pfizer biontech or 0xford—astrazeneca, if they go on to get coronavirus, it should we hope mean they have a much lesser form of the virus and certainly wouldn't get

terribly ill or need to be hospitalised, that is the aim behind the strategy, isn't it? absolutely. it is remarkable these vaccines are both so effective in presenting people from getting disease. i think we will also have to wait and see to what extent it prevents people from getting some nasal viral replication which might contribute to transmission. but i think there is some evidence that the virus should also suppress transmission, another thing that needs to be very carefully evaluated. final thought, if more people are getting one jab at least initially with a longer period until a second jab follows on, does that make any difference when it comes to the risk of spreading the virus? picking up slightly on what you were just saying. we don't know yet whether these vaccinations actually stop someone these vaccinations actually stop someone spreading covid, do we? no, but i think there is some

preliminary evidence there is a reduction of about something like two thirds in the frequency of picking up replication. but we are anxiously waiting to see the data published and out in the public domain. there are some indications thatis domain. there are some indications that is the case. we need to wait for the publications. professor peter 0penshaw, thank you for your time. singapore is getting ready to count down to the new year, having recently relaxed coronavirus restrictions in an effort to kick—start the economy. leading the way will bejean danker and joakim gomez, the hosts of singapore's let's celebrate 2021. theyjoin me live. lovely to see you on bbc news, thank you forjoining us, a few hours away from the big moment. how lovely, really lovely to have something approaching normality. we are so excited. this is a little bit of the normalcy we can get back and hopefully everyone joins us and

eve ryo ne hopefully everyone joins us and everyone will be watching from the homes and doing a little house party as they watch us count down. singapore has been one of the country is praised for absolutely have in the gold standard in handling the pandemic. there will still be restrictions in place, won't they? definitely. groups of eight or alas, we still have to wear a mask, only because we are in the dressing room, we are not wearing a mask, everyone is staying vigilant on being socially responsible. what can people expect? tonight we have a whole bunch of international performers, ronan keating, a lot of local artists as well we are really proud to have them represent on the stage, and we will be cutting to a few places in singapore with fireworks, 11 places around the island have fireworks, so nobody comes out to crowd around in one

specific area and they can enjoy fireworks from their homes. it will be us hosting the show and counting down to the new year. 11 locations, people you expect will still gather at these locations, but the emphasis is on people staying at home?” believe for the 11 locations where the fireworks are placed, it is accessible to anyone, you will be able to see it, but if you are going to be gathering in singapore, please stick to the rules, maintain social responsibility and social distancing. lots of countries have cancelled their usual traditional firework displays, many have scaled than that, how important do you think it is for people in singapore to have this moment? —— scaled them back. how important heading into the new year is it to have this moment? having this moment here counting down to the new year, i think we all

deserve a big pat on our backs for getting things together and working asa getting things together and working as a big team in singapore to get it together and i think we deserve this big party today and we are emphasising to everyone it is a nice house party we will have, watch and count down together. hopefully it ta kes count down together. hopefully it takes us to the new year where we continue to fight this and continue to be vigilant as a nation, that is the most important message we have for everyone. thank you forjoining us, have a wonderful evening, i wish you a happy new year a few hours early, thank you so much. happy new year! it is nice to have something approaching normal. i know we want the fireworks here, but nice to see it in other parts of the world. here in the uk, the new year traditionally brings with it the list of people who will be honoured by the queen and perhaps the highest profile name this year is the formula 1 world champion lewis hamilton. he will receive a knighthood.

congratulations to him. much more coming up on bbc news and bbc world. for the moment, you are watching bbc news. it was the coldest night of the year, temperatures this morning dropping down to —7 in north yorkshire. another cold day continues. still more snow to come across parts of apple in scotland, turning to rain on lower levels, temperatures lifting a bit —— upland scotland. could still be wintry element to the showers in western scotland, devon and cornwall. slight dusting of snow in places. most of the uk staying dry and bright. lingering fog patches in parts of east in light winds. it will be

another chilly day. this evening and overnight, more wintry showers in northern scotland, rain and sleet in northern scotland, rain and sleet in northern england and north and west wales, they will continue into tomorrow morning. away from that, another frosty night, and where the ground is wet, snow lying, icy conditions into the start of the new year. new year's day, where different straddling from northern england and midlands and wales, the cloud zone, sleet on higher ground, diminishing for most away from the close. snow showers again in the far north of scotland. but a drier and brighter day for scotland and northern ireland compared to today. another chilly day. temperatures still below where we should be for the time of year. frosty night follows taking us into the start of the week in, bit more sunshine for england and wales on saturday,

showers return for the far west of wales and cornwall, showers in the north and east, most will be dry on saturday, lingering fog patches western scotland. limiting temperatures to freezing or below. sunday and the start of next week, the wind is turning easterly bringing an area of slightly less cold air. whatever. the sky next week mainly rain and sleet, snow over the hills, it will still be called —— whatever falls from the sky.

this is bbc news, the headlines.

a bill to implement the brexit deal has passed through parliament and takes effect at 11 o'clock tonight — when the uk will stop following eu rules. millions more people in england wake up to the strictest level of restrictions — tier 4 — meaning they will have to mark the new year at home. the pandemic is also casting its shadow over new year's eve celebrations in europe — france is mobilising100,000 police officers to enforce anti—coronavirus measures. some secondary school pupils in england face a delayed return to school, with mandatory remote learning for pupils who aren't in years 11 or 13. it comes ahead of a government roll—out of mass testing. formula one world champion, lewis hamilton receives a knighthood in the queen's new year's honours — alongside members of the public recognised for their efforts this year.