this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. several hospitals in london and the south east of england say they are under extreme pressure due to the sheer weight of covid cases — patients are being moved as intensive care units reach capacity. we're on our knees begging for people to do their part... to take the pressure off. but we are shattered. in a sign of the pressure on the nhs, seriously ill patients from the south—east of england are being moved to hospitals as far the end of a nearly 50—year marriage. the uk leaves the trading bloc of the eu tonight. and goodbye 2020, hello 2021! this is the scene live in athens, as the city begins its new year celebrations. in wuhan, china, the new yearwas welcomed with a mass street party — a packed scene where the covid pandemic began.

we'll find out how different countries are welcoming in the 2021. for you watching on pbs in the us and around the globe, welcome to bbc news. let's stick with those fireworks in athens, to celebrate the new year. the city is under restrictions and no one is allowed on streets after 10pm. more than 10,000 police personnel will be deployed throughout the country for the new year's festivities, in order to ensure citizens comply with the covid—19 measures.

seeing out 2020 at the acropolis. many countries have decided to cancel the usual new year celebrations, because of surges in coronavirus. but some have plenty to celebrate. this was the scene in wuhan — the capital of hubei province in china — several hours ago. the new year was welcomed with a mass street party — exactly one year after the city reported an unknown pneumonia outbreak to the world health organization — that was later named covid 19. in dubai, a socially distanced crowd was allowed to watch the fireworks and light show at the world's tallest building — the burj khalifa. compare that with istanbul in turkey. a strict four—day national lockdown began at midnight local time, after a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases. and this the scene is in paris on the champs elysees this evening —

where a curfew is in place and thousands of police officers have been deployed to ensure citizens don't gather in the city. here in the uk, the new year arrives as the country is battling a record number of coronavirus infections. most celebrations across the country have been cancelled, including the famous london fireworks. earlier, i spoke to our correspondents james shaw in edinburgh and emma vardy in belfast. i asked them if this year's celebration is a very different one. that's right. edinburgh's hogmanay party is recognised around the world as one of the biggest, most exciting, most lively new year's parties you can go to. people come from around the world to be here at this time normally — but not tonight. and looking at the scenes around me, it really is extraordinary. it's such a strange atmosphere, looking down the royal mile in front of me with edinburgh castle behind me. everything is so quiet, just 1—2 people out, seeing, i suppose, if anything is going on, perhaps looking at the illumination of the castle. but on the main shopping street

through the centre of edinburgh, there would be 80,000 people, soundstages the length of the street, a big concert going on in the city park next door to that main street. events all over the city, fireworks at midnight — none of that at all tonight. the only official event happening tonight is a lone piper will appear on the ramparts of edinburgh castle just before midnight to play in the new year. and the scottish government is crystal clear about what people should do — stay at home only with your own household, don't party in any way indoors or outdoors with other people. and similarly from police scotland, they have said they will advise and encourage people to obey and follow the restrictions. and if they don't, as an ultimate sanction, there are pretty hefty

fines which could be imposed. so it is so strange, simon, that in this year of coronavirus which has been so difficult, it ends in this quiet, subdued, strange way in edinburgh, almost the capital of new year's celebrations, with everyone wondering what next year will be like here and in the rest of the world. indeed, that's what we're all asking. emma in belfast, a very similar mood, i would guess? that's right, a very, very deserted town centre here for new year's eve. belfast doesn't have any official fireworks like edinburgh, london usually would. but this is usually a very lively city. right now, northern ireland is in the first of six weeks of lockdown, and this first week has the tightest restrictions yet. there's an 8pm curfew, people mustn't go out after 8pm except for those essential workers, of course. so the streets will be very bare in town centres across northern ireland tonight. there's just a few buses around

here now taking essential workers to and from their shift. of course, you can see the city centre is lit upjust as beautifully as any other night, but it will be very still and very silent across northern ireland. and there have been some very stark warnings from the health minister here, who's said to people, "don't even think about having any house parties behind closed doors," so—called super spreader events, he said, "that could actually cost lives." and while it'll be very quiet here, inside our hospitals in northern ireland it's a very different story. lots of hospitals here operating overcapacity, lots of warnings about the pressures. and northern ireland has seen record numbers of covid cases recorded over the last few days. that's why we've heard that very stark warning from the health minister today. so really, the only options for people is sitting home, finishing off the christmas food, watching bbc news perhaps on the television, maybe a few zoom calls with friends,

wishing people a happy new year and hoping that 2021 will be different in a number of ways. several hospitals in london and the south—east of england say they are under extreme pressure because of the current record surge in numbers of coronavirus cases. 0ne senior intensive care doctor has gone so far as to accuse anyone who ignores the rules on social distancing as having "blood on their hands". almost 56,000 new cases have been recorded in the uk in the past 2a hours and there've been a further 96a deaths of people who tested positive. here's our health editor hugh pym. a major london hospital today. this critical care unit for covid patients was set up last weekend, in a ward formerly used for patients recovering after major operations. 12 to 14, to 18, it'll 20 by the end of the day. so, that's two a day. and then, we're full. university college hospital is now caring for more

than 200 covid patients. numbers are increasing by 5% every day. today, there was a plea to the public to follow social distancing rules over new year and weeks ahead. what we are really, really on our knees begging is for people to do their part... yeah, to take the pressure off. once again, we're being asked to dig a bit deeper, work a bit... which we are desperately trying to do, but we are shattered. finding enough beds, ventilators and other equipment is one thing, but ensuring there are enough staff to cope with the surge in covid patient numbers is a really big challenge. there are relatively high numbers absent because of sickness and the need to self—isolate. and hospital management say there are no easy or instant answers. we are over full capacity. we are doing much more than we usually do. so, it's excessively busy, so you need staff that is actually

educated and trained to care for very sick people, and we do not have endless amounts of that type of staff available. some hospitals in the south—east of england are now so stretched that patients arriving at a&e are being treated in ambulances. and it emerged today that in some cases, covid patients are having to be sent across england for treatment. because in the south—west, we have been less stretched, what we have done is activated systems and processes that we had set up some time ago to find intensive care beds further afield than would normally be the case. so, patients have come both to plymouth and bristol from kent. back at uch, they are creating another ward into an intensive care unit. but they know the 20 beds here will fill quickly, with few in any doubt that january will be even tougher. hugh pym, bbc news.

the pfizer—biontech vaccine is the first to get who validation for emergency use. the approval paves the way for countries worldwide to quickly import and distributed the vaccine. the who says that equitable global access to vaccines is crucial to combat the pandemic. the pfizer—biontech vaccine has been authorised for use in more than 45 countries including britain, the united states and the eu. hundreds of thousands of people have already received their first shots. the united kingdom will complete its transition from the european union's single market and customs at 11pm gmt, bringing an end to a partnership lasting almost 50 years. legislation to ratify the uk's post—brexit agreement with the eu has been signed into law. 0ur correspondent vivienne nunis was in dover — as the final ferry departed for france before terms of the relationship change. this ferry will be the last to leave the uk and reach calais before the end of the transition period tonight

when the uk's trading relationship with europe profoundly changes. it is leaving the single market and the customs union of the eu because of the free trade deal that was agreed on christmas eve, there won't be any extra ta riffs on christmas eve, there won't be any extra tariffs goods moving across the borders and note quotas. but there'll be more paperwork for businesses on both sides of the channel. now there could also be disruption. the government has warned that over the next few days, there could be some disruption and also advised holly years, lorry drivers coming to kent to turn around if they haven't got their paperwork in order. speaking to customs agents here in dover today, they were pretty pessimistic. they said they've been turning away business in the past three weeks because they just don't business in the past three weeks because theyjust don't have the staff who are trained to deal with this new upsurge in paperwork is being called for from this new upsurge in paperwork is being called forfrom businesses trying to get their goods over into europe. will those cost be passed on to consumers as well? i spoke to the chair of tesco earlier this week,

who told me the costs passed on to consumers will be minimal, but small and medium—size businesses will have to wait and see. for months, the government has been urging businesses to get ready for a new era in trading with the eu. but it was only on boxing day that details of all the new rules were actually published. 0ur reality check correspondent is looking at how things will change. with the transition period at an end, we are moving into a new era. exit happened in nearly a year ago, but the practical effects only start now. “— but the practical effects only start now. —— brexit. a lot of the initial attention will be on borders. for traders, one really important thing stays the same — no tariffs or taxes on goods pressing between britain and the eu, a big relief from money. but there are loads —— is loads of new bureaucracy. forms to fill in and checks to be done on customs, food safety, etc. and if lorries don't have the right paperwork, they won't be allowed to cross. the government has decided to delay

checks on goods coming into the uk for six months. but going into the eu, they start straightaway. as for travellers, because of covid—19 restrictions, most of us will be able to travel to europe anyway. but that's temporary. in the longer term, the bigger changes that free movement of people is over — so if eu citizens leave the automatic right to leave work and return to the uk later. you citizens leave dust uk citizens leave the same... you can't stay in most european countries for longer than 90 days in a 180 day period. if you have an e hick health insurance card, it will remain valid until it response to my her expires. the government is setting up a new uk scheme, but it doesn't exist yet. you wouldn't need an international driving permit u nless an international driving permit unless you only had a paper version of the uk licence. but you will need to get a green card to prove you

have the right vehicle insurance. and if you want to take your pet to europe, you will need an animal health certificate from a vet. now services — there'll be lots of changes for what is a substantial pa rt changes for what is a substantial part of the uk economy. there's not a huge amount of the deal about financial services, beyond an agreement to keep talking about it. so the exact conditions on which uk companies can operate in europe are not yet clear. in terms of access, there's better news for uk lawyers who want to work in europe than for uk accountants. but there is no longer any automatic recognition of professional qualifications, which will make it a lot harderfor some people to sell services across the border. and finally, northern ireland will have a different relationship with the eu than the rest of the uk. in order to keep the land border open, northern ireland is staying within the eu single market for goods — meaning companies in belfast won't face new bureaucracy trading with the eu. but

it also means the european court of justice still has a role in northern ireland, which doesn't please many brexiteers. and there will be new bureaucracy and checks down the irish sea for trade within the uk, between great britain and northern ireland. so there's a lot of change, we haven't even talked about fishing 01’ we haven't even talked about fishing or competition rights. but a lot of the new agreement is unresolved still, so if you think about talking and negotiation willjust stop, think again. chris morris. let's talk to anna isaac, uk trade & economics correspondent for politico europe. let's pick up that last point. there's more negotiating to be done? absolutely. what we are starting as a new trading relationship, not ending a relationship full stop. i think the way the deal has been written and laid out, it even talks about expenses to facilitate these meetings for thejoint about expenses to facilitate these meetings for the joint council, we will have lots more dialogue in the

yea rs will have lots more dialogue in the years and months ahead. what's missing, but at the moment? there are more gaps than filler, which is why i think people are calling it a thin deal, as it were. we heard a little bit from chris morris there, but we have this process to have a member of the film on financial services by march 2021 this year. —— a memorandum. we only have four months worth of what is called data adequacy, which allows the flow of data. that has phenomenal issues for trade in services, which is 40% of the uk will the right exports to the eu. what is it that businesses both sides of the channel will be struggling with in the initial period? because the criticism at the moment seems to be with such a late agreement, the details are still not widely known? absolutely. we've even seen widely known? absolutely. we've even seen this evening, it was 5pm uk

time, that further detailed guidance offering case studies and showing how businesses might look a bit like yours could deal with these new red tape issues. so the border operating model, which has been changed on a fairly frequent basis recently, it was meant to be this document explaining to everyone, be they customs officials or businesses, how these new borders will work with the eu. detailed guidance on what certain businesses from, say, if they export different bits of machinery, that guidance has only been published at 5pm this evening. now businesses often need months or yea rs now businesses often need months or years to adapt to such a whole new market within their business model, and now they're getting mere hours. so it's fair to say that businesses will not absolutely be ready, there'll be lots of what is being termed unintentional illegality where people aren't quite meeting the rules, and i think a lot of the disruption and short—term economic impact will depend on how

stringently the eu chooses to apply its rules come this evening. but the biggest hole at the moment would appear to be biggest hole at the moment would appearto be in biggest hole at the moment would appear to be in the financial services — the city of london really doesn't know what the future holds at the moment. absolutely, and it's fairto at the moment. absolutely, and it's fair to say that the city for sometime, even when it was decided we would leave the eu single market, and we lost a lot of different powers from firms, things like pass boarding which meant they could have a base in the uk and serve the whole rest of the europe — as soon as we started to see that shift away from the single market, because we weren't going to have freedom of movement of people, you saw the city start to brace itself or no deal. that means a lot of them have set up offices within the eu to serve your customers, and they‘ re offices within the eu to serve your customers, and they're having to effectively segment out businesses. they can't just effectively segment out businesses. they can'tjust have the uk as the hub for the rest of europe any more. and they can't rely even on what this memorandum of understanding my

achieve, a so—called equivalence decision, because it only has 30 days and it. at any point the eu could pull the rug and say, "actually, we decided that you've diverged one way or another and financial regulations, we don't know what you're doing, so we will cut off your market access within 30 days." now if you are operating a business that needs legal contractual certainty, that won't be good enough for you even if we achieve that in march. so there's lots of uncertainty facing the city right now as to what this trade deal with europe might look like. a very happy new year to you. and to you. the bosnian government has ordered authorities to reopen the bira migrant center — which closed three months ago after local opposition. hundred of migrants have been sleeping out in the freezing cold since aid agencies pulled out of another camp — called lipa — when authorities refused to connect water and electricity, leading migrants evicted from the camp to burn it down in protest. guy de launey reports. this might look like some kind

of exodus, but in fact, these people have spent the past week getting nowhere fast in northwestern bosnia, and now they're trudging back to where they started. these buses were supposed to take them to a military barracks in the south of the country. it would have offered them some shelterfrom the harsh bosnian winter, but the local authorities refused to take them. and after 36 hours of sitting on buses, they ended up back on foot and baffled. since last night, we were in the buses there. they were telling us and they were excusing us, "you guys will be sheltered to survival." we don't know that, they didn't say exactly that, what's going to happen with you guys, but something good will happen with you. but unfortunately, they commanded that, "you have to leave the buses and you have to go back to lipa." this is lipa — or at least what's left of it —

and this is why its former residents were trying to move. fire swept through this camp near the border with croatia last week, destroying almost all the accommodation that had housed around 1,500 people. but incredibly, this currently seems to be the best that bosnia can do for these men who travelled up the so—called balkan route in the hope of reaching the european union. some of the camp survived the fire and hundreds of people had been staying here. but aid agencies say it's not safe, and they've been urging bosnia to work with the international community to find a proper solution. translation: i think the whole chain of international players has failed. i think it is the defeat of europe and our european society and spirit. the red cross is still serving food at the burnt—out camp, and the bosnian national government has ordered the reopening of a facility in the

nearby city of bihac. but aid agencies fear the local authorities will block any move, so these people could be out in the cold well into the new year. guy de launey, bbc news, ljubljana. let's look ahead to 2021 now — with the latest part of our series from our expert correspondents. today, it's science — with major events planned both on and off our planet. here with her preview is our global science correspondent, rebecca morelle. this is going to be a critical year for climate change. the coronavirus pandemic meant that a major un meeting was postponed. now it will take place in 2021, in glasgow, in scotland. nations will be revealing how they intend to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. which means we will find out if their commitments are ambitious enough to stop the worst effects of climate change. scientists say it's vital we push

for a greenerfuture, because the window to act is closing fast. up in space, all eyes will be on mars. a trio of spacecraft will soon be arriving at the red planet. the united arab emirates hopes to make history by becoming the first arab nation to put a spacecraft into orbit around mars. china will be entering a new era in space, too, by attempting to land a six—wheeled rover. and nasa is also trying for a first. it will be testing a mini mars helicopter to see if it can fly in the extremely thin martian air. and lift off! the rise of starliner. and we should also see the launch of a new private spacecraft. following the lead of the us company spacex, the aerospace giant boeing has built the starliner capsule, which will take astronauts to the international space station and back. but an early test flight had problems. so the world will be watching to see if the company can get its spacecraft back on track.

also in 2021, the uk's new polar research ship will be heading to the arctic. the vessel, which was almost called boaty mcboatface after a public vote, is now named after the british naturalist sir david attenborough. it will undergo its first ice trials to see if it can operate any tough polar conditions. and if it passes this test, the ship will head to antarctica at the end of the year. it willie reynaud from the ice age has been unearthed in the russian arctic. -- a willy rhino. believed to have lived up to 2000 years ago, most of its organs are still intact. scientists the say the rhino was between 3—4 years old when it died probably from drowning. discoverers have said discovering animals is more frequent after the permafrost

melts from global warming. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcsimonmccoy. see you later. good evening. the sun has set on what was a chilly final day of 2020. temperatures for some barely got above freezing. there was a covering of snow on the ground in places, and this is how it looked from space. this is the recent satellite picture. you can see speckled shower clouds that have been moving across parts of wales and the south west as those showers clear away. we could see some icy stretches here. through the night, we've got a band of cloud with some rain, sleet, and hill snow moving across northern england into north wales. i think it will mostly be over high ground that we see the wintry weather. at lower levels, it'll mainly be rain. some slightly less cold air tied in with that weather system but elsewhere, where we see clear skies particularly, it is going to be a really cold and frosty night. a foggy night, too, and a foggy start to new year's day across parts of east anglia and the south east —

perhaps into central—southern england as well. generally speaking, england and wales will have quite a cloudy day with some patchy rain, sleet, and hill snow at times. brighter skies and sunshine for northern ireland and scotland — albeit with some showers particularly for northern coasts, and temperatures between 3—7 celsius at best. as we move out of friday into saturday, we will keep high pressure to the west of us. low pressure to the east driving up fairly gentle northerly wind, not a particularly windy day on saturday. but that wind will bring some showers into northeast scotland, eastern coasts of england as well, maybe one or two for pembrokeshire and the far south west of england. those showers could be wintry over high ground. a bit of sunshine elsewhere, highs between 1—6 celsius. now, for sunday, a subtle shift in the wind direction. the wind starts to come round to more of a north—easterly. that will feed increasingly showery conditions into eastern areas. those showers again wintry over high ground but with some shelter further west, should be largely dry with some sunshine, another cold day for all of us. and that shift in the wind direction

is because this area of high pressure will be re—orientating itself moving towards the north of the british isles, lower pressure to the south. that is going to drive a pretty strong easterly wind across our shores as we head into next week. it's going to feel quite raw at times, i think, in that wind with some pretty cold air in place. we will see some showers of rain, sleet, and snow particularly across england and wales. brighter for northern ireland and scotland, but staying chilly for all of us.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the united kingdom may have left injanuary, ending more than a0 years of eu membership, but it's only now that we'll find out what brexit really means. new rules governing how britons travel in the eu, how they do business on the continent and how to maintain security with their nearest neighbours will kick in in half an hour's time. over the next two hours, we'll talk to people on both sides of the brexit divide, and make no mistake, it truly has been divisive. costing the jobs of two prime ministers and three brexit secretaries, fuelling hundreds of hours of debate both in homes, in parliament and on the street and at one point embroiling the monarch in the political turmoil that

followed the vote to leave in 2016. let's begin our coverage on a historic night with our first report from alex forsyth. it's almost five years since this moment, the date set for a referendum that would change the country's course. one of the biggest decisions this country will face in our lifetimes. fast forward through what came next. they were campaigns, promises, heated protests. prolonged negotiations, high profile resignations. the country i love. behave yourself! parliament paralysed as westminster wrangled, then another public verdict and after this testing year, a last—minute trade deal, a political win for the prime minister. the essential purpose of this bill is to accomplish something that the british people always knew in their hearts could be done. for businesses, it means change as of tonight. this butterfly farm in stratford—upon—avon exports species across the eu. they have been preparing for no

checks and paperwork but even with such a deal that is uncertainty. this brexit malarkey should have been sorted out in the summer then we could have asked the nitty—gritty questions to people that might know some answers. my frustration is nobody has known anything. the issue that has so divided here will no longer dominate but it will not disappear entirely. they will still be things to settle as the practicalities of brexit kick in. we left the eu back injanuary, but things broadly stayed the same — until now. as of 11pm tonight the changes in our relationship with the eu will start to take effect. the way we trade, travel, work, our immigration system. there might have felt like some false starts before but this is the moment when we start to understand what brexit really does mean. what was promised in 2016 by the leave campaign does not exist. for those who have campaigned on both sides, sometimes

for decades, this a moment to mark. ijust wish i was 21 again, frankly, because, my goodness, what prospects lie ahead of us for young people now to be out there buccaneering, trading, dominating the world again. i will be feeling a sense of regret, as will many people in the country, and others will feel elated by what's happened and that's a reflection of the division but we now have to move on and come back together as a country. the ports and borders may be the first to feel the impact in coming days and weeks but whether time for rejoicing, regret or resignation this is the start of a wider change in our relationship with those across the channel. alex forsyth, bbc news. so, how does brexit and the government's deal impact young people in the uk and across europe? let's speak to silja markkula, president of the european youth forum. thank you for their time this evening. we heard from a former

leader of the conservative party saying this was a wonderful time to be 21. he said the spirit and planning for the future, do you think that the common view with people of that age?|j think that the common view with people of that age? i think there's a lot of different views. one, of course, is that now with the new york coming in, there is uncertainty that has been for the past four yea rs that has been for the past four years —— with the new year coming in. there's a bit more clarity into what it means now that the transition period is coming to an end. but then, on the downside, there's a lot of things to still be settled. a lot of open questions about social rights, environmental standards, those things that were pa rt standards, those things that were part of were guaranteed, which now become part of the domestic matters. things that looked yet remain u nsettled, things that looked yet remain unsettled, and in particular, a lot of concern around young people when it comes to their prospects of

formal and non—formal... it comes to their prospects of formal and non-formal. .. the erasmus scheme? i am talking about that. the uk will no longer be part of the erasmus programme, and this will be replaced by something called the scheme, and nobody knows what that means in practice. it's going to be laid out by september, we hear, and this brings in a lot of questions for people in europe on both sides of the channel. this would be a very difficult time for people of your age. on top of this, you are dealing with the pandemic which has wrecked education throughout the globe. absolutely, it's a lot of uncertainty. it is both the pandemic, brexit. and simply our age. it's about the transition from

aduu age. it's about the transition from adult childhood to adult hood. having all those uncertainties on top of that is quite unique for our generation at the moment. your generation at the moment. your generation is the one that's going to have to live with this more than any other generation. young people tend to have a way of sorting things out. is there hope that if you're in this new pay and you want to work in the eu and vice versa, that will happen? there is hope and we're very curious to see what the programme might mean, but it's important to note that erasmus is notjust an exchange programme for higher education students. it's much more than that. it's about volunteering, mobility, support for youth organisations, and it's also about ensuring youth and decision—making. all those aspects, we're not really hearing about that. i think in the

next few weeks, we'll be very encouraged to see if the plans will be laid out, if they respond to those aspects of the erasmus programme. those are really the parts that bring in hope and truly make a change. those still in the eu can still travel between 27 countries. how much of a problem is it if the uk goes its own way? how many students did you talk to are desperate to go to the uk? we as an organisation, 1a million people in europe. there's a lot of young people who would want to go, but because of this new deal, it's going to bea because of this new deal, it's going to be a much more... it's going to bea to be a much more... it's going to be a bigger struggle. there will be

tuition fees and visa requirements and so forth. a lot of different barriers which we're now seeing are becoming the reality. silja, it's very good of you to join us. happy new year to you. happy new year. as we've been hearing, some of the things british people have become used to, especially in relation to travelling in the eu, will change once the brexit transition period has ended. so, what are the key new rules? our reality check correspondent, chris morris explains. so, with the transition period at an end, we're moving into a new era. brexit actually happened nearly a year ago, but the practical effects only start now, and a lot of the initial attention is going to be on borders. for traders, one really important thing stays the same — no tariffs or taxes on goods crossing between britain and the eu, which is a big relief for many. but there is loads of new bureaucracy, forms to fill in and checks to be done on customs, product standards, food safety and so on. if lorries don't have

the right paperwork, they won't be allowed across. the government has decided to delay checks on goods coming into the uk for six months. for going into the eu, they start straightaway. as for travellers, because of covid restrictions, most of us aren't going to be able to travel to europe for a while anyway now that we're outside the single market, but that's temporary. in the longer term, the big change is that free movement of people is over. so, eu citizens lose the automatic right to live, work and retire in the uk in the future, and uk citizens lose the same rights in europe. you won't need a visa for short—term travel like holidays, but you can't stay in most european countries for more than 90 days in every 180—day period. then there are practical issues. if you have an ehic health insurance card, it will remain valid until it expires. the government is setting up a new uk scheme, but it doesn't exist yet, so you might need to get travel insurance. you won't need an international driving permit unless you only have a paper version of the uk licence,

but you will need to get a green card to prove you have the right vehicle insurance. and if you want to take your pet to europe, you'll need an animal health certificate from a vet. now, services. there's going to be a lot of change for what is a substantial part of the uk economy. there's not a huge amount in the deal about financial services beyond an agreement to keep talking about it, so the exact conditions on which uk companies can operate in europe aren't yet clear. in terms of access, there's better news for uk lawyers who want to work in europe than for uk accountants. but there's no longer any automatic recognition of professional qualifications, which is going to make it a lot harderfor some people to sell services across the border. and finally, northern ireland is going to have a different relationship with the eu than the rest of the uk. in order to keep the land border open, northern ireland is staying in the eu single market for goods, which means companies in belfast

won't face new bureaucracy trading with the eu. but it also means the european court of justice still has a role in northern ireland, which doesn't please many brexiteers, and there will be new bureaucracy and checks down the irish sea for trade within the uk between great britain and northern ireland. so, there's a lot of change. we haven't even talked about fishing or competition rights, but a lot in the new agreement is unresolved still, so if you think that talking and negotiation is just going to stop, think again. the trade deal agreed by the two sides on christmas eve will avoid the need for import taxes or tariffs, but there will be new customs rules and checks for countries to adopt and some disruption is expected whilst these bed in. let's discuss the changes and how they might affect uk businesses. with me is ian wright, the chief executive of the food and drink federation, and ben fletcher is director of policy for make uk, an organisation which represents manufacturers.

ian, perhaps i can start with you. less tha n ian, perhaps i can start with you. less than 20 minutes to go, and here we are. how are you feeling right now? well, i'm nervously awaiting the fact that actually, certainly nothing is going to happen in the next five hours because calais is shut until five a:m.. next five hours because calais is shut untilfive a:m.. so, the boats won't move until then. that may be sensible because it gives everyone a chance to get to grips with all this, but the movement that chris was speaking about between gb and andi was speaking about between gb and and i will start immediately at 2301. will there be the delays eve ryo ne 2301. will there be the delays everyone has been talking about? we had a bit of a taste recently with the coronavirus restrictions. yes, i think the dover event last week were a terrible lifting of the curfew, if you like, of what might happen —— lifting of the curtain. a lot of the checks coming at 2301, all sorts of

paperwork, are part of the withdrawal agreement and not part of the deal. but unfortunately, because of the late negotiations with the deal, many of the actual details of how these checks will be done and what the documentation looks like have not reach those who will be working under them and still worse those who are going to enforce them. so you will hear a lot about grace period, about pragmatic enforcement which basically means everyone looking the other way, and unintentional illegality, which means borders. how many people are going to these customs checks fully aware of what paperwork they need and what red tape is going to be introduced in 15 minutes?” and what red tape is going to be introduced in 15 minutes? i think an incredibly small number of people are aware. i think the delays in

reaching the agreement, some of this was in the withdrawal agreement, but you also i'm a that have literally spent the year trying to stay in business. the late arrival of the trade deal, a border model was only published by hmrc late this afternoon. so, the ability for people to beat fully on top of what's required is incredibly difficult, and our immediate calculations, if you look at the totality of exports from the manufacturing sector, we're talking about 400 million forms that will need to be filled in and a cost of about £13 billion to meet the cost of filling that in. i think particularly for and smaller businesses, i the particularly for and smaller businesses, ithe reality particularly for and smaller businesses, i the reality of this hasn't yet really hit them. been, which sectors will be particularly badly hit? i think there is a

challenge across all of the manufacturing, but i would say in particular, sectors that rely on just—in—time delivery because the delays at the border, even if they're relatively small, and we think these will take a bit of time to build up, the automotive sector isa to build up, the automotive sector is a particular risk here. it's a huge player in the aviation sector. that relies onjust—in—time delivery. i think the food and drink sector, particularly at fresh foods, that's a really critical issue for us. that's a really critical issue for us. textiles, lecture out —— electronics, and chemicals. so important across the board from pharmaceuticals to products like paint and so on, chemicals appear in a numberofareas. paint and so on, chemicals appear in a number ofareas. some paint and so on, chemicals appear in a number of areas. some of them have quite type shelf lives and they're really, really driven by just—in—time delivery. delays of the

border put that at huge risks. we saw to some extent evidence of stockpiling and the last few weeks anyway. is that going to make things anyway. is that going to make things a little easier in the coming weeks? will the consumers in the short—term be paying more? i think there has been stockpiling, and that was really to take account of in the no—deal brexit and tariffs that might happen. we won't see that... i think the stockpiling was also to ensure that people could have an easy route into this first few weeks, and as benjust said, i think weeks, and as benjust said, i think we will see a few weeks when something that happened won't actually be long—term. it will take two or three months for us to understand, i think, two or three months for us to understand, ithink, the two or three months for us to understand, i think, the real difficulties with the system. after that time, i think we will see a sort of settling up of devices, particularly for some foods that we re particularly for some foods that were imported from the eu. that, plus the checks that we've been talking about, could add as much as

five or 8% to food prices, but i think the other thing will lacks he is spotty availability —— the other thing we'll see. these checks could of involve a lot of delayed orders, particularly coming in from the other side of the channel. we may also see some difficulties in northern ireland as those checks bed in. ithink northern ireland as those checks bed in. i think we're in for a northern ireland as those checks bed in. ithink we're infora bit northern ireland as those checks bed in. i think we're in for a bit of a bumpy ride. ben, all this said, the view seems to be that this is still better than any no deal could have presented us at this moment, as we literally entitled —— enter the final minutes before the deal.|j think that's absolutely true. there are think that's absolutely true. there a re two think that's absolutely true. there are two motions coming out of the companies. one of them is an incredible frustration we've already touched on, how close to the wire this has got. equally, there is a huge amount of a wreath —— of relief. it avoids tariffs and

quotas. tariffs and some industries will be many percent and the car industry, those would be around 10% and the volume car industry operates ata and the volume car industry operates at a profit margin of between three and 6%. a 10% tariff for that industry would have been very damaging. there were some guarantees provided by government about support for that, but it would have been a very damaging issue for that sector and ina very damaging issue for that sector and in a number of other sectors that didn't have those guarantees. tariffs would have rendered them impossible to make a profit overnight. so, there is a significant improvement in the situation by having a deal. we were very pleased a deal was done, but there are lots of other areas where once you get beyond the headlines, there is some really significant challenges and rules of origin, which is a very technical thing, it's about the quantity of the goods made in the uk that's exported. because of the way we have a very

integrated supply chains and lots of products from japan into the cars manufactured in the uk, and lots of products from south east asia in our electronics industry. those kind of things will be very difficult and may trigger tariffs if we can't get the uk content down to a lower level quite quickly, and again, those are some problems that will start to materialise once we work through the details and some of the practical reality becomes much more visible over the next few months. one final question. ben, we'vejust been through the most awful year imaginable. are things in the next year going to get better or worse? it's a $6 million question. i think inevitably, if a vaccine impacts arrives reasonably soon, then i think that is a huge advantage and will start to lift the pressure. put

bluntly, before we even finalise the trade deal, it was very clear that the covid impact meant manufacturing wasn't going to grow at all this year. and it will be into 14, 15 months ben —— 15 months' time. half of our exports going into the eu, as a huge market for us. that trade deal is good, but these obstacles are undoubtedly going to make it harder to do business. they will add friction. i think probably in 12 months' time, if we are back here again, this wouldn't have been a great year for manufacturing. the critical issue is surviving this year, having a strong place to do it on, getting government understanding of some of these problems so that the following 12 months, we can move

forward. any cause for optimism? i profoundly hope i won't have to be on television this time in new year's eve next year. i think the second half of next year will be much, much better. ithink second half of next year will be much, much better. i think the first quarter of next year will be extremely tough, and the thing i would say is the sort of typography that we had for the food and drink industry and for a lot of british consumer groups is industry and for a lot of british consumer groups is going to be quite badly affected by what's happened with brexit and covid together. i think ina with brexit and covid together. i think in a year's time, the way we look at our industry might be a bit different, but business people are pretty resilient and they're very innovative. we can all agree we are happy to see the back end of 2020. let's keep our fingers crossed for 20 to anyone. i wish you both a very

happy new year. and to you, simon. with less than ten minutes to go until the transition period ends and the uk begins its new relationship with the eu. our brussels correspondent, nick beake, looks back at how we got here. speaks french. speaks german. stunned the european union injune 2016 by voting to leave. it's an earthquake that has happened. independence day! cheering. david cameron, the prime minister who offered the referendum, resigned. the british people have made a very clear decision to take a different path. theresa may stepped up. brexit means brexit, and we're going to make a success of it. but it wasn't that simple. it was to become a long and arduousjourney, with high drama here in brussels and back in the uk. and along the way, certain faces and phrases would become very familiar. you can't have your

cake and eat it, too. they're cherry picking. cherry picking. the clock is now taking. the clock is now ticking. michel barnier was appointed the eu's chief negotiator for agreeing a divorce deal. his opposite numbers would come and go. david davis, dominic raab, david barclay, david frost... it was all a sign of how brexit split the government, families and the country as a whole. in 2017, theresa may lost her parliamentary majority. a year later, she was still trying to manoeuvre towards a deal. the eu was sometimes in step, but often not. there is no room whatsoever for renegotiation. eventually, the two sides settled the uk's final bill, citizens' rights and the solution for avoiding a hard border on the island of ireland. but the british parliament rejected the deal three times, much to the fury of brussels.

i've been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted brexit without even a sketch of a plan on how to carry it safely. by the summer of 2019, theresa may's time was up. with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love. new pm borisjohnson finally rammed home a brexit deal, after winning a snap election. british meps said goodbye to the european parliament and, in january this year, the uk officially left the eu where they would abide by the rules in the transition period for the rest of 2020. so, now is the time to come together and write a new and exciting chapter in our national story, to forge a new partner with our european friends, to stand tall

in the world, to in the world, to begin the healing! but no one could have predicted what happened next — just as talks were getting under way to find another deal, a trade agreement between the uk and the eu, coronavirus struck. diplomacy through masks continued, but big differences emerged on trade competition rules, fishing, and how to resolve future disputes. an agreement between the uk and the european union seems unlikely. the eu has found it difficult to accept that the uk is a sovereign equal. but with the pandemic pummeling european economies, leaders reached out. and finally, a brexit trade deal was done. nick beake, bbc news, brussels. our political correspondent jessica parker is here. the trouble with last—minute deals like this is we are still not fully aware of what's in it. yeah, and although people have been pouring over the last few days, it has been

reflected there are still some details to be ironed out on things like financial services. conversation is going to keep going on on those. in terms of what we will notice in a few minutes' time when we look up and say what actually change, one of the main things that kicks in is this impact on trade, some more checks at the border. yes, they've avoided tariffs and quotas, but there will be extra paperwork. i think the expectation is that certainly, overnight and into tomorrow, you're not going to see loads of trucks arriving at dover crossing into calais, partly because people are aware of others tax. —— those checks. you're going to get less traffic it on new year's day. we look forward to january the 4th to see the impact in terms of those border checks. the interesting

thing in the last few weeks because of coronavirus, with the irony it was a decision by the french to shut the border, we saw the long queues that those who had criticised said we we re that those who had criticised said we were going to be what we should expect after brexit. we don't know how it's going to play out. one of the concerns within government has been business readiness in the run—up to the changes. to what extent businesses are aware and operating the fact that they have to do new things, fill out new forms, be aware of this extra bureaucracy that's coming. you don't have hauliers turning up at the border, not having done what they need to do. i think that's a concern among smaller businesses. as far as we're aware, there aren't a set figure saying x percentage of businesses are ready and x percentage aren't.

there is a concern in government although i think there has been more interaction since this free trade agreement was reached in the last few days. there's a concern that pretty go the smaller businesses might not be ready and if they're not, that's what could potentially cause some of the disruption.“ not, that's what could potentially cause some of the disruption. if we do heara cause some of the disruption. if we do hear a loud bang, it will be champagne popping in downing street because the resident there has got what he promised. boris johnson, he was a leading campaignerfor the brexit cause, and he is prime minister because of brexit. his two pre—disasters both left office because of office —— pre—disasters. theresa may became, brexit became unacceptable theresa may became, brexit became u na cce pta ble to theresa may became, brexit became unacceptable to her party. i think those celebrations overall for those very happy, relatively muted because

of coronavirus. we're going to go to big ben very shortly to hear times that we haven't heard. they've had to reinstate the bells because they tower is under some renovation. to reinstate the bells because they tower is under some renovationlj tower is under some renovation.” think they might have done it last year as well, but that will be a sort of symbolic moment for a lot of people and marking the end of a relationship that's gone on for nearly 50 years and an issue that has been so divisive, particularly in the conservative party. let's hear the chimes of big ben. asi as i say, it's been under renovation now for several years but for tonight and this special moment, we shall hear the clock chime in the

elizabeth tower, better known to you and me as big ben but we will hear big ben chimed the hour and the change of our relationship with europe begins now. bell chimes.