tonight at ten, borisjohnson warns of tighter coronavirus restrictions as daily infections reach record highs. the prime minister says stronger measures aren't guaranteed, but labour warns he must act now. it may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country. so i say bring in those restrictions now, national restrictions within the next 24 hours. that has to be the first step to controlling the virus. as some schools prepare to reopen, fears of staff shortages as unions tell teachers it isn't safe. and the oxford vaccine is rolled out tomorrow, amid concerns about the overrall pace of the programme. also tonight.

and there's nothing wrong with saying that, you know, er, that you've recalculated... a recording appears to show donald trump pressuring officials to overturn joe biden‘s election win in a key state. # walk on, walk on.# and he voiced the anthem of a city. gerry marsden of gerry and the pacemakers has died at the age of 78. good evening. the prime minister has warned that coronavirus restrictions in england, may need to be tightened over the next few weeks to cut the rising numbers of infections.

borisjohnson also says it's right that schools should stay open where they can, and there are no plans to delay the return tomorrow of primary school children in many parts of the country. but the labour leader sir keir starmer says it's clear the government has lost control of the virus, and a new national lockdown should be announced within 2a hours. here's our political correspondent chris mason. arriving in a hurry to deliver a difficult message. the prime minister gave his first interview of the year, today. he warned that coronavirus restrictions in england are likely to get worse before they get better. it may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country. i don't... you know... i'm fully, fully reconciled to that. and i bet... so... ..the people of this country are reconciled to that. the prime minister's analysis of this pandemic from the very start has often contained splashes of optimism, but today felt different.

vaccines and testing offer hope, but borisjohnson struck a sombre tone, as he lent on downbeat language about the need to be realistic about the very difficult period ahead. primary schools in england outside london and parts of the south east were expected to reopen this week, but some, at the last minute today, have decided to remain closed. in secondaries in england, there'll be a staggered start to the new term, with pupils expecting exams in the summer going back first. schools are safe. very, very important to stress that. the threat to... the risk to kids, to young people is really, very, very, very small indeed, as the scientists continually attest. the risk to staff is very small. and, of course, the benefits of education are so huge. but the signs of everyday life, like these in high wycombe in buckinghamshire, are here to stay.

and labour have now gone a step further, calling for another england—wide lockdown. it is inevitable that more schools are going to close, many will be closed tomorrow morning. but the more important thing, in a way, is that national restrictions need to come in, in the next 24 hours. let's not have the prime minister saying, "i'm going to do it, "but not yet", that's the problem he's made so many times. the prospect of further restrictions, shops closed, a slump in demand, staff home—schooling their children, is placing colossal pressures on businesses and a demand for more support. how do we get this bridge across from a really difficult christmas period for small business, through to the spring or through to the easter, which people are now thinking is the recovery and, actually, the government should be throwing everything it's got at helping small businesses to survive the next two to three months. and so, 2021 begins as 2020 ended, shrouded in worry and uncertainty. the vaccines will allow us to turn

a corner in tackling this pandemic. but the rest of winter looks bleak. chris mason, bbc news. with some schools reopening tomorrow after the christmas break, there are concerns there won't be enough staff because of worries over the new variant of coronavirus. the biggest teaching union, the neu, is advising members only to hold classes for the children of key workers, or those from vulnerable backgrounds. with more, here's our education correspondent dan johnson. can the virus be controlled if these classrooms fill up again? it's a huge question, with all kinds of complications and implications. i've had two parents already contact me over the weekend to say that they've got concerns about bringing their children back to school. in oxford, some parents are making their own decisions and primary school head teachers like lynn are grappling with tricky issues ahead of children coming back here on tuesday. yes, the government are continually reviewing the situation but, actually, i want someone to say,

"no, we are going to close for two weeks." "you're going to do something really well to make sure the children learn" and that, to my mind, would be far more effective than just having this constant anxiety behind everyone‘s feelings. "are we going to close, are we not going to close?" but staying closed would mean childcare. it would mean learning from home and the risk that some kids miss out and fall behind. since he's started, he's learned to read and write. we wouldn't have been able to teach him that at home, so it's amazing he's had that opportunity, so i want it to continue. i hope the teachers are prioritised for vaccinations, so that there is some element of safety in returning to schools, as it will benefit everyone, especially the young children. at the moment, i think it would be better if we didn't. i think it would be better if all the schools were closed, just till we got over this peak. there's pressure from teaching unions, councils and some local public health directors. some have already told their schools to stay closed. so, the number of children who actually return from tomorrow isn't entirely

in the government's hands now. some further closures do look inevitable, whether that's through decisions made by councils or the government having no other option and that could well last beyond these first two weeks. so, the priority has always been to keep schools open as much as possible but there's an argument that taking some action now could help avoid further disruption in future. wales and northern ireland have delayed the return another week. and scotland's schools won't fill up until the middle of the month. in bradford, pupils are due to return under tier 3 but staff here, like elsewhere, could vote with their feet after teaching unions declared classrooms unsafe. whether we open or not depends on the number of staff that we have. and it's notjust teachers. there are other members of staff who have genuine concerns as well, including kitchen staff. and obviously we would need to feed the children at lunchtime and if we don't have kitchen staff in school because of their concerns then that's another issue that

i need to take into account when we make a decision. this evening, the local government association called for schools to have flexibility in making their own decisions. 20% of england's primary pupils already face a fortnight of home—learning and more areas are now saying their schools should join them and more schools are finding they haven't got the staff to open anyway. danjohnson, bbc news, oxford. and our political correspondent chris mason is here. borisjohnson is talking about possibly tighter restrictions. what could that involve? i'm told that in the first instance it would be moving those areas of england not currently in tier 4, the highest level of restrictions, into that tier if the data continues to look bleak. given what mrjohnson said this morning there is inevitably a huge amount of speculation about what else might be coming. i'm told one idea, the idea of a curfew in england is not currently being looked at. as far as labour are

concerned, we heard that sir keir starmer wants an england white lockdown, modelled on what happened in march with a real emphasis on the stay at home message —— england wide lockdown. the government make the argument that it isn't fastly to similar from argument that it isn't fastly to similarfrom tier 4. if we argument that it isn't fastly to similar from tier 4. if we take a few steps back what we are confronted by now is wall—to—wall uncertainty. if your local school is closed tomorrow you can't be certain that it's going to reopen in a couple of weeks' time. if it's open you can't be certain that it will still be open. psychologically we we re still be open. psychologically we were glad the other day to see the back of 2020. the blunt truth is that the first few months of this year could be just as that the first few months of this year could bejust as bumpy. that the first few months of this year could be just as bumpy. chris, thank you. the latest official figures show there were nearly 55,000 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last

week is now 52,348. there were 454 deaths reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test, but today's figures don't include scotland. that means on average in the past week, 604 deaths were announced every day, taking the total across the uk to 75,024. and the scottish parliament is being recalled tomorrow to consider if it needs to impose tougher restrictions in the battle against coronavirus. our correspondent, alexandra mackenzie is in glasgow. what can we expect tomorrow do you think? well, cases are rising in scotland. that's been driven by the new variant, so it's causing a lot of concern. tomorrow initially nicola sturgeon will meet with her cabinet. then parliament will be recalled. and they will discuss what needs to be done, first of all to

suppress the virus, so that time can be given for more and more people to get the vaccine. so it does look like restrictions are going to have to be tightened in order to do that. now, we could revisit and strengthen that day at home message, that could be one of the options. that's something we've been very familiar with back in march and during the first lockdown. now, one of the other options would be for schools, they are already not going to go back to classroom learning until the middle of january. that could be delayed even further and online learning at home could be used further into the new year. 0k, thank you. from tomorrow, doctors across the uk will begin the roll out of 500,000 doses of the oxford coronavirus vaccine. but there are questions over

the speed at which those most at risk across the country will receive theirjabs, and concerns over the government's decision to delay offering the public second doses of both the oxford and pfizer vaccines. here's our science editor david shukman. it began with a blaze of publicity and now the vaccination programme moves up a gear, to try to protect tens of millions of people now that a second type of vaccine is about to be deployed. i hearfrom particularly my general practice colleagues up and down the country that they are raring to go. they're really, really busy but they also know that this is the best thing that they can do to protect their patients. so, as supply allows, more sites will be able to offer the vaccine and that's exactly what we need to aim for. the big hope is the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. it's easy to handle. it doesn't need to be stored in extreme cold and the first doses are due to be given tomorrow. so, in the coming months, how will this mass programme take shape? the government's ambition is that

by easter, that's april 4th, to have reached something like 30 million people. they're the most at risk — over 50s, health and care workers and adults with vulnerabilities. that involves around two million injections every week and for many people, that will be their first dose only. all of this depends on two key factors. production, can it be ramped up sufficiently? also delivery, will it be smooth in this massive operation? this comes as government advisers say it's better to delay giving second doses so that more people can quickly get a first dose and at least have some protection. but pfizer says this idea hasn't been tested for its vaccine and some leading scientists want more research. i think it's so important that with this decision that's been made that there are actually scientific studies that go on to look at the effect of delaying the second dose. i personally think that it may well

produce as good or better an immune response, but we really need to study it. sites like this offer hope of a way out of the pandemic. the challenge now is making sure the vaccines get used as effectively as possible. david shukman, bbc news. details of an hour—long phone recording involving donald trump have been revealed, with the president apparently trying to pressure officials into overturning joe biden‘s election win in a key state. the conversation, published by the washington post newspaper, involved senior officials in georgia. our correspondent laybo diseko is in washington. what more do we know about all this? imean, what more do we know about all this? i mean, clive, this isjust an extraordinary call. you hear the leader of the free world essentially bringing upa leader of the free world essentially bringing up a election official in this key state, georgia, and telling him to do something about the election results because he doesn't like it. and this call you here

donald trump accusing brad raffensperger, the georgia secretary of state, of allowing electoral flawed and telling him to re—examine the election result in that state. and just to put this in context, clive, this is two days before a crucial senate run—off in the state. the outcome will decide who controls the upper house of congress and republicans find themselves trying

to get people out to vote when their own president is undermining the credibility of these elections. 0k, thank you. a murder inquiry is underway after the death of a 13 year old boy in reading. thames valley police say they were called to reports of a stabbing on a playing field near the emmer green area. the teenager died at the scene and his next of kin have been informed. police are appealling for witnessess. the wikileaks website has called for the us to drop charges against its founderjulian assange, ahead of a judge's decision on whether to extradite him from the uk to america. he's wanted in connection with the publication of classified documents ten years ago and is currently being held at belmarsh prison after breaching his bail conditions two years ago. our world affairs editor, john simpson has the story. julian assange set up wikileaks as a crusade to reveal corruption and abuses right around the world.

liked them all up. come on, fire! this, for instance is a video of american soldiers firing from a helicopter at iraqi civilians in baghdad. the us military tried to keep it secret butjulian assange broke the code and made it public. in 2010 he handed hundreds of thousands of us diplomatic cables and military logs to newspapers around the world, uncovering huge numbers of american intelligence secrets and agents. soon after that, sweden issued an international arrest warrant for julian sweden issued an international arrest warrant forjulian assange alleging sexual assault. when the high court in london decided he should be extradited to sweden, julian assange broke bail and took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy. the united states must renounce its witchhunt against wikilea ks.

the united states must renounce its witchhunt against wikileaks. in 20141 witchhunt against wikileaks. in 2014i went to see him in the embassy, which was only the size of a large flat. it's a difficult situation. other people are in more difficult situations. before the 2016 us election, wikileaks published secret democratic party e—mails which damaged hillary clinton and may have helped her opponent, donald trump, to become president. it's alleged the hacking came from russian agents. sweden's case againstjulian assigned for rape came to nothing. but finally in 2019 ecuador allowed british police to arrest him and he was sentenced to arrest him and he was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaking bail. the us government started proceedings to extradite him. there is, newspaper editors, an attack on press freedom but one american expert says the true charge against julian assange is hacking government secrets. i think that the story

should be a truthful one. there's a lot of stuff being peddled. the discussion about what wikileaks is will change significantly and you won't see so manyjournalism outlets, so many organisations, ngos, to supportjournalism making what are really unsupported claims about this being a political prosecution. it's simply not. julian assange's lawyer disagrees. this means any journalist reporting assange's lawyer disagrees. this means anyjournalist reporting upon the crimes of a foreign nation, reporting truthful information about human rights abuses, war crimes, can be extradited. the most dangerous aspect is that not only can you be extradited but when you return to the united states, as in this case, you will not benefit from constitutional protections which is a terrifying president. even if tomorrow'sjudgment a terrifying president. even if tomorrow's judgment goes against julian assange, the appeals process will last a long time. john simpson,

bbc news. the founder and lead singer of the band gerry and the pacemakers, gerry marsden, has died. he was 78. best known for the song you'll never walk alone, it's been sung by liverpool football fans on the terraces for decades. there have been numerous tributes from across the entertainment world, including from sir paul mccartney, who said "see ya, gerry. i'll always remember you with a smile." daniela relph looks back at his life. # walk on, walk on...#. gerry marsden... # with hope in your heart...#. ..with one unforgettable anthem. # and you'll never walk...# he was as much a part of liverpool's story as the mersey ferry and the anfield kop. # alone...# teenagers scream born in toxteth, his career began at the legendary cavern club in the early ‘60s. gerry and his band, the pacemakers, were spotted by beatles manager, brian epstein.

he gave them a song that had been turned down by the fab four and adam faith. # how do you do what you to me...# how do you do it was a huge hit on both sides of the atlantic. we'd never heard ourselves on tape before and it got to number one and we were very pleased. the beatles were upset and so was adam, i think. he chuckles newsreel archive: the girls are at the top of their screaming form, if the reception they give to gerry and the pacemakers is anything to go by. # i like it, i like it...# more followed, as the mersey beat swept the world. # the funny feeling being here with you # and i like it more with every day # and i like it always hearing you say # you're liking it too...# tonight, sir paul mccartney paid tribute with this photo of the beatles with the pacemakers, and of his friend, gerry marsden, he said he was a reminder of a joyful time in british music and would always remember him with a smile. # ferry across the mersey.#

it was as a singer of gentle ballads for which he'll be remembered. ferry across the mersey was a nostalgic expression of his love for liverpool. # walk on, walk on...# and then, with a song from a rodgers and hammerstein musical, gerry marsden struck a chord with fans at his beloved anfield. the band may have split up in 1966, but as he proved, nearly half a century later, at the 25th anniversary of the hillsborough disaster, musically and emotionally, he'll always be a part of the heart and soul of the club. gerry marsden, who's died at the age, of 78. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

hello. this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. several european countries have announced further coronavirus restrictions, including slovakia, which has begun a new lockdown, and closed ski facilities. but in switzerland some skiiers are taking to the slopes, albeit under new guidelines. sylvia lennan—spence reports. hitting the slopes, european style. from this ski resort in southern romania to a packed car park in austria where thousands rushed to take advantage of the perfect skiing weather. from resorts in andorra, open exclusively to residents... ..to the dizzy heights in switzerland. while a number of european

countries including france and italy closed their ski resorts, switzerland was one of those that bucked the trend and kept most of its open. there are noticeably fewer skiers. normal peak times would see around 20,000 people on the slopes. now, there are only around 8,000. translation: the loss of turnover over the holiday season will be $8—9 million. this is also because we had gone even further with the guest quarters than we had to. among other things, we only put 500 tickets on sale per day instead of 5,000 as in other years. as is the norm these days, masks are compulsory. not only in closed spaces, such as mountain trains and cable cars, but also open air chairlifts as well as in queues. translation: it's fine like this, it's better than before. i do feel safe. the gondola is full but so is public transport, it's the same.

translation: i'm aware that it's not the best idea. an accident can happen and there's enough going on in the hospitals at the moment. security guards on hand to check if skiers are standing too close. france has said it will reopen ski lifts next week, while italy has pushed back the opening of its resorts until later in the month. until then, for these in switzerland, the snow must go on. sylvia lennan—spence, bbc news. good evening. sunday brought us another wintry—feeling, fairly cold day, but fewer snow showers on sunday compared to what we saw on saturday. nonetheless, there's still quite a bit of lying snow out there. this is the picture in worcestershire a bit earlier on on sunday. there were also some fairly heavy rain showers further south. and through the coming week, no great changes in the general theme to the weather. it's going to be staying cold with a mix of some rain and sleet, some snow and some sunshine thrown

into the mix, especially further north. now, as we head through this evening and tonight, we've still got some showers, particularly eastern scotland and eastern england packing in on this brisk breeze. some icy stretches developing in the northeast. further south, rain showers, but east anglia and the south—east, where it stays quite cloudy overnight. so temperatures here a couple of degrees above freezing, but colder the further north—west you are — minus six or minus seven for the west of scotland. so for monday, high pressure squeezes away most of those showers in the north. but we've got this feature here, which is going to be bringing some rain showers to east anglia and the south—east. particularly down towards the channel islands some of that rain could be quite heavy, and it's blown in on a brisk northeasterly wind as well. but away from the south and the east for the rest of the uk, the day will be brightening up. so a bit of sunshine developing, one or two wintry flurries here and there, cloudiest further south across england and wales. and here, the strongest of the winds too, 40 mile per hour gusts or even higher than that around the coasts of east anglia and through the english channel as well. so temperatures only four to six degrees, but feeling colder, particularly where you are exposed

to that brisk northeasterly wind in the south and the east. moving through monday evening, overnight into tuesday, more of these showers coming into eastern scotland and north—east england as well. so some icy stretches likely once again. there'll be sleet and snow over the higher ground. down in the south—east on tuesday, this area of rain will be really quite stubborn to clear away so wet weather for kent down towards the channel islands as well. some drier weather elsewhere, though. further north, only about three to six degrees. and again, a bit of a wind chill still on tuesday. moving through into wednesday, and this area of high pressure looks like itjust eases away towards the west, i think will be in between a couple of weather systems through into wednesday. so probably quite a bit of dry weather with some sunshine. still some stubborn showers could just linger for the likes of kent and the channel islands as well. sunny spells elsewhere, but some fairly heavy snow into the north—west of scotland later in the day. and it remains cold, only about to three or four degrees. bye— bye.