this is bbc news — i'm ben bland with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. president trump is recorded on tape asking an election official to ‘find' him extra votes in the state of georgia. it's comes as some republicans vow to challenge the results of the us election. we hear from former republican senator jeff flake about the civil war in his party. borisjohnson warns that covid restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" — as the uk records another 50,000 new cases. could julian assange finally be heading to the us to face charges of espionage? ajudge in london is set to rule on his case on monday morning. and tributes to gerry marsden, the singer of ‘you'll never walk alone' who's

died at the age of 78. a recording has emerged which appears to show president trump trying to persuade a senior republican official in georgia to "find" enough votes to overturn joe biden‘s victory in the state. the washington post says the audio is from an hour—long phone call with georgia's secretary of state, brad raffensperger. here's some of what mrtrump said. you can't let it happen and you are letting it happen. i'm notifying you that you're letting it happen. so look, all i want to do is this, i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one

of more than we have. because we won the state. lebo diseko is in washington and told us more about the phone call. it is just extraordinary. i didn't think that i could have any more shock when it came to the outcome of what's happened since the election but this is really, ifound it very shocking indeed. donald trump, it's actually a cutdown of an hour—long conversation four and half minutes or so. you hear donald trump at some point bringing incredibly threatening kind of, implying that they might be criminal consequences. if he doesn't overturn the result of the elections. asking for one more vote than joe biden got in the state. and you well know, ben, that the result in georgia were recounted twice, was that was my hand, was my machine and both timed it was found thatjoe biden

won that state. ijust wonder how much president trump may have been enboldened by the fact that a growing number of republican senators are saying they will challenge the electoral college vote tally when congress meets to what normally is a ceremonial approval of the results. donald trump has been pressuring his party to take such steps for quite some time. i'm not sure if he was emboldened or it's just the fact that we've had access to this audio. which is quite unusual. the attempt by those lawmakers to try and challenge the electoral college results when they come to congress in thatjoint session is likely to fail. it will essentially take the democrats voting to object to their candidates win which is not can happen. former republican senatorjeff flake gave his response to the president's phone call.

it's tough to be shocked any more by what the president does. but this was truly shocking. extraordinary, to put pressure on the republican secretary of state to find the votes. i mean, that's awful stuff. i just don't know what defence he'll come back with other than probably say it was a perfect call. you've encountered the anger and the pressure from the president in the past. what is it like when you get that call and you here senator, this is the white house mr president is on the line for you? well, it's that or you read the other end of a tweet. he knows how to bully and he has. but gratefully, the secretary of state and the governor in georgia aren't being bullied. and i wish more in washington,

more of my former colleagues would do the same. it's a terrible thing to give the president more leash to do this kind of thing. i'm afraid that's what my former colleagues are doing. i suppose some of those colleagues will feel that 70 7a million americans voted for president trump and they would want to see the results challenged robustly by their senators. what do you say to those who may put that forward as an argument for doing what they're doing? i would say this is why we have representative democracy. this is why they are to represent the constituents in washington and know that the hallmark of our democracy is the respect for elections. when you lose you lose and you do it gracefully. but to pretend that you're representing constituents when it's really is just a constituency of one. they want to please the president because they know he has a pretty good control of the base. that is no excuse.

and gratefully, the majority of the republican senators aren't going along with this. but if you are and that's shameful, frankly for our party. what is the mood among senior republicans? i know you're no longer a senator but i assume you're so plugged in, friends, colleagues at work within that sphere. what are senior republican saying, feeling about all that's going on right now? well they are sick. you've heard some of the statements from mitt romney in particular, ben sass, paul ryan made a very good statement today, former speaker of the house. no, everyone of us sickened by it. knowing that this shouldn't represent our party. in the long haul back as a party to have some respect and it's not just around the country, its globally. if this were happening in zimbabwe or someone else we would roundly condemn it. but when it happens here you have some in our party going along with it.

frankly, it shameful. i saw a recent tweet from using fellow republicans before you commit to try and overcome certified election results please take a moment to consider this does long term damage to the country and the party. what's omitted damage and how deep do you think that runs, potentially? you will have the trump base along with you but that's just not enough to when nation wide elections or for my state in arizona we now have two democratic senators representing the state. so while the trump base is large in terms of a party base, it's diminishing. g ratefully. and independence aren't going there and if you cats government from the center which i think they will likely do withjoe biden in the white house then republicans are going to have a long haul back. it does tremendous damage to the party in the long term. just the reputation, the brand of the party, it's just not good.

state election officials, statejudges, federaljudges, the department ofjustice, none of them have found any evidence of voterfraud. and yet the president persist with these accusations without substantiating them. where and how does this all end? it's going to end january 20 when joe biden takes the white house. g ratefully. if the president thinks he's going to have the same influence that he has now when he is out of the white house he is simply wrong. when you lose the trappings of power in the levers of power the trappings of office, and you know trump is it requires a certain amount of swagger. it requires winning. and he lost. so i think his influence will be diminished but it is a big problem for the party going forward when so many in the party believe that the president actually won the election. we are going to have a hard time as a party getting them back. i believe.

i spoke earlier to philip bump from the washington post and he told me it was a remarkable development. it's really one of the most remarkable documents i thnk, of the trump presidency which in itself is saying something that we have these president making these charges. i don't think anyone, yes it's a shocking revelation. i don't think anybody‘s surprise that this is how donald trump puts pressure on people behind the scenes. that it's emerge, it is the culmination of the watergate scandal was when these tapes are finally released with richard nixon saying what he said about the watergate probe. this is donald trump having saying something yesterday which is already in the public domain. and i think it's remarkable for a broad range of reasons including historical. that said, and any other presidency it might shake things up, it might cause a massive reaction or huge fallout. we've seen tapes

of the president saying quite outrageous things emerge before. and it alljust kind of drift away into the background eventually. do you think this will be any different? i think there are a couple of reasons why that's likely at this point. 0ne obviously at that present in trouble has about two weeks left in office making it less urgent or it to be dealt with as an act. there are certainly questions to be raised about legality. it's hard to imagine that other politicians would be able to say things like that and not face some sort of criminal charges. obviously, the circumstances are very different. but the other thing is what the former senator from arizona was speaking of is the unity of the republican party around presidential trump. people remember that one year ago we were debating presidents call with the president of you train. the charging republican said this was only simply donald trumps attempt to combat corruption. 0bviously that wasn't the case then. that makes it very clear that this is not.

the response to that impeachment and then the trial in the senate was the republicans essentially look the other way with the exception of mitt romney in utah. there is nothing to suggest that anything is changed and if anything republicans are more united around trump more than they were then. with that in mind how nasty do you think things could get this coming week when congress meets to vote to certify the results? i think there is cause for concern. think a lot of americans are concerned about what happens. there are millions, tens of millions of met americans that have been lied to consistently buy conservative media and the president about what happened in last years presidential election. those people have already expressed multiple times in a number of ways that they are going to object to what happens on january six. which is supposed to be this pro forma acknowledgement of what the electoral college as washington, dc is hunkering down for top it's not clear what can happen. this can be a large present of both protesters and law enforcement on the street.

i think more broadly than that though it is not clear, president trump as hinted at in suites today that they are being some sort of drama around what happens onjanuary six. that's bad. there is no cause for it. 0bviously president trump lost the election but also that's not how we deal with things in the united states typically. so it's really hard to predict. i think that in itself is quite unsettling. president trump is not the biggest fan of the washington post. but undoubtedly he's been making a lot of news for you and presumably been quite good for sales and subscription. will you miss him when he's gone? i mean, i think ourjob is to report the news. as yourjob is to report the news. the old proverb of living an interesting time, yes it helps with the news but i don't think anybody enjoys living an interesting time. i'd be happy to have the pandemic behind us for example. i don't think you're going to miss the pandemic and the amount of news that can be generated once it's gone. not to compare the president to the pandemic but i think the same sort of morality applies. thank you.

more of that story and some analysis from our senior political responded it's all there for you on the bbc news website. the uk prime minister boris johnson has warned that coronavirus restrictions in england are "probably about to get tougher" in order to bring the virus under control. there've been another 55,000 positive cases recorded in the uk, in the latest 2a hour—period and a further a54 people have died. it's one of the worst affected countries in the world. 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 am fully, fully reconciled with that. my bet the people of this country are reconciled to that. the prime ministers analysis of this pandemic from the very start is often contained splashes of optimism. but today felt different. vaccines and testing of our hope but boris johnson struck a sombre tone as he landed on downbeat language about the need to be realistic about the need to be realistic about the need to be realistic about the very difficult. i had. primary schools in england outside of london and parts of the southeast were expected to reopen this week but some of the last minute today have decided to remain closed. and secondaries in england there will be a staggered start to the new term with pupils expecting exams in the summer going back first. schools are safe. very important to stress

that. the threat, the risk to young kids is really very, very small indeed as a scientist continually a test. the risk to staff is very small. of course the benefits of education is so huge. but the signs of everyday life like these are here to stay. and labour have now gone a step further calling for another england wide lockdown. it is inevitable more will be closed tomorrow morning for the top of the more important thing isa top of the more important thing is a national restrictions need to come in and the next 24 hours was up let's not have the prime ministers i am going to do it but not yet. that's the problem he's made so many times. the prospect of further restrictions, shops closed, slumping demand, staff home—schooling their children is placing colossal pressure on businesses. and a demand for more support. how do we get this bridge across from a

really difficult christmas. for small business through to the sprint? 0r through to easter. which people are now think it is the recovery. actually the government should be throwing everything eric scott at helping small businesses to survive the next two to three months. and so 2021 begins as 20/20 ended. shrouded in worry and uncertainty. the vaccine will allow us to turn a corner and tackling this pandemic but the rest of winter it looks bleak. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. tributes to jerry marchant who has died at the age of 78. music. the japanese people are in the death of the emperor. thousands c0 nve i’g e death of the emperor. thousands converge on the imperial palace to pay their respects when it was announced he was dead. good

grief, after half a century a delighted fans around the world charlie brown and the rest of the gang are calling it quits. the singer paul simon starts his tour of south africa tomorrow and spite of protest and violence from some black activist groups. they say international artist should continue to boycott south africa until majority rule is established. around the world people have been paying tribute to the iconic rock star david but we who settled hundred and 40 million albums in a career that spanned half a century. his family announced overnight that he died at the lack of cancer at the age of 69. the worlds tallest skyscraper opens today easily overtaken its nearest rival. this is bbc news, the latest headlines

president trump is recorded asking an election officials to ‘find' him extra votes in georgia. borisjohnson warns that covid restrictions in england could probably tougher" —— as the uk records more than 50,000 new cases. the wikileaks website has called for the us to drop charges against it's founder julian 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. light 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 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 wikileaks. in 2014 i 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, wikilea ks 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 against julian assigned for rape came to nothing. but finally in 2019 ecuador allowed british police 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, say this is 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 many journalism outlets, so many organisations, ngos, to support journalism 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 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'sjudgement goes againstjulian assange, the appeals process will last a long time. john simpson, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. rescue workers have

recovered a fifth body, —— seventh victim after a landslide buried homes in a village in southern norway on wednesday. it happened in ask, about 15 miles from the capital 0slo. five other people are still missing. members of the us house of representatives have voted to retain the democrat, nancy pelosi, as speaker. ms pelosi had been expected to win, despite her party's reduced majority in the chamber after november's election. the indian prime minister narendra modi has said the country's formal approval of two emergency coronavirus vaccines represents a decisive turning point in the fight against the disease. india's drugs regulator has given the green light to jabs developed by astrazeneca and a locally made one, covaxin. about 530 thousand doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by oxford university and astra zeneca will be rolled out from tomorrow. nhs england says hundreds of new covid vaccination sites will be up and running this week. the gerry and the pacemakers' singer, gerry marsden, has died at the age of 78.

he's perhaps best known for his hit "you'll never walk alone," which has been sung by liverpool football fans for decades. 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. ..#. girls 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 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. ..#. # so, ferry, cross the mersey. ..#. but 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. before died at the age, of 78. we go and a reminder of oui’ before we go and a reminder of our top story this hour. media in the us of obtaining a phone call recording in which president trump puts pressure on george's top election official to overturn his defeat in the state. in an hour—long conversation mr trump told brad of raffensperger that he wanted to find one more boat thanjoe biden. don't forget you can reach me on twitter — i'm @benm bland.

more news in more detail on that top story on our website and on the app whenever you wanted. i will see you soon. good evening. 2021 started on a cold and wintry note. through the weekend we have seen sleet and snow from many places, not everywhere, this was near sheffield on sunday afternoon. there is also been heavy rain showers around. over the coming few days the story stays the same, staying cold with a mix of rain, sleet and snow, mainly over hills, the snow. some sunshine but often windy conditions, particularly through monday and tuesday. we have high pressure setting to the north of the uk, low pressure towards the south, south—west and in between your drawing in that cold wind coming in from the north—east of the north sea so that brings showers on monday, rain for east anglia and the south—east and the channel isles and further north, one or two wintry

showers over the pennines, southern uplands and one or two over the higher ground of wales. a good deal of sunshine for many areas, it is a windy day with gusts over 40 mph along the coast of east anglia and through the english channel. temperatures up to around 4—6 , below average for the time of year and feeling colder when you add that wind—chill. moving through monday evening, overnight into tuesday, more showers feeding in from the north sea on the north easterly wind and it could be ice and snow around for parts of eastern scotland and north—east england as well with temperatures overnight not quite as cold as recent nights but still getting down to freezing or below, the coldest across the north west. heading into tuesday, a similar day to monday, watch out for ice and snow once again, particularly for eastern scotland, northern england and further rain showers to come for east anglia and the south—east of england

and the channel isles, this stubborn area of cloud and rain persisting and another cold day with some sunshine and around three or 6 degrees and still are wind—chill on tuesday. moving through into wednesday, high pressure moves towards the west so we are in between weather systems heading into wednesday, a quieter day and the breeze turns to a northerly direction for the middle to the end of the week. probably quite a bit of sunshine and a few showers for eastern england, one or two for the south—east and channel isles as well. and staying cold for the time of year with temperatures only about one to around 4 degrees on wednesday. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines.

donald trump is recorded on tape asking an election official in georgia to ‘find' extra votes for him, in an attempt to change the official result of the presidential election in the state that certified joe biden as the winner. one of president—elect joe biden‘s advisors said they now had irrefutable proof of a president pressuring an official from his own party to get him to rescind a state's lawful, certified vote count. the white house has not yet responded to be call being made public. borisjohnson has warned that coronavirus restrictions in england are ‘probably about to get tougher‘ to curb the rise in infections. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has called for a new national lockdown to be announced within the next 24 hours. now on bbc news.