this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the government says there are 77 cases of the extra virulent south african variant of covid in the country — the cases linked to travellers arriving in the uk. they are under very close observation, and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading. police fines as more than 300 people attend an illegal rave in east london — organisers reportedly locked the doors from the inside to stop officers getting in. severe weather warnings as snow and ice sweep across the uk amid fears of travel disruption. leaving the union — the snp to present its national

assembly with what it's calling a road map to a new referendum on scottish independence. and a dramatic rescue in china as 11 gold miners who'd been trapped underground for two weeks are brought out alive. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. the health secretary matt hancock says 77 cases of the extra virulent south african variant of covid have been found here in the uk. but all have links to international travel and there is no evidence to date that it is spreading in the community unchecked. matt hancock has also said we are a "long way" from restrictions being eased — as scientists warn people may still be able to pass on the virus even if they've been vaccinated.

our health reporter jim reed has more. the vaccination roll—out in the uk continues. hundreds of thousands of those most at risk are receiving theirjabs this weekend, but as we try and navigate our way out of this pandemic, scientists think new variants of coronavirus are a real concern. a mutation first found in cases from south africa is thought to spread faster. some worry it could also make a vaccine less effective, though that is not yet certain. speaking on the andrew marr programme, the health secretary said the government is monitoring it closely. there are 77 known cases of the south african variant here in the uk. they are under very close observation and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading. the majority of those have had contact with or come from south africa, and that's why we've got such stringent border measures in place.

the government has said all international travellers will need to show a negative covid test before arrival, but the opposition is calling on ministers to go further. on monday, we've got this delayed announcement, yet again delayed. we would fully expect the government to bring in tougher quarantine measures, we would expect them to roll out a proper testing strategy and we would expect them to start checking up on people who are quarantined. only three out of every 100 people who are asked to quarantine when they arrive in the uk are actually facing any checks at all. that is simply not sufficient. 470,000 doses of the vaccine were given over the last day. ministers said three quarters of those over 80 have now had theirfirst dose. but government scientists are warning those who have received their jabs so far will not be fully protected and may still spread the disease. the message, then, is still for everyone to follow social distancing rules, probably for months to come. jim reed, bbc news.

police have issued more than £15,000 in fines after people were caught at a rave in east london — a breach of covid regulations. the metropolitan police say it followed officers receiving intelligence that an unlicensed music event was taking place in hackney on saturday night. an estimated 300 people attended. police called it a "serious and blatant breach of the public health regulations". as high—risk groups continue to be vaccinated against the virus, there are growing concerns that people with learning disabilities have been missed out. despite a recent public health england report warning they are six times more likely to die from coronavirus, as a group, they have not been prioritised for a vaccine. nikki fox reports. you know, you can't smell it, you can't see it. you can't hear it. it's like a silent killer. everyone here has a learning disability. they meet up regularly to talk

about and understand death and bereavement. it is scary at times. these chats have never been more important. all i keep thinking is, am i going to be next? you know, am i going to be the next one to die? i would hate to be in hospital and end up dying on my own. people with learning disabilities are up to six times more likely to die from coronavirus. that's according to analysis by public health england, which looked at the number of deaths during the first wave of the pandemic. however, only those with down�*s syndrome and severe learning disabilities are being prioritised for the vaccine. people adore her. tilly is one of those being prioritised. and it can't come soon enough. i get so fearful for her. historic inequalities in health care and the knowledge that even before covid people with learning disabilities had such a low life expectancy means, for many families, any visit to hospital is a worry.

we have had too many instances where she's been refused treatment, because they can't work out how to treat somebody with a learning disability. for me to think about that happening, if she had the virus and she had to go into hospital, it's terrifying, absolutely terrifying. deciding who is eligible for priority access is not an easy task. the initial priority programme was based on the risk of hospitalisation and death. the committee which advises government examined a different set of data to public health england. it believes those with milder learning disabilities are not at such an increased risk. individuals with learning disabilities we recognise is a very disadvantaged group, so that's why we decided to make a clinical decision to prioritise those with profound and severe learning disabilities within our first six categories. with such conflicting figures, experts fear that by not immunising everyone with a learning disability as a priority... we need to protect this population. ..there will be many who will not

get the vaccine in time. lots of people with learning disabilities have things like diabetes or heart problems, or lung problems. even before covid, more than four in ten people with a learning disability died of a lung condition like pneumonia. it's clear that, as a group of people, they really are at risk, and they should be prioritised. we're just as important as everybody else that should have a chance of having the vaccine. but we need it now, rather than later. death after death and crisis i after crisis, ijust can't cope... legal action on the grounds of discrimination is being taken against the government. however, the department of health and social care says it is working hard to vaccinate all those at risk. they should be on top of the list. but with learning disabilities being such a complex, often misunderstood condition, campaigners believe that, once again, this group of people are being forgotten. nikki fox, bbc news.

you are watching bbc news. with a quarter of its population vaccinated, israel is leading the global immunisation race against the coronavirus. the israeli government bought large stocks of the jab in exchange for acting as the world's data guinea pig and scientists are watching what is being shared keenly. the israeli health minister yuli edelstein spoke to my colleague andrew marr about their findings so far. we are just in the beginning of the campaign. unfortunately, we do see cases after getting the first dose, people get sick, get the coronavirus. at the same time, there are some encouraging signs of less severe diseases, less people hospitalised after the first dose. so at this stage, it's very difficult to say. it's not a clinical trial yet. it's just our empiric data, and we sincerely hope we will have better information very soon. we still have a very small number of those

who we consider fully vaccinated, meaning a week after the second dose, according to pfizer instructions. so we still can't boast accurate data on that. we are collecting every piece of information. we hope to be able very soon to say the number of those hospitalised goes down. and one thing we are closely following, there's always been the situation that where you have a rise in people who are infected, you have an immediate rise in hospitalised and severe cases. we hope that this graphic, this slide will change a little bit, and then we'll be able to talk about the influence of the vaccine. new zealand has reported its first case of covid—i9 outside of a quarantine facility in more than two months. health officials said a 56—year—old woman who had recently returned from europe tested positive 10 days after completing a compulsory two—week period

of managed isolation. contact tracing efforts are still under way, and authorities have published a list of locations the woman visited. officials in new zealand have been giving more details of the case. the case is a 56—year—old woman who has recently been through isolation at the pullman hotel in auckland, after returning from europe. she tested negative twice during her stay and was released following that. we don't yet know the origin or the strain of the infection. it's important not to speculate on that until we have that information. it's also too early to speculate on what our possible response options may be including things like alert levels. we are working on the assumption that this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant, either the one identified first in south africa or the uk, or potentially brazil, or another more transmissible variant. given where we are in this global

pandemic the variants that are becoming more common are the ones that are more transmissible." meanwhile, italy has accused the pharmaceutical firms, pfizer and astrazeneca, of serious contract violations — after the companies announced they would not be able to deliver their coronavirus vaccines as agreed. prime minister giuseppe conte said the delays were unacceptable. the two companies have said production problems have forced them to cut the amount of vaccine doses they can deliver. tim allman reports. salvation in a syringe. the covid vaccination programme is being rolled out across the world, millions of people have already had theirfirstjab. billions more awaiting their turn. but are enough doses being provided? in italy, the answer to that question is apparently no. the country's prime minister insists that is unacceptable.

and it's notjust italy. belgium's vaccine task force says it will receive fewer than half the number of covid—i9 vaccines it had expected in the first three months of the year. pfizer and astrazeneca have warned they won't be able to deliver the amounts promised due to production problems. and in a new twist, the new york times is reporting that pfizer plans to provide fewer vials because they discovered they could extract an extra dose from each vial which was only supposed to contain five. at the end of the day it's important to recognise that pfizer and other large pharmaceutical companies are for—profit companies, and they have a responsibility to their shareholders

to try to extract as much profit as they can. the company insists it is fair as the contract is based on doses, not vials, and the lucky discovery means it can stretch the vaccine even further, meaning more doses reach more people. but until the majority are vaccinated, the fight against the virus will have to take other forms. in the netherlands, a night—time curfew has been introduced, the first nationwide curfew there since the second world war. the wait for a vaccine may mean more lives end up being lost. tim allman, bbc news. four vaccination centres in wales have been closed after heavy snow as wintry conditions sweep across much of the uk. this was the scene in sutton coldfield this morning — very pretty. south west england and the midlands

saw some early snowfall before it moved east to london and surrounding areas. the snow has been welcomed with delight by many on social media, but there are weather warnings in place for much of the midlands and south of england, as well as wales, scotland and northern ireland, until the end of the day. simonjones is at newlands corner near guildford. you still have quite a covering, there. give us an update. when the snow came — there. give us an update. when the snow came down, _ there. give us an update. when the snow came down, it _ there. give us an update. when the snow came down, it came - there. give us an update. when the snow came down, it came down - there. give us an update. when the - snow came down, it came down quickly and heavily. it has stopped now, but there is a big blanket of snow. a lot of people have come out to the hills at surrey to enjoy the conditions. people tell me they are just having a break from the seemingly unending conditions of lockdown, although the government would rather we all stayed at home wherever we can. people here say they are just coming out here for a

bit of exercise and to enjoy the conditions, and enjoy the view. we've seen a lot of people making snowmen, a lot of people with sledges, even people on skis. because it is quite unusual, particularly in southern england, to get such an amount of snow in one go that does remain. it is notjust here that has been affected. particularly wales has been bearing the brunt. for a coronavirus vaccine centres had to shut because it wasn't considered safe for people to go there. elsewhere in the uk, there have been very grim conditions in parts of scotland, northern ireland, particularly the midlands. in some areas, people have been out with shovels trying to make a path through to the coronavirus vaccine enters to try and keep those vaccinations ongoing. a yellow weather warning remains in place for much of the uk until midnight. although it may not be snowing here at the moment, the problem you have got is that you have the snow which has fallen on land which was already

saturated after days of rain. we've had icy conditions, too. underfoot is treacherous, and treacherous on the roads. very difficult conditions on the motorways. that may be down to lockdown as well, because in order for a to lockdown as well, because in orderfor a grit to lockdown as well, because in order for a grit and to lockdown as well, because in orderfor a grit and salt to lockdown as well, because in order for a grit and salt to work it needs a certain volume of vehicles to actually activate that on the motorway and the major roads. because there's been less traffic, that hasn't happened. and we are not out of the woods yet, because although it is going to be snowy in parts for the rest of the day, we are told temperature is slight could fall to —10 celsius, and in terms of the conditions coming up in mid week, we are told it is more likely to turn wet and more windy. that is going to cause more concerns for parts of the country that have already suffered flooding. thank you ve much already suffered flooding. thank you very much for— already suffered flooding. thank you very much for that _ already suffered flooding. thank you very much for that update. - the headlines on bbc news...

the government reveals 77 cases of the south african variant of covid in the country. cases are linked to travellers arriving in the uk. fines are handed out as more than 300 people attend an illegal rave in east london— police say organisers locked the doors from the inside to stop them getting in. severe weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across much of the uk amid fears of travel disruption. a police and crime commissioner has written to the government to warn that smart motorways are "inherently unsafe and dangerous and should be abandoned". south yorkshire pcc, dr alan billings, wrote to grant shapps, the secretary of state for transport, after a coronerfound two men had been unlawfully killed on a "smart" section of the mi. and we can speak to alan billings now — what made you write this open letter to the government? thank you forjoining us. i've just

seen a statement from the department for transport saying that smart motorways are just as safe, or more so, than conventional ones. you obviously disagree. doctor billings, i'm sorry, i don't think you have got your volume on. can you just check on your connection, please? 0n the bottom, you might see a microphone with a red line through it. you need to make sure that redline is not there. can you hear me now? doctor billings? i redline is not there. can you hear me now? doctor billings?- redline is not there. can you hear me now? doctor billings? i can hear ou. you me now? doctor billings? i can hear yom you are — me now? doctor billings? i can hear you. you are with _ me now? doctor billings? i can hear you. you are with us. _ me now? doctor billings? i can hear you. you are with us. i— me now? doctor billings? i can hear you. you are with us. i was - me now? doctor billings? i can hear you. you are with us. i wasjust - you. you are with us. i was 'ust sa in: you. you are with us. i was 'ust saying that fl you. you are with us. i was 'ust saying that the i you. you are with us. i was 'ust saying that the department]- you. you are with us. i wasjust saying that the department for| saying that the department for transport put out a statement saying that smart motorways are as safe or

safer than the conventional ones. you disagree. just explain why. i think you need to understand the type of smart motorway we have in south yorkshire, there are some smart motorways where there is a hard shoulder that is brought into use as a life lane. we do not have that at all. there are simply lanes. so if you were to stop or breakdown, you pull over into the nearside lane, you do not have anywhere else to go. there is no hard shoulder as it is in use permanently as a life lane. it is that type of smart motorway i think is inherently dangerous. what we have now is a coroner saying that two men's death that he was looking into, if there was not a hard shoulder there, he thinks the lack of hard shoulder was contributing towards their deaths. i

was. i contributing towards their deaths. i was- i think — contributing towards their deaths. i was. i think we _ contributing towards their deaths. i was. i think we now— contributing towards their deaths. i was. i think we now have _ contributing towards their deaths. i was. i think we now have to - contributing towards their deaths. i was. i think we now have to take i was. i think we now have to take that new evidence _ was. i think we now have to take that new evidence into _ was. i think we now have to take that new evidence into account. | was. i think we now have to take i that new evidence into account. not all smart motorways are the same. some are smarter, or a different to others. you have the alr, which presumably does make a big difference, because if you are closing down one lane, that can operate as a de facto hard shoulder. they can close the nearside lane for motorists who have broken down. but if you have gone past it, you simply do not know about that. the next thing you know is that someone has stopped in the lane that you are in. and we are talking about heavy lorries. and that is the bit which i think is inherently dangerous. for me, whateverformulate think is inherently dangerous. for me, whatever formulate they are

using... quite frankly, if they thought that this type of motor was even smarter or safer than a conventional motorway, then why not convert the entire system to smart motorway to make it safer? for me, the test is, what happens if you break down on a smart motorway with no hard shoulder, nowhere to go, and you are in a life lane and it is coming at you with speed? that is why i think they are inherently dangerous. why i think they are inherently dangemus-_ why i think they are inherently dangemus-— dangerous. the positioning of emergency — dangerous. the positioning of emergency areas, _ dangerous. the positioning of emergency areas, i _ dangerous. the positioning of emergency areas, i think- dangerous. the positioning ofl emergency areas, i think grant shapps said that he hopes for them to be about three quarters of a mile apart, but some are much more than that. and even three quarters of a mile is quite a long distance, isn't it, for people who have broken down or been in an accident to try to get somewhere safe? it is or been in an accident to try to get somewhere safe?— somewhere safe? it is a long way. quite frankly. _ somewhere safe? it is a long way. quite frankly, if— somewhere safe? it is a long way. quite frankly, if you _ somewhere safe? it is a long way. quite frankly, if you are _ somewhere safe? it is a long way. quite frankly, if you are saying - quite frankly, if you are saying that in order to be safe you need a

refuge to get into, then why not extend the refuge along the whole of the motorway, which is what we call a hard shoulder? i can see no logic in what is being argued for us. i think the coroner's verdict changes the dynamics of the debate. that is why i have written to the secretary of state. the former chief constable saying they are not so. you have my predecessor saying they are not safe. you've got the local mp for rotherham saying they are not safe. we have got the widow of one of those who was killed saying they are not safe and running a campaign. there is so much public opinion now, i think the secretary of state really does need to look at this again. really does need to look at this a . ain. , really does need to look at this aaain. , , , , again. very briefly, there is the economic— again. very briefly, there is the economic argument, _ again. very briefly, there is the economic argument, isn't - again. very briefly, there is the i economic argument, isn't there? again. very briefly, there is the - economic argument, isn't there? is there an argument for highways england facing manslaughter charges for what has happened, given this corner�*s verdict? i

for what has happened, given this corner's verdict?— for what has happened, given this corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to net into corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to get into that- _ corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to get into that. that _ corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to get into that. that is _ corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to get into that. that is not - corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to get into that. that is not for - corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to get into that. that is not for me i corner's verdict? i wouldn't like to | get into that. that is not for me to say. i would say is that as far as highways england is concerned, there is no new evidence that they need to consider and the transport secretary of state also needs to consider. the dynamics of the situation have now shifted. we have to do this, and we have to do it urgently. i think they were done originally, not because it was a safe way of doing a motorway, i think it was done in order to expand the capacity, get the traffic flowing, but to do it cheaply. i think we are trading cost, cheapness, for people's lives. thank ou for cheapness, for people's lives. thank you forjoining _ cheapness, for people's lives. thank you forjoining us. _ the snp will present its national assembly with what it's calling a roadmap to a new referendum on scottish independence. the plan sets up the possibility of a showdown in the courts

with the westminster government over the legality of another poll. borisjohnson opposes another referendum — even if the snp wins a majority in this may's scottish parliament elections. speaking on the andrew marr show, their leader said they would push ahead with the plans, even if the prime minister is against them. he's frightened of democracy. the polls now show a majority of people in scotland want independence. if the snp win the scottish election in a few months�* time on a proposition of giving the people that choice, then what democrat could rightly stand in the way of that? boris johnson clearly just fears the verdict and the will of the scottish people. 0ur scotland political editor glenn campbell says the snp have been buoyed by recent opinion polls. there is a trend now in opinion polling suggesting majority support for independence in scotland. a panelbase survey of 1,200 people today suggesting support at 52% — that's a bit lower than

the last time panelbase surveyed in november. but the trend is consistently suggesting majority support for independence. no surprise that the snp want to try and capitalise on that and will go into the next holyrood election, due in may, with a specific promise to have an independence referendum. but what they are doing now is, in setting out this road map, effectivelyjust to setting out not just their plan a but their plan b. so, plan a is to try and win that election as convincingly as they can and hope that borisjohnson�*s opposition to agreeing a referendum crumbles. but, if not, they are saying they would continue to legislate for a referendum at holyrood and be prepared to defend that in court, to test the extent of holyrood's powers to have a vote on this without uk agreement. they are very clear, though, that they wouldn't actually go ahead with a referendum unless it was deemed to be legal, and that they wouldn't go ahead

until after the pandemic. eleven gold miners trapped underground in china for two weeks have been rescued. a total of 22 workers were trapped 600 metres below ground at the mine in shandong province following an explosion. it's not clear if others are still alive underground. 0ur correspondent steve mcdonell has more. the first miner came to the surface after two weeks trapped underground. rescuers cheered but he was barely conscious. he had been found by himself, caught in another part of the mine, separated from the main group. wearing a blindfold after being in the dark for so long, he was taken straight to an ambulance and then rushed to hospital for treatment. soon, others were emerging. there were injuries, but many could walk with the assistance of rescuers who had been battling through freezing conditions, night after night, to reach them.

the critical patient comes first, before the less serious one. which is the principle of mine rescue. the miners had been told it would take ia more days to dig a rescue tunnel, penetrating 600 metres of tough granite. however, somehow a large ventilation shaft was cleared, which led all the way to the main group of ten. suddenly, the rescue was happening in hours rather than weeks. translation: the rescuers checked the miners to see l if they had any injuries and covered their eyes for protection. after lifting up the trapped miners, we will search for the missing ones. 0njanuary 10th, a blast caught 22 workers underground. initially, the accident wasn't reported for 30 hours, costing precious time. the local communist party secretary and mayor have both been sacked because of the delay and will likely face more strict punishment. one of those trapped, who'd been in a coma following head injuries caused by the explosion, has died.

others are missing. but hopes are great for the survival of those already taken to hospital. good news for them. just before we go to the weather, we just had figures of three about additional vaccine doses that have been registered. 43,300 and 31st doses, more on that throughout the afternoon. some weather. through the evening, it will push further southwards as well. we have had snow showers further north as well, but it is cold and snowy, and there is more of that to come. quite treacherous come out and about.

after that is given a few murk centimetres, it will clear out of the way. they will be a few more showers following mostly over scotland, but it will be bitterly cold isjust scotland, but it will be bitterly cold is just about everywhere, but particularly across where we have seenin particularly across where we have seen in the snow in england and wales. flood warnings, but a drier day. a few wintry showers elsewhere are still to contend with. not much warmer, although the sunshine will helpjust a warmer, although the sunshine will help just a little bit during the day. needless to say, there are several warnings still in force. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the government reveals there are 77 cases of the south african variant of covid in the country. cases are linked to travellers arriving in the uk. they are under very close observation, and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop

them from spreading. fines are handed out as more than 300 people attend an illegal rave in east london. police say organisers locked the doors from the inside to stop them getting in. severe weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across much of the uk amid fears of travel disruption. and the snp will present its national assembly with what it's calling a road map to a new referendum on scottish independence. now on bbc news, the week in parliament. hello there and welcome to the week in parliament, our look back at the big events in westminster and beyond. coming up in the next half hour, the government suffers two commons

rebellions in a week — one on trade and one on the planned