he whitewashed jakjones of wales 6—0 in his second round match. a quick update on some of the day's other sports stories before we go. there was an emotional and unexpected winner of today's big jumps race, the ladbrokes trophy at newbury, as cloudy glen won at 33—1 in the colours of owner trevor hemmings who died last month. and there was a dead heat in the fighting fifth hurdle at newcastle between last year's winner and former champion hurdler epatante, who was the favourite, and not no sleepy, whojust caught her on the line. india fought back on the third day of their first test against new zealand in kanpur. spinner axar patel took five wickets for 62 runs, as the tourists collapsed from 151 without loss to 296 all out. india closed with a lead of 63 on m for 1.

finally, former england cricket captain michael vaughan says he is sorry for all the hurt azeem rafiq has gone through during the yorkshire racism scandal. vaughan was named in a report into racism at yorkshire county cricket club by his ex—team—mate rafiq, who alleged he made a racist comment to a group of asian players. vaughan has continued to deny the claim and said he never made racist comments while at yorkshire. he spoke to the bbc�*s dan walker. december the 15th was the first time, 2020, was the first time i was given these allegations, 11 years on from the game itself, and it hurt me deeply to think that the player didn't feel i was inclusive towards them in a team environment. i always felt that in my time playing the

game, eitheras felt that in my time playing the game, either as a player and now as a broadcaster, for 30 years i always thought that i was that person who included everybody. the thought that i was that person who included everybody.— thought that i was that person who included everybody. the other thing he raised was _ included everybody. the other thing he raised was that _ included everybody. the other thing he raised was that you _ included everybody. the other thing he raised was that you probably - he raised was that you probably don't remember making the comment because it doesn't mean anything to you, which is almost as damaging as the allegation of the comment itself. . , , , , itself. that hurts. it hurts because i've always — itself. that hurts. it hurts because i've always felt _ itself. that hurts. it hurts because i've always felt that _ itself. that hurts. it hurts because i've always felt that every - itself. that hurts. it hurts because i've always felt that every single i i've always felt that every single team that i've been involved in, the biggest praise i ever got us the england captain for six years was that i was the kind of person that really galvanise the group, got the team working together as one. i always felt that i was the person in the dressing room that really wanted everyone to feel included. you room that really wanted everyone to feel included.— feel included. you say you want to rove feel included. you say you want to prove that — feel included. you say you want to prove that you _ feel included. you say you want to prove that you are _ feel included. you say you want to prove that you are not _ feel included. you say you want to prove that you are not that - feel included. you say you want to | prove that you are not that person. i know this is uncomfortable. i'm

going to read some things that you have put on social media in the past and i would like to get your reaction to them. people are saying that you might say you are not that person, but this might suggest otherwise. there are old tweets of yours that have been doing the rounds in the last few weeks. in 2010 you said, not many english people live in london. i need to learn a new language. and he also said, why when you ring 118118 are all the people who answer foreign? can't make heads or tails of what they are saying. annoying. and in response to the actor and presenter adil ray after the manchester arena tackle you suggested it might be appropriate for the cricketer moeen ali to go around asking muslims he doesn't know if they are terrorists in between test matches. this is the quote. if it is going to help our kids future and environment become a safer place, then that should happen. those are your words, your tweets, that is how you have chosen to portray yourself online. is that who you are? i to portray yourself online. is that who you are?— to portray yourself online. is that who you are? i look back at my 12 ears on who you are? i look back at my 12 years on social — who you are? i look back at my 12 years on social media, _ who you are? i look back at my 12 years on social media, i _ who you are? i look back at my 12 years on social media, i regret. who you are? i look back at my 12 i years on social media, i regret many tweets. i regret the tweets that you have just read out. tweets. i regret the tweets that you havejust read out. i tweets. i regret the tweets that you have just read out. i apologise deeply for anyone that i offended with those tweets.—

deeply for anyone that i offended with those tweets. would you not send those _ with those tweets. would you not send those now? _ with those tweets. would you not send those now? absolutely - with those tweets. would you not send those now? absolutely not. | send those now? absolutely not. times have _ send those now? absolutely not. times have moved _ send those now? absolutely not. times have moved on _ send those now? absolutely not. times have moved on and - send those now? absolutely not. times have moved on and i - send those now? absolutely not. | times have moved on and i regret those tweets. times have moved on and i regret those tweets-— those tweets. michael vaughan s - eakin . those tweets. michael vaughan speaking to _ those tweets. michael vaughan speaking to the _ those tweets. michael vaughan speaking to the bbc's - those tweets. michael vaughan speaking to the bbc's dan - those tweets. michael vaughan i speaking to the bbc's dan walker. that's all from sportsday. more coming up in about an hour, but for now, have a very good saturday. the english channel is one of the biggest shipping lanes, and this year, thousands of people in small boats have crossed it to reach the uk. they set off close to calais in northern france. their destination is kent in south—east england, a0 kilometres away. but as we've seen this week, this is a perilousjourney. on wednesday, at least 27 people drowned near calais, and this

was borisjohnson's response. it's an appalling thing that they have. . .that they have suffered. but i also want to say that this disaster underscores how dangerous it is to cross the channel in this way. president macron has said... but the dangers of these crossings have long been known, and yet, for some, the risks are still worth taking. these are people getting onto boats in france this week. we know the number of crossings has gone up sharply this year to over 25,000 so far. and earlier this month, a new record was set when over 1,100 people crossed the channel on a single day. the uk government has repeatedly promised to make this route unviable. so far, it's been unable to, and some british mps think france needs to do more. it's simply not credible that 1,000 people came muster on the french beaches in the french not spot them as they get into small boats. they have money provided

from the british taxpayer, they have drones, they have security intelligence, and they need to get the people, the french police down on the beaches to put a stop to these boats leaving the french shores. natalie elphicke referring to a deal signed injune where the uk pledged to give france £54 million to support efforts to stop the boats, and let's be clear, france has stopped hundreds of them, but others are getting through. this french policeman told the daily mail... the rise in attempted crossings is a factor, but others see politics too. the times quoted a uk government's source who called the french approach... and france is equally unimpressed. its interior minister said recently... but for all of this,

the uk and france both know they must work together on this, and wednesday's tragedy has given this extra urgency. that may mean more patrols on the french coast. but there's another option the uk wants to pursue too. boris and i have worked intensively with every institution with the responsibility to protect our borders to deliver operational solutions, including new sea tactics, which we are working to implement to turn back the boats. there's the home secretary, priti patel, in october. and as well as the moral and legal arguments about turning back the boats, the french argue that without their cooperation, it's impossible to do anyway. here's my colleague simonjones. the position from the french authorities is it's simply not safe for them to do that because they fear that migrants could threaten to jump in the water or the boats are so flimsy that attempting to turn them around could actually capsize the boats and lead to deaths in the channel.

as far as we know, not a single boat has been turned around. that's led to this criticism from the opposition. headline grabbing plans repeatedly from the home secretary, which achieve nothing, are achieving nothing. well, since wednesday's tragedy, the uk's government particular focus has been people smugglers. but the task of taking them on is getting harder. because of the covid restrictions on travel, many of which are not yet lifted, this single method of entry is now deepened and intensified and has become so profitable for criminals, that it's going to take a phenomenal amount of effort to shift it. and this method of entry, meaning small boats, is now seen by many people as their best chance of getting the uk. and so, a vicious circle is being created. as demand for the crossings

increases, so the people smuggling operations expand. the more capacity the smugglers have, the more crossings there are. the more crossings there are, the more demand for them increases. it's a cycle that is very hard to break. and as it plays out, there is another dimension too. because these crossings are very visible, and the more images we see of people arriving on british beaches, the more this becomes political. the refugee council describes how... the point being that these crossings have become intertwined with some people's desire to change how the uk's borders work. here's one conservative mp speaking last week. we told the people at the referendum, us brexiteers, that we would take back control. it's clear that in this, we have lost control.

it is certainly true that the government has not controlled channel crossings as it said it would. but look at net migration in the uk. the number of people arriving minus the number of people leaving. it fell by 88% last year. it's now in the tens of thousands. then there's the number of people who were granted asylum in the uk. that is lower than germany, france or greece. to be clear, the uk remains a signatory of a long—standing international agreement on refugees, but to the government, this particular issue in the channel is about showing control and about a system that, overall, in its view, isn't working. we fundamentally believe that people should seek asylum in the first safe country. they should not be making dangerous journeys across the channel. but many people are making the dangerous journey to the uk for a number of reasons, as this migration expert explains.

these reasons won't be easily addressed by more patrols on the french coast, and there is perhaps another factor too. nearly everyone who crosses the channel in a small boat applies for asylum and most are accepted, and even if they aren't, the vast majority still stay, as we learnt in this exchange. can you tell us how many asylum seekers or how many people arriving have been returned to any eu country in the course of the last — since january? this year it is five. that's right, five this year, and brexit means a previous return arrangement with the european union no longer applies. this high chance of staying is one of a number of reasons that the uk is a desirable destination, and if those pull factors, we mustn't lose sight of why these people left home in the first place. in the year to september 2021, the top five countries of origin of people making asylum applications are iran, eritrea,

albania, iraq and syria. now, of course, each person's story is different. some may travel for economic reasons, but the percentage of asylum request that are granted by the uk suggest that these are countries where you have good reason to leave for your safety, as my colleague lewis goodall heard. i come from iran, kurdistan area. and why did you leave? the politicians, you know. they said to me, you must leave this country or we will kill you. these are the personal stories at the heart of this, and they are why this issue will not easily be resolved, because the reasons for people seeking a new home in europe not going away. nor is the need for better cooperation. among the countries these people are heading to. this is accepted by france and by the uk. this is a complicated issue, and there is no simple fix. it does mean a herculean effort, and it will be impossible

without close cooperation between all international partners and agencies. which in some ways brings us back to brexit. borisjohnson has always said that brexit will not affect close cooperation with the eu, and that is being put to the test. but as priti patel says, no—one country can solve this alone. and while for some getting into a dinghy and crossing option, a solution is desperately needed. hello. a cold, frosty, icy night to come. storm arwen moving away, but the impact still being felt. further showers and more snow into the north york moors, a few showers clipping

cornwall and pembrokeshire later in the night. for many it is clear, cold, frosty, sharp, penetrating frost and icy as well where we have seen wet weather, particularly across scotland, northern and eastern england as we start the day tomorrow. still showers running along the north sea coast. an area of rain, sleet and some snow pushing out of scotland into parts of northern england. either side of that, some sunshine. these are the average wind speeds, they will be higher gusts but overall it is much less windy than it has been. it will still feel cold out there, with another frost on sunday night.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at seven... the government announces new restrictions to be introduced next week — as two cases of 0micron — a new variant of covid—19 — are discovered in the uk. this is the responsible course of action to slow down the seeding and spread of this new variant and to maximise our defences. people in england will now once again have to wear facemasks on public transport and in shops. all contacts of suspected 0micron cases must self—isolate for ten days, regardless of their vaccination status. mrjohnson also announced that people entering the country would have to take a pcr test and self—isolate until they get a negative result.

and the government also said it's considering how it can expand