for an omicron surge with the number of countries detecting the variant increasing daily. it also said it was too soon to say if omicron causes more serious illness. british scientists have found that the pfizer and moderna vaccines are the most effective to use as boosterjabs. they also found signs that a third jab protects against the new variant. prosecutors in michigan have charged the parents of the teenager accused of a deadly school shooting with involuntary manslaughter. jennifer and james crumbley bought the handgun allegedly used in the attack last sunday. and pope francis has visited cyprus. at a prayer service, he condemned what he said was slavery and torture being suffered by people fleeing war and poverty. at 10 o�*clock, sophie raworth will be here with a full round up of the days news. first, it's newscast.

so, you know other programmes, this time of year, they have an advent calendar where it's an opportunity to play their best bits of the year gone by. so, the today programme did billy connolly today, who they spoke to earlier this year. lovely, although nothing can ever be better than the blue peter making their advent hanging thing with a coat hanger, but i'm ageing myself by saying that, but i have really happy memories of watching that. i know i'd love to do a craft—based version, but all we've got to work with is... laughter. so, we're going to do our own typically rubbish newscast version, which is called the badvent calendar, where people suggest our most cringey moments of the year. which is a good idea cos that's guaranteed to find at least 25, isn't it? exactly! who's doing the christmas day episode? anyway, yesterday, it was me asking a really cringey question to borisjohnson. today, it's me commenting multiple times this morning on the news about today's biggest political news story. 0h. snogging... snogg|ng... smooching. .. kissing... intimate oral contact...

what was that last bit, was that? i know... crosstalk. i'm trying to find euphemisms! was that truly necessary? that sounds sort of a medical definition that i don't... you know? the word itself has got enough... whatsit, on the matter...? onomatopoeia? yeah. is that what it sounds like? it's like, "splash". "splash" is onomatopoeia. maybe "smooch". laughter. i never thought i'd have to say that word on the six o'clock news i would like to make clear the reason why you were saying it through the day is because cabinet ministers used that language. we will talk about that what that means it is episode of newscast, and also some examples of laura and chris saying something cringey. let us know. we'll get on with this episode of newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello, it's adam in the studio. and laura in the same studio. and chris in the same studio. this is marvellous.

ifind it quite intense. it's lovely to see you all, but it is quite intense. and who knows how long it might last? thanks, omicron. time to think about what to do it christmas parties this year, but everyone is rewinding back to christmas party season last year, which actually wasn't much of a christmas party season because there were the tiers and nationwide lockdown. there's been an intensive focus on what happened in downing street. that's right. it emerged yesterday morning with a tremendous scoop from our colleagues at the daily mirror,

who reported there had been a number of colleges having a big knees up with many as 50 people there. just at the moment, what was called the kent variance was sweeping the country, and the day before, to use the phrase, and borisjohnson did the "cancelling of christmas", to use the phrase, and suddenly, lockdown was back upon us. because of that revelation, obviously everyone was trying to find exactly what did go on. do you want to know what i found out? so what i understand is at the end of november, there was a bit of a leaving do, but not a for long leaving do. a gathering for a member of staff who was leaving. borisjohnson said a few words, but that was not a big invitation party. you can imagine that happening in workplaces where you've all been set together all day and then have a beer at the end of the day. and workplace gatherings that had a kind of business purpose or a bit of a caveat. that's right. there was a grey area, and to sum up, socialising, uh—uh.

reasonable interactions, ok. if you're working late and someone says should be get some pizzas in because we will be here till midnight? which is what happened in downing street when working long hours. that sort of thing is not unheard of. what, however, really has got people going was the suggestion that there had been a few dozen people at the gathering on the 18th of december, and downing street sort of denied it, and then they didn't really deny it. the prime minister then refused to deny it on three different occasions at pmqs. later, i spoke to somebody who had been there, who told me that there were, to use their definition, a few dozen people there, people had been invited from outside. it was an official invite that people have been invited

to come into number ten. there was food and drink laid on, even some games. that's a party, what games? what games? i didn't get into that! there was some sort of light—hearted awards ceremony, the kind of end of year, kind of... that sounds pretty organised. i'm not being a moral arbiter, but clearly, i talked to somebody who was there and was told it was going on past midnight. not surprisingly, given what the rest of the country was going through, that has really upset people. labour today of course have been firing off letters. the cabinet secretary called for an investigation. the thing is, at the time, you couldn't socialise with people outside of the household you are living in. that was the rule at the time under the tier system in london. and similar things around the uk. and this looks

and sounds and smells like a party. it gives labour fodder to use a charge that they've already been making, as have the snp, that boris johnson runs his government like everyone else has to follow the rules, and people who works for him does not. that's why it become so politically charged, but i think for a lot of people, really emotionally charged. we remember what that time was like, and the person i spoke to who is attending the party even said that the mood was a bit down because people are talking about the kent variant. and saying, oh, no, we have to toughen up again, lo and behold, it was the next day that borisjohnson brought back even took a restrictions that he himself were not at the event. this was staff in the press office and events team, there's not any official confirmation of any of this. the two things that intrigue me is one, it's taken a year to come out in a postcode known to be a little leaky in terms of people sharinginformation, although i

guess people would be implicating themselves if they were talking about it too openly. also, the prime minister today ducking another question when he was asked by a colleague from itv news about this this christmas rather than last. i find myself wondering, given people's perceptions of the prime minister of as a different kind of prime minister, whether this kind of stuff, for some at least, some are clearly hugely angry, but whether it's priced and as_ to how his government operates. that's a good theory. there was polling today from yougov, sent to people, does it matter if there is a christmas party at downing street? a huge majority said, yes, including people who voted conservative. who may be more sympathetic to their party. doesn't matter to change your view of him?

i think the contest of these things is always the political mood... think of the peppa pig speech. if that had taken place when borisjohnson had been having a good couple of weeks and been coasting, i'm sure the reaction would have been pretty different. but for the bereaved families, i mean, some of them have been talking today aboutjust how sickening it was, to use their word, to find out what had been going on. one of those people was sophia, whose dad died of covid last year, and she represents the covid bereaved families forjustice campaign group. it's really insulting. at that time, my dad would have been in good health. _ he was in good health. before he caught covid. he did catch it at - the christmas period. we know how bad the numbers were at that stage. _ thousands of people i were dying every day. meanwhile, people in downing street were celebrating. -

it'sjust really. disgusting, to be honest. ther eis this anxiety about what will happen this year. particularly because in england, as the rules are stipulated at the moment, it's a far more personal decision. the human psychology of, do you think, i've better not go to the staff meet up at work because i don't want that to wipe out a family christmas. and then the kind of slightly mixed messages from ministers or doctorjenny harries, the senior health advisor, about how we should behave on top of the rules that stipulate behaviour around face coverings and self isolation. to be clear at the moment, the government are saying, go ahead, don't cancel things. don't overreact, but also, we are in this waiting game until we have more information about whether this new variant will be something that is extremely serious, omicron, or whether actually we can still carry on as you were. the government's

reinstituted and urging caution, same scotland, cardiff ans stormont, but we're sort of in this holding pattern. so, yeah, put your mask back on on the trains, for example. in scotland that was the case already. they're holding off going back to something really draconian, and that means until we have more information, there will be room for misinterpretation. what is the phrase, the only thing to fear is fear itself. the government is fearing that concept because as soon as you see people saying cut back on socialising, you think how many hundreds of publicans get cancelled? and then it becomes almost like a recession, where people's feelings multiply and effect the economy. defending on your outlook, it's not irrational because part of the new rules is this whole stipulation around self isolation. therefore the fear that

if you put yourself in a social situation, it would be nice but it isn't essential. then you come into contact with someone with suspected omicron and then your christmas trip is cancelled. i think the point is interesting because we've seen this each time covid has come in. the public have decided what to do in advance of the government, and often being more cautious. we've heard on bbc news this week a lot from people who run pubs and hotels, saying they're getting people cancelling. the government will be very conscious of that because we all know what the economic side effects are. can a hospitality business after the last couple of years really afford to have a christmas this year with empty tables? you know, we're not in a situation... we're nothing like the situation where the government is bringing furlough back, and yet, economic activity may fall off.

the psychology of it being endemic rather than a pandemic. we've heard the boss of pfizer about the idea of having a jab every year, so you carry on getting variants that pop up. then this sort of suspended period of what we actually do collectively. and what it comes to snogging, adam. don't look at me! naturally, that role would fall to me, i think. laughter. you said you very uncomfortable with people even sitting that's close to you! what people do? you're back to this world now where ministers are starting to be asked about the intricate details of people's lives. something i did not want to go back to. can i do a with b or c with d? they talked about the mistletoe, and they said you shouldn't be snogging. she says it semi—jokingly because she does have a sense of humour.

she is well known for being quite a funny person. but of course, it becomes a national conversation about do you or don't you. i see tonight, sajid javid says you can basically snog whoever you want under the mistletoe. and then said it's a family tradition! i will be kissing my rights under the mistletoe, it's a sajid javid family tradition! this is getting complicated. we've gotten so used to this, but the idea that you have government ministers could pronouncing on things like this. even using the word. all that. it's astonishing. shall be have a listen to how some people, some good people on the streets of london suggested they might be having their christmas snogs this year? why not? everyone kisses at christmas. even my mom gets| a kiss at christmas. isa is a christmas tradition. christmas is back this year, 2022.

i don't know, can you explain the meaning of that word? i hope i'll be _ kissing someone under the mistletoe. how about you ? maybe they can do a flow first at, and then we can kiss. people should be careful, but it's christmas. at sa nta at santa christmas we're going to have, compared to last year. so, kiss everyone, in my opinion. you will be kissing someone into the mistletoe? i'll be kissing my girlfriend a lot. muah! that last guy who was dressed as santa, or one of santa's helpers, it's. .. i couldn't be the real one, because it's too early to see him. it's not about your partner, it's about contact with strangers. that's what everyone is trying to reach a personal conclusion about. the government would like to reach this conclusion that they were going to go to as many christmas parties as they were before. the bad news for you, chris, you can't have too much of a good thing. after two years, all three of us are in the studio at the same time. how nice it is!

it is! i'm likea i'm like a celebrity, because one of us will be voted off because we have a guest coming in. i'm merely the warm—up act. i took a hit on badvent calendar. you will have to take the hit on the seating chart. how we got a button? as a. laughter. but it didn't project me out of the door. that's december the 11th for the badvent calendar. i'm off to my cupboard. we will chat with you in a bit. now we have our guest in the studio, the mayor of london, sadiq khan. i'm very grateful- for you to sending me all those letters. i'm finally in these studios, adam. thank you for putting in a word. _ thank you for having me. chris, back to the cupboards. i noticed you are quite

multilayered when you came in. i was just in trafalgar. square with the mayor, we switched on the christmas lights. i will not have a beastly word said about the - christmas tree from norway. they give it to us every year. it's a wonderful event. if you compare it with downing street? it looks like the prime minister. the norwegians like . their trees differently. the way they like their trees, the lights going down. - don't mean to be obsessed, it does seem to have lost needles, what does it look like — on new year's eve? stunning. i think in the norwegians were there and the londoners think| it's a fantastic gift.

i think some of the needles coming off as _ i think some of the needles coming off as a _ i think some of the needles coming off as a small— i think some of the needles coming off as a small price _ i think some of the needles coming off as a small price to _ i think some of the needles coming off as a small price to pay- i think some of the needles coming off as a small price to pay to - off as a small price to pay to receive — off as a small price to pay to receive that _ off as a small price to pay to receive that gift. _ i walked past it every day to and from work. i will be able to monitor the needle situation for you, chris. let's talk about the covid situation. lots of talk on this episode about whether people should be socialising this christmas. you preside over a huge night—time economy, what's the right amount of going out to do at the moment? i think at the moment, the advice is you can . carry on going out as you've been doing in the recent past. - but take certain precautions. if you're going to big events, do a lateral flow test before. j if you go to the office daily, do the test at least twice i a week. where a face mac. and public transport. if you can't keep distance, weara face mask, of- course, it's the law now. chris isn't in the same place| of us because he's doing the sensible thing, -

being in the cupboard. which means we're safe i from him, and he from us. you are saying have the same number of office drinks, drinks with their friends you've not seen all year, don't cancel any of them? i'm not cancelling any of my events we have organised, or— with my family. we deserve it. as things stand, none of the events associated with london are being cancelled? everything is going ahead? just to reassure . you on that point, laura, it's important, back in march 2020, i i was cancelling events in advance of the government because i was not confident the advice the _ government were giving then. i cancelled the st patrick's day marathon. sajid javid has... i'll tell you why i am | more confident now. saturday evening, we - discovered the first case of this new variants. the prime minister

organises a press i conference and brings back the rules i've been calling for as long - time. err on the side of caution. better safe than sorry. i had a briefing - today with experts. we have now, i'm afraid, - 16 reported cases of the omicron variants. i think it will go up. we don't know whether this variant is more severe, less _ severe than delta. the good news is the numbers of people in hospital with- covid is less than it was this time last year. - the numbers in hospital- on ventilators is less than last year because the vaccine is making a real difference. i don't want to make a frustrating political point, but your national party, labour saying the government should be tighter and going further on restrictions. you're saying you're confident as the leader that they have the approach right. it's important i say this. on issues like this, .

the government does work with me as the mayor of london. i've got on this issuel nothing but praise for sajid javid. the way his team worked with me. it gives us access to - experts from the relevant public health parties, - and i had a meeting today with the relevant experts. the people who work with... people who work with them. they were telling me things inconsistent . with what the prime minister. or health secretary was saying. i'd be the first- to make that public. you know, subject to the rules i have, be honest with- the public and they'd followed _ the rules. at the moment, i see no reason to move away from the - advice from the government, and i think is the right thing. | would you like to see more places? you talk about people being cautious, and you have, you know, masks are required on transport. would you like to see masks and compulsory in more places

whether that's theatres, cinemas, gyms? it doesn't really harm anyone. people have been pushing for and saying why not. better safe than sorry. lam the i am the better safe than sorry school — i am the better safe than sorry school of — i am the better safe than sorry school of thought _ i am the better safe than sorry school of thought here. - the precautionary principle. there is one caveat, we need to make i sure we take people with us, | and the problem with this is it feels a bit _ like the hokey pokey. face masks on, face mask off. that's one of the reason i'm calling the government in three _ weeks' time, now two and a half weeks, when they review - the face my swearing, if the _ omicron variant isn't - as bad as delta, don't... omicron variant isn't _ as bad as delta, don't... as bad as delta, don't get rid of the rule. keep that rule because it builds public- confidence. seven out of ten people who use public transport want _ it to be compulsory. i think face masks - should stay compulsory. if it's wise you advocate people should carry on having to wear masks on the tube,

for instance, if we were to discover that this variant isn't that dangerous, because how does that translate if people think they're being asked to do something, but the risk isn't as significant? really good question. here's why, the delta variant . is still here and it is the one we are worried about before omicron. it's still the case we've got lots of people catching this virus. here's the worrying number, chris. the numbers of people with covid is _ bigger now than it was last year, so people are still. catching this virus, but thankfully- because of the vaccine, the _ consequences are less serious. a recent report in thel bmj that showed most effective thing you can do to stop the pride of the virus is where a face mask. - one of three of us| who may have this virus won't show symptoms. if you are wearing a face mask, you you can sit i

next to somebody being treated for cancer, - someone's whos shielding, you reduce the chances of passing it on, and i this virus will be with us for i some time, and so better safe than sorry. you've been mayor through an extraordinary period. looking out for and leaving london. looking out for and leading london. i wonder what is next for you. i know it's an newscast, but there is a precedent for former and mayors of london. he's beena he's been a disaster, though, isn't that because — he's been a disaster, though, isn't that because mike _ there's a reason not to do it. i was with another mayor earlier on today, and she commented the only thing | i haven't got my we've had it's been an awful five and a half - years, but it's been brilliant as well. . i love being mayor. as long as they want me to be mayor, i will be _ as long as they want me to be mayor, i will be mayor~ — after that you must... you've done lots of differentjobs.

this massive job, fancy it one day? i think newscast is - missing a fourth person. i wouldn't mind - being on newscast. 0h! broadcasting next, there you go! you heard it here first. the fourth member. you must sometimes think about what you do next. i like being the mayor. the idea of going back to parliament, being i desperate to be the king of the world is not something for me. i quite enjoy being the mayor. king of london? could be argued. interesting. have you got tickets for the abba experience? true story about them... name dropper. they came to see us a few years ago, and they were keen to come to the greatest city in the world. i i'm really pleased we got them. i was eithe the mayor of stockholm, she's veryjealous we've got - abba and they haven't.

already quite a lot of ammo... crosstalk. you have to do a bit of lobbying. i don't want to be indiscreet about conversations... - there is a risk they could have gone somewhere else. it's been said that i would sell my first-horh— it's been said that i would sell my first-born to _ it's been said that i would sell my first—born to get _ it's been said that i would sell my first—born to get business - it's been said that i would sell my first—born to get business to - first—born to get business to londoh _ first—born to get business to london. some _ first—born to get business to london. some could - first—born to get business to london. some could argue i first—born to get business to i london. some could argue that first—born to get business to _ london. some could argue that london -ets london. some could argue that london gets the _ london. some could argue that london gets the credit — london. some could argue that london gets the credit for _ london. some could argue that london gets the credit for the _ london. some could argue that london gets the credit for the reforming. - top lever dealer that goes on between the mayor of london and proper celebrity superstar. that's all the dealing we'll do on this episode of newscast. we will be back very soon. bye, everyone. bye. hello there. it was noticeably mild across southern areas today,

further north, a little less so, but there was a lot of cloud around generally. best of the sunshine was across scotland. we change air masses, though, for the weekend, it's going to turn colder. there will be more sunshine around, but there will be showers, too, thanks to low pressure nearby. got some wet weather across the country at the moment, particularly across the south, and some showery bursts of rain pushing into much of scotland and northern ireland as well, thanks to these weather fronts. you can see the extent of the mild air slowly ebbing away now as colder air begins to invade in from the northwest through the course of tonight. so, plenty of showers around, these turning increasingly wintry, notjust over the high ground in the north, even down to lower levels. and we have a band of rain spreading its way eastwards across england and wales. it's going to be a chilly night pretty much wherever you are. so we've got low pressure to the northeast of the uk, that will be bringing strong, blustery northwesterly winds. and you can see the extent of the cold air mass spreading right across the uk. so, we'll start off with early rain across eastern england,

that should clear away. and then its bright with some sunshine, and some areas could stay dry all together through the day across the south with some sunshine. elsewhere, plenty of showers around, some merging to produce longer spells of rain and they will be will be wintry as well in places. a blustery day to come, these are mean wind speeds. gusts could be even higher than those values. so with these sorts of temperatures and factor in the strong cold northwesterly wind, it'll feel colder than this. it stays chilly through saturday night. plenty of showers, again, some merging together to produce longer spells of rain. towards the end of the night, it looks like most of the showery rain will be towards the east of the country. further west, the showers could become a little more sparse. so, clearer skies here could turn cold with some frost and some ice around, particularly for northern and western areas. you can see we're still in the cold air mass for sunday. lower pressure towards the east, a ridge of high pressure to the west. so, that means many western areas and across the north should be a bit drier after that very cold start with plenty of sunshine. most of the cloud and showery bursts of rain will tend to affect the eastern side of the uk. but wherever you are, despite it being cloudy or sunny,

it's going to be another chilly day right across the board. and it stays unsettled into the new week. monday, tuesday, look pretty wet, quite cold, some snow on the hills, potentially turning very windy midweek, too.

tonight at 10... a couple who killed a six—year—old boy are jailed. the judge says it's one of the most distressing cases he has ever dealt with. arthur labinjo—hughes died after sustaining head injuries at his home in solihull — he'd been abused, starved and poisoned. he was murdered by his 32—year—old stepmother. his father, thomas hughes, was found guilty of manslaughter. also on the programme tonight: the chaos at wembley during the euro 2020 final — an inquiry says lives were put at risk, as ticketless fans stormed into the england—italy final. still reconnecting a week after storm arwen hit the uk, thousands are spending their eighth night without power. the worst drought in years streching across a huge swathe of east africa —

tens of millions of people are facing severe food shortages.