this is bbc news the headlines at apm. doctors�* leaders welcome moves to ease the workload of gps in england so they can focus on the covid booster rollout but some patients�* groups say postponing services could be dangerous. a campaign begins encouraging expectant mothers to get vaccinated. unvaccinated mums who were severely ill with coronavirus tell their stories. dozens of troops have been deployed to northumberland to help people whose homes are still without power eight days after storm arwen. the parents of a teenager accused of the fatal shooting of four us high school students using a gun bought by his father appear in court where they have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. residents on the indonesian island of java flee a vast plume of ash

as an active volcano erupts for the second time in a matter of months. and coming up at 4.30pm, the media show with katie razall. gps in england have been told they can defer some of the services they provide to patients so doctors can focus on delivering covid booster jabs instead. routine health checks for the over 75s and minor surgery could be affected. 75 new cases of the omicron variant have been identified in england. that brings the total number in the uk to 134. the government has also launched

a new campaign urging all unvaccinated pregnant women to come forward and receive their jab. megan paterson reports. at this medical centre on merseyside, the demand for boosterjabs is high. staff here have seen nearly 800 walk—ins a day over the last week. we are doing over 30,000 booster vaccinations since september but people are still coming for their first and second vaccination, which is great news, because it is never too late to start the vaccination. gps across england will now be allowed to defer some of the services they provide to patients like routine health checks for over 75s to allow doctors to focus on covid boosterjabs instead and to ease growing pressures. we are struggling to meet the increased demand of day—to—day work, our own backlog and also the backlog from the hospitals,

but at the same time, we do understand the importance of trying to vaccinate the population. but there is concern from some patient groups. they warned that the measures will disadvantage older people and lead to early warning signs of illness being missed. the british medical association insists all patients will still receive the care they need. i was in surgery yesterday and i saw dozens of patients, many of whom were over 75 and that care is not being compromised. we are still caring for all of our patients as best we can. as the boosterjab roll—out continues, the government has also launched a new campaign, urging all unvaccinated pregnant women to accept theirjab. it comes as figures from the department of health show 98% of pregnant women critically ill in hospital with covid are unvaccinated. one in five women need to be delivered preterm, one in five babies need to go to the neonatal unit. so it's really clear that covid—19 infection has got serious implications for the woman and the baby. but we now have evermore data to say that the vaccines are safe

in pregnancy and very strongly recommended by everyone. more than 90 million covid booster or third doses have been given in the uk so far. the new measures for gps in england, an attempt to meet what's been described as a national mission to increase vaccine capacity. there have been some concerns over plans to temporarily suspend routine health checks for patients aged 75 and over at doctors�* surgeries in england. but the royal college of gps spokesperson dr steve mowle told me earlier that anyone needing treatment can see their gp during this time. we need more capacity to help with this critical booster campaign which we are sure is the right thing to do for the country. when you look at what has happened since the last outbreak

of coronavirus and the country went into lockdown, many of the procedures is that the nhs were scheduled to give weather not given, and then we have been dealing with this massive backlog. is there not a danger that could happen again if gps are made to focus just on vaccinations? i think there undoubtedly is a backlog from the pandemic. there are, i think, small risks associated with this. at the end of the day, we are talking about routine health checks which are there to help patients who have long—term conditions or patients who are maybe new to practice who have moved into the area, having a check at the point of registration. but aren't routine health checks where gps sometimes find more serious problems that patients need treatment to? well, the patients coming for routine health checks are not necessarily sick when they come for their routine health check. and postponing them for two or three months is unlikely to have any significant impact

on the patient�*s overall health. someone whose blood pressure isjust a little bit sub optimal, leaving that for maybe two months, that is unlikely to have a major impact on the health going forward. what would you say to that 75—year—old person who is watching now who has diabetes and is waiting for their regular check and is now going to be told that you are not going to be having that cheque? i think any patient approaching their gps for a check will still go ahead with that check. it is just that we wouldn't necessarily be proactively inviting people. furthermore, any patient who is sick or has concerns about the health such as any sign of serious conditions such as cancer or that their diabetic control is less well controlled, it is important that they contact their gp. gps are here to care for patients, just as they have done throughout the pandemic and will continue

to do so. joining me now from cumbria is dennis reed from the silver voices organisation, which campaigns on issues affecting the over sixties. have you spoken to anybody, apart from yourself, who is, obviously you know what you think, but anybody over 60 who has responded to this announcement today? yes. over 60 who has responded to this announcement today? yes, indeed. i have had a lot _ announcement today? yes, indeed. i have had a lot of _ announcement today? yes, indeed. i have had a lot of e-mails _ announcement today? yes, indeed. i have had a lot of e-mails and - have had a lot of e—mails and twitter messages and so on from people who are very worried about this change, and most people are saying, unlike the dr you spoke to earlier, that this is a clear case of age discrimination. it is another example of when people reach a certain age their health is not valued as much as the health of younger people and it feeds into this narrative of you know, care homes not being protected, people are dying at home without being admitted to hospital and so on from

last year. and i don't agree with the message that is being given that these are just routine things. it is being put across that this is just a tick book —— tick box exercise, but if it was a tick box exercise, it wouldn't be there in the first place. it is there where we pick up any worrying signs of a possible stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, all the sorts of conditions, and it is also there for the gp to assess the general physical and mental health of the individual concerned. you physical and mental health of the individual concerned.— physical and mental health of the individual concerned. you heard from a dr, if you — individual concerned. you heard from a dr. if you are _ individual concerned. you heard from a dr, if you are listening, _ individual concerned. you heard from a dr, if you are listening, that - individual concerned. you heard from a dr, if you are listening, that the - a dr, if you are listening, that the booster programme, for him, and for many gps that we have spoken to, they say it is a priority, we don't know enough about this variant, we don't know how lethal it is, we don't know how lethal it is, we don't know how lethal it is, we don't know the vaccines will work against it so is there an argument that what they are doing is actually, you know, the right course

to take? ~ _, , , actually, you know, the right course totake? , i, to take? well, i completely support a fast roll-out _ to take? well, i completely support a fast roll-out of _ to take? well, i completely support a fast roll-out of the _ to take? well, i completely support a fast roll-out of the booster- a fast roll—out of the booster programme but i am somewhat mystified because gps played a central role in the very successful first two stages of the vaccination programme but then many gps actually stopped being involved, didn't cooperate, with the booster programme, which is why the booster programme, which is why the booster programme roll—out has been somewhat bumpy. so, now, they gps are saying, well, if you want us to get back involved with the booster programme, you are going to have to pay us for the health checks we were to be carrying out on older people, and i don't understand the difference between the first two vaccination programmes and this one. and. programmes and this one. and, briefl , if programmes and this one. and, briefly. if you — programmes and this one. and, briefly, if you can, _ programmes and this one. and, briefly, if you can, there - programmes and this one. and, briefly, if you can, there was i programmes and this one. and, briefly, if you can, there was this backlog that the nhs is dealing —— still dealing with from the last episode of covid, lots of procedures were delayed as a result of that, that could happen again, because of what we are seeing now, how

concerned are you about that? i am concerned are you about that? i am very concerned _ concerned are you about that? i am very concerned about _ concerned are you about that? i am very concerned about it _ concerned are you about that? i —.n very concerned about it and it is happening now anyway. a lot of our members are waiting up to two years the hip operations, knee operations and so on and they are in constant pain asa and so on and they are in constant pain as a result of it so of course resources have to be put into attack that backlog. people are in agony at the moment because they cannot get the moment because they cannot get the operations, the operations keep getting postponed. so, yes, the nhs is in a bit of a mess but the way to deal with that is not to stop these very important preventative assessments.— very important preventative assessments. , , ., assessments. dennis reid from cumbria, we — assessments. dennis reid from cumbria, we thank— assessments. dennis reid from cumbria, we thank you - assessments. dennis reid from cumbria, we thank you for - assessments. dennis reid from cumbria, we thank you for your| assessments. dennis reid from - cumbria, we thank you for your time, thank you so much, have a lovely weekend. let's take a look at the latest covid figures. there have been 42 8a8 cases of covid in the past 2a hours there have been 127 deaths within 28 days of a covid test recorded

in the past 2a hours and i9. 8 million people — that's 34.4% of adults have now received a booster jab. the metropolitan police say they'll consider correspondence asking them to investigate a claim that christmas parties were held in downing street last year in breach of covid rules. the force responded to the complaint by some labour mps by saying it wasn't their policy to routinely examine �*retrospective breaches' of covid rules. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent, ione wells. they are responding to the fact that two labour mps have written to the metropolitan police asking them to investigate reports that we had seen over the last couple of days that this time last year there was a party held in downing street on the 18th of december attended by downing street staff and aide where we have been told there were games played, that food was served, drinks were served, at a time when london was an tier 3

restriction so social gatherings were not allowed at the time. the metropolitan police had said it is not really their routine policy to retrospectively look at and investigate alleged breaches of covid restrictions but said it would consider the correspondence they have had from these mps. have you had any more intel from mps or ministers about actually what happened that day? some people are saying there were games, there was alcohol, food, others are saying it was a just a gathering. so far, what we know and what sources have been telling the bbc is that there were several dozen people in attendance at this party on the 18th december, that food was served, drinks were served, that games were played, a gathering of sorts around the christmas period. number ten has stressed that all rules were followed at all times,

something the prime minister has said as well, but what they haven't done is clarify how exactly people attending this event were following the rules, given the restrictions we know were in place at the time. i think the anger this has attracted is apparent among the labour mps who have decided to write to the police about this. their argument is that they don't see a way this could have been following the guidance at the time and want the police to investigate. but at the moment the police don't seem to have any plans to do so but did certainly say they would consider the letters they have received. people in around 9,000 homes are facing a second weekend without power in parts of scotland and northern england, following storm arwen. those affected are now bracing themselves for almost freezing temperatures forecast over the next 2a hours, and the army and the british red cross have been distributing emergency aid in some areas. scores of military personnel have arrived in northumberland to provide emergency assistance to people who've been without power for eight days. steven bridgett is an independent councillorfor rothbury in northumberland. at the moment, in our area, we've got around 160 properties

that are still off—line. these properties are the most difficult ones to reach, they are in very remote, isolated locations. they've gone eight days without electricity and some of them we know will be heading into their ninth day without it but northern powergrid are working in the area, but, yeah, it's pretty daunting knowing that you're going to be going into day nine without any power as well. are you able to speak to them and if so, what are they telling the regulator, 0fgem, is carrying out an urgent review of the response by energy companies. the boss of 0fgem jonathan brearley says says the regulator has a range of options it can take to help those affected get some form of compensation. there is something called a redress of payment where companies go to customers they have let down and give them compensation for what has happened but also there is a range of options we can take including fines. we have already said to network companies, they have agreed,

they have lifted the cap on the compensation they will give customers and they will make sure that those customers do get some compensation for everything they have been through. that suggestion, that is not going to settle the distress customers has been through but it shows some acknowledgement. earlier, i spoke to stephen deakin. he is in dissington in newcastle upon tyne. he lives with his wife and two children and he's been without power for eight days. you forget how much you use it. you have to have electrics for the pump and thermostats even if you have a boiler. every night, you go into a room and turn the light switch on even though there is no light. everything seems to operate now with electricity. how do you keep yourself warm? how do you have warm dinners? are you having warm dinners?

well, we have been out most nights, to be honest with you. we had some log burners which we got going for the first days, we got some coal, had the log burners going. i managed to get a small generator and i put some cables out through the window and put some oil filled radiators in them. that kept us warm. as of yesterday, i got a decent generator so we now actually have the main central heating. we have some pictures from you that we will take a look at now. just to see what you have been enduring. we have got some trees down there, looks pretty serious and difficult to deal with. especially if it is your garden. you have two young children, what has it been like for them? when they are so young, perhaps they don't understand as well as you as to why you are dealing with this at the moment? they went to stay with their grandmother for the first couple of days whilst we were getting things tidied up a little bit.

but it was the worry of these wires, the telegraphy pole had been broken and were lying on the floor and we were worried that they may still be alive. and all the false promises from northern powergrid about we will get it back on monday, thursday, friday, today, tomorrow. i was really nervous because nobody would come out and deal with these broken cables, i was worried they would turn it back on and they would become live again. have you heard of anyone, let's hope not, anyone being hurt in all of this? no, that is the positive thing. we haven't heard of anyone. the big disaster here is that the company as large as northern powergrid not having a plan, an action plan that was implemented immediately. things seem to be happening now when we get the army and everybody up from down south and there were two really nice guys who came from halifax who came and looked at the garden and the wires and that is a week later. nothing seems to have happened, there doesn't seem to be an emergency plan and it seems

incredible that we can go along like that. good afternoon. let's start with a big win for west ham in the premier league — they beat leaders chelsea 3—2 in the early kick off at the london stadium in a hugely entertaining game — the sides were 1—1 before mason mount sent the visitors in at the break with the lead, brilliant finish from him. then in the second half jarrod bowen produced a superb strike of his own to level it up for west ham, who twice came from behind. then with three minutes of normal time remaing arthur masuaku scored a bizarre late winner — that consolidates west ham's place in the top four. this is what david moyes thought of that goal. it was a great cross, wasn't it? in football, you take

everything you get. we actually didn't play as well as we could play today so it was that we scored three goals. may be on the other games where we have not played quite as well, wejust where we have not played quite as well, we just have not got the goal is to go with it and we have had the chances to do so. well, chelsea will drop to third if both liverpool and manchester city win — liverpool are away at wolves in one of the three matches underway right now. those games are goalless rangers will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to seven points. they host dundee in one of three 3 o clock kick offs. second place celtic are away at dundee united tomorrow

max verstappen leads the way heading into qualifying for the saudi arabian grand prix. the red bull driver was quickest in the final practice session in jeddah, two—tenths ahead of title rival lewis hamilton and team—mate sergio perez. qualifying starts at 5 o'clock. but one thing to keep an eye on, as hamilton has been summoned to stewards for allegedly not respecting double waved yellow flags. so we'll see if there's a penalty coming his way. that is a developing story that you can follow on the website right now. there are 13 fa cup ties today and in the first of them — the teams had to battle the high winds and rain before morcambe made it through to the third round for only the fifth time in their history. they beat buxton, the lowest ranked side left, 1—0 at the silverlands ground. cole stockton with the goal. 11 games underway right now —

with yeovil town hosting stevenage live on bbc two at 5:30. forjust the third time in the history of test cricket — a bowler has taken all 10 wickets in an innings. new zealand's ajaz patel achieved the milestone in the second test against india in mumbai. he took four wickets on the first day and then proceeded to take another six on day two. he'sjoinsjim laker and anil kumble as the only men to have achieved the feat. kumble described it as a special effort — especially as it came so early in a match — when conditions are normally harder for spinners. not so good for patel�*s side though — they're staring at defeat after being bowled out forjust 62. eileen ash, the world's oldest former test cricketer, has died at the age of 110. the bowler played seven matches for england either side of the second world war and rang the lord's bell ahead of the women's world cup final in 2017. former england captain clare connor,

who is now the ecb managing director of women's cricket, said ash was a "pioneer" of the sport. the uk snooker championship in york has reached the semifinal stage. these are live pictures. kyren wilson is currently taking on luca brecel. best of 11 frames this. five frames to full at the moment. if he wins this, he will progress. later this evening, barry hawkins plays zhao xintong. saracen's have gone top of the table in the women's premier 15s after beating bristol bears by 17 points to 12. saracens scrum half ella wyrwas produced the moment of the match at the stone x stadium chasing her own kick to score her team's second try. there are four other matches this afternoon. remember you can keep right up to date on the bbc sport website,

including brony frost's win in the tingle creek chase at sandown this afternoon. that is it for me for the moment. the parents of a teenager accused of killing four of his fellow students have appeared in court charged with involuntary manslaughter. james and jennifer crumbley both pleaded not guilty to all charges. prosecutors say fifteen year old ethan crumbley carried out the shooting at his school on tuesday with a semi—automatic pistol which had been bought by his father. it's highly unusual for parents to be charged in connection with a school shooting. aruna iyengar has more. i'm jennifer crumbley. i'm james crumbley. ethan crumbley�*s parents, james and jennifer, were found in a warehouse in detroit hours after going on the run. a reward of $10,000 had been offered for information leading to their arrests. their lawyer says they fled for their own safety. the pair, seen here earlier

following their son's arrest, face charges of involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors say they ignored warning signs before their 15—year—old son, ethan crumbley, allegedly used his father's gun to shoot classmates in oxford, michigan — killing four and wounding seven. james crumbley bought a gun and made it available to his son. at school, a teacher spotted ethan searching online for ammunition and alerted his mother. prosecutors say she later sent text messages to her son saying, "lol, i'm not mad at you. you have to learn not to get caught." then, on the morning of the killings, teachers contacted the parents over a note ethan had drawn. the note contained the following — a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun pointing at the words, "the thoughts won't stop, help me." in another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words above that bullet, "blood everywhere." but some question whether the parents really can be held responsible for the actions

of their teenage son. i think it is actually highly unusual. it is opening the door for a very large slippery slope. and so that is kind of where i'm having trouble saying that the parents committed manslaughter, meaning they were aware that this was going to happen. bell chimes. at a candlelit vigil in oxford last night, the community came together to honour the four teenagers. four minutes of bell ringing, one minute for each victim. ethan crumbley is being charged as an adult and is accused of terrorism charges and first—degree murder. aruna iyengar, bbc news. the killing of two young women in england — sarah everard and sabina nessa — brought to public focus the safety of women on uk streets. their deaths have prompted a group of women to set up a movement to help walkers feel safe going out after dark.

"safety in numbers" now has nearly 100 members, as emily anderson reports. a cold winter's night but already it is very dark and tonight the group is walking up beacon hill together. safety in numbers was set up by dog walker katie hopkinson just less than one month ago. she is passionate about making women feel safe enough to go out when it is dark. it is so important for our mental health to get out in the countryside and enjoy the benefits of the countryside but doing it in a way that does not leave you feeling really anxious and i think certainly with high—profile cases such as sarah everard, i think it touched a lot of women's hearts and made them feel like being in alone in the dark is not an option. at the top of beacon hill now, which is the second highest point in leicestershire at 248 metres.

ok, so you don't get those beautiful panoramic views of leicestershire that you would get in the day but i tell you what you do get — a real sense of achievement getting to this peak in the dark. i've been here a million times but never at this time of night, and never up here, so this is a first for me. so do you feel safe when you're out with this group? absolutely, yeah, no anxiety at all, and sometimes, that does creep up on you when you're walking on your own and somewhere remote. you sort of think "i should not be here. "this is not very clever." but here i do it with the group and i have not thought about the fact. it does not even occur to you. 0verwhelmingly what would feel really terrifying on your own is sort of a primitive fear, isn't it? when we are in a group, there is no fear, we are laughing and having fun. it's, you know, it's turned out to be a real buzz. the group hope what started as an idea on social media

will expand into a network of safety in numbers walking groups. emily anderson, bbc news. it's the first saturday in december so retailers will be hoping for a busy weekend — but are the new rules around masks in england, and concerns about the omicron variant, affecting footfall? our business correspondent katie prescott is in romford, in essex. well, the christmas tree is up here in the centre of romford and stores are selling everything from christmas trees to stockings branded with west ham and tottenham and christmas wreaths. the hope is that shoppers will also be getting into the christmas spirit today and willing to come and spend money on the high street at this crucial time for retail in the run—up to christmas. they have suffered so much during the pandemic and they are nervous that the 0micron variant will make people nervous to come out and spend.

having said that, stallholders have told me that they noticed it getting quite busy because people in the run—up to christmas are worried about new restrictions coming in and so they are trying to get their christmas shopping in early. there is optimism for a busy saturday here in romford, especially now that the rain has cleared but tinged with a bit of trepidation i say, certainly with memories of previous lockdowns. hello, again. it feels quite chilly out there at the moment. some more wet weather around. it is moving southwards. a wintry mix continues for a while across south—eastern scotland, northern england, some snow mainly over the hills. some of that whether weather moves further south. an improvement for many parts of the country tomorrow.

it does become drier in most areas. across western parts of england and wales, we have got some sunshine coming through. the best of sunshine for scotland and northern ireland way. the winds will be a strong idea is going to feel more pleasant. a degree or two higher than today. quickly on to tuesday and into wednesday. we have got another deep area of low pressure moving our way. that could bring some damaging winds. at the moment, that is more likely across western areas. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... doctors' leaders welcome moves to ease the workload of gps in england so they can focus on the covid booster rollout — but some patients' groups say postponing services could be dangerous.