tonight at ten, 3 decade—long strategy is unveiled for dealing with drug abuse in england and wales. joining officers on a raid in liverpool, the prime minister threatens punishment for drug dealers and recreational users. the drugs gangs are doing major damage to life chances of kids growing up in this country. i think it's a disgusting trade. but the biggest spending will be on supporting the rehabiliation of drug addicts, with more services being made available. the overall package is worth more than a billion pounds — we'll have details of how it's being spent. also tonight... confirmation that the omicron variant of coronavirus is being transmitted within communities across the uk. the us announces a diplomatic

boycott of the 2022 winter olympics because of china's record on human rights. the former elected leader of myanmar, aung san suu kyi, is found guilty of inciting dissent and given a prison sentence. and we talk to the hollywood legend mel brooks, who at 95 is looking back at his eventful life. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... all eyes on goodison park as everton host arsenal, desperate for an improved performance in the premier league. good evening. a ten—year strategy for dealing with drug abuse in england and wales has been announced by borisjohnson. he said the focus would be on supporting the rehabiliation of drug addicts, doing more to discourage the recreational use of drugs and punishing those

involved in drug gangs. the biggest share — £780 million — will be spent on improving treatment services. all local authorities in england will receive new money. £300 million will be spent in england and wales on breaking up supply lines, including thousands of drug gangs. in england alone there are thought to be more than a quarter of a million people addicted to heroin. and its estimated that nearly one million people use cocaine every year in england and wales. the home office says crimes associated with drugs — including burglary and shoplifting — cost society nearly £20 billion a year in england. our home editor mark easton looks at the proposals. his report contains some flashing images. as officers conducted raids against suspected drug dealers in liverpool this morning, the prime minister donned a police beanie. the visual message was that enforcement remains at the heart

of his drugs strategy, getting tough with the estimated 300,000 heroin and cocaine addicts. but borisjohnson also hinted at a huge financial announcement to come. we are going to do two things at once. we will be tougher on the county lines gangs, we'll be tougher on the criminals who are doing it, but you've also got to make sure that you find those 300,000 people and you help them. you can't simply arrest them time after time and put them back in prison again and again, you've got to do rehab as well. the £780 million for treatment and recovery programmes in england will provide for more drugs workers, more residential rehab places and morejob opportunities to help people stay off drugs, overall a far bigger settlement than expected. the last two drug strategies have been accompanied with lots of promises but no cash, so it makes a welcome change to have a drugs strategy that is backed up with the cash that is needed to invest in effective drug treatment services. essex police recently conducted raids in southend

and other towns in the county to disrupt the dealers. but, despite decades of such activity, drug gangs still control in illicit business which costs billions £20 billion a year and reaches into almost every community. the government wants to demonstrate it's taking on the dealers and the addicts who bring fear and misery to neighbourhoods like this. but those who work in the field say the key to reducing drug harms is to see the problem as a public health issue, not a criminaljustice one. on the estate a few years back, there was quite a lot of drug use. marie started injecting heroin to escape the reality of a violent domestic life on this southend estate. in and out of prison, her children were taken into care. now, after treatment, she is clean and runs a charity helping other drug users in the city. if you were the prime minister, what would you do to solve britain's drugs problem? chuck a load of money into treatment facilities. open up the 30—odd treatment centres that have been closed down

in the last ten years. i've stood at enough people's funerals in the last ten years watching little children bury their mothers and fathers. the government don't get to see that side of it. i came into recovery because of my drug usage. today's announcement, though, goes a long way to reversing the cuts to treatment over the last decade. and the users at marie's southend service are hoping some of the money might help fund the work currently paid for from charity. coming here, going to the meets and connecting with all these people and that, it'sjust, i'm not alone. i mean, i thought it wasjust me that wasjust crackers. but it ain't. it ain't, though. dame carol black, who recently wrote a review of drugs policy for the government, joined the health secretary this afternoon at a needle exchange. she welcomes the focus on public health interventions. we do want county lines to disappear, but unless you give equal balance to treatment and recovery, we're really not going to move forward. the public may want reassurance that

police and the courts are dealing with the scourge of drug crime, but the evidence suggests it's a focus on treatment that will make the real difference. and mark is with me. when you saw the scale and scope of this strategy, what did you make of it? i this strategy, what did you make of it? 4' this strategy, what did you make of it? ~ , this strategy, what did you make of it? 4' , ., this strategy, what did you make of it? ~ , ., , this strategy, what did you make of it? ~ i, it? i think it is a very significant sum on treatment. _ it? i think it is a very significant sum on treatment. last - it? i think it is a very significant l sum on treatment. last summer, it? i think it is a very significant - sum on treatment. last summer, dame carol black published her review and looked at treatment services in england and said they are not fit for purpose and need urgent repair. she calculated at the time the government need to spend in the next three years around £400 million to make up for a decade of cuts. we get the announcement today and it is £780 million, and i think that has really surprised and delighted i have to say many drugs campaigners. there are some who reckon the money doesn't quite make up for all of the cuts we have seen over the last ten

years or so, but frankly now i do think this settlement means today could mark a new chapter really for drug treatment services in england. many thanks once again. mark easton, our home editor. there is now community transmission of the omicron variant across the uk as some of the latest cases have no links to international travel, according to the health secretary sajid javid. there are now 261 confirmed omicron cases in england, 71 in scotland and four in wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases across the uk to 336. scientists believe omicron could soon become the dominant variant in the uk, as our health correspondent sophie hutchinson explains. this scottish school, the first in the uk to be suspected of an omicron outbreak. parents were told last night to keep pupils away and switch to remote learning after two classes and multiple teachers had to self—isolate. this afternoon, the health secretary told mps omicron had now been reported in 52 countries around

the world, and that in the uk there was community transmission in multiple regions. we don't yet have a complete picture of whether omicron causes more severe disease, or indeed how it interacts with the vaccines, and so, we can't say for certain at this point whether omicron has the potential to knock us off our road to recovery. and labour responded, calling on ministers to commit to a framework of tighter controls for the future. given the likelihood of new variants, will the government now introduce as a standard response to new variants overseas, introducing stronger border controls, testing and contact tracing so the government isn't again accused of locking the door after the horse has bolted? just how concerned we should be about omicron is the big unknown. scientists are working around the clock to test whether it can evade vaccines, but there is no lab test for

whether it causes serious disease. that data will come from infected communities, and it may be many weeks before we have the answer. officialfigures for the uk put the number of omicron cases at over 300, but some believe the true figure may be more than 1,000. the early signs are that it will probably spread quite quickly, and probably start out—competing delta and become the dominant variant, probably within the next weeks or a month or so at least. today italy tightened restrictions with checks on public transport where only those vaccinated or with a recent negative test are allowed. and in france, nightclubs will close from friday and people are being asked to work from home and limit socialising during the festive period. sophie hutchinson, bbc news.

the latest coronavirus figures for the uk show there were 51,459 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period — that's around 9,000 more than this time last week. on average, there were just over 47,000 new cases reported per day in the last week. the latest figures show there were 7,268 people in hospital being treated for coronavirus on friday. 41 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test — only slightly higher than last monday. on average in the past week, 119 covid—related deaths were recorded every day. on vaccinations, more than 20 and a half million people have now had a boosterjab. nigeria has today become the 11th country on the uk's covid travel red list, meaning strict limits on travel to britain

and ten days in quarantine for all who do come here. the uk government says the measure will buy time to study the omicron variant, but the travel and holiday plans of many nigerians have been thrown into chaos. the bbc�*s west africa correspondent mayenijones reports from lagos. lagos, africa's largest city, usually becomes even busier at this time of year. but the news that nigeria would be added to the uk's red travel list has thrown christmas plans into jeopardy. binta is a british national, now stuck in lagos. she's the main carer for her disabled daughter in london, and is desperately worried about her. i'm fullyjabbed, i've also got the booster, and i feel that people should be allowed to isolate in their homes based on those principles. to me it makes no sense that we have followed the rules and tried to comply, being punished.

this man was in nigeria for a friend's wedding. a delayed flight meant he couldn't make it back before the deadline. he has three disabled children, and his wife now has to care for them alone for an extra ten days whilst he quarantines in a hotel at his own expense. right now, she's really struggling. that's what i feel. and financially, because i'm self—employed, she's not working, you know. it's really a strain. part of the frustration here is that nigeria doesn't seem to have been as badly affected by the pandemic as countries in other parts of the world. confirmed cases stand at about 400,000, and there have at about 200,000, and there have been just under 3,000 deaths. the government also has been making big efforts to encourage more people to get vaccinated. it's now compulsory for civil servants, and they're offering boosters to everyone over the age of 18. all this to protect africa's biggest economy and its largest population. only around 2% of nigerians have been fully vaccinated. the british government says the decision to red—list nigeria was made after 21 people with the omicron variant who travelled to england

had come from nigeria. but the nigerian centre for disease control said last week it had only identified three cases of the variant in the country. my response is the response of the government and the people of nigeria. we align ourselves with the position of the un secretary general, and he has classified the selective ban as travel apartheid. around 200,000 people born in nigeria live in the uk. many of them planned to visit relatives this holiday season after two years of travel disruption. now they may have to wait even longer. mayenijones, bbc news, lagos. america has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 winter olympics in china in the light of persistent concerns about china's record on human rights. the decision means no official delegation will travel from the us, but athletes can attend with the us government's full support. we can speak to our washington

correspondent gary o'donoghue. gary, what do you think the likely impact will be of this kind of boycott? impact will be of this kind of bo cott? ~ . , impact will be of this kind of bo cott? , ., , boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a re boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild _ boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, _ boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, i _ boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, i would - boycott? well, as boycotts go, this is a pretty mild one, i would say. i is a pretty mild one, i would say. they normally send vice presidents to the opening ceremonies of things like this. joe biden himself has beenin like this. joe biden himself has been in the past. but of course, the athletes will be going, unlike the american boycott of the russian games back in 1980. so it is not as severe as that. what it is is a response to unusual cross—party pressure here for something to be done about chinese abuse of human rights as they would see it, particularly in respect of the uighurs in the west and a democracy activist in hong kong. so that is where the pressure on the administration is coming from. having said all that, of course, china says that this is purely pretentious act, it is the washington embassy saying that

american diplomats weren't invited in the first place, and promising retaliation but not specify what. it comes just a day before the president will talk to vladimir putin about russian build—up in ukraine, on the borders of ukraine, so you're looking at a sort of double flecks of american diplomatic muscle towards its two key adversaries in the space of two days. adversaries in the space of two da s. , adversaries in the space of two da 5. , ., , adversaries in the space of two da s. ._ ., adversaries in the space of two da s. ~, ., ., adversaries in the space of two da s. ._ ., ., ., days. gary, many thanks again for the thoughts _ days. gary, many thanks again for the thoughts they _ days. gary, many thanks again for the thoughts they are _ days. gary, many thanks again for the thoughts they are at _ days. gary, many thanks again for the thoughts they are at the - days. gary, many thanks again for| the thoughts they are at the white house, gary o'donoghue for us. two police officers who took pictures of two murdered sisters in a london park have beenjailed for over two years. pcs deninaffer and jamie lewis had been assigned to guard the scene in wembley, where the bodies of nicole smallman and bibaa henry were discovered, but they shared the images with friends and colleagues on a messaging platform. they had previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office. at westminster, the education

secretary, nadhim zahawi, has confirmed that a major investigation will go ahead into the death of six—year—old arthur labinjo—hughes, who was tortured and killed by his stepmother and father. mr zahawi said it was vital to learn what had gone wrong and why arthur hadn't been protected. our special correspondent lucy manning has the story. now everybody — neighbours, politicians, social services — think about arthur labinjo—hughes, but so few thought about him when he was alive. arthur, are you going to play for england? the boy who loved football and superheroes was tortured, abused and eventually killed by his father and stepmother. some did care. his grandmother and uncle contacted the police and social services. social workers went to his home, yet nothing was done. now inquiries launched, questions asked. the education secretary said the whole nation was distraught.

the public deserve to know why in this rare case things went horrifyingly wrong and what more could be done to prevent abuse such as this happening again in the future. labour said it wasn'tjust a local problem with solihull children's services. for too long, this government has tolerated failing children's - services and a failure to protect children. l vulnerable children are being| failed, and that cannot go on. but too late for arthur. other children came before arthur. baby p — peter connelly — and victoria climbie. reviews were held, but the mix of evil parents, the missed warnings by social services and potentially, in this case, lockdown where his extended family were kept away means more recommendations will be made. but will they help the children still at risk now? so, a national review into how thomas hughes and emma tustin were able to kill arthur,

and inspections into the response of the police, social services and education system. there's a lot of attention, quite rightly so, on adult social care. now we also need to understand how important it is to get children's social care right, which means not only getting the funding for it right but also the time and nature of intervention too. the mp for solihull, where arthur died, made this emotional plea. at the very least, we owe it to arthur that every lesson from this horrific tragedy is learned, and no town has its heart broken like solihull�*s has had. the hope there will never be another child who says, "no—one loves me, no one's going to feed me." lucy manning, bbc news. the fire at grenfell tower should be seen as one of the major scandals of our time, according to the lawyer representing the victims at the official inquiry. 72 people died injune 2017 when the tower block in west london caught fire.

the inquiry was told that various governments had concealed the risks to building safety, and missed oportunities to change building regulations, including not acting on advice about flammable cladding. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has more details. a fire in knowsley on merseyside in 1992. another one, irvine, north ayrshire, 1999. southwark, south london, 2009. early warnings of what was to happen on a much more devastating scale. today at the public inquiry, governments going back decades were accused of knowing there were safety concerns but not acting. the result is a prolonged period of concealment by government, which should properly be regarded as one of the major scandals of our time. in 2010, the new coalition government wanted to build more homes, but was accused today

of an unbridled passion for cutting red tape to make that happen, and putting lives at risk. former ministers are expected to give evidence here. it is in the interests of the inquiry's work and so in the public interest, that these bodies fully embrace their obligations of candour and openness and face up to the stark realities that they reveal. one question, why did government guidance seemingly allow flammable cladding to be used on tall buildings for decades? it took this for change to happen. the government banned flammable materials on tall buildings after the grenfell tower fire and the loss of 72 lives. another question, a coroner investigating the fatal lakanal house fire in 2009 recommended a review of the government guidance for tall building construction. why wasn't it complete eight years later, when grenfell happened? and another.

in around 2002, under a labour government, a cladding system failed a fire test similar to this one. today the bbc was told it was identical or similar to the grenfell cladding, but until the results were leaked to us this year, they were confidential. why? the evidence that we've heard and the evidence that we will hear points very clearly to the fact that the government knew that their regulations were not fit for purpose, that they were being manipulated by companies, but they chose, rather than to do something about it, they chose to cover it up, and i guess cross their fingers that nothing terrible would ever happen. the government is spending billions on attempting to resolve the crisis in building safety following grenfell. its opening statement is tomorrow. tom symonds, bbc news. the former elected leader of myanmar, aung san suu kyi, has been found guilty of inciting dissent and breaking covid rules in a trial widely

condemned as unjust. ms suu kyi, whose government was toppled by a military coup in february, denies all the charges, but she could be facing the rest of her life injail. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head has the latest. it has been an extraordinary journey. aung san suu kyi has gone from acclaimed human rights icon to elected leader unrivalled in her popularity and then something of a fallen idol when she defended her generals against charges of genocide at the international court of justice. those same generals over through her government in february. they've now imposed to the first of what is expected to be a series of dubious criminal convictions on her. these fleeting courtroom photos are

all we've seen of her for more than ten months. all we've seen of her for more than ten months-— ten months. today is simply a shameful _ ten months. today is simply a shameful day _ ten months. today is simply a shameful day for _ ten months. today is simply a shameful day for law - ten months. today is simply a shameful day for law and - ten months. today is simply a l shameful day for law and justice ten months. today is simply a - shameful day for law and justice and accountability in myanmar. the junto have confirmed that they see themselves as above the law. the hu . e themselves as above the law. the huge rallies _ themselves as above the law. the huge rallies seen earlier this year in the support of democracy that aung san suu kyi hoped to build have long gone, driven off the streets by volleys of military gunfire. young activists are now arming themselves instead, conducting drive—by shootings and bombings. actions that might horrify aung san suu kyi with her non—violent beliefs. a few brave souls came out today to show their anger over the verdict, but quickly dispersed. peaceful protest is no

longer possible in myanmar is the country slides ever deeper into armed conflict. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. the former england international darren gough has been announced as yorkshire's interim director of cricket. having spent 15 years at yorkshire during his career, he says says he wants to play his part in rebuilding the club. 16 members of the coaching and medical staff left yorkshire last week after a report found former player azeem rafiq had suffered racial harassment and bullying. mel brooks, one of the great legends of hollywood — the man responsible for films such as the producers, blazing saddles and young frankenstein — is now 95 and he's just written a comprehensive autobiography called "all about me" which chronicles eight decades of life in entertainment. he's been talking to the bbc�*s alan yentob. i know the word can be overused, but mel brooks is a legend.

a movie legend, a musical legend and a comedy legend. oscars, emmys, baftas, tonys, grammys. he's won them all, many times over. # springtime for hitler and germany... mel brooks was fearless. he broke every rule. but he kept to the ones for lockdown, even telling his son max to go away. i'm going, i'm going. love you! he's been locked in, writing his autobiography, and after some persuasion, let me into talk about it. it all starts in brooklyn. everybody in my building worked in the garment center, and ifigured i would probably end up there too. my unclejoe, looked a little bit like you. a little better looking. he changed my life. he said, melvin? i said, yes, unclejoe? he said, how would you like to see a cole porter musical on broadway

called anything goes? what an experience. when the show was over, i said, joe, i'm not going to go to the garment center. i'm going to go into show business. i want to do what they were doing on that stage. and i never deviated from that plan. i was going into show business. don't you want to become a butterfly? spread your wings and flap your way to glory? you're going tojump on me! filming the producers taught mel a valuable lesson about how to handle studio executives. after the third or fourth day, levine turns to me and says, i'll give you another $25,000 if you get rid of that curly—haired guy. he said, he's just funny—looking. there's no leading man here. isaid, ok.

i said tojoseph e levine, he's out. you didn't say that? i said, he's out. he's gone. and that was a lesson, a great lesson for me, lying to the studio. mel met anne bancroft in 1961, during rehearsals for the perry como show. his life changed forever. there she was, on stage, singing beautifully. i saw her backstage and we talked and i never stopped seeing her and talking to her for the next 45 years. one of his most cherished awards is the medal of arts he received from barack obama at the white house. the president was a big fan of blazing saddle. fan of blazing saddles. he loved the film. he loved the film, and he cheated? well, he was 12 years old, it was listed for 16 and above, and i think he cheated. # i bet he drove the other kids wild...

mel brooks fell in love with words and music when he was five years old. he chose this for his first performance, and he's been singing it ever since. # baby # because, baby, look at you now... the great mel brooks sharing some of his remarkable life story with alan yentob. and you can see the full interview on bbc news channel and iplayer on 31st december. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello. weather conditions are set to deteriorate as we go through tomorrow but tonight fairly quiet. showers continue and some winter

in places but to start tuesday it will be a sunny start but very cold and frosty. scotland, england and east wales especially. but down southwest, the first signs of barra are in the average sea coasts and could cause travel and disruption with rain and snow on the hills in parts of ireland and wales. brightens up later but in the gales in the rain and hills will transfer of their way north and eastwards across the rest of england. through across the rest of england. the pen nines and acros parts through the pen nines and across parts of eastern and southern scotland, blizzards that take us through to the start of the evening rush orfor some and i through to the start of the evening rush or for some and i would then become confined to the ground to the night but to remain monday and wednesday with skills potentially causing some further issues. this is bbc news, the headlines...

there have been more cases of omicron around the world. new york has issued a vaccine mandate for private—sector workers to come into effect after christmas. it's aimed at stemming rising covid cases as the new omicron variant gains a foothold. washington has announced a us diplomatic boycott of the beijing winter olympics. it doesn't effect athletes but us government officials will not be attending the games. myanmar�*s military rulers are facing international condemnation after the country's ousted civilian leader aung san suu kyi was given a four—year prison sentence, later reduced to two. the us has described her conviction as an affront to justice. a second woman who says jeffrey epstein sexually abused her has been testifying in the ghislaine maxwell trial in new york. ms maxwell has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges.