this is bbc news, i'm sally bundock, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. new covid rules are announced for england, but the prime minister's accused of trying to deflect attention from a political scandal. the beijing boycott grows, now canada and britain say they won't be sending officials to the winter olympics. do china's actions in xinjiang amount to genocide? an unofficial tribunal will give its verdict. we hearfrom one man who gave evidence. and, let there be light, the giant star marking the latest stage in the building of barcelona's la sagrada familia basilica.

hello and welcome. political support for new coronavirus restrictions in england has been put into doubt, with some lawmakers in britain's governing conservative party saying they will vote against them. there's been public fury over how the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has handled allegations. hemmed in, borisjohnson stuck with two ugly problems that are mashed together.

what happened under his own roof which has sickened some of the public and what he reckons needs to happen now to push back the virus. the danger tonight is the fiasco of problem one which makes problem two much harder to solve. with the variant spreading at lightning speed, he and the country's most senior scientists were back on the platform. we cannot yet assume that omicron is less severe than previous variants. so, while the picture may get better and i sincerely hope that it will, we know that the remorseless logic of exponential growth could lead to a big rise in hospitalisations and therefore, sadly, in deaths. and that is why it's the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan b in england. how can you stand at that lectern where some of your team laughed and joked about covid—19 rules and told people they must now follow your new instructions and are you really asking the public to believe that you had no idea what was going on under your own roof?

the british public, notwithstanding the point that you make, can see the vital importance of the medical information that we are giving. the usually icy cool professor whitty seemed angry too, but pleaded with you to separate political shenanigans from protecting health. people get very angry, including colleagues the reason for that outrage is apparent in toe—curling confirmation in a practice press conference that there was a party in downing street last christmas when socialising was banned for all. this fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced. one of the aids who was laughing, allegra stratton, emerged from her house today. those jokes turning to tears. denying the party won't have been her decision and she paid with herjob. my remarks seemed to make light of the rules. people were doing everything to obey them. that was never my intention.

i will regret those remarks for the rest of my days and i offer my profound apologies to all of those at home, all of you who lost loved ones and endured intolerable loneliness and struggled with your businesses, i am truly sorry. and this afternoon, i am offering my resignation to the prime minister. thank you for your time. no chance her exit would be the end of questions to borisjohnson. at lunchtime, he started with an apology and announced an investigation. i understand and share the anger up and down the country at seeing number ten staff seeming to make light of lockdown measures. and i can understand how infuriating it must be to think that the people who have been setting the rules have not been following the rules, mr speaker. because i was also furious to see that clip. and mr speaker, i apologise, i apologise unreservedly. the prime minister, the government spent the week

telling the british public that there was no party. all guidance was followed completely. millions of people now think the prime minister was taking them for fools. and that they were lied to. this is a miserable and dangerous moment for downing street. it's not just about whether a few dozen staff had drinks in there last year, but whether the truth has been told. whether you can put faith and what government says from day—to—day, or guidance or even demands from ministers for what you have to do. with the virus creeping back in tighter restrictions too, it is no time for authority to be draining away. we can now speak to mark davies who's strategic communications consultancy camberton advises on reputation management through government and media relations. mark, good to talk to you

again. i'm sure you could hear laura's report there outlining the challenges facing prime minister borisjohnson as he navigate this situation. i could, as she said yesterday evening, this is obviously a very dangerous political moment. i don't think it's a moment. i don't think it's a moment when the government is going to fall because governments don't tend to fall over this sort of thing but what it does do is create a narrative, whether it adds to a narrative, whether it adds to a narrative that already exist or whether it is a thing that will shape this narrative remains to be seen but it may well be the moment if we look back when we feel that the government was holed below the waterline. when john major is prepared government had the debacle in september 1992, government had the debacle in septemberi992, it lost government had the debacle in september 1992, it lost its reputation for competence that it never got back for the rest of its term, and what it did was lurch from crisis to crisis over the period between then

and the election, and the government now needs to string together a series of when, in order to create or rebuild a reputation for competence and it is going to be very, very difficult indeed for it to do that when even conservative activists are sharing memes that are going around as a result of this party. figs that are going around as a result of this party. as you sa , result of this party. as you say. the — result of this party. as you say, the ranks _ result of this party. as you say, the ranks are - result of this party. as you say, the ranks are closing | result of this party. as you | say, the ranks are closing in from within as well as the opposition, the general public as well, there absolute disdain at what has been emerging within number ten downing st, when they lost loved ones and now we are expected to flow new rules starting on monday. yes. rules starting on monday. yes, in many ways _ rules starting on monday. yes, in many ways that's _ rules starting on monday. yes, in many ways that's the - rules starting on monday. yes, in many ways that's the most l in many ways that's the most dangerous and difficult thing about it, that the government would be listened to going forward in the way that laura alluded to in her report a moment ago. everything that has been said about this, the foolishness of it, the extent

to which it is offensive to people out there, it is all true, but it's a question of how it builds into the narrative. from a conservative perspective, with backbenchers losing confidence in boris, the narrative has completely changed. and used to be that activists would talk about boris front and centre. now you have people saying it's not about boris, let's talk to you about boris, let's talk to you about conservative party values. so the narrative in the way the conservative activist faith is discussing things has changed fundamentally as a result of this.— result of this. very interesting, - result of this. very interesting, thank | result of this. very i interesting, thank you result of this. very - interesting, thank you very much mark davis there and later in this programme we will have further analysis on that narrative, the comment that markjust made but also in our business coverage we will outline clearly what the new rules, restrictions are, those that come into force on monday

across england and how business leaders are react into that. but now let's get some of the day's other news. jo biden will speak to ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky on thursday, to discuss the russian military buildup near the ukrainian border. on tuesday the president warned vladimar putin that russia would face serious economic sanctions should the russian troops gathered on the border launch an attack. talks on reviving the 2015 iran nuclear deal are due to resume in vienna on thursday. the us delegation will participate indirectly, with the us special envoy, rob malley, arriving in vienna this weekend. last week saw the talks falter, with european diplomats saying tehran had, as they put it, "back—tracked on diplomatic progress made". jimmy lai and two other pro—democracy activists have been convicted in hong kong for having taken part in a banned vigil last year. lai, who founded the now—defunct apple daily newspaper, was found guilty of having incited others to join an illegal assembly.

all three had pleaded not guilty. lai is already serving a jail sentence for attending other banned gatherings. the uk and canada are the latest countries to join a diplomatic boycott of the winter olympics in beijing next year, following australia and the us. they've all confirmed they won't send officials or politicians to the games. beijing said they hadn't invited any. athletes will still be able to compete however. the boycott is a protest against china's human rights record. here's canada's prime ministerjustin trudeau. we will continue to stand very, very clearly as a world against the use of coercive diplomacy and arbitrary detention. at the same time, we will be there, absolutely as countries, as a country but as a world as well, to support all the athletes gathering in beijing over this coming winter.

with growing international concern about china's human right�*s record, the plight of uyghurs and other muslims in xinjiang is again in the spotlight today. an unofficial tribunal, which has been hearing evidence in london, will announce its findings on whether chinese actions in xinjiang amount to genocide. caroline hawley has been talking to one man, an ethnic kazakh, who gave evidence to the tribunal. he was detained in 2017 and subjected to forced labour, political indoctrination and violent beatings. this man is a first—hand

witness of china's oppression in xinjiang. he gave evidence at hearings in london about what they went through. he was arrested in 2017, accused of installing whatsapp which is blocked in china and of watching videos about islam. the first prison was the worst. he says he was once punished for complaining he was hungry and remembered input on something called a tiger chair. this is where he says he was held before being moved to a

re—education camp. what was china's aim do you think in putting you through this in xinjiang?

towards the end of his incarceration, he told me he was forced to work in this building where he would sew trousers and uniforms. then, before his release he says he had to sign papers promising not to reveal what had happened to him. he is one of at least1 million uyghurs, catholics and other ethnic minorities believed to have been detained in xinjiang. —— kazakhs. we asked china's embassy in london for a comment, a spokesperson told us, "the remarks by that person are nothing but a pack of lies." "it's the latest example of the attempt to deliberately slander china's policy on xinjiang and wantonly interfere in china's internal affairs." "the political, economic and social rights and freedom of religious belief of all

ethnic groups in the region are fully guaranteed", according to the chinese embassy in london. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a bad night for barca, the spanish club fails to make the knockout stages of the champions league for the first time in seventeen yea rs. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression.

elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former - president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, _ estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: new covid rules are announced for england, but the prime minister's accused of trying to deflect attention from a political scandal. the beijing boycott grows, now canada and britain say they won't be sending officials to the winter olympics. returning to our top story now, the public anger over

allegations british pm borisjohnson�*s staff held parties in breach of lockdown rules last year. i'm joined by alex haslam, he's a professor of psychology at the university of queensland, and specialises in the psychology of leadership. he joins me from the south coast of new south wales, a warm welcome to the programme, alex. first of all, give us your take on this situation unfolding in the uk and what the fallout could be for the prime minister. i think it will be very _ for the prime minister. i think it will be very substantial - it will be very substantial fallout. in many ways it is a catastrophe for his leadership and cataclysmic for the followership that that leadership should inspire. so the point about leadership is notjust to be seen as a leader, it is to get people to go along with your ideas and to accept your authority and to follow your guidance. but i

think the likelihood of that happening now is severely diminished at precisely the point that we need that followership and compliance and engagement. that will be difficult to produce now, i think, and given the point where we are in the pandemic, thatis where we are in the pandemic, that is a very, very unsatisfactory and undesirable state of affairs.— unsatisfactory and undesirable state of affairs. what evidence do ou state of affairs. what evidence do you know — state of affairs. what evidence do you know or— state of affairs. what evidence do you know or have _ state of affairs. what evidence do you know or have you - do you know or have you collated to show that that is what happens when these affairs unfold that people do not comply with rules? we unfold that people do not comply with rules? unfold that people do not coml with rules? ~ ~ ., ., comply with rules? we know from the dominic— comply with rules? we know from the dominic cummings _ comply with rules? we know from the dominic cummings castle - the dominic cummings castle episode previously which showed that that was associated with a marked decrease in levels of compliance. so the minute that leaders seem to be pursuing a line of one rule for us and another rule for you, that creates a disconnect between the leaders and their

followers, the people who need to be buying into their leadership. so there is clear evidence of president here. but the dimensions of the problem or manifest now and clearer and it seems that rather than learning the right lessons from previous episodes, actually borisjohnson and his party have learnt the wrong lessons and what they have engaged in is a collusion or a collaboration to come up with a story that this was just a business meeting and that will outrage people. that they have been colluding in the process of deceiving the population. i think it is a really, really significant effect, event that will have massive ramifications, notjust for his ramifications, not just for his leadership ramifications, notjust for his leadership but, more particularly, potentially for the course of the pandemic which i think will very much figure in the history of this

event and very much a lesson and what not to in order to secure a form of followership and compliance from your population. and compliance from your population-— and compliance from your --oulation. ., ~ ~ population. thank you, alex, for our population. thank you, alex, for your opinion _ population. thank you, alex, for your opinion on _ population. thank you, alex, for your opinion on that. - population. thank you, alex, for your opinion on that. as | population. thank you, alex, for your opinion on that. as i | for your opinion on that. as i have already mentioned we will have already mentioned we will have more on the new rules as they come into effect in our business coverage but now let's bring you all the latest sports news. hello i'm tulsen tollett and this is your sports news where we start with football and barcelona have failed to make it into the knockout stages of the champions league for the first time in 21 years after they lost 3—0 to bayern munich. two goals in the first half from thomas muller and leroy sane were added to byjamal musiala after the break to see the germans to a sixth successive win in group e — while the catalans drop into a europa league play—off game. a late zenit st petersburg equaliser means chelsea finish second in group h. timo werner�*s second goal looked to have secured top sport for the holders but the 3—3 draw coupled withjuventus beating malmo1—0 in turin means thomas tuchel�*s side had to settle for

the runner up spot ahead of monday's last 16 draw in switzerland. changes have been made to abu dhabi's yas marina circuit, in a bid to make this weekend's finale to the formula one season even more exciting. three main areas of the track have been reconfigured to increase speed and opportunities for overtaking. lewis hamilton and max verstappen are level on points at the top of the world championship going into the race — which verstappen won last year, ending a run of six consecutive mercedes victories in the uae. the la lakers are in memphis to face the grizzlies in the nba later with lebronjames and co looking to make it back to back wins. the californians got the better of the boston celtics in their last outing and will be full of confidence as they seek a fifth win in seven played when they hit the court in tennessee. tiger woods will return

to the golf course next week 10 months after a car crash in los angeles that almost saw him lose a leg. the 15—time major champion will play in the pnc championship in orlando with his 12—year—old son charlie, in what is a tournament for pairs of family members to compete in the same team. that is your sport news for now. well, let's stay with sport and take you to brisbane. it's the second day of the first ashes test between australia and england, and after bowling the visitors out for 147 on day one, the hosts bat themselves into a strong position on day two. simpn atkinson is there for us. simon, it was a terrible day for england yesterday. can their fans be can theirfans be any can their fans be any happier today? it can their fans be any happier toda ? . . , can their fans be any happier toda ? . ., , ., ., ., today? it certainly got a lot ha ier today? it certainly got a lot happier in _ today? it certainly got a lot happier in the _ today? it certainly got a lot happier in the last - today? it certainly got a lot happier in the last ten - today? it certainly got a lot happier in the last ten or. today? it certainly got a lot happier in the last ten or 15j happier in the last ten or 15 minutes. australia were only three wickets down but since then england have taken two wickets, crucially, david warner who was looking set for a century, he was gone for 94,

all by ollie robinson. and then with the next ball, cameron green out as well. and that puts england in a far better position. puts england in a far better osition. ,, ,, , position. punters suourme in background — position. punters shouting in background much _ position. punters shouting in background much happier- position. punters shouting in | background much happier than they were earlier. australia has a lead of about 54 over what england got yesterday and you may remember when we spoke yesterday we were forecast more today but the skies are blue and it looks like we will get a full day play and things are looking a lot better for england than they were a couple of minutes ago. certainly a long way still to go and australia is in a position to build a commanding lead but the barmy army will be singing more loudly this evening than they may have been had things got a little differently.— had things got a little differently. had things got a little differentl . , ,., ~' differently. they sound like they have _ differently. they sound like they have more _ differently. they sound like they have more gusto, - differently. they sound like they have more gusto, that differently. they sound like i they have more gusto, that is for sure. they have more gusto, that is forsure. simon they have more gusto, that is for sure. simon atkinson

they're keeping us date there at the ashes. a new milestone has been reached in the construction of barcelona's famous basilica, la sagrada familia. just in time for christmas, a colossal 12—point star, with a width of more than seven metres has been illuminated, perched on top of the newly completed tower of the virgin mary. tanya dendrinos reports. an imposing icon of the barcelona skyline. and this, the newest piece of the sagrada familia puzzle. the completed tower of the virgin mary adorned with 800 windows. on its pinnacle, a 5.5 ton, 12—point star illuminated for the first time. below, a sea of onlookers thankful to witness history. translation: just like. an opening for everyone, a light of hope for everyone. with no exception. translation: it was | very emotional because it has been under construction

for such a long time and little by little come to fruition. even the eyes of the vatican were on the occasion. translation: peace and good wishes from this cordial - franciscan greeting. i join all of you from rome at this moment. sagrada familia is the masterpiece of architect antoni gaudi. construction began in 1882 and almost 140 years on it is still going. the aim was to have complete by 2026 to mark the centenary of gaudi's death. but it has been further delayed after construction was halted due to the pandemic. when the elusive completion date does eventually roll around it will be the tallest church in the world, bringing gaudi's vision to life. tanya dendrinos, bbc news, barcelona. we have so much more to come here on bbc news including all the detail on the new

restrictions been put in place in england. we will be back in a moment and i will see you soon. stay with us. hello again. storm barra of course has been dominating our weather picture over the last couple of days with strong winds, heavy rain and some upland snow as well. but look at these big rocks. the seas have been chucking them onto the coastline of west wales. you know the seas are pretty angry when they throw brick—sized lumps of rocks at you. there is barra, it continues to feel it's getting less intense. we do have a window of slightly clearer weather that's set to come in during thursday. that means we'll see these showers that we got at the moment fading away over the next few hours. but it's going to be quite chilly for those heading out across northern england and scotland, temperatures as low as —2, —3 degrees celsius as you perhaps head outside the door first thing in the morning. but for many, a fine start to the day. in fact for some of you, it should be a lovely sunrise.

the early rising sun illuminating this lump of cloud, the next weather system not taking long to move its way in and bringing rain back to northern ireland, west england and wales. but also eventually bringing some milder air into the south—west where temperatures reach around 11 degrees through the afternoon. still for most of us, it's another fairly chilly run with 6 or 7 degrees celsius, more typical temperatures. as we head into friday, that area of rain, perhaps with a little bit of mountain snow clears out of the way. we'll be left with these north—westerly winds. those north—westerly winds bringing a lot of sunshine, sparkling visibility, but also a number of showers. the showers will always be most frequent across the north—west, they will be some that reach right across the midlands, perhaps down towards even parts of southern england. temperatures, well, similar to recent days, still quite chilly around 6 or 7 degrees celsius. but the weather is set to change as we head into the weekend. another area of low pressure responsible for the change, this one is going to be bringing south—westerly winds in, particularly across parts of england and wales. could be some mist and fog patches first thing in the morning.

so, for some, it could be quite a murky start and it's not entirely dry, we've got outbreaks of rain piling and particularly through western areas of the country, although probably not a huge amount of rain across eastern most areas. temperatures rising through the day, 12 degrees toward south—west england and heading into sunday, that milder air will continue to push its way eastwards and northwards. by the time we get to sunday afternoon, most of you will see temperatures into double figures and the milder spots on sunday you could see temperatures as high as 14 degrees. then it looks like it will stay quite mild into next week.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the return of working from home. uk businesses call for government support as new covid restrictions are introduced in england. insta under pressure. the boss of the social media giant gets a grilling from senators, over its impact on young peoples' mental health. should crypto be regulated? us congress gathers evidence on the two trillion dollar cryptocurrency industry, after a volatile few days. plus, factory prices continue to soar in china, stoking global inflation dashcam beijing do anything about it? —— stoking global inflation — can beijing do anything

about it?