calls for the prime minister to get a grip after the conservatives suffer a humiliating defeat in the north shropshire by—election. three, two, one! cheering and applause. glee for the liberal democrats, who overturned a tory majority of 23 thousand — leading to a deflated borisjohnson. clearly the vote in north shropshire is a very disappointing result and i totally understand people's frustrations. and there's more trouble for the prime minister tonight — the uk's top civil servant steps aside from leading an inquiry into parties held in downing st against lockdown rules — because of an event in his own office. also on the programme. a record number of covid boosters across the uk —

on the same day as a record number of reported positive covid cases. four brothers — two sets of twins — die in a house fire in south london — no—one else was present when firefighters arrived. covid hits the football season — a string of matches are called off because of illness among players and staff. and as a] odudu pulls out of this weekend's strictly, we look at the most diverse final in the show�*s history. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel... england have a huge task to avoid going 2—0 down in the ashes series. they will resume on day three on 17—2, a56 runs behind. good evening. borisjohnson is facing questions from within his own party

about his leadership style — after the conservatives�* crushing defeat in the north shropshire by—election. the liberal democrats overturned a huge tory majority of almost 23,000 — and won by nearly 6,000 votes. mrjohnson said he took personal responsibility for the result, but also blamed a "constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians" in the media. the shock result follows a torrid week for the prime minister, with a major commons rebellion over tougher covid measures, and criticism of downing street parties held in breach of lockdown rules. tonight the country's top civil servant, the cabinet secretary simon case, stepped aside from leading the inquiry into those parties, after it emerged an event had been held in his own office. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. two, one... cheering. they might not do subtle. it turns out that if you take the people for granted, there is a price to pay.

but there was nothing subtle about the lib dems�* dramatic burst of the tory bubble in this by—election. thousands upon thousands of voters switched sides. anger with the conservatives means a new lib dems on their way to the comments. i think this is a watershed moment and i think we brought new hope to the whole nation who have been so worried and fed up with borisjohnson. we have now beaten the conservatives in two of their safest seats this year. cheering and applause. at about 4:15am, the liberal democrats smashed what had been a tory majority of over 20,000 in north shropshire. tired but jubilant after weeks of claims of sleaze and misbehaviour in downing street. borisjohnson, the party is over. thank you very much, thank you. many of the prime minister's mps pinned the blame for this staggering result in the chaos under his roof. does he? i'm responsible for everything that the government does and of course i take a personal responsibility.

what people have been hearing isjust a constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians and... stuff that isn't about them. but it keeps coming. it has emerged this man's team, simon case, the most senior civil servant in the country, had a virtual quiz in the office, called a christmas party, during lockdown. he was the one meant to be investigating whitehall parties. but tonight, miraculously, he stepped aside. another revered, perhaps even feared civil servant, sue gray, will ask the questions instead. 232. shameful! it is just the latest in a series of missteps and mistakes for number ten. it began when the government tried to change the rules on mps' behaviour when a tory was found to have broken them. forgive my absence during some of the morning... that unleashed a torrent of claims about big money for second jobs. laughter.

then the cringeworthy footage of number ten staffjoking about their christmas party. and then on tuesday, the biggest rebellion against this government so far. around half of tory backbenchers voted against plans for covid passports. if more limits on our lives are needed, the prime minister simply can't count on their support. borisjohnson is no stranger to drama, to epic highs and chaotic lows, but the political danger to him right now is real and intense. being pounded by voters in what should be the safest of tory seats is the finale of a terrible month, brought about in part by a series of mistakes and misjudgments in number ten itself. there are strong public and fierce private calls for him to change how he does business, and warnings tonight of what might happen if he does not or cannot. the prime minister is now in last orders time. two strikes already,

one earlier this week in the vote in the commons and now this. one more strike and he's out. the prime minister has always had enemies inside, but a former leader who backed him warns he has to change. he is our leader and he will lead us to the next election. he will? are you sure of that? well, as long as he wishes to do it, he has the right to do it. the party has to get behind him and he has to deliver on the basis that downing street and the departments are themselves structured and disciplined and that will be the key litmus test. so you are essentially saying he has to change and he has to make sure that the way his government operates has to change, or else? well, that is always the signal sent by the public when they feel that things have gone wrong and the answer to that is very simple. it is not more of the same. number ten may take some comfort from the fact this by—election was a lib dem, nota labour breakthrough but the cold reality is it's

the prime minister who has been put on notice. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. so how did the liberal democrats deliver such a huge political upset in north shropshire — and how much can we read into the result? 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has been out speaking to voters in the constituency. as the sun came up, north shropshire awoke to a new political landscape. liberal democrats, 17,957. cheering and applause. this solid tory turf had been shaken. by mid—morning, the lib dems victor had arrived to much fanfare. they threw everything at this, pitching themselves as the challengers, which paid off and as they celebrated, onlookers contemplated what had happened and why. i am not a big fan of borisjohnson. he has disappointed all of us. not everyone was thrilled that the conservatives had lost. it is very sad when you think that they have held it for 200 years. i

but for others, it was a moment to mark. why did you vote for them? to get boris out. why? just all the parties and everything that they have been having. because i lost a sister through covid. there is clear anger here at recent events in westminster and that fuelled the lib dems campaign. but for some it runs deeper. saffron's grandfather was a conservative mp for north shropshire. he says he understands why people turned away from the party. it is part of a national mood, but i think also it is a mood

and for me as well, but i feel they really have let us down. at}! and for me as well, but i feel they really have let us down. of course, this was a — really have let us down. of course, this was a victory _ really have let us down. of course, this was a victory in _ really have let us down. of course, this was a victory in a _ really have let us down. of course, this was a victory in a single - this was a victory in a single election ends particular circumstances. but it is the sign for the conservatives that something is broken. how they respond could determine how long the damage lasts.

areas in the midlands and north of england. the question is, can he deliver for those new tory voters, without leaving more traditional supporters in places like this feeling overlooked? paul certainly feels that way. a local dairy farmer, he backed the lib dems for the first time, we need to get our act together and support businesses more and farming as well, from my own personal point of view, but i feel they really have let us down. of course, this was a victory in a single election in particular circumstances. but it is a sign for the conservatives that something is broken. how they respond could determine how long the damage lasts. alex forsyth, bbc news, north shropshire. as we've been hearing, the uk's top civil servant, simon case, has stepped aside from leading the downing street party inquiry because of an event in his own office. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. how damaging is this for the government, nick? i don't think there's any doubt that this is a damaging episode after a series of damaging weeks for the government. series of damaging weeks for the government-— series of damaging weeks for the covernment. ,, ., .., , , ., government. simon case is the man who was brought in _ government. simon case is the man who was brought in by _ government. simon case is the man who was brought in by boris - government. simon case is the man. who was brought in by boris johnson, who was brought in by borisjohnson, just ten days ago to try and clear up just ten days ago to try and clear up whether there had been rule

breaking in whitehall last christmas. the government hoped that would allow people to move on from this episode, but we are still talking about it, because accusations keep emerging. the cabinet office acknowledges that there was a case in the office of simon case with staff who had been in all day taking part in the office last christmas, they say he did not take part although he spoke to staff as he left for the night. downing street says he has recused himself from the process to make sure that the public and still have faith in the public and still have faith in the investigation, but this marks the investigation, but this marks the end of a torrid period for downing street and in particular the last few days could scarcely have been more challenging when you figure in the north shropshire by—election and figure in that massive rebellion we saw in parliament on tuesday and it has left many conservatives deeply uncomfortable with what is going on in the party and some continuing to question borisjohnson�*s future. question boris johnson's future. thank question borisjohnson�*s future. thank you. there has been a record number of new coronavirus infections across the uk — for the third day in a row. over 93,000 new cases have been recorded in the past 2a hours, and 0micron is now the dominant strain of covid in scotland. documents from the expert advisory committee sage, seen by the bbc, suggest that extra measures would be needed to slow the growth in cases in england.

in northern ireland, the rules for testing close contacts of people with covid are being tightened. and coronavirus cases are also surging in other parts of europe, as our health editor hugh pym reports. it was a record day for boosters, and unlike many other sites this week, there was no queueing at this walk—in centre in barnsley, set up yesterday. we have got a lot of vaccinators on site and a lot of admin support, so patients are getting a really good experience. they are in, they are out and away. but there is a warning that to slow the spread of the virus, the vaccination effort on its own may not be enough. papers from the expert sage committee seen by the bbc suggest that covid hospital admissions could double by the end of this month. scotland's first minister, meanwhile, said her prediction of a tsunami of cases was now coming true, with 0micron the dominant strain of the virus.

she warned people again to limit social mixing. if what matters most to you is spending time with your loved ones on christmas day, and i think that is what matters right now to most, to many of us, don't risk that by going out before then and possibly catching covid, because the reality is, if you are mixing with others just now, getting this virus is a real and increasing risk. the spread of 0micron in the uk has led to a french government travel ban on british tourists from 11pm tonight. visitors will need a compelling reason to enter france. the virus is already putting pressure on the french health system, with a new wave of cases. translation: the hospital icu is currently at full capacity - as patients have been coming in for the past 20 days. 70% of the icu patients are positive covid cases. concerns are growing around europe. the uk's overall covid case rate relative to the population has gone up sharply,

but france is not that far behind, and denmark in recent days has seen a steep increase and that has been linked to 0micron. the danish government is proposing new restrictions, including closing theatres and cinemas and limiting the number of people in shops. and in ireland, all restaurants and bars from sunday will have to close at 8pm, and there will be a ban on evening indoor events. there were warnings too from the european commission president. we know that the 0micron variant is really threatening us. it is spreading at a ferocious pace and potentially has the risk of escaping our vaccines, at least partially. but on that question of vaccines, there is more positive news. a preliminary uk study suggests they may be as much as 85% effective in preventing people getting the new variant then needing hospital treatment. hugh pym, bbc news. the government's latest coronavirus

figures for the uk show there were 93,045 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that's the highest daily figure recorded so far in the pandemic. on average, 68,176 cases were reported per day in the last week. 7,611 people were in hospital with covid as of yesterday. there were 11! deaths, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, which means the average number of deaths over the past seven days was 113. the total number of people who've died with covid now stands at 147,048. 0n boosters, as we've heard, it was another record, with over 860,000 people getting their third or boosterjab, bringing the total to over 26.3 million. in wales, the first minister mark drakeford says people must brace themselves for the "storm of 0micron".

he has announced more covid restrictions to try to slow the spread of the new variant. wales has so far confirmed around 100 cases of 0micron. but from december 27th, all nightclubs in wales will be closed. social distancing in offices and shops will be reintroduced. there'll also be a two—metre rule in workplaces and one—way systems in shops. and face masks are still required in most places and on public transport. the chancellor rishi sunak has held talks with business leaders about the impact of 0micron, after cutting short a trip to the united states. many businesses are calling for urgent help from the government. retail sales have been hit, and hotels and restaurants are reporting cancellations at what is normally one of the busiest times of the year. danny savage reports from leeds. at the myrtle tavern in leeds tonight, the ventilated marquee outside is credited with saving this

business throughout covid. they understand people might be wary about going out, but they are being firm about cancellations. we sent an e—mail on tuesday to everyone who booked in december and basically told them, you will be charged if you do not let us know. please let us know in any other circumstances and we had about 150 cancel, but we have got 6000 bookings, so 150 is not really that bad. pub landlords call this mad friday, such is the expectation of trade levels. it should be the busiest day of the year. it is very hard when boris is telling you to work from home etc. people are getting worried and they are going to be worried, obviously. i am pretty worried for my business, obviously, because it is going to be a lot quieter, i think, but i have got all the staff in today to make sure that mad friday is mad friday and we go full force at it. and shortly after 11 this morning, the first customers were in. everyone fully aware of covid, but also wanting that traditional christmas drink.

i have toned down my plan for today, we were supposed to be out all day l and go to another function this evening, so i am going home i around tea—time, before the town gets too busy. i it is kind of carrying on, i am double—jabbed and boosted, so just got to mitigate the risks as much as possible. what was happening was that people were starting to want to pull out of the party... catherine employs 70 people, but reluctantly cancelled this week's work christmas party. ijust thought it was terrible, if someone got back, got covid and perhaps could not go home, spend christmas with their mum or dad or their grandparents. so, i wanted to preserve their family christmas, because we can have another christmas party at another time. at this stage in december, the shopping streets should be busier, but retailers like this one in northampton could really do with some bumper days. it is even more important this year, you know, just to bring _ in as much money as we can, so we can fight another day. i it has definitely affected it in the last week or two, i not so many people around. staff being hit by

covid is a worry, too. the biggest thing that retailers are certainly worried about and monitoring on a daily, almost hourly basis, is absence rates, because that is really critical when the labour market is so tight at this time of year. hospitality bosses are not feeling particularly festive. businesses are looking for help again from the government, in the form of tax breaks, but they have not come yet. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. a 27—year—old woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect after two sets of twin boys, aged three and four, died in a house fire in south london last night. london fire brigade confirmed that the four children were the only people in the house when they arrived. helena wilkinson reports. the four little boys who were killed in the fire, named locally as kyson, bryson, leyton and logan. they were found alone inside the house when crews arrived. richard is a neighbour.

the fire brigade came out on the roof, they broke the window, smoke came out. came through the back of my house into the front. by that time, the fire brigade had gone into the front door and started to, um... they had a look around and they brought the four children out. the scale of the emergency response was huge. 60 fire fighters tackled the intense flames. they ripped through the entire ground floor. the children were taken to hospital. it is there where they died. emergency services are used to dealing with difficult incidents. this, though, has been felt deeply. 0ur london fire brigade colleagues acted heroically in recovering the children, and i want to pay particular tribute to them. i know this incident will have a lasting impact on them and on the police officers and paramedics who were involved. flowers, teddies and messages of sympathy have been left here. two of the boys' nursery teachers were among those who came.

they said the children's christmas presents had been waiting for them. the primary school attended by the four—year—old twins said... at the scene, investigations continue tonight into how the fire started, as this community comes to terms with such a tragic loss of four little boys, days before christmas. helena wilkinson, bbc news, sutton. negotiations on the brexit arrangements for getting goods across the irish sea to northern ireland have ended for the year, without a breakthrough on several key issues. the eu has moved ahead with proposals to ease the movement of medicines from britain to northern ireland. but differences remain over the role of the european court ofjustice. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy is at belfast port for us tonight. these talks have been going on since october,

so is the eu's solution for medicines a sign of progress? well, the uk's brexit minister says he is still looking at the details but it has been welcomed here because without those proposals, it could have been very difficult to get crucial medicines over the irish sea and that is because northern ireland remains in the eu's regulation system, to avoid a hardboard on the island of ireland but now the eu has said that the uk regulator can authorise new medicines coming to northern ireland to keep those flowing freely. there is still a lot left a result, particularly when it comes to the role of the european court of justice here. the uk has shifted its position, now indicating it accepts the court could have a limited role in making rulings but not the final say on resolving disputes here. but that exasperates the eu, who say, look, the role of the court is just not up for being discussed all over again. so really, we are going into

christmas, almost a year now since these arrangements began, still with big questions over how it is all going to operate in future for northern ireland.— going to operate in future for northern ireland. thank you for “oininu northern ireland. thank you for joining us- _ this weekend's football fixtures have been badly hit by covid, with numerous games off because of outbreaks of the illness among staff and players at clubs. tottenham will host one of the games in the premier league still due to be played on sunday, and our correspondent laura scott is there for us now. well, as things stand, tottenham will play liverpool here on sunday but tottenham know only too well how quickly things can change, with their last three fixtures having been called off due to covid. we know there are three suspected positive cases in the liverpool squad. more games have been postponed in the premier league because of covid than in all of last season, including five of the ten games that were due to be held this weekend. elsewhere, 19 english football league games are wrath

across the three divisions, and five champions cup and two challenge cup games are off in rugby union. the sports minister nigel huddlestone hasissued sports minister nigel huddlestone has issued a fresh push on vaccinations after it emerged that 25% of afl players don't intend to get the vaccine so the jab drive goes on but given that some top—flight clubs are experiencing what are deemed uncontrollable outbreaks, there are calls for managers and players for a so—called circuit breaker, meaning the season will be paused for a couple of weeks. premier league bosses are keen to keep the show on the road but on monday they will meet club bosses to decide how best to manage this ever worsening crisis. thank you forjoining us. now, it's the strictly come dancing final tomorrow night, but it's sad news for aj 0dudu and her partner kai widdrington, who have pulled out of the show. the tv presenter has torn a ligament in her right ankle. she says she's "deeply upset" she can't perform. it means there are just two couples left in the competition, rose ayling—ellis, the first deaf contestant to take part

in the series, and john whaite, the first man to dance in a same sex couple, as nikki fox reports. making history as the first deaf contestant on strictly come dancing, rose ayling—ellis has changed the game. moments like this, dancing in silence, has busted myths about what it is really like to be deaf. you know that being deaf, there is nothing wrong, it's such a joy to be deaf. rose has introduced millions to british sign language and just by being on the show made it more accessible on and off camera. i feel really proud of that and i did that while enjoying myself and that is so lovely. i didn't have to fight for it, itjust happened, and that is what it should be like for all other disabilities. what are you doing? but for deaf and disabled actors like rose, there are many barriers in the way to achieving success.

i have been to auditions in a property that is not accessible. this film has been made by a group of people who all work in the industry and they are fed up. having a disabled loo as my green room because the green room is up two flights of stairs, so we thought we would put you a mat down on the floor here in the toilet. jack, what is the state of the industry for deaf and disabled talent? it's pretty abysmal right now. there is exclusion everywhere. the efforts being made to solve that exclusion are pitiful. is seeing somebody like rose on strictly, is that enough? it's not enough but it is glorious. rose isn't the only contestant this year breaking down barriers. john and johannes are strictly�*s first all—male couple. i was wondering how you both feel about being part of what is definitely the most diverse strictly final that there has ever been. it's an honour.

to be part of this with, we've got rose representing the deaf community, aj is a proud black woman. and we are a same—sex couple but an interracial couple. itjust goes to show how far society has come. even though aj has had to pull out of the final due to injury, all three couples have shown that by expressing themselves through dance every single week, celebrating what makes them who they are is what has got them to this point. nikki fox, bbc news. you can watch the strictly final on saturday night at 7pm on bbc one and iplayer. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello there. we've seen mixed fortunes

of the weather today with this area of high pressure in some areas of been chilly, but sunny all day. other areas have been really grey and gloomy with spots of drizzle. this area of high pressure isn't going anywhere fast. it's sticking around through the weekend bringing a lot of dry but cloudy weather. there will be some sunshine around, also some dense fog to watch out for. it will also be turning a bit cooler, i think you'll notice that during the course of sunday across more northern and eastern areas. tonight, we'll start to see a return to this dense fog across parts of northern and eastern england in particular. skies will be clearer further north and so it will be chilly here with the touch of frost further south. the thickest of the cloud means temperatures won't be quite as low. so, we start saturday off on a relatively mild note across the south, a lot of cloud and gloomy with you. dense mist and fog will be clear across northern eastern england, and you will see some sunshine here, the same too across scotland so, potentially another bright day here, albeit cool. further south, it's going to be mild but grey.

hello and welcome to our look ahead

to what the the papers will be for a third successive day, the number of coronavirus infections in the uk has reached a new record high. just over 93—thousand cases were confirmed — that's nearly sixty percent more than a week ago. covid cases have also been rising across europe. denmark, ireland and france are all introducing new measures to try to stop the spread. russia has called on nato to guarantee it will not expand its membership. the us has rejected an offer of direct talks — saying they could only take place with its european allies present. the uk's top civil servant has removed himself from an inquiry into alleged christmas parties held at downing street during last year's lockdown. an event was held in simon case's office — his spokesperson said he played no part in it.