this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk as england reports another record number of daily coronavirus cases — health officials warn the days ahead will be crucial as hospitalisations continue to rise. the government needs to make a difficult decision if it's going to introduce those restrictions, but if the number of hospitalisations keep going up at the rate they are than you could see why wit they would need to change their mind. new year honours for leading figures in the battle against covid. professors chris whitty and jonathan van tam are knighted. drjenny harries and drjune raine are both made dames. darling, you don't need that. i am your mirror. darling, you don't need that. i am your mirror-—

your mirror. how do i look? absolutely _ your mirror. how do i look? absolutely fabulous. - it's absolutely fabulous forjoanna lumley, who is made a dame. whilst the outgoing james bond — daniel craig — is made a cmg. in sport, husband and wife jason and laura kenny are made a knight and a dame for services to cycling. the president of south africa pays tribute to desmond tutu as "the spiritual father of our new nation" and the archbishop's daughter speaks movingly at his funeral. we say thank you, daddy, for the many ways you showed us love, for the many times you challenged us, for the many times you comforted us. and coming up at half past, i reflect— and coming up at half past, i reflect on_ and coming up at half past, i reflect on the year where the balance — reflect on the year where the balance of power has shifted in the world _ balance of power has shifted in the world of— balance of power has shifted in the world of the media, new arrivals this challenging established brands, and questions for the tech giants as to whether— and questions for the tech giants as to whether or not they are actually

working _ to whether or not they are actually working for — to whether or not they are actually working for society's good. join me amol— working for society's good. join me amol raian— working for society's good. join me amol rajan for the year in media. hello, good evening and welcome to bbc news. a senior health official has warned that the "next few days are crucial", in the battle against the omicron variant of coronavirus. chris hopson, the chief executive of nhs providers, which represents health trusts, says the government "must be ready to introduce new restrictions... if they're needed." latest figures show hospital admissions in england have risen to their highest level since january last year. the health secretary, sajid javid, has warned new restrictions on freedom "must be an absolute last resort". here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. a new year and with it,

the hope that in 2022 will draw us closer to the end of the pandemic. but once again, january is likely to see soaring infection rates. last night restrictions in some places and advice in others meant more subdued celebrations, but some were determined to celebrate. we have our boosters we've done our things, we followed the guidance. it is a funny one this year because we obviously want to stay safe but also in 15 years of living here i've never been and done the london fireworks so boris had a cheese and wine party so why can't i come and see the fireworks? come in and take a seat. some had resolved to get protected for the new year and went for boosters today. this is a third shot, booster, want to make sure that i got all the protection we can get meeting friends and family and living a normal life. the main priority right now is to keep everyone safe, keep spreading the awareness, please get vaccinated,

it's so important. whether it is the first, second dose or booster, and to look out for each other and protect one another. the health secretary is hoping vaccines will prevent the need for more restrictions and said additional measures would be a last resort. the debate about whether it is safe to mix or if we need more restrictions will continue but the question is, just how effective might those be? government commissioned modelling from warwick university suggests the window to suppress the peak may already have passed and that the last opportunity to introduce effective restrictions was a week ago, on boxing day. the number of patients in hospital with covid—i9 has increased by about 70% in a week according to nhs providers. they say it is too early to know how this wave will play out. if the evidence shows that we are getting very significant numbers of people coming into hospital with covid,

then the government needs to be ready to introduce further restrictions at pace. what we are trying to balance this against is the fact that the vaccines have changed the rules of the game. with most days now bringing record numbers of infections and the virus spreads rapidly amongst us, the health secretary in england has warned of a big increase in hospitalisations this month, which is likely to test the limits of the nhs. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. dr bharat pankhania is a senior clinical lecturer at university of exeter medical school and says any new restrictions might already too late to prevent the current surge in infections. within reason i feel that the pulse of infections that are going to come our way has already occurred, because people will have been exposed and now they will be incubating it and in the next couple of weeks we'll see that manifest as cases. having said that, prevention

is always good and we should nevertheless continue to stop further cases from arising and that would be good infection control measures like where your mask properly and of course be fully immunised. properly and of course be fully immunised-— properly and of course be fully immunised. �* , . ,, ., , immunised. let's talk a little bit more about _ immunised. let's talk a little bit more about where _ immunised. let's talk a little bit more about where we _ immunised. let's talk a little bit more about where we are - immunised. let's talk a little bit more about where we are at - immunised. let's talk a little bit more about where we are at on | immunised. let's talk a little bit i more about where we are at on the time—lag between infections occurring and potential hospital admissions, and i say potential although clearly hospital admissions are at a very high level. i'm talking specifically about covid, the early data on omicron seemed to point towards it being less severe than that delta variant, so where are we between potential infections and hospital admissions? {lime are we between potential infections and hospital admissions? once we've seen the pulse _ and hospital admissions? once we've seen the pulse of _ and hospital admissions? once we've seen the pulse of infections - and hospital admissions? once we've seen the pulse of infections there's i seen the pulse of infections there's usually a two to three week lag period before it manifests as hospital admissions, so the infections that are about to happen for the christmas festivities, we brace ourselves for the second and

third week of january brace ourselves for the second and third week ofjanuary and once we have passed that second and third week of january we will be have passed that second and third week ofjanuary we will be in a better position to know if that big pulse has materialised into hospitalisations or not. find pulse has materialised into hospitalisations or not. and in some wa s hospitalisations or not. and in some ways that's — hospitalisations or not. and in some ways that's a _ hospitalisations or not. and in some ways that's a moot _ hospitalisations or not. and in some ways that's a moot point _ hospitalisations or not. and in some ways that's a moot point because i ways that's a moot point because the latest figures do show that hospital admissions in england have risen to their highest level since january last year, so i suppose the question then becomes at what point can the nhs no longer cope? ifeel that the good people, the good staff of the nhs, they are by nature kopites, they don't want to get to the point where they say we cannot cope any longer —— they are people who cope. with chris hopson talking about the government must be ready to introduce new restrictions on the health secretary saying new restrictions must be introduced as an absolute last resort, at what point do those two opinions meet? i think that they are divergent, really, because if we were to

prevent further cases from rising that would be a better thing for the national health service because the national health service because the national health service is not only working at full capacity, it is in trouble. the trouble is staff sickness and absences, the so the stab absences have gone up dramatically enough two weeks. —— the staff absences have gone up dramatically in the last two weeks. staff cannot return to work safely because of shortages of lfd and pcr tests, so now is the time to act to reduce the rising number of cases if we can do so. the reduce the rising number of cases if we can do so-_ we can do so. the government is t in: to we can do so. the government is trying to factor — we can do so. the government is trying to factor in _ we can do so. the government is trying to factor in other - trying to factor in other considerations, the economy, allowing people who have been fully vaccinated and so on and gone through that programme of being vaccinated to be able to go out and about and enjoy their life in a relatively normal way, so how do you

balance these two things? you are coming from the scientific, the medical point of view. the government is looking at that plus many other perspectives. it's a difficult one to get the balance right, isn't it? difficult one to get the balance right. isn't it?— difficult one to get the balance right, isn't it? whilst it appears difficult i always _ right, isn't it? whilst it appears difficult i always feel _ right, isn't it? whilst it appears difficult i always feel economy. right, isn't it? whilst it appears i difficult i always feel economy and health go together and we can make it work, but together. so what we have to do is wherever possible allow the infection control measures to come into play to reduce the rising number of cases, and for this it isn't really restrictions will stop it is more, better infection control measures. therefore, work from home when you can, where a better quality mask where you can, reduce your interactions in public places, and get fully immunised. all of those measures will reduce case numbers and it doesn't harm the economy and anyway. well, due to the holiday period, the government's latest coronavirus figures aren't complete and data

for scotland, wales and northern ireland have not been published, but there were a record 162,572 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period in england alone, and 154 deaths — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. the uk government's chief medical adviser, professor chris whitty, has thanked his fellow scientists and nhs workers after receiving a knighthood in the new year honours. he said they had worked tirelessly to serve the public. around a fifth of those recognised have been involved in the fight against covid, including england's deputy chief medical officer, jonathan van—tam, who is also knighted. here's our correspondent lizo mzimba. their faces have become familiar to the public throughout the pandemic. now the chief medical officers for england, chris whitty... if lots of people are vaccinated, that reduces the risk of transmission in the community. ...for scotland, gregor smith, and for wales, frank atherton, have all been knighted.

a knighthood, too, for england's deputy chief medical officer, jonathan van—tam. # wheels on fire...# in the entertainment world, joanna lumley says she is stunned to be made a dame... patsy stone — 47. both for her acting career... i'll sue! ..and for her campaigning work. when i saw that sentence saying dbe, i burst into tears. it was the most extraordinary shock. it was such a shock, i put my head in my hands and sobbed like a baby. then i thought, "how has this happened?" "is it a mistake?" i truly was completely thrown by it. i'm thrilled to bits. james bond actor daniel craig has been made a cmg, the same honour held by the fictional spy. ashley says he's humbled and proud to become an mbe. black lives matter.

several olympians have been honoured including jason kenny and laura kenney. they are thought to be the first couple ever to receive a knighthood and a damehood at the same time. we are lucky we get to share our careers and to share the honours is very special. honestly, when i open it, we weren't together, were we? i was like, you just never in your childhood dreams think you're going to be a dame or a server. tom daly becomes an obe for diving and his work on lgb 0 rights. swimmer adam peaty has also been made an obe. successful paralympians recognised include a cbe

and kadeena cox has been made in obe. at us open tennis champion emma raducanu says she's proud and grateful to be made in mbe. separately from the main new year honours buckingham palace has announced that tony blair will receive a knighthood from the order of the garter, an appointment within the gift of the queen. most of those being honoured aren't in the public eye though. people like this young fundraiser who has raised over £150,000 through a series of walking and cycling challenges. i never thought in my wildest dreams that i'd get dreams that i'd get an honour by the queen. i am so excited. i'm actually going to get to meet her. ii—year—old tobias who received the british empire medal is thought to be the youngest ever recipient of the honour. lizo mzimba, bbc news. separately from the main new year honours list, the former prime minister, tony blair, said he was "deeply grateful" to the queen after he was appointed a knight companion of

the most noble order of the garter. this is the oldest and most senior british order of chivalry. joining him, as the first black member of the order, is lady amos — who served in his cabinet. our political correspondent chris mason gave us some background to the title of knight companion of the most noble order of the garter which has been awarded to tony blair. it is a kind of souped up, turbo—charged knighthood, and we get this waterfall of the alphabet on days like this, with the honours announcements, cbe, mbe, obe, you name it, but then this additional category which is separate, in the direct gift of the queen. tony blair becoming a knight companion of the most noble order of the garter. this has existed since 1348 when edward iii was around. his idea was to have this assembly of aristocratic blokes to advise him, really, and since then it has

moulded into something else. it's meant to mark the most distinguished public service. there have been very few of them at any one time, a maximum of 2a, and you hold the title until your death. there are now 21 occupants, given the rise of tony blair and baroness amos. the way it works, each year they go to windsor castle and they wear a lot of velvet and indeed some ostrich feathers and they proceed in a procession through windsor and they have lunch. it is the most senior title that can be offered by the queen. former prime minister tony blair having to wait 15 years almost, since standing down in 2007. his predecessorjohn major had to wait around eight years, so often people are kept waiting,

although few as long as tony blair. chris mason. a man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death while driving under the influence of drugs, after a 14—year—old girl killed in the west midlands. west midlands police say the girl was hit by a grey mercedes near rowley regis station in sandwell yesterday afternoon. the driver, a 39—year—old man, was arrested. officers say the investigation in its early stages and have urged people not to speculate online about what happened. the metropolitan police has released the name of the 15—year—old boy who was killed in a park in south london on thursday evening. zaian aimable—lina was stabbed in ashburton park in croydon on thursday evening. a 15—year—old boy who was arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on bail. the latest headlines on bbc news. as england reports another record number of daily coronavirus cases — health officials warn the days ahead will be

crucial as hospitalisations continue to rise. new year honours for leading figures in the battle against covid. professors chris whitty and jonathan van—tam are knighted. drjenny harries and drjune raine are both made dames. the president of south africa pays tribute to desmond tutu as "the spiritual father of our new nation". and the archbishop's daughter also spoke movingly at his funeral: a deliberately modest state funeral has taken place in south africa for one of the heroes of the struggle against apartheid, archbishop desmond tutu. speaking during the ceremony in cape town, the south african president, cyril ramaphosa, described desmond tutu as the "spiritual father" of the nation. from cape town, our correspondent nomsa maseko reports. family, friends and politicians

bidding farewell to a man who became one of the most important voices of the 20th century. this was a final sendoff for archbishop desmond tutu, following a week of events to honour him. speakers shared memories of the anglican priest who did all he could to expose and to heal the wounds of south africa's brutal past. many of the messages we received have said, "thank you for sharing him with the world." well, it actually is a two—way street. because we shared him with the world, you shared part of the love you held for him with us. south africa's president delivered the main eulogy. archbishop desmond tutu has been our moral compass, but he has also been our national conscience.

it was during south africa's long and violent struggle against the country's brutal regime that he rose to prominence. we will be free! after the country became a democracy, he presided over the tumultuous reconciliation process. in accordance with his wishes, the archbishop will be aquamated — this is a greener alternative to cremation. his ashes will be interred beneath floor here at st george's cathedral. it is the end of an era — the last of south africa's well known freedom fighters leaves behind a difficult task for the leaders to rid the country of corruption and racial divisions, and to also forge the way forward in the spirit of the moral compass that many believe was the driving force to tutu's leadership. nomsa maseko, bbc news, cape town.

the archbishop of canterbury has urged people today not to despair when it comes to climate change. justin welby, who's head of the worldwide anglican communion, has used his new year's message to reflect on the challenges the issue creates, but also the work being done to help solve the problem. new customs rules on goods imported into the uk from the european union have come into force. there will be border checks, and importers will have to make a full customs declaration. the checks had been due to take effect six months ago but were delayed because businesses said they needed more time to prepare. in france, a new law banning plastic packaging on most fruit and vegetables has come into effect today. cucumbers, lemons and oranges are among the 30 varieties banned from being wrapped in plastic. larger packs, as well as chopped or processed fruit, will be exempt. now, park lane stables is a facility in london which helps

children with disabilities. 2021 was a year full of ups and downs. starting with it being under threat of closure, only to survive after a huge fundraising effort led by natalie o'rourke. all all her hard work has now been acknowledged with an mbe. fiona lamdin has been to see natalie and herfamily. guys, i have got something to tell you. i have got this letter, and i can't quite believe i'm saying this, but i have got a special award from the queen. are you proud of mummy? yes. do you want to have a look at the letter? yes. there you go. it has been quite a year for natalie and the stables she has saved. an mbe from the queen for her outstanding service to the community. is it good? good, yes. she is kind and she is caring -

and she doesn't get angry too much. thrilled, thrilled. she has had a hell of a year, as most people have, of course, but apart from nearly losing the stables, all the work she has done with the disadvantaged has been rewarded and i am so proud. but a year ago, things looked very, very different. but now the landlord wants to sell up, so the community has only one week left to raise £1 million. they are desperate for any help. 350 disabled people are relying on us, so i absolutely have to do it for them. we all want the best _ for our children, but when you get someone like dominic, - just seeing the joy and what that activity can give him, i like nothing else can do, that's why it is so important. there are big smiles at the stables. what a difference 24 hours makes!

all day, the moneyjust kept coming in, by phone, in person, and online. thank you so much. that is so kind of you. they had just seven days to raise the rest of the money, and unbelievably, by mid morning they had done it. so i've got something to tell you. i got this letter, and i have got an award from the queen in the new year's honours. so when you got the letter and you opened it up, what was your first reaction? well, to be honest, i thought it was maybe a joke. i thought it might be a wind—up from one of my friends, so i called the number on the letter to check that it was real because i couldn't actually believe it. and then when you realised it wasn't a joke? ijust feel really proud, i feel really humbled. i'm a very, very ordinary

girl from birmingham. i feel like there's always an invisible army of people behind me, supporting me, and really they should all have it as well, and we should all go to the palace. with an award from the queen, and the stables now theirs for ever, 2022 is certainly getting off to an incredible start. fiona lamdin, bbc news. congratulations to natalie. a runner who set himself the challenge to run at least 5 kilometres every day for a year to raise awareness of knife crime has completed his mission. david fitzgerald — who's from liverpool — was inspired to do it after a family friend was stabbed to death in 2017. samantha nanda reports. cheering david has run almost 2500 kilometres. that is more than 1500 miles over

the last 365 days, with no days off. it has been amazing, a hell of a journey that i have been on. the highlight was running with jamie carragher, one of my heroes. every type of weather you can think of. snow, rain, storms. christmas day? yes, it was really good and i deserved my christmas dinner afterwards. he started his running challenge after hearing adam ellison's family talk about the devastating impact of knife crime. adam was fatally stabbed in the neck in 2017, and a foundation was set up in his memory. just so proud of him and what he is doing. he really is wonderful. in all weathers, he has been ill as well and still gone out. i am just so pleased that he is on with us, our adam foundation. we area we are a north. —— in awe.

it takes some doing, you know? you think, "could i do something like that? n°_" he's amazing, what he has achieved over the last 365 days. we are super, super proud of him. there is still more to do because it is still happening in this city and other cities around the country, so there's still a lot of work to do. it's been four years since adam was killed, and all his family want for 2022 is to find those responsible. no—one should be taking a knife out with them. it needs to stop. it has taken too many innocent lives and they are still out there. we need justice for adam. well done, daddy! what are you going to do after this? either rest on the couch, orjust keep going and try to get to 500 or 1000. i don't know where it will take us, to be honest. today is officially the hottest new year's day on record. the met office say temperatures have reached 16.2 degrees in stjames's park in central london. the previous record was set in bude, cornwall in 1916, when it reached 15.6 celsius.

they've also confirmed that scotland has just recorded its hottest new year's day temperature. achnagart hit 15.9c this morning — breaking the pervious record of 1a.5c at inverurie from 1992. let's get the lastest weather now with ben rich. hello there. the warmest new year's eve on record has been followed provisionally by the warmest new year's day on record with temperatures in the capital hitting above 16 celsius. as we head through tonight it's going to be another it's going to be another mild one but perhaps not as mild as last night. some clear spells but as you can see, outbreaks of heavy rain working and for the west at times. temperature is six to 12 degrees with up as we head into tomorrow this area of wet weather will clear away from northern and eastern

england, some drier weather following him behind but some spells of sunshine. the rain will swing back into southwest england and wales and work eastward through the day. northern ireland and scotland will see some sunny spells but also showers some of which could be heavy. another pretty windy day out there but temperatures a shade down on where they have been, nine to 13 degrees. it's set to turn quite a lot colder as we head towards the middle part of the week. there will be some wintry showers a time and we stick with that somewhat chilly or feel as we head towards the end of the week. hello. this is bbc news. as england reports another record number

of daily coronavirus cases, health officials warn the days ahead will be crucial as hospitalisations continue to rise. new year honours for leading figures in the battle against covid. professors chris whitty and jonathan van tam are knighted. drjenny harries and drjune raine are both made dames. the president of south africa pays tribute to desmond tutu as "the spiritual father of our new nation". today is officially the hottest new year's day on record — with temperatures reaching 16.2 degrees in st james's park in central london. now on bbc news, review 2021, the media year. our media editor, amol rajan, takes a close look at some of the organisations running our digital world in his review of the year.

hello. i hope the year has been kind to you. the media industry is defining a new normal, and coming to terms with the second year of a global pandemic. print and distribution costs are growing pretty much everywhere. but so too are online subscriptions and targeted advertising. big tech is more dominant than ever, but governments and regulators around the world, including here in the uk, are waking up to new ways to shape these giants of global media. or at least squaring up for a fight with them. nevertheless, many of the biggest headlines this year came from more traditional media. presenter piers morgan left itv�*s good morning britain after saying that he didn't believe a word that meghan said in that interview with oprah winfrey. concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born. ..what?

from race to mental health, progressive californian values to the british monarchy, every element of oprah's interview with prince harry and meghan has been catnip for the frenzy and fury of today's culture wars, in which all of us are pitched against each other. has she said anything about... sometimes, it boils over. but yet you continue to trash her. - ok, i'm done with this! broadcaster piers morgan left itv, unwilling to apologise for saying he didn't believe meghan's claims. the next morning, morgan was bullish. no, i believe in freedom of speech. i believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. if people want to believe meghan markle, that's entirely their right. into this heady brew, britain launched a new experiment, partly inspired by america. and while piers was busy throwing a fit before he quit, the all—white teenybopper trump fan club was getting equally hysterical about the interview. in the us, cable news is no longer regulated. it prioritises personality and opinion in prime time slots, from the liberal msnbc,

to the right—wing fox news. britain still has a broadcast regulator, ofcom, but is moving in the same direction. more than 30 years after he was the launch chairman of sky, former sunday times editor and ex—bbc broadcaster andrew neil played the same role for the new gb news, pitched as a centre—right antidote to established broadcasters. will we be different from the existing networks? yes! because they all do the same thing. so what's the point of doing what they do? will we cover stories a different way? yes! will we give voices to people outside the metropolitan consensus? yes! do we have an interest in fox news? no! disinformation? no! conspiracy theories? no! oh, man alive, why would you argue... gb news will exploit the subtle but significant distinction between impartiality within programmes, and balance across a network that the likes of radio station lbc have navigated.

in an age of super—abundant information, our attention becomes the most precious resource. and the momentum within our news culture is with those who can best grab that attention. but generating noise is easy. generating news is hard and expensive. gb news will galvanise british broadcasting, but it will do so mainly by accelerating trends that we are already seeing, online and in america, towards big personalities. we do not need further division by creating a system of broadcasting where people only see the opinions that they like. i must listen to opinions i don't agree with, and i don't like. that's how i come to know the truth. morgan wasn't out of a job for long. he signed a deal with rupert murdoch's news corp and fox news to launch a global tv show, and become a columnist. but andrew neil left his role at gb news after presenting just a few programmes.

he told question time why. the differences were such that the direction they were going in was not the direction that i had outlined, was not the direction i had envisaged for the channel. but i was in a minority of one. despite initial technical challenges, gb news is steadily building an audience, both on digital platforms and on linear tv. its star presenter is nigel farage, who brought in a global exclusive interview with donald trump. gb news will need continued steady growth if it is to flourish financially. another product which is flourishing is times radio. to launch any new business is hard. to do so in a pandemic is harder still. and to do so in a pandemic, in a market dominated by the mighty bbc and to achieve a solid audience is a remarkable achievement. he said no rules have been broken. if that turns out not to be... the first official audience

figures for times radio in october showed a weekly reach of 637,000. it's vindicated rebekah brooks' decision as leader of news uk to pivot to radio. the station has extended the times brand and could yet be a healthy earner for the company. 25 years after the panorama interview with princess diana, the report written by lord dyson and commissioned by the new director—general of the bbc had some scathing criticism, both of the corporation and of the correspondent martin bashir. lord dyson condemned both the way that the bbc secured that interview and its failure to investigate its own journalists, as my colleague david sillitoe reported. the story that's emerged — that landmark interview with princess diana was based on a deceit. the dyson report concludes that fake documents were used to win the trust of princess diana's brother, that martin bashir was devious and dishonest.