hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are tony grew, who's a parliamentaryjournalist, and journalist and broadcaster caroline frost. tony and caroline, look forward to talking to you in just a minute, tony and caroline, look forward to talking to you injust a minute, but first let's take a look at what those front pages are saying. according to the guardian, the government has told head teachers in england to start preparing for staff shortages by using support staff as fill—in teachers, combining classes, with some classes taught remotely and some face—to—face. the daily telegraph says that government plans to force children to wear masks in school are facing a backlash, with warnings about the long—term impact of masks on children's mental health. the daily mirror reports that the nhs is fighting a staffing "meltdown", with one in ten absent from work on new year's eve. the times leads with ministers saying there is "nothing"

in the data to support further covid restrictions, as scientists suggest that infections may peak before new measures could have an impact, while the i says that borisjohnson is set to put off tough new curbs amid the uncertainty over data. so let's begin, and we are looking at that story from the i, first of all, the headline, pm to delay decision on new coping restrictions. let's begin with you on that one. the government says the data is still unclear. there still some discussion about whether were not introducing new measures will actually have the effect that it is supposed to. one of the things that i think about in this pandemic is that it i think about in this pandemic is thatitis i think about in this pandemic is that it is actually ultimate up to ministry, because the scientists can advise the ministers and tell them about their theories and make recommendations, but ultimately the decisions have to be made by the

elected representatives, by ministers, and they have to take into account a lot more than just the nhs, they have to take into account for example the economy. if you are in a public restaurant, he probably had the worst a summary of ever had. that is would have a knock on effect on people's lives. there is going to be issues to do with unemployment, there is good be tax rises this year, so tough new measures... i do not know if we needed tough new measures at this stage, so the government has to decide what to do.— stage, so the government has to decide what to do. caroline, a theme runnina decide what to do. caroline, a theme running through _ decide what to do. caroline, a theme running through the _ decide what to do. caroline, a theme running through the pages _ decide what to do. caroline, a theme running through the pages we - decide what to do. caroline, a theme running through the pages we are - running through the pages we are looking at tonight, shorted staffing in many areas, as schools return this week. if any decision is made now, it is entirely arguable, isn't it, whether that will have in impact? it, whether that will have in im act? ., ., ,

it, whether that will have in imact? ., .,, a, , impact? the thought was boris johnson impact? the thought was boris johnson was — impact? the thought was boris johnson was taking _ impact? the thought was boris johnson was taking a _ impact? the thought was boris johnson was taking a bit - impact? the thought was boris johnson was taking a bit of- impact? the thought was boris johnson was taking a bit of a i impact? the thought was boris - johnson was taking a bit of a gamble johnson was taking a bit of a gamble over christmas, but so far there is no clear_ over christmas, but so far there is no clear evidence what he has lost or worn _ no clear evidence what he has lost orwon, because no clear evidence what he has lost or won, because the no clear evidence what he has lost orwon, because the numbers no clear evidence what he has lost or won, because the numbers are going _ or won, because the numbers are going down— or won, because the numbers are going down on daily covid basis, but the numbers are up over seven days, so it is_ the numbers are up over seven days, so it is unclear. at the moment i can see — so it is unclear. at the moment i can see but _ so it is unclear. at the moment i can see but he is delaying it as long _ can see but he is delaying it as long as — can see but he is delaying it as long as possible, in the desperate hope _ long as possible, in the desperate hope the — long as possible, in the desperate hope the graph continues to go in a positive _ hope the graph continues to go in a positive direction posted as you say, _ positive direction posted as you say, the — positive direction posted as you say, the papers are full of compared to a year— say, the papers are full of compared to a year ago, people getting ill, this time, — to a year ago, people getting ill, this time, it is people being pinged, _ this time, it is people being pinged, having to take time from work because of a positive test. that _ work because of a positive test. that knock_ work because of a positive test. that knock on effect of isolating on so many _ that knock on effect of isolating on so many areas of industry, including public— so many areas of industry, including public service work posted as tony said, _ public service work posted as tony said. it _ public service work posted as tony said. it is — public service work posted as tony said, it is one for ministers, it is having _ said, it is one for ministers, it is having to — said, it is one for ministers, it is having to out _ said, it is one for ministers, it is having to put all ducks in a row and cast your— having to put all ducks in a row and cast your net — having to put all ducks in a row and cast your net where you hope the best _ cast your net where you hope the best it _ cast your net where you hope the

best. , ., , , ., ., ., ., best. it is two sets of data, one on the hospitalisation _ best. it is two sets of data, one on the hospitalisation and _ best. it is two sets of data, one on the hospitalisation and debts - best. it is two sets of data, one on the hospitalisation and debts and i the hospitalisation and debts and another set of data on the impact staff absences are having. let's move onto the guardian, these front page for the guardian topline merge classes to cope with covid staffing crisis, had teachers cold, and this seems to be a theme emerging, caroline, as we look at education specifically —— head teachers are told. specifically -- head teachers are told. . specifically -- head teachers are told. , ., ., , specifically -- head teachers are told. , ., .,, told. yes, for the last few weeks, all we have _ told. yes, for the last few weeks, all we have heard _ told. yes, for the last few weeks, all we have heard about _ told. yes, for the last few weeks, all we have heard about his - told. yes, for the last few weeks, i all we have heard about his pressure on the _ all we have heard about his pressure on the nhs~ — all we have heard about his pressure on the nhs. the spotlight has moved to the _ on the nhs. the spotlight has moved to the effect on classrooms, school pupils _ to the effect on classrooms, school puniis. 0ne — to the effect on classrooms, school pupils. one of the ideas is merging classes _ pupils. one of the ideas is merging classes if— pupils. one of the ideas is merging classes if head teachers and principals find their numbers of teaching — principals find their numbers of teaching staff are so terribly diminished by people having to take forced _ diminished by people having to take forced absences. i am not really sure _ forced absences. i am not really sure the — forced absences. i am not really sure. the novelty of that may be fun for a _ sure. the novelty of that may be fun for a few _ sure. the novelty of that may be fun for a few weeks. in the long term that is— for a few weeks. in the long term that is not— for a few weeks. in the long term

that is not at all beneficial to chitdren— that is not at all beneficial to children who have as we will see, are also— children who have as we will see, are also having to deal with the prospect of wearing masks and having this huge _ prospect of wearing masks and having this huge continuing disruption on their education at a crucial stages. yeah. _ their education at a crucial stages. yeah. andv. — their education at a crucial stages. yeah, andy, tony, the government continues to say education is a priority. but as we look at the story and the next one about masks in classrooms as well, i suppose lots of questions about whether, if you do if you take the route of merging classes, bringing in supply teachers if you can get hold of those supply teachers, whether that is delivering the level of education, the standard of education, the standard of education, that the government has been talking about. what education, that the government has been talking about.— been talking about. what this says is that schools _ been talking about. what this says is that schools have _ been talking about. what this says is that schools have been - been talking about. what this says is that schools have been told - been talking about. what this says is that schools have been told it i is that schools have been told it may be that they might have to deal with this... one of the thing about being a journalist, you are

attracted to the worst case scenario, the one thatjumps out at you. last year, we were told the nhs had to be protected from being overwhelmed. in my view but the education system is as important as the nhs everything must be done to keep kids in school this year. the damage that has been the 2 million of children's education and indeed mental health is incalculable, and so my view is, whatever measures are required to keep schools open and whatever measures are required to keep kids in school... i whatever measures are required to keep kids in school. . ._ whatever measures are required to keep kids in school... i suspect had teachers and _ keep kids in school. .. i suspect had teachers and other— keep kids in school... i suspect had teachers and other buses _ keep kids in school... i suspect had teachers and other buses in - teachers and other buses in different areas might say, but we need to plan for various scenarios, and i guess that is part of the argument as well. but stay with schools. the front page of the telegraph. it says a backlash at masks in school as cases ease. he top paragraph says, plans to force children — that is a pretty emotive

word — in schools to wear masks faced a backlash after dropping covid cases. analyse that one, tony. what is your view on this? mr; what is your view on this? my view on this is it — what is your view on this? my view on this is it is _ what is your view on this? my view on this is it is completely _ on this is it is completely illogical. you are saying children after masks in schools, but adults don't have to wear asked in workplaces, don't have to wear masks in pubs, and one other thing people are sick of is it does not appear to be consistent, and this in the example... what will be achieved by that? is it to protect children and is it protect teachers? what is the evidence that will have the significant effect on both of those cohorts? is significant effect on both of those cohorts? . . . significant effect on both of those cohorts? , ., , ., significant effect on both of those cohorts? , ., cohorts? is it as logical as you su: est cohorts? is it as logical as you suggest if. — cohorts? is it as logical as you suggest if. you _ cohorts? is it as logical as you suggest if, you said _ cohorts? is it as logical as you suggest if, you said a - cohorts? is it as logical as you suggest if, you said a second. cohorts? is it as logical as you i suggest if, you said a second ago that protecting education is as important as protecting the nhs? is it therefore illogical to prepare schools with someone being able to

go to the pub —— compare was yellow comparing go to the pub -- compare was yellow com arina , .,, ., go to the pub -- compare was yellow comarin: , .,, ., ., ., ~' go to the pub -- compare was yellow comarin: , .,, ., ., ., ~ , comparing where people go to work is illogical- people _ comparing where people go to work is illogical. people sit _ comparing where people go to work is illogical. people sit closer _ comparing where people go to work is illogical. people sit closer in - comparing where people go to work is illogical. people sit closer in the - illogical. people sit closer in the pub than in schools.— illogical. people sit closer in the pub than in schools. what you make of this article _ pub than in schools. what you make of this article in _ pub than in schools. what you make of this article in the _ pub than in schools. what you make of this article in the telegraph? - pub than in schools. what you make of this article in the telegraph? i . of this article in the telegraph? i do understand the backlash. i am pretty— do understand the backlash. i am pretty risk—averse, but this is the argument — pretty risk—averse, but this is the argument that does not have many legs. _ argument that does not have many legs. when— argument that does not have many legs, when you consider so many other— legs, when you consider so many other adults are going to work, children— other adults are going to work, children have got so many problems with socialisation and are learning heing _ with socialisation and are learning being impeded. plus there is no real proof— being impeded. plus there is no real proof everybody is wear the mask correctiv — proof everybody is wear the mask correctly. there are several other instrument — correctly. there are several other instrument of vaccination, testing, to he _ instrument of vaccination, testing, to be pursued before this idea... i see this _ to be pursued before this idea... i see this more as a gesture. this is a very— see this more as a gesture. this is a very visible — see this more as a gesture. this is a very visible gesture of doing something in the face of all the chaos. — something in the face of all the chaos, but i'm not sure it stands up to too— chaos, but i'm not sure it stands up to too much— chaos, but i'm not sure it stands up to too much scrutiny. i think boris johnson _ to too much scrutiny. i think boris johnson will — to too much scrutiny. i think boris johnson will have a fight on his hand. — johnson will have a fight on his hand. but— johnson will have a fight on his hand, but i think this will be one

of the _ hand, but i think this will be one of the many things to be considered during _ of the many things to be considered during this — of the many things to be considered during this long debate on wednesday. do during this long debate on wednesday.— during this long debate on wednesday. during this long debate on wednesda . ~ .,~ , wednesday. do you think, if it makes a contribution, and _ wednesday. do you think, if it makes a contribution, and will _ wednesday. do you think, if it makes a contribution, and will put _ wednesday. do you think, if it makes a contribution, and will put it - a contribution, and will put it at the knees —— won't put it any trouble than that... some people state masks make a very significant difference, but let's call it a contribution. if it makes a contribution. if it makes a contribution to keeping schools open, and we know the harms done to children from being away physically from school, do you think it is worthwhile? do you think this backlash will be quelled? think any arent backlash will be quelled? think any parent would _ backlash will be quelled? think any parent would rather _ backlash will be quelled? think any parent would rather there - backlash will be quelled? think any parent would rather there child - parent would rather there child wearing — parent would rather there child wearing a — parent would rather there child wearing a mask than being at home. any wearing a mask than being at home. anv plank— wearing a mask than being at home. anv plank is— wearing a mask than being at home. any plank is helpful. the wearing a mask than being at home. any plank is helpful.— any plank is helpful. the yorkshire post next. another _ any plank is helpful. the yorkshire post next. another area _ any plank is helpful. the yorkshire post next. another area being - post next. another area being affected by covid shortages, this time airborne rescuers. tony, take us through this. this time airborne rescuers. tony, take us through this.— us through this. this is a story from the _ us through this. this is a story from the archer _ us through this. this is a story from the archer post - us through this. this is a story from the archer post which - us through this. this is a storyl from the archer post which said us through this. this is a story - from the archer post which said they may have to scale back on operations

—— the yorkshire post. it is much of the same as the other headlines we have seen today. that the same as the other headlines we have seen today.— have seen today. that is a pretty blunt appraisal _ have seen today. that is a pretty blunt appraisal of _ have seen today. that is a pretty blunt appraisal of it. _ have seen today. that is a pretty blunt appraisal of it. going - have seen today. that is a pretty blunt appraisal of it. going back| have seen today. that is a pretty i blunt appraisal of it. going back to that point i was making about organisations, whether it is the school or an ambulance service, having to plan ahead, it becomes more difficult for them, doesn't it? yes, force it does, and what part of theissueis yes, force it does, and what part of the issue is people, if they have to isolate, they are not sick with the virus and told to stay at home, i am not arguing that as a policy, but the isolation period was produced from ten to seven days, that is positive, will have an effect, but this is something we are going to see across all public and private sector organisations in the worst case scenario, and we may not be any worse case scenario. lode case scenario, and we may not be any worse case scenario.— worse case scenario. we may not, we ho -e we worse case scenario. we may not, we hope we are _ worse case scenario. we may not, we hope we are not. — worse case scenario. we may not, we hope we are not, but _ worse case scenario. we may not, we hope we are not, but caroline, - hope we are not, but caroline, organisations, they want to make their voices heard — this is a

perfect way to do it, isn't it? they hope that their local mp will see this and that it will filter through to the government.— this and that it will filter through to the government. sure. the pie is onl so to the government. sure. the pie is only so big. — to the government. sure. the pie is only so big. and _ to the government. sure. the pie is only so big, and every _ to the government. sure. the pie is only so big, and every buddy - to the government. sure. the pie is only so big, and every buddy wants| to the government. sure. the pie is| only so big, and every buddy wants a slice i_ only so big, and every buddy wants a slice iguess— only so big, and every buddy wants a slice. i guess if you are stuck or one _ slice. i guess if you are stuck or one of— slice. i guess if you are stuck or one of your— slice. i guess if you are stuck or one of your loved ones is lying inj'ured. — one of your loved ones is lying injured, you feel the absence or the reduced _ injured, you feel the absence or the reduced service that the airborne service _ reduced service that the airborne service can — reduced service that the airborne service can offer very, very keenly as opposed — service can offer very, very keenly as opposed to somebody standing somewhere waiting for their been to be emptied this week, which has not been _ be emptied this week, which has not been it— be emptied this week, which has not been. it depends on where you are standing _ been. it depends on where you are standing. and everybody can relate to one _ standing. and everybody can relate to one person really suffering as a result _ to one person really suffering as a result of— to one person really suffering as a result of all this. the problem the government has is it has 60 million of those _ government has is it has 60 million of those individual stores to try and juggle and come up with, i guess. — and juggle and come up with, i guess. it — and juggle and come up with, i guess, it would have to adopt some utilitarian _ guess, it would have to adopt some utilitarian principle, but striking the balance of getting all our needs. — the balance of getting all our needs. i_ the balance of getting all our needs, i am so glad it is above my

pay grade — needs, i am so glad it is above my pay grade support let's talk about backbenchers again, some backbenchers again, some backbenchers among those putting pressure _ backbenchers among those putting pressure on the prime minister over the mandate pressure on the prime minister over the mandat— pressure on the prime minister over the mandat ., ,~' ,. ., ., the mandate unmasked in school. the advice to wear — the mandate unmasked in school. the advice to wear masks in _ the mandate unmasked in school. the advice to wear masks in school... - growing pressure from his backbenchers to scrap some of the green taxes, the green levees that make up a quarter of electricity bills as costs for households rise. caroline, you want to start with that one?— caroline, you want to start with that one? , ,, ., ,., that one? goodness me! can you believe it is _ that one? goodness me! can you believe it is only, _ that one? goodness me! can you believe it is only, what, - that one? goodness me! can you believe it is only, what, six - that one? goodness me! can you believe it is only, what, six or. believe it is only, what, six or seven— believe it is only, what, six or seven iong _ believe it is only, what, six or seven long weeks since cop26, we know _ seven long weeks since cop26, we know we _ seven long weeks since cop26, we know we heard about was boris johnson — know we heard about was boris johnson and his pledges towards a net zero _ johnson and his pledges towards a net zero nation? this is a story that— net zero nation? this is a story that could _ net zero nation? this is a story that could have been on this front page _ that could have been on this front page prior— that could have been on this front page prior to the covid epidemic, it kind of— page prior to the covid epidemic, it kind of dispute a little bit, but now _ kind of dispute a little bit, but now i— kind of dispute a little bit, but now i guess it is back... boris johnson — now i guess it is back... boris johnson has got a fight on his

hands — johnson has got a fight on his hands. we know that sustainability and equal— hands. we know that sustainability and equal awareness, protecting the planet. _ and equal awareness, protecting the planet. is— and equal awareness, protecting the planet, isjust a case of who and equal awareness, protecting the planet, is just a case of who to and equal awareness, protecting the planet, isjust a case of who to put that ievy _ planet, isjust a case of who to put that ievy on~ — planet, isjust a case of who to put that levy on. good luck with that one! _ that levy on. good luck with that one! ., , ., that levy on. good luck with that one! ., ., , one! tony, how does he balance keein: one! tony, how does he balance keeping up _ one! tony, how does he balance keeping up with _ one! tony, how does he balance keeping up with promises - one! tony, how does he balance keeping up with promises on - one! tony, how does he balancel keeping up with promises on that zero in working towards and that zero in working towards and that zero strategy with also helping people with their bills? i zero strategy with also helping people with their bills?- people with their bills? i don't know the answer _ people with their bills? i don't know the answer to _ people with their bills? i don't know the answer to that, - people with their bills? i don't know the answer to that, and | people with their bills? i don't| know the answer to that, and i people with their bills? i don't - know the answer to that, and i don't know the answer to that, and i don't know if anybody else does. the promise of the government may are admirable, but the question is, who is going to pay for them? this has been focused in people's mind because energy prices are going to go because energy prices are going to 9° up because energy prices are going to go up significantly this year. and i think it is important to say that some of the government's backbenchers are putting pressure on the prime minister, not all of them. whenever i hear this, tory mps, it reminds me there are more than 360

of them. he is under pressure over masks, on whether he is good to bring in further covid restrictions. a lot of people are gonna be very unhappy in april when their taxes go up, i do not think this is good to be goading yourfor the prime ministers. be goading your for the prime ministers— be goading your for the prime ministers. �* , . ,, ., ministers. and it feeds back into the oint ministers. and it feeds back into the point you're _ ministers. and it feeds back into the point you're making - ministers. and it feeds back into the point you're making earlier. ministers. and it feeds back into l the point you're making earlier -- the point you're making earlier —— going to be a good yearfor the prime ministers. given the problems there are with the economy and how much money has been spent on dealing with covid and you can see part of the reason the government's desire not to bring a new restrictions club and we are going to go back very briefly, just out of time, the daily telegraph. what is this all about? we should be a little bit careful important for condemning so—called mickey mouse degree subjects in other countries. this is a story about higher education in french mac france, a new this is a story about higher education in french mac

clois —— a new higher education course in french on the joy of life... course in french on the 'oy of life... ., ., ., , , life... caroline, apparently includes... _ life. .. caroline, apparently includes... i— life... caroline, apparently includes... i am _ life. .. caroline, apparently includes... i am up- life. .. caroline, apparently includes... i am up for- life... caroline, apparently includes... i am up for a i life... caroline, apparently- includes... i am up for a posting trade away! _ includes... i am up for a posting trade away! it _ includes... i am up for a posting trade away! it is _ includes... i am up for a posting trade away! it is a _ includes... i am up for a posting trade away! it is a huge - includes... i am up for a posting trade away! it is a huge soft - includes... i am up for a posting . trade away! it is a huge soft power, one of— trade away! it is a huge soft power, one of france's most potent soft powers _ one of france's most potent soft powers across the world. i am sure it will— powers across the world. i am sure it will be _ powers across the world. i am sure it will be open to parity wally long lines forming, probably we speak! for the _ lines forming, probably we speak! for the moment, caroline lines forming, probably we speak! forthe moment, caroline and lines forming, probably we speak! for the moment, caroline and tony, thank you very much. does it for the papers hour. tony and caroline be back at half past iipm papers hour. tony and caroline be back at half past ”pm for another look at those papers. goodbye for now. —— that's it for the papers this hour. the information commissioner's office describes itself as the uk's

independent authority, set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. for the past five years, the commissioner has been elizabeth denham, and she leaves her post at the end of november. elizabeth, thank you very much indeed for speaking to the bbc. so you've been information commissioner since 2016, summer of 2016, a particularly lively period in british politics. were you quite aware of what you were getting into, in terms of the sheer scale, the gargantuan power of, in particular, the californian tech companies that have been so much of your focus? well, i had been in the cross hairs of some of those big companies in my previous work in canada, but what i didn't know, and i think none of us knew, the massive acceleration of information communications technologies, the take—up of services online and also the size and scope of these companies that are bigger than nation states.

and the lobbying power that comes with it, because these companies have added trillions of dollars in their power and they spend some of that money trying to stop, through lobbying, people like you from regulating them. the other thing that i've learned in this job is that big tech not only has lobbying power, but they also have really deep pockets. so when it comes to litigating, and these companies are definitely willing to litigate against public authorities like my office, deep pockets means that there's an inequity of arms when we're tackling these big companies. so, i mean, just the acceleration of technology and, especially with the pandemic, how much of our lives we now spend online, this has been a change that i couldn't have anticipated. well, you had an early skirmish which maybe became a battle when, in 2017, you launched an investigation into use of personal information and political influence.

the scale of your investigation was completely unprecedented for a data protection authority anywhere in the world. one element of your investigation, a big element, was the eu referendum. can you just remind us what your conclusion was on that specifically? we were looking at more than 30 organisations that were part it was really important to look at the political parties, we needed to look at the data brokers who provide a lot of this data, the platform, particularly facebook, and the company that was the centre of this crisis and these questions, which was cambridge analytica, a british company. but to distil it down, something that some people who have a kind of ambient awareness of this company may not know is that you concluded that, in the end, it would be wrong to assume that data from cambridge analytica played any role, let alone a critical role, in influencing people to vote leave.

we could not find the evidence. and as a regulator, we have to be driven by the evidence that we found. we did find that cambridge analytica had flirted with having... a relationship. ..a contract, a relationship with the campaigns. we even know there was some trials done with the use of data. but what we discovered, which was more important than anything, was we were able to pull back the curtain so that the public and media and civil society and our legislators understood about the power of data in political campaigning. and i think we stopped the train from leaving the station. so if we hadn't done that investigation, if we hadn't proven that all of these companies operating in an ecosystem needed to slow down in the use of that data or else, we would feel the impact on our democracy. so as part of your investigation

into cambridge analytica, you fined facebook what was then the maximum fine at your disposal, which is £500,000. facebook appealed, and it did get quite legally complex because the upshot was that an agreement was reached. facebook agreed to pay the £500,000 fine, but they did not admit liability. there's no admission of liability, as far as i understand it. was it a source of frustration to you at the time that your armoury was so limited that you could ask a company now worth over $1 trillion for £500,000? it's... it was deeply frustrating. why? because the signal i was trying to send is that we had never issued a fine for the maximum amount under our old regime. and if i had had more significant fines, then i would have used them against facebook, because i think the contravention was extremely serious. now, facebook have made a huge number of changes to how they operate. they've made their ad library much more transparent, they've changed the privacy settings and the availability

of privacy settings to users. what's your assessment of whether or not facebook is a safe place now? i think the platform is safer. we also know that they've made some commitments to protect children on the platform, and that's definitely been a focus of my office. so, yes, facebook is a safer place to go for people, but some of the commitments feel like they're sticking plaster, as opposed to real changes in the data governance and how the business model works. well, the accusation of one former facebook employee, frances haugen, goes further than what you're saying, which is that, actually, for facebook, ultimately — in her view — the bottom line is what counts. and they put profits before people, in her view. she used to work on the company's algorithmic products, and she was very damning in her evidence to a senate committee.

facebook hides behind walls that keeps researchers and regulators from understanding the true dynamics of their system. facebook will tell you privacy means they can't give you data. this is not true. let me put to you what mark zuckerberg said in response — on facebook, of course. he says, "i think most of us" — presumably facebook employees — "just don't recognise the false picture of the company that is being painted." and he said, "at the heart of these accusations is this idea that we prioritise profit over safety and well—being. that's just not true." we're looking really closely at what is publicly available right now from frances's testimony. so we're looking at that publicly available information. but i've also written to her, to ask her for access to the full reports of her allegations, the full reports that she made to the securities and exchange commission, because what i want to do without evidence is analyse it from the uk's perspective — are these harms applicable in the uk, especially through the lens of children?

so, as you know, we have rolled out a new children's code which specifies design consideration to protect kids online. and i want to see if these allegations point to any contravention of uk law, and then i will take action. i guess the enforcement of that dovetails with gdpr, the general data protection regulation, which came into effect under your watch. how valuable and effective has gdpr been as a legal framework? the strength of the gdpr is that because there were high fines and new enforcement tools for the regulator, companies paid attention to it. and data protection, instead ofjust being an it issue, became a board—level issue, and so i think companies took data protection seriously for the first time in 20 years. i want to briefly look at how the criminaljustice system has been

influenced by the ico during your time as commissioner. last year, you released an investigation into the use of mobile phone extraction by police forces conducting criminal investigations in england and wales. those safeguards are now going to be enshrined in law, which a lot of people have put down as a big success for your office. what were you concerned about? and what will this work mean in practice? the mobile phone extraction investigation, and our work across the uk, is one of the most important files that i've ever dealt with. when police forces started to require victims of sexual assault to upload everything on their mobile phones, put it in the hands of police and prosecutors, then that created a chill on women and men reporting sexual assault. and i think that was such a serious issue, so we needed to intervene and find a way to work with police

so that their lines of inquiry had to be clear before they uploaded data from victims' phones. a lot of people think that the pandemic has led to a kind of massive data landgrab by central government. how confident are you that that's necessary and proportionate? data protection didn't stand in the way of the kind of reasonable public health surveillance measures that needed to be put in place. so, we became very used to a proximity app that was tracing and advising who we were coming in contact with, we got used to the idea of vaccine passports, which are important if you want to travel or attend live events, so we know that. on the other hand, the decommissioning of these systems is something that we'll be looking at really carefully. and i'm drafting a report to parliament on covid measures and the importance of

decommissioning or ensuring that when these systems are no longer needed, they're not going to be fluid, are not going to be continued by the government. let me end by asking you some quickfire questions. are you on any of the following social media platforms — facebook? no. snapchat? no. instagram? no. tiktok? no. any social media platforms? no. what forms of communication do you use? are you on whatsapp? no. signal? yes. search engines — which search engines do you use for personal use? google search? yes. microsoft bing? yes. duckduckgo? yes. big fan of duckduckgo. why? because i think it was the first search engine that rolled out their services in a privacy—by—design way. have you ever had anyone deny you information by saying they can't give it to you due to data protection reasons? always. happens to me all the time. how do you deal with that? and often, its complete crap. i call them out on it.

you've been quite outspoken about specific proposals to reform the ico and its constitution. what are you worried about? some of the proposals in the government's data reform consultation, i agree with. the new powers that are being suggested for the ico to deal with nuisance calls and nuisance texts, biggerfines for companies that get it wrong, absolutely agree with that. i also agree with the review of the law. but an independent regulator is really important to trust and confidence. and if a regulator can be leaned on politically or if government directs the work of the regulator, then i think that undermines the trust that other countries are going to have with us in doing trade deals, that people have in whether somebody�*s truly standing up for their rights. i think my work on data in political

campaigns would have been almost impossible to do if i had to take my marching orders from government. elizabeth denham, the uk's information commissioner for the past five years, thank you very much indeed. hello. still very mild out there with a scattering of showers and some of the showers have been quite heavy. this weather will continue through the rest of the evening and tonight. let's look at the big picture over the next few hours or so. a weather front approaching the north of scotland. behind the weather front, you can see a northerly wind. so this is colder air that will be reaching the northern half of scotland overnight. ahead of it, winteriness, but south of that, in scotland and further

south in cardiff and plymouth, the temperature at 8—9, so a mild start to the day across england, wales and northern ireland. some sunshine around, but here we have the weather front preceding that colder air from the north, and some sleet and snow particularly across the hills, but overall still mild. this is still above the average for the time of year, temperatures around 10 degrees.

this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a huge fire has completely destroyed the south african national assembly — a man has been arrested on suspicion of arson. thousands protest against the military regime in sudan — the prime minister resigns urging coup leaders to move back towards democracy. a surge in covid infections affects travel, forcing the cancellation of over four thousand flights worldwide. secondary school pupils in england are being asked to wear face masks in classrooms to reduce the spread of omicron. and the kenyan anthropologist and conservationist, richard leakey — famous for his fossil discoveries

that shed light on human evolution — has died aged 77.