the time to just sit down and look at your window and see what you can spot. so an hour of your time today or over the weekend and all you have to do is sit and watch the birds. justin rowlatt, bbc news, sherwood forest. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. good afternoon. this week a tale of 2/2. ., ., ., ,., 2/2. on the one hand we have some re 2/2. on the one hand we have some pretty stormy _ 2/2. on the one hand we have some pretty stormy weather _ 2/2. on the one hand we have some pretty stormy weather on _ 2/2. on the one hand we have some pretty stormy weather on the - 2/2. on the one hand we have some pretty stormy weather on the way . 2/2. on the one hand we have somel pretty stormy weather on the way for the north of scotland in particular, but on the other hand we have also got plenty of bright weather on offer. this is the satellite picture right now and you can see clouds across the north atlantic. this is an area of stormy weather that is developing to the west. we have also got high pressured dominating the weather across the uk, so it is a pretty decent afternoon. for most of us it is dry, a little bit on the

cloudy side, but some sunshine and rain in lerwick. tonight the weather will be mild and dry for many of us, butjust off the will be mild and dry for many of us, but just off the west of the hebrides a storm will develop and we will see ferociously strong gusts of wind developing and they will blow in some very mild air, so the morning on saturday will be mild. temperatures no lower than 10 degrees in some spots. you can see a lot of white lines, the pressure lines, that means strong winds. the met office is warning that across northern parts of scotland we could see gusts of around 80 miles an hour, 7a the hebrides, but more like 50 around the irish sea, so the coast of lancashire and cumbria. south of that the weather will be much calmer. a lot of bright and sunny weather to come tomorrow but frequent showers in the north of scotland and for a time it will stay cloudy across southern counties. that is saturday, this is sunday.

0ne low pressure moves away and and comes in, so we have got two spells are very strong wind this weekend and all across scotland. this is the next storm developing to the west of the hebrides and that will bring mountain snow and wet weather and the rain will sweep into northern ireland on sunday. across england and wales on sunday is a fine day, sunny for norwich, london and the south coast of england. 0n sunny for norwich, london and the south coast of england. on sunday night into monday that is when those girls ramp up to 80 miles an hour off the west coast of scotland. the northern half of the uk is in for a rough weekend, for the south it will be much calmer. into next week we are expecting them is to keep marching off the atlantic bringing wind and rain. it will always be north and west where we will have those blustery conditions, further south a little bit calmer. so not so bad for some of us, a little bit on the rough side further north.

a reminder of our top story... there's been confusion about the fate of the report on lockdown gatherings at downing street after the police say key details should be left out. the government says both inquiries will get to the truth, but labour attacked borisjohnson. he has paralysed government so the sooner we get both the full report and the investigation complete, the better. that's all from the bbc news at one so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. good afternoon, it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news... we now know the line up for the men's final at the australian open. rafael nadal will take on daniil medvedev on sunday, as the spaniard attempts to win a record—breaking 21st grand slam title. nadal raced through the first two sets of his semifinal against matteo berrettini and said it was some of the best tennis he'd played for a long time.

he then had to dig deep after dropping the third set against the italian. but his experience came through and he took the match in four sets. it clearly meant so much to him after issues with his foot put him out of action for much of last year. at 35, nadal could now go on to make history in the final on sunday. as i said, a couple of days ago, i have been a little bit unlucky in my career with injuries. in all the time i have played amazing finals with good chances, against novak in 2012, roger in 2017. i feel lucky i won once in my career in 2009 but i never thought about another chance in 2022. it means a lot to be in the final again here. and he will meet medvedev who came through a tight match against stefanos tsitsipas

in four sets. he had to compose himself after a mid—match meltdown, in which he directed an angry tirade towards the umpire, accusing tsitsipas's father of coaching from the crowd. medvedev is going for a second grand slam title in a row, after beating novak djokovic to win the us open last september. i will play again against one of the greatest and what is funny that again i am again playing someone going for the 21st grand slam. i guess last time rafer was watching it near the tv. i don't know who he was cheering for it but i think novak will be watching today's one also. tomorrow will be a crucial day for england women in their must win test match against australia. captain heather knight kept her side in it with an unbeaten century on day two in canberra. it started well for england

with katherine brunt getting them off to a good start, taking her tally to five wickets, before australia declared on 337—9. however, england's openers put onjust nine runs between them. and, as the batting line—up crumbled around her, knight came to the rescue for england, hitting an unbeaten century. they closed on 235—8 — that's 102 runs behind. tyrrell hatton has stormed up the leaderboard in the second round of the dubai desert classic. he opened with a bogey, but then produced four birdies in a row and added three more to move to nine—under par — he's just two shots behind the leader, south africa'sjustin harding. the players union has said that personal relationships between footballers and coaches in women's football still exist at many elite level clubs and are "inappropriate", because they create a "power imbalance" which can lead to a "potential abuse of players".

alex culvin from fifpro is concerned that there are difficulties for players who want to flag the issue. what should be in place is very clear frameworks and guidelines about what constitutes as a transgression, but constitutes overstepping the mark, and that should be player led, what do players feel comfortable with, what are you uncomfortable with and what currently exists? there's more over on the bbc sport website, including the latest transfer news, as we head towards the deadline in three days' time. let's return now to our top story, and scotland yard has given more details about its contact with the cabinet office team preparing the report on lockdown gatherings at downing street. the findings of sue gray's inquiry

are yet to be published — and the metropolitan police say they aren't responsible for the delay. but they've confirmed they want "minimal reference" in that report to events they're investigating themselves. the labour leader sir keir starmer says the investigation into the parties has been a distraction to government which has prevented them from addressing issues affecting the country. what i want to see is sue gray's report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible, because we are in this situation where the whole of government is paralysed because the police are now looking at what the prime minister was getting up to in downing street. 0n the one hand you have got people really worried about their bills and you have investigations going on into what the prime minister was up to. he has paralysed government so the sooner we get both the full report and the investigation completed the better. are the met police right to ask for it though? let's take a step back. we have a criminal investigation into the behaviour of the prime minister and went on in downing street.

there are bound to be process issues along the way. but this is caused by one thing and that is the behaviour of the prime minister. the net effect is that whilst people are struggling with their bills, he and his government are paralysed with these investigations and allegations of what they have been up to in breach of the rules. as a lawyer can you see any conceivable prejudice in publishing this report in full? any issues of prejudice have got to be worked through but this whole mess and this whole paralysing of politics has been caused by the prime minister and his wrongdoing and you have mixed emotions, people are angry, in grief about what they have been through in the last two years whilst the prime minister is breaking the rules. but now there is added frustration that whilst they are struggling with their bills, we are stuck with arguments about whether reports will be published in full or whether the investigation is going to be completed. all because this prime minister is unfit for office. is there any precedent for the met police making this kind

of request or for the government to hold up the report in the face of a police investigation? we will always get difficulties where there is a criminal investigation into the prime minister and downing street, here we are talking about whether the report should be published in full, with the met police investigation going on, the very idea that after this pandemic when we should be concentrating on the really big issues facing this country, we are having discussions about the prime minister on what he was up to in breach of the rules, i think most people find it completely offensive. can you see any explanation for the met police taking this action this morning? they have to get on with their investigation. what i would say to sue gray is let's have that report in full, just as quickly as possible, no reductions or edits or bits left out, say to the metropolitan police let's get on with that investigation and come to the findings and then we can absolutely focus on the issues that matter most

to people who are really struggling now with their energy bills and problems they have got and the idea that that is not being addressed and the idea that that is not being addressed because this prime minister has been misbehaving i think goes very deep. earlier alex bailin qc spoke to my colleague ben boulos and he asked him what we should read into this development. there is a very sensitive political investigation being done by an independent civil servant and i can understand politically why everyone wants to see sue gray's report but the timing of it has cut right across a criminal investigation. a criminal investigation has the highest standards of procedural fairness. the met will want to get uncontaminated individual accounts from witnesses and from suspects as to what happened and if sue gray were to publish her report warts and all, saying, for example, i've found such and such an account to be inconsistent or i found so and so to be unconvincing,

that has a real potential to prejudice the criminal investigation and that's why, as i understand it, the met have asked her to make minimal reference to the incidents that they are investigating. i would have thought that if there were the possibility of a criminal trial, and not wanting to prejudice a jury, but for lockdown infringements, if indeed the police consider at the end there were any, it would normally result in a fixed penalty. surely professional investigators would know to disregard a civil service report and conduct their own investigations and not be swayed one way or another by the publication of the report. that is a good question. you are right, the risk of contaminating a jury is not there for the fine—only offences but it may be that the met are investigating perverting the course ofjustice.

there is some suggestion there was the instruction to clean up phones and the like. i have no idea if that is correct or not but the met will want to keep everything possible open. they might have that in mind. aside from prejudicing anyjury at a trial, as you say, that couldn't be an issue in a fine—only offence, but they will want uncontaminated individual accounts so if sue gray publishes what each person has said, different accounts and so forth, then everyone will know what everyone else has said so the met will not be able to conduct a clean investigation. so i understand why they are asking effectively for a delay in publication of sue gray's report, even though politically everybody wants it. i don't think it is the met gagging sue gray. i think it's the met saying, hold off for now until we have conducted our investigation so you don't cross contaminate who we speak to.

the olympic games are normally a huge marketing opportunity for sponsors — a showcase for global brands. however, beijing 2022 is causing a huge headache for the 13 official corporate partners of the olympics. the us, uk, australia and canada are among the countries that have announced a diplomatic boycott of the games due to accusations of human rights abuses — though their athletes will still participate. and many sponsors are deciding it's saferjust to keep quiet — as our silicon valley correspondent james clayton has been finding out. china's winter olympics may have a shortage of snow, but there's been something else missing too. many of the olympics' big sponsors have been unusually quiet. in december, presidentjoe biden announced a diplomatic boycott of the games, just a few weeks after discussions with the chinese president. us diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual

in the face of the prc�*s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in xinjiang. the criticism — china's treatment of its minority uygur population. the boycott has left multinational companies that have sponsored the games in the middle of a diplomatic spat between the us and china. bbc analysis of the olympics' 13 official partners�* social media feeds has found that many sponsors have barely posted about the beijing winter olympics compared with last summer's games in tokyo. french giant atos, for example, tweeted about the olympics last year dozens of times on its twitter accounts, yet has posted almost nothing in the lead—up to the games in beijing. i don't think that any of them as global brands can afford or are willing to insult the chinese government or the chinese people, they feel they're walking on a tightrope. the problem that many of these companies face that do business in both china and here in the us is actually pretty simple. they don't want to

offend either side. so best not to say very much. that's what zumretay arkin from the world uyghur congress found when she approached the olympic partners. some of these companies, you know, always promote their own company and values, saying that they're aiming for inclusivity and human rights and all these beautiful values. but when it comes to china, it'sjust, it's crazy how silent they become. the bbc invited all 13 official olympic partners to comment on china's treatment of uyghurs. none took up the bbc�*s offer. the beijing winter olympics will be a showcase for athletes competing at the highest level. but a showcase for global brands? well, that's a more complex story. james clayton, bbc news. now it's time for across the uk.

small businesses are struggling to return to their pre—pandemic turnover as rising costs hold back growth. earlier this week the small business index revealed just over half of companies they surveyed expected to see growth over the coming year. katie walderman�*s been speaking to business owners on one street in south liverpool. st mary's road, garston�*s local high street, but better known to everyone around here as garston village. there's been a flurry of new independent shops and businesses that have moved in over the last few years, although still plenty of space for more. lill and bell have run this garden centre for decades. you know, in the summer, we look entirely different because we haven't got as much gear on. and here comes ahmed, who brings them free lunch every day. thank you, love. thanks, ahmed. that's ahmed. he is a great guy. rising costs we've noticed

in particularly in our stock that we buy over the last six seven months, we've noticed a rise of 10 to 15% in costs, mostly on imported goods that we get. from the longest running business on the street to one of the newest, sophia set up shop next door four months ago, but like many, she's finding soaring overheads a worry. electricity and stuff for businesses isjust astronomical. _ i have to add all of that _ on and then charge my customers extra for everything and everyone is still on the same wages. - just down the road at peter's printing shop, rising bills are also his biggest headache. they've stopped sending emails out to say the prices have gone up, itjust keeps going up. and what impact is that having on the business, are you having to pass that cost onto customers? i'm trying not to, i have put the prices up, yes, and i'm going to have to in the nearfuture. then there's jane, who's dressmakers' not seen material costs rise like this in the 15 years she's

been here in business. some things have doubled easily and then your difficulty is, do you pay more and charge your customers more even though the cost of living is rising? or do i go further afield and start shopping online from china to keep costs low but at the risk of quality? a few shops down meet chris and his colourful companions. this is thor, he isjust fantastic. we love them. just in the year since he opened, he's noticed a huge difference. the likes ofjust some small heat bulbs. and when we got them in last year, we was paying £6. now we've doubled. and keeping his reptiles toasty doesn't come cheap. it's very high. you put it that way. you're constantly trying to find new suppliers to obviously get this

done. around the corner, someone who doesn't have to think about heating, at least, is personal trainer and boxing coach paul. a lot of things that are use for marketing things, online prices have gone up there, which obviously affects profits. after a tough couple of years for businesses, it seems this one is also off to a challenging start. rail passenger groups fear that cuts to services brought on by covid—related staff shortages could end up being permanent. commuters — previously the financial bedrock for a train operator like gwr — have fallen by more than 50% since the pandemic. the government — which has spent billions of pounds of taxpayers' money propping up underused services over the last two years — has now told operators they need to make substantial savings and fares will rise by nearly 4%. train operators have not detailed how they will make those savings. ewan murrie reports.

i use it every week, basically. and at the moment, there is no point in trying to make anyjourneys, i go by car. bruce was a regular on the exeter waterloo train, but it's among a growing number of services that have faced cutbacks in recent weeks. southwestern says it's a temporary change because of covid. yet rail users say they're not convinced. we're very cynical. we can't have any benefit of seeing any evidence at all that the passengers being looked after and that actually the original timetable or the pre even december 2021 timetable will be reinstated soon. this is very, very bad news, very worrying long term. the problems facing our railways have been compounded by reduced fare income as a result of a fall in passenger demand. even in the weeks before the new omicron restrictions, commuter numbers in great western railways were less than half what they were pre—covid.

that's despite a much quicker bounce back in road traffic. so our cuts to services derailing the recovery and will more of us take to our cars when fares rise again in march. there is no point in conveying fresh air around the country if there isn't demand. our concern is that this is a chicken and egg situation. people will not come back to the trains if the offering that is being made available is not one that is attractive to people. and that's a combination of frequency, journey time, whether you have to change and of course, importantly, price as well. and it's notjust rail users feeling the pressure. train companies say they've been confronted with a government squeeze on their running costs. there is absolutely no point in saving e1 in costs of operating the railway if you lose £2 in revenue and what the service that is now being offered in large parts is simply unattractive to people to use the train.

back in november, the dartmere line was one of the first closed branch lines to be reopened, but some are now questioning the wisdom of that when mainline services could be about to shrink. the government has declined to say by how much it's asking train companies to cut their costs, but says there's an industry wide savings target of £1.5 billion over five years. a spokesperson said operators were being asked to make sustainable business plans which protect taxpayers' money and reflect passenger levels. the leeds—based holiday companyjet2 says it's seen a big rise in bookings since the government relaxed the rules on covid tests for foreign travel. it's been a tough couple of years for international tourism and jet2 was given a £200 million loan at the height of the pandemic. but some holiday businesses in yorkshire have been telling our correspondent spencer stokes that they are hoping customers who turned to them because of covid won't now go abroad instead. a sense of growing confidence

atjet2, that 2022 will be a more normal year. the government decision to relax testing rules for passengers returning from their holiday opened the bookings floodgates. so, the airline views that finally, foreign travel is taking off again. we have had a very up and down two years, and i'm hoping now that we are in a situation where we are very much getting back to normal, and if that's the case, we will all be planning to get away and have a bit of sunshine. what happens if there is another variant, in a few months�* time? we can't operate on a start—stop basis. no one benefits, really. so, we do need a structured process for when there are future variants, and maybe we don't lock down in the future. from foreign flights to flying shepherd's huts. if international travel is about to surge, where does that leave home—grown holidays?

steve webb from skipton winched alternative accommodation into his garden in 2018 and saw it come into its own during the pandemic. he hopes visitors continue to stay. we are not as rammed out with bookings, yet, for spring and summer as we were last year but i don't think we could motor on at the pace we were motoring on during the summer of last year. during that time, we got a lot of new guests who wouldn't have found us before, because they would have automatically gone to spain or where ever, but they have found us now, and certainly, quite a lot of those are booked to come back this year. the pandemic turned travel on its head. airports were closed, planes were grounded, but more than anything, both domestic and foreign providers hope that 2022 offers stability. spencer stokes, bbc look north. now it's time for a look at the weather with

tomasz schafernaker. hello. for some of us, a very windy weekend on the way, but there'll be some good weather around too with some sunshine, but i think overall we'll call it a mixed bag. so yeah, a bit of everything thrown in. let's have a look at the picture right nowjust to the west of our neighbourhood in the north atlantic. a storm is forming right now and it is heading for scotland. but to the south we have a high pressure. so that means settled conditions for most of england, wales, really much of the country through today, but it is quite cloudy. these are the evening temperatures, around eight to 11 degrees and then off the west coast of scotland, this storm forms tonight. the gales start to develop in the western isles. the rain spreads in, but with this also mild air overnight, so temperatures first thing on saturday morning, around double figures in some areas. really quite a mild start to the morning and day. so here's that very stormy weather across the north.

you can see a lot of isobars here. i think the worst of the weather will be around the middle of the day on saturday. now, in terms of the winds, the met office warns gusts of 80 miles an hour in some northern parts of scotland, 70 a little bit further south and the gales will be felt around the irish sea and also to an extent around northern england. but in the south, not quite so windy, although a bit of a breeze. 13 in london, seven degrees in aberdeen, six in stornoway with a rash of showers and i think overall a relatively bright, if not sunny day for many of us on saturday, despite the strong wind. now, another low pressure comes our way, so this is round two of gale force winds for sunday. this next one you can see again forms to the west of the hebrides here, again vicious gusts of wind, heavy rain, some mountain snow there. we could see those gales strengthening through the day into sunday evening. south of that, it should be much drier, brighter. in fact, some sunshine for london and norwich. but sunday night into monday, gale force winds with some rain

across northern england and again those winds 70 to 80 miles an hour in the west. the weekend looks pretty rough for folks in scotland, but the further south you are, the better it'll be. the next week we'll see rounds of low pressures with wind and rain sweeping our way. so i think unsettled weather for next week. bye bye.

this is bbc news. i'm anita mcveigh. the headlines: confusion about the fate of the sue gray report on lockdown gatherings at downing street after the police say key details should be left out to avoid prejudicing their investigation. the government says the dual inquiries will get to the truth but labour insists some urgency is needed. i think what is clear is that, between sue gray's report and the police investigation, everything will be fully covered and that will give parliament and indeed the public all of the information they need about these incidents. he has paralysed government so the sooner we get both the full report and the investigation complete, the better. pressure on borisjohnson from his party to delay april's rise in national insurance — but the government says it's needed to fund health and social care.

russia and the us continue a war of words over ukraine