today at 6, confusion over when the civil service report into lockdown parties at downing street will be published. there's police concern sue gray's findings could affect their own inquiry. labour says the controversy over what borisjohnson knew must be quickly resolved. he has paralysed government, so the sooner we get both the full report and the investigation completed the better. the prime minister's position, the government's position, is that what is given to him by sue gray is what will be published, and i think that's absolutely right and sensible. how could the gray report affect the police investigation? we'll take a look. also on the programme: ukranian troops prepare for a possible russian invasion, with help, from the british military. the bbc has found an inconsistency in the covid test results

of novak djokovic, used to enter australia, earlier this month. singing: welcome to my... what the... like, what?! i'm in trouble! and the influential online streaming platform, twitch, accused of encouraging unhealthy practices. and coming up on the bbc news channel, england captain heather knight hits a brilliant century to keep her side in contention in their must win ashes test in canberra. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. there's confusion over when the civil service report from sue gray into lockdown parties at downing street will be published.

the metropolitan police has asked for "minimal reference" in her findings to events that may or may not have taken place at number ten. scotland yard has insisted that it is not calling for the report to be delayed, but that it wanted to "avoid any prejudice". sue gray's findings were due to be sent to borisjohnson, some time this week. with the latest, here's our political correspondent, iain watson. which rules could have been broken behind the famous black door during lockdown? a report by the senior civil servant sue gray was expected to provide some answers this week. that was until cressida dick, the country's top police officer, said this... ~ , ., , ., this... the met is now investigating a number of — this... the met is now investigating a number of events _ this... the met is now investigating a number of events that _ this... the met is now investigating a number of events that took - this... the met is now investigating a number of events that took place | a number of events that took place at downing street and whitehall. the metropolitan police had said then it had no objections to sue gray's report being published but today, the police seemed to object to some

potentially crucial parts of its content being made public, saying in a statement the event is the met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the cabinet office report. the met police did not ask for any limitations on any other events in the report or for the report to be delayed but we have an ongoing contact with the cabinet office including on the content of the reports to avoid any prejudice to our investigation. in other words, they don't want to see too much made public about the most serious allegations until they have carried out their own work. it’s carried out their own work. it's very important that nothing is done that hampers an investigation but, equally, _ that hampers an investigation but, equally, it's fundamentally important that sue gray's report is issued _ important that sue gray's report is issued as— important that sue gray's report is issued as soon as practical. sue gra 's issued as soon as practical. sue gray's task _ issued as soon as practical. sue gray's task is — issued as soon as practical. sue gray's task is to _ issued as soon as practical. sue gray's task is to set _ issued as soon as practical. sue: gray's task is to set out the facts about events such as the bring your own booze in the downing street garden is, the raucous leaving dos on the eve of prince philip's funeral. intervention by police seems to have taken sue gray's team

at whitehall by surprise and that's because i'm told she was already willing to make minimal changes to her report to address police concerns. but i'm also told that she is far less keen to make only minimal mentions of some of the more controversial events in case she is accused of a whitehall whitewash. but sources have told the bbc sue gray has also faced wrangling over the wording of a report from inside the wording of a report from inside the civil service causing delay. and the civil service causing delay. and the labour leader says that any further delays could be damaging. what i want to see is sue gray's report— what i want to see is sue gray's report in— what i want to see is sue gray's report in full_ what i want to see is sue gray's report in full and _ what i want to see is sue gray's report in full and the _ what i want to see is sue gray's. report in full and the investigation finished _ report in full and the investigation finished as— report in full and the investigation finished as quickly— report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as _ report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible - finished as quickly as possible because — finished as quickly as possible because we _ finished as quickly as possible because we are _ finished as quickly as possible because we are in _ finished as quickly as possible because we are in the - finished as quickly as possiblel because we are in the situation where — because we are in the situation where the _ because we are in the situation where the whole _ because we are in the situation where the whole of _ because we are in the situationl where the whole of government because we are in the situation i where the whole of government is paralysedm — where the whole of government is paralysed... thud— where the whole of government is paralysed- - -_ paralysed... and another party leader, paralysed... and another party leader. ed _ paralysed... and another party leader, ed davey, _ paralysed. .. and another party leader, ed davey, of— paralysed... and another party leader, ed davey, of the - paralysed... and another party leader, ed davey, of the lib i paralysed... and another party . leader, ed davey, of the lib dems went as far as to suggest it looked like a stitch up with the metropolitan police leadership and number ten. metropolitan police leadership and numberten. downing metropolitan police leadership and number ten. downing street denied it had been in contact with the police. and the report was not contents really matter to conservative mps, as some of them will try to oust

borisjohnson if as some of them will try to oust boris johnson if they as some of them will try to oust borisjohnson if they don't like what they see. and just look at what the former occupant of number ten said in a letter obtained by her local paper. theresa may stated it's vital that those who set the rules follow the rules. nobody is above the law. some say that the events have descended into farce at the heart of government. but for those directly affected by the tragedy of the pandemic, it's no laughing matter. ., , ., , ., ., matter. for the people who are here at the wall every _ matter. for the people who are here at the wall every week _ matter. for the people who are here at the wall every week painting - at the wall every week painting hearts, it's infuriating. it's distressing and it's really disappointing.— distressing and it's really disappointing. distressing and it's really disa ”ointin. ., ., disappointing. the heart of the matter now — disappointing. the heart of the matter now is _ disappointing. the heart of the matter now is whether - disappointing. the heart of the matter now is whether the - disappointing. the heart of the matter now is whether the sue j disappointing. the heart of the - matter now is whether the sue gray report can be delivered without delay or delusion. iain watson, bbc news. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, joins us now from new scotland yard. daniel, what are police fears over sue gray's report possibly prejudicing their own investigation? well, clive, first of all, we're not talking about the risk of

prejudicing a jury of somehow influencing a jewellery, because there won't be a jewellery. the crimes aren't serious enough, the alleged crimes are not serious enough —— influencing a jury. they are talking about prejudicing the investigation, publishing a detailed report about the events before they've even started questioning people. because people might change the answer to those questions according to that report. people might see that something isn't in the report and then they can deliberately leave it out of their answers because they think they've got away with it or they might deliberately give answers contradicting the report to try and get themselves or a friend off. ask any officer, "would you like a detailed report published before you start questioning people?" they are always going to say no. but an interesting debate led by very senior people in legal circles, including a former dpp, is whether sue gray should publish the report anyway because it's in the public interest. to get this report out there, the future of a prime minister and government are at

stake. that might be more important than the risk of prejudicing a police investigation that, at its highest level, is going to lead to a few people getting on the spot fines. ., ~ few people getting on the spot fines. ., ,, , ., fines. daniel, thank you, daniel sanford at— fines. daniel, thank you, daniel sanford at new _ fines. daniel, thank you, daniel sanford at new yard. _ the foreign office's top civil servant has apologised, for giving inaccurate answers to mps, about evacuating animals from afghanistan, following the advance of the taliban. sir philip barton, said he'd "inadvertently" misled a committee that was investigating uk policy, and whether borisjohnson had intervened to help evacuate animals being cared for by a charity. leaked emails suggest the prime minister did get personally involved, but he denies this. tensions over ukraine remain high after president putin today once again made it clear that the west has failed to address moscow's security concerns over eastern europe. the russian leader has been speaking to president macron of france, amid intense diplomacy, to avert a possible russian invasion of ukraine.

the kremlin says requests to halt nato expansion towards russia's western frontier have been ignored. moscow has deployed around 100,000 troops near the border with ukraine, angry that a country once part of the soviet union is now seeking closer ties with the west. our correspondent, gabriel gatehouse, has the very latest from western ukraine. somewhere in a frozen field in western ukraine, they're preparing for war with the help of the british military. ukrainian soldiers are trying out their latest weapon. it's a shoulder held anti—tank missile that's been provided by the uk. this is an exercise. but here they know... ..they may have to use their weapons against real russian tanks in the not too distant future. it's very big deal when our partners, ourfriends, from other countries are doing everything possible to improve our defense capabilities.

do you need more? do you want more? uh, you know, it's hard to say what we need more if we are facing the war. er, for this moment, we have at least something that we make sure that we are capable to defend our countries. the brits have had a small military presence here since 2015. how many of you are there? so, the training team is ranging between eight to nine individuals... a couple of dozen officers in a training capacity. the ukrainians have been fighting russian—backed separatists in the east for nearly eight years now. but by supplying these anti—tank missiles, the uk is sending a strong signal — both about its commitment to ukraine and about how it assesses the current russian threat. part of this is about training the ukrainian military, of course, and about the ukrainian military being ready for any eventuality.

but a big part of this also, and the reason that we've been invited to film all of this, is because this is about sending a public message. is russia really about to launch a full—scale invasion of ukraine? the view in london and washington, at the moment, seems to be — yes, it's likely, but in kyiv, they're playing it down. translation: you get the impression from the media that we're at war, - that there are soldiers - on the streets, that there's mobilisation going on, - that people are running away. we don't need that panic. there's a lot of posturing going on at the moment. the russian troop build up on the border, the western response increasingly alarmed and alarming. this is perilous geopolitical terrain, and ukraine is trying to chart a course through it. there may yet be what they call an "off ramp", a way of diffusing the crisis.

but there's a danger — that talk of all—out war becomes a self—fulfilling prophecy. gabriel gatehouse, bbc news, western ukraine. our international correspondent, orla guerin, joins me now from bakhmut, in the donbas region of eastern ukraine, which borders russia. is there a sense that russian troops could be paying a visit?— could be paying a visit? well, this reuion is could be paying a visit? well, this region is being — could be paying a visit? well, this region is being watched _ could be paying a visit? well, this region is being watched very - region is being watched very closely, clive, because it is a potential flashpoint. there closely, clive, because it is a potentialflashpoint. there is already a conflict here since 2014. russian backed separatists have been fighting against the ukrainian government in this region. it is mostly a low intensity war, but it has claimed about 13,000 lives. so, president putin has already his proxies here and if he decides to send forces across the border, still a big if, this would be an easy place to start. there is no

indication from what we're seeing on the ground that that's imminent. certainly, when you speak to civilians, as we have done here today, they are not expecting any major escalation now. one woman said to me, "look, it's quieter than it was last month", she described what's going on as an information war. a local man was similarly dismissive, he said "i don't see the russians coming across the border, if they do, they would pay in blood". but he also identified a key danger. he said, "look, the way things are now, if there is the smallest provocation by either side, it could result in a major escalation". you get a sense here of a disconnect between the soaring international concern and the attitude of many ukrainians. that is because, for them, this danger is not new, they've been living with it for years. not new, they've been living with it for ears. . ., not new, they've been living with it for ears. ., ,, ., ., for years. thank for that. life in bakhmut for years. thank for that. life in itakhmut in _ for years. thank for that. life in bakhmut in eastern _ for years. thank for that. life in

bakhmut in eastern ukraine. . research from the bbc has cast doubt on the timing of the positive covid test result that novak djokovic recently used to enter australia. it allowed him exemption from rules barring unvaccinated people. however, the serial number on his test dated december 16th appears out of sequence with a sample of tests analysed by the bbc. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, has the details. cheering. another day, another media scrum. but as novak djokovic received honorary received honorary citizenship in a montenegran town today, this hero's welcome was a far cry from his treatment in australia. this shot of the unvaccinated star stuck at the border was the beginning of a saga that ultimately saw him deported. fighting to stay, he'd argued he'd been granted an exemption to play by tennis australia because, very close to the wire, he'd tested positive for covid—19. his legal team presented two covid test certificates to the court from the serbian institute of public health. the first, allegedly

taken on december 16th, shows a positive result. the second, processed from a different lab six days later, shows a negative one. but a couple of weeks ago, a german research company wondered why the unique confirmation code on the early test was higher than the later one. usually they're generated in chronological order. the bbc has delved deeper. a total of 56 test certificates were collected, and their unique confirmation codes plotted against the date of each result. in all cases, the earlier the result, the lower the unique code. all except one — novak djokovic's positive test on december 16th, according to the bbc�*s graph. this confirmation code would actually suggest a test some time between the 25th and december 28th. djokovic travelled to australia on january 4th. how likely is it that that is a glitch in the system? it's not likely, but we don't know all the aspects, and it's possible that there

is some other explanation. so, i really hope the public institutions will provide transparency and clarify all this. so far, djokovic, the serbian institute of public health, and its office of information technology have not responded to bbc requests for comment. i think everyone's polarised at the moment on novak djokovic, which will be hurtful to him, but it won't do his reputation any good if it's found out that he's been telling porky—pies. rafael nadal will contest the australian open final on sunday — locked on 20 grand slams with the serbian, a 21st is unprecedented in men's tennis. djokovic may only have himself to blame as his rival takes shot at the prize he so covets. natalie pirks, bbc news. coronavirus cases in the uk remain stable, with more than 89,000 new cases recorded in the latest 24—hour period.

on average, nearly 90,000 infections have been reported per day in the last week. there are more than 16,000 people in hospital with covid, and that number has been falling. 277 deaths have been reported, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, though some will have died of other causes. on average in the past week, 261 deaths were announced every day. on vaccinations, more than 37 million people have now had a boosterjab, which means more than 64% of those aged 12 and over have now had three vaccine doses. our health editor hugh pym is here. a new strain of omicron has been detected, how worried are the authorities?— detected, how worried are the authorities? ~ ., ., authorities? well, the dominant strain is known _ authorities? well, the dominant strain is known as _ authorities? well, the dominant strain is known as ba1 _ authorities? well, the dominant strain is known as em and - authorities? well, the dominant strain is known as em and they| authorities? well, the dominant - strain is known as em and they have strain is known as ba1 and they have identified a new strand called ba2. there are only 1000 cases in england

so relatively not that many but officials say it grows at a faster rate and there is higher transmission in households. not a lot but it means there is a slightly bigger chance of passing it on to somebody under the same roof. there is no evidence vaccines are less effective against ba2 and no evidence it creates more serious illness amongst people who get it but it is the dominant strain now in denmark, where cases have been going up denmark, where cases have been going up fast. officials will be watching it closely more evidence. they say people should remain cautious with cases generally relatively high. one expert said this evening that there is nothing in the early analysis of this stage to worry people unduly. thank you. the time is 6:17pm... our top story this evening: scotla nd scotland yard insists it's not calling for the report into downing

street party is to be delayed, it simply wants to avoid any prejudice to the police inquiry. and coming up, wejoin team gb cross country skiier andrew musgrave ahead of the winter olympics in beijing. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel — rafa nadal keeps his hopes of a 21st grand slam title alive as he reaches the final in melbourne for a sixth time. playing video games for a living is an aspirational career for millions across the world. however, the most influential online streaming platform, twitch, is accused of encouraging unhealthy practices. there are now calls for the billion—dollar company to change the way it operates, as the bbc�*s gaming reporter, steffan powell explains. singing: welcome to my... what the... like, what?! i'm in trouble! this is twitch, where all day, every day, you'll find people filming themselves playing video games and interacting with viewers.

some, like ninja here, can earn big bucks. he's reportedly worth around £18 million. owned by amazon, 30 million people across the globe visit the site daily. traditionally, communal gaming meant coming somewhere like this and sharing a screen with a mate. but today, online gaming means that people play with friends from all over the world from home, and what online streaming platforms like twitch have done is allowed some to turn that into a job. i missed every shot, i think. which is what sam, known to herfollowers as sushi, did. the former office manager loved it — but is one of many i've spoken to that says they've sacrificed their health to make a living using the site. they say it encourages long periods online. i'd say it had an effect on my confidence a lot. i still to this day don't open the door. i don't open the door to anyone. sam took a financial risk to stream for a living.

she was online for up to ten hours a day, every day, to pay the bills. that lead to anxiety and symptoms of agoraphobia. i don't think i went out in the first year that i was full time barely. maybe to the shop at a push. it sounds really silly, but i don't really like talking to anyone face—to—face because it's been so long since i've done it to another human. streamers have told me the longer you're online, the more your channel will grow subscribers and advertising revenue. it is a numbers game with twitch. it's a lot about being on throughout the day as often and as long as you can, so that it's really, really dis—incentivised to stream for short bursts. as a result of these concerns, bbc news has been told that twitch needs to make changes to better protect content creators. it encourages streamers to be on stream for many hours, sometimes 24 hours or more, and that clearly has an effect

on people's physical health or mental health. and i think the platforms really need to think about changing the mechanics of the platform, changing the financial model, to protect the health of streamers. in a statement, twitch said that streamers' safety is their number one priority. they added that advice and mental health resources are available on their site and they say they are developing a new programme to support streamers with the pressures of the job. sam's reduced her hours on twitch now. it got too much. today, she's notjust battling for victory in the virtual world, but also to get a conversation going about healthy streaming practices in the real one. steffan powell, bbc news. british sign language is on course to become a legally recognised language in england, with the government saying it will back a new bill being debated in the commons. campaigners, including rose ayling—ellis, the first deaf contestant on strictly come dancing, say they hope the change will see

bsl more widely used and promoted. with more details here's the bbc�*s see hear presenter yvonne cobb and our political correspondent helen catt. outside parliament, the biggest demonstration by deaf people for more than 20 years — backing a call for british sign language to be given legal status, just like welsh or gaelic. among them, danieljillings, he's been campaigning for gcse to be established in british sign language but says giving bsl legal status will help children with their other exams. it will give deaf people, deaf children, the right to their exams in their own language, and it would be seen as an equal, like spanish, for example. for scott garthwaite, known to his tv viewers as the punk chef, it's about equality. well, i feel it will give a lot of deaf people more opportunities. time to flourish, for example, and in employment. you know, there are so many barriers

that we face and we get discriminated against, we just keep facing the barriers. rose ayling—ellis has backed the call too, she brought british sign language to the attention of millions when she won strictly come dancing, last year. now the government has said it will support a bill in parliament put forward by the labour mp, rosie cooper. this is saying government departments must recognise and use british sign language. therefore, out of their budget, they have to make those adjustments. so, this is not overnight, don't be fooled, but this is the beginning of a huge move forward, huge. the bill has passed its second reading. there's a sense of a real coming together behind the issue. the bill will still need to pass through parliament and there is also a shortage of british sign language interpreters — they cost about £280 a day. for daniel, though, it's a step in the right direction. yvonne cobb and helen catt,

bbc news, westminster. a couple have beenjailed over the death of their eight—week old baby in south london. amina—fayejohnson had more than 60 broken bones when she died in april 2019. naomijohnson and benjamin o'shea had claimed paramedics caused her injuries, but were found guilty of causing or allowing her to suffer physical harm. they'll spend seven and eight—and—a—half years in prison respectively. prince andrew has given up his honorary membership at one of the world's oldest golf clubs. it follows the loss of his military titles and royal patronages as he contests a civil sexual assault case in the united states. the royal and ancient golf club of st andrews, whose patron is the queen, said it "appreciated" the duke's decision. new post—brexit border rules between britain and the eu have been in force since the beginning of the year, and many companies say they've been struggling to deal with the added bureaucracy. more paperwork has been part

of the reason for long queues of lorries outside the port of dover. our global trade correspondent chris morris has more details. driving into dover past queues of lorries stretching for miles. they're being held here to avoid congesting the town. queues are not uncommon in these parts, but they've been particularly bad in recent weeks. drivers are fed up waiting for hours — and sometimes days. when we are waiting, it's no money. they blame cancelled ferry crossings and post—brexit bureaucracy. john shirley has run a freight—forwarding company in dover for 25 years, but this is new territory. customs documents now have to be completed in full before thousands of lorries can board ferries heading for europe every day. that's caused all sorts of headaches for people. people don't know the paperwork properly, haven't prepared themselves. and so that's why there's delays here.

i mean, we found a driver here four days — four days! — with a load from germany. won't it get better with time as people get used to a new system? i don't know. i suspect it won't do. and it's notjust exporters. people bringing goods into the country from europe have also been dealing with new bureaucracy since january the 1st. david pavon runs this small deli in bristol. each individual consignment he imports now needs separate customs forms where there used to be none. and later in the year, some of these products will need to be physically inspected when they arrive in the uk. we will need to do more paperwork. we will need to pay more money. we might need to increase the prices, but at the end of the day, that's what we do. it's certainly more difficult, but unless we close the doors and shut the business, we need to do it. so, what happens in places like dover will have a wider impact. many companies are changing the way they do business across the channel in order to cope

with new bureaucracy and delays. but others have simply stopped trading between britain and the eu altogether. while global trade in general rebounded pretty well last year from the covid hits of 2020, trade between the uk and the eu did not and it's almost certainly going to stay that way. the government says traders need to get used to new rules and focus on new trade deals on the other side of the world. but two years after britain left the eu, the idea of seamless trade across this narrow stretch of water — that ship has already sailed. chris morris, bbc news, dover. it's just a week before the opening ceremony of the winter olympics, and athletes from team gb have begun arriving in beijing. they include andrew musgrave, who's hoping to win britain's first ever olympic medal in cross—country skiing. andy swiss has been to meet him

in training in norway. it's been described as the world's toughest sport. cross—country skiing is, at times, the ultimate uphill struggle. but andrew musgrave has the summit in his sights. commentator: and look at this from andrew musgrave. .. - the scot finished seventh at the last games, britain's best—ever result, and he's been a contender ever since. in the summer, training out on the roads, on roller skis as he chases what once seemed an impossible dream. i remember when i was 14, 15 back in scotland talking about what we were going to do in cross—country skiing. a medal at the olympics was the sort of unachievable goal up there, where it's now definitely achievable. it would be something extraordinary, wouldn't it? yeah, definitely. definitely. like, a british person getting a medal in cross—country skiing, like, shouldn't happen, but i reckon we'll make it happen. how? well, the entire british team have moved here — to norway, the home of cross—country, where they've

become local celebrities. training with norwegians coached by norwegians... good, good. ..and it seems to be working. it's a bit like when they train with the norwegians and the sey see they are able to win medals. then, why not us? why shouldn't i go away with the medal when they can do that. that is good. we are just a little fish in the pond, but, you know, you can do great things even if you're just a little fish in the pond. well, the hope is the snow fields here in norway will soon lead to success in beijing. britain has never won an olympic medal in cross—country skiing, but their chances have never looked better. andrew young and james clugnet also have high hopes. clugnet could have skied for france, where his father's from. but he wasn't good enough at the time, so hejoined the british camp and is now beating them. i only became good because i joined the british team, - which is a bit nuts. definitely the best choice i've done in my career. .

the french team must be kicking themselves that they didn't get you. yeah, well, when i get my olympic medal, they'll be definitely- kicking themselves. it would be some feat. britain's cross—country skiers are used to battling the odds, but their remarkable journey might just have a glittering ending. andy swiss, bbc news, norway. it's been a quietjanuary so far but the jet stream really ramping it's been a quietjanuary so far but thejet stream really ramping up is going to bring a wild weekend for the northern half of the country with severe gales, damaging gusts for some and a mixture of sunshine and showers. higher pressure to the south, a breezy day but the isobars packing together. this deep area of low pressure developing to the north. overnight cloudy for many, quite breezy. mostly dry but outbreaks of rain pushing to the

north—west. very mild indeed