tonight at ten, the inquiry into lockdown parties in downing street is expected to be published shortly, after speculation it might be delayed. the exact timing of the release of sue gray's report isn't known, but 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. scotland yard says it's received all requested material from the cabinet office, for its own inquiry. also tonight: ukrainian 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. and wejoin team gb�*s cross country skiers ahead of next week's winter olympics in beijing. coming up in the sport later in the hour on the bbc news channel, tyson fury is going to have to wait for his world heavyweight unification fight. next up will be fellow brit, mandatory challenger dillian whyte. good evening. it's understood the senior civil servant, sue gray, who's been investigating lockdown parties at downing street, is expected to deliver her final report to boris johnson shortly. the exact timing, however, is still unclear. there had been speculation that the report might be delayed because of a metropolitan police

request that the findings make only "minimal reference" to alleged events at no 10, forfear of prejudicing their own investigation. scotland yard says it's now received all the material it's asked forfrom the cabinet office for its inquiry. 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. she said herforce she said her force was launching its own investigation. the metropolitan police had said then it had no objections to sue gray's report being published, but today, they asked for only minimum reference to be made in the cabinet report to events, to give detectives

the most reliable picture of what happened. to translate, they don't want to see too much in the public domain about the more serious allegations of rule breaking in downing street until they have carried out their own work. the labour leader said this must be done promptly. i labour leader said this must be done rom tl . . labour leader said this must be done --romtl . . ., labour leader said this must be done --romtl . ., ., , labour leader said this must be done --romtl . . ., , ,, labour leader said this must be done n-romtl. ., .,, ,, , promptly. i want to see sue gray's re ort promptly. i want to see sue gray's report and — promptly. i want to see sue gray's report and the — promptly. i want to see sue gray's report and the investigation - report and the investigation finished as quickly as possible, because we are in a situation where the whole of government is paralysed. the whole of government is paralysed-— the whole of government is aralsed. ,, paralysed. sue gray's task was to set out the _ paralysed. sue gray's task was to set out the full facts _ paralysed. sue gray's task was to set out the full facts behind - set out the full facts behind events such as the bring your own booze drinks in the downing street garden and the apparently raucous evening dos on the evening of prince philip as my funeral. other political leaders at westminster have gone so far as to suggest that the met could be helping out borisjohnson. if it's intervention causes a possibly damaging report to be delayed or deleted. , ~ , ., deleted. thus the met said they had to wait for the _ deleted. thus the met said they had to wait for the sue _ deleted. thus the met said they had to wait for the sue gray _ deleted. thus the met said they had to wait for the sue gray report. - to wait for the sue gray report. now they say the sue gray report has to wait for the met. so of course

people feel this looks like a stitch up. people feel this looks like a stitch u . _ , ., , people feel this looks like a stitch up. this does look as if it has been a stitch up. — up. this does look as if it has been a stitch up. and — up. this does look as if it has been a stitch up, and the _ up. this does look as if it has been a stitch up, and the only _ up. this does look as if it has been a stitch up, and the only person i a stitch up, and the only person that benefits from this is boris johnson — that benefits from this is boris johnson. ., ., johnson. the government are entitled to raise questions. _ johnson. the government are entitled to raise questions. these _ to raise questions. these suggestions _ to raise questions. these suggestions were - to raise questions. these suggestions were met i to raise questions. these i suggestions were met with to raise questions. these _ suggestions were met with derision by this government minister. i suggestions were met with derision by this government minister. i don't think any prime _ by this government minister. i don't think any prime minister— by this government minister. i don't think any prime minister would - think any prime minister would suddenly— think any prime minister would suddenly think— think any prime minister would suddenly think it _ think any prime minister would suddenly think it was _ think any prime minister would suddenly think it was a - think any prime minister would suddenly think it was a great . think any prime minister would i suddenly think it was a great idea to be _ suddenly think it was a great idea to be interviewed _ suddenly think it was a great idea to be interviewed by— suddenly think it was a great idea to be interviewed by the - suddenly think it was a great idea to be interviewed by the police. l suddenly think it was a great idea to be interviewed by the police. i| to be interviewed by the police. i know_ to be interviewed by the police. i know pe0pie _ to be interviewed by the police. i know pe0pie get _ to be interviewed by the police. i know people get excited - to be interviewed by the police. i know people get excited by - to be interviewed by the police. i| know people get excited by these strategies, — know people get excited by these strategies, but this _ know people get excited by these strategies, but this is _ know people get excited by these strategies, but this is a _ know people get excited by these strategies, but this is a sort - know people get excited by these strategies, but this is a sort of. strategies, but this is a sort of trophy— strategies, but this is a sort of how hunting _ strategies, but this is a sort of trophy hunting deadline - strategies, but this is a sort of trophy hunting deadline beingl trophy hunting deadline being slammed _ trophy hunting deadline being siemrned on— trophy hunting deadline being slammed on the _ trophy hunting deadline being slammed on the table, - trophy hunting deadline being slammed on the table, whichl trophy hunting deadline beingl slammed on the table, which i trophy hunting deadline being - slammed on the table, which i think it is hard _ slammed on the table, which i think it is hard to — slammed on the table, which i think it is hard to say— slammed on the table, which i think it is hard to say is _ slammed on the table, which i think it is hard to say is helpful. _ slammed on the table, which i think it is hard to say is helpful. [- slammed on the table, which i think it is hard to say is helpful. lam“ - it is hard to say is helpful. i am told sue gray — it is hard to say is helpful. i am told sue gray was _ it is hard to say is helpful. i am told sue gray was trying - it is hard to say is helpful. i am told sue gray was trying to - it is hard to say is helpful.“ told sue gray was trying to redraft parts of her report to try to address these concerns. she wanted to avoid redactions, in other words, blanking out whole swathes of text, in case that looked like a whitehall whitewash. but tonight, she seems to face a choice of either delay or delete. and if anything less than her full report delete. and if anything less than herfull report emerges, delete. and if anything less than her full report emerges, there will be a political outcry. many

conservatives will be keen to read that full report, because some of boris johnson's own that full report, because some of borisjohnson's own mps were try to oust him if they don't like what they see. just look at what the former occupant of number ten said in a letter obtained by the 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 hearts, it's infuriating. it's distressing, _ hearts, it's infuriating. it's distressing, and _ hearts, it's infuriating. it's distressing, and it's really disappointing. a night, it seems these families as well as the politicians are going to have to wait longer for the full picture of what happened on lockdown to become clear. in a moment we'll hear more from iain, but first to our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, who's

at new scotland yard. daniel, the met police have been trying to explain their actions in wanting certain information left out of sue gray's report, but there is some confusion. where are we now? they met simply felt they had to get onto the front foot. they have become everybody�*s punchbags. they were obviously heavily criticised for weeks for not carrying out their own investigation into alleged breaches of lockdown in downing street and elsewhere in whitehall and then when the evidence did reach and then when the evidence did reach a threshold and they started their investigation and asked that not all information should be put into the public domain, they have been criticised for that. tonight, you have heard that some opposition parties are criticising for being involved in some kind of stitch—up with downing street and they felt they had to defend themselves by saying categorically that they are not responsible for the delay to sue gray's report. they feel that those delays are the result of rows going on elsewhere in whitehall. but they have also said an interesting thing tonight about how they are carrying out their own investigation, and

thatis out their own investigation, and that is all about how they are going to be writing to people who were allegedly at these parties were allegedly, rules were broken, and they will be asking for written replies from people saying whether they had a reasonable excuse for doing what they were doing and once they have processed that, they will be looking at who should be given these fixed penalty notices, these on the spot fines. there is a sense here that they need to reassure the junior staff involved in downing street and elsewhere in whitehall that they are not going to be dealt with in a disproportionate way. they should have a similar experience to people, for example, who were caught breaching lockdowns in parks in the summer of 2020.— breaching lockdowns in parks in the summer of 2020. to you, iain, at westminster. we were of course expecting sue gray's report this week. now it is supposed to be released shortly, but redacted. where does this leave borisjohnson? redacted. where does this leave boris johnson?— redacted. where does this leave boris johnson? firstly, we should sa that it boris johnson? firstly, we should say that it isn't _ boris johnson? firstly, we should say that it isn't just _ boris johnson? firstly, we should say that it isn't just interactions l say that it isn'tjust interactions with the metropolitan police that might be delaying this report, but

the bbc has also been told sue gray is under pressure from some of her fellow civil servants over the tone and wording of that report too. so there have been various reasons for this delay. but if anything less than that full report emerges next week, we can expect even more condemnation from the opposition parties. as a taster tonight, the snp were already talking about a westminster cover—up. you mentioned borisjohnson. this is crucial to the prime minister's political future because some conservative mps have been telling me that they are considering a motion of no confidence in borisjohnson once they have read sue gray's report. if that report is shorn of all the serious allegations of what was going on in downing street, it may be the case that they sit on their hands until the met completes its work. the opposition say actually, this is obviously to the advantage of borisjohnson. it buys him some time. but there is a bigger issue, because it's notjust the opposition politicians, but some conservatives are telling me too that the way this

has been handled has further eroded public trust in the political s stem. ., . ., ., public trust in the political sstem. ., .,. , , russia's president vladimir putin says the us and its allies in the nato military alliance have ignored moscow's main security concerns over eastern europe, with ukraine at the heart of tensions. the comments were made in a phone call with president macron of france after washington had rejected russian demands that nato rule out ukrainejoining the defence alliance. moscow has deployed an estimated 100,000 troops near the border with ukraine, angry that a country once part of the soviet union is now seeking closer ties with nato. our international editor gabriel gatehouse reports from western ukraine, where british soldiers have been training ukrainian armed forces. 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 defence capabilities. do you need more? do you want more? er, 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, moscow saying nato's ignoring its security concerns as it continues its troop build—up on the border. the response from the west is 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 defusing 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 is in the city of bakhmut, in the donbas region of eastern ukraine, which borders russia. what are their worries where you are of a full—scale russian invasion?

russian troops are so far sticking to their side of the border but if president putin is thinking of an invasion, even a limited one, he may well be looking in this direction. as gabriel mentioned, there are russian backed separatists who have been fighting the ukrainian government since 2014 and that conflict has already claimed 13,000 lives. in one scenario president putin would send his troops across the border presenting them as peacekeepers, claiming that they are coming here to protect russian speakers, and of course the separatists would welcome them with open arms. we've been speaking to people today close to the border, close to the front line, and rightly or wrongly they've been playing down the threat of a russian invasion despite the massive build—upjust across the border. one man said to us, look, we arejust across the border. one man said to us, look, we are just pawns and both the russians and the americans are playing games. but he also accepted the very real risk at the moment

that in this heightened tension even a small move by one side or the other could provoke a major escalation. other could provoke a ma'or escalation.�* other could provoke a ma'or escalation. ., , ., ~ , ., escalation. orla guerin, thank you, in back mote _ escalation. orla guerin, thank you, in back mote in _ escalation. orla guerin, thank you, in back mote in eastern _ escalation. orla guerin, thank you, in back mote in eastern ukraine - escalation. orla guerin, thank you, | in back mote in eastern ukraine and apologies for the break—up on some of the pictures there. 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 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. a new strand of the omicron variant has been detected and is being monitored by scientists.

our health editor hugh pym is here. how worried are the authorities? welcome of the original omicron strain, known as ba one, is still dominant but in recent weeks a new one which has been named as ba two has been identified and officials say based on 1000 cases in england so far there is a faster growth rate and are currently substantial growth advantage, although from very low level of cases in its early days. they say there is higher transmission in households, a little bit, anyway, so you are more likely to pass it on to someone under the same roof. but there is no evidence that vaccines are less effective against it and no evidence that it causes more severe illness in terms of getting people into hospital, but it will be watched very closely. in denmark more than 50% of cases involve this strand. officials of the uk are saying given the relatively high overall number of cases people should continue to act cautiously. one virus expert has

said based on this early analysis there is nothing that should worry as unduly for type hugh pym, thank you. a british hit man has been found guilty of conspiring to kill a pakistani dissident in the netherlands. a court in london heard how muhammad gohir khan was offered £100,000 to carry out the murder in rotterdam last year. however, he failed to track his target down and was arrested on his return to the uk. with more, here's our pakistan correspondent, secunder kermani. hitman gohir khan captured on cctv in rotterdam buying the knife he planned on using to kill his victim, but khan never found his target. instead he was arrested on return to london. police found messages on khan's phone with a middleman named as mudz. he offered khan, who was heavily in debt, £100,000 for the killing. khan replied, "let's get cracking." this is the man he planned to murder, a pakistani activist critical of the country's army.

he doesn't want his face shown. five years ago he was tortured by suspected members of pakistan's intelligence services. now he believes they are behind this plot to kill him. this trial was taking place in the uk. what's your message to the british government? pakistani officials wouldn't comment on the case. prime minister imran khan and the military insist there's no clampdown on critics. but human rights groups disagree.

over the past few years i've been reporting on howjournalists and activists inside pakistan have faced an intensifying campaign of beatings, abductions and threats for criticising the alleged role of the military in manipulating the country's political system, but now, even those living in exile here in the west fear their lives are in danger. we have recently received credible information that would suggest that your life would be in danger if you travelled to pakistan. ayesha siddiqa is an academic. she's one of four pakistani dissidents in the uk who confirmed to the bbc they'd received warnings or safety advice from the british police. the story that i've found out is that it was a contract on my head given to some afghan warlords, to be eliminated or returned to pakistan. the same sources said that if the temperature was raised i could be targeted in the uk as well. in court, the lawyers

prosecuting gohir khan said the middleman and the client, known only as big boss, were both based in pakistan, but their true identities were not revealed. gohir khan now faces years injail, but his handlers discussed carrying out otherjobs, and many pakistani activists fear they are still in danger. secunder kermani, bbc news. the most influential online streaming platform, twitch, is accused of encouraging unhealthy practices for gamers. there are now calls for the billion—dollar company to change the way it operates, as the bbc�*s gaming reporter, steffan powell, explains in this exclusive report 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 sooshi, 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, saying 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 led 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 affected people's physical health and 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 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. 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 they 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 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. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. quite a stormy weekend on the way for some of us, especially if you live in scotland. and, overall, the weather this weekend will be quite mixed but some sunshine on offer with scattered showers. now, let's have a look at the weather map for this evening and overnight. just to the west of scotland, we will have storm malik, named by the danish weather service.

we see a lot of white lines, these isobars, very strong winds are blowing into western parts of scotland. also blowing in very mild air right across the uk so early morning temperatures will be 10 degrees in some western parts of the country. let's focus on the warnings from the met office first. in eastern scotland, actually, an amber warning now in force across aberdeenshire, into perth, the lowlands of scotland, for aberdeen. i think the top winds will hit 80 mph in the north of scotland. with that, also a lot of sunshine with some scattered showers. the south of the country will be much calmer with cloudy skies at times.

this is bbc news. the headlines — the us defense secretary said the us military will continue to support diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions over ukraine. earlier, mr putin told his french counterpart russia had no plans for an offensive. the bbc understands the senior civil servant investigating lockdown parties in downing street will not wait for a police inquiry to conclude. sue gray's report will be handed to the prime minister in the coming days. the un world food programme says more than 80% of people in ethiopia's tigray region do not have enough to eat. it says not a single un food convoy has reached the area since mid—december. more than 300 scientists and public health experts have called on the british government to help developing countries make their own covid vaccines. they want the uk to support the waiving of intellectual property rights on jabs.