tonight at ten... heavy criticism of downing street for those lockdown parties — the initial report identifies failures of leadership and judgement. borisjohnson, who once denied that any rules had been broken, was keen to tell mps and the people of the uk that he was sorry. no fewer than 16 separate gatherings were investigated, including three not previously known about. mrjohnson accepted the findings and faced severe criticism. it isn't enough to say sorry. this is a moment when we must look at ourselves in the mirror and we must learn. by routinely breaking the rules he set, the prime minister took us all for fools. he held people's sacrifice in contempt, he showed himself unfit for office.

we report from two conservative constituencies, asking people if the prime minister's apology was enough. i'm sure it wouldn't have happened under previous prime ministers and stuff. i don't think they would have been doing it with theresa may, put it that way. i would love to believe that he was sorry and he would fix it, but until the next time... we'll have more on the findings, which will be published in full when the police investigation has been completed. also tonight... ministers are planning to scrap mandatory covid vaccinations for health and social care workers in england. and thousands of homes in parts of scotland and the north—east of england are still without power after two storms in recent days. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel: tick, tock, it's the transfer deadline clock. could dele alli, jesse lingard or pierre—emerick aubameyang be making moves before the window shuts?

good evening. if borisjohnson was hoping that the initial report into lockdown parties in downing street would draw a line under the scandal, he was clearly mistaken. the summary of findings by sue gray, a senior civil servant, is heavily critical of number 10, and a growing number of conservatives have been openly hostile to the prime minister despite his apology and his promise to look in the mirror and learn. the report says "at a time when ministers were asking citizens to severely limit their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding the gatherings is difficult to justify" and some events clearly should not have been allowed". it goes on to identify failures of leadership and judgement in parts of number 10 and the cabinet office.

some staff said they had wanted to raise concerns about the gatherings, but they'd felt unable to do so. after increasingly vocal demands by senior conservative mps today, the report will now be published in full after the police investigation into possible criminal behaviour has been completed. it's thought that detectives have obtained hundreds of photos of alleged gatherings in number 10 and whitehall as part of their inquiry. tonight, borisjohnson addressed his mps in a private meeting, trying to fend off more calls for him to step down. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports on the day's events. it has been a long, uncomfortable wait for number ten — an official verdict into the government itself breaking the rules. part one, at least, has now arrived. will you take responsibility, prime minister? there may be no easy downing street escape.

the blond head and red box you can spot from the sky arriving for a moment borisjohnson�*s enemies believed could be a reckoning. prime minister. he started with another apology. firstly, i want to say sorry, and i'm sorryl for the things we simply didn't get right and also sorry for the way that this - matter has been handled. and it's no use saying that this or that was within the rules, i and it's no use saying that| people were working hard. this pandemic was hard for everyone. his penance, though — not changing his own address, but shifting others around. mr speaker, it isn'tl enough to say sorry. this is a moment when we must look at ourselves in _ the mirror and we must learn. we are making changes now to the way downing street . and the cabinet office run, - so that we can get on with the job that i was elected to do, - mr speaker, and the job that this government was elected to do. mr speaker, i get it

and i will fix it. - the findings are grim for downing street. ms gray found a serious failure to observe the high standards expected, with too little thought given to what was happening across the country. there were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of number ten and the cabinet office. she found excessive consumption of alcohol that is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time, and some staff who had wanted to raise concerns about behaviours felt unable to do so. this may not be the full and final version, but the conclusion is clear. a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did. and, remember, this is only the initial report into what has emerged week by grisly week about what was going on behind the closed door of number ten. jokes about explaining away the rules.

this fictional party was a business meeting! cheese and wine in the garden, claims of loud music and parties in the flat upstairs. birthday cake in the cabinet room. the rule—setters alleged to be rule—breakers while the rest of the country was locked down. in contrast to the prime minister's seeming hope to rush through the statement this afternoon, the leader of the opposition was brutal and took his time. by routinely breaking the rules he set, the prime minister took us all for fools. he held people's sacrifice in contempt, he showed himself unfit for office. prime minister, the british public aren't fools. they never believed a word of it. they think the prime minister should do the decent thing and resign. of course, he won't, because he is a man without shame. some ministers hung their heads

as the labour leader appealed to them, to their tory colleagues, to call time on the prime minister labour claims is now simply not fit to govern. they can heap their reputations, the reputation of their party, the reputation of this country, on the bonfire that is his leadership, or they can spare the country from a prime minister totally unworthy of his responsibilities. the eyes of the country are upon them. they will be judged by the decisions they take now. in all the sound and fury at borisjohnson, the snp breaking commons manners... he misled the house, he must now resign. ..branding him a liar. that man has misled the house. a wild ride in the commons. shut up. downing street had hoped the danger was passing. borisjohnson�*s lieutenants tried to grab control and shore up mps,

and shore up angry mps, but attacks on number ten from the tory side were opened by none other than a withering former prime minister. either my right honourable friend had not read the rules or didn't understand what they meant, and others around him, or they didn't think the rules applied to number ten. which was it? i am deeply concerned by these events and very concerned indeed by some of the things that he has said from that dispatch box and i have to tell him, he no longer enjoys my support. it seems a lot of people - attended events in may 2020. the one i recall attending - was my grandmother's funeral. i didn't hug my siblings, i didn't hug my parents. j i gave a eulogy and then. afterwards, i didn't even go to her house for a cup of tea. i drove back three hours i to kent from staffordshire. does the prime minister think i'm a fool? - no, mr speaker, i want to thank my honourable friend and i want to say how deeply i sympathise with him

and his family for their loss. disbelief on the faces of some of borisjohnson�*s own side. despair across much of the tory party and fatigue at weeks and weeks of this mess, but there is not yet a resolve to see the back of the man who won a historic majority with a promise of change. not tonight, not yet. and laura is with me. two things that viewers are mostly focusing on and maybe we can talk about now — the power in this very brief report, and what that means, and, of course, where it leaves borisjohnson at number ten tonight. first of all in terms of the report, we were just keep an eye on that car, who knows who it will be delivering to downing street tonight. in terms of the report, it was not long ago that borisjohnson was not long ago that borisjohnson was in the commons saying, i think everything was fine in downing

street and the guidelines were followed. and yet here we are a couple of months later with an official verdict in black and white. this report may only have been 12 pages long, but it had one big, difficult, damning conclusion — that there was rule breaking at the top of government while millions of us were following the rules, locked down during a national emergency. now the police will investigate and several events that the prime minister himself was at will be part of those investigations. there is no world in which that is not something thatis world in which that is not something that is serious, difficult and damaging for downing street. that is absolutely clear. but borisjohnson has promised his mps tonight that he will make changes, and it will be up to them now to judge in the coming days and weeks whether or not he is able to get through this. his allies in the last few days have done a lot to try to shore up support. there is necessarily a belief that that is suddenly falling away. there is no suggestion that the dominoes are all about to fall, but one former senior

minister said to me tonight that there is no question in their view, and a lot of mps would agree, that because of the nature of what has come out today again, an official verdict, that the prime minister does close today weaker than he was this morning. does close today weaker than he was this morning-— this morning. laura, thanks for now. we will explore _ this morning. laura, thanks for now. we will explore more _ this morning. laura, thanks for now. we will explore more later— this morning. laura, thanks for now. we will explore more later as - this morning. laura, thanks for now. we will explore more later as well. l we will explore more later as well. laura kuenssberg, our political editor. as we said, today's initial report by the senior civil servant sue gray is a long way from the full document. she was asked by the metropolitan police to keep to a minimum any references to events that detectives were now investigating. that meant severely limiting what sue gray could publish. we now know that scotland yard is investigating 12 events on eight separate dates, including an event in the prime minister's flat in downing street. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford sheds more light on the police investigation. the departure of dominic cummings from downing street in november 2020. two gatherings held on the day

he left are among those now under investigation by scotland yard, detectives examining whether the prime minister and his staff were breaking the lockdown rules that they themselves had written. borisjohnson has previously told the house of commons that no rules were broken that day. so which events are the police investigating? starting on may 20th, 2020 with the infamous "bring your own booze" event, they're looking at 12 different gatherings on eight different dates. eight of the events were in downing street and four in the neighbouring cabinet office. one was in the prime minister's own flat. the last two events were leaving dos held on the same day in april last year. we had a bundle of material provided to us just friday, which is well over 500 pieces of paper, about a ream and a half, and we received over 300 photographs, so we've just received that and my officers are prioritising this week to consider what's been provided in that bundle of material, what further investigations that they need to do and,

of course, who they're going to be contacting. and who might get fined? well, that's not yet clear. detectives will be writing to dozens of staff in downing street and the cabinet office, asking for their accounts of the gatherings and whether they had a reasonable excuse for their actions. although the maximum penalty for these alleged offences is only a small fine, detectives here say they will be fast—tracking the investigation and it should be over in a matter of weeks, rather than months. but how damaged are the metropolitan police after being caught in this political storm? they've been accused of not intervening to stop the alleged parties at the time and then getting in the way of the publication of sue gray's full report by asking for the details not to be published. i understand the frustrations, i feel frustrated. what's important, though, is that i don't allow my frustrations to interfere with an independent police investigation. the force said today that it understood that its actions around the alleged downing street parties had divided opinion,

but it insisted that it had to take difficult decisions, even when they were contentious. daniel sandford, bbc news at new scotland yard. borisjohnson might have faced a very difficult electoral test this thursday in the parliamentary by—election in southend west in essex. by—election in but it's not being contested by the other main political parties as a mark of respect for sir david amess, the conservaive mp who was stabbed to death last october. 0ur political correspondent chris mason has been to leigh—on—sea to ask people for their reaction to criticism of boris johnson's leadership. for more than 70 years, this corner of essex on the northern side of the thames estuary has elected conservative mps. for nearly 25 years, the mp was sir david amess. people here must now choose his successor amid the noise of the row engulfing borisjohnson.

the culture was all wrong, and i'm sure it wouldn't have happened under previous prime ministers and stuff. i don't think they'd have been doing it with theresa may, put it that way. now that borisjohnson is saying sorry, now he's saying he gets it, he's going to fix it, any forgiveness for him? how many times has he said "sorry" and "i get it" over the last two or three years? i'm sorry, you know... i would love to believe that he was sorry and he would fix it, but until the next time... at whitehall bowling club, they remember their former mp fondly. many, though, but not all, are critical of the prime minister. i have to admit, i'm conservative. but that started a long time ago. he doesn't give me much... what's the word i'm looking for? er. ..confidence. what we've got going on in the world at the moment with ukraine, i really feel that the party issue is a non—event.

conservative people that want to vote will look at that and not only do they not believe what they say, they don't care about the common person. i'm going to roll- the ball to freddie... in leigh community centre, it's yoga in one room, a parent and toddler session in another. we're a0 miles from westminster here, but it can feel further, the cost of living more important to louise, running this class, than parties in government. i don't see any relationship with the by—election and the parties at all. i think it's very, very separate, so in terms of what's happening within leigh—on—sea at the moment with the by—election, i wouldn't even consider the parties. this is a strange by—election, because the main opposition parties aren't fielding candidates out of respect for sir david amess. what is striking is, while the well of support for the conservatives runs deep here, this has been, for a lot of people,

an unforgettable episode in borisjohnson's time as prime minister. for many, it has damaged him. on thursday, people here will deliver their verdict. plenty more will get a chance in local elections in may. chris mason, bbc news, in leigh—on—sea. you can get a full list of all the candidates standing in the southend west by—election as well as analysis of today's developments on the bbc website. ministers are planning to scrap mandatory covid vaccinations for health and social care workers in england. the change comes just days before the deadline for health service staff to have their first vaccination. unions had warned that the policy could lead to staff shortages when services are under extreme pressure. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports.

it's proved to be a highly controversial policy. nhs staff in england told they must get vaccinated with a first dose by thursday, and the prospect of thousands leaving if they refuse. but now ministers say they want to scrap it after a period of consultation. while vaccination remains our very best line of defence against covid—19, i believe that it is no longer proportionate to require vaccination as a condition of deployment through statute. catherine, who's a midwife, told me last week she didn't want to be forced to have the jabs. i feel very strongly about bodily autonomy and people's right to make choices about what they put in their body or what medical treatment they accept. she expected to lose herjob, so she was relieved to hear the news today. i'm very, very happy to hear that the government is taking a look at current events. it means that myself and others

like me can continue to provide care for families in a situation where staffing is already very low. i'm glad they're looking at this again to prevent an even further staffing crisis occurring. hospital managers and senior doctors have been trying to push on with the policy, having sometimes very difficult discussions with members of staff about the need to be vaccinated. so there may be some frustration now that the policy is going to be dropped. there's relief that the predicted departure of some health workers won't now happen, but irritation at the way the prospect of a u—turn was communicated. to explain to nhs leaders through the front page of a national newspaper of this major change in policy, a policy that the government has set last autumn, is no way to communicate with leaders. it's no way to communicate with front line nhs workers. so that's the principal source of frustration.

hospitals say they'll continue to encourage staff to get vaccinated to help protect patients, regardless of the government change. a similar policy requiring vaccinations for social care staff in england has already been imposed. now that will be reversed, though some workers have already quit. people left very reluctantly. many of them left theirjobs very reluctantly, and for them to be able to see a way back in is a very dim light at the end of this tunnel. but we hope that someone will take that and come back. ministers say one reason for the policy change is that 0micron is not as severe as delta, and they acknowledge that risks to the workforce in health and social care influenced their thinking. hugh pym, bbc news. the foreign secretary, liz truss, has announced new powers that will allow the uk to impose what she called the "toughest sanctions" yet against russia

if their troops invade ukraine. borisjohnson's due to fly to ukraine tomorrow. the government has been coordinating with the us, which has also drawn up a list of sanctions targets, with president biden warning moscow of severe consequences if it attacks its neighbour. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is in kyiv. james, when we talk about sanctions, what are they likely to involve? well, sanctions is one way that the west wants to deter any likely invasion of ukraine, and they want to broaden the net to those individuals and organisations that could be targeted. under these new powers that will be rushed through parliament, the governor will be able to sanction somebody or an organisation simply for having close links to the kremlin. the idea is that if they were an invasion, then the uk, the us and other countries would be able to sanction rusher�*s

elite, the oligarchs, who support president putin enjoys and wants, so thatis president putin enjoys and wants, so that is the deterrence side of the equation. the other side of course is diplomacy in a dialogue, and on that side, slightly less progress. there was a meeting of the un security council this afternoon and it was a rather testy affair, more of an exchange of accusations rather than any possible solutions. boris johnson was supposed to have a conversation with president putin this afternoon on the phone, and that didn't happen because of the sue gray update and statement to parliament, and that was a diplomatic opportunity missed. the government say that could happen as early as tomorrow when the prime minister is supposed to be coming here to put on a show of support for ukraine. he was supposed to be accompanied by liz truss, but she has covid and is not coming. so diplomacy is happening but it's not

all going quite to plan.— diplomacy is happening but it's not all going quite to plan. james, many thanks for the _ all going quite to plan. james, many thanks for the update _ all going quite to plan. james, many thanks for the update there - all going quite to plan. james, many thanks for the update there for - all going quite to plan. james, many thanks for the update there for us i thanks for the update there for us in kyiv. james landale, our diplomatic correspondent. let's take a brief look at some of today's other news. police have been granted more time to question manchester united footballer mason greenwood. the 20—year—old footballer was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault yesterday. manchester united have said the player will not return to training or matches until further notice. nike says it's suspended its relationship with the player. tesco is set to scrap hundreds ofjobs as it removes meat, fish and deli counters in 317 stores. the company said it would also be closing its discount chainjacks. a british student convicted of wasting police time after she withdrew her allegation of gang—rape in the cypriot resort of ayia napa has today won her appeal to clear her name. she retracted her allegation after she'd been held for hours without a lawyer.

the streaming service spotify says it will direct listeners to verified facts about coronavirus. some artists have removed their music from the platform in protest at podcasts by the us broadcasterjoe rogan, who included vaccine sceptics on his podcast. he says he supports the changes. the danish footballer christian eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing at the european championships, has signed for the premier league side brentford on a six—month deal. the 29—year—old has not played since the euros last summer. thousands of homes have been without power for another day after two storms hit parts of scotland and north east england. the electricity network in north—east scotland and the highlands were worst affected, with winds of up to 90 miles an hour, as our correspondent alexandra mackenzie reports. the clear—up is under way. storm malik, followed

by storm corrie, pummeled the north of scotland, particularly here in aberdeenshire. driving conditions were treacherous. several lorries were blown onto the grassy verge. thousands are without electricity, including the town of stonehaven. help has been given to those in need. we didn't have any electricity for six days in november, so this is us again. so... it's more for the older people and i think it's been worse for, so, and we've got a lot of older customers. so obviously they've been stuck inside today and not got out. so yeah. without power, most shops remain closed. the town centre today is a little bit of a ghost town. um, we've not been able to to trade today, had to send members of staff home. it's the unknown. 0ur car was parked overjust under the roof over there. scott was woken to find

slates had blown from his roof onto his new car. the lights were flickering. the wind was blowing. it was pretty, pretty gusty. we knew it was going to be a bad one. um, and, yeah, iwas in bed. we were both in bed and it was about 12:30 and we just heard the biggest crash. it was right outside our bedroom window, and we just pretty much knew what exactly had happened. gutted. yeah. gutted. in the northeast of england, there has also been widespread damage and disruption. thousands of homes and businesses were without electricity. many have been reconnected, but some people face another cold night without power. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news. let's return to our main story tonight, and the publication of the initialfindings into parties at downing street and other parts of whitehall during lockdown. the full report has been held back

while the police investigate. conservative mps, especially in areas of the north of england won from labour last time, have a marked interest in who leads the party into the next election. our special correspondent ed thomas has been speaking to people in leigh in greater manchester. hundreds of miles from westminster, but the shadow of number 10 and lockdown parties looms large. and now the truth is coming out. and for many, it hurts. he was a bus driver. he worked all through the pandemic. and it's the third time he had covid. he'd already had it twice before and then he got it again. philip's brother died three weeks ago. anotherfamily suffering during the pandemic. a lot of people, family, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, have died on their own with total strangers, and they're having parties.

something's seriously going wrong in this country. you voted for borisjohnson? yes, idid. what did you expect? not that. i expected somebody with a bit of decency. he's apologised. he has said sorry. we can all apologise. we can all go through life, keep apologising. the promise here in 2019 was to cut through. level up in lee's favour. but the talk right now is wine, cheese and parties. when you hear of failures in the sue gray report, is that a priority for you right now in your life? not really, no. i'm concerned about myjob security, the bills i have to pay. you know, the fact that... i work very hard. my wife works very hard. and we have nothing to show for it. we work to survive. i find it very, very difficult to to have faith in the government when the people at the top are making the rules and breaking the rules.

you voted conservative in 2019. can borisjohnson win your trust back? he can. he'll have to work very hard to win it back. for the first time, lockdown party facts have been revealed, and for some, there's painful memories. this is my mother—in—law, sandra smith, and she had three appointments cancelled on her. and she sadly passed away in a home alone with nobody with us and was found like that. but it's just like they're laughing in our faces. it's like, it doesn't matter. they can't do anything to us anyway. what are they going to do? is that how it feels to you? yeah. well, it's how a lot of people feel. what is your trust levels like in our government, in politicians? zero. finally, the truth is emerging, and many are struggling to forgive and forget. ed thomas, bbc news, leigh. and laura is back with me here in

downing street. some powerful contributions in that piece, and you consent the —— sense the anger from lots of people. if that translates into the anger people have been saying they have been feeling in their constituencies, what will that mean for mrjohnson?— mean for mrjohnson? tonight there has been so — mean for mrjohnson? tonight there has been so much _ mean for mrjohnson? tonight there has been so much happening, - mean for mrjohnson? tonight there has been so much happening, it- mean for mrjohnson? tonight there has been so much happening, it is. has been so much happening, it is hard to be definitive about what the next moves look like, but there are plenty of things that are true that we know for sure. many mps are spitting chips, they are incandescent, they have heard that kind of anger. but we also know that their allies are determined to help him hang on. they believe he had a decent performance when he was tucked away with hundreds of tory mps tonight accounted for what had happened, and he promised a series of changes to them. and what those changes are and whether he actually sticks to the promises he made will be part of what determines how he is able to hang on or not in the coming weeks. but what will also be very important is what the police turn

up, there are investigations that