this is bbc news, i'm luxmy gopal. the headlines at 13:00pm: pressure continues to build on the borisjohnson as another former british minister, nick gibb, calls on him to resign as prime minister. but the former international trade secretary, liam fox, says mps should wait for the outcome of the met police investigation before making a judgment. this is a time where we actually need to give our full focus to the issues affecting the country and it is not a time for the conservative party to indulge in one of its bouts of navel—gazing. british ministers are strengthening a bill that will force social media companies to take down harmful content more quickly. and the queen reads cards from well wishers ahead of the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

and coming up — the bbc�*sjiyar gol travels to israel on the trail of half a ton of missing iranian secret documents. that's in �*the hidden war�* at 1.30. a good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. a former government minister has joined calls for borisjohnson to resign over the claims of downing street lockdown parties — and submitted a letter of no confidence. nick gibb — who was schools minister until last year — accused the prime minister of "flagra ntly disregarding the rules". mrjohnson has written to all of his mps, pledging to improve the way downing street operates. our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. borisjohnson left downing street

for the weekend last night and escaped to the countryside, perhaps, but there's no escaping his difficulties. nick gibb, a former schools minister, the latest mp to submit a letter of no confidence. in today's telegraph, which once carried mrjohnson�*s columns, he says... adding... others disagree. of course there are problems. the prime minister himself has suggested that there are problems. he has apologised graciously for them. but i think there is a big mistake going on here. there's an assumption that he's the office manager of the number 10 downing street. he's not. he's not responsible either for paying the electricity bill or for making sure that all the social distancing rules are observed all the time 21w,

even when he's not there. yesterday, it was another tory mp, aaron bell, who submitted a letter. earlier in the week in parliament, he'd said he'd followed the lockdown rules at his grandmother's funeral. does the prime minister think i'm a fool? no, mrspeaker. mrjohnson has now written to all his mps trying to shore up support, saying the resignations of his top aides show he's making changes. but some of his mps think it's the beginning of the end for the prime minister. it certainly looks like that at the moment. i think that you have to say that i know a number of colleagues who are very concerned. some will wait for the due process, some will be doing as i am doing, which is making our decisions over this weekend. but i think it's it looks very difficult for the prime ministerfrom here. and another who's lost confidence

in him says cabinet ministers should tell the prime minister it's time to go. i think it's now's the time for the cabinet to show that leadership. i think the writing's been on the wall for the prime minister for quite some time in very large letters. i think the cabinet needs to spell it out, this can't continue. the longer this runs on, it's damaging further the credibility of the prime minister, it's damaging the government, it's damaging our country. as yet, though, there's no coordinated campaign to remove him. there are too few letters to trigger a leadership challenge, and borisjohnson still hopes he can reshape his team and ride things out. david dramatics, bbc news, westminster. i've been getting analysis from our political correspondent helen catt. i think we're going to find out whether he can withstand it in the coming weeks. what is interesting about this issue head on the report there, at the moment, it does not feel like one coordinated

push on one particular group within the conservative party. it seems like lots of individuals coming to they are bearing in mind are some of them are concerned about the original allegations around those downing street parties, the way their constituents have reacted to that. some by the way boris johnson has personally handled it. the jipe aboutjimmy savill has gone down particularly badly wit a number of mps. some said he said he can fix it, do we think he can? and some are saying the whole saga has gone on so long that is just starting to distract from the everyday business of government. we need to draw a line under it and this is the way of doing that. all sorts of other things. political calculations to be made. the timing for those who do want him out. actually you've got to call this at the right time to make sure that you win it. although sorts of things and then the emotional impact. it is big dealfor an mp to write and say, i have no confidence

in my party leader. having said that, there are mps who are backing mrjohnson. the culture secretary is one of the men here is what she had to say. there are a number of mps, ex ministers who... and a small number of mps, many in safe seats, who are, the same names we keep hearing cropping up, and some of those names have been trying to get david cameron out and theresa may out and now borisjohnson, the truth is, no prime minister will please any of those. that can certainly be said of some of the names, yes, but if you look at who has come forward in the last 2a hours or so, the mp for newcastle backed borisjohnson in the leadership election in 2019 and made a point of saying that. nick gibb served under theresa may and david cameron as a minister

so he is not necessarily the usual like, so the names coming forward might be of concern to downing street, and the fact that it does seem to be people from not any one particular faction in the party but right across at the moment. seeing how that develops in the weeks and we'll see whether that builds into that pressure that goes to a confidence vote. anotherformer minister, liam fox, has told party members in devon that being a conservative is not a vehicle for personal ambition — but comes with a built—in set of values and beliefs. he was asked whether he continues to support borisjohnson. if i didn't support borisjohnson i would have already submitted a letter, and i have not. and i think what we need to do is get on the process of government. it is not as though we're short of big issues to deal with. we have the crisis in ukraine, we've got the global

recovery from the pandemic, we have got inflation rearing its ugly head and we have seen a rise in interest rates. this is a time when we need to give our full focus to the issues affecting the country and it is not a time for the party to indulge in one of its bouts of navel—gazing. earlier i spoke to sebastian payne, whitehall editor with the financial times — who gave me his assessment of the prime minister's position this weekend. at the moment, the prime minister's position is, i guess, it is still stable but those letters are still trickling in. sir nick gibb is indicative of the kind of conservative mps who have lost faith in borisjohnson. they are not those you see on the news channel, loud voices in parliament, there is quite the, assiduously getting on with the job of being local representatives and the fact you've got people like him, some of the 2019 tory intake and a former government whip and mp in devon. these are not normal plotters who have lost faith here and i think, if that drip drip drip of those kind of people continues

then the prime minister could find himself in some real trouble by the end of this week if those letters keep going but for the moment i guess the real question westminster is what is borisjohnson was bugging operation? who are the people going to replace all those staff who have left who don't have indication of. when that happens the general public will be looking to see can this government function any better. do ou government function any better. drr you think of any kind of change or new direction in the coming days and weeks will be mitigate against the damage that has already been done? well, that is the big question, really. and it is not an easy one to answer because it depends on what is that you operation and a different government. 0ne that you operation and a different government. one of the things we have been trying to decipher throughout this whole party get rail and then, obviously, thejimmy savile slow over the past week is how much of this is borisjohnson and how much of this is people around him. all the people around a change. we have seen senior people in downing street have gone but

ultimately you can bring the advisers and that advisers are only there, as it says in the name, to advise. if a lot of the chaotic approach as the minister then things might not change that much and mps like the culture secretary who has been out and about very ardently defending the prime minister, they would argue that when he was mayor of london he acted in a very different way and had a very strong team of advisers who were effective at that point but then, obviously, being prime ministers a very different ball game. it is much more complicated and i guess that is the question that has to be answered over the coming days. can there be any team, new structure to have an effective government or is it going beyond that and is it really a case of it is borisjohnson and, if it is that, then the prime minister is going to be much deeper trouble and i think conservative mps are looking to downing street to see a thing is going to change? is the operation going to change? is the operation going to change? is the operation going to be better? if things don't feel better in a fortnight�*s time

then i think we'll certainly be in then i think we'll certainly be in the territory of a no—confidence vote in the prime minister's position. vote in the prime minister's osition. ., vote in the prime minister's position-— vote in the prime minister's osition. ., ., , position. you said earlier perhaps members of _ position. you said earlier perhaps members of the _ position. you said earlier perhaps members of the public _ position. you said earlier perhaps members of the public are - position. you said earlier perhaps members of the public are not. position. you said earlier perhaps members of the public are not as | members of the public are not as concerned as theirs and it does not come across as navel—gazing, but do you think, given that the prime minister not have full confidence of all his party members, can he retain confidence of his previous voters? well, if you look at the polls, boris johnson's well, if you look at the polls, borisjohnson�*s personal ratings are absolutely on the floor. there are nearly at the point ofjeremy corbyn in the 2019 election it was the most unpopular person i think to have a stand for the position of prime minister so that it's a real issue. there is no doubt the public has lost a huge amount of faith in two years into the next general election and i think the two parts of the tory coalition, the more conservative part in the home counties in middle england and then you've got the so—called red wall of those who voted conservative for the first time in part because of boris

johnson and i think, you know, both sides of that coalition have lost faith in him and that is by the numbers are so bad. we saw the big levelling up white paper which was to speak to that new part of the coalition but i think it is the more traditional part that will feel most aggrieved about the jimmy savile slayer and the sense that boris johnson hasn't been entirely forthcoming about the party get rail so it is a huge amount to be built and it is very very for prime ministers to gain lost faith when they are in office when the only examples of that and the falklands war and i think that is the big challenge. breaking news. we've got news in relation to the diplomatic approach to ukraine and we understand that the prime minister spoke to the french president according to a downing street spokesperson. they had a discussion this morning and they agreed and

stressed that nato must be united in the face of russian aggression and say they are continuing to work together to develop a package of sanctions that would come into force immediately should russia further invade ukraine and, as well as ukraine, they also talked about the issue of illegal migration in the channel and they said that their commitment, borisjohnson be commitment, boris johnson be emphasised commitment, borisjohnson be emphasised their commitment to work together with france to deal with the challenge of the legal migration in the channel. the government is strengthening the law to force social media companies to take down illegal content without waiting for it to be reported by users. under the 0nline safety bill, firms will have to remove a number of categories of illegal material — with several more now being added, including drugs and arms dealing, and forums that encourage suicide. sanchia berg reports. the online world can seem like a lawless space. this bill — a first attempt to regulate it — is expected before parliament soon.

tech companies had already been told they'd face fines of up to 10% of turnover if they didn't take down child abuse material and terrorism content. now that will apply to drugs and arms dealing, encouraging suicide, fraud, and revenge porn. the government says it will be able to bring the full weight of the law against people using the internet as a weapon to ruin other people's lives. those who send threatening messages — like the racist abuse of england's footballers last year — will face prosecution, as will people at the companies themselves. the organisations will have to name individuals who will be responsible within those organisations for complying with the legislation. if they continue to flout that legislation, those named individuals will be responsible and could face up to five years' imprisonment. labour's welcomed the bill, but warns it may not be enough.

the whole point here is that we are really going to have a regulator in 0fcom and the big tech companies, who are massive international mammoths — you've really got a david—and—goliath situation when it comes to being able to hold these companies to account. many say children need specific protection. what we need is a statutory code i that protects children whereverl they are online and we need privacy—preserving age - assurance, so we make sure that we know who the kids l are and we treat them accordingly. lawyers to say this is one of the most important and most complicated pieces of legislation of the last 20 years. no surprise that it's been delayed before — they wonder whether the culture secretary will be able to get it through as fast as she's promised. because balancing these

new protections with freedom of speech can be extremely difficult. sanchia berg, bbc news. a greater manchester police officer has been charged with sexual assault. pcjames holt, who's 32, has been placed on restricted duties. he's due to appear in court next month. pressure continues to build on the borisjohnson as another former minister, nick gibb, calls on him to resign as prime minister. but the former international trade secretary, liam fox, says mps should wait for the outcome of the met police investigation before making a judgment ministers are strengthening a bill that will force social media companies to take down harmful content more quickly. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc

sport centre. has everything we need to know. good afternoon. has everything we need to know. good afternoon- so — has everything we need to know. good afternoon. so much _ has everything we need to know. good afternoon. so much to _ has everything we need to know. (emf. afternoon. so much to get through. we will look at the head of the six nations. we will reflect on the talking points in the winter olympics as well. the first proper 0lympics as well. the first proper day of action getting under way today. we will begin with the fourth round of the fa cup. the lowest ranked team in the competition are a young and upset this afternoon. they are leading against a premier league side thanks to an opening goal. this was it. the right place, the right time. they rank 100 places below. it is the furthest they have gone in the competition since 2014. could they go one step further? you can watch it live on bbc one right now. 0ver watch it live on bbc one right now. over on the red button, league1 plymouth are hoping to cause an upset of their own. they did lead

against chelsea but the premier league side havejust against chelsea but the premier league side have just equalised. chelsea are without their manager on the sidelines today who has tested positive for covid. there's two ties, one of 12 being played in the fourth round today. in the women's super league arsenal are hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table hosting manchester united at meadow park. united, who are enjoying a great season themselves, could move up to second with a win and, as you can see, they are leading at the moment. a headerfrom a corner proving the difference. if they can hold on, they will be just two points behind the league leaders, arsenal. to beijing, then, with a first official day of the winter olympics has got under way and it has been a mix today of results so far, then, for team gb. curling the mixed doubles team are in action right now up against italy have topped the table in this they are unbeaten so far. italy are leading 4—2. they have one win today

after beating the czech republic 8—3 this morning. elsewhere, the second run. starting his first run left on 22nd in the standings and there are two more runs after this which take place tomorrow. amazing pictures. sadly, though, it was not a morning to rememberfor katie. she made her long—awaited 0lympic debut here on the slopes this morning after injury ruled her out on the eve of the last 0lympics ruled her out on the eve of the last olympics in pyung chang four years ago. she missed out on qualification for the women slope style final finishing down in 19th place. seay and michael i wanted was to do my best today put up you know, this course is really challenging and i definitely, you know, put it down when i needed to today and even though i'm not in the 0k when i needed to today and even though i'm not in the ok because i can go home happy knowing i did my

best. crashed out in her 500 metres speed skating. moments later someone else did the same. despite his best efforts he cannot stay standing. all three athletes competing in other distances, though, so this is not the end of their games. certainly not quite as cold in edinburgh. it is set to be a wet one at murrayfield scotland kick off their six nations campaign against england later. before that, though, the defending champions wales take on ireland in dublin. wales will be hoping to replicate last year's was that when they beat ireland 21 points — 16 points. wales have suffered injuries but theirfly—half and captain says people are foolish to write them off. we and captain says people are foolish to write them off.— to write them off. we always start as fourth or _ to write them off. we always start as fourth or fifth _ to write them off. we always start as fourth or fifth favourites - to write them off. we always start as fourth or fifth favourites everyl as fourth or fifth favourites every yeah _ as fourth or fifth favourites every yeah we — as fourth or fifth favourites every year. we go on behind the big three and i_ year. we go on behind the big three and i think_ year. we go on behind the big three and i think scotland ahead of us and the bookies — and i think scotland ahead of us and the bookies this week so it has been the bookies this week so it has been the same _ the bookies this week so it has been the same for the last ten years, but i think_ the same for the last ten years, but i think people forget, as well, the

last ten_ i think people forget, as well, the last ten years we have been the most successful _ last ten years we have been the most successful team, winning it four times — successful team, winning it four times. ireland and in that have won it three _ times. ireland and in that have won it three times so, you know, we always— it three times so, you know, we always say, _ it three times so, you know, we always say, it is no issue for no different — always say, it is no issue for no different. absolutely no different for us _ different. absolutely no different for us coming into the tournament as underdogs _ for us coming into the tournament as underdogs. you for us coming into the tournament as underdous. ., u, for us coming into the tournament as underdous. ., .., ., ., for us coming into the tournament as underdous. ., ., ., ., underdogs. you can follow it all over on the _ underdogs. you can follow it all over on the bbc— underdogs. you can follow it all over on the bbc sport - underdogs. you can follow it all over on the bbc sport website | underdogs. you can follow it all. over on the bbc sport website this afternoon. that is all from me for now. back to you. back to you. donald trump's former vice president, mike pence, says he couldn't have overturned the result of the 2020 us presidential election, and that mr trump was wrong to think he could have done so. the former president, who has falsely claimed the election was stolen from him, recently insisted again that mr pence could have blocked certification of the results. 0ur north america correspondent david willis reports. mike pence was renowned for his almost filial sense of loyalty to donald trump, never publicly disagreeing with him and staunchly defending even the former president's most controversial actions.

but there was one area in which the two men have not seen eye to eye. donald trump maintains the former vice president could have used his authority to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election as they were being presented to congress. and following renewed assertions to that effect from mr trump in recent days, mike pence has now decided to speak out. president trump said i had the right to overturn the election. but president trump is wrong. i had no right to overturn the election, the presidency belongs to the american people and the american people alone. a the former vice president was one of a number of lawmakers who were rushed to safety after a mob of donald trump supporters smash their way into the us capitol as the election results were being certified onjanuary the 6th last

year. some in the crowd called for mike pence to be hanged. senior republicans continue to regard the insurrection as a peaceful rally. shortly before mike pence spoke, the party's governing body voted to censor to lawmakers looking into the events of that fateful day. liz cheney, the daughter of another former us vice president, dick cheney and adam kinsinger, both voted along with eight other republican lawmakers to impeach donald trump for inciting the insurrection. in a tweet, liz cheney said afterward she didn't recognise those in her own party, who she said had abandoned the constitution in order to embrace donald trump. history will be their judge, she wrote. all this comes as mike pence appears to be laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run of his own in 2024.

that could put him in direct competition with his former boss, who has also been teasing a comeback. much of the republican party remains loyal to donald trump and a former republican suggested that if he were to be re—elected, he would consider pardoning those who carried out the attack on the us capital. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. emergency workers in morocco are hopeful they'll soon reach a five—year—old boy who's spent four days trapped in a well. the child fell more than 30 metres into the shaft while his father was repairing it. the shaft is narrow — so rescuers are digging a parallel hole to reach the boy — as simonjones reports. it is a race against time. rayan has spent a fourth night below ground. rescue workers say they won't stop until they get him out.

worried locals can only look on and hope. translation: we are praying for rayan to be alive. - may his family have patience and honestly, our hearts are breaking. i hope he will come out of this 0k. it is like one of our own children has fallen. we are praying for his safety. he is one of our children. this is the opening of the well rayan fell down. it is too narrow for the rescue was to get to him, so they have had to come up with a different plan. a large hole is being dug parallel to the well to try to reach the boy. there are only a few metres to go. but that brings with it its own dangers, the possibility of a landslide. the gathered crowd are desperate for progress and a happy outcome. rayan�*s father says he has not slept a wink. his mother says she is trying to remain positive. this is a complex and

delicate operation. oxygen and water has been sent down the well, a helicopter is on standby to get the boy to hospital. but rayan remains trapped while the most challenging part of the rescue is still ahead. simon jones, bbc news. week and taking to some pictures that we have got from where rescue workers are trying to rescue him and as you can see there we have got the equipment. in as you can see there we have got the ea-uiment. , as you can see there we have got the equipment-— equipment. in the past few minutes, the ast equipment. in the past few minutes, the past have — equipment. in the past few minutes, the past have hour _ equipment. in the past few minutes, the past have hour or— equipment. in the past few minutes, the past have hour or so _ equipment. in the past few minutes, the past have hour or so there - equipment. in the past few minutes, the past have hour or so there have. the past have hour or so there have been more people in hard hats, more rescuers turning up so there is a larger team working there at the moment in these pictures are coming out live and what they are doing, so thatis out live and what they are doing, so that is the whole that they have dug parallel to where the boys trapped because that is what they are trying to do to try and reach him. just to remind you, it is 32 metres underground that he has fallen to you. that is where he has been for

the last four days. as you can see there, the rescue operation are still under way. still seeing those pictures there and it is obviously a really challenging rescue operation because of fears of fears of landslides in the area but we will return to those live pictures as the story develops and of keep you updated on that happens there. from today, most adults in austria have to be vaccinated against covid—19. the measure applies to everyone over 18 except pregnant women, people who've had covid in the past six months, and the medically exempt. the comedianjimmy carr is facing criticism for a joke he made about europe's traveller communities being murdered during the holocaust. he made the joke in a comedy special released on netflix. travellers groups, mps and the �*holocaust memorial day trust�* are among those to express their disgust. a petition has been launched for the content to be

expert david banks about why that might be hard to achieve. netflix is, the european base is in the netherlands. so they are not under the remit of 0fcom, the regulator, the uk regulator that regulates the terrestrial channels that we see here that the bbc. so that we see here that the bbc. so that makes this issue complicated. the 0fcom code, if one looks at it, does include reference to the european convention on human rights and don't free speech and also it accepts that in certain circumstances is going to impose limits on that free speech and that in some instances, this might be one of them, 0fcom might deem the content to be offensive and, you know, the broadcaster would be

censured if they were regulated here in the uk. and that remains to be seen as to whether streaming services to end up getting regulated here in the uk. in previous instances, netflix have been fairly robust and leaving the content up of comedians. there have been previous rows about the content of comedians but netflix have not been particularly quick to respond to social media storm is about the content. they may well take the view that the storm creates greater audience. tomorrow is a landmark in royal history, it will be the first time a monarch has reached 70 years on the british throne. the queen will spend the day privately at sandringham in norfolk — the place where her father king george the sixth died in 1952. his death at the age ofjust 56 came as a huge shock to the nation, his family and friends. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell went to meet lady glenconner , a childhood friend and maid of honour at the queen's coronation , about that momentous time seven decades ago.

this is my drawing room, and there is a photograph i want to show you. lady glenconner�*s childhood memories include play dates with the future queen. the royals were family friends and neighbours. princess elizabeth was a few years older. she's seen here with younger sister margaret, who's staring down enviously at lady anne's silver shoes. what would a typical day down at the beach with princess elizabeth, princess margaret and you and your sister... ? we were ensconced with our nannies in the children's hut. and, you know, we all had our spades and buckets, but i was so lucky to have had that sort of a wonderful time. the 31st of january 1952. after waving his daughter off on a tour of the commonwealth, king george vi returned back to sandringham. about three days before he died, he was shooting with my father — they were shooting hare — and nobody expected the king to die. the king was part of

the community, wasn't he? so although this was worldwide, global news, it would have been felt