and we will not members of. and we will not compromise on that principle. it is now more than 80 years, matthaus, since polish pilots came to my own constituency in west london to help my country in our fight for freedom. and we stood side by side to uphold our values and principles then, and we stand side by side now. thank you all very much. translation: thank you very much, prime minister. _ translation: thank you very much, prime minister. this _ translation: thank you very much, prime minister. this concludes - translation: thank you very much, prime minister. this concludes our i prime minister. this concludes our press _ prime minister. this concludes our press briefing. thank you very much. you are _ press briefing. thank you very much. you are watching bbc news and that was the latest stage in boris johnson's diplomatic efforts to try

to de—escalate tensions in ukraine and avert a possible russian invasion of the country. he had travelled to poland and we saw him there alongside the polish prime minister, mateusz morawiecki, a news conference with him after of course the fact that boris johnson had been the fact that borisjohnson had been in the fact that boris johnson had been in brussels this morning the fact that borisjohnson had been in brussels this morning for a meeting with the nato secretary general, jens stoltenberg. so the prime minister, borisjohnson, prime minister, boris johnson, meeting prime minister, borisjohnson, meeting their the polish prime minister amid tensions over the security situation in ukraine. we know that boris johnson will security situation in ukraine. we know that borisjohnson will be going on to visit british soldiers stationed in poland, together with the polish prime minister, and he will also meet the polish president as well. now, earlier, as i was saying, borisjohnson warned that

the ukraine crisis is at its most dangerous moment, as he spoke of the importance of a diplomatic push in the coming days. the prime minister was holding talks with the nato secretary general, jim jens stoltenberg, in brussels. in a moment, we'll report from moscow, where the foreign secretary is holding talks, but first our political correspondent, chris mason. the talk in ukraine is of possible invasion, and with it a march towards the prospects of a winter war in eastern europe. today we are seeing british diplomacy on both sides. the foreign secretary in moscow, the prime minister at the headquarters of the nato military alliance in brussels. this is probably the most dangerous moment, i would say, in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security crisis that europe has faced for decades.

we've got to get it right, and i think that the combination of sanctions and military resolve, plus diplomacy, is what is in order. russia has already amassed well over 100,000 combat—ready troops, with heavy equipment, missiles and key enablers such as command and control and medical units. and we are closely monitoring russia's deployment in belarus, which is the biggest since the end of the cold war. looking at the geography of the region really helps us to understand what is going on here. to ukraine's east, russia. to ukraine's west, members of nato. as well as geography there is history too, and lots of it. not least russia invading crimea in ukraine eight years ago. this is a dangerous moment for european security. the number of russian

forces is going up. the warning time for a possible attack is going down. nato is not a threat to russia, but we must be prepared for the worst. the central point of tension here is russia cannot stomach the idea of ukraine everjoining nato. but ukraine argues it is a sovereign country, it should have the right to choose. given neither of these things are likely to change anytime soon, it's difficult to see how either side can climb down. problems at home for the prime minister, problems abroad too. next stop, poland, as the diplomacy continues. chris mason, bbc news. well, as we heard... meanwhile, the foreign secretary liz truss is in moscow for talks with her russian counterpart, sergei lavrov. she's warned the kremlin that an invasion of ukraine would be disastrous. but russian troops are keeping up

the pressure, and today they're starting ten days of military exercises with their close ally, belarus, which has a border with ukraine. from moscow, caroline davies. clearing snow in moscow can be a thankless task. as soon as you're making progress, a new flurry lands. today's meeting between the uk and russia was an icy affair. liz truss' warnings about harsh sanctions if russia were to take action in ukraine were not well received. translation: i'm honestly - disappointed that our conversation turned out like the mute talking to the deaf. it seems like we are listening to each other, but not hearing each other. at the very least, our very detailed clarifications on the whole fell upon deaf ears. well, first of all, i certainly wasn't mute in our discussions earlier. i put forward the uk's point of view on the current situation, and the fact that

as well as seeking to deter russia from an invasion into ukraine, we are also very resolute in pursuing the diplomatic path. explosion. this is what worries the west. russia is flexing its military muscle with joint drills in belarus. nato is concerned about russia building up more troops along its border with ukraine. russia wants guarantees that nato, which it sees as a threat, will not expand. meanwhile, the uk and the us have committed to sending more troops to nato countries to protect its eastern flank. but russia still insists that it is not the aggressor. today, the head of russia's secret service chaired a discussion about russian history, but he also has an eye on the current situation in europe. translation: russia has never had and doesn't have any aggressive - plans towards ukraine. we saw these dangerous lies spread from the other shore of the atlantic and these lies have been picked up

in a number of western capitals. this disinformation is dangerous. first of all for ukraine and its citizens, as well as for european stability and security. building trust while building troops is difficult to do. it is seen as a positive sign that both sides are still talking, but after many weeks, many meetings and many press conferences, it can feel like they are going over old ground with still no sign of resolution. more western politicians will land in moscow over the next week. a frozen conversation is still better than all—out war. caroline davies, bbc news, moscow. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, is in the ukrainian capital and says it is too early to say whether diplomacy will persuade russia to pull back. the whether diplomacy will persuade russia to pull back.— whether diplomacy will persuade russia to pull back. the british and american officials _ russia to pull back. the british and american officials still _ russia to pull back. the british and american officials still argue - russia to pull back. the british and american officials still argue that i american officials still argue that the moment of maximum danger is approaching. they see no sign at all of the russian de—escalation. if anything, they say they are saying

the opposite, 30,000 russian troops in belarus just to the north of here, 6000 passing through the bosporus into the sea and a real sense of things ramping up, not down, and of course nato deploying troops and assets of its own. as jens stoltenberg said this morning, russian aggression will result in more nato presence in the east, not less, and he thinks nato should even think about long—term changes to its presence in the east. i think he is trying to give what he described it as an opportunity to fill moscow's bandwidth, to give russia things to think about. i think that is what the british sanctions on russia, the tougher sanctions that are coming into force today are also designed to achieve, but there is this sense now that we are also deep into a diplomatic process that could still have some time to run. emmanuel macron in moscow and kyiv this week, the german chancellor doing the same next and there is a sense that

perhaps this is buying time and pushing off the moment of danger. if there is russian exercises in belarus and in ten days' time and the troops and equipment to go home, that mightjust be seen as the first flickering sign that this moment of maximum danger is passing, but an awful lot of other stuff has to happen in the meantime and ten days doesn't feel right now like you are the long time. ailiilur doesn't feel right now like you are the long time. our correspondence there, the long time. our correspondence there. paul — the long time. our correspondence there, pauladams. _ the long time. our correspondence there, pauladams. in— the long time. our correspondence there, pauladams. in other- news now. . . news now... many of the sickest patients a long waits for bed when they are admitted to hospital. that is according to new nhs for england. i in 3 of those who went to a&e and needed to be moved onto a hospital ward faced waits of more than four hours — the highest on record. 16,000 people injanuary waited more than 12 hours. the government say they have provided £5.1i billion to the nhs over the winter period to help tackle growing pressures. 0ur health correspondent, jim reed, reports. angela suffers from a chronic condition and is waiting for an operation.

last month she was in pain and her gp told her to call an ambulance. when we got to the hospital, i was sitting back, i had my legs up and i was on gas and air because i had had a lot of pain at that point. the paramedics said, "we are going to be in for a bit of a wait." there was a queue of ambulances ahead of us — a long queue. he went out to go and check how many there were and they were probably about 18 ambulances. in the end, angela said she had to wait in two different ambulances for five hours. i was in here all night, there was no heating, i was freezing cold. she spent the night in a side room off a&e, before being transferred to a bed on a ward the next morning. she has nothing but praise for the nhs staff involved, but describes the situation as chaotic. it's really opened my eyes to the pressures that they are under and how overwhelmed they are because i've heard loads of stories, people always talk about these things and you don't really believe

it or you think it's only in the bigger hospitals. but this is happening everywhere. new figures show the pressure facing hospitals in england. last week a fifth of ambulances had to queue for at least 30 minutes before discharging their patients. the number of people who then had to wait to be moved on to a hospital ward has hit a record high. last month, 120,000 patients were held in a&e for four hours before that transfer with more than 16,000 waiting for more than 12 hours. these figures represent tremendous pressures throughout the whole system, from primary care and ambulance services to the emergency department, to our general wards and to patients then being discharged back to the community. and in each of these fields, colleagues are struggling to give timely and high quality care to patients. the nhs says it has been dealing with record numbers of 999 calls, at the same time as high levels of staff sickness caused by covid.

hospitals in wales, scotland and northern ireland have all been facing similar pressures, as this winter wave of the pandemic passes and more people seek treatment. jim reed, bbc news. 0ur health correspondent, nick triggle, says there is also concern in the nhs about the government's decision to end all covid restrictions a month earlier than planned. a lot of the experts have been expressing concern and surprise that move. 0ne called it either brave or stupid. the theory is that it could push up the impact on rates. the number of infections we are seeing are still very high. the government surveillance programme estimated one in 19 people in england was positive last week, although hospital cases are still falling. 0ne last week, although hospital cases are still falling. one of the fears is it could leave people feeling under pressure to return to work, for example, before they are recovered and perhaps when they are

still infectious. we don't know what it means for sick pay and for isolation payments that some people are entitled to, but there are others who say we can overestimate the impact government rules have. for example, the government did not place any rules on mixing at christmas and the number of contacts people having each day was actually very low, similar to the sort of levels we saw in the first lockdown. it is not like the testing system is picking up all the infections. it was only picking up about half the cases out there, so not everyone was being told to formally isolate and it is why some experts actually say it is why some experts actually say it might have that big an impact on infections and it was largely unenforceable. —— might not have that big an impact. it was largely unenforceable, so we will still have the guidance that we expect to be issued when this does happen. fiur issued when this does happen. our health issued when this does happen. 0ur health correspondence there, nick triggle. let's speak now to tammy brantley and sally hunter —

they're married and have been shielding throughout the pandemic because they both have a number of serious health conditions. perhaps if i might start with you, tammy brantley, give us a sense of what the last years have been like? well, it has been quite isolating to not be able to go out, to not be able to meet friends or family, to just stay in the house. i mean, we were disabled before the pandemic and did not have a whole lot of a life anyway, but it has just got even smaller and it was beforehand. we have all of our food delivered, we have our meds delivered. the only time we go out is to a doctor or a hospital appointment. find time we go out is to a doctor or a hospital appointment. and tammy brantle , hospital appointment. and tammy brantley. just _ hospital appointment. and tammy brantley, just to _ hospital appointment. and tammy brantley, just to be _ hospital appointment. and tammy brantley, just to be clear, - hospital appointment. and tammy brantley, just to be clear, i - hospital appointment. and tammy brantley, just to be clear, i am - brantley, just to be clear, i am right that you have asthma, and my? and that you have mbe and a brain tumour as well?— and that you have mbe and a brain tumour as well? correct, and i have not sinal tumour as well? correct, and i have got spinal cord _ tumour as well? correct, and i have got spinal cord damage _

tumour as well? correct, and i have got spinal cord damage and - tumour as well? correct, and i have got spinal cord damage and i - tumour as well? correct, and i have got spinal cord damage and i am . got spinal cord damage and i am waiting on surgery for that that they cannot even tell me when that is going to happen. bk. they cannot even tell me when that is going to happen-— is going to happen. ok. sally, give us a sense — is going to happen. ok. sally, give us a sense of— is going to happen. ok. sally, give us a sense of what _ is going to happen. ok. sally, give us a sense of what the _ is going to happen. ok. sally, give us a sense of what the last - is going to happen. ok. sally, give us a sense of what the last couple | us a sense of what the last couple of years have been like for you and what you are facing? it of years have been like for you and what you are facing?— what you are facing? it has been really difficult. _ what you are facing? it has been really difficult. i— what you are facing? it has been really difficult. i mean, - what you are facing? it has been really difficult. i mean, my - what you are facing? it has been | really difficult. i mean, my world is small— really difficult. i mean, my world is small anyway, but it hasjust become — is small anyway, but it hasjust become even smaller and i haven't... i have _ become even smaller and i haven't... i have got— become even smaller and i haven't... i have got four adult children and three _ i have got four adult children and three of— i have got four adult children and three of them don't live with me and i have _ three of them don't live with me and i have not— three of them don't live with me and i have not been able to see them, apart— i have not been able to see them, apart from — i have not been able to see them, apart from in the garden. my parents died last_ apart from in the garden. my parents died last year and i had to organise the funeral. — died last year and i had to organise the funeral, so everything was done outside _ the funeral, so everything was done outside with minimal contact with people _ outside with minimal contact with --eole. �* . outside with minimal contact with neale, �* ., ., , outside with minimal contact with --eole. ~ . ., , ., people. and i am right, and my, that ou have people. and i am right, and my, that you have an — people. and i am right, and my, that you have an early _ people. and i am right, and my, that you have an early stage _ people. and i am right, and my, that you have an early stage blood - you have an early stage blood cancer, which makes you particularly vulnerable? . . cancer, which makes you particularly vulnerable?— vulnerable? yes, i am particularly vulnerable — vulnerable? yes, i am particularly vulnerable and _ vulnerable? yes, i am particularly vulnerable and also _ vulnerable? yes, i am particularly vulnerable and also vaccines - vulnerable? yes, i am particularly vulnerable and also vaccines don't necessarily— vulnerable and also vaccines don't necessarily work for me. gk, vulnerable and also vaccines don't necessarily work for me.— necessarily work for me. ok, so clearly the _ necessarily work for me. ok, so clearly the message _ necessarily work for me. ok, so clearly the message has - necessarily work for me. ok, so clearly the message has been i necessarily work for me. ok, so i clearly the message has been that the two of you have had to be incredibly careful over the last couple of years, so i wonder what are your thoughts about the

potential lifting of all restrictions in england? tammy brantley, perhaps, first? it is really distressing. _ brantley, perhaps, first? it is really distressing. i _ brantley, perhaps, first? it 3 really distressing. i mean, we don't go out or do anything, but going to the hospital at least feels somewhat safe, knowing that people with covid have to isolate and people will be wearing masks and there will be social distancing, so now i am quite concerned about going even to hospital appointments and coming into contact with people that might have covid and don't have a mask on. and my brother died of covid last year and his underlying condition was asthma. so it is quite scary, having to think about what that might mean in the future. horse having to think about what that might mean in the future. how scared do ou might mean in the future. how scared do you feel. — might mean in the future. how scared do you feel, sally? _ might mean in the future. how scared do you feel, sally? i _ might mean in the future. how scared do you feel, sally? i am _ might mean in the future. how scared do you feel, sally? i am extremely i do you feel, sally? i am extremely scared, especially _ do you feel, sally? i am extremely scared, especially the _ do you feel, sally? i am extremely scared, especially the delivery -

scared, especially the delivery drivers— scared, especially the delivery drivers that come to the house and with going — with going to the hospital because again. i— with going to the hospital because again, i am actually fine with a lot of restrictions being lifted and getting — of restrictions being lifted and getting back to normal full people, but for— getting back to normal full people, but for me — getting back to normal full people, but for me hospital was a place of safety _ but for me hospital was a place of safety for — but for me hospital was a place of safety for me, going to the doctors was a _ safety for me, going to the doctors was a place — safety for me, going to the doctors was a place of safety to me and now i could _ was a place of safety to me and now i could meet somebody there without a mask— i could meet somebody there without a mask who _ i could meet somebody there without a mask who could have covid had just don't _ a mask who could have covid had just don't think— a mask who could have covid had just don't think that is there and i think— don't think that is there and i think people like me and tammy brantley— think people like me and tammy brantley who are clinically extremely vulnerable are being forgotten about in this and it is like our— forgotten about in this and it is like our lives don't matter. it is interesting _ like our lives don't matter. it is interesting you _ like our lives don't matter. it 3 interesting you make that point, though, that you are aware, aren't you, many people arguing it is time to try to get back to normal for as many people as possible and that we have all got to learn to live with covid, in the same way, i suppose, that we learned to live with flu. tammy brantley, what would you say to those people? i tammy brantley, what would you say to those people?— to those people? i absolutely understand — to those people? i absolutely understand that. _ to those people? i absolutely understand that. i— to those people? i absolutely| understand that. i understand to those people? i absolutely - understand that. i understand that the social requirements that people

have, i understand the country needing their economic measures to be in place to move forward, but to me that is not living with covid. i don't think people appreciate that... disabled and vulnerable people have always struggled in society anyway. and removing what small measures that were just makes it even more difficult. it seems like it is a purely political decision, ratherthan like it is a purely political decision, rather than one that has been based in public health experts and scientific advice. irate been based in public health experts and scientific advice.— and scientific advice. we have got to leave it there, _ and scientific advice. we have got to leave it there, unfortunately. l to leave it there, unfortunately. tammy brantley and sally hunter, we are very gratefulfor tammy brantley and sally hunter, we are very grateful for your time, thanks for talking to us on bbc news. . .. thanks for talking to us on bbc news. . ,, , ., thanks for talking to us on bbc news._ thank- thanks for talking to us on bbc news._ thank you! | thanks for talking to us on bbc- news._ thank you! let's news. thank you! thank you! let's u date news. thank you! thank you! let's update you — news. thank you! thank you! let's update you with — news. thank you! thank you! let's update you with the _ news. thank you! thank you! let's update you with the headlines - news. thank you! thank you! let's update you with the headlines nowj update you with the headlines now and bbc news.

as russia begins military exercises in ukraine, the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. new figures reveal a record six million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. borisjohnson comes under new pressure over downing street parties, with scathing criticism from a former conservative prime minister, sir john major. let's go back to our top story now and the continued concern about tensions between russia and ukraine. iamjoined i am joined now by the croatian mep... tonino pitzula who went to ukraine last week to discuss the threat at the border. we are very grateful to your time, thank you forjoining us. i wondered what of what the british

prime minister borisjohnson and the un secretary general, —— the nato secretary general, jens stoltenberg, said? u nfortu nately, unfortunately, a new war in europe is closer than ever. it might last more than 20 years, but there is still a chance of a different course of events, so i think, despite the pretty grim perspective for the piece, i think we need to maintain these diplomatic efforts and put the pressure on president putin, first of all, who is the main culprit for all of this, to divert his intentions and to continue with the aggression in ukraine, so every effort to reach president putin and to deter his aggression is more than welcome. but to deter his aggression is more than welcome. �* ., _, ., , ., welcome. but how confident are you that those diplomatic _ welcome. but how confident are you that those diplomatic efforts - welcome. but how confident are you that those diplomatic efforts can - that those diplomatic efforts can ultimately succeed? it is that those diplomatic efforts can ultimately succeed?— ultimately succeed? it is hard to sa , but ultimately succeed? it is hard to say. but i _ ultimately succeed? it is hard to say. but i think— ultimately succeed? it is hard to say, but i think the _ ultimately succeed? it is hard to say, but i think the next - ultimately succeed? it is hard to say, but i think the next 30 - ultimately succeed? it is hard to j say, but i think the next 30 days

ultimately succeed? it is hard to i say, but i think the next 30 days or one month is a crucial when we talk about a chance to divert the war in europe because economists, politicians and military strategists, they are together in assessment that if we can do it in the course of 30 days, maybe we can reach some kind of agreement. but in the meantime, we need to convince president putin, who is not, for sure, a candidate for the nobel peace prize for 2020, that russia invading ukraine will be very costly, not only for ukrainians, but for russians. costly, not only for ukrainians, but for russians-— costly, not only for ukrainians, but for russians. what do you mean by costl ? of for russians. what do you mean by costly? of course, _ for russians. what do you mean by costly? of course, let's _ for russians. what do you mean by costly? of course, let's put i for russians. what do you mean by costly? of course, let's put some l costly? of course, let's put some numbers on _ costly? of course, let's put some numbers on the _ costly? of course, let's put some numbers on the table. _ costly? of course, let's put some numbers on the table. yes, i costly? of course, let's put some numbers on the table. yes, it i costly? of course, let's put some numbers on the table. yes, it is i numbers on the table. yes, it is very true that the european union is the main importer of russian oil and gas, a0%. buti the main importer of russian oil and gas, a0%. but i think also the european union has h in the case of

aggression. 0f european union has h in the case of aggression. of course, the european union will cease the quantity of imports coming from the main export product of moscow and it may hurt president putin bosman economic interests because he is feeling the russian state budget more than 40% of income coming from exporting oil and gas and i think it can hurt his political position also within russia. �* ., political position also within russia. ., , russia. am i right that you visited ukraine recently? _ russia. am i right that you visited ukraine recently? and _ russia. am i right that you visited ukraine recently? and if - russia. am i right that you visited ukraine recently? and if i - russia. am i right that you visited ukraine recently? and if! am, i i ukraine recently? and if i am, i wondered if you could give us a sense of what you saw and found there? . sense of what you saw and found there? , ., , sense of what you saw and found there? , ._ ,., ., ._ .,, there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox. — there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox. but— there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox. but it _ there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox, but it is _ there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox, but it is true _ there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox, but it is true that - there? yes, it may sound in a way as a paradox, but it is true that real i a paradox, but it is true that real drama is developing around ukraine. we are talking about it all the time, but citizens, as well as leaders of ukraine, they are not inclined to dramatise. 0f leaders of ukraine, they are not inclined to dramatise. of course, they are not naive and they are

certainly worried, but they don't want to give an impression that they are in some kind of panic because i think their major assessment is that there is no need to provoke a sense of a state of emergency by showing, for example, military equipment on the streets, destabilising the banking system and tanking the economy. banking system and tanking the econom . ., ., ., ., banking system and tanking the econom. ., ., ., ., ., economy. tonino pitzula, a croatian mep, we are — economy. tonino pitzula, a croatian mep, we are very — economy. tonino pitzula, a croatian mep, we are very grateful _ economy. tonino pitzula, a croatian mep, we are very grateful tool i economy. tonino pitzula, a croatian mep, we are very grateful tool to i mep, we are very grateful tool to you for your time. thanks for joining us here and bbc news. thank ou. borisjohnson is boris johnson is abroad, borisjohnson is abroad, dealing with the crisis in ukraine, but at home the conservative former prime minister sirjohn major says mrjohnson and his officials broke lockdown laws over the downing street parties. sirjohn says they dreamt up �*brazen excuses' for their behaviour and asked the public

to "believe the unbelievable." sirjohn's damning comments come as police investigate a total of 12 separate gatherings. here's our political correspondentjonathan blake. the two men are members of the same party, they are perhaps as far apart in style and substance within that as it is possible to be, and this was a speech billed as about the state of democracy and people's faith in it globally. nevertheless, there was some striking new criticism of borisjohnson in there. as you say, and in the context of accusations of parties in whitehall during lockdown, sirjohn major echoed labour's phrase, saying that the notion there is one rule for the government and one rule for everybody else is politically deadly and he said it had hit home. he made this specific accusation. at number10, the prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. brazen excuses were dreamed up. day after day, the public was asked to believe the unbelievable. ministers were sent out to defend the indefensible. making themselves look gullible

or foolish as they did so. now, asked about that afterwards, sirjohn major appeared to backtrack slightly, saying that there was little doubt laws had been broken, but that it would be unwise and unfair of him tojudge at this point before the police investigation had concluded. while sirjohn major wanted today to be about questioning people's faith in democracy and those words will carry weight, the reality is it will be seen as the latest in a long line of criticism from a former prime minister to a current one, which at times can appear pretty personal. jonathan blake reporting there. now, yesterday we reported on the mounting pressure on the met police commissioner, cressida dick, over the handling of key events during recent years. this includes a man who was a serving met police officer, who abducted, raped and strangled sarah everard. the force faced severe criticism

over their policing of a vigil held in south london. two met constables took photos of two murdered sisters, nicole smallman and bibaa henry. they shared the images on whatsapp groups. both officers were jailed for 33 months each. and anthony walgate, jack taylor, gabriel kovari and daniel whitworth — four men were killed by stephen port. a coroner's report identified "basic investigative failings" by scotland yard into their deaths. danjohnson has the details of what cressida dick said. this is a regular phone in the commission takes part in on bbc london, but obviously quite timely given the pressure she has been under, particularly over the last week, particularly after those comments from the mayor of london yesterday. cressida dick says "enough is enough," she accepted that this had been a bad time for the force. she said the reputation of the met had been tarnished, but that she was determined to root out any individuals with the sorts

of attitudes and behaviours that have been laid bare. she accepted that it is notjust a couple of isolated incidents, that it is notjust a few bad apples. but she was also at pains to say that there are good people in the force and that she believes she has done a positive role in transforming attitudes in the force in the five years she has been in office. she was asked directly by one listener if she would leave the job. here's what she had to say in response. i have absolutely no intention of going. and i believe that i am and have been, actually, for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the met. we have a service now which is, i am absolutely certain, more professional, fairer, more transparent, more accountable and closer to its communities, and more effective and, and more effective in for example, reducing violent crime, which has been going down year

on year on year in almost every category, bucking the national trend. so we have been performing and we have good people, in the main. i have been transforming the way people are, who the people are, and the way they conduct themselves. so a defiant defence of her own record, but accepted that there is more work to do, and cressida dick accepted that there could be further embarrassing or disgusting revelations to come from the force because there are these ongoing reviews into different aspects of culture, attitudes within the ranks of the metropolitan police, but cressida dick saying today she is determined to make those improvements, she is not going anywhere. 0ur correspondence there, dan johnson. the prince of wales has tested positive for covid—19 and is now self—isolating. clarence house says the prince received the positive result this morning. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. they won't say how he is,

this is a private health matter, patient confidentiality and all that. but i think we can assume that he is coping with it. he is triple vaccinated, he has had his booster, cancelled a visit to winchester that he was due to make this morning. he was last night at a function at the british museum, a reception for the british asian trust. what is not clear is when he last saw the queen. she of course returned from sandringham to windsor on monday. the prince of wales, i think, was taking part in an investiture at windsor on tuesday. but it is not clear whether they met on that occasion. he of course had covid for the first time very shortly after the pandemic started, back in march 2020, and he made a full recovery from that. nicholas witchell there. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, has also tested positive for coronavirus and is self—isolating. the news comes a day before he was due to announce his latest review of covid legislation. economy minister vaughan gething

will now take friday's press conference with the latest guidance on restrictions in wales. now it's time for a look at the weather with. .. he was staff. —— he was stabbed in the hello there. early clouds clearing away from southern england, much of england and wales to are drier, brighter, some sunshine around, one or two showers in the north and the west, but for much of northern ireland and particularly scotland, it is going to be very windy with gates and also rain, sleet and snow, some heavy snow on the hills. all down to this potent little area of low pressure. now, the winds quite a feature through the afternoon to the evening, there strong winds will transfer to eastern scotland, north—east england, taking the rain, sleet and snow with it. many places turn drier overnight under clear skies. it's going to be a cold one, widespread frost for many, quite a hard frost through central and northern areas. so it means we will start off with the risk of ice across large parts of scotland through the morning, few wintry showers in the north and the less, otherwise for most it is a cold,

crisp, bright start and it'll stay dry bright throughout the day. just a bit more cloud tending to build up across western areas with increasing winds ahead of this next weather front. so after that cold start, it's going to be quite a chilly day for most of us. see you later. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... borisjohnson has warned that europe faces its "biggest security crisis" for decades as russian troops continue to mass on its border with ukraine. the stakes are very high. and this is a dangerous moment, and at stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation big and small. new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. the former prime minister sir john major has delivered a damning speech on borisjohnson and the impact his government is having on the uk's

standing around the world. the prime minister and our present government has not only challenged the law, but seemed to believe that they and they alone need not obey the rules, traditions, conventions, callthem what you will, of our public life. britain's climate change chief has warned the uk must do more to insulate the country's draughty homes. sport now, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, it's hugh. good afternoon. both men's and women's curling teams have got their first wins under their belts in the round robin phase of the winter olympics in beijing. it took eve muirhead's rink until their second match. after losing earlier to switzerland, they came roaring back this afternoon against sweden... ..with this on end four, muirhead's hammer scoring four and giving them a match—winning lead.

it'sjust finished with an 8—2 win for team gb. the men's team finished strongly to beat italy 7—5, bruce mouat sending down the final stone. britain are ranked first in the world, so there's a lot of expectation on their shoulders. they'll be back tomorrow for matches against the usa and norway. they are a very good team and we knew we would get our chances in the second half, which we did, and bruce made a couple of great shots to take advantage of their misses and control coming home.- advantage of their misses and control coming home. wasn't my best start to the game _ control coming home. wasn't my best start to the game but _ control coming home. wasn't my best start to the game but finished - control coming home. wasn't my best start to the game but finished of i start to the game but finished of relatively— start to the game but finished of relatively strong with a good second half performance, but struggled with the setup, _ half performance, but struggled with the setup, probably on the back foot a little _ the setup, probably on the back foot a little when they were playing so well as _ a little when they were playing so well as well, so needed to turn it around _ well as well, so needed to turn it around in — well as well, so needed to turn it around in the second half. there was a dramatic finish in the men's snowboard cross final.

after several rounds of knockout competition, it all came down to just a few millimetres. canada's eliot grondin had been the fastest in the preliminary race and took that form into the early stages of the final. but alessandro haemmerle, of austria, reeled him in and it came down to a photo finish, haemmerle taking it, saying afterwards he had no idea it was so close. the difference was just two hundredths of a second. unconfirmed reports in russia have named 15—year—old kamila valieva as the figure skater who has tested positive for a banned substance. since then, the presentation of the medals for the team event, won by the russian olympic committee, has been delayed. the international olympic committee says a legal matter has led to the postponement of the official ceremony, which was due to take place on tuesday evening in beijing, with a spokesperson saying he can't comment on speculation that he's seen. valieva, whose became the first female skater to perform a quadruple jump at the olympics, was back training at the national indoor stadium today, with her team saying

she has not been suspended. ireland captainjonny sexton will miss their six nations match against france this weekend because of a hamstring injury. both won their opening games of the tournament and sexton had originally declared himself fit despite a bruising encounter with wales. but the fly half will be replaced in the ireland team byjoey carbery in paris on saturday. meanwhile, a hamstring injury has ruled scotland flankerjamie ritchie out of the rest of the six nations. he came off during the second half of the calcutta cup win over england and will be replaced by sam skinner for the game in wales on saturday. that's one of five changes, including bringing in an entirely new front row. wayne pivac has made four changes to his wales team for the game in cardiff, including handing a debut to flankerjac morgan. the defending champions lost that opening match to ireland. heather knight will captain a 15—strong squad for england's defence of the women's world cup in new zealand.

knight led the side to victory in 2017 and the squad includes seven players involved in that win, as well as all—rounder emma lamb, who made her one—day debut in the women's ashes, which ended this week without a single win for england. that's all the sport for now. 19 million homes in the uk are in need of better insulation, with two in every three leaking heat, according to the climate change committee. it says the government must do better, and that insulation is the way out of the current energy crisis. the uk is believed to have some of the oldest and draughtiest housing stock in europe. our climate editor justin rowlatt reports. so, we've got lots of heat coming out of this window here, and under this window upstairs, we've probably got a radiator here. that's money coming through your wall. we are hunting for draughty homes using this thermal camera, and it's easy pickings

here in manchester. virtually every home has insulation issues. and here is the difference insulation can make. how would you rate this house? this house is definitely losing less heat, especially from the weak spots that we identified on the other houses. but just look what it took to give the house an insulation makeover. so, there is insulation inside the room here, the windows are double glazed and the space under the floor is insulated too. up here at the top of the house, the entire roof area has been insulated, as well. the walls used to look like this, bare brick. but they've put in this wood fibre insulation, external insulation, and the windows are double glazed. in monetary terms, it's saved 40% of our gas on the heating and it made a really big difference to the comfort of the house as well.

but here's the rub, even at current energy prices, it will still take at least 20 years to cover the 36 grand it cost. down in london, it's this man'sjob to mark the government's homework on climate. so, how is it doing? well, it's a d. could do much better, i think. so, that is something for the government to think about. i think the government's policy on insulation has been very, very ineffective. it really is very poor. we need something that dramatically changes the number of insulations that we do today. so, this year will be in the tens of thousands of installations. we really need to scale that up to something like half a million a year. and to do that quickly over the next four or five years. but if it's hard for middle—class homeowners to afford insulation, it's even tougher for local authorities like blackpool. energy efficient homes are popular with tenants, though. perfect. she laughs. but blackpool spent £33,000 insulating jean's one—bedroom flat. the council reckons it would cost some £125 million to bring all blackpool�*s social housing up

to this standard. it's not financially viable to do it on scale, really. to get stuff to be carbon neutral, there is a big bill to that, and we need support with it. so, what does britain's climate chief think the government should do? we know that we need a sharper incentive for most people to make these investments in improving the energy efficiency of the home that they live in. for most people, the payback for that will be several years. so the government really does need to step in. so when you ask why so few homes in britain are well insulated, here is the answer. it's just so expensive. without some help, most of us will find it tough to get it done. justin rowlatt, bbc news, blackpool. the former miners' leader arthur scargill says today's trade union leaders should learn

the lessons of the past if they are to succeed. he was speaking on the 50th anniversary of the battle of saltley, during the 1972 miners' strike. the mass picket led to the defeat of the conservative government, and propelled mr scargill to national prominence. he's been speaking exclusively to the bbc�*s ian white. february 1972, a nationwide miners' strike was under way. at a coking works in birmingham, pickets struggled to stop lorries going in and out, so a call went out for help to the num in yorkshire — could they send miners down to help? we want assurances from the chairman of the gas board, in writing... the miner who answered the call was a little known union official called arthur scargill. when i cried out, "get yourselves down here, we need help, "i'm asking every miner to come and help us," and, boy, did they come. there were brutal scenes outside saltley where pickets battled with police. arthur knew to succeed he needed to win the support of other trade unions and convince all kinds of workers to join the strike.

aring this for 12 years suddenly there was a cheer, a roar went up, ——suddenly there was a cheer, a roar went up, and i looked round and coming over the hill, as far as the eye could see, were thousands of engineers tojoin us, and women leading them. what happened on the 10th of february 1972 won the strike, got miners a big pay rise and made trade union history. it also defeated the conservative government and took arthur scargill to national prominence for the first time. everything i had dreamed about as a trade unionist came to fruition. for the first time in my life, the things i'd talked about were a reality. miners and other workers in solidarity action. 12 years later, the miners were on strike again, but margaret thatcher's government was determined there wouldn't be a repeat of saltley gate. first of all, in her autobiography

she devotes a whole chapter to scargill�*s insurrection, and secondly, i never met thatcher. imagine that. from the second world war to today, the only prime minister that i never met was margaret thatcher. i have no regrets. now aged 84, arthur believes today's trade union leaders should learn the lessons of sully. ——saltly. you'll make it was the turning point in the miners strike and lead to a complete victory, it was the greatest day of my life. arthur scargill ending that report from ian white. wayne rooney has said he could have either died or killed someone as a result of his drinking problems. the former manchester united footballer, who's now

manager of derby county, has also revealed that when he was a player, he felt he had to keep his struggles with alcohol and mental health a secret. he's been talking to bbc breakfast�*s sally nugent ahead of the release of a documentary about his life. wayne, the film is really, very, very honest. why did you decide to do it and why now? i just felt it was an opportunity for people to see me, to see the real me. the good moments, the bad moments, which, of course, have been there as well, and then for people to judge me on knowing a bit more about me, which i feel is more fair. we've always grew up quicker than what we were meant to, really, ithink. coleen is such a big part of the film. you met as children,

were married really very, very young, and what comes across in the whole of the film is that you have this tremendous partnership. how important has she been in the last 20 years? we have a good relationship. we're friends, obviously, as well. and there is a good balance to the relationship, especially now, to how we are as parents with the four children. and there's been difficult moments we've had, of course, which obviously has come through me, the mistakes i've made, and that i speak about that in the documentary as well. i forgive him. but, yeah, but it wasn't acceptable. but no, it's not something that, you know, if it come up, we'd talk about it like we're talking about it now. i haven't got the anger that i did at the time. coleen knows there's been

influences in terms of why i've made mistakes, in terms of... i don't mean people, i mean alcohol. you know, the dressing rooms that you've been in, particularly that manchester united dressing room, was there never a time when anyone put their arm around you and said, "i can help" ? no. ten, 15 years ago, you couldn't... i couldn't go into the dressing room and say "i'm struggling, i'm struggling with alcohol, i'm struggling mental health—wise". i couldn't do that. and when you say you were struggling, what was the darkest time? what was your fear at that point? probably death. i think, you know, as i said before, you make mistakes, which i did, and that could have been... ..girls, it could have been drink—driving, which i have done, it could have been, you know, killing someone. you could kill yourself. erm, and that's a bad place to be. so i knew i needed help, i knew i had to get that help, in orderfor... ..to save myself, but also

to save my family. wayne, thanks very much indeed. thank you. wayne rooney they're speaking to sally nugent. wayne rooney they're speaking to sally nugent. now on bbc news, your questions answered on coronavirus health reporterjim reed is here to take your questions. jim, they have been a lot of them, so let's get cracking, a few people have asked a variation of david's question. what about the millions of people who are immune deficient, and i am assuming this is with reference to that we could see the end of covid restrictions in england by the end of the month.— covid restrictions in england by the end of the month. yesterday we had this surprise — end of the month. yesterday we had this surprise announcement - end of the month. yesterday we had this surprise announcement by i end of the month. yesterday we had this surprise announcement by borisj this surprise announcement by boris johnson in the house of commons, it took a number of us by surprise. we do not have the full details,

important to say, of this plan at the moment, but before yesterday, we knew the government had this aspiration to remove the final restrictions by march 2a, and then yesterday in the commons, boris johnson essentially brought that forward, other possibility was brought forward by a month. in england only. important to point out. that would get us to the end of february, and on february 21, we are expecting the government for england to publish this new strategy for living with covid. we would imagine sometime around the end of february we could see this change. the most important, significant restriction left is this idea that if you test positive, positive yourself or the virus, you currently must self—isolate, and that is by law. you can be fined if you do not do it. this is england only we are talking about. at the beginning of the pandemic, it was iii days you had to stay in your house by yourself, it has been gradually reduced, so it

was ten just before christmas, then reduced to... more complicated, so on day five and six, after you test positive or you have symptoms, then you have to take a lateral flow test that morning on the fifth and sixth day, and on the sixth day, they are both negative, you can be released. the idea is to be scrapped completely and instead, if you test positive, you can, by law, leave the house immediately. of course, the guidance might be different from that, we have not had that yet, there might be voluntary guidance that says in similar circumstances you should not do that. and if you are sick, you have symptoms, there is no guidance at the moment although at the moment that says, if you have flu, you have to stay at home. but it is common sense that you do. we don't really know how people react to this, whether companies, organisations, transport companies, organisations, transport companies, will say that people should still do this. going back to

the original question... the millions of people who are immune deficient, this is really key, and we have been speaking to a lot of people in this situation on the bbc. they are going to be rightly concerned they could be in more danger as a result of this. i spoke to a lady, a couple of weeks ago, she had had six jabs and had shown no immune response whatsoever in tests to those six jabs, it could be because of a condition you have got, you could be undergoing chemotherapy, so what'll happen to those people? there is talk, and people are already getting fourth jabs to boost the protection of some people in that situation, there are new drugs coming on stream as well, anti—virals that could be used potentially prophylactically, so before and infection to better protect people in that age group, and we do not know what that guidance will be. there could still be strong guidance to stay at home

if people have symptoms, so we will have to wait and see. you if people have symptoms, so we will have to wait and see.— have to wait and see. you mention fourth jabs. _ have to wait and see. you mention fourth jabs. and — have to wait and see. you mention fourth jabs, and rita _ have to wait and see. you mention fourth jabs, and rita wants i have to wait and see. you mention fourth jabs, and rita wants some l fourth jabs, and rita wants some clarity on that. are there plans to give a full covid jack to vulnerable adults? we do not know at the moment? it adults? we do not know at the moment?— adults? we do not know at the moment? , , ., , ., ., _ moment? it depends what you mean by vulnerable adults. _ moment? it depends what you mean by vulnerable adults. already _ moment? it depends what you mean by vulnerable adults. already about i moment? it depends what you mean by vulnerable adults. already about a i vulnerable adults. already about a million people in the uk have been offered fourth jabs, and some will all ready have had them. not only adults but anyone over 12 with certain conditions. blood cancers, for example, leukaemia, people who havejust for example, leukaemia, people who have just had a transplant, people had a high risk. obviously that is one group. if you are talking of people more widely who are vulnerable, those over the age of 70 years old, they are not currently going to get fourth jabs. that is because we don't really have enough evidence and data about how well those third boosterjabs are doing, or whether the fourth jabs for that group will really be needed. so i can imagine, looking at the data may

be when we get into the autumn, that'll be a that we will have again before the next winter season about whether fourth jabs should be before the next winter season about whetherfourth jabs should be rolled out more widely to that wider group. white method is interesting because steve asks, does the body always retain a level of immunity after bein: retain a level of immunity after being jab? _ retain a level of immunity after being jab? what _ retain a level of immunity after being jab? what is _ retain a level of immunity after being jab? what is the - retain a level of immunity after being jab? what is the scientific evidence on that?— evidence on that? really good question. _ evidence on that? really good question, and _ evidence on that? really good question, and this _ evidence on that? really good question, and this is - evidence on that? really good l question, and this is something scientists will be watching so closely. the data at the moment, it depends a lot on which vaccine you have had. but if you take the example of having two doses of astrazeneca and then a booster of pfizer, which applies to millions of people around the country, at the moment we know that after around 5—9 weeks, we are starting to see protection against what we call symptomatic infection, so getting it and feeling sick, it starts to wane orfade over time. the big question is, what happens against protection

against severe disease? so going into hospital, the possibility of losing your life. there are early signs looking at the data that protection is much higher, but it is starting to fade. for example, if you have a booster, your risk of being hospitalised from covid is reduced by about 90% to begin with. after iii weeks, that is down to 80%. that is still a very very good level of protection but it is starting to fade. we do not have a state on this because people have boosted so recently. the question is, what will happen 20 weeks, 25 weeks. the summer, the autumn. that is where it goes back to your previous question. we might need those fourth doses. we might get a specific fourth dose thatis might get a specific fourth dose that is more tailored to the omicron variant or whatever variant is around at that point.- variant or whatever variant is around at that point. there are presumably — around at that point. there are presumably trials _ around at that point. there are presumably trials following i around at that point. there are l presumably trials following this? the waning, failing level of immunity.

the waning, failing level of immunity-— the waning, failing level of immuni. ., , immunity. the uk health security auen immunity. the uk health security agency publishes _ immunity. the uk health security agency publishes data _ immunity. the uk health security agency publishes data every i immunity. the uk health security| agency publishes data every week showing how that is waning, fading and falling over time i do not want to alarm people. against severe disease, that this are holding up very well. they are... in preston, someone — very well. they are... in preston, someone asks. — very well. they are... in preston, someone asks, are _ very well. they are... in preston, someone asks, are the _ very well. they are... in preston, someone asks, are the numbersl someone asks, are the numbers encouraging are we being too premature at selecting the numbers that will favour this policy? wiki on the question is the word numbers, because presumably not only do we need to look at the number of cases, but we also must look at the number of hospital and deaths. yes. but we also must look at the number of hospital and deaths.— of hospital and deaths. yes, they are basically _ of hospital and deaths. yes, they are basically asking _ of hospital and deaths. yes, they are basically asking the _ of hospital and deaths. yes, they are basically asking the million i are basically asking the million dollar question here. how much thought has gone into this? you hinted at this. it's depends if you have a glass half full glass half empty view of the current situation. as a reporter, i can run you through the glass half full. at the moment,

cases daily have been falling, we have high levels of immunity in the population, eitherfrom those booster jabs we were population, eitherfrom those boosterjabs we were talking about or from boosterjabs we were talking about orfrom people boosterjabs we were talking about or from people that where deviously infected. hospital cases is the key one, and we have seen hospitalisations fall, the overall number in hospitals fall, the being we met number being admitted falling since the beginning of the year. that is because omicron was not as severe as previous variants of the virus and it has not led to the real pressure on the nhs we sought back this time last year with delta. deaths, we are still averaging, when we look at it, 250 people a day to covid, orafter we look at it, 250 people a day to covid, or after testing positive for covid, or after testing positive for covid, a lot of the statistics hard to read because, with so many infected, you often get people hospitalised and live their lives, they might have been in hospital —— lose their lives. if you look at the

glass half empty side. infections are still very high. we are still roughly getting on to 60,000, 70,000 cases a day. higher than at any other point in the winter, any point last summer, higher than at any point last spring. still high levels of infection. there are some concerns about things like this new variant of a variant called baa two of omicron, spreading more quickly, so there are concerns. some scientists are worried about this, but this is really a question for politicians rather than scientists, weighing up these two risks and decide what they want to do. ads, bit decide what they want to do. a bit short time. _ decide what they want to do. a bit short time. so _ decide what they want to do. a bit short time, so apologies if we cannot read your question, but i to pick up on valerie's question, she says, will i risk acting covid from a list of people here, a doctor, nurse, dentist, optician, care worker or teacher because they will be able to go to work with covid,

assuming the isolation rules are changed, orwill there assuming the isolation rules are changed, or will there be different rules for different professions? this will come down to what the final guidance will show. an example, in denmark, they recently lifted all remaining restrictions there as well. but there are still fairly strong guidance that he should self—isolate for four days after getting a positive test, they have kept that in place as guidance. in law, they might lift these restrictions, but we do not know what the guidance will say. i can speak to hospitals and doctors surgeries, when i have been in those in the last year, they have been very strict rules within the hospitals themselves about staff and what they do when testing positive. lots of hospitals have their own dedicated testing unit on site. that is one of the things we might see going forward. hospitals make their own rules that are different from the national guidance. fantastic, we

have not to the national guidance. fantastic, we have got to put _ the national guidance. fantastic, we have got to put it — the national guidance. fantastic, we have got to put it short _ the national guidance. fantastic, we have got to put it short and - have got to put it short and apologies if we did not get your question, but thank you, jim. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello, much of the south of the uk will be a drier today with some sunshine, one or two showers around. but further north, a different story, it will be windy, rain, sleet, snow and even gales or severe gales sleet, snow and even gales or severe gates at times. because of this potent area of low pressure moving across the north of the uk, squeezing the isobars there. this is the weather front that brought cloud and ranges to southern areas overnight. lots of dry weather for england and wales, a few showers pushing into north—western areas, northern ireland, the far north of england and scotland, very windy through the afternoon. sleet and snow on the hills where these sort of winds are drifting, and

blizzards. factoring in the wind and the north, culverfeeling that temperature —— colder. overnight, clear skies, temperature —— colder. overnight, clearskies, lighterwinds, temperature —— colder. overnight, clear skies, lighter winds, turning much colderfor all. a clear skies, lighter winds, turning much colder for all. a widespread frost, even a hard frost across central and northern parts of the country. a few wintry showers across western scotland to start friday, but otherwise foremost, a lovely, dry, cold, bright, crisp day, plenty of sunshine in the afternoon. cloud and a breeze building up across western areas later in the day ahead of the next weather system, then a cold start, and a chilly day, temperatures of 4—8 . it area of high pressure is short lived, low pressure takes over heading into the start of the weekend, lots of isobars on the chart, turning wintry for all. isobars on the chart, turning wintry forall. some isobars on the chart, turning wintry for all. some heavy rain on western

hills. the south—east, the quadrant of the country that stays driest and brightest the longest by the end of the day. we will see rain getting in there, though. temperatures recovering, highs of nine or 10 degrees across southern and western areas. saturday night tends drier, a few showers around but for sunday, another area of low pressure sweeping in from the south—west. we start with variable cloud, some sunshine, one or two showers, then turning wet and windy across wales, the midlands, southern england through the day, some rain quite heavy and persistent, mild in the south, further north, chilly out with sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines: a fresh british diplomatic offensive to avert a russian invasion of ukraine — as russia begins new military exercises in the region, the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. the stakes are very high. and this is a dangerous moment, and at stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation big and small. new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. borisjohnson under new pressure over downing street parties, with scathing criticism from a former conservative prime minister.

day after day, the public was asked to believe the unbelievable. ministers were sent out to defend the indefensible. a call for better insulation in the uk, as two thirds of houses are said to be leaking heat. also coming up this hour... 50 years on from the miners' strike — the former miners' union leader, arthur scargill, gives a rare sit—down interview to the bbc. hello and welcome to bbc news. boris johnson warned that the ukraine crisis is "at its most dangerous moment" as he spoke of the importance of a diplomatic push in the coming days. the prime minister has been

holding talks with the head of nato in brussels and the polish prime minister in warsaw. the foreign secretary, liz truss, also met with her russian counterpart, sergei lavrov. russia continues to deny it has any plans to attack ukraine. this map shows where russian soliders are stationed around ukraine — each red dot represents thousands of troops. those black dots are military units that have recently been sent to the area. also, russia and belarus — who are close allies and both border ukraine — have started ten days ofjoint military drills. last week, president biden sent us troops to poland, germany and romania. today, mrjohnson said the uk is putting 1,000 troops on standby in case of a humanitarian emergency. our political correspondent, chris mason, has more. the talk in ukraine is of possible invasion, and with it a march towards the prospects of a winter

war in eastern europe. today we are seeing british diplomacy on both sides. the foreign secretary in moscow, the prime minister at the headquarters of the nato military alliance in brussels. this is probably the most dangerous moment, i would say, in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security crisis that europe has faced for decades. we've got to get it right, and i think that the combination of sanctions and military resolve, plus diplomacy, is what is in order. russia has already amassed well over 100,000 combat—ready troops, with heavy equipment, missiles and key enablers such as command and control and medical units. and we are closely monitoring russia's deployment in belarus, which is the biggest since the end of the cold war.

looking at the geography of the region really helps us to understand what is going on here. to ukraine's east, russia. to ukraine's west, members of nato. as well as geography there is history too, and lots of it. not least russia invading crimea in ukraine eight years ago. this is a dangerous moment for european security. the number of russian forces is going up. the warning time for a possible attack is going down. nato is not a threat to russia, but we must be prepared for the worst. the central point of tension here is russia cannot stomach the idea of ukraine everjoining nato. but ukraine argues it is a sovereign country, it should have the right to choose. given neither of these things are likely to change anytime soon, it's difficult to see how either

side can climb down. and from brussels, the prime minister's nick stop, warsaw, meeting his polish counterpart this afternoon. the discussions and the diplomacy continues. chris mason, bbc news. as we heard, the foreign secretary, liz truss, is in moscow for talks with her russian counterpart, sergei lavrov. she's warned the kremlin that an invasion of ukraine would be disastrous. but russian troops are keeping up the pressure and today they're starting ten days of military exercises with their close ally belarus, which has a border with ukraine. from moscow, caroline davies. clearing snow in moscow can be a thankless task. as soon as you're making progress, a new flurry lands. today's meeting between the uk and russia was an icy affair. liz truss' warnings about harsh sanctions if russia were to take

action in ukraine were not well received. translation: i'm honestly - disappointed that our conversation turned out like the mute talking to the deaf. it seems like we are listening to each other but not hearing each other. at the very least, our very detailed clarifications on the whole fell upon deaf ears. well, first of all, i certainly wasn't mute in our discussions earlier. i put forward the uk's point of view on the current situation, and the fact that as well as seeking to deter russia from an invasion into ukraine, we are also very resolute in pursuing the diplomatic path. explosion. this is what worries the west. russia is flexing its military muscle with joint drills in belarus. nato is concerned about russia building up more troops along its border with ukraine. russia wants guarantees that nato, which it sees as a threat, will not expand.

meanwhile, the uk and the us have committed to sending more troops to nato countries to protect its eastern flank. but russia still insists that it is not the aggressor. today, the head of russia's secret service chaired a discussion about russian history, but he also has an eye on the current situation in europe. translation: russia has never had and doesn't have any aggressive i plans towards ukraine. we saw these dangerous lies spread from the other shore of the atlantic and these lies have been picked up in a number of western capitals. this disinformation is dangerous. first of all for ukraine and its citizens as well as for european stability and security. building trust while building troops is difficult to do. it is seen as a positive sign that both sides are still talking, but after many weeks, many meetings and many press conferences, it can feel like they are going over old ground with still no sign of resolution. more western politicians will land

in moscow over the next week. a frozen conversation is still better than all—out war. caroline davies, bbc news, moscow. let's get more from our kyiv correspondent, james waterhouse. do people there think all this diplomacy will make a difference and that russia will pull back? brute diplomacy will make a difference and that russia will pull back?— that russia will pull back? we talk about it a lot, _ that russia will pull back? we talk about it a lot, don't _ that russia will pull back? we talk about it a lot, don't we, _ that russia will pull back? we talk about it a lot, don't we, rebecca? j about it a lot, don't we, rebecca? this tension on the border. the ukrainians are certainly welcoming the continued military help but is coming in. a tenth the aircraft arrived today from the us as part of arrived today from the us as part of a $200 million package, carrying 80 million tonnes of ammunition. lithuania has promised anti—aircraft missiles to arrive in the coming days, but the country's foreign minister, has talked about his concern for the first time in a while about this building up of russian troops. you have got these

belarusian joint exercises with russia to the north that were mentioned in that report, but there is also growing tension to the south. russia has put out a warning saying it is planning to carry out naval drills, missile drills in the black sea and ac that runs along ukraine's south coast. dimitrov says thatis ukraine's south coast. dimitrov says that is actually a pretext for blocking ukrainian ports, which would put not only a military squeeze on things, but an economic one as well, so he is worried about that. he says there is evidence that the number of troops, that estimated 100,000 figure, along the border is increasing. today nato's secretary generaljens stoltenberg announced he would be deploying combat troops to romania, which is on the... it is on the black sea coast, so tensions really are rising and ukraine is feeling the squeeze and the diplomat today said 12.5 billion euros of

investment have been pulled out of the city since last november and thatis the city since last november and that is only going to get worse over the coming days. that is only going to get worse over the coming days-— the coming days. yes, so clearly havin: the coming days. yes, so clearly having an _ the coming days. yes, so clearly having an economic— the coming days. yes, so clearly having an economic impact i the coming days. yes, so clearly. having an economic impact there, james. the president of ukraine has talked about the pressure ukraine is under. what is his next move? he is auoin to under. what is his next move? he is going to continue, _ under. what is his next move? he is going to continue, i _ under. what is his next move? he is going to continue, i expect, - under. what is his next move? he is going to continue, i expect, to i under. what is his next move? he: 3 going to continue, i expect, to call for immediate sanctions. he has been wanting this for a while. the us has always said that only works if there is any kind of invasion, but president vladimir zelenskiy thinks this occupation of territory in eastern ukraine by russian backed militants in there has already been an invasion happening. he wants to see action now, he says to happening. he wants to see action now. he say— now, he says to put russia off an hint now, he says to put russia off anything more. _ now, he says to put russia off anything more. he _ now, he says to put russia off anything more. he is - now, he says to put russia off anything more. he is going i now, he says to put russia off anything more. he is going to | anything more. he is going to continue to embrace these diplomatic efforts and there is a world leader foreign minister visiting almost every day now, the german chancellor olaf scholz is arriving on monday ahead of a visit to moscow the

following day, so you can expect those continued efforts to be happening, but the pressure is growing. the comments by his foreign minister are notable, that the pressure is being felt here in kyiv. i want to ask you about that, finally. what is the sense on the streets where you are in kyiv that there is an impending problem? it is hard to there is an impending problem? it 3 hard to measure because, take kyiv, for example. it is a young feeling city. you can walk around and there are people going for brunch or for a drink or on their way to the gym or going to a supermarket and the most striking thing is ukrainians are used to this kind of tension. this wave of russian aggression has been going on for eight years. they have been at war, ili,000 lives have been lost, there have been 20 attempts at a ceasefire in the east, and they have all failed. so that is a long time for ukrainians to be looking over their shoulder. that said, over the past few weeks, we have seen this heightening of language,

notably between the west and russia, over the accusations of an impending invasion, russia denying it, saying it is their sovereign right to stage set exercises in its own country. that starts to trickle down and get harder to ignore and ukrainians are expressing their exhaustion online, their growing anxiety because it is difficult to live your day—to—day life with all of these reports are swirling about you. i life with all of these reports are swirling about you.— swirling about you. i am sure. james, swirling about you. i am sure. james. good _ swirling about you. i am sure. james. good to _ swirling about you. i am sure. james, good to talk—

before discharging their patients. the number of people who then had to wait to be moved on to a hospital ward has hit a record high. last month, 120,000 patients were held in a&e for four hours before that transfer with more than 16,000 waiting for more than 12 hours. these figures represent tremendous pressures throughout the whole system, from primary care and ambulance services to the emergency department, to our general wards and to patients then being discharged back to the community. and in each of these fields, colleagues are struggling to give timely and high quality care to patients. the nhs says it has been dealing with record numbers of 999 calls, at the same time as high levels

of staff sickness caused by covid. hospitals in wales, scotland and northern ireland have all been facing similar pressures, as this winter wave of the pandemic passes and more people seek treatment. jim reed, bbc news. our health correspondent, nick triggle, says there is also concern in the nhs about the government's decision to end all covid restrictions a month earlier than planned. a lot of the experts have been expressing concern and surprise at that move. one called it either brave or stupid. the fear is clearly that it could push up infection rates. the number of infections we are seeing are still very high. the government surveillance programme estimated that one in 19 people in england was positive last week, although hospital cases are still falling. one of the fears is it could leave people feeling under pressure to return to work, for example, before they are recovered and perhaps when they are still infectious.

we don't know what it means for sick pay and for the isolation payments that some people are entitled to, but there are others who say we can overestimate the impact government rules have. for example, the government did not place any rules on mixing at christmas and the numbers of contacts people were having each day was actually very low, similar to the sort of levels we saw in the first lockdown. it is not like the testing system is picking up all the infections. it was only picking up about half the cases out there, so not everyone was being told to formally isolate and it is why some experts actually say it might not have that big an impact on infections and it was largely unenforceable, so they think people who were following the rules will still follow the guidance that we expect to be issued when this does happen. before discharging their patients. nick triggle reporting there. i want to bring you some news from the reuters agency, which is reporting that the french coast guard is carrying out a search and rescue

mission for 36 people in the english channel. so that is news from the maritime authority for northern france that it has just said that the french coast guard is carrying out a search and rescue mission for 36 people in the english channel. i am afraid we don't have any further details on that at the moment, but we will of course bring them to you as soon as we get them. in the meantime, let's update you with the headlines and bbc news. a fresh british diplomatic offensive to avert a russian invasion of ukraine — as russia begins new military exercises in the region, the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. borisjohnson comes under new pressure over downing street parties, with scathing criticism from a former conservative prime minister, sirjohn major.

staying with that story... while borisjohnson is abroad, dealing with the crisis in ukraine, here at home the former conservative prime minister, sirjohn major, has said mrjohnson and his officials "broke lockdown laws" over downing street parties. sirjohn says they dreamt up "brazen excuses" for their behaviour and asked the public to "believe the unbelievable." sirjohn's damning comments come as police investigate a total of 12 separate gatherings. here's our political correspondent, jonathan blake. the two men are members of the same party, they are perhaps as far apart in style and substance within that as it is possible to be, and this was a speech billed about the state of democracy and people's faith in it globally. nevertheless, there was some striking new criticism for borisjohnson in there, as you say, and in the context of accusations of parties in whitehall during lockdown, sirjohn major echoed labour's phrase, saying that,

"the notion there is one rule for the government and one rule for everybody else is politically deadly" and he said it had hit home. he made this specific accusation. at number10, the prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. brazen excuses were dreamed up. day after day, the public was asked to believe the unbelievable. ministers were sent out to defend the indefensible. making themselves look gullible or foolish as they did so. now, asked about that afterwards, sirjohn major appeared to backtrack slightly, saying that there was little doubt laws had been broken, but that it would be unwise and unfair of him tojudge at this point before the police investigation had concluded. faith in democracy and those words will carry weight, the reality is it will be seen as the latest in a long line of criticism from a former

prime minister to a current one, which at times can appear pretty personal. our correspondence there, jonathan blake. now, yesterday we reported on the mounting pressure on the met police commissioner, cressida dick, over the handling of key events during recent years. this includes a man who was a serving met police officer, who abducted, raped and strangled sarah everard. the force faced criticism over their policing of a vigil held in south london. two met constables took photos of two murdered sisters, nicole smallman and bibaa henry. they shared the images on whatsapp groups. both officers were jailed for 33 months each. and anthony walgate, jack taylor, gabriel kovari and daniel whitworth — four men were killed by stephen port. a coroner's report identified "basic investigative failings" by scotland yard into their deaths. danjohnson has the details

of what she said. —— what cressida dick has been saying, talking on a radio programme this morning. this is a regular phone in the commissioner takes part in on bbc london, but obviously quite timely given the pressure she has been under, particularly over the last week, particularly after those comments from the mayor of london yesterday. cressida dick says "enough is enough," she accepted that this had been a bad time for the force. she said the reputation of the met had been tarnished, but that she was determined to root out any individuals with the sorts of attitudes and behaviours that have been laid bare. she accepted that it is notjust a couple of isolated incidents, that it is notjust a few bad apples. but she was also at pains to say that there are good people in the force and that she believes she has done a positive role in transforming attitudes in the force in the five years she has been in office. she was asked directly by one listener if she would leave the job. here's what she had to say in response. i have absolutely no intention of going. and i believe that i am

and have been, actually, for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the met. we have a service now which is, i am absolutely certain, more professional, fairer, more transparent, more accountable and closer to its communities, and more effective in for example, and more effective in, for example, reducing violent crime, which has been going down year on year on year in almost every category, bucking the national trend. so we have been performing and we have good people, in the main. i have been transforming the way people are, who the people are, and the way they conduct themselves. so a defiant defence of her own record, but accepted that there is more work to do, and cressida dick accepted that there could be further embarrassing or disgusting revelations to come from the force

because there are these ongoing reviews into different aspects of culture, attitudes within the ranks of the metropolitan police, but cressida dick saying today she is determined to make those improvements, she is not going anywhere. danjohnson dan johnson there. the prince of wales has tested positive for covid—19 and is now self—isolating. clarence house says the prince received the positive result this morning. here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. clarence house won't say how he is, this is a private health matter, patient confidentiality and all that. but i think we can assume that he is coping with it. he is triple vaccinated, he has had his booster, cancelled a visit to winchester that he was due to make this morning. he was last night at a function at the british museum, a reception for the british asian trust. what is not clear is when he last saw the queen. she of course returned from sandringham to windsor on monday. the prince of wales, i think, was taking part in an investiture

at windsor on tuesday, but it is not clear whether they met on that occasion. he of course had covid for the first time very shortly after the pandemic started, back in march 2020, and he made a full recovery from that. nicholas witchell there. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, has also tested positive for coronavirus and is self—isolating. the news comes a day before he was due to announce his latest review of covid legislation. economy minister vaughan gething will now take friday's news conference with the latest guidance on restrictions in wales. 19 million homes in the uk are in need of better insulation — with two in every three leaking heat, according to the climate change committee. it says the government must do better — and that insulation is the way out of the current energy crisis. the uk is believed to have some of the oldest and draughtiest housing stock in europe.

our climate editor, justin rowlatt, reports. so, we've got lots of heat coming out of this window here, and under this window upstairs we've probably got a radiator here. that's money coming through your wall. we are hunting for draughty homes, using this thermal camera, and it's easy pickings here in manchester. virtually every home has insulation issues. you can't really see the roof... and here is the difference insulation can make. how would you rate this house? this house is definitely losing less heat, especially from the weak spots that we identified on the other houses. but just look what it took to give the house an insulation makeover. so, there is insulation inside the room here, the windows are double glazed and the space under the floor is insulated too. up here at the top of the house, the entire roof area has been insulated, as well. the walls used to look like this, bare brick. but they've put in this

wood fibre insulation, external insulation, and the windows are double glazed. in monetary terms, it's saved 40% of our gas on the heating and it made a really big difference to the comfort of the house as well. but here's the rub, even at current energy prices it will still take at least 20 years to cover the 36 grand it cost. down in london, it's this man'sjob to mark the government's homework on climate. so, how is it doing? well, it's a d. could do much better, i think. so, that is something for the government to think about. i think the government's policy on insulation has been very, very ineffective. it really is very poor. we need something that dramatically changes the number of insulations that we do today. so, this year we'll be in the tens of thousands of installations. we really need to scale that up to something like half a million a year. and to do that quickly over the next four or five years. but if it's hard for middle—class homeowners to afford insulation, it's even tougher for local authorities like blackpool.

energy efficient homes are popular with tenants, though. perfect. she laughs. but blackpool spent £33,000 insulating jean's one—bedroom flat. the council reckons it would cost some £125 million to bring all blackpool�*s social housing up to this standard. it's not financially viable to do it on scale, really. to get stuff to be carbon neutral, there is a big bill to that, and we need support with it. so, what does britain's climate chief think the government should do? we know that we need a sharper incentive from most people to make these investments in improving the energy efficiency of the home that they live in. for most people, the payback for that will be several years. so the government really does need to step in. so when you ask why so few homes in britain are well insulated, here is the answer. it's just so expensive. without some help, most of us will find it tough to get it done.

justin rowlatt, bbc news, blackpool. it looked nice fair, didn't it? now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello there. early clouds clearing away from southern england, much of england and wales today, drier, brighter, some sunshine around, one or two showers in the north and the west, but for much of northern ireland and particularly scotland, it is going to be very windy with gates and also rain, sleet and snow, some heavy snow on the hills. all down to this potent little area of low pressure. now, the winds quite a feature through the afternoon to the evening, there strong winds will transfer to eastern scotland, north—east england, taking the rain, sleet and snow with it. many places turn drier overnight under clear skies. it's going to be a cold one, widespread frost for many, quite a hard frost through central and northern areas. so it means we will start off with the risk of ice across large parts of scotland through the morning, few wintry showers in the north and the less, otherwise for most it is a cold, crisp, bright start and it'll stay dry and bright throughout the day.

just a bit more cloud tending to build up across western areas with increasing winds ahead of this next weather front. so after that cold start, it's going to be quite a chilly day for most of us. see you later. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... borisjohnson has warned that europe faces its "biggest security crisis" for decades as russian troops continue to mass on its border with ukraine. the stakes are very high. and this is a dangerous moment, and at stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation big and small. new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. the former prime minister sirjohn major has delivered a damning speech on borisjohnson and the impact his government

is having on the uk's standing around the world. the prime minister and our present government not only challenged the law, but seemed to believe that they and they alone need not obey the rules, traditions, conventions, callthem what you will, of our public life. britain's climate change chief has warned the uk must do more to insulate the country's draughty homes. i want to update you on a story we were bringing you a little earlier, the report that the french coast guard is carrying out a search and rescue mission for 36 people in the english channel. that search and rescue mission is now over. all 36 people have been rescued and taken to dunkirk. i will look at some copy that has come into us at the bbc by our reporter, who has been following the story, and they have said that

early this morning, there were reports that a boat was in difficulty and that 36 shipwrecked people were on board and they were taken to the port of dunkirk, the castaways were ta ken care of taken to the port of dunkirk, the castaways were taken care of by the border police and fire and rescue services. and again, a warning to anybody who plans to cross the channel about the risks involved, but all 36 migrants who were attempting to reach the uk have been rescued by the french authorities undertaken to dunkirk. —— and taken to dunkirk. returning to the prime minister's flurry of diplomatic activity. he has been in poland visiting a military base there and he had this to sayjust a few moments ago. he had this to say 'ust a few moments ago._ he had this to say 'ust a few moments ago. he had this to say 'ust a few moments auo. ~ , i. ., moments ago. prime minister, you are here today announcing _ moments ago. prime minister, you are here today announcing the _ moments ago. prime minister, you are here today announcing the deployment of troops, 350 here, 1000 on

standby, russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops on the border. when you think about those numbers, does it frighten you a bit that, actually, nato cannot handle what is going on here?— going on here? everybody should be in no doubt that _ going on here? everybody should be in no doubt that were _ going on here? everybody should be in no doubt that were should i going on here? everybody should be in no doubt that were should you i going on here? everybody should be in no doubt that were should you be | in no doubt that were should you be so foolish _ in no doubt that were should you be so foolish to make the catastrophic mistake _ so foolish to make the catastrophic mistake of— so foolish to make the catastrophic mistake of invading any part of ukraine— mistake of invading any part of ukraine ukrainian army which number about— ukraine ukrainian army which number about 250,000, they will fight, and there _ about 250,000, they will fight, and there would be bloodshed and everybody in russia must understand that, and _ everybody in russia must understand that, and it _ everybody in russia must understand that, and it would not be easy. the reason _ that, and it would not be easy. the reason i _ that, and it would not be easy. the reason i am — that, and it would not be easy. the reason i am here today in poland is our solidarity with our nato partners, and fortifying nato's eastern — partners, and fortifying nato's eastern frontier. so you have 350 troops _ eastern frontier. so you have 350 troops coming in from elsewhere to help the _ troops coming in from elsewhere to help the polls, and we have already been giving quite a lot of

assistance on the border with belarus. _ assistance on the border with belarus, because of the aggressive use of— belarus, because of the aggressive use of immigration by the moscow supported — use of immigration by the moscow supported public regime —— puppet regime _ supported public regime —— puppet regime of— supported public regime —— puppet regime of alexander lukashenko. it is partly— regime of alexander lukashenko. it is partly to— regime of alexander lukashenko. it is partly to show that we stand shoulder— is partly to show that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies in poland. — shoulder to shoulder with our allies in poland, which we always do, but also to— in poland, which we always do, but also to show— in poland, which we always do, but also to show that the west as a whole _ also to show that the west as a whole will— also to show that the west as a whole will strengthen nato's eastern frontiers _ whole will strengthen nato's eastern frontiers rather than the reverse. and i— frontiers rather than the reverse. and i think— frontiers rather than the reverse. and i think vladimir putin, the kremlin— and i think vladimir putin, the kremlin should understand that if they want— kremlin should understand that if they want less nato on their western borders, _ they want less nato on their western borders, as — they want less nato on their western borders, as it were, this is entirely— borders, as it were, this is entirely the wrong way to go about it. i entirely the wrong way to go about it. , , , ., entirely the wrong way to go about it. i must bring you back to some domestic issues, _ it. i must bring you back to some domestic issues, what _ it. i must bring you back to some domestic issues, what is - it. i must bring you back to some domestic issues, what is going i it. i must bring you back to some | domestic issues, what is going on it. i must bring you back to some i domestic issues, what is going on at home tammy and four are cressida dick has said today that some but probably not all of those 50 staff members in downing street have been asked about the party, sent questionnaires, and they may well end up with a fixed penalty notice. you must be worried. i’m

end up with a fixed penalty notice. you must be worried.— end up with a fixed penalty notice. you must be worried. i'm sure there will be plenty _ you must be worried. i'm sure there will be plenty to _ you must be worried. i'm sure there will be plenty to say _ you must be worried. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about _ you must be worried. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about all i you must be worried. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about all of i will be plenty to say about all of that stuff— will be plenty to say about all of that stuff in due time, but right now, _ that stuff in due time, but right now. i— that stuff in due time, but right now, i think people would understand that the _ now, i think people would understand that the focus of the uk government is on bringing together our allies in nato, — is on bringing together our allies in nato, and making sure that we stand _ in nato, and making sure that we stand shoulder to shoulder. the one thing _ stand shoulder to shoulder. the one thing that— stand shoulder to shoulder. the one thing that i— stand shoulder to shoulder. the one thing that i think is very important, mateusz morawiecki mentioned this, he picked it up in his remarks— mentioned this, he picked it up in his remarks earlier, we have got to have _ his remarks earlier, we have got to have a _ his remarks earlier, we have got to have a package of sanctions ready to lo. have a package of sanctions ready to go and _ have a package of sanctions ready to go and he _ have a package of sanctions ready to go. and he singled out, i thought, notably, _ go. and he singled out, i thought, notably, the nord stream two pipeline. _ notably, the nord stream two pipeline, the colossal gas pipeline. we all— pipeline, the colossal gas pipeline. we all know how difficult that is for some — we all know how difficult that is for some of our friends and we all know— for some of our friends and we all know that, — for some of our friends and we all know that, particularly right now with the — know that, particularly right now with the spike in gas prices, it will be — with the spike in gas prices, it will be tough to say no to nord stream — will be tough to say no to nord stream two. but it is absolutely right — stream two. but it is absolutely right if— stream two. but it is absolutely riuht. .. stream two. but it is absolutely riuht... .., stream two. but it is absolutely riuht... , right... if! could bring you back--- — right... if! could bring you back... that _ right... if! could bring you back... that is, _ right... if! could bring you back... that is, i- right... if! could bring you back... that is, i an i right... if i could bring you i back... that is, i an important priority- _

back... that is, i an important priority- if— back... that is, i an important priority- if i — back... that is, i an important priority. ifi can _ back... that is, i an important priority. ifi can bring - back... that is, i an important priority. if i can bring you i back... that is, i an importantj priority. ifi can bring you back back... that is, i an important i priority. ifi can bring you back to the russian _ priority. ifi can bring you back to the russian question, _ priority. ifi can bring you back to the russian question, 50 - priority. if i can bring you back to l the russian question, 50 members priority. if i can bring you back to i the russian question, 50 members of staff are being asked questionnaires by the police. —— sent questionnaires. the public might be thinking, he said there were not any parties are now 50 members of staff are being interviewed by the police, are being interviewed by the police, are you not worried? i wiii are being interviewed by the police, are you not worried?— are you not worried? i will have len to are you not worried? i will have plenty to say — are you not worried? i will have plenty to say about _ are you not worried? i will have plenty to say about that i are you not worried? i will have plenty to say about that when l are you not worried? i will have l plenty to say about that when the process _ plenty to say about that when the process is... | plenty to say about that when the process is- - -_ process is... i am 'ust asking you that because — process is... i am just asking you that because cressida _ process is. .. i am just asking you that because cressida dick- process is... i am just asking you that because cressida dick asked | that because cressida dick asked about that today. i that because cressida dick asked about that today.— that because cressida dick asked about that today. i will have plenty to say about _ about that today. i will have plenty to say about that _ about that today. i will have plenty to say about that when _ about that today. i will have plenty to say about that when the - about that today. i will have plentyj to say about that when the process is complete, but now we are showing we are _ is complete, but now we are showing we are supporting our polish friends _ we are supporting our polish friends. the polish came to support us in _ friends. the polish came to support us in the _ friends. the polish came to support us in the second world war, we stand side by— us in the second world war, we stand side by side _ us in the second world war, we stand side by side with them today, and one thing — side by side with them today, and one thing i— side by side with them today, and one thing i hope you picked up on also is _ one thing i hope you picked up on also is the — one thing i hope you picked up on also is the way in which both poland and the _ also is the way in which both poland and the uk — also is the way in which both poland and the uk are offering direct military— and the uk are offering direct military support to our ukrainian friends, — military support to our ukrainian friends, and we both believe that a sovereign. — friends, and we both believe that a sovereign, independent ukraine... and as— sovereign, independent ukraine... and as you — sovereign, independent ukraine... and as you know, the uk has been

supplying — and as you know, the uk has been supplying some defensive weaponry in the form _ supplying some defensive weaponry in the form of— supplying some defensive weaponry in the form of anti—tank missiles, 2000 others, _ the form of anti—tank missiles, 2000 others, we _ the form of anti—tank missiles, 2000 others, we been training ukrainian troops _ others, we been training ukrainian troops the — others, we been training ukrainian troops. the polish are also supplying drones, ammunition and so on. supplying drones, ammunition and so on now. _ supplying drones, ammunition and so on. now, that is as far as we can go at the _ on. now, that is as far as we can go at the moment, because this is... ukraine _ at the moment, because this is... ukraine is— at the moment, because this is... ukraine is not part of nato. but what _ ukraine is not part of nato. but what we — ukraine is not part of nato. but what we are sticking up for is the right— what we are sticking up for is the right of— what we are sticking up for is the right of ukraine, like any other sovereign _ right of ukraine, like any other sovereign and independent european country. _ sovereign and independent european country. to— sovereign and independent european country, to aspire to that. i rwill country, to aspire to that. i will ask ou country, to aspire to that. i will ask you another _ country, to aspire to that. i will ask you another question. i country, to aspire to that. in ii ask you another question. have you received a questionnaire yet from the police? i received a questionnaire yet from the police?— received a questionnaire yet from the olice? i. ., i. the police? i will tell you, and you will hear this _ the police? i will tell you, and you will hear this all— the police? i will tell you, and you will hear this all in _ the police? i will tell you, and you will hear this all in due _ the police? i will tell you, and you will hear this all in due time i the police? i will tell you, and you will hear this all in due time on i will hear this all in due time on that— will hear this all in due time on that matter. 50 will hear this all in due time on that matter-— will hear this all in due time on i that matter._ you that matter. so you have not? you will hear all _ that matter. so you have not? you will hear all in _ that matter. so you have not? you will hear all in due _ that matter. so you have not? you will hear all in due time _ that matter. so you have not? you will hear all in due time on - that matter. so you have not? you will hear all in due time on that i will hear all in due time on that matter— will hear all in due time on that matter and i will hear all in due time on that matterand i admire will hear all in due time on that matter and i admire your tenacity and trying — matter and i admire your tenacity and trying to drag the subject backm — and trying to drag the subject back i— and trying to drag the subject back... i am focused... and i have asked you questions in _ back... i am focused... and i have asked you questions in the i back... i am focused... and i have asked you questions in the press | asked you questions in the press conference about that and i am doing so now. i

conference about that and i am doing so now. ., ., ., _ conference about that and i am doing so now. ., ., ., ., so now. i will have more to say on all of that — so now. i will have more to say on all of that when _ so now. i will have more to say on all of that when the _ so now. i will have more to say on all of that when the process i so now. i will have more to say on all of that when the process is i all of that when the process is complete. gn all of that when the process is complete-— all of that when the process is comlete. , . , ', all of that when the process is comlete. , . , h complete. on december the 1st, you said in house — complete. on december the 1st, you said in house of— complete. on december the 1st, you said in house of commons _ complete. on december the 1st, you said in house of commons or i complete. on december the 1st, you l said in house of commons or guidance was followed completely in number ten, do you now except you misled parliament given that there are now 50 members of staff being investigated by police? i 50 members of staff being investigated by police? i will have len to investigated by police? i will have plenty to say _ investigated by police? i will have plenty to say about _ investigated by police? i will have plenty to say about all _ investigated by police? i will have plenty to say about all of - investigated by police? i will have plenty to say about all of that. i i plenty to say about all of that. i think— plenty to say about all of that. i think it — plenty to say about all of that. i think it would be wrong to comment on all— think it would be wrong to comment on all of— think it would be wrong to comment on all of that until the process is complete — on all of that until the process is complete. i do think people understand that. but what i think people _ understand that. but what i think people also want to know about is what _ people also want to know about is what we _ people also want to know about is what we are doing to avert what could _ what we are doing to avert what could be — what we are doing to avert what could be one of the worst crises, humanitarian crisis on our continent in decades — humanitarian crisis on our continent in decades. but humanitarian crisis on our continent in decades-— humanitarian crisis on our continent in decades. but i am here to report. i must ask— in decades. but i am here to report. i must ask questions _ in decades. but i am here to report. i must ask questions on _ in decades. but i am here to report. i must ask questions on behalf- in decades. but i am here to report. i must ask questions on behalf of i i must ask questions on behalf of everyone. i i must ask questions on behalf of eve one. . ., ~ ., everyone. i have talked about sanctions. — everyone. i have talked about sanctions, military _ everyone. i have talked about| sanctions, military assistance, everyone. i have talked about i sanctions, military assistance, ways we are _ sanctions, military assistance, ways we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our— we are standing shoulder to shoulder with our polish friends and backing up with our polish friends and backing up our— with our polish friends and backing up our eastern european friends. let me say—

up our eastern european friends. let me say something finally, beth, about— me say something finally, beth, about diplomacy. and that is... that has got _ about diplomacy. and that is... that has got to— about diplomacy. and that is... that has got to be — about diplomacy. and that is... that has got to be the way forward. there has got to be the way forward. there has got _ has got to be the way forward. there has got to— has got to be the way forward. there has got to be the way forward. there has got to be room for a conversation with the kremlin about what they— conversation with the kremlin about what they are doing. it cannot be sensible — what they are doing. it cannot be sensible for the chem —— for them to continually _ sensible for the chem —— for them to continually threaten ukraine. it would — continually threaten ukraine. it would be — continually threaten ukraine. it would be a disaster for them, it'll be a _ would be a disaster for them, it'll be a disaster for russia, a disaster for the _ be a disaster for russia, a disaster for the world if they to invade. there — for the world if they to invade. there must be an off ramp for conversations about exactly what kind of— conversations about exactly what kind of false dispositions nato will have in_ kind of false dispositions nato will have in eastern europe and transparency about that, transparency about that, transparency about that, transparency about missile placements. there is a conversation to be _ placements. there is a conversation to be had _ placements. there is a conversation to be had. but my final point to you is that— to be had. but my final point to you is that i— to be had. but my final point to you is that i think today, the 10th of february— is that i think today, the 10th of february 2022, we stand on the edge of a precipice and things are as dangerous as i have seen them in

europe _ dangerous as i have seen them in europe for— dangerous as i have seen them in europe for a very long time. it is ”p europe for a very long time. it is up to— europe for a very long time. it is up to vladimir putin now to disengage and to de—escalate, and the way— disengage and to de—escalate, and the way forward is diplomacy. thank you very— the way forward is diplomacy. thank you very much. i the way forward is diplomacy. thank you very much-— you very much. i have to ask you about john _ you very much. i have to ask you about john major, _ you very much. i have to ask you about john major, prime - you very much. i have to ask you. about john major, prime minister, aboutjohn major, prime minister, becausejohn major said you shredded diplomacy, so... i because john ma'or said you shredded diplomacy. so...— because john ma'or said you shredded diplomacy. so..— diplomacy, so... ithink that's... let me diplomacy, so... ithink that's... let me ask _ diplomacy, so... ithink that's... let me ask you _ diplomacy, so... ithink that's... let me ask you a _ diplomacy, so... ithink that's... let me ask you a question. i diplomacy, so... ithink that's... let me ask you a question. john | let me ask you a question. john major says that our reputation has been shredded, this is him in a speech in london, he said our reputation has been shredded by what has been going on in downing street internationally. he said you broke lockdown rules, dreamt up brazen excuses and says that it was always the case that a prime minister that breaks the law should resign. that is a former prime minister saying that. j is a former prime minister saying that. . , , is a former prime minister saying that. ., , , ., _ that. i will have plenty to say about that — that. i will have plenty to say about that in _ that. i will have plenty to say about that in due _ that. i will have plenty to say about that in due course, - that. i will have plenty to say about that in due course, but that. i will have plenty to say l about that in due course, but if that. i will have plenty to say - about that in due course, but if you look at _ about that in due course, but if you look at what — about that in due course, but if you look at what the uk is doing to bring _ look at what the uk is doing to bring the — look at what the uk is doing to bring the world together, if you talk to— bring the world together, if you talk to our— bring the world together, if you talk to our friends in lithuania, in

ukraine, — talk to our friends in lithuania, in ukraine, where i was the other week, will hear_ ukraine, where i was the other week, will hear today in poland, you can see that, — will hear today in poland, you can see that, actually, it is the united kingdom — see that, actually, it is the united kingdom that has been working, for once, _ kingdom that has been working, for once, to _ kingdom that has been working, for once, to warn people about what is happening — once, to warn people about what is happening and i am afraid we have been, _ happening and i am afraid we have been, sadly, proved right in what we were saying. — been, sadly, proved right in what we were saying, it has been the united kingdom _ were saying, it has been the united kingdom that has been working to bring _ kingdom that has been working to bring countries together, notjust in the _ bring countries together, notjust in the sanctions package that we have _ in the sanctions package that we have seen. — in the sanctions package that we have seen, sanctions package that is tough _ have seen, sanctions package that is tough that— have seen, sanctions package that is tough that we want to see, but also in making _ tough that we want to see, but also in making sure you fortify nato's eastern — in making sure you fortify nato's eastern frontier in the way we are doing _ eastern frontier in the way we are doing that— eastern frontier in the way we are doing. that is why i am here today, why i_ doing. that is why i am here today, why i am _ doing. that is why i am here today, why i am pleased to say the commando come in _ why i am pleased to say the commando come in in _ why i am pleased to say the commando come in in the way they are, to hack-up — come in in the way they are, to back—up the uk men and women here. thank— back—up the uk men and women here. thank you _ back-up the uk men and women here. thank ou. i, , back-up the uk men and women here. thank ou. 1, _., back-up the uk men and women here. thank ou. 1, _ ., ., ., thank you. boris johnson in poland talkin: to thank you. boris johnson in poland talking to skype's _ thank you. boris johnson in poland talking to skype's beth _ thank you. boris johnson in poland talking to skype's beth grey - thank you. boris johnson in poland talking to skype's beth grey be - thank you. boris johnson in poland talking to skype's beth grey be a l talking to skype's beth grey be a little earlier. we were hearing earlier that prince charles has contracted covid—i9 for a second time. our royal correspondent, nick witchell, has an update — nick, what can you tell us?

so, yes, prince charles tested positive for covid in a routine test this morning, he is now so isolating. what we now understand is the prince of wales met the queen at windsor on tuesday. the queen has just returned from sandringham, the prince of wales was at windsor castle for investitu re. prince of wales was at windsor castle for investiture. they did meet, but we are told by royal sources that the queen is showing no symptoms of covid, having met the prince of wales on tuesday. but the situation will continue to be monitored. the prince of wales, clarence house will not say how he is what we can assume he is coping with it ok, here's triple jab and we can assume the queen is triple vaccinated as well. the prince of wales last night was at the british museum, there with his wife the duchess of cornwall, where he met a number of people, including cabinet ministers, reception for the british asian trust, but the duchess of

cornwall has tested negative and continued with her engagements today, the prince of wales cancelled his, but perhaps the most important point is that the queen, having met the prince of wales on tuesday, is not showing any symptoms of covid according to sources.— according to sources. nick, thank ou. let's go back now to the end of covid restrictions in england, after the prime minister said yesterday rules to tackle the virus could end this month. tammy brantley and sally hunter are married and have been shielding throughout the pandemic because they both have a number of serious health conditions. they told me about their worries about rules being scrapped, and what the last couple of years have been like for them. well, it has been quite isolating to not be able to go out, to not be able to meet friends or family, tojust stay in the house. i mean, we were disabled before

the pandemic and didn't have a whole lot of a life anyway, but it hasjust got even smaller than it was beforehand. we have all of our food delivered, we have our meds delivered, the only time we go out is to doctor or hospital appointments. tammy, just to be clear, i am right that you have asthma and you have me and a brain tumour as well? correct, and i have got spinal cord damage and i am waiting on surgery for that that they can't even tell me when that is going to happen. 0k. sally, give us a sense of what the last couple of years have been like for you and what you are facing. it has been really difficult. i mean, my world is small anyway, but it has just become even smaller, and i have got four adult children and three of them don't live with me and i haven't been able to see them

apart from in the garden. and my parents died last year and and i had to organise the funeral so everything was done outside with animal contact with people. and i am right, am i, that you have early stage blood cancer which makes it particularly vulnerable? yes, iam particularly vulnerable and vaccines don't necessarily work for me. ok, so, clearly, the message has been that the two of you have had to be incredibly careful over the last couple of years, so i wonder, what are your thoughts about the potential lifting of all restrictions in england? tammy perhaps first of all. it is really distressing. i mean, we don't go out or do anything, but going into hospital at least feels somewhat safe knowing that people with covid have to isolate, and people will be wearing masks and there will be social distancing. so now i am quite concerned

about going even to hospital appointments and coming into contact with people that might have covid and don't have a mask on. and my brother died of covid last year and his underlying condition was asthma. so it is quite scary having to think about what that might mean in the future. how scared do you feel, sally? i am extremely scared. especially for delivery drivers that come to the house and for going to the hospital, because, again, i am actually fine with a lot of restrictions being lifted and some normality getting back for normal people, but for me, i think, you know, hospital was a place of safety to me, going to the doctors was a place of safety to me, and now i could meet somebody there without a mask who could have covid and ijust don't think that is fair and i think people like me and tammy,

who are clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable, are being forgotten about in this and it is like our lives don't matter. it is interesting you make that point, though, that you are aware, aren't you? many people are arguing that it is time to try to get back to normalfor as many people as possible and that we have all got to learn to live with covid in the same way, i suppose, that we learn to live with flu. tammy, first of all, what would you say to those people? absolutely, i understand that, i understand that social requirements people have, i understand that the country needs the economic measures to be in place to move forward. but to me, that is not living with covid, i don't think people appreciate that disabled and vulnerable people have always struggled in society anyway, and removing what small measures there were just makes it

even more difficult. and it seems like it is a purely political decision rather than one that has been based in public health experts and scientific advice. the headlines on bbc news... a fresh british diplomatic offensive to avert a russian invasion of ukraine. as russia begins new military exercises in the region, the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. borisjohnson comes under new pressure over downing street parties, with scathing criticism from a former conservative prime minister — sirjohn major. in afghanistan a number of women

who've taken part in protests demanding women's rights are still missing. the taliban deny they are holding them and say they've granted a general amnesty to all those who worked with the previous regime. the bbc has investigated multiple incidents that have ta ken place recently. in yogita limaye's report, identities have been hidden and voices changed. fear runs deep in afghanistan under taliban rule. the seclusion of a graveyard offers relative safety. we hear chilling accounts that can't be spoken openly. this man was close to a former policeman who was shot dead in recent weeks. translation: the taliban came to his home one - evening and took him away, saying they were taking him to the district police compound. next morning, his body was found lying outside the house. he had been shot multiple times. the policeman had been threatened and wanted to leave the country but did not have the means to do so.

the leaders have announced an amnesty but the lower ranking taliban do not respect the order. even a peaceful march asking for women's rights is not tolerated. at least four activists from this demonstration have disappeared, abducted in sudden raids. we met one woman who marched alongside the missing activists. she is now in hiding, changing locations every few days. translation: i received several calls from the taliban, who said, j "don't think we have lost you. we will find you". they have said they will punish each woman who took part in the protests. i have destroyed the sim card i had. ifearfor my life. the next day, we heard about multiple reprisal killings in a locality on the western edge of kabul. the mood in the area was tense. away from the eyes of taliban patrol units, a local guided us.

we asked him who was behind the murders. taliban. "the taliban," he said quietly. we were taken to the location where the men were shot dead. if you look closely here, you can see blood stains. it is the spot where three brothers from a family, one of whom was a member of the afghan national army, were killed, just about two weeks ago. multiple members of this community have told us that the attackers were from the taliban. people here are terrified. the family of the victims has moved away from here. through sources close to the brothers, we got these photos. arslan, to the left, was the soldier, seen here with matheola. another brother, shireen, was also killed. the deputy spokesman of the taliban government did not want to be seen

with a woman but was willing to answer my questions about the group carrying out revenge killings. translation: i strongly reject these allegations. | the policy of islamic emirate is not to harm our people in any part of the country. the un has said it has received at least 100 credible allegations of reprisals, and the more we looked, the more cases we found. a car was the only place this man felt safe to talk to us. he said a former intelligence officer he knew well was taken by the taliban for questioning and then shot dead. "i know i'm risking my life speaking to you, but i want the world to hear "us and not recognise the taliban as they are right now", the man told me. "living under them is like living in a cage." yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. it's one of the uk's

most filmed harbours — perhaps made most famous by the tv series, doc martin. but it's falling into disrepair and the cost of maintaining it is largely down to a fishing industry that's dwindled to just two vessels. the fear is without extra funding the breakwater at port isaac won't get fixed, putting the village at risk of flooding. anna varle reports. the sort of work they and their. families have been doing for many generations, lobsterfishing. this has been a fishing port for generations. it was once bustling with working boats, but now, only two remain. tom and calum have been making a living from these waters for most of their lives but it is a very different picture now than it was just 12 years ago. maintaining the harbour has been largely paid for by commercial fishermen but with just two of them left, calum says they cannot support the harbour alone. we can't afford to pay for the upkeep so, yeah, the harbour will fall into disrepair

and then the bottom of the village will flood. things are changing rapidly. it was a slow walk, and now it is a sprint, you know, we have to do something now. the only modern note in an old world setting is the fine new breakwater. which gives greater securityl against the frequent storms. the breakwater, once shiny and new, has taken a battering and the cracks are starting to show. a large chunk of concrete has already come off the eastern side and needs repairing. the filming of doc martin here has helped contribute to the maintenance of this harbour but that series is coming to an end and with that means an end to that source of income. we used to run the beach as a car park in the summer months but... really, to help the village because it was causing a lot of congestion, we closed the car park and that was another source of income for us. so actually, from the fishing industry, there's not a lot of money, you know, not a lot of money available these days.

the hope is the fishing fleet here at port isaac will bounce back and the harbour commission is trying to get an apprenticeship scheme off the ground to encourage the next generation into the industry. work will be starting shortly to repair the harbour wall. the next stage for the village is to start a gofundme page to raise enough money for the ongoing maintenance of this harbour. imagine competing at the winter olympics. having only started skiing at the age of 32. well, that is what alpine skier benjamin alexander will be at the weekend when he becomes to make it past my first ever olympic competitor in the sport. our correspondence has been talking to him. from total novice to olympic skier, the jamaican trailblazer on a quite remarkable journey. the jamaican trailblazer on a quite remarkablejourney. benjamin remarkable journey. benjamin alexander grew up remarkablejourney. benjamin alexander grew up in northamptonshire before forging a career as a globetrotting dj, and

skiing was not something he had even tried, he told me, untilthe skiing was not something he had even tried, he told me, until the age of... tried, he told me, untilthe age of... y , tried, he told me, untilthe age of... g , of... my first lesson was in february — of... my first lesson was in february 2016, _ of... my first lesson was in february 2016, | _ of... my first lesson was in february 2016, i was - of... my first lesson was in february 2016, i was aged | of... my first lesson was in i february 2016, i was aged 32, of... my first lesson was in - february 2016, i was aged 32, so 30 years behind a lot of my competitors, ifell27 years behind a lot of my competitors, i fell 27 times on the first run, where i went without an instructor. i went to the olympics instructor. i went to the olympics in 2018 as a spectator and there were only three jamaicans being represented. fora were only three jamaicans being represented. for a team that is a powerhouse in the summer games... his plan? qualify for beijing, ridiculous, surely, but despite having no full—time coach, his fearless technique has taken him into the giant's slalom. he may not qualify for the medals, but he hopes to inspire others. what are your hopes about what you can achieve at these olympics? i hopes about what you can achieve at these olympics?— these olympics? i would like to be 35 seconds — these olympics? i would like to be 35 seconds behind _ these olympics? i would like to be 35 seconds behind the _ these olympics? i would like to be 35 seconds behind the winner. - these olympics? i would like to be l 35 seconds behind the winner. what these olympics? i would like to be i 35 seconds behind the winner. what i am really hoping for and what i

really want is that if someone can go to zero to olympian in six years, people should get from smaller nations smaller countries and gets more countries at the olympics. what more countries at the olympics. what do ou more countries at the olympics. what do you think — more countries at the olympics. what do you think your— more countries at the olympics. what do you think your story _ more countries at the olympics. what do you think your story can show people about what is possible? anything is possible. but if you can start something at the age of 32, where everybody believes it is something you must eat from a young age and i can get to where i have got to, people should apply that to anything in their life. perseverance is the motto of this.— is the motto of this. jamaica! alexander — is the motto of this. jamaica! alexander has _ is the motto of this. jamaica! alexander has already - is the motto of this. jamaica! alexander has already led - is the motto of this. jamaica! | alexander has already led the is the motto of this. jamaica! - alexander has already led the way here is one ofjamaica's flag bearers. you will now carry the hopes of inspiring skiers everywhere, prove it is never too late. andy swiss, bbc news, beijing. hello, much of the south of the uk will be a drier today with some sunshine, one or two showers around.

but further north, a different story — it will be windy, rain, sleet, snow and even gales or severe gates at times. because of this potent area of low pressure moving across the north of the uk, squeezing the isobars there. this is the weather front that brought cloud and rain to southern areas overnight. lots of dry weather for england and wales, a few showers pushing into north—western areas. for northern ireland, the far north of england and scotland, very windy through the afternoon. sleet and snow on the hills, where in these sort of winds they'll be drifting, and blizzards. factoring in the wind and the north, colder feeling than temperatures. overnight, clear skies, lighter winds, turning much colderfor all. a widespread frost, even a hard frost across central and northern parts of the country. a few wintry showers across western

scotland to start friday, but otherwise, for most, a lovely, dry, cold, bright, crisp day, plenty of sunshine in the afternoon. cloud and breeze building up across western areas later in the day ahead of the next weather system, then after the cold start, and a chilly day, temperatures of 4—8 . that area of high pressure is short lived, low pressure takes over heading into the start of the weekend, lots of isobars on the charts, turning windierfor all. some heavy rain on western hills. the south—east stays driest and brightest, the longest by the end of the day. we will see rain getting in there, though. temperatures recovering, highs of nine or 10 degrees across southern and western areas. saturday night turns drier, a few showers around but for sunday, another area of low pressure sweeping in from the south—west. we start with variable cloud, some sunshine, one or two showers, then turning wet and windy

across wales, the midlands, southern england through the day. some rain quite heavy and persistent, mild in the south. further north, chillier with sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines... a fresh british diplomatic offensive to avert a russian invasion of ukraine, as russia begins new military exercises in the region, the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. labour says the uk must present a united front. the stakes are very high. and this is a dangerous moment, and at stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation big and small. nobody quite knows what putin is going to do. i do know that what he wants to do, above all else, is to divide the allies, nato and other allies, but we mustn't be divided. new figures reveal a record

6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. concern in the nhs about the government's potential decision to end all covid restrictions a month earlier than planned. borisjohnson under new pressure over downing street parties, with scathing criticism from a former conservative prime minister. a call for better insulation in the uk — as two thirds of houses are said to be leaking heat. also coming up this hour... 50 years on from the miners strike, the former miners' union leader, arthur scargill, gives a rare sit—down interview to the bbc.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. boris johnson warned that the ukraine crisis is "at its most dangerous moment" as he spoke of the importance of a diplomatic push in the coming days. the prime minister has been holding talks with the head of nato in brussels, and the polish prime minister in warsaw. the foreign secretary, liz truss, also met with her russian counterpart, serjei lazrov. russia continues to deny it has any plans to attack ukraine. this map shows where russian soliders are stationed around ukraine — each red dot represents thousands of troops. sorry, we don't have the map but it shows where military units are sent to the area. here you can see that map. here you can see that map. those black dots are military units that have recently been sent to the area. also, russia and belarus — who are close allies and both border ukraine — have started ten days ofjoint military drills. last week, president biden sent us troops to poland, germany and romania.

today, mrjohnson said the uk is putting 1,000 troops on standby in case of a humanitarian emergency. our political correspondent chris mason has more. the talk in ukraine is of possible invasion, and with it a march towards the prospects of a winter war in eastern europe. today, we are seeing british diplomacy on both sides. the foreign secretary in moscow, the prime minister at the headquarters of the nato military alliance in brussels. this is probably the most dangerous moment, i would say, in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security crisis that europe has faced for decades. we've got to get it right, and i think that the combination of sanctions and military resolve, plus diplomacy, is what is in order.

russia has already amassed well over 100,000 combat—ready troops, with heavy equipment, missiles and key enablers such as command and control and medical units. and we are closely monitoring russia's deployment in belarus, which is the biggest since the end of the cold war. looking at the geography of the region really helps us to understand what is going on here. to ukraine's east, russia. to ukraine's west, members of nato. as well as geography there is history too, and lots of it. not least russia invading crimea in ukraine eight years ago. this is a dangerous moment for european security. the number of russian forces is going up. the warning time for a possible attack is going down. nato is not a threat

to russia, but we must be prepared for the worst. the central point of tension here is russia cannot stomach the idea of ukraine everjoining nato. but ukraine argues it is a sovereign country, it should have the right to choose. given neither of these things are likely to change anytime soon, it's difficult to see how either side can climb down. and from brussels, the prime minister's nick stop, —— next stop... warsaw, meeting his polish counterpart this afternoon. the discussions and the diplomacy continues. chris mason, bbc news. in the last half hour, the prime minister has outlined the reason for his visit to warsaw. i think everybody should be in no doubt that were russia to be so foolish to make the catastrophic

mistake of invading any part of ukraine, the ukrainian army, which itself has 200,000 or 150,000 in reserve, they will fight and i think everybody in russia must understand that and it will not be easy. what we're doing here today, the reason i am here today in poland is showing our solidarity with our nato partners and fortifying nato's eastern frontier. so you have 350 troops coming in four or five commando here to help the polls, but don't forget, we have already been giving quite a lot of assistance on the border with belarus because of the border with belarus because of the aggressive use of immigration by the aggressive use of immigration by the moscow supported puppet regime of lukashenko. and the importance of this is to show that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies in poland, which we always do, but also to show that the west as a whole will strengthen nato's eastern

frontiers, ratherthan whole will strengthen nato's eastern frontiers, rather than the reverse. and i think putin, the kremlin should understand that if they want less nato on their western borders as it were, this is entirely the wrong way to go about it. boris johnson speaking _ wrong way to go about it. boris johnson speaking from - wrong way to go about it. boris johnson speaking from poland. earlier in the day he had been in brussels. the labour leader was also in brussels to meet the head of nato, and he said that the political parties needed to set aside their differences and remain united in their message to russia. lam very i am very concerned about the situation — i am very concerned about the situation in ukraine. i think there is a shared — situation in ukraine. i think there is a shared concern across the alliance — is a shared concern across the alliance here at nato. nobody quite knows _ alliance here at nato. nobody quite knows what putin is going to do. i do know— knows what putin is going to do. i do know that what he wants to do, above _ do know that what he wants to do, above all _ do know that what he wants to do, above all else, is to divide the allies. — above all else, is to divide the allies, nato and other allies, but we mustn't be divided and that is why it _ we mustn't be divided and that is why it is — we mustn't be divided and that is why it is very important for me to be here _ why it is very important for me to be here at— why it is very important for me to

be here at nato today. it's also very— be here at nato today. it's also very important for me to make clear is part— very important for me to make clear is part of— very important for me to make clear is part of my— very important for me to make clear is part of my message here that we stand _ is part of my message here that we stand united as the united kingdom and whatever other challenges and arguments we have but when it comes to russian— arguments we have but when it comes to russian aggression we stand together, the political parties. as we heard, the foreign secretary, liz truss, is in moscow for talks with her russian counterpart sergei lavrov. she's warned the kremlin that an invasion of ukraine would be disastrous. but russian troops are keeping up the pressure, and today they're starting ten days of military exercises with their close ally belarus, which has a border with ukraine. from moscow caroline davies. clearing snow in moscow can be a thankless task. as soon as you're making progress, a new flurry lands. today's meeting between the uk and russia was an icy affair. liz truss' warnings about harsh sanctions if russia were to take action in ukraine were not well received.

translation: i'm honestly - disappointed that our conversation turned out like the mute talking to the deaf. it seems like we are listening to each other but not hearing each other. at the very least, our very detailed clarifications on the whole fell upon deaf ears. well, first of all, i certainly wasn't mute in our discussions earlier. i put forward the uk's point of view on the current situation, and the fact that as well as seeking to deter russia from an invasion into ukraine, we are also very resolute in pursuing the diplomatic path. explosion. this is what worries the west. russia is flexing its military muscle with joint drills in belarus. nato is concerned about russia building up more troops along its border with ukraine. russia wants guarantees that nato, which it sees as a threat, will not expand. meanwhile, the uk and the us have committed to sending more troops to nato countries to protect its eastern flank.

but russia still insists that it is not the aggressor. today, the head of russia's secret service chaired a discussion about russian history, but he also has an eye on the current situation in europe. translation: russia has never had and doesn't have any aggressive - plans towards ukraine. we saw these dangerous lies spread from the other shore of the atlantic and these lies have been picked up in a number of western capitals. this disinformation is dangerous. first of all for ukraine and its citizens as well as for european stability and security. building trust while building troops is difficult to do. it is seen as a positive sign that both sides are still talking, but after many weeks, many meetings and many press conferences, it can feel like they are going over old ground with still no sign of resolution. more western politicians will land in moscow over the next week. a frozen conversation is still better than all—out war. caroline davies, bbc news, moscow.

many of the sickest patients are facing long waits for a bed when they're admitted to hospital, according to new nhs figures for england. one in three of those who went to a&e and needed to be moved onto a hospital ward faced waits of more than four hours —— the highest on record. 16,000 people injanuary waited more than 12 hours. the government say they have provided £5.11 billion to the nhs over the winter period to help tackle growing pressures. our health correspondent jim reed reports. angela suffers from a chronic condition and is waiting for an operation. last month she was in pain and her gp told her to call an ambulance. when we got to the hospital, i was sitting back, i had my legs up and i was on gas and air because i had had a lot of pain at that point. the paramedics said, "we are going to be in for a bit of a wait." there was a queue of ambulances

ahead of us — a long queue. he went out to go and check how many there were and they were probably about 18 ambulances. in the end, angela said she had to wait in two different ambulances for five hours. i was in here all night, there was no heating, i was freezing cold. she spent the night in a side room off a&e, before being transferred to a bed on a ward the next morning. she has nothing but praise for the nhs staff involved, but describes the situation as chaotic. it's really opened my eyes to the pressures that they are under and how overwhelmed they are because i've heard loads of stories, people always talk about these things and you don't really believe it or you think it's only in the bigger hospitals. but this is happening everywhere. new figures show the pressure facing hospitals in england. last week a fifth of ambulances had to queue for at least 30 minutes before discharging their patients.

the number of people who then had to wait to be moved on to a hospital ward has hit a record high. last month, 120,000 patients were held in a&e for four hours before that transfer with more than 16,000 waiting for more than 12 hours. these figures represent tremendous pressures throughout the whole system, from primary care and ambulance services to the emergency department, to our general wards and to patients then being discharged back to the community. and in each of these fields, colleagues are struggling to give timely and high quality care to patients. the nhs says it has been dealing with record numbers of 999 calls, at the same time as high levels of staff sickness caused by covid. hospitals in wales, scotland and northern ireland have all been facing similar pressures, as this winter wave of the pandemic passes and more people seek treatment. jim reed, bbc news. i want to bring you the latest covid

figures that were released by the government. there were 66,638 cases of a covid—19 reported in the uk on thursday, the government side, which is today of course. and the government has said that includes reinfection is in england and northern ireland that are more than 90 days after a previous positive test. a further 206 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for covid—19. that brings the total number of deaths to 259,158. those figures do not include deaths in england following possible reinfection is of a covid—19 and were the cause of death may not actually have been covid. a further 66,638 cases of covid reported in the uk today. let's speak with laith alobaidi, a private tutor in devon who suffers

from crohn's disease and has been shielding for nearly two years. so good to have you with us. thank you for talking with us. can you give us a sense of what the last two years have been like for you living in a pandemic?— years have been like for you living in a pandemic? thank you for having me on. in a pandemic? thank you for having me on- the — in a pandemic? thank you for having me on- the last— in a pandemic? thank you for having me on. the last two _ in a pandemic? thank you for having me on. the last two years _ in a pandemic? thank you for having me on. the last two years have - in a pandemic? thank you for having| me on. the last two years have been very quiet, they have been very isolating. i started following the shielding guidelines as soon as they became available, even before then i stopped going into the tuition centre as i watched cases going up. since then, i have barely left the house. only a couple of times to go to a few shops and made a few friends every now and again, but really, i can count on the one hand the number of times i have left home over the last two years for anything other than hospital appointments. what has been the impact on your

life? i'm thinking mentally, emotionally and physically actually? i mean, yes, all through —— three of those things have been affected but thankfully i've been able to work from home as i am a tutor and i can do a lot of what i do over zoom. i think emotionally, mentally it has been difficult of course not being able to socialise or see people or see family members for such a long period of time as i normally would do. and physically as well, i have been fortunate that i have been able to continue my regular treatments at the hospital. so that hasn't been an issue, but what has been an issue was having appointments delayed so things like diagnostic procedures, scans, just appointments with a consultant and things like that. they have all had a knock—on effect so it is kind of drawn out my illness a little bit more than it otherwise would have done if we weren't in the pandemic. what otherwise would have done if we weren't in the pandemic. what are our weren't in the pandemic. what are your thoughts _ weren't in the pandemic. what are your thoughts are _ weren't in the pandemic. what are your thoughts are with _ weren't in the pandemic. what are your thoughts are with the - your thoughts are with the government's potential decision to

end all covid restrictions in england, potentially a month earlier than planned? it’s than planned? it's disappointing, it is not easy news to _ than planned? it's disappointing, it is not easy news to hear _ than planned? it's disappointing, it is not easy news to hear as - than planned? it's disappointing, it. is not easy news to hear as somebody who is clinically extremely vulnerable. but at the same time, it is not really surprising at this point. we have been hearing this kind of news for a while now with the lifting of restrictions that we felt were in place to protect vulnerable people, suddenly disappearing overnight and then there is nothing in place to kinda protect us and this seems to be the last that was keeping vulnerable people somewhat safe, but now, that seems to be on its way out. it is disappointing, it is scary. i think we'rejust going to disappointing, it is scary. i think we're just going to have to take it into our own hands now as to how we kind of navigate public life going outside the house, meeting other people and just where we can, asking

people and just where we can, asking people to be understanding and taking precaution when they know they're going to be around people who are clinically vulnerable. horse who are clinically vulnerable. how confident are _ who are clinically vulnerable. how confident are you _ who are clinically vulnerable. how confident are you that people will respond in the way you are hoping they will? it’s respond in the way you are hoping the will? �* , ., ., , they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i sa , they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i say. i — they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i say. i have — they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i say, i have barely _ they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i say, i have barely been - they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i say, i have barely been out i they will? it's a mixed bag, really. as i say, i have barely been out of| as i say, i have barely been out of the house in the last couple of years. i went to the shops for the first timejust over a years. i went to the shops for the first time just over a week ago and i must admit, i was quite disappointed with the number of people who were not wearing masks. it was a weekend, it was quite busy, i'd say only half of the people in the shops were wearing masks. a couple of shops i went into ijust came straight back out because they were so busy and so many people not wearing masks that i didn't feel safe in there, places such as even a chemist were a clinically vulnerable person goes in to pick up their medication and there are lots of people who weren't wearing masks. it didn't feel like a safe environment so you can only really ask the people that you know and come into

contact with to take those precautions as opposed to people that you made out and about, you can only hope that they will be taken as precautions. only hope that they will be taken as precautions-— precautions. what you say to those eo - le precautions. what you say to those people who — precautions. what you say to those people who say _ precautions. what you say to those people who say that _ precautions. what you say to those people who say that for _ precautions. what you say to those people who say that for the - precautions. what you say to those | people who say that for the majority life has got to get back to some kind of normality, we have learn to live with the coronavirus in the same way that we live with flu? what do you say to those people? i same way that we live with flu? what do you say to those people?- do you say to those people? i think it's dangerous _ do you say to those people? i think it's dangerous to _ do you say to those people? i think it's dangerous to conflate _ do you say to those people? i think it's dangerous to conflate or - it's dangerous to conflate or combine covid with flu. it is a very different disease, it is more severe, more people are dying and their is less that we know about and we don't have the same level of treatment available... {131 we don't have the same level of treatment available... of deaths from covid. _ treatment available... of deaths from covid, forgive _ treatment available... of deaths from covid, forgive me - treatment available. .. of deaths from covid, forgive me for- from covid, forgive me for interrupting, but deaths are falling, hospital emissions are falling, hospital emissions are falling, so there is some good news around that. falling, so there is some good news around that-— around that. absolutely, yes, i wouldn't say — around that. absolutely, yes, i wouldn't say that _ around that. absolutely, yes, i wouldn't say that we _ around that. absolutely, yes, i wouldn't say that we should i around that. absolutely, yes, i l wouldn't say that we should have these precautions in place forever

but it is all about timing. i think it still poses a big threat to people like me where the vaccine isn't as effective, so we still have to live with that. it is up to us what we decide the term live with covert means and i think it's about finding a balance and try to include people with illnesses and disabilities who are compromised such as myself. irate disabilities who are compromised such as myself.— such as myself. we must leave it there but it _ such as myself. we must leave it there but it was _ such as myself. we must leave it there but it was really _ such as myself. we must leave it there but it was really great - such as myself. we must leave it there but it was really great to i there but it was really great to talk to you and thank you so much for your time. talk to you and thank you so much foryourtime. buckingham palace talk to you and thank you so much for your time. buckingham palace has said that prince charles who has now got covid has met the queen. but the monarch has no symptoms. since charles tested _ monarch has no symptoms. since charles tested positive _ monarch has no symptoms. since charles tested positive for - monarch has no symptoms. 5 rice: charles tested positive for covid in a routine test and he is now a self isolating and we understand that the prince of wales met the queen at windsor on tuesday, the queen of

course having returned from sandringham, the prince of wales was at windsor for an investiture. sandringham, the prince of wales was at windsorfor an investiture. they did made but we are told by royal sources that the queen was showing no symptoms of covid having met the prince of wales on tuesday, but the situation will continue to be monitored. the prince of wales, we don't know how he is, but we can assume he is coping ok. he is triple jabbed and we can assume the queen is triple vaccinated as well. the prince of wales last night was at the british museum, he was there with his wife the duchess of cornwall where he met a number of people including cabinet ministers at a reception for the british— asian trust but the duchess of cornwall has tested negative and she has continued with her engagements today and the prince of wales cancelled his, but perhaps the most important point is as i say the queen having met the prince of wales on tuesday is not showing any symptoms of covid according to

sources. the head of the mitte college and police will not be resigning although she is seething with anger at some officers and wanted to turbo—charge changes to the met plasma culture. the commission of the country say she is going nowhere. i the country say she is going nowhere-— the country say she is going nowhere. ., ., , , ., nowhere. i have absolutely no intention of _ nowhere. i have absolutely no intention of going _ nowhere. i have absolutely no intention of going and - nowhere. i have absolutely no intention of going and i - nowhere. i have absolutely no | intention of going and i believe that i am and have been for the last five years leading a real transformation in the met. but that transformation _ transformation in the met. but that transformation is _ transformation in the met. but that transformation is not _ transformation in the met. but that transformation is not happening - transformation is not happening overnight. a string of offensive messages were released last night at charing cross police station four

years ago, the latest in a series of devastating headlines. speaking to rate debt bbc london dame cressida dick admits that reputation is tarnished. , ., dick admits that reputation is tarnished-— dick admits that reputation is tarnished. , ., , tarnished. there is no place in the metahor tarnished. there is no place in the metaphor sexism, _ tarnished. there is no place in the metaphor sexism, racism, - tarnished. there is no place in the - metaphor sexism, racism, homophobia, abuse metaphorsexism, racism, homophobia, abuse of trust or bullying. and in the last few days i have gone out extremely strongly for or to my colleagues and told them enough is enough. the colleagues and told them enough is enouah. ., ., ., ., colleagues and told them enough is enouah. ., ., ., enough. the mayor of london has said he had ut enough. the mayor of london has said he had put the — enough. the mayor of london has said he had put the commission _ enough. the mayor of london has said he had put the commission a - enough. the mayor of london has said he had put the commission a notice i he had put the commission a notice demanding a plan of action to restore public confidence, something she knows is crucial if she is to stay in post. she knows is crucial if she is to stay in post-— she knows is crucial if she is to stay in post. there is a fry some eo - le stay in post. there is a fry some people have _ stay in post. there is a fry some people have used, _ stay in post. there is a fry some people have used, a _ stay in post. there is a fry some people have used, a few- stay in post. there is a fry some people have used, a few bad - stay in post. there is a fry some - people have used, a few bad apples. i have never used that phrase. i think this is a great police service, we have fantastic people, we do excellent work, but we have a problem and we have a problem of too much very bad behaviour. it was problem and we have a problem of too much very bad behaviour.— much very bad behaviour. it was only in september — much very bad behaviour. it was only in september the _ much very bad behaviour. it was only in september the home _ much very bad behaviour. it was only in september the home secretary . in september the home secretary extended dame cressida plasma contract by another two years. she

insists she is the person to turn things around. i insists she is the person to turn things around.— insists she is the person to turn things around. i do think trust for some and many _ things around. i do think trust for some and many people _ things around. i do think trust for some and many people has - things around. i do think trust for some and many people has been | some and many people has been damaged by the events of the last several months and it is myjob, our job in the met to rebuild that trust and we have x tens plans to do that and we have x tens plans to do that and i have been asked to send another plant to the mayor which i did last friday and i am looking forward to discussing it with him. extensive plans. whether she sees that come track through is in the balance. while borisjohnson is abroad, dealing with the crisis in ukraine, here at home the former conservative prime minister sirjohn major has said mrjohnson and his officials "broke lockdown laws" over downing street parties. sirjohn says they dreamt up �*brazen excuses' for their behaviour and asked the public to �*believe the unbelievable'. sirjohn's damning comments come as police investigate a total of 12 separate gatherings. at number ten the prime minister and

official blog lockdown laws. brazen excuses were drained up. day after day, the public was asked to believe the unbelievable. ministers were sent out to defend the indefensible, making themselves look gullible or foolish as they did so. our political correspondent helen catt is in westminster. it was a scathing speech. yes, and john major is that long—time critic of borisjohnson and they disagree over briggs in other issues sol think for some issues people it's a case of not being a surprise that john major has come out and being critical at this point, however, the language he used was quite striking. the clip you played there, that was pretty straight down the line in saying that the prime minister broke lockdown rules. actually, on the

question and answer session action after the speech, he did seem to soften his stance about seemed likely that they had been broken but it would be prudent, wise orfair to prejudge the police report and i think the fact you have a conservative prime minister, former conservative prime minister, former conservative prime minister being quite so scathing about a tory government and the current occupant of number ten, that is significant, particularly as he seems to pick up on labour�*s attack and this idea of one rule for them and one for the other and elsewhere he said that members of the government seem to believe that they and they alone need not obey the rules of conventions of public life. here is a keir starmer reacted. i conventions of public life. here is a keir starmer reacted.— conventions of public life. here is a keir starmer reacted. i think it's time for the _ a keir starmer reacted. i think it's time for the prime _ a keir starmer reacted. i think it's time for the prime minister - a keir starmer reacted. i think it's time for the prime minister to - a keir starmer reacted. i think it's time for the prime minister to go | time for the prime minister to go and it's— time for the prime minister to go and it's in— time for the prime minister to go and it's in the national interest. the only— and it's in the national interest. the only people can remove him are his own _ the only people can remove him are his own mps — the only people can remove him are his own mps and requires them to speak— his own mps and requires them to speak out— his own mps and requires them to speak out and they should speak out. the important thing here is the prime — the important thing here is the prime minister has lost the moral

authority— prime minister has lost the moral authority to lead and to be in a situation — authority to lead and to be in a situation where the prime minister has been _ situation where the prime minister has been disrupted and ends defending himself against allegations instead of focusing on the things that are really important challenges, lots of people have energy— challenges, lots of people have energy bills going up, a serious situation — energy bills going up, a serious situation in ukraine, so it is, for them, _ situation in ukraine, so it is, for them, time _ situation in ukraine, so it is, for them, time to do what they need to do to— them, time to do what they need to do to ensure he falls in the national— do to ensure he falls in the national interest that we move on. do you _ national interest that we move on. do you agree with that assessment of sirjohn major that cabinet was somehow doing something was seriously wrong? i somehow doing something was seriously wrong?— somehow doing something was seriously wrong? i think they are auoin to seriously wrong? i think they are going to have — seriously wrong? i think they are going to have to _ seriously wrong? i think they are going to have to look _ seriously wrong? i think they are going to have to look at - seriously wrong? i think they are i going to have to look at themselves in the _ going to have to look at themselves in the mirrorand going to have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves whether— in the mirror and ask themselves whether they can carry on with this prime _ whether they can carry on with this prime minister will stop i think in their— prime minister will stop i think in their hearts and number of them know that they— their hearts and number of them know that they can't. i can see a divide now between those that are quite prepared — now between those that are quite prepared to go out and defend the indefensible and those that are obviously very, very uncomfortable now doing — obviously very, very uncomfortable now doing that and so sooner or later, _ now doing that and so sooner or later, this — now doing that and so sooner or later, this has got to come to a head _ later, this has got to come to a head. �* , , ., later, this has got to come to a head. ~ , , ., ., ., .,

head. as you heard in laurathe auestion head. as you heard in laurathe question there, _ head. as you heard in laurathe question there, so _ head. as you heard in laurathe question there, so john - head. as you heard in laurathe question there, so john did - head. as you heard in laurathe| question there, so john did also question there, sojohn did also speak out of the cabinet and suggested that members of the cabinet while either not giving borisjohnson the sort of advice he couldn't do things that sirjohn would have expected when he was prime minister and that margaret thatcher would have got when she was prime minister, or he said that if the device was being received but ignored, then he couldn't understand what i wasn't resignation from the cabinet. the justice what i wasn't resignation from the cabinet. thejustice secretary has been responding to this this afternoon and he said that while he knew sirjohn well and he had always time to listen to what he had got to say, he disagreed with him on this and believed that downing street were being transparent and accountable. sirjohn also said in his speech on what he thought was the effect of the claims he was making. he said he believed the uk's reputation overseas was being shredded. that was something the prime minister said was demonstrably untrue. here is what else he had to say to reporters, he wouldn't be drawn on those lockdown party allegations. i’m

drawn on those lockdown party allegations-— drawn on those lockdown party alleuations. �* , , allegations. i'm sure there will be [en to allegations. i'm sure there will be plenty to say _ allegations. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about _ allegations. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about all _ allegations. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about all that - allegations. i'm sure there will be plenty to say about all that kind i allegations. i'm sure there will be | plenty to say about all that kind of stuff in _ plenty to say about all that kind of stuff in due time, but right now, i think— stuff in due time, but right now, i think people would understand that the focus _ think people would understand that the focus of the uk government is on bringing _ the focus of the uk government is on bringing together our allies in nato and making sure that we stand shoulder— and making sure that we stand shoulder to shoulder.- and making sure that we stand shoulder to shoulder. while this doesnt shoulder to shoulder. while this doesn't feel _ shoulder to shoulder. while this doesn't feel likely _ shoulder to shoulder. while this doesn't feel likely to _ shoulder to shoulder. while this doesn't feel likely to be - shoulder to shoulder. while this doesn't feel likely to be an - doesn't feel likely to be an intervention that is going to massively shift the dialogue or shift opinion, it is another figure coming out and saying some very strong things against the prime minister in the way that the government is being run at a time when we know it is still a precarious time for the prime minister. ., ., ., precarious time for the prime minister. ., ., ,, ., minister. helen, good to talk to ou. this minister. helen, good to talk to you. this catch-up _ minister. helen, good to talk to you. this catch-up with - minister. helen, good to talk to you. this catch-up with the - minister. helen, good to talk to - you. this catch-up with the weather. minister. helen, good to talk to you. this catch—up with the weather. that's a lovely looking sky, how is looking? this is how it's going to be overnight. clear and cold. we had that area of low pressure across the north of the country with severe gales north of the country with severe gates and parts of scotland and

north east england and wintry showers but as that clears away a ridge of high pressure builds then and it will turn much colder. we are in the cold air mass as it is but once we lose that and this ridge of high pressure building, light winds and clear skies will give a clear recipe for a frosty start tomorrow. it could be windy in the east coast for a while the first part of the night in the winds will turn lighter with wintry showers in the west and particularly western scotland and will be icy by the end of the night with a call want to come. frost in the north. a cold, bright and frosty start to this day but most places will hold onto sunshine even into the afternoon and will be cloudy and breezy in the west ahead of the next low pressure which will arrive on saturday. after the call start temperatures will reach 4—9 . see you later.

hello this is bbc news.

the headlines: borisjohnson has warned that europe faces its "biggest security crisis" for decades as russian troops continue to mass on its border with ukraine. the stakes are very high and this is a very dangerous moment and at stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation big and small. new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment in england at the end of last year. the former prime minister sirjohn major has delivered a damning speech on borisjohnson and the impact his government is having on the uk's standing around the world. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre,

four time world champion sebastian vettel sez formula one's decision to remove the time set aside pre—race for the drivers to take the knee was taken for �*business reasons'. the sport's chief executive announced the move earlier this week after it was introduced in 2020. vettel has told us he was surprised and hopes that there'll still be a chance to show support for issues they care about... it is not like us taking for me or pointing out things that are important to them will change everything. that will be nice but that's not the case. it certainly does create a bit of awareness and if it reaches only a few people ran i think that would be a success and narrowly you take that opportunity away and i hope we get together as drivers and i'm sure is some care more than others but i hope overall be agree to find and come up and find an alternative or come up with an alternative.

both the men's and women's curling teams have registered their first wins in the round robin phase of the winter olympics in beijing. it took eve muirhead's rink until their second match. after losing earlier to switzerland they came roaring back this afternoon against sweden with this on end 4 from the skip. muirhead's hammer scored. and gave them what proved to be a match—winning lead — it finished 8—2 to team gb. i think after this mining be paid when —— where we knew if we kept things very similar and may be just paid off the shock between the get the ring out there tonight and that's exactly what we did and taking down the current olympic champions in such a convincing game is very nice. the men's team finished strongly to beat italy 7—5 — bruce mouat sending down the final stone. britain are ranked first in the world so there's a lot of expectation on their shoulders, they'll be back tomorrow for matches against the usa and norway.

unconfirmed reports in russia have named 15—year—old kamila valieva as the figure skater who has tested positive for a banned substance, since then the presentation of the medals for the team event, won by the russia olympic committee has been delayed. the international olympic committee sez a legal matter has led to the postponement of the official ceremony which was due to take place on tuesday evening in beijing. valieva who became the first female skater to perform a quadruple jump at the olympics was back training at the national indoor stadium today — with her team saying she has not been suspended. ireland captainjonny sexton will miss their six nations match against france this weekend because of a hamstring injury. both won their opening games of the tournament and sexton had originally delcared himself fit despite a bruising encounter with wales. but the fly half will be replaced in the ireland team byjoey carbery in paris on saturday.

meanwhile a hamstring injury has ruled scotland flanker jamie ritchie out of the rest of the six nations. he came off during the second half of the calcutta cup win over england and will be replaced by sam skinner for the game in wales on saturday. that's one of five changes including bringing in an entirely new front row. wayne pivac has made four changes to his wales team for the game in cardiff including handing a debut to flankerjac morgan. the defending champions lost that opening match to ireland. heather knight will captain a 15—strong squad for england's defence of the women's world cup in new zealand. knight led the side to victory in 2017 and the squad includes seven players involved in that win as well as all—rounder emma lamb, who made her one—day debut in the women's ashes which ended this week without a single win for england. that's all the sport for now. back now to our top story —

and the prime minister says the crisis in ukraine is probably at its most dangerous moment so far — as russian forces begin manoeuvres in belarus. after talks at nato headquarters in brussels, he flew to poland — which borders ukraine and belarus — and said britain would stand with its allies against russian aggression. uk foreign secretary liz truss told the bbc the situation is dangerous and needs to be de—escalated. i have a very clear view of what we need to achieve. as the united kingdom and with our nato allies. and that is what i'm focused on and that's what i'm thinking about. of course surrogate ivanov has been his job for a significant period of time and he has been involved in a lot of theissues and he has been involved in a lot of the issues that have led to where we are now lets my approach is we need

to deal with the situation we're in now and we need to see russia de—escalate from this situation and we need to move forward into proper diplomatic talks to resolve the situation around a table rather than seeing an incursion into ukraine. we were told today in the press conference by sergei love ralph that's russia do not have plans to invade. if that is the case, why are there are 100,000 troops on the ukrainian border? why are there armoured divisions being amassed, why is there a threat to a better willis? that is the question that i have put to sergei today that he has not answered. and the only way that russia can dispel the fear that they bash that there is an impending invasion is to move those troops and forces away from the border. this is a very dangerous situation. that is

why the uk is pricking a powerful domestic efforts into deterring russia from taking that action but also in seeking to engage russia in diplomacy to be able to de—escalate the situation. 19—million—homes in the uk are in need of better insulation — with two in every three leaking heat, according to the climate change committee. it says the government must do better — and that insulation is the way out of the current energy crisis. the uk is believed to have some of the oldest and draughtiest housing stock in europe. our climate editor, justin rowlatt reports. so, we've got lots of heat coming out of this window here, and under this window upstairs we've probably got a radiator here. that's money coming through your wall. we are hunting for draughty homes using this thermal camera, and it's easy pickings here in manchester. virtually every home has insulation issues. and here is the difference insulation can make.

how would you rate this house? this house is definitely losing less heat, especially from the weak spots that we identified on the other houses. but just look what it took to give the house an insulation makeover. so, there is insulation inside the room here, the windows are double glazed and the space under the floor is insulated too. up here at the top of the house, the entire roof area has been insulated, as well. the walls used to look like this, bare brick. but they've put in this wood fibre insulation, external insulation, and the windows are double glazed. in monetary terms, it's saved 40% of our gas on the heating and it made a really big difference to the comfort of the house as well. but here's the rub, even at current energy prices it will still take at least 20 years to cover the 36 grand it cost. down in london, it's this man'sjob to mark the government's homework on climate.

so, how is it doing? well, it's a d. could do much better, i think. so, that is something for the government to think about. i think the government's policy on insulation has been very, very ineffective. it really is very poor. we need something that dramatically changes the number of insulations that we do today. so, this year will be in the tens of thousands of installations. we really need to scale that up to something like half a million a year. and to do that quickly over the next four or five years. but if it's hard for middle—class homeowners to afford insulation, it's even tougher for local authorities like blackpool. energy efficient homes are popular with tenants, though. perfect. she laughs. but blackpool spent £33,000 insulating jean's one—bedroom flat. the council reckons it would cost some £125 million to bring all blackpool�*s social housing up to this standard. it's not financially viable to do it on scale, really. to get stuff to be carbon neutral,

there is a big bill to that, and we need support with it. so, what does britain's climate chief think the government should do? we know that we need a sharper incentive from most people to make these investments in improving the energy efficiency of the home that they live in. for most people, the payback for that will be several years. so the government really does need to step in. so when you ask why so few homes in britain are well insulated, here is the answer. it's just so expensive. without some help, most of us will find it tough to get it done. justin rowlatt, bbc news, blackpool. meanwhile three quarters of scottish households will be given a £150 payment in a bid to tackle the rising cost of living and spiralling energy costs. (oov) the scottish finance secretary, and spiralling energy costs. the scottish finance secretary, kate forbes, said the money would either be given as a direct

payment by local authorities or used as credit towards council tax bills. more reaction now to the news that the government is planning to remove all legal covid restrictions in england at the end of the month — including the need to self—isolate if you have tested positive. that's a whole month earlier than planned. let's speak now to susan michie — professor of health psychology and director of the centre for behaviour change at university college london, and advises the government on a number of committees. were you expecting to hear that all remaining restrictions could be removed in england by the end of the month? ., . , removed in england by the end of the month? ., ., , , removed in england by the end of the month? ., .,, , , , , removed in england by the end of the month? ., i, , , month? no, iwas very surprised, as were nearly — month? no, iwas very surprised, as were nearly all _ month? no, iwas very surprised, as were nearly all my _ month? no, iwas very surprised, as were nearly all my scientific - were nearly all my scientific colleagues. given that we are in a pandemic with very high rates of

transmission, higher rates of hospitalisation, about a thousand people dying every week and we are in the winter period where we have got records levels of waiting lists for the nhs it seems an extraordinary time to take what few protection measures we have left. in protection measures we have left. in your professional opinion, when would have been a better time? i would have been a better time? i think the general scientific consensus is we want to get through this winter and sharing that we can get the levels of transmission down that we can ensure that the nhs is functioning well and battery can ensure that everybody is looked after and spring or even summer would be the time when we would expect, probably spring expected transmission levels to get down and the problems about leaving

transmission levels at eye watering the high levels. 200,000 new cases per day have been estimated by the office of national statistics and also when the earth is high and there's quite a high percentage of people who are going on to get it on covid—19 including children, many of whom are not protected by vaccination and we just don't know what long—term effects on organ damage our aunt and uncle did and the other problem is the more transmission and the more mutations as the transmission happens and the more chance of another variant which is more likely to be more transmissible, maybe vaccines more than a and may also be more damaging. than a and may also be more damaging-— than a and may also be more damauain. ., . . ~' . damaging. you are talking about the number of cases _ damaging. you are talking about the number of cases and _ damaging. you are talking about the number of cases and we _ damaging. you are talking about the number of cases and we will- damaging. you are talking about the number of cases and we will report i damaging. you are talking about the| number of cases and we will report a little earlier the case numbers for todayis little earlier the case numbers for today is about 66,000, nonetheless

hospital admissions and deaths are declining so it's notjust a case of looking at the transmission rates and that's exactly what the government is doing. it's weighing up government is doing. it's weighing up the whole picture.— up the whole picture. when i said cases. up the whole picture. when i said cases- cases _ up the whole picture. when i said cases. cases are _ up the whole picture. when i said cases. cases are technically - up the whole picture. when i said cases. cases are technically when you have been tested and because testing has been going down he actually don't have any accurate figures but the figures i was referring to was identified by studies across the community rather than people coming forward and testing. it's been really good that there has not been huge numbers of hospitalisations, especially in intensive care admissions but we still do have 13,000 people in hospital with covid—19 and the concern is we have more than 6 million people waiting for operations. that's not counting all the people are waiting for tests and

assessments and diagnosis and we've got a health crisis and as i said it's notjust hospitalisations we should not really be learning to live with the deaths per week is all right but also it's the unknown lung covid—19 which is hitting children as well as adults and it's not only causing educational disruption a lot of work disruption, as i said we may be storing up problems for the future both for all of those hundreds of thousands of individuals but also an extra burden on our nhs which is absolutely creaking at the moment and health care staff are exhausted and lack of investments and as they say they see waiting list. ~ . , list. we have very little time left but i want _ list. we have very little time left but i want to _ list. we have very little time left but i want to put _ list. we have very little time left but i want to put the _ list. we have very little time left but i want to put the point - list. we have very little time left but i want to put the point to - list. we have very little time left. but i want to put the point to you. you are talking about health crisis but we face other kinds of crisis.

we face a mental health crisis for people who have not been able to see people who have not been able to see people and we face an economic crisis with businesses going bust and at some point we have to try to get back to normal and live with this in the same way.— get back to normal and live with this in the same way. what we need to do is live — this in the same way. what we need to do is live with _ this in the same way. what we need to do is live with this _ this in the same way. what we need to do is live with this safely - this in the same way. what we need to do is live with this safely and - to do is live with this safely and what that can mean, the time —— type of measures we are talking about is testing and only isolating a few systematic or test positive say don't pass on your infections. we are talking about basic measures like ensuring ventilation and filtration in schools and workplaces and other public spaces and wearing facemasks injohn's or shops where people are working at this enclosed indoor spaces these measures are talking about and something like a quarter of the population who are

vulnerable either extremely or clinically vulnerable, these people are going to feel restricted, socially isolated so we need to think about the whole of society and that includes those people who are vulnerable to the effects of omicron. vulnerable to the effects of omicron— vulnerable to the effects of omicron. ., ., ,, ., ., ,, omicron. good to talk to you. thank ou. let's return to our top story the fresh british diplomatic offensive to avert a russian invasion of ukraine. it comes as russia begins new military exercises in the region. the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. let's talk to the ambassador of ukraine in the uk, vadym pry—stai—ko. how concerned how concerned are how concerned are you that russia will invade ukraine. brute how concerned are you that russia will invade ukraine.— will invade ukraine. we have been talkin: will invade ukraine. we have been talking about _ will invade ukraine. we have been talking about this _ will invade ukraine. we have been talking about this for _ will invade ukraine. we have been talking about this for at _ will invade ukraine. we have been talking about this for at least - will invade ukraine. we have been talking about this for at least the i talking about this for at least the last year. it's notjust

talking about this for at least the last year. it's not just we talking about this for at least the last year. it's notjust we are forgetting about the need was already seven years but this escalation is what is getting more and more dangerous but now we are getting more optimistic. let me because there is an enormous effort of many nations to a mindset that there's still a chance and is diplomacy that can work right now. you use the word optimistic so you feel happier that's the way the west is dealing with the situation and you think it can pull russia back? optimistic because i see that it's more than just words, it's not grave concern any more but there is many leaders and some of them supporting us with weapons which will be lacking for many years so there is both the heart response and their attack and both of them supporting each other and working together. you think there is time for the diplomacy to work? we

think there is time for the diplomacy to work? think there is time for the diloma to work? ~ ., , diplomacy to work? we do believe that it's still _ diplomacy to work? we do believe that it's still a _ diplomacy to work? we do believe that it's still a chance _ diplomacy to work? we do believe that it's still a chance for- that it's still a chance for diplomacy to avoid the crisis. brute diplomacy to avoid the crisis. we know the nato secretary—general is worried about russia creating a pretext for invasion. are you concerned about that in any way? we have concerned about that in any way? , have been seeing some of the scenarios. it's not the first time they're doing each and every time we are trying to stand and be carefully observing the situation and trying to find out what can be and what the words they are choosing. our leader is choosing his words very carefully. is choosing his words very carefully-— is choosing his words very carefull . ~ ., , ., ., ,, is choosing his words very carefull . ~ ., .«r ., carefully. what did you make of the french president _ carefully. what did you make of the french president and _ carefully. what did you make of the french president and his _ carefully. what did you make of the french president and his view- carefully. what did you make of the french president and his view that i french president and his view that president putin had told him there was no plan to invade ukraine? did you believe him? he was no plan to invade ukraine? did you believe him?— you believe him? he in the year he thouuht you believe him? he in the year he thought yes _ you believe him? he in the year he thought yes you — you believe him? he in the year he thought yes you have _ you believe him? he in the year he thought yes you have to _ you believe him? he in the year he thought yes you have to do -

you believe him? he in the year he thought yes you have to do it - you believe him? he in the year he thought yes you have to do it so i thought yes you have to do it so ukraine is unfortunately not we don't believe what putin is seeing because we see the difference between what he saying in what's happening but for many leaders it's an eye—opener that somebody can lie to theirfaces and an eye—opener that somebody can lie to their faces and a hefty understand and realise it and they're working the as any democratic society is working. you'll be brought to responsibility by there on electorates because you have elections. flan by there on electorates because you have elections.— have elections. can you give us a sense of what _ have elections. can you give us a sense of what impact _ have elections. can you give us a sense of what impact this - have elections. can you give us a sense of what impact this is - sense of what impact this is happening on the people of ukraine? to be there fighting with the lack

of development and economic development, the wire is diminishing i would chance to develop our self as a society, as simple as that. for --eole in as a society, as simple as that. for people in the cities but also in the countryside how concerned i did because it must be a balancing act on the part of the president to reissue people an attack is not an intense but equally people need to ready themselves for the worst, don't they?— ready themselves for the worst, don't the ? ., �*, , .,, don't they? that's the problem we have a number— don't they? that's the problem we have a number of— don't they? that's the problem we have a number of who _ don't they? that's the problem we have a number of who are - don't they? that's the problem we have a number of who are readily. have a number of who are readily taking the defence on these people have to be encouraged and be told what to do and where to run and sign up what to do and where to run and sign up and there are some other people who have to be preserving their families and taking care of their cities so some people will be scared and try to free and all of the troubles and it's not easy to operate with such a number of people. so we have to prepare ourselves without creating a panic on the streets.—

the former miners' leader arthur scargill says today's trade union leaders should learn the lessons of the past if they are to succeed. he was speaking on the 50th anniversary of the battle of saltley, during the 1972 miners' strike. the mass picket led to the defeat of the then conservative government, and propelled mr scargill to national prominence. he's been speaking exclusively to the bbc�*s ian white. february 1972, a nationwide miners' strike was under way. at a coking works in birmingham, pickets struggled to stop lorries going in and out, so a call went out for help to the num in yorkshire — could they send miners down to help? we want assurances from the chairman of the gas board, in writing... the miner who answered the call was a little known union official called arthur scargill. when i cried out, "get yourselves down here, we need help,

"i'm asking every miner to come and help us," and, boy, did they come. there were brutal scenes outside saltley where pickets battled with police. arthur knew to succeed he needed to win the support of other trade unions and convince all kinds of workers to join the strike. ——suddenly there was a cheer, a roar went up, you and i looked round and coming over the hill, as far as the eye could see, were thousands of engineers tojoin us, and women leading them. what happened on the 10th of february 1972 won the strike, got miners a big pay rise and made trade union history. it also defeated the conservative government and took arthur scargill to national prominence for the first time. everything i had dreamed about as a trade unionist came to fruition. for the first time in my life, the things i'd talked

about were a reality. miners and other workers in solidarity action. 12 years later, the miners were on strike again, but margaret thatcher's government was determined there wouldn't be a repeat of saltley gate. first of all, in her autobiography she devotes a whole chapter to scargill�*s insurrection, and secondly, i never met thatcher. imagine that. from the second world war to today, the only prime minister that i never met was margaret thatcher. i have no regrets. now aged 84, arthur believes today's trade union leaders should learn the lessons of sully. ——saltly. you'll make it was the turning point in the miners strike and lead to a complete victory, it was the greatest day of my life. —— arthur scargill. ian white, bbc midlands today.

arthur scargill ending that report from ian white. know pressure will clear away from the north of the uk this evening and overnight it's a lot more quiet. with the cold air in place and reams and clear skies it will be cold and frosty night. it is the low pressure system which brought gail's and snow tonight and here he is pushing into the night seeing. his range of high pressure running in from the west. the picture is a quiet one across northern and eastern areas and it's windy for a time with their low in the north sea with one or two showers across western areas and we will see a risk of highs by the end of the night but for all areas it will be cold with a widespread frost and a hard frost across northern areas. it is a cold frosty and bright and sunny morning for friday and it stays dry and sunny

throughout the day. a few showers across western areas and then late in the day ahead at the next weather fundsit in the day ahead at the next weather funds it will see reason cloud building about west. temperature 1139 degrees but at the level. as we move out of friday and into the start of the beak and it will be more unsettled again with a deep area of low pressure of the atlantic and it will bring wet and windy weather to northern and western areas and the rain will be happy over western heroes. a dry and bright day for much of the southeast and the cloud building up here and it will stay dry until after dark. single figures but he will see something my mild pushing across southern and western areas. wet and windy across the southeast tuesday to saturday night and it's quite into sunday we have another area of pressure this time preaching across the southwest. we will start off with dry weather and cloud one way two around and then it

starts to turn and windy across wales, central and southern england in the course of sunday. some heavy rainfall at times. my mild in the south. 10 or 11 degrees. more fresh further north with sunshine and showers. it will be another cold brightly on monday. low pressure systems will come in next week bringing an unsettled week. wet and windy weather. but mild in the south.

this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. our headlines at 5pm... a fresh british diplomatic offensive to avert a russian invasion of ukraine. as russia begins new military exercises in the region, the prime minister says this is the biggest security crisis europe has faced for decades. labour says the uk must present a united front. the stakes are very high. and this is a dangerous moment, and at stake are the rules that protect every nation, every nation big and small. nobody quite knows what putin is going to do. i do know that what he wants to do, above all else, is to divide the allies, nato and other allies, but we mustn't be divided.

new figures reveal a record 6.1 million people were waiting