the affordable, given the situation. the latest episodes of the harry and meghan series have landed with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. claims of screaming rows with the royalfamily. it claims of screaming rows with the royal family-— royal family. it was terrifying to have my brother _ royal family. it was terrifying to have my brother scream - royal family. it was terrifying to have my brother scream and - royal family. it was terrifying to i have my brother scream and shout royal family. it was terrifying to - have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply were not true and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in. interest rates have gone up again by half a percentage point as the bank of england tries to curb inflation. income tax rates for higher earners are expected to be increased in scotland for the next financial year. we will be live for a budget statement by the deputy first minister of scotland, john swinney, shortly.

good afternoon. tens of thousands of nurses are on strike in a dispute about pay, in the biggest action of its kind in nhs history. members of royal college of nursing union want a i9% payrise. nurses aren't striking in scotland, after two health unions accepted a revised pay offer from the scottish government. nhs officials say it's vital, though, that people come forward if they need emergency care during the walk outs. in england, nursing staff from 51 hospitals, mental health trusts and community services are striking — that's about a quarter of trusts or services. but there is no strike action in kent, sussex, surrey, east yorkshire or lincolnshire. and none either in manchester, buckinghamshire, norfolk or suffolk. in wales, nurses from six out of its seven health boards are striking, while all trusts in northern ireland are involved in the action. as we've heard, no nurses in scotland are taking action today after two unions voted to accept an improved pay offer, but ballots for other union members are continuing.

our health correspondent, catherine burns, has been talking to some nurses about why they've decided to strike. what do we want? a pay rise! how do we get it? strike! it started at sam, the biggest strike in the history of the royal college of nursing. members across all of northern ireland, most of wales and about a quarter of trusts in england left their day jobs for picket lines, many with mixed emotions. i feel it is a crying shame. it is really bad, i don't want to do this, my colleagues don't want to do this. today, i am emotional but i have been more emotional on my shifts. i didn't envisage it would ever come to this. i am not somebody that feels that this is what i am supposed to be doing. you know, myjob is in there. you're six weeks into this career. yes. you look like you are about to cry when you talk about how

you are struggling. do you think you are going to stay in this job? not for much... well, i'm going to stick it out because i am a fighter. but i have already thought in three years' time can i see myself still here? probably not, no. the main reason is pay. starting salaries for nurses in england arejust over £27,000. that can go up to almost 55,000 for the most senior nurses. but the rcn says the average for an established nurse is closer to 32,000. that is similar to average pay across the country. horns toot. there is quite a gulf between what they want on this picket line, a pay rise of inflation plus 5% which works out at i9%. and what ministers over in parliament think is fair. because if we are to afford a i9% pay rise, we can only do that either through borrowing which we saw the effects of government borrowing onlyjust a few weeks ago on the economy. either through taxation,

and i don't think that's appropriate when people are struggling with the cost of living this winter. 0r taking that money from front—line services. it is too early to tell yet quite how much disruption this will cause. but we know patients have had operations and appointments cancelled. the rcn has this message for them. i am truly, truly sorry for you sitting on waiting lists year—on—year. and i'm very sorry if your treatment has been cancelled today. but it is up to the employers to make sure that your treatment is rearranged as quickly as possible. nurses from some areas of medicine are not able to come out on strike today. chemotherapy, dialysis and intensive care are protected so staffed as normal. it is important to say if management inside hospitals are worried about life—or—death situations, they can speak to local strike committees and ask them to bring staff back off the picket lines and back into work. these conversations will be happening on a local level. so the picture will be different across the country.

this is day one of the strike. another is planned for next week, with the chance for more in the new year if there is no progress. catherine burns, bbc news. the health secretary, steve barclay, has been speaking about this and how the government has been responding to the pressure the nhs is under. we to the pressure the nhs is under. 7 recognise the pressure on the nhs from the pandemic and that is why in the autumn statement we committed an extra £6.6 billion of extra funding to the nhs to target those waiting for operations and getting those lists down and we hugely value the work that nurses do and that is why we accepted in full the recommendations of the pay review body and last year, the rest of the brexit had a pay freeze and we recognise the extra contribution nurses had paid —— public sector. we

recognise the work that nurses do. three quarters of trusts are not on strike today and we are hugely grateful to their contributions but in those trusts that are striking, nurses are still working and that is massively appreciated. in a moment, we'll speak to our correspondent chris page in belfast but first our correspondent howard johnson is at st thomas' hospital in london for us. what is the atmosphere like where you are? it what is the atmosphere like where ou are? .., , what is the atmosphere like where ouare? , ,. , you are? it can be described as a carnival atmosphere. _ you are? it can be described as a carnival atmosphere. i— you are? it can be described as a carnival atmosphere. i had - you are? it can be described as a carnival atmosphere. i had heard more than 200 homes honked from policeman, from bus drivers, lorry drivers, the support from the public is enormous and it is behind the staff here. around 200 striking nurses here today and what we have seen as the dung has gone —— the day has gone on, one of the signs says

national health service, which is representative of what we have been hearing from nurses today that conditions are not good enough and pays not good enough and we are joined right now by two more nurses, who are actually off—duty, so they are here to support your striking colleagues. my are here to support your striking colleague— are here to support your striking colleagues. are here to support your striking colleauues. g, ., colleagues. my sign says, pay as our worth. colleagues. my sign says, pay as our worth- mine — colleagues. my sign says, pay as our worth. mine says, _ colleagues. my sign says, pay as our worth. mine says, we _ colleagues. my sign says, pay as our worth. mine says, we don't- colleagues. my sign says, pay as our worth. mine says, we don't want - worth. mine says, we don't want cla s. worth. mine says, we don't want claps- we _ worth. mine says, we don't want claps- we are — worth. mine says, we don't want claps. we are not _ worth. mine says, we don't want claps. we are notjust _ worth. mine says, we don't want claps. we are notjust nurses, i worth. mine says, we don't want| claps. we are notjust nurses, we claps. we are not 'ust nurses, we are claps. we are not 'ust nurses, we doctors. — claps. we are notjust nurses, we are doctors, health _ claps. we are notjust nurses, we are doctors, health care - claps. we are notjust nurses, we l are doctors, health care assistants, housekeepers, we do a range of things— housekeepers, we do a range of things and — housekeepers, we do a range of things and we also are spending three _ things and we also are spending three years to qualify and in those three _ three years to qualify and in those three years, we were on placement all three years, we were on placement 6“ week, _ three years, we were on placement all week, while studying, and now we are trying _ all week, while studying, and now we are trying to — all week, while studying, and now we are trying to train ourselves to get up are trying to train ourselves to get up the _ are trying to train ourselves to get up the ladder but actually we cannot

afford _ up the ladder but actually we cannot afford to— up the ladder but actually we cannot afford to buy, we are renting in a difficult _ afford to buy, we are renting in a difficult market as it is and having maybe _ difficult market as it is and having maybe £600 left over for any other activities _ maybe £600 left over for any other activities. �* , ., , maybe £600 left over for any other activities. . , ., , . , activities. and your sign references the clapping _ activities. and your sign references the clapping during _ activities. and your sign references the clapping during the _ activities. and your sign references the clapping during the pandemic. | the clapping during the pandemic. nhs staff were crucial in supporting people. how do you feel you have been dealt with subsequently? fist people. how do you feel you have been dealt with subsequently? at the time, it was nice _ been dealt with subsequently? at the time, it was nice to _ been dealt with subsequently? at the time, it was nice to know _ been dealt with subsequently? at the time, it was nice to know that - been dealt with subsequently? at the time, it was nice to know that we - time, it was nice to know that we had the _ time, it was nice to know that we had the public— time, it was nice to know that we had the public support _ time, it was nice to know that we had the public support but - time, it was nice to know that we had the public support but it - time, it was nice to know that we had the public support but itjust| had the public support but itjust feels _ had the public support but itjust feels like — had the public support but itjust feels like kind _ had the public support but itjust feels like kind of— had the public support but itjust feels like kind of any— had the public support but itjust feels like kind of any month - had the public support but itjust. feels like kind of any month since, it has— feels like kind of any month since, it has completely _ feels like kind of any month since, it has completely dwindled - feels like kind of any month since, it has completely dwindled and - feels like kind of any month since, it has completely dwindled and i. it has completely dwindled and i understand _ it has completely dwindled and i understand we _ it has completely dwindled and i understand we are _ it has completely dwindled and i understand we are asking - it has completely dwindled and i understand we are asking for. it has completely dwindled and i understand we are asking for a i it has completely dwindled and i. understand we are asking for a lot but actually — understand we are asking for a lot but actually all— understand we are asking for a lot but actually all we _ understand we are asking for a lot but actually all we are _ understand we are asking for a lot but actually all we are asking - understand we are asking for a lot but actually all we are asking is i understand we are asking for a lot but actually all we are asking is to be paid _ but actually all we are asking is to be paid in— but actually all we are asking is to be paid in line _ but actually all we are asking is to be paid in line with— but actually all we are asking is to be paid in line with inflation. - but actually all we are asking is to be paid in line with inflation. we i be paid in line with inflation. we work— be paid in line with inflation. we work so — be paid in line with inflation. we work so hard _ be paid in line with inflation. we work so hard and _ be paid in line with inflation. we work so hard and it— be paid in line with inflation. we work so hard and it is— work so hard and it is really hard to watch people we _ work so hard and it is really hard to watch people we love - work so hard and it is really hard to watch people we love leave i work so hard and it is really hard. to watch people we love leave the profession — to watch people we love leave the profession because _ to watch people we love leave the profession because they— to watch people we love leave the profession because they cannot i to watch people we love leave the . profession because they cannot deal with any— profession because they cannot deal with any more _ profession because they cannot deal with any more i_ profession because they cannot deal with any more. i have _ profession because they cannot deal with any more. i have friends - profession because they cannot deal with any more. i have friends who i with any more. i have friends who have _ with any more. i have friends who have ptsd— with any more. i have friends who have ptsd from _ with any more. i have friends who have ptsd from covid, _ with any more. i have friends who have ptsd from covid, the - with any more. i have friends whoi have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels _ have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when — have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when you _ have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when you get _ have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when you get really- have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when you get really sick- levels when you get really sick patients — levels when you get really sick patients and _ levels when you get really sick patients and you _ levels when you get really sick patients and you cannot - levels when you get really sick patients and you cannot give l levels when you get really sick. patients and you cannot give any care you — patients and you cannot give any care you want _ patients and you cannot give any care you want to _ patients and you cannot give any care you want to give _ patients and you cannot give any care you want to give them - patients and you cannot give any. care you want to give them because you are _ care you want to give them because you are just—

care you want to give them because you are just stretched _ care you want to give them because you are just stretched so _ care you want to give them because you are just stretched so thin - care you want to give them because you are just stretched so thin and l you are just stretched so thin and it is going — you are just stretched so thin and it is going home, _ you are just stretched so thin and it is going home, taking - you are just stretched so thin and it is going home, taking your- you are just stretched so thin andi it is going home, taking your work home _ it is going home, taking your work home with — it is going home, taking your work home with you. _ it is going home, taking your work home with you. i_ it is going home, taking your work home with you, i think... - it is going home, taking your work home with you, i think... it- it is going home, taking your work home with you, i think... it has. home with you, i think... it has been _ home with you, i think... it has been years— home with you, i think... it has been years of— home with you, i think... it has been years of relying _ home with you, i think... it has been years of relying on - home with you, i think... it has been years of relying on the - been years of relying on the goodwill— been years of relying on the goodwill of— been years of relying on the goodwill of nurses- been years of relying on the goodwill of nurses and - been years of relying on the goodwill of nurses and it - been years of relying on the goodwill of nurses and it isi been years of relying on the - goodwill of nurses and it is getting to the _ goodwill of nurses and it is getting to the point— goodwill of nurses and it is getting to the point where _ goodwill of nurses and it is getting to the point where we _ goodwill of nurses and it is getting to the point where we have - goodwill of nurses and it is gettingi to the point where we have nothing left. to the point where we have nothing left we _ to the point where we have nothing left we are — to the point where we have nothing left. we are tired _ to the point where we have nothing left. we are tired and _ to the point where we have nothing left. we are tired and we _ to the point where we have nothing left. we are tired and we are - left. we are tired and we are exhausted _ left. we are tired and we are exhausted i— left. we are tired and we are exhausted.— left. we are tired and we are exhausted. ~ , ., , _ exhausted. i think it is ready say there has been _ exhausted. i think it is ready say there has been huge _ exhausted. i think it is ready say there has been huge public- exhausted. i think it is ready say i there has been huge public support today but the government is saying this 5% above inflation request for your pay is unreasonable. do you find that confusing, the fact that people are supporting you but the government are not listening? i found it really difficult because actually — found it really difficult because actually boris johnson came here and our colleagues treated him and after that, i_ our colleagues treated him and after that, i thought to myself, he is going _ that, i thought to myself, he is going to — that, i thought to myself, he is going to get it, he stayed here during — going to get it, he stayed here during covid, he got seen by the highest — during covid, he got seen by the highest members of staff, highest nurses, _ highest members of staff, highest nurses, doctors, and they treated him with— nurses, doctors, and they treated him with amazing care and it was... i him with amazing care and it was... i was _ him with amazing care and it was... i was heartbroken after covid to find out — i was heartbroken after covid to find out that he did not really care actually _ find out that he did not really care actually and it was a shame because

we do _ actually and it was a shame because we do so _ actually and it was a shame because we do so much ending our department, we do so much ending our department, we are— we do so much ending our department, we are such _ we do so much ending our department, we are such a _ we do so much ending our department, we are such a family of that is the thing _ we are such a family of that is the thing that— we are such a family of that is the thing that holds us to stay as long as we _ thing that holds us to stay as long as we do. — thing that holds us to stay as long as we do, accident and emergency is known _ as we do, accident and emergency is known for— as we do, accident and emergency is known for a — as we do, accident and emergency is known for a high turnover because it is a hard _ known for a high turnover because it is a hard job— known for a high turnover because it is a hard job but with the increase of patients— is a hard job but with the increase of patients coming in on the lack of care from _ of patients coming in on the lack of care from the government, all we want _ care from the government, all we want to— care from the government, all we want to do— care from the government, all we want to do isjust... just pious for what _ want to do isjust... just pious for what we _ want to do isjust... just pious for what we are — want to do isjust... just pious for what we are worth. we not asking for much _ what we are worth. we not asking for much we _ what we are worth. we not asking for much. we might get a better pay and sainsbury's — much. we might get a better pay and sainsbury's. realistically, we are very qualified individuals and we are the — very qualified individuals and we are the ones who can run a cardiac arrest _ are the ones who can run a cardiac arrest without a doctor needed —— without— arrest without a doctor needed —— without a — arrest without a doctor needed —— without a doctor present, if needed. the government say it is unreasonable because they would have to borrow more taxi people more. thank you for coming here today and sharing your thoughts with us. this picket line will continue until atm tonight. the cold conditions have thawed somewhat, it is getting

warmer, but staff in loud voice, supporting their nursing colleagues up supporting their nursing colleagues up and down the country. thank you very much- — let's go now to our ireland correspondent, chris page. a carnival atmosphere in london, is it similar where you are?— it similar where you are? there is a little bit of— it similar where you are? there is a little bit of warmth _ it similar where you are? there is a little bit of warmth from _ it similar where you are? there is a little bit of warmth from the - it similar where you are? there is a little bit of warmth from the sun i little bit of warmth from the sun now, i have to say, but it is still very bitterly cold. the spirits of the nurses on the picket line have been lifted by the support that has been lifted by the support that has been expressed to them on this very busy commuter route into belfast from the south of the city. we are outside belfast city hall still. drivers, pedestrians and cyclists have all been stopping to offer words of encouragement, some have been handing out pizzas and cakes and anything they can do to make out that they are supporting these members of the health service staff in their industrial action today. whenever it comes to the situation

in northern ireland, there is an added level if you like of complexity and uncertainty and that is there is no devolved government in this part of the uk at the moment and although this is the first uk wide strike by the royal college of nursing, it is actually the second time in three years that rcn members have come out to strike in this part of the uk. it was a similarly cold day in december 2019 that there was a strike year over similar issues, pay and conditions, and that strike was seen as being a catalyst for ending a long political deadlock at that time that had left northern ireland without a devolved government for almost three years. the power—sharing executive at stormont returned a few weeks after that but earlier this year, it in effect collapsed again, the democratic unionist party resigning its ministers basically in protest against the brexit trade bordering the irish sea. no sign of a return

to devolution on the horizon anytime yet, so although the pay negotiations are being carried out on national level, a uk wide level, the pay... the wages are actually handed out if you like by the devolved government, so the fact there is not a devolved government at the moment means that if you speak to people on the picket line, as i have the beam today, there is an added dimensional frustration and for the moment because there are no local ministers to send their message to, the message is focused on the westminster government. the local department of health, which is being run by civil servants at the moment, for its part, has put out a statement saying this industrial action will have an impact on an already fragile service, northern ireland has the longest hospital waiting times in the uk by far, but the department says it is doing everything it can to try to address theissues everything it can to try to address the issues being raised by nurses

today. the reality is in the absence of political power, there is not a huge amount officials can do in this week of unprecedented industrial action. worth also saying that the second strike this week in northern ireland, on monday members of staff including nurses from three other trade unions, walked out for 24—hour is, so again, you get a sense that this sort of industrial action in the health sector is something that really nobody in the uk and certainly nobody in northern ireland has ever seen before.— certainly nobody in northern ireland has ever seen before. thank you very much. jerry cope is a former chair of the nhs pay review body. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. first of all, talk us through the nhs pay review body, what exactly is it? what is it do? it exactly is it? what is it do? it basically makes recommendations to government around the pay of nurses

and allied professions. the way it works, the interesting thing for your viewers, works, the interesting thing for yourviewers, is works, the interesting thing for your viewers, is it is an independent body and it fiercely guards its independence and takes evidence from government, trade unions, otherstakeholders, evidence from government, trade unions, other stakeholders, and then comes to a judgment about what the right recommendation is. i think the problem with the current situation... i havejust listened to some of the feedback from nurses, is that it took the decision last year based on evidence that it received around february time, and the world has moved on a little bit since then. , ., has moved on a little bit since then. ,, ,, has moved on a little bit since then. i. ,, ., then. do you think that the review body needs _ then. do you think that the review body needs to _ then. do you think that the review body needs to change _ then. do you think that the review body needs to change its - body needs to change its recommendations? do they need to be updated? i recommendations? do they need to be u dated? ., �* recommendations? do they need to be udated? ., �* ~' recommendations? do they need to be udated? ., �* ,, . ., updated? i don't think it can change because that _ updated? i don't think it can change because that is _ updated? i don't think it can change because that is actually _ updated? i don't think it can change because that is actually dangerous l because that is actually dangerous for trade unions as well as war government. —— for government. but

what i think government could do and trade unions could accept if everybody is looking for a reasonable way out is for the government to say to the review body, let's do your next report as quickly as you possibly can and in doing that report, take account of any new evidence you might have received after you made your recommendations last year. a sort of inherent catch up, if you like. hagar inherent catch up, if you like. how did the body _ inherent catch up, if you like. how did the body reaches —— reach its recommendations, talk me through that process? it recommendations, talk me through that process?— that process? it receives written evidence from — that process? it receives written evidence from everybody - that process? it receives written evidence from everybody first i that process? it receives written l evidence from everybody first and that process? it receives written i evidence from everybody first and it is notjust written evidence about affordability, although that is a keyissue, affordability, although that is a key issue, it is about motivation, retention, recruitment it is about career paths, training, etc. and thenit career paths, training, etc. and then it cross—examined, if you like, then it cross—examined, if you like, the people who have sent in evidence, government ministers and trading officials, and then it sits

in a closed room and comes to an independentjudgment based on all those facts and it is a judgment. there is no absolute science in it was a bit is a judgment but it is a judgment that some very experienced people are making. find judgment that some very experienced people are making-— people are making. and we are heafina people are making. and we are hearing from — people are making. and we are hearing from the _ people are making. and we are hearing from the government l people are making. and we are - hearing from the government today, we have heard from steve barclay, do you think it is rightly government is still pointing to your recommendations... the recommendations... the recommendations any past, even though so much has changed? i think that is riaht though so much has changed? i think that is right in _ though so much has changed? i think that is right in principle _ though so much has changed? i think that is right in principle but _ though so much has changed? i think that is right in principle but that - that is right in principle but that is why the suggestion i have made for a way out for both parties comes into play. it would be dangerous and wrong to reopen last year's deal but it can basically be wrapped into a new dealfor it can basically be wrapped into a new deal for nurses based on a new pay review body report, which may or may not agree with the trade unions, of course. it may or may not agree

with government, i don't know. but it would come to a conclusion quickly and i think that would have the respect of the public, which is important and hopefully the respect of employers and employees within the health service.— of employers and employees within the health service. looking forward, we have got — the health service. looking forward, we have got so _ the health service. looking forward, we have got so many _ the health service. looking forward, we have got so many nurses - the health service. looking forward, we have got so many nurses out - the health service. looking forward, | we have got so many nurses out and about today on the picket line, a lot of people's health could be affected by this. people might not be able to make it to hospital today, so what do you think is the way out of this?— way out of this? that is what you have said is _ way out of this? that is what you have said is so _ way out of this? that is what you have said is so important - way out of this? that is what you have said is so important that. have said is so important that people's personal lives are being disrupted, they are in pain, their treatment is being delayed and that is why both parties need to find a fair way out and the review body as an independent organisation is the route to finding that way out. may be asking them as i said to look again at the evidence they got last year but to come up with fresh recommendations for the future year

which hopefully would be acceptable to all parties. which hopefully would be acceptable to all parties-— to all parties. thank you very much for 'oinin: to all parties. thank you very much forjoining us. _ to all parties. thank you very much forjoining us, the _ to all parties. thank you very much forjoining us, the former - to all parties. thank you very much forjoining us, the former chair - to all parties. thank you very much forjoining us, the former chair of l forjoining us, the former chair of the nhs pay body review speaking to us. the final three episodes of the documentry series 'harry and meghan' have been released on netflix. the duchess of sussex's mother, doria ragland, says at one point that meghan wanted to take her own life to escape what she called "vultures." and prince harry describes being terrified of his brother screaming at him, during a meeting at sandringham in 2020 to discuss harry and meghan's wish to be half in and half out of the royal family. there's been no comment from buckingham palace. 0ur royal correspondent, sarah campbell, has been watching. three more episodes starting in may 2018, when millions around the world thought they were watching a real—life fairy tale but within a few months, meghan said she was feeling suicidal. mi few months, meghan said she was feeling suicidal.— feeling suicidal. all of this. if i am not here. _

feeling suicidal. all of this. if i am not here. and _ feeling suicidal. all of this. if i am not here. and that - feeling suicidal. all of this. if i am not here. and that was - feeling suicidal. all of this. if i j am not here. and that was the scariest thing about it. it was such clear thinking. scariest thing about it. it was such clearthinking. i scariest thing about it. it was such clear thinking.— clear thinking. i remember her tellin: clear thinking. i remember her telling me _ clear thinking. i remember her telling me that _ clear thinking. i remember her telling me that she _ clear thinking. i remember her telling me that she wanted - clear thinking. i remember her telling me that she wanted to l clear thinking. i remember her - telling me that she wanted to take her own— telling me that she wanted to take her own life and... and that really broke _ her own life and... and that really broke my— her own life and... and that really broke my heart. the her own life and. .. and that really broke my heart.— her own life and... and that really broke my heart. her own life and... and that really broke m heart. . ., , ., broke my heart. the couple needed an esca -e broke my heart. the couple needed an escape plan- — broke my heart. the couple needed an escape plan- it— broke my heart. the couple needed an escape plan- it was— broke my heart. the couple needed an escape plan. it was forged _ broke my heart. the couple needed an escape plan. it was forged during - escape plan. it was forged during christmas 2019 in canada. they wanted to leave the uk, carry out duties on behalf of the queen abroad and earn their own money. you could breathe for — and earn their own money. you could breathe for a — and earn their own money. you could breathe for a minute. _ and earn their own money. you could breathe for a minute. prince - and earn their own money. you could breathe for a minute. prince harry i breathe for a minute. prince harry arrived in sandringham _ breathe for a minute. prince harry arrived in sandringham to - breathe for a minute. prince harry arrived in sandringham to fresh i breathe for a minute. prince harryl arrived in sandringham to fresh out the details with his brother, father and the late queen. it the details with his brother, father and the late queen.— and the late queen. it was terrifying _ and the late queen. it was terrifying to _ and the late queen. it was terrifying to have - and the late queen. it was terrifying to have my - and the late queen. it was i terrifying to have my brother and the late queen. it was - terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that suggest —— just simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in. but you have to understand that from the family perspective,

especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate sort of mission goal, responsibility, is the institution. behind palace walls, it appeared family relations were at rock bottom and harry says the row —— royal press offices were leaking and planting stories including prince william's team. i planting stories including prince william's team.— planting stories including prince william's team. i would father -- far rather get _ william's team. i would father -- far rather get destroyed - william's team. i would father -- far rather get destroyed in - william's team. i would father -- far rather get destroyed in the i far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or this business of trading. and to see my brother's office copy the very same thing that we promise the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking. the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking.— two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan was rejected — was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan was rejected and _ was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan was rejected and in _ was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan was rejected and in march _ was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan was rejected and in march 2020, - was heartbreaking. the sussex's plan| was rejected and in march 2020, they attended their final engagement as senior royals. i attended their final engagement as senior royals-— senior royals. i felt really distant from the rest _ senior royals. i felt really distant from the rest of _ senior royals. i felt really distant from the rest of my _ senior royals. i felt really distant from the rest of my family, - senior royals. i felt really distant| from the rest of my family, which was interesting because so much of how they operate is about what it looks like, rather than what it feels like. and it looked cold. but

it also felt cold. when you try to prove _ it also felt cold. when you try to prove that — it also felt cold. when you try to prove that you are good and you are not the _ prove that you are good and you are not the person they say you are... harry— not the person they say you are... harry and — not the person they say you are... harry and meghan have now made a life in california.— harry and meghan have now made a life in california. home sweet home. from the palace _ life in california. home sweet home. from the palace and _ life in california. home sweet home. from the palace and the _ life in california. home sweet home. from the palace and the royal - from the palace and the royal family, there has been no comment. we have made it to the other side. sarah campbell, bbc news. scotland's deputy first minister is about to set out his government's budget for the forthcoming year. higher than expected pay deals have already affected the scottish government budget for this year with ministers making cuts to balance the books. how significant is the statement expected to be today? i how significant is the statement expected to be today?— how significant is the statement expected to be today? i think we are auoin to expected to be today? i think we are going to see — expected to be today? i think we are going to see some _ expected to be today? i think we are going to see some pretty _ expected to be today? i think we are going to see some pretty significant| going to see some pretty significant announcements today. john swinney

will stand up in the chamber in the next couple of minutes and talk about that squeeze on the government budget, about what he is calling a relentless read prioritisation in public services, read into that the question of where they might be cuts going forward, he has already said that tackling child poverty will remain a priority, as well protecting core public services and the transition to a more green economy. but i think there is going to be some significant announcements to be some significant announcements to do with taxes. expect to see the threshold of the top rate of tax to be reduced from 150,000 to 125,000. that'll bring it in line with the rest of the uk and that was announced of course by the chancellor in his autumn statement. there may also be, the bbc understands, some changes to the income tax rates paid by the higher rate taxpayers in scotland. we think that might go from 46... the top

rate from 46 to 47p at the higher rate from 46 to 47p at the higher rate from 46 to 47p at the higher rate from mp to rate from 46 to mp at the higher rate from mp to a2p in the pound. everybody earning over £43,000 in scotland at the moment pays that higher rate of tax, we are talking about upwards of 300,000 people in scotland who are going to see that they are going to be paying more tax in the next financial year and paying more tax than people in the rest of the united kingdom. this will be a move that will be welcomed by anti—poverty campaigners and unions, they have been calling for this for the higher rates of income tax in scotland to increase, some business groups though do have concerns. they say it will affect the competitiveness of people in scotland, attracting the best staff, jobs, if they realise they have to pay more tax than they would elsewhere. and the conservatives say that they have concerns about this

tax differential in scotland, compared to the rest of the uk. john swinney expected to make some significant announcements in terms of the income tax bands in scotland. we expect the basic rate of tax to stay the same. first minister nicholas sturgeon has previously said that needs to be protected because of that cost of living crisis —— nicola sturgeon. it would have significant consequences if it was changed. they expect that to day the same for at the higher rate, we expect that to change and what is not yet clear is whatjohn swinney has called a relentless read prioritisation, what will be announced in terms of cuts to public services we have a ready season pretty hefty cuts announced to the budget this year in scotland and what he is going to announce today is what happens next year and just as household budgets are being affected by inflation and rising costs, so too is the government

budget as well. they have settled some pay disputes in scotland, but some pay disputes in scotland, but some are still ongoing. we have heard today that ambulance drivers have rejected the offer from the scottish government, teachers are in dispute, there was a nationwide strike a couple of weeks ago, we are expecting more nationwide strikes january onwards. he has some very difficult pay negotiations he is trying to resolve alongside the local government negotiating body in scotland, that is also putting pressure on those government budgets and what the government has to do is as well as find areas to cut, is to try and find areas to raise money. but as expected —— if as expected he raises the income tax bands, that is a way to get more money into the coffers to try and ease the pressures going forward. you were 'ust talkin: pressures going forward. you were just talking about _ pressures going forward. you were just talking about the _ pressures going forward. you were just talking about the strikes - pressures going forward. you were just talking about the strikes that i just talking about the strikes that are going on today. in england, wales, northern ireland, we are

still seeing the strikes, nurses striking, but the scottish government had agreed to pay up. how is that going to play into this budget? is that going to play into this bud . et? , . is that going to play into this budaet? , ., .,' ., budget? there is an offer on the table. i budget? there is an offer on the table- i am _ budget? there is an offer on the table. i am not— budget? there is an offer on the table. i am not sure _ budget? there is an offer on the table. i am not sure it _ budget? there is an offer on the table. i am not sure it has - budget? there is an offer on the table. i am not sure it has yet i budget? there is an offer on the i table. i am not sure it has yet been resolved, in terms of the nhs negotiations, but nurses are not on strike here in scotland but they do have other areas where there are disputes ongoing, where there are a demands by staff, saying, why should we take the hit when inflation is running so high? i think the scottish government is sympathetic to the demands being made but they are saying, we have a limited part that we can work with, but what today shows is that they do have wiggle room in terms of raising taxes at the start of each financial year and it looks as if that is what they have decided to do. it is a

difficult decision. it is not a christmas present, the middle classes, the people affected by this, would want, because if currently you are earning over £50,000 in scotland, you pay about one and a half thousand pounds more in tax than you would if you earned a similaramount of in tax than you would if you earned a similar amount of money elsewhere in the uk. 0f a similar amount of money elsewhere in the uk. of course, because of the changes we are expecting john swinney to announce today, that differential will increase but they will say that they have to protect those who have been hardest hit by the cost of living crisis and who are on the lowest salaries, so a difficult decision i think the scottish government would say but when i think they will argue they have no choice but to make. taste when i think they will argue they have no choice but to make. we are still waiting — have no choice but to make. we are still waiting for _ have no choice but to make. we are still waiting forjohn _ have no choice but to make. we are still waiting forjohn swinney - have no choice but to make. we are still waiting forjohn swinney to - still waiting forjohn swinney to speak, we arejust still waiting forjohn swinney to speak, we are just keeping across that and we will bring you that as soon as we get it, but if we do see

changes here, do you think this is going to signalfurther changes here, do you think this is going to signal further divergences of the scottish and english tax systems? of the scottish and english tax s stems? ~ , , ,., systems? absolutely. this is a significant _ systems? absolutely. this is a significant divergences. - systems? absolutely. this is a significant divergences. you i systems? absolutely. this is a l significant divergences. you will see the threshold at the top b brought down to be in line with the rest of the uk and that was announced byjeremy hunt in his autumn statement but there are already slight changes in terms of the top rate and the bands and the thresholds for the bands elsewhere in the system but you are talking the higher rate taxpayer at the moment you would have to hit 50,000 and that would be set at 40%. at the moment, it is 41% in scotland. and you would pay it if you earned a little over 43,000. but we expect him to say it is going to go up from mp in the pound to 42p in terms of

that higher rate of income tax. the threshold is lower, the rate is already higher, we are expected to go already higher, we are expected to 9° up already higher, we are expected to go up higher still. there is divergence and increasing divergence, a distinctive system here, these tax—raising and tax lowering powers available to the scottish government inserting tax areas, including today, most significantly income tax. i think the scottish government would argue that this ability to be distinctive and take a different part is important and of course the snp alongside the scottish greens in power with them in edinburgh would argue they would like to go even further and their argument would be that only independence would deliver that. you will see the divergence in tax bands and tax _ you will see the divergence in tax bands and tax thresholds, - you will see the divergence in tax bands and tax thresholds, but - bands and tax thresholds, but business groups are wary, they have concerns and of course the scottish

conservatives have concerns as well. 0k, thank you very much, lorna gordon reporting there for us. we will bring you that statement by scotland's deputy first minister john swinney as soon as that happens. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello. it looks like by the end of the weekend we will see an end to this cold snap, things eventually turning milder, particularly by sunday, but for here and now plenty more cold weather, icy stretches and lying snow, more wind across northern scotland, three patches forming for central and southern england as well and another bitterly cold night with temperatures down to -6 cold night with temperatures down to —6 or minus eight degrees, even in some of our towns and go in the countryside. 0n some of our towns and go in the countryside. on friday our attention turns to this area is no initially working across western scotland, heading east, could be quite disruptive, forming patches of rain around the west coast, but inland certainly falling as heavy snow, when she flurries for northern

ireland, england and wales looking predominantly dry, still very cold during friday and then overnight into saturday we will continue to see snow flurries across scotland, pushing into northern england as well, 5—20 centimetres of snow through central scotland and another a cold start to the weekend. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: iam i am frankie mccamley. tens of thousands of nurses across england, wales and northern ireland are taking part in industrial action, in what they're calling a "last resort" strike over pay — asking for a rise of up to 19%. but health bosses say they don't have room to negotiate. it has got to be reasonable and i think asking for 19% at a time when many viewers are facing significant cost cost of living pressures is not

affordable, given the situation of the economy faces. the latest episodes of the harry and meghan series have landed — with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. it was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply were not true at my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in. interest rates have gone up again — by half a percentage point as the bank of england tries to curb inflation. income tax rates for higher earners are expected to be increased in scotland for the next financial year. we'll be live for a budget statement by the deputy first minister of scotland john swinney shortly. sport now... and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's... this is huge in the sports centre. —— this is hugh. good afternoon. france manager didier deschamps has a day less to prepare

for the world cup final than their opponents, argentina, and it seems he'll spend a lot of that time finding a way to stop lionel messi. france made their second final in a row, which will offer them a chance to become the first back—to—back world champions since brazil 60 years ago. brazil 60 years ago, thanks to their 2—0 win over morocco in qatar. and now deschamps has the prospect of trying to prevent messi — a player he says is in scintillating form — cementing his legacy and adding weight to the argument the forward is the best of all time. bbc pundit danny murphy says there are other players on both sides who are also worth paying attention to. alvarez paying attention to. has really come to the fore. he alvarez has really come to the fore. he has shown us some magical moments of self and obviously i think it's work is incredible, he is scoring goals as well. and we saw in the england game that we kept a mbappe quiet and they still beat us. no, deserves great credit for it. his professionalism and his quality to be coming in at that last minute where he thought he wasn't going to be playing and do what he has done... but done belly as well is a

wonderful talent who can really cause you problems and grisman, i have to say, his tournament has been nothing short of phenomenal. a key legal opinion has backed uefa and fifa's right to block competitions like the european super league, saying their decision to do so last year was compatible with eu law. three clubs — barcelona, real madrid and juventus — claimed the two governing bodies were abusing their power to stop and then sanction those clubs involved in the super league, which included the premier league's so—called big six. but the opinion from the european court ofjustice, even though it's non—binding before a final verdict is delivered next year, is indeed a blow to their attempts to resurrect the competition. the return of the scottish premiership tonight brings michael beale's first game in charge of rangers. they play hibs, with the new manager finally seeing his team compete after more than a fortnight of having to wait for the season to resume. beale was previously one of the coaches at the glasgow club, when steven gerrard was manager. i think we're ready to go. i think the last two weeks have been a lot of frustration that we've waited for it, certainly on my part, as well.

i think if you asked every manager, we'd all want more time on the training pitch and more time with the group. but, on a personal level, i feel overly ready. i think it's going to be a hugely proud moment for me, but it's more important that the fans and the players are aligned and we put on a strong performance at home at ibrox. tennis legend boris becker has been freed from a uk prison after serving just eight months of a two and a half year sentence. and the pa news agency says he'll now be deported. the three—time wimbledon champion was jailed for hiding £2.5 million of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts. becker was declared bankrupt in 2017 — owing creditors almost £50 million. the 55—year—old german has lived in the uk for ten years, having retired from playing in 1999. england all—rounder freya kemp will miss the 2023 women's t20 world cup in feburary because of a stress fracture of the back. the 17—year—old was ruled out of england's tour of the west indies with back pain on saturday and then returned home to have further scans. there's been no return date set for kemp, who joined fellow teenager

alice capsey in coming home from the caribbean through injury. scottish rugby have announced the 28 players that have been given the country's first professional women's contract, joining other home nations in offering full—time deals to the women's players. they are for 11 months and include all but seven of the players are in the scotland squad for this year's world cup, with captain rachael malcolm saying this is a historic and incredibly exciting day for scottish rugby and the women's programme. that's all the sport for now. that is it for now, back to you, frankie mccamley. thank you, speak in a bit. a rescue operation is continuing in the english channel for people a rescue operation a who are still missing, after a boat carrying migrants capsized in the early hours of yesterday morning. crews on a nearby fishing boat

rescued 39 people from the freezing water; 4 are confirmed as having died. earlier a spokesman from the royal national life institute gave this statement. that institute gave this statement. git this moment in time, our thoughts are with the families of the loved ones who sadly lost their lives and yesterday's tragic incident in the english channel. in the very early hours of the 14th of december his majesty's coastguard task r to our made up of volunteers and staff, from dungeness, ramsgate and dover to an incident in which a small inflatable boats crossing the channel got into difficulties. 0n channel got into difficulties. on arrival, crews were faced with a harrowing situation of people distressed and in the water. at this point, the rnli would wish to recognise the invaluable life—saving contribution of the uk fishing vessels on scene, whose immediate action is undoubtedly saved countless lives. the rnli crew is then carried out a rescue of a number of people and returned him to the emergency services at dover, before subsequently being re—tasked to continue with the search and

rescue operation in the channel. the rnli exists to save lives at sea. yesterday saw our crews do all they could to prevent people from drowning. sadly, it has been confirmed that four people have lost their lives. such is continued throughout yesterday and all of the lifeboat crews from dungeness, ramsgate, doverand lifeboat crews from dungeness, ramsgate, dover and hastings is also inshore lifeboat crews from warmer lifeboat station. the rnli contribution was part of a multi—agency rescue search and search and rescue operation with other emergency services and to search and rescue assets, all under the coordination of his majesty's coastguard. we are grateful beyond words for the selfless dedication of our crews, howeverthis words for the selfless dedication of our crews, however this is a stark reminder of how dangerous this stretch of water can be. in recent months, rnli crews have undergone additional training and this has been provided with specialist equipment in preparations for incidents such as this. whilst we hope that such an incident would

never happen, we have always known that it might. as a charity, we are incredibly proud of the work we do to save lives at sea. we do not judge anyone who we rescue or how they came to be in the water. we thank our crews for their continued dedication and commitment to the cause of saving lives at sea. thank you. cause of saving lives at sea. thank ou. ., ., , ,, ., cause of saving lives at sea. thank ou. ., ,, ., ., ., you. that was simon ling, head of lifeboats for _ you. that was simon ling, head of lifeboats for the _ you. that was simon ling, head of lifeboats for the rnli. _ more than 100 schools have closed in aberdeenshire, as temperatures across the uk have plummeted. teams of engineers have arrived in shetland to help reconnect more than 2000 homes and businesses, which are still without power. heavy snow storms hit electricity supplies — some properties are now on their fourth day without power, and there are warnings it could be the weekend before all of them are back to normal. kevin keane reports. a welcome sight as teams arrive from aberdeen to help local engineers restore shetland's power. they came, too, by plane

and by helicopter, bringing notjust the expertise, but equipment and vital new electricity poles. in voe, in the north mainland, the damage is widespread, the accumulations of heavy snow and ice pulling down the wires. in the last 24 hours, a generator arrived to bring heat to the village hall. it's providing a warm space for people to come to, as well as hot food and drink. i definitely am aware of quite a few folk that have actually been going without any heating or ability to make hot food or drink, so i think it will be welcomed. we've had local residents have been providing that service just from their own house, but now we can do that from a community facility. it's been very cold, and we've gotten to the stage where we are wearing, like, three tops each, and two pairs of socks, and we can see our breath in the house now, so it's getting really cold. so, it's fine to be in this kind of warm space, evenjust for a start. while reinforcements have arrived, the power company says restoring supplies will be a slow process. the challenge has been, the line incident happened so quick.

matter of three hours. the weight of the lying ice overloaded various components on our network and caused wires to break and poles to break. the snow and wind is still making it hard for energy companies. perhaps the sheltering birds here have the right idea. kevin keane, bbc news. ambulance workers who helped with the rescue of four boys from an icy lake in solihull have laid a wreath near the scene. it was announced last night that the youngest of the boys, who was six, had also died. the leader of the local council has today issued a warning for people to stay off ice—covered water, following more reports of children playing on frozen lakes and ponds. from solihull, duncan kennedy reports. these are some of the ambulance workers who desperately tried to save the four boys. their skills and compassion put to the ultimate test. today they came to pay their respects and reflect

on an experience that even these professionals have found deeply distressing. we are all human. nobody comes to work to perform advance care on four children that have drowned in a lake. so, it's a very difficult moment for them professionally. news that the fourth boy, a six—year—old, had also died, has sent another jolt of sadness through this community. it comes as the local council has received reports that children in other locations have been seen playing on frozen water in recent days. something that brought this passionate plea. the loss of a child is a life sentence. those of us who have suffered it know you never get over it. please stay off ice. that morning comes as many parents continue to bring their children here as a mark of sorrow cover. their children here

as a mark of sorrow. a vigil is to be held at this spot on saturday, which is expected to attract many local people. inquests into the deaths of the boys will be opened as the police investigation into what happened continues. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in solihull. boris becker has been freed from prison after just boris becker has been freed from prison afterjust eight months in prison afterjust eight months in prison under the insolvency act. he now faces deportation from the uk, as he does not have british citizenship. the three times world champion, who is german, was jailed in aprilfor 2.5 years champion, who is german, was jailed in april for 2.5 years after hiding assets and loans to avoid paying world debts. the former world number one tennis player and bbc commentator was declared bankrupt in 2017, owing 50 million.

china has threatened britain with what it's called strong and forceful counter—measures, accusing it of failing to protect chinese staff at its consulate in manchester during a protest that turned violent in october. on wednesday, china withdrew its consul general and five other diplomats wanted for questioning by british police about the assault of an anti—china protester. they had lands on bbc news... tens of thousands of nurses are calling for more strike action are say asking for up to a pay rise of “p say asking for up to a pay rise of up to 19%. the last episode has been released on netflix of the harry and meghan tv series, amid claims of a screaming rows with the royal family. and the tax bands for the highest earners in scotland are set to be raised in the coming year. we will go live to a statement from the

deputy first minister of scotland, john swinney, shortly. the cold snap is of course presenting huge challenges for elderly people. bbc london has been out with age uk and a special team who visit people in their homes who've recently been discharged from hospital. guy lynn reports. carol, pass me the key through the letterbox. one of the first problems faced by age uk isjust getting in. carol can't open her door from the inside, so we'rejust trying to get the key safe number so we can kind of get in to her to make sure she's safe. hi carol. thankfully her carer is nearby and kate can get in to chat to carol. do you need me to do some shopping or what do you need doing? she's just back from hospital after a nasty fall and is one of many being helped daily by the charity. its advice? any tasks and just being a friendly face if you don't have family nearby. you can't give me what i want, can you?

what is that? can you make miracles. what's the miracle? tell me what the miracle is. bring him back to me. i can't do that, carol. if i could bring people back to life, that would be amazing, wouldn't it? hi, violet. how are you? the cold weather is taking a toll. and violet, who's been increasingly bedbound after a spell in hospital, is feeling positive, but struggling with the cold weather. at night, you see, we have all this heating off. of course. yeah, so leave it on as long as possible. the cold weather puts massive pressures on us and our service because there's more people likely to fall. there's more likely to have people coming in with chest infections and other infections due to the cold weather. it's notjust the conditions. age uk told us that there just aren't enough people doing this job, like social care generally. it's a vital service in these cold and challenging times. guy lynn, bbc london.

just an update, if you were expecting to watch the scottish budget statement, the presiding officer of the scottish parliament, alison johnstone, officer of the scottish parliament, alisonjohnstone, has delayed the presentation of the budget while she investigates a leak of information investigates a leak of information in the statement. she said she was suspending the setting for 30 minutes for further examination of that matter. there was a series of complaints from opposing parties during the session about stories being briefed to the media in advance, so we will bring that statement when we do get it, but like i say it been delayed. for all its recent success, south korea has a dire record on women's rights. it has the worst gender pay gap of any wealthy nation and men dominate its boardrooms and politics. but rather than promising to tackle the issue, south korea's new president wants to close its ministry for gender equality, leaving women fearing they could be about to lose their hard—fought gains. 0ur seoul correspondent, jean mackenzie, has sent this report — there are details that some viewers

may find distressing. shouting. women in south korea are angry. the new president here has claimed structural sexism is a thing of the past. but you need only scratch the surface... ..to reveal shocking discrimination. when yuna started herjob as a clerk at a major bank, she was told to make the lunch and wash the hand towels in the men's bathroom. translation: they said this fell to me, as the newest female member of staff. i said, "wouldn't it be better for the men to wash "the towels in their bathroom?" and my boss said, "how can you tell men to wash towels?" i politely said, "no", but my boss got very angry and started to torment me. south korea has the worst gender

pay gap of all wealthy nations. but rather than promise to fix this, the president has courted young men, who feel they're being disadvantaged by recent attempts to improve women's lives. "abolish the gender equality ministry," they shout here. the ministry supports women and those who've been sexually assaulted. and the president has agreed to close it. ana was raped by her professor at college. she credits the gender equality ministry with saving her life. translation: i went to a hospital, which was supposed to support - victims of crime. the doctor there heard my case and said i was delusional. it was heartbreaking. five months later,

i tried to kill myself. the gender equality ministry stepped in. it found her a place in a shelter and supported her to pursue a successful prosecution. ana is now fighting, along with more than 800 organisations, to save the ministry. for months i've been asking to interview the gender equality minister, but they've refused to sit down with us. and can i just... do you agree with the president that there is no structural sexism in korea? "there needs to be more women in politics and we must close the gender pay gap," she says. she goes on to explain how the current services will be protected. but what about all the progress still to be made? that's what women

are now worried about. how can korea fix a problem it won't even acknowledge? jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. drones are being used to scan the area of kent across the channel where a boat full of people drowned yesterday. let's go live to natalie roberts, executive of msf uk, who joins us now. thank you very much forjoining us. the freezing weather is not putting us off, people often crossing the channel because i know, it isn't, whichjust crossing the channel because i know, it isn't, which just shows how desperate people are.- it isn't, which just shows how desperate people are. there are no safe routes — desperate people are. there are no safe routes to _ desperate people are. there are no safe routes to get _ desperate people are. there are no safe routes to get to _ desperate people are. there are no safe routes to get to the _ desperate people are. there are no safe routes to get to the uk - desperate people are. there are no safe routes to get to the uk to - safe routes to get to the uk to claim asylum, and therefore people are being forced into ever more dangerous journeys and this is an extremely dangerous journey, the

freezing conditions, even if it was warm weather, this is an incredibly risky route for people to take in small boats just to get to the uk. and with this situation, what we know so far about how people went there and what happened? irate know so far about how people went there and what happened? we don't know many details, _ there and what happened? we don't know many details, we _ there and what happened? we don't know many details, we know - there and what happened? we don't know many details, we know if - there and what happened? we don't| know many details, we know if there was a small boats containing at least 50 people, they managed to get a certain way across the channel, but were shipwrecked, they managed to make some phone calls in distress and at least four people have lost their lives and there is the potential other people have lost their lives in the process, while others were then rescued. right now the uk is taking _ others were then rescued. right now the uk is taking quite _ others were then rescued. right now the uk is taking quite a _ others were then rescued. right now the uk is taking quite a hard - others were then rescued. right now the uk is taking quite a hard line - the uk is taking quite a hard line approach, isn't it? what do you think of that, is it working, it is clearly not working. it think of that, is it working, it is clearly not working.— think of that, is it working, it is clearly not working. it hasn't been workin: clearly not working. it hasn't been working on — clearly not working. it hasn't been working on even _ clearly not working. it hasn't been working on even the _ clearly not working. it hasn't been working on even the uk _ clearly not working. it hasn't been i working on even the uk government clearly not working. it hasn't been - working on even the uk government on their own research proves this doesn't work. forcing people into taking ever riskier routes to get here, closing down all the other options they have, there literally is no safe way for people to get to the uk to claim asylum in the first

place. we do know that once people get here and they claim asylum, often their claims are successful, so his rhetoric of these people being illegal isjust, itjust doesn't work and i think the deterrent policies of the uk do not work and at the same time they are risking people's lives and we are seeing deaths as a result. but --eole seeing deaths as a result. but people are — seeing deaths as a result. but people are still _ seeing deaths as a result. but people are still clearly trying to get to the uk, but then once they get to the uk, but then once they get to the uk, but then once they get to the uk there are absolutely squalid conditions they face and thatis squalid conditions they face and that is not putting them off either. no, absolutely not. essentially, thisjust no, absolutely not. essentially, this just shows how desperate they are, but they are willing to get in this type of small boat in this type of weather, they are willing to take those risks, once they arrive they are put in places like manston centre, where we saw last month an outbreak of diphtheria, they are being kept in squalid conditions, not being moved into the asylum system and then even once they enter the asylum system they are kept waiting for huge long periods of time without being able to process their claim and again in squalid

conditions and there is absolutely no reason for that because in the end once they do get through the system many of them are granted asylum. d0 system many of them are granted as lum. ,, asylum. do you think the government should be focusing _ asylum. do you think the government should be focusing on _ asylum. do you think the government should be focusing on those bringing| should be focusing on those bringing them over, rather than the migrants themselves? what do you think about that approach? i themselves? what do you think about that approach?— that approach? i think it is not a realistic approach _ that approach? i think it is not a realistic approach to _ that approach? i think it is not a realistic approach to stop - that approach? i think it is not a realistic approach to stop this i realistic approach to stop this happening. there is lots of rhetoric around this idea that more people are coming. i don't think there is much evidence that more people are coming. ithink much evidence that more people are coming. i think there is more evidence that people have no other way to come here and so they are forced to pay people smugglers, they are forced to take the small boats. in the end, there's not much point focusing on the people smugglers to close down that option, people will just find another way to come. the only real solution here is to look again at the asylum system and think about processing claims may be in france or in other countries to allow people to access the asylum system without having to take these dangerous journeys. system without having to take these dangerousjourneys. i}i(. system without having to take these dangerous journeys.— dangerous 'ourneys. 0k, thank you ve dangerous journeys. 0k, thank you very much- — dangerous journeys. 0k, thank you very much- dr— dangerous journeys. 0k, thank you very much. dr natalie _ dangerous journeys. 0k, thank you very much. dr natalie roberts, -

dangerous journeys. 0k, thank you very much. dr natalie roberts, thej very much. dr natalie roberts, the executive director of doctors without borders. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah. hello. the cold snap is set to continue for a few more days, last night seeing some places seeing the coldest in a decade. this was the picture in tunbridge wells on thursday morning, lots of clear skies through the day and into the evening as well as over the next few days more sunny areas, snow on parts of scotland. into the evening, once the sun sets it will turn cold quite quickly, so this is 6pm in the evening, if you are heading away from work temperature is already below freezing for many of us, more showers and snowy showers because parts of scotland and also for south—east england, one or to cross the coast of norfolk and the irish sea. most of us seeing a very cold night, temperature is down to minus eight degrees, but some dense freezing fog in central and eastern england and then this area snow moving in across scotland. that is potentially going to be quite heavy

through friday morning initially for the western isles, the likes of argyll, heading through the central belt through the middle of the day. wintry flurries for northern ireland as well, but for much of england and wales it stays clear and dry, but for scotland there could be 5—20 centimetres of snow falling, merely of the higher ground, but even at low levels that could cause some disruption. into saturday, that brand of sleet and snow showers push yourself into parts of england and wales, turning back to rain for some of us particularly at lower levels. a few more when she flurries across the west, temperature started to edge up a bit around 6 degrees for many of us and moving into the weekend, heading into sunday this area of rain and low pressure approaches from the south—west, not only bringing rain, but brisk winds and much milder air, only bringing rain, but brisk winds and much milderair, so only bringing rain, but brisk winds and much milder air, so a real change in weather type through the course of sunday. rain preceded by some snow across the south—west initially moving its way northwards and eastwards across the uk, so it is mainly going to be in the hills

and the north that we see heavy snowfall, quickly turning back to rain is that much milder air moves in and the wind is really picking up, so a very different feeling day. things turned significantly milder as we had through to monday, looking at mid—teens for many of us at temperatures just tee off a bit through the coming week, but check the latest details for where you live by downloading the bbc weather app, live by downloading the bbc weather app, which gives you a percentage chance of precipitation. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... tens of thousands of nurses across england, wales and northern ireland are taking part in industrial action, in what they're calling a 'last resort�* strike over pay, asking for a rise of up to 19%. but health bosses say they don't have room to negotiate. it has got to be reasonable and i think asking for 19% at a time when many viewers are facing significant cost of living pressures is not affordable, given the situation we are facing. irate affordable, given the situation we are facina. ~ ., , ., affordable, given the situation we are facina. . ., , ., ., are facing. we are still waiting for the scottish _ are facing. we are still waiting for the scottish budget _ are facing. we are still waiting for the scottish budget and _ are facing. we are still waiting for the scottish budget and -- - are facing. we are still waiting for| the scottish budget and -- budget the scottish budget and —— budget statement. we'll be live for a budget statement by the deputy first minister of scotland john swinney shortly.

the latest episodes of the harry and meghan series have landed, with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. it was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in. interest rates have gone up again, by half a percentage point, as the bank of england tries to curb inflation. good afternoon. tens of thousands of nurses are on strike in a dispute about pay in the biggest action of its kind in nhs history. members of the royal college of nursing union want a 19% payrise. despite the walk out, nhs officials say it's vital that people come forward if they need emergency care.

in england, nursing staff from 51 hospitals, mental health trusts and community services are striking — that's about a quarter of trusts or services. but there is no strike action in kent, sussex, surrey, east yorkshire or lincolnshire. and none either in manchester, buckinghamshire, norfolk or suffolk. in wales, nurses from six out of its seven health boards are striking, while all trusts in northern ireland are involved in the action. as we've heard, no nurses in scotland are taking action today after two unions voted to accept an improved pay offer, but ballots for other union members are continuing. our health correspondent, catherine burns, has been talking to some nurses about why they've decided to strike. what do we want? a pay rise! how do we get it? strike! it started at 8am, the biggest strike in the history of the royal college of nursing. members across all of northern ireland, most of wales

and about a quarter of trusts in england left their day jobs for picket lines, many with mixed emotions. i feel it is a crying shame. it is really bad, i don't want to do this, my colleagues don't want to do this. today, i am emotional but i have been more emotional on my shifts. i didn't envisage it would ever come to this. i am not somebody that feels that this is what i am supposed to be doing. you know, myjob is in there. you're six weeks into this career. yes. you look like you are about to cry when you talk about how you are struggling. do you think you are going to stay in this job? not for much... well, i'm going to stick it out because i am a fighter. but i have already thought in three years' time can i see myself still here? probably not, no. the main reason is pay. starting salaries for nurses in england arejust over £27,000. that can go up to almost 55,000 for the most senior nurses. but the rcn says the average for an established nurse is closer to 32,000.

that is similar to average pay across the country. horns toot. there is quite a gulf between what they want on this picket line, a pay rise of inflation plus 5% which works out at 19%. and what ministers over in parliament think is fair. because if we are to afford a 19% pay rise, we can only do that either through borrowing which we saw the effects of government borrowing onlyjust a few weeks ago on the economy. either through taxation, and i don't think that's appropriate when people are struggling with the cost of living this winter. or taking that money from front—line services. it is too early to tell yet quite how much disruption this will cause. but we know patients have had operations and appointments cancelled. the rcn has this message for them. i am truly, truly sorry for you sitting on waiting lists year—on—year. and i'm very sorry if your treatment

has been cancelled today. but it is up to the employers to make sure that your treatment is rearranged as quickly as possible. nurses from some areas of medicine are not able to come out on strike today. chemotherapy, dialysis and intensive care are protected so staffed as normal. it is important to say if management inside hospitals are worried about life—or—death situations, they can speak to local strike committees and ask them to bring staff back off the picket lines and back into work. these conversations will be happening on a local level. so the picture will be different across the country. this is day one of the strike. another is planned for next week, with the chance for more in the new year if there is no progress. catherine burns, bbc news. the health secretary, steve barclay, has been speaking about this and how the government has responded to the pressure that the nhs is under. we recognise the pressure on the nhs from the pandemic and that is why

in the autumn statement we committed an extra £6.6 billion of extra funding to the nhs to target those waiting for operations and getting those lists down and we hugely value the work that nurses do and that is why we accepted in full the recommendations of the pay review body and last year, the rest of the public sector had a pay freeze and we recognise the extra contribution nurses had made. they received an extra 3% at a time when many of us did not. we recognise the work that nurses do. three quarters of trusts are not on strike today and we are hugely grateful to their contributions but in those trusts that are striking, nurses are still working and that is massively appreciated. some breaking news on strike action

going across the uk. strike action due to begin tomorrow at heathrow airport. that has been suspended following last—ditch peace talks. talks were held today between unite, the uk's biggest union and menzies, over a dispute on pay. we are told menzies made an improved pay offer during the talks and as a gesture of goodwill, unite has suspended strike action. just to repeat that, heathrow ground handlers, the strike that was due to start tomorrow, has been suspended, that is following last—ditch talks. returning now to the strikes that nurses are carrying out across the country. our correspondent howard johnson is at st thomas' hospital in london for us. he gave us an insight into the atmosphere on the picket line. it can be described as a carnival atmosphere. i have heard more than

200 homes honked from policemen, from bus drivers, lorry drivers, support here from the public is enormous and it is behind the star. there are around 200 striking nurses here and what we have seen as the day has gone on as the energy rises, one of the science behind me says national hell service, which is representative of what we have been curing from nurses today, that concert —— conditions are not good enough and pay is not good enough. we arejoined now enough and pay is not good enough. we are joined now by two more nurses, who are actually off—duty, so they are here to support striking colleagues. what do your signs say? my colleagues. what do your signs say? my sign says psl worth? mine colleagues. what do your signs say? my sign says psl worth?— my sign says psl worth? mine says, we do not my sign says psl worth? mine says, we do rrot want _ my sign says psl worth? mine says, we do not want claps. _ my sign says psl worth? mine says, we do not want claps. we _ my sign says psl worth? mine says, we do not want claps. we are - my sign says psl worth? mine says, we do not want claps. we are not i we do not want claps. we are not 'ust we do not want claps. we are not just nurses. _ we do not want claps. we are not just nurses. we — we do not want claps. we are not just nurses, we are _ we do not want claps. we are not just nurses, we are health - we do not want claps. we are not just nurses, we are health care i just nurses, we are health care assistants, _ just nurses, we are health care

assistants, housekeepers, we do a range _ assistants, housekeepers, we do a range of— assistants, housekeepers, we do a range of different things and we also are spending three years to qualify— also are spending three years to qualify and in those three years, we were on— qualify and in those three years, we were on placement full week, while studying. _ were on placement full week, while studying, and now we are trying to train _ studying, and now we are trying to train ourselves to get up the ladder _ train ourselves to get up the ladder. but actually, we cannot afford — ladder. but actually, we cannot afford to— ladder. but actually, we cannot afford to buy, we are renting in a difficult _ afford to buy, we are renting in a difficult market, as it is, and having — difficult market, as it is, and having maybe £600 left over for any other— having maybe £600 left over for any other activities. find having maybe £600 left over for any other activities.— other activities. and your sign references — other activities. and your sign references the _ other activities. and your sign references the clapping - other activities. and your sign references the clapping that l other activities. and your sign i references the clapping that took place during the pandemic. nhs staff were crucial in supporting people. how do you feel you have been dealt with subsequently? the how do you feel you have been dealt with subsequently?— with subsequently? the clapping at the time, it was _ with subsequently? the clapping at the time, it was nice _ with subsequently? the clapping at the time, it was nice to _ with subsequently? the clapping at the time, it was nice to know - with subsequently? the clapping at the time, it was nice to know we i with subsequently? the clapping at. the time, it was nice to know we had the time, it was nice to know we had the public— the time, it was nice to know we had the public support but itjust feels like kind _ the public support but itjust feels like kind of in the months since, it really— like kind of in the months since, it really indulged and i understand we are asking _ really indulged and i understand we are asking for a lot but actually all we — are asking for a lot but actually all we are — are asking for a lot but actually all we are asking is to be paid in line with — all we are asking is to be paid in line with inflation and i think that

me and _ line with inflation and i think that me and all— line with inflation and i think that me and all my colleagues and the people _ me and all my colleagues and the people who work so hard, it is hard to see _ people who work so hard, it is hard to see people we love leave the profession that they don't want to leave _ profession that they don't want to leave because they cannot deal with it any— leave because they cannot deal with it any more. i have friends who have ptsd _ it any more. i have friends who have ptsd from _ it any more. i have friends who have ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when _ ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when you _ ptsd from covid, the staffing levels when you get really sick patients and you — when you get really sick patients and you cannot give any care you want _ and you cannot give any care you want to _ and you cannot give any care you want to give them because you are stretched _ want to give them because you are stretched so thin. and it is going home _ stretched so thin. and it is going home and — stretched so thin. and it is going home and taking your work home with you. home and taking your work home with you i_ home and taking your work home with you lthinkm — home and taking your work home with you. ithink... it has home and taking your work home with you. i think... it has been years of relying _ you. i think... it has been years of relying on— you. i think... it has been years of relying on the _ you. i think... it has been years of relying on the goodwill of nurses and it— relying on the goodwill of nurses and it is— relying on the goodwill of nurses and it is getting to the point where we just— and it is getting to the point where we just have nothing left. we are tired _ we just have nothing left. we are tired and — we just have nothing left. we are tired and we are exhausted it is fair to— tired and we are exhausted it is fair to say, _ tired and we are exhausted it is fair to say, there has been huge public— fair to say, there has been huge public support today but the government saying it is unreasonable this 5%_ government saying it is unreasonable this 5% above inflation request for your pay — this 5% above inflation request for your pay. do this 596 above inflation request for our -a. ., your pay. do you find that confusing. _ your pay. do you find that confusing, the _ your pay. do you find that confusing, the fact - your pay. do you find that confusing, the fact that i your pay. do you find that - confusing, the fact that people are supporting you but the government are not listening to that? i supporting you but the government are not listening to that?— are not listening to that? i found it really difficult _ are not listening to that? i found it really difficult because - are not listening to that? i found it really difficult because boris i it really difficult because boris johnson — it really difficult because boris johnson actually came here and colleagues treated him and after

that, _ colleagues treated him and after that, i_ colleagues treated him and after that, i felt... colleagues treated him and after that, ifelt... i colleagues treated him and after that, i felt... i thought to myself, he is _ that, i felt... i thought to myself, he is going — that, i felt... i thought to myself, he is going to get it, he stayed here _ he is going to get it, he stayed here during covid and cut scene by the highest nurses and doctors and they treated him with amazing care and i_ they treated him with amazing care and l was _ they treated him with amazing care and i was heartbroken after covid to find out _ and i was heartbroken after covid to find out that he actually did not care and — find out that he actually did not care and it _ find out that he actually did not care and it was a shame because we do so _ care and it was a shame because we do so much — care and it was a shame because we do so much and in our department, we are such _ do so much and in our department, we are sucha— do so much and in our department, we are such a family and that is the thing _ are such a family and that is the thing that— are such a family and that is the thing that holds us and keeps us staying — thing that holds us and keeps us staying as — thing that holds us and keeps us staying as long as we do in a&e because — staying as long as we do in a&e because a&e is known for a high turnover— because a&e is known for a high turnover because it is a hard job but with— turnover because it is a hard job but with the increase of patients coming — but with the increase of patients coming in. — but with the increase of patients coming in, and the lack of care from the government, all we want to do is just _ the government, all we want to do is just... just _ the government, all we want to do is just... just pay us what we are worth — just... just pay us what we are worth we _ just... just pay us what we are worth. we are not asking for much. we might— worth. we are not asking for much. we might get better pay and sainsbury's. realistically, we are very qualified individuals and we are the — very qualified individuals and we are the ones who can run a cardiac arrest _ are the ones who can run a cardiac arrest without a doctor present if

needed — arrest without a doctor present if needed. ., ,., , ., needed. the government will say that it is an unreasonable _ needed. the government will say that it is an unreasonable request - it is an unreasonable request because they would have to borrow more or it would have to tax the people more. thank you for coming here today and showing your —— sharing your thoughts with us. this picket line will continue until atm tonight. the cold conditions have thawed somewhat. it is getting warmer. staff in loud voice, supporting their nursing colleagues up supporting their nursing colleagues up and down the country. our correspondent tomos morgan is on the picket line at university hospital wales in cardiff. the majority of nurses across the country are striking in wales today, six of the seven health boards, and they had been out since seven o'clock this morning. pay as we know is a big issue but actually another huge issue here from the nurses we have spoken to today is on staffing for in england, there has been a 21%... for in england, there has been a 2196... ~ ., , ., ., . .,

2196. .. we are 'ust going to cut out ofthat 2196. .. we are 'ust going to cut out of that now — 2196. .. we are just going to cut out of that now and _ 2196. .. we are just going to cut out of that now and cross _ 2196. .. we are just going to cut out of that now and cross live - 2196. .. we are just going to cut out of that now and cross live to - 2196. .. we are just going to cut outj of that now and cross live to holly, where alistair don ——... now we are looking atjohn swinney, who is speaking, delivering the budget. br; speaking, delivering the budget. el: the bbc in relation to the contents of the budget statement was the bbc are advising us the wedding settlement is to be increased from 4% to 6%. they are also advising that they could be £500 million extra for local government. it is clear there has been a comprehensive briefing from the government to the bbc are the contents of this budget. this is now beyond a joke. this is not the first time this government has been caught spreading information to the media. in advance of bringing it to parliament. disrespecting this parliament and its procedures. presiding officer, i would ask you if you were to consider what further action might be taken against the government to

allow this further information that has now come to light.— allow this further information that has now come to light. thank you, mr fraser. i think _ has now come to light. thank you, mr fraser. i think it _ has now come to light. thank you, mr fraser. i think it is _ has now come to light. thank you, mr fraser. i think it is extreme _ has now come to light. thank you, mr fraser. i think it is extreme the - fraser. i think it is extreme the important — fraser. i think it is extreme the important that we continue with the business _ important that we continue with the business in — important that we continue with the business in front of us, given the delay— business in front of us, given the delay that — business in front of us, given the delay that we have already experienced. i will look into the experienced. ! will look into the matter— experienced. ! will look into the matter is— experienced. i will look into the matter is that mr fraser has raised at a later— matter is that mr fraser has raised at a later point. the next item of business — at a later point. the next item of business is — at a later point. the next item of business is a statement byjohn swinney— business is a statement byjohn swinney on the scottish budget 2023 - 24~ _ swinney on the scottish budget 2023 - 24~ i_ swinney on the scottish budget 2023 - 24 i am _ swinney on the scottish budget 2023 — 24. i am simply not going to speak of members— — 24. i am simply not going to speak of members will not give me the courtesy— of members will not give me the courtesy and respect of the inquire twilight— courtesy and respect of the inquire twilight do so. each and every member— twilight do so. each and every member of this chamber deserves that courtesy— member of this chamber deserves that courtesy and respect. the cabinet secretary— courtesy and respect. the cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of— secretary will take questions at the end of the — secretary will take questions at the end of the statement and there should — end of the statement and there should be no interventions or interruptions and i call onjohn swinney — swinney. presiding officer, let me swrnney. — presiding officer, let me say openly to parliament what i have said to

you privately in the welcome conversation that we have had, that at no stage has anybody been authorised on my behalf to brief information... authorised on my behalf to brief information. . .— authorised on my behalf to brief information... , , ~ , , information... members. members, i think it is extremely _ information... members. members, i think it is extremely important - information... members. members, i think it is extremely important that i think it is extremely important that we hear— think it is extremely important that we hear one another.— we hear one another. presiding officer, we hear one another. presiding officer. let _ we hear one another. presiding officer, let me _ we hear one another. presiding officer, let me reiterate - we hear one another. presiding officer, let me reiterate what l we hear one another. presiding officer, let me reiterate what i | officer, let me reiterate what i have said to you privately, that at no stage has anybody been authorised to disclose any information that is contained within the budget statement, on my behalf at any time. there is inevitably... there is inevitably a large number of people that have to be involved in the preparation of a government statement, from the many officials that are involved, but across a whole range of different organisations, but i give you my categorical assurance as a member of

this parliament, since its foundation, in 1999, that no individual was authorised on my behalf to disclose... members... excuse me. _ behalf to disclose... members... excuse me. i— behalf to disclose... members... excuse me, i simply— behalf to disclose... members... excuse me, i simply will- behalf to disclose... members... excuse me, i simply will not - behalf to disclose... members... | excuse me, i simply will not have members — excuse me, i simply will not have members shouting discourteous comments to one another across this chamber _ comments to one another across this chamber. please rememberwe are elected _ chamber. please rememberwe are elected representatives, elected by the people of scotland and i would ask all— the people of scotland and i would ask all members to bear that in mind and to— ask all members to bear that in mind and to think— ask all members to bear that in mind and to think about that with regards to the _ and to think about that with regards to the conduct in this chamber. presiding — to the conduct in this chamber. presiding officer, in light of the understandable concern that you have on this matter, i unreservedly apologise to you for the situation in which you find yourself presiding officer, in protecting the integrity of parliament and the ability of government to explain its policy position to parliament, which is in

the interests of ministers to make sure we are able to do so. and finally, presiding off, iwill sure we are able to do so. and finally, presiding off, i will point out before coming to the statement, in the detail mr fraser has just put on the public domain, some of that information is contained within the embargoed statements i make available in advance to other little parties, so i... i... isimply point out... these factors need to be considered. presiding,... the... the scottish government budget for 2023-24 scottish government budget for 2023—24 takes place in the most turbulent economic and financial context most people can remember. war is taking place in europe, leading to the suffering and displacement of millions of ukrainians. as a result of the

conflict, energy and fuel prices are surging. inflation is now corroding our economy, having reached a 40 year high. if these challenges faced by countries around the globe were not enough, the united kingdom has added to the terminal by a disastrous approach to brexit, which has damaged labour supply through the loss of free movement of people and undermined frictionless trade with our nearest markets. and all these difficulties have been compounded by the utterly catastrophic decisions of the united kingdom government in the september mini budget which have driven increases in interest rates and saddled the country with much higher debt, undermining the public finances for generations to come. in short, presiding, these are spectacularly difficult times in which to manage the public finances. these times require governments to

lead, to make choices, to decide what matters, and that is what this government has resolved to do. as parliament knows, those hard realities are notjust about parliament knows, those hard realities are not just about future years, and wrestling with those challenges right now. before i set out the plans for the forthcoming year, i must provide parliament with an update on this financial year, given the extreme pressure the scottish government budget faces at the present moment. as a result of soaring inflation, we have faced significant and entirely understandable pay demands from public sector workers. in response, we reallocated over £700 million more than originally budgeted to enhance pay uplift to better reflect the increased cost of living and especially to tackle low pay. we continue to deal with the unforeseen but accepted costs of resettling refugees fleeing the illegal war in ukraine. we have seen thousands of

people in scotland open their homes in response toward and an example of our country at its very best. scotland will always play our part in supporting those fleeing conflict and persecution. we have made and we will continue to make financial provision to support ukrainian resettlement costs. the public sector is not in anyway immune to the rising cost of energy and inflation, placing additional real pressure is on the value of our budget. as a result of these factors, in the autumn the scottish government had to make unprecedented reductions to our spending plans midway through the current financial year, totalling £1.2 billion. we had to do this because once the financial year commences and in the absence of borrowing powers to address volatility, or the ability to alter income tax rates midway through a financial year, we operate a largely fixed total budget, unless the united kingdom government

allocates any additional resources to scotland. despite repeated requests, no additional resources have been forthcoming for this year. the emergency budget review allowed us to meet the cost of increased public sector pay and provide further help to those most impacted by the cost of living crisis. taken together, in 22 — 23, the scottish government has allocated almost £3 billion to help mitigate the cost of living crisis in these difficult days. there are however two key points i must advise parliament about in relation to the budget for this current year. firstly, despite reductions in spending of £1.2 billion, the financial pressures are so great that i am still working in this financial year to find a path to fully balance this year's budget. secondly, as a consequence of that issue, for the first time since this government took power, i am announcing a budget today for the

next financial year assuming that we do not carry forward any fiscal resources from this year into next. for comparison, our budget for this year was underpinned by £450 million of resources carried over from the previous year. the absence of that carry—over increases the scale of the financial challenges that we face in the next financial year. our budget decisions take place against assessments of deterioration in the economy. i am grateful to the office for budget responsibility at the scottish fiscal commission for their engagement in our budget process. i am of course incorporating into the budget the projections made by the scottish fiscal commission. the uk economy has already begun to contract, the obr estimates the uk has entered the recession that will last for over a year and see gdp fall by 2%. the scottish fiscal

commission is expecting the scottish economy to follow the uk into recession in 2022 with gdp falling 1.8% between quarter one and quarter three. the commission forecast the recession to be similar in scotland to the rest of the united kingdom. according to the latest data, published yesterday, inflation now stands at 10.7% last monthly so inflation in the uk at its highest since 1981. businesses and households are facing additional pressures from rising interest rates with the bank of england base rate reaching 3.5% today following the largest increase since 1989. real household disposable incomes are estimated to fall back to 2013 levels, the largest fall since records began. to compound matters, our labour market has also been experiencing shortages in part driven by brexit as the economy has reopened from the pandemic. as the

recession takes hold, unemployment is expected to gradually rise to reach a peak of 4.7% at the end of 2024. in our november economic outlook, it was forecast the uk would see the worst economic performance in the g20, other than russia, in both 2023 and 2024. the calamitous choices made by successive uk governments have made our economy weaker and put the public finances under tremendous strain. in november, the uk government set out revised tax and plans in its autumn statement, an urgent attempt to repair the damage of the mini budget. whilst this brought some improvements to our position for 2023—24, compared to the uk government published plans, our budget will still be lower in real terms than in 2021. in future years, it is looking bleak in 2025-26 and 26-27 of the

years, it is looking bleak in 2025—26 and 26—27 of the latter two years of the resource spending review period. that is the economic and fiscal context in which the scottish government much —— must make choices for the forthcoming year. in formulating this budget, i have reached out to all political parties in this parliament to our partners and local, trade unions and stakeholders any private, third and public sectors to hear their views. i am grateful to our partners in the scottish green party for their constructive and collaborative approach as we have developed these tax and spending plans in line with our shared commitments. there are four important factors relevant to considering our decisions set out in the budget today. firstly, the enormous pressures on the public finances mean that in some cases, it will take the government longer to deliver on our plans at we will work with partners to minimise that effect. secondly, the requirements for public sector reform set out in

the medium—term financial strategy and resource spending review will be evermore required in this context and the government will set out further plans in due course. we will take forward an agenda consistent with the principles of the christie commission, with a significant emphasis on early intervention and prevention, as we work to create person centred topic services will be significant increases in input prices and energy costs mean our budget will be unable to deliver as much as we do have been judged possible just much as we do have been judged possiblejust a few much as we do have been judged possible just a few months ago the government will keep these factors under constant review as we take forward the capital programme. and fourthly, given the uncertain information outlook and the need to concludes some paid deals for the current year, i am publishing a public sector pay policy —— i am not publishing a public sector pay policy at this stage. we would have caused continue to collaborate with trade unions and topic sector employers on fair and sustainable pay and we look to see more on the

approach for 23—24 in the new year. the scottish government like governments all over the world is faced with a difficult set of choices. through this budget we are facing up to our responsibilities, while being open with the people of scotland about the challenges which lie ahead. to govern is to choose and the scottish government has made its choice. we have chosen not to follow the path of austerity that is the hallmark of the united kingdom government, but let me be clear, the choices we face are all the starker because of the united kingdom government. within the powers available to us, we will choose a different path. a path which sees the scottish government commit substantial resources to protect the most vulnerable people of scotland from the impact of decisions and policies made by the united kingdom government. we choose to do everything in our power to eliminate child poverty because in doing so,

we improve the lives of children and reason scotland today while also laying the foundations for a more equal and prosperous country in the future. we choose to prioritise the transition to net zero because it is precisely through this transition that scotland will realise its economic potential, not in spite of it. a stronger, fairer, greener economy benefits everyone. we choose to stand firmly alongside the scottish people investing in our public services and doing everything possible to ensure that no one is left behind. all of us need to know our public services will be there to meet our needs and we must invest in them to make sure that promise can be fulfilled. in particular, we must target investment in our national health service which is facing unprecedented pressure following the pandemic. to do this, by choosing a different progressive path of

scotland, that is why this budget strengthens the social contract between the scottish government and every citizen of scotland for the wider benefit of society. this social contract means that people in scotland continue to enjoy many benefits not available throughout the united kingdom, including free prescriptions, free access to higher education, and the scottish child payment. it also means that in scotland families are shielded as far is possible from the welfare cuts and austerity policies of the united kingdom government. because we know this progressive model works. we choose the path where people are asked to pay their fair share in the knowledge that in so doing, they helped create the fairer society in which all want to live. the limited powers we won after the independence referendum in 2014 enables scotland to make different

choices on tax and in some elements of social security. the scottish government has made use of those powers in the past. in total, the decisions we have taken since devolution of tax powers and the proposals that i am putting forward today will raise around £1 billion more next year than if we had followed uk tax decisions. we have also use these powers in creating a social security system based on the values of dignity, compassion and respect. this year, we introduced the scottish child payment, the only measure of its kind available in the united kingdom, to support children living in poverty. it was first introduced at a rate of £10 per week, per eligible child, underthe age of six. it was then doubled to £20 from april 2022. in november 2022, it was extended to eligible children under the age of 16 and increased to £25, meaning that the

payment has increased by 150% in just eight months. the scottish child payment is now available to around 387,000 children in scotland and i can confirm the payment will remain at the increased level of £25 per child per week. remain at the increased level of £25 per child perweek. i remain at the increased level of £25 per child per week. iam pleased also to announce that all other social security benefits under the control of the scottish government will be increased by the rate of inflation in september of 10.1%. in the face of the extraordinary challenges we face, we have chosen to use our tax powers again to protect our country from the harm caused by the turmoil of these times and the damaging decisions of the united kingdom government. our approach to taxation continues to be guided by our values and the principle that the tax burden should be proportionate to the ability to ny-

this commitment to fairness is what underpins the choices we have made throughout this budget and underpins our whole approach to taxation. in this budget, we are asking people on higher incomes to contribute more in taxation than those on lower incomes. but with the majority of people in scotland still paying less on taxation and if they lived in the rest of the uk, by these decisions everyone in scotland will be able to enjoy the benefits of strong public services and a comprehensive social contract. presenting officer, on income tax, i intend to maintain the thresholds for the starter and basic rate bands and that current levels. i confirm i will also maintain the higher rate threshold at its current level and i will lower the top rate threshold from £150,000 to £125,140. i also intend to make no changes to the starter, basic and intermediate rates to protect those on lower

incomes. i have decided to increase the higher and top rates of tax by 1p the higher and top rates of tax by 1p each to 42p and mp respectively. as a result, we are asking all those earning more than £43,662 to pay an extra 1p in extra income tax. i want to be clear, that extra 1p is being raised for a specific purpose. we have taken the decision to enable us to exceed the health resource barnett consequential is from the uk government with substantial additional investment in the national health service, an investment that will benefit us all. it is, in short, an extra 1p to enable spending on patient care in our national health service. applause. on [and and buildings transaction

tax, there will be no changes to the main residential and nonresidential rates and banned next year. legislation will be introduced today to increase the rate of the additional dwelling supplement from 4% to 6%, raising much needed additional revenue, whilst protecting opportunities for first—time buyers. this change will apply with effect from the 16th of december to address any potential for forestalling with a transitional provision in place. i can also announce today that we will increase both the standard and lower scottish landfill tax rates from the 1st of april and will maintain consistency across the united kingdom, guard against waste tourism and support ambitions for a more circular economy. the scottish fiscal commission forecast that the income tax policy changes i have outlined today will raise £129 billion and 23 and 24. in addition to this, the scottish government estimates that freezing the higher rate threshold

has added £390 million, when compared to inflation. the sfc also forecast that the changes to the additional dwelling supplement raise an additional £34 million in revenue in 2023-24. an additional £34 million in revenue in 2023—24. taken together, we estimate these changes will provide £553 million in 2023—24 for investment in public services in scotland. presiding officer, in this challenging economic context, i recognise the faced by business, working in difficult conditions to create employment and growth in our economy. 16 business organisations came together to ask me to take one particular step to support businesses through these tough times. their number one ask was that i3 is the nondomestic rates poundage at 2022-23 i3 is the nondomestic rates poundage at 2022—23 levels. on nondomestic rates, i can confirm that we will protect businesses from the full impact of inflation by delivering a

freeze to the basic property rate. this will ensure scotland has the lowest poundage in the united kingdom for the fifth year in a row and is forecast to save business tax rate payers £308 million, compared to an inflationary increase. we will reform and extend the small business bonus scheme to improve the productivity of their leaf, death of the relief, whilst ensuring it remains the most generous business relief in the uk and delivering a manifesto commitment that 100,000 properties will be taken out of rates altogether. by introducing traditional reliefs, we will help to ensure those properties that see their rates increase significantly following the revaluation to do so in a phased manner. we will use our approach to nondomestic rates to assist the transition to net zero, assist the transition to net zero, as we incentivise investment in renewables with the introduction of new prescribed plant and machinery exemptions for on—site renewable

energy generation and storage. investment, be it in the low carbon economy or more broadly, essential to building a strong economy and the fairer and more equal country in which we all want to live. it is true that investments that now turn. in formulating a budget in this period of huge challenge, it is vital that the government sets out its clearest priorities. that is necessary to give clarity to our partners in local government, the private and third sectors and in public bodies about the direction of what matters to the government. our programme for government in this budget, we are focused on eradicating child poverty, transforming the economy to net zero and in creating sustainable public services. we do not view these as three competing objectives. we view them as priorities that are linked together, as a means of supporting families, of creating new economic opportunities, of protecting our environment and of offering

protection and support to every citizen in scotland through our public services. much of what the government wishes to achieve full scotland aligns with what local authorities wish to achieve for their communities. but too often, valuable time and energy is taken up in fractious debates about resources and accountability for spending them. the government will impact our partners and local government to work with us in building on our jointly produced covid recovery strategy to build a more effective way of working together, focused on outcomes that matter to people, with more flexibility, reduced reporting and greater assurance. and we want to enable this new partnership by giving our commitment to the financing of local government. so instead of providing the flat cash position set out in the resource spending review, we are now increasing the resources available to local government next year by over £550 million. furthermore, i can confirm that the scottish

government will not seek to agree any threes or cap in locally determined increases to council tax, as requested by council leaders and consular. this means each council will have full six ability to set the council tax rate that is appropriate for their local authority area. i encourage councils to consider carefully the cost pressures facing the public when setting future rates. earlier this year, the government set out our plan to tackle child poverty, best start bright futures. the title of the plan says it all. we want to ensure that children get the best start in life and are able to fulfil their potential. that means in the budget, sustaining investment in the baby box, but adding 11,040 hours of early childcare to all eligible three—year—olds are two roles, committing judgment into the scottish attainment challenged to deliver excellence and equity in

education and tackling school holiday hunger with an investment of £22 million to provide meals during school holidays to the children who need them most. this builds on our ongoing expansion of free school meals for all primary six and seven pupils in receipt of the scottish child payment, at the next step in fulfilling our commitment to universal provision in primary schools from august 2024. we recognise that some of the children in poverty whose life chances face the greatest of challenge are those with experience of care. the budget delivers a further £30 million investment to keep the promise and 50 million investment in a whole family well—being programme to provide holistic, preventative family support to give our children who face the greatest challenge the greatest opportunity to realise their potential. a crucial element of helping families out of poverty is providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to access, sustain and progress at

work. we recognise some people face greater challenges in entering the labour market, so we are increasing the investment we have made in no one left behind and fessed up scotland. employment opportunities are crucial, particularly in these difficult economic times, so the transition of our economy to net zero must be undertaken in a just and fair way that enables people, communities and businesses in scotland to thrive and prosper. and these opportunities must exist in every single part of scotland. this approach will be delivered through initiatives such as the £366 million planned investment in the heat and buildings programme to decarbonise heating, plus the £34 million scottish industrial energy transformation fund and the 26 million low carbon manufacturing challenge fund. investment in our natural environment will support the journey to net zero, with a £26 million programme of peatland

restoration, £77 million in woodland planting and 44 million to help scotland become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. we will support the transition to net zero by investing a further £244 million in the scottish national investment bank, by investing £50 million to deliver over the next phase of the just transition fund for the north—east and for murray, more than doubling this year's allocation. and investing in the tech scale up programme throughout scotland to support our efforts and innovation. as the climate change committee recently highlighted, decarbonising transport remains one of the key challenges we face in reaching net zero. we will support these efforts by working with the private sector to extend scotland's electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with investment of £60 million. the expenditure of £1.4 billion to maintain, operate and decarbonise our rail infrastructure, invest

nearly £200 million in active and sustainable travel and provide £15 million as part of our fair fares with you for a six—month pilot removing peak—time railfares as with you for a six—month pilot removing peak—time rail fares as a way of making rail travel more affordable and attractive to travellers. ferry services are vital in sustaining connectivity within our island communities and the budget includes £440 million to support lifeline services. i am also allocating £15 million in this financial year and £57 million in the next financial year —— £50 million in this financial year. this is to support eight are one and 802 in ferguson marine and along with resources required to build the two new islay class vessel is under construction and a further two vessels of the same type currently in procurement. we must have a skills training and research environment that enables our people and businesses to realise their potential. forthat

and businesses to realise their potential. for that reason, we have increased the resources available to the college and university sectors by 26 million and £20 million to support this process. many of our public services or on a journey to recovery, following the acute phase of the pandemic. that is no more so than in thejustice of the pandemic. that is no more so than in the justice system. we want people to live in safe communities where we act early to reduce the potential for harm, support victims of crime and act swiftly to bring the perpetrators of crime and violence to justice. as the perpetrators of crime and violence tojustice. as part the perpetrators of crime and violence to justice. as part of this budget, i intend to increase the resources available to the crown office and procurator fiscal service by £13 million and to ourjustice system by £165 million. this will provide resources to tackle court backlogs, strengthen legal aid position and enable the funding of police services to increase by £80 million. the most precious of our public services, the one on which all of us depend, is our national health service. we recognise the

challenges the nhs faces and the pressures that are borne by the outstanding public servants who work in the nhs. that is why we have offered a formidable pay settlement to staff in the nhs. supporting our nhs boards remains our top priority and in the year ahead we will invest over £13 billion to allow them to continue to drive forward the five year recovery plan. the reform of key services will continue by £2 billion to establish primary health care services in the community, and in parallel we will provide £1.7 billion for social care and integration to improve services, while paving the way for the introduction of the national care service. an additional £100 million will be made available to support delivery of the £10.90 real living wage for adult social care, building on the increase provided in 2022—23. this is vital work and it is important to those on the front line

are supported. we remain committed to addressing the ongoing public health emergencies and reducing the avoidable harm is associated with drugs and alcohol. by investing £160 million, we will ensure this important work continues. this is part of our commitment to provide £250 million of additional funding over the life of this parliament to address the drugs death emergency. if we want to be able to depend on the national health service, we have to be prepared to pay for it. when the uk government set out its autumn statement, it gave rise to consequential funding for the nhs statement, it gave rise to consequentialfunding for the nhs in scotland of £291 million. i intend to pass on that funding consequential, but i do not believe it is nearly enough for the critical task that we ask our staff in the national health service to do. as a result of the choices i have made on income tax, i am in a position in one year to increase the amount we

spend on health and social care in scotland by over £1 billion. applause that wasjohn applause that was john swinney, applause that wasjohn swinney, the deputy first minister of scotland, setting out the draft budget. and there is more coverage on that that will continue on bbc scotland online. but we are just continue on bbc scotland online. but we arejust coming continue on bbc scotland online. but we are just coming out of that to bring you some breaking news. the families of the three children who fell into babs mill lake on sunday have paid tribute to their beautiful boys. brothers finlay and samuel butler and their cousin, thomas stuart, were pulled from the freezing water and rushed to hospital, where eight—year—old finlay and 11—year—old thomas died a short time later. penny orjack johnson also died on sunday. sadly, six—year—old samuel lost his fight for life yesterday. we have just had statement in the few moments and from their parents and they say, as

a family, we are devastated at the loss of our beautiful boys, tom, thynne and sam, in such tragic circumstances. we would like to thank the emergency services, they say, for all they did in rescuing our boys and to the community for their support. our boys and to the community for theirsupport. it our boys and to the community for their support. it has been overwhelming. they continue to say, we would like to pass on our condolences to jack's family at this very sad time and ask for privacy from the media to begin to grieve. of course, extensive underwater searches were carried out and have now concluded and in the past few moments as well we have had a statement from superintendent rich harris, who has said this is a tragedy beyond words and grief that is unimaginable for the family and friends of the boys. he says the support from the community has been overwhelming, notjust for the bereaved families, but also for the emergency services, for which we are extremely grateful. he says, our offices will remain in the area in the coming days and urging the public to please come and speak to

the officers if you need to. let's get back to the scottish budget statement and let's get more from this from our correspondence, lorna gordon, who was outside the scottish parliament in edinburgh. lorna, take us through what we have been hearing. us through what we have been hearinu. , ., , ., us through what we have been hearin. , ., , ., , us through what we have been hearin.. , ., , ., , ., hearing. yes, an unusual delivery of that statement _ hearing. yes, an unusual delivery of that statement this _ hearing. yes, an unusual delivery of that statement this afternoon, - that statement this afternoon, delayed by half an hour by the presiding officer in the parliament behind me. that is highly unusual and signifies her anger at the fact that the bbc got details of what was going to be in the budget statement ahead of it being released to msps and read out to msps in the parliament here. she received assurances from the first minister and the deputy first minister that they did not authorise any leaks,

whenjohn swinney, the deputy first minister, got up to make a statement, he said that, the statement, he said that, the statement is released in advance by its nature, many people have sight of it and he assured msps in the chamber that he did not authorise the releasing of any details to the bbc. but he then went on to give the details, much trailed in the hour before because of that leak, of some pretty significant changes to the tax structure here in scotland. but it is, income tax is an area that is devolved to the scottish government. and he confirmed that the top rate of tax here in scotland will increase from 46p to mp and that the higher rate of tax, which applies to everyone here in scotland who earns a little over £43,000,

will increase from mp to 42p in the pound for the next financial year. he said that the government was facing spectacularly difficult times to manage the public finances, but that the scottish government had decided to choose what he described as, a different, more progressive path than that being chosen by the uk government. he said that the changes announced today will result in £553 million more going into the coffers here for the scottish government for the next financial year and in government for the next financial yearand infact government for the next financial year and in fact he said that the changes, as a result of devolution and these tax—raising powers of the scottish modern greek government has, will result as a whole in £1 billion more going into the coffers. there are also changes any tax that will apply to additional dwellings are in scotland, that will increase

from 4% to 6%, so significant changes to the tax bands here in scotland, in terms of the tax rates paid, although the thresholds will stay the same, apart from at the top level of tax, which will reduce from 150,000 to 125,000, bringing it in line with the top rate threshold that will apply in the rest of the uk and was announced by the chancellor in his autumn statement. but it is the tax rates that will change and more significantly now diverge from the rest of the uk, already diverging, but diverging even more so now. john swinney�*s statement was expected to last around half—an—hour, he will be wrapping up around now and then we will hear the opposition replies, but already it was becoming clear that the scottish conservative stood up that the scottish conservative stood up and they are pretty angry at the leak of information to the bbc ahead of this statement being made to

parliament. of this statement being made to parliament-— of this statement being made to parliament. ., ,, , ., , . parliament. ok, thank you very much, lorna gordon — parliament. ok, thank you very much, lorna gordon reporting _ parliament. ok, thank you very much, lorna gordon reporting there. - parliament. ok, thank you very much, lorna gordon reporting there. of - lorna gordon reporting there. of course, an investigation being called in to that suspected leak and we will bring you more a match as we get it. the bank of england has raised uk interest rates to their highest level for 14 years and said they could rise further still if prices continue to soar. the benchmark rate has been lifted to 3.5% from 3%. the chancellor said it was vital to take action to lower inflation. andrew verity reports. in pudsey in west yorkshire, clive turner works in customer service for a large supermarket chain, earning around £20,000 a year. together with his girlfriend, on a similarly modest income, he is already struggling, like millions of families, to cover energy hills which have doubled, and now, his five—year fixed—rate mortgage is due to expire. every time he hears about an interest rate hike on the news, he winces.

it's absolutely mega stressful. because i'm trying to work, but then you're looking at the news, it's, like, interest rates, you know, going up, inflation coming up, it's, like, what can i do? withjust over 100,000 left on his mortgage, his interest rate is going tojump from 3.48% to 5.76%. we're now going onto mortgage which is basically about 750, so it's about £120 difference, at 5.76. so, it's a lot more. today's interest rate hike is the ninth rise in a row. rates are now seven times as high as they have been the bank of england has raised uk interest rates to their highest for the last 13 years, when interest rates were kept at emergency lows because economic growth was so weak. what the bank of england is aiming to do is to make it more expensive to borrow and spend, which should mean that households and businesses spend a little bit less overall, so there is a little bit less buying pressure, upward pressure on prices, and that should reduce inflation over the medium—term. but if they raise them too fast, some economists are worried that that reduced activity could mean fewerjobs. today's rise was slower than last month, when ratesjumped by three quarters of a percentage point

amid growing concern that higher rates could make the expected recession worse. what you have to understand is that the solution to a problem called inflation, the question is, what is the solution? is the solution better than the problem? the answer is, absolutely not. unemployment hurts people much more than inflation does. we have a whole series of hawks saying you should raise rates because that helps them, it helps the people that they are lobbying for, it help banks, but ordinary people are struggling. nine economists on the bank's monetary policy committee wanted while one of the nine economists on the bank's monetary policy committee wanted to raise rates faster, two wanted to keep them on hold. if there once was a consensus among the economists to raise rates quickly to head off inflation, it is now by no means unanimous. andy verity, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather.

hello. the cold snap is set to continue for a few more days, last night seeing some places seeing the coldest in a decade. this was the picture in tunbridge wells on thursday morning, lots of clear skies through the day and into the evening as well as over the next few days more sunny areas, snow in parts of scotland. into the evening, once the sun sets it will turn cold quite quickly, so this is 6pm in the evening, if you are heading away from work temperatures already below freezing for many of us, more snow showers across parts of scotland and also for south—east england, one or two across the coast of norfolk and the irish sea. most of us seeing a very cold night, temperatures down to —8 but some dense freezing fog in central and eastern england and then this area snow moving in across scotland. that is potentially going to be quite heavy through friday morning, initially for the western isles, the likes of argyll, heading through the central belt through the middle of the day. wintry flurries for northern ireland as well, but for much of england and

wales it stays clear and dry, but for scotland there could be 5—20 centimetres of snow falling, mainly over the higher ground, but even at low levels that could cause some disruption. into saturday, that band of sleet and snow showers push south into parts of england and wales, turning back to rain to rain for some of us, particularly at lower levels. a few more snow flurries across the west, temperature started to edge up a bit around 6 degrees for many of us and moving into the weekend, heading into sunday this area of rain and low pressure approaches from the south—west, not only bringing rain, but brisk winds and much milder air, so a real change in weather type through the course of sunday. rain preceded by some snow across the south—west initially moving its way northwards and eastwards across the uk, so it is mainly going to be in the hills and the north that we see heavy snowfall, quickly turning back to rain as that much milder air moves in and the winds really picking up, so a very different feeling day.

things turn significantly milder as we head through to monday, looking at mid—teens for many of us, temperatures just teeing off a bit through the coming week, but check the latest details for where you live by downloading the bbc weather app, which gives you a percentage chance of precipitation. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... police name the four boys who died after falling into a freezing lake in solihull — two were brothers and another their cousin. tens of thousands of nurses across england, wales and northern ireland are taking part in industrial action in what they're calling a 'last resort�* strike over pay, asking for a rise of up to 19%. scotland's finance minister, john swinney, is setting out the government's fiscal plans for the next year. the latest episodes of the harry and meghan series have landed, with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. interest rates have gone up again, by half a percentage point as the bank of england tries to curb inflation. the latest episodes of the harry and meghan

series have landed, with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. it was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in. and a change to airport rules with regulations around flying with liquids set to be relaxed. the four boys who died after falling into a frozen lake in solihull on sunday have been named by west midlands police. police have released these pictures of three of them: brothers samuel butler, six, and finlay butler, eight, and their cousin thomas stewart.

the fourth boy has been named as 10—year—old jackjohnson. the families of the three young cousins have paid tribute to their "beautiful boys". with me is our correspondent robin brant. what correspondent robin brant. more do we know. irate they what more do we know. we know who the are what more do we know. we know who they are and — what more do we know. we know who they are and this _ what more do we know. we know who they are and this tragedy _ what more do we know. we know who they are and this tragedy is _ what more do we know. we know who they are and this tragedy is further - they are and this tragedy is further compounded by the fact that two of the victims were brothers and a third victim was a cousin. one family, one extended family, has lost three boys in this tragedy. let's just remind you of the names we have had from west midlands police, finlay butler, he was eight, his younger brother samuel was six, their present, stuart was 11 and alongsidejackjohnson, who has been named earlier in the week, they were the four boys who died in this tragedy —— thomas stuart. they were pulled from the water on sunday. if

you recall, there was a surge that went on for two days afterwards because there was concern there may have been other children involved. that search has now ended. the families of the three young cousins have paid tribute to what they describe as their beautiful boys and there was a statement from them released by west midlands police. i willjust read you a short excerpt, as a family, we are devastated at the loss of our beautiful boys in such tragic circumstances. they go on to say they want to thank the emergency services, some of whom, police and fire and rescue, we have seen at a makeshift memorial near the park, some of them in tears as they left floral tributes over the past few days. the family say they want to thank the emergency services for all they did in rescuing the boys and also to the community for their support. there is a little more, the details of that statement,

extremely moving, you can get that on the bbc website.— on the bbc website. thank you for u -adatin on the bbc website. thank you for updating us _ on the bbc website. thank you for updating us on _ on the bbc website. thank you for updating us on that. _ on the bbc website. thank you for updating us on that. a _ on the bbc website. thank you for updating us on that. a story - on the bbc website. thank you for updating us on that. a story that l updating us on that. a story that has rocked the west midlands. tens of thousands of nurses are on strike in a dispute about pay, in the biggest action of its kind in nhs history. members of the royal college of nursing union want a 19% payrise. despite the walk out, nhs officials say it's vital that people come forward if they need emergency care. in england, nursing staff from 51 hospitals, mental health trusts and community services are striking — that's about a quarter of trusts or services. but there is no strike action in kent, sussex, surrey, east yorkshire or lincolnshire. and none either in manchester, buckinghamshire, norfolk or suffolk. in wales, nurses from six out of its seven health boards are striking, while all trusts in northern ireland are involved in the action. no nurses in scotland are taking action today after two unions voted to accept an improved pay offer, but ballots for other union members are continuing.

our health correspondent, catherine burns, has been talking to some nurses about why they've decided to strike. what do we want? a pay rise! how do we get it? strike! it started at 8am, the biggest strike in the history of the royal college of nursing. members across all of northern ireland, most of wales and about a quarter of trusts in england left their day jobs for picket lines, many with mixed emotions. i feel it is a crying shame. it is really bad, i don't want to do this, my colleagues don't want to do this. today, i am emotional but i have been more emotional on my shifts. i didn't envisage it would ever come to this. i am not somebody that feels that this is what i am supposed to be doing. you know, myjob is in there. you're six weeks into this career. yes. you look like you are about to cry when you talk about how

you are struggling. do you think you are going to stay in this job? not for much... well, i'm going to stick it out because i am a fighter. but i have already thought in three years' time can i see myself still here? probably not, no. the main reason is pay. starting salaries for nurses in england arejust over £27,000. that can go up to almost 55,000 for the most senior nurses. but the rcn says the average for an established nurse is closer to 32,000. that is similar to average pay across the country. horns toot. there is quite a gulf between what they want on this picket line, a pay rise of inflation plus 5% which works out at 19%. and what ministers over in parliament think is fair. because if we are to afford a 19% pay rise, we can only do that either through borrowing which we saw the effects of government borrowing onlyjust a few weeks ago on the economy. either through taxation, and i don't think that's appropriate

when people are struggling with the cost of living this winter. or taking that money from front—line services. it is too early to tell yet quite how much disruption this will cause. but we know patients have had operations and appointments cancelled. the rcn has this message for them. i am truly, truly sorry for you sitting on waiting lists year—on—year. and i'm very sorry if your treatment has been cancelled today. but it is up to the employers to make sure that your treatment is rearranged as quickly as possible. nurses from some areas of medicine are not able to come out on strike today. chemotherapy, dialysis and intensive care are protected so staffed as normal. it is important to say if management inside hospitals are worried about life—or—death situations, they can speak to local strike committees and ask them to bring staff back off the picket lines and back into work. these conversations will be happening on a local level.

so the picture will be different across the country. this is day one of the strike. another is planned for next week, with the chance for more in the new year if there is no progress. catherine burns, bbc news. matt adams is an nhs specialist nurse. thank you very much forjoining us from northamptonshire. just tell me why you are striking today. essentially, i had been in the nhs for around about 20 years and over the last ten to 13 years, we have had a pay cut by 20% in real terms with sub—inflation offers over the last 13 years and on top of that, we have eight out of ten shifts that are already unsafe —— unsafe staffing levels because we cannot recruit and retain nurses and health care workers in general, from health care workers in general, from health care assistants all the way up. because we know that the player is terrible before we get there. we

know that the workload is only increasing in an environment where actually we are constantly being cut to the bone and then wondering why we not body—building competitions. how would you describe yourjob at the moment? how would you describe your 'ob at the momenttfi how would you describe your 'ob at the moment? ., , , _ ., , the moment? constantly busy. that is kind of my job _ the moment? constantly busy. that is kind of my job. being _ the moment? constantly busy. that is kind of my job. being in _ the moment? constantly busy. that is kind of my job. being in a _ kind of myjob. being in a specialist field, i don't see the normal day—to—day kind of person doing diagnostic tests, consulate, so we are always busy. but from my colleagues on wards and regular kind of day—to—day nursing, it is only getting harder. their workloads, they're kind of pressures, we use to see winter pressures in the deepest darkest depths of winter and now we are seeing it from late summer all the way until the start of summer next year. hate the way until the start of summer next ear. ~ ., , , , ., ~ the way until the start of summer next ear. ~ ., , , , ., ,, ., next year. we have been speaking to nurses u- next year. we have been speaking to nurses up and _ next year. we have been speaking to nurses up and down _ next year. we have been speaking to nurses up and down the _ next year. we have been speaking to nurses up and down the country. - next year. we have been speaking to nurses up and down the country. sol nurses up and down the country. so many places where there —— there are walk—outs. and they talk about this

really difficult decision that is against everything they believe in, to walk out and leave patients. for you, how difficult was that decision and what would make you stop striking? it and what would make you stop strikint ? , , my and what would make you stop strikint? , , my ~ and what would make you stop strikint? , , . ., striking? it is very tricky. we have done everything — striking? it is very tricky. we have done everything we _ striking? it is very tricky. we have done everything we can _ striking? it is very tricky. we have done everything we can to - striking? it is very tricky. we have done everything we can to avoid i striking? it is very tricky. we have i done everything we can to avoid this for years. we have signed petitions, written letters, submitted evidence to pay review boards, even our own trusts are setting up food banks now. do trusts are setting up food banks now. y ., ~ trusts are setting up food banks now. ,, ~ ,, trusts are setting up food banks now. i. ~ i. ., trusts are setting up food banks now. ~ ., , now. do you feel like you are being listened to? _ now. do you feel like you are being listened to? no, _ now. do you feel like you are being listened to? no, not _ now. do you feel like you are being listened to? no, not at _ now. do you feel like you are being listened to? no, not at all. - now. do you feel like you are being listened to? no, not at all. we - now. do you feel like you are being| listened to? no, not at all. we have been ignored _ listened to? no, not at all. we have been ignored for _ listened to? no, not at all. we have been ignored for years. _ listened to? no, not at all. we have been ignored for years. we - listened to? no, not at all. we have been ignored for years. we have - listened to? no, not at all. we have i been ignored for years. we have done all the other things we can do and we have been driven to this to the point where if we don't strike now, things are already bad, you will hear from things are already bad, you will hearfrom my things are already bad, you will hear from my colleagues things are already bad, you will hearfrom my colleagues in things are already bad, you will hear from my colleagues in the ambulance service about waiting outside and even when you get inside, it is much worse, and instead of saying, we need to improve things, the governmentjust scrap the waiting target because it made them look bad. the government

has tut a made them look bad. the government has put a number _ made them look bad. the government has put a number of _ made them look bad. the government has put a number of offers _ made them look bad. the government has put a number of offers on - made them look bad. the government has put a number of offers on the - has put a number of offers on the table, last year, what would it take for you to stop striking? the trouble is. — for you to stop striking? the trouble is, those _ for you to stop striking? the: trouble is, those offers are always sub—inflation. our pay in the last 13 years has been cut in real terms by 20%. | 13 years has been cut in real terms by 20%. i don't think the rcn will get what they are asking for with the inflation plus five, but even thenit the inflation plus five, but even then it would go a much longer way to recruit and retain nurses. we are notjust to recruit and retain nurses. we are not just getting to recruit and retain nurses. we are notjust getting decreased numbers of students applying and doing the training, we are getting experience nurses burning out and dropping out of the profession and we cannot talk about workforce planning and fixing that without a better rewards package, whether that is through pay or other benefits. i}i(. package, whether that is through pay or other benefits.— or other benefits. ok, thank you very much _ or other benefits. ok, thank you very much for— or other benefits. ok, thank you very much forjoining _ or other benefits. ok, thank you very much forjoining us - or other benefits. ok, thank you very much forjoining us this - very much forjoining us this afternoon. we will be following that

story throughout the day on bbc news. the bank of england has announced another rise in interest rates. they are going up by 0.5% to 3.5% and the bank hopes the increase will help bring down the inflation rate. andrew bailey, the governor of the bank of england, gave some context to the figures. brute bank of england, gave some context to the figures-— to the figures. we think we have seen possibly — to the figures. we think we have seen possibly the _ to the figures. we think we have seen possibly the first _ to the figures. we think we have seen possibly the first glimmer. to the figures. we think we have i seen possibly the first glimmer this week that with the figures released this week that it is not only beginning to come down but below where we thought it would be that is very good news but there is a long way to go and we expect that to happen, by the way, we expect inflation to start falling more rapidly from the late spring onwards but there is a risk that it don't happen in that way, as the labour market and the labour supply in this country is so tight and that is why really we had to raise interest rates because we have seen that

really quite pronounced. what i would says i think in terms of looking at the history of the bank of england and half a percent rise is quite a big one. we only did the first half a percent rise earlier this year. and we will have to judge as we will do in a few weeks' time when we have the next meeting, what is appropriate next time. i am not going to speculate on where they may end up all what we might do next time. they will be a lot of information that we will get before we get to that point. i'm joined now by our business correspondent, marc ashdown... the bank of england policy committee meet every month and there are nine members and they all have different views on the way forward for growing the economy and bringing inflation under control. the target is 2% and it is currently 10.7%. they each get

a vote on the base rate had been a 3%, put up to 3% last month, quite an aggressive rise, 0.75 but today we got this ninth rate rise to 3.5%. interesting, the committee was split. six members voted for this. one of them wanted to put it up by 0.75 again. but two wanted to keep it lower. what we want to know is how quickly they might keep going up. i think the thinking was they would go to for .5, 5% sometime next year. experts are now saying potentially as high as 4% and then start dropping. potentially as high as 496 and then start dropping-— start dropping. exactly and this 'ust start dropping. exactly and this just affects _ start dropping. exactly and this just affects everyone _ start dropping. exactly and this just affects everyone out - start dropping. exactly and this | just affects everyone out there. start dropping. exactly and this i just affects everyone out there. how does it affect each person? everything hangs of the base rate of the bank. the mortgages, loans, credit cards and savings as well.

mortgages first, a typical tracker, 1.7 million people with a tracker mortgage, the average size is £117,000. this puts £50 a month onto those payments. if you are on a standard variable, it is around £31 will a fixed rate, nothing will happen just yet, will a fixed rate, nothing will happenjust yet, but will a fixed rate, nothing will happen just yet, but around 300,000 people end —— every quarter have to find a new deal and the days of 1.5% deals are gone. you are looking at 4.5%. some big shocks ahead for people. if you are a saver, finally, you are getting a bit of a decent return on your money in the bank. you get paid a bit of interest. inflation is picking away at that. but this is the idea from the bank, stopping people from spending, saving the money instead, which they hope will bring it down. thank saving the money instead, which they hope will bring it down.— hope will bring it down. thank you very much- _ hope will bring it down. thank you very much- a _ hope will bring it down. thank you very much. a slight _ hope will bring it down. thank you very much. a slight glimmer i hope will bring it down. thank you very much. a slight glimmer of i hope will bring it down. thank you i very much. a slight glimmer of hope. the headlines on bbc news...

police namely four boys who died after falling 90 police namely four boys who died afterfalling 90 —— into a freezing in solihull. tens of thousands of nurses across england, wales and northern ireland are taking part in industrial action, in what they�*re calling a �*last resort�* strike over pay, asking for a rise of up to 19%. the latest episodes of the harry and meghan series have landed, with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. and more now on that story. the final three episodes of the documentry series �*harry and meghan�* have been released on netflix. the duchess of sussex�*s mother, doria ragland, says at one point that meghan wanted to take her own life to escape what she called "vultures". and prince harry describes being terrified of his brother screaming at him, during a meeting at sandringham in 2020 to discuss harry and meghan�*s wish to be half in and half out of the royal family. there�*s been no comment from buckingham palace. our royal correspondent, sarah campbell, has been watching.

three more episodes, starting in may 2018, when millions around the world thought they were watching a real—life fairy tale, but within a few months, meghan said she was feeling suicidal. all of this wwill stop if i am not here. and that was the scariest thing about it. it was such clear thinking. i remember her telling me that she wanted to take her own life and... and that really broke my heart. the couple needed an escape plan. it was forged during christmas 2019 in canada. they wanted to leave the uk, carry out duties on behalf of the queen abroad and earn their own money. you could breathe for a minute. prince harry arrived in sandringham to flesh out the details with his brother, father and the late queen.

it was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren�*t true and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in. but you have to understand that from the family perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate sort of mission goal, responsibility, is the institution. behind palace walls, it appeared family relations were at rock bottom and harry says the royal press offices were leaking and planting stories including prince william�*s team. i would far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or this business of trading. and to see my brother�*s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking. the sussexes�* plan was rejected and in march 2020, they attended their final engagement

as senior royals. i felt really distant from the rest of my family, which was interesting because so much of how they operate is about what it looks like, rather than what it feels like. and it looked cold. but it also felt cold. when you try to prove that you are good and you are not the person they say you are... harry and meghan have now made a life in california. home sweet home. from the palace and the royal family, there has been no comment. we have made it to the other side. sarah campbell, bbc news. let�*s speak now to sarah gristwood, royal historian and author of �*elizabeth: queen and crown�*. thank you forjoining us this afternoon on bbc news. millions of people watched those first three episodes. watching the second three, what is the difference between them?

is there a different message coming through? is there a different message coming throuth? , , ' �* , through? yes, very different. as i think we always _ through? yes, very different. as i think we always thought - through? yes, very different. as i think we always thought it - through? yes, very different. as i think we always thought it was i through? yes, very different. as i i think we always thought it was going to be. the first part, there was of course the first three episodes, some indictment of the press and obviously we only would this story was going to end less happily but the first three episodes were very much about the upward journey, emphasising how they hope to make it work. these three are all about why it didn�*t. work. these three are all about why it didn't. �* ., work. these three are all about why it didn't. . ., ., ., it didn't. and we have heard a number of _ it didn't. and we have heard a number of controversial i it didn't. and we have heard a | number of controversial things it didn't. and we have heard a i number of controversial things said already, what are the most controversial things you think in these latest episodes? it is controversial things you think in these latest episodes?- these latest episodes? it is all about, these latest episodes? it is all about. isn't — these latest episodes? it is all about, isn't it, _ these latest episodes? it is all about, isn't it, who _ these latest episodes? it is all about, isn't it, who is- these latest episodes? it is all about, isn't it, who is being i these latest episodes? it is all i about, isn't it, who is being blamed about, isn�*t it, who is being blamed here. we know for certain that they are blaming the press, more specifically british press, and

particularly associated newspapers, the male, mail on sunday, harry actually says he blames them for his wife�*s miscarriage. the question is, how far further that plane extends? there is a lot about the guilt they see —— as they see it, the palace communications team, press secretaries, the establishment, as it were, what everyone is eagle eyed for i think is precisely if and when they seem to be tipping over into blaming the royalfamily they seem to be tipping over into blaming the royal family itself and individual members and on a few specific occasions, they do. we just heard one of those clips about the sandringham summit. they were a couple of other... others concerning the relationship between prince harry and his brother. and the relationship between prince harry and his brother.— the relationship between prince harry and his brother. and of course the r0 al harry and his brother. and of course the royalfamily. — harry and his brother. and of course the royalfamily, you _ harry and his brother. and of course the royalfamily, you mention, i harry and his brother. and of course the royalfamily, you mention, a i harry and his brother. and of course the royalfamily, you mention, a lot of eyes on the royal family. have we

heard anything from them, do you think we will? he. heard anything from them, do you think we will?— heard anything from them, do you think we will? no, the official word i believe is — think we will? no, the official word i believe is that _ think we will? no, the official word i believe is that they _ think we will? no, the official word i believe is that they will _ think we will? no, the official word i believe is that they will stick i think we will? no, the official word i believe is that they will stick to i i believe is that they will stick to what is always there sort of default position, never complained, never explain. had there been any specific accusations, they might have felt empowered —— compelled to break ranks this time but what we have just heard there about the sandringham cement is as close as it gets really to a specific. there is a fail other deliberate teasers, if you like, there is after the oprah winfrey interview, prince harry is filmed and how did he come to be filmed, but receiving a text from his brother and hayes and meghan�*s reaction show clearly it was not a happy text but we do not get to hear the actual contents of it. another moment, when there is a negative story being leaked about harry and

meghan and meghan saying, it is your brother, isn�*t it? but there is no specifics, which might have either impelled or allowed the royals themselves to actually speak back. like you say, we have not heard from them but how do you think it will affect them and the monarchy itself? that is the much more... $64,000 question, isn�*t it? we knew i think that the palace was going to be braced, first for the netflix thing in general and particularly for these second three episodes. i think in fact, they might feel it has gone better than they might have feared. it is very apparent that prince harry spoke of how he is never going to get an actual apology from his father and his brother. they course

may well feel... their point of view might be they have nothing to apologise for. and it is hard for us to know but the monarchy has survived a lot, quite often what has looked threatening to it, like the fiore after the death of princess diana, has actually paved the way for new growth and has been a blessing in very deep disguise. prince harry in one of these episodes speaks about a nesn city of pain coming to the surface, so it is possible to move on. and i think that could be true for the royal family as well as for him and meghan. family as well as for him and methan. ., ~ family as well as for him and methan. ., ,, i. family as well as for him and methan. . ~' , family as well as for him and methan. ., ,, , . it�*s been confirmd that baggage handlers at heathrow airport have called off their planned strike for tomorrow following last—minute talks. let�*s speak to our transport

correspondent, katy austin. tell us what exactly has happened today. tell us what exactly has happened toda . , , tell us what exactly has happened toda , , , ., , ., tell us what exactly has happened toda. ,,., ., tell us what exactly has happened toda. , ., ,, today. this is about a dispute between members _ today. this is about a dispute between members of - today. this is about a dispute between members of the i today. this is about a dispute i between members of the unite today. this is about a dispute - between members of the unite union who work for menzies, which is a ground handling company, they operate at heathrow. it is a dispute between the united union and menzies. the workers operate at heathrow terminals two, three and four. this morning, unite came out and said this was going ahead because workers had rejected the latest pay offer and that was 4% increase backdated to may and another 6.5% pay increase from january and unite said they were seeking an increase of 13% for this year alone but what has happened today as there has been this last—minute talks and unite has announced this afternoon actually the strike, the 72 hour strike due to begin tomorrow, has been called off, so that members can vote on the

improved offer. we did not say what that improved operates. also they said, an additional strike date had been set, another 72 hours, starting on the 29th of december and as things stand, that will still go ahead. ., ~' , . things stand, that will still go ahead. ., ,, , . ., ahead. thank you very much. now time to take a look — ahead. thank you very much. now time to take a look at _ ahead. thank you very much. now time to take a look at the _ ahead. thank you very much. now time to take a look at the weather. - to take a look at the weather. hello. it looks like by the end of the weekend we will see an end to this cold snap. things turning milder by sunday. but for now, plenty more wintry weather with icy stretches and lying snow. more wintry showers across scotland and freezing fog in central eastern parts of engine. another bitterly cold night. friday, ourattention turns to this area of snow, working in across scotland, heading eastwards. could be potentially quite disruptive. forecasters rein

on the west coast but inland, heavy snow. england and were looking dry, still pretty cold during friday. overnight into saturday, snow flurries across scotland, pushing into parts of northern england. there could be 20 centimetres of snow through central parts. another very cold start to the weekend.

hello, this is bbc news with frankie mccamley. the headlines: police named the four boys who died after falling police named the four boys who died afterfalling into police named the four boys who died after falling into a freezing lake in solihull. two were brothers and another their cousin. tens of thousands of nurses across england, wales and northern ireland are taking part in industrial action in what they are calling a last resort

strike. they are asking for a pay rise of up to 19%. scotland�*s finance minister, john swinney, announces income tax rates for higher earners in the next financial year. interest rates have gone up again by half a percentage point as the bank of england tries to curb inflation. the latest episodes of the harriet meghan series have landed, with claims of screaming rows with the royal family. with the royalfamily. it with the royal family. it was terri int with the royal family. it was terrifying to _ with the royal family. it was terrifying to have _ with the royal family. it was terrifying to have my - with the royal family. it was| terrifying to have my brother with the royal family. it was - terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply were not true and my grandmother quietly is there and simply take it all in. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here�*s hugh. good afternoon. sheffield united�*s oli mcburnie has been cleared of assaulting a fan who invaded the pitch, following a match in the championship play—offs. nottingham forest supporter george brinkley said mcburnie had stamped on him, following the club�*s meeting at the city ground in the semifinals in may.

mcburnie had denied the charge, claiming he hopped over the fan to protect his injured foot, and he was cleared of assault by heating at nottingham magistrates court this afternoon. france manager didier deschamps has a day less to prepare for the world cup final than their opponents, argentina, and it seems he�*ll spend a lot of that time finding a way to stop lionel messi. france made their second final in a row, france made their second which will offer them a chance to become the first back—to—back world champions since brazil 60 years ago, thanks to their 2—0 win over morocco in qatar. and now deschamps has the prospect of trying to prevent messi — a player he says is in scintillating form — cementing his legacy and adding weight to the argument the forward is the best of all time. bbc pundit danny murphy says there are other players on both sides who are also worth paying attention to. alvarez has really come to the fore. he has shown us some magical moments

and obviously i think his work ethic is incredible, he is scoring goals as well. and we saw in the england game that we kept mbappe quiet and they still beat us. cheroux deserves great credit for it. his professionalism and his quality to be coming in at that last minute where he thought he wasn�*t going to be playing and do what he has done... but dembele as well is a wonderful talent who can really cause you problems and griezmann, i have to say, his tournament has been nothing short of phenomenal. a key legal opinion has backed uefa and fifa�*s right to block competitions like the european super league, saying their decision to do so last year was compatible with eu law. three clubs — barcelona, real madrid and juventus — claimed the two governing bodies were abusing their power to stop and then sanction those clubs involved in the super league, which included the premier league�*s so—called big six. but the opinion from the european court ofjustice — even though it�*s non—binding before a final verdict is delivered next year — is a blow to their attempts to resurrect the competition.

the to resurrect the competition. super league collapst cu pca kes the super league collapsed, but the cupcakes continued. the court case was heard, effectively, during the summer, it is in front of a grand chamber of 15judges from the chamber of 15 judges from the european chamber of 15judges from the european court ofjustice, but also involved was the advocate general and today the advocate general has put forward his proposals, which are non—binding, it must be stressed, thejudges don�*t have non—binding, it must be stressed, the judges don�*t have to take that into account. but almost always, they use what has been said today as a template to go forward and reach their own conclusions, which will be published in the spring.— published in the spring. scottish rutb published in the spring. scottish rugby have _ published in the spring. scottish rugby have announced _ published in the spring. scottish rugby have announced the i published in the spring. scottish rugby have announced the 28 i published in the spring. scottish i rugby have announced the 28 players that have been given the country�*s first professional women�*s contract, joining the other home nations and offering full—time deals to their women�*s players. they are for 11 months and include all but seven of the players who are in the scotland squad for this year�*s world cup, captain rachel malcolm saying this is a historic and incredibly

exciting day for scottish rugby and the women�*s programme. touch tennis legend boris becker has been freed from a uk prison after serving eight months of a 2.5 year sentence and will now be deported. the former wimbledon champion has been hiding lots of assets and loans with £50 million debts. the player has been living in england for ten years after retiring in 1999. and ronnie o�*sullivan has been knocked out of the english open. he was beaten by martin gould 4—1. o�*sullivan had been one of the tournament favourites, following two early wins in brentwood — but gould held on to record his best win of the season. england�*s all—rounder freya kemp will miss the women�*s t20 cup in february because of a fractured back. the 17—year—old was ruled out of saturday, having returned home forfurther of saturday, having returned home for further scans. of saturday, having returned home forfurther scans. there is no such return date for freya kemp, the

latest injury to have had this year, after several other cricketers. there was a bizarre there was a bizzare dismissal in australia�*s big bash today — or at least, what appeared to be a dismissal. renegades batter nic maddinson had to be called back to the crease after starting to walk off once he saw his stumps light up behind him with a bail on the ground. but on second look... ..the ball — or his foot — didn�*t appear to hit the wicket at all. he then came back onto the field to top score with 87 and help melbourne win by 22 runs. they are calling it a ghost wicket. that is all the sport for now, back in one hour. thank you, hugh. the government are planning to scrap the 100 millilitre rule for liquids and airports which has been in place since 2006. passengers will not need to remove electronic devices from airbags in security. however, we will need to

wait until the spring or a long time even, because the deadline for the new rules coming in will not come into place until 2024. tell us, these rules have been in place since 2006. why are they being implemented now? ~ ., 2006. why are they being implemented now? ., ,., , ., now? what happens now is that we have much more _ now? what happens now is that we have much more sophisticated i have much more sophisticated equipment. these new ct scanners are far better than the ones we have at the moment and they will be able to identify liquids and bags, so you won�*t have to take them out of your case as you go through security. the same goes for electronics. that is a really major step forward and one of the main reasons we see so many people arguing about or complaining about cues is because people are having to take all that stuff out of their bags as they go through security and does lead to significant problems. we saw people this summer actually missing planes because of the queues at security, so this is a huge step forward. and so this is a huge step forward. and ou talk

so this is a huge step forward. and you talk about _ so this is a huge step forward. and you talk about those queues, we all know those queues and you always see someone in front that doesn�*t quite understand the rules and shakes the much longer and the queues just grow and grow. do think this is going to help eliminate those queues or reduce them, at least? it definitely is going to help reduce them and i think actually it is going to help reduce them and i think actuall— think actually it will be very good altogether. _ think actually it will be very good altogether. it — think actually it will be very good altogether, it has _ think actually it will be very good altogether, it has been - think actually it will be very good altogether, it has been a - think actually it will be very good | altogether, it has been a bugbear for many years, people are always saying every time you go to an airport, make sure you don�*t have is 100 millilitres. people are being stopped all the time, we have all seen it, people going through with bottles of water and sometimes it�*s actually really expensive make—up and toiletries they have just forgotten are in their bags, so from now on it will be a maximum of two litres you can actually have in your hand luggage. not only is it going to solve the queues, it is also going to make it cheaperfor a lot of people to travel because it will be possible now to travel hand luggage only and still have all the lotions and potions.— luggage only and still have all the lotions and potions. yes, of course. and ou lotions and potions. yes, of course. and you talk — lotions and potions. yes, of course. and you talk about _ lotions and potions. yes, of course. and you talk about the _ lotions and potions. yes, of course. and you talk about the expense i and you talk about the expense there. we heard a lot about airport

struggling during the pandemic, passenger numbers are plummeting. what is the expense of these new high—tech equipment is coming into airports? high-tech equipment is coming into air-orts? ~ , ., ., airports? well, they are a significant _ airports? well, they are a significant expense - airports? well, they are a significant expense and i airports? well, they are a significant expense and a | significant expense and a significant expense and a significant outlay for airlines, hence why we are told that is actually going to be the summer, june of 2024 that all major airports will have to actually have these in place. it is a big expense for them and that is giving them enough time to actually have the time and the money to actually put these into place. but obviously it is still going to be a big thing and actually the trials have been taking place since 2018. at the moment, you can go through parts of london city airport and this technology is already in use, so hopefully what we will see over the next couple of years is more and more of these scanners coming into being and then much less of a stress as we go through as passengers. just quickly before ou through as passengers. just quickly before you go. _ through as passengers. just quickly before you go, this _ through as passengers. just quickly before you go, this isn't _ through as passengers. just quickly before you go, this isn't the - through as passengers. just quickly before you go, this isn't the first i before you go, this isn�*t the first time this has been proposed. it was

obviously pushed back during the pandemic. how likely is... i�*m pandemic. how likely is... i'm sor , pandemic. how likely is... i'm sorry. we _ pandemic. how likely is... i'm sorry. we have _ pandemic. how likely is... i'm sorry, we have lost _ pandemic. how likely is... in sorry, we have lost you, we can't sorry, we have lost you, we can�*t hear you. sorry, we have lost you, we can�*t hearyou. i sorry, we have lost you, we can�*t hear you. i am sorry, we have lost you, we can�*t hear you. iam really sorry, we have lost you, we can�*t hear you. i am really sorry. sorry, we have lost you, we can�*t hear you. iam really sorry. i�*m hear you. i am really sorry. i'm sor , hear you. i am really sorry. i'm sorry. we _ hear you. i am really sorry. i'm sorry. we seem _ hear you. i am really sorry. i'm sorry, we seem to _ hear you. lam really sorry. i'm sorry, we seem to have lost looser. that was lisa minot, the travel editor at the sun newspaper speaking to us there. let�*s get more in the story that the bank of england has raised interest rates to 3.5%, their highest level for 14 years. it is in an attempt to deal with the rising inflation. for more on that announcement by the bank of england, let�*s talk to neil williams, the chief economist at the official monetary and financial institutions forum and independent think tank. thanks forjoining us, neil. how hired you markets think interest rates are going to go?— hired you markets think interest rates are going to go? well, the bank of england, _ rates are going to go? well, the bank of england, as _ rates are going to go? well, the bank of england, as we - rates are going to go? well, the bank of england, as we saw i rates are going to go? well, the i bank of england, as we saw today, has got a bit of a dilemma because it clearly wants liam li were interest rates to grow further. why is that was my inflation is way above target, currently 10—11%, and

it has a target in the medium term of 2%, but i would argue the bulk of that inflation is the wrong sort, cost inflation, things like energy prices and so on, rather more than the good old—fashioned demand inflation, for which we used to get paid, so it seems to me the rates will go up further, the bank clearly has more bullets in its gun, but those rates going forward next year will i feel would be smaller and less frequent than we have seen this year, possibly one, two or maybe even three further hikes to come, but still lying low inflation, which is going to be a bit more resilient than many think. find is going to be a bit more resilient than many think.— is going to be a bit more resilient than many think. and you say more to come. than many think. and you say more to come- when — than many think. and you say more to come- when do _ than many think. and you say more to come. when do you _ than many think. and you say more to come. when do you think— than many think. and you say more to come. when do you think we - than many think. and you say more to come. when do you think we they i than many think. and you say more to come. when do you think we they willj come. when do you think we they will peak, when do you think we will see the height of thisthe bank is taking a bit of a gamble of course by tightening the a bit of a gamble of course by tightening— a bit of a gamble of course by titthtenin ., ., ., , ., tightening the mortgage rates into alread a tightening the mortgage rates into already a pretty — tightening the mortgage rates into already a pretty austere _ tightening the mortgage rates into already a pretty austere northern i already a pretty austere northern hemisphere winter and the bank tends to believe that it takes 18 months orso to believe that it takes 18 months or so before the full impact of an interest rate can change, in this

case a hike, feed through into all of us in aggregate, so i think it will probably be the start of next year, they will want to assess the intricate d impact of the ripple effects so far, as they feed out to all economic agents and i would imagine that when they are going to move it will be front—end loaded, probably in february and may, when they released their new forecasts and then hold off properly for the majority of next year. you and then hold off properly for the majority of next year.— majority of next year. you talk about those _ majority of next year. you talk about those ripple _ majority of next year. you talk about those ripple effects. i majority of next year. you talk i about those ripple effects. what do you think is the risk of these further increases pushing the uk into a recession?— into a recession? well, the bank already has _ into a recession? well, the bank already has as _ into a recession? well, the bank already has as part _ into a recession? well, the bank already has as part of— into a recession? well, the bank already has as part of its - into a recession? well, the bank already has as part of its central| already has as part of its central expectation that we will have falling activity through next year. that is what economists like to describe as a recession. of course, it depends how far interest rates 90, it depends how far interest rates go, as to how deep and long that will be. the bank will admit that if interest rates go as far as financial markets currently predict, about 5%, then that recession will creep into 2024, never mind 2023.

if, however, they go up not quite that far, which is my view, then we are still looking at a recovery that probably won�*t be with us until the year after next, in which case the prime minister may not have full—blown recovery ahead of the next general election. and next general election. and obviously. _ next general election. and obviously, people - next general election. and obviously, people are i next general election. and obviously, people are going to be keeping their eyes on this. when do you think rates may fall? the --rosect you think rates may fall? the prospect for _ you think rates may fall? the prospect for rates _ you think rates may fall? the: prospect for rates falling probably depends on how far they go up, which is a very clear answer to give, but it seems to me that if the bank is going to peak in early spring or summer next year and the economy is still taking a hit, notjust from higher interest rates, but of course higher interest rates, but of course higher energy prices and of course the tax increases that are in the pipeline to come, then it seems to me that the likely case is for interest rates to start going down again in 2024. i}i(. interest rates to start going down again in 2024-— interest rates to start going down again in 2024. ok, thank you very much. again in 2024. ok, thank you very

much- that _ again in 2024. ok, thank you very much. that is _ again in 2024. ok, thank you very much. that is neil— again in 2024. ok, thank you very much. that is neil williams, i again in 2024. ok, thank you very much. that is neil williams, chief| much. that is neil williams, chief economist at the official monetary and financial institutions forum, the omfif. former wimbledon champion boris former wimbledon champion boris becker has been freed from prison after serving just eight months of a sentence for offences under the insolvency act. the former world number one and bbc commentator now faces deportation from the uk, as he does not have british citizenship. becker, who is german, was jailed in april for two and a half years, after hiding assets and loans to avoid paying debts. he was declared bankrupt in 2017, owing nearly £50 million. a rescue operation is continuing in the english channel for migrants, a boat was capsized in the early hours of this morning. crews from the rnli rescued nearly 40 people from the freezing water. but four are known to have died. this rescue operation is continuing in the english channel. for people who are still

missing and that boat that obviously capsized yesterday morning, crews on that nearby fishing boat were able to help some passengers and we are going to be following that story, as it has been confirmed that forward died. earlier, a spokesperson from the royal national lifeboat institution gave this statement. at this moment in time, our thoughts are with the families and the loved ones of those who sadly lost their lives in yesterday�*s tragic incident in the english channel. in the very early hours of the 14th of december, his majesty�*s coastguard tasked rnli crews, made up of volunteers and staff from dungeness, ramsgate and dover, to an incident in which a small inflatable boat crossing the channel got into difficulties. on arrival, crews were faced with a harrowing situation of people distressed and in the water. at this point, the rnli would wish to recognise the invaluable life—saving contribution of the uk fishing vessels on scene, whose immediate actions undoubtedly saved countless lives.

the rnli crews then carried out a rescue of a number of people and returned them to the emergency services at dover, before subsequently being re—tasked to continue with the search and rescue operation in the channel. the rnli exists to save lives at sea. yesterday saw our crews do all they could to prevent people from drowning. sadly, it has been confirmed that four people have lost their lives. searches continued throughout yesterday and all with the lifeboat crews from dungeness, ramsgate, dover and hastings and also inshore lifeboat crews from walmer lifeboat station. the rnli contribution was part of a multi—agency search and rescue operation with other emergency services and search and rescue assets, all under the coordination of his majesty�*s coastguard. we are grateful beyond words for the selfless dedication of oui’ ci’ews. however, this is a stark reminder of how dangerous this stretch of water can be.

in recent months, rnli crews have undergone additional training and been provided with specialist equipment in preparations for incidents such as this. whilst we hoped that such an incident would never happen, we have always known that it might. as a charity, we are incredibly proud of the work we do to save lives at sea. we do notjudge anyone who we rescue or how they came to be in the water. we thank our crews for their continued dedication and commitment to the cause of saving lives at sea. thank you. our correspondent, simonjones, sent us this update. the dungeness lifeboat was heavily involved yesterday in the rescue operation. today the focus has shifted. instead, drones are being flown across the channel, but the reality is they are now looking for dead bodies. four people confirmed to have died, among them a teenager. in terms of those missing, it is thought up to four people are unaccounted for, but it is difficult for the authorities to build up a

complete picture because the boat that sank was dangerously overloaded, the people on board it would not have known each other. of those rescued by the passing fishing boat, 12 were unaccompanied children who have been handed over to the care of kent county council. the home secretary has spoken to her french counterpart. she has promised to work more closely with france to try to stop the crossings, but we have heard this many times before, but the reality is the crossings have continued, despite the freezing weather. simonjones reporting simon jones reporting there. just simonjones reporting there. just a reminder of that breaking news, we received earlier, that the four boys who died in after falling received earlier, that the four boys who died in afterfalling into received earlier, that the four boys who died in after falling into a frozen lake in solihull on sunday have been named by west midlands police. earlier, we showed you the pictures released by the police, of three of them. the brothers, samuel

butler, aged six, finlay butler, who was aged eight years old and their cousin, thomas stuart. more than 100 schools have closed in aberdeenshire, as temperatures across the uk have plummeted. teams of engineers have arrived in shetland to help reconnect more than 2,000 homes and businesses which are still without power. heavy snow storms hit electricity supplies — some properties are now on their fourth day without power, and there are warnings it could be the weekend before all of them are back to normal. kevin keane reports. a welcome sight as teams arrive from aberdeen to help local engineers restore shetland�*s power. they came, too, by plane and by helicopter, bringing notjust the expertise, but equipment and vital new electricity poles. in voe, in the north mainland, the damage is widespread, the accumulations of heavy snow and ice pulling down the wires. in the last 24 hours, a generator arrived to bring heat to the village hall. it�*s providing a warm space for people

to come to, as well as hot food and drink. i definitely am aware of quite a few folk that have actually been going without any heating or ability to make hot food or drink, so i think it will be welcomed. we�*ve had local residents have been providing that service just from their own house, but now we can do that from a community facility. it's been very cold, and we've gotten to the stage where we are wearing, like, three tops each, and two pairs of socks, and we can see our breath in the house now, so it's getting really cold. so, it's fine to be in this kind of warm space, evenjust for a start. while reinforcements have arrived, the power company says restoring supplies will be a slow process. the challenge has been, the line incident happened so quick. matter of three hours. the weight of the lying ice overloaded various components on our network and caused wires to break and poles to break. the snow and wind is still making it hard for energy companies. right idea. kevin keane, bbc news.

for all its recent success, south korea has a dire record on women�*s rights. it has the worst gender pay gap of any wealthy nation and men dominate its boardrooms and politics. but rather than promising to tackle the issue, south korea�*s new president wants to close its ministry for gender equality, leaving women fearing they could be about to lose their hard—fought gains. our seoul correspondent, jean mackenzie, has sent this report — there are details that some viewers may find distressing. shouting. women in south korea are angry. the new president here has claimed structural sexism is a thing of the past. but you need only scratch the surface... ..to reveal shocking discrimination. when yuna started herjob as a clerk at a major bank, she was told to make the lunch

and wash the hand towels in the men�*s bathroom. translation: they said this fell to me, as the newest female member of staff. i said, "wouldn�*t it be better for the men to wash "the towels in their bathroom?" and my boss said, "how can you tell men to wash towels?" i politely said, "no", but my boss got very angry and started to torment me. south korea has the worst gender pay gap of all wealthy nations. but rather than promise to fix this, the president has courted young men, who feel they�*re being disadvantaged by recent attempts to improve women�*s lives. "abolish the gender equality ministry," they shout here. the ministry supports women and those who�*ve been sexually assaulted. and the president has

agreed to close it. ana was raped by her professor at college. she credits the gender equality ministry with saving her life. translation: i went to a hospital, which was supposed to support i victims of crime. the doctor there heard my case and said i was delusional. it was heartbreaking. five months later, i tried to kill myself. the gender equality ministry stepped in. it found her a place in a shelter and supported her to pursue a successful prosecution. ana is now fighting, along with more than 800 organisations, to save the ministry. for months i�*ve been asking

to interview the gender equality minister, but they�*ve refused to sit down with us. and can i just... do you agree with the president that there is no structural sexism in korea? "there needs to be more women in politics and we must close she goes on to explain how the current services the gender pay gap," she says. she goes on to explain how the current services will be protected. but what about all the progress still to be made? that�*s what women are now worried about. how can korea fix a problem it won�*t even acknowledge? jean mackenzie, bbc news, seoul. the time is 4:53pm. jane hill will be bringing your news at 5pm, but first...

brussel sprouts might not always be a hit at the dinner table, but a group of allotment owners are hoping their charity single dedicated to the humble veg might grow on listeners. the allotmenteers, as they call themselves, have recorded a parody album of vegetable—inspired tribute songs. our reporter, stuart whincup, has been to meet them. # sprouts sprouts # dig �*em all out # these are the veg we can do without cover. ..# # these are the veg we can do without...# it all started during lockdown. a group of friends digging together, whistling while they worked. we were like a bunch of happy gnomes, and i kind of thought, this is great. and i started writing songs and changing the lyrics, like, comedy sort of angle, you know? and then i started writing an album, and then it all went from there, really? # you gave them life # and in return they gave you hell...#

the money from the song is going to herriot hospice care. it looked after their good friend paul brennan before his death. brad�*s the newest member of the band. it's a good laugh, isn't it? it's raising money for a good cause. everyone's absolutely loving it. one of my friends, she told me that when her and her kids were putting the christmas tree up, the kids he to put the sprouts on on. so, yeah, feedback's been fantastic, to be fair. the first song released, the album comes out next year. you�*ve got the idea by now, no pun of song titles or band names is too shameful. nothing, sadly, is off limits. so the album now, that�*s what i call veg, will be out next summer. it�*ll include classic hits like growing underground by strawberry jam. # growing underground...# confidence is a preference for the experienced gardener. and then there�*s plot life by blurred. #plot life! # and prince�*s classic little red corvette becomes quincy�*s little red courgette.

# little red courgette. # so with the album out next year and little left to do on the allotment, it�*s time to dream big. i�*m going to kick ed sheeran out and eltonjohn, all them lot, off the top of the charts. no more sausage rolls. none of that. sprouts. we�*re going organic. don�*t panic, we�*re organic. stuart whincup, bbc news, northallerton. who knew there was that much love phosphorus? ! —— map much love for brussel sprouts. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. the cold snap is set to continue for a few more days, last night seeing some places seeing the coldest in a decade. this was the picture in tunbridge wells on thursday morning, lots of clear skies and sun through the day and into the evening as well as over the next few

days more sunny areas, snow in parts of scotland. into the evening, once the sun sets it will turn cold quite quickly, so this is 6pm in the evening, if you are heading away from work temperatures already below freezing for many of us, more snow showers across parts of scotland and also for north—east england, one or two across the coast of norfolk and the irish sea. most of us seeing a very cold night, temperatures down to —8, but some dense freezing fog in central and eastern england and then this area of snow moving in across scotland. that is potentially going to be quite heavy through friday morning, initially for the western isles, the likes of argyll, heading through the central belt through the middle of the day. wintry flurries for northern ireland as well, but for much of england and wales it stays clear and dry, but for scotland there could be 5—20 centimetres of snow falling, mainly over the higher ground, but even at low levels that could cause some disruption. into saturday, that band of sleet and snow showers push south into parts of england and wales, turning back to rain for some of us, particularly at lower levels.

a few more snow flurries across the west, temperature started across the north—west, temperature started to edge up a bit around 6 degrees for many of us and moving into the weekend, heading into sunday this area of rain and low pressure approaches from the south—west, not only bringing rain, but brisk winds and much milder air, so a real change in weather type through the course of sunday. rain preceded by some snow across the south—west initially, moving its way northwards and eastwards across the uk, so it is mainly going to be in the hills in the north that we see heavy snowfall, quickly turning back to rain as that much milder air moves in and the winds really picking up, so a very different feeling day. things turn significantly milder as we head through to monday, looking at mid—teens for many of us, temperatures just teeing off a bit through the coming week, but check the latest details for where you live by downloading the bbc weather app, which gives you a percentage chance of precipitation. goodbye.

this is bbc news. this is bbc news. i�*mjane i�*mjane i�*m jane hill. i�*m jane hill. the headlines... the headlines... police name the four boys police name the four boys who died after falling who died after falling into a freezing lake in solihull — into a freezing lake in solihull — two were brothers and two were brothers and another their cousin. another their cousin. the family of the fourth boy — the family of the fourth boy — ten—year—old jackjohnson, ten—year—old jackjohnson, have also released an image of him. have also released an image of him. and meghan series have landed tens of thousands of nurses tens of thousands of nurses across england, wales across england, wales and northern ireland are taking part and northern ireland are taking part in industrial action in industrial action in what they�*re calling in what they�*re calling a �*last resort�* strike. a �*last resort�* strike. they�*re asking for a pay they�*re asking for a pay rise of up to 19%. rise of up to 19%. we are often working now at half we are often working now at half the safe staffing level the safe staffing level that we are supposed to have. that we are supposed to have. we just can't sustain it any more. we just can't sustain it any more. the mental and physical the mental and physical toll of it is too much, toll of it is too much, even if we wanted to carry on, we couldn't.

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