this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines: around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs, but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. what urgent cases will be covered. what is terrifying — urgent cases will be covered. what is terrifying is _ urgent cases will be covered. what is terrifying is right _ urgent cases will be covered. what is terrifying is right now _ urgent cases will be covered. “tr"isgt is terrifying is right now people not knowing when they call 999 they will get the treatment they need. there is not a minimum level of service — there is not a minimum level of service any— there is not a minimum level of service any day because they have broken _ service any day because they have broken the — service any day because they have broken the nhs! the us halts all domestic airline flights because of a glitch with the flight control system. they are now set to resume. russia's defence ministry says the battle for soledar in eastern

ukraine is continuing, despite a claim from wagner mercenaries that they were in control of the town. mp andrew bridgen is susupended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—19 vaccines with the holocaust. good afternoon. ambulance workers in england and wales are striking over pay for a second time. managers are warning the impact is likely to be worse than last month's stoppage, because now call handlers are also on strike. the prime minister says it's terrifying people don't know what will happen if they call 999. but ambulance staff say they will leave picket lines to respond to all category one emergency calls, where there's a threat to life.

0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports from manchester. ambulances are still responding to life—threatening emergencies. but the picket lines outside ambulance stations across wales and almost all of england tell their own story. i always wanted to be a paramedic from being a child and i wanted to help people. for those like sam, a paramedic in manchester with two small children, striking was a tough decision but one she felt forced to take. it's hard, but at the end of the month i don't have any wages there. we don't have any savings. it is a struggle. our weekly food shop has gone up, our electricity has gone up. it really is stretched at the moment. more than 20,000 ambulance workers are involved in a strike today, affecting all of wales and every region in england except the east and the isle of wight. the strike involves all staff

who are members of the gmb or unison and includes paramedics and call handlers representing two thirds of all ambulance workers. in manchester, the industrial action started at 7am, but the timings vary across different parts of england and wales. 999 calls will still be answered, and ambulance crews are attending life—threatening emergencies. but the government says given the extreme pressure on the health service, facing one of the toughest winters in its history, this is the wrong time to take strike action. the nhs, as we can all see, is under massive pressure. we accepted in full the recommendations of what is an independent process, the pay review body process, and i think it's hugely regrettable. the advice to patients is to think carefully before calling an ambulance but not to hesitate if it's a life—threatening emergencies such as a heart attack, stroke or seizure.

at this hospital in plymouth, the army is helping with ambulance call—outs, and the service will undoubtedly be even more stretched today. are you going to wave it for me? back on the manchester picket line, paramedics like mark say the strike is about more than just pay but also the state of the wider health service. i've been in this job for ia years, and i've seen it slowly decline. it's a case of we're not able to do ourjob properly because we're getting stuck in ambulances and we are not able to then provide for other people that need us. from the government point of view, i think sometimes they do play on our caring side, we are all in the job because we care, and most of us will still stay because it's a job that we love and a job that we've been in for quite a few years and we need to be matched up with the pay that we deserve, really. the health service will see more strikes, with two days of industrial action by nursing staff next week and physiotherapists striking

towards the end of the month. junior doctors are also voting on whether to take industrial action. so far, there is little sign of a breakthrough that could mean the dispute is resolved soon. in a moment, we will speak to phil mackie, who“s at a hospital in cheltenham for us, but first let's talk tojenny kumar in plymouth. what is the situation where you are? in hospitals across this region, we have some of the worst ambulance response times worst ambulance hand over delays, and there are days when you will see dozens of ambulances queueing up, but today, despite the industrial action, there has been half a dozen, a handful of ambulances parked up. we have seen military personnel helping out with crewing. i have been speaking to

relatives and patience, i spoke to one person whose mother had a stroke this morning, they called for an ambulance and it arrived within 20 minutes. he told me that he was very pleased with the response and that he did support the industrial action, and he was glad his mother was able to get the service she needed. i talked to a patient who had come in because she had been sent up to the emergency department from the minor injuries unit, and she also told me that she was supportive of the strike. things seem relatively normal, i have had a look at the waiting times, around 90 minutes, which is fairly normal, and on days earlier this week people were having to wait hours to see a doctor, and the nhs have said that they have put measures in place to make sure that the impact of the strike is mitigated. that is the picture here in plymouth. jenny kumah, thanks _ picture here in plymouth. jenny kumah, thanks for— picture here in plymouth. jenny kumah, thanks for that. - picture here in plymouth. jenny

kumah, thanks for that. let's i picture here in plymouth. jenny - kumah, thanks for that. let's cross now, as promised, to phil mackie, our correspondent in gloucester, and not cheltenham, as i said earlier, forgive me for that, tell us what is happening in that area. so forgive me for that, tell us what is happening in that area. 50 i forgive me for that, tell us what is happening in that area.— happening in that area. so i have come to gloucester— happening in that area. so i have come to gloucester from - happening in that area. so i have - come to gloucester from cheltenham, which is probably where the confusion was, few emergency departments in the same trust, this is the sister want to be cheltenham one, probably where the most seriously hurt people would be brought, so there was a serious car accident on the motorway, and those with the most serious injuries would come here, and i have been talking to a few people who have been using the emergency department at cheltenham earlier, and they have been people with breaks and sprains, really, i spoke to an elderly lady who slipped in the gym, cracked her head, a cut on her head, her daughter had taken her to hospital, and she was seen within few hours. and a lady who had fallen down the stairs at home, she was swollen and bruised, they gave her painkillers

and bandaged her up, and she was out within an hourand and bandaged her up, and she was out within an hour and a half. but now there are currently 95 people waiting in a&e, about 35 over in cheltenham, so the average time spent in the department, although you will get seen quite quickly, is around nine hours, compared to seven hours earlier. i have spoken to a unison rep, they manned the biggest ambulance station nearby, between gloucester and cheltenham, and he said 20 staff who were due to come in this afternoon are standing on the picket line. we have seen at most five ambulances in the bay since i got here, coming and going, and i haven't seen any body in a military uniform here driving and ambience, whereas i in cheltenham. the trust have said it is a fairly typical day, and it doesn't seem to have significantly changed, other than, say, the waiting time in there, which has dramatically gone up there, which has dramatically gone up over the last couple of hours,

but it mayjust be the busiest part of the day, but also, you know, waiting times go up and down, as we know from our own personal experience is. but as i say, at the moment, a couple of ambulances have come and gone, there are three now, and things appear to be being handled reasonably well. phii. handled reasonably well. phil, thanks for— handled reasonably well. phil, thanks for that, _ handled reasonably well. phil, thanks for that, phil _ handled reasonably well. phil, thanks for that, phil mackie, l handled reasonably well. phil, thanks forthat, phil mackie, and thanks for that, phil mackie, and our correspondentsjenny kumah with the picture across the country, thank you to both. well, for more on this, let“s speak to bryn webster, who is a paramedic and chair of unison“s national ambulance committee. good to have you with us, and before we come onto today's strike action, i wonder if you could give us a sense of your front line experience as a paramedic, because i think you have worked for the ambulance service for nearly a0 years, have you? what is it like at the moment? good afternoon, everybody. working on the ambulance service at this

moment in time is really, really stressful. the main concerns that we have got the hand times at casualty, waiting for hours at casualty with patients on the back of ambulances, and unfortunately there have been cases where patients have deteriorated and died in the back of ambulances. and our call takers in our control rooms, they are under a lot of pressure. they are only on a band three wage, a basic take—home pay of about £ia00 per month, and we cannot recruit to those roles. we are trying to recruit, but 50% leave within the first year ofjoining the ambulance service, so it is close, if not broken, the ambulance service, and as i say, in a0 years, it is by far the worst i have ever

seen it. ,, it is by far the worst i have ever seen it. , ., it is by far the worst i have ever seenit. , ., _ ., seen it. do you accept that by going on strike, seen it. do you accept that by going on strike. you _ seen it. do you accept that by going on strike, you are _ seen it. do you accept that by going on strike, you are putting _ seen it. do you accept that by going on strike, you are putting lives - seen it. do you accept that by going on strike, you are putting lives at i on strike, you are putting lives at risk? ., ., ., , ., risk? no, i do not accept that. every day. _ risk? no, i do not accept that. every day. i — risk? no, i do not accept that. every day, i believe _ risk? no, i do not accept that. every day, i believe that - risk? no, i do not accept that. every day, i believe that the l every day, i believe that the government is putting lives at risk. i am on a picket line at the minute at york, and we are responding to life and limb, as we speak from there, so if anybody really need an ambulance, they will get one from the picket line. but ambulance, they will get one from the picket line.— the picket line. but there will be --eole the picket line. but there will be people listening _ the picket line. but there will be people listening to _ the picket line. but there will be people listening to those - the picket line. but there will be people listening to those who i the picket line. but there will be | people listening to those who will be worried, frightened, will be put off ringing 999 because they do not think they will get an ambulance. as rishi sunak said in the house of commons, people will be terrified by that thought, won“t they? i can that thought, won't they? i can assure them. _ that thought, won't they? i can assure them, if _ that thought, won't they? i can assure them, if they _ that thought, won't they? i can assure them, if they are - that thought, won't they? i can assure them, if they are in - that thought, won't they? i can | assure them, if they are in need that thought, won't they? i can assure them, if they are in need of an ambulance, life or limb, a serious incident or accident, we will respond from the picket line. i have got to say, though, it is like this every day, we have not got enough vehicles out there, and more importantly cannot get the patients off at casualty, so it is a pretty

dire state of affairs now. qm. dire state of affairs now. ok, so let's try and _ dire state of affairs now. ok, so let's try and be _ dire state of affairs now. ok, so let's try and be constructive - dire state of affairs now. ok, so l let's try and be constructive about what might solve some of this. which of the two possible areas of compromise do you think would be most appealing to you and other members of your union? would it be a one—off hardship payment to address some of the issues around power you have talked about, or would it be bringing forward next year's pay settlement, backdating next year's pay settlement? which of those might help to break the deadlock? weill. pay settlement? which of those might help to break the deadlock?— help to break the deadlock? well, at least the government _ help to break the deadlock? well, at least the government are _ help to break the deadlock? well, at least the government are talking - least the government are talking about trying to break the deadlock, which is positive. i would say that if the government spoke to us and said they would have meaningful discussions with the trade unions, that we could call the industrial action off. i'm not getting into a debate about whether the one—off payment or bringing it forward would be better or worse, because it is just speculation, we have not had

anything concrete from the government over the past few months. 0k, we have got to leave it there, thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. thank you for “oining us here on bbc news. ., 4“ thank you for “oining us here on bbc news. . ,, , ., i want to bring you some breaking news that is coming to us from the united states. as we have been telling you, all flights in the us had been grounded by the faa, the federal aviation administration, after computer problems. they have said in the last few minutes that flights are now resuming after the stop order was lifted. i want to take you to pictures now of lax airport in los angeles and just remind you that us aviation authority say normal air traffic has resumed across the country, including in california, where you are looking at those pictures with

me, and that nationwide restrictions have been lifted. flights had been grounded for several hours after what has been described as a critical communications system failed. lines had been allowed to take off from a couple of airports, newark and atlantic, to ease traffic congestion, but now it seems that those airports and flights can take off and land safely. as i say, the problems began when a system which alerts pilots to potential hazards on flight routes failed, and the white house has said there is no evidence of a cyber attack at this stage, but those flights resuming now, although, looking at that scene at lax, one cannot help but wonder whether the grounding of flights will have a knock—on impact for services during the rest of the day. we will of course bring you updates on that during the course of the afternoon as we get them.

well, in the commons, the ambulance strike and the state of the national health service dominated the first prime minister's questions of the new year. and after weeks of speculation, rishi sunakfinally said he has used private health care in the past, but he also said he is registered with an nhs gp. 0ur political correspondent ben wright was watching. how are you going to end the strikes in the nhs, prime minister? - no end in sight to the strikes, an nhs understrain, and political heat on the prime minister. at the weekend, rishi sunak ducked questions about his own health care arrangements, refusing to say if he used a private gp. but as he faced the commons for the first time this year, mr sunak said he did use the nhs after all. i am registered with an nhs gp. i have used independent health care in the past, and i'm also grateful to the hospital for the fantastic care they've given my family over the years. with ambulance staff striking today, net is planning a walk—out

next week, labour's leader tried to pin the blame on the prime minister. in the 13 years of the last labour government, there were no national nhs strikes. if the prime minister had negotiated with the nurses before christmas, they wouldn't be on strike. if he had negotiated with the ambulance workers, they wouldn't be on strike either. so why is he choosing to prolong the misery, rather than end these strikes? prime minister! mr speaker, we've always been clear that we want constructive dialogue with the unions. that is also why, when it comes to the issue of pay, we have accepted in full the independent recommendations of the pay review bodies. the honourable gentleman simply doesn't have a policy when it comes to this question. the political scrap over strikes is escalating. the government sketched out plans to enforce minimum levels of service during industrial action — an idea labour opposes. his response to the greatest crisis in the history of the nhs is to threaten to sack our nurses.

his transport secretary says it's not the solution. his education secretary hopes it won't apply in schools. his own assessments say it could increase the number of strikes. the simple truth is, you can't legislate your way out of 13 years of failure. this is a simple proposition, that no—one denies the unions freedom to strike, but it is also important to balance that with people's right to have access to life—saving health care at the same time. mr speaker, this shouldn't be controversial. but the plans won't have any impact on the current strikes. talks between unions and ministers over pay look stuck, so the disruption goes on. ben wright, bbc news, westminster.

in the last few minutes, the federal aviation administration in the united states has said that flights will no longer be grounded after a computer problem. transport correspondent katy austin has joined us. what is going on? it correspondent katy austin has “oined us. what is going on?�* us. what is going on? it looks like earlier there _ us. what is going on? it looks like earlier there was _ us. what is going on? it looks like earlier there was an _ us. what is going on? it looks like earlier there was an outage - us. what is going on? it looks like earlier there was an outage of- us. what is going on? it looks like earlier there was an outage of the | earlier there was an outage of the system that essentially notifies the pilots in the us that there is a hazard or something really important that has changed, they need to know before they set off, so this is important for safety, and following that outage, the authorities in the us said there was a lot of work going on to try to get back up and running, but while they did that, they stopped domestic flights taking off. it looks like some flights were able to land, with extra help from air—traffic control, for example, to make sure it was safe, but a really big impact... make sure it was safe, but a really big impact-"— big impact... domestic flights, there are thousands _ big impact... domestic flights, there are thousands of- big impact... domestic flights, there are thousands of them i big impact... domestic flights, - there are thousands of them every day. it there are thousands of them every da . , . there are thousands of them every da. , day. it is an absolutely huge market, day. it is an absolutely huge market. so _ day. it is an absolutely huge market, so the _ day. it is an absolutely huge market, so the main - day. it is an absolutely huge

market, so the main brunt l day. it is an absolutely huge | market, so the main brunt of day. it is an absolutely huge - market, so the main brunt of this is within us domestic flights. i think there is some impact on internationalflights, we have international flights, we have noticed internationalflights, we have noticed some delays, for example, on flights setting off from the uk to the us, and even now that things are being allowed to resume gradually, i would expect us to have a knock—on impact through out the day. i suppose not exactly sure how long it would last, but you would expect a sizeable knock—on impact from a couple of hours of no flights being allowed to take off. it is very unusual, notjust for the system to go down, but for the authorities to issue a blanket, you know, all departures must stop for now. as to the cause of the systems outage, we do not know. the us government said there was no evidence of a cyber attack, but an investigation has been ordered. for the moment, people willjust be hoping that things get back to normal quickly. just willjust be hoping that things get back to normal quickly.— back to normal quickly. just to be clear, back to normal quickly. just to be clear. this — back to normal quickly. just to be clear, this system _ back to normal quickly. just to be clear, this system is _ back to normal quickly. just to be clear, this system is not - back to normal quickly. just to be clear, this system is not in - back to normal quickly. just to be clear, this system is not in each | clear, this system is not in each individual plane, it is on the ground, but it is different from

air—traffic control, which many of our viewers will be familiar with. yeah, this is about communicating with pilots and crew about important information that they need to know about their flight, about what is happening, one example could include that an airport is closed, which obviously they need to know before they set off, and it is all about making sure that everything is safe. i spoke to one aviation expert, a pilot who says that nobody wants delays and disruption, but it is a better option than safety being compromised. kat? better option than safety being compromised.— better option than safety being comromised. . , �* , ., compromised. katy austin, transport correspondent. _ compromised. katy austin, transport correspondent, thanks _ for that update. we were hearing about flights being delayed, and i don't know if we just wanted to bring new pictures of the scene at los angeles airport, and as katy was saying, although flights have now resumed, there is likely to

be a knock—on effect on domestic flights there, and who knows, perhaps even international flights, and we will keep you updated. here, leaders of rail unions say a resolution to their ongoing dispute over pay, conditions and jobs is a long way off. however, rail company bosses say they are more optimistic about the prospect of a deal. mps have been questioning bosses from the rmt, aslef and tssa unions this morning, as well as representatives from network rail and the rail delivery group. they union leaders were asked by the chair of the transport committee about the current state of the dispute. let's say, on a scale of one to ten, whereas one, you remain on different planets, ten, i can go out and buy a hat for the wedding, where are we? mr whelan. thank you, chair. i think you can include zero on one to ten, we're further away than when we started. ok, that's clear. mr ward? i wouldn't disagree with that. 0k, mr lynch? i wouldn't be able to say, it depends on discussions.

i wouldn't use a scale, but we haven't got an agreement, and until we get an agreement, we're not close to it, really. rail bosses were also asked a similar question about the chances of a resolution with the unions. rmt, i believe that we have an opportunity to try and move forward. so i think we're within reasonable areas of where i think we can get a deal, but we have to work through it with them. obviously, as it was indicated, there“s further discussions tomorrow, so obviously we wait and see the outcome of that. tssa, in a very similar position, where we'll get further discussions tomorrow. alef is slightly different, behind with aslef. obviously, we made the offer last friday. we've heard the reaction of aslef. we need to do more with them and try and get back around the table. so that one is probably further behind the other at this moment. a ten for the tssa and unite, which are part of the same negotiating group, because they're resolved, and that's good news.

and those members of staff have now had that money, for the controllers grade group. and as soon as we can resolve with rmt, then that will resolve those two unions. for rmt, 36% of the members that are employees voted yes for the deal. so we're a bit short of the 50% that we need. there's a couple of thousand people that need to change their vote. so we met again with with the rmt leadership yesterday for discussions and we're planning to meet again next week. so, you know, i'm... i'd place that at seven. mps also asked about proposals to introduce more driver only operated trains, where services do not have guards on board. union leaders said that was a red line for them. we will not accept driver—only operation in any company, without a fight. we will never sign up

to accepting d00. it will never happen while i'm the general secretary, it will never happen as long as the rmt exists. train drivers who do it hate it and feel it is unsafe, and we feel it is unsafe. prior to the pandemic, the whole industry was moving in a different direction. all the travelling public, passenger focus want a visible and safe presence on every train. we have seen sexual assaults increase — and county lines and drugs, areas where people refuse to move at certain times of night. unfortunately, society hasn't got more polite and safer. and since then, the rail safety standards have designated that train drivers are lone workers. so every role has to be reevaluated in light of us being lone workers. so where this is no staff on stations, nobody in booking offices, and nobody in trains, we do not believe it is safe for the travelling public. also, we do believe you need everybody in all those positions to run a safe railway and we will not be the supporting d00 if it comes forward as part of this deal.

in scotland, exams are being rescheduled as secondary teachers strike in their dispute about pay. some preliminary exams have been affected. unions are asking for a 10% pay increase. the scottish government says that's unaffordable. it follows a strike by primary school teachers yesterday, also over pay. six people have been injured in a stabbing attack at the gare du nord train station in paris. one of the victims is in a critical condition. the suspect is now in hospital after being shot three times by off—duty police officers who were returning home after a night shift. the motive for the attack isn't yet clear. prince harry has denied he boasted about killing 25 taliban fighters when he was a helicopter pilot in afghanistan. he's been criticised for writing about the killings in his memoir, where he referred

to the afghans who had died as "chess pieces taken off the board". but on american television last night, harry said the press had taken his remarks out of context. sophie long reports. they cheered and chanted his name. it was the latest and most light—hearted installment of this multi—platform media blitz. do you...? does he ever make you guys a drink, or not? it started with a cocktail, swiftly followed by criticism of the british press and the way he says they took his words about killing afghan insurgents out of context. they called it boastful and dangerous. he said he included it in his book to help others. if i heard anyone boasting about that kind of thing, i would be angry. but it's a lie. and hopefully now that the book is out, people will be able to see the context. and it is, it's really troubling

and very disturbing that they can get away with it. he spoke about the loss of his mother and how he believed the distance between he and his brother william would not be as great if she were still alive. she died at 36 and i was 36 when this all kicked off. as injanuary of 2020 was when my wife and i basically said, "enough, we can't cope, we can't deal with this. "we need to carve out something different." so that was an interesting overlap of time. people in the us are generally more into self care than self deprecation, so immodesty, indiscretion doesn't really inspire the same level of criticism here as it does in the uk. and the words harry uses like consent, consciousness — that's the language that californians speak. ijust think he's being honest about his life. i mean, i love the fact that he's, you know, he's trying to set the record straight. there's been a lot out there the last few years

about him and his wife. and i think, you know, he's a human being. his wife's a human being. and i can completely understand why they want to... they want people to understand their side of the story. it's interesting to see the exposure of racism or cultural conflicts - in other countries and communities. so, for me, it's interesting, and hopefully good . will come out of this. you've got to have watched some of the crown, right? people are loving that! yes, i have actually watched the crown. here, they enjoy the status of semi royal celebrities. yeah. do you fact—check it while you watch it? yes, i do, actually! and using prime—time television to "speak their own truth" is not something many americans have a problem with. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. thanks for being here. really enjoyed the conversation. thank you for sharing this.

now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. we could be looking at further flooding problems across the country over the next few days with more rain to come, particularly western scotland, north—west england, south—west england and wales. today, more rain“s piling in from the west. these weather fronts enhancing shower activities, lots of isobars on the charts, so there's going to be strong winds as well. and then we've got a more substantial area of rain pushing through this evening and overnight for northern ireland, initially, then into wales, much of england as well. some of the rain will be heavy, particularly towards the west, and it doesn't really let up across the south west. in fact, even through tomorrow morning, it's going to be quite wet there as well. windy in the south, drier and colder further north. and then, for thursday, we've got that weather front bringing further wet and windy weather to the south of the country, new a area of low pressure winding itself up and pushing into northern ireland and western scotland through the day, so we could start to see gales or severe gales here. it stays windy with further rain across southern areas, a bit of sunshine in between, one or two blustery showers. mild in the south, chilly in the north.

hello, this is bbc news with me, rebecca jones. the headlines. around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs

but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. russia's defence ministry says the battle in eastern ukraine is continuing despite claims they were in control of the town. and the mp andrew bridging is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—i9 vaccines with the holocaust. sport now and over at bbc sport centre it is gavin. england boss mike 0wen farrell is set to be available for their six nations opener with scotland despite a four match ban for a dangerous tackle. the ban could be reduced to three weeks if he completes the world rugby coaching intervention programme. this all comes from a club game that 0wen farrell actually played in last friday where he made

a tackle and he made contact to the head of opposition playerjack clement who was playing for gloucester at the time. it wasn't picked up by the officials and he was subsequently cited and attended a disciplinary hearing last night. the outcome is that he was given a four—game ban and the four games can be reduced to three games if he completes a world rugby tackle course which fse is expected to do it will be reduced to three games. there is a bit of confusion around it because on monday steve borthwick will name his england squad. if 0wen farrell is named in the england squad, the third game on the list technically 0wen farrell would never play on for his england side because england players tend to be rested before the six nations. it means this could get very complicated and a lot of the decision over whether he plays in the game against scotland could essentially rest at the head of the england coach steve

borthwick. what a way to start his tenure, a lot of pressure on his shoulders. the last 2/a—finals of the league cup take place tonight with nottingham forest at home to wolves and manchester city travelling to southampton. if manchester city when it would make pep guardiola the most successful bossin pep guardiola the most successful boss in the competition's history, he is currently level at four winds. we want to wind it because it is there _ we want to wind it because it is there and — we want to wind it because it is there and we want to do it but it will not — there and we want to do it but it will not change my life. it doesn't produce _ will not change my life. it doesn't produce something special at the same _ produce something special at the same i_ produce something special at the same i have with brian sir alex, but people _ same i have with brian sir alex, but pebble say— same i have with brian sir alex, but people say it is the less important competition but we try to do our best _ competition but we try to do our best. , , , competition but we try to do our best. joaoa felix says he is very excited to _ best. joaoa felix says he is very excited to have _ best. joaoa felix says he is very excited to have joined _ best. joaoa felix says he is very excited to have joined chelsea | best. joaoa felix says he is very i excited to have joined chelsea for the rest of the season. arsenal and

manchester united had been linked with the 23—year—old but he favoured a move to the blues. the fourth player to sign for the club during the january transfer window. they are currently tenth in the premier league. cardiff city have paid the french club nantes the first instalment of the transfer fee for emiliano sala. the payment is agreed to be around £70 million and fifa have agreed to lift the embargo on the club. the israeli and open starts next week but katie boulter has lost in qualifying, defeated in her second—round match today. cameron norrie will be there, he prevailed in his second round match of the auckland open which stretched to almost six hours because of rain. he was born in south africa but grew up he was born in south africa but grew up in auckland before his family moved to great britain. after three rain breaks, the match had to be

finished indoors. and the record cloud turned out last night to watch romeo beckham make his debut for brentford be in a london senior cup match. amongst the fans was his dad, the former england captain david. 20—year—old romeo hasjoined on loan until the end of the season. let“s until the end of the season. let's see if it is like father, like son. that is all the support from us for now. many people will be watching, not only as. the conservative mp andrew bridgen has been suspended from the conservative party after comparing the covid—i9 vaccine to the holocaust. the party says there will be an investigation. the bbc have approached mr bridgen for comment. let's get more on this with our health disinformation reporter rachel schraer. good to have you with hours. it is not the first time andrew bridgen has made comments about the covid

vaccine. just bring us up—to—date a little with what he has said. that is riaht little with what he has said. that is ri . ht so little with what he has said. that is right so andrew _ little with what he has said. “t"isgt is right so andrew bridgen began the pandemic with concerns about lockdown and vaccine mandates but praised the vaccine roll—out and even tweeted encouraging people to go out and get a job after he had his but we have seen a bit of a shift in the last few months where he has begun to move to more baseless claims about the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines, so we have seen a change particularly in the last few weeks, that rhetoric has been ramping up with more inflammatory language we have seen which has triggered the suspension we are seeing today. let which has triggered the suspension we are seeing today.— which has triggered the suspension we are seeing today. let me pick you u . we are seeing today. let me pick you u- on the we are seeing today. let me pick you up on the phrase _ we are seeing today. let me pick you up on the phrase baseless _ we are seeing today. let me pick you up on the phrase baseless claims - up on the phrase baseless claims because andrew bridgen has said the vaccines are killing people and the damage is being covered up. have we got any basis in fact for those assertions? irate got any basis in fact for those assertions?— got any basis in fact for those assertions? we know that the vaccines do — assertions? we know that the vaccines do come _ assertions? we know that the vaccines do come with - assertions? we know that the vaccines do come with some i assertions? we know that the i vaccines do come with some side effects and there have been some

rare and tragic cases of the most serious side effects. we have seen 60 deaths in england and wales recorded using those vaccines, out of 150 million doses, so when these things we have to look at the risk and benefit profile together so we know these vaccines are protecting, giving more than 80% protection in the first instance against hospital admission, more than that for older people after boosters although it winds a little bit after the first. so this is a vaccine that is providing protection against death and hospital admission and we have to set that against the much rarer instances of more severe side—effects. instances of more severe side-effects.— instances of more severe side-effects. �* �* . side-effects. andrew bridgen made these comments _ side-effects. andrew bridgen made these comments twitter. _ side-effects. andrew bridgen made these comments twitter. what - side-effects. andrew bridgen made | these comments twitter. what does this tell is perhaps about how rumours and misinformation can spread on social media?- spread on social media? that's riaht, i spread on social media? that's right. i think — spread on social media? that's right, i think what _ spread on social media? that's right, i think what we - spread on social media? that's right, i think what we can - spread on social media? that's right, i think what we can see l right, i think what we can see happening is once you put something out there that really chimes with a

particular group, it influences that group and they mightjump on and send you more information or add links or add more information for people, and so we seem to have seen an escalation of the rhetoric, perhaps encouraged by some people who already have pre—existing beliefs about vaccines or maybe are involved in some more extreme conspiracy theories, that are adding to that conversation online, sending people links to less authoritative news sources and misinterpretations of genuine data that really creates a very confusing picture for people who just a very confusing picture for people whojust might be a very confusing picture for people who just might be trying to understand and work out what is going on in the reality of things. thanks for helping us work it out. counter terrorism police are investigating how scrap metal containing traces of uranium arrived at london's heathrow airport last month. the bbc understands that one line of inquiry is whether it was the result of "poor handling" in pakistan — which is where it came from. we can speak now to hamish de bretton—gordon, former commanding officer

of the uk“sjoint chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment. really good to have you with us, thanks forjoining us. i wonder first of all, what did you make of this story when you first heard about it? ,., ., ., ., ., ~ about it? good afternoon. ithink it is absolutely _ about it? good afternoon. ithink it is absolutely extraordinary, - about it? good afternoon. ithink it is absolutely extraordinary, the - is absolutely extraordinary, the thought that uranium, a potentially very toxic and poisonous radiological isotope could be put on a civilian aircraft, travel halfway around the world and end up in london is almost unbelievable. i think the first thing is that all those people who look out for those sort of things, the security services and police and others, have absolutely done theirjob, and the fact we discovered less uranium and it would appear from what the police are saying, it now no longer is a danger to the public, is very good

news, but i think at a time when the nuclear and radiological threat is as high as it's ever been, even during the cold war, as we see that iran potentially possesses nuclear bomb capability, north korea does, china is tripling its holdings of warheads, and of course in ukraine president putin has threatened tactical nuclear attack and threatened a dirty bomb attack, to have potentially viable nuclear material turn up at heathrow airport is a huge concern, but i think the public should not be overly concerned because the measures in place to identify it has been done and it has now been safely dealt with. $5 and it has now been safely dealt with. �* , , ., and it has now been safely dealt with. r and it has now been safely dealt with. as you say surveillance mechanisms _ with. as you say surveillance mechanisms did _ with. as you say surveillance mechanisms did pick- with. as you say surveillance mechanisms did pick it - with. as you say surveillance mechanisms did pick it up. i with. as you say surveillance | mechanisms did pick it up. to pick—up with you about what uranium can be used for, we hear a lot about the phrase dirty bomb, can you

explore and what that isn't what other uses that might be put towards? ., ., , ., towards? the original use for uranium is — towards? the original use for uranium is for _ towards? the original use for uranium is for nuclear - towards? the original use for uranium is for nuclear power| uranium is for nuclear power stations, to provide tremendous amounts of power. however uranium is also the main source in nuclear weapons when it is highly enriched at about 90%. we have heard a lot about dirty bombs recently because of what vladimir putin has been threatening in ukraine. a dirty bomb is when a nuclear isotope is exploded with conventional explosive to spread contamination and that contamination can of course be very dangerous and take time to clear up. the other possibility is developing what we call an improvised nuclear device and we know that isis tried to do this with highly enriched uranium a few years ago, but we are talking about a very small amounts of uranium, so although this is

potentially a terrifying story i doubt there would have been enough uranium to either create a dirty bomb or a major hazard. you uranium to either create a dirty bomb or a major hazard. bomb or a ma'or hazard. you mention that it was bomb or a major hazard. you mention that it was on — bomb or a major hazard. you mention that it was on a _ bomb or a major hazard. you mention that it was on a civilian _ bomb or a major hazard. you mention that it was on a civilian aircraft. - that it was on a civilian aircraft. let“s that it was on a civilian aircraft. let's be clear, there were passengers on board, whether their? how on earth do you think uranium however small it was came to be on a passenger aircraft? lt is passenger aircraft? it is extraordinary. - passenger aircraft? it is extraordinary. we - passenger aircraft? it is extraordinary. we know passenger aircraft? it is i extraordinary. we know in passengeraircraft? it 3 extraordinary. we know in the uk that we have very sophisticated and comprehensive surveillance devices at all airports and ports to make sure the sort of thing does not happen. however it is obvious that perhaps we don't have that level, certainly in pakistan or 0man where the plane went through, does not have that level of surveillance. that is probably something they should look at. having said that, it is clear that because it was not identified that was obviously a very small source and perhaps it was

protected, shrouded in something like lead to prevent contamination spreading so i don't think anybody on that flight out of pakistan are out of oman should be overly worried about the radiation coming out of there, but it is something that one would not wish for and i am sure the pakistan and 0man authorities will be looking at how they can improve their surveillance of radiation type materials to ensure this doesn't happen again. materials to ensure this doesn't happen again-— materials to ensure this doesn't happen again. really interesting. thanks so much _ happen again. really interesting. thanks so much for— happen again. really interesting. thanks so much for your - happen again. really interesting. thanks so much for your time - happen again. really interesting. | thanks so much for your time and happen again. really interesting. - thanks so much for your time and for joining us on bbc news. russia's defence ministry says fighting is continuing in soledar in eastern ukraine, despite earlier claims by the head of the russian mercenary group, wagner, that his forces had taken the town. ukraine for its part also insists the town hasn“t fallen to the invading force. the town is seen as strategically significant — as it could be used by russian forces as a place from which to launch a fresh assault on the city of bakhmut, which has been the scene of fierce

fighting for weeks. live to moscow now with the bbc“s will vernon. the picture is somewhat confused with these conflicting reports on whether the russians have taken the town of soledar or not, what are you hearing where you are? quite town of soledar or not, what are you hearing where you are?— hearing where you are? quite a lot of mixed messaging _ hearing where you are? quite a lot of mixed messaging coming out i hearing where you are? quite a lot of mixed messaging coming out of| of mixed messaging coming out of moscow today. last night we heard from a pro—kremlin oligarch who is the head of the wagner mercenary group who said they were in full control of the city of soledar, and today we heard from the kremlin who wouldn't confirm they had taken the city but said there was progress and positive momentum on the ground. a bit later we heard from the russian defence ministry who also didn't confirm the city had fallen, but interestingly made absolutely no mention whatsoever of wagner, so i

think that is interesting because in the wagner statement, he claimed the wagner forces were the only fighting force fighting on the ground in soledar. . , ., ., force fighting on the ground in soledar. . , ., . , force fighting on the ground in soledar. . ., , ., soledar. can you tell a bit more about this _ soledar. can you tell a bit more about this wagner _ soledar. can you tell a bit more about this wagner mercenary i soledar. can you tell a bit more - about this wagner mercenary group. what is it and what is the relationship between it and the russian armed forces and indeed with president putin. lt is russian armed forces and indeed with president putin.— president putin. it is a private military company, _ president putin. it is a private military company, a _ president putin. it is a private i military company, a notoriously brutal one and the un said it has been involved in conflicts all over the world for many years including the world for many years including the first phase of this conflict in ukraine in 201a. private military companies are actually illegal under russian law and until february of last year when this new phase of the war started, the authorities here in moscow as well as mr prigozhin would

deny the group existed at all. if russian forces do gain full control of the town, mr prigozhin will probably use that to bolster the reputation of wagner as an effective fighting force in the eyes of the kremlin. if fighting force in the eyes of the kremlin. ., ., , ., ., kremlin. if soledar does fall, how si . nificant kremlin. if soledar does fall, how significant would _ kremlin. if soledar does fall, how significant would that _ kremlin. if soledar does fall, how significant would that be - kremlin. if soledar does fall, how significant would that be and - significant would that be and whether it be more significant from a symbolic point of view than a strategic point of view?- strategic point of view? good question- _ strategic point of view? good question. soledar _ strategic point of view? good question. soledar has - strategic point of view? good question. soledar has not. strategic point of view? good i question. soledar has not fallen strategic point of view? (ems. question. soledar has not fallen as far as we understand, certainly not from these various statements, from the defence ministry and ukrainians, but if it does, if it is occupied by russia, i think that would be a symbolic victory, certainly military analysts are split over how strategically valuable the city is. it would be a symbolic victory because let“s it would be a symbolic victory because let's not forget that russia has not managed to take any major

towns at all from ukraine since summer 2022 and i think the kremlin will be very keen for any kind of good news, as they would see it, to present to the russian public and to the troops on the front line.- the troops on the front line. really aood to the troops on the front line. really good to talk _ the troops on the front line. really good to talk to _ the troops on the front line. really good to talk to you, _ the troops on the front line. really good to talk to you, thank- the troops on the front line. really good to talk to you, thank you. - shamima begum, the british schoolgirl who travelled to syria to join so—called islamic state, has admitted to being a member of terror organisation in a new interview with the bbc. she“s now 23 years old, but was 15 when she ran away from her home in east london. she's been interviewed as part of a year—long investigation for the 5 live podcast i am not a monster. she says she was fed comprehensive instructions by members of the terror group islamic state, but also undertook her own detailed planning for the trip in 2015. let's take a look. iam i am curious about how you think people perceive you. as a

i am curious about how you think people perceive you. as a danger, as a risk, as people perceive you. as a danger, as a risk. as a — people perceive you. as a danger, as a risk, as a potential— people perceive you. as a danger, as a risk, as a potential risk _ people perceive you. as a danger, as a risk, as a potential risk to - people perceive you. as a danger, as a risk, as a potential risk to them - a risk, as a potential risk to them and their safety, to their way of living. d0 and their safety, to their way of livina. ,. and their safety, to their way of livina. , ., , living. do you understand why society does? _ living. do you understand why society does? yes, _ living. do you understand why society does? yes, i- living. do you understand why i society does? yes, i understand, living. do you understand why - society does? yes, i understand, but i think it is society does? yes, i understand, but i think it is not _ society does? yes, i understand, but i think it is not towards _ society does? yes, i understand, but i think it is not towards me _ society does? yes, i understand, but i think it is not towards me but - i think it is not towards me but towards isis but when they think of isis they think of me because i have been put in the media so much. but the onl been put in the media so much. but they only did that because you chose to go to isis. but they only did that because you chose to go to isis— to go to isis. but what was there to obsess over. _ to go to isis. but what was there to obsess over, we _ to go to isis. but what was there to obsess over, we went _ to go to isis. but what was there to obsess over, we went to _ to go to isis. but what was there to obsess over, we went to isis - to go to isis. but what was there to obsess over, we went to isis and i obsess over, we went to isis and that was written they wanted to continue because it was the big story. continue because it was the big sto . �* , ., continue because it was the big sto . �* ., continue because it was the big sto .�* .,, continue because it was the big sto .�* , ., story. but you do accept that you did 'oin a story. but you do accept that you did join a terrorist _ story. but you do accept that you did join a terrorist group? - story. but you do accept that you did join a terrorist group? i - story. but you do accept that you did join a terrorist group? i did. i you can find that interview in i'm not a monster: the shamima begum story, the second series of the award—winning podcast series on bbc sounds. a feature—length documentary is also due to broadcast on the bbc iplayer next month. keep an eye out for that.

the supermarket giant sainsbury“s says people are shopping more in—store, because — with the cost of living crisis — they want to see exactly what they're buying. the supermarket has reported a rise in sales over christmas — it says people were still keen to treat themselves over the festive period and while watching the world cup at home. our business correspondent emma simpson has been talking to sainsburys chief executive simon roberts. people shopped carefully this christmas. customers looked around for all the best deals and offers on the market and they want to make their budget go as far as possible for all the obvious reasons. the customer really wanted to enjoy this christmas as much as possible. of course it was the first time in three years we could get back together in family gatherings, celebrating christmas this time, so customers went all out for the big christmas dinner. they traded up and treated themselves but they were also very careful where they spent. and they shopped in the stores?

absolutely, i really important point. we had the biggest ever week just before christmas, a record week, and the period just before christmas when postal disruption was a real concern for all of us, customers came in and we saw 50% more customers to use to get the gifts for their friends and family. the number one thing we all want to see, millions of households want to see, millions of households want to see, businesses want to see, is inflation come down. it is going to be the middle of the year before i think we see inflation start to level off, and everyone of course is working hard to make that happen, but this time of year when we are all waiting for the christmas bells to land, concern about mortgage payments going up, we have to make sure we keep our value absolutely as good as we can for our customers. sainsbury“s chief executive talking to emma simpson. tens of thousands of people in california have had to leave their homes after extreme storms brought heavy rain

and flooding to large parts of the state. here in the los angeles neighbourhood of chatsworth, two vehicles plunged into this huge sinkhole that opened in the road. two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. at least 17 people have died since the storms began, with officials warning the conditions could bring more landslides. 0ur north america correspondent james clayton reports. this is supposed to be a picturesque beach but it is absolutely covered then detritus, wood, even entire trees that have been swept into the sea by swollen rivers. a state of emergency has been declared he and it is notjust the coast that has been hit. in the mountains the small town of felton has been under water as the local river burst its banks. karen hendrik realised the water was coming up through her house too late, she couldn't get out, stuck as

the water rose around her home. is it scary being surrounded by flood water like that? this it scary being surrounded by flood water like that?— water like that? this was the first time i water like that? this was the first time i was _ water like that? this was the first time i was scared. _ water like that? this was the first time i was scared. in _ water like that? this was the first time i was scared. in the - water like that? this was the first time i was scared. in the past i i time i was scared. in the past i always thought, we will get three or four or even five feet of flood water, this one didn't seem like it was going to stop and i was imagining ten, 12 feet of water so that was pretty scary. 2&1 imagining ten, 12 feet of water so that was pretty scary.— imagining ten, 12 feet of water so that was pretty scary. 24 hours ago the floodwater _ that was pretty scary. 24 hours ago the floodwater was _ that was pretty scary. 24 hours ago the floodwater was about _ that was pretty scary. 24 hours ago the floodwater was about happier l that was pretty scary. 24 hours ago | the floodwater was about happier to my chest. it has now receded but what it has left is this thick mud which has covered what is in fact a paved road and the mud hasn“tjust stuck to the streets, it has covered the inside of people's homeless. audrey backs there is a student who lives in the town. she audrey backs there is a student who lives in the town.— lives in the town. she lost childhood _ lives in the town. she lost childhood memories. - lives in the town. she lost childhood memories. it. lives in the town. she lost childhood memories. it is| lives in the town. she lost i childhood memories. it isjust something i used to read as a child and it is all soaked all the way through. and it is all soaked all the way throu~h. . , �* and it is all soaked all the way throu~h. ., , �* ., ., through. santa cruz isn't alone. many other _ through. santa cruz isn't alone. many other areas _

through. santa cruz isn't alone. many other areas across - through. santa cruz isn't alone. i many other areas across california are being deluged. floods, landslides and blackouts. this left the governor of california scrambling for resources and worried about what is to come. have you ever seen anything like the rescue not at this scale. , , . ., , this scale. these experience hours are unique — this scale. these experience hours are unique but— this scale. these experience hours are unique but they _ this scale. these experience hours are unique but they are _ this scale. these experience hours are unique but they are also - are unique but they are also predictable because this is the reality— predictable because this is the reality with the weather whiplash and extremes and it is likely be see more _ and extremes and it is likely be see more of— and extremes and it is likely be see more of this— and extremes and it is likely be see more of this in our future. each weather system _ more of this in our future. each weather system that _ more of this in our future. each weather system that hits - more of this in our future. eam weather system that hits california won“t weather system that hits california won't do much damage by itself but it is the insistent nature of the weather, storm after storm, that is pummelling the state, and with no end in sight california is braced for more rain and more damage to come. the golden globes have returned to american television, a year after the awards show was dropped because of a row over racial diversity. the irish comedy, the banshees of inisherin was one of the big winners of the evening, taking home three of the major prizes, including best comedy actor for its star colin farrell. peter bowes reports from los angeles

the golden globes are back, but are they forgiven? the hollywood foreign press association, the group behind the show, has been mired in controversy. allegations over a lack of diversity amongst the voters, and other ethical lapses, led to the globes being boycotted by hollywood and dropped from tv last year. but the ceremony has returned to try to nurture a new, inclusive image, starting with the host. and i'll tell you why i'm here... i'm here because i'm black. laughter. the comedianjerrod carmichael didn“t shy away from the controversy, joking that as the first black host in the show“s history, he was unfireable. i heard they got six new black members. congrats to them, whatever, sure. but it's not why i'm here. i'm here, truly, because all of you,

i look out into this room and i see a lot of talented people. and so it was on with the awards. one of the night's big winners was everything everywhere all at once, a comedy—drama set in the multi—verse and starring michelle yeoh, a malaysian actress who plays the owner of a launderette. and this is also for all the shoulders that i stand on, all who came before me who look like me. we haven't been rowing. the banshees of inisherin, the dark comedy about a fractured relationship between two lifelong friends, won several awards, including best comedy, and actor for colin farrell. i never expect films to work and to find an audience, and when they do, it's shocking to me, and so i'm so horrified by what's happened around banshees over the last couple of months, in a thrilling kind of way. there was a change of tone when sean penn took to the stage. the veteran actor introduced a recorded message from the ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky. it is now 2023 and the war

in ukraine is not over yet, but the tide is turning, and it is already clear who will win. in the tv categories, the main winners were the white lotus, abbott elementary and the game of thrones spin off house of the dragon. the organisers of the golden globes say they are committed to making more changes to make the awards more diverse. the show“s future is far from certain, but hollywood seems to be in a mood to move on. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello. there is a lot more rain to come for all of us through the next few days and we could see some impact from it with localised flooding, western scotland and north—west england and wales, south—west england could see some of the worst effects from the rain piling on. today remains windy with further showers from the west

because of these weather fronts enhancing the shower activity and we look to the atlantic for the next substantial area of rain which will roll in during the evening and overnight period, so a blustery entry day, clear spells and showers. the rain starts to push through northern ireland and parts of england and wales, heavy towards western areas, and it stays wet through the night across the south west stand down towards south wales. for the far north of england and scotland, clear skies and slightly lighter winds, turning cold, could see a touch of ice, further south it will be milder. complicated picture for thursday with this weather fronts straddling southern britain which will bring further strong winds and heavy rain at times and the new area of low pressure finding its way into the north—west so we could see severe gales for northern ireland in western scotland later in the day. single figure values in the north are a bit of snow over the hills and double figures across the

south. thursday night with a real squeeze in the isobars affecting northern ireland, northern england and wales so we could see disruption from gales on thursday night, plenty of showers rattling through, some of them wintry on the high ground in scotland, ranging from a—8. you can see the squeeze on the isobars and then a ridge of high pressure wants to build settling things down for southern and western areas throughout the day on friday but we start blustery particularly across northern and eastern areas. the shower activity starts to ease down as the ridge pushes them from the west so we could see quite a bit of sunshine. the temperature up to 11-12, sunshine. the temperature up to 11—12, single figures across the north. that ridge doesn't last long, turning wet and windy into saturday, and then it is the feel of the weather in part two of the weekend, things turning colder into next week

with some snow showers.

this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines: around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs, but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. what is terrifying is that right now people not knowing when they call 999 they will get the treatment they need. there is not a minimum level of service any day, because they have broken the nhs! domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. russia's defence ministry says the battle for soledar in eastern ukraine is continuing, despite claims they were in control of the town.

mp andrew bridgen is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—19 vaccines with the holocaust. good afternoon. ambulance workers in england and wales are striking over pay for a second time. managers are warning the impact is likely to be worse than last month's stoppage, because now call handlers are also on strike. the prime minister says it's terrifying people don't know what will happen if they call 999. but ambulance staff say they will leave picket lines to respond to all category one emergency calls — where there's a threat to life. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports from manchester.

ambulances are still responding to life—threatening emergencies. but the picket lines outside ambulance stations across wales and almost all of england tell their own story. i always wanted to be a paramedic from being a child and i wanted to help people. for those like sam, a paramedic in manchester with two small children, striking was a tough decision but one she felt forced to take. it's hard, but at the end of the month i don't have any wages there. we don't have any savings. it is a struggle. our weekly food shop has gone up, our electricity has gone up. it really is stretched at the moment. more than 20,000 ambulance workers are involved in a strike today, affecting all of wales and every region in england except the east and the isle of wight. the strike involves all staff who are members of the gmb or unison and includes paramedics and call

handlers representing two thirds of all ambulance workers. in manchester, the industrial action started at 7am, but the timings vary across different parts of england and wales. 999 calls will still be answered, and ambulance crews are attending life—threatening emergencies. but the government says given the extreme pressure on the health service, facing one of the toughest winters in its history, this is the wrong time to take strike action. the nhs, as we can all see, is under massive pressure. we accepted in full the recommendations of what is an independent process, the pay review body process, and i think it's hugely regrettable. the advice to patients is to think carefully before calling an ambulance but not to hesitate if it's a life—threatening emergencies such as a heart attack, stroke or seizure. at this hospital in plymouth, the army is helping with ambulance call—outs, and the service will undoubtedly be even

more stretched today. are you going to wave it for me? back on the manchester picket line, paramedics like mark say the strike is about more than just pay but also the state of the wider health service. i've been in this job for 1a years, and i've seen it slowly decline. it's a case of we're not able to do ourjob properly because we're getting stuck in ambulances and we are not able to then provide for other people that need us. from the government point of view, i think sometimes they do play on our caring side, we are all in the job because we care, and most of us will still stay because it's a job that we love and a job that we've been in for quite a few years and we need to be matched up with the pay that we deserve, really. the health service will see more strikes, with two days of industrial action by nursing staff next week and physiotherapists striking towards the end of the month.

junior doctors are also voting on whether to take industrial action. so far, there is little sign of a breakthrough that could mean the dispute is resolved soon. earlier i spoke to phil mackie, who“s at a hospital in gloucesterfor us, and jenny kumah in plymouth. in hospitals across this region, we have some of the worst ambulance response times worst ambulance hand over delays, and there are days when you will see dozens of ambulances queueing up, but today, despite the industrial action, there has been half a dozen, a handful of ambulances parked up. we have seen military personnel helping out with crewing. i have been speaking to relatives and patience, i spoke to one person whose mother had a stroke this morning, they called for an ambulance and it arrived within 20 minutes. he told me that he was very pleased

with the response and that he did support the industrial action, and he was glad his mother was able to get the service she needed. i talked to a patient who had come in because she had been sent up to the emergency department from the minor injuries unit, and she also told me that she was supportive of the strike. things seem relatively normal, i have had a look at the waiting times, around 90 minutes, which is fairly normal, and on days earlier this week people were having to wait hours to see a doctor, and the nhs have said that they have put measures in place to make sure that the impact of the strike is mitigated. that is the picture here in plymouth. jenny kumah, thanks for that. let“s cross now, as promised, to phil mackie, our correspondent in gloucester, and not cheltenham, as i said earlier, forgive me for that, tell us what is happening in that area.

so i have come to gloucester from cheltenham, which is probably where the confusion arose, two emergency departments in the same trust, this is the sister one to the cheltenham one, probably where the most seriously hurt people would be brought, so if there was a serious car accident on the motorway, those with the most serious injuries would come here, and i have been talking to a few people who have been using the emergency department at cheltenham earlier, and they have been people with breaks and sprains, really, i spoke to an elderly lady who slipped in the gym, cracked her head, a cut on her head, her daughter had taken her to hospital, and she was seen within few hours. and a lady who had fallen down the stairs at home, she was swollen and bruised, they gave her painkillers and bandaged her up, and she was out within an hour and a half. but now there are currently 95 people waiting in a&e, about 35 over in cheltenham, so the average time

spent in the department, although you will get seen quite quickly, is around nine hours, compared to seven hours earlier. i have spoken to a unison rep, they manned the biggest ambulance station nearby, between gloucester and cheltenham, and he said 20 staff who were due to come in this afternoon are standing on the picket line. we have seen at most five ambulances in the bay since i got here, coming and going, and i haven't seen any body in a military uniform here driving and ambience, whereas i in cheltenham. the trust have said it is a fairly typical day, and it doesn't seem to have significantly changed, other than, say, the waiting time in there, which has dramatically gone up over the last couple of hours, but it may just be the busiest part of the day, but also, you know, waiting times go up and down, as we know from our own personal experience is. but as i say, at the moment, a couple of ambulances have come and gone, there are three now, and things appear to be

being handled reasonably well. joining me now with more on the data and attitudes towards strikes is keiran pedley, director of political research at ipsos, a global market research and consulting firm. good to have you with us, what is your research telling you about the support for the strikes today? good afternoon, support for the strikes today? good afternoon. the _ support for the strikes today? good afternoon, the first _ support for the strikes today? (ems. afternoon, the first thing to say is that when we talk about strike action, it does depend a lot, public support, it does depend on the context of the action and who is doing the striking, so when it comes to nhs workers, specifically ambulance workers, there tends to be

ambulance workers, there tends to be a more sympathetic public to those workers that may be some others. so to put some numbers to that, pulling in december showed that a7% of the public supported ambulance workers going on strike, whereas 37% opposed, a slight plurality in favour of this action, whereas for other workers you would not get that. i think that reflects the concerns that the public have over the nhs and general sympathy for nhs workers. “ , the nhs and general sympathy for nhs workers. �* , , ., the nhs and general sympathy for nhs workers. �*, , ., i. the nhs and general sympathy for nhs workers. �*, , ., y., workers. let's explore when you say other workers _ workers. let's explore when you say other workers would _ workers. let's explore when you say other workers would not _ workers. let's explore when you say other workers would not get - workers. let's explore when you say other workers would not get that i other workers would not get that level of support, because i wondered how far that support extends to others on strike, and i am thinking, for example, about railway workers, post office workers, border force officials, for example. l post office workers, border force officials, for example.— post office workers, border force officials, for example. i think what we tend to — officials, for example. i think what we tend to find, _ officials, for example. i think what we tend to find, similar— officials, for example. i think what we tend to find, similar polling i we tend to find, similar polling before the start of the shows that if we are about nhs workers,

firefighters or teachers, you tend to find more people in the public supportive than opposing it, whereas other groups, you typically find that barristers under civil servants, sorry, barristers and civil servants, servants, sorry, barristers and civilservants, more servants, sorry, barristers and civil servants, more opposed than support, so to use that specific example of the railway workers, it is a bit more split, so recent polling shows that 30% supported railway workers going on strike, 36% opposed come up with the rest being neutral. so not necessarily holster line, but more split father that i was —— so not necessarily hostile but more split than for those working in the nhs. there is a lot of sympathy for railway passengers, more than eight in ten sympathetic, but there is also more sympathy for the unions and railway workers than there is the government or the railway companies, so it is a complex picture. long term, it depends on the level of disruption and who is doing the striking in

terms of how public support evolves. why do you think it is that the public sector workers, and i am thinking in particular of nurses and ambulance workers, as we have discussed, are getting more support than others? is itjust down to public perception of what they are being paid, do you think? 50 i public perception of what they are being paid, do you think? so i think there is a recognition _ being paid, do you think? so i think there is a recognition with - being paid, do you think? so i think there is a recognition with the - there is a recognition with the public that may be some of the request for more money are justified, although when we ask about the specific demands of the royal college of nursing, for example, we found a public split on whether the specific demands are too high or about right or not enough. more generally, one thing that will not surprise your viewers is that people revere the nhs and have a tremendous amount of admiration for nhs workers. how is pandemic but also generally, it is a revered institution in the country, whereas some others are less so. so i think what it comes down to a sense of what it comes down to a sense of what is in the public good, and therefore things like nhs workers, teachers and firefighters, being

seen as in the public good, tend to get a lot of sympathy and support, whereas other groups of workers may get less of that.— get less of that. good to talk to, thanks for _ get less of that. good to talk to, thanks for your _ get less of that. good to talk to, thanks for your thoughts - get less of that. good to talk to, thanks for your thoughts and i thanks for your thoughts and insights. thanks for your thoughts and insiuhts. . ., thanks for your thoughts and insiuhts. . ~ , ., well, in the commons, the ambulance strike and the state of the national health service dominated the first prime minister's questions of the new year. and after weeks of speculation, rishi sunakfinally said he has used private health care in the past, but he also said he is registered with an nhs gp. 0ur political correspondent ben wright was watching. how are you going to end the strikes in the nhs, prime minister? - no end in sight to the strikes, an nhs understrain, and political heat on the prime minister. at the weekend, rishi sunak ducked questions about his own health care arrangements, refusing to say if he used a private gp. but as he faced the commons for the first time this year, mr sunak said he did use the nhs after all. i am registered with an nhs gp. i have used independent health care in the past,

and i'm also grateful to the friarage hospital for the fantastic care they've given my family over the years. with ambulance staff striking today, net is planning a walk—out next week, labour's leader tried to pin the blame on the prime minister. in the 13 years of the last labour government, there were no national nhs strikes. if the prime minister had negotiated with the nurses before christmas, they wouldn't be on strike. if he had negotiated with the ambulance workers, they wouldn't be on strike either. so why is he choosing to prolong the misery, rather than end these strikes? prime minister! mr speaker, we've always been clear that we want constructive dialogue with the unions. that is also why, when it comes to the issue of pay, we have accepted in full the independent recommendations of the pay review bodies. the honourable gentleman simply doesn't have a policy when it comes to this question.

the political scrap over strikes is escalating. the government sketched out plans to enforce minimum levels of service during industrial action — an idea labour opposes. his response to the greatest crisis in the history of the nhs is to threaten to sack our nurses. his transport secretary says it's not the solution. his education secretary hopes it won't apply in schools. his own assessments say it could increase the number of strikes. the simple truth is, you can't legislate your way out of 13 years of failure. this is a simple proposition, that no—one denies the unions freedom to strike, but it is also important to balance that with people's right to have access to life—saving health care at the same time. mr speaker, this shouldn't be controversial. but the plans won't have any impact on the current strikes. talks between unions and ministers

over pay look stuck, so the disruption goes on. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. and benjoins us now from westminster. good to have you with us, ben. as we saw, a lot of words expended on the strikes in the house of commons, is there any end in sight? ihlat strikes in the house of commons, is there any end in sight?— there any end in sight? not at the moment, rebecca. _ there any end in sight? not at the moment, rebecca. i— there any end in sight? not at the moment, rebecca. ithink- there any end in sight? not at the moment, rebecca. i think there l there any end in sight? not at the i moment, rebecca. i think there was a smidgen of optimism, hope, that the two sides, particularly in the health dispute, were at least talking about pay when there were those meetings on monday, but that seems to have dissipated since, and today some health unions have said that they were withdrawing from the whole independent pay review process, because theyjust didn“t process, because theyjust didn't trust it any more. there are talks beginning now, that is what monday was about, looking ahead to the next financial year, from april onwards, a new settlement, whereas of course the unions want the current deal looked at again. so, you know, it

seems to be souring even more by the day, the atmosphere between unions and the government. behind—the—scenes, we do not really know, there is certainly a discussion that has begun or has happened about potentially a one—off payment to compensate workers in the nhs for the rising cost of living over the last few months, perhaps backdating pay to earlier in the current financial year. these ideas are floating around government, may be more enthusiastically in some departments than others, but none of it has contributed to a breakthrough, and as i said, unions today sounding very fed up with the entire pay review process, which does not bode well for an agreement. in the meantime, rishi sunak has said that he has used private health care in the past, i wondered what you made of the admission, given that he had refused to answer the question just a few days ago. question 'ust a few days ago. really bizarre, question just a few days ago. really bizarre, i mean, _ question just a few days ago. really bizarre, i mean, he— question just a few days ago. really bizarre, i mean, he was _ question just a few days ago. really bizarre, i mean, he was determined not to answer that question when he was asked by laura kuenssberg on

sunday, a question that he has ducked in the past as well. i think itjust ducked in the past as well. i think it just feels, ducked in the past as well. i think itjust feels, instinctively, that this is an intrusive inquiry into his personal life, he bridles against these questions. no touch on his own family wealth, of course, the same true as when his wife's tax status was discussed, something that he felt should not be of interest to anybody else. 0f he felt should not be of interest to anybody else. of course, when it comes to health care arrangements in the middle of a strike with the nhs clearly under enormous strain, there is political interest in that, and the opposition were quick to try to exploit it, and i think you did look quite politically vulnerable in his invasion in response to that question. but today he has tried to kill it by saying that he is registered with an nhs gp. later on, his spokesman clarified that he did not currently have private cover but wouldn't say when he registered with the nhs. so this acceptance by rishi

sunak perhaps invites further questions, which is why he didn't want to answer the question in the first place, but he must feel now that he has at least potentially close down a line of attack by the opposition. close down a line of attack by the opposition-— close down a line of attack by the o- osition. ., . , �* ., ., opposition. potentially! ben, good to talk to you. _ opposition. potentially! ben, good to talk to you, many _ opposition. potentially! ben, good to talk to you, many thanks. - in the last hour or so, the us federal aviation administration has lifted an earlier order which temporarily grounded every domestic flight after a computer glitch. earlier, ourtransport correspondent katy austin explained how this happened. it looks like earlier there was an outage of the system that essentially notifies the pilots in the us that there is a hazard or something really important that has changed, they need to know before they set off, so this is important for safety, and following that outage, the authorities in the us said there was a lot of work going on to try to get back up and running, but while they did that, they stopped domestic flights taking off. it looks like some flights were able to land, with extra help from air—traffic control,

for example, to make sure it was safe, but a really big impact... domestic flights, there are thousands of them every day. it is an absolutely huge market, so the main brunt of this is within us domestic flights. i think there is some impact on internationalflights, we have noticed some delays, for example, on flights setting off from the uk to the us, and even now that things are being allowed to resume gradually, i would expect us to have a knock—on impact through out the day. i suppose not exactly sure how long it would last, but you would expect a sizeable knock—on impact from a couple of hours of no flights being allowed to take off. it is very unusual, notjust for the system to go down, but for the authorities to issue a blanket, you know, "all departures must stop for now." as to the cause of the systems outage, we do not know. the us government said there was no evidence of a cyber attack, but an investigation has been ordered. for the moment, people will just be hoping that things get back to normal quickly.

just to be clear, this system is not in each individual plane, it is on the ground, but it is different from air—traffic control, which many of our viewers will be familiar with. yeah, this is about communicating with pilots and crew about important information that they need to know about their flight, about what is happening, one example could include that an airport is closed, which obviously they need to know before they set off, and it is all about making sure that everything is safe. i spoke to one aviation expert, a pilot who says that nobody wants delays and disruption, but it is a better option than safety being compromised. the prime minister, rishi sunak, has been urged to help schools stop boys being brainwashed by controversial social media personality andrew tate. the british—american

former professional kickboxer turned influencer has amassed millions of followers across social media platforms. he was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. yesterday, a court in romania upheld the 30—day arrest of tate on charges of organised crime, human trafficking and rape. let's talk to marianna spring, our disinformation and social media correspondent. marianna, talk us through the influence of andrew tate and why he is striking such a chord with young men in particular. l is striking such a chord with young men in particular.— men in particular. i think a lot of --eole men in particular. i think a lot of people watching _ men in particular. i think a lot of people watching will _ men in particular. i think a lot of people watching will not - men in particular. i think a lot of people watching will not really i men in particular. i think a lot of i people watching will not really have heard of andrew tate before, and it was during the summer that he went particularly viral and a lot of teenagers were commenting on how he was popping up all over the social media feeds, particularly videos and clips being shared, and what is important to understand about his content is that a lot of it focuses on self empowerment and self

improvement, content that could be quite appealing when you are at school, looking for answers to questions, and this man is attempting to empower you. but unfortunately that is the gateway, the pipeline to more misogynistic ideas that he has been accused of promoting. he himself says he is a misogynist... promoting. he himself says he is a misogynist- - -_ misogynist... because you might click on one _ misogynist... because you might click on one film _ misogynist... because you might click on one film where _ misogynist... because you might click on one film where he i misogynist... because you might click on one film where he is i click on one film where he is talking about empowerment, the algorithm takes you through to more troubling content?— troubling content? essentially that, so when it comes _ troubling content? essentially that, so when it comes to _ troubling content? essentially that, so when it comes to the _ troubling content? essentially that, so when it comes to the algorithm, | so when it comes to the algorithm, there automated systems on social media platforms, they are quite hard to unpick and explain, but we do know that they appear to promote content that gets a reaction, that is emotive. his content has had millions of views, whether it is people criticising or uploading it, so that explains perhaps why he fell into favour with the algorithm and the way it was being promoted over the way it was being promoted over the summer, and also that he has networks of other accounts that pushes content, but not necessarily coming directly from his accounts. but when you start watching that

content, you are more likely to be served up more of it, and if you are exposed to one of the less extreme videos, you might think maybe there is something to this, but you find yourself being pushed ideas that are much more extreme and a kind of ideas that people are very worried about, and this puts a lot of pressure on social media companies, because promoting anti—women hate is something they are criticised for in the past, and with tate, that appears to have been a problem again. 50 appears to have been a problem aaain. appears to have been a problem aain. ., appears to have been a problem aaain. ., ., , , again. so if a teenager perhaps is watchin: again. so if a teenager perhaps is watching this _ again. so if a teenager perhaps is watching this and _ again. so if a teenager perhaps is watching this and has _ again. so if a teenager perhaps is watching this and has seen i again. so if a teenager perhaps is watching this and has seen some| again. so if a teenager perhaps is i watching this and has seen some of his content and is troubled by it, and also with a parent or teacher is seeing it and seeing the impact it is having on teenagers, what can i do? i is having on teenagers, what can i do? ., is having on teenagers, what can i do? ~' .,, ,., ., do? i think the most important thing is to know what _ do? i think the most important thing is to know what your _ do? i think the most important thing is to know what your teenager i do? i think the most important thing is to know what your teenager or i do? i think the most important thing is to know what your teenager or the person you are worried about is actually saying, and a lot of people do not always talk about what they are being served up on social media, particularly teenagers, so having that conversation to understand what they have been seeing whether they have heard of andrew tate, what they think about it, and then talking

about the algorithm and explaining why they might have been exposed to that content, and just because it is being recommended to you, it doesn't mean you have to agree with it or like it. sojust really mean you have to agree with it or like it. so just really encouraging young people in particular to interrogate what is coming up on their feeds and who it is being shared by and why. but most importantly, from having spoken to people in schools, they would say that you have to be able to have a positive and constructive conversation where you understand why the content is appealing to the person in question, and it might be that they are worried about something, that there is a particular concern that they feel he is answering, and until you can have open conversations where you say it is totally fine to be worried about that, it doesn't mean you then have to fall for some of the really quite offensive content that tate has been accused of pushing in the past. and reallyjust unpicking that, not dissimilar to when we talk about this informationalfake dissimilar to when we talk about this informational fake news dissimilar to when we talk about this informationalfake news and dissimilar to when we talk about this informational fake news and the ways you should interrogate that, and talked to someone, because getting an argument about it is not

the best of addressing it. it getting an argument about it is not the best of addressing it.— the best of addressing it. it would a- ear the best of addressing it. it would appear that _ the best of addressing it. it would appear that this _ the best of addressing it. it would appear that this has _ the best of addressing it. it would appear that this has made - the best of addressing it. it would | appear that this has made andrew tate quite a lot of money, it has certainly made him someone that we are all talking about, and i suppose there is a risk with that that others may copy him. is that happening, and where does that leave the social media companies in terms of trying to police all of this? there is certainly evidence that there are others who are taking from his tactics and attempting to do the same and brand themselves in the same and brand themselves in the same way. when it comes to social media sites, other than twitter, who recently reinstated tate after elon musk bought the social media company, all of the other major social media platforms have banned him from their sites, but his content continues to proliferate, because it is often not shared just by him, and other influences do the same thing, so they will have to make important decisions about when the bar is reached in terms of height for content and how they really stop it spreading, and some of that comes down to their policies, and some of it to policy makers and decisions that we make in schools or at home in these

conversations with teenagers being exposed to this stuff.— exposed to this stuff. marianna s - rinr , exposed to this stuff. marianna spring. our _ exposed to this stuff. marianna spring, our disinformation i exposed to this stuff. marianna spring, our disinformation and | spring, our disinformation and social media correspondent, thank you so much, thanks. leaders of rail unions say a resolution to their ongoing dispute over pay, conditions and jobs is a long way off. however, rail company bosses say they are more optimistic about the prospect of a deal. mps have been questioning bosses from the rmt, aslef and tssa unions this morning, as well as representatives from network rail and the rail delivery group. they union leaders were asked by the chair of the transport committee about the current state of the dispute. let's say, on a scale of one to ten, whereas one, you remain on different planets, ten, i can go out and buy a hat for the wedding, where are we? mr whelan. thank you, chair. i think you can include zero on one to ten, we're further away than when we started. ok, that's clear. mr ward? i wouldn't disagree with that. 0k, mr lynch? _ i wouldn't be able to say, it depends on discussions.

i wouldn't use a scale, but we haven't got an agreement, and until we get an agreement, we're not close to it, really. rail bosses were also asked a similar question about the chances of a resolution with the unions. rmt, i believe that we have an opportunity to try and move forward. so i think we're within reasonable areas of where i think we can get a deal, but we have to work through it with them. obviously, as it was indicated, there“s further discussions tomorrow, so obviously we wait and see the outcome of that. tssa, in a very similar position, where we'll get further discussions tomorrow. alef is slightly different, where we have been further behind with aslef. obviously, we made the offer last friday. we've heard the reaction of aslef. we need to do more with them and try and get back around the table. so that one is probably further behind the other at this moment. a ten for the tssa and unite, which are part of the same negotiating group, because they're resolved, and that's good news. and those members of staff have now had that money,

for the controllers grade group. and as soon as we can resolve with rmt, then that will resolve those two unions. for rmt, 36% of the members that are network rail employees voted yes for the deal. so we're a bit short of the 50% that we need. there's a couple of thousand people that need to change their vote. so we met again with with the rmt leadership yesterday for discussions and we're planning to meet again next week. so, you know, i'm... i'd place that at seven. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. we could be looking at further flooding problems across the country over the next few days with more rain to come, particularly western scotland, north—west england, south—west england and wales. today, more rain“s piling in from the west. these weather fronts enhancing shower activities,

lots of isobars on the charts, so there's going to be strong winds as well. and then we've got a more substantial area of rain pushing through this evening and overnight for northern ireland, initially, then into wales, much of england as well. some of the rain will be heavy, particularly towards the west, and it doesn't really let up across the south west. in fact, even through tomorrow morning, it's going to be quite wet there as well. windy in the south, drier and colder further north. and then, for thursday, we've got that weather front bringing further wet and windy weather to the south of the country, a new area of low pressure winding itself up and pushing into northern ireland and western scotland through the day, so we could start to see gales or severe gales here. it stays windy with further rain across southern areas, a bit of sunshine in between, one or two blustery showers. mild in the south, chilly in the north. hello, this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines. around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing.

health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs — but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. russia's defence ministry says the battle for soledar in eastern ukraine is continuing, despite claims they were in control of the town. mp andrew bridgen is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—19 vaccines with the holocaust. sport and time for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. england's 0wen farrell is set to be available for their six nations opener with scotland despite a four—match ban for a dangerous tackle. it's because the ban could be reduced to three weeks if he completes the world rugby coaching intervention programme. 0ur rugby union reporter

sara 0rchard has more. this all comes from a club game that 0wen farrell actually played in last friday where he made a tackle land he made contact to the head of opposition playerjack clement who was playing for gloucester at the time. it was not picked up by the officials but he was subsequently cited and had to attend a disciplinary hearing last night. the outcome of that disciplinary hearing as he has been given a four—game ban and that could be reduced to three games if he completes a world rugby tackle course which if expected to do means the ban is reduced to three games. a little bit of confusion around it because on monday, steve borthwick the england head coach will name his england squad and if 0wen farrell is named, the third game in the less technically 0wen farrell would never play on for his club side because england players tend to be rested the weekend before the six nations. it means this could get very complicated than they a lot

of the decision about whether he ends up playing in the game against scotland could rest on the door of the new head coach steve borthwick. what a way to start his tenure, a lot of pressure on his shoulders. england's injury woes continue, as back row tom curry will miss england's first two six nations games after suffering a hamstring tear in sale“s win over harlequins on sunday. the 2a—year—old left the field in the 16th minute after his right curry, who has a5 caps and captained england for the first time in last season's six nations, will miss the matches against scotland and italy. the last two quarter—finals of the league cup take place tonight with nottingham forest at home to wolves and manchester city travelling to southampton. if city make it to the final and win, it would make their boss pep guardiola the most successful manager in the competition's history. he“s currently level with alex ferguson, jose mourinho and brian clough with four wins. we wa nt we want to win it because we are

they are but it will not change my life because all that sir alex and everyone have done in this competition has been amazing, so it is not to say it is not something special to have the same with sara alexander brian but people see it as the less important competition, but we will try to do our best. joao felix has said he is “very excited“ to have joined chelsea on loan for the rest of the season, from spanish side atletico madrid. the portugal forward trained with the squad earlier today. arsenal and manchester united had been linked with the 23—year—old, but he favoured a move to the blues. he's the fourth player to sign for the club during the january transfer window. they“re currently 10th in the premier league, 10 points adrift of a top—four spot. the australian open starts next week but briton“s katie boulter has lost out on the first round, cameron norrie will be there, the world number 12 prevailing in his second—round match at the auckland

open which stretched almost six hours because of rain. cameron norrie was born in south africa but grew up in auckland before his family moved to britain. after three rain breaks the match had to be finished indoors. former champion judd trump is taking on ryan day at the masters in alexandra palace. the players are playing a best of 11 march for a place in the quarterfinals. judd trump won the masters in 2019 but look set for a fight if he is to make it through. the british open winner performing well at alexandra palace and it is currently at 3—3 now. you can catch the action over on bbc two and the bbc sport website if you want to see what happens on that one but that is all the support from us for now.

i want to bring you some breaking news just i want to bring you some breaking newsjust coming into i want to bring you some breaking news just coming into us and the royal mail is experiencing severe service disruption to its international export services. that is following a cyber incident, the company has announced. i“m is following a cyber incident, the company has announced. i'm afraid thatis company has announced. i'm afraid that is all the details we have at the moment but i will repeat that news. royal mailsays the moment but i will repeat that news. royal mail says it is experiencing severe service disruption to its international export services following a cyber incident. that is according to the royal mail, that announcement from the royal mail, which has been released on the press association news agency. all the details we have at the moment, i am afraid, but journalists here are verifying and checking that so we will get back to you with more details as soon as we can. let's get more now on our top story, and ambulance workers in england and wales are striking over pay for a second time. managers are warning the impact is likely to be worse

than last month's stoppage, because now call handlers are also on strike. for more on this, let“s speak to hamishjohnston. a trainee paramedic who is on strike with the south east coast ambulance service today. hamish, good of you to talk to us because i know you have been on night shift as well but i want to rewind first of all to ask why you wanted to become a paramedic in the first place? wanted to become a paramedic in the first lace? , ., first place? funnily enough, i honestly fell _ first place? funnily enough, i honestly fell into _ first place? funnily enough, i honestly fell into it. - first place? funnily enough, i honestly fell into it. a - first place? funnily enough, i honestly fell into it. a friend | first place? funnily enough, i i honestly fell into it. a friend of mine in bristol was a paramedic and he said, you can go on a ride along if you know somebody, but i enjoyed it and applied and honestly a few weeks later i was doing the training and here i am. bud weeks later i was doing the training and here i am-_ and here i am. and i think that was four ears and here i am. and i think that was four years ago- _ and here i am. and i think that was four years ago. how _ and here i am. and i think that was four years ago. how have - and here i am. and i think that was four years ago. how have things i four years ago. how have things changed for you on the front line in the last four years? it is

changed for you on the front line in the last four years?— the last four years? it is certainly busier, the last four years? it is certainly busier. the _ the last four years? it is certainly busier, the call— the last four years? it is certainly busier, the call volume _ the last four years? it is certainly busier, the call volume is - the last four years? it is certainly busier, the call volume is up i busier, the call volume is up coupled with the fact, as you have seen on the news, waiting for hours each time you take somebody in, which further makes the call time worse, so we are spending twice the amount of time getting to patients, so it is a lot more full on than it used to be. so it is a lot more full on than it used to be— so it is a lot more full on than it used to be. ., ., ., ., ., used to be. you are a trainee, are ou used to be. you are a trainee, are you considering. _ used to be. you are a trainee, are you considering, as _ used to be. you are a trainee, are you considering, as we _ used to be. you are a trainee, are you considering, as we hear- used to be. you are a trainee, are you considering, as we hear so i used to be. you are a trainee, are i you considering, as we hear so many of your fellow professionals are, leaving, i suppose i“m of your fellow professionals are, leaving, i suppose i'm trying to gauge how difficult life is. i definitely will stick with it and a lot of colleagues are considering leaving, at least five people i know have moved to doctor's surgeries to work as medics, and it is the same with hospital staff. i was talking to a nurse overnight in a&e who said he is completely done and said he is

just going to leave the health service altogether. truth? just going to leave the health service altogether.— just going to leave the health service altogether. why are you strikin: service altogether. why are you striking today? _ service altogether. why are you striking today? there _ service altogether. why are you striking today? there are i service altogether. why are you | striking today? there are certain thins striking today? there are certain things that _ striking today? there are certain things that you're _ striking today? there are certain things that you're not _ striking today? there are certain things that you're not going i striking today? there are certain things that you're not going to i striking today? there are certain| things that you're not going to be able to change, the jobs working in a&e and hospitals and ambulances, it is stressful by the nature of it, thatis is stressful by the nature of it, that is not going to change. but i think the stuff we deal with day—to—day should be reflected in the pay and at the moment it has not risen with inflation as it should have, and i think to keep people at work, that is the thing that will have to change is change the pay, because you can't change the job. thejob because you can't change the job. the job will always be what it is and the pay must rise to meet what we are dealing with.— we are dealing with. when you say what ou we are dealing with. when you say what you are _ we are dealing with. when you say what you are dealing _ we are dealing with. when you say what you are dealing with, - we are dealing with. when you say what you are dealing with, i i we are dealing with. when you say what you are dealing with, i knowl what you are dealing with, i know you have said on a 12 hour night shift used to have time for a break and all the rest of it, it has just got busier and busier because of all the pressure on the nhs? is that

fair? ~ , ., ., , ., , the pressure on the nhs? is that fair? ~ , ., ., , ., ., fair? when i started four years ago it was still bad, _ fair? when i started four years ago it was still bad, and _ fair? when i started four years ago it was still bad, and me _ fair? when i started four years ago it was still bad, and me compared | fair? when i started four years ago i it was still bad, and me compared to the older members of staff who have done this for many years, even four years ago it was worse than when they started, and devin when i started, sometimes on night shift you would have time between jobs to go to a standby point and have some rest and maybe sleep if you are good at napping, but these days there is no chance of that. so at napping, but these days there is no chance of that.— no chance of that. so you talked about pay- _ no chance of that. so you talked about pay- l _ no chance of that. so you talked about pay. i wondered _ no chance of that. so you talked about pay. i wondered what i no chance of that. so you talked i about pay. i wondered what would be more appealing to you. would it be a one—off payment, described as a hardship payment, would be backdating next year's pay award so that you would receive a pay increase earlier? it that you would receive a pay increase earlier?— that you would receive a pay increase earlier? , ., , ., ., , increase earlier? it should be a 'ob for life, increase earlier? it should be a 'ob for he, the — increase earlier? it should be a 'ob for life, the people i increase earlier? it should be a 'ob for life, the people that i increase earlier? it should be a 'ob for life, the people that go i increase earlier? it should be a 'ob for life, the people that go to i for life, the people that go to university for this do this for three years and then start the job so you should be looking to this job

for 30 odd years so they have to look forward to that are notjust give a bonus for this year. it is going to be hard next year and the next year, so the pay must rise to meet that. next year, so the pay must rise to meet that-— next year, so the pay must rise to meet that. ., ., ., , ,, , ., meet that. you are on strike, 'ust a final meet that. you are on strike, 'ust a finauhought. i meet that. you are on strike, 'ust a final thought, you i meet that. you are on strike, 'ust a finalthought, you musti meet that. you are on strike, 'ust a finalthought, you must be i meet that. you are on strike, just a i final thought, you must be concerned about the impact this is going to have on patients. i wonder how you square that circle.— square that circle. absolutely, we do still have _ square that circle. absolutely, we do still have members _ square that circle. absolutely, we do still have members of- square that circle. absolutely, we do still have members of staff i do still have members of staff responding today and we will respond to the absolute highest category of calls, critical care paramedics going out to the life and limb level, so those are still being met. what changes as they are allowing more people to make their way to hospital, really pressing them to find other avenues such as speaking to the gp. you would hope you would be able to strike and that the same

time not have any serious detrimental effect, especially not having any loss of life. you would ho -e but having any loss of life. you would hope but presumably _ having any loss of life. you would hope but presumably you - having any loss of life. you would hope but presumably you can't i hope but presumably you can't guarantee that people won't die because of this action. you can't guarantee _ because of this action. you can't guarantee it. — because of this action. you can't guarantee it, but _ because of this action. you can't guarantee it, but at _ because of this action. you can't guarantee it, but at the - because of this action. you can't guarantee it, but at the same i because of this action. you can't i guarantee it, but at the same time, the four years i have been working here, the waiting times every day have been causing risks every single day 365 days a year, so it is probably the wrong aspect to look at, because it has been going on for years and years, unfortunately. brute years and years, unfortunately. we must leave it there but really good to talk to us, of you to talk to us, and thanks for taking the time. goodbye. the conservative mp andrew bridgen has been suspended from the conservative party after comparing the covid—19 vaccine to the holocaust. the party says there will be an investigation. the bbc have approached mr bridgen for comment. earlier i spoke to our health disinformation reporter rachel schraer to bring us up to date with mr bridgen“s comments.

andrew bridgen began the pandemic with concerns about lockdown and vaccine mandates but praised the vaccine roll—out and even tweeted encouraging people to go out and get a jab after he had his but we have seen a bit of a shift in the last few months where he has begun to move to more baseless claims about the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines, so we have seen a change particularly in the last few weeks, that rhetoric has been ramping up with more inflammatory language we have seen which has triggered the suspension we are seeing today. let me pick you up on the phrase baseless claims because andrew bridgen has said the vaccines are killing people and the damage is being covered up. have we got any basis in fact for those assertions? we know that the vaccines do come with some side effects and there have been some rare and tragic cases of the most serious side effects. we have seen 60 deaths

in england and wales recorded using those vaccines, out of 150 million doses, so when these things we have to look at the risk and benefit profile together so we know these vaccines are protecting, giving more than 80% protection in the first instance against hospital admission, more than that for older people after boosters although it winds a little bit after the first. so this is a vaccine that is providing protection against death and hospital admission and we have to set that against the much rarer instances of more severe side—effects. andrew bridgen made these comments twitter. what does this tell us perhaps about how rumours and misinformation can spread on social media? that's right, i think what we can see happening is once you put something out there that really chimes with a particular group, it

influences that group and they mightjump on and send you more information or add links or add more information for people, and so we seem to have seen an escalation of the rhetoric, perhaps encouraged by some people who already have pre—existing beliefs about vaccines or maybe are involved in some more extreme conspiracy theories, that are adding to that conversation online, sending people links to less authoritative news sources and misinterpretations of genuine data that really creates a very confusing picture for people who just might be trying to understand and work out what is going on in the reality of things. let“s update you with the headlines. around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs — but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications

system failed. russia's defence ministry says the battle for soledar in eastern ukraine is continuing, despite claims they were in control of the town. the supermarket giant sainsbury“s says people are shopping more in—store, because — with the cost of living crisis — they want to see exactly what they're buying. the supermarket has reported a rise in sales over christmas — it says people were still keen to treat themselves over the festive period and while watching the world cup at home. our business correspondent emma simpson has been talking to sainsburys chief executive simon roberts. people shopped carefully this christmas. customers looked around for all the best deals and offers on the market and they want to make their budget go as far as possible for all the obvious reasons. the customer really wanted to enjoy this christmas as much as possible. of course it was the first time in three years we could get back together in family gatherings, celebrating christmas this time, so

customers went all out for the big christmas dinner. they traded up and treated themselves but they were also very careful where they spent. and they shopped in the stores? absolutely, i really important point. we had the biggest ever weekjust before christmas, a record week, and the period just before christmas when postal disruption was a real concern for all of us, customers came in and we saw 50% more customers to use the argos store for the gifts for their friends and family. the number one thing we all want to see, millions of households want to see, businesses want to see, is inflation come down. it is going to be the middle of the year before i think we see inflation start to level off, and everyone of course is working hard to make that happen, but this time of year when we are all waiting for the christmas bells to land, concern about mortgage

payments going up, we have to make sure we keep our value absolutely as good as we can for our customers. the chief executive of sainsbury“s talking to our business correspondent emma simpson. prince harry has denied he boasted about killing 25 taliban fighters when he was a helicopter pilot in afghanistan. he's been criticised for writing about the killings in his memoir, where he referred to the afghans who had died as “chess pieces taken off the board.“ but on american television last night, harry said the press had taken his remarks out of context. sophie long reports. they cheered and chanted his name. it was the latest and most light—hearted installment of this multi—platform media blitz. do you...? does he ever make you guys a drink, or not? it started with a cocktail, swiftly followed by criticism of the british press and the way he says they took his words about killing afghan insurgents out of context.

they called it boastful and dangerous. he said he included it in his book to help others. if i heard anyone boasting about that kind of thing, i would be angry. but it's a lie. and hopefully now that the book is out, people will be able to see the context. and it is, it's really troubling and very disturbing that they can get away with it. he spoke about the loss of his mother and how he believed the distance between he and his brother william would not be as great if she were still alive. she died at 36 and i was 36 when this all kicked off. as injanuary of 2020 was when my wife and i basically said, "enough, we can't cope, we can't deal with this. "we need to carve out something different." so that was an interesting overlap of time. people in the us are generally more into self care than self deprecation, so immodesty,

indiscretion doesn't really inspire the same level of criticism here as it does in the uk. and the words harry uses like consent, consciousness — that's the language that californians speak. ijust think he's being honest about his life. i mean, i love the fact that he's, you know, he's trying to set the record straight. there's been a lot out there the last few years about him and his wife. and i think, you know, he's a human being. his wife's a human being. and i can completely understand why they want to... they want people to understand their side of the story. it's interesting to see the exposure of racism or cultural conflicts - in other countries and communities. so, for me, it's interesting, and hopefully good i will come out of this. you've got to have watched some of the crown, right? people are loving that! yes, i have actually watched the crown. here, they enjoy the status of semi royal celebrities. yeah. do you fact—check it

while you watch it? yes, i do, actually! and using prime—time television to "speak their own truth" is not something many americans have a problem with. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. thanks for being here. really enjoyed the conversation. thank you for sharing this. i want to return to that used we were bringing you within the last half hour or so, royal mail announcing it is experiencing severe service disruption to its international export services following a cyber attack. we have now got some more details on that and i want to bring it to you. a royal mail spokesperson has said, we are temporarily unable dispatch export items, including letters and parcels, to overseas destinations,

and royal mail is asking customers to temporarily stop submitting any export items into the royal mail network while they try to resolve the issues. they are warning customers may face the layer disruption to items already being shipped for export. 0n disruption to items already being shipped for export. on to the news that this is the result of a cyber attack, the royal mail say, our teams are working around the clock to resolve this disruption and we will update customers as soon as we have more information. we have immediately launched an investigation into the incident had are working with external experts. we have reported the incident to our regulators and irrelevant security authorities so i think that gives you a sense of the scope of the disruption and the concern about cyber incident. royal mail concludes by saying, we would like to apologise to customers who have been impacted by this disruption and the

incident is obviously ongoing. but royal mail repeating the fact that it is still experiencing severe service disruption to its international export services following a cyber incident. more on that as we get it. tens of thousands of people in california have had to leave their homes after extreme storms brought heavy rain and flooding to large parts of the state. here in the los angeles neighbourhood of chatsworth, two vehicles plunged into this huge sinkhole that opened in the road. two people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. at least 17 people have died since the storms began, with officials warning the conditions could bring more landslides. 0ur north america correspondent james clayton reports. this is supposed to be a picturesque beach, but it's absolutely covered in detritus, wood, even entire trees, that have been swept into the sea by swollen rivers. a state of emergency has been declared here, and it isn“tjust the coast that's been hit.

up in the mountains, the small town of felton has been under water as the local river burst its banks. karen hendrick realised the water was coming up to her house too late. she couldn't get out, stuck above the water as it rose around her home. is it scary when you're surrounded by floodwater like that? this was the first time that i was scared, yeah. in the past, i always thought, you know, we'll get three, four, even five feet of floodwater come through. this one didn't seem like it was going to stop. and i was imagining, you know, ten, 12 feet of water. so that was pretty scary. 2a hours ago, the floodwater was about up here to my chest. it's now receded. but what it's left is this thick, glutinous mud, which has covered what is, in fact, a paved road. and of course, the mud hasn“tjust stuck to the streets. it“s covered the inside of people's homes, too. audrey baxter is a student who lives in the town. she lost childhood memories.

it“sjust something i used to read as a child, and it's alljust soaked all the way through. santa cruz isn“t alone. many other areas across california are being deluged. floods, landslides and blackouts. it“s left the governor of california scrambling for resources and worried about what's to come. have you ever seen anything like it? not at this scale. i mean, i've seen isolated incidents. these experiences are unique in that respect, they're novel, but they're also predictable because this is our reality with this weather whiplash and the extremes. and it's likely we'll see more of this in our future. each weather system that hits california wouldn't do much damage by itself, but it's the insistent nature of the weather, storm after storm, that's pummeling this state. and with no end in sight, california is braced for yet more rain and more damage to come. james clayton, bbc news, santa cruz.

that is the picture in california, what is it like closer to home? hello. there is a lot more rain to come for all of us through the next few days and we could see some impact from it with localised flooding, western scotland and north—west england and wales, south—west england could see some of the worst effects from the rain piling on. today remains windy with further showers from the west because of these weather fronts enhancing the shower activity and we look to the atlantic for the next substantial area of rain which will roll in during the evening and overnight period, so a blustery entry day, clear spells and showers. the rain starts to push through northern ireland and parts of england and wales, heavy towards western areas, and it stays wet through the night across the south west stand down towards south wales. for the far north of england and scotland, clear skies and slightly lighter winds, turning cold, could see a touch of ice, further south it will be milder. complicated picture for thursday with this weather fronts straddling southern britain which will bring further strong winds and heavy rain at times

and the new area of low pressure finding its way into the north—west so we could see severe gales for northern ireland in western scotland later in the day. single figure values in the north are a bit of snow over the hills and double figures across the south. thursday night with a real squeeze in the isobars affecting northern ireland, northern england and wales so we could see disruption from gales on thursday night, plenty of showers rattling through, some of them wintry on the high ground in scotland, ranging from a—8. you can see the squeeze on the isobars and then a ridge of high pressure wants to build settling things down for southern and western areas throughout the day on friday but we start blustery particularly across northern and eastern areas. the shower activity starts to ease down as the ridge pushes them from the west so we could see quite a bit of sunshine. the temperature up to 11—12, single figures across the north. that ridge doesn't last long, turning wet and windy into saturday, and then it is the feel of the weather in part two of the weekend, things turning colder into next week with some snow showers.

the temperature up to 11—12, single figures across the north. that ridge doesn't last long, turning wet and windy into saturday, and then it is the feel of the weather in part two of the weekend, things turning colder into next week with some snow showers.

this is bbc news. the headlines: around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs, but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. what is terrifying is that right now people not knowing when they call 999 they will get the treatment they need. there is not a minimum level of service any day, because they have broken the nhs! domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. mp andrew bridgen is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—19 vaccines with the holocaust.

good afternoon. ambulance workers in england and wales are striking over pay for a second time. managers are warning the impact is likely to be worse than last month's stoppage, because now call handlers are also on strike. the prime minister says it's terrifying people don't know what will happen if they call 999. but ambulance staff say they will leave picket lines to respond to all category one emergency calls, where there's a threat to life. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports from manchester. ambulances are still responding to life—threatening emergencies. but the picket lines outside

ambulance stations across wales and almost all of england tell their own story. i always wanted to be a paramedic from being a child and i wanted to help people. for those like sam, a paramedic in manchester with two small children, striking was a tough decision but one she felt forced to take. it's hard, but at the end of the month i don't have any wages there. we don't have any savings. it is a struggle. our weekly food shop has gone up, our electricity has gone up. it really is stretched at the moment. more than 20,000 ambulance workers are involved in a strike today, affecting all of wales and every region in england except the east and the isle of wight. the strike involves all staff who are members of the gmb or unison and includes paramedics and call handlers representing two thirds of all ambulance workers.

in manchester, the industrial action started at 7am, but the timings vary across different parts of england and wales. 999 calls will still be answered, and ambulance crews are attending life—threatening emergencies. but the government says given the extreme pressure on the health service, facing one of the toughest winters in its history, this is the wrong time to take strike action. the nhs, as we can all see, is under massive pressure. we accepted in full the recommendations of what is an independent process, the pay review body process, and i think it's hugely regrettable. the advice to patients is to think carefully before calling an ambulance but not to hesitate if it's a life—threatening emergencies such as a heart attack, stroke or seizure. at derriford hospital in plymouth, the army is helping with ambulance call—outs, and the service will undoubtedly be even more stretched today. are you going to wave it for me?

back on the manchester picket line, paramedics like mark say the strike is about more than just pay but also the state of the wider health service. i've been in this job for 1a years, and i've seen it slowly decline. it's a case of we're not able to do ourjob properly because we're getting stuck in ambulances and we are not able to then provide for other people that need us. from the government point of view, i think sometimes they do play on our caring side, we are all in the job because we care, and most of us will still stay because it's a job that we love and a job that we've been in for quite a few years and we need to be matched up with the pay that we deserve, really. the health service will see more strikes, with two days of industrial action by nursing staff next week and physiotherapists striking towards the end of the month. junior doctors are also voting on whether to take industrial action. so far, there is little sign of a breakthrough that could mean

the dispute is resolved soon. jenny kumah is in plymouth for us. what is the situation where you are and in _ what is the situation where you are and in the — what is the situation where you are and in the surrounding area? well, here in plymouth _ and in the surrounding area? well, here in plymouth and _ and in the surrounding area? well, here in plymouth and across i and in the surrounding area? -ii here in plymouth and across the south west region, we have some of the worst ambulance response times and west ambulance hand over delays, and west ambulance hand over delays, and there are times you could see dozens of ambulances queueing up. today there has been a steady stream of ambulances coming and going, there is around a handful of ambulances packed up, and we have seen some military personnel helping to recruit those ambulances, and things seem to be ramping up in terms of busyness, the emergency department is getting busier. earlier today, the wait was around 90 minutes, now it is around two and a half hours, and there are currently 100 patients in the

department. i have been speaking to patients and relatives, one who told me his mother had a stroke this morning, they called for an ambulance which responded within 20 minutes, and he was very pleased she got the service she needed. he said he told me that he supported the strikes. i spoke to another woman who had been directed to come up from my minor injuries unit, and she told me she also supported the strike. now, the nhs say that the last strike, they saw a fall in demand, we don't have the full picture yet of the impact, but they say they have put measures in place, such as redeploying staff in areas where they are expecting high demand, as well as working with ambulance crews to ensure that there is a quick handover of patients where possible. that is the picture here in plymouth.— where possible. that is the picture here in plymouth. jenny, thanks for that update. _ here in plymouth. jenny, thanks for that update. jenny _ here in plymouth. jenny, thanks for that update, jenny kumah - here in plymouth. jenny, thanks for that update, jenny kumah in i that update, jenny kumah in plymouth. keiran pedley is the director of political research at ipsos, a global market research and consulting firm. he outlined what support

there is for striking workers. the first thing to say is that when we talk about strike action, it does depend a lot, public support, it does depend on the context of the action and who is doing the striking, so when it comes to nhs workers, specifically ambulance workers, there tends to be a more sympathetic public to those workers than maybe some others. soto put some numbers to that, polling in december showed that a7% of the public supported ambulance workers going on strike, whereas 37% opposed, a slight plurality in favour of this action, whereas for other workers you would not get that. i think that reflects the concerns that the public have over the nhs and general sympathy for nhs workers. let's explore when you say other workers would not get that level of support, because i wondered how far that support extends

to others on strike, and i am thinking, for example, about railway workers, post office workers, border force officials, for example. i think what we tend to find, similar polling before the start of the year shows that if we are talking about nhs workers, firefighters or teachers, you tend to find more people in the public supportive than opposing it, whereas other groups, you typically find that barristers and civil servants, — sorry, barristers and civil servants — more opposed than support, so to use that specific example of the railway workers, it is a bit more split, so recent polling shows that 30% supported railway workers going on strike, 36% opposed, with the rest being neutral. so not necessarily hostile but more split than for those working in the nhs. there is a lot of sympathy for railway passengers,

more than eight in ten sympathetic, but there is also more sympathy for the unions and railway workers than there is the government or the railway companies, so it is a complex picture. long term, it depends on the level of disruption and who is doing the striking in terms of how public support evolves. well, in the commons, the ambulance strike and the state of the national health service dominated the first prime minister's questions of the new year. and after weeks of speculation, rishi sunakfinally said he has used private health care in the past, but he also said he is registered with an nhs gp. our political correspondent ben wright was watching. how are you going to end the strikes in the nhs, prime minister? - no end in sight to the strikes, an nhs understrain, and political heat on the prime minister. at the weekend, rishi sunak ducked questions about his own health care arrangements, refusing to say

if he used a private gp. but as he faced the commons for the first time this year, mr sunak said he did use the nhs after all. i am registered with an nhs gp. i have used independent health care in the past, and i'm also grateful to the friarage hospital for the fantastic care they've given my family over the years. with ambulance staff striking today, nurses planning a walk—out next week, labour's leader tried to pin the blame on the prime minister. in the 13 years of the last labour government, there were no national nhs strikes. if the prime minister had negotiated with the nurses before christmas, they wouldn't be on strike. if he had negotiated with the ambulance workers, they wouldn't be on strike either. so why is he choosing to prolong the misery, rather than end these strikes? prime minister! mr speaker, we've always been clear that we want constructive dialogue with the unions. that is also why, when it comes to the issue of pay,

we have accepted in full the independent recommendations of the pay review bodies. the honourable gentleman simply doesn't have a policy when it comes to this question. the political scrap over strikes is escalating. the government sketched out plans to enforce minimum levels of service during industrial action — an idea labour opposes. his response to the greatest crisis in the history of the nhs is to threaten to sack our nurses. his transport secretary says it's not the solution. his education secretary hopes it won't apply in schools. his own assessments say it could increase the number of strikes. the simple truth is, you can't legislate your way out of 13 years of failure. this is a simple proposition, that no—one denies the unions freedom to strike, but it is also important to balance that with people's right to have access to life—saving health care at the same time. mr speaker, this shouldn't be controversial.

but the plans won't have any impact on the current strikes. talks between unions and ministers over pay look stuck, so the disruption goes on. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. leaders of rail unions say a resolution to their ongoing dispute over pay, conditions and jobs is a long way off. however, rail company bosses say they are more optimistic about the prospect of a deal. mps have been questioning bosses from the rmt, aslef and tssa unions this morning — as well as representatives from network rail and the rail delivery group. they union leaders were asked by the chair of the transport committee about the current state of the dispute let's say, on a scale of one to ten, whereas one, you remain on different planets, ten, i can go out and buy a hat for the wedding, where are we? mr whelan. thank you, chair.

i think you can include zero on one to ten, we're further away than when we started. ok, that's clear. mr ward? i wouldn't disagree with that. 0k, mr lynch? _ i wouldn't be able to say, it depends on discussions. i wouldn't use a scale, but we haven't got an agreement, and until we get an agreement, we're not close to it, really. rail bosses were also asked a similar question about the chances of a resolution with the unions rmt, i believe that we have an opportunity to try and move forward. so i think we're within reasonable areas of where i think we can get a deal, but we have to work through it with them. obviously, as it was indicated, there's further discussions tomorrow, so obviously we wait and see the outcome of that. tssa, in a very similar position, where we'll get further discussions tomorrow. alef is slightly different, where we have been further

behind with aslef. obviously, we made the offer last friday. we've heard the reaction of aslef. we need to do more with them and try and get back around the table. so that one is probably further behind the other at this moment. a ten for the tssa and unite, which are part of the same negotiating group, because they're resolved, and that's good news. and those members of staff have now had that money, for the controllers grade group. and as soon as we can resolve with rmt, then that will resolve those two unions. for rmt, 36% of the members that are network rail employees voted yes for the deal. so we're a bit short of the 50% that we need. there's a couple of thousand people that need to change their vote. so we met again with with the rmt leadership yesterday for discussions and we're planning to meet again next week. so, you know, i'm... i'd place that at seven. mps also asked about proposals to introduce more driver

only operated trains, where services do not have guards on board. union leaders said that was a red line for them. we will not accept driver—only operation in any company, without a fight. we will never sign up to accepting doo. it will never happen while i'm the general secretary, it will never happen as long as the rmt exists. train drivers who do it hate it and feel it is unsafe, and we believe it is unsafe. prior to the pandemic, the whole industry was moving in a different direction. all the travelling public, passenger focus want a visible and safe presence on every train. we have seen sexual assaults increase and county lines and drugs, areas where people refuse to move at certain times of night. unfortunately, society hasn't got more polite and safer. and since then, the rail safety standards have designated that train

drivers are lone workers. so every role has to be reevaluated in light of us being lone workers. so where this is no staff on stations, nobody in booking offices, and nobody in trains, we do not believe it is safe for the travelling public. also, we do believe you need everybody in all those positions to run a safe railway and we will not be the supporting doo if it comes forward as part of this deal. the headlines on bbc news: around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs, but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. mp andrew bridgen is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—i9 vaccines with the holocaust.

the family of a british—iranian dual national sentenced to death in iran say that the authorities are preparing to execute him. the foreign office says it's repeatedly raised the case of alireza akbari with the iranian authorities and are supporting his family. mr akbari, a former defence minister who denies spying for the uk, has been transferred to solitary confinement, which is seen as a sign that an execution is imminent. the us aviation authorities say air traffic is getting back to normal, after domestic flights were grounded for several hours because of a computer glitch. the us federal aviation administration has this afternoon lifted an earlier order which stopped all departures after a computer glitch that prevented pilots being sent hazard alerts. the delayed and cancelled flights included some into and out of the uk.

it looks like earlier there was an outage of the system that essentially notifies the pilots in the us that there is a hazard or something really important that has changed, they need to know before they set off, so this is important for safety, and following that outage, the authorities in the us said there was a lot of work going on to try to get back up and running, but while they did that, they stopped domestic flights taking off. it looks like some flights were able to land, with extra help from air—traffic control, for example, to make sure it was safe, but a really big impact... domestic flights, there are thousands of them every day. it is an absolutely huge market, so the main brunt of this is within us domestic flights. i think there is some impact on internationalflights, we have noticed some delays, for example, on flights setting off from the uk to the us, and even now that things are being allowed to resume gradually, i would expect us

to have a knock—on impact through out the day. i suppose not exactly sure how long it would last, but you would expect a sizeable knock—on impact from a couple of hours of no flights being allowed to take off. it is very unusual, notjust for the system to go down, but for the authorities to issue a blanket, you know, "all departures must stop for now." as to the cause of the systems outage, we do not know. the us government said there was no evidence of a cyber attack, but an investigation has been ordered. for the moment, people will just be hoping that things get back to normal quickly. just to be clear, this system is not in each individual plane, it is on the ground, but it is different from air—traffic control, which many of our viewers will be familiar with. yeah, this is about communicating with pilots and crew about important information that they need to know about their flight, about what is happening, one example could include

that an airport is closed, which obviously they need to know before they set off, and it is all about making sure that everything is safe. i spoke to one aviation expert, a pilot who says that nobody wants delays and disruption, but it is a better option than safety being compromised. the prime minister, rishi sunak, has been urged to help schools stop boys being brainwashed by controversial social media personality andrew tate. the british—american former professional kickboxer turned influencer has amassed millions of followers across social media platforms. he was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. yesterday, a court in romania upheld the 30—day arrest of tate on charges of organised crime, human trafficking and rape. i'm nowjoined by michael conroy. he is the founder and director of men at work, a charity that helps train professionals who work with men and boys.

really good to have you with us, thanks so much forjoining us, michael. first of all, how concerned should we be about the influence of andrew tate on young men and boys? i think we should be as concerned about that as we are about the influence of online racists or radicalisers of any description, because, well, a, we have a body of evidence that lots and lots of boys and young men are parroting his ideas and his conversations and his quotes, because that is coming through loud and clear through hundreds and hundreds of schools across this country, and no doubt beyond. so we have got a whole body of evidence from teachers, from safeguarding leads, from parents and carers, and from the students themselves in some cases, that is

work and his ideas, which are in fact very hoary old misogynistic ideas, he is not a particularly interesting chap in himself, but there have been used in a new way, being brought into school as a kind of act of provocation in some cases, by some young men, often in classrooms being run by female teachers. i think that is a really interesting point, because it seems to be about a kind of powerplay, so they are using tate�*s nonsense as a kind of way to provoke or get a rise out of a female teacher, particularly interesting why that might be the case, sol particularly interesting why that might be the case, so i think we should be concerned, but also because people like andrew tate and many others who have got huge platforms, they exist beyond the scrutiny of parents and carers, and it is not that we want to know exactly what our kids are doing all of the time and control it, but the way the internet operates now means that we haven't got a clue, and even

people in their 30s, early 405, are people in their 305, early 405, are a generation adrift from their own children. i am 54 and i do my best, but understanding how algorithms work, it is notjust what our kids are looking for or add, it is what is looking for our kids and what is targeting them, and andrew tate�*s financial success is largely down to the use of algorithms, which spread to stuff like wildfire, so that is a long answer, but we should be concerned and we should get our acts together as adults, as a culture. 0k, together as adults, as a culture. ok, so we have to get our acts together, and it is, first of all true parents, which we might come unto, but given the charity you run, what can be done in schools, how are you trying to tackle the problem? clear it is not a charity, butjust to be clear, i am not a charity, it

is a community interest company, but what we are doing, i spent 16 years in secondary education, and towards the end of that, and in secondary education, and towards the end of that,— the end of that, and that maps auainst the end of that, and that maps against the _ the end of that, and that maps against the explosion - the end of that, and that maps against the explosion of - the end of that, and that maps against the explosion of the i against the explosion of the internet, i started doing more and more workshops and interventions and mentoring with boys and young men across a range of schools in the west midlands, and from that, it gives you a real insight into their thought processes, and the normalisation of things like sharing inappropriate images, the use of increasingly sexualised language, and also we can see the grip of pornography in their daily lives. so what we need to do as schools and colleges, i believe, is to acknowledge primarily the fact that most of the use of social media and internet by young people is on unregulated platforms. and there is accountability for them, we need to

pack that, but it is true, unsupervised by parents and carers in most cases, so what can we do in schools? i say we, although i am no longer in schools, but i would pretty much every day with teachers and pastoral staff and the safeguarding leads, picking up the pieces of things like andrew tate, but more broadly pornography. so i think in schools, what we need to do is build on the basics of our relationship and sex education curricula and try and beef that up as much as possible, and the government needs to train specialist pshe and sex ed teachers, because most of the people delivering that, they are not subject specialists, and that is unacceptable, that is a real national crisis. so that is one thing for the government, for the

prime minister, whoever it is this week, they need to be dealing with that. at the other thing is what can we do, that is not much use to us tomorrow, so what i'm doing tomorrow, so what i'm doing tomorrow, for example, i will spend the with 16 teachers and pastoral care is down in dorset, as it goes, i work all over the country, often online but in person too, and we will be spending the day taking a dive into the social influences of boys and young men, and we are looking at the range of influences that are giving them information about how you be a man, the man rules, if you like, how do i do this thing called being a man? and we will look at what is expected, what is not allowed, you know, we will talk about things like being tough, having money, being dominant et cetera, and also the things that are not allowed, not being emotionally expressive, don't hug your friends, unless you are drunk, getting

involved in domestic work, all that kind of stuff. and these rules are learned by boys are so young and so early, at what age they learn that crying in public will lead to problems, so we can create spaces within schools, part of the curriculum where it exists, but also about having... being happy to have single sex, boys only conversations about what it means to be a man and boy, and what they expect to do and how to bait, and allow them to say things that might be a bit rough around the edges, but to get it out, put it on the table, let's talk about this, you know, how can we be safe as men for ourselves, because we matter, and our sons matter massively because they are beautiful human beings, but how can we be safe for other people, whether it is male

friends or women and girls, and increasingly bringing it back to mr tate and his lookalikes, the many clones, his message makes girls unsafe, and categorically... michael, i'm so sorry to interrupt you, all your points are very interesting, forgive me for interrupting, it is only because we out of time, but i wanted to thank you, and i hope you feel you have had time to make some of the points you want to do. michael, thank you, michael from men at work. in scotland, exams are being rescheduled as secondary teachers strike in their dispute about pay. some preliminary exams have been affected. unions are asking for a 10% pay increase. the scottish government says that's unaffordable. it follows a strike by primary schools teachers yesterday, also over pay. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has more on this.

we're at st andrew's roman catholic secondary school in glasgow. normally, there'd be 1800 students here attending classes every day, but instead the school is shut for the day. and that's because secondary—school teachers are out on strike. pickets here telling me they're in it for the long haul. yeah, we're really prepared to, we'll come out as often as we need to in order to reach a better pay deal and a fair deal. they've been really supportive, though, our students, they have been saying things like, "can i refuse to cross the picket line in order to support you, miss?" and they've just been wishing us luck as they've been leaving the classroom yesterday. well, there were talks earlier this week between the unions involved in this dispute and the scottish government. shirley—anne somerville, who's the minister in charge of the scottish government's side of the negotiations, said she'd leave no stone unturned in her attempts to resolve this dispute. well, teachers want a 10% pay rise at the moment. the offer on the table

is between 5% and 6.85% for the lowest paid. they say the offer would have to be substantially improved, but they are hoping a new offer will be made to them over the next couple of days. and that was lorna gordon. i have some breaking news to bring you that detectives investigating the murder of ellie edwards on christmas eve have arrested a 22—year—old man on suspicion of murder. a 23—year—old woman also from the world was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. both have been taken to an offender. both have been taken to a police station for questioning and to remind you of the context, ellie edwards was shot and killed when a gunman opened fire at the lighthouse pub shortly before midnight on

christmas eve, 2022. the 26—year—old was fatally wounded in the attack and four others were injured, but the news just into the bbc that detectives investigating the murder of ellie edwards have arrested a 22—year—old man on suspicion of murder and a 23—year—old woman has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. both have been taken to police stations for questioning. a total of five people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. more on that as we get it. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. a rather beautiful sky behind you. it has been quite a wet day. it has, a lot of rainfall during this month than some areas have seen more than they are month's worth already in they are month's worth already in the first ten or ii

they are month's worth already in the first ten or 11 days, so flooding issues continue to be a concern across many northern and western areas. more wind and rain through tonight, these are the weather fronts that brought the showers to scotland and much of england and wales. this rain slides then for initial in northern ireland and then wales and northern england, strengthening winds. showers fading away across scotland and with slightly lighter winds it will be a lot calmer but more cold, sub zero values compared with ten in the south. a new area of low pressure pushes into scotland and northern ireland so the ones kicking up across scotland and northern ireland, severe gales in northern ireland, snow on the hills, a slice of sunny weather between these weather systems but it stays cloudy and wet and windy towards the south of the uk. here, mild at 11—13 and chill yourfurther north. see

uk. here, mild at 11—13 and chill your further north. see you later. hello this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines. around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs — but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. counter terrorism police investigate how scrap metal containing traces of uranium arrived at london's heathrow airport last month. mp andrew bridgen is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—i9 vaccines with the holocaust. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin.

england's owen farrell is set to be available for their six nations opener with scotland despite a four—match ban for a dangerous tackle. it's because the ban could be reduced to three weeks if he completes the world rugby coaching intervention programme. our rugby union reporter sara orchard has more. this all comes from a club game that owen farrell actually played in last friday where he made a tackle [and he made contact to the head of opposition playerjack clement who was playing for gloucester at the time. it wasn't picked up by the officials and he was subsequently cited and had to attend a disciplinary hearing last night. the outcome of that disciplinary hearing was that he has been given a four—game ban which can be reduced to three games if he completes a world rugby tackle course, which he is expected to do, meaning his ban is expected to do, meaning his ban is reduced to three games. a little bit of confusion around it because on monday steve borthwick, the england head coach, will name his england head coach, will name his england squad. if owen farrell is named in the england squad the third

game on the list technically he would never actually play on for his club side because england players tend to be arrested the weekend before the six nations. it means this could get very complicated and a lot of the decision over whether owen farrell ends up playing in the game could essentially rest at the door of the new england head coach steve borthwick. what a way to start his tenure, a lot of pressure on his shoulders. england's injury woes continue, as back row tom curry will miss england's first two six nations games after suffering a hamstring tear. curry left the field after his right leg was hurt during a tackle in sale�*s win over harlequins on sunday. curry, who has 45 caps and captained england for the first time in last season's six nations, will miss the matches against scotland and italy. luke cowan—dickie will also miss at least the start of the tournament — with a "serious" ankle injury. the last two quarter—finals of the league cup take place tonight, with nottingham forest at home to wolves and manchester city travelling to southampton. if city make it to the final and win, it would make their boss pep guardiola the most successful

manager in the competition's history. he's currently level with alex ferguson, jose mourinho and brian clough with four wins. we want to wind it because we are there _ we want to wind it because we are there to _ we want to wind it because we are there to wind it and we will do it but thereto wind it and we will do it but it_ thereto wind it and we will do it but it will— there to wind it and we will do it but it will not change my life if we have _ but it will not change my life if we have the — but it will not change my life if we have the same as sir alex. this competition is amazing, so it is not, _ competition is amazing, so it is not. don't _ competition is amazing, so it is not, don't produce me something special— not, don't produce me something special to— not, don't produce me something special to have the same with brian or sir— special to have the same with brian or sir alex, — special to have the same with brian or siralex, but in special to have the same with brian or sir alex, but in this competition, the people say it is a less important competition but we try to _ less important competition but we try to do _ less important competition but we try to do our best. joao felix has said he is �*very excited' to have joined chelsea on loan for the rest of the season, from spanish side atletico madrid. the portugal forward trained with the squad earlier today. arsenal and manchester united had been linked with the 23—year—old, but he favoured a move to the blues. he's the fourth player to sign for the club during the january transfer window. they're currently 10th in the premier league, 10 points adrift of a top—four spot. former championjudd trump is taking on ryan day

at the masters at in london. the players are playing a best of 11 match for a place in the quarter—finals. judd won the masters in 2019, but looks set for a fight if he's to make it through, with day — the british opem winner — performing well at alexandra palace. he hasjust gone he has just gone 5—3 down and ryan day is now only one frame away from victory and yet another upset at this year's tournament, these are the life picture over on bbc two. a close match in many respects but ryan day not very far away from a memorable wind. judd trump has the better of him in the last four matches they are played against each other and the winner will play barry hawkins on friday, action on bbc two and the bbc sport website and app. that is all the support from us for now, back with more later on. back to our main story and ambulance workers in england and wales are striking per pay for a second time.

hamishjohnston is a trainee paramedic on strike today, and he explained how thejob has paramedic on strike today, and he explained how the job has changed since he first started about four years ago. it since he first started about four years age-— since he first started about four years ago. it is certainly busier, the call volume _ years ago. it is certainly busier, the call volume is _ years ago. it is certainly busier, the call volume is up, _ years ago. it is certainly busier, the call volume is up, coupled l years ago. it is certainly busier, i the call volume is up, coupled with the call volume is up, coupled with the fact, as you have seen on the news, waiting for hours at the hospital each time you take somebody n. hospital each time you take somebody n, which further makes the call time worse, spending twice the amount of time at least getting to patients and it is a lot more full on than it used to be. and it is a lot more full on than it used to be— and it is a lot more full on than it used to be. you are a trainee. are ou used to be. you are a trainee. are you considering. _ used to be. you are a trainee. are you considering, as _ used to be. you are a trainee. are you considering, as we _ used to be. you are a trainee. are you considering, as we hear- used to be. you are a trainee. are you considering, as we hear so - used to be. you are a trainee. are i you considering, as we hear so many of your fellow professionals are, of leaving, or do you think you will continue with it. i'm trying to gauge how difficult life is. i definitely will stick with it and a lot of my colleagues are considering leaving. of the top of my head, at least five people have moved to doctors surgeries to work or have

left the service completely, and thatis left the service completely, and that is the same with the hospital staff as well. i was talking to a nurse overnight in a&e who says he is completely done and says he is going to leave the health service altogether, unfortunately. truth? going to leave the health service altogether, unfortunately. why are ou altogether, unfortunately. why are you striking — altogether, unfortunately. why are you striking today? _ altogether, unfortunately. why are you striking today? there - altogether, unfortunately. why are you striking today? there are - you striking today? there are certain things _ you striking today? there are certain things you _ you striking today? there are certain things you will- you striking today? there are certain things you will not - you striking today? there are certain things you will not be | you striking today? there are - certain things you will not be able to change about the job. working in a&e and the hospital in the ambulances is stressfuljust by the nature of it, that is not going to change. but the stuff that we deal with day—to—day should be reflected in the pay and at the moment it hasn't risen less inflation as it should have, and i think to keep people at work, that is the thing thatis people at work, that is the thing that is going to have to change, because you can't change the job. thejob because you can't change the job. the job is always going to be what it is. the pay must rise to meet what we are dealing with. stand it is. the pay must rise to meet what we are dealing with. and when ou sa what we are dealing with. and when

you say what _ what we are dealing with. and when you say what you — what we are dealing with. and when you say what you are _ what we are dealing with. and when you say what you are dealing - what we are dealing with. and when you say what you are dealing with. i j you say what you are dealing with. i know you have said on a 12 hour night shift used to have time for a break and all the rest of it, it has just got busier and busier because of the pressure on the nhs, is that fair? ., �* , ~ of the pressure on the nhs, is that fair? . �* , . , ., fair? that's right. when i started four years _ fair? that's right. when i started four years ago — fair? that's right. when i started four years ago it _ fair? that's right. when i started four years ago it was _ fair? that's right. when i started four years ago it was still - fair? that's right. when i started four years ago it was still bad, i fair? that's right. when i started l four years ago it was still bad, me compared to the older members of staff that have been doing this for a number of years, even four years ago, it is much worse than when they started. even when i started, on a night shift he would have some time every now and again between jobs to go back to a standby point and get some rest and maybe sleep if you're good at napping, but these days there is no chance of that. so you talked about _ there is no chance of that. so you talked about pay. _ there is no chance of that. so you talked about pay. i _ there is no chance of that. so you talked about pay. i wonder- there is no chance of that. so you talked about pay. i wonder what i talked about pay. i wonder what would be more appealing to you. would it be a one—off payment, described as a hardship payment. would that be backdating next year's pay award so that you would receive a pay increase earlier. this

pay award so that you would receive a pay increase earlier.— a pay increase earlier. this should be a 'ob a pay increase earlier. this should be a job for— a pay increase earlier. this should be ajob for life, _ a pay increase earlier. this should be a job for life, people _ a pay increase earlier. this should be a job for life, people that - a pay increase earlier. this should be a job for life, people that go i a pay increase earlier. this should be a job for life, people that go to university for this do it for three years to get the job so you should be looking at this for 30 odd years so they have to look forward to that are notjust give a bonus for this year because it has been particularly hard. it is going to be hard next year and next year so the pay must rise to meet that. you are on strike, pay must rise to meet that. you are on strike. just _ pay must rise to meet that. you are on strike. just a _ pay must rise to meet that. you are on strike, just a final— pay must rise to meet that. you are on strike, just a final thought, - pay must rise to meet that. you are on strike, just a final thought, you i on strike, just a final thought, you must be concerned about the impact this is going to have on patients. i wonder how you square that circle. absolutely, so we do still have members of staff responding today and they will respond to the absolute highest category of calls. going out to the ci calls, life and limb. what changes is that they are allowing more people to make their way to hospital or pressuring them

to find other avenues such as speaking to the gp. so you would hope you would be able to strike and at the same time not have any serious detrimental effect, especially loss of life. the conservative mp andrew bridgen has been suspended from the conservative party after comparing the covid—i9 vaccine to the holocaust. the party says there will be an investigation. the bbc have approached mr bridgen for comment. earlier i spoke to our health disinformation reporter rachel schraer to bring us up to date with mr bridgen's comments. andrew bridgen began the pandemic with concerns about lockdown and vaccine mandates but praised the vaccine roll—out and even tweeted encouraging people to go out and get a job after he had his but we have seen a bit of a shift in the last few months where he has begun to move to more baseless claims about the safety and

effectiveness of these vaccines, so we have seen a change particularly in the last few weeks, that rhetoric has been ramping up with more inflammatory language we have seen which has triggered the suspension we are seeing today. let me pick you up on the phrase baseless claims because andrew bridgen has said the vaccines are killing people and the damage is being covered up. have we got any basis in fact for those assertions? we know that the vaccines do come with some side effects and there have been some rare and tragic cases of the most serious side effects. we have seen 60 deaths in england and wales recorded using those vaccines, out of 150 million doses, so when these things we have to look at the risk and benefit profile together so we know these vaccines are protecting, giving more than 80% protection in the first instance against hospital admission, more than that for older people after boosters although it winds a little bit after the first.

so this is a vaccine that is providing protection against death and hospital admission and we have to set that against the much rarer instances of more severe side—effects. andrew bridgen made these comments on twitter. what does this tell us perhaps about how rumours and misinformation can spread on social media? that's right, i think what we can see happening is once you put something out there that really chimes with a particular group, it influences that group and they mightjump on and send you more information or add links or add more information for people, and so we seem to have seen an escalation of the rhetoric, perhaps encouraged by some people who already have pre—existing beliefs about vaccines or maybe are involved in some more extreme conspiracy theories, that are adding to that conversation online, sending people links to less authoritative

news sources and misinterpretations of genuine data that really creates a very confusing picture for people who just might be trying to understand and work out what is going on in the reality of things. and that was rachel talking to me, our health this information officer. the headlines on bbc news. around 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health bosses warn of the impact to the nhs — but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. domestic flights in the us have resumed across the country after a critical communications system failed. mp andrew bridgen is suspended from the conservative party after appearing to compare covid—i9 vaccines with the holocaust. counter terrorism police are investigating how scrap metal containing traces of uranium arrived at london's heathrow airport last month.

the bbc understands that one line of inquiry is whether it was the result of "poor handling" in pakistan — which is where it came from. earlier, i spoke to hamish de bretton—gordon, former commanding officer of the uk'sjoint chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment. i asked him what he made of the story. i think it is absolutely extraordinary, the thought that uranium, a potentially very toxic and poisonous radiological isotope could be put on a civilian aircraft, travel halfway around the world and end up in london is almost unbelievable. i think the first thing is that all those people who look out for those sort of things, the security services and police and others, have absolutely done theirjob, and the fact we discovered less uranium and it would appear from what the police are saying, it now no longer is a danger to the public,

is very good news, but i think at a time when the nuclear and radiological threat is as high as it's ever been, even during the cold war, as we see that iran potentially possesses nuclear bomb capability, north korea does, china is tripling its holdings of warheads, and of course in ukraine president putin has threatened tactical nuclear attack and threatened a dirty bomb attack, to have potentially viable nuclear material turn up at heathrow airport is a huge concern, but i think the public should not be overly concerned because the measures in place to identify it has been done and it has now been safely dealt with. as you say surveillance mechanisms did pick it up. to pick—up with you about what uranium can be used for, we hear a lot about the phrase dirty bomb, can you explore and what that isn't what other uses that might be put

towards ? the original use for uranium is for nuclear power stations, to provide tremendous amounts of power. however uranium is also the main source in nuclear weapons when it is highly enriched at about 90%. we have heard a lot about dirty bombs recently because of what vladimir putin has been threatening in ukraine. a dirty bomb is when a nuclear isotope is exploded with conventional explosive to spread contamination and that contamination can of course be very dangerous and take time to clear up. the other possibility is developing what we call an improvised nuclear device and we know that i5i5 tried to do this with highly enriched uranium a few years ago, but we are talking about a very small amounts of uranium, so although this is

potentially a terrifying story i doubt there would have been enough uranium to either create a dirty bomb or a major hazard. you mention that it was on a civilian aircraft. let's be clear, there were passengers on board, whether their? how on earth do you think uranium however small it was came to be on a passenger aircraft? it is extraordinary. we know in the uk that we have very sophisticated and comprehensive surveillance devices at all airports and ports to make sure the sort of thing does not happen. however it is obvious that perhaps we don't have that level, certainly in pakistan or oman where the plane went through, does not have that level of surveillance. that is probably something they should look at. having said that, it is clear that because it was not

identified that was obviously a very small source and perhaps it was protected, shrouded in something like lead to prevent contamination spreading so i don't think anybody on that flight out of pakistan are out of oman should be overly worried about the radiation coming out of there, but it is something that one would not wish for and i am sure the pakistan and oman authorities will be looking at how they can improve their surveillance of radiation type materials to ensure this doesn't happen again. the supermarket giant sainsbury�*s says people are shopping more in—store, because — with the cost of living cri5i5 — they want to see exactly what they're buying. the supermarket has reported a rise in sales over christmas — it says people were still keen to treat themselves over the festive period and while watching the world cup at home. our business correspondent emma simpson has been talking to sainsburys chief executive simon

roberts. people shopped carefully this christmas. customers looked around for all the best deals and offers on the market and they want to make their budget go as far as possible for all the obvious reasons. the customer really wanted to enjoy this christmas as much as possible. of course it was the first time in three years we could get back together in family gatherings, celebrating christmas this time, so customers went all out for the big christmas dinner. they traded up and treated themselves but they were also very careful where they spent. and they shopped in the stores? absolutely, i really important point. we had the biggest ever weekjust before christmas, a record week, and the period just before christmas when postal disruption was a real concern for all of us, customers came in and we saw 50% more customers to use the argos store for the gifts for their friends and family.

but all these rising things is just a reflection of staff being more expensive, isn't it? the number one thing we all want to see, millions of households want to see, businesses want to see, is inflation come down. it is going to be the middle of the year before i think we see inflation start to level off, and everyone of course is working hard to make that happen, but this time of year when we are all waiting for the christmas bills to land, concern about mortgage payments going up, we have to make sure we keep our value absolutely as good as we can for our customers. the chief executive of sainsbury�*s talking to our business correspondent emma simpson. the golden globes have returned to american television, a year after the awards show was dropped because of a row over racial diversity. the irish comedy, the banshees of inisherin was one of the big winners of the evening, taking home three of the major prizes, including best comedy actor for its star colin farrell. peter bowes reports from los angeles. the golden globes are back,

but are they forgiven? the hollywood foreign press association, the group behind the show, has been mired in controversy. allegations over a lack of diversity amongst the voters, and other ethical lapses, led to the globes being boycotted by hollywood and dropped from tv last year. but the ceremony has returned to try to nurture a new, inclusive image, starting with the host. and i'll tell you why i'm here... i'm here because i'm black. laughter. the comedianjerrod carmichael didn't shy away from the controversy, joking that as the first black host in the show's history, he was unfireable. i heard they got six new black members. congrats to them, whatever, sure. but it's not why i'm here. i'm here, truly, because all of you, i look out into this room and i see

a lot of talented people. and so it was on with the awards. one of the night's big winners wa5 everything everywhere all at once, a comedy—drama set in the multi—verse and starring michelle yeoh, a malaysian actress who plays the owner of a launderette. and this is also for all the shoulders that i stand on, all who came before me who look like me. we haven't been rowing. the banshees of inisherin, the dark comedy about a fractured relationship between two lifelong friends, won several awards, including best comedy, and actor for colin farrell. i never expect films to work and to find an audience, and when they do, it's shocking to me, and so i'm so horrified by what's happened around banshees over the last couple of months, in a thrilling kind of way. there was a change of tone when sean penn took to the stage. the veteran actor introduced a recorded message from the ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky. it is now 2023 and the war in ukraine is not over yet, but the tide is turning, and it is already clear who will win.

in the tv categories, the main winners were the white lotus, abbott elementary and the game of thrones spin off house of the dragon. the organisers of the golden globes say they are committed to making more changes to make the awards more diverse. the show's future is far from certain, but hollywood seems to be in a mood to move on. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. staff is here with the forecast. good evening to you, more rain and western parts of the country, rumbles of thunder across the western part of the country, heavy downpours and more rain to come overnight with strong winds especially towards southern britain. this is the latest radar picture and you can see the rain picture across

england and wales, heavy towards the south, showers of mainly snow over the scottish hills. looks like the showers will ease down overnight in the north but we see this next batch of more substantial rain into northern ireland and england and wales as we head into the second part of the night with gales in the south and through the channel. here it will be mild, 5—10, with the ones falling a little bit lighter and turning cold, sub zero values. this new area of low pressure will be working to the north of the uk and we continue to hold onto this front to the south with strong winds, some rather cloudy with wetter times towards the south coast and into the channel islands. wet and windy weather across scotland and northern ireland, could be severe gales later in the day, but a slice of brighter weather and to the midlands and northern and eastern england but a blustery day wherever you are especially in the south and later in the north. temperature in single digits in the north, double digits

across most of england and wales, then an area of wet and windy weather starts to push eastwards and weather starts to push eastwards and we could see strong winds pushing into southern scotland, northern england and the north midlands and into wales for a time so could see some disruption to this through thursday night, stay tuned to the forecast. plenty of showers rattling in, temperature 4—7. starting wet and windy in the north and east, you can see that low pushing off into the north and this ridge of high pressure builds so we are in between weather systems for friday afternoon so should be a bit of an improvement, so more sunshine around. initially the north and east, showers easing down, and across northern and central areas the odd one here and there. much more sunshine around across the south and west. the temperature turns 11, cooler in the north. more change into the weekend is another area of low pressure moves then and as it pulls away to the east it

allows much colder air to flow in the wet and windy on saturday, the temperature coming down across all areas on sunday and into the start of next week it looks like it could be quite windy with sleet and snow showers, notjust across the north of the uk but even further south as well. stay tuned. what's terrifying is that right now

people not knowing whether when they called 999, they will get the treatment that they need.

this is bbc news i'm ben brown. our headlines at five 20,000 ambulance workers in england and wales are striking for a second time over pay and staffing. health managers warn of the impact on the nhs — but unions say the most urgent cases will be covered. what's terrifying is that right now people not knowing whether when they called 999, they will get the treatment that they need. there is not a minimum level of service any day because they have broken the nhs. a man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering ellie edwards, killed when she was shot in a pub in wallasey on christmas eve.

domestic flights have resumed across the united states