this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines at 2pm: new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance — with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. we kept thinking that the ambulance would pull up any minute. we kept thinking, it willarrive. it would pull up any minute. we kept thinking, it will arrive. it will be ok. itjust didn't. russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment meters — because they're struggling to pay their bills. bumper christmas sales for some of britain's biggest retailers — despite the cost of living crisis.

and tributes for the legendary rock guitaristjeff beck who's died at the age of 78. there's more evidence today of the crisis in the nhs in england, ambulance response times in december were the worse on record. were the worst on record. for category two emergency calls, including strokes, they were more than an hour and a half on average. the target is 18 minutes. the highest priority calls — with an immediate threat to life —

took almost 11 minutes on average, the target is seven. and patients are waiting even longer in accident and emergency, 35% waited more than four hours — that's another record. our health correspondent jim reed reports. long queues for ambulances, the most 999 calls ever, record waits in a&e, new figures today show in blunt terms the pressure the nhs is under. martin started feeling chest pains in his home in east sussex in november. his family rang three times for an ambulance. we kept thinking, the ambulance will pull up any minute, it is going to arrive, it will be ok. and itjust didn't. after 45 minutes an ambulance had not arrived so his family had to drive martin to the hospital themselves. we just drove, we drove to the hospital, we drove at speed, i unclipped my seat belt and i held my husband and told him i loved him and... and then that was it, he was gone.

last month was the busiest on record for the nhs in england, with high rates of flu and covid filling up hospital wards. on average, ambulance response times rose to their highest level on record. for urgent category 2 calls like a heart attack or stroke, the target time to get to a patient is 18 minutes, the average response now takes over 90 minutes. this comes as hospitals are operating above normal safe limits. in england, 95% of beds were full last week, with similar pressure across other parts of the uk. firstly, the number of patients with flu and secondly the number of patients with covid both peaked at around the same time during december, what that means is that around 10,000 patients were in hospital with flu or with covid at the same time, and that is a really high number, for both of them to peak at the same time. one in eight hospital beds

are being taken up by patients well enough to go home, but who cannot be discharged because of delays in finding the right social care support. that is all putting pressure on a&e and on the ambulance service with queues of paramedics having to wait outside hospital rather than getting back out on the road quickly. one thing we have done is 500 million investment to help get people out of hospital, that is an adult discharge fund to help people to get out of hospital and get care at home or in care homes. just before christmas and ambulance was called in devon for colin's wife. they were told paramedics would be there in two hours. we just sat, fully dressed, ready to go, and wondered when the ambulance would be coming. and the time went on, and on... nearly 24—hours later, the ambulance finally arrived, four days later, maggie passed away in hospital. do you think if the ambulance had

got here more quickly? i know what you're going to ask, and very definitely i am definitely convinced, she would have been on medication earlier, they would have been able to diagnose and to know what was going on, and there was a... i can't continue that bit of the conversation. i really find that too difficult. the demands on the health service are one reason why ambulance staff and nurses say they have been calling strike action, with no deal on pay in sight, it is possible that dispute could run through the winter, another pressure on a health service already struggling to cope. let's get more on this from our health correspondent, jim reed.

it is terrifying and upsetting to see these family suffer, but there are more strokes ahead?- see these family suffer, but there are more strokes ahead? there could be, we are more strokes ahead? there could be. we have — are more strokes ahead? there could be. we have had _ are more strokes ahead? there could be, we have had two _ are more strokes ahead? there could be, we have had two pieces - are more strokes ahead? there could be, we have had two pieces of - are more strokes ahead? there could be, we have had two pieces of news i be, we have had two pieces of news on that. gmb, one of the union is taking part in the ambulance dispute, we understand they have a meeting on monday, and we understand that if there is no movement on pay there they could announce up to six more days of strike action. that will not be able to take place immediately, they have to give a two week notice. if that happens, like go ahead at the end ofjanuary at the beginning of february. at the same time, the british medical association, which represents doctors, has been meeting with steve barclay this morning. they have come out that meeting and saying there are no big movements on pay demand yet. at the momentjunior doctors are being balloted on potential strike action. as if that vote goes through at, there could be three daysin through at, there could be three days in a row of strike action from junior doctors in england in march. what of the government got to say on this because my people say, we are a

wealthy country, we pay our taxes, the bare minimum we expect from the government is that the service works. ,,. , government is that the service works. ., , ., . works. saying the ambulance times without _ works. saying the ambulance times without writing _ works. saying the ambulance times without writing a - works. saying the ambulance times without writing a report i works. saying the ambulance | times without writing a report are unacceptable. they talk about the pressure on the nhs following the pandemic, and they say that pressure is notjust in england, it is in wales scotland and northern ireland. they say that this is rishi sunak�*s top priority, or one of his top priorities, and i should say there is a glimmer in the state heard today of some possibly better news. waiting lists, we have been talking about waiting list for outpatient appointments and regulars are surgery going up and up, for the first time since the pandemic today we saw it dip down. not by much, and 7.19 million still on a waiting list today, but at the same time the number of people with flu in hospital today also went down. it is early days, but some positive signs

in the state. early days, but some positive signs in the state-— you can check on the situation with waiting times at your local hospital service using the bbc�*s nhs winter tracker. that's at bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. wherever you are in the uk just put in your postcode to see the latest published info on waits in a & e, routine operations and ambulances. a russian mercernary group fighting in ukraine claims it's found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. the bbc hasn't been able to verify the claim. andrew bagshaw, who is a8, and 28—year—old chris parry were last seen heading to the town of soledar on friday. 0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. the dramatic music isn't really needed, but this video circulated by ukraine's military gives you an idea of soledar today. here, they evacuate an injured soldier. the journey out is winding and dangerous.

translation: there are 559 people still left in soledar, _ including 15 children. that's as of today. they had the opportunity to leave before the 5th of january but they chose not to. the city was then closed because of active fighting and enemy attacks. when you compare satellite images from six months ago and this week's, you're amazed it's that many. despite the real risks, chris parry and andrew bagshaw wouldn't be put off from helping people escape. now we've come back to pretty much the front, 300 metres from the russians, picked up two people, a woman, 40, and her mother, 60 or so, who actually i met a week or so ago when i was picking up the two elderly who got lost and then they got trapped by a tank. theirfamilies had said they were both proud and worried after they disappeared on their way into the town. then a claim by russian mercenaries from the so—called wagner group which they'd never want to see.

images of documents posted online with the claim they belonged to both men and that they'd found one of their bodies. this is all still unverified and the british foreign office isn't confirming it. it's told the bbc it's supporting the families of two british men who have gone missing in ukraine. the picture of soledar is murky. wagner is claiming to be in control. ukraine begs to differ. translation: the enemy trying unsuccessfully to break - through our defence and capture soledar is suffering heavy losses. the approaches to the city today are actually dotted with the bodies of killed putin troops. nevertheless they are moving over the bodies of their fallen soldiers. even the kremlin has acknowledged continued fighting. it's why it's replaced russia's top commander in ukraine, sergei surovikin, after three months in thejob. valery gerasimov will be expected to deliver moscow progress on the battlefield

— and quickly. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. and james joins us now from kyiv. what more do we know about the two missing aid workers? we what more do we know about the two missing aid workers?— missing aid workers? we have heard from downing _ missing aid workers? we have heard from downing street _ missing aid workers? we have heard from downing street today. - from downing street today. they described these reports is speculative, but nevertheless concerning. i think that is the nature of these accusations. this is a conflict where you have claim and counterclaim. the wagner group, this huge network of mercenaries, that they have often done the bulk of russia's fighting in conflicts gone by, such as in libya and syria. in the war in ukraine, what is difference is that they are very much front of house.

he is apparently portraying himself close to the town of solid hour. there seems to be a bit of a rift inside russia about who should be credited with further incursions into the city. for ukraine, very little changes. this is a part of a country where the front line is incredibly vulnerable. who were there over the weekend, there was an incredible amount of military activity, and this is a place where shells rained down. these two british men will have known these risks. the uk foreign office has urged british people, british nationals, not to come to ukraine since the onset of this war, but they are two of many volunteers who brave incredibly hostile conditions. we do not know how long it will be before these reports will be confirmed, if ever, to be honest. when you say there are a number of british people who have gone out there, basically on their own steam, does that take up military and

political time if things go wrong? i think ukraine doesn'tjust accept any kind of volunteer fighter or mercenary in that sense. there is a lot of qualifying that goes on, and we have spoken to police forces nearby, and they do investigate these kind of reports. we are not talking about peace time here. we are not talking about the simple job of a police officer, or a local police force heading out and doing your basic kind of investigating. we are talking about towns and cities that are sitting on the front line, where the journeys to these places are fraught with danger. you have tanks along the tree line opening fire along the hill, you have shells raining down, you have troops fighting in what is left of the streets within a kilometre. it is a

front line where it is fluid, so to get answers is incredibly difficult. suchis get answers is incredibly difficult. such is the intensity of the fighting there, it does not get much more difficult to be honest with you. investigations do take place, but they are going to take longer than otherwise you would expect in peacetime. forthe than otherwise you would expect in peacetime. for the families of these men, it is an incredibly distressing time, because when someone is reported missing in these parts, they are either injured, they have either been captured, or they have been killed. it is incredibly worrying time.— been killed. it is incredibly worrying time. been killed. it is incredibly wor inutime. ., , . worrying time. thank you very much indeed. people claiming sickness and disability benefits could soon be allowed to keep receiving their payments, even when they find a job. the plans are being considered as part of government changes, aimed at getting more people back into employment. at the moment, benefits can be reduced or withdrawn altogether when a claimant returns to work.

the headlines on bbc news... new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance — with many patients waiting five times longer than they should russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment metres — because they're struggling there are calls today for a ban on energy companies forcing customers on to prepayment metres. the charity citizen's advice says many are struggling to pay their bills. it says it saw more people who couldn't top up their metre last year than in the entire previous decade. our business correspondent theo leggett is here... tell us about the problems people are facing.

tell us about the problems people are facina. , , . , ., ., are facing. energy prices have gone u . are facing. energy prices have gone u- a lot are facing. energy prices have gone up a lot this — are facing. energy prices have gone up a lot this year, _ are facing. energy prices have gone up a lot this year, even _ are facing. energy prices have gone up a lot this year, even capped - are facing. energy prices have gone up a lot this year, even capped by l up a lot this year, even capped by the government they have pretty much doubled. if you are in a prepayment metre you pay a higher rate, and you can face them being disconnected. then, there is the number of people on prepayment meters. not so long ago, it was quite a process to install a prepayment meter. supplies had to come onto your property and install physical infrastructure. now, if you have a smart meter, what your supplier can do is switch you over it on to a prepayment schedule without you necessarily knowing about it. what citizen's advice is worried about is that supplies are doing this without people's knowledge. what they are possibly doing is putting people on who should not be on prepayment meters, they want this to stop. the outcome of not forcing people onto prepayment metres may be that we see an increase in energy debt. however, the alternative is much worse. what we're talking about here is people sitting in houses

with no heat, no light, no hot water, absolutely nothing. if you are in trouble, what can they do about it?— do about it? this is the point the citizen's advice _ do about it? this is the point the citizen's advice is _ do about it? this is the point the citizen's advice is trying - do about it? this is the point the citizen's advice is trying to - do about it? this is the point the| citizen's advice is trying to make. there are rules about these things. you are not supposed to be transferred directly onto a prepayment meter, for example, if you have long—term health problems are you rely on having regular power supply for medical equipment. the first thing to do is to talk to your energy provider. if you are on a prepayment meter and you cannot afford to top it up, they are supposed to give you emergency credit, and they're supposed to talk to you about payment schedules if you are in debt. that is the main thing, and also knowing what the rules are. as i say, there are certain classes of vulnerable people who are not supposed to be put on prepayment meters, and the concern from citizen's advice is that this is happening to too many of them, and the process of transferring people over should be stopped until some precautions can be put in place. d0 some precautions can be put in lace. 4' ., some precautions can be put in lace. ~ ., ., some precautions can be put in -lace. ~ ., ., ., , some precautions can be put in lace. ~' ., ., . , , place. do we know how many people are on prepayment — place. do we know how many people are on prepayment meters, - place. do we know how many people are on prepayment meters, is - place. do we know how many people are on prepayment meters, is a - place. do we know how many people l are on prepayment meters, is a rough proportion of the population at the

moment? . , ., , . moment? that is a bit too technical for me, moment? that is a bit too technical for me. but — moment? that is a bit too technical for me, but what _ moment? that is a bit too technical for me, but what i _ moment? that is a bit too technical for me, but what i will— moment? that is a bit too technical for me, but what i will tell - moment? that is a bit too technical for me, but what i will tell you - moment? that is a bit too technical for me, but what i will tell you is i for me, but what i will tell you is that according to citizen's advice, in the past year they have seen more than 3 million people struggling to pay on prepayment meters. many times, people who have been disconnected once come back and i disconnected once come back and i disconnected again. it is a repetitive problem.- disconnected again. it is a repetitive problem. disconnected again. it is a reetitive roblem. . ~ , repetitive problem. thank you very much. new figures show some of britain's biggest retailers had a bumper christmas — despite the cost of living crisis. tesco has reported a 7.2% increase in sales over the festive period. marks and spencer sales for quarter including christmas were also up — by nearly 10%. here's our business correspondent, emma simpson: christmas, it feels like a long time ago. for retailers, it's about shifting end of year stock now. so how did it go? some of us were tightening our belts. i was spending a lot less on each person for christmas because everything's so expensive. but others didn't hold back. spent a lot. we gave the kids budgets

and we're like, no. and then we went above and beyond that. l this christmas, i did spend a bit. more because we didn't have covid, so i actually got time to see my friends. i so you splashed out a bit then? yeah, a little bit, yeah. here at bluewater mall in kent, the christmas story was all about people returning to shops. we've seen a really positive december with a double digit increase in footfall compared to last year. and the postal strikes definitely meant that customers chose to visit stores rather than buying online for those last minute. food did well, tesco says they planned for a good christmas and that's what they had. its boss says the uk consumer has proved quite resilient. m&s did even better with its strongest ever sales for food and clothing winning market share. it's the first christmas people have had to for three years, there is cause for celebration there and may people have wanted to whoop it up a bit.

equally there is evidence they've traded down from brand so they've been price conscious and supermarkets have responded to that. on online retailer asos saw its sales fall. disruption from postal strikes and the end of the pandemic boom in e—commerce. christmas hasn't been a disaster for retailers but it hasn't been sparkling either. for many, sales are up but that's because goods have been more expensive. in other words, overall people have been spending more but buying less. and then there's this year. people's disposable incomes are going to come under even more pressure, so we think that the challenges for households are going to be particularly tough in the first half and that will put even more pressure on many retail businesses. with credit card bills landing, was christmas the last hurrah before tougher times ahead? emma simpson, bbc news.

a group of afghan families who were brought to britain after the taliban took power are taking the government to court. it's after their accommodation was changed, meaning their children had to leave their school. at first the four families were housed in a london hotel — but then they were moved to the north of england. they've struggled to find school places for their children and say their education has suffered. here's our home editor mark easton. amid the chaos of the evacuation from kabul in the summer of 2021, the uk promised a warm welcome to the families of afghans who had worked with british forces. they did right by us and we want to do right by them. we want to help their children settle down in our country and get the education they need. that's our responsibility, as a nation, and that's what we will deliver. but has the government delivered? 15—year—old children fled kabul with their parents but since arriving in the uk almost 18 months ago they've been living

in home office hotels and their education, they say, has suffered. i'm not going to school, i'm not studying. i come from afghanistan. because there is no studying in afghanistan. in the culture there, there is no study. they are both at the same. we don't have any good education in school and also in the hotels. shoulders... knees... it was months before these afghan child refugees got school places and only then when worried teachers from woolworth economy in south and only then when worried teachers from woolworth academy in south london forced the issue. the children were among those delighted to be in class. but a year on and the girls are not here. the home office suddenly moved them to another hotel in the north of england without arranging school places for them.

look at the care that has been taken. isn't it glorious? that's a lot of work. principaljess west says she cried when she received handmade christmas cards from some of the afghan girls who were forced to leave the school. we know them, we love them, we look after them, we care for them. what's really difficult see that moving from a situation that was precarious, that we did everything we could to try and shore up for them, to another situation that isn't permanent and is just as precarious. one of the girls, studying for her gcses, has to repeat a year because local schools have no year 11 vacancies. the other is having to study online with material provided by walworth academy. i think they broke their promise and the hotel is like a jail. abdullah, not his real name, was a sniper who worked alongside the british military in afghanistan. for legal reasons he can't be identified but he is among those taking the home office to court

over its treatment of afghan families brought to the uk. they made a lot of promises. one of the promises was our families will live secure, safely, but unfortunately they are suffering. the home office says that to deliver value for money afghan families may be moved from one hotel to another, then it's the local authorities' responsibility to find school places and there may be delays in allocating those places. but with 5000 afghan children still living in hotels, a judge must now decide if operation warm welcome has been warm enough. mark easton, bbc news. efforts to resolve the row over the northern ireland protocol will be raised during talks later between stormont parties and political leaders from dublin and london. labour leader keir starmer is in stormont to discuss the deadlock, which the dup has cited as its reason for boycotting northern ireland's devolved institutions since may. two people remain in police custody after they were arrested in connection with the murder of elle edwards. the 26—year—old was shot outside a pub in wallasey on christmas eve. police are questioning a 22—year—old man from wirral, and a 23—year—old woman,

from the same area, has been held on suspicion of assisting an offender. three people who were previously arrested over the shooting have since been released. the prince and princess of wales have appeared together in public for the first time since the duke of sussex published his memoirs which laid bare his relationship with the couple. william and kate arrived to officially open the new royal liverpool university hospital. harry's controversial autobiography, spare, has become the fastest selling nonfiction book in history, according to publisher penguin random house. lets catch up with the weather. all the heavy rain we have seen recently has been causing problems. trains have been struggling to get between cardiff and carefully, and we have had flooded roads as well in parts of wales. there are a number of flood warnings in force notjust across wales but in england and scotland as well. some problems out and about as we go through the rest

of the day today. here's the cloud that has been bringing the rain so far, but if i zoom out into the atlantic, we are looking at the next developing area of low pressure just off the coast of the united states. that is going to be bringing more rain on friday night, and a new concern of seeing some flooding. as the worst of the rain clears away today we will get his own a very strong winds working across northern ireland and parts of north—west england, north wales and south—west scotland. gusts could reach around 50 or 60 mph, one or two gusts in the most exposed hills getting up to about 70. all the while it stays mild, with temperatures about 13 degrees today. overnight, it stays windy. there will be some outbreaks of rain across central regions, otherwise showers knocking around, and because it says windy, it never gets tackled for a january night. temperatures three seven celsius.

otherwise there will be plenty of showers for northern and eastern scotland, properly something a bit drier and brighterfor a time scotland, properly something a bit drier and brighter for a time across parts of the south. it stays mild, temperatures reaching double figures. friday night, that next area of low pressure moves then, it brings another zone of heavy rain across those areas, and we have seen some flooding of late, so no turn renewed concern —— so renewed concern. it follows blustery showers, and as the show was work into more blustery areas, and through the weekend you will start to notice more cold air pushing on. it is a sign of things to come, because it will get a lot colder next week, and there will be some snow showers. they will come all the way down to sea level. so for some of us next week. —— snow for some of

us next week.

hello, this is bbc news. iam due i am due to move goofy. —— i am due to the headlines: new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance, with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. we kept thinking that the ambulance would pull up any minute. we kept thinking, "oh, it will

arrive. "it will be ok." itjust didn't. russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment meters — because they're struggling to pay their bills. bumper christmas sales for some of britain's biggest retailers, despite the cost of living crisis. and tributes for the legendary rock guitarist jeff beck, who's died at the age of 78. iam i am geeta guru—murthy. laura has got all the sport for us, let's catch up with the latest, hello. hello. good afternoon. we will start with tennis and great britain's rising tennis star, jack draper, will be aiming to make headlines in the first round of the australian open on monday. the draw was made earlier today,

and the 21—year—old faces none other than top seed rafael nadal, who also happens to be the defending champion. andy murray also faces a really tough draw, as russell fuller reports. well, it is certainly a very rough draw if your name is jack draper, andy murray or even kyle edmund, they are all playing top 16 players, they are all playing top 16 players, the number—one in the draw, the reigning champion, rafael nadalfor jack draper, but i suppose if there is a good time to play nadal it is the opening round and jack draper is full of confidence, he made it to the semifinals in adelaide having won his quarterfinal a few hours ago, he also acquitted himself very well and he took on novak djokovic in the opening match on centre court in the opening match on centre court in wimbledon 2021. andy murray, i think you can play someone like matteo berrettini, a wimbledon runner—up, a man who beat... in the very first round, and for kyle

edmonds good opportunity to make a comeback. in the women's draw a tricky one for harriet dart, play much better —looking run up against a german player and that ankle looks very much recovered now. i was watching her practice in the shadow of the mcg cricket ground a bit earlier and it looks like she is returning to the sort of intensity of practice you need just four days before the start of a grand slam. russell reporting there. —— russell fuller reporting. manchester united have agreed a deal to sign dutch striker vout veghorst on loan for the rest of the season. the 30—year—old burnley forward scored two late goals for the netherlands in their world cup quarterfinal with argentina last month. he spent the first half of the season on loan to besiktas, and scored eight goals in 16 games for the turkish club. australia have withdrawn from their men's one day series against afghanistan because of the taliban's restrictions on women and girls. australia were set to play a three match series against afghanistan

in the united arib emirates in march, but cricket australia have said they took the decision after, "consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the australian government." the taliban returned to power in afghanistan in august 2021 and since have banned girls from attending secondary school and university. i think that people should be able to play sport, so if you have got part of your country without that basic human right, i think you have got a problem. basic human right, i think you have gota problem. i basic human right, i think you have got a problem. i know the icc is in a difficult position about how they might manage that amongst members, etc, but if sport is not going to stand up and say, you know, you need to be equitable, you need to be providing opportunities for both genders, then who is going to do it? so i think it is a reasonable move and it will be interesting to see what impact it has.

and action is underway at alexandra palace in the quarterfinals of snooker�*s masters tournament. we can show you some live pictures. world number one ronnie o'sullivan is a seven—time masters winner world number one ronnie o'sullivan against mark williams, who has won this title on a couple of occasions. o'sullivan had a fast start. he took the opening frame with a break of 115 and followed that up by taking the second. it's a best of 11 contest. and he took the third. live coverage of that match is over on bbc two, the bbc sport website and the app. and gilly flaherty, who has played more games in the women's super league than any other player, has today announced her retirement from the sport. the liverpool defender, who also played for arsenal, chelsea and west ham, won four wsl titles, seven women's fa cups and won the uefa cup during her 17—year career. she retires, having made 177 appearances in the wsl.

that's all the sport for now. i'll be back in an hour. great, laura, thanks very much. what weather is continuing to cause disruption in some parts of the uk. in the west of england heavy rain flooded the roads and rail this morning. here is steve nibs. the constant rain has made travel really difficult of the last 2a hours, and despite that some were prepared to risk driving through flood water, like here in lacock. in this area drivers didn't make it, trapped by the depth of the water. fire crews were called in to rescue one person at 5am this morning and two others during rush hour. later a team from bedminster fire station rescued a driver who also became stranded here at long ashton. but it is notjust the roads. all trains between swindon and bristol parkway severely disrupted at the moment due to flooding. bbc wiltshire's political reporter, dan o'brien, was on a train to trowbridge that was turned

around as a result. we train to trowbridge that was turned around as a result.— train to trowbridge that was turned around as a result. we got part way after bein: around as a result. we got part way after being delayed _ around as a result. we got part way after being delayed by _ around as a result. we got part way after being delayed by about - around as a result. we got part way after being delayed by about an i after being delayed by about an hour, due to the track being completely underwater. we were calling our way through, but we just had to turn around because the train in front of us has broken down. i have to say, great western self have been really good at keeping people informed and keep good—humoured about it all, but there is only so much they can do because the rain is still coming down, much they can do because the rain is still comin- down, as much they can do because the rain is still coming down, much they can do because the rain is still comin- down, as you much they can do because the rain is still coming down, much they can do because the rain is still comin- down, as you can much they can do because the rain is still coming down, much they can do because the rain is still comin- down, as you can see. still coming down, as you can see. all eyes are on flood alerts around the region, as with the level start to rise. there are a number of flood warnings across the west, which means flooding is expected that people are asked to prepare. after the heavy rain, it is water coming down from the welsh mountains that it could affect levels along the river severn in gloucestershire in particular. that river severn in gloucestershire in articular. �* river severn in gloucestershire in particular-— particular. at the minute we are caettin particular. at the minute we are getting this _ particular. at the minute we are getting this peak _ particular. at the minute we are getting this peak and _ particular. at the minute we are getting this peak and then i particular. at the minute we are getting this peak and then we i particular. at the minute we are i getting this peak and then we have a bit of— getting this peak and then we have a bit of a _ getting this peak and then we have a bit of a dry— getting this peak and then we have a bit of a dry spell and the water is taking _ bit of a dry spell and the water is taking its— bit of a dry spell and the water is taking its time to work its way through— taking its time to work its way through to gloucester and then we -et through to gloucester and then we get some — through to gloucester and then we get some more rain, and there is this prolonged cumulative effect we are worried about, the impact on

river_ are worried about, the impact on river levels _ are worried about, the impact on river levels. it are worried about, the impact on river levels-— are worried about, the impact on river levels. it has been pretty wet everywhere. _ river levels. it has been pretty wet everywhere, hasn't _ river levels. it has been pretty wet everywhere, hasn't it? _ river levels. it has been pretty wet everywhere, hasn't it? this - river levels. it has been pretty wet everywhere, hasn't it? this is i river levels. it has been pretty wet everywhere, hasn't it? this is the | everywhere, hasn't it? this is the midford brook, less as they broke at the moment. in malmesbury, parks are waterlogged and in many areas rivers are swollen. although flood plains are swollen. although flood plains are filling up and doing theirjob, with river levels are rising steadily it is tomorrow that could bring more disruption. steve nobes, bbc points west. well, that is the picture in one part of the uk, but i'm afraid it is even more dramatic in the us. california is bracing for another round of deadly storms, as the extreme weather that has battered the american state moves north. at least 17 people have died after a month of heavy rain and flooding. our us correspondent, sophie long, has the latest. a brief respite from the rain. but water surrounds sacramento. this landslide caused chaos in the central valley. there were countless others like it across california. workers rushed to repair this sinkhole that swallowed two cars in los angeles. like this clean—up crew at a farm in ventura county, they know the next deluge is just days away.

it was up to our knees running over the road. no waterfor two years, and then more water than we got in two years in 2a hours is not the business. the extensive flooding has been caused by a series of atmospheric rivers which behave like conveyor belts of water in the sky. this is the result. entire neighbourhoods turned into lakes. fire crews flew in to rescue a person trapped by the ventura river, which hit its highest level ever. i've never seen anything like this in all my 41 years living in the city. we lost our home and all of our belongings that we've had. in the central valley, the flood water overwhelmed vehicles and homes. as the current storm moves north towards the pacific northwest, a brief break in the extreme weather in california has meant evacuation orders in santa barbara have been lifted. but rivers still rage and the runoff from the mountains keeps coming fast.

there is one silver lining. the several feet of snow that's fallen in the sierra nevadas should run off into the reservoirs when it melts, helping to lift their levels after years of drought. but more punishing storms are expected to pound the west coast this weekend. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. the white house and the us justice department have declined to comment on reports that another batch of classified documents from joe biden's time as vice—president has been found in an unsecured location. it comes two days after it was revealed that a small dossier of similar papers were discovered at the office of a washington thinktank. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. this is the second batch of documents relating tojoe biden during his time as vice president under barack obama and it follows

the initial discovery that the white house to the white house acknowledged earlier this week, that an additional batch of documents were found at a second location. this was a think tank wherejoe biden had a private office in the time after he left office. he worked there for some time. joe biden said that he was surprised at that discovery. he didn't know what was in those documents and that the white house was cooperating with the investigation. the justice department also have had nothing to say about reports of a second batch of documents being discovered. this is potentially politically sensitive, perhaps even awkward for the white house, given the fact that former president trump is still under investigation over a very similar scenario, although different because many more documents were involved. those documents that were found at the mar—a—lago estate in florida.

that investigation continues. there are possibilities that criminal charges could be brought against former president trump and that is is why it is growing into a politically sensitive issue. peter bowes there. housebuilders are always trying to improve energy efficiency — how to keep a home cool in the summer and warm in the winter, while keeping bills down. researchers behind a new project at the university of salford say their latest work will play a key role in developing new technologies. our climate editor, justin rowlatt, told us more. oh, my goodness. it is absolutely freezing. i say freezing, it's —15 and my hands are really cold. and we've created this kind of winter wonderland. look at the house. there's ice on the walls, icicles up there. but this is totally artificial. so i'm inside a huge experimental chamber. if we go out, you can see the walls — it's like the truman show, an artificial world. and it's huge, big enough for these two full and fully functioning houses.

they're furnished. it's launch day today and you can probably see there are people inside the living room. and the idea is to use these homes to test new heating technologies, insulation, the kind of things that will be in new homes from 2025 when new standards come on, so they have got to test them. and the idea of these chambers is to put these technologies and materials through their paces. you can see, —15, it's going to flash up in a moment. the temperature differences are so big that we have to use two cameras. oh, that's better. because the cameras would fog up if we went between the cold and the hot. and look at that. 26 degrees in here. so it is a lot warmer in here, it's actually lovely in here. and the idea is to test materials, test them and see how they perform in these different conditions, as i've been discovering. this chamber goes down to —20,

and as well as creating a lovely snowy day like this... whoa! ..it can also do this. create a pretty fierce gale. and it could do a rainstorm too, although today, we're doing it outside. so thank goodness they do tropical too. it's the costa del salford! from the outside, you would never know what's going on, would you? back in the cold. so let's take a look at what goes on inside these houses. hi,justin, come in. good to see you. and you. so, oliver, what are you testing in here? so for us here, we've got two different types of heating systems. we've one that takes heat out of the air and basically puts it into hot water. air source heat pumps, super efficient aren't they?

super efficient. they go straight into your skirting board and heats the home. so no radiators? no radiators, so you can move your furniture around. you've got a lot more space to play with in the room. the second is infrared, so really a little bit like the sun. so if you feel along here. ooh. oh, that's nice. yeah? so we've got two systems here because it heats you. we've got one here on the wall, and then we've got one up here on the ceiling. oh, that's a heating system as well? yeah, it sort of pushes it through and really comes through into the room. and you're testing them against each other to see which is the most efficient. of course, you can change the weather, so you can very accurately work out how they work. exactly that. so we can get the weather really cold outside and put either one on and see how that affects the home. but that is not the only tech you've got in here? no, not at all. the home has got sensors all over it. so what it does is, it follows you, and it can put on the heating relevant to the room that you're in. so it heats the place that you are, not the rest of the house? and that's not all. on hot days, the curtains close automatically to shade the sun,

and there are vents to draw out hot air. the washing machine has a steam mode to save water, and the fridge makes your food last days longer by managing moisture. and despite appearances, this house isn't made of brick. the walls are designed for maximum insulation. what we've done is, we've removed the external masonry and we replaced it with a product, a brick slip product. so this is like just a couple of millimeters thick? it is. it looks like brick and it feels like brick. and actually, it's rendered like brick. it gives the aesthetic of brick, but has a space—saving capability to enable us to to put more insulation and to create that higher performing fabric. and there's more innovative stuff in the house next door. so, take a look at this. the shower tray collects the hot water from your shower and recycles that energy in the house. and also, in the cupboard here, there's a similar system for taking the heat out of the air and recycling that around the home. and that's not all.

take a look at this. and there's all sorts of technology up here in the loft, because the assumption is, increasingly, we're going to have solar panels on our roofs. so you've got an inverter, a battery. you can use that battery to store low—cost energy at night, if you want. another way of making your home more energy efficient and, of course, cheaper to run too. and i should sail also lower carbon, which is important. and look, these homes and these chambers can be used to test much lower tech. that was all very high—tech future stuff, but they have also been testing how effective it is closing your curtains on a cold day, putting in those soft furnishings and snakes you used to block drafts, that kind of stuff, those simple things can make a huge difference and they have

proved the percentage can take off your bill by testing them in chambers like this here at the university of salford. lots of stuff people at home can do and i should say this chamber has a huge door, they have opened it now to cool it down, they are launching today, they have lots of people visiting and you could drive a bus through there and could drive a bus through there and could test the thermal efficiency of a bus, so this is a really versatile, to new experimental chambers that can be used to test all sorts of stuff, they are working with lots of companies in and around manchester and salford to develop, for example, new window technologies, so it is a really important new facility that will hopefully help drive the economy up here in manchester and develop the new technologies you're going to needin new technologies you're going to need in our homes, both to keep them efficient and cheap, but also to keep them low carbon as well. justin rowlatt a bit earlier today. they headlines on bbc news... new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance, with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. russians fighting in ukraine claim

they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment meters because they're struggling to pay their bills. one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, jeff beck, has died at the age of 78. the british musician rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the yardbirds, before forming thejeff beck group with sir rod stewart. fellow musicians have described him as "a genius who made the guitar sing." our arts correspondent, david sillito, looks back at his career. when eric clapton left the yardbirds in 1965, the question was, who could replace him? two days later, they had their answer — jeff beck. two years later he helped make rod stewart a star in thejeff beck group. helping to pioneer a blues rock

sound that others would turn into huge commercial success, butjeff beck was never going to stick with just one style. jazz fusion, techno... and here's something rather more classical. he tried it all. you probably should measure his success not by album sales but by how he influenced those around him. he meant so much to so many of us. i knew him personally as well, but i will tell you that we all admirejimmy page, the greatjimmy page, and eric clapton, you know, the iconic, especially english, guitarists, but they will all tell you that onlyjeff beck could play that instrument in ways that they couldn't dream of. other tributes today, rod stewart, ronnie wood and mickjagger. the rolling stones had tried

to recruitjeff beck in the �*70s. but what about his one big hit, hi ho silver lining? a catchy pop song he was told to record. it would be fair to say it wasn't his favourite. it's like being asked to wear a pink frock and walk on top of a bus down oxford street! it was framing me with this embarrassing pop song. that wasn't me. but by the end, he no longer hated it. he was even occasionally prepared to play it. but probably it is better to remember him for moments like this. stevie wonder, just one of an extraordinary list of artists who had worked with him over the years. just do your thing, song! if anyone was a guitar hero, it was jeff beck. jeff beck, who has died at the age of 78.

as the sporty one from the spice girls, mel c, made back flips her signature dance move — performing in front of millions of fans — now, the spice girl, who turns 49 today, is making a different kind of debut at london's sadler�*s wells theatre. our arts reporter, sophie van brugen, has been to meet her. piano music plays. it's taken months of hard work and rehearsals. mel c's first foray into the contemporary dance world. and it was a challenge that she was ready to take on. this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. i danced from a really young age. i think i started when i was about three. kind of got more into it and serious when i was about eight years old. and i think when i went into secondary school, i was, like, "performing is definitely a career that i want" and to have an opportunity to dance at sadler�*s wells is...i still actually can't believe it.

when i hit the stage, i'll be 49 years old. and, you know, who knew i'd be dancing professionally at that age? and i feel very proud of that. but there are definitely things that i can't expect my body to do now. myjoints aren't happy with me. they're not my friend. but, you know, definitely with the right care and attention, you can still go to do the things you love. it's hard work. there's been lots of ups and downs. there's been lots of tears, but i know at the end of the day, i'm going to really appreciate the work that i've put in and how much faith everyone's put in me. will the other spice girls be coming to see you? because you're all so supportive of each other. because you're all so supportive of each other. yeah, absolutely. i was recently on stage with emma and everyone's just so excited. i know mel b will be there, geri will be there. yeah, i'll have to see if victoria is going to come down. the last time the spice girls

performed together was 2019, but minus victoria beckham. so are there any plans for posh to join them again? i think you might have seen us on social media having a little boogie at geri's 50th. we're definitely luring her back in! so we're working on her! what do you want the audience to take away from seeing you in this production? i really want them to be moved. i want them to feel the emotion. it's a world of magic. and that's what captured...i feel emotional! that's what captured my imagination when i was a child. and now, whenever i get on a stage, when i go to, like, sound check or rehearse, ijust look out and i remember how i felt as a child and how itjust captivated me. and that's my life. that's what i do. i continue to do that and hopefully i'll do it forever.

mel c there, speaking to sophie van brugen, our arts reporter. for more than a century, cunard liners have set sail from liverpool to america — and now the glamorous golden age of trans—atlantic travel will be celebrated in a new exhibition curated by photographer mary mccartney — the daughter of sir paul — as ian haslam has been finding out. cunard revolutionised transatlantic travel and would become a byword for a luxury, with movie star clientele a byword for luxury, with movie star clientele like cary grant, elizabeth taylor, and laurel and hardy. it's 100 years since cunard introduced world cruise, introduced the world cruise, and it's100 years since cunard was the first cruise line to introduce on—board photography. so, we thought we would take the opportunity to capture all those magical moments from guests that have sailed on cunard recently, or in the past. which means drawing on the experiences of all passengers — first, second or third class. curating it will be famous photographer mary mccartney, daughter of famous liverpudlian sir paul. it's been really exciting to look

through such a large collection of images. there's over 14,000 photographs in the cunard archive. i'm collating those to send to mary mccartney. so she is going to look through them and curate the online exhibition. it could well include hollywood legend clark gable, legendary entertainer bob hope, or the dorchester glamour girls here. here we are with our protective gloves on, because these are very valuable. take us through some of these artefacts. with this one we are looking at a brochure advertising the around the world cruise. and what's this? this is the may 1923 edition of the cunard magazine. it's really special because inside it shows passengers on board this cruise. another thing here, queen mary voyage, number 69, westbound. this is nearly 100 years old, isn't it? yeah, this was donated by a member of the public, his personal photograph album. and he was an employee on the cunard ships. the cunard building was built to symbolise the gateway to the new world, and of course, still stands proud

on liverpool's waterfront. 100 years ago, the arrivals hall would have been bustling right now, with people coming from all over. they would include politicians, famous writers and even hollywood stars. meanwhile, not content with their already impressive archive, cunard are after more. we want the public to delve into their photo albums of their memories on—board. we would love to see them, and we would love to put them in front of mary mccartney to see if she selects as one if she selects them as one of the 100 images. the exhibition will go live later this year. ian haslam, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. here is chris. hello. all the heavy rain we have seen of late has been causing some problems. we have had transport disruption, for example in parts of wales, where trains have been struggling to get between cardiff and caerphilly, and we have

had flooded roads as well in parts of wales. a number of flood warnings in force, notjust in wales, but in england and a couple in scotland as well. some problems out and about as well. some problems out and about as we go through the rest of the day to day. here is the cloud that has been bringing heavy rain today so far, but if i zoom out into the atlantic we are looking at the next developing area of low pressure just tear off the coast of the united states. that is going to be bringing more rain friday night and a renewed concern of seeing some flooding. mind you, today is the worst of the rain clears the way we are then going to get a zone of a very strong winds working through northern ireland, into parts of north—west england, north wales and south—west scotland, gus could reach up to 60 mph, maybe one or two gusts in the most exposed coasts and heels getting up to about 70. all the while temperatures get up to 13 degrees today, while average this time of year in london is 7 degrees, so temperatures 6 degrees above

average. further outbreaks of rain, particularly because central regions, the light showers knocking around and because it stays windy never gets that called for a january night, temperatures up to 3—7. tomorrow is owner of wind and rain coming into northern ireland and north—west england, otherwise plenty of showers for northern and eastern scotland, probably something a bit drier and brighterfor a time scotland, probably something a bit drier and brighter for a time across parts of the south and it stays mild, temperatures again reaching double figures. friday night that next area of low pressure develops and moves in, bringing another zone of very heavy rain across those areas that have seen the flooding of late, so a renewed concern of seeing flooding problems into the start of the weekend. over the weekend the rain does clear out of the way, but it follows by blustery showers and as those showers work into the north—western areas through the weekend he will start to notice some colder air working its way in and thatis colder air working its way in and that is a sign of things to come next week because it is going to get a lot colder next week with frost becoming widespread, icy patches around and there will be some snow

showers and they will come will be way down to sea level, so snow for some of us next week.

this is bbc news, i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines... new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance — with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. we kept thinking that the ambulance would pull up any minute. we kept thinking, "oh, it will arrive. "it will be ok." itjust didn't. russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment metres — because they're struggling to pay their bills. bumper christmas sales for some of britain's biggest retailers — despite the cost of living crisis. plays nessun dorma

and tributes for the legendary rock guitaristjeff beck who's died at the age of 78. there's more evidence today of the crisis in the nhs in england. ambulance response times in december were the worst on record. for category two emergency calls, including strokes, they were more than an hour and a half on average. the target is 18 minutes. the highest priority calls, with an immediate threat to life, took almost 11 minutes on average. the target is seven. and patients are waiting even longer in accident and emergency, 35% waited more than four hours — that's another record. our health correspondent jim reed reports.

long queues for ambulances, the most 999 calls ever, record waits in a&e, new figures today show in blunt terms the pressure the nhs is under. martin started feeling chest pains in his home in east sussex in november. his family rang three times for an ambulance. we kept thinking, the ambulance will pull up any minute, "it is going to arrive, it is going to arrive, "it will be ok." and itjust didn't. after 45 minutes an ambulance had not arrived so his family had to drive martin to the hospital themselves. we just drove, we drove to the hospital, we drove at speed, i unclipped my seat belt and i held my husband and told him i loved him and... and then that was it, he was gone. last month was the busiest on record for the nhs in england, with high rates of flu and covid filling up hospital wards.

on average, ambulance response times rose to their highest level on record. for urgent category 2 calls like a heart attack or stroke, the target time to get to a patient is 18 minutes, the average response now takes over 90 minutes. this comes as hospitals are operating above normal safe limits. in england, 95% of beds were full last week, with similar pressure across other parts of the uk. firstly, the number of patients with flu and secondly the number of patients with covid both peaked at around the same time during december, what that means is that around 10,000 patients were in hospital with flu or with covid at the same time, and that is a really high number, for both of them to peak at the same time. one in eight hospital beds are being taken up by patients well enough to go home, but who cannot be discharged because of delays in finding the right social care support. that is all putting pressure on a&e

and on the ambulance service with queues of paramedics having to wait outside hospital rather than getting back out on the road quickly. one thing we have done is 500 million investment to help get people out of hospital, that is an adult discharge fund to help people to get out of hospital and get care at home or in care homes. just before christmas an ambulance was called in devon for colin's wife. they were told paramedics would be there in two hours. we just sat, fully dressed, ready to go, and wondered when the ambulance would be coming. and the time went on, and on... nearly 24—hours later, the ambulance finally arrived, four days later, maggie passed away in hospital. do you think if the ambulance had got here more quickly? i know what you're going to ask, and very definitely i am definitely convinced, she would have been on medication earlier, they would have been able

to diagnose and to know what was going on, and there was a... i can't continue that bit of the conversation. i really find that too difficult. the demands on the health service are one reason why ambulance staff and nurses say they have been calling strike action, with no deal on pay in sight, it is possible that dispute could run through the winter, another pressure on a health service already struggling to cope. i spoke tojim reed earlier, who told me that further strike action in the nhs could make things worse. gmb, which is one of the unions taking part in the ambulance dispute, we understand that they've got a meeting on monday and they say if there's no movement on pay there, they could announce next week

up to six more days of strike action. now, that won't be able to take place immediately. they'll have to give a two week notice. so if that happens, that could go ahead, you know, end ofjanuary, beginning of february. at the same time, the bma, which is the british medical association, which represents doctors, has been meeting with the health secretary of england, steve barclay, this morning. looks like they've come out of that meeting. they say no big movement on pay demands there. at the moment, junior doctors are being balloted on possible strike action. they say if that vote goes through and there's no resolution, there could be three days in a row of strike action byjunior doctors in england in march. what have the government got to say on this? because people will say, "look, we are a wealthy country, we pay our taxes. "the bare minimum we expect from government is that the health service works." well, downing street spokesmen this morning saying that those ambulance response times we are talking about in that report are obviously unacceptable. they point out the huge pressure on the nhs, following the pandemic and they say that, look, these

pressures are notjust in england, you can see it in wales, scotland and northern ireland and in other countries as well. they say that this is now the prime minister, rishi sunak�*s, top, one of his top priorities, to improve performance in the nhs. and i should say there was a glimmer in this data today of some possibly better news. so on waiting lists, you know we've been talking about waiting lists for outpatients' appointments and regular surgery been going up and up and up? for the first time since the pandemic, today, we saw it dip down, so... not by much — 7.19 million people still on a waiting list in england, but it has gone down for the first time, at the same time as the number of people in hospital with flu last week also went down. so, you know, it's early days, but possibly some positive signs in this data. you can check on the situation with waiting times at your local hospital service using the bbc�*s nhs winter tracker.

that's at bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. wherever you are in the uk just put in your postcode to see the latest published info on waits in a & e, routine operations and ambulances. nine out of 10 members of the nasuwt in england and wales voted for strikes over pay but the turnout was 42%, below the legal threshold, the teachers' union has announced. although most of those who voted did vote for strikes, the turnout was not high enough to be legally binding. that is the latest, and a number of public sector workers are very unhappy at the moment, but that is where that particular vote has got to. a russian mercernary group fighting in ukraine claims it's found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. the bbc hasn't been able to verify the claim. andrew bagshaw, who is a8, and 28—year—old chris parry were last seen heading to the town of soledar on friday.

our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. the dramatic music isn't really needed, but this video circulated by ukraine's military gives you an idea of soledar today. here, they evacuate an injured soldier. the journey out is winding and dangerous. translation: there are 559 people still left in soledar, _ including 15 children. still left in soledar, that's as of today. still left in soledar, they had the opportunity to leave before the 5th of january but they chose not to. the city was then closed because of active fighting and enemy attacks. when you compare satellite images from six months ago and this week's, you're amazed it's that many. translation: there are 559 people still left in soledar, _ despite the real risks, chris parry and andrew bagshaw wouldn't be put off from helping people escape. now we've come back to pretty much the front,

300 metres from the russians, picked up two people, a woman, 40, and her mother, 60 or so, who actually i met a week or so ago when i was picking up the two elderly who got lost and then they got trapped by a tank. theirfamilies had said they were both proud and worried after they disappeared on their way into the town. then a claim by russian mercenaries from the so—called wagner group which they'd never want to see. images of documents posted online with the claim they belonged to both men and that they'd found one of their bodies. this is all still unverified and the british foreign office isn't confirming it. it's told the bbc it's supporting the families of two british men who have gone missing in ukraine. the picture of soledar is murky. wagner is claiming to be in control. ukraine begs to differ. translation: the enemy trying unsuccessfully to break - through our defence and capture soledar is suffering heavy losses. the approaches to the city today are actually dotted with the bodies

of killed putin troops. nevertheless they are moving over the bodies of their fallen soldiers. even the kremlin has acknowledged continued fighting. it's why it's replaced russia's top commander in ukraine, sergei surovikin, after three months in thejob. valery gerasimov will be expected to deliver moscow progress on the battlefield — and quickly. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance — with many patients waiting five times longer than they should russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment meters — because they're struggling to pay their bills. people claiming sickness

and disability benefits could soon be allowed to keep receiving their payments, even if they find a job. the plans are being considered as part of government changes, aimed at getting more people back into employment. at the moment, benefits can be reduced, or withdrawn altogether, when a claimant returns to work. the charity citizens advice wants an outright ban on energy companies forcing people to switch to prepayment metres — forcing people to switch because of the number of people getting cut off. customers on prepayment metres have to pay for their energy in advance. new research from citizens advice shows that more than three million people ran out of credit on their prepayment metre last year, that's the equivalent of one every ten seconds. almost one in five of those who ran out of credit were then without gas or electricity for more than 24 hours — meaning they couldn't cook or heat their home. now charities say this is happening to some of the most vulnerable people — including those who are disabled or have long term health conditions. citizens advice wants a ban on forced installations or conversions.

energy uk represents energy firms. its deputy chief executive dhara vyas says forced switching to prepayment metres is a last resort. suppliers are required to have exhausted all other options before installing a pre—payment metre under warrant. and it really is only after repeated unsuccessful events and attempts to contact customer. you know, that's often telephone email, in person if they can. it's lots of different ways of trying to contact a customer to try and understand what the circumstances are and only when they've really kind of exhausted those should they be then doing it sort of, as you say, forcibly, that's kind of under warrant. what we are finding is that obviously more and more people are falling into debt because of the cost of living crisis and energy prices are obviously contributing to that. and people are more willing to talk to charities like citizens advice about their circumstances.

and we do, our members do work with citizens advice and dig deep into these cases and try and try and resolve them. we can speak now to james taylor, director of strategy for scope, the disability equality charity. what are people telling you about these metres? brute what are people telling you about these metres?— these metres? we are regularly heafina these metres? we are regularly hearing from — these metres? we are regularly hearing from disabled _ these metres? we are regularly hearing from disabled people i these metres? we are regularly i hearing from disabled people and disabled families who are being moved on to prepayment meters that they are extremely worried about running out of money, about being able to stop up their metre, we are hearing from people who are hypervigilant and really anxious when that money gets low, and there are spending 99% of their time in bed with the heating off. we fully support citizens advice' call today to stop installation of prepayment meters. ~ , ., to stop installation of prepayment meters. , ., meters. why are people more vulnerable — meters. why are people more vulnerable at _ meters. why are people more vulnerable at this _ meters. why are people more vulnerable at this time? i

meters. why are people more vulnerable at this time? we i meters. why are people more i vulnerable at this time? we know there are many — vulnerable at this time? we know there are many people _ vulnerable at this time? we know there are many people with i vulnerable at this time? we know| there are many people with health conditions we need to keep their houses at a constant temperature. there are people who require medication that needs to be kept in the fridge, and the fridge needs to be kept on, and there are people who rely on life—saving equipment such as kidney dialysis machines which require power to run. however, we also know that around a third of disabled households are really struggling to get by from month to month with their energy bills, and are forcing —— and forcing prepayment meters on people is immoral and needs to stop. the government _ immoral and needs to stop. the government say _ immoral and needs to stop. the government say they have put in extra financial support for the most vulnerable, is that enough, what do you think needs to happen? it is welcome that _ you think needs to happen? it is welcome that the _ you think needs to happen? it 3 welcome that the government has provided more support, and there is more coming in the next couple of months, but this is barely touching the side for many families who have got eye—watering bills at the moment. it is unlikely they are going to go down. hundred £50 here,

£500 there is welcome, but it is not enough, and we need to see much faster change, the introduction of a new tariff for people who are vulnerable, for example, and banning the installation of prepayment meters at this time. if the installation of prepayment meters at this time.— the installation of prepayment meters at this time. if you ban the installation — meters at this time. if you ban the installation of _ meters at this time. if you ban the installation of these _ meters at this time. if you ban the installation of these prepayment l installation of these prepayment meters, the bill still have to be met, don't they?— meters, the bill still have to be met, don't they? what we're hearing is that there — met, don't they? what we're hearing is that there are _ met, don't they? what we're hearing is that there are households - met, don't they? what we're hearing is that there are households were i is that there are households were being forced onto prepayment meters, and it is a really risky thing to it puts pupils' health at risk, so what we are saying is that we don't want this to happen while bills are so high. this to happen while bills are so hiuh. , ., , y , this to happen while bills are so hiuh. , ., _ this to happen while bills are so hih. , ., _ high. obviously there is a huge cost to the taxoaver _ high. obviously there is a huge cost to the taxpayer when _ high. obviously there is a huge cost to the taxpayer when there - high. obviously there is a huge cost to the taxpayer when there is i high. obviously there is a huge cost to the taxpayer when there is a i high. obviously there is a huge cost to the taxpayer when there is a lot l to the taxpayer when there is a lot of government demands, on the government. it cannot meet every single request, can it? it government. it cannot meet every single request, can it?— single request, can it? it can't, but when _ single request, can it? it can't, but when our— single request, can it? it can't, but when our most _ single request, can it? it can't, but when our most vulnerable l single request, can it? it can't, l but when our most vulnerable in society are struggling, you would expect the safety net of the safety system of the tax system to be

there. we know people in this country who are disabled face financial penalty of around £600 per month no fault of their own. that is we should be addressing, so disabled people do not fall into poverty. share people do not fall into poverty. are ou people do not fall into poverty. are you finding, hearing more problems across the country, is it geographically split at all? where is the area of most concern that you are hearing about? we is the area of most concern that you are hearing about?— are hearing about? we are not heafina are hearing about? we are not hearing about _ are hearing about? we are not hearing about a _ are hearing about? we are not hearing about a geographical. are hearing about? we are not i hearing about a geographical split, but that does not mean it does not exist. we hear it is primarily families with disabled children who are being hit hardest, but also disabled people who are living alone, orwhere disabled people who are living alone, or where there are two disabled people in a house, where the effects of the cost of living crisis are perhaps the most pronounced.— crisis are perhaps the most ronounced. . , , ., , pronounced. finally, it is always incredibly stressful, _ pronounced. finally, it is always incredibly stressful, the - pronounced. finally, it is always incredibly stressful, the of i pronounced. finally, it is always| incredibly stressful, the of losing power, for 24 hours even, especially if you have a young child or an elderly relative. in practical terms, what are you hearing that

means for people? it is terms, what are you hearing that means for people?— means for people? it is really difficult, means for people? it is really difficult. if — means for people? it is really difficult, if you _ means for people? it is really difficult, if you have - means for people? it is really i difficult, if you have life-saving difficult, if you have life—saving equipment and you are really stressed about that running out, what can you do? what he would say to people is, really prioritises signing up to your energy company's priority service register so they know about you and know about your situation and they can support you when there is a power cut and they can provide a generator and know what kind of equipment you have so you can be protected and provided for. , , ., you can be protected and provided for. ,, ., , ., you can be protected and provided for. ,, ., , for. this is not supposed to be happening. — for. this is not supposed to be happening. is _ for. this is not supposed to be happening, is it? _ for. this is not supposed to be happening, is it? thank- for. this is not supposed to be happening, is it? thank you i for. this is not supposed to be i happening, is it? thank you very much indeed. some more breaking news that we have just had in at the moment. that is on the singer of blue, lee ryan, who's been found guilty of a racially aggravated

assault on a female cabin crew member on the british airways flight on 31st ofjuly last year. lee ryan, the lead singer of blue has been found guilty of an assault that was racially aggravated last summer on a cabin crew member. new figures show some of britain's biggest retailers had a bumper christmas — despite the cost of living crisis. tesco has reported a 7.2% increase in sales over the festive period. marks and spencer sales for quarter including christmas were also up — by nearly 10%. here's our business correspondent, emma simpson: christmas, it feels like a long time ago. for retailers, it's about shifting end of year stock now. so how did it go? some of us were tightening our belts. i was spending a lot less on each person for christmas because everything's so expensive.

but others didn't hold back. spent a lot. we gave the kids budgets and we're like, no. and then we went above and beyond that. i this christmas, i did spend a bit. more because we didn't have covid, so i actually got time to see my friends. i so you splashed out a bit then? yeah, a little bit, yeah. here at bluewater mall in kent, the christmas story was all about people returning to shops. we've seen a really positive december with a double digit increase in footfall compared to last year. and the postal strikes definitely meant that customers chose to visit stores rather than buying online for those last minute. food did well, tesco says they planned for a good christmas and that's what they had. its boss says the uk consumer has proved quite resilient. m&s did even better with its strongest ever sales forfood, and clothing also winning market share.

it's the first christmas people have had to for three years, there is cause for celebration there and may people have wanted to whoop it up a bit. equally there is evidence they've traded down from brand so they've trading down from brands so they've been price conscious and supermarkets have responded to that. on online retailer asos saw its sales fall. disruption from postal strikes and the end of the pandemic boom in e—commerce. christmas hasn't been a disaster for retailers but it hasn't been sparkling either. for many, sales are up but that's because goods have been more expensive. in other words, overall, people have been spending more but buying less. and then there's this year. people's disposable incomes are going to come under even more pressure, so we think that the challenges for households are going to be particularly tough in the first half and that will put even more pressure on many retail businesses. with credit card bills landing, was christmas the last hurrah before tougher times ahead? emma simpson, bbc news.

let's speak now to kien tan, retail director at pwc. speaking to people before christmas, they expected that january onwards would be very difficult. is that what the numbers are showing us? definitely. christmas was better—than—expected, but i don't think it's a surprise, for all the reasons emma mentioned in report. with all the things going on last year, when you see friends and family for the first time, you're more likely to buy them a present and want to get them something special, and also by good food. on the other hand, some of the other reasons for doing better, inflation, as emma mentioned, buying the same orfewer as emma mentioned, buying the same or fewer goods as emma mentioned, buying the same orfewer goods for more as emma mentioned, buying the same or fewer goods for more money, spending more at the till but getting less goods, and then the

shift from online into high streets. delivery problems obstructing online shopping sales, thatjust meant the high streets boomed, particularly in the last few weeks for last—minute shopping when you could not rely on delivery to get at on time. share shopping when you could not rely on delivery to get at on time.— delivery to get at on time. are we seeinr delivery to get at on time. are we seeing any _ delivery to get at on time. are we seeing any numbers _ delivery to get at on time. are we seeing any numbers on _ delivery to get at on time. are we seeing any numbers on returned i seeing any numbers on returned goods, because that is always telling people watch out for post—christmas? telling people watch out for post-christmas? telling people watch out for ost-christmas? ~ , , , ., post-christmas? absolutely, you will see some of — post-christmas? absolutely, you will see some of that, _ post-christmas? absolutely, you will see some of that, because _ post-christmas? absolutely, you will see some of that, because there i post-christmas? absolutely, you will see some of that, because there is i see some of that, because there is less shopping online and more in—store, hopefully you will see fewer returns. people can try things on, and are more likely to be able to see, touch and feel, so it'll be less of a problem this year. going forward, as mentioned, right up front we did borrow to spend on christmas, so borrowed spending was up, buy now pay later was much more popular, so we'll have to repay some of that, i'm looking forward, disposable incomes will be pressured by energy prices going up in april, by energy prices going up in april, by tax increases, and all those

additional things that actually means it might be a difficult first six months post—winter before inflation eases. six months post-winter before inflation eases.— inflation eases. how will that affect spending _ inflation eases. how will that affect spending in _ inflation eases. how will that affect spending in the - inflation eases. how will that affect spending in the retail. affect spending in the retail sector, how comic what is the expectation aware will be hit hardest? , , , hardest? groceries will be protected. _ hardest? groceries will be protected, we _ hardest? groceries will be protected, we all- hardest? groceries will be protected, we all have i hardest? groceries will be protected, we all have to| hardest? groceries will be i protected, we all have to eat, so supermarkets will do better, although people will trade down, as was mentioned in your report. instead of buying the more expensive branded lines, they might go to is “p branded lines, they might go to is up to and buy a cheaper line. but for furniture up to and buy a cheaper line. but forfurniture and home up to and buy a cheaper line. but for furniture and home ware, you will see a bit less spending in the next year as we have less money in our pockets. i5 next year as we have less money in our pockets-— our pockets. is it normal at this time of year. — our pockets. is it normal at this time of year. i _ our pockets. is it normal at this time of year, i imagine - our pockets. is it normal at this time of year, i imagine lots i our pockets. is it normal at this time of year, i imagine lots of. our pockets. is it normal at this i time of year, i imagine lots of us spend before christmas, then think, oh my goodness, how will you manage injanuary and february? is at the same trend but it is much more harsh? ., �* , , same trend but it is much more harsh? . �*, , .,

harsh? that's very good point, and january time _ harsh? that's very good point, and january time is _ harsh? that's very good point, and january time is where _ harsh? that's very good point, and january time is where we _ harsh? that's very good point, and january time is where we are i january time is where we are traditionally thinking about things like holidays, which we were not thinking about last year. we want to save up for those things as well, as we have not had a holiday for a few years. this year will be a bit harsh and a bit more difficult for all of us, just simply because we'll have to spend more money than we did in the past on things like energy, on paying off bills, and all those things that are essential. with double digit inflation in groceries and food products, we are just going to have to spend more to eat, and that means less money to spend on nice things. that means less money to spend on nice things-— that means less money to spend on nice thins. �* , . nice things. argue very much indeed. -- thank you — nice things. argue very much indeed. -- thank you very _ nice things. argue very much indeed. -- thank you very much _ nice things. argue very much indeed. -- thank you very much indeed. i

the teacher's union, the nasuwt, have announced that 9 out of 10 members voted to supported strike action over teachers' pay in a recent ballot.but the union says turnout in england and wales was 42% and doesn't meet the legal threshold. joining my now is our education editor branwenjeffreys. they have to get the minimum threshold to vote on any ballot, and then they have to get the minimum numberfor then they have to get the minimum number for legal action. what the unit have done is get a strong response between their members, between eight and nine out of ten who voted in favour of taking either action short of a strike or a strike, and remember these are classroom teachers, but only 42% of them, so below the 50% threshold who were eligible to vote turned out, and that means this is not valid, they do not have the legal right to go ahead and call any strikes. what go ahead and call any strikes. what does that mean _ go ahead and call any strikes. what does that mean for _ go ahead and call any strikes. what does that mean for the _ go ahead and call any strikes. what does that mean for the wider sector? bettors write it, it is just one

union, so this is the first result out of three ballots we are expecting in the coming days. the other unions representing classroom teachers and support staff, the national education union, has said they will announce the results of its ballot on monday, and the naht, which represents primary head teachers will stay, it has also balloted in for the first time in its history over pay for industrial action. they will be looking at this and nervously awaiting the results and, if they have not happened yet, from the independent adjudicator is, to see if their ballots to can get over the line orfail this high hurdle. they will certainly think this result is disappointing, there's no doubt that the feeling amongst teachers about their pay is very strong, and just yesterday we got new analysis that showed that for an experienced teacher, their

pay has fallen since 2010 by a significant amount. pay has fallen since 2010 by a significantamount. but, pay has fallen since 2010 by a significant amount. but, the turnout does not suggest that people felt strongly enough about strike action to do that, perhaps because some teachers are very conflicted. must love theirjob and are very dedicated to it. it is a vocational job, and many are very aware of the impact that covid had, with all the disruption on pupils' education. a group of afghan families who were brought to britain after the taliban took power are taking the government to court. it's after their accomodation was changed, meaning their children had to leave their school. at first the four families were housed in a london hotel — but then they were moved to the north of england. they've struggled to find school places for their children and say their education has suffered. here's our home editor, mark easton.

amid the chaos of the evacuation from kabul in the summer of 2021, the uk promised a warm welcome to the families of afghans who had worked with british forces. they did right by us and we want to do right by them. we want to help their children settle down in our country and get the education they need. that's our responsibility, as a nation, and that's what we will deliver. but has the government delivered? these 15—year—old children fled kabul with their parents but since arriving in the uk almost 18 months ago they've been living in home office hotels and their education, they say, has suffered. i'm not going to school, i'm not studying. i come from afghanistan. because there is no studying in afghanistan. there is no study. they are both at the same. we don't have any good education in school and also in the hotels. shoulders... knees... it was months before these afghan child refugees got school places

and only then when worried teachers from walworth academy in south london forced the issue. the children were among those delighted to be in class. but a year on and the girls are not here. the home office suddenly moved them to another hotel in the north of england without arranging school places for them. look at the care that has been taken. isn't it glorious? that's a lot of work. principaljess west says she cried when she received handmade christmas cards from some of the afghan girls who were forced to leave the school. we know them, we love them, we look after them, we care for them. what's really difficult is to see them moving from a situation that was precarious, that we did everything we could to try and shore up for them, to another situation that isn't permanent and is just as precarious. one of the girls, studying for her gcses, has to repeat a year because local schools have no

year 11 vacancies. the other is having to study online with material provided by walworth academy. i think they broke their promise and the hotel is like a jail. abdullah, not his real name, was a sniper who worked alongside the british military in afghanistan. for legal reasons he can't be identified but he is among those taking the home office to court over its treatment of afghan families brought to the uk. they made a lot of promises. one of the promises was our families will live secure, safely, but unfortunately they are suffering. the home office says that to deliver value for money afghan families may be moved from one hotel to another, then it's the local authorities' responsibility to find school places and there may be delays in allocating those places. but with 5000 afghan children still living in hotels, a judge must now decide if operation warm welcome has been warm enough. mark easton, bbc news. our home editor, mark easton, joins me now.

obviously some of these families have been few hellish times already and this is another further blow. yes, big promises were made, you will remember, back in the summer of 2021, as operation pitting brought these desperate families out of kabul, many of them with the help of the british, and they were people who had served with the british government or the british forces and were people whose lives were said to be at particular risk and then they arrive and it feels, as we said in my report, for many of the families they don't feel that the promises have been lived up to. the big problem we have got all the home office has got is trying to find suitable accommodation. most of these families thought they would have been in their own home months, if not more than a year ago, but often it turns out afghan families are large, they will have five, six orseven are large, they will have five, six or seven children and actually finding that kind of accommodation has proved a huge challenge for the government and its agencies, local authorities just

government and its agencies, local authoritiesjust don't government and its agencies, local authorities just don't have those kinds of properties. the result is that these afghan families have been living in hotels for 18 months and, you know, it is very difficult to live in a hotel. while you or i might go to one for a nice break, actually being stuck in one way you can't cook or wash your own clothes is not ideal, certainly not ideal for children who are trying to do their preparation for gcses, so it is not an ideal situation, the home office is desperately trying to move people out of these hotels, but the accommodation is a problem and what is clear from this is that perhaps the priority is not really there at the priority is not really there at the moment. you know, that if government really, really cared about getting these girls into schools and making sure it was a permanent place and they had accommodation, may be more could be done. that is the criticism. the government, of course, say they are doing everything they can. find government, of course, say they are doing everything they can.— doing everything they can. and it is also geographically _ doing everything they can. and it is also geographically spread - doing everything they can. and it is also geographically spread with i also geographically spread with different levels of political response ability would local authorities, it is complex, is that it was not exactly, so the local authorities themselves and the

government gets very frustrated not onl in government gets very frustrated “int only in terms of afghan refugees, but also in terms of asylum and some local authorities have been very willing to support afghan settlers, others less so, so yes there are real questions as to how there are real questions as to how the government can make big promises to afghans and people from ukraine and other parts of the world. not able to deliver and that is the question i think it's going to be at the heart of a court case next week. mark easton, thank you very much indeed. let's catch up on the sport news now, laura has all the sport news now, laura has all the sport for us at the bbc sport centre. hello. ido sport for us at the bbc sport centre. hello. i do indeed. good afternoon. manchester united have agreed a deal to sign dutch striker vout veghorst on loan for the rest of the season. the 30—year—old burnley forward scored two late goals for the netherlands in their world cup quarterfinal with argentina last month. he spent the first half of the season on loan to besiktas, and scored eight goals in 16 games for the turkish club. arsenal have been charged

by the fa for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during their fa cup third round win at oxford on monday. the charge relates to the players' conduct in the 34th minute. the club has until the 16th of january to respond. mike arteta's side went on to win the match 3—0. mikel arteta's side went on to win the match 3—0. portuguese forward joao felix could make his first appearance in a chelsea shirt this evening, as graham potter's side travel to play fulham in the premier league. felix has joined the blues on loan from la liga side atletico madrid for the remainder of the season. chelsea sit tenth in the league table, and although potter has only been in the job for four months he's acutely aware of speculation over his future. well, i think you always feel pressure and the higher you go, the more pressure there is from the outside, i guess, more pressure there is from the outside, iguess, pressure, noise, whateveryou

outside, iguess, pressure, noise, whatever you want to describe it as. and especially it a club like chelsea, the responsibility, the history, the tradition of the club, there is noise, there is criticism, there is noise, there is criticism, there is noise, there is criticism, there is anything that you would expect and you just have to try to put it into perspective and try to keep going with yourjob and keep trying to improve and stay strong and get through. and gilly flaherty, who has played more games in the women's super league than any other player, has today announced her retirement from the sport. the liverpool defender, who also played for arsenal, chelsea and west ham, won four wsl titles, seven women's fa cups and won the uefa cup during her 17 year career. she retires, having made 177 appearances in the wsl. rising british tennis star jack draper will play top seed rafael nadal in the australian open first round that starts on monday. the draw was made earlier this morning and the 21—year—old faces the defending champion, but at 36 and struggling with injury, nadal could be vulnerable, if draper can repeat the form he showed

in his overnight victory at the adelaide open over karen khachanov. it's a tough draw as well for andy murray, who faces the 13th seed, matteo berrettini, while emma raducanu, who has been struggling with an ankle injury, plays germany's tamara korpatsch. australia have withdrawn from their men's one day series against afghanistan because of the taliban's restrictions on women and girls. australia were set to play a three match series against afghanistan in the united arib emirates in march, but cricket australia have said they took the decision after, "consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the australian government." the taliban returned to power in afghanistan in august 2021 and since have banned girls from attending secondary school and university. i think that people should be able to play sport, so if you have got part of your country without that

basic human right, i think you have got a problem. i know the icc is in a difficult position about how they might manage that amongst members, etc, but if sport is not going to stand up and say, "you know, you need to be equitable, you need to be providing opportunities for both genders", then who is going to do it? so i think it is a reasonable move and it will be interesting to see what impact it has. and action is underway at alexandra palace in the quarterfinals of snooker�*s masters tournament. we can show you some live pictures. world number one ronnie o'sullivan is a seven—time masters winner against mark williams, who has won this title on a couple of occasions. o'sullivan had a fantastic start. he took the opening frame with a break of 115 and followed that up by taking the next two. williams then pulled one back. the winner is the first to six. live coverage of that match is over on bbc two,

the bbc sport website and the app. that's all the sport for now. i'll be back in an hour with another update. great, with another update. see you then, thanks, laura. just great, see you then, thanks, laura. just to let you know some breaking news from washington because the reuters news agency is reporting thatjoe biden's lawyers, the president's lawyers, have found a small number of documents with classified markings in the garage of president biden's house in wilmington, delaware. that is according to the white house. a single document was found in a room adjacent to the garage and no documents were found in biden's beach home. the white house council has said thatjoe biden is fully cooperating to ensure the documents are handled properly. joe biden is due to be doing a speech on the economy in washington. we will keep across that, in case he is asked

about or mentions this latest piece of information. of course, the location of classified documents is an important issue in normal terms, in terms of security of information, but it has also become very politicised because of what is going on with former president donald trump, this on a very different scale politically and in terms of the numbers and the background and context of this, but nevertheless of course, some interest in the us. so just to let you know, we will keep across joe just to let you know, we will keep acrossjoe biden's statement and anything he might say on this latest piece of information that some classified documents have been found that the biden residents. efforts to resolve the row over the northern ireland protocol will be raised during talks later between stormont parties and political leaders from dublin and london. labour leader keir starmer is in stormont

to discuss the deadlock, which the dup has cited as its reason for boycotting northern ireland's devolved institutions since may. katy hayward is a professor of political sociology at queen's university belfast and also works for the think tank uk in a changing europe. thanks very much indeed forjoining us. how likely is it that there is going to be some progress on this? well, thankfully we have already seen a little bit of progress at the uk - eu seen a little bit of progress at the uk — eu level, where we had james cleverly meeting with maros sefcovic from the european commission on monday, presenting theirjoint statement, which in and of itself is a good thing, suggesting that they are going to try to scope outjoint solutions with respect to the protocol and that within itself as a positive sign, certainly much more positive sign, certainly much more positive than we have seen in a long time with that uk— eu relationship and that therefore gives us some hope that we might see some progress on the ground in northern ireland

because, as you say, the issue of the northern ireland protocol has very much natively affected relations between nationalists and unionists in northern ireland, not least of course because of the whole brexit protocol debate has had negative implications for the british — irish relationship. so there is some hope, but there is also a sense of intense pressure as well, given that the clock is rapidly ticking down to next week, which is when the secretary of state for northern ireland has to make a decision over whether to call an assembly election here or not. what are the practical options. in this out? well, there are some technical solutions that have been proposed in relation to trying to reduce the friction is associated with the protocol, potentially, so for movement of goods from britain into northern ireland and that still involves checks and controls, but to a minimal degree and some of the movement we have seen so far in the

uk- eu movement we have seen so far in the uk— eu relationship with respect to sharing data, that was announced on monday, suggests they could be finding some progress there. however, there is a whole other spectrum of issues as well, some of which are very particular to northern ireland, for example with respect to the question of representation over the continued future of the protocol, political questions as well and then there are bigger ones that relate to issues that the uk, and particularly certain elements of the conservative party, have raised and concerns around the continued jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. so there has to be defined, a particular zone for agreements to be found on technical matters, but as soon as we tread into areas relating to sovereignty, then it begins to get much more complicated in that uk - eu get much more complicated in that uk — eu relationship and this is what the uk and the eu are trying to negotiate at the moment in order to create the ground within which potentially unionists may begin to be reassured about what the protocol

might mean in the longer term. find might mean in the longer term. and obviously we — might mean in the longer term. and obviously we have had numerous political changes at the top of government here. how has that change in london affected relations with leo varadkar, who is doggedlyjust rejoined at the top of irish politics, and the eu? 50 rejoined at the top of irish politics, and the eu? so leo varadkar— politics, and the eu? so leo varadkar has _ politics, and the eu? so leo varadkar has come - politics, and the eu? so leo varadkar has come back- politics, and the eu? so leo varadkar has come back in l politics, and the eu? so leo| varadkar has come back in as politics, and the eu? so leo i varadkar has come back in as the taoiseach now. he has made clear efforts to try to reassure unionists, who associate him with the matter an protocol to begin with, when it was agreed with boris johnson and the eu. but he is trying to show them that he understands their concerns with respect to the protocol and trying to make his own efforts to address sensitivity there and also to, we have also seen some positive moves from the government as well, the uk government, and we have seen a change in people keep on talking about the mood music and thatis talking about the mood music and that is really important and we talk about a situation where you want to build up trust and this is what comes down to, this is a long—term

relationship we are talking about between the uk and the eu, that centres upon a very sensitive at particular place in northern ireland and if you do have a better mood music and a better relationship building between britain and ireland, the uk and the eu, that definitely can extend room for further progress within northern ireland. �* , ., ., ., further progress within northern ireland. �* , ., ., , ireland. and 'ust to ask a very basic ireland. and just to ask a very basic question _ ireland. and just to ask a very basic question very _ ireland. and just to ask a very basic question very briefly, i ireland. and just to ask a very basic question very briefly, is| ireland. and just to ask a very i basic question very briefly, is this the ultimate answer to this to basically fudge it? because it has always felt like this is a triangle but cannot be squared. it is not possible, is it, for every eye to be dotted and for this to be, to work? in some ways, i think that was part of the problem with the original protocol, where it was unclear to some but it actually meant in practice and that could be fudged or was... there were, those difficult issues were avoided for a significant period of time, which meant that the implications of them, when it came to putting it into practice, actually came as a safe surprise to some politicians and

some businesses, etc, which meant its implications were much more destructive than they might otherwise have been. what we do want to avoid here is fudge. what we do need now is a clear reality check about what brexit means in terms of trying to rework that uk— eu relationship and the implications for northern ireland, given its integration with the republic of ireland and integration as part of the uk internal market, so the less fudge to be better and i think the more clear messages, shared messaging we have between the uk and the eu over this, the better it will be for northern ireland, notjust in the short—term, but in the longer term as well. the short-term, but in the longer term as well-— term as well. professor katy hayward. — term as well. professor katy hayward, thank _ term as well. professor katy hayward, thank you - term as well. professor katy hayward, thank you very i term as well. professor katy l hayward, thank you very much term as well. professor katy _ hayward, thank you very much indeed. we will ta ke take you over now to the us and president biden is speaking on the economy in washington.— president biden is speaking on the economy in washington. on record for --eole economy in washington. on record for people of— economy in washington. on record for people of disabilities. _ economy in washington. on record for people of disabilities. we - economy in washington. on record for people of disabilities. we are i for people of disabilities. we are seeing american families... more americans have health insurance and they did ever in our history. fewer families are facing foreclosures

today than before the pandemic. and we still have more work to do, though. but we are clearly moving the direction. and there is more breathing room in store for american workers and families. last week, as of the 1st of january, a month's supply of insulin is now capped at $35 for seniors on medicare. some were paying hundreds of dollars every month for their insulin, but not any more. starting week, if big pharma raises its prices faster than inflation, they are going to face big penalties. starting last week, an american can get tax credits when they install energy efficient product in their homes like key pumps and solar panels or when they buy electric vehicles. they are all pieces of that big law we passed last year. now they are kicking in and americans are starting to feel the benefits in their everyday lives. that is not all. we are seeing historic investments in

american manufacturing turn into new factories and newjobs, from arizona, ohio, georgia, new york. companies have announced nearly $300 billion in manufacturing investments here in the united states since i became president. instead of exporting jobs like we did for decades, we are now creating jobs and exporting product. creating jobs and exporting product. creating jobs and exporting product. that is the idea. now the house has elected a new speaker. i congratulate him and i am ready to work with him. we have a republican congress to make progress for the american people. but like many americans, i was disappointed that the very first bill the republicans in the house of representatives passed would help wealthy people and big corporations cheat on their taxes at the expense of ordinary middle—class taxpayers. and it would add $114 billion to the deficit. their very first bill. he has of republicans campaigned on

inflation. they didn't say if elected their plan was to make inflation worse. plus the house of republicans has introduced another bill. blocking action that would help lower gas prices and help consumers. on top of that, the house of republicans are preparing to vote on national sales tax bill. national sales tax, much is a great idea. it would raise taxes on the middle class by taxing thousands of everyday items from groceries to gas, while cutting taxes for the wealthiest americans, and if i am not mistaken what they are going to do is also totally eliminate the irs. it feels good, except all is going to be sales tax. go home and tell your mum, they are going to be really excited about that. come on. is this how the house of republicans are starting a new term? cutting taxes for billionaires? raising taxes for billionaires? raising taxes for billionaires? raising taxes for working families? make inflation worse? well, let me be very clear. if any of these bills make it to my desk, i will veto

them. i will flatly tow them. i am ready to work with you, but not this kind of stuff. they tried to cut medicare, which americans have been paying in every paycheque since they got their first paycheque. i will use my veto pen to stop that as well. but if republicans want to work together on real solutions, slowing inflation, create realjobs, building an economy that works everyone, i am building an economy that works everyone, iam ready. let me building an economy that works everyone, i am ready. let me close with this. today's inflation numbers are good news, good news about our economy. we have more work to do, but we are on the right track. we are seeing bright spots across the country where great things are happening. roads and bridges are being built, factories are coming online. people back to work again. the family is breathing a little bit easier. that is why i can honestly say, and you have heard me say this before and i mean it from the bottom of my heart, i have never been more optimistic about america future than i am today. we just have to remember who in gods name we are. you have

heard me say it many times, this is the united states of america. there is nothing beyond our capacity, if we work together. so god bless you all and may god protect our troops. journalists shout. nepa classified material, next year's corvette, what were you thinking? i will get a chance to speak on this, god willing, will soon, but it said last week, i by the way my corvette is in a locked garage, so does not like they are sitting out on the street. anyway... the documents were in a locked _ anyway... the documents were in a locked garage? anyway. .. the documents were in a locked garage?— locked garage? yes, as well as my corvette. locked garage? yes, as well as my corvette- itut _ locked garage? yes, as well as my corvette. but i _ locked garage? yes, as well as my corvette. but i said _ locked garage? yes, as well as my corvette. but i said earlier- locked garage? yes, as well as my corvette. but i said earlier this i corvette. but i said earlier this week, people know that i take classified documents and classified material seriously. classified documents and classified materialseriously. i classified documents and classified material seriously. i also said i'm cooperating completely and fully with the justice cooperating completely and fully with thejustice department's review. as part of that process, my lawyers reviewed other places where documents from my time as vice were

stored and they finished the review last night. they discovered a small number of documents with classified markings and storage areas and file cabinets in my home and in my personal library. this was done in the case of the biden penn centre. the department ofjustice, as was done, the department ofjustice was immediately notified and the alloys arranged for the department of justice to take possession of the document. so we're going to see all of this unfold. i am confident... journalists shout.— of this unfold. i am confident... journalists shout. thank you. thank ou. good to journalists shout. thank you. thank you- good to see _ journalists shout. thank you. thank you. good to see you! _ journalists shout. thank you. thank you. good to see you! how _ journalists shout. thank you. thank you. good to see you! how is _ journalists shout. thank you. thank you. good to see you! how is the i you. good to see you! how is the first lady? _ you. good to see you! how is the first lady? she — you. good to see you! how is the first lady? she is _ you. good to see you! how is the first lady? she is doing _ you. good to see you! how is the first lady? she is doing really i first lady? she is doing really well. first lady? she is doing really well- she _ first lady? she is doing really well. she was _ first lady? she is doing really well. she was under - first lady? she is doing really well. she was under a - first lady? she is doing really well. she was under a long i first lady? she is doing really i well. she was under a long time, first lady? she is doing really - well. she was under a long time, for five hours, because what they were doing is they take out, they would

doing is they take out, they would do the most, green meaning remove what they thought might be cancerous and then they have to go back and test it and see what it was, but she is doing really well, she is up, we had breakfast this morning, she is “p had breakfast this morning, she is up and recovering. she is going to be sore for a while because of the work they did on her eyes, but, you know, that is where one of these was, but she is 0—1% chance of any returning cancer, so thank god, she is doing very well. thank you. jae is doing very well. thank you. joe biden they're facing a barrage of questions, but answering the main questions, but answering the main question there on classified documents, saying that he takes classified documents very seriously, they are cooperating with the justice department and as part of that, his lawyers found that they discovered some documents in storage cabinets in his home and in his

personal library, and that they have handed those over and they are cooperating with thejustice department. he started offjoking, saying that his corvette, his car was in a locked garage, not on the street, so the implication that any of these documents have been in an insecure location, and cleary and implication there that this is an accident, sojust implication there that this is an accident, so just confirming that the white house has said that a small number of documents with classified markings were found in a garage of president biden's house in wilmington, delaware. the white house announced thatjust a short time ago and president biden making a speech in a statement on the economy, was then faced with a question on that, which he answered. he also talked about his wife, the first lady, joe biden, who has had some surgery on some skin cancer —— joe biden. she has had some surgery and joe bidenjust joe biden. she has had some surgery and joe biden just clarified that she is doing well and recovering from that. just to clarify off that

press statement. sojoe wrap anjoe biden basically say they are cooperating with thejustice department on the location of these private documents, —— us productions, some of which have been found in his private residence. in the us, california is bracing for another round of deadly storms, as the extreme weather that has battered the state moves north. at least 17 people have died after a month of heavy rain and flooding. our us correspondent, sophie long, has the latest. a brief respite from the rain. but water surrounds sacramento. this landslide caused chaos in the central valley. there were countless others like it across california. workers rushed to repair this sinkhole that swallowed two cars in los angeles. like this clean—up crew at a farm in ventura county, they know the next deluge is just days away. it was up to our knees running over the road. no waterfor two years, and then more water than we got in two years in 24 hours is not the business. the extensive flooding has been caused by a series of atmospheric rivers which behave like conveyor belts of water in the sky.

this is the result. entire neighbourhoods turned into lakes. fire crews flew in to rescue a person trapped by the ventura river, which hit its highest level ever. i've never seen anything like this in all my 41 years living in the city. we lost our home and all of our belongings that we've had. in the central valley, the flood water overwhelmed vehicles and homes. as the current storm moves north towards the pacific northwest, a brief break in the extreme weather in california has meant evacuation orders in santa barbara have been lifted. but rivers still rage and the runoff from the mountains keeps coming fast. there is one silver lining. the several feet of snow that's fallen in the sierra nevadas should run off into the reservoirs when it melts, helping to lift their levels after years of drought. but more punishing storms are expected to pound the west coast this weekend.

sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello. all the heavy rain we have seen of late has been causing some problems. we have had transport disruption, for example in parts of wales, where trains have been struggling to get between cardiff and caerphilly, and we have had flooded roads as well in parts of wales. a number of flood warnings in force, not just across wales, but in england and a couple in scotland as well. some problems out and about as we go through the rest of the day today. here is the cloud that has been bringing heavy rain today so far, but if i zoom out into the atlantic we are looking at the next developing area of low pressure just here off the coast of the united states. that is going to be bringing more rain friday night and a renewed concern of seeing some flooding. mind you, today as the worst of the rain clears away we are then going to get a zone of very strong winds working through northern ireland, into parts

of north—west england, north wales and south—west scotland, gusts could reach up to 50—60 mph, maybe one or two gusts in the most exposed coasts and hills getting up to about 70. all the while it stays mild, temperatures get up to 13 degrees today, while average at this time of year in london is 7 degrees, so temperatures about 6 celsius above average. overnight it stays very windy. further outbreaks of rain, particularly around central regions, otherwise showers knocking around and because it stays windy it never gets that cold for a january night, temperatures 3—7. tomorrow there will be another zone of rain coming into northern ireland and north—west england, otherwise plenty of showers for northern and eastern scotland, probably something a bit drier and brighterfor a time across parts of the south and it stays mild, temperatures again reaching double figures. friday night that next area of low pressure develops and moves in, bringing another zone of very heavy rain across those areas that have seen the flooding of late, so a renewed concern of seeing flooding problems into the start of the weekend. over the weekend the rain does clear out of the way, but it follows by blustery showers

and as those showers work into the north—western areas through the weekend you will start to notice some colder air working its way in and that is a sign of things to come next week because it is going to get a lot colder next week with frost becoming widespread, icy patches around and there will be some snow showers and they will come all the way down to sea level, so snow for some of us next week.

this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines: new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance — with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. we kept thinking that the ambulance would pull up any minute. we kept thinking, "oh, it will arrive. "it will be ok." itjust didn't. russians fighting in ukraine claim they've found the body of one of two british aid workers who've been reported missing. joe biden says he has cooperating fully after it is reported his lawyers found documents at his resident. calls for energy companies to stop making their customers use prepayment meters —

because they're struggling to pay their bills. bumper christmas sales for some of britain's biggest retailers, despite the cost of living crisis and tributes for the legendary rock guitarist jeff beck, who's died at the age of 78. there's more evidence today of the crisis in the nhs in england. ambulance response times in december were the worst on record. for category two emergency calls, — including strokes — they were more than an hour and a half on average. the target is 18 minutes. the highest priority calls — with an immediate threat to life — took almost 11 minutes on average. the target is seven.

and patients are waiting even longer in accident and emergency — 35% waited more than four hours. that's another record. our health correspondent jim reed reports. long queues for ambulances, the most 999 calls ever, record waits in a&e, new figures today show in blunt terms the pressure the nhs is under. martin started feeling chest pains in his home in east sussex in november. his family rang three times for an ambulance. we kept thinking, the ambulance will pull up any minute, it is going to arrive, it will be ok. and itjust didn't. after 45 minutes an ambulance had not arrived so his family had to drive martin to the hospital themselves. we just drove, we drove to the hospital, we drove at speed, i unclipped my seat belt and i held my husband and told him i loved him and...

and then that was it, he was gone. last month was the busiest on record for the nhs in england, with high rates of flu and covid filling up hospital wards. on average, ambulance response times rose to their highest level on record. for urgent category 2 calls like a heart attack or stroke, the target time to get to a patient is 18 minutes, the average response now takes over 90 minutes. this comes as hospitals are operating above normal safe limits. in england, 95% of beds were full last week, with similar pressure across other parts of the uk. firstly, the number of patients with flu and secondly the number of patients with covid both peaked at around the same time during december, what that means is that around 10,000 patients were in hospital with flu or with covid at the same time, and that is a really high number, for both of them to

peak at the same time. one in eight hospital beds are being taken up by patients well enough to go home, but who cannot be discharged because of delays in finding the right social care support. that is all putting pressure on a&e and on the ambulance service with queues of paramedics having to wait outside hospital rather than getting back out on the road quickly. one thing we have done is 500 million investment to help get people out of hospital, that is an adult discharge fund to help people to get out of hospital and get care at home or in care homes. just before christmas an ambulance was called in devon for colin's wife. they were told paramedics would be there in two hours. we just sat, fully dressed, ready to go, and wondered when the ambulance would be coming. and the time went on, and on... nearly 24—hours later, the ambulance finally arrived, four days later, maggie passed

away in hospital. do you think if the ambulance had got here more quickly? i know what you're going to ask, and very definitely i am definitely convinced, she would have been on medication earlier, they would have been able to diagnose and to know what was going on, and there was a... i can't continue that bit of the conversation. i really find that too difficult. the demands on the health service are one reason why ambulance staff and nurses say they have been calling strike action, with no deal on pay in sight, it is possible that dispute could run through the winter, another pressure on a health service already struggling to cope. rory deighton is director of the acute medicine network

at the nhs confederation, which represents the trusts which make up the health service. thank you forjoining us. how concerned are you at what you are seeing? concerned are you at what you are seeinr ? , , ., concerned are you at what you are seeina? , ,., . seeing? our members are concerned, we are seeing — seeing? our members are concerned, we are seeing a _ seeing? our members are concerned, we are seeing a level _ seeing? our members are concerned, we are seeing a level of _ seeing? our members are concerned, we are seeing a level of pressure i we are seeing a level of pressure we've never seen in the nhs and consistent pressure. just a follow on from your report, the average response time in novemberfor category one ambulances, the most of the incidents, ten minutes 57 seconds, if we go back to december 2019, that was seven minutes 33 seconds. that is an indication of the change we are seeing. the nhs is always under pressure in the winter, always under pressure in the winter, always under pressure at this time of the year, but the pressure we are

seeing is unprecedented. hagar of the year, but the pressure we are seeing is unprecedented.— seeing is unprecedented. how many --eole are seeing is unprecedented. how many people are going — seeing is unprecedented. how many people are going to _ seeing is unprecedented. how many people are going to lose _ seeing is unprecedented. how many people are going to lose their i seeing is unprecedented. how many people are going to lose their lives. people are going to lose their lives as a result of this? it is people are going to lose their lives as a result of this?— as a result of this? it is difficult to tell. i as a result of this? it is difficult to tell. | think _ as a result of this? it is difficult to tell. | think the _ as a result of this? it is difficult to tell. | think the nhs - as a result of this? it is difficult to tell. | think the nhs will - as a result of this? it is difficult| to tell. i think the nhs will work really hard to understand the impact on people, on people's families. some time you can see harm and quantify harm in terms of the numbers of outpatient appointments cancelled, in terms of procedures cancelled, in terms of procedures cancelled, but it is difficult to accurately quantify deaths and excess deaths. you will start to see them interest board papers over the next weeks and months to come. it is inconceivable that the pressure the nhs is under is not having an impact on excess mortality. what nhs is under is not having an impact on excess mortality.— on excess mortality. what needs to ha en, on excess mortality. what needs to happen. what _ on excess mortality. what needs to happen, what should _ on excess mortality. what needs to happen, what should the _ on excess mortality. what needs to i happen, what should the government be doing? we've heard about the

pressure on social care, that causes a knock—on effect on a&e and ambulances. there is a big shortage of workforce. you ambulances. there is a big shortage of workforce-— of workforce. you are right, the three big issues _ of workforce. you are right, the three big issues the _ of workforce. you are right, the | three big issues the government of workforce. you are right, the i three big issues the government need to be resolving had been there for some time. 134,000 vacancies, 106 of 5000 vacancies in social care, and the impact it has in the ability to get healthy and fit patients out of hospital. 14,000 people a week currently in nhs beds when they could be better cared for at home. and capital investment, £10 billion backlog in the nhs for urgent capital maintenance work. those issues are well understood and are the big things that need to be addressed. sure term —— short—term,

we need to negotiate on strikes. we know the impact the strikes have had, and we always see the day after significant bounce back in terms of people attending a&e departments. that would be, that is the long—term issues the government need to be addressing, and the short—term needs come to the table. in addressing, and the short-term needs come to the table.— come to the table. in terms of where the government _ come to the table. in terms of where the government can _ come to the table. in terms of where the government can get _ come to the table. in terms of where the government can get that - the government can get that workforce from, what are the options, and how quickly can it recruit people? people will be terrified of this news, rolling out everyday. it terrified of this news, rolling out eve da . , terrified of this news, rolling out eve da. , everyday. it is absolutely right that people — everyday. it is absolutely right that people are _ everyday. it is absolutely right that people are worried. i everyday. it is absolutely rightj that people are worried. there everyday. it is absolutely right i that people are worried. there are one or two glimpses of positivity in today's figures. it is the first time we have seen the backlog figures come down, and that reflects

the work the staff did in november. given the time and resources and space, the nhs can deliverfabulous things, but they need support, and the crisis we are in is ten years in the crisis we are in is ten years in the making. it is impossible to recruit 134,000 staff, but we need to be committing to long—term solutions. to be committing to long-term solutions. �* ., , to be committing to long-term solutions-— to be committing to long-term solutions. �* ., ., solutions. brexit has had an impact on immigration, _ solutions. brexit has had an impact on immigration, but _ solutions. brexit has had an impact on immigration, but what - solutions. brexit has had an impact on immigration, but what about i on immigration, but what about getting stuff from other parts of the world, as the nhs has? why isn't it happening?— it happening? there is a need to crow our it happening? there is a need to grow our own — it happening? there is a need to grow our own solutions. - it happening? there is a need to grow our own solutions. you i it happening? there is a need to. grow our own solutions. you can't it happening? there is a need to i grow our own solutions. you can't do that cuick grow our own solutions. you can't do that quick enough. _ grow our own solutions. you can't do that quick enough. it _ grow our own solutions. you can't do that quick enough. it is _ grow our own solutions. you can't do that quick enough. it is a _ grow our own solutions. you can't do that quick enough. it is a long-terml that quick enough. it is a long-term solution and — that quick enough. it is a long-term solution and problem, _ that quick enough. it is a long-term solution and problem, and - that quick enough. it is a long-term solution and problem, and we i that quick enough. it is a long-term solution and problem, and we on i solution and problem, and we on seeing commitment there. a commitment to invest in social care now and to recognise that hospital

volatility and the reduction in the harm being caused to patients —— hospital productivity. it harm being caused to patients -- hospital productivity.— hospital productivity. it has put back dealing — hospital productivity. it has put back dealing with _ hospital productivity. it has put back dealing with social - hospital productivity. it has put back dealing with social care. i back dealing with social care. without dealing with it, will we just see this sort of crisis go on because the fact you cannot now depend on an ambulance in this country is shocking, isn't it? i would agree, and staff would absolutely agree. i think one of the really poignant things when you talk to staff on picket lines is that the strikes are not about paid, they are about the deterioration in standards, and the recognition something needs to stop and something needs to stop and something needs to change now. of all of the things we could start doing to address this crisis now,

investment in social care, pay and wages, to help medically fit patients out of hospital, to improve the flow of patients is the one clear thing the government could start taking on today.— clear thing the government could start taking on today. when you look at the government _ start taking on today. when you look at the government response, - start taking on today. when you look at the government response, they i start taking on today. when you look. at the government response, they say there is an issue on funding across there is an issue on funding across the public sector, they made a decision on brexit, which the prime minister was a supporter of what you say to that position? the government is in a really — say to that position? the government is in a really difficult _ say to that position? the government is in a really difficult position - say to that position? the government is in a really difficult position at i is in a really difficult position at the moment. this is a crisis that has not been built in the last six or 12 mums, it has been ten years of underinvestment —— 12 months. the current government is paying the price now for decisions made in the

past. there is real sympathy there for the problems the government faces, but they need to stand up to it. we are looking to improve some of these ambulance performance figures and a&e weights, it will require significant investment from government. you can check on the situation with waiting times at your local hospital service using the bbc�*s nhs winter tracker. that's at bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. wherever you are in the uk, just put in your postcode to see the latest published info on waits in a&e, routine operations and ambulances. president biden has confirmed that the second set of classified documents found by his lawyers were in the garage of his house in wilmington, delaware.

answering questions after a speech on the us economy, mr biden said he took classified materials seriously and was cooperating fully with thejustice department. isaid i said this week, my car is in a locked garage. but i said this week, my car is in a locked garage.— i said this week, my car is in a locked garage. but as i said this week, locked garage. but as i said this week. peeple — locked garage. but as i said this week, people know— locked garage. but as i said this week, people know i _ locked garage. but as i said this week, people know i take - locked garage. but as i said this . week, people know i take classified documents and material seriously. i also said we are cooperating fully with the justice also said we are cooperating fully with thejustice department's review. my lawyers reviewed other places where documents, from my time as vice president, was stored and they finished the review last night. they discovered a small number of documents were classified markings in filing cabinets in my home and my personal library. this was done in

the case of the ten to and the document was looked at. fiur document was looked at. our washington _ document was looked at. our washington correspondent is here. reminders of the backgrounds of the documents. this reminders of the backgrounds of the documents. , , , documents. this is hugely embarrassing _ documents. this is hugely embarrassing for - documents. this is hugely| embarrassing for president documents. this is hugely - embarrassing for president biden, not only with his documents found in the think tank in washington ask in november. we didn't find out about it until this week. it took them to months to tell us, but this second batch in his garage next to his 1960 sports car, but it was ok because

the garage was locked. he is facing accusations of hypocrisy because he criticised donald trump for not giving back documents. he is facing an investigation from the justice department who are looking into it. there is a political problem forjoe biden, not least to accusations of hypocrisy, but also what was in the documents, how classified were they, what risks have been placed on national security? they have been floating around since 2019, at least, possibly even earlier. just briefl , least, possibly even earlier. just briefly. lots _ least, possibly even earlier. just briefly, lots of _ least, possibly even earlier. just briefly, lots of political comparisons with donald trump, but the scale is different, the context is very different. at the scale is different, the context is very different.— the scale is different, the context is very different. at the moment it is, the context _ is very different. at the moment it is, the context and _ is very different. at the moment it is, the context and scale _ is very different. at the moment it is, the context and scale is - is, the context and scale is different. joe biden has said he is

cooperating, his lawyers handed it over when they found it, and the justice department was informed. many of those things didn't happen with donald trump, his lawyers handed some over, not others, they were forced with a subpoena and a search warrant last august. donald trump is under criminal investigation holding onto the papers as as obstruction. there are differences, but the bottom—line is this is classified material that was being kept hold of by a private citizen, thatjoe biden was after he was vice president, and he shouldn't have done it. you don't got that many points for saying you are cooperating, you shouldn't have done it in the first place.— it in the first place. these questions _ it in the first place. these questions were _ it in the first place. these questions were raised - it in the first place. these l questions were raised after it in the first place. these i questions were raised after a it in the first place. these _ questions were raised after a speech byjoe biden on the economy. he talked about inflation going in the right direction. what else did he

say? right direction. what else did he sa ? , , , ., right direction. what else did he sa? ,, , say? this is him trying to boost the econom , say? this is him trying to boost the economy. he's _ say? this is him trying to boost the economy, he's been _ say? this is him trying to boost the economy, he's been trying - say? this is him trying to boost the economy, he's been trying to - say? this is him trying to boost the economy, he's been trying to do i say? this is him trying to boost the economy, he's been trying to do it| economy, he's been trying to do it since the inflation recovery act, which he is proud of. this is part of the ongoing campaign to prove things can still get done. you saw him the other day at a bridge construction effort down in kentucky, with the republican leader in the senate. you will see more of those things to achieve the economy fund centre robbie inflation starts to get back and tackled in the normal way. let to get back and tackled in the normal way-— to get back and tackled in the normal way. let me take you to belfast now. _ normal way. let me take you to belfast now. it _ normal way. let me take you to belfast now. it is _ normal way. let me take you to belfast now. it is my _ normal way. let me take you to belfast now. it is my first - normal way. let me take you to belfast now. it is my first visit | belfast now. it is my first visit here and was _ belfast now. it is my first visit here and was keen _ belfast now. it is my first visit here and was keen to - belfast now. it is my first visit here and was keen to meet i belfast now. it is my first visit} here and was keen to meet all belfast now. it is my first visit - here and was keen to meet all five

parties, had some constructive discussions, will speak to business groups later today. it was an opportunity for me to hear from the five parties, what their analysis of the situation here is and ifound it beneficial and useful in understanding the different perspectives. i think it is fair to say all five parties are committed to devolution, they want to get the assembly up and running and the executive running and cooperation and close working conditions. we all share a common purpose in that regard. unlock and that is a requirement we come to an agreement on the protocol and those discussions are under way between the european commission and uk government. there will be confidentiality, time and space to

work on solutions, and i'm hopeful it will be possible to come to an agreement on the protocol that will allow to work more effectively, hopefully become more acceptable across society and more than allow the institutions to be established. cani ask you, are you doing things to ensure — ask you, are you doing things to ensure this _ ask you, are you doing things to ensure this incident isn't repeated. damien _ ensure this incident isn't repeated. damien explained the situation to me and made it clear it is in his view he couldn't continue as a minister, even though it happened 1a years ago when he wasn't a minister. there is a requirement on anybody in the public service to abide by rules and

regulations and engage correctly and a probity republic bodies. he took the view it was right for him to resign, i accepted the view it was right for him to resign, iaccepted it last the view it was right for him to resign, i accepted it last night. the view it was right for him to resign, iaccepted it last night. it is a big political price to pay, he has paid out in terms of the political aspect. has paid out in terms of the politicalaspect. he has paid out in terms of the political aspect. he is a minister who worked closely with me, was my minister of state in my last apartment. he's a decent person, somebody he was hard—working and capable. it is a difficult day for him, his supporters and family. have you managed to repair relationships with the dup? you have admitted _ relationships with the dup? you have admitted to making mistakes.

iam keen i am keen to repair and restore relations, notjust with the political parties, but also with the uk government and between the european union and the uk. i think the reason why relations became restrained was because of brexit. lots of those have made mistakes, i acknowledge that, the way the protocol was implemented was to rigid. i am totally did you we can work together to make changes that are necessary, that can get back to are necessary, that can get back to a low number of checks. there have always been checks for reasons of safety, i would like to get to the point where we can agree something that works for everyone and a cross community basis. to that question,

very clearly, i have never used a threat of violence in politics, i am totally opposed to violence. i don't think it is everjustified in a democracy, and this is a democracy. that is neverjustified at all. i express concerns held by the chief constable that the re—establishment of a border post between north and south could lead to violence. there is a big difference between warning, expressing concerns of violence and threatening it, and i certainly didn't do it.— threatening it, and i certainly didn't do it. , .,., , didn't do it. the irish taoiseach answering _ didn't do it. the irish taoiseach answering questions _ didn't do it. the irish taoiseach answering questions there, - didn't do it. the irish taoiseach - answering questions there, hopeful progress on the whole blockage ——

blockade that has come. he said the protocol has perhaps been interpreted to strictly and is hoping for some movement. that is theissue hoping for some movement. that is the issue that is also blocking progress overall in northern ireland in terms of the assembly. we are going to leave it, because i want to bring you another breaking news story. mick lynch has returned from talks and spoken briefly to reporters and said the new offer is still being talked about. he has done a statement on camera, but they have said they had detailed discussions with the rail delivery group and are working towards a revised offer and will continue to discuss over the next you days, that

is the rmt leader mick lynch talking about trying to resolve matters clearly in the context of repeated rail strikes, clearly in the context of repeated railstrikes, on clearly in the context of repeated rail strikes, on pay and conditions for his members. the dramatic music isn't really needed, but this video circulated by ukraine's military gives you an idea of soledar today. here, they evacuate an injured soldier. the journey out is winding and dangerous. translation: there are 559 people still left in soledar, _ including 15 children.

that's as of today. they had the opportunity to leave before the 5th of january but they chose not to. the city was then closed because of active fighting and enemy attacks. when you compare satellite images from six months ago and this week's, you're amazed it's that many. despite the real risks, chris parry and andrew bagshaw wouldn't be put off from helping people escape. now we've come back to pretty much the front, 300 metres from the russians, picked up two people, a woman, 40, and her mother, 60 or so, who actually i met a week or so ago when i was picking up the two elderly who got lost and then they got trapped by a tank. theirfamilies had said they were both proud and worried after they disappeared on their way into the town. then a claim by russian mercenaries from the so—called wagner group which they'd never want to see. images of documents posted online with the claim they belonged to both men and that they'd found one

of their bodies. this is all still unverified and the british foreign office isn't confirming it. it's told the bbc it's supporting the families of two british men who have gone missing in ukraine. the picture of soledar is murky. wagner is claiming to be in control. ukraine begs to differ. translation: the enemy trying unsuccessfully to break - through our defence and capture soledar is suffering heavy losses. the approaches to the city today are actually dotted with the bodies of killed putin troops. nevertheless they are moving over the bodies of their fallen soldiers. even the kremlin has acknowledged continued fighting. it's why it's replaced russia's top commander in ukraine, sergei surovikin, after three months in thejob. valery gerasimov will be expected to deliver moscow progress on the battlefield — and quickly. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. the headlines on bbc news...

new figures show some of britain's biggest retailers had a bumper christmas — despite the cost of living crisis. tesco has reported a 7.2% increase in sales over the festive period. marks and spencer sales for quarter including christmas were also up — by nearly 10%. here's our business correspondent, emma simpson: iamjoined by i am joined by hugh radojev. people were protecting the public would want to spend but cut back at this time of year. at want to spend but cut back at this time of year-— time of year. of these numbers a surrise? time of year. of these numbers a surprise? i _ time of year. of these numbers a surprise? i would _ time of year. of these numbers a surprise? i would say _ time of year. of these numbers a surprise? i would say they - time of year. of these numbers a surprise? i would say they are, l surprise? i would say they are, particularly like someone like marks & spencer, we were anticipating their would be a slighter value, but while value is important, customers have been willing to pay more, treat themselves and their family after a hard couple of years, restricted web

covid and those things. stint; covid and those things. any information _ covid and those things. any information on _ covid and those things. any information on whether people have been paying upfront or boring, which will effect the next few weeks? is a will effect the next few weeks? is a aood will effect the next few weeks? is a good question. _ will effect the next few weeks? is —. good question, barclaycard have put out information that bills will be high, running into december. people spread their spending out, starting with... black friday to try and help end is meet and make christmas a celebration. in end is meet and make christmas a celebration-— celebration. in terms of where eo - le celebration. in terms of where people were — celebration. in terms of where people were spending, - celebration. in terms of where people were spending, what i celebration. in terms of where - people were spending, what more have we learned? it is people were spending, what more have we learned? , ~' ., people were spending, what more have we learned? , ~ ., , , ., ., we learned? it is kind of spread, a value ranges. _ we learned? it is kind of spread, a value ranges, tesco _ we learned? it is kind of spread, a value ranges, tesco and _ we learned? it is kind of spread, a i value ranges, tesco and sainsbury's with their price matches have done well. also people have been willing to spend more on the premium foods, premium treats and with sainsbury's

and argos, some of the categories that we might have suspected won't do well, like electricals and mobile phones, they actually perform really well. this band has been spread out so far. �* , ., well. this band has been spread out so far. �* i. ., well. this band has been spread out so far. �* ., ., well. this band has been spread out so far. �* i. ., ., , so far. are you worried about goods bein: so far. are you worried about goods being returned? _ so far. are you worried about goods being returned? electrical— so far. are you worried about goods being returned? electrical goods, . being returned ? electrical goods, clothing, being returned? electrical goods, clothing, because that is another element people watch out for. returns have been an increasingly big issue for retailers, critically in fashion, but in electricals on those sorts of things. it is hard to say, i would say at this point on returns, though small feed through. i would say in the conversations we've been having today, it has been very positive. we've been having today, it has been very positive-— very positive. that sounds like good news. very positive. that sounds like good news- hugh — very positive. that sounds like good news. hugh radojev, _ very positive. that sounds like good news. hugh radojev, thank- very positive. that sounds like good news. hugh radojev, thank you - very positive. that sounds like good news. hugh radojev, thank you for| news. hugh radojev, thank you for joining us.

the weather has not been particularly delightful, chris is with us. i am very sick of the rain, i have to confess! is there going to be much more that? yes, i'm afraid there is, at least another system coming through, as we will see in a moment, but the main concern, actually, is the fact we have got quite a lot of flooding at the moment, a number of flood warnings in force, those continuing the flood warnings in england, currently 64, starting to come down a bit in wales, but clearly we have seen some transport disruption and that is likely to continue into probably the first part of the weekend because although there is going to be an easing of the weather to a degree of night, strong winds across parts of northern ireland, north—west england, scotland and wales, bringing a bit of rain, generally trying to calm down a bit as we head into friday. passing showers, it will still be quite blurry, a band of rain with a across northern ireland, probably affecting north—west england into western

scotland for the afternoon, but otherwise not as much rain around tomorrow in the daytime. it is tomorrow in the daytime. it is tomorrow night i am keeping a close eye on things because we have another area of low pressure coming in and this one will bring its own very heavy rain across particularly england and wales, those areas that have flood warnings in force, so you can imagine the flooding is likely to get worse before it gets better. as we head into the first part of the weekend. looks grim, doesn't it? let's try and cheer ourselves up and get a bit of sport, laura is with us. hello again, laura. hello, iam always here to cheer you up! good afternoon. manchester united have agreed a deal to sign dutch striker vout veghorst on loan for the rest of the season. the 30—year—old burnley forward scored two late in their world cup quarterfinal with argentina last month. he spent the first half of the season on loan to besiktas, and scored eight goals in 16 games for the turkish club. arsenal have been charged by the fa for failing

to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during their fa cup third round win at oxford on monday. the charge relates to the players' conduct in the 34th minute. the club has until the 16th of january to respond. mikel arteta's side went on to win the match 3—0. portuguese forward joao felix could make his first appearance in a chelsea shirt this evening as graham potter's side travel to play fulham in the premier league. felix has joined the blues on loan from la liga side atletico madrid for the remainder of the season. chelsea sit tenth in the league table, and although potter has only been in the job for four months he's acutely aware of speculation over his future. well, i think you always feel pressure and the higher you go, the more pressure there is from the outside, iguess, pressure, noise,

whatever you want to describe it as. and especially at a club like chelsea, the responsibility, the history, the tradition of the club, there is noise, there is criticism, there is anything that you would expect and you just have to try to put it into perspective and try to keep going with yourjob and keep trying to improve and stay strong and get through. and gilly flaherty, who has played more games in the women's super league than any other player, has today announced her retirement from the sport. the liverpool defender, who also played for arsenal, chelsea and west ham, won four wsl titles, seven women's fa cups and won the uefa cup during her 17 year career. she retires, having made 177 appearances in the wsl. rising british tennis star jack draper will play top seed rafael nadal in the australian open first round that starts on monday. the draw was made earlier this morning and the 21—year—old faces the defending champion, but at 36 and struggling with injury, nadal could be vulnerable if draper can repeat the form he showed in his overnight victory at the adelaide open over karen khachanov.

it's a tough draw as well for andy murray, who faces the 13th seed, matteo berrettini, while emma raducanu, who has been struggling with an ankle injury, plays germany's tamara korpatsch. australia have withdrawn from their men's one day series against afghanistan because of the taliban's restrictions on women and girls. australia were set to play a three match series against afghanistan in the united arib emirates in the united arab emirates in march, but cricket australia have said they took the decision after, "consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the australian government." the taliban returned to power in afghanistan in august 2021 and since have banned girls from attending secondary school and university. it's a basic human right. i think that people should be able to play sport, so if you have got part of your country without that basic human right, i think you have got a problem. i know the icc is in a difficult position about how they

might manage that amongst members, etc, but if sport is not going to stand up and say, "you know, you need to be equitable, you need to be providing opportunities for both genders", then who is going to do it? so i think it is a reasonable move and it will be interesting to see what impact it has. and action is underway at alexandra palace in the quarterfinals of snooker�*s masters tournament. it's been an excellent match so far. o'sullivan had a fantastic start — he took the opening frame with a break of 115 and followed that up by taking the next two. but williams is now back in the match after completing some brilliant frames, one including the highest ever break at the masters — williams is now 5—4 up and is needing just one more frame victory. they are currently playing that tenth game.

live coverage of that match is over on bbc two, the bbc sport website and the app. that's all the sport for now. great, thanks for that, laura. rishi sunak is due in the highlands later this evening for his first trip to scotland as prime minister. he is expected to hold private talks with the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon. it's anticipated sunak will use the trip to highlight the benefits of remaining in the united kingdom, seeking to counter nicola sturgeon's push for independence. let's speak now to sirjohn curtice, political analyst and professor of politics at strathclyde university. do think the whole question of the independence referendum is going to be raised or do we know? well. independence referendum is going to be raised or do we know?— be raised or do we know? well, the honest truth — be raised or do we know? well, the honest truth is _ be raised or do we know? well, the honest truth is we _ be raised or do we know? well, the honest truth is we don't _ be raised or do we know? well, the honest truth is we don't know - honest truth is we don't know their private talks, but it will be sip billie extremely surprising if ms sturgeon would like to hear is to select�*s view about holding a referendum in person, after all it is the first meeting between them

since mr sunak became premier so, i guess she would want to check with him that his view is that of his predecessor and who remind him why she takes a different position. certainly, if mr sunak, when he does, north, it would certainly be wise to use the occasion to try to put his case for the union because recent polling has, for the most part, if anything suggested that in the wake of the supreme court judgment that the scottish parliament could not hold an independence referendum on its own authority, the opinion polls have had the yes side slightly ahead and certainly for a long time now support for the union and for independence has been pretty much 50-50, independence has been pretty much 50—50, so yes, the union needs bolstering north of the border, if you are of that persuasion and i think mr sunak would be wise to take the opportunity to try to make the case. �* ~ ., , , case. and i know it is their first meetinu case. and i know it is their first meeting in _ case. and i know it is their first meeting in scotland, _ case. and i know it is their first meeting in scotland, i- case. and i know it is their first meeting in scotland, i don't - case. and i know it is their first i meeting in scotland, i don't know case. and i know it is their first - meeting in scotland, i don't know if they have met already in england last year, but in terms of other policy areas that they have to work

together on, i mean, it is going to be a different approach from rishi sunak, compared to liz truss, who said she was going to ignore boris johnson, where things are also pretty fractious, before it? certainly the fact that this meeting is happening is an improvement on the turn that was provided by liz truss during her short tenure in 10 downing street and the honest truth is these are two politicians whose immediate problems are very, very similar. in scotland there is a problem with the hospital being full, nicola sturgeon has admitted that in a press conference a few days ago and they are falling apart because of people not being able to get out of the hospital into some form of adequate social care provision. the problem is, therefore, with the health service are as bad in scotland as they are in england and perhaps both of them would be wise to share their thoughts on how this position might be improved. scotland also, although it has not been suffering strokes so far immediately within the health

service, it has had its teachers out on strike this week and the nurses have turned down the offer that the scottish government made north of the border, so there could still be trouble there, so the honest truth is if they are going to use that time wisely, they perhaps ought to be talking about the immediate issues that confront both of them. but of course, what is also true is the backdrop to this meeting, is thatjust before christmas the scottish parliament passed new legislation in scotland about gender recognition for those people who wish to change their legal gender. that is now going to be possible in scotland without a medical procedure done over a relatively short period of time. that has raised questions as to whether or not that legislation, which applies in scotland, will cut across the uk wide legislation, which is not as liberal and in particular whether it will affect the operation of the uk equalities act in scotland. that is kind of complex legal stuff, but of course it does mean the possibility is being raised that the uk

government might use its ultimate power of veto over a piece of scottish parliament legislation. that has not happened in 20 years of devolution and that potentially creates a certain amount of political difficulty for those who are trying to argue that the devolution gives scotland adequate recognition within the framework of the united kingdom. find recognition within the framework of the united kingdom.— the united kingdom. and 'ust briefl , the united kingdom. and 'ust briefly. siri the united kingdom. and 'ust briefly, sirjohn i the united kingdom. and 'ust briefly, sirjohn curtice, h the united kingdom. andjust - briefly, sirjohn curtice, obviously the conservatives lost a lot of political footing the conservatives lost a lot of politicalfooting in the conservatives lost a lot of political footing in scotland the conservatives lost a lot of politicalfooting in scotland in recent years. any polling information on how sunak compares with his predecessors, is he any more or less popular, well, he is less unpopular than liz truss was and less unpopular than less unpopular than liz truss was and less unpopula— and less unpopular than boris johnson, and less unpopular than boris johnson. and _ and less unpopular than boris johnson, and frankly - and less unpopular than boris johnson, and frankly it's - and less unpopular than boris johnson, and frankly it's a - and less unpopular than boris johnson, and frankly it's a ukj and less unpopular than boris - johnson, and frankly it's a uk wide profile, but the conservatives fell into third place in the polls in scotland at the beginning of last year, they came third in the local elections and so a lot of the progress they have made, particularly when ruth davidson was the scottish a lot of that has been lost in the wake of the difficulties

that have emanated from the conservative party in westminster. sirjohn curtice, thank you very much indeed, as ever. the teachers union nsu wt have announced that nine out of ten teachers voted to support strike action in a recent ballot overpay. but the turnout is 42% across england and wales and doesn't meet these deficient for strike action to take place. our reporter has more. , action to take place. our reporter has more-— action to take place. our reporter has more. , ., ., ., ., has more. they now have to reach a threshold of — has more. they now have to reach a threshold of getting _ has more. they now have to reach a threshold of getting 50% _ has more. they now have to reach a threshold of getting 50% of - has more. they now have to reach a threshold of getting 5096 of the - threshold of getting 50% of the people eligible to vote in any ballot and in addition to that, they have then got to get a very high number in favour of the action. now, what the nus uwt have done is get a strong response from their members, between eight and nine out of ten who voted voted in favour of taking either action short of a strike or a strike and remember, these are classroom teachers. but only 42% of them, so below that 52% threshold

who are eligible to vote turned out and that means this is not valid, they do not have the legal right to go ahead and call any strikes with nasuwt. �* ., ., , ., ., ., nasuwt. and what does that mean for the wider sector? _ nasuwt. and what does that mean for the wider sector? because _ nasuwt. and what does that mean for the wider sector? because this - nasuwt. and what does that mean for the wider sector? because this is - the wider sector? because this is obviouslyjust the wider sector? because this is obviously just one the wider sector? because this is obviouslyjust one union?- obviously 'ust one union? that's riaht, obviouslyjust one union? that's right. this _ obviouslyjust one union? that's right. this is _ obviouslyjust one union? that's right, this is the _ obviouslyjust one union? that's right, this is the first _ obviouslyjust one union? that's right, this is the first result - obviouslyjust one union? that's right, this is the first result out | right, this is the first result out of three ballots we are expecting in the coming days. the other union representing most classroom teachers and support staff, the national education union, has said it will announce the results of its ballot on monday and the naht, which represents primary head teachers, mainly, is also voted for the first time in its history ever overpay for industrial action. they will be looking at this and nervously awaiting the results, if they haven't had them yet, from the independent adjudicator is, to see if their ballots as well can get over the line or fail this if their ballots as well can get over the line orfail this high hurdle. over the line or fail this high hurdle. �* . , over the line or fail this high hurdle. �* .,, , over the line or failthis high hurdle. �* , , ., over the line or failthis high hurdle. , ,, hurdle. and as this is a surprise, this result? _

hurdle. and as this is a surprise, this result? i _ hurdle. and as this is a surprise, this result? i think— hurdle. and as this is a surprise, this result? i think they - hurdle. and as this is a surprise, this result? i think they will - this result? i think they will certainly — this result? i think they will certainly think— this result? i think they will certainly think it _ this result? i think they will certainly think it is - this result? i think they will - certainly think it is disappointing. there is no doubt that the feeling amongst teachers about their pay is very strong and just yesterday we got new independent analysis that showed for an experienced teacher, their pay has fallen by 13% since 2010, so a real hit to their wallets and their cost of living pressures. but the turnout does not suggest that people felt strongly enough about strike action to do that, perhaps because some teachers are very conflicted, most love their job, they are very dedicated to it, it is a vocationaljob and many are very aware of the impact that covid had with all the disruption on pupils' education.— had with all the disruption on --uils' education. �* ., g , , , pupils' education. branwen jeffreys there on the _ pupils' education. branwen jeffreys there on the potential _ pupils' education. branwen jeffreys there on the potential teachers - there on the potential teachers strikes without ballots not meeting the threshold, but ijust wanted to let you know also on the rail dispute, obviously so many strikes on the trains, they have been more

talks with the rmt, talks ending, but still working towards a new offer, apparently there have been hours of detailed talks between the rmt and the rail delivery group, representing train companies in the ongoing dispute and they have ended without an offer being formalised, but both sides have agreed to continue discussions over the next few days. the rmt�*s mick lynch is concerned that no updated offer being presented to him, adding, quote, we are working on it, and he said there is nothing more to say as yet. yesterday the rail delivery group's chairman steve montgomery confirmed the rail delivery group had given him a fresh mandate to track to revise the offer, after the rmt rejected the last one last month, so is still continuing on the railfront. people claiming month, so is still continuing on the rail front. people claiming sickness and disability benefits could be allowed to keep receiving the benefits, even if they find a job. plans are being considered as part of government changes aimed at

getting more people into employment. at the moment benefits could be reduced or withdrawn altogether when a claim it returns to work. the charity citizens advice once an outright ban on energy companies forcing people to switch to prepayment meters because of the number of people getting cut off. customers on prepayment meters have to pay for their energy in advance. new research from citizens advice shows more than 3 million people ran out of credit on their prepayment meters last year, that is the equivalent of one every ten seconds. almost one in five of those who run out of credit where without gas or electricity for more than 24 hours, meaning they could not cook or heat their home. now charities say this is happening to some of the most vulnerable people, including those who are disabled or who have long—term health conditions and citizens advice once a ban on forced installations or conversions. our business correspondence, if you told us more about the problems people are facing.— people are facing. there are two issues here- _

people are facing. there are two issues here. the _ people are facing. there are two issues here. the first _ people are facing. there are two issues here. the first one - people are facing. there are two issues here. the first one is - people are facing. there are two issues here. the first one is that energy prices have gone up a lot in the last year, even capped by the government they have doubled and if you are on a prepayment meter this is a particular problem because you pay a higher rate and if you cannot afford to top up your metre you can face being disconnected. then there is the number of people on prepayment meters. not so long ago it was quite a process to install a prepayment meter, is a player had to come onto your property and install the physical infrastructure, but now if you have a smart meter what your supplier can do is switch you over onto a prepayment schedule without you necessarily knowing about it and what citizens advice is concerned about is that it says suppliers are doing this without people's knowledge and sometimes doing it to people who should not be on prepayment meters and they want to stop. prepayment meters and they want to sto -. ., . ., ., prepayment meters and they want to sto. ., ., ., .,. stop. the outcome of not forcing --eole stop. the outcome of not forcing people onto _ stop. the outcome of not forcing people onto prepayment - stop. the outcome of not forcing people onto prepayment meters| stop. the outcome of not forcing - people onto prepayment meters may be that we _ people onto prepayment meters may be that we see — people onto prepayment meters may be that we see an increase in energy debt _ that we see an increase in energy debt. however, the alternative is much _ debt. however, the alternative is much worse. what we are talking about _ much worse. what we are talking about here — much worse. what we are talking about here is that people are sitting — about here is that people are sitting in— about here is that people are

sitting in houses with no heat, no lights, _ sitting in houses with no heat, no lights, no — sitting in houses with no heat, no lights, no hot water, absolutely nothing — lights, no hot water, absolutely nothing. so lights, no hot water, absolutely nothinu. , .,, lights, no hot water, absolutely nothinu. , ., nothing. so if people are in trouble. — nothing. so if people are in trouble, what _ nothing. so if people are in trouble, what can - nothing. so if people are in trouble, what can they - nothing. so if people are in trouble, what can they do i nothing. so if people are in - trouble, what can they do about it? well, that is the point citizens advice is trying to make, there are rules about this sort of thing. you're not supposed to be directly transferred onto a prepayment meter, for example, if you have long—term health problems or if you rely on having a power supply regularly for medical equipment, that kind of thing, so the first thing to do is talk to your energy provider. if you're on a prepayment meter and you cannot afford to top it up, they are supposed to be able to get you emergency credit and they are supposed to talk to you about payment schedules if you are in debt, so that is the main thing and also knowing what the rules are because there are certain classes of vulnerable people you're not supposed to be put on prepayment meters and the concern from citizens advice is this is happening to too many of them and therefore the process of transferring people over should be stopped until some precautions can be put in place. [30 precautions can be put in place. do we know how many people are on

prepayment meters, a rough proportion of the whole population of the moment?— of the moment? think that is a bit too technical _ of the moment? think that is a bit too technical for _ of the moment? think that is a bit too technical for me, _ of the moment? think that is a bit too technical for me, but - of the moment? think that is a bit too technical for me, but what - of the moment? think that is a bit too technical for me, but what i i too technical for me, but what i will tell you is according to citizens advice, in the past year they have seen more than 3 million people struggling to pay on prepayment meters and many times people who have been disconnected once come back and they are disconnected again, so it is a repetitive problem. a group of afr han repetitive problem. a group of afghan families _ repetitive problem. a group of afghan families who _ repetitive problem. a group of afghan families who were - repetitive problem. a group of. afghan families who were brought repetitive problem. a group of- afghan families who were brought to britain after the taliban took power are taking the government to court, after their accommodation was changed, meaning their children have had to leave their school. at first the four families were housed in a london hotel, but then moved to the north of england, where they have struggled to find school places for their children education has suffered. our home at dozier, mark easton.

amid the chaos of the evacuation from kabul in the summer of 2021, the uk promised a warm welcome to the families of afghans who had worked with british forces. they did right by us and we want to do right by them. we want to help their children settle down in our country and get the education they need. that's our responsibility, as a nation, and that's what we will deliver. but has the government delivered? these 15—year—old children fled kabul with their parents but since arriving in the uk almost 18 months ago they've been living in home office hotels and their education, they say, has suffered. i'm not going to school, i'm not studying. i come from afghanistan. because there is no studying in afghanistan. there is no study. they are both at the same. we don't have any good education in school and also in the hotels. shoulders... knees... it was months before these afghan child refugees got school places and only then when worried teachers from walworth academy in south london forced the issue. the children were among those delighted to be in class. but a year on and the girls are not here. the home office suddenly moved them to another hotel in the north

of england without arranging school places for them. look at the care that has been taken. isn't it glorious? that's a lot of work. principaljess west says she cried when she received handmade christmas cards from some of the afghan girls who were forced to leave the school. we know them, we love them, we look after them, we care for them. what's really difficult is to see them moving from a situation that was precarious, that we did everything we could to try and shore up for them, to another situation that isn't permanent and is just as precarious. one of the girls, studying for her gcses, has to repeat a year because local schools have no year 11 vacancies. the other is having to study online with material provided by walworth academy. i think they broke their promise and the hotel is like a jail. abdullah, not his real name, was a sniper who worked alongside the british military in afghanistan.

for legal reasons he can't be identified but he is among those taking the home office to court over its treatment of afghan families brought to the uk. they made a lot of promises. one of the promises was our families will live secure, safely, but unfortunately they are suffering. the home office says that to deliver value for money afghan families may be moved from one hotel to another, then it's the local authorities' responsibility to find school places and there may be delays in allocating those places. but with 5000 afghan children still living in hotels, a judge must now decide if operation warm welcome has been warm enough. mark easton, bbc news. the national grid says about 600 homes near newport are without power after heavy rain. south wales fire and rescue says the worst flooding

is in pontypridd. bbc wales reports. this was the devastating scene in peterston—super—ely in the vale of glamorgan. cars left abandoned, almost submerged in floods, the aftermath of another night of heavy, persistent rain. it was a similar story on the a470 near pontypridd on the morning commute. high water levels in the river taff causing disruption in the town, and feeling the full impact, not for the first time, this clwb y bont venue in pontypridd. since february 2020, partially reopened, we fully reopened in november. and now, as you say, barely three months and it's flooding again. it's nowhere near as bad as it was, but it will take us a couple of days, at least a weekend to clear the place up again. for those businesses and homes affected, it will be just devastating. we see clwb y bont which only just recently reopened, suffering floods again. and i think the concern is where is the emergency plan? how can we be assured that everything possible is being done

to protect homes and businesses? in cardiff, the council have also warned of high water levels and the river ely, leaving the nearby trail unpassable problems to further west, the river towy burst its banks, causing scenes like this in llangattock. a large number of buses and train services have all been impacted by the stormy weather and homes across wales have been left without power. a yellow weather warning remains in place for most of wales until five this evening. but once again, people in pontypridd are counting the cost. one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, jeff beck, has died at the age of 78. the british musician rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the yardbirds, before forming thejeff beck group with sir rod stewart. fellow musicians have described him as "a genius who made the guitar sing." our arts correspondent, david sillito, looks back at his career.

when eric clapton left the yardbirds in 1965, the question was, who could replace him? two days later, they had their answer — jeff beck. two years later he helped make rod stewart a star in thejeff beck group. helping to pioneer a blues rock sound that others would turn into huge commercial success, butjeff beck was never going to stick with just one style. jazz fusion, techno... and here's something rather more classical. he tried it all. you probably should measure his success not by album sales but by how he influenced those around him. he meant so much to so many of us. i knew him personally

as well, but i will tell you that we all admirejimmy page, the greatjimmy page, and eric clapton, you know, the iconic, especially english, guitarists, but they will all tell you that onlyjeff beck could play that instrument in ways that they couldn't dream of. other tributes today, rod stewart, ronnie wood and mickjagger. the rolling stones had tried to recruitjeff beck in the '70s. but what about his one big hit, hi ho silver lining? a catchy pop song he was told to record. it would be fair to say it wasn't his favourite. it's like being asked to wear a pink frock and walk on top of a bus down oxford street! it was framing me with this embarrassing pop song that wasn't me. but by the end, he no longer hated it — he was even occasionally prepared to play it. but probably it is better to

remember him for moments like this. just do your thing, sun! stevie wonder, just one of an extraordinary list of artists who had worked with him over the years. if anyone was a guitar hero, it was jeff beck. jeff beck, who has died at the age of 78. that's it from me for today, let's catch up with the weather, chris has got all the very latest and that has been pretty wet, hasn't it? we were hearing just a moment to go about all those problems we have seen in wales, due to all the heavy rain. there are lots of flood warnings in force, notjust across there are lots of flood warnings in force, not just across wales, there are lots of flood warnings in force, notjust across wales, but we have got 64 flood warnings in england. that rainwater will be working down the river catchments, in above sections down the river severn, well flood warnings are in force and right now strong winds in force and right now strong winds in force going through northern ireland, the north—west of england and wales and gusts of up to 60 mph

for a time overnight, but later in the united states quite blustery, but doesn't get that cold for a january night, frost free, temperatures 3—7. tomorrow it stays windy, but not as windy as today, a band of rain make its presence felt in two northern england and western scotland through the day, otherwise sunshine and sunny spells, a few showers around, 11 in some areas, so mild. but we are not finished because as we go through the night time we had another area of low pressure setting and, again bringing another area of heavy rain just to those communities that are already suffering flood warnings at the moment. so for some the flooding is likely to get worse before it gets better as we had to get worse before it gets better as we head into this weekend.

this is bbc news i'm ben brown. the headlines new figures show record waiting times in england for an ambulance with many patients waiting five times longer than they should. we kept thinking the ambulance would pull up any minute. he kept thinking it's going to arrive, it's going to arrive and be ok. and itjust didn't. questions for president biden after it emerges from his lawyers found a fresh batch of classified government documents at his delaware residences. he says he's cooperating fully with thejustice department.

asi as i said