be his first statement since he was forced from power. and, in a special report, we're on syria's streets with members of the rebel group now in charge. home competition — england and wales are drawn in the same group for next year's women's euros. it is a tough draw and it's a very exciting group. and a little festive cheer about the cost of christmas dinner this year. on newsnight at 10.30pm, we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day, with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters — and of course, look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news.

good evening. a chinese businessman accused of spying for beijing, and with close links to prince andrew, has agreed to his identity being made public. yang tengbo, until today known only as h6, was banned from the uk last year on national security grounds. the release of his name and photo comes as it's revealed that prince andrew will not nowjoin the king and the rest of the royal family for their traditional christmas celebration at sandringham. we'll have more on the pressure on the royal family in a moment, but first damian grammaticas has the latest developments: the royal and the alleged spy — this is glossy video from the prince himself, designed to drum up business. throughout, we see yang tengbo — we can now name him — banned from the uk as a risk to national security. mr yang is accused of working for china's communist party, using his ties to build contacts.

on his desk, photos — he met theresa may and david cameron. dealing with foreign threats was already on the prime minister's agenda today. here in norway, the immediate issue — russia's war against ukraine. but he's been seeking closer ties with china. so, he was asked, what about its activities? of course, we are concerned about the challenge that china poses. our approach, as you know, i had a meeting with the president just a few weeks ago now, our approach is one of engagement, of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly, for example, on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should. mr yang is appealing his ban from the uk. he asked today for his own anonymity to be lifted, insisting he's an entrepreneur trying to build bridges between east and west. in a statement, he said: "i have done nothing wrong or unlawful. the description of me as a spy

is entirely untrue." adding: "i love this country as my second home. i would never do anything to harm the interests of the uk." what the case of yang tengbo and prince andrew has now done is add charge to a political debate here. the government wants to reach out and engage with china. conservatives say that comes with risks. how was it that somebody who was known to the security forces was allowed to get so close to a member of the royal family without proper scrutiny exposing them? the rather sycophantic tone the prime minister took with president xi at the 620 a few weeks ago may not be very wise. china offers economic opportunities. keir starmer wants to seize those. but should he be wary of the true cost that might bring? damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. our senior royal correspondent daniela relph is here. it's highly significant, isn't it, that prince andrew is being excluded from a key annual event?

yeah, ona yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a huge yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a hu-e blow yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a huge yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a hu-e blow to yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a huge yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a hu-e blow to the yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a huge yeah, on a personal level, jane, this is a hu-e blow to the duke this is a huge blow to the duke of york. this is one of the very few occasions that he was able to join the royal family publicly, going to church on christmas morning at sandringham. there was no other moment in the role year where we see so many senior members of the royal family together in this way as we do on christmas day was that it is a key image of the year, seeing them outside church, a unified family togetherfor outside church, a unified family together for christmas. this year, also going to be more charged because the difficult 12 months that the king and princess of wales have had. so nobody wanted the prince andrew problem to overshadow that. this afternoon, palace sources confirmed that prince andrew would not be travelling to norfolk for christmas. sources said it had been the general hope that he would honourably withdraw from all family events to avoid being a distraction. it seems he has taken that on board

with regard to sandringham. instead, he will spend the christmas privately at his home in windsor with his ex—wife, sarah, duchess of york. with his ex-wife, sarah, duchess of york. ., , a statement attributed to the deposed syrian leader bashar al—assad has been posted on social media. they are his first apparent comments since he fled to moscow eight days ago. here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. where is bashar al—assad ? he hasn't been seen since he fled syria. today, a statement, purporting to be from him, appeared on the social media accounts of the former syrian president, dateline moscow. it's unclear who controls the accounts and whether assad wrote this: "my departure from syria was neither planned, nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles. i remained in damascus, carrying out my duties

until the early hours of sunday 8th december. at no point during these events did i consider stepping down or seeking refuge." president putin, who met army chiefs today, has reportedly granted assad asylum. but the kremlin leader has said nothing publicly about it. most of this speech was about the war in ukraine — not a word about syria. despite having this naval base in syria, in tartus, and a major airbase, events there seem to have taken moscow by surprise. was russia too distracted by its war in ukraine? if you think that we focused on ukraine and lost syria, no, we didn't lost syria. we still have bases in syria. but you don't know what the future of those bases will be? of course, and you don't know. for moscow, the issue of the bases is urgent. a kremlin spokesman said moscow

was in contact with what he referred to as "representatives of those forces who now control the situation in syria". it is a dialogue that will decide the fate of russia's military presence there. if russia loses its bases, it will lose its foothold in the eastern mediterranean. president putin had invested heavily in syria. what might the russian elite be thinking about the fall of assad? i think they understand that this is putin's failure. they can't be vocal, they can't say it openly. but this is a precedent, this is an example how the autocratic regime could fail, could fall. as president, bashar al—assad was a regular visitor to moscow. his exact whereabouts now remain a mystery. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. when bashar al—assad was spirited out of syria last week,

it was from the russian base in latakia province. the area is home to the muslim alawite sect, which the assad family is part of. it makes up only 10% of the country's population, but provided much of his political and military leadership — so there were fears of bloody reprisals as rebel groups took over running syria. our senior correspondent quentin sommerville and camera journalist darren conway have reached the region, to see how this divided community is dealing with a new reality. this is who rules latakia, and much of syria, now. the sunni ranks of hayat tahrir al—sham. a little over a week ago, they were enemies of the state. now they are the law of the land. in a city of regime loyalists, every call—out is a show of force. still, they are greeted as liberators, and these

young fighters are now the city's police force. they are heading to deal with an assault in this neighbourhood. weapons have been drawn. they move fast to find the suspects, who they believe are still armed. as they set up a cordon, neighbours identify men and accuse them of links to the former regime. shouting. across syria, scores are being settled. after years of oppression here on the streets, there is a thirst for vengeance. it's a situation that could easily spiral out of control. so the man they are arresting is accused of being shabiha — a government informant, a regime informant. the neighbours are screaming from the rooftop that that is exactly what he was. so him and a number of other men are being taken into custody.

translation: you will go to the authorities and if you are innocent, you will get your rights, god willing. but the wrongdoer will be held accountable. hts aren't the only guns in town. another rebel group is accused of taking an alawite woman's apartment. her husband is a regime officer. alawites, once syria's ruling class, are now easy prey. translation: you have stolen this house. today you are a thief. this hasn't been coordinated with any faction, so we will act accordingly. this woman you see up here, we're standing outside her apartment, she is alawite. she says in the last few days, she has been evicted from her apartment by a rival rebel commander, so hts are here to sort it out. translation: the things that you took out of this house, return them all, and the house, ok? i don't want anything missing.

and if the house is alawite, does that mean that you need to raid it and destroy it? there are specialised entities that handle this work. you can'tjust act on your own. the owner, noor, gets back inside to retrieve some belongings. translation: they came and broke down the door and took my house. this cctv footage shows the moment of the break—in. armed rebels arrived and smashed their way into the property. the group's commander moved his family inside. they have now been evicted. but noor says she feared for her life. do alawites feel safe in latakia now? no. never, ever. no. translation: i will leave the moment i get the chance. i need my daughters to survive. this house was built brick by brick with help from my family. and it seems that some people

in the neighbourhood noticed how nice it was and became envious. added to this, we are alawites, and my husband was a high—ranking officer in the regime, which made things even worse. i don't feel secure. i will leave with my daughters when i get the chance. on latakia's outskirts, some other residents are also adjusting to the new reality on the ground here. russia is drawing down its forces. their ally ousted, at this air base, at least some of those who waged a brutal military campaign against syrians are leaving. hundreds of russian vehicles have been congregating here, and heading into that air base right there. russian troops are still on patrol there and moving around, we can see them with their weapons, they're watching us. cautiously, we ask if this

is a permanent withdrawal. are you leaving? are you leaving syria? no. no? no. you are here to stay? no, no, no. that was pretty definitive. he says he is leaving. he says he isn't leaving. no comment. here in the former regime's heartland, a new order is taking hold. but this has been a long journey and it won't be born overnight. quentin sommerville, bbc news, latakia. germany is heading towards a general election in february after the chancellor olaf scholz lost a parliamentary confidence vote. his coalition government collapsed last month in a row about spending. our europe editor katya adlerjoins us.

we've had political turmoil in france and in germany — two key players in the eu — how significant is today's development? well, jane, we have been hearing and seeing tonight that we live in turbulent, unpredictable times and a lot of things that we have long taken for granted in europe, such as that the united states would always have our back in terms of security and defence, or that the west would always be the dominant power on the world stage, those certainties are gone. and germany is no longer what europe or the germans believed it to be, that economic powerhouse, that huge exporter on the world stage with really stable, predictable politics. it was designed to be like that after the horrors of nazi germany. but now germany is seen as the sick man of europe. it's not falling apart and it's not going to

the extremes ahead of february's early election, the far right is polling strongly in second place, but it's not expected to join a government. but the economy in germany is stagnating and to the frustration of other european countries, it is weighing the whole of the eurozone down. so we have the eu's big two, france and germany. they will not have stable governments when donald trump returns the white house injanuary with all of the uncertainties that will bring. they are inward looking and worried about their own domestic politics and that leaves the wider eu rudderless and leaderless in these times of turmoil. in countries that want to see the eu, europe and the west divided and weakened, like china and russia, they are looking and delighted.— the archbishop of york has defended how he dealt with a priest accused of sexual assault after a bbc investigation into the case prompted calls for him to resign. stephen cottrell, who's preparing to take temporary leadership of the church of england, said he was deeply sorry he hadn't been able to act sooner,

and had suspended the priest david tudorfrom office when he had the power to do so. here's our religion editor aleem maqbool. just last month, justin welby resigned as archbishop of canterbury for failing abuse victims. in the hours after he announced he'd stepped down, his deputy, archbishop of york stephen cottrell, told me this. his exercise of responsibility in this is a sign for all of us to accept our own responsibilities. but many are now calling for stephen cottrell to accept what they see as his responsibility. it's about his time as bishop of chelmsford. when he started that role in 2010, he was told in detail about a priest he was in charge of. and the children... for decades, david tudor had faced allegations of abuse. in the late �*80s, he was even jailed for six months for the indecent

assault of three underage girls. the convictions were quashed on a technicality, but the church later banned him from being a priest. eventually, though, he was allowed back, to be a vicar in essex. for years, many of the women who suffered david tudor�*s predatory behaviour as children didn't know he was a priest again. some, like rachel, are only now learning that he was operating under the provision he couldn't be alone with children. so he was a practising minister who wasn't allowed to be alone with children? i don't know what to say to that. but when he arrived, stephen cottrell did know that, and there was more to come. two years later, he found out that david tudor had paid £10,000 to a woman who had come forward to say he abused her as a child. but then, not only did david tudor, under stephen cottrell,

remain in post, he was made honorary canon at chelmsford cathedral. there are those who don't buy the archbishop's defence that that was not some kind of reward for david tudor. it's simply not good enough. because how does that look to the outside world? if you appoint somebody an honorary canon, the clue is in the title — honorary — and that is certainly not somebody who should be honoured. eventually, in 2019, when another police investigation was opened into david tudor, stephen cottrell did suspend him — nine years after he became bishop. but he says that he acted as soon as he could. "the situation that i faced," he says, "was horrible and intolerable. i'm deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier, but that was the situation i inherited." but seeing tudor remain in the church so long has had a profound impact on those, like debbie, who didn't want to be identified,

but who was sexually abused by him between the ages of 13 and 15. they endorsed what he did was ok, that effecting and playing with people's lives is ok to do, to take their childhood away from them, limit their friendships with friends and family, carrying the shame for so many years. only two months ago, david tudor admitted sexual misconduct and was sacked by the church, but he leaves difficult questions for those who, for years, allowed him to continue as a priest. aleem maqbool, bbc news. and you can listen to the full story on file on 4 investigates, which is on bbc sounds now and on bbc radio 4 at 8pm tomorrow and victoria derbyshire will have more on newsnight on bbc two shortly. we will talk to the whistle—blowing vicar who alerted the bbc to that sexual abuse case, and almost five years ago, i met a young woman

called daisy, sleeping rough on the streets. i've been back to where i met her and spoken to some of those bedding down for the night in the freezing cold. bbc two and bbc news at 10:30pm. freezing cold. bbc two and bbc news at 10:30m. ., ~ i. a lawyer representing the child serial killer lucy letby says he's applying directly to the court of appeal to push for her case to be reopened. mark mcdonald says his argument is based around the reliability of the evidence of the prosecution's lead expert witness. our special correspondent judith moritz reports. when lucy letby was convicted of murdering and attacking babies in her care, she was told she would never leave prison. now she is arguing that her case should be reviewed because the prosecution's lead witness, doctor dewi evans, has changed his mind about how three of the babies died. letby has twice been denied permission to appeal but now has new lawyers. they say doctor evans' evidence was unreliable, so her convictions are unsafe. don't get me wrong,

i'm sure doctor evans is still going to say, well, lucy letby is guilty and he has a different view and a different hypothesis in relation to it. but the cause of death that was before the court of appeal is different now, according to doctor evans, and i think that is a profound issue that needs to be re—looked by the court of appeal. doctor evans has not commented on today's announcement, though the court has previously rejected letby�*s past arguments that his evidence was flawed. but letby�*s lawyers say they are fighting on new fronts and they say they have new evidence relating to how two of the babies died. they allege that one of them, known as baby 0, was killed by a doctor who made a mistake during resuscitation. letby�*s lawyers say they have teams of experts who are working on her case in support of her bid for freedom. however, at the same time, the police are continuing to investigate the former nurse over

possible further crimes. she was recently interviewed by detectives about the deaths and near deaths of more babies who were in her care and a public inquiry into the case is still under way and isn't questioning the matter of letby�*s guilt. it is expected to report back next autumn. judith moritz, bbc news. three people have been killed in a school shooting in madison in the us state of wisconsin. the gunman, who is one of the dead, is thought to have been a student at the abundant life christian school, a private school in the city. six others were wounded. when officers arrived, they found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. officers located a juvenile who they believe was responsible for this, deceased in the building. a woman who threw a milkshake over the reform uk leader nigel farage in essex has been given a 13—week suspended prison sentence.

victoria thomas—bowen, who's 25, had admitted assault by beating and criminal damage at an earlier hearing. nigel farage criticised the sentence, saying it shows "you can assault a member of parliament and not go to prison". the deputy prime minister, angela rayner, has laid out plans for a redesign of local government in england. district councils will be incorporated into wider authorities and newly elected regional mayoralties created. ministers say the changes would empower local leaders and could save as much as £2 billion. but opponents say that so—called "mega—councils" will take power away from local communities. joe pike reports. the council which collects these bins could itself be scrapped, as labour paves the way for the phasing out of two—tier local authorities. they argue it will be simpler and cheaper. this district council in rural lincolnshire also looks after planning,

leisure centres and green spaces. it covers a vast rural area, but the conservative leader is sceptical if bigger is better. we don't want to lose the local, we are local government. the size that we are means we are well—connected to our communities. this area is part of a political patchwork of seven district borough and city councils in lincolnshire, who look after things like bin collections and planning. there is one wider county council covering the area. they are in charge of social care, roads and education. two other areas do all of that in one, and next may, the whole of lincolnshire will elect their first regional mayor. it is pretty complicated, isn't it? not really, it is complicated if you are looking from the outside. just simply having a different structure doesn't mean that you've simplified everything else — we will still have the multiple areas of service delivery. angela rayner wants mayors to multiply, so every area of england has one. it is a moment i know many of us have been waiting for for a long time.

the turning point, when people and places across england finally begin to take back control over the things that matter to them. she is also giving the current mayors more powers over infrastructure and public transport, partly hoping they help achieve the government's economic growth and house—building targets. i think it is the single biggest change we have seen in our lifetime. you wanted more fiscal powers, didn't you, you wanted power over the money? we always want more, you know, greater manchester has been saying that for years. so we want more. but i think it is probably fair to say today's announcement is the biggest part of devolution since we have seen since george osborne introduced it back in 2016, so it a big step forward. what have you got against district councils though, deputy prime minister? i don't have a thing against district councils, i think working together, though, a unitarisation, you get a bigger scale, so some of those district councils will... so you want the councils to go, ideally. so those district councils will acknowledge their footprint often isn't able to deal with things like health inequalities.

but in this part of lincolnshire, angela rayner may be out of step with some. with many councils already in crisis, further change will take time and energy. joe pike, bbc news, sleaford. in football, wales will face england in the group stage of the women's euros which are being held in switzerland next summer. they've been drawn together in group d alongside france and the netherlands. katie gornall has the story. it felt almost inevitable. england. defending champions england and wales drawn together... wales. alongside them, france and the england manager's native netherlands. of all the groups, this was the one that caught the eye. i think we have a very interesting, exciting group. it's a bit the same as the nations league groups all the time, it's very tough, very exciting. and, yes, for us, the 5th ofjuly, it's going to start. wiegman led the netherlands

to victory at euro 2017 before guiding to england to the trophy two and a half years ago. while she's aiming to win this title for a third time in a row, this is all new for wales. pack your bags for switzerland! they beat the republic of ireland in a dramatic play—off to reach their first major tournament. they're the lowest ranked side here in arguably the toughest group. they are all good teams, but so are we. now we just grow bigger and go, ok, this is where we're at now, so let's go do it. the first ball of these euros will be kicked on the 2nd ofjuly. england and wales will not face each other until the final game of the group stages, in the 16,000 capacity stadium in st gallen. ahead of the draw, uefa announced they were more than doubling the prize money for next year's tournament. england will begin the defence of their title with the game at new heights. katie gornall, bbc news, lausanne. a public consultation closes tonight over whether a fourth

national park should be created, in wales. it would stretch from near the coast close to prestatyn in denbighshire, down into northern powys. scotland is also considering creating a national park in galloway and parts of ayrshire. it's 75 years since national parks were created, with the purpose to conserve natural beauty, wildlife and heritage. millions of people visit each year but the views on creating a new park have been mixed. so, at the moment, we see there is lots of litter left lying around after all of these visitors come through, and there aren't car parks available for people to park. and when they are visiting, the traffic around gets piled up. so, with a national park, we would actually be able to have a management system that would help have more wardens, more people that would actually be able to look after the infrastructure, the landscape, the visitor economy.

now, there may be a little festive cheer about the cost of christmas dinner this year. the price of turkey has been falling in supermarkets, which means the main meal of the day for many may set us back a bit less than last year. although, the final bill may vary, depending what your favourite vegetables are, as our cost of living correspondent colletta smith explains. happy christmas! they're loading the trays, pulling the crackers, and getting stuck in. because everyone's got a favourite bit of christmas dinner. pigs in blankets, ijust wish i could marry pigs in blankets. definitely the yorkshire puddings. the yorkshire puddings? you're a girl after my own heart. probably the gravy- and the chicken thing. the chicken thing, the turkey, do you mean? yeah, whatever. but for those behind the counter making sure all the kids are well—fed, it is not easy keeping the costs down. let's start with the good news.

the price of turkey has fallen by nearly 6% this year, and for those that like them, sprouts are down 12%. but this year, potatoes have seen the biggestjump — up a whopping 26%. and carrots are up 13%. so, i've pulled on my boots to try and find out why. if it's cold and wet, it can affect germination of the crop, so the crop doesn't gain as much weight as what it needs to. sometimes we have had to redrill some of the fields as well, where it's been that wet. and it's notjust veg that has gone up in price. christmas puddings are up 11% and mince pies are up 5%. although the total costs of a plate of christmas dinner hasn't changed that much since last december, when you look at the prices compared to five years ago, this plate is 16% more expensive, and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at 10pm, please turn over to bbc one, or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight.

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