three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.oming up at 8.30pm — veteran explorer robin hanbury—tenison describes how the healing power of nature helped save his life. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the uk and eu have agreed to return to the negotiating table to try to agree a post—brexit trade deal with negotiating teams reconvening in brussels tomorrow. prime minister boris johnson and european commission president ursula von der leyen made the decision during a phone call on saturday and will speak again on monday evening to discuss the progress. a joint statement released by mrjohnson and ms von der leyen in the past hour said that "significa nt differences" remained between them on three critical issues — the level playing field, governance and fisheries. both sides underlined that no agreement is feasible if these issues are not resolved. the statement said "whilst recognising the seriousness of these differences, we agreed that a further effort should be undertaken by our negotiating teams to assess whether they ca

where cases are falling, but they are still finding we st falling, but they are still finding west yorkshireigher tier, so there's a sense it could feel unfair in that way, when what is happening as people are looking forward to what is going to happen with these christmas gatherings. a difficult juggfing christmas gatherings. a difficult juggling act, a eve. the guardian, the focus of this is her hospitals, keeping our nhs under capacity, so they can help people who could fall ill. and what has the guardian revealed when it comes to a shortage of beds? the guardian is revealing, and this is the thing we have been trying, any medics, to be fair have been trying to stop from the beginning, have them overloaded, and they say this is just the beginning of ambulances being diverted from hospitals which are known to be treating covid patients to other hospitals so that, for example, or hospitals so that, for example, or hospitals will have to take in covid suffering patients, and then you cannot do operations on hearts, cancer, all the things we know need doing in those hospitals because it is so

from the north and west yorkshire boundary, corinne wheatley reports. part of the garden that's harrogate. it's all harrogate, all the way up to this square flowerbed here. and then it suddenly becomes leeds, because of the culvert that runs right through the garden, all the way down to wolf meadows park. so when you are inside the house, you are in... harrogate. in harrogate, so you're in tier 2. in the conservatory, i think we're in tier 3. sheila knew the border between north and west yorkshire ran through her garden in otley, but it's never been particularly significant until now. she and some neighbours live under the harrogate borough council area and are in tier 2, unlike most of the town, which comes under leeds city council and tier 3. so this is as far as i can go for tier 3. sheila and her husband might live in the same town as their daughter, but they're now under different rules. she can go out for a nice meal, and hopefully won't send us any pictures! laughing. we're jealous! but the handful of neighbours who live on the leeds side of the

west yorkshire police say their investigation involves liaising with the gas supplier, local councils. six of houses were evacuated. the shock was palpable. we saw people jumping out of the house, literally, there was no front of the house and from the top floor, i could see it had collapsed and i saw someone jumping out. i heard people saying, get the old lady up who lives next door, and they managed to get her out and i saw them carrying her over their shoulder. it was like something out ofa shoulder. it was like something out of a horror story. as i opened my door at the back, the flames were coming all along. we've all been evacuated in the immediate area to make sure it is safe before we can go back. it was an explosion that was felt by everyone living in this neighbourhood here in halifax, and as you can see behind me, emergency services are continuing to extinguish any small fires that might appear. the family affected oui’ might appear. the family affected our thankfully saved and currently in hospital being treated with minor injuries. whilst investigations continue into the

this is otley in west yorkshire.lic houses, all of them closed up at the moment, all of the staff and landlords fed up, as are the locals who probably like going to the pub on occasion but what makes it particularly difficult here as we are on the border with north yorkshire and if you go half a mile up yorkshire and if you go half a mile up the road the pubs are open and you can go in there for a meal with people you live with. overall, there is some disappointment and the question has been asked today what do these areas have to do if they've technically met the criteria? what do they have to do to get tier 3 to tier 2, do they have to do to get tier 3 to tier2, and do they have to do to get tier 3 to tier 2, and that is the answer they want. phil mackie is in birmingham. you cover a wide area but they will be mixed feelings among some people. yes, i think a lot of disappointment andi yes, i think a lot of disappointment and i don't think realistically be expected birmingham would drop to tier 2 or the black countr

this is otley in west yorkshire. this has something...as 20 public houses, though, all of them closed up at the moment, all of the staff and landlords fed up, as are the locals, who probably like going to the pub on occasion, but what makes it particularly difficult here as well is that we are right on the border with west yorkshire. if you go half a mile up the road the pubs are open and you can go in there for a meal with people that you live with. overall there is some disappointment and the question has been asked today what do these areas have to do if they have technically met the criteria, what do they have to do to get from tier 3 to tier 2? and that is the answers they want in the next day or two. and you can find out what the rules are in your area of the uk by entering your postcode in our interactive tool — you can find it online at the bbc news website or on our app. it is hard to keep up, isn't it? herefordshire has been moved down into tier i, joining cornwall, the isles of scilly and the isle of wight in the lowest tier of

three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.nutes we will have an update on all the latest boat. now, and bbc news, all the updates on the tech world in click. —— an update on all the latest sport. hello, welcome to click, hope you're all doing 0k. it is that time of year when we mark the international day of persons with disability. it happens on december the third, and we have a show this week all about accessibility in tech. click‘s very own paul carter has been putting the show together for us, and thanks to the magic of television, he's here. hi, paul. hi, guys, how you doing? good to see you. it's not magic, really. someone tell her. that's right, this is a show all about disability tech and i should point out that we do cover these stories all year round on click, it's just that this one day gives us a particular excuse to unashamedly focus just on these issues. it's always such an inspiring show, i wonder how it's been cu rating and putting this programme together during a pandemic? it's been a challenge, i'm not going t

move down from tier 3 to tier 2 covid restrictions this week — but the paper claims the rest of west yorkshirenews of a new coronavirus variant is the top story for the metro — the health secretary says it's possible the variant is driving the rise in cases in south east england — but he did say there's no evidence to suggest the variant makes vaccines ineffective, or the disease worse. and the i says the surge in covid infections in the south means the prime minister is being urged to re—think the easing of measures over christmas. so let's begin... let's ta ke let's take off with the telegraph. i just wanted to compare the telegraph and the metro front pages because some virologists have accused the government of releasing this new information about the new variant is a way perhaps of masking tier 3 but without going into too much detail. it is interesting to see how different papers respond to that. quite a sober right through in the telegraph without picture there. did that strike you, as well? telegraph without picture there. did that strike you, as well7|j telegraph without picture there

three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.

yorkshire in the north and not to be too parochial but you've get a feel for areas such as parts of west yorkshire manchester and other places that have been under what were tier 3 restrictions for so long now, and may go back into tier 4 long now, and may go back into tier [iif long now, and may go back into tier 4 if these areas that are being reported is correct. it's been awful for most people. awful for the people putting into tier 4 for most people. awful for the people putting into tier a recently and awful of north as well. we got to get control of it and it's a race to get control of it and it's a race to either get the vaccine out there before this new strain takes hold too much. i can festeri struggle with brexit deadlines, i also confess i struggle with remembering the different tiers and rules for different ones. in some ways, do not try to be flippant here for you base the remember, right, this is that. i go to work if i have to go to work, if not a stay at home and don't see anyone else. is this the point where it's just clarity and needed for everyone, or is this a hit that you thi

our cathedral spire is the tallest in the country and historically the principal city of west yorkshire and the oxygenating heart all make it the perfect city. will my right honorable friend the prime minister commit to a new infrastructure bank in wakefield and restore my city's glory? >> it is a magnificent campgn, the chaellor will listen closely to his call for the national infraructure bank to be established. >> let's head to scotland with the leader, ian blackbn. >> this morning for the first time in months people have woken up, the ws and vaccine approval is the news we have been waiting for mister speakerfor many, that hope on the horizon remains far too distance, millions haven't had a single penny ofupport from t uk government. yesterday i met with those who represent ny of these citizens. the last nine months, without any help or any hope, it is now tragically costing life. taught msomething genuinely shopping. 800 people have taken their life in the last0 days. >> the prime minister commit to looking again at the support package, to ensure no one,ut no one is left behind. >>

three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.bbc news, veteran explorer robin hanbury—tenison, who spent weeks in a coma battling covid—19, says the healing power of nature helped to save his life. robin was one of the first covid—19 patients into derriford hospital. he may be a veteran of 30 expeditions, but surviving coronavirus would prove to be one of robin hanbury—tenison‘s toughest experiences yet. every day was pretty brutal and we were pretty broken. the doctors called us to say that actually, he is deteriorating further. his chances of ever recovering have now gone down to about 5%. i opened my eyes, saw the sunshine, saw the flowers and that was the moment when my life was saved by the healing power of nature. it's a long road back from something like that. essentially, his body was failing and i think having a goal, something to work towards is vitally important because it gives you a target to aim for and that goal can be as trivial or as ambitious as you want it to be. so this has been as big a challenge as any that

i am at a business in west yorkshire, one of thousands teetering in tier 3 hoping for a

morley and west yorkshire... that is a picture for many across the country to see.r own backs all over the country, for me it was just a really proud moment. it has been the most challenging year for everyone around the country and i think the least that children deserve as a christmas dinner this year. manchester united now lead 2—1. it is early november and marcus arrives home from a big game to a long—awaited phone call from the prime minister. yeah, i have literallyjust got back now from the game. i got an assist today. no goal but we won the game so that's good. yeah, yeah, yeah. can you just say that again please? the government is to provide free meals to disadvantaged children in england during the christmas holidays part of a package of measures costing nearly £400 million. an existing programme which provides activities and food in the school holidays will be extended across england for the whole of new next year. that would be the perfect situation for me and we ask for that and because of that we will be able to help families in a better way. the signifi

property in blackpool three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in west yorkshireews... tom brook marks the 40th anniversary of former beatle john lennon's murder in new york on december eighth 1980, and assesses his powerful legacy a0 years on. any doubts about the beatles reception in america were dispelled the moment they touched down. friday, february the 7th, 1964, a pan am boeing 707jet caught clipper defiance from london taxis to its destination at a terminal atjfk airport in new york. there to greet the beatles — the biggest pop act of the 20th century — were more screaming fans than the airport had ever seen before. ever seen before, 4000 of them. screeching and screaming. to americans, the spirit of the most outspoken beatle, john lennon, was evident the moment he arrived as he jousted with reporters and fans at an airport press conference. for lennon, that february gave him his first taste of new york, a city he grew to really love and move to living permanently in august, 1971. photographer, bob, took countless images of lenin in new york photographer,

three people have been taken to hospital following an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.own. the blast happened at a property in illingworth, near halifax, at around 7.30 this morning. an investigation is under way. hens, turkeys and other captive birds in britain will have to be kept indoors from december 14th to prevent the spread of bird flu. the chief vets for england, scotland and wales made the decision after a number of cases were detected among both captive and wild birds. jon donnisonjoins me now. should consumers be worried? the government says not. it says the risk to people is very low and that people should not be affected in terms of their consumption of poultry products and that includes eggs. bird flu, like human flu is a seasonal thing. there are numerous strains of bird flu and most do not affect people. this particular strain, the nhs is saying is hn 58. there are no cases of that affecting humans in the world. it is a busy time forfarmers humans in the world. it is a busy time for farmers and it could cost them tens of millions of pounds. we have had o

three people have been taken to hospital following an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.alifax, at around 7.30am this morning. an investigation is underway. russia's coronavirus vaccination programme is under way — despite the sputnik vaccine still going through safety and efficacy trials. the firstjabs have been given in clinics in moscow. it comes as russia is reporting record high numbers of confirmed covid—i9 cases. 0ur moscow correspondent sarah rainsford reports. this is one of the moscow clinics that is now rolling out russia's sputnik vaccine to the population. first of all, doctors, medics generally, health workers, teachers and social workers have been invited to receive the vaccine. now, sputnik v is still in an experimental form, more trials for its safety and its efficacy are still under way. but the chief doctor at this clinic has said she is confident it is fine to roll it out now. translation: this vaccine has been officially registered. we have enough research to know that it is 92% effective. and if there is a choice to get sick or have the vaccine, then

move down from tier 3 to tier 2 covid restrictions this week, but the paper claims the rest of west yorkshirelikely to remain under the tightest restrictions. we will know on thursday. news of a new coronavirus variant is the top story for the metro. the health secretary says it's possible the variant is driving the rise in cases in south east england, but he did say there's no evidence to suggest the variant makes vaccines ineffective or the disease worse. the times leads on that same story, but also carries a picture of meghan markle, who's made her first public appearance since revealing she'd suffered a miscarriage. and the i says the surge in covid infections in the south means the prime minister is being urged to rethink the easing of measures over christmas. so welcome back, chaps. let's kick off with the times and the covid variant. and talk us through what the times is saying and indeed then we will go tojohn on the guardian and just how different papers are treating this. so the times has gone really for these reliving announcements that we had the day from the health secretary matt

three people have been taken to hospital following an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.ingworth, near halifax, at around 7.30am this morning. an investigation is under way. the mayor of liverpool — joe anderson — has been released on bailfollowing his arrest as part of a fraud inquiry. he and four other people were detained as part of a year—long investigation into bribery allegations, linked to the awarding of building contracts in the city. in a statement this afternoon joe anderson says he "will be talking with cabinet colleagues to ensure the challenges our city faces with the covid pandemic continue to receive the focus they deserve." he went on to say he supported the labour party's decision to suspend him while the investigaion continues. russia's coronavirus vaccination programme is under way — despite the sputnik vaccine still going through safety and efficacy trials. the firstjabs have been administered in clinics in moscow. it comes as russia is reporting record high numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases. our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford reports. this

three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.nd welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the broadcaster lucy beresford and joe twyman, the co—founder and director of deltapoll. tomorrow's front pages starting with the telegraph says borisjohnson is giving the brexit trade deal "one final throw of the dice" — sending his brexit negotiator to brussels for "intensive talks". it comes after the hour—long phone call with ursula von der leyen failed to break the deadlock. the indepedent believes talks have failed so far due to "significant differences." it also carries an image of the pm speaking on the phone to commission president, ursula von der leyen, and says the two will speak again tomorrow — in what could be the "last chance" to strike a deal in time for approval on thursday. and military planes will be used to transport the belgium vaccine to the uk, in a bid to avoid delays at ports which may be caused by brexit, according to the observer. and the people reports that care hom

three people have been taken to hospital following an explosion at a house in west yorkshire.st happened at a property in illingworth, near halifax, at around 7.30 this morning. an investigation is under way. all hens, turkeys and other captive birds will have to be housed indoors from the 14th of december, to prevent the spread of bird flu. the chief vets for england, scotland and wales made the decision after a number of cases were detected. the government say the risk to humans is "very low" and should "not affect the consumption of poultry products". thousands of people have joined more protests in paris to call for a new security law to be dropped. the government has already backtracked on the law's most controversial provision, which would have effectively banned the filming of police officers. the march began peacefully but this afternoon police have fired tear gas and protesters have burned cars and barricades. russia's coronavirus vaccination programme is under way, despite the sputnik vaccine still going through safety and efficacy trials. the firstjabs have been adm

this involves the kirklees, bradford and wakefield areas and west yorkshire police say the men, 32 mentrates' court on the 11th and 14th of december. an experimental rocket belonging to elon musk‘s spacex company has exploded while attempting to land. the 16 storey high starship rocket was being tested as part of the company's plans to eventually carry people and cargo to the moon and mars. no—one was on board. tanya dendrinos reports. it looks like a scene from a hollywood blockbuster. but this fiery spectacle wasn't planned. it's the crash landing of the latest prototype of the spacex starship. two, one, zero. codenamed sn8, it was the craft‘s first attempt at a high altitude flight test. early on, it was was smooth sailing for the uncrewed mission. it lifted off from the boca chica facility in texas on a brief flight to just over 12km, achieving much of what it set out to do. including a horizontal descent. but after a flip back into the vertical position for touchdown, things went a little awry. it might not have looked like it, but according to spacex ceo elon musk, the flight was

nina is in west yorkshire for us this morning. it's currently in tier 3.very cosy, good morning! it is so cosy! welcome back, lovely to have your lovely voice in my air. good morning to you and dan. here i am in my natural habitat, a cosy pub at christmas with only a brandy missing. and customers because this is one of 40,000 businesses sitting at the moment in tier 3. just a reminder of how we got to this point. back at the beginning of december after the november lockdown we entered a new tier system with the third tier being the most restrictive, with many parts of the north of england, the and parts of the south including london latterly have been included in that. how strict is it? pretty strict. no household mixing indoors or even in private gardens, in terms of entertainment, theatres, cinemas, all forms of entertainment have been shut down and down and hotels and restau ra nts ca n serve ta keaway shut down and down and hotels and restaurants can serve takeaway food but nothing indoors. it is having a huge impact on many businesses waiting to find

west yorkshire is to remain in the top category of coronavirus restrictions over christmas despite someinfection rates. lets speak now tojudith blake, the labour leader of leeds city council. thanks very much indeed for being with us. first of all, your response to the news that no change in the tier system as far as your area is concerned? we started to get the sense that government were moving away from a decision to move places down a tear over the last couple days, but it's extremely disappointing because earlier in the week, the secretary of state had beenin week, the secretary of state had been in the house of commons answering questions from one of our mps, very strongly suggesting that leads was seriously being considered to move down. of course that has raised expectations in our business community in particular. they started to prepare themselves for opening at the weekend, and this has come as a bit of a blow for many of those businesses who had looked forward to some trading before christmas. and some of them are really on their knees, and i think this is the message we have

west yorkshire is expected to remain under tier 3 restrictions, despite big cities such as leeds havingput into tier 3 yesterday, despite having a much higher infection rate of 387.7 per 100,000. very interesting to look at all of the figures. we can speak now to the conservative mp andrew bridgen. his north west leicestershire constituency is currently in tier 3, and has lobbied for it to be decoupled from the city of leicester, which has a higher infection rate. thank you forjoining us. what are your hopes that you will be moving in your constituency to adhere to today? well, the infection figures for north west leicestershire would have put us in tier to two weeks ago had we not been linked with leicester, the city, as you know, has been troubled throughout the pandemic. they were the first city to go into local lockdown and their hospitality businesses unfortunately have not been out of lockdown since march. iam not have not been out of lockdown since march. i am not now full of hope. i bumped into michael gove this morning, i presume on his way to the meeting to decide the tiers an

professor, lynn in west yorkshire says i am a staff nurse working a 13 hour shift on christmas day, planto boxing day. northern ireland has made an exemption for this sort of circumstance but lynn is in yorkshire. i'm really sorry. the rose at the moment are it is only the one day and that is christmas day. when families get together. northern ireland has taken a different approach and said you can't nominate one day of the period but as it stands, and i know it's very ha rd but as it stands, and i know it's very hard because i'm sure you have been working flat out for months, i am very sorry, the rules at the moment arejust for am very sorry, the rules at the moment are just for christmas day. it's tough, really horrible for people who have been working on the front line, like nurses. then, i'm so sorry that's not the answer you we re so sorry that's not the answer you were hoping for. william in basildon, doctor, sympathies, your family is in a terrible situation, william. his wife, her mother is being treated for terminal cancer, her life expectancy is three to six months and her fami

the r number in the north—east, north—west of yorkshire, we're north—east, north—west of yorkshire, werkshire, we're pretty confident that is below 1. we're pretty confident that is below 1, infections are coming down and hospitalisations are coming down as well. but in the east of england, the south—east and london have been seeing r possibly above 1, and infections rising as well. and we talk about the ons, people might have read stories questioning to what extent is the ons on the right track here. explain a little more about that. cast your mind back to mid—october and the daily infections the ons were saying that we were seeing every day. that changed over time. they were estimating about 50,000 new infections a day when they first published data, but every week they give us new data and they revise their figures, and we saw that in subsequent publications, that in subsequent publications, that figure came down and down eventually to about half that level, leading people to question whether the basis for the justification of lockdown was reasonable if infections were actually half

there are lots of theatres in the north—west, north—east, yorkshire and the midlands and south west that all those theatres, all over the uk really need support from the government. on the insurance side, we need a government backed insurance scheme so that we can ensure these productions so that people are prepared to take the rest to go ahead. there is one in place forfilm and to go ahead. there is one in place for film and television so we would like to say something similar for theatre. this must be one of the busiest times for theatres, pantos and all the rest of it. is that where most of the money is made for small independent theatres? absolutely. for most theatres, particularly regional theatres, the pa nto ca n particularly regional theatres, the pa nto can be particularly regional theatres, the panto can be anything up to a0—50% of their turnover. it is a really important time of the year. even under covid, a lot of theatres were hoping this was their chance to start to bounce back. when you think about the social importance of the light stay with panto. so many young kids, the

our cathedral spire of the tallest in god's on country and historically the principal city of west yorkshireshed in wakefield and he should wait on events. let's go up to scotland with the leader of the snp, ian blackford. this morning for the first time in months, people have woken up with a genuine sense of hope. the news of a vaccine approval is the news we have all been waiting for but, mr speaker, that hope on the horizon remains far too distant. there are millions who still have not had a single penny of support from the uk government. as others rightly received help, they received none. prime minister, yesterday i met with a group who represent many of these 3 million citizens. for the past nine months we have been living without any help or hope and it is now tragically costing lives. prime minister, they told me something genuinely shocking, they are aware of eight people who have taken their lives in the last ten days. eight people in ten days. prime minister, we are now a little over three weeks from christmas. these people need help. will the prime minister committed to looking a

morley and west yorkshire... the thought of any child going hungry, we couldn't let it happen.people do off their own backs all over the country, for me it was just a really proud moment. it has been the most challenging year for everyone around the country and i think the least that children deserve as a christmas dinner this year. manchester united now lead 2—1. it is early november and marcus arrives home from a big game to a long—awaited phone call from the prime minister. yeah, i have literallyjust got back now from the game. i got an assist today. no goal but we won the game so that's good. can you hear me? can you just say that again please? the government is to provide free meals to disadvantaged children in england during the christmas holidays as part of a package of measures costing nearly £400 million. an existing programme which provides activities and food in the school holidays will be extended across england for the whole of new next year. that would be the perfect situation for me and we ask for that and because of that we will be able to help families in a bet

west yorkshire is expected to remain under tier 3 restrictions, despite big cities such as leeds havingt into tier 3 yesterday, despite having a much higher infection rate of 387.7 per 100,000. the conservative mp andrew bridgen has been lobbying to have his north west leicestershire constituency taken out of tier 3. he wants it to be decoupled from the city of leicester, which has a higher infection rate. the city, as you know, has been troubled throughout the pandemic. they were the first city to go into local lockdown and their hospitality businesses unfortunately have not been out of lockdown since march. i am not now full of hope. i bumped into michael gove this morning, i presume on his way to the quad meeting to decide the tiers and i can't say my interaction with him gave me confidence. i think the government are very worried with the christmas break coming up that infection rates are rising and i think they will be very reluctant to release anybody from tier 3, although the figures in my constituency certainly would support that and... you sound very like what andy burnham was

people in yorkshire and wigan today is saying i just wanted to say as the head of a school in west yorkshireeeds to explain why it is doing something so different. government needs to explain why it is doing something so differentm is doing something so differentm is not the first time. there are challenging decisions. on the one hand you could say why were these stu d e nts hand you could say why were these students allow back in the first place, if as it transpired this has occurred in wales, across the board, and you could say that governments have to make decisions on the evidence they are presented with. they are, and that is why it is difficult to make any decision around public health and that is not our responsibility and the people i represent do not want to make those decisions. what we want to do, we wa nt decisions. what we want to do, we want everyone to be reassured the decisions being made by government not just with decisions being made by government notjust with its robotic mantra schools will stay open whatever else happens, but in the interests of educational standards and

earlier this week, we spoke to staff at a pub in west yorkshire, where they'd been hoping to re—openng knowing that tier 3 is here for the moment at least? i am feeling quite angry really. i am worried, obviously stopped i am worried, obviously stopped i am worried financially how we will survive. we have had no grants from the government were nothing from our local authorities. we are still awaiting some news from that. in the first lockdown we didn't have anything. financially, that will be ha rd to anything. financially, that will be hard to get by. obviously, i worry about customers, the people who should have been here on their own on christmas day who do not have anybody, no family, what they will be doing. it a worry. the team are being furloughed, they are getting 70% of their wage, 80%, surrey. it is not massive coming up to christmas. i worry about mentally as well not being in work. the business is so fast paced. some of them are bored stupid, wanting to do stuff. mentally i worry about the staff as well. it is unfair because we are controlled environment where you can go

morley and west yorkshire... the thought of a child going hungry, we just couldn't let that happen. we won the game so that's good. can you hear me? yeah, yeah, yeah. can you just say that again please? the government is to provide free meals to disadvantaged children in england during the christmas holidays part of a package of measures costing nearly £400 million. holden one minute... an existing programme which provides activities and food in the school holidays will be extended across england for the whole of new next year. that would be the perfect situation for me and we ask for that and because of that we will be able to help families in a better way. the significant climb—down comes after a campaign led by the manchester united footballer marcus rashford. thank you very much and on behalf of the families as well that you are helping ijust want to say a big thank you from them as well because they really appreciate it. thank you very much. speak to you soon. bye. he said the u—turn came in a phone call from the prime minister. a good conversation, good outcome. i think now we

west, down 57%. there was a fall of 35% in the yorkshire and humber region and other parts of england also saw a decline was little change. everyone wants to know what further progress can be made, but questions are also being asked about how we got to where we are in this pandemic. we need to put health at the top of our agenda. the uk's covid death rate remains higher than many others, and dame sally davies, former government chief medical adviser, told me that underlying health problems left people here more vulnerable to the virus. i think our poor public health, whether it's deprivation, overweight or other chronic illnesses, alongside crowding in urban areas, have led to a much increased death rate over what we could have had if we had a healthier basic population and less deprivation. ministers say community testing with rapid results offers a way forward, but there are continuing questions about how realistic this might be given the resources and staffing required to deliver it. hugh pym, bbc news. some call it the newspaper with the smallest circulation in the world. the us president—electjoe b

it's true that in the north west, north east and yorkshire — as you can see here — november's four weeke now rising towards exponential growth — and that's before restrictions are loosened further for christmas. earlier today, the uk's chief secretary to the treasury, stephen barclay, insisted the government would stick with its plans. we're not going from a tier 3 to some sort of tier 0. what we're saying is in a limited sense, which is that many families who have not been together all year, who will want to see each other, that three households can come together for the christmas period. it's not that all restrictions are being lifted. it's a recognition that we don't want to criminalise families for seeing each other over the christmas period. let's speak to dr fiona godlee, editor in chief of the british medicaljournal, whose editorial today called for the government to toughen christmas rules. dr, thank you very much forjoining us. dr, thank you very much forjoining us. what should people do if their pa rents us. what should people do if their parents bring them up saying, come ove

with regard to the midlands, the north—west and north—east yorkshire, you can see that things are notmber. they have come down a bit but they have not really... they have stabilised at a high rate, they have not dropped low so that is equally a problem that we face now. next slide, please. data from the office for national statistics, we can show you here from the surveys, the estimated number of people testing positive in england over time, from typically at the start of the autumn, one in 900 people testing positive, to a pointjust before christmas where, nationally in england, one in 70 people were testing positive. and you can see the effect of the national restrictions, bringing the curve down in the period between the 6th of novemberand down in the period between the 6th of november and the 5th of december but unfortunately, you can see the sharp take—off but unfortunately, you can see the sharp ta ke—off after that but unfortunately, you can see the sharp take—off after that that is all too familiar to all of us now. a little word on this slide on the new variant of coronavirus

yorkshire. that's where the poorest visibility is likely to be. whereas further westthis is where we'll see some of the lowest temperatures early on saturday morning. and saturday itself, it's a day where pressure is going to be rising across the whole of the uk. what that will do is it will squish this area of low pressure. so, in the next 2a hours, it won't exist at all, it willjust be gone. further west we get this ridge building in and that will have quite a big impact on the weather. it means across these western and southern areas, it's an improving weather picture with sunny spells developing but with that slow—moving area of low pressure close by, it stays pretty cloudy and there probably will still be some patches of rain well on into the afternoon across the north—east. for many of us, though, saturday morning will be a rather grey start to the day. extensive cloud, some patches of light rain and drizzle. very slowly pushing eastwards because there's barely any wind to move those features along. sunshine to start the day in northern ireland, that will tend t

.a% of people in london are estimated to have the virus compared to about 1.2% in the north west and yorkshire someone testing positive. we are hopefully picking up those infections but not able to determine from these figures are mix across the country. in terms of trying to quantify where we are as we look ahead to potential future lockdown in england as well as we are seeing in other parts of the uk injanuary, are seeing in other parts of the uk in january, or immediately are seeing in other parts of the uk injanuary, or immediately after christmas, what can you tell us about where we are relative to other really high levels we have seen? in england we are not quite at the levels we were running into the lockdown in november but it is worth seeing doing or saying it is not about infection rates. northern ireland has won in 200, half the rate. they are implementing a lockdown straight after christmas, what have been called draconian measures, because of the impact on the health system. it is starting to creak. not just about the health system. it is starting to creak. notjust about how many