alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow.nies fined if they fail to remove harmful material, such as terrorist propaganda and content used to bully and groom young people. under the proposals, all platforms will have a legal duty of care to protect children. 0ur media editor amol rajan is here now. what have they actually announced? it has been a long time coming, we have been talking about this for yea rs, have been talking about this for years, for the past 15 years also the richest companies in history have basically had a free pass. they are extraordinary companies powered by very powerful engineering but they have largely been left alone by regulators but now there is a myth saying their worst excesses have to be curbed, that means clamping down on monopolies but this is about social harms, things like bullion, grooming, the promotion of suicidal terrorist content. there are four elements which will come under the purview of 0fcom, which currently regulates podcast and telecoms, there will be fined if they do not comply,

alexandra mackenzie, bbc news.our coronavirus restrictions are to move down one level from friday. the changes will allow nonessential retail and hospitality to reopen, two weeks ahead of christmas. the queen and senior members of the royal family have met volunteers and key workers at windsor castle to thank them for their work this year. windsor was the final stop on the duke and duchess of cambridge's tour of britain, which has provoked some criticism from ministers in scotland and wales. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell‘s report contains flash photography. it is the season to say thank you, most particularly if you're a member of the royal family charged with expressing a nation's gratitude to all of those who've made the difference in this most difficult year. and so, on the quadrangle of windsor castle, the queen wasjoined by members of herfamily for some festive cheer — seasonal music from the salvation army, and gratitude, widely sprinkled to people who've done so much during the pandemic. the camb

our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie reports. of 23 vaccination centres in scotland. you are the first person to be vaccinated. for those living in care homes, visits from family and friends have been very limited throughout this pandemic. both of alison's parents have dementia and are in a care home. through a window or in a doorway, sort of four metres away with mum stretched out trying to see me, trying to touch me, trying to be with me, and a care worker pulling her back saying, "no, you can't do that," all of that feels wrong, completely wrong. the scottish government hope the introduction of rapid testing of care home visitors will mean more people can be reunited over christmas. 14 care homes across scotland are taking part in the trial of rapid or lateral flow tests for visitors. they don't need to go to the lab for analysis, and it takes about half an hour for the results to come back. but the scottish government has said that it doesn't replace the additional layers of protection against coronavirus such as ppe. but the

let's speak to our correspondent, alexandra mackenzie, who's in glasgow.hrough what the measures mean for the next few weeks for people in scotland? well, from midnight most of scotland went into level four. that was all of the mainland, plus the isle of skye and rn. other island communities, that includes the western end on northern isles, they went into level three from midnight last night. so straight after christmas day. level four is the strictest, as you say. that pretty much means lockdown. none essential shops haven't been able to open up today, so no boxing day sales. their shops will have to stay closed. hairdressers, gyms have had to close. so pretty much lockdown for a lot of the country. nicola sturgeon has said this is preventative. she says it is to preventative. she says it is to prevent the virus from getting out of control as we head into january, a difficult time anyway, with flu for the nhs. she says the number of cases have been increasing in scotland, but not as much as other parts of the uk. there were more than 1000 new cases yester

in a moment we‘ll get the view from scotland with alexandra mackenzie in glasgow, but first let‘s speak8th of december the 1st minister has accelerated and tightened restrictions in light of this new variant detected right across wales. suffer midnight the whole of wales will enter its third national lockdown and for christmas, two households will be able to meet plus one other single person household but only for christmas day itself. following these announcements we seen following these announcements we seen huge following these announcements we seen huge queues following these announcements we seen huge queues at many welsh shops and many people trying to do it last—minute christmas shopping in person leading the first minister to call on them not to do that. these announcements will be a big blow to peoples plans and also to many welsh businesses but a sigh of relief i‘m sure from the welsh health leaders who have been urging the welsh government to introduce an immediate lockdown given the pressure on hospitals and wales having many of the highest case rates in the uk. and tougher

alexandra mackenzie was listening . what more did nicola sturgeon say?ing first minister's questions at the moment but before that got under way properly she did have to issue an apology. a photograph had appeared of her in the scottish sun this morning at a funeral wake without wearing a face covering. she was talking to people, she was a distance but she was standing up and it was in a pub so she should have been wearing a face covering, as she tells everyone else too. she did issue an apology, she said she was sorry for the breach of rules and she asks everyone to follow every day. she said she was wrong, she said there were no excuses and the rules applied to her as they do to eve ryo ne rules applied to her as they do to everyone else. before drawing a line under it, she said that with an enormous amount of humility she wa nted enormous amount of humility she wanted to remind people how important it was to wear face coverings. after that, a line was drawn under it and they moved on to other business. the first minister welcomed the news that france

we'll talk to our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie in glasgow in a moment, but first, to sian changes in a less than a week's time? absolutely sophie, the first of the new measures come into force on christmas eve where nonessential businesses have to close and then full wales lockdown from december 28th. now the number of cases are continuing to rise here, and today, the welsh government urged people to follow these new measures when hay come in, to behave sensibly over the christmas period or they said there would be hard times to come in january. it did acknowledge with new restrictions comes again impact on people's lives and livelihoods and it announced a package of measures of extra funding to support businesses who are going to be hit during this lockdown. now, opponents have said they must go and be targeted to the right businesses, and also, the ministerfor mental health did acknowledge that of course, there is a huge impact on people feeling longly, that levels of anxiety here in wales have really increased. while she was urging people not to mix really over the chri

live to glasgow and our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie.on for hogmanay in scotland but we won‘t be able to do that this year because of the rise in the number of cases. today we had the highest daily number of cases, just under 2000 cases and around one quarter of them were here in the greater glasgow and clyde health board areas, but other areas the first minister said were causing concerns are shetland, the borders and dumfries and galloway. hospitals here have not been overwhelmed but the first minister said we cannot be complacent about that. she also said that we really hope that the virus can be suppressed, but the fear is that come january in can be suppressed, but the fear is that comejanuary in the nhs could face a more difficult time and we could be in for a tricky few weeks. alexandra, any thanks for the update. the labour leader sir keir starmer is facing a rebellion by some of his mps over his decision to support the new trade agreement struck by the uk and the european union. sir keir will instruct his mps to vote for the dea

our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie reports.t the western general hospital in edinburgh, one of 23 vaccination centres in scotland. for those living in care homes, visits from family and friends have been very limited throughout this pandemic. both of alison's parents have dementia, and are in a care home. through a window or in a doorway, four metres away with mum stretched out trying to see me, trying to touch me, trying to be with me, and a care worker pulling her back, saying, no, you can't do that, all of that feels wrong, completely wrong. the scottish government hopes the introduction of rapid testing of ca re the introduction of rapid testing of care home visitors will mean more people can be reunited over christmas. 14 care homes across scotla nd christmas. 14 care homes across scotland are taking part in the trial of rapid, or lateral flow, tests for visitors. they don't need to go to the lab for analysis and it ta kes to go to the lab for analysis and it takes about half an hour for the results to come back. but the s

, scotland has moved into the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions. 0ur correspondent alexandra mackenzienow from glasgow. just explain the latest restrictions there in scotland. well, from one minute past midnight, most of scotla nd minute past midnight, most of scotland went into the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions. all of mainland scotland, plus aaron and sky, were moved into it level four. other island communities were moved up into level 3. now level 4 is pretty much lockdown. hospitality had to close, nonessential retail, headdresses and gyms all had to close. nicola sturgeon has not ruled out tightening the restrictions within level 4 over the next few days if she has to. now this has all happened because of a growing concern in the rise of the number of cases in scotland, and also the number of cases, around a third now, that are being connected to the new strain of the virus. these are due to be in place for three weeks but they will be reviewed after two weeks. now, no travel is allowed between council areas, and the travel ban between scotland and the rest of the uk

alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow.ed again after another fortnight of strict closures. for some, that meant hitting the gym. it is really noticeable in people's well—being and mental outlook when they don't have the gym so it is great to see it open. for others, hitting the shops. a couple of days to get christmas stuff in. it's great, good to be out and about and see a bit of normality again. but there is still concern over infection rates. from today, 50 schools in belfast wrote today, 50 schools in belfast wrote to the devolved government calling foran to the devolved government calling for an extended closure for the christmas holidays. northern ireland's health minister today warned that lockdown restrictions are likely to return in the new year. how strict they are and what they look like will depend on people's actions over the next few weeks so that is why we are asking, please use this time wisely and responsibly. a number of bars in northern ireland, like the limelight here, usually one of the busiest places

let's get more from our correspondent in glasgow alexandra mackenzie. on the 23rd, no law and tighter restrictions to come into force —— now law? tighter restrictions to come into force -- now law? this travel ban had already been in place but it was expected that it would be used for the five days over christmas so that people could come up from the best of the uk and scotland to spend time with family and friends, and people from scotland could travel to the rest of the uk to spend a couple of days with family and friends from the rest of the uk but that is not going to happen. nicola sturgeon announced yesterday that there is not going to be any lifting of the travel ban, not even for the one day that the easing of some of the other restrictions are happening in scotland, so there will be no easing of that ban. the first minister said yesterday that she was asking police scotla nd yesterday that she was asking police scotland and transport operators how the enforcement of this could be strengthened. now, she did acknowledge that it was an operational

swinney announced the exams were being cancelled due to the covid—19 pandemic. 0ur correspondent alexandra mackenziembers. you policy should be looking forward to the christmas holidays after months of disruption —— pupils here. they have already missed one year of exams. now fifth and sixth years have just heard they will not be sitting there highers and advanced highers. it takes off a lot of stress considering the people who have had to isolate. i have had to isolate and it's very difficult to catch up on the work you have missed. i'm pleased and also terrified, because i've not had the experience of sitting an exam. terrified, because i've not had the experience of sitting an examlj just feel like i would not be getting the same kind of experience as past years. the national fives had already been cancelled and there was pressure to also replace the highers with teacher assessment. this is safe, it is fair, and it better recognises the reality of the disruption that many pupils have had to their learning in the course of the last few months. at this school in glasgow, a quarter of its pupils, th

alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow.d. cases are continuing to rise in california — and across the united states. meanwhile, donald trump's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, is in hospital after testing positive for the virus. mr giuliani, who's 76, said he was "getting great care and feeling good". people with learning disabilities experienced ‘unacceptable healthca re inequalities and discrimination' during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report by the charity mencap. as the coronavirus vaccine is being rolled out across the uk from tomorrow, the charity is calling for people with learning disabilities to be prioritised, as death rates among the group because of the virus are up to six times the rate of that among the general population. let‘s speak now to dan scorer, head of policy and public affairs at mencap. dan, good afternoon to you. good afternoon. what are these discrepancies, these inequalities that you highlight? over1000 people with a learning disability die unavoidably every year and that was pri

alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, glasgow.nent medicaljournals say mixing households "will cost lives" labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans — as the government prepares to hold talks with the devolved administrations. a london council backs down and asks schools to remain open —— after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. ministers have published draft legislation which would see internet companies fined if they fail to remove harmful material, such as terrorist propaganda — and content used to bully and groom young people. under the proposals, larger platforms could face fines. and as a last resort, criminal sanctions for senior figures at the company. all platforms will also have a legal duty of care to protect children. the culture secretary oliver dowden told the commons that it will include publication of terrorist, sexual or harmful material. under our proposals, online companies will face a new and binding duty of care to their users over

john swinney announced the exams were being cancelled due to the pandemic. 0ur correspondent alexandra mackenziechristmas holidays after months of disruption. they have already missed one year of exams. now, fifth and sixth years have just heard they will not be sitting there highers and advanced highers. it takes off a lot of stress considering the people who have had to isolate. i have had to isolate and it's very difficult to catch up on the work you have missed. i'm pleased and also terrified, because i've not had the experience of sitting an exam. ijust feel like i would not be getting the same kind of experience as past years. the nat fives had already been cancelled, and there was pressure to also replace the highers with teacher assessment. this is safe, it is fair, and it better recognises the reality of the disruption that many pupils have had to their learning in the course of the last few months. at this school in glasgow, a quarter of its pupils — that's around 500 — have had to self—isolate at least once. some have been off several times. 0ne senior teacher at the school welcomed t

alexander, thank you very much for that update, alexandra mackenzie in glasgow.lert level — that are hoping to be moved down to tier 2 and see their restrictions eased from saturday. let's take a look at some of the numbers that are taken into consideration when making these decisions. stratford—upon—avon in the midlands was at one point considering legal action against the government after being placed into tier 3. it has one of the lowest covid infection rates in england, with its latest seven—day figure rate of 87.6 per 100,000. compare that to stratford in newham, east london, which untiljust this week was in tier 2 until yesterday when it was moved to tier 3, and it has a an infection rate of 372.4 per 100,000 — one of the highest in the capital. greater manchester's mayor andy burnham has been arguing the case for manchester to be taken out of tier 3. it has an infection rate of 178.5 per 100,000. that is the average across the ten boroughs. i think just that is the average across the ten boroughs. i thinkjust updating those figures, these perhaps are not a

a funeral wake, in breach of her own government's coronavirus rules. 0ur scotland reporter, alexandra mackenzie says she is kicking herself for this and has no excuses to offer. what exactly is the political and the public reaction to all of this? well, this is very embarrassing for the first minister. we understand that she is furious with herself. we also understand that she was leaving the venue to go outside, so had removed herfacemaskjust to venue to go outside, so had removed her facemask just to leave venue to go outside, so had removed her facemaskjust to leave the venue. but then had been called back inside, but had forgotten to put her face covering back on. the picture that was published in the sun newspaper late last night shows nicola sturgeon standing at one table socially distance with the people that she is talking to. but she is standing up and, crucially, she is standing up and, crucially, she is standing up and, crucially, she is not wearing a face covering. now it is mandatory and hospitality settings in scotland to be wearing a facemask if you are standing up, and not sitti

three people inside at a social distance, but without wearing a mask. 0ur scotland reporter alexandra mackenzieter. the photograph was published last night in the scottish sun newspaper and shows the first minister nicola sturgeon at a wake on friday. she is standing up in a pub, chatting, socially distanced, two people at another table, but not wearing a face covering. it is mandatory in scotla nd face covering. it is mandatory in scotland to wear a face covering in a hospitality setting, unless you are sitting down. so she has broken her own government coronavirus rules. a spokesman for the scottish conservatives said the first minister had made a blunder and she should have known better. they accused her of undermining essential public health messaging by failing to set a proper example. the tories say there cannot be one rule for nicola sturgeon and another for eve ryo ne nicola sturgeon and another for everyone else. nicola sturgeon issued a statement that said, i removed my mask briefly. she said it was a stupid mistake and said she was a stupid mistake and said she was really sorry. she

let's speak to our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie.er various ministers and so on to discuss this on tuesday, sometime next week. they have brought this forward now, suggesting a big announcement is in the offing. that's right. highly unusual to have a scottish government briefing on saturday. that in itself is quite worrying so we are expecting some kind of big announcement. we are not sure at this stage what. we know it will be led by nicola sturgeon, the first minister. she has been involved in four nations discussions this morning and when she was in discussions this afternoon with her cabinet and it is surrounding that new strain of coronavirus which we understand spreads even faster than the original strain, so there is a lot of worry surrounding that. earlier in the week we were told there were several cases, i think around six, cases of this new strain that had been detected in scotland. all within the greater glasgow and clyde health board area. we possibly may hear a bit more about that today. overall covid levels are lower i

alexandra, thank you very much for that update, alexandra mackenzie in glasgow.t is expected in less than an hour about the tier system in england, chelsea says she is in nottinghamshire but he does not believe any of these middens should move down a deer because it would be chaos and the cases will go straight up again especially with the relaxation of rules over christmas. —— anywhere in the east midlands should move down a tier. martin says put the whole of england into tier 3 as with the restrictions lifting for the festive period, there is that again, here comes the third wave and then a new national lockdown forjanuary, third wave and then a new national lockdown for january, anyone third wave and then a new national lockdown forjanuary, anyone can see it. martin says he is staying at home because he has lung problems and is not taking the risk. thank you for your comments. ten years ago today, a young tunisian who sold vegetables from a barrow set himself on fire to protest against police harassment. his act of desperation sparked a wave of unrest across t