andy moore reports.id not expect to spend christmas day stuck in a queue of traffic at dover. his frustration was obvious and shared by many others as they waited for the backlog to clear. some drivers have been stuck for days after france closed the border on sunday to stop the spread of a new strain of coronavirus. under police escort, groups of lorries were guided from their holding point at the disused manston airfield down to the port. these drivers had tested negative and were cleared to go. horn blares. the transport secretary grant shapps said over 10,000 lateral flow tests had been carried out on drivers in kent and 2a were positive. more than 4,500 lorries have crossed the channel, but that leaves thousands still to make the journey. for some drivers, that means a christmas stuck behind a wire fence, instead of at home. tradition! whole people — whole family stay on table. eat. relax. music. no? i stay here. local people are helping out with hot food and sympathy. because we live in dover, we w

andy moore, bbc news. tank is forecasting that the uk economy will see slower growth next year, because of the tighter restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus variant. the resolution foundation, which focuses on living standards, says it's likely that government support for businesses and workers will be needed for even longer than previously thought. we can speak now to torsten bell, the chief executive of the resolution foundation. we hear a lot about light at the end of the tunnel, what is your prognosis, what do you think is going to happen next year economically? good morning. one of the lessons from 2020 is making predictions a long way out is a dangerous game. but we need to think ahead, because we need policy to plan for how 2021 will pan out. light at the end of the tunnel, but a bumpy road getting to the state where the vaccine gets us out of this mess, this is partly because, as we have been hearing, the effects of the new variant are so seve it up mmp of the new variant a

andy moore, bbc news. we have heard in the past few minutes that the cabinet will hold a call.r rising infections in england. this comes after rising infections in england. i've been speaking to our political correspondent, jessica parker, about the new coronavirus variant, and how it might affect decisions made by downing street. what we do know this morning is that there is a growing concern as andy was just saying particularly about this new strain of coronavirus, particularly in the south—east of england. in terms of whether this could lead to a shift in terms of what is plans over christmas, we know there is this five day relaxation of the rules in seven days if you are travelling to and from northern ireland. borisjohnson boris johnson talked borisjohnson talked about toughening up the advice but they have not changed the law, apart from a tweak in wales. there was a concern that if you change the law at this stage, there will be an issue with compliance. if travel restrictions are being discussed, you also have to think, how would that work. how you would enforce it? how

andy moore, bbc news. new coronavirus variant that continues to spread here in the uk. it was originally detected in the south east of england. it's now spread to many european countries and today south korea has reported three cases of the variant. i'm joined by martin hibberd, professor of emerging infectious disease at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. thank you for being with us. it is spreading around the world, we are hearing more and more countries say that they have detected cases of this variant. it is clearly highly infectious? yes, it is travelling around the world. as we have seen previously with variants which have more transmitability, previously with variants which have more tra nsmitability, they outcompete the other strains. talk to us about the science of it, we know that the virus mutates all the time, why is this variant particularly dangerous? we have recognised it, because it has accumulated different changes and some are hitch hiking on the back of a few key residue

andy moore, bbc news.overnment's issued a statement about the situation regarding schools and coronavirus, and whether term will start normally injanuary. the statement says they want "all pupils to return injanuary as school is the best place for their development and mental health". but it adds that it has to follow the path of the pandemic and keep our approach under constant review. it goes on "our huge expansion of rapid testing will support secondary schools and colleges to stay open to all pupils and reduce the risk of transmission within local communities." let's speak to labour's education spokeswoman, kate green. what's spokeswoman, kate green. your reaction to whatt government what's your reaction to what the government are saying about schools? we are all very keen to see children safely learning in school but what we had over the last few hours is, and rumour about the advice the government has received from sage, the scientific advisers and parents, stu d e nts the scientific advisers and par

andy moore, bbc news.ut the post—brexit trade deal reached with the uk, by the bloc‘s chief negotiator michel barnier. uk mps will vote on the deal in parliament next week, before the existing trade rules expire on the 31st of december. here's our political correspondent leila nathoo. glad tidings of greatjoy, because this is a deal. some light reading. the post—brexit deal agreed yesterday between britain and the eu runs to more than 1,200 pages. this morning, the man who negotiated it for the eu side, michel barnier, briefed ambassadors of eu member states on its detail. reporter: what is the plan for today, then? mission accomplished! what's in that blue folder sets out how the eu and uk will trade and co—operate from the new year. to finally have something on paper is a success for both sides. the deal was done in the nick of time, with the uk already out of the eu and transition arrangements expiring within days. mps and peers will have until wednesday to digest the detail, before being called back to

andy moore, bbc news.aking to our political correspondent, jessica parker, about the new coronavirus variant, and how it might affect decisions made by downing street. there is clearly growing concern about this new variant of coronavirus and the rate of transmission, particularly in london, and the south—east. what does that mean, in terms of next week for christmas? there are reports today that travel restrictions were discussed yesterday. as we understand it, no decision has yet been made. of course, boris johnson, earlier this week, as he and other leaders from across the devolved nations talked about toughening up the advice, but not going so far, apart from a tweak in wales to actually change the law. you've got to imagine, this is what they are juggling with. i think there was a concern, that if you change the law at this stage, there was going to be an issue with compliance. if travel restrictions are being discussed, you have to think, how would that work? how would you enforce it? how to enforce

andy moore has the details.has become the first country in the western world to authorise the use of a vaccine. vaccine development was once again can —— compared to a train coming down the track. the train has now slowed down safely. it has now stopped in the station on the doors have opened. that was the authorisation by the nhra. what we need now is for people to get on that train and travel safely to their destinations. the prime minister called it a huge moment, but he also urge caution. it is all the more vital that as we celebrate the scientific achievement we are not carried away with over optimism orfall into not carried away with over optimism or fall into the not carried away with over optimism orfall into the naive belief that the struggle is over. it's not. we've got to stick to our winter plan. 800,000 doses of the vaccine to arrive in the uk shortly. they have to be kept at very low temperatures though distribution at first will be through major hospitals. that means that care home residents, alth

andy moore reports.ey workers and the children, turned up at this greenwich primary school this morning. take the decision to close yesterday, after being advised to do so by the labour leader of their borough council. but now, the government is insisting it should reopen again, with only a day or two to go before the end of term. it's a difficult time to be a parent in greenwich. we don't actually know what is happening. today it is a different story, every day is different, i want them to be a school. it is a confusing situation. considering the rest, apparently the re st of considering the rest, apparently the rest of london has not done this yet, it seems a bit strange it would just be happening in our borough. lot of people are confused, i am still working in school so i have to go to work on my son is coming to school. we just have to stick together and just keep safe. faced with legal action from the government, greenwich council has now backed down. in a statement, its leader danny thorpe said...

andy moore, bbc news. our political correspondent jessica parker is here.as far as we know, ministers are looking and reviewing exactly what should happen even in the coming days. what we know, and i think it is important to be clear about what we do and don't know, there is a growing concern over this new variant over coronavirus and the growing transmission in london and the south—east. what does that mean in terms of net we come next week and for christmas? there are reports today that travel restrictions were discussed yesterday. as we understand it, no changes have yet been made. boris johnson understand it, no changes have yet been made. borisjohnson as he and leaders of the devolved nations talked about toughening up advice, but not going so far as to actually change the law. you have to imagine this is what they are juggling with. there is a concern that if they change the law at this stage there is going to be an issue with compliance. so if travel restrictions are being discussed, how would that work and how would it be enforced? how would that wo

andy moore, bbc news. statement about the situation regarding schools and coronavirus, and whether term will start normally in january. the statement says they want "all pupils to return injanuary as school is the best place for their development and mental health". but it adds that it has to follow the path of the pandemic and keep our approach under constant review. " it goes on, "our huge expansion of rapid testing will support secondary schools and colleges to stay open to all pupils and reduce the risk of transmission within local communities." the opposition labour party's education spokeswoman, kate green says schools and colleges need more support. to be in school learning safely and we have known for the best part of two weeks that there is a real concern about this new variant spreading more rapidly among children. the government has come out with some frankly half baked plans for mass testing in the school late in the dayjust before the christmas holidays. we need to know how those plans can be

andy moore, bbc news.ven more important to try and keep covid—i9 under control, as lockdown restrictions are relaxed in the future. to do that, they believe it's crucial to break the chain of transmission. for instance, backwards contact tracing — where the source of an infection is found — can result in two to three times as many cases being traced and isolated. it's because 20% of people create clusters of infections accounting for 80% of the cases. our science correspondent rebecca morelle explains. we need to break the chains of transmission, but coronavirus does not spread evenly from person to person. this event at the white house is a prime example. while most people won't pass the virus onto anyone, scientists estimate thatjust 20% of infected people are causing 80% of covid cases. it is known as super spreading and in the rose garden, one person is thought to have infected at least 11 others, including donald trump. with respect to super spreading events and that seems to relate both to the activi

andy moore, bbc news.the year for our retailers. non—essential shops have now re—opened in england — but in a week that's seen the collapse of giants including topshop and debenhams, is this the end of the high street as we know it? our business correspondent katie prescott has more. lifting the shutters in bishop auckland. shelves here are stacked and shoppers are out and about once again. it's not as busy as i thought it was going to be, to be honest. we came down and didn't think we'd be able to get into any shops, but it's quite nice. it's a pleasure to see people in the street, and hopefully, hopefully, we'll hang on to some of the businesses in this street. it's not the same, online shopping, because you can't see what you're buying, can you? sometimes it's ok but sometimes it's, you know, what you get is not what you wanted. so it's nice to be able to come out and look again. it's more like the small businesses, i'm pleased to see them up and running, because i think, like, obviously the big high st

andy moore, bbc news.n, has been released on bail, following his arrest as part of a fraud inquiry. he and four other men were detained as part of a year—long investigation into bribery allegations, linked to the awarding of building contracts in the city. the headlines on bbc news... uk prime minister borisjohnson and the president of the european commission will speak later today to try and break the brexit trade talks deadlock. the two sides remain divided on fishing rights, the rules governing state subsidies for business and how the deal is policed — uk businesses say they need clarity now. the uk vaccine medicine regulator says the covid—19 vaccine will ‘definitely‘ be ready to go into care homes in the next two weeks. now, russia's coronavirus vaccination programme began today, despite the sputnik vaccine still going through safety and efficacy trials. the firstjabs have been administered in clinics in moscow. the news comes as russia is reporting record high numbers of infection. mark lobel reports

andy moore reports.have been sent the parts —— parts of london, kent and essex which have expensed recent rapid rises in infection rates. london is currently in tier 2 and could go into tier 3 f rights continue to escalate. if the government decides to move london to tier 3 they must provide additional financial support of those businesses who otherwise will go bust, hundreds of thousands ofjobs will be lost and it's far better for the government to keep these businesses afloat by additional financial support rather than the alternative, which is these businesses going bust and hundreds of thousands of londoners losing theirjobs. scientists are concerned about the speed of the rise in infection rates in parts of london and the south—east. infection rates in parts of london and the south-east. london probably doesn't need to go into tier 3 because otherwise we are going to just have even more problems, we're coming up to christmas and the relaxation of the rules for the christmas period, and then we are l

andy moore reports. any allergies that you may have?er the new pfizer vaccine, beginning next week. because the jab comes in large batches at low temperatures, the initial roll—out will be at 50 hospitals across the uk. but we now know that will be swiftly followed with the vaccinations by groups of gps in england, beginning on monday 1a december. the priority for getting the jab will be the over—80s who can make their own way to the vaccination centre. special freezers will be provided to store the vaccine at —70. gp practices will come together to manage the programme. they have been told that is their priority, with only urgent care for all other patients. after that, within two weeks, doses of the vaccine will start going out to care homes. plans are in place to reduce the boxes containing the vaccine doses to more manageable consignments. all of this will place a huge burden on the nhs, and so the chief medical officers of the four home nations have written to staff, praising them for their hard work, while warning that this winter

andy moore, bbc news.and people travelling to the european union are being warned to get ready for "substa ntial" changes from new year's eve. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, said there would be "some disruption", which everyone needs to prepare for as the brexit transition period comes to an end. here's our political correspondent, helen catt. big ben chimes. this was the moment the uk left the eu. 11pm on the 31st of january this year. and it'll be iipm again, this time of the 31st of december, when we leave the single market and the customs union. this time the government says we will notice the change. a trade deal was finalised in brussels last week, and it is expected to be in place before thursday. the eu are set to approve it possibly as early as today. the uk parliament is expected to pass the necessary law on wednesday. but even with a deal in place, businesses that trade goods with the eu will still have to file customs declarations, even though they won't pay any tariffs. lorries wan

andy moore reports. their children turned up at this greenwich primary school this morning. it took the decision to close yesterday after being advised to do so by the labour leader of their borough council. but now the government is insisting it should reopen again, with only a day or two to go before the end of term. it's a difficult time to be a parent in greenwich. we don't actually know what is happening. because today is a different story. the next day is different. you know, actually, i want him to be in school. it's a confusing situation, and considering — well, apparently — the rest of london hasn't done this yet, it seems a bit strange that it would just be happening in our borough. a lot of people are confused. i work in a school, so i have to go to work. and then my son is coming to school. so we just have to stick together, and just keep safe. faced with legal action from the government, greenwich council has now backed down. in a statement, it's leader, danny thorpe, said... the government

andy moore reports.x water called the explosion absolutely tragic, and its thoughts were with the families, friends and colleagues of those involved. three of its staff and a contractor were working close to the silo when it exploded yesterday morning. it contained sludge, which is treated before being used as a fertilizer. we heard this almighty bang and everybody sort of came running from everywhere, saying, "what was that?" everybody thought, "was that an earthquake?" the whole warehouse was shaking. and we literally stood there in shock because we thought everything was going to fall in. people started coming out of the warehouses over there. started coming out, saying, "look over there." so we looked out the windows and all we seen was people running. the emergency services were quickly on the scene. they later confirmed four fatalities, while a fifth person was taken to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening. the police said they wouldn't be speculating on the cause of

andy moore, bbc news. you have sent in questions about the vaccine. we'll be answering some of them at 8.30am, when we'll be joined by the deputy chief medical officer for england, professor jonathan van—tam. he will be with us for 20 minutes and he will answer any questions. if you want to send your questions and, you want to send your questions and, you can. so much came out yesterday. so much news. a lot of it positive news. but always there are more questions. there are bits you don't understand. so please go to those questions in. he is the man to the questions. 8:30am. students sitting gcse and a—level exams in england next year, will be awarded more generous grades to compensate for the disruption to schooling during the pandemic. pupils will get advanced notice of exam topics and be allowed to use memory aids. measures will also be put in place to help students who miss exams because of self—isolation. here's more from our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys. heading home to self—isolate, year 11 a

earlier i spoke to our correspondent andy moore, who was out on one of london's busiest shopping streetsifference a day makes. if i had been stood here 2a hours ago there would have been crowd hustling and bustling bay. now, look at it. it's virtually deserted and i don't think it is going to get busier during the day. this should be the busiest time of the year for the shops. they should be making millions if not billions of pounds, and that revenue is going to be lost in the time running up to christmas. the organisation that represents a lot of the shops here in the west end says it is catastrophic for business, and they are asking for government aid. cba says these regulations are a kick in the teeth. what was the reaction in england last night when the regulations were announced 7 the chief last night when the regulations were announced? the chief officer chris whitty was asked what advice he would give people who are packing up their backs preparing to get out of their backs preparing to get out of the city before the new restrictions get into force, and he said his advice was to u

andy moore is at oxford street in central london.ght, people piling into the shops to do some very last minute christmas shopping after they heard boris johnson's announcement. a christmas shopping after they heard borisjohnson's announcement. a very different scene this morning. what a difference a day makes. if i had been studied 2a hours ago, there would have been crowds hustling and bustling bay. now it is virtually deserted and i don't think it is going to get any busier during the day. this should be the busiest time of the year for the shops. they should be making millions, if not billions of pounds, so that revenue is going to be lost in the time up until christmas. the shops here in the west end say it is catastrophic for business and are asking for more government aid. cbi say these new regulations are a kick in the teeth. the reaction in london last night when these new regulations were announced, while chris whitty was announced, while chris whitty was announced what advice he would give people who are packing up their ba

andy moore is in doverfor us. what is the picture like where you are?that traffic is beginning to move, but very slowly. as you say, something like 6000 lorries stuck in kent, and at manston, the airfield base on the motorway, and i'd lay byes across the county. but drivers are being tested and allowed to come down here to the ferry port, and you can probably see some vehicles are beginning to get on board ferries. but it is a slow process. we heard overnight that about 100 vehicles got on board the ferry then. we haven't had an update on those figures yet. we know they will be continuing to operate tomorrow and the day after that, that is unusual, so the day after that, that is unusual, so that will help to catch up on the backlog, but it is a slow process. as you say, the french firefighters are here, i have seen them at work below the cliff, going to individual drivers, asking them to tilt back their heads so they can do this lateral flow test. what we don't know yet is whether any of these drivers have tested positive and been turned back, and of co

andy moore is on oxford street in central london this morning. lly empty today stop businesses, where there are the toughest restrictions, will lose out on billions of pounds of revenue. the organisation that represents shops here in the west end in london that was catastrophic for businesses and have asked for more government help. the cbi says it is a kick in the teeth. so what has been the reaction from people in these dear four areas? the chief medical officer was asked at a press conference yesterday what should people who are packing up their bags and thinking of heading out of town, what should they do? he said to unpack those bags. there are some people who did not hear that message or heed it. the trains were busy out of london yesterday, the seats were all booked out. busy scenes at saint pancras with people crowding onto trains and getting messages that social distancing could not be observed because of the volume of people. and what do people actually think about these new regulations? an interesting opinion poll carried out just after

andy moore reports.has become the first country in the western world to authorise the use of a vaccine. at a press conference, vaccine development was once again compared to a train coming down the track. the train has now slowed down safely. it has now stopped in the station, and the doors have opened. that was the authorisation by the mhra. what we need now is for people to get on that train and travel safely to their destinations. the prime minister called it "a huge moment", but he also urged caution. it's all the more vital that, as we celebrate this scientific achievement, we're not carried away with over—optimism, or fall into the naive belief that the struggle is over. it's not. we've got to stick to our winter plan. 800,000 doses of the vaccine are due to arrive in the uk shortly. they have to be kept at very low temperatures, so distribution at first will be through major hospitals. that means that care home residents, although top of the government's priority list, are unlikely to get the vacc

andy moore reports.s in wales will have to shut by six o'clock and won't be allowed to sell alcohol. new restrictions are being imposed in response to a rise in coronavirus cases over the past month. with me isjoann cooney, owner of the irish bar in llandudno, conwy and i'm you can sell alcohol during the day,, 6pm, it is take a ways only or have i mixed it up? you have mixed it up. we are talking about this all the time and i have managed to mix that up. tell us what the situation is. after today, at 6pm, you can go into a is. after today, at 6pm, you can go intoa pub is. after today, at 6pm, you can go into a pub but you cannot have any alcohol. the pub can open from ten, 11 in the morning until six o'clock at night but only serving soft drinks, tea, coffee. a bar with no beer is like a car with no engine, it doesn't work. we just, i beer is like a car with no engine, it doesn't work. wejust, i don't understand the logic behind it. does that make business viable for you? is it better just that make bus

andy moore reports. much for being with us. what did you make with the wa nted us. what did you make with the wanted to do in the education secretary threatening legal action? whatever happens we are to make the children are priority. i think of the teachers and support staff what they're doing but children have missed six to seven months of learning. we know that millions of children did her the neat learning at all, every day counts. the chief inspector of schools has said that one national day of lost learning is around 40,000 years in terms of a child public education. that's a huge amount of time. we have to do everything possible to make sure we help our children catch up from lost learning that they have had during the lockdown. having said that, if schools are part of the rising cases or really dramatic rising cases, then surely there's a case for closing them. we know that children are at very low risk for getting the virus, the government have announced today that there will be rapid testing fo

andy moore reports. any allergies that you may have?s ina any allergies that you may have? nurses in a coventry hospital practising how they will administer the new pfizer vaccine, beginning next week. because the jab comes in large batches at low temperatures, the initial rollout will be at 50 hospitals across the uk. but we now know that will be swiftly followed with the vaccinations by groups of gps in england, beginning on monday 14 gps in england, beginning on monday 1a december. the priority for getting the jab will be the over 80s who can make their own way to the vaccination centre. special freezers will be provided to store the vaccine at —70. gp practices will come together to manage the programme. they have been told that is that priority, with only urgent ca re is that priority, with only urgent care for all other patients. after that, within two weeks, doses of the vaccine will start going out to care homes. plans are in place to reduce the boxes containing the vaccine doses to more manageable consignments. all of this will

andy moore reports.d everybody sort of came running from everywhere, saying, "what was that?" everybody thought, "was that an earthquake?" the whole warehouse was shaking. and we literally stood there in shock because we thought everything was going to fall in. people started coming out of the warehouses over there. started coming out, saying, "look over there." so we looked out the windows and all we seen was people running. the emergency services were quickly on the scene. they later confirmed four fatalities, while a fifth person was taken to hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening. the police said they wouldn't be speculating on the cause of the explosion. together with the health and safety executive, they have already started an investigation to find out what went wrong. andy moore, bbc news. normally new releases source normally new releases warner brothers studio has angered us cinemas with its decision to make all 2021 releases available to stream online, as soon as t

andy moore has the latest.school. they said they don't agree with that decision but they haven't got the money to fight it in the courts. so they say they will be writing to schools today and tell them that they will have to reopen again tomorrow. so a very, very confusing picture for any parent here in greenwich. we were talking to some this morning. some who had brought their children to school by mistake because they didn't know whether the school was open or not. this school, by the way, is a free school, it has remained open and will remain open. other schools, primary schools have closed down. they were open on monday, told the parents that they would be closing today. they are closed today. they now have to tell the parents that they will be reopening tomorrow for perhaps one or two days before the end of term. a real tussle of wills here between the local council who say coronavirus levels are very high here and they have to close the schools on the grounds of public safety. and the government, the depa

andy moore reports.units have been sent to the parts of london, kent and essex which have expensed recent rapid rises in infection rates. london is currently in tier 2 and could go into tier 3 f rights continue to escalate. if the government decides to move london to tier 3 they must provide additional financial support of those businesses who otherwise will go bust, hundreds of thousands ofjobs will be lost and it's far better for the government to keep these businesses afloat by additional financial support rather than the alternative, which is these businesses going bust and hundreds of thousands of londoners losing theirjobs. tier 3 restrictions in pubs and restau ra nts tier 3 restrictions in pubs and restaurants are tier 3 restrictions in pubs and restau ra nts a re u na ble to tier 3 restrictions in pubs and restaurants are unable to do take a ways. no mixing of households is allowed unless outdoor is any public space. london probably does need to go into tier 3 because otherwise we are going toju

earlier our correspondent andy moore gave us this update from outside a school in greenwich. and parents yesterday telling them that this would be the last they at school. we spoke to some parents arriving this morning at this primary school here and one over there and this is all schools in the borough, primary and secondary, and we asked what they thought. some said it was silly and they had not been given enough notice that schools were closing on wednesday or thursday and this would not achieve much. 0thers wednesday or thursday and this would not achieve much. others said yes, covid was something we had to take very seriously and anything that could be done to reduce the risk of infection was worth doing. as i said, these schools will be closing early, but there are other schools in the borough who are not controlled by the local authority, who are three to decide by themselves what they want to do and at least one of those is remaining open. none of this has been sanctioned either by the mayor of london or the department for education. the view of the government is that

andy moore reports.e officers on patrol in luton, giving some friendly advice about protection from covid. make sure you know where the mask is. that was used during many counties around london in moving up to the three, from midnight last night, that means 68% of the population of england is now covered by the toughest restrictions. but one covid patient ata restrictions. but one covid patient at a local hospital is worried about the easing of restrictions over christmas. he believes he caught the virus from his teenage son. people are being told that the rules from a few weeks ago have changed and they can travel across the country to see theirfamilies. this can travel across the country to see their families. this is can travel across the country to see theirfamilies. this is worrying the hell out of me. i — if you — if you saw the look on my son because my face when i was fighting for breath, you would not want to send children all over the country to see their family. routine operations were going a