thanks very much, henry zeffman. let's go to ben j much, henry zeffman.rket in birmingham. he's got the hive is on of course, as you like, then. talk us through the reaction there. yes. us through the reaction there. yes, it's a busy morning _ us through the reaction there. yes, it's a busy morning here. _ us through the reaction there. 1653 it's a busy morning here. it's always busy here but particularly busyin always busy here but particularly busy in the few days before christmas, lots of restaurants, cafes and bars, small local shops coming and stocking up on all the produce they need. the traders here are well aware of the price rises. i've been down here several times over the last year or two and finally they are seeing the rate of price rises for all sorts of things in the economy started to slow down. that figure of 3.9%, the headline figure for uk inflation in november, yes, it has slowed down significantly from where it was. but prices are still rising, albeit not as quickly as they were. remember, inflation is a look at a typical basket of goo

our chief political correspondent henry zeffman has this report. correspondent henry zeffman has this zeffman has this re ort. , h, ,., , report. very caring soul, he put other peeple — report. very caring soul, he put other people first. _ report. very caring soul, he put other people first. we never . report. very caring soul, he put - other people first. we never thought he was in danger. brad other people first. we never thought he was in danger.— he was in danger. brad was clever, helful, he was in danger. brad was clever, helpful, looked _ he was in danger. brad was clever, helpful, looked after— he was in danger. brad was clever, helpful, looked after his _ he was in danger. brad was clever, helpful, looked after his triplet - helpful, looked after his triplet siblings— helpful, looked after his triplet siblings and he was my right—hand mart _ siblings and he was my right-hand man. , . ., , , man. the bereaved families. they were in the _ man. the bereaved families. they were in the house _ man. the bereaved families. they were in the house of— man. the bereaved families. they

our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, has the latest.t other people first. but he never understood that he was in danger himself at any point. breck was clever, helpful, looked after his triplet siblings, and he was my right—hand man. the bereaved families for online safety are parents bound together by loss linked to the online world. they were in the house of lords back injune to see this. all platforms will be required to comply with ofcom's requests for information about a deceased child's... that was a government minister promising to give bereaved parents and coroners new powers to get information out of tech companies where a child has died in a way that might have been linked to the online world. but now the families believe the government is watering that down, with it only applying in cases where a child has taken their own life. breck bednar, murdered aged just 1a by a fellow gamer he met online who then posted photos of his crime on the internet. olly stephens, a 13—year—old, was murdered by two boys, with social media at the

henry zeffman, bbc news, westminster.documented.. but there's now growing evidence that different pollutants also affect our brains. here's our science editor rebecca morelle. breathing in polluted air in the name of science. briony evans is a volunteer at this manchester university lab, where scientists are trying to learn about the impact of fumes on the brain. here we've got everything that we need to conduct the experiments, to expose the participants to air pollution. the team is looking at four different kinds of pollution — diesel from an engine, cleaning products, wood smoke and cooking fumes from a pork chop. the pollutants are carefully measured and piped into a giant plastic bag. are you feeling 0k? the volunteers are exposed to a different fume on every visit to see which ones have the biggest effect on the brain. you could imagine that we find that wood burning is worse than diesel, is worse than cooking, for example, this would then allow people to make lifestyle choices about their exposure to the different

henry zeffman, bbc news, westminster.i—billion dollar rail network called the tren maya. it's forecast to bring an additional two million more people to the impoverished yucatan peninsula every year, but it's run massively overbudget and critics say it's an environmental catastrophe. will grant reports from southern mexico. to the ancient maya, the cenotes of the yucatan peninsula were sacred, portals to the underworld and one of the most un—spoilt freshwater ecosystems in the americas. but directly above them is this. the mexican president's pet infrastructure project, the tren maya, a 1,500 kilometre long rail link to bring tourism to the jungle. environmentlists are horrified. the deforestation alone has destroyed fragile habitats forjaguars and macaws. activists took us in to the labyrinth below to show another environmental cost — water pollution. once the water gets polluted, no life will be able to be sustained in this area. is it no exaggeration to say essentially what is going on above the surface is killing what

live now to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman at westminster. is james cleverly, and hear from him, over the course of today?— over the course of today? it is a very brief— over the course of today? it is a very brief at _ over the course of today? it is a very brief at the _ over the course of today? it is a very brief at the city _ over the course of today? it is a very brief at the city is - over the course of today? it is a very brief at the city is making l over the course of today? it is a | very brief at the city is making to rwanda with a clear and single purpose which is to sign a treaty with the rwandan government. we have not seen details of that yet but what we think it will do is basically upgrade the status of the existing deal that the uk government has had in place with the rwandan government for some time. currently that it government for some time. currently thatitis government for some time. currently that it is a memorandum of understanding, but by becoming a treaty it will have the force of international law behind it. the g

henry zeffman, bbc news, westminster.g consumed around the world. the international energy agency says increases in china, india and indonesia outweighed a sharp fall in demand in europe and the united states. the iea is forecasting that global coal consumption should start to decline next year. its assessment comes just days after the cop28 climate summit agreed to begin transitioning away from fossil fuels. a state memorial service has taken place at the sydney opera house for the entertainer barry humphries, who died in april aged 89. hundreds gathered to celebrate the life of the man behind dame edna everage, with tributes from king charles and sir elton john. our correspondent, phil mercer, has more. one of australia's brightest stars has been remembered as a comic genius. hello, possums, yes, it's me, dame edna, and aren't i looking gorgeous?! barry humphries introduced the world to many brilliant. and unforgettable characters. the state memorial at the sydney opera brought together family, friends, and hundreds of

henry zeffman from downing street there.go back live now to southern israel and my colleague anna foster who had to disappear during the headlines there with an alert being issued. back to you, anna foster. thank you, sorry about that, just to explain to you what happens here, people who live in this part of southern israel know it very well, it is called the red alert as you know that it is close because you hear it over loudspeakers so you might have heard it in the background during the headlines and that means we need to take cover and find some sort of solid shelter, and a puff of smoke has just about gone in the sky but it was a rocket attack from gaza so we moved to a sheltered area, you move quite fast which is why i am slightly out of breath and we heard the loud interception where the iron dome system intercept the rocket from gaza in the air and blows it up so you see this big puff of smoke on the horizon but everything is clear now so we are back to telling you about the story which is happening today. if you loo

with me is our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman. henry, good to see you.servatives and from labour. ., . ., both the conservatives and from labour. ., ., ., ., labour. you are right to mention the olls. the labour. you are right to mention the polls- the really _ labour. you are right to mention the polls. the really important _ labour. you are right to mention the polls. the really important context l polls. the really important context is just that they were at the start of 2023, at the end of 2023, the conservatives are a long way behind in the opinion polls. there will be an election next year and they need to find a game changer. this morning in the newspapers you have speculation about different ways in which they will try to carve a dividing line with the labour party. one of them is on inheritance tax. claims the government might abolish inheritance tax altogether in the budget, which will take place in march was looked at that before the autumn statement a few weeks ago and ultimately concluded it was not worth the amount of money they had to rais

our chief political correspondent henry zeffman has more.families up and down the country, but also politically. we have seen both parties, the conservative party in government and the labour party, talking about ways to make childcare cheaper. what you now have the labour party talking about here is not necessarily the cost of childcare but the availability of childcare. there are 20,000 fewer registered childcare providers in england now than there were eight years ago. the labour party has commissioned a review by a former chief inspector of schools to look at ways to increase childcare provision, and one of the things they are looking at is finding ways to incentivise nurseries — or incentivise primary schools, i should say, to have nurseries or expand nurseries if they already have them so that a child would be at the same educational setting from the start of nursery right through to the age of 11 before they move on to secondary school. we�*re used to seeing wind turbines made of steel — but sweden�*s electricity grid is now powered,

announced that its looking into new plans for their asylum policy. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffmanest uk polls. you're right to mention the polls, because the really important context for all of this is that just as they were at the start of 2023, at the end of 2023, the conservatives are a long way behind in the opinion polls, and there's going to be an election almost certainly next year and they need to find a game changer. and you have this morning in the newspapers, speculation about different ways in which they might try to carve a clear dividing line with the labour party. one of those is on inheritance tax. we've heard reports like this before, but claims that the government might abolish inheritance tax altogether in the budget, which will take place in march. now, they looked at that before the autumn statementjust a few weeks ago and ultimately concluded that it wasn't worth the amount of money that they would have to raise elsewhere. but perhaps the fiscal picture will have changed by next year. certainly the political imperative will be even nearer. the election will b

with more on this let's speak to our political correspondent henry zeffman.ns?— what more can you tell is about these plans? what more can you tell is about these lans? ~ ., ~ ., ., these plans? we have known for some time that the — these plans? we have known for some time that the availability _ these plans? we have known for some time that the availability of— time that the availability of childcare and the cost of childcare are huge issues forfamilies childcare and the cost of childcare are huge issues for families across england and we have heard a lot recently about the cost of childcare, last yearjeremy hunt the chancellor announced an expansion of free childcare hours for parents. the labour party wants them to go further but that is a well—established political debate. what there has been a bit less of is debate about the availability of childcare provision. but actually in the last eight years there are 20,000 fewer registered childcare providers in england than there were eight years ago. that is something the labour party is now looking to address

our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, outlined what measures the home secretary is likelyl update a couple of weeks ago, which revealed net migration in 2022 had gone away above 700,000, a new record. that became a lightning rod for dissatisfaction among conservative mps. how successive prime ministers have tackled the issue of migration since the uk that the eu. today we will get the answer from rishi sunak and his new home secretary james cleverly. we are expecting them to propose a fairly far—reaching package, significant increase in the minimum salary for a skilled a holder to come to the uk, but also curbs on the number of social care visas that could be granted. new restrictions on the number of dependents and migrants can bring with them to this country, and also perhaps some new conditions for student visas. of course, this is just one part of the government's migration challenge, because there is a legal migration. we are expecting some movement this week on that. you could see james cleverly flying out to ru wonder to upgrade the existing agreement to the status

chief political correspondent henry zeffman says this is good news for rishi sunak.t the start of this ear rishi rishi sunak. at the start of this year rishi sunak _ rishi sunak. at the start of this year rishi sunak made - rishi sunak. at the start of this year rishi sunak made five - rishi sunak. at the start of this - year rishi sunak made five pledges for the things he wanted to achieve in 2023. some of them have gone a bit awry but his pledge on inflation he has met. he said at the start of the year that he wanted to halve inflation. actually, he got there last month when inflation fell below 5%. now it is below 4% and i'm sure you will hear rishi sunak and i'm sure you had the, jeremy hunt, the chancellor, saying their economic strategy is working. lots of people would point out that actually the biggest driver of inflation is out of the government's control. you have monetary policy sent by the bank of england which has been independent for more than 20 years. nevertheless, we are heading into an election year next year in the united kingdom. rishi sunak is de

our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman, is in westminster. minister politically — what are we expecting to be announced on this? well, it was just a bland statistical update a couple of weeks ago which revealed that net migration in 2022 had gone way above 700,000, a new record, and that became a lightning rod for dissatisfaction among conservative mps at how successive conservative prime ministers have approached the issue of legal migration since the uk left the eu. and today we will get the answer from rishi sunak and his new home secretary, james cleverly. we expect them to propose a fairly far—reaching package, significant increase in the minimum salary for a skilled visa holder to come to the uk, but also potentially curbs on the number of social care visas that could be granted, new restrictions on the number of dependents that some migrants can bring with them to this country, and also perhaps some new conditions for student visas. of course, this is just one part of the government's migration challenge, because there is also illegal

live now to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman at downing street. e process. in fact, it would have been so unusual for rishi sunak to lose at this stage because no government has lost at that stage since 1986 and yet yesterday morning, it genuinely seemed in question. you arejust hearing from the uk climate minister, the government was so worried about this vote they got graeme stewart to fly back to london from dubai, just to vote, and then to fly back to dubai to speak at the end of the summit there. that is how worried the government was yesterday. in the end, they actually won by a fairly comfortable majority, but at what price? that is the key question today because some of those conservatives who might have rebelled think that rishi sunak and his team might be willing to entertain concessions, to toughen up the legislation first we had a little earlier from james cleverley the home secretary about that. the bill has got to work, so it's got to be legally robust, it's got to have legitimate arguments underpinning it. it has got to be effective,

. _ live now to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman at westminster. it the government will achieve its lans? ., , , ., the government will achieve its lans? ., , . the government will achieve its lans? , . . ., plans? it was 'ust a few weeks ago that the plans? it wasjust a few weeks ago that the supreme _ plans? it wasjust a few weeks ago that the supreme court _ plans? it wasjust a few weeks ago that the supreme court said - plans? it wasjust a few weeks ago that the supreme court said the i that the supreme court said the rwanda plan, the policy of successive prime ministers right back to borisjohnson, was unlawful in its current form. people in government then were taken aback, i think, by how comprehensively the supreme court ruled against the government. they had been braced for the possibility of defeat but thought it might need just one tweak here or there. what you are beginning to see today is the fairly wide—ranging efforts in various different ways from government to get this scheme up and running. james cleverly is in kigali, he will be s

live now to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman at downing street. "stop the boats" is something that the government have been pursuing for some time now, how does this new detail about the money they have allocated to do that fit in with their plans? it allocated to do that fit in with their plans?— their plans? it has been the government's mantra - their plans? it has been the government's mantra for i their plans? it has been the | government's mantra for the their plans? it has been the - government's mantra for the last three parameters that, although that does not actually take you back that far in time, given the turmoil in the conservative party, but rishi sunak very much made it his own at the start of this year he set out five promises for the year ahead and one of them was, in his words, to stop the boats. now, he was dealt a very significant setback just a month or so ago when the supreme court ruled that his plan to de—port asylum seekers to rwanda was in its current form unlawful and tomorrow the house of commons will have its first vot

to discuss this i am joined by henry zeffman, our chief political correspondent. has been coming through and meeting the prime minister? ., , , ., , minister? two sets of people coming into 10 downing _ minister? two sets of people coming into 10 downing street _ minister? two sets of people coming into 10 downing street today - minister? two sets of people coming into 10 downing street today and - into 10 downing street today and they tell — into 10 downing street today and they tell the story of the divisions in the _ they tell the story of the divisions in the party that we are seeing. about _ in the party that we are seeing. about 7:30am a group of 15 or so conservative mps very much from the ti l ht conservative mps very much from the right of— conservative mps very much from the right of the _ conservative mps very much from the right of the party came in for breakfast. that wasn't just a sort of usual— breakfast. that wasn't just a sort of usual run—of—the—mill get to know you chat _ of usual run—of—the—mill get to know you chat about what is on your mind,

our chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in westminster. y, how unusual is it for a serving prime minister to face this sort of grilling? it's not just about what he jazz these days as prime minister that it is about his role as chancellor, during the years of covid. it is a bi deal. during the years of covid. it is a big deal. unusual— during the years of covid. it is a big deal. unusual for _ during the years of covid. it is a big deal. unusual for a - during the years of covid. it is a big deal. unusual for a prime i big deal. unusualfor a prime minister to face a public grilling. we are expecting it to last the best part of the day from a leading kc about how the government handled covid. full rishi sunak, it was a tale of two policies. the furlough scheme is how many members of the public became aware of rishi sunak. he had only been chancellor for public became aware of rishi sunak. he had only been chancellorfor a few weeks at that time. it was lauded as an innovative way to keep peoples finance going during this unprecedented pandemi

we'rejoined now by our chief political correspondent henry zeffman. ory mps walk into downing street for bacon rolls and a stern talking to from the prime minister, it felt like there was a chance, not only that rishi sunak could lose the vote, but his immigration policy and his premiership more broadly could be at risk. he actually turned out to be having a much better evening than that. the bill passed at this stage of the legislative process and fairly comfortably at that. but at what cost. 30 also conservative mps abstained when they could have voted against and the reason they did so is that they believe they have got assurances from rishi sunak at that breakfast meeting that he would change the bill. the words he used was that he was willing to tighten the legislation. some of those potential rebels will think that means fairly fundamental changes. 0thers means fairly fundamental changes. others in the conservative party think it means just weeks in the language. when the bill comes back for its next stage —— tweaks in the language. when the ball

let's talk about this with our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman. morning, henry.more can you tell us about this idea?— tell us about this idea? morning, sall . tell us about this idea? morning, sally- 2023 _ tell us about this idea? morning, sally. 2023 isn't _ tell us about this idea? morning, sally. 2023 isn't quite _ tell us about this idea? morning, sally. 2023 isn't quite over - tell us about this idea? morning, sally. 2023 isn't quite over yet i tell us about this idea? morning, l sally. 2023 isn't quite over yet but one thing i think we can say is we nudge towards 2024 is thatjust as this time last year, things are looking fairly bleak electorally for the conservative party. what we have in this morning's newspapers is lots of speculation about ways in which in 2024 rishi sunak might try to use new government policy to turn that around before the general election which we know is coming next year. on housing we have michael gove the 0n housing we have michael gove the housing secretary speculating about ways in which the government might try to make it chea

we're nowjoined by our chief political correspondent, henry zeffman.ld like mps to have a free vote on assisted dying. is there any political will for change on this matter. dame esther is right. _ for change on this matter. dame esther is right. if— for change on this matter. dame esther is right. if she _ for change on this matter. dame esther is right. if she did - for change on this matter. dame esther is right. if she did go - for change on this matter. dame esther is right. if she did go to l esther is right. if she did go to dignity as it could put family and friends in a difficult position. if people travelled with how they could potentially be prosecuted and sentenced up to 14 years in prison. it is cases where has happened to family members which, generally in the past, has resulted in some political debate around this issue. whenever it has been debated, it has been a free vote in parliament, a matter of conscience. successive governments have taken the view it is not a matterfor government policy because how people feel cuts across party li

chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in westminster.ome secretary to go to rwanda and talk about the plan. imilli rwanda and talk about the plan. will it rwanda and talk about the plan. ll it happen this time? the government hope so. whatjames it happen this time? the government hope so. what james cleverly will do today in rwanda is designed to overcome, to rebut the objections to the rwanda plan advanced by the supreme court when they ruled it was unlawful in its current form last month. whatjames unlawful in its current form last month. what james cleverly will deal with his counterparts in rwanda is sign a treaty and the treaty is designed to upgrade the level of assurance given by the rwandan government to the uk government about the way in which it would operate the asylum system taking place in rwanda. at the moment it is a memorandum of understanding between the governments but a treaty would have the weight of international law and the uk government hopes that will do part of thejob of government hopes that will do part of the

let's speak now to our chief political correspondent henry zeffman. henry, what sign of a deal?e rwanda policy as it stands is unlawful came last month and it was fairly devastating for the government because of the comprehensive way in which it ruled out the existing policy. there wasn't an obvious quick fix that the government could go ahead with. but the government was fairly quick to say it's plan b, or its plan b getting plan a going, was to sign a treaty with row under which they hoped would put the existing agreement from the rwandan government on assure surer legal footing and it does seem like a breakthrough is coming on that. potentially this week. one of the aspects of the treaty we are told that night, the government hopes, reassure uk courts once this inevitably gets back there is that they would send uk government lawyers out to rwanda to assist rwandan judges lawyers out to rwanda to assist rwandanjudges in lawyers out to rwanda to assist rwandan judges in dealing lawyers out to rwanda to assist rwandanjudges in dealing with lawyers out to rwanda to assist rwandan

our chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in downing street. morning, henry.? he is trying to win them around in there today. he is arguing that the bill meets the test that they want it to meet, it significantly constrains, rishi sunak will argue, the ability of those people the government might try to deport to appeal against that potential deportation. as it stands many of them disagree so there is much more to come. we heard from michael tomlinson the immigration minister earlier with his argument of where hit the bill should go ahead. t0 of where hit the bill should go ahead. ., ., , ., . ahead. to govern is to choose. the prime minister _ ahead. to govern is to choose. the prime minister has _ ahead. to govern is to choose. the prime minister has chosen - ahead. to govern is to choose. the prime minister has chosen rightly l prime minister has chosen rightly that this — prime minister has chosen rightly that this is the priority, we must stop— that this is the priority, we must stop the — that this is the priority, we must stop the boats. there is a mora

over claims of bullying and sexual misconduct, which he denies. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffmaner by—election for the prime minister. how much of a concern will this be? . , :: this be? that is right. the 20th bur-election _ this be? that is right. the 20th by-election since _ this be? that is right. the 20th by-election since the _ this be? that is right. the 20th by-election since the 2019 - this be? that is right. the 20th i by-election since the 2019 general by—election since the 2019 general election. an extraordinarily high number. setting us up for another big piece of political electoral drama early in new year. this definitely won't have been welcome news in downing street. but i also think it would have been a great surprise. what peter bone was accused of is pretty serious. he continues to deny it, by the way, including in a statement last night after the recall petition outcome. it is a relatively new development, the ability of most of the public to recall their mp. this was the fifth recall their mp. this was the fifth recall petition since the law was introduced,

nurseries in primary schools to provide continuity of education. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffmans more. well, we know, charlie, that childcare - tell us more. well, we know, charlie, that childcare is - tell us more. well, we know, charlie, that childcare is such | tell us more. well, we know, | charlie, that childcare is such a big issue for so many families in england, especially at the cost of childcare, and you will remember thatjeremy hunt the chancellor, last year announced a plan to extend the number of free hours of childcare you get. currently the government gives to parents of three and four—year—olds, starting in 2025, the parents of children aged nine months and older. that is a cost of childcare. what the labour party are now looking at is the availability of childcare places and thatis availability of childcare places and that is in decline. the number of childcare providers in england has fallen by 20,000 since 2015, and that means many more places than that means many more places than that have fallen out of the system. and that is what we are told the labour part

our chief political correspondent henry zeffman joins us from outside the inquiry in central london. bereaved families they have been waiting for. how do you think the prime minister will play it? how do you think the prime minister will -la it? 1, , how do you think the prime minister will -la it? 1, _., how do you think the prime minister will -la it? how do you think the prime minister will .ia it? ., will play it? boris johnson has had a lona , will play it? boris johnson has had a long. political— will play it? boris johnson has had a long, political career— will play it? boris johnson has had a long, political career as - will play it? boris johnson has had a long, political career as a - a long, political career as a colourful mp, mayor of london, leader of the brexit campaign, foreign secretary, prime minister. even in that long career this is one of the biggest moment he has faced. he knows that. he has spent the last few days holed up with lawyers going through in minute detail paperwork about decisions he made during covid. some of the biggest peacetime decisions any prime

henry zeffman, bbc news, westminster. and the time now is 6.49. doctor friend atkinson —— mike frank atkinson who wanted to change everyday life for people here in the north of england. it dates back to 1913, roughly speaking. a lot of the buildings have been transported brick by brick from other parts of the north—east. this one here is a replica of a building that still exists in county durham. 0n the bottom we have got the chemist which in their there are some lotions and potions that have recipes from the very own family of kate adie. but it is an amazing place, celebrating christmas all the way through towards the 24th of december. lots of activities you can take part in as well, and i'm starting to get the full festive vibe is as well with the lovely tree behind me as well. so what of the forecast? if you're heading out to do your christmas shopping, there is a lot more in the way of dry weather, but as we head into the weekend, temperatures are on the rise, feeling much milder this weekend but we will see rain and strong winds in the north—