laura - kuenssberg live in downing street. laura kuenssberg live in downing street.ave of tornadoes that hit a large part of the southeast on friday. a desperate search for survivors is under way across six states, with emergency crews combing through the debris. our correspondent, nomia iqbal, has the very latest from mayfield in kentucky. there were more than 30 tornadoes but one hurtled down a single track of more than 200 miles. it is thought to be the longest path ever taken by a tornado in us history. it flattened many homes, whilst leaving others untouched. in an instant this small town of mayfield has been almost entirely wiped out. flattened homes are now buried in their own debris, toys and shoes are scattered amongst the twisted metal and shredded trees by a swarm of tornadoes that no—one had prepared for. deeneen is looking for her cousin who lives downtown. everybody�*s cell phone is down and i got up early and i was so nervous i could not sleep. i could not get through to her yesterday and i drave a school yesterday and i drive a school bus and everythi

our political editor laura kuenssberg. _ leader.g, thank _ leader. our political editor laura kuenssberg, thank you. - some of england's new covid restrictions begin tomorrow, but hospitality businesses say they are now facing a collapse in demand at their busiest time of the year, calling it a "body blow" to pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues which are already struggling. from tomorrow, face coverings will be required again in most indoor public venues, including theatres and cinemas, but not pubs or restaurants. from monday, you should work from home if you can. from next wednesday, an nhs covid pass will be needed in england to get into large venues like nightclubs, though a negative lateral flow test will also be accepted. and daily testing will replace self—isolation for people who come into contact with someone infected. our business correspondent emma simpson reports from birmingham. a city with a festive feel. busy, too — many in good spirits, despite the latest restrictions. i think if it's going to help, its fine.

laura kuenssberg reports.r: are we staring down the barrel of a terrible out week of the virus? are we looking at the science of an impossible pressure for the nhs? is the prime minister watching out of control, as his authority and credibility follow way. >> is the party over for you now, prime minister? reporter: boris johnson is eager to emphasize again what he says you must do. pm johnson: the wave of omicron continues to roll in across the whole. in the united kingdom, we are throwing everything at it. wherever you are, we will be there with a jab for you. so please, get boosted now. >> this is a really serious threat. how big a threat, there are several things we don't know, but all the things we do know are bad, and the principal one being the speed at which it is moving. it is moving at an absolutely phenomenal case. reporter: demand for the booster searched, but so has the very end. more cases recorded today than at any point during the whole pandemic. as jabs go in arms at surgeries, car packs, even

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines.ave voted to start a union. starbucks decertified unions in the us more than 30 years ago, but campaigners say the pandemic and work conditions have been the catalyst for change. as of today, we have done it. in spite of everything that the company has thrown at us, and we all know that it has been an extensive antiunion campaign by starbucks corporate to try and prevent this from happening, and our partners at the location have stayed strong and our partners in this market who have backed off this entire time have stayed strong and we have prevailed. a us federal appeals court has rejected a bid by former president donald trump to prevent the release of white house records to a congressional committee investigating the january 6 attack on the capitol. new zealand is proposing some of the toughest anti—smoking laws in the world to try to stamp out the habit. under the plans, anyone born after 2008 will never legally be able to buy cigarettes in their lifetime. convenience stores have w

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. stay with us on bbc news.eline survivors of a major volcanic eruption. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, ourwomen, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict — conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border- was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world i in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre - in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house to a trial for his political life — the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: concern across europe as extra measures are announced to combat the growing threat of the omicron variant. the british socialite, ghislaine maxwell, who's on trial in new york o

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news.e city: some familiar friends return to television screens in the uk. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of deaths and oppression. elsewhere, people have been gathering to mourn his passing. imelda marcos, the widow of the former - president of the philippines, has gone on trial in manila. she's facing seven charges of tax evasion, _ estimated at £120 million. she pleaded not guilty. the prince and princess of wales are to separate. a statement from buckingham palace said the decision had been reached amicably. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: a court in chicago has found the actorjussie smollett guil

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.d get their top—up injections. is leader of her majesty's opposition, it is my solemn duty to challenge the government were necessary to stop the health, security and well—being of our nation's people must always be the first priority full stop that is why we will always support measures designed to protect public cloud. that includes the measures in plan b. we are a patriotically party, and it's our patriotic duty to vote for these measures to ensure that they go through. in doing so, we are supporting the nhs, and supporting our country. but, rest assured, i will still hold the government to account in the coming weeks. that is also in the national interest. account in the coming weeks. that is als this the national interest. account in the coming weeks. that is als this national nal interest. account in the coming weeks. that is als this national emergency, which is on this national emergency, which is how to tackle the new variant of covid, which is rampant, a tidal wave, in borisj

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. you are watching bbc news.ons, scientists are warning that tougher restrictions will be needed in england "very soon" to control hospital admissions. and the british socialite ghislaine maxwell, who's on trial in new york on sex trafficking charges, has told the court she won't be giving evidence. the united states has called for an end to ethiopia's civil war, after the un voted for an independent investigation into atrocities by all sides. the conflict is ongoing between tigrayan rebels and the government. a state department spokesman said he was concerned by reports of mass detentions and killings of ethnic tigrayans. the united states is home to a large, and very vocal, ethiopian ex pat community, which is divided along the same ethnic lines that fuel the conflict. barbara plett usher sent this report from washington. ethiopia's civil war is 7000 miles, away and it's right here in this kitchen, on this canvas. gabrielle's family is from the northern region of tigray, the epicentre of the conflict, the theme

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street.r such a huge political upset in north shropshire — and how much can we read into the result? 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has been out speaking to voters in the constituency. as the sun came up, north shropshire awoke to a new political landscape. liberal democrats, 17,957. cheering and applause. this solid tory turf had been shaken. by mid—morning, the lib dems victor had arrived to much fanfare. they threw everything at this, pitching themselves as the challengers, which paid off and as they celebrated, onlookers contemplated what had happened and why. i am not a big fan of borisjohnson. he has disappointed all of us. not everyone was thrilled that the conservatives had lost. it is very sad when you think that they have held it for 200 years. i but for others, it was a moment to mark. why did you vote for them? to get boris out. why? just all the parties and everything that they have been having. because i lost a sister through covid. there is clear anger here at recent

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. let's get some of the day's other news.ty demands, following the publication by moscow of a long list of proposals to the us and nato, including a commitment to end any expansion of the alliance. moscow's call for security guarantees comes as thousands of russian troops are massing on the border with ukraine. iran has opted to adjourn talks in vienna aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal. european negotiators have called on the tehran authorities to try to reach agreement as quickly as possible when discussions restart in the new year. diplomats from france, the uk and germany reiterated that the negotiations were — quote — "rapidly reaching the end of the road." and the world health organization has issued emergency approvalfor a new coronavirus vaccine in india. covovax has been produced by the serum institute. it's part of the covax portfolio, an initative to vaccinate more people in lower—income countries. for nearly three months we have been telling about the volcanic eruption taking place in the canary islands. in

our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. all: three, two, one! out that if you take the people for granted, there is a price to pay. ..but there was nothing subtle about the lib dems�* dramatic burst of the tory bubble in this by—election. thousands upon thousands of voters switched sides. anger with the conservatives means a new lib dem is on their way to the commons. i think this is a watershed moment and i think we brought new hope to the whole nation, who've been so worried and fed up with borisjohnson. we've now beaten the conservatives in two of their safest seats this year. cheering and applause at about 4:15am, the liberal democrats smashed what had been a tory majority of over 20,000 in north shropshire, tired, butjubilant after weeks of claims of sleaze and misbehaviour in downing street. borisjohnson, the party is over. thank you very much. thank you. many of the prime minister's mps pin the blame for this staggering result on the chaos under his roof. does he? i'm responsible for everything that the government does and of course i tak

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street.idence — if any were needed — that the 0micron strain of coronavirus is continuing to spread rapidly around the world. the headline figures are coming from europe — in particular, the uk. in the last 2a hours, for a third successive day, the number of infections has reached a new record high. just over 93—thousand cases were confirmed in that time frame — that's nearly 60% more than a week ago. the increase in people being treated in hospital though, is less dramatic — 163 across the uk — just 2% more. it's unclear whether this means the new variant is weaker or the uk public have gained more protection. meanwhile — in the us — cases are jumping sharply too. america's top expert, says it's vital everyone gets their boosterjab. we are facing a very important delta surge and we are looking over our shoulder at an oncoming 0micron surge. clearly, unvaccinated individuals are really at a high risk of serious involvement, including hospitalisation. the fully vaccinated are doing much better

{lift extraordinary interview to laura kuenssberg-_ extraordinary interview to laura kuenssberg. _ kuenssberg. of course when this emerged, though, and _ kuenssberg. of course when this emerged, though, and the - kuenssberg. of course when this | emerged, though, and the public realised — emerged, though, and the public realised that one of the most senior people _ realised that one of the most senior people in— realised that one of the most senior people in government had left lockdown at a time when people were unable _ lockdown at a time when people were unable to— lockdown at a time when people were unable to go and seasick relatives, there _ unable to go and seasick relatives, there was— unable to go and seasick relatives, there was enormous public rage. why didn't— there was enormous public rage. why didn't you _ there was enormous public rage. why didn't you just tell the truth at the time? _ didn't you 'ust tell the truth at the time?— didn't you 'ust tell the truth at the time? , ,., the time? everything i said in the rose garden _ the time? everything i said in the rose

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street.st covid figures in detail. and there were 78,610 new cases in the latest 24—hour period, that's 10,000 more than the previous record for a single day on the 8th of january. on average, 57,838 new infections were reported every day in the past week. the number of people in hospital with covid now stands at 7,673. there were 165 deaths recorded — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test, which means 115 covid—related deaths were recorded on average every day in the past week. on vaccinations, almost 657,000 people had their boosterjab yesterday, which is a record — bringing the average to just over 490,000 a day in the past seven days. more than 2a,700,000 people have now had a boosterjab. well, with his assessement of the significance of the latest figures, here's our health editor, hugh pym. with the rapid spread of the new variant, the booster programme has been given new urgency. here, a gp in oxford visits elderly patients in their homes to give them the top—up j

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street. outlined more details of its ten—year plan to reform the social care system in england. while reforms, including an £86,000 cap on care costs, were outlined in september today's announcement details how they'll spend £1.7 billion of money raised by a new health and social care levy. the government will be investing £300 million in housing, with a focus on increasing the range of new supported housing options. and £500 million will be spent on the social care workforce over the next few years, focusing on training for staff. but labour says the plan "falls woefully short of the mark" and fails to deal with immediate pressures facing the social care system. our social affairs editor, alison holt, reports. click "clinician" in the corner and then push "go". this is the sort of gym session that helps steve maintain his strength. it's set for an hour. he broke his neck in a car accident as a teenager. he has live—in support as well as daily visits from care workers like jazzmine. the ambit

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. working from home where possible today as part of the restrictions to tackle the rising number of covid infections. network rail has reported a 20% drop in footfall at stations in london, birmingham and manchester as commuters stayed home. but many shops and businesses fear it will mean quieter town and city centres in the run up to christmas, as our business editor simonjack reports. ok, don't need this. make sure that the video call is unmuted — working from home, here we go again. the work from home message was heard loud and clear at this housing association in norwich, but half of its 1,1i00—strong workforce don't have that option. 50% of our staff have to work from their vans, in our tenants�* homes. for the 50% who can work in the office, we have really clear instructions that if you can work from home, do work from home and if you absolutely need to be in the office, then we have a desk—booking system which means we can monitor how many are coming in, and at the moment, it's l

here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg, and a warning, laura's report contains flashing images on downing street. behind every window, a different dilemma. what is the truth about last year's christmas party in the building? who paid for thejohnson is�* expensive interior design upstairs? can they control another surge in the pandemic? can they keep their own party under control? when the johnsons moved in upstairs, they had thousands of pounds of renovations. when the lavish expenses emerged, this was the prime minister's claim. who initially pay for the redecoration of the downing street flat? ., , ., ~ ., redecoration of the downing street flat? ., ~ ., ., flat? you should know that i paid for downing _ flat? you should know that i paid for downing street _ flat? you should know that i paid| for downing street refurbishment personally, mr speaker. yet for downing street refurbishment personally, mr speaker.- personally, mr speaker. yet the tories have _ personally, mr speaker. yet the tories have been _ personally, mr speaker. yet the tories have been fined - personally, mr

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street.nger has a conservative mp. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has been out speaking to voters in the constituency. as the sun came up, north shropshire awoke to a new political landscape. liberal democrats, 17,957. cheering. this solid tory turf had been shaken. north shropshire! by mid—morning, the lib dem victor had arrived in 0wsworth street to much fanfare. as they celebrated, onlookers contemplated what had happened and why. i'm not a big fan of borisjohnson. he's disappointed all of us. not everyone was thrilled the conservatives had lost. it's very sad when you think they've held it for 200 years, nearly. but for others, it was a moment to mark. iam happy i am happy because it has smacked borisjohnson in the face. why did you vote for them? i had to get boris out. why? just everything, all the parties and everything that they've been having, because i lost a sister to covid. there is clear anger here at recent events in westminster, and that fuelled the lib dem campaign.

here's laura kuenssberg quizzing the prime minister at wednesday's press conference — the purpose of how can you stand at that lectern, exactly where some of your team laughed and joked about covid rules, and tell people they must now follow your new instructions? and are you really asking the public to believe that you had no idea what was going on under your own roof? caroline cockwell got in touch with us to say... and sue williams agreed... that's a story that's not going away anytime soon, and we hope to talk to someone at the bbc about it next week. meanwhile, it was announced on tuesday that an investigation will open next week into the death of six—year—old arthur labinjo—hughes. it's a highly distressing case, and we are being careful about what we show you and what we say on today's programme. but here's some of phil mackie's report last thursday, the day his stepmother and father were convicted of killing arthur. arthur labinjo—hughes had been a healthy and happy little boy. but he was subjected to months of beatings and punishments by his stepmother, emma tustin, and fath

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. home where possible today as part of the restrictions to tackle the rising number of covid infections. network rail has reported a 20% drop in footfall at stations in london, birmingham and manchester as commuters stayed home. but many businesses fear it will mean quieter town and city centres in the run up to christmas. our business editor simonjack has more. make sure that the video call is unmuted, working from home, here we go again. the work from home message was heard loud and clear at this housing association in norwich, but half of its 1400 strong workforce don't have that option. but half of its 1400 strong 50% of our staff have to work from their vans, and in our tenants' homes. for the 50% who can work in the office, we have really clear instructions that if you can work from home, do work from home and, if you absolutely need to be in the office, then we have a desk booking system which means we can monitor how many are coming in and at the moment, that is less than 5%, fr

and laura kuenssberg is at westminster.downing street. and it is, isn't it, a matter of trust and integrity, at the end of the day. where does borisjohnson stand tonight? i the day. where does boris johnson stand tonight?— stand tonight? i think in a very tricky spot- — stand tonight? i think in a very tricky spot- it _ stand tonight? i think in a very tricky spot. it has _ stand tonight? i think in a very tricky spot. it has been - stand tonight? i think in a very tricky spot. it has been a - stand tonight? i think in a very| tricky spot. it has been a frenzy today, all sorts of claims swirling around. let's pause and think why this does matter. because downing street has always, throughout this pandemic, needed to muck things to try to manage the covid pandemic which, right now, is coming back with this new variant, at a lightning speed. they have needed the public cooperation, and they have needed political goodwill to try to hold off the worst of the potential consequences for our health, the economy and all the social

our political editor laura kuenssberg, thank _ tomorrow.now registered 437 confirmed cases of the 0micron variant of coronavirus — that's more than anywhere else in europe. northern ireland has recorded its first three cases today. this morning the prime minister told the cabinet that early evidence pointed to the 0micron variant being more transmissible than its predecessors. but there's still no evidence yet that it will lead to more hospitalisations and deaths. here's our health correspondentjim reed. dozens here at sandown racecourse have been queueing in the rain for their booster jabs. ministers have said they want to put the vaccine programme "on steroids" to better protect people from 0micron this winter. there's mounting evidence the new variant is spreading in the uk. in scotland, there have now been 99 confirmed cases — still small numbers overall, but a tenfold increase injust a week. the first minister urged more working from home and said other covid restrictions would be reviewed on a daily basis. given the nature of transmis

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street.he pulling specialist. thank you very much for being with us. you have in a long day and night! but there is lot to talk about in this by election. a lot of by elections, you get the result, it is kind of gone and people are already thing about the next political drama, but but it is worth exporting a bit about that constituency, isn't it, and like reps this result ought for the conservatives even more than just losing a conservative seat, because arguably governments lose safeties and by elections, particular when they are unpopular secular two things in the size of the rebuff is the first. the conservative vote down on 2019. only one other postwar violation in which that figure has been exceeded in a seat that the party was trying to defend and only narrowly. that was the christchurch by election of 1993, also a liberal democrat victory, when the party went down by 32 points. this is not an ordinary burst of the midterm blues. i have had some tory mps say, look, margaret thatcher use

our political editor laura kuenssberg has this report.he barrel of a terrible outbreak of the virus? —— are we staring? are we looking at the signs of impossible pressure for the signs of impossible pressure for the nhs? is the prime minister watching out of control as his credibility fall away? with record cases, borisjohnson, eageragain credibility fall away? with record cases, borisjohnson, eager again to cases, borisjohnson, eageragain to emphasise what he wants you to do. we are throwing everything at the wave _ we are throwing everything at the wave of— we are throwing everything at the wave of omicron _ we are throwing everything at the wave of omicron that _ we are throwing everything at the wave of omicron that continues . we are throwing everything at the| wave of omicron that continues to roll in_ wave of omicron that continues to roll in across — wave of omicron that continues to roll in across the _ wave of omicron that continues to roll in across the united _ wave of omicron that continues to roll in across the united kingdo

here's laura kuenssberg quizzing the prime minister at wednesday's press conference — the purpose of to announce new covid measures. how can you stand at that lectern, exactly where some of your team laughed and joked about covid rules, and tell people they must now follow your new instructions? and are you really asking the public to believe that you had no idea what was going on under your own roof? caroline kok well got in touch with us to say... and sue williams agreed... that's a story that's not going away anytime soon, and we hope to talk to someone at the bbc about it next week. meanwhile, it was announced on tuesday that an investigation will open next week into the death of six—year—old arthur labinjo—hughes. it's a highly distressing case, and we are being careful about what we show you and what we say on today's programme. but here's some of phil maki's report last thursday, the day his step mother and father were convicted of killing arthur. arthur labinjo-hughes _ convicted of killing arthur. arthur labinjo-hughes had _ convicted of killing arthur. arthur labinjo-hughes

laura: that was laura kuenssberg reporting. there has been a changing of the guard in germy.holz has been sworn in as the new chancellor. he replaces angela merkel who stepped down after 16 years in office. he is only the fourth chancellor of germany in nearly 40 years. as our correspondent now reports from berlin. reporter: in the powerful heart of europe, a new political era has begun. no pomp, little ceremony. olaf scholz is not known for his charisma or stirring speeches, but the social democrat and former finance minister's style, his manner, his politics, remind many germans of angela merkel. and they like him for it. he had promised the country a new government for christmas. his other pledge is to create a fairer, more liberal society and a climate-friendly country, they may be harder to keep. >> angela merkel has done a great job but i think now it is time for something new, something more green. >> n we have something different. but they have to prove themselv reporter: that he managed to form a government at all is seen some is nothing short of a miracle. he will h

our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. party? what party?number 10 said didn't happen. the building where boris johnson said tight covid rules were always followed. the party last year that a guest told us had food, drinks and games, and the party we now seem to see downing street staffjoking about a few days later. this was a practice press conference for allegra stratton, just hired as the prime minister's press spokesperson. i've just seen reports on twitter that there was a downing street party last friday night. i went home! in a video obtained by itv news, laughing in response to questions from an adviser, ed oldfield, about the downing street drinks. what's the answer? i don't know! is cheese and wine ok! at a time when socialising for everyone was meant to be strictly off—limits. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced! the fictional party was a business meeting, she says, laughing about the office that was making the rules, not following them. in the real world outside numberio, pubs had been c

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, downing street.itical correspondent damian grammaticas. the chief medical officer stop is not to make policy, but he is saying that you should be careful about who you meet and get the government is saying, we do not need a formal restrictions at this stage. find saying, we do not need a formal restrictions at this stage. and this was very evident _ restrictions at this stage. and this was very evident in _ restrictions at this stage. and this was very evident in the _ restrictions at this stage. and this was very evident in the press - was very evident in the press conference that we heard this evening where you had the loudest message that came out of that was from the chief medical officer when he said that de—prioritized contacts that are not important to you. and basis and do not go to parties and social gatherings with people that are less important. people should prioritise what really matters, don't things that are not family or don't things that are not family or don't really matter to you, a

injuly, guess who was back in the spotlight, giving an extraordinary interview to laura kuenssberg.d the public realised that one of the most senior people in government had left lockdown at a time when people were unable to go and see sick relatives, there was enormous public rage. why didn't you just tell the truth at the time? everything i said in the rose garden was true. but it wasn't the whole truth, not near it. everything i said was true, but i didn't go into all of the security concerns and the background, no. it was a very different story, mr cummings, a very different story. you and borisjohnson decided it was better to give the public, who many of whom were absolutely furious with what you'd done, you decided together it was better to give the public a story that was not the 100% truth, than to keep silent or even for you to resign. that would have made it go away. i think there's absolutely no doubt that the way we handled the whole thing was wrong on the monday. while westminster was on its summer recess, a rapidly developing situation abroad put the government to the

our political editor laura kuenssberg has been following it all. nightmares on downing street.s party? who paid for the expensive interior design upstairs? how can they control another surge in the pandemic and can they keep their own party under control? when thejohnsons moved in upstairs they had thousands of pounds of renovations. when the lavish expenses emerged this was the prime minister's claim. who initially paid for the redecoration of his downing street flat? he should know that i paid for downing street refurbishment personally, mr speaker. yet the tories have been fined thousands for breaking spending rules, after a wealthy businessman tried to set up a special trust to pay for doing up the flat. the real tangle is whether borisjohnson has been straight about what happened. he told a previous investigation he hadn't known exactly where the cash came from until february this year, but today's reports that shows he sent a wealthy donor whatsapp about the cash several months before. downing street's defence? it's suggested he knew this wealthy donor was overseeing the

laura kuenssberg reports.in, borisjohnson stuck with two ugly problems that are mashed together. what happened under his own roof, which has sickened some of the public, and what he reckons needs to happen now to push back the virus. the danger tonight is the fiasco of problem one, which makes problem two much harder to solve. with the variant spreading at lightning speed, he and the country's most senior scientists were back on the platform. we can't yet assume that omicron is less severe than previous variants. so, while the picture may get better and i sincerely hope that it will, we know that the remorseless logic of exponential growth could lead to a big rise in hospitalisations and, therefore, sadly, in deaths. and that's why it's now the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan b in england. how can you stand at that lectern exactly where some of your team laughed and joked about covid rules and told people they must now follow your new instructions, and are you really asking the public t

laura kuenssberg reports.borisjohnson stuck with two ugly problems that are mashed together. what happened under his own roof which has sickened some of the public and what he reckons needs to happen now to push back the virus. the danger tonight is the fiasco of problem one which makes problem two much harder to solve. with the variant spreading at lightning speed, he and the country's most senior scientists were back on the platform. we cannot yet assume that omicron is less severe than previous variants. so, while the picture may get better and i sincerely hope that it will, we know that the remorseless logic of exponential growth could lead to a big rise in hospitalisations and therefore, sadly, in deaths. and that is why it's the proportionate and the responsible thing to move to plan b in england. how can you stand at that lectern where some of your team laughed and joked about covid—19 rules and told people they must now follow your new instructions and are you really asking the public to believe that y

our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. party? what party? party that number 10 said didn't happen. in the building where boris johnson said tight covid rules were always followed. the party last year that a guest told us had food, drinks and games, and the party we now seem to see downing street staffjoking about a few days later. this was a practice press conference for allegra stratton, just hired as the prime minister's press spokesperson. i've just seen reports on twitter that there was a downing street christmas party last friday night. do you recognise those reports? i went home! in a video obtained by itv news, laughing in response to questions from an adviser, ed oldfield, about the downing street drinks. what's the answer? i don't know! is cheese and wine 0k! at the time when socialising for everyone was meant to be strictly off—limits. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced! the fictional party was a business meeting, she says, laughing about the office that was making the rules, not followin

no 10 insists no party took place. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. party?d tight covid rules were always followed. the party last year that a guest told us had food, drinks and games, and the party we now seem to see downing street staffjoking about a few days later. this was a practice press conference for allegra stratton, just hired as the prime minister�*s press spokesperson. i've just seen reports on twitter that there was a downing street christmas party last friday night. do you recognise those reports? i went home! in a video obtained by itv news, laughing in response to questions from an adviser, ed 0ldfield, about the downing street drinks. what�*s the answer? i don't know! is cheese and wine 0k! at the time when socialising for everyone was meant to be strictly off—limits. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced! the fictional party was a business meeting, she says, laughing about the office that was making the rules, not following them. in the real world outside number10, pubs had been closed, socialising w