sophie hutchinson, bbc news.in care homes have started in scotland. 14 care homes in five local authority areas are taking part. it's hoped it will help relatives visit their loved ones safely. but concern about the accuracy of lateral—flow tests has prompted some homes in england to stop using them. our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie reports. the first minister spent the morning at the western general hospital in edinburgh, one of 23 vaccination centres in scotland. for those living in care homes, visits from family and friends have been very limited throughout this pandemic. both of alison's parents have dementia, and are in a care home. through a window or in a doorway, four metres away with mum stretched out trying to see me, trying to touch me, trying to be with me, and a care worker pulling her back, saying, no, you can't do that, all of that feels wrong, completely wrong. the scottish government hopes the introduction of rapid testing of ca re the introduction of rapid testing of care home visi

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.nity failures at an nhs trust has found that mothers were sometimes blamed for their baby's death, that women were denied appropriate care, and that lessons weren't learned when things went wrong. the report says a catalogue of failures occured at the shrewsbury and telford trust between 2000 and 2018 it has now been given 27 changes to implement, with a further seven recommendations for all maternity units in england. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. for two decades this hospital trust contributed to the avoidable deaths of women and babies, and repeatedly denied they were at fault. today, the harm they caused was revealed, often in painful detail. you read the story of a baby and it died. the story of another baby, and it died. the weight of that, reading through that, i physically felt sick. these are the two families who persuaded the government to lodge this review, each compelled to do so by the avoidable death of a child. kate sta nton avoidable death o

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. our medical editor fergus walsh is here.here is, simon. there over 12 million people over 60 and add to that health workers and people with serious health conditions and the aim is to have immunised most of those by easter. there is a long way to go. what has happened today is astonishing, spectacular. 0ur hopes have been pinned on a vaccine for most of this year, but it was by no means certain. we don't have a vaccine against hiv despite an absolute fortune being spent over the decades. it wasn't certain we would get here. we don't have just one we have two more vaccines coming down the track that have released safety data. moderna and the big one, the 0xford astrazeneca vaccine, but hopefully they will be approved before the end of the year and that will allow the nhs to really ramp things up from january. because the 0xford vaccine can just be stored at fridge temperature, making it much easier to roll out. so most of this is going to happen next year, but this is a stunning day. fergus, thank you very much. in a moment,

sophie hutchinson reports.le in england currently living under the toughest restrictions in tier 4. brought in because of concerns about a rapid increase in cases. but some scientists are insisting that the measures don't go far enough, and no action is urgently needed. i actually think the whole country needs to be in tier 4, because we have to get ahead of it, and we are not ahead of it right now, we are behind it, and hospital admissions are, like, shooting up in the south, and not yet in the north, and we just don't want to see it happen everywhere. and if we shut down now, it should stop that new variant becoming dominant in those areas as well, and that's really what we have to try to do. the government has defended its response, insisting it has not lost control of the virus. the government is not behind the curve. the government has been very clear from day one in terms of the protective measures that we have been undertaking and put in place. you have seen regulations, you have seen changes to the law.

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.s become the first care home resident in scotland to receive the coronavirus vaccine. older people in care homes and staff have been prioritised in the vaccine roll out. the health secretary for scotland said distribution of the vaccine to care homes was a challenge, but she was delighted the programme had begun. this from our scotland correspondent james shaw. you might end up with a wee bit of a bruise. oh, i'm full of bruises anyway. an historic moment over in seconds. hey! well done. annie innes, a former carer, became the first of thousands of residents in scottish care homes to be given the pfizer vaccine. the start of a process which should allow a return to some sort of normality. oh, it's been a terrible year, terrible. i would like to see it a lot brighter for everybody else then. all 52 residents and the staff who look after them at abercorn house care home in hamilton will get the vaccine. in this health board area alone, there are nearly 9000 residents and carers to be vac

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.roversial measures from its internal market bill — after coming to an agreement with the eu on all future aspects of the brexit withdrawal agreement — the so called divorce agreement. in a tweet, the cabinet office minister michael gove said that both sides had come to ‘an agreement in principle' with his eu counterpart, maros sefcovic on outstanding issues, including the northern ireland protocol. the internal market bill would have overridden parts of the withdrawal agreement, and could have resulted in a breach of international law. in a moment will talk to our europe correspondent nick beake in brussels. first to our political correspondent nick eardley at westminster — and just to be clear this is separate from talks on a trade deal. this is a big deal. it is. the deal but not the big one. this is the withdrawal agreement that was all agreed earlier this year. this is of particular parts of it that we are contentious about how you avoid a ha rd contentious about how you avoid a ha

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. bbc news. lebanon‘s investigating judge has charged caretaker prime minister hassan diab and three former ministers with negligence over august‘s beirut port blast. the explosion killed 200 people and destroyed much of the city. officials have said the cargo of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical, was stored unsafely for years at the port, which lies in heart of the city. our correspondent lina sinjab joins me from beirut. what do people there think about this investigation and how the government has handled this? the level of frustration and disappointment amongst the nepalese people will make them have room for —— the lebanese people will make them have little room for excitement about the decision today, charging the caretaker prime minister hassan diab and three other ministers. the people of lebanon on wanting a response to the explosion, an investigation immediately after the explosion took place. at the time the government says they would have issued a report in five

sophie hutchinson reports. currently living under the toughest restrictions in tier 4. they were brought in because of concerns about a rapid increase in cases. but some scientists are insisting that the measures do not go far enough and more action is urgently needed. i actually think the whole country needs to be in tier 4 because we have to get ahead of it and we are not ahead of it. right now, we're behind it. and hospital admissions are shooting up in the south and they are not yet in the north and we just don't want to see it happen everywhere. and if we shut down now, it should stop that new variant becoming dominant in those areas as well and that is what we have to try to do. the government has defended its response, insisting that it is not lost control of the virus. the government is not behind the curve. the government has been clear from day one in terms of the protective measures that we have been undertaking and putting in place. you have seen regulations and changes to the law week after week ba

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.nson — founder of move it or lose it — which provides exercise classes to thousands of elderly people all around the country. and i'm alsojoined by 87—year—old anne fleeman — one ofjulie's longest class members, who is thrilled at the news of being offered a vaccine. can tell me, how thrilled are you?” am very thrilled, my niecejennifer said to me when she heard the news i bet she has her sleeves rolled up ready and i have! once you know it has worked, what will it mean to you? i think it will mean a lot. i'm not afraid of dying of covid because i have a good immune system and i keep myself very healthy, but the long—term debilitating effects don't thrill me a bit. every month when you are over 18 means you lose a little bit of your mobility or vision, otherfaculties, little bit of your mobility or vision, other faculties, and therefore, a little bit more independence, and i don't want to be sitting here as a long—term convalescent. and julie, this is why it is so important that older

sophie hutchinson, bbc news. great scenes there.the chair of the royal college of general practitioners. thank you very much indeed for being with us. of course gps are going to be in the front line in terms of giving this jab. do you think they're ready? i do think so. it's such a fantastic day to have the 50 oi’ such a fantastic day to have the 50 or $0 such a fantastic day to have the 50 or so hospitals up and running, starting to do that. next week, general practice comes on board. there's going to be probably five or six times as many sites in primary ca re a cross six times as many sites in primary care across the country, general practice is coming together. absolutely ready for it. this is obviously quite a bit more complicated than flu vaccines. it's larger and stale but i think they are upfor larger and stale but i think they are up for it. is that also technically more of it also technically more of it also technically difficult? although it has been approved amazingly quickly, it is not easy in some ways. that's right, f

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.cine. older people in care homes and staff have been prioritised in the vaccine roll—out. the health secretary for scotland said distribution of the vaccine to care homes was a challenge, but she was "delighted" the programme had begun. this from our scotland correspondent james shaw. you might end up with a wee bit of a bruise. oh, well, i'm full of bruises anyway. an historic moment over in seconds. hey! well done. annie innes, a former carer, became the first of thousands of residents in scottish care homes to be given the pfizer vaccine. the start of a process which should allow a return to some sort of normality. oh, it's been a terrible year, terrible. i would like to see it a lot brighter for everybody else, then. all 52 residents and the staff who look after them at abercorn house care home in hamilton will get the vaccine. in this health board area alone, there are nearly 9000 residents and carers to be vaccinated, a huge logistical challenge. the last week has been really, re

sophie hutchinson, bbc news., chris hopson. he joins us live from north west london. good to have you with us, thank you very much. tomorrow is being called vide, that's what the health secretary said. are we ready for the beginning of vaccinations? —— vide. nhs staff have been working credibly ha rd over nhs staff have been working credibly hard over the last few months. they knew this was on the way, they've been working really hard the last few weeks. so it's been a fever pitch the last 4—5 days when we heard on thursday that the pfizer vaccine had received regulatory approval, and also at the same time, thejoint committee approval, and also at the same time, the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation made it clear about what the priority order should be. so what we've been doing the last few days is marrying those two things together to work out who do we vaccinate, and to put the things in place to make sure we're ready to do so from tomorrow morning. just run us do so from tomorrow morning. just ru

sophie hutchinson, abc news. —— bbc news.on that a trade deal between the uk and the eu could be agreed as early as tonight. it is understood the broad shape of an agreement is there but there's still some discussion over details. in a moment, we can talk to our europe editor, katya adler, but first let's talk to our political editor, laura kuenssberg, who is in westminsterfor us. i wonder what is driving the suggestion that a deal might finally be in the offing. first off, most straightforwardly, there is hardly any time left. we left the eu at the end of january but we stayed with the status quo, the transition period, but that comes to an end to happens in the next few days on the 3ist happens in the next few days on the 31st of this month, so first and foremost there isn't very much time and it has to happen soon if it's going to happen at all. more pointedly, today, with conversations with ministers, conversations with people in and around the place, and in brussels, there is a sense that this deal is now extremely close

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.to use their suckers to attach themselves to their prey. but scientists are now investigating a new weapon in their armoury. the sucker punch. this footage was collected by researchers in egypt's red sea, and shows octopuses using their tentacles to punch nearby fish. the scientists behind the study say the punches happened during hunts, when octopus and fish were working together to catch prey. in some cases, the ‘punches' appear to be motivated by practical gain like stealing prey. in others — researchers believe they could have been landed to ‘impose a cost‘ on ‘misbehaving fish'. everything you wanted to know about octopuses punching in the deep seas. you have been watching bbc news. thank you for watching. hello there. wednesday brought another wet day, particularly to england and wales. and at one point, we had over 50 flood warnings in force. now, i'm sure as the rain eases off, the number of flood warnings through christmas eve will gradually begin to drop away, but still the p

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.the highest covid death toll in europe and the government has tightened measures over christmas, including closing ski resorts. italy was the first country in the west to be crushed by the virus, with the city of bergamo in the north particularly devastated. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has been back there to reflect on this tragic year. clearing the pistes for no one to use. high in the italian alps, foppolo should be preparing for a bumper christmas season. but it, and all italian ski resorts, have been shut by the government to slow coronavirus. it's in the province of bergamo, worst hit in italy by the pandemic. and now there's the financial shock. translation: at christmas, we make up half of our season. losing it causes irreparable damage that we'll never make up. and i imagine some businesses here won't survive. what we from bergamo lived through in march was very frightening, hearing the sound of ambulances. we must take care not to relive it, but the mountains can be enjoyed s

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.up at 6am it is brea kfast coming up at 6am it is breakfast with charlie and rachel but first, the travel show. let's be honest, it hasn't been the best year for travel stop amid the gloom, we have still found moments of inspiration and seen parts of the world's albeit sometimes virtually. that would take your breath away. laughs . i can't do it! welcome to our look back at 2020. what a year it's been and it all what a year it's been and it a ll started what a year it's been and it all started so well. wow! lucy took a trip to a simulated martian outpost in the caves of northern spain. in argentina, mike went to the well‘s second—biggest wetland and took a dunking. 0h well‘s second—biggest wetland and took a dunking. oh and we are away! laughs and i went underwater to swim with sharks in the maldives. they are so close! but then, disaster struck. lockdowns, border closures and holiday cancellations for the foreseeable future, leaving some of us still out of pocket. but back in those ea

sophie hutchinson, bbc news.ms of the windrush scandal, which saw hundreds of people wrongly threatened with deportation. the home secretary, priti patel, will announce later that the minimum payment will rise from £250 to £10,000, and the maximum from £10,000 to £100,000. there will be higher payments in "exceptional" circumstances, with money being paid to claimants quicker than before. 0ur reporter, jack fenwick has been following the story. she is expected to get on her feet in the commons at 2:30pm. what are we expecting? that is right. we are expecting that priti patel is going to announce an pretty big changes to the windrush compensation scheme. this is a story i have been following for the bbc pretty closely. last month i found that two things, firstly at least nine people had actually died before receiving money applied for through the skin. secondly, very, very small numbers of people are being offered the top level of something called an impact on my payment. that is the aspect of the scheme which is